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Raisins are a significant grape product with an annual trade volume of approximately USD 2 billion. There are various methods employed for drying grapes into raisins. This study aimed to investigate the effects of different drying methods on raisins, specifically, without pretreatment (SD), treatment with potassium carbonate (5%) containing 2% olive oil (POT), and treatment with ashy water with 2.5% olive oil (AOW). The study examined the changes in raisin weight, physicochemical characteristics, total phenolics, antioxidant and anthocyanin contents, color properties, and protein content in three grape varieties: Deyvani, Haseni, and Reşek. The results indicated that POT treatment resulted in the lightest raisins in Deyvani (0.48 g) and Reşek (0.58 g), while Haseni exhibited the heaviest raisins (0.64 g) under the same treatment. The variations in physicochemical characteristics were relatively limited compared to the changes observed in phenolic and antioxidant properties. Nontreated raisins had the lowest anthocyanin content across all varieties. Protein content was significantly affected by the POT treatment, while the effects of the AOW and SD treatments were comparatively minor. SD drying resulted in slightly brighter raisins, but lower phenolic content and significantly lower color properties. The findings of this study highlight the differential effects of drying methods on different grape varieties, emphasizing the importance of considering a variety-specific approach when selecting the drying method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Raisins contain a wide range of secondary metabolites, including volatile compounds that may contribute to the health benefits and preference of consumers. To our knowledge, this is one of the first studies concerning the analysis of volatile compounds in raisin. The goal of this study was to compare volatile composition of Gök Üzüm (Vitis vinifera L.) raisins produced from grapes dried before the application of two pre-treatments solutions: wood ash (WA) and potassium carbonate (K2CO3). Results: Gök Üzüm raisins produced from grapes dipped into the WA solution presented higher contents of most of the studied volatile compounds (including the total contents of C6 compounds, alcohols, benzenoids, esters, aldehydes, terpenes and C13 norisoprenoids) and lower contents of (Z)-2-hexenol and 2-hexenoic acid than the raisins produced from grapes dipped into K2CO solutions. Gök Üzüm raisins were characterized by fruity, floral and grass aromas according to their odor activity values. Drying Gök Üzüm grapes after the treatment of WA solutions promotes a higher aromatic composition compared to K2CO solutions. Conclusion: These findings can greatly assist raisin producers in deciding which dipping solution to use before using a dipping solution to dry the grapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of consuming 50 g of raisins on cognitive performance, quality of life, and functional activities in healthy older adults. This is a parallel randomized controlled clinical trial, in which 80 subjects over 70 years of age participated. For 6 months, the intervention group (IG; n = 40) consumed 50 g of raisins per day added to their usual diet, whereas the control group (CG; n = 40) received no supplement. All variables were measured at baseline and at 6 months. Cognitive performance assessed with the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MOCA) test shows a difference of 3.27 points (95% CI 1.59 to 4.96), p ≤ 0.001, favorable to the IG, after the intervention. Among the cognitive performances, an improvement is observed in the IG in orientation, assessed both with the MOCA test 0.49 (95% CI 0.10 to 0.87), p = 0.014, and with the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) test, 0.36 (95% CI 0.02 to 0.70), p = 0.038. In visuospatial/executive capacity and in language, improvements were also observed in the IG, 1.36 (95% CI 0.77 to 1.95), p = 0.001, and 0.54 points (95% CI 0.12 to 0.96), p = 0.014, respectively. Immediate and delayed recall, assessed with the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test, improved in the IG. In addition, the IG showed a better quality of life and greater autonomy in instrumental activities of daily living after 6 months. No significant changes were observed in the rest of the variables analyzed. Therefore, the consumption of 50 g of raisins produces a slight improvement in cognitive performance, quality of life, and functional activities in the elderly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fungi are responsible for a wide variety of harm to humans, including food spoilage and infections. Using chemicals to restrict fungal development or infections has negative repercussions, such as human health dangers from the chemical applications and rising antifungal-drug resistance, so this study aimed to use medicinal plants and their extracts as an alternative method to restrict fungal growth. Ten isolates of the genus Aspergillus were identified from the fruits of dried grapes (raisins) of all kinds (Iraqi black raisins, Iranian yellow raisins, and brown raisins) at the species level using three – differential media: Czapek Yeast Extract Agar( CYA), Malt Extract Agar( MEA), and 25% Glycerol nitrate agar (G25N) incubated in 5, 25 and 37 ºC. Aspergillus niger was the most common isolated species. The number of A. niger isolates reached seven from all types of dried grapes, while A. flavus recorded three isolates from black raisins and brown raisins. Aspergillus Flavus Parasiticus Agar (AFPA) was used to detect the ability of A. flavus isolates to produce aflatoxin at 25-30 ºC for one week. Alcoholic extract of turmeric showed a significant inhibitory effect on the colony diameter of both A. flavus and A. niger isolated from the fruit of Iraqi black raisins with an inhibition rate of 86.6% and 68.8 %, respectively, at 4 mg/ ml concentration. The mixture of turmeric and essential olive oil gave a distinct inhibitory effect, reaching a 100% inhibition rate from the lowest to highest concentration for both A. niger and A. flavus . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Five different pretreatment strategies for the drying Flame seedless raisins were used: ultrasound, freezing, dipping in 0.05% NaOH solution, blanching, and enzymatic pretreatment. Results showed that the drying period for dipping pretreated grapes was reduced to less than half compared to Control grapes. The ultrasound pretreatment preserved the total phenolic content better; however, it affected the total flavonoid content. The enzymatic pretreatment was the one that least affected the total flavonoid content. In the radical-scavenging antioxidant capacity assay, slight differences were observed between the pretreatments. The highest mean value was observed by Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity in the case of blanching pretreatment. The α-glucosidase inhibitor of raisins was also investigated, obtaining a low inhibition compared to acarbose. The presented results give scientific insight and a basis for the use of pretreatments combined with solar drying of Flame grapes. On an industrial scale, it has the potential to produce good quality raisins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water kefir grains cannot grow in milk. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate whether water kefir grains can show activity in demineralized whey, an environment containing lactose as a carbon source. The physicochemical, microbiological and sensory properties of water kefir prepared from demineralized whey containing 2% and 5% lactose and raisins or grape juice from two grape varieties (Dimrit and Shiraz) were investigated. It was found that the protein content of the water kefir increased significantly (p < 0.05), especially when grape juice was added. The total soluble solids and viscosity of the samples with grape addition increased significantly (p < 0.05). Total phenolic content and antioxidant capacity increased significantly with grape addition (p < 0.05), with the effect of Shiraz grape being more pronounced. In general, it was found that the content of K, P, Na, Ca and Mg was higher in the samples with grape addition. The sensory properties of water kefir made from dWhey with 2% lactose and grape juice were better. It was also confirmed that viability of water kefir microbiota is better in water kefir drink made from dWhey with 2% lactose due to higher pH value in comparison to dWhey with 5% lactose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is known that the natural convection (NC) solar drying process is a simple and cheap method for drying foodstuffs, but it is not preferable for common users in the case of drying high-moisture content agro-products due to the slow rate of drying. Meanwhile, the forced convection (FC) drying process is most appropriate for such products, but its economic feasibility may be affected due to high initial and maintenance costs. Therefore, the present study proposed a controlled natural convection (CNC) drying mode using a solar greenhouse dryer (SGD) for drying grapes with two types of cover materials, glass and Plexiglas, through intermittent operation with a PV system to save energy as a simple and inexpensive domestic dryer instead of the common forced convection SGD and the conventional natural convection SGD. The obtained results of the new CNC drying mode using a Plexiglas SGD showed a higher drying rate than the NC drying mode and are close to the FC drying mode using the same cover material. The initial moisture content of the grapes was reduced from 5.91 g water/g dry matter to the final moisture content of 0.15 g water/g dry matter within 12 h and 15 h for the CNC and NC drying modes, respectively, using the Plexiglas SGD. Moreover, the thermal drying efficiency for the two mentioned drying modes was 12.5 and 9.7%, respectively. The Page model was found to be the most appropriate model to predict the kinetics of the SGD in all drying modes, regardless of the cover type. The new CNC drying mode using the Plexiglas SGD achieved the lowest cost per kg of dried grapes (1.26 USD/kg), the highest total saved costs over the lifespan of the dryer (USD 245.46) and the shortest payback period (1.08 years) compared to the other two dryers, NC-SGD and FC-SGD. Generally, the CNC-SGD had good performance over the NC-SGD because it is not affected by the fluctuation in the volume, velocity and direction of the inlet ambient air/wind during drying grapes as a high-moisture content product without external heating sources or complicated parts. Thus, the proposed drying system has the advantage in terms of simplicity, cheapness and saving energy compared to FC-SGD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to its straightforward and practical design, the convective drier is the most widely used drying technology. A drying chamber's uniform airflow distribution is important because it significantly impacts the drier's effectiveness and the dried materials' homogeneity. This study aimed to evaluate the experiment of drying grapes that applied three different air distribution techniques: a vertical airflow system (VT) and two horizontal airflow systems (HT-I and HT-II) inside convection dryers. Experiments were conducted using a forced convection dryer at temperatures from 40 °C to 60 °C and air velocities range of 1.0 to 2 m/s to dried grapes. The drying time was significantly decreased due to the greater air temperature and velocity under different dryers. The horizontal airflow technique (HT-II) exhibited the lowest significant drying time reduction of 3.79% and 8.46% lower than the horizontal (HT-I) and vertical airflow techniques, respectively. The highest thermal efficiency was achieved in the (HT II) technique in the range from 50.31% to 74.52% compared to the (VT) technique, and it was the least efficient in the range (29.77–52.45). The minimum specific energy consumption of 27.44 MJ/kg was recorded using the horizontal (HT-II) technique, which was 53.82% and 141.91% lower than horizontal (HT-I) and vertical, respectively. Additionally, implementing the horizontal (HT-II) technique for drying grapes has many advantages over the vertical (VT) technique, including faster operating times, lower overall energy consumption, and improved dryer's thermal efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Raisins are high‐value products obtained by drying grape berries. Natural drying of grapes is difficult because a hydrophobic waxy cuticle is present on the berry surface. Pretreatment is an important operation in raisin production in which the waxy layer is dissolved or removed for enhancing the drying rate of grapes. Chemical pretreatment consisting of dipping grape bunches in a solution of alkali and oil emulsion is commonly followed for raisin production. However, the threat of chemicals to human health, the environment, and longer processing time lead to the development of an alternative to chemical pretreatment. Various alternative methods have been explored including the abrasive pretreatment and some novel thermal and nonthermal techniques. The potential of these alternative pretreatments has been discussed in this review along with a critical analysis of literature on grape drying. The fundamentals of grape drying and unit operations of the chemical and abrasive process of raisin production have also been narrated. An abrasive process as the best alternative to chemicals in raisin production has been described in detail along with future prospects of different physical pretreatments. This review provides comprehensive information on raisin production with a focus on chemical‐free processing of grape for raisin production. Practical applications: Raisins are dried grapes rich in nutritional and functional ingredients that are beneficial for human health. A predrying treatment to remove or to dissolve the waxy layer from surface of grapes is an important operation in raisin production. The chemical method of pretreatment is prevalent among raisin processors. However, a chemical method has some limitations like longer processing time, intense use of chemicals, food safety issues, and so forth. Many novel pretreatments like superficial abrasion, thermal, and nonthermal techniques have been explored by researchers and it has the potential to produce safe raisins without use of any chemicals. These alternative techniques can be adopted for industrial‐scale processing of raisins. A lot of literature is available on the grape drying process, modeling, and quality aspects of raisins. All this information has been summarized in this comprehensive review with a comparison of unit operations, analysis of findings, and future aspects for the production of safe raisins. This review will be very useful for industrial‐scale processing of raisins adopting novel processes and it will also provide in‐depth knowledge to the academician and research scholars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To gather recipes for traditional sourdoughs used to bake traditional bread, a survey was conducted in Figuig, a town located in the southeast of Morocco. The data of this survey is collected from a random sample of 100 rural women using a structured questionnaire. The data shows a total of 17 different traditional recipes mentioned by the interviewed women. Among the ingredients used in these recipes, whole wheat flour and warm water had the highest percentage of citations (31 %). It was also observed that 9 local products were used in these sourdough recipes, including whey, locally called “leben” (19 %), dried beans (16 %) and dates (15 %). Lemon, garlic, dried figs, raisins, flax seeds and carob flour were also mentioned as ingredients (1%). The participants also stated that the sourdoughs are transferred to different shapes and types of utensils for incubation and were alive for a variable amount of time depending on climatic conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the black 'Isabel' grapes were dried by hot-air (HAD), vacuum (VD), ultrasound-assisted vacuum (US-VD), and freeze-drying (FD) methods, and the sugar, organic acid, volatile composition, and textural properties of raisins and fresh grapes were both evaluated. Depending on the method of drying, the fructose and glucose content of grapes were decreased with less reduction by the FD. Similarly, a decrease in tartaric and malic acids was observed by drying. A total of 29 different volatile compounds were identified and PCA analysis revealed that esters were more associated with fresh grapes whereas HAD and VD raisins became more related to alcohols. The aldehydes probably derived from the auto-oxidation of fatty acids were increased by drying and their presence became more associated with HAD and VD methods. The hardness, gumminess, and chewiness values of grapes were elevated by drying, and the HAD raisins provided the highest hardness values. The whiteness (L*) and redness (a*) values of the grapes were increased by FD, whereas they were not significantly changed with other drying methods. While HAD raisins were preferred by the panelists, the US-VD raisins had the lowest score in each sensory property. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The global trade system is contributing to the spread of invasive species, like the raisin moth (Cadra figulilella), causing significant damage to agriculture and the environment, as well as stored food products. The potential distribution of the raisin moth may become even more widespread due to climate change. We newly assessed the potential distribution of the raisin moth globally, under current and future climate scenarios using a climate dataset projected with 23 climate models under two emissions scenarios, and using both CLIMEX and MaxEnt niche modeling tools. Our results indicated that the area of suitable distribution for the raisin moth could increase by 5.24 to 36.37% by the end of the century. Analysis of single predictor showed that excessive precipitation and a temperature range of 0–18 °C during the wettest quarter of the year may impact the species' establishment. The study highlights the need for using a combined modeling approach, such as CLIMEX and MaxEnt, in future research and the results could be used to inform international trade decisions and environmental risk assessments. Global trade facilitates the introduction of invasive species that can cause irreversible damage to agriculture and the environment, as well as stored food products. The raisin moth (Cadra figulilella) is an invasive pest that poses a significant threat to fruits and dried foods. Climate change may exacerbate this threat by expanding moth's distribution to new areas. In this study, we used CLIMEX and MaxEnt niche modeling tools to assess the potential global distribution of the raisin moth under current and future climate change scenarios. Our models projected that the area of suitable distribution for the raisin moth could increase by up to 36.37% by the end of this century under high emission scenario. We also found that excessive precipitation decreased the probability of raisin moth establishment and that the optimum temperature range for the species during the wettest quarter of the year was 0–18 °C. These findings highlight the need for future research to utilize a combined modeling approach to predict the distribution of the raisin moth under current and future climate conditions more accurately. Our results could be used for environmental risk assessments, as well as to inform international trade decisions and negotiations on phytosanitary measures with regards to this invasive species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The performance of ruminants is affected mainly by the rumen bacterial community. The composition and properties of the rumen bacterial community depend largely on the diet components that are fed to the ruminant. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of grape pomace intake on the rumen bacterial community of sheep. Four different diets, two of which contained dried grape pomace (DGP), were used in this study. Rumen fluid samples from 12 wethers were used for 16S rRNA gene sequencing and subsequent bacterial identification. At the phylum level, Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes; at the family level, Prevotellaceae and Porphyromonadaeceae; and at the genera level, Prevotella and Verrucomicrobia_Subdivision5_genera_incertae_sedis were the most common regardless of the diet the animals were fed. After the addition of DGP to the diet, the relative abundance of Methanobrevibacter, Butytirivibrio, Fretibacterium, and Verrucomicrobia _Subdivision3 _genera_incertae_sedis significantly increased, whereas that of Succiniclasticum and Selenomonas significantly decreased. The upregulated pathway of methanogenesis from H2 and CO2 was supported by a significant increase in Methanobacteriaceae after the diet was supplemented with DGP. The rumen bacterial community diversity indices (Richness and Shannon) were significantly affected by diet composition as well as by the change of housing location. The addition of DGP into the wethers' diet increased the richness of the rumen bacterial community, which is good for maintaining rumen bacterial homeostasis. No adverse effect of the addition of DPG on the rumen bacterial community was noted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study proposed to investigate the generation mechanism of raisins-derived volatile compounds during unsaturated fatty acids oxidation (UFAO) using a mixture of fatty acids (FAs) and four individual FA at different time intervals (0, 4, 8, 12, 16, and 20 days; 60 °C). During the sun-drying of 'Thompson Seedless' grapes (Vitis vinifera L.), a total of 39 UFAO-derived volatiles were characterized by the GC-MS. Firstly a pH value of 4.2 was optimized to proceed with a raisin drying-like UFAO model reaction. Afterward, GC-MS quantification revealed 45 UFAO-derived volatiles, and the maximum numbers of compounds were identified in the interaction of all FAs (39) following linoleic acid (29), erucic acid (27), oleic acid (25), and linolenic acid (27). Pentanoic acid, (E,E)-2,4-octadienal, and n-decanoic acid were only quantified in all FAs, linoleic acid, and erucic acid, respectively. This study showed that all FAs reactions were found to be responsible for the generation of a greater number of UFAO-derived volatiles with higher concentrations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study of the amount of colouring substance in the skins and juice of grapes and raisins of seedless vine forms with coloured grape juice of six hybrid combinations was performed. It was found that most of the hybrid forms of all crosses were superior to the mother variety Alicante Bouschet in the amount of anthocyanins in the grape juice, and only a few ones have mathematically proven differences. Most of them do not differ from the parent variety in colour intensity and colour shade, as well as in the percentage of yellow, red and blue colour. The ‘Alicante Bouschet’ variety has a proven lower content of anthocyanins in the skins of grapes and raisins of several hybrid forms. There is a proven high or moderate positive correlation between the content of anthocyanins in the skins and the juice of the grapes and the intensity of the colour in the hybrid forms of most crosses. Approximately 47% of the increase in the intensity of the colour of the grape juice can be explained by an increase in the amount of anthocyanins, and only 27% of the reasons for the changes in the intensity of the colour of the grapes are due to factors that do not affect changes in the content of anthocyanins in them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the agricultural crops with considerable nutritional and financial worth is raisins. Every year, the world produces and consumes millions of tons of raisins. In this work, machine learning was used to categorize two different raisin kinds that are grown in our nation. Machine learning techniques Decision Trees and Random Forest were used to classify the 2-class data set with 7 different attributes that were acquired as a ready-made data set. With 020 Random Forest and Decision Trees, classification accuracy was 85.44% and 85.22%, respectively, in the analyses that were conducted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was carried out to determine the effect of dietary flaxseed meal (FSM) supplemented with dried tomato pomace (DTP) and dried grape pomace (DGP) on performance, egg quality, biochemical parameters traits and antioxidant status of laying hens. Birds (1825 ± 87 g of body weight) were divided into 12 dietary groups with six replicates per group (eight birds per replicate), under a completely randomized design with factorial arrangement 2 × 3 × 2 consisted of two levels of DTP (0 and 15%), three FSM levels (0, 4 and 8%) and two levels of DGP (0 and 5%). As a result of this study, there were no significant differences in egg production and weight as well in feed conversion ratio (FCR) among treatments (p > 0.05). Feeding of DGP reduced significantly feed intake and egg mass when compared to control group (p < 0.05). There was no effect (p > 0.05) of dietary treatment on shell thickness and strength, shape index, Haugh unit and egg specific gravity. Hens consuming 15% DTP and 5% DGP revealed a significantly higher yolk color compared to the other dietary treatments (p < 0.05). Moreover, there was no difference among dietary treatments in terms of serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL) cholesterol, atherogenic index, triglycerides, total cholesterol levels (p > 0.05). Serum antioxidant parameters as glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity, malondialdehyde (MDA), total superoxide dismutase (TSOD) and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) were not influenced by treatments (p > 0.05). Based on findings, FSM and DTP supplements did not significantly impact most of hens' performance indicators and egg quality parameters, whereas significant improvements were observed by feeding of 15% DTP and 5% DGP on egg traits, in particular on egg-yolk color that plays a key-role in consumer's choice. However, the supplementation of FSM and DTP or DGP even in laying hen diet is still controversial and further research is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

D-psicose is a rare sugar, used as an alternative to the natural sweetener that provides 70% of sucrose's sweetness, with low-calorie absorption in the human body. Considering the health-beneficial effect and high availability of D-psicose in raisins (the world's most consumed dried fruit), it is of interest to establish a reliable analytical method to determine D-psicose content in these matrices. Herein, a new method for determining D-psicose content in raisins, using ultrasound-assisted extraction in conjunction with anion exchange chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection (UAE-HPAEC-PAD) systems, has been developed and validated. The stability of D-psicose and its precursor was priorly assessed by applying a specific ultrasound power (100 W) and pulse duty cycle (0.5 s−1), with varying extraction temperatures (10, 25, 40, 55, 70, and 85 °C) and times (5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 min). The method was validated with high linearity (R2 > 0.999), accuracy (89.78–101.06%), and precision (4.8% intra-day and 4.34% inter-day). A number of raisin products were checked during the method applicability assessment. A concentration of 520 mg kg−1 was found in a specimen of commercial raisin matrix. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article will examine the incarnations of a Yiddish folk lullaby that was very popular before World War II for Israeli poetry. This lullaby was used by Jewish mothers to sing to their children and it expresses the mother's wish for a child to grow up and become great in the Torah, while the small, fresh goat under his bed would go out to trade almonds and raisins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The document titled "Correction to Raisins in a Hydrogen Pie: Ultrastable Cesium and Rubidium Polyhydrides" addresses an error in the acknowledgment section regarding the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) grant number. The correct NSFC grant number is 12350410354, not 1231101238 as previously stated. The authors have acknowledged and apologized for this mistake in the publication. [Extracted from the article]

Solar energy utilizing for drying products was considered the important friendly method to the environment in order to minimize the fossil fuels dependence. With removing the content of moisture, fruits life can be improved and these can be conserved and utilized for long time. Solar technique of drying not evaporates only but provides safe storage and products controlled. The aims of this experimental work were to determine how the proposed design of an indirect solar dryer (Chimney [natural convection] and Fan [forced convection]) influence on the drying performance and the rate of evaporation for drying grapes in Egypt. Compared to open sun solar dryer (OSSD), the dried grape product from the indirect sun drying process (in both cases) is protected from pollution and dust. In addition, the grape samples are dried faster by the recommended indirect SDs than by the OSSD. The results showed that the moisture content (MC) of the grape sample in the chimney-SD dropped from 79.80 % to 14.04 % and for the Fan-SD to 15.83 % during three days of the experiments. In contrast, the average MC for the tray in the OSSD was 70.76 % for the same time. Furthermore, the mean collector thermal efficiency for the Fan and Chimney-SDs was 27.02 % and 29.18 %, respectively. The production costs were estimated at 4.65 $/kg and 4.5$/kg of dried grapes for the Fan and Chimney-SDs, respectively. Finally, The CO 2 mitigation were 286.25 kg/year and 337.18 kg/year for the Fan and Chimney-SDs, respectively. • The effect of utilizing flat baffles within the drying compartment on the thermal performance of the indirect type solar dryer type was investigated. • Developing grapes drying correlations for the chimney and fan, indirect type solar dryers. • The moisture content (w.b.) of the grape samples in the chimney solar dryer dropped from 79.80 % to 14.04 % and for the fan type to 15.83 % during three days of the experiments. • The average thermal efficiency for the fan and chimney solar dryers was 27.02 % and 29.18 %, while, the mean dryer thermal efficiency was 3.76 % and 4.04 %, respectively. • The production cost was estimated at 4.65 $/kg and 4.5$/kg of dried grapes for the fan solar dryer and chimney type, respectively, which saves 40.38 % and 42.31 % compared with its price in the market of 7.8 $/kg. • The CO 2 mitigations were 286.25 kg/year and 337.18 for the fan solar dryer and chimney one, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the production of BC gels by Komagataeibacter sucrofermentans in synthetic (Hestrin and Schramm; HS) and natural media (raisin finishing side-stream extracts; RFSE), and their in situ modification by natural zeolite (Zt) and activated carbon (AC) nanostructures (NSs) carrying thyme oil (Th). The NS content for optimum BC yield was 0.64 g/L for both Zt-Th (2.56 and 1.47 g BC/L in HS and RFSE, respectively), and AC-Th (1.78 and 0.96 g BC/L in HS and RFSE, respectively). FTIR spectra confirmed the presence of NS and Th in the modified BCs, which, compared to the control, had reduced specific surface area (from 5.7 to 0.2–0.8 m2/g), average pore diameter (from 264 to 165–203 Å), cumulative pore volume (from 0.084 to 0.003–0.01 cm3/g), crystallinity index (CI) (from 72 to 60–70%), and crystallite size (from 78 to 72–76%). These values (except CI and CS), slightly increased after the use of the BC films as antimicrobial coatings on white cheese for 2 months at 4 °C. Tensile properties analysis showed that the addition of NSs resulted in a decrease of elasticity, tensile strength, and elongation at break values. The best results regarding an antimicrobial effect as cheese coating were obtained in the case of the RFSE/AC-Th BC.

This study includes to study the effect of air temperature on raisins and to study the economic analysis of proposed methodology and compare the output with conventional techniques. It can be seen from the results that both the hot air dryers e.g. solar and electric dryer produce raisins in a much lower time in comparison to the traditional method of raisin dryer. Solar dryer takes 96 hours to produce raisin while electric dryer takes 15 hours for raisin production. This time frame for raisin production is much lower than that of 336 hours or 2 weeks, an average time for raisin production using traditional sun drying method. Raisin produced using traditional methods are associated with many of health issues. Generally, raisins produced using the traditional method has a risk of being rotten. Rainwater may reach the grapes that are placed for being dry in traditional method. Such raisin has a light color as its color is washed away. Customers find such raisins less attractive. Moisture content of raisins is an important parameter to evaluate the quality of raisin. Moisture content present in the market available raisin that is produced using traditional method is 25.30 %.

The article deals with numerical analysis of a double sided coreless axial flux permanent magnet machine with two rotor disks and a coreless stator. Coreless stator represents copper windings which are held together by epoxy raisin, therefore a special focus has to be given to the stator temperature. In this article a numerical analysis is presented, which is based on the copper losses, namely the I2R product, where the resistance of the copper windings was both calculated as well as measured in the prototype machine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To (1) describe exposure history, clinical signs, treatment, and diagnostic findings in 4 dogs following ingestion of tamarinds, and in 2 dogs following ingestion of cream of tartar, and (2) discuss tartaric acid, the commondenominator, as the proposed toxic principle in tamarinds and grapes. Series Summary: Reports in which dogs developed acute kidney injury following ingestion of cream of tartar or tamarinds were identified from the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center electronic database. In these cases, decontamination was not performed, and treatments were delayed. Despite IV fluids and symptomatic and supportive care, 2 of the dogs became anuric and 1 became oliguric. Four dogs were euthanized, and the outcome is unknown for 2 of the dogs. Necropsies were performed on 3 of the dogs. Clinical signs, laboratory findings, and histopathologic lesions were similar to those reported in grape and raisin toxicosis. New or Unique Information Provided: Acute kidney injury may develop following ingestion of cream of tartar or tamarinds in dogs. Connecting these reports with findings in grape and raisin toxicosis and the sensitivity to tartaric acid in dogs, tartaric acid is identified as the likely toxic component in grapes and tamarinds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1959, Lorraine Hansberry's play A Raisin in the Sun opened on Broadway after a successful tour. This remarkable performance featured a black cast, and staged a generation that was beginning to find intellectual sources of race pride. By contrast, exactly 100 years earlier, in 1859, the 'great dramatic "sensation"' of the New York stage had been Dion Boucicault's The Octoroon, a play set on a plantation and which describes blackness as shameful. In form and in subject matter, these two plays appear to have little in common, but this essay traces a connection between the two. The connection is this: the Irish playwright Sean O'Casey felt inspired by reading and performing the work of Boucicault, and, in turn, O'Casey provided a 'point of departure' for Hansberry when she scripted her best-known play. By examining these moments of connection, the essay examines a significant if counter-intuitive line of influence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Raisin is one of the important export products in the agricultural sector, but there are several challenges in increasing the quality of raisins and their competition in foreign markets. The type of drying place and environmental conditions can have a great impact on the quality of raisins. In this study, the aim is to modify the traditional grape drying place, using intelligent heating plates. The seedless grape was harvested at two different times and prepared by two methods, natural (without pretreatment) and treated with alkaline solution and dried in traditional place with concrete floor and traditional place modified by control heating plates. The results showed that the drying time of non -treated raisins was 2.36 times of alkali -treated raisins and the drying time of traditional place was about 4.75 times of modified place. Also, the total count, coliform, molds and yeasts in the traditional drying place were higher, but the number of lactic acid bacteria was less than the modified method (P <0.05). In alkali -treated raisins, the total count, coliform and mold were lower, but the number of lactic acid bacteria and yeasts was higher than natural raisins (P <0.05). The results of sensory evaluation also showed that the color score of samples with alkali -treated raisins was significantly higher than other. The amount of energy consumed to prepare one kg of raisins in 21th September and 12th October was 0.98 and 1.78 kWh, respectively, and for natural raisins, this amount was 1.63 and 5.5 kWh, respectively. According to the results obtained in this study, it is possible to prepare raisins with high hygienic quality and desirable sensory properties by harvesting grapes in a timely and drying in the place with intelligent heating plates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Mexico, the prevalence of Salmonella enterica in low-water-activity foods and its link to outbreaks are unknown. The aim of this study was to determine the microbiological profile and the prevalence of S. enterica in several low-water-activity foods, including peanuts, pecans, raisins, sun-dried tomatoes, and chocolate sprinkles, purchased in retail establishments in Querétaro, Mexico. Seventy samples of each food item sold in bulk were purchased. Aerobic plate count, molds, yeasts, total coliforms, Escherichia coli, and Staphylococcus aureus were quantified in 10-g samples. The prevalence of S. enterica in 25-g samples was determined. From positive samples, S. enterica isolates (60) were characterized based on their antimicrobial susceptibility to 14 antibiotics, the presence-absence of 13 virulence genes, and serotype. The concentration of aerobic plate count, molds, yeasts, total coliforms, and E. coli ranged from 3.1 to 5.2 log CFU g−1, from 2.0 to 2.4 log CFU g−1, from 2.0 to 3.0 log CFU g−1, from 0.6 to 1.1 log most probable number (MPN) g−1, and from 0.5 to 0.9 log MPN g−1, respectively. S. aureus was not detected in any sample (< 10 CFU g−1). The prevalence of S. enterica in chocolate sprinkles, raisins, peanuts, pecans, and sun-dried tomatoes was 26, 29, 31, 40, and 52%, respectively. Most isolates (68.3%) were resistant to at least one antibiotic. Chromosome-associated virulence genes were found in all isolates, and only one strain had sopE, and 98.3% of the isolates were grouped in the same virulotype. Among the isolates, the most frequent serotype was Tennessee (51 of 60). According to the characteristics evaluated, we grouped the isolates into 24 clusters. The elevated prevalence of S. enterica highlights the role of low-water-activity food items sold in bulk at markets as potential vehicles for pathogen transmission. Regardless of the low variability among S. enterica isolates, their characterization could be helpful to elucidate which strains are circulating in these foods for improving epidemiological surveillance. High prevalence (22 to 55%) of S. enterica in five low moisture foods was found. There was no correlation between Salmonella and E. coli in positive samples. Salmonella isolates (98%) did not show multidrug resistance. Low virulence gene variability was observed in Salmonella strains. S. enterica serotype Tennessee was the most abundant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Raisin waste (RW) is produced during grapevine processing after harvest for raisin production. The aim of current study was to substitute the barley grain with RW in diet containing cereal straw as the only forage source in growing ram lambs feeding. Ground barley was substituted with RW at the rate of 9and 18% of diet (dry matter (DM) basis) in iso-nitrogesnous and iso-energetic diets. Twelve growing ram lames (first body weight of 26±2 kg) used in 3 × 3 replicated Latin square with three experimental periods. At each period of experiment, 6 pens of lambs (each 2 lambs placed in each pen) were randomly assigned to 3 treatments (2 pens for each treatment). Raisin waste contained (% DM) 78.4 DM, 5.4 ash, 3.7 crude protein (CP), 10.6 ether extract, 18.5 acid detergent fiber (ADF), 1.4 total tannin, 2.2 total phenol and 0.8 nontannin phenolic. Dietary substitution of ground barley with RW did not influence lamb final body weight (32.9, 32.2 and 32.1 kg respectively for three treatments), average daily gain, feed intake (1060.1, 960.2 and 920.3 g respectively) and apparent total tract nutrient digestibility including DM, organic matter, CP and ADF (P>0.05). Blood glucose, red blood cells and white blood cells count were similar among treatments (P>0.05). Blood urea decreased in lambs fed with diets contained RW (P<0.05). Blood total protein and triglycerides increased mostly at the level of 9% of substitution in lambs (P<0.05) compared with other level of substitution. In conclusion, in diets contained cereal straw as the only forage source, up to 18% of ground barley could be replaced by RW without detrimental effects on growth performance, nutrient digestibility and blood measures in growing ram lambs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. Date fruit has been reported to have benefits in type 2 diabetes (T2D), though there is a concern, given the high sugar content, about its effects on glycemic control. Design and Setting. Prospective, interventional, randomized, parallel study. Participants. In total, 79 patients with T2D (39 male and 40 female). Intervention. Participants were randomly allocated to either 60 g date fruit or 60 g raisins daily of the equivalent glycemic index (amount split, given as midmorning and midafternoon snack) for 12 weeks. Main Outcome Measures. The primary outcome was to investigate the effect of date fruit on HbA1c and fasting blood glucose, and their variability, in patients with T2D in comparison to the same glycemic load of raisins. The secondary outcomes were to determine whether date fruit affected cardiovascular risk by measuring fasting lipids, C-reactive protein (CRP), blood pressure, and insulin resistance (IR) as measured by Homeostatic Model Assessment (HOMA-IR). Results. In total, 61 (27 female and 34 male) of 79 patients completed the study. There was no difference between or within groups for HbA1c or HbA1c variability, fasting glucose or glucose variability, insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), insulin sensitivity (HOMA-S), beta cell function (HOMA-B), the disposition index, lipids, systolic (SBP) or diastolic blood pressure (DBP), or C-reactive protein (CRP) (p > 0.05). Conclusion. No improvement in glycemic indices was seen following supplementation of 60 g daily date fruit or raisins, though neither had a deleterious effect on glycemic control over a 12-week period, indicating their safety when consumed in T2D. Additionally, no beneficial therapeutic effects of date fruit on other cardiovascular indices in T2D were seen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the frame of efforts to add value to the Mediterranean currant cultivation and processing sectors, which is essential for their sustainability, sweet wine production is proposed from the finishing side-stream (FSS) of premium quality Corinthian currants, involving complete fermentation using an alcohol-tolerant yeast followed by (i) the addition of FSS to extract sugars or (ii) syrup made from FSS to adjust sweetness. Wine was also made by (iii) ceasing fermentation at the desired sugar level by ethanol addition. The non-fortified wines had 15.2–15.5% ethanol, 115–145 g/L residual sugar, 7.2–7.6 g/L titratable acidity, low volatile acidity (VA;

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of consuming 50 g of raisins on cognitive performance, quality of life, and functional activities in healthy older adults. This is a parallel randomized controlled clinical trial, in which 80 subjects over 70 years of age participated. For 6 months, the intervention group (IG; n = 40) consumed 50 g of raisins per day added to their usual diet, whereas the control group (CG; n = 40) received no supplement. All variables were measured at baseline and at 6 months. Cognitive performance assessed with the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MOCA) test shows a difference of 3.27 points (95% CI 1.59 to 4.96), p ≤ 0.001, favorable to the IG, after the intervention. Among the cognitive performances, an improvement is observed in the IG in orientation, assessed both with the MOCA test 0.49 (95% CI 0.10 to 0.87), p = 0.014, and with the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) test, 0.36 (95% CI 0.02 to 0.70), p = 0.038. In visuospatial/executive capacity and in language, improvements were also observed in the IG, 1.36 (95% CI 0.77 to 1.95), p = 0.001, and 0.54 points (95% CI 0.12 to 0.96), p = 0.014, respectively. Immediate and delayed recall, assessed with the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test, improved in the IG. In addition, the IG showed a better quality of life and greater autonomy in instrumental activities of daily living after 6 months. No significant changes were observed in the rest of the variables analyzed. Therefore, the consumption of 50 g of raisins produces a slight improvement in cognitive performance, quality of life, and functional activities in the elderly.

Summary: Wheat‐based vegan muffins were formulated with increasing levels (0, 5 and 10 g per 100 g substitutes to flour) of dried grape pomace powder obtained after distillation (DGPP). The DGPP‐muffins showed a greater (P < 0.05) total dietary fibre and a lower (P < 0.05) total starch content to the control. The inclusion of DGPP influenced (P < 0.05) both the batter's rheological properties and the baked muffins' technological characteristics, including the baking loss, the volume, the firmness, the spread ratio and the colour. The in vitro antioxidant activity and the phenolic content increased (P < 0.05) following DGPP inclusion. The untargeted phenolic profiling by UHPLC‐HRMS revealed an (P < 0.05) increase of several phenolic classes (i.e. free and bound fractions) following the inclusion of DGPP in the recipe. Flavonoids, mainly anthocyanins, were the most abundant compounds. A quantitative descriptive sensory analysis detected the DGPP‐vegan muffins showed good sensory acceptability. The vegan muffin with 5 g per 100 g of DGPP obtained the highest overall acceptability score by the panellists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Varieties of raisins are diverse, and different varieties have different nutritional properties and commercial value. In this paper, we propose a method to identify different varieties of raisins by combining near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy and machine learning algorithms. The direct averaging of the spectra taken for each sample may reduce the experimental data and affect the extraction of spectral features, thus limiting the classification results, due to the different substances of grape skins and flesh. Therefore, this experiment proposes a method to fuse the spectral features of pulp and peel. In this experiment, principal component analysis (PCA) was used to extract baseline corrected features, and linear models of k-nearest neighbor (KNN) and linear discriminant analysis (LDA) and nonlinear models of back propagation (BP), support vector machine with genetic algorithm (GA-SVM), grid search-support vector machine (GS-SVM) and particle swarm optimization with support vector machine (PSO- SVM) coupling were used to classify. This paper compared the results of four experiments using only skin spectrum, only flesh spectrum, average spectrum of skin and flesh, and their spectral feature fusion. The experimental results showed that the accuracy and Macro-F1 score after spectral feature fusion were higher than the other three experiments, and GS-SVM had the highest accuracy and Macro-F1 score of 94.44%. The results showed that feature fusion can improve the performance of both linear and nonlinear models. This may provide a new strategy for acquiring spectral data and improving model performance in the future. The code is available at https://github.com/L-ain/Source. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) are more precise standardizable candles when measured in the near-infrared (NIR) than in the optical. With this motivation, from 2012 to 2017 we embarked on the RAISIN program with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) to obtain rest-frame NIR light curves for a cosmologically distant sample of 37 SNe Ia (0.2 ≲ z ≲ 0.6) discovered by Pan-STARRS and the Dark Energy Survey. By comparing higher- z HST data with 42 SNe Ia at z < 0.1 observed in the NIR by the Carnegie Supernova Project, we construct a Hubble diagram from NIR observations (with only time of maximum light and some selection cuts from optical photometry) to pursue a unique avenue to constrain the dark energy equation-of-state parameter, w. We analyze the dependence of the full set of Hubble residuals on the SN Ia host galaxy mass and find Hubble residual steps of size ∼0.06-0.1 mag with 1.5 σ âˆ'2.5 σ significance depending on the method and step location used. Combining our NIR sample with cosmic microwave background constraints, we find 1 + w = âˆ'0.17 ± 0.12 (statistical + systematic errors). The largest systematic errors are the redshift-dependent SN selection biases and the properties of the NIR mass step. We also use these data to measure H 0 = 75.9 ± 2.2 km sâˆ'1 Mpcâˆ'1 from stars with geometric distance calibration in the hosts of eight SNe Ia observed in the NIR versus H 0 = 71.2 ± 3.8 km sâˆ'1 Mpcâˆ'1 using an inverse distance ladder approach tied to Planck. Using optical data, we find 1 + w = âˆ'0.10 ± 0.09, and with optical and NIR data combined, we find 1 + w = âˆ'0.06 ± 0.07; these shifts of up to ∼0.11 in w could point to inconsistency in the optical versus NIR SN models. There will be many opportunities to improve this NIR measurement and better understand systematic uncertainties through larger low- z samples, new light-curve models, calibration improvements, and eventually by building high- z samples from the Roman Space Telescope. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The re-release of golden lion tamarins (Leontopithecus rosalia), from zoos into the wild, is considered to be an ex situ conservation success story. However, zoo-born golden lion tamarins have lower survival rates than their wild-born offspring, potentially due to deficient foraging and locomotion 'survival skills' acquired in captivity. The current study aimed to evaluate whether a puzzle feeder suspended and baited with different items could promote increased foraging and general activity in tamarins living in a zoo setting. A pair of tamarins at Woodland Park Zoo received the puzzle feeder in three conditions in an ABCACB experimental reversal design over a period of three months: an empty feeder and feeders baited with either fruit (raisins) or insects (mealworms). Food type affected behavior; time spent climbing increased when the feeder contained insects compared to fruit. Subjects interacted with the baited puzzle feeder device significantly more than the empty feeder, and use was highest within the first 30 minutes of exposure. Our results suggest that the puzzle feeders plus food were effective in increasing foraging and general activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the hot subtropical climate, agriculture in Greece specializes in growing various heat-loving crops - rice, cotton, olives, third in the world after Spain and Italy, citrus fruits, sesame, vines, special varieties of raisins and more. The aim of the present work is to determine to what extent the soils in the Xanthi region are suitable for growing kiwis and vineyards. Some soil indicators were determined such as particle size composition with FRITISH photosedimentograph, pH, humus content, total and active carbonates and digestible forms of N, P and K. It was found that the soils in the study area were developed on carbonate clays. In terms of particle size composition and their physico-chemical and agro-chemical properties, these soils prove to be suitable for growing kiwis and vines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two Vitis vinifera grape varieties ‘Sultanine’ and ‘Corinth’ were used to obtain raisins. The vines are grown in a cool climate (Cluj Napoca - in NV of Romania, an area not included in a viticultural area). During 2020, the grapes were harvested at 195 g/l - ‘Sultanine’ and 234 g/l for ‘Corinth’. The berries were dehydrated using a household Gorenje 240W drier, at 40°C, for 24 hours. The soluble dry matter content for raisin was higher for raisins of the ‘Corinth’ variety (61.11%) and for the ‘Sultanine’ (59.89%). Regarding the moisture of the finished product - raisins, a high content was determined for the variety ‘Sultanine’ - 19%, followed by the variety ‘Corinth’ - 15.61%. The rehydration power of raisins had values of over 80% for both types of raisins. For the amateur culture, these varieties can be recommended, given that, in recent years, due to climate change, there have been no temperatures in this area during the rest period that could cause frost over the winter. The warm autumn favoured reaching full maturity for these varieties, even in the conditions in Cluj. Raisins can be easily obtained in the household, by using household dryers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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