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Summary: Ethylene continues to be a major factor influencing quality of European pears during storage. Although research has been done on the effect of pre‐harvest 1‐methylcyclopropene (1‐MCP) on physiological characteristics in pears, a full understanding of cultivar response and antioxidant metabolism remains elusive. Spraying 1‐MCP on 'Bartlett' and 'd'Anjou' pears was studied with respect to physiology, storage and eating quality, disorders, and antioxidant properties at two harvest date (H1 and H2) during storage and ripening. Treatment with 1‐MCP extended the harvest window of 'Bartlett' and 'd'Anjou' pears 3 and 4 days, respectively, without reducing storage or eating quality. Treatment with 1‐MCP reduced ethylene production (EPR) and respiration rates (RR), maintained fruit firmness and green colour during storage and retarded development of desirable melting texture in both cultivars. Additionally, 1‐MCP lowered the incidence of disorders by alleviating membrane lipid peroxidation, retaining high total flavonoids (TF) and antioxidant capacity, and enhancing superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) activity in both cultivars. Overall, pre‐harvest 1‐MCP applications could extend storage time of 'Bartlett' and 'd'Anjou' pears to 5 and 6 months, respectively, at −1.1 ± 0.5 °C, by reducing ethylene synthesis and enhancing antioxidant metabolism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the emergence of the role of "moral doctors" who volunteer in what are called "moral clinics" in Huzhou city. In these moral clinics, the characteristics, experiences, and attributes of older women, in particular, are highly valued and viewed as being essential to the role of the moral doctor. These moral doctors act as moral exemplars and conflict mediators in their local communities. Their moral capital and professionalism, combined with their gender, age, familial and neighborhood attributes, contribute to the accumulation of an affective feminized labor which employs the techniques of care, reason, and moral fortitude to govern the self and others. We unpack these ethical virtues exemplified by moral doctors and nurses in order to show how a female‐centric "ethic of care" can become a set of techniques in governing others. In this paper, we elaborate on the role that these moral doctors perform to support the aims of the moral clinics in terms of fostering pro‐social behavior and moral obligation in local communities. We argue that the performance of this type of "moral work" is both a mechanism of discipline and a process of self‐actualization. We contribute to the current literature on "therapeutic governance" in China by showing how the non‐expert medicalization of social ills by moral doctors is incorporated into the reproduction of social control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background To effectively extend the shelf life of fresh jujube, carbon monoxide (CO), as a small molecular gas, was applied to fumigate fresh jujube. The quality and antioxidant activity of jujubes fumigated with carbon monoxide at concentrations of 0 (control), 5, 10, 20 and 40 µmol L−1 for 1 h under ambient temperature were investigated. Results The jujube fumigated with 10 µmol L−1 CO showed the best preserving effect amongst all samples. At 30 days, the decay incidence of jujube fumigated with 10 µmol L−1 CO is only two-thirds of that of control sample; its red index and weight loss rate were 22.8% and 19.4% lower, and its firmness, soluble solids content (SSC) and acidity were 18.7%, 5.4% and 12.2% higher than that of control samples, respectively. Its vitamin C and total flavonoid contents were also the highest. However, no significant difference in total polyphenol content was found. The jujubes treated with 10 µmol L−1 CO exhibited the highest antioxidant activity in terms of reducing power and 2,2-diphenyl-1-(2,4,6-trinitrophenyl)hydrazyl radical scavenging activity. However, the jujubes fumigated with 40 µmol L−1 CO showed inferior characteristics compared with the control sample. Conclusion Fumigating jujubes with proper concentration of CO probably is a potential novel method for post-harvest jujube preservation in the future. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The methods to leaching juice from dried jujube using six treatments and some factors related with juice yield such as total soluble solids (TSS), pectinase activity, pectin contents, galacturonic acid, and the microstructure morphology of cell were investigated. Six treatments including natural leaching, ultrasonic, microwave, ultrasonic before microwave, ultrasonic after microwave, and pressing directly were applied to extract juice. The group which treating with ultrasonic before microwave displayed its total soluble solids (TSS) was 16 °Brix, which was 6.67% higher than that of natural leaching. And its total soluble solids (TSS) reached to equilibrium in 2 hr, which was faster than that of natural leaching. The mechanism of improving the production efficiency of juice yield using ultrasonic combined with microwave was explored accordingly. The content of pectin and galacturonic acid increased by 58.52% and 59.01%, respectively, which were the highest among all samples. The activity of pectinase was 9.71 μg/(h·g), which was significantly decreased 40.23% as compared to natural leaching. And the treated cells became shriveled and pitted, which led to the leakage of the contents of cell. Thus, the result showed that treating with ultrasonic before microwave displayed the best juice yield. Ultrasonic cooperate with microwave was an efficient method to leaching juice from dried jujube. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of chitosan (0.1 mol/L) combined with sodium silicate (100 mmol/L) treatment on Alternaria rot caused by Alternaria alternata in postharvest jujube fruit (Ziziphus jujuba Mill. cv. Dongzao) was studied. The results showed that chitosan combined with sodium silicate treatment significantly reduced the lesion diameter, decay incidence, red index and weight loss of jujube fruit compared with control samples. Combining treatment increased the ascorbic acid, flavonoids, total phenolic compounds and lignin content. The level of superoxide anion (O2·-) and hydrogen peroxide of treated samples was also increased compared with the control samples. Meanwhile, the activities of phenylalanine ammonia lyase, polyphenol oxidase, superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, chitinase and β‐1,3‐glucanase were also accumulated in treated jujube samples, while the activity of catalase markedly decreased. These results indicated that chitosan combined with sodium silicate treatment could induce the disease resistance of postharvest jujube. Therefore, coating postharvest jujube using chitosan combined with sodium silicate could promise as a novel method for preventing the disease infection of postharvest jujube. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]