The Effect of Lactates on the Quality of Microwave-Cooked Chicken Patties during Storage

ABSTRACT:  The aim of this study was to determine the effect of adding 3.3% sodium lactate (SL), 0.25% calcium lactate (CL), and 1.65% SL along with 0.125% CL (SL+CL) on the physicochemical properties, cooking characteristics, and microbiological quality of microwave-cooked chicken patties compared to control (no added lactates). The addition of lactates did not affect the proximate composition of cooked chicken patties. The pH of CL- or SL+CL-containing patties was significantly ( P < 0.05) reduced compared to control or SL patties. The SL-containing patties had lower ( P < 0.05) a _w values compared to control or CL patties. The CL- or SL+CL-containing patties had lower denatured myoglobin and higher ( P < 0.05) cooking yield, surface redness (CIE a *), and chroma values. However, addition of CL alone resulted in higher total expressible fluid, indicating lower water-holding capacity. The CL-containing patties exhibited lower Warner–Bratzler shear force values and higher ( P < 0.05) penetrometer reading compared to the SL-containing patties, indicating soft texture. Thiobarbituric acid (TBA) values were significantly ( P < 0.05) reduced in all lactate-containing patties compared to control up to the 7th day of refrigerated storage under aerobic conditions. No difference ( P > 0.05) was observed in aerobic plate counts between control and lactate-added patties during 28-d storage.     

Analysis of Frequency,Intensity, and Interference of Discomfort in Computerized Numeric Control Machine Operations

The introduction of Computerized Numeric Control (CNC) technology in manufacturing industries revolutionized the production process a few decades back. There are some health and safety problems associated with these machine operations, however. The main objectives of the present work is to study the health and safety issues associated with the CNC machines with respect to control and display, specifically to determine the frequency, intensity of discomfort, and its interference in operating different CNC machines as reported by the workers operating them. The postural discomfort associated with CNC machines was studied, and the frequency, intensity of discomfort, and interference of the level of discomfort with the participants' ability to work were recorded and analyzed. The study revealed that 20.5% of the operators reported discomfort 1 or 2 times, 25.4% experienced discomfort 3 to 4 times in a week, 37.7% had discomfort daily, and 16.4% reported discomfort several times a day. Discomfort was reported in all the body parts involved (lower back, neck, upper back, shoulder, and leg), but the highest discomfort scores were associated with the shoulder and arm region. Workers reporting discomfort several times a day also reported high mean discomfort scores. The study established that the frequency and intensity of the discomfort in all body parts is related to the position of the control panel and display. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Optimization of Lithium Content and Sintering Aid for Maximized Li+ Conductivity and Density in Ta‐Doped Li7La3Zr2O12

Ta‐doped cubic phase Li₇La₃Zr₂O₁₂ (LLZ) lithium garnet received considerable attention in recent times as prospective electrolyte for all‐solid‐state lithium battery. Although the conductivity has been improved by stabilizing the cubic phase with the Ta⁵⁺ doping for Zr⁴⁺ in LLZ, the density of the pellet was found to be relatively poor with large amount of pores. In addition to the high Li⁺ conductivity, density is also an essential parameter for the successful application of LLZ as solid electrolyte membrane in all‐solid‐state lithium battery. Systematic investigations carried out through this work indicated that the optimal Li concentration of 6.4 (i.e., Li_6.4La₃Zr_1.4Ta_0.6O₁₂) is required to obtain phase pure, relatively dense and high Li⁺ conductive cubic phase in Li_7?xLa₃Zr_2?xTa_xO₁₂ solid solutions. Effort has been also made in this work to enhance the density and Li⁺ conductivity of Li_6.4La₃Zr_1.4Ta_0.6O₁₂ further through the Li₄SiO₄ addition. A maximized room‐temperature (33°C) total (bulk + grain boundary) Li⁺ conductivity of 3.7 × 10^?4 S/cm and maximized relative density of 94% was observed for Li_6.4La₃Zr_1.4Ta_0.6O₁₂ added with 1 wt% of Li₄SiO₄.     

Improved Superorthogonal Codes Through Generalized Rotations

Concatenation of orthogonal space-time block codes (OSTBC) with an outer trellis has led to simple and powerful codes, known as superorthogonal codes or space-time block trellis-coded modulation. In this letter, we generalize these codes by finding new code supersets and corresponding set partitioning, resulting in improved coding gain. We provide design guidelines for the labeling of the generalized code trellises and demonstrate the gains by several example designs for two and four transmit antennas     

Decoloration of acid dye effluent with ozone: effect of pH, salt concentration and treatment time

A study of the ozone treatment of textile effluent containing acid dyes has been carried out to explore the influence of their chemistry, and the pH, salt concentration, ozone dose and time of treatment. The experiments were constructed using a Box-Hunter second-order composite design for three variables. The study has demonstrated that the type of aromatic rings and the number of sulphonic acid groups in the dye have a marked effect on decoloration. The pH, salt concentration and treatment time are also found to have a predictable influence. The ozone oxidation of acid dye effluent results in a reduction in pH and total organic carbon content.     

Effect of weight,height and BMI on injury outcome in side impact crashes without airbag deployment

A comprehensive analysis is performed to evaluate the effect of weight, height and body mass index (BMI) of occupants on side impact injuries at different body regions. The accident dataset for this study is based on the National Automotive Sampling System-Crashworthiness Data System (NASS-CDS) for accident year 2000–08. The mean BMI values for driver and front passenger are estimated from all types of crashes using NASS database, which clearly indicates that mean BMI has been increasing over the years in the USA. To study the effect of BMI in side impact injuries, BMI was split into three groups namely (1) thin (BMI < 21), (2) normal (BMI 24–27), (3) obese (BMI > 30). For more clear identification of the effect of BMI in side impact injuries, a minimum gap of three BMI is set in between each adjacent BMI groups. Car model years from MY1995–1999 to MY2000–2008 are chosen in order to identify the degree of influence of older and newer generation of cars in side impact injuries. Impact locations particularly side-front (F), side-center (P) and side-distributed (Y) are chosen for this analysis. Direction of force (DOF) considered for both near side and far side occupants are 8 o’clock, 9 o’clock, 10 o’clock and 2 o’clock, 3 o’clock and 4 o’clock respectively. Age <60 years is also one of the constraints imposed on data selection to minimize the effect of bone strength on the occurrence of occupant injuries. AIS2+ and AIS3+ injury risk in all body regions have been plotted for the selected three BMI groups of occupant, delta-V 0–60 kmph, two sets (old and new) of car model years. The analysis is carried with three approaches: (a) injury risk percentage based on simple graphical method with respect to a single variable, (b) injury distribution method where the injuries are marked on the respective anatomical locations and (c) logistic regression, a statistical method, considers all the related variables together. Lower extremity injury risk appears to be high for thin BMI group. It is found that BMI does not have much influence on head injuries but it is influenced more by the height of the occupant. Results of logistic analysis suggest that BMI, height and weight may have significant contribution towards side impact injuries across different body regions.     

Stress analysis & life prediction of a cryogenic rocket engine thrust chamber considering low cycle fatigue, creep and thermal ratchetting

The paper deals with stress analysis, cyclic and creep life prediction of a cryogenic rocket engine thrust chamber, being used in one of the satellite launch vehicles of ISRO. The thrust chamber is of double walled construction wherein high conductivity copper alloy is used for the inner wall and stainless steel for the outer. Regenerative cooling of the chamber is achieved by passing the fuel through rectangular coolant passages milled on outer surface of the inner wall. The inner and outer walls are bonded together by brazing at high temperature. Failure of a double walled chamber occurs due to thinning of the inner wall and bulging into the chamber due to three mechanisms viz. (i) low cycle fatigue (ii) thermal ratchetting and (iii) creep. To capture the structural behaviour of the chamber in a complete sequence of operation of the engine, axisymmetric modeling and cyclic stress analysis is carried out using the ANSYS finite element analysis software package. High temperature mechanical properties, low cycle fatigue and creep properties of copper are characterised. Results of creep tests conducted at various temperatures are utilized for evaluating creep constants of Norton secondary creep model available in ANSYS. Analysis is performed in a seven load step sequence simulating one complete hot test of the engine. Life prediction is done using the cumulative damage accumulation methodology, considering the above three damage mechanisms. Allowable number of hot runs permissible is then arrived at after assigning suitable factors of safety for each damage mode.