RESUMO
Solanesol, the precursor for the synthesis of coenzyme Q10, is currently recovered from tobacco leaves by conventional extraction techniques that require multiple purification steps and a large amount of organic solvents. We recently identified tomato leaves as an alternative source of solanesol and hypothesized that a high-pressure CO2 extraction could be used as a clean extraction process. The effect of CO2 pressure and temperature on the extraction of solanesol was determined to achieve high yield and purity. It was found that solanesol could be extracted efficiently by subcritical CO2 at 25 °C from tomato leaves. The extract contained 40% solanesol and other active compounds such as vitamin K1. A higher level of purity of 93% was achieved using a secondary purification step. Different conventional methods for solanesol extraction was compared to determine the most efficient technique for production of solanesol from tomato leaf. The highest yield of solanesol was achieved at nearly 1% dry weight with using subcritical CO2, which was superior to conventional methods.
RESUMO
BACKGROUND: The scholastic achievement of children with cochlear implants is one of the most important determinants of recipients' quality of life after cochlear implantation. The present study aimed to study the scholastic achievement of 27 children with cochlear implants attending mainstream schools and to compare their scholastic performance to their normal-hearing peers. METHODS: From 30 children living in Tehran with an average age of 40 months at the time of cochlear implantation at our center, 27 participated in this study. The results of children's examinations and their performance in Persian literature, mathematics, and dictation in comparison to their normal peers and their overall scholastic performance during final examinations were the two measures utilized to assess the children's school performance. Parents reported their children's medical and educational history, characteristics of the family, and their participation in their children's therapy by completing questionnaires. RESULTS: Mean score was 18.84 (SD=2.86) for mathematics, 19.18 (SD=1.59) for Persian literature, 19.35 (SD=1.36) for dictation, and 19.19 (SD=1.54) for overall academic performance. Compared to their normal-hearing classmates, most children with cochlear implants had an above- average performance in mathematics, Persian literature, and dictation (59.3%, 66.7%, and 74.1%, respectively). The overall examination results showed that nearly half of them (48.1%) performed above average. CONCLUSION: The results of this study well indicate that children with cochlear implants can achieve a satisfactory scholastic performance in mainstream schools with their implant duration as the most important factor determining postimplant outcomes.
