Effect of UV Irradiation on the Nutritional Quality and Cytotoxicity of Apple Juice.

UV-C irradiation operating at 254 nm wavelength on the polyphenolic and vitamin contents of apple juice including cytotoxicity analysis was studied. UV doses ranging from 0 to 150 mJ·cm-2 were selected for the treatments. Polyphenols (catechin, epicatechin, chlorogenic acid, and phloridzin) and vitamins (riboflavin, thiamine hydrochloride, pyridoxal hydrochloride, pyridoxine, pyridoxamine dihydrochloride, cyanocobalamin, choline chloride, biotin, niacin, and niacinamide) were chemically profiled. It was observed that UV treatment of apple juice at disinfection doses caused minor reductions (p < 0.05) in the concentrations of two main polyphenols (i.e., chlorogenic acid and epicatechin). In contrast, significant (p < 0.05) decreases in vitamin concentrations were observed (p < 0.05). The irradiated juice was evaluated for cytotoxic effects. The irradiated apple juice showed no cytotoxic effects on normal intestinal cells, and both irradiated and nonirradiated samples are significantly comparable in inhibiting the growth of human colon cancer cells. Overall, these results indicated that UV-C treatment of apple juice neither significantly degraded polyphenols nor generated cytotoxic compounds.

[Asthma and scuba diving Absolute contraindication? in all asthma patients?]. / Asthme et pratique de la plongée sous-marine.

Physical and psychological fitness are required for scuba diving, leading to medical contraindications in certain subjects. Asthma, a condition exhibiting increasing prevalence in the general population is currently considered an absolute contraindication for scuba diving by the French Federation for Submarine Sports and Education (FFESSM). There is however no documented evidence demonstrating a higher risk in asthmatic divers. Our English-speaking colleagues have suggested that certain asthmatic subjects could participate in scuba diving sports under certain conditions without any higher risk compared with non-asthmatic divers. We recall here the impact of diving on respiratory function and potential consequences in asthmatic subjects, proposing that the formal contraindication against scuba diving should be maintained for asthmatic patients who experience frequent symptoms (step 2 or more of the International Consensus Report on Diagnosis and Treatment of Asthma) and/or have a baseline obstructive syndrome. It would appear reasonable to discuss the contraindication concerning patients with rare acute episodes and who have a perfectly normal respiratory function. The question of bronchodilator inhalation prior to diving may be a question to debate. However, such a proposal cannot be considered to be valid unless well-conducted studies of the clinical manifestations are available (frequency and severity of the acute episodes, triggering factors) for the diver candidate. Because of the highly restrictive nature of the contraindication notification and the absence of arguments backing up the decision, the question should be put to competent authorities (sports federations, learned societies) in order to ascertain the pathophysiological mechanisms involved and collect reliable epidemiological data before proposing a consensus discussion. This process may lead to the delivery of scuba diving authorizations for selected asthmatic subjects without a higher risk than non-asthmatic subjects.

Convex polytopes and quantization of symplectic manifolds.

Quantum mechanics associate to some symplectic manifolds M a quantum model Q(M), which is a Hilbert space. The space Q(M) is the quantum mechanical analogue of the classical phase space M. We discuss here relations between the volume of M and the dimension of the vector space Q(M). Analogues for convex polyhedra are considered.

Propsonina em criancas desnutridas com septicemia. / Propsonine in undernourished children with septicemia

Os autores utilizaram no IPPMG da UFRJ um produto novo, a propsonina, em 32 criancas desnutridas apresentando quadro de septicemia ou infeccao, como coadjuvante de terapeutica antimicrobiana convencional quando esta nao atuou eficazmente. Comparando este grupo com 32 criancas de um grupo-controle, os autores viram que o periodo de internacao foi mais curto e a taxa de mortalidade baixou sensivelmente.Nao houve colateral em um total de duzentas e oitenta e duas doses administradas.Fundamentados neste trabalho inicial os autores, puderam tirar algumas conclusoes interessantes como a importancia do aleitamento materno, o grau de desnutricao e a faixa etaria, contribuindo para maior frequencia de septicemia em criancas. Terminam os autores achando que deveriam aumentar o numero de casos para futura analise estatistica e conlusoes definitivas

Transfusao de sangue contaminado. / Contaminated blood transfusion

Relatamos o caso de um lactentes de dois meses e quinze dias de vida, internado em uma clinica por bronquiolite onde recebeu uma transfusao mal indicada de globulos vermelhos concentrados e que desafortunadamente estavam contaminados. Esta crianca apresentava quadro grave de septicemia por Pseudomonas aeruginosa a internacao no IPPMG. Tratando-se de uma latrogenia, sem resposta ao tratamento antimicrobiano convencional, usamos com septicemia, com bons resultados e sem efeitos colaterais. Apos introducao da Propsonina houve melhora progressiva do quadro clinico, indicando que seu uso foi importante para evolucao, cura e prognostico

Symmetry and causality properties of physical fields.

Representations of groups of causality-preserving transformations on locally Minkowskian space-times, by actions on classes of wave functions of designated transformation properties, are analyzed, in extension of the conventional theoretical treatment of free relativistic particles. In particular, the constraints of positivity of the energy and finiteness of propagation velocity are developed, and the concept of mass is explored, within the indicated framework.