3,968 research outputs found
Mexican Consumers\u27 Attitudes Toward Irradiated and Imported Apples
This study centers on analyzing Mexican consumers\u27 willingness to pay (WTP) for imported US fresh apples subjected to irradiation, contrasting it with the more prevalent postharvest chemical treatments. We collect data using a survey tool in Qualtrics designed to explore the impact of information dissemination through two distinct narrative styles: scientific and layman. The study uses a between-subjects approach and apply the propensity score matching to address potential confounding factors across respondents\u27 samples. We apply the generalized multinomial logit models in WTP space, taking into consideration respondent\u27s certainty when answering to the choice experiment questions. Our findings reveal that respondents are willing to pay less for apples treated with irradiation compared to untreated ones but more than apples treated with chemicals. The WTP for irradiation increases when respondents receive information about this technology from both the scientific and layperson narrative styles. Similar to findings in previous studies, WTP for irradiated food is affected by gender, age, income, family size, and level of education. This study contributes to the literature by identifying the key factors that strongly influence consumers\u27 decisions to opt for irradiation-treated fresh fruits. These influential factors encompass information provision, social and demographic aspects, as well as the presence of country-of-origin labels. EconLit citations: C250, D820, Q160, Q180
Magnetization in AIIIBV semiconductor heterostructures with the depletion layer of manganese
The magnetic moment and magnetization in GaAs/GaInAs/GaAs
heterostructures with Mn deluted in GaAs cover layers and with atomically
controlled Mn -layer thicknesses near GaInAs-quantum well (3 nm)
in temperature range T=(1.8-300)K in magnetic field up to 50 kOe have been
investigated. The mass magnetization all of the samples of
GaAs/GaInAs/GaAs with Mn increases with the increasing of the
magnetic field that pointed out on the presence of low-dimensional
ferromagnetism in the manganese depletion layer of GaAs based structures. It
has been estimated the manganese content threshold at which the ferromagnetic
ordering was found.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figure
Microplate Immunocapture Coupled with the 3M Molecular Detection System and Selective Plating for the Rapid Detection of \u3cem\u3eSalmonella\u3c/em\u3e infantis in Dry Dog Food and Treats
The objective of this study was to use microplate immunocapture (IC) to reduce the enrichment time required for detection of Salmonella in pet food with the 3 M Molecular Detection System (MDS) or selective plating on XLD. Dog food and pig ear treats were inoculated with Salmonella Infantis at concentrations of 100–104 CFU/25 g, followed by a 3-h enrichment, then microplate IC and 3 M MDS or microplate IC and selective plating on XLD. Another set of samples underwent a traditional 24-h enrichment followed by 3 M MDS or selective plating. Based on the results of three independent trials, microplate IC followed by selective plating enabled detection of Salmonella in 100% of dog food and treat samples tested, including at levels as low as 100 CFU/25 g. Microplate IC coupled with 3 M MDS enabled detection of Salmonella in dog food and treat samples down to levels of 100 CFU/25 g, with an overall detection rate of 92%. These results indicate high potential for microplate IC to be used in place of the traditional 24-h enrichment step, enabling detection of Salmonella in complex matrices when coupled with 3 M MDS or selective plating
Correlations between Elastic, Calorimetric, and Polar Properties of Ferroelectric PbSc0.5Ta0.5O3 (PST)
Calorimetric, elastic, and polar properties of ferrolectric lead scandium tantalate PbSc0.5Ta0.5O3 (PST) with 65% cation
order have been investigated in the vicinity of the paraelectric-ferroelectric transition at Ttrans = 295K. Comparison of
temperature dependencies of the excess specific heat and elastic properties indicate that both anomalies stem from ther-
mal fluctuations of order parameters in three dimensions. These fluctuations are consistent with tweed microstructure.
This transition is driven by several coupled thermodynamic order parameters, as evidenced by a strongly non-linear
scaling of the excess entropy with the squared ferroelectric polarization.National Natural Science Foundation of China (51850410520, 51320105014 and 51621063
Characterizing Atacama B-mode Search Detectors with a Half-Wave Plate
The Atacama B-Mode Search (ABS) instrument is a cryogenic (10 K)
crossed-Dragone telescope located at an elevation of 5190 m in the Atacama
Desert in Chile that observed for three seasons between February 2012 and
October 2014. ABS observed the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) at large
angular scales () to limit the B-mode polarization spectrum around
the primordial B-mode peak from inflationary gravity waves at .
The ABS focal plane consists of 480 transition-edge sensor (TES) bolometers.
They are coupled to orthogonal polarizations from a planar ortho-mode
transducer (OMT) and observe at 145 GHz. ABS employs an ambient-temperature,
rapidly rotating half-wave plate (HWP) to mitigate systematic effects and move
the signal band away from atmospheric noise, allowing for the recovery of
large angular scales. We discuss how the signal at the second harmonic of the
HWP rotation frequency can be used for data selection and for monitoring the
detector responsivities.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, conference proceedings submitted to the Journal
of Low Temperature Detector
Avalanche criticality in the martensitic transition of Cu67.64Zn16.71Al15.65 shape-memory alloy: a calorimetric and acoustic emission study
The first-order diffusionless structural transition in Cu67.64Zn16.71Al15.65 is characterized by jerky propagation of phase fronts related to the appearance of avalanches. In this paper, we describe a full analysis of this avalanche behavior using calorimetric heat-flux measurements and acoustic emission measurements. Two different propagation modes, namely, smooth front propagation and jerky avalanches, were observed in extremely slow measurements with heating and cooling rates as low as a few 10−3 K/h. Avalanches show criticality where each avalanche leads to a spike in the heat flux. Their statistical analysis leads to a power law [P(E)∼E−ε, where P(E)dE is the probability to observe an avalanche with energy E in an interval between E and E+dE] with an energy exponent of ε=2.15±0.15 in excellent agreement with the results of acoustic emission measurements. Avalanches appear to be more common for heating rates faster than 5×10−3 K/h whereas smooth front propagation occurs in all calorimetric measurements and (almost) exclusively for slower heating rates. Repeated cooling runs were taken after a waiting time of 1 month (and an intermediate heating run). Correlations between the avalanche sequences of the two cooling runs were found for the strongest avalanche peaks but not for the full sequence of avalanches. The memory effect is hence limited to strong avalanches
Modulation of CMB polarization with a warm rapidly-rotating half-wave plate on the Atacama B-Mode Search (ABS) instrument
We evaluate the modulation of Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) polarization
using a rapidly-rotating, half-wave plate (HWP) on the Atacama B-Mode Search
(ABS). After demodulating the time-ordered-data (TOD), we find a significant
reduction of atmospheric fluctuations. The demodulated TOD is stable on time
scales of 500-1000 seconds, corresponding to frequencies of 1-2 mHz. This
facilitates recovery of cosmological information at large angular scales, which
are typically available only from balloon-borne or satellite experiments. This
technique also achieves a sensitive measurement of celestial polarization
without differencing the TOD of paired detectors sensitive to two orthogonal
linear polarizations. This is the first demonstration of the ability to remove
atmospheric contamination at these levels from a ground-based platform using a
rapidly-rotating HWP.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figures, Published in RSI under the title "Modulation of
cosmic microwave background polarization with a warm rapidly rotating
half-wave plate on the Atacama B-Mode Search instrument.
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