Protease activity higher in postmortem water buffalo meat than Brahman beef

We previously demonstrated that postmortem water buffalo meat had higher tenderness than Brahman beef. In order to explain this difference in tenderness, the objective of the current study was to investigate the protease activity in these two meats. Five female crossbred water buffalo (Philippine Carabao×Bulgarian Murrah) and five female crossbred cattle (Brahman×Philippine Native) were slaughtered at 30months of age, followed by immediate sampling of Longissimus thoracis muscle for measurement of protease activity. Results showed that buffalo meat had significantly higher protease activity compared to beef (P<0.05). Furthermore, calpain inhibitor 1, a specific inhibitor of calpains 1 and 2, was the most effective inhibitor of protease activity. There was no difference in calpastatin activity, and no major differences were observed in calpains 1, 2, and calpastatin expression by Western blotting. This study suggests that higher calpain activity in early postmortem buffalo meat was responsible for the increased tenderness of water buffalo meat compared to beef.     

Changes in lipids of whole and minced rayfish (Raja clavata) muscle during frozen storage

The effects of the storage temperature (?18 °C and ?40 °C) and the addition of butylhydroxytoluene (BHT) on the different classes of lipids (phospholipids, triacylglycerides, free fatty acids, sterols and sterol esters plus waxes) and the fatty acid composition of minced (8 and 12 mm) and whole rayfish wing muscle stored for 1 year in the frozen state were studied. The phospholipid content decreased significantly and the free fatty acid content increased significantly at both storage temperatures, but more pronounced, at ?18 °C. Significant differences were found between phospholipid and free fatty acid contents of the minced and the whole samples, which again were more pronounced at ?18 °C. A significant increase of the major fatty acids (22∶: 6n-3 and 16:0) was observed after 1 year in the frozen state. Significant differences were also obtained between the samples stored at ?18 °C and at ?40 °C; the lower the storage temperature, the higher their content. The polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) content increased significantly in all the samples. Significant differences were found between the samples stored at ?18°C and at ?40°C. The lower the temperature, the higher the PUFA content. Nonsignificant differences were observed between the 8-mm and the 12-mm minced samples. Non-significant differences were found between the samples stored in the presence and in the absence of BHT. Mincing hastened hydrolytic and oxidative processes, which were slowed down at the lower storage temperature. Nonetheless, nonsignificant differences were found between both particle sizes.     

H-Classics: characterizing the concept of citation classics through H-index

Citation classics identify those highly cited papers which are an important reference point in a research field. To identify a paper as a citation classic we have to fix a citation threshold value. Usually, this threshold value should not be the same for all research fields because each field presents its respective citation pattern. Studies of citation classics in the literature define particular criteria and methods to set citation thresholds, which are often set arbitrarily and designed ad-hoc, and do not allow the scientific community to validate and compare their results. In this paper we introduce the concept of H-Classics to overcome this problem and provide scientific community a standardization of key constructs. We present a new and systematic method to identify citation classics. This identification method of highly cited papers is based on the H-index and thank to the properties of H-index it is sensitive to the own characteristics of any research discipline and also its evolution. Therefore, the concept of H-Classics allows to systematize search procedure of citation classics for any field of research.     

Adaptive genetic operators based on coevolution with fuzzybehaviors

This paper presents a technique for adapting control parameter settings associated with genetic operators. Its principal features are: 1) the adaptation takes place at the individual level by means of fuzzy logic controllers (FLC) and 2) the fuzzy rule bases used by the FLC come from a separate genetic algorithm (GA) that coevolves with the GA that applies the genetic operator to be controlled. The goal is to obtain fuzzy rule bases that produce suitable control parameter values for allowing the genetic operator to show an adequate performance on the particular problem to be solved. The empirical study of an instance of the technique has shown that it adapts the parameter settings according to the particularities of the search space allowing significant performance to be achieved for problems with different difficulties     

Sol gel transitions during acid gelation of milk containing modified waxy maize starch. Differences between chemical and bacterial acidification measured using rheological and spectroscopic techniques

Modified waxy maize starch (1%, w/v) was added to skim milk and the mixtures were heated and homogenized. Acidification was conducted at 40 °C, using either glucono-δ-lactone (GDL) or a commercial starter culture. The physico-chemical changes occurring during acidification were monitored using small oscillatory rheology, diffusing wave spectroscopy and ultrasound spectroscopy. A similar gelling behaviour was noted for GDL and bacterial-induced gels; however, a difference was noted in the values of storage modulus (G′). The presence of starch did not seem to affect the development of the gel structure, nor the mobility and positional correlations of the casein micelles during acidification. On the other hand, starch increased the final storage modulus, G′ of the acid milk gels. These results indicate the absence of direct interactions between micelles and the modified starch granules.     

Nondestructive evaluation of timber: the new Brazilian code for the design of timber structures

The grading of structural timber members allows for their greater efficiency and quality. This grading can be done by means of nondestructive methods that improve the evaluation process. Timber grading makes it possible to augment the k _mod,3 coefficient, resulting in greater structural reliability. The purpose of this work was to calibrate the modification coefficient (k _mod,3) of the Brazilian NBR 7190:2007 code for the Design of Timber Structures. The modification coefficients are numbers that govern the estimation of a property of a material as a function of phenomena that may occur permanently or during a certain period of the service life of the building, being that the coefficient k _mod,3 leads in consideration if the wood is of first or second-class quality. The experimental procedure involved a study of structural members of Eucalyptus grandis and Pinus sp., which were graded by ultrasound and transverse vibration techniques to determine the dynamic modulus of elasticity (E_d). The members were visually graded and static bending tests (MOE) were conducted concomitantly. The results indicated that the transverse vibration technique yielded higher modification coefficient (k _mod,3) values than the ultrasound technique, since it grades the material at values closer to those obtained in static bending.     

Identification of phases and precipitates by AFM in duplex stainless steel unions

ABSTRACT

Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), a characterization technique that generates topographic images of surfaces at very high resolutions, works by recording the surface relief details of the material with a cantilever which moves over the sample, while a piezoelectric sensor monitors changes in height. This technique is useful for identifying phases, particles and precipitates on a nanoscale and is therefore proposed for identifying them in the fusion zone of welded components and for early identification of faults due to cracking. This is a technique that does not require conductive samples, or special metallographic preparation of specimens as is the case with electron microscopy. The material studied is a duplex 2205 stainless steel, welded by means of gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW). The welded material was subjected to stress tests. The test specimens were characterized using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy and nanoindentation tests. The results focus on the identification of the specific magnetic, topographic and hardness characteristics of each of the phases, particles and areas present in the base metal, the fusion zone and the zone deformed by the fracture.     

A multigranular hierarchical linguistic model for design evaluation based on safety and cost analysis

Before implementing a design of a large engineering system different design proposals are evaluated. The information used by experts to evaluate different options may be vague and/or incomplete. Although different probabilistic tools and techniques have been used to deal with these kinds of problems, it seems better to use the fuzzy linguistic approach to model vagueness and the Dempster‐Shafter theory of evidence for modeling incompleteness and ignorance. In the evaluation of alternative designs, different criteria can be considered. In this article an evaluation process is developed in terms of Safety and Cost analysis. Both criteria involve uncertainty, vagueness, and ignorance due to their nature. Therefore, we propose an evaluation process defined in a linguistic framework where both criteria will be conducted in different utility spaces, i.e., in a multigranular linguistic domain. Once the evaluation framework has been defined, we present an evaluation process based on a Multi‐Expert Multi‐Criteria decision model that will be able to deal with multigranular linguistic information without loss of information in order to evaluate different design options for an engineering system in a precise manner. Accordingly, we propose the use of a multigranular linguistic model based on the Linguistic Hierarchies presented by Herrera and Martínez (“A model based on linguistic 2‐tuples for dealing with multigranularity hierarchical linguistic contexts in multi‐expert decision‐making.” IEEE Trans Syst Man Cybern B 2001;31(2):227–234). © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Int Syst 20: 1161–1194, 2005.     

Beliefs about birth rank and their reflection in reality.

Beliefs about birth rank reflect what the society regards as social reality, and they may also influence that reality. Three studies found that people believe those with different birth ranks differ in their personalities, that higher birth ranks are likely to attain higher occupational prestige, and that the personality characteristics attributed to the various birth ranks favor the actual attainment of higher occupational prestige. In one example of such beliefs, firstborns were rated as most intelligent but least creative whereas the opposite was true of last-borns. The 4th study found that those with higher birth ranks in fact attain more prestigious occupations and actually do complete more years of schooling. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)