Torulaspora delbrueckii Yeast Strains for Small-scale Chenin blanc and Pinotage Vinifications

Nine Torulaspora delbrueckii yeast strains, a commercial T. delbrueckii strain and a commercial Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast strain were used in the production of small‑scale Chenin blanc and Pinotage vinifications. The fermentations were carried out at 15°C and 24°C respectively. Four T. delbrueckii yeasts were used as single inoculants, while the remainder were inoculated sequentially. The commercial S. cerevisiae yeast strains were added at zero, 24 and 48 hours after the T. delbrueckii strain. The wines were evaluated chemically and sensorially and the data was analysed statistically. The results for the white wine vinification trial showed that two T. delbrueckii treatments could produce novel wines, either on their own or as a component of co‑inoculated fermentations. These compared well with, and even exceeded, the quality of wine produced by the S. cerevisiae reference treatment regarding chemical composition and overall sensory quality. One T. delbrueckii strain showed its robustness by being re-isolated from the yeast lees at the end of fermentation. The red wine vinifications were less conclusive, and no distinctive T. delbrueckii “fingerprint” was observed in the chemical and sensory data, neither was a pattern observed regarding the different inoculation times

Effect of Torulaspora delbrueckii Yeast on the Anthocyanin and Flavanol Concentrations of Cabernet franc and Pinotage Wines

Pinotage and Cabernet franc grape must were inoculated with Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Torulasporadelbrueckii yeasts. Differences in colour were observed between Pinotage (S. cerevisiae) and Pinotage (T.delbrueckii) wines, whereas differences in berry and herbaceous character were observed between Cabernetfranc (S. cerevisiae) and Cabernet franc (T. delbrueckii) wines. Mouthfeel properties between treatmentsfor both wines were not significantly different. Overall quality was slightly higher in wines inoculatedwith T. delbrueckii compared to wines inoculated with S. cerevisiae. Anthocyanins and flavanols measuredin Pinotage wines made with T. delbrueckii were higher compared to Pinotage must inoculated with S.cerevisiae. Cabernet franc wines made with S. cerevisiae were higher in anthocyanin glycoside and flavanolconcentrations compared to Cabernet franc wines made with T. delbrueckii. Insignificant differencesin acetylated and coumarylated anthocyanins were evident between Cabernet franc (S. cerevisiae) andCabernet franc (T. delbrueckii) wines. Principal component analysis showed that epigallocatechin gallate,epicatechin gallate, procyanidin B2, peonidin 3-O-glucoside, delphinidin 3-(6-acetyl) glucoside, petunidin3-(6-acetyl) glucoside, malvidin 3-(6-acetyl) glucoside and malvidin 3-O-glucoside concentrationswere highest in Pinotage wines inoculated with T. delbrueckii. Cabernet franc wines inoculated with S.cerevisiae yeasts were highest in malvidin 3-(6-p-coumaroyl) glucoside, petunidin 3-(6-p-coumaroyl)glucoside, petunidin 3-O-glucoside, epicatechin gallate and epigallocatechin gallate concentrations. Totalanthocyanins were highest in Pinotage (S. cerevisiae) wines and Cabernet franc (T. delbrueckii) wines.Flavanols were highest in Pinotage (T. delbrueckii) and Cabernet franc (S. cerevisiae) wines. It is evidentfrom the results that yeast species has an impact on the flavonoid concentrations within a grape variety

The role of neutrophil activation in determining the outcome of pregnancy and modulation by hormones and/or cytokines

Neutrophils are often exclusively considered as first line innate immune defence, able to rapidly kill or trap pathogens and causing in case of over activation tissue damage. In the female reproductive tract, however, the presence and activity of neutrophils seem to be tightly regulated. Major players in orchestrating this regulation are cyclical steroid sex hormones present during the menstrual cycle and pregnancy. This review describes the role of sex hormones in regulating directly or indirectly the functionality of neutrophils, the role of neutrophils during fertilisation and pregnancy and in controlling viral, fungal and bacterial infection. This review also discusses the consequence of overt neutrophil activation in pregnancy pathologies. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

Cultivares e sistemas de cultivo de cebola no verão.

O presente trabalho foi realizado em São José do Rio Pardo. com o objetivo de avaliar o comportamento de cultivares de cebola Alfa Tropical, Alfa São Francisco e Mercedes em quatro sistemas de cultivo no verão. O experimento foi conduzido no delineamento de blocos casualizados, com quatro repetições e arranjo em parcelas subdivididas. Muda's de cebola produzidas em canteiros ou em bandejas de 200 células foram transplantadas em sistema convencional e direto na palha. A interação entre sistemas de cultivo e ,cultivares foi significativa na produtividade e incidência do mal-das-sete-voltas. A produtividade total variou entre 0.7 e 55.1 t ha-1. sendo as mais baixas produtividades obtidas com a cultivar Mercedes em todos os sistemas de cultivo. Foi observado que a produtividade e a precocidade de colheita foram maiores ou a incidência do mal-das-sete-voltas menor com as mudas de bandejas/ Em geral, a produtividade ou a precocidade de colheita tenderam a aumentar com a redução do preparo do solo. O transplantio direto na palha de mudas de bandejas é uma opção viável para a produção de cebola com sustentabilidade ambiental no verão.Suplemento. Edição dos resumos expandidos do 46. Congresso Brasileiro de Olericultura, Goiânia, ago. 2006

Excessive Neutrophil Activity in Gestational Diabetes Mellitus: Could It Contribute to the Development of Preeclampsia?

Gestational diabetes mellitus is a transient form of glucose intolerance occurring during pregnancy. Pregnancies affected by gestational diabetes mellitus are at risk for the development of preeclampsia, a severe life threatening condition, associated with significant feto-maternal morbidity and mortality. It is a risk factor for long-term health in women and their offspring. Pregnancy has been shown to be associated with a subliminal degree of neutrophil activation and tightly regulated generation of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs). This response is excessive in cases with preeclampsia, leading to the presence of large numbers of NETs in affected placentae. We have recently observed that circulatory neutrophils in cases with gestational diabetes mellitus similarly exhibit an excessive pro-NETotic phenotype, and pronounced placental presence, as detected by expression of neutrophil elastase. Furthermore, exogenous neutrophil elastase liberated by degranulating neutrophils was demonstrated to alter trophoblast physiology and glucose metabolism by interfering with key signal transduction components. In this review we examine whether additional evidence exists suggesting that altered neutrophil activity in gestational diabetes mellitus may contribute to the development of preeclampsia

Excessive neutrophil activity in gestational diabetes mellitus: Could it contribute to the development of preeclampsia?

Gestational diabetes mellitus is a transient form of glucose intolerance occurring during pregnancy. Pregnancies affected by gestational diabetes mellitus are at risk for the development of preeclampsia, a severe life threatening condition, associated with significant feto-maternal morbidity and mortality. It is a risk factor for long-term health in women and their offspring. Pregnancy has been shown to be associated with a subliminal degree of neutrophil activation and tightly regulated generation of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs). This response is excessive in cases with preeclampsia, leading to the presence of large numbers of NETs in affected placentae. We have recently observed that circulatory neutrophils in cases with gestational diabetes mellitus similarly exhibit an excessive pro-NETotic phenotype, and pronounced placental presence, as detected by expression of neutrophil elastase. Furthermore, exogenous neutrophil elastase liberated by degranulating neutrophils was demonstrated to alter trophoblast physiology and glucose metabolism by interfering with key signal transduction components. In this review we examine whether additional evidence exists suggesting that altered neutrophil activity in gestational diabetes mellitus may contribute to the development of preeclampsia. © 2018 Vokalova, van Breda, Ye, Huhn, Than, Hasler, Lapaire, Hoesli, Rossi and Hahn

The ideal healthcare: priorities of people with chronic conditions and their carers

Background It is well established that health consumer opinions should be considered in the design, delivery, and evaluation of health services. However, the opinions of people with chronic conditions and their carers and what they actually consider as ideal healthcare is limited. The aim of this study is to investigate the healthcare priorities of consumers with chronic conditions and their carers, if there are differences between these two groups, and if priorities differ depending on geographical location. Methods The nominal group technique was used as a method to identify what is currently important to, or valued by, participants. This method was also particularly suited to learning about healthcare problems and generating important solutions, thereby helping to bridge the gap between research and policy. Recruitment was carried out via purposive sampling, with the assistance of community pharmacies, general practices, various health agencies, government and non-government organisations. A total of 11 nominal groups were conducted; five groups consisted predominantly of consumers (n = 33 participants), two groups consisted predominantly of carers (n = 12 participants) and four were mixed groups, i.e. consumers, carers, and both (n = 26 participants). Results The findings suggested that to create a model of ideal healthcare for people with chronic conditions and their carers, appropriate and timely healthcare access was of paramount importance. Continuity and coordinated care, patient-centred care and affordability were equally the second most important healthcare priorities for all groups. When compared with other groups, access was discussed more frequently among participants residing in the rural area of Mount Isa. Compared to consumers, carers also discussed priorities that were more reminiscent with their caring roles, such as increased access and continuity and coordinated care. Conclusions Access to healthcare is the most important priority for people with chronic conditions and their carers. In the event of inappropriate access for certain groups, all other efforts to increase the quality of healthcare delivery, e.g. patient-centred care, may be pointless. However, health professionals alone may be limited in their ability to address the concerns related to healthcare access; structural changes by health policy makers may be needed

Microvascular damage assessed by optical coherence tomography angiography for glaucoma diagnosis: a systematic review of the most discriminative regions

A growing number of studies have reported a link between vascular damage and glaucoma based on optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) imaging. This multitude of studies focused on different regions of interest (ROIs) which offers the possibility to draw conclusions on the most discriminative locations to diagnose glaucoma. The objective of this work was to review and analyse the discriminative capacity of vascular density, retrieved from different ROIs, on differentiating healthy subjects from glaucoma patients. PubMed was used to perform a systematic review on the analysis of glaucomatous vascular damage using OCTA. All studies up to 21 April 2019 were considered. The ROIs were analysed by region (macula, optic disc and peripapillary region), layer (superficial and deep capillary plexus, avascular, whole retina, choriocapillaris and choroid) and sector (according to the Garway–Heath map). The area under receiver operator characteristic curve (AUROC) and the statistical difference (p-value) were used to report the importance of each ROI for diagnosing glaucoma. From 96 screened studies, 43 were eligible for this review. Overall, the peripapillary region showed to be the most discriminative region with the highest mean AUROC (0.80 ± 0.09). An improvement of the AUROC from this region is observed when a sectorial analysis is performed, with the highest AUROCs obtained at the inferior and superior sectors of the superficial capillary plexus in the peripapillary region (0.86 ± 0.03 and 0.87 ± 0.10, respectively). The presented work shows that glaucomatous vascular damage can be assessed using OCTA, and its added value as a complementary feature for glaucoma diagnosis depends on the region of interest. A sectorial analysis of the superficial layer at the peripapillary region is preferable for assessing glaucomatous vascular damage