Characterization of Mandarin (Citrus deliciosa Ten.) essential oil. determination of volatiles, non-volatiles, physico-chemical indices and enantiomeric ratios.

An investigation of 27 samples of mandarin essential oils (Citrus deliciosa Tenore), industrially produced in Sicily during the 2007-2008 season, was performed to determine the composition of the volatile fraction by GC/FID and GC/MS-LRI, the enantiomeric distribution of some monoterpene hydrocarbons and linalol by Es-GC, the non-volatile oxygen heterocyclic components by RP-HPLC/PDA and the physicochemical indices (relative density, refractive index, optical rotation, residue on evaporation, and UV spectroscopic CD value). This study up-dates the information available in the literature on Sicilian mandarin (C. deliciosa Ten.) essential oils, and provides information on the composition and quality parameters for the evaluation of this product

Phytoplankton blooms during austral summer in the Ross Sea, Antarctica: Driving factors and trophic implications

During the austral summer of 2014, an oceanographic cruise was conducted in the Ross Sea in the framework of the RoME (Ross Sea Mesoscale Experiment) Project. Forty-three hydrological stations were sampled within three different areas: the northern Ross Sea (RoME 1), Terra Nova Bay (RoME 2), and the southern Ross Sea (RoME 3). The ecological and photophysiological characteristics of the phytoplankton were investigated (i.e., size structure, functional groups, PSII maximum quantum efficiency, photoprotective pigments), as related to hydrographic and chemical features. The aim was to identify the mechanisms that modulate phytoplankton blooms, and consequently, the fate of organic materials produced by the blooms. The observed biomass standing stocks were very high (e.g., integrated chlorophyll-a up to 371 mg m-2 in the top 100 m). Large differences in phytoplankton community composition, relative contribution of functional groups and photosynthetic parameters were observed among the three subsystems. The diatoms (in different physiological status) were the dominant taxa in RoME 1 and RoME 3; in RoME 1, a post-bloom phase was identified, whereas in RoME 3, an active phytoplankton bloom occurred. In RoME 2, diatoms co-occurred with Phaeocystis antarctica, but were vertically segregated by the upper mixed layer, with senescent diatoms dominating in the upper layer, and P. antarctica blooming in the deeper layer. The dominance of the phytoplankton micro-fraction over the whole area and the high Chl-a suggested the prevalence of non-grazed large cells, independent of the distribution of the two functional groups. These data emphasise the occurrence of significant temporal changes in the phytoplankton biomass in the Ross Sea during austral summer. The mechanisms that drive such changes and the fate of the carbon production are probably related to the variations in the limiting factors induced by the concurrent hydrological modifications to the Ross Sea, and they remain to be fully clarified. The comparison of conditions observed during summer 2014 and those reported for previous years reveal considerably different ecological assets that might be the result of current climate change. This suggests that further changes can be expected in the future, even at larger oceanic scales

An Exploratory Study of Field Failures

Field failures, that is, failures caused by faults that escape the testing phase leading to failures in the field, are unavoidable. Improving verification and validation activities before deployment can identify and timely remove many but not all faults, and users may still experience a number of annoying problems while using their software systems. This paper investigates the nature of field failures, to understand to what extent further improving in-house verification and validation activities can reduce the number of failures in the field, and frames the need of new approaches that operate in the field. We report the results of the analysis of the bug reports of five applications belonging to three different ecosystems, propose a taxonomy of field failures, and discuss the reasons why failures belonging to the identified classes cannot be detected at design time but shall be addressed at runtime. We observe that many faults (70%) are intrinsically hard to detect at design-time

Validation of suitable internal control genes for expression studies in aging.

Quantitative data from experiments of gene expression are often normalized through levels of housekeeping genes transcription by assuming that expression of these genes is highly uniform. This practice is being questioned as it becomes increasingly clear that the level of housekeeping genes expression may vary considerably in certain biological samples. To date, the validation of reference genes in aging has received little attention and suitable reference genes have not yet been defined. Our aim was to evaluate the expression stability of frequently used reference genes in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells with respect to aging. Using quantitative RT-PCR, we carried out an extensive evaluation of five housekeeping genes, i.e. 18s rRNA, ACTB, GAPDH, HPRT1 and GUSB, for stability of expression in samples from donors in the age range 35-74 years. The consistency in the expression stability was quantified on the basis of the coefficient of variation and two algorithms termed geNorm and NormFinder. Our results indicated GUSB be the most suitable transcript and 18s the least for accurate normalization in PBMCs. We also demonstrated that aging is a confounding factor with respect to stability of 18s, HPRT1 and ACTB expression, which were particularly prone to variability in aged donors

Analysis of physical and biogeochemical control mechanisms on summertime surface carbonate system variability in the western Ross Sea (Antarctica) using in situ and satellite data

In this study, carbonate system properties were measured in the western Ross Sea (Antarctica) over the 2005–2006 and 2011–2012 austral summers with the aim of analysing their sensitivity to physical and biogeochemical drivers. Daily Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer 2 (AMSR2) sea ice concentration maps, obtained prior to and during the samplings, were used to analyse the sea ice evolution throughout the experiment periods. Monthly means and 8-day composite chlorophyll concentration maps from the Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Aqua satellite at 4-km resolution were used to investigate inter-annual and basin scale biological variability. Chlorophyll-a concentrations in surface waters estimated by MODIS satellite data contribute to descriptions of the variability of carbonate system properties in surface waters. Mean values of carbonate system properties were comparable across both investigated years; however, the 2012 data displayed larger variability. Sea ice melting also had a pivotal role in controlling the carbonate system chemistry of the mixed layer both directly through dilution processes and indirectly by favouring the development of phytoplankton blooms. This resulted in high pH and ΩAr, and in low CT, particularly in those areas where high chlorophyll concentration was shown by satellite maps

Determination of bioactive compounds in the juice of pummelo (Citrus grandis Osbeck).

The juice of pummelo (Citrus grandis Osbeck) was analyzed to determine its composition of flavonoids, polymethoxyflavones, coumarins and psoralens. The analyses were carried out by HPLC using columns packed with small diameter Fused-Core® C18 particles to achieve high resolution in short analysis time. In addition, the profile of the native carotenoids present in the juice was determined using a C30 column. Identification of flavonoids was achieved by MS with ESI in negative mode; the MS acquisition of oxygenated heterocyclic compounds was performed in positive APCI; carotenoids were detected with a PDA detector. Nineteen native carotenoids were determined in pummelo juice for the first time. The composition of this juice is also discussed in comparison with other Citrus juices, especially grapefruit

Reliable identification and quantification of volatile components of sage essential oil using ultra HRGC.

Salvia officinalis (common sage) essential oil was chemically characterized by means of GC-MS, using 100 meter capillary columns with two different stationary phases. Identification of the analytes was carried out by means of the FFNSC mass spectrum library and the use of the Linear Retention Index (LRI) as an extra criterion of library searching. Quantitative analysis was also carried out by means of GC-FID with the internal standard method and the use of relative response factors determined for each chemical class of components. A total of 45 compounds were identified and quantified and reported with their experimental LRI values

P2‐254: RELATION OF SERUM 25‐HYDROXYVITAMIN D TO PULSE PRESSURE IN ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE

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Trophic and Microbial Patterns in the Ross Sea Area (Antarctica): Spatial Variability during the Summer Season

In open regions of the Ross Sea, the role of the microbial community in the turnover of organic matter has scarcely been investigated; indeed, very little is known on how microbial distribution and functional diversity respond to environmental conditions and hydrographic structures. During the austral summer of 2017, two pelagic areas of the Ross Sea [the Drygalski Ice Tongue and the nearby Terra Nova Bay polynya (A area), and the continental Shelf Break area near Cape Adare (C area)] were studied at selected depths [surface, Deep Chlorophyll Maximum (DCM), Circumpolar Deep Water (CDW), deep waters]. Trophic properties [nutrient concentrations, particulate (POC), dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and its optically significant fraction (CDOM) were measured, together with the main hydrological variables. Microbial community abundance [total prokaryotes, living, dead, and actively respiring fraction, high- and low nucleic acid cells (HNA and LNA), picoand nano-eukaryotes, culturable heterotrophic bacteria], composition, and metabolism (as whole community and as isolated bacteria) were also assessed. Through a multidisciplinary dataset, this study highlighted the variable response of microbial abundance, diversity, and metabolism of the microbial community to the changing local environmental conditions of the Ross Sea. Different forces, such as organic matter inputs (mostly of detrital nature) released from the Drygalski glacier in the A area, and a coastal-to-offshore gradient in the C area, coexisted within this extreme ecosystem. This resulted in a significant spatial segregation of the edaphic parameters, and of the microbial community distribution and metabolic activity patterns

Sea-level rise impact and future scenarios of inundation risk along the coastal plains in Campania (Italy)

Sea-level rise as a consequence of global warming increases the need to analyze coastal risks to conceive adaptation strategies aimed at coping with marine impacts at both short- and long-term scales. In this context, this study presents future scenarios of inundation risk evaluated along the main alluvial coastal plains of the Campania region (Italy). Due to their geomorphological and stratigraphical setting, the investigated areas are characterized by low topography and relevant but variable subsidence rates. Based on the upgrade of already published data and the new analysis of available datasets derived by multi-temporal interferometric processing of satellite Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images, future scenarios of local sea level for the years 2065 and 2100 have been evaluated coupling global projections with local subsidence trends. Furthermore, aspects related with the distribution of natural and anthropic assets, as well as the local social vulnerability, have been taken into account to calculate the overall risk. The inundation risk maps here proposed can effectively address the request to improve the knowledge of policymakers and local administrators and to raise their awareness about the potential impacts of climate change in coastal areas