A Machine Vision Rapid Method to Determine the Ripeness Degree of Olive Lots.

The degree of olive maturation is a very important factor to consider at harvest time, as it influences the organoleptic quality of the final product, for both oil and table use. The Jaén index, evaluated by measuring the average coloring of olive fruits (peel and pulp), is currently considered to be one of the most indicative methods to determine the olive ripening stage, but it is a slow assay and its results are not objective. The aim of this work is to identify the ripeness degree of olive lots through a real-time, repeatable, and objective machine vision method, which uses RGB image analysis based on a k-nearest neighbors classification algorithm. To overcome different lighting scenarios, pictures were subjected to an automatic colorimetric calibration method-an advanced 3D algorithm using known values. To check the performance of the automatic machine vision method, a comparison was made with two visual operator image evaluations. For 10 images, the number of black, green, and purple olives was also visually evaluated by these two operators. The accuracy of the method was 60%. The system could be easily implemented in a specific mobile app developed for the automatic assessment of olive ripeness directly in the field, for advanced georeferenced data analysis.

Interactive Effect of Cultivars, Crop Years and Rootstocks on the Biochemical Traits of Prunus persica (L.) Batsch Fruits.

Peach fruit is one of the most economically widespread temperate fruits, whose productivity, and nutritional and sensory qualities are determined by interactions among several environmental and genetic factors, rootstocks, agronomic practices and pedo-climatic conditions. In recent years, climate change has prompted peach breeding programs to use specific rootstocks that are well adapted to unusual soil and climate characteristics, thus improving the plant's adaptability and fruit quality. The aim of this work was to assess the biochemical and nutraceutical profile of two different peach cultivars, considering their growth on different rootstocks over three crop years. An analysis was carried out evaluating the interactive effect of all factors (i.e., cultivars, crop years and rootstocks) revealing the advantages or disadvantages on growth of the different rootstocks. Soluble solids content, titratable acidity, total polyphenols, total monomeric anthocyanins and antioxidant activity in fruit skin and pulp were analyzed. An analysis of variance was performed to assess the differences between the two cultivars considering the effect of rootstock (one way) and crop years, rootstocks and their interaction (two ways). In addition, two principal component analyses were performed separately on the phytochemical traits of the two cultivars to visualize the distributions of the five peach rootstocks during the three crop years. The results showed that fruit quality parameters are strongly dependent on cultivars, rootstocks and climatic conditions. All these aspects could be useful for the choice of rootstock in relation to agronomic management, making this study a valuable tool for choosing the best rootstock, considering simultaneously more factors affecting peaches' biochemical and nutraceutical profile.

Superior EVOO Quality Production: An RGB Sorting Machine for Olive Classification.

Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is a commercial product of high quality, thanks to its nutritional and organoleptic characteristics. The olives ripeness and the choice of harvest time according to their color and size, strongly influences the quality of the EVOO. The physical sorting of olives with machines performing rapid and objective optical selection, impossible by hand, can improve the quality of the final product. The aim of this study concerns the classification of olives into two qualitative classes, based on the maturity stage and the presence of external defects, through an industrial RGB optical sorting prototype, evaluating its performance and comparing the results with those obtained visually by trained operators. EVOOs obtained from classified olives were characterized through chemical, physical-chemical analysis and sensory profile. For the first time, the optoelectronic technologies in an industrial system was tested on olives to produce superior quality EVOO. The selection allows late harvest, obtaining oils with good characteristics from fully ripe and unripe fruits together, separating defective olives with appropriate calibration and training. Optoelectronic selection creates the opportunity to blend the obtained oils destined to different applications according to the needs of the consumer or producer, using a vanguard technology at low cost.

Effects of Ultrasound Technology on the Qualitative Properties of Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

The development of innovative technologies in the mechanical extraction process of extra virgin olive oil can improve its quality standards through the modulation of physical, chemical and biochemical processes. Extra virgin olive oil quality and varietal differentiation are influenced by many factors, particularly the extraction. The use of ultrasound technology in the extraction process does not affect the quality, the composition, and the thermal properties of the oil, facilitating its separation from solids, and it allows the release of active compounds from the olive paste, with a positive influence on the phenolic content. In this study, the impact of ultrasound technologies was evaluated on merceological parameters, quality profile, and organoleptic features of extra virgin olive oils extracted from whole and destoned olives of the three main Italian cultivars (i.e., Peranzana, Canino, and Coratina). The parameters analyzed were influenced by both genotype and treatment, in particular, sonication did not lead to significant changes in the nutraceutical profile of the oils. The de-stoned olives were able to determine a great improvement of oil quality both for phenolic and volatile composition with a significant enhancement of health and sensory properties of the product.

Achieving cytochrome c fibril/aggregate control towards micro-platelets and micro-fibers by tuning pH and protein concentration: A combined morphological and spectroscopic analysis.

Cytochrome c is a metalloprotein with primary physiological functions in the respiratory chain and in the regulation of cell death signals. Investigating the mechanisms leading to cytochrome c fibril formation is of primary importance for understanding its misfunctioning and, in a wider perspective, for its technologic applications in the field of bio-nanoscience. In this work, we analyzed the morphology and the spectroscopic properties of cytochrome c aggregates, combining the outcomes from electron microscopy, fluorescence, infrared and Raman spectroscopies and making use of statistical tools for the data analysis. The morphology scenario is quite complex, as it points out the presence of aggregates in the shape of platelets as well as fibers at micrometric scale. By infrared and Raman spectroscopy we analyzed the secondary and tertiary structures of unordered aggregates and fibrils, drawing a pathway for their formation at the timescales from tents to hundreds of minutes. Dependence of the fibrillation route on environmental pH, above and below the isoelectric point, and on protein concentration has also been explored. We found that it is possible to direct the process towards the formation of superstructures with different morphologies and different sizes along with fibrils, after destabilization of the native fold and the formation of ß-sheet rich structures. A different mechanism characterizes aggregate/fibril elongation of cyt c in Tris-HCl, in comparison with NaOH environment.