Bone damage after chemotherapy for lymphoma: a real-world experience.

BACKGROUND: Despite recent improvements in survival due to advances in treatment, the quality of life of patients with lymphoma may be compromised by the long-term complications of chemotherapy and steroid therapy. Among these, a potentially relevant problem is bone loss and the development of fragility fractures. AIM: To provide further evidence of clinical or subclinical skeletal complications in correlation with biological variables and markers of bone disease in patients with complete response to therapy. METHOD: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted on subjects diagnosed with lymphoma with subsequent antineoplastic treatment, disease status after therapy defined as complete response disease for at least a year now. We performed: blood chemistry tests, imaging techniques and screening tools for the assessment of functional status and quality of life (SARC-F and mini-Osteoporosis Quality of Life). RESULTS: Approximately 50% of patients had osteoporosis, with a prevalence of vertebral fractures of 65.5%. In most patients, we found hypovitaminosis D and high levels of parathyroid hormone (PTH). Furthermore, a statistically significant association was observed between high PTH levels and previous lymphoma treatment. Finally, the Mini-Osteoporosis Quality of life (mini-OQLQ) questionnaire demonstrated a loss of quality of life as a consequence of the change in bone status. CONCLUSIONS: Patient treatment design for personalized chemotherapy would be desirable to reduce late effects on bone. Also, early prevention programs need to be applied before starting treatment. The most benefited subpopulations could be not only elderly but also young patients.

Low frequency of cytomegalovirus (CMV) disease despite high prevalence of CMV viraemia in patients with advanced HIV infection: a clinical and immunological 48-week follow-up study.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to investigate the dynamics of cytomegalovirus (CMV) replication and CMV-specific immune response recovery after antiretroviral treatment (ART) initiation in patients with advanced HIV infection. METHODS: A prospective observational study of patients with HIV infection and CD4 counts of < 100 cells/µL was carried out (September 2015 to July 2018). HIV viral load (VL), CD4 count and CMV VL were determined by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) at baseline and at 4, 12, 24 and 48 weeks, and CMV-specific immune response was determined by QuantiFERON-CMV assay at baseline and 48 weeks. All patients were started on ART but only those with CMV end-organ disease (EOD) received anti-CMV treatment. RESULTS: Fifty-three patients with a median age of 43.6 [interquartile range (IQR) 36.7-52.4] years were included in the study. At baseline, the median CD4 count was 30 cells/µL (IQR 20-60 cells/µL) and the median HIV VL was 462 000 HIV-1 RNA copies/mL (IQR 186 000-1 300 000 copies/mL). At baseline, 32% patients had detectable CMV viraemia but none had detectable CMV viraemia at 48 weeks. Only one of 53 (1.9%) patients developed EOD during follow-up. Seven (13.2%) patients were lost to follow-up and six (11.3%) died; none of the deaths was related to CMV. Similar percentages of patients had a CMV-specific immune response at baseline (71.7%) and at 48 weeks (70.0%). The magnitude of this response tended to increase over time [median 1.63 (IQR 0.15-5.77) IU/mL at baseline vs. median 2.5 (IQR 0.1-8.325) IU/mL at 48 weeks; P = 0.11]. We did not find any risk factors associated with 48-week mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Although the prevalence of CMV viraemia in patients with advanced HIV infection remains high, achieving a good immunological recovery through ART is enough to suppress CMV viraemia, without an increased risk of CMV EOD. The prevalence of a CMV-specific immune response was high and endured over time.

How we treat locoregional melanoma.

Cutaneous melanoma is the most lethal form of skin cancer and its incidence has been increasing in the past 30 years. Although this is completely resectable in most cases, thicker melanoma and those with regional lymph-node involvement are at a high risk of relapse. In recent years, the management of locoregional disease has drastically changed. In particular, in the 8th Edition of the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC), subgroup classification of TNM (tumor-node-metastasis) has been modified, with the addition of the IIID stage. Furthermore, in recent randomized trials, completion lymph node dissection in case of sentinel lymph node biopsy positivity has not been shown to offer any improvement in overall survival versus observation. Consequently, radical dissection has been recommended as the standard treatment, but only in patients with palpable nodal metastases. However, the major novelty in the treatment of locally advanced melanoma has been the introduction of drugs, already used for metastatic disease, that have also shown clinical efficacy in the adjuvant setting. In fact, immunotherapies and, in the case of BRAF V600E/K-mutated melanoma, combination treatment of BRAF and MEK inhibitors have improved recurrence-free survival in these patients. In this paper, we will describe the current management of a patient with radically resectable melanoma and discuss the key points in light of the latest scientific evidence.

Triple blockade of EGFR, MEK and PD-L1 has antitumor activity in colorectal cancer models with constitutive activation of MAPK signaling and PD-L1 overexpression.

BACKGROUND: Molecular mechanisms driving acquired resistance to anti-EGFR therapies in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) are complex but generally involve the activation of the downstream RAS-RAF-MEK-MAPK pathway. Nevertheless, even if inhibition of EGFR and MEK could be a strategy for overcoming anti-EGFR resistance, its use is limited by the development of MEK inhibitor (MEKi) resistance. METHODS: We have generated in vitro and in vivo different CRC models in order to underline the mechanisms of MEKi resistance. RESULTS: The three different in vitro MEKi resistant models, two generated by human CRC cells quadruple wild type for KRAS, NRAS, BRAF, PI3KCA genes (SW48-MR and LIM1215-MR) and one by human CRC cells harboring KRAS mutation (HCT116-MR) showed features related to the gene signature of colorectal cancer CMS4 with up-regulation of immune pathway as confirmed by microarray and western blot analysis. In particular, the MEKi phenotype was associated with the loss of epithelial features and acquisition of mesenchymal markers and morphology. The change in morphology was accompanied by up-regulation of PD-L1 expression and activation of EGFR and its downstream pathway, independently to RAS mutation status. To extend these in vitro findings, we have obtained mouse colon cancer MC38- and CT26-MEKi resistant syngeneic models (MC38-MR and CT26-MR). Combined treatment with MEKi, EGFR inhibitor (EGFRi) and PD-L1 inhibitor (PD-L1i) resulted in a marked inhibition of tumor growth in both models. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest a strategy to potentially improve the efficacy of MEK inhibition by co-treatment with EGFR and PD-L1 inhibitors via modulation of host immune responses.

Genetic Characterization of Apulian Olive Germplasm as Potential Source in New Breeding Programs.

The olive is a fruit tree species with a century-old history of cultivation in theMediterranean basin. In Apulia (Southern Italy), the olive is of main social, cultural and economicimportance, and represents a hallmark of the rural landscape. However, olive cultivation in thisregion is threatened by the recent spread of the olive quick decline syndrome (OQDS) disease, thusthere is an urgent need to explore biodiversity and search for genetic sources of resistance. Herein,a genetic variation in Apulian olive germplasm was explored, as a first step to identify genotypeswith enhanced bio-agronomic traits, including resistance to OQDS. A preselected set of nuclearmicrosatellite markers allowed the acquisition of genotypic profiles, and to define geneticrelationships between Apulian germplasm and widespread cultivars. The analysis highlighted thebroad genetic variation in Apulian accessions and the presence of different unique genetic profiles.The results of this study lay a foundation for the organization of new breeding programs for olivegenetic improvement.

Levofloxacin versus azithromycin for treating legionella pneumonia: a propensity score analysis.

OBJECTIVES: Concerns have arisen regarding the equivalence of levofloxacin and some macrolides for treating community-acquired legionella pneumonia (LP). We aimed to compare the outcomes of current patients with LP treated with levofloxacin, azithromycin and clarithromycin. METHODS: Observational retrospective multicentre study of consecutive patients with LP requiring hospitalization (2000-2014) conducted in two hospitals. The primary outcome assessed was 30-day mortality. To control for confounding, therapy was assessed by multivariate analysis. RESULTS: We documented 446 patients with LP, of which 175 were treated with levofloxacin, 177 with azithromycin and 58 with clarithromycin. No significant differences in time to defervescence (2 (interquartile range (IQR) 1-4) versus 2 (IQR 1-3) days; p 0.453), time to achieve clinical stability (3 (2-5) versus 3 (2-5) days; p 0.486), length of intravenous therapy (3 (2-5.25) versus 4 (3-6) days; p 0.058) and length of hospital stay (7 (5-10) versus 6 (5-9) days; p 0.088) were found between patients treated with levofloxacin and those treated with azithromycin. Patients treated with clarithromycin had longer intravenous antibiotic treatment (3 (2-5.25) versus 5 (3-6.25) days; p 0.002) and longer hospital stay (7 (5-10) versus 9 (7-14) days; p 0.043) compared with those treated with levofloxacin. The overall mortality was 4.3% (19 patients). Neither univariate nor multivariate analysis showed a significant association of levofloxacin versus azithromycin on mortality (4 (2.3%) versus 9 (5.1%) deaths; p 0.164). The results did not change after incorporation of the propensity score into the models. CONCLUSIONS: In our study, no significant differences in most outcomes were found between patients treated with levofloxacin and those treated with azithromycin. Due to the small number of deaths, results regarding mortality should be interpreted with caution.

Infectious encephalitis: utility of a rational approach to aetiological diagnosis in daily clinical practice.

In this study we attempt to assess the utility of a simplified step-wise diagnostic algorithm to determinate the aetiology of encephalitis in daily clinical practice and to describe the main causes in our setting. This was a prospective cohort study of all consecutive cases of encephalitis in adult patients diagnosed between January 2010 and March 2015 at the University Hospital Vall d'Hebron in Barcelona, Spain. The aetiological study was carried out following the proposed step-wise algorithm. The proportion of aetiological diagnoses achieved in each step was analysed. Data from 97 patients with encephalitis were assessed. Following a simplified step-wise algorithm, a definite diagnosis was made in the first step in 53 patients (55 %) and in 12 additional cases (12 %) in the second step. Overall, a definite or probable aetiological diagnosis was achieved in 78 % of the cases. Herpes virus, L. monocytogenes and M. tuberculosis were the leading causative agents demonstrated, whereas less frequent aetiologies were observed, mainly in immunosuppressed patients. The overall related mortality was 13.4 %. According to our experience, the leading and treatable causes of encephalitis can be identified in a first diagnostic step with limited microbiological studies. L. monocytogenes treatment should be considered on arrival in some patients. Additional diagnostic effort should be made in immunosuppressed patients.

Determination of neutrophil CD64 expression as a prognostic biomarker in patients with community-acquired pneumonia.

The expression of CD64 in neutrophils (nCD64) has shown utility in the diagnosis of sepsis. The aim of this study was to assess the usefulness of nCD64 expression to identify patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) at risk of a poor outcome. A prospective study of nCD64 expression (determined by flow cytometry) in patients with CAP was performed. The sensitivity/specificity of nCD64 in predicting poor outcome [defined as intensive care unit (ICU) admission and/or clinical deterioration after arrival at the emergency department] was calculated. Eighty-three adults with CAP were included; 14.5 % had septic shock, 19.3 % required ICU admission, and 10.8 % presented clinical deterioration after admission. The mean of the median fluorescence intensity (MFI) of nCD64 expression was 1140 (±1097). Patients with nCD64 expression ≥2700 MFI had more clinical deterioration (36.4 vs. 7.2 %, p = 0.015) and more ICU admission (45.5 vs. 14.5 %, p = 0.028). To identify clinical deterioration and ICU admission, nCD64 expression showed a sensitivity of 44.4 and 33.3 % and a specificity of 90.1 and 90.8 %, respectively. The addition of nCD64 expression to the Pneumonia Severity Index and CURB-65 severity scores did not improve the accuracy of predicting these outcomes. Although nCD64 expression is associated with an increased risk of ICU admission or clinical deterioration after admission, its accuracy in predicting these poor outcomes is modest and does not significantly improve the predictive ability of the PSI and CURB-65 severity scores.

Safe Reduction in CD4 Cell Count Monitoring in Stable, Virally Suppressed Patients With HIV Infection or HIV/Hepatitis C Virus Coinfection.

BACKGROUND: It has been suggested that routine CD4 cell count monitoring in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-monoinfected patients with suppressed viral loads and CD4 cell counts >300 cell/µL could be reduced to annual. HIV/hepatitis C virus (HCV) coinfection is frequent, but evidence supporting similar reductions in CD4 cell count monitoring is lacking for this population. We determined whether CD4 cell count monitoring could be reduced in monoinfected and coinfected patients by estimating the probability of maintaining CD4 cell counts ≥200 cells/µL during continuous HIV suppression. METHODS: The PISCIS Cohort study included data from 14 539 patients aged ≥16 years from 10 hospitals in Catalonia and 2 in the Balearic Islands (Spain) since January 1998. All patients who had at least one period of 6 months of continuous HIV suppression were included in this analysis. Cumulative probabilities with 95% confidence intervals were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier estimator stratified by the initial CD4 cell count at the period of continuous suppression initiation. RESULTS: A total of 8695 patients were included. CD4 cell counts fell to <200 cells/µL in 7.4% patients, and the proportion was lower in patients with an initial count >350 cells/µL (1.8%) and higher in those with an initial count of 200-249 cells/µL (23.1%). CD4 cell counts fell to <200 cells/µL in 5.7% of monoinfected and 11.1% of coinfected patients. Of monoinfected patients with an initial CD4 cell count of 300-349 cells/µL, 95.6% maintained counts ≥200 cells/µL. In the coinfected group with the same initial count, this rate was lower, but 97.6% of coinfected patients with initial counts >350 cells/µL maintained counts ≥200 cells/µL. CONCLUSIONS: From our data, it can be inferred that CD4 cell count monitoring can be safely performed annually in HIV-monoinfected patients with CD4 cell counts >300 cells/µL and HIV/HCV-coinfected patients with counts >350 cells/µL.

The effectiveness of electrocautery ablation for the treatment of high-grade anal intraepithelial neoplasia in HIV-infected men who have sex with men.

OBJECTIVES: Electrocautery is one of the main treatment options for high-grade anal intraepithelial neoplasia (HGAIN). However, data regarding its efficacy are scarce. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of electrocautery for the treatment of HGAIN. METHODS: An observational study of HIV-infected men who have sex with men (MSM) who underwent screening for anal dysplasia was carried out. The on-treatment effectiveness of electrocautery was evaluated (according to biopsy findings measured 6-8 weeks after treatment) in patients with HGAIN. A complete response was defined as resolution of anal intraepithelial neoplasia (AIN), a partial response as regression to low-grade AIN and recurrence as biopsy-proven HGAIN during follow-up. RESULTS: From May 2009 to November 2014, 21.9% (126 of 576) of patients screened were found to have HGAIN. Electrocautery effectiveness was evaluated in 83 patients. A complete response was observed in 27 patients [32.5%; 95% confidence interval (CI) 23.4-53.2%], a partial response in 28 patients (33.7%; 95% CI 24.5-44.4%) and persistence in 28 patients (33.7%; 95% CI 24.5-44.4%). The patients with the most successful results (81.8%) required two to four sessions of electrocautery. After a mean follow-up of 12.1 months, 14 of 55 patients with a response (25.4%; 95% CI 15.8-38.3%) developed recurrent HGAIN within a mean time of 29.9 months (95% CI 22-37.7 months). No patient progressed to invasive cancer during the study or developed serious adverse events after treatment. No factors associated with poor response or recurrences were observed. CONCLUSIONS: Although electrocautery is the standard treatment for anal dysplasia, almost 50% of patients with HGAIN in our study did not respond or relapsed. New treatment strategies are necessary to optimize the management of anal dysplasia.

Impact of influenza season and environmental factors on the clinical presentation and outcome of invasive pneumococcal disease.

Influenza and meteorological factors have been associated with increases in the incidence of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD). However, scant data regarding the impact of influenza and the environment on the clinical presentation of IPD are available. An observational study of all adults hospitalized with IPD was performed between 1996 and 2012 in our hospital. The incidence of IPD correlated with the incidence rates of influenza and with environmental data. A negative binominal regression was used to assess the relationship between these factors. Clinical presentation of IPD during the influenza and non-influenza periods was compared. During the study, 1,150 episodes of IPD were diagnosed. After adjusting for confounding variables, factors correlating with the rates of IPD were the incidence of influenza infection (IRR 1.229, 95% CI 1.025-1.472) and the average ambient temperature (IRR 0.921, 95% CI 0.88-0.964). Patients with IPD during the influenza period had a worse respiratory status. A greater proportion of patients had respiratory failure (45.6% vs 52%, p = 0.032) and higher requirements for ICU admission (19.3% vs 24.7%, p = 0.018) and mechanical ventilation (11% vs 15.1%, p = 0.038). When we stratified by invasiveness of pneumococcal serotypes and the presence of comorbid conditions, the increase in the severity of clinical presentation was focused on healthy adults with IPD caused by nonhighly invasive serotypes. Beyond the increase in the burden of IPD associated with influenza, a more severe clinical pattern of pneumococcal disease was observed in the influenza period. This effect varied according to pneumococcal serotype, host comorbidities, and age.

Liver stiffness and aspartate aminotransferase levels predict the risk for liver fibrosis progression in hepatitis C virus/HIV-coinfected patients.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to investigate liver fibrosis outcome and the risk factors associated with liver fibrosis progression in hepatitis C virus (HCV)/HIV-coinfected patients. METHODS: We prospectively obtained liver stiffness measurements by transient elastography in a cohort of 154 HCV/HIV-coinfected patients, mostly Caucasian men on suppressive antiretroviral treatment, with the aim of determining the risk for liver stiffness measurement (LSM) increase and to identify the predictive factors for liver fibrosis progression. To evaluate LSM trends over time, a linear mixed regression model with LSM level as the outcome and duration of follow-up in years as the main covariate was fitted. RESULTS: After a median follow-up time of 40 months, the median increase in LSM was 1.05 kPa/year [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.72-1.38 kPa/year]. Fibrosis stage progression was seen in 47% of patients, and 17% progressed to cirrhosis. Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels and liver fibrosis stage at baseline were identified as independent predictors of LSM change. Patients with F3 (LSM 9.6-14.5 kPa) or AST levels ≥ 64 IU/L at baseline were at higher risk for accelerated LSM increase (ranging from 1.45 to 2.61 kPa/year), whereas LSM change was very slow among patients with both F0-F1 (LSM ≤ 7.5 kPa) and AST levels ≤ 64 IU/L at baseline (0.34 to 0.58 kPa/year). An intermediate risk for LSM increase (from 0.78 to 1.03 kPa/year) was seen in patients with F2 (LSM 7.6-9.5 kPa) and AST baseline levels ≤ 64 IU/L. CONCLUSIONS: AST levels and liver stiffness at baseline allow stratification of the risk for fibrosis progression and might be clinically useful to guide HCV treatment decisions in HIV-infected patients.

Impact of the emergence of non-vaccine pneumococcal serotypes on the clinical presentation and outcome of adults with invasive pneumococcal pneumonia.

The introduction of the 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in children has led to a change in the pattern of pneumococcal serotypes causing pneumococcal disease. The aim of this study was to compare the clinical presentation and outcome of invasive pneumococcal pneumonia (IPP) in adults between the pre and post-vaccine era. We have conducted an observational study of all adults hospitalized with IPP, from 1996 to 2001 (pre-vaccine period), and from 2005 to 2009 (post-vaccine period). Incidence, serotype distribution and clinical data were compared between both periods. A total of 653 episodes of IPP were diagnosed. The overall incidence of IPP increased from 14.2 to 17.9 cases per 100 000 population-year (p 0.003). In the post-vaccine period IPP caused by vaccine serotypes decreased (-36%; 95% CI, -52 to -15) while IPP caused by non-vaccine serotypes increased (71%; 95% CI, 41-106). IPP in the post-vaccine period was associated with higher rates of septic shock (19.1% vs. 31.1%, p <0.001). Among patients aged 50-65 years there was a trend towards a greater proportion of case-fatalities (11.6-23.5%, p 0.087). Independent risk factors for septic shock were IPP caused by serotype 3 (OR 2.38; 95% CI, 1.16-4.87) and serotype 19A (OR 6.47, 95% CI, 1.55-27). Serotype 1 was associated with a lower risk of death (OR 0.1; 95% CI, 0.01-0.78). In conclusion, the incidence of IPP in the post-vaccine period has increased in our setting, it is caused mainly by non-vaccine serotypes and it is associated with higher rates of septic shock.

Neurological opportunistic infections and neurological immune reconstitution syndrome: impact of one decade of highly active antiretroviral treatment in a tertiary hospital.

BACKGROUND: Despite the reported decrease in the incidence and mortality rates of central nervous system (CNS) infections after the introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), few studies have focused on the global incidence and the relationship of these diseases with immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS) in the developed world. METHODS: A descriptive cohort study of all consecutive adult HIV-infected patients with CNS opportunistic infections diagnosed between 2000 and 2010 in a tertiary hospital in Spain was carried out. Demographic, clinical, laboratory, and microbiological data were recorded. Patients were followed up until death or loss to follow-up or until 30 July 2011, when the study finished. The significance of differences in the incidence rate between early and late HAART periods was determined using the Mantel-Haenszel test. Survival distribution was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS: A total of 110 cases of CNS infections were diagnosed. The incidence of CNS opportunistic infections decreased from 9 cases per 1000 HIV-infected patients per year in the early HAART period to 3.8 in the late HAART period (P = 0.04). Overall, the estimated mean survival time was 58.8 months (95% confidence interval 47.1-70.6 months). Of the 110 patients, 18 (16.4%) met the criteria of IRIS, 10 (55.6%) were paradoxical and eight (44.4%) were unmasking. IRIS was not associated with a higher mortality rate. CONCLUSIONS: The annual incidence of CNS infections decreased progressively during the period of study. The mortality rate associated with these diseases remains high despite HAART. The development of IRIS associated with neurological infections had no influence on prognosis.

Evaluation of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy treatments in a Spanish cohort of HIV-infected patients: do protease inhibitors improve survival regardless of central nervous system penetration-effectiveness (CPE) score?

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to investigate whether survival after progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) diagnosis in HIV-1-infected patients was associated with central nervous system penetration-effectiveness (CPE) score and the presence or absence of protease inhibitors in the treatment regimen. METHODS: In the absence of treatments demonstrated to be effective for PML in HIV-1-infected patients and in the light of the controversy surrounding the use of CPE scores to make decisions on treatment after diagnosis, we determined whether there were differences in survival at 1 year depending on the type and characteristics of treatment. A multicentre retrospective observational study including three Spanish hospitals was carried out for the period from 1 January 1994 to 31 December 2009. Patients with a PML diagnosis were included in the study if they were symptomatic and met at least two of the following three criteria: (1) compatible radiological findings; (2) a positive polymerase chain reaction for John Cunningham virus (JCV) in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF); (3) an absence of findings suggesting another infection in the central nervous system, after general CSF cultures for virus, bacteria and mycobacteria. RESULTS: A total of 98 patients were included in the study; 24.5% were diagnosed in the period 1994-1999, 39.8% in 2000-2004 and 35.7% in 2005-2009. The median follow-up time was 363 days (interquartile range 108-1946 days). The median CD4 count was 76 cells/uL (interquartile range 30-166 cells/uL) and 62% of patients had an HIV viral load >50 HIV-1 RNA copies/ml. Thirty-eight per cent of patients received high-penetrance treatment, and 58% received treatment that included protease inhibitors. In the analysis of survival at 1 year, a higher CPE score did not result in an improvement in survival, but the presence of protease inhibitors in the regimen was associated with a statistically significant (P = 0.03) reduction in mortality (hazard ratio 0.40; 95% confidence interval 0.18-0.91). CONCLUSIONS: We consider that the lower mortality observed in the protease inhibitor group may be clinically relevant, and, if this is the case, a treatment based on protease inhibitors may be indicated for patients diagnosed with PML.

Optimization of honey-must preparation and alcoholic fermentation by Saccharomyces cerevisiae for mead production.

Mead fermentation is a time-consuming process, often taking several months to complete. Despite of the use of starter cultures several problems still persist such as lack of uniformity of the final products, slow or premature fermentation arrest and the production of off-flavors by yeast. Thus the aim of this study was to optimize mead production through the use of an appropriate honey-must formulation to improve yeast performance alcoholic fermentation and thereby obtain a high quality product. Honey-must was centrifuged to reduce insoluble solids, pasteurized at 65°C for 10 min, and then subjected to different conditions: nitrogen supplementation and addition of organic acids. Although the addition of diammonium phosphate (DAP) reduced fermentation length, it did not guarantee the completeness of the fermentation process, suggesting that other factors could account for the reduced yeast activity in honey-must fermentations. Sixteen yeast-derived aroma compounds which contribute to the sensorial quality of mead were identified and quantified. Global analysis of aromatic profiles revealed that the total concentration of aroma compounds in meads was higher in those fermentations where DAP was added. A positive correlation between nitrogen availability and the levels of ethyl and acetate esters, associated to the fruity character of fermented beverages, was observed whereas the presence of potassium tartrate and malic acid decreased, in general, their concentration. This study provides very useful information that can be used for improving mead quality.

Effect of refermentation conditions and micro-oxygenation on the reduction of volatile acidity by commercial S. cerevisiae strains and their impact on the aromatic profile of wines.

Herein, we evaluate the applicability of previously characterized commercial and indigenous Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains and non-S. cerevisiae species for the deacidification of white and red wines at a pilot scale. The effect of the refermentation process (mixture of acidic wine with musts from freshly crushed grapes or with residual marc) as well as micro-oxygenation (MO) on acetic acid removal efficiency and wine aromatic composition was also assessed in a red wine. The commercial strains S26 and S29 efficiently reduced both acetic acid (43 and 47%, respectively) and sugar (100%) after 264 h of refermentation of an acidic white wine that was supplemented with grape must. Similar results (60-66% of acetic acid removal) were observed for red wine deacidification using grape must, independently of MO. When residual marc was used for deacidification, strain S26 removed 40% of acetic acid, whereas strain S29 did not initiate refermentation with or without MO. Wines obtained by refermentation with the must had significantly lower acetic acid and a higher total SO(2) concentration in comparison to the wines deacidified by the grape marcs. The volatile aroma compound's composition of deacidified red wines was dependent on the refermentation process used, rather than on MO. Themarc-deacidified wine obtained by the use of strain S26 and without MO achieved the best sensory classification.When data from all analytical and sensory evaluation were combined, Principal Component Analysis (PCA) separated the wines into three distinct groups according to the strain and the refermentation process independently of MO. We successfully established an efficient and cheap enological solution for the rectification of volatile acidity of wines.

Impact of prior pneumococcal vaccination on clinical outcomes in HIV-infected adult patients hospitalized with invasive pneumococcal disease.

BACKGROUND: Recent studies in hospitalized patients with community-acquired pneumonia have found a lower risk of bacteraemia and better clinical outcomes in patients who had previously received the 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPV) in comparison with unvaccinated individuals. The aim of this study was to assess the influence of prior PPV on clinical outcomes in HIV-infected adult patients hospitalized with invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD). METHODS: This was an observational study of all consecutive HIV-infected adults hospitalized with IPD from January 1996 to October 2007 in three hospitals in Spain. Baseline characteristics and clinical outcome-related variables were compared according to prior PPV vaccination status. RESULTS: A total of 162 episodes of IPD were studied. In 23 of these (14.2%), patients had previously received PPV. In both vaccinated and unvaccinated patients, most of the causal serotypes were included in the 23-valent PPV (76.9% and 84.1%, respectively). Overall, 25 patients (15.4%) died during hospitalization, 21 patients (13%) required admission to an intensive care unit (ICU) and 34 patients (21%) reached the composite outcome of death and/or admission to the ICU. None of the 23 patients who had previously received PPV died or required ICU admission, in comparison with 25 (18%; P=0.026) and 21 (15.1%; P=0.046), respectively, of the unvaccinated patients. The length of hospital stay for vaccinated patients was significantly shorter (8.48 vs. 13.27 days; P=0.011). CONCLUSIONS: Although 23-valent PPV failed to prevent IPD in some HIV-infected patients, vaccination produced beneficial effects on clinical outcomes by decreasing illness severity and mortality related to IPD.

Assessment of very long-chain fatty acids as complementary or alternative natural fecal markers to n-alkanes for estimating diet composition of goats feeding on mixed diets.

This study aimed to assess the use of very long-chain fatty acids (VLCFA) as an alternative or a complement to n-alkane markers for estimation of diet composition of goats fed 7 different diets, composed of different proportions of herbaceous (Lolium perenne and Trifolium repens) and heathland woody species (Erica umbellata, Erica cinerea, Calluna vulgaris, Erica arborea, and Ulex gallii), in a metabolism study. Diet composition was estimated from VLCFA (i.e., C(22) to C(34)) and alkane (i.e., C(25) to C(33)) concentrations in diet and feces, by least squares procedures. For all plant species VLCFA concentrations were greater than their alkane concentrations, especially for the herbaceous species and U. gallii. In general, fecal recovery of both markers was incomplete and increased in a curvilinear (P < 0.001) fashion with carbon-chain length. The plants comprising the diets had a significant effect (P < 0.001) on fecal recovery of VLCFA and alkanes. Diet composition estimates based on VLCFA alone were less accurate (P = 0.013) than those obtained using alkanes alone. Combination of VLCFA and alkane data resulted in the most accurate (P < 0.05) estimates, indicating an increase on the discriminatory power among plant species. Use of uncorrected fecal marker concentrations provided the poorest estimates of diet composition, and use of individual recovery data and mean fecal recovery data of the dietary treatment yielded the most accurate ones. Results obtained in this study show that VLCFA have potential to be used as diet composition markers along with alkanes.