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Many control charts have been developed for the simultaneous monitoring of the time interval T between successive occurrences of an event E and its magnitude X . All these TBEA (Time Between Events and Amplitude) control charts assume a known distribution for the random variables T and X . But, in practice, as it is rather difficult to know their actual distributions, proposing a distribution free approach could be a way to overcome this 'distribution choice' dilemma. For this reason, we propose in this paper a distribution free upper-sided EWMA (Exponentially Weighted Moving Average) type control chart, for simultaneously monitoring the time interval T and the magnitude X of an event. In order to investigate the performance of this control chart and obtain its run length properties, we also develop a specific method called 'continuousify' which, coupled with a classical Markov chain technique, allows to obtain reliable and replicable results. A numerical comparison shows that our distribution-free EWMA TBEA chart performs as the parametric Shewhart TBEA chart, but without the need to pre-specify any distribution. An illustrative example obtained from a French forest fire database is also provided to show the implementation of the proposed EWMA TBEA control chart., Competing Interests: No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s)., (© 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.)

Seeds of Pinus halepensis are used for preparing zgougou, a spontaneously fermented matrix giving juice and seeds debris, consumed in many Arabian countries, including Tunisia. In the same way as all the food processes based on spontaneous fermentation, zgougou hides health risks due to eventual pathogenic microorganisms and derived toxins. This study aimed at investigating the effect of the use of autochthonous Lactobacillus paraplantarum A1 and Lactobacillus plantarum A2, as fermentation starters, on the microbiological characteristics, profiles of volatile organic compounds (VOC), antibacterial and antioxidant activities of juice and seeds debris from zgougou. The starter lactobacilli inhibited undesired bacteria (e.g., Enterobacter and Aeromonas ) and coccus-shaped lactic acid bacteria, as shown by culture-dependent and-independent methods. The inhibitory effect was more evident in juice than in seeds debris. Some VOC (ethanol, acetoin, phenol,2-methoxy and caryophyllene) were present at higher concentrations in juice and seeds obtained upon spontaneous fermentation, compared to the samples deriving from fermentation with lactobacilli. The latter samples were characterized by higher concentrations of acetic acid, decane, 1-nonanol, bornyl acetate and bornyl formate. In addition, they showed a wider spectrum of antibacterial activity than spontaneously fermented juice and seeds. The use of autochthonous lactobacilli did not relevantly affect the antioxidant activity of zgougou. When juice from lactobacilli-driven fermentation was used to prepare a traditional Tunisian pudding ("Assidat-Zgougou"), it improved color and odor with respect to the pudding containing juice from spontaneous fermentation. This study showed that the use, at laboratory scale, of autochthonous lactobacilli is a feasible biotechnological tool to outgrow undesired bacteria, thus improving the safety of zgougou juice. Future studies should be undertaken to confirm the observed benefits at industrial scale.

Aglianicone is an autochthonous variety of black berried wine grape cultivated exclusively in southern Italy, but with limited information on the molecular composition of its grapes. HRMAS NMR spectroscopy was used to identify the primary metabolome of Aglianicone grape pulp from two different vineyards and the observed metabolomic changes reflected the local terroir conditions or harvesting years. Moreover, the berries pulp metabolome was related to Apparent Electrical Conductivity (ECa) maps deriving from on-site near-surface geophysical measurements of vineyard soils obtained by an electromagnetic induction (EMI) technique. Most of primary metabolites of Aglianicone grape varied systematically as a function of the spatial variability of soil properties as well as vineyards terroir and harvesting years. Therefore, the proposed approach that couples HRMAS NMR spectroscopy with ECa maps of vineyard soils represents an innovative support for wine producers who can select the best vine/soil combination to ensure the maximum wine quality., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Functional gastrointestinal symptoms are frequent, and may be driven by several pathogenic mechanisms. Symptoms may persist in lactose intolerant (LI) patients (i.e., subjects with intestinal lactase deficiency, lactose malabsorption producing symptoms), after a lactose-free diet. Our hypothesis was that probiotic and vitamin B6 treatment may be useful to alleviate symptoms in LI patients through a positive modulation of gut microbial composition and relative metabolism. We aimed to test the efficacy of a novel formulation of Bifidobacterium longum BB536 and Lactobacillus rhamnosus HN001 plus vitamin B6 (ZR) in 23 LI subjects with persistent symptoms during a lactose-free diet. Symptoms, microbiome, and metabolome were measured at baseline and after 30 days in a crossover, randomized, double-blind study of ZR versus placebo (PL). Compared with PL, the administration of probiotics and vitamin B6 significantly decreased bloating (p = 0.028) and ameliorated constipation (p = 0.045). Fecal microbiome differed between ZR and PL. ZR drove the enrichment of several genera involved in lactose digestion including Bifidobacerium. Moreover, the relative abundance of acetic acid, 2-methyl-propanoic acid, nonenal, and indolizine 3-methyl increased, while phenol decreased. Our findings highlight the importance of selected probiotics and vitamin B6 to alleviate symptoms and gut dysbiosis in lactose intolerant patients with persistent functional gastrointestinal symptoms., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to publish the results.

This study aimed to: (i) assess at what extent traditional, daily propagated, sourdough can be considered a stable microbial ecosystem; (ii) ascertain the drivers of stability/variability. For this purpose, samples of sourdough, flour and environment were collected over 1 year from three different bakeries located in Altamura, Castellana Grotte, and Matera. Culture-dependent and -independent analyses were carried out on all the samples. In addition, sourdough and flour were subjected to biochemical characterization. In all the sourdoughs sampled at the same bakery, cell density of lactic acid bacteria fluctuated of one-two log cycles. However, 16S metagenetic analysis showed that sourdough bacterial microbiota was remarkably stable, in terms of species. Yet, some differences were found during time at intra-specific level. Indeed, bacterial strains succeeded in a 1-year lapse of time or even in 6-months, such as in the case of strains isolated from Altamura sourdough samples. Residual carbohydrates, lactic acid, ethanol and free amino acids varied in the same sourdough collected at different sampling times. These variations could be attributed to combination of various factors, such as fermentation temperature and strain succession. In addition, concentration of flour nutrients varied over 1 year and, in some cases, in a shorter time lapse. This may have favored certain strains over others. For this reason and also because of its inherent contamination by lactic acid bacteria, we found flour as the major driver of strains succession.

Olive mill wastewaters (OMW) contain significant levels of phenolic compounds with antimicrobial/phytotoxic activity and high amounts of undecomposed organic matter that may exert negative effects on soil biology. Among OMW detoxification techniques, those focusing on oxidative degradation of phenolic compounds are relevant. The composting (bio-oxidation) process in particular, exploits exothermic oxidation reactions by microorganisms to transform the organic matrix of OMW into an amendment biologically stable and feasible to use in agriculture. This process consists of an active phase during which organic compounds are rapidly decomposed, and a curing phase characterized by a slow breakdown of the remaining materials with the formation of humic substances (HS) as by-products. In this study, bio-oxidation of OMW was performed using a pre-treated organic material derived from municipal solid waste (MSW). The obtained amendment (OMWF) was stable and in accordance with the legislative parameters of mixed organic amendments. HS were then extracted from OMWF and MSW (control amendment, Amd-C), and differences in structural properties of their humic acid (HA) fraction were highlighted via spectroscopy (Fourier Transform Infrared) and Dynamic Light Scattering. To assay a potential use of HA as biostimulants for crops, 12-day old Zea Mays L. plants were supplied with HA at 0.5 mg and 1 mg C L -1 for 2 days. HA from both amendments increased plant growth, but HA from OMWF was more effective at both dosages (plus 35-37%). Also, HA from OMWF enhanced both nitrogen assimilation and glycolysis by increasing the activity of nitrate reductase (∼1.8-1.9 fold), phosphoglucose isomerase (PGI) (∼1.8-2 fold) and pyruvate kinase (PK) (∼1.5-1.8 fold), while HA from Amd-C targeted glycolysis preferentially. HA from OMWF, however, significantly stimulated plant nutrition only at lower dosage, perhaps because certain undetermined compounds from detoxified OMW and incorporated in HA altered the root membrane permeability, thus preventing the increase of nutrient uptake. Conversely, HA from Amd-C increased nutrient accumulation in maize at both dosages. In conclusion, our results indicate that the amendment obtained via OMW composting using MSW had a reduced pollution load in terms of phenolic compounds, and HA extracted from OMWF could be used as valuable biostimulants during maize cultivation.

The article discusses findings of a study which examined the effects of different agricultural practices on yield and soil organic carbon (SOC) in kiwifruit and apricot orchards grown at a Mediterranean area in South Italy. A comparison of the local orchard management practices and soil-protecting orchard management actions is also presented. Examples of soil-protecting orchard management practices included cover crop, no-tillage, compost application and mulching of pruning residues.

In this paper, improved Shewhart control charts based on hybrid adaptive and run rule schemes are introduced to enhance the statistical performances of the traditional static scheme, designed with consideration given to the fixed values of sample size, the width of the control limits and the sampling frequency. The proposed hybrid adaptive schemes consider both variable sampling interval and variable sample size combined with run rules. The objective of this research is to develop a statistical comparison between adaptive schemes, charts with run rules and hybrid adaptive schemes with run rules to help decision-makers in the selection of the best performing chart for an expected value of shift in the mean of a controlled parameter. An extensive set of numerical results is presented to test the effectiveness of the proposed models in detecting small and moderate shifts in the process mean. The optimal statistical designs of the charts are obtained through a heuristic algorithm, properly modified to cope with the problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with an overview of flowshop group scheduling problems in the manufacturing environment. The aim of this paper is twofold: (i) making a comprehensive survey of research on flowshop group scheduling problems in manufacturing systems, and (ii) presenting a bibliometric analysis. We address the general definition of flowshop group scheduling problems and provide a taxonomy of methodologies used in previous literature. The papers are presented from several perspectives, including the utilised objective functions, a transformation of problem structure, benchmarks in existing literature, and solution approaches. Additionally, bibliometric analysis, including keyword and journal analyses, is conducted for articles published between 1986 and 2022. Finally, suggestions for future developments are listed to further consolidate this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]