Analysis of work-related ailments affecting physiotherapists.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: The profession of a physiotherapist is associated with various risks related to manual work, repetitive activities, an uncomfortable prolonged position of joints in some body postures forced by the work, and the standing position, which all impose considerable load on the upper and lower extremities and the spine. The aim of the study was to analyse ailments reported by physiotherapists in relation to their age, gender, seniority, the number of working hours per day, and body position during work. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study involved 120 physiotherapists working in various types of employment. The research was carried out using an author-design questionnaire based on the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire. The occurrence of the ailments was analysed in relation to respondents' age, gender, seniority, number of working hours per day, and body position during work. An analysis of the relationships between the variables was carried out. The analysis of qualitative variables was performed using the χ2 test. RESULTS: The results showed that the majority of physiotherapists complained of fatigue (78.8%), leg pain (61.9%), spine pain (60.2%), headache (59.3%), and shoulder pain (52.5%). It was shown that such symptoms as fatigue, dizziness, leg pain, finger pain, headache, wrist pain, drowsiness, and numbness, were correlated with age. CONCLUSIONS: The pain symptoms reported by the surveyed physiotherapists affected different parts of the body and appeared with different frequency and intensity. The majority of the physiotherapists declared problems with the lower spine, neck, wrists, hands, upper spine, and shoulders. Thigh pain was the most commonly reported symptom, whereas neck pain was reported the least frequently. The lower spine and ankles were indicated as body areas with the most severe and the weakest pain, respectively.

Impact of Incorporating Dried Chaga Mushroom (Inonotus obliquus) into Gluten-Free Bread on Its Antioxidant and Sensory Characteristics.

Gluten-free bread is increasingly popular among individuals with celiac disease, and The incorporation of mushroom flour offers a novel method to enhance its nutritional profile, antioxidant content, and sensory properties. This study aimed to evaluate the antioxidant and sensory characteristics of gluten-free bread with varying amounts of chaga mushroom flour (5%, 10%, 15%, 20%). The total contents of polyphenols and flavonoids were measured using a spectrophotometric method. Antioxidant activity was assessed through DPPH and FRAP methods, while textural properties were evaluated using the TPA test. Bread colour was analysed using the CIELab system, and sensory evaluation was performed by a panel of trained consumers. The results showed that gluten-free bread enriched with chaga flour had increased polyphenol and flavonoid content and enhanced antioxidant activity. The highest levels of polyphenols, flavonoids, DPPH, and FRAP activity were found in bread with 20% chaga. The addition of chaga mushroom significantly affected the bread's hardness, cohesiveness, and chewiness. Specifically, 20% chaga flour had the most pronounced effect on hardness and elasticity, while 15% chaga flour had the greatest impact on chewiness and cohesiveness. The bread's colour darkened with higher chaga concentrations. The results of sensory evaluation showed a negative correlation between consumer preferences and bread fortified with chaga mushroom flour. The overall consumer acceptability score indicates that only a small addition of mushroom flour (up to 10%) can be used to bake gluten-free bread.

Green Synthesis of Iron Nanoparticles Using an Aqueous Extract of Strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duchesne) Leaf Waste.

In this study, we analysed the potential use of dried strawberry leaves and calyces for the production of nanoparticles using inorganic iron compounds. We used the following iron precursors FeCl3 × 6H2O, FeCl2 × 4H2O, Fe(NO3)3 × 9H2O, Fe2(SO4)3 × H2O, FeSO4 × 7H2O, FeCl3 anhydrous. It was discovered that the content of polyphenols and flavonoids in dried strawberries and their antioxidant activity in DPPH and FRAP were 346.81 µM TE/1 g and 331.71 µM TE/1 g, respectively, and were similar to these of green tea extracts. Microimages made using TEM techniques allowed for the isolation of a few nanoparticles with dimensions ranging from tens of nanometres to several micrometres. The value of the electrokinetic potential in all samples was negative and ranged from -21,300 mV to -11,183 mV. XRF analyses confirmed the presence of iron ranging from 0.13% to 0.92% in the samples with a concentration of 0.01 mol/dm3. FT-IR spectra analyses showed bands characteristic of nanoparticles. In calorimetric measurements, no increase in temperature was observed in any of the tests during exposure to the electromagnetic field. In summary, using the extract from dried strawberry leaves and calyxes as a reagent, we can obtain iron nanoparticles with sizes dependent on the concentration of the precursor.

Effect of the duty cycle of the ultrasonic processor on the efficiency of extraction of phenolic compounds from Sorbus intermedia.

This paper studies the effect of different ultrasonic parameters on the yield of extraction and antioxidant activity of selected phenolic compounds from Sorbus intermedia berries. The sonication was carried out in two modes: continuous and pulse. In the pulse mode, the samples were sonicated with the following processor settings: 1 s on-2 s off. The effective ultrasonic processor times were 5, 10, and 15 min, and the total extraction times were 15, 30, and 45 min. The results showed that the duty cycle significantly affected the antioxidant activity of the extracts and the yield of chlorogenic acid, rutin, and total flavonoids. Compared to the continuous mode, the pulse ultrasound increased the extraction yield of rutin by 5-27%, chlorogenic acid by 12-29%, and total flavonoids by 8-42%. The effect of the duty cycle on the extraction yield was dependent on the intensity and duration of the ultrasound treatment. The mechanism of the influence of the pulsed ultrasound field on the extraction process has been elucidated. This research clearly demonstrated the superiority of pulsed ultrasound-assisted extraction for production of antioxidants from Sorbus intermedia berries.

Influence of ultrasound on selected microorganisms, chemical and structural changes in fresh tomato juice.

The paper presents the possibility of applying ultrasonic technology for inactivation of mesophilic aerobic microorganisms, lactic acid bacteria, coliform bacteria, and yeast with the maintenance of the chemical and structural properties of tomato juice. The research was conducted on fresh tomato juice obtained from the Apis F1 variety. Pressed juice was exposed to high power ultrasound and frequency 20 kHz with three operational parameters: ultrasound intensity (28 and 40 W cm-2), treatment time (2, 5, and 10 min), and product storage time (1, 4, 7 and 10 days). The temperature of the juice during the sonication ranged from 37 to 52 °C depending on the intensity of ultrasound and time of treatment. Effectiveness of the tested microorganisms eradication in the juice depended on the amplitude and duration of the ultrasound treatment. It was shown that the juice exposed to an ultrasonic field with an intensity of 40 W cm-2 for 10 min was microbiologically pure and free from spoilage microorganism even after 10 storage days. No statistically significant differences in pH were found between the untreated juice and the sonicated samples. The ultrasonic treatment was found to change the content of lycopene in small degree (both an increase and a decrease, depending on the processing time) and to induce a small decrease in the vitamin C content. The study suggests that the ultrasonic treatment can be successfully implemented on an industrial scale for the production of not-from-concentrate (NFC) tomato juice.

Possibility to extend the shelf life of NFC tomato juice using cold atmospheric pressure plasma.

Cold Atmospheric pressure Plasma (CAP) is a non-thermal method used in food processing. CAP generated with the use of nitrogen in a Glide-arc device for 300 to 600 s exhibited high potential for microbial decontamination and did not induce substantial changes in the physicochemical properties of NFC tomato juice. Samples exposed to cold atmospheric plasma had mostly an intact structure, as revealed by digital microscopy. The investigations indicate that CAP can be applied for biological and chemical waste-free decontamination of food and extension of its shelf life.

Effect of the black chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa (Michx.) Elliott) juice acquisition method on the content of polyphenols and antioxidant activity.

The primary objective of the study was to determine the effect of process conditions on extraction efficiency and the total amount of released polyphenols and antioxidant activity (AA) in black chokeberry juice. The study samples were fruits of black chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa (Michx.) Elliott) cv. Galicjanka. In the study, two kinds of presses-piston press and twin gear juice extractor-were used, and two raw material pretreatment methods-freezing and thawing and enzymatic liquefaction-were applied. The study showed that pressing efficiency depends on the design of press and the nature of pretreatment. The highest pressing efficiency was obtained using the twin gear juice extractor. Enzymatic liquefaction of shredded fruits significantly increased the efficiency of pressing by the piston press. The type of press and the pretreatment method used had an effect on the quality traits of the extracted juices. The highest content of soluble solids was obtained for fruits not subjected to any pretreatment and pressed using the twin gear press. The highest total phenolic content was obtained in juice extracted using the piston press from shredded fruits subjected to enzymatic treatment at 45°C. A higher total phenolic content was also a characteristic of juice obtained from fruits not subjected to any pretreatment and extracted using the twin gear press. The capacity of the black chokeberry juices for free radical quenching oscillated around the level of approximately 90%. The study showed that the application of suitable processing methods is necessary for the acquisition of products with desirable quality traits.

Application of Freezing and Thawing in Apple (Malus domestica) Juice Extraction.

The paper presents the results of the research on the impact of enzymatic liquefaction, freezing and thawing on the efficiency of juice pressure extraction from apple pulp and quality of the obtained juices. The research was conducted using three types of pretreatment prior the pressing: crushing and enzymatic liquefaction in temperature of 25 °C, crushing and enzymatic liquefaction in temperature of 45 °C and crushing followed by freezing and thawing of the pulp. The study included three varieties of apples. The juice was obtained using a laboratory basket press. It was determined that the pretreatment of the pulp as well as the varietal characteristics of the fruits have a significant impact on the efficiency of the pressure extraction process. The enzymatic treatment of the pulp, irrespective of the temperature at which it was conducted, significantly increased the efficiency of the process. No effect of the temperature (25 or 45 °C) of enzymatic treatment on the efficiency of the pressure extraction process was found. Pretreatment of the pulp based on freezing and thawing contributes to the increase of efficiency of pressing in the case of two apple cultivars, that is, Idared and Red Delicious. It was showed that total phenolic content, antioxidant activity, the soluble solids content and juice acidity (pH) depend on the pretreatment of the pulp and the varietal characteristics of apples. Following the application of pretreatment of the pulp, an increase was observed in the content of polyphenols and in the antioxidant activity of the juices obtained.