Pulsed electric field processing of red grapes (cv. Rondinella): Modifications of phenolic fraction and effects on wine evolution

Pulsed electric field (PEF) is a non-thermal technology able to promote color and polyphenols extraction from grape skins. Most of the publications about PEF in winemaking report data concerning international varieties, poorly considering minor cultivars and the medium/long-term effects of the treatment on wine composition during storage. PEF was applied at different specific energies (2, 10, and 20 kJ kg\u20131) on grapes of the low-color red cv. Rondinella, after crushing-destemming. Pressing yield, the evolution of color, and total phenolic index (TPI) were measured during skin maceration. Moreover, the wines were characterized for basic compositional parameters, color, anthocyanin profile, phenolic composition (glories indices), metal content (Fe, Cr, and Ni), and sensory characters, two and twelve months after the processing, in comparison with untreated samples and pectolytic enzymes (PE). PEF did not affect fermentation evolution, nor did it modify wine basic composition or metal content. Treatments at 10 and 20 kJ kg\u20131 led to higher color and TPI in wines, in comparison to PE, because of increased content of anthocyanins and tannins. The sensory evaluation confirmed these findings. Modifications remained stable in wines after twelve months. Glories indices and vitisin A content highlighted greater potential stability of wine color in PEF-treated wines

Survival-related autophagic activity versus procalcific death in cultured aortic valve interstitial cells treated with critical normophosphatemic-like phosphate concentrations

Valve dystrophic calcification is a common disorder affecting normophosphatemic subjects. Here, cultured aortic valve interstitial cells (AVICs) were treated 3 to 28 days with phosphate (Pi) concentrations spanning the normal range in humans (0.8, 1.3, and 2.0 mM) alone or supplemented with proinflammatory stimuli to assess possible priming of dystrophic-like calcification. Compared with controls, spectrophotometric analyses revealed marked increases in calcium amounts and alkaline phosphatase activity for 2.0-mM-Pi-containing cultures, with enhancing by proinflammatory mediators. Ultrastructurally, AVICs treated with low/middle Pi concentrations showed an enormous endoplasmic reticulum (ER) enclosing organelle debris, so apparently executing a survival-related atypical macroautophagocytosis, consistently with ultracytochemical demonstration of ER-associated acid phosphatase activity and decreases in autophagosomes and immunodetectable MAP1LC3. In contrast, AVICs cultured at 2.0-mM Pi underwent mineralization due to intracellular release and peripheral layering of phospholipid-rich material acting as hydroxyapatite nucleator, as revealed by Cuprolinic Blue and von Kossa ultracytochemical reactions. Lack of immunoblotted caspase-3 cleaved form indicated apoptosis absence for all cultures. In conclusion, fates of cultured AVICs were crucially driven by Pi concentration, suggesting that serum Pi levels just below the upper limit of normophosphatemia in humans may represent a critical watershed between macroautophagy-associated cell restoring and procalcific cell death

On L_p- theory for stochastic parabolic integro-differential equations

The existence and uniqueness in fractional Sobolev spaces of the Cauchy problem to a stochastic parabolic integro-differential equation is investigated. A model problem with coefficients independent of space variable is considered. The equation arises, for example, in a filtering problem with a jump signal and jump observation process

Higher testosterone serum levels are associated with a higher childbirth in patients treated for testicular cancer

Aim of our study was to assess fertility of patients treated with orchifunicolectomy for testicular cancer. A retrospective analysis of patients undergoing orchifunicolectomy for testicular cancer was conducted in three centers from 2000 to 2019. Demographic, clinical and histological characteristics of the patients were recorded. Adjuvant treatments were recorded. Number of pregnancies, number of children, cryopreservation, in vitro fertilization were recorded as well as postoperative testosterone serum level. Risk factors for pregnancy were evaluated. Univariate and multivariate analysis were performed to evaluate factors influencing pregnancy rates

Estimating channel-induced distortion in H.264/AVC video without bitstream information

ABSTRACT No-reference video quality monitoring algorithms typically assume the availability of the encoded bitstream in order to assess the quality of the received signal at the decoder side. In some situations this is not possible, e.g. because the bitstream is encrypted or processed by third party decoders. Thus no-reference quality monitoring must be carried out in a blind way, i.e. using only pixel-domain data output by the decoder. In this paper we target this scenario for the specific case of distortion introduced by channel losses. We estimate the missing coding parameters, as well as the channel error pattern, and feed them into a no-reference quality monitoring system which produces accurate estimates of the MSE distortion. The results produced by the proposed method are well correlated (linear correlation coefficient larger than 0.8 over a wide range of packet loss rates) with the distortion computed in full-reference mode

Individual empowerment in overweight and obese patients: a study protocol.

ABSTRACT Introduction: Obesity is a growing health problem in Europe and it causes many diseases. Many weightreducing methods are reported in medical literature, but none of them proved to be effective in maintaining the results achieved over time. Self-empowerment can be an important innovative method, but an effectiveness study is necessary. In order to standardise the procedures for a randomised controlled study, a pilot study will be run to observe, measure and evaluate the effects of a period of selfempowerment group treatment on overweight/obese patients. Methods: and analysis Non-controlled, experimental, pilot study. A selected group of patients with body mass index >25, with no severe psychiatric disorders, with no aesthetic or therapeutic motivation will be included in the study. A set of quantitative and qualitative measures will be utilised to evaluate the effects of a self-empowerment course in a 12 month time. Group therapy and medical examinations will also complete this observational phase. At the end of this pilot study, a set of appropriate measures and procedures to determine the effectiveness of individual empowerment will be identified and agreed among the different professional figures. Results will be recorded and analysed to start a randomised controlled trial to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed methodology. Ethics and dissemination: This protocol was approved by the local Ethics Committee of Udine in March 2012. The findings of the trial will be disseminated through peer-reviewed journals, national and international conference presentations and public events involving the local administrations of the towns where the trial participants are resident. Trial Registration: http://www.clinicalstrials.gov identifier NCT0164470

Effect of vacation on urinary symptoms in healthcare workers. An Italian multicenter study

Aim of our study was to assess the impact of vacation on urinary symptoms in health care workers. Between March 2018 to October 2019 a survey was carried out by enrolling health care system workers in three centers. Demographic and clinical characteristics of health care workers (i.e. age, smoking status, medical history) were collected. Urinary symptoms work related quality of life and health were assessed before and after two weeks’ vacation with validated questionnaires: Overactive Bladder Questionnaire Short Form (OABqsf), nocturia episodes,Work-relatedQuality of Life (WRQOL) and SF-36 questionnaires. As well, NS workers (NSWs), defined as working at least one time aweek from 8 pmto 8 am,were compared to traditional workers (TWs). Wilcoxon rank test was performed to test significant differences before and after vacation. Mann Whitney test was performed to assess differences between NSWs and TWs

An aquarium hobbist poisoning: Identification of new palytoxins in Palythoa cf. toxica and complete detoxification of the aquarium water by activated carbon

Palytoxin (PLTX) is a lethal natural toxin often found in Palythoa zoantharians that, together with its congeners, may induce adverse effects in humans after inhalation of toxic aerosols both in open-air and domestic environments, namely in the vicinity of public and private aquaria. In this study, we describe a poisoning of an aquarium hobbyist who was hospitalized after handling a PLTXs-containing zoantharian hexacoral. Furthermore, we provide evidence for water detoxification. The zoantharian was morphologically and genetically identified as Palythoa cf. toxica (Cnidaria: Anthozoa). Palytoxin itself and two new PLTX congeners, a hydroxyPLTX and a deoxyPLTX, were detected and structurally identified by liquid chromatography high resolution multiple stage mass spectrometry (LC-HRMSn, n = 1, 2). Total and individual toxins were quantified by LC-HRMS and sandwich ELISA both in the zoantharian (93.4 and 96.80 \u3bcg/g, respectively) and in the transport water (48.3 and 42.56 \u3bcg/mL, respectively), with an excellent mean bias of 1.3% between the techniques. Activated carbon adsorbed 99.7% of PLTXs contained in the seawater and this represents a good strategy for preventing aquarium hobbyist poisonings