The effect of internal and external roasting temperatures on pork sensory properties, physical measurements and consumer liking : a thesis presented in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Technology (Food Technology) at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

The objectives of this research were twofold. Initially it was to quantify the effects of external (roasting) temperature and meat internal (end-point) temperature on the sensory and physical characteristics of selected cuts of pork. Secondly, to investigate Australian consumer preferences to selected cut and cooking condition combinations, and determine the sensory attributes that are most important for preference formation. A two factor central composite rotatable design with independent variables external temperature (120°C-200°C) and internal temperature (65°C-100°C) was used in this trial. A trained sensory panel evaluated the sensory differences of selected cuts (C-loin chop; F-fillet; LE-leg; LO-loin, SH-shoulder, SC-scotch) of cooked pork. Using response surface analysis the effects of these cooking conditions on pork sensory properties (initial and sustained juiciness, pork flavour, hardness, cohesiveness, chewiness) and physical measurements (evaporation loss (%), drip loss (%), cooking time (min/kg), Instron shear force (N), Hunter colour L*, a*, b*) were studied. Sensory attributes initial juiciness (C, F, SC), sustained juiciness (C, F, LE, SC), pork flavour (C, F), hardness (LE, LO, SH), cohesiveness (LE, LO, SH, SC), and chewiness (LO) showed a significant linear relationship with internal temperature. Except for hardness (C) and pork flavour (C, F) all the other sensory attributes showed no significant linear relationships with external temperature. Relationships were also observed between physical measurements and relevant temperatures depending on the cut used. The second stage of consumer evaluation (degree of liking) of selected pork samples was done in Brisbane, Australia and internal preference mapping was used to correlate the trained panel data with consumer data. The results from preference mapping indicated tenderness (hardness) to be the most important sensory attribute driving consumer liking. This segment of Australian consumers primarily liked tender meat that was also flavourful and juicy. Tenderness of pork is achieved at lower internal temperatures for smaller cuts and at higher internal temperatures for larger cuts. Increasing internal temperature also significantly increases cooking time. Therefore, the recommended internal temperatures for smaller cuts should be within the range 68-70°C and for larger cuts within the range of 80-85°C to optimise the sensory properties in accordance with the liking of this segment of Australian consumers. The recommended external (ET) and internal (IT) temperatures from this research are: Chop Roast- ET 160°C-170°C, IT 68°C-70°C; Fillet Roast- ET 160°C-170°C, IT 68°C-70°C; Leg Roast- ET 180°C-190*C, IT 80°C-85°C; Loin Roast- ET 180°C-190°C, IT 80°C-85°C; Shoulder Roast- ET 180°C-190°C, IT 80°C-85°C; Scotch Roast- ET160°C-170°C, IT 68°C-70°C

Viscosity and thermodynamic properties of QGP in relativistic heavy ion collisions

We study the viscosity and thermodynamic properties of QGP at RHIC by employing the recently extracted equilibrium distribution functions from two hot QCD equations of state of $O(g^5)$ and $O(g^6\ln(1/g))$ respectively. After obtaining the temperature dependence of energy density, and entropy density, we focus our attention on the determination of shear viscosity for a rapidly expanding interacting plasma, as a function of temperature. We find that interactions significantly decrease the shear viscosity. They decrease the viscosity to entropy density ratio, $\eta/{\mathcal S}$ as well.Comment: 21 pages, 10 figures, Version to appear in EPJ

Optimal observables to determine entanglement of a two qubit state

Experimental determination of entanglement is important not only to characterize the state and use it in quantum information, but also in understanding complicated phenomena such as phase transitions. In this paper we show that in many cases, it is possible to determine entanglement of a two qubit state, as represented by concurrence, with a few observables, most of which are local. In particular, rank 1 and rank 2 states need exclusively measurement of local observables while rank 3 states need measurement of just one correlation observable in addition to local observables. Only the rank 4 states are shown to require a more detailed tomography. The analysis also sheds light on the other measure, non separability since it is a lower bound on concurrence.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figur

Lower bounds for Arrangement-based Range-Free Localization in Sensor Networks

Colander are location aware entities that collaborate to determine approximate location of mobile or static objects when beacons from an object are received by all colanders that are within its distance $R$. This model, referred to as arrangement-based localization, does not require distance estimation between entities, which has been shown to be highly erroneous in practice. Colander are applicable in localization in sensor networks and tracking of mobile objects. A set $S \subset {\mathbb R}^2$ is an $(R,\epsilon)$-colander if by placing receivers at the points of $S$, a wireless device with transmission radius $R$ can be localized to within a circle of radius $\epsilon$. We present tight upper and lower bounds on the size of $(R,\epsilon)$-colanders. We measure the expected size of colanders that will form $(R, \epsilon)$-colanders if they distributed uniformly over the plane