Finite-time influence systems and the Wisdom of Crowd effect

Recent contributions have studied how an influence system may affect the wisdom of crowd phenomenon. In the so-called naive learning setting, a crowd of individuals holds opinions that are statistically independent estimates of an unknown parameter; the crowd is wise when the average opinion converges to the true parameter in the limit of infinitely many individuals. Unfortunately, even starting from wise initial opinions, a crowd subject to certain influence systems may lose its wisdom. It is of great interest to characterize when an influence system preserves the crowd wisdom effect. In this paper we introduce and characterize numerous wisdom preservation properties of the basic French-DeGroot influence system model. Instead of requiring complete convergence to consensus as in the previous naive learning model by Golub and Jackson, we study finite-time executions of the French-DeGroot influence process and establish in this novel context the notion of prominent families (as a group of individuals with outsize influence). Surprisingly, finite-time wisdom preservation of the influence system is strictly distinct from its infinite-time version. We provide a comprehensive treatment of various finite-time wisdom preservation notions, counterexamples to meaningful conjectures, and a complete characterization of equal-neighbor influence systems

Stiffness effects on the dynamics of the bar-mode instability of Neutron Stars in full General Relativity

We present results on the effect of the stiffness of the equation of state on the dynamical bar-mode instability in rapidly rotating polytropic models of neutron stars in full General Relativity. We determine the change in the threshold for the emergence of the instability for a range of the adiabatic $\Gamma$ index from 2.0 to 3.0, including two values chosen to mimic more realistic equations of state at high densities.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1403.806

Nitrates replacement with natural antioxidant in Cinta Senese semi-ripened salami

In the last decades, concerns about meat and processed meat consumption raised due to their correlation with the onset of several diseases; till, in 2015, WHO classified processed meat products carcinogenic to humans, including them in Group 1. Indeed, in these products, the use of nitrites and nitrates promotes the formation of nitrosamines that are considered harmful compounds. To address the consumer’s demand for healthier products, a solution has been identified in replacing nitrates and nitrites with natural antioxidants as food preservatives. So, 3 types of traditional fermented salami were manufactured and analyzed in this study. Group C (n=6) was made by adding 30 ppm of nitrates; group A (n=6) was made replacing the nitrates with a mixture of grape seed extract and olive pomace; group B (n=6) was made using a mixture of chestnut and olive pomace as nitrates replacement. Preliminary analysis on salami were carried out for fatty acids (FA) profile, lipid and cholesterol content. Moreover, a trained panel of 8 judges performed a quantitative-descriptive sensorial analysis. Results showed that, although the addition of an oleaginous element like the mixtures, no relevant modifications were observed in the total lipid content. Similarly, the FA profile of A, B and C was equivalent with the only exception of the arachidonic FA, which resulted significantly higher in A and B salami, likely due to the presence of the olive pomace. As no significant differences were found in FA profile as well as for SFA, also the cholesterol content resulted similar for all the treatments. Concerning the sensory analysis, among the attributes (oiliness, abnormal colors, texture, color uniformity, characteristic flavor, off flavor, salty, rancid, abnormal flavor, hardiness, juiciness), only for texture and color uniformity, judges assessed significant differences, being the former lower scored in A group respect to B; while for the latter, C sausages resulted in a better score than A and B ones. In conclusion, preliminary results showed that both the mixtures had not caused any significant change on lipid-correlated attributes of salami, as well as no important sensorial attributes resulted to be affected by the replacement

Effect of dietary protein level on carcass traits and meat properties of Cinta Senese pigs.

Abstract The aim of this study was to test the effect of various dietary protein contents (CP) on the carcass traits and the meat quality of Cinta Senese pigs. A total of 60 Cinta Senese pigs were equally distributed in four dietary groups that were balanced for sex (barrows and gilts) and live weight. The animals in the groups were fed one of four diets (80CP, 100CP, 130CP and 160CP) containing different CP contents (80, 100, 130 and 160 g/kg, respectively). The diets were administered to the pigs during the entire growing–fattening period in a controlled dose of 90 g/kg W0.75, to a maximum of 2.5 kg/day per animal. The duration of the trial was ~250 days, ending when the animals reached the target slaughter weight of 145 kg. The 80CP diet produced fatter carcasses than did the other diets; no differences in carcass composition were found among the animals fed the other three diets (total lean cuts: 57.4%, 61.4%, 60.8% and 61.3% for 80CP, 100CP, 130CP and 160CP diet, respectively). The sample joint composition confirmed the highest fatness and the lowest meatiness of pigs fed 80CP. This same pattern was evident for the composition of the muscle (Longissimus lumborum) containing the largest amount of i.m. fat, and the lowest protein content in the 80CP group. Moreover, the 80CP diet resulted in the lightest and yellowest meat with the highest cooking loss. A principal component analysis of the physical and chemical traits of the meat revealed three first factors that explained 56% of the total variance. Among them, only the intersection of Factor1, which combined mainly lower pH at 24 h postmortem and higher drip loss, cooking loss, lightness and yellowness, with Factor2, which associated higher toughness, higher protein and lower fat content, graphically appeared to discriminate the 80CP diet from the other ones. In conclusion, a diet with 80 g/kg of CP content was inadequate for this local breed, while, in consideration of the cost of protein feed and the need to reduce N pollution, the 100CP diet would be an optimal compromise for the growth–fattening of Cinta Senese pigs