Valorization of recurrently discarded fish species in trawler fisheries in North-West Spain.

The progressive elimination of fish discards established by the European Union Council in 2013 has stimulated the valorization of flesh from discarded high-quality species with good protein functional properties but which frequently have excessive fish-bones, fat, strange flavours, soft texture, etc. The present study therefore focuses on valorization of the extracted muscle (minced muscle), from several fish species frequently discarded in north-western Spanish fisheries (Atlantic Ocean): Blue whiting (Micromesistius poutassou), Mackerel (Scomber scombrus), Red scorpionfish (Scorpaena scrofa), Pouting (Trisoreptus luscus) and Gurnard (Trigla spp.). Valorization of these discarded fish resources is a key objective for the survival of the fishery sector in this area. In this regard present study was planned to examine the behaviour of the mince during 6 months of frozen storage by means of physicochemical and sensory analyses, and to test consumer acceptance of three technologically different products (burgers, nuggets and structured fingers) prepared with fish mince from different species. Results indicated that protein aggregation started at the outset of frozen storage but progressed very slowly, with the exception of non-washed blue whiting and red scorpionfish minces. Moreover, during frozen storage lipid oxidation increased in all samples; the increase was with two objectives highest in minced mackerel, a fatty fish, but no rancid flavour was detected. All mince samples presented acceptable physicochemical properties and good sensory acceptability after 6 months of frozen storage. Acceptability of final products made with these minces was high in all cases. Burgers were more acceptable for consumers aged over 40 and fingers and nuggets more for younger people.

Lower coronary plaque burden in patients with HIV presenting with acute coronary syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: Treated HIV infection is associated with a higher incidence of coronary artery disease and myocardial infarction, although the mechanisms remain unclear. We sought to characterise the burden of coronary artery disease in men with HIV using retrospective data from invasive coronary angiograms in patients presenting with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). METHODS: Demographic and coronary angiographic data were obtained from 160 men with ST elevation myocardial infarction, non-STEMI or high-risk chest pain; 73 HIV-infected cases and 87 age-matched controls. The burden of coronary disease was calculated using the Gensini Angiographic Scoring System by 2 independent cardiologists blinded to HIV status. RESULTS: The 2 groups were matched for age, sex and cardiac event subtype and there was no difference in rates of smoking or cholesterol levels. Compared with control participants, patients with HIV had higher usage of antihypertensives (46 (63%) vs 30 (35%), p<0.001) and statins (47 (64%) vs 29 (33%), p<0.001). There was no difference in plaque distribution between both groups; however, the Gensini score was 42% lower in cases with HIV than in controls (p<0.03). C reactive protein was higher in cases with HIV (13.4±15.4 vs 3.7±3.6). CONCLUSIONS: Men with HIV presenting with ACS paradoxically had a lower burden of coronary plaque than matched controls, despite more aggressive risk factor management, suggesting that plaque vulnerability, rather than total burden of atherosclerosis, may be important in the pathophysiology of coronary artery disease in men with HIV.

Trastornos de la conducta alimentaria en mujeres embarazadas controladas en atención primaria / Eating disorders in pregnant women controlled in primary care

Antecedentes: En relación al impacto de los trastornos de la conducta alimentaria (TCA) sobre el embarazo, la mayoría de la evidencia advierte sobre consecuencias negativas prenatales y postnatales para la madre y el feto. Objetivo: Determinar la presencia de comportamientos alimentarios anormales en gestantes controladas en atención primaria, y analizar descriptiva y comparativamente las pacientes con estas actitudes en relación con variables maternas, del embarazo, rasgos psicológicos y conductuales. Método: 141 pacientes embarazadas fueron encuestadas con el test de actitudes alimentarias (EAT-40) y el inventario de trastornos alimentarios (EDI), a los cuales se añadieron preguntas relativas al embarazo e historia de TCA. Resultados: 23,4 por ciento de las encuestadas obtuvieron puntajes en rango patológico de EAT-40, donde la historia previa de TCA emerge como un factor de riesgo importante para el desarrollo de un desorden alimentario en estas pacientes. Otras diferencias se observaron en los puntajes del EAT-40, el EDI y todas sus subescalas. Conclusión: La cifra alcanzada para conductas anormales de alimentación supera ampliamente a la planteada para TCA clínicos, los que además reflejan tendencia a la cronicidad aun en el embarazo. Se requieren estudios adicionales que orienten a los profesionales de salud en la prevención, detección y tratamiento de los TCA en el embarazo.

Background: According to the impact of eating disorders on pregnant women, most evidence shows negative pre and post natal consequences for the mother and the fetus. Objective: To determine the presence of abnormal eating behaviors in pregnant women controlled in primary care, and to describe and compare eating disordered patients in relation to the pregnancy, maternal, psychological and behavioral characteristics. Method: The Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-40), the Eating Disorders Inventory (EDI) and a questionnaire about demographic and pregnancy data and previous history of eating disorders were administered to 141 pregnant women. Results: 23.4 percent of the polled women scored within the pathological range of EAT-40, in whom the prior history of eating disorders emerged as the most important factor of risk to develop an eating disorder in these patients. Furthermore, considerable differences were seen in the average of EAT-40 scores and in the EDI and its all subscales. Conclusion: The percentage of pregnant women who displayed abnormal eating behaviors exceeds the rate described in literature for clinical eating disorders. Besides, it reflect tendency to be a chronic disease even in pregnancy. Additional studies are required to help health personnel to prevent, detect and treat women with eating disorders in pregnancy.

Aortic pulse wave velocity and arterial wave reflections predict the extent and severity of coronary artery disease in chronic kidney disease patients.

BACKGROUND: Increased aortic stiffness markers - aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV) and augmentation index (AIx) - are powerful predictors of survival in ESRD patients - well-recognized for the high prevalence of coronary artery disease (CAD) and unusually high PWV and AIx. Recently, decreased aortic compliance has been shown to be predictive of primary coronary events in hypertensive patients with normal renal function. We aimed to explore relationships between arterial stiffness and CAD in cohorts of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). METHODS AND RESULTS: 46 patients with chronic kidney disease (33 males, aged 55.7+/- 13.2 years, 20 on dialysis, 18 post renal transplantation, and 8 with glomerular filtration rate (GFR) between 10 and 25 ml/min) underwent coronary angiography for the assessment of CAD. PWV and aortic AIx were determined from pulse waveform analysis of arterial waveforms recorded by applanation tonometry using a SphygmoCortm device. The atherosclerosis burden score was calculated by adding the percentage luminal reduction of the most severe lesion in each artery. Patients with normal angiograms had significantly less arterial stiffness (as reflected by both a lower PWV=8.42+/-1.53 m/s and a lower AIx=17.9+/-5.55 %) compared with the 35 subjects with evidence of obstructive coronary disease at angiography (PWV=9.21+/-1.15 m/s and AIx=23.4+/-5.4 %, P<0.05 for both). Moreover, as more coronary vessels were affected, PWV and AIx increased proportionally. Based on receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve analysis mean PWV levels showed an optimal cut-off point at 8.35 m/s (sensitivity=0.77; specificity=0.60), while mean AIx levels showed an optimal cut-off point at 17% (sensitivity=0.87; specificity=0.70). There was a statistically significant linear relationship between the atherosclerosis burden and both measures of arterial stiffness: PWV (r=0.31, p=0.007) and AIx (r=0.46, p=0.003). Independent predictors for the arterial stiffness parameters in this CKD population (multiple stepwise regression analysis) were age (r=0.69 for PWV and r=0.62 for AIx), and mean arterial pressure (MAP) (for AIx, p<0.0001). CONCLUSION: This study provides the first direct evidence in a cross-sectional investigation that PWV and AIx are related to the extent of coronary obstruction in CKD patients.

Effects of carbohydrates from citrus pulp and hominy feed on microbial fermentation in continuous culture.

Eight dual-flow continuous-culture fermenters were used to evaluate the effect of neutral detergent-soluble carbohydrates (NDSC) on fermentation by ruminal microorganisms. Citrus pulp and hominy feed were added to a basal diet as sources of NDSC, with citrus pulp providing neutral detergent-soluble fiber (NDSF) in the form of pectic substances and with hominy feed in the form of starch. The basal diet contained 26.7% corn silage, 6.0% alfalfa hay and 3.8% cottonseed hulls on a DM basis. The dried citrus pulp diet contained on a DM basis 17.2% CP, 34.7% NDF, 33.7% NDSC, and 14.4% NDSF, whereas the hominy feed diet contained 17.9% CP, 33.2% NDF, 35.9% NDSC, and 8.8% NDSF. Organic matter, DM, and NDF and ADF digestion were not affected by source of carbohydrate. Ammonia N concentration was greater (P < 0.05) for the hominy feed diet (14.2 mg/100 mL) than for the dried citrus pulp diet (9.3 mg/100 mL). Total N, nonammonia N, microbial N, and dietary N flows were not affected by treatments; however, the efficiency of microbial protein synthesis was greater (P = 0.055) for the dried citrus pulp diet than for the hominy feed diet (30.6 vs 27.8 g of bacterial N/kg of OM truly digested). Results from this experiment indicate that NDSF from citrus pulp can provide similar sources of energy compared with starch from hominy feed to support ruminal microbial growth.

Use of a low-cost, PC-based image review workstation at a radiology department.

Despite the increasing use of diagnostic workstations, film reading is still commonplace in most radiology departments all over the world. The purpose of this work is to assess the adoption of image review workstations in a radiology department where the usual primary diagnosis is film-based and cannot be replaced with diagnostic workstations. At our institution, a tertiary care center specialized in diagnostic imaging, a pair of PC-based review workstations running a Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM)-conformant public domain software for image display and analysis were installed in two reading rooms. Studies are automatically routed after acquisition from the picture archiving and communication system (PACS) server to the workstations and remain available for visualization for approximately 15 to 20 days. Data from two radiologists and two technologists collected over a 3-month period were analyzed, including purpose of use, time savings as compared to traditional manual methods, and overall user satisfaction. The results from the analysis presented in this work indicate a high degree of approval from the users, who report significant timesavings in numerous circumstances, in particular when it comes to discussing findings with referring physicians whenever films are not available. It also enriches communication between radiologists, facilitating peer review on the telephone when one of them has questions at the outcome of any given study. One of the main advantages associated with the system is the possibility of using it as a powerful tool for teaching and research. In conclusion, even when primary diagnosis is performed on film, the availability of a PACS for review can be helpful to enhance communication with referring physicians, as well as technologists and radiologists' efficiency. Our experience shows that it is possible to implement such a system using low-cost or freely available components without compromising ease of use while keeping costs down, which is a major concern in developing countries.