Search Results (3)

This study aimed to assess the viability of a new gelling agent, formed by a combination of disodium 5-guanylate and lactic acid, as a potential substitute for conventional hydrocolloids in yogurt production. Six different yogurt samples containing novel gel (combination of lactic acid and disodium 5-guanylate), disodium 5-guanylate, gelatin, agar-agar, lactic acid, and a control yogurt without any hydrocolloid or other additives, were studied. As expected, all the yogurt samples exhibited shear-thinning behavior. The novel gel yogurt, when compared to the control yogurt, displayed similar viscosity at a low shear rate of 4.5 s⁻¹ (mimicking the shearing during manual scooping with a spoon) and lower viscosity at a shear rate of 60.8 s⁻¹ (mimicking the agitation in the mouth). Notably, the novel gel yogurt demonstrated a lower flow behavior index (0.13 vs. 0.40 on day 1), reduced syneresis (23.37% vs. 33.75%), and had a higher consistency coefficient (9.2 vs. 7.25 on day 1) compared to the control yogurt. The novel gel yogurt exhibited superior rupture strength compared to yogurt with other hydrocolloids, such as gelatin and agar-agar, and similar brittleness to yogurt with gelatin. Microstructural analysis revealed an aggregated and compact protein network in the novel gel yogurt, analogous to the yogurt with gelatin. Sensory evaluations indicated no significant differences between the control and the novel gel yogurt. Therefore, the novel gelling agent studied can serve as a cost-effective alternative in yogurt production, compared to conventional hydrocolloids that are in short supply, in high demand, and expensive in the market. Full article

Assisting patients with weakened hand and wrist strength during meals is essential. While various feeding devices have been developed, many do not utilize patients’ residual finger functions, leading to an increase in the risk of disuse syndrome and loss of joy in life. Recently, assist-as-needed support for spoon grasping by soft hand rehabilitation devices has been studied. Moreover, in our previous study, we investigated finger motions for the required scooping angle and verified them with a dummy hand driven by soft actuators. However, eating with a spoon requires not only spoon grasping and rotating but also plunging the spoon into food and lifting it afterward. The goal of this study is to achieve self-feeding with spoons using soft actuators for individuals with partial finger disabilities. To address this, we measured scooping movements using inertial measurement units, identified feasible finger motions for spoon plunging and lifting, and verified our findings through experiments with a dummy hand driven by soft actuators. As a result, we found a way to achieve the two motions by regulating the moment applied to the spoon. These results highlight the potential of soft actuators for assisting scooping movements. This study marks an important step toward feeding assistance that leverages patients’ residual finger functions. Full article

In present-day mechanized garlic seeding, high missing rates and low qualified percentages of single seeds are common problems; thus, a finger clip plate garlic seed-metering device was designed in this study. First, the structure and working principle of the seed-metering device were studied. Subsequently, the critical component parameters of the seed-metering device were determined using theoretical calculations; then, EDEM software was used in single-factor simulation experiments to analyze the effects of opening the diameter of the seed-collecting spoon, the operating speed of the seeding tray, and the population number on the seed-filling performance. Finally, a Box–Behnken center combination experiment was conducted with the population, opening the diameter of the seed-collecting spoon, and rotating the speed of the seeding tray as experiment factors, with the single-seed filling rate, qualified percent, and missing rate as evaluation indicators. A three-factor and three-level orthogonal test was conducted to establish the mathematic regression model of the experiment factors and evaluation indicators, as well as to realize the parameter optimization. After rounding, the laboratory validation test was carried out with 240~280 seeds, a 26 mm seed scoop-opening diameter, and a 28 r/min operating speed. The average qualified rate, missing rate, and reply rate of single seeds were 91.86%, 2.71%, and 5.43%, respectively, which is basically consistent with the forecast results of regression model. Full article