Evaluation of innovative technological approaches to replace palmoil with physically modified Swiss rapeseed oil in bakery products

Palm fat is often used in baked goods because of its relatively low cost, and its positive impact on texture and shelf life. Demand for alternatives has risen in recent years due to concerns about the ecological and social sustainability. This is a challenge for the bakery industry since palm oil possesses unique properties. In this study, unhydrogenated rapeseed oil was processed using novel physical technologies, such as wax crystallisation, stabilized foaming and Pickering emulsions, in order to simulate palm oil properties. Analysis showed that while the initial viscosity of the fat substitute products was low compared to palm fat, the fat replacement products behaved very similarly to palm fat in the baking experiments. The resulting biscuits baked with emulsified rapeseed oil and rapeseed oil complemented with wax crystals were judged to be suitable replacements for palm fat in terms of processability, as well as analytical and sensory assessment

Potential of a techno-functional sourdough and its application in sugar-reduced soft buns

Functional lactic acid bacteria (LAB) as starter cultures used in sourdough fermentation have been researched for years. This study evaluated the LAB strains Leuconostoc citreum DCM65 (mannitol, exopolysaccharide producing, antifungal activity) and Lactiplantibacillus plantarum subsp. plantarum MA418 (amylolytic activity) and their potential as single or co-culture starters in sourdough fermented buns containing different levels of sugar (control 9% and reduced 0, 3, 6%). Cell counts, pH development, and organic acids were determined before and after sourdough fermentation (30 °C, 24 h) and physical properties (color, volume, pore structure, and texture) of buns produced thereof were determined after baking. Sourdoughs started with DCM65 and/or MA418 developed up to log 9.2 CFU/g presumptive LAB after 24 h, assertiveness of the added starter cultures species was confirmed by MALDI-TOF MS. Acetic acid and mannitol were only detected in sourdough fermented with DCM65 (single or co-culture) up to 2.5 mg/g and 9.8 mg/g, respectively. The starter cultures applied influenced physical properties of buns. Sourdough buns started with MA418 had higher volume and slice area, and softer crumb; in contrast, buns fermented with DCM65 had a finer pore structure. In summary, both starter cultures showed high potential in sourdough buns with reduced sugar content

The role of time-varying contextual factors in latent attrition models for customer base analysis

Customer base analysis of noncontractual businesses builds on modeling purchases and latent attrition. With the Pareto/NBD model, this has become a straightforward exercise. However, this simplicity comes at a price. Customer-level predictions often lack precision. This issue can be addressed by acknowledging the importance of contextual factors for customer behavior. Considering contextual factors might contribute in two ways: (1) by increasing predictive accuracy and (2) by identifying the impact of these determinants on the purchase and attrition process. However, there is no generalization of the Pareto/NBD model that incorporates time-varying contextual factors. Preserving a closed-form maximum likelihood solution, this study proposes an extension that facilitates modeling time-invariant and time-varying contextual factors in continuous noncontractual settings. These contextual factors can influence the purchase process, the attrition process, or both. The authors further illustrate how to control for endogenous contextual factors. Benchmarking with three data sets from the retailing industry shows that explicitly modeling time-varying contextual factors significantly improves the accuracy of out-of-sample predictions for future purchases and latent attrition

The Role of Time-Varying Contextual Factors in Latent Attrition Models for Customer Base Analysis

Customer base analysis of noncontractual businesses builds on modeling purchases and latent attrition. With the Pareto/NBD model, this has become a straightforward exercise. However, this simplicity comes at a price. Customer-level predictions often lack precision. This issue can be addressed by acknowledging the importance of contextual factors for customer behavior. Considering contextual factors might contribute in two ways: (1) by increasing predictive accuracy and (2) by identifying the impact of these determinants on the purchase and attrition process. However, there is no generalization of the Pareto/NBD model that incorporates time-varying contextual factors. Preserving a closed-form maximum likelihood solution, this study proposes an extension that facilitates modeling time-invariant and time-varying contextual factors in continuous noncontractual settings. These contextual factors can influence the purchase process, the attrition process, or both. The authors further illustrate how to control for endogenous contextual factors. Benchmarking with three data sets from the retailing industry shows that explicitly modeling time-varying contextual factors significantly improves the accuracy of out-of-sample predictions for future purchases and latent attrition

La présence de l’histoire dans l’épistolaire

Dans les lettres que nous a léguées l’Antiquité gréco-romaine comme dans les correspondances plus récentes, l’histoire est présente sous différents aspects, liés à l’ambiguïté du mot « histoire », qui désigne la connaissance du passé humain aussi bien que ce passé lui-même. La présence de l’histoire dans l’épistolaire est donc celle des historiens et du genre historique, mais aussi celle des événements : événements du passé, qui constituent une source inépuisable d’exempla ; événements contemporains, dont l’épistolier se fait, volontairement ou non, le témoin. Cette présence est étudiée ici, selon des approches diverses, mais souvent convergentes, chez plus de vingt auteurs, surtout grecs et latins, avec des prolongements médiévaux, renaissants et modernes. Mieux que tout autre document historique, les lettres ne favorisent-elles pas cette « rencontre fraternelle avec des hommes », que Marc Bloch situait au cœur du « métier d’historien »