Flavour compounds of Lavandula angustifolia L. to use in food manufacturing: Comparison of three different extraction methods

Sixty compounds of Lavandula angustifolia L. cultivated in Friuli Venezia Giulia (North-East Italy) were identified and quantified by GC-MS and GC-FID from essential oils obtained by means of hydrodistillation, and from extracts obtained by supercritical CO₂ extraction (SFE) and ultrasound-assisted extraction (US). Using absolute calibration, a true quantification of 1-8 cineol, camphor, linalool, linalyl acetate and β-caryophyllene was carried out. The best extracts, in terms of amount of isolated compounds, flavour quality and stability were those obtained with SFE. Sonication performed at low amplitude for 5 min offered respect to high amplitude a promising alternative to hydrodistillation as a source of lavender flavouring ready to use for alcoholic beverages or/and confectionery products.     

Effect of austenite microstructure and cooling rate on transformation characteristics in a low carbon Nb-V microalloyed steel

Deformation dilatometry has been used to simulate controlled hot rolling followed by cooling of a Nb-V low carbon steel, looking for conditions corresponding to wide austenite grain size distributions prior to transformation. Recrystallization and non-recrystallization deformation schedules were applied, followed by controlled cooling at rates from 0.1 °C/s to about 200 °C/s, and the corresponding continuous cooling transformation (CCT) diagrams were constructed. The resultant microstructures ranged from polygonal ferrite (PF) and pearlite (P) at slow cooling rates to bainitic ferrite (BF) accompanied by martensite (M) for fast cooling rates. Plastic deformation of the parent austenite accelerated both ferrite and bainite transformations, displacing the CCT curve to higher temperatures and shorter times. However, it was found that the accelerating effect of strain on bainite transformation weakened as the cooling rate diminished and the polygonal ferrite formation was enhanced. Moreover, it was found that plastic deformation had different effects on the refinement of the microstructure, depending on the cooling rate. An analysis of the microstructural heterogeneities that can impair toughness behavior has been done.     

Evaluation of Alternative Preservation Treatments (Water Heat Treatment,Ultrasounds, Thermosonication and UV-C Radiation) to Improve Safety and Quality of Whole Tomato

Previously optimised postharvest treatments were compared to conventional chlorinated water treatment in terms of their effects on the overall quality of tomato (‘Zinac’) during storage at 10 °C. The treatments in question were water heat treatment (WHT?=?40 °C, 30 min), ultrasounds (US?=?45 kHz, 80 %, 30 min), thermosonication (TS?=?40 °C, 30 min, 45 kHz, 80 %) and ultraviolet irradiation (UV-C: 0.97 kJ m^?2). The quality factors evaluated were colour, texture, sensorial analysis, mass loss, antioxidant capacity, total phenolic content, peroxidase and pectin methylesterase enzymatic activities, and microbial load reduction. The results demonstrate that all treatments tested preserve tomato quality to some extent during storage at 10 °C. WHT, TS and UV-C proved to be more efficient on minimising colour and texture changes with the additional advantage of microbial load reduction, leading to a shelf life extension when compared to control trials. However, at the end of storage, with exception of WHT samples, the antioxidant activity and phenolic content of treated samples was lower than for control samples. Moreover, sensorial results were well correlated with instrumental colour experimental data. This study presents alternative postharvest technologies that improve tomato (Zinac) quality during shelf life period and minimise the negative impact of conventional chlorinated water on human safety, health and environment.     

Surface properties of phenolic compounds and their influence on the dispersion degree and oxidative stability of olive oil O/W emulsions

The surface and interfacial properties of gallic acid, catechin and quercetin, and their effect on the dispersion degree and the oxidative stability of olive oil oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions prepared using β-lactoglobulin and Tween 20 were studied.Gallic acid showed no effect on the surface properties while catechin was proven to be able to accumulate at the air/water interface, decreasing the surface tension values with increasing its concentration. All the phenolic antioxidants caused a decrease in the interfacial tension at the oil/water interface, even though only catechin and quercetin showed a concentration dependent behaviour.In emulsions, gallic acid did not affect the droplet size of the systems, catechin caused the formation of oil droplets bigger than those of the control, whilst quercetin improved the dispersion state of the emulsions with the increasing of its concentration. Gallic acid, despite its partitioning in the water phase due to its polarity, delayed the formation of both the hydroperoxides and TBARs and limited their accumulation. Catechin did not affect the formation of oxidation products whilst quercetin, among the tested antioxidants, caused the lowest formation of both hydroperoxides and TBARs through 33 days of storage.     

Hydrogen production from methane steam reforming: parametric and gradient based optimization of a Pd-based membrane reactor

In this work three mathematical models for methane steam reforming in membrane reactors were developed. The first one is a steady state, non isothermal, non isobaric and one dimensional model derived from material and energy balances and validated using experimental data from the literature. It is referred as full model. The influence of two different intrinsic kinetics available, as well as, the influence of five important parameters on methane conversion (X_CH4_{\mathrm{CH}_{4}}) and hydrogen recovery (Y_H2_{\mathrm{H}_{2}}) were parametrically evaluated through simulations. The second model, referred as meta-model, was obtained though the response surface technique. This meta-model was included into a constrained optimization problem solved using NPSOL. The third model, referred as a simplified model, takes into account only mass balances from the full model. Using this model, a gradient based method (DIRCOL) was used to perform the optimization of the sum of methane conversion and hydrogen recovery. High methane conversions and hydrogen recoveries were reached through these methodologies.     

Modulation of exploratory behavior in female mice by protein-borne male urinary molecules

Male pheromones are believed to attract females and repel male mice in open field tests but, when tested in more complex environments, they can attract male mice in usually avoided areas. Females were tested in an apparatus with one dark and one light side, in the absence or presence of male urine or the major urinary proteins (MUPs) bearing the natural ligands. Diestrous females were slower in leaving from the dark area when male urine or MUPs were present in it. Estrogen-primed females showed the opposite behavior, with an increase in the same latency. The light-avoidance behavior of prepubertal females, or females reared without males was not influenced by the presence of male chemosignals. The results show that adult female mice can react to MUP-borne volatiles as to adult male urine and use them as cues of male mice, if they were previously exposed to male cues during infancy. MUP-borne molecules are, thus, the olfactory trace of males in the environment and modulate mice exploratory behavior.