PTR-ToF-MS fingerprinting of Italian EVOO

Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) is the highest quality olive oil available, extracted from the olive fruit without the use of any heat or chemicals. Among the high quality EVOOs recognized by the European Union (Protected Designation of Origin, PDO, and Protected Geographic Identification, PGI), almost the 40% come from Italy with 42 PDO and 4 PGI EVOOS followed by Spain and Greece having 29 recognized EVOOs each. Due to its economic value, high quality EVOO is susceptible to fraud. A high quality EVOO is distinguished for its aroma. Many factors influence the composition in Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) such as cultivar, agronomical practices, geographical origins, harvesting periods, processing technologies, storage conditions [1]. The study of volatile compounds could be a way to trace the origin and quality of EVOOs. The gold standard for this task is the use of GC-MS providing detailed information on VOCs profiling. On the other hand, such approach is not always a convenient and practical choice when dealing with large sample set (time and cost consuming). Fast fingerprinting can be a valid alternative, at least as screening tool, to characterize a population fast. Proton Transfer Reaction-Time of Flight-Mass Spectrometry (PTR-ToF-MS) was already successfully applied for screening of olive oils [2], apples [3], and other food products allowing a fast screening of large sample set. In the present study, we applied PTR -ToF-MS to obtain a fast VOCs fingerprint of high quality EVOO samples collected within the Violin project (Project AGER2-Rif.2016-0169). Up to now, 200 EVOOs (monovarietals and blends) from 12 Italian regions and three other countries, harvested in two different years, were measured. Preliminary data elaboration suggests the possibility to discriminate EVOOs according to the origin. For example, EVOO from Sicily seems to present a peculiar fingerprint that allows a separation from all other EVOO analyzed to be achieved. On a reduced dataset (for which a sufficient number of samples per each location was available), including EVOOs from Apulia, Sicily, Lazio, and Tuscany, classification models based on Partial Least Squares Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA) were tested

Does the ‘Mountain Pasture Product’ claim affect local cheese acceptability?

This paper aims to explore the impact of “mountain pasture product” information on the acceptability of local protected designation of origin (PDO) cheese produced from the raw milk of cows grazing in mountain pastures (P) or reared in valley floor stalls (S). A total of 156 consumers (55% males, mean age 41 years) were asked to evaluate their overall liking on a 9-point hedonic scale of four samples: Cheeses P and S were presented twice with different information about the origin of the milk (cows grazing on mountain pasture or reared in a valley floor stall). Demographics, consumer habits, and opinions on mountain pasture practice (MPP), attitudes towards sustainability, and food-related behaviours (i.e., diet, food waste production, organic food, and zero food miles products purchase) were recorded and used to segment consumers. The cheeses were all considered more than acceptable, even though they were found to be significantly different in colour and texture by instrumental analyses. In the whole consumer panel, the cheese P was preferred, while in consumer segments less attentive to product characteristics, this effect was not significant. External information had a strong effect: Overall liking was significantly higher in cheeses presented as “mountain pasture product”, both in the whole panel and in consumer segments with different attitudes (except for those with a low opinion of MPP

Correlation between oesophageal acid exposure and dyspeptic symptoms in patients with nonerosive reflux disease.

Oesophageal acidification induces dyspeptic symptoms in healthy individuals. This study aimed to evaluate the correlation between oesophageal acid exposure and dyspeptic symptoms in patients with nonerosive reflux disease. METHODS: A total of 68 patients with dominant symptoms of heartburn, negative upper gastrointestinal endoscopy and concomitant dyspeptic symptoms participated in the study. The severity of dyspepsia and reflux-related symptoms was evaluated, and 24-h gastro-oesophageal pH-monitoring study was performed in all patients at baseline and after 4 weeks of therapy with esomeprazole 40 mg. RESULTS: Oesophageal basal acid exposure was pathological in 43 patients and normal in 25 patients, with a similar prevalence and severity of individual dyspeptic symptoms in the two groups. A significant correlation between reflux and dyspepsia scores was observed in the subgroup of patients with normal, but not in those with abnormal pHmetry (r=0.4, P=0.04 and r=0.2 P=0.07, respectively). After esomeprazole, a reduction in severity of dyspepsia (>or=50% with respect to baseline) was observed, independent of improvement of reflux-associated symptoms. Improvement in dyspepsia was, however, similar in patients with normal and abnormal basal acid exposure (14/25 vs. 33/43, respectively, P=NS). CONCLUSION: Dyspeptic symptoms coexist in a subset of nonerosive reflux disease patients, but prevalence and severity of the symptoms seems to be independent of oesophageal acid exposure

Odour profiling of apple cultivars and correlation with volatile compounds

We are using a trained sensory panel to define the sensory attributes profile of a wide number of apple commercial cultivars and new selections under evaluation at FEM (Fondazione Edmund Mach). The same fruit are evaluated through instrumental determinations as well. Here we present the correlations found between perceived odours (by trained panel) and volatile compounds (by SPME‐GC‐MS) in 18 apple cultivars. It is known that perceived odours are mainly the result of mixture of odorants (more than 300 compounds that can contribute to apple odour and flavour have been identified) and the single components of a mixture may lose their individual identity and a new mixture with a specific odour quality could emerge. Thus the correlations between odours and volatile compounds in apples were investigated by a multivariate approach. Regression models allowed the identification of compounds highly contributing to the odours arising from the complex mixture of volatile compounds released by apples. For example acetate esters strongly contribute to different fruity attributes and the results suggest that perceived odours are due to the relative proportions among esters rather than their presence/absence. In conclusion, sensory and instrumental profiling in combination with appropriate chemometric analyses can help to elucidate the relationships between the perceived odours in real food and the complex mixture of released volatile compounds

Prevalence Survey of Healthcare-Associated Infections and Antimicrobial Use at the University Hospital ?Paolo Giaccone?, Palermo, Italy

Introduction. Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) and antimicrobial resistance are well known major public health threats. The first goal of our study was to describe the prevalence of HAI, while the second goal was to describe the antibiotic consumption at our University Hospital, ?P. Giaccone? in Palermo, Italy. Methods. A standardized methodology for a combined Point Prevalence Survey (PPS) on healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) and antimicrobial use in European acute care hospital developed by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) was piloted across Europe. The teaching Hospital ?P. Giaccone? in Palermo, Italy, participated in the study Results. Out of 328 surveyed patients, 12 (3.6%) had an HAI and 159 (48.5%) were receiving at least one antimicro- bial agent. Prevalence results were highest in intensive care units, with 17.6% patients with HAI. Bloodstream infections represented the most common type (50%) of HAI. Surgical prophylaxis was the indication for antimicrobial prescribing in 59 (37.1%) out of 159 patients and exceeded 24 hours in 54 (91.5%) cases. Discussion. The results suggest that in our hospital there was a frequent and inappropriate use of antimicrobials, especially in the setting of surgical prophylaxis

Polypoid vascular malformation of the small intestine.

A 56-year-old man underwent capsule endoscopy because of obscure GI bleeding. Capsule endoscopy showed a pink and somewhat nodular polypoid lesion of the small bowel partially obstructing the intestinal lumen (A). The patient underwent an ileal resection and the operative specimen showed loss of mucosal folds and the presence of an erythematous area with a polypoid formation of 3.5 × 3 cm (B). Histologic examination revealed the presence of numerous ectatic thin-walled blood vessels and a small number of thick-walled vessels in the submucosa (C and D, arrows; H&E, orig. mag. ×4), surrounded by hypertrophic muscularis mucosae and a chronic inflammatory infiltrate that infiltrated the muscularis propria; the diagnosis of polypoid angiodysplasia was suggested. There has been no recurrence of GI bleeding 14 months after the ileal resection