Characterization of craft beer through flavour component analysis by GC-MS and multivariate statistical tools

Beer is a rather popular drink and represents the most widely consumed alcoholic beverage in the world.The present research aims at characterizing the flavour profile of lager pilsner, the category of low fermentation beers most common in Europe. The largest portion of the global market is dominated by a few multinational companies, but in the last years the number of independent craft breweries has increased very rapidly also in countries where there weren’t an established craft brewing tradition. According to the Italian Brewers Association, in Italy there are eight brewing companies which operate 14 industrial breweries, which in the years have standardized the product to increase their slice of market. The craft-beer sector represents a niche market, about 3% of total production (1% in 2011) [EU Report, 2016]. Italy has a relatively young craft brewing tradition, but the data together with the new ways of consumption, can be considered promising for the sector development. In 2016, the “craft beer” has been defined for the first time in Italy with DDL 1328-B (art.35). Legislation does not consider the quality of the raw materials, but only the manufacturing processes: the artisanal beer-making is a beer obtained without microfiltration and pasteurization steps, unlike industrial products. In this contest, the aim of the study was to characterize the beers (all lager style) purchased on the market through the analysis of the aromatic profile of samples produced under different processes (craft methods or industrial processes). In fact, in addition to smaller production scale and independent, the main characteristic of craft beer is to put the emphasis on flavour and brewing techniques. Flavour, consisting of a large number of volatile compounds, has a great influence on consumer acceptability and, when safety and nutritional value are guaranteed, sensory parameters become the discriminating factor in the product quality assessment which determines the differentiation on the market. The identification of specific compounds, which confer a particular aroma, suitable to be used as potential quality/process markers in order to discriminate beer samples according to their production method. A headspace solid-phase microextraction coupled to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC-MS) was performed to evaluate the beer samples fingerprint. Multivariate statistical methods were then applied to the collected profiles to built model which could allow differentiating craft beers from all the others. Hence, the proposed method may represent an interesting tool to authenticate craft beer by verification of the compliance with their label description which, at the same time, can entail brand protection

Molecular beacon-decorated polymethylmethacrylate core-shell fluorescent nanoparticles for the detection of survivin mRNA in human cancer cells.

One of the main goals of nanomedicine in cancer is the development of effective drug delivery systems, primarily nanoparticles. Survivin, an overexpressed anti-apoptotic protein in cancer, represents a pharmacological target for therapy and a Molecular Beacon (MB) specific for survivin mRNA is available. In this study, the ability of polymethylmethacrylate nanoparticles (PMMA-NPs) to promote survivin MB uptake in human A549 cells was investigated. Fluorescent and positively charged core PMMA-NPs of nearly 60nm, obtained through an emulsion co-polymerization reaction, and the MB alone were evaluated in solution, for their analytical characterization; then, the MB specificity and functionality were verified after adsorption onto the PMMA-NPs. The carrier ability of PMMA-NPs in A549 was examined by confocal microscopy. With the optimized protocol, a hardly detectable fluorescent signal was obtained after incubation of the cells with the MB alone (fluorescent spots per cell of 1.90±0.40 with a mean area of 1.04±0.20µm2), while bright fluorescent spots inside the cells were evident by using the MB loaded onto the PMMA-NPs. (27.50±2.30 fluorescent spots per cell with a mean area of 2.35±0.16µm2). These results demonstrate the ability of the PMMA-NPs to promote the survivin-MB internalization, suggesting that this complex might represent a promising strategy for intracellular sensing and for the reduction of cancer cell proliferation

The Neuroprotective Effects of 17β-Estradiol Pretreatment in a Model of Neonatal Hippocampal Injury Induced by Trimethyltin

Hippocampal dysfunction plays a central role in neurodevelopmental disorders, resulting in severe impairment of cognitive abilities, including memory and learning. On this basis, developmental studies represent an important tool both to understanding the cellular and molecular phenomena underlying early hippocampal damage and to study possible therapeutic interventions, that may modify the progression of neuronal death. Given the modulatory role played by 17β-estradiol (E2) on hippocampal functions and its neuroprotective properties, the present study investigates the effects of pretreatment with E2 in a model of neonatal hippocampal injury obtained by trimethyltin (TMT) administration, characterized by neuronal loss in CA1 and CA3 subfields and astroglial and microglial activation. At post-natal days (P)5 and P6 animals received E2 administration (0.2 mg/kg/die i.p.) or vehicle. At P7 they received a single dose of TMT (6.5 mg/kg i.p.) and were sacrificed 72 h (P10) or 7 days after TMT treatment (P14). Our findings indicate that pretreatment with E2 exerts a protective effect against hippocampal damage induced by TMT administration early in development, reducing the extent of neuronal death in the CA1 subfield, inducing the activation of genes involved in neuroprotection, lowering the neuroinflammatory response and restoring neuropeptide Y- and parvalbumin- expression, which is impaired in the early phases of TMT-induced damage. Our data support the efficacy of estrogen-based neuroprotective approaches to counteract early occurring hippocampal damage in the developing hippocampus

Evaluation of virological response and resistance profile in HIV-1 infected patients starting a first-line integrase inhibitor-based regimen in clinical settings

Background: Virological response and resistance profile were evaluated in drug-naïve patients starting their first-line integrase inhibitors (INIs)-based regimen in a clinical setting. Study design: Virological success (VS) and virological rebound (VR) after therapy start were assessed by survival analyses. Drug-resistance was evaluated at baseline and at virological failure. Results: Among 798 patients analysed, 38.6 %, 27.1 % and 34.3 % received raltegravir, elvitegravir and dolutegravir, respectively. Baseline resistance to NRTIs, NNRTIs, PIs and INIs was: 3.9 %, 13.9 %, 1.6 % and 0.5 %, respectively. Overall, by 12 months of treatment, the probability of VS was 95 %, while the probability of VR by 36 months after VS was 13.1 %. No significant differences in the virological response were found according to the INI used. The higher pre-therapy viremia strata was (<100,000 vs. 100,000-500,000 vs. > 500,000 copies/mL), lower was the probability of VS (96.0 % vs. 95.2 % vs. 91.1 %, respectively, P < 0.001), and higher the probability of VR (10.2 % vs. 15.8 % vs. 16.6 %, respectively, P = 0.010). CD4 cell count <200 cell/mm3 was associated with the lowest probability of VS (91.5 %, P < 0.001) and the highest probability of VR (20.7 %, P = 0.008) compared to higher CD4 levels. Multivariable Cox-regression confirmed the negative role of high pre-therapy viremia and low CD4 cell count on VS, but not on VR. Forty-three (5.3 %) patients experienced VF (raltegravir: 30; elvitegravir: 9; dolutegravir: 4). Patients failing dolutegravir did not harbor any resistance mutation either in integrase or reverse transcriptase. Conclusions: Our findings confirm that patients receiving an INI-based first-line regimen achieve and maintain very high rates of VS in clinical practice

Observation of Exclusive Gamma Gamma Production in p pbar Collisions at sqrt{s}=1.96 TeV

We have observed exclusive \gamma\gamma production in proton-antiproton collisions at \sqrt{s}=1.96 TeV, using data from 1.11 \pm 0.07 fb^{-1} integrated luminosity taken by the Run II Collider Detector at Fermilab. We selected events with two electromagnetic showers, each with transverse energy E_T > 2.5 GeV and pseudorapidity |\eta| < 1.0, with no other particles detected in -7.4 < \eta < +7.4. The two showers have similar E_T and azimuthal angle separation \Delta\phi \sim \pi; 34 events have two charged particle tracks, consistent with the QED process p \bar{p} to p + e^+e^- + \bar{p} by two-photon exchange, while 43 events have no charged tracks. The number of these events that are exclusive \pi^0\pi^0 is consistent with zero and is < 15 at 95% C.L. The cross section for p\bar{p} to p+\gamma\gamma+\bar{p} with |\eta(\gamma)| < 1.0 and E_T(\gamma) > 2.5$ GeV is 2.48^{+0.40}_{-0.35}(stat)^{+0.40}_{-0.51}(syst) pb.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure

Initial experience with the CDF SVT trigger

The Collider Detector at Fermilab (CDF) Silicon Vertex Tracker (SVT) is a device that works inside the CDF Level 2 trigger to find and fit tracks in real time using the central silicon vertex detector information. SVT starts from tracks found by the Level 1 central chamber fast trigger and adds the silicon information to compute transverse track parameters with offline quality in about . The CDF SVT is fully installed and functional and has been exercised with real data during the spring and summer 2001. It is a complex digital device of more than 100 VME boards that performs a dramatic data reduction (only about one event in a thousand is accepted by the trigger). Diagnosing rare failures poses a special challenge and SVT internal data flow is monitored by dedicated hardware and software. This paper briefly covers the SVT architecture and design and reports on the SVT building/commissioning experience (hardware and software) and on the first results from the initial running

Hippocampal neuroinflammation, functional connectivity, and depressive symptoms in multiple sclerosis

Depression, a condition commonly comorbid with multiple sclerosis (MS), is associated more generally with elevated inflammatory markers and hippocampal pathology. We hypothesized that neuroinflammation in the hippocampus is responsible for depression associated with MS. We characterized the relationship between depressive symptoms and hippocampal microglial activation in patients with MS using the 18-kDa translocator protein radioligand [18F]PBR111. To evaluate pathophysiologic mechanisms, we explored the relationships between hippocampal neuroinflammation, depressive symptoms, and hippocampal functional connectivities defined by resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. Methods The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) was administered to 11 patients with MS and 22 healthy control subjects before scanning with positron emission tomography and functional magnetic resonance imaging. We tested for higher [18F]PBR111 uptake in the hippocampus of patients with MS relative to healthy control subjects and examined the correlations between [18F]PBR111 uptake, BDI scores, and hippocampal functional connectivities in the patients with MS. Results Patients with MS had an increased hippocampal [18F]PBR111 distribution volume ratio relative to healthy control subjects (p = .024), and the hippocampal distribution volume ratio was strongly correlated with the BDI score in patients with MS (r = .86, p = .006). Hippocampal functional connectivities to the subgenual cingulate and prefrontal and parietal regions correlated with BDI scores and [18F]PBR111 distribution volume ratio. Conclusions Our results provide evidence that hippocampal microglial activation in MS impairs the brain functional connectivities in regions contributing to maintenance of a normal affective state. Our results suggest a rationale for the responsiveness of depression in some patients with MS to effective control of brain neuroinflammation. Our findings also lend support to further investigation of the role of inflammatory processes in the pathogenesis of depression more generally

Level-2 calorimeter Trigger Upgrade at CDF

The CDF Run II level 2 calorimeter trigger is implemented in hardware and is based on a simple algorithm that was used in Run I. This system has worked well for Run II at low luminosity. As the Tevatron instantaneous luminosity increases, the limitation due to this simple algorithm starts to become clear. As a result, some of the most important jet and MET (missing ET) related triggers have large growth terms in cross section at higher luminosity. In this paper, we present an upgrade of the L2CAL system which makes the full calorimeter trigger tower information directly available to the level 2 decision CPU. This upgrade is based on the Pulsar, a general purpose VME board developed at CDF and already used for upgrading both the level 2 global decision crate and the level 2 silicon vertex tracking. The upgrade system allows more sophisticated algorithms to be implemented in software and both level 2 jets and MET can be made nearly equivalent to offline quality, thus significantly improving the performance and flexibility of the jet and MET related triggers. This is a natural expansion of the already-upgraded level 2 trigger system, and is a big step forward to improve the CDF triggering capability at level 2. This paper describes the design, the hardware and software implementation and the performance of the upgrade system

Association of kidney disease measures with risk of renal function worsening in patients with type 1 diabetes

Background: Albuminuria has been classically considered a marker of kidney damage progression in diabetic patients and it is routinely assessed to monitor kidney function. However, the role of a mild GFR reduction on the development of stage 653 CKD has been less explored in type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) patients. Aim of the present study was to evaluate the prognostic role of kidney disease measures, namely albuminuria and reduced GFR, on the development of stage 653 CKD in a large cohort of patients affected by T1DM. Methods: A total of 4284 patients affected by T1DM followed-up at 76 diabetes centers participating to the Italian Association of Clinical Diabetologists (Associazione Medici Diabetologi, AMD) initiative constitutes the study population. Urinary albumin excretion (ACR) and estimated GFR (eGFR) were retrieved and analyzed. The incidence of stage 653 CKD (eGFR &lt; 60 mL/min/1.73 m2) or eGFR reduction &gt; 30% from baseline was evaluated. Results: The mean estimated GFR was 98 \ub1 17 mL/min/1.73m2 and the proportion of patients with albuminuria was 15.3% (n = 654) at baseline. About 8% (n = 337) of patients developed one of the two renal endpoints during the 4-year follow-up period. Age, albuminuria (micro or macro) and baseline eGFR &lt; 90 ml/min/m2 were independent risk factors for stage 653 CKD and renal function worsening. When compared to patients with eGFR &gt; 90 ml/min/1.73m2 and normoalbuminuria, those with albuminuria at baseline had a 1.69 greater risk of reaching stage 3 CKD, while patients with mild eGFR reduction (i.e. eGFR between 90 and 60 mL/min/1.73 m2) show a 3.81 greater risk that rose to 8.24 for those patients with albuminuria and mild eGFR reduction at baseline. Conclusions: Albuminuria and eGFR reduction represent independent risk factors for incident stage 653 CKD in T1DM patients. The simultaneous occurrence of reduced eGFR and albuminuria have a synergistic effect on renal function worsening

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements