During the transformation of grapes to wine, wine fermentations are exposed to a large area of specialized equipment surfaces within wineries, which may serve as important reservoirs for two-way transfer of microbes between fermentations. However, the role of winery environments in shaping the microbiota of wine fermentations and vectoring wine spoilage organisms is poorly understood at the sys...

It is well-known that the blood properties change with seasons, and especially many reports in respect to change in water content have been made. For example, Kuroda (1) reported that the water content in blood increases in summer, while it decreases in winter. The fact can be explained by the view of Bazett (2), Sjostrand (3), Yoshimura and others (4) that the circulating blood volume, especia...

Significant increases in remotely sensed vegetation indices in the northern latitudes since the 1980s have been detected and attributed at annual and growing season scales. However, we presently lack a systematic understanding of how vegetation responds to asymmetric seasonal environmental changes. In this study, we first investigated trends in the seasonal mean leaf area index (LAI) at norther...

INTRODUCTION Sensitive skin is a frequent disorder, but its effects and its variability are unknown. OBJECTIVES To investigate the effects of sensitive skin first on quality of life and the psyche, and secondly, on seasonal changes. METHODS The French Opinion Poll Institute (IPSOS) conducted two opinion polls in March and July 2004. Samples included, respectively, 1006 and 1001 individuals,...

BACKGROUND Cardiovascular disease is the major contributor to excess morbidity and mortality in winter. With the rise in temperatures through global warming, and the use of central heating and air conditioning, this seasonal variation may be declining. AIM To study possible changes in seasonal variation in case-fatality rates of myocardial infarction (MI), in men and women, over a 20-year per...