The role of PNI to predict survival in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma treated with Sorafenib

Background and aims The present study aims to investigate the role of the prognostic nutritional index (PNI) on survival in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treated with sorafenib. Methods This multicentric study included a training cohort of 194 HCC patients and three external validation cohorts of 129, 76 and 265 HCC patients treated with Sorafenib, respectively. The PNI was calculated as follows: 10 × serum albumin (g/dL) + 0.005 × total lymphocyte count (per mm3). Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to investigate the association between the covariates and the overall survival (OS). Results A PNI cut-off value of 31.3 was established using the ROC analysis. In the training cohort, the median OS was 14.8 months (95% CI 12–76.3) and 6.8 months (95% CI 2.7–24.6) for patients with a high (>31.3) and low (<31.3) PNI, respectively. At both the univariate and the multivariate analysis, low PNI value (p = 0.0004), a 1-unit increase of aspartate aminotransferase (p = 0.0001), and age > 70 years (p< 0.0038) were independent prognostic factors for OS. By performing the same multivariate analysis of the training cohort, the PNI <31.3 versus >31.3 was found to be an independent prognostic factor for predicting OS in all the three validation cohorts. Conclusions PNI represents a prognostic tool in advanced HCC treated with first-line Sorafenib. It is readily available and low-cost, and it could be implemented in clinical practice in patients with HCC

The Oxidative State of Olive Oil Used in Bakery Products with Special Reference to Focaccia

The fatty substances used in bakery products vary a lot in nature and content. The most largely used lipids are butter, lard, hydrogenated vegetable oils, margarines, olive oil and olive-pomace oil; their content may range from 5 to 15% for some bread substitutes, such as focaccia, rusks, crackers, breadsticks, and up to 20-30% in the case of pastry products, such as biscuits and cakes. The choice of the most suitable kind of lipid and the optimal amount needed in the formulation is closely related to the desired bakery product, and is based on different parameters such as the dough workability, the product's rheological and sensory properties, the shelf-life and the consumers' needs. During the first processing step the "lipid binding" starts up: chemical and physical interactions are established between the lipids and other ingredients, such as starch and proteins (gluten). This process also involves free endogenous lipids (naturally contained in flours), i.e., lipids not chemically bound to cell structures or to other meal components. The formation of gliadine-lipid-glutenine complexes allows the dough to incorporate the gases, which develop during fermentation, and to retain them in the gluten mesh, thus giving volume and softness to the leavened product. © 2010 Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Changes in the oxidative state of extra virgin olive oil used in baked Italian focaccia topped with different ingredients

Four different types of "focaccia" (Italian flat bread) prepared with the same dough and the same extra virgin olive oil but with different seasonings, were analyzed. Lipids were extracted from each sample using the Folch method. The indices commonly used to assess oil quality, the amounts of trans fatty acids and compounds of triglyceride polymerization, oxidation and hydrolysis, were determined in all the samples to better assess the degree of oxidation and hydrolysis of the oils. The findings showed that, once baked, the oil sampled from the different types of focaccias could not be included in the virgin category. The level of oxidation of the baked samples was greater than that in the uncooked oil. However the results obtained showed that the level of degradation of the extracted oils was lower than that found in edible refined oils and it seemed to be influenced by the topping used to flavour the focaccias. © 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Comparative study and quality evaluation of Italian focaccias seasoned with extra virgin olive oil

An extra virgin olive oil was used as seasoning for three different types of focaccia produced on an industrial scale. This oil and samples of the oil extracted from the focaccias after baking were submitted to routine analyses and to silica gel column chromatography to separate polar compounds. These were then subjected to high performance size-exclusion chromatographic (HPSEC) analysis and it allowed to determine oxidative and hydrolytic degradation products. The results were compared with those obtained from artisan focaccias, seasoned with the same oil and toppings, by statistical analyses. The different technologies and the toppings employed directed in different ways the oxidative and hydrolytic processes in the oil. Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC