Assessment of Wine Adulteration Using Near Infrared Spectroscopy and Laser Backscattering Imaging

Food adulteration is in the focus of research due to its negative effect on safety and nutritional value and because of the demand for the protection of brands and regional origins. Portugieser and Sauvignon Blanc wines were selected for experiments. Samples were made by water dilution, the addition of sugar and then a combination of both. Near infrared (NIR) spectra were acquired in the range of 900–1700 nm. Partial least squares regression was performed to predict the adulteration level. The model including all wines and adulterations achieved a prediction error of 0.59% added sugar and 6.85% water dilution. Low-power laser modules were used to collect diffuse reflectance signals at wavelengths of 532, 635, 780, 808, 850, 1064 nm. The general linear model resulted in a higher prediction error of 3.06% added sugar and 20.39% water dilution. Instead of classification, the present study investigated the feasibility of non-destructive methods in the prediction of adulteration level. Laser scattering successfully detected the added sugar with linear discriminant analysis (LDA), but its prediction accuracy was low. NIR spectroscopy might be suitable for rapid non-destructive estimation of wine adulteration.

An Eco-Friendly Proposal by Integrating Chromatographic Fingerprinting and Multivariate Control Chart in a Non-Target Analysis to Evaluate Grape Juices from Different Farming Practices

A potential eco-friendly method without organic solvents is presented by integrating a chromatographic fingerprint and multivariate control chart based on Q residuals to differentiate grape juices from different farming practices. The sample preparation was only water dilution, and the mobile phase was water acidified with sulfuric acid, which can be readily neutralized before its disposal. The proposed method is shown to be a simple way to distinguish between organic and non-organic grape juices in a non-target way, successfully evaluating an external validation data set, where organic and non-organic samples were correctly assigned. Through the chromatographic profile, it is possible to suggest that one of the species responsible for this distinction may be from the anthocyanins class.

Combined system of extreme control of mineralized water dilution in river basins

The theory of combined systems of extreme control, which is used in technical systems, was developed and adapted in socio-ecological-economic systems. For example, river basins are such systems. A combined extreme control system has been formalized to control the dilution of mineralized mine waters in river sections. A mathematical model of the distribution of water masses and pollution in river beds from point and diffuse sources is proposed on the basis of a system of difference balance equations under the influence of stochastic uncontrolled disturbances. With regard to such conditions as adequate instrumentation, a combined control system has been developed that uses decision-making according to environmental and economic criteria based on the analysis of input and output data simultaneously, identification and tracking of the optimum in conditions of displacement under the influence of the disturbances of extreme characteristics of the system. The structural and functional diagram is represented by the open-loop diagram, the identification of which is carried out on the basis of modeling the process of water dilution in various situations at a specific object. A closed part with a recognition system as a corrector provides feedback. Formalized mathematical models of the dynamics of water masses and pollution from point and diffuse sources are of a general nature and can be used for the basins of other rivers. The extreme control system can adapt to the hydrological conditions and water quality parameters of a particular river. A mathematical model has been formalized for the combined extreme control of mine water dilution in the section of the Ingulets river. The water for dilution comes from a storage pond in the Svystunov gully. Regulatory actions that maintain water quality without exceeding the normative values ​​of maximum permissible discharge are determined. At the same time, water consumption for dilution is minimized. The scenario analysis of the options showed a saving of up to 30% of water resources, namely 17.5 million m3, compared to the dilution carried out in February-March 2021 according to the existing individual regulations.

Choline Chloride-Based DES as Solvents/Catalysts/Chemical Donors in Pharmaceutical Synthesis

DES are mixtures of two or more compounds, able to form liquids upon mixing, with lower freezing points when compared to the individual constituents (eutectic mixtures). This attitude is due to the specific hydrogen-bond interactions network between the components of the mixture. A notable characteristic of DES is the possibility to develop tailor-made mixtures by changing the components ratios or a limited water dilution, for special applications, making them attractive for pharmaceutical purposes. In this review, we focused our attention on application of ChCl-based DES in the synthesis of pharmaceutical compounds. In this context, these eutectic mixtures can be used as solvents, solvents/catalysts, or as chemical donors and we explored some representative examples in recent literature of such applications.

Texture Analysis of Dried Droplets for the Quality Control of Medicines

The quality control of medicines guarantees the effectiveness of treatments for diseases. We explore the use of texture analysis of patterns in dried droplets as a tool to readily detect both impurities and changes in drug concentration. Four types of medicines associated with different routes of administration were analyzed: Methotrexate, Ciprofloxacin, Clonazepam, and Budesonide. We use NaCl and a hot substrate at 63 ∘C to promote aggregate formation and to reduce droplet drying time. Depending on the medicine, optical microscopy reveals different complex aggregates such as circular to oval splatters, fern-like islands, crown shapes, crown needle-like and bump-like patterns as well as dendritic branched and star-like crystals. We use some physical features of the stains (as the stain diameter and superficial area) and gray level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM) to characterize patterns of dried droplets. Finally, we show that structural analysis of stains can achieve 95% accuracy in identifying medicines with 30% water dilution, while it achieves 99% accuracy in detecting drugs with 10% other substances.

Effect of salinity and water dilution on environmental DNA degradation in freshwater environments

Environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis methods have been developed to detect the distribution and abundance/biomass of organisms in various environments. eDNA generally degrades quickly, thus the study of eDNA degradation is critical for eDNA evaluation. However, there have only been a few studies of eDNA degradation experiments in which the salt concentration and water dilution were controlled. In this study, the effects of degradation were experimentally evaluated by controlling the salinity and water dilution of pond water. An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of salinity and dilution on eDNA detection with fragmental eDNA and free cell-derived eDNA using pond water, diluted pond water, and saline pond water. We quantified the eDNA copies of free cells, fragmental DNA, and the eDNA from Cyprinus carpio. In both the diluted and saline pond water, we found that the degradation rate of eDNA was much slower than that in pond water. Furthermore, the DNA concentration did not exponentially decrease in both the saline purified water and purified water samples. For the lower degradation rate in salt water, we interpreted that salts may affect DNA degradation factors such as microbe compositions and activities. The effect of salinity and dilution on eDNA detection provides fundamental information about the degradation process of eDNA, which is essential to understand the behavior of eDNA in natural environments.