Physicochemical Properties,Lipid Oxidation,and Fatty Acid Composition of Sausage Prepared with Meat of Young Nellore Bulls Fed a Diet with Lauric Acid

This study evaluates the quality of sausage obtained from the meat of Nellore cattle fed diets containing different levels (0, 5, 10, and 15 g per kg total DM) of lauric acid (C12:0) from palm kernel cake. A linear reduction (p ≤ 0.05) in lipid oxidation, as reflected by linear decreases in the lightness (L*), yellowness (b*), and saturation (C*) color parameters, is observed on days 7, 14, and 21 of maturation of sausage, and these decreases are accompanied by linear increases in the redness (a*) color and the linoleic (C18:2n–6) and linolenic (C18:3n–3) fatty acid contents. The inclusion of lauric acid in the diet induces linear reductions in the shear force and cooking loss and does not significantly affect various indices, including the centesimal composition, water activity, water holding capacity, composition of most fatty acids (FA), hypocholesterolemic‐to‐hypercholesterolemic FA ratio, atherogenicity, thrombogenicity, and desirable fatty acids. The use of dietary lauric acid from palm kernel cake is recommended at doses up to 15 g per kg because its presence reduces lipid oxidation and improves color parameters, softness, and linoleic and linolenic FA without affecting the FA composition of sausage from Nellore bull's meat. Practical applications : Sausages are products manufactured from chopped or ground meats packaged into animal casings. This product appeared in Brazil through the adaptation of traditional recipes brought by German and Italian immigrant families to weather conditions and the national palate. However, due to its production characteristics, sausage can become a product with lipid characteristics that are undesirable for human consumption. The inclusion of lauric acid (C12:0) in the animal diet might change the biohydrogenation process in the rumen, improve the quality of the deposited FA and reduce lipid oxidation in sausage manufactured from meat. The FA composition and physicochemical properties of sausage predict its acceptance by the consumer market. An optimal advantage would be achieved if these products can be used as not only preservatives but also functional ingredients with antioxidant properties and products for the treatment of metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular diseases through atherogenic action.     

Accurate and reliable image classification by using conformal predictors in the TJ-II Thomson scattering

The charge-coupled device camera of the TJ-II Thomson scattering (TS) can capture five different classes of images. Typically, different data processing is performed depending on the kind of image that is acquired. The procedure can be automated to recognize the type of image. To this end, machine learning methods (MLM) are applied. However, usually, MLM classify without confidence estimates. An image classifier based on conformal predictors has been developed for the TJ-II TS. It provides a couple of indicators (confidence and credibility) for each classification that measures the accuracy and reliability of the prediction. Results achieve success rates of about 97%. The implemented classifier is valid for any kind of images.     

Promising curaua fiber‐reinforced polyester composite for high‐impact ballistic multilayered armor

A typical multilayered armor system (MAS) is composed of a harder front ceramic tile, which is able to erode heavy ammunition, such as the 7.62 mm bullet, followed by a second layer to further reduce the impact energy. Aramid fabric is a common choice for the second layer. In the present work, polyester matrix composites reinforced with 10 to 30 vol% of curaua fibers, despite having much lower strength and stiffness than aramid fabric, displayed similar trauma indentation in a standard clay witness simulating the human body. Impedance matching and scanning electron microscopy analyses suggest effective energy absorption through ceramic fragment capture by curaua composites. Additionally, because of the high cost of aramid fabric, a full MAS with curaua fiber composite is much cheaper than a MAS composed of aramid fabric. Taking into consideration, both the economical and environmental advantages of natural fibers, it is concluded that curaua fiber‐reinforced polyester composite could replace aramid fabric as the second layer in MASs for personal ballistic protection. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 57:947–954, 2017. © 2016 Society of Plastics Engineers     

In situ upgrading of bitumen and heavy oils via nanocatalysis

Thermal in situ bitumen production has introduced a different engineering approach compared to conventional oil exploitation. Steam injection for example, allows the development of a relatively confined liquid and gas chamber surrounding and along the length of the production wells. This heated place can be converted into a reactor for upgrading processes founding expectations of extensive reservoir upgrading of unconventional oils reducing the total energy currently required to both exploit the reservoir and surface upgrade the produced bitumen. These could also selectively transform contaminants into harmless products remaining in the reservoir. This article highlights the nanocatalytic in situ upgrading paths that may result in economical and environmentally efficient oil sands exploitation. © 2012 Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering     

气象数据缺测条件下参照腾发量的计算方法

利用河北雄县和望都两气象站的数据，对FAO推荐的气象数据缺测时参照腾发量的计算方法进行了检验和评价，分析了参照腾发量对各气象要素的敏感性，提出了在气象数据缺测条件下适应我国北方平原区气候条件的参照腾发量的计算方法。     

Acoustic seafloor sediment classification using self-organizingfeature maps

A self-organizing feature map (SOFM), a kind of artificial neural network (ANN) architecture, is used in this work for continental shelf seafloor sediment classification. Echo data are acquired using an echosounding system from three types of seafloor sediment areas. Excellent classification (~100%) for an ideal output neuron grid size of 15×1 is obtained for a moving average of 35 input snapshots     

Recyclable,Flexible, Low‐Power Oxide Electronics

The ability to process and dimensionally scale field‐effect transistors with and on paper and to integrate them as a core component for low‐power‐consumption analog and digital circuits is demonstrated. Low‐temperature‐processed p‐ and n‐channel integrated oxide thin‐film transistors in the complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) inverter architecture are seamlessly layered on mechanically flexible, low‐cost, recyclable paper substrates. The possibility of building these circuits using low‐temperature processes opens the door to new applications ranging from smart labels and sensors on clothing and packaging to electronic displays printed on paper pages for use in newspapers, magazines, books, signs, and advertising billboards. Because the CMOS circuits reported constitute fundamental building blocks for analog and digital electronics, this development creates the potential to have flexible form factor computers seamlessly layered onto paper. The holistic approach of merging low‐power circuitry with a recyclable substrate is an important step towards greener electronics.     

Spatial and Time Variability of Drought Based on SPI and RDI with Various Time Scales

The spatial and temporal variability of droughts were studied for the Northeast Algeria using SPI and RDI computed with monthly precipitation data from 123 rainfall stations and CFSR reanalysis monthly temperature data covering the period 1979–80 to 2013–14. The gridded temperature data was interpolated to all the locations having precipitation data, thus providing to compute SPI and RDI with the time scales of 3-, 6- and 12-month with the same observed rainfall data. Spatial and temporal patterns of droughts were obtained using Principal Component Analysis in S-Mode with Varimax rotation applied to both SPI and RDI. For all time scales of both indices, two principal components were retained identifying two sub-regions that are similar and coherent for all SPI and RDI time scales. Both components explained more than 70% and 74% of drought spatial variability of SPI and RDI, respectively. The identified sub-regions are similar and coherent for all SPI and RDI time scales. The Modified Mann-Kendall test was used to assess trends of the RPC scores, which have shown non-significant trends for decreasing drought occurrence and severity in both identified drought sub-regions and all time scales. Both indices have shown a coherent and similar behavior, however with RDI likely showing to identify more severe and moderate droughts in the southern and more arid sub-region which may be due to its ability to consider influences of global warming. Results for RDI are quite uniform relative to time scales and show smaller differences among the various climates when compared with SPI. Further assessments covering the NW and NE of Algeria using longer time series should be performed to better understand the behavior of both indices.     

Microcalcification border characterization

Breast cancer is a disease that can be treated if detected in its early stages. Microcalcifications are high-frequency components on digital images. A transform that deals with frequency components can be used in trying to detect these objects on the breast image. We used the wavelet transform on the proposed work to detect these elements and to classify the nature of their borders, being smooth or rugged.