Analysis of transferred fragrance and its forensic implications

At present, the analysis of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from fragrances is not employed in forensic science despite its potential as a form of trace evidence. Perfumes are used by many men and women on a daily basis, contain a large and diverse number of fragrances, and are invisible to the naked eye. Moreover, research on VOCs from human scent has shown that solid phase microextraction (SPME) with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) is a robust method for the analysis of these odorous compounds. This enables insights into the transfer and persistence of the VOCs, which is a prerequisite for the use of a trace in forensic reconstructions. This thesis presents the development, optimisation, and validation of a SPME GC-MS method for quantification of VOC traces from clothing. The method created was robust and sensitive, allowing quantification of VOCs from clothing even when the fragrance mixture was diluted up to 1500 times. Experiments that addressed the transfer characteristics of fragrance VOCs demonstrated that fragrances can transfer from one fabric to another even when the contact times between fabrics is as short as 10 s, and even when the perfume was aged on the primary fabric for as long as 48 h before transfer took place. The nature of the fragrance transfer also depended on the fabric type, so that a clear discrimination was observed between the transfer that occurred from a cotton fabric swatch onto a natural (cotton) fabric and onto a synthetic (polyester) fabric. Further experiments considered the persistence of fragrances. The data generated indicate that the highest VOC amounts are generally obtained from recipient fabrics after shorter persistence times of up to 1 d, however VOCs were successfully quantified for persistence times of up to 4 weeks. Lower environmental temperatures resulted in higher recoveries for most VOCs, especially for short persistence times. These findings demonstrate that the optimal recovery of VOCs from clothing occurs when the fabric is kept at cooler temperatures and analysed soon after the fragrance transfer occurred. Therefore, given the ability to recover VOCs from fragrances from clothing, and the transfer and persistence characteristics of these VOCs, there is potential for fragrance to be used as a form of trace in forensic reconstruction approaches to address both source and activity level propositions

Observations on the Effects of the Hail on Some Apple Varieties under the Conditions of 2021

The research was carried out on 3 apple varieties, namely Golden delicious, Jonathan and Starkrimson, grown in the N-E area of Romania, within the Research Station for fruit growing Iasi, on Fălticeni development center.  The plantation was established in 1990, being in 31 since planting.  The trees are grafted on the MM106 rootstock, with a planting distance of 4 meters between rows and 2.5 meters between trees, with a density of 1000 trees/ha. During the agricultural year 2021, hail was observed as an extreme climatic phenomenon, recorded in June, July and August, when the trees were in the phenological stage BBCH 71-74, BBCH 75, BBCH 77 and BBCH 79. Extreme phenomena were accompanied by heavy rains and storms that affected both the quality and quantity of fruit production.  The highest degree of damage was recorded in the Golden delicious variety in all four hail falls, with a percentage between 5% and 67%. Therefore, the fruit production was affected, their quality being impaired and not being commercialized as high quality fruit, for fresh consumption, but only industrialized

Noi strategii de prevenire şi combatere a bolilor şi dăunătorilor la specia cireş

The research was carried out within the SCDP Iasi, in order to test ecological alternatives regarding the control of diseases and pests in the cherry species. The observations were made in 2019 having as research material 2 varieties of cherry (CĂTĂLINA, MARIA), grafted on mahaleb, the planting distance of 5X4 being in year VII from planting, the experience was placed on 4 experimental variants.The climatic conditions of this period were particularly favorable both for the evolution of the attack of the diseases (anthracnose and monilosis) and for pests. In the fight against diseases (moniliasis and anthracnose) the best results were obtained in the case of the chemical variant with Signum products 0.03%, Folicur Solo 0.075%, Mospilan 20 SG 0.03% and in the ecological variantthe best results were obtainedwith the products Deffort 0.3%, Copfort 0.3%, Mimox 0.2%, Laser 240 SC 0.06%