High-moisture soft solid snack foods such as rice cakes have become increasingly popular. Most of these snacks are freshly made and sold on the spot, whilst industrially produced versions use chemical preservatives to inhibit microbial growth and improve shelf life. With the increasing demand for preservative-free foods from some consumers, physical methods are needed to […]
Floating structures are becoming increasingly popular. They are used by several industries, some have been in business for decades, like those dedicated to oil and gas, some are newer, like renewables (wind, wave, tidal), and there are still some other uses, like ports, while there is a constant flow of new ideas that imply their […]
Why people younger than 22 with congenital or acquired heart conditions should be more likely of developing a cancer? Actually, a small number of studies have been published, suggesting relatively high cancer incidence and mortality, compared to the general population. If it is true a correlation exists, there are several potential explanations. It could be […]
Research in general, and mathematical one in particular, sometimes reminds to the lyrics that Cole Porter wrote for the Down in the depths song: And here am I Facing tomorrow Alone with my sorrow Down in the depths on the ninetieth floor. Nevertheless, sometimes you manage to get down in the depths and achieve a […]
Face morphing has become quite popular in the last years; from mixing the faces of two celebrities to guessing how your baby could look, many TV shows and apps use software which changes one face into another through a continuous and smooth transition. Among the different mathematical tools that can be used for face morphing […]
In science, for a phenomenon to be reliable, it needs to be validated by a certain statistical value, the p-value, which by giving an estimate of the probability that the result would be the product of chance, serves as a measure of the probability that a certain event happening is true. So far, the convention […]
Security in residential and public areas is a matter of great importance for many people. This is why some Internet providers are offering surveillance systems as a value-added service. Such surveillance systems have recently shifted from CCTVs to IP-based cameras, as the latter offer clear advantages to their users, like a more competitive cost and […]
There is a theory in criminology that says that if a broken window in a building is left unrepaired, that building will soon have all its other windows broken. The rationale behind it is that signs of urban disorder and untended public spaces elicit antisocial behaviour. The idea is reminiscent of the concept of “criticality” […]
Economics • Mathematics • Medicine • Pharmacy
Blood from donations is separated into three components: red cells, platelets and plasma, and one component or another is then transfused into patients according to their needs. The conditions for storage differ for each component: red cell concentrates can be kept for up to 42 days at temperatures of 1-6ºC. Platelet concentrates (PC) are stored […]
What is chaos? Chaos is a concept related to dynamical systems, that are nothing but systems than can be described by amounts that change in time. There are examples of dynamical systems everywhere: the amount of money in your bank account, your weight, your room’s temperature, … all of them evolve in time, and therefore […]