Bioactive Labels for Fresh Fruits and Vegetables

Pesticide residues and microbial load on the surface of fresh fruits and vegetables becomes a major concern due to the safety and quality of these products for consumer.In order to minimize these risk factors (pesticide residues and microbial load), were achieved labels for fruits and vegetables that are consumed with shell which disintegrates under the influence of water jet and thus reduce the amount of these contaminants. Were elaborated labels based on polymer (chitosan) at a concentration of 2%, which incorporate bioactive compounds from green tea with potential decontaminant of the peel of this products. Green tea extract was obtained by infusing 1 g of dried green tea in 100 ml water at 80° C for 10 minutes. The extract was filtered and then mixed with 2 g chitosan acidified with 0.7% glacial acetic acid and dilute to the mark with distilled water. Were identified bioactive compounds from green tea, using UV-VIS and HPLC. Then were elaborated the labels. These tags were used on pepper, tomato, apple and  nectarine. Were quantified the microbial load and the pesticide residues on their surface unwashed, washed only with water and were monitored the influence of labels on these factors. Identified pesticides were mefenoxan and thiamethoxam, which were quantified by HPLC. In what it concerns the influence, were founded the absence of germs at pepper and a significant decrease at the other. In terms of  the potential of reducing pesticide, the experimental results have indicated that the label can prove its effectiveness

Bioactive Labels for Fresh Fruits and Vegetables

Pesticide residues and microbial load on the surface of fresh fruits and vegetables becomes a major concern due to the safety and quality of these products for consumer.In order to minimize these risk factors (pesticide residues and microbial load), were achieved labels for fruits and vegetables that are consumed with shell which disintegrates under the influence of water jet and thus reduce the amount of these contaminants. Were elaborated labels based on polymer (chitosan) at a concentration of 2%, which incorporate bioactive compounds from green tea with potential decontaminant of the peel of this products. Green tea extract was obtained by infusing 1 g of dried green tea in 100 ml water at 80° C for 10 minutes. The extract was filtered and then mixed with 2 g chitosan acidified with 0.7% glacial acetic acid and dilute to the mark with distilled water. Were identified bioactive compounds from green tea, using UV-VIS and HPLC. Then were elaborated the labels. These tags were used on pepper, tomato, apple and  nectarine. Were quantified the microbial load and the pesticide residues on their surface unwashed, washed only with water and were monitored the influence of labels on these factors. Identified pesticides were mefenoxan and thiamethoxam, which were quantified by HPLC. In what it concerns the influence, were founded the absence of germs at pepper and a significant decrease at the other. In terms of  the potential of reducing pesticide, the experimental results have indicated that the label can prove its effectiveness. Â

Evaluación del conocimiento de la población y desarrollo de un protocolo sobre la utilización de medicamentos genéricos en la farmacia comunitaria

25 p.: il. -- Bibliogr.: p. 21-24Introducción: Los medicamentos genéricos aparecieron en el mercado con el objetivo de disminuir el gasto farmacéutico y suponen un elevado porcentaje de las ventas de medicamentos. Sin embargo, hay personas que son reticentes a su utilización. Objetivos: Evaluar el conocimiento y las causas de la reticencia de los usuarios a los medicamentos genéricos y establecer un protocolo de actuación en la oficina de farmacia para mejorar el conocimiento e información sobre los mismos. Desarrollo: Se realizó un estudio prospectivo y observacional donde 204 participantes completaron unos cuestionarios de forma voluntaria y anónima durante dos meses. Se analizó su opinión sobre aspectos como: equivalencia, calidad, seguridad, coste, etc. de medicamentos genéricos. Resultados: La mayoría de las personas que participaron fueron mujeres (61%) entre 51-65 años (36%); con una buena opinión acerca de los medicamentos genéricos en cuanto a efectividad (80%), seguridad (76%), calidad (73%) y aceptación de la sustitución (73%); no obstante, entre un 18-26% de usuarios consideraron los medicamentos genéricos menos efectivos, de menor calidad o menos seguros para su salud (principalmente >65 años). Los usuarios con tratamientos farmacológicos y consumo previo de genéricos tenían un mayor conocimiento sobre los mismos, sin embargo, parte de los usuarios preferían utilizar siempre el mismo medicamento de marca (28%) o del mismo laboratorio (31%). Conclusión: Teniendo en consideración los resultados obtenidos, se concluye que hay margen de mejora sobre el conocimiento de genéricos, donde el farmacéutico puede intervenir a través de un protocolo de actuación como el que presenta este estudio

Power-Aware Memory Allocation for Embedded Data-Intensive Signal Processing Applications

Many signal processing systems, particularly in the multimedia and telecommunication domains, are synthesized to execute data-intensive applications: their cost related aspects ­ namely power consumption and chip area ­ are heavily influenced, if not dominated, by the data access and storage aspects. This chapter presents a power-aware memory allocation methodology. Starting from the high-level behavioral specification of a given application, this framework performs the assignment of of the multidimensional signals to the memory layers ­ the on-chip scratch-pad memory and the off-chip main memory ­ the goal being the reduction of the dynamic energy consumption in the memory subsystem. Based on the assignment results, the framework subsequently performs the mapping of signals into the memory layers such that the overall amount of data storage be reduced. This software system yields a complete allocation solution: the exact storage amount on each memory layer, the mapping functions that determine the exact locations for any array element (scalar signal) in the specification, and, in addition, an estimation of the dynamic energy consumption in the memory subsystem

Concept for a multi-purpose academic gripper

In “concept for a new precise academic gripper” the mechanical aspects of the new gripper were presented [3]. In this paper, the idea is improved and expanded towards a clever control part. This paper mainly focuses on the functional ideas and the state of research concerning the imaging tasks. Experiment and intermediate results of the imaging process are discussed. Different approaches of skin colour detection in diverse colour spaces have been tested. Skin colour detection is investigated whether skin colour can be monitored to improve work safety in terms of functional safety. To enhance versatility, several ideas are combined to form a clever gripping device

Development of a Fluorine-Free Polymer-Assisted-Deposition Route for YBa2Cu3O7−x Superconducting Films

Polymer assisted deposition (PAD) was used as an environmentally friendly, non-fluorine, growth method for superconducting YBa2Cu3O7−x (YBCO) films. The kinetics of the thermal decomposition of the precursor powder was studied by thermogravimetry coupled with mass spectrometry (TG-QMS). YBCO films were spin coated on (100) SrTiO3 (STO) single crystalline substrates, followed by a single step thermal treatment under wet and dry O2 and O2/N2 mixture. The as-obtained films were epitaxially grown having a [001]YBCO||[001]STO out-of-plane epitaxial relationship and exhibited good superconducting properties with Tc (R = 0) > 88 K, transition widths, ΔT ≈ 2 K and critical current densities as high as 2.3 MA/cm2 at 77 K and self magnetic field

The cement nude, the (h)ero(tic)ism of the working class – the artistic programme of outdoor sculptures on the Black Sea littoral and the pro-natal, pro-family policies under communism

Controlled eroticization of the proletariat through pro-natal policies was an almost unnoticed facet of the programme of iconographic public works displayed in exceptional locations throughout the newly-built resorts along Romania’s Black Sea shore. Never previously studied on its own merits, this artistic programme of open-air sculptures that begun in the Romanian Popular Republic and continued in the Romanian Socialist Republic needs to be understood and contextualized, by way of interdisciplinary instruments, against a broader post-Eastern approach that goes beyond the established methodologies of art history

International diversification strategies and performance

Diversifikation ist ein intensiv diskutiertes Thema in der Fachliteratur. Es gibt noch viele Wiedersprüche und Ungereimtheiten in Bezug auf diesen Bereich und bisher war zwischen Autoren kein Konsens über ihre verschiedenen Aspekte erzielt. Wenn ein Thema zum reifen wissenschaftlichen Zustand gelangt, sind drei Kriterien erfüllt: zuerst, eine beträchtliche Forschung zu diesem Thema ist geführt geworden; zweitens, die Ergebnisse der Studien sind konsistent, gültig und interpretierbar; und drittens, die Forschung hat zu einer Grundsatzvereinbarung geführt (Palich et al., 2000, p. 155). Das Thema der Diversifikation erfüllt nur die erste Voraussetzung, nämlich gibt es eine reiche Literatur darüber, welche in den Kapiteln dieser Masterarbeit teilweise untersucht ist. Allerdings gibt es noch Inkonsistenzen, ungelöste Fragen und keinen Konsens über diese Thematik, sodass die zweite und dritte Voraussetzung nicht erfüllt sind. Die Motivation dieser Masterarbeit ist es, Schlussfolgerungen über die International- und Produktdiversifikation basierend auf Literaturstudien zu ziehen. Hauptziel ist eine Formulierung eines teilweisen Konsensus über Diversifikation auf Basis der Mehrheit der Meinungen; der untergeordnete Zweck ist die Identifikation möglicher Probleme, die zu den Widersprüchen der Autoren führen.Diversification is an intensively discussed topic in the specialized literature. There are still many contradictions and inconsistencies related to it and, so far, no consensus has been reached regarding its various aspects. When a certain topic arrives at maturity in terms of research, three criterias are fulfilled: first, a considerable amount of studies regarding that particular subject has been conducted; second, the findings of the research are consistent, valid and interpretable; and third, the research on that specific topic led to a general agreement (Palich et al., 2000, p. 155). The topic of diversification fulfills only the first condition of being considered a mature subject: there is a rich body of literature on this subject, which has been partially reviewed in the following chapters of this thesis. However, there are still inconsistencies, contradictions and unresolved matters and no consensus has been reached regarding this particular strategy, so that the second and third criteria are not met. The motivation of this thesis is to derive conclusions about international and product diversification strategies based on a literature review; the main objective is trying to formulate at least a partial consensus regarding diversification, based on the majority of authors´ views, while the subordinate purpose is to identify issues that lead to these contradictions and inconsistencies

Carotid Plaque Specimens: Semi-automatic Orientation Correction of micro-MR and micro-CT Images Driven by Axial Feature Segmentation

This thesis presents a method of realigning volumetric micro-MR and micro-CT images of carotid plaque specimens to increase the axial correspondence between these imaging modalities. In determining the optimal image features, to be used in the reorientation of each image volume, minimal reader involvement would be required; through this, the subjectivity in the pre-registration steps decreases, while the accuracy of matching correctly oriented axial planes across imaging modalities increases. As measured through distance and overlap parameters, the outer-wall centroid-based realignment is more robust across specimens and across each specimen's length in both imaging modalities. Simultaneously, three types of registration algorithms were calibrated for treating the data in 2D (centroid-driven reoriented images) and in 3D (unaltered images).M.Sc