Effect of Soaking Conditions and Fuzzy Analytical Method for Producing the Quick-Cooking Black Jasmine Rice

The quick-cooking rice product is an interesting product for the market which is easy to cook, with good sensorial qualities and health benefits. This work aimed to study the effect of the soaking conditions, namely baking powder concentration (0.1, 0.2, or 0.3%), soaking temperature (room temperature, 50 or 60 °C), and soaking time (10, 20, or 30 min), in order to improve the physical properties and also the sensory characteristics, with high bioactive compound content, of Quick-Cooking Black Jasmine Rice (QBJR). The physical properties of the final product, namely the rehydration capacity, morphology, and texture, were observed. Moreover, the total phenolic, total flavonoid, and total anthocyanin were determined. The results showed that the samples with a high baking powder concentrations soaked at high temperatures for longer time affect the low rehydration capacity with a high hardness value and a decreased bioactive compound content. In addition, the sensory score including softener, flavor, and overall acceptance were lower score. Moreover, to determine the best soaking condition with complex data, the Fuzzy Analytical Method (FAM) was performed by an online FAM program. The results showed that soaking at room temperature for 30 min in 0.1% of baking powder showed the highest overall performance index of 6.52.     

Significantly Improved Colossal Dielectric Properties and Maxwell—Wagner Relaxation of TiO2—Rich Na1/2Y1/2Cu3Ti4+xO12 Ceramics

In this work, the colossal dielectric properties and Maxwell—Wagner relaxation of TiO₂–rich Na_1/2Y_1/2Cu₃Ti_4+xO₁₂ (x = 0–0.2) ceramics prepared by a solid-state reaction method are investigated. A single phase of Na_1/2Y_1/2Cu₃Ti₄O₁₂ is achieved without the detection of any impurity phase. The highly dense microstructure is obtained, and the mean grain size is significantly reduced by a factor of 10 by increasing Ti molar ratio, resulting in an increased grain boundary density and hence grain boundary resistance (R_gb). The colossal permittivities of ε′ ~ 0.7–1.4 × 10⁴ with slightly dependent on frequency in the frequency range of 10²–10⁶ Hz are obtained in the TiO₂–rich Na_1/2Y_1/2Cu₃Ti_4+xO₁₂ ceramics, while the dielectric loss tangent is reduced to tanδ ~ 0.016–0.020 at 1 kHz due to the increased R_gb. The semiconducting grain resistance (R_g) of the Na_1/2Y_1/2Cu₃Ti_4+xO₁₂ ceramics increases with increasing x, corresponding to the decrease in Cu⁺/Cu²⁺ ratio. The nonlinear electrical properties of the TiO₂–rich Na_1/2Y_1/2Cu₃Ti_4+xO₁₂ ceramics can also be improved. The colossal dielectric and nonlinear electrical properties of the TiO₂–rich Na_1/2Y_1/2Cu₃Ti_4+xO₁₂ ceramics are explained by the Maxwell–Wagner relaxation model based on the formation of the Schottky barrier at the grain boundary.