Effects of alternative sweeteners with or without xanthan gum on the physicochemical properties of scone products.

The physicochemical properties of scones made with alternative sweeteners (stevia, sucralose, and allulose) at different ratios (30, 70, and 100%) with or without xanthan gum were investigated. Nineteen samples were evaluated for crust color, moisture content, specific volume, and texture properties. Scones with allulose had lower L values but higher a and b values due to the Maillard and caramelization reactions. The moisture content increased with xanthan gum addition, thereby decreasing the specific volume. The sample with 30% of stevia (ST30), 30% of sucralose (SC30), and 30% of allulose and xanthan gum (AL30G) had similar characteristics to the sample with sucrose (CON). In the consumer acceptance test, CON was the most preferred, but ST30 showed no significant difference. AL30G was less preferred because of its lack of sweetness. Overall, the physicochemical properties and consumer acceptance of ST30 were closest to those of CON, suggesting its potential use in scone products. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10068-023-01416-9.

Development and Rapid Sensory Descriptive Characterization of Cereal Bars Made with Brazilian Licuri Nut (Syagrus coronata).

Licuri (Syagrus coronata) is an oilseed fruit common in the Brazilian caatinga and cerrado biomes. This fruit has high socioeconomic importance in the regions where it grows, being incorporated into exported animal feed and also into gastronomic preparations. Cereal bars are ready-to-eat highly consumed products with increased demand, commonly made with cereals and oilseeds such as licuri. In this sense, the incorporation of licuri in cereal bars may increase its socioeconomic value and expand its potential use. Thus, the objective of the study was to analyze acceptance and describe the sensory characteristics of cereal bars incorporated with licuri nuts. This study was conducted in four stages: (1) development of samples; (2) chemical composition analysis; (3) sensory analysis; and (4) statistical analysis. Cereal bars with licuri presented proportionally lower carbohydrate and protein content as the incorporation of licuri nut increased. However, the dietary fiber content increased. Further, 122 untrained panelists participated in the analysis. The results showed that samples with all proportions of incorporation of licuri nuts were acceptable. Furthermore, the sensory descriptors related to the presence of licuri were positively associated with product acceptance. In this way, this study demonstrates yet another possibility for use of the fruit, increasing its socioeconomic potential.

NEMA NU 2-2018 evaluation and image quality optimization of a new generation digital 32-cm axial field-of-view Omni Legend PET-CT using a genetic evolutionary algorithm.

A performance evaluation was conducted on the new General Electric (GE) digital Omni Legend PET-CT system with 32 cm extended field of view. The first commercially available clinical digital bismuth germanate system. The system does not use time of flight (ToF). Testing was performed in accordance with the NEMA NU2-2018 standard. A comparison was made between two other commercial GE scanners with extended fields of view; the Discovery MI - 6 ring (ToF enabled) and the Discovery IQ (non-ToF). A genetic evolutionary algorithm was developed to optimize image reconstruction parameters from image quality assessments. The Omni demonstrated average spatial resolutions at 1 cm radial offset as 3.9 mm FWHM. The total system sensitivity at the center was 44.36 cps/kBq. The peak NECR was measured as 501 kcps at 17.8 kBq ml-1with a 35.48% scatter fraction. The maximum count-rate error below NECR peak was 5.5%. Using standard iterative reconstructions, sphere contrast recovery coefficients were from 52.7 ± 3.2% (10 mm) to 92.5 ± 2.4% (37 mm). The PET-CT co-registration accuracy was 2.4 mm. In place of ToF, the Omni employs software corrections through a pre-trained neural network (PDL) (trained on non-ToF to ToF) that takes Bayesian penalized likelihood reconstruction (Q.Clear) images as input. The optimum parameters for image reconstruction, determined using the genetic algorithm were a Q.Clear parameter,ß, of 350 and a 'medium' PDL setting. Using standard iterative reconstructions, the Omni initially showed increased background variability compared to the Discovery MI. With optimized PDL reconstruction parameters selected using the genetic algorithm the performance of the Omni surpassed that of the Discovery MI on all NEMA tests. The genetic algorithm's demonstrated ability to enhance image quality in PET-CT imaging underscores the importance of algorithm driven optimization and underscores the requirement to validate its use in the clinical setting.

Seismic Performance and Nonlinear Strain Analysis of Mechanical Splices for High-Strength Reinforcement in Concrete Structures.

This study investigates the strain development in reinforcing bars within the plastic hinge regions of beams and columns, with the main objective of modifying the current acceptance criteria for mechanical bar splices to accommodate high-strength reinforcement. The investigation utilizes numerical analysis based on moment-curvature and deformation analysis of typical beam and column sections in a special moment frame. The results indicate that the use of higher grade reinforcement, such as Grade 550 or 690, results in lower strain demands in the plastic hinge regions compared to Grade 420 reinforcement. To validate the modified seismic loading protocol, over 100 samples of mechanical coupling systems were tested in Taiwan. The test results demonstrate that the majority of these systems can successfully complete the modified seismic loading protocol and are suitable for use in critical plastic hinge regions of special moment frames. However, caution is advised for slender mortar-grouted coupling sleeves, as they were unable to fulfill the seismic loading protocols. These sleeves may be conditionally used in plastic hinge regions of precast columns, provided they meet specific conditions and demonstrate seismic performance through structural testing. The findings of this study offer valuable insight into the design and application of mechanical splices in high-strength reinforcement scenarios.

Development and preliminary validity of an Indonesian mobile application for a balanced and sustainable diet for obesity management.

BACKGROUND: Mobile applications such as personalized tracking tools and food choice aids may enhance weight loss programs. We developed and assessed client preferences for the content, user interface, graphics, and logic flow of a mobile application, and evaluated its validity for tracking compliance with weight control and making healthy and sustainable food choices. METHODS: Our four-stage study comprised formative research, application development, acceptance assessment, and validity. The formative research included literature reviews and six focus groups with 39 respondents aged 19-64 years at high risk for obesity. The development stage included programmer selection, defining application specifications, design, and user interface. Prototype acceptability was assessed with 53 respondents who graded 17 features of content, graphic design, and application flow (ranked as good, moderate, and poor). A feature was considered to have "good" acceptance if its mean response was higher than the mean of overall responses. The validity was assessed in 30 obese women using Bland-Altman plots to compare results from dietary intake assessment from the application to conventional paper-based methods. RESULTS: The application was named as EatsUp®. The focus group participants defined the key requirements of this app as being informative, easy, and exciting to use. The EatsUp® core features consisted of simple menu recommendations, health news, notifications, a food database, estimated portion sizes, and food pictures. The prototype had a "good" overall acceptance regarding content, graphics, and flow. Fourteen out of 17 parameters were graded as "good" from > 70% of respondents. There was no significant difference between the rated proportions for content, graphics, and app flow (Kolmogorov-Smirnov Z-test, p > .05). The agreement using the Bland-Altman plots between EatsUp® and the paper-based method of measuring food intake was good, with a mean difference of energy intake of only 2.63 ± 28.4 kcal/day (p > 0.05), well within the 95% confidence interval for agreement. CONCLUSIONS: The EatsUp® mobile application had good acceptance for graphics and app flow. This application can support the monitoring of balanced and sustainable dietary practice by providing nutritional data, and is comparable with conventional dietary assessment tools, and performed well in tracking energy, macronutrient, and selected micronutrients intakes. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT03469869 . The registration date was March 19, 2018.

Ingredient and Salinity Variations in Doenjang Stews Sold in a College Town and Consumer Acceptance of Doenjang Stews among Korean College Students.

This study determined the ingredient and salinity variations in Doenjang stew sold near a college campus and determined its consumer acceptance with varying salinity levels. Doenjang stews from four restaurants near a college campus were collected around lunchtime for 3 days. The salinity and weight of each ingredient included in Doenjang stews were recorded. Consumer acceptance testing on the stews was also conducted (n=98). Overall, variations in Doenjang stew recipes, including salinity values and the weight of each ingredient, between and within restaurants were also observed (P<0.05). The salinity of Doenjang stews collected from different restaurants ranged between 1.2% and 1.7%, higher than that recommended by the Korean government. Doenjang stew with a salinity of greater than 1.3% was most liked by consumers, whereas a salinity of 1.2% was least liked. At the same salinity value, a high stock amount of Doenjang stew was preferred to a greater extent than that with a high number of ingredients in Doenjang stew, suggesting that various ingredients included in the recipe do not necessarily increase consumer acceptance of stew.

Performance Characteristics of the Biograph Vision Quadra PET/CT System with a Long Axial Field of View Using the NEMA NU 2-2018 Standard.

Our purpose was to evaluate the performance of the Biograph Vision Quadra PET/CT system. This new system is based on the Biograph Vision 600, using the same silicon photomultiplier-based detectors with 3.2 × 3.2 × 20 mm lutetium-oxoorthosilicate crystals. The 32 detector rings of the Quadra provide a 4-fold larger axial field of view (AFOV) of 106 cm, enabling imaging of major organs in 1 bed position. Methods: The physical performance of the scanner was evaluated according to the National Electrical Manufacturers Association NU 2-2018 standard, with additional experiments to characterize energy resolution. Image quality was assessed with foreground-to-background ratios of 4:1 and 8:1. Additionally, a clinical 18F-FDG PET study was reconstructed with varying frame durations. In all experiments, data were acquired using the maximum ring distance of 322 crystals (MRD 322), whereas image reconstructions could be performed with a maximum ring distance of only 85 crystals (MRD 85). Results: The spatial resolution at full width at half maximum in the radial, tangential, and axial directions was 3.3, 3.4, and 3.8 mm, respectively. The sensitivity was 83 cps/kBq for MRD 85 and 176 cps/kBq for MRD 322. The noise-equivalent count rates (NECRs) at peak were 1,613 kcps for MRD 85 and 2,956 kcps for MRD 322, both at 27.49 kBq/mL. The respective scatter fractions at peak NECR equaled 36% and 37%. The time-of-flight resolution at peak NECR was 228 ps for MRD 85 and 230 ps for MRD 322. Image contrast recovery ranged from 69.6% to 86.9% for 4:1 contrast ratios and from 77.7% to 92.6% for 8:1 contrast ratios reconstructed using point-spread function time of flight with 8 iterations and 5 subsets. Thirty-second frames provided readable lesion detectability and acceptable noise levels in clinical images. Conclusion: The Biograph Vision Quadra PET/CT device has spatial and time resolution similar to those of the Biograph Vision 600 but exhibits improved sensitivity and NECR because of its extended AFOV. The reported spatial resolution, time resolution, and sensitivity make it a competitive new device in the class of PET scanners with an extended AFOV.

[Acceptance Test of Physical Properties of Perfexion Gamma Knife].

Objective The acceptance test of the physical performance for the newly installed PFX Gamma knife was carried out to provide a reference for the quality assurance of the equipment. Method According to the manufacturer's acceptance manual and Chinese health industry standards, the dose rate of the PFX Gamma knife with maximum collimators in the calibration center point, the focal spot dose distribution with all three collimator sizes, the distance between the RFP and the PPS calibration center point, and the multi-target position accuracy were measured by means of the acceptance tools. Results The average absorbed dose rate, as measured in April 29, 2019, was 3.295 Gy/min in the calibration center point by the maximum collimators, which was better than acceptance standard of 2.5 Gy/min. The focal spot dosimetry data measured by the film were basically the same as the TMR-10 data stored in the LGP. The difference in FWHM was 0.18±0.13 mm, and the difference in penumbra was 0.15±0.25 mm, which was normal and as expected. The distance between the RFP and PPS calibration center point in the three-dimensional space was 0.24 mm, which was better than the recommended value of the factory standard and the national standard. The maximum position deviation of multiple targets was 0.16 mm, which was also better than the factory standard of 0.5 mm. Conclusion The various physical performance indicators of the PFX Gamma knife met the acceptance standards of manufacturers and industries.

SpecTalk: Conforming IoT Implementations to Sensor Specifications.

Due to the fast evolution of Sensor and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies, several large-scale smart city applications have been commercially developed in recent years. In these developments, the contracts are often disputed in the acceptance due to the fact that the contract specification is not clear, resulting in a great deal of discussion of the gray area. Such disputes often occur in the acceptance processes of smart buildings, mainly because most intelligent building systems are expensive and the operations of the sub-systems are very complex. This paper proposes SpecTalk, a platform that automatically generates the code to conform IoT applications to the Taiwan Association of Information and Communication Standards (TAICS) specifications. SpecTalk generates a program to accommodate the application programming interface of the IoT devices under test (DUTs). Then, the devices can be tested by SpecTalk following the TAICS data formats. We describe three types of tests: self-test, mutual-test, and visual test. A self-test involves the sensors and the actuators of the same DUT. A mutual-test involves the sensors and the actuators of different DUTs. A visual-test uses a monitoring camera to investigate the actuators of multiple DUTs. We conducted these types of tests in commercially deployed applications of smart campus constructions. Our experiments in the tests proved that SpecTalk is feasible and can effectively conform IoT implementations to TACIS specifications. We also propose a simple analytic model to select the frequency of the control signals for the input patterns in a SpecTalk test. Our study indicates that it is appropriate to select the control signal frequency, such that the inter-arrival time between two control signals is larger than 10 times the activation delay of the DUT.

[Improved Design and Acceptance Test of Localization Couch for New Type of CT Simulator].

Accurate CT simulation is the key link of precision radiotherapy, and the performance of the localization couch of CT simulator directly affects the accuracy of radiotherapy. With the rapid development of precision radiotherapy, conventional large aperture radiotherapy special CT simulator is difficult to meet the needs of precision radiotherapy localization, so most radiotherapy centers choose high-end diagnostic CT machines equipped with a flat tabletop for radiotherapy localization. In clinical work, the performance testing of the CT simulator localization couch is easy to be ignored. In addition, there are some problems such as insufficient precision in transforming the cradle-shaped couch top of diagnostic CT into a special flat couch top for radiotherapy. This paper provided an in-depth description of the improved design and performance test of the localization couch of the first special GE Revolution CT simulator for radiotherapy introduced by West China Hospital of Sichuan University. After the improvement, all the acceptance tests of the localization couch are in line with the standard, and the performance meets the high-precision radiotherapy localization needs of patients with different body weight in the center.

Effect of yam (Dioscorea spp.) starch on the physicochemical, rheological, and sensory properties of yogurt.

This study investigated the effect of the addition of starch from "hawthorn" yam (Dioscorea rotundata) and "creole" yam (Dioscorea alata) at different concentrations (0.1%, 0.3%, and 0.5% w/w) on the physicochemical and sensory properties of stirred-type yogurt. Pectin (0.3% w/w) was used as a reference stabilizer. Yogurt with yam starch presented 13.38% less syneresis than yogurts with pectin. At the sensory level, the most accepted treatment was yogurt with "creole" yam starch at 0.1% w/w. During 21 days of storage, yogurt with yam starch ("creole" and "hawthorn") at 0.1% w/w showed a decrease in syneresis between 7% and 8%, while in those with pectin, syneresis remained practically constant in this period. Yogurt with yam starch was characterized as a pseudoplastic fluid, with a lactic acid bacterial count according to NTC 805. Yam starch can be used as stabilizer because it improves the physicochemical, sensory, and rheological characteristics of stirred-type yogurt. Especially the "creole" yam starch (0.1% w/w), which presents the best preference by consumers.

Temporal dominance of sensations and check-all-that-apply analysis of restructured cooked hams elaborated with different salt content and pork quality meats.

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of salt (NaCl) content of 1.2%, 1.6%, and 2.0% in the sensory characteristics of restructured cooked hams, formulated with abnormal (PSE; pale, soft, and exudative) and normal (RFN; reddish pink, firm, and non-exudative) meats. The products with 1.2% added salt had higher (P < 0.05) acceptance scores for flavor, regardless of the type of meat used. Hams manufactured with PSE meat and 1.2% salt content had higher (P < 0.05) overall impression scores and were associated with the terms "characteristic ham flavor", "juicy", and "soft" in the check-all-that-apply analysis. RFN meat samples with 1.6% and 2.0% salt content were respectively associated to "rubbery" and "firm" texture. The ham flavor was always reported at the beginning of the temporal dominance of sensation test, followed by the term "salty" for the samples with 2.0% salt and "meaty" in the samples with 1.2% salt. The term "umami taste" appears to be associated to that samples made with PSE meat. These results led to the conclusion that PSE meat had a positive effect on the sensory profile of restructured cooked hams, especially in those formulated with 1.2% salt.

The definition of ‘important components’ of radiodiagnosis and radiotherapy equipment / 中国辐射卫生

It is an important technical means to ensure that the radiodiagnosis and radiotherapy equipment can be put into use normally to carry out acceptance test after the newly installed, maintained or replaced important components. Health inspection found that medical institutions are often easy to ignore the acceptance test in the process of use, and do not carry out acceptance test on the radiodiagnosis and radiotherapy equipment after maintenance or replacement of important components. However, it is difficult to ask medical institutions to correct them without the definition and scope of ‘important components’ according to laws or technical standards. This paper studies and discusses the definition of ‘important components’ of radiodiagnosis and radiotherapy equipment, and puts forward some suggestions onthe practical application of the research results.

Improved Design and Acceptance Test of Localization Couch for New Type of CT Simulator / 中国医疗器械杂志

Accurate CT simulation is the key link of precision radiotherapy, and the performance of the localization couch of CT simulator directly affects the accuracy of radiotherapy. With the rapid development of precision radiotherapy, conventional large aperture radiotherapy special CT simulator is difficult to meet the needs of precision radiotherapy localization, so most radiotherapy centers choose high-end diagnostic CT machines equipped with a flat tabletop for radiotherapy localization. In clinical work, the performance testing of the CT simulator localization couch is easy to be ignored. In addition, there are some problems such as insufficient precision in transforming the cradle-shaped couch top of diagnostic CT into a special flat couch top for radiotherapy. This paper provided an in-depth description of the improved design and performance test of the localization couch of the first special GE Revolution CT simulator for radiotherapy introduced by West China Hospital of Sichuan University. After the improvement, all the acceptance tests of the localization couch are in line with the standard, and the performance meets the high-precision radiotherapy localization needs of patients with different body weight in the center.

An Acceptance Test for Assistive Robots.

Socially assistive robots have been used in the care of elderly or dependent people, particularly with patients suffering from neurological diseases, like autism and dementia. There are some proposals, but there are no standardized mechanisms for assessing a particular robot's suitability for specific therapy. This paper reports the evaluation of an acceptance test for assistive robots applied to people with dementia. The proposed test focuses on evaluating the suitability of a robot during therapy sessions. The test measures the rejection of the robot by the patient based on observational data. This test would recommend what kind of robot and what functionalities can be used in therapy. The novelty of this approach is the formalization of a specific validation process that only considers the reaction of the person to whom the robot is applied, and may be used more effectively than existing tests, which may not be adequate for evaluating assistance robots. The test's feasibility was tested by applying it to a set of dementia patients in a specialized care facility.

Commissioning and Evaluation of a Third-Party 6 Degrees-of-Freedom Couch Used in Radiotherapy.

PURPOSES: The newly released Protura 6 degrees-of-freedom couch (CIVCO) has limited quality assurance protocols and pertinent publications. Herein, we report our experiences of the Protura system acceptance, commissioning, and quality assurance. METHODS: The Protura system integration was tested with peripheral equipment on the following items: couch movement range limit, 6 degrees-of-freedom movement accuracy, weight test and couch sagging, system connection with Linac, isocentricity of couch and rotation alignment, kV and cone-beam computed tomography imaging of HexaCHECK with MIMI phantom (Standard Imaging), and an in-house custom 6 degrees-of-freedom quality assurance phantom. A couch transmission measurement was also performed. RESULTS: The vertical, longitudinal, and lateral ranges of the 6 degrees-of-freedom couch pedestal are 43.9 to 0.0 cm, 24.6 to 149.5 cm, -20.6 to 20.7 cm, respectively. The couch movement accuracy was within 1 mm in all directions. The couch sagging with a 200 lbs (∼91 kg) evenly distributed object is 1.0 cm and 0.4° pitch in the distal end of the couch. The isocentricity of the couch was about 0.5 mm in diameter of all crosshair projections on the couch isocenter level, and the largest couch rotation alignment observed was (0.3°) at the couch angle of 90°. The deviation from the reference position (zero position) of the HexaCHECK phantom, measured by matching the cone-beam computed tomography with the reference planning computed tomography, was found to be below 0.2 mm in the anterior-posterior and right-left dimensions, 0.4 mm in superior-inferior dimension, and 0.1° in roll, pitch, and yaw directions. CONCLUSIONS: A 6 degrees-of-freedom quality assurance phantom is helpful for the commissioning and routine quality assurance tests. Due to the third-party integration with Linac, the system is prone to "double-correction" errors. A rigorous quality assurance program is the key to a successful clinical implementation of the Protura system.

Stability, sensory attributes and acceptance of panettones elaborated with Lactobacillus fermentum IAL 4541 and Wickerhamomyces anomallus IAL 4533.

This work aimed to elaborate sourdough panettones with Lactobacillus fermentum (LF) and Wickerhamomyces anomallus (WA) evaluating their microbiological stability, physical and chemical characteristics as well as the impact of these microorganisms on sensory aspects and consumer acceptance. For characterization, panettones were elaborated by long fermentation, using two selected microorganisms, LF and WA in different proportions; and control panettones were formulated using commercial yeast with and without preservative. For sensory analyses, LF, WA, LF/WA (1:1), control with calcium propionate and commercial panettones were compared. Regarding the pH values and total titratable acidity (TTA), a similar behavior was observed among panettones elaborated with the selected strains (LF, WA and mixtures). On the other hand, panettones elaborated with commercial yeast showed a higher pH and lower TTA. Until the 112nd day of storage, the water activity (aw) was similar among all panettones, but in the following analyses, it dropped in all panettones. Panettones elaborated with sourdough maintained better their softness during the storage, when compared with the controls. Regarding microbial stability, control panettones with and without preservative became moldy faster; while sourdough panettones (WA and LF/WA) remained stable throughout all the monitored storage. Sensory evaluation by CATA allowed distinguishing between sourdough and commercial yeast panettones. Desirable characteristics such as nice aroma, pleasant taste and uniform color were checked more often for LF and WA elaborated panettones, whereas yeast flavor was checked more often for the Commercial. Moreover, according to the descriptors used, panettones were grouped into 3 groups: LF/WA, LF + WA and controls. The panettones elaborated with the specific microorganisms of this study were well-accepted sensorially, proving to be very competitive with respect to control and commercial panettone. So, the use of selected microorganisms as a starter for sourdough is a promising alternative for producing panettones with good technological quality, microbiological stability, sensorially differentiate and well accepted by consumers; and, additionally, with the appeal of no added preservative.

Effect of chicken meat replacement by spent laying hen meat on physicochemical properties and sensorial characteristics of fresh sausage.

1. Sausages were used to assess the effects of chicken meat replacement by spent laying hen meat on the quality parameters and sensorial properties. 2. Five formulations were developed: control (CON) containing 100% chicken meat and 4 levels of chicken meat replacement with spent laying hen meat: 25% (T25), 50% (T50), 75% (T75) and 100% (T100). 3. Appearance, texture, succulence, flavour and overall consumer acceptance were analysed. Parameters such as moisture, ash, fat and protein content, pH, cooking loss and colour parameters (lightness (L*), redness (a*), yellowness (b*)) were analysed, as well as the texture properties (hardness, elasticity, cohesiveness and chewiness). 4. Statistical analysis did not reveal significant (P > 0.05) differences in chemical composition and colour parameters among formulations. On the other hand, CON treatment showed the lowest (P < 0.05) cooking loss (20.45%) that increased as spent laying hen meat increased in the formulation (24.92% vs. 27.65% vs. 28.12% vs. 33.05%, for T25, T50, T75 and T100 batches, respectively). 5. Regarding textural parameters, T75 and T100 formulations presented higher (P < 0.05) hardness and chewiness compared to the other ones. 6. Concerning to sensorial characteristics, the T100 formulation presented the lowest average scores (P < 0.05) for all attributes studied. However, the other batches (T25, T50 and T75) did not show significant differences for appearance, texture, succulence, flavour and overall acceptability attributes compared with the CON formulation. 7. The results indicated that the substitution of up to 75% of chicken meat by spent laying hen meat did not decrease the sensory acceptance of the sausages by consumers, demonstrating that this level of substitution in sausages allows better use of spent laying hen meat.

A unified acceptance test framework for power plant gas turbine control systems.

Renovation and retrofit of gas turbine control systems yield significant economic savings, enhanced reliability, and improved performance. In recent years, the gas turbine industry is increasingly facing the need to well-established procedures for the acceptance tests of renovated control systems. This paper proposes a unified framework to evaluate the performance of renovated gas turbine control systems. Under a set of assumptions on the ambient and fuel conditions, a low-complexity modular model is presented and identified using optimization-oriented identification techniques. The accuracy of the proposed model is validated through experimental studies in full-load, min-load, and no-load operating conditions. Subsequently, a model-based analysis framework is proposed to determine realistic levels of tracking performance, robustness margin and disturbance attenuation by utilizing the supporting tools in robust control theory. Quantitative and qualitative performance indices are introduced to provide acceptance criteria for the existing control loops as compared to the optimal ones. The proposed procedure is applied to a W251-B2 gas turbine manufactured by Westinghouse company, and the results show that the optimal control system outperforms the existing controllers based on quantitative and qualitative indices. The proposed procedure determines whether the overall performance of the renovated control system sufficiently meets the requirements.

Temporal dominance of sensations and preferences of Brazilians and Slovakians: A cross-cultural study of cachaças stored with woods from the Amazon rainforest.

BACKGROUND: Brazilians and Slovakians evaluated the temporal profile and the acceptability of cachaça stored with different woods (Cumarurana (CM), Jatobá (JT) and, Louro-vermelho (LV), which are found in the Amazon rainforest, and also oak), with the aim of performing a cross-cultural comparison of the dynamic profile of the attributes perceived in the cachaças and the sensorial acceptance of the samples. RESULTS: Important differences were observed between the temporal sensorial profiles generated by the two groups and their preferences. Brazilians preferred cachaças stored with the traditional wood, oak, followed by those stored with JT and CM. In contrast, Slovakians preferred cachaças stored with JT, followed by those stored with LV and oak. For both countries, the dominance of wood flavor and vanilla attributes at the end of the analysis time was positively associated with acceptance, while the dominance of off-flavors and the wood flavor attribute at the beginning of the analysis time was negatively associated with acceptance for Brazilians and Slovakians, respectively. CONCLUSION: Brazilians preferred cachaça stored with oak wood, and Slovakians preferred cachaça stored with JT wood, with acceptability being strongly associated with the dominance of wood flavor and vanilla attributes at the end of the evaluation time. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry.