Physicochemical property changes in germinated brown rice flour from different storage periods of paddy rice

This study revealed that the storage duration (2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 months) of paddy rice and pH (3 and 6.8) of steeping water during germination were significantly influenced the physicochemical properties of germinated brown rice flour (GBRF). GBRF obtained at pH 3 vs. 6.8 provided the highest both reducing sugar content and free gamma‐aminobutyric acid (GABA) content (99.8 vs. 54.2 mg per 100 g flour respectively) as the paddy rice was stored for 8 months. The peak viscosity of GBRF obtained at pH 3 and 6.8 exhibited the lower values than that of non‐GBRF throughout the storage. From the principal component analysis, reducing sugar had a positive correlation with α‐amylase activity whereas a negative correlation was found with peak viscosity. GBRF from paddy rice stored for 8 months and germinated at pH 3 possessed the highest free GABA content, 50 times of the non‐GBRF, which can be further utilised in functional and healthy foods.     

Improving post irradiation stability of high density polyethylene by multi walled carbon nanotubes

Sterilization of implants and other clinical accessories is an integral part of any medical application. Although many materials are used as implants, polyethylene stands unique owing to its versatility. Carbon nanotubes are being used as a filler material to enhance the properties of polyethylene. However, the role of multi walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) as an effective antioxidant and radical scavenger in resisting the deteriorating effects of sterilization is yet to be studied in detail. The present work is aimed to investigate the mechanical properties and oxidation stability of irradiated high density polyethylene (HDPE) reinforced by MWCNTs with various concentrations such as 0.25%, 0.50%, 0.75% and 1.00 wt.%. The composites were exposed to ⁶⁰Co source in air and irradiated at different dosage level starting from 25 to 100 kGy and then shelf aged for a period of 120 days prior to investigation. The loss in toughness, Young’s modulus and ultimate strength at 100 kGy for 1 wt.% MWCNTs composite were found to be 21.5%, 20.3% and 19.2%, respectively compared to that of unirradiated composite. FTIR and ESR studies confirmed the antioxidant and radical scavenging potentialities of MWCNTs with increased concentration and irradiation dosage. It was found that by the addition of 1 wt.% MWCNTs into virgin HDPE, the oxidation index of the composite at 100 kGy was decreased by 56.2%. It is concluded that the addition of MWCNTs into polyethylene not only limits the loss of mechanical properties but also improves its post irradiation oxidative stability.     

Effect of gamma irradiation on structural,morphological and optical properties of thermal spray pyrolysis deposited CuO thin film

This study reports the influences of gamma irradiation (GI) in the range of 20–100 kGy on CuO thin films via thermal spray pyrolysis technique on the glass substrates. The results demonstrate significant influences of GI on the crystallographic, microstructural and optical characteristics of CuO thin films. The obtained XRD results showed that the crystallinity of the films deteriorates by gradually decreasing crystallite size (from 59.13 to 46 nm) as applied gamma doses increases. However, the basic monoclinic crystal structure remains same. The dislocation density and lattice strain increased with the rise of GI absorbed dose due to the creation of defects. The values of number of crystallites per unit surface area increased as dose increased indicating the abundance of crystallization of nano CuO thin films. A UV–Vis–NIR spectrophotometer was utilized to determine the optical properties and obtained results indicated that the optical energy band gap (OBG) energies reduced from 2.00 to 1.72 eV as the doses increased from 0 to 100 kGy. No distinctions of the monoclinic phase of virgin CuO thin film have been perceived under applied absorbed doses, notwithstanding the slight deterioration of the crystallinity and narrowing the OBG.     

Optimization of Physiological Growth Conditions for Maximal Gamma-linolenic Acid Production by Cunninghamella blakesleeana-JSK2

Effects of various cultural conditions on biomass, lipid and Gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) production were investigated in the oleaginous fungus Cunninghamella blakesleeana-JSK2 isolated from soil. The GLA production was influenced by various factors such as growth condition (static and shaken), incubation time, pH, temperature, carbon and nitrogen sources. The results indicated that optimum GLA production (21 %) was obtained when the fungus was grown under shaken condition at 120 rpm for 6 days with optimum pH and temperature of 6 and 28 °C ,respectively. Glucose and potassium nitrate enhanced the GLA production. Urea and sucrose were poor substances for biomass, lipid and GLA production.     

Development of microbiologically safe mung bean sprouts using combination treatment of sodium hypochlorite and gamma radiation

Specific group of people, with impaired immune system, are recommended to consume pathogen‐free foods. In this study, microbiologically safe ready‐to‐eat (RTE) mung bean sprouts were developed using combination treatment (CT) with 200 ppm sodium hypochlorite and 12 kGy dose of gamma radiation. Microbiological analysis of combination‐treated sprout samples showed complete elimination (<10 CFU g^?1 of sprouts) of microbial load in these samples, even during storage at 4 °C up to 12 days. Combination treatment and storage period did not have any significant effect on the sensory qualities of RTE mung bean sprouts. However, reduction in the firmness and vitamin C content of combination‐treated sprout samples, similar to other food processing methods, was observed. These results suggest that CT is effective in sterilisation of mung bean sprouts. These sprouts can be included in the diets of special target groups and thereby improve in their quality of life.     

Reliability of an Independent Component,s-Spare System with Exponential Life Times and General Repair Times

In this paper, the reliability of a system with N independent components supplied with a pool of s spares is investigated. The components have an exponential life time distribution and the failed components are repaired, one at a time, with a general repair time distribution. Numerical results are presented for the mean time to system failure (system is said to fail when a component fails with no spare available) and the reliability of the system in some special cases of interest.     

Protective effect of nanosilica on irradiated dates against saw toothed grain beetle,Oryzaephilus surinamensis (Coleoptera: Silvanidae) adults

The insecticidal activity of nanosilica particles (NSPs) [20 ± 4 nm] was determined using the saw-toothed grain beetle, Oryzaephilus surinamensis (L) adults as the experimental insect. When the unsexed adults were exposed to different doses of nanosilica (0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8 and 1.0 mg/Petri dish) for different periods (1, 2 and 3 days), it was found that NSPs had more insecticidal activity against O. surinamensis. Moreover, it was found that as the exposure time and dose increased, the mortality percentages of the adults increased. When the adult fed on irradiated dates which treated with different doses of nanosilica (0.5, 1,2 and 4 mg/1date) the mortality was higher than in nanosilica alone. The LD₅₀ of the bioassay tests showed that the calculated LD₅₀ values of each treatment were 0.468, 1.201 and 0.572 mg/1date. The adult of O. surinamensis (untreated, treated with LD₅₀ of nanosilica and fed on unirradiated or irradiated dates) examined by a scanning electron microscope. The examination showed the same malformations in all treatments which caused abrasion and damage on the outer surface. Nanosilica can be effectively replacing chemical insecticides to protect stored products.     

A condition-based maintenance strategy for heterogeneous populations

This paper develops a maintenance strategy, called inspection–replacement policy, to cope with heterogeneous populations. Burn-in is the procedure by which most of the defective products in a heterogeneous population can be identified and removed prior to being placed in service. However, modern manufacturing is so well developed that a defective product is able to function for a long period of time even under aggravated operational conditions. Instead of weeding defective products out via costly burn-in tests, use can be made of them in field operation where maintaining actions will be performed to prevent early in-use failures. The inspection–replacement policy consists of an inspection, conducted in an early stage with the purpose of identifying and replacing defective products, and a preventive replacement, carried out at a later stage to prevent wear-out failures. The preventive-replacement time is dynamically determined, depending on the information obtained by the inspection. The inspection–replacement policy is compared with a joint burn-in and age-based-replacement policy to show its practicability and competence.     

Monte Carlo method for determining the response of portable gamma detector for in situ measurement of terrestrial gamma ray field

A Monte Carlo method to study the response of portable detector to terrestrial gamma ray is proposed. This method is based on two-stage Monte Carlo simulation.First, the probability distributions of the phase space coordinates of the events that are most likely to be detected are reconstructed at the phase space shell level. The phase space shell is a closed surface enclosing the detector. The detector response to events originating from the phase space shell is then studied. The full absorption spectra as well as the partial absorption spectra are obtained for natural radionuclides uniformly distributed in the ground. For validation, this method is applied to a Hp Ge portable detector previously studied. The previous study is based on a semiempirical model. Good agreement is achieved when we compare the full-energy peak efficiencies and the total in situ spectra obtained by the two methods. As an application, the effective depth of the activity of the~(137) Cs artificial radionuclide in the soil is determined from the low-energy part of the total in situ spectrum.     

A study on sensitivity correction factor of gamma camera in whole body bone image

The aim of this study was to calculate a reasonable correction factor that could be corrected when the sensitivity of each gamma camera is measured and a whole body bone scan is performed as a follow-up examination. Seven pieces of equipment were used to analyse the sensitivity measurements of each gamma camera based on the source sensitivity measurement method recommended by the IAEA. These were BRIGHTVIEW, PRECEDENCE, ECAM, ECAM signature, ECAM Plus, SYMBIA T2 and INFINIA. The ^99mTc line source for the sensitivity measurement was generated in 4–7 kcps, which are the common values in a whole body bone scan. All the cameras were equipped with a low-energy and high-resolution parallel multi-hole collimator and set at a window width and photo peak of 15% and 140 keV, respectively. After placing the ^99mTc source as closely as possible to the collimator, the count was measured for 60 and 120 seconds to calculate correction factor. To determine if the correction factor calculated using the ^99mTc line source could be applied to a whole body bone scan of a real patient, a whole body bone scan was performed on 27 patients before applying the correction factor for comparative analysis. According to the experimental results using the ^99mTc line source, the gamma camera sensitivity was the highest for ECAM plus, followed in order by the gamma cameras, ECAM signature, SYMBIA T2, ECAM, BRIGHTVIEW, INFINIA and PRECEDENCE. When the results were used to calculate the correction factor based on the ECAM gamma camera, which had a medium-degree of sensitivity, the respective correction factors were 1·07, 1·05, 1·03, 1·00, 0·90, 0·83 and 0·72. The correction factors calculated based on the experiment using a ^99mTc line source were similar to those calculated based on the whole body bone scan. Clinical application of correction factor for measured sensitivity enables estimation of factor correction depending on difference in equipment when image is read, which improves accuracy and reliability of examination, and is expected to be used especially for continuous follow-up examination.