Flavor and Stability of "Horchata De Chufas"

Horchata is a sweetened water extract of chufa tubers (Cyperus esculentus) which is very popular in Spain, and has potential in the U.S. The objectives of this research were to characterize horchatas from different types of chufa, and to monitor flavor and stability of unheated and pasteurized horchatas during storage (2°C). Trained panelists rated the following attributes: color, chalkiness, sweetness, vanilla-like, nutty, earthiness, bitterness, and off-flavor. Horchatas made with chufa grown in Spain and chufa from Spain but grown in Florida showed higher vanilla and nutty levels than horchata from the Florida type. During storage (2°C), vanilla, nutty, and sweetness decreased, and other attributes increased. Heating to 70 and 95°C for 1 min did not alter sensory attributes initially, prevented off-flavor development, and slowed changes in desirable attributes for 35 days.     

POTENTIAL TOXICITY OF PYOVERDIN FROM PSEUDOMONAS ON MOUSE LIVER

Pseudomonas fluorescens were isolated from food and water. Bacterial strains were grown on synthetic medium and pyoverdin was purified with Fe³⁺. Iron was removed from some samples with 8-hydroxyquinoline to obtain free-pyoverdin. Purification was performed by chloroform/phenol, diethylether/water extractions, column chromatography and silica gel slabs. Mice were given water with pigment for prolonged periods to study the chronic effect on liver. Alanine amino transferase (ALT) and Aspartate amino transferase (AST) increased significantly in animals treated with pyoverdin-Fe, free-pyoverdin and heated pyoverdin. Sex dependence was not observed. The effect on hepatic enzymes was also studied employing chromatographic peaks separately and mixed. Analyses of variance for statistical evaluation was applied. Controls treated withpyoverdin-negative culture extract did not show amino transferase's increase. It was found that prolonged ingestion of pyoverdin can affect hepatic enzymes in mice.     

APPLICATION OF CORRELATION BETWEEN BIOT AND DINCER NUMBERS FOR DETERMINING MOISTURE TRANSFER PARAMETERS DURING THE AIR DRYING OF COROBA SLICES

The moisture mass transfer parameters characterizing the air drying of coroba slices were determined using the correlation between Biot and Dincet numbers. The air drying was carried out at temperatures of 71, 82 and 93C and velocities of 0.82, 1.00 and 1.18 m/s. Experimental moisture content data for coroba slices were collected. The drying coefficient and lag factor were calculated from the experimental data and were incorporated into the correlation. The moisture diffusion coefficient, Biot number and mass transfer coefficient ranged between 1.147  ×  10 ^{− 12} –3.740  ×  10 ^{− 12}  m²/s, 0.097–0.114 and 0.903  ×  10 ^{− 4} –1.729  ×  10 ^{− 4}  m/s, respectively. The predicted dimensionless moisture content profiles showed adequate agreement with the experimental observations, with the mean relative error between 0.98 and 4.61%.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

As drying is an energy-intensive operation, it has become the prime concern of the researchers to optimize process conditions that lead to energy savings. Moisture transfer parameters are important transport properties needed for accurate modeling in food drying applications. Therefore, accurate determination of these parameters for the drying operation is essential. There is a large amount of studies available in the literature to determine and calculate these parameters for the products subjected to drying. But limited studies have been carried out to determine these parameters using the drying process parameters in terms of lag factor and drying coefficient as first introduced by Dincer and Dost.     

A MODEL FOR C-CALCULUS

C-calculus was introduced by the first author as a technique for the analysis of complex hierarchical systems.² It has been further applied as a versatile tool in pattern recognition.^1,3 Our present aim is to exhibit a model for C-calculus, and deal with its convergence and filtering properties.     

FAULT-TOLERANT DESIGN OF BATCHER–BANYAN CLASS ATM SWITCHES

Many proposed packet switching systems for high-speed networks have employed the Batcher–banyan fabric due to its modular structure, self-routeing functionality, and distributed conflict-resolving mechanism. In this paper, we present a systematic fault-tolerant design for the Batcher–banyan class of switches. Our first concern is the development of an on-line error detection mechanism which is the prerequisite of any effective fault tolerant operation. Based on the technique developed by Davis, we propose a general fault-testing technique and verify it for a variety of unique-path self-routeing networks. Furthermore, we extend this method to Batcher sorting networks and construct a fault-tolerant Batcher sorter. Lastly, after contemplating the technique constraints and system performance, we deploy the above techniques into different levels of the Batcher–banyan networks and achieve a fault-tolerant version of the StarBurst switch, a member of the Batcher–banyan class of switches.     

Reducing information asymmetries in market entry decisions

A Bayesian belief network is adopted to structure and manage an entry decision problem, where a potential entrant has to evaluate the profitability of a given market, depending on an established firm's unknown and unobservable multidimensional type. A multiperiod multisignal model is defined to take account of strategic interaction processes between the incumbent and the potential competitor. Since significant theoretical and computational issues prevent us from finding optimal strategies, a myopic policy is discussed that leads to a reasonable outcome. An application example of the proposed solution procedure is also presented.     

POSTMORTEM CHANGES IN CYTOSKELETAL ELEMENTS OF FISH MUSCLE1

Transmission electron microscopic examination of samples from fresh and 7 days-cold-stored white croaker skeletal muscle did not reveal apparent changes in overall structure of contractile elements of muscle. However, when purified myofibrils obtained from fresh and stored muscles were extracted with 0.6 M KI and the residues were examined in the scanning electron microscope, a progressive disappearance of exosarcomeric longitudinal filaments connecting successive Z structures was observed. Electrophoretic analysis of myofibrillar proteins obtained from fresh and stored muscles showed a marked degradation of nebulin, a major component of the endosarcomeric cytoskeletal network, whereas the other protein constituents of myofibrils remained practically unchanged. These alterations in elements of both cytoskeletal lattices of muscle may have important effects on physical properties of fish meat.