Optimization of pulsed electric fields-assisted extraction of polyphenols from potato peels using response surface methodology

In this work, optimal pulsed electric fields-assisted extraction conditions were selected in order to intensify the extractability of polyphenol compounds with high antioxidant activity from potato peels. Effectiveness of PEF as cell disintegration technique was confirmed using both impedance measurements and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Solid-liquid extraction (SLE) for both untreated and PEF pre-treated potato peels was optimized to determine the most effective solvent concentration (0–100% ethanol in water) as well as extraction temperature (20–50 °C) and time (30–240 min) using response surface methodology. Total phenolic compounds (TPC) and antioxidant activity (DPPH) of the extracts were determined. Results showed that the application of PEF prior to SLE has the potential to reduce duration, temperature, and consumption of solvent to achieve the same recovery yield of phenolic compounds. Under optimized conditions (54% ethanol, 233 min, and 50 °C for SLE; 52% ethanol, 230 min, and 50 °C for PEF), the extracts obtained from PEF pre-treated samples showed higher total phenolics yield (10%) and antioxidant activity (9%) as compared to the control extraction. Finally, HPLC-DAD analysis revealed the major classes of the detected polyphenolic compounds as chlorogenic, caffeic, syringic, protocatechuic, and p-coumaric acids, and no significant degradation of individual polyphenols due to PEF application was observed

Optimization of PEF-assisted extraction of polyphenols from potato peels by using response surface methodology

In this study, conventional solid liquid extraction (SLE) and pulsed electric field (PEF)-assisted extraction of polyphenols from discs of potato peels (1 cm in diameter) were optimized using response surface methodology (RSM). The evaluation of the cell disintegration index (Zr), based on the measurement of electrical impedance of samples treated at different intensities (E = 0.25 - 3 kV/cm; WT = 1 - 20 k]/kg), was used to select suitable electrical conditions (1 kV/cm; 5 kJ/kg) to carry out subsequent PEF-assisted diffusion tests. The effect of ethanol concentration in water (0-100%), extraction time (30 - 240 min), and diffusion temperature (20-50 °C) on the extractability of phenolic compounds (Folin-Ciocalteu reagent), as well as on the antioxidant activity (DPPH) of the extracts from both untreated and PEF treated samples were investigated. The optimal set of process parameters predicted by the "central composite design" applied model, which gave the highest total phenolics yield (TPY), were: 54% ethanol, 233 min and 50 °C for the SLE, and 52% ethanol, 230 min and 50 °C for the PEF assisted extraction, giving a TPY of 1180 mg GAE/kg wet potato peels and 1295 mg GAE/kg wet potato peels, respectively. Coherently with these results, the antioxidant activities of extracts were 755 mg AAE/kg of wet potato peels for SLE and 859 mg AAE/kg of wet potato peels for PEF pre-treated samples. The highest increment obtained due to the PEF pre-treatment (104% increase in phenolic content, and 80% increase in antioxidant activity) was recorded when using water as solvent. Finally, HPLC analyses of 50% Ethanol extracts revealed that the concentration of the main phenolic compounds detected (chlorogenic, caffeic, syringic, protocatechuic and p-coumaric acids) were higher in the case of PEF-assisted extraction from potato peels, as compared to the conventional SLE

Optimization of Pulsed Electric Fields-Assisted Extraction of Polyphenols from Potato Peels Using Response Surface Methodology

In this work, optimal pulsed electric fields-assisted extraction conditions were selected in order to intensify the extractability of polyphenol compounds with high antioxidant activity from potato peels. Effectiveness of PEF as cell disintegration technique was confirmed using both impedance measurements and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Solid-liquid extraction (SLE) for both untreated and PEF pre-treated potato peels was optimized to determine the most effective solvent concentration (0–100% ethanol in water) as well as extraction temperature (20–50 °C) and time (30–240 min) using response surface methodology. Total phenolic compounds (TPC) and antioxidant activity (DPPH) of the extracts were determined. Results showed that the application of PEF prior to SLE has the potential to reduce duration, temperature, and consumption of solvent to achieve the same recovery yield of phenolic compounds. Under optimized conditions (54% ethanol, 233 min, and 50 °C for SLE; 52% ethanol, 230 min, and 50 °C for PEF), the extracts obtained from PEF pre-treated samples showed higher total phenolics yield (10%) and antioxidant activity (9%) as compared to the control extraction. Finally, HPLC-DAD analysis revealed the major classes of the detected polyphenolic compounds as chlorogenic, caffeic, syringic, protocatechuic, and p-coumaric acids, and no significant degradation of individual polyphenols due to PEF application was observed

Diffusione del virus B1ScV sul mirtillo gigante americano

Nel 2004 è stata segnalata per la prima volta in Europa la presenza di Blueberry scorch virus (BlScV) su mirtillo gigante americano, Vaccinium corymbosum (Ericaceae) in Piemonte. Nel 2009 focolai di infezione sono stati trovati anche in Trentino su una nuova specie ospite, V. ashei, oltre che su cultivar di V. corymbosum. Nel corso delle indagini sono stati individuati quattro impianti infetti in Piemonte e tre in Trentino. La caratterizzazione dei diversi isolati ha evidenziato due distinte epidemie in Italia: l’isolato piemontese è assimilabile a ceppi provenienti dalle coste orientali di Canada e Usa, mentre l’isolato trentino è quasi identico a un ceppo proveniente dallo Stato di Washington sulla costa occidentale degli Usa. Nell’area di origine BlScV è trasmesso in modo non persistente dall’afide Ericaphis scammelli (Homoptera: Aphididae). Sopralluoghi condotti nel 2005-2010 negli impianti piemontesi colpiti dalla virosi hanno permesso di rilevare la presenza di E. scammelli con livelli di infestazione variabili in relazione alla località e all’annata. Tuttavia nelle prove di trasmissione, effettuate sia trasferendo gli afidi da piante infette a piante sane sia esponendo in campo piante sane, E. scammelli è risultato un vettore di BlScV poco efficiente

AB0739 MULTISYSTEM INFLAMMATORY SYNDROME ASSOCIATED WITH SARS-COV-2 INFECTION AND E.COLI SEPSIS: THE POTENTIAL ROLE OF PROCALCITONINE AS A RAPID DIAGNOSTIC BIOMARKER TO DISTINGUISH TWO DIFFERENT PHASES OF SYSTEMIC INFLAMMATORY RESPONSE SYNDROME

Background:Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection is typically very mild and often asymptomatic in children. A complication is the rare multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) associated with COVID-19, presenting 4-6 weeks after infection as high fever, organ dysfunction, and strongly elevated markers of inflammation. The pathogenesis is unclear but has overlapping features with Kawasaki disease suggestive of vasculitis and a likely autoimmune etiology.Objectives:We report a case of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) in patient with SARS-CoV-2 infection and Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) sepsis due to acute enteritis, observed at end of December 2020 to a tertiary-care center (San Carlo Hospital), in Basilicata region (Italy).Methods:This healthy 12-year- old male patient was tested positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. Clinical presentations was characterized by fever, abdominal pain, gastrointestinal complaints and evanescent rash. Laboratory values were remarkable for high levels of procalcitonin, C-reactive protein (CRP), D-dimers, B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP), and troponin. He also had low albumin levels. Autoantibodies tests were negative. Chest tomography showed ground-glass opacities in less than 25% of the lungs, small bilateral pleural effusion and increased cardiac area; abdominal tomography showed enlargement of the lymphnodes and ascites. Evaluation for other infectious etiologies showed molecular test positivity on fecal samples for EPEC E. coli. He received broad spectrum intravenous antibiotics (macrolids and quinolones and then carbapenems). On the seventh day the enteritis resolved and procalcitonin normalized, however he continued to have lymphopenia, thrombocytopenia, hypoalbuminemia, elevated levels of CRP, D-dimers, ferritin, troponin, and increased BNP. On the ninth day he was feverish again and developed severe cardiac and respiratory failure requiring advanced respiratory support and admission to the intensive care unit. He received IVIG (intravenous immunoglobulin at 2 g/Kg, glucocorticoids (Methylprednisolone 1mg/kg) and enoxaparin.Results:The patient was discharged asymptomatic at home after 28 days of hospital stay.Conclusion:We observed multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) in a previously healthy patient with SARS-CoV-2 infection and E.coli sepsis, who became critically ill with multisystem involvement. In this case viral and bacterial infections could be considered as a double hit for the etiopathogenesis of MIS-C. The trend of procalcitonin was better than C-reactive protein for differentiating bacterial from non-bacterial phase of systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) in this critically ill child. Although the accuracy of both tests is moderate. Diagnostic accuracy could be enhanced by combining these tests with bedside clinical judgment.References:[1]Consiglio CR, Cotugno N, Sardh et al. The Immunology of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children with COVID-19. Cell. 2020 Nov 12;183(4):968-981.e7. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2020.09.016. Epub 2020 Sep 6. PMID: 32966765; PMCID: PMC7474869.[2]Nakra NA, Blumberg DA, Herrera-Guerra A, Lakshminrusimha S. Multi-System Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) Following SARS-CoV-2 Infection: Review of Clinical Presentation, Hypothetical Pathogenesis, and Proposed Management. Children (Basel). 2020 Jul 1;7(7):69. doi: 10.3390/children7070069. PMID: 32630212; PMCID: PMC7401880.[3]Simon L, Saint-Louis P, Amre DK, Lacroix J, Gauvin F. Procalcitonin and C-reactive protein as markers of bacterial infection in critically ill children at onset of systemic inflammatory response syndrome. Pediatr Crit Care Med. 2008 Jul;9(4):407-13. PMID: 18496408.Disclosure of Interests:None declared</jats:sec

Economic Analysis under the Water Framework Directive: The State of the Art and Way forward

Linking the improvement of water ecosystems to the use of economic concepts and instruments is one of the main innovations introduced by the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD). This should be achieved by Member States through an approach clearly linking measures and interventions to improve water ecosystems to the identified pressures on water bodies (i.e., the gap analysis) and a set of economic provisions. However, modest progress in the implementation of these provisions has been recorded over time. Therefore, this paper aims to shed new light on the current limits in the implementation of the economic analysis of the WFD, in particular in relation to the gap analysis, through a comprehensive review of grey and scientific literature on the topics of gap analysis, economic valuation of ecosystem goods and services, water pricing, and disproportionate costs of measures. General conclusions and recommendations of this analysis are that enhancing data quality, promoting consistency and interaction in economic analysis components, and embedding them pragmatically in decision-making procedures are crucial. The gap analysis plays a pivotal role in directing economic research towards relevant issues within the river basin and in guiding decision makers more effectively in the application of the economic analyses required by the WFD