Optimisation of the pulsed vacuum osmotic dehydration of cladodes of fodder palm

Fodder palm, a great source of nutrients for human and animals, grows even in arid climates. Pulsed vacuum osmotic dehydration is an efficient process for obtaining semidehydrated food. It was used to slice cladodes of fodder palm. The independent variables used were temperature (30–50 °C), pulsed vacuum pressure (50–150 mbar) and NaCl concentration (5–15 g per 100 g solution). The response variables were water activity (a_w), moisture content (X), colour parameters, water loss (WL), solid gain (SG) and weight reduction (WR). The pulsed vacuum osmotic dehydration process was optimised for minimum values of a_w, X and SG, and maximum values of chroma. The experimental data obtained with the optimum condition (100 mbar; 10 gNaCl per 100 g solution, 44 °C) were near the estimated ones. For example, WL, a_w and ?E, and their error were 8.15 g per 100 g, 11%; 0.985, 0.3% and 6.15, 15.2%, respectively.     

Quantitative evaluation of image-based distortion correction in diffusion tensor imaging

A statistical method for the evaluation of image registration for a series of images based on the assessment of consistency properties of the registration results is proposed. Consistency is defined as the residual error of the composition of cyclic registrations. By combining the transformations of different algorithms the consistency error allows a quantitative comparison without the use of ground truth, specifically, it allows a determination as to whether the algorithms are compatible and hence provide comparable registrations. Consistency testing is applied to evaluate retrospective correction of eddy current-induced image distortion in diffusion tensor imaging of the brain. In the literature several image transformations and similarity measures have been proposed, generally showing a significant reduction of distortion in side-by-side comparison of parametric maps before and after registration. Transformations derived from imaging physics and a three-dimensional affine transformation as well as mutual information (MI) and local correlation (LC) similarity are compared to each other by means of consistency testing. The dedicated transformations could not demonstrate a significant difference for more than half of the series considered. LC similarity is well-suited for distortion correction providing more consistent registrations which are comparable to MI.     

Risk perception of traffic participants

This article analyzes the risk perception of traffic participants by making use of Prospect Theory. This methodology makes a conceptual distinction between the perception of risk and the perception of the outcome of an uncertain event. In the field of transport safety such a distinction is desirable, because risks are typically very low and thus sensitive to misperception by traffic participants. Taking into account such misperception will significantly improve estimates of the valuation of transport safety. The first empirical results show that the valuation of losses is well represented by a utility function that is concave in shape. Secondly, our preliminary results show that individuals base their choice mainly on the possible outcomes and not so much on probabilities whenever there are very small probabilities (say 相似文献   

A false single nucleotide polymorphism generated by gene duplication compromises meat traceability

Controlling meat traceability using SNPs is an effective method of ensuring food safety. We have analyzed several SNPs to create a panel for bovine genetic identification and traceability studies. One of these was the transversion g.329C>T (Genbank accession no. AJ496781) on the cytochrome P450 17A1 gene, which has been included in previously published panels. Using minisequencing reactions, we have tested 701 samples belonging to eight Spanish cattle breeds. Surprisingly, an excess of heterozygotes was detected, implying an extreme departure from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (P<0.001). By alignment analysis and sequencing, we detected that the g.329C>T SNP is a false positive polymorphism, which allows us to explain the inflated heterozygotic value. We recommend that this ambiguous SNP, as well as other polymorphisms located in this region, should not be used in identification, traceability or disease association studies. Annotation of these false SNPs should improve association studies and avoid misinterpretations.