Effect of Post-harvest UV-B Irradiation on Polyphenol Profile and Antioxidant Activity in Flesh and Peel of Tomato Fruits

In the present study, the possibility of enhancing phenolic and flavonoid concentration in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) fruits by post-harvest irradiation with UV-B light was assessed. Fruits of the commercial cv Money Maker (MM) and the mutant genotype high pigment-1 (hp-1), constitutively rich in these compounds, were harvested at mature green and turning stages and left to ripen within climatic chambers where they were daily treated with UV-B radiation (1 h, 6.08 kJ/m² day). In control chambers, UV-B radiation was screened by benzophenone-treated polyethylene film. The treatment was generally effective in increasing phenolic, flavonoid and flavonol concentration in both peel and flesh of MM and hp-1 fruits, although in this latter the positive response to UV-B treatment was mainly evident in fruits harvested at mature green stage. Following UV-B treatment, antioxidant activity increased in the peel of both genotypes independently from the harvesting stage and in the flesh of hp-1 fruits harvested at mature green stage. Hydroxycinnamic acids of both genotypes reacted to UV-B treatment differently depending on harvesting stage and tissue localisation, generally showing an increase in the peel of fruits harvested at mature green stage. With few exceptions, UV-B irradiation also induced a higher accumulation of individual flavonoids both in the peel and in the flesh of MM and hp-1 fruits independently from harvesting stage. Based on these results, UV-B irradiation can be considered a promising technique to increase the nutraceutical potential of tomato fruits by non-molecular tools.     

Surface functionalization of bioactive glasses and hydroxyapatite with polyphenols from organic red grape pomace

An extract of polyphenols was obtained from organic red grape pomace, chemically analyzed, and used for functionalization of two bioactive glasses and porous hydroxyapatite. Functionalization is effective on hydroxyapatite and the bioactive glass with higher surface reactivity with a different grafting mechanism. Grafting does not inhibit redox and radical scavenging activity of polyphenols. The grafted polyphenols make a continuous layer with an almost complete surface coverage. Polyphenols are released with different kinetics according to the mechanism of grafting and maintain their redox activity. A homogeneous thin layer of polyphenols is still firmly grafted on both substrates after 28 days of soaking and it still maintains radical scavenging activity. The functionalized samples can be sterilized by gamma irradiation.     

Transport Costs in the Automotive Supply Chain

The study, carried out within the LogNet research project financed by Calabria region, deals with the analysis of the automotive supply chain. In particular, after a first examination of the characteristics of the whole automotive supply chain, attention was focussed on its final part, that is, on transport and end-market distribution. The paper proposes specific models, which are differentiated by the transport mode （road, rail, sea） they are involved, to estimate the temporal and monetary costs related to the activity of goods distribution to the compounds/end-clients. The proposed mode/ling formulations concern two different areas of investigation： the network segment and interchange nodes. Each cost item is also calculated through aggregate formulations （where the cost is function of a single significant variable in relation to a unit cost parameter） and disaggregate formulations （where each cost item is separately considered）. The models have been applied to a study carried out for the modal transfer of vehicles in the port of Gioia Tauro, south of Italy. The analysis has allowed, on the one hand, to calibrate certain models and, on the other, to simulate certain scenario hypotheses to verify the technical feasibility of a different structure for the automotive supply chain in Italy.     

A new approach for the preparation of hydrophilic poly(L‐lactide) porous scaffold for tissue engineering by using lamellar single crystals

The aim of the present work was to study the possibility of building a porous scaffold for tissue engineering with a new bottom‐up approach, obtained by assembling two‐dimensional‐micro, one‐dimensional‐nano sized poly(L ‐lactide) lamellar single crystals. This choice was dictated by the fact that polymer single crystals have structural and morphological features which can be exploited for chemical surface modifications to give a system characterized by a high specific active surface area. Indeed, the outermost amorphous regions can undergo functionalization reactions easily, whereas the inner, relatively inaccessible and inert crystalline core ensures morphological and mechanical stability. The assembling method employed to give the porous structures is based on a mould pressing, salt leaching technique and was found to be facile and versatile. In the first part of this paper we report the experimental results obtained to find the best conditions to achieve a suitable frame in terms of morphology, porosity and mechanical properties. In the second part of the paper, we describe the biological tests performed by using mouse fibroblasts seeded onto scaffolds prepared from pristine and surface hydrolysed lamellae. The results show that the samples obtained are suitable for sustaining cells which can proliferate and reach the inner pores of the scaffold containing hydrolysed single crystals much better than those prepared from pristine lamellae. Copyright © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry     

FORMATION OF SULFATE CONJUGATES METABOLITES IN THE DEGRADATION OF PHENANTHRENE,ANTHRACENE, PYRENE AND BENZO[A]PYRENE BY THE ASCOMYCETE ASPERGILLUS TERREUS

Abstract

The metabolism of four PAHs (phenanthrene, anthracene, pyrene and benzo(a)pyrene) by an Aspergillus terreus strain, isolated from a polluted soil, was investigated in liquid submerged culture. The main metabolites identified by the HPLC-MS technique, after solvent extraction of the fermentation broth and mycelium, were aryl-sulfates and hydroxyl-aryl-sulfates. A metabolic pathway was identified involving in sequence: the hydroxylation by a monooxygenase of the PAHs, the conjugation with a sulfate ion, followed by a further hydroxylation to hydroxyl-aryl-sulfates compounds. PAHs degradation by A. terreus yielded a different number of metabolite isomers depending on the type of the parent PAH. The environmental fate and ecotoxicity of the metabolite 9-phenanthrenesulfate was also investigated by a respirometric test of ready biodegradability and by a Vibrio fischeri acute toxicity test respectively. This compound was easily degradable by microbial consortia derived from polluted soil and capable of thriving on phenanthrene as its sole carbon source. Moreover the sulfate conjugate resulted in 2 orders of magnitude less toxic than its precursors phenanthrene.     

Cellulose as a renewable resource for the synthesis of wood consolidants

Crosslinkable cellulose ethers as allyl cellulose, allyl carboxymethyl cellulose, and allyl n‐hydroxypropyl cellulose were synthesized and characterized, and their use as consolidating agents for waterlogged wood was studied. For this kind of application, structural properties similar to those of wood's polysaccharide components are desired in the design stage of new consolidants. The choice to synthesize cellulose ethers was determined from the possibility of using cellulose as the starting material because of its large availability in nature, biocompatibility, and low cost. In addition, cellulose ethers are quite easy to obtain, and they can have different properties, depending on the nature and the amount of the functional groups introduced. For this purpose, a cellulose with a lower degree of polymerization was also used for the synthesis of related cellulose ethers. By means of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, the affinity of the cellulose derivatives for degraded lignin flours was detected. The preliminary results of this study show that these polysaccharide compounds may be proposed as wood consolidating agents. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010     

Monte Carlo simulation of microstructure evolution in biphasic-systems

Over the past few decades, a variety of models have been proposed in order to investigate the grain growth kinetics and the development of crystallographic textures in polycrystalline materials. In particular, a full understanding of the microstructure evolution is a key issue for ceramic systems, since their mechanical or thermal behaviour is intimately related to their microstructure. Moreover, the development of appropriate simulative tools is crucial to reproduce, control and finally optimize the solid-state sintering process of ceramics. Monte Carlo simulations are particularly attractive because of their ability to reproduce the statistical behaviour of atoms and grain boundaries with time. However, Monte Carlo simulations applied to two-phase materials, such as many ceramic systems, result complex because both grain growth and diffusion processes should be taken into account. Here the Monte Carlo Potts model, which is widely used to investigate the crystallization kinetics for monophasic systems, is modified and extended to biphasic ones. The proposed model maps the microstructure onto a discrete lattice. Each lattice element contains a number representing its phase and its crystallographic orientation. The grain formation and growth are simulated by appropriate switching and reorientation attempts involving the lattice elements. The effect of temperature is also discussed.     

Substituent Effect on the Reactivity of Alkylated Triphenyl Phosphorothionates in Oil Solution in the Presence of Iron Particles

The effect of the substituent attached to the phenyl rings on the reactivity of alkylated triphenyl phosphorothionates (t-butyl TPPT (b-TPPT) and p-nonyl TPPT (n-TPPT)) in oil solution at high temperature (423 and 473 K) was investigated by means of Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The FT-IR and NMR results show that the alkylated TPPTs were highly thermally stable and did not completely decompose in oil, even upon heating at 423 K for 168 h and at 473 K for 72 h, with and without steel filings and iron particles (both metallic iron and iron oxide particles). The reaction of alkylated TPPTs was found to start with the scission of the P=S bond to yield alkylated triphenyl phosphate. The kinetics of the thermo-oxidative reaction was slower when steel filings and iron particles were added to the oil solutions during the heating experiments. The reactivity of the unsubstituted molecule (TPPT) was higher than that of alkylated TPPTs at 423 K, while at 473 K TPPT and n-TPPT were more reactive than b-TPPT. In the case of the experiments performed at 473 K in the presence of steel filings or metallic iron or iron oxide particles, the reactivity of the alkylated TPPT molecules decreased with the length of the alkyl chain bound to the phenyl rings. The XPS results show that a reaction layer consisting of carbon, oxygen, phosphorus and iron was formed on the 100Cr6 steel filings immersed for 72 h in oil solutions containing alkylated TPPTs and heated at 473 K. Sulphur was neither detected on the surface nor in the composition vs depth profile. During the heating experiments, the base oil (PAO) was oxidized. At 423 K, the alkylated TPPTs had a strong antioxidant effect, which was found to be more pronounced upon increasing the length of the alkyl chain bound to the phenyl rings. At 473 K, the TPPTs did not inhibit the oxidation of the base oil as effectively as at 423 K.     

Blackening of Pompeian cinnabar paintings: X-ray microspectroscopy analysis

Red Pompeian paintings, very famous for their deep intensity, are currently suffering from darkening. The origins of this darkening degradation are not clearly identified yet and remain a major issue for curators. In the specific case of cinnabar (HgS)-based red pigment, a photoinduced conversion into black metacinnabar is usually suspected. This work is focused on the blackening of red cinnabar paintings coated on a sparry calcite mortar. Different samples exhibiting different levels of degradation were selected upon visual observations and analyzed by synchrotron-based microanalytical techniques. Atomic and molecular compositions of the different debased regions revealed two possible degradation mechanisms. On one hand, micro X-ray fluorescence elemental maps show peculiar distributions of chlorine and sulfur. On the other hand, X-ray absorption spectroscopy performed at both Cl and S K-edges confirms the presence of characteristic degradation products: (i) Hg-Cl compounds (e.g., corderoite, calomel, and terlinguaite), which may result from the reaction with exogenous NaCl, in gray areas; (ii) gypsum, produced by the calcite sulfation, in black coatings. Metacinnabar is never detected. Finally, a cross section was analyzed to map the in-depth alteration gradient. Reduced and oxidized sulfur distributions reveal that the sulfated black coating consists of a approximately 5-mum-thick layer covering intact cinnabar.