Yeast derivatives are used in winemaking for a variety of purposes, including the protection of wines from oxidation. In this work, by the application of an autoclave extraction method, different ...fractions were obtained from red wine lees and a lab-grown culture of the same yeast strain. Each extract was characterized for their protein, polysaccharide, glutathione, thiol, and polyphenol contents. The antioxidant activity was tested by adding each extract in a model wine enriched with catechin and saturated with oxygen. The presence of both wine lees and lab-grown yeast extracts delayed oxygen consumption when compared to the untreated control. This delay was confirmed by the development of a yellow color, which was lower in 5 out of 6 of the samples added with yeast/lees extracts. The electrochemical behavior of the samples also showed a greater resistance to oxidation, thus suggesting a protective role of the wine lees extracts against wine oxidative phenomena.
Background and Aims
There is a growing interest in finding alternative wine fining agents to replace potentially allergenic animal‐derived and plant‐derived proteins. In this context, the potential ...use of grape‐derived fining agents would be beneficial as they would not introduce additional, potentially allergenic products to the finished wine. In this project, grape seed flour, a by‐product of the grape oil seed industry, has been used to prepare a grape seed extract (GSE) for testing as a novel wine fining agent.
Methods and Results
The fining performance of GSE was compared with that of patatin, pea proteins, polyvinylpolypyrrolidone and potassium caseinate in a white and in a rosé wine, and of ovalbumin and gelatin in a red wine. Reduction of turbidity, effect on wine colour, the concentration of phenolic substances, browning potential and wine sensory attributes were determined. Grape seed extract was effective in decreasing white wine turbidity when compared to potassium caseinate. In red wine, GSE removed some anthocyanin and proanthocyanins, while wine colour was only slightly affected. The greatest GSE effect was observed on the sensory properties of the treated wines, as it strongly reduced the vegetal notes in the rosé wine and improved the overall taste of the red wine as a result of the reduction in both acidity and astringency.
Conclusions
Grape seed extract can be considered a valid allergen‐free alternative to the most common wine fining agents.
Significance of the Study
Grape seed extract is the first effective fining agent endogenous to grapes, thus not attracting the legal restrictions concerning the presence of foreign substances.
OBJECTIVEThe aim of this study was to investigate whether the copy number variation (CNV) of GSTM1 and GSTT1 is related to the occurrence of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) relapses, along the ...overall and progression-free survival of patients. STUDY DESIGNA total of 234 OSCC patients were recruited from the Heliópolis hospital and they were distributed among 4 groups according to the occurrence of OSCC relapses. Fisher exact test, odds ratio (OR), and 95% CI were determined to investigate the chances of OSCC progression. The overall and progression-free survival were analyzed by the Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression methods. RESULTSThe CNV of GSTM1 analysis showed that one copy of the gene was associated with reduced chances of OSCC recurrences (OR 0.45; 95% CI 0.25-0.81) and decreased the risk of tumor progression (HR 0.50; 95% CI 0.33-0.75). Furthermore, one copy of GSTM1 was related to a better overall survival rate (HR 0.63; 95% CI 0.0.44-0.91). Regarding the CNV of GSTT1, no copies were associated with the chances of OSCC relapses, the overall survival, or the progression-free survival. CONCLUSIONSThe CNV of GSTM1 may be applied to predict OSCC relapses and aid the treatment management, which might improve the survival rates of patients.
Genetic alterations of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) allow the understanding of the oral carcinogenesis and the identification of molecular biomarkers that aid the early diagnosis of the ...disease. The copy number variation (CNV) of GSTM1 and GSTT1 are promising targets because these two genes codify enzymes that perform the inactivation of tobacco carcinogens, which are the main risk factor of OSCC. However, the different levels of - detoxification mechanism in relation to each copy of the genes are unknown. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the possible association of the CNV of GSTM1 and GSTT1 with the risk of development of OSCC.
A total of 234 OSCC patients and 422 patients without any cancer diagnoses were recruited from Heliópolis Hospital from 2000 to 2011. The CNV was determined by TaqMan real-time PCR and the CopyCaller software. Odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) values were calculated by Multiple Logistic Regression.
Most OSCC patients reported they continued smoking high amounts of cigarettes despite the tumor diagnosis. The CNV of GSTM1 varied from zero to two copies and the analysis revealed that two copies of GSTM1 decreased by 53% the OSCC risk (OR 0.47; 95% CI 0.24–0.92) and the risk of the tumor was modified according to the interaction of the CNV of GSTM1 and the cigarette smoking consumption, which for the amount of 40 packs-year of cigarettes the OSCC risk diminished progressively according to the increase of copies of GSTM1. Although the GSTT1 gene varied from zero to three copies, none of them were associated with the tumor risk.
The findings suggest that the CNV of GSTM1 might be applied as a tool for the surveillance of patients and the early detection of OSCC.
•A novel methodology can distinguish the CNV of GSTM1 and GSTT1.•The differentially association of each copy of genes with the OSCC risk is unknown.•The increased number of copies of GSTM1 seems to elevate the metabolism rate.•Two copies of GSTM1 were associated with the decreased risk of OSCC.•GSTM1 and GSTT1 enzymes are the mainly detoxifiers of cigarette smoking carcinogens.
Background and Aims
Italy is the richest grape‐producing country in terms of cultivars. Our aims were to describe the diversity of astringency of Italian red wines from 11 cultivars, Teroldego, ...Corvina, Raboso, Nebbiolo, Sangiovese, Sagrantino, Montepulciano, Cannonau, Aglianico, Primitivo and Nerello, and to test correlations between in‐mouth sensory variables and chemical composition.
Methods and Results
A sample sub‐set was selected by sorting and then assessed on astringency sub‐qualities (drying, harsh, unripe, dynamic, complex, surface smoothness, particulate) and tastes (sweet, acid, bitter). Inter‐cultivar differences were detected for six of the seven sub‐qualities: three diverse intensities for drying, two for harsh, unripe, dynamic, complex and velvet and none for particulate. Discriminant analysis showed that these sub‐qualities allowed a good discrimination of the wines according to the cultivar. Well reclassified samples (88%) were considered to develop a single‐cultivar ‘astringency spectra’, profiles describing the balance among sub‐qualities. Correlations highlighted that neither total phenols nor proanthocyanidins can predict the perception of all astringency nuances.
Conclusions
For some single cultivar wines, it was possible to identify a pattern of astringency features likely to be linked to the cultivar.
Significance of the Study
This work adds insights to the understanding of astringency sub‐qualities while enhancing the knowledge of Italian wines. Results may support the awareness of winemakers of wines from native cultivars, and assist in building models of astringency.
The W-MON project aims to improve and automatize the control of the presence of radioactive material in conventional waste containers at CERN using a distributed network of interconnected low-power ...radiation sensors. The key development is the integration of a lightweight but sensitive radiation sensor in a powerful network that allows continuous data recording, transfer and storage in a database for alarm triggering and subsequent data analysis. The Chiyoda D-shuttle personal dosimeter was used as proof-of-concept. Extensive tests performed with the commercial version of the D-shuttle showed that its robustness, stability under variable thermal conditions, high sensitivity and hourly dose logging capabilities make it a strong candidate for the project. To comply with the requirements of remote operation and wireless data transmission to a central server, a customized version of the D-shuttle has been developed. Two additional radiation sensors are also currently being considered. The sensors have been coupled to a custom-made communication board allowing for long-range low-power LoRa wireless data transmission. A centralized IoT (Internet of Things) end-to-end data architecture has been developed for real-time monitoring and visualization of the radiation level in waste containers before the final integration into REMUS, the overall CERN Radiation and Environment Monitoring Unified Supervision service.
•Environmental radiological monitoring for conventional waste.•Lightweight and smart radiation sensors for real-time monitoring of the radiation level in waste containers.•Distributed network of interconnected low-power radiation sensors with LoRa wireless data transmission.
We have previously reported on the construction and successful operation of the novel double phase Liquid Argon Large Electron Multiplier Time Projection Chamber (LAr LEM-TPC). This detector concept ...provides a 3D-tracking and calorimetric device capable of adjustable charge amplification, a promising readout technology for next generation neutrino detectors and direct Dark Matter searches. In this paper, we report on the first operation of a LAr LEM-TPC prototype equipped with a single 1
mm thick LEM amplifying stage and a 2D projective readout anode. The active area of the detector is 10×10
cm
2 and the drift length is 21
cm. Cosmic muon events were collected, fully reconstructed and used to characterize the performance of the chamber. The obtained signals provide images of very high quality and the energy loss distributions of minimum ionizing tracks give a direct estimate of the amplification. We find that a stable gain of
∼
30
can be achieved with this detector configuration corresponding to a signal-over-noise ratio larger than 200 for minimum ionizing tracks. The decoupling of the amplification stage and the use of the 2D readout anode offer several advantages which are described in the text.
Plasma cell myelomas (PMs) have a poor prognosis. Cancer‐testis (CT) antigens are immunogenic proteins, representing potential targets for tumor vaccination strategies. The expression of the CT ...antigens GAGE, MAGE‐A4, MAGE‐C1/CT‐7, and NY‐ESO‐1 was investigated on paraffin‐embedded bone marrow biopsies from 219 PM and 8 monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) patients. The frequency and prognostic impact of these CT antigens were compared with known morphological prognostic markers (i.e. Mib1 labeling index) and the presence of the translocations t(4;14)(p16.3; q32) and t(11;14)(q13;q32). We show that MAGE‐C1/CT‐7 is the most prevalent CT antigen, expressed in 57% of PMs in a high percentage of tumor cells. While MAGE‐C1/CT‐7 was absent in non‐malignant plasma cells, plasma cells of patients with MGUS did express MAGE‐C1/CT‐7, but no other CT antigens. MAGE‐C1/CT‐7 was more frequently expressed in PMs with an elevated proliferation rate (Mib1 >10%) compared to PMs with a low proliferation rate (Mib1 ≤10%, 71%versus 29%, P < 0.001) and correlated with overall survival, depending on its subcellular distribution. PMs with pure cytoplasmic MAGE‐C1/CT‐7 expression showed a better prognosis (48 months versus 33 months, P < 0.05) than PMs with combined nuclear‐cytoplasmic or nuclear expression only. Thus, expression of MAGE‐C1/CT‐7 in patients with monoclonal gammopathies represents a predictor of outcome and overt malignant transformation. (Cancer Sci 2008; 99: 720–725)
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