Antioxidant Effect of Pumpkin Flower (Cucurbita maxima) in Chicken Patties.

In this work, the antioxidant effect of pumpkin flower powder was evaluated in chicken patties. For this purpose, three drying methods were proposed to obtain the pumpkin flower powder and preserve its properties (antioxidants, color, odor): foam-mat drying, freeze drying, and oven drying. The drying process of the powder plays an important role in the conservation of bioactive compounds. The foam-mat drying method would allow the preservation of these compounds after cooking and after cold storage due to encapsulation like mechanism of the added proteins. Thus, these powders were selected as the most adequate vehicle to incorporate in the formulation, since patties with these additives presented the better antioxidant scores for DPPH, ABTS, and FRAP even after 7 days of storage. In addition, total polyphenolic content and the presence or thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) were better scored in samples with the pumpkin flowers. The incorporation of the pumpkin flower additives in the patty formulation improved sensorial attributes of the chicken patties and consumers acceptance after cold storage.

Mathematical Models Generated for the Prediction of Corrosion Inhibition Using Different Theoretical Chemistry Simulations.

The use of corrosion inhibitors is an important method to retard the process of metallic attack by corrosion. The construction of mathematical models from theoretical-computational and experimental data obtained for different molecules is one of the most attractive alternatives in the analysis of corrosion prevention, whose objective is to define those molecular characteristics that are common in high-performance corrosion inhibitors. This review includes data of corrosion inhibitors evaluated in different media, the most commonly studied molecular descriptors, and some examples of mathematical models generated by different researchers.

Factores psicosociales asociados a la depresión en gestantes atendidas en un centro materno infantil peruano, 2018 / Psychosocial factors associated with depression in pregnant women treated in a peruvian maternal and child center, 2018

INTRODUCCIÓN: La evidencia reporta que más del 20% de las gestantes peruanas presentan depresión, lo cual acarrea complicaciones maternas y problemas neurológicos en el infante. OBJETIVO: Identificar los factores psicosociales que se asocian a la depresión durante el embarazo. MÉTODOS: Estudio de casos y controles donde participaron 95 gestantes atendidas en un centro de atención primaria. La depresión fue tamizada mediante el Cuestionario de la salud del paciente (PHQ-9). El análisis bivariado se realizó mediante la prueba Chi cuadrado de Pearson y el multivariado mediante regresión logística, considerando un nivel de confianza del 95%. RESULTADOS: De las gestantes con depresión, un 57.14% presentó depresión leve y un 36, 73% moderada. Entre los factores asociados (p<0.05) se encontraron el haber presentado un embarazo de bajo riesgo (OR=0.34; IC95%:0.14-0.88), presentar un embarazo no deseado (OR=3.07; IC95%:1.17-8.03), presentar antecedentes de depresión en la infancia (OR=2.72; IC95%:1.04-7.14) y no haber consumido alcohol durante la gestación (OR=0.35; IC95%:0.14-0.89). CONCLUSIONES: Los factores de riesgo para presentar depresión durante el embarazo fueron el haber presentado un embarazo no deseado y antecedentes de depresión durante la infancia, mientras que los factores protectores fueron no haber consumido alcohol durante el embarazo y el considerar a su embarazo de bajo riesgo.

INTRODUCTION: Evidence reports that more than 20% of pregnant women in Peru have depression, leading to maternal and neurological problems in the infant. OBJECTIVE: To identify the psychosocial factors that are associated with depression during pregnancy. METHODS: Case-control study that involved 95 pregnant women assisting to a primary care centre. Depression was screened using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). For bivariate analysis Pearson's and Chi square test was performed and for multivariate logistic regression was used, considered a 95% confidence level. RESULTS: Of pregnant women with depression, 57.14% presented level depression and 36, 73% moderate. Among the associated factors (p <0.05) were having a low risk pregnancy (OR = 0.34; 95% CI: 0.14-0.88), presenting an unwanted pregnancy (OR = 3.07; 95% CI: 1.17-8.03), present a history of depression in childhood (OR = 2.72; 95% CI: 1.04-7.14) and have not consumed alcohol during pregnancy (OR = 0.35; 95% CI: 0.14-0.89). CONCLUSIONS: The risk factors for presenting depression during pregnancy were having had an unwanted pregnancy and a history of depression during childhood, while the protective factors were not having consumed alcohol during pregnancy and considering their pregnancy to be low risk.

Overexpression of MMP-3 and uPA with Diminished PAI-1 Related to Metastasis in Ductal Breast Cancer Patients Attending a Public Hospital in Mexico City.

Extracellular matrix metalloproteases and the fibrinolytic system are important protease systems interacting with each other in charge of remodeling and recycling of tissues. Their role in tumor invasion and metastasis is often discussed. In this study several metalloproteases such as MMP-1, MMP-3, MMP-9, and TIMP-1 together with molecules from the fibrinolytic system like uPA, its receptor uPAR, and its inhibitor, PAI-1, were studied by immune-histochemistry to establish a comparison with and without metastasis. From the (118) primary tumors of Mexican patients with ductal breast cancer studied, 56% were grade II and 69% were size T2; the group with metastatic ganglia included 64 samples (54.3%). In patients with metastasis the estimated expression of MMP-3 and uPA (resp., 28% and 45%) was higher than that from no metastatic tumors; it means there is higher expression of both markers in metastatic tumors (p < 0.05). At the same time, metastatic tumors showed statistically significant lower signal of PAI-1 (24%) than tumors without metastasis (p < 0.05). We concluded that overexpression of MMP-3 and uPA, altogether with diminished expression of PAI-1 from metastatic tumors, might be a crucial step towards metastasis in ductal breast cancer. Nevertheless, additional studies in different populations are necessary to establish a pattern.

Construction and validation of a Sambucus nigra biosensor for cancer-associated STn antigen.

A label-free electrochemical impedance spectroscopy biosensor for selective detection and discrimination of the cancer-associated sialyl-Tn (STn) antigen was developed by using Sambucus nigra agglutinin type I (SNA-I) as the recognition element. The SNA-I biosensor was constructed by immobilizing the lectin on screen-printed gold electrodes. The formation of a complex between SNA-I and STn-containing glycoproteins (transferrin and bovine submaxillary mucin) was monitored by measuring the impedance increase of the biosensor. The increase in electron transfer resistance was linearly proportional to the concentration of the glycoproteins up to 70 ng of transferrin and 40 ng of bovine submaxillary mucin, with a limit of detection of 20 ng for transferrin. Albumin, the most abundant serum protein, did not interfere in the detection of the STn-glycoproteins up to a concentration of 0.2 mg ml(-1). The developed lectin-based biosensor was used to evaluate the STn-expression in serum samples and discriminate samples from healthy individuals and patients with different types of malignant tumors, mostly carcinomas, where the increased expression of STn aberrant glycans is well established. This work demonstrates the feasibility of employing SNA-I to selectively recognize the STn epitope in glycoproteins and the use of the constructed biosensor was effective in the analysis of serum samples with the ability to discriminate in a fast way between cancer and healthy status. The proposed biosensor could be used for high-throughput, label-free profiling of the cancer-associated STn glycan expression in serum for diagnosis and therapy monitoring.