Mortality of Tribolium castaneum and quality changes in Oryza sativa by indirect exposure to Non-Thermal Plasma

The management of stored product pests is a serious concern as it contributes to postharvest product losses. This study investigated the influence of NTP on the control of Tribolium castaneum adults and the quality of Oryza sativa and compared with phosphine fumigation. The experiments were performed at 100 - 200 V of NTP and 100 - 200 ppm of phosphine for the exposure periods of 8, 16, and 24 h. Mortality of 100 % and 86.67 % was obtained at 24 h of exposure for plasma treatment (200 V) and phosphine (200 ppm), respectively. The quality changes in rice during the mortality studies were also evaluated for treated samples. The cooking properties, texture, hydration behavior, and pasting profile along with color and moisture content were investigated. The statistical analysis did not report any significant quality changes for plasma and phosphine treated rice compared to the untreated samples. The microstructural changes in the rice was also examined by scanning electron microscope. The results suggest that NTP treatment can be used as a useful tool for the control of T. castaneum without affecting the properties of rice. However, large scale studies have to be explored for practical usage of NTP in management of stored product pests

In package control of Rhyzopertha dominica in wheat using a continuous atmospheric jet cold plasma system

Cold plasma is recognized and explored for a plethora of applications in the food and agricultural industry. This study investigated the influence of a continuous atmospheric pressure non-thermal jet plasma system on the mortality of Rhyzopertha dominica adults in whole wheat kernels and the changes in the milling and physicochemical attributes of the treated whole wheat. Air-filled packets of whole wheat kernels were artificially infested with R. dominica adults. The packages were carried by a continuous conveyor belt and treated with plasma at voltages ranging from 44-47 kV for 4-7 min. The mortality was determined after 24 h and milling yield, particle size, proximate composition, and color of plasma-treated and untreated wheat grains were also evaluated. The maximum mortality was 88.33% at 47 kV for 7 min. The milling yield, protein, and fiber content of wheat were enhanced with plasma treatment significantly. Thus the continuous atmospheric pressure jet plasma used in this study could be one of the practically implementable emerging techniques for the commercial disinfestation of packaged food products

The need for interdisciplinary research in marine sciences – A MERry outlook

Author contributions RV: Writing – review & editing, Writing – original draft, Visualization, Supervision, Project administration, Methodology, Investigation, Conceptualization. AS: Writing – review & editing, Writing – original draft, Visualization, Methodology. SS: Writing – review & editing, Visualization, Validation, Investigation. PO: Writing – review & editing, Validation, Resources, Investigation. KP: Writing – review & editing, Validation, Investigation. AG: Writing – review & editing, Validation. CB: Writing – review & editing. IM: Writing – review & editing, Validation, Data curation, Resources, Funding acquisition. MS: Writing – review & editing, Writing – original draft, Validation, Resources, Funding acquisition, Conceptualization.Peer reviewe

The Effect of Material Thickness, Load Density, External Airflow, and Relative Humidity on the Drying Efficiency and Quality of EHD-Dried Apples

Electrohydrodynamic drying is a novel non-thermal technique for dehydrating heat-sensitive foods. However, its industrial applications are limited due to the underexplored effects of material properties and environmental conditions on product quality. For this purpose, a multifactorial experiment was designed to study the effects of material thickness, load density, external airflow, and humidity on the EHD drying efficiency and quality of apple slices. The experiments show that the intensity of EHD drying increased with a decrease in humidity, slice thickness, and load density. The effective diffusivity of apple slices with EHD drying was about 5.17·10−12 m2/s, slightly increasing with external airflow. The specific energy consumption of EHD drying was 10–12 times lower than hot air drying. The time of EHD drying at 20 °C was equivalent to hot air drying at 40 °C, but the impact of EHD drying on the product quality was significantly lower. EHD drying better preserved the color and phenolic content in dried apple slices, with less cellular damage. Hence, EHD drying can be employed in industry as a sustainable alternative to hot air drying

A new species of six-gilled hagfish (Myxinidae: Eptatretus) from the Lakshadweep Sea

Augustina, Treasa, Sreeram, Miriam Paul, Sukumaran, Sandhya, Jose, Anjaly (2022): A new species of six-gilled hagfish (Myxinidae: Eptatretus) from the Lakshadweep Sea. Zootaxa 5162 (2): 120-134, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5162.2.

FIGURE 1 in A new species of six-gilled hagfish (Myxinidae: Eptatretus) from the Lakshadweep Sea

FIGURE 1. Known distribution of Eptatretus wadgensis sp. nov., based on the type series (represents holotype and represents paratypes)Published as part of Augustina, Treasa, Sreeram, Miriam Paul, Sukumaran, Sandhya & Jose, Anjaly, 2022, A new species of six-gilled hagfish (Myxinidae: Eptatretus) from the Lakshadweep Sea, pp. 120-134 in Zootaxa 5162 (2) on page 122, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5162.2.2, http://zenodo.org/record/680991

FIGURE 2 in A new species of six-gilled hagfish (Myxinidae: Eptatretus) from the Lakshadweep Sea

FIGURE 2. (A) Holotype (B) Gill apertures (GA) Eptatretus wadgensis sp. nov., CMFRI DNR.: GC.1.1.1.1, 400mm in TL, fresh specimen (photo: K.R. Aju)Published as part of Augustina, Treasa, Sreeram, Miriam Paul, Sukumaran, Sandhya & Jose, Anjaly, 2022, A new species of six-gilled hagfish (Myxinidae: Eptatretus) from the Lakshadweep Sea, pp. 120-134 in Zootaxa 5162 (2) on page 123, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5162.2.2, http://zenodo.org/record/680991

FIGURE 3 in A new species of six-gilled hagfish (Myxinidae: Eptatretus) from the Lakshadweep Sea

FIGURE 3. Anatomy of Eptatretus wadgensis sp. nov., Paratypes CMFRI DNR GC.1.1.1.4 Separated ventral aorta between 4th and 5th gill pouch. Branchial region (gill pouches (GP), median ventral aorta (MVA), separated ventral aorta (SVA), efferent branchial duct (EBD), dental muscle (DM), heart (H) and liver (L) (photo: K.R. Aju)Published as part of Augustina, Treasa, Sreeram, Miriam Paul, Sukumaran, Sandhya & Jose, Anjaly, 2022, A new species of six-gilled hagfish (Myxinidae: Eptatretus) from the Lakshadweep Sea, pp. 120-134 in Zootaxa 5162 (2) on page 124, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5162.2.2, http://zenodo.org/record/680991

FIGURE 4 in A new species of six-gilled hagfish (Myxinidae: Eptatretus) from the Lakshadweep Sea

FIGURE 4. Dentition of Eptatretus wadgensis sp. nov., holotype CMFRI DNR.: GC.1.1.1.1 (A. Anterior row of teeth B. Posterior row of teeth (left series) and palatine tooth (PL).Published as part of Augustina, Treasa, Sreeram, Miriam Paul, Sukumaran, Sandhya & Jose, Anjaly, 2022, A new species of six-gilled hagfish (Myxinidae: Eptatretus) from the Lakshadweep Sea, pp. 120-134 in Zootaxa 5162 (2) on page 125, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5162.2.2, http://zenodo.org/record/680991

New deep-water species of snake eel, Xyrias anjaalai sp. nov. (Anguilliformes: Ophichthidae), from the Western Indian Ocean

A new species of snake eel Xyrias anjaalai sp. nov. (Anguilliformes: Ophichthidae) is described from morphological analysis of 12 specimens and molecular analysis of four specimens, caught off Kollam, Kerala, southwestern India, by deep-sea trawling. X. anjaalai is distinguished from its congeners by having a large eye diameter, a short snout, a different dentition pattern as in the 3rd row of maxillary teeth beginning at the level of the 4th vomerine tooth between the two existing rows in the inner series of maxillary teeth, an irregular tooth patch for approximately 1/10th of the lateral side of the dental arch in the distal portion and a vertebral count of predorsal vertebrae 18–21, preanal vertebrae 73–76 and total vertebrae 147–149. Phylogenetic relationships of X. anjaalai with other species in Ophichthidae were examined using partial nucleotide sequences of the COI gene (617 bp). The genetic analyses suggest that the new species is closest to X. revulsus followed by Apterichtus klazingai with Kimura 2 parameter (K2P) values of 0.6 and 2.8% respectively. In the phylogenetic reconstruction, sequences of X. anjaalai formed a distinct clade demonstrating their uniqueness as a separate species