Osmotic Dehydration of Mango Cubes: Effect of Novel Gluten-Based Coating

Edible coating before osmotic dehydration (OD) reduces solute uptake, which can deteriorate product quality. Polysaccharide-based coatings have been reported for this purpose with limited success. Gluten, due to its inherent film formation property, has the potential to be used for this purpose. In this study, mango cubes of different maturity were osmotically dehydrated with and without gluten-based coating. An edible coating was prepared through fractionation of gluten. Osmotic dehydration was performed at 50°C for 2 h with osmotic solutions (OSs) at various concentrations (45, 55, 65 °Brix). Coating improved the dehydration efficiency index (DEI) due to a substantial decrease in solute gain (SG) and slight increase in water loss (WL). The coating modified the physicochemical properties and this effect was significantly observed at 55 °Brix. Coated mango cubes were harder and shrank more than uncoated mango. The physicochemical properties after OD were also found to be influenced by the maturity of raw mangoes.     

Effect of Gamma Radiation on the Mechanical Properties of Urea-Treated Rice Straw Polypropylene Composites

Rice straw (RS) polypropylene (PP) composites were prepared in the different ratios of 10:90, 20:80, 30:70, 40:60 and 50:50 (RS wt% : PP wt%) by extrusion moulding and hot press compression technique and investigated the mechanical properties like tensile strength (TS), bending strength (BS), impact strength (IS) and elongations at break (Eb%) of the composites. RS was soaked in the different ratios of urea solution and it was observed that 1% urea-treated RS content composites exhibited better mechanical properties. Gamma-irradiated RSPP composites showed superior performance. Water uptake and degradation studies of composites were also monitored.     

Investigations of novel nitrile-based ionic liquids as pre-treatment solvent for extraction of lignin from bamboo biomass

In this work, nitrile-based ionic liquids (ILs) i.e., 1-propyronitrile-3-butylimidazolium chloride [C2CNBim]Cl, 1-propyronitrile-3-allylimidazolium chloride [C2CNAim]Cl, 1-propyronitrile-3-(2-hydroxyethyl)imidazolium chloride [C2CN HEim]Cl and 1-propyronitrile-3-benzyllimidazolium chloride [C2CN Bzim]Cl were used as pre-treatment solvent for the extraction of lignin from bamboo biomass. The pre-treatment process was investigated with respect to several factors such as the types of ionic liquid cation used, the effect of pretreatment temperature and time, sample loading and particle size, the effect of recycling the ionic liquid on lignin extraction and the effect of multi-extraction to enhance the recovery of lignin which were collectively found to have an impact on the lignin extraction as a whole. The crystallinity of the cellulose-rich material obtained from the extraction was analyzed using XRD while the extracted lignin was characterized using FTIR, NMR, TGA and elemental analysis. From the XRD analysis, the crystallinity of the cellulose-rich material obtained after treatment with the synthesized nitrile-based ILs was found to remain the same. Among the nitrile-based ILs used, [C2CN Bzim]Cl demonstrate the best performance for the extraction process in a predetermined condition (T = 120 °C, t = 24 h) where 53% of the lignin from the bamboo was successfully extracted. This was confirmed from the FTIR and NMR analysis showing the characteristic peaks indicating the presence of lignin in the spectra of the respective samples tested.     

Physico-Chemical Investigations of Mixed Micelles of Cationic Gemini and Conventional Surfactants: a Conductometric Study

The interaction of cationic gemini and cationic conventional surfactants by conductivity was systematically overviewed, paying attention to synergism observed in micellization. These mixed systems were found to show remarkable synergism in micelle formation. The experimental critical micelle concentration values being lower than the value predicted by ideal solution theory indicate that the mixed micellization is due to attractive interaction between the two components. Gemini/conventional systems form mixed micelle due to attractive interactions (negative β values). The values of micellar mole fraction of constituent 1 (X ₁) in surfactant mixtures are more than in the ideal state (X ₁ ^ideal ), which means that, the mixed micelles are rich in conventional surfactants in comparison to that in the ideal state.     

Design of Wideband Rectangular-Shaped Coupler with Virtual Short Stubs for Wireless Communication Applications

This article presents the design of the sectional rectangular-shaped directional couplers with tight coupling of 3-dB over frequency of 2–6 GHz. The designed coupler consists of two substrates and one common ground plane between the substrate layers. It also formed by two conducting strips with virtual short stubs are placed to the middle section at the top and bottom layer, which coupled through three-section rectangular slots at the ground plane. The effect of these additional stubs in the design is studied and observed. The design and analysis are performed with the use of full-wave electromagnetic simulation software package, CST Microwave Studio. This designed coupler has been fabricated and its wideband performance is verified.     

Amphiphilic antidepressant drug amitriptyline hydrochloride under the influence of ionic and nonionic hydrotropes; micellization and phase separation

Herein we report the micellization and cloud point of an amitriptyline hydrochloride (AMT) under the influence of cationic, anionic and nonionic hydrotropes. Anionic hydrotropes were employed to know the micellar and surface behaviors, besides studying the clouding behavior of AMT drug with cationic, anionic and nonionic hydrotropes. Tensiometric study has been performed and the properties studied include the critical micelle concentration (cmc), maximum surface excess at the air/water interface (Γ_max), the minimum area per of amphiphilic molecule at air/water interface (A_min), and the different thermodynamic parameters, besides clouding phenomenon. Interaction parameters of micelles (β^m) and monolayer (β^σ) indicate that drug-hydrotrope systems show better interaction at the interface than in micelles.     

Tocotrienols for normalisation of hepatic echogenic response in nonalcoholic fatty liver: a randomised placebo-controlled clinical trial

Background

Increased density of fast food restaurants is associated with increased prevalence of obesity in developed countries. However, less is known about this relationship in developing countries undergoing rapid urbanization and how differences in neighbourhood income affect the patronage of fast food outlets. The purpose of the study is to explore the differences in fast food preferences, perceptions, and patronage between Indians living in high- and low-income neighbourhoods.

Methods

This cross-sectional study recruited 204 men and women (35 to 65 years in age) from high- and low-income neighbourhoods who completed a questionnaire on fast food consumption. The questionnaire asked participants to define fast food and to provide reasons for and frequency of visits to fast food restaurants. The differences were analyzed using Chi square and t-tests for categorical and continuous variables, respectively.

Results

Participants from a high-income neighbourhood were more likely to perceive Western -style fast food as fast food, while people from the low-income neighbourhood were more likely to identify food sold by street vendors as fast food (p <0.001). Furthermore, compared to participants from the high-income neighbourhood, people from the low-income neighbourhood were more likely to report buying food from street vendors while less likely to dine out at both fast food and non-fast food restaurants (p<0.001). Although the high-income neighbourhood group was more likely to report enjoying eating at fast food restaurants than their low-income neighbourhood counterparts, there were no significant differences in the reasons for visiting fast food restaurants (convenience, price, social enjoyment, and quality of meals) between the two groups. Both groups preferred home cooked over restaurant meals, and they recognized that home cooked food was healthier.

Conclusions

Overall, consumption of fast food was low. People from a high-income neighbourhood dined out more frequently and were more likely to perceive Western-style food as fast food compared to their counterparts from the low-income neighbourhood.     

Synergistic effect of potassium iodide with phthalazone on the corrosion inhibition of mild steel in 1.0 M HCl

The effects of phthalazone (PTO) and its synergistic effect with KI on the corrosion of mild steel in 1.0 M HCl solution were studied using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and potentiodynamic polarization measurements. The inhibition efficiency increases with the concentration of the inhibitor and increased further with the presence of 6.02 mM KI. The synergistic effect of 6.02 mM KI at different concentrations of PTO was determined by calculating the synergism parameters, which showed that a cooperative mechanism exists between the iodide anion and PTO cations.     

Simulation and experimental study on distortion of butt and T-joints using WELD PLANNER

This paper investigates the capability of linear thermal elastic numerical analysis to predict the welding distortion that occurs due to GMAW process. Distortion is considered as the major stumbling block that can adversely affect the dimensional accuracy and thus lead to expensive corrective work. Hence, forecast of distortion is crucially needed and ought to be determined in advance in order to minimize the negative effects, improve the quality of welded parts and finally to reduce the production costs. In this study, the welding deformation was simulated by using relatively new FEM software WELD PLANNER developed by ESI Group. This novel Welding Simulation Solution was employed to predict welding distortion induced in butt and T-joints with thickness of 4 mm. Low carbon steel material was used for the simulation and experimental study. A series of experiments using fully automated welding process were conducted for verification purpose to measure the distortion. By comparing between the simulation and experimental results, it was found out that this program code offered fast solution analysis time in estimating weld induced distortion within acceptable accuracy.     

Optimization of the enzyme-catalyzed synthesis of amino acid-based surfactants from palm oil fractions

The feasibility of using palm oil fractions as cheap and abundant sources of raw material for the synthesis of amino acid surfactants was investigated. Of a number of enzymes screened, the best results were obtained with the immobilized enzyme, Lipozyme. The effects of temperature, solvent, incubation period, fatty substrate/amino acid molar ratio, enzyme amount, and water removal on the reactions were analyzed and compared to those on reactions with free fatty acids and pure triglycerides as fatty substrates. All reactions were most efficient when carried out at high temperatures (70-80 degrees C) in hexane as a solvent. However, while reactions with free fatty acids proceeded better when a slight excess of the free fatty acids over the amino acids was used, reactions with triglycerides and palm oil fractions were best performed at equimolar ratios. Also, the addition of molecular sieves slightly enhanced reactions with free fatty acids but adversely affected reactions with triglycerides and palm oil fractions. Although reactions with palm oil fractions took longer (6 d) to reach equilibrium compared to reactions with free fatty acids (4 d) and pure triglycerides (4 d), better yields were obtained. Such lipase-catalyzed transacylation of palm oil fractions with amino acids is potentially useful in the production of mixed medium- to long-chain surfactants for specific applications.