ULTRA-HIGH TEMPERATURE EFFECT ON B. STEAROTHERMOPHILUS DURING PUFFING OF RICE1

Destruction, damage and activation of thermophilic bacterial spores of Bacillus stearothermophilus at ultra-high heating temperatures (170°C to 210°C) were studied using a rice cake machine as a model system. Activation of spores at ultra-high temperatures was observed after 99.9% of the original spores were killed (P < 0.05). Significant difference (P < 0.01) in spore counts was found when a rich protein medium and a minimal nutritious medium were used simultaneously to recover spores after heating. This indicated that heat damage did occur and that amino acids were required to repair the damage.     

动作环境下液晶显示荧幕对阅读绩效与视觉疲劳之影响

今日交通工具中广泛使用液晶显示萤幕,荧幕也随着各式各样的振动对人产生影响.尤其人们眼睛在阅读精确的文章时,振动所造成不适,影响就变得更剧烈,因此容易造成阅读绩效不佳与视觉不适.本研究想要探讨液晶萤幕在不同振动情形(振动频率、振动振幅与不同振动方向)对数字大小、数字多寡与数字排列之影响.阅读绩效与视觉疲劳的量测为反应时间、正确率、闪光融合阈值、视力变化与主观评量,由实验得到频率对反应时间、正确率与视觉疲劳有显著的影响.因此荧幕硬件与软件之设计必须考虑到振动的影响.     

Puffing of Rice Cakes as Influenced by Tempering and Heating Conditions

Puffed rice cakes were produced from long grain brown rice by a pressure-drop puffing method. Effects of raw rice tempering conditions (time and moisture level) and heating conditions (temperature and time) immediately before puffing on rice cake volume were investigated. In general, a lower moisture level (14% vs 16–20%) in raw rice and longer tempering time (5 hr vs 1–3 hr) resulted in higher specific volumes in rice cakes. Higher heating temperature (230°C vs 200–220°C) and 8 sec heating produced rice cakes with higher specific volumes. Darker cakes were obtained with the high temperature and long time combinations.     

Thermal Processes for Metal Cans Compared to Retortable Plastic Containers

Comparison of the heating process and determination of the critical heating point was studied for homogeneous and nonhomogeneous products in 211 × 214 retortable plastic containers and metal cans. The f_h, j, and F_o values for bentonite dispersions (4-10%), were significantly different at α= 0.05 for the metal cans versus the plastic containers with metal lid oriented up or down. The slowest heating point was mathematically determined and found to be influenced by the container material and the lid orientation for the plastic containers. Results indicated the design of thermal processes in plastic containers must take into account nonsymmetrical external heat transfer due to the presence of the metal lid.     

Pretreating Dent Corn Grits for Puffing in a Rice Cake Machine

The best operational conditions for puffing dent corn grits with a rice cake machine were 14% grit moisture, 215°C and 9 sec. Salting and steaming, low pH soaking medium, larger corn grit sizes, 2% glycerin, and 2% corn oil tended to increase puffed volume of the corn cakes. Smaller grit sizes, 3% alcohol and high pH soaking medium had negative effects on corn cake volume. Acid-modification of corn starch, 1% or 3% corn oil, and up to 10% sugar had no effect.     

Elastic Attributes of Heated Egg Protein Gels

The equilibrium stress of egg white (EW) and ovalbumin (OV) gels using the statistical theory of rubber elasticity suggested that 3.9 covalent disulfide cross-links per OV molecule were formed on gelling. DTNB and PCMB reacted with approximately 4 sulfhydryls of OV in 2% SDS and/or at 82°C. Moreover, the equivalent of 3 secondary bonds, calculated from the initial stress and presumably a composite of numerous weak secondary bonds, contributed significantly to the protein gel stress.     

Rice Cake Production using Long-grain and Medium-grain Brown Rice

Puffing of rice cakes using both long-grain and medium-grain brown rice was studied. The effects of tempering moisture, heating temperature, and heating time on various rice cake quality attributes were investigated. A greater specific cake volume was obtained at a lower tempering moisture, higher heating temperature, and longer heating time for long-grain brown rice. For medium-grain rice, a higher tempering moisture yielded a larger specific cake volume. The lightness of rice cakes correlated well with their expansion; the less expanded cake always had a lighter color. Medium-grain brown rice also produced cakes that were much more fragile than those produced from long-grain brown rice.     

Multi-objective controller design for discrete stochastic optimal systems with non-linear time-varying unmodelled dynamics and noise spectral uncertainties

A simple technique is introduced to synthesize an optimal controller, not only to minimize the least favourable cost functional J, but also to achieve the following purposes in discrete-time linear-quadratic-gaussian (LQG) optimal systems: (I) input-output decoupling; (2) stability robustness in the presence of non-linear time-varying (NLTV) unmodelled dynamics; (3) complete and arbitrary stable pole-placement; and (4) some zero-assignment, The Wiener-Hopí technique is employed and two weighting matrices Q(z) and R(z) of the quadratic cost functional are specified (by the inverse optimal control method), so that the controller is optimal with respect to the chosen weighting matrices and the design goals are achieved.     

ANALYZING AND CORRELATING INSTRUMENTAL AND SENSORY DATA: A MULTWARIATE STUDY OF PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF COOKED WHEAT NOODLES1

The physical characteristics and sensory properties of eight wheat noodles formulated with wheat gluten (0, 3 and 6%) and glyceryl monostearate (0, 1.4 and 2.8%) were investigated. Color parameters and texture attributes were instrumentally characterized. Four visually observed appearance attributes and four manually or orally assessed textural attributes, were sensorially profiled quantitatively. Glyceryl monostearate, at 1.4% and 2.8% fortification levels, had more profound influences than wheat gluten, at 3% and 6% fortification levels, and exhibited different behaviors in most of the physical and sensory properties of cooked noodles. These two additives well separated the eight noodle products along two independent dimensions. As to instrumental-sensory relations, principal component analysis (PCA), partial least squares regression (PLS) and Procrustes analysis (PA) confirmed that the instrumental and sensory analysis procedures reached a true consensus.     

CONSTRUCTION PRACTICES FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF TRIBAL CIVILIZATION

This interview discusses the practice of house building in rural areas and opinions of tribal civilization. Through cooperative building projects in Lankao County, He’nan Province and post-earthquake reconstruction in Yangliu Village of Mao County, Sichuan Province, Ying-Chun Hsieh, the interviewee, explained the importance of sustainability, which is the core principle of construction, and the public participation in community rebuilding. He believed that, from the perspective of tribal civilization and the dimension of scarcity, by reducing the importance of the “expert” designer, and adopting open system, simple techniques, and digitalized approaches, public participation could be promoted and a better integration of traditional wisdom in building and society construction could be achieved.