Novelty of Italian Grape Ale (IGA) beer: Influence of the addition of Gamay macerated grape must or dehydrated Aleatico grape pomace on the aromatic profile

: A new category of fruit style beer resulting from the addition of grape matrices is named Italian Grape Ale (IGA). In this paper, we report data on an experimental work to produce IGA beers, adding macerated (CO2 or N2) red Gamay grape must or Aleatico grape pomace resulting from a grape dehydration process. Our hypothesis, that these wine processes can produce volatile organic compounds (VOCs) to characterize these IGA beers which was confirmed by chemical, sensory and aromatic results. IGA beers especially the one with gas-macerated grape musts (IGA-C and IGA-N) showed higher alcohol content than ALE beer (Control) and a higher polyphenol content and antioxidant activity. As regards VOCS, IGA beers increased the concentration of some classes (i.e., alcohols, esters, norisoprenoids) and IGA-N was better characterized by specific compounds such as isobutyric acid, phenylacetate, tyrosol, ethyl hydrogen succinate. Finally, E-nose and sensory evaluation discriminated significantly all the IGA beers

Enzymatic Synthesis and Antimicrobial Activity of Oligomer Analogues of Medicinal Biopolymers from Comfrey and Other Species of the Boraginaceae Family

This study reports the first enzymatic synthesis leading to several oligomer analogues of poly[3-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)glyceric acid]. This biopolymer, extracted from plants of the Boragi-naceae family has shown a wide spectrum of pharmacological properties, including antimicrobial activity. Enzymatic ring opening polymerization of 2-methoxycarbonyl-3-(3,4-dibenzyloxyphenyl)oxirane (MDBPO) using lipase from Candida rugosa leads to formation of poly[2-methoxycarbonyl-3-(3,4-dibenzyloxyphenyl)oxirane] (PMDBPO), with a degree of polymerization up to 5. Catalytic debenzylation of PMDBPO using H2 on Pd/C yields poly[2-methoxycarbonyl-3-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)oxirane] (PMDHPO) without loss in molecular mass. Antibacterial assessment of natural polyethers from different species of Boraginaceae family Symhytum asperum, S. caucasicum, S. grandiflorum, Anchusa italica, Cynoglossum officinale, and synthetic polymers, poly[2-methoxycarbonyl-3-(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)oxirane (PMDMPO) and PMDHPO, reveals that only the synthetic analogue produced in this study (PMDHPO) exhibits a promising antimicrobial activity against pathogenic strains S.aureus ATCC 25923 and E.coli ATCC 25922 the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) being 100 µg/mL

Nosocomial nontyphoidal salmonellosis after antineoplastic chemotherapy: reactivation of asymptomatic colonization?

An increased frequency of nontyphoidal salmonellosis is well established in cancer patients, but it is unclear whether this represents increased susceptibility to exogenous infection or opportunistic, endogenous reactivation of asymptomatic carriage. In a retrospective study, a simple case definition was used to identify the probable presence of reactivation salmonellosis in five cancer patients between 1996 and 2002. Reactivation salmonellosis was defined as the development of nosocomial diarrhea >72h after admission and following the administration of antineoplastic chemotherapy in an HIV-seronegative cancer patient who was asymptomatic on admission, in the absence of epidemiological evidence of a nosocomial outbreak. Primary salmonellosis associated with unrecognized nosocomial transmission or community acquisition and an unusually prolonged incubation period could not entirely be ruled out. During the same time period, another opportunistic infection, Pneumocystis pneumonia, was diagnosed in six cancer patients. Presumably, asymptomatic intestinal Salmonella colonization was converted to invasive infection by chemotherapy-associated intestinal mucosal damage and altered innate immune mechanisms. According to published guidelines, stool specimens from patients hospitalized for longer than 72h should be rejected unless the patient is neutropenic or ≧65 years old with significant comorbidity. However, in this study neutropenia was present in only one patient, and four patients were <65 years old. Guidelines should thus be revised in order not to reject stool culture specimens from such patients. In cancer patients, nosocomial salmonellosis can occur as a chemotherapy-triggered opportunistic reactivation infection that may be similar in frequency to Pneumocystis pneumoni

Rare predicted loss-of-function variants of type I IFN immunity genes are associated with life-threatening COVID-19

Background: We previously reported that impaired type I IFN activity, due to inborn errors of TLR3- and TLR7-dependent type I interferon (IFN) immunity or to autoantibodies against type I IFN, account for 15–20% of cases of life-threatening COVID-19 in unvaccinated patients. Therefore, the determinants of life-threatening COVID-19 remain to be identified in ~ 80% of cases. Methods: We report here a genome-wide rare variant burden association analysis in 3269 unvaccinated patients with life-threatening COVID-19, and 1373 unvaccinated SARS-CoV-2-infected individuals without pneumonia. Among the 928 patients tested for autoantibodies against type I IFN, a quarter (234) were positive and were excluded. Results: No gene reached genome-wide significance. Under a recessive model, the most significant gene with at-risk variants was TLR7, with an OR of 27.68 (95%CI 1.5–528.7, P = 1.1 × 10−4) for biochemically loss-of-function (bLOF) variants. We replicated the enrichment in rare predicted LOF (pLOF) variants at 13 influenza susceptibility loci involved in TLR3-dependent type I IFN immunity (OR = 3.70[95%CI 1.3–8.2], P = 2.1 × 10−4). This enrichment was further strengthened by (1) adding the recently reported TYK2 and TLR7 COVID-19 loci, particularly under a recessive model (OR = 19.65[95%CI 2.1–2635.4], P = 3.4 × 10−3), and (2) considering as pLOF branchpoint variants with potentially strong impacts on splicing among the 15 loci (OR = 4.40[9%CI 2.3–8.4], P = 7.7 × 10−8). Finally, the patients with pLOF/bLOF variants at these 15 loci were significantly younger (mean age [SD] = 43.3 [20.3] years) than the other patients (56.0 [17.3] years; P = 1.68 × 10−5). Conclusions: Rare variants of TLR3- and TLR7-dependent type I IFN immunity genes can underlie life-threatening COVID-19, particularly with recessive inheritance, in patients under 60&nbsp;years old

Patients' prediction of extubation success.

The spontaneous breathing trial (SBT)-relying on objective criteria assessed by the clinician-is the major diagnostic tool to determine if patients can be successfully extubated. However, little is known regarding the patient's subjective perception of autonomous breathing. We performed a prospective observational study in 211 mechanically ventilated adult patients successfully completing a SBT. Patients were randomly assigned to be interviewed during this trial regarding their prediction of extubation success. We compared post-extubation outcomes in three patient groups: patients confident (confidents; n = 115) or not (non-confidents; n = 38) of their extubation success and patients not subjected to interview (control group; n = 58). Extubation success was more frequent in confidents than in non-confidents (90 vs. 45%; p &lt; 0.001/positive likelihood ratio = 2.00) or in the control group (90 vs. 78%; p = 0.04). On the contrary, extubation failure was more common in non-confidents than in confidents (55 vs. 10%; p &lt; 0.001/negative likelihood ratio = 0.19). Logistic regression analysis showed that extubation success was associated with patient's prediction [OR (95% CI): 9.2 (3.74-22.42) for confidents vs.non-confidents] as well as to age [0.72 (0.66-0.78) for age 75 vs. 65 and 1.31 (1.28-1.51) for age 55 vs. 65]. Our data suggest that at the end of a sustained SBT, extubation success might be correlated to the patients' subjective perception of autonomous breathing. The results of this study should be confirmed by a large multicenter trial

An enhanced device simulation of heavily irradiated silicon detectors at cryogenic temperatures

Radiation hardness is a critical design concern for present and future silicon detectors in high energy physics. Tracking systems at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) are expected to operate for ten years and to receive fast hadron fluences equivalent to 10/sup 15/ cm /sup -2/ 1MeV neutrons. Recently, low temperature operating conditions have been suggested as an effective means to mitigate the damaging effects of radiation on detector charge collection properties. In order to investigate this effect, simulations have been carried out using the ISE-TCAD DESSIS device simulator. The so- called "three-level" model has been used. A comprehensive analysis of the influence of the V/sub 2/, C/sub i/O/sub i/ and V/sub 2/O defect capture cross-sections on the effective doping concentration (N/sub eff/) as a function of temperature and fluence has been carried out. The capture cross sections have been varied in the range 10/sup -18 /-10/sup -12/ cm/sup 2/. The simulated results are compared with charge collection spectra obtained with 1064 nm laser pulses on devices irradiated with 23 GeV protons as a function of detector bias voltage. To validate the model, a wide range of temperature and fluence has been studied using a 1-D simplified structure. Thousands of simulation results have been cross-checked with the experimental data. The data between 190 K (the lower limit for simulations due to computational difficulties) and 290 K are well reproduced for all of the fluences considered. We conclude that the three-level model can be successfully used to predict irradiated detector behavior down to a temperature of at least 190 K. (37 refs)

Infection VIH : dix points clefs pour la prise en charge par les praticiens

L'objectif de cet article est de fournir aux praticiens les notions essentielles au diagnostic des nouveaux cas d'infection VIH, au suivi des patients infectés et au conseil des personnes à risque de le contracter. Grâce à l'introduction de la «Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy» (HAART), le pronostic s'est considérablement amélioré. Les patients sont de plus en plus souvent suivis par leur médecin généraliste en collaboration avec le spécialiste de l'infection VIH. Les maladies opportunistes peuvent être évitées ou traitées, les femmes peuvent envisager une grossesse. Les effets secondaires des traitements anti-rétroviraux et les interactions médicamenteuses sont de mieux en mieux connus et maîtrisés, grâce à la diversité thérapeutique disponible. Les patients peuvent être normalement vaccinés, en évitant les vaccins vivants. Les patients toxicodépendants souffrent de situations médicales et sociales particulières, dont la co-infection fréquente avec l'hépatite C

A data-driven approach to identify risk profiles and protective drugs in COVID-19

As the COVID-19 pandemic is spreading around the world, increasing evidence highlights the role of cardiometabolic risk factors in determining the susceptibility to the disease. The fragmented data collected during the initial emergency limited the possibility of investigating the effect of highly correlated covariates and of modeling the interplay between risk factors and medication. The present study is based on comprehensive monitoring of 576 COVID-19 patients. Different statistical approaches were applied to gain a comprehensive insight in terms of both the identification of risk factors and the analysis of dependency structure among clinical and demographic characteristics. The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus enters host cells by binding to the angiotensinconverting enzyme 2 (ACE2), but whether or not renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibitors (RAASi) would be beneficial to COVID-19 cases remains controversial. The survival tree approach was applied to define a multilayer risk stratification and better profile patient survival with respect to drug regimens, showing a significant protective effect of RAASi with a reduced risk of in-hospital death. Bayesian networks were estimated, to uncover complex interrelationships and confounding effects. The results confirmed the role of RAASi in reducing the risk of death in COVID-19 patients. De novo treatment with RAASi in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 should be prospectively investigated in a randomized controlled trial to ascertain the extent of risk reduction for in-hospital death in COVID-19