Models for Sorption Isotherms for Foods: A Review

This article presents basic concepts related to the thermodynamics of sorption of water and measurement of sorption isotherm for food materials. A comprehensive review of the widely used sorption models is presented. Various statistical techniques used to ascertain the effectiveness of a model to describe the sorption data are discussed. It is anticipated that this article will provide useful information to researchers pursuing work on sorption behavior of food materials as well as modeling of drying processes.     

An improved decision feedback equalization using a priori information

This paper addresses the exhaustive computational complexity of the maximum‐a‐posteriori equalizer and the inefficiency of the conventional decision feedback equalizer (DFE) algorithm in iterative equalization, especially when the higher‐level modulation is used with severely distorted Inter Symbol Interference channels. The new method proposed here improves the bit error rate (BER) performance by computing the extra metric r_n+1 using the feedback symbols from previous iteration and combining it with a priori information of the symbols. After each iteration, the hard‐detected symbols are saved in the memory as a priori data for next iteration. We verified the proposed algorithm for Binary Phase Shift Keying and 8‐phase shift keying modulation. The promising simulation results show that the BER performance given by the proposed low complexity DFE algorithm improved dramatically throughout the iterations when the conventional DFE has only insignificant improvement in the process of iterative equalization. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Assessment of impact of AICTE funding on R&;D and educational development

Summary An analysis of 330 questionnaires received from project investigators funded by AICTE indicates that project investigators preferred to present their research results at conferences rather than in national and international journals. Impact of funding has been better on human resource capability development as compared to research and technological output. Analysis of data using data envelopment analysis indicates that projects funded under electronics and communication engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and management displayed some consistency and uniformity with regard to impact on various output parameters.     

An 8-bit low power DAC with re-used distributed binary cells architecture for reconfigurable transmitters

In this work an 8-bit DAC is presented which uses a new segmented architecture, where distributed binary cells are re-used in thermometric manner to realize the MSB unit cells. The DAC has been fabricated in 0.18 μm five-metal CMOS n-well process to be embedded in multi-standard reconfigurable wireless transmitters for low-speed applications. The proposed architecture has an inherent ability to reduce midcode glitch like the unary architecture, and the simulated midcode glitch is only 0.01 pV s. Simulation results show that the proposed DAC performs with an integral nonlinearity (INL) of 0.33 LSB and a differential nonlinearity (DNL) of 0.14 LSB. The DAC can achieve a maximum measured SFDR of 65.19 dB for 97.50 kHz signal at a sampling rate of 100 MSPS, without using any calibration or dynamic element matching (DEM) technique. For 1.07 MHz signal the measured SFDR is 56.84 dB at 100 MSPS sampling rate. At 50 MSPS sampling frequency and 146 kHz signal the SFDR of the DAC is 65.90 dB. The measured SFDR at 538 kHz signal is 63.62 dB for a sampling rate of 50 MSPS. Measured third order intermodulation distortion of the DAC is 58.55 dB, for a dual tone test with 1.03 MHz and 1.51 MHz signals at 50 MSPS sampling rate. Low power is also an important aspect in portable wireless devices. For 10.06 MHz signal and 100 MSPS sampling frequency, the power dissipation of the DAC is 20.74 mW with 1.8 V supply.     

Determination of design space and optimization of solar water heating systems

In this paper, a methodology is proposed to determine the design space for synthesis, analysis, and optimization of solar water heating systems. The proposed methodology incorporates different design constraints to identify all possible designs or a design space on a collector area vs. storage volume diagram. The design space is represented by tracing constant solar fraction lines on a collector area vs. storage volume diagram. It has been observed that there exists a minimum as well as a maximum storage volume for a given solar fraction and collector area. Similarly existence of a minimum and a maximum collector area is also observed for a fixed solar fraction and storage volume. For multi-objective optimization, a Pareto optimal region is also identified. Based on the identified design space, the solar water heating system is optimized by minimizing annual life cycle cost. Due to uncertainty in solar insolation, system parameters and cost data, global optimization may not be utilized to represent a meaningful design. To overcome this, a region of possible design configurations is also identified in this paper.     

Composite polymeric microsponge-based long-acting gel formulation for topical delivery of mupirocin

Topical delivery of medicaments in a controlled manner is still a promising area of research. Drug-containing dammar gum-ethyl cellulose composite microsponge loaded gel formulation (D-MSPG) was developed for controlled topical delivery of mupirocin. The drug-loaded microsponges (D-MSPs) were formulated by the quasi-emulsion solvent diffusion method and were evaluated for morphology, particle size distribution, entrapment efficiency, thermal properties, and crystallinity. The optimized D-MSPs (entrapment efficiency 91.5 ± 4.0% and particle size of 55.15 ± 2.9 μm) were dispersed in carbopol 934 gel (D-MSPG). The final product was characterized for pH, viscosity, texture, spreadability, consistency, syneresis, in vitro drug release, and ex vivo skin penetration study. A comparative study with marketed formulation was performed. For optimized gel formulation (G4), drug content was 104.19 ± 1.68%, and drug release was 84.19% after 24 h. The pH of the optimized gel was observed to be 6.05 ± 0.04. Viscosity of the optimized gel formulation was found to be 1212.15 ± 434.85 mPa-s at 50 s⁻¹. The steady-state flux (J) in ex vivo skin permeation was observed to be 53.96 μg cm⁻² h⁻¹ and the permeability coefficient was 2.69 cm/h for the optimized gel formulation. According to the findings, the D-MSPG-based formulation strategy can act well to prolong the topical delivery of mupirocin or similar drug molecules.     

Synthesis of Nanocrystalline Alumina Using Egg White

A new simplified route to prepare nanocrystalline alumina powders is proposed. The method involved the use of freshly extracted egg white (ovalbumin) and aluminum nitrate in an aqueous medium. Changes in ionic strength upon addition of aluminum nitrate resulted in gelation of ovalbumin. The added metal ions were dispersed in the gelled ovalbumin matrix. Heat treatment of the gelled mass resulted in nanosized γ alumina at as low a temperature as 330°C. TEM analysis showed that the particle size ranged from 15 to 80 nm.     

Recognizing large isolated 3-D objects through next view planning using inner camera invariants.

Most model-based three-dimensional (3-D) object recognition systems use information from a single view of an object. However, a single view may not contain sufficient features to recognize it unambiguously. Further, two objects may have all views in common with respect to a given feature set, and may be distinguished only through a sequence of views. A further complication arises when in an image, we do not have a complete view of an object. This paper presents a new online scheme for the recognition and pose estimation of a large isolated 3-D object, which may not entirely fit in a camera's field of view. We consider an uncalibrated projective camera, and consider the case when the internal parameters of the camera may be varied either unintentionally, or on purpose. The scheme uses a probabilistic reasoning framework for recognition and next-view planning. We show results of successful recognition and pose estimation even in cases of a high degree of interpretation ambiguity associated with the initial view.     

Leukemia inhibitory factor ligand-receptor signaling is important for uterine receptivity and implantation in golden hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus)

Blastocyst implantation occurs in the progesterone-primed uterus of hamsters, but not in mice where the progesterone-primed uterus requires estrogen influence. Leukemia inhibitory factor (Lif), an estrogen-regulated gene in mice, is an absolutely needed cytokine for uterine receptivity and implantation in this species. This study aimed to evaluate the importance of Lif ligand-receptor signaling during uterine receptivity and implantation in hamsters. We investigated whether or not the uterine expression patterns of Lif and its receptors, Lif-r and gp130, during the periimplantation period of pregnancy and its hormonal regulation in the ovariectomized hamster correlate with some of the vital phases of uterine changes during early pregnancy. Uterine Lif, Lif-r, and gp130 mRNA expressions were examined by Northern and in situ hybridization. During the uterine preparatory phase for implantation, Lif, Lif-r, and gp130 were expressed either in the gland, luminal epithelium or both. As the implantation process began, Lif expression was minimal, but Lif-r and gp130 extended to the decidual areas. This decidual expression of Lif-r and gp130 was not dependent on the presence of the embryo since these genes were expressed in the suture-induced deciduomata. We also observed that, while the uterine Lif was induced by estrogen, Lif-r and gp130 were induced by progesterone in ovariectomized hamsters. Additionally, we show that a Lif antibody when instilled intraluminally on day 3 of pregnancy reduced the number of implantation sites. Taken together, these data suggest that Lif signaling is important for uterine receptivity and implantation in hamsters.