Tomato as a Natural Source of Dyes in the Food Industry: A Patent Data Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Foods that promote health benefits are being increasingly used. Innovative techniques, such as nanotechnology, have been used to improve functional properties, sensory characteristics, or the conservation of foods. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to identify the technological domain of patents for tomato products with or without nanotechnology and elucidate the technological advances associated with the recent use of tomatoes as a natural food dye in the food industry by exploring patent documents. METHODS AND RESULTS: The search was conducted using the Espacenet and INPI databases. There was an increase in patent document applications employing nanotechnology in 2013, with a peak between 2017 and 2018. China is the lead country in the number of patent applications. In Brazil, the patent applications are variable, and the food industry is most involved in studies on tomatoes as a natural food dye. Most patent deposits using nanotechnology were from companies, and the main sources of the patent application were the food and pharmaceutical industries. CONCLUSION: There is an increasing trend for the use of tomatoes as natural food dyes, produced with or without nanotechnology, and number of patents filed yearly. New technologies are being developed in several application areas.

Anxiety, Depression, and Other Factors Associated With Voice Handicaps in Active Older People During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, older people had to remain isolated, which could cause not only anxiety and depression but also voice and communication problems and lifestyle, demographic, and socioeconomic changes. This study aimed to analyze the influence of anxiety and depression and other associated factors on the voice handicap of active older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. This cross-sectional and analytical research approached older people enrolled at a reference health care unit for this age group in Recife. Demographic, socioeconomic, and lifestyle data were surveyed with interviews. Mental health measures were obtained with the Self-Reporting Questionnaire, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and Geriatric Depression Scale. Voice handicap was assessed with the Voice Handicap Index. Analyses were performed with descriptive and inferential statistics. The study compared older people with lesser and greater voice handicaps, using the chi-square and Wald tests. The association was assessed according to the binary and multivariate logistic regression model. Altogether, 91 older people with a mean age of 69 years participated in the research, most of whom (54.9%) did not have voice handicaps. Trait anxiety (P = 0.031) and age (P = 0.036) were associated with voice handicaps. Active older adults with higher trait anxiety were five times as likely to have voice handicaps (odds ratio = 5.151) as those with low trait anxiety. Moreover, the ones with more advanced age were 10% more likely to have voice handicaps (odds ratio = 1.100) than younger participants. It is concluded that, during the pandemic, voice handicap in active older people was associated with trait anxiety and age.

A Patent Data Analysis in Nanotechnology Applied to Essential Oils.

BACKGROUND: Essential oils (EOs) are natural substances that serve as sources of bioactive compounds with antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. OBJECTIVE: This objective is to understand intellectual property related to patent documents on EOs and nanotechnology. METHODS: The nanotechnology growth curve applied to EOs demonstrated that the period from 2015 to 2017 was the most prominent, with a peak in 2016. China is the dominant country, mainly through research developed in the academic area. RESULTS: The food industry area had the highest number of patents filed, highlighting the preservation line. Ginger essential oil, chitosan and Tween 80 were preferentially used as a core, wall material, and emulsifier, respectively. In the market, the use of EOs is more associated with the pharmaceutical/ cosmetics industry. In addition, the food industry market bets more on products based on hemp oil nanocapsules. CONCLUSION: EO nanotechnology is promising for the development of sustainable food systems. However, this nanotechnology in Brazil has not yet advanced enough in the food industry, although there are government incentives that may change this paradigm in the future. The profile of the patent documents and the products in the market differ between the application and the types of oils. In addition, there is a gap between the volume of patent documents investigated and the transfer of technology to the commercial sector, but this constitution could be better explored, given the properties of EOs.

Prospective Study on Microencapsulation of Oils and Its Application in Foodstuffs.

BACKGROUND: Edible oils have gained the interest of several industrial sectors for the different health benefits they offer, such as the supply of bioactive compounds and essential fatty acids. Microencapsulation is one of the techniques that has been adopted by industries to minimize the degradation of oils, facilitating their processing. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the intellectual property related to patent documents referring to microencapsulated oils used in foods. METHODS: This prospective study investigated the dynamics of patents filed in the Espacenet and National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) databases, and it mapped technological developments in microencapsulation in comparison with scientific literature. RESULTS: The years 2015 and 2018 showed the greatest growth in the number of patents filed in the Espacenet and INPI databases, respectively, with China leading the domains of origin, inventors, and owners of microencapsulation technology. The largest number of applications of microcapsules were observed in the food industry, and the foods containing microencapsulated oils were powdered seasonings, dairy products, rice flour, nutritional formulae, pasta, nutritional supplements, and bread. The increase in oxidative stabilities of oils was the most cited objective to microencapsulate oils. Spray drying was the most widely used microencapsulation technique, and maltodextrin, gum arabic, and modified starch were the most widely used wall materials. CONCLUSION: Microencapsulation of oils has been expanding over the years and increasing the possibilities of the use of microcapsules, but further investments and development of policies and incentive programs to boost this technology need to be made in less developed countries. For future perspectives, the microencapsulation technique is already a worldwide trend in the food industry, enabling the development of new products to facilitate their insertion in the consumer market.

Factors associated with the use of health services by elderly men in Brazil: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Studies have shown that older men use health services less frequently than women do. However, there has been little scientific research on this subject, making it necessary to investigate the influence of various factors on the profile of health service use by this population. This study aims to analyze both the profile of health service utilization by elderly Brazilian men and associated factors. METHOD: A population-based cross-sectional study with a secondary database from the National Health Survey (2013) were used. A total of 10,536 male individuals aged 60 years or over were included. The dependent variable was composed of the research questions related to the Use of Health Services, grouped and categorized through the Latent Class Analysis. The independent variables were the factors of predisposition, capacity and health need, organized according to a theoretical model. The association measures were performed by the Rao-Scott test and those of effect by simple and multiple models of multinomial logistic regression. The level of significance was 5%. RESULTS: The use of health services was marked by the predominance of sporadic medical appointments in the year previous to the study. It was observed that elderly men from the North, Northeast and Midwest regions, those who were illiterate, those without private health insurance, those who had been diagnosed as having a disease, those with functional difficulties and those with a perception of their health status as very poor had been reluctant to use health services of medium and high complexity in the previous 2 weeks, or accept hospitalization. In the previous year, they had consulted their doctor only sporadically. CONCLUSION: It was noted that unfavorable social issues affected the profile of health service utilization and that the health care of the elderly Brazilian man is centered on the disease and on curative and rehabilitative attention. In this context, intra- and inter-sectorial policies and actions should encourage early contact of the elderly male population with the health services, especially Primary Care services.

Quality of Life, Integrative Community Therapy, Family Support, and Satisfaction with Health Services Among Elderly Adults with and without Symptoms of Depression.

The aim of this cross-sectional study was to analyse quality of life, socio-demographic characteristics, family support, satisfaction with health services, and effect of integrative community therapy among non-institutionalised elderly adults with and without symptoms of depression in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. Data from elderly adults with (n = 59) and without (n = 61) depressive symptoms were compared. The instruments used were the Mini-Mental State Examination, the short version of the Geriatric Depression Scale, a clinical socio-demographic questionnaire, the abbreviated version of the World Health Organisation Quality of Life questionnaire, the Family Assessment Device, and the Patient Satisfaction with Mental Health Services Rating Scale. Elderly adults with depressive symptoms had lower quality of life in the social relations domain than did those without depressive symptoms (p = 0.003). In addition, compared with those without depression, fewer elderly adults with depressive symptoms attended integrative community therapy (p = 0.04); they also reported a low degree of family involvement in problem solving (p = 0.04) and showed apathy regarding their satisfaction with health services (p = 0.007). These results have important implications in the decision-making process with regard to strategies for improving the health status of elderly adults with depressive symptoms.

Quality of life in patients with schizophrenia: the impact of socio-economic factors and adverse effects of atypical antipsychotics drugs.

This cross-sectional study compared the effects of treatment with atypical antipsychotic drugs on quality of life (QoL) and side effects in 218 patients with schizophrenia attending the ambulatory services of psychiatric in Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. Socio-economic variables were compared. The five-dimension EuroQoL (EQ-5D) was used to evaluate QoL, and side effects were assessed using the Udvalg for Kliniske Undersøgelser (UKU) Side Effect Rating Scale and the Simpson-Angus Scale. Data were analysed using the χ (2) test and Student's t test, with a significance level of 5 %. Average monthly household incomes in the medication groups were 1.1-2.1 minimum wages ($339-$678). UKU Scale scores showed significant differences in side effects, mainly, clozapine, quetiapine and ziprasidone (p < 0.05). EQ-5D scores showed that all drugs except olanzapine significantly impacted mobility (p < 0.05), and proportions of individuals reporting problems in other dimensions were high: 63.6 % of clozapine users reported mobility problems, 63.7 and 56.3 % of clozapine and ziprasidone users, respectively, had difficulties with usual activities, 68.8 and 54.5 % of ziprasidone and clozapine users, respectively, experienced pain and/or discomfort, and 72.8 % of clozapine users reported anxiety and/or depression. Psychiatric, neurological, and autonomous adverse effects, as well as other side effects, were prevalent in users of atypical antipsychotic drugs, especially clozapine and ziprasidone. Olanzapine had the least side effects. QoL was impacted by side effects and economic conditions in all groups. Thus, the effects of these antipsychotic agents appear to have been masked by aggravating social and economic situations.