Elimination of pesticide residues from virgin olive oil by ultraviolet light: preliminary results.

Virgin olive oil is one of the essential products for the economy of Mediterranean countries. The possible residues of pesticides that can reach the oil may be a risk to public health, thus causing the prohibition of its marketing by the health authorities. This paper is a preliminary study on photochemical degradation of pesticide residues using a small-scale prototype (1L capacity). The method presents an effective alternative for the complete photodegradation or reduction of these chemicals using ultraviolet light without harming the quality parameters of the virgin olive oil. The photodegradation yields have varied within the range 7-80% depending on the time and temperature applied.

Kartagener syndrome.

Kartagener syndrome (KS), an autosomal recessively inherited disease, is characterized by the triad of situs inversus, bronchiectasis and sinusitis. This disorder affects the activity of proteins important to the movement of cilia, especially in the respiratory tract and the spermatozoa, developing a series of systemic alterations, which can be diagnosed through radiographic examination. The aim of this paper is to describe a clinical case of this unusual pathology, including a brief literature review, emphasising the radiographic aspects of this pathology and stressing the importance of early diagnosis, which could be determined by an oral radiologist.

Effects of developer depletion on image quality of Kodak Insight and Ektaspeed Plus films.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of processing solution depletion on the image quality of F-speed dental X-ray film (Insight), compared with Ektaspeed Plus. METHODS: The films were exposed with a phantom and developed in manual and automatic conditions, in fresh and progressively depleted solutions. The comparison was based on densitometric analysis and subjective appraisal. RESULTS: The processing solution depletion presented a different behaviour depending on whether manual or automatic technique was used. The films were distinctly affected by depleted processing solutions. CONCLUSIONS: The developer depletion was faster in automatic than manual conditions. Insight film was more resistant than Ektaspeed Plus to the effects of processing solution depletion. In the present study there was agreement between the objective and subjective appraisals.