Measuring the effects of a hydrogen peroxide mouth rinse on breath alcohol values.

The high consumption of alcoholic drinks has become acceptable in many societies and is often promoted by commercials. Unfortunately, many people risk their lives by driving drunk. They even try to outsmart breathalyzer tests, for example, using a novel procedure based on the partial oxidation of expired breathed ethanol after rinsing the mouth with diluted hydrogen peroxide. To check the validity of this procedure, the different variables involved in the process were tested: the type of alcoholic beverage, the amount of ethanol swallowed, and the time elapsed between consumption and mouth rinsing. Our ultimate aim was to measure the effects of this process. If the mouth rinse succeeds in masking a drinker's true alcohol level, then further study of possible remedies is needed to prevent such fraud. However, if the rinsing proves to have no effect, then this work could help strengthen the integrity of the breathalyzer test and its ability to deter drivers from overdrinking. The final conclusion, after all the experiments, is that a reduction in the alcohol level is observed with the use of hydrogen peroxide as a mouthwash before performing a breathalyzer test.

IoT Technologies in Chemical Analysis Systems: Application to Potassium Monitoring in Water.

The in-line determination of chemical parameters in water is of capital importance for environmental reasons. It must be carried out frequently and at a multitude of points; thus, the ideal method is to utilize automated monitoring systems, which use sensors based on many transducers, such as Ion Selective Electrodes (ISE). These devices have multiple advantages, but their management via traditional methods (i.e., manual sampling and measurements) is rather complex. Wireless Sensor Networks have been used in these environments, but there is no standard way to take advantage of the benefits of new Internet of Things (IoT) environments. To deal with this, an IoT-based generic architecture for chemical parameter monitoring systems is proposed and applied to the development of an intelligent potassium sensing system, and this is described in detail in this paper. This sensing system provides fast and simple deployment, interference rejection, increased reliability, and easy application development. Therefore, in this paper, we propose a method that takes advantage of Cloud services by applying them to the development of a potassium smart sensing system, which is integrated into an IoT environment for use in water monitoring applications. The results obtained are in good agreement (correlation coefficient = 0.9942) with those of reference methods.

A New Ammonium Smart Sensor with Interference Rejection.

In many water samples, it is important to determine the ammonium concentration in order to obtain an overall picture of the environmental impact of pollutants and human actions, as well as to detect the stage of eutrophization. Ion selective electrodes (ISEs) have been commonly utilized for this purpose, although the presence of interfering ions (potassium and sodium in the case of NH4+-ISE) represents a handicap in terms of the measurement quality. Furthermore, random malfunctions may give rise to incorrect measurements. Bearing all of that in mind, a smart ammonium sensor with enhanced features has been developed and tested in water samples, as demonstrated and commented on in detail following the presentation of the complete set of experimental measurements that have been successfully carried out. This has been achieved through the implementation of an expert system that supervises a set of ISEs in order to (a) avoid random failures and (b) reject interferences. Our approach may also be suitable for in-line monitoring of the water quality through the implementation of wireless sensor networks.

From the Laboratory to the Kitchen: New Alternatives to Healthier Bakery Products.

Due to the growing interest in improving the nutritional profile of bakery products, we have dealt with the most recent and relevant contributions regarding potential replacements for carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. Focusing on the influence of carbohydrates on metabolism, their excess implies obesity, diabetes and tooth decay. However, they are technologically important, since they are responsible for the structure of many bakery products. Regarding of the lipid profile, saturated fats have a great impact on the appearance of cardiovascular disease. Fortunately, nature and the food industry offer alternatives to traditional oils/butters with large amounts of omega 3 and other components that can mitigate these problems. Other relevant aspects are related to allergies concerning egg proteins, gluten or even requirements for vegan consumers. Several studies have been performed in this line, replacing eggs with milk serum, different mucilages obtained from legumes or some gums, etc. In conclusion, many papers have been published showing the possibility of successfully replacing (both at technological and sensory levels) less healthy ingredients with others that are nutritionally better. The challenge now is to combine these better components in a given product, as well as to evaluate possible interactions among them.

A New Application of Internet of Things and Cloud Services in Analytical Chemistry: Determination of Bicarbonate in Water.

In a constantly evolving world, new technologies such as Internet of Things (IoT) and cloud-based services offer great opportunities in many fields. In this paper we propose a new approach to the development of smart sensors using IoT and cloud computing, which open new interesting possibilities in analytical chemistry. According to IoT philosophy, these new sensors are able to integrate the generated data on the existing IoT platforms, so that information may be used whenever needed. Furthermore, the utilization of these technologies permits one to obtain sensors with significantly enhanced features using the information available in the cloud. To validate our new approach, a bicarbonate IoT-based smart sensor has been developed. A classical CO2 ion selective electrode (ISE) utilizes the pH information retrieved from the cloud and then provides an indirect measurement of bicarbonate concentration, which is offered to the cloud. The experimental data obtained are compared to those yielded by three other classical ISEs, with satisfactory results being achieved in most instances. Additionally, this methodology leads to lower-consumption, low-cost bicarbonate sensors capable of being employed within an IoT application, for instance in the continuous monitoring of HCO3- in rivers. Most importantly, this innovative application field of IoT and cloud approaches can be clearly perceived as an indicator for future developments over the short-term.

On-line monitoring of food fermentation processes using electronic noses and electronic tongues: a review.

Fermentation processes are often sensitive to even slight changes of conditions that may result in unacceptable end-product quality. Thus, close follow-up of this type of processes is critical for detecting unfavorable deviations as early as possible in order to save downtime, materials and resources. Nevertheless the use of traditional analytical techniques is often hindered by the need for expensive instrumentation and experienced operators and complex sample preparation. In this sense, one of the most promising ways of developing rapid and relatively inexpensive methods for quality control in fermentation processes is the use of chemical multisensor systems. In this work we present an overview of the most important contributions dealing with the monitoring of fermentation processes using electronic noses and electronic tongues. After a brief description of the fundamentals of both types of devices, the different approaches are critically commented, their strengths and weaknesses being highlighted. Finally, future trends in this field are also mentioned in the last section of the article.

Review: highlights in recent applications of electronic tongues in food analysis.

This paper examines the main features of modern electronic tongues (e-tongues) and their most important applications in food analysis in this new century. The components of an e-tongue (automatic sampler, array of chemical sensors, and data processing system) are described. Applications commented include process monitoring, freshness evaluation and shelf-life investigation, authenticity assessment, foodstuff recognition, quantitative analysis, and other quality control studies. Finally, some interesting remarks concerning the strengths and weaknesses of e-tongues in food analysis are also mentioned.

A 21st century technique for food control: electronic noses.

This work examines the main features of modern electronic noses (e-noses) and their most important applications in food control in this new century. The three components of an electronic nose (sample handling system, detection system, and data processing system) are described. Special attention is devoted to the promising mass spectrometry based e-noses, due to their advantages over the more classical gas sensors. Applications described include process monitoring, shelf-life investigation, freshness evaluation, authenticity assessment, as well as other general aspects of the utilization of electronic noses in food control. Finally, some interesting remarks concerning the strengths and weaknesses of electronic noses in food control are also mentioned.

A protracted outbreak of Staphylococcus epidermidis infections among patients undergoing valve replacement.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate a Staphylococcus epidermidis outbreak among patients undergoing cardiac surgery. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SETTING: A 260-bed community referral center. PATIENTS: Case-patients were patients with S. epidermidis mediastinitis, endocarditis, or both after valve implantation at Hospital de La Ribera from January to June 2002. The study population included patients undergoing valve surgery at Hospital de La Ribera from January 2000 to June 2002. RESULTS: From January to June 2002, 8 cases of mediastinitis, endocarditis, or both occurred among 53 patients undergoing cardiac surgery. In the same months of 2000, there had been no cases among 22 patients, and in 2001, only 1 case among 47 patients (P = .095 and P = .034, respectively). In 2002, there were 4 cases of mediastinitis and endocarditis, 3 cases of mediastinitis, and 1 case of endocarditis, all following aortic valve replacement. The epidemic curve suggested a protracted outbreak. Patients with chronic obstructive lung disease were six-fold more likely to be case-patients (95% confidence interval, 1.6-23.8). The mean duration of surgery tended to be longer in non-case-patients (161.4 +/- 57.9 minutes) than in case-patients (123.7 +/- 23.7 minutes) (P = .06). CONCLUSION: The cause of this protracted outbreak was likely multifactorial. Reemphasis of existing policies was associated with resolution of the outbreak.

[Two first years' bacteremia incidence and impact in a new hospital]. / Incidencia e impacto de las bacteriemias durante los dos primeros años de apertura de un nuevo hospital.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: We pursued here to determine the incidence of blood-stream infections. PATIENTS AND METHOD: Longitudinal descriptive study. All patients admitted to hospital from January 1999 to December 2000 were included. Blood-stream infection episodes were defined according to CDC criteria. Blood-stream infection prevalence and incidence density (ID), nosocomial primary blood-stream infection attributable to intravascular devices intravascular devices and population attributable fraction were estimated. RESULTS: Overall blood-stream infection ID was 1.3 por 1,000 patient-years. Nosocomial blood-stream infection represented 1.1 per 1,000 patient-days. Nosocomial primary blood-stream infection attributable risk was 54.3%, population attributable risk was 49.8% and population attributable fraction was 86.6%. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of blood-stream infection was similar to that reported by other centers. The impact of intravascular devices on nosocomial blood-stream infections in our hospital was high

Incidencia e impacto de las bacteriemias durante los dos primeros años de apertura de un nuevo hospital / Two first years' bacteremia incidence and impact in a new hospital

FUNDAMENTO Y OBJETIVO: Estudiar la incidencia de la bacteriemia durante los dos primeros años desde la apertura de un nuevo hospital. PACIENTES Y MÉTODO: Estudio descriptivo longitudinal. Se estudió a todos los pacientes que acudieron al hospital durante 19992000. Se definió bacteriemia según criterios de los Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Fueron calculadas la prevalencia y densidad de incidencia (DI) de bacteriemia, incidencia de bacteriemia primaria nosocomial atribuible a catéter intravascular (CIV) y fracción atribuible poblacional. RESULTADOS: La DI de bacteriemia global fue 1,3 por 1.000 pacientes-años. La bacteriemia nosocomial representó 1,1 por 1.000 pacientes-días. La incidencia de bacteriemia primaria nosocomial atribuible a CIV fue del 54,3 por ciento, y la fracción atribuible poblacional, del 86,6 por ciento. CONCLUSIONES: La incidencia de bacteriemia es equivalente a la observada en otros hospitales. En nuestro centro, el impacto del CIV en la bacteriemia nosocomial es elevado. (AU)

Synthesis and biological properties of the seven alanine-modified analogues of the marine cyclopeptide hymenamide C.

The synthesis and biological activity of the marine cyclopeptide hymenamide C(1), showing an inhibitory effect on human neutrophil elastase degranulation release, were recently described. Based on this result, it was decided to undertake a systematic structure-activity relationship study of this cyclopeptide, based on the Ala-scan technique, in order to obtain useful information for the rational design of additional analogues. The synthesis and characterization of the seven Ala modified analogues are reported and their biological and pharmacological properties are described.