An optimal transmission strategy in zero-sum matrix games under intelligent jamming attacks

Wireless Networks - Cognitive radio networks are more susceptible to jamming attacks due to the nature of unlicensed users accessing the spectrum by performing dynamic spectrum access. In such a...     

Gamifying cultural experiences across the urban environment

New media and devices are offering huge possibilities for the enhancement and the enrichment of heritage experiences, improving the users’ involvement. In particular, tourists equipped with their mobile devices are invading cultural attractions, sharing pictures and comments (together with hashtags and geo-localized positions) on social networks. These represent an unofficial source of data, which can be integrated with the official ones provided by GLAM (Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums) and cultural heritage institutions, enriching them. At the same time, travel planners and mobile applications related to cultural heritage can play an interesting role in the development of smart cities, when they are integrated each other, engaging the user in touristic and entertainment activities, letting him/her be a source of cultural resources.

This work focuses on equipping users (citizens and tourists) with a system providing support in computing personalized urban paths across cultural heritage places (monuments, palaces, museums, and other points of interest (POIs) related to cultural heritage in the urban environment) and in sharing multimedia resources about POIs, by exploiting gamification elements with the aim of engaging citizens and tourists. A mobile application prototype has been implemented, showing the feasibility of the proposed approach and exploiting crowdsourcing activities as a source of information for cultural places and works of art.

     

Visual time period analysis: a multimedia analytics application for summarizing and analyzing eye-tracking experiments

Multimedia Tools and Applications - Recently, an increasing need for sophisticated multimedia analytics tools has been observed, which is triggered by a rapid growth of multimedia collections and...     

Corrosion and mechanical properties of age‐hardened UNS N06625 forged bars for oil and gas applications

UNS N06625 is a well‐known nickel‐base superalloy generally used in annealed condition due to its excellent corrosion resistance in the most severe environments containing sulfides and chlorides at high pressure and temperature. In general, the most efficient way to increase the alloy strength is by cold working, but obviously, this cannot be applied in case of large forgings. Actually, looking at its chemical composition, UNS N06625 can be considered an age‐hardenable material, whose mechanical strength can be improved by promoting the second phase γ″ precipitation in the matrix. The aim of this paper was to assess the achievable mechanical properties and corrosion resistance of UNS N06625 forged bars in age‐hardened condition with respect to the annealed one, to understand the feasibility of this not conventional heat treatment for the industrial application.     

Effect of stabiliser classes (animal proteins,vegetable proteins,starches, hydrocolloids and dietary fibre) on the physicochemical properties of a model lean meat product

The effects of eleven ingredients (originating from various ingredient classes: animal proteins, plant proteins, starches, hydrocolloids and fibres) applied in two different concentrations on drip loss, rheological characteristics and hardness were evaluated in a lean meat model system. The high concentration of potato starch, insoluble citrus fibre, rice starch or pea protein significantly (P < 0.05) reduced drip losses (6.92%, 17.87%, 15.70%, 17.60%, respectively) compared to control (30.80%), while rheological measures and hardness remained unchanged (P > 0.05). Moreover, the addition of low concentrations of soluble citrus fibre did not significantly affect hardness (4.11 N), whereas its inclusion at high concentrations had a significant effect on the final hardness (7.17 N). Among all the tested ingredients, xanthan presented the lowest drip loss value (0.12% and 0.40% for high and low concentration, respectively). Finally, gelatine did not show any differences in water holding capacity, storage modulus nor hardness compared with the control group.     

Untargeted metabolomics to explore the oxidation processes during shelf life of pork patties treated with guarana seed extracts

The changes of metabolites in pork patties with different antioxidants added (control without antioxidants, 200 mg kg⁻¹ butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) and 250 mg kg⁻¹ guarana seed extracts (GSEs)) under modified atmosphere (80% O₂ and 20% CO₂) for 18 days of refrigerated storage were evaluated. Untargeted metabolomic approach based on UHPLC-ESI-QTOF-MS analysis was applied. GSE phytochemical profile revealed a wide variety of compounds (caffeine, glycerol 1-propanoate, amino acids, alkaloids and glycerophospholipids), together with antioxidants (tyrosols, procyanidins and flavonoids). Important differences in BHT and GSE patties metabolomic profiles were found during storage. Most of the differences could be attributed to glycerophospholipids and fatty acyls, along with specific compounds derived from lipid oxidation (i.e. 2-hexenal, 4-hydroxy-2-hexenal and 2,4-heptadienal) and protein degradation (spermine). Therefore, the approach used highlighted a modulation of lipid oxidative processes, together with strict correlation between metabolic profiles and factors associated with meat quality, highlighting GSE effect on active compounds delaying oxidative phenomena.     

Chemical and physico-chemical changes during the dry-cured processing of deer loin

The changes on chemical composition, physico-chemical parameters, free fatty acids and free amino acids content of dry-cured deer loin were investigated at day 0, 30 and 60 of dry-cured process. On the whole, except for pH values (≈5.6) and composition (fat: 4.6–5.2%; protein: ≈73%; ash: ≈17.5%) that did not show differences between the processing days, the other physico-chemical parameters were affected by curing process. Colour parameters and moisture (from 69 to 38.4%) decreased while the hardness increase from 12.35 to 342 N and lipid oxidation (from 0.2 to 0.52 mg MDA/kg) increased as dry-cured stage progresses. In similar way, free fatty acid (2250 mg per 100 g of fat at 0 day and 5940 mg per 100 g of fat at 60 days) and free amino acid content (914 mg per 100 g DM at 0 day and 1253 mg per 100 g DM at 60 days) increased progressively as the curing process progressed. The behaviour of this product during processing is similar to that described for the same product made with other animal species. Therefore, deer meat is an excellent candidate for the production of dry-cured loin, which would allow introducing a new product on the market.