Wine experts usually rely on chemical tracers of qualities or defects to judge wines. While part of their expertise is determined by their sensory ability to detect these key compounds, their level of sensitivity is generally unknown. The olfactory detection thresholds for 10 key odorant compounds in wine were, therefore, measured in a large sample of professionals (100 < n < 150). The experts' sensitivity to two tastants, tartaric acid and alum (respectively, sour and astringent compounds) was also tested. The study confirms that distributions of individual detection thresholds were very large (>3 log10 units). Comparing the abilities of the experts to detect the whole sample of chemicals tested, we showed that their sensitivity profiles were very different. Detection threshold distribution asymmetries suggested specific hyposmias or hyperosmias for bionone, 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2,4,6-trichloroanisole, diacetyl, and linalool. Interestingly, we found that academic degrees in tasting and enology do have an impact on odor detection thresholds for two compounds, diacetyl and mixed ethylphenols.
M-mode echocardiography reveals an abrupt change between early and late left ventricular posterior wall kinetics during relaxation. No attempt has been previously made to relate this wall kinetic change and transmitral flow rate. In 25 normal subjects, 14 patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (Group 1) and 17 patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (Group 2), M-mode echocardiographic studies were performed on the posterior wall and mitral valve. Transient values of mitral orifice area were calculated and transmitral flow velocities were recorded: area and velocity data yielded transmitral flow rates. Time intervals were determined from mitral opening to peak early area, velocity and flow rate and to posterior wall slope change. An additional group included five patients with a mitral prosthesis. The posterior wall slope change was present when part of the myocardial structures were almost akinetic or when mitral chordae tendineae were absent; slope change appeared as a regional phenomenon in the free wall. In the normal subjects, close values were found for the four time intervals. In the patients with dilated and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, peak early velocity (95.7 +/- 16.7 and 146.2 +/- 31.4 ms, respectively), peak flow rate (84.7 +/- 18.2 and 137.4 +/- 29.5 ms) and time to slope change (91.4 +/- 18.6 and 133.6 +/- 32.7 ms) were significantly delayed (p less than 0.001) in comparison with peak area (56.6 +/- 9.5 and 84.3 +/- 22.5 ms). Slope change does not indicate the end of the early filling phase but, rather, its transition from acceleration to deceleration. Time to peak velocity or time to peak filling rate must be considered in a relaxation analysis.
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