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The pinecone (Annona squamosa L.) is an Annonaceae that provides much appreciated fruit. However, these fruits have a limited shelf life due to their intense metabolic activity after harvest. The application of post-harvest conservation techniques, such as edible coatings, has been used to minimize the deleterious effects after the harvest of fruits, such as pinecone. The objective of this work was to evaluate the effects of coatings based on hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose (HPMC) and beeswax (BW) on the quality of pinecones stored at room temperature of 20 °C, from the local market in the city of Juazeiro, BA, Brazil. The fruits were selected for the absence of damage and sanitized by immersion in chlorinated water. The coatings were prepared by diluting the HPMC solution in deionized water at 90 °C under stirring, followed by cooling and addition of BW in different proportions, stearic acid, and glycerol. The coatings were applied to the surface of the fruits by immersion in the film-forming solution and dried at room temperature of 20 °C. The HPMC-based coatings associated with BW maintained the firmness and the whitening index of the pulp of the cones for a longer time, as well as led to lower activity of the enzymes polyphenoloxidase (PPO) and peroxidase (POD) during storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic sharply increased the demand for ethanol-based gel hand sanitizers, leading to a shortage of these products. Consequently, regulatory health agencies worldwide have altered their regulatory guidelines on ethanol quality to meet this high demand, raising concerns about product quality. Objective: The aim of this study was to quantify ethanol content and to qualitatively assess common impurities in ethanolbased gel hand sanitizers by headspace (HS) gas chromatography (GC) with flame ionization detector (FID). Methods: To quantify the ethanol content, 0.10 g of the sample was weighed in a 20mL HS vial and 5mL of deionized water was added. Regarding the qualitative approach, 0.25 g of the sample was weighed and 4mL of deionized water was added. The samples were incubated and then 400 mL of the HS was injected into the GC/FID. Forty-eight products purchased in Brazil were analyzed. Results: Thirteen products presented at least one nonconformity regarding the ethanol quantity. Two samples presented an average ethanol concentration below the lower limit considered effective. Twelve samples presented acetaldehyde or ethyl acetate. Conclusion: The huge demand for ethanol-based gel hand sanitizers may have impacted their quality. Because concern with proper hand hygiene tends to remain an issue for a long period, more studies about quality control of hand sanitizers will be needed. Highlights: A simple and fast HS-GC/FID method to quantify ethanol in ethanol-based gel hand sanitizers was developed, validated, and applied to commercial samples in Brazil. The regulatory authorities must be more vigilant to ensure that the commercially available products meet the recommended specifications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A simple and fast (ballistic) RP-HPLC method was developed for rhEPO analysis. • The uncertainty of measurement was estimated by GUM and Monte Carlo simulation methodologies. • The method was fully validated according to ICH Q2 R1 and Eurachem guidelines. A method by reverse phase High Performance Liquid Chromatography with spectrophotometric detection on UV range (HPLC-UV) simple and fast was developed and validated for determination of recombinant human Erythropoietin (rhEPO) in presence of human serum albumin (HSA) as stabilizer in three different presentations; 2000, 4000 and 10,000 international units (IU). A ballistic gradient was obtained for separation of both proteins of biopharmaceuticals at time lower than 5 min. The solvent system comprised: solvent A – deionized water (0.1% trifluoracetic acid v/v), solvent B – acetonitrile (0.05% trifluoracetic acid v/v). The stationary phase was an octyl silane, C8, analytical column from J. T. Baker®. The flow rate was 1.5 mL min−1, while the column and autosampler temperatures was kept at 60 and 5 °C, respectively. The injection volume was 100 μL and the wavelength monitored by detector was 214 nm. The method has been validated according to the following analytical figures of merit: selectivity, trueness, linearity, precision (repeatability and intermediate precision) and limits of detection and quantification. Moreover, additional studies as stability of sample solution, peak purity test and uncertainty of measurement were assessed. The present study used a reference standard of Erythropoietin (BRP) supplied by European Pharmacopoeia in addition to in-house reference material of Erythropoietin produced in collaboration between Bio-Manguinhos (FIOCRUZ/BRASIL), The National Institute of Quality Control in Health, INCQS (FIOCRUZ/BRASIL) and The Center of Molecular Immunology, CIM (CUBA). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a ultrasonic-capacitive system for online analysis of the quality of fuel oils (FO), which are widely used to produce electric energy in Thermal Power Plants (TPP) due to their elevated heating value. The heating value, in turn, is linked to the quality of the fuel (i.e., the density and the amount of contaminants, such as water). Therefore, the analysis of the quality is of great importance for TPPs, either in order to avoid a decrease in generated power or in order to avoid damage to the TPP equipment. The proposed system is composed of two main strategies: a capacitive system (in order to estimate the water content in the fuel) and an ultrasonic system (in order to estimate the density). The conjunction of the two strategies is used in order to estimate the heating value of the fuel, online, as it passes through the pipeline and is an important tool for the TPP in order to detect counterfeit fuel. In addition, the ultrasonic system allows the estimation of the flow rate through the pipeline, hence estimating the amount of oil transferred and obtaining the total mass transferred as a feature of the system. Experimental results are provided for both sensors installed in a TPP in Brazil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pectis elongata is found in the northern and northeastern regions of Brazil. It is considered a lemongrass due to its citric scent. The remarkable citral content and the wide antimicrobial properties and bioactive features of this terpene make this essential oil (EO) eligible for several industrial purposes, especially in cosmetics and phytotherapics. However, to address the problems regarding citral solubility, nano-emulsification is considered a promising strategy thanks to its improved dispersability. Thus, in this paper we propose a low-energy approach for the development of citral-based nano-emulsions prepared with P. elongata EO. The plant was hydrodistillated to produce the EO, which was characterized with a gas chromatograph coupled to mass spectrometry. The nano-emulsion prepared by a non-heated water titrating (low-energy) method was composed of 5% (w/w) EO, 5% (w/w) non-ionic surfactants and 90% (w/w) deionized water and was analyzed by dynamic light scattering. Levels of citral of around 90% (neral:geranial—4:5) were detected in the EO and no major alteration in the ratio of citral was observed after the nano-emulsification. The nano-emulsion was stable until the 14th day (size around 115 nm and polydispersity index around 0.2) and no major alteration in droplet size was observed within 30 days of storage. Understanding the droplet size distribution as a function of time and correlating it to concepts of compositional ripening, as opposing forces to the conventional Ostwald ripening destabilization mechanism, may open interesting approaches for further industrial application of novel, low-energy, ecofriendly approaches to high citral essential oil-based nano-emulsions based on lemongrass plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Acid rain caused microscopic damage on leaves of J. princeps. • Damage occurred prior to the onset of visible injuries. • Micromorphological alterations manifested only on first-node leaves. • Effects included alteration of epidermal relief and wilting of epidermal cells. • J. princeps might be used as biosensor of the impact by acidic precipitation. Acid rain has been detected in natural protected areas of the Atlantic Rainforest in Brazil. We evaluated the effects of simulated acid rain on the leaf blade surface of Joannesia princeps , aiming to assess the species potential as biosensor of acidic precipitation. Seedlings were subjected to simulated rain prepared with pH 4.5 H 2 SO 4 -acidulated water and, in the control treatment, pH 6.0 deionized water. Severe microstructural damage was detected in the youngest leaves, consisting in wilting of epidermal common cells, which resulted on alteration of the epidermal relief due to formation of grooves among these wilted cells. Stomatal guard cells were also structurally altered, no longer presenting the turgid aspect which was visible in the control treatment. Epidermal microrelief is characterized by the presence of cuticular striae, which might have been crucial to determine the species susceptibility due to increased roughness and decreased wettability. The implications of this hypothesis are further discussed in light of recent research addressing the responses of native tree species to acid rain. The micromorphological alterations found occurred prior to the onset of visible symptoms, and therefore suggest the use of J. princeps as a biosensor of the impact by acid precipitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]