IMPROVING ICE CREAM DELIVERIES TO RETAIL AND INSTITUTIONAL OUTLETS

The author outlines the problems encountered in the present ice cream delivery systems to retail outlets and makes suggestions for improvements.Agribusiness,

Improving Vending Deliveries to Retail and Institutional Food Outlets

Excerpts: A study was made of delivery practices of eight vending operations to retail and institutional food outlets. Three trips for each vending operation, or a total of 24 trips, were observed. The researcher studied delivery practices at 429 retail and institutional food outlets. The types of vending operations studied were ice cream, health and beauty aids, cake, bread, frozen food, dry grocery, milk, and soft drinks. The primary objectives were: (1) To observe and describe present industry practices, (2) to determine labor productivity, and (3) to offer recommendations to improve vending deliveries

Precision measurement of the E2E2 transition strength to the 21+^+_1 state of 12^{12}C

The form factor of the electromagnetic excitation of $^{12}$C to its 2$^+_1$ state was measured at extremely low momentum transfers in an electron scattering experiment at the S-DALINAC. A combined analysis with the world form factor data results in a reduced transition strength $B(E2; 2^+_1\rightarrow 0^+_1) =7.63(19)$ e$^2$fm$^4$ with an accuracy improved to 2.5\%. In-Medium-No Core Shell Model results with interactions derived from chiral effective field theory are capable to reproduce the result. A quadrupole moment $Q(2^+_1) = 5.97(30)$ efm$^2$ can be extracted from the strict correlation with the $B((E2)$ strength emerging in the calculations.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

New MACRO results on atmospheric neutrino oscillations

The final results of the MACRO experiment on atmospheric neutrino oscillations are presented and discussed. The data concern different event topologies with average neutrino energies of ~3 and ~50 GeV. Multiple Coulomb Scattering of the high energy muons in absorbers was used to estimate the neutrino energy of each event. The angular distributions, the L/E_nu distribution, the particle ratios and the absolute fluxes all favour nu_mu --> nu_tau oscillations with maximal mixing and Delta m^2 =0.0023 eV^2. A discussion is made on the Monte Carlos used for the atmospheric neutrino flux. Some results on neutrino astrophysics are also briefly discussed.Comment: Invited Paper at the NANP03 Int. Conf., Dubna, 200

NEMO: A Project for a km3^3 Underwater Detector for Astrophysical Neutrinos in the Mediterranean Sea

The status of the project is described: the activity on long term characterization of water optical and oceanographic parameters at the Capo Passero site candidate for the Mediterranean km$^3$ neutrino telescope; the feasibility study; the physics performances and underwater technology for the km$^3$; the activity on NEMO Phase 1, a technological demonstrator that has been deployed at 2000 m depth 25 km offshore Catania; the realization of an underwater infrastructure at 3500 m depth at the candidate site (NEMO Phase 2).Comment: Proceeding of ISCRA 2006, Erice 20-27 June 200

The ANTARES Optical Beacon System

ANTARES is a neutrino telescope being deployed in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of a three dimensional array of photomultiplier tubes that can detect the Cherenkov light induced by charged particles produced in the interactions of neutrinos with the surrounding medium. High angular resolution can be achieved, in particular when a muon is produced, provided that the Cherenkov photons are detected with sufficient timing precision. Considerations of the intrinsic time uncertainties stemming from the transit time spread in the photomultiplier tubes and the mechanism of transmission of light in sea water lead to the conclusion that a relative time accuracy of the order of 0.5 ns is desirable. Accordingly, different time calibration systems have been developed for the ANTARES telescope. In this article, a system based on Optical Beacons, a set of external and well-controlled pulsed light sources located throughout the detector, is described. This calibration system takes into account the optical properties of sea water, which is used as the detection volume of the ANTARES telescope. The design, tests, construction and first results of the two types of beacons, LED and laser-based, are presented.Comment: 21 pages, 18 figures, submitted to Nucl. Instr. and Meth. Phys. Res.

Inertial bioluminescence rhythms at the Capo Passero (KM3NeT-Italia) site, Central Mediterranean Sea

In the deep sea, the sense of time is dependent on geophysical fluctuations, such as internal tides and atmospheric-related inertial currents, rather than day-night rhythms. Deep-sea neutrino telescopes instrumented with light detecting Photo-Multiplier Tubes (PMT) can be used to describe the synchronization of bioluminescent activity of abyssopelagic organisms with hydrodynamic cycles. PMT readings at 8 different depths (from 3069 to 3349 m) of the NEMO Phase 2 prototype, deployed offshore Capo Passero (Sicily) at the KM3NeT-Italia site, were used to characterize rhythmic bioluminescence patterns in June 2013, in response to water mass movements. We found a significant (p < 0.05) 20.5 h periodicity in the bioluminescence signal, corresponding to inertial fluctuations. Waveform and Fourier analyses of PMT data and tower orientation were carried out to identify phases (i.e. the timing of peaks) by subdividing time series on the length of detected inertial periodicity. A phase overlap between rhythms and cycles suggests a mechanical stimulation of bioluminescence, as organisms carried by currents collide with the telescope infrastructure, resulting in the emission of light. A bathymetric shift in PMT phases indicated that organisms travelled in discontinuous deep-sea undular vortices consisting of chains of inertially pulsating mesoscale cyclones/anticyclones, which to date remain poorly known

Privileged burial in the Pava Pieve (Siena, 8th century AD)

During the 6th archaeological excavation campaign performed at the «Pieve di Pava» (San Giovanni d’Asso, Siena, Italy) in the summer of 2009, a stone-lined burial of a high-status single individual (US 2378) was discovered, covered by a monolithic slab and placed in front of the altar. The tomb is about 160 cm long, 40 cm wide and over 70 cm deep. The skeletal remains of a young male (18-20 years), not in anatomical connection, were found on the floor of the tomb. 14C dating revealed a period between 650 and 688 AD. Stable isotope analysis (18O, 13C, 15N) attested that he was a member of the local community, with a diet quite rich in animal proteins. We are in presence of the secondary burial of an eminent personage, perhaps a saint, likely to have been transported to the church in a sack of perishable material, possibly textile, which caused their alignment along a curved line, as clearly demonstrated by the circular delimitation of the bones. The body was probably used for the re-consecration of the church, following the restoration works of the 8th century. The paleopathological study diagnosed a case of acromesomelic dysplasia, a congenital anomaly with disproportionate limbs: short, enlarged distal segments (radius-ulna and tibia), almost normal proximal segments (humerus and femur), short stature of about 150 cm, and bilateral fibular agenesis. Tibiae malformation and fibulae agenesis led to bilateral talipes valgus, with major walking problems. Extensive enthesopathies in the upper limbs indicate the use of crutches