1,720,969 research outputs found
Use of Aloe vera gel-based edible coating with natural anti-browning and anti-oxidant additives to improve post-harvest quality of fresh-cut 'Fuji' apple
Full text linkRecently, there is increasing use of edible and biodegradable films and packaging that are both environmentally friendly and functional for storage and market distribution. Fresh-cut 'Fuji' apples, harvested in an organic farm, were treated, using a spraying technique, with three new edible coatings based on Aloe vera gel (AVG-40% v/w) and in combination with natural additives: lemon essential oil (LEO-1% v/w) and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC-0.1% v/w) and compared with untreated sample (CTR), the physicochemical and sensory characteristics and the proximate compounds were evaluated. During cold storage, weight loss, soluble solids content, and color of uncoated slices were reduced, while softening, ripening, browning, and acidity were accelerated. In contrast, the AVG/HPMC treatment significantly delayed the above parameters related to post-harvest quality loss, while the AVG/LEO treatment delayed the browning processes, maintaining an excellent color during cold storage. Concerning proximate compounds, the treatments did not alter their concentration in the fruit tissues. Sensory analyses revealed no detrimental effect on taste, aroma, or flavor. Our data evidenced the positive effect of Aloe vera gel in combination with LEO and HPMC on fresh-cut apple quality as an innovative and sustainable technique to maintain fresh-cut apple quality
New clones and old varieties: Quality of sicilian hillside apple cultivation
Full text linkAims: The aim of this study is to evaluate the qualitative characteristics of the new clones according to the Mediterranean hillside growing environment and, at the same time, to highlight the qualitative peculiarities of the old varieties in order to avoid genetic loss. Introduction: Several apple varieties are constantly selected for improved quality traits and introduced for cultivation and marketing in addition to a few traditional and affirmed varieties. On the other side, local genotype and ancient varieties are still valorised due to the request of a niche market. Methods: We have studied the physico-chemical quality and the sensory traits of the fruit obtained in this particular environment. Results: Our study reveals a qualitative response to the environment in a genotype-dependent manner. As expected, the physico-chemical characteristics favour the new clones. Conclusion: Both old varieties and new clones of apple fruit, grown in the Mediterranean area, turned out to be of high quality. Nevertheless, results revealed the better characteristics of new clones for commercialization in large-scale supply chain
The Use of Opuntia ficus-indica Mucilage and Aloe arborescens as Edible Coatings to Improve the Physical, Chemical, and Microbiological Properties of ‘Hayward’ Kiwifruit Slices
Full text linkEdible coatings (EC) with mucilage of Opuntia ficus-indica or Aloe arborescens are promising to extend the shelf life of fresh-cut fruit products by reducing weight loss and microbial spoilage. In this work, fresh-cut kiwifruits (cv. Hayward) were coated in solutions with mucilage extracted from Opuntia ficus-indica (MC) and A. arborescens (AL). We used three alternative treatments with AL or MC, MC+AL, and with distilled water as control, and stored in passive atmosphere at 5◦ C for 3, 5, 7, and 9 d, respectively. For all treatments at each storage period, firmness, weight loss, color, visual quality score, respiration rate, pectin content, and microbiological characteristics were observed. The treatments with mucilage and A. arborescens applied on fresh-cut kiwi slices showed different significant effects until 9 days of storage, in terms of firmness and total pectin. Microbial spoilage analysis revealed the beneficial effects of this strategy after 3 d, particularly in terms of bacteria and yeast. A. arborescens provided a reduction of microbial activity, probably due to the higher quantity of aloin if related to Aloe species. Furthermore, the treatment with MC and AL increased the total pectin content, showing positive effects in terms weight loss and firmness. The results showed that the MC+AL treatment improved the visual score of fresh-cut kiwi fruit until 7 d of storage
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Effetto di tre diversi edible coating a base di gel di Aloe vera sulla qualità di frutti di kiwi di IV gamma
No full textNegli ultimi anni, il mercato della frutta di IV gamma si è contraddistinto per una crescita esponenziale legata ai ritmi di vita più intensi rispetto al passato, che spingono a privilegiare prodotti offerti in porzioni, utilizzabili in modo facile e veloce. La frutta di IV gamma è caratterizzata, però, da una breve durata di conservazione a causa delle fasi di lavorazione e preparazione che accelerano i processi di maturazione. Lo scopo di questo lavoro è stato quello di analizzare sulla qualità di kiwi della varietà “Hayward” in IV gamma l’effetto di tre diversi rivestimenti commestibili basati su (1) Aloe vera gel (AVG), (2) Aloe vera gel + idrossipropilmetilcellulosa (HPMC), (3) Aloe vera gel + olio essenziale di limone (LEO). Sono stati valutati la perdita di peso, la consistenza della polpa, il colore, il contenuto di solidi solubili, l’acidità titolabile, la carica microbica e le caratteristiche sensoriali del prodotto fresco e dopo 2, 4, 7 e 10 giorni di conservazione. I risultati ottenuti hanno evidenziato che è possibile prolungare la commerciabilità del kiwi di IV gamma mediante l’applicazione di questi rivestimenti commestibili naturali, senza alterare le principali caratteristiche qualitative della frutta fresca. Nello specifico, i trattamenti con HPMC e LEO hanno mantenuto nei campioni i valori più alti in termini di consistenza, luminosità e contenuto di solidi solubili e valori più bassi di perdita di peso, indice di imbrunimento ossidativo e rapporto zuccheri/acidi. L’interazione del HPMC e del LEO con il gel di Aloe vera ha anche ridotto la carica microbica, rispetto ai trattamenti CTR e AVG. L’analisi sensoriale ha confermato i risultati delle analisi chimico-fisiche evidenziando come il rivestimento commestibile a base di HPMC non alteri
il gusto naturale del kiwi mentre il trattamento LEO lo ha, in parte, sovrastato e il trattamento AVG ha fatto rilevare un sentore di erbaceo. Quest’ultimo non ha mostrato differenze significative rispetto al controllo non trattato evidenziando come il gel di Aloe vera dia i migliori risultati quando applicato insieme ad un antiossidante naturale (LEO) o ad un agente gelificante (HPMC)
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Full text linkWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
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