Effect of partial dehydration on quality of canned potatoes

During commercial sterilization, mild to severe breakage of individual potatoes sometimes occurs and the outer layers of potatoes disintegrate into a floury texture referred to as sloughing. Four cultivars of potatoes namely Kufri Badshah, Kufri Bahar, Kufri Chandramukhi and HPS-1/13 were either treated with CaCl₂ or dehydrated before canning to reduce the sloughing. The extent of sloughing in terms of breakage observed visually depended on the cultivar of potatoes. Although CaCl₂ treatment reduces sloughing, it causes turbidity of the brine. Partial dehydration of potatoes before canning was helpful in reducing sloughing and it allowed a higher filling of potato solids in the can thereby increasing drained weight. HPS-1/13 cultivar was found most suitable for dehydrocanning.     

Nutritional status of rural women in relation to their participation in mixed farming in the Tafresh area of Iran

This study was conducted in the Tafresh area of Iran to assess the dietary patterns, time allocation, and nutritional status of rural women in relation to their participation in mixed farming activities. We selected 75 women from 40 villages by applying a stratified random-sampling technique. Cereals and grains were the major source of energy intake. According to the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) tables of India, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the respondents seemed to have no micronutrient and energy deficiencies during the spring season. They spent most of their time and energy on household, animal husbandry, and crop farming activities. According to measurements of body mass index (BMI), the respondents were well nourished. However, despite the high level of BMI, analysis suggested a negative energy balance. Nevertheless, analysis indicated that rural women with negative energy balance spent more time and energy in mixed farming and had a higher level of participation in related activities. Hence, it is evident from the results that the physical contribution of rural women in mixed farming activities has a detrimental effect on their nutritional status, at least during some parts of the year (e.g., spring or summer). Therefore, there is a need to adjust nutritional interventions to improve the sustainability of their food intake and to develop appropriate technologies in mixed farming to alleviate their work burdens.     

Characterization of information improvement due to N revisions and its generalization by a functional equation

The idea of information improvement was introduced by Thiel [3]. This idea was further extended by the first author to information improvement due to 2 and N revisions and specifically states that different experimenters (a finite number) are required to proceed with given distributions P and U and are permitted to choose a suitable revision. We attempted to provide a measure of information corresponding to Theil's measure which reflected the effect of all revisions. In this paper, the authors have studied a joint characterization of information improvement of N revisions and its generalization by considering a suitable functional equation.     

Composition,variation of nutritional contents in leaves,seed protein,fat and fatty acid profile ofchenopodium species

The foliage of Chenopodium belonging to 10 species were analysed for selected nutritional and antinutritional components. The overall range of moisture was 757-910 g kg^?1, carotenoid 78-190 mg kg^?1, vitamin C 0.5-2.4 g kg^?1, protein 26-64 g kg^?1, nitrate 2.6-5.0 g kg^?1 and oxalate 9-39 g kg^?1 (fresh wt). Variation of all the six parameters with respect to leaf position from the apex showed the highest amount of carotenoid at 7-8, vitamin C at 9-10, protein at 5-6 and nitrate in the youngest leaves, followed by a continuous decrease with age (increasing position). However, oxalate contents always tended to increase with leaf position (age). The protein, fat and fatty acid composition in seeds of eight species were also analysed. Protein varied from 106 to 142 g kg^?1 and fat from 30 to 62 g kg^?1; palmitic, oleic and linoleic were the major fatty acids in the oils.     

Cyclic symmetry and the Shannon entropy

The authors have axiomatically characterized the Shannon entropy using cyclic symmetry.     

Non-linear dynamic analysis of shallow spherical shells on elastic foundations

The present study investigates the effect of Winkler-Pasternak elastic foundation parameters on the nonlinear dynamic response of shallow spherical shells. The values of foundation parameters ( and ) have been determined for the minimaximum central response of the shallow shells for both the clamped as well as simply supported immovable edge conditions. Donnell type partial differential equations governing the moderately large amplitude behaviour of shallow spherical shells resting on Winkler-Pasternak elastic foundations under step pressure loading, have been analysed. The space and time-wise integrations of governing equations have been carried out using Chebyshev series and Houbolt techniques, respectively. It is also shown that the present analysis can be extended to study the dynamic buckling of shallow shells resting on elastic foundations.     

Proton spin–spin relaxation time of peel and flesh of navel orange varieties exposed to freezing temperature

Proton spin–spin relaxation times (T₂) of peel (albedo and flavedo) and juice sacs (flesh segments) of navel oranges were measured at 10 MHz using a Bruker Minispec PC 110 NMR spectrometer. The oranges were subjected to chilling (5 °C) and freezing (−7 °C) temperatures for 20 h and warmed to room temperature before peeling for T₂ measurements. The exposure to chilling or freezing temperature did not affect the T₂ values of peel, but freezing caused an appreciable decrease (∼15%) in the T₂ values of flesh segments of the varieties of navel oranges studied. When the peel was exposed to −20 °C, the T₂ showed a drastic reduction suggesting that the peel did not freeze at −7 °C. The possible cause of reduction in the T₂ values when exposed to freezing temperature may be damage to the juice sac membrane and leakage of juice out of the sac. The difference in the T₂ values between juice sacs of freeze-affected and normal oranges can potentially be used for detection of freeze-damaged fruits. Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry     

Cell-Based Chemical Safety Assessment and Therapeutic Discovery Using Array-Based Sensors

Synthetic chemicals are widely used in food, agriculture, and medicine, making chemical safety assessments necessary for environmental exposure. In addition, the rapid determination of chemical drug efficacy and safety is a key step in therapeutic discoveries. Cell-based screening methods are non-invasive as compared with animal studies. Cellular phenotypic changes can also provide more sensitive indicators of chemical effects than conventional cell viability. Array-based cell sensors can be engineered to maximize sensitivity to changes in cell phenotypes, lowering the threshold for detecting cellular responses under external stimuli. Overall, array-based sensing can provide a robust strategy for both cell-based chemical risk assessments and therapeutics discovery.