Protective Coatings for Shelf Life Extension of Fruits and Vegetables

Abstract Shelf life of fresh fruits and vegetable depends on two variables namely respiration rate of commodity and permeability of the packaging films. The modified atmosphere packaging using specially designed films acts as protective surface by controlling respiration of goods and permeation simultaneously. Although there are number of packaging films available now days, most of packages are designed from four basic sustainable polymers viz., polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, polypropylene and polyvinyl chloride for packaging of fresh produce. Edible coating is an alternative beneficial, low cost tool for shelf life extension of postharvest fruit and vegetable. Edible polymeric packaging materials can be made from polysaccharides, proteins and lipids. The objective of this review is to provide a comprehensive description of protective coatings used for preserving fruits and vegetables

Physical properties of bottle gourd seeds

The present study was aimed to evaluate physical properties of bottle gourd seeds viz., size, shape, surface area, unit mass, densities, angle of repose and coefficient of friction at the moisture content of 10.04 % (wet basis).  The results revealed that the average length, width and thickness of seeds were 14.84, 7.44 and 3.34 mm, respectively.  The aspect ratio, sphericity, surface area and 1,000 seed mass of bottle gourd seeds were found to be 50.45 %, 0.48, 161.78 mm2 and 143.77 g, respectively.  The average values of true and bulk densities were 721.30 and 453.80 kg m-3, respectively and the corresponding porosity was 37.07%.  The terminal velocity was 6.14 m s-1.  The coefficient of friction on plywood and plastic surfaces were observed to be the highest and lowest, respectively.  As the bottle gourd seed oil contains omega-3 and ‘Lagenina’, the information obtained through the experiments is key parameters not only for food processors but also to the engineers for designing process and machines as well.   Keywords: Bulk density, coefficient of friction, dimensions, porosity, terminal velocity, true densit

Comparative study of physical properties of whole and hulled minor millets for equipment designing

The present research was done for the selected minor millets viz. barnyard (Echinola esculenta), Kodo (Paspalum scrobiculatum), and little millets (Panicum sumatrense). The physical and engineering properties were evaluated at a moisture content of 10–11%, (dry basis) for whole and hulled millets. Significant improvement in the physical properties of the millets was observed for the hulled millets. The hulled millets showed higher sphericity (0.68–0.86) and exhibited a decrease in whole grains' spatial dimensions. The analysis (Gravimetric properties, frictional properties, Aerodynamic properties) was conducted for both whole and hulled millets. In frictional properties, mild steel surface showed the highest angle of static friction (9.78–17.96°) with smooth-rolling. The hulling has shown an improvement in all the physical and engineering properties of millets. In the color values, the whiteness index was improved for hulled millets. In the mechanical property of grains, resistance to crushing was expressed in terms of hardness

Investigation of Physicochemical, Mechanical, Thermal and Rheological Properties of Mrigbahar Nagpur Mandarin (Citrus reticulate Blanco.)

Nagpur mandarin (popularly known as Nagpur Santra) is an indigenous fruit with high nutritional and functional value. It is the only cultivar of mandarin grown in Vidarbha region of Maharashtra. As per harvesting time they are ambiabahar (Ocrober-November) and mrigbahar (February-March). Out of these two, mrigbahar is unique to Nagpur and of superior quality, hence taken for the study. The physicochemical, thermal, mechanical, rheological and textural properties of mrigbahar Nagpur mandarin are studied in this work. The sphericity (0.90) of mrigbahar fruit is considered to be spherical. The mean breadth, thickness and length of the fruit are 54.9, 47.3 and 57.9 mm, respectively. The true density, porosity and bulk density are 1.364 g/m3, 65.10% and 0.517 g/m3. The thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity and specific heat of Nagpur mandarin fruit are 0.588 W/m℃, 11.84 × 10−2 m2/s and 3.909 kJ/kg℃. Under rheological properties of Nagpur mandarin juice, it is observed that as the shear rate increased, viscosity (ƞ) and shear stress (σ) decreased and Herschel Bulkley model is most suitable to characterise flow behaviour. The textural properties reveal that fracturability with 1% load sensitivity is 10.27 N with respective values of stringiness length (4.04 mm). The findings of this investigation would help for the post-harvest handling, processing equipment and value-added products from Nagpur mandarin

Global burden of 288 causes of death and life expectancy decomposition in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

BACKGROUND Regular, detailed reporting on population health by underlying cause of death is fundamental for public health decision making. Cause-specific estimates of mortality and the subsequent effects on life expectancy worldwide are valuable metrics to gauge progress in reducing mortality rates. These estimates are particularly important following large-scale mortality spikes, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. When systematically analysed, mortality rates and life expectancy allow comparisons of the consequences of causes of death globally and over time, providing a nuanced understanding of the effect of these causes on global populations. METHODS The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021 cause-of-death analysis estimated mortality and years of life lost (YLLs) from 288 causes of death by age-sex-location-year in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations for each year from 1990 until 2021. The analysis used 56 604 data sources, including data from vital registration and verbal autopsy as well as surveys, censuses, surveillance systems, and cancer registries, among others. As with previous GBD rounds, cause-specific death rates for most causes were estimated using the Cause of Death Ensemble model-a modelling tool developed for GBD to assess the out-of-sample predictive validity of different statistical models and covariate permutations and combine those results to produce cause-specific mortality estimates-with alternative strategies adapted to model causes with insufficient data, substantial changes in reporting over the study period, or unusual epidemiology. YLLs were computed as the product of the number of deaths for each cause-age-sex-location-year and the standard life expectancy at each age. As part of the modelling process, uncertainty intervals (UIs) were generated using the 2·5th and 97·5th percentiles from a 1000-draw distribution for each metric. We decomposed life expectancy by cause of death, location, and year to show cause-specific effects on life expectancy from 1990 to 2021. We also used the coefficient of variation and the fraction of population affected by 90% of deaths to highlight concentrations of mortality. Findings are reported in counts and age-standardised rates. Methodological improvements for cause-of-death estimates in GBD 2021 include the expansion of under-5-years age group to include four new age groups, enhanced methods to account for stochastic variation of sparse data, and the inclusion of COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality-which includes excess mortality associated with the pandemic, excluding COVID-19, lower respiratory infections, measles, malaria, and pertussis. For this analysis, 199 new country-years of vital registration cause-of-death data, 5 country-years of surveillance data, 21 country-years of verbal autopsy data, and 94 country-years of other data types were added to those used in previous GBD rounds. FINDINGS The leading causes of age-standardised deaths globally were the same in 2019 as they were in 1990; in descending order, these were, ischaemic heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lower respiratory infections. In 2021, however, COVID-19 replaced stroke as the second-leading age-standardised cause of death, with 94·0 deaths (95% UI 89·2-100·0) per 100 000 population. The COVID-19 pandemic shifted the rankings of the leading five causes, lowering stroke to the third-leading and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to the fourth-leading position. In 2021, the highest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 occurred in sub-Saharan Africa (271·0 deaths [250·1-290·7] per 100 000 population) and Latin America and the Caribbean (195·4 deaths [182·1-211·4] per 100 000 population). The lowest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 were in the high-income super-region (48·1 deaths [47·4-48·8] per 100 000 population) and southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania (23·2 deaths [16·3-37·2] per 100 000 population). Globally, life expectancy steadily improved between 1990 and 2019 for 18 of the 22 investigated causes. Decomposition of global and regional life expectancy showed the positive effect that reductions in deaths from enteric infections, lower respiratory infections, stroke, and neonatal deaths, among others have contributed to improved survival over the study period. However, a net reduction of 1·6 years occurred in global life expectancy between 2019 and 2021, primarily due to increased death rates from COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality. Life expectancy was highly variable between super-regions over the study period, with southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania gaining 8·3 years (6·7-9·9) overall, while having the smallest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 (0·4 years). The largest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 occurred in Latin America and the Caribbean (3·6 years). Additionally, 53 of the 288 causes of death were highly concentrated in locations with less than 50% of the global population as of 2021, and these causes of death became progressively more concentrated since 1990, when only 44 causes showed this pattern. The concentration phenomenon is discussed heuristically with respect to enteric and lower respiratory infections, malaria, HIV/AIDS, neonatal disorders, tuberculosis, and measles. INTERPRETATION Long-standing gains in life expectancy and reductions in many of the leading causes of death have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the adverse effects of which were spread unevenly among populations. Despite the pandemic, there has been continued progress in combatting several notable causes of death, leading to improved global life expectancy over the study period. Each of the seven GBD super-regions showed an overall improvement from 1990 and 2021, obscuring the negative effect in the years of the pandemic. Additionally, our findings regarding regional variation in causes of death driving increases in life expectancy hold clear policy utility. Analyses of shifting mortality trends reveal that several causes, once widespread globally, are now increasingly concentrated geographically. These changes in mortality concentration, alongside further investigation of changing risks, interventions, and relevant policy, present an important opportunity to deepen our understanding of mortality-reduction strategies. Examining patterns in mortality concentration might reveal areas where successful public health interventions have been implemented. Translating these successes to locations where certain causes of death remain entrenched can inform policies that work to improve life expectancy for people everywhere. FUNDING Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Effect of Tannase (Aspergillus ficcum) on physicochemical properties of clarified Jamun juice

Indian black berry known as Jamun is a minor fruit which contains high amount of tannin. Extraction and clarification of juice is quite difficult due to its pulp nature. Tannase a membrane bound enzyme is added to clarify the Jamun juice which helps to obtain high yield. The target area of the work is to build up the procedure for streamlining of process factor to obtain Jamun juice utilizing Tannase (strain: Aspergillus ficcum). Physicochemical parameters (clarity, colour change, polyphenol, turbidity, protein, TSS and yield) are analyzed at a temperature range between (30 – 50oC), with (0.01 – 0.1 % w/v) concentration and time orbit of (40-120 min). Significant differences in the response characteristics were measured using coefficient of determination (R2) value, resulted (R2) > 0.9. Clarified juice obtained at 0.05% enzyme concentration at 40oC for 80 minutes

Effect of Hydro and Cold Room Pre-cooling on Cooling Kinetics and Post-harvest Quality of Amla

899-905Pre-cooling is an important step in the post-harvest management of fresh produces. This study was initiated to evaluate the effect of hydro and cold room pre-cooling on cooling kinetics and post-harvest quality parameters for amla. Amla fruits were hydro cooled using immersion method in chlorinated water (200 ppm) at 3, 5, and 8℃ temperatures, while Cold Room (CR) pre-cooling was done in a display-type refrigerator at 6℃. Comparative cooling kinetics showed the highest cooling rate of 1.83 for 3℃ water temperature among all cooling treatments. In addition, cooling kinetics represents that 3℃ water temperature exhibited the lowest cooling time with maximum cooling coefficient. Analysis of post-harvest quality was done at 3℃ Hydro Cooling (HC) water temperature. Amla fruits of HC at 3℃ and CR cooled at 6℃ were stored at 6 ± 1℃ temperature and 90–95% Relative humidity for 15 days. During the storage study analysis, the HC process of amla fruits showed significantly lower weight loss, higher firmness, and less ascorbic acid degradation. An insignificant effect of HC and CR cooling process were observed for total soluble solid and titrable acidity during the storage. Therefore, HC process can be possibly used for pre-cooling amla fruits, significantly reducing the cooling time and contributing to better postharvest qualities than CR cooling

Exploration of Shorea robusta (Sal) seeds, kernels and its oil

Physical, mechanical, and chemical properties of Shorea robusta seed with wing, seed without wing, and kernel were investigated in the present work. The physico-chemical composition of sal oil was also analyzed. The physico-mechanical properties and proximate composition of seed with wing, seed without wing, and kernel at three moisture contents of 9.50% (w.b), 9.54% (w.b), and 12.14% (w.b), respectively, were studied. The results show that the moisture content of the kernel was highest as compared to seed with wing and seed without wing. The sphericity of the kernel was closer to that of a sphere as compared to seed with wing and seed without wing. The hardness of the seed with wing (32.32, N/mm) and seed without wing (42.49, N/mm) was lower than the kernels (72.14, N/mm). The proximate composition such as moisture, protein, carbohydrates, oil, crude fiber, and ash content were also determined. The kernel (30.20%, w/w) contains higher oil percentage as compared to seed with wing and seed without wing. The scientific data from this work are important for designing of equipment and processes for post-harvest value addition of sal seeds