**2. The evolution of national context: corporate social responsibility**

In Italy, social audit, the basic instrument of CSR, unlike in other European countries, is still a voluntary choice and not a legal obligation. Social audit is a public document drafted periodically and addressed to social interlocutors who, directly or indirectly, are involved in activities of the company. Therefore, the recipients of social audit are all stakeholders and the community at large; information on social outcomes helps create and spread a certain reputation of the company that is able to encourage dialog with all the stakeholders [1]. This term refers to an individual, a community or an organization that, directly or indirectly, influences the operations of the company or suffers its repercussions. Stakeholders are, therefore, all those who have an interest in the activity of the company which allows a better functioning of it. As a matter of fact, the company is part of a network of interactions and relationships, exchange with multiple social interlocutors, capable of influencing, in a positive or negative way, the destiny of the company. Only a careful management of this system of relationships allows the company to obtain the resources and contributions essential for the prosecution over time of the activity and the realization of its purposes.

has defined CSR as the responsibility of enterprises for their impact on society, and it is important in the agri-food system above all. CSR should be company led. Public authorities can play a supporting role through a smart mix of voluntary policy measures and, where necessary, complementary regulation. Companies can become socially responsible by: following the law; integrating social, environmental, ethical, consumer and human rights concerns into

In Italy, in recent years, CSR started as a response to new consumption paradigms interesting to our society which, in times of globalization of production processes, sees the eradication of the enterprise from the area of production and an increased need for the same to make its way of acting visible; however, social audit (the basic instrument of CSR) is still a voluntary choice, unlike in other European countries. CSR contributes to value creation and is therefore able to generate a competitive advantage for the company; it should not be considered as a cost, but as an element that, when integrated into corporate governance, positively affects the performance of the company and its competitiveness by improving its development prospects in a longterm perspective and, at the same time, by reducing the risk profile. In this way, CSR can be considered a true corporate philosophy or a direct decision as strategic response to major competitors' actions or a marketing policy for offsetting past immoral behavior toward consumers. The main functions of a company entail the creation of value through the production of goods and services, generating profits for its owners and for its shareholders, as well as wealth for the company, in particular, through a continuous process of job creation. Firms are aware of the possibility of contributing to the sustainable development of society, managing their operations in a way that strengthens the economic growth and competitiveness without harming the environment, neither fleeing from their social responsibilities nor neglecting the interests of the consumer. In this context, an increasing number of firms has adopted the concept of social responsibility in the following ways: by adopting a socially responsible behavior beyond the legal requirements; by taking into account the economic, social and environmental impacts of their activities; by considering social responsibility not as an additional element

to fundamental activities, but as correlated with the type of business management.

financial field, the ethical investment funds, rating and development are important.

**2. The evolution of national context: corporate social responsibility**

In Italy, social audit, the basic instrument of CSR, unlike in other European countries, is still a voluntary choice and not a legal obligation. Social audit is a public document drafted periodically and addressed to social interlocutors who, directly or indirectly, are involved in activities

Companies disclose their socially responsible initiatives through the adoption of social, environmental and sustainable audit and reports, that is, through the reporting of CSR activities that they have spontaneously launched. It is the practice of adopting socially responsible management systems (management of the environment, human resources, suppliers, information security and accuracy). Certification by third parties is also very widespread. In this context, it is possible to understand the importance of environmental compatibility brands and quality brands; in the

their business strategy and operations.

100 Social Responsibility

Therefore, companies do not limit themselves to undertake CSR, but often choose to make the stakeholders aware of such conduct, in an attempt to improve the corporate reputation and business results. Therefore, it permits a synergy between businesses and consumers: consumers' choices affect companies' policies, which (if properly communicated) are able to influence purchases. Considering the profile of modern consumers (careful of the consequences of its purchasing decisions in terms of social, ethical and environmental aspects), it is possible to identify the role of CSR for consumers through a study on critical, ethical and responsible purchase of products [2]. In this context, a wide range of factors are able to contribute to a positive reputation, including accounting measures of profitability and risk, market value, media visibility, institutional stock holdings, dividend yield, firm size and demonstration of social concern (but also other reputational factors, including customer satisfaction, stakeholder familiarity, corporate campaigns and corporate citizenship programs). Nowadays, consumers are more sophisticated than 30 years ago, thus, they may have a different understanding and awareness of CSR, and in this way, they might prove to be more receptive to a different style and approach to corporate initiative and communication. If it is correct, the changed features of consumers are possibly more distinct and noticeable considering the older and younger generations or differences in genders: which is what this study focuses on. In other words, an intent of this study was to either confirm or not a role in people's perception of proper ethical conduct of factors such as age or gender through the proposed statistical methodology.

In this context, ethical marketing becomes the function linking the company and the market through the synthesis between ethical decisions and economic consequences, respecting in any case the interests of the various stakeholders. In Italy, for historical reasons deriving from the importance of the cooperative movement, as well as for structural motives, given the prevalence of small and medium enterprises, the sensitivity toward the context of social relations in which companies operate, constitutes a significant part of the national economic system. In the beginning of the new millennium, the Ministry of Labor and Social Policies launched the CSR-social commitment project aimed at the development and promotion of social responsibility. The project is based on a voluntary approach to CSR the companies elect and aims to promote the culture of social responsibility within the socioeconomic system and to increase awareness of sustainable development. In this way, it is possible to provide a response to information requests on CSR made by the stakeholders, pursuing the European Commission's goal of identifying a common language and reference framework [3].

The project assigns importance to the diffusion of ethical behaviors among companies, but what characterizes it is the widening of this vision through the dimension of social interventions, called social commitment, which has the aim of promoting the real participation of companies in supporting national and local welfare system according to a modern logic of public-private integration [4]. In particular, the role of the government is to identify areas of intervention, that, at a national and local level, require specific action and direct funding on priority projects [4]. Companies can join on a voluntary basis and contribute to the financing of welfare policies, while social intervention is managed directly by the associations and by voluntary work.

the basis of the variables on which the consumer focuses, ranging from quality/price ratio, to packaging of the product, to ethics of workers' rights, ecology, respect for the environment,

Corporate and Consumer Social Responsibility in the Italian Food Market System

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.75309

103

A scenario which highlights that a consumer, with the purchase of the product, tends to satisfy more needs than in the past, ranging from food safety, in terms of compliance with hygiene rules and nutritional properties, to sustainability, in terms of use of renewable resources during the production process and in relation to respect for the living conditions of animals [10]. Lastly, as already stated, there is also the interest for safety in the workplace and the respect for workers' rights [10]. Furthermore, emphasis is placed on the dynamics of the consumption of quality products, expression of a growing 'modern consumer' sensitivity toward nutritional and ethical content: a post-modern consumer, considered as one of the main stakeholders of the company because, compared to the past, s/he chooses, buys, uses products and

The level of wealth that has characterized Western society leads individuals to make informed purchase choices, based not only on affordability, but also on issues such as quality of life and responsibility toward future generations [11]. The modern consumer becomes 'gatekeeper of the market' through actions that can be negative, positive, individual or collective: as a consequence s/he asks the companies for increasingly high quality and ethical standards. The figure of the modern consumer, that is, much more critical and careful toward the products and services offered by the market, it is one of the most significant transformations of Italian consumption patterns in recent years. This means that we are faced with a new subjectivism

In this context, the sociodemographic changes connected to economic development, product and process innovations [12] have pushed consumers toward an increasing sensitivity in terms of the safety of food. This sensitivity has been sharpened by food scandals and health emergencies that have hit the agricultural and agri-food sector on a global scale in the years

However, not only the food risks are important, but also the tendencies and sensitivities spread toward issues closely related to food and its processing (that includes the treatment of raw materials, the phases of preparation and the packaging of the product), from ecosystem pollution to biodiversity loss, from the conditions of animal breeding to genetic manipulation and from the new forms of labor exploitation to the increase in social inequalities [14]. It follows that the subjective component of the demand attributable to personal consumer's taste, considered enduring in the past, now is highly influenced by factors of a cultural and sociodemographic nature (education, age, social context), taking a leading role in the market. This component allows a better interpretation of the demand (not just the food one) and its transformation, since the traditional explanatory variables (price, relative prices and income)

of consumption especially in the agricultural and agri-food sector.

**4. Social and economic development**

between the old and the new millennium [13].

are no longer sufficient [15].

diet, health, and so on [9].

services in a conscious way.

Government's objective is to develop the ethical supplementary funds. The standard proposed by the ministry envisages a system articulated on two levels [5]: the first level, called CSR level, easy to access and articulated on the basis of already known schemes (e.g., the International Organization for Standardization approach), has the main purpose of promoting the culture of social responsibility; the second level (social commitment level) requires the company to cofinance social projects in order to benefit from tax bonuses and facilitates access to the financial market through ethical funds. For companies wishing to participate in the reward system, an easily usable, simple and innovative tool was developed: the social statement. This is a selfassessment device for social responsibility activities and a support in the drafting of a report whose objective is to guarantee transparency of performance in the field of social responsibility.

Lastly, the Ministry of Labor and Social Policies established within the framework of the commitments undertaken in the context of the Third European Conference on Corporate Social Responsibility, the Italian multi-stakeholder forum for corporate social responsibility [6]. The initiative was to encourage the dissemination of CSR among Italian companies and organizations by increasing the level of awareness of the importance of relations between CSR and sustainable development; facilitate the exchange of experiences and best practices; promote transparency and convergence of CSR practices and tools, with particular attention to the needs of small- and medium-sized enterprises, and, lastly, to promote the sharing of partnership experiences between institutions, companies and organizations and civil society.


**6. Permafrost erosion models**

Several assumptions were made for estimating the amount of eroded soil during the one year period:

As the average erosion rate in Varandey area was 2.7 m/year between 2005 and 2007 [11], based on these assumptions, the amount of eroded soil could be estimated.

The assumption that all melted material is being removed by a storm surge at the end of each "season" means that a new frozen soil layer is now exposed to heat and melting processes. A melted soil layer that stays intact could create an insulation layer that prevents heat penetration and decreases the melting processes, so the overall melted and eroded soil amount would be much smaller. For example, a single storm surge that hits the shore at the end of fall would hardly influence the erosion rate.

An erosion rate sensitivity analysis was made to assess and better understand the effect of the number of storms in a year on the total erosion rate. Three different

**Figure 4.** *The effect of number of storms on the total erosion as a function of time [10].*

**Figure 5.** *Total erosion as a function of number of storm surges [10].*

cases of storm surge were examined: the period between May and September was divided into sub-periods. It was then assumed that a storm surge hits the shore at the end of each sub-period and erodes all melted material.

As can be seen in **Figure 4**, the results correspond to the expectations—the erosion rate is increased as the number of storms rises. This result is further detailed in **Figure 5**, which shows the total erosion as number of storms/storm surges.


*2.5. Analysis of the Candidate Gene*

To infer the gene regulation patterns of *BoF3'H* during anthocyanin biosynthesis, a qRT-PCR assay was performed. The RNA was isolated from BT 126 and SN60 at three head developmental stages, with both low and high anthocyanin contents. Reverse transcription was conducted using oligo-dT primers and PrimeScript™ RT Master Mix (Takara BIO, Inc., Shiga, Japan). The primer pair sequences for *BoF3'H*, *BoANS2*, and *BoTTG1* used in this study were previously designed for the RT-qPCR analysis. *BoLBD38.3*-specific primers were designed based on the sequences in NCBI (accession number: XM\_013739916). The qPCR primer pair sequences for *BoLBD38.3* were 5 -GCCCAAACGGAGACGATTAG-3 (forward) and 5 -AACCGTTCACTGGCGATGTG-3 (reverse), gene-specific primers that were confirmed to produce specific gene products by sequencing [15]. Real-time PCR was performed using TB Green® Premix Ex Taq™ (Tli RNaseH Plus) (Takara, Dalian, China) on an ABI QuantStudio 5 real-time PCR system(Thermo Fisher Scientific, MA, USA) according to the manufacturer's instructions. Actin was used as a reference gene [43]. The data were processed using the 2−ΔΔCt method [44]. Sequence data of *BoF3'H* can be found in the GenBank data libraries, under accession number XM\_013751545.


**1. Introduction**

Surface electromyography (sEMG) is widely used in clinical gait analysis [1,2]: amplitude-, time-, frequency-based parameters, and conduction velocity of muscle fibers can be investigated to characterize muscle activity from sEMG [3,4]. In particular, temporal parameters, i.e., the on/off

timing of muscle activation, have become a de-facto standard for the clinical assessment of gait [5–7]. On/off timing of activation of each analyzed muscle is calculated from the raw sEMG signal through passband filtering, rectification, envelope computation, and thresholding [8–10], and used to identify the pattern of activation during the gait cycle. Then, the subject-specific pattern can be compared to that of healthy/reference populations for functional assessment [11]. Therefore, the approach used for the identification of such patterns plays a critical role in the resulting functional assessment.

In common practice, a single reference activation pattern is considered, resulting from the analysis of a limited number of strides (i.e., usually few units over a limited number of trials) acquired in laboratory conditions [11]. Recently, the statistical analysis of muscle activity over multiple decades of consecutive strides in ecological conditions highlighted that not only one, but several activation patterns can be identified with different statistical occurrence in the same walking trial, usually one prevalent pattern accompanied by few less frequent, but still statistically significant ones [4,12–16]. Studies performed on healthy adults [4,13,16] found for the rectus femoris a pattern of three activations per gait cycle (i.e., at the beginning of gait cycle, around foot-off, and in the terminal swing) in 53% of total strides, of two activations (i.e., as the previous but lacking activation around foot-off) in 26%, and of two (or three) small activations only around stance-to-swing transition in 17% [13].The identification of this variable behavior is crucial for characterizing motor function and control strategies in healthy subjects, and even more to better understand the modifications occurring in pathological conditions. Therefore, the statistical approach has also been applied in preliminary studies analyzing the muscle activation pattern of pathologic gait; in hemiplegic children, for instance, a reduced frequency in the activation of the tibialis anterior (TA) during terminal swing and a lack of activity of the same muscle at heel-strike compared to healthy controls were identified [17].

Besides the promising preliminary results, and the potential of a better insight in motor control mechanisms provided by the application of a statistical approach for the analysis of sEMG [18,19], some methodological aspects of its implementation still need to be better investigated, especially as referred to the analysis of pathological gait, where changes in the activation pattern can be related to other kinematic and/or kinetic modifications. Gait asymmetry [20,21], for instance, can appear in certain pathological conditions, and can significantly affect the implementation of a statistical approach for the analysis of sEMG, differentiating or not the specific behavior of muscles in the two limbs. Although it is relevant, a specific indication regarding how to take gait symmetry into account is still missing.

Among motor disorders that influence gait performance, Parkinson's Disease (PD) is one of the most investigated in clinical research [22–29]. Usually, authors assess muscle activation during gait of PD patients with amplitude-based parameters [23,24], focusing mainly on distal muscles of the lower limbs, i.e., gastrocnemius (GA) and TA [25–29]. Few recent studies analyzed the on/off timing of these muscles within the gait cycle without identifying a representative activation pattern in PD patients. Cioni et al. [25] observed the absence or extreme reduction in TA activations in early stance or during the early and late swing phases, while Dietz et al. [28] found well preserved timing in the activations of the GA and TA comparable to healthy reference values, and some other authors [27,29] observed the co-activation of the two antagonist muscles (i.e., overlapping periods of on/off timings): Ferrarin et al. [27] reported maintained reciprocity between antagonist muscles, while Dietz et al. [28] observed larger co-activations during the support phase in PD compared to the healthy elderly. These contradictory results can depend on differences in the analyzed PD populations, including different pharmacological treatments and severity of the pathology, but the most important limitation can be identified in the limited number of analyzed strides, preventing the actual identification of significant patterns. Given the intrinsic variability of the muscle activation pattern identified in healthy subjects [10,13], the application of a statistical approach over multiple decades of strides can help to properly take intra-subject variability into account and provide more reliable assessment [30,31] also in pathological gait [17,32].

The aim of the present study was to apply a statistical approach to the analysis of sEMG to identify gastrocnemius medialis (GM) and TA activation patterns in the gait of PD patients, taking potential stride asymmetries into account. More specifically, using data acquired during a 6-min walking test, first, temporal gait symmetry was verified, then occurrence of the di fferent activation patterns, in terms of number and timing within each stride per muscle, and the co-activation of antagonist muscles were quantified.

### **2. Materials and Methods**


**2.1 Free radical cause nitric oxide**

The nitric oxide (NO) has dual role in health and disease and depends on its concentration. Nitric oxide is the active marker of the development of cancer by induction of angiogenesis, blood vessel formation during physiological and pathological processes [25]. NO may modulate tumor DNA repair mechanisms by upregulating p53, poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase, and DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK). The role of NO in cancer will have profound therapeutic implications for the diagnosis and treatment of disease [26]. Alterations in the NO metabolism and to increase protein nitration may contribute to the mutagenic processes and promote lung carcinogenesis [27]. NO promotes intravasation and angiogenesis to enhance cancer cell growth and increase the properties of cancer cells [28].

#### **Figure 4.** *The role of nitric oxide in various diseases of humans [57].*

In lung cancer, a high level of NO is linked to chronic stages of cancer cells and protective role in the survival and proliferation of tumor cells by inhibiting apoptosis, increasing cell migration, and invasion [29]. NO and its role in carcinogenesis and tumor progression, as well as dietary chemopreventive agents have NO-modulating properties with safe cytotoxic profile [30]. The nitric oxide synthase 2-mediated production of NO/reactive nitrogen oxide species (RNS) is heavily involved in cancer progression and metastasis in different types of tumor (**Figure 4**) [31].


**3.3 Visible spectrophotometric methods based on formation of charge-transfer complex**

Some drugs, including penam and cephem analogs, are electron donors. Therefore, they form charge-transfer complexes with compounds that are σ- and π-accepptors of electrons. The wavelengths at which the absorption maxima of charge-transfer complexes of β-lactam antibiotics were measured depended on what of reagent was used the acceptor:

Spectrophotometric Methods as Solutions to Pharmaceutical Analysis of β-Lactam Antibiotics 123

 benzocaine in thrietylamine medium for determination of cefadroxil and amoxicillin. Stoichiometric ratio of formed species was 1:1 with peaking at λ=455 nm and λ=442 nm,

 electron-deficient polinitro derivatives for determination of amoxicillin, cefoperazone, cefadroxil, cefprozil. Complexes of the Meisenheimer type were formed [51].

Suggested mechanisms of coupling reaction of phenol derivative of β-lactam analogs were

N S CH3 CH3

O N H O

> NO2 N2

+ +

OH-

N N N N

H2N

O-

NH2

NO2

HO

COOH

O2N

N S CH3 CH3

O HN O

COOH

**3.5 Visible spectrophotometric methods based on coupling with specified reagents**  The analysis of phenolic derivatives of penam and cephem analogs were possible by measurement of absorption species formed as a result of reations with specified reagents.

Diazo coupling of β-lactam analogs was conducted with the following compounds:

respectively [50] .

 Schemes of reactions of coupling of β-lactam analogs [50-51].

Reaction of diazo coupling of cefadroxil Reaction of diazo coupling of amoxicillin

For determination of phenolic derivative of β-lactam analog (cefadroxil) measurement of absorption of formed product in the reaction between it and 4-aminoantipyrine in the presence of alkaline potassium hexacyanoferrate(III) at 510 nm was also proposed (Fig. 16). Potassium hexacyanoferrate(III), being oxidant in this reaction, yielding *N*-substituted quinine imines and in the result was responsible for formation of red-colored antipyrine dye. Additionally, a sequential injection analysis (SIA) spectrophotometric procedure for the

1,2-naphthoquinone-4-sulfonic acid is the reagent permitting the nucleophilic substitution reaction in area of amino group of penem (amoxicillin) and cephem (cephalexin) analogs (Fig. 17). The stoichiometric ratio of these species was 1:1 and they absorb at λ = 463 nm [53]. The extension of the methodology for determination of cephalexin by using the H-point standard additions method (HPSAM) and the generalized H-point standard additions methods (GHPSAM) (after solid phase extraction cartridges) permitted also its analysis in

O

HO CH3

O

NH2

+

N H

+

N N COOC2H5

O

O

NH2

N N O H

determination was reported [52].

urine [53].

N H COOH

presented in Fig. 15.

 iodine gives coloured complex species at 838–843 nm during analysis of cephapirin sodium, cefazoline sodium, cephalexin monohydrate, cefadroxil monohydrate, cefoperazone and ceftazidime (ratio 1:1) [47].

During formation of charge-transfer complexes between *p*-chloranilic acid and d-donors electrons (A) from group of cephem analogs (D) in polar solvents the radical anion is formed.

$$\mathbf{D} + \mathbf{A} \xrightleftharpoons \underbrace{\mathbf{D} \cdots \mathbf{A}}\_{\text{complex}} \\ \left(\mathbf{D} \cdots \mathbf{A}\right) \xrightleftharpoons \mathbf{D} + \mathbf{A} \xrightleftharpoons \mathbf{D} + \mathbf{A} \x$$

Electron transfer from donor to the acceptor moiety occurred with the formation of intensely coloured radical ions with high molar absorptivity value. The formation of charge-transfer complex of some cephem analogs (D) with iodine in 1,2-dichloroethane (J) is observed with the change of colour from violet to lemon yellow:

$$\mathbf{D} + \mathbf{J}\_2 \xrightleftharpoons \mathbf{D} \cdots \mathbf{J}\_\Phi \xrightleftharpoons \mathbf{D} \cdots \mathbf{J}\_\Phi \xrightleftharpoons \mathbf{D} \cdots \mathbf{J}\_\Phi \xrightleftharpoons \mathbf{J}\_\Theta \xrightleftharpoons \mathbf{J}\_\Theta \xrightleftharpoons \mathbf{J}\_\Theta$$

Only in 1,2-dichloroethane, formation of tri-iodide ion pair (inner complex), showing two absorption maxima at 290 nm and 364 nm, was possible. This complex originated from an early intermediate outer complex D---J2. While the interactions of some cephem analogs with DDQ and TCNQ took place according to the following simple relationship:

$$\mathbf{D} + \mathbf{A} \xleftarrow[\mathbf{D} \dots \mathbf{C}]{} \mathbf{D} \overleftarrow{\mathbf{D}} \cdots \mathbf{A} \overleftarrow{\mathbf{D}} \overleftarrow{\mathbf{A}} \mathbf{D} \overleftarrow{\mathbf{A}} \overleftarrow{\mathbf{D}} \overleftarrow{\mathbf{A}} \overleftarrow{\mathbf{A}} \overleftarrow{\mathbf{A}} \overleftarrow{\mathbf{A}} \overleftarrow{\mathbf{A}} \overleftarrow{\mathbf{A}} \overleftarrow{\mathbf{A}} \overleftarrow{\mathbf{A}} \overleftarrow{\mathbf{A}} \overleftarrow{\mathbf{A}} \overleftarrow{\mathbf{A}} \overleftarrow{\mathbf{A}} \overleftarrow{\mathbf{A}} \overleftarrow{\mathbf{A}} \overleftarrow{\mathbf{A}} \overleftarrow{\mathbf{A}} \overleftarrow{\mathbf{A}} \overleftarrow{\mathbf{A}} \overleftarrow{\mathbf{A}} \overleftarrow{\mathbf{A}} \overleftarrow{\mathbf{A}} \overleftarrow{\mathbf{A}} \overleftarrow{\mathbf{A}} \overleftarrow{\mathbf{A}} \overleftarrow{\mathbf{A}} \overleftarrow{\mathbf{A}} \overleftarrow{\mathbf{A}} \overleftarrow{\mathbf{A}} \overleftarrow{\mathbf{A}} \overleftarrow{\mathbf{A}} \overleftarrow{\mathbf{A}} \overleftarrow{\mathbf{A}} \overleftarrow{\mathbf{A}} \overleftarrow{\mathbf{A}} \overleftarrow{\mathbf{A}} \overleftarrow{\mathbf{A}} \overleftarrow{\mathbf{A}} \overleftarrow{\mathbf{A}} \overleftarrow{\mathbf{A}} \overleftarrow{\mathbf{A}} \overleftarrow{\mathbf{A}} \overleftarrow{\mathbf{A}} \overleftarrow{\mathbf{A}} \overleftarrow{\mathbf{A}} \overleftarrow{\mathbf{A}} \overleftarrow{\mathbf{A}} \overleftarrow{\mathbf{A}} \overleftarrow{\mathbf{A}} \overleftarrow{\mathbf{A}} \overleftarrow{\mathbf{A}} \overleftarrow{\mathbf{A}} \overleftarrow{\mathbf{A}} \overleftarrow{\mathbf{A}} \overleftarrow{\mathbf{A}} \overleftarrow{\mathbf{A}} \overleftarrow{\mathbf{A}} \overleftarrow{\mathbf{A}} \overleftarrow{\mathbf{A}}$$

#### **3.4 Visible spectrophotometric methods based on formation of ion pair**

In visible spetrophotometric analysis of penam and cephem analogs, their ability to form ion-pair was also used. The penam analogs contacting the tertiary amine group (ampicillin, dicloxacillin, flucloxacillin, amoxicillin) and Mo(V)-thiocyanate binary complex in hydrochloric acid give coloured ion-pair formation absorbing at λ = 467 nm (Fig. 14) [48].

Fig. 14. Scheme of Mo(V)-thiocyanate-β-lactam ion-pair [48].

Some cephem analogs (cephaprin sodium, cefuroxime sodium, cefotaxime sodium, cefoperazone sodium, cefadroxil, ceftazidime, cefazolin sodium and cefaclor) can be determined spectrophotometrically based on formation of ion-pair complex with ammonium reinecekate. In acidic medium at 25 ± 2oC, as the reaction products, the complex, absorbing at 525 nm, was formed according to the scheme [49]:

cephem analog hydrochloride + ammonium reineckate → cephem reineckate + ammonium chloride

 iodine gives coloured complex species at 838–843 nm during analysis of cephapirin sodium, cefazoline sodium, cephalexin monohydrate, cefadroxil monohydrate,

During formation of charge-transfer complexes between *p*-chloranilic acid and d-donors electrons (A) from group of cephem analogs (D) in polar solvents the radical anion is formed.

polar sovent

outer complex inner complex tri-iodide ion

J2 J3

D + A (D---A) D + A

Electron transfer from donor to the acceptor moiety occurred with the formation of intensely coloured radical ions with high molar absorptivity value. The formation of charge-transfer complex of some cephem analogs (D) with iodine in 1,2-dichloroethane (J) is observed with

Only in 1,2-dichloroethane, formation of tri-iodide ion pair (inner complex), showing two absorption maxima at 290 nm and 364 nm, was possible. This complex originated from an early intermediate outer complex D---J2. While the interactions of some cephem analogs

> D + A (D---A) complex

In visible spetrophotometric analysis of penam and cephem analogs, their ability to form ion-pair was also used. The penam analogs contacting the tertiary amine group (ampicillin, dicloxacillin, flucloxacillin, amoxicillin) and Mo(V)-thiocyanate binary complex in hydrochloric acid give coloured ion-pair formation absorbing at λ = 467 nm (Fig. 14) [48].

Mo(VI) Mo(V) Mo(SCN)-

COOH

CH3 CH3

Some cephem analogs (cephaprin sodium, cefuroxime sodium, cefotaxime sodium, cefoperazone sodium, cefadroxil, ceftazidime, cefazolin sodium and cefaclor) can be determined spectrophotometrically based on formation of ion-pair complex with ammonium reinecekate. In acidic medium at 25 ± 2oC, as the reaction products, the complex,

cephem analog hydrochloride + ammonium reineckate → cephem reineckate + ammonium chloride

6SCN-

+

(Mo(SCN)6) - 6

complex

D + J2 D---J J D---J + J

with DDQ and TCNQ took place according to the following simple relationship:

**3.4 Visible spectrophotometric methods based on formation of ion pair**

ascrobic acid

O

R

Fig. 14. Scheme of Mo(V)-thiocyanate-β-lactam ion-pair [48].

absorbing at 525 nm, was formed according to the scheme [49]:

N S

cefoperazone and ceftazidime (ratio 1:1) [47].

the change of colour from violet to lemon yellow:


**5. Application of microbial volatile organic compounds**

Poveda [25] reviewed the application of microbial volatile organic compounds in plants viz. plant growth promotion, tolerance to abiotic stress, induction of defense mechanism, anti-microbial activity against phytopathogens, attractants or repellents to insect pests and post-harvest disease management.

*Volatile Organic Compounds Produced by Microbes in the Management of Postharvest Diseases… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.110493*

against oxidative damage, by reducing the accumulation of H2O2 accumulation under salt stress but the exact MVOCs involved have not been determined [65]. Under salt stress, myristic acid, phenol-2-methoxy, stearic acid and tetracontane emitted by *Pseudomonas simiae* are capable to reduce Na+, and increase K+ and P, content in roots of soybean seedlings, because of an increase in the expression of peroxidase, catalase, vegetative storage protein and nitrite reductase genes [66]. Increased in tolerance to salinity in *A. thaliana* by downregulating the expression of *high-affinity K*+ *transporter 1* in roots and upregulation in shoots by the 2,3-Butanediol compound released by *B. subtilis* (Zhang *et al*. 2008). Acetoin released by *B. amyloliquefaciens* is able to increase tolerance against salinity in *M. piperita*, by increasing SA content [67].