Importance and Applications of Ultrasonic Technology to Improve Food Quality

Nutritional value and quality of food products are very important for a healthy life of human beings. Various modern thermal and nonthermal application technologies such as pulsed light, pulsed electric field, high and low hydrostatic pressure, microwave, and ohmic heating have been used to improve food products characteristics. In recent years, ultrasonic applications have been used for food processing. The ultrasonic is defined as sound waves with a frequency exceeding the human hearing limit. Based on the frequency range of ultrasonic waves, it can be used in many industrial applications including the processing of food. Applications of high-power ultrasonic with low frequency aim to improve the quality of food products. Low-power ultrasonic with high-frequency applications are used for nondestructive quality evaluation of physicochemical properties of food. The most important advantages of ultrasonic technologies are the low cost of food processing, low power consumption, simplicity compared to other technologies, suitability for the treatment of solid and liquid food, and environmental safeness and friendliness, thus becoming a promising technology for monitoring and improving quality of food products. The main objective of this chapter is to provide an overview of the principal and recent applications of ultrasonic waves to improve food product quality

Hydrogeophysical investigation for groundwater potential in central Minna, Nigeria.

This hydro geophysical investigation is aimed at delineating the aquiferous units in the central part of Minna by determining their depths, thicknesses, resistivities and the potential borehole depth at various locations within the area employing the technique the Vertical Electric Sounding (VES) using the Schlumberger array. A grid of 7 profiles with a total of 49 sounding stations was occupied. The area was found to be underlain by 4 geological formations. The second and third formations underlying parent bedrock form the aquiferous unit. This unit was found to have an average resistivity value range of 120 – 900 Ωm and an average thickness of 25 m. It is deeply seated in some areas with an average depth of 25 – 30 m. Keywords: Vertical Electrical Sounding (VES), Resistivity, Aquifer, Borehole

A regional geoelectric investigation for groundwater exploration in Minna area, north west Nigeria.

A Regional Geoelectric survey using the Vertical Electrical Resistivity (VES) was used to investigate the land mass covering Minna and it's environ in Nigeria aimed at assessing the lithology beneath the area, delineate the aquiferous formations and its depths and thicknesses. The area was grided into 13 profiles spaced at 3 km intervals with each having 13 stations for the VES. A total of 169 VES points were occupied. The Global Positioning System (GPS) equipment was used for locating the stations on ground. The interpretation of the field data was carried out using the Zhody soft-ware, which converts the apparent resistivity as a function of electrode spacing to the true resistivity as a function of depth in two dimensions. The rocks of the area are largely of crystalline rocks, which include gneisses, migmatites and metasedimentary schists. The results show that the area is underlain by three layer lithologic sections. In some sections where the basement had probably suffered severe weathering and or fracturing, four or five layer models were obtained. The weathered/fractured layers along the transitional zones form the aquiferous formations in the area with a maximum thickness of about 45m

A Delayed Black and Scholes Formula I

In this article we develop an explicit formula for pricing European options when the underlying stock price follows a non-linear stochastic differential delay equation (sdde). We believe that the proposed model is sufficiently flexible to fit real market data, and is yet simple enough to allow for a closed-form representation of the option price. Furthermore, the model maintains the no-arbitrage property and the completeness of the market. The derivation of the option-pricing formula is based on an equivalent martingale measure

Recent Trends in the Early Detection of the Invasive Red Palm Weevil, <em>Rhynchophorus ferrugineus</em> (Olivier)

Red palm weevil (RPW), Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Olivier), is one of the most invasive pest species that poses a serious threat to date palm and coconut palm cultivation as well as the ornamental Canary Island palm. RPW causes massive economic losses in the date palm production sector worldwide. The most important challenge of RPW detection in the early stages of an infestation is the presence of a few externally visible signs. Infested palm shows visible signs when the infestation is more advanced; in this case, the rescuing of infested palms is more complicated. Early detection is a useful tool to eradicate and control RPW successfully. Until now, the early detection techniques of RPW rely mainly on visual inspection and pheromone trapping. Several methods to detect RPW infestation have recently emerged. These include remote sensing, highly sensitive microphones, thermal sensors, drones, acoustic sensors, and sniffer dogs. The main objective of this chapter is to provide an overview of the modern methods for early detection of the RPW and discuss the most important RPW detection technologies that are field applicable

The Dirichlet problem for superdegenerate differential operators

Let $L$ be an infinitely degenerate second-order linear operator defined on a bounded smooth Euclidean domain. Under weaker conditions than those of H\"ormander, we show that the Dirichlet problem associated with $L$ has a unique smooth classical solution. The proof uses the Malliavin calculus. At present, there appears to be no proof of this result using classical analytic techniques

Validated Spectrofluorimetric Determination of Gemifloxacin in Pharmaceutical Preparations and Spiked Human Plasma

 A simple, sensitive and rapid spectrofluorimetric method was developed and validated for the determination of Gemifloxacin mesylate (GFX), in bulk powder, pharmaceutical preparations and biological fluids. The proposed method was based on complexation of GFX with AlCl3 as complexing agent then measuring the fluorescence of the resulted complex after enhancement with sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) in borate buffer (pH 8) at emission wavelength of 401 nm after excitation at 264 nm. Different experimental parameters affecting the fluorescence intensity were carefully studied and optimized to obtain the maximum fluorescence intensity. The developed method was validated according to International Conference on Harmonisation guidelines in terms of specificity, linearity, lower limit of quantification (LOQ) 0.54 ng.ml-1, lower limit of detection (LOD) 0.18 ng.ml-1, accuracy and precision. The proposed method was found to be rectilinear over the concentration range of 1-20 ng.ml-1with recovery percentage of 99.85±0.84. The proposed method was applied successfully for the determination of GFX in pharmaceutical preparations and spiked human plasma with recovery percentage of 99.97±0.79 and 99.96±1.73 respectively. The results were statistically analyzed and compared with a reference method and no significance difference was found between both methods

Unilateral Congenital Lenticular Pigmentation

Introduction: Release of pigments in the anterior chamber is frequently observed in pigment dispersion syndrome, an autosomal dominant disorder marked by bilateral pigment deposition on the anterior and possibly posterior lens capsule, zonules of the lens, trabecular meshwork, and corneal endothelium, in addition to radial, spoke-like transillumination defects in the mid peripheral iris [J Ayub Med Coll Abbottabad. 2017;29(3):412–414 and Optom Vis Sci. 1995;72(10):756–762]. Pigmentation of the anterior lens surface has also been associated with intraocular inflammation, pseudoexfoliation syndrome, siderosis, antipsychotic medication usage, and remnants of the tunica vasculosa lentis [Br J Ophthalmol. 1998;82(11):1344]. Case Presentation: A 23-year-old female presented to our eye clinic with chief complaint of mild blurring of vision in the right eye and inquired about refractive surgery. The patient denied any previous history of ocular inflammation, trauma, surgery, or use of topical or systemic medications. Slit-lamp examination of the right eye anterior segment was within normal limits except for the crystalline lens anterior capsular which showed confluent pigment deposits stellate in shape over the pupillary axis, whereas left eye examination was completely within normal limits. Ophthalmic examination of the posterior segment was normal in both eyes. Based on her previous ophthalmic history and slit-lamp examination of the right eye, a diagnosis of unilateral congenital lenticular pigmentation was made. Conclusion: Congenital lenticular pigmentation is a rare benign entity carrying no surgical indications with a relatively good visual response to optical correction. Recognition of this rare benign condition would add to the ophthalmologist’s differential of ocular pigmentation and avoid unnecessary concern and follow-up in more potentially progressive disorders such as pigmentary glaucoma

Low-lying quadrupole collective states of the light and medium Xenon isotopes

Collective low lying levels of light and medium Xenon isotopes are deduced from the Generalized Bohr Hamiltonian (GBH). The microscopic seven functions entering into the GBH are built from a deformed mean field of the Woods-Saxon type. Theoretical spectra are found to be close to the ones of the experimental data taking into account that the calculations are completely microscopic, that is to say, without any fitting of parameters.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, 1 tabl

Neurological disorders in HIV:Hope despite challenges

INTRODUCTION: Human Immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a virus that causes several diseases by attacking the human immune system. It is transmitted by contact with certain bodily fluids of an infected person, most commonly during unprotected sex, through sharing needles, or from mother to baby during pregnancy, birth or breastfeeding. The central nervous system is not spared from this virus, as HIV has been shown to induce several neurological disorders. However most neurological pathologies (such as dementia, infections, meningitis, and neuropathy) rarely show until late stages, in this case, after the patients develop acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). This article aims to review the neurological disorders in the HIV population and the attempts initiated to limit the disease. METHODOLOGY: Data were collected from medical journals published on PubMed, Ovid MEDLINE, Science Direct and Embase bibliographical databases with a predefined search strategy. All articles considering neurological disorders associated with HIV were considered. RESULTS: To date, the pathogenesis of HIV‐associated neurological complications remains poorly elucidated; thus, imposing a hindrance and limitations on the treatment options. Nevertheless, some studies have reported alterations in dendritic spine as the causative agent for developing brain damage. CONCLUSION: HIV remains one of the most serious global health challenges, with neurological manifestations imposing a major concern among patients with HIV. Despite the availability and efficacy of antiretroviral therapies, yet, the risk of developing neurological complications remains relatively high among patients with HIV. Thus, the 2030 HIV vision must focus on further preventive measures to protect HIV patients from developing such neurological complications