Determination of CO2 stored by fruit trees in Craiova, Romania cityscape

Fruit species, by their size, can make significant contributions in combating the effects of climate change, and by their utilitarian function, they can satisfy primary food needs. Big cities en-courage and develop fruit picking initiatives in the urban environment. Referring to the carbon di-oxide absorption capacity that fruit species can have in public and private green spaces in the urban environment, we observe species such as walnut, mulberry and fig, with a high storage power. Green infrastructures in the urban environment have a crucial role in mitigating climate change, the study forming a vision of the ecological potential offered by fruit trees, generating variability through the different age classes

Chorological data regarding the presence of Corylus colurna species in Romania

The Turkish hazel or Turkish filbert (Corylus colurna) is a less widespread tree species in Romania. Data on the presence of C. colurna species in the Romanian flora are quite rare. The article’s aim is to analyse the scientific information and those of the main herbariums regarding the presence of C. colurna species on the Romanian territory. The presence of the species on the Romanian territory was signalled about 122 years ago in the paper “Conspectus of Romanian Flora”. Subsequent scientific information identifies the species in different locations, especially in the southwest of Romania, in dendrological and natural parks. Scientific importance of the species lies in its rarity, the species has an area limit on Romanian territory and in the value, it gives to natural ecosystems in which it grows. The practical value is given by its edible fruits, valuable from a food or medicinal point of view and by its agronomic characteristics. As a result, the biodiversity conservation strategy should include forest protected areas as important objectives

Bioactive Compounds, Antioxidant Activity and Nutritional Quality of Different Culinary Aromatic Herbs

In the present work, four of the most widely used culinary herbs (parsley, dill, lovage and celery leaves) in the Romanian traditional cuisine were assessed for some nutritional quality parameters (moisture content, titratable acidity, ascorbic acid content and mineral content), total phenolics content, total flavonoids content and antioxidant activity by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging assay. In addition, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled with diode-array detection was applied for the identification and quantification of some individual phenolic compounds in the selected aromatic herbs. Although parsley showed the highest ascorbic acid content (206.32 mg/100 g fw), it registered the lowest antioxidant activity. Fresh lovage recorded the highest total phenolic content (577.04 mg GAE/100 g), total flavonoids content (298.38 mg QE/100 g) and antioxidant activity, followed by dill and celery leaves. Among the identified phenolic acids, ellagic acid was predominant in lovage and celery leaves whereas sinapic and vanillic acids were prevalent in dill. Among flavonoids, myricetin was predominant in parsley and celery leaves whereas rutin was predominant in dill and lovage

Effect of cultivar, year, and their interaction on nutritional and energy value components in Aronia melanocarpa berries

Aronia melanocarpa has long been known for its small, purple-black, and sweet-bitter berries to which several human health benefits have been attributed. This study aimed to highlight the effect of cultivar, year, and their interaction on the berry level of some components with nutritional and energetic value in two chokeberry cultivars. The study was carried out on ‘Melrom’ and ‘Nero’ chokeberry cultivars, grown under climatic conditions specific to Muntenia region, Romania. Compared to ‘Nero’ cv., dry weight, total soluble solids, and carbohydrates were found in significantly higher quantity in ‘Melrom’ cv. (263.33 g kg-1, 18.02 °Brix, 203.19 g kg-1). Significantly higher energy value and acidity (946.81 kcal kg-1 and 11.40 g malic acid kg-1, respectively) were also determined for ‘Melrom’ cv. Except for total soluble solids for ‘Melrom’ cv., total titratable acidity and total sugar content presented the highest variations between the study years for each of the two cultivars. K was the major mineral, followed by Ca. ‘Nero’ cv. had a higher content of K (2.73 g kg-1) and Zn (0.003 g kg-1) and significantly higher levels of Ca (0.72 g kg-1), Mg (0.35 g kg-1), and P (0.52 g kg-1). Both chokeberry cultivars can be considered as an alternative to complete the daily diet with fiber and minerals without high energy or sugar intake

Experimental procedure to evaluate air leakage through different building materials

This work deals with the evaluation of air flow rate through different building materials used in the construction of building envelope. Experimental measurements of the air flow through and static pressure difference across building walls were carried out. For this purpose a new test configuration consisting of pressurization chambers was designed and developed. In order to validate the new-experimental setup developed, the leakage parameters of some common building materials such as gypsum board and plywood sheathing were evaluated and compared with literature values with satisfactory results. The experimental approach developed in this study was then used to evaluate the air leakage characteristics (resistance, permeance, equivalent leakage area) of brick, impregnated brick and composite walls. Different building envelope configurations were compared in order to assess the airtightness performance and recommend appropriate improvements. This study confirmed that under pressure differentials of 10 to 150 Pa, the air flow regime through rigid building materials is mainly laminar. The research also dealt with the evaluation of the air flow characteristics through a composite system in order to estimate the general envelope performance, by considering the air flow rate through each component layer. The building component airtightness measurements using the proposed experimental configuration were performed under controlled laboratory conditions. This system has the advantage that a large number of rigid specimens can be examined under similar conditions. However, results obtained under laboratory conditions may be significantly different from those of similar components on site evaluation. This is attributed to the effect of workmanship on the airtightness performance of the building envelop

Antioxidant Capacity, Total Phenols, Total Flavonoids and Colour Component of Cornelian Cherry (Cornus mas L.) Wild Genotypes

A number of selected cornelian cherry wild genotypes were investigated regarding antioxidant capacity, total phenols, total flavonoids and colour component. The total phenolic, total flavonoids and antioxidant activity of methanol extract of cornelian cherry fruits were determined using Folin-Ciocalteu, colorimetric and DPPH methods, respectively. Total phenolic content ranged from 163.69 (S1) to 359.28 (H2) mg GAE 100 g-1 FW. Genotypes H2 and H3 had the highest total phenolic content (359.28 and 343.50 mg GAE 100 g-1 FW, respectively), total flavonoids (54.26 and 64.48 mg QE 100 g-1 FW, respectively) and antioxidant capacity (2.39 and 2.71 mmolTrolox100g-1 FW, respectively). Significant differences of yellow/blue color component (b*), red/ green (a*) color component, values of lightness (L*) and chroma (C) were obtained for extracts from fruits. The present study shows the potential of certain cornelian cherry genotypes as valuable source of natural antioxidants and gene stock for breeding programs

Unconventionally Made-Cellular Glass Aggregate

Improving the original manufacturing process in microwave field of a cellular glass aggregate using a recipe containing colored consumed drinking bottle, calcium carbonate (CaCO3) as an expanding agent, sodium borate (borax) as a fluxing agent and sodium silicate (Na2SiO3) as a binder is shown in the work. The main adopted technological measures were the advanced mechanical processing of residual glass at a grain dimension below 100 μm and especially the use of a high electromagnetic wave susceptible ceramic tube with a wall thickness reduced from 3.5 to 2.5 mm for the protection of the pressed glass-based mixture against the aggressive effect of microwave field and, in the same time, to achieve a preponderantly direct heating with electromagnetic waves. Of the tested variants, a recipe with 1.6 % calcium carbonate, 6 % borax, 8 % sodium silicate and the rest residual glass was determined to be optimal. The cellular glass aggregate had the bulk density of 0.22 g/cm3, heat conductivity of 0.079 W/m·K and compression strength of 5.9 MPa. The specific consumption of energy was very low (0.71 kWh/kg) below the range of reported values of the industrial processes consumption (between 0.74-1.15 kWh/kg). &nbsp