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Cannabis is one of the world's oldest cultivated plants and the most commonly used recreational drug worldwide. The plant relevant for medicinal use is Cannabis sativa that has two pharmacologically active ingredients - delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol that is psychoactive and cannabidiol that does not have psychotropic activity. The policy tapestry of Cannabis has undergone a significant change in the past few decades worldwide. Different countries have diverse policies, ranging from classifying use of Cannabis as illicit, to legalization of its use, both for medicinal and recreational purposes. Cannabis products are approved for use, for instance, in multiple sclerosis and Dravet syndrome (US Food Drug and Administration). Against this backdrop, we find that the knowledge foundations for use of Cannabis in clinical trials in India are still evolving. Conducting ethical research within a clinical trials framework is essential to understand dosing, formulation, shelf life, drug-drug interaction, tolerability, and safety before establishing its utility for various indications. In the absence of guidelines or a regulatory framework for conduct of these studies, the various Institutional Ethics Committees (IECs), which are responsible for reviewing projects related to Cannabis, face unique challenges with respect to the basic requirements. The principal investigators (PIs) are equally strained to find local guidance, recommendations, and literature in support of their application to the respective IEC, thus leading to an impasse and delay in initiating the proposed clinical studies with Cannabis. The present article addresses considerations, questions, and issues that affect the conduct of these clinical studies and recommends mandatory documents and some suggested guidelines for use by both PIs and IECs to take studies with Cannabis forward until such time that an interdisciplinary regulatory framework is firmed up by regulatory authority. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional thermal processing technologies are widely used to extend the shelf life of fruit juices. However, its detrimental effect on the nutritional and sensory properties of fruit juices paved the way for alternative food processing technologies. Non‐thermal processing methods can be a substitute for thermal methods because they have no/minimal effect on the nutritive and sensory qualities of fruit juices and improve their storage quality by deactivating enzymes and eliminating microorganisms. In this review article, combined use of thermosonication (TS) with other non‐thermal processing technologies in fruit juice processing has been detailed. Additionally, the impact of TS on the various qualities of fruit juices as well as the TS mechanism have been covered. TS, one of the emerging non‐thermal technologies have been preferred in fruit juice and beverage processing industries over the past few years, due to consumer's preference towards high quality and nutritious food products. When TS is employed in combination with other non‐thermal processing methods, it reduces processing time, improves process efficiency, and reduces power consumption. The content of this review paper might be beneficial for upcoming research and the commercialization of this hurdle‐based approach. Practical Applications: Generally, fruit juices were treated using thermal methods (e.g., pasteurization) for extending the shelf life by inactivating microbial and enzymatic activities. But it shows negative impact on the nutritional and sensorial attributes of fruit juices. Non‐thermal technologies like, TS has been preferred as an alternative method for the processing of juices due to their less/no effect on the quality parameters of juices. The benefits of TS as compared with thermal treatments include less flavor loss, significant energy savings, and increased homogeneity. TS reduces the processing temperature and time required for pasteurization of juices and it can be used to make high‐quality fruit juices that are additive‐ and preservative‐free. In the review, the effect of TS on fruit juice quality as well as its combined effect with high pressure processing and pulse electric field processing has been summarized. The finding of this review paper might be helpful for the further exploration of these technologies in the large‐scale food industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Modeling studies estimated severe impacts of potential service delivery disruptions due to COVID-19 pandemic on maternal and child nutrition outcomes. Although anecdotal evidence exists on disruptions, little is known about the actual state of service delivery at scale. We studied disruptions and restorations, challenges and adaptations in health and nutrition service delivery by frontline workers (FLWs) in India during COVID-19 in 2020. Methods: We conducted phone surveys with 5500 FLWs (among them 3118 Anganwadi Workers) in seven states between August–October 2020, asking about service delivery during April 2020 (T1) and in August-October (T2), and analyzed changes between T1 and T2. We also analyzed health systems administrative data from 704 districts on disruptions and restoration of services between pre-pandemic (December 2019, T0), T1 and T2. Results: In April 2020 (T1), village centers, fixed day events, child growth monitoring, and immunization were provided by <50% of FLWs in several states. Food supplementation was least disrupted. In T2, center-based services were restored by over a third in most states. Administrative data highlights geographic variability in both disruptions and restorations. Most districts had restored service delivery for pregnant women and children by T2 but had not yet reached T0 levels. Adaptations included home delivery (60 to 96%), coordinating with other FLWs (7 to 49%), and use of phones for counseling (~2 to 65%). Personal fears, long distances, limited personal protective equipment, and antagonistic behavior of beneficiaries were reported challenges. Conclusions: Services to mothers and children were disrupted during stringent lockdown but restored thereafter, albeit not to pre-pandemic levels. Rapid policy guidance and adaptations by FLWs enabled restoration but little remains known about uptake by client populations. As COVID-19 continues to surge in India, focused attention to ensuring essential services is critical to mitigate these major indirect impacts of the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drying is one of the complex processes, comprising parallel heat and mass transfer reactions. It extends the shelf life of perishable agricultural produces (like green leafy vegetables) by decreasing the level of water activity. In the present work, hot water and ultrasound pretreatments were conducted, prior to the dehydration of fresh morisa xak (Amaranthus caudatus) leaves by microwave drying for improving color stability. In order to assess the color degradation kinetics of chlorophyll, the impact of drying techniques on hunter color parameters (L*, a*, b*) and total color difference (TCD) has been evaluated. Thermal degradation of chlorophyll of the green leaves followed the first order kinetics and Arrhenius equation was employed to describe the temperature dependence of the reaction rate constant. From the study, the protective effect of ultra sound pretreatment on the color stability of morisa xak leaves prior to microwave drying can be observed. Practical Applications: Morisa xak is popular and an important green leaves consumed by North Eastern Part of India. As it has high moisture content, morisa xak leaves has been prone to deterioration during post‐harvest storage. Microwave drying has been preferred over traditional hot air drying method due to its high drying rates and better drying quality. As chlorophyll is the main coloring pigment in green leaves, its deterioration is very common during drying. In the current investigation, different pre‐treatments (hot water and ultra sound) were applied to morisa xak leaves before microwave drying to improve the chlorophyll content. The results of the study indicated that the application of ultra sound pretreatment before microwave drying could be a promising technique in comparison with hot air drying method for drying of green leaves with minimum degradation in chlorophyll. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on deriving the prediction formulae to find the peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) in young healthy, nonsmoking Indian population in the age group between eighteen and twenty five years. The matched value for PEFR was found to be more in males and females as compares with previous Indian studies.

Background: The appropriateness of spirometric reference value depends on all its features matching those of the person being assessed, like ethnicity, environment, nutrition, absence of disease, measurement protocol, as well as equipment used. The present study determines the lung function parameters in normal young healthy Indians and derives reliable prediction formulae for Indian population. Methods: Computerized spirometry was done in 298 nonsmoking medical students of both genders studying in MKCG Medical College, Berhampur. All the data were statistically analyzed, and prediction equations for the young Indian population were derived. Results: All the lung parameters showed significant gender difference. Height showed the greatest effect on the predicted value of FEV1 and FVC in males and females. Height has the greatest effect on the predicted value of FEV1% in females, whereas weight has the least effect. We formulated univariate and multivariate regression models for prediction of lung parameters in the young Indian adults. The predicted values of pulmonary function parameters for men were 4%-17% higher than most studies, except for Kashmiri population where it was 9% lower. For females, lung parameters were 1%-29% higher in comparison to study groups in other Indian studies. The lung parameters for males were found to be lower than Iranian and Caucasian population study, but higher than Pakistani population. For females, lung parameters were 3%-8% lower than Iranian and Caucasian population, but higher in comparison to Pakistani population. Conclusions: The computed regression norms may be used to predict the spirometric values in young Indian population of similar age group as the study population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Competing Interests: Competing interests: none declared