Pork belly quality variation and its association with fatness level.

Belly is a very popular pork cut composed of different layers of fat and muscle tissue. This work aims to investigate the effect of belly fatness on the morphological, mechanical (firmness) and compositional characteristics of fresh pork bellies and the distribution of the fat within the belly slice. A total of 182 bellies, selected to ensure variability of fatness, sexes and genotypes, were scanned by computed tomography (CT) to determine the fat content which, together with the genotype, led to the formation of 5 classes: F1 class below 26%, F2 class from 26% to 33.9%, and F3 class above 33.9% of fat content from common commercial crossbred pigs; F4 class with an average fatness of 47.3% from pure Duroc pigs; and last, F5 class with 62.6% average fat content from Iberian×Duroc pigs. The distribution of the fat in the central belly slice obtained by CT revealed important differences by region although the fat content was proportional to the overall fatness of the belly. Both belly weight and belly firmness increased with higher fatness. In bellies from common commercial pigs, an increase of SFA and MUFA and a decrease of PUFA as fatness increased was observed. This study highlights variations in belly characteristics among different fat classes, indicating considerable differences in the quality of bellies currently available in the market. This may influence producers and consumers acceptability such that fat content could be considered as a quality criterion to pre-classify bellies and better match the raw product with its final destination.

Esthetic restorations designed with confidence and predictability.

When the ProCAD product line is used in combination with the CEREC system, clinicians have at their disposal an armamentarium of materials with which to achieve greater predictability, precision, and control in fabricating chairside all-ceramic restorations. At a time when time is the dentist's and patient's most precious commodity, the ProCAD line enables clinicians to definitively restore form, function, and esthetics in a single visit, regardless of the specific individual indirect treatment indication (Figures 13A through 13C, and 14A through 14C).

[Gilbert's syndrome: consideration of several diagnostic aspects]. / Sindrome di Gilbert: considerazioni su alcuni aspetti diagnostici.

Gilbert's syndrome is a frequent clinical condition with indirect hyperbilirubinemia, with controversial pathogenesis, nosography, and diagnostic criteria. Reliability of diagnostic test (caloric intake restriction and phenobarbital induction), as well as bilirubin modifications after physical exercise, were assessed in 7 patients with the disease. Phenobarbital induction appears to be the most suitable and reliable test for clinical non-invasive diagnosis of Gilbert's syndrome.