Basics of beer brewing process and related alcohol chemistry - An old beer in a new bottle

Beer is one of the favorite beverages produced by the fermentation of grains. The global production figures indicate an increasing trend during the  last decade. This article highlights the beer brewing process, chemistry concepts involved, and problems and prospects. The emphasis is on conceptual understanding of both theory and practice, and the chemical perspectives and possibilities to provide an appreciation of alcohol chemistry exposure in our daily lives that have particular significance and several positive effects to enrich the learning experience

Use of pneumatics in a precision snap bean planter

Sowing seed in the soil has been practiced ever since man learned to raise plants for his food. The simplest practice he adopted for raising crops on fields was just to throw seeds or broadcast them on the land where the plants were intended to be grown. With this simple start of the art of sowing, as man learned more and more about the behavior, growth and the art of crop husbandry, he searched for better ways of seeding or sowing seeds in order to accomplish better yields. The growth of plant science and the demand for better seeding practices besides the requirements of seed bed preparation, manuring, weed control, etc., lead him to the investigation and use of several devices or applicances or say equipment for planting seeds. At present the plant science demands the planting of seeds in rows at specified width and at desired spaces between seeds in a row. Of course the distance between rows and spacing between seeds varies according to the nature of the crop. The plant science also demands that seeds to be placed either in groups (otherwise called hills) or single seeds. Placing of seeds in specified rows and at a given spacing is alone not sufficient. They have to be placed at desired depth and an environment of soil is to be created to obtain the desired stand of plants both in number and also in uniformity Seeds not only vary in shape and size with different crops but they also vary in size and shape within the same crop with different varieties and with the same variety crop in seeds. These variations in seeds and variations in the planting practices have lead to the development of various types of planting equipment that are now found in the market. The requirements of planting devices for most of the crops have been fairly accomplished as could be seen from the review of previous work briefly mentioned under Review of Literature. Coming to the requirements of snap beans, they are required to be planted as single seeds in rows as close as cultural operations permit and at uniform spacings within a row in order to have a uniform stand of crop foi\u27 obtaining maximum yields. The usual width between rows is three to five feet for pole beans and 28 to 38 inches for bush beans. The seed spacing within the row varies from 1-1/2 to 4 inches (17). Tests conducted in Pulaski County, Kentucky, with the same fertilizer level and with varied overall spacing of five, seven, and nine plants per foot showed that plants at seven per foot gave the maximum yield (18). Thus, the accuracy with which snap beans are to be planted for obtaining maximum yield is within a very small range. This demands the use of precision planting equipment which could meter beans in singles and plant them at correct spaces in the rows to get the desired stand of plants. The standard horizontal corn planter found in the market with certain modifications of equipment and use of specially designed plates is being used by some farmers for planting snap beans. As these cylindrical shaped snap beans of the same variety vary both in diameter and in length of seeds, they are required many times to be graded to obtain accurate metering. Often ungraded seeds cost less than graded seeds, it is desirable to have a planter which could meter and plant seeds with precision irrespective of the size and shape of the seeds. The requirement of metering seeds of various sizes and shapes needs an approach quite different from the conventional plate metering devices. In the present investigations the possibility of separating single seeds from a group of seeds in a hopper through the use of pneumatic vacuum pressure was explored. It was thought that it would be possible to catch a single seed and separate it from the group by holding the seed with pneumatic vacuum pressure at the end of a suitably designed nozzle, positioned on the periphery of a rotating vertical disc or plate

A Hindu Worldview of Adult Learning in the Workplace

The problem and the solution. The Hindu religion has abundant literature applicable to human resource development (HRD). Using a holistic approach, Hindu texts address the process of developing people at both the micro and macro levels. Theoretical constructs related to adult learning in the workplace and organization development from the ancient Hindu scriptures are examined

Resveratrol prevents antibody-induced apoptotic death of retinal cells through upregulation of Sirt1 and Ku70

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>To determine whether resveratrol, a natural plant-derived drug, has protective effects against antibody-induced apoptosis of retinal cells <it>in vitro </it>and to provide insights on the mechanism of resveratrol protection.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>E1A.NR3 retinal cells pretreated with 40 μM resveratrol were grown in the presence of anti-recoverin (Rec-1), anti-enolase (Enol-1) antibodies, and normal purified immunoglobulins. When the cells were exposed to resveratrol before treatment with Enol-1 or Rec-1 antibodies, 30–55% more cells survived compared to the resveratrol-untreated cells. Western blotting showed a reduction in proapoptotic protein Bax in the cytoplasm and mitochondria of resveratrol-treated cells. Resveratrol-pretreated cells also showed a significant decrease in intracellular calcium and an inhibition of caspase-3 activity as compared to the untreated cells. Sirt1 expression was greatly reduced in the cells grown in the presence of Rec-1 and Enol-1, but it increased about five times in the resveratrol-pretreated cells. Immunocytochemistry revealed that Sirt1 expression in the cytoplasm and nucleus was colocalized with Ku70 expression in resveratrol-treated cells, suggesting possible interaction with each other in the cell. The pattern of the Ku70 cellular localization also overlapped with the Bax cellular localization in treated and untreated cells.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p><it>In vitro </it>protection of retinal cells from apoptosis by resveratrol occurred through multiple early molecular events, such as reduction of intracellular calcium levels, down-regulation of Bax, up-regulation of Sirt1 and Ku70 activities, and inhibition of caspase-3 activity. These findings will help designing future <it>in vivo </it>and pre-clinical treatments for autoimmune retinopathies.</p

Thermodynamic, adsorption and corrosion inhibitive behaviour of benzyl nicotinate on cold rolled steel in sulphuric acid solution

The inhibition performance of benzyl nicotinate (BN) on corrosion of cold rolled steel (CRS) in 0.5 M H2SO4 solution has been investigated using weight loss, Tafel polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The BN acts as mixed type inhibitor. The thermodynamic parameters indicate the comprehensive nature adsorption of BN on CRS which obey Langmuir isotherm. Morphological investigation of corrosion inhibition is carried out using AFM and optical microscopic studies support the formation of inhibitor film on CRS. There is a good agreement between the values of weight loss measurements and electrochemical studies

FIRST REPORT ON BIODEGRADATION OF LOW DENSITY POLYETHYLENE BY RICE MOTH LARVAE, Corcyra cephalonica (STAINTON)

Corcyra cephalonica (Stainton), rice moth larvae were used for biodegradation of low density polyethylene (LDPE). The role of larval gut microorganisms in LDPE biodegradation was studied by force feeding the larvae with a cocktail of antibiotic solution. After force feeding, the larvae were left in contact with LDPE films. Larvae which were unfed with antibiotic solution were used as controls. Degradation rate was checked by measuring the weight loss after 20 day period of contact with LDPE films in insect rearing bottles. The DNA of both antibiotic fed and unfed larvae was isolated. There was no DNA band of antibiotic fed larvae which indicated the gut microorganisms were eliminated. Larvae fed with antibiotic digested 21 % and those which were unfed with antibiotic showed 25 % weight loss of LDPE films. We report the gut microorganisms were not solely responsible for biodegradation of LDPE. The digestive enzymes could also play a major role in digesting the plastic in insect’s gut

Estimation of Sugar and Bio Ethanol from Different Decaying Fruits Extract

Bio ethanol mainly produced from biological methods involving fermentation of cellulosic biomass in a broad spectrum. Since it is being widely recognized as an environmental friendly transportation fuel with powerful economic and strategic applications, here an attempt is made to explore the possibilities of bioethanol production from decaying fruits. Since they pose a major socio economic challenge and in turn by utilizing these kinds of wastes for fuel purpose reduce the burden on the authorities. Hence, bioethanol production from three different decaying citrus fruits like Citrus sinensis, Citrus limetta and Ananas comosus were studied. The sugar content before and after fermentation was analyzed by DNS method, the result showed that the sugar content was more before fermentation (Citrus limetta 21mg/mL, Ananas comosus 20mg/mL and Citrus sinensis 17 mg/mL,) when compared to after fermentation (Citrus limetta 16mg/mL, Citrus sinensis 12.5mg /mL and Ananas comosus11mg/mL). The production of ethanol was higher in Ananas comosus (13%) than the other two Citrus limetta (12%), Citrus sinensis (10%) which was calculated by distillation method

ESTIMATION OF ANISOTROPIC ELASTIC PROPERTIES OF CARBON FIBERS USING NANOINDENTATION

Understanding the mechanical behavior of carbon fiber reinforced polymers requires knowledge on the deformation behavior of carbon fibers, they are highly anisotropic and heterogeneous. Nanoindentation is an efficient method for determining the mechanical properties in small volumes of materials. For isotropic materials, a single nanoindentation test can evaluate an elastic properties of the material. But for anisotropic material, the difficulty increases since measured indentation modulus depends on five elastic parameters (El,Et,Glt, νlt,and νtt) of the material. Nanoindentation experiments are performed on carbon fibers orientated between 0° to 90° at ten different orientations to the fiber axis. From theoretical models given by Vlassak et al. and Delafargue and Ulm, the elastic constants are predicted numerically by comparing the results of indentation modulus versus orientation angle with the experiments

X-ray spectral analysis of the jet termination shock in pictor A on subarcsecond scales with Chandra

Hot spots observed at the edges of extended radio lobes in high-power radio galaxies and quasars mark the position of mildly relativistic termination shock, where the jet bulk kinetic energy is converted to the internal energy of the jet particles. These are the only astrophysical systems where mildly relativistic shocks can be directly resolved at various wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum. The western hot spot in the radio galaxy Pictor A is an exceptionally good target in this respect, due to the combination of its angular size and high surface brightness. In our previous work, after a careful Chandra image deconvolution, we resolved this hot spot into a disk-like feature perpendicular to the jet axis, and identified it as the front of the jet termination shock. We argued for a synchrotron origin of the observed X-ray photons, which implied electron energies reaching at least 10–100 TeV at the shock front. Here, we present a follow-up on that analysis, proposing, in particular, a novel method for constraining the shape of the X-ray continuum emission with subarcsecond resolution. The method is based on a Chandra hardness map analysis, using separately deconvolved maps in the soft and hard X-ray bands. In this way, we have found there is a systematic, yet statistically significant gradient in the hardness ratio across the shock, such that the implied electron energy index ranges from s $\leq$ 2.2 at the shock front to s > 2.7 in the near downstream. We discuss the implications of the obtained results for a general understanding of particle acceleration at mildly relativistic shocks

Development of Zn-SiC composite coatings: Electrochemical corrosion studies

The Zn-SiC composite coatings were fabricated by using sulphate plating bath dispersed with 1, 2 and 3 g L-1 of 64.28 nm SiC nanoparticles. Appreciable influence on morphology and microstructure was observed in scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction spectroscopy and texture co-efficient calculations for SiC incorporated zinc coatings. The electrochemical corrosion behavior of zinc and Zn-SiC composite coatings was studied by potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance analysis. Significant reduction in corrosion current and corrosion rate with increased charge transfer resistance was noticed for composite coatings. The SiC incorporated zinc coatings shown improved micro-hardness property to pure zinc coating. The properties of Zn-SiC composite coatings were compared with that of pure zinc coating