Search Results (18)

Lychee (Lychee chinensis Sonn.) is a tropical fruit highly appreciated for its vivid red color, sweet flavor, and nutritional properties. However, it is highly perishable, with postharvest losses often due to oxidative browning and dehydration. This study evaluated the organic olive oil coating (OC), a natural lipidic system with the potential to act as a precursor for organogel development, combined with polyamide/polyethylene (PA/PE) packaging under passive modified atmosphere. Fruits were harvested at commercial maturity and divided into two groups: OC-treated and untreated control (CTR). Both groups were stored at 5 ± 1 °C and 90 ± 5% relative humidity and analyzed on days 0, 3, 6, and 9. The OC-treated fruits showed significantly better retention of physical, chemical, microbiological, and sensory qualities. The coating reduced oxidative stress and enzymatic browning, preserving color and firmness. The PA/PE packaging regulated gas exchange, lowering oxygen levels and delaying respiration and ripening. As a result, OC fruits had lower weight loss, a slower increase in browning index and maturity index, and better visual and sensory scores than the CTR group. This dual strategy proved effective in extending shelf life while maintaining the fruit’s appearance, flavor, and nutritional value. It represents a sustainable and natural approach to enhancing the postharvest stability of lychee. Full article

Sugarcane (Saccharum spp. L.), traditionally cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions, is being explored for its agronomic viability in Mediterranean climates. This study assessed the bio-agronomic performance of seven sugarcane varieties and two accessions grown in Sicily, to enhance the fermentation process to produce rum agricole, a spirit derived from fresh cane juice. Agronomic evaluations revealed significant varietal differences, with juice yields of 5850−14,312 L ha⁻¹ and sugar yields of 1.84–5.33 t ha⁻¹. Microbial control was achieved through the addition of lactic acid, which effectively suppressed undesirable bacterial growth and improved fermentation quality. Furthermore, the application of two selected Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains (MN113 and SPF21), isolated from high-sugar matrices such as manna and honey byproducts, affected the production of volatile compounds, particularly esters and higher alcohols. Sensory analysis confirmed a more complex aromatic profile in cane wines fermented with these selected yeasts, with overall acceptance scores reaching 7.5. Up to 29 aroma-active compounds were identified, including ethyl esters and higher alcohols. This research represents the first integrated approach combining lactic acid treatment and novel yeast strains for the fermentation of sugarcane juice in a Mediterranean context. The findings highlight the potential for high-quality rum agricole production in Sicily. Full article

The choice of time/temperature combination is critical for ensuring microbiological stability and retaining the characteristic taste of dried blood orange slices. The aim of this study was to investigate the capability of hot air-drying technique to maintain the quality characteristic of dried blood orange slices stored in modified atmosphere packaging (MAP). Hot air-drying at 70 °C for 12 h preserved shrinkage without altering the longitudinal diameter, though thickness was significantly reduced, especially in samples with passive MAP. Increased hardness and masticability were noted due to water removal, with active MAP maintaining high hardness and colour integrity up to 100 days of storage (D100). Sensory analysis revealed differences in colour intensity and flavour between active and passive MAP-stored slices. Headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) chromatography identified key chemical compounds contributing to aroma and flavour, highlighting the complex interplay between temperature, storage conditions, and volatile organic compounds production. The study demonstrates that drying combined with MAP storage enhances organoleptic qualities and nutritional value, offering a method to produce a healthy, tasty, and visually appealing snack. Full article

Non-Saccharomyces yeasts have recently garnered significant interest in oenology. When co-inoculated with Saccharomyces cerevisiae, they contribute to the improvement of wine quality from a sensory point of view. In the present study, a group of yeasts previously isolated from manna and honey by-products were subjected to a genotypic identification. The D1/D2 variable domains of the 26-sRNA gene and the ITS region of the 5.8S gene were sequenced. Additionally, a differentiation of strains was carried out by RAPD-PCR. All strains underwent in vitro screening. Subsequently, a micro-vinification experiment was conducted, focusing on strains with favourable technological characteristics: Lachancea thermotolerans, Starmerella lactis-condensi, and Candida oleophila. These strains were sequentially inoculated alongside a control strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Technological screening revealed that some strains exhibited limited H₂S production, ethanol tolerance (up to 8% v/v), resistance to potassium metabisulphite (200 mg/L), osmotic stress tolerance (up to 320 g/L of glucose), and copper resistance (on average 5 mM). The findings from this study can guide the selection of new starters and co-starters for regional wine production. Full article

Beer is one of the oldest and most popular alcoholic beverages and is currently consumed worldwide. The various components used in the brewing process have a physiological impact on the consumer and current research aims to improve its technological and functional properties through the addition of natural compounds (plants or mushrooms). In this work, the addition of two different amounts (5 and 10 g/L) of Pleurotus eryngii var. eryngii in powder form added at different production stages (PRE and POST alcoholic fermentation) showed the improvement in yeast viability during the alcoholic fermentation, increased the alcoholic content, and improved the sensorial profile. Regarding the organoleptic profile in the experimental samples, cocoa/chocolate and mushroom aromas were found and the samples PRE10 and POST5 received the best ratings with respect to all evaluated parameters. Full article

The increasing use of agrochemicals, including fertilizers and herbicides, has led to worrying metal contamination of soils and waters and raises serious questions about the effects of their transfer to different levels of the trophic web. Accumulation and biomagnification of essential (K, Na, Mg, Zn, Ca), nonessential (Sr, Hg, Rb, Ba, Se, Cd, Cr, Pb, As), and rare earth elements (REEs) were investigated in newly emerged adults of Tenebrio molitor exposed to field-admitted concentrations of a metribuzin-based herbicide and an NPK blend fertilizer. Chemical analyses were performed using inductively coupled plasma tandem mass spectrometry (ICP-MS/MS) supported by unsupervised pattern recognition techniques. Physiological parameters such as cuticle melanization, cellular (circulating hemocytes), and humoral (phenoloxidase enzyme activity) immune responses and mass loss were tested as exposure markers in both sexes. The results showed that NPK fertilizer application is the main cause of REE accumulation in beetles over time, besides toxic elements (Sr, Hg, Cr, Rb, Ba, Ni, Al, V, U) also present in the herbicide-treated beetles. The biomagnification of Cu and Zn suggested a high potential for food web transfer in agroecosystems. Gender differences in element concentrations suggested that males and females differ in element uptake and excretion. Differences in phenotypic traits show that exposure affects metabolic pathways involving sequestration and detoxification during the transition phase from immature-to-mature beetles, triggering a redistribution of resources between sexual maturation and immune responses. Our findings highlight the importance of setting limits for metals and REEs in herbicides and fertilizers to avoid adverse effects on species that provide ecosystem services and contribute to soil health in agroecosystems. Full article

Atmospheric mercury emission scenarios from artisanal and small-scale gold mining for 56 tropical and subtropical countries have been elaborated and assessed for their comparative significance. A multi-step quantitative method that yields narrow and robust confidence intervals for mercury emission estimates was employed. Firstly, data on gold production for different years, the ratio of mercury used in the different amalgamation processes, and ancillary input parameters were retrieved from official and unofficial sources, and their potential for emission reduction examined. Then, a Monte Carlo method to combine the data and generate mercury emission samples was used. These samples were processed by a non-parametric re-sampling method (bootstrap) to obtain robust estimates of mercury emissions, and their 95% confidence intervals, both for the current state and for the emission scenarios designed in this study. The artisanal and small-scale gold mining mercury emission (to the atmosphere) estimates agree with those reported in the Global Mercury Assessment 2018; however, the overall uncertainty is reduced from roughly 100% in the Global Mercury Assessment (779.59 tons/y; uncertainty range: 361.07–1197.97) to 27% (1091.93 tons/y; confidence interval at 95% level of confidence: 964.54–1219.77) in this study. This is a substantial outcome since the narrowing of the confidence intervals permits a more meaningful evaluation of the different emission scenarios investigated, which otherwise, given the broad uncertainty of other estimates, would have led only to vague conclusions in a study of this nature. Full article

Passive air samplers (PASs) have been used for mapping gaseous mercury concentration in extensive areas. In this work, an easy-to-use and -prepare gold nanoparticle (NP)-based PAS has been investigated. The PAS is constituted of a microfibrous quartz disk filter impregnated of gold NP photo-growth on TiO₂ NPs (Au@TiO₂) and used as gaseous mercury adsorbing material. The disk was housed in a cylinder glass container and subjected to an axial diffusive sampling. The adsorbed mercury was measured by thermal desorption using a Tekran^® instrument. Different amounts of Au@TiO₂ (ranging between 4.0 and 4.0 × 10⁻³ mg) were deposited by drop-casting onto the fibrous substrate and assessed for about 1 year of deployment in outdoor environment with a mercury concentration mean of about 1.24 ± 0.32 ng/m³ in order to optimize the adsorbing layer. PASs showed a linear relation of the adsorbed mercury as a function of time with a rate of 18.5 ± 0.4 pg/day (≈1.5% of the gaseous concentration per day). However, only the PAS with 4 mg of Au@TiO₂, provided with a surface density of about 3.26 × 10⁻² mg/mm² and 50 μm thick inside the fibrous quartz, kept stability in working, with a constant sampling rate (SR) (0.0138 ± 0.0005 m³/day) over an outdoor monitoring experimental campaign of about 1 year. On the other hand, higher sampling rates have been found when PASs were deployed for a few days, making these tools also effective for one-day monitoring. Furthermore, these PASs were used and re-used after each thermal desorption to confirm the chance to reuse such structured layers within their samplers, thus supporting the purpose to design inexpensive, compact and portable air pollutant sampling devices, ideal for assessing both personal and environmental exposures. During the whole deployment, PASs were aided by simultaneous Tekran^® measurements. Full article

Implementation of the Minamata Convention on Mercury requires all parties to “control, and where feasible, reduce” mercury (Hg) emissions from a convention-specified set of sources. However, the convention does not specify the extent of the measures to be adopted, which may only be analysed by decision-makers using modelled scenarios. Currently, the numerical models available to study the Hg atmospheric cycle require significant expertise and high-end hardware, with results which are generally available on a time frame of days to weeks. In this work we present HERMES, a statistical emulator built on the output of a global Chemical Transport Model (CTM) for Hg (ECHMERIT), to simulate changes in anthropogenic Hg (Hg_anthr) deposition fluxes in a source-receptor framework, due to perturbations to Hg_anthr emissions and the associated statistical significance of the changes. The HERMES emulator enables stakeholders to evaluate the implementation of different Hg_anthr emission scenarios in an interactive and real-time manner, simulating the application of the different Best Available Technologies. HERMES provides the scientific soundness of a full CTM numerical framework in an interactive and user-friendly spreadsheet, without the necessity for specific training or formation and is a first step towards a more comprehensive, and integrated, decision support system to aid decision-makers in the implementation of the Minamata Convention. Full article

The structure of turbulent dynamics in a stable atmospheric boundary layer was studied by means of a phase-space description. Data from the CASES-99 experiment, decomposed in local modes (with increasing time scale) using empirical mode decomposition, were analyzed in order to extract the proper time lag and the embedding dimension of the phase-space manifold, and subsequently to estimate their scale-dependent correlation dimension. Results show that the dynamics are low-dimensional and anisotropic for a large scale, where the flow is dominated by the bulk motion. Then, they become progressively more high-dimensional while transiting into the inertial sub-range. Finally, they reach three-dimensionality in the range of scales compatible with the center of the inertial sub-range, where the phase-space-filling turbulent fluctuations dominate the dynamics. Full article

This work studied the contribution of the geogenic sources volcanoes and fumaroles to the aerosol in marine atmosphere in the central Mediterranean basin. For this purpose, in the framework of the Med-Oceanor measurement program, we carried out a cruise campaign in the summer of 2017 to investigate the impact to the aerosol of the most important Mediterranean volcanoes (Mount Etna, Stromboli Island, and Marsili Seamount) and solfatara areas (Phlegraean Fields complex, Volcano Islands, Ischia Island, and Panarea submarine fumarole). We collected PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 samples in 12 sites and performed chemical characterization to gather information about the concentration of major and trace elements, elemental carbon (EC), organic carbon (OC), and ionic species. The use of triangular plots and the calculation of enrichment factors confirmed the interception of volcanic plume. We integrated the outcomes from chemical characterization with the use of factor analysis and SEM/EDX analysis for the source apportionment. Anthropogenic and natural sources including shipping emissions, volcanic and fumarolic load, as well as sea spray were identified as the main factors affecting aerosol levels in the study area. Furthermore, we performed pattern recognition analysis by stepwise linear discriminant analysis to seek differences in the composition of PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 samples according to their volcanic or solfatara origin. Full article

The scaling properties of turbulent flows are well established in the inertial sub-range. However, those of the synoptic-scale motions are less known, also because of the difficult analysis of data presenting nonstationary and periodic features. Extensive analysis of experimental wind speed data, collected at the Mauna Loa Observatory of Hawaii, is performed using different methods. Empirical Mode Decomposition, interoccurrence times statistics, and arbitrary-order Hilbert spectral analysis allow to eliminate effects of large-scale modulations, and provide scaling properties of the field fluctuations (Hurst exponent, interoccurrence distribution, and intermittency correction). The obtained results suggest that the mesoscale wind dynamics owns features which are typical of the inertial sub-range turbulence, thus extending the validity of the turbulent cascade phenomenology to scales larger than observed before. Full article

This work provides the first continuous measurements of carbonaceous aerosol at the Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) Monte Curcio regional station, within the southern Mediterranean basin. We specifically analyzed elemental carbon (EC) and organic carbon (OC) concentrations in particulate matter (PM) samples, collected from April to December during the two years of 2016 and 2017. The purpose of the study is to understand the behavior of both PM and carbonaceous species, in their fine and coarse size fraction, along with their seasonal variability. Based on 18 months of observations, we obtained a dataset that resulted in a vast range of variability. We found the maximum values in summer, mainly related to the enhanced formation of secondary pollutants owing to intense solar radiation, also due to the high frequency of wildfires in the surrounding areas, as well as to the reduced precipitation and aerosol-wet removal. We otherwise observed the lowest levels during fall, coinciding with well-ventilated conditions, low photochemical activity, higher precipitation amounts, and less frequency of Saharan dust episodes. We employed the HYSPLIT model to identify long-range transport from Saharan desert. We found that the Saharan dust events caused higher concentrations of PM and OC in the coarser size fraction whereas the wildfire events likely influenced the highest PM, OC, and EC concentrations we recorded for the finer fraction. Full article

Passive sampling systems (PASs) are a low cost strategy to quantify Hg levels in air over both different environmental locations and time periods of few hours to weeks/months. For this reason, novel nanostructured materials have been designed and developed. They consist of an adsorbent layer made of titania nanoparticles (TiO₂NPs, ≤25 nm diameter) finely decorated with gold nanoparticles. The TiO₂NPs functionalization occurred for the photocatalytic properties of titania-anatase when UV-irradiated in an aqueous solution containing HAuCl₄. The resulting nanostructured suspension was deposited by drop-casting on a thin quartz slices, dried and then incorporated into a common axial sampler to be investigated as a potential PAS device. The morphological characteristics of the sample were studied by High-Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy, Atomic Force Microscopy, and Optical Microscopy. UV-Vis spectra showed a blue shift of the membrane when exposed to Hg⁰ vapors. The adsorbed mercury was thermally desorbed for a few minutes, and then quantified by a mercury vapor analyzer. Such a sampling system reported an efficiency of adsorption that was equal to ≈95%. Temperature and relative humidity only mildly affected the membrane performances. These structures seem to be promising candidates for mercury samplers, due to both the strong affinity of gold with Hg, and the wide adsorbing surface. Full article

Establishing mercury (Hg) source-receptor (SR) relationship matrices provides a tool to improve the understanding of the geographic relationship between regions of Hg release and its eventual deposition. SR relationship matrices are therefore a useful starting point for the development of policies aimed at reducing the impact of Hg emissions from anthropogenic activities (Hg_anthr) on sensitive ecosystems and areas potentially at risk of Hg contamination. A global Chemical Transport Model (CTM) has been used to simulate the emission, transport and fate of Hg_anthr from 12 source regions, considering a range of uncertainty in the modelled chemical and physical processes. This ensemble of simulations gives an estimate of the Hg deposition which derives from each source region, as well as an estimate of the uncertainty of the calculated deposition flux. The uncertainty has been calculated using the bootstrap method to estimate this uncertainty in terms of the normalised confidence interval amplitude of the mean (NCIAM). Within the calculated confidence ranges, for almost all regions the contribution to the Hg deposition flux from remote sources is greater than that from domestic sources. Europe and South Asia, where the contributions are statistically indistinguishable, are exceptions, as is East Asia, with local sources dominating the Hg deposition flux. East Asia is the single most important remote source region for most receptor regions. The results yield such high uncertainties in the deposition flux for many receptor regions that the results are unlikely to be taken into consideration by policy makers. This uncertainty is particularly relevant when considering the “domestic” contribution to regional deposition, highlighting the need for more studies to resolve remaining uncertainties in the atmospheric Hg cycle, and Hg_anthr emission inventories. Full article