Assessment of avocado textural changes during ripening by using contactless air-coupled ultrasound

[EN] In the present study, the use of the air-coupled ultrasonic technique has been analysed as a new tool for the contactless assessment of the avocado post-harvest textural modifications during ripening. Thus, ultrasonic parameters, such as maximum wave amplitude and ultrasound velocity, and textural ones, such as hardness, elastic modulus and relaxation capacity, were measured on avocado slices. During ripening, avocado reduced its elastic modulus (from 2.29 +/- 0.75 to 0.16 +/- 0.08 MPa), became softer and became more viscoelastic, which was well described from zero and first-order kinetic models. These changes increased ultrasound attenuation, decreasing the maximum amplitude of the ultrasonic signal (from 336.6 to 55.4 V/m), while the ultrasonic velocity remained constant, between 320.1 +/- 6.9 and 316.4 +/- 82.6 m/s. Thereby, the maximum ultrasonic amplitude, which adequately correlated with textural parameters (r(avg) = 0.85), could be used to assess the post-harvest ripening on avocado slices.The authors acknowledge the financial support from the Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad (MINECO) and Agencia Estatal de InvestigaciOn in Spain (Project RTC-2017-6314-2) and the Generalitat Valenciana. M.D. Farifias is grateful to the European Social Fund (ESF 2014-2020) and Generalitat Valenciana for her post-doctoral fellowship (APOSTD/2018/203). The author E.A. Sanchez-Torres acknowledges the support of the undergraduate student Sara Serrano Garcia on the experimental work.Fernandez-Caballero-Fariñas, MD.; Sanchez-Torres, EA.; Sanchez-Jimenez, V.; Díaz, R.; Benedito Fort, JJ.; Garcia-Perez, J. (2021). Assessment of avocado textural changes during ripening by using contactless air-coupled ultrasound. Journal of Food Engineering. 289:1-9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2020.1102661928

Clonal chromosomal mosaicism and loss of chromosome Y in elderly men increase vulnerability for SARS-CoV-2

The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19) had an estimated overall case fatality ratio of 1.38% (pre-vaccination), being 53% higher in males and increasing exponentially with age. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, we found 133 cases (1.42%) with detectable clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations (mCA) and 226 males (5.08%) with acquired loss of chromosome Y (LOY). Individuals with clonal mosaic events (mCA and/or LOY) showed a 54% increase in the risk of COVID-19 lethality. LOY is associated with transcriptomic biomarkers of immune dysfunction, pro-coagulation activity and cardiovascular risk. Interferon-induced genes involved in the initial immune response to SARS-CoV-2 are also down-regulated in LOY. Thus, mCA and LOY underlie at least part of the sex-biased severity and mortality of COVID-19 in aging patients. Given its potential therapeutic and prognostic relevance, evaluation of clonal mosaicism should be implemented as biomarker of COVID-19 severity in elderly people. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, individuals with clonal mosaic events (clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations and/or loss of chromosome Y) showed an increased risk of COVID-19 lethality

Use of air-coupled ultrasound for the non-invasive characterization of the textural properties of pork burger patties

[EN] This study tests the feasibility of air-coupled ultrasound for the characterization of the textural properties of pork burger patties. The samples were prepared by mixing lard at different percentages (0, 20, 40, 60 and 80%) with a commercial burger meat mixture. Through-transmission airborne ultrasound measurements (250 kHz) were carried out at 5 and 20 degrees C. Ultrasonic velocity at 5 degrees C increased exponentially with fat content (r = 0.99), varying from 1587 to 1668 m/s, whereas it remained fairly constant at 20 degrees C (1644 to 1624 m/s). Ultrasonic attenuation decreased with fat content following an exponential pattern (r = 0.83 at 5 degrees C; r = 0.93 at 20 degrees C) and ranged from 62.6 to 44.8 Np/m at 5 degrees C, and from 76.7 to 42.2 Np/m at 20 degrees C. Noticeable correlations were found between hardness and ultrasonic velocity (r = 0.89 at 5 degrees C), and between Total Relaxation Capacity and ultrasonic attenuation (r = 0.89 at 5 degrees C; r = 0.99 at 20 degrees C). Additionally, airborne ultrasound allowed an accurate (mean relative difference 2.3%) prediction of burger thickness.This work was supported by the Agencia Estatal de Investigacion in Spain (Project RTC-2017-6314-2 & RTA 2017-00024-C04-03). M.D. Farinas is grateful for her post-doctoral "Juan de la Cierva" fellowship (FJCI-2017-34,759) through the program funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities.Fernandez-Caballero-Fariñas, MD.; Contreras, M.; Sanchez-Jimenez, V.; Benedito Fort, JJ.; Garcia-Perez, J. (2021). Use of air-coupled ultrasound for the non-invasive characterization of the textural properties of pork burger patties. Journal of Food Engineering. 297:1-8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2021.1104811829