High‐molecular‐weight glutenin subunit composition of Pakistani hard white spring wheats grown at three locations for 2 years and its relationship with end‐use quality characteristics

Eleven Pakistani hard white spring wheat cultivars, along with one durum wheat and two hard white American‐grown wheat cultivars, were evaluated for their high‐molecular‐weight (HMW) glutenin subunit composition via sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS‐PAGE). The relationships among different quality characteristics and between these characteristics and HMW glutenin subunits were computed. Three to six HMW glutenin subunits were observed in Pakistani bread wheat cultivars. The presence of HMW glutenin subunits was not affected by growth locations or crop years. However, variations in intensities were observed. Correlations were noticed between certain HMW glutenin subunits and some quality attributes, such as protein, farinograph dough development time, farinograph water absorption, loaf volume and mixograph peak height. The presence of HMW glutenin subunit 20 in the older wheat cultivars C591 and C273, known for excellent chapati quality, indicated a possible relationship between this band and chapati quality. This observation will need to be confirmed by testing a larger number of wheat samples known to have characteristics for both good and poor chapati quality. © 2000 Society of Chemical Industry     

Study of mixed convection in an annular vertical cylinder filled with saturated porous medium,using thermal non-equilibrium model

The present study deals with numerical investigation of effects of different parameters on enhancement or retardation of the heat transfer rate in an annular vertical cylinder filled with saturated porous medium. The heat transfer is assumed to take place by mixed convection mode. The thermal non-equilibrium approach is considered. The inner surface of the annular cylinder is maintained at constant wall temperature whereas the outer surface remains at ambient temperature. The governing partial differential equations are solved using finite element method. The results are discussed for the effects of Peclet number, interphase heat transfer co-efficient and thermal conductivity ratio.     

Beta glucan: a valuable functional ingredient in foods

β-Glucan is a valuable functional ingredient and various extraction techniques are available for its extraction. Choice of an appropriate extraction technique is important as it may affect the quality, structure, rheological properties, molecular weight, and other functional properties of the extracted β-glucan. These properties lead to the use of β-glucan into various food systems and have important implications in human health. This review focuses on the extraction, synthesis, structure, molecular weight, and rheology of β-glucan. Furthermore, health implications and utilization of β-glucan in food products is also discussed.     

Cheddar Cheese Ripening and Flavor Characterization: A Review

Cheddar cheese is a biochemically dynamic product that undergoes significant changes during ripening. Freshly made curds of various cheese varieties have bland and largely similar flavors and aroma and, during ripening, flavoring compounds are produced that are characteristic of each variety. The biochemical changes occurring during ripening are grouped into primary events including glycolysis, lipolysis, and proteolysis followed by secondary biochemical changes such as metabolism of fatty acids and amino acids which are important for the production of secondary metabolites, including a number of compounds necessary for flavor development. A key feature of cheese manufacture is the metabolism of lactose to lactate by selected cultures of lactic acid bacteria. The rate and extent of acidification influence the initial texture of the curd by controlling the rate of demineralization. The degree of lipolysis in cheese depends on the variety of cheese and may vary from slight to extensive; however, proteolysis is the most complex of the primary events during cheese ripening, especially in Cheddar-type cheese.     

Nutritional characterization of high protein and high lysine barley lines

Six high protein and high lysine barley lines were derived from four crosses involving high protein andlor high lysine donors, ie Riso 1508 and SV 73608 (Hiproly×Mona⁵), with well adapted local strains V 5681 and V 4342. The trial was grown at the Wheat Research Institute, Faisalabad, Pakistan. The lines were chemically and nutritionally characterized and the results were compared with the parents. The biological value, net protein utilization and lysine contents were higher in all the derived lines than in their local parents, ie V 5681 and V 4342. The increased lysine levels in the lines B 82503 and B 82507 may be a consequence of the reduction of prolamin fractions with simultaneous increases in salt soluble fractions. In all the lines, lysine and nutritional quality increase were a reflection of high protein andlor high lysine parents. The line B 82503 had grain yield comparable to its local parent V 5681 but it was superior in lysine and some nutritional attributes to its high lysine donor parent Riso 1508. In some lines, lysine improvement was achieued without impairing grain yield.     

Characterization and physiochemical studies of crosslinked thiolated polyvinyl alcohol hydrogels

Modification and crosslinking of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) by thiolation using thioglycolic acid (TGlA) and various crosslinkers were carried out. The crosslinked thiolated PVA (TPVA) hydrogels were characterized by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infra red spectroscopy coupled with thermal analysis (TG-FTIR) techniques. The crosslinking of the resultant material was carried out using three crosslinker sodium trimetaphosphate (STMP), glyoxal and boric acid. The influence of esterification and crosslinking on the physical and chemical properties of the material was studied. XRD showed that after crosslinking the crystallinity of TPVA hydrogels decreased. These results were further substantiated by DSC observations. The thermal stability of the TPVA hydrogels is enhanced. A significant variation in the initial decomposition temperature was observed with respect to different STMP crosslinked samples having varying TGlA concentration and different crosslinkers. The coupled TG-FTIR studies of crosslinked samples at different temperatures show that the evolution of sulfur-containing gases (carbon disulfide and carbon monosulfide) is being prominent for this material.     

Heat transfer in a conical cylinder with porous medium

In this paper, numerical study of heat transfer in a conical annular cylinder fixed with saturated porous medium is presented. The heat transfer is assumed to take place by natural convection and radiation. The inner surface of conical cylinder is maintained at uniform wall temperature. The governing partial differential equations are non-dimensionalised using suitable non-dimensional parameters and then solved by using finite element method. The porous medium is divided using triangular elements with uneven element size. A computer software is used to solve the coupled momentum and energy equations in an iterative manner. The results are discussed for various values of geometric and physical parameters of porous medium with emphasis on cone angle of the cylinder. It is seen that the cone angle plays a vital role in heat transfer from the hot surface to porous medium.     

Magnetic and optical properties of amorphous NdFeCo thin films by pulsed laser deposition technique

Rare earth and transition metal doped (NdFeCo) thin films were fabricated on Si (100) substrate by pulsed laser deposition technique keeping the substrate at constant temperature of 300 °C. A KrF Excimer laser (248 nm, 20 ns) was used as an energy source for the deposition. Thin films were deposited without and under the influence of transverse magnetic field applied across the plume. The applied magnetic field was varied from 3 to 6 kOe. The deposited films were characterized by XRD, FESEM, VSM and SE (Spectroscopic Ellipsometry). The deposited films were amorphous in nature. All the films regardless of the applied magnetic field exhibit perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. The thickness of the thin films was found to increase monotonically from 166 to 266 nm with the increase in the applied external magnetic field. The saturation magnetization has a maximum value of 1682 emu/cc for the film deposited under 4.5 kOe magnetic field. The value of optical band gap energy for the same film is found to have a maximum value of 3.1 eV. The values of both the saturation magnetization and the band gap energy were decreased with the increase in the applied magnetic field.