S.R. Carpenter, Regime shifts in lake ecosystems, pattern and variation. In O. Kinne (Ed.), Excellence in ecology (Vol. 15). International Ecology Institute Oldendorf, Germany, ISSN 0932-2205 (199pp., 52 figures, €40.00).

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S.R. Carpenter, Regime shifts in lake ecosystems, pattern and variation. In O. Kinne (Ed.), Excellence in ecology (Vol. 15). International Ecology Institute Oldendorf, Germany, ISSN 0932-2205 (199pp., 52 figures, €40.00).

Unknow

Water quality assessment, trophic classification and water resources management

Quantification of water quality (WQ) is an integral part of scientifically based water resources management. The main objective of this study was comparative analysis of two approaches applied for quantitative assessment of WQ: the trophic level index (TLI) and the Delphi method (DM). We analyzed the following features of these conceptually different approaches: A. similarity of estimates of lake WQ; B. sensitivity to indicating disturbances in the aquatic ecosystem structure and functioning; C. capacity to reflect the impact of major management measures on the quality of water resources. We compared the DM and TLI based on results from a series of lakes covering varying productivity levels, mixing regimes and climatic zones. We assumed that the conservation of aquatic ecosystem in some predefined, “reference”, state is a major objective of sustainable water resources management in the study lakes. The comparison between the two approaches was quantified as a relationship between the DM ranks and respective TLI values. We show that being a classification system, the TLI does not account for specific characteristics of aquatic ecosystems and the array of different potential uses of the water resource. It indirectly assumes that oligotrophication is identical to WQ improvement, and reduction of economic activity within the lake catchment area is the most effective way to improve WQ. WQ assessed with the TLI is more suitable for needs of natural water resources management if eutrophication is a major threat. The DM allows accounting for several water resource uses and therefore it may serve as a more robust and comprehensive tool for WQ quantification and thus for sustainable water resources management

Stabilisation of oil-in-water emulsions with non-chemical modified gelatinised starch

In this research, stabilisation of oil-in-water emulsions with non-chemically modified gelatinised starch is presented. Thus far only octenyl succinic anhydride(OSA) modified gelatinised starch has been known to adsorb at emulsion droplet interfaces, acting as emulsifiers. Screening a range of commercially available food starches revealed that a non-waxy rice starch, a waxy rice starch and the waxy maize starch PRIMA600 showed oil-in-water emulsifying ability following gelatinisation. The microstructure of emulsions formulated with 20 % oil and 1 % starch was stable for at least 3 months. Thermal, crystallinity and molecular property analyses as well as amylose and protein content revealed no obvious link to this property. Nevertheless, this research has provided the food industry with exciting results for the formulation of clean label emulsions. Moreover, it presents a concept for oral release food emulsions with destabilisation via salivary amylase digestion of the stabilising starch emulsifier

Stabilisation of oil-in-water emulsions with non-chemical modified gelatinised starch

In this research, stabilisation of oil-in-water emulsions with non-chemically modified gelatinised starch is presented. Thus far only octenyl succinic anhydride(OSA) modified gelatinised starch has been known to adsorb at emulsion droplet interfaces, acting as emulsifiers. Screening a range of commercially available food starches revealed that a non-waxy rice starch, a waxy rice starch and the waxy maize starch PRIMA600 showed oil-in-water emulsifying ability following gelatinisation. The microstructure of emulsions formulated with 20 % oil and 1 % starch was stable for at least 3 months. Thermal, crystallinity and molecular property analyses as well as amylose and protein content revealed no obvious link to this property. Nevertheless, this research has provided the food industry with exciting results for the formulation of clean label emulsions. Moreover, it presents a concept for oral release food emulsions with destabilisation via salivary amylase digestion of the stabilising starch emulsifier

Evanescent quadrupole polariton

In the work we demonstrate the formation of new type of polariton on the interface between a cuprous oxide slab and a polystyrene micro-sphere placed on the slab. The evanescent field of the resonant whispering gallery mode (WGM) has a substantial gradient, and therefore effectively couples with the quadrupole $1S$ excitons in cuprous oxide. This evanescent polariton has a long life-time ($1.7 ns$), which is determined only by its excitonic component. The polariton lower branch has a well pronounced minimum. This suggests that this excitation can be utilized for BEC. The spatial coherence of the polariton can be improved by assembling the micro-spheres in a linear chain.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures; APS/PREPRIN

Non-chemically modified waxy rice starch stabilised wow emulsions for salt reduction

Water-in-oil-in-water emulsions containing an internalised salt solution were stabilised with non-chemically modified waxy rice starch (WRS), and octinyl succinic anhydride (OSA) as reference, to release salt during oral processing due to amylase-induced destabilisation. Salt levels were 1.5 g salt and 0.47 g salt per 100 g external and internal aqueous phases, respectively. Variables were the starch content (2, 3, 4 g per 100 g emulsion; 20 g oil per 100 g emulsion), level of polyglycerol polyricinoleate (PGPR) as a lipophilic emulsifier (0.29, 0.57 g per 100 g emulsion) and ambient-pressure processing temperature for WRS gelatinisation, the non-chemical modification process, (75 ± 3, 88 ± 5 °C). OSA starch was used under previously applied conditions (2, 3, 4 g starch, 0.57 g PGPR per 100 g emulsion, 25 ± 5 °C). Emulsions were stable for three months, except OSA and lower level PGPR low temperature processed WRS emulsions lost salt into the external emulsion phase. One day after processing, encapsulation efficiency (EE) was as predicted from the composition for OSA emulsions, while at the same PGPR content an external aqueous phase was incorporated into the oil droplets of the WRS emulsion increasing EE. Salt release was assessed in vitro and through sensory evaluation using paired comparison testing. The results revealed that the efficacy of this salt reduction approach was enhanced for gelatinised WRS compared to OSA starch stabilised emulsions. Consumer tests on a tomato soup, to validate this salt reduction approach for a real food, revealed a possible 25% salt reduction, compared to current UK products

Microcavity controlled coupling of excitonic qubits

Controlled non-local energy and coherence transfer enables light harvesting in photosynthesis and non-local logical operations in quantum computing. The most relevant mechanism of coherent coupling of distant qubits is coupling via the electromagnetic field. Here, we demonstrate the controlled coherent coupling of spatially separated excitonic qubits via the photon mode of a solid state microresonator. This is revealed by two-dimensional spectroscopy of the sample's coherent response, a sensitive and selective probe of the coherent coupling. The experimental results are quantitatively described by a rigorous theory of the cavity mediated coupling within a cluster of quantum dots excitons. Having demonstrated this mechanism, it can be used in extended coupling channels - sculptured, for instance, in photonic crystal cavities - to enable a long-range, non-local wiring up of individual emitters in solids