Ultrasonic Characterization and online monitoring of pork meat dry salting process

[EN] Bearing in mind the highly variable salt content in dry-cured meat products with anatomical integrity, such as pork loin or ham, non-destructive salt content characterization and the online monitoring of dry salting are highly relevant for industrial purposes. This study explores the ability of low-intensity ultrasound to monitor the dry salting of pork Biceps femoris (BF) and Longissimus dorsi (LD) online, as well as to estimate the salt content, both in these muscles and in hams. For this purpose, meat samples were dry salted for up to 16 d at 2 C. During the salting of the muscles, the ultrasonic velocity was continuously measured at time intervals of 5 min, while in the hams it was measured before and after salting. The ultrasonic velocity increased progressively during the salting due to salt gain and water loss, reaching a velocity variation (DV) of 46.8 m/s after 16 d of dry salting for hams and 59.5 and 30.6 m/s after 48 h of dry salting for LD and BF, respectively. Accurate correlations between salt gain and DV were obtained (R2 ¿ 0.903 in LD-BF muscles and R2 ¿ 0.758 in hams), which allowed the assessment of the salt content with an average estimation error of 0.4% w.b. for both muscles and hams. Further research should investigate the use of the time of flight obtained through the pulse-echo mode, instead of the ultrasonic velocity, in order to improve the industrial applicabiliThis work was supported by the Spanish Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad (MINECO), Instituto Nacional de Investigacion y Tecnologia Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA) and European Regional Development Fund (ERDF 2014-2020) (contract n. RTA2013-00030-C03-02), by the PROMETEOII\2014\005 and by the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia (UPV) through the FPI grant awarded to Marta de Prados (SP-1.2011-S1-2757).De Prados, M.; García Pérez, JV.; Benedito Fort, JJ. (2016). Ultrasonic Characterization and online monitoring of pork meat dry salting process. Food Control. 60:646-655. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodcont.2015.09.009S6466556

Damage in the Cadalso de los Vidrios Granite under water freeze/thaw conditions

The repeated action of simulated freeze-thaw cycles on Cadalso de los Vidrios Granite, promotes differential micro-cracking and loss of cr ystals at the surface and therefore decay. It is possible to establish a relationship between the evolution of the ultrasound waves velocity (Vp) with the number of freeze-thaw cycles and the generation of microcracks. Intergranular cracks are formed during the first cycles and these propagate towards the inner part of each individual crystals as the freeze-thaw cycles advance. Therefore, after 280 freeze-thaw cycles different patterns of microcracking can be observed depending on the mineralogy. Quartz is the mineral displaying more intense cracking while biotite shows less cracking, in part due to its more ductile behaviour. Micro-cracks appear preferentially at the surface of the samples with a maximum length and depth of 1 cm. Thus, these samples showed limited decay highlighting the good performance of Cadalso de los Vidrios granite against freezethaw.Peer reviewe

Personality and discomfort in a therapeutic skills training program using experiential methodology

One of the most useful methodologies for training therapeutic skills in the clinical and health field involves the use of experiential learning in the Role-Playing or Peer-Counselling modalities (Bennet-Levy 2006; Fusté et al., 2016; Ruiz et al., 2018). However, one of the drawbacks that this methodology can entail is the apparent discomfort of having to explain personal experiences. Different studies have suggested that the variations in the levels of distress experienced in the training programs can be associated with both aspects related to the training program, as well as personality factors. That is why the objective of this work is to analyze the relationship between the personality profile and the degree of discomfort manifested by psychologists in training when sharing personal experiences in a training environment

Influencia de la anisotropic en la durabilidad de las dolomías Cretácicas de la Comunidad de Madrid frente a la cristalización de sales

The behaviour of dolostone exposed to the effects of salt crystallization processes was studied on materials from Redueña and Torrelaguna in the province of Madrid, Spain. Much of the region's architectural and monumental heritage was built with the materials from these two sites. Stone specimens were selected for testing on the basis of ultrasonic wave propagation velocity (Vp) measurements taken in around one hundred cubic samples of each variety. The anisotropy indices were calculated and the samples were clustered on the basis of the results. Two representative samples of each class were taken and characterized for their petrographic and petrophysical properties before and after exposure to salt crystallization cycles. Ageing was evaluated in terms of weight loss and the visual deterioration observed. The pattern of decay found varied substantially in the two materials: the Redueña material exhibited more intense deterioration, with scaling and spalling, while the Torrelaguna dolostone tended to generate fragmentation and rounding at corners and edges.Depto. de Mineralogía y PetrologíaFac. de Ciencias GeológicasTRUEComunidad de MadridMinisterio de EducaciónUnión Europeapu

Modeling and optimization of the E-beam treatment of chicken steaks and hamburgers, considering food safety, shelf-life, and sensory quality

[EN] The present work was carried out to model the effect of E-beam treatment on the safety,shelf-life and sensory attributes of two poultry products, steaks and hamburgers, and tooptimize the radiation treatment. The inactivation of Salmonella spp. by means of differ-ent irradiation doses was modeled using a first order kinetics. The shelf-life was studiedby periodically counting the bacterial number in samples. For the modeling of experimen-tal data, only the exponential phase of growth was taken into account. The effect of theirradiation dose on the sensory attributes (appearance, odor and flavor) and instrumen-tal color (L*, a* and b* parameters) was modeled using the Gompertz function and theActivation Inactivation or linear models. The optimization of the irradiation dose was car-ried out by maximizing the sensory scores of samples and minimizing the instrumentalcolor changes. The safety and the shelf-life of samples were ensured by introducing con-straints into the optimization problem. In the case of hamburgers, the optimum calculateddose was 2.04 kGy, which guarantees the safety of the product and provides the best combi-nation of sensory and instrumental attributes. As regards the steaks, the optimum assesseddose was 1.11 kGy, significantly lower than for hamburgersThe authors acknowledge the financial support from the Project CSD2007-00016 (CONSOLIDER-INGENIO 2010) and AGL 2010-19158, both funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness.Cárcel Carrión, JA.; Benedito Fort, JJ.; Cambero, M.; M. C. CABEZA; Ordóñez, J. (2015). Modeling and optimization of the E-beam treatment of chicken steaks and hamburgers, considering food safety, shelf-life, and sensory quality. Food and Bioproducts Processing. 96:133-144. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fbp.2015.07.006S1331449

Effect of ultrasound transducer design on the acoustically-assisted supercritical fluid extraction of antioxidants from oregano

[EN] Power ultrasound is applied in food technology to intensify extraction processes, due to the phenomena ultrasonic energy induces in the medium, enhancing mass transfer. The purpose of this work was the acoustic characterization of four transducers of different geometries and the evaluation of their performance in the ultrasonically assisted supercritical fluid extraction of antioxidants from oregano. The transducers differed in the amount of energy transmitted into the medium. Designs varied from the base model (T1), a larger cylindrical headmass (T2), a stepped circular section sonotrode (T3) and a multiplate configuration (T4). The highest nominal power density provided according to the calorimetric method was for T4 (151.6 +/- 7.1 W/L). The T2 produced a more uniform acoustic field and a higher acoustic pressure (150.6 +/- 20.5 kPa). Both parameters had an impact on total phenolics and antioxidants extraction with CO2 under supercritical conditions (35 MPa, 35 degrees C, 2.3% ethanol as co-solvent). T4 and T2 were equally efficient (4.0 +/- 0.2 and 4.2 +/- 0.2 mg GA/g) for phenolic extraction, and with respect to antioxidant capacity, the best performance was that of T4 (26.4 +/- 1.1 mu mol TE/g). Of the antioxidant compounds extracted, flavones and flavanones were identified. Therefore, transducer geometry influenced the amount and distribution of energy transmitted into the medium, thus determining the efficiency of the extraction process.This work was supported by the PROMETEOII\2014\005 project financed by the Generalitat Valenciana (Conselleria d'Educacio, Cultura i Esport, Valencia, Spain).Santos-Zea, L.; Antunes-Ricardo, M.; Gutierrez-Uribe, J.; Garcia-Perez, J.; Benedito Fort, JJ. (2018). Effect of ultrasound transducer design on the acoustically-assisted supercritical fluid extraction of antioxidants from oregano. Ultrasonics Sonochemistry. 47:47-56. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ultsonch.2018.04.019S47564

Subsampling OFDM-based ultrasonic data communication through metallic channels for monitoring of cargo containers

An enhanced ultrasonic communication system based on piezoelectric transducers for monitoring of goods in cargo containers is presented. The proposed system consists of several sensors placed inside the container, whose data are collected and transmitted outside it. Data transmission is carried out by an ultrasonic communication channel, in order to avoid drilling the wall of the container. The proposed data communication system is based on the transmission of a 128-OFDM signal. This modulation has been chosen due to its robustness to channels with frequency-selective fading and its spectrum efficiency. In order to increase the signal bandwidth and to reduce the power consumption at the internal node (transmitter), the proposed system exploits the non-linearity of the metallic channel to transmit at higher resonance frequencies. Moreover, power consumption at the external node (receiver) is reduced by using a subsampling based receiver, which allows its implementation by low-cost electronics.This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness under Projects TEC2016-80396-C2-2-R and TEC2016-80396-C2-1-

Ruta geomonumental: materiales de construcción utilizados en el Monasterio de Santa María de Pelayos de la Presa y antiguas canteras explotadas para la extracción de la piedra granítica (Madrid).

9 págs, 8 figuras.-- Itinerario incluido entre las actividades de divulgación y comunicación social de la Semana de la Ciencia y la Tecnología en el CSIC (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Nov 2010): http://www.madrimasd.org/semanaciencia/2010/.-- Texto correspondiente a la memoria entregada a los participantes que asistieron a la ruta geomonumentalLas Rutas Geomonumentales suponen una metodología diferente para la difusión cultural y científica del patrimonio arquitectónico, atendiendo a los materiales pétreos, naturales y artificiales, que lo configuran. El prefijo “Geo” indica el fuerte condicionante geológico que tradicionalmente ha influido en los asentamientos urbanos y en su desarrollo, así como la relación existente entre la arquitectura y la geología, en tanto que gran parte de los materiales de construcción se extraen de la tierra. Además, el comportamiento y deterioro de los materiales pétreos está en gran parte condicionado por el entorno que rodea a los inmuebles que constituyen. El Monasterio de Pelayos de la Presa resulta un inmueble ideal para realizar una Ruta Geomonumental como la que se propone. Por un lado, para la construcción del monasterio se utilizaron muy diversos materiales pétreos de construcción (naturales y artificiales) y su emplazamiento en gran parte estuvo condicionado por la existencia de canteras de granito en la zona. Por otro, el estado de conservación que presenta el inmueble, posibilita atender a interesantes aspectos constructivos y a formas de deterioro sufridas por los materiales, así como a las causas que las generan.Peer reviewe