Combining absolute and relative information in studies on food quality

A common problem in food science concerns the assessment of the quality of food samples. Typically, a group of panellists is trained exhaustively on how to identify different quality indicators in order to provide absolute information, in the form of scores, for each given food sample. Unfortunately, this training is expensive and time-consuming. For this very reason, it is quite common to search for additional information provided by untrained panellists. However, untrained panellists usually provide relative information, in the form of rankings, for the food samples. In this paper, we discuss how both scores and rankings can be combined in order to improve the quality of the assessment

Proposed cavity Josephson plasmonics with complex-oxide heterostructures

We discuss how complex-oxide heterostructures that include high-Tc superconducting cuprates can be used to realize an array of sub-millimeter cavities that support Josephson plasmon polaritons. These cavities have several attractive features for new types of light matter interaction studies and we show that they promote "ultrastrong" coupling between THz frequency radiation and Josephson plasmons. Cavity electrodynamics of Josephson plasmons allows to manipulate the superconducting order-parameter phase coherence. As an example, we discuss how it could be used to cool superconducting phase fluctuations with light

The constrained median : a way to incorporate side information in the assessment of food samples

A classical problem in the field of food science concerns the consensus evaluation of food samples. Typically, several panelists are asked to provide scores describing the perceived quality of the samples, and subsequently, the overall (consensus) scores are determined. Unfortunately, gathering a large number of panelists is a challenging and very expensive way of collecting information. Interestingly, side information about the samples is often available. This paper describes a method that exploits such information with the aim of improving the assessment of the quality of multiple samples. The proposed method is illustrated by discussing an experiment on raw Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), where the evolution of the overall score of each salmon sample is studied. The influence of incorporating knowledge of storage days, results of a clustering analysis, and information from additionally performed sensory evaluation tests is discussed. We provide guidelines for incorporating different types of information and discuss their benefits and potential risks

Nitrogen removal in a two-chambered microbial fuel cell: Establishment of a nitrifying-denitrifying microbial community on an intermittent aerated cathode

A microbial fuel cell (MFC) was used to study nitrogen dynamics and its feasibility for high strength wastewater treatment. Intermittent aeration was applied on the cathode chamber accomplishing the establishment of a simultaneous nitrifying-denitrifying microbial community. A total of 30.4% of the N-NH4 + migrated through the ion exchange membrane being primarily nitrified at the cathode chamber. When intermittent aeration was applied in the cathode, denitrification also occurred achieving 17.8% of nitrate removal without acetate addition, and 41.2% with acetate addition. The microbial community analysis revealed that the nitrification process at the cathode chamber could be explained due to a high predominance of Nitrosomonas sp. as ammonia-oxidising bacteria and other Comamonadaceae phylotypes as potential denitrifiers. Parallel batch denitrification assays, carried out outside the MFC using the cathode effluent, confirmed the existence of heterotrophic denitrification processes with other well known denitrifying dominant phylotypes enrichment (Burkholderiadaceae, Comamonadaceae, Alcaligenaceae).Postprint (author's final draft

Hydrogen generation by photocatalysis with BiVO

The aim of this work was to study the enhancement in photocatalytic hydrogen production by using BiVO combined with Si solar cells.2021/202

Tuning of the depolarization field and nanodomain structure in ferroelectric thin films

The screening efficiency of a metal-ferroelectric interface plays a critical role in determining the polarization stability and hence the functional properties of ferroelectric thin films. Imperfect screening leads to strong depolarization fields that reduce the spontaneous polarization or drive the formation of ferroelectric domains. We demonstrate that by modifying the screening at the metal-ferroelectric interface through insertion of ultrathin dielectric spacers, the strength of the depolarization field can be tuned and thus used to control the formation of nanoscale domains. Using piezoresponse force microscopy, we follow the evolution of the domain configurations as well as polarization stability as a function of depolarization field strength.Comment: 19 pages, 7 figure

Compositional representation (CoDa) of the Agenda-setting of the political opinion makers in the main Spanish media groups in the 2015 general election

This article presents an innovative proposal to represent the agenda-setting of the main Spanish media groups (RTVE, Prisa, Vocento, Unidad Editorial, COPE, Atresmedia, Planeta, Godó, Mediaset España and Libertad Digital) in the context of the 2015 Spanish general election. The study uses a quantitative method based on a content analysis of the main Spanish radio and TV programmes with political opinion spaces and the main newspapers linked to these media groups. Furthermore, the compositional methodological approach the CoDa-biplot is used to visualise and emphasise the relative salience of the components under study. The article not only provides a mapping of the agenda of the main media groups in the electoral context, but it also reaches the representation of the effects of priming and the spiral of silence in the proportional study of the issues and senders of the agenda.Este artículo presenta un estudio innovador sobre la representación de la agenda-setting de los principales grupos de medios españoles (RTVE, Prisa, Vocento, Unidad Editorial, COPE, Atresmedia, Planeta, Godó, Mediaset España y Libertad Digital), en el contexto de las Elecciones Generales en España del año 2015. El estudio emplea una metodología cuantitativa con base a un análisis de contenido de los principales programas con espacios de opinión sobre política en la radio y televisión española, así como de los principales periódicos vinculados a estos grupos mediáticos. Asimismo, se emplea la herramienta metodológica composicional del CoDa-biplot, que contribuye a visualizar y enfatizar la relevancia relativa de los componentes en estudio. El artículo proporciona un mapeo de la agenda de los principales grupos de medios en el contexto electoral, al tiempo que alcanza la representación de los efectos del priming y la espiral del silencio en el estudio proporcional de los issues y emisores de la agenda