Organoleptic and microbiological quality changes of catla (Catla catla) in immediate and delayed ice storage and at ambient temperature

An investigation was carried out on the quality changes of Catla (Catla calla) stored immediately (0 h) in ice, after 6 hours in ice and at ambient temperature. The samples were examined for organoleptic and microbiological parameters in summer. Organoleptically, the acceptability of fish varied between 16-20 days in both the iced storage conditions and 12-13.5 hours at ambient temperature (28°C). When fish were organoleptically just acceptable on the 16th day of storage, bacterial load were 6.23 and 6.17 log10 cfu/g, respectively for 0 hour and after 6 hours iced fish. But on the 20th day of storage, when fish were just unacceptable SPC were 6.51 and 6.62 log10 cfu/g. In case of ambient temperature storage condition standard plate count was 8.36 log10 cfu/g on 13.5 hours, when fish were organoleptically just unacceptable. At the time of rejection for fish stored in ice (0 hour and after 6 hours) on 20th day, gram negative and gram positive values were 55.45%, 44.55% and 44.52%, 55.48% respectively. While fish were rejected after 13.5 hours at ambient temperature gram negative and gram positive bacteria were found as 43.02% and 56.98%. The differences in SPC, gram positive and gram negative bacteria between the storage times were statistically significant (p<0.05).

Investigation on water quality in the Ashulia beel, Dhaka

The study was conducted to get an idea about the water quality of the Ashulia beel, and its temporal change over wet and dry seasons due to change of the physicochemical parameters. The water body has become a dumping ground of all kinds of solid, liquid and chemical wastes of bank side population and industries. Encroachment and illegal dredging has become a serious threat for the sound environment of the beel. The water parameters of pH 7.1-7.8 and alkalinity 30-63 mg/l in wet, and pH 7.1-8.4 and alkalinity 90-115 mg/l in dry season, respectively, which were within the standard range of DoE investigation. During wet season, EC 130-310 mg/l, TDS 80-132 mg/l, DO 1.1-2.1 mg/l and BOD -4.4-1.6 mg/l were measured. In dry season, EC 341-442 mg/l, TDS 207-276 mg/l, DO 0.5-2.0 mg/l and BOD 1.0-3.0 mg/l were measured. The comparative analysis showed that most of the water quality parameters of the Ashulia beel were suitable for aquatic organisms including fishes while the DO contents were much lower than the desirable level which may not be suitable for fishes.

Environmental enrichment and chronic restraint stress in ICR mice: Effects on prepulse inhibition of startle and Y-maze spatial recognition memory

In most studies regarding the improving or therapeutical effects induced by enriched environment (EE), EE was performed after the stress treatment or in patients with certain diseases. In the current study, the effects of chronic restraint stress (6 h/day) in mice living in an enriched environment or standard environment (SE) were tested. Mice were randomly divided into 4 groups: non-stressed or stressed mice housed in SE or EE conditions (SE, stress + SE, EE, stress + EE). Prepulse inhibition (PPI) of startle was tested after the 2 weeks or 4 weeks stress and/or EE treatment and 1 or 2 weeks withdrawal from the 4 weeks treatment. After the 4 weeks treatment, spatial recognition memory in Y-maze was also tested. The results showed that EE increased PPI in stressed and non-stressed mice after 2 weeks treatment. No effect of EE on PPI was found after the 4 weeks treatment. 4 weeks chronic restraint stress increased PPI in mice housed in standard but not EE conditions. Stressed mice showed deficits on the 1 h delay version of the Y-maze which could be prevented by living in an enriched environment. Our results indicated that living in an enriched environment reversed the impairing effects of chronic restraint stress on spatial recognition memory. However, EE did not change the effects of stress on PPI. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Implications of local lifecycle analyses and low carbon fuel standard design on gasohol transportation fuels

State and regional policies, such as low carbon fuel standards (LCFSs), increasingly mandate that transportation fuels be examined according to their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. We investigate whether such policies benefit from determining fuel carbon intensities (FCIs) locally to account for variations in fuel production and to stimulate improvements in FCI. In this study, we examine the FCI of transportation fuels on a lifecycle basis within a specific state, Minnesota, and compare the results to FCIs using national averages. Using data compiled from 18 refineries over an 11-year period, we find that ethanol production is highly variable, resulting in a 42% difference between carbon intensities. Historical data suggests that lower FCIs are possible through incremental improvements in refining efficiency and the use of biomass for processing heat. Stochastic modeling of the corn ethanol FCI shows that gains in certainty due to knowledge of specific refinery inputs are overwhelmed by uncertainty in parameters external to the refiner, including impacts of fertilization and land use change. The LCA results are incorporated into multiple policy scenarios to demonstrate the effect of policy configurations on the use of alternative fuels. These results provide a contrast between volumetric mandates and LCFSs. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd.

Annual Report of the East African Agricultural and Fisheries Research Council 1954-55

The annual report present activities carried out by the different organizations that make up the East African Agricultural & Fisheries Research Council which included: 1. Report of the East African Agriculture & Forestry Research Organization 2. Report of the East African Veterinary Research Organization 3. Report of the East African Fishery Research Organization 4. Report of the East African Marine Fisheries Research Organization The activities reported are for the period 1954-55.

On Solving Non-Standard H-/H2/H-Infinity Fault Detection Problems

We discuss solvability issues of H_-/H_2/infinity optimal fault detection problems in the most general setting. A solution approach is presented which successively reduces the initial problem to simpler ones. The last computational step generally may involve the solution of a non-standard H_-/H_2/infinity optimization problem for which we discuss possible solution approaches. Using an appropriate definition of the H- index, we provide a complete solution of this problem in the case of H2-norm. Furthermore, we discuss the solvability issues in the case of H-infinity-norm.

On solving non-standard ℍ -/ℍ 2/∞ fault detection problems

We discuss solvability issues of ℍ -/ℍ 2/∞ optimal fault detection problems in the most general setting. A solution approach is presented which successively reduces the initial problem to simpler ones. The last computational step generally may involve the solution of a non-standard ℍ -/ ℍ 2/∞ optimization problem for which we discuss possible solution approaches. Using an appropriate definition of the ℍ -- index, we provide a complete solution of this problem in the case of ℍ 2-norm. Furthermore, we discuss the solvability issues in the case of ℍ ∞-norm. © 2011 IEEE.

Locally oxidized silicon surface-plasmon Schottky detector for telecom regime.

We experimentally demonstrate an on-chip nanoscale silicon surface-plasmon Schottky photodetector based on internal photoemission process and operating at telecom wavelengths. The device is fabricated using a self-aligned approach of local-oxidation of silicon (LOCOS) on silicon on insulator substrate, which provides compatibility with standard complementary metal-oxide semiconductor technology and enables the realization of the photodetector and low-loss bus photonic waveguide at the same fabrication step. Additionally, LOCOS technique allows avoiding lateral misalignment between the silicon surface and the metal layer to form a nanoscale Schottky contact. The fabricated devices showed enhanced detection capability for shorter wavelengths that is attributed to increased probability of the internal photoemission process. We found the responsivity of the nanodetector to be 0.25 and 13.3 mA/W for incident optical wavelengths of 1.55 and 1.31 μm, respectively. The presented device can be integrated with other nanophotonic and nanoplasmonic structures for the realization of monolithic opto-electronic circuitry on-chip.