1,028 research outputs found
Evaluation of a numerical method to predict the polyphenol content in monovarietal olive oils
Three monovarietal virgin olive oils obtained from olives grown under biological agricultural system, in Portugal, with different ripening
stages, were studied in what concerns the parameters usually related with oxidation status (total polyphenols, tocopherols, chlorophylls
and carotenoids, peroxide values, oxidative stability, specific extinction coefficients K232 and K270 and titratable acidity). A total
of 18 samples were analyzed: seven from Cv. Cobrancžosa (maturation indices 1â7), five from Cv. Madural (maturation indices 3â7) and
six from Cv. Verdeal Transmontana (maturation indices 1â6). Oxidative stability and polyphenols profile presented high correlation coef-
ficients. Given this high correlation, a numerical method was developed and evaluated to predict total polyphenols contents in olive oil.
The method is based on the kinetic equation of the oxidation process in the presence of antioxidants and on Rancimat profiles. Total
polyphenols contents obtained with this method were similar to those obtained by the Folin-Ciocalteau method
Chemometric characterization of three varietal olive oils (Cvs. cobrancosa, madural and verdeal Transmontana) extracted from olives with different maturation indices
This paper evaluates the usefulness of three chemical parameters (compositions on tocopherols, sterols and fatty acids) as a tool to
discriminate three varietal olive oils (Cvs. Cobrançosa, Madural and Verdeal Transmontana), which are permitted cultivars for the production
of ââTrĂĄs-os-Montes olive oilââ, a Portuguese protected designation of origin (PDO) product. The olives were collected during the
year crop 2000/2001 from the same orchard, in order to eliminate the geographical and climatic influences. Lots with different maturation
indices were prepared to allow the evaluation of the ripening stage on the characteristics of varietal olive oils produced from each cultivar.
Statistical methods such as multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), principal components analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis
were used to evaluate significant differences on the studied parameters. Regarding the results, the three cultivars were clearly
discriminated
Phenotypic spectrum of MFN2 mutations in the Spanish population
INTRODUCTION: The most common form of axonal Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease is type 2A, caused by mutations in the mitochondrial GTPase mitofusin 2 (MFN2). OBJECTIVE: The objective of our study is to establish the incidence of MFN2 mutations in a cohort of Spanish patients with axonal CMT neuropathy. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Eighty-five families with suspected axonal CMT were studied. All MFN2 exons were studied through direct sequencing. A bioenergetics study in fibroblasts was conducted using a skin biopsy taken from a patient with an Arg468His mutation. RESULTS: Twenty-four patients from 14 different families were identified with nine different MFN2 mutations (Arg94Trp, Arg94Gln, Ile203Met, Asn252Lys, Gln276His, Gly296Arg, Met376Val, Arg364Gln and Arg468His). All mutations were found in the heterozygous state and four of these mutations had not been described previously. MFN2 mutations were responsible for CMT2 in 16% +/- 7% of the families studied and in 30.8 +/- 14.2% (12/39) of families with known dominant inheritance. The bioenergetic studies in fibroblasts show typical results of MFN2 patients with a mitochondrial coupling defect (ATP/O) and an increase of the respiration rate linked to complex II. CONCLUSION: It is concluded that mutations in MFN2 are the most frequent cause of CMT2 in this region. The Arg468His mutation was the most prevalent (6/14 families), and our study confirms that it is pathological, presenting as a neuropathy in a mild to moderate degree. This study also demonstrates the value of MFN2 studies in cases of congenital axonal neuropathy, especially in cases of dominant inheritance, severe clinical symptoms or additional symptoms such as optic atrophy
Quadrature-dependent Bogoliubov transformations and multiphoton squeezed states
We introduce a linear, canonical transformation of the fundamental
single--mode field operators and that generalizes the linear
Bogoliubov transformation familiar in the construction of the harmonic
oscillator squeezed states. This generalization is obtained by adding to the
linear transformation a nonlinear function of any of the fundamental quadrature
operators and , making the original Bogoliubov transformation
quadrature--dependent. Remarkably, the conditions of canonicity do not impose
any constraint on the form of the nonlinear function, and lead to a set of
nontrivial algebraic relations between the --number coefficients of the
transformation. We examine in detail the structure and the properties of the
new quantum states defined as eigenvectors of the transformed annihilation
operator . These eigenvectors define a class of multiphoton squeezed states.
The structure of the uncertainty products and of the quasiprobability
distributions in phase space shows that besides coherence properties, these
states exhibit a squeezing and a deformation (cooling) of the phase--space
trajectories, both of which strongly depend on the form of the nonlinear
function. The presence of the extra nonlinear term in the phase of the wave
functions has also relevant consequences on photon statistics and correlation
properties. The non quadratic structure of the associated Hamiltonians suggests
that these states be generated in connection with multiphoton processes in
media with higher nonlinearities.Comment: 16 pages, 15 figure
Quintessence Cosmology and the Cosmic Coincidence
Within present constraints on the observed smooth energy and its equation of
state parameter, it is important to find out whether the smooth energy is
static (cosmological constant) or dynamic (quintessence). The most dynamical
quintessence fields observationally allowed are now still fast-rolling and no
longer satisfy the tracker approximation if the equation of state parameter
varies moderately with cosmic scale. We are optimistic about distinguishing
between a cosmological constant and appreciably dynamic quintessence, by
measuring average values for the effective equation of state parameter.
However, reconstructing the quintessence potential from observations of any
scale dependence appears problematic in the near future. For our flat universe,
at present dominated by smooth energy in the form of either a cosmological
constant (LCDM) or quintessence (QCDM), we calculate the asymptotic collapsed
mass fraction to be maximal at the observed smooth energy/matter ratio.
Identifying this collapsed fraction as a conditional probability for habitable
galaxies, we infer that the prior distribution is flat. Interpreting this prior
as a distribution over theories, rather than as a distribution over
unobservable subuniverses, leads us to heuristic predictions about the class of
future quantum cosmology theories and the static or quasi-static nature of the
smooth energy.Comment: Typos corrected, as presented at Cosmo-01 Workshop, Rovaniemi,
Finland and accepted for publication in Physical Review D. 9 pages, 4 figure
Scalar Dark Matter From Theory Space
The scalar dark matter candidate in a prototypical theory space little Higgs
model is investigated. We review all details of the model pertinent to dark
matter. We perform a thermal relic density calculation including couplings to
the gauge and Higgs sectors of the model. We find two regions of parameter
space that give acceptable dark matter abundances. The first region has a dark
matter candidate with a mass of order 100 GeV, the second region has a heavy
candidate with a mass greater than about 500 GeV$. The dark matter candidate in
either region is an admixture of an SU(2) triplet and an SU(2) singlet, thereby
constituting a WIMP (weakly interacting massive particle).Comment: 18 pages, 2 figures, version to appear in PR
Galactic Halos of Fluid Dark Matter
Dwarf spiral galaxies - and in particular the prototypical DDO 154 - are
known to be completely dominated by an unseen component. The putative
neutralinos - so far the favored explanation for the astronomical dark matter -
fail to reproduce the well measured rotation curves of those systems because
these species tend to form a central cusp whose presence is not supported by
observation. We have considered here a self-coupled charged scalar field as an
alternative to neutralinos and investigated whether a Bose condensate of that
field could account for the dark matter inside DDO 154 and more generally
inside dwarf spirals. The size of the condensate turns out to be precisely
determined by the scalar mass m and self-coupling lambda of the field. We find
actually that for m^4 / lambda = 50 - 75 eV^4, the agreement with the
measurements of the circular speed of DDO 154 is impressive whereas it lessens
for larger systems. The cosmological behavior of the field is also found to be
consistent - yet marginally - with the limits set by BBN on the effective
number of neutrino families. We conclude that classical configurations of a
scalar and self-coupled field provide a possible solution to the astronomical
dark matter problem and we suggest further directions of research.Comment: 20 pages, 7 figures; one reference added, version to be published in
PR
Green manure in coffee systems in the region of Zona da Mata, Minas Gerais: characteristics and kinetics of carbon and nitrogen mineralization.
The use of green manure may contribute to reduce soil erosion and increase the soil organic matter content and N availability in coffee plantations in the Zona da Mata, State of Minas Gerais, in Southeastern Brazil. The potential of four legumes (A. pintoi, C. mucunoides, S. aterrimum and S. guianensis)to produce above-ground
biomass, accumulate nutrients and mineralize N was studied in two coffee plantations of subsistence farmers under different climate conditions. The biomass production of C. mucunoides was influenced by the shade of the coffee plantation.C. mucunoides tended to mineralize more N than the other legumes due to the low polyphenol content and polyphenol/N ratio. In the first year, the crop establishment of A. pintoi in the area took longer than of the other legumes, resulting in lower biomass production and N2 fixation. In the long term, cellulose was the main
factor controlling N mineralization. The biochemical characteristics, nutrient accumulation and biomass production of the legumes were greatly influenced by
the altitude and position of the area relative to the sun
Planck-scale quintessence and the physics of structure formation
In a recent paper we considered the possibility of a scalar field providing
an explanation for the cosmic acceleration. Our model had the interesting
properties of attractor-like behavior and having its parameters of O(1) in
Planck units. Here we discuss the effect of the field on large scale structure
and CMB anisotropies. We show how some versions of our model inspired by
"brane" physics have novel features due to the fact that the scalar field has a
significant role over a wider range of redshifts than for typical "dark energy"
models. One of these features is the additional suppression of the formation of
large scale structure, as compared with cosmological constant models. In light
of the new pressures being placed on cosmological parameters (in particular
H_0) by CMB data, this added suppression allows our "brane" models to give
excellent fits to both CMB and large scale structure data.Comment: 18 pages, 12 figures, submitted to PR
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