Tasting the Italian Terroir through Craft Beer: Quality and Sensory Assessment of Cascade Hops Grown in Central Italy and Derived Monovarietal Beers

The present study aimed to chemically and sensorially characterize hop samples, cv Cascade, grown in two different Italian regions (Latium and Tuscany) as well as their derived beers by a multi analytical approach. Significant differences in bitter acid, oil and polyphenol content were observed for hop samples according to their origin. Gas chromatography-olfactometry analysis pointed out floral notes for Tuscany samples, where hops from Latium were characterized by spicy and resinous notes, correlated to the presence of sesquiterpenes. Differences in the molecular fingerprinting were also highlighted by Fourier–Transform Infrared Spectroscopy. The differences found in the hops were reflected in the beers, which were clearly recognized as distinct by a sensory panel. Both beer samples were mainly characterized by six aroma compounds (linalool, geraniol and β-damascenone, citronellol, 2-phenylethyl acetate, and 2-phenylethanol), three of which were potentially responsible for the geographic origin of the hops given their significantly different concentrations.

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A novel methodology for epidemic risk assessment of COVID-19 outbreak

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-82310-4 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

A. Pluchino ◽

A. E. Biondo ◽

N. Giuffrida ◽

G. Inturri ◽

V. Latora ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Human Mobility ◽

Risk Index ◽

A Priori ◽

Geographical Area ◽

Central Italy ◽

Policy Model ◽

Italian Regions ◽

Northern Regions ◽

Seasonal Flu ◽

Epidemic Risk

AbstractWe propose a novel data-driven framework for assessing the a-priori epidemic risk of a geographical area and for identifying high-risk areas within a country. Our risk index is evaluated as a function of three different components: the hazard of the disease, the exposure of the area and the vulnerability of its inhabitants. As an application, we discuss the case of COVID-19 outbreak in Italy. We characterize each of the twenty Italian regions by using available historical data on air pollution, human mobility, winter temperature, housing concentration, health care density, population size and age. We find that the epidemic risk is higher in some of the Northern regions with respect to Central and Southern Italy. The corresponding risk index shows correlations with the available official data on the number of infected individuals, patients in intensive care and deceased patients, and can help explaining why regions such as Lombardia, Emilia-Romagna, Piemonte and Veneto have suffered much more than the rest of the country. Although the COVID-19 outbreak started in both North (Lombardia) and Central Italy (Lazio) almost at the same time, when the first cases were officially certified at the beginning of 2020, the disease has spread faster and with heavier consequences in regions with higher epidemic risk. Our framework can be extended and tested on other epidemic data, such as those on seasonal flu, and applied to other countries. We also present a policy model connected with our methodology, which might help policy-makers to take informed decisions.

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Analysis and Evaluation of the Spatial Structure of Cittaslow Towns on the Example of Selected Regions in Central Italy and North-Eastern Poland

Land ◽

10.3390/land10080780 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (8) ◽

pp. 780

Author(s):

Marek Zagroba ◽

Katarzyna Pawlewicz ◽

Adam Senetra

Keyword(s):

Sustainable Development ◽

Spatial Structure ◽

Dimensional Space ◽

Subjective Evaluation ◽

Central Italy ◽

Small Towns ◽

Natural Environments ◽

Architectural Features ◽

Italian Regions ◽

Local Traditions

Cittaslow International promotes harmonious development of small towns based on sustainable relationships between economic growth, protection of local traditions, cultural heritage and the environment, and an improvement in the quality of local life. The aim of this study was to analyze and evaluate the differences and similarities in the spatial structure of Cittaslow towns in the Italian regions of Tuscany and Umbria and the Polish region of Warmia and Mazury. The study examined historical towns which are situated in different parts of Europe and have evolved in different cultural and natural environments. The presented research attempts to determine whether the spatial structure of historical towns established in different European regions promotes the dissemination of the Cittaslow philosophy and the adoption of sustainable development principles. The urban design, architectural features and the composition of urban and architectural factors which are largely responsible for perceptions of multi-dimensional space were evaluated. These goals were achieved with the use of a self-designed research method which supported a subjective evaluation of spatial structure defined by historical urban planning and architectural solutions. The study demonstrated that Medieval urban layouts can be successfully incorporated into the modern urban fabric to promote sustainable development and slow living.

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Otolaryngology activity in two hospitals in northern and central Italy differently affected by COVID-19 pandemic

Science Progress ◽

10.1177/0036850421998487 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 104 (2) ◽

pp. 003685042199848

Author(s):

Antonio Minni ◽

Francesco Pilolli ◽

Massimo Ralli ◽

Niccolò Mevio ◽

Luca Roncoroni ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Intensive Care ◽

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ◽

Intensive Care Units ◽

Healthcare System ◽

Central Italy ◽

Northern Italy ◽

Public Hospitals ◽

Geographical Differences ◽

Italian Regions

The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic had a significant impact on the Italian healthcare system, although geographical differences were present; regions in northern Italy have been the most severely affected while regions in the south of the country were relatively spared. Otolaryngologists were actively involved in the management of the pandemic. In this work, we analyzed and compared the otolaryngology surgical activity performed during the pandemic in two large public hospitals located in different Italian regions. In northern Italy, otolaryngologists were mainly involved in performing surgical tracheotomies in COVID-19 positive patients and contributed to the management of these patients in intensive care units. In central Italy, where the burden of the infection was significantly lower, otolaryngologists focused on diagnosis and treatment of emergency and oncology patients. This analysis confirms the important role of the otolaryngology specialists during the pandemic, but also highlights specific differences between two large hospitals in different Italian regions.

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Impact of multiple radar reflectivity data assimilation on the numerical simulation of a flash flood event during the HyMeX campaign

Hydrology and Earth System Sciences ◽

10.5194/hess-21-5459-2017 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 21 (11) ◽

pp. 5459-5476 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Ida Maiello ◽

Sabrina Gentile ◽

Rossella Ferretti ◽

Luca Baldini ◽

Nicoletta Roberto ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Hydrological Cycle ◽

Initial Conditions ◽

Flash Flood ◽

Central Italy ◽

Heavy Precipitation ◽

Radar Reflectivity ◽

Precipitation Event ◽

Italian Regions ◽

Reflectivity Data ◽

The Impact

Abstract. An analysis to evaluate the impact of multiple radar reflectivity data with a three-dimensional variational (3-D-Var) assimilation system on a heavy precipitation event is presented. The main goal is to build a regionally tuned numerical prediction model and a decision-support system for environmental civil protection services and demonstrate it in the central Italian regions, distinguishing which type of observations, conventional and not (or a combination of them), is more effective in improving the accuracy of the forecasted rainfall. In that respect, during the first special observation period (SOP1) of HyMeX (Hydrological cycle in the Mediterranean Experiment) campaign several intensive observing periods (IOPs) were launched and nine of which occurred in Italy. Among them, IOP4 is chosen for this study because of its low predictability regarding the exact location and amount of precipitation. This event hit central Italy on 14 September 2012 producing heavy precipitation and causing several cases of damage to buildings, infrastructure, and roads. Reflectivity data taken from three C-band Doppler radars running operationally during the event are assimilated using the 3-D-Var technique to improve high-resolution initial conditions. In order to evaluate the impact of the assimilation procedure at different horizontal resolutions and to assess the impact of assimilating reflectivity data from multiple radars, several experiments using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model are performed. Finally, traditional verification scores such as accuracy, equitable threat score, false alarm ratio, and frequency bias – interpreted by analysing their uncertainty through bootstrap confidence intervals (CIs) – are used to objectively compare the experiments, using rain gauge data as a benchmark.

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Cluster of measles cases in the Roma/Sinti population, Italy, June-September 2006

Weekly releases (1997–2007) ◽

10.2807/esw.11.41.03062-en ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 11 (41) ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

A Filia ◽

F Curtale ◽

P Kreidl ◽

G Morosetti ◽

L Nicoletti ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Central Italy ◽

Northern Italy ◽

South Tyrol ◽

Italian Regions

Three clusters of measles cases occurred between June and September 2006, in the Roma/Sinti populations in three different Italian regions: the Bolzano-South Tyrol in northern Italy; Lazio in central Italy; and the island of Sardinia in the southwest

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PREFACE

Annals of Geophysics ◽

10.4401/ag-7373 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 59 ◽

Author(s):

Carlo Doglioni ◽

Marco Anzidei ◽

Silvia Pondrelli ◽

Fabio Florindo

Keyword(s):

Central Italy ◽

Universal Time ◽

Wide Area ◽

Seismic Sequence ◽

Central Apennines ◽

Total Destruction ◽

Italian Regions

<p>The M=6.0 earthquake that struck central Italy at 01:36 UTC (Universal Time Coordinated) on August 24, 2016, marked the beginning of a long, still-ongoing seismic sequence, which culminated in the Mw 6.5 event at 06:40 UTC on October 30, 2016, while this volume was already in preparation, and reactivated again when this preface was almost complete. This dramatic seismic sequence, which on January 18, 2017, released four additional events of M between 5.0 and 5.5 in a few hours, caused 298 casualties, hundreds of injuries, and the practically total destruction of several villages across a wide area of the central Apennines, covering the Italian Regions of Lazio, Umbria, Marche and Abruzzo. In particular, the historical village of Amatrice was completely destroyed. [...]</p>

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Genomic Epidemiology of the First Wave of SARS-CoV-2 in Italy

Viruses ◽

10.3390/v12121438 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (12) ◽

pp. 1438

Author(s):

Francesca Di Giallonardo ◽

Sebastian Duchene ◽

Ilaria Puglia ◽

Valentina Curini ◽

Francesca Profeta ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Phylogenetic Analysis ◽

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ◽

Genome Sequence ◽

Sequence Data ◽

Central Italy ◽

Virus Transmission ◽

Virus Genome ◽

Extensive Study ◽

Genomic Epidemiology ◽

Italian Regions

Italy was one of the first countries to experience a major epidemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), with >1000 cases confirmed by 1 March 2020. However, virus genome sequence data is sparse and there has been only limited investigation of virus transmission across the country. Here, we provide the most extensive study to date of the genomic epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 in Italy covering the first wave of infection. We generated 191 new full-length genomes, largely sampled from central Italy (Abruzzo), before, during, and after the enforcement of a nationwide “lockdown” (8 March–3 June). These were combined with 460 published SARS-CoV-2 sequences sampled across Italy. Phylogenetic analysis including global sequence data revealed multiple independent introductions into Italy, with at least 124 instances of sequence clusters representing longer chains of transmission. Eighteen of these transmission clusters emerged before the nation-wide lockdown was implemented on 8 March, and an additional 18 had evidence for transmission between different Italian regions. Extended transmission periods between infections of up to 104 days were observed in five clusters. In addition, we found seven clusters that persisted throughout the lockdown period. Overall, we show how importations were an important driver of the first wave of SARS-CoV-2 in Italy.

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Gas Chromatography Olfactometry (GC-O) for the (Semi)Quantitative Screening of Wine Aroma

Foods ◽

10.3390/foods9121892 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (12) ◽

pp. 1892

Author(s):

Arancha de-la-Fuente-Blanco ◽

Vicente Ferreira

Keyword(s):

Gas Chromatography ◽

Wine Aroma ◽

Critical Difference ◽

Sensory Assessment ◽

Factors Affecting ◽

General Guideline ◽

Gas Chromatography Olfactometry ◽

Quantitative Screening ◽

Retention Indexes

This review discusses the different approaches developed by researchers in the last 40 years for the qualitative and semi-quantitative screening of odorants, with special emphasis in wine aroma profiling. In the first part, the aims and possibilities of Gas chromatography-olfactometry (GC-O) as odour-screening and aroma profiling technique are discussed. The critical difference between approaches is whether the ranking of odorants is carried out on an extract containing all the odorants present in the product, or on an extract representative of the odorants contained in the vapour phases that cause the odour and flavour. While the second alternative is more direct and can be more efficient, it requires a good understanding of the factors affecting orthonasal olfaction, handling volatiles (purging, trapping, eluting, and separating) and about the sensory assessment of GC effluents. The review also includes an updated list compiling all the odorants detected in wine by GC-O, including retention indexes and odour descriptions with a general guideline for the identification of odorants.

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A comparison of aleurone cells in centenarian African and contemporary barley seeds to identify the geographic origin

Comptes Rendus Palevol ◽

10.5852/cr-palevol2021v20a43 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Claudio MILANESI ◽

Rita VIGNANI ◽

Monica SCALI ◽

Claudia FALERI ◽

Matteo DELLE DONNE ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Geographic Origin ◽

Ex Situ ◽

Archaeological Sites ◽

African Countries ◽

Hordeum Vulgare L ◽

Aleurone Cells ◽

Craft Beer ◽

Extraction And Purification ◽

Molecular Imprint ◽

The University

Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) is one of the main domesticated cereals. For this reason, barley seeds have been found in numerous archaeological sites, and since the mid-19th century have been available in numerous natural museum collections. About a hundred years ago samples were collected in the African countries of Eritrea and Cyrenaica (now Libya), and have been preserved as ex-situ in the museum collection “L’Orientale” of the University of Naples. The varieties of contemporary barley selected for comparative analysis were grown in Tuscany and are used in the production of craft beer. To ascertain their vitality, the ancient and contemporary seeds were placed in Petri dishes to hydrate under a sterile hood at room temperature after a sterilization procedure. Morphological and ultrastructural observations performed on the aleurone cells of the ancient samples presented vital cells. The extraction and purification of DNA from seeds produced results while the genotype comparison of ancient and contemporary barley varieties enabled the construction of a dendrogram of similarity, useful in describing barley from museum genetic heritage collections and in providing a molecular imprint of extant varieties.

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Prevalence and associated factors of COVID-19 across Italian regions: a secondary analysis from a national survey on physiotherapists

Archives of Physiotherapy ◽

10.1186/s40945-021-00125-y ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Simone Gambazza ◽

Silvia Bargeri ◽

Isabella Campanini ◽

Roberto Meroni ◽

Andrea Turolla ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Online Survey ◽

Response Rate ◽

Serological Test ◽

Central Italy ◽

Nasopharyngeal Swab ◽

Related Factors ◽

Work Related ◽

Italian Regions ◽

Northern Regions ◽

Central Regions

Abstract Background Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) broke out in China in December 2019 and now is a pandemic all around the world. In Italy, Northern regions were hit the hardest during the first wave. We aim to explore the prevalence and the exposure characteristics of physiotherapists (PTs) working in different Italian regions during the first wave of COVID-19. Methods Between April and May 2020 a structured anonymous online survey was distributed to all PTs registered in the National Professional Registry to collect prevalence data of a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 (i.e., nasopharyngeal swab and/or serological test). A bottom-up agglomerative nesting hierarchical clustering method was applied to identify groups of regions based on response rate. Multivariable logistic regression was used to explore personal and work-related factors associated with a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19. Results A total of 15,566 PTs completed the survey (response rate 43.3%). The majority of respondents (57.7%) were from Northern regions. Considering all respondents, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Northern and Central Italy, was higher compared to those in Southern Italy (6.9% vs. 1.8%, P < 0.001); focusing the analysis on respondents who underwent nasopharyngeal swab and/or serological test led to similar findings (14.1% vs. 6.4%, P < 0.001). Working in Northern and Central regions was associated with a higher risk of confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 compared to Southern regions (OR 3.4, 95%CI 2.6 to 4.3). PTs working in Northern and Central regions were more likely to be reallocated to a different unit and changing job tasks, compared to their colleagues working in the Southern regions (10.5% vs 3.7%, P < 0.001). Conclusions Work-related risk factors were differently distributed between Italian regions at the time of first pandemic wave, and PTs working in the Northern and Central regions were more at risk of a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19, especially when working in hospitals. Preventive and organizational measures should be applied to harmonize physiotherapy services in the national context. Registration https://osf.io/x7cha

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