The evaluation of meat and fish quality is crucial to ensure that products are safe and meet the consumers’ expectation. The present work aims at developing a new low-cost, portable, and simplified electronic nose system, named Mastersense, to assess meat and fish freshness. Four metal oxide semiconductor sensors were selected by principal component analysis and were inserted in an “ad hoc” designed measuring chamber. The Mastersense system was used to test beef and poultry slices, and plaice and salmon fillets during their shelf life at 4 °C, from the day of packaging and beyond the expiration date. The same samples were tested for Total Viable Count, and the microbial results were used to define freshness classes to develop classification models by the K-Nearest Neighbours’ algorithm and Partial Least Square–Discriminant Analysis. All the obtained models gave global sensitivity and specificity with prediction higher than 83.3% and 84.0%, respectively. Moreover, a McNemar’s test was performed to compare the prediction ability of the two classification algorithms, which resulted in comparable values (p > 0.05). Thus, the Mastersense prototype implemented with the K-Nearest Neighbours’ model is considered the most convenient strategy to assess meat and fish freshness.

Apidologie, A Quality Journal in Bee Science

This study investigates the effects of three cooking methods (boiling, steaming and microwaving) on the nutritional and physical properties of cauliflowers, carrots and sweet potatoes; e-senses were applied to interpret the sensory characteristics according to physico-chemical aspects. The nutritional quality was evaluated by determining the concentrations of key components and the antioxidant activity; e-sense data, combined with texture parameters, were processed by a principal component analysis. The cooking method and time significantly influenced the quality of the three products. Boiling, which detrimentally affected ascorbic acid, total phenolic concentration and antioxidant activity, enhanced carotene accessibility. Steaming produced losses in ascorbic acid, increasing total phenolics and carotenoids. Microwaving resulted in minor changes in ascorbic acid concentrations, preserved carotenoids and increased total phenolics. The nutritional quality was better preserved or enhanced using shorter cooking times. The elaboration of the data collected by the e-senses showed a clear evolution according to the cooking method and time. The results helped to determine the cooking method that best preserves the nutritional properties of the vegetables, highlighting the applicability of rapid instrumental methods to interpret the evolution of sensory characteristics.

Background: Diagnostic methods for the early identification of ovarian cancer (OC) represent an unmet clinical need, as no reliable diagnostic tools are available. Here, we tested the feasibility of electronic nose (e-nose), composed of ten metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) sensors, as a diagnostic tool for OC detection. Methods: Women with suspected ovarian masses and healthy subjects had volatile organic compounds analysis of the exhaled breath using e-nose. Results: E-nose analysis was performed on breath samples collected from 251 women divided into three groups: 86 OC cases, 51 benign masses, and 114 controls. Data collected were analyzed by Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and K-Nearest Neighbors’ algorithm (K-NN). A first 1-K-NN (cases vs. controls) model has been developed to discriminate between OC cases and controls; the model performance tested in the prediction gave 98% of sensitivity and 95% of specificity, when the strict class prediction was applied; a second 1-K-NN (cases vs. controls + benign) model was built by grouping the non-cancer groups (controls + benign), thus considering two classes, cases and controls + benign; the model performance in the prediction was of 89% for sensitivity and 86% for specificity when the strict class prediction was applied. Conclusions: Our preliminary results suggested the potential role of e-nose for the detection of OC. Further studies aiming to test the potential adoption of e-nose in the early diagnosis of OC are needed.

Background: Propranolol, largely prescribed as an antihypertensive and antiarrhythmic drug in pediatrics, is characterized by a bitter taste and an astringent aftertaste. Currently, the therapy requires crushing of tablets for adults and their dispersion in water many times a day, leading to loss of dosing accuracy, low palatability, and poor compliance for both patients and caregivers. Objectives: This work aimed to exploit cyclodextrin complexation by cogrinding to develop orally disintegrating tablets (ODTs) endowed with reliable dosing accuracy, good palatability and safety, ease of swallowability, and ultimately better compliance for both pediatric patients and caregivers. Results: Different formulation variables and process parameters were evaluated in preparing ODTs. The technological and morphological characterization and disintegration tests were performed according to official and alternative tests to select the ODT formulation based on the drug Hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HPβCD) coground complex form containing Pearlitol^® Flash as the diluent and 8% Explotab^® as the superdisintegrant, which demonstrated the highest % drug dissolution in simulated saliva and acceptable in vitro palatability assessed by the electronic tongue, confirming the good taste-masking power of HPβCD towards propranolol. Conclusions: Such a new dosage form of propranolol could represent a valid alternative to the common extemporaneous preparations, overcoming the lack of solid formulations of propranolol intended for pediatric use.