Institutions and Commitment

The thrust of this paper is that to understand the roles institutionsplay in society, a deep analysis of opportunism and its implicationsis necessary. For that purpose, a transactions costs-cum-positivepolitical theory approach is developed, with a focus on therole of institutions and their implications for regulatory commitment.A major issue is restraining political opportunism. Countriesthat have succeeded in developing a healthy private sector arethose that have developed institutions that restrain governmentaldecision-making. But such restraining is itself a politicalchoice. Countries with electoral and legislative systems thatbring about decentralized government have stronger chances ofdeveloping equilibria where government discretion is restrained.     

EFFECT OF INTERMITTENT WARMING AND MODIFIED ATMOSPHERE PACKAGING ON COLOR DEVELOPMENT OF PEACHES

Peaches (Prunus persica L. Batsch cv. ‘Paraguayo’) at firm-breaker stage of maturity were stored at 0.5 C for 3 weeks. Intermittent warming (IW) for 1 day at 20C every 6 days of cold storage at 0.5C, modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) generated by 42 μm oriented polypropylene bags, and a combination of MAP and IW were applied. Changes in skin and flesh color (measured by CIELAB parameters and Chroma and Hue angle color indices) during normal postharvest ripening at 20C, during cold storage and after 3 days of post-storage ripening were studied. For commercial purposes, IW led to the same color level being reached as was found in normal postharvest ripened fruits. In contrast, the high carbon dioxide and low oxygen generated by MAP alone or combined with IW delayed color development even during post-storage ripening. Ground color measured by hue angle was the best index for monitoring color evolution during ripening and storage.     

Evaluation of Gelation and Solubility of Bovine Plasma Protein Isolates

Gelation and solubility of bovine plasma protein isolates prepared from liquid plasma using different acids (HCl, H₃PO₄, H₂SO₄) and bases (NaOH, Na₂CO₃) were evaluated and compared to commercial plasma. Protein recovery was over 90%. Solubility at 1% (w/v) was low in pH range 4.0 to 5.5 but similar to commerical plasma in pp range 5.5 to 8.0 (p < 0.01). All isolates gelled at a concentration o 6.0%. Only isolate H₃PO₄-Na₂CO₃ and commercial plasma gelled at a minimum concentration of 4.0%. This concentration decreased to 2.4% for the same isolate when 0.025M Ca⁺⁺ ion was added.     

Dynamical variable structure systems approach to switched capacitor circuit models

A new model, of a dynamic nature, is proposed for the basic analysis of switched capacitor circuits. The model represents a significant conceptual departure from the traditional frequency-dependent equivalent resistor model. Using Filippov's concept of solution for systems governed by right-hand side discontinuous differential equations, such as those regulated by a pulse-width modulation control strategy, a general and more realistic dynamical model is proposed for switched capacitor circuits. The traditional model is easily rederived and reinterpreted as the outcome of a sequential singular perturbation procedure carried on an idealized version of the proposed dynamical model.     

Nonheme Iron Evaluation of a Hemoglobin Iron Concentrate

The nonheme iron concentration of a hemoglobin iron concentrate (HIC) was investigated and the effect of temperature, time and rate of heating on the formation of nonheme iron of HIC and in fresh Red Blood Cells (RBC) was evaluated. Nonheme iron of HIC was 20% of total iron and did not increase with slow or fast heating. Nonheme iron concentration from RBC increased from 3.4% to 10.2% after slow-heating and to 6.9% after fast-heating (p < 0.05). HIC heated at 150°C and 300°C significantly increased nonheme iron (p < 0.05). Based on the observed increase after heating at 150 and 300°C, heat processing of HIC will decrease nutritional availability of iron from this product.