Quantitative Profiling of Volatile and Phenolic Substances in the Wine Vernaccia di Serrapetrona by Development of an HS-SPME-GC-FID/MS Method and HPLC-MS

A headspace solid-phase microextraction coupled to gas chromatography with mass spectrometry and flame ionization detection (HS-SPME-GC-MS/FID) method has been developed for quantifying the main volatiles of the Italian sparkling red wine Vernaccia di Serrapetrona, leading to establish that the divinylbenzene/carboxen/polydimethylsiloxane-coated (gray) fiber, an equilibration time of 15 min, and an extraction time of 15 min at a temperature of 35 °C are the conditions representing the best compromise in terms of sensitivity and time expense, to carry out the analyses. Among the volatiles quantified, 2-phenylethanol, 3-methylbutyl acetate, and ethyl esters levels resulted to be above their odor thresholds, thus being probably responsible for the aroma of this wine with their positive attributes. Phenolic compounds, namely gallic acid, p-coumaric acid, caffeic acid, (+)-catechin, and (+)-epicatechin, were also quantified using high-performance liquid chromatography-MS, thus obtaining an overall characterization of molecules fundamental for both the sensory and the healthy characteristics of the wine. The total phenolic content was found to be in the range of 19.25–61.67 mg l^?1 with the most abundant compound being gallic acid (7.44–25.78 mg l^?1). Main differences in volatile and phenolic compounds between samples were discussed and analyzed by chemometric techniques as principal component analysis.     

Cell Creeping and Controlled Migration by Magnetic Carbon Nanotubes

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are tubular nanostructures that exhibit magnetic properties due to the metal catalyst impurities entrapped at their extremities during fabrication. When mammalian cells are cultured in a CNT-containing medium, the nanotubes interact with the cells, as a result of which, on exposure to a magnetic field, they are able to move cells towards the magnetic source. In the present paper, we report on a model that describes the dynamics of this mammalian cell movement in a magnetic field consequent on CNT attachment. The model is based on Bell’s theory of unbinding dynamics of receptor-ligand bonds modified and validated by experimental data of the movement dynamics of mammalian cells cultured with nanotubes and exposed to a magnetic field, generated by a permanent magnet, in the vicinity of the cell culture wells. We demonstrate that when the applied magnetic force is below a critical value (about F _c ≈ 10⁻¹¹ N), the cell ‘creeps’ very slowly on the culture dish at a very low velocity (10–20 nm/s) but becomes detached from the substrate when this critical magnetic force is exceeded and then move towards the magnetic source.     

Relating safety, productivity and company type for motor-manual logging operations in the Italian Alps

The study compared the performance of four different logging crews with respect to productivity, organization and safety. To this purpose, the authors developed a data collection method capable of providing a quantitative analysis of risk-taking behavior. Four crews were tested under the same working conditions, representative of close-to-nature alpine forestry. Motor-manual working methods were applied, since these methods are still prevalent in the specific study area, despite the growing popularity of mechanical processors. Crews from public companies showed a significantly lower frequency of risk-taking behavior. The best safety performance was offered by the only (public) crew that had been administered formal safety training. The study seems to deny the common prejudice that safety practice is inversely proportional to productivity. Instead, productivity is increased by introducing more efficient working methods and equipment. The quantitative analysis of risk-taking behavior developed in this study can be applied to a number of industrial fields besides forestry. Characterizing risk-taking behavior for a given case may eventually lead to the development of custom-made training programmes, which may address problem areas while avoiding that the message is weakened by the inclusion of redundant information. In the specific case of logging crews in the central Alps, the study suggests that current training courses may be weak on ergonomics, and advocates a staged training programme, focusing first on accident reduction and then expanding to the prevention of chronic illness.     

Synthesis of Alkyl‐Functionalized Hyperbranched Polymers and Their Use as Additives in Cationic Photopolymerization of Epoxy Resins

Summary: An alkyl‐functionalized hyperbranched polymer, HBP(OH)–C16, was synthesized by partial modification with fatty acid of an aromatic‐aliphatic OH‐terminated hyperbranched polyester HBP? OH. This product was used as additive in the cationic photopolymerization of an epoxy resin. The alkyl‐modified polyester takes part in the photopolymerization process thanks to the residual OH groups by means of chain‐transfer reactions. An increase of the epoxy conversion is observed by increasing the amount of the HBP additive in the photocurable resin with a modification of the bulk properties of the final ultraviolet‐cured films. The presence of HBP(OH)–C16 induces an increase in glass transition temperature, thermal stability, and solvent resistance. Moreover the surface properties of the films are modified achieving highly hydrophobic surfaces in the presence of even very low amounts of HBP(OH)–C16.

Structure of HBP–C16.     

Laminated composite rectangular and annular plates: A GDQ solution for static analysis with a posteriori shear and normal stress recovery

The Generalized Differential Quadrature (GDQ) Method is applied to study laminated composite degenerate shell panels such as rectangular and annular plates. The theoretical treatment is maintained general in order to expose in a unique way the procedure adopted to obtain the stress profiles through the thickness of plates without specifying the equations for rectangular and annular plates. By simply imposing some geometrical relations the equations governing the problem of plates under consideration, that are degenerate shells, are inferred from the theory of shells of revolution. The mechanical model is based on the so called First-order Shear Deformation Theory (FSDT) deduced from the three-dimensional theory in order to analyse the above moderately thick structural elements. The solution is given in terms of generalized displacement components of points lying on the middle surface of the plate. After the solution of the fundamental system of equations in terms of displacements and rotations, the generalized strains and stress resultants are evaluated by applying the Differential Quadrature rule to the generalized displacements. The transverse shear and normal stress profiles through the laminate thickness are reconstructed a posteriori by using local three-dimensional elasticity equilibrium equations. No preliminary recovery or regularization procedure on the extensional and flexural strain fields is needed when the Differential Quadrature technique is used. By using GDQ procedure through the thickness, the reconstruction procedure needs only to be corrected to properly account for the boundary equilibrium conditions. In order to verify the accuracy of the present method, GDQ results are compared with the ones obtained with semi-analytical formulations and with 3D finite element methods. Stresses of several composite plates are evaluated. Very good agreement is observed without using mixed formulations and higher order kinematical models. Various examples of stress profiles for rectangular and annular plate elements are presented to illustrate the validity and the accuracy of GDQ method.     

ZnO nanowire arrays as substrates for cell proliferation and differentiation

In the latest years, the use of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanostructures has been proposed in different biomedical applications, however, to date, only a few contrasting results concerning their biocompatibility can be found in the literature. In particular, the application of the extraordinary piezoelectric properties of ZnO nanostructures has poorly been explored for the culture of electrically excitable cells, and, for this reason, systematic investigations of their interactions with these living systems appear to be necessary. In this paper, we report about adhesion, proliferation and differentiation of two mammalian cell lines (PC12, as model of neuronal cells, and H9c2, as model of muscle cells) over ZnO nanowire arrays. We demonstrate suitability of these arrays in sustaining cellular functions, and their potential in applications that range from tissue engineering to minimally invasive sensing and/or stimulation.     

Analysis of a Ty1-less variant of Saccharomyces paradoxus: the gain and loss of Ty1 elements

Because Ty elements transpose through an RNA intermediate, element accumulation through retrotransposition must be regulated or offset by element loss to avoid uncontrolled genome expansion. Here we examine the fate of Ty sequences in Saccharomyces strain 337, a strain that is reported to lack Ty1 and Ty2 elements, but contains remnant solo long terminal repeats (LTRs). Although strain 337 was initially classified as Saccharomyces cerevisiae, our work indicates that this strain is more closely related to S. paradoxus. Several degenerate Ty1 and Ty2 LTRs were mapped to the same insertion sites as full-length Ty1 and Ty2 elements in S. cerevisiae, suggesting that this strain lost Ty elements by LTR-LTR recombination. Southern analysis indicates that strain 337 also lacks Ty4 and Ty5 elements. We estimated the rates of element gain and loss in this strain by introducing a single transposition-competent Ty1 element. The results indicate that Ty1 retrotransposition occurs at a much higher rate than elimination, suggesting that copy-number-dependent co-factors or environmental conditions contribute to the loss of Ty elements in this genome.     

Rijndael for Sensor Networks: Is Speed the Main Issue?

We present an implementation of Rijndael for wireless sensor networks running on Eyes sensor nodes. In previous works, Rijndael has not been considered a suitable encryption algorithm for sensor nodes because it is too slow and requires a large space in memory, a precious resource in this environment. Our implementation of Rijndael is smaller, from about 1/3 to 1/5 of the size of previous implementations. Furthermore, we observe that nowadays MAC and routing protocols for wireless sensor networks, exhibit latencies up to few seconds, and thus the few milliseconds required by Rijndael to encrypt a TinyOS message are negligible if compared to these latencies. For this reason, in our opinion the main focus on the implementation of encryption algorithms for wireless sensor networks should move from speed, to memory occupation and energy efficiency.