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The present study investigates the moisture dependence of the physical, mechanical and aerodynamic properties of Simarouba seeds within the moisture range of 9.24‐22.46% d.b. The length, width and thickness significantly increased from 19.43 to 22.71 mm, 11.52 to 13.88 mm and 9.79 to 11.34 mm respectively. Our findings showed significant effect of moisture content on the one thousand unit mass, bulk density, true density, and porosity which varied in the range of 1050.41g and 1204.7g, 638.88 to 503.88 kg∙m−3, 999.57 to 970.26 kg∙m−3 and 36.08% to 48.06%. Moisture content was found to have positive effect on the angle of repose terminal velocity and static coefficient of friction for all surfaces studied. A decreasing trend in rupture force and increasing trend in deformation with moisture content was also observed. The understanding of these properties as per the present study would be useful for designing post‐harvest processing equipment and storage of Simarouba seeds. Practical applications: Simarouba glauca, D.C. is an evergreen potential tree born oilseed tree with high scope for biodiesel and edible oil production. The oilseed is presently underutilized due to lack of availability of suitable processing equipment. The findings of the study provide a comprehensive design database related to engineering properties of Simarouba seeds. The predictive models developed in this study can be used to assess the seed properties at any given moisture content range. The enrichment of database would serve as a guide for agricultural engineers, and food processors in the design and development of relevant post‐harvest handling, and processing equipment for Simarouba seeds. This may further lead to promotion of Simarouba processing as a promising enterprise in rural India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A volatile alkaloid quinoline-4-carbonitrile (QCN) was isolated from the floral extract of Quisqualis indica. Major compounds were trans-linalool oxide (1.0, 4.5%), methyl benzoate (1.0, 4.0%), 2,2,6-trimethyl-6-vinyl-tetrahydropyran-3-one (7.4, 17.8%), 2,2,6-trimethyl-6-vinyl-tetrahydropyran-3-ol (1.0, 1.2%), (E,E)-α-farnesene (29.1, 16.1%), QCN (5.7, 1.3%) in live and picked flowers, respectively. Flower compositions were altered due to change in enzymatic reaction at the time of picking. Some rearrangements of oxygenated terpenoids occurred in the process of hydrodistillation to obtain essential oil. Chemical synthesis of QCN and its selectively reduced products derived from QCN were prepared through green reaction process. The catalytic modification of QCN has produced quinoline-4-methylamine; the later compound has shown enhanced bio-activities. QCN and floral extract (absolute) have shown potential anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities. Besides, floral absolute has shown significant anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities due to improved QCN (19.7%) content to synergize amongst terpenoids and benzenoids as compared to the essential oil with 1.1% of QCN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Obesity is globally acknowledged as a major public health concern and future threat which is associated with its co-morbidities in particular diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, osteoarthritis, stroke and inflammatory diseases. It was suggested that a high-fat diet promotes the development of obesity and that there is a direct relationship between the amount of dietary fat and the degree of obesity. Fats and oils, particularly higher molecular weight and saturated fats, lead to a positive fat balance, and consequent adipose mass accumulation; therefore, for good health, the type of fats/oils people eat is far more important that the amount, and there is some evidence that the same may be true for weight control. Advancements in food processing sector and modernisation of the societies lead to changes in lifestyle which attracts the consumers to modify their diet accordingly. Therefore, there is great scope of designer foods that could help in prevention or management of obesity. Lipid components, including medium chain triglycerides (MCTs), diacylglycerides (DAGs), conjugated linoleic acids (CLAs) and omega-3 fatty acids (ω-3 FAs) are extensively studied for their anti-obesity effects. The same may give a way in the area of research on weight management by incorporating them in the regular diet or in food formulation as functional components because of their beneficial effects on energy intake and expenditure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seabuckthorn is a highly perishable fruit found in trans-Himalayan region and North-Eastern part of India. It has enormous nutritional and medicinal properties. Physical attributes of fruits play an important role in the design of machines to meet various harvest and post harvest operations. In the present study properties like dimensions, true density, bulk density, sphericity, porosity and angle of repose were measured and correlated with the mass of the fruit. In addition linear, polynomial, quadratic, logarithmic and exponential models were used for mass and surface area. The length, diameter, thousand berry weight, geometric mean diameter, arithmetic mean diameter, surface area, aspect ratio, angle of repose, sphericity, porosity, true density, bulk density, moisture content were found in the range of 6.5-7.5, 4.74-6.28, 362.67-910.14, 5.49-6.99, 6.17- 6.24, 76.87-154.76, 72.81-83.73, 3.59-6.82, 65.84-90.47, 17.05-60.07, 647.19- 1399.24, 453.81-725.88, 84.53-87.34 respectively.Polynomial model was suited to be best for mass with length and diameter. Polynomial model between surface area and geometric mean diameter gave highest R2 of 0.981. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wheat is an essential component of the human diet for most of the world. In India wheat is an important staple food crop and it is used for the preparation of a diversity of products like roti, parantha (semi fried), puri (fried), bread, pasta, noodles, buiscuits etc. It has been reported that ~60-70% of wheat produced is stored at home or farm levels for domestic consumption. In order to understand the rural grain storage system, an extensive field study was carried out in villages of Haryana state (India). The field study revealed that ~95% of families store their grains in metallic silos of different sizes (300 to 2000 kg) and only Aluminium phosphide tablets (locally called sulfas) are used to protect grains from storage pests. Aluminium phosphide (AlP) tablets are used in an unscientific manner to control insect pest infestation, resulting in residues in stored grain. An experimental study of 12 months was carried out to identify the problems associated with pest management in conventional metallic silos. The storage period was divided into two parts, i.e., summer and winter, of 180 days each. Ambient temperature and relative humidity (RH) were recorded continuously for the entire period and temperature inside the silos was also recorded at different locations. The emergence of 'hot spots' was found during May-June when the temperature ranged from 37.6 to 42.7°C inside the silo during the summer season. During this period ambient temperature and RH ranged from 22.6-44.2°C and 37-82%. At this stage, convection current caused moisture migration at the top and bottom of the silo, whereas in the winter season moisture migration inside the silo was observed only at the top layer. Wheat samples from the topmost layer, in the vicinity of the "hotspot" and from the bottom layers were collected and analyzed for various quality parameters. The wheat samples near the "hot-spot" emergence were found most deteriorated in every aspect, for instance, in terms of protein content (decreased by 21.77%), fat content (decreased by 64.05%), germination capacity (decreased by 84.06%), thousand kernel weight (decreased by 22.09%), ash content (decreased by 41.96%), acidity (increased from 3.07-6.23 mm/gm) and insect-damaged kernels (increased by 80%). The results confirmed that even in a very small silo of 100 kg capacity if grains are stored without any fumigation treatment, there exists the potential for moisture migration because of temperature fluctuation causing hot-spot formation, leading to grain quality deterioration. Keeping in view the above aspects, an integrated engineering design of a double wall metallic silo with the special provision of a vertical perforated metallic tube in the centre was designed and fabricated. Tri-layer materials were tested for their thermal properties for fulfilling the needs of thermal insulation in the double wall silo. Wheat straw was found to be the best material in terms of thermal conductivity with a value of 0.040 W/mK. The special provision consisted of a removable string fitted with plates for keeping AlP tablets. To understand the function of the perforated tube in the centre of the silo for preserving stored wheat quality, 100 Kg of wheat (HD2733) was filled in this silo and after 12 months storage, wheat samples (at different depths inside the silo) were collected with the help of grain probes and mixed properly for quality parameter determination. Seed germination was determined before and after storage. It was found that germination decreased from 96% to 84%. Moisture content increased during storage from 9.8 to 12.7%. The initial kernel damage observed was 2- 3% whereas after storage it was in the range of 13-15%. The initial lipid content recorded was 2.08% whereas after storage it was 1.4%. Also, the protein content decreased by 9.01%. Other parameters also showed quality degradation with time. The results were compared with the control (conventional) silo and it was found that the newly designed silo was better in terms of preventing insect infestation and quality deterioration. Also, the newly designed silo had a special provision for keeping AlP tablets suspended in the perforated tube to better control insects. Future vision The gap in technology transfer in India is increasing the chemical load on stored grain which can be minimized by incorporating small changes in the existing design of silos. To avoid the unnecessary repetitive use of AlP tablets, scientific knowledge should be developed and adopted, for example, on suitable wrapping/packaging material for AlP release at a slow rate over longer periods for effective control of insect pests in stored grains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The heterogeneous nature of e-waste, which is a rich source of metals, polymers, glass fibres and ceramics, is troublesome. Multi-step processes are employed to effectively treat e-waste with minimum environmental impact. In this research, a subcritical to supercritical methanol environment was investigated to pre-treat e-waste, recovering non-metallic fractions and eventually concentrate metals from e-waste. Experiments were conducted in the temperature range of 150 °C to 300 °C at an autogenous pressure with initial atmospheric pressure. The mechanism of depolymerization was investigated by varying reaction time from 30 min to 240 min; solid to liquid ratio of 1:10 to 1:30 g/ml in a batch reactor under N 2 environment. Comparative analysis of liquid products obtained after Supercritical Methanol (SCM) treatment for both Waste Random Access Memory (WRAM) and Waste Printed Circuit Board (WPCB) was done with pyrolyzed oil/liquid product. This research briefly illustrates oil and solid product compositional changes with operating temperature, pressure, and solid/liquid ratio range. The metal concentrations of copper, nickel, silver, zinc, and gold are greater than 90% after SCM treatment. For comparison, the feed material was pyrolyzed under the same condition, the difference in oil and solid products are assessed. In the end section, the environmental and economic benefits of SCM were also discussed compared to other supercritical and conventional technologies. An efficient and greener approach of supercritical solvent is proposed via this research for e-waste recycling., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Abundance of plastic waste has become threat to the mankind and aquatic life and thus needs to be recycled or converted into value added products. Liquefaction of waste plastics via catalytic cracking is one the efficient routes towards plastic waste management. Concerning this, in present study, conversion of polymer mixture containing polypropylene, low-density polyethylene and high-density polyethylene (PP, LDPE and HDPE) was done for the production of gasoline and diesel range hydrocarbons using two-step cracking approach. MWW and MFI (12 and 10 member ring structures respectively) type zeolites having different pore structure and acidity were used for catalytic cracking of polymer feed at 350 °C. Investigations revealed that MWW type zeolite having two independent pore channels selectively provides gasoline range of hydrocarbons (C 7 -C 12 , 99.12%) in polymer cracking reaction as compared to MFI type which results in C 13 -C 20 range of hydrocarbons (73.19%). Hydrocarbon compositions were confirmed from GC-MS, 1 H, 13 C NMR and FT-IR techniques. In activity results it was observed that acidity of zeolites affects the liquid yield and hydrocarbon distribution as analysed by using zeolites of two different SiO 2 /Al 2 O 3 (SAR) ratio (30 and 55) which directs that zeolite (MFI/MWW) with lower SAR (30) having higher acidity results in higher yield of fuel range liquid hydrocarbons as compared to higher SAR (55) zeolite. Characterization studies such as XRD, N 2 -physisorption, NH 3 -TPD, FE-SEM and EDX were performed to check the physiochemical properties of zeolite and correlated with the activity. Overall, the present investigation provides detailed comparative study on plastic degradation using MFI and MWW type zeolites resulting into different range of liquid hydrocarbons., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Bamboo shoot fermentation is a traditional process carried out in different communities of the North-Eastern region. To understand the mechanism involved in the traditional process, its scientific validation was done in laboratory. The shoots were fermented for a period of 30 days with the addition of inoculum. Initial investigation showed that the acidity increased and cyanogenic toxicity decreased. The final fermented bamboo shoot product was further analyzed for the proximate composition, minerals and antioxidant capacity. An increase in the protein content (+17.28%) was found in the fermented sample while fat and vitamin C were found to decrease i.e. 90.2% and 35.77% respectively. A significant increase in the phenol, flavonoid content and antioxidant capacity was also found to increase indicating their potential to protect human health. Bamboo shoot serves a great means to food security and a source of functional food. Commercializing fermented shoot products will preserve traditional knowledge and provide livelihood and achieve development goals., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2021 Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Plastic waste is a serious menace to the world due to its fastest growth rate of ~ 5% per annum and requires efficient technologies for its safe disposal. Plastic liquefaction producing liquid hydrocarbons is an effective way to dispose waste plastics in an eco-friendly manner. In present study, high quality liquid fuel is produced from waste plastics via two-step bottom-up cracking approach. A comparative analysis of liquid products obtained in thermal and catalytic cracking performed at relatively lower temperature (350 °C) with minimal catalyst to plastic feed ratio (1:30) has been studied. Catalytic cracking via two-step bottom-up route provides higher fraction of fuel range hydrocarbons in comparison to the thermal cracking. Catalytic cracking is performed using two different catalysts; HZSM-5 and 5%Fe/HZSM-5 in which later results in higher liquid yield (76 wt%) than former (60 wt%) having comparable fuel characteristics. GC-MS results confirm that liquid product obtained via catalytic cracking contains higher fraction of fuel range hydrocarbons (C 6 -C 20 ); 66.39% for 5%Fe/HZSM-5 and 47.33% for HZSM-5 which is comparatively higher than that obtained in thermal cracking (27.39%). FT-IR, 1 H and 13 C NMR spectroscopic studies confirm that liquid hydrocarbons obtained via catalytic cracking have comparable chemical characteristics with fuel range hydrocarbons. Physiochemical properties of catalysts are studied using XRD, XPS, BET, FE-SEM, HR-TEM, NH 3 -TPD and H 2 -TPR techniques and correlated with activity results. Analysis of commercial diesel fuel is also incorporated to compare the fuel characteristics of liquid products., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

In this study, the potential of heat desiccated milk powder (HDMP) in a composite dairy matrix with semi skimmed milk powder (SSMP) was assessed for hot melt extrusion-based 3D printing. The rheological characteristics of formulations at three stages i.e., pre-printing, printing, and post-printing were investigated. The shear thinning with rapid shear recovery and thermoresponsive behavior of the formulations were analyzed to mimic the prevailing conditions of pre-processing, processing, and post-processing of formulations to understand the temperature induced variations in their rheological characteristics during each stage. The rheological properties were correlated with printability through assessment of the consistency of straight lines (1D), average area of lattice scaffolds (2D), and dimensional stability of the 3D printed constructs. Results demonstrated that an increase in the level of incorporation of SSMP and a decrease in the proportion of HDMP increased the shear thinning behavior, viscosity (ɳ), yield stress (τ 0 ), storage modulus (G') and a decline in the shear recoverability of the formulations. The thermoresponsive behavior of the formulations was established with gelation temperature ranging from 28.1 to 29.4˚C. The formulation SSMP (35): HDMP (25) resulted in sagging of the printed constructs, whereas the formulation SSMP (55): HDMP (5.0) exhibited the highest dimensional stability and shape retention post printing, owing to its maximum τ 0 (1211.8 Pa) and G' (7026.4 Pa). The results obtained could provide insight into improving the performance of an HME based 3D printing in the dairy and food industries., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Chitosan nanocapsules, containing lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) oil (LGO), have been developed in gel form in which acrylate (Ac) was incorporated as a thickener and fabric binder. The gel was impregnated on fabric to achieve long-lasting and wash-durable mosquito repellency. The interaction between cotton fibers and gel was investigated by FTIR and XRD. Wash durability of gel was compared with chitosan nanocapsules without acrylate (LGO-encap) using SEM and GC-MS. The SEM analyses revealed that acrylate containing nanocapsules retains on fabric after a series of washing. The GC-MS results indicated that the relative amount of deducible oil components from fabric was found to be higher after the series of washing in acrylate containing nanocapsules (LGO-encap-Ac), which further points to the improved wash durability and retention of capsules on fabric. The bio-efficacy results of post-fifteen washing turned out was 75% of repellency against mosquitoes with the use of acrylate; while in nanocapsules without acrylate, only 51% of repellency was achieved. Furthermore, the 36 days repeated application of nanogel on Swiss albino mice did not show any signs of dermal toxicity. The formulation is, thus, suitable to impregnate dress of the military personals and individuals who have to perform field duty and where risk of mosquito bites is probably more., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)