Evaluation of an active yeast propagation system on fermentation traits and quality of C.V. Carmenère wine

Active dry yeasts (ADY, Saccharomyces cerevisiae) are widely used in oenology due to their potential benefits on the control of fermentation and quality reproducibility among other aspects. On the other hand, yeast propagation systems, so called Active Yeast Systems (AYS), can be useful to optimize the alcoholic fermentation (AF) initial lag phase and reduce production costs. The objective of this work was to determine the predominance of an ADY strain propagated by AYS and the impact of this inoculum on cv. Carmenère wine quality. Lalvin ICV D21 ADY strain was inoculate according to the protocol recommended by the manufacturer (T0), and in parallel, it was propagate by the AYS and then used as inoculum (T1). Yeast strain predominance analyzed by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) technique indicates that nine (out of 9) yeast colonies obtained from a single sample of the ADY, show the same electrophoretic pattern when compared to the ADY. The results show limited significant differences for the fermentation speed and the yeast cell counting. The result of the physicochemical analysis of the musts and resulting wines showed no significant differences between treatments. A triangular test showed no significant sensory differences between wine

Synthesis and luminescence properties of electrodeposited ZnO Films

ZnO films have been grown on gold (111) by electrodeposition using two different OH- sources, nitrate and peroxide, in order to obtain a comparative study between these films. The morphology, structural and optical characterization of the films were investigated depending on the solution used (nitrate and peroxide) and the applied potential. Scanning Electron Microscopy pictures show different morphologies in each case. X-Ray Diffraction confirms that the films are pure ZnO oriented along the (0002) direction. ZnO films have been studied by photoluminescence to identify the emission of defects in the visible range. A consistent model that explains the emissions for the different electrodeposited ZnO films is proposed. We have associated the green and yellow emissions to a transition from the donor OH- to the acceptor zinc vacancies (VZn-) and to interstitial oxygen (Oi0), respectively. The orange-red emission is probably due to transitions from the conducting band to Oi- and OZn 0 defects and the infrared emission to transition from these Oi -/2- and OZn 0/- defects to the valence band.Comment: 17 pages, 1 Table and 10 figure

Implementing a privacy-enhanced attribute-based credential system for online social networks with co-ownership management

Online social network (OSN) users are exhibiting an increased privacy-protective behaviour especially since multimedia sharing has emerged as a popular activity over most OSN sites. Popular OSN applications could reveal much of the users' personal information or let it easily derived, hence favouring different types of misbehaviour. In this article the authors deal with these privacy concerns by applying fine-grained access control and co-ownership management over the shared data. This proposal defines access policy as any linear boolean formula that is collectively determined by all users being exposed in that data collection namely the co-owners. All co-owners are empowered to take part in the process of data sharing by expressing (secretly) their privacy preferences and, as a result, jointly agreeing on the access policy. Access policies are built upon the concept of secret sharing systems. A number of predicates such as gender, affiliation or postal code can define a particular privacy setting. User attributes are then used as predicate values. In addition, by the deployment of privacy-enhanced attribute-based credential technologies, users satisfying the access policy will gain access without disclosing their real identities. The authors have implemented this system as a Facebook application demonstrating its viability, and procuring reasonable performance costs

Early to mid-Holocene spatiotemporal vegetation changes and tsunami impact in a paradigmatic coastal transitional system (Doñana National Park, southwestern Europe)

Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, Spanish National Park Autonomous Organism, Ministry of Natural, Rural and Marine Environment and Fundación Sénec

Relationship between the Sensory-Determined Astringency and the Flavanolic Composition of Red Wines

[EN] The relationship between the proanthocyanidin profile and the perceived astringency was assessed in 13 commercial Tempranillo red wines. The concentration and compositional information were obtained by liquid chromatography with diode array detection coupled to electrospray ionization mass spectrometry after acid-catalyzed depolymerization of wine proanthocyanidins in the presence of excess phloroglucinol. Statistical analysis of the results showed significant correlations between sensory and chemical determinations. Astringency was more affected by the subunit composition than by the total concentration or the average degree of polymerization of wine proanthocyanidins. Higher proportions of epicatechin (EC) subunits in extension positions and gallocatechin (GC) subunits in terminal positions were shown to increase astringency. On the contrary, the amount of epigallocatechin (EGC) in both extension and terminal positions was negatively correlated with the perceived astringency

Zileuton™ loaded in polymer micelles effectively reduce breast cancer circulating tumor cells and intratumoral cancer stem cells

Tumor recurrence, metastatic spread and progressive gain of chemo-resistance of advanced cancers are sustained by the presence of cancer stem cells (CSCs) within the tumor. Targeted therapies with the aim to eradicate these cells are thus highly regarded. However, often the use of new anti-cancer therapies is hampered by pharmacokinetic demands. Drug delivery through nanoparticles has great potential to increase efficacy and reduce toxicity and adverse effects. However, its production has to be based on intelligent design. Likewise, we developed polymeric nanoparticles loaded with Zileuton™, a potent inhibitor of cancer stem cells (CSCs), which was chosen based on high throughput screening. Its great potential for CSCs treatment was subsequently demonstrated in in vitro and in in vivo CSC fluorescent models. Encapsulated Zileuton™ reduces amount of CSCs within the tumor and effectively blocks the circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in the blood stream and metastatic spread

Pharmacovigilance in children in Camagüey Province, Cuba

Purpose: Our aim was to describe the adverse drug reactions (ADRs) detected following increased education about pharmacovigilance and drug toxicity in children in Camagüey Province, Cuba. Methods: Over a period of 24 months (January 2009 to December 2010), all reports of suspected ADRs in children to the Provincial Pharmacovigilance Centre in Camagüey Province were analysed. ADRs were classified in relation to causality and severity. Results: There were 533 reports involving suspected ADRs in children in the period. Almost one third of the reports received were classified as moderate (155, 29%) or severe (10, 2%). There was one fatality in association with the use of ceftriaxone. Vaccines and antibiotics were responsible for most of the ADR reports (392, 74%) and for all ten severe ADRs. After an intensive educational package, both within the community and the Children’s Hospital, the number of reports increased from 124 in 2008 to 161 in 2009 and 372 in 2010. This was equivalent to a reporting rate of 879 and 2,031 reports per million children per year for 2009 and 2010, respectively. Conclusions: The incidence of ADRs in children Camagüey Province, Cuba, is greater than previously reported. An educational intervention about pharmacovigilance and drug toxicity in children can improve the reporting of ADRs