331 research outputs found
Growth inhibition of bacterial isolates recovered from two types of Portuguese dry smoked sausages (chouriço)
Potassium sorbate (PS), sodium benzoate (SB) and methyl p-hydroxybenzoate (MHB) were investigated
as surface treatments for their ability to inhibit the growth of 18 isolates of spoilage and pathogenic bacteria
from two types of Portuguese dry smoked sausages (Chouric o). MHB significantly inhibited the
growth rate of 12 of the isolates (p < 0.05) whereas no effect was observed for four isolates of lactic acid
bacteria, identified as Enterococcus faecium, Pediococcus acidilactici and Lactobacillus curvatus, and two isolates
identified as Clostridium aminovalericum and Staphylococcus epidermidis. PS and SB had less influence
on the bacterial growth rates. It was concluded that MHB can be applied as surface treatment to improve
the stability and safety of the product along shelf life period in modified atmosphere packag
Quantum Monte Carlo simulation of thin magnetic films
The stochastic series expansion quantum Monte Carlo method is used to study
thin ferromagnetic films, described by a Heisenberg model including local
anisotropies. The magnetization curve is calculated, and the results compared
to Schwinger boson and many-body Green's function calculations. A transverse
field is introduced in order to study the reorientation effect, in which the
magnetization changes from out-of-plane to in-plane. Since the approximate
theoretical approaches above differ significantly from each other, and the
Monte Carlo method is free of systematic errors, the calculation provides an
unbiased check of the approximate treatments. By studying quantum spin models
with local anisotropies, varying spin size, and a transverse field, we also
demonstrate the general applicability of the recent cluster-loop formulation of
the stochastic series expansion quantum Monte Carlo method.Comment: 9 pages, 12 figure
Feasibility and Advantages of Diffusion Weighted Imaging Atlas Construction in Q-Space
Anomaly Analysis in Cleaning-in-Place Operations of an Industrial Brewery Fermenter
Analyzing historical data of industrial
cleaning-in-place (CIP)
operations is essential to avoid potential operation failures but
is usually not done. This paper presents a three-level approach of
analysis based on the CIP case of a brewery fermenter to describe
how to analyze the historical data in steps for detecting anomalies.
In the first level, the system is assessed before cleaning to ensure
that the selected recipe and system are able to accomplish the task.
In the second level, a multiway principal component analysis (MPCA)
algorithm is applied to monitor the process variables online or post
cleaning, with the purpose of locally detecting the anomalies and
explaining the potential causes of the anomalous event. The third
level analysis is performed after cleaning to evaluate the cleaning
results. The implementation of the analysis approach has significant
potential to automatically detect deviations and anomalies in future
CIP cycles and to optimize the cleaning process
The Effects of Voluntary Disclosure and Dividend Propensity on Prices Leading Earnings
We investigate the joint effects of dividend propensity (i.e. whether a firm pays cash dividends) and voluntary disclosure on the relationship between current stock returns and future earnings. We examine whether dividend propensity and voluntary disclosure act as substitutes or complements in the financial communication process. We also examine whether the effects of dividend propensity and voluntary disclosure vary between high- and lowgrowth firms. Consistent with prior studies, we find that share price anticipation of earnings improves with increasing levels of annual report narrative disclosure, and that firms that pay dividends exhibit higher levels of share price anticipation of earnings than non-dividend-paying firms. The paper adds to the literature on share price anticipation of earnings in two crucial respects. First we show that the associations of voluntary disclosure and dividend propensity with share price anticipation of earnings are statistically significant for high-growth firms and insignificant for low-growth firms. Second we show that the significant effects we find for dividend propensity and voluntary disclosure in high-growth firms are not perfectly additive
Copenhagen Diabetes Consensus (CODIAC) 2021: user involvement in diabetes care, prevention and research
Aims
User involvement is pivotal for health development, but there are significant gaps in our understanding of the concept. The Copenhagen Diabetes Consensus on User Involvement in Diabetes Care, Prevention and Research (CODIAC) was established to address these gaps, share knowledge and develop best practices.
Methods
A literature review of user involvement was undertaken in diabetes care, prevention and research. Moreover, a Group Concept Mapping (GCM) survey synthesized the knowledge and opinions of researchers, healthcare professionals and people with diabetes and their carers to identify gaps between what is important for user involvement and what is being done in practice. Finally, a consensus conference discussed the main gaps in knowledge and practice while developing plans to address the shortcomings.
Results
The literature review demonstrated that user involvement is an effective strategy for diabetes care, prevention and research, given the right support and conditions, but gaps and key challenges regarding the value and impact of user involvement approaches were found. The GCM process identified 11 major gaps, where important issues were not being sufficiently practised. The conference considered these gaps and opportunities to develop new collaborative initiatives under eight overall themes.
Conclusions
User involvement is effective and adds value to diabetes care, prevention and research when used under the right circumstances. CODIAC developed new learning about the way in which academic and research knowledge can be transferred to more practice-oriented knowledge and concrete collaborative initiatives. This approach may be a potential new framework for initiatives in which coherence of process can lead to coherent outputs
Avalanche Dynamics in Evolution, Growth, and Depinning Models
The dynamics of complex systems in nature often occurs in terms of
punctuations, or avalanches, rather than following a smooth, gradual path. A
comprehensive theory of avalanche dynamics in models of growth, interface
depinning, and evolution is presented. Specifically, we include the Bak-Sneppen
evolution model, the Sneppen interface depinning model, the Zaitsev flux creep
model, invasion percolation, and several other depinning models into a unified
treatment encompassing a large class of far from equilibrium processes. The
formation of fractal structures, the appearance of noise, diffusion with
anomalous Hurst exponents, Levy flights, and punctuated equilibria can all be
related to the same underlying avalanche dynamics. This dynamics can be
represented as a fractal in spatial plus one temporal dimension. We develop
a scaling theory that relates many of the critical exponents in this broad
category of extremal models, representing different universality classes, to
two basic exponents characterizing the fractal attractor. The exact equations
and the derived set of scaling relations are consistent with numerical
simulations of the above mentioned models.Comment: 27 pages in revtex, no figures included. Figures or hard copy of the
manuscript supplied on reques
Estimativa dos componentes do balanço de energia e da evapotranspiração para åreas de cultivo de soja no sul do Brasil utilizando imagens do sensor TM Landsat 5
25 Years of Self-organized Criticality: Concepts and Controversies
Introduced by the late Per Bak and his colleagues, self-organized criticality (SOC) has been one of the most stimulating concepts to come out of statistical mechanics and condensed matter theory in the last few decades, and has played a significant role in the development of complexity science. SOC, and more generally fractals and power laws, have attracted much comment, ranging from the very positive to the polemical. The other papers (Aschwanden et al. in Space Sci. Rev., 2014, this issue; McAteer et al. in Space Sci. Rev., 2015, this issue; Sharma et al. in Space Sci. Rev. 2015, in preparation) in this special issue showcase the considerable body of observations in solar, magnetospheric and fusion plasma inspired by the SOC idea, and expose the fertile role the new paradigm has played in approaches to modeling and understanding multiscale plasma instabilities. This very broad impact, and the necessary process of adapting a scientific hypothesis to the conditions of a given physical system, has meant that SOC as studied in these fields has sometimes differed significantly from the definition originally given by its creators. In Bakâs own field of theoretical physics there are significant observational and theoretical open questions, even 25 years on (Pruessner 2012). One aim of the present review is to address the dichotomy between the great reception SOC has received in some areas, and its shortcomings, as they became manifest in the controversies it triggered. Our article tries to clear up what we think are misunderstandings of SOC in fields more remote from its origins in statistical mechanics, condensed matter and dynamical systems by revisiting Bak, Tang and Wiesenfeldâs original papers
- âŠ