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BACKGROUND: Maize is frequently contaminated with deoxynivalenol (DON) and fumonisins B1 (FB1) and B2 (FB2). In the European Union, these mycotoxins are regulated in maize and maize‐derived products. To comply with these regulations, industries require a fast, economic, safe, non‐destructive and environmentally friendly analysis method. RESULTS: In the present study, near‐infrared hyperspectral imaging (NIR‐HSI) was used to develop regression and classification models for DON, FB1 and FB2 in maize kernels. The best regression models presented the following root mean square error of cross validation and ratio of performance to deviation values: 0.848 mg kg−1 and 2.344 (DON), 3.714 mg kg−1 and 2.018 (FB1) and 2.104 mg kg−1 and 2.301 (FB2). Regarding classification, European Union legal limits for DON and FB1 + FB2 were selected as thresholds to classify maize kernels as acceptable or not. The sensitivity and specificity were 0.778 and 1 for the best DON classification model and 0.607 and 0.938 for the best FB1 + FB2 classification model. CONCLUSION: NIR‐HSI can help reduce DON and fumonisins contamination in the maize food and feed chain. © 2024 The Authors. Journal of The Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A multilateral approach that includes both biotic and climatic data was developed to detect the main variables that affect the ecology and population dynamics of woolly apple aphid Eriosoma lanigerum (Hausmann). Crawlers migrated up and down the trunk mainly from spring to autumn and horizontal migration through the canopy was observed from May to August. Winter temperatures did not kill the canopy colonies, and both canopy and root colonies are the source of reinfestations in Mediterranean areas. Thus, control measures should simultaneously address roots and canopy. European earwigs Forficula auricularia (Linnaeus) were found to reduce the survival of overwintering canopy colonies up to June, and this can allow their later control by the parasitoid Aphelinus mali (Haldeman) from summer to fall. Preliminary models to predict canopy infestations were developed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: Iodine values (IVs) of some biodiesel samples were analyzed using both 1H NMR and a standard iodometric method. 1H NMR was carried out with and without 1,4-dioxane as an internal standard (IS). The results obtained using 1H NMR with 1,4-dioxane as an internal standard showed better linear fitting and correlation with the iodometric method than NMR without the IS. The proposed 1H NMR_IS method allows determination of the IV using smaller samples than the iodometric method. Moreover, the determination can be carried out in less than 15min, dramatically less than the time needed to carry out the iodometric method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]