Convective dehydration kinetics of noodles prepared from taro (Colocasia esculenta), rice (Oryza sativa) and pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan) flours

Drying characteristics of noodles prepared from 50% taro and remaining equal proportions of rice and pigeonpea flours were investigated in a convective type dryer for a temperature range of 50°C to 80°C at a constant air velocity of     1.5 m s-1.  Results indicated that drying took place in falling rate period.  The sample dried at 50°C was found better in color as compared to samples at 60°C, 70°C and 80°C.  The rehydration weight of noodles decreased with the increase in drying temperature.  Moisture transfer from noodles was described by applying Fick’s diffusion model and the effective moisture diffusivity was calculated.  Effective moisture diffusivity increased with increase in temperature.  An Arrhenius relation with activation energy of 38.53 kJ mol-1 expressed the effect of temperature on moisture diffusivity.  Mathematical models were fitted to the experimental data and the performance of these models were evaluated by comparing the coefficient of determination (R2), Root mean square error (RMSE), reduced chi-square (χ2), percent mean relative deviation modulus (E%) between observed and predicted moisture ratio.  Verma model gave the best results for describing the drying behaviour of noodles.   Keywords: noodle, taro, dehydration kinetics, temperature, moistur

An overview of corona virus disease 19 - COVID 19

A remerging infectious disease that has caught the entire world unaware. Coronavirus is an enveloped virus having non- segmented positive-sense RNA genome and belongs to the family Coronaviridae. Important modes of transmission are direct contact and respiratory droplets. Though the virus survives on environmental surfaces for varied period of time, it gets easily inactivated by chemical disinfectants .The major clinical features in uncomplicated cases include fever (88%), dry cough (67%), myalgia (14.9%) or fatigue (38%). In the absence of an effective treatment and vaccine, preventive measures like physical distancing, hand hygiene, following respiratory etiquettes & wearing mask assume great importance. Vigourous surveillance, contact tracing and containment can go a long way in controlling the spread of Covid 19

A STUDY ON THE STANDARDIZATION PARAMETERS OF BAUHINIA VARIEGATA

Objective: In today's scenario, the herbal medicines are much efficient for the treatment of various disorders as they have minimal side effects incomparison to the allopathic medicines. Bauhinia variegata L. (Mountain Ebony), commonly called Kachnar, belongs to the family Leguminosae.It is a medium-sized tree, mostly found at an altitude of 1300 m in the Himalayas. The objectives of the present study are to investigate variouspharmacognostic, phytochemical analysis, and pharmacological properties of B. variegata.Methods: The powdered drug was used for estimating the loss on drying, ash values, fluorescence studies, chemical tests, and extractive values.Macroscopic and microscopic studies were also performed.Results: The leaf microscopy revealed the presence of upper and lower epidermis, palisade tissue, well-developed vascular bundle. The fluorescencecharacteristics of leaf powder were studied both in visible light and ultraviolet light (254 nm and 365 nm) after treatment with various reagents.Kachnar is composed of carbohydrates, tannins, alkaloids, flavonoids, amino acid. It was reported that the total ash value was 8.15%. The acidinsoluble ash value was 5.5%.Conclusion: The main pharmacological activities of B. variegata are anthelmintic, antiulcer, antitumor, antimicrobial, antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, antigoitrogenic, and hepatoprotective. The present investigation provides the information on its pharmacognostic, phytochemical analysis, andpharmacological properties.Keywords: Flavonoids, Kachnar, Alkaloids, Antioxidant, Leguminosae

A STUDY ON THE STANDARDIZATION PARAMETERS OF MADHUCA LONGIFOLIA

Objective: There is an increase demand of herbal remedies due to their effective and safer way of treating various disorders. In today's scenario, the herbal medicines are much efficient for the treatment of various disorders as they have minimal side effects in comparison to the allopathic medicines. Madhuca longifolia, commonly called Mahua/Mahwa, belongs to the family Sapotaceae. It grows up to a height of about 20 m. The objectives of thisstudy are to investigate various pharmacognostic, phytochemical analysis, and pharmacological properties of M. longifolia.Methods: The powdered drug was used for estimating the loss on drying, ash values, fluorescence studies, chemical tests, and extractive values. Macroscopic and microscopic studies were also performed.Results: The leaf microscopy revealed the presence of upper and lower epidermis, palisade tissue, and well-developed vascular bundle. The fluorescence characteristics of leaf powder were studied both in visible light and ultraviolet (UV) light (254 nm and 365 nm) after treatment with various reagents. Mahua is composed of glycosides, sapogenins, steroids, saponins, flavonoids, and triterpenoids. It was reported that the total ash value was 5.56±0.2% w/w. The acid-insoluble and water-insoluble ash values were 0.62±0.025% w/w and 0.47±0.025% w/w, respectively. Water soluble, ethanol, methanol, petroleum ether, and chloroform extractive values were 25.9±0.51% w/w, 28.1±1.38% w/w, 1.73±0.20% w/w,0.83±0.20% w/w, and 25.5±2.29% w/w, respectively.Conclusions: The main pharmacological activities of M. longifolia are anthelmintic, antiulcer, antitumor, antimicrobial, antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory,antigoitrogenic, and hepatoprotective. The present investigation provides the information on its pharmacognostic, phytochemical analysis, and pharmacological properties

A STUDY ON THE STANDARDIZATION PARAMETERS OF CASSIA ANGUSTIFOLIA

Objective: Now-a-days, the herbal medicines are much efficient for the treatment of various disorders as they have minimal side effects in comparison to the allopathic medicines. Cassia angustifolia, commonly called Senna belongs to the family Leguminosae and is a well-known laxative throughout the world. Senna is mostly found in Tirunelveli, Madurai, and Ramnathpuram districts of Tamil Nadu. Carbohydrates, tannins, alkaloids, flavonoids, and amino acid are the important chemical constituents of C. angustifolia. The objectives of the present study are to investigate various pharmacognostic, phytochemical analysis, and pharmacological properties of C. angustifolia.Methods: The powdered drug was used for estimating the loss on drying, ash values, fluorescence studies, chemical tests, and extractive values. Macroscopic and microscopic studies were also performed.Results: The transverse section (T.S). of leaf showed isobilateral structure along with paracytic stomata, nonlignified unicellular trichomes with warty walls, and fibrovascular bundle. The fluorescence characteristics of leaf powder were studied both in visible light and ultraviolet (UV) light (254 nm and 365 nm) after treatment with various reagents. Senna is composed of carbohydrates, tannins, alkaloids, flavonoids, and amino acid. It was reported that the total ash value was 11.23±0.25 w/w. The acid insoluble ash value was 1.4±0.1% w/w. Water soluble, ethanol, methanol, petroleum ether, and chloroform extractive values were 16.6±0.26% w/w, 3.7±1.75% w/w, 0.83±0.05% w/w, 1.6±0.1% w/w, and 3.2±0.25% w/w, respectively.Conclusion: The main pharmacological activities of Bauhinia variegata are anthelmintic, antiulcer, antitumor, antimicrobial, antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, antigoitrogenic, and hepatoprotective. The present investigation provides the information on its pharmacognostic, phytochemical analysis, and pharmacological properties

KAP study on emergency contraception among women of reproductive age group attending JNUIMSRC OPD, Jaipur, India

Background: Unintended pregnancy, unplanned birth and unsafe abortion have been a major challenge to the reproductive health of women worldwide. Despite the availability of highly efficient contraceptive technologies, there are still many undesired pregnancies that put women at a higher risk of mortality, frequently as a result of unsafe abortion. Emergency contraceptive pills can be used to prevent these unwanted pregnancies. Aim of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of use of emergency contraception among women of reproductive age group attending JNUIMSRC OPD, Jaipur, India. Methods: Institution based cross-sectional study was conducted among 100 females of reproductive age group attending JNUIMSRC OPD, Jaipur, India. Data was collected using pretested semi-structured questionnaire after written informed consent. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data generated. Results: Among respondents who were aware of ECPs, 64% had good knowledge of it, 90% had positive attitude towards ECPs and 63% have used earlier. A significant association was found between age, residence, educational level and occupational status with awareness of ECPs. Conclusions: Awareness and utilization of emergency contraceptive pills is low among females of reproductive age group attending OPD at JNUIMSRC. Thus awareness should be enhanced through formal education, communication from healthcare professionals and media that can offer trustworthy and accurate information on ECPs

Comparative study on maternal morbidity in elective and emergency caeserean section at tertiary hospital

Background: The incidence of caesarean sections has significantly increased over the previous thirty years and nearly doubled in the current decade, because of more liberalisation of indications of caesarean sections. India’s caesarean section rates have surpassed the WHO cutoff point of 15%, raising serious public health issues. The prevalence of the C-section in India was 8.5% in NFHS-3 while data in NFHS-4 show that it has increased to 17.2%. Thus, almost 9% has increased over 10 years. Objective was to compare the maternal morbidity in elective and emergency caesarean section. Methods: Institution based comparative study was conducted among 108 females undergoing lower segment caesarean section at JNUIMSRC, Jaipur. After taking written informed consent patients were enrolled for the study. Once the data was collected it was analysed as per appropriate statistical analysis. Results: Incidence of emergency LSCS was 23.6% and of elective LSCS was 76.4%. the most common maternal indication was previous LSCS (38.1%) and most common fetal indication was fetal distress (13.3%) followed by malpresentation (11.4%). Incidence of intraoperative complications was 29% with most common complications being atonic PPH (12.4%) followed by traumatic PPH (5.9%), bladder and bowel injury (0.7%). Incidence of post operative complications was 51.9% with most common being anaemia (20.8%), PPH (10%), puerperal sepsis (8%). Conclusions: If performed for medical reasons, CS can save the lives of both mothers and babies. Therefore, CSs should preferably only be performed when necessary for medical reasons. Morbidity is more with emergency LSCS than elective LSCS with PPH being the most common intraoperative complication and anemia being most common post operative complication

Effect of process parameters on the antioxidant activities of bioactive compounds from Harad (Terminalia chebula retz.) Shilpa Soni, H.K. Sharma*, Pragati Kaushal and C. Singh Food Engineering & Technology Department, Sant Longowal Institute of Engineeri

Terminalia chebula retz (T.Chebula) is a herb known as king of medicinal plants in ayurvedic world. Presence of large number of phytoconstituents makes T.Chebula a potential source of nutraceuticals and can become cynosure of modern nutraceutical world. The objective of this study was to optimize the extraction conditions for bioactive constituents from T.Chebula fruits using Response Surface Methodology (RSM). A central composite face centered design (CCD) was employed. The extraction conditions for bioactive constituents from T. Chebula fruits were optimized by using three independent process variables i.e. methanol concentration, 50-90%, extraction temperature, 50-70°C and extraction time, 30-60 min. Effect of extraction parameters was found to be significant. The optimum extraction conditions were identified as 90% methanol concentration, 70°C temperature and 59.94 minutes for maximum total phenolic content(TPC), 3.87 GAE mg/g, total flavonoid content (TFC), 361.37 CE mg/g, total antioxidant activity(TAA), 0.158 AAE mM/g and α,α-diphenyl-β-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging activity (DSA), 86.28 %. Experimental values for response variables under the optimum conditions were found reasonably close to the predicted value. GC–MS analysis of methanol extract of T.Chebula fruits under the optimum conditions led to the identification of 7 major bioactive compounds. Keywords: T.Chebula, Extraction, Total Phenolic compound (TPC), Total flavonoid compound (TFC), Total antioxidant activity (TAA), α,α-diphenyl-β-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging activity (DSA), Response surface methodology (RSM), GC-MS

Study of thermally induced vibration of non-homogeneous trapezoidal plate with varying thickness and density’,

Abstract The goal of present investigation is to study the effect of thermal gradient on the vibrations of non-homogeneous trapezoidal plate whose thickness varies parabolically and density varies linearly. Effect o f other plate parameters such as non-homogeneity constant, taper constant and aspect ratios have also been studied. C-S-C-S boundary condition with two term deflection is taken into consideration. Rayleigh-Ritz method is used to find the solution of the problem. Results are calculated with great accuracy and presented in tabular form. Co mparison of the results with published data has also shown