Comparison of dehydration systems in quality and chemical effects on sunflower seeds.

The present work investigates the quality and the chemical effects of dehydration, using a novel dehydration system based on an electromagnetic induction and low pressures technique, comparing it with the thermo-solar drying system. High oleic sunflower seeds, which are an important oil seed crop, were used due to the fact that they have a special place in the food industry. The seed samples were exposed to electromagnetic induction and low pressures by 0.5 and 1 h, then several chemical characterizations were carried out, in the electrophoresis study, it was found that most proteins in the hull were degraded or denatured, some of them were lost during the time in the thermosolar dryer while in kernel keeps 94.9% of the concentration in control proteins. Otherwise, the electromagnetic induction dryer did not lose the most of proteins in the kernel keeping 99.1% in 0.5 h and 98.4% in 1 h, just degrading its concentration. Germination viability results did not show changes after 0.5 h in the electromagnetic fields, but they decreased in 1 h from 66 to 40% until the thermosolar method fell to 24% in 4 h, both analysis results change proportionally with the treatment time and moisture content and the amount of the oxygen.

Is Aluminum Innocuous to Zooplankton at pH Below 6?

Aluminum (Al) use has increased greatly during the last two decades, yet little information is available on its toxic effects in relation to pH particularly on zooplankton. In this work, we determined the acute toxicity (LC50) and life table responses for Moina micrura exposed to 0.008, 0.016 and 0.08 mg of Al L-1 at pH of 5, 6 and 7. The age-specific survivorship and reproduction showed a steep decline (80% mortality by the second day) at pH 5, independent of Al level. Both gross and net reproductive rates were significantly lower at pH 6 compared to pH 7, regardless of Al concentration. At pH 7 the rate of population increase of M. micrura was not significantly influenced by the Al level, while at pH 6 it was significantly lower (p < 0.05), suggesting that M. micrura is sensitive to changes in Al under slightly acidic conditions.

Lupus eritematoso sistémico y síndrome antifosfolipídico: fertilidad y complicaciones obstétricas y fetales de la gestación / Systemic lupus erythematosus and antiphospholipid syndrome: Fertility and obstetric and fetal complications in pregnancy

El lupus eritematoso sistémico (LES) es una enfermedad autoinmune que puede afectar a cualquier aparato o sistema del organismo y, por tanto, ocasionar una gran variedad de manifestaciones clínicas. Esta enfermedad es frecuente en mujeres en edad fértil. En este artículo se analizan las complicaciones que esta enfermedad puede ocasionar sobre la fertilidad, el embarazo y el parto, así como en su tratamiento (AU)

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease that can affect any tract or system of the body and therefore causes a wide variety of clinical manifestations. This disease is common in women of fertile age. The present article analyzes the implications of SLE in fertility, pregnancy and delivery, as well as the treatment of affected patients (AU)

Comparative analysis of the renoprotective effects of pentoxifylline and vitamin E on streptozotocin-induced diabetes mellitus.

BACKGROUND: Oxidative stress (OxS) induced by diabetes plays an important role in the development of diabetic nephropathy. Studies have shown that antioxidants are beneficial in its reduction. Vitamin E has been documented as providing the most improvement in the antioxidative status. Recently, pentoxifylline (PTX) has been proposed to have antioxidant properties. AIM: The aim of the study was to assess the ability of two antioxidants to reduce lipid peroxidation and renal hypertrophy in vivo. METHODS: Diabetes was induced by streptozotocin (STZ) in rats. Treatment groups were divided as follows: healthy (H), diabetic without treatment (STZ), PTX treated group (STZ+PTX), and vitamin E supplemented (STZ+E) group. At 8 weeks, kidneys were removed; one was homogenized to quantify lipoperoxide levels (LPOS), and the other was used to study the morphological changes by electron microscopy (EM). Additionally, plasma total antioxidant activity (TAA) was quantified. RESULTS: A reduction in LPOS was observed in both groups: PTX and vitamin E with regard to STZ group. PTX increased TAA compared to STZ+E, which restored it to its normal values. However, both treatments reduced the LPO/TAA ratio to lower basal levels; hence, similar results were obtained in terms of correcting functional parameters. Structural changes in STZ rats included a glomerular membrane thickening, podocyte flattening, as well as loss of fenestration in the endothelial layer. All these changes were less aggressive for treated rats. CONCLUSIONS: Vitamin E and PTX have potential therapeutic properties that may help to retard the rate of deterioration of diabetic kidneys.

Histological features with clinical impact in chronic allograft nephropathy: review of 66 cases.

UNLABELLED: The histological features of chronic allograft nephropathy (CAN) are variable, since it is related to multiple donor and recipient factors. The main histological parameters in CAN are interstitial fibrosis, tubular atrophy, chronic vasculopathy and glomerulosclerosis. There have been many attempts to relate chronic deterioration of renal function with histologic features. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We reviewed 66 kidney transplant patients (43 men/23 women) with renal failure 6 months after transplant. The clinical data included donor and recipient age, cold ischemia time, delayed graft function (DGF), creatinine clearance, proteinuria, HLA compatibility, CMV infection, cholesterol levels, diastolic and systolic blood pressure. Banff criteria were used to grade histological parameters. The relation between clinical and histological data were analyzed using chi square, Student t, Mann Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests as appropriate. The cumulative graft and patient survival rates were calculated by the Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS: The survival rate of patients with creatinine clearances >3 mg/dL at the time of the biopsy was worse than that of patients with creatinine <3 mg/dL (P =.001; log rank 20.1). We found an association between the grade of arteriosclerosis and the diastolic blood pressure (P =.017). The creatinine level was greater among patients with tabulitis than those without tubulitis (P =.06). In addition to our results we review the literature especially related to the histological feature of CAN in an attempt to detect histological findings predictive of the long term outcome of kidney allografts.

[Prevention secondary to ischemic cardiopathy at the lipid level in primary care in Aragon. PRECIAR study 1]. / Prevención secundaria de cardiopatía isquémica a nivel lipídico en atención primaria Aragón. Estudio PRECIAR 1.

BACKGROUND: Despite the existing evidence of the effectiveness of secondary prevention by modifying lifestyles or using the different drugs which have shown themselves to be clinically beneficial for heart patients, there is little, not highly accurate information available regarding the handling of the treatment of these patients within the scope of primary care in our country. The purpose of this study is that of ascertaining the current status of secondary prevention of heart disease as far as lipid control is concerned. METHODS: A review was made of the clinical records of all of the patients diagnosed at some point in time of their life as having ischemic heart disease, including those under the heading of acute myocardial infarction and angina pectoris within the 11 groups of patients assigned to three urban Health Care Centers in Area II in Zaragoza. The population in question totaled 19,692 patients, 388 cases of ischemic heart disease having been found in the record files data. RESULTS: Based on a study of the lipid control data, 60.8% of the cases analyzed in this study showed a complete lipid profile for the last year. Solely 4.7% of these patients had LDL < 100, the control objective having to be limited to c-LDL < 130 to find a 31.3% of patients with a lower than optimum control of this parameter. CONCLUSIONS: The results of our study reveal that the diagnosis of dyslipemias as well as the control of all other heart disease risk factors in secondary care have not been in keeping, for the most part, with the quality criteria of this health care procedure and therefore reveal the existence of a major degree of room for improvement.

Prevención secundaria de cardiopatia isquémica a nivel lipídico en atención primaria Aragón. Estudio PRECIAR 1. Prevención secundaria de cardiopatia isquémica a nivel lipídico / Secondary prevention of ischemic heart disease at the Lipid-related level in primary care in Aragon. Study PRECIAR I

Fundamento: A pesar de la evidencia existente sobre la eficacia de la prevención secundaria, modificando los estilos de vida o utilizando los diversos fármacos que han mostrado su beneficio clínico en pacientes coronarios, la información disponible sobre el manejo terapéutico de estos pacientes en el ámbito de la atención primaria en nuestro país es escasa y poco precisa. El objetivo de este estudio es conocer el estado de la prevención secundaria de la enfermedad coronaria desde el punto de vista del control de los lípidos. Métodos: Se revisaron las historias clínicas de todas las personas diagnosticadas en algún momento de su vida de patología cardiovascular isquémica; incluyéndose en este apartado el infarto agudo de miocardio y el ángor, dentro de 11 cupos de 3 Centros de Salud urbanos del área II de Zaragoza. La población global era de 19.692 pacientes, encontrándose 388 casos de cardiopatía isquémica, de los datos recogidos de las historias. Resultados: Estudiando los datos sobre el control lipídico, el 60.8 por ciento de los casos analizados en este estudio presentaba un perfil lipídico completo en el último año. De estos 236 pacientes solamente el 4,7 por ciento tenía el LDL < 100, teniendo que limitar a un c-LDL < 130 el objetivo de control para encontrar un 31,3 por ciento de pacientes con un control subóptimo de este parámetro. Conclusiones: Los resultados de nuestro estudio revelan que el diagnóstico de las dislipemias, así como el control del resto de factores de riesgo cardiovascular en prevención secundaria no se han adecuado en gran medida a los criterios de calidad de este proceso asistencial y señalan, en consecuencia, la existencia de un amplio margen de mejora (AU)