Impact of conventional and innovative processing conditions on organoleptic and nutritional properties of applesauce from organic and conventional production systems.

The impact of cultivar and production system was studied over two years on organoleptic and nutritional characteristics of apple fruits and then, on purees processed with both conventional convection cooking under vacuum and fast innovative microwave cooking. The main factors affecting the content and composition of sugars, organic acids, volatiles, polyphenols, and fibre were in the decreasing order, cultivar, year, and production system. Regarding processing, the fast innovative microwave cooking led to puree with a higher viscosity but with a lower polyphenol content compared to the convection cooking.

Does hydration of 'Deglet Nour' date palm fruits improve their quality and help to reduce waste?

This work investigates the quality change of date palm fruits after hydration treatment which is commonly applied to enhance the hard textured 'Deglet Nour' fruits that are unacceptable for consumption. Date palm fruits were treated at 60-62 °C with saturated steam for 4 h in three different processing units (DPU). Mid Infrared Spectroscopy (MIR) giving a global spectral evaluation discriminates samples from the three DPUs and highlights date palm fruits of the first DPU regarding hydration treatment.

Variety, growing conditions and processing method act on different structural and biochemical traits to modify viscosity in tomato puree.

The texture of tomato products can be modified by choice of variety, their growing conditions and/or processing method, but no clear explanation exists of the mechanisms that transform fruit tissue, how they act on texture, or whether genetics and processing impact the same physical parameters. We therefore conducted a study that processed 4 varieties produced under low/high nitrogen supply, into puree using both hot and cold break processes. No specific rheological signature allows discrimination between cultivar-induced or process-induced textural changes, but that they can be distinguished by sensory analysis.

Effect of PO Content on Luminescence of Reduced Graphene-Oxide-Doped ZnO-PO Nano-Structured Films Prepared via the Sol-Gel Method.

A convenient and low-cost sol-gel approach for the one-step synthesis of ZnO-PO-rGO nanostructures with tuned bandgap and fluorescence was investigated. The obtained hybrid nanostructures exploit the properties of zinc oxide, graphene oxide and phosphorous oxide as promising candidates for a wide range of optoelectronic applications. A predominant amorphous structure, ZnO-PO-rGO, containing ZnO nanorods was evidenced by X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).

Magnetocaloric and Giant Magnetoresistance Effects in La-Ba-Mn-Ti-O Epitaxial Thin Films: Influence of Phase Transition and Magnetic Anisotropy.

Magnetic perovskite films have promising properties for use in energy-efficient spintronic devices and magnetic refrigeration. Here, an epitaxial ferromagnetic LaBaMnTiO (LBMTO-5) thin film was grown on SrTiO(001) single crystal substrate by pulsed laser deposition. High-resolution X-ray diffraction proved the high crystallinity of the film with tetragonal symmetry.

Fruit variability impacts puree quality: Assessment on individually processed apples using the visible and near infrared spectroscopy.

This study was designed to have the absolute definition of 'one apple to one puree', which gave a first insight into the impacts of fruit inter-variability (between varieties) and intra-variability (between individual fruits) on the quality of processed purees. Both the inter-variability of apple varieties and the intra-variability of single apples induced intensive changes of appearance, chemical and textural properties of their corresponding microwave-cooked purees. The intra-variability of cooked purees was different according to apple cultivars.

Influence of Thickness on the Magnetic and Magnetotransport Properties of Epitaxial LaSrMnO Films Deposited on STO (0 0 1).

Epitaxial LaSrMnO films with different thicknesses (9-90 nm) were deposited on SrTiO (0 0 1) substrates by pulsed laser deposition. The films have been investigated with respect to morpho-structural, magnetic, and magneto-transport properties, which have been proven to be thickness dependent. Magnetic contributions with different switching mechanisms were evidenced, depending on the perovskite film thickness.

Thermal Stability, Blocking Regime and Superparamagnetic Behavior in Mn-Al-C Melt Spun Ribbons.

Alloys possessing nominal compositions MnAlC and MnAlC were prepared by the melt spinning method and were subjected to complex structural, morphological and magnetic investigations. As these alloys can exhibit tetragonal L1-type and τ phase, they have good potential as rare earth (RE)-free magnets. It is, therefore, important to monitor the ε-τ phase transformation and the stability and the magnetic features of the tetragonal phase in an entire temperature interval.

Reduction of pulse "antinutritional" content by optimizing pulse canning process is insufficient to improve fat-soluble vitamin bioavailability.

Some bioactive compounds found in pulses (phytates, saponins, tannins) display antinutritional properties and interfere with fat-soluble vitamin bioavailability (i.e., bioaccessibility and intestinal uptake).

Puncture, MRI and NMR relaxometry data for multiscale analysis of the degradation of apple structure due to thermal treatment.

The data presented here are related to the research paper entitled "Multiscale NMR analysis of the degradation of apple structure due to thermal treatment" whose aim was to investigate the critical temperature at which the cell membranes of a Golden Delicious apple is highly damaged. Apple sticks were analyzed raw and cooked at 45, 50, 53, 60 °C and 70 °C. The firmness data refers to the puncture tests that were done using a Ta-Plus texturometer.

Magnetism and ε-τ Phase Transformation in MnAl-Based Nanocomposite Magnets.

Melt spun ribbons of MnAlC and MnAlC have been synthesized by rapid quenching of the melt with the purpose of monitoring the ε-τ phase transformation to show technologically feasible ways to increase magnetic parameters and to illustrate the viability of these alloys as the next generation of rare earth (RE)-free magnets. By differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), activation energies and temperatures of onset of the ε-τ phase transformation were obtained. Structural analysis was performed using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and the resulting XRD patterns were quantitatively assessed using full profile Rietveld-type analysis.

Mid-infrared technique to forecast cooked puree properties from raw apples: A potential strategy towards sustainability and precision processing.

The potential of MIRS was investigated to: i) differentiate cooked purees issued from different apples and process conditions, and ii) predict the puree quality characteristics from the spectra of homogenized raw apples. Partial least squares (PLS) regression was tested both, on the real spectra of cooked purees and their reconstructed spectra calculated from the spectra of homogenized raw apples by direct standardization. The cooked purees were well-classified according to apple thinning practices and cold storage durations, and to different heating and grinding conditions.

Tuning structural and magnetic properties of Fe oxide nanoparticles by specific hydrogenation treatments.

Structural and magnetic properties of Fe oxide nanoparticles prepared by laser pyrolysis and annealed in high pressure hydrogen atmosphere were investigated. The annealing treatments were performed at 200 °C (sample A200C) and 300 °C (sample A300C). The as prepared sample, A, consists of nanoparticles with ~ 4 nm mean particle size and contains C (~ 11 at.

Magnetic Phase Coexistence and Hard-Soft Exchange Coupling in FePt Nanocomposite Magnets.

With the aim of demonstrating phase coexistence of two magnetic phases in an intermediate annealing regime and obtaining highly coercive FePt nanocomposite magnets, two alloys of slightly off-equiatomic composition of a binary Fe-Pt system were prepared by dynamic rotation switching and ball milling. The alloys, with a composition FePt and FePt, were subsequently annealed at 400 °C and 550 °C and structurally and magnetically characterized by means of X-ray diffraction, Fe Mössbauer spectrometry and Superconducting Quantum Interference Device (SQUID) magnetometry measurements. Gradual disorder-order phase transformation and temperature-dependent evolution of the phase structure were monitored using X-ray diffraction of synchrotron radiation.

Towards a Correlation between Structural, Magnetic, and Luminescence Properties of CeF:Tb Nanocrystals.

In this study, we report on the structural, magnetic, and optical properties of Tb-doped CeF nanocrystals prepared via a polyol-assisted route, followed by calcination. X-ray diffraction analysis and electron microscopy investigations have shown the formation of a dominant CeF nanocrystalline phase (of about 99%), with a relatively uniform distribution of nanocrystals about 15 nm in size. Magnetization curves showed typical paramagnetic properties related to the presence of Ce and Tb ions.

Mn-Induced Thermal Stability of L1 Phase in Fept Magnetic Nanoscale Ribbons.

Magnetic nanoscale materials exhibiting the L1 tetragonal phase such as FePt or ternary alloys derived from FePt show most promising magnetic properties as a novel class of rare earth free permanent magnets with high operating temperature. A granular alloy derived from binary FePt with low Pt content and the addition of Mn with the nominal composition FeMnPt has been synthesized in the shape of melt-spun ribbons and subsequently annealed at 600 °C and 700 °C for promoting the formation of single phase, L1 tetragonal, hard magnetic phase. Proton-induced X-ray emission spectroscopy PIXE has been utilized for checking the compositional effect of Mn addition.

Fresh, freeze-dried or cell wall samples: Which is the most appropriate to determine chemical, structural and rheological variations during apple processing using ATR-FTIR spectroscopy?

Attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) was applied on fresh (NF), freeze-dried (FD) and cell wall materials (AIS) of raw and processed apples. These samples prepared from 36 apple sets and the corresponding 72 purees, issued from different varieties, agricultural practices, storage periods and processing conditions, were used to build models including exploratory analysis, supervised classification and multivariate calibration. Fresh and freeze-dried samples presented similar fingerprint spectral variations due to processing.

A new application of NIR spectroscopy to describe and predict purees quality from the non-destructive apple measurements.

The potential of NIRS was investigated on both apples and purees to (i) examine factors involving quality variability (variety, agricultural practice, cold storage, puree mechanical refining level) and (ii) establish the link between quality traits before and after processing in order to predict the quality characteristics of purees from spectral information of raw apples. Apples and purees were well-classified at over 82% and 88% according to varieties and storage times respectively. The PLS models showed a good ability to estimate puree characteristics from spectra acquired on corresponding apples such as viscosity (R > 0.

3D Superparamagnetic Scaffolds for Bone Mineralization under Static Magnetic Field Stimulation.

We reported on three-dimensional (3D) superparamagnetic scaffolds that enhanced the mineralization of magnetic nanoparticle-free osteoblast cells. The scaffolds were fabricated with submicronic resolution by laser direct writing via two photons polymerization of Ormocore/magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) composites and possessed complex and reproducible architectures. MNPs with a diameter of 4.

Report of simultaneous measles outbreaks in two different health regions in Portugal, February to May 2017: lessons learnt and upcoming challenges.

In Portugal, measles vaccination coverage and population immunity are high, and no endemic measles cases had been reported since 2004. The World Health Organization classified measles as eliminated in the country in 2015 and 2016, based on data from the previous 3 years. However, in a context of increasing incidence in several European countries in 2016 and 2017, Portugal experienced two simultaneous measles outbreaks with a total of 27 laboratory-confirmed cases (0.

Challenging measles case definition: three measles outbreaks in three Health Regions of Portugal, February to April 2018.

We report three simultaneous measles outbreaks with 112 confirmed cases in three Health Regions of Portugal, from February to April 2018. The mean age of cases was 30 years, 79% worked in a healthcare setting and 87% were vaccinated. Genotype B3 was identified in 84 cases from the three outbreaks.

Single Wall Carbon Nanotubes Based Cryogenic Temperature Sensor Platforms.

We present an investigation consisting of single walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) based cryogenic temperature sensors, capable of measuring temperatures in the range of 2-77 K. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) due to their extremely small size, superior thermal and electrical properties have suggested that it is possible to create devices that will meet necessary requirements for miniaturization and better performance, by comparison to temperature sensors currently available on the market. Starting from SWCNTs, as starting material, a resistive structure was designed.

Measles outbreak after 12 years without endemic transmission, Portugal, February to May 2017.

We report a measles outbreak in two Portuguese health regions (Algarve and Lisbon and the Tagus Valley) since February 2017, and which by 31 May resulted in 28 confirmed cases, of which 16 were unvaccinated. Thirteen cases were healthcare workers. One unvaccinated teenager died.