Effect of mechanical contrast on sensory perception of heterogeneous liquid and semi-solid foods

This study investigated the influence of size and fracture stress (σF) of dispersed particles embedded in liquid and semi-solid model food matrices on sensory perception and hedonic response. К-carrageenan particles varying in size (0.8, 2.4, 4.2 mm) and fracture stress (σF: 25, 100, 250 kPa) were added (15% w/w) to liquid starch-based model soups and semi-solid protein-based model gels. Sensory profiles were quantified by untrained panellists (n = 54) using the Rate-All-That-Apply (RATA) method. Particle size mainly affected the type of sensory descriptors selected by the subjects, whereas fracture stress of particles determined mainly the perceived intensity of selected descriptors. Soups and gels with small particles (0.8 mm) were mainly perceived as gritty, whereas soups and gels with medium-sized particles (2.4 mm) were mainly perceived as beady. Increasing particle size to 4.2 mm caused lumpy and heterogeneous sensations in soups and gels. With variations of particle fracture stress, the perceived intensity of the selected attributes increased or decreased significantly for all particle sizes. Mouthfeel heterogeneity and chewiness increased significantly when increasing the fracture stress from 20 to 100 or 250 kPa. Mechanical contrast did not enhance liking of model soups and gels probably because к-carrageenan particles were perceived as artificial and provided texture contrast without flavour contrast. We conclude that size and fracture stress of dispersed particles embedded in liquid and semi-solid model food matrices affect differently sensory perception with particle size determining type of sensory descriptors selected and particle fracture stress determining intensity of selected sensory attributes.</p

Building Change Detection Based on a Gray-Level Co-Occurrence Matrix and Artificial Neural Networks

The recovery phase following an earthquake event is essential for urban areas with a significant number of damaged buildings. A lot of changes can take place in such a landscape within the buildings’ footprints, such as total or partial collapses, debris removal and reconstruction. Remote sensing data and methodologies can considerably contribute to site monitoring. The main objective of this paper is the change detection of the building stock in the settlement of Vrissa on Lesvos Island during the recovery phase after the catastrophic earthquake of 12 June 2017, through the analysis and processing of UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) images and the application of Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs). More specifically, change detection of the settlement’s building stock by applying an ANN on Gray-Level Co-occurrence Matrix (GLCM) texture features of orthophotomaps acquired by UAVs was performed. For the training of the ANN, a number of GLCM texture features were defined as the independent variable, while the existence or not of structural changes in the buildings were defined as the dependent variable, assigning, respectively, the values 1 or 0 (binary classification). The ANN was trained based on the Levenberg–Marquardt algorithm, and its ability to detect changes was evaluated on the basis of the buildings’ condition, as derived from the binary classification. In conclusion, the GLCM texture feature changes in conjunction with the ANN can provide satisfactory results in predicting the structural changes of buildings with an accuracy of almost 92%

NK and NKT Cell Depletion Alters the Outcome of Experimental Pneumococcal Pneumonia: Relationship with Regulation of Interferon-gamma Production

Background. Natural killer (NK) and natural killer T (NKT) cells contribute to the innate host defense but their role in bacterial sepsis remains controversial. Methods. C57BL/6 mice were infected intratracheally with 5 x 10(5) cfu of Streptococcus pneumoniae. Animals were divided into sham group (Sham); pretreated with isotype control antibody (CON) group; pretreated with anti-asialo GM1 antibody (NKd) group; and pretreated with anti-CD1d monoclonal antibody (NKTd) group before bacterial challenge. Serum and tissue samples were analyzed for bacterial load, cytokine levels, splenocyte apoptosis rates, and cell characteristics by flow cytometry. Splenocyte miRNA expression was also analyzed and survival was assessed. Results. NK cell depletion prolonged survival. Upon inhibition of NKTcell activation, spleen NK(CD3-/NK1.1+) cells increased compared to all other groups. Inhibition of NKT cell activation led to higher bacterial loads and increased levels of serum and splenocyte IFN-gamma. Splenocyte miRNA analysis showed that miR-200c and miR-29a were downregulated, while miR-125a-5p was upregulated, in anti-CD1d treated animals. These changes were moderate after NK cell depletion. Conclusions. NK cells appear to contribute to mortality in pneumococcal pneumonia. Inhibition of NKT cell activation resulted in an increase in spleen NK (CD3-/NK1.1+) cells and a higher IFN-gamma production, while altering splenocyte miRNA expression

NK and NKT Cell Depletion Alters the Outcome of Experimental Pneumococcal Pneumonia: Relationship with Regulation of Interferon- γ

Background. Natural killer (NK) and natural killer T (NKT) cells contribute to the innate host defense but their role in bacterial sepsis remains controversial. Methods. C57BL/6 mice were infected intratracheally with 5 × 105 cfu of Streptococcus pneumoniae. Animals were divided into sham group (Sham); pretreated with isotype control antibody (CON) group; pretreated with anti-asialo GM1 antibody (NKd) group; and pretreated with anti-CD1d monoclonal antibody (NKTd) group before bacterial challenge. Serum and tissue samples were analyzed for bacterial load, cytokine levels, splenocyte apoptosis rates, and cell characteristics by flow cytometry. Splenocyte miRNA expression was also analyzed and survival was assessed. Results. NK cell depletion prolonged survival. Upon inhibition of NKT cell activation, spleen NK (CD3−/NK1.1+) cells increased compared to all other groups. Inhibition of NKT cell activation led to higher bacterial loads and increased levels of serum and splenocyte IFN-γ. Splenocyte miRNA analysis showed that miR-200c and miR-29a were downregulated, while miR-125a-5p was upregulated, in anti-CD1d treated animals. These changes were moderate after NK cell depletion. Conclusions. NK cells appear to contribute to mortality in pneumococcal pneumonia. Inhibition of NKT cell activation resulted in an increase in spleen NK (CD3−/NK1.1+) cells and a higher IFN-γ production, while altering splenocyte miRNA expression

Using webgl to design an interactive 3D platform for the main monuments of Crete

Summarization: Conceptualization of information allows improved visualization and manipulation of large amounts of data. Especially in digitization of cultural heritage and when aiming at presenting more than one monuments, abstraction of information becomes the key solution. Our proposed application aims to present the main archaeological monuments of Crete through a conceptual 3D model and their evolution through time. The technical implementation is based on WebGL allowing the user to navigate among the main monuments and approach them gradually and interactively through different levels of detail. Furthermore, the ability to switch between the seven historical periods offers a comparative study of their evolution in time. Conceptualization and abstraction of information through varied levels of detail allows the application to be available to anyone on the web, being computationally light and easy to use.Περίληψη: Η εννοιολογική απεικόνιση της πληροφορίας επιτρέπει τη βελτιωμένη οπτικοποίηση και τον χειρισμό μεγάλου όγκου πληροφοριών. Ιδιαίτερα στην ψηφιοποίηση της πολιτιστικής κληρονομιάς και όταν ο στόχος είναι η παρουσίαση περισσότερων του ενός μνημείων, η αφαίρεση πληροφορίας αποτελεί την διέξοδο. Η προτεινόμενη εφαρμογή έχει ως στόχο να παρουσιάσει τα βασικά αρχαιολογικά μνημεία της Κρήτης και την εξέλιξή τους στον χρόνο, μέσα από ένα εννοιολογικό τρισδιάστατο μοντέλο. Η τεχνική εφαρμογή βασίζεται στη γλώσσαWebGL, επιτρέποντας στον χρήστη να πλοηγηθεί ανάμεσα στα βασικά μνημεία και να τα προσεγγίσει σταδιακά και διαδραστικά, μέσω διαφορετικών επιπέδων λεπτομέρειας. Συγχρόνως, η δυνατότητα μετάβασης μεταξύ επτά ιστορικών περιόδων προσφέρει την συγκριτική μελέτη της εξέλιξης των μνημείων στο χρόνο. Η εννοιολογική απεικόνιση και η αφαίρεση πληροφορίας μέσα από διαφοροποιημένα επίπεδα λεπτομέρειας επιτρέπει στην εφαρμογή να είναι διαθέσιμη σε οποιονδήποτε χρήστη του διαδικτύου, καθώς είναι υπολογιστικά «ελαφριά» και εύκολη στη χρήσηPresented on