Search results for: Devanshu Gupta
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 24

Search results for: Devanshu Gupta

24 ECO ROADS: A Solution to the Vehicular Pollution on Roads

Authors: Harshit Garg, Shakshi Gupta

Abstract:

One of the major problems in today’s world is the growing pollution. The cause for all environmental problems is the increasing pollution rate. Looking upon the statistics, one can find out that most of the pollution is caused by the vehicular pollution which is more than 70 % of the total pollution, effecting the environment as well as human health proportionally. One is aware of the fact that vehicles run on roads so why not having the roads which could adsorb that pollution, not only once but a number of times. Every problem has a solution which can be solved by the state of art of technology, that is one can use the innovative ideas and thoughts to make technology as a solution to the problem of vehicular pollution on roads. Solving the problem up to a certain limit/ percentage can be formulated into a new term called ECO ROADS.

Keywords: environment, pollution, roads, sustainibility

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23 Steady State Analysis of Distribution System with Wind Generation Uncertainity

Authors: Zakir Husain, Neem Sagar, Neeraj Gupta

Abstract:

Due to the increased penetration of renewable energy resources in the distribution system, the system is no longer passive in nature. In this paper, a steady state analysis of the distribution system has been done with the inclusion of wind generation. The modeling of wind turbine generator system and wind generator has been made to obtain the average active and the reactive power injection into the system. The study has been conducted on a IEEE-33 bus system with two wind generators. The present research work is useful not only to utilities but also to customers.

Keywords: distributed generation, distribution network, radial network, wind turbine generating system

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22 Strength & Density of an Autoclaved Aerated Concrete Using Various Air Entraining Agent

Authors: Shashank Gupta, Shiva Garg

Abstract:

The purpose of the present paper is to study the changes in the strength characteristics of autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) and also the density when different expansion agents are used. The expansion agent so used releases air in the concrete thereby making it lighter by reducing its density. It also increases the workability of the concrete. The various air entraining agents used for this study are hydrogen peroxide, oleic acid, and olive oil. The addition of these agents causes the concrete to rise like cake but it reduces the strength of concrete due to the formation of air voids. The amount of agents chosen for concrete production are 0.5%, 1%, 1.5% by weight of cement.

Keywords: AAC, olive oil, hydrogen peroxide, oleic acid, steam curing

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21 Optimization of Wear during Dry Sliding Wear of AISI 1042 Steel Using Response Surface Methodology

Authors: Sukant Mehra, Parth Gupta, Varun Arora, Sarvoday Singh, Amit Kohli

Abstract:

The study was emphasised on dry sliding wear behavior of AISI 1042 steel. Dry sliding wear tests were performed using pin-on-disk apparatus under normal loads of 5, 7.5 and 10 kgf and at speeds 600, 750 and 900 rpm. Response surface methodology (RSM) was utilized for finding optimal values of process parameter and experiment was based on rotatable, central composite design (CCD). It was found that the wear followed linear pattern with the load and rpm. The obtained optimal process parameters have been predicted and verified by confirmation experiments.

Keywords: central composite design (CCD), optimization, response surface methodology (RSM), wear

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20 Occurrence of High Nocturnal Surface Ozone at a Tropical Urban Area

Authors: S. Dey, P. Sibanda, S. Gupta, A. Chakraborty

Abstract:

The occurrence of high nocturnal surface ozone over a tropical urban area (23̊ 32′16.99″ N and 87̊ 17′ 38.95″ E) is analyzed in this paper. Five incidences of nocturnal ozone maxima are recorded during the observational span of two years (June, 2013 to May, 2015). The maximum and minimum values of the surface ozone during these five occasions are 337.630 μg/m3 and 13.034 μg/m3 respectively. HYSPLIT backward trajectory analyses and wind rose diagrams support the horizontal transport of ozone from distant polluted places. Planetary boundary layer characteristics, concentration of precursor (NO2) and meteorology are found to play important role in the horizontal and vertical transport of surface ozone during nighttime.

Keywords: nocturnal ozone, planetary boundary layer, horizontal transport, meteorology, urban area

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19 New Restoration Reagent for Development of Erased Serial Number on Copper Metal Surface

Authors: Lav Kesharwani, Nalini Shankar, A. K. Gupta

Abstract:

A serial number is a unique code assigned for identification of a single unit. Serial number are present on many objects. In an attempt to hide the identity of the numbered item, the numbers are often obliterated or removed by mechanical methods. The present work was carried out with an objective to develop less toxic, less time consuming, more result oriented chemical etching reagent for restoration of serial number on the copper metal plate. Around nine different reagents were prepared using different combination of reagent along with standard reagent and it was applied over 50 erased samples of copper metal and compared it with the standard reagent for restoration of erased marks. After experiment, it was found that the prepared Etching reagent no. 3 (10 g FeCl3 + 20 ml glacial acetic acid + 100 ml distilled H2O) showed the best result for restoration of erased serial number on the copper metal plate .The reagent was also less toxic and less time consuming as compared to standard reagent (19 g FeCl3 + 6 ml cans. HCl + 100 ml distilled H2O).

Keywords: serial number restoration, copper plate, obliteration, chemical method

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18 Correlation between Diabetic Cataract, HBA1C and Gurakhu, a Clinical Study in Chhattisgarh State

Authors: A. Bhattacharya, Sanjay Gupta, S. H. Bodakhe

Abstract:

HbA1c is form of the haemoglobin that is used to measure the average plasma glucose concentration over prolonged periods of time. It is formed in a non-enzymatic glycation pathway by hemoglobin's exposure to plasma glucose. In diabetes mellitus, higher amounts of glycated hemoglobin, indicating poorer control of blood glucose levels, have been associated with cardiovascular disease, nephropathy, and retinopathy. Guraku’s basic components are nicotine and jaggery, jaggery is made up of sugarcane so can have a diabetogenic potential which is exacerbated in presence of nicotine. This work had done with the aim to find correlation between Diabetic cataract, HbA1c and Guraku. Subjects were enrolled according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. In this study total 75 subjects were included. In the study it was found that people consuming Guraku had a high level of HbA1c thus are more prone to the development of diabetic cataract. Male subjects are the more than female subjects. Most of the subjects belong to the lower socioeconomical class and not very educated. It could be concluded that this type of study could be useful in indentifying number of subjects suffering from diabetic cataract whose condition get worse by use of nicotine product like Guraku and preventive measure to be taken in prevention of this type of diabetic complication.

Keywords: diabetic cataract, HbA1c, Guraku, diabetogenic potential

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17 Biogenic Synthesis of ZnO Nanoparticles Using Annona muricata Plant Leaf Extract and Its Anti-Cancer Efficacy

Authors: Siva Chander Chabattula, Piyush Kumar Gupta, Debashis Chakraborty, Rama Shanker Verma

Abstract:

Green nanoparticles have gotten a lot of attention because of their potential applications in tissue regeneration, bioimaging, wound healing, and cancer therapy. The physical and chemical methods to synthesize metal oxide nanoparticles have an environmental impact, necessitating the development of an environmentally friendly green strategy for nanoparticle synthesis. In this study, we used Annona muricata plant leaf extract to synthesize Zinc Oxide nanoparticles (Am-ZnO NPs), which were evaluated using UV/Visible spectroscopy, FTIR spectroscopy, X-Ray Diffraction, DLS, and Zeta potential. Nanoparticles had an optical absorbance of 355 nm and a net negative surface charge of ~ - 2.59 mV. Transmission Electron Microscope characterizes the Shape and size of the nanoparticles. The obtained Am-ZnO NPs are biocompatible and hemocompatible in nature. These nanoparticles caused an anti-cancer therapeutic effect in MIA PaCa2 and MOLT4 cancer cells by inducing oxidative stress, and a change in mitochondrial membrane potential leads to programmed cell death. Further, we observed a reduction in the size of lung cancer spheroids (act as tumor micro-environment) with doxorubicin as a positive control.

Keywords: Biomaterials, nanoparticle, anticancer activity, ZnO nanoparticles

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16 Impact of Yogic Exercise on Cardiovascular Function on Selected College Students of High Altitude

Authors: Benu Gupta

Abstract:

The purpose of the study was to assess the impact of yogic exercise on cardiovascular exercises on selected college students of high altitude. The research was conducted on college students of high altitude in Shimla for their cardiovascular function [Blood Pressure (BP), VO2 Max (TLC) and Pulse Rate (PR)] in respect to yogic exercise. Total 139 students were randomly selected from Himachal University colleges in Shimla. The study was conducted in three phases. The subjects were identified in the first phase of research program then further in next phase they were physiologically tested, and yogic exercise battery was operated in different time frame. The entire subjects were treated with three months yogic exercise. The entire lot of students were again evaluated physiologically [(Cardiovascular measurement: Blood Pressure (BP), VO2 Max (TLC) and Pulse Rate (PR)] with standard equipments. The statistical analyses of the variance (PR, BP (SBP & DBP) and TLC) were done. The result reveals that there was a significant difference in TLC; whereas there was no significant difference in PR. For BP statistical analysis suggests no significant difference were formed. Result showed that the BP of the participants were more inclined towards normal standard BP i.e. 120-80 mmHg.

Keywords: cardiovascular function, college students, high altitude, yogic exercise

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15 Investigation of Dry Ice Mixed Novel Hybrid Lubri-Coolant in Sustainable Machining of Ti-6AL-4V Alloy: A Comparison of Experimental and Modelling

Authors: Muhammad Jamil, Ning He, Aqib Mashood Khan, Munish Kumar Gupta

Abstract:

Ti-6Al-4V has numerous applications in the medical, automobile, and aerospace industries due to corrosion resistivity, structural stability, and chemical inertness to most fluids at room temperature. These peculiar characteristics are beneficial for their application and present formidable challenges during machining. Machining of Ti-6Al-4V produces an elevated cutting temperature above 1000oC at dry conditions. This accelerates tool wear and reduces product quality. Therefore, there is always a need to employ sustainable/effective coolant/lubricant when machining such alloy. In this study, Finite Element Modeling (FEM) and experimental analysis when cutting Ti-6Al-4V under a distinctly developed dry ice mixed hybrid lubri-coolant are presented. This study aims to model the milling process of Ti-6Al-4V under a proposed novel hybrid lubri-coolant using different cutting speeds and feed per tooth DEFORM® software package was used to conduct the FEM and the numerical model was experimentally validated. A comparison of experimental and simulation results showed a maximum error of no more than 6% for all experimental conditions. In a nutshell, it can be said that the proposed model is effective in predicting the machining temperature precisely.

Keywords: friction coefficient, heat transfer, finite element modeling (FEM), milling Ti-6Al-4V

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14 Mechanical Properties of Graphene Nano-Platelets Coated Carbon-Fiber Composites

Authors: Alok Srivastava, Vidit Gupta, Aparna Singh, Chandra Sekher Yerramalli

Abstract:

Carbon-fiber epoxy composites show extremely high modulus and strength in the uniaxial direction. However, they are prone to fail under low load in transverse direction due to the weak nature of the interface between the carbon-fiber and epoxy. In the current study, we have coated graphene nano-platelets (GNPs) on the carbon-fibers in an attempt to strengthen the interface/interphase between the fiber and the matrix. Vacuum Assisted Resin Transfer Moulding (VARTM) has been used to make the laminates of eight cross-woven fabrics. Tensile, flexural and fracture toughness tests have been performed on pristine carbon-fiber composite (P-CF), GNP coated carbon-fiber composite (GNP-CF) and functionalized-GNP coated carbon-fiber composite (F-GNP-CF). The tensile strength and flexural strength values are pretty similar for P-CF and GNP-CF. The micro-structural examination of the GNP coated carbon-fibers, as well as the fracture surfaces, have been carried out using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The micrographs reveal the deposition of GNPs onto the carbon fibers in transverse and longitudinal direction. Fracture surfaces show the debonding and pull outs of the carbon fibers in P-CF and GNP-CF samples.

Keywords: carbon fiber, graphene nanoplatelets, strength, VARTM, Vacuum Assisted Resin Transfer Moulding

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13 Aerodynamic Study of an Open Window Moving Bus with Passengers

Authors: Pawan Kumar Pant, Bhanu Gupta, S. R. Kale, S. V. Veeravalli

Abstract:

In many countries, buses are the principal means of transport, of which a majority are naturally ventilated with open windows. The design of this ventilation has little scientific basis and to address this problem a study has been undertaken involving both experiments and numerical simulations. The flow pattern inside and around of an open window bus with passengers has been investigated in detail. A full scale three-dimensional numerical simulation has been used for a) a bus with closed windows and b) with open windows. In either simulation, the bus had 58 seated passengers. The bus dimensions used were 2500 mm wide × 2500 mm high (exterior) × 10500 mm long and its speed was set at 40 km/h. In both cases, the flow separates at the top front edge forming a vortex and reattaches close to the mid-length. This attached flow separates once more as it leaves the bus. However, the strength and shape of the vortices at the top front and wake region is different for both cases. The streamline pattern around the bus is also different for the two cases. For the bus with open windows, the dominant airflow inside the bus is from the rear to the front of the bus and air velocity at the face level of the passengers was found to be 1/10th of the free stream velocity. These findings are in good agreement with flow visualization experiments performed in a water channel at 10 m/s, and with smoke/tuft visualizations in a wind tunnel with a free-stream velocity of approximately 40 km/h on a 1:25 scaled Perspex model.

Keywords: air flow, moving bus, open windows, vortex, wind tunnel

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12 Influence of Power Flow Controller on Energy Transaction Charges in Restructured Power System

Authors: Manisha Dubey, Gaurav Gupta, Anoop Arya

Abstract:

The demand for power supply increases day by day in developing countries like India henceforth demand of reactive power support in the form of ancillary services provider also has been increased. The multi-line and multi-type Flexible alternating current transmission system (FACTS) controllers are playing a vital role to regulate power flow through the transmission line. Unified power flow controller and interline power flow controller can be utilized to control reactive power flow through the transmission line. In a restructured power system, the demand of such controller is being popular due to their inherent capability. The transmission pricing by using reactive power cost allocation through modified matrix methodology has been proposed. The FACTS technologies have quite costly assembly, so it is very useful to apportion the expenses throughout the restructured electricity industry. Therefore, in this work, after embedding the FACTS devices into load flow, the impact on the costs allocated to users in fraction to the transmission framework utilization has been analyzed. From the obtained results, it is clear that the total cost recovery is enhanced towards the Reactive Power flow through the different transmission line for 5 bus test system. The fair pricing policy towards reactive power can be achieved by the proposed method incorporating FACTS controller towards cost recovery of the transmission network.

Keywords: interline power flow controller, transmission pricing, unified power flow controller, cost allocation

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11 Development and Characterization of Site Specific Peptide Conjugated Polymeric Nanoparticles for Efficient Delivery of Paclitaxel

Authors: Madhu Gupta, Vikas Sharma, Suresh P. Vyas

Abstract:

CD13 receptors are abundantly overexpressed in tumor cells as well as in neovasculature. The CD13 receptors were selected as a targeted site and polymeric nanoparticles (NPs) as a targeted delivery system. By combining these, a cyclic NGR (cNGR) peptide ligand was coupled on the terminal end of polyethylene glycol-b-poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PEG-b-PLGA) and prepared the dual targeted-NPs (cNGR-PEG-PTX-NPs) to enhance the intracellular delivery of anticancer drug to tumor cells and tumor endothelial cells via ligand-receptor interaction. In-vitro cytotoxicity studies confirmed that the presence of cNGR enhanced the cytotoxic efficiency by 2.8 folds in Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial (HUVEC) cells, while cytotoxicity was improved by 2.6 folds in human fibrosarcoma (HT-1080) cells as compared to non-specific stealth NPs. Compared with other tested NPs, cNGR-PEG-PTX-NPs revealed more cytotoxicity by inducing more apoptosis and higher intracellular uptake. The tumor volume inhibition rate was 59.7% in case of cNGR-PEG-PTX-NPs that was comparatively more with other formulations, indicating that cNGR-PEG-PTX-NPs could more effectively inhibit tumor growth. As a consequence, the cNGR-PEG-PTX-NPs play a key role in enhancing tumor therapeutic efficiency for treatment of CD13 receptor specific solid tumor.

Keywords: cyclic NGR, CD13 receptor, targeted polymeric NPs, solid tumor, intracellular delivery

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10 Simulation of the Flow in Bilayer Coextrusion Dies with Gradually Changing Calibrator Profiles

Authors: Mahesh Gupta

Abstract:

The main goal in the design of a die for extrusion of a complex profile is to obtain a uniform velocity at the die exit. If the velocity at the exit of an extrusion die is not uniform, the shape of the extrudate profile can change significantly after the polymer exits the die. To rectify the extrudate distortion caused by non-uniform exit velocity, calibrators and sizers are often installed along the extrudate cooling system. Furthermore, the profile shape in calibrators and sizers is sometimes gradually changed to intentionally deform the extrudate to the required final product shape. This is exploited to simplify extrusion die design, because a relatively simple profile at the die exit can be modified to obtain a more complex profile by deforming it in calibrators or sizers. The gradual change in the shape of calibrator or sizer profiles can also be used to extrude slightly different profiles from the same die. In the present work, a combined flow, thermal and structural analysis is used to accurately predict distortion of extrudate profile after the polymer leaves a die. Simulations of the flow and extrudate deformation in two different bilayer coextrusion dies with gradually changing profile shape in successive calibrators and sizers will be presented. The effect of non-uniform exit velocity, cooling shrinkage and shape of sizer profiles on extrudate deformation is included in the simulation. The predicted extrudate shape and layer structure is found to match accurately with those in a coextruded product.

Keywords: coextrusion, extrusion die design, finite element method, polymers

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9 Numerical Simulation of Lifeboat Launching Using Overset Meshing

Authors: Alok Khaware, Vinay Kumar Gupta, Jean Noel Pederzani

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Lifeboat launching from marine vessel or offshore platform is one of the important areas of research in offshore applications. With the advancement of computational fluid dynamic simulation (CFD) technology to solve fluid induced motions coupled with Six Degree of Freedom (6DOF), rigid body dynamics solver, it is now possible to predict the motion of the lifeboat precisely in different challenging conditions. Traditionally dynamic remeshing approach is used to solve this kind of problems, but remeshing approach has some bottlenecks to control good quality mesh in transient moving mesh cases. In the present study, an overset method with higher-order interpolation is used to simulate a lifeboat launched from an offshore platform into calm water, and volume of fluid (VOF) method is used to track free surface. Overset mesh consists of a set of overlapping component meshes, which allows complex geometries to be meshed with lesser effort. Good quality mesh with local refinement is generated at the beginning of the simulation and stay unchanged throughout the simulation. Overset mesh accuracy depends on the precise interpolation technique; the present study includes a robust and accurate least square interpolation method and results obtained with overset mesh shows good agreement with experiment.

Keywords: computational fluid dynamics, free surface flow, lifeboat launching, overset mesh, volume of fluid

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8 Experimental Study on Strength Development of Low Cement Concrete Using Mix Design for Both Binary and Ternary Mixes

Authors: Mulubrhan Berihu, Supratic Gupta, Zena Gebriel

Abstract:

Due to the design versatility, availability, and cost efficiency, concrete is continuing to be the most used construction material on earth. However, the production of Portland cement, the primary component of concrete mix is causing to have a serious effect on environmental and economic impacts. This shows there is a need to study using of supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs). The most commonly used supplementary cementitious materials are wastes and the use of these industrial waste products has technical, economical and environmental benefits besides the reduction of CO2 emission from cement production. The study aims to document the effect on strength property of concrete due to use of low cement by maximizing supplementary cementitious materials like fly ash or marble powder. Based on the different mix proportion of pozzolana and marble powder a range of mix design was formulated. The first part of the project is to study the strength of low cement concrete using fly ash replacement experimentally. The test results showed that using up to 85 kg/m3 of cement is possible for plain concrete works like hollow block concrete to achieve 9.8 Mpa and the experimental results indicates that strength is a function of w/b. In the second part a new set of mix design has been carried out with fly ash and marble powder to study the strength of both binary and ternary mixes. In this experimental study, three groups of mix design (c+FA, c+FA+m and c+m), four sets of mixes for each group were taken up. Experimental results show that c+FA has maintained the best strength and impermeability whereas c+m obtained less compressive strength, poorer permeability and split tensile strength. c+FA shows a big difference in gaining of compressive strength from 7 days to 28 days compression strength compared to others and this obviously shows the slow rate of hydration of fly ash concrete. As the w/b ratio increases the strength decreases significantly. At the same time higher permeability has been seen in the specimens which were tested for three hours than one hour.

Keywords: efficiency factor, cement content, compressive strength, mix proportion, w/c ratio, water permeability, SCMs

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7 Nutritional Profile and Food Intake Trends amongst Hospital Dieted Diabetic Eye Disease Patients of India

Authors: Parmeet Kaur, Nighat Yaseen Sofi, Shakti Kumar Gupta, Veena Pandey, Rajvaedhan Azad

Abstract:

Nutritional status and prevailing blood glucose level trends amongst hospitalized patients has been linked to clinical outcome. Therefore, the present study was undertaken to assess hospitalized Diabetic Eye Disease (DED) patients' anthropometric and dietary intake trends. DED patients with type 1 or 2 diabetes > 20 years were enrolled. Actual food intake was determined by weighed food record method. Mifflin St Joer predictive equation multiplied by a combined stress and activity factor of 1.3 was applied to estimate caloric needs. A questionnaire was further administered to obtain reasons of inadequate dietary intake. Results indicated validity of joint analyses of body mass index in combination with waist circumference for clinical risk prediction. Dietary data showed a significant difference (p < 0.0005) between average daily caloric and carbohydrate intake and actual daily caloric and carbohydrate needs. Mean fasting and post-prandial plasma glucose levels were 150.71 ± 72.200 mg/dL and 219.76 ± 97.365 mg/dL, respectively. Improvement in food delivery systems and nutrition educations were indicated for reducing plate waste and to enable better understanding of dietary aspects of diabetes management. A team approach of nurses, physicians and other health care providers is required besides the expertise of dietetics professional. To conclude, findings of the present study will be useful in planning nutritional care process (NCP) for optimizing glucose control as a component of quality medical nutrition therapy (MNT) in hospitalized DED patients.

Keywords: nutritional status, diabetic eye disease, nutrition care process, medical nutrition therapy

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6 Design and Development of High Strength Aluminium Alloy from Recycled 7xxx-Series Material Using Bayesian Optimisation

Authors: Alireza Vahid, Santu Rana, Sunil Gupta, Pratibha Vellanki, Svetha Venkatesh, Thomas Dorin

Abstract:

Aluminum is the preferred material for lightweight applications and its alloys are constantly improving. The high strength 7xxx alloys have been extensively used for structural components in aerospace and automobile industries for the past 50 years. In the next decade, a great number of airplanes will be retired, providing an obvious source of valuable used metals and great demand for cost-effective methods to re-use these alloys. The design of proper aerospace alloys is primarily based on optimizing strength and ductility, both of which can be improved by controlling the additional alloying elements as well as heat treatment conditions. In this project, we explore the design of high-performance alloys with 7xxx as a base material. These designed alloys have to be optimized and improved to compare with modern 7xxx-series alloys and to remain competitive for aircraft manufacturing. Aerospace alloys are extremely complex with multiple alloying elements and numerous processing steps making optimization often intensive and costly. In the present study, we used Bayesian optimization algorithm, a well-known adaptive design strategy, to optimize this multi-variable system. An Al alloy was proposed and the relevant heat treatment schedules were optimized, using the tensile yield strength as the output to maximize. The designed alloy has a maximum yield strength and ultimate tensile strength of more than 730 and 760 MPa, respectively, and is thus comparable to the modern high strength 7xxx-series alloys. The microstructure of this alloy is characterized by electron microscopy, indicating that the increased strength of the alloy is due to the presence of a high number density of refined precipitates.

Keywords: aluminum alloys, Bayesian optimization, heat treatment, tensile properties

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5 Urea and Starch Detection on a Paper-Based Microfluidic Device Enabled on a Smartphone

Authors: Shashank Kumar, Mansi Chandra, Ujjawal Singh, Parth Gupta, Rishi Ram, Arnab Sarkar

Abstract:

Milk is one of the basic and primary sources of food and energy as we start consuming milk from birth. Hence, milk quality and purity and checking the concentration of its constituents become necessary steps. Considering the importance of the purity of milk for human health, the following study has been carried out to simultaneously detect and quantify the different adulterants like urea and starch in milk with the help of a paper-based microfluidic device integrated with a smartphone. The detection of the concentration of urea and starch is based on the principle of colorimetry. In contrast, the fluid flow in the device is based on the capillary action of porous media. The microfluidic channel proposed in the study is equipped with a specialized detection zone, and it employs a colorimetric indicator undergoing a visible color change when the milk gets in touch or reacts with a set of reagents which confirms the presence of different adulterants in the milk. In our proposed work, we have used iodine to detect the percentage of starch in the milk, whereas, in the case of urea, we have used the p-DMAB. A direct correlation has been found between the color change intensity and the concentration of adulterants. A calibration curve was constructed to find color intensity and subsequent starch and urea concentration. The device has low-cost production and easy disposability, which make it highly suitable for widespread adoption, especially in resource-constrained settings. Moreover, a smartphone application has been developed to detect, capture, and analyze the change in color intensity due to the presence of adulterants in the milk. The low-cost nature of the smartphone-integrated paper-based sensor, coupled with its integration with smartphones, makes it an attractive solution for widespread use. They are affordable, simple to use, and do not require specialized training, making them ideal tools for regulatory bodies and concerned consumers.

Keywords: paper based microfluidic device, milk adulteration, urea detection, starch detection, smartphone application

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4 Effect of Surfactant Level of Microemulsions and Nanoemulsions on Cell Viability

Authors: Sonal Gupta, Rakhi Bansal, Javed Ali, Reema Gabrani, Shweta Dang

Abstract:

Nanoemulsions (NEs) and microemulsions (MEs) have been an attractive tool for encapsulation of both hydrophilic and lipophillic actives. Both these systems are composed of oil phase, surfactant, co-surfactant and aqueous phase. Depending upon the application and intended use, both oil-in-water and water-in-oil emulsions can be designed. NEs are fabricated using high energy methods employing less percentage of surfactant as compared to MEs which are self assembled drug delivery systems. Owing to the nanometric size of the droplets these systems have been widely used to enhance solubility and bioavailability of natural as well as synthetic molecules. The aim of the present study is to assess the effect of % age of surfactants on cell viability of Vero cells (African Green Monkeys’ Kidney epithelial cells) via MTT assay. Green tea catechin (Polyphenon 60) loaded ME employing low energy vortexing and NE employing high energy ultrasonication were prepared using same excipients (labrasol as oil, cremophor EL as surfactant and glycerol as co-surfactant) however, the % age of oil and surfactant needed to prepare the ME was higher as compared to NE. These formulations along with their excipients (oilME=13.3%, SmixME=26.67%; oilNE=10%, SmixNE=13.52%) were added to Vero cells for 24 hrs. The tetrazolium dye, 3-(4,5-dimethylthia/ol-2-yl)-2,5-diphi-iiyltclrazolium bromide (MTT), is reduced by live cells and this reaction is used as the end point to evaluate the cytoxicity level of a test formulation. Results of MTT assay indicated that oil at different percentages exhibited almost equal cell viability (oilME ≅ oilNE) while surfactant mixture had a significant difference in the cell viability values (SmixME < SmixNE). Polyphenon 60 loaded ME and its PlaceboME showed higher toxicity as compared to Polyphenon 60 loaded NE and its PlaceboNE that can be attributed to the higher concentration of surfactants present in MEs. Another probable reason for high % cell viability of Polyphenon 60 loaded NE might be due to the effective release of Polyphenon 60 from NE formulation that helps in the sustenance of Vero cells.

Keywords: cell viability, microemulsion, MTT, nanoemulsion, surfactants, ultrasonication

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3 The Need for Automation in the Domestic Food Processing Sector and its Impact

Authors: Shantam Gupta

Abstract:

The objective of this study is to address the critical need for automation in the domestic food processing sector and study its impact. Food is the one of the most basic physiological needs essential for the survival of a living being. Some of them have the capacity to prepare their own food (like most plants) and henceforth are designated as primary food producers; those who depend on these primary food producers for food form the primary consumers’ class (herbivores). Some of the organisms relying on the primary food are the secondary food consumers (carnivores). There is a third class of consumers called tertiary food consumers/apex food consumers that feed on both the primary and secondary food consumers. Humans form an essential part of the apex predators and are generally at the top of the food chain. But still further disintegration of the food habits of the modern human i.e. Homo sapiens, reveals that humans depend on other individuals for preparing their own food. The old notion of eating raw/brute food is long gone and food processing has become very trenchant in lives of modern human. This has led to an increase in dependence on other individuals for ‘processing’ the food before it can be actually consumed by the modern human. This has led to a further shift of humans in the classification of food chain of consumers. The effects of the shifts shall be systematically investigated in this paper. The processing of food has a direct impact on the economy of the individual (consumer). Also most individuals depend on other processing individuals for the preparation of food. This dependency leads to establishment of a vital link of dependency in the food web which when altered can adversely affect the food web and can have dire consequences on the health of the individual. This study investigates the challenges arising out due to this dependency and the impact of food processing on the economy of the individual. A comparison of Industrial food processing and processing at domestic platforms (households and restaurants) has been made to provide an idea about the present scenario of automation in the food processing sector. A lot of time and energy is also consumed while processing food at home for consumption. The high frequency of consumption of meals (greater than 2 times a day) makes it even more laborious. Through the medium of this study a pressing need for development of an automatic cooking machine is proposed with a mission to reduce the inter-dependency & human effort of individuals required for the preparation of food (by automation of the food preparation process) and make them more self-reliant The impact of development of this product has also further been profoundly discussed. Assumption used: The individuals those who process food also consume the food that they produce. (They are also termed as ‘independent’ or ‘self-reliant’ modern human beings.)

Keywords: automation, food processing, impact on economy, processing individual

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2 Process Performance and Nitrogen Removal Kinetics in Anammox Hybrid Reactor

Authors: Swati Tomar, Sunil Kumar Gupta

Abstract:

Anammox is a promising and cost effective alternative to conventional treatment systems that facilitates direct oxidation of ammonium nitrogen under anaerobic conditions with nitrite as an electron acceptor without addition of any external carbon sources. The present study investigates the process kinetics of laboratory scale anammox hybrid reactor (AHR) which combines the dual advantages of attached and suspended growth. The performance & behaviour of AHR was studied under varying hydraulic retention time (HRTs) and nitrogen loading rate (NLRs). The experimental unit consisted of 4 numbers of 5L capacity anammox hybrid reactor inoculated with mixed seed culture containing anoxic and activated sludge. Pseudo steady state (PSS) ammonium and nitrite removal efficiencies of 90.6% and 95.6%, respectively, were achieved during acclimation phase. After establishment of PSS, the performance of AHR was monitored at seven different HRTs of 3.0, 2.5, 2.0, 1.5, 1.0, 0.5 and 0.25 d with increasing NLR from 0.4 to 4.8 kg N/m3d. The results showed that with increase in NLR and decrease in HRT (3.0 to 0.25 d), AHR registered appreciable decline in nitrogen removal efficiency from 92.9% to 67.4 %, respectively. The HRT of 2.0 d was considered optimal to achieve substantial nitrogen removal of 89%, because on further decrease in HRT below 1.5 days, remarkable decline in the values of nitrogen removal efficiency were observed. Analysis of data indicated that attached growth system contributes an additional 15.4 % ammonium removal and reduced the sludge washout rate (additional 29% reduction). This enhanced performance may be attributed to 25% increase in sludge retention time due to the attached growth media. Three kinetic models, namely, first order, Monod and Modified Stover-Kincannon model were applied to assess the substrate removal kinetics of nitrogen removal in AHR. Validation of the models were carried out by comparing experimental set of data with the predicted values obtained from the respective models. For substrate removal kinetics, model validation revealed that Modified Stover-Kincannon is most precise (R2=0.943) and can be suitably applied to predict the kinetics of nitrogen removal in AHR. Lawrence and McCarty model described the kinetics of bacterial growth. The predicted value of yield coefficient and decay constant were in line with the experimentally observed values.

Keywords: anammox, kinetics, modelling, nitrogen removal, sludge wash out rate, AHR

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1 Optimization of Geometric Parameters of Microfluidic Channels for Flow-Based Studies

Authors: Parth Gupta, Ujjawal Singh, Shashank Kumar, Mansi Chandra, Arnab Sarkar

Abstract:

Microfluidic devices have emerged as indispensable tools across various scientific disciplines, offering precise control and manipulation of fluids at the microscale. Their efficacy in flow-based research, spanning engineering, chemistry, and biology, relies heavily on the geometric design of microfluidic channels. This work introduces a novel approach to optimise these channels through Response Surface Methodology (RSM), departing from the conventional practice of addressing one parameter at a time. Traditionally, optimising microfluidic channels involved isolated adjustments to individual parameters, limiting the comprehensive understanding of their combined effects. In contrast, our approach considers the simultaneous impact of multiple parameters, employing RSM to efficiently explore the complex design space. The outcome is an innovative microfluidic channel that consumes an optimal sample volume and minimises flow time, enhancing overall efficiency. The relevance of geometric parameter optimization in microfluidic channels extends significantly in biomedical engineering. The flow characteristics of porous materials within these channels depend on many factors, including fluid viscosity, environmental conditions (such as temperature and humidity), and specific design parameters like sample volume, channel width, channel length, and substrate porosity. This intricate interplay directly influences the performance and efficacy of microfluidic devices, which, if not optimized, can lead to increased costs and errors in disease testing and analysis. In the context of biomedical applications, the proposed approach addresses the critical need for precision in fluid flow. it mitigate manufacturing costs associated with trial-and-error methodologies by optimising multiple geometric parameters concurrently. The resulting microfluidic channels offer enhanced performance and contribute to a streamlined, cost-effective process for testing and analyzing diseases. A key highlight of our methodology is its consideration of the interconnected nature of geometric parameters. For instance, the volume of the sample, when optimized alongside channel width, length, and substrate porosity, creates a synergistic effect that minimizes errors and maximizes efficiency. This holistic optimization approach ensures that microfluidic devices operate at their peak performance, delivering reliable results in disease testing. A key highlight of our methodology is its consideration of the interconnected nature of geometric parameters. For instance, the volume of the sample, when optimized alongside channel width, length, and substrate porosity, creates a synergistic effect that minimizes errors and maximizes efficiency. This holistic optimization approach ensures that microfluidic devices operate at their peak performance, delivering reliable results in disease testing. A key highlight of our methodology is its consideration of the interconnected nature of geometric parameters. For instance, the volume of the sample, when optimized alongside channel width, length, and substrate porosity, creates a synergistic effect that minimizes errors and maximizes efficiency. This holistic optimization approach ensures that microfluidic devices operate at their peak performance, delivering reliable results in disease testing.

Keywords: microfluidic device, minitab, statistical optimization, response surface methodology

Procedia PDF Downloads 35