Correlation between process cheese meltability determined by sensory analysis, computer vision method and Olson and Price test

The meltabilities of 14 process cheese samples were determined at 2 and 4 weeks after manufacture using sensory analysis, a computer vision method, and the Olson and Price test. Sensory analysis meltability correlated with both computer vision meltability (R-2 = 0.71, P < 0.001) and Olson and Price meltability (R-2 = 0.69, P < 0.001). There was a marked lack of correlation between the computer vision method and the Olson and Price test. This study showed that the Olson and Price test gave greater repeatability than the computer vision method. Results showed process cheese meltability decreased with increasing inorganic salt content and with lower moisture/fat ratios. There was very little evidence in this study to show that process cheese meltability changed between 2 and 4 weeks after manufacture..

Sensitivity analysis of a catchment-scale nitrogen model

There are now considerable expectations that semi-distributed models are useful tools for supporting catchment water quality management. However, insufficient attention has been given to evaluating the uncertainties inherent to this type of model, especially those associated with the spatial disaggregation of the catchment. The Integrated Nitrogen in Catchments model (INCA) is subjected to an extensive regionalised sensitivity analysis in application to the River Kennet, part of the groundwater-dominated upper Thames catchment, UK The main results are: (1) model output was generally insensitive to land-phase parameters, very sensitive to groundwater parameters, including initial conditions, and significantly sensitive to in-river parameters; (2) INCA was able to produce good fits simultaneously to the available flow, nitrate and ammonium in-river data sets; (3) representing parameters as heterogeneous over the catchment (206 calibrated parameters) rather than homogeneous (24 calibrated parameters) produced a significant improvement in fit to nitrate but no significant improvement to flow and caused a deterioration in ammonium performance; (4) the analysis indicated that calibrating the flow-related parameters first, then calibrating the remaining parameters (as opposed to calibrating all parameters together) was not a sensible strategy in this case; (5) even the parameters to which the model output was most sensitive suffered from high uncertainty due to spatial inconsistencies in the estimated optimum values, parameter equifinality and the sampling error associated with the calibration method; (6) soil and groundwater nutrient and flow data are needed to reduce. uncertainty in initial conditions, residence times and nitrogen transformation parameters, and long-term historic data are needed so that key responses to changes in land-use management can be assimilated. The results indicate the general, difficulty of reconciling the questions which catchment nutrient models are expected to answer with typically limited data sets and limited knowledge about suitable model structures. The results demonstrate the importance of analysing semi-distributed model uncertainties prior to model application, and illustrate the value and limitations of using Monte Carlo-based methods for doing so. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Post-Sustainable Development

The past 15 years have witnessed the rise of post-development theory as a means of understanding the development discourse since the 1940s. Post-development argues that intentional development (as distinct from immanent development - what people are doing anyway) is a construct of Western hegemony. Sustainable development, they argue, is no different and indeed is perhaps worse, given that most of the global environmental degradation has been driven by consumerism and industrialization in the West. Critics of post-development counter by stating that it only provides destruction by tearing apart what is currently practiced in 'development' without providing an alternative. When post-developmentalists do offer an alternative it typically amouints to little more than a call for more grassroots involvement in development and disengagement from a Western agenda. Post-sustainable development analysis and counter-analysis has received remarkably little attention within the sustainable development literature, yet this paper argues that it can make a positive contributrion by calling for an analysis of discourse rather than a hiding of power differentials and an assumption that consensus must exist within a community. A case is made for a post-sustainable development that acknowledges that diversity will exist and consensus may not be achievable, but at the same time participation can help with learning. The role of the expert within sustainable development is also discussed. Copyright (C) 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

Post-(sustainable)-development?

This paper critically reviews the application of a post-development analysis to sustainable development by employing a defined target for post-development analysis – the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC). Data from the 2005 Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI) for 146 countries are used to generate statistically significant EKC models, and the approach is deconstructed by employing post-development theory. While an ESI derived EKC is an easy target for post-development critique, there are foundations upon which both rest, and are not easily dismissed. Neither is the typical post-development 'alternative' of encouraging 'endogenous discourse' and grassroots movements at odds with sustainable development. As a result, this paper argues that sustainable development theory already incorporates much of the critique and alternatives raised by post-developmentalists. Indeed, what is more disconcerting is that sustainable development readily encompasses such apparently divergent ideas represented by the ESI, EKC and post-developmental critique and solutions.

The potential for high performance design adoption in retail property portfolios

Growing legislative pressures and increasing stakeholder awareness of environmental issues are pushing the property market to consider high-performance, low-impact retail buildings. The office sector is relatively advanced in its apparent appreciation of such buildings; however, the retail sector is slow to recognize these benefits. In exploring the business case for high-performance design adoption in the retail sector, this paper examines the overlaps between office and retail sector benefits and considers the potential benefits peculiar to retailers. Barriers to high-performance design adoption are then addressed through case research, interviews with key representatives from the retail property market and a questionnaire survey of FTSE listed retail company property departments. The paper concludes that information gaps are a significant hindrance to high-performance property development and that they can be reduced, to some extent, by the forthcoming introduction of the BREEAM Retail environmental assessment tool. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

Design and disposition of infrared optical multilayer coatings for the Improved Stratospheric and Mesospheric Sounder (ISAMS)

The Improved Stratospheric and Mesospheric Sounder (ISAMS) is designed to measure the Earths middle atmosphere in the range of 4.6 to 16.6 micorns. This paper considers all the coated optical elements in two radiometric test channels. (Analysis of the spectral response will be presented as a seperate paper at this symposium, see Sheppard et al). Comparisons between the compued spectral performance and measurements from actual coatings will be discussed: These will include substrate absorption simulations. The results of environmental testing (durability and stability) are included, together with details of coating deposition and monitoring conditions.

Capturing UK real estate volitility

Volatility, or the variability of the underlying asset, is one of the key fundamental components of property derivative pricing and in the application of real option models in development analysis. There has been relatively little work on volatility in real terms of its application to property derivatives and the real options analysis. Most research on volatility stems from investment performance (Nathakumaran & Newell (1995), Brown & Matysiak 2000, Booth & Matysiak 2001). Historic standard deviation is often used as a proxy for volatility and there has been a reliance on indices, which are subject to valuation smoothing effects. Transaction prices are considered to be more volatile than the traditional standard deviations of appraisal based indices. This could lead, arguably, to inefficiencies and mis-pricing, particularly if it is also accepted that changes evolve randomly over time and where future volatility and not an ex-post measure is the key (Sing 1998). If history does not repeat, or provides an unreliable measure, then estimating model based (implied) volatility is an alternative approach (Patel & Sing 2000). This paper is the first of two that employ alternative approaches to calculating and capturing volatility in UK real estate for the purposes of applying the measure to derivative pricing and real option models. It draws on a uniquely constructed IPD/Gerald Eve transactions database, containing over 21,000 properties over the period 1983-2005. In this first paper the magnitude of historic amplification associated with asset returns by sector and geographic spread is looked at. In the subsequent paper the focus will be upon model based (implied) volatility.

Farm business survey 2009/10: poultry production in England

A commentary on the UK poultry industry focusing on its structure, trends and development. Analysis includes the economic performance of poultry businesses in England during 2009/10.

Effort and affect: engaging with film performance

In order to consider our emotional and physical involvement with film this chapter explores the rapport between camera and performer and how this impacts on the construction of engagement, drawing on critical approaches across the disciplines of film, dance and philosophy to describe our spatial, emotional and sensuous relationship to characters and bodies on-screen. Concern with the relationship between what is happening on screen and the shaping of our engagement is developed through attention to the effort of a particular performance, using close analysis to make sense of the affect invited by qualities of movement and how they are presented in moment from Rosemary’s Baby (Polanski, 1968).

Can perceptual differences account for managerial success?: the case of Japanese aid workers

Purpose – There is a wealth of studies which suggest that managers' positive perceptions/expectations can considerably influence the organisational performance; unfortunately, little empirical evidence has been obtained from development studies. This research aims to focus on the perceptual and behavioural trait differences of successful and unsuccessful aid workers, and their relationship with organisational performance. Design/methodology/approach – Through web-based survey, 244 valid responses were obtained from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)-aid managers worldwide. Five perception related factors were extracted and used for cluster analysis to group the respondents. Each cluster's perception/behaviour-related factors and organisational performance variables were compared by ANOVA. Findings – It was discovered that Japanese's positive perception/expectation about work and their local colleagues was related to higher organisational performance, and conversely, the negative perception on their part was generally associated with negative behaviour and lower organisational performance. Moreover, in a development context, lower work-related stress and feelings of resignation toward work were strongly associated with the acceptability of cross-cultural work environment. Practical implications – The differences in perceptual tendencies suggest that cautious consideration is advised since these findings may mainly apply to Japanese aid managers. However, as human nature is universal, positive perception and behaviour would bring out positive output in most organisations. Originality/value – This study extended the contextualised “Pygmalion effect” and has clarified the influence of perception/expectation on counter-part behaviour and organisational performance in development aid context, where people-related issues have often been ignored. This first-time research provides imperial data on the significant role of positive perception on the incumbent role holder.

Movement intention detection from autocorrelation of EEG for BCI

Movement intention detection is important for development of intuitive movement based Brain Computer Interfaces (BCI). Various complex oscillatory processes are involved in producing voluntary movement intention. In this paper, temporal dynamics of electroencephalography (EEG) associated with movement intention and execution were studied using autocorrelation. It was observed that the trend of decay of autocorrelation of EEG changes before and during the voluntary movement. A novel feature for movement intention detection was developed based on relaxation time of autocorrelation obtained by fitting exponential decay curve to the autocorrelation. This new single trial feature was used to classify voluntary finger tapping trials from resting state trials with peak accuracy of 76.7%. The performance of autocorrelation analysis was compared with Motor-Related Cortical Potentials (MRCP).

Blueberry supplementation induces spatial memory improvements and region-specific regulation of hippocampal BDNF mRNA expression in young rats

Rationale: Flavonoid-rich foods have been shown to be able to reverse age-related cognitive deficits in memory and learning in both animals and humans. However, to date, there have been only a limited number of studies investigating the effects of flavonoid-rich foods on cognition in young/healthy animals. Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of a blueberry-rich diet in young animals using a spatial working memory paradigm, the delayed non-match task, using an eight-arm radial maze. Furthermore, the mechanisms underlying such behavioural effects were investigated. Results: We show that a 7-week supplementation with a blueberry diet (2 % w/w) improves the spatial memory performance of young rats (2 months old). Blueberry-fed animals also exhibited a faster rate of learning compared to those on the control diet. These behavioural outputs were accompanied by the activation of extracellular signal-related kinase (ERK1/2), increases in total cAMP-response element binding protein (CREB) and elevated levels of pro- and mature brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the hippocampus. Changes in hippocampal CREB correlated well with memory performance. Further regional analysis of BDNF gene expression in the hippocampus revealed a specific increase in BDNF mRNA in the dentate gyrus and CA1 areas of hippocampi of blueberry-fed animals. Conclusions: The present study suggests that consumption of flavonoid-rich blueberries has a positive impact on spatial learning performance in young healthy animals, and these improvements are linked to the activation of ERK–CREB– BDNF pathway in the hippocampus.

Simple and effective technical procedures for the packing and application of nanospray PicoFrit HPLC columns for proteomic analyses

A simple procedure was developed for packing PicoFrit HPLC columns with chromatographic stationary phase using a reservoir fabricated from standard laboratory HPLC fittings. Packed columns were mounted onto a stainless steel ultra-low volume precolumn filter assembly containing a 0.5-mu m pore size steel frit. This format provided a conduit for the application of the nanospray voltage and protected the column from obstruction by sample material. The system was characterised and operational performance assessed by analysis of a range of peptide standards (n = 9).

Knowledge intensive processes characteristics and improvement: a banking best practice example

This paper identifies characteristics of knowledge intensive processes and a method to improve their performance based on analysis of investment banking front office processes. The inability to improve these processes using standard process improvement techniques confirmed that much of the process was not codified and depended on tacit knowledge and skills. This led to the use of a semi-structured analysis of the characteristics of the processes via a questionnaire to identify knowledge intensive processes characteristics that adds to existing theory. Further work identified innovative process analysis and change techniques that could generate improvements based on an analysis of their properties and the issue drivers. An improvement methodology was developed to harness a number of techniques that were found to effective in resolving the issue drivers and improving these knowledge intensive processes.