Assessing the Effectiveness of Natural Coating Application in Prolonging Shelf-Life in Plumcot Fruits

This study was carried out to assess the morphological characteristics, fruit quality, and antioxidant levels in sucrose ester-coated ‘Harmony’ plumcots (Prunus salicina Lindl. × P. armeniaca L.). Fruit samples in the control group were left untreated, with two further groups undergoing coating either after 0 days of cold storage (0 d CS) or after 7 days of cold storage (7 d CS) to evaluate changes in post-harvest quality at three-day intervals throughout 12 days of room temperature storage (12 DAS). Coating treatment significantly reduced fruit respiration during storage time in the 0 d CS samples, with this being attributed to the clogging of pores in peel stomata and lenticel, as observed on the fruits under scanning electron microscopy; however, the same effect was not observed in the 7 d CS samples from fruits with a high initial CO2 concentration. The coating delayed fruit softening and discoloration during storage in the 0 d CS samples, extending the shelf-life of the fruits for approximately 9 days. However, the coating treatment was found to reduce total flavonoid and anthocyanin content at 6 DAS and 12 DAS in both groups

Fruit Quality and Antioxidant Activities of Yellow-Skinned Apple Cultivars Coated with Natural Sucrose Monoesters

Yellow-skinned ‘Tsugaru’, ‘Summer King’, and ‘Shinano Gold’ apples (Malus × domestica Borkh.) were coated with a mixture of edible sucrose monoesters of fatty acid and ethanol that had never been applied in those apple fruits, for up to 28 days after room temperature storage (DAS) to evaluate their morphological characteristics, fruit qualities, and antioxidant concentrations. The coating treatment significantly reduced respiration rates of ‘Tsugaru’ and ‘Summer King’ apples at both 14 and 28 DAS, and ‘Shinano Gold’ at 28 DAS. The coated ‘Tsugaru’ and ‘Summer King’ apples were found in greater coverage with fragments of the sucrose esters than those of ‘Shinano Gold’, exhibiting greater skin greasiness and thickness. The coated ‘Tsugaru’ and ‘Summer King’ apples mostly maintained high fruit firmness, peel color, vitamin C, total polyphenol concentrations, and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity. The recent developed coating material contributed to improving shelf-life of the ‘Tsugaru’ and ‘Summer King’ apples and fruit defense systems as a novel post-harvest technology for sustainable food security

Eco-Physiological Properties of Open-Field Cucumbers Responded to Organic Liquid Fertilizers

This study was initiated to determine the effect of organic farm-derived liquid fertilizer (LF) on (1) the performance of open-field cucumbers (Cucumis sativus L.) and (2) the soil environment. Treatments included fertigation with a 0.2% solution of an equal T-N concentration on each LF, including long-term non-treatment (LNT, groundwater), non-treatment (NT, groundwater), oil cake (OC), bone meal + fish residue (BF), fish extract + active phosphoric acid (FP), sesame oil (SO), and starfish (SF). Electrical conductivity (EC) in LF was increased in the SF or BF, with high concentrations of T-C observed in the OC and BF and high P in the SO. LNT treatment decreased soil mineral nutrient concentrations and numbers of bacterial operational taxonomic units, invertebrates, and earthworms, significantly increasing infection of powdery mildew and downy mildew for the plants but reducing foliar concentrations of T-N, P, Ca, and SPAD values, and vegetative growth parameters. Soil bulk density decreased in the SF and SO plots. Total fruit yield and fruit yield efficiency were enhanced by BF, FP, SO, and SF treatments, with the highest top grade values observed on the FP- and SO-fruit. Overall, all the organic LF, in particular the SO treatment, would have improved eco-physiological sustainability and provided an alternative organic fertilizer for a short growing period

Pilot Study to Evaluate Performance of Frost-Yuzu Fruit Trees under Protected Cultivation

This study was initiated to observe the performance of yuzu (Citrusjunos Sieb. ex Tanaka) fruit trees when affected by a late freezing in 2018 and to evaluate the recovery of frost-damaged trees during post management under protected cultivation. A—4.9 °C of minimum daily temperature and 40-day drought occurred during dormancy, which then received heavy precipitation between early- and mid-March, with 15 m s−1 more than maximum instantaneous wind speeds frequently observed. This resulted in observed decreases in height, width and volume as well as in fruiting, fruit weight and yield, as well as yield index in 60–90% defoliated yuzu trees, in addition to higher rates of shoot dieback compared to trees that experienced only 0–30% defoliation. Lower performance and recovery rates of trees grown on flat land compared to trees on sloped land were also observed. Tree and net windbreaks did not significantly affect tree vegetative growth and fruit productivity but were found to have lowered shoot mortality in 2018 and 2019. Mulch with an irrigation after freezing or foliar urea application was shown to effectively increase vegetative tree growth and fruit productivity and reduce shoot mortality

Effect of orthodontic bonding steps on the initial adhesion of mutans streptococci in the presence of saliva

Objective: To test the hypothesis that orthodontic bonding has no effect on the initial adhesion of mutans streptococci (MS) in the presence of saliva. Materials and Methods: Hydroxyapatite (HA) and orthodontic adhesive (AD) disks were prepared to a uniform size. HA disks were etched with 37% phosphoric acid (HE, etched group). Some of the HE disks were coated with Transbond XT primer and light cured (HP, primed group). Transbond Plus SEP was applied to a third set of HA disks, dried, and light cured (SEP, self-etching primer group). Adhesion assays were performed using two MS strains in the presence of fluid-phase or surface-adsorbed unstimulated whole saliva (UWS). The MS adhesion patterns were examined by scanning electron microscopy. Results: MS adhesion was influenced by the bonding steps and the presence of UWS. UWS treatment decreased MS adhesion. However, surface-adsorbed UWS resulted in slightly less inhibition of MS adhesion than fluid-phase UWS. MS adhesion was significantly greater for HE than for the other groups. There were interaction effects between the UWS treatment and surface groups. MS adhesion to HP and AD was significantly diminished in the presence of surface-adsorbed or fluid-phase UWS compared with adhesion to HA, HE, or SEP. Conclusion: The hypothesis is rejected. Our results suggest that MS adhesion is significantly influenced by the bonding procedure used, and the application of conventional primers for the bracket bonding can inhibit MS adhesion to tooth surfaces in the presence of UWS. (Angle Orthod. 2011;81:326-333.)

Circulating Tumor DNA in a Breast Cancer Patient's Plasma Represents Driver Alterations in the Tumor Tissue

Tumor tissues from biopsies or surgery are major sources for the next generation sequencing (NGS) study, but these procedures are invasive and have limitation to overcome intratumor heterogeneity. Recent studies have shown that driver alterations in tumor tissues can be detected by liquid biopsy which is a less invasive technique capable of both capturing the tumor heterogeneity and overcoming the difficulty in tissue sampling. However, it is still unclear whether the driver alterations in liquid biopsy can be detected by targeted NGS and how those related to the tissue biopsy. In this study, we performed whole-exome sequencing for a breast cancer tissue and identified PTEN p.H259fs*7 frameshift mutation. In the plasma DNA (liquid biopsy) analysis by targeted NGS, the same variant initially identified in the tumor tissue was also detected with low variant allele frequency. This mutation was subsequently validated by digital polymerase chain reaction in liquid biopsy. Our result confirm that driver alterations identified in the tumor tissue were detected in liquid biopsy by targeted NGS as well, and suggest that a higher depth of sequencing coverage is needed for detection of genomic alterations in a liquid biopsy