Studies on the Composition of Organic and Conventional Milk Products

The changes in the basic physicochemical characteristics and the lipid composition of Bulgarian organic and conventional dairy products (cow's yoghurt and cow's cheese) during the winter and summer period have been investigated. There were no significant changes in the basic physicochemical characteristics for organic and conventional milk products (fat content in dry matter, content of milk protein, dry matter, acidity, salt content) in the studied periods. Organic yoghurt has lower acidity in comparison with conventional yoghurt. Organic cheese is the only one with a degree of maturity (21.7% and 20.5%), corresponding to the regulated value in the Bulgarian state standards for cheese (not less than 14%). The lipids have identical fatty acid composition, dominated by saturated fatty acids (68.7% -74.5%) and that their content is higher in winter. During the summer period quantities of trans fatty acids in mono- (C18:1) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (C18: 2 and C18: 3) was higher than in winter. The content of tocopherols in the yoghurt fats is minimal, as their values in summer period is higher, such in the various trademarks cheese tocopherols not detected

Neutrino oscillations in the early universe: How large lepton asymmetry can be generated?

The lepton asymmetry that could be generated in the early universe through oscillations of active to sterile neutrinos is calculated (almost) analytically for small mixing angles, sin 2\theta < 10^{-2}. It is shown that for a mass squared difference, \delta m^2=-1 eV^2 it may rise at most by 6 orders of magnitude from the initial ``normal'' value of 10^{-10}, since the back-reaction from the refraction index terminates this rise while the asymmetry is still small. Only for very large mass differences, \delta m^2 about 10^9 eV^2, the lepton asymmetry could reach a significant magnitude exceeding 0.1.Comment: 25 pages, LaTeX (5 graphs

Neutrino Oscillations and the Early Universe

The observational and theoretical status of neutrino oscillations in connection with solar and atmospheric neutrino anomalies is presented in brief. The effect of neutrino oscillations on the early Universe evolution is discussed in detail. A short review is given of the standard Big Bang Nucleosynthesis and the influence of resonant and nonresonant neutrino oscillations on active neutrinos and on primordial nucleosynthesis of He-4. BBN cosmological constraints on neutrino oscillation parameters are discussed.Comment: 21 p., 6 figures, a review based on raview talk at NCYA Conference and a presentation at CAPP200

Physicomechanical properties of the extracellular matrix of a demineralized bone

The article describes the results of a study of physicomechanical properties of a demineralized bone matrix of human cancellous and compact bones. A demineralized cancellous bone was shown to have the best characteristics of a porous system for colonization of matrices by cells. The ultimate stress and elasticity modulus of samples of demineralized femoral heads isolated in primary hip replacement was demonstrated to vary in wide ranges. The elasticity modulus ranged from 50 to 250 MPa, and the tensile strength varied from 1.1 to 5.5 MPa. Microhardness measurements by the recovered indentation method were not possible because of the viscoelastic properties of a bone material. To study the piezoelectric properties of samples, a measuring system was developed that comprised a measuring chamber with contact electrodes, a system for controlled sample loading, an amplifier-converter unit, and signal recording and processing software. The measurement results were used to determine the dependence of the signal amplitude on the dynamic deformation characteristics. The findings are discussed in terms of the relationship between the mechanical and electrical properties and the structure of the organic bone component

Detailed study of BBN implications of neutrino oscillation generated neutrino asymmetries in some four neutrino models

We re-examine the evolution of neutrino asymmetries in several four neutrino models. The first case involves the direct creation of $L_{\nu_e}$ by $\nu_e \leftrightarrow \nu_s$ oscillations. In the second case, we consider the mass hierarchy $m_{\nu_\tau} \gg m_{\nu_\mu}, m_{\nu_e}, m_{\nu_s}$ where $\nu_\tau \leftrightarrow \nu_s$ oscillations generate a large $L_{\nu_\tau}$ and some of this asymmetry is converted into $L_{\nu_e}$ by $\nu_{\tau} \leftrightarrow \nu_{e}$ oscillations. We estimate the implications for BBN for a range of cosmologically interesting $\delta m^2$ values. The present paper improves on previous published work by taking into account the finite repopulation rate and the time dependence of the distortions to the neutrino momentum distributions. The treatment of chemical decoupling is also improved.Comment: Expanded discussion on the sign of the neutrino asymmetr

Physicomechanical properties of the extracellular matrix of a demineralized bone

The article describes the results of a study of physicomechanical properties of a demineralized bone matrix of human cancellous and compact bones. A demineralized cancellous bone was shown to have the best characteristics of a porous system for colonization of matrices by cells. The ultimate stress and elasticity modulus of samples of demineralized femoral heads isolated in primary hip replacement was demonstrated to vary in wide ranges. The elasticity modulus ranged from 50 to 250 MPa, and the tensile strength varied from 1.1 to 5.5 MPa. Microhardness measurements by the recovered indentation method were not possible because of the viscoelastic properties of a bone material. To study the piezoelectric properties of samples, a measuring system was developed that comprised a measuring chamber with contact electrodes, a system for controlled sample loading, an amplifier-converter unit, and signal recording and processing software. The measurement results were used to determine the dependence of the signal amplitude on the dynamic deformation characteristics. The findings are discussed in terms of the relationship between the mechanical and electrical properties and the structure of the organic bone component

New constraints on neutrino physics from Boomerang data

We have performed a likelihood analysis of the recent data on the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation (CMBR) anisotropy taken by the Boomerang experiment. We find that this data places a strong upper bound on the radiation density present at recombination. Expressed in terms of the equivalent number of neutrino species the $2\sigma$ bound is N_nu < 13, and the standard model prediction, N_nu = 3.04, is completely consistent the the data. This bound is complementary to the one found from Big Bang nucleosynthesis considerations in that it applies to any type of radiation, i.e. it is not flavour sensitive. It also applies to the universe at a much later epoch, and as such places severe limits on scenarios with decaying neutrinos. The bound also yields a firm upper limit on the lepton asymmetry in the universe.Comment: 4 pages, 2 postscript figures, matches version to appear in PR

Galactic Abundances: Report of Working Group 3

We summarize the various methods and their limitations and strengths to derive galactic abundances from in-situ and remote-sensing measurements, both from ground-based observations and from instruments in space. Because galactic abundances evolve in time and space it is important to obtain information with a variety of different methods covering different regions from the Very Local Insterstellar Medium (VLISM) to the distant galaxy, and different times throughout the evolution of the galaxy. We discuss the study of the present-day VLISM with neutral gas, pickup ions, and Anomalous Cosmic Rays, the study of the local interstellar medium (ISM) at distances <1.5 kpc utilizing absorption line measurements in H I clouds, and the study of galactic cosmic rays, sampling contemporary (~15 Myr) sources in the local ISM within a few kiloparsec of the solar system. Solar system abundances, derived from solar abundances and meteorite studies are discussed in several other chapters of this volume. They provide samples of matter from the ISM from the time of solar system format ion, about 4.5 Gyr ago. The evolution of galactic abundances on longer time scales is discussed in the context of nuclear synthesis in the various contributing stellar objects

Further studies on relic neutrino asymmetry generation I: the adiabatic Boltzmann limit, non-adiabatic evolution, and the classical harmonic oscillator analogue of the quantum kinetic equations

We demonstrate that the relic neutrino asymmetry evolution equation derived from the quantum kinetic equations (QKEs) reduces to the Boltzmann limit that is dependent only on the instantaneous neutrino number densities, in the adiabatic limit in conjunction with sufficient damping. An original physical and/or geometrical interpretation of the adiabatic approximation is given, which serves as a convenient visual aid to understanding the sharply contrasting resonance behaviours exhibited by the neutrino ensemble in opposing collision regimes. We also present a classical analogue for the evolution of the difference in $\nu_{\alpha}$ and $\nu_s$ number densities which, in the Boltzmann limit, is akin to the behaviour of the generic reaction $A \rightleftharpoons B$ with equal forward and reverse reaction rate constants. A new characteristic quantity, the matter and collision-affected mixing angle of the neutrino ensemble, is identified here for the first time. The role of collisions is revealed to be twofold: (i) to wipe out the inherent oscillations, and (ii) to equilibrate the $\nu_{\alpha}$ and $\nu_s$ number densities in the long run. Studies on non-adiabatic evolution and its possible relation to rapid oscillations in lepton number generation also feature, with the introduction of an adiabaticity parameter for collision-affected oscillations.Comment: RevTeX, 38 pages including 8 embedded figure

Robust Optimization of Sustainable Dairy Supply Chain with Products Demands Uncertainty and Environmental Impact Consideration

Milk and milk products are an important part of the daily menu of millions of people around the world. Increasing the efficiency and competitiveness of this type of production is related to the implementation of the strategy of sustainable management of supply chains, which cover all processes from raw materials, through production to end users. The presence of fluctuations in the product demands on the markets also influences the sustainable operation of considered supply chain activities. The present study proposes an application of already developed robust optimization approach for optimal design of a sustainable dairy supply chain operating under uncertain products demands on a new case study from Bulgaria which include three milk suppliers, two dairies and three markets. The considered supply chain is related with a production of different dairy products according to different recipes while satisfying environmental and economic criteria defined in terms of costs. The latter is associated with the generated wastewater from dairy production and CO2 emissions due to the energy consumed and transportation. Several optimization problems have been formulated and solved under nominal data for the product demands and four uncertainties levels - 0.25, 0.5, 0.75 and 1. The obtained optimal values of the economic and environmental costs show that the optimization approach implementation results in sustainable solutions that do not change significantly with an increase in the uncertainty level of consideration of the product demands