In vitro evaluation of the prebiotic effect of red and white grape polyphenolic extracts.

Nowadays, the strong relationship between diet and health is well known. Although the primary role of diet is to provide nutrients to fulfill metabolic requirements, the use of foods to improve health and the state of well-being is an idea increasingly accepted by society in the last three decades. During the last years, an important number of scientific advances have been achieved in this field and, although in some situations, it is difficult to establish a distinction between "harmful" and "good" bacteria, experts agree in classifying the genera Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus as beneficial bacteria. Thus, several strategies can be used to stimulate the proliferation of these beneficial intestinal bacteria, being one of them the consumption of prebiotics. The development of new prebiotics, with added functionality, is one of the most serious challenges shared not only by the scientific community but also by the food industry. The objective of this work was to evaluate the potential prebiotic effect of red and white grape residues, both obtained during the winemaking process. For such purpose, an in vitro study with pure cultures of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium was first conducted. Secondly, a study with mixed cultures using human fecal inocula was carried out in a simulator of the distal part of the colon. The obtained results showed an increase in the Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium population, indicating that these ingredients are serious candidates to be considered as prebiotics.

Phytanic acid consumption and human health, risks, benefits and future trends: A review.

Phytanic acid is a methyl-branched fatty acid present in the human diet, derived from the enzymatic degradation of phytol and subsequently oxidized by the rumenal microbiota and certain marine organisms. Consequently, phytanic acid is carried into the human body by means of food ingestion, mostly via red meat, dairy products and fatty marine foods. This fatty acid accumulates in people with some peroxisomal disorders and is traditionally related to neurological damage. However, some benefits derived from phytanic acid intake have also been described, such as the prevention of metabolic syndrome or type 2 diabetes. The aim of this work was to conduct an overview of the literature on the phytanic acid content of foods, management of the phytanic content during food production and biochemical mechanisms of phytanic acid metabolism, as well as to assess the evidence for the health benefits and risks of phytanic acid consumption in human health.

Characterization of toasted cereal flours from the Canary Islands (gofios).

In this work, different types of gofio produced in the Canary Islands were characterized on the basis of physico-chemical parameters as well as spectral features. An overall of 7 physico-chemical parameters (moisture, ash, pH, Cu, Fe, Mn and Zn) were determined in 64 samples from different cereals and legumes, and IR spectra of all samples were registered. The chemometric processing of both, metal ions contents determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry, and the MIR spectra, with various techniques including cluster analysis, principal component analysis, and discriminant analysis enabled the accurate characterization and classification of the gofio samples according to the grain used in their obtaining process.

[Ethics of the cardiopulmonary resuscitation decisions]. / Ética de las decisiones en resucitación cardiopulmonar.

Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) must be attempted if indicated, not done if it is not indicated or if the patient does not accept or has previously rejected it and withdrawn it if it is ineffective. If CPR is considered futile, a Do-Not-Resuscitate Order (DNR) will be recorded. This should be made known to all physicians and nurses involved in patient care. It may be appropriate to limit life-sustaining-treatments for patients with severe anoxic encephalopathy, if the possibility of clinical evolution to brain death is ruled out. After CPR it is necessary to inform and support families and then review the process in order to make future improvements. After limitation of vital support, certain type of non-heart-beating-organ donation can be proposed. In order to acquire CPR skills, it is necessary to practice with simulators and, sometimes, with recently deceased, always with the consent of the family. Research on CPR is essential and must be conducted according to ethical rules and legal frameworks.

Application of PLS regression to fluorimetric data for the determination of furosemide and triamterene in pharmaceutical preparations and triamterene in urine.

Multivariate calibration methods that use fluorescence data for the simultaneous determination of furosemide and triamterene were developed. One of the most salient advantages of them is that the vast amount of information provided by the whole spectrum of the sample is not required. This makes analyses simple and fast. The methods require selecting chemometric parameters such as the specific spectral region and number of factors to be used. Both spectral region and number of factors are selected, simultaneously, by minimising the prediction residual error sum of squares (PRESS). The proposed methods were used for the simultaneous determination of the two drugs in real samples (pharmaceutical preparations) with no excipient separation pre-treatment, with furosemide and triamterene contents of 1.68E-3 to 4.31E-2 and 1.03E-3 to 3.12E-2mugml(-1), respectively; as well as that of triamterene at concentrations of 5.00E-4 to 5.80E-3mugml(-1) in urine samples. The ability to construct the calibration validation sets directly from the urine samples itself avoids the need to consider matrix interferences or to pre-treat the sample and/or separate some analytes The results were quite good in all cases.

Simultaneous spectrophotometric determination of diuretics by using multivariate calibration methods.

The wavelength range and number of factors used in partial least-squares (PLS) calibration for the resolution of the dihydralazine (DHZ)-hydrochlorothiazide (HCT) binary mixture and the dihydralazine-hydrochlorothiazide-reserpine ternary mixture were optimized in terms of the relative standard error (R.S.E.) and relative mean standard error (R.M.S.E.). Under the optimum conditions thus established, synthetic mixtures of the analytes can be resolved with errors and relative standard deviations (R.S.D) less than 4.5 and 1.0%, respectively. The ensuing method, which was validated by comparison with high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), also gives good results with real samples (pharmaceutical preparations).

Use of partial least-squares regression for multicomponent determinations based on kinetic spectrofluorimetric data. Simultaneous determination of canrenone and spironolactone in urine.

A new spectrofluorimetric method for the simultaneous determination of canrenone and spironolactone in urine is proposed. The method is based on the different rates at which the two analytes react with hot sulfuric acid to form a trienone. The kinetic spectrofluorimetric data are processed by partial least-squares regression. The effects of sulfuric acid concentration and temperature on the system under study were also evaluated and the optimum values for carring out the reaction were 50% and 50 degrees C, respectively. The method was checked by analyzing urine samples that they contained both diuretics. The accuracy and the precision of the method were tested. The relative standard errors in the quantification of each analyte in all tested samples were 3.69 and 3.59%. The proposed method was validated by comparison with a high performance liquid chromatographic method for urine samples.

Simultaneous determination of chlorthalidone and spironolactone with univariate and multivariate calibration: wavelength range selection.

Chlorthalidone and spironolactone were determined simultaneously with the aid of univariate and multivariate calibration methods. Univariate calibration was performed by the zero-crossing and derivative ratio spectrum methods. Extensive spectral overlap and the scarcity of wavelengths in derivative spectra allowing one analyte to be distinguished and quantitated in the presence of the other gave rise to poor results that called for multivariate calibration. Partial least-squares regression was used in combination with a suitable method for selecting the optimum wavelength range and number of factors for analysis. The ensuing method was applied to simultaneous determination of chlorthalidone and spironolactone in a commercially available pharmaceutical preparation. The results were validated by high-performance liquid chromatography.

Simultaneous kinetic spectrophotometric determination of spironolactone and canrenone in urine using partial least-squares regression.

A method is proposed for the simultaneous determination of spironolactone and canrenone in urine based on the different rates at which they react with sulphuric acid to yield a trienone. Kinetic spectrophotometric data are processed by partial least-squares (PLS) regression. The optimum sulphuric acid concentration and temperature are determined from response surfaces, using PLS methodology to relate both variables to the relative square error of prediction (RSEP, the parameter to be minimized). The relative errors made in the quantitation of each diuretic by the proposed method are less than 5% and the overall error, as RSEP, ranges from 1.06 and 1.44%.

Simultaneous determination of diazepam and pyridoxine in synthetic mixtures and pharmaceutical formulations using graphical and multivariate calibration-prediction methods.

Several methods are reported for the simultaneous determination of diazepam and pyridoxine: two graphical methods (zero-crossing and derivative quotient spectra); and two numerical methods (multiple linear regression and partial least-squares regression). The methods have been applied in the concentration ranges 1.4-4.0 micrograms ml-1 diazepam and 4.0-12.0 micrograms ml-1 pyridoxine. The accuracy and precision of the methods have been determined and they have been validated by analysing synthetic mixtures containing the two drugs in variable proportions. The methods were also applied to the determination of diazepam and pyridoxine in pharmaceutical preparations. The analytical results were quite good in all cases.

Simultaneous spectrofluorimetric determination of europium, dysprosium, gadolinium and terbium using chemometric methods.

A spectrofluorimetric method for the simultaneous determination of dysprosium, europium, gadolinium and terbium in ternary and quaternary mixtures by the use of pyridine-2,6-dicarboxylic acid as a chelating agent was developed. The influence of chemical variables affecting the analytical reaction was evaluated. A partial least-squares procedure and PC Quant software were used to assess data obtained from a variable number of calibration solutions and wavelengths. The ensuing method was validated by applying it to the analysis of synthetic ternary (Eu-Dy-Tb) and quaternary mixtures (Eu-Dy-Gd-Tb) over the concentration ranges 60-550 mug Eu l(-1), 30-400 mug Dy l(-1) and 30-400 mug Tb l(-1) in the former, and 20-220 mug Eu l(-1), 20-235 mug Dy l(-1), 25-230 mug Gd l(-1) and 75-230 mug Tb l(-1) in the latter. The results obtained by using the two quantitation procedures are compared. The relative errors in the determinations were less than 8% in most cases.

Highly specific spectrophotometric method for palladium(II) determination with 3-(5'-tetrazolylazo)-2,6-Diaminotoluene in the presence of chlorides. Kinetic and equilibrium study of reactions.

3-(5'-tetrazolylazo)-2,6-Diaminotoluene (TEADAT, H(3)L(2+)) forms stable 1:1 and 1:2 (metal:ligand) pink-red complexes (lambda(max) 506 and 536 nm) with palladium(II). The apparent molar absorptivity of 1:2 complex is 5.2 x 10(4) 1.mol(-1). cm(-1) at 536 nm. Equilibrium constants beta*(nl) for reactions PdCl(2-)(4) + nH(3)L(2+) right harpoon over left harpoonright harpoon over left harpoon PdCl(4-n) (H(2)L)(2n-2)(n) + n Cl(-) + n H(+) were determined: logbeta*(1) = 4.09 +/- 0.05, logbeta*(2) = 8.40 +/- 0.02, corresponding stability conditional constants of PdCl(3)(H(2)L) and PdCl(2)(H(2)L)(2+)(2) were log beta(1) = 19.03, log beta(2) = 26.74. The formation of complexes was rather slow but could be speeded up considerably by the catalytic effect of trace amounts of thiocyanate. Constant absorbance values were thus reached in 2-5 min. A rapid, sensitive and highly specific method for the determination of palladium(II) at pH 1.42 in 0.25M NACl has been worked out with a detection limit of 0.54 mug. Interference of precious and common metal ions have been studied and the method has been applied for the determination of palladium in Pd asbestos, oakay alloys and various catalysts and for the determination of palladium in precious metals.

Multicomponent analysis: Comparison of various graphical and numerical methods.

The performance of several graphical (zero-crossing and derivative quotient spectra with standardized divisor) and numerical methods (MULTIC and PLS) for the resolution of binary and ternary mixtures of species is compared. Numerical methods were found to be specially suited to multicomponent analysis, particularly for mixtures containing more than two analytes with highly overlapped spectra. The results obtained by using the compared methods to analyse various synthetic mixtures of acetylsalicylic acid, caffeine and thiamine were quite consistent and errors in the simultaneous quantification of the analytes amounted to less than 5% in all instances.