In this study of infants with isolated birth defects, 69 cleft palate only cases, 114 cleft lip with or without cleft palate cases, and 284 controls with noncleft birth defects (all born in Maryland between 1984 and 1992) were examined to test for associations among maternal exposures, genetic markers, and oral clefts. A significantly higher frequency of positive family history of birth defects among both groups of oral cleft cases compared with controls was seen in these data. While there was a modest increase in the less common C2 allele at the TaqI site in the transforming growth factor alpha (TGF alpha) locus among cleft palate only infants compared with the birth defect controls, the association appeared to reflect an underlying interaction between maternal smoking and infant genotype. This apparent gene-environment interaction was also found among those reporting no family history of any birth defect. Infants carrying the rarer C2 allele who were exposed to maternal smoking of 10 or fewer cigarettes per day showed a 6.16-fold increase in risk for cleft palate only (95% confidence interval 1.09-34.7), while similar infants whose mothers smoked more than 10 cigarettes per day showed an 8.69-fold higher risk (95% confidence interval 1.57-47.8). However, the dose-response relation was not significant.

BackgroundGulf War Illness (GWI) is a disease of unknown etiology with symptoms suggesting the involvement of an immune process. Here we tested the hypothesis that Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) composition might differ between veterans with and without GWI.MethodsWe identified 144 unique alleles of Class I and II HLA genes in 82 veterans (66 with and 16 without GWI). We tested the hypothesis that a subset of HLA alleles may classify veterans in their respective group using a stepwise linear discriminant analysis. In addition, each participant rated symptom severity in 6 domains according to established GWI criteria, and an overall symptom severity was calculated.FindingsWe found 6 Class II alleles that classified participants 84.1% correctly (13/16 control and 56/66 GWI). The number of copies of the 6 alleles was significantly higher in the control group, suggesting a protective role. This was supported by a significant negative dependence of overall symptom severity on the number of allele copies, such that symptom severity was lower in participants with larger numbers of allele copies.InterpretationThese results indicate a reduced HLA protection (i.e. genetic susceptibility) in veterans with GWI.FundingUniversity of Minnesota and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Carp species forms the bulk of the aquaculture production in India and studies have shown that the filleting waste of these species, particularly skin can be a good source of gelatin. This study is a comparison of the gelatins from these unexploited sources with that of mammalian gelatins to get a better understanding of their physicochemical and functional properties with respect to mammalian gelatins. The study showed that mammalian gelatins had significantly superior physical properties viz., higher viscosity, melting & setting temperature and faster setting time. The odour scores were significantly higher (P<0.05) for bovine and porcine skin gelatins (3.1-3.12), indicating that they had a distinguishable odour and hence can be considered as inferior to fish skin gelatins in organoleptic qualities. The gel strengths of rohu and common carp skin gelatins were significantly lower than mammalian gelatins. Among the carp skin gelatins, grass carp skin gelatin was found to have better compatibility with gelatin from bovine and porcine skins.

Tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus) is a relatively abundant, low‐value fish that has wide distribution in India because of its adaptability to different environments. However, the fish has limited scope for consumption in the fresh form. This study is an attempt to explore the possibilities of better utilization of this species by development of mince‐based value‐added products and the evaluation of shelf life during frozen storage. Mince from tilapia was used for the preparation of value‐added products viz., chilly fish, fish cutlets and fish balls. The biochemical and sensory parameters of these products were analyzed to study the quality changes and shelf life of these products in frozen storage at −20C. Fish cutlets and fish balls remained acceptable up to 18 weeks of storage after which loss in flavor and texture was noticed. Chilly fish remained acceptable for 21 weeks in frozen condition. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS The study aims in value addition of tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus), a low‐value fish, which at present has only limited scope for consumption in fresh form. Earlier studies showed that the mince yield of this species is 32–36%. The quality of tilapia mince is comparable to that from other marine and freshwater species of commercial importance. Utilization of the mince for the production of cutlets, fish balls and chilly fish are simple and a cost‐effective means of converting tilapia to value‐added convenience products. Shelf life studies indicate that in frozen storage, the products can retain the sensory qualities for 18–21 weeks. Commercialization of these products can contribute to diversification in the fish processing industry through better utilization of a relatively underutilized species.

Films of 0.11 to 0.13 mm thickness were prepared using gelatins from the skins of cultured freshwater carp species and mammalian gelatins viz., porcine and bovine skin gelatin. A comparative study was made on the physical, mechanical, and barrier properties of these films. The amino acid composition, gel strength, clarity, and gel setting point of the gelatins were also determined. Carp skin gelatins had a lower imino acid content (19.16% to 20.86%) than mammalian skin gelatins (22.91% to 23.7%). Grass carp gelatin had gel strength of 230.2 B that is comparable to the reported value for bovine skin gelatin (227.2 B). The bloom values of rohu and common carp skin gelatins were 188.6 B and 181.3 B, respectively, which were significantly lower than mammalian gelatins. Mammalian gels have significantly higher (P < 0.05) setting temperatures (23.7 to 24.2 °C) than carp skin gelatins. Tensile strength (TS) was lowest for films from common carp and rohu skin gelatin (490 and 497 kg/cm(2), respectively) and highest for porcine skin gelatin film. The degree of transparency (L*) was significantly higher for films from grass carp, bovine hide, and pork skin gelatin films. Carp skin gelatin films had significantly lower water vapor permeability (WVP) and oxygen permeability (OP) than mammalian skin gelatin films, which indicated that carp skin gelatin based films have superior barrier properties than mammalian skin gelatin films.

Milkfish collected from brackish water culture ponds were wet and dry salted for 24 h and the dry-salted fish were sun dried for 48 h. Biochemical changes, ie changes in α-amino nitrogen, non-protein nitrogen, salt-soluble nitrogen, total free amino acids, essential amino acids and sulfhydryl groups, during salting and sun drying were studied. The reduction in these parameters was slightly higher in wet-salted fish compared with dry-salted fish. Further reduction in these parameters was noticed on sun drying of dry-salted fish. Electrophoretic studies showed a decrease in the number of bands during wet and dry salting at a slow rate up to 9 h, after which high-molecular-weight proteins decreased faster than medium-molecular-weight proteins in both the 24 h wet-and dry-salted samples. Further reduction in the number of bands and their intensity was observed on sun drying for 48 h. The medium-molecular-weight protein seems to be more stable. INTRODUCTIONSalting, drying and smoking are the traditional methods of fish preservation, with 8.2% of the world's fish catch being preserved by these methods. 1 Considerable quantities of cured fish are consumed in developing countries; for example, 32% of the fish consumed in India is reported to be in cured form. 2 The importance of such products is not likely to decline appreciably in the near future despite attempts to introduce modern preservation methods to these areas. Various methods of salting fish are in use, and the one selected depends upon the climatic conditions, the characteristics of the industry and the organisation of the salted fish trade specific to each country. 3 Salting and drying result in the loss of significant quantities of proteins, peptides and amino acids, and these losses are greater during wet salting than during dry salting. 2,4 -6 In split-open salted and dried fish the lipids on the cut surface interact with oxygen, leading to oxidative rancidity and browning. 7,8 Although an enormous literature is available on various aspects of the biochemical changes taking place in cured products, much work remains to be done to perfect our knowledge on changes during curing. This study was undertaken to investigate the changes in proteins and related constituents during curing of the brackish water fish Chanos chanos.

Gelatin was extracted from the skins of rohu and Common carp, and its physicochemical properties were studied. The yield of gelatin obtained from the skin of rohu and Common carp were 12.93 and 12%, respectively. The corresponding viscosity values were 6.06cP and 5.96cP. Rohu and Common carp skin gelatin had high content of imino acids i.e., 20.49 and 19.16%, respectively. Rohu gelatin had a significantly higher (P < 0.05) melting point than that of Common carp skin gelatin. The setting temperature observed for the gels from rohu and Common carp was 18.52 and 17.96C, respectively. Rohu and Common carp skin gelatins were found to have a mild but easily perceivable odor. The gelatins from the skin of rohu and common carp had a snowy white appearance and were light‐textured. Rohu skin gelatin had significantly higher gel strength compared with Common carp skin gelatin. Foam formation ability and form stability of Common carp gelatin was significantly lower (P < 0.05) than that of Rohu gelatin. Rohu skin gelatin had the high fat‐binding capacity. In this study, the functional properties observed for gelatins from the skin of rohu and Common carp are similar, if not better than many of the gelatins from other fish sources, and can be used as potential substitutes for the same in many applications. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS Among the cultured carps, rohu (Labeo rohita) and Common carp (Cyprinus carpio) contribute significantly to the Aquaculture production in India. These species are presently being increasingly used for the preparation of mince and fillet‐based value added products, with skin forming a major portion of the fishery waste thus generated. Hence, based on the availability and commercial importance and with the objective of efficient utilization of fish skin waste, these species were chosen for studies on gelatin extraction. It was observed that the physicochemical and functional properties for rohu and Common carp skin gelatins are similar, if not better than many of the gelatins from other fish sources and can be used as potential substitutes for the same in many applications. There is a future scope for developing binary blends of these gelatins with animal gelatins that are completely compatible and commercially useful in many applications.

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