The effects of freeze-drying and flake freezing of surimi on biochemical and physical properties as affected by various storage conditions were examined. Using three cooking parameters shear stress and strain values were evaluated to measure gelation properties of surimi gels. Stress values increased up to 3 months and then decreased substantially as storage time was extended. In general, strain values decreased substantially over time, however, freeze-dried surimi kept in the freezer at - 18°C did not change during 9 months of storage. Overall, color decreased during storage and b* values of the freeze-dried surimi kept at room temperature increased significantly. Salt extractable proteins decreased while dimethylamine increased. Electrophoretic patterns, however, did not show any apparent damage to the MHC due to frozen storage and/or proteolysis (with 60°C incubation) until the 9th month of storage. At 9 months, a reduction of the MHC was observed and the lower molecular weight bands were more intense. Freeze-dried samples stored in the freezer maintained the highest quality for the duration of the 9 month study. Low temperature storage is important for retaining good functionality in freeze-dried surimi. The effects of cross-section diameter on shear stress and strain and effects of individual variation in measuring diameter were studied. Gelation properties of surimi using milled and molded gels were compared. The possibility of skin formation using various cook times was also evaluated. Shear stress values were significantly affected by diameter accuracy, whereas the effect was not as significant for shear strain values. Individual variation in measurement was also greatly noted. Molded gels resulted in significantly lower strain values than milled samples, whereas stress values were significantly higher in molded gels than in milled gels. Using a lechitin-based spray appeared to eliminate skin formation on all samples. / Graduation date: 2001

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Organizations must consider increasing their decision-making capabilities in order to remain viable in a post-industrial society that Huber characterized as having "more and increasing knowledge, more and increasing complexity, and more and increasing turbulence" (1984). He sees the challenge for managers in the post-industrial environment as learning to make decisions in less time using greater quantities of more complex information. Group Decision Support Systems (GDSSs) represent a computer-based technology that has the potential to increase an organization's decision-making capabilities, and to meet this post-industrial challenge. This dissertation investigated a specific GDSS to study how GDSS technology affects group decision making compared to the more traditional face-to-face group decision making. The research was conducted through the use of a laboratory study comparing face-to-face groups of size six to GDSS groups of the same size. The decision process was the same for both types of groups, i.e., the sequence of steps used to solve the problem was consistent for both. Additionally, all of the groups were given the same task. Process and decision outcomes were measured for the six sets of treatments considered feasible for the manipulation of the communication condition, leadership, and anonymity. The process outcomes included satisfaction, time to decision, consensus, participation and uninhibited comments. The quality of a group's decision was the decision outcome measurement. The major findings of this study are: (1) Decision quality was equivalent for both face-to-face and GDSS groups; (2) Time to decision was greater for GDSS; (3) Consensus was less likely to occur in GDSS groups; (4) Satisfaction was lower in GDSS groups; (5) Participation was more equitable in GDSS groups.

Three applications of Smith's model of magneto-optical effects in stratified magnetic media are presented. Each application involves the incident-angle dependence of magneto-optical effects which Smith's model treats explicitly. In addition. the three applications address current issues in magnetic and magneto-optical recording. The first problem considered is that of nonmagnetic surface layers which form on magnetic recording heads. The second is a theoretical treatment of effects which arise in magneto-optical recording when high numerical-aperture optical systems are combined with media exhibiting interference-enhanced optical properties. The final application is a novel technique for determining the entire dielectric tensor of materials used for magneto-optical recording. The incident-angle dependence of the longitudinal Kerr effect is employed to study nonmagnetic surface layers which form on ferrite recording heads. Calculations based on the Smith model show a correlation between the inert-layer thickness and the incident-angle dependence of the longitudinal Kerr effect. Experimental results confirm the shift in the angular position of the signal peak. in agreement with the theory for finite inert-layer thickness. An unambiguous determination of the inert-layer thickness for ferrite materials is prevented because of a periodic dependence of the peak angle on the inert-layer thickness. Jones-matrix algebra is used with the Smith model to quantitatively determine the effects of obliquely-incident rays on the reflectance and magneto-optical readout signals for various magneto-optical media structures. The most antireflective structure is found to be very sensitive to incident-angle effects. Structures with moderate reflectance (>10%). however. are not significantly affected by incident-angle effects. Finally. a technique for the determination of the optical and magneto-optical constants from multiple incident-angle measurements of reflectance and Kerr rotation is presented. The experimental system employs a Helium-Neon laser and a rotating differential detection system. The technique is used to investigate the optical properties of a series of Cu/Co multilayers and a comparison with a model based on the bulk optical. constants of Cu and Co is made. Anomalous behavior is observed for multilayers with very thin periods.

This item was digitized as part of the Million Books Project led by Carnegie Mellon University and supported by grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF). Cornell University coordinated the participation of land-grant and agricultural libraries in providing historical agricultural information for the digitization project; the University of Arizona Libraries, the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and the Office of Arid Lands Studies collaborated in the selection and provision of material for the digitization project.

This item was digitized as part of the Million Books Project led by Carnegie Mellon University and supported by grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF). Cornell University coordinated the participation of land-grant and agricultural libraries in providing historical agricultural information for the digitization project; the University of Arizona Libraries, the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and the Office of Arid Lands Studies collaborated in the selection and provision of material for the digitization project.

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