Effect of structural modifications on the drying kinetics of foods: changes in volume, surface area and product shape

Macro and micro-structural changes take place during food dehydration. Macro-structural changes encompass modifications in shape, area and volume. Studies of such changes are important because dehydration kinetics (essential for calculating industrial dryers) may be highly influenced by changes in food shape and dimensions. The overall changes in volume, surface area (“shrinkage”) and shape (Heywood factor, with provides a close description of food shape) were determined experimentally, and the results were correlated with simple expressions. Hence, although dehydration kinetics can be modeled with simplified overall shrinkage expressions, the possibility of selecting a suitable geometry and predicting the characteristics dimensions will provide higher accuracy. An additional unresolved problem is the lack of a general model that predicts macro-structural changes for various foods and diverse geometries. In this work, based on experimental data of sweet and sour cherries, and rose hip fruits, a simplified general model to predict changes in volume and surface area are proposed. To estimate how the changes in characteristic dimensions affect the kinetic studies, experimental drying curves for the three fruits by means of a diffusional model considered the following variants for the characteristic dimensions: (i) The radius of the fresh food, assumed constant; (ii) The radius of the partially dehydrated product; (iii) The radius predicted by the correlation for structural changes, especially volume, obtained in this work and generalized for the three fruits, and (iv) to demonstrate the need to study the macro-structural changes for all dehydrated foods, also be present the case of a restructured food.Facultad de Ciencias Exacta

Development of a simulation model for potential production of sweet cherry: its usefulness to analyse planting density

Tesis para obtener el grado de Magíster Scientiae Crop Sciences, Production Ecology, de la Wageningen University, en 2002A simulation model for potential production of sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) was developed using information from literature. Parameterisation was done using values from literature and experimental measurements. An experiment with four different densities (2051, 2564, 3419 and 5128 trees ha-1) in two cultivars (Karina and Regina) was evaluated to (1) obtain the values of some parameters and (2) to (partially) test the model. The main objectives of the research were: 1) To understand and explain yield differences between combinations of densities and cultivars from an ecophysiological point of view. 2) To find out if a mechanistic model for sweet cherry can explain yield differences due to planting densities. 3) To study if light interception is the main parameter explaining yield differences. 4) To estimate which is the optimum LAI (and light interception) to maximise fruit production. In the experiment, both LAI and fruit production did not differ between treatments, suggesting that intra-specific competition compensated the effect of differences in planting density. In both the experiment and in the simulations in the conditions of the experiment, no reduction of fresh weight of individual fruits was observed under any yield value. This situation would indicate that potential sweet cherry production is generally limited by reproductive sink strength, therefore being more sensitive to flower bud differentiation and fruit-set rather than to light interception. The model was suitable to explain the main mechanisms of fruit production, even considering that prediction of absolute values could not be properly tested. A LAI-value between 4 and 5 and about 40 fruits per m2 of leaf area seem to be good targets to optimise fruit production without detrimental effects in fresh weight of individual fruits.EEA ChubutFil: Cittadini, Eduardo Daniel. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Chubut. Grupo de Fruticultura; Argentin

Effect of structural modifications on the drying kinetics of foods: changes in volume, surface area and product shape

Macro and micro-structural changes take place during food dehydration. Macro-structural changes encompass modifications in shape, area and volume. Studies of such changes are important because dehydration kinetics (essential for calculating industrial dryers) may be highly influenced by changes in food shape and dimensions. The overall changes in volume, surface area (?shrinkage?) and shape (Heywood factor, with provides a close description of food shape) were determined experimentally, and the results were correlated with simple expressions. Hence, although dehydration kinetics can be modeled with simplified overall shrinkage expressions, the possibility of selecting a suitable geometry and predicting the characteristics dimensions will provide higher accuracy. An additional unresolved problem is the lack of a general model that predicts macro-structural changes for various foods and diverse geometries. In this work, based on experimental data of sweet and sour cherries, and rose hip fruits, a simplified general model to predict changes in volume and surface area are proposed. To estimate how the changes in characteristic dimensions affect the kinetic studies, experimental drying curves for the three fruits by means of a diffusional model considered the following variants for the characteristic dimensions: (i) The radius of the fresh food, assumed constant; (ii) The radius of the partially dehydrated product; (iii) The radius predicted by the correlation for structural changes, especially volume, obtained in this work and generalized for the three fruits, and (iv) to demonstrate the need to study the macro-structural changes for all dehydrated foods, also be present the case of a restructured food.Fil: de Michelis, Antonio. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Patagonia Norte. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria San Carlos de Bariloche. Agencia de Extension Rural El Bolson; Argentina. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Criotecnología de Alimentos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Criotecnología de Alimentos. Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Criotecnología de Alimentos; ArgentinaFil: Marquez, Carlos Alberto. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Facultad de Ciencias y Tecnologia de los Alimentos; ArgentinaFil: Mabellini, Alejandra. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Facultad de Ciencias y Tecnologia de los Alimentos; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Ohaco, Elizabeth. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Facultad de Ciencias y Tecnologia de los Alimentos; ArgentinaFil: Giner, Sergio Adrian. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Criotecnología de Alimentos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Criotecnología de Alimentos. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Criotecnología de Alimentos; Argentin

Cultivar features of polyphenolic compounds and ascorbic acid accumulation in the cherry fruits (Prunus cerasus L.) in the Southern Steppe of Ukraine

Received: June 1st, 2022 ; Accepted: September 26th, 2022 ; Published: October 14th, 2022 ; Correspondence: [email protected] is a popular and widespread fruit crop in many European countries. Significant areas of its plantation are located in the Southern Steppe subzone of Ukraine. Modern biochemical research aims to determine the amplitude of cherries varietal difference within the studied species and determine selection possibilities for the most important chemical components. In this regard, the study of fruits biochemical composition of different cherries cultivars is relevant. The aim of the research was to build a mathematical model based on Multiple linear regression method, which reveals the degree of weather factors influence on the dynamics of polyphenolic compounds and ascorbic acid accumulation in cherries fruits in the Southern Steppe subzone of Ukraine and in regions with similar hydrothermal parameters. The cultivar ‘Ihrushka’ was characterized by the lowest variability in the concentration of polyphenolic compounds with the value of the variation coefficient of 9.9%. The optimal average concentration of polyphenolic compounds at the level of 224.6 mg 100 g-1 had fruits of the cherry cultivar ‘Siianets Turovtsevoi’ (Vp – 12.8%). Fruits of the ‘Vstrecha’ cultivar were characterized by the optimal average concentration of ascorbic acid at the level of 9.6 mg 100 g-1 and variability of the indicator 14.0%. The dominant influence of varietal characteristics on the polyphenolic compounds accumulation in cherry fruits has been established. The share of the factor impact B was 41.3%. It was determined that weather conditions with a share of influence of 69.2% are crucial for the formation of the ascorbic acid. The correlation analysis showed the presence of a linear correlation between seven weather factors (Хі, i = 1..7) and the concentration of polyphenolic compounds (Y1) and ascorbic acid (Y2) in cherry fruits. The values of the pairwise correlation coefficients rY1Xi , rY2Xi i = 1. .7 were within the interval [-0.55; 0.55], which showed the presence of an impact between these weather factors and the studied indicators. The average monthly precipitation in June became decisive for the accumulation of polypolyphenolic compounds (∆X2 = 35.2%). The average monthly amount of precipitation in May was determined to be the most important for the formation of the ascorbic acid level (∆X1 = 37.1%)

Evaluation of The Impact of Tart Cherries Polyphenols on The Human Gut Microbiota and Phenolic Metabolites In Vitro and In Vivo

Tart cherries are polyphenol abundant stone fruits claimed to exert health benefits further of its nutritional properties. The abundant phytochemicals content in tart cherries also referred as dietary polyphenols have been considered as an effective natural antioxidant when added in daily diet. However, it has been hypothesized the intervention of gut microbiota on the overall functionality of such compounds. This thesis contains a wide-ranging literature review focused on tart cherry as a crop, current market, functional food, and several health benefits. Furthermore, the research done describes and in vitro and in vivo assays of a short-term dietary intervention of tart cherry and polyphenol isolates assessed with microbial ecology analysis and metabolomics of tart cherry concentrate polyphenols and microbial metabolites. The concentration of polyphenols (anthocyanins, flavonols and phenolic acids) were high amounts as expected. The in vitro assay showed large increase of Bacteroides in addition to a suggested Bifidobacterium increase likely due to large concentration of chlorogenic acid found in the tart cherry concentrated juice. The main microbial metabolites found in this assay was mainly 4-hydroxyphenyl propionic acid and in less amounts 4-hydroxybenzoic acid. The in vivo assay showed two initial scenarios associates with Bacteroides relative abundance: individuals with high Bacteroides increase the relative abundance of Lachnospiraceae, Ruminococcus and Collinsella; on the other hand, individuals with low levels of Bacteroides responded with an increase Prevotella and Bifidobacterium and Bcteroides and decrease of Lachnospiraceae, Ruminococcus and Collinsella. The results confirm an intervention from the gut microbiota over the metabolism of phytochemicals which should be considered in studies linked with functional foods and potential benefits to health

Principal Component Analysis

This book is aimed at raising awareness of researchers, scientists and engineers on the benefits of Principal Component Analysis (PCA) in data analysis. In this book, the reader will find the applications of PCA in fields such as taxonomy, biology, pharmacy,finance, agriculture, ecology, health and architecture

Maximizing the efficiency of a speed rail for the preparation of alcoholic beverages.

Typically bartenders will arrange liquor bottles in a bar based on their own preferences. This research project describes an alternative way to arrange the bottles on the speed rail more efficiently. This will allow bartenders to make drinks quicker and easier. The objective of this study is to develop some sort of heuristic using block diagramming to make every speed rail more efficient. For this project three different bars\u27 speed rails were observed. The factors considered were the top 20 selling mixed drinks at each bar and their current speed rail setup. A generalized heuristic was used to evaluate the speed rail and make changes to try and increase its efficiency. A block diagram of each speed rail was made to keep track of the progress along the way. Linear programming and a real life example were used in this project to show that block diagramming truly made these speed rails more efficient. In the real life example each of the top 20 selling drinks was made and timed using the existing speed rail layout and then timed again using the new proposed layout. A quadratic assignment problem from linear programming was used to show that the layouts found using block diagramming were good answers

Effect of structural modifications on the drying kinetics of foods: changes in volume, surface area and product shape

Macro and micro-structural changes take place during food dehydration. Macro-structural changes encompass modifications in shape, area and volume. Studies of such changes are important because dehydration kinetics (essential for calculating industrial dryers) may be highly influenced by changes in food shape and dimensions. The overall changes in volume, surface area (“shrinkage”) and shape (Heywood factor, with provides a close description of food shape) were determined experimentally, and the results were correlated with simple expressions. Hence, although dehydration kinetics can be modeled with simplified overall shrinkage expressions, the possibility of selecting a suitable geometry and predicting the characteristics dimensions will provide higher accuracy. An additional unresolved problem is the lack of a general model that predicts macro-structural changes for various foods and diverse geometries. In this work, based on experimental data of sweet and sour cherries, and rose hip fruits, a simplified general model to predict changes in volume and surface area are proposed. To estimate how the changes in characteristic dimensions affect the kinetic studies, experimental drying curves for the three fruits by means of a diffusional model considered the following variants for the characteristic dimensions: (i) The radius of the fresh food, assumed constant; (ii) The radius of the partially dehydrated product; (iii) The radius predicted by the correlation for structural changes, especially volume, obtained in this work and generalized for the three fruits, and (iv) to demonstrate the need to study the macro-structural changes for all dehydrated foods, also be present the case of a restructured food.Facultad de Ciencias Exacta

An Allometric Approach to Evaluate Physiological and Production Efficiencies in Tree Size for Tart Cherry and Apple Orchard Systems

Improving production efficiency is a major challenge for modern orchard systems. The primary response in horticulture is to develop high-density orchard systems that use dwarfing rootstocks and intense management strategies to maintain small tree size. As development and evaluation of novel orchard systems may help improve understanding of plant physiology for the development of high-density systems. The effect of tree size and architecture on physiological and production efficiency was evaluated for tart cherry (Prunus cerasus, P. mahaleb) and apple (Malus spp.) orchard systems using a physiologically driven modeling approach, called allometry. Branch dimensions, canopy dimensions and biomass were measured for 24-year-old tart cherry individuals and 10-year-old \u27Golden Delicious\u27 apple individuals on various rootstocks in experimental blocks at the Kaysville Research Farm in Davis Co., Utah. Tree size was related to annual fruit biomass that had been collected over the duration of the apple trial. Branch dimensions, canopy dimensions, yield, and fruit quality were collected in commercial tart cherry orchards of Utah Co. Tree size, architecture, and biomass of tart cherry and apple expressed strong allometric relationships that were broadly consistent among the two orchard tree species and the theoretical expectations derived from wild plants. The most consistent relationship was the trunk diameter (or trunk cross sectional area) - stem biomass relationship, which broadly followed the 8/3-power law. Branch and canopy dimensions that include a measure of length, such as branch length and canopy height, demonstrated architecture indicative of high water efficiency and metabolic activity that is relieved from biomechanical constrains of weight bearing. The apple rootstocks differed from each other in production efficiency with individuals that express smaller branch and canopy dimensions producing a higher proportion of fruit relative to tree size. In the commercial tart cherry orchards, smaller individuals with relatively higher canopy height and spread expressed higher yield and fruit quality. Overall, this research supported the continued development of training systems that maintain small trees to improve physiological and production efficiency. Further research must reconcile other consequences of intense management and overproduction that arise with the increased efficiency facilitated by small tree size and high-density orchard systems to maintain sustainable fruit production

Craft Beer Production

As the market demand for craft brewed beer continues to grow, small brewers are continuing to crop up to meet the demand. With the increasing number of small breweries also comes an increasing number of brewery closings—more than 80 since 2010. While the brewing process fundamentals can be mastered with little technical knowledge, the key to a prosperous brewery is optimizing the use of all resources in the process, especially considering rising energy costs. New brewing operations often have the choice between building their own facility from scratch, or contracting their brewing operations to an established facility. This project recommends a design for a craft brewery (BASH Brewing Co.) producing 13 varieties of beer with a 100,000 bbl/year total production capacity. The recommended design minimizes the use of external utilities by maximizing the heat integration of process streams. Rigorous economic analysis to determine the profitability of the process design was performed. The startup and operations costs for building an independent facility following this design were calculated, and from this a reasonable rate for contract brewing was determined. It was found that the construction of an independent facility would require a total permanent investment of $68MM and have a net present value (NPV) of$26MM with an internal rate of return (IRR) of 20.96% in the present year. To achieve the same returns, it was determined that contract brewing would only be a more economically viable option if the contracted production price is less than $8.72/gallon of beer