Design of a high-efficient SiC-based interleaved voltage source converter.

The paper deals with some peculiar aspects of the design of interleaved voltage source converter (IVSC) topology in high-power applications such as renewable energy systems and electric vehicles. The IVSC offers advantages like power sharing among multiple modules, improved power quality, redundancy, and fault tolerance. The design of an IVSC mainly involves the selection of the number of deployed converters and the choice of suitable semiconductor devices with the aim to reach a desired overall efficiency for an assigned operating condition.

Redox behavior of potassium doped and transition metal co-doped CeZrO for thermochemical HO/CO splitting.

CeO slow redox kinetics as well as low oxygen exchange ability limit its application as a catalyst in solar thermochemical two-step cycles. In this study, CeZrO catalysts doped with potassium or transition metals (Cu, Mn, Fe), as well as co-doped materials were synthesized. Samples were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), N sorption (BET), as well as by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) to gain insight into surface and bulk features, which were connected to redox properties assessed both in a thermogravimetric (TG) balance and in a fixed bed reactor.

Phytochemical-Rich Antioxidant Extracts of Vaccinium Vitis-idaea L. Leaves Inhibit the Formation of Toxic Maillard Reaction Products in Food Models.

Thermal treatment of proteinaceous foods generates heat-induced Maillard reaction substances including toxic advanced glycation end products (AGEs) and heterocyclic amines (HAs). It is known that plant phenolic compounds may influence Maillard reaction. This study investigated the impact of lingonberry leaf extracts on the formation of N -(carboxymethyl)lysine (CML) and N -(2-furoylmethyl)-L-lysine (furosine) in milk model system and HAs in meat-protein and meat model systems.

Are Canned Beverages Industries Progressively Switching to Bisphenol AF?

Seven bisphenols, endocrine-disruptor chemicals, were analytically determined for risk assessment in 52 large-consumption beverages collected from the Italian market. The analytes under examination were bisphenol A, bisphenol F, bisphenol E, bisphenol B, bisphenol AF, bisphenol A diglycidyl ether, and bisphenol M. The concentration levels of all bisphenols detected ranged from View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Raisins and Currants as Conventional Nutraceuticals in Italian Market: Natural Occurrence of Ochratoxin A.

The healthy consumers make a strong pressure to natural products that can prevent the chronic diseases and improve the general health status, and therefore an important aspect that have to be considered is the safe level of the nutraceuticals. This study reports the occurrence of Ochratoxin A (OTA) and associated fungal contamination in 35 samples of dried vine fruits imported in the European community potentially used for the development of new nutraceutical supplements. High pressure liquid chromatography analysis identified 18 samples as contaminated by OTA with an average level of 2.

Effect of Nanoemulsified and Microencapsulated Mexican Oregano (Lippia graveolens Kunth) Essential Oil Coatings on Quality of Fresh Pork Meat.

Fresh meat is a highly perishable food. This work aimed to evaluate the influence of Mexican oregano (Lippia graveolens Kunth) incorporated into active coatings (ACs) spread on fresh pork meat as free (FEO), nanoemulsified (NEO), and microencapsulated (MEO) essential oil (EO), on its microbiological, physicochemical and sensory properties during 15 d at 4 ± 1 °C. Thymol and γ-terpinene were identified in the EO.

Prevalence, Distribution, and Diversity of Salmonella spp. in Meat Samples Collected from Italian Slaughterhouses.

Recently worldwide food safety authorities indicated the rise of foodborne outbreaks linked to Salmonella: this highlighted the need to intensify monitoring and apply more targeted controls to help manage the spread of the disease. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence and distribution of Salmonella serotypes in 7 slaughterhouses, located in different areas of Naples province (Regione Campania, Italy). Meat samples collected from the slaughterhouses were submitted for standardized microbiological analysis in 2015.

Dissecting a QTL into Candidate Genes Highlighted the Key Role of Pectinesterases in Regulating the Ascorbic Acid Content in Tomato Fruit.

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is a crucial component of the human diet because of its high nutritional value and the antioxidant content of its fruit. As a member of the Solanaceae family, it is considered a model species for genomic studies in this family, especially since its genome has been completely sequenced. Among genomic resources available, Solanum pennellii introgression lines represent a valuable tool to mine the genetic diversity present in wild species.

Comparison between 2 methods of solid-liquid extraction for the production of Cinchona calisaya elixir: an experimental kinetics and numerical modeling approach.

The purpose of this study is to compare the extraction process for the production of China elixir starting from the same vegetable mixture, as performed by conventional maceration or a cyclically pressurized extraction process (rapid solid-liquid dynamic extraction) using the Naviglio Extractor. Dry residue was used as a marker for the kinetics of the extraction process because it was proportional to the amount of active principles extracted and, therefore, to their total concentration in the solution. UV spectra of the hydroalcoholic extracts allowed for the identification of the predominant chemical species in the extracts, while the organoleptic tests carried out on the final product provided an indication of the acceptance of the beverage and highlighted features that were not detectable by instrumental analytical techniques.

Phenolic compounds in fresh and dried figs from Cilento (Italy), by considering breba crop and full crop, in comparison to Turkish and Greek dried figs.

Unlabelled: Fresh and dried figs are important components of the Mediterranean diet. In Cilento (Southern Italy), figs belonging to cultivar "Dottato" are used for the production of "PDO Cilento white figs," as dried figs. In this article, we reported the characterization of the phenolic compounds in 19 fig samples: 9 fresh figs cultivar "Dottato" from Cilento (Italy), 10 dried fig samples from Cilento (2), Turkey (6), and Greece (2).

Characterization of bacteriocin-coated antimicrobial polyethylene films by atomic force microscopy.

Antimicrobial agents can be used to give antimicrobial properties to polymeric materials used to envelope foods for packaging purposes. In this study, we exploited an atomic force microscopy (AFM) analysis for the characterization of plastic films activated with antimicrobial agents. The aim was to acquire information on the distribution of the antimicrobials on plastic materials with the ultimate scope of understanding the mechanisms of interaction between antimicrobials and materials to be used for food packaging.