Impact of High Hydrostatic Pressure and Heat Treatments on Milk Gel Properties: A Comparative Rheological Study

The effects of high hydrostatic pressure (483 and 676 MPa at 20°C for 5 min) and heat treatment (63°C for 30 min and 72°C for 15 s) of milk on the rheological properties of coagulant-induced milk gels were investigated. The rheological properties of gels were determined using a dynamic Physica Rheometer and Texture Analyzer. Milk turbidity was measured by a spectrophotometer. The gels produced from a pressure of 483 MPa had higher storage modulus (G*) and firmer gel at cutting compared to heated milks. Increasing the pressure to 676 MPa caused a reduction in G*, less firm gels, and an increase in milk turbidity compared to 483 MPa and heated milks. The differences between the gels formed from different pressure- and heat-treated milks, suggesting that the structure network of gels were considerably altered by high hydrostatic pressure treatment of milk. Disruption of casein micelles and denaturation of whey proteins caused by high hydrostatic pressure treatments were responsible for most of the effects observed in this study. In general, pressurizing the milk at 483 MPa at 20°C was a promising treatment for the manufacture of coagulant-induced milk gels with good rheological properties; however, pressurization at 676 MPa could not be recommended

A Rheological Model for Cupuassu (Theobroma grandiflorum) Pulp at Different Concentrations and Temperatures

This work was made aiming at studying the best model for the rheological properties of Cupuassu (Theobroma grandiflorum, Schum) pulps with 14 (in nature), 17, 19, 23 and 25°Brix of total soluble solids (TSS) which were me asured at 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60°C temperature using a conc entric cylinder rheometer. The results were adjusted to the following nine models: Ostwald-de-Waele (power law), Bingham, Casson, Generalized Casson, Heinz–Casson, Herschel–Bulkley, Mizrahi–Berk, Schulmann–Haroske–Reher and Windhab. The parameters of the best model were correlated with pulp temperature and TSS by polynomial regression analysis and were kept in the regression equation only those parameters that contributed more than 1% to the variation of the independent variable. The results indicate that the rheological behavior of Cupuassu pulp in different concentrations and temperatures can be modeled by the Windhab model, although other models can be used in a narrower band of shear stress

PROSTATECTOMIA RADICAL LAPAROSCÓPICA TRANSPERITONEAL VERSUS PROSTATECTOMIA RADICAL LAPAROSCÓPICA EXTRAPERITONEAL

O câncer de próstata é a segunda neoplasia maligna mais comum no mundo entre os homens e várias técnicas estão disponíveis para a realização da prostatectomia. Objetivos: comparar a prostatectomia radical laparoscópica transperitoneal comparada à prostatectomia radical laparoscópica extraperitoneal. Materiais e métodos: Trata-se de uma revisão integrativa, em que a questão norteadora foi “A prostatectomia radical laparoscópica transperitoneal tem vantagens quando comparada à prostatectomia radical laparoscópica extraperitoneal?”. A busca pelos artigos ocorreu na base de dados PubMed a partir dos termos “transperitoneal”, “extraperitoneal” e “prostatectomy”, combinados entre si por operadores booleanos. Resultados e discussão: Em termos de características perioperatórias, a abordagem transperitoneal apresentou menor tempo operatório geral, menor perda de sangue e menor tempo de internação. A continência urinária foi comparável entre os métodos extraperitoneal e transperitoneal aos 3 e 24 meses após a cirurgia, mas menor aos 12 meses no grupo extraperitoneal. Aos 3 meses, o grupo transperitoneal teve um melhor desempenho sexual com penetrância peniana. As complicações perioperatórias foram avaliadas nos períodos precoce e tardio após as cirurgias. As complicações precoces não foram diferentes entre os grupos, enquanto as complicações tardias foram significativamente menores no grupo transperitoneal. As taxas de margem cirúrgica positiva foram menores no grupo de abordagem transperitoneal. A recidiva bioquímica ocorreu em 36,3% no grupo de abordagem extraperitoneal e 27,6% no grupo de abordagem transperitoneal. Conclusão: Concluímos com nosso estudo que a prostatectomia radical laparoscópica transperitoneal foi superior à prostatectomia radical extraperitoneal.O câncer de próstata é a segunda neoplasia maligna mais comum no mundo entre os homens e várias técnicas estão disponíveis para a realização da prostatectomia. Objetivos: comparar a prostatectomia radical laparoscópica transperitoneal comparada à prostatectomia radical laparoscópica extraperitoneal. Materiais e métodos: Trata-se de uma revisão integrativa, em que a questão norteadora foi “A prostatectomia radical laparoscópica transperitoneal tem vantagens quando comparada à prostatectomia radical laparoscópica extraperitoneal?”. A busca pelos artigos ocorreu na base de dados PubMed a partir dos termos “transperitoneal”, “extraperitoneal” e “prostatectomy”, combinados entre si por operadores booleanos. Resultados e discussão: Em termos de características perioperatórias, a abordagem transperitoneal apresentou menor tempo operatório geral, menor perda de sangue e menor tempo de internação. A continência urinária foi comparável entre os métodos extraperitoneal e transperitoneal aos 3 e 24 meses após a cirurgia, mas menor aos 12 meses no grupo extraperitoneal. Aos 3 meses, o grupo transperitoneal teve um melhor desempenho sexual com penetrância peniana. As complicações perioperatórias foram avaliadas nos períodos precoce e tardio após as cirurgias. As complicações precoces não foram diferentes entre os grupos, enquanto as complicações tardias foram significativamente menores no grupo transperitoneal. As taxas de margem cirúrgica positiva foram menores no grupo de abordagem transperitoneal. A recidiva bioquímica ocorreu em 36,3% no grupo de abordagem extraperitoneal e 27,6% no grupo de abordagem transperitoneal. Conclusão: Concluímos com nosso estudo que a prostatectomia radical laparoscópica transperitoneal foi superior à prostatectomia radical extraperitoneal.Prostate cancer is the second most common malignancy in the world among men and several techniques are available for performing prostatectomy. Objectives: To compare transperitoneal laparoscopic radical prostatectomy compared to extraperitoneal laparoscopic radical prostatectomy. Materials and methods: This is an integrative review, in which the guiding question was “Does transperitoneal laparoscopic radical prostatectomy have advantages when compared to extraperitoneal laparoscopic radical prostatectomy?”. The search for articles occurred in the PubMed database using the terms “transperitoneal”, “extraperitoneal” and “prostatectomy”, combined with Boolean operators. Results and discussion: In terms of perioperative characteristics, the transperitoneal approach presented shorter overall operative time, less blood loss and shorter hospital stay. Urinary continence was comparable between extraperitoneal and transperitoneal methods at 3 and 24 months after surgery, but lower at 12 months in the extraperitoneal group. At 3 months, the transperitoneal group had better sexual performance with penile penetrance. Perioperative complications were evaluated in the early and late periods after the surgeries. Early complications were not different between groups, while late complications were significantly lower in the transperitoneal group. Positive surgical margin rates were lower in the transperitoneal approach group. Biochemical recurrence occurred in 36.3% in the extraperitoneal approach group and 27.6% in the transperitoneal approach group. Conclusion: We concluded from our study that transperitoneal laparoscopic radical prostatectomy was superior to extraperitoneal radical prostatectomy.El cáncer de próstata es la segunda neoplasia maligna más común en el mundo entre los hombres y existen varias técnicas para realizar la prostatectomía. Objetivos: comparar la prostatectomía radical laparoscópica transperitoneal con la prostatectomía radical laparoscópica extraperitoneal. Materiales y métodos: Se trata de una revisión integradora, en la que la pregunta orientadora fue “¿La prostatectomía radical laparoscópica transperitoneal tiene ventajas en comparación con la prostatectomía radical laparoscópica extraperitoneal?”. La búsqueda de artículos ocurrió en la base de datos PubMed utilizando los términos “transperitoneal”, “extraperitoneal” y “prostatectomía”, combinados con operadores booleanos. Resultados y discusión: En cuanto a las características perioperatorias, el abordaje transperitoneal presentó menor tiempo operatorio global, menor pérdida de sangre y menor estancia hospitalaria. La continencia urinaria fue comparable entre los métodos extraperitoneal y transperitoneal a los 3 y 24 meses después de la cirugía, pero menor a los 12 meses en el grupo extraperitoneal. A los 3 meses, el grupo transperitoneal tuvo mejor desempeño sexual con penetración peneana. Se evaluaron las complicaciones perioperatorias en los períodos temprano y tardío después de las cirugías. Las complicaciones tempranas no fueron diferentes entre los grupos, mientras que las complicaciones tardías fueron significativamente menores en el grupo transperitoneal. Las tasas de márgenes quirúrgicos positivos fueron menores en el grupo de abordaje transperitoneal. La recurrencia bioquímica ocurrió en el 36,3% en el grupo de abordaje extraperitoneal y en el 27,6% en el grupo de abordaje transperitoneal. Conclusión: La prostatectomía radical laparoscópica transperitoneal fue superior a la prostatectomía radical extraperitoneal

Effect of Torrefaction on Water Vapor Adsorption Properties and Resistance to Microbial Degradation of Corn Stover

The equilibrium moisture content (EMC) of biomass affects transportation, storage, downstream feedstock processing, and the overall economy of biorenewables production. Torrefaction is a thermochemical process conducted in the temperature regime between 200 and 300 °C under an inert atmosphere that, among other benefits, aims to reduce the innate hydrophilicity and susceptibility to microbial degradation of biomass. The objective of this study was to examine water sorption properties of torrefied corn stover. The EMC of raw corn stover, along with corn stover thermally pretreated at three temperatures, was measured using the static gravimetric method at equilibrium relative humidity (ERH) and temperatures ranging from 10 to 98% and from 10 to 40 °C, respectively. Five isotherms were fitted to the experimental data to obtain the prediction equation that best describes the relationship between the ERH and the EMC of lignocellulosic biomass. Microbial degradation of the samples was tested at 97% ERH and 30 °C. Fiber analyses were conducted on all samples. In general, torrefied biomass showed an EMC lower than that of raw biomass, which implied an increase in hydrophobicity. The modified Oswin model performed best in describing the correlation between ERH and EMC. Corn stover torrefied at 250 and 300 °C had negligible dry matter mass loss due to microbial degradation. Fiber analysis showed a significant decrease in hemicellulose content with the increase in pretreatment temperature, which might be the reason for the hydrophobic nature of the torrefied biomass. The outcomes of this work can be used for torrefaction process optimization, and decision-making regarding raw and torrefied biomass storage and downstream processing

Functional traits driving species role in the structure of terrestrial vertebrate scavenger networks

Species assemblages often have a non-random nested organization, which in vertebrate scavenger (carrion-consuming) assemblages is thought to be driven by facilitation in competitive environments. However, not all scavenger species play the same role in maintaining assemblage structure, as some species are obligate scavengers (i.e., vultures) and others are facultative, scavenging opportunistically. We used a database with 177 vertebrate scavenger species from 53 assemblages in 22 countries across five continents to identify which functional traits of scavenger species are key to maintaining the scavenging network structure. We used network analyses to relate ten traits hypothesized to affect assemblage structure with the role of each species in the scavenging assemblage in which it appeared. We characterized the role of a species in terms of both the proportion of monitored carcasses on which that species scavenged, or scavenging breadth (i.e., the species normalized degree), and the role of that species in the nested structure of the assemblage (i.e., the species paired nested degree), therefore identifying possible facilitative interactions among species. We found that species with high olfactory acuity, social foragers, and obligate scavengers had the widest scavenging breadth. We also found that social foragers had a large paired nested degree in scavenger assemblages, probably because their presence is easier to detect by other species to signal carcass occurrence. Our study highlights differences in the functional roles of scavenger species and can be used to identify key species for targeted conservation to maintain the ecological function of scavenger assemblages