Processing and storage stability of bottle gourd (L. siceraria)

Abstract: Bottle gourd (Langenariasiceraria), Aonla (EmblicaofficinalisGaertn.), Lemon (Citrus x limon) and Ginger (Zingiberofficinale) juice was blended in the proportion of 87.90: 23.40: 5.70: 6.00 mL, respectively.  Prepared blend juice was hot filled in glass bottles and thermally processed over a temperature range over 80-950C for 5-30 min.  Significant difference was observed in ascorbic acid (vitamin C), total plate counts and, yeast and mould counts (P<0.05), while no significant difference was in pH and TSS (P>0.05).  The best thermal process was found at 85°C hot filling and processing at 85°C for 5 min.  At this temperature-time combination, 3.52 pH, 5.17 oBrix TSS, 38.32 mg per 100 mL ascorbic acid,      35 cfu mL-1 total plate counts, 2 cfu mL-1 yeasts and moulds count, and nil coli form counts of blend juice was obtained.  Thermally processed cooled bottles were stored at 37°C for 10 d and 55°C for seven d in incubator for stability test.  The t-test indicated that there was no significant difference between the actual and observed values of pH attribute of blend juice (P<0.05).  At various time and temperatures processed blend juice was very stable and microbiologically safe after their accelerated storage.   Keywords: blend juice, thermal processing, storage stability, physicochemical, microbiologica

Developments and achievements in atmospheric sciences and space meteorology in India

Space research in India began in the early sixties, with the establishment of the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station. Indigenously developed rocket payloads were carried in foreign rockets and flown for studying various atmospheric parameters, which are unique to the tropics. In the seventies, Indian-made rockets became available. Since then, there has been rapid progress in the technical advancement, which helped the atmospheric scientists in taking up more challenging and contemporary problems, related to mesospheric winds, ionospheric irregularities, stratospheric ozone, role of aerosols in atmospheric radiative transfer, etc. India entered into the satellite era in 1975, with the development of the Aryabhatta satellite, the first Indian experimental satellite, followed by Bhaskara-1 in 1979, which carried a microwave radio meter for retrieval of atmospheric water vapour and cloud liquid water contents. Since then, there have been several satellites, such as the INSAT series for meteorology and communication, Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) satellite series, and Stretched Rohini Satellite System (SROSS) for in situ observation of the ionosphere, which are all built in India and launched from Indian soil. High quality data being obtained from these satellite missions are helping scientists in taking up problems that are of regional and global scales and in studying the changes that are taking place in the earth atmosphere system, in a more holistic way. This paper attempts to provide an overview of the scientific developments and highlights some results

An Efficient Coding Method for Teleconferencing Video and Confocal Microscopic Image Sequences

In this paper we propose a three-dimensional vector quantization based video coding scheme. The algorithm uses a 3D vector quantization pyramidal code book based model with adaptive code book pyramidal codebook for compression. The pyramidal code book based model helps in getting high compression in case of modest motion. The adaptive vector quantization algorithm is used to train the code book for optimal performance with time. Some of the distinguished features of our algorithm are its excellent performance due to its adaptive behavior to the video composition and excellent compression due to codebook approach. We also propose an efficient codebook based post processing technique which enables the vector quantizer to possess higher correlation preservation property. Based on the special pattern of the codebook imposed by post-processing technique, a window based fast search (WBFS) algorithm is proposed. The WBFS algorithm not only accelerates the vector quantization processing, but also results in better rate-distortion performance. The proposed approach can be used for both teleconferencing videos and to compress images obtained from confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). The results show that the proposed method gave higher subjective and objective image quality of reconstructed images at a better compression ratio and presented more acceptable results when applying image processing filters such as edge detection on reconstructed images. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method outperforms the teleconferencing compression standards H.261 and LBG based vector quantization technique

Experimental evaluation of matrix converter for wind energy conversion system under various abnormal conditions

This paper presents the experimental evaluation of reversed indirect matrix converter (MC) interfaced wind energy conversion system (WECS), where space vector pulse width modulation together with adaptive fuzzy logic control is effectively used to enhance the performance of system under various abnormal conditions like abrupt change in wind speed, disconnection from grid, misfire in the converter, sudden out of one phase, change in load etc. The proposed adaptive control system is realized using dSPACE DS1104 board. Selective experimental results are presented using a laboratory 1.2 kW prototype of WECS to demonstrate the resulting improvements of the developed system under abnormal conditions.http://www.ijrer.org/ijrer/index.php/ijreram201

Development of a novel control for a matrix converter interfaced wind energy conversion system for dynamic performance enhancement

This article presents the development of a novel control for matrix converter interfaced permanent magnet wind energy conversion system. Here, an adaptive fuzzy control algorithm incorporated with a reversed matrix converter is proposed to yield maximum energy with enhanced dynamic performance and low harmonic characteristics. The control algorithm is implemented using a dSPACE DS1104 real-time board (dSPACE, Paderborn, Germany). Feasibility of the proposed system has been verified through simulation and experiment results using a laboratory 1.2-kW prototype of a wind energy conversion system under dynamic conditions.http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/uemp20hb2016Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineerin

A Device-Based Process Signal Design of Electric Power Plants

Automation and computerized control of processes in electric power plants were intensively started at the end of seventies and at the beginning of eighties during the introduction of microprocessor–based computer systems. The first generation of the information processing equipment has in most cases already become disused. From that time, visibility of controlled process has been increased by installing new and modern devices which enable better informing about all relevant events. The increased quantity of information by which processes can be described implies that new and more efficient techniques for information modeling should be developed. In this paper a device-based approach to process information modeling is proposed. Such modeling approach is more efficient than function-based approach we used before. The efficiency lies in the fact that device-based approach is in the very essence an object-oriented modeling approach. Therefore, device-based information models can be easily mapped to object-oriented models. Both function-based and device-based modeling approaches are described in the paper and differences between two modeling paradigms are emphasized. In the last Chapter of the paper analogy between device-based and object-oriented models is described. This analogy represents basis for the model mapping

Femto-photography: capturing and visualizing the propagation of light

We present femto-photography, a novel imaging technique to capture and visualize the propagation of light. With an effective exposure time of 1.85 picoseconds (ps) per frame, we reconstruct movies of ultrafast events at an equivalent resolution of about one half trillion frames per second. Because cameras with this shutter speed do not exist, we re-purpose modern imaging hardware to record an ensemble average of repeatable events that are synchronized to a streak sensor, in which the time of arrival of light from the scene is coded in one of the sensor's spatial dimensions. We introduce reconstruction methods that allow us to visualize the propagation of femtosecond light pulses through macroscopic scenes; at such fast resolution, we must consider the notion of time-unwarping between the camera's and the world's space-time coordinate systems to take into account effects associated with the finite speed of light. We apply our femto-photography technique to visualizations of very different scenes, which allow us to observe the rich dynamics of time-resolved light transport effects, including scattering, specular reflections, diffuse interreflections, diffraction, caustics, and subsurface scattering. Our work has potential applications in artistic, educational, and scientific visualizations; industrial imaging to analyze material properties; and medical imaging to reconstruct subsurface elements. In addition, our time-resolved technique may motivate new forms of computational photography.MIT Media Lab ConsortiumLincoln LaboratoryMassachusetts Institute of Technology. Institute for Soldier NanotechnologiesAlfred P. Sloan Foundation (Research Fellowship)United States. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Young Faculty Award

Space-time inhomogeneity, anisotropy and gravitational collapse

We investigate the evolution of non-adiabatic collapse of a shear-free spherically symmetric stellar configuration with anisotropic stresses accompanied with radial heat flux. The collapse begins from a curvature singularity with infinite mass and size on an inhomogeneous space-time background. The collapse is found to proceed without formation of an even horizon to singularity when the collapsing configuration radiates all its mass energy. The impact of inhomogeneity on various parameters of the collapsing stellar configuration is examined in some specific space-time backgrounds.Comment: To appear in Gen. Relativ. Gra

Equilibrium configurations from gravitational collapse

We develop here a new procedure within Einstein's theory of gravity to generate equilibrium configurations that result as the final state of gravitational collapse from regular initial conditions. As a simplification, we assume that the collapsing fluid is supported only by tangential pressure. We show that the equilibrium geometries generated by this method form a subset of static solutions to the Einstein equations, and that they can either be regular or develop a naked singularity at the center. When a singularity is present, there are key differences in the properties of stable circular orbits relative to those around a Schwarzschild black hole with the same mass. Therefore, if an accretion disk is present around such a naked singularity it could be observationally distinguished from a disk around a black hole.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figure. Replaced with published version, several changes made according to referee's advis

Polymorphisms of TNF-enhancer and gene for FcγRIIa correlate with the severity of falciparum malaria in the ethnically diverse Indian population

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Susceptibility/resistance to <it>Plasmodium falciparum </it>malaria has been correlated with polymorphisms in more than 30 human genes with most association analyses having been carried out on patients from Africa and south-east Asia. The aim of this study was to examine the possible contribution of genetic variants in the <it>TNF </it>and <it>FCGR2A </it>genes in determining severity/resistance to <it>P. falciparum </it>malaria in Indian subjects.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Allelic frequency distribution in populations across India was first determined by typing genetic variants of the <it>TNF </it>enhancer and the <it>FCGR2A </it>G/A SNP in 1871 individuals from 55 populations. Genotyping was carried out by DNA sequencing, single base extension (SNaPshot), and DNA mass array (Sequenom). Plasma TNF was determined by ELISA. Comparison of datasets was carried out by Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests. Haplotypes and LD plots were generated by PHASE and Haploview, respectively. Odds ratio (OR) for risk assessment was calculated using EpiInfo™ version 3.4.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A novel single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) at position -76 was identified in the <it>TNF </it>enhancer along with other reported variants. Five <it>TNF </it>enhancer SNPs and the <it>FCGR2A </it>R131H (G/A) SNP were analyzed for association with severity of <it>P. falciparum </it>malaria in a malaria-endemic and a non-endemic region of India in a case-control study with ethnically-matched controls enrolled from both regions. <it>TNF </it>-1031C and -863A alleles as well as homozygotes for the TNF enhancer haplotype CACGG (-1031T>C, -863C>A, -857C>T, -308G>A, -238G>A) correlated with enhanced plasma TNF levels in both patients and controls. Significantly higher TNF levels were observed in patients with severe malaria. Minor alleles of -1031 and -863 SNPs were associated with increased susceptibility to severe malaria. The high-affinity IgG2 binding FcγRIIa AA (131H) genotype was significantly associated with protection from disease manifestation, with stronger association observed in the malaria non-endemic region. These results represent the first genetic analysis of the two immune regulatory molecules in the context of <it>P. falciparum </it>severity/resistance in the Indian population.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Association of specific <it>TNF </it>and <it>FCGR2A </it>SNPs with cytokine levels and disease severity/resistance was indicated in patients from areas with differential disease endemicity. The data emphasizes the need for addressing the contribution of human genetic factors in malaria in the context of disease epidemiology and population genetic substructure within India.</p