Different postharvest dehydration rates affect quality characteristics and volatile compounds of Malvasia,Trebbiano and Sangiovese grapes for wine production

Experiments were carried out using an innovative technology for dehydration based on the passage of air through a tunnel. It was possible to study the postharvest behaviour, at different rates of dehydration, of Malvasia, Trebbiano and Sangiovese grapes. Malvasia and Trebbiano grapes were picked with 17.5% SSC (soluble solids content), while Sangiovese grapes were harvested fully ripe with 26% SSC. All the grapes, in different experiments, were placed in the tunnel with an air speed of 1–1.5 m s^?1, 42% RH (relative humidity) and a temperature of 21 °C. After 18 days the weight loss was 50 and 34% respectively in tunnel‐treated Malvasia and Trebbiano grapes, while it was only 13–14% in control grapes (outside the tunnel: RH around 65% and temperature about 20 °C without ventilation). The SSC rose to 35 and 27% respectively in tunnel‐treated Malvasia and Trebbiano grapes compared with 23 and 21% respectively in control grapes. In the case of Sangiovese grapes, after 7 days (the end of treatment) the weight loss was 20.5% in tunnel‐treated grapes and 10.5% in control grapes. The SSC rose to 32% and the acidity increased from 4.8 to 5.8 g l^?1 in tunnel‐treated grapes compared with 29% and 5 g l^?1 respectively in control grapes. Total phenols and anthocyanins almost doubled in tunnel‐treated Sangiovese berries. Volatile compound analysis revealed a higher ethanol concentration in all tunnel‐treated grapes but a lower concentration of ethyl acetate and acetic acid. Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry     

Postharvest dehydration of wine white grapes to increase genistein, daidzein and the main carotenoids

Wine white grape bunches of the Grechetto variety were dehydrated at 10, 20 and 30°C, RH 45% and forced air ventilation of 1.5m/s. Chemical and metabolic changes due to the effect of dehydration were studied at various stages of weight loss: 10%, 20%, 30% and 40%. Berry colour at 10 and 20°C tended to become greener with dehydration but at 30°C, at the final sampling, the colour darkened. Acidity decreased in all samples, while sugars increased. Total phenol content increased at 10°C until 30% weight loss was reached and then declined, while at 20 and 30°C the concentration decreased immediately. The contents of lutein and β-carotene (respectively 68 and 58mg/kg d.w.), representing the 80% of total carotenoids, did not change significantly until the 30% of weight loss, when at 30°C the value increased above all for lutein while at 10 and 20°C, the contents decreased significantly. Daidzein, at 10°C, rose significantly from about 150μg/kg d.w. to 1434μg/kg d.w. at 20% weight loss and then declined; at the same weight loss percentage, the genistein concentration began to increase. At 20°C both isoflavones rose until the end of the experiment, reaching values similar to the sample at 10°C. A temperature of 30°C was deleterious to grape isoflavones. A discussion on the changes in isoflavones related to temperature and time is reported.     

Low-Cost Identifiers for Ubiquitous Computing

Any device we want to connect to a global network, e.g. Internet, should have a unique global identifier. However, the size of this identifier can be an unacceptable overhead for devices with limited resources (sensors, toys, disposable devices, micro-robots, etc.), because conventional protocols use full addresses to transmit, process, and store the data required for routing. The usual solution for such devices is to limit the address space to 1 or 2 bytes, but this sacrifices the global unicity of the identifiers. The proposal presented in this article enables devices with limited resources to use reduced addresses that globally identify hosts. We propose the use of abbreviated addresses for routing. We have developed a new protocol named ADSR that takes advantage of these new addresses. This protocol is a modified version of DSR based on the use of abbreviated addresses. The abbreviation procedure can lead to two different nodes having the same address, which we will term collision. ADSR allows rather than avoids collisions. The foundations of this protocol, and some results of an implementation are also presented in this article.     

Proteic sol-gel synthesis,structure and magnetic properties of Ni/NiO core-shell powders

Core-shell structured magnetic Ni/NiO powders were prepared by a proteic sol-gel route. Commercial gelatin and nickel nitrate were used as precursor materials. The synthesized material was calcined in air at 500 °C and further investigated by XRD, VSM and TEM. In order to investigate the effects of the structure on the magnetic properties, NiO powders were synthesized by three other methods for sake of comparison: citrate method, nitrate calcination and combustion method. XRD results revealed that the core-shell structured material is composed of 84.8 wt% NiO and 15.2 wt% Ni, while the samples from other methods are single phase. Hysteresis loop at room temperature showed a strong ferromagnetic behavior for samples prepared by proteic sol-gel and citrate methods. Powders from nitrate calcination and combustion showed weak ferromagnetic behavior most likely attributed to unpaired moments in their nanoparticles. The overall results showed that the proteic sol-gel method is a versatile chemical way to prepare Ni/NiO core-shell powders with high ferromagnetic signals.     

Structure–function relationship during the early and long-term hydration of one-part alkali-activated slag

Understanding the mechanisms controlling the early (fresh) and long-term (hardened) hydration of one-part alkali-activated slags (AAS) is key to extend their use as low CO₂ substitutes for ordinary Portland cement (OPC). Their “just add water” use makes them easier and less hazardous to manipulate than the more studied two-part ones. This is due to the absence of liquid alkaline activators, which are environmentally and energy demanding. In this work, numerous experimental techniques have been linked to obtain a comprehensive physico-chemical characterization of a one-part AAS activated with Na₂CO₃ and Ca(OH)₂ powders at several water to solid ratios (w/s). Calorimetry and pH/conductivity measurements describe the functioning of the activators immediately after contact with water. Early reactivity is characterized through in situ X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) and small amplitude oscillatory shear (SAOS) rheology, which reveal a rapid precipitation of nanometric hydration products (nano-C-A-S-H), which results in a continuous increase in the paste cohesivity until setting. Moreover, SAOS shows that rejuvenating the paste by means of shearing (performed externally to the rheometer in this study) is enough to restore the initial cohesion (i.e., workability) for long time spans until setting occurs. The long-term hydration is characterized by ex situ XRPD on aged AAS pastes, in parallel with mechanical testing on AAS mortar. A correlation can be observed between the amount of nano-C-A-S-H and the increase in compressive strength. Overall, this formulation shows satisfactory fresh and solid properties, demonstrating suitability for low- and normal-strength applications.     

Chronic Systemic Dexamethasone Regulates the Mineralocorticoid/Glucocorticoid Pathways Balance in Rat Ocular Tissues

Central serous chorioretinopathy (CSCR) is a retinal disease affecting the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and the choroid. This is a recognized side-effect of glucocorticoids (GCs), administered through nasal, articular, oral and dermal routes. However, CSCR does not occur after intraocular GCs administration, suggesting that a hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA) brake could play a role in the mechanistic link between CSCR and GS. The aim of this study was to explore this hypothesis. To induce HPA brake, Lewis rats received a systemic injection of dexamethasone daily for five days. Control rats received saline injections. Baseline levels of corticosterone were measured by Elisa at baseline and at 5 days in the serum and the ocular media and dexamethasone levels were measured at 5 days in the serum and ocular media. The expression of genes encoding glucocorticoid receptor (GR), mineralocorticoid receptors (MR), and the 11 beta hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (HSD) enzymes 1 and 2 were quantified in the neural retina and in RPE/ choroid. The expression of MR target genes was quantified in the retina (Scnn1A (encoding ENac-α, Kir4.1 and Aqp4) and in the RPE/choroid (Shroom 2, Ngal, Mmp9 and Omg, Ptx3, Plaur and Fosl-1). Only 10% of the corticosterone serum concentration was measured in the ocular media. Corticosterone levels in the serum and in the ocular media dropped after 5 days of dexamethasone systemic treatment, reflecting HPA axis brake. Whilst both GR and MR were downregulated in the retina without MR/GR imbalance, in the RPE/choroid, both MR/GR and 11β-hsd2/11β-hsd1 ratio increased, indicating MR pathway activation. MR-target genes were upregulated in the RPE/ choroid but not in the retina. The psychological stress induced by the repeated injection of saline also induced HPA axis brake with a trend towards MR pathway activation in RPE/ choroid. HPA axis brake causes an imbalance of corticoid receptors expression in the RPE/choroid towards overactivation of MR pathway, which could favor the occurrence of CSCR.     

Improved conversion of 6‐endo‐tosyloxybicyclo[2.2.2]octan‐2‐ones into 6‐exo‐acetoxy and 6‐exo‐benzoyloxybicyclo[2.2.2]octan‐2‐ones

The reaction conditions for the conversion of 6‐endo‐tosyloxybicyclo[2.2.2]octan‐2‐one ( 7b ) into 6‐exo‐acetoxy ( 8b ) and 6‐exo‐benzoyloxybicyclo[2.2.2]octan‐2‐one ( 8a ), respectively, were improved. Thus known 6‐endo‐tosyloxy‐bicyclo[2.2.2]octan‐2‐ones (+)‐(1RS,6SR,8SR,11RS)‐11‐[(4‐toluenesulfonyl)oxy]tricyclo[6.2.2.0^1,6]dodecan‐9‐one ( 1a ), 13‐methyl‐15‐oxo‐9β,13b‐ethano‐9β‐podocarpan‐12β‐yl‐4‐toluenesulfonate ( 3a ), and methyl (13R)‐16‐oxo‐13‐[(4‐tolylsulfonyl)oxy]‐17‐noratisan‐18‐oate ( 5 ), were converted,in comparable yields, as previously recorded, but much shorter times, into (+)‐(1RS,6SR,8SR,11SR)‐11‐(benzoyloxy) tricyclo[6.2.2.0^1,6]dodecan‐9‐one ( 2 ), 13‐methyl‐15‐oxo‐9β,13β‐ethano‐9β‐podocarpan‐12α‐yl benzoate ( 4 ), and methyl (13S)‐13‐(benzoyloxy)‐16‐oxo‐17‐noratisan‐18‐oate ( 6 ), respectively.