Prolactin and morning cortisol concentrations in antipsychotic naïve first episode psychosis: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Importance: Alterations in prolactin and cortisol levels have been reported in antipsychotic naïve patients with first episode psychosis (FEP). However, it has been studied in very small samples, and inter-group variability has never been studied before.

Objective: To provide estimates of standardized mean differences (SMD) and inter-group variability for prolactin, cortisol awakening response (CAR) and morning cortisol concentrations in antipsychotic naïve FEP (AN-FEP) patients and healthy controls (HC).

Impact of Biogenic Amines on Food Quality and Safety.

Today, food safety and quality are some of the main concerns of consumer and health agencies around the world. Our current lifestyle and market globalization have led to an increase in the number of people affected by food poisoning. Foodborne illness and food poisoning have different origins (bacteria, virus, parasites, mold, contaminants, etc.

Quality Assessment of Fresh Meat from Several Species Based on Free Amino Acid and Biogenic Amine Contents during Chilled Storage.

This paper studies the changes that occur in free amino acid and biogenic amine contents of raw meats (beef, pork, lamb, chicken and turkey) during storage (2 °C, 10 days). The meat cuts samples were harvested from a retail outlet (without getting information on the animals involved) as the following: Beef leg (four muscles), pork leg (five muscles), lamb leg (seven muscles), turkey leg (four muscles), and chicken breast (one muscle). Meat composition varied according to meat types.

Chia and oat emulsion gels as new animal fat replacers and healthy bioactive sources in fresh sausage formulation.

This paper examines the effect of emulsion gels (EG) prepared with chia (CEG) and oats (OEG) used as animal fat replacers in reduced-fat fresh sausages (longaniza) (LRF) during chilled storage. Reduced-fat samples were reformulated with CEG and OEG, (LRF/CEG and LRF/OEG respectively). Normal (LNF/P) and reduced-fat (LRF/P) (all-pork-fat) sausages were used as controls.

Strategies for incorporation of chia (Salvia hispanica L.) in frankfurters as a health-promoting ingredient.

Different strategies were examined for incorporation of chia flour (10%) and olive oil to improve the fat content in frankfurters. Nutritional composition, technological properties, sensory and microbiological analyses were studied as affected by the strategy used and by chilling storage. Chia increased total dietary fibre (98% insoluble dietary fibre) and minerals (K, Mg, Ca, Mn) irrespective of the incorporation strategy.

Properties of reformulated hot dog sausage without added nitrites during chilled storage.

The aim of this study was to assess the effect of a complete nitrite replacement strategy using celery, carmine, sodium lactate and orange dietary fibre combined with vitamins C and E, on the quality characteristics (technological, sensorial and safety properties) of hot dog sausages (five samples) during chilled storage (2 ± 1℃ 60 days). Nitrite replacers (combined with vitamins C and E) presented antioxidant activity, reducing lipid oxidation in reformulated samples. At the end of storage redness (a*) was similar in the control sample (with added nitrite) and in the sample without added nitrite.

Biogenic amines in low- and reduced-fat dry fermented sausages formulated with konjac gel.

Biogenic amines in low- and reduced-fat dry fermented sausages made with konjac gel (KG) as pork backfat replacer were studied. An increase (P < 0.05) was observed in the microbial count during the fermentation process, reaching levels of over 8 Log cfu/g of total viable microorganisms and lactic acid bacteria.

Konjac gel as pork backfat replacer in dry fermented sausages: processing and quality characteristics.

The effect of replacing animal fat (0%, 50% and 80% of pork backfat) by an equal proportion of konjac gel, on processing and quality characteristics of reduced and low-fat dry fermented sausage was studied. Weight loss, pH, and water activity of the sausage were affected (P<0.05) by fat reduction and processing time.

Serum erythropoietin levels in ovarian cancer patients receiving chemotherapy.

Objective: To investigate the effects of repeated cis-dichlorodiamine-platinum (CDDP) exposure on serum erythropoietin (Epo) levels.

Study Design: In seven patients with ovarian cancer, Epo and haemoglobin concentration (c(Hb)) were measured before, 24h and 7 days after administration of the first three courses of chemotherapy. In seven control patients undergoing gynaecological surgery for non-malignant reasons, Epo and c(Hb) were measured before, 24h and 7 days after the operation.