Verification of rice quality during storage after drying with hot air and radio frequency heating.

The objectives of the study were to observe the milling and cooking qualities of paddy rice dried with hot air (HA) and hot air and radio frequency heating (HA/RF) at 38 °C and 42 °C, and to observe these qualities after 6 months of storage under average temperature and RH of 28.4 °C and 70%, respectively. During storage, the average moisture content of paddy rice decreased from 13.66% to 11.37% in HA, 13.66% to 11.40% in HA/RF38, and 13.58% to 11.63 in HA/RF42. The milling qualities of rice were affected by the RF heating temperature and storage period. Rice dried with HA/RF38 and HA/RF42 could be safely stored for up to 5 months and 4 months, respectively, with satisfactory fissure percentage and head rice yield. The whiteness index significantly increased from 63.37 ± 0.58 to 64.46 ± 0.75 at HA, 62.78 ± 0.97 to 63.75 ± 1.55 at HA/RF38, and 62.77 ± 1.90 to 64.45 ± 0.95 at HA/RF42 during storage. For cooking qualities, elongation ratio (ER) was affected by RF and storage period, while texture profiles and pasting properties were only affected by storage period. The ER increased from month 3, by 10%, 11%, and 11% in HA, HA/RF38, and HA/RF42. The hardness of cooked rice reached its peak value between months 4-5. However, adhesiveness decreased as the storage period increased. The peak viscosity and setback increased with increasing storage period while breakdown conversely decreased. This study showed that hot air drying and RF heating temperatures of 38 °C could replace hot air drying without undesirable changes in milling and cooking properties during storage up to 5 months. Therefore, this is a promising drying technology for the rice milling industry.

Application of Pinhole Plasma Jet Activated Water against Escherichia coli, Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, and Decontamination of Pesticide Residues on Chili (Capsicum annuum L.).

Plasma activated water (PAW) generated from pinhole plasma jet using gas mixtures of argon (Ar) and 2% oxygen (O2) was evaluated for pesticide degradation and microorganism decontamination (i.e., Escherichia coli and Colletotrichum gloeosporioides) in chili (Capsicum annuum L.). A flow rate of 10 L/min produced the highest concentration of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) at 369 mg/L. Results showed that PAW treatment for 30 min and 60 min effectively degrades carbendazim and chlorpyrifos by about 57% and 54% in solution, respectively. In chili, carbendazim and chlorpyrifos were also decreased, to a major extent, by 80% and 65% after PAW treatment for 30 min and 60 min, respectively. E. coli populations were reduced by 1.18 Log CFU/mL and 2.8 Log CFU/g with PAW treatment for 60 min in suspension and chili, respectively. Moreover, 100% of inhibition of fungal spore germination was achieved with PAW treatment. Additionally, PAW treatment demonstrated significantly higher efficiency (p < 0.05) in controlling Anthracnose in chili by about 83% compared to other treatments.

Effect of Large-Scale Paddy Rice Drying Process Using Hot Air Combined with Radio Frequency Heating on Milling and Cooking Qualities of Milled Rice.

The objectives of the study on a continuous flow hot air dryer combined with radio frequency heating at different temperatures (HA/RF) (38 °C, 42 °C, 46 °C, and 50 °C) in a large-scale process compared with conventional continuous flow hot air drying (HA) were (1) to investigate the drying characteristics, drying kinetics, and milling quality of the process and (2) to observe the cooking quality and compare the sensory differences of the cooked rice after treatment. The drying characteristics and moisture diffusivity showed that the higher the radio frequency (RF) heating temperature, the shorter the drying time. The specific energy consumption and energy cost decreased when the RF heating temperature increased. The optimal condition in terms of fissure percentage was HA/RF42. In addition, there were no significant differences in head rice yield and white rice color determination, amylose content, texture profiles, and pasting properties in all HA/RF treatments. In the triangle test, it was found that at least 6% of the population could perceive a difference between HA and HA/RF50. In conclusion, this study proposes the further development of the HA/RF drying process at low-temperature profiles and shows the great potential of RF technology for commercial drying in rice industry.

Bionomics of the oriental latrine fly Chrysomya megacephala (Fabricius) (Diptera: Calliphoridae): temporal fluctuation and reproductive potential.

BACKGROUND: Chrysomya megacephala is a blow fly species of medical and forensic importance worldwide. Understanding its bionomics is essential for both designing effective fly control programs and its use in forensic investigations. METHODS: The daily flight activity, seasonal abundance related to abiotic factors (temperature, relative humidity and rainfall) and reproductive potential of this species was investigated. Adult flies were sampled twice a month for one year from July 2013 to June 2014 in three different ecotypes (forest area, longan orchard and palm plantation) of Chiang Mai Province, northern Thailand, using semi-automatic funnel traps. One-day tainted beef offal was used as bait. RESULTS: A total of 88,273 flies were sampled, of which 82,800 flies (93.8%) were caught during the day (from 06:00 to 18:00 h); while 5473 flies (6.2%) were caught at night (from 18:00 to 06:00 h). Concurrently, the abundance of C. megacephala was higher in the forest area (n = 31,873; 36.1%) and palm plantation (n = 31,347; 35.5%), compared to the longan orchard (n = 25,053; 28.4%). The number of females was significantly higher than that of males, exhibiting a female to male sex ratio of 2.36:1. Seasonal fluctuation revealed the highest abundance of C. megacephala in summer, but low numbers in the rainy season and winter. Fly density was significantly positively correlated with temperature, but negatively correlated with relative humidity. No correlation between numbers of C. megacephala with rainfall was found. Activity occurred throughout the daytime with high numbers from 06:00 to 18:00 h in summer and 12:00 to 18:00 h in the rainy season and winter. As for the nocturnal flight activity, a small number of flies were collected in summer and the rainy season, while none were collected in the winter. Dissection of the females indicated that fecundity was highest during the rainy season, followed by winter and summer. CONCLUSIONS: Since the assessment of daily, seasonal activity and the reproductive potential of C. megacephala remains a crucial point to be elucidated, this extensive study offers insights into bionomics, which may be considered for integrated fly control strategies and forensic entomology issues.

Field evaluation of a semi-automatic funnel trap targeted the medically important non-biting flies.

Bait-trapping is a useful approach for monitoring fly population dynamics, and it is an effective tool for physical control of pest species. The aim of this study was to test a newly developed semi-automatic funnel fly trap with some modifications of the former prototype fly trap to study medically important fly population density. The efficacy of the semi-automatic funnel trap was assessed by field sampling during July 2013-June 2014 using 1-day tainted beef offal as bait. The modified semi-automatic funnel traps were able to capture a total of 151,141 adult flies, belonging to the families: Calliphoridae (n=147,248; 97.4%), Muscidae (n=3,124; 2.1%) and Sarcophagidae (n=769; 0.5%), which are the medically important fly species. Among the total of 35 species collected, Chrysomya megacephala (Diptera: Calliphoridae) (n=88,273; 59.95%), Musca domestica (Diptera: Muscidae) (n=1,324; 42.38%) and Boettcherisca peregrina (Diptera: Sarcophagidae) (n=68; 33.01%) were the predominant species of each family. High number of flies was captured in forest area, representing 42.47% (n=64,197) of total specimens. Female flies were trapped more than male with total sex ratio of 0.37 male/female. Flies were trapped throughout the year with peak population in summer. Peak activity was recorded in the afternoon (12.00-18.00h). In summary, the modified semi-automatic funnel fly trap can be used for field collection of the adult fly. By setting the timer, population dynamics, diversity, and periodic activity of adult flies were determined.

Influence of various nitrogen applications on protein and amino acid profiles of amaranth and quinoa.

The effect of nitrogen application levels (0.16 and 0.24 g N kg(-1) soil) on seed proteins and their amino acid compositions of amaranth (Amaranthus spp.) and quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd) was studied. Total proteins of amaranth and quinoa had high contents of lysine (6.3-8.2 g 100 g(-1) protein) but low contents of methionine (1.2-1.8 g 100 g(-1) protein). Seed proteins were fractionated on the basis of different solubility in water, saline, and buffer as albumin-1 (Albu-1), albumin-2 (Albu-2), globulin (Glob), and glutelin (Glu) and were identified by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Albu-1 was high in lysine (5.4-8.6 g 100 g(-1) protein), while Albu-2, which is a part of storage proteins, had a high leucine content (7.2-8.9 g 100 g(-1) protein) as an effect of different nitrogen application levels. Glu fractions were well-balanced in their essential amino acids with the exception of methionine. In conclusion, nitrogen application can be used for the nutritional improvement in human diet by increasing and maintaining protein and essential amino acid contents.