Modelling the growth of Listeria monocytogenes in fresh green coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) water

The behaviour of Listeria monocytogenes in the fresh coconut water stored at 4 °C, 10 °C and 35 °C was studied. The coconut water was aseptically extracted from green coconuts (Cocos nucifera L.) and samples were inoculated in triplicate with a mixture of 5 strains of L. monocytogenes with a mean population of approximately 3 log₁₀ CFU/mL. The kinetic parameters of the bacteria were estimated from the Baranyi model, and compared with predictions of the Pathogen Modelling Program so as to predict its behaviour in the beverage. The results demonstrated that fresh green coconut water was a beverage propitious for the survival and growth of L. monocytogenes and that refrigeration at 10 °C or 4 °C retarded, but did not inhibit, growth of this bacterium. Temperature abuse at 35 °C considerably reduced the lagtimes. The study shows that L. monocytogenes growth in fresh green coconut water is controlled for several days by storage at low temperature, mainly at 4 °C. Thus, for risk population this product should only be drunk directly from the coconut or despite the sensorial alterations should be consumed pasteurized.     

Synthesis and characterization of α-methylstyrene-butadiene-α-methylstyrene linear block copolymers

Summary -methylstyrene-butadiene- -methylstyrene linear block copolymers with a pure block structure were prepared by sec-butyllithium and coupling agent in a four-step process. Their morphology is built up of microdomains of poly- -methylstyrene, including the unbonded segments, dispersed in a polybutadiene matrix. Cylindrical domains arranged in a hexagonal lattice or irregularly shaped domains in a disordered phase are observed, depending on the molecular weight of the poly- -methylstyrene segment.     

VSUMM: A mechanism designed to produce static video summaries and a novel evaluation method

The fast evolution of digital video has brought many new multimedia applications and, as a consequence, has increased the amount of research into new technologies that aim at improving the effectiveness and efficiency of video acquisition, archiving, cataloging and indexing, as well as increasing the usability of stored videos. Among possible research areas, video summarization is an important topic that potentially enables faster browsing of large video collections and also more efficient content indexing and access. Essentially, this research area consists of automatically generating a short summary of a video, which can either be a static summary or a dynamic summary. In this paper, we present VSUMM, a methodology for the production of static video summaries. The method is based on color feature extraction from video frames and k-means clustering algorithm. As an additional contribution, we also develop a novel approach for the evaluation of video static summaries. In this evaluation methodology, video summaries are manually created by users. Then, several user-created summaries are compared both to our approach and also to a number of different techniques in the literature. Experimental results show - with a confidence level of 98% - that the proposed solution provided static video summaries with superior quality relative to the approaches to which it was compared.     

The association between parental warmth and control in thirteen cultural groups.

The goal of the current study was to investigate potential cross-cultural differences in the covariation between two of the major dimensions of parenting behavior: control and warmth. Participants included 1,421 (51% female) 7- to 10-year-old (M = 8.29, SD = .67 years) children and their mothers and fathers representing 13 cultural groups in nine countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and North and South America. Children and parents completed questionnaires and interviews regarding mother and father control and warmth. Greater warmth was associated with more control, but this association varied widely between cultural groups. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Discipline responses: Influences of parents' socioeconomic status, ethnicity, beliefs about parenting, stress, and cognitive-emotional processes.

Direct and indirect precursors to parents' harsh discipline responses to hypothetical vignettes about child misbehavior were studied with data from 978 parents (59% mothers; 82% European American and 16% African American) of 585 kindergarten-aged children. SEM analyses showed that parents' beliefs about spanking and child aggression and family stress mediated a negative relation between socioeconomic status and discipline. In turn, perception of the child and cognitive-emotional processes (hostile attributions, emotional upset, worry about child's future, available alternative disciplinary strategies, and available preventive strategies) mediated the effect of stress on discipline. Similar relations between ethnicity and discipline were found (African Americans reported harsher discipline), especially among low-income parents. Societally based experiences may lead some parents to rely on accessible and coherent goals in their discipline, whereas others are more reactive. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Correlation between normal direct radiation and global radiation depending on cloudiness

Measured intensities of the solar direct radiation at normal incidence I_bn have been correlated with the coefficients $\text{K}{}_{\mathrm{hi}}\text{=}\text{I}{}_{\mathrm{hi}}\text{I}{}_{\mathrm{oi}}$, where I_hi and I_oi are respectively the intensity of the global solar radiation at ground level and the extraterrestrial radiation, both on a horizontal surface. Four correlation lines have been drawn, I_bn = F(K_hi); each line is linked to a particular degree of cloudiness. The result shows that the relationship existing between I_bn and K_hi is influenced by the degree of cloudiness, irrespective of the value of the air mass m. This allows a relationship to be found between I_bn and cloudiness degree, having K_hi as parameter.     

Low molecular weight 1,2-polybutadiene: Synthesis and physico-chemical properties

Low molecular weight 1,2-polybutadienes, having an 1,2 content of 78%, were obtained by a catalyst system based on sodium stilbene in THF. Effect of solvent transfer, catalyst concentration, rate of monomer feeding and temperature are reported. Polybutadienes were characterized by osmometry, GPC and bulk viscosity. A relationship between molecular weight and viscosity has been obtained.     

Characterization of Mutations Causing CYP21A2 Deficiency in Brazilian and Portuguese Populations

Deficiency of 21-hydroxylase enzyme (CYP21A2) represents 90% of cases in congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH), an autosomal recessive disease caused by defects in cortisol biosynthesis. Computational prediction and functional studies are often the only way to classify variants to understand the links to disease-causing effects. Here we investigated the pathogenicity of uncharacterized variants in the CYP21A2 gene reported in Brazilian and Portuguese populations. Physicochemical alterations, residue conservation, and effect on protein structure were accessed by computational analysis. The enzymatic performance was obtained by functional assay with the wild-type and mutant CYP21A2 proteins expressed in HEK293 cells. Computational analysis showed that p.W202R, p.E352V, and p.R484L have severely impaired the protein structure, while p.P35L, p.L199P, and p.P433L have moderate effects. The p.W202R, p.E352V, p.P433L, and p.R484L variants showed residual 21OH activity consistent with the simple virilizing phenotype. The p.P35L and p.L199P variants showed partial 21OH efficiency associated with the non-classical phenotype. Additionally, p.W202R, p.E352V, and p.R484L also modified the protein expression level. We have determined how the selected CYP21A2 gene mutations affect the 21OH activity through structural and activity alteration contributing to the future diagnosis and management of CYP21A2 deficiency.     

The potential contribution of thermo power plants in the Brazilian electric sector

This paper aims at analyzing particularities of the Brazilian electric system and at evaluating the potential contribution of thermal power plants targeting at its higher reliability. In special, the aim is at analyzing the insertion of thermal power production in the present context in which hydroplants start to be built in the Amazon area with small reservoir capacity. An assessment of the behavior of the energy inflows and of the regularization capacity of the Brazilian hydro power system emphazises the need for having a good quality thermal power expansion. The power production from sugarcane residues is specially considered due to the existing untapped potential (about 4 times higher than the installed capacity, considering the current availability of biomass) and the existing window opportunity due to the expansion of sugarcane industry in Brazil (mostly for ethanol production).