011917   Kamat A (Fd Qual Improv Sect Fd Technol Div, Bhabha Atom Res Cent, Mumbai-400 085, Email: anukamat@indiatimes.com) : Microbiological aspects of radiation processing of foods. J Fd Sci Technol 2005, 42(5), 371-83.

Food irradiation is an important application of nuclear energy for the benefit of mankind. Extensive scientific work conducted worldwide over the last four decades has revealed irradiation as one of the promising cost effective technologies that can be used in providing wholesome and microbiologically safe foods. The review covers a brief survey of the presence of pathogens in different foods, their association in worldwide incidences of outbreaks of foodborne diseases and radiation processing as a tool to solve this problem. The review mainly deals with information on radiation processing with reference to microbiological aspects such as measurement of the radiation sensitivity, factors involved in modifying the resistance of foodborne spoilers/pathogens and its further implication in selecting precise radiation treatment. The mechanism underlying the high radiation resistance in some vegetative bacteria and bacterial spores is discussed with reference to their potential importance in the development of radiation process for a specific food. Microbiological safety of irradiated food is discussed giving details of methodologies adopted to ensure the safety of irradiated food from hazardous pathogens, possibility of recovery of post-irradiation survivors during storage and the technological measures to be undertaken to control problems generally faced in contamination by spores. The potential scope of irradiation technology as a possible supplement to refrigeration and other post-harvest technologies aimed at minimising post-harvest losses in perishable foods is also explained. The gaps in uderstanding of this novel technology for food safety and security are highlighted.

^iia5 illus, 8 tables, 90 ref

011916   Kalkatawi S J;Abdel-Mogib M;Basaif S A (Dep of Biol Chem Fac of Sci, King Abdulaziz Univ, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia) : Essential oils from Mentha piperita grown at Taif in Saudi Arabia. Bull pure appl Sci-Sect B 2004, 23(2), 93-100.

Essential oil of cultivated Mnitha piperita from Taif in Saudi Arabia was analyzed by GC/MS. The analysis was performed on samples collected across five months starting from Febuary up to June. (GiC/MS analysis revealed that carvonc, germaceren D, α cadinol, and palmitic acid were major components of essential oil of Mentha piperita. They presented in all examined samples at levels of: (5.3%-29.4%), (0.6%-5.2%), (1.7%-6.8%), and (1%-12.2%) respectively. Samples collected at February, March. April, May were free from menthol, isomenthon, and pulegone. However, those taken at June were free from menthol, and isomenthone, but contained high level of pulgone (4.9%). Environmental conditions seem to affect the composition and level of essential oil of Mantha piperita. Caution from such plants containing high level of pulegone, should be taken, and further investigation is needed to study the control of toxic compounds production in the essential oil and the role of environmental conditions in such process.

2 tables, 26 ref

011915   Jeya Shakila R;Jeyasekaran G;vijaylakshmi S K (Dep of Fish Processing Technol, Fish Coll and Res Inst, Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Thoothukkudi-628 008, Email: ttn_jerosh99@sancharnet.in) : Effect of vacuum packaging on the quality characteristics of seer fish (Scomberomorus commersonii) chunks during refrigerated storage. J Fd Sci Technol 2005, 42(5), 438-43.

Seer fish (Scomberomorus commersonii) chunks held in vacuum and air packs were examined during storage at refrigerated temperature (5±1°C) for histamine, amine forming bacteria, sensory, moisture, pH, total volatile base-nitrogen (TVB-N), trimethyl amine-nitrogen (TMA-N) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS). The shelf-life of seer fish held in vacuum pack was 6 days, which was 2 days higher than the air pack. Moisture content reduced from 78 to about 45% due to drip loss. The pH remained low in vacuum pack and there was no change in the TBARS values in both the packs. The TMA-N and TVB-N values increased but did not exceed the prescribed maximum permissible limits. Vacuum packaging did not control histamine formation significantly but enhanced the shelf-life of fish.

011914   Hemalatha K;Visalakshi G (Dep of Fds and Nutr, Maharaja Coll for Women, Perundurai-638 052) : Development and storage stability of instant vada mix incorporated with full-fat soy flour. J Fd Sci Technol 2005, 42(4), 365-6.

Instant vada mixes can be prepared with varying proportions of full-fat soy flour incorporation. The organoleptic evaluation and storage stability of the instant vada mix were studied during storage at regular intervals upto 60 days. The vada prepared from the instant vada mix was crisp and maintained the score values for all the organoleptic attributes during the storage period in the order ofn^p'B63.75%S21.25%' and 'B42.5%S42.5%' samples of vada mixes. A decreasing trend in pH and an increasing trend of alcoholic acidity, moisture and microbial count with storage period were observed.

2 tables, 9 ref

011913   Gogia A K (NO, Def Metall Res Lab, Hyderabad-500 058) : High-temperature titanium alloys. Def Sci J 2005, 55(2), 149-73.

Paper presents an overview on the development of high-temperature titanium alloys used in aero engines and potential futuristic materials based on titanium aluminides and composites. The role of alloy chemistry, processing, and microstructure, in determining the mechanical properties of titanium alloys is discussed. While phase equilibria and microstructural stability consideration have restricted the use of conventional titanium alloys up to about 600°C, alloys based on Ti₃ Al (α₂,), Ti₂AlNb (O), TiAl (γ), and titanium/titanium aluminides-based composites offer a possibility of quantum jump in the temperature capability of titanium alloys.

^iia18 illus, 4 tables, 99 ref

011912   Gandh A P;Joshi K C;Jha K;Parihar V S; Srivastava D C;Raghunadh P;Kawalkar J;Jain S K;Tripathi R N (Soybean Processing and Utilization Cent, Cent Inst of Agric Engng, Bhopal-462 038) : Alternative solvents for the extraction of peanut oil. J Fd Sci Technol 2005, 42(4), 352-5.

Possibility of using some alternative solvents like n-propanol, isopropyl alcohol, ethanol and n-heptane instead of n-hexanle for the extraction of peanut oil was explored. Peanut oil was soluble in all these solvents and the solubility increased with the increasing temperature of extraction which varied with the nature of the solvents used. All these solvents were equally effective in extracting the oil from peanuts and took 8 h to get maximum oil extraction. Similar results were obtained with different azeotropes used. The crude oil and the refined oil from the azeotropic extractions revealed that the isopropyl alcohol and water extractions contained less phosphorus (11 ppm) and free fatty acids (0.7%) as compared to others. The desolventised meal from the same extractions contained low solvent residues and 42% protein.

5 tables, 7 ref

011911   Dinesh Kumar;Ezekiel R (NO, Cent Potato Res Inst Campus, Modipuram-250 110, Email: rezekiel@cpri.hp.nic.in) : Changes in sugar content and processing quality of potatoes during storage and reconditioning. J Fd Sci Technol 2005, 42(5), 401-4.

Potatoes of seven cultivars ('Kufri Chipsona-1', 'Kufri Chipsona-2', 'Kufri Jyoti', 'Kufri Lauvkar', 'Kufri Sherpa", 'Atlantic' and 'FL-1533') from late planted crop were stored at 10-12°C, with isopropyl-N-chlorophenyl carbamate (CIPC) treatment for 150 days and changes in sugar content, chip colour, phenols and dry matter during storage and reconditioning were studied. Reducing sugar accumulation was high and chip colour was unacceptable after storage. The average sucrose content did not show significant difference, but the phenol content increased during storage. Reconditioning of stored potatoes at 20±2°C for 1-2 weeks although resulted in decrease of reducing sugar and improvement in chip colour, but still the acceptable chip colour could not be obtained. Cultivars differed significantly in their response to storage duration and reconditioning. 'Kufri Lauvkar', which accumulated high reducing sugar during storage, responded well to reconditioning with the reducing sugar decreasing from 333 to 32 mg/100 g fresh wt after two weeks of reconditioning.

4 tables, 22 ref

011910   Dhingra D;Paul S (NO, Cent Inst of Post-harvest Engng and Technol, Ludhiana-141 004) : Optimisation of drying conditions of garlic slices. J Fd Sci Technol 2005, 42(4), 348-52.

Response surface methodology (RSM) was used to evaluate the effect of temperature (55-65°C), slice thickness (3-6 mm), air velocity (6-9 m/s) and concentration of sodium metabisulphite (0.1-0.3%) on the colour (CIE L* value), rehydration ratio (RR) and final moisture content, in a fluidised bed drying of garlic (Allium sativum L.) slices. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed that drying air temperature and slice thickness significantly (99% confidence level) affected L*, RR and final moisture content. Air velocity significantly (95% confidence level) affected RR while no effect was observed for concentration of sodium metabisulphite. An optimum drying temperature of 60°C for drying 3 mm garlic slices pre-treated with 0.1% sodium metabisulphite solution at an air velocity of 9 m/s was found most suitable.

2 illus, 5 tables, 11 ref

011909   Chawla P;Ghai S;Sandhu K S (Dep of Fd and Nutr and Dep of Fd Sci and Technol, Punjab Agric Univ, Ludhiana-141 004) : Nutritional and organoleptic characteristics of carrot pickle during storage. J Fd Sci Technol 2005, 42(4), 358-60.

Carrot pickle stored at room temperature for 4 months showed significant reduction in β-carotene and ascorbic acid contents. Storage did not affect the total sugars however, reducing sugar increased and the non-reducing sugar decreased significantly. Iron content of pickle decreased whereas, the sodium content increased during storage. The total solids content and pH were reduced and there was an increase in acidity.

4 tables, 11 ref

011908   Chauhan B S;Devendra Kumar (NO, Baba Saheb Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Coll of Agril. Engg. & Tech, Etawah-206 001) : Effect of spray dryer operating parameters on the quality of milk powder. New Agric 2004, 15(1,2), 107-11.

Experiment was conducted to study the effect of spray dryer operating parameters on the quality of milk powder with minimum energy consumption. The considered operational variables were inlet air temperature (180, 185, 190 & 195°C), feed concentration (44, 46 & 48% TS) and feed temperature (50, 60 & 70°C). The considered quality parameters were moisture content, solubility index and specific volume of whole milk powder. Regression equations were developed for all quality parameters. Equations explain the effect of different operating variables on the powder quality parameters. The optimum solution was obtained for better quality of powder and minimum energy consumption at inlet air temperature (190°C), Feed concentration (46% TS) and feed temperature (70°C). >

3 tables, 5 ref

011907   Bhuvaneswari G;Yenagi N B;Hanchinal R R (Dep of Fds and Nutr, Univ of Agric Sci, Dharwad-580 005) : Pasta making and extrusion qualities of dicoccum wheat varieties. J Fd Sci Technol 2005, 42(4), 314-18.

Vermicelli making and extrusion qualities of 8 'dicoccum' wheat varieties were compared with one each check varieties of durum and bread wheat. The mean cooking time (2.91 min) of vermicelli of 'dicoccum' wheat varieties was lower than durum wheat 'DWR-185' (3.20 min). The mean swelling power of 8.04 g/g of 'dicoccum' wheat vermicelli was higher than durum wheat vermicelli (7.47 g/g). Most of the 'dicoccum' wheat viz., 'DDK-1001', 'DDK-1009', 'NP-200', 'DDK-1013 vermicelli showed lower per cent solubility than durum wheat. Vermicelli prepared from most of the 'dicoccum' varieties were fair to good quality, less bulky and had more firmer strands like durum wheat vermicelli. The mean volume (1.30 ml/g) of the raw extrudates of 'dicoccum' wheat varieties was lower than durum wheat (1.80 ml/g) and higher than bread wheat (1.17 ml/g). Frying increased the volume of extrudates and the mean per cent increase in volume (63.79%) of the fried extrudates of 'dicoccum' wheats was higher than durum wheat (44.44%) and lower than bread wheat (65.78%).

3 tables, 11 ref

011906   Arslanoglu F N;Kar F;Arslan N (Dep of Chem Engng Fac of Engng, Firat Univ, 23279, Elazlg, Turkey) : Rheology of peach pulp as affected by temperature and added granular activated carbon. J Fd Sci Technol 2005, 42(4), 325-31.

Flow properties of peach pulp-granular activated carbon mixtures were determined over a range of temperatures (15-40°C), granular activated carbon concentrations (0.5-5 kg/m³) and rotational speed (5-60 rpm) by using a rotational viscometer. The flow properties of peach pulp-granular activated carbon mixtures were suitably described by power-law model and exhibited a pseudoplastic behaviour. The flow behaviour index and the consistency coefficient of peach pulp-granular activated carbon mixtures were in the ranges of 0.328-0.512 and 2.17-6.18 Pasⁿ, respectively. Both the consistency coefficient and the flow behaviour index decreased with temperature. The consistency coefficient increased with granular activated carbon concentration, while no harmonious variation observed at the flow behaviour index values with increase in concentration. The apparent viscosity decreased with increasing temperature and shear rate, implying that molasses with or without added activated carbon behaved as shear thinning. The mathematical models to predict the apparent viscosity of peach pulp-granular activated carbon mixtures as a function of activated carbon concentration, temperature and shear rate were developed. The suitability of the models relating the apparent viscosity was judged by using statistical parameters such as MPE, RMSE, EF and χ². The predicted results agreed reasonably well with experimental data.

6 illus, 4 tables, 35 ref

011905   Amoo I A (Chem Dep, Fedl Univ of Technol, PMB 704, Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria) : Proximate composition, minerals and physico-chemical properties of cahsew nut and oil. J Fd Sci Technol 2005, 42(5), 445-6.

Cashew kernel flour contains 42.77% oil, 20.90% protein, 2.79% ash, 7.99% moisture, 1.40% crude fibre, 24.11% carbohydrate and in (mg/100 g) 251.13 Na, 652.94 Ca, 452.03 Mg, 150.68 Fe, 251.13 K, 652.94 Zn and 502.26 P, but Cu, Mn and Co were not detected. The cashew kernel oil has specific gravity 0.90, refractive index 1.46, saponification value 243.19, unsaponifiable matter 0.99, acid value 1.66, iodine value 29.25, peroxide value 2.65 and free fatty acid 0.96 as % oleic.

^ssc2 tables, 11 ref

011904   Akubor P I (Dep of Fd Sci Technol, Fedl Polytechnic, P.M.B.-1037, Idah, Nigeria) : Functional properties of soybean-corn-carrot flour blends for cookie production. J Fd Sci Technol 2005, 42(4), 303-7.

Soybean flour (SF) and corn flour (CF) and their blends (SF/CF) at 30:20 (SF:CF) ratio were prepared. Carrot flour (CAF) was used to replace SF/CF blend at 5, 10, 15, 20, 30 and 50% levels. The proximate composition and functional properties of CAB, SF/CF and the various blends of soybean-corn-carrot (SF/CF/CAF) flours were determined. Cookies were prepared from the SF/CF/CAF blends and evaluated for their physical and sensory properties. The SF contained more crude fat, crude protein, ash and crude fiber but less carbohydrate than CF and CAB. CF had more fat and protein but less ash, carbohydrate and crude fiber than CAB. The fat and protein contents decreased while fiber, ash and carbohydrate increased with increase in the level of CAB in the blends. The water and oil absorption capacities of the SF/CF/CAF blends ranged from 124 to 295% and 126 to 176%, respectively. The foaming capacity decreased with increasing concentration of CAB in the blends. All the flour blends had high foam stability, values varied between 67 and 80%. Increase in the concentration of CAB decreased the emulsion activity and emulsion stability of the blends. The SF/CF/CAF flour blends had the least gelation concentration of 6% (w/v). The cookies prepared from the SF/CF/ CAB blends had similar width, thickness and weight. The cookies prepared at 5 and 10% CAB replacement levels of SF/CF showed no significant differences (p<62>0.05) in the sensory attributes evaluated. Such cookies were fairly acceptable. However, cookies containing high level of CAB had lower sensory scores for the quality attributes studied.

6 tables, 27 ref

011903   Ahmed J;Ramaswamy H S (Dep of Fd Sci and Agric Chem, MacDonald Campus of McGill Univ, 21111 Lakeshore, Ste. Anne de Bellevue Quebec, Canada H9X 3V9, Email: jahmed2k@yahoo.com) : Rheology of xanthan gum: effect of concentration, temperature and high-pressure. J Fd Sci Technol 2005, 42(4), 355-8.

Effects of concentration (0.25 and 1.25%), temperature (20 and 130°C) and high-hydrostatic pressure (100 to 400 MPa) on rheological characteristics of xanthan gum were studied using a controlled stress rheometer. Xanthan gum exhibited pseudoplasticity with yield stress and flow was adequately described by the Herschel-Bulkley model. It was observed that concentration significantly affected rheological parameters (p <60> 0.05) of xanthan gum dispersion while temperature exhibited the least effect (p <62> 0.05). An empirical equation was developed to describe the variation of yield stress with gum concentration. High-hydrostatic pressure increased yield and consistency index while a decrease in flow behaviour index represented by more pseudoplasticity of xanthan gum dispersions.

3 illus, 3 tables, 28 ref

010929   Yadav B S;Ritika;Rajender Singh (Cent of Fd Sci and Technol, Ch. Charan Singh Haryana Agric Univ, Hisar-125 004) : Preparation of malted milk powder with mango flavor. Indian Fd Packer 2005, 59(5), 61-3.

Coarsely ground malted barley was steeped in water in the ratio of 1:6 for 30 minutes to solublize its ensymes. Wheat flour was cooked with water in t ratio of 1:1.5 at 95°C in a water bath to gelatinize starch. Mash was prepared by blending malt and gelatinized flour which resulted in solublization of the cereal proteins and splitting of the starch. The mash was filtered and the wort of the liquid extract so obtained was neutralized for its acidity. Partially skimmed condensed milk and mango pulp were added to the filtered wort in specified amounts. The product was dried by hot air oven and vacuum oven drying methods to choose the better one. The product was analyzed for its approximate composition and shelf life.

3 tables, 7 ref

010928   Temur A;Askerov F B;Kadimova S O;Karadag H (Fac of Educ, Yuzuncu Yil Univ, 65080 Van, Turkey, Email: temurat@yahoo.com) : Dynamics of changes of monaminoxidase contents in some hypothalamic nuclei after different periods of food deprivation and restoration of food regime. Asian J Chem 2005, 17(4), 2430-6.

Monaminoxidase contents were determined by quantitative cytophotometric method in neuronal organization of lateral nucleus, ventromedial nucleus, paraventricular nucleus and supraoptic nucleus of hypothalamus after different periods of food deprivation and restoration of food regime. Monoaminergic system of laternal nucleus is probably necessary for keeping of informational and energetic potentials of the neuronal organizations of laternal nucleus and also for supporting of functional connections with all levels of food functional system. The neurotransmitter system of ventro-medical nucleus is necessary for gradual realization of energetic sources of the organism.

3 illus, 3 tables, 22 ref

010927   Premvalli K S;Madhura C V;Anil Kumar M (NO, Def Fd Res Lab, Mysore-570 011) : Studies on traditional Indian foods-IV development and storage stability of green leafy vegetables based instant mixes. Indian Fd Packer 2005, 59(4), 68-76.

Instant mixes based on methy leaves-tur dhal and chakota leaves green gram dhal have been developed. Storage stability in Polypropylene and Paper-AI foil-Polyethylene laminate pouches, stored at room temperature and 37°C have been studied. The colour in terms of chlorophyll and carotenoids gradually decreased reaching 50° after 12 months storage. In methi-dhal mix, chlorophyll `a' and `b' fractions were almost equal initially and `a' fraction exhibited better stability when compared to`b' fraction during storage. In chakota-dhal mix, initially chlorphyll `a' and `b' were 79 and 21% respectively and `b' fraction exhibited better stability during storage. The concentration of free fatty acids and thiobarbituric acid value slowly increased during storage, but did not exert any influence on the acceptability. The products after reconstitution had a good acceptability and statistical evaluation of the data revealed that dependency of sensory parameters viz. colour, aroma, taste, texture with overall acceptability scores was about 2-13% regarding methi-dhal mix and 20-47% in chakota-dhal mix. However, the association of the parameters is specific to the product. Both the instant mixes have a shelf life of 12 months at room temperature and 37°C.

7 tables, 14 ref

010926   Premavalli K S;Madhura C V;Anil Kumar M;Bawa A S (NO, Def Fd Res Lab, Siddartha Nagar, Mysore-570 011) : Quality evaluation of traditional products I Sambhar spice mixture. Indian Fd Packer 2005, 59(5), 64-9.

Sambhar Spice Mixture, a traditional product, now being produced on large scale and marketed, has been analysed for its quality. Ten brands of Sambhar powder and ten unbranded samples from different souces were evaluated for ingredient composition, costs and physico-chemical parameters. The branded samples had volatiles from 0.26 to 1.03% while, in unbranded, it ranged from 0.521 to 0.578%, and starch was higher in branded samples (3.2 to 8.6%) whereas in unbranded samples it was from 1.5 to 4.7%. Non volatile ether extract was much abvove the specified limits of 7.5%. Processing quality checking parameter viz., ash and acid insoluble ash also varied much in branded samples. Salt to be declared if preent above 5% and most of the samples had within the limits. The statistical alanalysis for linearity of regression revealed that volatiles which is the major contributor of flavour in spices are independent and not dependent on starch and thus increased value of starch in branded samples does not exert influence on flavour quality.

6 tables, 10 ref

010925   Mini S;Swati P;Frankand D;Seshadri S (Fds and Nutr Dep Fac of Hom Sci, Maharaja Sayajirao Univ of Baroda, Vadodara) : Consumers and manufacturers' perceptions about nutrition labeling in India-proposed labels for Indian pickles. Indian Fd Packer 2005, 59(4), 58-63.

3 tables, 12 ref

010924   Manogaran S;Sulochana N (Chem Engng Dep, Anjalai Ammal Mahalingam Engng Coll, Kovilvenni-614 403, Email: dr_imanojin@rediffmail.com) : Phytochemical investigation and hypoglycaemic activity of Tribulus terrestris. Asian J Chem 2005, 17(4), 2727-30.

Flowers of Tribulus terrestris were analyzed phytochemically and the compound was isolated from extract. The compound was characterized be chemical and spectral methods and found to by quercetin 3-o-rhamnoside.

1 table, 13 ref

010923   Mandhar S C;Carolin Rathinakumari A;Senthil Kumaran G (NO, Indian Inst of Horticultural Res, Hessarghatta Lake Post, Bangalore-560 089) : Innovative machinery for garlic peeling. Indian Fd Packer 2005, 59(5), 76-81.

Presently garlic is peeled manually in the pickle industry. This is a tedious and time consuming operation. It normally takes 300-350 woman-hours to peel 100 kg of garlic. This process is also unhygienic. To overcome these limitations a hand operated garlic bulb breaker, and garlic peeler were designed and developed. Garlic bulb breaker consists of two rubber rollers of 175 mm diameter rotating in opposite direction. The garlic bulbs were fed in between the rubber rollers rotating at 20 rpm. The rollers compress the bulbs and the cloves, centre stem, root portion and wrappers are separated due to compression. The capacity of garlic bulb breaker is 50 kg per hour. The cloves / garlic peeler consists of a rubber roller of 175 mm diameter and a concave (fabricated out of G / wire mesh of opening 1.7 mm and thickness of wire 0.45 mm). The concave had 120° angle and minimum clearance was 5 mm. Cloves were conditioned at 60°C for 45 minutes in tray drier and peeled. The peeling efficiency is 79.56° and the capacity of the peeler is 11.66 kg per hour. The shelf life of peeled cloves packaged in 100 micron thick LDPE bags with 2% ventilation was 6 days at room temperature and 26 days at 0°C. The machine-peeled garlic can be used for pickle, paste and powder making as a freshly peeled garlic in kitchen.

3 illus, 5 tables, 12 ref

010922   Gomez S;Khurdiya D S (Post Harvest Technol Div, IARI, New Delhi-110 112) : Quality changes in Aonla pulp under different storage conditions. Indian Fd Packer 2005, 59(4), 54-8.

Aonla pulp prepared from fresh fruits had higher levels of nutrients and better qualilty as compared to that from stored fruits. Cool store was the most effective storage condition to minimise nutrient loss and maintain quality as compared to cool chamber and ambient storage.

7 tables, 12 ref

010921   Geetha P;Thirumaran A S;Eswaran S (NO, PHTC AEC&RI Tamil Nadu Agric Univ, Coimbatore) : High moisture shelf stable fruit slices by hurdle techniques. Indian Fd Packer 2005, 59(4), 64-7.

High moisture shelf stable fruit slices were prepared from guava (Psidium guajava L.) and piheapple (Ananas cocomus Merr.). The fruits slices were blanched at 90° sugar solution (68° brix) with 0.3° citric acid and 250 ppm potassium meta bisulphite and soaked for two hours in the same cooled sugar solution (50°C), drained and packed in polypropylene pouch (300 gauge, 10x12 cm) and pasteurized. Finally packed in paper (42 gsm)-foil (0.12 mm)-polyethylene (150 guage) laminate pouch as secondary packaging and stored. During storage moisture, acidity and vitamin C contents were decreased, whereas Total Soluble Solids (TSS), pH, non-enzymatic browning increased and sulfur dioxide retention stabilised. The preserved guava and pineapple segments retaiend their quality for 30 and 60 days respectively at ambient temperature.

1 illus, 1 table, 6 ref

010920   Belmeskine H;Kaemmerer M;Audhuy M;Khalaf H (Chem Enineering Dep, Univ of Bilida, BP270-09000 Blida, Algeria, Email: khalafh@hotmail.com) : Cadmium removal from phosphates of Djebel-ONK by thermal treatments. Asian J Chem 2005, 17(4), 2105-17.

Calcination of Algerian phosphate by microwave radiation has been studied. Results show that the dielectric constants, ξ' and ξ", of these phosphates over the frequency range from 2.4 GHz to 3.65 GHz, were in order of 3.6 and 0.36, respectively, which could be considered as admissible values for applying microwave radiation on phosphate rock calcinations. Applying the microwave radiation on phosphate calcinations at laboratory scale allowed to reduce the comcentration of cadmium down to 12 mg/kg and increase the P₂O₅ content up to 36.82%.

9 illus, 4 tables, 11 ref

010919   Badhe V T;Powar A G (Agric Engng Dep, Dr Balasaheb Sawant Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth, Dapoli, Ratnagiri-415 712) : Development and evaluation of kokum slicer. Indian Fd Packer 2005, 59(5), 70-5.

4 illus, 2 tables, 5 ref

009871   Senapati P K;Panda P K;Misra B C;Verma K K; Rout B;Parida A (NO, Regional Res Laboratory, Bhubaneswar-751 013, Email: pksenapati@rrlbhu.res.in) : Post-harvest technologies for processing of non-traditional pulses in tribal districts of Orissa. J rur Technol 2003, 1(1), 37-41.

In Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Bihar more than 25 species of non-traditional or local pulses are grown by most of the tribal and marginal cultivators. Out of the 25 species, five major species namely Kandulo (Atylosia cajanifolia), Bailo (Phaseolus lunatus), Katting (Phaseolus calcaritus), Simbo (Dolichos lablab), and Jhudungo (Vignaungnicula) are cultivated in the western and southern districts of Orissa. Out of the total production of such pulses only 20 percent of the crop is presently being cultivated due to lack of knowledge of standard agro practices. In the above context, RRL, Bhubaneswar has developed a number of techniques and equipment for processing of non-traditional pulses. A number of low cost equipment such as solar and biomass fired dryers of different capacities, improved storage bins, and improved de-husking machines for processing of dal have been discussed. Besides, various agro-techniques such as standardisation of pre-milling treatments, microbial infestation for safe storage of the non-traditional pulses etc have been discussed. The cost of drying has been worked out to be around 12-16 paise per kg of dried pulses. The fabrication cost of the dryers has been worked out to be Rs 2,500-15,000 for capacity ranging from 100-1000 kg. Trials were made with different bio-products like Neem, Begunia and Citronetla leaves for safe storage. It was observed that the Begum'a leaves could be effectively utilised for anti-fungal treatment and Citronella leaves for anti-bacterial treatment for checking the microbial infestation rate during storage. Out of various techniques employed for pre-milling treatments, water treatment seems to be most cost effective where the broken percentage is minimum during milling of the non-traditional pulses.

2 illus, 5 tables, 6 ref

009870   Rati E R;Vijayendra S V N;Varadaraj M C; Nirmaladevi S;Agrawal R;Nand K;Prasad M S (Dept. Fd MIcrobiology, Cent Fd Technological Res Inst, Mysore-570 013, Email: micro@cscfrti.ren.nic.in) : Fermentation technologies for smaller communities. J rur Technol 2003, 1(1), 28-32.

Fermented foods are of great significance because they provide and preserve foods in a wide variety of flavours, aroma and texture. In India, the use of fermentation process for the benefit of human health has been in progress from ancient times. A wide variety of fermented foods have been developed over a period of lime from ingredients like, vegetables, cereals, pulses, meat and milk. Fermentation is known to improve nutrition, palatability and digestibility. It suppresses food borne pathogens. Most popular cereal/pulses based traditional fermented foods in India are idli and dosa. Biological enrichment of these foods with vitamins, essential amino acids and breakdown of flatulence factors during traditional fermentation are well established. Processes such as shelf life extension of idli batter in retail pouches and biopreservation of vegetables by lactic fermentation have been developed and standardized at CFTRI. Traditional fermented products such as idli and dosa require 10-12 h for fermentation. Besides, the shelf life of the fermented batter is short and the batter needs to be used up the same day (if it is not refrigerated). A process has been developed to facilitate in situ fermentation of idli and dosa batter in poly packs for instant use. The batter is prepared under good manufacturing conditions and hygiene. The final product has consistent quality with desirable sensory attributes. The instant idli and dosa batter in poly packs has a shelf life of 3-5 days at ambient temperature (30±2°C) and for 10 days under refrigerated conditions. The technical know how is available for commercial exploitation. The lactic acid fermentation of vegetables imparts desirable attributes to the product and also enhances the keeping quality through the action of antibacterial principles produced by lactic acid bacteria. Lactic fermentation renders food resistant to microbial spoilage. Bacteriocinogenic strains of lactic acid bacieria are used to bio-preserve vegetables such as beans, carrots, baby corn, drum sticks, bitter gourd, onion, cauliflower etc. Bio-preserved vegetables have a shelf life of 3-6 months at ambient temperature. These vegetables can be used to prepare traditional dishes like sambar, avial, salads and curry.

2 illus, 5 tables, 10 ref

009869   Rai S;Sethi V;Jayachandran K S (Div of Post-Harvest Technol, Indian Agric Res Inst, New Delhi-110 012) : Stage studies in guava cheese. Ann agric biol Res 2005, 10(1), 97-100.

Guava cheese was packed in three different packaging materials and subjected to four months storage at low and ambient temperature. The storage stability was evaluated by analyzing periodically for changes in the nutritional and microbiological characteristics. There was increase in the TSS, total and reducing sugars, acidity and non-enzymatic browning with storage period, while ascorbic acid decreased. Microbial counts increased.

4 tables, 5 ref

009868   Rai S;Sethi V;Jayachandran K S (Div of Post-Harvest Technol, Indian Agric Res Inst, Pusa, New Delhi-110 012) : Equilibrium relative humidity (ERH) studies of guava cheese. Ann agric biol Res 2005, 10(1), 93-5.

Measurement of water activity is essential to determine the optimum storage conditions of any product. ERH studies of guava cheese revealed that optimum RH for storage was 68.3%. The critical moisture content of the product was 23.5% having 79.6% RH and beyond this point the quality of the product deteriorated as the product became soft, darker and mould growth began.

1 illus, 2 tables, 3 ref

009867   Priyanka Kumari;Singh U (Dep of Foods and Nutri, Rajendra Agric Univ, Pusa, Samastipur-848 125) : Nutritional composition and acceptability testing of ladoo developed for pregnant women. J Dairying Fd Home Sci 2005, 24(1), 28-30.

Food product, developed from maize of high quality protein due to having balanced amino acid composition commonly known as Quality Protein Maize in combination with ragi, greengram, gingelly seeds, amaranthus and jaggery was analysed for nutritional composition and tested for common acceptability. The percentage of moisture, ash, fat, crude fibre, crude protein, carbohydrate, sugar and starch was 6.9, 3.8, 6.4, 2.05, 16.2, 17.05, 2.4 and 45.5 respectively. Iron and calcium content was 13.23 mg/100 g and 418.03 mg/100 g, respectively. Acceptability score of food product was evaluated by 30 pregnant women by using 9 point hedonic scale. The score for different parameters such as colour, flavour, texture, taste and general acceptability were recorded. Score for all parameter was above 6 which indicated the acceptance of the product.

2 tables, 6 ref

009866   Kadu A B;Phirke P S;Khojare A S;Wasnik P G; Waseem M (Dep of Dairy Engng, Coll of Dairy Technol (M. A. F. S. U.), Warud- 445 204) : Studies on drying behaviour of some selected fruit vegetables. J Dairying Fd Home Sci 2005, 24(1), 1-5.

Drying behaviour of potato, cauliflower, brinjal, okra and karela in tray dryer has been investigated. The drying rates were observed to be at higher magnitude during initial drying period and then slowed down in case of potato and brinjal slices. Cauliflower, okra and karela showed only increasing drying rate till the drying period existed. The approximate drying period at 78 ± 2°C temperature, drying air was estimated till the product contains about 10% moisture level.

5 illus, 1 table, 6 ref

009865   Jaggi M P;Sharma R;Vali S A (Post Grad Teaching Dep of Home Sci, Nagpur Univ, Nagpur-440 010) : Transpiration rate of spinach (Spinacea olercea) and fenugreek (Trigonella foneum-graceum) stored in flexible consumer packages. J Dairying Fd Home Sci 2005, 24(1), 24-7.

Investigation was conducted to study the transpiration rate of spinach and fenugreek stored in flexible consumer packages. Results of the study indicate that, the transpiration rate is low at lower temperature and higher at ambient temperature. Vegetable stored with root showed higher transpiration rate than without root. Sample stored in perforated packets showed higher rate of transpiration than non-perforated packets. However, the type of packaging material and its thickness did not indicate any significant difference in the rate of transpiration of spinach and fenugreek.

3 tables, 2 ref

009864   Daigavane P B;Lembhe A F;Kolhe R P (Dep of Dairy Sci, Coll of Vet and Anim Sci, Prabhani-431 402) : Replacement of chhana with khoa in rasogolla preparation. Royal vet J India 2005, 1(2), 95-7.

Rasogolla which is a most popular sweetmeat in India, its acceptable quality greatly depends upon quality of chhana. The investigation was carried out to study effect of partial replacement of chhana with khoa in different proportion viz, 10, 20, 30, 40 per cent on the chemical quality of rasogolla. Rasogolla was prepared as per the standard methods. Incorporation of khoa in to chhana increased the moisture, fat, protein, ash and lactose contents, whereas, significantly decreased the per cent of total solids and sucrose in all treatments. Statistical analysis by Completely Randomised Design revealed acceptable quality of rasogolla with increased mellowiness could be prepared by adding khoa to the extent of 20% in to chhana.

2 tables, 10 ref

009863   Bhattacharya L;Arora M (Dep of Foods and Nutri, G.B. Pant Univ of Agric and Technol, Pantnagar-263 145) : Nutritional composition of winged bean, Psophocarpus tetragonolobus (L) Deandole. J Dairying Fd Home Sci 2005, 24(1), 11-15.

Eighteen varieties of Winged bean, Psophocarpus tetragonolobus (L) DeCandole seeds were evaluated for proximate composition. The range of proximate principles of these test varieties were as follows : moisture, 8.5 to 10.1 percent; ash, 3.4 to 4.8 percent; fibre, 10.8 to 12.9 percent; protein, 33.4 to 39.7 percent; fat, 16.5 to 20.6 percent; carbohydrates, 25.1 to 33.1 percent and energy value, 417.5 to 440.7 Kcal on dry weight basis. It was possible to group these varieties into eight clusters, based on nutritional characteristic of seeds, by using Mahalanobis D² statistics and canonical variate analysis. It was also observed that protein and fat contributed maximum in creating diversity among these varieties.

3 tables, 25 ref

009862   Ahire J N;Chavan A P;Kalhapure S P;Walukhar R B (NO, Mahatrna Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth, Rahuri-413 722) : Effect of different levels of gulkand on chemical composition and organoleptic quality of icecream. Indian J Envir Ecoplann 2005, 10(1), 90-2.

Experiment were conducted to evaluate defect of different levels of Gulkand on chemical composition and organoleptic quality of ice cream revealed that the different levels of Gulkand had significant effect on total solids and solids not fat content in ice cream sample. The differences in flavour scores for various levels of Gulkand were significant (P<60> 0.05)

3 tables, 4 ref

008687   Yad Ram;Gupta A K;Chakrabarti S (Cent Glass Ceram Res Inst, Khurja Centre, Khurja-203 131) : Environment friendly gas fired kiln for making glass beads. J rur Technol 2005, 1(6), 261-5.

Most of the people use glass beads, gems for decoration of self-faces to be attractive, decoration of home, statue, figures etc. to make them attractive to the others and for great satisfaction in the living standard. In northern India, Purdilpur in Hathras district in the state of U.P. is famous for making glass beads/gems in large quantity. The traditional artisans melt different coloured glasses in traditional mud made wood fired kilns (Kachchi Bhatti). Fine particles of ash and emitted smoke from the kiln are deposited on the products which impaired the quality of the products. Emission of smoke and other gases also pollute the surrounding atmosphere effecting the health and efficiency of the artisans. Due to low working temperature <126>(850°C) bubbles and seeds defects are frequently seen in the products as a result 20-25% goods are rejected by the buyers. Due to reducing atmosphere in the kiln certain colours could not be achieved. Initial pick up time for working temperature is very higher side as a result lot of fuel goes waste due to poot thermal efficiency of the kiln. Due to big size of the kiln 10-12 workers are required at a lime to start the work. If one worker is absent, the wood fired furnace is not operated due to increase in the cost of production. In view to the above problems CGCR1 has developed environment friendly and thermally efficient gas fired portable kilns for making glass beads. The developed kilns have faster pick up to achieve working temperature. The kilns are environment friendly and very handy in transportation. The developed kilns are thermally efficient and can be operated with only two artisans. 22 Nos. kilns of two pots capacity were supplied and are being used by the artisans of Purdilpur. Moradabad and Firozabad (U.P. ) for making glass beads as well as joint-less glass bangles. The feed back survey showed that the kilns are technically feasible and economically viable.

3 illus

008686   Vidya P;Padwal Desai S R;Ussuf K K (Fd Technol Div Nuclear Agric Biotechnol Div, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai-400 085) : Decolourization of azo dyes by the white rot fungus Phanerochaete chrysosporium. Indian J Envir Toxicol 2004, 14(2), 59-64.

Decolourization of azo dyes by white rot fungus, Phanerochaete chrysosporium, has been reported. During the incubation period, the dye has been found to be bound to the mycelial matt of the ligninolytic, nonligninolytic and dead cultures, but extensive decolourization has been observed only in ligninolytic cultures. The rate of decolourization has been two-times faster when cultures are grown on a natural medium using bagasse as sole source of nutrient than even the ligninolytic cultures. The azo dye decolourization has been mediated by both pre-grown mycelia as well as spores with equal efficiency.

5 illus, 19 ref

008685   Senthil Kumaran G;Pandey M (NO, Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Hessaraghatta Lake P.O., Bangalore- 460089, Email: senthil@iihr.kar.nic.in) : Mechanization of Indian mushroom industry through indigenous machinery. J rur Technol 2005, 1(6), 276-80.

Availability of spawn to the industries is also one of the problems as the spawn production is also not mechanized to meet the requirement of the mushroom growers. The indegenous machinery for spawn production and mushroom cultivation is the need of the day. This medium level mechanization should be achieved by affordable, economical, simple machinery which could be adopted by all the mushroom growers in India. If this becomes successful, the rural mushroom cultivation can also be mechanized by further downsizing the medium size machinery. This will increase the total production of mushrooms to meet requirement of local market as well as export market. The machinery useful for spawn production are spawn substrate preparing machine, filling machine and spawn inoculation machine. The culitvation machinery viz., Substrate mixing machine, compost turner, substrate filling and spawning machine and casing machine are essential. Deals with the possible way of mechanization and conceptual design of these indigenous machinery.

9 illus, 8 ref

008684   Sathish Kumar;Latha Sabikhi M H;Thompkinson D K;Singh A K (Dairy Technol Div, National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal) : Determination of stabilizer levels for a whey-based fermented beverage. Indian J Dairy Sci 2005, 58(2), 139-40.

Study was conducted to determine stabilizer levels for applying the Central Composite Random Design (CCRD) of Response Surface Methodology (RSM) in the preparation of a whey-based fermented beverage. The efficacy of three stabilizers (pectin, CMC and PGA) in stabilizing a whey-milk-base for fermented beverage was assessed using a spectrophotometer. Microbial fermentation was simulated by acidification with GDL. The suspension stability of the acidified whey-milk system was measured by determining the optical density. Combinations of two stabilizers viz. pectin and CMC in the range of 0.7 to 0.9 and 0.7 to 0.2 per cent, respectively, were most effective.

^ssc1 illus, 3 ref

008683   Pramanik K (Dep Chem Engng, National Institute of Technology, Warangal-506 004) : Use of artificial neural networks for prediction of cell mass and ethanol concentration in batch fermentation using Saccharomyces cereviside yeast. J Instn Engrs-Pt CH 2004, 85(September), 31-5.

Application of neural network (ANN) for the prediction of fermentation variables in batch fermenter for the production of ethanol from grape waste using Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast has been discussed. Artificial neural network model, based on feed forward a rchitecture and back prepagation as training algorithm, is applied in this study. The Levenberg-Marquardt optimization technique has been used to upgrade the network by minimizing the sum square error (SSE). The performance of the network for predicting cell mass and ethanol concentration is found to be very effective. The best prediction is obtained using a neural network with two hidden layers consisting of 15 and 16 neurons, respectively.

8 illus, 3 tables, 11 ref

008682   Patel H G;Upadhyay K G;Prajapati J P (Dep Dairy Technol, Sheth M. C. College of Dairy Science, Anand Agricultural University, Anand-388110, Email: hgpatel31@yahoo.co.in) : Influence of methods of milk concentration on physico-chemical and sensory properties of basundi. Indian J Dairy Sci 2005, 58(2), 85-9.

Three methods of milk concentration viz. Open pan, Vacuum and a combination of Reverse Osmosis (RO) and Open Pan concentration were used for Basundi manufacture. The homogenized and unhomogenized products were evaluated for their proximate composition, physico-chemical properties and sensory attributes. Except for the significant decrease in lactose content in RO concentrated product and significantly, higher ash content observed in vacuum concentrated product, no other major compositional changes were affected by the methods of concentration. Also homogenization of Basundi as such did not have a marked influence on the final product, except for fat content. Majority of the physico-chemical properties of Basundi were not markedly affected by the method of concentration and homogenization, except for acidity and HMF. Organoleptically superior quality Basundi with reduced tendency to browning and characteristic pleasant cooked and nutty flavour with optimum sweetness was obtained by the combination of Open Pan concentration followed by homogenization and hence recommended for Basundi manufacture.

5 tables, 18 ref

008681   Narayanan C M (Dep Chem Engng, National Institute of Technology, Durgapur-713 209) : Recovery of titanium from coal ash using immobilised liquid membranes. J Instn Engrs-Pt CH 2004, 85(September), 24-30.

Feasibility of economic extraction of titanium from coal ash using immobilized liquid membrane permeation technology has been studied in the paper. Coal ash is first freed of iron and then leached with dilute sulphuric acid when titanium goes into solution. This solution is contacted with a hollow fibre membrane (made of polypropylene) on which the carrier/ extractant has been immobilized. Two types of carriers have been experimented with, such as, oxine (2 methyl 8, hydroxy quinoline) and organophosphorous carrier (dihexyl N, N diethyl carbamoyl methyl phosphonate). Sulphuric acid of 2 M has been used as the receiving phase. The facilitated transport of titanium across the membrane has been found to be quite selective and satisfactorily large. Within the range of experiments conducted, co-transport of ions of other metals has been observed to be negligibly small. The process has also been simulated mathematically. The simulation results, though based on a few simplifying assumptions, agree reasonably well with experimental data.

11 illus, 1 table, 6 ref

008680   Mondal P;Majumdar C B (Dep Chem Engng, GIET, Gurupur-765 667) : Sedimentation of haematite water slurries. J Instn Engrs-Pt CH 2004, 85(September), 20-3.

Rate data of sedimentation process is very important for designing equipment used in chemical and metallurgical practises for separating suspended solid particles from liquid or gas stream. As sedimentation process is a rate governed process, the general expression of this process (overall sedimentation) is - dH/dθ = K_o(H - H_e)ⁿ. It has been reported that the overall sedimentation rate constant varies with particle size of the solid particles in hte slurry and with tbe slurry consistency. In the study, an attempt has been made to find value of n in the generalized relationship dH/dθ = K_o(H - H_e)ⁿ by studying the sedimentation of haematite powder (true density 4.0 gm/cc) of various particle size in water in the laboratory. For more satisfactory result in engineering practice, value of n has been suggested as 0.1 instead of 1.0. Dependence of K_o on particle size and slurry consistency has also been reported in the study.

3 illus, 1 table, 3 ref

008679   Mondal P;Majumdar C B (Dep Chem Engng, GIET, Gunupur 765 022) : Relationship among the rate constants in sedimentation of haematite slurry in water. J Instn Engrs-Pt CH 2004, 85(September), 17-19.

Rate data of sedimentation processes are important for designing equipment used in chemical and metallurgical practices for separating suspended soil particles from liquid or gas stream. The overall sedimentation is performed by two consecutive steps, namely, constant rate sedimentation and falling rate sedimentation. Therefore, for sedimentation process, one gets two individual rate constants, that is, constant period rate constant K_c and falling period rate constant K_f and one overall sedimentation K_o. As sedimentation is a rate governed process, the entire concept can be considered to be analogous with the overall and individual transfer coefficients in heat or mass transfer operations. Considering the importance of such coefficients, an attempt has been made in the study to correlate among three rate constants K_c, K_f and K_o by analysing the sedimentation of haematite powder (true density 4.0 gm/cc) of various particle size in water in the laboratory. The relationship among these rate constants has been reported as <157>K₀<157> = 0.449<157>(K_c + K_f)<157>.

1 illus, 2 ref

008678   Mangalika U L P;Arora S;Sharma G S;Sharma V (Dairy Chem Div, National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal-132001) : Lipolysis of coconut cream filled gouda cheese during ripening. Indian J Dairy Sci 2005, 58(2), 90-5.

Filled Gouda cheese was manufactured from cow skim milk and coconut cream. The extent and characteristics of lipolysis were monitored during 4 months of ripening in terms of Total Free Fatty Acids (TFFA), Total Volatile Fatty Acids (TVFA), fatty acid profile, total carbonyls and peroxide value. Filled cheese had significantly higher values for TFFA and TVFA content as compared to control cheese at all stages of ripening. TFFA and TVFA content showed an increasing trend for both the cheeses throughout the ripening, the changes were faster in filled cheese. The trend for TVFA was same as for TFFA, thereby showing that development of TVFA and breakdown of fat was slower in control than in filled cheese. Peroxides did not develop during ripening in both the cheeses. Control cheese had higher values for total carbonyls as compared to filled cheese at all stages of ripening. Total carbonyl content showed an increasing trend for both the cheeses throughout the ripening, the changes were much faster in control cheese. The contents of short chain fatty acids, medium chain fatty acids and long chain fatty acids significantly increased and unsaturated fatty acids decreased during ripening in both the cheeses. Further, there was significant difference in short, medium, long and unsaturated fatty adds between two cheeses. It was concluded that incorporation of coconut fat markedly affected the lipolysis in cheese.

3 tables, 27 ref

008677   Maiti J (Dep Industrial Engng Mgmt, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur-721 302) : Risk assessment and safety evaluation of mining system. J Instn Engrs-Pt MN 2004, 85(February), 33-41.

Highlights the basic procedures of risk assessment techniques and their limitations. A case study has been earned out and the risks of various groups in terms of job title, causes of accident, and body parts injured are estimated using traditional qualitative risk matrix. A risk hierarchisation scheme is developed for mining systems. A risk function for the job title categories of the mine is also developed incorporating the age and experience of the injured workers. The case study results show that the risks of miner/loader and leg injuries an unacceptable and loading of coal and slip and fall mainly caused them. The study clearly reveals that the traditional risk assessment scheme is very useful in avoiding major mining risks. The residual risks may be reduced further with the help of statistical risk modelling which enables the assessors to understand the causal effects of risk factors on work injuries. The risk hierarchisation scheme and the risk function, as developed, are required to be used for more number of mines for generability. However, the risk function needs to be re-evaluated incorporating maximum number of risk factors for more number of mines.

9 illus, 8 tables, 9 ref

008676   Kumar A;Roy G K (Dep Civ Engng, National Institute of Technology, Rourkela-769 008) : Artificial Neural Network-based Prediction of Bed Expansion Ratio in Gas-solid Fluidized Beds with Disk and Blade Promoters. J Instn Engrs-Pt CH 2004, 85(September), 12-16.

Artificial Neural Network (ANN) models have been developed to predict bed expansion in gas-solid fluidized bed promoted with blade and disk promoters. To model the above, two systems (eight variables problem in case of bed with disk promoter and six variables problem in case of bed with blade promoters) have been undertaken. For the training of the input-output.data, the experimental values of bed expansion ratio collected under different varying conditions of the system parameters have been used. The system variables include seven numbers of disk promoters of varying disk thickness and dia and one blade promoter in addition to five numbers of distributors of varying orifice sizes, four type of bed materials, five sizes of bed material and four initial static bed heights. The values of bed expansion ratio predicted with the help of developed ANN models for respective beds have been found to be closer to the corresponding experimental ones and those obtained using developed correlations on dimensional analysis approach

7 illus, 4 tables, 6 ref

008675   Ghosh S;Guha A;Mukhopahdyay A K;Maiti H S (NO, Central Glass and Ceramic Research Institute, Kolkata-700 032, Email: anoopmukherjee@cgcri.res.in) : Tape cast porous nano alumina multilayer composites. Trans Indian Ceramic Soc 2005, 64(2), 101-8.

Alumina tapes are extensively utilized as useful components for device applications and fabrication of multilayer composites for structural applications. The tapes are mostly fabricated from a stable dispersion of micron size alumina powder in a non-aqueous medium for industrial purpose. Here author has reported the novel development of a tailored tape cast light weight, porous nano alumina multilayer composite, suitable for structural applications. A 150 nm particle size alumina powder with 99.97% purity was used. For tape casting, oxidized Menhaden fish oil (MFO) was used as dispersant and an azeotropic mixture of methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) and ethanol (EtOH) as solvent. The viscosity value of the nano alumina solvent dispersant slurry system was found out to be the minimum at about ' 8 wt% dispersant concentration. Sintered porous nano alumina tapes with 55% relative density were prepared at 1400øC in air from the suitably optimized tape casting slurry composition obtained from the aforesaid optimization experiments. Using similar green tapes and sintering temperature, tailored porous nano alumina/nano alumina tape cast multilayer composites (MLC) with 63-70% relative densities were fabricated. These novel, porous nano alumina/nano alumina multilayer composite (NA/NA MLC) materials exhibit high failure energy (74 KJ.m³) that is about 20 times that of porous nano alumina tape (3.5 KJ.m^-3).

4 illus, 21 ref

008674   Dwivedi S K;Narboo S;Kareem A;Ahmed Z (Fld Res Lab (DRDO), , Leh, Ladakh, Email: sanjaifrldrdo@redifffmail.com ) : Designing and development of low cost solar polyhouse drier. J rur Technol 2005, 1(6), 281-3.

Field Research Laboratory (DRDO), Leh has designed and developed a low cost non-conventional, zero energy based solar polyhouse drier for scientific and hygienic dehydration of surplus fruits and vegetables like apricot, apple, cauliflower, cabbage, tomato, etc. when there is a glut in the market and to facilitate its availability during the snow bound winters. The drier works on the principle of greenhouse effect where it traps the solar radiation and maintains the temperature inside between 55-69°C. Provision has also been made for removal of hot and moist air from the chamber. It reduces drying period by 40-50% as compared to sun drying. The drier is cost effective and can be constructed from locally available material without much technical support. Multilocation trials have been successfully conducted at the farmers' field and the design has been recommended by Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, Leh for distribution to the locals under the subsidy scheme.

8 illus, 1 table, 4 ref