Book review: the myth of the litigious society: why we don’t sue by David M. Engel

In The Myth of the Litigious Society: Why We Don’t Sue, David M. Engel challenges the assumption that the USA is a compensation culture, instead showing that victims of injuries usually do not seek meaningful redress. Although the book’s central claim would be strengthened by evidence from more recent studies than those presented in the text, M. Bob Kao finds this a convincing argument in favour of shifting a hitherto dominant narrative to the potential benefit of victims of injury who may otherwise forego their claims

Supersymmetry of M-Branes at Angles

We determine the possible fractions of supersymmetry preserved by two intersecting M-5-branes. These include the fractions 3/32 and 5/32 which have not occurred previously in intersecting brane configurations. Both occur in non-orthogonal pointlike intersections of M-5-branes but 5/32 supersymmetry is possible only for specific fixed angles.Comment: 11 pages, Late

Book review: Taiwan’s democracy challenged: the Chen Shui-bian years edited by Yun-han Chu, Larry Diamond and Kharis Templeman

In Taiwan’s Democracy Challenged: The Chen Shui-bian Years, editors Yun-han Chu, Larry Diamond and Kharis Templeman provide a reassessment of Taiwan’s political landscape between 2000 and 2008: the years in which Chen Shui-bian, Taiwan’s first non-Kuomintang president, was in office. This new systematic, impartial and evidence-based evaluation of Chen’s presidency is a must-read for students and scholars researching contemporary Taiwanese politics, finds M. Bob Kao

Determinazione del contenuto di nitrati e nitriti nei prodotti a base di carne senza additivi aggiunti

A food additive is any substance not consumed as a food ingredient but added to food for a specific purpose, for example inhibiting microorganism growth and maintaining sensory quality. Potassium and sodium nitrates and nitrites are among the most commonly used food additives in the meat industry due to their antimicrobial effect, in particular to prevent the growth of pathogenic bacteria Clostridium botulinum and its spores. Additionally, they provide specific sensory attributes, primarily the inherent pink color of meat products. Studies showed that excessive intake of nitrates and nitrites may pose a risk to human health. The object of this research was determination of nitrite and nitrate content in meat products without added additives or with those additives from natural sources. Samples were mortadella, cooked ham and bologna sausage as thermally proccessed (cured) meat products and fermented sausage. The statistical analysis of the results for mortadella, cooked ham and bologna sausage as thermally proccessed meat products showed a p-value <0.05 between recipes with added nitrite salt and new recipes. The values of the median mass concentration of sodium nitrite in the commercial recipes were from 3.50-40.50 mg/kg, whereas this value was below the limit of detection in new recipes. Also, for fermented sausage, the p-value below 0.05 between commercial recipe with nitrite and nitrate salt and new recipes confirmed the hypothesis for replacement of mentioned salts with new concepts. The value of the median mass concentration of sodium nitrate in the recipe with added nitrate salt was 268.52 mg/ kg, whereas this value was below the limit of detection in other recipes.Prehrambeni aditiv je svaka tvar koja se sama po sebi ne konzumira kao hrana, niti je prepoznatljiv sastojak hrane već se dodaje zbog svoje važne uloge. Najčešće se dodaje u hranu u svrhu konzerviranja, održavanja svježine, očuvanja konzistencije, poboljšanja teksture te usporavanja rasta mikroorganizama. Najčešće korišteni aditivi u mesnoj industriji su kalijevi ili natrijevi nitrati i nitriti. Tradicionalno se koriste za konzerviranje mesnih proizvoda zbog svoje učinkovitosti antimikrobnog djelovanja nitrita protiv patogene bakterije Clostridium botulinum, rasta njenih spora kao i protiv drugih bakterija. Osim konzervirajućeg učinka odgovorni su za karakteristična organoleptička svojstva, prvenstveno svojstvenu ružičastu boju mesnih proizvoda. Istraživanja ukazuju da prevelik unos nitrata i nitrita može predstavljati rizik za ljudsko zdravlje. Cilj ovog znanstvenog rada bio je određivanje sadražaja nitrita i nitrata u mesnim proizvodima bez dodanih aditiva. Također, istraživao se i učinak dodanih nitrata i nitrita na mesne proizvode iz prirodnih izvora, kao što su sastojci na bazi povrća – blitve i peršina. Mesni proizvodi u kojima se određivao sadržaj navedenih aditiva bili su termički obrađeni proizvodi poput mortadele, kuhane šunke i parizera i trajna kobasica. Statističkom obradom rezultata termički obrađenih mesnih proizvoda mortadele, kuhane šunke i parizera dobivene su p-vrijednosti <0.05 između recepture s nitritnom soli i novih receptura. Srednje vrijednosti masenih koncentracija natrijevog nitrita u komercijalnim recepturama bile su od 3.50-40.50 mg/kg dok su za nove recepture te vrijednosti bile ispod granice detekcije. U slučaju fermentirane kobasice, p-vrijednost ispod 0.05 između komercijalno dostupne recepture s nitratnom i nitritnom soli i novih receptura je potvrdila hipotezu o zamjeni navedenih soli s novim konceptima. Srednja vrijednost masene koncentracije natrijevog nitrata u komercijalnoj recepturi bila je 268.52 mg/kg dok je ta vrijednost ispod granice detekcije kod novih receptura.Ein Lebensmittelzusatzstoff ist eine Substanz, die nicht als Lebensmittelzutat verzehrt, sondern dem Lebensmittel zu einem bestimmten Zweck zugesetzt wird, z. B. zur Konservierung, Erhaltung der Frische und Konsistenz, Verbesserung der Textur und Hemmung des Wachstums von Mikroorganismen. Kalium- und Natriumnitrate und -nitrite gehören aufgrund ihrer antimikrobiellen Wirkung zu den am häufigsten verwendeten Lebensmittelzusatzstoffen in der Fleischindustrie, insbesondere zur Verhinderung des Wachstums von pathogenen Bakterien Clostridium botulinum und deren Sporen. Außerdem sorgen sie für bestimmte sensorische Eigenschaften, vor allem für die rosa Farbe von Fleischerzeugnissen. Studien haben gezeigt, dass eine übermäßige Aufnahme von Nitraten und Nitriten ein Risiko für die menschliche Gesundheit darstellen kann. Gegenstand dieser Untersuchung war die Bestimmung des Nitrit- und Nitratgehalts in Fleischerzeugnissen ohne Zusatzstoffe oder mit diesen Zusatzstoffen aus natürlichen Quellen, wie z.B. Inhaltsstoffe auf Basis von Gemüse – Mangold und Petersilie. Bei den Proben handelte es sich um Mortadella, Kochschinken und Bolognesewurst als thermisch verarbeitete (gepökelte) Fleischerzeugnisse und fermentierte Wurst. Die statistische Analyse der Ergebnisse für Mortadella, Kochschinken und Bolognesewurst als thermisch verarbeitete Fleischerzeugnisse ergab einen p-Wert <0,05 zwischen Rezepten mit zugesetztem Nitritsalz und neuen Rezepten. Die Werte der mittleren Massenkonzentration von Natriumnitrit in den Handelsrezepturen lagen zwischen 3,50 und 40,50 mg/kg, während dieser Wert in den neuen Rezepturen unter der Nachweisgrenze lag. Auch bei fermentierter Wurst bestätigte der p-Wert unter 0,05 zwischen der Handelsrezeptur mit Nitrit- und Nitratsalz und den neuen Rezepturen die Hypothese für den Ersatz der genannten Salze durch neue Konzepte. Der Wert der mittleren Massenkonzentration von Natriumnitrat in der Rezeptur mit zugesetztem Nitratsalz betrug 268,52 mg/kg, während dieser Wert in den anderen Rezepturen unter der Nachweisgrenze lag.Un aditivo alimentario es cualquier sustancia que no se consume como ingrediente alimentario, pero se añade a los alimentos con un propósito específico, por ejemplo, para inhibir el crecimiento de microorganismos y mantener la calidad sensorial. Los nitratos y nitritos de potasio y sodio se encuentran entre los aditivos alimentarios más comúnmente utilizados en la industria cárnica debido a su efecto antimicrobiano, especialmente para prevenir el crecimiento de bacterias patógenas como el Clostridium botulinum, sus esporas y otras bacterias. Además, proporcionan atributos organolépticos específicos, principalmente el color rosa inherente de los productos cárnicos. Estudios han demostrado que la ingesta excesiva de nitratos y nitritos puede representar un riesgo para la salud humana. El objetivo de esta investigación fue determinar el contenido de nitritos y nitratos en productos cárnicos sin aditivos añadidos. También fue investigado el efecto de los nitratos y nitritos agregados en productos cárnicos de fuentes naturales, como ingredientes de origen vegetal: acelgas y perejil. Las muestras fueron mortadela, jamón cocido y salchicha de bolonia como productos cárnicos procesados térmicamente (curados) y salchicha fermentada. El análisis estadístico de los resultados para la mortadela, el jamón cocido y la salchicha de bolonia como productos cárnicos procesados térmicamente mostraron un valor p <0.05 entre las recetas con sal de nitrito añadida y las nuevas recetas. Los valores de la concentración media de masa de nitrito de sodio en las recetas comerciales fueron de 3.50-40.50 mg/kg, mientras que este valor fue inferior al límite de detección en recetas nuevas. Además, para la salchicha fermentada, el valor p por debajo del límite de 0.05 entre la receta comercial con sal de nitrito y nitrato y las nuevas recetas confirmó la hipótesis de reemplazo de dichas sales con nuevos conceptos. El valor de la concentración media de masa de nitrato de sodio en la receta con sal de nitrato añadida fue de 268.52 mg/kg, mientras que este valor fue por debajo del límite de detección en las demás recetas.Un additivo alimentare è qualsiasi sostanza che non viene consumata come alimento di per sé, né è un ingrediente alimentare riconoscibile, ma viene aggiunta agli alimenti con una funzione specifica. Viene spesso aggiunto al cibo allo scopo di conservarlo, mantenerne la freschezza, preservarne la consistenza, migliorarne la texture e rallentare la crescita dei microrganismi. Gli additivi più comunemente usati nell’industria della carne sono i nitrati e i nitriti di potassio o di sodio. Sono tradizionalmente utilizzati per conservare i prodotti a base di carne grazie all’efficacia dell’azione antimicrobica del nitrito contro il batterio patogeno Clostridium botulinum, la crescita delle sue spore, nonché contro altri batteri. Oltre all’effetto conservante, sono responsabili di alcune proprietà organolettiche caratteristiche, in primis del tipico colore rosa dei prodotti a base di carne. La ricerca mostra che l’eccessiva assunzione di nitrati e nitriti può rappresentare un rischio per la salute umana. Questo studio scientifico aveva lo scopo di determinare il contenuto di nitriti e nitrati nei prodotti a base di carne senza additivi aggiunti. Inoltre, è stato studiato anche l’effetto dei nitrati e nitriti aggiunti su prodotti a base di carne di origine naturale, come alcuni ingredienti a base vegetale - bietole e prezzemolo. I prodotti a base di carne in cui è stato stabilito il contenuto dei suddetti additivi sono prodotti termicamente trattati quali la mortadella, il prosciutto cotto, il parizer (una specie di grosso wurstel: n.d.t.) e la salsiccia stagionata. Mediante elaborazione statistica dei risultati dei prodotti a base di carne lavorati termicamente (mortadella, prosciutto cotto e parizer), tra la ricetta con sale nitrito e le nuove ricette è stato ottenuto un valore-p <0,05. I valori medi delle concentrazioni in massa di nitrito di sodio nelle ricette commerciali erano di 3,50-40,50 mg/kg, mentre per le nuove ricette questi valori sono risultati inferiori al limite di rilevabilità. Nel caso della salsiccia fermentata, il valore-p inferiore a 0,05 tra la ricetta disponibile in commercio con sale nitrato e nitrito e le nuove ricette ha confermato l’ipotesi di sostituire i sali citati con nuovi prodotti. Il valore medio della concentrazione in massa di nitrato di sodio nella ricetta commerciale è risultato di 268,52 mg/kg, mentre nelle nuove ricette questo valore è risultato inferiore al limite di rilevabilità

Book review: the ashgate research companion to Lesbian and Gay Activism edited by David Paternotte and Manon Tremblay

Edited by David Paternotte and Manon Tremblay, The Ashgate Research Companion to Lesbian and Gay Activism provides 22 chapters that seek to give a comprehensive overview of the claims, strategies and mobilisations of lesbian and gay activism across a number of different countries. Although this is a solid introductory volume that offers important and insightful perspectives on the field, M. Bob Kao nonetheless finds that the scope of the project is hindered by its largely Western focus

Book review: who is worthy of protection? Gender-based asylum and US immigration politics by Meghana Nayak

In Who is Worthy of Protection? Gender-Based Asylum and US Immigration Politics, Meghana Nayak examines gender-based asylum in the United States, focusing on the narratives through which certain asylees are framed as being more ‘worthy’ than others. While M. Bob Kao welcomes Nayak’s recommendations regarding how feminist scholars can productively intervene in the asylum process, he nonetheless questions whether all of these arguments can be equally put into practice by lawyers navigating the challenges and constraints of the legal system in their daily working lives

The Two-Boson-Exchange Correction to Parity-Violating Elastic Electron-Proton Scattering

We calculate the two-boson-exchange (TBE) corrections to the parity-violating asymmetry of the elastic electron-proton scattering in a simple hadronic model including the nucleon and the $\Delta(1232)$ intermediate states. We find that $\Delta$ contribution $\delta_\Delta$ is, in general, comparable with the nucleon contribution $\delta_N$ and the current experimental measurements of strange-quark effects in the proton neutral weak current. The total TBE corrections to the current extracted values of $G^{s}_{E}+\beta G^{s}_{M}$ in recent experiments are found to lie in the range of $-7\sim +7$.Comment: 3 pages, 2 figs, 1 table, talk given at International Conference of Particle and Nuclei (PANIC08) Eilat, Israel, 9-14 Nov,200

Cyber physical systems implementation for asset management improvement: A framework for the transition

Libro en Open AccessThe transformation of the industry due to recent technologies introduction is an evolving process whose engines are competitiveness and sustainability, understood in its broadest sense (environmental, economic and social). This process is facing, due to the current state of scientific and technological development, a new challenge yet even more important: the transition from discrete technological solutions that respond to isolated problems, to a global conception where the assets, plant, processes and engineering systems are conceived, designed and operated as an integrated complex unit. This vision is evolving besides a set of concepts that are, in some way, to guide this development: Smart Factories, Cyber-Physical Systems, Factory of the Future or Industry 4.0, are examples. The full integration of the operation and maintenance (O&M) processes in the production systems is a key topic within this new paradigm. Not only that, this evolution necessarily results in the emergence of new processes and needs of O&M, i.e. also, the O&M will undergo a profound transformation. The transition from actual isolated production assets to such Industry 4.0 with CPS is far from easy. This document presents a proposal to develop such transition adapting one iteration of the Model of Maintenance Management (MMM) integrated into ISO 55000 to the complexity of incorporating “System of Systems” CPSs maintenance. It involves several stages: identification, prioritization, risk management, planning, scheduling, execution, control, and improvement supported by system engineering techniques and agile/concurrent project managemen