Optimal way of selecting cities and conveyances for supplying coal in uncertain environment

In this paper, the limitations and shortcomings of the existing methods for solving fuzzy solid transportation problem are pointed out and to overcome these shortcomings, a new method is proposed for solving fuzzy solid transportation problem. The advantages of the proposed method over the existing methods are discussed. To illustrate the proposed method, an existing fuzzy solid transportation problem is solved. Also, to show the application of the proposed method in real life problems an existing real life fuzzy solid transportation problem is solved by the proposed method.     

QUALITY CHANGES IN FRESH‐CUT SPINACH (SPINACIA OLERACEA) UNDER MODIFIED ATMOSPHERES WITH PERFORATIONS

ABSTRACT

Fresh‐cut spinach leaves were stored for 4 days at 15C and 75% relative humidity under modified atmosphere packaging to assess the impact of differential in‐pack gas atmospheres generated through different packaging films and variable in‐pack weight on the quality of stored produce. After 4 days of storage, retention of chlorophyll, β‐carotene and ascorbic acid was better in low‐density polyethylene (LDPE) packages than in polypropylene (PP) packages. LDPE film‐packaged samples had higher phenolic content than PP film‐packaged samples. Low in‐pack O₂ (1–2 kPa) along with the buildup of CO₂ (8–10 kPa) seems to have enhanced the retention of antioxidant components, i.e., β‐carotene and ascorbic acid, in LDPE packages. This helped in chlorophyll retention and also prevented formation of oxidation compounds of phenols that otherwise caused browning of cut surfaces. Thus, O₂ and CO₂ permeability of packaging film or in‐pack weight of produce might be such that equilibrated O₂ partial pressures remain near to 1–2 kPa so as to affect a beneficial increase in the phenolic content along with concomitant retention of chlorophyll.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

Fresh‐cut spinach leaves have received an enormous demand due to their utility in various traditional Indian preparations. Shelf life and quality of fresh‐cut produce may be greatly reduced due to high rates of respiration. Traditional packaging and handling techniques reduce the shelf life and sensory quality of fresh‐cut spinach. Temperature control and atmospheric modifications help to maintain produce quality by reducing respiration rate and enhance shelf life by minimizing the adverse effects of cutting. This research focused on evaluation of respiratory behavior of fresh‐cut spinach leaves at a temperature commonly encountered during transportation and retail distribution, i.e., 15C, and the effect of different polymeric films and in‐pack weights on produce quality. The results of the study suggest that packaging of fresh‐cut spinach in polymeric film packages could maintain the sensory quality and reduce degradation of various physicochemical constituents. Utilization of the results for proper design of modified atmosphere packages for this highly perishable produce can prove to be extremely beneficial for safe storage and transportation to urban retail markets.     

DEVELOPMENT OF AN ELECTROCHEMICAL OXIDATION PROCESS FOR THE TREATMENT OF LANDFILL LEACHATES

Some landfill site operators use wastewater treatment plants for the discharge of complex leachate waste. However, for the water company involved in managing the wastewater plant, leachates can pose a problem to the quality of the effluent, due to the high levels of Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), ammonia and inorganic metal constituents. Electrochemical oxidation of landfill leachate has been successfully used by researchers^(1,2,3,4) with current densities of 5 to 100 mA/cm². A new laboratory system has been developed which utilises a low current density of 2.42 mA/cm² and the performance has been evaluated with synthetic and 'real' landfill leachates from 2 wastewater sites.
This system reduces COD of synthetic mixtures by 58%, with complete removal of ammonia. For real leachates, 5 out of 8 samples resulted in ammonia reduction, with 2 samples experiencing approximately. 60% COD reduction. Power costs for treatment have been determined and the potential for a full-scale installation considered.     

Comparison of humoral and cell mediated immune response modulation by chemical and bio‐pesticides

As suggested by field records, elaborate mitigative planning for the protection of an area around Amparav in North India from the threat of landslide have been in place for nearly a century. The landslide management plan incorporates essentials of both structural and non‐structural mitigative measures that reflect a thorough understanding by the landslide managers of the mass wastage processes involved. Implementation of this plan safeguarded this highly fragile zone that is neotectonically active and that has historically been threatened by stream erosion. However, critical lack of awareness of the plan among ordinary villagers led to its being rendered inoperable; culminating in the Amparav tragedy of the 23 September 2004 that took three human lives and destroyed huge amounts of public and private property and infrastructure facilities.     

Formulation optimisation of a whey lemon beverage using a blend of the sweeteners aspartame and saccharin

Product formulations based on combinations of two sweeteners were optimised in a sweetened paneer whey lemon beverage (WLB) by organoleptic panels. The binary sweetener blend aspartame/saccharin (70:30, 0.0425%) scored the highest based upon comparison with the best‐optimised single sweetener aspartame (0.07%) in WLB and had nonsignificant differences with the control WLB sweetened with sucrose in all sensory attributes. This best binary blend showed maximum synergy in sweetness intensity (14.4%) and overall acceptability (7.5%) in respect of a single sweetener aspartame. The multiple‐sweetener approach involving use of binary blend (0.0425%) resulted in 39% reduction of usage level when compared with single sweetener aspartame (0.07%).     

THE EFFECT OF EXTRUDED FLOUR AND FERMENTATION TIME ON SOME QUALITY PARAMETERS OF IDLI

The effects on idli characteristics of fermentation time and substituting rice with differing proportions of rice flour extrusion‐cooked under different conditions were studied. The specific gravity, pH and viscosity of batter and idli characteristics such as expansion, compression force and sensory attributes were measured and described using regression to fit a response surface analysis. Fermentation time showed the most pronounced effect on specific gravity, pH and aqueous dispersion viscosity of batter and taste scores of idli. Substituting rice flour with extruded rice flour at different levels were observed to have significant effect on expansion and appearance scores of idlis. The textural scores and compression force was significantly affected by extrusion temperature. The formulation containing rice substituted by 30% extruded rice flour extruded at 175C and fermented for 24 h produced idlis with highest expansion and overall acceptability.     

Optimal generation scheduling in power system using frequency prediction through ANN under ABT environment

In a competitive and deregulated power scenario, the utilities try to maintain their real electric power generation in balance with the load demand, which creates a need for the precise real time generation scheduling (GS). In this paper, the GS problem is solved to perform the unit commitment (UC) based on frequency prediction by using artificial neural network (ANN) with the objective to minimize the overall system cost of the state utility. The introduction of availability-based tariff (ABT) signifies the importance of frequency in GS. Under-prediction or over-prediction will result in an unnecessary commitment of generating units or buying power from central generating units at a higher cost. Therefore, an accurate frequency prediction is the first step toward optimal GS. The dependency of frequency on various parameters such as actual generation, load demand, wind power and power deficit has been considered in this paper. The proposed technique provides a reliable solution for the input parameter different from the one presented in the training data. The performance of the frequency predictor model has been evaluated based on the absolute percentage error (APE) and the mean absolute percentage error (MAPE). The proposed predicted frequency sensitive GS model is applied to the system of Indian state of Tamilnadu, which reduces the overall system cost of the state utility by keeping off the dearer units selected based on the predicted frequency.