Targeted metabolomics study of ‘Braeburn’ apples during long-term storage

‘Braeburn’ is an apple cultivar susceptible to the occurrence of internal browning (Braeburn Browning Disorder; BBD) during storage. This physiological disorder is characterized by the development of brown spots inside the fruit, eventually resulting in the formation of cavities. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of the preharvest application of calcium, potassium and triazole fungicides on the postharvest primary metabolites of ‘Braeburn’ fruit, and to offer a better understanding of the biochemical processes behind internal browning. The primary metabolites of ‘Braeburn’ fruit cortex samples at harvest and after 2 weeks, 4 weeks, 4 months and 8 months of storage at browning-inducing conditions were analyzed using GC–MS. No significant difference in the primary metabolites was observed between the different levels of the applied preharvest applications. Early during storage, fruit developed browning, with the severity increasing with storage duration. This was correlated with a group of primary metabolites that showed either an increase (e.g., alanine, galactose, mannitol, sorbitol, xylose) or a decrease (e.g., malate, sucrose) in concentration with time. Radial distribution of the metabolites in the fruit tissue was also observed; some metabolites (e.g., galactose, mannitol) were higher in concentration in the inner cortex, while the concentrations of other metabolites (e.g., mannose, sucrose) were higher in the outer cortex.     

Involvement of ethylene in browning development of controlled atmosphere-stored ‘Empire’ apple fruit

‘Empire’ apples [Malus sylvestris (L.) Mill var. domestica (Borkh.) Mansf.] are susceptible to development of chilling injury, expressed as firm flesh browning, during controlled atmosphere (CA) storage. Because of this susceptibility, fruit are typically stored at 2–4 °C, but the incidence of flesh browning can be increased by 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) treatment at these temperatures. In this study, flesh browning development has been investigated in relationship to ethylene production, internal ethylene concentration (IEC), flesh firmness, total phenolic concentrations, and the activities of polyphenol oxidase (PPO) and peroxidase (POX) in the flesh tissues. Fruit were harvested from two orchards, either untreated or 1-MCP treated, and then stored under CA conditions at either 0.5 or 4 °C. Fruit were removed from storage at 1.5-month intervals for 10.5 months. 1-MCP treated apples were firmer than those of untreated apples, and had lower IECs, at all removals. Flesh browning incidence and severity developed earlier in 1-MCP-treated apples than untreated apples stored at either temperature. Total phenolic concentrations differed by orchard, but no major differences in concentrations were detected between untreated and 1-MCP treated apples. However, PPO activities were higher in the flesh of 1-MCP treated apples than untreated apples from both orchards and at both storage temperatures. POX activity was not consistently affected by 1-MCP treatment or storage temperature. Overall, our results suggest that inhibited ethylene production, either as a result of storage at 0.5 °C, or by treatment with 1-MCP at either temperature, may cause stress and damage to cells and result in higher PPO activity that leads to progressive flesh browning development during CA storage.     

Assessment of tissue culture-derived ‘Gala’ and ‘Royal Gala’ apples (Malus × domestica Borkh.) for somaclonal variation

To assess somaclonal variation, ‘Gala’ and ‘Royal Gala’ trees obtained via axillary and adventitious bud formation were compared ex vitro to conventionally grafted trees. In general, tissue culture-derived trees were relatively erect in comparison to grafted trees. Their branch angles were narrower than those of grafted trees. All trees that flowered had pink blossoms. There were no obvious differences in flowering time or in floral morphology. Most of the seven-year-old grafted control trees produced more fruits than either axillary or regenerated trees. Although there were differences in the range of fruit color between ‘Royal Gala’ and ‘Gala’ apples in both the control and tissue culture-derived plants (the fruits of ‘Royal Gala’ were darker red and more striped than those of ‘Gala’) and also in the degree of pigmentation from tree-to-tree, none of the variation exceeded that observed among apples harvested from an individual ‘Royal Gala’ or ‘Gala’ control tree for either the plants derived from axillary buds or adventitiously. Since both ‘Gala’ and ‘Royal Gala’ axillary buds showed very little somaclonal variation for the morphological and reproductive traits we studied, it appears that tissue culture may be a useful way to propagate these cultivars. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The inheritance of thornlessness from tissue culture-derived ‘Thornless evergreen’ blackberry

Summary Thornless Evergreen (TE) blackberry (Rubus laciniatus Willd.) is a tetraploid thornless periclinal chimera which produces thorny adventitious root suckers and breeds as if it were genetically thorny. Using tissue culture procedure, several pure thornless (non-chimeral) plants were obtained from TE. These tissue cultured-derived plants (TE_tc) were grown to maturity, flowered, hybridised with various thorny and thornless cultivars, and selfed. When TE and TE_tc were used as female parents, a high degree (ca 94%) of the seedlings were apomictic. However, both thorny and thornless sexual offspring occurred in all crosses. The thornless: thorny segregation ratios suggest that the thornless gene(s) of TE_tc is (are) dominant to the thorny alleles.     

Cytokinin and gibberellin delay regreening of spathe tissue of Zantedeschia ‘Best Gold’

Spathe regreening is a primary determinant limiting the postharvest quality for most hybrids of Zantedeschia, e.g. ‘Best Gold’, wherein the spathe commences regreening approximately two days after it is fully open. To identify an effective method to postpone the regreening, several synthetic plant hormones were evaluated for their influence on changes in color during regreening of discs excised from the spathe of ‘Best Gold’. The tested synthetic plant hormones included 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP), zeatin, N₁-(2-chloro-4-pyridyl)-N₃-phenylurea (CPPU) and GA₃ at concentrations up to 0.1 mM. A concentration of BAP at 0.5 mM resulted in phytotoxicity symptoms on discs. Subsequently, the effect of a combination of BAP and GA₃ on the regreening was examined. Application of the cytokinins (in particular BAP at 0.1 mM) or GA₃ alone resulted in a one to five day delay in regreening on the spathe tissue. The most effective treatment in delaying regreening was from the simultaneous application of GA₃ and BAP in a ratio of 1:1 (v:v) at 0.1 mM, wherein regreening was delayed for more than ten days. This treatment was then tested on the entire inflorescence, resulting in a delay in regreening for between seven and eight days.     

Dynamics of ascorbic acid in ‘Braeburn’ and ‘Gala’ apples during on-tree development and storage in atmospheres conducive to internal browning development

The underlying causes as well as chemical and biochemical alleviation for CO₂-induced browning in apple fruit are poorly understood. Ascorbic acid (AsA) dynamics in ‘Braeburn,’ a susceptible cultivar, and ‘Gala’, a resistant cultivar, were evaluated during on-tree development and storage at 0.5 °C in air or controlled atmospheres (CA) containing 1 kPa O₂ and 1, 3 or 5 kPa CO₂. ‘Braeburn’ fruit treated with diphenylamine (DPA) was also stored for 1 month to determine effects on browning incidence and AsA concentration. ‘Braeburn’ apples had significantly higher (p ≤ 0.05) AsA levels than ‘Gala’ during on-tree development, and storage. No correlation between AsA and maturity/ripening indices for ‘Braeburn’ or ‘Gala’ was apparent. Histochemical localization of fruit AsA showed a staining intensity consistent with the quantity analytically determined, and showed that AsA is diffusely distributed throughout the cortex in both cultivars during on-tree development. During storage, AsA was localized to the periphery of brown tissue in ‘Braeburn’ and to the coreline and cortex proximal to the peel in ‘Braeburn’ and ‘Gala’ tissues. DPA decreased browning development during storage, however, no correlation between DPA treatment and AsA quantity in healthy or brown cortex tissue was observed. The results indicate AsA quantity alone is not an indicator of CO₂ sensitivity in these two cultivars.     

Application of BP NN for Engine Modeling

The Neural Network(NN) is widely applied to many fields for its unique structure and the method of managing information. The basal concept of the NN and the applied method in the field of engine engineering are introduced. Furthermore, a unique NN structure is also established for the output torque of JL474Q1 engine. It affords the theory base to find the best matching strategy between engine and the transmission system of vehicle.     

Application of optical coherence tomography to non-destructively characterise rind breakdown disorder of ‘Nules Clementine’ mandarins

The feasibility of optical coherence tomography (OCT) for imaging histological changes associated with the development of a progressive rind breakdown (RBD) disorder of ‘Nules Clementine’ mandarin (Citrus reticulate Blanco.) was investigated. The investigation utilised fruit with different levels of the disorder, carefully selected from a batch of fruit stored for eight weeks at 8 ± 0.5 °C. Images of healthy and RBD-affected intact mandarin fruit were acquired using a Thorlabs OCT system based on a broadband 930 nm source. OCT provided high resolution 2D images of fruit rind to a depth of about 1.1 mm. Immediate and non-destructive acquisition of images showing histological and microstructural features in intact rind tissues was demonstrated. The oil glands stayed intact in unaffected fruit and gradually collapsed in RBD affected fruit. At advanced stages of the disorder, the collapsed oil glands became increasingly deformed and flattened. The study showed that OCT is a promising technique for immediate, real-time and non-destructive acquisition of images showing histological and microstructural rind features of ‘Nules Clementine’ mandarin fruit.     

Variation for plant characters and for performance of softwood cuttings of Rosa canina ‘Inermis’ seedlings

Summary Thirty, one-season-old Rosa canina Inermis seedlings (8–12 mm in diameter) were grown in the greenhouse. After 5 months, single-node softwood cuttings were made of each plant. Analysis of variance demonstrated marked differences between the internode length, number of leaflets per leaf and the leaf area of the original seedling, and between the time of axillary bud-break, axillary sprout length and weight of adventitious roots of their 23-day-old cuttings. Clonal root weight of cuttings was highly significantly correlated with: number of leaflets per leaf (r=–0.65), leaf area (r=+0.65), and days to axillary bud-break (r=+0.62). The origin of heterogeneity among Inermis seedling rootstocks, its probable effect on the flower production of cut roses and its possible use in the selection for clonal rootstocks are discussed.     

Integrated ethylene and temperature conditioning for induction of ripening capacity in ‘Anjou’ and ‘Comice’ pears

‘Anjou’ and ‘Comice’ pears from three harvest dates were conditioned to develop ripening capacity by exposure to 100 μL L⁻¹ ethylene at 20 °C for 0, 24, 48, or 72 h, followed by varying durations of temperature conditioning at −0.5 or 10 °C. Ripening capacity was tested by measuring fruit firmness after 7 d at 20 °C after completion of conditioning treatments. Fruit firmness was also measured after conditioning but before ripening, and was designated “shipping firmness”, indicative of the potential for the fruit to withstand transport conditions without physical injury. Ripening capacity in both cultivars developed more rapidly with later harvest date, increasing duration of ethylene conditioning, and increasing duration of temperature conditioning. Ripening capacity developed much more rapidly at 10 °C than at −0.5 °C. Useful durations of temperature conditioning at 10 °C were limited by fruit softening below acceptable values of shipping firmness. However, sequential combinations of ethylene and temperature conditioning at both −0.5 and 10 °C were identified wherein post-conditioning shipping firmness was acceptable.     

The Application of Electronic Standby Control for Car

Aiming at the limitation of traditional electronic standby control mode for car, a new type electronic standby control mode for car based on Profibus-DP is probed. With the mode, only an ECU is needed to achieve the whole systemic standby control. The standby control mode, the system function, the rules achieving Profibus-DP slave station and the design scheme of software and hardware are discussed. The feasibility and reliability for the mode are verified through the results of experiments.     

Resolvent and Application of Policy Control for QoS

With the rapid increase of the Internet user and widely application of Web,the current network technology is facing great challenge. More and more multimedia operations occupy plenty of bandwidth,and result in the network congestion. Therefore,people begin to use QoS to utilize the bandwidth effectively,and ensure the transport of the emergent operation data. The paper introduces the protocols and basic components of QoS,then expatiates the conception and the basic principles of policy control QoS, moreover,emphasizes the structure model of policy control QoS and how it runs. At last,it introduces the transport process of data packets under the control of policies in a policy control QoS system,and how to make the policies in the real world.     

Antioxidant levels in watercore tissue in ‘Fuji’ apples during storage

Watercore usually spreads in mature ‘Fuji’ apples and may induce flesh browning disorders through unknown mechanisms. We analyzed H₂O₂ and ascorbic acid (AA) contents and the activities of four enzymes involved in the AA–glutathione (AA–GSH) cycle in watercore and watercore-free tissues in ‘Fuji’ apple fruit during storage. H₂O₂ levels always were higher in watercore than in watercore-free tissues. AA levels were lower in watercore tissues at harvest and decreased in both tissue types during the storage period. However, AA was completely absent from watercore tissue but not watercore-free tissue three months after harvest. Ascorbate peroxidase (APX) activities were always higher in watercore than in watercore-free tissues, and the activities of dehydroascorbate reductase (DHAR) decreased continuously after harvest in both tissue types. These results suggested that higher production of H₂O₂ caused by anaerobic conditions in watercore activated APX which acted as a redox signal; the concomitant net consumption of AA was not balanced by the decline of DHAR activity, leading to decreased antioxidant levels. On the other hand, the gradual increases in monodehydroascorbate reductase (MDAR) and glutathione reductase (GR) activity observed during storage accompanied by low AA levels and DHAR activity might indicate a declining efficiency of the AA–GSH cycle.     

Use of equilibrium modified atmosphere packaging for preservation of ‘San Antonio’ and ‘Banane’ breba crops (Ficus carica L.)

The purpose of this work was to study the effect of equilibrium modified atmosphere packaging on the stability of ‘San Antonio’ and ‘Banane’ breba fruit during postharvest cold storage by the use of three different microperforated films (1/50 mm, 1/30 mm, and 1/10 mm; ø = 100 μm). Gas composition in the wraps, weight loss, % disorder, and microbial counts were monitored during cold storage for 21 days. The tested microperforated films allowed the extension of cold storage time for brebas, minimizing weight loss and delaying the disorders due to fungal proliferation, especially M50 (1/50 mm). Total soluble solids (TSS), titratable acidity (TA), pH, firmness, and sensory quality were also evaluated. Among the tested microperforated films, M50 showed the best performance in terms of delaying physicochemical senescence processes of fruit. The breba cultivar had an important impact on the extension of cold storage. For ‘San Antonio’ and ‘Banane’ cultivars packaged with microperforated M50, the optimal time of cold storage was 14 and 21 days, respectively.     

Modified atmosphere packaging for extending the storage life of ‘Fuyu’ persimmon

Persimmon production in Brazil is concentrated from February to June. The large amount of this fruit available in the market influences its price during this period. This study was carried out to evaluate the effect of different packaging plastic materials on extending the storage life of ‘Fuyu’ persimmons kept under refrigeration. ‘Fuyu’ persimmon fruits were harvested on the mature-green stage and enclosed in groups of three (750 ± 30 g) in different packaging materials: 58-μm multilayer polyolephynic film (PO); 50-μm low density polyethylene film (LDPE) and 38-μm microperforated PO. Unpacked fruit stored in corrugated cardboard boxes were used as control. Fruit were stored at 1 ± 1 °C/90 ± 5% RH for 90 d. Every 7 d, five replicates of each treatment were evaluated for headspace gas composition (O₂, CO₂) and then transferred to 25 ± 1 °C/70 ± 5% RH for five more days. Then they were evaluated as to headspace gas composition (O₂, CO₂, acetaldehyde and ethanol), firmness, weight loss, skin and flesh color, total soluble solids, titratable acidity, pH, decay, discoloration and sensory attributes. The gas composition in the steady-state established in the 58-μm PO and 50-μm LDPE films extended the storage period up to 84 d at 1 °C plus 5 d at 25 °C differing significantly (P ≤ 0.05) from the control fruit as well as from those in the 38-μm microperforated PO, which were stored for 21 and 28 d, respectively. Off-flavors were not detected by sensory analysis. These results suggest that the 58-μm PO and 50-μm LDPE films are suitable for atmosphere modification and packaging of ‘Fuyu’ persimmon fruit stored under refrigeration with an additional period of time at ambient temperature.     

The Application of Furry Decision for Generation Expansion Planning

Fuzzy decision was applied to the generation expansion planning and a method of fuzzy decision of generation expansion planning has been presented in this paper.     

Study of Direct Methanol Fuel Cell for Portable Application

A technique of fabrication of air electrode for direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC) is proposed. The investigated air electrode is free of Teflon- containing and with ultra- thin catalyst layer. Catalysts PtRu/C for methanol electroxidation is electrochemically deposited on a Nafion- bonded carbon electrode. A concept, that is, methanol is oxidized at a relatively high potential, is proposed. Such a fabricated DMFC is characterized with a high utilization of noble metals and basically eliminating CO poisoning in operation.