NMR profiling of grape musts from some Italian regions

With wine fraud, being a widespread problem [1], the need for more sophisticated and precise analytical methods of its detection remains ever persistent. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy has been widely used for analysis of wine in recent years [2,3], but wine musts were much less studied; in fact, only one paper dealt with the NMR spectra of actual musts [4]. Difficulties arise mostly because grape musts are “live” objects, which undergo rapid fermentation at room temperature, if not inhibited either by freezing or chemical preservative; but even such measures are not sufficient to halt it completely [5]. We have investigated over 300 samples of grape must from 17 of 20 different Italian regions using 1H NMR spectroscopy with water signal suppression, postprocessing in the MatLab software with dynamic alignment [6] and optimized binning [7] to alleviate the effect of fermentation on the chemical shifts of mobile protons. After that, multivariate statistics was performed with techniques such as PCA, PLS-DA and OPLS-DA with respect to various group parameters such as regions, vitivinicultural zones, harvest periods and grape varieties. Advantages and drawbacks of each method were addresse

Epigenetic therapies for heart failure: Current insights and future potential

Despite the current reductionist approach providing an optimal indication for diagnosis and treatment of patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), there are no standard pharmacological therapies for heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). Although in its infancy in cardiovascular diseases, the epigenetic-based therapy (“epidrugs”) is capturing the interest of physician community. In fact, an increasing number of controlled clinical trials is evaluating the putative beneficial effects of: 1) direct epigenetic-oriented drugs, eg, apabetalone, and 2) repurposed drugs with a possible indirect epigenetic interference, eg, metformin, statins, sodium glucose transporter inhibitors 2 (SGLT2i), and omega 3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in both HFrEF and HFpEF, separately. Apabetalone is the first and unique direct epidrug tested in cardiovascular patients to date, and the BETonMACE trial has reported a reduction in first HF hospitalization (any EF value) and cardiovascular death in patients with type 2 diabetes and recent acute coronary syndrome, suggesting a possible role in secondary prevention. Patients with HFpEF seem to benefit from supplementation to the standard therapy with statins, metformin, and SGLT2i owing to their ability in reducing mortality. In contrast, the vasodilator hydralazine, with or without isosorbide dinitrate, did not provide beneficial effects. In HFrEF, metformin and SGLT2i could reduce the risk of incident HF and mortality in affected patients whereas clinical trials based on statins provided mixed results. Furthermore, PUFAs diet supplementation was significantly associated with reduced cardiovascular risk in both HFpEF and HFrEF. Future large trials will reveal whether direct and indirect epitherapy will remain a work in progress or become a useful way to customize the therapy in the real-world management of HFpEF and HFrEF. Our goal is to discuss the recent advancement in the epitherapy as a possible way to improve personalized therapy of HF

Multidimensional natal isotopic niches refect migratory patterns in birds

7openInternationalBothNaturally occurring stable isotope ratios in animal tissues allow estimation of species trophic position and ecological niche. Measuring multiple isotopes of migratory species along flyway bottlenecks offers the opportunity to sample multiple populations and species whose tissues carry information at continental scales. We measured δ2H, δ18O, δ13C, δ15N in juvenile feathers of 21 bird species captured at a migratory bottleneck in the Italian Alps. We examined if trends in individual isotopes reflected known migratory strategies and whether dietary (δ13C–δ15N) and spatially-explicit breeding origin (δ2H–δ18O) niche breadth (NB) differed among long-distance trans-Saharan (TS), short-distance (IP) and irruptive (IR) intra-Palearctic migrants, and whether they correlated with reported populations long-term trends. In both TS and IP groups, species δ2H declined with capture date, indicating that northern populations reached the stopover site later in the season, following a Type-I migration strategy. Values of δ2H indicated that breeding range of TS migrants extended farther north than IP and IR migrants. The breeding season was longer for IP migrants whose δ13C and δ15N values declined and increased, respectively, with time of capture. Average species dietary NB did not differ among migratory groups, but TS migrants displayed wider breeding origin niches, suggesting that long-distant migration is linked to broader ecological niches. Isotope origin NB well reflected species geographic range extent, while dietary NB did not correlate with literature accounts of species’ diet. We found no relationship between species breeding NB and population trends in Europe, suggesting that conditions in the breeding grounds, as inferred by stable isotopes, are not the only determinant of species’ long-term persistence. We demonstrate that ringing activities and isotopic measurements of passerines migrating through a bottleneck represents a unique opportunity to investigate large-scale life-history phenomena relevant to conservation.openFranzoi, A.; Larsen, S.; Franceschi, P.; Hobson, K. A.; Pedrini, P.; Camin, F.; Bontempo, L.Franzoi, A.; Larsen, S.; Franceschi, P.; Hobson, K.A.; Pedrini, P.; Camin, F.; Bontempo, L

Aromatic characterization of Moscato Giallo by GC-MS/MS and stable isotopic ratio analysis of the major volatile compounds

Among the Moscato grapes, Moscato Giallo is a winegrape variety characterized by a highcontent of free and glycosylated monoterpenoids, which gives very aromatic wines. Thearomatic bouquet of Moscato Giallo is strongly influenced by the high concentration of linalool, geraniol, linalool oxides, limonene, α-terpineol, citronellol, HO-trienol, HO-diols, 8-Hydroxylinalool, geranic acid and β-myrcene, that give citrus, rose, and peach notes. Except the quali-quantitative analysis, no investigations regarding the isotopic values of the target volatile compounds are documented in literature. Stable isotope ratio analysis represents a modern and powerful tool used by the laboratories responsible for official consumer protection, for the food quality and genuineness assessment. In this study, samples of Moscato Giallo were collected during the harvest season in 2019 from two Italian regions:Trentino – Alto Adige and Veneto, known lands for the cultivation of this aromatic variety. The flavor compounds were extracted from grapes and wines, after alcoholic fermentation of grape juice, and analysed by GC-MS/MS. The results confirmed the presence of typical terpenoids both in free and glycosylated form, responsible for the characteristic aroma of Moscato Giallo variety. The aromatic compounds were also analysed by GC-C\Py-IRMS for a preliminary investigation. The compound-specific isotope ratio analysis allowed to determine the carbon (δ13C) and hydrogen (δ2H) isotopic signatures of the major volatile compounds for the first time

The influence of dietary conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) on serum leptin concentration in lactating sows

CLA may be useful in sow nutrition to increase CLA content in colostrum and milk (Bee, 2000). However CLA fed animals displayed also significantly reduced body fat (Pariza et al., 2001) and this effect may be detrimental to reproductive efficiency in sows per se and for the effects on metabolic hormones as well. Moreover some CLA isomers has been reported to influence leptin gene expression (Houseknacht et al., 1998). The present study examined the effects of dietary supplement of CLA on serum leptin in lactating sows. Conclusions: These results indicate that dietary CLA does not influence feed intake and body condition in lactating sows. By these results it does not seem that circulating leptin in lactating sows may be related to body weight and body condition as established in humans and rodents. Further research could explain if the higher leptin level in CLA fed sows is due to changes in leptin gene expression or in leptin clearance as well

Blood use in liver transplantation

During the first 5 years (1981–1985) of the liver transplantation program in Pittsburgh, a total (preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative) of 18,668 packed red cell units, 23,627 fresh‐frozen plasma units, 20,590 platelet units, and 4241 cryoprecipitate units was transfused for the procedures. This represents 3 to 9 percent of the total of blood products supplied by the Central Blood Bank to its 32 member hospitals. Six hundred thirty‐six (636) transplants were performed on 485 patients in two hospitals: the Presbyterian University Hospital (564 beds) and Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh (236 beds). All of the blood components used in the operations were procured and released by the Central Blood Bank. This report describes some of these findings. 1987 AAB