Short- and long-term effects of calcitonin and calcium administration on blood calcium, magnesium and inorganic phosphorus in post menopausal osteoporosis

As a consequence of the civil war that devastated Burundi in October 1993, more than 300,000 refugees settled in the neighboring country of Rwanda. We describe the outbreak of dysentery due to Shigella dysenteriae type 1 (Sd1) that developed in Nzangwa, a camp hosting some 20,000 Burundese refugees. Between November 17, 1993 and March 10, 1994, 6,122 cases of bloody diarrhea were notified by the health information system of the camp. The overall attack rate was 32.3%, and the fatality rate was 3.8%. Children under five years of age were the most affected group of the population. All dysentery cases were treated with nalidixic acid for 5 days. The compliance assessment showed that less than 50% of the ambulatory patients completed the 5-day regimen. From 35 stool samples obtained from the refugees, seven Sd1 strains were isolated, of which three were multi-resistant to nalidixic acid. These results confirmed the morbidity and mortality of Sd1 outbreaks in the displaced populations of Central Africa. We also emphasize the difficulties in implementing effective prevention measures and appropriate case management strategies in this environment. To improve the management of patients in large Sd1 outbreaks with limited resources, we devised a clinical classification of cases according to the risk of dying.     

Evaluation of the effects of a school breakfast program on attention and memory

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the impact of a school breakfast program in Sonora, Mexico. The study was conducted in four counties classified as extremely poor. Three hundred children from twelve schools pertaining to three counties under research received a school breakfast; one hundred and fifty children from four schools pertaining to a fourth county did not received school breakfast. Children were four to six years old. Attention, memory and cognition tests were applied before and after the program. Results showed an improvement for those groups receiving the breakfast program, specially on response speed and behavior executions. Group without breakfast showed better results on the pre-test, nevertheless, on the post-test, performances in both groups appear the same. At the beginning of school courses any county was different, but speed in selection and running show significatives differences for the schools. The program shows similar results on response speed, no matter social condition, nevertheless, program differentially affects the number of correct behavior executions on stimulus selection and reproduction. The breakfast program benefit children, but its effects are differentially distributed improving behavioral, repertories depending of children's group vulnerability.     

Antichagasic,Leishmanicidal, and Trichomonacidal Activity of 2‐Benzyl‐5‐nitroindazole‐Derived Amines

Three different series of new 5‐nitroindazole derivatives—1‐(ω‐aminoalkyl)‐2‐benzylindazolin‐3‐ones (series A ; ten compounds), 3‐(ω‐aminoalkoxy)‐2‐benzylindazoles (series B ; four compounds) and 3‐alkylamino‐2‐benzylindazoles (series C ; five compounds)—have been synthesized and evaluated against the protozoan parasites Trypanosoma cruzi, Leishmania amazonensis, and Trichomonas vaginalis: etiological agents of Chagas disease, cutaneous leishmaniasis, and trichomoniasis, respectively. Many indazoles of series A , B , and C were efficient against T. cruzi. Some compounds in series A , after successfully passing the preliminary screening for epimastigotes, exhibited activity values against amastigotes of several T. cruzi strains that were better than or similar to those shown by the reference drug benznidazole and displayed low nonspecific toxicity against mammalian cells. On the other hand, preliminary studies against promastigotes of L. amazonensis showed high leishmanicidal activity for some derivatives of series A and C . With regard to activity against T. vaginalis, some indazoles of series B and C were rather efficient against trophozoites of a metronidazole‐sensitive isolate and showed low nonspecific toxicities toward Vero cell cultures. Additionally, some of these compounds displayed similar activity against metronidazole‐sensitive and resistant isolates, showing the absence of cross‐resistance between these derivatives and the reference drug.     

Particle size determination in aluminum hydroxide suspensions using near-infrared transmittance spectroscopy

A new method for particle size determination in polystyrene and aluminum hydroxide suspensions using near-infrared transmittance spectroscopy is described. Mono-dispersed polystyrene particle size standards were used to establish the calibration model. The particle sizes used in the study are similar to the wavelength range of 700-1300 nm, where light scattering is wavelength dependent. The wavelength dependency of near-infrared (NIR) absorbance is found to be linear with the particle size when the analysis is based on the same spectrum starting point (the same absorbance at 700 nm). Partial least squares regression (PLSR) is applied to model this linear relationship. Compared to laser diffraction (LD) the NIR method has similar accuracy and precision in the measurement of particles with a uniform size. For a sample containing multiple sizes of particles, the mean size measured by the NIR method is shown to be weighted by the particle mass. The application of the model to aluminum hydroxide suspension shows that the NIR method is suitable for the detection of particle size changes during the production process and storage. The advantages of the NIR method are that no knowledge of the refractive index and the concentration of a sample are necessary and that the method is fast and easy to operate.     

Use of supercritical CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> to obtain extracts with antimicrobial activity from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Chaetoceros muelleri</Emphasis> microalga. A correlation with their lipidic content

Supercritical CO₂ extracts of the marine diatom Chaetoceros muelleri (gracilis) have been investigated for their potential use as food preservatives, namely, as antimicrobials. A screening of different pressures and temperatures for supercritical CO₂ extraction was assayed in order to determine the main factors controlling the yield and antimicrobial activity of the extracts. Since the potential antimicrobial activity of these CO₂ extracts is mainly induced by the lipidic fraction, HPLC with evaporative light scattering detection (HPLC-ELSD) and GC with flame ionization detection (GC-FID) were used to identify lipid families and fatty acids, respectively. Antimicrobial activity of the extracts was measured against Staphyloccocus aureus, Escherichia coli and Candida albicans. Possible correlations between antimicrobial activity of extracts and their chemical composition were investigated, concluding that the total triglycerides and the DPA content seem to be the main parameters controlling the antimicrobial activity of the studied extracts.     

Development of Pressurized Extraction Processes for Oil Recovery from Wild Almond (Amygdalus scoparia)

Wild almond Amygdalus scoparia is a very fruitful tree that is spread over an extensive region of Iran. Considering its high quality oil, the development of clean extraction processes based on the use of compressed fluids is encouraged. In this study, the main factors involved in supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) and pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) of wild almond have been optimized by using two different experimental designs and considering the oil extraction yield as a response variable; effects of time, temperature, pressure, and use of co‐solvents were studied for SFE while effects of time, temperature and type of solvent were evaluated for PLE. Results showed that the maximum oil yield using supercritical carbon dioxide was 42 %, obtained under the following conditions: extraction temperature, 40 °C; extraction pressure, 40 MPa; and 10 % ethanol as co‐solvent. The optimum extraction yield for PLE was 55 %, which was achieved using ethanol as solvent at 150 °C for 20 min. Lipidomic analysis revealed that the amount of oleic acid in the oil extracted by SFE was higher than those obtained by using other classical procedures. In addition, triacylglycerols constituted more than 98 % of the extracted oils.     

A Holistic Solution to Icing by Acoustic Waves: De-Icing,Active Anti-Icing,Sensing with Piezoelectric Crystals,and Synergy with Thin Film Passive Anti-Icing Solutions

Icing has become a hot topic both in academia and in the industry given its implications in transport, wind turbines, photovoltaics, and telecommunications. Recently proposed de-icing solutions involving the propagation of acoustic waves (AWs) at suitable substrates may open the path for a sustainable alternative to standard de-icing or anti-icing procedures. Herein, the fundamental interactions are unraveled that contribute to the de-icing and/or hinder the icing on AW-activated substrates. The response toward icing of a reliable model system consisting of a piezoelectric plate activated by extended electrodes is characterized at a laboratory scale and in an icing wind tunnel under realistic conditions. Experiments show that surface modification with anti-icing functionalities provides a synergistic response when activated with AWs. A thoughtful analysis of the resonance frequency dependence on experimental variables such as temperature, ice formation, or wind velocity demonstrates the application of AW devices for real-time monitoring of icing processes.