Abstract

Abstract
The aim of this study was to assess the antimicrobial effects of myrtle (Myrtus communis L.) essential oil (EO) on pathogenic (E. coli O157:H7 NCTC 12900; Listeria monocytogenes ATCC BAA-679) and spoilage microbiota in beef and determine its minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and antioxidant activity. The behavior of LAB, Enterobacteriaceae, Pseudomonas spp., and fungi, as well as total mesophilic (TM) and total psychotropic (TP) counts, in beef samples, was analyzed during storage at 2 and 8 C-degrees in two different packaging systems (aerobiosis and vacuum). Leaves of myrtle were dried, its EO was extracted by hydrodistillation using a Clevenger-type apparatus, and the chemical composition was determined using chromatographical techniques. The major compounds obtained were myrtenyl acetate (15.5%), beta-linalool (12.3%), 1,8-cineole (eucalyptol; 9.9%), geranyl acetate (7.4%), limonene (6.2%), alpha-pinene (4.4%), linalyl o-aminobenzoate (5.8%), alpha-terpineol (2.7%), and myrtenol (1.2%). Myrtle EO presented a MIC of 25 mu L/mL for E. coli O157:H7 NCTC 12900, E. coli, Listeria monocytogenes ATCC BAA-679, Enterobacteriaceae, and E. coli O157:H7 ATCC 35150 and 50 mu L/mL for Pseudomonas spp. The samples packed in aerobiosis had higher counts of deteriorative microorganisms than samples packed under vacuum, and samples with myrtle EO presented the lowest microbial contents, indicating good antimicrobial activity in beef samples. Myrtle EO is a viable natural alternative to eliminate or reduce the pathogenic and deteriorative microorganisms of meat, preventing their growth and enhancing meat safety.

Abstract
Robotics and intelligent systems are intricately connected, each exploring their respective capabilities and moving towards a common goal [...]

Abstract
The widespread use of smartphones and other low-cost equipment as recording devices, the massive growth in bandwidth, and the ever-growing demand for new applications with enhanced capabilities, made visual data a must in several scenarios, including surveillance, sports, retail, entertainment, and intelligent vehicles. Despite significant advances in analyzing and extracting data from images and video, there is a lack of solutions able to analyze and semantically describe the information in the visual scene so that it can be efficiently used and repurposed. Scientific contributions have focused on individual aspects or addressing specific problems and application areas, and no cross-domain solution is available to implement a complete system that enables information passing between cross-cutting algorithms. This paper analyses the problem from an end-to-end perspective, i.e., from the visual scene analysis to the representation of information in a virtual environment, including how the extracted data can be described and stored. A simple processing pipeline is introduced to set up a structure for discussing challenges and opportunities in different steps of the entire process, allowing to identify current gaps in the literature. The work reviews various technologies specifically from the perspective of their applicability to an end-to-end pipeline for scene analysis and synthesis, along with an extensive analysis of datasets for relevant tasks.

Abstract
Sustainability and resilience in Agri-Food Supply Chains is a challenging topic of current interest in the research community. Resilience for Agri-Food Supply Chain (AFSC) is the capability of the supply network to manage and mitigate disruptions due to global warming and natural phenomena such as landslides and floods of crops, among others caused by humans. A significant challenge is to design efficient and resilient AFSCs in emerging countries while perishability constraints are considered. A methodology to design an AFSC for emerging countries is addressed in this research. The phenomena that aid in identifying critical aspects of the AFSC affecting their resilience are identified. The former approach combines optimization and simulation schemes by considering resilience metrics related to availability and connectivity. Indeed, the solution approach addresses the uncer-tainty by using simulation of disruptive events and finding resilient designs using mathematical programming. The proposed framework has been evaluated in a Colombian coffee supply chain. The obtained results show the efficiency of the proposed scheme to design AFSCs and allow the practitioners to measure, predict, compare, and improve the level of resilience of their supply chains (SCs).

Abstract