Effect of different storage conditions on coagulating properties and cheese quality of Withania coagulans extract

The effects of different storage conditions on the coagulating properties of extracts of Withania coagulans berries were investigated in terms of coagulation time, pH and quality attributes of cheese prepared from buffalo milk. The extracts were stored under different conditions, viz. room temperature (27 ± 3 °C), refrigerated storage (4 °C), frozen storage (?20 °C) and lyophilisation. The milk‐coagulating activity of the plant extracts was measured on a fortnightly basis for a period of 5 months. There was a nonsignificant change in pH and the milk coagulating properties of the lyophilised extract. Physiochemical analysis revealed that cheese prepared with lyophilised extract retained the highest content of ash (2.3%), fat (23.8%), total solids (48.7%) and crude protein (22.7%), and resulted in the highest cheese yield (17.6%) compared to other tested treatments. Thus, it is concluded that lyophilisation has good potential for storage of vegetable extract coagulants.     

Comparison of buffalo cottage cheese made from aqueous extract of Withania coagulans with commercial calf rennet

An aqueous extract of Withania coagulans was used to prepare cottage cheese from buffalo milk and its quality attributes were compared with cheese made from commercial rennet. Both cheeses contain satisfactory ranges of 49.6–54.7% moisture, 21.3–24.3% fat and 21.4–23.6% protein. The type of coagulant had no significant effect on acidity, protein and ash contents of both the cheeses. W. coagulans cheese showed a significantly (P < 0.05%) higher pH and moisture contents. Similarly, no marked differences were observed in their organoleptic evaluation, actual and theoretical yield. These results supported the fact that W. coagulans is a promising rennet substitute for cottage cheesemaking.     

The Explosively Formed Projectile (EFP) as a Standoff Sea Mine Neutralization Device

There are many methods that can be used for the clearance of underwater ammunition; for example, sea mines. In all such techniques, the primary aim is to defuse underwater ammunition without detonation. Explosively formed projectiles (EFPs) have great potential to cleanly and safely defuse underwater ammunition. Underwater simulations and experiments were conducted to highlight the use of EFPs for safe destruction of sea mines. The copper liner configuration was used to study the penetration performance of the EFPs in water. ANSYS AUTODYN-2D hydrocode was used to simulate copper EFP penetration, passage, and impact with a target immersed in water. Simulation results were obtained by making use of Lagrangian and Euler formulations. The results indicated that the velocity of an EFP reduces sharply as it enters the water. However, the velocity of an EFP is stable in the later part of its flight through the water. The results further indicated that after covering five cone diameters (CDs) in water, the velocity of the EFP was reduced below critical and it failed to perforate an aluminum target plate of 5 mm thickness. Nevertheless, it perforated the target plate at 4 CDs in water. A known quantity of high explosive sandwiched between two plates, just like explosive reactive armor (ERA), was used as a target to simulate the sea mine. Flash X-ray was also used to record the flight and penetration of the EFP through the target plate. Simulation results matched reasonably well with the experimental results.     

Direct measurement of steroid sulfate and glucuronide conjugates with high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry

Laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF) is a sensitive method for the measurement of microvascular blood flow in tissue. The method has been found useful for estimating skin, liver, or gastrointestinal blood flow. Whether it can be applied laparoscopically and whether it is able to measure the intraparenchymal blood flow of an intraabdominal organ is still unknown. In a pilot study, 6 pigs received a laparotomy for placement of a 19-gauge LDF needle probe into the renal parenchyma. Three different locations of the lower pole kidney were chosen for the blood flow measurement. The reliability of using the instrument to measure the renal tissue blood flow was assessed by comparison of the results of renal arterial blood flow obtained from a well-established methodology--ultrasonic Doppler flowmetry. Recordings were taken following (a) intravenous administration of 0.005 mg/kg norepinephrine, (b) manual compression of the suprarenal aorta, and (c) intravenous injection of a lethal dose of phenobarbital (50 mg/kg). Measurements of LDF were possible in all kidney units. The renal tissue perfusion detected by LDF correlated excellently with the renal arterial blood flow under different renal perfusion pressures. The feasibility of using LDF probe to measure the renal tissue perfusion in a laparoscopic model was then assessed in 15 pigs. Under pneumoperitoneum, the right kidneys were approached transperitoneally with the animal in the decubitus position. A total of three trocars were used. The peritoneum and Gerota's fascia were incised and the LDF needle probe was manipulated and inserted by an endoforceps into the renal tissue via a 5-mm trocar. The insertion of the LDF needle probe was technically feasible in all 15 kidney units, and the depth of insertion could be adjusted under direct vision. Baseline values for the renal cortical and renal medullary blood flow were 50.1 +/- 17.7 and 8.8 +/- 3.3 ml/min/100 g tissue, respectively. Spatial variations of the LDF measurements averaged 6%, and temporal variations over 15 min averaged 5%. Four additional hemodynamic parameters were simultaneously recorded, including left carotid artery blood flow, aortic blood pressure, inferior vena caval pressure, and intraabdominal pressure. It appears that systemic and renal hemodynamic parameters can be monitored reliably and continuously in the porcine model. This method allows further information concerning hemodynamic changes and safety of laparoscopy to be obtained.     

Multi‐hop medium access control protocol for low energy critical infrastructure monitoring networks using wake‐up radio

The IEEE 802.15.4K Task Group was formed recently to address the low energy critical infrastructure monitoring networks. The aim is to collect scheduled and event data from a large number of non‐mains powered endpoints that are widely dispersed. The application requirements include reliable data transfer, energy efficiency, and long deployment lifetime. To meet the low energy critical infrastructure monitoring network requirements, we propose a multihop medium access control protocol where the scheduled or event data are routed to the coordinator through the cluster heads. The power consumption of the cluster heads is critical as they use more power than the normal endpoints. Our protocol uses the wake‐up radio approach from cluster head to cluster head communication and an efficient guaranteed time slots allocation scheme to minimize the power consumption of the cluster heads. We derive analytical expressions for the average power consumption of cluster heads as well as ordinary endpoints. The results show that our proposed protocol outperforms the IEEE 802.15.4 MAC and SCP MAC in terms of power consumption. High power efficiency is achieved in both the cluster heads and normal endpoints. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Experimental and computational study of convective heat fluxes in swirling two-phase flows

The convective mode of heat transfer is mainly due to the bulk motion of the fluid. Its turbulent nature and enhanced heat transfer coefficients have always attracted the academic, scientific community, and industrialists for many decades. The current research is based on the experimental and theoretical investigations on the turbulent convective heat transfer in swirling (60–300 rpm) steam (1–3 bars) injection into cocurrently flowing water. An exponential increase in the convective heat transfers up till the most swollen part of the swirling steam-water volume of fluids has been observed. However, the convective heat transfer of the remaining part of the steam's plume shows an almost stagnant decreasing trend. The range of Rayleigh number that supports the transition in trends of the convective heat fluxes is 2.84 × 10¹¹–3.71 × 10¹¹. This transition affects the magnitude of the convective heat fluxes and the extent of the effective momentum fluxes, which is evident in the dominant role of the flow instabilities acting across the length of the steam's plume. Computational Fluid Dynamic analysis also has supported the exhibition of the heat fluxes magnitudes under the influence of the interacting Kelvin–Helmholtz instabilities and inertial instabilities across and along with the cocurrently acting shear layer.     

Re-entrainment in wave-plate mist eliminators

Wave-plate mist eliminators are among the most effective devices to separate liquid from the gas. Liquid separation efficiency in these devices is largely dependent on the gas superficial velocity. However, the upper limit of gas throughput is restricted by the re-entrainment of the deposited liquid from the separator surfaces into the gas stream. There is some knowledge available of re-entrainment phenomena in vertical wave-plate separators. This paper presents experiments that have enabled the mechanisms of entrainment to be identified and the boundaries for air and liquid rates at which entrainment starts for horizontal wave-plate separators to be characterised. It is supported by modelling using an extension of earlier work.