The qualitative characterization of ‘Sangiovese’ grapevine according to the area and cultivation conditions

The variety ‘Sangiovese’ is a genotype characterized by a wide variation of expression due to its high responsiveness to the environment so it would be possible to obtain in different areas wines with quality levels very similar, though differentiated between them, thus expressing the varietal potential in response to a specific terroir. Although the ‘Sangiovese’ grapevine was well studied, it is not possible to indicate a generalized vineyard model adapt to all situations.These investigations, does not aim to make a hierarchical scale of oenological products of a specific territory, but to provide a way to understand the potential of a territory in order to enhance its specificity. The research was conducted in three consecutive years (2009, 2010 and 2011), on ‘Sangiovese’ vineyards in five areas in ‘Grosseto’, ‘Pisa’, and ‘Siena’ provinces, involving a total of 17 theses. The corresponding Denomination areas of wine production were: “Brunello di Montalcino”, ‘Chianti Classico’, ‘Chianti Colline Pisane’, ‘Montecucco’ and ‘Morellino di Scansano’. In the ‘Montecucco’ and ‘Brunello di Montalcino’ area of wine production, several vineyards were chosen. At harvest time, during the aforesaid years, sets of 10-12 bunches for thesis were sampled and subjected to macro and micro-structural analysis, with particular regard to the aromatic profiles determined by Gas–Mass Spectophotometer. Between the years the 2010 was the coldest while the 2011 was the warmest, one characterized, also, by an advance of harvest’s date. In the year 2009 grapes achieved the highest values of the Ripening Index parameter (sugary content/titratable acidity); in 2011 it was observed generally a better phenolic maturity. As for sensory analysis of the grapes and for the technological parameters, the effect due to the year appeared much more relevant than those dependent on the site. With regard to the flavor profile of ‘Sangiovese’’s grapes, we can observe how all reports examined are in perfect agreement between the different theses and with values obtained by other authors for the ‘Sangiovese’. Specifically typical proportions of ‘Sangiovese’ are: linalool oxA/linalool oxB, linalool oxC/linalool oxD, linalool/α-terpineol, linalool/geraniol, trans 8-OH linalool/cis 8-OH linalool, trans 8-OH linalool + cis 8-OH linalool/p-menth-1en-7,8-di and 3-hydroxy β-damascenone/3-oxide α-ionol. Inside of the compounds released by enzymes hydrolysis classes of benzene derivatives and norisoprenoids are present in the most quantity in the samples analyzed, while aldehydes are quantitatively less. Chemical hydrolysis to pH 3 made on aglycones obtained by enzymatic hydrolysis of glycosides precursors, has shown that the most represented category is that of the norisoprenoids hydrocarbon and while that of monoterpenols is the least abundant. The year 2010 was characterized by the highest level of the most aromatic families while on 2009 the final concentractions were lower. Il is supposed that the higher temperatures reached in 2009 led to a degradation of the aromatic substances, which did not occurred in the following year. For a better definition of the aromatic profile we should take into account the transition of aromas from grapes to wine, an issue which remain to be studied. Moreover in this work a particular attention was dedicated to the areas of ‘Montecucco’ and ‘Brunello di Montalcino’ making a focus of the vineyard effect (of ‘Collemassari’ estate) and in the last area (‘Col d'Orcia’ estate) it was studied in detail the clone effect grown in the same site of cultivation

Grapevine performances in five area of Chianti Classico

The research was carried out in the ‘Chianti Classico’ area and it was part of the ‘Chianti Classico 2000’ research project. The performances ‘Sangiovese’ grapevine (clone ‘SSF-A548’) grafted on ‘1103P’ and ‘420A’ rootstocks, were evaluated during a six years period, on five experimental vineyards located in the Province of Florence and Siena. The vineyards were established at a density of 3500 plants per hectare, trained to horizontal spur cordon (m 0.7 from the ground) with 30000 buds per hectare. The main meteorological data were monitored by automatic stations and soil analysis was performed at the beginning of the trials. Vines were planted in a randomized block design with four or five replication according to the vineyard size and uniformity. During six consecutive years on 30 plants from each thesis were carried out the following observations: phenology earliness (budbreak, veraison), bud fertility, bunch weight, and yield and pruning weight per plant, must characteristics of the berries at harvest. Physical and chemical analysis of wines obtained from microvinification (made in 500 L containers), were also performed. The climatic differences resulted among the zones of the ‘Chianti Classico’ examined, had a significant effect on vine phenology also in relationship with altitude, which together to soil characteristics contributed to affect the agronomic behaviour of the three varieties, the must composition and the wine characteristics. Discriminant analysis allowed distinguishing some sites, whose differences can be ascribed to the territorial influence on the vegetative and productive activity of the grapevine, berry ripening and wine composition. Hierarchical influences due to clone ‘SSF-A548’ according to the site and year are presented

The role of anxiety symptoms in school performance in a community sample of children and adolescents

Anxiety symptoms are relatively common among children and adolescents and can interfere with functioning. The prevalence of anxiety and the relationship between anxiety and school performance were examined among elementary, middle, and high school students

Potential of a multiparametric optical sensor for determining in situ the maturity components of red and white vitis vinifera wine grapes

A non-destructive fluorescence-based technique for evaluating Vitis vinifera L. grape maturity using a portable sensor (Multiplex ®) is presented. It provides indices of anthocyanins and chlorophyll in Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Sangiovese red grapes and of flavonols and chlorophyll in Vermentino white grapes. The good exponential relationship between the anthocyanin index and the actual anthocyanin content determined by wet chemistry was used to estimate grape anthocyanins from in field sensor data during ripening. Marked differences were found in the kinetics and the amount of anthocyanins between cultivars and between seasons. A sensor-driven mapping of the anthocyanin content in the grapes, expressed as g/kg fresh weight, was performed on a 7-ha vineyard planted with Sangiovese. In the Vermentino, the flavonol index was favorably correlated to the actual content of berry skin flavonols determined by means of HPLC analysis of skin extracts. It was used to make a non-destructive estimate of the evolution in the flavonol concentration in grape berry samplings. The chlorophyll index was inversely correlated in linear manner to the total soluble solids (°Brix): it could, therefore, be used as a new index of technological maturity. The fluorescence sensor (Multiplex) possesses a high potential for representing an important innovative tool for controlling grape maturity in precision viticulture

Rationale and design of an independent randomised controlled trial evaluating the effectiveness of aripiprazole or haloperidol in combination with clozapine for treatment-resistant schizophrenia

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>One third to two thirds of people with schizophrenia have persistent psychotic symptoms despite clozapine treatment. Under real-world circumstances, the need to provide effective therapeutic interventions to patients who do not have an optimal response to clozapine has been cited as the most common reason for simultaneously prescribing a second antipsychotic drug in combination treatment strategies. In a clinical area where the pressing need of providing therapeutic answers has progressively increased the occurrence of antipsychotic polypharmacy, despite the lack of robust evidence of its efficacy, we sought to implement a pre-planned protocol where two alternative therapeutic answers are systematically provided and evaluated within the context of a pragmatic, multicentre, independent randomised study.</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>The principal clinical question to be answered by the present project is the relative efficacy and tolerability of combination treatment with clozapine plus aripiprazole compared with combination treatment with clozapine plus haloperidol in patients with an incomplete response to treatment with clozapine over an appropriate period of time. This project is a prospective, multicentre, randomized, parallel-group, superiority trial that follow patients over a period of 12 months. Withdrawal from allocated treatment within 3 months is the primary outcome.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>The implementation of the protocol presented here shows that it is possible to create a network of community psychiatric services that accept the idea of using their everyday clinical practice to produce randomised knowledge. The employed pragmatic attitude allowed to randomly allocate more than 100 individuals, which means that this study is the largest antipsychotic combination trial conducted so far in Western countries. We expect that the current project, by generating evidence on whether it is clinically useful to combine clozapine with aripiprazole rather than with haloperidol, provides physicians with a solid evidence base to be directly applied in the routine care of patients with schizophrenia.</p> <p>Trial Registration</p> <p><b>Clincaltrials.gov Identifier</b>: NCT00395915</p

Caratterizzazione molecolare, morfologica e qualitativa di alcuni vitigni minori delle Colline Pisane

Il Dipartimento di Coltivazione e Difesa delle Specie Legnose “ G. Scaramuzzi”, ha redatto nel 2001 un progetto di ricerca per la valorizzazione di vitigni minori a bacca nera della Provincia di Pisa . La valorizzazione del germoplasma viticolo, nel caso specifico della Toscana , è molto importante sia per evitare l’erosione genetica sia per assicurare la persistenza di vitigni portatori di caratteri di tipicità. Nell’ambito di tale progetto si colloca questo studio che ha come scopo la comparazione attraverso indagini morfologiche, molecolari e qualitative di vitigni locali delle Colline Pisane quali: l’ “ Abrusco”, la “Canina”, il “ Giacomino” , il “Grand Noir”, l’ “ Oliva” , il “Santo Stefano” e l’ “Uva Vecchia”, tutti impiantati nel vigneto sperimentale realizzato presso l’Azienda Poggio al Casone della Castellani S.p.a in Crespina. Su Oliva e Giacomino è stata fatta una prova di defogliazione all’allegagione . E’ stata compiuta l’analisi delle principali caratteristiche ampelografiche e la genotipizzazione attuata per mezzo dell’analisi del polimorfismo di 10 loci microsatellitari (SSR), al fine di chiarire eventuali casi di sinonimia e omonimia nonché eventuali parentele con altri vitigni di diversa provenienza. Allo stadio di invaiatura e di maturità sono stati presi campioni di acini sui quali, dopo aver determinato il peso fresco, sono state prelevate porzioni di tessuto epidermico sottoposte successivamente all’osservazione morfologica in vivo e di sezioni fini realizzate previa fissazione (FAA) ed inclusione del materiale in Histoplast . I preparati istologici tal quali senza colorazioni, sono stati esaminati al microscopio ottico , con ingrandimenti variabili tra x 100, x 200 e x 400, rilevando le seguenti caratteristiche: spessore dell’esocarpo, numero degli strati dell’epidermide e dell’ipodermide e forma delle cellule. Per individuare il momento migliore per la vendemmia sono stati eseguiti campionamenti e analisi in laboratorio con l’intento di valutare l’andamento degli zuccheri, dell’acidità , del pH e dei polifenoli. Da ultimo sono state effettuate analisi in laboratorio per la determinazione delle caratteristiche dei mosti ed una degustazione dei vini ottenuti dalle microvinificazioni. Per quanto riguarda l’analisi molecolare è emerso che esiste un caso di sinonimia tra i vitigni “ Canina”, “Oliva”,” Uva Vecchia”e “ Fortana CAB 13”; un altro caso di sinonimia esiste tra il “ Santo Stefano” e il “ Tempranillo” un vitigno di origine spagnola. Inoltre il “ Giacomino” presenta un profilo SSR identico a quello del”Bonamico” mentre quello dell’ “ Abrusco” risulta corrispondente ad un clone di “ Colorino” siglato come “RO-8”. Dalla caratterizzazione morfologica dell’esocarpo si evince che la struttura dell’esocarpo degli acini osservata al microscopio ottico è risultata simile nei due vitigni “Giacomino” e “Oliva”. La dimensione degli acini non sembra essere stata influenzata dall’operazione di defogliazione in entrambi . Dalle misure effettuate sullo spessore dell’esocarpo degli acini di “Giacomino”, la tesi defogliata, presenta uno spessore significativamente minore rispetto al controllo . Infatti dalle sezioni fini dell’esocarpo si evidenzia il chiaro effetto della defogliazione che ha diminuito lo spessore degli strati cellulari che appaiono molto appressati fra loro. L’osservazione delle bucce in vivo ha evidenziato che negli acini di controllo è possibile distinguere due forme cellulari , una regolare, allungata, localizzata negli strati più interni e parzialmente vacuolizzata e l’altra isodiametrica , più superficiale , caratterizzata da un volume vacuolare decisamente maggiore rispetto a quello citoplasmatico. Al contrario , nella tesi defogliata, si apprezzano maggiormente le cellule isodiametriche degli strati dell’epidermide. In linea generale nei vitigni esaminati, l’esocarpo è composto da cellule di tipo collenchimatico e gli strati cellulari variano da un minimo di 7 (“Sangiovese”) ad un massimo di 10 ( “Canina”). All’invaiatura, l’epidermide è formata da 1 fino a 3 strati di cellule a contorno poligonale pressoché regolare con pareti sottili e i cui vacuoli sono ricchi di antociani e fenoli. Soltanto in “Canina” ad una riduzione del numero degli strati cellulari registrato alla maturità è corrisposto una diminuzione dello spessore totale dell’esocarpo. In “Uva Vecchia” e “ Colorino Pisa”,nonostante la diminuzione significativa del numero degli strati cellulari lo spessore è rimasto invariato, mentre in “Santo Stefano” ed “Abrusco”, pur aumentando sensibilmente lo spessore,non varia il numero degli strati superficiali. Dall’analisi qualitativa si evince che l’ “Abrusco” appare indicato sia da solo che per l’utilizzazione in uvaggio con il “Sangiovese” ,anche se rimangono da trovare le proporzioni più opportune; analoghe caratteristiche si sono riscontrate nel “Santo Stefano”,ma questo, presentandosi con una bassa acidità ,deve essere abbinato ad un vitigno con un più forte tenore acidico. Gli aspetti aromatici del “Giacomino”sembrano invece idonei per un rosato o per un vino novello. La “Canina”,l’ “Oliva”e l’ “Uva Vecchia” potrebbero essere utilizzati per vini rosati ,in virtù della loro acidità,oppure in uvaggi. Ed infine il “Grand Noir” è risultato sicuramente il più interessante per un eventuale affinamento in legno

Brachetto

Accessione Brachetto:Foto: Claudio D'Onofrio, Puntoni Piero Ampelografia: Claudio D'Onofrio, Belluomini Paolo, Calabrò Rolando, Rocco Fausta Ampelometria: Claudio D'Onofrio Fenologia: Claudio D'Onofrio, Ducci Eleonora, Matarese Fabiola, Cuzzola Angela SSR: Claudio D'Onofrio, Matarese Fabiol