Ultrasonic Characterization and online monitoring of pork meat dry salting process

[EN] Bearing in mind the highly variable salt content in dry-cured meat products with anatomical integrity, such as pork loin or ham, non-destructive salt content characterization and the online monitoring of dry salting are highly relevant for industrial purposes. This study explores the ability of low-intensity ultrasound to monitor the dry salting of pork Biceps femoris (BF) and Longissimus dorsi (LD) online, as well as to estimate the salt content, both in these muscles and in hams. For this purpose, meat samples were dry salted for up to 16 d at 2 C. During the salting of the muscles, the ultrasonic velocity was continuously measured at time intervals of 5 min, while in the hams it was measured before and after salting. The ultrasonic velocity increased progressively during the salting due to salt gain and water loss, reaching a velocity variation (DV) of 46.8 m/s after 16 d of dry salting for hams and 59.5 and 30.6 m/s after 48 h of dry salting for LD and BF, respectively. Accurate correlations between salt gain and DV were obtained (R2 ¿ 0.903 in LD-BF muscles and R2 ¿ 0.758 in hams), which allowed the assessment of the salt content with an average estimation error of 0.4% w.b. for both muscles and hams. Further research should investigate the use of the time of flight obtained through the pulse-echo mode, instead of the ultrasonic velocity, in order to improve the industrial applicabiliThis work was supported by the Spanish Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad (MINECO), Instituto Nacional de Investigacion y Tecnologia Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA) and European Regional Development Fund (ERDF 2014-2020) (contract n. RTA2013-00030-C03-02), by the PROMETEOII\2014\005 and by the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia (UPV) through the FPI grant awarded to Marta de Prados (SP-1.2011-S1-2757).De Prados, M.; García Pérez, JV.; Benedito Fort, JJ. (2016). Ultrasonic Characterization and online monitoring of pork meat dry salting process. Food Control. 60:646-655. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodcont.2015.09.009S6466556

Identification of Peptides Potentially Responsible for In Vivo Hypolipidemic Activity of a Hydrolysate from Olive Seeds

Previous studies demonstrated that peptides produced by the hydrolysis of olive seed proteins using Alcalase enzyme showed in vitro multifunctional lipid-lowering capability. This work presents a deeper insight into the hypolipidemic effect of olive seed peptides. The capability of olive seed peptides to inhibit endogenous cholesterol biosynthesis through the inhibition of HMGCoA reductase enzyme was evaluated observing a 38 ± 7% of inhibition. Two in vivo assays using different peptides concentrations (200 and 400 mg/kg/day) were designed to evaluate the hypolipidemic effect of olive seed peptides in male and female mice. A low concentration of hydrolysate reduced total cholesterol in male mice in a 20% after 11 weeks compared to the mice feeding with hypercholesterolemic diet. A higher hydrolysate concentration showed a greater reduction in total cholesterol (25%). The analysis of the olive seed hydrolysate by reverse phase high-performance liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (RP-HPLC-MS) enabled the identification of peptides that could be responsible for this hypolipidemic effect

5-Fluorouracil-loaded poly(ε-caprolactone) nanoparticles combined with phage E gene therapy as a new strategy against colon cancer

This work aimed to develop a new therapeutic approach to increase the efficacy of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) in the treatment of advanced or recurrent colon cancer. 5-FU-loaded biodegradable poly(ε-caprolactone) nanoparticles (PCL NPs) were combined with the cytotoxic suicide gene E (combined therapy). The SW480 human cancer cell line was used to assay the combined therapeutic strategy. This cell line was established from a primary adenocarcinoma of the colon and is characterized by an intrinsically high resistance to apoptosis that correlates with its resistance to 5-FU. 5-FU was absorbed into the matrix of the PCL NPs during synthesis using the interfacial polymer disposition method. The antitumor activity of gene E from the phage ϕX174 was tested by generating a stable clone (SW480/12/E). In addition, the localization of E protein and its activity in mitochondria were analyzed. We found that the incorporation of 5-FU into PCL NPs (which show no cytotoxicity alone), significantly improved the drug’s anticancer activity, reducing the proliferation rate of colon cancer cells by up to 40-fold when compared with the nonincorporated drug alone. Furthermore, E gene expression sensitized colon cancer cells to the cytotoxic action of the 5-FU-based nanomedicine. Our findings demonstrate that despite the inherent resistance of SW480 to apoptosis, E gene activity is mediated by an apoptotic phenomenon that includes modulation of caspase-9 and caspase-3 expression and intense mitochondrial damage. Finally, a strongly synergistic antiproliferative effect was observed in colon cancer cells when E gene expression was combined with the activity of the 5-FU-loaded PCL NPs, thereby indicating the potential therapeutic value of the combined therapy

Comparison of the effect of repeated-sprint training combined with two different methods of strengt training on young soccer players

Comparison of the effect of repeated-sprint training combined with two different methods of strength training on young soccer players. J Strength Cond Res 29(3): 744–751, 2015—The aim of this study was to assess the effect of combining repeated-sprint training with 2 different methods of muscle strength training on physical performance variables in young players. Twenty-one soccer players with mean (±SD) age of 18.1 (±0.8) years, weight 69.9 (±6.5) kg, and height 177.1 (±5.7) cm, and competing in U-19 category, were randomly assigned to 2 experimental groups: squat group (SG: n = 10) and take-off group (TG: n = 11). Intervention in both groups consisted of the combination of a weekly session of repeated-sprint training (the same for both groups), with 2 weekly sessions of strength training (different for each group), for 8 weeks in the final period of the season. The strength sessions for the SG consisted of conducting a series of full squats executed at maximum velocity in the concentric phase. Intervention in the TG was the performance of 2 specific strength exercises (take-offs and change of direction), with measurements taken before and after consideration of the following variables: repeated-sprint ability (RSA), yo-yo intermittent recovery test level 1 (YYIRT1), countermovement jump (CMJ), and average velocity in full squat progressive loads test. The SG improved CMJ height in 5.28% (p <= 0.05) and FS37.5-47.5-67.5 (p <= 0.05), whereas the TG improved FS17.5-27.5-37.5-47.5-67.5 (p <= 0.05). There were no significant changes in the values of RSA or YYIRT1 in either group. The results seem to show that the combination of a weekly session of repeated-sprint training with 2 weekly sessions of strength training could be an insufficient stimulus to improve RSA in the final period of the season.Actividad Física y Deport

Emerging renewable energy landscapes in Spain

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Polypharmacy Patterns: Unravelling Systematic Associations between Prescribed Medications

Objectives: The aim of this study was to demonstrate the existence of systematic associations in drug prescription that lead to the establishment of patterns of polypharmacy, and the clinical interpretation of the associations found in each pattern. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted based on information obtained from electronic medical records and the primary care pharmacy database in 2008. An exploratory factor analysis of drug dispensing information regarding 79,089 adult patients was performed to identify the patterns of polypharmacy. The analysis was stratified by age and sex. Results: Seven patterns of polypharmacy were identified, which may be classified depending on the type of disease they are intended to treat: cardiovascular, depression-anxiety, acute respiratory infection (ARI), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), rhinitis-asthma, pain, and menopause. Some of these patterns revealed a clear clinical consistency and included drugs that are prescribed together for the same clinical indication (i.e., ARI and COPD patterns). Other patterns were more complex but also clinically consistent: in the cardiovascular pattern, drugs for the treatment of known risk factors—such as hypertension or dyslipidemia—were combined with other medications for the treatment of diabetes or established cardiovascular pathology (e.g., antiplatelet agents). Almost all of the patterns included drugs for preventing or treating potential side effects of other drugs in the same pattern. Conclusions: The present study demonstrated the existence of non-random associations in drug prescription, resulting in patterns of polypharmacy that are sound from the pharmacological and clinical viewpoints and that exist in a significant proportion of the population. This finding necessitates future longitudinal studies to confirm some of the proposed causal associations. The information discovered would further the development and/or adaptation of clinical patient guidelines to patients with multimorbidity who are taking multiple drugs

Evaluation of the safety, tolerance and efficacy of 1-year consumption of infant formula supplemented with Lactobacillus fermentum CECT5716 Lc40 or Bifidobacterium breve CECT7263: a randomized controlled trial

Background: The microorganism present in breast milk, added to other factors, determine the colonization of infants. The objective of the present study is to evaluate the safety, tolerance and effects of the consumption of a milk formula during the first year of life that is supplemented with L. fermentum CECT5716 or Bifidobacterium breve CECT7263, two strains originally isolated from breast milk. Results: One hundred and eighty-nine infants completed the eleven months of intervention (61 in control group, 65 in Lf group and 63 in Bb group). The growth of infants in the three groups was consistent with standards. No significant differences were observed in the main outcome, weight-gain (Control group: 5.77 Kg ± 0.95, Lf group: 5.77 Kg ± 1.31, Bb group: 5.58 Kg ± 1.10; p = 0.527). The three milk formulae were well tolerated, and no adverse effects were related to the consumption of any of the formula. Infants receiving B. breve CECT7263 had a 1.7 times lower risk of crying than the control group (OR = 0.569, CI 95% 0.568–0.571; p = 0.001). On the other hand, the incidence of diarrhoea in infants receiving the formula supplemented with L. fermentum CECT5716 was a 44% lower than in infants receiving the control formula (p = 0.014). The consumption of this Lactobacillus strain also reduced the duration of diarrhoea by 2.5 days versus control group (p = 0.044). Conclusions: The addition of L. fermentum CECT5716 Lc40 or B. breve CECT7263, two probiotic strains naturally found in breast milk, to infant formulae is safe and induces beneficial effects on the health of infants.This work was funded by Biosearch Life supported by a grant from the Agency of Innovation and Development of Andalusia (IDEA-Spain), Cofinanced by European Regional Development Fund (EC). Project Tittle: “New applications of probiotic strains and derived compounds with biological activity (POSTBIO)” and partially funded by Lactalis-Puleva (Granada, Spain)

Clinical repercussions and epidemiological considerations of supernumerary canines : a 26 case series

To establish the prevalence of supernumerary canines (SNC) in a sector of the population of Madrid (Spain), as well possible complications associated with this unusual developmental variation. This observational study was performed between 2005 and 2017, among 21,615 patients seeking dental treatment at the Faculty of Dentistry, Complutense University of Madrid (Spain), and at the Virgen de la Paloma Hospital, Madrid (Spain); 22 patients with 26 SNCs were diagnosed. These 22 patients underwent clinical and radiological exploration, registering patient data. SNCs presented a prevalence of 0.10% of the study population. The supernumerary teeth (SNT) were located in the upper maxilla more frequently (61.54%) than the mandible (38.46%). 69.23% were found to be impacted, also causing the impaction of the permanent canine in 53.85% of these cases. In 15.38%, follicular expansion > 3mm was observed. SNCs were associated with other SNT in only four patients. Despite of the fact that the SNCs are usually diagnosed casually in the course of radiological exploration, in the present study over half of them (53.85%) caused impaction of the permanent canine. Early diagnosis allows optimal patient management and treatment planning, with intervention at an appropriate time to prevent complications in development and so reduce later treatment need

Integrative multi-platform meta-analysis of gene expression profiles in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma patients for identifying novel diagnostic biomarkers

Applying differentially expressed genes (DEGs) to identify feasible biomarkers in diseases can be a hard task when working with heterogeneous datasets. Expression data are strongly influenced by technology, sample preparation processes, and/or labeling methods. The proliferation of different microarray platforms for measuring gene expression increases the need to develop models able to compare their results, especially when different technologies can lead to signal values that vary greatly. Integrative meta-analysis can significantly improve the reliability and robustness of DEG detection. The objective of this work was to develop an integrative approach for identifying potential cancer biomarkers by integrating gene expression data from two different platforms. Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), where there is an urgent need to find new biomarkers due its late diagnosis, is an ideal candidate for testing this technology. Expression data from two different datasets, namely Affymetrix and Illumina (18 and 36 PDAC patients, respectively), as well as from 18 healthy controls, was used for this study. A meta-analysis based on an empirical Bayesian methodology (ComBat) was then proposed to integrate these datasets. DEGs were finally identified from the integrated data by using the statistical programming language R. After our integrative meta-analysis, 5 genes were commonly identified within the individual analyses of the independent datasets. Also, 28 novel genes that were not reported by the individual analyses (`gained' genes) were also discovered. Several of these gained genes have been already related to other gastroenterological tumors. The proposed integrative metaanalysis has revealed novel DEGs that may play an important role in PDAC and could be potential biomarkers for diagnosing the disease.This work was supported by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (grant number DTS15/00201 to OC), Ministerio de Economía Competitividad (the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness) (grant number TIN2015-71873-R to IR), Consejería de Salud, Junta de Andalucía (PIN-0474-2016 to JP), Consejería de Economía, Innovación, Ciencia y Empleo, Junta de Andalucía (P12-TIC-2082 to IR) and the University de Granada (grant number 15/13 to OC). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript