A comparative study of the characteristics of French Fries produced by deep fat frying and air frying

Air frying is being projected as an alternative to deep fat frying for producing snacks such as French Fries. In air frying, the raw potato sections are essentially heated in hot air containing fine oil droplets, which dehydrates the potato and attempts to impart the characteristics of traditionally produced French fries, but with a substantially lower level of fat absorbed in the product. The aim of this research is to compare: 1) the process dynamics of air frying with conventional deep fat frying under otherwise similar operating conditions, and 2) the products formed by the two processes in terms of color, texture, microstructure, calorimetric properties and sensory characteristics Although, air frying produced products with a substantially lower fat content but with similar moisture contents and color characteristics, it required much longer processing times, typically 21 minutes in relation to 9 minutes in the case of deep fat frying. The slower evolution of temperature also resulted in lower rates of moisture loss and color development reactions. DSC studies revealed that the extent of starch gelatinization was also lower in the case of air fried product. In addition, the two types of frying also resulted in products having significantly different texture and sensory characteristics

Effect of Greenhouse Film Cover on the Development of Fungal Diseases on Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) and Pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) in a Mediterranean Protected Crop

Greenhouses on the Mediterranean coast mainly use plastic materials as their cover. The influence of light exerted by these materials directly affects the crops by modifying the environment in which they develop. The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of the use of two plastic films in an experimental greenhouse on the development of fungal diseases in two spring–summer crop cycles: tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) from february to July 2021 and pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) from February to July 2022. The study was carried out in Almeria (Spain) in a multispan greenhouse divided transversely into two sectors by a polyethylene sheet. A commercial film was installed in the east sector (90% of transmissivity and 55% diffusivity) and an experimental film was installed in the west sector (85% of transmissivity and 60% diffusivity). In addition, the effect of the yield and quality of the harvested fruit was determined. In this study, two diseases were established naturally on the crop: (i) powdery mildew (Leveillula taurica) in both the tomato and the pepper crop cycles and (ii) early blight (Alternaria solani) in the tomato. The analyses of both diseases showed that the areas of the greenhouse that used the plastic cover, which presented a lower sunlight transmissivity, showed higher levels of disease than the areas that used the plastic cover that allowed greater transmissivity of light within the greenhouse, differing statistically in some phases of the crop. The marketable yield was 4.2% (for tomato) and 3.1% (for pepper) higher in the sector with the experimental film with high transmissivity. For both crops, the quality of the fruits did not show statistically significant difference

A selected ion flow tube study of the ion-molecule reactions of monochloroethene, trichloroethene and tetrachloroethene

Data for the rate coefficients and product cations of the reactions of a large number of atomic and small molecular cations with monochloroethene, trichloroethene and tetrachloroethene in a selected ion flow tube at 298 K are reported. The recombination energy of the ions range from 6.27 eV (H$_3$O$^+$) through to 21.56 eV (Ne$^+$). Collisional rate coefficients are calculated by modified average dipole orientation theory and compared with experimental values. Thermochemistry and mass balance predict the most feasible neutral products. Together with previously reported results for the three isomers of dichloroethene (J. Phys. Chem. A., 2006, 110, 5760), the fragment ion branching ratios have been compared with those from threshold photoelectron photoion coincidence spectroscopy over the photon energy range 9-22 eV to determine the importance or otherwise of long-range charge transfer. For ions with recombination energy in excess of the ionisation energy of the chloroethene, charge transfer is energetically allowed. The similarity of the branching ratios from the two experiments suggest that long-range charge transfer is dominant. For ions with recombination energy less than the ionisation energy, charge transfer is not allowed; chemical reaction can only occur following formation of an ion-molecule complex, where steric effects are more significant. The products that are now formed and their percentage yield is a complex interplay between the number and position of the chlorine atoms with respect to the C=C bond, where inductive and conjugation effects can be important

Assessing the effectiveness of business support services in England: evidence from a theory based evaluation

In England, publicly supported advisory services for small firms are organised primarily through the Business Link (BL) network. Based on the programme theory underlying this business support services we develop four propositions and test these empirically using data from a new survey of over 3,000 English small firms. Our empirical results provide a broad validation of the programme theory underlying BL assistance for small firms in England during 2003, and more limited support for its effectiveness. More specifically, we find strong support for the value of BL operators maintaining a high profile as a way of boosting take-up. We also find some support for the approach to market segmentation adopted by BL allowing more intensive assistance to be targeted on younger firms and those with limited liability status. In terms of the outcomes of BL support, and allowing for issues of sample selection, we find no significant effects on growth from ‘other’ assistance but do find positive and significant employment growth effects from intensive assistance. This provides partial support for the programme theory assertion that BL support will lead to improvements in business growth performance and stronger support for the proposition that there would be differential outcomes from intensive and other assistance. The positive employment growth outcomes identified here from intensive assistance, even allowing for sample selection, suggest something of an improvement in the effectiveness of the BL network since the late 1990s

Costs and benefits of automation for astronomical facilities

The Observatorio Astrof\'isico de Javalambre (OAJ{\dag}1) in Spain is a young astronomical facility, conceived and developed from the beginning as a fully automated observatory with the main goal of optimizing the processes in the scientific and general operation of the Observatory. The OAJ has been particularly conceived for carrying out large sky surveys with two unprecedented telescopes of unusually large fields of view (FoV): the JST/T250, a 2.55m telescope of 3deg field of view, and the JAST/T80, an 83cm telescope of 2deg field of view. The most immediate objective of the two telescopes for the next years is carrying out two unique photometric surveys of several thousands square degrees, J-PAS{\dag}2 and J-PLUS{\dag}3, each of them with a wide range of scientific applications, like e.g. large structure cosmology and Dark Energy, galaxy evolution, supernovae, Milky Way structure, exoplanets, among many others. To do that, JST and JAST are equipped with panoramic cameras under development within the J-PAS collaboration, JPCam and T80Cam respectively, which make use of large format (~ 10k x 10k) CCDs covering the entire focal plane. This paper describes in detail, from operations point of view, a comparison between the detailed cost of the global automation of the Observatory and the standard automation cost for astronomical facilities, in reference to the total investment and highlighting all benefits obtained from this approach and difficulties encountered. The paper also describes the engineering development of the overall facilities and infrastructures for the fully automated observatory and a global overview of current status, pinpointing lessons learned in order to boost observatory operations performance, achieving scientific targets, maintaining quality requirements, but also minimizing operation cost and human resources.Comment: Global Observatory Control System GOC

Fatal Dengue in Patients with Sickle Cell Disease or Sickle Cell Anemia in Curaçao: Two Case Reports

<p>Fatal Dengue in Patients with Sickle Cell Disease or Sickle Cell Anemia in Curaçao: Two Case Reports</p

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on a Cancer Fast-Track Programme

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted many aspects of clinical practice in oncology, particularly regarding early cancer diagnosis, sparking public health concerns that possible delays could increase the proportion of patients diagnosed at advanced stages. In 2009, a cancer fast-track program (CFP) was implemented at the Clinico-Malvarrosa Health Department in Valencia, Spain with the aim of shortening waiting times between suspected cancer symptoms, diagnosis and therapy initiation. Objectives: The study aimed to explore the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on our cancer diagnosis fast-track program. Methods: The program workflow (patients included and time periods) was analysed from the beginning of the state of alarm on March 16th, 2020 until March 15th, 2021. Data was compared with data from the same period of time from the year before (2019). Results: During the pandemic year, 975 suspected cancer cases were submitted to the CFP. The number of submissions only decreased during times of highest COVID-19 incidence and stricter lockdown, and overall, referrals were slightly higher than in the previous 2 years. Cancer diagnosis was confirmed in 197 (24.1%) cases, among which 33% were urological, 23% breast, 16% gastrointestinal and 9% lung cancer. The median time from referral to specialist appointment was 13 days and diagnosis was reached at a median of 18 days. In confirmed cancer cases, treatment was started at around 30 days from time of diagnosis. In total, 61% of cancer disease was detected at early stage, 20% at locally advanced stage, and 19% at advanced stage, displaying time frames and case proportions similar to pre-pandemic years. Conclusions: Our program has been able to maintain normal flow and efficacy despite the challenges of the current pandemic, and has proven a reliable tool to help primary care physicians referring suspected cancer patients.S

Measurement of the broadband complex permittivity of soils in the frequency domain with a low-cost vector network analyzer and an open-ended coaxial probe

The performance of a handheld Vector Network Analyzer (VNA), the nanoVNA, a low-cost, open-source instrument, was evaluated. The instrument measures the complex permittivity of dielectric media from 1-port reflection parameters in the 1 – 900 MHz bandwidth. We manufactured an open-ended coaxial probe using a SMA-N coaxial adapter to perform dielectric measurements. The accuracy of the nanoVNA was comparable to that of a commercial VNA between 1 and 500 MHz according to tests in reference organic liquids, while a lack of stability was found beyond 700 MHz. The self-manufactured open-ended coaxial probe was subjected to a Finite Element Method (FEM) analysis and its electromagnetic (EM) field penetration depth was determined to be 1.5 mm at 100 MHz, being reduced to 1.3 at 900 MHz and thus demonstrating a frequency-dependent support volume. The broadband complex permittivity of three mineral soils of varied textures was obtained for a range of bulk densities and water contents from dry to water-saturated conditions. The dielectric response of the soils approximated the well-known Topp et al. (1980) equation at high frequencies. At lower frequency however, higher permittivities were exhibited due to dielectric dispersion, which emphasizes the importance of EM-based soil moisture sensor operating frequency when considering sensor calibration or comparing the response of different sensors