Extraction solvent selection for Cannabis sativa L. by efficient exploration of cannabinoid selectivity and phytochemical diversity.

INTRODUCTION: Cannabis sativa L. is attracting worldwide attention due to various health-promoting effects. Extraction solvent type is critical for the recovery of bioactive compounds from the plant, especially cannabinoids. However, the choice of solvent is varied and not adequately warranted elsewhere, causing confusion in involved fields. OBJECTIVE: The present work aimed to investigate the effect of extraction solvent on C. sativa (hemp) with regard to cannabinoid recovery and phytochemical profile of the extracts, considering most of the related solvents. METHODOLOGY: The majority of solvents reported for C. sativa (n = 14) were compared using a representative hemp pool. Quantitative results for major and minor cannabinoids were rapidly and reliably obtained using ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography coupled with photodiode array detection (UPLC-PDA). In parallel, high-performance thin-layer chromatographic (HPTLC) fingerprinting was employed, involving less toxic mobile phase than in relevant reports. Various derivatisation schemes were applied for more comprehensive comparison of extracts. RESULTS: Differential selectivity towards cannabinoids was observed among solvents. MeOH was found particularly efficient for most cannabinoids, in addition to solvent systems such as n-Hex/EtOH 70:30 and ACN/EtOH 80:20, while EtOH was generally inferior. For tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)-type compounds, EtOAc and n-Hex/EtOAc 60:40 outperformed n-Hex, despite its use in the official EU method. Solvents that tend to extract more lipids or more polar compounds were revealed based on HPTLC results. CONCLUSION: Combining the observations from UPLC quantitation and HPTLC fingerprinting, this work allowed comprehensive evaluation of extraction solvents, in view of robust quality assessment and maximised utilisation of C. sativa.

Machine Learning-Based Methods for Enhancement of UAV-NOMA and D2D Cooperative Networks.

The cooperative aerial and device-to-device (D2D) networks employing non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) are expected to play an essential role in next-generation wireless networks. Moreover, machine learning (ML) techniques, such as artificial neural networks (ANN), can significantly enhance network performance and efficiency in fifth-generation (5G) wireless networks and beyond. This paper studies an ANN-based unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) placement scheme to enhance an integrated UAV-D2D NOMA cooperative network.The proposed placement scheme selection (PSS) method for integrating the UAV into the cooperative network combines supervised and unsupervised ML techniques. Specifically, a supervised classification approach is employed utilizing a two-hidden layered ANN with 63 neurons evenly distributed among the layers. The output class of the ANN is utilized to determine the appropriate unsupervised learning method-either k-means or k-medoids-to be employed. This specific ANN layout has been observed to exhibit an accuracy of 94.12%, the highest accuracy among the ANN models evaluated, making it highly recommended for accurate PSS predictions in urban locations. Furthermore, the proposed cooperative scheme allows pairs of users to be simultaneously served through NOMA from the UAV, which acts as an aerial base station. At the same time, the D2D cooperative transmission for each NOMA pair is activated to improve the overall communication quality. Comparisons with conventional orthogonal multiple access (OMA) and alternative unsupervised machine-learning based-UAV-D2D NOMA cooperative networks show that significant sum rate and spectral efficiency gains can be harvested through the proposed method under varying D2D bandwidth allocations.

Pharmacogenetic analysis of canonical versus noncanonical pathway of NF-kB in Crohn's disease patients under anti-tumor necrosis factor-α treatment.

OBJECTIVES: This study explores the potential of gene polymorphisms in the canonical and noncanonical NF-kB signaling pathway as a prediction biomarker of anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF)α response in Crohn's patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 109 Greek patients with Crohn's disease (CD) were recruited, and the genotype of TLR2 rs3804099, LTA rs909253, TLR4 rs5030728, and MAP3K14/NIK rs7222094 single nucleotide polymorphisms was investigated for association with response to anti-TNFα therapy. Patient's response to therapy was based on the Crohn's Disease Activity Index, depicting the maximum response within 24 months after initiation of treatment. RESULTS: Seventy-three patients (66.7%) were classified as responders while 36 as nonresponders (33.3%). Comparing allelic frequencies between responders and nonresponders, the presence of TLR2 rs3804099 T allele was associated with nonresponse (P = 0.003), even after stratification by anti-TNFα drugs (infliximab: P = 0.032, adalimumab: P = 0.026). No other association was identified for the rest of the polymorphisms under study. Haplotype analysis further enhanced the association of rs3804099 T allele with loss of response, even though the results were NS (P = 0.073). CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that polymorphisms in the canonical NF-kB pathway genes could potentially act as a predictive biomarker of anti-TNFα response in CD.

Motion Shield: An Automatic Notifications System for Vehicular Communications.

Motion Shield is an automatic crash notification system that uses a mobile phone to generate automatic alerts related to the safety of a user when the user is boarding a means of transportation. The objective of Motion Shield is to improve road safety by considering a moving vehicle's risk, estimating the probability of an emergency, and assessing the likelihood of an accident. The system, using multiple sources of external information, the mobile phone sensors' readings, geolocated information, weather data, and historical evidence of traffic accidents, processes a plethora of parameters in order to predict the onset of an accident and act preventively. All the collected data are forwarded into a decision support system which dynamically calculates the mobility risk and driving behavior aspects in order to proactively send personalized notifications and alerts to the user and a public safety answering point (PSAP) (112).

Diagnostic and prognostic value of peripheral blood leucocyte ratios in sick cats.

The objective of this study was to assess the diagnostic and prognostic utility of feline neutrophil-to-lymphocyte (NLR) and lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratios (LMR) in a variety of underlying diseases. Five-year medical records from cats presenting to the internal medicine unit of a veterinary teaching hospital were retrospectively reviewed. Cats were considered for inclusion based on complete medical records. ADVIA 120 was used for the complete blood counts; the NLR and LMR were calculated by dividing the absolute numbers of the respective leucocytes. Two hundred and nineteen sick and 20 healthy cats were included in the study. The median NLR and LMR were significantly (P < 0.05) elevated and decreased, respectively, in cats with infectious, neoplastic and chronic kidney diseases compared to controls. Additionally, cats with neoplasia had significantly higher median NLR compared to cats with urinary tract and gastrointestinal diseases. Non-survivors had significantly higher NLR and lower LMR compared to survivors. Both ratios had suboptimal prognostic performance for the outcome of sick cats (NLR sensitivity: 37.9%, specificity: 86.4%; LMR sensitivity: 69.0%, specificity: 61.0%). Many different disease categories were associated with increased NLR and decreased LMR compared to controls, but the overall prognostic performance of the two leucocyte ratios was suboptimal.

Metamizole inhibits arachidonic acid-induced platelet aggregation after surgery and impairs the effect of aspirin in hospitalized patients.

PURPOSE: The inhibitory effect of metamizole on platelet aggregation is known for several years, but most studies were conducted in healthy volunteers with contradictory results. Recent studies have shown an inhibitory effect of metamizole on acetylsalicylic acid (ASA)-induced platelet aggregation. We aimed to investigate the effect of metamizole on platelet aggregation after an elective surgery and the effect of metamizole on ASA-induced platelet aggregation in hospitalized patients. METHODS: We performed platelet aggregation analysis after induction with ADP, arachidonic acid (AA), epinephrine, and collagen in 37 patients prior to an elective visceral or thoracic surgery and on postoperative day (POD) 1 and POD 3 1-2 h and 5-6 h after metamizole. In another cohort of 10 hospitalized patients receiving the combination of metamizole and ASA for more than 7 days, AA-induced platelet aggregation was analyzed in the morning prior to the intake of both drugs. RESULTS: Metamizole induced a strong inhibitory effect on AA-induced platelet aggregation at all time points being detectable up to 41 h in some patients. Besides a less pronounced effect on collagen-induced platelet aggregation on POD 3 1-2 h after metamizole, all other inductors showed no effect. In 4 out of 10 hospitalized patients, no ASA-induced inhibition of platelet aggregation was detectable without correlation to sequence of administration. CONCLUSIONS: The reason why some patients have a long-lasting inhibitory effect of metamizole on COX-induced platelet aggregation that might interfere with ASA should be investigated in a larger cohort of patients.

A Survey on Machine-Learning Techniques for UAV-Based Communications.

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) will be an integral part of the next generation wireless communication networks. Their adoption in various communication-based applications is expected to improve coverage and spectral efficiency, as compared to traditional ground-based solutions. However, this new degree of freedom that will be included in the network will also add new challenges. In this context, the machine-learning (ML) framework is expected to provide solutions for the various problems that have already been identified when UAVs are used for communication purposes. In this article, we provide a detailed survey of all relevant research works, in which ML techniques have been used on UAV-based communications for improving various design and functional aspects such as channel modeling, resource management, positioning, and security.

Self-poisoning in the acute care medicine 2005-2012.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the trend of acute self-poisoning in the emergency and intensive care. METHODS: Electronic charts of adults who presented to the emergency department of the University Hospital Leipzig with self-poisoning following a suicide attempt (suicide group), intoxication (intoxication group), drug overdose for relief of pain or discomfort (drug overdose group) between 2005 and 2012 were analyzed. RESULTS: 3533 adults (62.6% males) were identified, with the yearly admissions increasing from 305 in 2005 to 624 in 2012. The admission rate in relation to the total emergency department admissions also increased, from 1.2% in 2005 to 1.9% in 2012. 31.7% of the patients were younger than 25 years. The reasons for self-poisoning were suicide attempt (18.1%), intoxication (76.8%) and drug overdose (2.9%). The reason could not be clearly classified in 80 patients. Psychotropic drugs were used in 71.6% of suicide attempts, while alcohol was the sole cause of intoxication in 80.1% of cases in the intoxication group. Self-poisoning using at least two substances was observed in 52.0% of the suicide attempts, 10.3% of those with intoxication and 29.7% of those with drug overdose. While alcohol remains the most common cause of intoxication, there was a drastic increase in the consumption of cannabinoids, Crystal Meth and gamma-hydroxybutyrate in the years 2011 and 2012. ICU admission was necessary in 16.6% of the cases. There were 22 deaths (0.6% of the study population), of whom 15 were in the suicide group (2.3%), four (0.15%) in the intoxication group, and three in the not clearly classified group (3.8%). CONCLUSION: Acute self-poisoning is an increasing medical issue. Psychotropic drugs remain the most common means of suicide attempt. Although alcohol intoxication is very frequent, intake of illicit drugs as the cause of emergency admission is increasing.

[Acute poisoning in adults]. / Akute Vergiftungen im Erwachsenenalter.

Acute poisoning is one of the more frequent presentations in acute and emergency medicine. Poisoning with pharmaceuticals is predominantly observed in adults. A detailed medical history and an accurate clinical examination establish the basis for the diagnostics. Typical poisoning syndromes can be classified based on the clinical presentation. Drug screening in urine and examination of blood alcohol levels are useful additional tools because of the rapid and widespread availability. Securing vital organ functions is the mainstay of treatment and early contact with a poisons centre is useful for the assessment of the hazard and the further procedures. Primary and secondary poison elimination methods should be carefully considered because of insufficient evidence. Specific antidotes are only available for a few poisoning cases.

Uncovering the metabolite complexity and variability of cultivated hemp (Cannabis sativa L.): A first phytochemical diversity mapping in Greece.

The high value of fiber-type Cannabis sativa L. (hemp) due to its phytochemicals has yet to be fully recognized and leveraged. Besides cannabidiol (CBD), which is the most prevalent non-psychoactive cannabinoid, hemp contains numerous other cannabinoids with unexplored bioactivities, in addition to various compound classes. Previous works have aimed to correlate chemical profiles of C. sativa inflorescences with important parameters, mostly based on experiments under controlled conditions. However, mapping studies that explore the phytochemical diversity of hemp in a more realistic context are crucial to guide decisions at multiple levels, especially in areas where hemp cultivation was recently re-authorized, including Mediterranean countries. In this work, a powerful strategy was followed to map the phytochemical diversity of cultivated hemp in Greece, being the first study of its kind for this environment. A panel of 98 inflorescence samples, covering two harvesting years, eleven geographical regions and seven commonly used EU varieties, were studied using a combination of targeted and untargeted approaches. Quantitative results based on UPLC-PDA revealed relatively constant CBD/THC (total) ratios, while profiling by LC-HRMS effectively probed the phytochemical variability of samples, and led to the annotation of 88 metabolites, including a multitude of minor cannabinoids. Multivariate analysis substantiated a strong effect of harvesting year in sample discrimination and related biomarkers were revealed, belonging to fatty acids and flavonoids. The effect of geographical region and, especially, variety on chemical variation patterns was more intricate to interpret. The results of this work are envisioned to enhance our understanding of the real-world phytochemical complexity of C. sativa (hemp), with a view to maximized utilization of hemp for the promotion of human well-being.

Translation, validation, and first application of the Greek version of an irritable bowel syndrome severity scoring system.

Background: The Irritable Bowel Syndrome Severity Scoring System (IBS-SSS) is a self-administered questionnaire that categorizes patients according to symptom severity. We aimed to translate and adapt the English IBS-SSS, validate the Greek version, and detect factors predictive of IBS severity. Methods: The original English version was obtained from the Rome Foundation, and the final Greek version arose through a process of translation, comprehensibility evaluation and back-translation. The 141 participants enlisted in the study were enrolled from 2 tertiary hospitals and were divided into 2 groups (98 patients and 43 healthy volunteers). We evaluated the questionnaire properties based on COSMIN criteria. Results: The recruited patients reported either diarrhea-predominant (34.7%), constipation-predominant (28.6%), or mixed subtype (36.7%) IBS. No significant variations were found regarding the frequency and intensity of abdominal pain and flatulence among the 3 IBS subtypes. Severity scores among healthy volunteers were significantly lower compared to IBS patients, irrespective of their disease subtype (P<0.001). The Cronbach coefficient (α) was calculated at 0.953, suggesting high inter-item internal consistency. The intraclass correlation coefficient was calculated and found to be high, suggesting good responsiveness of the questionnaire. Two-way MANOVA evaluation showed that demographic variables (age, family status, body mass index [BMI], smoking, and alcohol consumption) in the Greek population affect the IBS-SSS score and syndrome severity. Conclusions: The Greek version of IBS-SSS is a reliable, valid and responsive tool for assessing Greek IBS patients' symptom severity. Older age, smoking, alcohol use and higher BMI are indicative of greater symptom severity.

The burden of cardiovascular disease and related risk factors in Greece: the ATTICA epidemiological study (2002-2022).

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to present the burden of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and its related risk factors based on a 20-year observation period (2002-2022). METHODS: In 2002, 3042 Greek adults (aged: 45 (12) years) free of CVD, cancer, or any other chronic infections were enrolled. In 2022, the 20-year follow-up was performed on 2169 participants (1988 had complete data for CVD). Lifetime risk for CVDs and disability-adjusted-life-years (DALYs) lost were also calculated. RESULTS: The 20-year CVD incidence was 3600 cases/10,000 individuals (man-to-woman ratio 5:4). At the index age of 40 years, the lifetime risk for developing CVD was 68% for men and 63% for women; as the participants were getting older, the lifetime risk declined by approximately 19% and 13% for men and women, respectively, but remained at high levels, reaching 55% for both sexes. Participants between 45 and 55 years exhibited the highest CVD burden concerning aggregated DALYs. The burden was greater in men than in women, at ages below 35 years; beyond this age threshold, this trend shifted, and women exhibited a higher CVD burden. CONCLUSION: The burden of CVD in Greece has shown increasing trends over the past 20 years as a result of the accumulative growth of the prevalence of modifiable CVD risk factors. The disability-adjusted life-years lost are the most observed ever before, urging for efficient public health strategies and measures.

Mediterranean-Type Diet Adherence and Body Mass Index through 20 Years of Follow-Up: Results from the ATTICA Cohort Study (2002-2022).

Evidence of the association between dietary habits and long-term body weight status is scarce. This study aimed to evaluate changes in Mediterranean-type diet (MTD) adherence in relation to body weight during 20 years of follow-up. Data from n = 1582 participants from the ATTICA cohort study (2002-2022) were used. MTD adherence was assessed via MedDietScore, and body weight status via body mass index (BMI) by 3 different measurements. We found that MTD adherence and changes in this adherence were inversely related to BMI at 20 years and the mean BMI during the 20-year follow-up. In multi-adjusted linear regression models, a 1/55 increase in baseline, 10-year, and 20-year MedDietScore was associated with a decrease of 0.05-0.13 kg/m2 in BMI at 20 years and of 0.08-0.09 kg/m2 in the mean BMI. Being consistently close to the MTD for 20 years was associated with a >90% decreased risk of maintaining overweight/obesity during the 20-year period. Strong, protective, long-lasting effects of the MTD were observed, even in those who deviated from the MTD in the follow-up (41% of the sample). Our results highlight the need to focus on the overall diet quality to minimize the risk of maintaining an excessive body weight during the life-course.

Associations between meat type consumption pattern and incident cardiovascular disease: The ATTICA epidemiological cohort study (2002-2022).

BACKGROUND: Meat consumption has shown from detrimental to beneficial effects against cardiovascular disease (CVD) incidence, mainly depending on the type of meat studied (i.e., red/white, processed/unprocessed) and quantity consumed. OBJECTIVE: To examine the associations between meat type consumption patterns and incident CVD among apparently healthy adults. DESIGN: ATTICA study was conducted in the greater metropolitan Athens area, Greece, during 2001-2002 studying adults free-of-CVD at baseline. Twenty-year follow-up was performed in n = 1988 participants (n = 718 incident cases). Meat consumption during the follow-up period was categorized as: never/rare meat consumption (i.e., <1 time/week), mostly red meat (i.e., compared to other types of meat or processed meat), mostly white meat, and mostly processed meat products (e.g., bacon, sausage). RESULTS: Approximately 38% of the participants reported rare or no consumption of any type of meat, 31% consumed mostly red meat, 19% mostly white meat and the remainder 12% mostly processed meat. In multivariate analysis, compared to never/rarely consuming any type of meat, consuming mostly processed meat [HR: 2.89, 95%CI: 1.05, 7.89], but not red meat [HR: 1.22, 95%CI: 0.81, 1.82], was positively associated with incident CVD during 20 years of follow-up, while consuming mostly white meat was inversely associated with incident CVD [HR: 0.35, 95%CI: 0.17, 0.71]. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study suggest that the type of meat, irrespective of the frequency of consumption, plays a role in the risk of developing CVD. In clinical practice, emphasis should be placed on avoiding processed meat and replacing it with white unprocessed meat.

Pharmacogenetic Analysis of the MIR146A rs2910164 and MIR155 rs767649 Polymorphisms and Response to Anti-TNF Treatment in Patients with Crohn's Disease and Psoriasis.

The clinical heterogeneity regarding the response profile of the antitumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) in patients with Crohn's disease (CD) and psoriasis (PsO) is attributed, amongst others, to genetic factors that influence the regulatory mechanisms which orchestrate the inflammatory response. Here, we investigated the possible associations between the MIR146A rs2910164 and MIR155 rs767649 variants and the response to anti-TNF therapy in a Greek cohort of 103 CD and 100 PsO patients. We genotyped 103 CD patients and 100 PsO patients via the PCR-RFLP method, utilizing the de novo formation of a restriction site for the SacI enzyme considering the MIR146A rs2910164, while Tsp45I was employed for the MIR155 rs767649 variant. Additionally, we investigated the potential functional role of the rs767649 variant, exploring in silico the alteration of transcription factor binding sites (TFBSs) mapped on its genomic location. Our single-SNP analysis displayed a significant association between the rare rs767649 A allele and response to therapy (Bonferroni-corrected p value = 0.012) in patients with PsO, a result further enhanced by the alteration in the IRF2 TFBS caused by the above allele. Our results highlight the protective role of the rare rs767649 A allele in the clinical remission of PsO, implying its utilization as a pharmacogenetic biomarker.

The use of the GuideLiner™ catheter as a child-in-mother technique: an initial single-center experience.

Recently, a new interventional guide catheter, the GuideLiner™ catheter, was introduced into the market as a strategy for tackling the problem of stent delivery failure. We implemented this simplified child-in-mother technique in a series of 16 challenging coronary interventions. Balloon and stent delivery was successfully achieved in all cases and the device was both simple to deploy and remove. Apart from two cases of vessel dissection that were managed successfully with stent implantation, no other serious procedural complications were reported.

Early in-hospital course of critically ill nontrauma patients in a resuscitation room of a German emergency department (OBSERvE2 study).

BACKGROUND: Management of critically ill nontrauma (CINT) patients in the resuscitation room of the emergency department (ED) is very challenging. Detailed data describing the patient characteristics and management of this population are lacking. This observational study describes the epidemiology, management and outcome in CINT ED patients in the resuscitation room. METHODS: This prospective, single center observational study included all adult patients who were consecutively admitted to the ED resuscitation room during 2 periods of 1 year (September 2014-August 2015 vs. September 2017- August 2018). Patient characteristics, out-of-hospital/in-hospital treatment, admission-related conditions, time intervals for diagnostics and interventions and outcome were recorded using a self-developed questionnaire. RESULTS: A total of 34,303 patients in the first and 35,039 patients in the second study period were admitted to the ED, of whom 532 and 457 patients, respectively, were admitted to the nontrauma resuscitation room due to acute life-threatening conditions. The patient characteristics did not differ significantly between the study periods (male: 58% vs. 59%, age: 68 ± 17 years vs. 65 ± 17 years). Time intervals for diagnostic and therapeutic interventions were similar. The CINT patients during the second study period were treated faster compared to the first study period (end of ED management: 53 ± 33 min vs. 41 ± 24 min, p < 0.0001). The 30-day all-cause mortality was comparable (34.0% vs. 36.3%). CONCLUSION: Observation of critically ill patient management in the ED resuscitation room showed reliable results between both study periods. Structured ED management guidelines for CINT patients may provide comparable results at one institution.

Use of a cyclical hypofractionated radiotherapy regime ('QUAD shot') for the treatment of feline sinonasal carcinomas.

OBJECTIVES: Radiation therapy is the treatment of choice for cats with sinonasal carcinomas. Different protocols have been described in the literature, though a clear consensus regarding the optimal protocol is lacking. The aim of the study was to describe the tolerability, efficacy and outcome of cats treated with a cyclical hypofractionated protocol. METHODS: Cats with histologically diagnosed sinonasal carcinomas in a single institution were retrospectively included. All patients were treated with a cyclical hypofractionated protocol ('QUAD shot' regime). Cats were treated with 4 Gray (Gy) delivered in four fractions within 48 h, with a minimum of 6 h between two treatments, and repeated every 3-4 weeks for a total dose of 48 Gy in three cycles. RESULTS: Seven cats met the inclusion criteria. Nasal discharge and sneezing were the most common presenting complaints. All cats presented with advanced stage of disease with CT examination (three with modified Adams stage 3 and four with stage 4). Clinical improvement was seen in six cats. Five cats had a follow-up CT; one had a complete response, two had partial responses, one had stable disease and one had progressive disease. Two cats were still alive at the time of writing while four were euthanased owing to tumour-related causes. The median overall survival time was 460 days. The 1-year survival time was 80% and the 2-year survival time was 0%. Severe acute or late toxicity was not reported. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: This is the first report of a cyclical hypofractionated protocol in the veterinary literature that can provide prolonged survival in cats with advanced stage sinonasal carcinoma. Its use should be considered in patients when prolonged hospitalisation can be detrimental to quality of life, while still delivering a therapeutic total dose of radiation therapy.

Combined effect of pulsed electric field and osmotic dehydration pretreatments on mass transfer and quality of air-dried pumpkin.

Pulsed electric field (PEF) and osmotic dehydration (OD) pretreatment can accelerate the time-consuming drying process and minimize its high energy demands. The effect of PEF and OD pre-processing conditions and osmotic solution composition on mass transfer kinetics (water loss, solid gain, water activity) and quality properties (color, texture, total sensory quality) during OD and subsequent air-drying (AD) of pumpkin was studied. Application of PEF (2.0 kV/cm-1500 pulses) significantly enhanced mass transfer during subsequent air-drying (increased effective diffusivity coefficient Des and drying rate kdrying , respectively). PEF and OD treatments led to a significant reduction of the processing time by 12 and 10%, respectively (p < 0.05). The maximum reduction of processing time by 27% (p < 0.05) (compared to untreated sample) resulted in combined use of PEF and OD as pretreatments prior to AD. When PEF pretreatment was combined with OD prior to AD, the corresponding energy was by 50% less than the respective energy required for nonprocessed samples. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Pulsed electric fields (PEF) and osmotic dehydration (OD) can be applied for the production of air-dried pumpkin cuts of superior quality (in terms of quality and sensory characteristics) and reduced energy requirements (as a result of total processing time decrease).