Ethylene production and quality in 1-Methylcyclopropene treated 'Abbé Fètel'pears after storage in Dynamically Controlled Atmosphere

This research studies the ethylene production rate (EP) and quality in 1-MCP treated ‘Abbé Fètel’ pears after storage in DCA compared to NA and CA. 1-MCP treated (300 ppb) and control fruit were stored at -0.5°C in NA, CA (2 kPa O2 + 0.7 kPa CO2) and DCA (0.7 kPa O2 + 0.3 kPa CO2). After 4 and 6 months storage, fruit were held up to 7 d at 20°C. Skin colour, firmness and EP were measured during shelf life and the incidence of disorders after 7 d. 1-MCP treatment drastically reduced EP, which began to recover after 7 d at 20°C, except for DCA stored pears. In control fruit, NA stored pears showed the highest EP. 1-MCP treated fruit were the greenest at the end of shelf-life, especially after CA and DCA. Control fruit stored in DCA and in CA were greener than NA both at 1 d and 7 d of shelf life. Pears treated with 1-MCP did not soften during shelf life, while in control fruit firmness decreased from about 40 N to about 15-20 N, whatever the storage atmosphere. 1-MCP treatment prevented soft and superficial scald and internal breakdown, independently of storage atmosphere. DCA prevented superficial scald in control fruit, while it increased internal browning and breakdown in control and 1-MCP treated pears. No differences were found for soft scald incidence between control DCA and CA stored fruit. The highest percentage of sound fruit was found in NA stored 1-MCP treated pears, and the lowest in control fruit stored in DC

Influence of cold storage time on the softening prediction in Spring Bright nectarines

With Time-resolved Reflectance Spectroscopy (TRS) the maturity of nectarines at harvest can be assessed by measuring the absorption coefficient at 670 nm (µa 670) in the fruit flesh. A kinetic model has been developed linking the optical properties as measured by TRS with the models of µa 670 and firmness decay in shelf-life at 20°C, making the prediction of the softening time for individual fruit possible. In order to study the influence of cold storage time prior to shelf life on the softening prediction, 540 (year 2003) and 870 (year 2004) ‘Spring Bright’ nectarines were measured at harvest with TRS; then fruit were put in shelf life after various periods of cold storage at 0°C (4 and 10 d, year 2003; 6, 13 and 20 days, year 2004). During the 5-day period of shelf life at 20°C, fruit were analysed for firmness by pressure test after 30, 48, 54, 72, 78, 96, 102 and 120h in 2003 and after 36, 43, 62, 87, 108 and 135h in 2004. For each year and cold storage time, the parameters of the logistic model of softening as a function of µa 670 at harvest were computed. The cold storage up to 13 days did not significantly influence the estimates of the softening rate constant (kf), of the maximum firmness at minus infinite time (Fmax) and of parameter alpha (a) in both years, whereas parameter beta (ß) in 2003 significantly decreased from -1.867 at day 4 to -2.237 at day 10. The further 7 days of cold storage in 2004 significantly affected kf, which decreased from 0.00084 at days 6 and 13 to 0.00069 at day 20, and ß which increased from -2.395 at day 6 to -2.053 at day 20. Our results indicate that the cold storage time significantly influences the softening prediction of nectarines as the longer the cold storage, the lower the softening rat

TRS-measurements as a nondestructive method assessing stage of maturity and ripening in plum (Prunus domestica L.)

n plum fruit with dark red or blue blush colour covering the whole fruit, the change in ground colour from green to yellow during maturation and ripening is masked. Hence, the maturity stage is difficult to judge. Time-resolved reflectance spectroscopy (TRS) has been used as a nondestructive method to assess changes in important internal quality factors in ‘Jubileum’ plums (Prunus domestica L.). Absorption coefficients (µa) and scattering coefficients (µs) were measured at both 670 and 758 nm during 5 days of storage. The changes in soluble solids content, titratable acidity and firmness were as expected. No change in soluble solids content was observed, while the plums became less acid and softer during storage. The TRS-measurements of plums indicated that TRS could give interesting information on internal quality factors in plums as the absorption at 670 nm was closely related to firmness, TA and TSS at the time of picking. Absorption at 758 nm was more closely related to the quality parameters after storage. The study did not indicate that scattering could be used in assessing maturity stage in plum

Modelling & Simulation as a Strategic Tool for Decision-Making Process: A Dairy Case Study

The Dairy Industry faces many challenges compared to other sectors. On the supply side due to the nature of the raw material, large inventories are not applied; during the manufacturing process, the continuous production is highly sensitive to any sort of unplanned disruption; and on the demand side, the market dictates the commodity prices. In response to the growth in competition, dairy organizations’ strategy must incorporate technology into their daily processes in order to become more efficient, profitable and sustainable. To achieve desired levels of improvement, Modelling and Simulation has been increasing in popularity in the decision-making process. Using a Dairy company as a case study, this paper has highlighted the potential for Modelling and Simulation to be used as a powerful strategic tool for decision-making processes

Ready to Eat Nectarines - Assuring Quality in the Chain

Time-resolved reflectance spectroscopy, coupled to the modelling of firmness decrease, was used to predict at harvest softening behaviour of nectarines. Selected fruit were used in an export trial from Italy to The Netherlands. Quality assessed after shelf life was in agreement with the predicted firmness for fruit of different stages of maturity, showing that it is possible to select fruit at harvest for different market destinations and prevent transportation of fruit unsuitable for consumption

Expatriates' salary expectations, age, experience and country image

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explain how candidates' expectations of salary in relation to job offers as expatriates in developing societies are related to country image and to age. Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected from over 500 engineers living in France, Portugal and Spain, evaluating two hypothetical expatriate proposals to six different African and Latin American countries. Multivariate hierarchical regression was applied to statistically detect significant predictors, with a broad range of control variables, to investigate expatriate salary expectations. Findings: Results evidence the role of age, seniority, previous international experience and culture attraction for the host country in influencing salary expectations for potential expatriate postings. These results are discussed at the light of selection, optimisation and compensation theory (SOC), conservation of resources theory (COR) and social identity theory. Practical implications: Findings call for multinational companies to consider age, individual background, career attributes and location concerns when evaluating salary expectations involved in expatriation to developing countries. Originality/value: The study shows how individual expectations about required salaries for accepting expatriate job offers in developing countries (hardly addressed in the extant literature) result from the potential for professional development opportunities and the responsibility of the jobs being offered, the country image, and the age and motivation of the individuals. Furthermore, it integrates research through use of SOC and COR theories.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Assessing the Harvest Maturity of Brazilian Mangoes

No clear criterion exists to determine the optimum time to harvest mango. Some empirical relations are used to assess maturity, such as shoulder development. Moreover, as a result of the typical growing conditions in tropical climates, a huge variation in maturity and ripeness exists, seriously hampering the export of fruit in the global chain. The consequence for consumers in western countries is that sometimes mangoes are overripe at the retailer, or have to be kept for several days, even weeks, to reach the edible state, provided they do not rot in the meantime. To ensure an edible quality, the chlorophyll content in the fruit flesh, measured at harvest by Time-resolved Reflectance Spectroscopy (TRS), could be used as a maturity criterion for mango fruit. Commercially grown fruit were harvested in Brazil and transported to Italy by plane. Fruits were measured using TRS at 630 nm for absorption coefficient (µa) and skin colour. The development of µa was followed on 60 fruits during 15 days of storage at 20°C. The remainders of fruit were used to measure firmness destructively. Absorption coefficient decreased during shelf life according to a logistic pattern, as expected for colour development. Taking the variation between the individual fruit into account, 72% of the variation was accounted for. Nevertheless, µa assessed at harvest could be converted into a biological shift factor (BSF), as an expression of the maturity at harvest of each individual fruit. This biological shift factor explained about 70% of the variation in firmness development in individual fruit. These preliminary results indicate that TRS methodology coupled with BSF theory could be useful in assessing maturity at harvest and assuring acceptable eating quality of mango

Optical Absorption and Scattering Phenomena in 'Jubileum' Plums in Relation to Their Colour Properties

Absorption and scattering of laser light pulse passing through the fruit determine among others, the optical properties of the product. Efforts have been made in the recent past to utilize innovative techniques such as time-resolved reflectance spectroscopy (TRS) to study the quality aspects of different fruit such as nectarines. These optical properties have been well related to firmness, sugars, acids and other quality attributes. TRS measurements were performed on ‘Jubileum’ plums at two different wavelengths: 670 nm and 758 nm. The fruit were harvested in Norway and brought to Italy under protected conditions. After sorting the fruit by size, TRS measurements were made and the fruit were randomized for different examinations of quality aspects. It was observed that the absorption coefficient (µa) increased for both wavelengths as ripening progressed towards the melting stage of the fruit. The µa values at 670 nm were higher than those at 758 nm. The higher rate in the µa was distinguishable from the third day onwards as the fruit ripened. Similarly, it was interesting to note that the internal colour measured after destructing the fruit related well with the TRS absorption coefficient (µa), i.e., a decrease in the CIE L* (towards darker region) and b* (towards blue) value along with an increase in a* (towards red) from third day of storag

Attorno al Maestro di Viboldone. Scultura gotica lombarda tra le province di Milano, Pavia, Como, Lecco e Monza

Il presente lavoro è volto a indagare la figura dello scultore anonimo, attivo a Milano tra il quinto e il sesto decennio del XIV secolo, etichettato dalla critica come "Maestro di Viboldone", del quale si propone per la prima volta la compilazione di un catalogo ragionato. Per inquadrare meglio questo artista, operoso nell'età di Giovanni Visconti, la ricerca si è estesa sul territorio lombardo, con un'attenzione speciale verso le province di Milano, Pavia, Como, Lecco e Monza. Ne è derivata la compilazione di un catalogo topografico relativo alle sculture lapidee di epoca gotica presenti in questi territori e la messa a fuoco di diverse personalità artistiche

Development and study of a dense array Concentration PhotoVoltaic (CPV) system

In the past several years there has been a growing commercial interest in Concentration PhotoVoltaics (CPV) thanks to its promise of low cost electrical power generation. While the technology of CPV using point-focus Fresnel-like optical elements is reaching maturity, the systems based on dense array receivers still need further scientific progress. This thesis explores the field of CPV applied to a parabolic concentrator prototype and to a dense array receiver made of multijunction solar cells. The solar concentrator, completely designed and built at the University of Trento, is characterized, in order to get the illumination distribution on the PV receiver. The non-uniformity in incident flux results in a current mismatch among cells and strongly impacts the system performance. In order to solve this issue, we have proposed a new type of electrical connection by fitting each cell of the array with an individual DC-DC converter. This method is shown to increase the power transfer efficiency with respect to classical series connection, at least for the tested illumination levels and unbalances. The other main problem with dense array systems is the reliability of the PV receiver, with special attention to the high thermal flux to be dissipated. Several types of water-cooled receivers have been built, with different material configurations that were previously studied with 3D thermal modeling. In particular the building of a multi-cell receiver has required the design of the insulation/interconnection between the cells, the tuning of the cell soldering and the realization of front contact connections