Production of apple-based baby food: changes in pesticide residues.

Apples represent the main component of most fruit-based baby food products. Since not only fruit from organic farming, but also conventionally grown fruit is used for baby food production, the occurrence of pesticide residues in the final product is of high concern. To learn more about the fate of these hazardous compounds during processing of contaminated raw material, apples containing altogether 21 pesticide residues were used for preparation of a baby food purée both in the household and at industrial scale (in the baby food production facility). Within both studies, pesticide residues were determined in raw apples as well as in final products. Intermediate product and by-product were also analysed during the industrial process. Determination of residues was performed by a sensitive multi-detection analytical method based on liquid or gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. The household procedure involved mainly the cooking of unpeeled apples, and the decrease of residues was not extensive enough for most of the studied pesticides; only residues of captan, dithianon and thiram dropped significantly (processing factors less than 0.04). On the other hand, changes in pesticide levels were substantial for all tested pesticides during apple processing in the industrial baby food production facility. The most important operation affecting the reduction of residues was removal of the by-products after pulping (rest of the peel, stem, pips etc.), while subsequent sterilisation has an insignificant effect. Also in this case, captan, dithianon and thiram were identified as pesticides with the most evident decrease of residues.

Histomorphologic study of nasal turbinates after surgical treatment: a comparison of laser surgery and radiofrequency-induced thermotherapy effects in animals.

CONCLUSIONS: From the clinical point of view, the healing process following radiofrequency-induced thermotherapy (RFITT) is faster and less painful for the patient. This corresponds with the histopathological findings, as in a case of diode laser treatment, the damage to the tissue was greater, and the regenerative and reparative processes were less prominent. OBJECTIVE: Comparison of histopathologic changes and the healing process in the turbinate tissue regarding the kind of treatment and intensity of energy used for surgery. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Pigs were chosen as laboratory animals for this study. The animals were divided into two groups. Two different techniques were used: treatment with diode laser fiber applied submucosally in contact mode and RFITT. The first tissue samples were taken on the third postoperative day; further sampling was done on the eight postoperative day. RESULTS: Histological features of the specimens taken from turbinates 8 days after the surgery included necrosis and ulceration, fibrin deposition in the mucosa, necrotizing sialometaplasia, as well as proliferation of the granulation tissue. Generally, the changes found in the turbinates treated by diode laser were more severe, with more intensive tissue damage and less prominent regenerative and reparative changes.

Safe apples for baby-food production: survey of pesticide treatment regimes leaving minimum residues.

A total of 19 pesticide preparations were used according to agricultural practice in six trials in apple orchards. Using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), premature Golden Delicious apples collected 64, 50, 36 days before harvest and mature fruit were examined for residues of active ingredients. No residues of triflumuron, triazamate, chlorpyrifos, etofenprox, fenoxycarb, kresoxim-methyl, cyprodinyl, difenoconazole or thiram were detected in the first sampling. Also, the levels of chlorpyrifos-methyl, penconazole, tebuconazole and tolylfluanid dropped during the pre-harvest interval. Detectable residues of pyridaben, thiacloprid, trifloxystrobin and tetraconazole in harvested fruits were below 0.01 mg kg(-1), which is the maximum concentration of residues acceptable by baby-food producers in any raw material. The only residues exceeding this concentration were captan and teflubenzuron. Based on the data, farmers can choose pesticides for optimal treatment of plants, while enabling growth of a safe crop suitable for baby-food production.

Neurofibromatosis 2: two case reports.

Our study presents two cases of neurofibromatosis 2 (NF2) that have been diagnosed at the Ear, Nose, and Throat Department of Hradec Králové (Czech Republic). The first case involved a young man with a history of sudden hearing loss accompanied by tinnitus on the left side. The diagnosis of NF2 was made, and an operation for left acoustic neuroma was performed. Looking toward the future, the acoustic neuroma on the right side should be resolved as well. The second case concerned a woman (the mother of our patient 1) examined at the same Ear, Nose, and Throat Department in 1980, after 4 years of gait instability and progressive loss of hearing and tinnitus on the right side. Computed tomography scan detected a bilateral expansion in the pontocerebellar angles, and a large tumor on the right side was removed. The patient is deaf and has facial palsy without progression of symptomatology during long-term follow-up. These two cases document the rare but serious hereditary disease of NF2. Its most frequent first presentation is acoustic neuroma; further, benign tumors of the nervous system and juvenile cortical cataract also are often detected. The variability of number, location, and biological behavior of tumors associated with NF2 require an individual patient treatment approach, long-term follow-up, and insertion of appropriate hearing aids. Important also is a genetic examination to exclude pathological NF2 genes in the first-degree relatives of the affected individuals.