297 research outputs found
SHELF-LIFE OF HALAL FRESH SLICED BEEF AND MINCED MEAT
Microbiological and chemical-physical characterization of Halal beef fresh and minced meat, vacuum-packaged and stored at +2°C and +8°C, were examined, at 0, 7, 14 and 21 days, to evaluate the shelf-life. Lactic Acid Bacteria and Coliforms were higher in samples stored at +8 °C, particularly in minced meat. Pseudomonas were the most prevalent flora in all the products, and the contamination level, above 4 log10 cfu/g, were reached at 7 days in all the samples and was maintained during the study. The shelf-life can be extended reducing the storage temperature (< +2°C), and improving the packaging conditions
The Photon Dispersion as an Indicator for New Physics ?
We first comment on the search for a deviation from the linear photon
dispersion relation, in particular based on cosmic photons from Gamma Ray
Bursts. Then we consider the non-commutative space as a theoretical concept
that could lead to such a deviation, which would be a manifestation of Lorentz
Invariance Violation. In particular we review a numerical study of pure U(1)
gauge theory in a 4d non-commutative space. Starting from a finite lattice, we
explore the phase diagram and the extrapolation to the continuum and infinite
volume. These simultaneous limits - taken at fixed non-commutativity - lead to
a phase of broken Poincare symmetry, where the photon appears to be IR stable,
despite a negative IR divergence to one loop.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, talk presented at the VI International Workshop
on the Dark Side of the Universe, Leon (Mexico), June 1-6, 2010. References
adde
Wheel torque control for a rough terrain rover
Navigating in rough terrain is a complex task that requires the robot to be considered as a holistic system. Algorithms, which don’t consider the physical dimensions and capabilities of the mobile robot lead to inefficient motion and suffer from a lack of robustness. A physical model of the robot is necessary for trajectory control. In this paper, quasi-static modeling of a six-wheeled robot with a passive suspension mechanism is presented together with a method for selecting the optimal torques considering the system constraints: maximal and minimal torques, positive normal forces. The aim of this method is to limit wheel slip and to improve climbing capabilities. The modeling and the optimization are applied to the Shrimp rover
Qualidade de tomates para processamento industrial.
O tomate (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) é cultivado em grande escala na agricultura brasileira e é uma das culturas mais difundidas em todo mundo. Este fruto se destaca como umas das principais hortaliças cultivadas no Brasil destinada ao processamento industrial. Sua produção está concentrada basicamente na região centro-oeste, sendo que esta atividade gera emprego, renda e divisas para o país (MORETTI; MATOS, 2009). Entretanto, o estado do Mato Grosso participa apenas com 0,30% da produção nacional de tomate (LEVANTAMENTO..., 2014), não atendendo a demanda de consumo interna. Esta situação evidencia que há uma demanda a ser suprida e, considerando a disponibilidade de áreas no território mato-grossense, a interferência climática é um dos maiores obstáculos existentes no avanço desta cultura no estado. Nos últimos anos, a produção de tomate passou por grandes transformações tecnológicas, destacando-se a utilização de híbridos de elevada produtividade e de longa vida de prateleira. A avaliação de cultivares dentro de condições edafoclimáticas conhecidas permite comparar genótipos quanto ao seu potencial produtivo, qualidade de frutos e resistência a doenças e pragas. Esta avaliação é importante também para conhecer os materiais mais adequados para cada região, pois cada um tem suas características genéticas que determinam sua maior ou menor sensibilidade às condições ambientais e a outros fatores de produção (PEIXOTO et al., 1999). Desta forma, o presente trabalho teve por objetivo avaliar o desempenho de materiais comerciais de tomateiro quanto à qualidade de frutos para o processamento industrial, nas condições da região norte de Mato Grosso
Massive Charged Scalar Quasinormal Modes of Reissner-N\"ordstrom Black Hole Surrounded by Quintessence
We evaluate the complex frequencies of the normal modes for the massive
charged scalar field perturbations around a Reissner-N\"ordstrom black hole
surrounded by a static and spherically symmetric quintessence using third order
WKB approximation approach. Due to the presence of quintessence, quasinormal
frequencies damp more slowly. We studied the variation of quasinormal
frequencies with charge of the black bole, mass and charge of perturbating
scalar field and the quintessential state parameter.Comment: 9 pages, 9 figures and one tabl
Ketogenic diet may improve sleep quality and daytime somnolence in patients affected by multiple sclerosis. Results of an exploratory study
Objective/background: Patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) frequently report sleep complaints. The ketogenic diet (KD) is safe and tolerable in MS patients. Our aim was: 1) to investigate the effects of KD on sleep complaints in patients affected by relapsing-remitting MS and 2) to verify if sleep changes can positively impact on psychological status and quality of life (QoL) in these patients. Patients/methods: From January 2020 to November 2022, we consecutively enrolled 21 non-disabled or minimally disabled MS patients. We collected information regarding: 1) anthropometric measures; 2) psychological status by the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21; 3) QoL by the Multiple Sclerosis Quality of Life-54 (MSQOL-54); 4) subjective sleep complaints, i.e. sleep quality, by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS), by the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS). Results: After 6 months of KD therapy, anthropometric measures considerably changed, psychological status significantly improved, and almost all the MSQOL-54 subscales ameliorated. Regarding sleep, we observed that the global PSQI (T0: 7.7 ± 3.1 versus T1: 4.4 ± 3.1, p = 0.002) and the ESS (T0: 7.5 ± 3.9 versus T1: 4.9 ± 3.2, p = 0.001) scores significantly decreased after KD therapy. At T1, only the global PSQI score was an independent predictor of anxiety, stress, and mental health. Conclusions: For the first time, we demonstrated that KD may improve sleep complaints in MS patients. In addition, KD seems to have a positive impact on psychological status and QoL of MS patients, mainly through improving sleep quality. Further controlled studies with larger sample sizes are needed to confirm these preliminary results
Stringy Space-Time Foam and High-Energy Cosmic Photons
In this review, I discuss briefly stringent tests of Lorentz-violating
quantum space-time foam models inspired from String/Brane theories, provided by
studies of high energy Photons from intense celestial sources, such as Active
Galactic Nuclei or Gamma Ray Bursts. The theoretical models predict
modifications to the radiation dispersion relations, which are quadratically
suppressed by the string mass scale, and time delays in the arrival times of
photons (assumed to be emitted more or less simultaneously from the source),
which are proportional to the photon energy, so that the more energetic photons
arrive later. Although the astrophysics at the source of these energetic
photons is still not understood, and such non simultaneous arrivals, that have
been observed recently, might well be due to non simultaneous emission as a
result of conventional physics effects, nevertheless, rather surprisingly, the
observed time delays can also fit excellently the stringy space-time foam
scenarios, provided the space-time defect foam is inhomogeneous. The key
features of the model, that allow it to evade a plethora of astrophysical
constraints on Lorentz violation, in sharp contrast to other field-theoretic
Lorentz-violating models of quantum gravity, are: (i) transparency of the foam
to electrons and in general charged matter, (ii) absence of birefringence
effects and (iii) a breakdown of the local effective lagrangian formalism.Comment: 26 pages Latex, 4 figures, uses special macros. Keynote Lecture in
the International Conference "Recent Developments in Gravity" (NEB14),
Ioannina (Greece) June 8-11 201
Implementing virtual collaborative inquiry practises in a middle-school context
The aim of the present study was to investigate the challenges that relate to the implementation of virtual inquiry practises in middle school. The case was a school course in which a group of Finnish students (N = 14) and teachers (N = 7) completed group inquiries through virtual collaboration, using a web-based learning environment. The task was to accomplish a cross-disciplinary inquiry into cultural issues. The students worked mainly at home and took much responsibility for their course achievements. The investigators analysed the pedagogical design of the course and the content of the participants' interaction patterns in the web-based environment, using qualitative content analysis and social network analysis. The findings suggest that the students succeeded in producing distinctive cultural products, and both the students and the teachers adopted novel roles during the inquiry. The web-based learning environment was used more as a coordination tool for organizing the collaborative work than as a forum for epistemic inquiry. The tension between the school curriculum and the inquiry practises was manifest in the participants' discussions of the assessment criteria of the course.The aim of the present study was to investigate the challenges that relate to the implementation of virtual inquiry practises in middle school. The case was a school course in which a group of Finnish students (N = 14) and teachers (N = 7) completed group inquiries through virtual collaboration, using a web-based learning environment. The task was to accomplish a cross-disciplinary inquiry into cultural issues. The students worked mainly at home and took much responsibility for their course achievements. The investigators analysed the pedagogical design of the course and the content of the participants' interaction patterns in the web-based environment, using qualitative content analysis and social network analysis. The findings suggest that the students succeeded in producing distinctive cultural products, and both the students and the teachers adopted novel roles during the inquiry. The web-based learning environment was used more as a coordination tool for organizing the collaborative work than as a forum for epistemic inquiry. The tension between the school curriculum and the inquiry practises was manifest in the participants' discussions of the assessment criteria of the course.The aim of the present study was to investigate the challenges that relate to the implementation of virtual inquiry practises in middle school. The case was a school course in which a group of Finnish students (N = 14) and teachers (N = 7) completed group inquiries through virtual collaboration, using a web-based learning environment. The task was to accomplish a cross-disciplinary inquiry into cultural issues. The students worked mainly at home and took much responsibility for their course achievements. The investigators analysed the pedagogical design of the course and the content of the participants' interaction patterns in the web-based environment, using qualitative content analysis and social network analysis. The findings suggest that the students succeeded in producing distinctive cultural products, and both the students and the teachers adopted novel roles during the inquiry. The web-based learning environment was used more as a coordination tool for organizing the collaborative work than as a forum for epistemic inquiry. The tension between the school curriculum and the inquiry practises was manifest in the participants' discussions of the assessment criteria of the course.Peer reviewe
Discharge calcium concentration relationships in streams of the Amazon and Cerrado of Brazil: soil or land use controlled.
Symmetry breaking in mass-recruiting ants: extent of foraging biases depends on resource quality
The communication involved in the foraging behaviour of social insects is integral to their success. Many ant species use trail pheromones to make decisions about where to forage. The strong positive feedback caused by the trail pheromone is thought to create a decision between two or more options. When the two options are of identical quality, this is known as symmetry breaking, and is important because it helps colonies to monopolise food sources in a competitive environment. Symmetry breaking is thought to increase with the quantity of pheromone deposited by ants, but empirical studies exploring the factors affecting symmetry breaking are limited. Here, we tested if (i) greater disparity between two food sources increased the degree to which a higher quality food source is favoured and (ii) if the quality of identical food sources would affect the degree of symmetry breaking that occurs. Using the mass-recruiting Pharaoh ant, Monomorium pharaonis, we carried out binary choice tests to investigate how food quality affects the choice and distribution of colony foraging decisions. We found that colonies could coordinate foraging to exploit food sources of greater quality, and a greater contrast in quality between the food sources created a stronger collective decision. Contrary to prediction, we found that symmetry breaking decreased as the quality of two identical food sources increased. We discuss how stochastic effects might lead to relatively strong differences in the amount of pheromone on alternative routes when food source quality is low. Significance statement: Pheromones used by social insects should guide a colony via positive feedback to distribute colony members at resources in the most adaptive way given the current environment. This study shows that when food resources are of equal quality, Pharaoh ant foragers distribute themselves more evenly if the two food sources are both of high quality compared to if both are of low quality. The results highlight the way in which individual ants can modulate their response to pheromone trails which may lead colonies to exploiting resources more evenly when in a resource rich environment
- …