An improved method for the determination of cannabidiol in topical products using ultrasound-assisted extraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

The recent surge in the sale of cannabidiol (CBD)-based topicals has risen rapidly in recent years, as it can be used to treat a multitude of skin disorders. However, there is minimal regulation concerning actual CBD content in these products. Topicals on the market may contain various concentrations of CBD and may be combined with a range of other compounds. The concentration of CBD has to be determined before the products enter the market. For this reason, a selective analytical method was developed using a 23 factorial design; and validated to determine CBD content in various topicals based on ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) followed by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The method showed good precision (relative standard deviation ≤ 7.7%), accuracy at three concentration levels (recovery > 97.9%) for three different matrices, acceptable linearity (R2 > 0.99), and limit of detection (0.05 µg/mg). The method was successfully applied to the analysis of five commercial topicals. The proposed method is rapid, sensitive, precise, and accurate. In addition, it does not require derivatization and it is suitable for the determination of CBD in topicals for quality control purposes.

Working Memory, Attention, and Inhibitory Control in Adolescents with Suicidal Behavior: A Pilot Study / La memoria de trabajo, la atención y el control inhibitorio en los adolescentes con conducta suicida: un estudio piloto

Suicide in people between the ages of 15 and 24 is one of the top three causes of death. The aim of this research is to compare and associate performance in working memory, attention, and inhibitory control with the presence of suicidal behavior in adolescents. Research design was cross-sectional and the convenience sample consisted of 65 adolescents from the city of Temuco, Chile. The instruments used for data collection were: 1) the Okasha Suicidality Scale, 2) span of direct and indirect digits, and 3) the Stroop test. The results show that 49.3% of the adolescents had suicidal ideation. In terms of the groups, an association and significant differences were found in the Stroop test; this occurred specifically in the female sex (p < .05). In the rest of the tasks that measured memory and attention, no differences were observed (p > .05). It is concluded that suicidal behavior is associated with a lower performance in inhibitory control tasks for females. (AU)

El suicidio en personas entre 15 y 24 años es una de las tres primeras causas de muerte. El objetivo de este trabajo ha sido determinar la asociación de la memoria de trabajo, la atención y el control inhibitorio con la presencia de conducta suicida en adolescentes. Se ha utilizado un diseño de investigación transversal y una muestra por conveniencia compuesta por 65 adolescentes de la ciudad de Temuco, Chile. En la recolección de datos se utilizaron :1) la Escala de Suicidalidad Okasha, 2) la amplitud de dígitos directos e indirectos y 3) el test de Stroop. En el 49.3% de los adolescentes se presentó ideación suicida, encontrando diferencias significativas en el test de Stroop, esto ocurre específicamente en el sexo femenino (p < .05). Se concluye que la conducta suicida está asociada a un desempeño más bajo en tareas de control inhibitorio para el sexo femenino. (AU)

Nicotinic Antagonist UFR2709 Inhibits Nicotine Reward and Decreases Anxiety in Zebrafish.

Zebrafish is becoming a popular animal model in neuropharmacology and drug discovery, mainly due to its ease of handling and low costs involved in maintenance and experimental work. This animal displays a series of complex behaviours that makes it useful for assessing the effects of psychoactive drugs. Here, adult zebrafish were used for assessment of the anxiolytic and anti-addictive properties of UFR2709, a nicotinic receptor (nAChR) antagonist, using two behavioural paradigms to test for addiction, the novel tank diving test to assess anxiety and the conditioned place preference (CPP). Furthermore, the expression of nAChR subunits α4 and α7 was measured in the zebrafish brain. The results show that UFR2709 exhibits an anxiolytic effect on zebrafish and blocks the effect evoked by nicotine on CPP. Moreover, UFR2709 significantly decreased the expression of α4 nicotinic receptor subunit. This indicates that UFR2709 might be a useful drug for the treatment of nicotine addiction.

Estado de los parámetros de habla en usuarios con enfermedad pulmonar obstructiva crónica (EPOC), reporte de una serie de casos / State of speech parameters in subjects with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD): a case-series report

Objetivo: Caracterizar los parámetros de habla en pacientes con enfermedad pulmonar obstructiva crónica (EPOC). Materiales y métodos: Serie de casos prospectiva. En todos los pacientes se realizó una evaluación de los siguientes parámetros del habla: tiempo máximo fonatorio, control motor oral, articulación, lectura, diadococinesias verbales y habla automática. Todos ellos fueron descritos a través de media, mediana y desviación estándar con el software SPSS versión 23. Resultados: Al estudio ingresaron 20 sujetos (7 hombres y 13 mujeres), edad promedio 64,4±9,1 años. En cuanto a los parámetros de habla se observó una reducción en tiempo máximo de fonación (TMF) en /s/ 6,58±6,76; /a/7,29±5,08; /i/8,24±5,72, lo mismo ocurrió en las tareas de repetición /pa/12,60±3,36; /ta/13,40±3,4, /ka/12±4,11 y número de palabras por minuto 109±26,25. Conclusiones: Los resultados de este estudio sugieren que los pacientes con EPOC presentan un deterioro en los parámetros del habla, lo que representa una posibilidad de ampliar investigaciones en esta línea y con ello considerar el habla en atención clínica integral

Objective: To characterize the speech parameters in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Materials and methods: A prospective case-series study. All patients underwent an evaluation of the following speech parameters: maximum phonation time, oral-motor control, articulation, reading, verbal diadochokinesia, and automatic speech. The mean, median and standard deviation of these parameters were determined using SPSS software version 23. Results: Twenty (20) subjects (7 males and 13 females) whose average age was 64.4 ± 9.1 years entered the study. The speech parameters showed a reduction in the maximum phonation time (MPT) in /s/ 6.58 ± 6.76, /a/ 7.29 ±5.08, /i/ 8.24 ± 5.72. The same happened in the repetition tasks: /pa/ 12.60 ± 3.36, /ta/ 13.40 ± 3.4, /ka/ 12 ±4.11, and the number of words per minute accounted for 109 ± 26.25. Conclusions: The study results suggest that patients with COPD show an impairment in speech parameters. This represents an opportunity to increase research on this topic and thus consider the speech in the comprehensive clinical care.

Reliability and concurrent validity between two-dimensional and three-dimensional evaluations of knee valgus during drop jumps.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to establish the concurrent validity and reliability of four different two-dimensional (2D) video-based techniques for quantifying frontal plane knee kinematics during a 40 cm double-legged drop jump. PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS: A convenience sample of 16 healthy participants (nine males and seven females; age: [mean ± standard deviation] 25.5±2 years; body mass index: 24.33±2.98 kg/m(2)) participated in this investigation. A total of five trials during a 40 cm drop jump maneuver with a countermovement jump were used as the functional task. Four knee valgus measures, such as two different frontal plane projection angle measures, knee-to-ankle separation ratio (KASR), and knee separation distance (KSD), were measured using 2D and three-dimensional (3D) systems. To generalize to the greater population of possible evaluators, the testers performing the biomechanical analyses were three novice physical therapists. Intra- and intertester intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) were estimated for 2D analysis variables. ICCs were estimated for all measures between systems to determine concurrent validity of the 2D system. RESULTS: All four 2D measures showed good to excellent reliability (ICC: 0.89-0.99). KASR and KSD showed excellent correlation (ICC: 0.96; 95% CI: 0.82-0.98 and ICC: 0.94; 95% CI: 0.90-0.96, respectively) with the 3D system, while both methods of frontal plane projection angle showed poor to moderate correlation (ICC: 0-0.57) with the 3D system. CONCLUSION: 2D KASR and KSD measures are cost effective, reliable, and highly correlated with the same measures using 3D techniques for the evaluation of knee valgus.