University of Lleida

About: University of Lleida is a education organization based out in Lleida, Spain. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Pregnancy. The organization has 2939 authors who have published 5853 publications receiving 148417 citations. The organization is also known as: Escola Superior Politècnica & Universitat de Lleida.

Evaluation of an electronic nose to assess fruit ripeness

Abstract: The main goal of our study was to see whether an artificial olfactory system can be used as a nondestructive instrument to measure fruit maturity. In order to make an objective comparison, samples measured with our electronic nose prototype were later characterized using fruit quality techniques. The cultivars chosen for the study were peaches, nectarines, apples, and pears. With peaches and nectarines, a PCA analysis on the electronic nose measurements helped to guess optimal harvest dates that were in good agreement with the ones obtained with fruit quality techniques. A good correlation between sensor signals and some fruit quality indicators was also found. With pears, the study addressed the possibility of classifying samples regarding their ripeness state after different cold storage and shelf-life periods. A PCA analysis showed good separation between samples measured after a shelf-life period of seven days and samples with four or less days. Finally, the electronic nose monitored the shelf-life ripening of apples. A good correlation between electronic nose signals and firmness, starch index, and acidity parameters was found. These results prove that electronic noses have the potential of becoming a reliable instrument to assess fruit ripeness.

Forty percent methionine restriction decreases mitochondrial oxygen radical production and leak at complex I during forward electron flow and lowers oxidative damage to proteins and mitochondrial DNA in rat kidney and brain mitochondria.

Abstract: Eighty percent dietary methionine restriction (MetR) in rodents (without calorie restriction), like dietary restriction (DR), increases maximum longevity and strongly decreases mitochondri...

Climate-related variability in carbon and oxygen stable isotopes among populations of Aleppo pine grown in common-garden tests

Abstract: The Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis Mill) is found in the Mediterranean under a broad range of moisture and thermal conditions Differences in severity and duration of water stress among native habitats may act as selective forces shaping the populations’ genetic make-up in terms of contrasting drought strategies We hypothesised that these strategies should translate into intraspecific variation in carbon isotope composition (δ13C, surrogate of intrinsic water-use efficiency, WUEi) of wood holocellulose, and such variation might be linked to changes in oxygen isotope composition (δ18O, proxy of stomatal conductance) and to some climatic features at origin Thus, we evaluated δ13C, δ18O, growth and survival for 25 Aleppo pine populations covering its geographic range and grown in two common-garden tests We found intraspecific variability for δ13C and growth, with high-WUEi populations (which showed 18O-enriched holocellulose) having low growth These results suggest stomatal regulation as common control for δ13C and productivity We also detected sizeable relationships between δ13C and climate factors related to the magnitude and timing of drought such as the ratio of summer to annual rainfall The main climate variable associated with δ18O was minimum temperature, but only in the coldest trial, suggesting differences in growth rhythms among sources Overall, slow growing populations from highly-seasonal dry areas of the western Mediterranean exhibited a conservative water-use, as opposed to fast growing sources from the northernmost distribution range The particular behaviour of the Mediterranean Aleppo pine as compared with other conifers demonstrates different selective roles of climate variables in determining intraspecific fitness