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Carrot, Nutrition, Carrot processing, and Carrot by-products

The abundance of nutritional components and bioactive compounds in carrot i.e. carotenoids, dietary fibre, anthocyanins, vitamin C and E creates its demand both in raw and processed forms e.g. carrot juices, pickles, candy, jam, dehydrated carrot powder, etc. The phytonutrients present in carrot - rich in carbon as well as fibre are used in production of paper and composite films. Carrot leaves can be utilised in production of soups and broths in powder form. Moreover, the by-product of carrot juice industry i.e. pomace/peel has the potential for production of dietary fibre rich polysaccharides, oligosaccharides and lignin along with biomass and bioethanol.

Ambient storage, HDPE bags, LDPE bags, Peas, Pectin coating, and Shelf-life

A study was conducted to assess the effect of storage parameters i.e. pectin coating concentrations and packaging materials on shelf life and quality of peapods stored under ambient conditions (17–22°C and 75–85%). Pectin coating of various concentrations (0.5%, 1.0%, 1.5% and 2.0%) were tried on fresh peapods in order to extend the marketing period. Coating was applied by immersion method. Coated and uncoated peapods were stored in open crates, LDPE, HDPE (100 gauge) under ambient conditions. The quality of stored peapods was evaluated on the basis of physiological loss in weight, colour, texture, decay %, chlorophyll content and organoleptic attributes at regular intervals. It was observed that 1.0% pectin coated peas packed in LDPE packages recorded minimum changes in the quality parameters as compared to 0.5, 1.5 & 2.0% pectin coated and uncoated peas, it was possible to extend the shelf life of peas upto 6 days with acceptable quality attributes.

Brain Cancer, Orchard-Farmers, Pesticides, and Kashmir

The objective of this hospital based study was to determine the relationship between the patients of primary malignant brain tumors and their occupation. Retrospectively case files (and death certificates) of 432 patients of primary malignant brain tumors and 457 controls (non-tumor neurologic diseases), admitted simultaneously over a period of 4 years from Jan., 2005 to Dec., 2008, to the Neurosurgery, Sher-I-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), Kashmir were studied. Each passing year showed an increase in the incidence of new cases of highly malignant brain tumors like glioblastoma multiforme and medulloblas-tomas, most i.e. 29.30% (114 out of 389) patients in 2008 as compared to 20.82% (81 out of 389) patients in 2005. The pesticide use in the Kashmir-Valley has increased ten-fold for the last 20 years. Analysis revealed that 90.04% (389 out of 432) patients were orchard farm workers, pesticide mixers, sprayers, foggers, orchard residents and orchard playing children exposed to the high levels of multiple types of neurotoxic and carcinogenic (chlor-pyriphos, dimethoate, mancozeb and captan) chemicals as pesticides, fungicides and insecticides for a duration of 10 to 30 years. About 61.18% had direct and 38.81% had indirect exposure. The 58.61% (228 out of 389) orchard-farm patients had pesticide exposure at an age of 19 to 40 years. Most of the orchard-farm patients i.e. 44.47% (173 out of 389) had spent 10 to 20 years of life exposed to pesticides directly and/or indirectly and 70.52% (122 out of 173) were males. About 73.00% (284 out of 389) orchard-farm patients presented with symptoms and signs related to brain cancer at the age of 21 to 60 years and most of these 56.33% (160 out of 284) at the age between 41 to 60 years of life. The 9.96% (43 out of 432) patients were not exposed to pesticides. On the other hand only 119 patients out of 457 controls had recorded history of pesticide exposure and 338 were unrelated to pesticides. Familial gliomas emerged in three families. All orchard-farm related 389 patients had high grade tumors as compared to the non-orchard farm tumors. Mortality in orchard-farmer tumors exposed to pesticides was 12%. The 31.9% (124 out of 389) orchard-farm workers with higher (> 6334 u/l) levels of SCE were below 40 years and had pesticide exposure of 10 to 20 years from an early age. This was postulated to be due to chronic exposure to organo-phosphates, exposure to many other carcinogenic pesticides and non-cholinergic mechanism of action of organophosphates than the one that depresses the levels of acetyl cholinesterase (AChE) as in acute poisoning. However exact mechanism by which pesticides cause brain cancer needs experimental models in future. The study shows significant Case/Control (Odds Ratio) OR of 0. 28; hospital controls SCE (serum cholinesterase) Odds Ratio of 1.1 and family control SCE OR of 1.5.

Craniocerebral, missile injuries, metallic, non-metallic, and outcome

We ought to sought the comparative outcome related to 694 non-metallic and metallic cra-niocerebral missile injuries who lived at 2 hours and beyond the time of injury in a retrospective and prospective analysis in the Department of Neurosurgery at Sher-I-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) Kashmir, India, over a period of 21 years from September 1988 to March, 2010. The study revealed an overall mortality of 32.70% (227 out of 694). A total of 664 adults and 30 children (mostly teenagers) were studied. The 79.1% (549 out of 694) patients were metallic missile (metal bullets, grenade, bomb and improvised explosive device (IED) blasts, shrapnels, bolts, splinters and pellets used by shotgun etc) injuries whereas 20.8% (145 out of 694) patients were non-metallic missile injuries. The non-metallic missile injury group mostly (72.4% i.e.; 105 out of 145) had low GCS (Glasgow Coma Scale) score and overall worse prognosis with zero good-recovery, 47.5% disabilities and 52.4% mortality as compared to the metallic missile injury group. The non-metallic group comprised of 60% (18 out of 30) children which resulted in only one death. The metallic missile injury deaths amounted to 21.75% (151 out of 694 patients) and non-metallic missile injuries accounted for 10.95% (76 out of 694 patients) of total deaths. Predictors of poor outcome were low admission GCS score, non-metallic penetrating injury due to tear-gas cartridges, rubber bullets and stone-bullets, perforating metallic missile injuries and delayed and maltransportation. Most complications i.e. 287 complications in only 145 patients, mostly infective were found in non-metallic missile injuries with worst outcome. The common non-metallic missiles used were stone balls (stone-bullets) and spherical glass balls (locally Buanta) fired by Gulail (modified catapult) or slingshot, red rubber bullets, plastic tear gas shells and cartridges, wooden (pulped mulberry stem) and card-board wads used in shotguns (pellet-guns). The stone pelting, throwing stone projectiles (stone-bullets and glass-bullets) by Gulail and manually has become a common way to inflict head and eye injuries in Kashmir. The non-metallic missiles are not less-lethal and have high disabling, killing and infective