Sensory evaluation of black pigmented rice (Oryza sativa cv. Poireton) wine fortified with probiotic Lactobacillus acidophilus ATCC 4356 and Lactobacillus sakei ATCC 15521 using fuzzy logic

Rice wine was prepared in the laboratory from a black pigmented rice (cv. Poireton) using standardized methodology. The wine was fortified with the probiotic strains Lactobacillus acidophilus ATCC 4356 and Lactobacillus sakei ATCC 15521 and allowed to undergo a storage period of 28 days at 4°C. These rice wines were compared with a commercial wine used as a standard reference wine. A panel consisting of 30 judges performed the sensory evaluation. The scores obtained were based on the quality attributes of colour, taste, aroma and alcoholic strength. Analysis of the sensory scores and ranking of the different samples were performed using fuzzy analysis. The quality attributes were also ranked according to their importance in the overall acceptability. Colour and alcoholic strength were accorded the highest importance, compared with aroma and taste, as quality attributes. The rice wines were rated as ‘not satisfactory’, ‘fair’, ‘medium’, ‘good’ and ‘excellent’ on the sensory scale. Out of the wines prepared, black pigmented rice wine fortified with L. acidophilus was the most acceptable and was ranked as ‘good’, which was also at par with the commercial wine. On the other hand, black pigmented rice wine fortified with L. sakei and black pigmented rice wine fortified with L. acidophilus and L. sakei were ranked in the ‘satisfactory’ category followed by the unfortified wine ranked in the ‘fair’ category. Copyright © 2015 The Institute of Brewing & Distilling     

Analysis of free and bound aroma compounds of pomegranate (Punica granatum L.)

Volatile aroma compounds were isolated from pomegranate arils by high vacuum distillation (HVD) and solvent extraction with diethyl ether. The HVD distillate exhibited a fresh-fruity and characteristic pomegranate aroma while the total ether extract was devoid of this note in its concentrate. Gas chromatography–mass spectroscopy (GC–MS) analysis revealed the presence of 3-octen-1-yl acetate, trans-3-hexen-1-ol, hexanol and 2-methyl pentanol only in the high vacuum distillate. Ether extract was dominated by 2-heptanol, 2-nonanol and 3-methyl-2-butanol. Based on olfactometric analysis of the HVD isolate, 3-octen-1-yl acetate was identified as the key odorant of pomegranate. Chemical synthesis of this compound, further confirmed its structure. Among the bound aroma compounds, 2-phenylethanol (40%), alpha-terpineol (4.53%) and 2-heptanol (6.35%) were identified as the major compounds existing as glycoconjugates. Identification of the character impact compound and the occurrence of glycosidic precursors in pomegranate are being reported here for the first time.     

Fabrication and characterization of vertically aligned long ZnO nanorods on transparent substrate

Vertically aligned long ZnO nanorods (NRs) were grown by metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) technique. Prior to the NRs growth Ga-doped ZnO (GZO) film was deposited by DC sputtering technique on glass substrates. The length and width of the NRs were 25 microm and 450-500 nm, respectively. Structural and optical properties of the NRs were investigated after the growth. The NRs were single crystalline in nature with the preferred growth along c-axis. The diffusion of Ga atoms in the bottom of the NRs during the growth is detected. A prominent near band edge emission of NRs was observed from room-temperature photoluminescence study. Electrical characteristics across the NRs-thin film hybrid structure were measured with UV exposure, where the rise and fall of the photocurrent was exponential in nature due to the desorption and adsorption of oxygen in the surface.     

Removal of mercury by foam fractionation using surfactin, a biosurfactant

The separation of mercury ions from artificially contaminated water by the foam fractionation process using a biosurfactant (surfactin) and chemical surfactants (SDS and Tween-80) was investigated in this study. Parameters such as surfactant and mercury concentration, pH, foam volume, and digestion time were varied and their effects on the efficiency of mercury removal were investigated. The recovery efficiency of mercury ions was highly sensitive to the concentration of the surfactant. The highest mercury ion recovery by surfactin was obtained using a surfactin concentration of 10 × CMC, while recovery using SDS required < 10 × CMC and Tween-80 >10 × CMC. However, the enrichment of mercury ions in the foam was superior with surfactin, the mercury enrichment value corresponding to the highest metal recovery (10.4%) by surfactin being 1.53. Dilute solutions (2-mg L(-1) Hg(2+)) resulted in better separation (36.4%), while concentrated solutions (100 mg L(-1)) enabled only a 2.3% recovery using surfactin. An increase in the digestion time of the metal solution with surfactin yielded better separation as compared with a freshly-prepared solution, and an increase in the airflow rate increased bubble production, resulting in higher metal recovery but low enrichment. Basic solutions yielded higher mercury separation as compared with acidic solutions due to the precipitation of surfactin under acidic conditions.     

Hot Corrosion Behaviour of Detonation-Gun Sprayed Cr3C2–NiCr Coating on Inconel-718 in Molten Salt Environment at 900 °C

Detonation gun sprayed Cr₃C₂–NiCr coating was deposited on nickel-based superalloy Inconel-718. Hot corrosion studies were conducted on uncoated as well as Cr₃C₂–NiCr coated superalloy in 75 wt% Na₂SO₄ + 25 wt% NaCl salt environment at 900 °C for 50 cycles. The thermo-gravimetric technique was used to establish kinetics of corrosion. X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy/energy-dispersive X-ray analysis techniques were used to analyze the corrosion products. The uncoated superalloy suffered intense spalling, while the Cr₃C₂–NiCr coating provided good protection against hot corrosion in the given salt environment.     

Scalability enhancement of AODV using local link repairing

Dynamic change in the topology of an ad hoc network makes it difficult to design an efficient routing protocol. Scalability of an ad hoc network is also one of the important criteria of research in this field. Most of the research works in ad hoc network focus on routing and medium access protocols and produce simulation results for limited-size networks. Ad hoc on-demand distance vector (AODV) is one of the best reactive routing protocols. In this article, modified routing protocols based on local link repairing of AODV are proposed. Method of finding alternate routes for next-to-next node is proposed in case of link failure. These protocols are beacon-less, means periodic hello message is removed from the basic AODV to improve scalability. Few control packet formats have been changed to accommodate suggested modification. Proposed protocols are simulated to investigate scalability performance and compared with basic AODV protocol. This also proves that local link repairing of proposed protocol improves scalability of the network. From simulation results, it is clear that scalability performance of routing protocol is improved because of link repairing method. We have tested protocols for different terrain area with approximate constant node densities and different traffic load.     

A dual algorithm for the topology optimization of non‐linear elastic structures

Dual algorithms are ideally suited for the purpose of topology optimization since they work in the space of Lagrange multipliers associated with the constraints. To date, dual algorithms have been applied only for linear structures. Here we extend this methodology to the case of non‐linear structures. The perimeter constraint is used to make the topology problem well‐posed. We show that the proposed algorithm yields a value of perimeter that is close to that specified by the user. We also address the issue of manufacturability of these designs, by proposing a variant of the standard dual algorithm, which generates designs that are two‐dimensional although the loading and the geometry are three‐dimensional. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Stress and strain‐driven algorithmic formulations for finite strain viscoplasticity for hybrid and standard finite elements

This work deals with the formulation and implementation of finite deformation viscoplasticity within the framework of stress‐based hybrid finite element methods. Hybrid elements, which are based on a two‐field variational formulation, are much less susceptible to locking than conventional displacement‐based elements. The conventional return‐mapping scheme cannot be used in the context of hybrid stress methods since the stress is known, and the strain and the internal plastic variables have to be recovered using this known stress field. We discuss the formulation and implementation of the consistent tangent tensor, and the return‐mapping algorithm within the context of the hybrid method. We demonstrate the efficacy of the algorithm on a wide range of problems. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

CO2 emissions structure of Indian economy

This paper analyses carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions of the Indian economy by producing sectors and due to household final consumption. The analysis is based on an Input–Output (IO) table and Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) for the year 2003–04 that distinguishes 25 sectors and 10 household classes. Total emissions of the Indian economy in 2003–04 are estimated to be 1217 million tons (MT) of CO₂, of which 57% is due to the use of coal and lignite. The per capita emissions turn out to be about 1.14 tons. The highest direct emissions are due to electricity sector followed by manufacturing, steel and road transportation. Final demands for construction and manufacturing sectors account for the highest emissions considering both direct and indirect emissions as the outputs from almost all the energy-intensive sectors go into the production process of these two sectors. In terms of life style differences across income classes, the urban top 10% accounts for emissions of 3416 kg per year while rural bottom 10% class accounts for only 141 kg per year. The CO₂ emission embodied in the consumption basket of top 10% of the population in urban India is one-sixth of the per capita emission generated in the US.     

Phenotypic identification and technological properties of lactic acid bacteria isolated from traditionally processed fish products of the Eastern Himalayas

Sukako maacha, gnuchi, sidra and sukuti are traditional smoked and sun-dried fish products of the Eastern Himalayan regions of Nepal and India. A total of 40 samples of sukako maacha (14), gnuchi (6), sidra (10) and sukuti (10) were collected and were analysed for microbial load. Population of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) as well as aerobic mesophilic counts ranged from 4.7-8.3 to 5.1-8.5 log cfu g(-1), respectively. A total of 189 strains of LAB were isolated from sukako maacha, gnuchi, sidra and sukuti samples, out of which 171 strains were cocci and 15 strains, were heterofermentative lactobacilli. LAB were identified on the basis of phenotypic characters including API system as Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris, Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis, Lactococcus plantarum, Leuconostoc mesenteroides, Enterococcus faecium, Enterococcus faecalis, Pediococcus pentosaceus and Weissella confusa. LAB strains produced a wide spectrum of enzymes. Some strains of LAB showed antagonistic properties against pathogenic strains. None of the strains produced biogenic amines in the method applied. This paper is the first report on the microbial composition, mostly lactic acid bacteria, of traditionally processed fish products of Eastern Himalayas.