Comparison of consensus profiles obtained at the end of product-specific training with profiles obtained by individual measurements and statistical analysis

In many occasions descriptive analysis consists of product-specific training where the samples to be measured are used during the training. Towards the end of the training period it is common practice to present these samples and reach a consensus on their profiles, which we have called Training Consensus Profiles (TCP). Following the TCP, the samples are scored by each assessor and the results are statistically analysed to obtain statistical profiles. The objective of the present work was to compare the TCP with the statistical profiles in samples from three different food categories: fernet (an herb-based alcoholic drink), mayonnaise, and spaghetti. General Procrustes analysis showed that the TCP and statistical profiles were similar. A case is made, that if this type of training and measurement are to be followed, the statistical measuring stage could be left aside, directly reporting the results obtained from the TCP. Advantages and limitations on reporting these TCP profiles are discussed

The mechanical hybrid vehicle: an investigation of a flywheel-based vehicular regenerative energy capture system

Capturing braking energy by regeneration into an onboard energy storage unit offers the potential to reduce significantly the fuel consumption of vehicles. A common technique is to generate electricity in the motors of a hybrid electric vehicle when braking, and to use this to charge an onboard electrochemical battery. However, such batteries are costly, bulky, and generally not amenable to fast charging as this affects battery life and capacity. In order to overcome these problems, a mechanical energy storage system capable of accepting and delivering surges of power is proposed and investigated. A scale physical model of the system, based around a flywheel, a planetary gear set, and a brake, was built and operated in a laboratory. Tests showed that the proposed system could be used to store and provide braking energy between a flywheel and a vehicle, the latter emulated by an air-drag dynamometer. This validated the operating principle of the system and its computational model. Further, a computational analysis of a full-size vehicle incorporating the mechanical energy storage system was conducted. The results showed that the utilization of this system in a vehicle, when compared with a conventional vehicle, led to reductions in emissions and fuel consumption

Multidrug resistant pulmonary tuberculosis treatment regimens and patient outcomes: an individual patient data meta-analysis of 9,153 patients.

Treatment of multidrug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is lengthy, toxic, expensive, and has generally poor outcomes. We undertook an individual patient data meta-analysis to assess the impact on outcomes of the type, number, and duration of drugs used to treat MDR-TB

Scalable erbium-doped waveguide amplifier with external fiber-to-fiber gain using reactively sputtered polycrystalline aluminium oxide

We demonstrate reactively sputtered polycrystalline Al 2O 3:Er 3+ waveguide amplifiers exhibiting external fiber-to-fiber net gain, broadband amplification, and low noise figure. With an erbium concentration of 1.5 × 10 20 ions/cm 3, a 30 cm amplifier length, and bi-directional pumping at 1480 nm, &gt; 14 dB of external gain at 1550 nm is shown with off-chip output powers of over 56 mW measured at the output fiber, as well as sustained gain across 60 nm of bandwidth. The fiber-to-fiber noise figure (NF) is 6.5 ± 0.1 dB at 1550 nm, with a minimum value of 5.6 ± 0.1 dB at 1566 nm. Such a device is made possible using polycrystalline Al 2O 3:Er 3+ capable of high-temperature LPCVD SiO 2 cladding, and therefore low coupling and background waveguide losses down to 2.5 dB/facet and below 0.1 dB/cm, respectively, due to high conformality and optical quality. This demonstration highlights the importance and advantages of using polycrystalline Al 2O 3:Er 3+ for applications that require optical amplification on a scalable and versatile photonic waveguide platform.</p

Analysis of data from a free-listing study of menus by different income-level populations

Free listing can help understand how a domain is perceived across a group of people by examining the average psychological saliency of items, in this case, menus elicited by a population. The objectives of the present work were: (a) compare different indexes used to analyze the saliency of items listed by individuals in a free-listing exercise, (b) test if time distance can be an improvement over rank distance in associating items mentioned by subjects, and (c) apply the above indexes and associations to gain insight in the menus listed by different income-level populations in Argentina. In the present study we surveyed a total of 200 women from low and medium/high-income levels who were asked to list all the menus they knew registering the mention order and time to mention. Smith's saliency index and cognitive salience index (CSI), previously not applied in the food science literature, proved useful in selecting the core menus listed by a population. The hypothesis that time distance would be a more adequate measure of the association of items in a list than order of mention was not sustained in the present study. Cluster analysis was also found useful in analyzing how menus were grouped by different income levels using a free-listing procedure. ANOVA on the CSI values showed a significant menu × income-level interaction, thus indicating that saliency was not the same for listed menus across income levels.Fil: Libertino, Luciano Martin. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Dirección General de Cultura y Educación. Instituto Superior Experimental de Tecnología Alimentaria; ArgentinaFil: Ferraris, Daniela Cristina. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Dirección General de Cultura y Educación. Instituto Superior Experimental de Tecnología Alimentaria; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Lopez Osornio, M. M.. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas; Argentina. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Dirección General de Cultura y Educación. Instituto Superior Experimental de Tecnología Alimentaria; ArgentinaFil: Hough, Guillermo. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas; Argentina. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Dirección General de Cultura y Educación. Instituto Superior Experimental de Tecnología Alimentaria; Argentin

High on-chip gain spiral Al₂O₃:Er³⁺ waveguide amplifiers

We demonstrate reactively sputtered Al2O3:Er3+ waveguide amplifiers with an erbium concentration of 3.9 × 1020 ions/cm3, capable of achieving over 30 dB small signal net gain at 1532 nm using bidirectional pumping at 1480 nm. We observe on chip output powers of 10.2-13.6 dBm of amplified signal power at 1532 nm for a 12.9 cm waveguide amplifier considering -25.4 dB of lumped coupling losses per facet. Annealing was used to improve the performance of the devices, which were patterned using electron beam lithography and reactive ion etching. This result, to our knowledge, represents record breaking on-chip internal net gain for Al2O3:Er3+ waveguide amplifiers, which show promise over other technologies due to wafer scalability and promise of easy monolithic integration with other material platforms to support a wide variety of applications.</p

Treatment Outcomes of Patients With Multidrug-Resistant and Extensively Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis According to Drug Susceptibility Testing to First- and Second-line Drugs: An Individual Patient Data Meta-analysis

The clinical validity of drug susceptibility testing (DST) for pyrazinamide, ethambutol, and second-line antituberculosis drugs is uncertain. In an individual patient data meta-analysis of 8955 patients with confirmed multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, DST results for these drugs were associated with treatment outcome

High Rate Report Synchrophasor Technique during Dynamic Conditions

139–143Current industrial applications of synchrophasors in intelligent grids depend to a great extent on highly trustable measurements, mainly during dynamic conditions of a power system, like a power swing which exhibits simultaneous variations of amplitude and phase in both voltage and current. This work presents the assessment of the performance of a novel synchrophasor technique following tests of the dynamic section of the IEEE Std. C37.118.1-2011, which requests testing the simultaneous variations of amplitude and phase

Conservation to sustain ecological processes and services in landscapes of the Americas.

Ecosystem services are fundamental to the development of sustainable landscapes but are largely ignored or taken for granted in land management strategies. Ecosystems, and the ecological processes that define them, form the natural infrastructure supporting human activities to enhance the economic and social well-being of communities. This chapter draws upon results from across the IAI research network and associated programs to review our current knowledge of ecosystem processes that should be considered when making decisions on designing areas for protection in cultural or highly-intervened landscapes. Taking ecosystem services into consideration will help decision-makers identify the different components of a landscape that are providing essential services and which should be preserved within a sustainable landscape development plan