Important Quality Characteristics Research Articles

STUDY OF THE RELIABILITY AND OPTIMIZATION OF THE AUTOMATED ROLLING STAMPING COMPLEX

The reliability of technical objects is one of their most important quality characteristics. Automated rolling stamping complexes are widely used in mechanical engineering for the manufacture of parts of complex shape. Reliability of CABs is a key factor that determines their efficiency and cost-effectiveness. The development of a device for automatically changing the equipment of the stamping-rolling complex is due to the need to increase efficiency and automate production processes in industry. Roll stamping is an important technology for the production of metal parts, but the process of changing equipment (for example, tools or dies) can be time- and resource-intensive. The development of an automatic equipment changer can significantly improve the productivity and efficiency of production lines, reduce equipment downtime and manual labor costs. In addition, such a device can increase occupational safety and reduce the risk of injury among workers. Since modern industry is rapidly developing and constantly improving production technologies, the development of a device for automatically changing equipment for a stamping-rolling complex is an urgent and important task. The implementation of such a device can help enterprises maintain a competitive edge in the market and increase their efficiency and profitability. The article deals with the reliability of the automated rolling stamping complex, which is one of the key aspects of modern production. Factors affecting the reliability of such systems and ways to increase them to ensure smooth operation of production lines are analyzed. The article reveals the main problems associated with equipment failures and downtime, which can lead to significant financial losses and loss of reputation of the enterprise. The impact of such factors as the intensity of operation, maintenance, as well as the introduction of the latest management and monitoring technologies on the overall reliability of the system was analyzed. The article proposes a comprehensive approach to increasing the reliability of automated rolling stamping complexes. This approach includes optimization of operating modes, improvement of maintenance and diagnostics systems, as well as the use of advanced management technologies and equipment condition monitoring. The results of the research can be useful for factories that use automated rolling stamping complexes in their activities. They will make it possible to increase the efficiency of the production process, reduce the costs of maintenance and repair, as well as ensure the stable and uninterrupted operation of production lines.

A stereovision-based efficient measurement approach for surface flatness of concrete members

The surface flatness of concrete members is an important quality characteristic of buildings and civil infrastructure. Existing measurement methods such as the straightedge method, F-numbers method, and laser scanning method have various limitations such as inefficiency in engineering practices, low accuracy, and high costs. Therefore, this paper presents a novel stereovision-based system comprising two industrial cameras and one projector alongside optimized algorithms to efficiently measure the surface flatness of concrete member. The proposed system is highlighted by effective feature point extraction and matching algorithms, the innovative introduction of feature point extraction error to system measurement error evaluation, and enriched flatness indicators to comprehensively assess surface flatness of concrete members. The outputs of the system, namely, the contour maps as visual demonstrations and the flatness indicator results, can collectively reflect various roughness conditions with high speed and precision. Experiments at multiple levels have validated the proposed algorithms and measurement system, showing that it is capable for providing fast and accurate measures for the surface flatness of concrete members. Further research and developments are sought in system optimization and expanding its applications to other structural members and engineering practices.

Shorebird habitat selection and foraging behaviour have important implications for management at an internationally important non‐breeding wetland

Abstract It is imperative to manage wetlands appropriately in the non‐breeding range of migratory shorebirds because their habitat quality impacts survival and reproductive performance. However, it is challenging to measure and relate these parameters to the habitat quality of individual sites because they are influenced by a composite contribution to fitness across all sites used in the annual cycle. Identifying important habitat quality features for shorebirds, and assessing whether management actions aimed at improving habitat quality are effective, poses a substantial challenge. Nonetheless, within a site, shorebird subsite selection and foraging behaviour could reveal variation in habitat quality proxies and suitability. We developed a field study to investigate habitat selection and habitat quality proxies for shorebirds in the Coorong, an internationally important non‐breeding site in Australia. We examined the abundance of shorebirds among multiple subsites in the wetland and their foraging behaviour in relation to multiple variables (potential habitat area, salinity, prey density, wind, temperature), the first three of which can be influenced by management. Larger potential habitat area, defined as the combined area of bare mud/sand and shallow water (<20 cm depth), was associated with higher shorebird abundance across subsites with the same shore length, suggesting this is the most important site feature for habitat selection. Shorebird step rate, which reflects the effort associated with catching prey, was higher at subsites with lower prey density. This suggests that step rate can be used as an indicator of prey availability. Potential habitat area is strongly positively correlated with shorebird abundance. At sites where water levels can be managed, flows should be regulated so that water levels are not too high (limiting habitat area) or too low (drying out mudflats). However, it is critical that large potential habitat areas that attract shorebirds are productive so that they do not become ecological traps. Management should aim to maintain healthy prey abundance on areas attractive for shorebirds, while also minimising predation and disturbance of shorebirds. Monitoring prey abundance directly can be challenging, but our study shows that shorebird step rate provides a low‐cost indicator of relative macroinvertebrate prey abundance.

Analysis of the emitted pattern of floral volatiles and cloning and functional analysis of the PsuLIS gene in tree peony cultivar ‘High Noon’

The floral volatiles, many of which have fragrances, are one of the important quality characteristics of ornamental plants. Tree peony (Paeonia suffruticosa) is a famous traditional Chinese flower that is well-known in many countries around the world. However, the composition and formation mechanism of volatiles in tree peony flowers is unclear. Here, we analyzed the pattern of floral volatiles emitted and further cloned and analyzed the function of the PsuLIS (linalool synthetase) gene in cultivated tree peony cultivar ‘High Noon’ cultivated in the field. 49 compounds of floral volatiles were detected by using GC–MS in cultivated tree peony cultivar ‘High Noon’, with linalool having the highest content among all substances, which is much higher than that of other substances. Their relative content was separately highest at full blooming during the flowering process and at petals in various floral organ. The diurnal change of floral volatiles is highest during 10:00–12:00 and lowest during 16:00–18:00. Furthermore, the PsuLIS gene was cloned with an open reading frame of 1698 bp and encodes 565 amino acids. The phylogenetic analysis showed that the protein of PsuLIS has the closest evolutionary relationship with LIS in Actinidia arguta. The expression pattern of the PsuLIS gene, which exhibits its highest expression during the full blooming stage, in petals and from 10:00–12:00, demonstrated consistency with the emission pattern of linalool and displayed a significant positive correlation. Additionally, tree peony cultivar ‘High Noon’ plants were obtained through knockdown using the virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) system. The relative expression of the PsuLIS gene in transient overexpression plants and knockdown plants were separately increasing by 3.8 times and decreasing by 74.7% compared to wild type plants, and the expression pattern of the PsuLIS gene was consistent with the variation trend observed in linalool content across different genotype cultivated tree peony cultivar ‘High Noon’ plants. The recombinant PsuLIS protein can convert geranyl diphosphate (GPP) to linalool in vitro. The aforementioned findings indicate that the PsuLIS gene plays a crucial role in regulating linalool synthesis in cultivated tree peony cultivar ‘High Noon’, and laying the foundation for cultivating different fragrance types of peonies.

Citrus Fruit Pigments

Citrus fruits enjoy popularity among consumers due to their enjoyable flavor, health-beneficial properties, and nutritional value. The peel and flesh pigmentation of different citrus species and cultivars ranges from green, to yellow, orange, pink and red. Pigmentation is influenced by genetics, environmental conditions, and tree management. Mature fruit of edible citrus are diverse in size, flavor, and peel and flesh color. The external color of citrus fruits is one of their most important quality characteristics, but the internal pigments also play a significant role in determining their health benefits. The edible part of citrus fruits, including sweet orange, mandarin, pummelo, grapefruit, lime, and lemon, has distinct attributes and pigments.

The Effect of Phosphorus Fertilization on Transcriptome Expression Profile during Lentil Pod and Seed Development

Seed coat hardness and water permeability, which are determined by the accumulation of tannins through the phenylpropanoid pathway in the seed, are important lentil quality characteristics. The impact of seeds’ developmental stage and phosphorus (P) fertilization levels on tannin accumulation is still under research. Through RNA sequencing, this study explored the effect of three P treatments (P0, 6 mg kg−1; P1, 15 mg kg−1; and P2, 21 mg kg−1) and three seed maturity stages (S1, immature 2 mm seed in a flat pod; S2, fully developed seed within the pod; and S3, mature seed at the beginning of the pod’s discoloration) on lentil gene expression. The key findings highlighted a significant influence of the seed maturity stage on phenylpropanoid genes, with S1 displaying the highest expression levels, and on phosphorus-related Gene Ontology (GO) terms that presented the highest number of downregulated genes in the S3 to S1 comparison. P exhibited a targeted effect on the flavanone 3-hydroxylase (F3H) and flavonol synthase (FLS) genes and specific gene clusters, as shown by the differential gene expression analysis. This study investigates the molecular mechanisms related to phosphorus fertilization and seed maturity stages that influence tannin accumulation, offering valuable information for the enhancement of lentil product quality through breeding programs.

Challenges in Evaluating Quality of the Serbian Traditional Dairy Product Kajmak

Kajmak, a traditional Serbian dairy product, is a top, crust layer of milk containing a high amount of aggregated milk fat and proteins, formed during long cooling of boiled milk. Due to variations in production technologies, environmental conditions, and the composition of raw milk which varies from region to region, the quality of kajmak produced traditionally in households is very inconsistent. Attempts to produce kajmak in the industry environment (dairy plants) turned out to be highly challenging in terms of achieving a uniform quality and safety of the product. In order to have a deeper insight into the quality of kajmak produced by the traditional manufacture and the industry, the main objective of the study was to investigate sensorial, physicochemical, and textural properties of kajmak produced in households and dairy plants and distributed through open markets and retail stores, respectively. A total of 36 samples of kajmak were analyzed for thirteen quality characteristics. The results obtained showed a high variability in kajmak quality. The study applied a mathematical calculation of a single total quality index (TQI) that makes all quality attributes comparable. Based on the obtained results, it was determined that kajmak produced in households had a better TQI, which leads to the conclusion that in terms of kajmak quality, the traditional production method is still superior to the industrial one. The correlation between the examined quality characteristics was investigated using Pearson’s bivariate correlation analysis and principal component analysis (PCA). By applying PCA, four principal components highlighting the most important quality characteristics were extracted. The results of the study suggest that further research on the quality of this valuable dairy product, as well as government support and investment in the small scale dairy sector, could be beneficial.

Comparative analysis of volatile aromatic compounds from a wide range of pear (PyrusL.) germplasm resources based on HS-SPME with GC-MS.

Aroma is one of the most important sensory characteristics of fruit quality. Here, the aroma composition of mature fruits of 202 pear cultivars was detected by headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). As a result, 221 major volatile components were detected, among which aldehydes, esters and alcohols were the most dominant aroma components. We also found Pyrus communis L. had the highest volatile content, followed by Pyrus sinkiangensis Yu, Pyrus ussuriensis Maxim., Pyrus bretschneideri Rehd., Hybrid Breeding cultivar group, Chinese sand pears (Pyrus pyrifolia Nakai), and Japanese and Korean (J&K) sand pears (Pyrus pyrifolia Nakai). In addition, the aroma composition and contents varied greatly among the different ripening-period groups. Finally, the fruits of pear germplasms also showed geographical flavor characteristics. These basic data and results could help us better understanding the variations of aroma quality among pear varieties and promote the development of pear breeding program.

A method for the reproducible and accurate determination of electrical resistances based on multi-layer joints in lithium-ion batteries

The transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources is significantly influenced by the development of energy storage systems such as batteries. One of the crucial steps in the production of lithium-ion batteries is the electrical connection of the individual electrodes by weld seams. Various joining processes, such as laser beam welding or ultrasonic metal welding, are used for this purpose. An important quality feature of the connections is a low electrical joint resistance, which is essential for reducing cell-internal energy losses and avoiding thermal inhomogeneities in the cells.The aim of this work was to determine the electrical resistance of the joint between a stack of foils and an arrester tab. For this purpose, a measuring method was developed and applied to different sample configurations. The influence of different probe tips on the measurement results was compared using single current collector foils and arrester tabs. The measurement of the electrical resistance was possible in the considered range with a maximum relative uncertainty of 2.38%. Using the presented approach made it possible to evaluate the influence of the seam trajectory on the electrical resistance for cell-internal contacting. In addition, the measuring method is suitable for comparing different welding strategies and, thus, for designing the cell-internal joining processes regarding the resulting electrical joint resistances.

Is the consumption time of honey important to preserve its quality?

The aroma and taste of honey are very important quality characteristics. However, the objective measurement of changes in aroma and flavor is more difficult because a large number of different substances (alcohols, aldehydes, organic acids and esters) that contribute to them are unstable components and evaporate easily at temperatures above 35˚C. The aim of this study was qualitative evaluation of 9 organic honey samples preserved for two years in different conditions. To determine their quality, sensorial and HMF analyses were performed at the University Honey Laboratory. HMF was determined using the Harmonised Methods of the International Honey Commission. The analyses were made on 9 freshly extracted honey samples and after two years these analyses were repeated for the same samples stored at 22°C and 30°C. Results showed that storage at 22°C caused slight increase in HMF values, reduction of aroma and taste and also slight darkening of the color. However, storage at 30°C shows that 7 of the 9 analyzed samples differed significantly in aroma and taste with the same fresh samples. High temperature had caused almost total elimination of aroma, taste and darkness to all samples. This may have come by evaporation of important organic elements in the composition of honey thus influencing his qualities and darkening of it. Related to HMF, results show that storage of honeys at 30°C for more than two years increases the amount of HMF by exceeding the allowed limit (40 mg/Kg). The values of HMF for fresh honey samples ranged between 0.484-8.938 mg/kg, this ensures that honey is fresh and has not been overheated during processing. For the same preserved honey samples at 30°C the values of HMF ranged between 23.19-47.2 mg/kg, this ensures that honey storage for more than 2 years will have impact on addition of hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) due to the large evaporation of fructose. As can be seen from the above results, changes in aroma and taste, in addition to simple loss by evaporation, are also made by heat. HMF content of honey samples has been affected significantly from storage time and conditions. Careless storage of honey could affect its quality, thus by consuming the honey within a year and by providing proper storage conditions, all quality criteria remain consistent.

Development of drying system by using internet of things for food quality monitoring and controlling

One of the essential aspects in managing food safety is the drying, which helps to preserve food quality and extend the shelf life of food products. The temperature, relative humidity (RH), and air velocity in dryers should be carefully monitored and maintained to ensure food quality and safety during the drying process. Also, the components of heat pump dryers are at risk due to the electric current, the high temperature surrounding the condensing unit's compressor, and the high air velocity of the drying environment. These elements affect the quality of the foods being dried, and being able to communicate alerts in real-time is essential for taking precautions against hazards that can damage the dryer's internal components. Food technology's IoT-based control (IoT-BC) system with multipurpose sensors offers options for managing the post-harvest quality of leaves as they are being dried. This study set out to design and evaluates an IoT-BC system in order to remotely control, alert of imminent hazards, and monitor the microclimate parameters, including RH, temperature, and air velocity. The impacts of the created IoT-based drying system on the quality of dried leafy vegetables were also investigated utilizing a unique dryer as a case study. The results showed that the created IoT-BC system accurately maintained the drying environment, provided reliable data about the internal microclimate atmosphere of the dryer, and provided the appropriate alarm in case of an emergency and this was based on real-time data analyses. The most important quality characteristics for dried leaves were not significantly different between the IoT-based dryer and the conventional dryer dependant on drying time. Rehydration capacity decreased with the increase in the drying air temperature from 40 to 70 °C and was maximum (6.48) at 40 °C for coriander leaves and maximum (5.59) at 40 °C for Mint leaves dried in IoT based dryer. Maximum crude fibre and protein contents for mint leaves dried in an IoT-based drier were at 40 °C and were 4.97 mg/100 g and 10.62 mg/100 g, respectively. Maximum crude fibre and protein contents for coriander leaves dried in this method were 3.76 mg/100 g and 12.23 mg/100 g, respectively. The IoT based dryer kept the leaves' superior qualities throughout the drying process as a result.

PERCEPTIONS OF WINE HEALTH BENEFITS AND EFFECTS OF WINE CONSUMPTION ON WELL-BEING

The purpose of the survey was to identify and analyze moderate wine consumption of Croatian autochthonous wine varieties. The survey was conducted in 2019 and 2020 on the Croatian Science Foundation scientific project “Vinum Sanum”. Dimensions of wine and health benefits, wine quality, labelling, positive and negative effects on wine labels and psychological well-being were assessed with a questionnaire from 374 participants. Results indicated that wine was perceived as a healthy beverage, consumed as part of healthy life style. Health benefits were perceived positively through cardiac, physical health and psychological well-being. Most important quality features were: origin; micro region, terroir, PGI/PDO (protected geographic origin/protected designation of origin), vintage, ageing and sugar content. This survey might be used as scientific evidence for developing health claims for wine, for producers to use health enhancing properties of wines and create packages and/or labels which may boost the positive perception of wine health benefits.

Phosphorylation of Calpastatin Negatively Regulates the Activity of Calpain.

Tenderness is an important characteristic of meat quality. Calpastatin and calpain play important roles in meat tenderization. However, it is not clear how phosphorylation affects the regulation of calpastatin on μ-calpain and, consequently, meat tenderness. Calpastatin with high and low phosphorylation levels were obtained in vitro corresponding to the treatments by protein kinase A (PKA) and alkaline phosphatase. Then, calpain was incubated with calpastatin with different phosphorylation levels, and the effect of calpastatin on calpain activity under different phosphorylation levels was analyzed. The results showed that PKA promoted the phosphorylation of calpastatin, and a high phosphorylation level was maintained during incubation. The degradation rate of μ-calpain in AP group was higher than that in the other groups, meaning there was lower inhibition of calpastatin on calpain activity. The degradation of calpastatin was lower and its structure was more stable after phosphorylation. One more serine 133 site of calpastatin was identified in PKA group compared with the other groups. Phosphorylation at serine 133 of calpastatin enhanced its inhibition on calpain activity by maintaining its structural stability, thus inhibiting the tenderization of meat.

Transcriptome Analysis Reveals the Genes Related to Water-Melon Fruit Expansion under Low-Light Stress

Watermelon is one of people's favorite fruits globally. Fruit size is one of the important characteristics of fruit quality. Low light can seriously affect fruit development, but there have been no reports concerning molecular mechanism analysis in watermelons involved in fruit expansion under low-light stress. To understand this mechanism, the comparative transcriptomic file of watermelon fruit flesh at four different developmental stages under different light levels was studied. The results showed that the fruit size and content of soluble sugar and amino acids at low-light stress significantly decreased compared to the control. In addition, 0-15 DAP was the rapid expansion period of watermelon fruit affected by shading. In total, 8837 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified and 55 DEGs were found to play a role in the four different early fruit development stages. We also found that genes related to oxidation-reduction, secondary metabolites, carbohydrate and amino acid metabolism and transcriptional regulation played a key role in watermelon fruit expansion under low-light stress. This study provides a foundation to investigate the functions of low-light stress-responsive genes and the molecular mechanism of the effects of low-light stress on watermelon fruit expansion.

The Determination of Important Agronomic and Quality Characteristics of Advanced Peanut Breeding Lines (F8 and F9) Belonging to Different Crossing Combinations

Bu çalışma, Çukurova Üniversitesi, Ziraat Fakültesi araştırma alanında, 2019 ve 2020 yılı üretim sezonunda ana ürün koşullarında yapılmıştır. Araştırmaya konu olan denemeler tesadüf bloklar deneme desenine göre, üç tekrarlamalı olarak kurulmuştur. Araştırmada, farklı yer fıstığı çeşitlerinin melezlemesinden elde edilen ve pedigri seleksiyon yöntemine göre seçilen ve denemeye değer bulunan 14 adet ileri ıslah hattı (F8 ve F9) ile Sultan, Ayşehanım, NC-7 ve Halisbey çeşitleri de (standart olarak) materyal olarak kullanılmıştır. Bu araştırmada, denemeye alınan ileri kademedeki yer fıstığı hatlarına ait bitki başına meyve sayısı ve ağırlığı, 100 tohum ağırlığı, iç randımanı, meyve ve tohum verimi ile yağ ve protein oranı gibi önemli özellikler incelenmiştir. Elde edilen sonuçlara göre; denemeye alınan yer fıstığı hatlarına ait meyve ve tohum verimi değerleri iki yıllık ortalamasına göre sırasıyla 427.9-791.6 kg/da ve 312.5-550.0 kg/da arasında değişim göstermiştir. Dekara en yüksek meyve verimi Osmaniye 2005 x NC-7 çeşitlerinin melezlemesinden elde edilen HA-03 (791.6 kg/da) elde edilmiştir. İki yıllık ortalama değerlere göre HA-03, HW-1, YF-8/P ve YF-19 ıslah hatlarının meyve verimi bakımından standart çeşitlerinden daha yüksek değerlere sahip oldukları gözlenmiştir.

Research progress and prospect of grape fruit coloration

The appearance and color of grapes is one of the most important quality characteristics, and the beautiful color and uniform color of grapes are often favored by consumers. In this paper, the research progress related to grape fruit coloring in recent years was summarized, and the external environment such as light, temperature, water and so on which affected grape fruit coloring was mainly reviewed, in order to provide some guidance for high-quality grape production.

Convolutional neural network in problem of identification and classification of defects on cylindrical surfaces

In all industries, an important characteristic of product quality is the integrity of the structure and the absence of mechanical damage, which determines the relevance of the development of flaw detection methods that meet the requirements for the safety and reliability of products. The article presents the results of experimental studies of surface flaw detection of metal cylindrical products by the optical method using a convolutional neural network algorithm, presents the advantages of the method and selects the optimal confidence threshold, which is a compromise between accuracy and completeness of defect prediction, and also validates the operation of the system with defects located at different angles relative to the axis of the product.

Homogeneous, lossy and Asymmetrical Strip Line with tabbed design for High-Speed Interface application

Reduction of cross talk noise is an important characteristics of clean signal quality for high-speed channel analysis. In this paper, tab added strip line is modelled to improve signal distortion in high-speed digital circuits. A comprehensive analysis of the proposed design is done across frequency domain and time domain. 6dB improvement of FEXT is observed during frequency domain analysis and 3mV in eye height of time domain analysis.

Non-Planar 3D Printed Elements on Textile Substrate Using a Fused Filament Fabrication 3D Printer

Abstract Adhesion between additively printed elements on textiles is one of the most important quality characteristics. Applied elements must form very good adhesion with the textile substrate in order to produce functional textiles. The request for non-planar printing directly on textiles is growing, especially in the fields of orthopaedic engineering and protective clothing. This new printing technique can open up new areas of application. For such a production of non-planar elements on textiles, new test methods have to be developed, as the current adhesion tests (180° peel test) are not applicable to non-planar prints on textiles. For non-planar additive printing on textiles, a cylindrical print bed for a fused filament fabrication printer was developed and modified accordingly in the first step. In the next step, a new measurement method was developed to investigate the adhesion between the textile and the non-planar three-dimensional-printed element. The study shows the challenges and the adhesion differences of non-planar printed objects on pre-stretched textiles on a cylindrical print bed. Several factors influencing adhesion were identified. The alignment of the printing nozzle to the textile substrate is the key factor influencing adhesion. The alignment also has a significant influence on the visual print quality.

Comparison of physiochemical attributes, microbial community, and flavor profile of beef aged at different temperatures.

Beef aging for tenderness and flavor development may be accelerated by elevated temperature. However, little to no research has been undertaken that determines how this affects other important meat quality characteristics and microbial community. This study aims to decrease aging time by increasing temperature. Beef were aged and vacuum packaged at 10 and 15°C, and the effects of increased temperature on meat physiochemical attributes, microbial community, and flavor profile were monitored. The shear force decreased with aging in all temperature and showed the higher rate at elevated temperatures compare to 4°C. The beef aged at elevated temperatures (10 or 15°C) for 5 days showed equivalent shear force value to the beef aged at 4°C for 10 days (p > 0.05), however, the final tenderness was not affected by the elevated temperature. The beef aged at elevated temperatures showed a significantly higher cooking loss and less color stability compared to 4°C (p < 0.05). The total volatile basic nitrogen and aerobic plate count increased (p < 0.05) faster at elevated temperatures compare to 4°C. Carnobacterium, Lactobacillus and Hafnia-Obesumbacterium were the dominant genus in the beef samples aged at 4, 10, and 15°C, respectively. In addition, the contents of isobutyraldehyde, 3-methylbutyraldehyde, 2-methylbutyraldehyde, and 3-methylbutanol were higher than aged at 4°C (p < 0.05). Therefore, these results suggest that application of elevated aged temperatures could shorten required aging time prior while not adversely affecting meat quality. In turn, this will result in additional cost savings for meat processors.