Influence of high intensity ultrasound with different probe diameter on the degree of homogenization (variance) and physical properties of cow milk

The main goal of this research is to analyze the influence of ultrasonic probe diameters (7 and 10 mm) of high-intensity ultrasound with constant frequency (30 kHz) on the degree of homogenization (variance) of cow milk. Influence of different probe diameters on the physical properties of cow milk was also tested. Changes in temperature, pH and density were measured under the following operational conditions of the ultrasonic device: amplitude, A = 20, 60,100%; and applied cycle, c = 0.6, 0.8, 1, with various treatment duration, t = 2, 6, 10, 15 min. Obtained results are processed in the “Statistica 8” software. Microscopic images of fat globules were edited in Image J software, while size of fat globules was represented with Log-normal distribution. Statistical analysis was conducted and influence of probe diameters on physical properties was expressed over p-value (p < 0.05) and β- standardized coefficient analyses of variance (ANOVA). Applications of different probe diameter have significant influence on all physical properties and variance. With increase of the amplitude and time, significant influence on variance (degree of homogenization) is observed.Keywords: Ultrasound, homogenization, cow milk, physical propertie

Comparison of Conventional and Ultrasound-assisted Extraction Techniques on Mass Fraction of Phenolic Compounds from Sage (Salvia officinalis L.)

An innovative ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) is the rapid non-thermal extraction technique, which in comparison to conventional extraction (CE), offers high reproducibility in a short time with simplified manipulation, reduced solvent consumption and lower energy. Optimization of ultrasonic conditions was conducted for devices with nominal output power of 100 and 400 W, including the influence of geometrical parameters of probes regarding ultrasound-assisted extraction. The results showed that the optimal parameters for extraction of total phenols and rosmarinic acid as a dominant compound in sage extracts were as follows: solvent: 30 % ethanol, extraction duration of 11 minutes, and ultrasonic device output power of 400 W. The antioxidant capacity of the obtained extract correlated with the concentration of total phenols and flavonoids, and among individual phenols the rosmarinic acid contributed the most to the antioxidant capacity. The achieved results and statistical analysis (p ≤ 0.05) have shown how UAE resulted in shorter extraction time, and increased extraction capacity of phenolic compounds by using solvents with a less amount of organic phase

Comparative Phylogeography in a Specific and Obligate Pollination Antagonism

In specific and obligate interactions the nature and abundance of a given species can have important effects on the survival and population dynamics of associated organisms. In a phylogeographic framework, we therefore expect that the fates of organisms interacting specifically are also tightly interrelated. Here we investigate such a scenario by analyzing the genetic structures of species interacting in an obligate plant-insect pollination lure-and-trap antagonism, involving Arum maculatum (Araceae) and its specific psychodid (Diptera) visitors Psychoda phalaenoides and Psycha grisescens. Because the interaction is asymmetric (i.e., only the plant depends on the insect), we expect the genetic structure of the plant to be related with the historical pollinator availability, yielding incongruent phylogeographic patterns between the interacting organisms

Increasing importance of anthelmintic resistance in European livestock: creation and meta-analysis of an open database

peer reviewedHelminth infections are ubiquitous in grazing ruminant production systems, and are responsible for significant costs and production losses. Anthelmintic Resistance (AR) in parasites is now widespread throughout Europe, although there are still gaps in our knowledge in some regions and countries. AR is a major threat to the sustainability of modern ruminant livestock production, resulting in reduced productivity, compromised animal health and welfare, and increased greenhouse gas emissions through increased parasitism and farm inputs. A better understanding of the extent of AR in Europe is needed to develop and advocate more sustainable parasite control approaches. A database of European published and unpublished AR research on gastrointestinal nematodes (GIN) and liver fluke (Fasciola hepatica) was collated by members of the European COST Action “COMBAR” (Combatting Anthelmintic Resistance in Ruminants), and combined with data from a previous systematic review of AR in GIN. A total of 197 publications on AR in GIN were available for analysis, representing 535 studies in 22 countries and spanning the period 1980–2020. Reports of AR were present throughout the European continent and some reports indicated high within-country prevalence. Heuristic sample size-weighted estimates of European AR prevalence over the whole study period, stratified by anthelmintic class, varied between 0 and 48%. Estimated regional (country) prevalence was highly heterogeneous, ranging between 0% and 100% depending on livestock sector and anthelmintic class, and generally increased with increasing research effort in a country. In the few countries with adequate longitudinal data, there was a tendency towards increasing AR over time for all anthelmintic classes in GIN: aggregated results in sheep and goats since 2010 reveal an average prevalence of resistance to benzimidazoles (BZ) of 86%, macrocyclic lactones except moxidectin (ML) 52%, levamisole (LEV) 48%, and moxidectin (MOX) 21%. All major GIN genera survived treatment in various studies. In cattle, prevalence of AR varied between anthelmintic classes from 0–100% (BZ and ML), 0–17% (LEV) and 0–73% (MOX), and both Cooperia and Ostertagia survived treatment. Suspected AR in F. hepatica was reported in 21 studies spanning 6 countries. For GIN and particularly F. hepatica, there was a bias towards preferential sampling of individual farms with suspected AR, and research effort was biased towards Western Europe and particularly the United Kingdom. Ongoing capture of future results in the live database, efforts to avoid bias in farm recruitment, more accurate tests for AR, and stronger appreciation of the importance of AR among the agricultural industry and policy makers, will support more sophisticated analyses of factors contributing to AR and effective strategies to slow its spread

Efficient tomography of a quantum many-body system

Quantum state tomography (QST) is the gold standard technique for obtaining an estimate for the state of small quantum systems in the laboratory [1]. Its application to systems with more than a few constituents (e.g. particles) soon becomes impractical as the e ff ort required grows exponentially with the number of constituents. Developing more e ffi cient techniques is particularly pressing as precisely-controllable quantum systems that are well beyond the reach of QST are emerging in laboratories. Motivated by this, there is a considerable ongoing e ff ort to develop new state characterisation tools for quantum many-body systems [2–11]. Here we demonstrate Matrix Product State (MPS) tomography [2], which is theoretically proven to allow the states of a broad class of quantum systems to be accurately estimated with an e ff ort that increases e ffi ciently with constituent number. We use the technique to reconstruct the dynamical state of a trapped-ion quantum simulator comprising up to 14 entangled and individually-controlled spins (qubits): a size far beyond the practical limits of QST. Our results reveal the dynamical growth of entanglement and description complexity as correlations spread out during a quench: a necessary condition for future beyond-classical performance. MPS tomography should therefore find widespread use to study large quantum many-body systems and to benchmark and verify quantum simulators and computers

Black carbon, particle number concentration and nitrogen oxide emission factors of random in-use vehicles measured with the on-road chasing method

The chasing method was used in an on-road measurement campaign, and emission factors (EF) of black carbon (BC), particle number (PN) and nitrogen oxides (NO_<I>x</I>) were determined for 139 individual vehicles of different types encountered on the roads. The aggregated results provide EFs for BC, NO_<I>x</I> and PN for three vehicle categories: goods vehicles, gasoline and diesel passenger cars. This is the first on-road measurement study where BC EFs of numerous individual diesel cars were determined in real-world driving conditions. We found good agreement between EFs of goods vehicles determined in this campaign and the results of previous studies that used either chasing or remote-sensing measurement techniques. The composition of the sampled car fleet determined from the national vehicle registry information is reflective of Eurostat statistical data on the Slovenian and European vehicle fleet. The median BC EF of diesel and gasoline cars that were in use for less than 5 years decreased by 60 and 47 % from those in use for 5–10 years, respectively; the median NO_<I>x</I> and PN EFs of goods vehicles that were in use for less than 5 years decreased from those in use for 5–10 years by 52 and 67 %, respectively. Surprisingly, we found an increase of BC EFs in the newer goods vehicle fleet compared to the 5–10-year old one. The influence of engine maximum power of the measured EFs showed an increase in NO_<I>x</I> EF from least to more powerful vehicles with diesel engines. Finally, a disproportionate contribution of high emitters to the total emissions of the measured fleet was found; the top 25 % of emitting diesel cars contributed 63, 47 and 61 % of BC, NO_<I>x</I> and PN emissions respectively. With the combination of relatively simple on-road measurements and sophisticated post processing, individual vehicle EF can be determined and useful information about the fleet emissions can be obtained by exactly representing vehicles which contribute disproportionally to vehicle fleet emissions; and monitor how the numerous emission reduction approaches are reflected in on-road driving conditions