Abstract The objective of the current investigation was to evaluate the okra before cooking (fresh) and after cooking to determine the best cooking method by using compositional analysis, colour, texture, sensory evaluation and pesticide residues reduction. The cooking methods used were steam blanching, simmering, baking and sautéing. Cooking treatments resulted in a momentous increase (p < 0.05) in crude fibre and fat content during sautéing and total carbohydrate in baking in comparison to control. The CIE lab coordinates (L* and b*) significantly decreased while a* increased in all cooking treatments except in baking. The texture analysis revealed a significant (p < 0.05) reduction in shear force N (Newton) due to contact of the heating medium in moist cooking i.e. steam blanching and simmering. Sautéing and steam blanching scored better and showed acceptance of the consumers except simmering that exhibited lower acceptability (p < 0.01). Moreover, among the analyzed pesticide residues, minimum reduction occurred in cypermethrin (8.57-37.14-%), while the chlorpyrifos was completely removed in case of baking and sautéing. Among all cooking treatments, only sautéing resulted in maximum pesticide residues reduction. The study revealed that the sautéing cooking treatment was best to preserve the vegetable nutrients compounds, maximum pesticide residues reduction and maybe among preferred cooking treatments.

Abstract Zinc deficiency is a growing issue in developing countries. Moreover, it is a well-known fact that the bakery products have very low zinc content and the further loss of zinc occurs during milling of wheat and under baking of end products, which makes it hard to produce nutritional bakery products. For this purpose, zinc sulfate has been incorporated in wheat flour at 0, 32.5, 65, and 97.5 mg/100 g to prepare cookies and determine their physicochemical and nutritional properties as well as stability under controlled storage conditions, i.e. temperature (23-25 °C) and relative humidity (45-55%). The findings exhibited that the cookies-percentage of fat and protein decreased after the addition of zinc sulfate. The fiber content of cookies was non-significantly changed, while the moisture content increased. Moreover, the diameter of cookies significantly increased from 45.65 ± 1.46 cm to 45.84 ± 1.34 cm. The thickness and spread factor of cookies were also effects ranged from 1.49 to 1.54 cm and 30.63 ± 2.98 to 29.76 ± 1.64 respectively. The results revealed that zinc sulfate was stable up to 90 days and under normal baking conditions. Based on the sensorial attributes, it was unveiled that the nutritional cookies were prepared by using 65 mg zinc sulfate with (AARI-2011) wheat flour.

A discharge of nitrogen - hydrogen mixture by 50 Hz pulsed dc in the presence of active screen cage is investigated by optical emission spectroscopy (OES). The aim is to identify the parameters (mixture ratio, filling pressure and current density) that may lead to high concentration of active species (N2, N2+ and N). The maximum concentration in this experiment is found with 40% H2 - 60% N2, at filling pressure of 3 mbar with current density of 5 mAcm-2. High carbon steel samples are nitrided for 1 - 4 hours at 500ºC and the treated samples are characterized by X - ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy and Vicker's micro - hardness testing. The XRD spectra show different phases of nitrides (Fe2 - 3N, FeN, CrN) along with iron oxides. The Raman spectra confirm the formation of α - β (C3N4). The surface hardness is found to increase up to six times for 2 hour treatment.