889 research outputs found
Food Product Traceability by Using Automated Identification Technologies
Part 7: Perceptional SystemsInternational audienceFood product traceability from harvesting, through food processing to the final food product and through the retailer to the end consumer is a significant process that has to ensure food quality and safety. The traceability enables the end consumer to get information from all previous stages of the food product, leading back to the food origin. In this way, the consumer can get more information on the specific product, and thus make a decision on buying the product that suits his needs best. In each stage of the food product transformation, important data are generated for the subsequent chain participants. Every participant should have access to certain data of interest to them. This can be achieved by using automated identification technologies, like RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification) and two-dimensional barcode, which allow faster data acquisition, recording and reading processes than the traditional means, and provide up-to-date information in each product stage. Furthermore, these technologies allow the possibility to record large amounts of data for each specific product, and interconnect all the data in a database. This paper discusses the process of providing traceability of food products, recording, transmitting and reading of significant data in specific stages of food product chain, with the application of automated identification technologies, including the possibility of obtaining additional data from a database, according to appropriate access level of each participant in the chain. Advantages and disadvantages of automated identification technologies are discussed, with the proposition for using specific technologies in certain food product stages
A novel three-unit tRNA splicing endonuclease found in ultrasmall Archaea possesses broad substrate specificity
tRNA splicing endonucleases, essential enzymes found in Archaea and Eukaryotes, are involved in the processing of pre-tRNA molecules. In Archaea, three types of splicing endonuclease [homotetrameric: α4, homodimeric: α2, and heterotetrameric: (αβ)2] have been identified, each representing different substrate specificity during the tRNA intron cleavage. Here, we discovered a fourth type of archaeal tRNA splicing endonuclease (ε2) in the genome of the acidophilic archaeon Candidatus Micrarchaeum acidiphilum, referred to as ARMAN-2 and its closely related species, ARMAN-1. The enzyme consists of two duplicated catalytic units and one structural unit encoded on a single gene, representing a novel three-unit architecture. Homodimeric formation was confirmed by cross-linking assay, and site-directed mutagenesis determined that the conserved L10-pocket interaction between catalytic and structural unit is necessary for the assembly. A tRNA splicing assay reveal that ε2 endonuclease cleaves both canonical and non-canonical bulge–helix–bulge motifs, similar to that of (αβ)2 endonuclease. Unlike other ARMAN and Euryarchaeota, tRNAs found in ARMAN-2 are highly disrupted by introns at various positions, which again resemble the properties of archaeal species with (αβ)2 endonuclease. Thus, the discovery of ε2 endonuclease in an archaeon deeply branched within Euryarchaeota represents a new example of the coevolution of tRNA and their processing enzymes
Neutron star properties with relativistic equations of state
We study the properties of neutron stars adopting relativistic equations of
state of neutron star matter, calculated in the framework of the relativistic
Brueckner-Hartree-Fock approximation for electrically charge neutral neutron
star matter in beta-equilibrium. For higher densities more baryons (hyperons
etc.) are included by means of the relativistic Hartree- or Hartree-Fock
approximation. The special features of the different approximations and
compositions are discussed in detail. Besides standard neutron star properties
special emphasis is put on the limiting periods of neutron stars, for which the
Kepler criterion and gravitation-reaction instabilities are considered.
Furthermore the cooling behaviour of neutron stars is investigated, too. For
comparison we give also the outcome for some nonrelativistic equations of
state.Comment: 43 pages, 22 ps-figures, to be published in the International Journal
of Modern Physics
Automating the application of smart materials for protein crystallization
The fabrication and validation of the first semi-liquid nonprotein nucleating agent to be administered automatically to crystallization trials is reported. This research builds upon prior demonstration of the suitability of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs; known as 'smart materials') for inducing protein crystal growth. Modified MIPs of altered texture suitable for high-throughput trials are demonstrated to improve crystal quality and to increase the probability of success when screening for suitable crystallization conditions. The application of these materials is simple, time-efficient and will provide a potent tool for structural biologists embarking on crystallization trials. © 2015, IUCR. All rights reserved
Notions and subnotions in information structure
Three dimensions can be distinguished in a cross-linguistic account of information structure. First, there is the definition of the focus constituent, the part of the linguistic expression which is subject to some focus meaning. Second and third, there are the focus meanings and the array of structural devices that encode them. In a given language, the expression of focus is facilitated as well as constrained by the grammar within which the focus devices operate. The prevalence of focus ambiguity, the structural inability to make focus distinctions, will thus vary across languages, and within a language, across focus meanings
Relativistic Hartree-Bogoliubov Approach for Nuclear Matter with Non-Linear Coupling Terms
We investigate the pairing property of nuclear matter with Relativistic
Hartree-Bogoliubov(RHB) approach. Recently, the RHB approach has been widely
applied to nuclear matter and finite nuclei. We have extended the RHB approach
to be able to include non-linear coupling terms of mesons. In this paper we
apply it to nuclear matter and observe the effect of non-linear terms on
pairing gaps.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figure
Rho-Nucleon Tensor Coupling and Charge-Exchange Resonances
The Gamow-Teller resonances are discussed in the context of a self-consistent
RPA, based on the relativistic mean field theory. We inquire on the possibility
of substituting the phenomenological Landau-Migdal force by a microscopic
nucleon-nucleon interaction generated from the rho-nucleon tensor coupling. The
effect of this coupling turns out to be very small when the short range
correlations are not taken into account, but too large when these correlations
are simulated by the simple extraction of the contact terms from the resulting
nucleon-nucleon interaction.Comment: 15 pages, LaTeX, 2 figures; extended text, improved figures, new
references added, the version appearing in Phys.Lett.
Anti-cancer activity of novel dibenzo[b,f]azepine tethered isoxazoline derivatives
10.1186/1472-6769-12-5BMC Chemical Biology12
Neutron Star Structure and the Neutron Radius of 208Pb
We study relationships between the neutron-rich skin of a heavy nucleus and
the properties of neutron-star crusts. Relativistic effective field theories
with a thicker neutron skin in Pb have a larger electron fraction and a
lower liquid-to-solid transition density for neutron-rich matter. These
properties are determined by the density dependence of the symmetry energy
which we vary by adding nonlinear couplings between isoscalar and isovector
mesons. An accurate measurement of the neutron radius in Pb---via
parity violating electron scattering---may have important implications for the
structure of neutron stars.Comment: 5 pages 3 figures, added additional evidence of model independence,
Phys. Rev. Letters in pres
Orientation and symmetries of Alexandrov spaces with applications in positive curvature
We develop two new tools for use in Alexandrov geometry: a theory of ramified
orientable double covers and a particularly useful version of the Slice Theorem
for actions of compact Lie groups. These tools are applied to the
classification of compact, positively curved Alexandrov spaces with maximal
symmetry rank.Comment: 34 pages. Simplified proofs throughout and a new proof of the Slice
Theorem, correcting omissions in the previous versio
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