Effect of γ-radiation on post-harvest storage life and quality of onion bulb under ambient condition.

Different doses of gamma Irradiation (0 Gy, 10 Gy, 60 Gy, 100 Gy and 200 Gy) were evaluated as potential treatment to extend the storage period and maintain the quality attributes of onion bulbs (cv. Punjab Noraya) at ambient temperature for a period of 144 days. It was observed that storage parameters such as physiological loss in weight, sprouting percentage, rotting percentage and quality traits like total soluble solids, firmness, color parameters, ascorbic acid and pyruvic acid varied significantly (p < 0.05) during storage period with respect to doses of irradiation. No rotting and sprouting were observed upto 24 days and 84 days, respectively in both gamma irradiated and un-irradiated bulbs. At 5 months of storage, the physiological loss in weight varied from 28.5 to 63.6% in all treatments. Physiological weight loss and rotting percentage were higher in the untreated (control) as well as bulbs radiated @ 10 Gy and 200 Gy. Firmness was better retained in the bulbs irradiated with gamma rays @ 120 Gy bulbs upto 84 days of storage. However, no clear-cut pattern for colour changes (L, a, b values) was observed with respect to the irradiation doses. TSS in bulbs decreased upto 36 days of storage and thereafter increased upto 48th day of storage irrespective of the dose of gamma irradiation. Ascorbic acid content of bulbs decreases significantly in all the irradiation treatments during storage but pyruvic acid initially increased, then decreased and again increased at the end of the storage period in un-irradiated and irradiated treatments. It is concluded that onion bulbs irradiated with gamma rays @ 120 Gy resulted in minimum loss in weight, rotting and sprouting while maintained best quality for 3 months of storage at ambient storage conditions.

Development of post-harvest protocol of okra for export marketing.

The study was carried out on the harvesting and handling methods of okra with the objective to maintain the best quality of pods from harvesting to end consumer especially for export marketing. For that purpose okra cv. 'Punjab-8' pods were harvested with minimum handling (least injuries to the pubescence on the ridges of pod) and normal handling (no safety taken to prevent injuries on pods). Pods were precooled at 15 ± 1ºC, 90-95% RH; jumble packed in the CFB boxes of 2.0 Kg capacity and than stored at 8 ± 1ºC, 90-95% RH. The quality parameters of okra namely texture, chlorophyll content, physiological loss in weight, rotting percentage and general appearance were studied. The pods harvested with minimum handling and field packaging can retain their green colour, crisp texture (maximum force to puncture pod = 500.2 g) with minimum rotting (3.0%) and physiological loss in weight (15.8%) and good appearance upto 13 days of cold storage whereas normal handled pods can be stored upto 5 days at 8 ± 1ºC, 90-95% RH and thereafter lost their general appearance on the 7th day of storage and were discarded. Therefore, in order to maintain high quality of okra from harvesting to the final destination (consumer), the okra pods should be harvested with minimum handling followed by field packaging in CFB boxes.

Advances in edible coatings for fresh fruits and vegetables: a review.

Edible coatings are an environmentally friendly technology that is applied on many products to control moisture transfer, gas exchange or oxidation processes. Edible coatings can provide an additional protective coating to produce and can also give the same effect as modified atmosphere storage in modifying internal gas composition. One major advantage of using edible films and coatings is that several active ingredients can be incorporated into the polymer matrix and consumed with the food, thus enhancing safety or even nutritional and sensory attributes. But, in some cases, edible coatings were not successful. The success of edible coatings for fresh products totally depends on the control of internal gas composition. Quality criteria for fruits and vegetables coated with edible films must be determined carefully and the quality parameters must be monitored throughout the storage period. Color change, firmness loss, ethanol fermentation, decay ratio and weight loss of edible film coated fruits need to be monitored. This review discusses the use of different edible coatings (polysaccharides, proteins, lipids and composite) as carriers of functional ingredients on fresh fruits and vegetables to maximize their quality and shelf life. This also includes the recent advances in the incorporation of antimicrobials, texture enhancers and nutraceuticals to improve quality and functionality of fresh-cut fruits. Sensory implications, regulatory status and future trends are also reviewed.

Genetics and marker-assisted breeding for sex expression in cucumber.

Cucumber is an important vegetable crop that provides an accessible draft genome, which has significantly expedited research in various fields of molecular genetics. Cucumber breeders have been employing various methodologies to improve the yield and quality of the crop. These methodologies comprise enhancement of disease resistance, use of gynoecious sex types and their association with parthenocarpy, alterations in plant architecture, and enhancement of genetic variability. The genetics of sex expression are a complex trait in cucumbers but are very significant for the genetic improvement of cucumber crop. This review comprises an explanation of the current status of gene(s) involvement and its expression studies, the inheritance of genes, molecular markers, and genetic engineering associated with sex determination, as well as a discussion of the role of ethylene in sex expression and sex-determining genes of the ACS family. There is no doubt that gynoecy is an important trait among all sex forms of cucumber for heterosis breeding, but if it is associated with parthenocarpy, fruit yield can be enhanced to a greater extent under favorable conditions. However, little information is available with regard to parthenocarpy in gynoecious-type cucumber. This review sheds light on the genetics and molecular mapping of sex expression and could be beneficial especially to cucumber breeders and other scientists working on crop improvement via traditional and molecular assistant approaches.

Effect of packaging on storage life and quality of cauliflower stored at low temperature.

Medium sized cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var. botrytis) curds after removing outer leaves, sorting and without washing were packed in different packaging films and stored at 0 ± 1°C, 90-95% RH. Changes in curd colour, texture, physiological loss in weight, spoilage and sensory quality were evaluated at weekly interval upto 28 days. Cauliflower curds individual packed in high density polyethylene bags (20 µm) with perforation (6 holes/bag) can be stored up to 21 days at 0 ± 1°C and 90-95% RH with maximum retention of white colour of curd, minimum spoilage, weight and firmness loss and good sensory quality attributes. The use of cling wrap films should be avoided as this leads to accumulation of excessive moisture resulting in huge spoilage loss.

Creation of skyrmions in van der Waals ferromagnet Fe3GeTe2 on (Co/Pd) n superlattice.

Magnetic skyrmions are topological spin textures, which usually exist in noncentrosymmetric materials where the crystal inversion symmetry breaking generates the so-called Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction. This requirement unfortunately excludes many important magnetic material classes, including the recently found two-dimensional van der Waals (vdW) magnetic materials, which offer unprecedented opportunities for spintronic technology. Using photoemission electron microscopy and Lorentz transmission electron microscopy, we investigated and stabilized Néel-type magnetic skyrmion in vdW ferromagnetic Fe3GeTe2 on top of (Co/Pd) n in which the Fe3GeTe2 has a centrosymmetric crystal structure. We demonstrate that the magnetic coupling between the Fe3GeTe2 and the (Co/Pd) n could create skyrmions in Fe3GeTe2 without the need of an external magnetic field. Our results open exciting opportunities in spintronic research and the engineering of topologically protected nanoscale features by expanding the group of skyrmion host materials to include these previously unknown vdW magnets.

Cervical adenocarcinoma metastasizing to the skin incision: a case report.

In a patient previously operated upon for cervical adenocarcinoma, an abdominal wall swelling of identical histology developed in the surgical incision line. The skin involved was the site of external irradiation. The case is discussed and the literature reviewed.

Cystoscopy in cases of carcinoma of the cervix uteri: clinical experience with 85 cases.

A retrospective study involving 85 cases of cystoscopy carried out between December, 1989 and July, 1992 in selected cases of carcinoma cervix was undertaken with the purpose of determining the place of cystoscopy in this condition. Cystoscopy was performed only when there was a clinical suspicion of the urinary bladder being involved. Of 67 cases in which cystoscopy was performed as part of staging of carcinoma cervix, one was in stage II, 48 in stage III and 18 in stage IV (stages determined prior to cystoscopy). On cystoscopy of the stage III cases, 50% showed apparent involvement of bladder, 29.17% showed suspicious findings and 20.83% showed negative findings. Of the stage IV cases, 61.11% showed apparent involvement of bladder, 33.33% showed suspicious findings and 5.56% showed negative findings. Of 13 cases in which biopsy was taken cystoscopically, 8 were histologically positive, 4 were histologically negative and one was histologically suspicious for malignancy of the urinary bladder. In the remaining 18 cases cystoscopy was performed during follow-up period.