Characterisation of the aroma of green Mexican coffee and identification of mouldy/earthy defect

The aromas of a reference green Mexican coffee (Arabica) and of a coffee from the same origin, but having a pronounced earthy/mouldy off-taint, were characterised. From comparison of the two aroma profiles, the compounds causing the defect were detected by gas chromatography olfactometry, isolated and concentrated by preparative bi-dimensional gas chromatography, and characterised by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Six compounds participated in the off-flavour. Geosmin, 2-methylisoborneol, 2,4,6-trichloroanisole were found to be the main culprits, while three methoxy pyrazines (2-methoxy-3-isopropyl/-3-sec-butyl/-3-isobutyl pyrazine) contributed to a lesser extent to the earthy/green undertone. The occurrence of the off-flavour could tentatively be linked to post-harvest drying.     

Starches from A to C. Chlamydomonas reinhardtii as a model microbial system to investigate the biosynthesis of the plant amylopectin crystal

Wide-angle powder x-ray diffraction analysis was carried out on starch extracted from wild-type and mutant Chlamydomonas reinhardtii cells. Strains containing no defective starch synthases as well as mutants carrying a disrupted granule-bound starch synthase structural gene displayed the A type of diffraction pattern with a high degree of crystallinity. Mutants carrying a defect for the major soluble starch synthase (SSS), SSS II, were characterized by a switch to the B type of diffraction pattern with very low crystallinity. Mutant strains carrying SSS I as the only glucan elongation enzyme regained some of their crystallinity but switched to the C type of diffraction pattern. Differential scanning calorimetry analysis correlated tightly with the x-ray diffraction results. Together with the electron microscopy analyses, these results establish C. reinhardtii as a microbial model system displaying all aspects of cereal starch synthesis and structure. We further show that SSS II is the major enzyme involved in the synthesis of crystalline structures in starch and demonstrate that SSS I alone builds a new type of amylopectin structure.     

Sex differences in left-handedness: A meta-analysis of 144 studies.

Human handedness, a marker for language lateralization in the brain, continues to attract great research interest. A widely reported but not universal finding is a greater male tendency toward left-handedness. Here the authors present a meta-analysis of k = 144 studies, totaling N = 1,787,629 participants, the results of which demonstrate that the sex difference is both significant and robust. The overall best estimate for the male to female odds ratio was 1.23 (95% confidence interval = 1.19, 1.27). The widespread observation of this sex difference is consistent with it being related to innate characteristics of sexual differentiation, and its observed magnitude places an important constraint on current theories of handedness. In addition, the size of the sex difference was significantly moderated by the way in which handedness was assessed (by writing hand or by other means), the location of testing, and the year of publication of the study, implicating additional influences on its development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Antimicrobial activity of recombinant human lactoferrin from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Aspergillus awamori</Emphasis>, human milk lactoferrin and their hydrolysates

The antibacterial activity of human lactoferrin from milk (hLF), recombinant human lactoferrin from Aspergillus awamori (rhLF) and their hydrolysates obtained with pepsin was investigated against Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella Enteritidis and Listeria monocytogenes. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) and the minimum bactericidal concentrations (MBC) were determined for all the bacteria and the proteins assayed. Taking into account the MICs found for both lactoferrins studied, we can say that they behave very similarly, except for L. monocytogenes for which rhLF was more active. We studied the effect that heat treatments exerted on the antibacterial activity of the two types of lactoferrin and the only heat treatment that had a negative effect on that activity was 85 °C for 10 min. The activity of hLF and rhLF in UHT milk and whey against E. coli O157:H7 and L. monocytogenes, was also assayed. Our results showed a reduction in the number of viable cells for both microorganisms when were incubated with rhLF or hLF, but this decrease was lower than in broth media.     

野性的畅想 Cavalli迪拜俱乐部

<正>Italo Rota,1953年出生在米兰,是近年来活跃在意大利建筑与室内设计领域的中坚设计师。他从学生时代起就对设计表现出极高的热情,曾经在多位知名设计师麾下工作过,并且对出版业、杂志、展览,以及建筑项目都有所涉及。早在上个世纪     

Comparison of engineering methods for calculation of magnetic circuits and fields of electromagnets

Advantages and disadvantages of the methods for calculation of magnetic circuits and fields of electromagnets are discussed. Plane-parallel, meridian plane, and 3D problems, as well as manual and computer calculation methods are considered.     

Asset Price Anomalies under Bounded Rationality

We analyze the classical asset pricing model assuming non fully rationalagents.Agents forecast future prices cum dividend through an adaptive learning rule.This assumption provides an explanation of some anomalies encounteredin the empirical analysis of asset prices under full rationality:returns are serially correlated(positively over a short horizon and negatively over a longer horizon)and the dividend yield predicts future returns (positive correlation).Considering the continuous time limit process,the same regularities are established analytically for price increments.     

RC columns externally strengthened with RC jackets

In this paper the behaviour in compression of RC columns externally strengthened with concrete jacketing is analysed and a cross-section analysis of the jacketed member under axial load and bending moment is developed. The focus was to study the effect of confinement of concrete jacket on concrete core and the behaviour of compressed bars with buckling effects. Some other important aspects such as shrinkage, creep, old to new concrete surfaces and bond split effects were not included in the model because: the use of thick non-shrink grout jacket and a well-roughened surface of old-to-new concrete was supposed; long term effects were included though corrective coefficients for monolithic behaviour proposed in the literature. A preliminary validation of the model adopted was made referring to the short-term experimental data available in the literature on the compressive behaviour of RC columns strengthened with concrete jacketing. Good agreement was obtained with the available data in terms of moment-axial force domains and moment–curvature diagrams. The analysis showed the effectiveness of this reinforcing technique in improving both the strength and the ductility of RC cross-sections of columns, highlighting the importance of an accurate choice of strengthened materials (concrete grade, thickness of jacket, space and diameter of stirrups, etc.).