Electrochemical Kinetics and Detection of Paracetamol by Stevensite-Modified Carbon Paste Electrode in Biological Fluids and Pharmaceutical Formulations.

Paracetamol (PCT), or acetaminophen, is an important drug used worldwide for various clinical purposes. However, the excessive or indiscriminate use of PCT can provoke liver and kidney dysfunction; hence, it is essential to determine the amount of this target in biological samples. In this work, we develop a quick, simple, and sensitive voltammetric method using chemically modified electrodes to determine PCT in complex matrices, including human serum and commercial solid formulations. We modify the carbon paste electrode with stevensite monoclinic clay mineral (Stv-CPE), using cyclic voltammetry, differential pulse voltammetry, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy to characterise and detect PCT. The kinetics study provides a better electrochemical characterisation of the electrode behaviour, finding the detection and quantitation limits of 0.2 µM and 0.5 µM under favourable conditions. Further, the best linear working concentration range is 0.6-100 µM for PCT, applying the proposed method to the quantitative determination of PCT content in reference tablet formulations and biological samples for validation.

Impact of Cooperative Learning and Project-Based Learning through Emotional Intelligence: A Comparison of Methodologies for Implementing SDGs.

Education for sustainable development (ESD) is a holistic and transformative form of education that seeks action-oriented pedagogy using self-directed learning, participation, and collaboration, among other aspects, and is suitable for developing active methodologies. Since affective-emotional aspects can contribute in the teaching-learning process, this work studies, through a case study, the comparison of the influence of two active methodologies: Cooperative Learning (CL) and Project-Based Learning (PBL) in student emotions and learning processes, as well as their awareness of ESD. For that purpose, a survey was conducted at the fourth secondary level in the science laboratory, subjected to the innovation project e-WORLD, which developed the content of the 7 and 13 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) from the 2030 Agenda. Results of ANOVA and Tukey's tests carried out showed that both methodologies improved skills and knowledge related to climate change and energy, and triggered major positive emotions in students. Furthermore, CL allowed students to acquire more individual and group responsibility than communication skills developed with PBL. It is necessary to continue working on the involvement of students in these methodologies in order to improve their social skills and to reveal life changes towards more socio-sustainable ones.

Development and Validation of an RP-HPLC-PDA Method for Determination of Paracetamol, Caffeine and Tramadol Hydrochloride in Pharmaceutical Formulations.

Paracetamol (acetaminophen) (PAR), caffeine (CAF) and tramadol hydrochloride (TRA) are important drugs widely used for many clinical purposes. Determination of their contents is of the paramount interest. In this respect, a quick, simple and sensitive isocratic RP-HPLC method with photodiode array detection was developed for the determination of paracetamol, caffeine and tramadol in pharmaceutical formulations. An improved sensitive procedure was also evolved for tramadol using a fluorescence detector system. A C18 column and a mobile phase constituted by methanol/phosphate were used. LODs were found to be 0.2 µg/mL, 0.1 µg/mL and 0.3 µg/mL for paracetamol, caffeine and tramadol hydrochloride, respectively, using photodiode-array detection. Alternatively, LOD for tramadol decreased to 0.1 µg/mL with the fluorescence detector. Other notable analytical figures of merit include the linear concentration ranges, 0.8-270 µg/mL, 0.4-250 µg/mL and 1.0-300 (0.2-40) µg/mL, for the same ordered analytes (including the fluorescence detector). The proposed method was successfully applied for the quantitative determination of the three drugs in tablet dosage forms.

A Comparison between Several Response Surface Methodology Designs and a Neural Network Model to Optimise the Oxidation Conditions of a Lignocellulosic Blend.

In this paper, response surface methodology (RSM) designs and an artificial neural network (ANN) are used to obtain the optimal conditions for the oxy-combustion of a corn-rape blend. The ignition temperature (Te) and burnout index (Df) were selected as the responses to be optimised, while the CO2/O2 molar ratio, the total flow, and the proportion of rape in the blend were chosen as the influencing factors. For the RSM designs, complete, Box-Behnken, and central composite designs were performed to assess the experimental results. By applying the RSM, it was found that the principal effects of the three factors were statistically significant to compute both responses. Only the interactions of the factors on Df were successfully described by the Box-Behnken model, while the complete design model was adequate to describe such interactions on both responses. The central composite design was found to be inadequate to describe the factor interactions. Nevertheless, the three methods predicted the optimal conditions properly, due to the cancellation of net positive and negative errors in the mathematical adjustment. The ANN presented the highest regression coefficient of all methods tested and needed only 20 experiments to reach the best predictions, compared with the 32 experiments needed by the best RSM method. Hence, the ANN was found to be the most efficient model, in terms of good prediction ability and a low resource requirement. Finally, the optimum point was found to be a CO2/O2 molar ratio of 3.3, a total flow of 108 mL/min, and 61% of rape in the biomass blend.

Pain distress: the negative emotion associated with procedures in ICU patients.

PURPOSE: The intensity of procedural pain in intensive care unit (ICU) patients is well documented. However, little is known about procedural pain distress, the psychological response to pain. METHODS: Post hoc analysis of a multicenter, multinational study of procedural pain. Pain distress was measured before and during procedures (0-10 numeric rating scale). Factors that influenced procedural pain distress were identified by multivariable analyses using a hierarchical model with ICU and country as random effects. RESULTS: A total of 4812 procedures were recorded (3851 patients, 192 ICUs, 28 countries). Pain distress scores were highest for endotracheal suctioning (ETS) and tracheal suctioning, chest tube removal (CTR), and wound drain removal (median [IQRs] = 4 [1.6, 1.7]). Significant relative risks (RR) for a higher degree of pain distress included certain procedures: turning (RR = 1.18), ETS (RR = 1.45), tracheal suctioning (RR = 1.38), CTR (RR = 1.39), wound drain removal (RR = 1.56), and arterial line insertion (RR = 1.41); certain pain behaviors (RR = 1.19-1.28); pre-procedural pain intensity (RR = 1.15); and use of opioids (RR = 1.15-1.22). Patient-related variables that significantly increased the odds of patients having higher procedural pain distress than pain intensity were pre-procedural pain intensity (odds ratio [OR] = 1.05); pre-hospital anxiety (OR = 1.76); receiving pethidine/meperidine (OR = 4.11); or receiving haloperidol (OR = 1.77) prior to the procedure. CONCLUSIONS: Procedural pain has both sensory and emotional dimensions. We found that, although procedural pain intensity (the sensory dimension) and distress (the emotional dimension) may closely covary, there are certain factors than can preferentially influence each of the dimensions. Clinicians are encouraged to appreciate the multidimensionality of pain when they perform procedures and use this knowledge to minimize the patient's pain experience.