Effect of nopal mucilage addition on physical, barrier and mechanical properties of citric pectin-based films.

This study considered the effect of the nopal mucilage (NM) fraction on the physical, barrier and mechanical properties of citric pectin-based (CP) films. Pectin aqueous dispersion 75 mL (2.0 g/100 g water) were mixed with 5 mL of glycerol and 20 mL of NM aqueous dispersions at different concentrations; namely, 5, 10, 12, 14 16, 18 and 20 g/100 g water. Films containing the highest NM content (20 g/100 g water) exhibited improved thermal stability. The addition of NM at relatively low concentration (0-10 g/100 g water) led to important modifications of mechanical properties, including elongation to break, tensile strength, and elasticity. Microstructural analysis showed that films containing between 14 and 20 g/100 g water of NM presented rough and fractured surfaces. As mucilage concentration in films was increased, the vapor water permeability decreased as result of better internal cohesiveness of components. The modification of the physical properties in CP films resulted from molecular and physical interaction of its components. In general, the combination of NM and CP for forming edible films led to enhanced thermal stability and higher water vapor permeability, which are prescribed properties for applications as food packaging.

Thermodynamic sorption analysis and glass transition temperature of faba bean (Vicia faba L.) protein.

Freeze-dried faba bean (Vicia faba L.) protein adsorption isotherms were determined at 25, 35 and 40 °C and fitted with the Guggenheim-Anderson-de Boer model. The pore radius of protein was in the range of 0.87-6.44 nm, so that they were considered as micropores and mesopores. The minimum integral entropy ranged between 4.33 and 4.44 kg H2O/100 kg d.s., was regarded as the point of maximum of stability. The glass transition temperature of the protein equilibrated at the different conditions of storage was determined, showing that the protein remained in glassy state for all cases. The protein showed compact and rigid structures, evidenced by microscopy analysis.

Predictive performance of PAMG-1 vs fFN test for risk of spontaneous preterm birth in symptomatic women attending an emergency obstetric unit: retrospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the performance of the placental alpha microglobulin-1 (PAMG-1) and fetal fibronectin (fFN) tests for the prediction of spontaneous preterm delivery in patients presenting to an emergency obstetric unit with threatened preterm labor, by conducting a retrospective audit of patient medical records from separate 1-year periods during which either fFN or PAMG-1 was used as the standard-of-care biochemical test. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study based on chart review of electronic medical records of women with threatened preterm labor presenting at a level-III maternity hospital over two different periods: (1) the 'baseline' period (year 2012), during which the qualitative fFN test with a cut-off of 50 ng/mL was used as the standard-of-care biochemical test for the risk assessment of preterm delivery, and (2) the 'comparative' period (year 2016), during which the PAMG-1 test with a cut-off of 1 ng/mL was used as the standard-of-care biomarker test. Patients with a singleton pregnancy between 24 + 0 and 34 + 6 weeks' gestation with symptoms of early preterm labor, clinically intact membranes and cervical dilatation < 3 cm, who did not have a medically indicated preterm delivery within 14 days of testing, were selected for chart review and included in the analysis. Key parameters used for the analysis were biochemical test results, time of testing and time of delivery. Positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative likelihood ratios (LR+ and LR-) for the prediction of spontaneous preterm delivery ≤ 7 and ≤ 14 days of presentation were calculated for the PAMG-1 and fFN tests. RESULTS: Four hundred and twenty patients were identified as having presented with threatened preterm labor during the baseline period, of whom 378 (90.0%) met the eligibility criteria. Of these, 38 (10.1%) were fFN positive and 10 (2.6%) had spontaneous preterm delivery ≤ 7 days of presentation. PPV, NPV, LR+ and LR- of fFN were 7.9%, 97.9%, 3.2 and 0.8, respectively, for spontaneous preterm delivery ≤ 7 days. Four hundred and ten patients were identified as having presented with threatened preterm labor during the comparative period and 367 (89.5%) subjects met the eligibility criteria. Of these, 17 (4.6%) were PAMG-1 positive and 12 (3.3%) had spontaneous preterm delivery ≤ 7 days of presentation. PAMG-1 PPV and NPV were 35.3% and 98.3%, respectively, and LR+ and LR- were 16.1 and 0.5, respectively, for spontaneous preterm delivery ≤ 7 days. CONCLUSIONS: Before switching to PAMG-1, fFN was the standard-of-care test for the risk assessment of spontaneous preterm delivery. This retrospective audit of each test's performance over separate 1-year periods shows that we were more than twice as likely to get a positive fFN test than a positive PAMG-1 test, while the rate of discharging women who ultimately delivered spontaneously within 14 days of testing was not affected. Furthermore, a positive PAMG-1 test was more than four times more reliable than a positive fFN test in predicting imminent spontaneous preterm delivery. The use of a more reliable biomarker that is associated with fewer false-positive results could lead to a reduction in unnecessary admissions, interventions and use of hospital resources. Copyright © 2017 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Effect of gelatinized flour fraction on thermal and rheological properties of wheat-based dough and bread.

This work considered gelatinized wheat flour fraction with properties similar to hydrocolloid to enhance the strength of dough network by improving water retention and rheological characteristics. The gelatinized (90 °C) fraction of the wheat flour was incorporated in the dough formulation at different levels (5, 10, and 20% w/w). The effects of the gelatinized flour (GF) fraction on the dough rheology and thermal properties were studied. The incorporation of GF induced a moderate increase of dough viscoelasticity and reduced the freezing and melting enthalpies. On the other hand, the changes in bread textural properties brought by incorporation of GF were insignificant, indicating that the gelatinized fraction acted as a binder that enhanced water trapping in the structure. SEM images showed a more heterogeneous crumb microstructure (e.g., gas cells, porous, etc.) bread prepared using GF. Drying kinetics obtained from TGA indicated that the water diffusivity decreased with the incorporation of GF, which suggested that the bread had a compact microstructure.

Using mobile devices to improve the safety of medication administration processes.

Within preventable medical errors, those related to medications are frequent in every stage of the prescribing cycle. Nursing is responsible for maintaining each patients safety and care quality. Moreover, nurses are the last people who can detect an error in medication before its administration. Medication administration is one of the riskiest tasks in nursing. The use of information and communication technologies is related to a decrease in these errors. Including mobile devices related to 2D code reading of patients and medication will decrease the possibility of error when preparing and administering medication by nurses. A cross-platform software (iOS and Android) was developed to ensure the five Rights of the medication administration process (patient, medication, dose, route and schedule). Deployment in November showed 39% use.

Impact of ghosts on the viscoelastic response of gelatinized corn starch dispersions subjected to small strain deformations.

Corn starch dispersions (5.0% w/w) were gelatinized by heating at 90°C for 20 min using gentle stirring. Under these conditions, ghosts, which are insoluble material with high amylopectin content, were detected by optical microscopy. Strain sweep tests showed that the gelatinized starch dispersions (GSD) exhibited a loss modulus (G″) overshoot at relatively low strains (∼1%). In order to achieve a greater understanding as to the mechanisms giving rise to this uncharacteristic nonlinear response at low strains, very small constant torques (from 0.05 to 0.5 µN m) were applied in the bulk of the GSD with a rotating biconical disc. This resulted in small deformations exhibiting torque-dependent inertio-elastic damped oscillations which were subjected to phenomenological modelling. Inertial effects played an important role in the starch mechanical response. The model parameters varied with the magnitude of constant small applied torque and could be related to microstructural changes of ghosts and to the viscoelastic response of GSD.

Acid hydrolysis of native corn starch: morphology, crystallinity, rheological and thermal properties.

The acid hydrolysis of native corn starch at 35 °C was monitored during 15 days. After this time, the residual solids were about 37.0 ± 3.0%. First-order kinetics described the hydrolysis data, giving a constant rate of kH = 0.18 ± 0.012 days(-1). Amylose content presented a sharp decrement of about 85% and X-ray diffraction results indicated a gradual increase in crystallinity during the first 3 days. SEM micrographs showed that hydrolysis disrupted granule morphology from an initial regular shape to increasingly irregular shapes. Fractal analysis of SEM images revealed an increase in surface roughness. Fast changes in the thermal effects were caused by molecular rearrangements after fast hydrolysis of amylose in the amorphous regions in the first day. Steady shear rate and oscillatory tests showed a sharp decrease of the apparent viscosity and an increase of the damping factor (tan(δ)) caused by amylose degradation.

In vitro digestibility, physicochemical, thermal and rheological properties of banana starches.

Banana starches (BS) were isolated from Enano, Morado, Valery and Macho cultivars. The BS possessed B-type crystallinity and an amylose content varying from 19.32 to 26.35%. Granules had an oval morphology with different major-to-minor axis ratios, exhibiting both mono- and bi-modal distributions and mean particle sizes varying from 32.5 to 45 µm. BS displayed zeta-potential values ranging between -32.25 and -17.32 mV, and formed gels of incipient to moderate stability. The enthalpy of gelatinization of BS affected the crystalline order stability within the granules. In-vitro digestibility tests showed fractions as high as 68% of resistant starch. Rheological oscillatory tests at 1 Hz showed that BS dispersions (7.0%, w/w) exhibited Type III behaviour, attributed to the formation of a continuous phase complex three-dimensional amylose gel reinforced by swollen starch granules acting as fillers. Amylose content and granules morphology were the main factors influencing the BS properties.

Implementing rules to improve the quality of concept post-coordination with SNOMED CT.

The use of SNOMED CT as a standard reference terminology enables interoperability between clinical systems. This reference tool provides a method for creating post-coordinated terms by users according to local needs. While the creation of these terms is free, there are a number of rules, as defined in the user manual of SNOMED CT that must be followed.The Hospital Italiano of Buenos Aires has a Terminology Server that encodes medical terms, using SNOMED CT as the reference vocabulary. An interoperability analysis performed with the Nebraska Medical Center in 2006 found a high error rate (26%) in post-coordinated terms. Therefore, we implemented an automatic system of rules within the Terminology Server as defined in the user manual. Following rules implementation, the error rate decreased from 26% to 2%.

Composición química del aceite virgen obtenido por extracción mecánica de algunas variedades de uva (Vitis vinifera L) con énfasis en los componentes minoritarios / Chemical composition of the virgin oil obtained by mechanical pressing form several grape seed varieties (Vitis vinifera L) with emphasis on minor constituents

Se determinó la composición química del aceite virgen obtenido por presión mecánica de semillas de uva de las variedades Syrah, Tintorera y de una mezcla de las variedades Syrah-Tempranillo-Merlot. Métodos analíticos oficiales fueron empleados en la determinación de dos índices de calidad (acidez e índice de peróxidos), del perfil de ácidos grasos y para la cuantificación de los componentes minoritarios más importantes. Los valores de acidez e índice de peróxidos coincidieron con los señalados por el Codex Alimentarius para los aceites comestibles de buena calidad. El ácido linoleico fue el ácido graso más abundante en todas las muestras, representando alrededor del 65 por ciento, seguido por el ácido oleico con niveles cercanos al 25 por ciento. La concentración total de fitoesteroles se ubicó en el intervalo de 5179 hasta 5480 mg/kg siendo el ß-sitosterol el más importante constituyendo más del 66 por ciento del total. El colesterol fue detectado en los aceites vírgenes provenientes de las variedades Syrah y Tintorera, con concentraciones inferiores al máximo permitido para los aceites vegetales comestibles. El ester 1-butanil-3-metil acetato, fue el componente volátil encontrado en mayor proporción con concentraciones de 5,4; 6,8 y 11,0 mg/kg para las variedades Syrah, Tintorera y la mezcla de semillas respectivamente. Otros compuestos volátiles también presentes en los aceites fueron el Trans-2-hexenal (0,1 a 0,5 mg/kg), E-2-pentenal (3,1 a 4,2 mg/kg), hexanal (1,4 a 1,9 mg/kg) y heptanal (0,1 a 0,3 mg/kg). Esos compuestos pueden ser los responsables de los aromas afrutados que se detectaron en todas las muestras de aceites vírgenes estudiadas. Los isómeros α y γ tocotrienoles, representaron más del 80 por ciento de los tococromanoles presentes, mientras que los tocoferoles constituyeron menos del 10 por ciento. El color verde intenso observado en los aceites fue asociado a la presencia de clorofila y otros pigmentos vegetales.

The chemical composition of the virgin oils obtained by mechanical pressing of grape seed belonging of the varieties Syrah and Tintorera as well as a mixture of seeds of the varieties Syrah, Tempranillo and Merlot was determined. Official analytical methods were employed for the determination of two quality indexes (acidity and peroxide value), fatty acids profile and for the quantification of the most important minor constituents. The acidity and the peroxide values were in agreement with the values reported by the Codex Alimentarius for good quality edible oils. The linoleic acid was the fatty acid most abundant in all samples, representing around the 65 percent, followed by the monounsaturated oleic acid with concentrations close to 25 percent. The total phytosterol concentrations were between 5179 and 5480 mg/kg, where the ß-sytosterol represented more than the 66 percent in all grape seed oils. The cholesterol was detected in the oils from the varieties Syrah and Tintorera in concentrations below the maximum allowed for vegetable edible oils. The ester 1-buthyl-3-methylacetate was the most abundant in the volatile fraction with concentrations of 5.4; 6.8 and 11.0 mg/kg for Syrah, Tintorera and the seeds mixture respectively. Other volatile compounds also present were the Trans-2-hexenal (0.1 to 0.5 mg/kg), E-2-pentenal (3.1 to 4.2 mg/kg), hexanal (1.4 to 1.9 mg/kg) and heptanal (0.1 to 0.3 mg/kg). These compounds may be the responsible for the fruity flavor detected in all virgin oils studied. The α and γ isomers of the tocotrienols accounted for more than the 80 percent of the tocochromanols present in the oils, while the tocopherols represented only the 10 percent The deep green color observed in all oil samples was associated to the presence of chlorophylls and other vegetable pigments.

Phytochemical study and antiinflammatory properties of Lobelia laxiflora L.

Three new piperidine alkaloids were isolated from stems, leaves and flowers of Lobelia laxiflora L. (Campanulaceae). The structures of racem. cis-8,10-diethyl-3,4-dehydrolobelidiol (1), racem. trans-8-ethyl-10-phenyl-3,4-dehydrolobelidiol (2) and racem. cis-8-ethyl-10-phenyl-3, 4-dehydrolobelidiol (3) were established by spectral analyses. The residues obtained from the ethanol extracts from stems (S), leaves (L), and flowers (F) were applied in carrageenan (Car)- and cobra venom (CV)-induced acute inflammation in mice. A suppression of paw edema formation at a dose of 100 mg kg-1 was established. In this study the antiinflammatory potential of Lobelia l. was regarded in connection with the complement system. The sequential activation and assembly into functional units of complement components can proceed via two different pathways, named classical (CP) and alternative (AP). The ability of the residues, nonalkaloid fractions, alkaloid fractions and the three alkaloids at a concentration from 0.125 to 1.0 mg ml-1 to inhibit complement activation and thus to prevent inflammatory process was estimated in vitro in human serum via both pathways. All of them inhibited complement activity with a predominant action on CP.

[Community laboratories as tools of scientific research on health society in Venezuela]. / Laboratorios de comunidad como instrumentos para la investigación científica de salud y sociedad en Venezuela.

The School of Dentistry of Zulia University, Maracaibo, Venezuela, set up "community laboratories" to investigate alternative solutions to Venezuelan oral health problems. These academic-administrative units were used to make trial of different arrangements for the provision of dental care in different community situations. The purposes of the community laboratories were to design, develop, and compare comprehensive dental care systems, delegate functions to auxiliary personnel selected in the communities themselves, use simplified equipment, design techniques for reducing costs while maintaining quality, generate a methodology for community motivation, apply preventive techniques on a mass scale, offer the experience so acquired to the public services and to the profession at large, and supply information on the community essential for the design of curricula. The result has been highly encouraging because of the degree of community participation obtained and the salutary effect on student training and attitudes.