Differentiation of Staphylococci from Iberian dry fermented sausages by protein fingerprinting

The Staphylococci populations in different types of Iberian dry fermented sausages from central-west Spain were identified. A simple electrophoretic method of whole-cell proteins and extracellular protein profiling was evaluated for speed of identification. This study was correlated with a 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis and biochemical identification by API Staph. A total of 81 isolates were identified by SDS-PAGE of the whole-cell proteins. These showed stable profiles in the range 99-14kDa that were clearly different for the different species, and were grouped into clusters together with the profiles of the eight reference strains. SDS-PAGE of the extracellular protein extracts provided additional characteristic banding patterns for the characterization of the Staphylococcus species present. The whole-cell SDS-PAGE showed that the predominant species was Staphylococcus saprophyticus (61.7%) followed by Staphylococcus aureus (19.7%). The identifications were confirmed by the 16S rRNA gene sequencing and by a BLAST search of the GenBank database. However, the API Staph biochemical identifications were frequently erroneous at the species level. In sum, SDS-PAGE analysis showed itself to be rapid and accurate in identifying the most commonly encountered Staphylococcus isolates in dry fermented sausages.     

In vitro bioaccessibility,bioavailability and plasma protein interaction of polyphenols from Annurca apple (M. pumila Miller cv Annurca)

The in vitro bioaccessibility, bioavailability and plasma protein interaction of polyphenols from Annurca apple and other conventional cultivars were evaluated. Salivary digestion concentrated into the medium 27–35% of native apple polyphenols, suggesting the potential bioavailability through the oral mucosal epithelium of significant amounts of bioactive compounds that could be gastric sensitive and/or poorly absorbed in the intestine. Annurca flesh revealed the highest content and provided the best intestinal bioaccessibility and bioavailability of oligomeric procyanidins among all of the apple peel and flesh tested. Since 49.4% of native procyanidins were not absorbed, they are expected to accumulate in the intestinal lumen where a potential inhibition capacity of cellular cholesterol uptake could be assumed. The permeated procyanidins (6.7% of their native pattern, 12.0% of intestinal procyanidins) significantly bound (58.7%) to plasma HDLs, suggesting a major role in cholesterol metabolism. Our results would indicate Annurca apple and its potential nutraceuticals as effective in the regulation of plasma cholesterol levels.     

Effect of Blanching and Drying Temperature on Polyphenolic Compound Stability and Antioxidant Capacity of Apple Pomace

The effects of blanching and drying treatments on stability, physical properties, and antioxidant activity of apple pomace polyphenols were evaluated. Blanched and unblanched apples were extracted, and the pomace was dried in a cabinet dryer at a speed of 3 m/s at 50 °C, 60 °C, 70 °C, and 80 °C. The color, total phenolics, flavonoids, individual polyphenolic compounds, anthocyanins, and total antioxidant activity were analyzed. The blanching process caused a major retention in color, total polyphenolic content, and total flavonoid content for fresh apple pomace when compared with fresh unblanched pomace. Drying of either fresh blanched or fresh unblanched pomace caused a significant reduction (P < 0.05) in total polyphenol and flavonoid content leading to a reduction in the total antioxidant activity. When compared with the unblanched treatment, drying the blanched pomace at 80 °C resulted in a product with significant amounts of total phenolics, flavonoids, and antioxidant activity. The individual phenolic compounds were significantly increased (P < 0.05) in blanched pomace that was not dried when compared with unblanched samples. Drying blanched apple pomace did not cause a significant change in the concentration of individual polyphenolic compounds, but drying unblanched apple pomace caused a reduction in the concentrations of epicatechin and caffeic acid, with an important reduction in p-coumaric acid at temperatures higher than 60 °C. However, the drying process caused a significant reduction in the antioxidant capacity. Therefore, a combination of blanching and drying processes for apple pomace results in a product that maintains antioxidant capacity.     

Tracking social provenance in chains of retweets

Knowledge and Information Systems - In the era of massive sharing of information, the term social provenance is used to denote the ownership, source or origin of a piece of information which has...     

情景感知驱动的移动对象多模式轨迹预测技术综述

如何利用多源异构时空数据进行准确的轨迹预测并且反映移动对象的移动特性是轨迹预测领域的核心问题.现有的大多数轨迹预测方法是长序列轨迹模式预测模型,根据历史轨迹的特点进行预测,或将当前移动对象的轨迹位置放入时空语义场景根据历史移动对象轨迹预测位置.综述当前常用的轨迹预测模型和算法,涉及不同的研究领域.首先,阐述了多模式轨迹预测的主流工作,轨迹预测的基本模型类;其次,对不同类的预测模型进行总结,包括数学统计类、机器学习类、滤波算法,以及上述领域具有代表性的算法;再次,对情景感知技术进行了介绍,描述了不同领域的学者对情景感知的定义,阐述了情景感知技术所包含的关键技术点,诸如情景感知计算、情景获取和情景推理的不同类模型,分析了情景感知的不同分类、过滤、存储和融合以及它们的实现方法等.详细介绍了情景感知驱动的轨迹预测模型技术路线及各阶段任务的工作原理.给出了情景感知技术在真实场景中的应用,包括位置推荐,兴趣点推荐等,通过与传统算法对比,分析情景感知技术在此类应用中的优劣.详细介绍了情景感知结合LSTM (long short-term memory)技术应用于行人轨迹预测领域的新方法.最后,总结了...     

Comparing sensitivities of differently oriented multi-walled carbon nanotubes integrated on silicon wafer for electrochemical biosensors

In this study, we report on multi-walled carbon nanotubes fabricated on silicon substrate with four different orientations via chemical vapor deposition. It is well-known that chemical treatments improve the nanotube electrochemical reactivity by creating edge-like defects on their exposed sidewalls. Before use, we performed an acid treatment on carbon nanotubes. To prove the effect of the treatment on these nanostructured electrodes, contact angles were measured. Then, sensitivities and detection limits were evaluated performing cyclic voltammetry. Two target molecules were used: potassium ferricyanide, an inorganic electroactive molecule, and hydrogen peroxide that is a product of reactions catalyzed by many enzymes, such as oxidases and peroxidases. Carbon nanotubes with tilted tips become hydrophilic after the treatment showing a contact angle of 22° ± 2°. This kind of electrode has shown also the best electrochemical performance. Sensitivity and detection limit values are 110.0 ± 0.5 μA/(mM cm²) and 8 μM for potassium ferricyanide solutions and 16.4 ± 0.1 μA/(mM cm²) and 24 μM using hydrogen peroxide as target compound. Considering the results of wettability and voltammetric measurements, nanotubes with tilted tips-based electrodes are found to be the most promising for future biosensing applications.     

Hybrid

Combining higher-order abstract syntax and (co)-induction in a logical framework is well known to be problematic. We describe the theory and the practice of a tool called Hybrid, within Isabelle/HOL and Coq, which aims to address many of these difficulties. It allows object logics to be represented using higher-order abstract syntax, and reasoned about using tactical theorem proving and principles of (co)induction. Moreover, it is definitional, which guarantees consistency within a classical type theory. The idea is to have a de Bruijn representation of λ-terms providing a definitional layer that allows the user to represent object languages using higher-order abstract syntax, while offering tools for reasoning about them at the higher level. In this paper we describe how to use Hybrid in a multi-level reasoning fashion, similar in spirit to other systems such as Twelf and Abella. By explicitly referencing provability in a middle layer called a specification logic, we solve the problem of reasoning by (co)induction in the presence of non-stratifiable hypothetical judgments, which allow very elegant and succinct specifications of object logic inference rules. We first demonstrate the method on a simple example, formally proving type soundness (subject reduction) for a fragment of a pure functional language, using a minimal intuitionistic logic as the specification logic. We then prove an analogous result for a continuation-machine presentation of the operational semantics of the same language, encoded this time in an ordered linear logic that serves as the specification layer. This example demonstrates the ease with which we can incorporate new specification logics, and also illustrates a significantly more complex object logic whose encoding is elegantly expressed using features of the new specification logic.     

BPMN: An introduction to the standard

The Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN) is the de-facto standard for representing in a very expressive graphical way the processes occurring in virtually every kind of organization one can think of, from cuisine recipes to the Nobel Prize assignment process, incident management, e-mail voting systems, travel booking procedures, to name a few. In this work, we give an overview of BPMN and we present what are the links with other well-known machineries such as BPEL and XPDL. We give an assessment of how the OMG's BPMN standard is perceived and used by practitioners in everyday business process modeling chores.