Development and characterization of ethanol-free spearmint essential oil nanoemulsion for food applications using the low energy technique

Different emulsifiable concentrates containing spearmint essential oil (SEO) were made and evaluated for their potential for giving ethanol-free nanoemulsion spontaneously upon dilution into water. Each one of these formulas had its specific composition regarding the type of excipients, surfactants, surfactant/SEO ratio and surfactant concentration. The results of this evaluation indicated that the chemical composition of SEO has a profound effect on the formation and physical stability of the nanoemulsion. The incorporation of excipients such as long chain triglyceride and propylene glycol into the emulsifiable concentrates at only 1.0% can lead to a stable nanoemulsion that resists Ostwald ripening. A particle size measurement showed that the diameter of SEO in the nanoemulsion was 28.2 nm and its nanostructure was maintained for 3 months. The application of a mixture of binary nonionic food-permitted surfactants enhanced the thermal stability of the nanoemulsion at up to 50 ᵒC. The developed ethanol-free SEO nanoemulsion has promising industrial applications in food and beverage flavoring.

[A brief history about the ALPI project]

[Conceived by the National Ringing Centre ISPRA and MUSE (Trento, formerly MTSN), the Alps Project was launched in 1997 in order to understand the post-breeding migration strategies of birds across the Italian Alps. The project is realized thanks to the support offered by MUSE and several institutions at a local scale, not to mention the collaboration of over one hundred ringers. In more than twenty years, 40 stations located in sites of passage (alpine and pre-alpine passes) and stop-over (valley floors and slopes) have taken part in the project, leading to a dataset of 666,471 ringed individuals and 191 species (as to 2017). After a first exploratory phase (1997-2002), in which the migration was investigated in its many aspects of specific composition and spatial-temporal variation, the project has been restricted to a smaller number of stations since 2007. Those stations are characterized by working in a standardized and continuous way during the whole period (August-November) or during the migration period of the intra-Palearctic species (end of September-October). In this paper we describe the aims, protocols and organizational aspects of the project, with a special focus on monitoring trends and changes in the long-term phenology. This ongoing project (2021) is part of the ISPRA national ringing plan to monitor bird migration across the country]. [Article in Italian]

Specific composition, numbers and biotopical distribution of snakes (Serpentes) on the southern slope of the Navagir mountain ridge (Abrau Peninsula) and some problems of its preservation

Seven species of snakes were revealed in 1997–1998, six of which (Natrix tessellata, N. natrix, Zamenis longissimus, Hierophis caspius, Platyceps najadum, and Elaphe sauromatus) were in the lower part of the slope, in the area of mediterranean vegetation. In 2001– 2003, the first three species were revealed only, and their numbers significantly decreased, reaching a maximum in the middle part of the slope, in the zone of transition from mediterranean vegetation to broad-leaved forests. In 1999–2000, the recreational load on the coastal area sharply rose, which probably was the cause for the species composition reduction and changes of the spatial distribution in snakes.

SCORING THE JOURNEY: LISTENING TO CLAUDIA MOLITOR'S SONORAMA

Sonorama is a 2015 sonic artwork by Claudia Molitor, consisting of a number of audio files designed for listening on a train journey between London St Pancras and Margate, and a graphic score based on the composer's own ‘reading’ of this journey. This article analyses the relationship between the sonic and the spatial in the work, exploring how Molitor's site-specific composition interacts with its environment on multiple scales. By drawing on the strategy of ‘situated listening’ developed by Gascia Ouzounian, as well as urbanist language introduced by Richard Sennett, this article seeks to elucidate the relationship between a number of ‘nested’ spaces, present across varying realisations, and the political agenda that energises the work. Written in the midst of summer 2015's European refugee crisis, the work brings into sharp focus themes of British exceptionalism, immigration and inclusion.

Development Trends of Joint Stock Companies

Joint-stock company is the pinnacle of development of organizational forms of functioning of private capital. Having emerged at a certain stage in the development of the market, a joint-stock company has become the leading form of concentration of private capital and the main source of their further growth including the form of citizens' money savings. The expansion of the size and circle of private capital owners, in turn, required further development of the specific composition of joint-stock companies, on the one hand, towards increasing their publicity and increasing the number of shareholders, and, on the other hand, in order to ensure the processes of the fastest, cheapest, complete and the relatively “safe” inclusion of small private savings in total equity. This revealed the specific process of the division of labor in the field of investment. Investment funds that specialized in "collecting" private savings for their investment in stakes in different companies have emerged, and professional financial intermediaries have developed in order to provide all the necessary services to ensure the process of mass investment in shares. Taken together, all these processes reflect the growth of the social character of modern private capital uniting in joint-stock companies and similar organizations. However, this process of growth of "socialization" of private capital has its own internal limit, which is that any form of pooling of private capital should not cease to be a source of growth of private capital and personal wealth of members of modern society.

The comparative analysis of some Hungarian and Moldovan wines: The promise of protected geographical indication

Hungary and Moldova are excelling in unique wines and alcoholic beverages that could qualify for the protected geographical indication (PGI) by emphasizing parameters attributable to the geographical area, production or processing methods. In this study, we have assessed some parameters of wine and brandy samples looking for specificities. The studied samples were of Moldovan and Hungarian Cabernet Sauvignon red wines, Hungarian Furmint white wines, and Moldovan wine distillate/brandy called Divin. The assessed samples were evaluated for: total polyphenol and flavonoid, ethanol, malic, citric, lactic, tartaric acids, reducing sugar, glycerol, carbon dioxide, total and free SO2 content as well as for total acidity, volatile acidity, pH, and wine density. Our results indicate that despite the relatively close geographical vicinity of Hungary and Moldova, the wines produced in the two countries have specific composition, antioxidant activity, and sensorial properties. Thus, the registration of such wines as PGI is clearly justified, and such a label itself does represent a competitive advantage worth promoting.

Larval Fish Community in the Northwestern Iberian Upwelling System during the Summer Period

The Galician shelf (northwestern Iberian Peninsula) is a highly dynamic area with an important multi-species fisheries industry that exploits resources from several habitats, characterized by being not only highly diverse, rich, and productive but also seasonally and interannually variable. Early life stages of different species are distributed throughout the year, with fluctuating abundances and community composition. Likewise, the influence of environmental factors and processes on larval production and survival remains unknown. Sampling was carried out in July 2012, and all the larvae obtained were identified to establish the specific composition of the community in a summer upwelling scenario. The results show no zonation in the species distribution, a consequence of the mixing effects of the upwelling and eddies, with high diversity but low abundance, which render in a slight predominance of a few species. Due to the dependence of planktonic populations on upwelling events, which was not highly pronounced in 2012, we cannot conclude that this was a typical conformation of the Galician summer larval fish community, but it is a first approach to comprehend the community composition.

Evolution of customs logistics technologies in Eurasian economic space

A retrospective study of the evolution of customs logistics technologies in the Eurasian economic space is carried out, taking into account the stages of development of integration processes. The specific composition and features of the application of special simplifications and logistics technologies for customs declaration of goods in the single customs territory of the Eurasian Economic Union are determined. The innovations of the institute of authorized economic operators in the Eurasian Economic Union are studied, their subject composition is characterized and the peculiarities of performing logistics operations in international supply chains are considered. Promising directions for the development of customs logistics technologies are being established, taking into account the digitalization of customs operations, the organization of customs control, and the transformation of the institute of authorized economic operators. The logistics technologies of customs declaration are identified (preliminary informing, preliminary customs declaration of goods, submission of an incomplete customs declaration, periodic customs declaration, release of goods before filing a customs declaration, temporary periodic customs declaration of goods, declaration of goods in unassembled or disassembled form, “remote release”, “dry port”, “remote payment of customs payments”). The technologies of customs logistics are highlighted, which can be used only by authorized economic operators-participants in foreign economic activity and / or logistics operators that meet the requirements for inclusion in the Register of Authorized Economic Operators. It is concluded that in the process of the evolutionary development of customs logistics in the Eurasian economic space, a new institute of logistics intermediaries is being formed.

Gene-specific features of tick-borne borreliosis in Russia

Aim. To study the gene-specific composition of Borrelia spp. in ixodid ticks inhabiting the foci of ixodid tick-borne borreliosis (ITBB) in the south of Western Siberia.Materials and Methods. The gene-specific composition of Borrelia spp. in ixodid ticks was determined by inoculation on a BSK-H nutrient medium, real-time polymerase chain reaction, and sequencing (1148 specimens of ixodid ticks collected from vegetation and 2183 specimens withdrawn from humans).Results. Infection of ticks with borrelia ranged from 22.4% in the Altai Republic to 56.9% in the Novosibirsk Region. There were no significant differences in the levels of Borrelia infection between two major ixodides, I. persulcatus and I. pavlovskiy (average infection levels 40.0% and 38.8%, respectively). At least five gene species of pathogenic Borrelia (B. garinii, B. afzelii, B. bavariensis, B. miyamotoi, and B. spielmanii) have been identified. The GenBank database contains 45 nucleotide sequences of the intergenic spacer rrf (5S)-rrl (23S). Prevalence of gene species B. garinii and B. afzelii in different ticks (I. persulcatus and I. pavlovskiy) did not differ significantly, yet B. garinii was found to be more frequent than B. afzelii. The frequency of infection of I. persulcatus ticks with B. miyamotoi was significantly (3.5-fold) as compared to those of B. garinii and B. afzelii. In D. reticulatus ticks, the DNA of B. spielmanii and B. miyamotoi was detected.Conclusion. It is necessary to continue studies to assess the role of the meadow ticks D. reticulatus in the circulation of different Borrelia spp. in various natural foci within the Russian Federation.

The scientometric analysis of scientific direction “Paleopedology“

The paper presents the scientometric analysis of the information array on paleopedology from the international databases of scientific citation Web of Science (Clarivate) and Scopus (Elsevier). The analysis results show the trends in the development of this research area over a fifty-year period and its positive dynamics; identify the countries the most actively studying paleosols, authors working successfully in this field and their affiliations, organizations financing scientific research on the topic, as well as frequently cited articles; name the language and specific composition of documents, periodicals with the greatest publication activity; demonstrates the thematic structure of documents in the information array according with the branches of knowledge (Scopus), research areas and subject categories (Web of Science). In addition, the information array on paleopedology was processed using the CiteSpace software, which is freely available to users and allows creating and analyzing co-citation networks based on information arrays selected from databases of scientific citation; it visualize the research field by building networks of document co-citation and term use, identifying research areas. The method of analyzing the document citation provides the network clusterization. By location of clusters labeled with terms from citing articles and symbolizing scientific trends, one can see how research on paleopedology has developed in the world. The results of the scientometric analysis can be useful for specialists in the field of paleopedology to optimize and coordinate research with leading experts and research centers dealing with this problem, as well as representatives of grant-giving organizations.