Obtención de almidón de malanga: Colocasia esculenta L. y Xanthosoma sagittifolium L, mediante la aplicación de tres métodos químicos

Taro (Colacasia esculenta L.), due to its accelerated vegetative development and easy propagation, has become one of the main crops in the tropical areas of Ecuador. Thanks to its biochemical properties and its high nutritional value, it has allowed the application of simple technologies to take advantage of this agricultural resource to obtain starch for use in different foods. The objective of this research was to obtain starch from two varieties of taro Colocasia esculenta L and Xanthosoma sagittifolium L, through the application of three chemical methods (citric acid, hydrochloric acid, phosphoric acid), in which a process of decantation and centrifugation. An ANOVA was applied, with a completely randomized block design using A*B*C factorial arrangement, obtaining a total of 12 treatments and 3 repetitions. The statistical differences between the means of the treatments were established with the Tukey test (P>0.05). A higher yield was obtained in the Malanga Blanca + Centrifugation + Citric Acid 29.34% treatment, in what corresponds to acidity and pH, the values were within those established by similar works, the highest fiber percentage was presented in the purple Malanga treatment + Decantation + Phosphoric acid (0.68%), while the humidity is within the permitted parameters of the INEN 616, which indicates 14% and an optimal gelatinization temperature in the white Malanga treatment + Decantation + Phosphoric acid (56.53°C).La malanga (Colacasia esculenta L.), debido a su acelerado desarrollo vegetativo y sencilla propagación, se ha convertido en uno de los principales cultivos de las zonas tropicales del Ecuador. Gracias a sus propiedades bioquímicas y su alto valor nutricional ha permitido aplicar tecnologías sencillas para aprovechar este recurso agrícola en la obtención de almidón para la utilización en diferentes alimentos. El objetivo de esta investigación fue obtener almidón a partir de dos variedades de malanga Colocasia esculenta L y Xanthosoma sagittifolium L, mediante la aplicación de tres métodos químicos (ácido cítrico, ácido clorhídrico, ácido fosfórico), en el cual finalmente se realizó un proceso de decantación y centrifugación. Se aplicó un ANOVA, con diseño de bloques completamente al azar mediante arreglo factorial A*B*C, obteniéndose un total de 12 tratamientos y 3 repeticiones. Se estableció las diferencias estadísticas entre las medias de los tratamientos con la prueba de Tukey (P>0,05). Se obtuvo un mayor rendimiento en el tratamiento Malanga Blanca + Centrifugación + Ácido cítrico 29,34%, en lo que corresponde a la acidez y pH, los valores se encontraron dentro de lo establecido por trabajos similares, el porcentaje de fibra más elevado se presentó en el tratamiento Malanga lila + Decantación + Ácido fosfórico (0,68%), mientras que la humedad se encuentra dentro de los parámetros permitidos de la INEN 616, la cual señala un 14% y una temperatura de gelatinización óptima en el tratamiento Malanga blanca + Decantación + Ácido fosfórico (56,53°C)

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Rare predicted loss-of-function variants of type I IFN immunity genes are associated with life-threatening COVID-19

BackgroundWe previously reported that impaired type I IFN activity, due to inborn errors of TLR3- and TLR7-dependent type I interferon (IFN) immunity or to autoantibodies against type I IFN, account for 15-20% of cases of life-threatening COVID-19 in unvaccinated patients. Therefore, the determinants of life-threatening COVID-19 remain to be identified in similar to 80% of cases.MethodsWe report here a genome-wide rare variant burden association analysis in 3269 unvaccinated patients with life-threatening COVID-19, and 1373 unvaccinated SARS-CoV-2-infected individuals without pneumonia. Among the 928 patients tested for autoantibodies against type I IFN, a quarter (234) were positive and were excluded.ResultsNo gene reached genome-wide significance. Under a recessive model, the most significant gene with at-risk variants was TLR7, with an OR of 27.68 (95%CI 1.5-528.7, P=1.1x10(-4)) for biochemically loss-of-function (bLOF) variants. We replicated the enrichment in rare predicted LOF (pLOF) variants at 13 influenza susceptibility loci involved in TLR3-dependent type I IFN immunity (OR=3.70[95%CI 1.3-8.2], P=2.1x10(-4)). This enrichment was further strengthened by (1) adding the recently reported TYK2 and TLR7 COVID-19 loci, particularly under a recessive model (OR=19.65[95%CI 2.1-2635.4], P=3.4x10(-3)), and (2) considering as pLOF branchpoint variants with potentially strong impacts on splicing among the 15 loci (OR=4.40[9%CI 2.3-8.4], P=7.7x10(-8)). Finally, the patients with pLOF/bLOF variants at these 15 loci were significantly younger (mean age [SD]=43.3 [20.3] years) than the other patients (56.0 [17.3] years; P=1.68x10(-5)).ConclusionsRare variants of TLR3- and TLR7-dependent type I IFN immunity genes can underlie life-threatening COVID-19, particularly with recessive inheritance, in patients under 60 years old