Fissure Characterization of Rice Kernels Using Video Microscopy

Fissures are fractures of a rice kernel that can be created during the drying and tempering process. They cause tremendous postharvest losses in milling yield. Understanding why and how rice kernels fissure will lead to optimal drying and tempering operations. This information could also provide input to plant breeders for producing rice cultivars that are more resistant to fissuring. Rice kernels were dried using various air conditions in a controlled environment chamber. The kernels were viewed by video microscopy to observe the occurrence of fissures. A videocassette recorder recorded the images for a 24-hour period after the drying process. The tapes were reviewed to reveal characteristics of the fissures. The rice cultivars used in this experiment were ‘Bengal’, ‘Cypress’, and ‘Drew’. The tests showed that Cypress kernels were more resistant to fissuring than were the other two cultivars. The recorded images from the microscopy chamber showed that fissures begin from the inside of the kernel. Also, fissures were observed to form almost instantaneously

Employment Prospects in the Green Economy: Myth and Reality

The paper examines the concept of the green economy, focusing on its impact on the labour market in terms of employment opportunities. The green economy is often regarded as effective both in environmental and employment terms, creating new jobs while dealing with environment protection issues, for example, climate change, pollution, emission reductions, and so on. In an attempt to identify a shared definition of ‘green jobs’, reference is made to research carried out by international institutions, such as International Labour Organization (ILO) and Cedefop, as the green economy has both political and educational implications. This is particularly true when considering the need for ‘green skills’. The paper calls for a rethinking of green issues, especially with regard to new skills requirements in the green sector. Workers, especially women, should be supported in the process of adaptation and transition, by means of policies providing on-the-job training and retraining, and participation in decision making. Social dialogue and industrial relations can play a key role in this connection, as a catalyst for change, gender equality and the promotion of green policies

Nuovi fasti dei magistri fontani in un frustulo epigrafico opistografo dal piccolo Aventino

Edizione di un nuovo frammento epigrafico, opistografo, rinvenuto a Roma sul piccolo Aventino e contenente liste di personaggi identificati, in base a vari indizi, con magistri Fontani

Environmental taxation: The impact of carbon tax policy commitment on technology choice and social welfare

Motivated by multiple real-world settings, we determine a social welfare-maximizing regulator’s tax policies that induce a profit-maximizing polluting firm to make green technology choices. Using a game-theoretic approach we compare the optimal tax and social welfare over two periods under two scenarios: (1) a regulator committing to a tax level for both periods at the beginning of the first period; (2) a regulator who sets the same tax at the beginning of each period without disclosing this information to the firm (i.e. the firm is not aware of the second period tax in the first period). We find that regulators can achieve a higher social welfare when two-period commitments are made. Moreover, the outcomes in the commitment policy are less sensitive to small deviations in the optimal tax level

Modelling the Holtenau Ship Lock with SPH

Experimental and Computational Hydraulic

prenatal mr imaging detection of deep medullary vein involvement in fetal brain damage

SUMMARY: Looking for anomalies distributed in DMV territory, we reviewed 78 fetal MR imaging examinations performed at our institution reporting unequivocal cerebral clastic lesions. We selected 3 cases, all of which had severe cardiocirculatory failure and parenchymal frontoparietal WM hemorrhagic lesions with characteristic fan-shaped distribution. Brain edema and other signs of venous hypertension were also evident. Our data suggest that in utero transient venous hypertension may be responsible for the onset of atypical frontal-located PVL