Combined effect of salinity and led lights on the yield and quality of purslane (Portulaca oleracea l.) microgreens

The present work aims to explore the potential to improve quality of purslane microgreens by combining water salinity and LED lighting during their cultivation. Purslane plants were grown in a growth chamber with light insulated compartments, under different lighting sources on a 16 h d-1 photoperiod\u2014fluorescent lamps (FL) and two LED treatments, including a red and blue (RB)) spectrum and a red, blue and far red (RB+IR) LED lights spectrum\u2014while providing all of them a light intensity of 150 umol m-2 s-1. Plants were exposed to two salinity treatments, by adding 0 or 80 mM NaCl. Biomass, cation and anions, total phenolics (TPC) and flavonoids content (TFC), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), total chlorophylls (Chl) and carotenoids content (Car) and fatty acids were determined. The results showed that yield was increased by 21% both in RB and RB+FR lights compared to FL and in salinity compared to non-salinity conditions. The nitrate content was reduced by 81% and 91% when microgreens were grown under RB and RB+FR, respectively, as compared to FL light, and by 9.5% under saline conditions as compared with non-salinity conditions. The lowest oxalate contents were obtained with the combinations of RB or RB+FR lighting and salinity. The content of Cl and Na in the leaves were also reduced when microgreens were grown under RB and RB+FR lights under saline conditions. Microgreens grown under RB light reached the highest TPC, while salinity reduced TFC, Chl and Car. Finally, the fatty acid content was not affected by light or salinity, but these factors slightly influenced their composition. It is concluded that the use of RB and RB+FR lights in saline conditions is of potential use in purslane microgreens production, since it improves the yield and quality of the product, reducing the content of anti-nutritional compounds

Alumnado femenino en las enseñanzas de artes plásticas y diseño en el sistema educativo público español 1940-2015

This article is responsible for analyzing female students? incorporation to the teaching of Fine Arts and Design since the end of the Spanish Civil War to the present. The purpose is to examine the modest evolution of women in the education system during a time marked by the acquisition of rights. It also aims to analyse socially and qualitatively the place that women occupied and occupy in the configuration of a complex education system in our recent history. In this context, the most demanded artistic specialties by the female sex are analyzed in the baccalaureate, vocational training and non-university higher education courses.For this reason, we must conceptualize and situate these teachings throughout history and how the changes occurred during their evolution have affected female students. The teachings of Fine Arts and Design are heiresses to the reformist tradition that the Arts & Crafts Movement initiated in Europe by William Morris in the 19th century. For more than two hundred years it has evolved, always conditioned, by the instability of the changing Spanish educational system.Keywords: Education, women, artistic studies, art schools, plastic arts, design. http://dx.doi.org/10.7203/eari.9.1210

A New Methodology for Vibration Error Compensation of Optical Encoders

Optical encoders are sensors based on grating interference patterns. Tolerances inherent to the manufacturing process can induce errors in the position accuracy as the measurement signals stand apart from the ideal conditions. In case the encoder is working under vibrations, the oscillating movement of the scanning head is registered by the encoder system as a displacement, introducing an error into the counter to be added up to graduation, system and installation errors. Behavior improvement can be based on different techniques trying to compensate the error from measurement signals processing. In this work a new “ad hoc” methodology is presented to compensate the error of the encoder when is working under the influence of vibration. The methodology is based on fitting techniques to the Lissajous figure of the deteriorated measurement signals and the use of a look up table, giving as a result a compensation procedure in which a higher accuracy of the sensor is obtained

Innovative Cooking Techniques for Improving the Overall Quality of a Kailan-Hybrid Broccoli

The microbial, physical, sensory and nutritional quality of boiled (vacuum and conventional), steamed, pressure cooked, sous vide, microwaved (sous vide and conventional), deep-fried (vacuum and conventional) and grilled kailan-hybrid broccoli (BimiA (R)) after cooking was studied. Sous vide microwaving greatly decreased microbial counts, achieving very low psychrophilic and enterobacteria counts (1.1 and 0.2 log CFU g(-1), respectively). Vacuum boiling and sous vide reduced the stem broccoli firmness by approximately 54-58 %, reaching a pleasant and moderate softening. Sous vide, grilling and steaming induced the lowest stem colour changes. Generally, all cooking treatments showed a good overall sensory quality. The total phenolic content (1,148 mg CAE kg(-1) fw) usually increased after cooking, with microwave and grilled treatments registering the highest increases up to 2-fold. Commonly, the total antioxidant capacity (296.6 mg AAE kg(-1) fw) increased after cooking by sous vide, microwaving and frying treatments registering the highest increments, by approximately 3.6-fold. Generally, the cooking process reduced the initial vitamin C content, with vacuum and conventional boiling showing the lowest and highest losses with 27 and 62 %, respectively, while vacuum deep frying preserved the initial value (1,737 mg kg(-1) fw). As a main conclusion, the studied grilling and vacuum-based cooking treatments resulted in better microbial quality, colour, stem firmness and sensory quality than the remaining ones. This maintained or even improved the total antioxidant content of the new kailan-hybrid broccoli studied.6821352149Sakata Seeds Iberica S.L.U.Fundacion Seneca de la Region de Murci

Postharvest LED lighting: effect of red, blue and far red on quality of minimally processed broccoli sprouts

BACKGROUND: The main objective of this study was to evaluate physiological and quality changes of minimally processed broccoli sprouts illuminated during postharvest storage under blue, red and far-red LED lighting as compared to darkness or illumination with fluorescent light, as control treatments. RESULTS: Morphological and microbiological changes were determined during 15 days at 5 \ub0C. In addition, total antioxidant activity and bioactive compound changes throughout the shelf life were also monitored. Results showed that far-red LED lighting increased hypocotyl and sprout length, decreased microbial growth and improved the total antioxidant and scavenging activities, compared to darkness and fluorescent lighting treatments. However, it did not stimulate the biosynthesis of phenolic acids. In contrast, blue LED light reduced by 50% the total antioxidant capacity of broccoli sprouts compared to far-red treatment, as well as morphological development. In addition, total scavenging activity was increased under far-red LED light compared with the other treatments by 12\u201310% (darkness and fluorescence) and 33\u201331% (blue and red LEDs). CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that minimally processed sprouts may benefit from LED lighting during shelf life in terms of quality, although further experiments should be conducted to optimize a proper exposure cycle and intensity aiming for use in the distribution chain. The results also open the way for further development towards the integration of this technology in the food distribution chain

Postharvest yellow LED lighting affects phenolics and glucosinolates biosynthesis in broccoli sprouts

Nowadays, literature is still limited on the effects that LEDs may trigger during postharvest. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of continuous monochromatic Yellow or Green light on total and individual phenolic and glucosinolate content of 9-day broccoli sprouts stored up to 15 days at 5 \ub0C as a ready-to-eat product. In addition, a broad-spectrum White LED light, a Fluorescent light and storage in Darkness were used as treatments. An improvement in the total phenolic content (TPC) of 15 % and 13 % was observed under Yellow and White LED lighting, respectively, throughout the shelf-life as compared to Darkness. While Green LEDs did not affect the TPC, an increase of 34.5 % on the total glucosinolate content (TGC) was associated to this treatment on day 4. The highest increase of the TGC was observed under Yellow lighting (77 %, compared to Darkness). In contrast, Fluorescent and Darkness did not affect the TPC, but reduced the TGC (69 and 62 % compared to values at harvest, respectively). Our study demonstrates that a postharvest Yellow LED lighting stimulates the TPC and the TGC accumulation, opening the way for its further applications along the shelf life of other horticultural commodities