Multiscale Static Compressive Damage Characteristics of Kiwifruit Based on the Finite Element Method.

In the handling or processing process, fruits are easily crushed by external loads. This type of damage in fruit often leads to the internal pulp browning and rotting, with the severity largely dependent on the fruit tissue's geometric and mechanical properties. In kiwifruits, with their thin skin and dark-colored flesh, it is particularly challenging to observe and analyze the damage caused by extrusion through traditional experimental methods. The objective of this research is to construct a multi-scale finite element model encompassing the skin, flesh, and core by measuring the geometric and mechanical properties of kiwifruit, to assess and predict the damage characteristics under compression, and to verify the accuracy of the finite element model through experiments. The results indicated that kiwifruits demonstrated different compressive strengths in different directions during compression. The compressive strength in the axial direction was higher than that in the radial direction, and there was little difference between the long and short radial directions. The flesh tissue is the most vulnerable to mechanical damage under external compression, followed by the core. At strain levels below 5%, there was no noticeable damage in the axial or radial directions of the kiwifruit. However, when strain exceeded 5%, damage began to manifest in some of the flesh tissue. To maintain fruit quality during storage and transportation, the stacking height should not exceed 77 fruits in the axial direction, 48 in the long direction, and 53 in the short direction. The finite element analysis showed that the established model can effectively simulate and predict the internal damage behavior of kiwifruits under compression loads, which is helpful for a deeper understanding of the mechanical properties of fruits and provides a theoretical basis and technical guidance for minimizing mechanical damage during fruit handling.

Optimum drying conditions for ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) based on time, energy consumption and physicochemical quality.

The effect of ultrasonic pre-treatment on moisture removal characteristics of ginger in a convective dryer was investigated. The slabs were dried by practicing sonication durations of 0, 15 and 30 min at different levels of the air temperature and velocity. Following increasing the sonication duration and air temperature, required time and energy to dehydrate the samples were decreased. The pre-treatment played important role in improving rehydration capability and surface color retention in the dried gingers. Content of the main volatile component (α-Zingiberene) was not influenced by the sonication. Mean values for the phenolic contents and antioxidant activity at sonication duration of 0, 15 and 30 min were determined to be 18.93, 18.15 and 17.49 GAE/g dry matter and 83.57, 78.33 and 74.58 %, respectively. The desired values for the temperature, velocity and sonication duration were revealed to be about 66 °C, 3 m/s and 20 min, respectively.

Flavor characteristics of semi-dried yellow croaker (Pseudosciaena crocea) with KCl and ultrasound under sodium-reduced conditions before and after low temperature vacuum heating.

This study investigated the flavor characteristics of semi-dried yellow croaker made by KCl instead of partial NaCl combined with ultrasound treatment before and after low temperature vacuum heating. The electronic tongue, electronic nose, free amino acids, 5'-nucleotides, and gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry were employed. Electronic nose and electronic tongue results showed that different treatment groups had different sensitive signals to smell and taste. The odor and taste of each group were mainly affected by Na+ and K+. The difference between the groups becomes larger after thermal treatment. Ultrasound and thermal treatment both changed the content of taste components. In addition, each group contained 54 volatile flavor compounds. Among them, the combined treatment method gave semi-dried large yellow croaker pleasant flavor characteristics. Besides, it also improved the content of flavor substances. In conclusion, the semi-dried yellow croaker under sodium-reduced conditions showed better performance in flavor characteristics.

Effects of sous vide cooking combined with ultrasound pretreatment on physicochemical properties and microbial communities of Russian sturgeon meat (Acipenser gueldenstaedti).

BACKGROUND: The production of Russian sturgeon is expanding rapidly in China but it is necessary to adopt measures to extend the shelf life of sturgeon meat. Previous studies found that sous vide cooking (SVC) at 60 °C increased the protein and lipid oxidation. The addition of antioxidant substances reduced the acceptance of the product. The effect of combination SVC and ultrasound pretreatment was therefore investigated. RESULTS: Results showed that SVC at 50 °C combined with ultrasound effectively restrained the growth of total viable counts (TVC) in samples. Meanwhile, the main dominant genera changed from Pseudomonas to Carnobacterium and the number of microbial species decreased. The odor profile of Russian sturgeon meat was more stable and the lipoxygenase (LOX) activity decreased more rapidly after treating with SVC and ultrasound. Importantly, more stable protein aggregates were formed in samples treated by SVC 50 °C together with ultrasound pretreatment, so the protein and lipid oxidation were slowed during storage. Higher springiness values were obtained and the color of sturgeon meat was lighter under these conditions. CONCLUSION: The combination of SVC 50 °C and ultrasound pretreatment effectively inhibited the microbial growth of Russian sturgeon meat at lower oxidation levels. These findings theoretically support the preservation and development of sturgeon meat, and the application of SVC technology. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.

4-{(Z)-(sec-Butyl-amino)(phen-yl)methyl-ene}-3-methyl-1-phenyl-1H-pyrazol-5(4H)-one.

In the title compound, C(21)H(23)N(3)O, the dihedral angles formed by the pyrazolone ring with two phenyl rings are 10.38 (8) and 76.94 (6)°. The sec-butyl-amino group is disordered over two positions, with refined site-occupancy factors of 0.730 (4) and 0.270 (4). The compound could potentially be ligand stabilized in the solid state in a keto-enamine tautomeric form. The amine functionality is involved in an intra-molecular N-H⋯O hydrogen bond, while weak inter-molecular C-H⋯O and C-H⋯N hydrogen bonds participate in the formation of the crystal structure.

(4Z)-4-[(4-Methoxy-benzyl-amino)(phen-yl)methyl-ene]-3-methyl-1-phenyl-1H-pyrazol-5(4H)-one.

In the title compound, C(25)H(23)N(3)O(2), the dihedral angles formed by the pyrazolone ring with the three aromatic rings are 14.59 (7), 79.35 (5) and 87.10 (6)°. Three intra-molecular C-H⋯O, C-H⋯N and N-H⋯O hydrogen-bond inter-actions are present. The crystal structure is stabilized by two weak inter-molecular C-H⋯O and C-H⋯N hydrogen-bond inter-actions.