Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry fingerprinting of Brazilian cacha?as produced in copper alembic and in stainless-steel column stills

Brazilian cacha?a can be produced in two different ways: distilled in stainless steel column or in copper alembic stills. We evaluated 36 samples of commercial non-aged cacha?as: 18 samples of sweetened cacha?as distilled in stainless steel column, and 18 samples distilled in copper alembic stills. Fingerprints were obtained through electrospray ionization mass spectrometry by recording the intensity of the 15 most abundant ions. Principal component analysis was applied to the data and separated the samples in two groups. However, after sample standardization with sugar (20?g?L^?1), it was not possible to group them by type of distillation. The results showed that the technique applied did not allow differentiation of cacha?as based on the distillation system, but for the presence or absence of sugar in them.     

Cognitive Correlates of Improvised Behaviour in Disaster Response: the Cases of the Murrah Building and the World Trade Center

While emergency response actions are known to range from conventional to improvised, less is known about the thinking processes that underlie these actions. This paper presents a statistical analysis of cognition and behaviour reported by police personnel who responded to two significant US disasters: the 1995 bombing of the Murrah Building in Oklahoma City and the 2001 attack on the World Trade Center in New York City. The results suggest the prominence of conventional behaviour coupled with cognitive processes closely tied to recognition, and of improvised behaviours that are linked to more explicit reasoning processes. The results underscore the value of exploring cognitive foundations of both conventional and improvised behaviours to enrich understanding of human response to disaster.     

Assessing the capabilities of the zonal model to predict the isothermal airflow induced by a linear ceiling diffuser

The objective of this work is to evaluate the quality of the zonal airflow predictions compared to those provided by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tools for an isothermal airflow induced in a room by a linear ceiling diffuser. This comparative analysis was conducted for a typical rectangular office designed for two people, considering two different arrangements of obstacles within the room volume. The ventilation was provided by a four-way ceiling diffuser type with large aspect ratio slots, the outlet integrated into it, operating in a three-way mode with slot Reynolds number of 2700. As a result, the airflow was transitional or weakly turbulent. The airflow patterns obtained with the zonal models were first compared qualitatively with the CFD computations. A quantitative comparison based on the mean velocities at the interface of the zonal grid was then carried out. The characteristic features of the zonal predictions are shown and the limitations of the zonal and CFD approaches are discussed.     

Optimization of osmotic dehydration of yacon slices

Osmotic dehydration assisted by ultrasound (ODAU) at low temperatures reduces water activity (a_w) and maintains nutrients. The influence of solution concentration (SC; 20 to 60° Brix, xylitol and sorbitol) and ultrasound application time (t_us, 0 to 40 min) in ODAU of yacon was studied with the aid of a response surface method. The optimum condition with respect to mass transfer parameters, a_w, and fructan retention was SC of 60° Brix for both solutions and t_us of 2.67 min for xylitol samples and 0 min for sorbitol samples. The application of ultrasound improved dehydration but resulted in depolymerization of fructans.     

Sustained release of potassium diclofenac from a pH‐responsive hydrogel based on gum arabic conjugates into simulated intestinal fluid

This work describes the preparation, the swelling properties and the potassium diclofenac (KDF) release profile of hydrogels of gum arabic (GA), N′,N′‐dimethylacrylamide, and methacrylic acid. In order to convert GA into a hydrogel, the polysaccharide was vinyl‐modified with glycidyl methacrylate. The hydrogels showed pH‐responsive swelling changes, which were more expressive in the basic environment. Release data of KDF were adjusted to a diffusion‐based kinetic model that provides an important insight on affinity of the drug for hydrogel and solvent, which may be the leading parameter for release of guest molecules from polymers. The KDF release from the hydrogels into simulated intestinal fluid decreases when the amount of modified GA increases. This was demonstrated to be due to the higher affinity of KDF for GA‐richer hydrogel, which makes the anti‐inflammatory release less favorable. The analysis of released drug half‐time (t_1/2 = 16.10 and 21.51 h) indicated sustained release characteristics. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133, 43319.     

Peptide Human Neutrophil Elastase Inhibitors from Natural Sources: An Overview

Elastases are a broad group of enzymes involved in the lysis of elastin, the main component of elastic fibres. They are produced and released in the human body, mainly by neutrophils and the pancreas. The imbalance between elastase activity and its endogenous inhibitors can cause different illnesses due to their excessive activity. The main aim of this review is to provide an overview of the latest advancements on the identification, structures and mechanisms of action of peptide human neutrophil elastase inhibitors isolated from natural sources, such as plants, animals, fungi, bacteria and sponges. The discovery of new elastase inhibitors could have a great impact on the pharmaceutical development of novel drugs through the optimization of the natural lead compounds. Bacteria produce mainly cyclic peptides, while animals provide for long and linear amino acid sequences. Despite their diverse natural sources, these elastase inhibitors show remarkable IC₅₀ values in a range from nM to μM values, thus representing an interesting starting point for the further development of potent bioactive compounds on human elastase enzymes.     

Well defined CuI(NO), CuI(NO)2 and CuII(NO)X (X = O− and/or NO 2 − ) complexes in CuI-ZSMS prepared by interaction of H-ZSM5 with gaseous CuCl

In this note an exchange procedure of the acidic protons of H-ZSM5 by Cu^I ions through reaction with CuCl in the gas phase is described. In the so obtained Cu^I-ZSM5 exchanged zeolite the Cu^I ions are in well defined configuration and form with NO mono and di-nitrosyl complexes of high structural and spectroscopic quality. The Cu^I(NO)₂ species are transformed at RT into Cu^II(NO)X (X=O^– and/or NO ₂ ^– ) species which could represent an intermediate in NO decomposition.     

Survival analysis methodology to predict the shelf-life of probiotic flavored yogurt

The feasibility of survival analysis methodology was used to determine the shelf-life of probiotic strawberry flavored yogurt supplemented with Bifidobacteirum animalis DN 173010 W was investigated. The quality parameters of probiotic yogurts were related to storage conditions which they are submitted. The consumers were shown sensitive to changes towards sensory characteristics introduced into the products. Using the survival analysis and considering 25% and 50% probability of consumer rejection, the shelf-life of the probiotic yogurt was estimated at 38 and 53 days, respectively. The findings of this research highlighted the feasibility this technique to determine the shelf-life of foods, in particular, functional foods, as probiotic yogurts.     

Ecotoxicological analysis of glasses obtained from industrial residues using E. coli and S. aureus as bioindicators

This work deals with the study of the effect of coal ashes and industrial residues in the inertness of glasses designed for industrial uses. Five formulations with four factors (residues) and constraints were used according a mixture design. The residues were dried, sieved and mixed according to the design. The formulations were melted at 1450 °C during 2 h for stabilization using 10% wt of Na₂CO₃ (fluxing agent). The melts were cast into a refrigerated water mold and annealed at 600 °C, and thus, the glasses were analyzed regarding their ecotoxicological effect using the Agar Diffusion Test for Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus as bioindicators, comparing the results with the Artemia sp. Acute Toxicity Test. The results were studied by analysis of variance in order to determine the individual influence of each residue in the inertness of the glass system. As a final result, the ecotoxicological analysis showed that the galvanic residue makes a non-inert glass due to the high iron and zinc content of this waste. The Agar Diffusion Test is a fast and accurate technique to determine the toxicity of glass systems only for high concentration samples.     

Interfacial interactions in concretes with silica fume and SBR latex

This paper deals with the effect of silica fume and styrene-butadiene latex (SBR) on the microstructure of the interfacial transition zone (ITZ) between Portland cement paste and aggregates (basalt). Scanning electron microscope (SEM) equipped with energy dispersive X-ray analysis system (EDX) was used to determine the ITZ thickness. In the plain concrete a marked ITZ around the aggregate particles (55 μm) was observed, while in concretes with silica fume or latex SBR the ITZ was less pronounced (35–40 μm). However, better results were observed in concretes with silica fume and latex SBR (20–25 μm).