La Deumidificazione su piccola scala dei frutti di fico

Niedda longa fig fruits (Ficus carica L.) were dried by dehumidification. Fruits were divided in two different size groups, and dried for 120 h (A) or 96 h (B) in a room (8.5 m3), in which 30.5°C-32.0°C of temperature and 34-40% of relative humidity were held by a small dehumidifier (29 kg weight). The lots A and B reached respectively 79.3±0.88% and 69.6±4.74% of dry matter content, at the end of the process. Following drying, fruits were sprayed with a potassium sorbate solution, then film packaged in air or in modified atmosphere and transferred at 20 °C to simulate shelf life. Lot A fruits were the most similar for chemical composition to imported dried figs. However, neither lot A nor B substantially differed, after 3 months of shelf life, for external-total count of yeasts, moulds and bacteria from the purchased fruits. Thus, the combination between dehumidification and potassium-sorbate treatment may allow for safe dried figs to be obtained. Si riferisce su una prova di essiccazione per deumidificazione di frutti di fico (Ficus carica L.) della cv "Niedda longa". I frutti, separati in due lotti differenti per il peso, venivano essiccati per 120 h (A) o 96 h (B), con un deumidificatore, di 29 kg di peso, che manteneva i valori di temperatura e di umidità relativa di un ambiente di 8,5 m3, rispettivamente tra 30,5°-32,0°C e 34-40%. I lotti A e B rispettivamente, al termine dell'essiccazione, avevano un contenuto di sostanza secca del 79,3±0,88% e del 69,6±4,74%. Alla fine i frutti venivano trattati con potassio sorbato, confezionati anche in regime di atmosfera modificata e conservati per 3 mesi a 20°C. Il lotto A era il più simile, per composizione chimica, ai fichi secchi d'importazione. Comunque, per quanto riguarda le conte di lieviti, muffe e batteri epifitici, entrmabi i lotti non presentavano differenze degne di nota, rispetto ai fichi d'importazione. Sembra pertanto che l'abbinamento tra deumidificazione e trattamento con potassio sorbato permetta di produrre fichi essiccati stabili nel tempo

Serum Albumin Is Inversely Associated With Portal Vein Thrombosis in Cirrhosis

We analyzed whether serum albumin is independently associated with portal vein thrombosis (PVT) in liver cirrhosis (LC) and if a biologic plausibility exists. This study was divided into three parts. In part 1 (retrospective analysis), 753 consecutive patients with LC with ultrasound-detected PVT were retrospectively analyzed. In part 2, 112 patients with LC and 56 matched controls were entered in the cross-sectional study. In part 3, 5 patients with cirrhosis were entered in the in vivo study and 4 healthy subjects (HSs) were entered in the in vitro study to explore if albumin may affect platelet activation by modulating oxidative stress. In the 753 patients with LC, the prevalence of PVT was 16.7%; logistic analysis showed that only age (odds ratio [OR], 1.024; P = 0.012) and serum albumin (OR, -0.422; P = 0.0001) significantly predicted patients with PVT. Analyzing the 112 patients with LC and controls, soluble clusters of differentiation (CD)40-ligand (P = 0.0238), soluble Nox2-derived peptide (sNox2-dp; P < 0.0001), and urinary excretion of isoprostanes (P = 0.0078) were higher in patients with LC. In LC, albumin was correlated with sCD4OL (Spearman's rank correlation coefficient [r(s)], -0.33; P < 0.001), sNox2-dp (r(s), -0.57; P < 0.0001), and urinary excretion of isoprostanes (r(s), -0.48; P < 0.0001) levels. The in vivo study showed a progressive decrease in platelet aggregation, sNox2-dp, and urinary 8-iso prostaglandin F2 alpha-III formation 2 hours and 3 days after albumin infusion. Finally, platelet aggregation, sNox2-dp, and isoprostane formation significantly decreased in platelets from HSs incubated with scalar concentrations of albumin. Conclusion: Low serum albumin in LC is associated with PVT, suggesting that albumin could be a modulator of the hemostatic system through interference with mechanisms regulating platelet activation

Is geo-environmental exposure a risk factor for multiple sclerosis? A population-based cross-sectional study in South-Western Sardinia

BACKGROUND: South-Western Sardinia (SWS) is a high risk area for Multiple Sclerosis (MS) with high prevalence and spatial clustering; its population is genetically representative of Sardinians and presents a peculiar environment. We evaluated the MS environmental risk of specific heavy metals (HM) and geographical factors such as solar UV exposure and urbanization by undertaking a population-based cross-sectional study in SWS. METHODS: Geochemical data on HM, UV exposure, urbanization and epidemiological MS data were available for all SWS municipalities. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was applied to the geochemical data to reduce multicollinearity and confounding criticalities. Generalized Linear Mixed Models (GLMM) were applied to evaluate the causal effects of the potential risk factors, and a model selection was performed using Akaike Information Criterion. RESULTS: The PCA revealed that copper (Cu) does not cluster, while two component scores were extracted: 'basic rocks', including cobalt, chromium and nickel, and 'ore deposits', including lead and zinc. The selected multivariable GLMM highlighted Cu and sex as MS risk factors, adjusting for age and 'ore deposits'. When the Cu concentration increases by 50 ppm, the MS odds are 2.827 (95% CI:1.645; 5.07) times higher; females have a MS odds 2.04 times (95% CI: 1.59; 2.60) higher than males. CONCLUSIONS: The high frequency of MS in industrialized countries, where pollution by HM and CO poisoning is widespread, suggests a relationship between environmental exposure to metals and MS. Hence, we suggested a role of Cu homeostasis in MS. This is a preliminary study aimed at generating hypotheses that will need to be confirmed further