Abstract: The aim of this paper is to propose a dynamic integrated approach, based on modularity concept and on the business ecosystem approach, that exploit different eBusiness services for SMEs under an open business network platform. The adoption of this approach enables firms to collaborate locally for delivering the best product/service to the customers as well as globally by accessing international markets, interrelate directly with the customers, create relationships and collaborate with worldwide actors. The paper will be structured as following: We will start by offering an overview of the state of the art of eBusiness platforms among SME of food and tourism firms and then we discuss the main drawbacks that characterize them. The digital business ecosystem approach and the modularity concept will be described as the theoretical ground in which our proposed integrated model is rooted. Finally, the proposed model along with a discussion of the main value creation potentialities it might create for SMEs will be presented.
Abstract: Quality of school meals is one of the major concerns of governments and international organizations worldwide. This study aims to evaluate nutritional compliance of meals served at a Portuguese primary school considering the portions stated by Portuguese Education Ministry. To evaluate adequacy of portions served, weighing of all meal components offered to students and leftovers was performed during ten consecutive days at two different moments. Plate waste (%) was calculated by the ratio of food discarded and food served to the children. Nutritional evaluation of menus was made using the Portuguese Food Composition Table. Meals evaluated showed a percent contribution to energetic daily intake higher than recommendations. Meals served to children were considered high energy and protein dense. No significant waste of soup was accounted and the main meal components wasted were fish and vegetables. It will be necessary to adjust portions indicated by Ministry of Education in order to comply with recommendations and reduce food waste.
Abstract: Biodiversity crisis is one of the many crises that
started at the turn of the millennia. Concrete form of expression is
still disputed, but there is a relatively high consensus regarding the
high rate of degradation and the urgent need for action. The strategy
of action outlines a strong economic component, together with the
recognition of market mechanisms as the most effective policies to
protect biodiversity. In this context, biodiversity and ecosystem
services are natural assets that play a key role in economic strategies
and technological development to promote development and
prosperity. Developing and strengthening policies for transition to an
economy based on efficient use of resources is the way forward.
To emphasize the co-viability specific to the connection economyecosystem
services, scientific approach aimed on one hand how to
implement policies for nature conservation and on the other hand, the
concepts underlying the economic expression of ecosystem services-
value, in the context of current technology. Following the analysis of
business opportunities associated with changes in ecosystem services
was concluded that development of market mechanisms for nature
conservation is a trend that is increasingly stronger individualized
within recent years. Although there are still many controversial issues
that have already given rise to an obvious bias, international
organizations and national governments have initiated and
implemented in cooperation or independently such mechanisms.
Consequently, they created the conditions for convergence between
private interests and social interests of nature conservation, so there
are opportunities for ongoing business development which leads,
among other things, the positive effects on biodiversity. Finally,
points out that markets fail to quantify the value of most ecosystem
services. Existing price signals reflect at best, only a proportion of the
total amount corresponding provision of food, water or fuel.
Abstract: The objective of this paper is to investigate a new
approach based on the idea of pictograms for food portion size. This
approach adopts the model of the United States Pharmacopeia- Drug
Information (USP-DI). The representation of each food portion size
composed of three parts: frame, the connotation of dietary portion
sizes and layout. To investigate users- comprehension based on this
approach, two experiments were conducted, included 122 Taiwanese
people, 60 male and 62 female with ages between 16 and 64 (divided
into age groups of 16-30, 31-45 and 46-64). In Experiment 1, the mean
correcting rate of the understanding level of food items is 48.54%
(S.D.= 95.08) and the mean response time 2.89sec (S.D.=2.14). The
difference on the correct rates for different age groups is significant
(P*=0.00
Abstract: Aquatic and semi aquatic birds as a group are suited to
feed and breed in environments in which water forms a fundamental
part. These birds are biological indicator in aquatic environment,
because these birds belong to the top level of food chain in aquatic
ecosystems. There are 61 species in 14 families of aquatic and semi
aquatic birds in Iran. The birds of the Sattarkhan Lake belong to 16
species in 8 families which include 26.2 percent of total Aquatic and
semi aquatic bird species and 57% of Aquatic and semi aquatic bird's
family of Iran. Study was carried out monthly at Sattarkhan Lake
show the existence of Phalacrocorax carbo, Ardea cinerea, Egretta
alba, Egretta garzetta, Bubulcus ibis, Botaurus stellaris, Sterna
hirundo, Chlidonias leucopterus, Larus minutus, Larus argentatus,
Larus ridibunbus, Alcedo atthis, Ciconia ciconia, Plegadis
falcinellus, Circus aeruginosus, Corvus frugilegus
Abstract: A shaft-type activated sludge reactor has been
developed in order to study the feasibility of high-rate wastewater
treatment. The reactor having volume of about 14.5 L was operated
with the acclimated mixed activated sludge under batch and
continuous mode using a synthetic wastewater as feed. The batch
study was performed with varying chemical oxygen demand (COD)
concentrations of 1000–3500 mg·L-1 for a batch period up to 9 h. The
kinetic coefficients: Ks, k, Y and kd were obtained as 2040.2 mg·L-1
and 0.105 h-1, 0.878 and 0.0025 h-1 respectively from Monod-s
approach. The continuous study showed a stable and steady state
operation for a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 8 h and influent
COD of about 1000 mg·L-1. A maximum COD removal efficiency of
about 80% was attained at a COD loading rate and food-tomicroorganism
(F/M) ratio (COD basis) of 3.42 kg·m-3d-1 and 1.0
kg·kg-1d-1 respectively under a HRT of 8 h. The reactor was also
found to handle COD loading rate and F/M ratio of 10.8 kg·m-3d-1
and 2.20 kg·kg-1d-1 respectively showing a COD removal efficiency
of about 46%.
Abstract: Feature selection has recently been the subject of intensive research in data mining, specially for datasets with a large number of attributes. Recent work has shown that feature selection can have a positive effect on the performance of machine learning algorithms. The success of many learning algorithms in their attempts to construct models of data, hinges on the reliable identification of a small set of highly predictive attributes. The inclusion of irrelevant, redundant and noisy attributes in the model building process phase can result in poor predictive performance and increased computation. In this paper, a novel feature search procedure that utilizes the Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) is presented. The ACO is a metaheuristic inspired by the behavior of real ants in their search for the shortest paths to food sources. It looks for optimal solutions by considering both local heuristics and previous knowledge. When applied to two different classification problems, the proposed algorithm achieved very promising results.
Abstract: Food control measures are critical in fostering food safety management of a nation. However, no academic study has been undertaken to assess the food control system of Myanmar up to now. The objective of this research paper was to assess the food control system with in depth examination of five key components using desktop analysis and short survey from related food safety program organizations including regulators and inspectors. Study showed that the existing food control system is conventional, mainly focusing on primary health care approach while relying on reactive measures. The achievements of food control work have been limited to a certain extent due to insufficienttechnical capacity that is needed to upgrade staffs, laboratory equipment and technical assistance etc. associated with various sectors. Assessing food control measures is the first step in the integration of food safety management, this paper could assist policy makers in providing information for enhancing the safety and quality of food produced and consumed in Myanmar.
Abstract: Aldehydes as secondary lipid oxidation products are highly specific to the oxidative degradation of particular polyunsaturated fatty acids present in foods. Gas chromatographic analysis of those volatile compounds has been widely used for monitoring of the deterioration of food products. Developed static headspace gas chromatography method using flame ionization detector (SHS GC FID) was applied to monitor the aldehydes present in processed foods such as bakery, meat and confectionary products.
Five selected aldehydes were determined in samples without any sample preparation, except grinding for bakery and meat products. SHS–GC analysis allows the separation of propanal, pentanal, hexanal, heptanal and octanal, within 15min. Aldehydes were quantified in fresh and stored samples, and the obtained range of aldehydes in crackers was 1.62±0.05 – 9.95±0.05mg/kg, in sausages 6.62±0.46 – 39.16±0.39mg/kg; and in cocoa spread cream 0.48±0.01 – 1.13±0.02mg/kg. Referring to the obtained results, the following can be concluded, proposed method is suitable for different types of samples, content of aldehydes varies depending on the type of a sample, and differs in fresh and stored samples of the same type.
Abstract: With the aim of improving nutritional profile and antioxidant capacity of gluten-free cookies, blueberry pomace, by-product of juice production, was processed into a new food ingredient by drying and grinding and used for a gluten-free cookie formulation. Since the quality of a baked product is highly influenced by the baking conditions, the objective of this work was to optimize the baking time and thickness of dough pieces, by applying Response Surface Methodology (RSM) in order to obtain the best technological quality of the cookies. The experiments were carried out according to a Central Composite Design (CCD) by selecting the dough thickness and baking time as independent variables, while hardness, color parameters (L*, a* and b* values), water activity, diameter and short/long ratio were response variables. According to the results of RSM analysis, the baking time of 13.74min and dough thickness of 4.08mm was found to be the optimal for the baking temperature of 170°C. As similar optimal parameters were obtained by previously conducted experiment based on sensory analysis, response surface methodology (RSM) can be considered as a suitable approach to optimize the baking process.
Abstract: Recent research has shown that milk proteins can
yield bioactive peptides with opioid, mineral binding,
cytomodulatory, antihypertensive, immunostimulating, antimicrobial
and antioxidative activity in the human body. Bioactive peptides are
encrypted in milk proteins and are only released by enzymatic
hydrolysis in vivo during gastrointestinal digestion, food processing
or by microbial enzymes in fermented products. At present
significant research is being undertaken on the health effects of
bioactive peptides. A variety of naturally formed bioactive peptides
have been found in fermented dairy products, such as yoghurt, sour
milk and cheese. In particular, antihypertensive peptides have been
identified in fermented milks, whey and ripened cheese. Some of
these peptides have been commercialized in the form of fermented
milks. Bioactive peptides have the potential to be used in the
formulation of health-enhancing nutraceuticals, and as potent drugs
with well defined pharmacological effects.
Abstract: In Croatia, the majority of cultured marine fish species are reared in net cages. The intensive production of the fish in net cages may generate the considerable amount of bio waste and change water quality especially in enclosed and semi-enclosed coastal areas. The aim of this paper is to assess the potential impact of sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax L.) cage farm on water quality. The weak relationship between food supply and water quality parameters (nutrient content and phytoplankton biomass) was found, but significant changes in oxygen saturation was observed in the cages during the warmer period of a year especially in the morning (occasionally it dropped below 70 %). Despite of, satisfactory results of water quality parameters, it is necessary to establish comprehensive monitoring process, especially to include quality assessment of fouling communities.
Abstract: Today, people are more interested in the foods
beneficial on their health. However, there are still lacks of accurate
knowledge in the field of biological properties, functional properties,
including the application of legume in foods. This study focused on
antioxidant activity of soybean (SB) and fermented soybean (FSB)
crude extracts evaluating to have more information in fortification SB
and FSB crude extracts in food products and/or dietary supplement.
SB and FSB crude extracts were prepared by infusion with water and
ethanol. The antioxidant activity of crude extracts was studied with
DPPH and ABTS assay including commercial standard. From both
DPPH and ABTS assay, the antioxidant activity of SB and FSB water
crude extract showed higher antioxidant activity than ethanol crude
extract, and FSB crude extract showed higher antioxidant activity
than SB crude extract. In DPPH assay, BHT and vitamin C showed
IC50 values at 0.241, 0.039 mg/ml, in ABTS assay. In addition,
Trolox showed IC50 at 0.058 mg/ml respectively. FSB water crude
extract showed high antioxidant activity. Finally, the functional
properties study of both water and ethanol crude extracts should be
done for beneficial in application of these extracts in food products
and dietary supplement in the near future.
Abstract: The main purpose of this research was to study how to
communicate the identity of the Amphawa district, Samut Songkram
province for sustainable tourism. The qualitative data was collected
through studying related materials, exploring the area, in-depth
interviews with three groups of people: three directly responsible
officers who were key informants of the district, twenty foreign
tourists and five Thai tourist guides. A content analysis was used to
analyze the qualitative data. The two main findings of the study were
as follows:
1. The identity of the Amphawa District, Samut Songkram
province is the area controlled by Amphawa sub district (submunicipality).
The working unit which runs and looks after
Amphawa sub district administration is known as the Amphawa
mayor. This establishment was built to be a resort for normal
people and tourists visiting the Amphawa district near the
Maekong River consisting of rest accommodations. Along the
river there is a restaurant where food and drinks are served, rich
mangrove forests, a learning center, fireflies and cork trees. The
Amphawa district was built to honor and commemorate King
Rama II and is where the greatest number of fireflies and cork
trees can be seen in Thailand from May to October each year.
2. The communication of the identity of Amphawa District, Samut
Songkram Province which the researcher could find and design
to present in English materials can be summed up in 5 items: 1)
The history of the Amphawa District, Samut Songkram province
2) The history of King Rama II Memorial Park 3) The identity of
Amphawa Floating Market 4) The Learning center of
Ecosystem: Fireflies and Cork Trees 5) How to keep Amphawa
District, Samut Songkram Province for sustainable tourism.
Abstract: A comparative study on the feasibility of producing instant high fibre plantain flour for diabetic fufu by blending soy residence with different plantain (Musa spp) varieties (Horn, false Horn and French), all sieved at 60 mesh, mixed in ratio of 60:40 was analyzed for their passing properties using standard analytical method. Results show that VIIIS60 had the highest peak viscosity (303.75 RVU), Trough value (182.08 RVU), final viscosity (284.50 RVU), and lowest in breakdown viscosity (79.58 RVU), set back value (88.17 RVU), peak time (4.36min), pasting temperature (81.18°C) and differed significantly (p
Abstract: Recent studies demonstrated that high-fat diet increases oxidative stress in plasma and in a variety of tissues. Many researchers have been looking for natural products, which can reverse the effect of high fat diet. Recently, buckwheat is becoming common ingredient in functional food because of it properties. In study on buckwheat, it is known that, this plant plays roles as anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory and anti-hypertensive. Nevertheless still little is known about buckwheat groats. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of addition of buckwheat groats to the fat diet (30% lard), on some antioxidant and oxidant stress parameters in plasma and selected tissues in Wistar rats. The experiment was carried out with three months old male Wistar rats ca. 250g of body weight fed for 5 weeks with either a high-fat (30% of lard) diet or control diet, with or without addition of buckwheat groats. In plasma biochemistry and the activities of the antioxidant enzymes were measured selected tissues: glutathione peroxidase (GPX), catalase (CAT) and the levels of total and reduced glutathione (GSH), free thiol groups (pSH), antioxidant potential of plasma (FRAP) and oxidant stress indices - proteins carbonyl groups (CO) and malonyldialdehyde concentration (MDA). Activity of catalase (CAT) in plasma of rats was significantly increased in buckwheat groats groups and activity of GPx3 in plasma of rats was decreased in buckwheat groups as compared to control group. The reduced glutathione (GSH) in plasma of rats was significantly increased and protein CO was significantly decreased in buckwheat groups as compared to controls. The lowered concentration of GSH was found in serum of rats fed buckwheat groats addition but it accompanied in 7-fold increase in reduced-to-oxidized glutatione ratio, significant increase in HDL and decrease in nonHDL concentration. Conclusions: Buckwheat groats indicate a beneficial effect in inhibiting protein and lipid peroxidation in rats and improved lipid profile. These results suggest that buckwheat groats exert a significant antioxidant potential and may be used as normal food constituent to ameliorate the oxidant-induced damage in organism.
Abstract: The objective of the research was to evaluate the
quality of milk pomade sweet – sherbet packed in different packaging
materials (Multibarrier 60, met.BOPET/PE, Aluthen), by several
packaging technologies – active and modified atmosphere (MAP)
(consisting of 100% CO2), and control – in air ambiance.
Experiments were carried out at the Faculty of Food Technology of
Latvia University of Agriculture. Samples were stored at the room
temperature +21±1 °C. The physiochemical properties – weight
losses, moisture, hardening, colour and changes in headspace
atmosphere concentration (CO2 and O2) of packs were analysed
before packaging and after 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 storage weeks.
Abstract: The gustatory system allows animals to distinguish
varieties of food and affects greatly the consumption of food, hence
the health and growth of animals. In the current study, we
investigated the histogenesis of vallate papillae (VLP) in the rabbit
tongue using light and scanning electron microscopy. Samples were
obtained from rabbit embryos at the embryonic days 16-30 (E16-30),
and from newborns until maturity; 6 months. At E16, the first
primordia of vallate papillae were observed as small pits on the
surface epithelium of the tongue-s root. At E18, the caudal part was
prominent with loose mesenchymal tissue core; meanwhile the rostral
part of the papilla was remained as a thick mass of epithelial cells. At
E20-24, the side epithelium formed the primitive annular groove. At
E26, the primitive taste buds appeared only at the papillary surface
and reached their maturity by E28. The annular groove started to
appear at E26 became more defined at E28. The definitive vallate
papillae with substantial number of apparently mature taste buds
were observed by the end of the second week. We conclude that the
vallate papillae develop early and mature during the early postnatal
life.
Abstract: A number of previous studies were rarely considered
the effects of transient non-uniform balloon expansion on evaluation
of the properties and behaviors of stents during stent expansion, nor
did they determine parameters to maximize the performances driven
by mechanical characteristics. Therefore, in order to fully understand
the mechanical characteristics and behaviors of stent, it is necessary to
consider a realistic modeling of transient non-uniform balloon-stent
expansion. The aim of the study is to propose design parameters
capable of improving the ability of vascular stent through a
comparative study of seven commercial stents using finite element
analyses of a realistic transient non-uniform balloon-stent expansion
process. In this study, seven representative commercialized stents were
evaluated by finite element (FE) analysis in terms of the criteria based
on the itemized list of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and
European Standards (prEN). The results indicate that using stents
composed of opened unit cells connected by bend-shaped link
structures and controlling the geometrical and morphological features
of the unit cell strut or the link structure at the distal ends of stent may
improve mechanical characteristics of stent. This study provides a
better method at the realistic transient non-uniform balloon-stent
expansion by investigating the characteristics, behaviors, and
parameters capable of improving the ability of vascular stent.
Abstract: In this paper, a simple microfluidic device for monitoring algal cell behavior is proposed. An array of algal microwells is fabricated by PDMS soft-lithography using X-ray LIGA mold, placed on a glass substrate. Two layers of replicated PDMS and substrate are attached by oxygen plasma bonding, creating a microchannel for the microfluidic system. Algal cell are loaded into the microfluidic device, which provides positive charge on the bottom surface of wells. Algal cells, which are negative charged, can be attracted to the bottom of the wells via electrostatic interaction. By varying the concentration of algal cells in the loading suspension, it is possible to obtain wells with a single cell. Liquid medium for cells monitoring are flown continuously over the wells, providing nutrient and waste exchange between the well and the main flow. This device could lead to the uncovering of the quantitative biology of the algae, which is a key to effective and extensive algal utilizations in the field of biotechnology, food industry and bioenergy research and developments.