Characterization and development of different methods to extend shelf life of fresh cut fruit. Case study: novel controlled release system by layer-by-layer assembly

The research project aimed at the investigation of different methods for the storage of fresh-cut fruit. This case study relates to the proposal of an innovative controlled release system to improve the shelf life of ready-to-eat fruit. The methods applied during three research years included the application of active molecules from natural substances, some widely used in commerce and other tested for the first time; first analyzed in vitro and then applied in vivo. The under consideration methods concerned dipping, coating and the layer-by-layer assembly. The analysis carried out on the fruit have monitored pomological traits performances (soluble solids content, titratable acidity, pH, color, flesh firmness), the chemical profile (polyphenoloxidase, carotenoids) and microbial growth

Microencapsulated sorbic acid and nature-identical compounds reduced Salmonella Hadar and Salmonella Enteritidis colonization in experimentally infected chickens

ABSTRACT The reduction of Salmonella prevalence in broilers is a priority in European Union agricultural policies because treatment with antibiotics is forbidden by Regulation (EC) 2160/2003. Two trials were conducted to evaluate the efficacy of a microencapsulated blend of sorbic acid and nature-identical compounds (i.e., chemically synthesized botanicals; SAB) on the reduction of the cecal prevalence and contents of Salmonella enterica serovars Hadar and Enteritidis in experimentally infected chickens. In the first trial, 125 one-day-old Lohmann specific-pathogen-free chickens were assigned to one of the following treatments: negative control (not challenged and not treated), positive control (challenged and not treated), SAB0.3, SAB1, or SAB5 (challenged and treated with the microencapsulated blend included in the feed at 0.03, 0.1, or 0.5%, respectively). At 30 d of age, birds were infected with 106 cfu of Salmonella Hadar, and after 5, 10, or 20 d postinfection, 5, 10, and 10 birds per treatment, respectively, were killed and the cecal contents and liver and spleen samples were analyzed for Salmonella Hadar. In the second trial, 100 one-day-old Ross 708 chickens were assigned to 1 of 5 treatments: control (not treated), SAB0.3, SAB1, SAB2, or SAB5 (treated with the blend included in the feed at 0.03, 0.1, 0.2, or 0.5%, respectively). At 7 d of age, the birds were challenged with 105 cfu of Salmonella Enteritidis, and after 7, 14, or 24 d after challenge, 5, 5, and 10 birds per treatment, respectively, were killed and cecal contents were analyzed for Salmonella Enteritidis. Results showed that in the early stage of infection Salmonella prevalence was high in both studies, whereas at the end of the observation periods, the blends at 0.03, 0.1, and 0.5 in the challenge with Salmonella Hadar and at 0.2 and 0.5% in the challenge with Salmonella Enteritidis significantly reduced (by 2 log10 cfu) the cecal content of Salmonella. This study showed that intestinal delivery of microencapsulated sorbic acid and nature-identical compounds can result in a 100-fold reduction of Salmonella at the intestinal level in broilers at slaughter age

Possible unconventional superconductivity in substituted BaFe2_{2}As2_{2} revealed by magnetic pair-breaking studies

The possible existence of a sign-changing gap symmetry in BaFe$_{2}$As$_{2}$-derived superconductors (SC) has been an exciting topic of research in the last few years. To further investigate this subject we combine Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) and pressure-dependent transport measurements to investigate magnetic pair-breaking effects on BaFe$_{1.9}M_{0.1}$As$_{2}$ ($M=$ Mn, Co, Cu, and Ni) single crystals. An ESR signal, indicative of the presence of localized magnetic moments, is observed only for $M=$ Cu and Mn compounds, which display very low SC transition temperature ($T_{c}$) and no SC, respectively. From the ESR analysis assuming the absence of bottleneck effects, the microscopic parameters are extracted to show that this reduction of $T_{c}$ cannot be accounted by the Abrikosov-Gorkov pair-breaking expression for a sign-preserving gap function. Our results reveal an unconventional spin- and pressure-dependent pair-breaking effect and impose strong constraints on the pairing symmetry of these materials

SURGERY IN PATIENTS WITH TESTICULAR MALIGNANT GERM CELL TUMORS: COMPLIANCE TO SURGICAL GUIDELINES AND RESULTS IN THE ITALIAN COOPERATIVE STUDY

Purpose: Surgery represents a main and often the only treatment in patients with testicular Malignant Germ Cell Tumors (MGCT). We analyzed the compliance to surgical guidelines and the results in a series of patients with testicular MGCT -/+ retroperitoneal node involvement, without distant metastases. Method: 42 patients, observed in 15 Centers were enrolled in the Italian Cooperative Study on MGCT (January2004–December2010). 14/42 were younger than 2 y. of age, 28/42 between 13–18 y. Treatment was delivered according to COG-Staging-System: St.I patients (complete excision with inguinal orchifunicolectomy+decrease of markers, +hemiscrotectomy if scrotal involvement) did not receive further treatment; St.II patients (scrotal involvement after hemiscrotectomy and/or retroperitoneal node (RPN) enlargement:2 cm) had RPN Dissection if residuals were suspected after PEBx3or4. Results: St.I: 26 patients. 3/26 had a scrotal approach due to suspected testicular torsion: 1/3 underwent hemiscrotectomy, 2 did not receive further therapy after decrease of alphaFP, due to patient’s or physician’s decision respectively. 3/26 were successfully treated for RPN relapse, occurred at 3,6,9 months after adequate surgery (2 adolescents, 1 infant). St.II: in 4 patients CTwas delivered due to slight enlargement of RPN (+persistent alphaFP in 1). St.III: 12 patients received CT and RPND (bilateral in 1). Histology was negative in 11/12. All patients are alive without disease, 39 in 1stCR, 3 in 2ndCR (f.u 9–86 m.:med.48). 1 St.1 patient suffered from postoperative scrotal hematoma. Among patients younger than 2 y, 10/14 had a pure YST, 12/14 had St.I disease; among those between 13–18 y, 27/28 had a mixed histology, 14/28 were St.II or St.III. In 3 adolescents a testicular prosthesis was positioned during primary operation. Conclusion: Outcome was excellent. Regional relapses, observed only in St.I patients, were cured. Surgical guidelines were followed in 40/42 cases. Scrotal approach did not worsen the outcome of patients who did not receive further treatment

Evolution of the magnetic properties along the RCuBi2 (R=Ce, Pr, Nd, Gd, Sm) series of intermetallic compounds

FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO - FAPESPCONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICO - CNPQCOORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL DE NÍVEL SUPERIOR - CAPESFINANCIADORA DE ESTUDOS E PROJETOS - FINEPIn this paper, the evolution of the magnetic properties along the series of intermetallic compounds RCuBi2 (R = Ce, Pr, Nd, Gd, Sm) is discussed. These compounds crystallize in a tetragonal ZrCuSi2 (P4/nmm) structure, and our single crystals of RCuBi2 grown from Bi-flux show no evidence for Cu-deficiency [Ye et al., Acta Crystallogr. C 52, 1325 (1996)] as previously reported for R = Ce. For R = Ce, Pr, Gd, and Sm, we found an antiferromagnetic ordering at TN ∼ 16 K, 4.2 K, 13.6 K, and 4.9 K, respectively. For R = Nd, we saw no evidence for a magnetic phase transition down to T = 2 K. These values of TN clearly show a dramatic breakdown of the De Gennes factor in this series. We discuss our data taken into account the tetragonal crystalline electrical field and the anisotropic Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yoshida magnetic interaction between the R-ions in this family of compounds.1151713FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO - FAPESPCONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICO - CNPQCOORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL DE NÍVEL SUPERIOR - CAPESFINANCIADORA DE ESTUDOS E PROJETOS - FINEPFUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO - FAPESPCONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICO - CNPQCOORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL DE NÍVEL SUPERIOR - CAPESFINANCIADORA DE ESTUDOS E PROJETOS - FINEPFAPESP [2012/04870-7, 2006/60440-0, 2009/09247-3, 2010/11949-3, 2011/01564-0, 2011/23650-5, 2012/05903-6]2006/60440-02009/09247-32010/11949-32011/01564-02011/23650-52012/04870-72012/05903-6Sem informaçãoSem informaçãoSem informação58. Annual Conference on Magnetism and Magnetic Materials4 a 8 de Novembro de 2013Denver, C

CeAu2Bi: A new nonsymmorphic antiferromagnetic compound

FAPESP - FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULOCAPES - COORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL E NÍVEL SUPERIORCNPQ - CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICOHere, we report the structural and electronic properties of CeAu2Bi, a new heavy-fermion compound crystallizing in a nonsymmorphic hexagonal structure (P63/mmc). The Ce3+ ions form a triangular lattice which orders antiferromagnetically below T-N = 3.1 K with a magnetic hard axis along the c axis. Under applied pressure, T-N increases linearly at a rate of 0.07 K/kbar, indicating that the Ce f electrons are fairly localized. In fact, heat capacity measurements provide an estimate of 150(10) mJ/mol K-2 for the Sommerfeld coefficient. The crystal-field scheme obtained from our thermodynamic data points to a ground state with a dominantly vertical bar j(z) = +/- 1/2 gt; character, which commonly occurs in systems with a hard c axis. Finally, electronic band structure calculations and symmetry analysis in k space reveal that CeAu2Bi hosts symmetry-protected crossings at k(z) = pi in the paramagnetic state.3716FAPESP - FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULOCAPES - COORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL E NÍVEL SUPERIORCNPQ - CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICOFAPESP - FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULOCAPES - COORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL E NÍVEL SUPERIORCNPQ - CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICO2015/15665-32017/10581-12017/25269-3Sem informaçãoSem informaçãoWe would like to acknowledge N. Harrison and M. Rahn for useful discussions. Sample synthesis and crystal structure determination were supported by the DOE BES "Science of 100 Tesla" project. Physical property measurements and band structure calculations were supported by the DOE BES "Quantum Fluctuations in Narrow-Band Systems" project. M. M. P. acknowledges support from the Sao Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) Grants No. 2015/15665-3, No. 2017/25269-3, and No. 2017/10581-1, CAPES and CNPq, Brazil. W. Z. thanks the startup funding from Westlake University. Scanning electron microscope and energy dispersive xray measurements were performed at the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies, an Office of Science User Facility operated for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science