Government of India

About: Government of India is a government organization based out in New Delhi, India. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Government. The organization has 2945 authors who have published 2999 publications receiving 44942 citations. The organization is also known as: Union Government & Central Government.

Refractance WindowTM-Drying vs. other drying methods and effect of different process parameters on quality of foods: A comprehensive review of trends and technological developments

Abstract: Refractance WindowTM-Drying (RWD) is one such novel fourth-generation drying technology which has recently gained huge attention due to its several advantages. It is employed to dry the heat-sensitive products even juices and purees to retain the product color, aroma, antioxidant compounds, and nutritional properties. This technology dries the product through a thin, transparent infrared film which effectively forms a "window” for drying, keeping the product's temperatures very low and ensuring rapid drying, involving all modes of heat transfer. The drying temperature, time, cost, and energy consumption are also lower in this case, but thermal efficiency and product's quality are higher than conventional drying technologies like drum drying, freeze-drying, spray drying, tray drying, etc. which possess their own limitations. The present work, therefore, summarizes the recent trends in RWD, emphasizing its impact on process and food quality properties, and highlights differences between RWD and existing drying technologies. This manuscript discusses in detail the effect of RWD on physical, chromatic, biochemical, functional, structural, textural, and microbial properties of end-product. Further, the patents based on RWD have also been highlighted comprehensively for the first-time, considering their contribution to scientific knowledge and as a platform to support the upcoming developments in the field.

Analysis of ENVISAT ASAR data for forest parameter retrieval and forest type classification-a case study over deciduous forests of central India

Abstract: The present paper gives an account of potential of Environment Satellite-Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar (ENVISAT-ASAR) C-band data in forest parameter retrieval and forest type classification over deciduous forests of Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR), central India. Ground data on phyto-sociology and Leaf Area Index (LAI) over the study area was collected in 23 sampling points (20m×20m) over the study area. Phyto-sociological data collected over the study area was used to compute plot-wise biometric parameters like basal area, volume, stem density and dominant height. ENVISAT ASAR data covering the study area, pertaining to 24 November 2005, has been geo-referenced and digital number (DN) values were converted to radar backscatter values. Regression analysis between backscatter and the retrieved biometric variables has been done to explain the relationships between SAR backscatter and forest parameters. Analysis showed a significant correlation between backscatter and biometric parameters and backscatter values typically increased with increase in basal area, volume, stem density and dominant height. The scatter observed between ASAR backscatter and stem density, basal area and dominant height suggested limitation of C-band data in estimating biometric variables in heterogeneous forest systems. Further, ASAR data was used in conjunction with Indian Remote sensing Satellite (IRS-P6)-Linear Imaging Self Scanner (LISS) III data of 16 October 2004 to classify the study area into different land use/land cover (LU/LC) classes. Various texture and adaptive filters were applied on ASAR image to reduce speckle noise and enhance image features. An attempt is made to merge ASAR image with LISS-III to enhance feature discrimination. Training sets corresponding to the ground data have been used to derive confusion matrices for the ASAR and LISS-III images. Results suggested better discrimination of vegetation types in the merged data suggesting the possible use of ASAR data in forest type discrimination.

Impregnation of pectin-cedarwood essential oil nanocapsules onto mini cotton bag improves larvicidal performances

Abstract: The use pesticide is one of the indispensable means to combat mosquito borne diseases. However, the repeated use of synthetic pesticides has induced resistance in the vector pest along with undesirable impact on the environment. The biodegradability, non-persistent and user’s safety are the root cause to prefer plant-derived pesticides to synthetic ones. The botanical based pesticides tend to degrade rapidly under the influence of several environmental factors. For the feasible application as pesticides, the plant products are formulated either as liquid or as purely solid. Despite well-established formulation technology in pesticide delivery, their handling trouble is being ignored. There is difficulty in liquid formulation of pesticide products, as they are prone to splashing and spillage, resulting in contamination, wastage and direct exposure to skin; whereas a solid formulation tends to produce dust. In the present work, cedarwood (Cedrus deodara) essential oil embedded pectin nanocapsules were produced. The nanocapsules were characterized according to their morphology, size, encapsulation efficiency and thermal stability. Furthermore, the nanocapsules were impregnated onto mini cotton tea bags to be employed as RTU (ready to use) formulation for treating the breeding sites of mosquitoes. The larvicidal activity of the bags treated with pectin-cedar wood nanocapsules was assessed against malaria vector, Anopheles culicifacies and 98% mortality was recorded till 4 weeks, this suggests its potential and hassle free applications in controlling mosquito vector.

In Vitro and In Vivo Activities of a Bi-Aryl Oxazolidinone, RBx 11760, against Gram-Positive Bacteria.

Abstract: RBx 11760, a bi-aryl oxazolidinone, was investigated for antibacterial activity against Gram-positive bacteria. The MIC90s of RBx 11760 and linezolid against Staphylococcus aureus were 2 and 4 mg/liter, against Staphylococcus epidermidis were 0.5 and 2 mg/liter, and against Enterococcus were 1 and 4 mg/liter, respectively. Similarly, against Streptococcus pneumoniae the MIC90s of RBx 11760 and linezolid were 0.5 and 2 mg/liter, respectively. In time-kill studies, RBx 11760, tedizolid, and linezolid exhibited bacteriostatic effect against all tested strains except S. pneumoniae RBx 11760 showed 2-log10 kill at 4× MIC while tedizolid and linezolid showed 2-log10 and 1.4-log10 kill at 16× MIC, respectively, against methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) H-29. Against S. pneumoniae 5051, RBx 11760 showed bactericidal activity, with 4.6-log10 kill at 4× MIC compared to 2.42-log10 and 1.95-log10 kill for tedizolid and linezolid, respectively, at 16× MIC. RBx 11760 showed postantibiotic effects (PAE) at 3 h at 4 mg/liter against MRSA H-29, and linezolid showed the same effect at 16 mg/liter. RBx 11760 inhibited biofilm production against methicillin-resistant S. epidermidis (MRSE) ATCC 35984 in a concentration-dependent manner. In a foreign-body model, linezolid and rifampin resulted in no advantage over stasis, while the same dose of RBx 11760 demonstrated a significant killing compared to the initial control against S. aureus (P 0.05 [not significant]) in a groin abscess model. In neutropenic mouse thigh infection, RBx 11760 showed stasis at 20 mg/kg of body weight, whereas tedizolid showed the same effect at 40 mg/kg. These data support RBx 11760 as a promising investigational candidate.