The use of carboxymethylcellulose for the tartaric stabilization of white wines, in comparison with other oenological additives

The aim of this study was to test the effectiveness of two types of carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), at different doses, for the prevention of tartaric precipitations in two white wines (Pinot Blanc and Chardonnay), in comparison with metatartaric acid and a commercial arabic gum. After the addition of the additives to the wines, the mini-contact test was carried out and the saturation temperature was determined by Ridomi’s method. The determination of the saturation temperature was then repeated on the same trials kept at -4 °C for 10 days. Both kinds of CMC caused a significant decrease in tartaric precipitations induced by the addition of potassium bitartrate (KHT) (mini-contact test), by limiting the growth of the added KHT crystals. Their effectiveness increased with the dose, following a hyperbolic trend. The stabilizing effect of the two kinds of CMC, particularly CMC2 (more viscous), was similar to the one of metatartaric acid. Their use must be considered complementary to the cold treatment (chillproofing).

Assessment of in‐situ gelling microemulsion systems upon temperature and dilution condition for corneal delivery of bevacizumab

Bevacizumab (BVZ), a recombinant humanized monoclonal antibody, has recently been proposed as a topical application in the treatment of anterior segment neovascularization; however, as there are some disadvantages in the administration of common eye-drops, ophthalmic topical drug delivery systems are under study to improve the precorneal residence time, reducing the frequency of administration. In this work, oil-in-water and water-in-oil BVZ-loaded microemulsions are developed, able to increase their viscosity, either by the formation of a liquid-crystalline structure upon aqueous dilution, thanks to the presence of Epikuron® 200 and polysorbate 80, or by body-temperature-induced jellification for the presence of Pluronic® F127 aqueous solution as an external phase. In oil-in-water microemulsion, hydrophobic ion pairs of BVZ were also prepared, and their incorporation was determined by release studies. Microemulsions were characterized for rheological behavior, corneal opacity, in vitro corneal permeation, and adhesion properties. The studied microemulsions were able to incorporate BVZ (from 1.25 to 1.6 mg/mL), which maintained dose-dependent activity on retinal pigment epithelial ARPE-19 cell lines. BVZ loaded in microemulsions permeated the excised cornea easier (0.76–1.56% BVZ diffused, 4–20% BVZ accumulated) than BVZ commercial solution (0.4% BVZ diffused, 5% accumulated) and only a mild irritation effect on the excised cornea was observed. The good adhesion properties as well the increased viscosity after application, under conditions that mimic the corneal environment (from 1 × 103 to more than 100 × 103 mPa·s), might prolong precorneal residence time, proving these systems could be excellent topical BVZ release systems

Historias del Centro de Investigaciones Ecólogicas Subtropicales (CIES): el valor de las estaciones biológicas

El CIES es el Centro de Investigaciones Ecológicas Subtropicales dependiente de la Di- rección Regional NEA de la Administración de Parques Nacionales, ubicado en el Parque Nacional Iguazú, Misiones, corazón del último gran remanente del bosque atlántico que en nuestro país denominamos selva misionera. El CIES recibe investigadores autorizados para desarrollar proyectos de investigación dentro del Parque y sus alrededores, brindan- do alojamiento y espacio de trabajo, permitiendo, de este modo, trabajar directamente en la selva sin renunciar a las comodidades y servicios esenciales que la investigación científica requiere. La misión del CIES es: incentivar y brindar apoyo para desarrollar investigaciones científicas en todos aquellos campos que realicen aportes concretos a la conservación y gestión de las áreas naturales protegidas en el subtrópico, con especial énfasis en la biología de conservación de la región NEA

Comparison of a possession score and a poverty index in predicting anaemia and undernutrition in pre-school children and women of reproductive age in rural and urban Côte d'Ivoire

Abstract Objective To determine whether a possession score or a poverty index best predicts undernutrition and anaemia in women of reproductive age (15-49 years; WRA) and children aged 6-59 months living in Côte d'Ivoire. Design Anthropometric measurements were converted to Z-scores to assess stunting, wasting and underweight in children, and converted to BMI in WRA. A venous blood sample was drawn, and Hb concentration and Plasmodium spp. infection were determined. A possession score was generated with categories of zero to four possessions. A five-point (quintile) poverty index using household assets was created using principal component analysis. These socio-economic measures were compared for their ability to predict anaemia and malnutrition. Setting Data were from a nationally representative survey conducted in Côte d'Ivoire in 2007. Subjects A sample of 768 WRA and 717 children aged 6-59 months was analysed. Results Overall, 74·9 % of children and 50·2 % of WRA were anaemic; 39·5 % of the children were stunted, 28·1 % underweight and 12·8 % wasted, while 7·4 % of WRA had BMI < 18·5 kg/m2. In general, there were more stunted and underweight children and thin WRA in rural areas. The poverty index showed a stronger relationship with nutritional status than the possession score; mean Hb difference between the poorest and wealthiest quintiles in children and WRA was 8·2 g/l and 6·5 g/l, respectively (13·9 % and 19·8 % difference in anaemia, respectively; P < 0·001), and Z-scores and BMI were significantly better in the wealthiest quintile (P < 0·001). Conclusions The poverty index was generally a better predictor of undernutrition in WRA and pre-school children than the possession scor

Ferramentas computacionais de apoio às boas práticas de manejo de tilápia.

A piscicultura brasileira cresce cerca de 30% ao ano, por tratar-se de fonte de proteína de alta qualidade e pela lucratividade. De origem africana, a tilapicultura está presente hoje em grande parte do território nacional, mas ainda sofrendo as pressões para a maior qualidade do produto e adoção de práticas menos impactantes ao ambiente. Entre alguns desses impactos citam-se as poluição e interferências em níveis de biodiversidade e de qualidade da água. Assim, o produtor carece de informação e ferramentas que favoreçam a rápida transferência de práticas já identificadas pela pesquisa, que aumentem seu conhecimento e agilidade na incorporação destas às atividades da propriedade. O projeto "Manejo e Gestão Ambiental da Aqüicultura" da Embrapa Meio Ambiente, componente do projeto em rede Aquabrasil, vem identificando Boas Práticas de Manejo (BPM) de tilápia passíveis de uso imediato pelo produtor a partir de sua rápida observação da propriedade. Nele, o sistema informatizado Aquisys está em desenvolvimento para vialibizar o acesso dinâmico, via web, às avaliações e indicadores de produção, manejo e qualidade de água em atenção às BPM. Este trabalho apresenta duas de suas ferramentas computacionais desenvolvidas para tilápia: a) um sistema especialista de rápida avaliação de BPM na propriedade (em linguagem CLIPS); e b) um programa para determinar a %ração e %proteína bruta a ser oferecida, considerando os pesos dos peixes e temperatura local (em linguagens PHP e HTML)

Human Cryptic Host Defence Peptide GVF27 Exhibits Anti-Infective Properties against Biofilm Forming Members of the Burkholderia cepacia Complex

Therapeutic solutions to counter Burkholderia cepacia complex (Bcc) bacteria are challenging due to their intrinsically high level of antibiotic resistance. Bcc organisms display a variety of potential virulence factors, have a distinct lipopolysaccharide naturally implicated in antimicrobial resistance. and are able to form biofilms, which may further protect them from both host defence peptides (HDPs) and antibiotics. Here, we report the promising anti-biofilm and immunomodulatory activities of human HDP GVF27 on two of the most clinically relevant Bcc members, Burkholderia multivorans and Burkholderia cenocepacia. The effects of synthetic and labelled GVF27 were tested on B. cenocepacia and B. multivorans biofilms, at three different stages of formation, by confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). Assays on bacterial cultures and on human monocytes challenged with B. cenocepacia LPS were also performed. GVF27 exerts, at different stages of formation, anti-biofilm effects towards both Bcc strains, a significant propensity to function in combination with ciprofloxacin, a relevant affinity for LPSs isolated from B. cenocepacia as well as a good propensity to mitigate the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines in human cells pre-treated with the same endotoxin. Overall, all these findings contribute to the elucidation of the main features that a good therapeutic agent directed against these extremely leathery biofilm-forming bacteria should possess

Cytotoxicity of an innovative pressurised cyclic solid–liquid (Pcsl) extract from artemisia annua

Therapeutic treatments with Artemisia annua have a long-established tradition in various diseases due to its antibacterial, antioxidant, antiviral, anti-malaria and anti-cancer effects. However, in relation to the latter, virtually all reports focused on toxic effects of A. annua extracts were obtained mostly through conventional maceration methods. In the present study, an innovative extraction procedure from A. annua, based on pressurised cyclic solid–liquid (PCSL) extraction, resulted in the production of a new phytocomplex with enhanced anti-cancer properties. This extraction procedure generated a pressure gradient due to compressions and following decompressions, allowing to directly perform the extraction without any maceration. The toxic effects of A. annua PCSL extract were tested on different cells, including three cancer cell lines. The results of this study clearly indicate that the exposure of human, murine and canine cancer cells to serial dilutions of PCSL extract resulted in higher toxicity and stronger propensity to induce apoptosis than that detected by subjecting the same cells to Artemisia extracts obtained through canonical extraction by maceration. Collected data suggest that PCSL extract of A. annua could be a promising and economic new therapeutic tool to treat human and animal tumours

Modellazione e sincronizzazione del processo di taglio della vergella in acciaio con cesoia volante

L’innovazione di laminatoi per la produzione della vergella in acciaio vede nell’incremento della velocità di taglio e di avvolgimento del prodotto un obiettivo per il successo. Esso deve essere contemperato, però, con la necessità di garantire qualità e sicurezza. La cesoia volante ‘High Speed Shear’ automatizza il processo, sincronizzando il taglio con lo smistamento del prodotto verso l’avvolgitore o la rottamazione, su due canali distinti. L’elevata velocità rende cruciale la predizione del comportamento dinamico della vergella, per evitare che essa, vibrando, urti il setto separatore posto tra i due canali. In assenza di approcci in letteratura, questo lavoro presenta un processo di modellazione della macchina, a corpi rigidi e flessibili, in ambiente multi–body dynamics, validato e calibrato per mezzo di riprese filmate sull’impianto che ha ottenuto il record di velocità

Phenolic profile and biological activity of table grapes (Vitis vinifera L.)

Table grapes are largely produced and consumed in the Mediterranean area. Furthermore, in the last years, the commercial interest in table grapes and other non-alcoholic grape products has notably increased worldwide. In addition to the nutritional aspects, polyphenol compounds in fresh grapes could exert positive effects on human health. The aim of this study was the characterization of the phenolic pattern of sixteen grape varieties and the evaluation of the associated antioxidant capacity and anti-inflammatory activity at gastric level. The methods used were: 1) Folin-Cocalteau\u2019s assay for the quantification of total polyphenol content; 2) High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) coupled with Diode-Array Detector (DAD) to perform the quantitative analysis of grapes phenolic fraction 3) DPPH (1,1,-diphenil-2-picrylhydrazyl) spectrophotometric assay for the assessment of radical scavenging activity; 4) assessment of IL-8 release from human gastric epithelial cells to evaluate the anti-inflammatory activity of grape extracts. Some grapes, including seedless varieties, showed that the phenolic pattern was highly correlated with the biological activities, and, in particular, with peel and seeds portion. These results suggest that selected grape varieties could represent, also for consumers who do not drink wine, a source of healthy compounds potentially able to counteract oxidative stress and gastric inflammation