Production and Sensory Evaluation of Novel Cheeses Made with Prebiotic Substances: Inulin and Oligofructose

In recent years, the processing and consumption of functional foods worldwide have greatly increased. These foods benefit the body functions which improve consumers’ health and also reduce the risk factors that cause the onset of disease. Furthermore, prebiotic substances favor the multiplication of beneficial intestinal bacteria rather than harmful ones. The purpose of this study was to conduct the sensory evaluation of two functional cheeses containing inulin and oligofructose as a distinctive ingredient, including testing a cheese made with conventional ingredients, called control cheese. Affective type tests, which measured the degree of liking or disliking, were conducted using a verbal 7-point hedonic scale. According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 57 untrained judges were selected. This study is a quantitative, analytic and experimental-cross design. Statistical analysis of the data was performed by ANOVA with repeated measures. The results show a similar average degree of liking for the three cheeses, above 5 on the scale or “like”. By analyzing the critical level and the result of the Mauchly’s sphericity test, it is concluded that there is no statistically significant difference in the degree of liking for the three cheeses. Therefore, the addition of prebiotics to artisanal cheeses achieves to satisfy consumers and provide them benefits superior to those provided by traditional foods.Fil: Machuca, Laura Marcela. Universidad de la Cuenca del Plata. Secretaria de Politicas del Conocimiento. Instituto de Investigaciones Cientificas (sede Goya); ArgentinaFil: Rodriguez, Yamila E.. Universidad de la Cuenca del Plata. Secretaria de Politicas del Conocimiento. Instituto de Investigaciones Cientificas (sede Goya); ArgentinaFil: Guastavino Meneguini, Daniela E.. Universidad de la Cuenca del Plata. Secretaria de Politicas del Conocimiento. Instituto de Investigaciones Cientificas (sede Goya); ArgentinaFil: Bruzzo, Maria E.. Universidad de la Cuenca del Plata. Secretaria de Politicas del Conocimiento. Instituto de Investigaciones Cientificas (sede Goya); ArgentinaFil: Acuña Ojeda, María F.. Universidad de la Cuenca del Plata. Secretaria de Politicas del Conocimiento. Instituto de Investigaciones Cientificas (sede Goya); ArgentinaFil: Murguia, Marcelo Cesar. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Santa Fe. Instituto de Desarrollo Tecnológico Para la Industria Química (i); Argentin

May Measurement Month 2018: a pragmatic global screening campaign to raise awareness of blood pressure by the International Society of Hypertension

Aims Raised blood pressure (BP) is the biggest contributor to mortality and disease burden worldwide and fewer than half of those with hypertension are aware of it. May Measurement Month (MMM) is a global campaign set up in 2017, to raise awareness of high BP and as a pragmatic solution to a lack of formal screening worldwide. The 2018 campaign was expanded, aiming to include more participants and countries. Methods and results Eighty-nine countries participated in MMM 2018. Volunteers (≥18 years) were recruited through opportunistic sampling at a variety of screening sites. Each participant had three BP measurements and completed a questionnaire on demographic, lifestyle, and environmental factors. Hypertension was defined as a systolic BP ≥140 mmHg or diastolic BP ≥90 mmHg, or taking antihypertensive medication. In total, 74.9% of screenees provided three BP readings. Multiple imputation using chained equations was used to impute missing readings. 1 504 963 individuals (mean age 45.3 years; 52.4% female) were screened. After multiple imputation, 502 079 (33.4%) individuals had hypertension, of whom 59.5% were aware of their diagnosis and 55.3% were taking antihypertensive medication. Of those on medication, 60.0% were controlled and of all hypertensives, 33.2% were controlled. We detected 224 285 individuals with untreated hypertension and 111 214 individuals with inadequately treated (systolic BP ≥ 140 mmHg or diastolic BP ≥ 90 mmHg) hypertension. Conclusion May Measurement Month expanded significantly compared with 2017, including more participants in more countries. The campaign identified over 335 000 adults with untreated or inadequately treated hypertension. In the absence of systematic screening programmes, MMM was effective at raising awareness at least among these individuals at risk

Sphingosine-1 Phosphate: A New Modulator of Immune Plasticity in the Tumor Microenvironment

In the last 15 years, increasing evidences demonstrate a strong link between sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) in both normal physiology and progression of different diseases, including cancer and inflammation. Indeed, numerous studies show that tissue levels of this sphingolipid metabolite are augmented in many cancers, affecting survival, proliferation, angiogenesis and metastatic spread. Recent insights into the possible role of S1P as a therapeutic target has attracted enormous attention and opened new opportunities in this evolving field. In this review we will focus on the role of S1P in cancer with particular emphasis in new developments that highlight the many functions of this sphingolipid in the tumor microenvironment. We will discuss how S1P modulates phenotypic plasticity of macrophages and mast cells, tumor-induced immune evasion, differentiation and survival of immune cells in the tumor milieu, interaction between cancer and stromal cells and hypoxic response

Parámetros astrofísicos de cúmulos abiertos ubicados en el tercer y cuarto cuadrante de la galaxia

Como parte de un nuevo proyecto en el marco de la materia “Astrofísica General” (FaMAF, UNC), se presentan parámetros astrofísicos de los cúmulos abiertos NGC 2243, NGC 2439, Pi 12, Tr 13 y NGC 5168, ubicados en el tercer y cuarto cuadrante de la Vía Láctea. Basados en datos fotométricos Gaia DR3 y ajustando isócronas teóricas en los diagramas color-magnitud (Gbp — Gpp, G), se derivan edades, metalicidades, distancias y excesos de color E(Gbp — Gpp) para estos cúmulos abiertos relativamente conocidos. También se presenta el comienzo de un nuevo proyecto que consiste en el estudio sistemático de cúmulos abiertos observados desde la Estación Astrofísica de Bosque Alegre (OAC, UNC). Los datos fotométricos permitirán, a partir de diagramas color-magnitud, analizar los mencionados agregados estelares de manera homogénea.As part of new project in the framework of the activities of the subject “Astrofísica General” (FaMAF, UNC), we present astrophysical parameters of open clusters located in the third and fourth Galactic quadrant: NGC 2243, NGC 2439, Pi 12, Trl3 and NGC 5168. Based on Gaia DR3 photometric data and fitting theoretical isochrones to the color-magnitude diagrams (Gbp — Gpp, G), we derived ages, metallicities, distances and colour excess E(Gbp — Gpp) for these fairly known open clusters. Also, we present the start of a new project consisting of the systematic study of open clusters observed from Estación Astrofísica de Bosque Alegre (OAC, UNC). These photometric data will allow us, on the basis of colour-magnitude diagrams, to analyse these stellar aggregates homogeneously.Asociación Argentina de Astronomí