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Thermoresistometer “Mastia” for microbial heat resistance determinations under controlled conditions of temperature

The thermoresistometer Mastia consists of a main vessel in which thermal treatments are applied, a motor to enable the homogenisation of the heating medium, a main control unit to control heating, sampling and agitation, an external pressure source and a fraction collector to allow for sampling in short duration experiments. The main control unit consists in a program logic controller (PLC).The main vessel, of 400 ml capacity, is built in stainless steel (8,5 cm outer diameter × 12 cm high) with a screw cap with O-ring. This cap has an agitation shaft with a teflon (PTFE) friction bearing with a propeller, and 8 ports with screw caps to hold: the pressure source (N2); the inoculum injection port with a gas chromatography septum; the sampling tube; a thermocouple (Pt 100) to monitor the temperature during heat treatment; two ports to hold the two branches of the electric heating element; and another two ports to hold the two branches of the coil of the cooling system. Inside the vessel, attached to the removable cap there is also a deflector screen to improve turbulence. The agitation shaft is powered by a variable speed agitation motor, wired to the PLC. The sampling tube is also built in stainless steel. There are interchangeable tubes of different inner diameter, from 0.5 to 2 mm. The sampling tube is prolonged on its end by a silicone tube, that is closed in the outer extreme by means of a solenoid valve, that was also wired to the PLC. The opening time of the sampling valve can be controlled by a timer through the PLC. Keeping a constant pressure inside the vessel and a constant opening time of the sampling tube along an experiment, enables to get samples of the same volume through all the experiment The control of the temperature inside the thermoresistometer is also done by the PLC, by means of a proportional-integral-derivative (PID) connected to the electric heating element, to a solenoid valve that regulates the flow of water through the cooling system, and to the Pt 100. When the PID detects that the temperature is below the setpoint, the PLC powers the electric heating element; when is above the setpoint, the PLC acts on the solenoid valve to control the flow of cold water through the coil. The instrument can be programmed to perform isothermal experiments, non-isothermal experiments at a linearly increasing or decreasing temperature and more complex, industry-like experiments, composed of several steps combining isothermal and non-isothermal periods. The PLC is connected to a tactile screen, that allows communication with the PLC and can be connected to a computer provided with Scada software that enables to program and/or register temperature profiles. The main vessel may be pressurised to permit sample extraction at low internal pressure (below 100ºC) or when medium is too viscous. To overcome the pressure when the microorganisms are injected inside the vessel, a Hamilton-type syringe may be used. The fraction collector enables to take samples at time intervals lower than 2 seconds. Collector speed can be adjusted, allowing for up to 32 samples per second. for each treatment time are collected (by pressing a switch in the tactile screen) manually into sterile test tubes. The timer in the PLC has been previously set at an appropriate aperture time of the sampling valve (according to the pressure into the main vessel and the required sample volume). Samples are then appropriately diluted and immediately plated and incubated. The instrument can also be operated in continuous. This operating mode consistes in preheating the thermoresistometer with water at a preset temperature and circulating the microbial suspension through the coil, by means of a peristaltic pump at a controlled flow. For this purpose the coil is sterilised in situ previously. Temperature of the sample is taken at the end of the coil. In this way, very rapid heating ramps, and heating ramps followed by a holding period, similar to those on continuous food sterilisation and pasterisation treatments, can be performed. In this mode only end-point determinations can be performed. The thermoresistometer Mastia has been developed in the laboratories of the Food Technology group at the Technical University of Cartagena.The thermoresistometer Mastia enables to estimate heat resistance under isothermal and non-isothermal heating conditions as well as more complex heating profiles, like those usually applied in the food industry. Its design allows to work with liquid heating media such as buffers, liquid foods or foods containing small particles. It also allows to inoculate microorganisms or compounds and to obtain samples in order to study the changes on the quantity or the quality of these substances along with the thermal treatment. In this way, the intensity of the thermal treatments applied can be calculated and, as a consequence, the microbiological safety and nutritional quality of the food produces obtained can be estimated. With this technological offer we try to collaborate with licence agreement and comercial agreement with technical assistance.Improvements in the thermoresistometer Mastia enable simulation of complex heating and cooling profiles, continuous and in batch, with monitoring of the temperature. It enables to estimate heat resistance of other components of foods or additives, apart from microorganisms. The main application of this technology is for the food industry, to study the heat resistance of microorganisms involved in the spoilage of heat treated foods, such as canned foods, fruit juices, milk, baby products, ect. In this sense, it can be used to test if heat treatments applied to foods are sufficient to ensure their stability and safety. It can also be used to test nutritive quality of heat treated foods. Eventually, it could be of interest for other industries that deal with liquid media exposed to thermal treatment

Robinson Crusoe: literature and religion

The essay discusses Daniel Defoe´s novel Robinson Crusoe , in relationship to the way that the it reflects some of the more important ideas of the eighteenth century English thoughts which provided the climate for the issues it raises. It will examine the historical context of the novel, and discuss the philosophical ideas which had gained so much appeal to men in this new “age of enlightment” and its focus on the nature of man. In Robinson Crusoe, Defoe takes the opportunity to explore the relatioship between “natural man” and man as he is shaped by civilization.En Robinson Crusoe, de Daniel Defoe, se presenta algunas ideas básicas concernientes a la obra que son primordiales en el pensa- miento inglés del siglo XVIII. Estas ideas son el pilar del clima de los temas tratados en la novela. Se examina el contexto histó- rico y las ideas filosóficas que adquirieron tanta importancia en el hombre de esta “edad del iluminismo”. En Robinson Crusoe, Defoe se da la oportunidad de explorar la relación entre el “hombre natural” y el hombre, tal como lo moldeaba la civilización de aquella época

The Reception of the Codeswitchings of the Syriac Versions in the Gospel of Mark

The Gospel of Mark contains numerous loanwords and code switches from Aramaic to Greek. These borrowed terms were not unconscious and developed important social, literary and narrative functions in key passages of the Gospel. This article considers how the Old Syriac versions and the Peshitta have treated these borrowed terms given that the translators were native Aramaic speakers and how the functions developed by these borrowed terms have been altered due to the translation process

The Reception of the Codeswitchings of the Syriac Versions in the Gospel of Mark

The Gospel of Mark contains numerous loanwords and code switches from Aramaic to Greek. These borrowed terms were not unconscious and developed important social, literary andnarrative functions in key passages of the Gospel. This article considers how the Old Syriac versions and the Peshitta have treated these borrowed terms given that the translators were native Aramaic speakers and how the functions developed by these borrowed terms have been altered due to the translation process

George Orwell y 1984: una visión personal

George Orwell´s 1984 is considered a great negative utopia, in the sense it depicts the nightmare of what life might become in an oligarchic collectivism pursued to its logical conclusion. Under a social setup which is nothing but totalitarian barbarism, eternal warfare is the price one pays for an elusive peace. The Party with capital P keeps a total control over all of man´s actions as well as thoughts . The novel is a great satire and it attempts to diagnose man´s alienation in all its aspects, but with special emphasis on the social organization recommended by Marx and practiced by Stalin.  La obra 1984, de George Orwell se toma como una gran utopía negativa ya que describe la pesadilla en que puede convertirse la existencia del hombre bajo un colectivismo oligárquico llevado a un fin lógico. Bajo un contexto social, que no es otra cosa que un barbarismo totalitario, el eterno estado bélico es el precio que se paga por una esquiva condición de pacifismo. El Partido, así escrito, con P mayúscula, mantiene el control total de pensamiento y obra de sus seguidores. La obra literaria es una sátira al extremo que intenta un diagnóstico de la alienación en todos sus aspectos pero enfatizando la organización social propuesta por Marx y llevada a la práctica por Stalin. 

Intelligent data analysis approaches to churn as a business problem: a survey

Globalization processes and market deregulation policies are rapidly changing the competitive environments of many economic sectors. The appearance of new competitors and technologies leads to an increase in competition and, with it, a growing preoccupation among service-providing companies with creating stronger customer bonds. In this context, anticipating the customer’s intention to abandon the provider, a phenomenon known as churn, becomes a competitive advantage. Such anticipation can be the result of the correct application of information-based knowledge extraction in the form of business analytics. In particular, the use of intelligent data analysis, or data mining, for the analysis of market surveyed information can be of great assistance to churn management. In this paper, we provide a detailed survey of recent applications of business analytics to churn, with a focus on computational intelligence methods. This is preceded by an in-depth discussion of churn within the context of customer continuity management. The survey is structured according to the stages identified as basic for the building of the predictive models of churn, as well as according to the different types of predictive methods employed and the business areas of their application.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Effects of heat treatments in combination with high hydrostatic pressures (HHP) on the viability and physiological state of Clostridium species

[SPA] Clostridium es un microorganismo esporulado anaerobio cuyas esporas presentan un amplio rango de valores D100 de 16 a 124 minutos dependiendo de la cepa y otros factores. Tratamientos térmicos más severos serían necesarios para inactivar las esporas bacterianas en la industria alimentaria pero estos podrían afectar la calidad de los alimentos. Por ello, la industria alimentaria está buscando tecnologías alternativas. Las altas presiones hidrostáticas en combinación con calor es una interesante alternativa que muestra un efecto sinérgico que mejora la inactivación de los microorganismos. Después del tratamiento, algunos microorganismos dañados pueden permanecer en el producto. Se ha mostrado que los microorganismos dañados de algunas especies pueden adaptarse a diferentes tipos de estrés y desarrollar resistencias cruzadas comprometiendo la calidad y seguridad alimentaria. Por tanto, es necesario optimizar las tecnologías alternativas y asegurar que éstas causan el mínimo daño subletal. [ENG] Clostridium is an anaerobic spore-forming microorganism whose spores show a wide range of D100 values from 16 to 124 minutes depending on the strain and other factors. More severe heat treatments would be necessary to inactivate the bacterial spores in the food industry but these could affect the food quality. The food industry is looking for alternative technologies and it is reported that the high hydrostatic pressures in combination with heat show a synergistic effect which improves the inactivation of microorganisms. After the treatment some damaged microorganisms could remain in the product. It is reported that damaged microorganisms of some species adapt themselves to several stressful conditions and develop cross-resistances compromising the food quality. Thus, it is necessary to optimize the alternative methods and ensure they cause the minimum sublethal damage.The financial support of this research will be provided by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness of the Spanish Government through Project AGL2013-48993-C2-1-R