Grape seeds: chromatographic profile of fatty acids and phenolic compounds and qualitative analysis by FTIR-ATR spectroscopy

The primary product of the oenological sector is wine. Nonetheless, the grape processing produces large amounts of by-products and wastes, e.g., the grape seeds. In the context of a sustainable production, there is a strong push towards reutilizing these by-products and waste for making useful derivatives since they are rich of bioactive substances with high additional value. As it is true for the wine itself, bringing these by-products derivatives to the market calls for quality measures and analytical tools to assess quality itself. One of the main objectives is to collect analytical data regarding bioactive compounds using potentially green techniques. In the present work, the profile of fatty acids and the main phenolic compounds were investigated by conventional methods. The qualitative analysis of the main functional groups was carried out by Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Moreover, the successful use of FTIR technique in combination with chemometric data analysis is shown to be a suitable analytical tool for discriminating the grape seeds. Grape seeds of different origin have different content of bioactive substances, making this technique useful when planning to recover a certain substance with specific potential application in health area as food supplement or nutraceutical. For example, Cesanese d’Affile seeds were found to have a rather high fat content with a significant fraction of unsaturated fatty acids. On the other hand, the seeds of Nero d’Avola exhibit the highest amount of phenolic compounds.This research received funding from Italcol SpA, Consulente Enologica Srl and the support of the Project NATUR-BAKERY-INNOV” Innovative production of a bakery line, for well-being and sport, based on functional natural extracts”—POR FESR 2014–2020—CUP 7429.31052017.113000254. Authors thank the support of the project: Nutraceutica come supporto nutrizionale nel paziente oncologico; CUP: B83D18000140007info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Structured diet and exercise guidance in pregnancy to improve health in women and their offspring: study protocol for the Be Healthy in Pregnancy (BHIP) randomized controlled trial

BackgroundEvidence from epidemiological and animal studies support the concept of programming fetal, neonatal, and adult health in response to in utero exposures such as maternal obesity and lifestyle variables. Excess gestational weight gain (GWG), maternal physical activity, and sub-optimal and excess nutrition during pregnancy may program the offspring\u27s risk of obesity. Maternal intake of dairy foods rich in high-quality proteins, calcium, and vitamin D may influence later bone health status. Current clinical practice guidelines for managing GWG are not founded on randomized trials and lack specific active intervention ingredients. The Be Healthy in Pregnancy (BHIP) study is a randomized controlled trial (RCT) designed to test the effectiveness of a novel structured and monitored Nutrition + Exercise intervention in pregnant women of all pre-pregnancy weight categories (except extreme obesity), delivered through prenatal care in community settings (rather than in hospital settings), on the likelihood of women achieving recommended GWG and a benefit to bone status of offspring and mother at birth and sixmonths postpartum.MethodsThe BHIP study is a two-site RCT that will recruit up to 242 participants aged \u3e18years at 12-17 weeks of gestation. After baseline measures, participants are randomized to either a structured and monitored Nutrition + Exercise (intervention) or usual care (control) program for the duration of their pregnancy. The primary outcome of the study is the percent of women who achieve GWG within the Institute of Medicine (IOM) guidelines. The secondary outcomes include: (1) maternal bone status via blood bone biomarkers during pregnancy; (2) infant bone status in cord blood; (3) mother and infant bone status measured by dual-energy absorptiometry scanning (DXA scan) at sixmonths postpartum; (4) other measures including maternal blood pressure, blood glucose and lipid profiles, % body fat, and postpartum weight retention; and (5) infant weight z-scores and fat mass at sixmonths of age.DiscussionIf effective, this RCT will generate high-quality evidence to refine the nutrition guidelines during pregnancy to improve the likelihood of women achieving recommended GWG. It will also demonstrate the importance of early nutrition on bone health in the offspring

Multicenter comparative multimodality surveillance of women at genetic-familial risk for breast cancer (HIBCRIT study): interim results.

PURPOSE: To prospectively compare clinical breast examination (CBE), mammography, ultrasonography (US), and contrast material-enhanced magnetic resonance (MR) imaging for screening women at genetic-familial high risk for breast cancer and report interim results, with pathologic findings as standard. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Institutional review board of each center approved the research; informed written consent was obtained. CBE, mammography, US, and MR imaging were performed for yearly screening of BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation carriers, first-degree relatives of BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation carriers, or women enrolled because of a strong family history of breast or ovarian cancer (three or more events in first- or second-degree relatives in either maternal or paternal line; these included breast cancer in women younger than 60 years, ovarian cancer at any age, and male breast cancer at any age). RESULTS: Two hundred seventy-eight women (mean age, 46 years +/- 12 [standard deviation]) were enrolled. Breast cancer was found in 11 of 278 women at first round and seven of 99 at second round (14 invasive, four intraductal; eight were <or=10 mm in diameter). Detection rate per year was 4.8% (18 of 377) overall; 4.3% (11 of 258) in BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation carriers and first-degree relatives of BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation carriers versus 5.9% (seven of 119) in women enrolled because of strong family history; and 5.3% (nine of 169) in women with previous personal breast and/or ovarian cancer versus 4.3% (nine of 208) in those without. In six (33%) of 18 patients, cancer was detected only with MR imaging. Sensitivity was as follows: CBE, 50% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 29%, 71%); mammography, 59% (95% CI: 36%, 78%); US, 65% (95% CI: 41%, 83%); and MR imaging, 94% (95% CI: 82%, 99%). Positive predictive value was as follows: CBE, 82% (95% CI: 52%, 95%); mammography, 77% (95% CI: 50%, 92%); US, 65% (95% CI: 41%, 83%); and MR imaging, 63% (95% CI: 43%, 79%). CONCLUSION: Addition of MR imaging to the screening regimen for high-risk women may enable detection of otherwise unsuspected breast cancers. (c) RSNA, 2007

The Use of Suppressive Agents for the Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis

This paper addresses the issue of slow-acting anti-rheumatic drugs as well as complementary therapies

Sistemi e regole per un progetto collettivo di città. Il planning by doing del Piano di Roma

La lettura di Urbanistica 116, il numero monografico sul nuovo Piano regolatore generale di Roma, curato da Laura Ricci in qualità di più giovane dei consulenti generali dell’Ufficio di piano, restituisce oggi, a quasi vent'anni dalla sua pubblicazione, il senso compiuto di un ‘memoriale’ nell'accezione propria del termine, testimonianza attiva della lunga e straordinaria stagione di governo delle giunte di centrosinistra, connotata da una non rituale convergenza tra elaborazione concettuale e disciplinare, da un lato, e cultura politica e dell’amministrare dall'altro, che ha visto l’Amministrazione comunale impegnata nel processo di pianificazione avviato nel 1994 e conclusosi, nel 2008, con l’approvazione del piano. Questa stagione, spesso, non a caso, richiamata con la locuzione “modello Roma” dimostra, ancora una volta, che il governo della città richiede, sia una convergenza tra “potere e intellighenzia”, sia una “volontà di indirizzo a prescindere dalle forze politiche e di governo” (Marcelloni, 2001), che delinei una permanenza di intenti nell'amministrare, al fine di dare attuazione a obiettivi comuni e di lungo respiro, quali sono, necessariamente, quelli pensati per poter garantire un confronto con i tempi lunghi della città

Two Magnetrons - Microwave Ovens 3D Modelling and Simulations

In microwave heating applications, the energy is introduced directly into the workload and as a consequence the quality of the process is highly dependent on the uniformity of the electromagnetic field distribution within it. Since the dielectric properties of foods change during the cooking process and the oven cavity has randomly varying sizes (e.g. the presence of top metal side that varies its height to match the food size), the uniformity of the electromagnetic field distribution is a potential problem. Non-uniform heating, dielectric discharges and thermal runaway are the most critical consequences. In order to prevent such undesired effects, an appropriate oven design based on scientific analyses and a smart control system should be devised. Based on fundamental physical lows, we can extract relationships between critical variables, such as the total power absorption as a function of food’s dielectric properties, size and shape, position, magnetron characteristic parameters and oven cavity sizes. In this paper a 3D FEM analysis of a microwave oven fed by two magnetrons, based on the COMSOL software, is developed. Simulations show how electrical variables (e.g. electromagnetic field, power) change as function of the workload characteristics (e.g. dielectric properties)

Calcified gastric cancer - CT findings before and after chemotherapy - Case report and discussion of the pathogenesis of this type of calcification

Diffuse calcifications in primary gastric cancer are very rare, most of them being found in mucinous adenocarcinoma. We present the CT aspects of a locally advanced gastric cancer, which showed partial response to neo-adjuvant chemotherapy. The pathological features of the surgical specimen after total gastrectomy are also reported and the pathogenesis of the calcifications is discussed. (C) Elsevier Science Inc., 1997