Use of Schizosaccharomyces strains for wine fermentation? Effect on the wine composition and food safety

Schizosaccharomyceswas initially considered as a spoilage yeast because of the production of undesirable metabolites such as acetic acid, hydrogen sulfide, or acetaldehyde, but it currently seems to be of great value in enology.o ced Nevertheless, Schizosaccharomyces can reduce all of the malic acid in must, leading to malolactic fermentation. Malolactic fermentation is a highly complicated process in enology and leads to a higher concentration of biogenic amines, so the use of Schizosaccharomyces pombe can be an excellent tool for assuring wine safety. Schizosaccharomyces also has much more potential than only reducing the malic acid content, such as increasing the level of pyruvic acid and thus the vinylphenolic pyranoanthocyanin content. Until now, few commercial strains have been available and little research on the selection of appropriate yeast strains with such potential has been conducted. In this study, selected and wild Sc. pombe strains were used along with a Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain to ferment red grape must. The results showed significant differences in several parameters including non-volatile and volatile compounds, anthocyanins, biogenic amines and sensory parameters

The 7 June 2007 mbLg 4.2 escopete earthquake : An event with significant ground motion in a stable zone (Central Iberian Peninsula)

An earthquake occurred on 7 June 2007 at 01h:42m:09.5s (UTC) with geographical coordinates 40°.41N, 2°.98W and magnitude mbLg = 4.2 according to the Seismic national network (RSN) of Madrid's Instituto Geográfico Nacional (IGN). The epicenter was located close to the town of Escopete, where the earthquake was felt with intensity IV, waking up inhabitants and causing widespread alarm. Historically, rare but similar events have been felt in the area, near the towns of Pastrana (1922) and Duron (1982). Nevertheless, this part of Iberia experiences very low seismic activity. The earthquake with the largest magnitude recorded to date by the RSN since the mid-1920s was 4.1. Due to low seismicity values, the hazard map of the Norma de la Construcción Sismorresistente Española (Spanish seismic building code; NCSE-02) establishes a basic acceleration value of less than 0.04 g, which is the threshold value for the application of the earthquake-resistant building code. However, this value was exceeded in strong-motion recordings during the 2007 event. An important consideration is the existence of two nuclear power plants in the Guadalajara administrative province: José Cabrera and Trillo. Strong-motion instruments at the José Cabrera nuclear power plant (JCNPP) recorded a peak ground acceleration (PGA) value of 0.07g. This is the first acceleration recording made from central Iberia and also one of the highest values read from instruments to date for the whole of the Iberian peninsula. This paper presents an overview of the results of our multidisciplinary analysis of the earthquake, which we researched in terms of its regional and local tectonic setting, local seismicity, focal mechanics, strong-motion records, and macroseismic effects.Universidad Complutense de MadridMinisterio de Educación y CienciaDepto. de Geodinámica, Estratigrafía y PaleontologíaFac. de Ciencias GeológicasTRUEpu

Development and validation of a score to predict postoperative respiratory failure in a multicentre European cohort : A prospective, observational study

BACKGROUND Postoperative respiratory failure (PRF) is the most frequent respiratory complication following surgery. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to build a clinically useful predictive model for the development of PRF. DESIGN A prospective observational study of a multicentre cohort. SETTING Sixty-three hospitals across Europe. PATIENTS Patients undergoing any surgical procedure under general or regional anaesthesia during 7-day recruitment periods. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Development of PRF within 5 days of surgery. PRF was defined by a partial pressure of oxygen in arterial blood (PaO2) less than 8 kPa or new onset oxyhaemoglobin saturation measured by pulse oximetry (SpO(2)) less than 90% whilst breathing room air that required conventional oxygen therapy, noninvasive or invasive mechanical ventilation. RESULTS PRF developed in 224 patients (4.2% of the 5384 patients studied). In-hospital mortality [95% confidence interval (95% CI)] was higher in patients who developed PRF [10.3% (6.3 to 14.3) vs. 0.4% (0.2 to 0.6)]. Regression modelling identified a predictive PRF score that includes seven independent risk factors: low preoperative SpO(2); at least one preoperative respiratory symptom; preoperative chronic liver disease; history of congestive heart failure; open intrathoracic or upper abdominal surgery; surgical procedure lasting at least 2 h; and emergency surgery. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (c-statistic) was 0.82 (95% CI 0.79 to 0.85) and the Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit statistic was 7.08 (P = 0.253). CONCLUSION A risk score based on seven objective, easily assessed factors was able to predict which patients would develop PRF. The score could potentially facilitate preoperative risk assessment and management and provide a basis for testing interventions to improve outcomes. The study was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (identifier NCT01346709)