Factors affecting the puffing quality of paddy

Histological studies showed that in good puffing varieties of paddy the aleurone layer was thin and weak at the specific points of bursting while the clearance between the husk and kernel was large and the grain was easily shelled. In the poor puffing varieties the aleurone was uniformly thicker along the peripheral section while clearance between husk and grain was smaller and the grains were relatively more difficult to shell. Optimum maturity of grains at an average grain moisture of 20 to 24% was essential for getting maximum puffing. Delayed harvesting caused sun checks and reduced overall puffing expansion. Sun checks caused by severe drying in the sun produced a similar effect. High grain density was associated with better puffing.     

Impact of information sharing in hierarchical decision-making framework in manufacturing supply chains

This paper presents a comprehensive framework for the analysis of the impact of information sharing in hierarchical decision-making in manufacturing supply chains. In this framework, the process plan selection and real-time resource allocation problems are formulated as hierarchical optimization problems, where problems at each level in the hierarchy are solved by separate multi-objective genetic algorithms. The considered multi-objective genetic algorithms generate near optimal solutions for NP-hard problems with less computational complexity. In this work, a four-level hierarchical decision structure is considered, where the decision levels are defined as enterprise level, shop level, cell level, and equipment level. Using this framework, the sources of information affecting the achievement of best possible decisions are then identified at each of these levels, and the extent of their effects from sharing them are analyzed in terms of the axis, degree and the content of information. The generality and validity of the proposed approach have been successfully tested for diverse manufacturing systems generated from a designed experiment.     

Kinetics of emitted mass—A study with three dry powder inhaler devices

The purpose of this study was to understand the kinetics of emptying of micronised salbutamol sulphate (SS) and lactohale 300 (LH300) under varying air flow rates (30–180 L min⁻¹) from three dry powder inhaler devices, Rotahaler^® (RH), Monodose Inhaler^® (MI) and Handihaler^® (HH). Aerosol concentration vs. time profiles, determined through real-time laser diffraction particle sizing, demonstrated that the majority of the powder from RH was emitted within one second while a more prolonged aerosolisation was observed from MI and HH. Peak aerosol concentrations were achieved more rapidly from RH compared to MI for both SS and LH300. Calculated cumulative emitted mass (CCEM) vs. time profiles were obtained from the aerosol concentration vs. time profiles and the emitted mass and the rate of CCEM (k_CCEM), estimated from a modelling approach, increased with increasing air flow rates. The k_CCEMvs. air flow rate profiles of SS and LH300 were significantly different at high air flow rates. The k_CCEM was highest from RH and lowest from MI. Differences in k_CCEM between the devices were related to capsule aperture size while the differences between the materials were due to the powder bed structure. This approach provided an understanding of the rate at which powder mass emptied from dry powder inhaler devices and was proposed to be a powerful development tool for the future powder inhalers.     

Structure and phase stability of hydrogenated first-stage alkali- and alkaline-earth metal–graphite intercalation compounds

We report the hydrogenation temperature and pressure dependence of hydrogen absorption capacity in CaC₆. In addition, the structure and phase stability of hydrogenated CaC₆, LiC₆ and KC₈ has been investigated using X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. It is found that the hydrogen chemisorption in both CaC₆ and LiC₆ leads to either metastable or higher stage intermediate compounds but eventually leaves completely deintercalated graphite by forming stable metal hydrides. In contrast hydrogenation of KC₈ generates a restaged ternary hydride compound. The phase stability of hydrogenated compounds is discussed in the text based on the observed experimental results and correlated to the thermodynamic and kinetic aspects of intercalated metal.     

Isolation and purification of a novel antioxidant protein from the water extract of Sundakai (Solanum torvum) seeds

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) at physiological concentrations may be required for normal cell function. Excessive production of ROS can be detrimental to cells, because ROS can cause oxidative damage to lipids, proteins, and DNA. Herein, we describe the isolation and purification of a novel antioxidant protein the water extract of dried, powdered Sundakai (Solanum torvum [Solanaceae]) seeds. Sundakai belongs to the Solanaceae family, a small shrub, which is distributed widely in India, Malaya, China, Phillipines and tropical America. Fifty percent of ammonium sulphate-precipitated crude water extract was fractionated on a Sephadex G100 column, which yielded two peaks, PI and PII. Peaks PI and PII inhibited lipid peroxidation up to 40% and 89%, respectively in linolenic acid micelles. Rechromatographing of peak PII on Sephadex G100 yielded a single peak, indicating the homogeneity of the purified protein. SDS–PAGE analysis indicated the molecular weight of the purified protein to be ∼28 kDa. The purified protein, at 0.8 μM, inhibited deoxyribose degradation induced by generation of hydroxyl radicals by 90% and scavenged DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) radicals by 76%. The reducing power and chelating power of the purified protein, at 0.8 μM, were found to be 72% and 85%, respectively. The protein, at 0.8 μM, also offered significant protection to calf thymus DNA damage induced by H₂O₂ (1 mM). Therefore, the present study demonstrates, for the first time, a novel protein from the water extract of Sundakai seeds as an excellent antioxidant.     

Quantitative image quality analysis of a nonlinear spatio-temporalfilter

Digital temporal and spatial filtering of fluoroscopic image sequences can be used to improve the quality of images acquired at low X-ray exposure. In this study, we characterized a nonlinear edge preserving, spatio-temporal noise reduction filter, the bidirectional multistage (BMS) median filter of Arce (1991). To assess image quality, signal detection and discrimination experiments were performed on stationary targets using a four-alternative forced-choice paradigm. A measure of detectability, d', was obtained for filtered and unfiltered noisy image sequences at different signal amplitudes. Filtering gave statistically significant, average d' improvements of 20% (detection) and 31% (discrimination). A nonprewhitening detection model modified to include the human spatio-temporal visual system contrast-sensitivity underestimated enhancement, predicting an improvement of 6%. Pixel noise standard deviation, a commonly applied image quality measure, greatly overestimated effectiveness giving 67% improvement in d'. We conclude that human testing is required to evaluate the filter effectiveness and that human perception models must be improved to account for the spatio-temporal filtering of image sequences.     

Curcumin–amino acid conjugates: Synthesis,antioxidant and antimutagenic attributes

Curcumin, a natural yellow colourant from turmeric, is insoluble in water. It has been rendered water-soluble by preparation of suitable amino acid derivatives. Several amino acid conjugates of curcumin were synthesised in high yields (45–76%). These curcumin derivatives were soluble in water at 1–10 mg/ml concentrations. Derivatives of curcumin with alkyl-substituted amino acids, such as alanine, valine, serine and cysteine, exhibited smaller IC₅₀ values (∼50%) than did curcumin in antioxidant assays. With respect to antimutagenicity against Salmonella typhimurium TA 98 and TA 1531, the derivatives showed an effect stronger than or, in a few cases, similar to curcumin. These results clearly demonstrated that the conjugation of curcumin at the phenolic position with amino acids, while rendering the molecule water-soluble, led to the improvement of several of its in vitro biological attributes, the effect being more pronounced in the case of specific alkyl-substituted amino acids.     

Preparation and characterization of non-random YBa2Cu3O7-Ag composite

Silver addition to the highT _c superconductor, YBa₂Cu₃O₇ (YBCO) is known to improve its mechanical properties and critical current (J _c) characteristics. We have synthesized the superconductor-metal composite YBCO-Ag by an electroless process at room temperature (using sucrose or hydrazine hydrate in an alkaline medium). The latter method produces a non-random coating whereby each grain of YBCO is coated uniformly by silver. The intrinsic highT _c of 90 K of YBCO can be recovered by compaction of the composite and subsequent heat treatment (900°C and 600°C) in oxygen.