4,692 research outputs found
Flavor chemistry of virgin olive oil: An overview
Virgin olive oil (VOO) has unique chemical characteristics among all other vegetable oils which are of paramount importance for human health. VOO constituents are also responsible of its peculiar flavor, a complex sensation due to a combination of aroma, taste, texture, and mouthfeel or trigeminal sensations. VOO flavor depends primarily on the concentration and nature of volatile and phenolic compounds present in olive oil which can change dramatically depending on agronomical and technological factors. Another aspect that can change the flavor perception is linked to the oral process during olive oil tasting. In fact, in this case, some human physiological and matrix effects modulate the flavor release in the mouth. The present review aims to give an overview on VOO flavor, with particular emphasis on the mechanisms affecting its production and release during a tasting
X-ray method to study temperature-dependent stripe domains in MnAs/GaAs(001)
MnAs films grown on GaAs (001) exhibit a progressive transition between
hexagonal (ferromagnetic) and orthorhombic (paramagnetic) phases at wide
temperature range instead of abrupt transition during the first-order phase
transition. The coexistence of two phases is favored by the anisotropic strain
arising from the constraint on the MnAs films imposed by the substrate. This
phase coexistence occurs in ordered arrangement alternating periodic terrace
steps. We present here a method to study the surface morphology throughout this
transition by means of specular and diffuse scattering of soft x-rays, tuning
the photon energy at the Mn 2p resonance. The results show the long-range
arrangement of the periodic stripe-like structure during the phase coexistence
and its period remains constant, in agreement with previous results using other
techniques.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Applied Physics Letter
AGN counts at 15um. XMM observations of the ELAIS-S1-5 sample
Context: The counts of galaxies and AGN in the mid infra-red (MIR) bands are
important instruments for studying their cosmological evolution. However, the
classic spectral line ratios techniques can become misleading when trying to
properly separate AGN from starbursts or even from apparently normal galaxies.
Aims: We use X-ray band observations to discriminate AGN activity in
previously classified MIR-selected starburst galaxies and to derive updated
AGN1 and (Compton thin) AGN2 counts at 15 um.
Methods: XMM observations of the ELAIS-S1 15um sample down to flux limits
~2x10^-15 erg cm^-2 s^-1 (2-10 keV band) were used. We classified as AGN all
those MIR sources with a unabsorbed 2-10 keV X-ray luminosity higher that
~10^42 erg/s.
Results: We find that at least about 13(+/-6) per cent of the previously
classified starburst galaxies harbor an AGN. According to these figures, we
provide an updated estimate of the counts of AGN1 and (Compton thin) AGN2 at 15
um. It turns out that at least 24% of the extragalactic sources brighter than
0.6 my at 15 um are AGN (~13% contribution to the extragalactic background
produced at fluxes brighter than 0.6 mJy).Comment: Accepted for publication on A&
Minimum error discrimination of Pauli channels
We solve the problem of discriminating with minimum error probability two
given Pauli channels. We show that, differently from the case of discrimination
between unitary transformations, the use of entanglement with an ancillary
system can strictly improve the discrimination, and any maximally entangled
state allows to achieve the optimal discrimination. We also provide a simple
necessary and sufficient condition in terms of the structure of the channels
for which the ultimate minimum error probability can be achieved without
entanglement assistance. When such a condition is satisfied, the optimal input
state is simply an eigenstate of one of the Pauli matrices.Comment: 8 pages, no figure
Characterising a universal cloning machine by maximum-likelihood estimation
We apply a general method for the estimation of completely positive maps to
the 1-to-2 universal covariant cloning machine. The method is based on the
maximum-likelihood principle, and makes use of random input states, along with
random projective measurements on the output clones. The downhill simplex
algorithm is applied for the maximisation of the likelihood functional.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure
Magnetic reconfiguration of MnAs/GaAs(001) observed by Magnetic Force Microscopy and Resonant Soft X-ray Scattering
We investigated the thermal evolution of the magnetic properties of MnAs
epitaxial films grown on GaAs(001) during the coexistence of
hexagonal/orthorhombic phases using polarized resonant (magnetic) soft X-ray
scattering and magnetic force microscopy. The results of the diffuse satellite
X-ray peaks were compared to those obtained by magnetic force microscopy and
suggest a reorientation of ferromagnetic terraces as temperature rises. By
measuring hysteresis loops at these peaks we show that this reorientation is
common to all ferromagnetic terraces. The reorientation is explained by a
simple model based on the shape anisotropy energy. Demagnetizing factors were
calculated for different configurations suggested by the magnetic images. We
noted that the magnetic moments flip from an in-plane mono-domain orientation
at lower temperatures to a three-domain out-of-plane configuration at higher
temperatures. The transition was observed when the ferromagnetic stripe width L
is equal to 2.9 times the film thickness d. This is in good agreement with the
expected theoretical value of L = 2.6d.Comment: 16 pages in PD
Begging and parental care in relation to offspring need and condition in the barn swallow (Hirundo rustica)
Parents are selected to maximize their fitness by allocating
care among their progeny in relation to the differential reproductive
value of offspring. Nestlings have been hypothesized to
signal need for parental care reliably through their begging behavior,
but offspring condition as reflected by their reproductive value may
likewise affect begging and hence provisioning. We assessed the relative
importance of need and condition in determining begging behavior
and feeding rate of nestling barn swallows (Hirundo rustica)
through short-term starvation, a challenge to their immune system
with a foreign antigen negatively affecting condition, and brood size
manipulation. Food deprivation but not condition or brood size
manipulation increased nestling begging rate. Parents fed offspring
depending on both need and condition but only when feeding broods
that were reduced or of normal size. In enlarged broods, offspring
received less food per capita than in reduced broods, and parents
did not discriminate among nestlings relative to their need or condition.
Thus, nestlings signal their need by increased solicitation.
Parents allocate food to offspring dependent on both need and condition,
with these effects depending on parental workload as determined
by experimental brood size
Approximate quantum cloning and the impossibility of superluminal information transfer
We show that nonlocality of quantum mechanics cannot lead to superluminal
transmission of information, even if most general local operations are allowed,
as long as they are linear and trace preserving. In particular, any quantum
mechanical approximate cloning transformation does not allow signalling. On the
other hand, the no-signalling constraint on its own is not sufficient to
prevent a transformation from surpassing the known cloning bounds. We
illustrate these concepts on the basis of some examples.Comment: 4 pages, 1eps figur
The XMM-Newton survey of the ELAIS-S1 field II: optical identifications and multiwavelength catalogue of X-ray sources
We present optical identifications and a multi-band catalogue of a sample of
478 X-ray sources in the XMM and Chandra surveys of the central 0.6 deg^2 of
the ELAIS-S1 field. The optical/infrared counterpart of each X-ray source was
identified using R and IRAC 3.6 um bands. This method was complemented by the
precise positions obtained through Chandra observations. Approximately 94% of
the counterparts are detected in the R band, while the remaining are blank
fields in the optical down to R~24.5, but have a near-infrared counterpart
detected by IRAC within 6 arcsec from the XMM centroid. The multi-band
catalogue contains photometry in ten photometric bands (B to the MIPS 24 um).
We determined redshift and classification for 237 sources (~50% of the sample)
brighter than R=24. We classified 47% of the sources with spectroscopic
redshift as broad-line active galactic nuclei (BL AGNs) with z=0.1-3.5, while
sources without broad-lines are about 46% of the spectroscopic sample and are
found up to z=2.6. We identified 11 type 2 QSOs among the sources with X/O>8,
with z=0.9-2.6, high 2-10 keV luminosity (log(L2-10keV)>=43.8 erg/s) and hard
X-ray colors suggesting large absorbing columns at the rest frame (logN_H up to
23.6 cm^-2). BL AGNs show on average blue optical-to-near-infrared colors,
softer X-ray colors and X-ray-to-optical colors typical of optically selected
AGNs. Conversely, narrow-line sources show redder optical colors, harder X-ray
flux ratio and span a wider range of X-ray-to-optical colors. On average the
SEDs of high-luminosity BL AGNs resemble the power-law typical of unobscured
AGNs. The SEDs of NOT BL AGNs are dominated by the galaxy emission in the
optical/near-infrared, and show a rise in the mid-infrared which suggests the
presence of an obscured active nucleus.Comment: 15 pages, A&A accepted, affiliations correcte
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