Comparative study of the volatile composition in wines obtained from traditional vinification and from the Ganimede method

BACKGROUND: This study compares the volatile composition between wines obtained from vinification carried out by the traditional method or using a new method of vinification (so‐called Ganimede). For this, Shiraz, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon musts were fermented by both vinification methods. RESULTS: The volatile compounds that were above their threshold of perception in the wines were practically the same, irrespective of the vinification method used. Most of the compounds studied did not present significant differences in their concentrations between the wines obtained from the traditional and the new vinification methods. When there were significant differences, the concentration of alcohols and acids was higher in the wines vinificated by the traditional method rather than in the wines vinificated by the Ganimede method, whereas for esters, the concentration in the wines depended on the grape variety. CONCLUSION: The Ganimede method favoured polyphenol extraction without greatly affecting the studied volatile composition of the wines. Copyright © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry     

Influence of grape variety and their phenolic composition on vasorelaxing activity of young red wines

Red wine has been reported to exert beneficial effects in preventing cardiovascular diseases probably due to their polyphenols constituents. The vasorelaxant capacity and phenolic composition of four monovarietal young red wines Merlot, Tempranillo, Garnacha and Cabernet-Sauvignon obtained from grapes from 2004 vintage, cultivated under the same climatic and agricultural conditions, wine-making technology and storage conditions, were determined using vascular reactivity assay in rat aortic and high-performance liquid chromatography, respectively. Primary cultures of vascular smooth muscle cells from Wistar rats were also used to evaluate their survival prevention activity as well. Every studied wine present vasorelaxation effect, but the higher value corresponds to the analyzed Merlot wine, especially rich in phenolic compounds, mainly catechins and oligomeric proanthocyanidins and anthocyanin glycosides. This study further demonstrated previous investigations about the phenolic composition of wines relation with their vasorelaxation activity.     

Effect of heating temperature and sodium chloride concentration on ultrastructure and texture of gels made from giant squid (Dosidicus gigas) with addition of starch,l-carrageenan and egg white

This paper seeks to compare the ultrastructure of gels made from frozen muscle of giant squid (Dosidicus gigas) at various temperatures with a number of different rheological parameters, with reference to a variety of added ingredients (non-muscle proteins and hydrocolloids) and to NaCl concentration. Interesting data on gel rheological properties were found where formulae containedl-carrageenan, starch and egg white, with a low salt concentration (1.5%). This seems to be because carrageenan forms an independent network which supports the principal structure formed by the fish protein; starch is incorporated into the network and retains water; and egg white forms a supplementary network which helps to improve rheological properties.     

Municipal sludge-industrial sludge composite desulfurization adsorbents: synergy enhancing the catalytic properties

Mixtures of sewage sludge, waste oil sludge, and metal oil sludge were prepared and carbonized at 950 degrees C in an inert atmosphere. Dynamic adsorption of H2S was measured on the materials obtained, and the breakthrough capacity was calculated. The initial and exhausted adsorbents after the breakthrough tests were characterized using sorption of nitrogen, thermal analysis, and XRF, XRD, and surface pH measurements. Mixing sludges leads to very high capacity adsorbents on which hydrogen sulfide is oxidized to elemental sulfur. Although the micropore volume of the adsorbents obtained is not high, their high volume of mesopores contributes significantly to reactive adsorption and provides space to store the oxidation products. The H2S breakthrough capacity on the new materials reaches 10 wt %. These adsorbents work until all active pores are filled and the catalytic centers are exhausted. The reason for such high capacity is in the formation of catalytically active mineral like phases during pyrolysis in the presence of nitrogen and carbon. This highly dispersed phase provides basicity and catalytic centers for hydrogen sulfide dissociation and its oxidation to sulfur.     

Increased cognitive load leads to impaired mobility decisions in seniors at risk for falls.

Successful mobility requires appropriate decision-making. Seniors with reduced executive functioning—such as senior fallers—may be prone to poor mobility judgments, especially under dual-task conditions. We classified participants as “At-Risk” and “Not-At-Risk” for falls using a validated physiological falls-risk assessment. Dual-task performance was assessed in a virtual reality environment where participants crossed a simulated street by walking on a manual treadmill while listening to music or conversing on a phone. Those “At-Risk” experienced more collisions with oncoming cars and had longer crossing times in the Phone condition compared to controls. We conclude that poor mobility judgments during a dual-task leads to unsafe mobility for those at-risk for falls. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ficolin-2 Plasma Level Assesses Liver Fibrosis in Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Fibrosis is the strongest predictor for disease-specific mortality in non-alcoholic fatty liver diseases (NAFLD), but the need for liver biopsy limits its diagnosis. We assessed the performance of plasma ficolin-2 (FCN-2) as a biomarker of fibrosis identified by an in silico discovery strategy. Two hundred and thirty-five morbidly obese (MO) subjects with biopsy-proven NAFLD stratified by fibrosis stage (F0, n = 44; F1, n = 134; F2, n = 46; F3/F4, n = 11) and 40 cirrhotic patients were enrolled. The cohort was subdivided into discovery (n = 76) and validation groups (n = 159). The plasma level of FCN-2 and other candidate markers was determined. FCN-2 was inversely correlated with the stage of liver fibrosis (ρ = −0.49, p < 0.001) independently of steatosis (p = 0.90), inflammation (p = 0.57), and ballooning (p = 0.59). In the global cohort, FCN-2 level decreased significantly in a stepwise fashion from F0/F1 (median 4753 ng/mL) to F2–F3–F4 (2760 ng/mL) and in cirrhotic subjects (1418 ng/mL). The diagnostic performance of FCN-2 in detecting F ≥ 2 was higher than other indexes (APRI, FIB-4) (AUROC 0.82, 0.68, and 0.6, respectively). The accuracy improved when combined with APRI score and HDL values (FCNscore, AUROC 0.85). Overall, the FCN-2 plasma level can accurately discriminate liver fibrosis status (minimal vs. moderate/advanced) significantly improving the fibrosis diagnostic algorithms.     

Sensitive and specific detection of almond (Prunus dulcis) in commercial food products by real-time PCR

Almond has been widely used in all sorts of food products, mostly due to its pleasant flavor and health benefits. However almonds can become an important health problem since they are responsible for triggering adverse immune responses in allergic individuals, and since they are present in many processed foods they are considered as a potential hidden allergen. Consequently, it's important for food processors and regulatory agencies to be able to ensure accurate labeling of foods to protect the safety of the public and to avoid expensive recalls. We propose a simple and highly sensitive approach to detect almond in a wide range of processed foods. The method consists of a real-time PCR assay targeting the gene encoding for the ITS1 in almond, using a nuclease (TaqMan) probe labeled with FAM and BBQ. Sensitivity of real time PCR was determined by analysis of raw and heat treated almond-wheat flour mixtures with a range of detection of 0.1–100,000 mg/kg. The assay was successfully trialed on a total of 214 commercial foodstuffs allowing the detection of trace amounts of almond down to the level of 0.1 mg/kg, and is therefore proposed as a ready-to-use analytical tool to trace almond allergens in foods.     

Combined effect of enterocin AS-48 and high hydrostatic pressure to control food-borne pathogens inoculated in low acid fermented sausages

The single and combined effects of enterocin AS-48 and high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) on Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonellaenterica, and Staphylococcus aureus was investigated in fuet (a low acid fermented sausage) during ripening and storage at 7 °C or at room temperature. AS-48 (148 AU g⁻¹) caused a drastic 5.5 log cfu g⁻¹ decrease in L. monocytogenes (P < 0.001) and a significant (P < 0.01) inhibition (1.79 logs) for Salmonella at the end of ripening (10 d). After pressurization (400 MPa) and storage Listeria counts remained below 5 cfu g⁻¹ in all fuets containing AS-48 (pressurized or not). HHP alone had no anti-Listeria effect. HHP treatment significantly reduced Salmonella counts, with lowest levels in pressurized fuets with AS-48. S. aureus showed similar growth for all treatments and storage conditions. These results indicate that AS-48 can be applied alone to control L. monocytogenes and combined with HHP treatment to control Salmonella in fuets.     

Assessment of safety of enterococci isolated throughout traditional Terrincho cheesemaking: virulence factors and antibiotic susceptibility

Enterococci account for an important fraction of the adventitious microflora of traditional cheeses manufactured in Mediterranean countries from small ruminants' raw milk and play an important role in the development of suitable organoleptic characteristics of the final product. It has been suggested that animals used for food or animals that supply edible products are a reservoir of antibiotic-resistant enterococci. The main purpose of this research effort was thus to identify, to the species level, a total of 73 enterococci with high tolerance to acidic pH and bile salts (as prevailing environmental conditions in the first portion of the gastrointestinal tract), which were previously isolated from the milk feedstock to the final product of Terrincho cheesemaking, and to determine their profiles of antibiotic susceptibility, coupled with the occurrence of specific virulence factors (especially in those that might eventually be claimed to exhibit suitable probiotic and technological performances). Isolates, identified by both API 20 STREP and PCR methods, were found to belong to the following Enterococcus species: E. casseliflavus, E. durans, E. faecalis, E. faecium, and E. gallinarum. Susceptibility of those isolates was observed to most antibiotics tested, whereas none harbored aminoglycoside resistance genes. PCR screenings for cytolysin genes (cylL(L), cylL(s), cylM, cylB, and cylA), surface adhesin genes (efaA(fs), efaA(fm), and esp), the aggregation protein gene (agg), and the extracellular metalloendopeptidase gene (gelE) were performed. All isolates proved negative for cylL(L), cylM, cylB, and agg genes. Both E. faecalis strains were positive for the cell wall-associated protein Esp and the cell wall adhesin efaA(fs), whereas the cell wall adhesin efaA(fm) was detected in 11 of the 12 E. faecium strains. Only one strain possessed the cylL(s) determinant, and another possessed the cylA gene. Incidence of virulence determinants was thus very low; hence, the enterococcal adventitious microflora tested is essentially safe.