STUDY CONCERNING THE HONEY QUALITIES IN TRANSYLVANIA REGION

The sources of micro-organisms (yeasts and fungi) found in honey are nectar andpollen, honey processing areas, equipments that have not been properly cleaned or wrappings. There are few types of yeast in honey and the most common are Saccharomyces melis, whichgrows in media with water content over 20-25% and Saccharomyces rosei, which can ferment inmedia with 60% carbohydrates. Yeasts can produce microbiological faults in honey with more than102 cells /g honey, stored at temperatures over 15 0C (Sindilar, E., 2000). Fungi can come from dust contamination, from the water with which installations orcontainers are washed and to a smaller degree, they can come from the honeybees. If they arefound in honey in a vegetative state, they can metabolise carbohydrates, amino-acids and evenpollen, causing various organoleptic changes (taste and smell of mildew). The present paper is a comparative microbiological and physical-chemical analysis ofvarious types of honey (polyfloral, tilia, acacia, sunflower, and honeydew) collected frombeekeepers The results have enabled us to make correlations between moisture, acidity, pH and themicrobiological characteristics of the tested honey samples and processors.quality, product quality, honey quality

STUDY REGARDING QUALITY FOOD PRODUCTS ON THE ZLATNA MARKETPLACE (ALBA COUNTY)

The present work approaches a few problems related to the quality parameters of the food products starting from the present demands of the market economy. We have included in our study a large range of products that are permanently present market place, in a industrialized area. Some of them are vegetable products like: corn, potatoes, cabbage, carrot, spinach, together with other products. The study results highlight the degree of heavy metals contamination of these goods.vegetable products, heavy metals contaminations

Propolis as a green corrosion inhibitor for bronze in weakly acidic solution

In the present work, the inhibitive action of natural propolis on bronze corrosion in a weakly acidic solution containing Na2SO4 and NaHCO3 at pH 5 was evaluated using multiscale electrochemical techniques, namely potentiodynamic polarization, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and scanning vibrating electrode technique measurements. The major constituents of propolis were identified by HPLC. Surface characterization was performed by SEM-EDX and AFM analysis. Experiments were performed as a function of the propolis concentration and immersion time in the corrosive electrolyte. The obtained results showed that propolis presents good anticorrosive properties on bronze, acting as a mixed-type inhibitor, but its protective effectiveness is time-dependent. The highest inhibiting efficiency of 98.9% was obtained in the presence of 100 ppm propolis, after about 12 h of exposure to inhibitor-containing electrolyte through the stabilization of Cu2O on the bronze surface. The inhibitive properties of propolis on bronze corrosion are likely due to the adsorption of its main constituents (flavonoids and phenolic compounds), through the oxygen atoms in their functional groups and aromatic rings, which have been evidenced by FT-IR spectra. The adsorption of propolis on bronze was found to follow Langmuir adsorption isotherm

Multiscale electrochemical analysis of the corrosion control of bronze in simulated acid rain by horse-chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum L.) extract as green inhibitor

Horse-chestnut ethanolic extract was tested as potential corrosion inhibitor of bronze in simulated acid rain. The extract was analysed by FTIR, GC-MS and HPLC-PDA, and its anti corrosion behaviour studied using a multiscale electrochemical approach (polarization curves, EIS and scanning electrochemical microscopy), along with SEM-EDS. 94% inhibition efficiency was attained by developing a surface physisorbed film. A novel methodology for kinetic evaluation of dynamic adsorption of inhibitive species on metal surface is proposed using SECM, achieving good agreement with results from conventional electrochemical techniques. Excellent adsorption-desorption kinetic constants (ka = 0.102 s-1 mol-1 L; kd = 3.33x10-5 s-1) were determine

Experimental characterization, machine learning analysis and computational modelling of the high effective inhibition of copper corrosion by 5-(4-pyridyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazole-2-thiol in saline environment.

An oxadiazole derivative with functional groups favouring its adsorption on copper surface, namely 5-(4-Pyridyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazole-2-thiol, has been explored as potential inhibitor of copper corrosion in 3.5 wt.% NaCl. Electrochemical evaluation by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, potentiodynamic polarization and SVET reveals inhibition efficiencies exceeding 99%. Surface microscopy inspection and spectroscopic analysis by Raman, SEM-EDX and XPS highlight the formation of a compact barrier film responsible for long-lasting protection, that is mainly composed of the organic molecules. Machine Learning algorithms used in combination with Raman spectroscopy data were used successfully for the first time in corrosion studies to allow discrimination between corroded and inhibitor-protected metal surfaces. Quantum Chemistry calculations in aqueous solution and Molecular Dynamic studies predict a strong interaction between copper and the thiolate group and an extensive coverage of the metal surface, responsible for the excellent protection against corrosion

Serum Albumin Is Inversely Associated With Portal Vein Thrombosis in Cirrhosis

We analyzed whether serum albumin is independently associated with portal vein thrombosis (PVT) in liver cirrhosis (LC) and if a biologic plausibility exists. This study was divided into three parts. In part 1 (retrospective analysis), 753 consecutive patients with LC with ultrasound-detected PVT were retrospectively analyzed. In part 2, 112 patients with LC and 56 matched controls were entered in the cross-sectional study. In part 3, 5 patients with cirrhosis were entered in the in vivo study and 4 healthy subjects (HSs) were entered in the in vitro study to explore if albumin may affect platelet activation by modulating oxidative stress. In the 753 patients with LC, the prevalence of PVT was 16.7%; logistic analysis showed that only age (odds ratio [OR], 1.024; P = 0.012) and serum albumin (OR, -0.422; P = 0.0001) significantly predicted patients with PVT. Analyzing the 112 patients with LC and controls, soluble clusters of differentiation (CD)40-ligand (P = 0.0238), soluble Nox2-derived peptide (sNox2-dp; P < 0.0001), and urinary excretion of isoprostanes (P = 0.0078) were higher in patients with LC. In LC, albumin was correlated with sCD4OL (Spearman's rank correlation coefficient [r(s)], -0.33; P < 0.001), sNox2-dp (r(s), -0.57; P < 0.0001), and urinary excretion of isoprostanes (r(s), -0.48; P < 0.0001) levels. The in vivo study showed a progressive decrease in platelet aggregation, sNox2-dp, and urinary 8-iso prostaglandin F2 alpha-III formation 2 hours and 3 days after albumin infusion. Finally, platelet aggregation, sNox2-dp, and isoprostane formation significantly decreased in platelets from HSs incubated with scalar concentrations of albumin. Conclusion: Low serum albumin in LC is associated with PVT, suggesting that albumin could be a modulator of the hemostatic system through interference with mechanisms regulating platelet activation

Mortality and pulmonary complications in patients undergoing surgery with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection: an international cohort study

Background: The impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) on postoperative recovery needs to be understood to inform clinical decision making during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. This study reports 30-day mortality and pulmonary complication rates in patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods: This international, multicentre, cohort study at 235 hospitals in 24 countries included all patients undergoing surgery who had SARS-CoV-2 infection confirmed within 7 days before or 30 days after surgery. The primary outcome measure was 30-day postoperative mortality and was assessed in all enrolled patients. The main secondary outcome measure was pulmonary complications, defined as pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, or unexpected postoperative ventilation. Findings: This analysis includes 1128 patients who had surgery between Jan 1 and March 31, 2020, of whom 835 (74·0%) had emergency surgery and 280 (24·8%) had elective surgery. SARS-CoV-2 infection was confirmed preoperatively in 294 (26·1%) patients. 30-day mortality was 23·8% (268 of 1128). Pulmonary complications occurred in 577 (51·2%) of 1128 patients; 30-day mortality in these patients was 38·0% (219 of 577), accounting for 81·7% (219 of 268) of all deaths. In adjusted analyses, 30-day mortality was associated with male sex (odds ratio 1·75 [95% CI 1·28–2·40], p\textless0·0001), age 70 years or older versus younger than 70 years (2·30 [1·65–3·22], p\textless0·0001), American Society of Anesthesiologists grades 3–5 versus grades 1–2 (2·35 [1·57–3·53], p\textless0·0001), malignant versus benign or obstetric diagnosis (1·55 [1·01–2·39], p=0·046), emergency versus elective surgery (1·67 [1·06–2·63], p=0·026), and major versus minor surgery (1·52 [1·01–2·31], p=0·047). Interpretation: Postoperative pulmonary complications occur in half of patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection and are associated with high mortality. Thresholds for surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic should be higher than during normal practice, particularly in men aged 70 years and older. Consideration should be given for postponing non-urgent procedures and promoting non-operative treatment to delay or avoid the need for surgery. Funding: National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland, Bowel and Cancer Research, Bowel Disease Research Foundation, Association of Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeons, British Association of Surgical Oncology, British Gynaecological Cancer Society, European Society of Coloproctology, NIHR Academy, Sarcoma UK, Vascular Society for Great Britain and Ireland, and Yorkshire Cancer Research

EVALITA Evaluation of NLP and Speech Tools for Italian - December 17th, 2020

Welcome to EVALITA 2020! EVALITA is the evaluation campaign of Natural Language Processing and Speech Tools for Italian. EVALITA is an initiative of the Italian Association for Computational Linguistics (AILC, http://www.ai-lc.it) and it is endorsed by the Italian Association for Artificial Intelligence (AIxIA, http://www.aixia.it) and the Italian Association for Speech Sciences (AISV, http://www.aisv.it)