Electric paralyzation and reduction of weight loss in the processing of round-cooked spiny lobsters

This study proposes alternatives to the current methods of processing round-cooked lobster. The paralyzation of lobsters with direct electric shock consumes 10.526 x 10-3 kWh, which is significantly less than the 11 kWh required by the traditional thermal-shock method (based on 60 kg of lobsters). A better weight gain was obtained by immersion of paralyzed lobsters in brine before cooking. Systematic trials combining 3, 6, or 9% brine concentrations with immersion periods of 15, 30, or 45 minutes were performed in order to determine the best combinations. A mathematical model was designed to predict the weight gain of lobsters of different sizes in any combination of treatments. For small lobsters, a 45 minutes immersion in 6% brine gave the best response in terms of weight gain (4.7%) and cooking produced a weight loss of only 1.34% in relation to fresh lobster weight. For medium-sized lobsters, a 45 minutes immersion in 9% brine produced a weight gain of 2.64%, and cooking a weight gain of 1.08%. For large lobsters, a 45 minutes immersion in 6% brine produced a weight gain of 3.87%, and cooking a weight gain of 1.62%.

The effect of a diet education with six iso-caloric meals on the body weight and blood glucose of diabetes type 2 patients

The treatment of Diabetes should not only be sought through drug administration; diet is also a part of its treatment. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of a diet with six meals having equal calories on the body weight and blood glucose on diabetes type 2 patients. This research is an Experimental study conducted in 2009 on 181 patients with diabetes. The patients visited the IDSF (Iranian Diabetes Society of Fars) weekly and the patients to be studied were randomly divided into two groups of 85 and 96 patients, respectively. The participants were repeatedly requested to consume their calculated calorie in six equal parts. The average age in the Experimental and Control groups were 51.2 ± 13.3 and 53.1 ± 9.4, respectively. The mean body weight and fasting blood glucose at the beginning of the study in Experimental and Control groups were 66.3 ± 9.4 and 69.1 ± 11.1 kg, 198.9 ± 35.1, and 199.8 ± 39.1 mg.dL-1, respectively. At the end of the study, however, the values were 63.5 ± 7.5 and 66.98 ± 9 kg, 139.5 ± 34.6 and 164.2 ± 22.1 mg.dL-1, respectively. Only the mean fasting blood glucose at the end of the study revealed a significant difference (p-value = 0.001). The results show that educating those afflicted with Diabetes Type 2 aiming at changing their diet can greatly help them manage their blood glucose.

Reduction of carcass weight loss in swines

The carcass fast freezing is one of the aspects of great prominence to the final quality of pork. In order to reduce weight loss, two experiments were performed, in which the carcasses were monitored during 20 hours to evaluate the main variables involved during two different freezing processes (standard and proposed) as follows: microbiological quality, storage temperature, relative humidity (RH) and air velocity. In experiment I, the carcasses were submitted to a system using heat shock (2 hours in static tunnel at - 25 °C) and subsequently sent to the equalization chamber. In experiment II, the carcasses were submitted to the heat shock and stored in a chamber with RH between 80-85%. The chambers used in both experiments showed no change in the variables studied (internal temperature of 5 °C and air velocity of approximately 0.3 m/s). However, the relative humidity in the three chambers was evaluated and significant differences were found; as a consequence, high levels of weight loss were observed in both chambers In experiment II there was an increase of RH, which reduced the weight loss of the carcasses.

Effect of high and low molecular weight glutenin subunits, and subunits of gliadin on physicochemical parameters of different wheat genotypes

Identification of functional properties of wheat flour by specific tests allows genotypes with appropriate characteristics to be selected for specific industrial uses. The objective of wheat breeding programs is to improve the quality of germplasm bank in order to be able to develop wheat with suitable gluten strength and extensibility for bread making. The aim of this study was to evaluate 16 wheat genotypes by correlating both glutenin subunits of high and low molecular weight and gliadin subunits with the physicochemical characteristics of the grain. Protein content, sedimentation volume, sedimentation index, and falling number values were analyzed after the grains were milled. Hectoliter weight and mass of 1000 seeds were also determined. The glutenin and gliadin subunits were separated using polyacrylamide gel in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate. The data were evaluated using variance analysis, Pearson's correlation, principal component analysis, and cluster analysis. The IPR 85, IPR Catuara TM, T 091015, and T 091069 genotypes stood out from the others, which indicate their possibly superior grain quality with higher sedimentation volume, higher sedimentation index, and higher mass of 1000 seeds; these genotypes possessed the subunits 1 (Glu-A1), 5 + 10 (Glu-D1), c (Glu-A3), and b (Glu-B3), with exception of T 091069 genotype that possessed the g allele instead of b in the Glu-B3.

Weight loss improves renal hemodynamics in patients with metabolic syndrome

OBJECTIVE: We investigated the impact of weight loss on urinary albumin excretion (UAE) and creatinine clearance in obese patients with metabolic syndrome. METHODS: Thirty-five obese patients undertook a 12-week calorie-restricted diet. The patients underwent a metabolic (oral glucose tolerance test, plasma lipids, and uric acid) and renal hemodynamic evaluations (creatinine clearance and urinary albumin excretion) before (phase 1), and after the 12-week diet (phase 2). RESULTS: After the dietary intervention, the subjects were divided into two groups: patients who achieved the target weight reduction (R: responders, n = 14), and patients who did not (NR: non-responders, n = 21). The patients in Group R showed an improvement in lipid profile, a decrease in UAE (median = 162.5 mg/24 hours, range: 0.8 to 292 mg/24 hours, at phase 1 versus 10.4 mg/24 hours, range: 1.6 to 22.4 mg/24 hours, at phase 2), and a significant reduction in creatinine clearance (121.4 ± 66.5 mL/min. in phase 1 to 92.9 ± 35.6 mL/min. at the end of phase 2, p = 0.001). In Group NR, no statistically significant differences were observed between phases 1 and 2. CONCLUSION: Body weight reduction has a positive impact on renal hemodynamics, decreasing urinary albumin excretion as well as glomerular hyperfiltration in obese patients with metabolic syndrome.

Comparison of baseline data between chronic kidney disease patients starting hemodialysis who live near and far from the dialysis center

Introduction: The treatment offered to chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients before starting hemodialysis (HD) impacts prognosis. Objective: We seek differences among incident HD patients according to the distance between home and the dialysis center. Methods: We included 179 CKD patients undergoing HD. Patients were stratified in two groups: "living near the dialysis center" (patients whose hometown was in cities up to 100 km from the dialysis center) or as "living far from the dialysis center" (patients whose hometown was more than 100 km from the dialysis center). Socioeconomic status, laboratory results, awareness of CKD before starting HD, consultation with nephrologist before the first HD session, and type of vascular access when starting HD were compared between the two groups. Comparisons of continuous and categorical variables were performed using Student's t-test and the Chi-square test, respectively. Results: Ninety (50.3%) patients were classified as "living near the dialysis center" and 89 (49.7%) as "living far from the dialysis center". Patients living near the dialysis center were more likely to know about their condition of CKD than those living far from the dialysis center, respectively 46.6% versus 28.0% (p = 0.015). Although without statistical significance, patients living near the dialysis center had more frequent previous consultation with nephrologists (55.5% versus 42.6%; p = 0.116) and first HD by fistula (30.0% versus 19.1%; p = 0.128) than those living far from the dialysis center. Conclusion: There are potential advantages of CKD awareness, referral to nephrologists and starting HD through fistula among patients living near the dialysis center.