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The aim of this study was to test the effectiveness of various concentrations of tea tree oil and clove oil againstPlasmopara viticola. In vitrotests entailed assessing the development ofP. viticolaon leaf disks and calculating sporangial germination. In a field trial, formulated products containing 23.8% tea tree oil (BM-608) and 15% clove oil (Sporatec) were tested in an organic vineyard to control downy mildew. The efficacy of pure and formulated essential oils was compared with a water control and a reference product (Airone, containing copper oxychloride 50% and copper hydroxide 50%). Laboratory experiments revealed the inhibitory activity of essential oils, although the effectiveness was lower than that of the reference product. The field data demonstrated that BM-608 and Sporatec were able to control the development of downy mildew although they were not as effective as the reference product. This study suggests the application of essential oils in order to reduce the use of synthetic pesticides in agriculture, in accordance with European laws, and to avoid the environmental pollution of copper in organic farming. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this essay, I examine the way in which Diana Abu-Jaber's novel, Crescent, presents an exoticised Arabic culture and the relationship of this to a post-9/11 American culture eclipsed by anxieties about terrorism. I am primarily concerned with the text’s representation of what I call “culinary tourism”—its characters’ attempts to access culture (and Arabic culture in particular)—through eating. Food becomes a vehicle through which the text critically explores the dialectics of a post-9/11 American exoticism: the fear of a vaguely defined Arabic or Islamic culture, on the one hand, and the potential for its strangeness to be seen as fascinating on the other. I argue that Crescent is a conflicted novel that presents an exoticised representation of culture through its depiction of food, and yet cannot seem to wholly abandon itself to its own systems of exoticism. On the one hand, as I discuss in the first half of this essay, the novel’s representations of food are a vehicle through which it critiques its characters’ engagement with stereotypes, a mode of cultural interaction which Homi Bhabha argues is always afflicted by anxiety. However, on the other hand, as I discuss in the second half of this essay, the florid language and imagery it uses in its representations of food reveal its reliance upon the same discourses of exoticism it critiques, and possession by the same kinds of anxieties about Arabic culture that afflict its characters.

Background: Only limited studies analyzed a possible relationship between frailty and infections. Our aim was to investigate the possible association between higher multidimensional prognostic index (MPI) values, a tool for evaluating multidimensional frailty, and the prevalence of infectious diseases, including antibiotics' cost and the prevalence of MDR (multidrug resistance) pathogens., Methods: Older patients, affected by COVID-19, were enrolled in the hospital of Palermo over four months., Results: 112 participants (mean age 77.6, 55.4% males) were included. After adjusting for potential confounders, frailer participants had a higher odds of any positivity to pathogens (prevalence: 61.5%, odds ratio = 15.56, p < 0.0001) compared to a prevalence of 8.6% in more robust, including MDR, and a higher costs in antibiotics., Conclusions: Higher MPI values, indicating frailer subjects, were associated with a higher prevalence of infections, particularly of MDR pathogens, and a consequent increase in antibiotics' cost., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)

Background: Centenarians often represent one of the best examples of aging successfully. However, the role of body composition or hydration status assessed with bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) is poorly explored in this population. Therefore, the aim of this systematic review was to better understand the use and the role of BIA for evaluating body composition and hydration status in centenarians., Methods: We conducted a systematic review of the literature up to the 1st of May, 2022 for published articles providing data on BIA to evaluate body composition parameters or hydration status in centenarians. Data were summarized descriptively because a meta-analysis was not possible due to the scarcity of available studies., Results: Among 2222 articles screened, four were eligible including 291 centenarians (mean age: 100.5 years) who were mainly women (88%). In one study, BIA overestimated fat-free mass and underestimated fat mass when compared to deuterium oxide dilution. Another study carried out in Italy including 14 centenarians found a significant correlation between BIA and fat-free mass evaluated using anthropometric tools. In one study, BIA showed a significant agreement with anthropometric measures of fat mass. In the same sample, sarcopenia and dehydration, evaluated with BIA, had a high prevalence., Conclusion: BIA may be used for assessing body composition in centenarians, but research is limited to a few studies suggesting the need of future research in this area., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of natural products and low-rate copper formulations against grapevine downy mildew, in order to reduce or replace copper use in organic farming, and to assess the effects on the qualitative parameters of grape, must and wine of the different treatments. The trial was carried out in an organic vineyard in accordance with the EPPO/OEPP guidelines. Plots were prepared, each containing 12 vine-plants and repeated four times in randomized blocks. At harvest, representative grape samples were picked off from the plots treated with the different products: for each treatment, a random sub-sample was kept for analyses, the remaining part was processed to produce wine. Grapes, musts and wines were characterized for their food quality indices, as well as for their nutraceutical profiles and antioxidant activity. On must and wine, sugars, acidity and pH were determined according to official methods. On grape and wine, total polyphenol, flavonoid and hydroxycinnamic acid contents were determined by spectrophotometric analysis, as well as antioxidant activity tests. Organic acids and single polyphenols were also determined by HPLC. The results of the trial, characterized by moderate infection pressure, indicate that all tested products guaranteed a satisfactory control of Plasmopara viticola although the alternatives to copper were not as effective as copper. Data evidence that grape quality and its oenological potential were not significantly influenced by applied treatments and that they did not significantly differ in comparison with the untreated control, only with an interesting significant negative correlation between proanthocyanidins level and the severity of disease on ripe berries. The uniformity of data seems to evidence a general adaptation of plants to different treatment stresses, probably due both to low input of active ingredients and to moderate downy mildew infection.

Copper is an essential natural micronutrient. However, copper used as a plant protection product may have long-term consequences due to its accumulation in the soil. Limitations on copper use have therefore been defined in organic farming (Regulation EC 889/2008). In the light of new developments and evidence, the European Commission has planned to assess whether further restrictions are needed in the quantities of copper permitted. A two-year field trial was therefore set up with new copper formulations to evaluate the possibility of reducing the copper quantities applied with treatments and consequently to reduce copper soil residues. Plots were prepared, each containing 12 plants and repeated four times in randomized blocks. The test organism was Plasmopara viticola (Berk. and M.A. Curtis) Berl. and De Toni. Cupric formulations characterised by a low metallic content (Glutex CU 90 and Labicuper) were tested in comparison with a reference product (standard) and an untreated control. Evaluations of treatments were carried out periodically on 100 leaves and 100 bunches for each replicate. Data obtained were subjected to statistical analysis. Chemical analyses were performed to determine copper residues on leaves, grapes and soil. Samplings of leaves and grapes were carried out for each replicate. Soil samples were taken from 0-20 cm and 20-40 cm depth. Total copper was determined using spectrophotometry in atomic absorption by acetylene-air flame (FAAS at lambda = 324.8 microm). The results showed that the tested products were effective in controlling downy mildew with a lower copper dosage than with the cupric formulations used as a standard. Glutex CU 90 formulation led to an annual input of copper that was a little more than a third compared to the standard and Labicuper about a fifth or a sixth. At harvest, copper levels in grapes were much lower than RML (fixed at 50 mg/kg). With regard to the impact of cupric treatments on organic vineyard soil, no statistically significant differential increase in Cu residue was observed in soil between tested products versus untreated control. In conclusion, the environmental impact of copper in organic viticulture could be minimized through the new cupric formulations developed by agrochemical companies.