Consumer acceptability versus trained sensory panel scores of powdered milk shelf-life defects.

The objective of the present work was to correlate consumer panel acceptability versus trained sensory panel scores for appearance and flavor defects likely to appear during storage of whole milk powder. Descriptors selected for the study were: acid, caramel, cooked, dark color, lipolysis, and oxidized. For each descriptor a set of nine samples with different intensities were measured for acceptability and likelihood to consume by a 50-member consumer panel and for sensory intensity by a trained panel. Linear correlations between sensory acceptability and trained sensory panel scores were used to determine the sensory failure cut-off point for each descriptor, except caramel and cooked, which were not critical from the consumer's point of view. Differences in acceptability were found between Argentine and Uruguayan consumers for oxidized samples, while for lipolysis flavor, Argentine and Costa Rican consumers behaved similarly. For the color descriptor, significant changes in acceptability measured on a hedonic scale did not mean that consumers refused to consume the product. In contrast, for flavor descriptors, as soon as a significant decrease in acceptability occurred approximately 30% of the consumers said they would not consume the product. The sensory failure cut-off points presented in this paper can be used as a guide in future studies on the shelf life of MP and can also be of value in establishing sensory specifications for quality control programs. The methodology of correlating consumer acceptability to sensory panel scores and, thus, defining sensory failure is an improvement over more arbitrary criteria presented in most shelf-life studies.

[Weaning from mechanical ventilation. The aim of nursing research]. / El destete del ventilador, objeto de investigación enfermera.

Management of patients difficult to wean from the ventilator is a practical challenge in which professional nurses are deeply involved.The clinical research applied over the last years has tried to describe the characteristics of weaning phenomenon and the associated factors, to find predictive outcomes to guide clinical decisions, to search new strategies to conduct the protocols and to identify the most effective modes of weaning. In this paper a critical review of the current knowledge from a nursing perspective is done. The weaning conceptual model proposed by the American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN) group has been used as a theoretical framework.

Effects of entorhinal cortex lesions on sensory integration and spatial learning.

BACKGROUND: The entorhinal cortex provides sensory information to the hippocampus for memory and learning. Damage to the entorhinal cortex is common in patients who experience traumatic brain injury, stroke, and Alzheimer's disease. Entorhinal damage is assumed to interfere with sensory integration; however, substantive knowledge of behavioral patterns is lacking. OBJECTIVES: To describe specific behavioral deficits associated with entorhinal cortex injury related to special senses identification, sensory integration, and spatial learning. METHOD: Adult male rats received bilateral entorhinal cortex damage (n = 19) or sham surgery (n = 11) with a subset randomized to participate in special senses identification, exploration, and sensory integration testing. Spatial learning was examined using a water maze. RESULTS: Lesion and control animals were similar in special senses identification testing. Sensory integration was markedly impaired in lesion animals over 3 days for all integration tasks; however, travel deficit persisted for 4 days. By day 5 sensory integration ability was equal. Lesion animals were significantly impaired across all days of spatial learning for swim time (p = .0001) and directional heading error (p = .03). Control animals exposed to sensory testing demonstrated significantly more efficient learning (p = .005) on swim days 2 and 3 versus control animals not exposed to sensory testing. CONCLUSIONS: Early and prolonged behavioral changes are evident following entorhinal cortex damage including sensory integration deficits and persistent spatial learning impairment.

Mycotic aneurysm of the abdominal aorta: CT finding in three patients.

We present three cases of mycotic aneurysms of the abdominal aorta that were initially diagnosed with computed tomography (CT). The accuracy of CT as the first imaging technique in the diagnosis of this condition is reviewed in light of our results and those reported in the literature.

The prevalence of anthelmintic resistance in nematode parasites of sheep in southern Latin America: Paraguay.

This survey to detect anthelmintic resistance in nematode parasites of sheep was conducted on 11 farms in the Occidental and 26 farms in the Oriental Regions of Paraguay using the faecal egg count reduction test (FECRT). The anthelmintic groups tested were the benzimidazoles, levamisole and avermectins (both oral and injectable). Overall the levels of resistance were 73%, 68%, 73% and 47%, respectively. Levels of resistance were similar for all three important nematode genera, viz. Haemonchus contortus, Ostertagia and Trichostrongylus. This survey clearly indicates that a large, and ever increasing, proportion of sheep farmers are rapidly approaching the time when they will have exhausted all chemotherapeutic options to control parasites. Unless they face having to abandon their sheep farming operations, radical changes will need to be implemented with urgency.