High-power ultrasound bleaching technique for canola oil (Brassica napus L.): Pigments removal and quality parameters.

Canola seeds (Brassica napus L.) are among the most commonly used seeds in Mexico for vegetable oil production. This is based on the high yield and content of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids. During oil bleaching, it is important to maintain fatty acids in their cis configuration because of the health concerns associated with trans-fatty acid consumption. In this sense, the industrial processing parameters employed for this purpose present some limitations, such as high temperatures and long times, which may change the cis configuration to trans. In addition, the amount of bleaching clay employed for this process could be a source of contamination because it is disposed of after treatment. Therefore, the aim of this study was to develop a bleaching process for canola oil using high-power ultrasound (US). US processing was applied to nine treatments with different processing times (60, 75, and 90 min), clay percentages (1, 2, and 3%), and temperatures (60 and 80 °C) to determine the concentrations of chlorophyll a and b (µg chlo/100 g oil), carotenes (µg ß-carotene/100 g oil), color (L*, a*, b*, C*, and h°), iodine value (g I2/100 g oil), and finally carrying out a spectroscopic analysis (ATR-FTIR and Raman). A conventional bleaching treatment (100 °C for 180 min, 3% bleaching clay) was used as a control. The results revealed that US treatments with 2% clay at 60 °C for 60 and 90 min eliminated most of the chlorophyll compounds (98%). However, in terms of carotenes reduction, these identical treatments exhibited a similar tendency to that of the control (approximately 30% decrease). These findings also affected the sample color, in which US treatments revealed chromatic coordinates that indicated yellow tones with chroma values that were more intense than those in the control samples. In terms of the iodine value, such treatments fulfilled the international standards for vegetable oils (90-100 g I2/100 g oil). Finally, the spectroscopic study revealed no trans configurations or the presence of different chemical compounds after US treatment, because neither of them presented typical peaks for those molecular configurations. In this regard, US can be a useful methodology for bleaching vegetable oils, helping to reduce time, and bleaching clay with similar pigment reduction results.

Interprofessional Near-Peer Mentoring Teams Enhance Cancer Research Training: Sustainable Approaches for Biomedical Workforce Development of Historically Underrepresented Students.

A cancer research training program explored different approaches for staffing their in-person and virtual programs for high school students. The inclusion of undergraduate near-peer mentors had a universal benefit when implemented across in-person and virtual training programs of one- and ten-week durations. Benefits are described for four stakeholder groups: the high school trainees, program staff, scientist partners, and peer mentors themselves. Peer mentors described that their involvement enhanced their own professional development and, for some, drove a new interest in cancer research. Scientist partners described that peer mentors helped translate their work in the virtual environment for high school students. High school trainees reported their sessions with peer mentors to be one of their favorite parts of the program. Interprofessional peer mentors were highly relatable to students and modeled communication and paths in biomedical research. Staff reported that peer mentors supported student engagement during community shadowing sessions, allowing staff to focus on developing the shadowing experiences with partners. The benefit of including peer mentors was substantial from all viewpoints explored. Their intensive inclusion in cancer research training programs supports sustainability and capacity building in biomedical workforce development.

Efectividad y seguridad del tratamiento con panitumumab en cáncer colorrectal metastásico / Effectiveness and safety of panitumumab for metastatic colorectal cancer treatment

Objetivos: Evaluar la efectividad y seguridad de panitumumab en los pacientes con cáncer colorrectal metastásico y comparar los resultados obtenidos con los publicados en los ensayos clínicos.Material y métodos: Estudio observacional retrospectivo de los pacientes con cáncer colorrectal metastásico en tratamiento con panitumumab desde junio de 2010 hasta septiembre de 2017. Se recogieron de la historia clínica informatizada datos demográficos, clínicos y terapéuticos. Las variables principales de efectividad fueron: supervivencia libre de progresión, supervivencia global y tipo de respuesta al tratamiento. Los efectos adversos presentados y su gravedad establecieron el perfil de seguridad al mismo.Resultados: Se incluyeron 85 pacientes, 60 varones. La tasa de respuesta global fue de 17,8%, de las cuales el 15,3% fueron respuestas parciales. El 14% presentaron estabilización de la enfermedad y el 51,8% progresión de la misma. La mediana de supervivencia libre de progresión fue de 6 meses (IC 95% 4,7-6,2). El tratamiento fue, en general, bien tolerado. La toxicidad más frecuente fue la cutánea, afectando al 82,4% de los pacientes.Conclusiones: Panitumumab constituye una terapia con una efectividad y tolerabilidad aceptable en el tratamiento del CCRm en la población KRAS WT. La combinación del fármaco con esquemas de quimioterapia produce una mejora significativa en la supervivencia libre de progresión. (AU)

Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of panitumumab in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer and to compare the results obtained with those published in clinical trials.Material and methods: Retrospective observational study of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer treated with panitumumab from June 2010 to September 2017. Demographic, clinical and therapeutic data were collected from the computerised clinical history. The main effectiveness endpoints were: progression-free survival, overall survival and type of response to treatment. Adverse events and their severity established the safety profile.Results: 85 patients, 60 males, were included. The overall response rate was 17.8%, of which 15.3% were partial responses. Disease stabilisation occurred in 14% and disease progression in 51.8%. Median progression-free survival was 6 months (95% CI 4.7-6.2). Treatment was generally well tolerated. The most frequent toxicity was skin toxicity, affecting 82.4% of patients.Conclusions: Panitumumab is a therapy with acceptable effectiveness and tolerability in treatment of mRCC in KRAS WT population. The combination of the drug with chemotherapy regimens produces a significant improvement in progression-free survival. (AU)

18F-FDG PET/CT in a cardiac metastasis in a patient with history of malignant neuroectodermal tumour of the chest wall: Case report and review of the literature. / PET/TC con 18F-FDG en metástasis cardíaca en un paciente con antecedente de tumor neuroectodérmico maligno de la pared torácica (tumor de Askin): caso clínico y revisión de la literatura.

The case presented is a 25-year-old male with a malignant neuroectodermal tumour on the left chest wall (Askin tumour), treated with surgery after neoadyuvant chemotherapy and followed by consolidation chemotherapy. After 9 years of disease free survival, the patient developed an acute pulmonary embolism. The echocardiogram, thoracic CT, and cardiac MRI scans revealed a mass in the right atrium. Recurrence of an Askin tumour versus an atrium myxoma was suspected. 18F-FDG PET/CT showed an intense hypermetabolic right atrium mass with extension to the right ventricle highly suggestive of malignancy. The result of the histopathology examination after biopsy and subsequently exeresis of the right atrium mass was consistent with a metastasis of the primary tumour.

Pregnancy and kidney transplantation, triple hazard? Current concepts and algorithm for approach of preconception and perinatal care of the patient with kidney transplantation.

INTRODUCTION: Kidney transplantation (KT) increases fertility in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD); their pregnancies are considered of high risk because of higher incidence of complications. The objective of this study was to propose, based on current concepts, an algorithm for preconception and perinatal care of KT recipients with a desire for parity. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We searched for literature published within the last 10 years related to pregnancy and KT. Based on the results, we developed an algorithm for the approach to preconception/perinatal care of these patients. RESULTS: Preconception care begins with pre-KT study of women of childbearing age, continues with contraception, and ends with the proper selection of candidates; an exhaustive study of health condition, function of renal graft, and infections that may affect the fetus is required; fetotoxic drugs must be suspended, immunosuppression must be based in corticosteroids, azathioprine, and tacrolimus or cyclosporine. Once conception is achieved, prenatal care should be done by a multidisciplinary team; follow-up of graft function and maternal-fetal health must be strict. Pregnancy has no deleterious effect on graft function; pelvic localization of graft does not contraindicate vaginal delivery; breastfeeding is indicated if immunosuppressive levels in the newborn are low. CONCLUSIONS: KT returns the possibility of motherhood to women with CKD. Proper selection and optimal care of patients determines success in maternal, fetal, and graft results.

Steady- and transient-state H2S biofiltration using expanded schist as packing material.

The performances of three laboratory-scale biofilters (BF1, BF2, BF3) packed with expanded schist for H(2)S removal were studied at different empty bed residence times (EBRT=35, 24 and 16s) in terms of elimination capacity (EC) and removal efficiency (RE). BF1 and BF2 were filled with expanded schist while BF3 was filled with both expanded schist and a nutritional material (UP20; 12% vol). BF1 and BF3 were inoculated with activated sludge, whereas BF2 was not inoculated. A maximum EC of 42 g m(-3) h(-1) was recorded for BF3 at EBRT=35 s demonstrating the ability of schist to treat high H(2)S loading rates, and the ability of UP20 to improve H(2)S removal. Michaelis-Menten and Haldane models were fitted to the experimental elimination capacities while biofilter responses to transient-state conditions in terms of removal efficiency during shock load events were also evaluated for BF1 and BF3.

Unified optimization criterion for energy converters.

We propose a unified optimization criterion for energy converters. It represents the best compromise between energy benefits and losses for a specific job and neither an explicit evaluation of entropies nor the consideration of environmental parameters are required. For all considered systems the criterion predicts a performance regime laying between those of maximum efficiency and maximum useful energy. Such regime has been invoked as optimum not only in macroscopic heat engines but also in some molecular motors.

Two varieties of helping in drunk-driving intervention: personal and situational factors.

OBJECTIVE: This study examined personal characteristics and contextual factors among college students who had made an attempt to prevent someone from driving drunk. The study was guided by findings from prior research and the arousal/cost-benefit model of helping. Both passive and assertive interventions and their efficacy were considered. METHOD: Questionnaire data were obtained from 388 students: 206 (68%) had intervened in a DUI situation (63% women). Self-reports of the person (e.g., moral obligation), the situation (e.g., perceived danger) and the type (passive, assertive) and success of the interventions were gathered. RESULTS: Of all interventions used 73% were successful; the median number of interventions used was three. Of the assertive interventions used in DUI situations 57% were successful compared to 47% of the passive interventions. Path analyses revealed that being older relative to the intervenee and greater sobriety of the intervenor predicted more interventions of both types. Personal commitment to intervention, amount of perceived danger and less alcohol consumption increased assertive interventions, whereas talking with someone about the potential DUI person increased the number of passive interventions. The success of both passive and assertive interventions were dependent upon the number of each of these interventions used. However, the more passive interventions were attempted, the less likely the success of an assertive intervention. CONCLUSIONS: The current findings extend our understanding of the psychosocial factors associated with informal DUI intervention, particularly concerning the choice and success of passive versus assertive interventions. Several of these significant predictors support laboratory research findings on helping and the arousal/cost-benefit model, while others do not.

Types of drunk-driving intervention: prevalence, success and gender.

OBJECTIVE: Survey research suggests that there are few, if any, gender differences in the types and frequency of informal drunk-driving intervention. This contrasts sharply with laboratory studies of helping behavior which report that men are more likely to help than are women. The present study examined the frequency and success rate of several different types of informal drunk-driving intervention for women and men. The influence of the gender of the intervenor and the intoxicated individual and the intervenor's familiarity with the individual on the use and success of the different interventions were also examined. METHOD: Students (N = 388) at a major West Coast university completed a drinking and driving questionnaire. Of these subjects 303 (78%) reported having been in a DUI situation within the last year, and 68% at these students (n = 206) who reported having intervened at least once in the past year were used in the present study. RESULTS: Women were just as likely as men to intervene. There were few gender differences in the frequency and success rates of the different types of intervention examined. Familiarity with the intoxicated individual increased the frequency and success of intervention. However, intervention with strangers occurred under certain circumstances. CONCLUSIONS: These data indicate that there are few gender differences in the use and success rate of different types of informal drunk-driving intervention. However, since the interventions examined in this study were determined a priori, gender differences may still be operative. There is some research evidence that suggests that men and women approach potential drunk drivers differently. Furthermore, the role of familiarity in drunk-driving intervention needs to be further examined.

[Surveillance of therapy with aminoglycosides at a specialized hospital]. / Vigilancia de terapia con aminoglucósidos en un hospital de especialidades.

Aminoglycosides (AG) are excellent antibiotics against gram-negative bacilli infections, but their use implies potential ototoxicity and nephrotoxicity if an excessive dosage is prescribed. In this study we evaluated 105 episodes of AG treatment in 104 patients hospitalized in a specialty hospital in the city of Leon, Mexico. In each case a basal serum creatinine, weight and age were recorded. A single serum AG assay per episode of treatment was done. Either amikacin or gentamicin were one the AG prescribed. Prior to AG administration only 54 treatment episodes (51%) had a before treatment creatinine assay. The initial creatinine clearance showed normal values in 43% (23/54 episodes) and it was altered (below 80 mL/min) in 31 (57%) of the episodes. In the 31 cases with an altered renal function only 15 (48%) underwent dosage adjustment. In summary the AG were prescribed in excess in 54% (29/54) of the episodes. The serum AG levels within toxic range were observed in 11 episodes. These results suggest that in our hospital AG treatment is not adequately done and monitored.

Alcoholic beverage licensing practices in California: a study of a regulatory agency.

A mail survey sent to all 25 State of California Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) offices and distributed to all 167 investigators assessed investigators' decisions to recommend issuance or denial of alcoholic beverage license applications. Investigators responded to three hypothetical vignettes that involved applications for liquor licenses. Findings show that although ABC investigators are influenced by public protests, illegal applications, and an applicant's moral character, they consistently favor licensing the applicant. The two formal rules that were designed specifically to respond to the community's welfare do not present serious barriers to obtaining an alcohol license. As a state regulatory organization, ABC is influenced greatly by the industry that it is supposed to regulate.

Social status and drunk-driving intervention.

The decision to intervene to prevent an inebriated peer from driving drunk is examined in a survey administered to one lower division and two upper division university classes. Of the 303 students who had been in a situation in which someone was too drunk to drive, 65% reported having intervened. Differences in the likelihood of intervention are examined through a log-linear analysis of the age, race and sex of the respondent and the potential drunk driver. The decision to intervene is seen as a naturally occurring form of helping behavior. Two hypotheses derived from the literature on helping behavior are examined: (1) persons are more likely to intervene with persons of lower status in terms of age, race and sex than with persons of higher status and (2) persons are more likely to intervene with those who are similar to themselves in terms of age, race and sex than with those who are different. Analysis reveals that persons are much more likely to experience drunk-driving situations in which the potential driver is similar to them in terms of these social characteristics than situations in which the driver is different. However, neither status differences nor similarity affects the likelihood of intervention.

[Congenital malaria in a twin]. / Paludismo congénito en un gemelo.

Congenital malaria is rare even in endemic areas. It is even rarer in a single twin. When this was presented in a clinical case, the diagnosis was checked for the presence of Plasmodium vivax in peripheral smears and it was treated with chloroquine as the selected drug. The twin brother never presented clinical manifestations, either from the laboratory or the illness. We comment on the factors that facilitate transplacental transmission.

Alpha-thalassemia changes the cell density profile in sickle cell anaemia.

Several factors are implied in the haematological and clinical picture of sickle cell anaemia. Attention has been focused on the concomitant presence of -alpha-thalassemia and high levels of HbF, but contradictory results have been reported in different populations. We compared the blood cell density profile, obtained by the phtalate esther method, of normal subjects with those of patients with sickle cell anaemia - with or without heterozygous alpha-thalassemia. We found that the density profile of both groups of patients differs from normal subjects, and that a difference can also be demonstrated between normal alpha genotype patients with sickle cell anaemia and patients with heterozygous alpha-thalassemia. These results are in agreement with the findings obtained in other countries in which a gene from Caucasian to African populations have been demonstrated, and are different from the results obtained in populations of more pure African ancestry. It can be suggested, therefore, that these data, in addition with findings of other authors in different geographical areas, support the hypothesis that the genetic make up plays an important role in the haematologic and clinical picture of sickle cell anaemia.

Passive and assertive student interventions in public and private drunken driving situations.

The types and frequency of interventions used to prevent drunken driving across four different locations is examined. A drinking survey of 247 students provided 97 subjects who indicated that someone had attempted to prevent them from driving under the influence (DUI). Results suggest that the location of the drinking modestly influences the type of intervention, that the more assertive intervention has a higher success rate and that private or more intimate gatherings promote less assertive interventions. Given the failure of deterrence, further understanding of how, why, when and who does and does not intervene, and what, when and who is and is not successful are promising research directions. Most importantly, however, is the need to conceptualize drunken drivers and the reactions to their potential DUI. It is suggested that the social support-stress literature may be useful in that it provides us with a social psychology of both effective and ineffective crises management. Status and age characteristics are the sociological parameters that must be included if we are to clarify and improve our understanding and move toward an informed policy.

Alcohol-related hazardous behavior among college students.

This chapter compares a social learning and deterrence model for DUI among college students. Our assumption is that deviant behavior, or driving under the influence, is a result of social learning that occurs in ongoing interaction with significant others. A deterrence model that is concerned with the threat and fear of death and beliefs about the capacity of the driver to minimize danger when drunk and statutory commands through laws also play a role in such behavior. Using multivariate analysis, specifically discriminant function and multiple regression, we differentiate our sample into those who have "never," only once, and regularly DUI. The major item in the social learning model contributing to DUI is whether the respondent has ever been a passenger with a drunk driver. The deterrence model also has value since the number of "tricks" the respondent feels are useful in counteracting the influence of alcohol contributes to believed risk reduction. Results indicate that alone, the deterrence model fails to explain DUI. The social learning model with its emphasis on the proximate social environment is needed as a supplement to predict DUI among college students. Efforts to modify this hazardous behavior among college students will need to incorporate a social learning model along with the deterrence model.

Is hostility linked with affiliation among males and with achievement among females? A critique of Pollak and Gilligan.

This investigation attempted to replicate and to clarify methodologically an investigation by Pollak and Gilligan (1982). Those investigators reported sex differences in violence imagery to Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) pictures depicting affiliation and achievement situations. Pollak and Gilligan concluded that men perceive danger in situations of affiliation whereas women perceive danger in situations of achievement. It was demonstrated in the present study that Pollak and Gilligan incorrectly classified TAT cards into motivational categories, which may have resulted in incorrect inferences. In addition, their findings could not be replicated when using four different systems for classifying TAT cards into motivational categories. Other potential sources of error in their research, including a restrictive scoring scheme for hostility, unusual instructions, and failure to control for sex role in the TAT pictures, did not influence the pattern of results.