Using thermokinetic methods to enhance properties of epoxy resins with amino acids as biobased curing agents by achieving full crosslinking.

Fibre-reinforced polymers (FRPs) are used in numerous industrial sectors and contribute to reducing CO2 emissions due to their outstanding properties in lightweight design. However, sustainable alternatives must be developed since the matrix polymers utilised contain substances hazardous to health and the environment. In widely used epoxy resins, the curing agents are mainly critical. Using biomolecules instead of synthetic curing agents can significantly reduce composites' toxicity and petrol-based carbon content. This study considerably exceeds the thermo-mechanical properties of epoxies cured with amino acids described in the literature until now. It demonstrates competitive or even better properties than state-of-the-art epoxies cured with petrol-based amine curing agents. For instance, the tensile strength of arginine-cured epoxy is more than twice as high as reported before and 13.5% higher compared to the petrol-based reference. At the same time, a high elongation at break of over 6% was accomplished, making these polymers suitable as matrix materials in FRPs. Furthermore, the glass transition onset of up to 130 °C is sufficiently high for many applications. The key to success is the development of individual curing profiles based on thermokinetic analysis. The work provides the development and analysis of several biomolecule-cured epoxies with promising property spectra.

Ethics information retrieval in HTA: state of current practice.

OBJECTIVES: Though there have been longstanding discussions on the value of ethics in health technology assessment (HTA), less awareness exists on ethics information retrieval methods. This study aimed to scope available evidence and determine current practices for ethics information retrieval in HTA. METHODS: Literature searches were conducted in Ovid MEDLINE, LISTA, Scopus, and Google Scholar. Once a list of relevant articles was determined, citation tracking was conducted via Scopus. HTA agency websites were searched for published guidance on ethics searching, and for reports which included ethical analyses. Methods sections of each report were analyzed to determine the databases, subject headings, and keywords used in search strategies. The team also reached out to information specialists for insight into current search practices. RESULTS: Findings from this study indicate that there is still little published guidance from HTA agencies, few HTAs that contain substantial ethical analysis, and even less information on the methodology for ethics information retrieval. The researchers identified twenty-five relevant HTAs. Ten of these reports did not utilize subject-specific databases outside health sciences. Eight reports published ethics searches, with significant overlap in subject headings and text words. CONCLUSIONS: This scoping study of current practice in HTA ethics information retrieval highlights findings of previous studies-while ethics analysis plays a crucial role in HTA, methods for literature searching remain relatively unclear. These findings provide insight into the current state of ethics searching, and will inform continued work on filter development, database selection, and grey literature searching.

How We Might Further Integrate Considerations of Environmental Impact When Assessing the Value of Health Technologies.

There is growing awareness of the impact health technologies can have on the environment and the negative consequences of these environmental impacts on human health. However, health system decision-makers may lack the expertise, data, or resources to incorporate environmental considerations when making decisions about the adoption and use of health technologies. In this article, we describe how health technology assessment (HTA) is evolving to address climate change by providing health system decision-makers with the information they can use to reduce the impact of health care systems on the environment. Our objective is to consider approaches for including the environment domain when conducting an HTA-in particular, the use of the deliberative process-and for determining when the domain should be included. We explore the challenges of gathering the relevant data necessary to assess the environmental impact of a health technology, and we describe a "triage" approach for determining when an in-depth environmental impact assessment is warranted. We also summarize related initiatives from HTA agencies around the world.

Quality home visits: Activities to promote meaningful interactions.

Examination of and support for specific practices that promote high-quality home visiting are essential as family support programs continue to expand across the country. The current study used direct observation of 91 home visits across 41 home visitors to examine relations among interaction partners, content of the interactions, the home-visitors' activities, and quality of home-visitors' practices and family-members' engagement within programs funded by the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting program. More time spent in triadic interactions focused on child-related content, as measured by the Home Visit Rating Scale-Revised, was related to higher quality of family engagement in home visits, as measured with the Home Visit Observation Rating Scales. Time spent in adult-focused interactions and administrative tasks, however, was related to lower quality of home-visiting practices and family engagement. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

A medida que los programas de apoyo familiar continúan expandiéndose a lo largo del país, se hace esencial examinar y apoyar prácticas específicas que promueven la alta calidad de las visitas a casa. El presente estudio usó observaciones directas de 91 visitas a casa llevadas a cabo por 41 visitadores con el fin de examinar las relaciones entre la participación de todas las partes involucradas, el contenido de las interacciones, las actividades de los visitadores a casa, y la calidad tanto de las prácticas de los visitadores como de la participación de los miembros de la familia dentro de los programas subvencionados por MIECHV. Más tiempo empleado en interacciones tríadicas enfocadas en contenidos relacionados con el niño, tal como se midió por medio de las Escalas Revisadas de Evaluación de Visitas a Casa (HVOF-R; McBride y Peterson, 1996), estuvo relacionado con más alta calidad de la participación de la familia en las visitas a casa, tal como se midió por medio de las Escalas de Evaluación de la Observación de Visitas a Casa (HOVRS; Roggman et al., 2014). El tiempo empleado en interacciones enfocadas en los adultos y tareas administrativas, sin embargo, estuvo relacionado con más baja calidad de las prácticas de visita a casa y participación de la familia. Se discuten las implicaciones para la investigación y la práctica.

L'examen et le soutien de pratiques spécifiques qui promeuvent la visite à domicile de qualité sont essentiels alors que les programmes de soutien à famille continuent de se développer aux Etats-Unis. Cette étude a utilisé une observation directe de 91 visites à domicile effectuées par 41 visiteurs afin d'examiner les relations entre les partenaires d'interaction, le contenu des interactions, les activités des visiteurs ou visiteuses à domicile, et la qualité des pratiques des visiteurs ou visiteuses à domicile ainsi que l'engagement des membres de la famille au sein des programmes américains de visite à domicile subventionnés par le programme américain Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting. Plus de temps passé dans les interactions triadiques mettant l'accent sur le contenu lié à l'enfant tel qu'il est mesuré par la version révisée de l'Echelle d'Evaluation de la Visite à Domicile (HVOF-R; McBride & Peterson, 1996) a été lié à une plus grande qualité de l'engagement de la famille durant les visites à domicile telles qu'elles ont été mesurées au moyen des Echelles d'Evaluation de l'Observation de la Visite à Domicile (HOVRS; Roggman et al., 2014). Le temps passé en interactions avec les adultes et en tâches administratives étaient lié à des pratiques de visite à domicile et à un engagement familial de moindre qualité. Les implications pour les recherches et la pratique sont discutées.

Correction to: Triadic Interactions in MIECHV: Relations to Home Visit Quality.

The article "Triadic interactions in MIECHV: Relations to home visit quality", written by Carla A. Peterson, Kere Hughes-Belding, Neil Rowe, Liuran Fan, Melissa Walter, Leslie Dooley, Wen Wang and Chloe Steffensmeier, was originally published electronically on the publisher's internet portal (currently SpringerLink) on 12 June 2018 without open access. With the author(s)' decision to opt for Open Choice the copyright of the article changed on 9 July 2018 to

Triadic Interactions in MIECHV: Relations to Home Visit Quality.

Objectives This study was conducted to look inside home visits to examine active intervention ingredients used and their relations with ratings of home visit quality. In particular, triadic interactions that engage the home visitor, parent, and child together and provide a context for home visitors to facilitate parent-child interactions by observing, modeling and coaching behaviors that promote optimal child development were examined. Methods Observations were conducted to describe intervention activities (with the HVOF-R) and rate quality of home visit practices and engagement (with the HOVRS A+). Results Analyses revealed the majority of home visit time (71%) was spent in home visitor-parent interactions with only a small proportion of home visit time (17%) spent in triadic interactions and an even smaller proportion of time (2%) during which home visitors actively coached parent-child interactions. Amount of time spent in triadic interactions was related positively to quality ratings of home visit practices and engagement. Moreover, time spent coaching parent-child interactions uniquely predicted home visit quality after accounting for visit length and home visitor time spent observing and modeling. Conclusions for Practice Increasing the percentage of home visitors engage the parent and child in triadic interaction should be a focus for home visiting programs. Home visitors will likely need professional development and supervisory support to enhance their skills in coaching parent-child interactions during triadic interactions.

The application of a pre-positioned upper cervical traction mobilization to patients with painful active cervical rotation impairment: A case series.

BACKGROUND: Cervical mobilization and manipulation have been shown to improve cervical range of motion and pain. Cervical rotatory thrust manipulation has been associated with adverse patient reaction and damage to the V3 segment of the vertebral artery (VA). OBJECTIVE: To document and describe the effects of an upper cervical (UC) traction based mobilization on participants with restricted and painful cervical rotation and to document if the mobilization changed blood flow velocity through the vertebral artery. METHODS: This case series examined the effects of a traction based spinal mobilization on two different groups of participants. Group I included 93 participants with restricted bilateral cervical rotation that was also painful at end range. Group II included 30 different participants whose VA blood flow velocity was examined during the same mobilization. Pre- and post-mobilization active cervical rotation, pain intensity levels, and VA blood flow velocity during mobilization was documented. RESULTS: Paired T-tests were used to determine statistical significance for changes in cervical rotation, and VA blood flow velocity during mobilization. Ninety-three participants in group I demonstrated an average increase of 16 degrees of cervical rotation. No participant demonstrated an increase in pain, and no participant in group II (N= 30) demonstrated a change in VA blood flow velocity. CONCLUSIONS: The application this UC traction based mobilization improved active cervical rotation, end range rotation pain response, did not cause pain during its application and did not alter blood flow through the VA during application.

Amylose content in rice (Oryza sativa) affects performance, glycemic and lipidic metabolism in rats / Teor de amilose do arroz (Oryza sativa) afeta o desempenho, metabolismo glicêmico e lipídico em ratos

This research aimed at evaluating the effect of diets with high, intermediate and low amylose content of rice on performance, glycemic and lipidic metabolism in rats. Male Wistar rats were fed diets with grains of cooked rice of the cultivars 'IRGA 417', 'IRGA 416' and 'MOCHI' with high, intermediate and low amylose content, respectively. Wet and dry fecal production and serum HDL cholesterol were not affected by amylose content. The animals in the treatments with high amylose content ('IRGA 417') presented lower feed intake, body weight gain and apparent digestibility, higher fecal water content and nitrogen excretion, reduced fecal pH, lower postprandial blood glucose response, serum total cholesterol and triglycerides levels and pancreas weight, and higher fasting serum glucose concentration and liver weight. Amylose:amylopectin ratio significantly affects rice starch digestion in the gastrointestinal tract, affecting some biologically relevant parameters.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o efeito de dietas com alto, intermediário e baixo teor de amilose sobre o desempenho, metabolismo glicêmico e lipídico em ratos. Foram utilizados ratos machos Wistar alimentados com rações experimentais elaboradas com grãos de arroz cozido das cultivares 'IRGA 417', 'IRGA 416' e 'MOCHI' com alto, intermediário e baixo teores de amilose, respectivamente. A produção de fezes úmidas e secas e colesterol HDL não foram afetados pelo teor de amilose dos grãos. Os animais submetidos ao tratamento com alto teor de amilose (IRGA 417) apresentaram menores consumo, ganho de peso e digestibilidade aparente, maiores umidade nas fezes e excreção de nitrogênio, reduzido pH fecal, concentração plasmática posprandial de glicose, colesterol total, triglicerídeos e peso do pâncreas e maior concentração de glicose no jejum e peso do fígado. A proporção amilose e amilopectina nos grãos afeta significativamente a digestão do amido de arroz no trato gastrointestinal, afetando alguns parâmetros biologicamente relevantes.

Phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity of rice

The aim of this work was to study the phenolic compounds identified in rice, their antioxidant activity and their potential beneficial effects on health. In vitro and in vivo studies evaluating the rice grains with different pericarp colour (light brown, red and black) showed potential beneficial effects on health related to the polyphenol content of the grain, such as reduction of oxidative stress, aid in the prevention of cancer, cardiovascular diseases and complications of diabetes, among others.

Arroz: composição e características nutricionais / Rice: composition and nutritional characteristics

Devido à importância do arroz na dieta, sua composição e suas características nutricionais estão diretamente relacionadas à saúde da população. Este cereal constitui-se em fonte de energia, devido ao alto teor de amido, fornecendo também proteínas, lipídios, vitaminas e minerais. O presente trabalho de revisão objetivou examinar a composição do arroz, suas características nutricionais e o melhoramento destas através da genética. São observadas variações na composição do arroz, tanto devido ao genótipo quanto ao processamento, afetando as características nutricionais. O arroz apresenta efeito positivo na prevenção de diversas doenças crônicas devido a diferentes constituintes, e sua composição vem sendo melhorada através da genética, obtendo-se grãos com características nutricionais mais interessantes.

Due to the importance of rice in the diet, its composition and nutritional characteristics are related to human's health. This cereal is a source of energy, due to its high starch content, also providing proteins, lipids, vitamins and minerals. The present review aimed at examining rice composition, its nutritional characteristics, and the improvement of these characteristics through genetic modification. Variations in rice composition are observed due to genotype and processing, affecting nutritional characteristics. Rice has a positive effect on the prevention of several chronic diseases due to different constituents, and its composition has been improved through genetic modifications, resulting in grains with more interesting nutritional characteristics.

Resposta biológica de ratos ao amido resistente / Biological response of rats to resistant starch

O amido resistente (AR) vem sendo intensamente pesquisado nos últimos anos em função de seus efeitos benéficos, como redução da energia da dieta, aumento da produção de fezes e desenvolvimento de microrganismos benéficos no trato intestinal, entre outros. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a influência do AR da dieta sobre alguns parâmetros de resposta biológica. Foram utilizados ratos machos Wistar (97,1±5,3g) alimentados com rações experimentais suplementadas com 0, 3, 9 e 18% de AR. Os animais foram submetidos a um período de adaptação de 5 dias e, durante o período experimental (15 dias), foramo btidos dados e amostras para a determinação do consumo, ganho de peso, digestibilidade aparente da matéria seca e do amido, produção de fezes úmidas e secas, umidade, pH e nitrogênio nas fezes. A adição de AR às rações não influenciou o consumo, mas diminuiu significativamente o peso dos animais. A produção de fezes úmidas e secas foi significativamente maior em níveis de 9 e 18% de AR. O consumo de AR também aumentou significativamente o teor de umidade e de nitrogênio nas fezes, bem como diminuiuo pH fecal. Os efeitos observados neste trabalho podem ser essencialmente atribuídos à menor digestibilidade aparente do amido e a sua fermentação pela microflora intestinal, o que demonstra seu efeito benéfico no auxílio à manutenção da saúde

Amido resistente: características físico-químicas, propriedades fisiológicas e metodologias de quantificação / Resistant starch: physico-chemical characteristics, physiological properties and quantification methodologies

Encontrado em diversos alimentos, o amido é a mais importante fonte de carboidratos da dieta. Potencialmente digerível pelas enzimas no trato gastrintestinal, é absorvido na forma de glicose no intestino delgado. Apesar disso, quantidade significativa de amido pode escapar a esta digestão, alcançando o cólon, onde é fermentado pela flora bacteriana. Esta fração, conhecida como amido resistente, tem sido intensamente estudada nos últimos anos devido aos potenciais benefícios à saúde humana. Vários métodos são utilizados para a determinação do amido resistente. Porém, nenhum é de aceitação unânime, uma vez que apresentam diferenças importantes nos protocolos e nos resultados obtidos. Neste contexto, o presente trabalho visa fornecer subsídios para um melhor entendimento sobre as características físico-químicas, propriedades metabólicas e fisiológicas, bem como, sobre as variações nas metodologias existentes para a determinação do amido resistente.