Correlating comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography volatile profiles of chocolate with sensory analysis

The identification of key components relevant to sensory perception of quality from commercial chocolate samples was accomplished after chemometric processing of GC×GC-MS (Comprehensive Two-dimensional Gas Chromatography with Mass Spectrometric Detection) profiles corresponding to HS-SPME (Headspace Solid Phase Microextraction) extracts of the samples. Descriptive sensory evaluation of samples was carried out using Optimized Descriptive Profile (ODP) procedures, where sensory attributes of 24 commercial chocolate samples were used to classify them in two classes (low and high chocolate flavor). 2D Fisher Ratio analysis was applied to four-way chromatographic data tensors (1st dimension retention time 1tR × 2nd dimension retention time 2tR × m/z × sample), to identify the crucial areas on the chromatograms that resulted on ODP class separation on Principal Component Analysis (PCA) scores plot. Comparing the relevant sections of the chromatograms to the analysis of the corresponding mass spectra, it was possible to assess that most of the information regarding the sample main sensory attributes can be related to only 14 compounds (2,5-dimethylpyrazine, 2,6-dimethyl-4-heptanol, 1-octen-3-ol, trimethylpyrazine, β-pinene, o-cimene, 2-ethyl-3,5-dimethylpyrazine, tetramethylpyrazine, benzaldehyde, 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene, 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one, limonene, benzeneethanol and 1,1-dimethylbutylbenzene) among the complex blend of volatiles found on these extremely complex samples

Toxicological evaluation of lactose and chitosan delivered by inhalation

These days, inhalation constitutes a promising administration route for many drugs. However, this route exhibits unique limitations, and formulations aimed at pulmonary delivery should include as few as possible additives in order to maintain lung functionality. The purpose of this work was to investigate the safety of lactose and chitosan to the pulmonary tissue when delivered by inhalation. The study was carried out with 18 Wistar rats divided in three groups receiving distilled water, lactose or chitosan. A solution of each excipient was administered by inhalation at a dose of 20 mg. The lungs were excised and processed to determine several biochemical parameters used as toxicity biomarkers. Protein and carbonyl group content, lipid peroxidation, reduced and oxidized glutathione ( GSSG), myeloperoxidase ( MPO), cooper/zinc and manganese superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione S-transferase and glutathione peroxidase were determined. Results of myeloperoxidase activity and glutathione disulfide lung concentrations showed a relevant decrease for chitosan group compared to control: 4.67 +/- 2.27 versus 15.10 +/- 7.27 ( P = 0.011) for MPO and 0.89 +/- 0.68 versus 2.02 +/- 0.22 ( P = 0.014) for GSSG. The other parameters did not vary significantly among groups. Lactose and chitosan administered by inhalation failed to show toxic effects to the pulmonary tissue. A protective effect against oxidative stress might even be attributed to chitosan, since some biomarkers had values significantly lower than those observed in the control group when this product was inhaled. Nevertheless, caution must be taken regarding chemical composition and technological processes applied to incorporate these products during drug formulation, in particular for dry powder inhalators

Treatment of Advanced Emphysema with Emphysematous Lung Sealant (AeriSeal (R))

Background: This report summarizes initial tests of an emphysematous lung synthetic polymer sealant (ELS) designed to reduce lung volume in patients with advanced emphysema. Objectives: The primary study objective was to define a therapeutic strategy to optimize treatment safety and effectiveness. Methods: ELS therapy was administered bronchoscopically to 25 patients with heterogeneous emphysema in an open-label, noncontrolled study at 6 centers in Germany. Treatment was performed initially at 2-4 subsegments. After 12 weeks, patients were eligible for repeat therapy to a total of 6 sites. Safety and efficacy were assessed after 6 months. Responses were evaluated in terms of changes from baseline in lung physiology, functional capacity, and health-related quality of life. Follow-up is available for 21 of 25 patients. Results: Treatment was well tolerated. There were no treatment-related deaths (i.e. within 90 days of treatment), and an acceptable short-and long-term safety profile. Physiological and clinical benefits were observed at 24 weeks. Efficacy responses were better among Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) stage III patients {[}n = 14; change in residual volume/total lung capacity (Delta RV/TLC) = -7.4 +/- 10.3%; Delta forced expiratory volume in 1 s (Delta FEV(1)) = +15.9 +/- 22.6%; change in forced vital capacity (Delta FVC) = +24.1 +/- 22.7%; change in carbon monoxide lung diffusion capacity (Delta DLCO) = +19.3 +/- 34.8%; change in 6-min walk test (Delta 6MWD) = +28.7 +/- 59.6 m; change in Medical Research Council Dyspnea (Delta MRCD) score = -1.0 +/- 1.04 units; change in St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire (Delta SGRQ) score = -9.9 +/- 15.3 units] than for GOLD stage IV patients (n = 7; Delta RV/TLC = -0.5 +/- 6.4%; Delta FEV 1 = +2.3 +/- 12.3%; Delta FVC = +2.6 +/- 21.1%; Delta DLCO = -2.8 +/- 17.2%; Delta 6MWD = +28.3 +/- 58.4 m; Delta MRCD = 0.3 +/- 0.81 units; Delta SGRQ = -6.7 +/- 7.0 units). Conclusions: ELS therapy shows promise for treating patients with advanced heterogeneous emphysema. Additional studies to assess responses in a larger cohort with a longer follow-up are warranted. Copyright (C) 2011 S. Karger AG, Base

Understanding the meaning of medications for patients: The medication experience

Objective: To understand and describe the meaning of medications for patients. Methods: A metasynthesis of three different, yet complementary qualitative research studies, was conducted by two researchers. The first study was a phenomenological study of patients’ medication experiences that used unstructured interviews. The second study was an ethnographic study of pharmaceutical care practice, which included participant observation, in-depth interviews and focus groups with patients of pharmaceutical care. The third was a phenomenological study of the chronic illness experience of medically uninsured individuals in the United States and included an explicit aim to understand the medication experience within that context. The two researchers who conducted these three qualitative studies that examined the medication experience performed the meta-synthesis. The process began with the researchers reviewing the themes of the medication experience for each study. The researchers then aggregated the themes to identify the overlapping and similar themes of the medication experience and which themes are sub-themes within another theme versus a unique theme of the medication experience. The researchers then used the analytic technique, “free imaginative variation” to determine the essential, structural themes of the medication experience. Results: The meaning of medications for patients was captured as four themes of the medication experience: a meaningful encounter; bodily effects; unremitting nature; and exerting control. The medication experience is an individual’s subjective experience of taking a medication in his daily life. It begins as an encounter with a medication. It is an encounter that is given meaning before it occurs. The experience may include positive or negative bodily effects. The unremitting nature of a chronic medication often causes an individual to question the need for the medication. Subsequently, the individual may exert control by altering the way he takes the medication and often in part because of the gained expertise with the medication in his own body. Conclusion: The medication experience is a practice concept that serves to understand patients’ experiences and to understand an individual patient’s medication experience and medication-taking behaviors in order to meet his or her medication-related needs

Medidas de Salvaguarda: Uma análise do ordenamento jurídico da Organização Mundial do Comércio e as mudanças introduzidas pela União Européia

O presente trabalho, tendo em vista o ordenamento jurídico da Organização Mundial do Comércio, em especial o GATT, e as normas comunitárias europeias acerca das medidas de salvaguarda, visa discutir o procedimento e condições de aplicação das medidas de salvaguarda entre membros da OMC. Buscará analisar os requisitos necessários à aplicação da medida contidos no GATT, além das regras de condução do procedimento investigatório. Ademais, analisa-se o ordenamento legal europeu acerca das salvaguardas, que introduziram mudanças importantes às normas da OMC, em especial a criação de um novo requisito de aplicação das medidas de proteção e o instituto das medida de vigilância, que são medidas intermediárias com o propósito de colher informações úteis ao procedimento investigatório. PALAVRAS-CHAVE: Organização Mundial do Comércio; União Europeia; Medidas de Salvaguarda. ABSTRACT: The present work, made through the analysis of the World Trade Organization legal framework, specially the GATT, and the European Community norms on safeguard measures, discusses the procedure and conditions of application of safeguard measures between WTO Members. It will analyze the necessary requirements to the application of safeguard measures contained in GATT, as well as the rules of conduction of the investigation procedure. Furthermore, it will study the European legal framework on safeguard measures, which has introduced significant changes to the WTO norms, specially concerning the creation of a new requirement to the application of protective measures and the introduction of an intermediary measure, called vigilance measure, which aims to gather information to the investigation procedure. KEY WORDS: World Trade Organization; European Union; Safeguard Measures. Submetido em: 29/06/2015 Aprovado em: 21/08/201

A CENA DE ENUNCIAÇÃO E A CONSTRUÇÃO DO ETHOS: UMA ANÁLISE DE TRECHOS DE O QUE OS OLHOS NÃO VÊEM, DE RUTH ROCHA

Este trabalho tem a finalidade de analisar o discurso de trechos do livro de Ruth Rocha, titulado de O que os olhos não vêem, com base nos conceitos de cena de enunciação e construção do ethos da Análise do Discurso de Linha Francesa, explorando a criticidade dessa literatura que fala sobre rei, governo e povo de maneira metafórica e leva a todos os leitores a refletirem sobre a contemporaneidade da obra. Partindo do perfil crítico da escritora, a obra em questão realiza uma espécie de denúncia à sociedade de forma geral, de situações políticas enfrentadas no Brasil durante o período da Ditadura Militar, criando um ambiente interdiscursivo entre o passado e o presente. Ao fim, evidencia-se que, apesar de escrita durante os anos 80, a obra de Ruth Rocha mostra atual em relação ao contexto social brasileiro

The cyclic interaction between daytime behavior and the sleep behavior of laboratory dogs

Sleep deprivation has been found to negatively affect an individual´s physical and psychological health. Sleep loss affects activity patterns, increases anxiety-like behaviors, decreases cognitive performance and is associated with depressive states. The activity/rest cycle of dogs has been investigated before, but little is known about the effects of sleep loss on the behavior of the species. Dogs are polyphasic sleepers, meaning the behavior is most observed at night, but bouts are also present during the day. However, sleep can vary with ecological and biological factors, such as age, sex, fitness, and even human presence. In this study, kennelled laboratory adult dogs’ sleep and diurnal behavior were recorded during 24-h, five-day assessment periods to investigate sleep quality and its effect on daily behavior. In total, 1560 h of data were analyzed, and sleep metrics and diurnal behavior were quantified. The relationship between sleeping patterns and behavior and the effect of age and sex were evaluated using non-parametric statistical tests and GLMM modelling. Dogs in our study slept substantially less than previously reported and presented a modified sleep architecture with fewer awakenings during the night and almost no sleep during the day. Sleep loss increased inactivity, decreased play and alert behaviors, while increased time spent eating during the day. Males appeared to be more affected by sleep fragmentation than females. Different age groups also experienced different effects of sleep loss. Overall, dogs appear to compensate for the lack of sleep during the night by remaining inactive during the day. With further investigations, the relationship between sleep loss and behavior has the potential to be used as a measure of animal welfare

Postmortem Analyses Unveil the Poor Efficacy of Decontamination, Anti-Inflammatory and Immunosuppressive Therapies in Paraquat Human Intoxications

studies resulting from human PQ poisonings have assessed the relationship of these therapeutic measures with PQ toxicokinetics and related histopathological lesions, these being the aims of the present study.For that purpose, during 2008, we collected human fluids and tissues from five forensic autopsies following fatal PQ poisonings. PQ levels were measured by gas chromatography-ion trap mass spectrometry. Structural inflammatory lesions were evaluated by histological and immunohistochemistry analysis. The samples of cardiac blood, urine, gastric and duodenal wall, liver, lung, kidney, heart and diaphragm, showed quantifiable levels of PQ even at 6 days post-intoxication. Structural analysis showed diffused necrotic areas, intense macrophage activation and leukocyte infiltration in all analyzed tissues. By immunohistochemistry it was possible to observe a strong nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB) activation and excessive collagen deposition.Considering the observed PQ levels in all analyzed tissues and the expressive inflammatory reaction that ultimately leads to fibrosis, we conclude that the therapeutic protocol usually performed needs to be reviewed, in order to increase the efficacy of PQ elimination from the body as well as to diminish the inflammatory process