The Historical Development of the Port of Livorno (Italy) and Its New Port Plan 2010 in Advanced Stage of Elaboration

The geographical location makes the port of Livorno one of the most important in Italy. The port, in fact, benefits of an extended network of roads and rails connecting it with the rest of Italy, and central and southern Europe as well. The history of Livorno and its port is inextricably linked to that of Pisa and Florence, and to the complexity of events that determined the political set-up of the region along several centuries. Looking at the new port plan of Livorno has made it necessary an extensive overview of the history of both the port, and of its planning. This analysis has allowed: to understand the reason for the different choices made in the past for the development of the port, highlighting, when necessary, the errors made; to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the existing port infrastructure; to identify the works needed to boost the port in the European context. The purpose of this paper is to provide a summary of the analysis performed for the implementation of the new Livorno port plan 2010 and show how the port planning in Italy is often conditioned by hundreds of centuries of history

Testosterone Replacement Therapy: Long-Term Safety and Efficacy.

Recent position statements and guidelines have raised the distinction between a true and false, age-related hypogonadism (HG) or late-onset hypogonadism (LOH). The former is the consequence of congenital or acquired “organic” damage of the brain centers or of the testis. The latter is mainly secondary to age-related comorbidities and does not require testosterone (T) therapy (TTh). In addition, concerns related to cardiovascular (CV) safety have further increased the scepticism related to TTh. In this paper, we reviewed the available evidence supporting the efficacy of TTh in non-organic HG and its long term safety. A large amount of evidence has documented that sexual symptoms are the most specific correlates of T deficiency. TTh is able to improve all aspects of sexual function independent of the pathogenetic origin of the disease supporting the scientific demonstration that LOH does exist according to an “ex-juvantibus” criterion. Although the presence of metabolic derangements could mitigate the efficacy of TTh on erectile dysfunction, the positive effect of TTh on body composition and insulin sensitivity might counterbalance the lower efficacy. CV safety concerns related to TTh are essentially based on a limited number of observational and randomized controlled trials which present important methodological flaws. When HG is properly diagnosed and TTh correctly performed no CV and prostate risk have been documented

Use of potassium polyaspartate for the tartaric stabilization of Sicilian white wines

Cold stabilization is a common method used to avoid tartaric acid crystals from forming in bottled wine, but this technique shows some inconveniences on the sensory characteristics and energy cost. In the present research, the tartaric stabilization in Sicilian white wines, with a recently permissible molecule in oenology, was studied: the potassium polyaspartate (PAK). The PAK has a negative charge at wine pH and allows to sequester the K+ cations; consequently it inhibits the formation and the growth of potassium bitartrate crystals. PAK is a relatively small polymer; perfectly microfiltrated and does not allow the filling phenomena in filtration membranes. The adding of PAK allowed to reduce almost all the tartaric precipitations on very unstable wines, regardless of the chemical-physical characteristics of the treated white wines. The stability of PAK, after thermal stress of the wine added to this polymer, was confirmed evaluating different analytical parameters such as pH, total acidity and buffer power, while variations in the conductivity of wines seemed to indicate a residual tartaric instability. In conclusion, the use of PAK makes possible to improve the sensory characteristics of wines, considering lower losses of tartaric acid and potassium, which are important for acid perception and acid persistence (buffer power), as well as reducing production costs and low environmental impact

Characterisation of Vernaccia Nera (Vitis vinifera L.) grapes and wine

Vernaccia Nera (VN) is a minor Italian red grape cultivar whose oenological properties have not been investigated yet. Traditional winemaking procedures with VN can include grape drying and even triple sequential fermentations, but a rational vinification approach should be based on the grape composition. Since a comprehensive characterisation of the VN grape is still missing, the ripening of VN grapes was monitored by evaluating flavour compounds, proanthocyanidins and anthocyanins. The grapes were used to produce red wine whose chemical composition and sensory properties were assessed. Ripe VN grapes contained high amounts of extractable anthocyanins (0.88 g/kg). The most abundant anthocyanin was malvidin (56.6%), and high relative amounts of cumarate forms (11.3%) were also found. The grape skin showed a high concentration of proanthocyanidins (2 g/kg), whose degree of polymerisation was low (10.3). Epigallocatechin accounted for up to 39% of the flavan-3-ol units in the skin. Flavour compounds in the grapes included glycosylated norisoprenoids (mainly 3-oxo-alpha-ionol and vomifoliolo) and benzenoids. The VN red wine showed a high concentration of anthocyanins, but the level of proanthocyanidins (0.93 g/L) was lower than expected. The spicy flavours were the notes mostly recognised in the sensory evaluation. Our data highlight the VN grape as suitable for the production of ready-to-drink or shortly aged red wine due to its high acidity and low astringency

Potential health effects of Champagne wine consumption

Epidemiological studies have suggested an inverse correlation between red wine consumption and the incidence of cardiovascular and neurodegenerative disorders. Although white wines are generally low in polyphenol content as compared to red wines, champagne has been shown to contain relatively high amounts of phenolic acids that may exert protective cellular actions in vivo. In this study, we have investigated the potential cardioprotective and neuroprotective effects of champagne. Our data suggest that a daily moderate consumption of champagne may improve vascular performance via the delivery of phenolic constituents capable of improving NO bioavailability and the modulation of metalloproteinase. Moreover, champagne intervention significantly increased spatial working memory in aged animals, whilst no improvement was observed in the presence of alcohol. Together, these data indicate that polyphenols present in champagne may induce cardioprotective and neuroprotective effects, delaying the onset of degenerative disorders

A Fatal Case of Metastatic Pulmonary Calcification during the Puerperium

We present an unusual case of a fatal respiratory failure in a young woman developed two weeks after she gave birth at home. Circumstantial and clinical features of the case were strongly suggestive for a 'classical' septic origin of the respiratory symptoms. Autopsy, together with histopathological and immunohistochemical analyses allowed demonstrating a massive calcium redistribution consisting of an important osteolysis, especially from cranial bones and abnormal accumulation in lungs and other organs. Such physiopathology was driven by a primary hyperparathyroidism secondary to a parathyroid carcinoma as demonstrated by immunohistochemistry. This very rare case is furthermore characterised by a regular pregnancy course, ended with the birth of a healthy new-born. A complex interaction between pregnancy physiology and hyperparathyroidism might be hypothesised, determining the discrepancy between the relative long period of wellness and the tumultuous cascade occurred in the puerperium