STUDY ON QUALITY AND SAFETY OF WHITE TOPINAMBOUR (Helianthus tuberosus), DRY, AS SOURCE OF RAW MATERIAL FOR FUNCTIONAL FOOD AND PHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCTS

Within this paper, a study on physical and chemical features of white topinambour tuber (Helianthus tuberosus) cultivated in Southern Romania, Fetesti, Ialomita, was performed. For this study, the tuber vegetal product, in dry state, was used, being studied samples taken from the vegetal crop established near the road traffic, starting from the half part of cultivated area and from the farthest side, in order to identify the possible pollutants acting on minerals, oligoelements, but especially heavy metals contained by it; therefore, complementary studies to quality ones have been made in order to determine also the safety aspects of this potential source of raw active matter of natural vegetal origin for food industry, functional food, food supplements and pharmaceutical industry

STUDY ON QUALITY AND SAFETY OF WHITE JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE (Helianthus tuberosus), FRESHLY HARVESTED, AS SOURCE OF RAW MATERIAL FOR FUNCTIONAL FOOD AND PHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCTS

Within this paper, a study on physical and chemical features of white Jerusalem artichoke tuber’s (Helianthus tuberosus) cultivated in Southern Romania, Fetesti, Ialomita, was achieved. The Romanian Plain, where Fetesti locality is situated is characterized by unlimited fields, considered as first- class lands, namely with deep well drained and aerated soil, easy to work, presenting a good permeability and water stocking, with relative high natural fertility for most of plants of culture adapted to climate conditions and which are not difficult to be exploited as arable field. For this study, the tuber vegetal product, in fresh state, was used, being studied samples taken from the vegetal crop established near the road traffic, starting from the half part of cultivated area and from the farthest side, in order to identify the possible pollutant substances acting on minerals, oligoelements, but especially heavy metals contained by it; therefore, not only quality studies, but also complementary studies have been made in order to determine also the safety aspects of this potential source of raw active matter of natural vegetal origin for food industry, functional food, food supplements and pharmaceutical industry

High potential for CH4 emission mitigation from oil infrastructure in one of EU's major production regions

Ambitious methane (CH4) emission mitigation represents one of the most effective opportunities to slow the rate of global warming over the next decades. The oil and gas (O&G) sector is a significant source of methane emissions, with technically feasible and cost-effective emission mitigation options. Romania, a key O&G producer within the EU, with the second highest reported annual CH4 emissions from the energy sector in the year 2020 (Greenhouse Gas Inventory Data - Comparison by Category, 2022), can play an important role towards the EU's emission reduction targets. In this study, we quantify CH4 emissions from onshore oil production sites in Romania at source and facility level using a combination of ground- and drone-based measurement techniques. Measured emissions were characterized by heavily skewed distributions, with 10% of the sites accounting for more than 70% of total emissions. Integrating the results from all site-level quantifications with different approaches, we derive a central estimate of 5.4 kg h-1 per site of CH4 (3.6 %-8.4 %, 95% confidence interval) for oil production sites. This estimate represents the third highest when compared to measurementbased estimates of similar facilities from other production regions. Based on our results, we estimate a total of 120 kt CH4 yr-1 (range: 79-180 kt yr-1) from oil production sites in our studied areas in Romania. This is approximately 2.5 times higher than the reported emissions from the entire Romanian oil production sector for 2020. Based on the source-level characterization, up to three-quarters of the detected emissions from oil production sites are related to operational venting. Our results suggest that O&G production infrastructure in Romania holds a massive mitigation potential, specifically by implementing measures to capture the gas and minimize operational venting and leaks

Microporosity Quantification via NMR Relaxometry

[EN] Micropores and their interplay with liquids are critical in many solid systems but challenging to investigate, often requiring complex and indirect techniques to even be detected. Here, we perform low-field H NMR transverse relaxometry on submicron Stöber silica spheres to directly detect micropore water. Colloidal crystals with a well-defined sphere configuration are used to facilitate unambiguous distinction of the interparticle void water and enable straightforward micropore volume quantification. We evidence significant microporosity (∼16% of the sphere volume) with high water accessibility and monitor the drying of the micropore water, which exhibits high resilience, evaporating only after complete void drainage. Progressive microporosity closure by thermal annealing above 600 °C is shown, until complete removal at 900 °C. Increasing hydrophobicity of the micropore walls is observed, although it barely affected the water access. Our results prove the capability of NMR relaxometry to quantitatively investigate complex microporosity and the behavior of water confined therein.Spanish MINECO project MAT2014-58731-JIN and MCIU grant RTI2018-093921-BC41. I.A. acknowledges the partial support of the project 21 PFE in the frame of the program PDI-PFE-CDI 2018

Imbibition and dewetting of silica colloidal crystals: An NMR relaxometry study

[EN] Hypothesis: The wettability of the inner surfaces in a porous network is challenging to be accessed but essential to understand the complex performance of e.g. particulate systems. Experiments: Here we investigate the water behavior in the macroporous (50–100 nm) voids of dense particle packings by performing low-field H NMR relaxometry in solid silica colloid crystals. The systems chosen guarantee a regular, known void size distribution with controllable water affinity (through thermal annealing), where the NMR experiment clearly discriminates the void water from micropore or bound water contributions, allowing separate monitoring. Findings: Analysis of the saturated state indicates that the interparticle voids are completely filled after imbibition, even for less hydrophilic spheres. Due to the interaction with the silica surface, proton relaxation in void water is up to 100 times faster than that in bulk water, serving for assessment of the hydrophilicity within the sample. The relaxation time evolution upon dewetting provides an empirical measurement of the wettability inside the ensemble, revealing a progressively inhomogeneous wetting of increasingly hydrophobic surfaces. Our results provide insight into the imbibition state and dewetting performance in meso- and macroporous systems, with emphasis in the marked influence of the surface nature on the pore wetting distribution.This work was supported by the Spanish MINECO project MAT2014- 58731-JIN and MCIU grant RTI2018-093921-B-C41. I. A. acknowledges the partial support of the project 21 PFE in the frame of the program PDIPFE- CDI 2018

Research on the Concentration of Plasma Testosterone in Silver Foxes (Vulpes fulva) and Polar Foxes (Alopex lagopus) Raised in Captivity

The plasma testosterone determinations were performed on 19 silver fox males (Vulpes fulva) and 19 polar fox males (Alopex lagopus) that were coming from the farm. The concentration of testosterone was performed on prepubertal males (0-10 months), during the sexual period and the period of sexual rest. For quantitative determination of the testosterone, some systems were used like the VITROS system ECi/ECi O2, the immunological diagnostic system VITROS 3600 and the integrated system VITROS 5600. In both species, the plasma concentration was maximal at the males in the period of sexual activity (1.56 ± 0.23 ng / ml at the polar fox and 1.46 ± 0.23ng / ml at the silver fox) and minimal in males between the age 0-10 months (0.22 ± 0.01 ng / ml at the polar foxes and 0.20 ± 0.01 ng / ml at the silver foxes).The adult males that were in the sexual rest period showed low testosterone levels (0.25 ± 0.02 ng / ml at the polar foxes and 0.22 ± 0.02 ng / ml at the silver foxes)