Preservation of sliced cooked ham at 25, 30 and 37°C under moderated pressure (hyperbaric storage) and comparison with refrigerated storage

The feasibility of hyperbaric storage (HS) to substitute refrigeration as a lower energetic cost alternative to refrigeration, for sliced cooked ham preservation was assessed by using temperatures and pressures ranging 25–37◦C and 25–150 MPa for 4 and 8 h. At microbiological level, storage at 25 ◦C, 30 ◦C, and 37 ◦C, showed no effect on microbial growth at 25 MPa reaching levels similar to atmospheric pressure storage, around 5 log CFU/g for both total aerobic mesophiles (TAM) and lactic acid bacteria (LAB). Nevertheless, the storage at 50 MPa and 30 ◦C resulted in microbial growth inhibition, resulting in TAM and LAB counts similar to refrigeration, of about 3.8 log CFU/g for both the microorganisms. Additionally, the increase of the storage pressure to 100–150 MPa resulted in microbial inacti-vation, leading to microbial loads of almost 1 log CFU/g lower than refrigeration. In general, hyperbaric stored sliced cooked ham showed physicochemical parameters similar to the refrigerated samples. In conclusion, these results show that HS at uncontrolled (naturally variable room tem-perature conditions at 25–37 ◦C) is a promising alternative to refrigeration for cooked ham preservation. To this new preservation technology, no energetic costs are associated throughout storage, compared to refrigeration, needing only energy to generate the pressure and decompress, since no energy is required to maintain the pressure

Preservation under pressure (hyperbaric storage) at 25ºC, 30ºC and 37ºC of a highly perishable dairy food and comparison with refrigeration

Hyperbaric storage (HS) under mild pressure of requeijão, a traditional Portuguese whey cheese, as a case study of a highly perishable dairy food, was evaluated as a possible energy costless alternative to refrigeration. Whey cheese was stored for 4 and 8 hours, at different pressure levels (0.1, 100 and 150 MPa) and temperatures (25°C, 30°C and 37°C), and the results were compared with refrigeration (4°C). Microbial analyses showed that storage for 4 hours at 100 MPa was able to maintain microbial counts similar to refrigeration and initial load, ≈3 Log10 CFU/g, at all tested temperatures. By increasing the pressure to 150 MPa and the storage time to 8 hours, microbial loads were reduced to undetectable counts, with the exception for total aerobic mesophiles that were reduced to about ≈1 Log unit. HS in general maintained pH, water activity and lipid oxidation values, at levels similar to that in refrigeration

Nucleation kinetics of crystalline phases from a kaolinitic body used in the processing of red ceramics

The crystallization kinetics of red ceramic raw material from the western part of São Paulo State, Brazil, was examined by differential thermal analysis (DTA) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The chemical composition of the clay sample was determined by X-ray fluorescence (XRF). Non-isothermal crystallization kinetic methods have been applied to the study of the mechanism of crystallization in this kaolinitic material. The exothermic peak shifted to higher temperatures (945 to 974 °C) with increasing heating rate (10 to 50 °C/min). The average activation energies determined by the Kissinger method (787 ± 85 kJ/mol) and the Ligero method (721 ± 32 kJ/mol) are in agreement. The Avrami constant n obtained by the Ligero method and the m parameter (Matusita method) values were between 1 and 1.5, which indicate a three-dimensional crystal growth with polyhedral morphology and surface nucleation as the dominant mechanism. X-ray diffraction data indicate that this activation energy is not associated with the crystallization of mullite. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of fired (1000 and 1190 °C) samples show their densification during the sinterization process.The authors thank FUNDUNESP and FAPESP (2008/04368-4) for financial support of this work. We also are grateful to PROPE/UNESP/SANTANDER for Dr. Teixeira's post-doc scholarship in MadridPeer reviewe

Multiferroics: different ways to combine magnetism and ferroelectricity

Multiferroics - materials which are simultaneously (ferro)magnetic and ferroelectric, and often also ferroelastic, attract now considerable attention, both because of the interesting physics involved and as they promise important practical applications. In this paper I give a survey of microscopic factors determining the coexistence of these properties, and discuss different possible routes to combine them in one material. In particular the role of the occupation of d-states in transition metal perovskites is discussed, possible role of spiral magnetic structures is stressed and the novel mechanism of ferroelectricity in magnetic systems due to combination of site-centred and bond-centred charge ordering is presented. Microscopic nature of multiferroic behaviour in several particular materials, including magnetite Fe3O4, is discussed.Comment: to be published as a Topical Review in Journ.Magn.Magn.Mate

Applicability of the Leiden Convention and the Lipton classification in patients with a single coronary artery in the setting of congenital heart disease

Background In single coronary artery (SCA) anatomy, all coronary tributaries arise from a single ostium, providing perfusion to the entire myocardium. Coronary classification systems can facilitate the description of SCA anatomy. Aim: Evaluation of the applicability of Lipton classification and the Leiden Convention coronary coding system in SCA. Methods: All patients (n = 6209) who underwent computed tomography (CT) scanning between 2014 and 2018 were retrospectively examined for the presence of SCA and classified, according to Lipton classification and the Leiden Convention coronary coding system. Results: The prevalence of SCA was 0.51% (32/6209). Twenty-eight patients (87.5%) had coexisting congenital heart disease (CHD), most frequently pulmonary atresia (9/32, 28.1%). Ten patients (10/32, 31.25%) could not be classified with either the Leiden Convention or Lipton classification (pulmonary atresia n = 9, common arterial trunk (CAT) n = 1). In one case with CAT, Lipton classification, but not the Leiden Convention, could be applied. In two cases with the transposition of the great arteries and in two cases of double outlet right ventricle, the Leiden Convention, but not the Lipton classification, could be applied. Conclusions: Both classifications are useful to detail information about SCA. As Lipton classification was not developed for structural heart disease cases, in complex CHD with abnormal position of the great arteries, the Leiden Convention is better applicable. The use of both systems is limited in pulmonary atresia. In this scenario, it is better to provide a precise description of the coronary origin and associated characteristics that might affect treatment and prognosis.Cardiolog

Energy balance measurements over a banana orchard in the Semiarid region in the Northeast of Brazil

The objective of this work was to evaluate the reliability of eddy covariance measurements, analyzing the energy balance components, evapotranspiration and energy balance closure in dry and wet growing seasons, in a banana orchard. The experiment was carried out at a farm located within the irrigation district of Quixeré, in the Lower Jaguaribe basin, in Ceará state, Brazil. An eddy covariance system was used to measure the turbulent flux. An automatic weather station was installed in a grass field to obtain the reference evapotranspiration (ET0) from the combined FAO-Penman-Monteith method. Wind speed and vapor pressure deficit are the most important variables on the evaporative process in both growing seasons. In the dry season, the heat fluxes have a similar order of magnitude, and during the wet season the latent heat flux is the largest. The eddy covariance system had acceptable reliability in measuring heat flux, with actual evapotranspiration results comparing well with those obtained by using the water balance method. The energy balance closure had good results for the study area, with mean values of 0.93 and 0.86 for the dry and wet growing seasons respectively

The Spin-dependent Structure Function of the Proton g_1^p and a Test of the Bjorken Sum Rule

The inclusive double-spin asymmetry, A_1^p, has been measured at COMPASS in deepinelastic polarised muon scattering off a large polarised NH3 target. The data, collected in the year 2007, cover the range Q2 > 1 (GeV/c)^2, 0.004 < x < 0.7 and improve the statistical precision of g_1^p(x) by a factor of two in the region x < 0.02. The new proton asymmetries are combined with those previously published for the deuteron to extract the non-singlet spin-dependent structure function g_1^NS(x,Q2). The isovector quark density, Delta_q_3(x,Q2), is evaluated from a NLO QCD fit of g_1^NS. The first moment of Delta_q3 is in good agreement with the value predicted by the Bjorken sum rule and corresponds to a ratio of the axial and vector coupling constants g_A/g_V = 1.28+-0.07(stat)+-0.10(syst).Comment: 12 pages, 5 figure