Search results for "STAR"

Males of the tortricid moth Amorbia cuneana (Walsingham, 1879) shed their genital spines inside the female during copulation

2018

Abstract The genitalia of most insect species are composed of several structures whose functions are poorly understood in many cases. The deciduous genital spines (deciduous cornuti, DC) found on the endophallus of many species of Lepidoptera are a clear example of this problem. We performed two experimental studies with the western avocado leafroller Amorbia cuneana (Tortricidae), aimed at answering some basic questions about the biology of DC. We found that the number of DC shows positive allometry with male forewing length, indicating that larger males have disproportionally more DC than smaller males. Males, with very few exceptions, shed virtually all their DC in their first copulation…

Towards a tractable working hypothesis for deimatic displays

2016

Rapid induction of immune density-dependent prophylaxis in adult social insects.

2009

The innate immune system provides defence against parasites and pathogens. This defence comes at a cost, suggesting that immune function should exhibit plasticity in response to variation in environmental threats. Density-dependent prophylaxis (DDP) has been demonstrated mostly in phase-polyphenic insects, where larval group size determines levels of immune function in either adults or later larval instars. Social insects exhibit extreme sociality, but DDP has been suggested to be absent from these ecologically dominant taxa. Here we show that adult bumble-bee workers ( Bombus terrestris ) exhibit rapid plasticity in their immune function in response to social context. These results sugges…

Obtention and characterization of resistant starch from creole faba bean (Vicia faba L. creole) as a promising functional ingredient

2021

Abstract A procedure easy to upscale industrially aimed at obtaining resistant starch (RS) type III (RS-III) was optimized, using a native faba bean from Mexico (Vicia faba L. creole) as RS source for the first time. Pullulanase debranching treatment (6–18 enzyme units (U)/g starch; 0–27 h) and retrogradation process (−30 °C, 2 °C or 20 °C; 1–6 days) was optimized for faba beans. Optimal conditions were determined at 18 U/g for 27 h and a retrogradation process at 20 °C for 6 days. Obtained faba bean RS was also compared with RS obtained from conventional sources, beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L. Jamapa) and maize, under these optimal conditions. Beans (faba beans, 64.88%; beans, 64.84%) yielde…

Decorous combinatorial lower bounds for row layout problems

2020

Abstract In this paper we consider the Double-Row Facility Layout Problem (DRFLP). Given a set of departments and pairwise transport weights between them the DRFLP asks for a non-overlapping arrangement of the departments along both sides of a common path such that the weighted sum of the center-to-center distances between the departments is minimized. Despite its broad applicability in factory planning, only small instances can be solved to optimality in reasonable time. Apart from this even deriving good lower bounds using existing integer programming formulations and branch-and-cut methods is a challenging problem. We focus here on deriving combinatorial lower bounds which can be compute…

Heat Pump Induction Motor Faults Caused by Soft Starter Topology — Case Study

2021

This paper presents a case study of electrical machine faults, emerging in heat pump systems. In Nordic countries, heat pumps have been gaining popularity during the past years and have become one of the leading ways of heating in households and smaller public buildings. Although not a very complicated setup, the devices used are still prone to unexpected failures, especially if wrongly chosen, installed or maintained. The paper presents a study conducted on five real-life cases with very similar outcomes and failure modes. The setup of the systems is explained, faults are listed and presented, causes of the faults including modeling and measurement data are provided. The suggestions are gi…

Aproximaciones para mejorar el crecimiento de bacterias lácticas iniciadoras OM13 durante las primeras etapas de producción de aceitunas verdes de me…

2018

The present research aimed at determining the optimal conditions for the lactic acid fermentation of green Spanish-style table olives. The work is a follow-up, and focuses on the performance of the commercial starter strain Lactobacillus pentosus OM13 by applying an acclimatization step and the addition of nutrients, and concentrations of lactic acid that were previously investigated. The acclimatization of the cells warranted the dominance of the starter culture even at an inoculation level of 2 Log cycles lower than that commonly used in standard fermentation. A significant effect was found in terms of acidification kinetics within the first week of fermentation, with the highest decrease…

Technological properties of Lactobacillus plantarum strains isolated from grape must fermentation

2016

Malolactic fermentation (MLF) is a secondary fermentation in wine that usually takes place during or at the end of alcoholic fermentation. Lactobacillus plantarum is able to conduct MLF (particularly under high pH conditions and in co-inoculation with yeasts) and some strains are commercially used as MLF starter cultures. Recent evidences suggest a further use of selected L. plantarum strains for the pre-alcoholic acidification of grape must. In this study, we have carried out an integrated (molecular, technological, and biotechnological) characterization of L. plantarum strains isolated from Apulian wines in order to combine the two protechnological features (MLF performances and must acid…

Evaluation of different conditions to enhance the performances of Lactobacillus pentosus OM13 during industrial production of Spanish-style table oli…

2017

The main objective was to set up a methodology to improve the high volume production of green table olives, cv. Nocellara del Belice. Lactobaccillus pentosus OM13 was applied during three different industrial processes of table olives as follows: trial one (IOP1) was subjected to an addition of lactic acid until a brine level of pH 7.0 was reached; trial two (IOP2) subjected to same addition of lactic acid as in trial one plus nutrient adjuvant; and trial three (IOP3) subjected to same addition of lactic acid as in trial one, but with the strain L. pentosus OM13 acclimatized in brine for 12 h before inoculation. These trials were compared against two untreated controls (spontaneously fermen…

Microbial Activation of Wooden Vats Used for Traditional Cheese Production and Evolution of Neoformed Biofilms.

2016

ABSTRACT Three Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris strains were used to develop ad hoc biofilms on the surfaces of virgin wooden vats used for cheese production. Two vats (TZ) were tested under controlled conditions (pilot plant), and two vats (TA) were tested under uncontrolled conditions (industrial plant). In each plant, one vat (TA1 and TZ1) was used for the control, traditional production of PDO Vastedda della Valle del Belìce (Vastedda) cheese, and one (TA2 and TZ2) was used for experimental production performed after lactococcal biofilm activation and the daily addition of a natural whey starter culture (NWSC). Microbiological and scanning electron microscopy analyses showed differenc…