On the Identification and Analysis of Saccadic Eye Movements?A Quantitative Study of the Processing Procedures

A set of quantitative data about signal processing effects on the evaluation of amplitude, duration, and peak-velocity of single saccadic eye movements, as well as on the evaluation of the coefficients of amplitude-peak velocity and amplitude-duration characteristics of a family of saccades, is given. The following aspects of signal processing are theoretically discussed, experimentally supported, and summarized by normative graphs: 1) the analog low-pass filtering applied to the recorded eye movement; 2) its sampling and digitization; 3) the low-pass filtering applied to the digitized signal; 4) the algorithm used to compute the eye velocity; 5) the criteria adopted to determine the beginning and the ending points of the saccades; and 6) the laws used to fit the saccadic characteristics. According to the theoretical and experimental results obtained, some general operating rules and optimal setups for each of the most common experimental situations are proposed, with the aim of standardizing saccade analysis for both researchers and clinicians.     

Enhancing Lipid Oxidative Stability of Cooked‐Chilled Lamb Meat through Dietary Rosemary Diterpenes

A dietary rosemary extract (DRE) containing carnosic acid and carnosol at 1:1 (w/w) for enhancing the lipid oxidative stability in cooked‐chilled lamb meat, is evaluated. Three diets for fattening lambs are tested: i) a cereal‐based concentrate (C‐diet); ii) the C‐diet plus 600 mg vitamin E per kg feed (E‐diet); and iii) the C‐diet plus 600 mg rosemary diterpenes per kg feed (R‐diet). Griddled‐chilled lamb patties are kept at 4 °C and lighting for 2 days, simulating catering conditions. Diterpenes have a lower deposition rate than vitamin E in lamb muscle and are completely degraded during cooking. DRE is thus less effective than dietary vitamin E in enhancing the oxidative stability of the patties. After 2‐day storage, the R‐diet shows lower (p < 0.01) peroxide values and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances than the C‐diet, while, in contrast to the E‐diet, it does not inhibit (p > 0.05) the formation of cholesterol oxidation products. The R‐diet increases (p < 0.05) the proportion of polyunsaturated fatty acids and decreases (p < 0.05) the n‐6/n‐3 ratio. These findings suggest antioxidant protection by dietary bioactive compounds beyond the direct radical scavenging activity that is able to stabilize lipids during the meat shelf‐life. Practical Applications: Cooked‐chilled meat lipids strongly oxidize in ready‐to‐eat dishes kept in retailing conditions, which may negatively affect their levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), cholesterol oxidation products (COP), and other lipid oxidation products. Dietary rosemary diterpenes can be used as a clean alternative to feed additives to enhance the oxidative stability of cooked‐chilled meat. Improved health and antioxidant status of the animal might be able to reduce oxidative spoilage during meat shelf‐life. Diterpenes provide lesser antioxidant protection than dietary vitamin E but may improve the PUFA content, with positive implications for the nutritional quality of lamb fat. The use of dietary antioxidants with different properties may contribute to improving the efficacy of animal feeds to improve meat quality.     

Cultural transitions and epidemiology

The analysis of cultural patterns, as an observational and qualitative tool in epidemiological research, is advanced. This approach to epidemiology, biomedicine, human and cultural ecology, focuses on the following theoretical points of view: (i) the intrinsic non-linearity of natural dynamics, (ii) the role of fluctuations in the evolution of self-organized systems, (iii) the reformulation of the homeostasis concept, through the hypothesis of the co-existence of different levels of boundaries of stability (the non-linear processes of adaptation) and the dynamics of transitions (the physiological jumps) between them, (iv) the image of the psychobiological status in peripheral cells (i.e. blood lymphocytes) due to the morphofunctional unity of neuroendocrine and immune systems, (v) the significance of emic/ethic operations used in cultural anthropology. In this conceptual framework, transitions among migrants or within populations, following sudden changes in cultural patterns, are particular events that can also be very interesting for epidemiological research; they can leave the marks of underlying intertwined psychobehavioral, metabolic and immune physiology; they can also be informative as regards the modulation of autonomy, disability, morbidity and mortality curves.     

The effects of microwave heating on edible oils and lipid‐containing food

Lipids and lipid‐containing foods are particularly sensitive to microwave heating as the specific heat of lipids is low and thus they are quickly warmed up. Microwave heating mainly promotes lipid oxidation, but it can also cause lipolysis and polymerization. This cooking method can differently impact lipid oxidation depending on the treatment conditions used (power, temperature and time), as well as on food composition. This review provides a picture of the main degradation effects of microwave heating on vegetable oils and lipid‐containing foods with emphasis on both fatty acids and cholesterol oxidation.     

Cannabinoids Drugs and Oral Health—From Recreational Side-Effects to Medicinal Purposes: A Systematic Review

Background: marijuana, the common name for cannabis sativa preparations, is one of the most consumed drug all over the world, both at therapeutical and recreational levels. With the legalization of medical uses of cannabis in many countries, and even its recreational use in most of these, the prevalence of marijuana use has markedly risen over the last decade. At the same time, there is also a higher prevalence in the health concerns related to cannabis use and abuse. Thus, it is mandatory for oral healthcare operators to know and deal with the consequences and effects of cannabis use on oral cavity health. This review will briefly summarize the components of cannabis and the endocannabinoid system, as well as the cellular and molecular mechanisms of biological cannabis action in human cells and biologic activities on tissues. We will also look into oropharyngeal tissue expression of cannabinoid receptors, together with a putative association of cannabis to several oral diseases. Therefore, this review will elaborate the basic biology and physiology of cannabinoids in human oral tissues with the aim of providing a better comprehension of the effects of its use and abuse on oral health, in order to include cannabinoid usage into dental patient health records as well as good medicinal practice. Methods: the paper selection was performed by PubMed/Medline and EMBASE electronic databases, and reported according to the PRISMA guidelines. The scientific products were included for qualitative analysis. Results: the paper search screened a total of 276 papers. After the initial screening and the eligibility assessment, a total of 32 articles were considered for the qualitative analysis. Conclusions: today, cannabis consumption has been correlated to a higher risk of gingival and periodontal disease, oral infection and cancer of the oral cavity, while the physico-chemical activity has not been completely clarified. Further investigations are necessary to evaluate a therapeutic efficacy of this class of drugs for the promising treatment of several different diseases of the salivary glands and oral diseases.     

Multiregion bicentric-spheres models of the head for the simulation of bioelectric phenomena

Equations are derived for the electric potentials [electroencephalogram (EEG)] produced by dipolar sources in a multiregion bicentric-spheres volume-conductor head model. Being the equations valid for an arbitrary number of regions, our proposal is a generalization of many spherical models presented so far in literature, each of those regarded as a particular case of our multiregion model. Moreover, our approach allows considering new features of the head volume-conductor to better approximate electrical properties of the real head.