Effect of predrying treatments on the retention of quality characteristics of green peas (Pisum sativum L.) cv. Lincoln during mechanical drying

An experiment was conducted to standardize the predrying treatments with minimum loss to physicochemical characteristics of green peas (Pisum sativum L.) cv. Lincoln during drying process. In this study, moisture content (73%), TSS (15oB), chlorophyll content (28mg/100g) and ascorbic acid (54mg/100g) were recorded in green peas. Different predrying treatments used in this study for quality preservation of peas were T0, T1 and T2. From this study, it was concluded that Na2CO3, NaCl and sugars were responsible for the preservation of green color/ chlorophyll in peas during drying. On the basis of sensory evaluation T2 was found best among all because maximum green color was retained in this treatment. Therefore, it was further selected for physico-chemical analysis After drying there was decrease in moisture content (4%), chlorophyll content (17mg/100g) and ascorbic acid content (37.6mg /100g) while increase in TSS (22oB), reducing sugars (8.3%) and total sugars (20%) of peas. A rehydration ratio of 3:1 was observed for this treatment. This is a low cost technology for preservation of quality of peas. Dried peas can further be utilized for the preparation of various value added instant products round the year

Repair of Sunken Floor by Integrated Approach: A Case Study

The floors and non load bearing walls of a house, having expansive black cotton soil underneath, have been repaired by two methods. A part of the damaged house floors and walls were repaired by the conventional method i.e. removing the expansive soil completely and replacing with non expansive granular material. The remaining part was repaired by integrated approach as described later by Jain and Mewade (2010). The Jain and Mewade (2010) approach consists of removing the expansive soil underneath the damaged floor by about 0.5m, making 50mm diameter, 1m deep holes at 0.75m centre to centre and filling lime slurry in the holes. The broken floor debris and non expansive soil was then filled up to the floor base level and the cement concrete floor was reconstructed. The floor constructed by removal of expansive soil by 1.5m depth in the first method and partial removal and making lime piles in the second method are performing well with no sign of settlement or unevenness any where. The paper presents the success story of one such house repaired by these methods in the year 2008. The second method requires only partial removal and replacement of problematic soil beneath the floor and therefore is fast and economical in comparison to conventional method

Pharmacological Screening of Polyherbal Formulation for Diabetic Associated Hyperlipidemia

  Plant parts such as seeds, berries, roots, leaves, bark, or flowers can be used medicinally. This practise is known as herbal medicine, botanical medicine, or phytomedicine. Outside of mainstream treatment, herbalists have long used herbalism for conventional medicine. Grewia subinaequalisDC in the family Tiliaceae, only one genus, Grewia, yields edible fruit. Saccharum officinarum is a species of grass belonging to the genus Saccharum that is characterised by its robust growth and size. Neisosperma oppositifolium is a tree that typically exhibits a height range of 6 to 25 metres, although it has been observed to vary from as low as 2.5 metres to extraordinarily high heights of 45 metres, and in rare cases, even up to 60 metres. The presence of moisture in crude pharmaceuticals is an unavoidable factor that should be minimised to the greatest extent possible9,10. The process of drying significantly influences both the quality and purity of the material. &nbsp

Effect of Camphor Incorporation on the Material and Antibacterial Properties of Soy Protein Isolate Films

Seeking for green alternatives to synthetic plastics, soy protein based plastics are becoming quite a popular choice. Soy protein isolate (SPI) is a plant derived protein that holds fair film forming abilities. It demonstrates evenness of film surface, decent tensile strength and interacts easily with a wide range of additives. Additives are generally added to improve the material properties and antibacterial nature of the film. In this study, we have explored the effect of camphor incorporation on the material properties and overall performance of the film. SPI based films (having 7% SPI (w/v)) were prepared by solution casting method. The concentration of camphor was varied from 0.5 to 3% w/w of 7% SPI. The films prepared by camphor addition were characterized for their transmittance, Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and mechanical properties. The FTIR spectra confirm the incorporation of camphor as a major change in the band intensity was seen compared to neat films. However, camphor addition made the films hydrophilic and a noticeable decrease in the tensile strength was seen. The water vapour transmission rate increased upon camphor addition as compared to neat SPI films. Nevertheless, camphor- SPI film was stable as very minimum leaching occurred during the study. Unlike the neat camphor solution (1-3% w/v), the camphor modified SPI films didn’t exhibit antibacterial activity against Listeria monocytogenes and Escherichia coli. Camphor was seen to significantly increase the antioxidant properties of SPI films

Modelling of Cascade Fin Aerodynamics Near Stall using Kirchhoff's Steady-state Stall Model

Nonlinear longitudinal aerodynamics associated with cascade fins at high angles of attack near stall has been modelled using Kirchhoff's formulation. Grid fins are a relatively recent development in guided missile technology. In this paper, a new category of grid fins, nomenclatured as cascade fins, has been proposed. In cascade fin design, an appropriate selection of gap-to-chord ratio and the number of planar members lead to desired stall angle and acceptable overall lift coefficient, respectively. Kirchhoff's steady-state stall model has been validated on wind tunnel data generated for Cascade fins having rectangular airfoil cross-section. National Wind Tunnel Facility (NWTF) of IIT, Kanpur, was used to generate the wind tunnel data consisting of the variation of lift coefficient with angle of attack. The cascade fins were tested to generate the data by varying gap-to-chord ratio and number of planar fins. The cascade fins with rectangular cross-section were tested with and without end plates. Kirchhoff's steady-state stall model was applied to wind tunnel data of cascade fins for modelling flow separation point and maximum likelihood method was used to estimate the parameters characterising stall characteristics. The effects of end plates, variation of number of fins and gap-to-chord ratio on parameter estimation were also studied. It has been observed that Kirchhoff's steady-state stall model could advantageously be applied to model nonlinear aerodynamics associated with cascade fins at high angle of attack.Defence Science Journal, 2011, 61(2), pp.157-164, DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.14429/dsj.61.48