Influence of flavour perception on wine and food appreciation

Mestrado em Engenharia de Viticultura e Enologia (Double degree) / Instituto Superior de Agronomia. Universidade de Lisboa / Faculdade de Ciências. Universidade do PortoThis review was carried out with the aim of clarifying the perceptions that develop during a wine tasting and the mechanisms by which they can best be combined with a meal. The first part concerns the main sensory parameters involved in a tasting, that is, the senses with which a certain type of wine can be judged. The chemical and sensory interactions were then evaluated, talking about senses such as sight, smell and taste. Getting to the heart of the review, we described the factors that deeply affect our brain during a tasting, highlighting physical, chemical, biological and psychological factors, defining the neophobia of wine through parameters such as the Wine Neophobia Scale, including how the unconditional fear of tasting new wines is created in person. Furthermore, it was added a small part dedicated to consumer segmentation, analysing the figure of the consumer and his various classes from a marketing perspective to better illustrate the new segments of potential buyers in the wine market and the different age groups concerned. The main components of food and wine pairing were then evaluated and taking into account the different parameters of judgment, then defining the different approaches during a pairing. Despite the little research in this field, hopefully this review will be useful to better understand the psychological and non-psychological interactions that relate to food and wine harmonizations, with the awareness that research from now on can be increasingly broad and efficient, to enjoy the whole of a correct combination between food and wineN/

La qualità della vita degli studenti universitari di Cagliari. Una verifica empirica mediante indicatori di sintesi

In this work we analyse quality of life of university’s students according to mixed approach (objective-subjective). We propose a new mixed indicator (ISG’) and analyse with a GLM regression model the influence of some important covariates: residence, faculty, sex and academic situation

Fractal universe and cosmic acceleration in a Lema\^itre-Tolman-Bondi scenario

In this paper we attempt to answer to the question: can cosmic acceleration of the Universe have a fractal solution? We give an exact solution of a Lema\^itre-Tolman-Bondi (LTB) Universe based on the assumption that such a smooth metric is able to describe, on average, a fractal distribution of matter. While the LTB model has a center, we speculate that, when the fractal dimension is not very different from the space dimension, this metric applies to any point of the fractal structure when chosen as center so that, on average, there is not any special point or direction. We examine the observed magnitude-redshift relation of type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia), showing that the apparent acceleration of the cosmic expansion can be explained as a consequence of the fractal distribution of matter when the corresponding space-time metric is modeled as a smooth LTB one and if the fractal dimension on scales of a few hundreds Mpc is $D=2.9 \pm 0.02$.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in Classical and Quantum Gravit

Coffee Silverskin as a Functional Ingredient in Vegan Biscuits: Physicochemical and Sensory Properties and In Vitro Bioaccessibility of Bioactive Compounds

Coffee silverskin (CS), a by-product obtained by the coffee industry after the roasting process, is scientifically known to be a source of fiber and polyphenols, which could contribute to human health. In this work, the production of CS-enriched biscuits is proposed, where the CS from Arabica and Robusta type and a decaffeinated blend of the two were used at three different levels as a replacement for wheat flour. The biscuits were analyzed for their physicochemical properties, consumer acceptability, and the bioaccessibility of polyphenols after in vitro digestion was estimated in order to identify the formulation most appreciated by consumers and most promising in terms of nutritional and biofunctional potential. From the results, CS-based biscuits represent an interesting possibility to create a more sustainable coffee chain, thanks to the valorization of the silverskin, especially if a decaffeinated CS is considered. In fact, a 4% replacement of the wheat flour with decaffeinated CS is able to give a final product with a high content of accessible polyphenols and a biscuit appreciated by the consumer

Microwave reflectometric systems and monitoring apparatus for diffused-sensing applications

Most sensing networks rely on punctual/local sensors; they thus lack the ability to spatially resolve the quantity to be monitored (e.g. a temperature or humidity profile) without relying on the deployment of numerous inline sensors. Currently, most quasi-distributed or distributed sensing technologies rely on the use of optical fibre systems. However, these are generally expensive, which limits their large-scale adoption. Recently, elongated sensing elements have been successfully used with time-domain reflectometry (TDR) to implement diffused monitoring solutions. The advantage of TDR is that it is a relatively low-cost technology, with adequate measurement accuracy and the potential to be customised to suit the specific needs of different application contexts in the 4.0 era. Based on these considerations, this paper addresses the design, implementation and experimental validation of a novel generation of elongated sensing element networks, which can be permanently installed in the systems that need to be monitored and used for obtaining the diffused profile of the quantity to be monitored. Three applications are considered as case studies: monitoring the irrigation process in agriculture, leak detection in underground pipes and the monitoring of building structures

Molecular Packing and Photoluminescence Efficiency in Odd-Membered Oligothiophene S,S-Dioxides

The single-crystal X-ray structures of three odd-membered thiophene oligomers bearing one central thienyl-S,S-dioxide moietytrimer, pentamer, and heptamerare reported. Absolute photoluminescence quantum yields in microcrystalline powders are given for all compounds. The solid-state photoluminescence efficiencies of the trimer (45%) and the pentamer (12%) were up to 1 order of magnitude higher than those generally measured in conventional oligothiophenes, while that of the heptamer amounted to only 2%. These results are accounted for in terms of molecular packing characteristics, which, owing to the competing effects of dipolar intermolecular interactions between the sulfonyl groups and intra- and intermolecular C−H···O hydrogen bondings and S···S interactions, change dramatically on changing the oligomer size. While the trimer is highly distorted and crystallizes in a chiral orthorhombic space group with the molecular long axes markedly tilted with respect to one another, the heptamer displays a coplanar ..

New light-emitting functionalized oligothiophenes

We present a new class of highly photo and electroluminescent oligomers based on the presence of one inner thienyl-S,S-dioxide unit as the luminophore. The light emission frequency of the new compounds, which are characterized by greater electron affinities than the corresponding oligomers bearing an unmodified thienyl ring, was tuned over the entire visible range by changing the nature of the alkyl or aryl groups attached in the α- and/or in the β-positions of the thienyl-S,S-dioxide moiety. A few aspects of the solid state supramolecular organization of the new compounds are reported

Operative Management of Lumbar Degenerative Disc Disease

Lumbar degenerative disc disease is extremely common. Current evidence supports surgery in carefully selected patients who have failed non-operative treatment and do not exhibit any substantial psychosocial overlay. Fusion surgery employing the correct grafting and stabilization techniques has long-term results demonstrating successful clinical outcomes. However, the best approach for fusion remains debatable. There is some evidence supporting the more complex, technically demanding and higher risk interbody fusion techniques for the younger, active patients or patients with a higher risk of non-union. Lumbar disc arthroplasty and hybrid techniques are still relatively novel procedures despite promising short-term and mid-term outcomes. Long-term studies demonstrating superiority over fusion are required before these techniques may be recommended to replace fusion as the gold standard. Novel stem cell approaches combined with tissue engineering therapies continue to be developed in expectation of improving clinical outcomes. Results with appropriate follow-up are not yet available to indicate if such techniques are safe, cost-effective and reliable in the long-term

Solid-State Conformation, Molecular Packing, and Electrical and Optical Properties of Processable β-Methylated Sexithiophenes

Newly synthesized sexithiophenes, di- and tetramethylated at the β-positions, are shown to be soluble and processable compounds, giving single crystals suitable for X-ray structure determination. T..