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This paper reports the effects of tensile deformation and annealing conditions on the microstructure and magnetic properties of non-oriented electrical steel. The samples were subjected to tensile strains between 8% and 25% and subsequently annealed in air at temperatures from 700 to 900 °C. The experimental results show that the crystallographic texture of annealed samples depends strongly on the annealing temperature. Fibers textures of type 〈011〉//RD, 〈001〉//ND and 〈111〉//ND, are obtained at temperatures below the Ae 1 . In contrast, annealing at temperatures within the two-phase field region (Ae 1

• The effects of grafting on acid accumulation are negligible. • Sugar accumulation and profile are affected by grafting. • Grafing effects on sugars depend on specific scion-rootstock combinations. • Effects on volatile profile are limited and depend on scion-rootstock combinations. Melon landraces are highly appreciated by consumers who pay price premiums to compensate for lower yields, enabling on-farm conservation. However, they are highly susceptible to soilborne diseases. This study analyses the impact of Cucurbita and Cucumis rootstocks on the accumulation of flavor-related metabolites in Spanish landraces of the Ibericus melon group, as a strategy to promote their sustainable cultivation. Scion genotype was the main factor conditioning the accumulation of sugars and acids both under standard and saline organic farming conditions. The effects of grafting on organic acid accumulation were negligible, while the effects on sugar content were significant. The latter effects were dependent on specific scion-rootstock combinations, though wild Cucumis (e.g. Fian) rootstocks represent an alternative that should be further studied. The effect on the accumulation of volatiles was limited, and again depended on specific scion-rootstock combinations. The rootstock effect even differed between populations of the same landrace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Volatiles and soluble solids interact in all the sensory descriptors. • PLS models uncover the role of compounds not highlighted in correlation analysis. • Model error (RMSECV) represented less than 15% of the range of variation. Tomato landraces are highly appreciated by consumers, who are willing to pay a price premium for them. But little is known regarding sensory perception and its relationship with fruit composition. The Spanish variety "Moruno" was selected as a model for this purpose. A collection of 30 populations was grown in different environments and evaluated by a consumer panel. Partial least square (PLS) models were then developed relating determinant flavor descriptors (sweetness, sourness, taste and aroma intensity, aftertaste persistence and agreeability, and overall flavor acceptability) with compositional variables such as soluble solids, pH, titratable acidity, individual sugars, organic acids, volatiles, and derived variables. PLS models identified relationships that had not been uncovered with correlation and simple regression analysis and offered low cross-validation errors (<15% of the range of variation). Although plant yield negatively affected sensory perception, it was possible to identify populations with a good combination of both traits. Chemical compounds studied in this article: Fructose (PubChem CID: 5984); Glucose (PubChem CID: 5793); Citric acid (PubChem CID: 311); Malic acid (PubChem CID: 525); Glutamic acid (PubChem CID: 611); 6-Methyl-5-hepten-2-one (PubChem CID:9862). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shelf-life of commercial thawed tuna was studied in different packaging atmospheres: Air, High O2 (70%O2/30%CO2), Sprayed green tea extract in High O2, Low O2 (40%O2/40%CO2/20%N2), Non O2 (60%CO2/40%N2) and Carbon monoxide (60%CO2/39.5%N2/0.5%CO). Three-cm-wide slices were analysed at days 0 (24 h post-thawing), 4 and 6 from the date of packaging while kept in retail conditions. Analysis performed each day of the study were: gas concentration in the headspace, colour, pH, exudative losses, lipid oxidation, total volatile bases nitrogen, microbiological analysis and a sensory test (fresh and cooked fish). The atmospheres 'Non O2' and 'Low O2' were the most effective for increasing tuna shelf-life due to better general lipid oxidation characteristics, microbial counts and sensory results. Shelf-life reached up to 6 days post-thawing in these cases although tuna should be consumed cooked to prevent risk of pathogens or toxins. Also, the use of antioxidants or carbon monoxide improved colour and flavour attributes and should be considered as alternatives for packaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diet supplementation (DS) (100, 200, 300ppm vitamin E -VE; 150ppm product rich in flavonoids—PRF; 100+100 ppm VE-PRF; no supplementation) effect was evaluated on lamb quality throughout 10 days after sampling (preservation time: PT). pH, colour, myoglobin forms and lipid oxidation were analyzed on Longissimus muscle. Trained panellists evaluated colour intensity of chops packaged in modified atmosphere under display up to 12 days. PT had a larger effect on quality than DS. DS showed a clear antioxidant effect on lipids, especially at long PT and at high doses of VE. Visual test showed statistical differences among DS from day 4 of display where 200 and 300 ppm VE improved visual colour score. In general, supplementation with antioxidants showed better meat quality and diets higher than 100 ppm VE showed higher antioxidant capacity than the rest. The PRF diet was similar for a short PT but lower at a long PT. More research on flavonoids is necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Chemical oxygen demand (COD) is a critical analytical parameter in waste and wastewater treatment, more specifically in anaerobic digestion, although little is known about the quality of measuring COD of anaerobic digestion samples. Proficiency testing (PT) is a powerful tool that can be used to test the performance achievable in the participants’ laboratories, so we carried out a second PT of COD determination in samples considered “difficult” to analyze (i.e. solid samples and liquid samples with high concentrations of suspended solids). The results obtained (based on acceptable z-score values) may be considered satisfactory. When compared with the results of a previous similar scheme, the overall performance improved by around 30%, again demonstrating that analytical performance can be improved by regular participation in PT. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Two pulmonary vascular disorders, considered mutually exclusive, may be present in candidates for orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). On the one hand, hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS), with a prevalence about 20% in end-stage liver disease, is characterized by pulmonary vascular dilatation and abnormal gas exchange. On the other hand, portopulmonary hypertension (POPH), a process defined by pulmonary hypertension associated with portal hypertension, is less common than HPS (4%). These entities have very distinct clinical implications; whereas HPS is clinically characterized by respiratory symptoms that evolve to severe hypoxemia, patients with POPH are commonly asymptomatic, frequently diagnosed in the setting of OLT, and the symptoms appear when there is hemodynamic compromise. The pathogenesis of both entities is a putative mechanism, the imbalance of vasoactive substances in pulmonary vessels. The role of OLT to reverse these vascular disorders is controversial, although complete resolution of HPS and, less frequently, POPH following OLT has been reported. The recognition that the presence of both HPS and POPH is an important cause of morbidity and mortality among recipients of OLT has resulted in a change in the policy to select OLT candidates. Accurate identification of patients with pulmonary vascular disorders associated with liver disease should be the first step in the management of OLT candidates. Because the determinants of the prognosis of OLT in the setting of these pulmonary vascular changes have not been well established, an accurate cardiopulmonary evaluation with careful assessment of pulmonary gas exchange (in HPS) and right ventricular function (in POPH) of potential OLT recipients is mandatory before the procedure. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Recent data have suggested secular changes implying a current trend toward decreased clinical severity of Paget’s disease of bone (PD). To test this hypothesis, we conducted a study comparing the characteristics of two groups of PD patients, as disclosed from a sample assessed systematically. The investigation was a hospital-based study of all cases followed up at our unit since 1980. Throughout the follow-up period, diagnosis was based on standard X-ray criteria and the same clinical assessment was applied. Group I (n = 124) represented patients born before 1926, whereas group II (n = 109) included those born after that year. A bone scan performed with 99mTc-EHDP was available for all patients. X-rays of the pelvis and spine, and views of any hot spot observed on the scintigraphy scans were reviewed. The skeletal extent of PD, based on bone scan uptake, was determined by using the index proposed by Coutris. Alkaline phosphatase and hydroxyproline excretion levels were determined in blood and urine, respectively. Baseline characteristics were recorded on a purpose-designed computerized database. The proportion of males (47% in group I vs. 65% in group II; p = 0.007) and the mean (±SD) age at diagnosis (69.0 ± 8.15 vs. 54.3 ± 9.14; p < 0.001) differed significantly between groups. The year of birth showed a strong negative correlation with age at diagnosis (r = −0.83, p < 0.0001) and a weak, but significant, negative correlation with extent of bone lesion (r = −0.20; p = 0.002). Likewise, subjects born prior to 1926 showed a greater percentage of affected skeleton cases (9.6 ± 8.01 vs. 7.06 ± 5.79; p = 0.001). Group I individuals who had pelvic and/or femoral bone lesions were more prone to suffer “pagetic coxopathy” (65% vs. 40%; p = 0.003) with “protrusio acetabuli” (32% vs. 17%; p = 0.01), and the percentage of patients showing radiographic Monckeberg-type vascular calcifications (36% vs. 14%; p = 0.0006) was higher than in those born after 1926. No other epidemiologically clinically, or biochemically relevant differences were seen in the crude analysis. Multivariate analysis identified extent of skeletal lesions (OR = 0.76; p = 0.01), age at diagnosis (OR = 0.79; p = 0.008), number of bones involved (OR = 1.53; p = 0.03), and occupation (p < 0.0001) as the predictive variables linked to year of birth. Our data are consistent with a temporal tendency toward a smaller number of bone lesions and a decreased percentage of instances of affected skeleton. An earlier age at recent diagnosis times and absence of any relevant clinical or biochemical differences seems more likely linked to recent changes in referral and sociological patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The use of MAK melons for breeding Charentais melons has an impact on VOCs profile, mainly in alkyl esters and apocarotenoids. • Introgression line (ILs) collections are appropriate tools to genetically dissect melon VOCs profiles. • Specific MAK introgressions cause specific VOCs profiles associated to the presence of MAK alleles in candidate genes. • MAK introgressions causing changes in flesh color and ripening behaviour also pleiotropically affected VOCs profiles. • ILs with new VOCs profiles can be used for diversification of Charentais melons. Volatile profile of melon fruit from 25 introgression lines (ILs), developed by introgressing specific genomic regions from the Japanese cultivar 'Ginsen makuwa' (MAK) into the 'Charentais' recurrent genetic background of the cultivar 'Vedrantais' (VED), was characterized in two environments. Fifty-seven VOCs were identified by purge and trap extraction followed by chromatography-mass spectrometry. IL population was also genotyped by GBS with 2,146 SNP distributed throughout the melon genome to tag MAK introgressions. The aromatic profiles of both parents and their hybrid suggested the dominance of MAK alleles. MAK introgressions in the VED background in general reduced the accumulation of VOCs in fruit, mainly alkyl esters and apocarotenoids. The environmental effect was remarkable, although some ILs showed a volatile profile stability in both environments. Some ILs with specific MAK introgressions displayed specific VOC profiles. The joint analysis of VOC profiles and GBS genotypes allowed for the identification of candidate genes, such as MELO3C024886, a 4-coumarate:CoA ligase which can be involved in the eugenol pathway, and other genes previously reported to be involved in melon VOCs production from fatty acids, aminoacids or carotenoids (CmLOX18, CmAAT, CmBAMT, CmCRTISO1), whose MAK alleles introgressed on VED genetic background might change the Charentais VOC profile. Additionally, some ILs showed changes in VOC profiles due to pleiotropic effects of changes in other traits, such as the low levels of apocarotenoids in the two green fleshed ILs (CmOrCmOr genotype), associated to the lack of carotenoid precursors, and the new ester profile of the ILs with altered ripening pattern (likely due to the introgression of the MAK NAC factor MELO3C012215). The information generated about the candidate regions and genes will be of interest for further genetic studies, to optimize the use of MAK genetic resources in melon breeding, and also to develop new lines with Charentais background and novel aroma profiles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]