Effect of different ventilation regimens on ewes' milk and Canestrato Pugliese cheese quality in summer

The influence of three different ventilation regimens on air pollution in sheep houses and on the quality of ewe milk and of Canestrato Pugliese cheese was investigated during the summer season. The experimental treatments were low ventilation regimen (VR=35 m3/h per ewe) split in 30-min ventilation cycles (LOV-30); moderate ventilation regimen (VR=70 m3/h per ewe) split in 30-min ventilation cycles (MOV-30); moderate ventilation regimen (VR=70 m3/h per ewe) split in 60-min ventilation cycles (MOV-60). The LOV-30 milk had higher microbial load and bulk milk somatic cell count (BMSCC) and resulted in a weaker casein matrix in the curd compared with the MOV-30 and MOV-60 treatments. At 45 d of ripening, the LOV-30 cheeses had a lower casein content and higher non-casein nitrogen (NCN) and water-soluble nitrogen (WSN) contents than the MOV-30 and MOV-60 cheeses. Urea-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (urea-PAGE) of the pH 4.6-soluble N extract showed that the MOV-60 cheeses had fewer bands derived from casein (CN) hydrolysis than the LOV-30 or MOV-30 cheeses, despite its having exhibited the highest plasmin (PL) activity levels. Our results suggest that the ventilation regimen is critical in dairy sheep housing for optimizing the hygienic quality of ewe milk and the proteolytic processes occurring in Canestrato Pugliese cheese during ripening.     

Isotopic and Elemental Authenticity Markers: a Case Study on Cypriot Wines

This study monitors variations in isotopes and elements in relation to grape variety, environmental factors and provenance in order to address the wine authenticity issue. Inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) assessed the wines’ elemental content. Site-specific nuclear isotope fractionation-nuclear magnetic resonance and isotope ratio mass spectrometry methodologies determined in authentic and commercial wines the distribution of the naturally occurring stable isotopes of the deuterium/hydrogen (D/H) ratios and carbon (¹³C/¹²C) in ethanol of wine and oxygen ratio (¹⁸O/¹⁶O) in wine water. Chemometrics delineated the elements and isotopes responsible for wine classification. Specifically, unsupervised principal component analysis (PCA) framed the importance of grape variety and provenance, while supervised analysis pinpointed the vineyard effect and highlighted the contribution of the vintage year. Validation steps ensured that the extracted models do not predict randomly and their results are reliable. In fact, the acquired results can be incorporated to the EU Wine Isotopic Databank database providing both a guide and a tool for eventual candidatures for denomination of origin and support both Cypriot wine and winemakers. In this context, this research contributes to authenticity assurance of wines and adds value to final products, while it helps controlling hazards arising from environmental changes.     

Polychlorinated biphenyls and organochlorine pesticides in seafood from the Gulf of Naples (Italy)

Seven target polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs; IUPAC nos. 28, 52, 101, 118, 138, 153, and 180) and the organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) hexachlorobenzene (HCB) and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and its related metabolites (p,p'-DDT, p,p'-DDE, and p,p'-DDD) were quantified in edible tissues from seven marine species (European hake, red mullet, blue whiting, Atlantic mackerel, blue and red shrimp, European flying squid, and Mediterranean mussel) from the Gulf of Naples in the southern Tyrrhenian Sea (Italy). PCBs 118, 138, and 153 were the dominant congeners in all the species examined. The concentrations of all PCBs (from not detectable to 15,427 ng g(-1) fat weight) exceeded those of all the DDTs (from not detectable to 1,769 ng g(-1) fat weight) and HCB (not detectable to 150.60 ng g(-1) fat weight) in the samples analyzed. The OCP concentrations were below the maximum residue limits established for fish and aquatic products by the Decreto Ministerale 13 May 2005 in all the samples analyzed; therefore the OCPs in the southern Tyrrhenian Sea species are unlikely to be a significant health hazard. Conversely, the mean concentrations of PCBs exceeded (greatly in some cases) the current limits (200 ng(-1) fat weight) set by the European Union for terrestrial foods. Although the manufacture and use of PCBs are banned or highly restricted, these compounds still are important persistent chemical contaminants in the Gulf of Naples.     

β-Cyclodextrin Inclusion Complex to Improve Physicochemical Properties of Pipemidic Acid: Characterization and Bioactivity Evaluation

The aptitude of cyclodextrins (CDs) to form host-guest complexes has prompted an increase in the development of new drug formulations. In this study, the inclusion complexes of pipemidic acid (HPPA), a therapeutic agent for urinary tract infections, with native β-CD were prepared in solid state by kneading method and confirmed by FT-IR and ¹H NMR. The inclusion complex formation was also characterized in aqueous solution at different pH via UV-Vis titration and phase solubility studies obtaining the stability constant. The 1:1 stoichiometry was established by a Job plot and the inclusion mechanism was clarified using docking experiments. Finally, the antibacterial activity of HPPA and its inclusion complex was tested on P. aeruginosa, E. coli and S. aureus to determine the respective EC_50s and EC_90s. The results showed that the antibacterial activity of HPPA:β-CD against E. coli and S. aureus is higher than that of HPPA. Furthermore, HPPA and HPPA:β-CD, tested on human hepatoblastoma HepG2 and MCF-7 cell lines by MTT assay, exhibited, for the first time, antitumor activities, and the complex revealed a higher activity than that of HPPA. The use of β-CD allows an increase in the aqueous solubility of the drug, its bioavailability and then its bioactivity.     

Gut Microbiota and Short Chain Fatty Acids: Implications in Glucose Homeostasis

Gut microbiota encompasses a wide variety of commensal microorganisms consisting of trillions of bacteria, fungi, and viruses. This microbial population coexists in symbiosis with the host, and related metabolites have profound effects on human health. In this respect, gut microbiota plays a pivotal role in the regulation of metabolic, endocrine, and immune functions. Bacterial metabolites include the short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) acetate (C2), propionate (C3), and butyrate (C4), which are the most abundant SCFAs in the human body and the most abundant anions in the colon. SCFAs are made from fermentation of dietary fiber and resistant starch in the gut. They modulate several metabolic pathways and are involved in obesity, insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes. Thus, diet might influence gut microbiota composition and activity, SCFAs production, and metabolic effects. In this narrative review, we discuss the relevant research focusing on the relationship between gut microbiota, SCFAs, and glucose metabolism.     

Process simulation of natural gas steam reforming: Fuel distribution optimisation in the furnace

This paper describes a two-step method to simulate the natural gas steam reforming for hydrogen production. The first step is to calculate reforming tube length and fuel distribution with equilibrium approach associated with heat transfer. The second step is to calculate and validate reforming performance with kinetic model. A short-cut simulation of hydrogen plant has also been performed to calculate inputs for the reformer model, such as total flow rate and composition of mixed fuel burning in the furnace chamber. Heat transfer, especially radiative heat transfer, is the key role in the steam reforming technology, due to the high heat fluxes involved. For this reason, energy modelling of the furnace chamber has been performed. The simulation evaluates the most important design variables, as tubes height, maximum tube-wall temperature, and tube pressure drop. The heat flux profile can be selected to have suitable metal temperatures to lengthen the reformer tube life. The model calculates the design parameters for reforming tube and fuel distribution among burners.     

Impact of fluorinated vinylene units on supramolecular organization and optical properties of poly(p-phenylenedifluorovinylene) thin films as a class of blue band gap conjugated polymers

This study is an investigation on the interplay between supramolecular organization and optical properties of thin films of conjugated polymers with fluorinated vinylene units such as poly[2-(2-ethylhexyloxy)-5-methoxy]-1,4-phenylenedifluorovinylene (MEH-PPDFV) and poly(2-methoxy-5-propyloxysulfonatephenylenedifluorovinylene) (MPS-PPDFV), which are both PPV polymers with fluorinated double bonds with alkoxy chains in the 2 and 5 positions. MEH-PPDFV is the fluorinated version of the widely investigated MEH-PPV, and MPS-PPDFV is characterized by the presence of ionic alkoxy side chains. This interplay is elucidated exploiting atomic force microscopy, spectroscopic ellipsometry and photoluminescence to obtain complementary information. It is demonstrated that the presence of F-atoms in the vinylene units of the MEH-PPDFV yields a blue optical band gap with the maximum of the fundamental HOMO-LUMO transition and of the room temperature photoluminescence at 3.74 eV (331 nm) and at 2.71 eV (458 nm), respectively. The blue-absorption and emission in the thin films are ascribed to the fact that fluorine atoms on the vinylene units prevent π-stacking of polymeric chains. Furthermore, the dependence of morphology, anisotropy in optical properties and photoluminescence properties of films on deposition methodology is also discussed. MEH-PPDFV also emits homogeneous blue-greenish electroluminescence at 2.46 eV (504 nm).     

A spectro-microscopic investigation of Fe-Co bimetallic catalysts supported on MgO for the production of thin carbon nanotubes

Fe-Co bimetallic catalysts supported on MgO were studied for the catalytic chemical vapor deposition growth of carbon nanotubes (CNTs). Different wt.% metal loadings were investigated at various deposition temperatures and times. Characterization of the products involved thermal analysis (DTA-TGA), X-ray diffraction, spectroscopy (Raman, UPS, EELS and STS) and microscopy (SEM, TEM and STM) techniques. It was found that the metal content is critical, not only to the yield and the structural quality of the synthesized carbon nanotubes, but it can be also used to tune the desired type of synthesized nanotubes. Lower (2 wt.%) loadings of Fe-Co catalysts favor the formation of single- and/or double-wall CNTs for deposition time and temperature 30 min and 800 °C, respectively. Thermal analysis and Raman measurements showed that these thin CNTs were synthesized at high amounts (CNT-per-catalyst wt.% of more than 100%), exhibiting high graphitization degree with only traces of by-products (mainly amorphous carbon) among them. Microscopy results revealed the formation of CNTs bundles, consisting of individual nanotubes with less than 2 nm outer diameter, while additional energy loss measurements pointed out that the deposited CNTs are mainly single wall. Higher (10 wt.%) Fe-Co loadings resulted to the formation of multi-wall CNTs.     

And then what happened? A retrospective appraisal of China’s Renewable Energy Development Project (REDP)

From 2002 to 2007, more than 400,000 photovoltaic (PV) solar home systems (SHS) were sold in northwestern China under the US$316 million World Bank/Global Environment Facility-supported Renewable Energy Development Project (REDP). REDP has been hailed as a best practice example in SHS deployment for its unprecedented scale and the combination of technology improvement and market development support components to strengthen the country’s renewable energy industry. While the World Bank has itself conducted post-project evaluations, our paper presents the first independent review with the intent of determining if anticipated project impacts have been sustained. We adopt a case study format supported by in-depth interviews with the project’s relevant stakeholder groups and find that solar home systems (SHS) provide monetary and non-monetary benefits to users and that their portability complements the lifestyle of the region’s nomadic herders. However, we also find that purchasing decisions are still based on price more than quality, after-sales service networks remain weak, and households in REDP’s coverage area are gradually gaining access to hydropower-based grid electricity.