Increasing Cold Tolerance of Cactus Pear Fruit by High-Temperature Conditioning and Film Wrapping

Pre-storage high-temperature conditioning (HTC, 38 °C, and 95% RH for 24 h) and individual film wrapping (IFW) with a perforated polyolefinic heat-shrinkable film were used as individual treatments or in combination to mitigate chilling injury of first crop cactus pear cv ‘Gialla’. The fruit was stored for 21 days at either 2 or 8 °C (CS) plus 1 week of simulated marketing conditions (SMC) at 20 °C. The reduction in peel disorders and decay in HTC-treated fruit stored at 2 °C was comparable to that detected in control fruit stored at 8 °C. IFW was more efficient than HTC in reducing peel disorders, almost completely inhibited weight loss, and preserved freshness in fruit stored at 8 °C as well as in those stored at 8 °C. The internal quality of the fruit (pH, total soluble solids, titratable acidity, vitamin C, polyphenols, betaxanthins, antioxidant capacity, acetaldehyde, and ethanol) was slightly affected by treatments. Combining HTC with IFW did not improve fruit tolerance to low temperature but reduced decay with respect to individual treatments. IFW with a perforated film in combination with HTC is a good means of overcoming the stringent conditions of cold quarantine treatments, maintaining fruit freshness and reducing decay in cold-stored cactus pears.     

The interactive effects of irrigation,nitrogen fertilisation rate,delayed harvest and storage on the polyphenol content in red grape (Vitis vinifera) berries: A factorial experimental design

Polyphenol concentrations, including anthocyanidins, flavonols, flavan-3-ols and stilbenes, were quantified by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry in two cultivars of red grapes for daily consumption, which were subjected to different kinds of water supply and nitrogen fertilisation rates. Samples from the same vineyards were also analysed after a 6 week storage in a refrigerator and 6 week delayed harvesting. Berry skins and seeds were analysed separately.     

Effect of C (graphite) doping on the H2 sorption performance of the Mg–Ni storage system

Binary Mg–Ni mixtures and ternary Mg–Ni–C (graphite) samples with fixed proportions of metals (Mg 85%–Ni 15% by weight) and amount of C increasing in increments of 5 wt % from 5 wt % to 15 wt % were prepared by high energy ball milling (BM) in Ar for t_BM = 2 h. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effect of C addition on the reactivity, the sorption activation and the storage performance of the Mg–Ni system.     

High‐Throughput Virtual Screening Using Quantum Mechanical Probes: Discovery of Selective Kinase Inhibitors

A procedure based on semi‐empirical quantum mechanical (QM) calculations of interaction energy is proposed for the rapid screening of compound poses generated by high‐throughput docking. Small molecules (consisting of 2–10 atoms and termed “probes”) are overlapped with polar groups in the binding site of the protein target. The interaction energy values between each compound pose and the probes, calculated by a semi‐empirical Hamiltonian, are used as filters. The QM probe method does not require fixed partial charges and takes into account polarization and charge‐transfer effects which are not captured by conventional force fields. The procedure is applied to screen ～100 million poses (of 2.7 million commercially available compounds) obtained by high‐throughput docking in the ATP binding site of the tyrosine kinase erythropoietin‐producing human hepatocellular carcinoma receptor B4 (EphB4). Three QM probes on the hinge region and one at the entrance pocket are employed to select for binding affinity, while a QM probe on the side chain of the so‐called gatekeeper residue (a hypervariable residue in the kinome) is used to enforce selectivity. The poses with favorable interactions with the five QM probes are filtered further for hydrophobic matching and low ligand strain. In this way, a single‐digit micromolar inhibitor of EphB4 with a relatively good selectivity profile is identified in a multimillion‐compound library upon experimental tests of only 23 molecules.     

Warfarin anticoagulation in the perioperative period: is it safe?

A useful correlation between maximum thyroid uptake and radioiodine urine levels at different times after exposure was developed in order to determine when the intervention with an adequate blocking agent might still be effective. In an animal model (dog), six different doses were administered in the range of 100-600 kBq. The best correlation was found between the 125I uptake after 48 h (T-48) and urine radioactivity 4-6 h (U-4, U-5, U-6) after exposure. For the case of U-4, the equation Y(T-48) = 0.790 X(U-4) + 2.973 (r = 0.974 with a level of significance of p < 0.001) was obtained. An analogous study, carried out in humans (n = 20) to whom 1311 was administered, showed a similar correlation and level of significance: Y(T-24) = 1.162 X(U-4)+3.263 (r = 0.926; p < 0.001). The validity of this correlation was confirmed in four volunteers who received small doses of 125I(25-100 kBq), with good agreement between measured and extrapolated thyroid uptake and a mean difference of less than 10% (CV = 16.2%). Three different blocking agents were then tested in the same dog: potassium iodide, potassium perchlorate, and a thionamide (Tapazole). The blocking action of the first two compounds was about 90%, as opposed to only 48% for the third compound. Potassium iodide was chosen for its limited side effects and more universal utilization. The final study, carried out with four different doses, indicated that 25 mg of KI is the ideal amount to be administered to the dog. This corresponds to approximately 100 mg for a 70 kg human being (i.e., 1.4 mg kg(-1)). This dose, when administered to a volunteer 4 h after exposure, provided a thyroid blocking of 68%.     

Surface-to-bed heat transfer in fluidised beds of fine particles

This work reports experimental results on the heat transfer between a fluidised bed of fine particles and a submerged surface. Experiments have been carried out using different bed materials (polymers, ballotini, corundum, carborundum and quartz sand) with Archimedes number between 2 and 50. Dry air at ambient pressure and temperature has been used as fluidising gas. Three different exchange surfaces, namely a sphere and two cylinders with different base diameter and same height, have been used.Experimental results show that the heat transfer coefficient increases with particle Archimedes number and is almost independent from particle thermal conductivity for K_p/K_g > 30. Finally, the comparison of heat transfer coefficient for the different surfaces shows that the effect of the surface geometry may account for a 30% variation in the heat transfer coefficient, with higher differences occurring for coarser particles.     

Nanoconfinement in activated mesoporous carbon of calcium borohydride for improved reversible hydrogen storage

Mesoporous carbon frameworks were synthesized using the soft-template method. Ca(BH(4))(2) was incorporated into activated mesoporous carbon by the incipient wetness method. The activation of mesoporous carbon was necessary to optimize the surface area and pore size. Thermal programmed absorption measurements showed that the confinement of this borohydride into carbon nanoscaffolds improved its reversible capacity (relative to the reactive portion) and performance of hydrogen storage compared to unsupported borohydride. Hydrogen release from the supported hydride started at a temperature as low as 100?°C and the dehydrogenation rate was fast compared to the bulk borohydride. In addition, the hydrogen pressure necessary to regenerate the borohydride from the dehydrogenation products was reduced.     

Occurrence of ochratoxin A in raw ham muscle,salami and dry-cured ham from pigs fed with contaminated diet

Pork meat-derived products can contribute to the overall ochratoxin A intake, either by carry-over effect, or by environmental mould population cross-contamination. In order to assess the role of these different contamination routes, a study was carried out with pigs challenged orally with OTA contaminated feed at subchronical level. After slaughtering, thighs and minced meat from control and treated groups were transformed into dry-cured hams and salami, respectively, which were analysed for OTA determination after ripening. From collected data, the carry-over in muscle was generally low, whereas a significant contribution to the OTA contamination in dry-cured hams was due to toxinogenic mould population growing on their surface during ripening. Finally, a survey of different types of dry-cured ham (n = 110), from the Italian market, was performed, showing the occurrence of OTA on the surface portion in 84 out of 110 samples with a median value of 0.53 μg/kg and in the inner core in 32 out of 110 samples with a median value lower than 0.1 μg/kg.     

Spatial distribution of ochratoxin A in vineyard and sampling design to assess must contamination

The aim of this work was to study the spatial variability of ochratoxin A (OTA) in vineyards and to define a reliable sampling protocol for bunches in order to assess OTA content before harvesting. In 2002, two vineyards with 'Negroamaro' and 'Sangiovese' grape varieties were chosen in Southern Italy. The same sampling design was applied to both vineyards. Ten plants were collected from the X-shaped path of the whole vineyard (plants 1 through 10) and 10 plants from the two central cross-perpendicular lines (plants 11 through 20). Bunches harvested from plants 1 through 10 were numbered progressively, weighed, and crushed separately, and bunches obtained from plants 11 through 20 were crushed plant by plant. Juices obtained were analyzed for OTA content by high-performance liquid chromatography. Then, a simulated approach for sampling was applied, following randomized and systematic designs. High and random variability was observed in OTA content both among bunches and among plants in the two vineyards, independent of contamination level. Simulated sampling design markedly influenced the assessment of must contamination. The best results were obtained when sampling involved one bunch per plant, in a predefined position, from at least 10 plants. Estimated means, obtained with different sampling designs, did not differ significantly from calculated mean OTA content. If the true contamination in a vineyard is 2 microg kg(-1), the limit fixed in Europe for OTA content in must and wine, the range of OTA content assessed sampling one bunch in the central position of 10 plants should lie between 2.9 and 1.4. The accuracy could be considered acceptable.     

Children's event-related potentials of auditory selective attention vary with their socioeconomic status.

Past research suggests a link between socioeconomic status (SES) and brain processes in children, but direct evidence from neuroimaging is scarce. The authors investigated the relationships among SES, performance, and the neural correlates of auditory selective attention, by comparing event-related potentials (ERPs) in lower- and higher-SES preadolescent children during a task in which they attended to two types of pure tones but ignored two other types. Our hypothesis was that, at comparable performance levels, higher-SES children ignore distracters (the unattended, irrelevant tones) while lower-SES children attend equally to distracters and to targets (the attended, relevant tones). The authors found that ERP waveform differences between attended and unattended tones (Nd, difference negativity) were significant in the higher-SES but not in the lower-SES group. However, the groups did not differ in reaction times or accuracy. Electroencephalographic power analysis revealed a differential pattern of theta activity concomitant with irrelevant tones for the two groups, indicating that although they performed similarly the children from these groups recruited different neural processes. Lower-SES children, the authors suggest, deployed supplementary resources to also attend to irrelevant information. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)