Infrared and Microwave Assisted Hot Air Drying of Lemon (Citrus limon L.)

The Lemon (Citrus limon L.) has many important natural chemical components, including citric acid, ascorbic acid, minerals and flavonoids. Storage of lemons is difficult due to enzymatic activity and production of fermentative metabolites. Pectinesterase and peroxidase are the active enzymes present in the peel and juice sacs of lemon, respectively. In the present study different pretreatments like osmotic pre-concentration, chemical dipping (ascorbic acid and calcium chloride), ultra-sonication and blanching (water and steam) were given to lemon to inactivate pectinesterase and peroxidase enzymes. Osmotic dehydration was found to be a good pretreatment to attain higher moisture loss and solid gain making lemon more suitable for further drying. The optimal condition of osmotic dehydration was found to be 20% salt concentration and 30 °C osmotic solution for 180 min to attain high moisture loss, less solid loss and required salt uptake within allowable limits. Also, steam blanching was found to be most suitable pretreatment among other pretreatments to inactivate enzymes. Therefore, osmotically pretreated lemons followed by one minute steam blanching were used for infrared hot air drying. Infrared hot air drying of osmotically pretreated and steam blanched lemon slices was effective in partially drying (reduce moisture content less than 30% w.b.) during one hour without entering in drastically falling rate period. Microwave hot air finish drying was found to be energy and drying time saving with minimum deterioration of the quality of product. Also, microwaves helped in maintaining the higher drying rates in final stage where removal of moisture was difficult. The hybridization of these two drying methods overcame the limitations and combined advantages of infrared and microwaves at appropriate moisture levels of the produc

Spur Gear Damage Analysis Using Variation of Speed Range

Gears having an acoustic signal is generally noisy and non-stationary in nature. The faulty gears may spread and increase the damage to the entiremechanism. This paper discussed how to diagnosesgear defect identification using dual tree complex wavelet transform and Variation of speed range. The acoustic signal from the healthy gear mesh is used as the reference signal, comparing the faulty gear signal and improper chamfering. Gear with seeded defects in one or more of teeth is analyzed. The proposed method is used to determine the effectiveness of gear from signal by performing simulations. The parameters such as RMS, Peak, Kurtosisand crest factor are measured. Acoustic signalsare used for tooth tip breakage, fatigue cracking, pitting, estimating the severity of defects. It helps in avoiding gear teeth fractures damage and motors gear health

EMPLOYERS’ PREFERENCE FOR LABOUR; AN EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATION FROM KERALA’S IN-MIGRATION CONTEXT

Purpose: To examine the employers’ preference for labour between migrants and natives in the in-migration context of Kerala and also to analyze whether there are any sector-wise differences in the employers’ preference. Methodology: Multistage stratified random sampling technique was used to select the sample for the study. The sample constitutes 432 employers/owners belong to three sectors namely, construction, manufacturing, and restaurants were selected from three districts of Kerala. Main Findings: Employers prefer migrant workers in the in-migration context as they are a better substitute when the majority of the factors are concerned. While working skills, work experience, health and risk in the employment of workers are concerned, either native were preferred or both the group of workers are preferred equally. The inter-sectoral analysis in the study also shows that in majority cases, there is a significant difference in the percentage distribution of employers across sectors according to their labour preference. Implication: The research results could be used to frame government policies related to entrepreneurs and also, in-migrant workers and native workers and their employment and unemployment situations. Novelty/Originality: The study is new and original because the previous studies discuss the in-migration in Kerala from the laborers’ perspective. This study shows the employers’ viewpoint. Also, the findings of this study are based on the field survey of 432 employers in three different sectors

A Comparative study on Efficacy of Mckenzie Exercises Versus Scientifically Justified Low Back Rehabilitation Exercises in the management of Mechanical Low Back Pain Patients

INTRODUCTION: Low back pain is the commonest problem human body suffers with second to common cold back pain leads to loss of time for work, loss of productivity, health care costs, financial compensations and various psycho social problems. Pain with no referral below knee may be caused by injury to muscle (strain) or ligaments, joints or in some cases, because of attachment of muscles to the sacroiliac joint.This is called Mechanical low back pain. OBJECTIVES: 1. To find the effectiveness of Myofascial release in the management of pain and range of motion in patients with Mechanical low back pain. 2. To find the effectiveness of Stretching exercises in the management of pain and range of motion in Mechanical low back pain patients. 3. To compare the effectiveness of Myofascial release and stretching exercises in the management of pain and range of motion in Mechanical low back pain patients. METHODOLOGY: Study setting: The study was conducted in R.V.S. College of Physiotherapy outpatient department, Sulur, Coimbatore. Selection of subject: 20 subjects with Mechanical low back pain who fulfilled inclusion and exclusion criteria were selected and randomly divided into 2 groups. Group A- Stretching exercises, Group B- Myofascial release. Study Design: Pre-test and post-test experimental study design Inclusion criteria: Subjects with low back pain atleast 3 months with no apparent cause, Both sexes are included, Subjects of 25-35 age group are included. Exclusion Criteria: Spinal tumours, Fractures, Inflammatory diseases, Previous spinal surgery, Nerve root compression, Cardio respiratory illness, Pregnancy. CONCLUSION: The study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of Self stretching exercise and Self - Myofascial release among Mechanical low back pain subjects. 20 patients with Mechanical low back pain was included in this study and divided into two groups, Group A and Group B, each consist of 10 subjects. Group A was treated with Self-stretching exercises, Group B was treated with Self-Myofascial release. Pain, Range of Motion was assessed before and after intervention by visual analogue scale and goniometer respectively. From the statistical results it can be concluded that there was reduction of pain and improvement in Range of Motion in both the groups. But when comparing the two groups, its founds that Myofascial release was more effective than the Self-stretching exercises

The effects of music on pulse rate and blood pressure in healthy young adults

Background: Music is a combination of frequency, beat, density, tone, rhythm, repetition, loudness and lyrics. Cardiovascular autonomic function syncs with the different musical rhythms and modulates the cardiovascular system. When we are exposed to slow beat music the parasympathetic nervous system is stimulated decreasing the heart rate and while listening to fast beat music the sympathetic nervous system is stimulated and increases the heart rate. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effects of slow and fast beat music on pulse rate and blood pressure.Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study in 100 healthy adults of age group 18-25yrs. The subject was made to lie down in a couch and pulse rate and blood pressure is measured by LED BP apparatus. After that slow beat music (“The weightless” most relaxing song of 2011) was played through the headphone. Then the pulse rate and blood pressure were recorded immediately after the music. After a period of 5 minutes rest, again pulse rate and blood pressure were measured. Then, fast beat music (“World Wide chopper”) was played and the pulse rate and blood pressure were measured immediately after the fast music.Results: There was significant reduction in pulse rate and blood pressure after listening to slow music whereas there was significant increase in pulse rate and blood pressure after listening to fast music.Conclusions: We concluded that listening to slow beat music lowers the pulse rate and blood pressure, thereby improving the cardiac autonomic regulation

Borderline oligohydramnios in term pregnancy and it's relation with pregnancy outcome

Background: Oligohydramnios can lead to contamination of amniotic fluid, fetal distress, neonatal asphyxia, aspiration pneumonia, increased perinatal mortality and adverse pregnancy outcomes. Because of atypical clinical symptoms, the critical point is to treat patients with oligohydramnios in late pregnancy. The objectives of the research were to study the mode of delivery/rate of operative interference/incidence of cesarean section due to fetal distress/non-reassuring fetal heart rate status in cases of term pregnancy with borderline amniotic fluid index (AFI), and to study the perinatal outcome in cases of term pregnancy with borderline AFI.Methods: The study is a prospective comparative study to be conducted in patients attending antenatal clinic at department of obstetrics and gynaecology, Tirunelveli government medical college hospital from from January 2018 till January 2019 (12 months). Data collected with regards to age, demographic characteristics, and socioeconomic status, detailed history including patient’s complaints, duration of complaints, menstrual and obstetric history, significant past, family and personal history. 265 cases of borderline oligohydramnios were detected of which 150 cases were selected for the study after applying exclusion criteria.Results: APGAR scores between the two groups. The mean APGAR scores of the normal group were 8.3±0.7 and the same of the borderline AFI group was 8.0±0.9. The difference between the means was statistically highly significant (p<0.01).Conclusions: Cumulative analysis of various studies, it will be reasonable to conclude that antepartum surveillance for borderline oligohydramnios is indicated in cases associated with fetal growth restriction or suboptimal fetal growth

Ciprofloxacin induced fixed drug eruption

Fixed drug eruption (FDE) is a clinical entity occurring in the same site or sites each time the drug is administered. Acute lesions appear as sharply marginated erythematous plaques, which are usually found on lips, genitalia, abdomen, and legs. The eruptions usually occur within hours of administration of the offending agent and resolves spontaneously without scarring after few weeks of onset. Most common drugs causing FDE are sulfonamides, tetracyclines, salicylates, barbiturates, doxycycline, fluconazole, clarithromycin, etc. Ciprofloxacin, a widely used fluoroquinolone antimicrobial, induces cutaneous adverse drug reactions (ADRs) in about 1-2% of treated patients. Urticaria, angioedema, maculopapular exanthems, and photosensitivity are the most frequently documented cutaneous adverse reactions. In this case report, the patient soon after taking ciprofloxacin tablets, developed itching in the lips, palms and in scrotal region. On continuing the treatment, the next day he developed fluid filled lesions over palm, knuckle, and hyperpigmentation. He gives a history of severe itching and rashes in scrotal region. He gives a history of similar complaints in the previous month after taking ciprofloxacin medication. There was no history of intake of any other medication. On examination, bullous lesions and pustules in finger webs, hyperpigmentation on knuckles, and scrotal erosions were seen. In the present case report, the patient presented with FDE immediately after oral administration of ciprofloxacin and got completely cured after stopping the drug and taking adequate treatment. According to the Naranjo’s ADR probability scale (score=8), this ADR is categorized as a “probable” reaction to the drug

A Supervised Machine Learning Model for Tool Condition Monitoring in Smart Manufacturing

In the current industry 4.0 scenario, good quality cutting tools result in a good surface finish, minimum vibrations, low power consumption, and reduction of machining time. Monitoring tool wear plays a crucial role in manufacturing quality components. In addition to tool monitoring, wear prediction assists the manufacturing systems in making tool-changing decisions. This paper introduces an industrial use case supervised machine learning model to predict the turning tool wear. Cutting forces, the surface roughness of a specimen, and flank wear of tool insert are measured for corresponding spindle speed, feed rate, and depth of cut. Those turning test datasets are applied in machine learning for tool wear predictions. The test was conducted using SNMG TiN Coated Silicon Carbide tool insert in turning of EN8 steel specimen. The dataset of cutting forces, surface finish, and flank wear is extracted from 200 turning tests with varied spindle speed, feed rate, and depth of cut. Random forest regression, Support vector regression, K Nearest Neighbour regression machine learning algorithms are used to predict the tool wear. R squared, the technique shows the random forest machine learning model predicts the tool wear of 91.82% of accuracy validated with the experimental trials. The experimental results exhibit flank wear is mainly influenced by the feed rate followed by the spindle speed and depth of cut. The reduction of flank wear with a lower feed rate can be achieved with a good surface finish of the workpiece. The proposed model may be helpful in tool wear prediction and making tool-changing decisions, which leads to achieving good quality machined components. Moreover, the machine learning model is adaptable for industry 4.0 and cloud environments for intelligent manufacturing systems