Consumer perception of entire male pork coated with spiced edible films as a new product to mask boar taint

Pork production has undergone a shift towards the rearing of entire male pigs, however, its meat might carry with the presence of boar taint and it would be considered “unfit for human consumption”. To offer a new alternative to the pork sector tailored to the needs of consumers, a viable option would be the use of edible spiced gelatin films to help minimize boar taint and improve its marketability. The responses of 120 regular meat consumers to entire pork with high levels of boar taint and castrated pork free of boar taint, both coated with spiced gelatin films were evaluated. They showed a similar response between entire and castrated male pork coated with spiced films, regardless of whether consumers usually detected unpleasant odours (as farm/animal) when consuming pork or not. Therefore, the new spiced films offer a new range of products to consumers as they contribute to the improvement of the sensory quality of entire male pork, especially among consumers who tend to buy new products.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Fat Replacement by Vegetal Fibres to Improve the Quality of Sausages Elaborated with Non-Castrated Male Pork

Based on the need to find alternatives for the use of meat from non-castrated male pigs that contains high levels of androstenone and skatole, the production of meat products (raw and Frankfurt sausages) with reduced fat content was proposed, as these compounds are lipophilic. For this purpose, three batches of each product (total six) were produced. These included a control batch (1); normal fat content and two fat-reduced batches, where (2) fat was replaced with inulin and β-glucan, or (3) fat was replaced with inulin and β-glucan in addition to a skin grape by-product. These groups used meat from non-castrated male pigs that contained 6.25 µg/g androstenone and 0.4451 µg/g skatole. In general, fat-reduced sausages exhibited less brightness than did the controls. The texture results in Frankfurt were similar to those of the control, while Spanish sausage supplemented with grape skin exhibited reduced hardness. Both strategies resulted in a reduction in boar taint, and this reduction was up to 87.3% in raw sausages with grape by-products. Fat reduction could provide an interesting strategy to allow for the use of tainted meat from non-castrated male pigs.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

NUEVOS PRODUCTOS A PARTIR DE SUBPRODUCTOS DE LA INDUSTRIA PESQUERA

Recently, a decrease in fish consumption has been observed in Spain, as well as a great amount of the industrial waste of food that is apt for its consumption. Based on it, the aim of this study consisted of developing a new formulation of pate from fish roe, obtained as a by-product from the salting industry. The experimental work consisted of a proximal characterization of the raw material, as well as the elaboration of preliminary formulations until the selection of three definitive formulations. The control formulation (Control) consisted of a pate elaborated with ling roe, extra virgin olive oil, fried tomato and spices, while formulation 1 (F1) and 2 (F2) added to the control one milk powder and corn starch respectively as stabilizing agents. Finally, the addition of these stabilizers was evaluated through physicochemical analyses (determination of the colour, pH, water activity, and the percentage of moisture and fat), Texture Profile Analysis (hardness, elasticity, adhesiveness, gumminess, cohesiveness and chewiness) and a sensorial analysis with a consumer panel, evaluating the general appearance, colour, odour, flavour and texture of the pate, on a 9-point hedonic scale. Furthermore, a preference test and purchase intention were carried out. The results showed low levels of pH and water activity on all the formulations, while in texture properties, powered milk formulation was the most stable one, based on the hardness and cohesiveness values. Regarding to the sensory evaluation, all the pates showed well acceptance, being the control formulation, which did not add any stabilizers, the preferred one. Finally, it could be said that it is possible to revalue a physically damaged roe, unsuitable for the salting industry, to prepare a new type of fish pates.Recientemente se ha observado en España una disminución en el consumo de pescado, así como un gran aumento en el desperdicio industrial de alimentos aptos para el consumo. En base a ello, el objetivo de este estudio ha consistido en elaborar una nueva formulación de paté a partir de hueva de pescado, obtenida como subproducto de la industria de la salazón. El trabajo experimental consistió en una caracterización proximal de la materia prima, así como la elaboración de formulaciones preliminares hasta seleccionar tres formulaciones definitivas. La formulación control (Control) consistió en un paté elaborado con hueva de maruca, aceite de oliva virgen extra, tomate frito y especias, mientras que las formulaciones 1 y 2, (F1) y (F2) añadían, a la formulación control como agente estabilizante de la emulsión, leche en polvo y almidón de maíz respectivamente. Finalmente, se evaluó la adición de los estabilizantes mediante análisis fisicoquímico (determinación de color, pH, actividad de agua y los porcentajes de humedad y grasa), de textura (análisis de perfil de textura mediante los parámetros dureza, elasticidad, adhesividad, gomosidad, cohesividad y masticabilidad) y análisis sensorial con un panel de consumidores, evaluando la apariencia general, color, olor, sabor y textura del paté en una escala hedónica de 9 puntos, además, se  realizó una prueba de preferencia e intención de compra del producto. Los resultados mostraron bajos valores de pH y actividad de agua para las 3 formulaciones, mientras que, en las propiedades de textura, la formulación con leche en polvo resultó ser la más estable en base a los valores de dureza y cohesividad. En cuanto a la evaluación sensorial, todos los patés mostraron una buena aceptación, siendo la formulación preferida aquella que no adiciona estabilizantes. Finalmente se puede afirmar la posibilidad de revalorizar las huevas con daños físicos, no aptas para salazón, para elaborar una nueva gama de patés de pescado

The Use of Pork from Entire Male and Immunocastrated Pigs for Meat Products—An Overview with Recommendations

Due to the strong public initiative in Europe and increased regulator focus to mitigate pain, surgical castration of pigs is being gradually abandoned, while the importance of other sex categories like entire males (EM) and immunocastrates (IC) increases. Although beneficial for animal welfare and economics, their use also brings forward several quality problems. Besides the occurrence of boar taint in EM, these include excessive carcass leanness, softer fat, meat color and pH deviations, inferior water holding capacity and increased meat toughness. In this paper, the raw material differences between the male sex categories and their influence on product quality are reviewed, and possible solutions are presented. Using EM for dried or thermally processed products may result in lower processing yields and inferior sensory quality, which may partially be prevented by applying specific processing adaptations. Immunocastration is a viable solution, especially when prolonging the vaccination to slaughter interval. Low to medium levels of boar taint can be effectively managed in most of the meat products, applying procedures like cooking, microbial inoculation or masking (by spices and especially smoking), while highly tainted material can be valorized only by combining various methods and/or with dilution of the tainted meat.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Polypharmacy in Older Patients: A Three-Year Longitudinal Analysis in Primary Care Settings of Aragón, Spain

Background Challenges of polypharmacy and the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in older patients require further investigation. This retrospective study analyzed the progression of polypharmacy and anticholinergic burden in older patients in a primary care setting before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods This 3-year cross-sectional study (2019, 2020, and 2021) comprised a dynamic cohort of individuals aged ≥75 years, who attended the Arrabal Primary Care Center in Zaragoza, Spain. Older patients with polypharmacy (≥5 medications) were identified according to their electronic health records. We collected demographic and clinical data, including medication prescriptions, diagnoses, and anticholinergic risks, and performed descriptive and statistical analyses. Results This study included a total of 1,928 patients with a mean age of 83.52±0.30 years. Over the 3-year study period, the mean number of medications prescribed increased, from 9.4 in 2019 to 10.4 in 2021. The prevalence of excessive polypharmacy (≥10 medications) increased from 39% in 2019 to 45% in 2021. The most commonly prescribed drugs were anilides, proton pump inhibitors, benzodiazepine derivatives, and platelet aggregation inhibitors. Women had a higher prevalence of illnesses and anticholinergic drug prescriptions than men. Conclusion The results of this study highlighted an upward trend in polypharmacy and excessive polypharmacy among older patients in primary care settings. Future research should focus on optimizing medication management and deprescribing strategies and minimizing the adverse effects of polypharmacy in this population

A Large Multicenter Prospective Study of Community-Onset Healthcare Associated Bacteremic Urinary Tract Infections in the Era of Multidrug Resistance: Even Worse than Hospital Acquired Infections?

Introduction: Healthcare-associated (HCA) infections represent a growing public health problem. The aim of this study was to compare community-onset healthcare associated (CO-HCA) bacteremic urinary tract infections (BUTI) and hospital-acquired (HA)-BUTI with special focus on multidrug resistances (MDR) and outcomes. Methods: ITUBRAS-project is a prospective multicenter cohort study of patients with HCA-BUTI. All consecutive hospitalized adult patients with CO-HCA-BUTI or HA-BUTI episode were included in the study. Exclusion criteria were: patients < 18 years old, non-hospitalized patients, bacteremia from another source or primary bacteremia, non-healthcare-related infections and infections caused by unusual pathogens of the urinary tract. The main outcome variable was 30-day all-cause mortality with day 1 as the first day of positive blood culture. Logistic regression was used to analyze factors associated with clinical cure at hospital discharge and with receiving inappropriate initial antibiotic treatment. Cox regression was used to evaluate 30-day all-cause mortality. Results: Four hundred forty-three episodes were included, 223 CO-HCA-BUTI. Patients with CO-HCA-BUTI were older (p < 0.001) and had more underlying diseases (p = 0.029) than those with HA-BUTI. The severity of the acute illness (Pitt score) was also higher in CO-HCA-BUTI (p = 0.026). Overall, a very high rate of MDR profiles (271/443, 61.2%) was observed, with no statistical differences between groups. In multivariable analysis, inadequate empirical treatment was associated with MDR profile (aOR 3.35; 95% CI 1.77–6.35), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (aOR 2.86; 95% CI 1.27–6.44) and Charlson index (aOR 1.11; 95% CI 1.01–1.23). Mortality was not associated with the site of acquisition of the infection or the presence of MDR profile. However, in the logistic regression analyses patients with CO-HCA-BUTI (aOR 0.61; 95% CI 0.40–0.93) were less likely to present clinical cure. Conclusion: The rate of MDR infections was worryingly high in our study. No differences in MDR rates were found between CO-HCA-BUTI and HA-BUTI, in the probability of receiving inappropriate empirical treatment or in 30-day mortality. However, CO-HCA-BUTIs were associated with worse clinical cure. © 2021, The Author(s)

Spatiotemporal Characteristics of the Largest HIV-1 CRF02_AG Outbreak in Spain: Evidence for Onward Transmissions

Background and Aim: The circulating recombinant form 02_AG (CRF02_AG) is the predominant clade among the human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1) non-Bs with a prevalence of 5.97% (95% Confidence Interval-CI: 5.41–6.57%) across Spain. Our aim was to estimate the levels of regional clustering for CRF02_AG and the spatiotemporal characteristics of the largest CRF02_AG subepidemic in Spain.Methods: We studied 396 CRF02_AG sequences obtained from HIV-1 diagnosed patients during 2000–2014 from 10 autonomous communities of Spain. Phylogenetic analysis was performed on the 391 CRF02_AG sequences along with all globally sampled CRF02_AG sequences (N = 3,302) as references. Phylodynamic and phylogeographic analysis was performed to the largest CRF02_AG monophyletic cluster by a Bayesian method in BEAST v1.8.0 and by reconstructing ancestral states using the criterion of parsimony in Mesquite v3.4, respectively.Results: The HIV-1 CRF02_AG prevalence differed across Spanish autonomous communities we sampled from (p &lt; 0.001). Phylogenetic analysis revealed that 52.7% of the CRF02_AG sequences formed 56 monophyletic clusters, with a range of 2–79 sequences. The CRF02_AG regional dispersal differed across Spain (p = 0.003), as suggested by monophyletic clustering. For the largest monophyletic cluster (subepidemic) (N = 79), 49.4% of the clustered sequences originated from Madrid, while most sequences (51.9%) had been obtained from men having sex with men (MSM). Molecular clock analysis suggested that the origin (tMRCA) of the CRF02_AG subepidemic was in 2002 (median estimate; 95% Highest Posterior Density-HPD interval: 1999–2004). Additionally, we found significant clustering within the CRF02_AG subepidemic according to the ethnic origin.Conclusion: CRF02_AG has been introduced as a result of multiple introductions in Spain, following regional dispersal in several cases. We showed that CRF02_AG transmissions were mostly due to regional dispersal in Spain. The hot-spot for the largest CRF02_AG regional subepidemic in Spain was in Madrid associated with MSM transmission risk group. The existence of subepidemics suggest that several spillovers occurred from Madrid to other areas. CRF02_AG sequences from Hispanics were clustered in a separate subclade suggesting no linkage between the local and Hispanic subepidemics

Técnicas culinarias y estrategias de enmascaramiento para reducir el olor sexual en carne procedente de cerdos machos enteros

La presente tesis doctoral se enmarca dentro de la Declaración Europea sobre alternativas a la castración quirúrgica de los cerdos de 2010, ante la preocupación por el bienestar animal y la posibilidad de abandonar la castración quirúrgica de los cerdos. Como alternativas a esta posibilidad, hay que destacar la producción de machos enteros, que presenta como ventajas: menor coste de producción, reducción de la contaminación ambiental, mayor tasa de conversión, porcentaje de magro y bienestar de los animales. Sin embargo, la producción de cerdos enteros incrementa la incidencia de carnes DFD (oscura, dura, seca) y la presencia de olor sexual de la carne (Fredriksen et al., 2011). El olor sexual, es un olor desagradable ("animal", "orina", “fecal” o "sudor") que se hace especialmente intenso cuando el tejido adiposo de algunos cerdos machos enteros se calienta, causando rechazo por parte de los consumidores. Las principales sustancias responsables del olor sexual son el escatol (SKA), que es compuesto volátil producido por degradación microbiana, percibido por la mayoría de los consumidores y la androstenona (AND), que es un esteroide testicular, detectable por el 40-50 % de los consumidores, especialmente las mujeres. El escatol puede reducirse mediante la dieta, mientras que la androstenona puede eliminarse por medio de la castración (Whittington et al., 2011). En los últimos años ha aumentado la producción de cerdos enteros (Backus et al., 2014), lo que implica que los consumidores pueden tener mayor probabilidad de encontrar carne con presencia de olor sexual (Borrisser-Pairó et al., 2016). En este sentido, la búsqueda de alternativas para reducir su percepción podría ser de interés para la industria cárnica. Por lo tanto, el objetivo fue estudiar el efecto de diferentes técnicas culinarias y estrategias de enmascaramiento en la percepción sensorial del olor sexual en carne fresca y productos cárnicos procedentes de cerdo macho entero. Para llevar a cabo este objetivo, se plantearon tres ensayos. En el primero se evaluó el efecto de cuatro métodos de cocinado (vacío, plancha, horno y fritura) y dos tiempos de tratamiento (72 ºC, 72 ºC + 1 min) sobre la calidad sensorial de lomos de cerdo macho entero. En el segundo, se probaron dos estrategias de enmascaramiento del olor sexual (hinojo y mezcla de hierbas) en lomos de cerdo macho entero y se estudió su efecto sobre la calidad sensorial de la carne. En ambos ensayos las evaluaciones se realizaron mediante el análisis sensorial con un panel de catadores entrenados. En el tercer ensayo se evaluó la sensibilidad y la aceptabilidad a la androstenona por los consumidores, además de las diferencias percibidas entre chorizos con distintos niveles de androstenona (castrados, cerdos enteros con nivel medio y nivel alto de androstenona) y se analizó el efecto de dos estrategias de enmascaramiento del olor sexual (romero y romero + ahumado) sobre la calidad sensorial de chorizos de cerdo macho entero mediante un panel de consumidores. Atendiendo a los resultados, en los lomos de cerdo macho entero se observó que el tiempo de tratamiento afectó a la percepción del olor y flavor a androstenona tanto en el método de vacío como en el de fritura cuando se cocinaron 1 min más. En cuanto a las técnicas culinarias evaluadas, la fritura fue la técnica que resultó más efectiva de cara a reducir la percepción a androstenona. Además, las estrategias desarrolladas (hinojo y mezcla de hierbas) redujeron la percepción del olor y flavor a androstenona, no apreciándose diferencias en la textura de la carne. En la evaluación de la sensibilidad y la aceptabilidad a la androstenona por parte de los consumidores, se obtuvo que nuestra población objeto de estudio era mayoritariamente anósmica o con baja sensibilidad, no encontrándose diferencias, ni para el nivel de sensibilidad ni para la concentración de androstenona (1 y 5 ppm), entre los consumidores que les agrada y les desagrada este compuesto, pero si entre géneros. En los chorizos con distintos niveles de androstenona, no se encontraron diferencias entre los chorizos elaborados a partir de cerdos machos castrados o enteros, ya que el curado, la fermentación y el empleo de especias en esta elaboración enmascaran el olor sexual, por lo que la carne de cerdo macho entero puede emplearse para la elaboración y comercialización de productos cárnicos curados. Respecto a las estrategias de enmascaramiento (romero y romero + ahumado) ambas afectaron a la evaluación sensorial, siendo la estrategia con romero la más próxima al producto ideal. ABSTRACT The present doctoral thesis is framed within the context of the European Declaration on alternatives to the surgical castration of pigs in 2010, in view of the concern for animal welfare and the possibility of abandoning the surgical castration of pigs. As alternatives to this possibility, it is necessary to highlight the production of entire males which presents as advantages: lower production cost, decrease of environmental pollution, higher conversion rate, lean percentage and animal welfare. However, the production of entire pigs increases the incidence of DFD meats (dark, firm, dry) and the presence of boar taint of meat (Fredriksen et al., 2011). The boar taint is an unpleasant odour ("animal", "urine", "faecal" or "sweat") which becomes especially intense when the meat of some entire male pigs is heated, causing rejection by consumers. The main substances responsible for boar taint are skatole (SKA), which is a volatile compound produced by microbial degradation perceived by the majority of consumers, and androstenone (AND), which is a testicular steroid detectable by 40-50 % of consumers, especially women. Skatole can be reduced by diet, while androstenone can be removed by castration (Whittington et al., 2011). In recent years the production of entire male pigs has increased (Backus et al., 2014), which implies that consumers may be more likely to find meat with the presence of boar taint (Borrisser-Pairó et al., 2016). In this sense, the search for alternatives to reduce its perception could be of interest to the meat industry. Therefore, the objective was to study the effect of different culinary techniques and masking strategies on the sensory perception of boar taint in fresh meat and meat products from entire male pigs. In order to achieve this objective, three trials were proposed. In the first trial, the effect of four cooking methods (vacuum, grill, oven and frying) and two treatment times (72 ºC, 72 ºC + 1 min) on the sensory quality of whole male pig loins was evaluated. In the second trial, two strategies of masking the boar taint (fennel and herbal mixture) were tested on whole male pig loins and their effect on the sensory quality of the meat was studied. In both trials the evaluations were made by sensory analysis with a trained panel. In the third trial, the sensitivity and acceptability of consumers to androstenone were evaluated, as well as the differences perceived between sausages with different levels of androstenone (castrated, entire pigs with medium and high androstenone level) and the effect of two strategies to mask the boar taint (rosemary and rosemary + smoked) on the sensory quality of entire male pig sausages by a consumer panel. According to the results, it was observed that the treatment time affected the perception of odour and flavour to androstenone in the entire male pig loins in both the vacuum and frying methods when they were cooked for 1 more min. Regarding the culinary techniques evaluated, frying was the most effective technique to reduce the perception to androstenone. In addition, the strategies developed (fennel and herbal mixture) reduced the perception of odour and flavour to androstenone, not appreciating differences in the texture of the meat. In the evaluation of sensitivity and acceptability to androstenone by consumers, it was found that our population under study was mostly anosmic or with low sensitivity, since no differences were found, neither for the level of sensitivity nor for the concentration of androstenone (1 and 5 ppm), among consumers who like and dislike this compound. However, differences were reported between genders. In chorizos with different levels of androstenone, no differences were found between chorizos made from castrated or entire male pigs, since curing, fermentation and the use of spices in this elaboration mask the boar taint. Hence, the meat of entire male pig can be used for the elaboration and marketing of cured meat products. Regarding the strategies of masking (rosemary and rosemary + smoked), both affected the sensory evaluation, the rosemary strategy being the closest to the ideal product

¿Es la ozonoterapia una terapia adyuvante eficaz en el paciente oncológico?

[spa] Son muchos los efectos secundarios provocados por la quimioterapia (QT) y la radioterapia (RT) en el paciente oncológico, como la osteonecrosis de mandíbula, el sangrado rectal o la mucositis, donde su tratamiento convencional no es efectivo para todos los pacientes. Por eso, en esta revisión bibliográfica recojo información sobre la ozonoterapia, una terapia complementaria que ha empezado a utilizarse en los últimos años en el paciente oncológico para paliar algunos de los efectos adversos, siendo el objetivo de mi trabajo valorar su eficacia. Utiliza el ozono médico, una mezcla de O3/O2, que, en dosis adecuadas, presenta diversas funciones biológicas y terapéuticas, como la regulación del estrés oxidativo, la mejora del metabolismo del oxígeno o la modulación del sistema inmunológico, que conllevan una serie de beneficios en el paciente oncológico. Se ha realizado una búsqueda bibliográfica a través de las bases de datos específicas PubMed y Cinhal, además de haber consultado revistas científicas como las Revista Española de la Ozonoterapia. Como resultados de la búsqueda bibliográfica se obtienen 20 estudios (ensayos clínicos aleatorizados, revisiones sistemáticas, estudios de cohortes y casos clínicos), los cuales comparan la utilización del ozono como tratamiento coadyuvante en diferentes efectos adversos producidos por QT y RT además de su fundamentación científica. La mayoría de los estudios consultados demuestran y coinciden en las diferentes acciones del ozono, además de mostrar buenos resultados en los efectos secundarios ocasionados por la QT y la RT, y de no presentar complicaciones en su práctica clínica, sin embargo, es una materia emergente y hacen falta más artículos científicos que demuestren esta afirmación.[eng] There are many side effects caused by chemotherapy (QT) and radiotherapy (RT) in cancer patients, such as osteonecrosis of the jaw, rectal bleeding or mucositis, where conventional treatment is not effective for all patients. Therefore, in this bibliographic review I have researched information about ozone therapy, a complementary therapy that has begun to be used in recent years on the oncological patient to alleviate some of the adverse effects, being the aim of my work assess its effectiveness. It uses medical ozone, a mixture of O3 / O2, which, in adequate doses, presents various biological and therapeutic functions, such as the regulation of oxidative stress, the improvement of oxygen metabolism or the modulation of the immune system, which entail a series of benefits in the cancer patient. A bibliographic search was carried out through the specific databases PubMed and Cinhal, and I also have consulted scientific journals such as the Spanish Journal of Ozone Therapy. As results of the literature search, 20 studies were obtained (randomized clinical trials, systematic reviews, cohort studies and clinical cases), which compare the use of ozone as a coadjuvant treatment in different adverse effects produced by QT and RT, in addition to its scientific basis . Most of the studies consulted agree on the different actions of ozone, such as good results in the different adverse effects caused by QT and RT, and of not presenting complications in their clinical practice, however, it is a material emergent and more scientific articles are needed to demonstrate this assertion