Search results for: food access

Authors: Hamidullah Binol, Abdullah Bal

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Nowadays, food safety is a great public concern; therefore, robust and effective techniques are required for detecting the safety situation of goods. Hyperspectral Imaging (HSI) is an attractive material for researchers to inspect food quality and safety estimation such as meat quality assessment, automated poultry carcass inspection, quality evaluation of fish, bruise detection of apples, quality analysis and grading of citrus fruits, bruise detection of strawberry, visualization of sugar distribution of melons, measuring ripening of tomatoes, defect detection of pickling cucumber, and classification of wheat kernels. HSI can be used to concurrently collect large amounts of spatial and spectral data on the objects being observed. This technique yields with exceptional detection skills, which otherwise cannot be achieved with either imaging or spectroscopy alone. This paper presents a nonlinear technique based on kernel Fukunaga-Koontz transform (KFKT) for detection of fat content in ground meat using HSI. The KFKT which is the nonlinear version of FKT is one of the most effective techniques for solving problems involving two-pattern nature. The conventional FKT method has been improved with kernel machines for increasing the nonlinear discrimination ability and capturing higher order of statistics of data. The proposed approach in this paper aims to segment the fat content of the ground meat by regarding the fat as target class which is tried to be separated from the remaining classes (as clutter). We have applied the KFKT on visible and nearinfrared (VNIR) hyperspectral images of ground meat to determine fat percentage. The experimental studies indicate that the proposed technique produces high detection performance for fat ratio in ground meat.

Keywords: food (ground meat) inspection, Fukunaga-Koontz transform, hyperspectral imaging, kernel methods

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Authors: Gospel Iyioku, Jana Mazancova, Jiri Hejkrlik

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The “Agricultural Promotion Policy (2016–2020)” represents a strategic initiative by the Nigerian government to address domestic food shortages and the challenges in exporting products at the required quality standards. Hindered by an inefficient system for setting and enforcing food quality standards, coupled with a lack of market knowledge, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) aims to enhance support for the production and activities of key crops like cashew. By collaborating with farmers, processors, investors, and stakeholders in the cashew sector, the policy seeks to define and uphold high-quality standards across the cashew value chain. Given the challenges and opportunities faced by Nigerian cashew farmers, active participation in cashew marketing groups becomes imperative. These groups serve as essential platforms for farmers to collectively navigate market intricacies, access resources, share knowledge, improve output quality, and bolster their overall bargaining power. Through engagement in these cooperative initiatives, farmers not only boost their economic prospects but can also contribute significantly to the sustainable growth of the cashew industry, fostering resilience and community development. This study explores the perceptions and intentions of farmers regarding their involvement in cashew marketing cooperatives, utilizing an expanded version of the Theory of Planned Behaviour. Drawing insights from a diverse sample of 321 cashew farmers in Southwest Nigeria, the research sheds light on the factors influencing decision-making in cooperative participation. The demographic analysis reveals a diverse landscape, with a substantial presence of middle-aged individuals contributing significantly to the agricultural sector and cashew-related activities emerging as a primary income source for a substantial proportion (23.99%). Employing Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) with Maximum Likelihood Robust (MLR) estimation in R, the research elucidates the associations among latent variables. Despite the model’s complexity, the goodness-of-fit indices attest to the validity of the structural model, explaining approximately 40% of the variance in the intention to join cooperatives. Moral norms emerge as a pivotal construct, highlighting the profound influence of ethical considerations in decision-making processes, while perceived behavioural control presents potential challenges in active participation. Attitudes toward joining cooperatives reveal nuanced perspectives, with strong beliefs in enhanced connections with other farmers but varying perceptions on improved access to essential information. The SEM analysis establishes positive and significant effects of moral norms, perceived behavioural control, subjective norms, and attitudes on farmers’ intention to join cooperatives. The knowledge construct positively affects key factors influencing intention, emphasizing the importance of informed decision-making. A supplementary analysis using partial least squares (PLS) SEM corroborates the robustness of our findings, aligning with covariance-based SEM results. This research unveils the determinants of cooperative participation and provides valuable insights for policymakers and practitioners aiming to empower and support this vital demographic in the cashew industry.

Keywords: marketing cooperatives, theory of planned behaviour, structural equation modelling, cashew farmers

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Authors: Rizwan Arshad, Alessio Panza, Nimra Inayat, Syeda Mariam Batool Kazmi, Shawana Azmat

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The rapidly expanding use of immunotherapy for a wide range of cancers from late to early stages has, predictably, been accompanied by evidence of inequities in access to these highly effective but costly treatments. In this survey-based case study, we aimed to develop a One-window services model (OWSM) based on Anderson’s behavioral model to enhance competence in accessing cancer medications, particularly immunotherapies, through the analysis of 20 patient surveys conducted in the Armed forces bone marrow transplant center of the district, Rawalpindi from November to December 2022. The purposive sampling technique was used. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was found to be 0.71. It was analyzed using SPSS version 26 with descriptive analysis, and results showed that the majority of the cancer patients were non-competent to access their prescribed cancer immunotherapy because of individual-level, socioeconomic, and organizational barriers.

Keywords: cancer immunotherapy, one-window services model, accessibility, competence

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Authors: Katanku Denis Musoga

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Eat Right Campaign is an initiative that was started by the Nutrition Unit of Uganda Heart Institute with the objective of informing corporate workers in both the Government and Private sectors about how to eat to prevent Hypertension. In Uganda, according to the recent research undertaken by the Ministry of Health, 1 out of 4 adults is hypertensive and yet over 80% of those are not aware. This is attributed largely to poor eating habits influenced by a lack of knowledge. The major objective of the campaign was to demonstrate the need for effective strategic communication among the corporates by organizing workshops that involved dietary education, food demonstrations, and food preparation in an effort to prevent Hypertension. Permission from various Organizations was sought to carry out sensitization and health education while highlighting the significance of reducing financial losses to health care. The Campaign provided strategies for how to influence positive dietary changes. It involved screening for risk factors. A Pretest was given to the staff to ascertain their knowledge of how to eat right to prevent hypertension, and thereafter the campaign, a post-test was given to the same staff. This was done in all the 10 Organizations that we carried out the campaign. Over 80% of the staff had learned significantly and promised to practice what they had learned; also, the majority who had a higher Blood pressure measurement prior to the campaign returned with significantly lower blood pressure. Food demonstrations, preparations, and regular dietary education should be woven into the entire clinical and Public Health practice.

Keywords: eat right campaign initiative, corporates, prevent hypertension, dietary education

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Authors: Ishrat Zakia Sultana

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The consistent persecution, ethnic cleansing, and genocide against the Rohingya in Burma resulted four major influxes of the Rohingya people to the neighboring country Bangladesh. After the latest influx of October 2016 and August 2017, the total number of Rohingya in Bangladesh stands somewhere between 900,000 to over one million, placing Bangladesh much ahead with the number of refugees compared to Dadaab and Kakuma in Kenya, Bidibidi in Uganda and Zaatari in Jordan. While Bangladesh received recognition and appreciation for receiving a huge number of the Rohingya, one of the fundamental human rights of the Rohingya – education – has never been fulfilled in Bangladesh. The Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief of the government of Bangladesh has been looking after the Rohingya and managing various programs for the Rohingya. On its website, the Ministry claims that it provides the basic supports/services to the Rohingya, including providing education. In practice, however, education for the Rohingya include only the provisions for registered Rohingya refugees – who are a very small number of populations among the entire Rohingya hosted in Bangladesh – and that is only up to grade 7 within the registered camps at Teknaf and Ukhia of Cox’s Bazar district of the country. There is no answer of the question, ‘What’s next’? Although refugees in Canada, Sudan, Turkey and other countries have been allowed to go to mainstream schools, Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh are not allowed to do so legally. Due to the lack of proof of nationality of the Rohingya, the government of Bangladesh imposes restrictions on their access to Bangladeshi schools. However, despite their vulnerability and statelessness, many Rohingyas are desperate to pursue education outside the camps and find their own way not only within Cox’s Bazar but also even in the capital city of the country. But they must hide their refugee identity to accomplish this. My research aims to explore how they manage to get admission amid government restrictions on their access to education in the mainstream institutions in Bangladesh. It will reveal how Rohingya people use adopted identity to get access to education in Bangladesh, and how they apply their own techniques to achieve their goals without having government approved identity. This research examined the strategies the Rohingya applied to manage documents related to their identity to ensure their admission to Bangladeshi education institutions – in schools, colleges, and universities. The research employed a qualitative approach. It used semi structured individual interviews and Focused Group Discussions (FGDs) with 20 male and female Rohingya refugees who are 18 years old and above, and have enrolled in Bangladeshi education institutions with adopted identity. Also I interviewed 5 local community members and policy makers to understand their perceptions and roles in this process. The findings of this research will allow the policy makers to rethink the outcomes of the restrictions on Rohingya’s education in Bangladesh, the ramifications of the denial of Rohingya’s access to education, and initiate policy dialogues on how to allow Rohingya refugees to pursue education in Bangladesh in legal way.

Keywords: Rohingya, Refugee, Bangladesh, Education

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Authors: Martin Wiseman, Rachel Thompson, Panagiota Mitrou, Kate Allen

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Since 1997 World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) International and the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) have been at the forefront of synthesising and interpreting the accumulated scientific literature on the link between diet, nutrition, physical activity and cancer, and deriving evidence-based Cancer Prevention Recommendations. The 2007 WCRF/AICR 2nd Expert Report was a landmark in the analysis of evidence linking diet, body weight and physical activity to cancer and led to the establishment of the Continuous Update Project (CUP). In 2018, as part of the CUP, WCRF/AICR will publish a new synthesis of the current evidence and update the Cancer Prevention Recommendations. This will ensure that everyone - from policymakers and health professionals to members of the public - has access to the most up-to-date information on how to reduce the risk of developing cancer. Overweight and obesity play a significant role in cancer risk, and rates of both are increasing in many parts of the world. This session will give an overview of new evidence relating obesity to cancer since the 2007 report. For example, since the 2007 Report, the number of cancers for which obesity is judged to be a contributory cause has increased from seven to eleven. The session will also shed light on the well-established mechanisms underpinning obesity and cancer links. Additionally, the session will provide an overview of diet and physical activity related factors that promote positive energy imbalance, leading to overweight and obesity. Finally, the session will highlight how policy can be used to address overweight and obesity at a population level, using WCRF International’s NOURISHING Framework. NOURISHING formalises a comprehensive package of policies to promote healthy diets and reduce obesity and non-communicable diseases; it is a tool for policymakers to identify where action is needed and assess if an approach is sufficiently comprehensive. The framework brings together ten policy areas across three domains: food environment, food system, and behaviour change communication. The framework is accompanied by a regularly updated database providing an extensive overview of implemented government policy actions from around the world. In conclusion, the session will provide an overview of obesity and cancer, highlighting the links seen in the epidemiology and exploring the mechanisms underpinning these, as well as the influences that help determine overweight and obesity. Finally, the session will illustrate policy approaches that can be taken to reduce overweight and obesity worldwide.

Keywords: overweight, obesity, nutrition, cancer, mechanisms, policy

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Authors: Xuan Pang, Alvin L. Lee, Peggy Glatthaar

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Libraries across the world have been an innovation engine of creativity and opportunityin many decades. The on-going global epidemiology outbreak and health crisis experience illuminates potential reforms, rethinking beyond traditional library operations and services. Controlled Digital Lending (CDL) is one of the emerging technologies libraries used to deliver information digitally in support of online learning and teachingand make educational materials more affordable and more accessible. CDL became a popular term in the United States of America (USA) as a result of a white paper authored by Kyle K. Courtney (Harvard University) and David Hansen (Duke University). The paper gave the legal groundwork to explore CDL: Fair Use, First Sale Doctrine, and Supreme Court rulings. Library professionals implemented this new technology to fulfill their users’ needs. Three libraries in the state of Florida (University of Florida, Florida Gulf Coast University, and Florida A&M University) started a conversation about how to develop strategies to make CDL work possible at each institution. This paper shares the stories of piloting and initiating a CDL program to ensure students have reliable, affordable access to course materials they need to be successful. Additionally, this paper offers an overview of the emerging trends of Controlled Digital Lending in the USA and demonstrates the development of the CDL platforms, policies, and implementation plans. The paper further discusses challenges and lessons learned and how each institution plans to sustain the program into future library services. The fundamental mission of the library is providing users unrestricted access to library resources regardless of their physical location, disability, health status, or other circumstances. The professional due diligence of librarians, as information professionals, is to makeeducational resources more affordable and accessible.CDL opens a new frontier of library services as a mechanism for library practice to enhance user’s experience of using libraries’ services. Libraries should consider exploring this tool to distribute library resources in an effective and equitable way. This new methodology has potential benefits to libraries and end users.

Keywords: controlled digital lending, emerging technologies, equitable access, collaborations

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Authors: Cho Achidi

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Tomato is a crucial food crop significantly contributes to global food and nutrition security. However, postharvest losses severely limit its role. Therefore, it is necessary to develop sustainable strategies to minimize these losses and improve the shelf-life of tomato fruits. One of the major concerns is bacterial infections, particularly by faecal coliform bacteria, which can cause food poisoning and illnesses like diarrhoea and dysentery. This study seeks to identify the presence of coliform bacteria on tomato fruits in fields and markets in Muea, Buea Municipality. The study also evaluated different management strategies to reduce the bacterial incidence and load on tomato fruits. A total of 200 fruits were sampled for both the coliform survey and shelf-life analysis. Ten farmers and traders provided samples, including asymptomatic and symptomatic tomato fruits. The samples designated for shelf-life analysis were treated with Aquatab, warm water, lemon, and onion. The results indicated that out of the 80 symptomatic samples collected, 12.5% contained faecal and total coliform species. Among the ten farms sampled, 14% were infected with coliform bacteria, with the highest infestation rate of 60% recorded in field 4. Furthermore, 15% of the asymptomatic tomato fruits were found to be infected by coliform bacteria. Regarding the management strategies, Aquatabs exhibited the highest efficacy in reducing the incidence of coliform bacteria on tomato fruits, followed by onion and lemon extracts. Although hot water treatment effectively removed bacteria from the fruits, damaging the cell wall negatively affected their shelf-life. Overall, this study emphasizes the severity of coliform bacterial pathogens in the Muea area, particularly their occurrence on asymptomatic tomatoes, which poses a significant concern for plant quarantine services. It also demonstrates potential options for mitigating this bacterial challenge.

Keywords: tomato, shelf-life analysis, food and nutrition security, coliform bbacteria

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Authors: Nirmala Gopal, Sheetal Bhoola, Audecious Mugwagwa

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This paper discusses the continued infringement and exploitation of data by non-state actors for destructive purposes, emphasizing radical terrorist organizations. It will discuss how terrorist organizations access and use data to foster their nefarious agendas. It further examines how cybersecurity, designed as a tool to curb data exploitation, is ineffective in raising global citizens' concerns about how their data can be kept safe and used for its acquired purpose. The study interrogates several policies and data protection instruments, such as the Data Protection Act, Cyber Security Policies, Protection of Personal Information(PPI) and General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), to understand data use and storage in democratic states. The study outcomes point to the fact that international cybersecurity and cybercrime legislation, policies, and conventions have not curbed violations of data access and use by radical terrorist groups. The study recommends ways to enhance cybersecurity and reduce cyber risks using democratic principles.

Keywords: cybersecurity, data exploitation, terrorist organizations, data democracy

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Authors: Zerihun Yohannes Amare Id, Bernhard Freyer, Ky Serge Stephane, Ouéda Adama, Blessing Mudombi, Jean Nzuma, Mekonen Getachew Abebe, Adane Tesfaye, Birtukan Atinkut Asmare, Tesfahun Asmamaw Kassie

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The study was conducted in Ethiopia (Zege Catchment) (ZC), Zimbabwe (Upper Save Catchment) (USC), and Burkina Faso (Nakambe Catchment) (NC). The study utilized a quantitative approach with 180 participants and complemented it with qualitative methods, including 33 key informant interviews and 6 focus group discussions. Households in ZC (58%), NC (55%), and US (40%) do not cover their household food consumption from crop production. The households rely heavily on perennial cash crops rather than annual crop production. Exposure indicators in ZC (0.758), USC (0.774), and NC (0.944), and sensitivity indicators in ZC (0.849) and NC (0.937) show statistically significant and high correlation with vulnerability. In the USC, adaptive capacity (0.746) and exposure (0.774) are also statistically significant and highly correlated with vulnerability. Vulnerability levels of the NC are very high (0.75) (0.85 female and 0.65 male participants) compared to the USC (0.66) (0.69 female and 0.61 male participants) and ZC (0.47) (0.34 female and 0.58 male participants). Female-headed households had statistically significantly lower vulnerability index compared to males in ZC, while male-headed households had statistically significantly lower vulnerability index compared to females in USC and NC. The reason is land certification in ZC (80%) is higher than in the US (10%) and NC (8%). Agroforestry practices variables across the study catchments had statistically significant contributions to households' adaptive capacity. We conclude that agroforestry practices do have substantial benefits in increasing women's adaptive capacity and reducing their vulnerability to climate change and food insecurity.

Keywords: climate change vulnerability, agroforestry, gender, food security, Sub-Saharan Africa

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Authors: Hee-Jae Suh, Mi-Na Hong, Min-Ji Kim, Yeon-Seong Jeong, Ok-Hwan Lee, Jae-Wook Shin, Hyang-Sook Chun, Chan Lee

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Brown HT is a bis-azo dye which is permitted in EU as a food colorant. So far, many studies have focused on HPLC using diode array detection (DAD) analysis for detection of this food colorant with different columns and mobile phases. Even though these methods make it possible to detect Brown HT, low recovery, reproducibility, and linearity are still the major limitations for the application in foods. The purpose of this study was to compare various methods for the analysis of Brown HT and to develop an improved analytical methods including pretreatment. Among tested analysis methods, best resolution of Brown HT was observed when the following solvent was applied as a eluent; solvent A of mobile phase was 0.575g NH4H2PO4, and 0.7g Na2HPO4 in 500mL water added with 500mL methanol. The pH was adjusted using phosphoric acid to pH 6.9 and solvent B was methanol. Major peak for Brown HT appeared at the end of separation, 13.4min after injection. This method exhibited relatively high recovery and reproducibility compared with other methods. LOD (0.284 ppm), LOQ (0.861 ppm), resolution (6.143), and selectivity (1.3) of this method were better than those of ammonium acetate solution method which was most frequently used. Precision and accuracy were verified through inter-day test and intra-day test. Various methods for sample pretreatments were developed for different foods and relatively high recovery over 80% was observed in all case. This method exhibited high resolution and reproducibility of Brown HT compared with other previously reported official methods from FSA and, EU regulation.

Keywords: analytic method, Brown HT, food colorants, pretreatment method

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Authors: Yamini Raju, Parminder S. Kang, Adam Moroz, Ross Clement, Alistair Duffy, Ashley Hopwell

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Accurate prediction of fresh produce demand is one the challenges faced by Small Medium Enterprise (SME) wholesalers. Current research in this area focused on limited number of factors specific to a single product or a business type. This paper gives an overview of the current literature on the variability factors used to predict demand and the existing forecasting techniques of short shelf life products. It then extends it by adding new factors and investigating if there is a time lag and possibility of noise in the orders. It also identifies the most important factors using correlation and Principal Component Analysis (PCA).

Keywords: demand forecasting, deteriorating products, food wholesalers, principal component analysis, variability factors

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Authors: Farooq Anwar, Gokhan Zengin, Khalid M. Alkharfy

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Wild rice (Zizania sp.) is an annual cross-pollinated, emergent, aquatic grass that mainly grows naturally in the Great Lakes region of the North America. The nutritional quality attributes of wild rice are superior to the conventional brown rice (Oryza sativa L.) in terms of higher contents of important minerals (especially phosphorous, potassium, magnesium and calcium), B-complex vitamins, vitamin E and amino acids. In some parts of the world, wild rice is valued as a primary food source. The lipids content of wild rice is reported to be low in the range of 0.7 and 1.1%, however, the lipids are recognized as a rich source of polyunsaturated fatty acids (including linoleic and α-linolenic acid) and phytosterols in addition to containing reasonably good amount of tocols. Besides, wild rice is reported to contain an appreciable amount of high-value compounds such as phenolics with antioxidant properties. Presence of such nutritional bioactives contributes towards medicinal benefits and multiple biological activities of this specialty rice. The present lecture is mainly designed to focus on the detailed nutritional attributes, profile of high-value bioactive components and pharmaceutical/biological activities of wild rice leading to exploring functional food and nutraceutical potential of this food commodity.

Keywords: alpha-linolenic acid, phenolics, phytosterols, tocols, wild rice lipids

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Authors: Babak Mohajeri

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In recent years, the conventional business model of ownership has been changed towards accessibility in a variety of markets. Two trends can be observed in the evolution of this rental-like business model. Firstly, the technological development that enables the emergence of new business models. These new business models increasingly become agile and flexible. For example Spotify, an online music stream company provides consumers access to over millions of music tracks, conveniently through the smartphone, tablet or computer. Similarly, Car2Go, the car sharing company accesses its members with flexible and nearby sharing cars. The second trend is the increasing communication and connections via social networks. This trend enables a shift to peer-to-peer accessibility based business models. Conventionally, companies provide access for their customers to own companies products or services. In peer-to-peer model, nonetheless, companies facilitate access and connection across their customers to use other customers owned property or skills, competencies or services .The is so-called the sharing economy business model. The aim of this study is to investigate into a new and emerging type of the sharing economy model in which role of customers and service providers may dramatically change. This new model is called Collaborative Service Networks. We propose a mechanism for Collaborative Service Networks business model. Uber and Airbnb, two successful growing companies, have been selected for our case studies and their business models are analyzed. Finally, we study the emergence of the collaborative service networks in the manufacturing domain. Our finding results to a new manufacturing paradigm called social manufacturing.

Keywords: sharing economy, collaborative service networks, social manufacturing, manufacturing development

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Authors: Kaddi Mohammed, A. Benatiallah, D. Benatiallah

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Data grid is a technology that has full emergence of new challenges, such as the heterogeneity and availability of various resources and geographically distributed, fast data access, minimizing latency and fault tolerance. Researchers interested in this technology address the problems of the various systems related to the industry such as task scheduling, load balancing and replication. The latter is an effective solution to achieve good performance in terms of data access and grid resources and better availability of data cost. In a system with duplication, a coherence protocol is used to impose some degree of synchronization between the various copies and impose some order on updates. In this project, we present an approach for placing replicas to minimize the cost of response of requests to read or write, and we implement our model in a simulation environment. The placement techniques are based on a cost model which depends on several factors, such as bandwidth, data size and storage nodes.

Keywords: response time, query, consistency, bandwidth, storage capacity, CERN

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Authors: Charles Iledun Oyewole

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The daunting challenge that the ‘man with the hoe’ is going to face in the coming decades will be complex and interwoven. With global population already above 7 billion people, it has been estimated that food (crop) production must more than double by 2050 to meet up with the world’s food requirements. Nigeria population is also expected to reach over 240 million people by 2050, at the current annual population growth of 2.61 per cent. The country’s farming population is estimated at over 65 per cent, but the country still depends on food importation to complement production. The small scale farmer, who depends on simple hand tools: hoes and cutlasses, remains the centre of agricultural production, accounting for 90 per cent of the total agricultural output and 80 per cent of the market flow. While the hoe may have been a tool for sustainable development at a time in human history, this role has been smothered by population growth, which has brought too many mouths to be fed (over 170 million), as well as many industries to fuel with raw materials. It may then be argued that the hoe is unfortunately not a tool for the coming challenges and that agricultural mechanization should be the focus. However, agriculture as an enterprise is a ‘complete wheel’ which does not work when broken, particularly, in respect to mechanization. Generally, mechanization will prompt increase production, where land is readily available; increase production, will require post-harvest handling mechanisms, crop processing and subsequent storage. An important aspect of this is readily available and favourable markets for such produce; fuel by good agricultural policies. A break in this wheel will lead to the process of mechanization crashing back to subsistence production, and probably reversal to the hoe. The focus of any agricultural policy should be to chart a course for sustainable mechanization that is environmentally friendly, that may ameliorate Nigeria’s food and raw material gaps. This is the focal point of this article.

Keywords: Crop production, Farmer, Hoes, Mechanization, Policy framework, Population, Growth, Rural areas

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Authors: Siran Offman, TeóFilo Nhamuhuco, EzíDio Cuamba

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Scylla serrata is important for livelihood in coastal communities in Metuge District, Northern Mozambique, where the study was conducted from June to August 2014. The aim was to estimate the socioeconomic impact of mangrove crabs captures in Metuge communities. Data was collected based on semi-structured questionnaire in the landing sites and in local crab markets. In total were inquired 26 crab collectors and 6 traders, this activity is practiced only by men, with ages ranging from 15 to 68 years old. To capture the crab the collectors use a long iron hook with 1.5-2 meters, during 5-7 times per week, spending about 5-8 hours a day. The captured varied from 2-20 kg per day. In the village 1 kg costs 1-1.5 USD and 3 USD applied by traders who sell along the streets, for tourists and specific customers from Asia, where the traders can sell until 50 kg.The incomes vary from 11-174USD per month. The value chain between the collectors and trader is unreasonable, as the second makes less effort and earns more, thereby the socio-economic impact is observed, however not high for the collectors, as the money is intended to purchase food and agricultural instruments. In another hand, 90% of collectors dropped out the school, and the money does not have a great impact as they still have precarious housing, rely on community wells to access water, do not have electric power and possess high number of family members.

Keywords: socio-economic and of, impacts, capture, sale, Scylla serrata

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Authors: S. Nitiworakarn

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In recent years, focus-group discussions, as a resources of qualitative facts collection, have gained popularity amongst practices within social science studies. Despite this popularity, studying qualitative information, particularly focus-group meetings, creates a challenge to most practitioner inspectors. The Mons, also known as Raman is considered to be one of the earliest peoples in mainland South-East Asia and to be found in scattered communities in Thailand, around the central valley and even in Bangkok. The present project responds to the needs identified traditional Mon set menus based on the participation of Bang Kadi community in Bangkok, Thailand. The aim of this study was to generate Mon food set menus based on the participation of the community and to study Mon food in set menus of Bang Kadi population by focus-group interviews and discussions during May to October 2015 of Bang Kadi community in Bangkok, Thailand. Data were collected using (1) focus group discussion between the researcher and 147 people in the community, including community leaders, women of the community and the elderly of the community (2) cooking between the researcher and 22 residents of the community. After the focus group discussion, the results found that Mon set menus of Bang Kadi residents involved of Kang Neng Kua-dit, Kang Luk-yom, Kang Som-Kajaeb, Kangleng Puk-pung, Yum Cha-cam, Pik-pa, Kao-new dek-ha and Num Ma-toom and the ingredients used in cooking are mainly found in local and seasonal regime. Most of foods in set menus are consequent from local wisdom.

Keywords: focus groups, Mon Food, set menus, Bangkok

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Authors: Rocio Murad, Marcela Sanchez, Mariana Calderon Jaramillo, Danny Rivera, Angela Cifuentes, Daniela Roldán, Juan Carlos Rivillas

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Women and girls have specific health needs, but during health pandemics such as COVID19 they are less likely to have access to quality essential health information, commodities and services, or insurance coverage for routine and catastrophic health expenses, especially in rural and marginalized communities. This is compounded by multiple or intersecting inequalities, such as ethnicity, socioeconomic status, disability, age, geographic location, and sexual orientation, among others. Despite concerted collective action, there is a lack of information on the situation of women, adolescents and youth, including gender inequalities exacerbated by the pandemic. Much more needs to be done to amplify the lived realities of women and adolescents in global and national advocacy and policy responses. The COVID 19 pandemic reflects the need for systematic advocacy policies based on the lived experiences of women and adolescents, underpinned by human rights. This research is part of the initiative of Profamilia Association (Solidarity Study), and its objective is twofold: i) to analyze the behavioral changes and immediate expectations of Colombians during the stage of relaxation of the confinement measures decreed by the national government; and ii) to identify the needs, experiences and resilient practices of adolescents and young women during the COVID-19 crisis in Colombia. Descriptive analysis of data collected by Profamilia through the Solidaridad study, an exploratory cross-sectional descriptive study that used subnational level data from a nonprobabilistic sample survey conducted to 1735 adults, between September 01 and 11, 2020. Interviews were conducted with key stakeholders about their experiences during COVID19, under three key axes: i) main challenges for adolescents and young women; ii) examples of what has worked well in responding to the challenge; and iii) how/what services are/should be provided during COVID-19 (and beyond) to address the challenge. Interviewees were selected based on prior mapping of social groups of interest. In total, 23 adolescents and young women participated in the interviews. The results show that people adopted behavioral changes such as wearing masks, avoiding people with symptoms, and reducing mobility, but there was also a doubling of concerns for many reasons, from effects on mental health, sexual health, and unattended reproductive health to the burden of care and working at home. The favorable perception that people had at the beginning of the quarantine about the response and actions of the national and local government to control Covid-19 decreased over the course of the quarantine. The challenges and needs of adolescents and young women were highlighted during the most restrictive measures to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in disruptions to daily activities, education and work, as well as restrictions to mobility and social interaction. Concerns raised by participants included: impact on mental health and wellbeing due to disruption of daily life; limitations in access to formal and informal education; food insecurity; migration; loss of livelihoods; lack of access to health information and services; limitations to sexual and reproductive health and rights; insecurity problems; and problems in communication and treatment among household members.

Keywords: COVID-19, changes in behavior, adolescents, women

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Authors: Sajedeh Salehi, Marco Giacalone

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This paper examines the role of existing online dispute resolution (ODR) mechanisms and their effects on ameliorating access to justice – as a protected right by Art. 47 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights – for consumers in EU. The major focus of this study will be on evaluating ODR as the means of dispute resolution for Business-to-Consumer (B2C) cross-border small claims raised in e-commerce transactions. The authors will elaborate the consequences of implementing ODR methods in the context of recent developments in EU regulatory safeguards on promoting consumer protection. In this analysis, both non-judiciary and judiciary ODR redress mechanisms are considered, however, the significant consideration is given to – obligatory and non-obligatory – judiciary ODR methods. For that purpose, this paper will particularly investigate the impact of the EU ODR platform as well as the European Small Claims Procedure (ESCP) Regulation 861/2007 and their role on accelerating the access to justice for consumers in B2C e-disputes. Although, considerable volume of research has been carried out on ODR for consumer claims, rather less (or no-) attention has been paid to provide a combined doctrinal and empirical evaluation of ODR’s potential in resolving cross-border small e-disputes, in EU. Hence, the methodological approach taken in this study is a mixed methodology based on qualitative (interviews) and quantitative (surveys) research methods which will be mainly based on the data acquired through the findings of the Small Claims Analysis Net (SCAN) project. This project contributes towards examining the ESCP Regulation implementation and efficiency in providing consumers with a legal watershed through using the ODR for their transnational small claims. The outcomes of this research may benefit both academia and policymakers at national and international level.

Keywords: access to justice, consumers, e-commerce, small e-Disputes

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Authors: C. Sridawruang

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Young people today has sexual activities differing from those of earlier generations, in that teenagers are likely to have multiple partners, and are frequently in short-term relationships or with partners that are not well known to them. The proportion of teenage mothers in Thailand has increased. Young people were not specifically addressed during the overall very successful HIV-prevention campaigns. Because of this missed opportunity, they are still unaware of the risk of unsafe sexual behavior. Aims: To describe the reproductive health care services in perspectives of rural Thai teenagers Methods: This survey was one part of a mixed method approach taken using survey and focus groups with 439 teenagers aged 12-18 years in 5 villages, Udon Thani, Thailand. The standard questionnaire survey had been used for collecting data. The numeric data was checked and analyzed by using descriptive statistics. Results: Most teenager respondents stated that they do not know where sexual reproductive health services provided for them. Most teenagers felt difficult to access and talk with health staff about sexual related issues. They stated that discussing, or consulting with health providers might not be safe. Teenagers might lose opportunities to access and get advice from health care services. The mean knowledge score of contraception and condom reproductive was 6.34 from a total score 11. Most teenagers especially girls expressed a need for counseling services and reported a need for telephone services. Conclusions: The need of appropriate information focusing on sexual relationships and contraception should be designed to help young people make wise decisions and there should be set health care services for Thai teenagers to make sure that teenagers could access easily. Health care providers need to be trained to improve their knowledge, attitudes and skills in reproductive health care practices for Thai teenagers.

Keywords: youth friendly health services, rural, Thai, teenagers

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Authors: Tiantian Min, Chuanxiang Cheng, Jin Yue

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The growth and reproduction of microorganisms in food packaging can cause food decay and foodborne diseases, which pose a serious threat to the health of consumers and even cause serious economic losses. Active food packaging containing antibacterial bioactive compounds is a promising strategy for extending the shelf life of products and maintaining the food quality, as well as reducing the food waste. However, most active packaging can only act as slow-release effect for antimicrobials, which causes the release rate of antimicrobials not match the growth rate of microorganisms. Stimuli-responsive active packaging materials based on biopolymeric substrates and bioactive substances that respond to some biological and non-biological trigger factors provide more opportunities for fresh food preservation. The biological stimuli factors such as relative humidity, pH and enzyme existed in the exudate secreted by microorganisms have been expected to design food packaging materials. These stimuli-responsive materials achieved accurate release or delivery of bioactive substances at specific time and appropriate dose. Recently, metal-organic-frameworks (MOFs) nanoparticles become attractive carriers to enhance the efficiency of bioactive compounds or drugs. Cellulose nanofibrils have been widely applied for film substrates due to their biodegradability and biocompatibility. The abundant hydroxyl groups in cellulose can be oxidized to carboxyl groups by TEMPO, making it easier to anchoring MOFs and to be further modification. In this study, a pH and enzyme dual-responsive CAR@ZIF-8/TOCNF/PE film was fabricated by in-situ growth of ZIF-8 nanoparticles onto TEMPO-oxidized cellulose (TOCNF) film and further coated with pectin (PE) for stabilization and controlled release of carvacrol (CAR). The enzyme triggered release of CAR was achieved owing to the degradation of pectin by pectinase secreted by microorganisms. Similarly, the pH-responsive release of CAR was attributed to the unique skeleton degradation of ZIF-8, further accelerating the release of CAR from the topological structure of ZIF-8. The composite film performed excellent crystallinity and adsorb ability confirmed by X-ray diffraction and BET analysis, and the inhibition efficiency against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Aspergillus niger reached more than 99%. The composite film was capable of releasing CAR when exposure to dose-dependent enzyme (0.1, 0.2, and 0.3 mg/mL) and acidic condition (pH = 5). When inoculated 10 μL of Aspergillus niger spore suspension on the equatorial position of mango and raspberries, this composite film acted as packaging pads effectively inhibited the mycelial growth and prolonged the shelf life of mango and raspberries to 7 days. Such MOF-TOCNF based film provided a targeted, controlled and sustained release of bioactive compounds for long-term antibacterial activity and preservation effect, which can also avoid the cross-contamination of fruits.

Keywords: active food packaging, controlled release, fruit preservation, in-situ growth, stimuli-responsive

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Authors: Srikantan L. Jayasri, James Gan

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The changes in Singapore’s land use, natural preference of long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis) to live in forest edges and their adaptability has led to interface between humans and macaques. Studies have shown that two-third of human-macaque interactions in Singapore were related to human food. We aimed to assess differences among macaques groups in their dependence on human food and interaction with humans as indicators of the level of interface. Field observations using instantaneous scan sampling and all occurrence ad-lib sampling were carried out for 23 macaque groups over 28 days recording 71.5 hours of observations. Data on macaque behaviour, demography, frequency, and nature of human-macaque interactions were collected. None of the groups were found to completely rely on human food source. Of the 23 groups, 40% of them were directly or indirectly provisioned by humans. One-third of the groups observed engaged in some form of interactions with the humans. Three groups that were directly fed by humans contributed to 83% of the total human-macaque interactions observed during the study. Our study indicated that interactions between humans and macaques exist in specific groups and in those fed by humans regularly. Although feeding monkeys is illegal in Singapore, such incidents seem to persist in specific locations. We emphasize the importance of group and location-specific assessment of the existing human-wildlife interactions. Conflict management strategies developed should be location specific to address the cause of interactions.

Keywords: primates, Southeast Asia, wildlife management, Singapore

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Authors: Dominika Collett

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AI applications, such as machine learning, require access to a vast amount of data in the training phase, which can often be the subject of copyright protection. During later usage, the various content with which the application works can be recorded or made available on the basis of which it produces the resulting output. The EU has recently adopted new legislation to secure machine access to protected works under the DSM Directive; but, the issue of machine use of copyright works is not clearly addressed. However, such clarity is needed regarding the increasing importance of AI and its development. Therefore, this paper provides a basic background of the technology used in the development of applications in the field of computer creativity. The second part of the paper then will focus on a legal analysis of machine use of the authors' works from the perspective of existing European and Czech legislation. The main results of the paper discuss the potential collision of existing legislation in regards to machine use of works with special focus on exceptions and limitations. The legal regulation of machine use of copyright work will impact the development of AI technology.

Keywords: copyright, artificial intelligence, legal use, infringement, Czech law, EU law, text and data mining

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Authors: Yusif Habib

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The Volta River Basin (VRB) is a transboundary resource shared by Six (6) the West African States. It’s utilization spans across irrigation, hydropower generation, domestic/household water use, transportation, industrial processing, among others. Simultaneously, mineral resources such as gold are mined within the VRB catchment. Typically, the extraction/mining operation is earth-surface excavation; known as Artisanal and Small-scale mining. We developed a conceptual framework in the context of Water-Energy-Food (WEF) Nexus to delineate the trade-offs and synergies between the mineral extractive operation’s impact on Agricultural systems, specifically, cereal crops (e.g. Maize, Millet, and Rice) and the environment (water and soil quality, deforestation, etc.) on the VRB. Thus, the study examined the trade-offs and synergies through the WEF nexus lens to explore the extent of an eventual overarching mining preference for gold exploration with high economic returns as opposed to the presumably low yearly harvest and household income from food crops production to inform intervention prioritization. Field survey (household, expert, and stakeholder consultation), bibliometric analysis/literature review, scenario, and simulation models, including land-use land cover (LULC) analyses, were conducted. The selected study area(s) in Ghana was the location where the mineral extractive operation’s presence and impact are widespread co-exist with the Agricultural systems. Overall, the study proposes mechanisms of the virtuous cycle through FEW Nexus instead of the presumably existing vicious cycle to inform decision making and policy implementation.

Keywords: agriculture, environmental sustainability, gold Mining, synergies, trade-off, water-energy-food nexus

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Authors: M. Menapace

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Introduction: Herbal remedies express the idea of natural products used as pharmacotherapy or supplementation in case of need. Whether they are obtained directly by plants or synthesised chemically, prebiotics are considered nutraceuticals of natural origin, i.e., products made available for health reasons and self-medication. Methods: A literature review has been performed by screening manuscripts with prebiotics as herbal nutraceuticals (including chemically synthesized compounds, such as human milk oligosaccharides [HMO]) and evaluating the chemical structure of fibers in diverse food sources (principally herbals). Results: An examination of recent literature led to the fundamental concept of the holobiont as key in understanding the importance of prebiotics for the nonhost part of the metaorganism (microbiota) called a human being. This multispecies entity requires prebiotic fibers to avoid a state of disequilibrium (dysbiosis) that fosters diseases. Conclusions: Numerous human-derived glycans (special oligosaccharides that mimic in structure and function not only blood type antigens but also herbal fibers) have been identified as essential for the maintenance of the equilibrium (eubiosis) within the human holobiont in the modern age. These products are planned to be used not just as additions to baby milk formulas but as food supplements for the health of adults. In the context of alternative medicine, human-derived glycan-based supplements may represent the next step on the road to complete well-being.

Keywords: glycans, herbal remedy, prebiotics, food supplement

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Authors: Ayanda Magida, Brian Armstrong

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The study aimed to assess the third level of the digital divide among the millennials and post-millennials in South Africa. The millennials are people born from 1981-to 1996, that is, people between the ages of 25-40 years old and post-millennials are people born from 1997 to date. For the study, only post-millennials born between 1997-2003 were included as they were old enough to consent to participation in the study. Data was collected as part of the Ph.D. project that focuses on the relationship between income inequality, the digital divide, and social cohesion in South Africa. The digital divide has three main levels, namely the first, second and third. The first and second focus on access and usage, respectively. The third-level digital divide can be defined as the differences in the benefits associated with being online. The current paper focuses on the third level: the benefits derived by being online using four domains: economic, educational, social, and personal benefits. The economic benefits include income, employment and finance-related activities; the social benefits include socializing belonging, identity, and informal networks. The personal benefits include personal wellbeing and self-actualization. A total of 763 participants completed the survey, and 61.3% were post-millennials between the ages of 18-24 and s 38.6 % were millennials between 25 and 40. The majority of the respondents were female (62%), male (34%) and nonbinary (1%), respectively. Most of the respondents were black, followed by whites, Indians and colored, respectively. Thus, they represented the status of the demographics of the country. Most of the respondents had access to the internet and smartphone. Most expressed that they use laptops (68%) or mobile (71%) to access the internet and 54 % access the internet using wireless/Wi-Fi. There were no differences between the millennial and post-millennial economic and educational benefits of being online. However, the post-millennials were more inclined to use the internet for social and personal benefits than the millennials. This could be attributed to many factors, such as age. The post-millennials are still discovering themselves and therefore would derive social and personal benefits associated with being online. The findings confirm studies that argue that younger generations derive more benefits from being online than the older generation. Based on the findings, it is evident that the post-millennials are not using the internet or online activities for social networks and socializing but can derive economic benefits such as job looking and education benefits from being online. It can be inferred that there are no significant differences between the two groups, and it seems like the third-level digital divide is not evident among the two groups as they both have been able to derive meaningful benefits from being online. Further studies should focus on the third-level divide between the baby boomers and Generation X.

Keywords: third-level digital divide, millennials, post-millennials, online activities

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Authors: Kshanaprava Dhalsamant, Punyadarshini P. Tripathy, Shanker L. Shrivastava

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With present high global population, the need for rising food usage by minimizing food wastage and investment is highly necessary to achieve food security. The purpose of this study is to enlighten the effect of pre-drying treatment on rehydration, color, texture, nanohardness, microstructure and surface morphology of solar dried potato samples dried in the mixed-mode solar dryer. Locally bought potatoes were cleaned and cut into cylindrical pieces and pretreated with sodium metabisulfite (0.5%) for 10 min before placing them in natural convection solar dryer designed and developed in Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, India. Advanced quality characteristics were studied using Atomic Force Microscope (AFM), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and nanoindentation method, along with color, texture and water activity. The rehydration indices of solar dried potatoes were significantly biased by pretreatment followed by rehydration temperature. A lower redness index (a*) with a higher value of yellowness index (b*), chroma (C*) and hue angle (h*) were obtained for pretreated samples. Also, the average nanohardness (H) of untreated samples exhibited substantial lower value (18.46%) compared to pretreated samples. Additionally, a creep displacement of 43.27 nm during 20 s dwell time under constant load of 200

Keywords: pretreatment, nanohardness, microstructure, surface morphology

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Authors: Bharti Jain, Rajeev Jain, Abuzar Kabir, Torki Zughaibi, Shweta Sharma

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Drug-facilitated crimes (DFCs) entail the use of a single drug or a mixture of drugs to render a victim unable. Traditionally, biological samples have been gathered from victims and conducted analysis to establish evidence of drug administration. Nevertheless, the rapid metabolism of various drugs and delays in analysis can impede the identification of such substances. For this, the present article describes a rapid, sustainable, highly efficient and miniaturized protocol for the identification and quantification of three sedative-hypnotic drugs, namely diazepam, chlordiazepoxide and ketamine in alcoholic beverages and complex food samples (cream of biscuit, flavored milk, juice, cake, tea, sweets and chocolate). The methodology involves utilizing fabric phase sorptive extraction (FPSE) to extract diazepam (DZ), chlordiazepoxide (CDP), and ketamine (KET). Subsequently, the extracted samples are subjected to analysis using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Several parameters, including the type of membrane, pH, agitation time and speed, ionic strength, sample volume, elution volume and time, and type of elution solvent, were screened and thoroughly optimized. Sol-gel Carbowax 20M (CW-20M) has demonstrated the most effective extraction efficiency for the target analytes among all evaluated membranes. Under optimal conditions, the method displayed linearity within the range of 0.3–10 µg mL–¹ (or µg g–¹), exhibiting a coefficient of determination (R2) ranging from 0.996–0.999. The limits of detection (LODs) and limits of quantification (LOQs) for liquid samples range between 0.020-0.069 µg mL-¹ and 0.066-0.22 µg mL-¹, respectively. Correspondingly, the LODs for solid samples ranged from 0.056-0.090 µg g-¹, while the LOQs ranged from 0.18-0.29 µg g-¹. Notably, the method showcased better precision, with repeatability and reproducibility both below 5% and 10%, respectively. Furthermore, the FPSE-GC-MS method proved effective in determining diazepam (DZ) in forensic food samples connected to drug-facilitated crimes (DFCs). Additionally, the proposed method underwent evaluation for its whiteness using the RGB12 algorithm.

Keywords: drug facilitated crime, fabric phase sorptive extraction, food forensics, white analytical chemistry

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Authors: Maciej Pieńkowski

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Lean Management is nowadays one of the most dominating management concepts within industrial and service environment, providing compelling business benefits to many companies. At the same time, its application in the non-governmental organizations has not been extensively researched yet. Filling this gap will address clear necessity of efficient management system in NGO environment and significantly improve operational performance of many organizations. The goal of the research is to verify effectiveness of Lean Management implementation in the non-governmental organizations, based on Wrocław Food Bank case study. The case study describes a Lean Management implementation project within analyzed organization. During the project, Wrocław Food Bank went through full 5-step Lean Thinking processes, which consist of value identification, value stream mapping, creation of flow, establishing pull and seeking perfection. The research contains a detailed summary of each of those steps and provides with information regarding results of their implementation. The major findings of the study indicate, that application of Lean Management in NGO environment is possible, however physical implementation of its guidelines can be strongly impeded by multiple constraints, which non-governmental organizations are facing. Due to challenges like limited resources, project based activities and lack of traditional supplier-customer relationship, many NGOs may fail in their efforts to implement Lean Management. Successful Lean application requires therefore strong leadership commitment, which would drive transformation to remove barriers and obstacles.

Keywords: lean management, non-governmental organizations, continuous improvement, lean thinking

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