Quality and quality changes during refrigerated storage in diploid and triploid oysters from Orbetello Lagoon (Italy)

AbstractThe aim of this study was to evaluate the chemical and nutritional characteristics and quality decay during storage of diploid and triploid Pacific oysters (Crassostrea gigas) reared in Orbetello Lagoon (Grosseto, Italy), a site subject to high variations in environmental parameters. Specimens of diploid (D) and triploid (T) oysters of commercial size and similar age were sampled from an oyster farm (Soc. Coop. GIGAS) in autumn 2005 and in winter, spring and summer 2006. At each sampling date, D (n=60) and T (n=60) oysters were individually weighed, divided into 4 lots, stored under refrigerated conditions (+4°C), and analysed at different times after harvest (1, 3, 7 and 10 days). Oysters were individually weighed again at the different times, measured for maximum length, width and thickness, and opened. The weight of the soft part and shell and the volume of intervalvar liquor were recorded. pH of soft part, gill and mantle colour (CIE L*, a* and b*, Minolta Chromameter) and chemical characteris..

Quality traits of Procambarus clarkii (girard) related to sex and refrigerated storage

The red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii, Girard) is the most widespread alien species in Europe. Imported from Louisiana to southern Spain in 1973, where at present it is reared in crayfish farm and also diffused in the wild, it was introduced into Italy in the '80s and is now well established in natural environments of northern and central Italy. Naturalization of this alien species poses risks for aquatic ecosystems and its use as food may be a way to limit its spreading. The aim of this study was to analyse the morphological, mercantile and biochemical characteristics of male and female specimens of Procambarus clarkii and to evaluate changes in qualitative traits during refrigerated storage. Specimens of red swamp crayfish collected in a river, after a rearing period of 85 days in tanks, were harvested, killed by hypothermia and refrigerated (1°C). Male (n=31) and female (n=26) specimens were separated and measured for total body and abdomen length, 1 (n=10), 3 (n=16), 8 (n=16) and 10 days (n=15) after harvesting. They were weighed, sectioned to separate claws and tails (shell-on), which were weighed individually and their colour parameters (lightness, L*; chromaticity indexes, a* and b*) measured in dorsal and ventral sites. A pooled sample consisting of tail muscle of 2-3 specimens having the same storage times was homogenized and analysed for total lipids, qualitative and quantitative fatty acid composition and malondialdehyde (MDA). The other tails (shell-on) were steamed, the exoskeleton removed and abdominal muscles (shell-off tails) analysed for colour parameters in dorsal and ventral sites, and for free water (by compression method). Data was analysed by GLM using the SAS Package, with sex, storage time and relative interaction (except for data of chemical analysis) as fixed effects. Females and males differed in total (p<0.05) and abdominal (p<0.01) length (8.65 vs 8.27cm and 4.32 vs 4.04cm, respectively) and in body weight (corrected for cheliped weight, due their lack in some cases; 16.35 vs 13.89g; p<0.05), however the cooked-meat yield of shell-on tails was similar (46.53 vs 42.93%; p=0.19). Regarding colour parameters, the two sexes only differed in L*, which was significantly greater in males in the different sites of measurement, except the ventral site of raw shell-on tails. Males and females showed a similar water holding capacity of abdominal meat (mean 10.78±6.33cm2). No differences between the sexes were recorded for total lipids (mean 1.05±0.14%), MDA content and fatty acid profile (means SFA: 22.16%, MUFA: 28.40%, PUFAn6: 20.39%; PUFAn3: 28.80%; EPA: 18.24%; DHA: 7.17%). During refrigerated storage, a significant decrease in water holding capacity of muscle (free water increasing from 14.07 to 26.15cm2 on days 1 and 10, respectively; p<0.001) and in cooked-meat yield (from 50.92 to 39.11% on days 1 and 10, respectively; p<0.01) and sharp changes in cooked tail muscle colour parameters were noticed. The latter body part showed a significant decrease (p<0.001) in a* and b* at the dorsal site and in L* at the ventral site (77.74 and 49.14 on days 1 and 10, respectively) with increasing storage. During the refrigerated storage of the whole crayfish the changes recorded for the examined parameters indicate the quality decay, particularly after the 3rd day

Perspectives on next steps in classification of oro-facial pain - Part 3: biomarkers of chronic oro-facial pain - from research to clinic

The purpose of this study was to review the current status of biomarkers used in oro-facial pain conditions. Specifically, we critically appraise their relative strengths and weaknesses for assessing mechanisms associated with the oro-facial pain conditions and interpret that information in the light of their current value for use in diagnosis. In the third section, we explore biomarkers through the perspective of ontological realism. We discuss ontological problems of biomarkers as currently widely conceptualised and implemented. This leads to recommendations for research practice aimed to a better understanding of the potential contribution that biomarkers might make to oro-facial pain diagnosis and thereby fulfil our goal for an expanded multidimensional framework for oro-facial pain conditions that would include a third axis

Morphological, nutritional and safety traits of bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) reared in floating cages

To evaluate the influence of fattening on morphological, nutritional and safety characteristics, two lots of bluefin tuna were sampled before (November: 2 C, 4 ?) and after 5 months of fattening (April: 5 C, 5 ?). The specimens, after death, were refrigerated and analysed at different times over the period of a week for morphological and flesh physico-chemical parameters in six muscle sites. Tuna sampled in April had greater body weight (44.04 vs 36.41kg), trunk length (52.21 vs 48.22cm) and minimum and maximum circumferences (13.74 vs 12.77 and 94.90 vs 89.10cm). No differences in other linear measures or body components were found. Fattening did not influence flesh colour or total lipid content, producing small differences in its chemical composition: greater C18:0, C18:1n9 and PUFAn6 percentages; higher putrescine and histamine (0.489 vs 0.335 and 0.666 vs 0.370mg/kg) but lower spermine and spermidine (10.598 vs 17.387 and 2.420 vs 3.928mg/kg) levels. Large differences in physico-chemical parameters were found between muscle sites and a significant interaction between sampling date and muscle site indicated non homogeneous changes in chemical composition of dorsal, ventral and red muscle after fattening. Sex only influenced fat content in viscera (C 12.84 vs ? 9.84%)

Triple positive breast cancer. A distinct subtype?

Breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease, and within the HER-2 positive subtype this is highly exemplified by the presence of substantial phenotypical and clinical heterogeneity, mostly related to hormonal receptor (HR) expression. It is well known how HER-2 positivity is commonly associated with a more aggressive tumor phenotype and decreased overall survival and, moreover, with a reduced benefit from endocrine treatment. Preclinical studies corroborate the role played by functional crosstalks between HER-2 and estrogen receptor (ER) signaling in endocrine resistance and, more recently, the activation of ER signaling is emerging as a possible mechanism of resistance to HER-2 blocking agents. Indeed, HER-2 positive breast cancer heterogeneity has been suggested to underlie the variability of response not only to endocrine treatments, but also to HER-2 blocking agents. Among HER-2 positive tumors, HR status probably defines two distinct subtypes, with dissimilar clinical behavior and different sensitivity to anticancer agents. The triple positive subtype, namely, ER/PgR/Her-2 positive tumors, could be considered the subset which most closely resembles the HER-2 negative/HR positive tumors, with substantial differences in biology and clinical outcome. We argue on whether in this subgroup the "standard" treatment may be considered, in selected cases, i.e., small tumors, low tumor burden, high expression of both hormonal receptors, an overtreatment. This article review the existing literature on biologic and clinical data concerning the HER-2/ER/PgR positive tumors, in an attempt to better define the HER-2 subtypes and to optimize the use of HER-2 targeted agents, chemotherapy and endocrine treatments in the various subsets

Progress and status of APEmille

We report on the progress and status of the APEmille project: a SIMD parallel computer with a peak performance in the TeraFlops range which is now in an advanced development phase. We discuss the hardware and software architecture, and present some performance estimates for Lattice Gauge Theory (LGT) applications.Comment: Talk presented at LATTICE97, 3 pages, Late

Welfare and quality of farmed trout fed high plant protein diets. 2 innovative killing method effect on stress and quality indicators

AbstractThe fish stunning/slaughtering procedure has an important role both for the ethical aspect related to animal welfare and for the potential quality of the final products. Stressful harvest procedure and killing methods can negatively influence the post mortem biochemical processes with a consequent faster fish freshness loss. In particular, killing procedures causing a long agony are not humane and can shorten fish shelf life; others, more humane, can have risks for the consumers health (anaesthetics or chemical substances) or are not feasible in small/medium size fish industry (spiking and knocking). The aim of this study was to compare the traditional killing method (asphyxia - A) used for rainbow trout (Onchorynchus mykiss) with an innovative stunning/slaughtering method (two-stage electric stun: 2s at a 500Hz electric field of 2.5V/cm and then 58s at a 50Hz electric field of 0.75V/cm - E), through the study of their effects on stress and quality indicators in fish fed with traditional fish meal..

Body mass index in HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer treated with first-line paclitaxel and bevacizumab

The evidence emerged from the TOURANDOT trial encourages evaluating the role of anthropometric determinants on treatment outcomes in HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer patients treated with bevacizumab-including regimens. We thus analyzed data from a subgroup of these patients from a larger cohort previously assessed for treatment outcomes. Patients were included in the present analysis if body mass index values had been recorded at baseline. Clinical benefit rates, progression free survival and overall survival were assessed for the overall study population and subgroups defined upon molecular subtype. One hundred ninety six patients were included (N:196). Body mass index showed no impact on clinical benefit rates in the overall study sample and in the luminal cancer subset (p = 0.12 and p = 0.79, respectively), but did so in the triple negative subgroup, with higher rates in patients with body mass index ≥25 (p = 0.03). In the overall study sample, body mass index did no impact progression free or overall survival (p = 0.33 and p = 0.67, respectively). Conversely, in triple negative patients, progression free survival was significantly longer with body mass index ≥25 (6 vs 14 months, p = 0.04). In this subset, overall survival was more favorable (25 vs 19 months, p = 0.02). The impact of the molecular subtype was confirmed in multivariate models including the length of progression free survival, and number of metastatic sites (p &lt; 0.0001). Further studies are warranted to confirm our findings in more adequately sized, ad hoc, prospective studies

Self-management programmes in temporomandibular disorders: results from an international Delphi process

Self-management (SM) programmes are commonly used for initial treatment of patients with temporomandibular disorders (TMD). The programmes described in the literature, however, vary widely with no consistency in terminology used, components of care or their definitions. The aims of this study were therefore to construct an operationalised definition of self-management appropriate for the treatment of patients with TMD, identify the components of that self-management currently being used and create sufficiently clear and non-overlapping standardised definitions for each of those components. A four-round Delphi process with eleven international experts in the field of TMD was conducted to achieve these aims. In the first round, the participants agreed upon six principal concepts of self-management. In the remaining three rounds, consensus was achieved upon the definition and the six components of self-management. The main components identified and agreed upon by the participants to constitute the core of a SM programme for TMD were as follows: education; jaw exercises; massage; thermal therapy; dietary advice and nutrition; and parafunctional behaviour identification, monitoring and avoidance. This Delphi process has established the principal concepts of self-management, and a standardised definition has been agreed with the following components for use in clinical practice: education; self-exercise; self-massage; thermal therapy; dietary advice and nutrition; and parafunctional behaviour identification, monitoring and avoidance. The consensus-derived concepts, definitions and components of SM offer a starting point for further research to advance the evidence base for, and clinical utility of, TMD SM