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The short shelf life of platelets entails significant logistical problems when providing this blood component in the theater of operations. The platelet freezing procedure increases the useful life of this product from days to years, rendering cryopreserved platelets a suitable resource for use in austere and military environments. This work presents the validation protocol for the platelet freezing procedure developed by the Spanish Armed Forces Transfusion Center. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The soccer referee confronts stressful situations during the sports competition while performing physical actions of great demand to be close to the play that entails a high physiological demand. The aims of this study are to know the different physical, physiological and psychological responses and their interrelations in real competition in amateur soccer referees and to analyze the effect of the refereed category with the psychological characteristics related to performance. Fifteen referees belonging to the Andalusian Committee of Soccer Referees participated and data were collected in 21 matches of their respective leagues during the 2016-2017 season. The results indicated that the referees have a minor physiological response in the second part of the match, have greater somatic anxiety and lower self-confidence, stress control, motivation, mental ability and team cohesion in competitive matches compared to the baseline sample (p < .05). There are several psycho-physiological correlations between stress control with heart rate less than 80% (positive) and heart rate greater than 80% (negative) (p < .05). In conclusion, the amateur soccer referee is exposed to stress situations, which, the control of it, is related to the physiological responses produced in competition, so that referees with less stress control develop more physiological responses in competition, which can cause decisions with a high degree of fatigue. These findings may advise the soccer referee to supplement training with psychological intervention programs to increase stress control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT A previously presented model with four states (conversion, active and inactive particles and micelles) is further tested with conversion versus time experimental data at 50, 60, and 70°C, to recognize the main events occurring in styrene microemulsion polymerization. The S-shaped conversion-with no overprediction- and the bell-shaped active particles number concentration-evidencing diffusive effects at late stages-versus time data, are well described by the proposed model. It was found that: (i) transfer of monomer and surfactant from micelles to particles occurs, (ii) the capture of radicals by micelles is the only cause of particle nucleation, (iii) the rate coefficient of radical-entry-to-micelles is much smaller than that of exit-from-particles, and (iv) no coagulation between particles was detected. The Arrhenius dependency on temperature of the kinetic rate parameters is also reported. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015, 132, 41720. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The mechanisms involved in lung injury progression during acute lung injury (ALI) are still poorly understood. Because WNT/β-catenin signaling has been shown to be involved in epithelial cell injury and hyperplasia during inflammation and sepsis, we hypothesized that it would be modulated by mechanical ventilation (MV) in an experimental model of sepsis-induced ALI.Methods: This study was a prospective, randomized, controlled animal study performed using adult male Sprague-Dawley rats. Sepsis was induced by cecal ligation and perforation. At 18 h, surviving animals were randomized to spontaneous breathing or two strategies of MV for 4 h: low tidal volume (V (T)) (6 ml/kg) plus 10 cmH2O of positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) versus high (20 ml/kg) tidal volume (V (T)) with zero PEEP. Histological evaluation, measurements of WNT5A, total β-catenin, and matrix metalloproteinase-7 (MMP7) protein levels by Western blot, and their immunohistochemical localization in the lungs were analyzed.Results: Sepsis and high-V (T) MV caused lung inflammation and perivascular edema with cellular infiltrates and collagen deposition. Protein levels of WNT5A, β-catenin, and MMP7 in the lungs were increased in animals with sepsis-induced ALI. High-V (T) MV was associated with higher levels of WNT5A, β-catenin, and MMP7 protein levels (p < 0.001), compared to healthy control animals. By contrast, low-V (T) MV markedly reduced WNT5A, β-catenin, and MMP7 protein levels (p < 0.001).Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate that the WNT/β-catenin signaling pathway is modulated early during sepsis and ventilator-induced lung injury, suggesting that activation of this pathway could play an important role in both lung injury progression and repair. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of the 2 Alternative Forced Choice (2-AFC) sensory method in detecting rancidity in soybean oils. Additionally, correlations between the physico-chemical quality and the sensory attributes of edible soybean oils were studied. Soybean oil samples from four different plants were analyzed for their fatty acid profile, Free fatty acid (FFA), Anisidine Value (AV), Peroxide Value (PV), Conjugated Dienes (CD), Colour, Rancimat and TOTOX. The sensory attributes of the oils were measured using The American Oil Chemists Society (AOCS) sensory method and additionally, rancidity was assessed using the 2-AFC sensory method. All oil samples fit the quality control criteria for edible soybean oil. The 2-AFC method was sensitive to small differences in rancidity. Differences in anisidine value and Rancimat were correlated to the difference in rancidity (d') among oils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]