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Dopaminergic drugs partially alleviate gait problems in Parkinson’s disease, but the effects are not sustained in the long-term. Particularly, the freezing of gait directly impacts patients’ quality of life. Experimental epidural spinal cord stimulation (SCS) studies have suggested positive effects on locomotion among PD patients, but the effects of non-invasive stimulation have never been explored. Here, we investigated in a prospective, open-label, pilot study the efficacy and safety of non-invasive magnetic stimulation of the spinal cord in five patients with PD who experienced gait problems, including freezing of gait. A trial of transcutaneous magnetic SCS was performed at the level of the fifth thoracic vertebra. The primary outcome was the change in freezing of gait 7 days after stimulation. Secondary outcome measures included changes in gait speed and UPDRS part III. After non-invasive spinal cord stimulation, patients experienced a 22% improvement in freezing of gait (p = 0.040) and 17.4% improvement in the UPDRS part III (p = 0.042). Timed up and go times improved by 48.2%, although this did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.06). Patients’ global impression of change was ‘much improved’ for four patients. Improvement in gait after stimulation was reversible, since it returned to baseline scores 4 weeks after stimulation. No severe side effects were recorded. This pilot study suggests that transcutaneous magnetic spinal cord stimulation is feasible and can potentially improve gait problems in PD, without severe adverse effects. Large scale phase II trials are needed to test this hypothesis.

Summary Purpose Subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation (STN-DBS) parameters, for example the frequency of stimulation, seem to affect speech and voice aspects. However, this influence is not well understood. This study aimed to investigate the impact of low- and high-frequency STN-DBS on voice and speech for people with Parkinson's disease. Methods Nineteen individuals with Parkinson's disease who received bilateral STN-DBS were assessed for motor performance (Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale-III), perceptual evaluation of voice (grade, roughness, breathiness, asthenia, strain, and instability [GRBASI]), dysarthria assessment, and computerized acoustic analysis of voice upon receiving low-frequency (60 Hz) and high-frequency (130 Hz) STN-DBS. Results In the GRBASI protocol, asthenia, and instability were significantly better at 130 Hz of stimulation. In the dysarthria evaluation, the phonation aspect, articulation, and grade of dysarthria showed deterioration at the same high-frequency condition. There was no significant difference for any vocal acoustic measures. Conclusion The high-frequency of STN-DBS may affect speech and voice differently, leading to an amelioration of the vocal production, but with adverse effects in the speech control.

Honey is considered a complex matrix for presenting a range of secondary metabolites originating from the regional flora. It has been highlighted as a functional food consumed worldwide and frequently suffering from adulteration. Fraud methods have been sophisticated over the years, indicating the need of a continuous updating of the existing analysis methods. For this reason, analytical techniques applied to honey have been expanded, allowing the detection of fraud and the determination of geographic and botanical origin, to guarantee the authenticity of the product. In this sense, this study aimed to characterize floral honey samples in 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 harvests in the states of Santa Catarina (SC, southern Brazil - n = 73) and São Paulo (SP, southeastern Brazil - n = 59), through UV-vis, NIR, and NMR spectroscopies. The total reduced capacity showed a wide variation (0.76-12.8 mg GAE.g

Pyrolysis of rice husk (RH) is an efficient process for the transformation of biomass to bio-oil (high-added value product). Bio-oil consists of two immiscible phases (organic and aqueous) both with potential for the generation of important chemicals for the industry. The aim of this study was to produce bio-oil by pyrolysis of RH and elucidate its chemical composition. Response surface methodology (RSM) was successfully used to determine the optimal pyrolysis conditions for the RH dry bio-oil production using central composite design (CCD). Temperature and flow rate significantly affected the bio-oil production and higher dry bio-oil yield was achieved at 650 °C and N2 flow rate of 100 mL min−1 (predicted values of 16.9%). High performance liquid chromatography with photodiode array detection (HPLC/PDA) and comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography with quadrupole mass spectrometry detection (GC × GC/qMS) were used to provide a comprehensive characterization (qualitative and quantitative) of both phases from RH bio-oil. Through GC × GC/qMS analysis a total number of 98 compounds were found in organic phase; from these, 62 were quantified using a developed quantitative method by relative response factors (RRFs). Phenols and ketones (cyclic ketones) were majority in the organic phase, 8.21 and 5.90 wt%, respectively, and the benzofuran (1.37 wt%) corresponds to the major identified compound. HPLC/PDA analysis evidenced a high concentration of benzenediols and furfurals in the aqueous phase. Catechol was the major compound (2063 mg L−1) followed by furfural (997 mg L−1) and hydroquinone (899 mg L−1). This is the first time that GC × GC/qMS and HPLC/PDA has been used to characterize (qualitatively and quantitatively) both phases from RH bio-oil which showed potential use as a source of high-added value chemicals.

Coffee bean tegument (silverskin) is a by-product derived from the coffee roasting process. This residue has been discarded, which constitutes a serious environmental problem. The depletion of oil reserves and environmental issues promoted by the combustion of fossil fuels has generated interest in the use of biomass to obtain fuel and chemicals products. The liquid product obtained by biomass pyrolysis is commonly called bio-oil. Bio-oil is a complex mixture of compounds, and its detailed chemical characterization is necessary to prospect its potential uses. Therefore, this study optimized the final temperature of pyrolysis and N2 flow rate parameters for the pyrolysis of silverskin in a fixed bed reactor, by using a central composite design and response surface. The bio-oil chemical composition was evaluated by comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography coupled to rapid-scanning quadrupole mass spectrometry (GC × GC/qMS), combined with the use of standards and linear temperature-programmed retention indices (LTPRI). The optimal values ​​calculated were 560 °C for the final pyrolysis temperature and 49 mL min−1 for the N2 flow rate. The organic phase yield was 15.2% under these conditions. At the optimal conditions, 228 compounds were identified (90.1% of the sample chromatographic volume) in the organic phase. The major chemical class, in terms of volume percentage, were the phenols (26.70%), followed by nitrogen compounds (18.51%). In addition, it is worth mentioning the high representability of the saturated hydrocarbons (8.28%), unsaturated aliphatic (6.69%), and aromatics (7.77%), which together account for 22.74% of the sample chromatographic volume. These results showed that the silverskin bio-oil may have the potential use as a source of chemical inputs.

Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, combined to principal components analysis (PCA), was applied in the classification of biomasses through the composition of their bio-oil. Bio-oils were produced through pyrolysis in a bed fixed reactor, using fifteen biomass sources available in Brazil and its characterization was made using gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometric detector (GC/qMS). Around two hundred compounds were tentatively identified in the fifteen bio-oil samples. As expected, the chemical compositions in each bio-oil were distinct. Through the chromatographic information and PCA of the FTIR spectra it was possible observed the similarity and dissimilarity of biomasses according their bio-oil compositions. PCA revealed that FTIR spectra of biomasses fell into three different groups representing distinct bio-oil chemical compositions. The biomasses that belong to group 1 showed bio-oil compositions rich in carboxylic acids, the group 2 showed bio-oil compositions consisting predominantly of phenols and group 3 showed bio-oils with a significant amount of nitrogen compounds. Such clustering information allow exploring bio-oil quality prior to pyrolysis process.

This study evaluated the effects of propolis extract, mixed in milk, on growth as well as on antimicrobial, antioxidant and immune responses in lactating lambs. Thirty-six Lacaune lambs [males; 7.0 ± 1.2 day (d) of age; 4.9 ± 0.80 kg of body weight (BW)] were assigned to the following groups: T0, T150, T200 and T250, representing 0, 150, 200, and 250 μL of propolis/kg of BW/d, respectively. All dosages (T150, T200, and T250) significantly increased weight gain (P = 0.01) with the greatest increase observed in T150 lambs (0.174, 0.244, 0.213, and 0.200 kg/d for T0, T150, T200, and T250, respectively). On regression analysis, the optimal dosage for improving weight gain was 137 μL of propolis/kg of BW/d. All dosage increased (P = 0.05) serum concentrations of total protein on d 10, but only T250 increased it on d 30. Only T150 increased (P = 0.02) the serum concentration of albumin on d 10, and all dosages increased it on d 30. The T200 tended to increase (P = 0.09) the serum concentration of immunoglobulin A, and T150 and T200 tended to increase (P = 0.09) the concentration of immunoglobulins heavy-chain. The T200 and T250 increased the concentration of transferrin on d 10 and only T250 increased it on d 42 (P = 0.01). All dosages increased (P = 0.04) the serum concentration of glucose. No effects were detected (P ≥ 0.11) for globulin, IgG light-chain, ceruloplasmin, urea, triglycerides, cholesterol, aspartate aminotransferase, or gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase. All dosage decreased (P = 0.01) the serum concentration of reactive oxygen species on d 30; however, only T150 and T200 decreased it on d 42, and the greatest reduction was observed for T150. All dosages increased (P = 0.01) nitric oxide levels on 30; however, only T150 and T200 increased them on d 42. All dosage decreased (P = 0.01) the concentration of superoxide dismutase. All dosages increased (P = 0.01) the concentration of non-protein thiols and protein thiols, with the greatest effects detected for T250. All dosages decreased (P = 0.01) counts of E. coli and total coliform counts in feces, with the greatest effects observed for T150 and T200. Taken together, the data suggest that addition of propolis to milk increased growth as well as antimicrobial, antioxidant, and immune responses in lactating lambs. The greatest effects were observed for the dosage of 150 μL of propolis/kg of BW/d.

Phosphorus is a major deleterious element in iron ore where it occurs as primary apatite in hypogene ore, and adsorbed into Mn-, Fe-hydroxides and forming secondary phosphates in supergene ore. Secondary phosphate minerals have been formed during a long history of weathering of itabirite and hypogene iron ore in the Quadrilatero Ferrifero (QF), ongoing since the end of the Cretaceous (~70 Ma). The distribution and genesis of these secondary phosphates are poorly documented in the literature. The purpose of this study was to investigate the mineralogy, mineral chemistry and formation of rare secondary phosphate minerals found in P-bearing concretions hosted in the iron ore at the Serra do Curral, QF. Detailed mineralogical investigation revealed that three generations of secondary phosphates were formed by weathering of carbonate veins hosted within fracture zones of itabirite and iron ore. Turquoise, augelite and senegalite comprise the bulk of the secondary phosphates whereas remnants of Ca-, Ba-, Ce- and Sr-bearing minerals (crandallite, gorceixite, florencite and goyazite) are subordinated. Sulphate members of aluminium-phosphate-sulphate (APS) minerals are absent, likely due to low SO42− activities in the weathering solution. Apatite hosted within unweathered itabirite and carbonate veins was the source of P to the weathering solutions whereas Cu, Zn and Ba were released from sulphides hosted in carbonate veins and Al2O3 from country rocks. The link between the secondary phosphates to hydrothermal breccias and carbonate veins highlights the significance of hydrothermal fluids as a source of P in iron ore deposits. Furthermore, it brings attention to the structural control imposed on P-bearing minerals in these deposits. Geochemical modelling shows that the secondary phosphates were formed in response to changes in pH of the weathering fluids, providing an additional example to the literature about the application of secondary phosphate minerals as valuable trackers of paleoenvironmental weathering conditions.