Effect of curing conditions and harvesting stage of maturity on Ethiopian onion bulb drying properties

The study was conducted to investigate the impact of curing conditions and harvesting stageson the drying quality of onion bulbs. The onion bulbs (Bombay Red cultivar) were harvested at three harvesting stages (early, optimum, and late maturity) and cured at three different temperatures (30, 40 and 50 oC) and relative humidity (30, 50 and 70%). The results revealed that curing temperature, RH, and maturity stage had significant effects on all measuredattributesexcept total soluble solids

Emerging Trends in Beverage Processing

Emerging Trends in Beverage Processing describes several non-thermal emerging technologies and biotechnologies. The use of non-thermal technologies represnts the future of food processing because due to the ability of such technologies to increase the shelf life, preserving nutritional and sensory quality. This book considers several promising technologies, such as: hyperbaric storage, ultrasound, high pressure homogeneization, pulsed light, cold plasma and pulsed electric fields, together with other emerging biotechnologies

Valorization of Food, Food Waste and By-Products by Means of Sensory Evaluation and Volatile Compounds Analysis

The detection of the aromatic profile of a food is relevant for the comprehension and the definition of the volatile fraction of product. Additionally, the identification of the molecules responsible for the sensory, specifically olfactory (direct and indirect), food perception is relevant to define its acceptability and, in some cases (e.g. olive oil), its quality. Combining data obtained from sensory evaluation and volatile compounds analysis is relevant for the definition of a product fingerprint, useful to describe the product itself but also to highlight its strengths and to emphasize many characteristics like a certain level of typicality (e.g. products defined by a strong connection with a geographical area) or novelty (products containing food waste or by-products). To this aim, a combined sensory and instrumental approach, in which the aromatic profile of different products was studied (olive oil, olive oil enriched in lycopene from tomato by-product, fresh cheese, salami, cooked ham, faba bean, chocolate and pear juice models), is applied. The sensory evaluation of different food samples was paired with the volatile compounds analysis, to define if any correlation exists among what human being can perceive and detectable volatile molecules of a product. Additionally, this approach was supported by the application of other instrumental techniques, like texture measurement or electronic eye evaluation. Even if characterization was done using several methodologies, sensory studies were always included as the most important means to evaluate the products, and other methods were to support and/or relate to them. Finally, this thesis put on evidence how relevant the development of quality indicators using modern research methods could be. The new knowledge could be used to promote these products to Italian and/or European consumers, as well as to better understand the characters of food matrices, which helps in developing new products and creating innovations

Accounting for taste:conversation, categorisation and certification in the sensory assessment of craft brewing

The recent rapid growth of “craft beer” has led to a search for definitions and categorisation of that sector with “beer style” used as one criterion. This thesis explores the origins of these style definitions and how they act as a technology of classification which affects how sensory judgments are formed and expressed in practice, and how judges are examined and certified. The investigation draws on actor-network theory and ethnomethodology to trace how taste descriptions are assembled and translated into test items in an online exam. The material orderings and classification practices which assemble competition judging are then explored ethnographically by following the trajectory of a beer through these situated actions. The magnification is increased through developing original methods utilising digital pens, and draws on principles from conversation analysis to explore the sequential and categorial aspects of judging talk and its co-ordination with writing and form-filling. Finally, auto-ethnographic and material-semiotic explorations are used to explore how a blind beer tasting exam is assembled, and the models of learning and assessment it enacts. The historical construction of the contemporary language of sensory assessment supports the construction of the style guides. Once assembled into an information infrastructure the style guide is extended to act in multiple different ways: its propositions are translated into testable facts with multiple choices, it functions as a technology of material ordering and coordination, as a regulatory technology placing limits on how taste judgements can and cannot be expressed or recorded, and as a re-enactment and materialisation of individual cognitivist models of assessment. Through exploring the ways a classification system is assembled, translated and made authoritative this thesis extends the conceptualisation of what is considered a technology in technology enhanced learning, and extends the dialogue between that disciplinary field and scholarship in science and technology studies

Aerospace Medicine and Biology - A continuing bibliography with indexes

Annotated bibliography and indexes on Aerospace Medicine and Biology - Dec. 196

Food - Media - Senses: Interdisciplinary Approaches

Food is more than just nutrition. Its preparation, presentation and consumption is a multifold communicative practice which includes the meal's design and its whole field of experience. How is food represented in cookbooks, product packaging or in paintings? How is dining semantically charged? How is the sensuality of eating treated in different cultural contexts? In order to acknowledge the material and media-related aspects of eating as a cultural praxis, experts from media studies, art history, literary studies, philosophy, experimental psychology, anthropology, food studies, cultural studies and design studies share their specific approaches

Secondo Convegno Nazionale della Società Italiana di Scienze Sensoriali

Over the last decade there has been a growing interest in sensory science in Italy. This has clearly resulted in an increase in the number of researchers engaged in this sector and the number of companies that exploit sensory evaluations for product innovation and enhancement and in quality control. In Italy, in the sphere of the valorisation of prestige foodstuffs there is an increasing sensitivity towards the adoption of strict methods for describing the sensory properties of the products and ascertaining compliance with defined sensory standards. The Società Italiana di Scienze Sensoriali has played a decisive role in activating and guiding this development. Pursuing this approach, in 2008 the Society organised the 2nd National Convention as an occasion for exchange among professionals working in the field of sensory science

Daring Trade: An Archaeology of the Slave Trade in Late-Seventeenth Century Panama (1663-1674)

This dissertation delves into both archaeological evidence and firsthand written sources in order to examine the material constitution of European slave traders' social life in the last years of existence of the Spanish colonial city of Panama, burnt down to the ashes following a piratic attack in 1671. It is based on the well-established and widely recognized premise that African captives played a transforming and profoundly disruptive role in Spanish colonial society, despite the dehumanized social status slaves were given in the early modern world. On the one hand, enslaved Africans were seen as necessary tradable objects without which the Spanish colonial enterprise could not have been sustained; on the other, colonial documents indicate that these captives were perceived as dangerous subjects seriously compromising the cultural basis of the colonial order. This work aims at demonstrating that the life trajectories of African slaves cannot be dissociated from those of their captors: it offers an alternative and indirect vision of the rich cultural experience of African people in the Americas by evaluating, both historically and archaeologically, the extent to which the cultural threat slaves manifestly represented for Western colonists in the New World determined or regulated the configuration of slave traders' lived spaces. This research builds upon an important legacy of archaeological investigation that has, at least since the 1960s, provided Afro-descendant communities in the Americas with powerful historical and material referents indispensable to recreate strong and socially significant ties with their own past. However, taking some distance from more traditional studies focusing on the development of creolized lifestyles in plantation and maroon contexts, this works offers an innovative perspective on the painful memories of the slave trade by interrogating the nature and scope of the consumption practices through which Western slavers defended their nowadays unthinkable commercial enterprise. In order to address this fundamental, but overlooked question in the archaeology of slavery, this study strongly engages with recent theorizations on the rich and complex concept of materiality, one which has contributed to reactivate material culture and social archaeology studies by empowering dormant, classic visions of the fascinating and unstable social bond relating people with the physical objects they create. In this study, archaeological and historical data testifying to colonial networks of material exchange are, thus, not simply described as mere reflections of past social performances; they are revealed as constitutive components of meaningful systems of sociability in which African slaves were inevitably trapped

Factors Influencing Customer Satisfaction towards E-shopping in Malaysia

Online shopping or e-shopping has changed the world of business and quite a few people have decided to work with these features. What their primary concerns precisely and the responses from the globalisation are the competency of incorporation while doing their businesses. E-shopping has also increased substantially in Malaysia in recent years. The rapid increase in the e-commerce industry in Malaysia has created the demand to emphasize on how to increase customer satisfaction while operating in the e-retailing environment. It is very important that customers are satisfied with the website, or else, they would not return. Therefore, a crucial fact to look into is that companies must ensure that their customers are satisfied with their purchases that are really essential from the ecommerce’s point of view. With is in mind, this study aimed at investigating customer satisfaction towards e-shopping in Malaysia. A total of 400 questionnaires were distributed among students randomly selected from various public and private universities located within Klang valley area. Total 369 questionnaires were returned, out of which 341 questionnaires were found usable for further analysis. Finally, SEM was employed to test the hypotheses. This study found that customer satisfaction towards e-shopping in Malaysia is to a great extent influenced by ease of use, trust, design of the website, online security and e-service quality. Finally, recommendations and future study direction is provided. Keywords: E-shopping, Customer satisfaction, Trust, Online security, E-service quality, Malaysia

MediaSync: Handbook on Multimedia Synchronization

This book provides an approachable overview of the most recent advances in the fascinating field of media synchronization (mediasync), gathering contributions from the most representative and influential experts. Understanding the challenges of this field in the current multi-sensory, multi-device, and multi-protocol world is not an easy task. The book revisits the foundations of mediasync, including theoretical frameworks and models, highlights ongoing research efforts, like hybrid broadband broadcast (HBB) delivery and users' perception modeling (i.e., Quality of Experience or QoE), and paves the way for the future (e.g., towards the deployment of multi-sensory and ultra-realistic experiences). Although many advances around mediasync have been devised and deployed, this area of research is getting renewed attention to overcome remaining challenges in the next-generation (heterogeneous and ubiquitous) media ecosystem. Given the significant advances in this research area, its current relevance and the multiple disciplines it involves, the availability of a reference book on mediasync becomes necessary. This book fills the gap in this context. In particular, it addresses key aspects and reviews the most relevant contributions within the mediasync research space, from different perspectives. Mediasync: Handbook on Multimedia Synchronization is the perfect companion for scholars and practitioners that want to acquire strong knowledge about this research area, and also approach the challenges behind ensuring the best mediated experiences, by providing the adequate synchronization between the media elements that constitute these experiences