Prevalence of Flavescence Dorée Phytoplasma-Infected Scaphoideus titanus in Different Vineyard Agroecosystems of Northwestern Italy

Quantitative estimates of vector populations and their infectivity in the wild and in cultivated compartments of agroecosystems have been carried out to elucidate the role of the wild compartment in the epidemiology of Flavescence dorée (FD). Seven sites were selected for the investigations in the Piedmont Region of Italy. They were characterized by a high variety of agricultural and ecological landscape features, and included a vineyard surrounded by wild vegetation. In order to describe abundance and prevalence of FD-infected vectors in the cultivated and wild compartments of the vineyard agroecosystem, adults of Scaphoideus titanus were collected by yellow sticky traps inside and outside the vineyard over the period July 10th–September 9th, 2015. They were counted and singly analyzed for the presence of FD phytoplasmas by PCR. Multifactorial correlations among vector population level, prevalence of infected insects inside and outside the vineyards, disease prevalence in cultivated and wild Vitis plants, and location of wild Vitis plants with respect to the vineyard were analyzed. Abundance of S. titanus adults significantly decreased from the end of July onwards, particularly inside the vineyard (average range 22.7 ± 2.5 insects/trap). Percentage of FD-positive S. titanus was significantly higher outside the vineyard (up to 48% on average) compared to inside the vineyard (up to 34% on average), and increased during the season in both compartments

Polyphenolic Composition and In Vitro Antioxidant Activity of Red Grape Seeds as Byproducts of Short and Medium-Long Fermentative Macerations

The polyphenolic composition and antioxidant activity of grape seeds, as byproducts of red winemaking, depend on various factors, such as grape cultivar, vintage effect, grape maturity and winemaking methods. In the present work, the influence of the maceration length on the polyphenolic and antioxidant characteristics of the seeds of four Italian red grape cultivars (‘Barbera’, ‘Grignolino’, ‘Nebbiolo’, and ‘Uvalino’), sampled from the fermentation tanks after short (two days) and medium-long (7–21 days) macerations, was studied with spectrophotometric methods, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and three different antioxidant assays (2,2′-azino-bis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS), ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and 2,2 diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH)). The total polyphenolic content (gallic acid equivalent (GAE)) of the seeds sampled after short macerations ranged between 24.5 and 60.1 mg/g dry weight (DW), and it dropped to 20.0–37.5 mg/g DW after medium-long macerations. The polyphenolic profile of the shortly macerated seeds was related to the varietal characteristics, while, after longer macerations, the influence of the maceration length prevailed on the cultivar effect. The multiple in vitro antioxidant activity tests (ABTS, FRAP and DPPH), although based on different mechanisms capable of highlighting behavioral differences between the different polyphenolic compounds, were highly correlated with each other and with the polyphenolic parameters; the qualitative differences between the matrices in the polyphenolic profile were probably less important than the quantitative differences in the polyphenolic content. The relations with the polyphenolic content were linear, except for the Efficient Concentration (EC20) parameter, whose relation was better described by a hyperbolic equation

Effetto dei poliaspartati sulla stabilità tartarica e sul colore dei vini rossi

La stabilizzazione tartarica dei vini può essere ottenuta asportando una parte del potassio e/o l'acido tartarico presenti o con l'aggiunta di additivi (acido metatartarico, gomme di cellulosa, mannoproteine) in grado di impedire la formazione e/o l'accrescimento dei cristalli di bitartrato di potassio, principale responsabile della comparsa di precipitati in bottiglia. Il presente lavoro ha riguardato lo studio dell'efficacia stabilizzante di nuove molecole: i poliaspartati (PASPs) su vini rossi. Lo studio aveva, inoltre lo scopo di verificare se, dopo l'aggiunta o durante la conservazione in bottiglia, l'apporto di queste molecole determini intorbidamento e/o perdita di colore nei vini rossi. I risultati evidenziano che i PASPs possiedono interessanti proprietà stabilizzanti nei confronti delle precipitazioni tartariche, simili a quelle dell'acido metatartarico. La presenza di PASP nei vini rossi non ha determinato perdite di antociani totali o modificazioni dei parametri cromatici (intensità e tonalità) né subito dopo l'aggiunta, né durante la conservazione. In un solo vino analizzato, subito dopo l'aggiunta di PASP (controllo dopo 48 ore), si è osservato un leggero aumento della torbidità nella tesi trattata. L'effettuazione di una chiarifica con bentonite (40 g/hL) prima dell'aggiunta del PASP ha consentito di evitare l'intorbidamento del vino

Managing wine quality using Torulaspora delbrueckii and Oenococcus oeni starters in mixed fermentations of a red Barbera wine

The use of selected starter cultures for grape must fermentation is nowadays practiced in most wine regions of the world, and as the range of available microorganisms increases this gives winemakers the possibility to increase biodiversity in guided fermentations. Nevertheless, little information is available regarding the oenological use of Saccharomyces and non-Saccharomyces yeasts in combination with lactic acid bacteria. The present study evaluates the effect of the inoculation of a non-Saccharomyces yeast, Torulaspora delbrueckii, in an alcoholic fermentation (in combination with a Saccharomyces starter), together with different modalities of malolactic fermentation management (co-inoculation, sequential inoculation and no inoculation of an Oenococcus oeni starter), on the quality of a red Barbera wine. The fermentation dynamics were verified and the final wine properties were evaluated in terms of physico-chemical composition determined by 1H-NMR, free volatile compounds measured by GC-MS and organoleptic characteristics assessed via sensory analysis. Overall, the results show that the joint employment of non-Saccharomyces yeasts did not delay alcoholic nor malolactic fermentation progress, did not interfere with the positive effect of the co-inoculation of malolactic bacteria (beneficial for both fermentation length and for the chemical, aromatic and sensory properties of wine) and enabled the production of wines with a more intense colour

Effects on the incidence of cardiovascular events of the addition of pioglitazone versus sulfonylureas in patients with type 2 diabetes inadequately controlled with metformin (TOSCA.IT): a randomised, multicentre trial

Background The best treatment option for patients with type 2 diabetes in whom treatment with metformin alone fails to achieve adequate glycaemic control is debated. We aimed to compare the long-term effects of pioglitazone versus sulfonylureas, given in addition to metformin, on cardiovascular events in patients with type 2 diabetes. Methods TOSCA.IT was a multicentre, randomised, pragmatic clinical trial, in which patients aged 50\ue2\u80\u9375 years with type 2 diabetes inadequately controlled with metformin monotherapy (2\ue2\u80\u933 g per day) were recruited from 57 diabetes clinics in Italy. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1), by permuted blocks randomisation (block size 10), stratified by site and previous cardiovascular events, to add-on pioglitazone (15\ue2\u80\u9345 mg) or a sulfonylurea (5\ue2\u80\u9315 mg glibenclamide, 2\ue2\u80\u936 mg glimepiride, or 30\ue2\u80\u93120 mg gliclazide, in accordance with local practice). The trial was unblinded, but event adjudicators were unaware of treatment assignment. The primary outcome, assessed with a Cox proportional-hazards model, was a composite of first occurrence of all-cause death, non-fatal myocardial infarction, non-fatal stroke, or urgent coronary revascularisation, assessed in the modified intention-to-treat population (all randomly assigned participants with baseline data available and without any protocol violations in relation to inclusion or exclusion criteria). This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00700856. Findings Between Sept 18, 2008, and Jan 15, 2014, 3028 patients were randomly assigned and included in the analyses. 1535 were assigned to pioglitazone and 1493 to sulfonylureas (glibenclamide 24 [2%], glimepiride 723 [48%], gliclazide 745 [50%]). At baseline, 335 (11%) participants had a previous cardiovascular event. The study was stopped early on the basis of a futility analysis after a median follow-up of 57\uc2\ub73 months. The primary outcome occurred in 105 patients (1\uc2\ub75 per 100 person-years) who were given pioglitazone and 108 (1\uc2\ub75 per 100 person-years) who were given sulfonylureas (hazard ratio 0\uc2\ub796, 95% CI 0\uc2\ub774\ue2\u80\u931\uc2\ub726, p=0\uc2\ub779). Fewer patients had hypoglycaemias in the pioglitazone group than in the sulfonylureas group (148 [10%] vs 508 [34%], p<0\uc2\ub70001). Moderate weight gain (less than 2 kg, on average) occurred in both groups. Rates of heart failure, bladder cancer, and fractures were not significantly different between treatment groups. Interpretation In this long-term, pragmatic trial, incidence of cardiovascular events was similar with sulfonylureas (mostly glimepiride and gliclazide) and pioglitazone as add-on treatments to metformin. Both of these widely available and affordable treatments are suitable options with respect to efficacy and adverse events, although pioglitazone was associated with fewer hypoglycaemia events. Funding Italian Medicines Agency, Diabete Ricerca, and Italian Diabetes Society