Situational and Age-Dependent Decision Making during Life Threatening Distress in Myotis macrodactylus.

Echolocation and audiovocal communication have been studied extensively in bats. The manner in which these abilities are incorporated within escape behaviors during life-threatening distress is largely unknown. Here we tested the hypothesis that behavioral response profiles expressed during distress are relatively stereotypic given their evolutionary adaptations to avoid predators. We subjected juvenile and adult big-footed myotis (Myotis macrodactylus) to a sequence of three types of life threatening distress: 1) trapping them in a mist-net (environmental threat), 2) approaching them when trapped (predator threat), and 3) partially restraining their freedom to move (arrest), and recorded their escape behavior in each of the three conditions. Response profiles differed across individuals and with the context in which they were expressed. During environmental and predator threat, bats displayed significantly more biting and wing-flapping behaviors and emitted more echolocation pulses than during arrest. Response profiles also varied with age. During arrest, juveniles were more likely than adults to emit distress calls and vice-versa for biting and wing flapping during environmental and predator threat. Overall, individualized response profiles were classified into ten clusters that were aligned along two divergent response trajectories when viewed within two-dimensional, multifactorial decision space. Juvenile behaviors tended to follow a predominantly "social-dependence" trajectory, whereas adult behaviors were mostly aligned along a "self-reliance" trajectory. We conclude that bats modify their vocal behavior and make age-appropriate and contextually adaptive decisions when distressed. This decision-making ability is consistent with observations in other social species, including humans.

Characterisation of aroma profiles of commercial sufus by odour activity value, gas chromatography-olfactometry, aroma recombination and omission studies.

Sufu is a solid-state fermented product made from soya beans. For the sake of quality control and regulation purposes, it is essential to be able to identify key odorants of various commercial sufus. To identify the aroma-active compounds in sufus, gas chromatography-olfactometry/aroma extract dilution analysis (GC-O/AEDA) was performed, and odour activity value (OAV) was estimated. The correlations between aroma profiles and identified aroma-active compounds were also investigated by principal component analysis. Results showed that 35 aroma-active compounds were detected through OAV calculation, while 28 compounds were identified by using GC-O/AEDA. Quantitative descriptive analysis revealed that aroma recombination model based on OAV calculation was more similar to original sufu in terms of aroma comparing to aroma recombination model based on GC-O/AEDA. Omission experiments further confirmed that the aroma compounds, such as ethyl butanoate, ethyl 2-methylbutanoate, ethyl hexanoate, (E,E)-2,4-decadienal and 2,6-dimethylpyrazine, contributed most significantly to the characteristic aroma of a commercial sufu.

Discrimination of cherry wines based on their sensory properties and aromatic fingerprinting using HS-SPME-GC-MS and multivariate analysis.

UNLABELLED: Volatiles of cherry wines were extracted by headspace solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME) and analyzed by gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS), multivariate statistical techniques (such as principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis (CA) and correlation analysis) to differentiate sensory attributes of 3 groups of the wines through characterization of volatiles of cherry wine. Seventy-five volatiles were identified in 9 samples, including 29 esters, 22 alcohols, 8 acids, 3 ketones, 5 aldehydes, and 8 miscellaneous compounds. The PCA results showed that the cherry wines were mainly differentiated by 8 sensory attributes. The samples W2, W4, and W7 were grouped around sweet aromatic and the samples W1, W5, and W9 were highly associated with the sweet, esters, green, bitter, and fermented. Nevertheless, the samples W3, W6, and W8 were located close to the sour, alcoholic, and fruity. The final result of correlation analysis was in conformity with the conclusion of PCA. The CA results showed that the group of W2, W4, and W7, and the group of W1, W5, and W9 had less difference than the group of W3, W6, and W8. The reason should be that esterification reactions and fermentation process during the ageing period was more extended. The results of analyzing revealed that HS-SPME-GC-MS coupled with chemometrics could give an appropriate way of characterizing and classifying the cherry wines. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Attributes that represent and discriminate among cherry wines might be made use of a better comprehending of the wines and for being utilized in future work. In addition, several chemometrics were used to classify the type of wines and try to install the relationship between volatiles and sensory property. Especially, PCA clearly revealed that the most contributing compounds for sensory attributes of cherry wines, CA was a more applicable way to distinguish types of cherry wines. Therefore, a feasible method that would be helpful to promote the quality of the wines by improving the winemaking process and analyzing aromatic characteristics of wines.

Discrimination of Chinese vinegars based on headspace solid-phase microextraction-gas chromatography mass spectrometry of volatile compounds and multivariate analysis.

Headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) coupled with gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was applied for the determination of the characteristic volatile profiles of Chinese vinegars. Multivariate statistical techniques, such as principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis (CA), were used to characterize the different Chinese vinegars by types, fermentation method, and production area. A total of 56 volatile compounds were identified, including 15 esters, 10 aldehydes, 5 acids, 12 alcohols, 5 ketones, 4 volatile phenols, 2 pyrazines, and 3 miscellaneous compounds. The major compounds in Chinese vinegars were furfural, acetic acid, ethyl acetate, 3-hydroxy-2-butanone, 3-methyl-1-butanol, isopentyl acetate, benzaldehyde, phenylethyl alcohol. The PCA results showed that characterizing the Chinese vinegars by HS-SPME-GC-MS was highly related to their type, fermentation method, and production area, and all these influencing factors were not independent. The CA results indicated that the fermentation method had a greater effect than vinegar type and production area. The results showed that HS-SPME-GC-MS together with chemometrics could provide practical reference for characterization of Chinese vinegars. Practical Application: HS-SPME coupled with GC-MS was applied for the determination of the characteristic volatile profiles of Chinese vinegars. The major compounds in Chinese vinegars were furfural, acetic acid, ethyl acetate, 3-hydroxy-2-butanone, 3-methyl-1-butanol, isopentyl acetate, benzaldehyde, phenylethyl alcohol. HS-SPME-GC-MS together with chemometrics was an efficient tool for evaluating vinegar authenticity.