Discriminant Analysis of Geographical Origin of Cork Planks and Stoppers by Near Infrared Spectroscopy

The objective of this study was to assess the potential of visible and near infrared spectroscopy (VIS+NIRS) combined with multivariate analysis for identifying the geographical origin of cork. The study was carried out on cork planks and natural cork stoppers from the most representative cork-producing areas in the world. Two training sets of international and national cork planks were studied. The first set comprised a total of 479 samples from Morocco, Portugal, and Spain, while the second set comprised a total of 179 samples from the Spanish regions of Andalusia, Catalonia, and Extremadura. A training set of 90 cork stoppers from Andalusia and Catalonia was also studied. Original spectroscopic data were obtained for the transverse sections of the cork planks and for the body and top of the cork stoppers by means of a 6500 Foss-NIRSystems SY II spectrophotometer using a fiber optic probe. Remote reflectance was employed in the wavelength range of 400 to 2500 nm. After analyzing the spectroscopic data, discriminant models were obtained by means of partial least square (PLS) with 70% of the samples. The best models were then validated using 30% of the remaining samples. At least 98% of the international cork plank samples and 95% of the national samples were correctly classified in the calibration and validation stage. The best model for the cork stoppers was obtained for the top of the stoppers, with at least 90% of the samples being correctly classified. The results demonstrate the potential of VIS + NIRS technology as a rapid and accurate method for predicting the geographical origin of cork plank and stopper

In-hospital care, complications, and 4-month mortality following a hip or proximal femur fracture: the Spanish registry of osteoporotic femur fractures prospective cohort study

Summary We have characterised 997 hip fracture patients from a representative 45 Spanish hospitals, and followed them up prospectively for up to 4 months. Despite suboptimal surgical delays (average 59.1 hours), in-hospital mortality was lower than in Northern European cohorts. The secondary fracture prevention gap is unacceptably high at 85%. Purpose To characterise inpatient care, complications, and 4-month mortality following a hip or proximal femur fracture in Spain. Methods Design: prospective cohort study. Consecutive sample of patients ≥ 50 years old admitted in a representative 45 hospitals for a hip or proximal femur fragility fracture, from June 2014 to June 2016 and followed up for 4 months post-fracture. Patient characteristics, site of fracture, in-patient care (including secondary fracture prevention) and complications, and 4-month mortality are described. Results A total of 997 subjects (765 women) of mean (standard deviation) age 83.6 (8.4) years were included. Previous history of fracture/s (36.9%) and falls (43%) were common, and 10-year FRAX-estimated major and hip fracture risks were 15.2% (9.0%) and 8.5% (7.6%) respectively. Inter-trochanteric (44.6%) and displaced intra-capsular (28.0%) were the most common fracture sites, and fixation with short intramedullary nail (38.6%) with spinal anaesthesia (75.5%) the most common procedures. Surgery and rehabilitation were initiated within a mean 59.1 (56.7) and 61.9 (55.1) hours respectively, and average length of stay was 11.5 (9.3) days. Antithrombotic and antibiotic prophylaxis were given to 99.8% and 98.2% respectively, whilst only 12.4% received secondary fracture prevention at discharge. Common complications included delirium (36.1 %) and kidney failure (14.1%), with in-hospital and 4-month mortality of 2.1% and 11% respectively. Conclusions Despite suboptimal surgical delay, post-hip fracture mortality is low in Spanish hospitals. The secondary fracture prevention gap is unacceptably high at > 85%, in spite of virtually universal anti-thrombotic and antibiotic prophylaxis

La predicción del calibre del corcho al final del turno y su aplicación al muestreo de la producción

Se ha tomado una muestra de 105 piezas de corcho en plancha de 20 por 20 cm de tamaño, procedentes de siete puntos de muestreo localizados en montes que se consideran representativos de las principales zonas españolas de producción de corcho. Sobre la sección transversal de cada pieza se ha determinado la edad, y se han medido el espesor, o calibre, y los crecimientos anuales para cada uno de los años del turno, calculándose para cada pieza el espesor y crecimiento medio anual que presentaban uno, dos y tres años antes del descorche. Se realiza un análisis de regresión lineal paso a paso para ajustar las ecuaciones predictivas del espesor del corcho al final del turno, en función del espesor y el crecimiento medio anual uno, dos y tres años antes del descorche. Como resultado se obtiene una serie de ecuaciones en las que los coeficientes de determinación oscilan entre 0,9918 (un año antes del descorche) y 0,9182 (tres años antes del descorche). Debido a la amplitud del muestreo realizado ya la calidad de los ajustes, se considera que estas ecuaciones pueden ser aplicadas en cualquier punto del área española de producción de alcornocal. Los mejores resultados se obtienen con la ecuación

Cork-wine interaction studies: liquid absorption and non-volatile compound migration

Aims: To provide a better knowledge of cork-wine interaction, focussing on absorption of liquid by the cork stopper and overall migration of non-volatile compounds from the cork-stopper to liquid. Methods and results: Natural cork stoppers and 1+1 technical cork stoppers (agglomerate cork body ended with natural cork washers), with and without surface treatment, were used to close bottles filled with 12 % v/v ethanolic solution and removed after 3, 6, 12 and 24 months of contact. Mean and limit values of absorption and overall migration at each time are used to compare treated and non-treated stoppers. Variation of absorption with contact time was studied by adjusting the ABSORPTION = a · √t model (R2: 0.8572 - 0.9756). Conclusion: Most of the overall migration is due to natural components of cork. Contact time and type of cork stopper are the factors responsible for the greatest variability. Surface treatment increases overall migration (2 mg/stopper) and reduces liquid absorption (more than 10 %). Significance and impact of the study: The results show how a correct characterization of stopper and surface treatment is needed to predict the evolution of cork-wine interaction