Pressure-Based Method for the Extraction and Characterisation of Agar from Gelidium Sesquipedale

Agar has been widely used in the food, pharmaceutical and medical fieldsand has been traditionally extracted by soaking the macroalgae for up to 4 h at boiling temperatures. Traditional methods are often energy intensive and therefore extraction technologies are currently being investigated in order to pursue more sustainable form of extraction. This study focused on the extraction of agar from Gelidium sesquipedale by means a combination of an acid pre-treatment (citric or acetic acid) followed by autoclaving at different time/temperature combinations. It was found that among all the conditions tested (10, 15 and 20 min) and (100, 110, and 120 °C), the best condition was (20 min, 110 °C) by means of a citric acid pre-treatment, reporting a yield of 31.69 ± 3.5% (g extract per g dried G. sesquipedale), and a gel strength of 183.78 ± 36.80 g cm−2

Characterization of Dielectric Barrier Discharge Atmospheric Air Plasma Treated Chitosan Films

Dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma is a novel non-thermal food decontamination technology. The effects of DBD plasma on the surface topography, chemical composition and crystal structure, film hydrophilicity, water vapor permeability and oxygen permeability of chitosan films have been examined. DBD plasma treatment increased the surface roughness of chitosan films with emergence of sharp protuberances. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy spectra confirm a significant increase in the oxygen containing groups in the chitosan film after plasma treatment. Significant increase in the film hydrophilicity was observed after plasma treatment. X-ray diffraction results showed that DBD plasma treatment do not affect the crystal type, although an increase in the structural compactness was observed. No significant change was observed in barrier properties of the chitosan film after DBD plasma treatment. Practical Applications: In-package cold plasma is an innovative technology for the decontamination of foods products and has shown significant potential for industrial applications. This article accesses the suitability of chitosan film to be used with cold plasma treatment. This work characterizes the effect of DBD plasma on the surface, chemical, structural and barrier properties of chitosan film. The work described in this research offers an alternative to the traditional petro-chemical based polymers dominant in food packaging industry where in-package cold plasma can serve as an effective decontamination process avoiding any post-process recontamination or hazards from the package itself

Effect of red beet and betaine modulating oxidation and bioactivity of rainbow trout

[EN] The present study compares a control diet to four experimental diets, in which two red beet (14% and 28%) and two betaine levels (0.9% and 1.63%) were incorporated in rainbow trout diets according to a factorial design. The effects of the inclusion of different red beet and betaine concentrations on fatty acid (FA) profile, lipid peroxidation, and antioxidant activity on rainbow trout fillets were investigated. Although no significant differences were observed with the control group, results indicated that red beet and betaine improved fish fillet FA profile, producing an increase in polyunsaturated FAs, mainly docosahexaenoic acid. Higher red beet and betaine concentrations increased flavonoid and phenolic content in the diets; however, no effects were observed for the antioxidant properties of rainbow trout fillets.This work was carried out with funding from INIA and ITACyL, and cofounded by FEDER funds. Julia Pinedo has been granted with the FPI-INIA grant number 21 (call 2012, BOE-2012-13337).Pinedo-Gil, J.; Tomas-Vidal, A.; Rico-Barges, D.; Tiwari B.K.; Alvarez-García C; Jover Cerda, M.; Sanz-Calvo MA... (2019). Effect of red beet and betaine modulating oxidation and bioactivity of rainbow trout. Journal of Aquatic Food Product Technology. 38-48. https://doi.org/10.1080/10498850.2018.1560381S384

Some anisotropic universes in the presence of imperfect fluid coupling with spatial curvature

We consider Bianchi VI spacetime, which also can be reduced to Bianchi types VI0-V-III-I. We initially consider the most general form of the energy-momentum tensor which yields anisotropic stress and heat flow. We then derive an energy-momentum tensor that couples with the spatial curvature in a way so as to cancel out the terms that arise due to the spatial curvature in the evolution equations of the Einstein field equations. We obtain exact solutions for the universes indefinetly expanding with constant mean deceleration parameter. The solutions are beriefly discussed for each Bianchi type. The dynamics of the models and fluid are examined briefly, and the models that can approach to isotropy are determined. We conclude that even if the observed universe is almost isotropic, this does not necessarily imply the isotropy of the fluid (e.g., dark energy) affecting the evolution of the universe within the context of general relativity.Comment: 17 pages, no figures; to appear in International Journal of Theoretical Physics; in this version (which is more concise) an equation added, some references updated and adde

Search for gravitational waves from Scorpius X-1 in the second Advanced LIGO observing run with an improved hidden Markov model

We present results from a semicoherent search for continuous gravitational waves from the low-mass x-ray binary Scorpius X-1, using a hidden Markov model (HMM) to track spin wandering. This search improves on previous HMM-based searches of LIGO data by using an improved frequency domain matched filter, the J-statistic, and by analyzing data from Advanced LIGO's second observing run. In the frequency range searched, from 60 to 650 Hz, we find no evidence of gravitational radiation. At 194.6 Hz, the most sensitive search frequency, we report an upper limit on gravitational wave strain (at 95% confidence) of h095%=3.47×10-25 when marginalizing over source inclination angle. This is the most sensitive search for Scorpius X-1, to date, that is specifically designed to be robust in the presence of spin wandering. © 2019 American Physical Society

All-sky search for long-duration gravitational wave transients with initial LIGO

We present the results of a search for long-duration gravitational wave transients in two sets of data collected by the LIGO Hanford and LIGO Livingston detectors between November 5, 2005 and September 30, 2007, and July 7, 2009 and October 20, 2010, with a total observational time of 283.0 days and 132.9 days, respectively. The search targets gravitational wave transients of duration 10-500 s in a frequency band of 40-1000 Hz, with minimal assumptions about the signal waveform, polarization, source direction, or time of occurrence. All candidate triggers were consistent with the expected background; as a result we set 90% confidence upper limits on the rate of long-duration gravitational wave transients for different types of gravitational wave signals. For signals from black hole accretion disk instabilities, we set upper limits on the source rate density between 3.4×10-5 and 9.4×10-4 Mpc-3 yr-1 at 90% confidence. These are the first results from an all-sky search for unmodeled long-duration transient gravitational waves. © 2016 American Physical Society

Erratum: "A Gravitational-wave Measurement of the Hubble Constant Following the Second Observing Run of Advanced LIGO and Virgo" (2021, ApJ, 909, 218)

[no abstract available

All-sky search for long-duration gravitational wave transients with initial LIGO

We present the results of a search for long-duration gravitational wave transients in two sets of data collected by the LIGO Hanford and LIGO Livingston detectors between November 5, 2005 and September 30, 2007, and July 7, 2009 and October 20, 2010, with a total observational time of 283.0 days and 132.9 days, respectively. The search targets gravitational wave transients of duration 10-500 s in a frequency band of 40-1000 Hz, with minimal assumptions about the signal waveform, polarization, source direction, or time of occurrence. All candidate triggers were consistent with the expected background; as a result we set 90% confidence upper limits on the rate of long-duration gravitational wave transients for different types of gravitational wave signals. For signals from black hole accretion disk instabilities, we set upper limits on the source rate density between 3.4×10-5 and 9.4×10-4 Mpc-3 yr-1 at 90% confidence. These are the first results from an all-sky search for unmodeled long-duration transient gravitational waves. © 2016 American Physical Society

Search for Tensor, Vector, and Scalar Polarizations in the Stochastic Gravitational-Wave Background

The detection of gravitational waves with Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo has enabled novel tests of general relativity, including direct study of the polarization of gravitational waves. While general relativity allows for only two tensor gravitational-wave polarizations, general metric theories can additionally predict two vector and two scalar polarizations. The polarization of gravitational waves is encoded in the spectral shape of the stochastic gravitational-wave background, formed by the superposition of cosmological and individually unresolved astrophysical sources. Using data recorded by Advanced LIGO during its first observing run, we search for a stochastic background of generically polarized gravitational waves. We find no evidence for a background of any polarization, and place the first direct bounds on the contributions of vector and scalar polarizations to the stochastic background. Under log-uniform priors for the energy in each polarization, we limit the energy densities of tensor, vector, and scalar modes at 95% credibility to Ω0T<5.58×10-8, Ω0V<6.35×10-8, and Ω0S<1.08×10-7 at a reference frequency f0=25 Hz. © 2018 American Physical Society