Effect of pre-cooling on the shelf-life and quality of formosa papaya.

Papaya is a climacteric fruit, rapidly ripening after harvesting due to ethylene production and increased respiratory rate. This swift ripening results in softening of fruit tissues, shortening the fruit shelf life. Pre-cooling serves as an alternative to minimize fruit ripening and post-harvest losses by reducing metabolism. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of pre-cooling on the quality and conservation of Formosa 'Tainung I' papaya. Papayas at maturation stage II were obtained from a commercial orchard with conventional production. The experimental design was a completely randomized 4×6 split-plot scheme, with pre-cooling treatments (Control, without pre-cooling treatment; pre-cooling at 15 °C in a cold chamber; pre-cooling at 7 °C in a cold chamber; and forced-air cooling at 7 °C) in the plot, and days of storage (0, 7, 14, 21, 28, and 35 days) in the subplot. Pre-cooling effectively delayed the ripening and senescence of Formosa papaya, reducing the loss of green color and firmness. Regardless of the treatment used, chilling injury and incidence of fungi from the genus Fusarium and Alternaria limited the shelf life of Formosa 'Tainung I' papaya up to 21 days of storage. Additionally, the appearance of hardened regions in the pulp compromised the sensory quality of the fruits, necessitating further investigation into the causes of this disorder.

Maturation and antioxidant activity of 'Giombo' and 'Rama Forte' persimmons produced in the Brazilian semiarid.

The objective of this work was characterizing persimmons of the 'Giombo' and 'Rama Forte' cultivars harvested at different ripening stages in the Brazilian semiarid. Fruits were harvested at three ripening stages - green, semi-ripe and ripe - then evaluated for the following characteristics: fruit weight and diameter, skin and pulp color, fruit firmness, pulp pH, soluble solids content, titratable acidity, SSC/TA ratio, total soluble sugars, reducing sugars, astringency index, and the contents of tannin, vitamin C, carotenoid, ß-carotene, and total extractable polyphenols. Also, total antioxidant activity by the DPPH and ABTS methods and pectin methylesterase, and polygalacturonase enzyme activities were evaluated. Two experiments were carried out in a completely randomized design, one for each cultivar, with treatments consisting of different stages of maturation, with five replications of three fruits each. Data were submitted to analysis of variance and the differences between the means were compared using the Tukey test at 5% probability. Fruit firmness and soluble solids content did not vary between maturation stages for any of the cultivars. However, the skin color index increased with advancing maturation for both 'Giombo' and 'Rama Forte'. The astringency index, the content of total extractable polyphenols, soluble tannins and the antioxidant capacity were lower in fruits harvested at the ripe stage, for both cultivars. It can be concluded that persimmons of the 'Giombo' and 'Rama Forte' cultivars present better physicochemical quality characteristics when harvested when ripe, with a totally yellow skin.

Risk factors for developmental defects of enamel in children from southeastern Brazil.

INTRODUCTION: Developmental Defects of Enamel (DDEs) comprise qualitative and/or quantitative changes to the enamel during amelogenesis. The aetiology of DDE remains inconclusive. AIM: To determine the association of pre, peri, and postnatal factors with the presence of DDE. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study with 353 children (8 to 11 years-old) in a Brazilian town. METHODS: One calibrated dentist assessed DDE using the Developmental Defects of Enamel Index and a questionnaire collected medical and sociodemographic data. MAIN OUTCOMES: Children with at least one type of DDE were categorized into the DDE group. Subtypes of DDE were also recorded. RESULTS: 63.1% of children had at least one type of DDE. Diffuse opacity was present in 36.7%, demarcated opacity in 14.8%, and hypoplasia in 5.83% of the children. In multivariate analysis, demarcated opacities and hypoplasia were associated with birth weight ⟨ 2500g (OR = 4.82; 95% CI 1.23-1.95). CONCLUSION: Low birth weight predicted DDE.