DIFFERENCES IN MALTING PERFORMANCE BETWEEN BARLEYS GROWN IN SPAIN AND SCOTLAND

Two barley genotypes were grown, in 2 seasons, at sites in both Scotland and Spain. The development of enzyme levels and endosperm modification were assayed, over the final 3 days of malting. Spanish grown samples demonstrated faster and more extensive synthesis of both α-amylase and β-glucanase, more rapid cell wall modification and a greater reduction in milling energy during malting than Scottish grown samples. Malt milling energy was strongly associated with cell wall breakdown, which was a limiting step in modification of Scottish, but not Spanish, grown samples. Extract levels were not related to α-amylase activity, but Kolbach index exhibited an association with extract at both sites.     

Electronic implementation of the discrete Walsh transform with a variable number of data

We present an electronic system that calculates the discrete Walsh transform of a function of which any number of samples has been previously taken. In previous publications, one finds systems designed for a fixed number of samples, normally a power of two. This restriction is too great bearing in mind that no physical function is really periodical, especially in the field of biophysics, where -many important applications of this type of device are found. This makes it impossible to obtain a preset number of samples and makes the selection of sampling frequency difficult.     

Characterization and sintering behaviour of submicrometre titanium dioxide spherical particles obtained by gas-phase hydrolysis of titanium tetrabutoxide

Spherical fine (∼0.7 μm) titania powders were prepared by vapour-phase hydrolysis of a titanium tetrabutoxide/butanol solution. Powder X-ray diffraction showed that as-prepared powders were amorphous and crystallized to anatase when calcined at 450°C. Although the spherical titania particles shrank on calcination and retained the spherical shape, the primary particles grew to a notable extent after calcining. The individual calcined titania spheres were constituted by microporous agglomerates of about 13 nm primary anatase particles. When isopressed at 200 MPa, the titania spheres were crushed to form dense green bodies (∼55% theoretical density). These green compacts gave dense bodies (>99%) of rutile when sintered at 1030°C for 2 h with a submicrometre and quite uniform microstructure. This revised version was published online in November 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Impact of chitosan-based nanocarriers on cytoskeleton dynamics: Current status and challenges

Chitosan-based nanocarriers (CS-NCs) show a promising role in improving drugs and bioactive compounds delivery for therapy. However, the effects exerted by CS-NCs at the cellular level, including their recognition and uptake, have not been fully investigated yet. Many factors, including size, shape, concentration, and surface chemistry of CS-NCs, play an important role in determining the types of intracellular signals triggered. The mechanism of uptake and the involvement of the cytoskeleton during the CS-NCs endocytosis variates among the different cell types as well as further effects observed inside cells. In the present work, we discuss the effects induced by CS-NCs per se on the cytoskeleton, a key component in cell architecture and physiology. The focus of this report is made on tumoral and normal biological models in which CS-NCs could differentially affect the cell cytoskeleton. The recent years reports regarding the impact of CS-NCs on cytoskeleton dynamics and the current techniques for its evaluation are summarized and discussed. Understanding mechanisms underlying cytoskeletal impact after cell exposure to CS-NCs is critical for the design of safest value-added formulations in the biomedical field. Furthermore, this revision points out some interesting aspects of cytoskeletal changes and cell death encompassing anti-tumoral effects.     

Complexity of adaptive testing in scenarios defined extensionally

In this paper, we consider a testing setting where the set of possible definitions of the Implementation Under Test (IUT), as well as the behavior of each of these definitions in all possible interactions, are extensionally defined, i.e., on an element-by-element and case-by-case basis. Under this setting, the problem of finding the minimum testing strategy such that collected observations will necessarily let us decide whether the IUT is correct or not (i.e., whether it necessarily belongs to the set of possible correct definitions or not) is studied in four possible problem variants: with or without non-determinism; and with or without more than one possible definition in the sets of possible correct and incorrect definitions. The computational complexity of these variants is studied, and properties such as PSPACE-completeness and Log-APX-hardness are identified.     

Analysis of spurious signal propagation in digital CMOS circuits

Spurious signals may produce transient or even permanent logic errors in digital circuits. This work deals with the analysis of the penetration capability and the calculation of the propagation depth of such signals through logic circuits. The results are useful to determine the domain of effect of spurious signals and to point out rules for its detection.     

Color and Oxidative Rancidity of Gamma and Electron Beam-Irradiated Boneless Pork Chops

Color and oxidative rancidity were determined for chilled (3 ± 2°C) and frozen (?17 ± 3°C) boneless pork chops packaged in vacuum or air and irradiated to an absorbed dose of 0, 1.5 or 2.5 kGy (chilled) or 0, 2.5 or 3.85 kGy (frozen) of electron beam or cobalt⁶⁰ irradiation. Irradiation of vacuum-packaged chops produced redder, more stable (color and rancidity) product. More pronounced oxidative rancidity and less stable display color were noted for samples irradiated in aerobic packaging. Irradiation source had varying but limited effects on color and rancidity. Optimum packaging conditions can control color and rancidity changes in boneless chops, thereby enabling irradiation to be a useful intervention technology.