Isabel Revilla Martín

Effect of autochthonous starter cultures isolated from Siahmazgi cheese on physicochemical, microbiological and volatile compound profiles and sensorial attributes of sucuk, a Turkish dry-fermented sausage.

The effect of adding autochthonous starter cultures isolated from Siahmazgi cheese, on the physicochemical parameters and microbial counts of sucuk was investigated during the ripening period. SPME-GC/MS was used in volatile compound analysis and a trained group of panelists carried out sensory analysis of the final product. After preliminary screening, three strains of Lactobacillus plantarum, which possess desirable technological properties, were used to prepare three starter cultures: LBP7, LBP10 and LBP14. The addition of LBP7 and LBP14 starter cultures had a significant effect (P<0.05) on lightness, leading to higher L values compared to control sausages during the ripening period. Both LBP7 and LBP14 sausages showed higher counts of lactic acid bacteria, lower growth of Enterobacteriaceae and Gram-positive catalase-positive cocci and greatly lowered the pH value compared to control sausages throughout the ripening process. At the end of the ripening process, lactic acid bacteria counts were affected (P<0.05) by the addition of starter culture since higher counts were observed in sausages prepared with LBP7 (9.14logCFU/g) and LBP14 (8.96logCFU/g) batches. The decrease of water activity during the ripening of sausages was not affected by the various starters. The texture profiles of all sausages were similar except for LBP10, which showed lower hardness and gumminess during ripening. Under the conditions of the study, volatile compounds were mainly from spices, and no marked differences were found among inoculated sausages. However, sensory evaluation revealed that most of the sensory attributes were scored higher for inoculated sausages than for the control ones. Therefore, LBP7 and LBP14 could be promising candidates for inclusion as starter cultures for the manufacture of sucuk.

Application of rubric in learning assessment: a proposal of application for engineering students

This experience shows the use of rubrics as an orientation learning tool as well as a criteria-evaluative one in several topics of Engineering Branch. The data were obtained analysing the academic students results, the assessment of the experience given by teachers and the information obtained from the satisfaction surveys filled out by students.

Application of New Assessment Tools in Engineering Studies: The Rubric

This paper reports an experiment in the application of rubrics, as an assessment tool, in different degree courses in the fields of engineering and architecture. This paper involved five subjects, seven teachers, and a total of 170 students. We analyze the scores obtained by the students and the degree of satisfaction of both the students and teachers, based on questionnaires developed specifically for this purpose.