Graciela Muniz | Universidade Federal do Paraná (original) (raw)

Vol 17, No 1 (2015) by Graciela Muniz

Papers by Graciela Muniz

Journal of Food Science and Technology, 2014

High consumption of dietary fibers in the diet is related to the reduction of the risk of non-tra... more High consumption of dietary fibers in the diet is related to the reduction of the risk of non-transmitting of chronic diseases, prevention of the constipation etc. Rich diets in dietary fibers promote beneficial effects for the metabolism. Considering the above and recognizing the multifaceted advantages of nano materials, there have been many attempts in recent times to use the nano materials in the food sector including as food additive. However, whenever new product for human and animal consumption is developed, it has to be tested for their effectiveness regarding improvement in the health of consumers, safety aspects and side effects. However, before it is tried with human beings, normally such materials would be assessed through biological tests on a living organism to understand its effect on health condition of the consumer. Accordingly, based on the authors&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39; finding reported in a previous paper, this paper presents body weight, biochemical (glucose, cholesterol and lipid profile in blood, analysis of feces) and histological tests carried out with biomass based cellulose nano fibrils prepared by the authors for its possible use as food additive. Preliminary results of the study with mice have clearly brought out potential of these fibers for the said purpose.

Holzforschung, 2000

Mahogany is one of the most valuable woods and was widely used until it was included in Appendix ... more Mahogany is one of the most valuable woods and was widely used until it was included in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species as endangered species. Mahogany wood sometimes is traded under different names. Also, some similar woods belonging to the Meliaceae family are traded as ''mahogany'' or as being of a ''mahogany pattern''. To investigate the feasibility of the use of near infrared spectroscopy for wood discrimination, the mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla King.), andiroba or crabwood (Carapa guianensis Aubl.), cedar (Cedrela odorata L.), and curupixá (Micropholis melinoniana Pierre) woods were examined. Four discrimination models based on partial least squares-discriminant analysis were developed based on a calibration set composed of 88 samples and a test set with 44 samples. Each model corresponds to the discrimination of a wood species from the others. Optimization of the model was performed by means of the OPUS ᭨ software followed by statistical analysis software (Matlab ᭨ ). The observed root mean square errors of predictions were 0.14, 0.09, 0.12, and 0.06 for discriminations of mahogany, cedar, andiroba, and curupixá, respectively. The separations of the species obtained based on the difference in the predicted values was at least 0.38. This makes it possible to perform safe discriminations with a very low probability of misclassifying a sample. This method can be considered accurate and fast.

Revista Árvore, 2004

R. Árvore, Viçosa-MG, v.28, n.4, p. [553][554][555][556][557][558][559][560][561][562] 2004 RESUM... more R. Árvore, Viçosa-MG, v.28, n.4, p. [553][554][555][556][557][558][559][560][561][562] 2004 RESUMO -O trabalho foi desenvolvido no setor de manufatura de painéis da Battistella Indústria e Comércio Ltda., localizada em Santa Catarina, e teve como objetivo a avaliação do processo produtivo de painéis, utilizandose os princípios do balanço de material e do rendimento da matéria-prima. Além disso, pretendeu-se estabelecer uma metodologia para aplicação em outras indústrias madeireiras. Os dados foram obtidos através de visitas, aplicação de questionários e dados de escritório, e elaboraram-se equações e um fluxograma para representar o balanço de material. Concluiu-se que a indústria é integrada, representando vantagem competitiva. O balanço de material indicou que a atividade com maior potencial gerador de resíduos foi a preparação de sarrafos de madeira (55,71% do total de resíduos gerados). As atividades com maiores rendimentos foram a prensagem (97,44%), o seccionamento (93,92%), o esquadrejamento , o lixamento (90,97%) e a preparação de sarrafos (54,51%). O rendimento geral da manufatura foi de 63,16%, sendo os valores encontrados no trabalho similares aos da literatura. A metodologia desenvolvida para o trabalho é simples e pode ser aplicada em outras indústrias do setor madeireiro.

Maderas. Ciencia y tecnología, 2013

El carbón vegetal es un insumo energético muy utilizado en diversos segmentos de la industria sid... more El carbón vegetal es un insumo energético muy utilizado en diversos segmentos de la industria siderúrgica, metalúrgica, cimientos y otras, presentando importancia económica e histórica en Brasil. Una de las formas de determinar la procedencia del carbón vegetal es identificando este material, lo que permite comprobar la legalidad de explotación, y cual es su posible origen. Este trabajo tuvo como objetivo describir la anatomía de la madera y del carbón de Pouteria macrophylla (A.DC.) Eyma y Micropholis guianensis (A.DC) Pierre, y comparar las características antes y después del proceso de carbonización, con la finalidad de suministrar más información sobre la estructura de estos materiales. Los cuerpos de prueba se carbonizaron en horno de mufla, a temperatura máxima de 450 ºC durante un período de aproximadamente 6 horas y 30 minutos. La elevada contracción de las células de Pouteria macrophylla y Micropholis guianensis durante el proceso de carbonización causó alteraciones dimensionales, que no perjudicaron el aspecto cualitativo de las características anatómicas, siendo posible la distinción de especies, e identificación del leño carbonizado a través de la descripción de la madera.

Floresta e Ambiente, 2014

Floresta e Ambiente 2014 out./dez.; 21(4):561-568 http://dx.RESUMO O objetivo deste trabalho foi ... more Floresta e Ambiente 2014 out./dez.; 21(4):561-568 http://dx.RESUMO O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o potencial de resíduos de madeira de quatro espécies amazônicas para fins energéticos, além de calibrar propriedades da madeira e do carvão vegetal utilizando a técnica NIRS. Foram utilizadas costaneiras das espécies cardeiro (Scleronema micranthum Ducke), cedrinho (Scleronema sp.), louro (Ocotea sp.) e piquiarana (Caryocar villosum Pers.), tendo sido determinadas as seguintes propriedades: densidade básica, composição química, análise química imediata e poder calorífico superior da madeira; rendimentos em carvão vegetal; análise química imediata, poder calorífico e friabilidade do carvão vegetal. Foram adquiridos espectros NIR e gerados modelos para calibração de cada propriedade energética. Os resultados indicam que todas as espécies possuem potencial como fonte bioenergética. Entretanto, as melhores espécies foram o cardeiro e o piquiarana, devido à maior densidade básica e energética, além do louro, com maior teor de lignina e carbono fixo, que apresentou, consequentemente, maior poder calorífico. A espectroscopia NIR mostrou-se como uma ferramenta possível para calibração de propriedades energéticas da biomassa.

The American journal of clinical nutrition, 2006

Evidence is increasing for positive effects of fruit and vegetable intakes on bone health. Howeve... more Evidence is increasing for positive effects of fruit and vegetable intakes on bone health. However, most of the studies to date were conducted in adults, and few reports included adolescents. We explored the association between bone mineral status and fruit and vegetable intakes in adolescent boys and girls (aged 16-18 y), young women (aged 23-37 y), and older men and women (aged 60-83 y). Bone mineral measurements of the whole body, hip, and spine were made in all subjects by using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Information on health and lifestyle and physical activity was obtained by questionnaire. Fruit, vegetable, and nutrient intakes were ascertained from 7-d food diaries. In adolescent boys and girls and older women, significant positive associations were observed between spine size-adjusted bone mineral content (SA-BMC) and fruit intake. In boys only, femoral neck SA-BMC was also significantly and positively associated with the intakes of both fruit and dietary vitamin C. ...

Tese (Doutorado)--Universidade Federal do Paraná. Setor de Ciências Agrárias.

The Lancet, 2014

ABSTRACT Background The MRC Cognitive Function and Ageing Study (MRC CFAS) is a longitudinal popu... more ABSTRACT Background The MRC Cognitive Function and Ageing Study (MRC CFAS) is a longitudinal population-based cohort of British adults aged 65 years and older. This study assessed associations between education and longitudinal successful ageing trajectories. Methods A representative sample of individuals aged 65 years or more, from five UK sites, was eligible for inclusion. Study participants were individuals (n=1141) from the 2-year, 4-year, and 6-year MRC CFAS follow-up data collection periods. Mean age was 76·4 years (SD 6·5), and 723 (63·4%) were women. The primary outcome was an index consisting of items identified by systematic reviews of operational definitions and lay perspectives of successful ageing: self-reported psychological and social components (ie, perspective, engagement, and self-rated health) and physiological components (ie, cognitive and physical functioning). Growth mixture modelling, a person-centred longitudinal latent variable modelling procedure, was used to identify heterogeneous functional trajectories across three MRC CFAS periods (data version 9.0). Models were estimated using maximum likelihood, with missing observations assumed to be missing at random. Unadjusted and adjusted (for age, sex, and socioeconomic status [SES]) logistic regression was used to assess the association between years in full-time education (≤9, 10—11, ≥12) and functional trajectory. Findings A three-class model provided the best fit, capturing a high functioning trajectory (HFT), moderate functioning trajectory (MFT), and low functioning trajectory (LFT). Individuals in the HFT were significantly younger, and consisted of significantly more men and of fewer individuals with low SES, than individuals in the MFT (p<0·0001) and LFT (p<0·0001). Logistic regression models adjusted for age, sex, and SES indicated that individuals in the HFT spent significantly more years in full-time education than did individuals in the MFT (odds ratio 1·68, 95% CI 1·18—2·38, p=0·004) and LFT (1·59, 1·07—2·36, p=0·02), as did unadjusted models (1·53, 1·16—2·03, p=0·003, vs 1·75, 1·30—2·36, p<0·0001). Interpretation Education is independently associated with a high psychosocial-physiological functioning trajectory—ie, successful ageing. These results provide evidence for the long-term, beneficial effects of education in a sample of older British adults, with implications for policy, such as promotion of continued education, and for public health, such as fostering lifelong wellbeing.

European Journal of Ageing, 2014

The current study examines the role of social contact intensity, cognitive activity, and depressi... more The current study examines the role of social contact intensity, cognitive activity, and depressive symptoms as within- and between-person mediators for the relationships between physical activity and cognitive functioning. All three types of mediators were considered simultaneously using multilevel structural equations modeling with longitudinal data. The sample consisted of 470 adults ranging from 79.37 to 97.92 years of age (M = 83.4; SD = 3.2) at the first occasion. Between-person differences in cognitive activity mediated the relationship between physical activity and cognitive functioning, such that individuals who participated in more physical activities, on average, engaged in more cognitive activities and, in turn, showed better cognitive functioning. Mediation of between-person associations between physical activity and memory through social contact intensity was also significant. At the within-person level, only cognitive activity mediated the relationship between physical activity and change in cognition; however, the indirect effect was small. Depressive symptomatology was not found to significantly mediate within- or between-person effects on cognitive change. Our findings highlight the implications of physical activity participation for the prevention of cognitive decline and the importance of meditational processes at the between-person level. Physical activity can provide older adults with an avenue to make new friendships and engage in more cognitive activities which, in turn, attenuates cognitive decline.

We compared the frequency of rhinorrhea between 34 Parkinson's disease (PD) subjects and 15 norma... more We compared the frequency of rhinorrhea between 34 Parkinson's disease (PD) subjects and 15 normal controls (NC) and explored relationships between rhinorrhea and clinical functions, and degree of nigrostriatal dopaminergic denervation using [ 11 C]dihydrotetrabenazine (DTBZ) brain positron emission tomography imaging. Sixty-eight percent (23 of 34) of PD subjects reported rhinorrhea of any cause compared with 27% (4 of 15) of NC (v 2 5 7.07, P 5 0.008). Rhinorrhea frequency remained higher in the PD group after excluding possible rhinitic etiologies: 35% (12 of 34) of PD versus 7% (1 of 15) of NC (v 2 5 4.38, P 5 0.04). There were no differences in demographics, nigrostriatal dopaminergic denervation, and clinical motor or nonmotor variables between PD subjects with and without rhinorrhea, except that more PD subjects with rhinorrhea complained of lightheadedness (52% vs. 9%, v 2 5 5.85, P 5 0.02). Rhinorrhea is a common nondopaminergic feature of PD, unrelated to olfactory or motor deficits. Further investigations are needed to determine if rhinorrhea correlates with sympathetic denervation or other autonomic symptoms in PD. V C 2010 Movement Disorder Society

Australian Journal of Psychology, 2014

The number of years of education an individual completes is related to their future morbidity and... more The number of years of education an individual completes is related to their future morbidity and mortality. There are obvious drivers for educational attainment such as childhood intellect, parental intelligence and education attainment, as well as socioeconomic status; and associations may be age-dependent. We investigated associations between intelligence across childhood (collected at two, four, seven and between eleven and thirteen years) and educational attainment (total years) by the late 20s in the Port Pirie Cohort Study, taking into account maternal intelligence, parental schooling and occupational prestige. Method: There were 388 individuals from the population-based longitudinal Port Pirie Cohort Study (South Australia) who provided educational attainment data in the 2008-9 data collection wave. A Structural Equation Model was employed to test associations between educational attainment and childhood cognitive/IQ measures, taking into account parental factors of IQ, schooling and socioeconomic status. Results: The vast majority of variables displayed significant simple correlations with each other in expected directions, e.g. child cognitive/IQ measures with maternal IQ. In the full structural equation model, paternal schooling and child intelligence at seven years were the only variables significantly related to educational attainment by the late 20s; maternal intelligence was strongly associated with early life but not adolescent intelligence. Conclusions: These findings highlight the complex inter-generational transmission of social advantages, and substantiate the independent effects of education and intelligence on later morbidly and mortality.

Statistics in Medicine, 2011

Change point models are used to describe processes over time that show a change in direction. An ... more Change point models are used to describe processes over time that show a change in direction. An example of such a process is cognitive ability, where a decline a few years before death is sometimes observed. A broken-stick model consists of two linear parts and a breakpoint where the two lines intersect. Alternatively, models can be formulated that imply a smooth change between the two linear parts. Change point models can be extended by adding random effects to account for variability between subjects. A new smooth change point model is introduced and examples are presented that show how change point models can be estimated using functions in R for mixed-effects models. The Bayesian inference using WinBUGS is also discussed. The methods are illustrated using data from a population-based longitudinal study of ageing, the Cambridge City over 75 Cohort Study. The aim is to identify how many years before death individuals experience a change in the rate of decline of their cognitive ability.

Revista Árvore, 2004

Psychology and Aging, 2013

Age-related decline in processing speed has long been considered a key driver of cognitive aging.... more Age-related decline in processing speed has long been considered a key driver of cognitive aging. While the majority of empirical evidence for the processing speed hypothesis has been obtained from analyses of between-person age differences, longitudinal studies provide a direct test of within-person change. Using recent developments in longitudinal mediation analysis, we examine the speed-mediation hypothesis at both the within-and between-person levels in two longitudinal studies, Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam (LASA) and Origins of Variance in the Oldest-Old (OCTO-Twin). We found significant within-person indirect effects of change in age, such that increasing age was related to lower speed, which in turn relates to lower performance across repeated measures on other cognitive outcomes. Although between-person indirect effects were also significant in LASA, they were not in OCTO-Twin which is not unexpected given the age homogeneous nature of the OCTO-Twin data. A more in-depth examination through measures of effect size suggests that, for the LASA study, the within-person indirect effects were small and between-person indirect effects were consistently larger. These differing magnitudes of direct and indirect effects across levels demonstrate the importance of separating between-and within-person effects in evaluating theoretical models of age-related change.

New Forests, 2014

In the Sahelian and Sudanian ecozones of West Africa, the rainy season lasts only 3-4 months per ... more In the Sahelian and Sudanian ecozones of West Africa, the rainy season lasts only 3-4 months per year, there are steep rainfall gradients with latitude and longitude, the climate is becoming increasingly hotter and drier with more variable rainfall, some fuelwood species are disappearing locally, demand for fuelwood is increasing, and we expect that fuelwood production will be increasingly limited to drier sites in the future. We need a methodology, therefore, to identify the best species for fuelwood production in drier sites. We used a methodology that could be used to identify the best fuelwood species for drier and wetter sites in regions where there are steep rainfall gradients. We investigated variation in growth and fuelwood properties of five species (Balanites aegyptiaca, Combretum glutinosum, Guiera senegalensis, Piliostigma reticulatum, Ziziphus mauritiana) along rainfall gradients. Growth parameters (tree height, stem diameter under bark, mean ring width) and fuelwood properties (basic density, volatile matter, fixed carbon, ash content, moisture content, gross calorific value, gross calorific value per cubic meter, fuel value index) were adjusted for tree age. For each species, linear regressions were used to determine the effects of mean annual rainfall and geographical coordinates, which were correlated with rainfall, on tree growth and fuelwood properties; and the effects of tree growth on fuelwood properties in lower, intermediate and higher rainfall zones. Geographical coordinates explained more variation than rainfall, and relationships with rainfall differed among species. Larger trees had wood with higher basic density, fixed carbon, ash content, moisture content, gross calorific value and/or gross calorific value per cubic meter, but lower volatile matter and/or fuel value index. Relationships between growth and fuelwood properties were not significant in all species and rainfall zones. Based on this study, we recommend producing fuelwood of C. glutinosum and G. senegalensis.

The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 2011

In this article , we discuss the importance of studying the relationship between health and cogni... more In this article , we discuss the importance of studying the relationship between health and cognitive function, and some of the methods with which this relationship has been studied.

The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 2011

Objective. The terminal cognitive decline hypothesis has been debated for almost 50 years. This h... more Objective. The terminal cognitive decline hypothesis has been debated for almost 50 years. This hypothesis implies a change in rate of decline within an individual. Therefore, we examine the hypothesis from a within-person perspective using a time to death chronological structure.

International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 2009

Objectives: Investigate the impact of the changes in eligibility within England and Wales (E&W) f... more Objectives: Investigate the impact of the changes in eligibility within England and Wales (E&W) for prescription within the UK National Health Service for treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Methods: A population-based study in England and Wales with 13 004 individuals measured with MMSE at baseline was used to examine the distributions of individuals within eligibility criteria. Information obtained from informants enabled classification of the study defined dementia cases to ICD10 diagnosis of subtype (AD, dementia with vascular risk, both or other). Results: Fifty six per cent of dementia patients (representing 323 000 individuals in E&W) fall into the new MMSE criteria band. A further 120 000, 20% of dementia patients, are estimated to have disease that is considered too mild for treatment. Further examination of type of dementia showed that those with mixed AD and vascular dementia had similar proportions of dementia cases within the treatable MMSE group as the subgroup with AD alone, though with mixed disease individuals more often score below the lower threshold. There is substantial instability in the eligibility groupings over a short time period. Conclusions: The population impact of new NICE criteria of excluding high MMSE scores is to exclude one in five individuals with AD and a further one in ten of those with a mixed disease. Changing the guidance has almost balanced the loss of treatment for the high MMSE group (13%) with the introduction of treatment for those scoring 10/11 (11%).

Journal of Food Science and Technology, 2014

Holzforschung, 2000

Revista Árvore, 2004

Maderas. Ciencia y tecnología, 2013

Floresta e Ambiente, 2014

The American journal of clinical nutrition, 2006

Tese (Doutorado)--Universidade Federal do Paraná. Setor de Ciências Agrárias.

The Lancet, 2014

European Journal of Ageing, 2014

Australian Journal of Psychology, 2014

Statistics in Medicine, 2011

Revista Árvore, 2004

Psychology and Aging, 2013

New Forests, 2014

The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 2011

International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 2009

International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 2011

To explore whether it is possible to detect decline in global scores of cognitive function in the... more To explore whether it is possible to detect decline in global scores of cognitive function in the proximity of death whilst simultaneously investigating potential risk profiles. Using the Mini Mental State Examination in a population study of the oldest old in which 99% of participants have died, a linear and quadratic time-to-death repeated measures random effects models were used to detect decline and potential factors which might indicate individual variation. Decline and acceleration of this decline were detectable in the period before death. Some between person variation was detected in this pattern, which included differences in cognitive performance by age at death (-0.2 (SE = 0.02)), sex (-1.2 (SE = 0.2)), initial cognitive impairment (-7.5 (SE = 0.2)) and mobility (-0.6 (SE = 0.2)), in rate of decline by age at death (-0.04 (SE = 0.005)), sex (-0.1 (SE = 0.06)), initial cognitive impairment (-0.3 (SE = 0.07)) and mobility (-0.1 (SE = 0.05)) and differences in change in rate of decline by sex (-0.008 (SE = 0.004)), initial cognitive impairment (-0.02 (SE = 0.04)) and mobility (-0.01 (SE = 0.003)). Using an extension of existing methods for exploring terminal decline, the phenomenon of decline in global cognition measures in the proximity of death was clearly detected as well as potential variables which could influence that pattern. Further work is required to explore whether similar methods can be used to detect the onset of the acceleration of this decline in each individual together with the potential to identify individual level factors that can allow clinicians to distinguish between the normal and preterminal phases of change in extreme old age.

El aserrío de trozas en tablas puede agregar valor a la madera producida en pequeñas propiedades ... more El aserrío de trozas en tablas puede agregar valor a la madera producida en pequeñas propiedades rurales. El objetivo de este trabajo fue evaluar la calidad del aserrío de trozas de Pinus elliottii en un prototipo de aserradero portátil construido en cooperación entre una institución de investigación y una empresa privada. En base a los resultados obtenidos aún deberán realizarse algunos ajustes mecánicos en el prototipo. Sin embargo, el rendimiento encontrado fue superior al 71%, la velocidad de alimentación estuvo entre 0,94 y 1,82 m/s, y la productividad máxima en madera aserrada fue de 2,17m 3 /h, que son valores compatibles o mejores que los modelos similares importados. La variación de espesor máximo quedó por debajo del límite máximo permitido por la norma Brasileña.

This article reports the first study of the influence of the Brazilian process of thermal modific... more This article reports the first study of the influence of the Brazilian process of thermal modification called VAP HolzSysteme ® on the chemical composition of Eucalyptus wood. Flatsawn boards of Eucalyptus grandis juvenile wood were tested for four treatment levels: untreated and thermally modified at final cycle temperatures of 140, 160 and 180 °C. Chemical analyses were carried out according to the standards of the Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry and encompassed total extractives, insoluble lignin, holocellulose (cellulose + hemicelluloses) and solvent soluble extractives in water (cold and hot) and ethanol:toluene (1:2 v.v.) mixture. The chemical composition of thermally modified Eucalyptus grandis juvenile wood was significantly changed by the VAP HolzSysteme ® process compared to untreated wood. Only the wood thermally modified at final cycle temperature of 180 °C was significantly different for all the chemical analyses performed compared to untreated wood.

The near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy presents itself as an interesting non-destructive test tool ... more The near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy presents itself as an interesting non-destructive test tool as it enables a fast, simple and reliable way for characterizing large samplings of biological materials in a short period of time. This work aimed to establish multivariate models to estimate the crystallinity indices and tensile and burst strength of cellulosic and nanocellulosic films through NIR spectroscopy. NIR spectra were recorded from the films before tensile and bursting strength, and crystallinity tests. Spectral information were correlated with reference values obtained by laboratory procedures through partial least square regression (PLS-R). The PLS-R model for estimating the crystallinity index presented a coefficient of determination in cross-validation (R 2 cv) of 0,94 and the ratio of performance to deviation (RPD) was 3,77. The mechanical properties of the films presented a high correlation with the NIR spectra: R 2 p = 0,85 (RPD = 2,23) for tensile and R 2 p = 0,93 (RPD = 3,40) for burst strength. The statistics associated to the models presented have shown that the NIR spectroscopy has the potential to estimate the crystallinity index and resistance properties of cellulose and nanocellulose films on in-line monitoring systems.