Centile curves and reference values for height, body mass, body mass index and waist circumference of peruvian children and adolescents

This study aimed to provide height, body mass, BMI and waist circumference (WC) growth centile charts for school-children, aged 4–17 years, from central Peru, and to compare Peruvian data with North-American and Argentinean references. The sample consisted of 8753 children and adolescents (4130 boys and 4623 girls) aged 4 to 17 years, from four Peruvian cities: Barranco, La Merced, San Ramón and Junín. Height, body mass and WC were measured according to standardized techniques. Centile curves for height, body mass, BMI and WC were obtained separately for boys and girls using the LMS method. Student t-tests were used to compare mean values. Overall boys have higher median heights than girls, and the 50th percentile for body mass increases curvilinearly from 4 years of age onwards. In boys, the BMI and WC 50th percentiles increase linearly and in girls, the increase presents a curvilinear pattern. Peruvian children are shorter, lighter and have higher BMI than their counterparts in the U.S. and Argentina; in contrast, age and sex-specific WC values are lower. Height, body mass and WC of Peruvian children increased with age and variability was higher at older ages. The growth patterns for height, body mass, BMI and WC among Peruvian children were similar to those observed in North-American and Argentinean peers.

Effectiveness of high-throughput miniaturized sorbent- and solid phase microextraction techniques combined with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis for a rapid screening of volatile and semi-volatile composition of wines: a comparative study

In this study the feasibility of different extraction procedures was evaluated in order to test their potential for the extraction of the volatile (VOCs) and semi-volatile constituents (SVOCs) from wines. In this sense, and before they could be analysed by gas chromatography–quadrupole first stage masss spectrometry (GC–qMS), three different high-throughput miniaturized (ad)sorptive extraction techniques, based on solid phase extraction (SPE), microextraction by packed sorbents (MEPS) and solid phase microextraction (SPME), were studied for the first time together, for the extraction step. To achieve the most complete volatile and semi-volatile signature, distinct SPE (LiChrolut EN, Poropak Q, Styrene-Divinylbenzene and Amberlite XAD-2) and MEPS (C2, C8, C18, Silica and M1 (mixed C8-SCX)) sorbent materials, and different SPME fibre coatings (PA, PDMS, PEG, DVB/CAR/PDMS, PDMS/DVB, and CAR/PDMS), were tested and compared. All the extraction techniques were followed by GC–qMS analysis, which allowed the identification of up to 103 VOCs and SVOCs, distributed by distinct chemical families: higher alcohols, esters, fatty acids, carbonyl compounds and furan compounds. Mass spectra, standard compounds and retention index were used for identification purposes. SPE technique, using LiChrolut EN as sorbent (SPELiChrolut EN), was the most efficient method allowing for the identification of 78 VOCs and SVOCs, 63 and 19 more than MEPS and SPME techniques, respectively. In MEPS technique the best results in terms of number of extractable/identified compounds and total peak areas of volatile and semi-volatile fraction, were obtained by using C8 resin whereas DVB/CAR/PDMS was revealed the most efficient SPME coating to extract VOCs and SVOCs from Bual wine. Diethyl malate (18.8 ± 3.2%) was the main component found in wine SPELiChrolut EN extracts followed by ethyl succinate (13.5 ± 5.3%), 3-methyl-1-butanol (13.2 ± 1.7%), and 2-phenylethanol (11.2 ± 9.9%), while in SPMEDVB/CAR/PDMS technique 3-methyl-1-butanol (43.3 ± 0.6%) followed by diethyl succinate (18.9 ± 1.6%), and 2-furfural (10.4 ± 0.4%), are the major compounds. The major VOCs and SVOCs isolated by MEPSC8 were 3-methyl-1-butanol (26.8 ± 0.6%, from wine total volatile fraction), diethyl succinate (24.9 ± 0.8%), and diethyl malate (16.3 ± 0.9%). Regardless of the extraction technique, the highest extraction efficiency corresponds to esters and higher alcohols and the lowest to fatty acids. Despite some drawbacks associated with the SPE procedure such as the use of organic solvents, the time-consuming and tedious sampling procedure, it was observed that SPELiChrolut EN, revealed to be the most effective technique allowing the extraction of a higher number of compounds (78) rather than the other extraction techniques studied.

Inovação pedagógica e ortodoxia curricular

A partir de uma conceção de currículo em sentido lato, e tendo como referência acontecimentos recentes ocorridos em Portugal, o artigo discute a impossibilidade de o currículo poder constituir-se em fonte de transgressão, assumindo-se, pelo contrário, como fonte de mesmice e de ortodoxia. Além disso, rejeita também a possibilidade de inovação curricular e inovação pedagógica serem expressões sinónimas e de que a operacionalização do currículo na escola através das práticas (docentes) de desenvolvimento curricular possa equivaler ou conduzir a inovação curricular. Em oposição, relaciona inovação pedagógica e heterodoxia, cuja probabilidade é muito maior fora do espaço colonizado pelo currículo da escola.

Evolution of ethyl carbamate during Madeira wine ageing by GC-MS: a new methodology

Recently, ethyl carbamate (EC) was reclassified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as "probably carcinogenic to humans" and occurs mainly in fermented beverages. Nowadays many countries have set limit values for EC in alcoholic beverages. In this sense and taking into account the low concentrations found in alcoholic beverages, the scientific community has shown interest for the development of new analytical methods, whereby its simplification plays an important role in the EC control and prevention. Firstly, a simple, rapid and sensitive methodology was developed for the EC quantification in fortified wines by microextraction by packed sorbent (MEPS) with gas chromatography coupled with a mass spectrometer detector (GC-MS). This method showed good linearity (R2 = 0.999) and sensitivity (LOD = 1.5 μg/L). The accuracy of the method was assessed by means of repeatability and reproducibility (RSD < 7%). Moreover, a good recovery has been demonstrated (97 – 106%) as well as its applicability (16 fortified wines). Thus, the developed methodology has proven to be an excellent approach for routine quantification of EC in fortified wines. The EC evolution was also evaluated during a year and half of Madeira wine ageing submitted to two traditional ageing methods, estufagem and canteiro, in order to evaluate the formation kinetic. The results revealed that estufagem process increased the formation kinetic and promoted a linear increase of the EC concentration (R2 ≥ 0.977), proportionally to the ageing time (4 months). However, when the wines are firstly submitted to estufagem and then undergo canteiro ageing, the EC values remain almost constant during the following 14 months. The results suggest that estufagem does not seem to be the critical factor in the EC formation, but instead the amount of precursors in the medium.