Clove and rosemary essential oils and encapsuled active principles (eugenol, thymol and vanillin blend) on meat quality of feedlot-finished heifers

Forty Nellore heifers were fed (73days) with different diets: with or without essential oils (clove and/or rosemary essential oil) and/or active principle blend (eugenol, thymol and vanillin). The pH, fat thickness, marbling, muscle area and water losses (thawing and drip) were evaluated 24h post mortem on the Longissimus thoracis, and the effects of aging (14days) was evaluated on the meat cooking losses, color, texture and lipid oxidation. Antioxidant activity was also evaluated. Treatments had no effect (P>0.05) on pH, fat thickness, marbling, muscle area, thawing and drip losses. However, treatments affected (P<0.05) cooking losses, color, texture and lipid oxidation. The diets with essential oil and the active principle blend reduced the lipid oxidation and reduced the color losses in relation to control diet. Aging affected (P<0.05) texture and lipid oxidation. The essential oil and active principles or its blend have potential use in animal feed aiming to maintain/improve meat quality during shelf-life

Number of consumers and days of display necessary for the assessment of meat colour acceptability

Visual assessment is regarded as the gold standard to evaluate meat colour shelf-life, but it is costly and time consuming. To address this issue, this paper aims to evaluate the number of consumers and days of display that are necessaries in order to assess the colour shelf-life of meat, presented with different methods, all using images. Photographs of thirty-six lamb steaks were taken just after cutting (day 0) and on each of the following days until the 14th day of display under standardized conditions. Images were presented in three different manners: 1) with days of display and animals in random order (Random); 2) days of display in sequential and animals in random order (Sequential); and, 3) days of display and animals in sequential order (Animal); they were presented to 211 consumers who evaluated visual acceptability on a 9-point scale. At day zero, visual acceptability scores were the highest in Animal, followed by Sequential, and then by the Random (P <.05) method. Scores decreased over time for all methods tested (P <.05). The Random method presented the highest standard deviation; however, an increase in standard deviation among consumers along days of display was observed for all methods tested (P <.05). Shelf-life determined by regression varied according to the method of presentation (7.83, 7.00 and 7.54 days for Random, Sequential and Animal, respectively). A minimum number of 4 day points before and 4 day points after neutral scores had been reached (scores = 5.0) were necessary in order to obtain a robust model. The minimum number of required consumers (a = 0.05; d = 0.1 and ß = 0.2 or 0.1) varied according to methodology: it was 81 to 109 consumers for Random, 69 to 92 for Sequential, and 55 to 74 for Animal. Our study indicates that an optimal number of days and evaluators can be calculated depending on the manner of sample presentation. These findings should be taken into account in further studies that aim to balance data reliability with the cost involved in meat colour analyses

Uso de harina de baya de uva en la producción de cookies

La producción de vinos y derivados produce residuo, en promedio cerca del 20% de la uva, en peso, constituido por la cáscara o la película, las semillas y los restos de la pulpa de la uva, siendo el resultado del aplastamiento del grano. Por eso la producción de harina a partir de la baya de uva surge como una alternativa para minimizar el residuo generado del proceso de vinificación. Las galletas son productos que se pueden obtener a través de diversos procesos, se consideran uno de los alimentos más populares y de mayor consumo. El presente estudio consistió en la elaboración de una harina a partir del aprovechamiento de un residuo agroindustrial de la actividad vitivinícola, la baya de uva, que fue empleado en el desarrollo de cookies. La harina presentó características físico-químicas dentro de los estándares establecidos por la legislación. A través de la evaluación sensorial obtuvimos resultados que evidencian la aceptación de las galletas tipo cookie, con utilización de harina de baya de uva, con un porcentaje del 92.6% de aceptación positiva por parte de los consumidores evaluados. En lo que se refiere a la intención de compra del nuevo producto, los evaluadores demostraron un porcentaje del 78% de intención de compra

Atmospheric effects on extensive air showers observed with the Surface Detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory

Atmospheric parameters, such as pressure (P), temperature (T) and density, affect the development of extensive air showers initiated by energetic cosmic rays. We have studied the impact of atmospheric variations on extensive air showers by means of the surface detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory. The rate of events shows a ~10% seasonal modulation and ~2% diurnal one. We find that the observed behaviour is explained by a model including the effects associated with the variations of pressure and density. The former affects the longitudinal development of air showers while the latter influences the Moliere radius and hence the lateral distribution of the shower particles. The model is validated with full simulations of extensive air showers using atmospheric profiles measured at the site of the Pierre Auger Observatory.Comment: 24 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in Astroparticle Physic

Update on the correlation of the highest energy cosmic rays with nearby extragalactic matter

Data collected by the Pierre Auger Observatory through 31 August 2007 showed evidence for anisotropy in the arrival directions of cosmic rays above the Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuz'min energy threshold, \nobreak{$6\times 10^{19}$eV}. The anisotropy was measured by the fraction of arrival directions that are less than $3.1^\circ$ from the position of an active galactic nucleus within 75 Mpc (using the V\'eron-Cetty and V\'eron $12^{\rm th}$ catalog). An updated measurement of this fraction is reported here using the arrival directions of cosmic rays recorded above the same energy threshold through 31 December 2009. The number of arrival directions has increased from 27 to 69, allowing a more precise measurement. The correlating fraction is $(38^{+7}_{-6})$, compared with $21$ expected for isotropic cosmic rays. This is down from the early estimate of $(69^{+11}_{-13})$. The enlarged set of arrival directions is examined also in relation to other populations of nearby extragalactic objects: galaxies in the 2 Microns All Sky Survey and active galactic nuclei detected in hard X-rays by the Swift Burst Alert Telescope. A celestial region around the position of the radiogalaxy Cen A has the largest excess of arrival directions relative to isotropic expectations. The 2-point autocorrelation function is shown for the enlarged set of arrival directions and compared to the isotropic expectation.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astroparticle Physics on 31 August 201

The Fluorescence Detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory

The Pierre Auger Observatory is a hybrid detector for ultra-high energy cosmic rays. It combines a surface array to measure secondary particles at ground level together with a fluorescence detector to measure the development of air showers in the atmosphere above the array. The fluorescence detector comprises 24 large telescopes specialized for measuring the nitrogen fluorescence caused by charged particles of cosmic ray air showers. In this paper we describe the components of the fluorescence detector including its optical system, the design of the camera, the electronics, and the systems for relative and absolute calibration. We also discuss the operation and the monitoring of the detector. Finally, we evaluate the detector performance and precision of shower reconstructions.Comment: 53 pages. Submitted to Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section

Advanced functionality for radio analysis in the Offline software framework of the Pierre Auger Observatory

The advent of the Auger Engineering Radio Array (AERA) necessitates the development of a powerful framework for the analysis of radio measurements of cosmic ray air showers. As AERA performs "radio-hybrid" measurements of air shower radio emission in coincidence with the surface particle detectors and fluorescence telescopes of the Pierre Auger Observatory, the radio analysis functionality had to be incorporated in the existing hybrid analysis solutions for fluoresence and surface detector data. This goal has been achieved in a natural way by extending the existing Auger Offline software framework with radio functionality. In this article, we lay out the design, highlights and features of the radio extension implemented in the Auger Offline framework. Its functionality has achieved a high degree of sophistication and offers advanced features such as vectorial reconstruction of the electric field, advanced signal processing algorithms, a transparent and efficient handling of FFTs, a very detailed simulation of detector effects, and the read-in of multiple data formats including data from various radio simulation codes. The source code of this radio functionality can be made available to interested parties on request.Comment: accepted for publication in NIM A, 13 pages, minor corrections to author list and references in v

Search for First Harmonic Modulation in the Right Ascension Distribution of Cosmic Rays Detected at the Pierre Auger Observatory

We present the results of searches for dipolar-type anisotropies in different energy ranges above $2.5\times 10^{17}$ eV with the surface detector array of the Pierre Auger Observatory, reporting on both the phase and the amplitude measurements of the first harmonic modulation in the right-ascension distribution. Upper limits on the amplitudes are obtained, which provide the most stringent bounds at present, being below 2% at 99% $C.L.$ for EeV energies. We also compare our results to those of previous experiments as well as with some theoretical expectations.Comment: 28 pages, 11 figure