IDENTIFICATION OF KEY TEXTURAL ATTRIBUTES OF ARABIC BREAD AND THEIR APPLICATION TO THE ASSESSMENT OF STORAGE AND QUALITY

Regression analysis of magnitude estimates of 9 manual attributes was utilized to identify the key textural traits of Arabic bread. Twelve samples of Arabic bread were sensorily evaluated for selected textural attributes as perceived by consumers prior to purchasing and during preparation of bread for consumption. The best triplet, average coefficient of determination (R²) of 0.901, for predicting the other textural attributes comprised the force required to initiate tearing, the degree to which the sample extends before rupturing and the pliability of samples. The magnitude of these attributes decreased significantly (p < 0.05) upon storage and exhibited marked variations with differences in quality of Arabic bread. Pliability, resistance to tearing and the degree to which the sample extends before rupturing are adequate for following the rate of staling and for ascertaining differences in quality in this class of baked products.     

Influence of starter culture type and incubation temperatures on rheology and microstructure of low fat set yoghurt

The effects of different cultures and incubation temperatures on the physical properties of low fat yoghurts were investigated. The samples were incubated with exopolysaccharide (EPS)-producing and non-EPS-producing cultures at 37, 42 and 45°C. All measured parameters except firmness were influenced by culture type and incubation temperature. Firmness, G' and G" were maximised at 42°C for both cultures. Increased incubation temperature and EPS culture led to a higher water-holding capacity but lower syneresis, G' and G". The EPS treatment incubated at 37°C showed even lower syneresis than non-EPS treatments incubated at higher temperatures.     

THIN-LAYER INFRARED RADIATION DRYING OF RED PEPPER SLICES

Drying characteristics and changing of quality parameters of red pepper were determined experimentally as a function of infrared power ( IP ) and air velocity during infrared drying. Drying experiments of red pepper slices were carried out at three levels of IP (300, 400 and 500 W) and at three air velocities (1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 m/s). The drying time at air velocity from 1.0 to 2.0 m/s ranged between 314 and 455 min, 213 and 297 min and 196 and 230 min at IP of 300, 400 and 500 W, respectively. Drying rate increased with increasing IP and decreasing air velocity. All drying experiments had a falling rate of drying period. The specific energy consumption was varied between 4.62 and 7.59 kW·h/kg for all the drying conditions. Thickness change/shrinkage was found to be in the range of 0.162 and 0.263. The color parameters and the rehydration ratio were significantly influenced by IP and air velocity.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

Drying is an important operation in red pepper processing. In open-air condition, the drying time of red pepper is 8–10 days. Several researchers state that drying in open-air conditions also has some disadvantages such as lack of ability to control the drying operation properly, long drying time, weather uncertainties, high labor costs, large area requirement, insect infestation and contamination with dust and other foreign materials. The results from this study can be used as reference for drying of red pepper in similar applications. The drying method proposed in this study decreased the time required for drying of red pepper, reduced the space needed for equipment and protected the product quality. Therefore, the drying technique proposed in this study can be a good alternative to other drying techniques available. Also, the proposed drying method can be used as a reference to drying applications of various vegetables and fruits.     

Manipulation of Dhaka cheese curd and effects on cheese quality

Dhaka cheese is a semihard artisanal variety originating from Bangladesh where manual curd kneading is a normal stage in its manufacture. Dhaka cheeses were produced with different degrees of curd kneading to quantify the curd manipulation process in terms of pressure and to standardise the length of operation. The effect of manipulation on the composition, rheology, texture and microstructure of fresh cheese was also studied. Manipulation had significant effects (P < 0.05–0.001) on most of the parameters studied. One minute of curd manipulation was found to be sufficient for Dhaka cheesemaking.     

Pressing technique and its effect on the quality of Dhaka cheese

Dhaka cheese is a semihard artisanal variety made mainly from bovine milk, using very simple pressing methods. Experimental cheeses were pressed at gauge pressures up to 31 kPa for 12 h at 24 °C and 70% RH. These cheeses were subsequently examined for their compositional, textural and rheological properties plus their microstructures investigated by confocal laser microscopy. The cheese pressed at 15.6 kPa was found to have the best compositional and structural properties.     

Real time analysis for traffic controller using 8085 based simulator

This paper presents the implementation of a traffic controller based on 8085 microcomputer simulator. This is a real time software traffic controller used for an isolated intersection, which gives a more comprehensive evaluation of system behaviour. Therefore, the average delay per vehicle in all arms of the intersection is minimized and the maximum vehicle queue length in each arm of the ‘halt’ phase is limited and the queue length is controlled. In order to accomplish these criteria, an algorithm has been constructed utilizing vehicle actuated signals. From this algorithm the real traffic control period is controlled in accordance with the vehicle queue situated in each arm of the intersection; dealing with different situations interactively and successfully. The simulator has been implemented in Fortran IV and runs successfully on Honeywell 66/10.     

Effect of temperature and time on solvothermal synthesis of tetragonal BaTiO<Subscript>3</Subscript>

Tetragonal BaTiO₃ nanoparticles are synthesized via solvothermal route in an ethanol water mixture. Ba(OH)₂·8H₂O is used as Ba precursor and TiO₂ (P25 Degussa ∼25 nm, 30% anatase, 70% rutile) is used as Ti precursor in the Ba : Ti molar ratio 2 : 1. Effect of temperature and time study on solvothermal synthesis of BaTiO₃ revealed that a moderate reaction temperature i.e. 185°C and longer reaction time favour tetragonal phase stabilization. Dissolution–precipitation appears to be the transformation mechanism for the crystallization of BaTiO₃ from particulate TiO₂ precursor.     

AN IMPROVED SYNERGETIC ALGORITHM FOR IMAGE CLASSIFICATION

A major application of pattern recognition technology is in industrial manufacturing. In this paper, we develop a synergetic algorithm for pattern recognition which is based purely on the appearance of the object, without reference to a CAD model of the object, making the technique generic and flexible. In particular, we apply this algorithm to the problem of classifying an object into a number of user-defined aspects, which is an important problem in robotic manipulation of objects. The technique is fast and can be trained using a non-iterative, deterministic training scheme which will find a zero-error solution on a training set, if such a solution exists.     

Recursive parameter estimation for semimartingales

A recursive estimation algorithm is presented for a semimartingale model based on the theory of optimal estimating functions. Strong consistency and asymptotic normality of the recursive estimate generated by the algorithm are established. This recursive algorithm may be used to handle the problems of missing observations and censored observations.