Impact of controlled atmosphere storage conditions on storability and consumer acceptability of sweet cherries ‘Regina’

Summary

Sweet cherries obtained from a rain-protected orchard were subjected to various controlled atmosphere storage conditions for up to seven weeks. Quality parameters responded differentially to various CA-conditions: changes in fruit firmness, sugar content and colour were mostly not significant. However, the storage conditions exerted significant impact on other parameters such as respiration rate, RQ, ATP- and ADP-concentrations. Air-stored fruits respired at significant higher rates than CA or ultra low oxygen-stored fruits. Moreover, the impact of CA-storage conditions persisted even after a conditioning period of 36 h at room temperature. The ATP and ADP concentrations of sweet cherries behaved similarly, where a combination of reduced O₂ and very high CO₂ concentration (12% or above) resulted in highly reduced ATP-concentration in the fruit tissue. A taste panel considered fruits stored under 6% CO₂ + 2% O₂ as good, although there was a strong indication that it is better to store sweet cherries for a limited time (up to five weeks) under a low O₂ concentration combined with a high CO₂ concentration (12%) or under a high O² concentration combined with a very high CO₂ (18%).     

A double-blinded placebo-controlled evaluation of adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells in treatment of canine atopic dermatitis

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have emerged as a new therapy for various immune-mediated inflammatory diseases. In this study we perform the first double-blinded, placebo-controlled evaluation of the efficacy of adipose-derived allogenic canine MSCs for the treatment of canine atopic dermatitis (cAD). Enrolled canine patients were randomly divided into placebo (PBS saline), low-dose (5?×?10⁵ cells/kg), and high-dose (5?×?10⁶ cells/kg) treatment groups. Each patient received three subcutaneous MSCs treatments or PBS saline at four-week intervals with injections at five sites. Patients were monitored by physical exams, pruritus visual analog scales (PVAS) signed by the primary caretaker, canine atopic dermatitis extent and severity index-4 (CADESI-4) scores by two veterinarians, and complete blood count and serum chemistry analysis along with laboratory analysis for potential biomarkers. Patients were kept off any immune-modulating drugs during the study period, and oral antibiotics and topicals were used for managing pruritus and secondary infections. The PVAS scores and the serum miR-483 levels were significantly lower in the high dose group compared to the placebo group at day90 post first-treatment. The CADESI-4 scores of the high dose group also showed downward trends. No severe adverse effects were observed in any patient in this study. The high dose MSC treatment is efficacious in alleviating the clinical signs of cAD until 30 days after the last subcutaneous administration of MSCs, and miRNA-483 may be a reliable prognostic biomarker for cAD. The MSCs efficacy and potential biomarkers should be further explored by a larger scale clinical trial.

     

Molecular analysis of softening and ethylene synthesis and signaling pathways in a non-softening apple cultivar, ‘Honeycrisp’ and a rapidly softening cultivar, ‘McIntosh’

A feature of ‘Honeycrisp’ apples [Malus sylvestris (L.) Mill var. domestica (Borkh.) Mansf.] is that they maintain flesh firmness over extended storage. The objective of this study was to elucidate molecular mechanisms that are responsible for slow softening of ‘Honeycrisp’ as compared with a rapidly softening cultivar, ‘McIntosh’. Fruit from both cultivars were picked during the normal harvest period and stored at 20 °C for 10 d. Internal ethylene concentrations (IECs) in ‘Honeycrisp’ fruit were lower than in ‘McIntosh’, but at climacteric levels of ethylene ‘Honeycrisp’ fruit maintained their firmness over this period, while ‘McIntosh’ softened rapidly. Concentrations of the ethylene precursor 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) were higher in ‘Honeycrisp’ than in ‘McIntosh’ apples. qRT-PCR analysis was carried out for genes involved in ethylene biosynthesis, perception and signaling [ACC synthase (MdACS); ACC oxidase (MdACO); ethylene receptors (MdETR and MdERS); constitutive triple response (MdCTR); ethylene response factor (MdERF)], as well as those involved in cell wall metabolism [polygalacturonase (MdPG); xyloglucan endotransglucosylase (MdXTH); expansin (MdEXP); β-galactosidase (Md β-GS); arabinofuranosidase (MdAFase); pectate lyase (MdPL)]. At comparable IECs, the expression of genes involved in ethylene synthesis, ethylene perception and signal transduction was generally much higher in ‘Honeycrisp’ than in ‘McIntosh’ fruit. However, the expression of MdAFase and MdEXP3 was generally lower in ‘Honeycrisp’ than in ‘McIntosh’, while that of MdPG and MdPL was extremely low in ‘Honeycrisp’. Expression of MdPG1 was very low, even though IECs were at climacteric levels. Absence of fruit softening in ‘Honeycrisp’ is probably associated with restricted cell wall enzyme activity. The lower maximum IECs found in ‘Honeycrisp’ compared with ‘McIntosh’ do not appear to be related to expression of genes involved in ethylene biosynthesis.     

Variation among pregnant, non-lactating dairy cows in eating and ruminating behaviour, digestibility and voluntary intake of hay

The variation between non-lactating British Friesian cows in eating and ruminating pattern, digestibility and voluntary intake of hay were measured about 4 weeks before calving. Among fourteen of the cows the daily duration of eating ranged from 214 to 462 min and rumination from 410 to 599 min with CV of 20 and 14 respectively. Daily hay intake varied between cows from 5.93 to 11.18 kg dry matter (DM) with a CV of 14. The mean digestibility coefficient of organic matter measured in nineteen cows was 0.57 ± 0.014 s.d. and of cellulose 0.70 ± 0.013 s.d. Intake of hay and cellulose digestibility were correlated (r = 0.51, P <0.05). There was a positive correlation between hay intake and duration of eating (r=0.64, P <0.01) but not between intake of hay and rate of eating. Daily time spent ruminating per kg hay DM eaten was negatively correlated with hay intake (r = 0.66, P <0.01). It is concluded that variation between cows in chewing time and in digestibility of cellulose may be important factors related to variation between cows in voluntary intake of hay.     

Entangling the spatial properties of laser beams

Position and momentum were the first pair of conjugate observables explicitly used to illustrate the intricacy of quantum mechanics. We have extended position and momentum entanglement to bright optical beams. Applications in optical metrology and interferometry require the continuous measurement of laser beams, with the accuracy fundamentally limited by the uncertainty principle. Techniques based on spatial entanglement of the beams could overcome this limit, and high-quality entanglement is required. We report a value of 0.51 for inseparability and 0.62 for the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen criterion, both normalized to a classical limit of 1. These results are a conclusive optical demonstration of macroscopic position and momentum quantum entanglement and also confirm that the resources for spatial multimode protocols are available.     

Einfluss verschiedener Lagerbedingungen auf Haltbarkeit und Fruchtqualität von Heidelbeeren der Sorte ‘Bluecrop’

Blueberries cv. ‘Bluecrop’ were harvested and stored on the same day at 0?±? 0.5?°C on various controlled atmosphere (CA) conditions, which involve two oxygen concentrations (18% and 2% O₂) combined with four CO₂-concentrations (6%, 12%, 18%, and 24%). Cold storage in normal air represented ‘control’ treatment. After seven weeks in store, it was obvious that increasing CO₂-concentration led to a significat lower decay incidence. Furthermore, lowering O₂-concentration, in combination with 12% and 18% CO₂, led to a further reduction in decay incidence. Moderate CO₂-concentration to 6% was of no advantage compared to cold-stored fruits. However, it was also obvious that increasing CO₂-concentration, in particular above 12%, accelerated the softening of berries, compared to berries stored under control or 6% CO₂ + 2% O₂. Changes and differences in the total soluble solids values (～ sugar content) were non-significant between the treatments, whereas significant differences in the titritable acidity (TA) were observed. At harvest time, the TA value was already high, and increased steadily, in particular with berries stored under moderate (6–12%) CO₂-concentrations. Differences in the external quality, which was evaluated by a taste panel, between various CA-storage conditions were also non-significant, whereas major significant differences were assessed in respect to internal quality. All storage conditions with 18% and 24% CO₂, irrespective of O₂-concentration, received bad evaluation, mainly due to off-flavour. In contrast, berries stored under 12% CO₂, but without lowering O₂-concentration, were perceived as good, whereas berries stored under the same CO₂-concentration, but with a lowered O₂-concentration, were scored as fruits of medium quality. In conclusion, it is possible to store blueberries cv. ‘Bluecrop’ up to six weeks under 12% CO₂-concentration, but without any reduction in O₂-concentration, which will guarantee the preservation of the fruit firmness, combined with low decay incidence level and the absence of off-flavour and off-taste.     

Characterization of blueberry monodehydroascorbate reductase gene and changes in levels of ascorbic acid and the antioxidative capacity of water soluble antioxidants upon storage of fruits under various conditions

Blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum) is among the richest fruits in ascorbic acid (AA), which is the most important antioxidant involved in the ascorbate–glutathione cycle. In this cycle monodehydroascorbate reductase (MDAR) is the enzymatic component involved in the regeneration of reduced ascorbate. Here we report on the isolation of a full-length cDNA from blueberry encoding a protein of 433 amino acids homologous to the MDARs of Pisum sativum and Vitis vinifera. To assess changes in the expression of blueberry MDAR after harvest, a storage trial was initiated, and the major results were: (1) A dramatic loss in AA occurred under all storage conditions. However, storing fruit under low O₂, combined with high CO₂ level (up to 18%) resulted in better preservation of AA. (2) The antioxidative capacity of water soluble antioxidants (ACW) decreased under all storage conditions, even after 3 weeks storage time, and decreasing O₂ levels did not result in preservation of the ACW. The northern blot hybridization showed a clear differential expression between freshly harvested and stored fruits as well as between fruits stored under various storage condition, in accordance with the above-mentioned changes.