Pneumatic press equipped with the Vortex system for white grapes processing: First results

The interaction between mechanical, computer and electronic technologies offers nowadays highly innovative solutions to be applied to the oenological machinery industry. Grapes pressing for the extraction of must from the grapes has a fundamental role for obtaining wines with high quality. The pneumatic presses commonly used work with a discontinuous cycle, taking on average about 3 hours for the extraction of the juice from the grapes. During this period, the presence of oxygen in contact with grapes can modify the qualitative characteristics of the future wine. The aim of the research was to study the \u201cVortex System\u201d applied to a pneumatic press and to evaluate the quality of wines obtained in reduction. The study was carried out in a modern winery in the province of Palermo (Italy) using cv. Catarratto lucido grapes. The machine used in the tests was a pneumatic press with a capacity of 1,900 / 2,500 kg by Puleo Srl company (Italy), equipped with the patent "Vortex System". It consists in the recovery of the inert gas by means of a passage and recirculation apparatus during grapes pressing allowing the must extraction in inert and controlled atmosphere, the non-oxidation of the product and a re-use of the gaseous component. Two operating modes were applied: AP (Air Pressing) mode, the traditional pressing mode in presence of oxygen, and NP (Nitrogen Pressing) mode with the Vortex System, performed under inert gas with nitrogen recovery. The following analytical determinations were performed on wines in triplicates: alcohol [%/vol], density [g/l], sugar [g/l], pH, total acidity [g/l], volatile acidity [g/l], malic acid [g/l], citric acid [g/l], tartaric acid [g/l], potassium [g/l], glycerin [g/l], ashes [g/l], absorbance at 420, 520 and 620 nm, polyphenols [mg/l], catechins [mg/l], free sulfur dioxide [mg/l], total sulfur dioxide [mg/l]. The use of the pneumatic press equipped with the Vortex System allowed to obtain excellent values of volatile acidity, absorbance at 420 nm, catechins in white wines and a rich aromatic component both in primary and secondary aromas

Bi-photon propagation control with optimized wavefront by means of Adaptive Optics

We present an efficient method to control the spatial modes of entangled photons produced through SPDC process. Bi-photon beam propagation is controlled by a deformable mirror, that shapes a 404nm CW diode laser pump interacting with a nonlinear BBO type-I crystal. Thanks to adaptive optical system, the propagation of 808nm SPDC light produced is optimized over a distance of 2m. The whole system optimization is carried out by a feedback between deformable mirror action and entangled photon coincidence counts. We also demonstrated the improvement of the two-photon coupling into single mode fibers

Experimental Realization of Optimal Noise Estimation for a General Pauli Channel

We present the experimental realization of the optimal estimation protocol for a Pauli noisy channel. The method is based on the generation of 2-qubit Bell states and the introduction of quantum noise in a controlled way on one of the state subsystems. The efficiency of the optimal estimation, achieved by a Bell measurement, is shown to outperform quantum process tomography

Functional characterization and structure-guided mutational analysis of the transsulfuration enzyme cystathionine γ-lyase from toxoplasma gondii

Sulfur-containing amino acids play essential roles in many organisms. The protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii includes the genes for cystathionine β-synthase and cystathionine γ-lyase (TgCGL), as well as for cysteine synthase, which are crucial enzymes of the transsulfuration and de novo pathways for cysteine biosynthesis, respectively. These enzymes are specifically expressed in the oocyst stage of T. gondii. However, their functionality has not been investigated. Herein, we expressed and characterized the putative CGL from T. gondii. Recombinant TgCGL almost exclusively catalyses the α,γ-hydrolysis of L-cystathionine to form L-cysteine and displays marginal reactivity toward L-cysteine. Structure-guided homology modelling revealed two striking amino acid differences between the human and parasite CGL active-sites (Glu59 and Ser340 in human to Ser77 and Asn360 in toxoplasma). Mutation of Asn360 to Ser demonstrated the importance of this residue in modulating the specificity for the catalysis of α,β-versus α,γ-elimination of L-cystathionine. Replacement of Ser77 by Glu completely abolished activity towards L-cystathionine. Our results suggest that CGL is an important functional enzyme in T. gondii, likely implying that the reverse transsulfuration pathway is operative in the parasite; we also probed the roles of active-site architecture and substrate binding conformations as determinants of reaction specificity in transsulfuration enzymes

Trench width dependant deeply etched surface-defined InP gratings for low-cost high speed DFB/DBR

In this paper we are reporting a fabrication process for multi-section telecom lasers based on surface defined lateral gratings, which is compatible with low-cost high-throughput nano-imprint lithography. A new grating definition process is developed, which allow a better control of the cross section geometry to obtain higher coupling strength

A path integral for classical dynamics, entanglement, and Jaynes-Cummings model at the quantum-classical divide

The Liouville equation differs from the von Neumann equation 'only' by a characteristic superoperator. We demonstrate this for Hamiltonian dynamics, in general, and for the Jaynes-Cummings model, in particular. -- Employing superspace (instead of Hilbert space), we describe time evolution of density matrices in terms of path integrals which are formally identical for quantum and classical mechanics. They only differ by the interaction contributing to the action. This allows to import tools developed for Feynman path integrals, in order to deal with superoperators instead of quantum mechanical commutators in real time evolution. Perturbation theory is derived. Besides applications in classical statistical physics, the "classical path integral" and the parallel study of classical and quantum evolution indicate new aspects of (dynamically assisted) entanglement (generation). Our findings suggest to distinguish 'intra'- from 'inter-space' entanglement.Comment: 22 pages; based on invited talk at Quantum 2010 - Advances in Foundations of Quantum mechanics and Quantum Information with Atoms and Photons (Torino, May 2010). To appear in Int. J. Qu. Inf

Effects of Force Level and Hand Dominance on Bilateral Transfer of a Fine Motor Skill

Our research is about bilateral transfer, a concept in motor learning where skills learned by one limb are "transferred", allowing the opposite limb to benefit from what was learned by the first limb. Previous research into bilateral transfer has raised questions about whether specific aspects of motor coordination are or are not transferred. We wanted to see whether learning to control pinch force by the thumb and index finger is transferable, and if it is, whether the learning transfers equally from either hand. We also want to look into the effects of different force levels on the degree of transfer. We designed a task using a program that takes force levels as inputs and has the participant trace shapes on a screen. By having participants perform with one hand, then practice with the other, and finally perform again with the initial hand, we can measure transfer as the difference in performance before and after practice with the other hand.Kinesiology and Health Educatio

Bell scenarios in which nonlocality and entanglement are inversely related

We show that for two-qubit chained Bell inequalities with an arbitrary number of measurement settings, nonlocality and entanglement are not only different properties but are inversely related. Specifically, we analytically prove that in absence of noise, robustness of nonlocality, defined as the maximum fraction of detection events that can be lost such that the remaining ones still do not admit a local model, and concurrence are inversely related for any chained Bell inequality with an arbitrary number of settings. The closer quantum states are to product states, the harder it is to reproduce quantum correlations with local models. We also show that, in presence of noise, nonlocality and entanglement are simultaneously maximized only when the noise level is equal to the maximum level tolerated by the inequality; in any other case, a more nonlocal state is always obtained by reducing the entanglement. In addition, we observed that robustness of nonlocality and concurrence are also inversely related for the Bell scenarios defined by the tight two-qubit three-setting $I_{3322}$ inequality, and the tight two-qutrit inequality $I_3$.Comment: 9 page