Effect of Carboxymethyl Cellulose Added at the Dosage Stage on the Foamability of a Bottle-Fermented Sparkling Wine

Carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) is used in winemaking to prevent potassium bitartrate or potassium hydrogen tartrate deposits from forming. These deposits are particularly detrimental when occurring in bottle-fermented sparkling wine ahead of disgorging or in the finished product as they can cause gushing of the wine when bottles are opened. Despite CMC being used by several sparkling winemaking producers both on the base wine and after disgorging, its effect on the behavior of foam, a key indicator of sparkling wine quality, has not been systematically tested. In this work the effect on wine composition and foam attributes of CMC additions to an English sparkling wine at the dosage stage was assessed. Results showed that CMC did not cause major changes on wine parameters, with the exception of wine viscosity, and did not result in major modification of the foamability of a wine, especially when analyzed in real serving conditions. These results suggest that, at least for the wine analyzed in this work, CMC could be added at the dosage stage without compromising its foam quality attributes

Within-guild dietary discrimination from 3-D textural analysis of tooth microwear in insectivorous mammals

Resource exploitation and competition for food are important selective pressures in animal evolution. A number of recent investigations have focused on linkages between diversification, trophic morphology and diet in bats, partly because their roosting habits mean that for many bat species diet can be quantified relatively easily through faecal analysis. Dietary analysis in mammals is otherwise invasive, complicated, time consuming and expensive. Here we present evidence from insectivorous bats that analysis of three-dimensional (3-D) textures of tooth microwear using International Organization for Standardization (ISO) roughness parameters derived from sub-micron surface data provides an additional, powerful tool for investigation of trophic resource exploitation in mammals. Our approach, like scale-sensitive fractal analysis, offers considerable advantages over twodimensional (2-D) methods of microwear analysis, including improvements in robustness, repeatability and comparability of studies. Our results constitute the first analysis of microwear textures in carnivorous mammals based on ISO roughness parameters. They demonstrate that the method is capable of dietary discrimination, even between cryptic species with subtly different diets within trophic guilds, and even when sample sizes are small. We find significant differences in microwear textures between insectivore species whose diet contains different proportions of ‘hard’ prey (such as beetles) and ‘soft’ prey (such as moths), and multivariate analyses are able to distinguish between species with different diets based solely on their tooth microwear textures. Our results show that, compared with previous 2-D analyses of microwear in bats, ISO roughness parameters provide a much more sophisticated characterization of the nature of microwear surfaces and can yield more robust and subtle dietary discrimination. ISO-based textural analysis of tooth microwear thus has a useful role to play, complementing existing approaches, in trophic analysis of mammals, both extant and extinct

Implicit time accurate solutions on unstructured dynamic grids

In this paper an unstructured multigrid algorithm is used as an iterative solution procedure for the discrete equations arising from an implicit time discretisation of the unsteady Euler equations on tetrahedral grids. To calculate unsteady flows due to oscillating boundaries, a novel grid movement algorithm is introduced, in which an elliptic equation with a nonlinear diffusion coefficient is used to define the displacement of interior grid nodes. This allows large grid displacements to be calculated in a single step. The multigrid technique uses a edge--collapsing algorithm to generate a sequence of grids, and a pseudo--timestepping smoother. On the coarser grids, no grid motion is used. Instead, surface normals are rotated consistently and transfer/interpolation weights are based on the time-averaged grid coordinates. A 2D NACA0012 test case is used to validate the program. 3D results are presented for the M6 wing and a full aircraft configuration

Towards Responsive Schools Supporting Better Schooling for Disadvantaged Children

Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

Integrated Drainage-Wetland Systems for Reducing Nitrate Loads from Tile Drained Landscapes

In addition to raising local water quality concerns, nitrate loads from Midwest agriculture are suspected as a primary contributor to hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico. Over-application of fertilizer can exacerbate the problem, but the major causes are hydrological and land-use changes that came with tile drainage. Subsurface drainage creates very productive croplands and reduces water quality problems associated with surface runoff, but subsurface flow and nitrate transport are substantially increased. A permanent solution to the environmental problem of hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico will likely require more than improved nitrogen management and tillage practices. We present results of simulations integrating nitrate-removal wetlands, as a proven technology, with the emerging technologies of drainage modification. Relatively small areas of wetlands intercepting tile drainage can remove over 50% of the nitrate in tile drainage water. Controlled drainage and shallow drainage can reduce subsurface flow and nitrate export by as much as 50%. The integration of shallow and controlled drainage systems with nitrate-removal wetlands has the potential to simultaneously decrease the volume of subsurface drainage, increase the number of wetland sites, push those sites closer to the nitrate source, and enhance wetland performance by increasing the average residence time in the wetlands

Evaluating the effectiveness of restored wetlands for reducing nutrient losses from agricultural watersheds

Scientists examined the effectiveness of recent wetland restorations and land use conversions (set-asides) for reducing nutrients in agricultural runoff into the Iowa Great Lakes

Nitrate and Organic N Analyses with Second-Derivative Spectroscopy

Simple and reliable procedures have been developed for analyses of N03 , total N, and organic N in fresh waters. N03- is determined by second-derivative UV spectroscopy. Total N and organic N are determined based on secondderivative analyses of N03- following persulfate digestion. Resolution of organic N determinations was increased by using ion-exchange resins to remove N03- from samples with high concentrations of N03 prior to persulfate oxidation of the organic N

Subsurface Drainage in Iowa and the Water Quality Benefits and Problem

It is estimated that there are approximately 3.6 million ha of land with artificial subsurface drainage in Iowa, with 2.4 million ha of that within the 3000 organized drainage districts (total land area of the state is 14.6 million ha). This drainage has made otherwise wet soils very productive. Much of this drainage was installed early last century and is reaching the end of its service life. One challenge will be the repair/replacement of these drainage systems. Because subsurface drainage short circuits some infiltrating water back to surface water resources, there is also a water quality challenge. Research has shown that during rainfall-runoff events, the presence of artificial subsurface drainage generally delays and reduces the volume of surface runoff. Therefore, total losses of sediment, phosphorus, ammonium-nitrogen, pesticides, and micro-organisms are decreased with subsurface drainage. However, nitrate-nitrogen leaching is increased with subsurface drainage water, and has been implicated as a major factor relative to hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico. Research has identified several factors relative to soils, weather, and management (cropping, tillage, chemical application practices, and drainage parameters) that influence the nitrate-nitrogen leaching problem. This will be discussed along with implications for possible changes in the drainage systems and land management that may be needed to sustain production while reducing nitrate-nitrogen losses

Avaliação de políticas públicas no Brasil e nos Estados Unidos : análise da pesquisa nos últimos 10 anos

Este estudo compara a pesquisa sobre avaliação de políticas públicas no Brasil e nos Estados Unidos. No intuito de examinar o grau em que a pesquisa em avaliação está estabelecida nesses países, este artigo usa os métodos bibliométrico e de análise de rede social para comparar as publicações recentes da pesquisa em avaliação em ambos os países. Os resultados mostram que o Brasil e os Estados Unidos têm pesquisado e publicado nas mesmas áreas, em especial, nas áreas de saúde, de educação e de bem-estar social. Observou-se também que os pesquisadores dos dois países utilizam métodos de investigação similares, embora os americanos façam maior uso de métodos quanti-quali e suas redes de pesquisa apresentem características semelhantes, apesar de as redes americanas serem de tamanho e densidade maiores. A partir das evidências encontradas, conclui-se que a pesquisa em avaliação no Brasil evoluiu durante o período investigado e que está em vias de consolidação como um campo de estudo e prática.This study compares research on evaluation of public policies in Brazil and the United States. To examine the extent to which evaluation research has been established in these countries, this article uses the methods of bibliometric and social network analysis to compare recent use of evaluation research in these countries. The results show that Brazil and the United States have focused on the same areas of research, especially the areas of health, education and social welfare. It was also observed that researchers from both countries use research methods, although American researchers make more use of quanti-quali methods, and that research networks on policy evaluation in the two country have similar characteristics, although the average size and density of networks in Brazil is less than that in the United States. On the basis of the evidence, it is concluded that evaluation research in Brazil evolved during the period investigated and is becoming consolidated as a field of study and practice.Este estudio hace una comparación entre la investigación sobre la evaluación de políticas públicas en Brasil y en Estados Unidos. Con el objetivo de examinar el grado en que la investigación en evaluación se establece en los ya citados países, este artículo utiliza los métodos bibliométricos y de análisis de red social para comparar las publicaciones recientes de la investigación en evaluación en ambos países. Los resultados muestran que Brasil y Estados Unidos han investigado y publicado en las mismas áreas, en especial en las áreas de salud, educación y el bienestar social. También se observó que los investigadores de los dos países utilizan métodos de investigación similares, aunque los estadounidenses hacen un mayor uso de métodos cuanti-cuali, y que sus redes de investigación tienen características similares, aunque las redes americanas son de un tamaño y una mayor densidad maiores. A partir de las evidencias encontradas, se concluye que la evaluación de la investigación en Brasil ha evolucionado durante el período de investigación y está en el proceso de consolidación como un campo de estudio y práctica