Quality differences in cheeses produced by lowland and highland units of the Alpine transhumant system

The characteristics of ripened cheeses depend on a large number of factors, of which animal feeding plays an important role. Several researches showed influences of factors linked to forage, such as quality or method of conservation (Verdier-Metz et al., 1998)

Hoteling cruise ship's power requirements for high voltage shore connection installations

The main objective of this paper is the presentation of a theoretical and quantitative study of the power requirements that any port considering to install and develop shore to ship connection systems must consider. Particularly, the current study focuses these requirements for cruise ship ports and their terminals. This paper provides theoretical and quantitative tools and ideas that can be used to estimate main design parameters such as frequency, voltage and power for high voltage shore connections. Some models and equations are developed aiming to be able to estimate, with acceptable quality, cruise ship’s power demand for hoteling services at port. On the other hand, this article is intended to assess ship's air pollution impact populated harbour areas to decide whether alternative power supply measures are feasible. Finally, the assessment model is applied at Barcelona's cruise piers and case study is discussed. As a result of that, a daily power demand curve and the consequent air pollution study at the most crowded situation in this port are obtained.Postprint (published version

Effect of milk feeding system on carcass and meat quality of Frisa Valtellinese kids.

Sedici capretti di razza Frisa Valtellinese sono stati allattati naturalmente (N) ocon sostituto del latte (A) e macellati a circa 17 kg di peso. L’alimentazione artificiale ha prodotto un aumentodella resa lorda di macellazione (45,6 vs.. 48,6% per N e A), a causa soprattutto del minor contenuto dell’apparatodigerente. Il sistema di allattamento ha avuto una scarsa influenza sulla resa in tagli, mentre la carcassadei capretti A ha mostrato un maggior rivestimento adiposo (stato d’ingrassamento: 3,5 vs.. 2,2 punti). I principaliparametri di qualità della carne (pH finale, colore, perdite alla cottura, resistenza al taglio, analisi tipo)non sono stati modificati dalla dieta; tuttavia la carne dei capretti allattati naturalmente è risultata più riccadi C18:3 e C20:5, con un più favorevole rapporto n-3/n-6 (0,77 vs. 0,45)

NMR Spectroscopy: A Useful Tool in the Determination of the Electrophilic Character of Benzofuroxans - Case Examples of the Reactions of Nitrobenzofuroxans with Dienes and Nucleophiles

International audienc

Characteristics of carcass, meat and subcutaneous fat of Mangalica pigs reared outdoors

Importance of the work: Mangalica pig meat has a reputation for superior quality. Little information is available on this breed reared for heavy pig production. Objectives: To evaluate the effects of sex on the carcass, loin and lard characteristics (inner and outer layers) of Blonde Mangalica pigs. Materials & Methods: In total, 15 Blonde Mangalica pigs were considered (10 castrated males and 5 females) that were reared together outdoors. The pigs had ad libitum access to the same diet and were slaughtered at age 22.9 mth, with an average carcass weight of 141.4 kg. Results: Sex did not affect the carcass, meat or lard characteristics. In general, the Mangalica pigs had an average fat thickness of 70 mm and a loin cholesterol content of 0.674 mg/g. The loin had 39.0%, 52.5% and 8.5% saturated (SFA), monounsaturated fatty acids and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), respectively. Significant differences were found in the characteristics of the two lard layers. In particular, the inner layer was brighter and had a higher dry matter content than the outer layer. Regarding the fatty acids content, the inner layer had a lower PUFA but higher SFA content. Main finding: Sex did not influence the carcass, meat or lard characteristics of the Mangalica pigs. The results improved the characterization and filled knowledge gaps regarding meat and lard quality parameters of heavy Mangalica pigs reared outdoors

Mycobacterium tuberculosis Surgical Site Infection after Cardiac Surgery in the COVID-19 Era: A Case Report

Infection of surgical wounds with acid-fast bacilli, including tubercle bacilli, is rare, and is poorly described in the literature. We present the case of a 74-year-old male who developed a sternal wound infection after cardiac surgery due to Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex, diagnosed post-mortem. SARS-CoV-2 infection contributed to worsened clinical conditions and surgical site infection. A high degree of suspicion to avoid unnecessary treatments and progression to severe disease with dismal prognosis is necessary in these types of infections

Enhancing non-profit engagement: the extended model of webpage engagement and adoption for strategic management

This paper examines the study of Non-Profit Organization’s (NPOs’) webpages through the Strategic Online Communication Approach (SOCA) context to underpin public engagement. Although it can be argued that social networking sites such as Facebook or Twitter have a significant role in interactive online engagement, it is often webpages that have the critical role in creating engagement in the initial (and arguably most important) stage of opening dialog. In the SOCA context NPOs’ webpages need to be strategically planned and aligned with the NPOs goals and targeted to various stakeholders such as the general public, volunteers and donors. In general terms, this research resulted in a sequential model called EMEA (Extended Model of Webpages Engagement and Adoption) with three levels (information, interaction, and action). The EMEA model shows the efficiency and maturity of the webpages, indicating the level of engagement that should be possible, to therefore improve relationships with the public and obtain better results. Results show that the more ‘ways to help’ an NPO presents on its webpage, the greater the level of potential engagement (as different options to collaborate, convey trustworthy information, and control content are evident). Finally, this research showed that the greater engagement achieved by NPOs, the better the likely results and therefore the effective application of EMEA can explain and even predict success for NPOs. This paper only addresses web pages, and therefore further research is needed to clarify the role of Social Networking Sites (SNS) for high interactivity. Secondly, although EMEA is able to explain and even predict the levels of engagement, it is not evident that it necessarily occurs. Finally, although EMEA is applied correctly, it does not guarantee that NPOs are managing communication in the context of SOCA, since a multi-channel online strategy is required

Cartografía de susceptibilidad hídrica en el Delta del Río Paraná

El delta del río Paraná es un ecosistema de alta fragilidad ambiental y susceptible a las inundaciones. La cartografía de susceptibilidad hídrica constituye una herramienta útil para la toma de decisiones en los sectores agropecuario y forestal. Es importante contar con una estimación de la distribución espacial de los derrames, dependiendo esta del pronóstico de caudales en el mediano plazo. De esta manera se permitirá definir el escenario hídrico que puede fluctuar entre muy seco y muy húmedo. Mediante el procesamiento y clasificación de imágenes satelitales del período 1980-2010 se generaron mapas de susceptibilidad hídrica en un tramo del delta Paranaense. Esta metodología fue aplicada para dos períodos pronosticados: abril-septiembre de 2011 y abril-septiembre de 2013 comparando la cartografía hídrica seleccionada de acuerdo al pronóstico con las imágenes de agua observadas. Se muestra la concordancia entre las imágenes seleccionadas y las observadas. El número de píxeles con agua observado estuvo dentro del rango de número de píxeles con agua de la cartografía seleccionada. El empleo de esta información superpuesta con imágenes de Google Earth permitirá al productor agropecuario, de acuerdo a la ubicación geográfica de su área productiva, tener conocimiento del grado de afectación espacial del agua de acuerdo al pronóstico estacional

Novel Harmonization Method for Multi-Centric Radiomic Studies in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

The purpose of this multi-centric work was to investigate the relationship between radiomic features extracted from pre-treatment computed tomography (CT), positron emission tomography (PET) imaging, and clinical outcomes for stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) in early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). One-hundred and seventeen patients who received SBRT for early-stage NSCLC were retrospectively identified from seven Italian centers. The tumor was identified on pre-treatment free-breathing CT and PET images, from which we extracted 3004 quantitative radiomic features. The primary outcome was 24-month progression-free-survival (PFS) based on cancer recurrence (local/non-local) following SBRT. A harmonization technique was proposed for CT features considering lesion and contralateral healthy lung tissues using the LASSO algorithm as a feature selector. Models with harmonized CT features (B models) demonstrated better performances compared to the ones using only original CT features (C models). A linear support vector machine (SVM) with harmonized CT and PET features (A1 model) showed an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.77 (0.63-0.85) for predicting the primary outcome in an external validation cohort. The addition of clinical features did not enhance the model performance. This study provided the basis for validating our novel CT data harmonization strategy, involving delta radiomics. The harmonized radiomic models demonstrated the capability to properly predict patient prognosis