Effect of microalgae incorporation on physicochemical and textural properties in wheat bread formulation

[EN] The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of the incorporation of different microalgae on physicochemical and textural properties of bread. Four species of microalgae Isochrysis galbana, Tetraselmissuecica, Scenedesmus almeriensis, and Nannochloropsis gaditana were used in this study. Properties such as water activity, pH, microbiological counts, viscosity, and color were analyzed to determine the effect of microalgae addition on sourdough. The technological quality of breads was analyzed in terms of physicochemical properties, color, texture profile, and porosity. The main effect of microalgae addition was changes in bread color, crust, and crumb that implies an increase of browning and an evolution to more green-yellow tonalities. The textural parameters of breads such as hardness, chewiness, and resilience are not modified by microalgae addition.García-Segovia, P.; Pagán Moreno, MJ.; Lara, IF.; Martínez Monzó, J. (2017). Effect of microalgae incorporation on physicochemical and textural properties in wheat bread formulation. Food Science and Technology International. 23(5):437-447. doi:10.1177/1082013217700259S43744723

The influence of children’s reading ability on initial letter position encoding during a reading-like task

Previous studies exploring the cost of reading sentences with words that have two transposed letters in adults showed that initial letter transpositions caused the most disruption to reading, indicating the important role that initial-letters play in lexical identification (e.g., Rayner et al., 2006). Regarding children, it is not clear whether differences in reading ability would affect how they encode letter position information as they attempt to identify misspelled words in a reading-like task. The aim of this experiment was to explore how initial-letter position information is encoded by children compared to adults when reading misspelled words, containing transpositions, during a reading-like task. Four different conditions were used: control (words were correctly spelled), TL12 (letters in first and second positions were transposed), TL13 (letters in first and third positions were transposed) and TL23 (letters in second and third positions were transposed). Results showed that TL13 condition caused the most disruption, while TL23 caused the least disruption to reading of misspelled words. Whilst disruption for the TL13 condition was quite rapid in adults, the immediacy of disruption was less so for the TL23 and TL12 conditions. For children, effects of transposition also occurred quite rapidly but were longer lasting. The time course was particularly extended for the less skilled relative to the more skilled child readers. This pattern of effects suggests that both adults and children with higher, relative to lower, reading ability encode internal letter position information more flexibly to identify misspelled words, with transposed letters, during a reading-like task

Sustainable development city-beach in Alicante

[EN] Tourism development in recent decades has involved a large urban development in coastal areas, with different anthropogenic structural interventions on the coast such as the construction of commercial buildings and marinas, which has led to intense erosion and large imbalances in the last century. This situation also affects the city of Alicante, with the area between the port of Alicante and the Huertas Cape, one of the most depressed areas of the city, due to various actions carried out since the 70s, for anthropic example fillers for building marinas, jetties and broken in poor condition because they are made of sandstone, and a bad connection between the two parts of the city. In this work the creation of a new promenade that communicates both zones is proposed, creating new beaches eliminating anthro- pogenic fillings and the remains of breakwaters along the coast, the union of diverse marine area in one marina, and the insertion of an artificial reef multipurpose. With all this it is to improve the attraction of the area, and increase the mobility of the city on the coast.Aragonés, L.; García-Barba, J.; Villacampa, Y.; López, I.; Gómez Martín, ME.; Pagán, J. (2017). Sustainable development city-beach in Alicante. International Journal of Sustainable Development and Planning. 12(4):704-712. doi:10.2495/SDP-V12-N4-704-712S70471212

Potential of histamine-degrading microorganisms and diamine oxidase (DAO) for the reduction of histamine accumulation along the cheese ripening process

Lentilactobacillus parabuchneri is the main bacteria responsible for the accumulation of histamine in cheese. The goal of this study was to assess the efficiency of potential histamine-degrading microbial strains or, alternatively, the action of the diamine oxidase (DAO) enzyme in the reduction of histamine accumulation along the ripening process in cheese. A total of 8 cheese variants of cow milk cheese were manufactured, all of them containing L. parabuchneri Deutsche Sammlung von Mikroorganismen 5987 (except for the negative control cheese variant) along with histamine–degrading strains (Lacticaseibacillus casei 4a and 18b; Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus Colección Española de Cultivos Tipo (CECT) 4005 and Streptococcus salivarius subsp. thermophilus CECT 7207; two commercial yogurt starter cultures; or Debaryomyces hansenii), or DAO enzyme, tested in each cheese variant. Histamine was quantified along 100 days of cheese ripening. All the degrading measures tested significantly reduced the concentration of histamine. The highest degree of degradation was observed in the cheese variant containing D. hansenii, where the histamine content decreased up to 45.32 %. Cheese variants with L. casei, or L. bulgaricus and S. thermophilus strains, also decreased in terms of histamine content by 43.05 % and 42.31 %, respectively. No significant physicochemical changes (weight, pH, water activity, color, or texture) were observed as a consequence of the addition of potential histamine-degrading adjunct cultures or DAO in cheeses. However, the addition of histamine-degrading microorganisms was associated with a particular, not unpleasant aroma. Altogether, these results suggest that the use of certain histamine-degrading microorganisms could be proposed as a suitable measure in order to decrease the amount of histamine accumulated in cheeses. © 2022 The Author

Elastography, spleen size, and platelet count identify portal hypertension in patients with compensated cirrhosis

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Noninvasive methods are needed to identify clinically significant portal hypertension (CSPH) and esophageal varices (EVs) in patients with compensated cirrhosis. We looked for markers of the presence of CSPH and EVs in patients with cirrhosis. METHODS: We performed a cross-sectional study that included a training set of 117 patients with compensated cirrhosis, confirmed by histology, from a tertiary referral center. Spleen diameter was measured by ultrasound, and liver stiffness (LS) was measured by transient elastography; endoscopy was used as the standard for detection of EVs, and measurements of hepatic venous pressure gradient were used as the standard for identifying CSPH. We assessed the ability of platelet count, spleen diameter, LS, and combinations of these factors (ie, ratio of platelet count to spleen size, and LS × spleen size/platelet count [LSPS]) to identify patients with CSPH and EV. The analysis included 2 new statistical models: the PH risk score and the varices risk score. Results were validated using an independent series of 56 patients with compensated patients from another center. RESULTS: LS was the best single noninvasive variable for identifying patients with CSPH (area under the receiver operating characteristic, 0.883; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.824-0.943; P < .0001). The area under the receiver operating characteristic value increased when LS was combined with platelet count and spleen size, either as LSPS (0.918; 95% CI, 0.872-0.965; P < .0001) or PH risk score (0.935; 95% CI, 0.893-0.977; P < .0001). More than 80% of patients were accurately classified using LSPS and PH risk score. Analyses of the varices risk score and LSPS were superior to all other noninvasive tests for identifying patients with EVs (area under the receiver operating characteristic, 0.909; 95% CI, 0.841-0.954 and 0.882; 95% CI, 0.810-0.935, respectively); they correctly classified 85% of patients in the training set and 75% in the validation set. CONCLUSIONS: Combined data on LS, spleen diameter, and platelet count can be used to identify patients with compensated cirrhosis most likely to have CSPH and EV

PPARa activation improves endothelial dysfunction and reduces fibrosis and portal pressure in cirrhotic rats

Background & Aims: Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor a (PPARa) is a transcription factor activated by ligands that regulates genes related to vascular tone, oxidative stress, and fibrogenesis, pathways implicated in the development of cirrhosis and portal hypertension. This study aims at evaluating the effects of PPARa activation with fenofibrate on hepatic and systemic hemodynamics, hepatic endothelial dysfunction, and hepatic fibrosis in CCl4-cirrhotic rats. Methods: Mean arterial pressure (MAP), portal pressure (PP), and portal blood flow (PBF) were measured in cirrhotic rats treated with oral fenofibrate (25 mg/kg/day, n = 10) or its vehicle (n = 12) for 7 days. The liver was then perfused and dose-relaxation curves to acetylcholine (Ach) were performed. We also evaluated Sirius Red staining of liver sections, collagen-I mRNA expression, and smooth muscle actin (a-SMA) protein expression, cyclo-oxygenase-1 (COX-1) protein expression, and cGMP levels in liver homogenates, and TXB2 production in perfusates. Nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability and eNOS activation were measured in hepatic endothelial cells (HEC) isolated from cirrhotic rat livers. Results: CCl4 cirrhotic rats treated with fenofibrate had a significantly lower PP (29%) and higher MAP than those treated with vehicle. These effects were associated with a significant reduction in hepatic fibrosis and improved vasodilatory response to acetylcholine. Moreover, a reduction in COX-1 expression and TXB2 production in rats receiving fenofibrate and a significant increase in NO bioavailability in HEC with fenofibrate were observed. Conclusions: PPARa activation markedly reduced PP and liver fibrosis and improved hepatic endothelial dysfunction in cirrhotic rats, suggesting it may represent a new therapeutic strategy for portal hypertension in cirrhosis

A new prognostic algorithm based on stage of cirrhosis and HVPG to improve risk-stratification after variceal bleeding

Background & Aims: HVPG decrease ≥20% or ≤12mmHg (“responders”) indicates good prognosis during propranolol/nadolol treatment but requires two HVPG measurements. We aimed at simplifying risk‐stratification after variceal bleeding using clinical data and HVPG. Methods: 193 cirrhotic patients (62% with ascites and/or hepatic encephalopathy, HE) included within 7‐days of bleeding had HVPG measured before and at 1‐3 months of treatment with propranolol/nadolol plus endoscopic band ligation. End‐points: Rebleeding and rebleeding/transplantation‐free survival for 4‐years. Another cohort (n=231) served as validation set. Results: During follow‐up 45 patients had variceal bleeding and 61 died. HVPG‐responders (n=71) had lower rebleeding‐risk (10% vs 34%, p=0.001) and better survival than 122 non‐responders (61% vs 39%, p=0.001). Patients with/HE (n=120) had lower survival than patients without (40% vs 63%, p=0.005). Among patients with ascites/HE, those with baseline HVPG≤16mmHg (n=16) had low rebleeding‐risk (13%). By contrast, among patients with ascites/HE and baseline HVPG>16mmHg, only HVPG‐responders (n=32) had good prognosis, with lower rebleeding‐risk and better survival than non‐responders (n=72) (respective proportions: 7% vs 39%,p=0.018; 56% vs 30% p=0.010). These findings allowed developing a new algorithm for risk‐stratification in which HVPG‐response was only measured in patients with ascites and/or HE and baseline HVPG>16mmHg. This algorithm reduced the grey‐zone (high‐risk patients not dying on follow‐up) from 46% to 35% and decreased by 42% the HVPG measurements required. The validation cohort confirmed these results. Conclusion: Restricting HVPG measurements to patients with ascites/HE and measuring HVPG‐response only if baseline HVPG>16mmHg improves detection of high‐risk patients while markedly reducing the number of HVPG measurements required

Reliability of the estimation of total hepatic blood flow by doppler ultrasound in patients with cirrhotic portal hypertension

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Hepatic blood flow (HBF) is best estimated by the Fick's method during indocyanine green constant infusion (ICG-HBF) on hepatic vein catheterization. We investigated the consistency and agreement of HBF measured by Doppler ultrasound (US-HBF) as compared with ICG-HBF in portal hypertensive patients with cirrhosis. METHODS: In 50 patients observed for HVPG measurement (56% compensated; Child score 7 ± 2; HVPG 16.6 ± 6.0 mmHg; varices in 75%) US-HBF (Sequoia-512-Acuson; 4.5-7 MHz convex probe; US-HBF = hepatic artery blood flow+portal vein blood flow) and ICG-HBF (Fick's method after an equilibration period of at least 45 min of ICG bolus of 5 mg + constant rate infusion of 0.2 mg/min). Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) for consistency and absolute agreement between US-HBF and ICG-HBF were calculated. RESULTS: Mean ICG-HBF and US-HBF were similar, being respectively 1004 ± 543 ml/min and 994 ± 494 ml/min (p = 0.661 vs. ICG-HBF). However, results in individual patients disclosed marked differences between the two methods (386 ± 415 ml/min) and showed only moderate consistency (ICC 0.456; p < 0.0001), absolute agreement (ICC 0.461; p < 0.0001) and linear correlation (R = 0.464; p < 0.0001). The discrepancy between the two methods was maximal in patients with poor liver function, high HBF by any technique and more arterialized liver circulation. Hepatic artery blood flow ≥40% of US-HBF indicated, with 90% specificity, a discrepancy ≥20% between US-HBF and ICG-HBF. CONCLUSIONS: HBF estimations by Doppler-ultrasound and ICG are significantly correlated, but their discrepancy in individual cases is high. Estimation of HBF by Doppler-US should be considered unreliable in patients with poor hepatic function and large liver arterialization

Terutroban, A TP-receptor antagonist, reduces portal pressure in cirrhotic rats

Increased production of vasoconstrictive prostanoids, such as thromboxane A2 (TXA2 ), contributes to endothelial dysfunction and increased hepatic vascular tone in cirrhosis. TXA2 induces vasoconstriction by way of activation of the thromboxane-A2 /prostaglandin-endoperoxide (TP) receptor. This study investigated whether terutroban, a specific TP receptor blocker, decreases hepatic vascular tone and portal pressure in rats with cirrhosis due to carbon tetrachloride (CCl4 ) or bile duct ligation (BDL). Hepatic and systemic hemodynamics, endothelial dysfunction, liver fibrosis, hepatic Rho-kinase activity (a marker of hepatic stellate cell contraction), and the endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) signaling pathway were measured in CCl4 and BDL cirrhotic rats treated with terutroban (30 mg/kg/day) or its vehicle for 2 weeks. Terutroban reduced portal pressure in both models without producing significant changes in portal blood flow, suggesting a reduction in hepatic vascular resistance. Terutroban did not significantly change arterial pressure in CCl4 -cirrhotic rats but decreased it significantly in BDL-cirrhotic rats. In livers from CCl4 and BDL-cirrhotic terutroban-treated rats, endothelial dysfunction was improved and Rho-kinase activity was significantly reduced. In CCl4 -cirrhotic rats, terutroban reduced liver fibrosis and decreased alpha smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), collagen-I, and transforming growth factor beta messenger RNA (mRNA) expression without significant changes in the eNOS pathway. In contrast, no change in liver fibrosis was observed in BDL-cirrhotic rats but an increase in the eNOS pathway. CONCLUSION: Our data indicate that TP-receptor blockade with terutroban decreases portal pressure in cirrhosis. This effect is due to decreased hepatic resistance, which in CCl4 -cirrhotic rats was linked to decreased hepatic fibrosis, but not in BDL rats, in which the main mediator appeared to be an enhanced eNOS-dependent vasodilatation, which was not liver-selective, as it was associated with decreased arterial pressure. The potential use of terutroban for portal hypertension requires further investigation

The significance of cheese sampling in the determination of histamine concentration: Distribution pattern of histamine in ripened cheeses

Cheeses are becoming a major safety and public health concern: cheeses available in supermarkets occasionally contain high histamine concentrations that can have negative effects on consumer health. In this study, we have attempted to assess the histamine distribution pattern in ripened cheeses, with the purpose of establishing a correct cheese sampling strategy for the quantification of histamine. To this aim, histamine was determined in four distinct areas of twelve long-ripened hard cheeses: the external and internal rind, along with the outer and inner core of the wedge. The concentrations measured were remarkably different: histamine accumulated in the central core, whereas the lowest amount was found in the peripheral rind. To explain this heterogenous distribution, histamine producers were determined in the four areas by identifying the hdc sequences obtained from cheese samples. Non-starter bacteria were identified as main histamine producers; however, these microbiota were homogeneously distributed throughout the wedge. Nevertheless, the analysis of psychochemical properties of the different areas revealed an observable trend: histamine tended to accumulate in the saltier, more humid, and less oxidized areas in a wedge. Overall, this study highlights the significance of a correct sampling strategy when histamine is quantified in cheese