Capturing yeast associated with grapes and spontaneous fermentations of the Negro Saurí minority variety from an experimental vineyard near León

‘Microbial terroir’ relates to the infuence of autochthonous yeasts associated with a grape cultivar on the resultant wine. Geographic region, vineyard site and topography, climate and vintage infuence the biodiversity of these microbial communities. Current research focus attempts to correlate their ‘microbial fngerprint’ to the sensorial and chemical characteristics of varietal wines from distinct geographical wine regions. This study focuses on the minor red grape variety, Negro Saurí, which has seen a resurgence in the León Appellation of Origin in Spain as a varietal wine. An experimental vineyard at Melgarajo S.A. (42° 15′ 48.68_N 5° 9′ 56.66_W) was sampled over four consecutive vintages, with autochthonous yeasts being isolated from grapes, must and pilot-scale un-inoculated fermentations, and identifed by ITS sequencing. Forty-nine isolates belonging to Metschnikowia pulcherrima, Lachancea thermotolerans, Hanseniaspora uvarum and Torulaspora delbrueckii were isolated from grapes and must, and early stages of fermentation dependent on seasonal variation. Saccharomyces cerevisiae predominated throughout fermentation, as a heterogeneous and dynamic population, with seven major biotypes identifed amongst 110 isolates across four consecutive vintages. Twenty-four S. cerevisiae isolates representing fve strains dominated in two or more vintages. Their persistence through fermentation warrants further validation of their oenological properties as starter culturesIsora González‑Alonso, Michelle Elisabeth Walker, María‑Eva Vallejo‑Pascual, Gérmán Naharro‑Carrasco and Vladimir Jirane

Malformaciones venosas orofaciales de bajo flujo: esclerosis endoluminal con láser de diodo

ResumenIntroducciónLas anomalías vasculares son procesos frecuentes que se localizan en más del 50% de los casos en la región de la cabeza y el cuello. Las técnicas clásicas de tratamiento, tales como la cirugía y la esclerosis química, han dado paso a modernas técnicas menos invasivas, tales como el láser Nd:YAG. Por otra parte, se ha utilizado con éxito el láser de diodo (980 nm) para el tratamiento de varices mediante esclerosis endoluminal. Nuestra propuesta es la utilización del láser de diodo (λ 980 nm) para provocar una esclerosis por fotocoagulación intralesional de las malformaciones venosas de bajo flujo dada la capacidad de este láser de ser transmitido por fibra óptica.ObjetivoExponer nuestros resultados en el tratamiento de malformaciones venosas de bajo flujo (MVBF) orofaciales mediante la terapéutica de esclerosis endoluminal con láser de diodo.Material y métodosRevisamos 84 pacientes que presentaban MVBF orofaciales tratados con láser de diodo. Describimos la técnica de realización y se muestran los resultados postoperatorios a corto plazo.ResultadosTras un periodo de seguimiento no inferior a 12 meses se constató curación en el 95,24% aplicando una o dos sesiones y solamente en 4 casos se objetivó recidiva. Concluimos que la técnica de esclerosis endoluminal con láser de diodo de MVBF en el área orofacial se constituye como una nueva técnica de tratamiento, mínimamente invasiva, ambulatoria, y que permite la resolución de los casos sin tener que recurrir a cirugías más agresivas y con excelentes resultados funcionales y estéticos.AbstractBackgroundVascular anomalies are common processes that involve the head and neck region in more than 50% of the cases. Traditional treatment options such as surgery and chemical sclerosis have given way to modern less-invasive techniques, including Nd:YAG laser treatment. On the other hand, 980 nm laser diode has been successfully used for the endovenous sclerosis of varicose veins. Our proposal is the usage of diode laser (λ = 980 nm) to induce the sclerosis of low-flow venous malformations by intralesional photocoagulation, given this laser's ability to deliver the beam via a fiber optic cable.ObjectiveTo report our results in the treatment of orofacial low-flow venous malformations (LFVM) with diode laser endovenous sclerosis (DLES).Material and methods: The clinical records from 84 patients presenting with orofacial LFVM treated with DLES were collected. The technique used and short-term postoperative results were revised.ResultsAfter a follow-up period of at least 12 months after one or two DLES sessions, healing was observed in 95.24% of the cases. Only 4 cases showed relapse.ConclusionsThe DLES technique is a new therapeutic option for the treatment of orofacial LFVM, is minimally-invasive, allows an outpatient setting and achieves excellent functional and esthetic results avoiding more aggressive procedures

Two-loop corrections to the Isgur-Wise function in QCD sum rules

We complete the QCD sum rule analysis of the Isgur Wise form factor $\xi(v\cdot v')$ at next-to-leading order in renormalization-group improved perturbation theory. To this end, the exact result for the two-loop corrections to the perturbative contribution is derived using the heavy quark effective theory. Several techniques for the evaluation of two-loop integrals involving two different types of heavy quark propagators are discussed in detail, among them the methods of integration by parts and differential equations. The order-$\alpha_s$ corrections to the Isgur-Wise function turn out to be small and well under control. At large recoil, they tend to decrease the form factor by $5-10\%$.Comment: 24 pages (REVTEX), 2 figures available upon request, SLAC-PUB-599

Two-loop Anomalous Dimensions of Heavy Baryon Currents in Heavy Quark Effective Theory

We present results on the two-loop anomalous dimensions of the heavy baryon HQET currents $J=(q^TC\Gamma\tau q)\Gamma'Q$ with arbitrary Dirac matrices $\Gamma$ and $\Gamma'$. From our general result we obtain the two-loop anomalous dimensions for currents with quantum numbers of the ground state heavy baryons $\Lambda_Q$, $\Sigma_Q$ and $\Sigma_Q^*$. As a by-product of our calculation and as an additional check we rederive the known two-loop anomalous dimensions of mesonic scalar, pseudoscalar, vector, axial vector and tensor currents $(J=\bar q\Gamma q)$ in massless QCD as well as in HQET.Comment: 21 pages, LaTeX, 2 figures are included in PostScript forma

Spray‐dried formulations rich in malvidin from tintorera grape wastes: Characterization, stability, and storage

Indexación ScopusThis research was focused on developing means of Tintorera grape (Vitis vinifera L.) waste recovery, devising new value‐added uses for that material and optimizing of anthocyanin‐rich formulations by spray‐drying in order to obtain novel ingredients, all for food industry use. First, the identification of phenolic compounds in Tintorera grape extracts by HPLC‐DAD‐ESI‐MSn enabled characterization of the raw material’s health‐promoting characteristics. Maintaining the spray‐dried products for 4 weeks’ storage enabled study of the formulation’s loss of anthocyanins and antioxi-dant properties due to drying process temperatures as well as analysis of the retention and stability of such compounds under different conditions (20 and 40 °C). Tintorera grapes presented a significant amount of Malvidin 3‐O‐hex (5.66 mg g−1 DW). Anthocyanins in spray‐dried formulations were stable for 4 weeks. Optimal conditions in the spray‐dryer facilitated the products’ antioxidant ca-pacity; for instance, using 10% maltodextrin (w:v) at 90 °C inlet temperature had a little influence on the reduction in encapsulated malvidin 3‐O‐hex (15%) and presented 3.35 mg GAE g−1 DW of total polyphenol contents, 98.62 μmol Trolox (FRAP assay), and 39.97 μmol Trolox (DPPH assay). Principal component analyses (PCA) showed a high degree of dependence between anthocyanin content and maintenance of antioxidant capacity during storage. These results offer a promising alternative for the industrial management of wine‐making wastes in order to implement a sustainable protocol for development of Tintorera grape extracts rich in bioactive compounds for new bev-erages and functional foods. © 2021 by the author. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9717/9/3/51

Statistical Outliers and Dragon-Kings as Bose-Condensed Droplets

A theory of exceptional extreme events, characterized by their abnormal sizes compared with the rest of the distribution, is presented. Such outliers, called "dragon-kings", have been reported in the distribution of financial drawdowns, city-size distributions (e.g., Paris in France and London in the UK), in material failure, epileptic seizure intensities, and other systems. Within our theory, the large outliers are interpreted as droplets of Bose-Einstein condensate: the appearance of outliers is a natural consequence of the occurrence of Bose-Einstein condensation controlled by the relative degree of attraction, or utility, of the largest entities. For large populations, Zipf's law is recovered (except for the dragon-king outliers). The theory thus provides a parsimonious description of the possible coexistence of a power law distribution of event sizes (Zipf's law) and dragon-king outliers.Comment: Latex file, 16 pages, 1 figur

Effectiveness of an mHealth intervention combining a smartphone app and smart band on body composition in an overweight and obese population: Randomized controlled trial (EVIDENT 3 study)

Background: Mobile health (mHealth) is currently among the supporting elements that may contribute to an improvement in health markers by helping people adopt healthier lifestyles. mHealth interventions have been widely reported to achieve greater weight loss than other approaches, but their effect on body composition remains unclear. Objective: This study aimed to assess the short-term (3 months) effectiveness of a mobile app and a smart band for losing weight and changing body composition in sedentary Spanish adults who are overweight or obese. Methods: A randomized controlled, multicenter clinical trial was conducted involving the participation of 440 subjects from primary care centers, with 231 subjects in the intervention group (IG; counselling with smartphone app and smart band) and 209 in the control group (CG; counselling only). Both groups were counselled about healthy diet and physical activity. For the 3-month intervention period, the IG was trained to use a smartphone app that involved self-monitoring and tailored feedback, as well as a smart band that recorded daily physical activity (Mi Band 2, Xiaomi). Body composition was measured using the InBody 230 bioimpedance device (InBody Co., Ltd), and physical activity was measured using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Results: The mHealth intervention produced a greater loss of body weight (–1.97 kg, 95% CI –2.39 to –1.54) relative to standard counselling at 3 months (–1.13 kg, 95% CI –1.56 to –0.69). Comparing groups, the IG achieved a weight loss of 0.84 kg more than the CG at 3 months. The IG showed a decrease in body fat mass (BFM; –1.84 kg, 95% CI –2.48 to –1.20), percentage of body fat (PBF; –1.22%, 95% CI –1.82% to 0.62%), and BMI (–0.77 kg/m2, 95% CI –0.96 to 0.57). No significant changes were observed in any of these parameters in men; among women, there was a significant decrease in BMI in the IG compared with the CG. When subjects were grouped according to baseline BMI, the overweight group experienced a change in BFM of –1.18 kg (95% CI –2.30 to –0.06) and BMI of –0.47 kg/m2 (95% CI –0.80 to –0.13), whereas the obese group only experienced a change in BMI of –0.53 kg/m2 (95% CI –0.86 to –0.19). When the data were analyzed according to physical activity, the moderate-vigorous physical activity group showed significant changes in BFM of –1.03 kg (95% CI –1.74 to –0.33), PBF of –0.76% (95% CI –1.32% to –0.20%), and BMI of –0.5 kg/m2 (95% CI –0.83 to –0.19). Conclusions: The results from this multicenter, randomized controlled clinical trial study show that compared with standard counselling alone, adding a self-reported app and a smart band obtained beneficial results in terms of weight loss and a reduction in BFM and PBF in female subjects with a BMI less than 30 kg/m2 and a moderate-vigorous physical activity level. Nevertheless, further studies are needed to ensure that this profile benefits more than others from this intervention and to investigate modifications of this intervention to achieve a global effect

Assessment of plasma chitotriosidase activity, CCL18/PARC concentration and NP-C suspicion index in the diagnosis of Niemann-Pick disease type C: A prospective observational study

Background: Niemann-Pick disease type C (NP-C) is a rare, autosomal recessive neurodegenerative disease caused by mutations in either the NPC1 or NPC2 genes. The diagnosis of NP-C remains challenging due to the non-specific, heterogeneous nature of signs/symptoms. This study assessed the utility of plasma chitotriosidase (ChT) and Chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 18 (CCL18)/pulmonary and activation-regulated chemokine (PARC) in conjunction with the NP-C suspicion index (NP-C SI) for guiding confirmatory laboratory testing in patients with suspected NP-C. Methods: In a prospective observational cohort study, incorporating a retrospective determination of NP-C SI scores, two different diagnostic approaches were applied in two separate groups of unrelated patients from 51 Spanish medical centers (n = 118 in both groups). From Jan 2010 to Apr 2012 (Period 1), patients with =2 clinical signs/symptoms of NP-C were considered ''suspected NP-C'' cases, and NPC1/NPC2 sequencing, plasma chitotriosidase (ChT), CCL18/PARC and sphingomyelinase levels were assessed. Based on findings in Period 1, plasma ChT and CCL18/PARC, and NP-C SI prediction scores were determined in a second group of patients between May 2012 and Apr 2014 (Period 2), and NPC1 and NPC2 were sequenced only in those with elevated ChT and/or elevated CCL18/PARC and/or NP-C SI =70. Filipin staining and 7-ketocholesterol (7-KC) measurements were performed in all patients with NP-C gene mutations, where possible. Results: In total across Periods 1 and 2, 10/236 (4%) patients had a confirmed diagnosis o NP-C based on gene sequencing (5/118 4.2%] in each Period): all of these patients had two causal NPC1 mutations. Single mutant NPC1 alleles were detected in 8/236 (3%) patients, overall. Positive filipin staining results comprised three classical and five variant biochemical phenotypes. No NPC2 mutations were detected. All patients with NPC1 mutations had high ChT activity, high CCL18/PARC concentrations and/or NP-C SI scores =70. Plasma 7-KC was higher than control cut-off values in all patients with two NPC1 mutations, and in the majority of patients with single mutations. Family studies identified three further NP-C patients. Conclusion: This approach may be very useful for laboratories that do not have mass spectrometry facilities and therefore, they cannot use other NP-C biomarkers for diagnosis