Neuropsychological functioning in hoarding disorder.

Hoarding disorder (HD) is increasingly viewed as distinct from obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). In particular, some researchers have suggested that HD is characterized by substantial problems of neurocognitive function; however, HD patients have not yet been compared to OCD patients in this respect. The aim of the present study was to compare neuropsychological test performance in HD patients (n=27), OCD patients (n=12), and healthy controls (n=26). Consistent with previous research, HD patients showed an attenuated ability to sustain attention and poorer employment of adaptive memory strategies compared to healthy controls. HD and OCD patients did not differ significantly on these measures, although moderate effect sizes suggested that hoarders showed somewhat greater attenuation of attentional capacity. Rates of true impairment on any particular neuropsychological test were fairly low across all three groups, although 67% of HD patients (compared to 58% of OCD patients and 42% of healthy controls) scored in the impaired range on at least one measure (odds ratio=2.22). Results are discussed in terms of emerging conceptualizations of HD as a distinct illness.

The effect of aging and muscle type on the quality characteristics and lipid oxidation of lamb meat.

The research carried out on meat from 45 ram lambs of the Polish merino breed allowed to determine the effect of meat aging and muscle type on physicochemical characteristics and oxidative stability of lipids. Analysis of physicochemical traits (pH, meat color, expressed juice, cooking loss, shear force, moisture, protein, fat and total collagen content) was performed on fresh and meat aged for 14 d in the longissimus lumborum (LL) and gluteus medius (GM) muscles. The meat aging determined all physicochemical characteristics except protein and fat content. More changes in pH and meat color parameters were defined in the GM muscle compared to the LL muscle. The increase in the tenderness of meat expressed as a reduction ( P < 0.05 ) of shear force values was observed in both muscles aged for 14 d. A lower value ( P < 0.05 ) of the shear force, despite the higher content of collagen, was determined in the GM muscle compared to LL. The investigated muscles differed in the degree of lipid peroxidation expressed as thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) in both fresh and aged meat. The TBARS value was lower ( P < 0.05 ) in the LL muscle than in GM. In the longissimus lumborum muscle, the significantly lower content of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and PUFA n-6 has been recorded. The oxidation stability was not influenced by the meat aging.

The influence of electron beam radiation in the nutritional value, chemical composition and bioactivities of edible flowers of Bauhinia variegata L. var. candida alba Buch.-Ham from Brazil.

As edible flowers are highly perishable, irradiation technology can be applied to increase their shelf life, as also for phytosanitary purposes. Herein, flowers of Bauhinia variegata L. var. candida alba Buch.-Ham were submitted to electron beam irradiation at the doses of 0.5, 0.8 and 1kGy, to study the effects in the nutritional and chemical profiles, and also in antioxidant, cytotoxic and anti-inflammatory activities. The petals of white flowers revealed interesting bioactive properties being kaempferol derivatives the most abundant compounds, especially kaempferol-3-O-rutinoside. The applied irradiation doses did not highly affect the nutritional profile. No changes were produced in cytotoxicity, but the anti-inflammatory activity slightly decreased. However, the antioxidant activity was increased, especially in the dose of 0.5kGy, in agreement with the higher content in phenolic compounds found at this dose.

Ames Test to Detect Mutagenicity of 2-Alkylcyclobutanones: A Review.

Food irradiation is an effective and safe method for preservation and long-term storage, and it is approved for use in over 60 countries for various applications in a wide variety of food products. This process is performed by use of accelerated electron beams, X-rays, or gamma radiation (60 Co or 137 Cs). 2-Alkylcyclobutanones (2-ACBs) are the only known radiolytic products generated from foods that have fatty acids (triglycerides) and are subjected to irradiation. Since the 1990s toxicological safety studies of 2-ACBs have been conducted extensively through synthetic compounds, then and tests to determine if the compounds have any mutagenic activity are strictly necessary. The Ames test was chosen by many researchers to assess the mutagenicity of 2-ACBs. The test uses distinct bacterial cell lines Salmonella typhimurium to detect point mutations at sites guanine-cytosine (G-C) and Escherichia coli to detect point mutations at sites adenine-thymine (A-T). This bibliographic research aims to bring together all the results obtained and a comparison and cell lines used, type of plates, and solvents. This research showed that no mutagenic activity was observed in any of the cell lines and concentrations evaluated by the works of authors, so the 2-ACBs compounds showed no mutagenic substance in concentrations detectable by the Ames test.

Edible flowers of Viola tricolor L. as a new functional food: antioxidant activity, individual phenolics and effects of gamma and electron-beam irradiation.

Edible flowers are used in food preparations, being also recognized for their beneficial effects on human health. Nevertheless, these species are highly perishable, and irradiation treatment might be applied to ensure food quality and increase their shelf life. Viola tricolor L. is a typical edible flower, with multiple applications and biological properties, mainly provided by the flavonoid content. In the present work, the phenolic compounds were analyzed by HPLC-DAD-ESI/MS, and the antioxidant activity was evaluated using biochemical assays. Linear discriminant analyses (LDA) were performed in order to compare the results obtained with flowers submitted to different irradiation doses and technologies (cobalt-60 and electron-beam). In general, irradiated samples (mostly with 1 kGy) showed the highest phenolic content and antioxidant activity. Furthermore, the significant differences observed in the LDA allow determination of which dose and/or technology is suitable to obtain flowers with higher antioxidant potential.

Pressurized liquid extraction and HPLC quantification of folic acid in fortified wheat flours.

A pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) method using phosphate buffer as solvent was applied for folic acid (FA) extraction from fortified wheat flours and was compared to a standard solid-liquid extraction (SLE) method. Extracted FA was quantified by reverse phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) hyphenated with a phenyl column and an absorption photometric detector (λ = 280 nm). Detection and quantification limits were 0.12 and 0.4 ng, respectively, corresponding to 0.06 and 0.2 µg g(-1) of analyzed wheat flour. Equivalent FA contents were found by both extraction methods, but a single PLE allowed a total recovery of FA content, whereas at least three successive SLEs were needed to achieve a total recovery of FA. The obtained results indicated that PLE is a rapid and efficient technique for FA extraction from fortified wheat flour.

Neural mechanisms of decision making in hoarding disorder.

CONTEXT: Hoarding disorder (HD), previously considered a subtype of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), has been proposed as a unique diagnostic entity in DSM-5. Current models of HD emphasize problems of decision-making, attachment to possessions, and poor insight, whereas previous neuroimaging studies have suggested abnormalities in frontal brain regions. OBJECTIVE: To examine the neural mechanisms of impaired decision making in HD in patients with well-defined primary HD compared with patients with OCD and healthy control subjects (HCs). DESIGN: We compared neural activity among patients with HD, patients with OCD, and HCs during decisions to keep or discard personal possessions and control possessions from November 9, 2006, to August 13, 2010. SETTING: Private, not-for-profit hospital. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 107 adults (43 with HD, 31 with OCD, and 33 HCs). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Neural activity as measured by functional magnetic resonance imaging in which actual real-time and binding decisions had to be made about whether to keep or discard possessions. RESULTS: Compared with participants with OCD and HC, participants with HD exhibited abnormal activity in the anterior cingulate cortex and insula that was stimulus dependent. Specifically, when deciding about items that did not belong to them, patients with HD showed relatively lower activity in these brain regions. However, when deciding about items that belonged to them, these regions showed excessive functional magnetic resonance imaging signals compared with the other 2 groups. These differences in neural function correlated significantly with hoarding severity and self-ratings of indecisiveness and "not just right" feelings among patients with HD and were unattributable to OCD or depressive symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest a biphasic abnormality in anterior cingulate cortex and insula function in patients with HD related to problems in identifying the emotional significance of a stimulus, generating appropriate emotional response, or regulating affective state during decision making.

An exploration of economic reasoning in hoarding disorder patients.

Current models of hoarding disorder (HD) emphasize problems of decision-making. Evidence for neuropsychological impairment in HD, however, has been mixed. The present study examined whether HD patients show problems of economic reasoning that could be associated with decision-making problems. Forty-two HD patients, 29 obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) patients, and 36 healthy control participants completed the Iowa gambling task (IGT), a computerized card playing game that assesses participants' ability to learn and utilize a rule of sacrificing short-term gain for long-term gain, and a cognitive dissonance reduction task that measured changes in preference for items (art prints) after selecting or rejecting them. Results showed no deficits on the IGT for HD participants, and no difference in dissonance reduction results after selecting or rejecting items on the dissonance reduction task. Furthermore, performance on these two tasks was unrelated to hoarding symptom severity or self-reported indecisiveness. It is suggested that the problems of cognitive processing in HD patients may be largely related to as-yet understudied processes, including idiosyncratic categorization problems for personally-owned items as well as other aspects of economic reasoning.

Inattention, but not OCD, predicts the core features of hoarding disorder.

Hoarding Disorder (HD), defined as the acquisition of and failure to discard large volumes of possessions, resulting in clutter that precludes normal use of living spaces, is a common and debilitating condition. Although hoarding has historically been conceptualized as a variant of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), increasing evidence suggests that hoarding might be more closely associated with the symptoms of attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The aim of the present study was to clarify the relationship between the core features of hoarding (clutter, difficulty discarding, acquiring), OCD symptoms, and ADHD symptoms. HD (N = 39), non-hoarding OCD (N = 26), and healthy control (N = 36) participants underwent careful diagnostic interviewing and completed standardized self-report measures of the core features of hoarding (clutter, difficulty discarding, acquiring), OCD symptoms, negative affect, and the inattentive and hyperactive/impulsive symptoms of ADHD. Multiple linear regressions demonstrated that after controlling for global negative affect, OCD symptoms did not significantly predict any of the core features of HD. Conversely, the inattentive (but not hyperactive/impulsive) symptoms of ADHD significantly predicted severity of clutter, difficulty discarding, and acquiring. These results challenge current conceptualizations of hoarding as a subtype of OCD, and suggest an association with neurocognitive impairment.

Irradiation stability of folic Acid in powder and aqueous solution.

This study attempts to examine the folic acid stability after irradiation treatment, under different physical states, pH values, and atmosphere conditions. Aqueous folic acid samples, folic acid in powder, and wheat flour fortified with folic acid were irradiated by an electron beam (E-beam) between 0 (control) and 10.0 kGy. It was realized that the physical state of folic acid plays an important role on its stability toward E-beam processing, being largely unstable in solution, no matter the pH and atmosphere conditions assayed. Otherwise, folic acid in powder showed huge irradiation stability, even when mixed in a dry food matrix, such as fortified wheat flour samples.

Group cognitive-behavioral therapy for hoarding disorder: an open trial.

Although cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) appears to be a promising treatment approach for hoarding disorder, treatment to date has been quite labor intensive. The goal of this study, therefore, was to assess the potential effectiveness of group CBT for hoarding, without home visits by the clinician. Forty-five individuals with hoarding disorder enrolled in either a 16 or 20 session program of group CBT; 30 (67%) completed treatment. Using mixed-effects models to account for missing data, we report data from 35 (78%) participants who provided enough data for analysis. Participants demonstrated significant improvements in hoarding symptoms, as well as symptoms of depression and anxiety, and quality of life. Improvements in hoarding symptoms were comparable to two published clinical trials on individual CBT for hoarding disorder. Results of this study suggest that group CBT for hoarding, without home discarding sessions by the clinician, may be an effective treatment option with the potential advantage of increasing treatment access by reducing clinician burden and cost of treatment.

Evaluation of viability of Aspergillus flavus and aflatoxins degradation in irradiated samples of maize

Um dos fungos mais importantes atualmente em grãos armazenados é o Aspergillus flavus, o qual produz aflatoxinas. Este fungo pode crescer em diversos substratos e representa uma séria preocupação em saúde pública e nutrição animal. Portanto, o estudo de técnicas que possam ser aplicadas no controle das aflatoxinas é de grande importância. Assim sendo, o objetivo do presente trabalho foi estudar os efeitos da radiação gama no crescimento de Aspergillus flavus Link e na degradação das aflatoxinas B1 e B2, (AFB1 e AFB2) em umidade relativa (UR) de 97-99% e atividade de água (Aa) de 0,88-0,94. Amostras de grãos de milho foram irradiadas, utilizando-se uma fonte de Cobalto 60, emissora de raios gama, com as doses de 2; 5 e 10 kGy. A irradiação foi efetiva na redução do número de Unidades Formadoras de Colônias de A. flavus, por grama, nas amostras de milho analisadas. Adicionalmente, o teste de viabilidade fluorescente (solução de diacetato de fluoresceína e brometo de etídio) revelou diminuição no número de células viáveis com o aumento das doses de irradiação e três diferentes padrões de fluorescência. Além disso, a irradiação induziu a uma parcial redução dos níveis de AFB1 e AFB2, nas doses de 2 e 5 kGy, ao passo que uma completa degradação das aflatoxinas foi observada no ensaio empregado com 10 kGy.

Avaliaçäo dos efeitos da radiaçäo ionizante de 'POT. 60 Co' em propriedades físicas, químicas e nutricionais dos feijöes Phaseolus vulgaris L. e Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp / Evaluation of he effects of 'POT. 60 Co' in nutritional, chemical and physicas properties of beans Phaseolus vulgaris L and Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp

Foram estudados os efeitos da radiaçäo ionizante de 'POT. 60 Co' nas doses de 0; 0,5; 1,0; 2,5; 5,0 e 10 kGy e do período de estocagem de 6 meses nos feijöes, Phaseolus vulgaris L., variedade carioca e Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp, variedade macaçar. Determinou-se o tempo de cocçäo, seguido das análises: sensorial, vitaminas B1, B2 e B6, quantidade protéica, avaliaçäo biológica em ratos [Consumo Alimentar (CA) e Ganho de Peso (GP) em gramas, Digestibilidade aparente (NPUa) e Valor Biológico aparente (VBa)] e a aplicabilidade de métodos de detecçäo de alimentos irradiados com testes de germinaçäo, análise da migraçäo do DNA, termoluminescência e análise dos hidrocarbonetos formados pela radiaçäo. Mudanças no tempo de cocçäo foram observadas em todas as doses. Quando aplicadas doses até 1 kGy, näo houve modificaçäo das qualidades nutricionais dos feijöes processados por radiaçäo. A aplicaçäo dos métodos de detecçäo de alimentos irradiados propostos, possibilitaram a detecçäo dos feijöes irradiados com doses baixas de até 0,5 kGy

Radioprotective effects of dimethyl sulfoxide in two biological systems

Certos compostos químicos säo conhecidos como capazes de oferecer proteçäo a sistemas "in vivo" ou "in vitro" expostos a radiaçäo gama. O dimetilsulfóxido (DMSO) é conhecido como radioprotetor químico para bactérias e células de mamíferos em cultura. O presente estudo foi conduzido a fim de: a) confirmar dados de outros autores que descrevem capacidade radioprotetora de DMSO para camundongos; b) estabelecer se esse comportamento protetor poderia ser evidenciado num sistema químico "in vitro" que utiliza proteínas do cristalino bovino como alvo. Camundongos fêmeas albinas heterozigotas foram utilizadas para os estudos de sobrevida aos 30 dias da irradiaçäo com 9Gy de 60Co (taxa de dose: 4,5 Gy/min) injetados 1 h antes com 2000 mg/Kg de DMSO intraperitonealmente. Foram também analizadas as curvas de peso corporal durante o mesmo período. Os estudos ao nível molecular foram realizados mediante a adiçäo de DMSO IM a uma série de soluçöes protéicas obtidas à partir de cristalinos bovinos e 10 minutos após irradiada com 5 diferentes doses entre 5.000 e 25.000 Gy de 60Co (taxa de dose média: 14 Gy/min). Após a irradiaçäo foram realizadas medidas espectrofotométricas a 600 nm e de grupo tiol livre para avaliar as modificaçöes induzidas pela radiaçäo. O DMSO foi capaz de evitar o aumento de turbidez das soluçöes, bem como o aumento de grupos sulfidrílicos livres produzidos pela radiaçäo. Os resultados mostraram também que este composto químico fornece uma proteçäo razoável reduzindo a letalidade em camundongos produzida por exposiçöes à radiaçäo na faixa de dose que afeta a capacidade funcional dos sistema hematopoiêtico e o trato gastrointestinal

Efeito da radiaçäo de Co**60 em células peritoneais / Effect of Co**60 radiation on peritoneal cells

Este trabalho mostra como o efeito da irradiaçäo gama de 60Co modifica o nível das células peritoneais de camundongos albinos. As células foram obtidas de exudato peritoneal, fixadas e estocadas em ácido acético glacial a 30% contendo 0,05% de cristal violeta. Nos exudatos dos animais testemunhas e irradiados foram feitas análises e contagem dos diferentes tipos celulares nos tempos 1 hora, 3 dias e 6 dias após irradiaçäo com 9,0 Gy. Todas as células da populaçäo do exudato peritoneal mostram uma diminuiçäo 3 dias após a irradiaçäo com 9,0 Gy mas as diferentes populaçöes celulares decrescem em proporçöes desiguais. Os dados reafirmam a discrepância na radiossensibilidade das diversas células peritoneais