Barbara Campisi

Stereospecific analysis of the triacylglycerol fraction and linear discriminant analysis in a climatic differentiation of umbrian extra-virgin olive oils

Abstract Stereospecific analysis of the triacylglycerol fraction is an important tool for the characterisation of extra-virgin olive oils. The composition in the sn-1, sn-2 and sn-3 positions of triacylglycerols of extra-virgin olive oils produced in years 1992–1994 in areas characterised by increasing environmental severity (groups 1 and 2, respectively) is considered. This analytical method is based on chromatographic techniques, coupled with enzymatic ones. Linear discriminant analysis (LDA) has been applied successively for the differentiation and classification of the two groups for each year according to the positional distribution of fatty acids (palmitic, palmitoleic, stearic, oleic and linoleic acids) in the glycerol backbone. Even though the data were not very numerous, LDA has allowed a partial or total separation of scores along the discriminant eigenvector according to the climatic groups.

Chemometric studies on minor and trace elements in cow's milk

Abstract In raw milk nine minor and trace elements (Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Mo, Cd and Pb) were determined in the dissolved ash by means of atomic absorption spectrometry and electrothermal atomization in a graphite furnace. The application of linear principal component analysis to the data matrix has permitted the reduction of the number of variables to four principal components accounting for 74% of the total variability. The two-dimensional plot of the scores (the milk samples) for the first principal components has pointed out a differentiation according to the two kinds of cows feeding. Successively, the technique of linear discriminant analysis has fully confirmed the separation between the two types of milk.

Terrigenous debris and mussel pollution — a differentiation based on trace element concentration by means of multivariate analysis

Abstract The total content of nine trace elements (Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, Hg and Pb) of the soft edible part of mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis Lamarck) sampled in two different sites was considered. The first sampling site was located at the extremity of a pier near the sewage of Trieste in a polluted area of the Muggia Bay (Gulf of Trieste in the Northern Adriatic Sea), whereas unpolluted mussels were simultaneously sampled in the second one, i.e. a hatchery just off the southern extremity of the bay. The sampling was extended over a year and occurred with a frequency of nearly ten days. Both mussel groups had an equal sample numerosity (n1=n2=43) and standard atomic absorption methods were used for all the trace elements. Linear discriminant analysis (LDA) was applied to this two-group sampling in order to test a possible differentiation between the polluted and unpolluted mussels. LDA gave in this two-group sampling a nearly complete separation of scores, whereas the bidimensional and tridimensional score plots, obtained by means of linear principal component analysis (LPCA), gave a certain degree of entanglement. The detrital origin of pollutants is also discussed.

Chemometric analysis and extraction processes of mandarin essential oils

Abstract The comparison of Italian mandarin essential oils obtained by means of two different extraction procedures is considered here. Capillary gas chromatography with flame ionization detection was applied to the separation of essential oils sampled in the period October 1982–January 1983. The raw data matrix consisted in total of N = 55 observations, representing samples obtained by pressing (n1 = 42) and peeling (n2 = 13), on p = 17 baseline separated volatile components. In a exploratively approach the data have been first examined by principal factor analysis (PFA); successively, two methods of linear discriminant analysis (LDA) have been applied, discussed and compared. While PFA could not permit an unequivocal discrimination between mandarin essential oils extracted by different technologies, both discriminant methods have given a complete separation.

The European Ecolabel in the Tourist Sector: An Analysis of the Italian Experience of Mountain Huts

In tourism and hospitality service industry numerous are the voluntary eco-labels that have been developed by individual companies, industry associations, voluntary organizations and government agencies. Their scopes can range from single villages to worldwide or from single activities to entire destinations; and they may include voluntary codes, awards, accreditation and certification schemes. However, the eco-labels are a controversial topic in tourism as the degree to which they affect tourists’ planning processes and corporate environmental performance is largely unknown. This chapter mainly addresses the perception issue about the main difficulties and advantages driven by the adoption of the voluntary scheme based on the EU Ecolabel Regulation for the environmental certification of the product group ‘tourist accommodation service’. In particular, here are presented the first results of a preliminary study carried out in a specific context: the mountain huts.

Spray-congealed solid lipid microparticles as a new tool for the controlled release of bisphosphonates from a calcium phosphate bone cement

Graphical abstract Figure. No Caption available. Abstract The aim of this work was to develop an innovative drug delivery system potentially useful for the local delivery of Bisphosphonates to bone tissue. We propose the use of Solid Lipid Microparticles (MPs), up to now mainly used for oral and topical drug delivery, as carrier for bisphosphonates due to the favourable biocompatibility and lower toxicity of the lipids compared with many polymers. The delivery platform consisted of a biomimetic &agr;‐tricalcium phosphate‐gelatin cement (CPC) enriched with alendronate loaded MPs (MPs‐AL) produced by the spray congealing technology. Alendronate direct addition to cement composition is limited since Alendronate is able to sequester calcium from calcium phosphates, thus preventing the setting of the cements. At variance, this approach permitted to load a relatively high amount of the drug on the CPC and allowed the controlled release of the highly water soluble alendronate. A Design of Experiment (DoE) was employed for the screening of the effects of the formulation variables related to the presence of unloaded microparticle (MPs) on the cement most important mechanical properties. Then, MPs loaded with 10% w/w of alendronate were produced using five different carriers (Stearic Acid, Stearilic Alcohol, Cutina HR, Tristearin and Precirol ATO5). All MPs‐AL exhibited a spherical shape, encapsulation efficiency higher than 90% and prevalent particle size ranging from 100 to 150 &mgr;m. Solid state characterization (DSC, HSM and X‐ray powder diffraction) demonstrated that encapsulation of alendronate into MPs did not alter its crystal structure. MPs‐AL addition to the cement provoked a modest lengthening of the setting times and of the hardening reaction leading to the complete transformation of &agr;‐tricalcium phosphate into calcium‐deficient hydroxyapatite, without significantly affect the cement mechanical properties. Moreover, the results of in vitro AL release study performed on cements enriched with MPs‐AL showed that the system allows a controlled release of the drug over time.

Quality and Safety in Commercial Baby Foods

Nutrient-rich baby foods are required with particularly high standards of quality and safety expressed through product specifications or attributes. These foods are generally subjected to thermal processes that could involve a reduction of essential elements, as well as in the formation of potentially harmful molecules. This paper aimed at detecting the presence, in some baby foods, of compounds derived from Maillard reactions, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) and total Maillard Reaction Products (MRPs), as well as at evaluating the hypothetical levels of HMF daily intake by infants and children fed with the tested products. Baby food samples included milk powders, lyophilized meat-based foods, powdered creams based on cereals, homogenized jarred foods based on processed cheese, fish, vegetables, and meat. As far as the healthiness of the tested foods is concerned, significant quantities of total MRPs were found. The lyophilized meat-based foods samples showed the highest levels of total MRPs. At 380 nm, all the samples exceeded the total MRPs concentration of 1000 mg/100g. The analysis revealed the presence of HMF in all the samples under study. However, none of the samples exceeded the threshold concentration of 20 mg/Kg. The highest values were recorded for the category of lyophilized meat-based foods and for a sample of homogenized veal-based food. The results for the hypothetical daily levels of HMF intake by babies showed that, for the age group over 12 months, a value of 3.6 mg was reached. The largest percentage contribution was imputable to the homogenized jarred foods based on proteins and vegetables.

Improvement of Cellulose Hydrolysis Process and Cost Savings

The hydrolysis process to obtain the so-called “reducing sugars” represents the main step involved in the production of the second generation bioethanol. This product can be obtained directly from various types of green biomass, replacing the use of cereals cultivations, with obvious benefits to the environment and the economy of agricultural production. However, it is necessary to improve the hydrolysis process of the cellulose to achieve this goal. To this purpose, we applied a chemical process formerly used. The values of sugars yield were increased by about 40% with respect to the previous study. Further significant cost savings were accomplished, resulting from the recovery of the by-product, calcium sulfate, commercially known as gypsum.