Increased Mass Transfer during Osmotic Dehydration of γ-Irradiated Potatoes

ABSTRACT: γy-irradiation pretreatment was tested to accelerate the osmotic dehydration of potato. Applied irradiation in the range of 3.0 to 12.0 kGy resulted in decrease in hardness of the potato sample, as indicated by texture profile analysis. The effective diffusion coefficients (D) of water and solute determined using a Fickian diffusion model increased exponentially with doses of γ-irradiation (G) according to an equation of the form D = A exp(-B/G), where A and B are constants. The microstructures of irradiated potato samples resulted in swelling and aggregation of starch granules as well as breaking up of cell wall structure, leading to channeling effect, facilitating transport of water from the tissue and solute into it.     

Mass transfer during osmotic dehydration of pineapple: considering Fickian diffusion in cubical configuration

Osmotic dehydration kinetics of pineapple cubes (15×15×15 mm³) was studied over a range of concentration (40-70°B) and temperature (30-50°C) of osmotic solution. The effective diffusion coefficients for water and solute diffusion were determined, considering pineapple as cubical configuration, assuming osmotic dehydration to be governed by Fickian diffusion. The effective diffusion coefficients for water as well as solute were empirically correlated with concentration and temperature of osmotic solution. A high degree of correlation was observed between predicted and experimental values of the effective diffusion coefficients of water (R²=0.99) as well as solute (R²=0.96).     

Third-harmonic modulated power electronics interface withthree-phase utility to provide a regulated DC output and to minimizeline-current harmonics

A novel approach to achieve nearly sinusoidal line current rectification of three-phase utility voltages is presented. The scheme incorporates two step-up DC-DC power converters to modulate the DC-link currents at the third-harmonic frequency. The modulated currents are then circulated through the AC-side of the diode-bridge rectifier, using a zigzag autotransformer, Simulation results for a three-phase, 208 V (line-to-line), 1 kW system are presented. Results from experimental investigations on a laboratory model are included, supporting the concept     

Electronic Noise Analysis of Source-Engineered Phosphorene/Si Heterojunction Dopingless Tunnel-FET

Silicon - The implementation of two-dimensional layered material in the source-region of a Si-based tunnel field-effect transistors (T-FETs) offers some remarkable properties viz. ultralow power...     

Biomimicking tendon by electrospinning tissue-derived decellularized extracellular matrix for tendon tissue engineering

Tendon injuries disturb the equilibrium between mobility and stability, resulting in impaired functions and disabilities. Clinically, it is still challenging to regenerate fully functional tendons. Here, by direct electrospinning, we fabricate goat tendon-derived extracellular matrix (tdECM) fibers using polycaprolactone (PCL) as a supporting polymer. We observe that the incorporation of tdECM particles strongly influences the characteristics of the scaffold, such as wettability, water uptake ability, and mechanical properties. The contact angle of the PCL/tdECM scaffold decreases to zero as compared to 122° for only PCL, making the scaffold completely hydrophilic. The water uptake ability increases by 200% by adding tdECM. The Physicochemical properties are evaluated using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Electrospun fibers mimic the natural ECM structure, while tdECM can provide biochemical cues for the human mesenchymal stem cells to adhere to and differentiate. The scaffolds positively influence cell survival, proliferation, and alignment along the scaffolds of the human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hUMSCs). This study demonstrates the potential of electrospun ECM/polymer as a bioactive scaffold for in situ tendon regeneration.     

A discrete element implementation for concrete: particle generation,contact calculations,packing under gravity and modeling material response

A three-dimensional discrete element modelling capability for concrete based on rigid particles of arbitrary shape and size has been developed. The novel particle generation algorithm allows control of particle size, angularity and flakiness. General rigid body kinematics including finite rotations is accounted for, and an explicit time integration algorithm that conserves energy and momentum is implemented. An efficient contact algorithm with several features to increase the efficiency of the contact computations has been developed. This enables the gravity packing problem for arbitrary shaped particles to be solved in reasonable run time. The proposed procedure is used to generate assemblies of concrete specimens of various sizes that are homogeneous and isotropic in the bulk, and can capture the wall effect due to the formwork. The calibrated specimens are seen to be capable of accurately capturing experimentally observed macro stress strain response and failure patterns. The influence of aggregate shape on texture formation in the packed specimen, and on macro strength and failure patterns in hardened concrete, is demonstrated and is seen to be consistent with experimental results.     

Canine-Specific PCR Assay Targeting Cytochrome b Gene for the Detection of Dog Meat Adulteration in Commercial Frankfurters

This report described a cytochrome b (cytb)-based polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay for the detection of canine tissues in commercial frankfurters. Discriminating detection of canine derivatives in processed food products has important application in halal authentication as well as in health, religions, and fare trades. The assay based on a pair of canine-specific primers that targeted a 100 bp region of canine mithochondrial-cytb gene which is present in multiple copies and highly conserved within the same species. The specificity of the assay was tested against dog and eight most common animal meat species as well as five plant species commonly found in frankfurter formulation. The stability and specificity of the assay were verified under different thermal processing conditions under pure and complex matrices. Three commercial brands of chicken and beef frankfurters were tested in triplicate, and specific PCR products were obtained only from deliberately contaminated formulations. The detection limit of the assay was 0.1 % (0.02 ng DNA) of canine meat spiked with other meats in a typical frankfurter formulation. Shorter amplicon length, superior stability, and higher sensitivity of the assay suggested its potential application in the screening of canine-origin biomaterials in processed food products.