1,997 research outputs found
Mycotoxin Contamination in Hazelnut: Current Status, Analytical Strategies, and Future Prospects
No full textHazelnuts represent a potential source of mycotoxins that pose a public health issue due to their increasing consumption as food ingredients worldwide. Hazelnuts contamination by mycotoxins may derive from fungal infections occurring during fruit development, or in postharvest. The present review considers the available data on mycotoxins detected in hazelnuts, on fungal species reported as infecting hazelnut fruit, and general analytical approaches adopted for mycotoxin investigation. Prompted by the European safety regulation concerning hazelnuts, many analytical methods have focused on the determination of levels of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) and total aflatoxins. An overview of the available data shows that a multiplicity of fungal species and further mycotoxins have been detected in hazelnuts, including anthraquinones, cyclodepsipeptides, ochratoxins, sterigmatocystins, trichothecenes, and more. Hence, the importance is highlighted in developing suitable methods for the concurrent detection of a broad spectrum of these mycotoxins. Moreover, control strategies to be employed before and after harvest in the aim of controlling the fungal contamination, and in reducing or inactivating mycotoxins in hazelnuts, are discussed
Endophytic fungi of the genus Talaromyces and plant health
No full textIn recent years the microbial associates of plants have been increasingly considered an essential tool for improving crop production while reducing the input of agrochemicals. With special reference to fungi, new achievements have shown that their application in crop management can go beyond the specific role that has been traditionally assigned to certain species and that strains combining aptitudes as plant growth promoters and antagonists of pests and pathogens can be used as multipurpose agents for improving plant fitness and crop yields. Species in the genus Talaromyces (Eurotiomycetes, Trichocomaceae) have been more and more widely reported for endophytic occurrence in investigations carried out in various agricultural and non-agricultural contexts. Our review of the available literature pointed out that 46 out of a total of over 170 species currently accepted in this genus have been found as endophytic associates of 281 plant species belonging to 108 families, with an evident raising trend that will likely lead to a notable increase of these figures shortly. Mutualistic interactions of these fungi with plants are analyzed in this paper regarding the ecological impact and applicative perspectives in sustainable agriculture
Streptococcus macedonicus in Provolone del Monaco: non un ospite occasionale
No full textL’evoluzione della microflora lattica durante la lavorazione e la stagionatura di formaggio Provolone del Monaco è stata monitorata applicando un approccio polifasico. Accanto alla metodologia convenzionale, basata sull’isolamento e l’identificazione genotipica delle colture, è stata impiegata l’analisi PCR-DGGE per la separazione elettroforetica di ampliconi V6-V8 e V3 dell’rDNA 16S ottenuti sia da DNA estratto direttamente dai campioni – metodica “culture-independent” - che da DNA estratto da bulk cellulari da piastre dei sei substrati di conta, ovvero M17 agar dopo incubazione a 30 e a 40°C, Slanetz & Bartley, Rogosa, MRS addizionato di vancomicina e Isolini agar. Dall’identificazione di 289 ceppi è emerso che la specie Streptococcus macedonicus è la più largamente rappresentata (24%) seguita da Lactobacillus rhamnosus (18%) e Streptococcus thermophilus (17%). La distribuzione speciografica e la dominanza di ceppi afferenti al genere Streptococcus sono state altresì suffragate da entrambi gli approcci basati sull’analisi PCR-DGGE. Tutti i ceppi appartenenti al genere Streptococcus, per un totale di 134, sono stati biotipizzati a mezzo RAPD-PCR e caratterizzati mediante saggi biochimici di interesse tecnologico. In particolare sono stati valutati il potere acidificante, la capacità di fermentare del galattosio, l’attività proteolitica e lipolitica, nonché la capacità di produrre ammine piogene ed esopolisaccaridi. Dal confronto dei risultati ottenuti per ceppi delle due specie emerge che è comunque Streptococcus thermophilus ad esprimere maggiormente i caratteri abitualmente adoperati per la selezione di colture starter in ambiente lattiero-caseario, mentre resta da definire il potenziale ruolo di Streptococcus macedonicus nell’ecosistema Provolone del Monaco
Anti-Insect Properties of Penicillium Secondary Metabolites
No full text: In connection with their widespread occurrence in diverse environments and ecosystems, fungi in the genus Penicillium are commonly found in association with insects. In addition to some cases possibly implying a mutualistic relationship, this symbiotic interaction has mainly been investigated to verify the entomopathogenic potential in light of its possible exploitation in ecofriendly strategies for pest control. This perspective relies on the assumption that entomopathogenicity is often mediated by fungal products and that Penicillium species are renowned producers of bioactive secondary metabolites. Indeed, a remarkable number of new compounds have been identified and characterized from these fungi in past decades, the properties and possible applications of which in insect pest management are reviewed in this paper
Lactic acid bacteria occurring during manufacture and ripening of Provolone del Monaco cheese: detection by different analytical approaches
No full textLactic acid bacteria occurring in Provolone del Monaco, an artisanal pasta filata cheese produced in Campania (Italy) from raw cows’ milk and without starter addition, were investigated by a combination of conventional and molecular approaches. The microbial community was monitored during a cheese-making process giving rise to a premium quality product. Streptococcus thermophilus and Streptococcus macedonicus prevailed during cheese manufacture and survived along nine months of ripening, together with enterococci and lactobacilli of the casei group, especially Lactobacillus rhamnosus. Phenotypic and genetic identification of 308 isolates largely reflected the results obtained by 16S rDNA sequencing analysis by polymerase chain reaction-denaturant gradient gel electrophoresis, with the significant exception of Lactobacillus fermentum and four Lactobacillus delbrueckii subspecies that were not detected by cultural methods. Each different analytical approach employed provided useful information. Their combination proved to be suitable to effectively describe the ecosystem of Provolone del Monaco cheese
Do You Know What the Buffer Capacity of Your pH Buffer Is?
No full textThis paper develops the item of buffer capacity of pH buffers and targets chemists, biologists, physiologists or anyone who may be interested to become familiar with and develop a quantitative perception of factors controlling buffer capacity of aqueous solutions (which can be complex mixtures of acids and/or bases and/or ionic salts, as are commercial pH buffers in use in a variety of applications which require control of pH, or most biological fluids, e.g., blood). The fundamental idea of representing a pH buffer or a buffered biological fluid with a matrix constitutes the leitmotif of the suggested approach through which the boring complexity of a quantitative mathematical treatment of buffer capacity has been overcome. It is shown how the matrix representing a given pH buffer or biological fluid (from which a quantitative evaluation of pH and buffer capacity can be performed) can be built in a matter of minutes (regardless of their complexity) in a MS Excel sheet by employing an Excel library of custom functions which is made available as associated material to this paper. Furthermore, from the matrix representing the pH buffer or biological fluid a plot can be derived which is used as a graphical support for enlightening the chemical significance of the matrix and to connect the buffer capacity to the Acid-Base chemistry which takes place in the represented pH buffer or biological fluid
Fatty acids produced by Neofusicoccum vitifusiforme and N. Parvum, fungi associated with grapevine botryosphaeria dieback
No full textThere is evidence that secondary metabolites are involved in the fungal pathogenicity and virulence of Neofusicoccum spp. Fatty acids may also influence the plant–pathogen interaction but, so far, no information is available on their production by species of Neofusicoccum associated with Botryosphaeria dieback, which is a well-known syndrome of several plants with a complex etiology. In the present paper, the production of fatty acids in liquid medium, by strains of N. vitifusiforme and N. parvum associated with declining Sicilian vine plants, was evaluated. Data, acquired via gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC/MS), show the presence of linoleic acid as the most abundant fatty acid produced by both examined strains. In addition, the pathogenicity of N. vitifusiforme was tested on 2-year-old grapevine plants of cv. Inzolia
Operatori del processo edilizio
No full textLemma che descrive i diversi attori del processo edilizio, con particolare attenzione al processo edilizio pubblico - ISBN:ISSN 2284-00IX - visibile su: Wikitecnica.com/author/giovenale-anna-mari
Processo edilizio
No full textLemma che descrive e reinterpreta, rispetto alla letteratura scientifica, il concetto di processo edilizio, definendone l'evoluzione nel tempo ISBN:ISSN 2284-00IX - Visibile su: wikitecnica.com/author/giovenale-anna-mari
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