Comparison of grape harvesting and sorting methods on factors affecting the must quality

This study compared two harvesting techniques (manual and mechanical) and three grape sorting methods (no sorting, manual, and densimetric) in attempts to obtain high-quality must. The trials were carried out in 2009 and 2010 in Tuscany, Italy. The effectiveness of the harvest-sorting chain was assessed on two parameters. Substandard berries (SSB) is the percentage of berries, which do not meet quality standards that enter the winemaking process, and material other than grape (MOG) is a measure of the cleanliness of the berries entering the process. In the two years the trial was run the grape maturation level was widely different; in 2009 the vintage was more far mature than in 2010. With respect to SSB content and harvesting methods, in 2009 (more mature grapes) hand-picking reduced SSB content, while in 2010 there were no differences between the two harvesting methods. In both years, densimetric sorting reduced SSB content, while there were no significant differences between no sorting and manual sorting. In terms of MOG content, both harvesting and sorting results were inconsistent. In 2009, MOG was lower in mechanically harvested grapes; while in 2010 it was lower in hand-picked grapes. As for sorting methods, in 2009 there were no differences in MOG, while in 2010 mechanical sorting produced better results. Our results question whether the post-harvest sorting techniques used by many estates are effective; particularly as the question has received little attention and no previous research has compared methods. Secondly, our study contributes to the debate on the effects of harvesting technique on wine quality

Control of mixing step in the bread production with weak wheat flour and sourdough

Recently, several old Italian grain varieties have been reinstated, and the market seems to reward the breads made with these flours. Among such varieties, cultivar Verna appears to be interesting because the regular consumption of bread obtained by this variety and sourdough provides beneficial effects on human health such as the improving of the lipid, inflammatory, and hemorheological profiles. However, flours derived from Verna shows low technological performances. For example, the W value of these flours, obtained with alveoghraphic tests and considered as the commercial standard for the flour “strength” evaluation, is largely inferior than the W values of the commercial flour blends currently used in the bread making process. Moreover, the W values broadly change among the batches of Verna flours, whereas, usually, commercial blends are provided to bakeries with standard technological properties. Hence, these properties of Verna flour could lead to developed or overworked doughs and therefore to breads of worse quality. In addition, the previous mentioned large variability of flours from Verna can affect also the sourdough microbiota. For these reasons the composition and activity of the sourdough microorganisms should be controlled while the mixing process should be able to adapt to the different flour properties. Some works, in literature, report that monitoring the electrical consumption could provide useful information about the dough rheology, and this could be used to monitor the mixing step. In the present work the effect of different mixing times are evaluated on breads made with Verna flour type 2 leavened with sourdough. Tests were carried out at industrial scale in two different days. During the tests the electric consumption was monitored to highlight some features suitable for the mixing phase control. The breads were evaluated in terms of loaf volume measurement, crumb image analysis and losses of moisture content during storage. The results show that the composition of the sourdough microbiota and the mixing time affects the produced bread, especially when it is baked with low technological performance flours. Bread baked with an appropriate mixing time shows higher loaf volumes and lower water losses during storage

Expression of μ-protocadherin is negatively regulated by the activation of the β-catenin signaling pathway in normal and cancer colorectal enterocytes.

Mu-protocadherin (MUCDHL) is an adhesion molecule predominantly expressed by colorectal epithelial cells which is markedly downregulated upon malignant transformation. Notably, treatment of colorectal cancer (CRC) cells with mesalazine lead to increased expression of MUCDHL, and is associated with sequestration of β-catenin on the plasma membrane and inhibition of its transcriptional activity. To better characterize the causal relationship between β-catenin and MUCDHL expression, we performed various experiments in which CRC cell lines and normal colonic organoids were subjected to culture conditions inhibiting (FH535 treatment, transcription factor 7-like 2 siRNA inactivation, Wnt withdrawal) or stimulating (LiCl treatment) β-catenin activity. We show here that expression of MUCDHL is negatively regulated by functional activation of the β-catenin signaling pathway. This finding was observed in cell culture systems representing conditions of physiological stimulation and upon constitutive activation of β-catenin in CRC. The ability of MUCDHL to sequester and inhibit β-catenin appears to provide a positive feedback enforcing the effect of β-catenin inhibitors rather than serving as the primary mechanism responsible for β-catenin inhibition. Moreover, MUCDHL might have a role as biomarker in the development of CRC chemoprevention drugs endowed with β-catenin inhibitory activity

The IkB kinase inhibitor nuclear factor-kB essential modulator–binding domain peptide for inhibition of balloon injury-induced neointimal formation

Objective—The activation of nuclear factor-kB (NF-kB) is a crucial step in the arterial wall’s response to injury. The identification and characterization of the NF-kB essential modulator– binding domain (NBD) peptide, which can block the activation of the IkB kinase complex, have provided an opportunity to selectively abrogate the inflammation-induced activation of NF-kB. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of the NBD peptide on neointimal formation.<br></br> Methods and Results—In the rat carotid artery balloon angioplasty model, local treatment with the NBD peptide (300 microg/site) significantly reduced the number of proliferating cells at day 7 (by 40%; P<0.01) and reduced injury-induced neointimal formation (by 50%; P<0.001) at day 14. These effects were associated with a significant reduction of NF-kB activation and monocyte chemotactic protein-1 expression in the carotid arteries of rats treated with the peptide. In addition, the NBD peptide (0.01 to 1 micromol/L) reduced rat smooth muscle cell proliferation, migration, and invasion in vitro. Similar results were observed in apolipoprotein E-/-, mice in which the NBD peptide (150 microg/site) reduced wire-induced neointimal formation at day 28 (by 47%; P<0.01).<br></br> Conclusion—The NBD peptide reduces neointimal formation and smooth muscle cell proliferation/migration, both effects associated with the inhibition of NF-kB activation

Sleep Bruxism and Orofacial Pain in Patients with Sleep Disorders: A Controlled Cohort Study

Background: The gold standard for the diagnosis of sleep bruxism (SB) is laboratory polysomnography (L-PSG) recording. However, many clinicians still define SB using patients' self-assessment and/or clinical tooth wear (TW). The purpose of this cross-sectional controlled study was to compare the prevalence of TW, head-neck muscles sensitivity and Temporomandibular Disorders (TMD) between SB and non-SB patients diagnosed with L-PSG in a cohort of patient with sleep disorders (SD). Methods: 102 adult subjects with suspected SD underwent L-PSG recording to assess the presence of sleep disorder and SB. TW was clinically analyzed using TWES 2.0. The pressure pain threshold (PPT) of masticatory muscles were assessed using a Fisher algometer. Diagnostic criteria for TMD (DC/TMD) were used to evaluate the presence of TMD. SB self-assessment questionnaires were administered. TWES score, PPT, TMD prevalence and questionnaire results were compared between SB and non-SB patients. Results: 22 SB patients and 66 non-SB patients with SD were included. No significant differences emerged between groups in regards to TW, the PPT values, or SB's self-assessment questionnaires as well the prevalence of TMD. Conclusion: in a SD population, TW is not pathognomonic of active SB and SB self-assessment is not reliable. There seems to be no correlation between SB, TMD and head/neck muscle sensitivity

Fontana Ranuccio (excavations 2019-2022) and Colle Marino (excavations 2020-2021): Middle Pleistocene chronostratigraphic evidence of the earliest inhabitants in the Anagni basin

Recent fieldwork of the Istituto Italiano di Paleontologia Umana in the Anagni basin (Latin Valley, southern Latium, central Italy) has provided new insights into the dynamics of human settlement and adaptation in this area during the Middle Pleistocene. This paper summarizes the still partially unpublished data on the chronostratigraphy of two important prehistoric sites: Fontana Ranuccio, dating from about 400,000 years ago, and Colle Marino, whose lithic industry has so far been attributed to an early stage of the Middle Pleistocene. At Fontana Ranuccio, stratigraphic studies highlighted the depositional dynamics and the processes involved in the formation of the archeological unit, consisting of partly reworked volcanic material, which can be now divided into distinct sub-units. At Colle Marino, a 35-meter-deep core drilling and an excavation campaign allowed us to verify the nature and provenance of lithic artifacts found on the surface in past decades. Radiometric analyses dated these artifacts from about 700,000 years ago

Open data, Science and Society: launching Oasis, the flagship initiative of the Istituto Italiano di Antropologia

The Open Data philosophy has gained considerable momentum in recent years, both in society and the scientific community. The accessibility via web of open data from the public sector has remarkably increased in the last decade, although there are substantial differences among nations (http://datacatalogs.org/). The expectation of many citizens, organizations and pressure groups (the so called “open government” movement) is that the free release of data from public administrations may help increase government transparency and accountability

Inhibition of ERK1/2 signaling prevents bone marrow fibrosis by reducing osteopontin plasma levels in a myelofibrosis mouse model

Clonal myeloproliferation and development of bone marrow (BM) fibrosis are the major pathogenetic events in myelofibrosis (MF). The identification of novel antifibrotic strategies is of utmost importance since the effectiveness of current therapies in reverting BM fibrosis is debated. We previously demonstrated that osteopontin (OPN) has a profibrotic role in MF by promoting mesenchymal stromal cells proliferation and collagen production. Moreover, increased plasma OPN correlated with higher BM fibrosis grade and inferior overall survival in MF patients. To understand whether OPN is a druggable target in MF, we assessed putative inhibitors of OPN expression in vitro and identified ERK1/2 as a major regulator of OPN production. Increased OPN plasma levels were associated with BM fibrosis development in the Romiplostim-induced MF mouse model. Moreover, ERK1/2 inhibition led to a remarkable reduction of OPN production and BM fibrosis in Romiplostim-treated mice. Strikingly, the antifibrotic effect of ERK1/2 inhibition can be mainly ascribed to the reduced OPN production since it could be recapitulated through the administration of anti-OPN neutralizing antibody. Our results demonstrate that OPN is a novel druggable target in MF and pave the way to antifibrotic therapies based on the inhibition of ERK1/2-driven OPN production or the neutralization of OPN activity