Development of chemically interesterified healthy coconut oil blends

Edible vegetable oil blends, such as coconut:linseed; coconut:safflower; coconut:sunflower; coconut:rice‐bran oils; in the ratio of 70:30 and 60:40 v/v and pure coconut oil (CNO) were interesterified using sodium methoxide 0.5% and subsequently refined to prepare nutritionally superior flowable CNO blends which remained liquid even at sub‐zero temperatures. The slip melting point of chemically interesterified fats could not be determined as they are liquified just after removing from freezing chamber in comparison with the slip melting point of 21.5–26.5 °C for their uninteresterified counterparts. These interesterified fats were liquid and flowable at 6 °C for more than 4 h in a cooling chamber and their solidification temperature ranged between ?2.0 and ?5.5 °C. Free fatty acids showed an increasing trend from 0.35% to 2.0% resulting in decrease in triglycerides After refining these oil blends showed values similar to their controls. However, iodine value of interesterified and uninteresterified oils were close to each other. Differential scanning calorimetry showed the onset of crystallisation at lower temperatures and lower solid fat content for interesterified fats. A nutritionally superior combination of CNO blend which is flowable at low temperature could be prepared.     

Twisted multilayer graphene exhibiting strong absorption bands induced by van Hove Singularities

Twisted bilayer graphene exhibits several angle-dependent properties due to the emergence of the van Hove Singularities in its density of states. Among them, twist-angle-dependent optical absorption has gained a lot of attention due to its presence in the visible spectral region. However, observation of such absorption is experimentally tricky due to large transmittance. In this study, we use highly decoupled twisted multilayer graphene to observe such absorption in the visible region using a simple spectrometer. A large number of twisted graphene layers in the system enable observation of such absorption evident in the visible region; the absorption band position correlates with the twist angle measured using selective area electron diffraction pattern as well as predictions from theory. While the Raman spectra were akin to those of the decoupled graphene system, at specific twist angle of \({\sim }13^{\circ }\), the spectrum contained clear signatures of G-band enhancement.     

Optimal design of truss structures using parallel computing

Parallel design optimization of large structural systems calls for a multilevel approach to the optimization problem. The general optimization problem is decomposed into a number of non-interacting suboptimization problems on the first level. They are controlled from the second level through coordination variables. Thus, the solutions of the independent first-level subsystems are directed towards the overall system optimum. In the present paper, optimal design of truss structures using parallel computing technique is described. In this method, optimization of a large truss structure has been carried out by decomposing the structure into sub-domains and suboptimization tasks. Each sub-domain has independent design variables and a small number of behaviour constraints. The two-level sub-domain optimum design approach is summarized by several numerical examples with speedups and efficiencies of algorithms on message passing systems. It has been noticed that the efficiency of the algorithm for design optimization increases with the size of the structure.     

Advanced molecular diagnostic techniques for detection of food-borne pathogens: Current applications and future challenges

The elimination of disease-causing microbes from the food supply is a primary goal and this review deals with the overall techniques available for detection of food-borne pathogens. Now-a-days conventional methods are replaced by advanced methods like Biosensors, Nucleic Acid-based Tests (NAT), and different PCR-based techniques used in molecular biology to identify specific pathogens. Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus, Proteus vulgaris, Escherichia coli, Campylobacter, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella spp., Aspergillus spp., Fusarium spp., Penicillium spp., and pathogens are detected in contaminated food items that cause always diseases in human in any one or the other way. Identification of food-borne pathogens in a short period of time is still a challenge to the scientific field in general and food technology in particular. The low level of food contamination by major pathogens requires specific sensitive detection platforms and the present area of hot research looking forward to new nanomolecular techniques for nanomaterials, make them suitable for the development of assays with high sensitivity, response time, and portability. With the sound of these, we attempt to highlight a comprehensive overview about food-borne pathogen detection by rapid, sensitive, accurate, and cost affordable in situ analytical methods from conventional methods to recent molecular approaches for advanced food and microbiology research.     

Vegetable oil blends with α-linolenic acid rich Garden cress oil modulate lipid metabolism in experimental rats

Vegetable oil blends with modified fatty acid profile are being developed to improve n-6/n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFAs) ratio in edible oils. The objective of this study is to develop vegetable oil blends with α-linolenic acid (ALA) rich Garden cress oil (GCO) and assess their modulatory effect on lipid metabolism. Sunflower oil (SFO), Rice bran oil (RBO), Sesame oil (SESO) were blended with GCO at different ratios to obtain n-6/n-3 PUFA ratio of 2.3–2.6. Native and GCO blended oils were fed to Wistar rats at 10% level in the diet for 60 days. Serum and liver lipids showed significant decrease in Total cholesterol (TC), Triglyceride (TG), LDL-C levels in GCO and GCO blended oil fed rats compared to native oil fed rats. ALA, EPA, DHA contents were significantly increased while linoleic acid (LA), arachidonic acid (AA) levels decreased in different tissues of GCO and GCO blended oils fed rats. In conclusion, blending of vegetable oils with GCO increases ALA, decreases n-6 to n-3 PUFA ratio and beneficially modulates lipid profile.     

Aflatoxins and food pathogens: impact of biologically active aflatoxins and their control strategies

Globally disease outbreaks as a result of the consumption of contaminated food and feedstuffs are a regular primary problem. The foremost elements contributing to contamination are microorganisms, particularly fungi, which produce low‐molecular weight secondary metabolites, with demonstrated toxic properties that are referred to as mycotoxins. Aflatoxins contaminate agricultural commodities and may cause sickness or fatality in humans and animals. Moreover, poor conditions of storage and a deficiency in regulatory measures in food quality control aggravate the main issue. For that reason, mycotoxin‐related illness of nutrition represents a major health hazard for local populations. Government policies should make regulations aiming to avoid the entry of aflatoxins into food stuffs. For consumer safety, control and management strategies should be developed and implemented by regulatory authorities. There is the need for attention from farmers, scientists, government and collaborative minds throughout the country to ensure aflatoxin‐free food. The present review is informative not only for health‐conscious consumers, but also for relevant authorities with respect to paving the way for future research aiming to fill the existing gaps in our knowledge with regard to mycotoxins and food security. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry     

Compression Behaviour of Steel Tubular Members under Simulated Corrosion and Elevated Temperature

Studies have been carried out so as to gain an understanding of the behaviour of structural steel members exposed to different degrees of corrosion and high temperature in service. The progressive collapse and buckling characteristics of tubular members subjected to high temperature together with corrodants (localised corrosion) are presented in this paper. A microstructural analysis has been carried out so as to understand the change in mechanical and chemical properties that has been brought about in the material. The results reveal that the failure of the corroded members is attributed to localised axisymmetric imperfections imparted to the tubular members apart from loss of weight. The failure of members subjected to elevated temperature is attributed to the coarsening of the grain size.     

Parallel Computing Techniques for Sensitivity Analysis in Optimum Structural Design

Among different activities of the optimum structural design using the gradient-based optimization approaches, design sensitivity analysis is the most time-consuming computational process. By introducing parallel computing techniques for sensitivity computation, significant speedup has been obtained in optimum structural design. Computation of design sensitivities is characteristically uncoupled, thus opening the door to parallelization. In this paper, two types of approaches viz. single-level and multilevel parallelisms are pursued for design sensitivities. The design sensitivities are computed using analytical and finite-difference methods. Numerical studies show that the performance of the parallel algorithms for design sensitivities on message passing systems is very good. Good speedups have been achieved in parallel multilevel sensitivity calculation. The parallel algorithms for design sensitivity analysis have been implemented on message passing parallel systems within the software platform of Parallel Computer Adaptive Language.     

Crack Detection and Quantification in Beams Using Wavelets

Abstract:  A new method has been proposed to detect the location and also to quantify the crack using the deflection response of the damaged beams alone. The deflection is measured at a particular point for various locations of a concentrated load on the beam. This static deflection profile is used as the input signal for wavelet (Symlet) analysis. Due to variation in deflection at some points, compared to their adjacent points, peaks are seen in the wavelet coefficient (WC) plot. These peak points are identified as damage points along the length of the beam. The peaks can also be seen at sensor point and supports. These can be eliminated by performing wavelet analysis for the deflection profile measured at another point. In a real damaged structure, it is very difficult to measure deflection at several points, as a large amount of instrumentation needs to be installed to measure the response. This practical difficulty can be avoided by minimizing the number of measuring points in the field as explained in the present work. A parametric study has been carried out by varying the damage, location of damage, intensity of load, flexural rigidity, and length of the beam. It has been observed that the WCs change with variations in damage, location of damage, intensity of load, flexural rigidity, and length of the beam. A generalized curve has been proposed to quantify the damage in a fixed beam by taking envelop of all maximum WCs of the deflection response measured at damage points.