Desidratação de rodelas de cenouras: avaliação dos pré-tratamentos na cinética de secagem e na qualidade do material produzido

A preservação dos alimentos pela secagem é um dos métodos mais antigos de conservação e é até hoje utilizado pelo homem. Nos alimentos desidratados, devido a atividade de água reduzida, os microorganismos praticamente não se desenvolvem. Deste modo, a maioria das reações químicas e enzimáticas que provocam alterações nos alimentos serem inibidas. Os produtos agrícolas desidratados vêm nos últimos anos ganhando bastante espaço no mercado consumidor, principalmente os legumes e hortaliças. Neste trabalho, foi estudado o processo de desidratação de cenouras em secador de bandejas pré-tratados por processos de: secagem osmótica em solução de cloreto de sódio (5 e 10%) e xarope de sacarose (35 e 50ºBrix), branqueamento com vapor d´água (100ºC) e com pré-secagem instantânea a altas temperaturas (120 e 150ºC). Além disso, foi avaliado o efeito da temperatura (70, 80 e 90ºC) na secagem de rodelas naturais. Em todos os ensaios foram determinadas as curvas de secagem, e a partir dessas ajustados modelos cinéticos que representassem o processo. Os materiais desidratados foram submetidos a análise sensorial de um grupo de 15 provadores, que avaliaram segundo uma escala hedônica de 1-9 os produtos a eles servidos. Dos resultados, o uso da desidratação osmótica com xarope além de acelerar a desidratação melhora os aspectos sensoriais do produto, em especial o tratado a 50ºBrix. No que diz respeito às salmouras seu uso só prejudicou o processo, pouco influindo na cinética e prejudicando o sabor. O efeito da temperatura é positivo, porém a níveis superiores a 90ºC se tem perda nas características organolépticas. No caso do uso da secagem instantânea quando se retoma o nível de temperatura até 80ºC se tem alta taxa de aumento na velocidade de secagem e não ocorrem perdas sensoriais. Além desse nível o material perde totalmente suas características. O uso do branqueamento provoca um retardo na desidratação, porém realça as propriedades organolépticas (em especial a cor) e diminui os efeitos do armazenamento no produto

Growth, development and nutritional value of Amaranthus tricolor L. as affected by salinity and harvesting procedure

Thesis (MScAgric)--University of Stellenbosch, 2004.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Low crop productivity in arid and semi-arid regions is a problem caused by water stress as well as associated high levels of soil and water salinity. An increased demand for salt tolerant crops is experienced in these regions. Amaranth is a glycophyte and C4 dicotyledonous crop, well adapted to arid and semi-arid regions. Previous studies on the physiological response of salt-stressed amaranths have indicated that this crop is salt tolerant. As vegetable, amaranths can be harvested by uprooting and by topping. The most common harvesting method is by topping, allowing repeated harvesting. When harvested by topping, the cutting height is an important parameter that may be manipulated to optimise growth rates. In this study, plants were exposed to different salt stress levels and harvesting procedures while yield and quality of Amaranthus tricolor were investigated. Nutrient solutions at four different electrical conducti vi ty (EC) levels were used to fertigate the plants. At high EC levels (4 mS cm-l and 8 mS cm-lj, the length and diameter of main stems, internode lengths, stem weights as well as root weights were reduced, especially with a longer growth period. However, the shoot: root ratio and leaf protein yields increased and flowering was delayed. The best leaf yield was obtained where plants were fertigated at an EC of 4 mS cm-l for 45 days. The cutting height did not affect leaf yield, growth rates and leaf protein yield in plants fertigated at EC levels of 1, 2 and 4 mS cm-l. At an EC of 8 mS cm-l, the growth rate recovered to a value similar to that of plants fertigated with an EC of 2 mS cmonly where plants were topped at 25%. With this less destructive cutting height (topped at 25%), leaf yields, growth rates and ·leaf calcium and protein yields at an EC of 8 mS cm" were superior to that of plants topped at 50%. In plants topped at 25%, the recovered growth rates at EC 8 mS cm-l was probably due to more photosynthetic active tissue left after cuttings, resulting in the accumulation of compatible solutes for osmotic adjustment.AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die invloed van soutstremmings en oesprosedures op die groei, ontwikkeling en blaarkwaliteit van Amaranthus trico~or L. Lae produksie van gewasse in ariede en semi-ariede gebiede is 'n probleem wat veroorsaak word deur watertekorte asook geassosieerde hoë peile van grondverbrakking en soute in water. 'n Verhoogde vraag na soutverdraagsame gewasse word in hierdie gebiede ervaar. Amaranthus is 'n glikofiet en dikotiele C4 gewas wat goed in ariede en semi-ariede streke aangepas is. Vorige ondersoeke oor die fisiologiese reaksie van Amaranthus op soutstremmings het daarop gedui dat die gewas soutverdraagsaam is. As groentegewas word dit ge-oes deur dit uit te trek of deur dit gereeld te top. Waar dit getop word is die oes-tophoogte 'n belangrike parameter wat gemanipuleer kan word om die groeitempo te optimaliseer. In hierdie ondersoek is plante aan verskillende peile van soutstremmings en oesprosedures blootgestel terwyl die opbrengs en kwaliteit van Amaranthus tricolor ondersoek is. Voedingsoplossings is teen vier elektriese geleidingspeile (EC) gebruik om plante te voedsproei. Teen hoë EC peile (4 mS cm-l en 8 mS cm-l ), het lengtes en die deursnit van hoofstamme, internode lengtes, stam massas en wortelmassas afgeneem, veral met lang groeiperiodes. Die opbrengs het egter bogroei:wortel verhouding en toegeneem terwyl blomvorming blaarproteien vertraag is. Die beste blaar opbrengs is na 45 dae verkry waar plante teen 'n EC van 4 mS cm-l gevoedsproei is. Oes-tophoogte het nie blaar opbrengs, groeitempo of blaar protei en opbrengs beïnvloed met EC waardes in voedingsoplossings van 1, 2 en 4 mS cm-l nie. Met' n EC van 8 mS cm-l het die groeitempo herstel tot 'n vlak, gelykwaardig aan wat by 'n EC van 2 mS cm-l verkry is, slegs waar teen 25% tophoogtes ge-oes is. Met hierdie minder destruktiewe oesmetode (oes-tophoogte 25%), was blaar opbrengs, groei tempo en blaar kalsium en -proteien opbrengste by 'n EC van 8 mS cm-l betekenisvol beter as waar die oes-topdiepte 50% was. Plante wat met 25% topdieptes ge-oes is se herstel in groetempo teen EC 8 mS cm-1 was waarskynlik te danke aan meer fotosinteties aktiewe materiaal wat na oes op plante gelaat is. Dit kon tot die akkumulasie van oplosbare stowwe en osmotiese aanpassings aanleiding gegee het

IMPACTS CAUSED BY THE INADEQUATE DEPOSITION OF THE RESIDUE OF THE RIO GRANDE DO NORTE AGROINDUSTRIES

The current consumer market is eager for products with great practicality and quick preparation. Among these, in recent years, a great emphasis has been given to the use of fruit pulps for the preparation of juice and other derived products. This work consists of a balance sheet of the industries making juice from fruit pulps of the state of Rio Grande do Norte (Brazil), with respect to the disposal of waste and the impact associated with the activities developed by them. The work was developed through a bibliographic research and the survey of data in 12 agroindustries of fruits processing in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, by applying a standard questionnaire. The results demonstrate a critical level with the improper disposal of waste in inappropriate places and low rates of preventive practices or the reuse of these. The management of liquid effluents is not treated with the degree of importance that is required and the exposure of emissions to the atmosphere is practically done in a grossly way, without any treatment. The paper explores such results and suggests an alternative proposal for the recycling of the wastes of those industries as food and as a food of animal origin.IMPACTOS CAUSADOS PELA DISPOSIÇÃO INADEQUADA DE RESÍDUOS EM AGROINDÚSTRIAS DO RIO GRANDE DO NORTE. O atual mercado consumidor é ávido por produtos com grande praticidade e rápido preparo. Dentre esses, nos últimos anos, dado um grande destaque ao uso de polpas de frutas para o preparo de sucos e outros derivados. Este trabalho consiste de um balanço da situação das indústrias de beneficiamento de polpas de frutas do estado Rio Grande do Norte (Brasil), com relação à disposição final de resíduos e o impacto associado pelas atividades desenvolvidas por estas. O trabalho foi desenvolvido através de uma pesquisa bibliográfica e levantamento de dados em 12 agroindústrias de processamento de frutas do estado do Rio Grande do Norte, mediante a aplicação de um questionário padrão. Os resultados demonstram um nível de criticidade com a disposição inadequada de resíduos em locais inapropriados e baixos índices de práticas preventivas ou de reuso desses. O gerenciamento dos efluentes líquidos não é tratado com o grau de importância que se requer e a exposição de emissões para a atmosfera praticamente é feito de forma bruta, sem nenhum tratamento. O trabalho explora tais resultados e sugere uma proposta de alternativas para o reaproveitamento dos resíduos dessas indústrias como alimentação humana e como um alimento de origem animal

Shrub Communities, Spatial Patterns, and Shrub-Mediated Tree Mortality following Reintroduced Fire in Yosemite National Park, California, USA

Shrubs contribute to the forest fuel load; their distribution is important to tree mortality and regeneration, and vertebrate occupancy. We used a method new to fire ecology—extensive continuous mapping of trees and shrub patches within a single large (25.6 ha) study site—to identify changes in shrub area, biomass, and spatial pattern due to fire reintroduction by a backfire following a century of fire exclusion in lower montane forests of the Sierra Nevada, California, USA. We examined whether trees in close proximity to shrubs prior to fire experienced higher mortality rates than trees in areas without shrubs. We calculated shrub biomass using demography subplots and existing allometric equations, and we developed new equations for beaked hazel (Corylus cornuta ssp. californica [A. de Candolle] E. Murray) from full dissection of 50 stems. Fire decreased shrub patch area from 15.1 % to 0.9 %, reduced live shrub biomass from 3.49 Mg ha−1 to 0.27 Mg ha−1, and consumed 4.41 Mg ha−1 of living and dead shrubs. Distinct (non-overlapping) shrub patches decreased from 47 ha−1 to 6 ha−1. The mean distance between shrub patches increased 135 %. Distances between montane chaparral patches increased 285 %, compared to a 54 % increase in distances between riparian shrub patches and an increase of 267 % between generalist shrub patches. Fire-related tree mortality within shrub patches was marginally lower (67.6 % versus 71.8 %), showing a contrasting effect of shrubs on tree mortality between this forest ecosystem and chaparral-dominated ecosystems in which most trees are killed by fire

DISTRIBUCIÓN ESPACIAL Y FLUCTUACIÓN POBLACIONAL DE PHYLLOCOPTRUTA OLEIVORA (ASHMEAD) (ACARI: ERIOPHYIDAE) EN CÍTRICOS DE GÜEMEZ, TAMAULIPAS

The present investigation was accomplished in the county of Güemez, Tamaulipas, Mexico during the period june of 1998 to October of 1999. The objectives were to evaluate the spatial distribution and the population fluctuation of the citrus rust mite Phyllocoptruta oleivora (Ashmead). This investigation was conducted on 10 orange trees of the variety Valencia selected at random in an area of a hectarea. Each tree was divided into 7 sampling areas. Samples were taken every 14 days, using the leaf as the sample unit and counting the number of mites present on both sides of the leaves. A total of 10 leaves were observed in each of 7 sections, making a total of 70 leaves for each tree and 700 for each sampling date. Using the mean densities and the variance obtained in each sampling, a statistical analysis was conducted to determine the spatial distribution of the mite in the area study. Eight indexes were used to determine the spatial distribution. The index values of Lexis , Charlier, David & Moore, Green and the dispersion parameter (K) of negative binomial indicated a clumped distribution for this mite over all 16 sampling dates. However the values of Morisita, Iwao, and Taylor´s power law showed random distribution in two, two, and three sampling dates, respectively. In all samples, the highest mite densities were found in the middle tree stratum (with higher aggregation toward last section of tree) followed by bottom and top strata, respectively. Population peaks were found during march 27 th and september 25 th. The dependent variable used to estimate the populate on fluctuation was the mean density of the mites in each sampling date. The independent variables were: temperature, relative humidity and precipitation. A detected positive correlation between the mean density of the mites and temperatures was observed.El presente trabajo de investigación se realizó en el municipio de Güemez, México, en el periodo de Junio de 1998 a Octubre de 1999. Se determinó la distribución espacial y fluctuación poblacional del arador de los cítricos Phyllocoptruta oleivora (Ashmead). Esta investigación se realizó en 10 árboles de naranjo de la variedad Valencia, seleccionados al azar en una superficie de una hectárea. Cada árbol se dividió en 7 áreas de muestreo y se realizaron muestreos cada 14 días, tomando como unidad de muestra las hojas. En total se registró la población en 700 hojas por fecha de muestreo. De los datos obtenidos se realizaron análisis para determinar la distribución espacial que presenta el ácaro en la zona de estudio, utilizando para ello 8 índices de muestro. Se registró la fluctuación poblacional y posibles factores climáticos que pudieran limitar la densidad poblacional. Los índices de Lexis, Charlier, David y Moore, Green y el parámetro K de la binomial negativa indicaron una distribución agregada en todas las fechas de muestreo donde se detectó la presencia de ácaros. Los valores de Morisita, Iwao y la ley de poder de Taylor mostraron disposición aleatoria en dos, dos y tres de las fechas de muestro respectivamente, en las demás se presentó disposición agregada. En todos los muestreos se encontró mayor cantidad de ácaros en el estrato medio seguido del estrato inferior y superior respectivamente. Se detectaron tres picos poblacionales; el 27 de marzo, el 21 de agosto y el 25 de septiembre con promedios de 3.8, 2.9, y 4.5 ácaros por hoja respectivamente. De los factores climáticos evaluados, la temperatura fue el que presentó el coeficiente de correlación mas alto (r=0.69916)

Health-care guidelines and policies during the COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico: a case of health-inequalities

Background Heterogeneous government responses have been reported in reaction to COVID-19. The aim of this study is to generate an exploratory review of healthcare policies published during COVID-19 by health-care institutions in Mexico. Analyzing policies within different health sub-systems becomes imperative in the Mexican case due to the longstanding fragmentation of the health-care system and health inequalities. Data and Methods Policies purposely included in the analysis were published by four public health institutions (IMSS, ISSSTE, SSA and PEMEX) during the COVID-19 epidemic in Mexico (from February 29th to June 15th, 2020) on official institutional websites. Researchers reviewed each document and classified them into seven policy categories set by the Rapid Research Evaluation and Appraisal Lab (RREAL): public health response, health-care delivery, human resources, health-system infrastructure and supplies, clinical response, health-care management, and epidemiological surveillance. Results Policy types varied by health institution. The largest number of policies were aimed at public health responses followed by health-care delivery and human resources. Policies were mainly published during the community transmission phase. Conclusions The pandemic exposed underlying health-care system inequalities and a reactive rather than prepared response to the outbreak. Additionally, this study outlines potential policy gaps and delays in the response that could be avoided in the future

GIADA: its status after the Rosetta cruise phase and on-ground activity in support of the encounter with comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

GIADA (Grain Impact Analyser and Dust Accumulator) on-board the Rosetta mission to comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko was designed to study the physical and dynamical properties of dust particles ejected by the comet during the encounter. In this paper we report the results of the analysis of data collected by GIADA during the past seven years of the cruise phase. During this period the GIADA detection subsystems were switched on for periodic in-flight payload checkouts to monitor their state of-health including potential changes in its performance that could affect its data collection. Only slight variations in sensitivity and dynamical range were identified that will not affect the GIADA measurement capability during the Rosetta comet encounter and rendezvous phase. The GIADA microbalance system detected the presence of low-volatility material over a period of about 169 days when the GIADA cover remained partially opened. It is highly probable that this material originated from the spacecraft itself, as a spacecraft’s outgassing was observed by the ROSINA mass spectrometer (on-board Rosetta) during the cruise phase. The identification of the low-volatility mass deposited on the microbalances as self-contamination will allow us to evaluate the mass rate background to be subtracted from the GIADA science data. These results obtained from GIADA cruise data analysis coupled with laboratory calibration data obtained from measurements using the GIADA spare model for selected cometary dust analogs will be the basis for the interpretation of the GIADA scientific data

Social sciences research in neglected tropical diseases 2: A bibliographic analysis

The official published version of the article can be found at the link below.Background There are strong arguments for social science and interdisciplinary research in the neglected tropical diseases. These diseases represent a rich and dynamic interplay between vector, host, and pathogen which occurs within social, physical and biological contexts. The overwhelming sense, however, is that neglected tropical diseases research is a biomedical endeavour largely excluding the social sciences. The purpose of this review is to provide a baseline for discussing the quantum and nature of the science that is being conducted, and the extent to which the social sciences are a part of that. Methods A bibliographic analysis was conducted of neglected tropical diseases related research papers published over the past 10 years in biomedical and social sciences. The analysis had textual and bibliometric facets, and focussed on chikungunya, dengue, visceral leishmaniasis, and onchocerciasis. Results There is substantial variation in the number of publications associated with each disease. The proportion of the research that is social science based appears remarkably consistent (<4%). A textual analysis, however, reveals a degree of misclassification by the abstracting service where a surprising proportion of the "social sciences" research was pure clinical research. Much of the social sciences research also tends to be "hand maiden" research focused on the implementation of biomedical solutions. Conclusion There is little evidence that scientists pay any attention to the complex social, cultural, biological, and environmental dynamic involved in human pathogenesis. There is little investigator driven social science and a poor presence of interdisciplinary science. The research needs more sophisticated funders and priority setters who are not beguiled by uncritical biomedical promises

67P/C-G inner coma dust properties from 2.2 au inbound to 2.0 auoutbound to the Sun

GIADA (Grain Impact Analyzer and Dust Accumulator) on-board the Rosetta space probe is designed to measure the momentum, mass and speed of individual dust particles escaping the nucleus of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (hereafter 67P). From 2014 August to 2016 June, Rosetta escorted comet 67P during its journey around the Sun. Here, we focus on GIADA data taken between 2015 January and 2016 February which included 67P's perihelion passage. To better understand cometary activity and more specifically the presence of dust structures in cometary comae, we mapped the spatial distribution of dust density in 67P's coma. In this manner, we could track the evolution of high-density regions of coma dust and their connections with nucleus illumination conditions, namely tracking 67P's seasons. We also studied the link between dust particle speeds and their masses with respect to heliocentric distance, i.e. the level of cometary activity. This allowed us to derive a global and a local correlation of the dust particles' speed distribution with respect to the H2O production rate. © 2016 The Authors.Peer Reviewe