bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
It's all about the T: transcription termination in archaea
Authors: Maier Lisa-Katharina , Marchfelder Anita
Published: February 2019

One of the most fundamental biological processes driving all life on earth is transcription. The, at first glance, relatively simple cycle is divided into three stages: initiation at the promoter site, elongation throughout the open reading frame, and finally termination and product release at the terminator. In all three processes, motifs of the template DNA and protein factors of the transcription machinery including the multisubunit polymerase itself as well as a broad range of associated transcription factors work together and mutually influence each other. Despite several decades of research, this interplay holds delicate mechanistic and structural details as well as interconnections yet to be explored. One of the surprising characteristics of archaeal biology is the use of eukaryotic-like information processing systems against a backdrop of a bacterial-like genome. Archaeal genomes usually comprise main chromosomes alongside chromosomal plasmids, and the genetic information is encoded in single transcriptional units as well as in multicistronic operons alike their bacterial counterparts. Moreover, archaeal genomes are densely packed and this necessitates a tight regulation of transcription and especially assured termination events in order to prevent read-through into downstream coding regions and the accumulation of antisense transcripts.
STAT1-mediated inhibition of FOXM1 enhances gemcitabine sensitivity in pancreatic cancer
Authors: Liu Chao , Shi Jiaqi , Li Qingwei , Li Zhiwei , Lou Changjie , Zhao Qi , Zhu Yuanyuan , Zhan Fei , Lian Jie , Wang Bojun , Guan Xin , Fang Lin , Li Zengxun , Wang Yifei , Zhou Bodong , Yao Yuanfei , Zhang Yanqiao
Published: February 2019

Forkhead box protein M1 (FOXM1) was identified as an oncogenic transcription factor and master regulator of tumor progression and metastasis. FOXM1 expression often correlates with poor prognosis and chemotherapy resistance. In the present study, we investigated the association of FOXM1 expression and chemoresistance in pancreatic cancer. Elevated FOXM1 protein levels were associated with gemcitabine chemoresistance in patients with pancreatic cancer. In gemcitabine resistance cell line models of pancreatic cancer, FOXM1 expression increased, which induced gemcitabine chemoresistance in vitro. In pancreatic cancer cells treated with gemcitabine, FOXM1 affected nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) signaling activity. Immunohistochemical analysis demonstrated a negative association of FOXM1 expression and the level of phosphorylated signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (pSTAT1) in human pancreatic cancer tissues. Dual-luciferase reporter assays and chromatin-immunoprecipitation assays demonstrated that pSTAT1 directly binds to the FOXM1 promoter to down-regulate its transcription. Interferon γ (IFNγ) promoted gemcitabine-induced cell apoptosis and inhibited cell proliferation in vitro and in vivo by FOXM1 inhibition. These data suggested that FOXM1 enhances chemoresistance to gemcitabine in pancreatic cancer. IFNγ could be used to down-regulate the expression of FOXM1 through STAT1 phosphorylation, thereby increasing the sensitivity of pancreatic cancer cells to gemcitabine. These studies suggested the sensitization by IFNγ in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) chemotherapy, which requires further clinical studies.
The Effect of Kalman-Weighted Averaging and Artifact Rejection on Residual Noise During Auditory Brainstem Response Testing
Authors: Norrix Linda W. , Thein Julie , Velenovsky David
Published: February 2019

Purpose

Low residual noise (RN) levels are critically important when obtaining electrophysiological recordings of threshold auditory brainstem responses. In this study, we examine the effectiveness and efficiency of Kalman-weighted averaging (KWA) implemented on the Vivosonic Integrity System and artifact rejection (AR) implemented on the Intelligent Hearing Systems SmartEP system for obtaining low RN levels.

Method

Sixteen adults participated. Electrophysiological measures were obtained using simultaneous recordings by the Vivosonic and Intelligent Hearing Systems for subjects in 2 relaxed conditions and 4 active motor conditions. Three averaging times were used for the relaxed states (1, 1.5, and 3 min) and for the active states (1.5, 3, and 6 min). Repeated-measures analyses of variance were used to examine RN levels as a function of noise reduction strategy (i.e., KWA, AR) and averaging time.

Results

Lower RN levels were obtained using KWA than AR in both the relaxed and active motor states. Thus, KWA was more effective than was AR under the conditions examined in this study. Using KWA, approximately 3 min of averaging was needed in the relaxed condition to obtain an average RN level of 0.025 μV. In contrast, in the active motor conditions, approximately 6 min of averaging was required using KWA. Mean RN levels of 0.025 μV were not attained using AR.

Conclusions

When patients are not physiologically quiet, low RN levels are more likely to be obtained and more efficiently obtained using KWA than AR. However, even when using KWA, in active motor states, 6 min of averaging or more may be required to obtain threshold responses. Averaging time needed and whether a low RN level can be attained will depend on the level of motor activity exhibited by the patient.
Enhanced Speechreading Performance in Young Hearing Aid Users in China
Authors: Lei Jianghua , Gong Huina , Chen Liang
Published: February 2019

Purpose

The study was designed primarily to determine if the use of hearing aids (HAs) in individuals with hearing impairment in China would affect their speechreading performance.

Method

Sixty-seven young adults with hearing impairment with HAs and 78 young adults with hearing impairment without HAs completed newly developed Chinese speechreading tests targeting 3 linguistic levels (i.e., words, phrases, and sentences).

Results

Groups with HAs were more accurate at speechreading than groups without HA across the 3 linguistic levels. For both groups, speechreading accuracy was higher for phrases than words and sentences, and speechreading speed was slower for sentences than words and phrases. Furthermore, there was a positive correlation between years of HA use and the accuracy of speechreading performance; longer HA use was associated with more accurate speechreading.

Conclusions

Young HA users in China have enhanced speechreading performance over their peers with hearing impairment who are not HA users. This result argues against the perceptual dependence hypothesis that suggests greater dependence on visual information leads to improvement in visual speech perception.
Investigating Listening Effort in Classrooms for 5- to 7-Year-Old Children
Authors: Prodi Nicola , Visentin Chiara , Peretti Alessandro , Griguolo Jacopo , Bartolucci Giovanni Battista
Published: February 2019

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the listening effort made by young children in real classrooms during a prolonged speech reception task in the presence of background noise.

Method

The experiment was proposed to 117 typically developing kindergarten and primary school pupils, aged 5–7 years old. An ecological experimental approach was followed, and speech-in-noise tests were presented in the classrooms to groups made up of the whole class. The speech material of the Word Intelligibility by Picture Identification Test in the Italian language (
Arslan, Genovese, Orzan, & Turrini, 1997
) was presented in 2 listening conditions (quiet classroom [no noise added] and working classroom [with stationary noise]) and was repeated twice during the experiment. Data on the number of correctly recognized words and the single-task response time (RT) were collected; the quantity of the latter was considered informative on listening effort.

Results

It was found that when background noise was present, the pupils' performance decreased, and greater RTs were required compared to the “quiet classroom” condition. When the RTs were analyzed over the course of the experiment, there were no changes in the quiet condition, whereas in the working classroom, a significant increase was found for the 6- and 7-year-old pupils. On the contrary, the youngest pupils (5-year-olds) showed a decrease in the RT results over the test repetitions.

Conclusions

The RT measured with a single-task paradigm was found to be a viable approach for investigating the listening effort in 6- to 7-year-old pupils. For this age range, the metric was sensitive to changes both in the listening conditions and within the same listening condition across the time of exposure. More research is needed to assess the feasibility of the experimental paradigm with the 5-year-old children.
Regional attention generative adversarial network
Authors: Wang Wei , Hu Haifeng , Huang Yi , Ruan Chongchong , Chen Dihu
Published: February 2019

In this Letter, the authors propose a novel attention mechanism combined with a classical generative adversarial network (GAN) model to improve the visual quality of generated samples. This novel attention model is named regional attention GAN. The proposed mechanism can build dependencies between the high‐level representations extracted from attention regions of real images and corresponding feature maps of the generative network. By modelling these dependencies, the generative network can be facilitated to learn feature mapping and fit the distribution of real data. They conduct extensive experiments on widely used datasets CIFAR‐10, STL‐10, and CelebA. The quantitative and qualitative performance improvement over state‐of‐the‐art methods demonstrates the validity of the proposed attention mechanism in improving the quality of generated images.
Cryptanalysis and improvement of blind signcryption scheme based on elliptic curve
Authors: Bashir Malik Zia Ullah , Ali R.
Published: February 2019

Blind signcryption schemes are the extension of signcryption schemes. They are used to protect the privacy and identity of the sender from other users, especially in electronic voting and electronic cash payment systems. A number of blind signcryption schemes are introduced over the years and some of them are proved to be insecure. In this Letter, the authors analysed a recently proposed blind signcryption scheme based on elliptic curves and proved it is insecure. Their analysis showed that the proposed scheme is unable to provide the claimed security attributes of message integrity, authentication, unforgeability, and signer non‐repudiation. After successful cryptanalysis, they introduced a modified version of this scheme to overcome the security flaws and weakness.
Two‐step, piecewise‐linear SAR ADC with programmable transfer function
Authors: Sengupta S. , Johnston M.L.
Published: February 2019

A 7‐bit successive approximation register (SAR) analogue‐to‐digital converter (ADC) with programmable transfer functions is presented. Building upon prior art, a two‐step successive approximation technique is used to implement a piecewise‐linear approximation of the desired transfer function. However, unlike previous implementations of SAR‐based non‐linear ADCs, the proposed work demonstrates programmability of arbitrary non‐linear transfer functions, thus making it suitable for a wide range of low‐bandwidth applications. Simulation results from a proof‐of‐concept design in a standard 180 nm CMOS process are presented to validate the proposed idea.
Slim dual‐polarised antenna with omnidirectional patterns for WLAN applications
Authors: Sun Li , Li Yulian
Published: February 2019

A slim dual‐polarised antenna with omnidirectional patterns is proposed for wireless local area network (WLAN) applications. The antenna is a composition of a modified J‐type antenna for vertical polarisation and two crossed‐loop antennas for horizontal polarisation. For improving the isolation between the two polarisations, a rectangular loop is partially added in the middle of one of the loop antenna, connecting the end of the J‐type antenna. The rectangular loop also acts as tuning the impedance of the antenna. For achieving omnidirectional patterns of the horizontal polarisation, a series circular feeding network is designed to excite the loop antennas. The antenna is fabricated by copper and the circular network is printed on a substrate. Measurement results show the 10 dB return losses of the two ports are covering the whole 2.4 GHz WLAN band, with the isolation better than 20 dB. The gains vary <2.2 dB in the horizontal plane for both the polarisations. With the advantages of slim structure, lightweight, and easy fabrication, the proposed antenna is convenient to use in the WLAN routers.
Switchable differential filter using dual‐mode dielectric resonator
Authors: Yuan Xiao‐Xiao , Zhou Li‐Heng , Chen Jian‐Xin
Published: February 2019

This Letter presents a method for designing a switchable differential filter with high performance using dual‐mode dielectric resonator (DR). It consists of a half‐cut dual‐mode DR, four feeding probes and a printed circuit board which is embedded in the bottom of the metal cavity to enable the integration of the four PIN diodes. In this case, the dual modes of the DR can be differentially excited well by two pairs of feeding probes for constructing the differential passband. By controlling the probe end as open/short status, the differential external quality factor can be adjusted so that the passband is switchable. To validate the proposed idea, a compact switchable differential filter with good performance is designed, fabricated and measured. The simulated and measured results in two states with the good agreement are presented.
Environment driven consumer EC model incorporating complexities of consumer body dynamics
Authors: Ali Sahibzada Muhammad , Khan Bilal , Mokryani Geev , Mehmood Chaudhry Arshad , Jawad Muhammad , Farid Umar
Published: February 2019

Energy consumption (EC) of consumers primarily depends on comfort level (CL) affirmed by brain sensations of the central nervous system. Environmental parameters such as surroundings, relative humidity, air temperature, solar irradiance, air pressure, and cloud cover directly influence consumer body temperature that in return affect blood dynamics perturbing brain comfort sensations. This CL (either in summer, winter, autumn, or spring season) is a function of external environment and internal body variations that force a consumer toward EC. To develop a new concept of consumer's EC, first the authors described environment parameters in detail with relation to surroundings and EC. Considering this, they tabulated a generic relation of consumer's CL with EC and environment temperature. Second, to build an inter‐related bond between the environmental effects on consumer body dynamics, they analysed theoretically and mathematically above mutual relations between medical and environmental sciences. Finally, they present their conceptual EC model based on a closed‐loop feedback system. This model is a complex non‐linear adaptive system with environmental and surrounding parameters as input to the system resulting in an optimised EC, considering consumer CL as a key parameter for the system.
3D Features for human action recognition with semi‐supervised learning
Authors: Sahoo Suraj Prakash , Srinivasu Ulli , Ari Samit
Published: February 2019

Human action recognition (HAR) is a very challenging task because of intra‐class variations and complex backgrounds. Here, a motion history image (MHI)‐based interest point refinement is proposed to remove the noisy interest points. Histogram of oriented gradient (HOG) and histogram of optical flow (HOF) techniques are extended from spatial to spatio‐temporal domain to preserve the temporal information. These local features are used to build the trees for the random forest technique. During tree building, a semi‐supervised learning is proposed for better splitting of data points at each node. For recognition of an action, mutual information is estimated for all the extracted interest points to each of the trained class by passing them through the random forest. The proposed method is evaluated on KTH, Weizmann, and UCF Sports standard datasets. The experimental results indicate that the proposed technique provides better performance compared to earlier reported techniques.
Family of transformerless pulse‐width modulation converters integrating voltage equalisers for PV panels and energy storage modules
Authors: Uno Masatoshi , Yamamoto Masaya
Published: February 2019

In photovoltaic (PV) systems, partial shading on PV panels is known to decrease the energy yield significantly. In energy storage applications, voltage imbalance of series‐connected energy storage devices may result in over‐charging and over‐discharging of some devices. Although these issues can be precluded by voltage equalisers, PV and energy storage systems are prone to complexity because, in addition to main converters, voltage equalisers are separately necessary. To simplify the PV and energy storage systems, four kinds of transformerless pulse‐width modulation converters integrating voltage equalisers are proposed in this study. Four kinds of basic circuits, each containing a unique ‘switching cell’, are introduced as a foundation of integrated converters. Stacking multiple switching cells with respective basic circuit derives the proposed integrated converters. Fundamental operation analyses are performed for two representative topologies. Experimental verification tests were performed using prototypes for a PV panel and series‐connected electric double‐layer capacitors (EDLCs). With the integrated converters, the energy yield from the partially shaded PV panel was significantly increased, and EDLCs were charged with eliminating voltage imbalance. This study chiefly focuses on the generalisation, fundamental operation analysis, and experimental verification for the proposed circuit derivation concept rather than detailed analysis for individual topologies.
Efficient multi‐parameter calibration method for CVC assist robot with servo‐navigation system
Authors: Wang Dongxiao , Zhang Bo , Zhang Lei , Zhang Liqun , Yang Menglin , Akahoshi Tomohiko , Hashizume Makoto , Fujie Masakatsu G.
Published: February 2019

High precision and servo‐puncture navigation system is of great significance for the clinical application of central venous catheter (CVC) puncture‐assist robot guided by ultrasound. Therefore, the authors proposed a new servo‐predictive navigation system, which can track the posture of robot and predict the puncturing needle path in real time, effectively solving the limitation of conventional path plan line, such as path plan line deviation. For ensuring the accuracy of this predictive navigation system, a multi‐parameter calibration method using particle swarm optimisation (PSO) based on self‐adaptive system was adopted in this research, and applied to authors’ self‐developed servo‐predictive navigation system for puncture‐assist robot MRAPS II. Experimental results indicated that by calibrating mechanical and control parameters, the authors can effectively improve the accuracy of servo‐navigation system. It greatly promoted the use of CVC puncture‐assist robot in clinical application.
Spatially resolved origin of millimeter-wave linear polarization in the nuclear region of 3C 84
Authors: Kim J.-Y. , Krichbaum T. P. , Marscher A. P. , Jorstad S. G. , Agudo I. , Thum C. , Hodgson J. A. , MacDonald N. R. , Ros E. , Lu R.-S. , Bremer M. , de Vicente P. , Lindqvist M. , Trippe S. , Zensus J. A.
Published: February 2019

We report results from a deep polarization imaging of the nearby radio galaxy 3C 84 (NGC 1275). The source was observed with the Global Millimeter VLBI Array (GMVA) at 86 GHz at an ultrahigh angular resolution of 50 μas (corresponding to ∼200Rs). We also add complementary multiwavelength data from the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA; 15 and 43 GHz) and from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA; 97.5, 233.0 and 343.5 GHz). At 86 GHz, we measured a fractional linear polarization of ∼2% in the VLBI core region. The polarization morphology suggests that the emission is associated with an underlying limb-brightened jet. The fractional linear polarization is lower at 43 and 15 GHz (∼0.3−0.7% and <0.1%, respectively). This suggests an increasing linear polarization degree toward shorter wavelengths on VLBI scales. We also obtain a large rotation measure (RM) of ∼105–6 rad m2in the core at ≳43 GHz. Moreover, the VLBA 43 GHz observations show a variable RM in the VLBI core region during a small flare in 2015. Faraday depolarization and Faraday conversion in an inhomogeneous and mildly relativistic plasma could explain the observed linear polarization characteristics and the previously measured frequency dependence of the circular polarization. Our Faraday depolarization modeling suggests that the RM most likely originates from an external screen with a highly uniform RM distribution. To explain the large RM value, the uniform RM distribution and the RM variability, we suggest that the Faraday rotation is caused by a boundary layer in a transversely stratified jet. Based on the RM and the synchrotron spectrum of the core, we provide an estimate for the magnetic field strength and the electron density of the jet plasma.
Density waves and the viscous overstability in Saturn’s rings
Authors: Lehmann M. , Schmidt J. , Salo H.
Published: February 2019

This paper considers resonantly forced spiral density waves in a dense planetary ring that is close to the threshold for viscous overstability. We solved numerically the hydrodynamical equations for a dense thin disk in the vicinity of an inner Lindblad resonance with a perturbing satellite. Our numerical scheme is one-dimensional so that the spiral shape of a density wave is taken into account through a suitable approximation of the advective terms arising from the fluid orbital motion. This paper is a first attempt to model the co-existence of resonantly forced density waves and short-scale free overstable wavetrains as observed in Saturn’s rings, by conducting large-scale hydrodynamical integrations. These integrations reveal that the two wave types undergo complex interactions, not taken into account in existing models for the damping of density waves. In particular we found that, depending on the relative magnitude of both wave types, the presence of viscous overstability can lead to the damping of an unstable density wave and vice versa. The damping of the short-scale viscous overstability by a density wave was investigated further by employing a simplified model of an axisymmetric ring perturbed by a nearby Lindblad resonance. A linear hydrodynamic stability analysis as well as local N-body simulations of this model system were performed and support the results of our large-scale hydrodynamical integrations.
Formation of wind-captured disks in supergiant X-ray binaries
Authors: El Mellah I. , Sander A. A. C. , Sundqvist J. O. , Keppens R.
Published: February 2019

Context. In supergiant X-ray binaries (SgXB), a compact object captures a fraction of the wind of an O/B supergiant on a close orbit. Proxies exist to evaluate the efficiency of mass and angular momentum accretion, but they depend so dramatically on the wind speed that given the current uncertainties, they only set loose constraints. Furthermore, these proxies often bypass the impact of orbital and shock effects on the flow structure.

Aims. We study the wind dynamics and angular momentum gained as the flow is accreted. We identify the conditions for the formation of a disk-like structure around the accretor and the observational consequences for SgXB.

Methods. We used recent results on the wind launching mechanism to compute 3D streamlines, accounting for the gravitational and X-ray ionizing influence of the compact companion on the wind. Once the flow enters the Roche lobe of the accretor, we solved the hydrodynamics equations with cooling.

Results. A shocked region forms around the accretor as the flow is beamed. For wind speeds on the order of the orbital speed, the shock is highly asymmetric compared to the axisymmetric bow shock obtained for a purely planar homogeneous flow. With net radiative cooling, the flow always circularizes for sufficiently low wind speeds.

Conclusions. Although the donor star does not fill its Roche lobe, the wind can be significantly beamed and bent by the orbital effects. The net angular momentum of the accreted flow is then sufficient to form a persistent disk-like structure. This mechanism could explain the proposed limited outer extension of the accretion disk in Cygnus X-1 and suggests the presence of a disk at the outer rim of the neutron star magnetosphere in Vela X-1 and has dramatic consequences on the spinning up of the accretor.
Theoretical investigation of energy levels and transition data for S II, Cl III, Ar IV
Authors: Rynkun P. , Gaigalas G. , Jönsson P.
Published: February 2019

Aims. The aim of this work is to present accurate and extensive results of energy spectra and transition data for the S II, Cl III, and Ar IV ions. These data are useful for understanding and probing physical processes and conditions in various types of astrophysical plasmas.

Methods. The multiconfiguration Dirac–Hartree–Fock (MCDHF) and relativistic configuration interaction (RCI) methods, which are implemented in the general-purpose relativistic atomic structure package GRASP2K, are used in the present work. In the RCI calculations the transverse-photon (Breit) interaction, the vacuum polarization, and the self-energy corrections are included.

Results. Energy spectra are presented comprising the 134, 87, and 103 lowest states in S II, Cl III, and Ar IV, respectively. Energy levels are in very good agreement with NIST database recommended values and associated with smaller uncertainties than energies from other theoretical computations. Electric dipole (E1), magnetic dipole (M1), and electric quadrupole (E2) transition data are computed between the above states together with the corresponding lifetimes. Based on internal validation, transition rates for the majority of the stronger transitions are estimated to have uncertainties of less than 3%.
Armenian national grapevine collection: Conservation, characterization and prospects
Authors: Margaryan K. , Maul E. , Muradyan Z. , Hovhannisyan A. , Devejyan H. , Melyan G. , Aroutiounian R.
Published: February 2019

The general strategy for grapevine genetic resources conservation in Armenia encompasses the collection of the still existing diversity and the use of protection techniques to minimize the losses over time. Being studied mainly by ampelography, the genetic diversity of Armenian grapevine needs to be re-investigated in accordance with modern requirements and international scales. The purpose of the presented research was the first large-scale molecular characterization of Armenian grape varieties by molecular methods using a set of 24 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers encompassing the nine SSR markers recommended by the European project GrapeGen06. The obtained results indicate the uniqueness of the major part of the investigated varieties and reveal a substantial level of genetic variation within the Armenian grapevine. Based on the realized large-scale investigation a true-to-type inventory of Armenian grape germplasm will be realized and documented in theVitisInternational Variety Catalogue and in the EuropeanVitisdatabase. The next step having strategic importance in terms of conservation of grape genetic resources in Armenia will be establishment of the first ArmenianVitisdatabase with multi-crop passport description of all varieties preserved in grape collection.
Field evaluation of new plant protection products against Plasmopara viticola
Authors: Bavaresco L. , Squeri C. , Vercesi A.
Published: February 2019

One of the most dangerous fungal diseases in viticulture is downy mildew. Copper-based active ingredients have been used for a long time to protect vines against Plasmopara viticola and they have always maintained an important role in the defense of vines especially for organic production. On the other hand, copper accumulates in the soil causing toxicity with negative consequences on plants and soil fauna. For this reason, new formulations with lower copper content have been considered. In recent years, foliar fertilizers have been studied, in particular those based on phosphites that, along with the nutritional function, stimulate the production of phytoalexins. Those metabolites cause the induced systemic resistance and act directly in the break of cell membranes of pathogens. This study aims to investigate the efficacy against downy mildew of a commercial product based on phosphites and of a new copper- based foliar fertilizer, where copper is chelated with gluconic acid and aminoacids of plant origin. Based on present results, phosphites significantly reduced the infection, without anyway achieving the defense effectiveness of the copper-based treatment however they ensure a significant reduction of the doses of copper necessary to achieve adequate levels of vineyard protection.
Water in a warmer world – is atmospheric evaporative demand changing in viticultural areas?
Authors: Schultz H.R.
Published: February 2019

The predicted developments in climate are region-specific and adaptation can only be successful considering the regional characteristics with its diverse technical, environmental, economic and social implications. One of the key concerns for many regions is the availability of water through precipitation, the distribution of precipitation throughout the year, and possible changes in evaporative demand of the atmosphere and thus water use. From rising temperatures it is mostly assumed that water holding capacity of the atmosphere will increase in the future as a function of the Clausius-Clapeyron law, which predicts an increase in the saturation vapour pressure of the atmosphere of 6–7% per degree Celsius. As a consequence, a simultaneous increase in potential evapotranspiration (ETp, the amount of water that could potentially be evaporated from soils and transpired by plants due to changes in climatic factors such as temperature, vapour pressure deficit, radiation and wind speed) is assumed in many cases, which would alter soil and plant water relations. However, the same underlying principles also predict an increase in precipitation by 1–2% per degree warming. Additionally, model predictions for many regions forecast altered precipitation patterns and thus in combination with the possibility of increased ETp, farmers around the world fear an increase in the likelyhood of water deficit and a reduction in the availability of water for irrigation. Contrary to expectations, there have been reports on a reduction in evaporative demand worldwide despite increasing temperatures. In many cases this has been related to a decrease in solar radiation observed for many areas on earth including wine growing regions in Europe until the beginning of the 80th (global dimming) of the last century. However, since then, solar radiation has increased again, but ETp did not always follow and a worldwide decrease in wind speed and pan evaporation has been observed. In order to evaluate different grape growing regions with respect to observed changes on precipitation patterns and ETp, the data of seven wine-growing areas in five countries in the Northern and Southern hemisphere across a large climatic trans-sect were analyzed (Rheingau, Germany, Burgundy, Rhone Valley, France, Napa Valley, USA, Adelaide Hills, Tasmania, Australia, Marlborough, New Zealand) were analyzed. Precipitation patterns differed vastly between locations and showed very different trends over observation periods ranging from 23 to 60 years. The ETp has increased continuously in only two of the seven wine growing areas (Rheingau and Marlborough). In most other areas, ETp has been stable during winter and summer for at least 22 years (Rhone Valley, Napa Valley, Tasmania), sometimes much longer (45 years Adelaide Hills), and has been declining in Burgundy after a period of strong increase for the last 13 years. The potential underlying factors are discussed in relation to observed shifts in precipitation patterns.
Climate change potential effects on grapevine bioclimatic indices: A case study for the Portuguese demarcated Douro Region (Portugal)
Authors: Blanco-Ward D. , Ribeiro A. , Barreales D. , Castro J. , Verdial J. , Feliciano M. , Viceto C. , Rocha A. , Carlos C. , Silveira C. , Miranda and A.
Published: February 2019

In this work, bioclimatic parameters and indices relevant to the grapevine are estimated for the years 2000 (recent-pat), 2049 (medium-term future) and 2097 (long-term future), based on very high resolution (1 km × 1 km) MPI-WRF RCP8.5 climate simulations. The selected parameters and indices are the mean temperature during the grapevine growing season period (April to October, Tgs), the cumulative rainfall during the grapevine growing season period (Pgs), the Winkler index (WI), the Huglin heliothermic index (HI), the night cold index (CI) and the dryness index (DI). In general, a significant increase in mean temperature during the grapevine growing season period is observed, together with a significant decrease in precipitation. The recent-past WI is associated with the production of high-quality wines; the higher values predicted for the future represent intensive production of wines of intermediate quality. The HI shows the passage of a grapevine growing region considered as temperate-warm to a warm category of higher helio-thermicity. The recent-past CI indicates very cool conditions (associated with quality wines), while in the future there is a tendency for temperate or warmer nights. Finally, DI indicates an increase in water stress considered already high under the recent-past climate conditions. These results point to an increased climatic stress on the Douro region wine production and increased vulnerability of its vine varieties, providing evidence to support strategies aimed to preserve the high-quality wines in the region and their typicality in a sustainable way.
Physico-chemical aspects of grape juices produced in the region of Campanha Gaucha, RS, Brazil (Southern Brazil)
Authors: Costa V.B. , de Andrade S.B. , Lemos P.L.P.K. , Bender A. , Goulart C. , Herter F.G.
Published: February 2019

The Campanha Gaucha region, southern Brazil, has received significant investments in Viticulture during the last decades, especially for the production of quality wines. However, implementing the production of American and hybrid grapes in this region constitutes and opportunity to supply the increasing demand of the grape juice market in Brazil. Juices of two varieties, “Bordô” and “Concord”, from two locations, Dom Pedrito and Santana do Livramento, were analysed in terms of the following physico-chemical aspects: total city, volatile acidity, density, pH, soluble solids content, color intensity, and hue. “Bordô” juices presented higher total acidity and did not differ in relation to location. Higher volatile acidity was found in “Concord” juice from Santana do Livramento. Higher pH was found in the variety “Concord” and in the location Dom Pedrito. For this same location, the “Concord” grape juices showed higher soluble solids values. Color intensity was higher in Santana do Livramento. Color hue was higher in Dom Pedrito. Both variety and location impacted significantly on physico-chemical aspects of grape juices, although all the grapes were produced within the Campanha Gaucha region.
Ingénierie écologique appliquée aux eﬀuents vinicoles : exemple du dispositif de BlueSET Phytostation® dans la cave « Les Vignerons de Buzet »
Authors: Rochard J. , Wang R. , Alary A. , Lecuona Y. , Philippe P.
Published: February 2019

Le traitement des eﬀuents vinicoles est très souvent réalisé par des systèmes aérobies avec des bassins ouverts. Au-delà de la consommation d'énergie, ces dispositifs génèrent souvent des nuisances sonores, olfactives et visuelles, ce qui impose le plus souvent d'éloigner le dispositif de la cave. La coopérative « Les Vignerons de de Buzet », située dans le sud-ouest de la France, qui a déjà développé une démarche durable pour le vignoble et la cave, a souhaité intégrer une zone humide associée au traitement des eﬀuents de cave avec le procédé breveté de la société BlueSET spécialisée dans le génie écologique. Après une première étape de traitement en aérobie, le dispositif se compose d'un ensemble de bassins dans lesquels sont implantés majoritairement de plantes locales non invasives. Il a pour objectif de favoriser la biodiversité et de permettre aux visiteurs de profiter de manière didactique d'une zone de promenade écologique qui valorise l'image environnementale de la cave. Les résultats de la première année démontrent que les performances sont compatibles avec les normes de rejet locales.
Impact on Tannat wines aroma produced by different yeast using three vinification systems
Authors: Medina K. , Boido E. , Fariña L. , Ares G. , Dellacassa E. , Carrau F.
Published: February 2019

Vinifications were conducted using pure cultures of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and mixed cultures by sequential inoculation of a Hanseniaspora vineae (T02/05F) and Hanseniaspora clermontiae (A10/82F), with a Saccharomyces cerevisiae conventional strain. The vinification systems applied to Tannat grapes were defined: semipilot, pilot and industrial scale. Fifty-one volatile compounds were identified in all the vinifications, sixteen of them were above the aroma threshold values and potentially contributed to the final sensory profiles. A sensory characterization of aroma was carried out using the projective mapping technique, with forty-eight consumers who made evaluation of the three vinifications. Multiple factorial analysis was used to compare the chemical and sensory data to find correlations. The results obtained from both methodologies were coincident, confirming the aromatic tendencies found in the different vinifications. Both studies demonstrated that wines obtained by semipilot scale was characterized by descriptors associated with “chemical” and “floral”; those from pilot vinification by the “spicy” descriptor; while industrial vinification produced wines described as “fruit” and “wood”.
Effect of high hydrostatic pressure on selected red wine quality parameters
Authors: Christofi S. , Malliaris D. , Kotseridis Y. , Panagou E. , Proxenia N. , Kallithraka S.
Published: February 2019

The aim of this work was to examine the possible use of High Hydrostatic Pressure (HHP) as an alternative method for wine preservation, which could also lead to the production of wines with reduced amounts of SO2. For this purpose, red wine samples containing 0 ppm, 30 ppm, 60 ppm and 100 ppm of sulphur dioxide (SO2) were subjected to pressure of 350 MPa for 10 min at 8 ∘C. A second set of samples containing only SO2 was used as control. Colour parameters, acetic acid, total anthocyanin and phenolic contents and antioxidant activity were determined over a period of twelve months. During the first four months, most of the differences observed regarding the chemical composition of the pressurized and unpressurized wines were not statistically significant. However, after the period of six months, the pressurized samples in general were characterized by higher average values % yellow colour and acetic acid and lower of % red colour, total anthocyanin and phenolic content compared to the non-pressurized ones. The results obtained could be a possible indication that HHP could accelerate the polymerization reactions reducing the time needed for wine ageing. HHP combined with reduced SO2 contents might be a promising technology for wine industry.
Application of yeast with reduced alcohol yield for sparkling wine production
Authors: Schmitt M. , Broschart S. , Patz C.-D. , Rauhut D. , Friedel M. , Häge D.
Published: February 2019

Two commercial yeast strains with reduced alcohol production in comparison with a commercial yeast strain with common alcohol yield were assed for their suitability in sparkling wine production according to the traditional bottle fermentation. The different yeast strains were applied for the first fermentation. As expected the base wine differed in terms alcohol. Furthermore the yeast with lower alcohol content showed higher values of glycerol, higher arginine content and in the same time reduced levels of proline after fermentation. However those samples showed increased volatile acidity values, compared to the control wines. The later bottle fermentation with a uniform yeast strain showed similar fermentation kinetics for all four lots. Sensory evaluation showed no clear differences between the sparkling wines that were stored 9 months on the lees. The base wines nevertheless clearly differed from each other. Besides the increased production of volatile acidity, the tested yeast strains with lower alcohol production appear very promising for the sparkling wine industry to face the generally rising alcohol contents worldwide.
Reducción del contenido de alcohol y pH de vinos tintos Pinot noir y Tannat empleando uvas con diferentes niveles de maduración
Authors: Piccardo D. , Favre G. , Pascual O. , Canals J.M. , Zamora F. , González-Neves G.
Published: February 2019

El objetivo de esta investigación fue determinar la efectividad de la mezcla de mostos de uvas con diferente grado de maduración para la obtención de vinos Pinot noir y Tannat con menor contenido de alcohol y pH. En envero, se extrajo mosto de uvas inmaduras que se conservó a 4 ∘C hasta su uso. En madurez tecnológica, las uvas cosechadas fueron despalilladas, estrujadas y distribuidas en seis recipientes. Tres fueron vinificados de forma tradicional, mientras que en los otros tres se realizó una sustitución de 3 L del mosto de uva madura por 3 L del mosto de uvas inmaduras. Ambos tratamientos realizaron una maceración fermentativa de 7 días. Se determinó la composición básica del vino, color, concentración de fenoles totales, antocianos, catequinas y proantocianidinas a los dos meses del descube. La sustitución de mosto permitió elaborar vinos Pinot noir y Tannat con menor contenido de alcohol y pH, sin reducir las concentraciones de polifenoles totales, catequinas o antocianos. El efecto sobre la concentración de proantocianidinas fue variable de acuerdo con el cultivar y año de vendimia. Los vinos Tannat reducidos en alcohol presentaron mayor intensidad de color, menor tono e igual cromaticidad que los vinos testigos.
Progress for research of grape and wine culture in Georgia, the South Caucasus
Authors: Maghradze D. , Aslanishvili A. , Mdinaradze I. , Tkemaladze D. , Mekhuzla L. , Lordkipanidze D. , Jalabadze M. , Kvavadze E. , Rusishvili N. , McGovern P. , This P. , Bacilieri R. , Failla O. , Cola G. , Mariani L. , Toffolatti S.L. , Lorenzis G. De , Bianco P.A. , Quaglino F. , Wales N. , Gilbert M.T.P. , Bouby L. , Kazeli T. , Ujmajuridze L. , Mamasakhlisashili L. , Batiuk S. , Graham A. , Boaretto E. , Cheishvili A. , Davitashvili and L.
Published: February 2019

This communication will provide the latest information about the progress of the “Research Project for the Study of Georgian Grapes and Wine Culture”, managed by the National Wine Agency of Georgia since 2014. Local and foreign institutions continue to work together with the aim of stimulating multidisciplinary scientific research activity on Georgian viticulture and viniculture and to reconstruct their development from Neolithic civilizations to the present. The project is multidisciplinary in nature, merging contributions from archaeology, history, ethnography, molecular genetics, biomolecular archaeology, palaeobotany, ampelography, enology, climatology and other scientific fields.
Motivations for tourism adoption by vineyards worldwide: A literature review
Authors: Borges M.C. , de Menezes D.C.
Published: February 2019

Wine tourism has been increasingly implemented by wineries in several countries around the world. This article aims at identifying the motivations for wine tourism adoption by wineries around the world through a narrative bibliographic review. This paper includes an analysis of articles related to the subject taken from the Web of Science database. In this article, we identified the objectives, methods, and conclusions reached by authors, who researched wine tourism. The bibliographic survey based on the keywords “wine” and “tourism”, resulted, after refining it by reading titles and abstracts, in 20 articles. The results show that most wineries in the studied sample adopt wine tourism as a strategy to achieve marketing-related benefits. Also, some wineries are motivated by the competitive advantage, economic development and increasing demand for such service. It is concluded that wineries are increasingly seeking to adapt to current consumer demands. From the perception of the importance of service experience offered to the consumer, mainly in the product sale.
Designing sustainable and responsible wine tourism experiences
Authors: Filopoulos S. , Frittella N.
Published: February 2019

Wine tourism involves a wide ecosystem of actors. It is not only a source of revenue for wine regions, for the wine business value chain and for local societies, but it can also reveal and safeguard the cultural heritage of wine and support wine regions sustainability. Wine in Moderation – Art de Vivre is an international programme of the wine sector for a sustainable wine culture looking to inspire well-being and contribute to the reduction of alcohol related harm. The article recognises the opportunity which arises through wine tourism, to introduce the visitor directly to wine culture and to educate him on how to best appreciate wine in moderation and responsibly, while looking to present activities and sustainable wine tourism business models that place sensible consumption in the design of their visitor experience. The article takes into consideration current consumer, policy and business trends, principles of sustainable business models, design thinking and systems’ theory, and good practices developed in the framework of the 10 years of the Wine in Moderation programme, to understand how to develop a sustainable wine tourism experience and help create and capture value for wineries, local communities and the wider wine tourism ecosystem. Sustainable wine tourism is an opportunity for growth for the wine value chain. Organising better the visiting areas and offering choices to the guest to experience wine responsibly will prove beneficial both for operators and visitors. Co-creation can provide solutions and far more services which visitors would be willing to experience and pay for. In a growing wine tourism market, wineries and related actors should be fit for purpose, creative and open for partnerships. Adapting a systemic approach, transforming and expanding current business model will be necessary to fully capitalise on the potential of more open and sustainable societies and economies.