Accuracy of stellar parameters of exoplanet-host stars determined from asteroseismology

In the context of the space-based mission CoRoT, devoted to asteroseismology and search for planet transits, we analyse the accuracy of fundamental stellar parameters (mass, radius, luminosity) that can be obtained from asteroseismological data.} Our work is motivated by the large uncertainties on planetary radius determination of transiting planets which are mainly due to uncertainties on the stellar parameters. Our goal is to analyse uncertainties of fundamental stellar parameters for a given accuracy of oscillation frequency determination. We generate grids of equilibrium models of stars and compute their pulsation spectra based on a linear nonadiabatic stability analysis. Using differents methods of comparison of oscillation mode spectra, we derive uncertainties on fundamental stellar parameters and analyse the effect of varying the number of considered modes.} The limits obtained depend strongly on the adapted method to compare spectra. We find a degeneracy in the stellar parameter solutions, up to a few % in mass (from less than 1% to more than 7% depending on the method used and the number of considered modes), luminosity (from 2% to more than 10%) or radius (from less than 1% to 3%), for a given pulsation spectrum.Comment: 7 pages, 9 figure

Langevin dynamics of fluctuation induced first order phase transitions: self consistent Hartree Approximation

The Langevin dynamics of a system exhibiting a Fluctuation Induced First Order Phase Transition is solved within the self consistent Hartree Approximation. Competition between interactions at short and long length scales gives rise to spatial modulations in the order parameter, like stripes in 2d and lamellae in 3d. We show that when the time scale of observation is small compared with the time needed to the formation of modulated structures, the dynamics is dominated by a standard ferromagnetic contribution plus a correction term. However, once these structures are formed, the long time dynamics is no longer pure ferromagnetic. After a quench from a disordered state to low temperatures the system develops growing domains of stripes (lamellae). Due to the character of the transition, the paramagnetic phase is metastable at all finite temperatures, and the correlation length diverges only at T=0. Consequently, the temperature is a relevant variable, for $T>0$ the system exhibits interrupted aging while for T=0 the system ages for all time scales. Furthermore, for all $T$, the exponent associated with the aging phenomena is independent of the dimension of the system.Comment: 16 pages, 1 figur

New Zealand farm structure change and intensification

This report presents information about the numbers of farms in New Zealand. The different sources providing such data report very different figures and trends over time, but they all seem to indicate an overall trend of decrease in total farm numbers over the last decades, which appears to be due mainly to a decrease in the numbers of grazing and fattening farms and in the number of arable farms. The distribution of farms by size range over time shows an increase in the proportion of both the smallest and the largest ones, at the expense of the midsized categories. However, different trends can be observed depending on the farm type. The report then explores the change in livestock numbers over time. Thus, during the last 20 years, the main trends consist in an overall decrease in sheep and beef numbers, while dairy and deer numbers increased. To conclude, the report deals with the question of intensification in New Zealand farming systems. It underlines the increase in numbers of cows per hectare and production per cow in the dairy sector, and the increase in lambing rates and carcase weights in the sheep and beef sector. These changes can be linked to the increasing expenditure in agricultural research and development as well as the increasing use of services such as herd testing. Also reported is the growing use of fertilisers in New Zealand agriculture

A New Simulated Annealing Algorithm for the Multiple Sequence Alignment Problem: The approach of Polymers in a Random Media

We proposed a probabilistic algorithm to solve the Multiple Sequence Alignment problem. The algorithm is a Simulated Annealing (SA) that exploits the representation of the Multiple Alignment between $D$ sequences as a directed polymer in $D$ dimensions. Within this representation we can easily track the evolution in the configuration space of the alignment through local moves of low computational cost. At variance with other probabilistic algorithms proposed to solve this problem, our approach allows for the creation and deletion of gaps without extra computational cost. The algorithm was tested aligning proteins from the kinases family. When D=3 the results are consistent with those obtained using a complete algorithm. For $D>3$ where the complete algorithm fails, we show that our algorithm still converges to reasonable alignments. Moreover, we study the space of solutions obtained and show that depending on the number of sequences aligned the solutions are organized in different ways, suggesting a possible source of errors for progressive algorithms.Comment: 7 pages and 11 figure

Towards high resolution mapping of 3-D mesoscale dynamics from observations

The MyOcean R&D project MESCLA (MEsoSCaLe dynamical Analysis through combined model, satellite and in situ data) was devoted to the high resolution 3-D retrieval of tracer and velocity fields in the oceans, based on the combination of in situ and satellite observations and quasi-geostrophic dynamical models. The retrieval techniques were also tested and compared with the output of a primitive equation model, with particular attention to the accuracy of the vertical velocity field as estimated through the <b><i>Q</i></b> vector formulation of the omega equation. The project focused on a test case, covering the region where the Gulf Stream separates from the US East Coast. This work demonstrated that innovative methods for the high resolution mapping of 3-D mesoscale dynamics from observations can be used to build the next generations of operational observation-based products

Modeling Ultrasonically Assisted Convective Drying of Eggplan

[EN] Modeling constitutes a fundamental tool with which to analyze the influence of ultrasound on mass transfer phenomena during drying. In this work, the study of the effect of power ultrasound application on the drying kinetics of eggplant was addressed by using different models based on theoretical (diffusion) or empirical approaches. Drying kinetics of eggplant cylinders (height 20mm and diameter 24 mm) were carried at 40°C and 1 m/s applying different ultrasonic powers: 0, 6, 12, 19, 25, 31, and 37 kW/m 3. The experiments were carried out at least three times at each different ultrasonic power. Shrinkage and sorption isotherms were also addressed in order to attain an optimal description of eggplant drying. Applying ultrasound sped up the drying kinetics. The ultrasonic power was identified as having a significant (p<0.05) influence on both the effective moisture diffusivity and the mass transfer coefficient, which was well explained by linear relationships. The most complex model, which considered both external resistance and shrinkage to be significant phenomena, provided the best agreement with experimental data, giving percentages of explained variance of over 99.9% and mean relative errors of under 1.2% in every case. According to these results, ultrasound technology could have the potential to improve the convective drying of eggplant at an industrial scale. © 2011 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.García Pérez, JV.; Ozuna López, C.; Ortuño Cases, C.; Carcel Carrión, JA.; Mulet Pons, A. (2011). Modeling Ultrasonically Assisted Convective Drying of Eggplan. Drying Technology. 29(13):1499-1509. doi:10.1080/07373937.2011.576321S149915092913Mujumdar, A. S. (2006). An overview of innovation in industrial drying: current status and R&D needs. Transport in Porous Media, 66(1-2), 3-18. doi:10.1007/s11242-006-9018-yChou, S. K., & Chua, K. J. (2001). New hybrid drying technologies for heat sensitive foodstuffs. Trends in Food Science & Technology, 12(10), 359-369. doi:10.1016/s0924-2244(01)00102-9Lewicki, P. P. (2006). Design of hot air drying for better foods. Trends in Food Science & Technology, 17(4), 153-163. doi:10.1016/j.tifs.2005.10.012Santos, P. H. S., & Silva, M. A. (2009). Kinetics ofL-Ascorbic Acid Degradation in Pineapple Drying under Ethanolic Atmosphere. Drying Technology, 27(9), 947-954. doi:10.1080/07373930902901950Suvarnakuta, P., Devahastin, S., & Mujumdar, A. S. (2005). Drying Kinetics and β-Carotene Degradation in Carrot Undergoing Different Drying Processes. Journal of Food Science, 70(8), s520-s526. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2621.2005.tb11528.xMayor, L., & Sereno, A. M. (2004). Modelling shrinkage during convective drying of food materials: a review. Journal of Food Engineering, 61(3), 373-386. doi:10.1016/s0260-8774(03)00144-4Gallego-Juarez, J. A. (2010). High-power ultrasonic processing: Recent developments and prospective advances. Physics Procedia, 3(1), 35-47. doi:10.1016/j.phpro.2010.01.006De la Fuente-Blanco, S., Riera-Franco de Sarabia, E., Acosta-Aparicio, V. M., Blanco-Blanco, A., & Gallego-Juárez, J. A. (2006). Food drying process by power ultrasound. Ultrasonics, 44, e523-e527. doi:10.1016/j.ultras.2006.05.181García-Pérez, J. V., Cárcel, J. A., Riera, E., & Mulet, A. (2009). Influence of the Applied Acoustic Energy on the Drying of Carrots and Lemon Peel. Drying Technology, 27(2), 281-287. doi:10.1080/07373930802606428García-Pérez, J. V., Cárcel, J. A., Clemente, G., & Mulet, A. (2008). Water sorption isotherms for lemon peel at different temperatures and isosteric heats. LWT - Food Science and Technology, 41(1), 18-25. doi:10.1016/j.lwt.2007.02.010Mulet, A. (1994). Drying modelling and water diffusivity in carrots and potatoes. Journal of Food Engineering, 22(1-4), 329-348. doi:10.1016/0260-8774(94)90038-8Cunha, L. M., Oliveira, F. A. R., & Oliveira, J. C. (1998). Optimal experimental design for estimating the kinetic parameters of processes described by the Weibull probability distribution function. Journal of Food Engineering, 37(2), 175-191. doi:10.1016/s0260-8774(98)00085-5Azzouz, S., Guizani, A., Jomaa, W., & Belghith, A. (2002). Moisture diffusivity and drying kinetic equation of convective drying of grapes. Journal of Food Engineering, 55(4), 323-330. doi:10.1016/s0260-8774(02)00109-7Simal, S., Femenia, A., Garau, M. C., & Rosselló, C. (2005). Use of exponential, Page’s and diffusional models to simulate the drying kinetics of kiwi fruit. Journal of Food Engineering, 66(3), 323-328. doi:10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2004.03.025Maroulis, Z. B., Saravacos, G. D., Panagiotou, N. M., & Krokida, M. K. (2001). MOISTURE DIFFUSIVITY DATA COMPILATION FOR FOODSTUFFS: EFFECT OF MATERIAL MOISTURE CONTENT AND TEMPERATURE. International Journal of Food Properties, 4(2), 225-237. doi:10.1081/jfp-100105189Simal, S., Femenia, A., Garcia-Pascual, P., & Rosselló, C. (2003). Simulation of the drying curves of a meat-based product: effect of the external resistance to mass transfer. Journal of Food Engineering, 58(2), 193-199. doi:10.1016/s0260-8774(02)00369-2Queiroz, M. R., & Nebra, S. A. (2001). Theoretical and experimental analysis of the drying kinetics of bananas. Journal of Food Engineering, 47(2), 127-132. doi:10.1016/s0260-8774(00)00108-4Hassini, L., Azzouz, S., Peczalski, R., & Belghith, A. (2007). Estimation of potato moisture diffusivity from convective drying kinetics with correction for shrinkage. Journal of Food Engineering, 79(1), 47-56. doi:10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2006.01.025Hernández, J. A., Pavón, G., & Garcı́a, M. A. (2000). Analytical solution of mass transfer equation considering shrinkage for modeling food-drying kinetics. Journal of Food Engineering, 45(1), 1-10. doi:10.1016/s0260-8774(00)00033-9Souma, S., Tagawa, A., & Iimoto, M. (2004). Structural Properties for Fruits and Vegetables during Drying. NIPPON SHOKUHIN KAGAKU KOGAKU KAISHI, 51(11), 577-584. doi:10.3136/nskkk.51.577García-Pérez, J. V., Cárcel, J. A., de la Fuente-Blanco, S., & Riera-Franco de Sarabia, E. (2006). Ultrasonic drying of foodstuff in a fluidized bed: Parametric study. Ultrasonics, 44, e539-e543. doi:10.1016/j.ultras.2006.06.059Cárcel, J. A., García-Pérez, J. V., Riera, E., & Mulet, A. (2007). Influence of High-Intensity Ultrasound on Drying Kinetics of Persimmon. Drying Technology, 25(1), 185-193. doi:10.1080/07373930601161070Blasco, M., García-Pérez, J. V., Bon, J., Carreres, J. E., & Mulet, A. (2006). Effect of Blanching and Air Flow Rate on Turmeric Drying. Food Science and Technology International, 12(4), 315-323. doi:10.1177/1082013206067352Garau, M. C., Simal, S., Femenia, A., & Rosselló, C. (2006). Drying of orange skin: drying kinetics modelling and functional properties. Journal of Food Engineering, 75(2), 288-295. doi:10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2005.04.017Wu, L., Orikasa, T., Ogawa, Y., & Tagawa, A. (2007). Vacuum drying characteristics of eggplants. Journal of Food Engineering, 83(3), 422-429. doi:10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2007.03.030Chaves , M. ; Sgroppo , S.C. ; Avanza , J.R. Cinéticas de secado de berenjena (Solanum melongenaL.). Comunicaciones Científicas y Tecnológicas (Universidad Nacional del Nordeste Corrientes Argentina),2003,Resumen E-060 .Akpinar, E. K., & Bicer, Y. (2005). Modelling of the drying of eggplants in thin-layers. International Journal of Food Science and Technology, 40(3), 273-281. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2621.2004.00886.xDe Lima, A. (2002). Simultaneous moisture transport and shrinkage during drying of solids with ellipsoidal configuration. Chemical Engineering Journal, 86(1-2), 85-93. doi:10.1016/s1385-8947(01)00276-5RAHMAN, N., & KUMAR, S. (2007). INFLUENCE OF SAMPLE SIZE AND SHAPE ON TRANSPORT PARAMETERS DURING DRYING OF SHRINKING BODIES. Journal of Food Process Engineering, 30(2), 186-203. doi:10.1111/j.1745-4530.2007.00104.

Influence of temperature and ultrasound on drying kinetics and antioxidant properties of red pepper

This is an Author's Accepted Manuscript of J. A. Cárcel, D. Castillo, S. Simal & A. Mulet (2019) Influence of temperature and ultrasound on drying kinetics and antioxidant properties of red pepper, Drying Technology, 37:4, 486-493, DOI: 10.1080/07373937.2018.1473417 [copyright Taylor & Francis], available online at: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/07373937.2018.1473417[EN] Red pepper samples (1 m/s) were dried at different temperatures (30, 50, 70 degrees C) without and with (20.5 kW/m(3); 21.7 kHz) ultrasound application. The antioxidant capacity (AC), the total phenolic content (TPC), and the ascorbic acid (AA) content of fresh and dried red pepper samples were used as indicators of the quality of the dried products. Ultrasound application significantly improved the kinetics in every case, influencing not only the effective diffusivity but also the mass transport coefficient thus implying a reduction in energy needs. Drying significantly reduced AC, TPC, and AA, this reduction being significantly smaller at 70 degrees C due to the shorter drying time. Compared with conventional drying, ultrasound application reduced the loss of antioxidant properties at 50 degrees C but produced greater degradation at 70 degrees C, which points toward an optimal drying temperature when using ultrasound.The authors acknowledge the financial support from Generalitat Valenciana [PROMETEOII/2014/005] and INIA [RTA2015-00060-C04-02 and RTA2015-00060-C04-03].Carcel, JA.; Castillo, D.; Simal, S.; Mulet Pons, A. (2019). Influence of temperature and ultrasound on drying kinetics and antioxidant properties of red pepper. Drying Technology. 37(4):486-493. https://doi.org/10.1080/07373937.2018.1473417S486493374Di Scala, K., & Crapiste, G. (2008). Drying kinetics and quality changes during drying of red pepper. LWT - Food Science and Technology, 41(5), 789-795. doi:10.1016/j.lwt.2007.06.007Doymaz, İ., & Pala, M. (2002). Hot-air drying characteristics of red pepper. Journal of Food Engineering, 55(4), 331-335. doi:10.1016/s0260-8774(02)00110-3Cárcel, J. A., García-Pérez, J. V., Riera, E., Rosselló, C., & Mulet, A. (2017). Ultrasonically Assisted Drying. Ultrasound in Food Processing, 371-391. doi:10.1002/9781118964156.ch14Kowalski, S. J., & Pawłowski, A. (2015). Intensification of apple drying due to ultrasound enhancement. Journal of Food Engineering, 156, 1-9. doi:10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2015.01.023Soria, A. C., & Villamiel, M. (2010). Effect of ultrasound on the technological properties and bioactivity of food: a review. Trends in Food Science & Technology, 21(7), 323-331. doi:10.1016/j.tifs.2010.04.003Do Nascimento, E. M. G. C., Mulet, A., Ascheri, J. L. R., de Carvalho, C. W. P., & Cárcel, J. A. (2016). Effects of high-intensity ultrasound on drying kinetics and antioxidant properties of passion fruit peel. Journal of Food Engineering, 170, 108-118. doi:10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2015.09.015Fan, K., Zhang, M., & Mujumdar, A. S. (2017). Application of airborne ultrasound in the convective drying of fruits and vegetables: A review. Ultrasonics Sonochemistry, 39, 47-57. doi:10.1016/j.ultsonch.2017.04.001Riera, E., Vicente García-Pérez, J., Cárcel, J. A., Acosta, V. M., & Gallego-Juárez, J. A. (2011). Computational Study of Ultrasound-Assisted Drying of Food Materials. Innovative Food Processing Technologies: Advances in Multiphysics Simulation, 265-301. doi:10.1002/9780470959435.ch13Pulido, R., Bravo, L., & Saura-Calixto, F. (2000). Antioxidant Activity of Dietary Polyphenols As Determined by a Modified Ferric Reducing/Antioxidant Power Assay. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 48(8), 3396-3402. doi:10.1021/jf9913458Gao, X., Bj�rk, L., Trajkovski, V., & Uggla, M. (2000). Evaluation of antioxidant activities of rosehip ethanol extracts in different test systems. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 80(14), 2021-2027. doi:10.1002/1097-0010(200011)80:143.0.co;2-2Jagota, S. K., & Dani, H. M. (1982). A new colorimetric technique for the estimation of vitamin C using Folin phenol reagent. Analytical Biochemistry, 127(1), 178-182. doi:10.1016/0003-2697(82)90162-2García-Pérez, J. V., Rosselló, C., Cárcel, J. A., De la Fuente, S., & Mulet, A. (2006). Effect of Air Temperature on Convective Drying Assisted by High Power Ultrasound. Defect and Diffusion Forum, 258-260, 563-574. doi:10.4028/www.scientific.net/ddf.258-260.563Gallego-Juárez, J. A., Riera, E., de la Fuente Blanco, S., Rodríguez-Corral, G., Acosta-Aparicio, V. M., & Blanco, A. (2007). Application of High-Power Ultrasound for Dehydration of Vegetables: Processes and Devices. Drying Technology, 25(11), 1893-1901. doi:10.1080/07373930701677371Kim, S., Lee, K. W., Park, J., Lee, H. J., & Hwang, I. K. (2006). Effect of drying in antioxidant activity and changes of ascorbic acid and colour by different drying and storage in Korean red pepper (Capsicum annuum, L.). International Journal of Food Science and Technology, 41(s1), 90-95. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2621.2006.01349.xCarrillo Montes, J. P., Cruz y Victoria, M. T., Anaya Sosa, I., & Santiago Pineda, T. (2010). Quality assessment of dehydrated red bell pepper using tempering drying cycles. International Journal of Food Science & Technology, 45(6), 1270-1276. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2621.2010.02273.xMoreno, C., Brines, C., Mulet, A., Rosselló, C., & Cárcel, J. A. (2017). Antioxidant potential of atmospheric freeze-dried apples as affected by ultrasound application and sample surface. Drying Technology, 35(8), 957-968. doi:10.1080/07373937.2016.1256890Wang, J., Fang, X.-M., Mujumdar, A. S., Qian, J.-Y., Zhang, Q., Yang, X.-H., … Xiao, H.-W. (2017). Effect of high-humidity hot air impingement blanching (HHAIB) on drying and quality of red pepper (Capsicum annuum L.). Food Chemistry, 220, 145-152. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2016.09.200Garau, M. C., Simal, S., Rosselló, C., & Femenia, A. (2007). Effect of air-drying temperature on physico-chemical properties of dietary fibre and antioxidant capacity of orange (Citrus aurantium v. Canoneta) by-products. Food Chemistry, 104(3), 1014-1024. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2007.01.009Ahmad-Qasem, M. H., Barrajón-Catalán, E., Micol, V., Mulet, A., & García-Pérez, J. V. (2013). Influence of freezing and dehydration of olive leaves (var. Serrana) on extract composition and antioxidant potential. Food Research International, 50(1), 189-196. doi:10.1016/j.foodres.2012.10.028López, J., Uribe, E., Vega-Gálvez, A., Miranda, M., Vergara, J., Gonzalez, E., & Di Scala, K. (2010). 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Near-field heat transfer in a scanning thermal microscope

We present measurements of the near-field heat transfer between the tip of a thermal profiler and planar material surfaces under ultrahigh vacuum conditions. For tip-sample distances below 10-8 m our results differ markedly from the prediction of fluctuating electrodynamics. We argue that these differences are due to the existence of a material-dependent small length scale below which the macroscopic description of the dielectric properties fails, and discuss a corresponding model which yields fair agreement with the available data. These results are of importance for the quantitative interpretation of signals obtained by scanning thermal microscopes capable of detecting local temperature variations on surfaces