Quality and safety assurance in winemaking

Winemaking poses many quality (appearance, taste, consumer acceptability) and safety (chemicals, metal parts) hazards. In this work, an effort is made for quality and safety analysis of winemaking, by describing and outlining the incoming hazards both for quality and safety in every process stage, starting from harvesting the grapes and arriving to distributing the final product. At the same time, preventative measures are proposed and critical factors and limits existing are determined. The study reveals that the CCPs for wine safety are the stages of grape growing, grape harvesting, fermentation, stabilization, aging and bottling. The CPs for wine quality are the stages of grape growing, grape harvesting, destemming, juice separation (white wine), must storage, fermentation, blending, aging and bottling. The most significant factors for both CCPs and CPs that should be controlled are determined.     

The Marine Polysaccharide Ulvan Confers Potent Osteoinductive Capacity to PCL-Based Scaffolds for Bone Tissue Engineering Applications

Hybrid composites of synthetic and natural polymers represent materials of choice for bone tissue engineering. Ulvan, a biologically active marine sulfated polysaccharide, is attracting great interest in the development of novel biomedical scaffolds due to recent reports on its osteoinductive properties. Herein, a series of hybrid polycaprolactone scaffolds containing ulvan either alone or in blends with κ-carrageenan and chondroitin sulfate was prepared and characterized. The impact of the preparation methodology and the polysaccharide composition on their morphology, as well as on their mechanical, thermal, water uptake and porosity properties was determined, while their osteoinductive potential was investigated through the evaluation of cell adhesion, viability, and osteogenic differentiation of seeded human adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells. The results verified the osteoinductive ability of ulvan, showing that its incorporation into the polycaprolactone matrix efficiently promoted cell attachment and viability, thus confirming its potential in the development of biomedical scaffolds for bone tissue regeneration applications.     

Serverless streaming for emerging media: towards 5G network-driven cost optimization

Multimedia Tools and Applications - Immersive 3D media is an emerging type of media that captures, encodes and reconstructs the 3D appearance of people and objects, with applications in...     

Functional properties of carotenoids originating from algae

Carotenoids are isoprenoid molecules which are synthesised de novo by photosynthetic plants, fungi and algae and are responsible for the orange, yellow and some red colours of various fruits and vegetables. Carotenoids are lipophilic compounds, some of which act as provitamins A. These compounds can be divided into xanthophylls and carotenes. Many macroalgae and microalgae are rich in carotenoids, where these compounds aid in the absorption of sunlight. Industrially, these carotenoids are used as food pigments (in dairy products, beverages, etc.), as feed additives, in cosmetics and in pharmaceuticals, especially nowadays when there is an increasing demand by consumers for natural products. Production of carotenoids from algae has many advantages compared to other sources; for example, their production is cheap, easy and environmentally friendly; their extraction is easier, with higher yields, and there is no lack of raw materials or limited seasonal variation. Recently, there has been considerable interest in dietary carotenoids with respect to their antioxidant properties and their ability to reduce the incidence of some chronic diseases where free radicals are involved. Possibly, carotenoids protect cells from oxidative stress by quenching singlet oxygen damage with various mechanisms. Therefore, carotenoids derived from algae could be a leading natural resource in the research for potential functional ingredients. Copyright © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry     

Effect of long‐term dietary administration of oregano and rosemary on the antioxidant status of rat serum,liver, kidney and heart after carbon tetrachloride‐induced oxidative stress

BACKGROUND: This study was performed on female Wistar rats allocated to eight groups of six animals each. Groups 1 and 2 were fed the basal diet, groups 3 and 4 were fed the basal diet supplemented with ground oregano at 20 g kg^?1 level, groups 5 and 6 were fed the basal diet supplemented with ground rosemary at 20 g kg^?1 level, while groups 7 and 8 were fed the basal diet supplemented with both oregano and rosemary, each at 20 g kg^?1 level. Following 6 weeks feeding, groups 2, 4, 6 and 8 were injected with CCl₄ at 1 mL kg^?1 body weight, and 6 h thereafter all animals were sacrificed. RESULTS: Administration of CCl₄ to the control rats enhanced (P < 0.05) aspartate transaminase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activities, decreased cholesterol and triglycerides content in serum, increased (P < 0.05) lipid peroxidation and decreased (P < 0.05) the ABTS radical cation, the hydroxyl anion radical, the superoxide anion radical, and the hydrogen peroxide scavenging activities in all tested tissues, as compared to the control. Feeding oregano, rosemary or both before CCl₄ treatment resulted in decline (P < 0.05) of the increase in AST, ALT and ALP activities, increase (P < 0.05) of cholesterol and triglycerides in serum, decrease (P < 0.05) of lipid peroxidation, and increase (P < 0.05) of the ABTS radical cation, hydroxyl anion radical, superoxide anion radical and hydrogen peroxide scavenging activity. CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that long‐term dietary administration of oregano and rosemary has the potential to quench free radicals and alleviate CCl₄‐induced oxidative stress in rats. Copyright © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry     

Effect of dietary olive leaves and/or α-tocopheryl acetate supplementation on microbial growth and lipid oxidation of turkey breast fillets during refrigerated storage

Thirty turkeys were allocated to five groups of six birds each. One group that served as control was fed a basal diet, while the others were fed diets supplemented with olive leaves at 5 or 10 g/kg, or α-tocopheryl acetate at 150 or 300 mg/kg. Following slaughter, fillets from breast were stored at 4 °C in the dark for 12 days, and lipid oxidation and microbial growth were assessed. Results showed that the incorporation of olive leaves in turkey diets increased (P < 0.05) the oxidative stability of raw breast fillets during refrigerated storage. Dietary olive leaves at 10 g/kg were more effective (P < 0.05) in inhibiting lipid oxidation compared to 5 g/kg, but inferior to the supplementation of 300 mg α-tocopheryl acetate/kg. In turn, α-tocopheryl acetate supplementation at 150 mg/kg was equal to olive leaves at 5 g/kg but inferior to olive leaves at 10 g/kg. Total viable counts, lactic acid bacteria, Enterobacteriaceae and psychrotrophic bacteria counts were all increased (P < 0.05) in breast fillets of all groups throughout the refrigerated storage. Diet supplementation with α-tocopheryl acetate had no effect on the bacterial counts recorded in the control group, but diet supplementation with olive leaves resulted in decrease (P < 0.05) of all bacterial counts at day 2 of storage and thereafter; during this period, olive leaves at the level of 10 g/kg were more effective in inhibiting bacterial growth compared to the level of 5 g/kg.     

The effect of dietary oregano essential oil on lipid oxidation in raw and cooked chicken during refrigerated storage

The antioxidative effect of dietary supplementation with oregano essential oil on susceptibility of raw and cooked breast and thigh muscle meat of chickens to lipid oxidation during refrigerated storage for 9 days was investigated. Day-old chickens (n=80) were randomly divided into four groups and fed a basal diet containing 30 mg α-tocopheryl acetate kg(-1) feed as control, or basal diet plus 200 mg α-tocopheryl acetate kg(-1) feed, or basal diet plus 50 or 100 mg oregano essential oil kg(-1) for 38 days prior to slaughter. Lipid oxidation was assessed by monitoring malondialdehyde (MDA) formation in raw and cooked meat during 0, 3, 6 and 9 days of refrigerated storage, using the thiobarbituric acid (TBA) assay and third-order derivative spectrophotometry. Results showed that dietary oregano essential oil supplementation exerted antioxidative effects, the supplementation being most effective in retarding lipid oxidation in stored raw and cooked meat at the 100 mg oregano essential oil kg(-1) feed. However, dietary α-tocopheryl acetate supplementation at 200 mg kg(-1) feed displayed greater antioxidant activity than oregano treatments. Thigh muscle was more susceptible to oxidation compared to breast muscle in all treatments, although the former tissues contained α-tocopherol at markedly higher levels.     

Indium adsorption and incorporation mechanisms in AlN

Density functional theory calculations are implemented in order to scrutinize indium adsorption and incorporation mechanisms in polar AlN. Indium adsorption is promoted on both polarity surfaces and adatom kinetics calculations indicate lower diffusion barriers of indium along the prismatic 〈11[`2]0 11\bar{2}0 〉 directions on (0001) as well as (000[`1] 000\bar{1} ) AlN. The latter is correlated to experimental observations of In_0.24Al_0.76N grown by metal organic vapour phase epitaxy, demonstrating indium concentration along the facet junctions of V-defects. This can be attributed to In surface diffusion along the 〈11[`2]0 11\bar{2}0 〉 directions of the pyramidal facets. Surface thermodynamics reveal a manifold behaviour of indium in polar AlN surfaces, significantly affected by polarity, growth stoichiometry as well as surface termination. In particular, N-rich growth conditions enhance indium incorporation on Al-terminated surfaces of both polarities, leading up to full monolayer coverage. Incorporation on N-terminated (0001) and (000[`1] 000\bar{1} ) surfaces is hindered independent of growth stoichiometry.     

The effect of dietary oregano essential oil on microbial growth of rabbit carcasses during refrigerated storage

The effect of dietary supplementation with oregano essential oil on microbial growth of rabbit carcasses during refrigerated storage was investigated. A total of 45 weaned rabbits were separated into three equal groups with three subgroups each. One group was given the basal diet and served as control and the other two groups were administered diets supplemented with oregano essential oil at levels of 100 and 200 mg/kg diet, respectively (OR100 and OR200 groups). Total viable counts, Pseudomonas spp., lactic acid bacteria, Brochothrix thermosphacta, Enterobacteriaceae and yeast and mould counts, as well as off-odours and appearance of slime were all assessed on rabbit carcasses stored at 3 ± 1 °C for 12 days. The results showed that performance parameters were not affected (p > 0.05) whereas the dietary supplementation with oregano essential oil resulted in lower (p < 0.05) average microbial counts on the carcasses, compared to controls, throughout storage. Dietary supplementation with oregano essential oil at 200 mg/kg was more effective in inhibiting microbial growth compared with 100 mg/kg. Sensory evaluation scores indicated that the carcasses obtained from OR100 and OR200 groups gave a noticeable putrid odour after days 8 and 10, respectively, whereas the control carcasses developed off-odours after the 6th day of storage. Slime formation in the controls was observed after day 6, while the OR100 and OR200 groups were just beginning to show slime after days 8 and 10, respectively.