Application of bulk nanobubbles in ultrafiltration and spray drying of dairy concentrates

Doctor of PhilosophyFood Science InstituteJayendra K AmamcharlaMilk protein concentrates (MPC) are ideal dairy ingredient to provide nutritional and functional benefits in high-protein dairy and food products. However, one of the key challenges encountered by the MPC manufacturers during the spray drying is the high viscosity after ultrafiltration and evaporation. Reducing viscosity and aiding an increase in the solid levels before spray drying can offer significant savings on the overall energy cost during spray drying. On the other side, it is also a challenge for the end-user to incorporate the MPC powders in a formulation due to their poor rehydration properties. Therefore, simple and innovative strategies to reduce viscosity before spray drying while also improving final powder properties are of critical consideration for the dairy industry. Moreover, the dairy industry's eco-efficiency strategy focuses on manufacturing high-quality dairy products at a low cost with minimal environmental impact are gaining more attention. For instance, reduced energy usage while keeping high permeation flux values is critical for eco-efficiency. In this research, application of bulk nanobubbles (NBs) for improving the processability and functionality of various dairy concentrates were evaluated. The chapter 3, 4, and 5 investigated the use of NBs generated by hydrodynamic and acoustic cavitation for improving the processability of dairy concentrates, rehydration/flow properties of MPCs. Control and NB-MPC dispersions were evaluated in terms of rheological behavior and microstructure. Additionally, MPC dispersions were spray dried after the NB treatment and the resultant NB-MPC powders were characterized and compared with the control MPCs in terms of rehydration characteristics and microstructure. NB-MPC powders exhibited better rehydration properties than the control MPC powders. Overall, these studies therefore, recommends the possibility of using NB treatment for more efficient drying while improving the functional properties of the resultant MPC powders. The chapter 6 evaluated the influence of NB incorporation during the UF process of skim milk. Both lab and pilot-scale UF experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of NB incorporation on UF process by evaluating permeate flux, membrane microstructure, fouling resistance, energy consumption, and skim milk concentrate characteristics. For both the lab/pilot-scale runs, after the initial water flux measurements, the membrane was fouled with the skim milk concentrate dispersions operated at 20°C under a constant transmembrane pressure 30 psi in constant concentration mode (the permeate was returned to the feed tank at regular 10-min intervals) and the total run time was fixed for 1 hour. The results revealed that NB treatment had a significant effect on permeate flux in both the lab and pilot-scale runs. Overall, the NB treatment helped to improve UF membrane performance and therefore this study suggests the potential of using NB treatment for a more efficient UF processing

Clonal variability in black pepper hybrid Panniyur 1

Forty two clones of twenty year old Panniyur 1 plants, grown as a monocrop of black pepper, were analyzed for variations in yield contributing factors as well as quality paralTIeters over a period of three years. The analysis of the data has revealed that the plants exhibited considerable amount of variability for characters under study and the standard deviation was lnore for berries spike-1 and yield. Among the quality characteristics, oleoresin exhibited more variability than piperine. From the non hierarchical Euclidean cluster analysis it is observed that the plants can be clustered ideally in to five clusters based on their mean performance. The intra and inter cluster distance was more for cluster number 4, which later culminated in Inaximuln nUlnber of plants (13) having high yield and oleoresin. &nbsp

PALLADIUM CATALYZED SYNTHESIS OF NOVEL TACRINE DERIVATIVES

This work was supported by Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, grant # 075-15-2020-777 and the Russian Science Foundation, grants ### 22-23-20189, 21-13-00304 and 20-73-10205

Frozen Section Evaluation in Head and Neck Oncosurgery: An Initial Experience in a Tertiary Cancer Center

Objective: Frozen section evaluation is routinely used by oncosurgeons across specialties for rapid assessment of the presence of tumor in any tissue and its most common use is in surgical margins. Today, the use of intraoperative frozen-section evaluation of surgical margins is an accepted and frequent practice in head and neck oncology. This study aims to determine the efficacy and accuracy of frozen sections in head and neck cancer patients and compare the results with the respective paraffin sections and also to analyze the reasons for any disparity between them. Material and Method: A retrospective study was conducted to evaluate efficacy and accuracy of frozen section in head and neck cancer of 265 patients, treated at a tertiary cancer centre hospital between January 2013 to December 2014. Results: Out of 265 cases, it was found that 12.6% of these sections showed true positivity, 6.3% false positivity, 2.9% false negativity and 78.2% true negativity. The study also shows a sensitivity of 82.05% and specificity of 96.46%. Conclusion: Our study shows that intraoperative frozen section reports are specific and highly sensitive. We recommend a minimum of 3-4 sections, optimum cryostat temperature, good section thickness and quality staining for a good concordance rate

A rare presentation of Pulmonary Lymphangitic Carcinomatosis in cancer of lip: case report

Squamous cell carcinoma of lip is a common malignancy in Indian subcontinent. Metastatic spread is infrequent. Although advanced tumours spread to lymph nodes in the neck, it does not typically present with lung metastasis or with lymphangitic carcinomatosis. We describe a patient who developed cough and increasing dyspnoea while on treatment for carcinoma of lip. Chest x-ray and computed tomography were consistent with lymphangitic carcinomatosis. Lymphangitic carcinomatosis occurs with many different primary tumours and can rarely occur in oral cancers. This is the first report from carcinoma of lip

Characterization of milk protein concentrate powders using powder rheometer and front-face fluorescence spectroscopy

Master of ScienceFood Science InstituteJayendra K. AmamcharlaMilk protein concentrate (MPC) powders are high-protein dairy ingredients obtained from membrane filtration processes and subsequent spray drying. MPC powders have extensive applications due to their nutritional, functional, and sensory properties. However, their flow properties, rehydration behavior, and morphological characteristics are affected by various factors such as processing, storage, particle size, and composition of the powder. Literature has shown that knowledge about the powder flowability characteristics is critical in their handling, processing, and subsequent storage. For this study, FT4 powder rheometer (FT4, Freeman Technologies, UK) was used to characterize the flowability of MPC powders during storage. This study investigated the flowability and morphological characteristics of commercial MPC powders with three different protein contents (70, 80, and 90%, w/w) after storage at 25°C and 40°C for 12 weeks. Powder flow properties (basic flowability energy (BFE), flow rate index (FRI), permeability, etc.) and shear properties (cohesion, flow function, etc.) were evaluated. After 12 weeks of storage at 40°C, the BFE and FRI values significantly increased (P < 0.05) as the protein content increased from 70 to 90% (w/w). Dynamic flow tests indicated that MPC powders with high protein contents displayed higher permeability. Shear tests confirmed that samples stored at 40°C were relatively less flowable than samples stored at 25°C. Also, the lower protein content samples showed better shear flow behavior. The results indicated that MPC powders stored at 40°C had more cohesiveness and poor flow characteristics than MPC powders stored at 25°C. The circle equivalent diameter, circularity, and elongation of MPC powders increased as protein content and storage temperature increased, while the convexity decreased as protein content and storage temperature increased. Overall, the MPC powders evidently showed different flow properties and morphological characteristics due to their difference in composition and storage temperature. Literature has shown various methods for determining the solubility of dairy powders, but it requires expensive instruments and skilled technicians. The front-face fluorescence spectroscopy (FFFS) coupled with chemometrics could be used as an efficient alternative, which is commonly used as fingerprints of the various food products. To evaluate FFFS as a useful tool for the non-destructive measurement of solubility in the MPC powders, commercially procured MPC powders were stored at two temperatures (25 and 40°C) for 1, 2, 4, 8, and 12 weeks to produce powders with different rehydration properties, which subsequently influenced their fluorescence spectra. The spectra of tryptophan and Maillard products were recorded and analyzed with principal components analysis. The solubility index and the relative dissolution index (RDI) obtained from focused beam reflectance measurement was used to predict solubility and dissolution changes using fluorescence spectra of tryptophan and Maillard products. The solubility index and RDI showed that the MPC powders had decreased solubility as the storage time and temperature increased. The results suggest that FFFS has the potential to provide rapid, nondestructive, and accurate measurements of rehydration behavior in MPC powders. Overall, the results indicated that solubility and dissolution behavior of MPC powders were related to protein content and storage conditions that could be measured using FFFS

AUTECOLOGY OF BLOOD GRASS (ISACHNE MILIACEA ROTH EX ROEM ET SCHULT.) IN WETLAND RICE ECOSYSTEM

Abstract An investigation was carried out during the first and second crop seasons of 2010 at College of Agriculture, Vellayani, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala (India) to examine the growth and developmental pattern of blood grass (Isachne miliacea Roth ex Roem et Schult.) as influenced by nutrient management and spacing of associated rice with an approach to assess the possibility for managing the weed through agronomic manipulations. The treatments included NPK @ 90:45:45 kg ha -1 (100% NPK) and 112.5:56.25:56.25 kg ha -1 (125% NPK) at two levels (100% N as chemical fertilizer and 75% N as chemical fertilizer + 25% N as organic) under three spacings (15 × 15, 20 × 15, 20 × 20cm). The results of the present study revealed that both vegetative and reproductive characteristics of Isachne miliacea were significantly influenced by the management practices for the associated rice crop. During the first crop season, the weed plants growing in rice fields treated with 125 percent recommended NPK with 25 per cent organic substitution recorded the maximum shoot length while during the second season the value was significantly higher when the same dose was applied as chemical fertilizers only. During both the seasons the root length and plant spread were the highest when full dose of NPK was given as chemical fertilizer. Thus higher dose of NPK applied as chemical fertilizers only, along with wider spacing increased all the vegetative parameters of the weed throughout the study. During both the seasons Isachne miliacea growing in rice fields treated with 100 per cent NPK with 25 per cent organic substitution and plants in rice crop planted at wider spacing recorded delayed flowering, but produced more seeds per panicle. Thus, it could be elucidated that application of enhanced nutrients exclusively as chemical fertilizers in combination with wider spacing stimulated growth and vigour of the weed. Hence, an integrated approach in nutrient management shall be suggested for efficient and economic management of the weed. By altering nutrient management and adjusting the plant population, the competitive ability and productivity of rice crop can be improved and weed management can be made more efficient and economic

Application of Micro- and Nano-Bubbles as a Tool to Improve the Rheological and Microstructural Properties of Formulated Greek-Style Yogurts

The objective of this study was to develop an alternative novel process technology for enhancing the rheological and functional properties of Greek-style yogurt (GSY). The GSY was formulated and prepared in the lab using micellar casein concentrate as a source of protein to achieve a protein content of 10% (w/w). The changes in physicochemical, microstructural, rheological, and functional properties of control (C-GSY) and micro- and nano-bubbles-treated GSY (MNB-GSY) were studied and compared before and after storage for 1, 2, 3, and 4 weeks. Before storage, the apparent viscosity at 100 s&minus;1 (&eta;100) was 1.09 Pa&middot;s for C-GSY and 0.71 Pa&middot;s for MNB-GSY. Incorporation of MNBs into GSY significantly (p &lt; 0.05) decreased the &eta;100 by 30% on 1 week of storage. Additionally, the &eta;100 of MNB-GSY was lesser than C-GSY on week 2, 3, and 4 of storage. Notable microstructural changes and significant rheological differences were observed between the C-GSY and MNB-GSY samples. Differences were also noticed in syneresis, which was lower for the MNB-GSY compared with the control. Overall, the incorporation of MNBs into GSY showed considerable improvements in rheological and functional properties. Additionally, it&rsquo;s a simple, cost-effective process to implement in existing GSY production plants

Does adverse histopathological features like perineural invasion, depth of invasion and lymphovascular invasion warrant adjuvant treatment in early oral squamous cell carcinoma?

Background: We know from the existing literature that perineural invasion (PNI), lymphovascular invasion , and depth of invasion (DOI) are important prognostic factor that influence locoregional control in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). However, there is a lack of robust data in literature to recommend adjuvant treatment when one or more of these soft adverse factors are present in early stage OSCC. Patients and Methods: All treatment naïve, early OSCC who received definitive treatment in the form of surgery in the institute between March 2010 and December 2013. The clinical and demographic details, histopathological features, and follow-up details were collected. Factors influencing the recurrence-free survival (RFS), including the soft adverse factors, were analyzed. Results: Of the 332 OSCC patients, 70 patients satisfied the eligibility criteria and were included in the study. Majority of them were men (54%), with a mean age of 59 years. All of them underwent surgery and a few received adjuvant treatment (n = 9). PNI was seen in 9% (n = 6) of the cases, median DOI was 6 mm, lymphovascular emboli was seen in only one patients. PNI was the only soft adverse factor, which influenced the RFS on univariate and multivariate analysis. Conclusion: In the present study, PNI seems to be an important soft adverse factor, which influences the RFS. Adding adjuvant radiotherapy may benefit these patients. Prospective studies are needed to further evaluate the need for adjuvant treatment in presence of soft adverse factors, especially PNI, in early OSCC to prevent recurrence