Image analysis study of the perimysial connective network,and its relationship with tenderness and composition of bovine meat

Image processing method was developed to predict beef tenderness, collagen and lipids contents. The study was carried out on the semimembranosus muscle (SM). Images of SM slices were acquired under visible and ultraviolet lighting. In this work statistical technique was implemented as a method to relate the distribution of intramuscular connective tissue (IMCT), characterized by image analysis, to sensory tenderness evaluated by a trained panel and collagen and total lipids contents assessed chemically. Using Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) combining visible and ultraviolet lighting, IMCT image parameters were found to be good predictors of beef tenderness (R² = 0.89), collagen and lipids contents (respectively R² = 0.82 and R² = 0.91).     

A comparison and joint use of mid infrared and fluorescence spectroscopic methods for differentiating between manufacturing processes and sampling zones of ripened soft cheeses

Ten traditional M1 (n = 5) and M2 (n = 5) soft cheeses produced from raw milk, and five other stabilised M3 (n = 5) cheeses manufactured from pasteurised milk, were studied using mid infrared (MIR) and front face fluorescence (FFFS) spectroscopies. MIR (3000–900 cm⁻¹), tryptophan (excitation: 290 nm, emission: 305-450 nm), 400-640 emission spectra (excitation: 380 nm) and vitamin A (excitation: 280–350 nm, emission: 410 nm) spectra were recorded at two sampling zones (external (E) and central (C)) of the investigated cheeses. When the factorial discriminant analysis (FDA) was applied to the MIR spectra, the classification was not satisfactory. With tryptophan fluorescence spectra, correct classification of 94.4 and 69.4% was observed for the calibration and validation spectra, respectively. Better classification was obtained using vitamin A fluorescence spectra, since 91.8 and 80.6% of the calibration and validation spectra, respectively, were correctly classified. When the first five principal components (PCs) of the PCA extracted from each data set were pooled into a single matrix and analysed by FDA, the classification was considerably improved, obtaining a percentage of correct classification of 100 and 91.7% for the calibration and validation samples, respectively. It was concluded that concatenation of the physico-chemical and spectroscopic data sets is an efficient technique for the identification of soft cheese varieties.     

Monitoring the Egg Freshness During Storage Under Modified Atmosphere by Fluorescence Spectroscopy

A total of 207 intact brown-shelled eggs of the same flock (29 weeks of age) belonging to two treatment groups were stored in daylight at 12.2 °C and 87% relative humidity (RH): (1) 108 eggs and (2) 99 other eggs were kept in an atmosphere containing 2 and 4.6% of CO₂, respectively. The 18 remaining eggs have also been analysed directly when they were available in our laboratory to check the degree of freshness (aged of 1 day or less). Eggs of the two groups were analysed after 6, 8, 12, 15, 20, 22, 26, 29, 33, 40, 47 and 55 days of storage using front face fluorescence spectroscopy. The emission fluorescence spectra of aromatic amino acids and nucleic acids (AAA+NA; excitation, 250 nm; emission, 280–450 nm), fluorescent Maillard reaction products (excitation, 360 nm; emission, 380–580 nm) and the excitation spectra of vitamin A (emission, 410 nm; excitation, 270–350 nm) were scanned on thick albumen and egg yolk. For each treatment, the principal component analysis applied on the vitamin A fluorescence spectra allowed a good discrimination of eggs according to both their storage time and conditions, while more overlapping between egg samples was observed when the other intrinsic probes were investigated. These results showed that vitamin A fluorescence spectra could be considered as a good indicator of egg freshness kept only in 2% of CO₂.     

Misalignment controller in wireless battery charger for electric vehicle based on MPPT method and metaheuristic algorithm

This paper focuses on applying a wireless power transfer WPT technology in an electric vehicle battery charger. The wireless charger system is based on the principle of resonance inductive coupling power through a coreless transformer. The WPT system is considered as a multi parameter and multi constrained nonlinear system. The main contribution in this paper is the use of PSO and GA metaheuristic algorithms in the optimization of a transformer design regarding the impact of a lateral misalignment and the separation distance between the primary and secondary coils. To find the best global solution which is considered as the maximum efficiency in the complex system, both algorithms are compared. A perturbation-and-observation-based tracking system is developed through an efficiency sensing system to act on the misalignment issue and the car position. An additional PSO controller is performed to control the duty cycle of the boost converter in order to follows the maximum efficiency operating points of a WPT system. The discrepancy is the use of the resonant inductive coupling as a source of the MPPT so as to perturb the car position and observe the transferred. Furthermore, the modeling of a contactless transformer is optimized using metaheuristic algorithm.     

Thermal analysis,AC conductivity and dielectric relaxation in Bis(2-methoxyanilinium) hexabromidostannate(IV) dihydrate: (C<Subscript>7</Subscript>H<Subscript>10</Subscript>NO)<Subscript>2</Subscript>SnBr<Subscript>6</Subscript>·2H<Subscript>2</Subscript>O

The (C₇H₁₀NO)₂SnBr₆·2H₂O compound is characterized by using the X-ray powder analysis, thermogravimetric analyses, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and complex impedance spectroscopic data. This compound exhibits a phase transition at 300 K which is characterized by differential scanning calorimetry, AC conductivity and dielectric measurements. The measurements of impedance spectroscopic are carried out in the frequency range from 100 Hz to 1 MHz with temperatures varying between 275 and 330 K. The impedance measurements indicate that the electrical properties are strongly temperature dependent. Nyquist plots (?Z′′ versus Z′) show that the conductivity behavior is accurately represented by an Rp//CPE equivalent electrical circuit model. Besides, the frequency dependence of conductivity follows Jonscher’s dynamical law with the relation: \(\sigma (\omega ,T)={\sigma _{DC}}+A(T){\omega ^{S(T)}}\). The relaxation mechanism can be observed in the complex modulus analysis M^* and the complex polarizability α^*.     

Dielectric and electric studies of the [N(CH3)4][N(C2H5)4]ZnCl4 compound at low temperature

The [N(CH₃)₄][N(C₂H₅)₄]ZnCl₄ compound was prepared and characterized by electrical technique. The temperature dependence of the dielectric permittivity shows that this compound is ferroelectric below T = 268 K. The two semi-circles observed in the complex impedance identify the presence of the grain interior and grain boundary contributions to the electrical response in the material. The equivalent circuit is modeled by a combination series of two parallel R_P–CPE circuits. The frequency dependent conductivity is interpreted in term of Jonscher's law. The modulus plots can be characterized by the empirical Kohlrausch–Williams–Watts (K.W.W.) function: ?(t) = exp [(−t/τ)^β]. The temperature dependence of the alternative current conductivity (σ_p), direct current conductivity (σ_dc) and the relaxation frequency (f_p) confirm the presence of the ferroelectric–paraelectric phase transition.     

Polyphenol composition and antioxidant activity of cumin (Cuminum cyminum L.) seed extract under drought

This research evaluated the effect of drought on total and individual polyphenol contents as well as the antioxidant activities of cumin (Cuminum cyminum L.) seeds of 2 geographic origins, Tunisia (TCS) and India (ICS). Plants were treated with different levels of water deficit: control. Our results indicated that, in both varieties, moderate water deficit (MWD) improved the number of umbels per plant as well as the number of umbellets per umbel and the seed yield, in comparison to the control, but it decreased under severe water deficit (SWD). Besides, total phenolic contents were higher in the treated seeds and drought increased the level of total and individual polyphenols. This increase was appreciably more important in TCS than in ICS. Moreover, antioxidant activities of the extracts were determined by 4 different test systems, namely 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl, β-carotene/linoleic acid chelating, and reducing power assays, and showed that treated seeds exhibited the highest activity, for both TCS and ICS.     

Application of synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy for the determination of some chemical parameters in PDO French blue cheeses

The present study was aimed at investigating the potential of using synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy (SFS) coupled with multivariate statistical analyses for the determination of some chemical parameters (pH, fat, dry matter, protein and soluble nitrogen) of French blue-veined cheeses belonging to four brands (FA-Fourme d’Ambert, FM-Fourme de Montbrison, BA-Bleu d’Auvergne and BC-Bleu des Causses). Three partial least square regression models with leave-one-out cross-validation technique were considered in the present study. The first one including the “Fourme cheeses” (FA and FM), the second one including the “Blue cheeses” (BA and BC) and the last one including the 4 Blue-veined cheeses (FA, FM, BA and BC). The models qualities were investigated principally by the R ² (coefficient of determination) and the RPD (ratio of standard deviation to root-mean-square error of cross-validation) factors. The results showed that SFS succeeded to predict ash and protein in Blue (ash: R ² = 0.90, RPD = 3.17; protein R ² = 0.80, RPD = 2.24) or Fourme cheeses (ash: R ² = 0.81, RPD = 2.29; protein R ² = 0.81, RPD = 2.26) when considered individually, while SFS failed to predict all the physicochemical parameters when the two groups were analyzed jointly.