Search results for: food products
4974 Adequate Dietary Intake to Improve Outcome of Urine: Urea Nitrogen with Balance Nitrogen and Total Lymphocyte Count
Authors: Mardiana Madjid, Nurpudji Astuti Taslim, Suryani As'ad, Haerani Rasyid, Agussalim Bukhari
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The high level of Urine Urea Nitrogen (UUN) indicates hypercatabolism occurs in hospitalized patients. High levels of Total Lymphocyte Count (TLC) indicates the immune system condition, adequate wound healing, and limit complication. Adequate dietary intake affects to decrease of hypercatabolism status in treated patient’s hospitals. Nitrogen Balance (NB) is simply the difference between nitrogen (N₂) intake and output. If more N₂ intake than output, then positive NB or anabolic will occur. This study aims to evaluate the effect of dietary intake in influencing balance nitrogen and total lymphocyte count. Method: A total of 43 patients admitted to a Wahidin Sudirohusodo Hospital between 2018 and 2019 for 10 days' treats are included. The inclusion criteria were patients who were treated for 10 days and receives food from the hospital orally. Patients did not experience gastrointestinal disorders such as vomiting and diarrhea and experience impair kidney function and liver function and expressed approval to participate in this study. During hospitalization, food intake, UUN, albumin serum, balance nitrogen, and TLC was assessed twice on day 1 and day 10. There is no Physician Clinical Nutritional intervention to correct food intake. UUN is 24 hours of urine collected on the second day after admission and the tenth day. Statistical analysis uses SPSS 24 with observational cohort methods. Result: The Forty-three participants completed the follow-up (27 men and 18 women). The age of fewer than 4 years is 22 people, 45 to 60 years is 16 people, and over 60 years is 4 people. The result of the study on day 1 obtained SGA score A, SGA score B, SGA score C are 8, 32, 3 until day 10 are 8, 31, 4, respectively. According to 24h dietary recalls, the energy intake during observation was from 522.5 ± 400.4 to 1011.9 ± 545.1 kcal/day P < 0.05, protein intake from 20.07 ± 17.2 to 40.3 ± 27.3 g/day P < 0.05, carbohydrates from 92.5 ± 71.6 to 184.8 ± 87.4 g/day, and fat from 5.5 ± 3.86 to 13.9 ± 13.9 g/day. The UUN during the observation was from 6.6 ± 7.3 to 5.5 ± 3.9 g/day, TLC decreased from 1622.9 ± 897.2 to 1319.9 ± 636.3/mm³ value target 1800/mm³, albumin serum from 3.07 ± 0.76 to 2.9 ± 0.57 g/day, and BN from -7.5 ± 7.2 to -3.1 ± 4.86. Conclusion: The high level of UUN needs to correct adequate dietary intake to improve NB and TLC status on hospitalized patients.Keywords: adequate dietary intake, balance nitrogen, total lymphocyte count, urine urea nitrogen
Procedia PDF Downloads 1304973 Influence of Different Ripening Agents on the Shelf-Life and Microbial Load of Organic and Inorganic Musaceae, during the Ripening Process, and the Health Implication for Food Security
Authors: Wisdom Robert Duruji
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Local farmers and fruit processors in developing countries of West Africa use different ripening agents to accelerate the ripening process of plantain and banana. This study reports on the influence of different ripening agents on the shelf-life and microbial load of organic and inorganic plantain (Musa paradisiaca) and banana (Musa sapientum) during ripening process and the health implication for food security in Nigeria. The experiment consisted of four treatments, namely: Calcium carbide, Irvingia gabonensis fruits, Newbouldia laevis leaves and a control, where no ripening agent was applied to the fingers of plantain and banana. The unripe and ripened plantain and banana were subjected to microbial analysis by isolating their micro flora (Bacteria, Yeast and Mould) using pour plate method. Microbes present in the samples were enumerated, characterized and classified to genera and species. The result indicated that the microbial load of inorganic plantain from (Urban day) open market in Ile-Ife increased from 8.00 for unripe to 12.11 cfu/g for ripened; and the microbial load of organic plantain from Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching and Research Farm (OAUTRF) increased from 6.00 for unripe to 11.60 cfu/g for ripened. Also, the microbial load of inorganic banana from (Urban day) open market in Ile-Ife increased from 8.00 for unripe to 11.50 cfu/g for ripened; while the microbial load of organic banana from OAUTRF increased from 6.50 for unripe to 9.40 cfu/g for ripened. The microbial effects of the ripening agents increased from 10.00 for control to 16.00 cfu/g for treated (ripened) organic and inorganic plantain; while that of organic and inorganic banana increased from 7.50 for control to 14.50 cfu/g for ripened. Visual observation for the presence of fungal colonies and deterioration rates were monitored till seven days after the plantain and banana fingers have fully ripened. Inorganic plantain and banana from (Urban day) open market in Ile-Ife are more contaminated than organic plantain and banana fingers from OAUTRF. The ripening accelerators reduced the shelf life, increased senescence, and microbial load of plantain and banana. This study concluded that organic Agriculture is better and microbial friendlier than inorganic farming.Keywords: organic agriculture, food security, Musaceae, calcium carbide, Irvingia gabonensis, Newbouldia laevis
Procedia PDF Downloads 5974972 Analyzing the Nutritional Challenges in Old People with Diabetes
Authors: Maedeh Gharazi
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Adults with age 50 and older will include more than 70% of the diabetic populace by the year 2025. More established patients with diabetes are more inclined to have concurrent ceaseless conditions like hypertension, dyslipidemia, and cardiovascular sickness that may affect their nutritious necessities. The issue of achievement and support of an ideal body weight in elderly diabetic persons may not be as direct as in other age gatherings, and the risk-benefit ratio may be diverse too. Albeit expanded predominance of overweight and weight in the elderly adds to insulin resistance and hyperglycemia, more seasoned tenants of long haul care offices who experience the ill effects of diabetes have a tendency to be underweight. Both may mean insufficient nutritional status and lead to expanded grimness and mortality. The attendant problems of appetite changes, palatability of food, dietary restrictions, loneliness, and depression may influence the sort and amount of food devoured by elderly persons. Organized screening devices may recognize nutrition related issues that warrant proof based mediations. Despite the fact that glucose control and health concerns are essential calculates diet change in the more established populace, different contemplations incorporate personal satisfaction and individual inclinations. Redoing of nutritious rules to the needs of the more seasoned diabetic patient bodes well.Keywords: diabetes, nutritious necessities, insulin resistance, glucose control
Procedia PDF Downloads 3354971 Hotel Deposit Contract and Coverage of Risks Resulting, through Insurance Contracts, in Tourism within the HoReCa Domain: Alternative Dispute Resolution Methods on These Contracts
Authors: Laura Ramona Nae
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The issue of risks faced by companies providing tourist and hotel services in the HoReCa field, related to the goods belonging to consumer tourists left in hotel storage, has acquired a new dimension in the context of the economic and geo-political influences that have recently intervened at the global level. Thus, hoteliers and not only had to create contractual mechanisms regarding the risks and to protect the businesses in this field of activity. This situation has led to a reassessment of the importance of insurance, in particular with regard to hotel liability insurance-premises liability, safety, and security of goods. Interpretation of clauses in contracts concluded between hoteliers and tourists consuming hotel services and products, all the more so in the current pandemic context of Covid 19, stressed the increase in the number of disputes generated by them. This article presents a general picture of the significance of the risks related to the activity carried out in the hospitality industry, tourism, respectively within the HoReCa field. The study mainly marks the specificities of the hotel deposit contract, as well as the related insurance specific to the field, as a way to cover these risks. The article also refers to alternative methods of out-of-court settlement of disputes (ADR) in the HoReCa domain, generally used in both Romania and the European Union.Keywords: consumer tourist, disputes and ADR methods, deposit contract, hotel warehouse and hotelier insurance, hotel services and tourist products, HoReCa
Procedia PDF Downloads 604970 Investigating the Effective Factors on Product Performance and Prioritizing Them: Case Study of Pars-Khazar Company
Authors: Ebrahim Sabermaash Eshghi, Donna Sandsmark
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Nowadays, successful companies try to create a reliable and unique competitive position in the market. It is important to consider that only choosing and codifying a competitive strategy appropriate with the market conditions does not have any influence on the final performance of the company by itself, but it is the connection and interaction between upstream level strategies and functional level strategies which leads to development of company performance in its operating environment. Given the importance of the subject, this study tries to investigate effective factors on product performance and prioritize them. This study was done with quantitative-qualitative approach (interview and questionnaire). In sum, 103 informed managers and experts of Pars-Khazar Company were investigated in a census. Validity of measure tools was approved through experts’ judgments. Reliability of the tools was also gained through Cronbach's Alpha Coefficient as 0.930 and in sum, validity and reliability of the tools was approved generally. Analysis of collected data was done through Spearman Correlation Test and Friedman Test using SPSS software. The results showed that management of distribution and demand process (0.675), management of Product Pre-test (0.636) and Manufacturing and inventory management(0.628) had the highest correlation with product performance. Prioritization of factors of structure of launching new products based on the average showed that management of volume of launched products and Manufacturing and inventory management had the most importance.Keywords: product performance, home appliances, market, case study
Procedia PDF Downloads 2274969 Palynological Investigation and Quality Determination of Honeys from Some Apiaries in Northern Nigeria
Authors: Alebiosu Olugbenga Shadrak, Victor Victoria
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Honey bees exhibit preferences in their foraging behaviour on pollen and nectar for food and honey production, respectively. Melissopalynology is the study of pollen in honey and other honey products. Several work have been conducted on the palynological studies of honeys from the southern parts of Nigeria but with relatively scant records from the Northern region of the country. This present study aimed at revealing the favourably visited plants by honey bees, Apis melifera var. adansonii, at some apiaries in Northern Nigeria, as well as determining the quality of honeys produced. Honeys were harvested and collected from four apiaries of the region, namely: Sarkin Dawa missionary bee farm, Taraba State; Eleeshuwa Bee Farm, Keffi, Nassarawa State, Bulus Beekeeper Apiaries, Kagarko, Kaduna State and Mai Gwava Bee Farm, Kano State. These honeys were acetolysed for palynological microscopic analysis and subjected to standard treatment methods for the determination of their proximate composition and sugar profiling. Fresh anthers of two dominantly represented plants in the honeys were then collected for the quantification of their pollen protein contents, using the micro-kjeldhal procedure. A total of 30 pollen types were identified in the four honeys, and some of them were common to the honeys. A classification method for expressing pollen frequency class was employed: Senna cf. siamea, Terminalia cf. catappa, Mangifera indica, Parinari curatelifolia, Vitellaria paradoxa, Elaeis guineensis, Parkia biglobosa, Phyllantus muellerianus and Berlina Grandiflora, as “Frequent” (16-45%); while the others are either Rare (3-15%) or Sporadic (less than 3 %). Pollen protein levels of the two abundantly represented plants, Senna siamea (15.90mg/ml) and Terminalia catappa (17.33mg/ml) were found to be considerably lower. The biochemical analyses revealed varying amounts of proximate composition, non-reducing sugar and total sugar levels in the honeys. The results of this study indicate that pollen and nectar of the “Frequent” plants were preferentially foraged by honeybees in the apiaries. The estimated pollen protein contents of Senna same and Terminalia catappa were considerably lower and not likely to have influenced their favourable visitation by honeybees. However, a relatively higher representation of Senna cf. siamea in the pollen spectrum might have resulted from its characteristic brightly coloured and well scented flowers, aiding greater entomophily. Terminalia catappa, Mangifera indica, Elaeis guineensis, Vitellaria paradoxa, and Parkia biglobosa are typical food crops; hence they probably attracted the honeybees owing to the rich nutritional values of their fruits and seeds. Another possible reason for a greater entomophily of the favourably visited plants are certain nutritional constituents of their pollen and nectar, which were not investigated in this study. The nutritional composition of the honeys was observed to fall within the safe limits of international norms, as prescribed by Codex Alimentarius Commission, thus they are good honeys for human consumption. It is therefore imperative to adopt strategic conservation steps in ensuring that these favourably visited plants are protected from indiscriminate anthropogenic activities and also encourage apiarists in the country to establish their bee farms more proximally to the plants for optimal honey yield.Keywords: honeybees, melissopalynology, preferentially foraged, nutritional, bee farms, proximally
Procedia PDF Downloads 2844968 SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) Banking
Authors: Okanta Andrew, Richmond Kweku Frempong
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As mobile networks are upgraded with technologies like WAP, GPRS and UMTS to deliver next-generation multimedia services, so are the banks and other financial institutions also getting ready to unleash the financial products on the mobile platform to meet growing demand for mobile based application services. Hence, the onset of Unstructured Supplementary Services (USSD) Banking which would make banking services available at anywhere, anytime through a string of interactive SMS sessions between a mobile device and an application server of a service provider. The aim of this studies was to find out whether the public will accept the sim banking service when it is implemented. Our target group includes: Working class. E. g. Businessmen/women, office workers, fishermen, market women, teachers etc. Nonworking class. E. g. Students (Tertiary, Senior High School), housewives. etc. The survey was in the form of a questionnaire and a verbal interview (video) which was to investigate their idea about the current banking system and the yet to be introduced sim banking concept. Meanwhile, some challenges accompanied the progression of data gathering because some populace showed reluctance in freeing their information. One other suggestion was that government should put measures against foremost challenges obstructing sim banking in Ghana counter to computers hackers. Government and individual have a key role to undertake to give suitable support to facelift the sim banking industry in the country. It was also suggested that Government put strong regulations on the use of sim banking products and services to streamline all the activities and also create awareness of the need for sim banking and emphasize its relevance in the aspect of national GDP.Keywords: banking, mobile banking, SIM banking, mobile banking in Ghana
Procedia PDF Downloads 4884967 Evaluating the Functional Properties of Flours Varying Percentage Blend of Malted Acha, Aya and Ede flours as Potentials for Weaning Food Formulation
Authors: O. G. Onuoha, E. Chibuzo, H. M. Badau
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Traditional weaning foods are dense or thick paste, which are then diluted with large volume of water to produce thin drinkable consistency for infants. This work was aimed at evaluating the functional properties of six varying percentage blends of locally abundant, underutilized crops; malted acha (Digitaria exiles), aya (Cyperus esculentus) and ede (Colocasia esculentum) flours as weaning foods. The results of bulk density and starch digestibility showed a decrease with increasing percentage addition of malted acha with values from 5.889±0.98 to 7.953±0.103; -5.45 to -13.6 respectively. While water absorption capacity, measure of dispersibility, wettability, swelling power, % solubility increased with increase in percentage addition of malted acha with values from 6.6±0.712 to 8.1±0.1; 2.12 to 37.225; 3.21±0.04 to 3.6±0.03; 20.64 to 24.46 respectively. There was no significant difference between all the formula and the control. Results of pasting properties showed that the peak viscosity, break down, final viscosity, setback values from -0.42±0.085 to -3.67±0.085; 5.63±0.045 to 1.79±0.04;-3.88±0.045 to -1.475±0.275; 2.17±0.045 to 2.93±0.045 respectively. There was no significant different between some of the weaning formula and the control for peak viscosity, break down, final viscosity and temperatures required to form paste. The formula compared favorably with the control- a commercially sold formula.Keywords: weaning food, functional properties, under-utilized crops, blends
Procedia PDF Downloads 4514966 Experimental Investigation to Produce an Optimum Mix Ratio of Micro-Concrete
Authors: Shofiq Ahmed, Rakibul Hassan, Raquib Ahsan
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Concrete is one of the basic elements of RCC structure and also the most crucial one. In recent years, a lot of researches have been conducted to develop special types of concrete for special purposes. Micro-concrete is one of them which has high compressive strength and is mainly used for retrofitting. Micro-concrete is a cementitious based composition formulated for use in repairs of areas where the concrete is damaged & the area is confined in movement making the placement of conventional concrete difficult. According to recent statistics, a large number of structures in the major cities of Bangladesh are vulnerable to collapse. Retrofitting may thus be required for a sustainable solution, and for this purpose, the utilization of micro-concrete can be considered as the most effective solution. For that reason, the aim of this study was to produce micro-concrete using indigenous materials in low cost. Following this aim, the experimental data were observed for five mix ratios with varied amount of cement, fine aggregate, coarse aggregate, water, and admixture. The investigation criteria were a compressive strength, tensile strength, slump and the cost of different mix ratios. Finally, for a mix ratio of 1:1:1.5, the compressive strength was achieved as 7820 psi indicating highest strength among all the samples with the reasonable tensile strength of 1215 psi. The slump of 6.9 inches was also found for this specimen indicating it’s high flowability and making it’s convenient to use as micro-concrete. Moreover, comparing with the cost of foreign products of micro-concrete, it was observed that foreign products were almost four to five times costlier than this local product.Keywords: indigenous, micro-concrete, retrofitting, vulnerable
Procedia PDF Downloads 3314965 A Review on Agricultural Landscapes as a Habitat of Rodents
Authors: Nadeem Munawar, Tariq Mahmood, Paula Rivadeneira, Ali Akhter
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In this paper, we review on rodent species which are common inhabitants of agricultural landscapes where they are an important prey source for a wide variety of avian, reptilian, and mammalian predators. Agricultural fields are surrounded by fallow land, which provide suitable sites for shelter and breeding for rodents, while shrubs, grasses, annual weeds and forbs may provide supplementary food. The assemblage of rodent’s fauna in the cropland habitats including cropped fields, meadows and adjacent field structures like hedgerows, woodland and field margins fluctuates seasonally. The mature agricultural crops provides good source of food and shelter to the rodents and these factors along with favorable climatic factors/season facilitate breeding activities of these rodent species. Changes in vegetation height and vegetative cover affect two important aspects of a rodent’s life: food and shelter. In addition, during non-crop period vegetation can be important for building nests above or below ground and it provides thermal protection for rodents from heat and cold. The review revealed that rodents form a very diverse group of mammals, ranging from tiny pigmy mice to big capybaras, from arboreal flying squirrels to subterranean mole rats, from opportunistic omnivores (e.g. Norway rats) to specialist feeders (e.g. the North African fat sand rats that feed on a single family of plants only). It is therefore no surprise that some species thrive well under the conditions that are found in agricultural fields. The review on the population dynamics of the rodent species indicated that they are agricultural pests probably due to the heterogeneous landscape and to the high rotativity of vegetable crop cultivation. They also cause damage to various crops, directly and indirectly, by gnawing, spoilage, contamination and hoarding activities, besides this behavior they have also significance importance in agricultural habitat. The burrowing activities of rodents alter the soil properties around their burrows which improve its aeration, infiltration, increase the water holding capacity and thus encourage plant growth. These properties are beneficial for the soil because they affect absorption of phosphorus, absorption zinc, copper, other nutrients and the uptake of water and thus rodents are known as indicator species in agricultural fields. Our review suggests that wide crop field’s borders, particularly those contiguous to various cropland fields, should be understood as priority sites for nesting, feeding, and cover for the rodent’s fauna. The goal of this review paper is to provide a comprehensive synthesis of understanding regarding rodent habitat and biodiversity in agricultural landscapes.Keywords: agricultural landscapes, food, indicator species, shelter
Procedia PDF Downloads 1734964 The Evaluation of the Effect of a Weed-Killer Sulfonylurea on Durum Wheat (Triticum durum Desf)
Authors: Meksem Amara Leila, Ferfar Meriem, Meksem Nabila, Djebar Mohammed Reda
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The wheat is the cereal the most consumed in the world. In Algeria, the production of this cereal covers only 20 in 25 % of the needs for the country, the rest being imported. To improve the efficiency and the productivity of the durum wheat, the farmers turn to the use of pesticides: weed-killers, fungicides and insecticides. However this use often entrains losses of products more at least important contaminating the environment and all the food chain. Weed-killers are substances developed to control or destroy plants considered unwanted. That they are natural or produced by the human being (molecule of synthesis), the absorption and the metabolization of weed-killers by plants cause the death of these plants.In this work, we set as goal the evaluation of the effect of a weed-killer sulfonylurea, the CossackOD with various concentrations (0, 2, 4 and 9 µg) on variety of Triticum durum: Cirta. We evaluated the plant growth by measuring the leaves and root length, compared with the witness as well as the content of proline and analyze the level of one of the antioxydative enzymes: catalse, after 14 days of treatment. Sulfonylurea is foliar and root weed-killers inhibiting the acetolactate synthase: a vegetable enzyme essential to the development of the plant. This inhibition causes the ruling of the growth then the death. The obtained results show a diminution of the average length of leaves and roots this can be explained by the fact that the ALS inhibitors are more active in the young and increasing regions of the plant, what inhibits the cellular division and talks a limitation of the foliar and root’s growth. We also recorded a highly significant increase in the proline levels and a stimulation of the catalase activity. As a response to increasing the herbicide concentrations a particular increases in antioxidative mechanisms in wheat cultivar Cirta suggest that the high sensitivity of Cirta to this sulfonylurea herbicide is related to the enhanced production and oxidative damage of reactive oxygen species.Keywords: sulfonylurea, Triticum durum, oxydative stress, Toxicity
Procedia PDF Downloads 4304963 A Two-Stage Process for the Sustainable Production of Aliphatic Polyesters
Authors: A. Douka, S. Vouyiouka, L. M. Papaspyridi, D. Korres, C. Papaspyrides
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A "green" process was studied for the preparation of partially renewable aliphatic polyesters based on 1,4-butanediol and 1,8-octanediol with various diacids and derivatives, namely diethyl succinate, adipic acid, sebacic acid, 1,12-dodecanedioic acid and 1,14-tetradecanedioic acid. A first step of enzymatic prepolymerization was carried out in the presence of two different solvents, toluene and diphenylether, applying molecular sieves and vacuum, respectively, to remove polycondensation by-products. Poly(octylene adipate) (PE 8.6), poly(octylene dodecanate)(PE 8.12) and poly(octylene tetradecanate) (PE 8.14) were firstly enzymatically produced in toluene using molecular sieves giving however, low-molecular-weight products. Thereafter, the synthesis of PE 8.12 and PE 8.14 was examined under optimized conditions using diphenylether as solvent and a more vigorous by-product removal step, such as application of vacuum. Apart from these polyesters, the optimized process was also implemented for the production of another long-chain polyester-poly(octylene sebacate) (PE 8.10) and a short-chain polyester-poly(butylene succinate) (PE 4.4). Subsequently, bulk post-polymerization in the melt or solid state was performed. SSP runs involved absence of biocatalyst and reaction temperatures (T) in the vicinity of the prepolymer melting point (Tm-T varied between 15.5 up to 4oC). Focusing on PE 4.4 and PE 8.12, SSP took place under vacuum or flowing nitrogen leading to increase of the molecular weight and improvement of the end product physical appearance and thermal properties.Keywords: aliphatic polyester, enzymatic polymerization, solid state polymerization, Novozym 435
Procedia PDF Downloads 3244962 New Coating Materials Based on Mixtures of Shellac and Pectin for Pharmaceutical Products
Authors: M. Kumpugdee-Vollrath, M. Tabatabaeifar, M. Helmis
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Shellac is a natural polyester resin secreted by insects. Pectins are natural, non-toxic and water-soluble polysaccharides extracted from the peels of citrus fruits or the leftovers of apples. Both polymers are allowed for the use in the pharmaceutical industry and as a food additive. SSB Aquagold® is the aqueous solution of shellac and can be used for a coating process as an enteric or controlled drug release polymer. In this study, tablets containing 10 mg methylene blue as a model drug were prepared with a rotary press. Those tablets were coated with mixtures of shellac and one of the pectin different types (i.e. CU 201, CU 501, CU 701 and CU 020) mostly in a 2:1 ratio or with pure shellac in a small scale fluidized bed apparatus. A stable, simple and reproducible three-stage coating process was successfully developed. The drug contents of the coated tablets were determined using UV-VIS spectrophotometer. The characterization of the surface and the film thickness were performed with the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and the light microscopy. Release studies were performed in a dissolution apparatus with a basket. Most of the formulations were enteric coated. The dissolution profiles showed a delayed or sustained release with a lagtime of at least 4 h. Dissolution profiles of coated tablets with pure shellac had a very long lagtime ranging from 13 to 17.5 h and the slopes were quite high. The duration of the lagtime and the slope of the dissolution profiles could be adjusted by adding the proper type of pectin to the shellac formulation and by variation of the coating amount. In order to apply a coating formulation as a colon delivery system, the prepared film should be resistant against gastric fluid for at least 2 h and against intestinal fluid for 4-6 h. The required delay time was gained with most of the shellac-pectin polymer mixtures. The release profiles were fitted with the modified model of the Korsmeyer-Peppas equation and the Hixson-Crowell model. A correlation coefficient (R²) > 0.99 was obtained by Korsmeyer-Peppas equation.Keywords: shellac, pectin, coating, fluidized bed, release, colon delivery system, kinetic, SEM, methylene blue
Procedia PDF Downloads 4104961 Data Collection in Protected Agriculture for Subsequent Big Data Analysis: Methodological Evaluation in Venezuela
Authors: Maria Antonieta Erna Castillo Holly
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During the last decade, data analysis, strategic decision making, and the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools in Latin American agriculture have been a challenge. In some countries, the availability, quality, and reliability of historical data, in addition to the current data recording methodology in the field, makes it difficult to use information systems, complete data analysis, and their support for making the right strategic decisions. This is something essential in Agriculture 4.0. where the increase in the global demand for fresh agricultural products of tropical origin, during all the seasons of the year requires a change in the production model and greater agility in the responses to the consumer market demands of quality, quantity, traceability, and sustainability –that means extensive data-. Having quality information available and updated in real-time on what, how much, how, when, where, at what cost, and the compliance with production quality standards represents the greatest challenge for sustainable and profitable agriculture in the region. The objective of this work is to present a methodological proposal for the collection of georeferenced data from the protected agriculture sector, specifically in production units (UP) with tall structures (Greenhouses), initially for Venezuela, taking the state of Mérida as the geographical framework, and horticultural products as target crops. The document presents some background information and explains the methodology and tools used in the 3 phases of the work: diagnosis, data collection, and analysis. As a result, an evaluation of the process is carried out, relevant data and dashboards are displayed, and the first satellite maps integrated with layers of information in a geographic information system are presented. Finally, some improvement proposals and tentatively recommended applications are added to the process, understanding that their objective is to provide better qualified and traceable georeferenced data for subsequent analysis of the information and more agile and accurate strategic decision making. One of the main points of this study is the lack of quality data treatment in the Latin America area and especially in the Caribbean basin, being one of the most important points how to manage the lack of complete official data. The methodology has been tested with horticultural products, but it can be extended to other tropical crops.Keywords: greenhouses, protected agriculture, data analysis, geographic information systems, Venezuela
Procedia PDF Downloads 1364960 Policies for Circular Bioeconomy in Portugal: Barriers and Constraints
Authors: Ana Fonseca, Ana Gouveia, Edgar Ramalho, Rita Henriques, Filipa Figueiredo, João Nunes
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Due to persistent climate pressures, there is a need to find a resilient economic system that is regenerative in nature. Bioeconomy offers the possibility of replacing non-renewable and non-biodegradable materials derived from fossil fuels with ones that are renewable and biodegradable, while a Circular Economy aims at sustainable and resource-efficient operations. The term "Circular Bioeconomy", which can be summarized as all activities that transform biomass for its use in various product streams, expresses the interaction between these two ideas. Portugal has a very favourable context to promote a Circular Bioeconomy due to its variety of climates and ecosystems, availability of biologically based resources, location, and geomorphology. Recently, there have been political and legislative efforts to develop the Portuguese Circular Bioeconomy. The Action Plan for a Sustainable Bioeconomy, approved in 2021, is composed of five axes of intervention, ranging from sustainable production and the use of regionally based biological resources to the development of a circular and sustainable bioindustry through research and innovation. However, as some statistics show, Portugal is still far from achieving circularity. According to Eurostat, Portugal has circularity rates of 2.8%, which is the second lowest among the member states of the European Union. Some challenges contribute to this scenario, including sectorial heterogeneity and fragmentation, prevalence of small producers, lack of attractiveness for younger generations, and absence of implementation of collaborative solutions amongst producers and along value chains.Regarding the Portuguese industrial sector, there is a tendency towards complex bureaucratic processes, which leads to economic and financial obstacles and an unclear national strategy. Together with the limited number of incentives the country has to offer to those that pretend to abandon the linear economic model, many entrepreneurs are hesitant to invest the capital needed to make their companies more circular. Absence of disaggregated, georeferenced, and reliable information regarding the actual availability of biological resources is also a major issue. Low literacy on bioeconomy among many of the sectoral agents and in society in general directly impacts the decisions of production and final consumption. The WinBio project seeks to outline a strategic approach for the management of weaknesses/opportunities in the technology transfer process, given the reality of the territory, through road mapping and national and international benchmarking. The developed work included the identification and analysis of agents in the interior region of Portugal, natural endogenous resources, products, and processes associated with potential development. Specific flow of biological wastes, possible value chains, and the potential for replacing critical raw materials with bio-based products was accessed, taking into consideration other countries with a matured bioeconomy. The study found food industry, agriculture, forestry, and fisheries generate huge amounts of waste streams, which in turn provide an opportunity for the establishment of local bio-industries powered by this biomass. The project identified biological resources with potential for replication and applicability in the Portuguese context. The richness of natural resources and potentials known in the interior region of Portugal is a major key to developing the Circular Economy and sustainability of the country.Keywords: circular bioeconomy, interior region of portugal, regional development., public policy
Procedia PDF Downloads 964959 Vitrification and Devitrification of Chromium Containing Tannery Ash
Authors: Savvas Varitis, Panagiotis Kavouras, George Kaimakamis, Eleni Pavlidou, George Vourlias, Konstantinos Chrysafis, Philomela Komninou, Theodoros Karakostas
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Tannery industry produces high quantities of chromium containing waste which also have high organic content. Processing of this waste is important since the organic content is above the disposal limits and the containing trivalent chromium could be potentially oxidized to hexavalent in the environment. This work aims to fabricate new vitreous and glass ceramic materials which could incorporate the tannery waste in stabilized form either for safe disposal or for the production of useful materials. Tannery waste was incinerated at 500oC in anoxic conditions so most of the organic content would be removed and the chromium remained trivalent. Glass forming agents SiO2, Na2O and CaO were mixed with the resulting ash in different proportions with decreasing ash content. Considering the low solubility of Cr in silicate melts, the mixtures were melted at 1400oC and/or 1500oC for 2h and then casted on a refractory steel plate. The resulting vitreous products were characterized by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Differential Thermal Analysis (DTA), Scanning and Transmission Electron Microscopy (SEM and TEM). XRD reveals the existence of Cr2O3 (eskolaite) crystallites embedded in a glassy amorphous matrix. Such crystallites are not formed under a certain proportion of the waste in the ash-vitrified material. Reduction of the ash proportion increases chromium content in the silicate matrix. From these glassy products, glass-ceramics were produced via different regimes of thermal treatment.Keywords: chromium containing tannery ash, glass ceramic materials, thermal processing, vitrification
Procedia PDF Downloads 3694958 Crop Breeding for Low Input Farming Systems and Appropriate Breeding Strategies
Authors: Baye Berihun Getahun, Mulugeta Atnaf Tiruneh, Richard G. F. Visser
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Resource-poor farmers practice low-input farming systems, and yet, most breeding programs give less attention to this huge farming system, which serves as a source of food and income for several people in developing countries. The high-input conventional breeding system appears to have failed to adequately meet the needs and requirements of 'difficult' environments operating under this system. Moreover, the unavailability of resources for crop production is getting for their peaks, the environment is maltreated by excessive use of agrochemicals, crop productivity reaches its plateau stage, particularly in the developed nations, the world population is increasing, and food shortage sustained to persist for poor societies. In various parts of the world, genetic gain at the farmers' level remains low which could be associated with low adoption of crop varieties, which have been developed under high input systems. Farmers usually use their local varieties and apply minimum inputs as a risk-avoiding and cost-minimizing strategy. This evidence indicates that the conventional high-input plant breeding system has failed to feed the world population, and the world is moving further away from the United Nations' goals of ending hunger, food insecurity, and malnutrition. In this review, we discussed the rationality of focused breeding programs for low-input farming systems and, the technical aspect of crop breeding that accommodates future food needs and its significance for developing countries in the decreasing scenario of resources required for crop production. To this end, the application of exotic introgression techniques like polyploidization, pan-genomics, comparative genomics, and De novo domestication as a pre-breeding technique has been discussed in the review to exploit the untapped genetic diversity of the crop wild relatives (CWRs). Desired recombinants developed at the pre-breeding stage are exploited through appropriate breeding approaches such as evolutionary plant breeding (EPB), rhizosphere-related traits breeding, and participatory plant breeding approaches. Populations advanced through evolutionary breeding like composite cross populations (CCPs) and rhizosphere-associated traits breeding approach that provides opportunities for improving abiotic and biotic soil stress, nutrient acquisition capacity, and crop microbe interaction in improved varieties have been reviewed. Overall, we conclude that low input farming system is a huge farming system that requires distinctive breeding approaches, and the exotic pre-breeding introgression techniques and the appropriate breeding approaches which deploy the skills and knowledge of both breeders and farmers are vital to develop heterogeneous landrace populations, which are effective for farmers practicing low input farming across the world.Keywords: low input farming, evolutionary plant breeding, composite cross population, participatory plant breeding
Procedia PDF Downloads 614957 Standardized Black Ginseng Extract Improving a Suppressed Immunomodulatory Effect Induced by Heat Stress
Authors: Byung Wook Yang, Jong Dae Park, Wang Soo Shin, Ji-Hyeon Song, Seo-Yun Choi, Boo-Yong Lee, Young Tae Hahm
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Korean ginseng (Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer) is frequently taken orally as a traditional herbal medicine with ginsenosides as the main pharmacological component in Asian countries, and its use is increasing worldwide. Recently, the increase in global temperature has been reported to cause various kinds of biological disorders induced by heat stress in human. The standardized black ginseng extract (SBGE; KGR-BG1) was developed in our biological screening experiment on the thermo-regulation, whose chemical characteristics were evaluated as ginsenoside Rg1, Rb1, Rg3(S), as well as Re, Rf, Rg2(S), Rh1(S), Rh2(S), and Rg5+Rk1. Heat stress responses such as body weight, food intake, water consumption have been measured when treated with Standardized Black Ginseng Extract (SBGE) in the animal experiment and also, biomarkers. SBGE treated group has been found to inhibit a decrease in body weight, a decrease in food intake and an increase in the water consumption when compared with non-treated group against environmental heat stress. These results suggest that SBGE might have a protective effect against environmental heat stress. And also, the several factors of stress response on the immune system need to be done for further studies and its evaluation is in progress.Keywords: ginseng, ginsenoside, standardization, heat stress, immunomodulatory effect
Procedia PDF Downloads 3024956 Computer Simulation Approach in the 3D Printing Operations of Surimi Paste
Authors: Timilehin Martins Oyinloye, Won Byong Yoon
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Simulation technology is being adopted in many industries, with research focusing on the development of new ways in which technology becomes embedded within production, services, and society in general. 3D printing (3DP) technology is fast developing in the food industry. However, the limited processability of high-performance material restricts the robustness of the process in some cases. Significantly, the printability of materials becomes the foundation for extrusion-based 3DP, with residual stress being a major challenge in the printing of complex geometry. In many situations, the trial-a-error method is being used to determine the optimum printing condition, which results in time and resource wastage. In this report, the analysis of 3 moisture levels for surimi paste was investigated for an optimum 3DP material and printing conditions by probing its rheology, flow characteristics in the nozzle, and post-deposition process using the finite element method (FEM) model. Rheological tests revealed that surimi pastes with 82% moisture are suitable for 3DP. According to the FEM model, decreasing the nozzle diameter from 1.2 mm to 0.6 mm, increased the die swell from 9.8% to 14.1%. The die swell ratio increased due to an increase in the pressure gradient (1.15107 Pa to 7.80107 Pa) at the nozzle exit. The nozzle diameter influenced the fluid properties, i.e., the shear rate, velocity, and pressure in the flow field, as well as the residual stress and the deformation of the printed sample, according to FEM simulation. The post-printing stability of the model was investigated using the additive layer manufacturing (ALM) model. The ALM simulation revealed that the residual stress and total deformation of the sample were dependent on the nozzle diameter. A small nozzle diameter (0.6 mm) resulted in a greater total deformation (0.023), particularly at the top part of the model, which eventually resulted in the sample collapsing. As the nozzle diameter increased, the accuracy of the model improved until the optimum nozzle size (1.0 mm). Validation with 3D-printed surimi products confirmed that the nozzle diameter was a key parameter affecting the geometry accuracy of 3DP of surimi paste.Keywords: 3D printing, deformation analysis, die swell, numerical simulation, surimi paste
Procedia PDF Downloads 714955 Studies of Lactose Utilization in Microalgal Isolate for Further Use in Dairy By-Product Bioconversion
Authors: Sergejs Kolesovs, Armands Vigants
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The use of dairy industry by-products and wastewater as a cheap substrate for microalgal growth is gaining recognition. However, the mechanisms of lactose utilization remain understudied, limiting the potential of successful microalgal biomass production using various dairy by-products, such as whey and permeate. The necessity for microalgae to produce a specific enzyme, β-galactosidase, requires the selection of suitable strains. This study focuses on a freshwater microalgal isolate's ability to grow on a semi-synthetic medium supplemented with lactose. After 10 days of agitated cultivation, an axenic microalgal isolate achieved significantly higher biomass production under mixotrophic growth conditions (0.86 ± 0.07 g/L, dry weight) than heterotrophic growth (0.46 ± 0.04 g/L). Moreover, mixotrophic cultivation had significantly higher biomass production compared to photoautotrophic growth (0.67 ± 0.05 g/L). The activity of β-galactosidase was detected in both supernatant and microalgal biomass under mixotrophic and heterotrophic growth conditions, showing the potential of extracellular and intracellular mechanisms of enzyme production. However, the main limiting factor in this study was the increase of pH values during the cultivation, significantly reducing the activity of the β-galactosidase enzyme after 3rd day of cultivation. It highlights the need for stricter control of growth parameters to ensure the enzyme's activity. Further research will assess the isolate's suitability for dairy by-product bioconversion and biomass composition.Keywords: microalgae, lactose, whey, permeate, beta-galactosidase, mixotrophy, heterotrophy
Procedia PDF Downloads 724954 The Interaction of Country-of-Manufacturing with Country-of-Design within Different Consumption Context
Authors: Ebru Genc, Shih-Ching Wang
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In today’s globalized world, while companies move their production centers to developing countries in order to gain cost advantage, they receive negative responses from consumers because of the weak image of those countries. In this study, we looked at this tradeoff faced by multinational companies. Some companies that have headquarters in developed countries have devised a strategy of manipulating country-of-origin (COO) information by introducing the concept of country of design (COD). We analyzed the impact of country-of-manufacturing (COM) information on consumers’ product evaluation and purchase intention in the presence of different levels of COD information, namely, in terms of developed and developing countries. We found that it is not advantageous for a firm to publish a design location with a strong image if the firm is producing in a country that has a weak image. On the other hand, revealing COD information has a reinforcing effect on consumers’ product evaluation and purchase intention if the firm is producing in a country with a strong image. Second, we studied the impact of consumption context on this relationship (in terms of public or private use) and found that for products that are typically used in public, COM has significantly shown higher importance on product evaluation and purchase intention, compared to products typically used in private. However, our results show that consumption context shows no effect of an impact resulting from COD information.Keywords: consumption context, country of design, country of manufacturing, country of origin
Procedia PDF Downloads 2544953 Production of Bioethanol from Oil PalmTrunk by Cocktail Carbohydrases Enzyme Produced by Thermophilic Bacteria Isolated from Hot spring in West Sumatera, Indonesia
Authors: Yetti Marlida, Syukri Arif, Nadirman Haska
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Recently, alcohol fuels have been produced on industrial scales by fermentation of sugars derived from wheat, corn, sugar beets, sugar cane etc. The enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulosic materials to produce fermentable sugars has an enormous potential in meeting global bioenergy demand through the biorefinery concept, since agri-food processes generate millions of tones of waste each year (Xeros and Christakopoulos 2009) such as sugar cane baggase , wheat straw, rice straw, corn cob, and oil palm trunk. In fact oil palm trunk is one of the most abundant lignocellulosic wastes by-products worldwide especially come from Malaysia, Indonesia and Nigeria and provides an alternative substrate to produce useful chemicals such as bioethanol. Usually, from the ages 3 years to 25 years, is the economical life of oil palm and after that, it is cut for replantation. The size of trunk usually is 15-18 meters in length and 46-60 centimeters in diameter. The trunk after cutting is agricultural waste causing problem in elimination but due to the trunk contains about 42% cellulose, 34.4%hemicellulose, 17.1% lignin and 7.3% other compounds,these agricultural wastes could make value added products (Pumiput, 2006).This research was production of bioethanol from oil palm trunk via saccharafication by cocktail carbohydrases enzymes. Enzymatic saccharification of acid treated oil palm trunk was carried out in reaction mixture containing 40 g treated oil palm trunk in 200 ml 0.1 M citrate buffer pH 4.8 with 500 unit/kg amylase for treatment A: Treatment B: Treatment A + 500 unit/kg cellulose; C: treatment B + 500 unit/kgg xylanase: D: treatment D + 500 unit/kg ligninase and E: OPT without treated + 500 unit/kg amylase + 500 unit/kg cellulose + 500 unit/kg xylanase + 500 unit/kg ligninase. The reaction mixture was incubated on a water bath rotary shaker adjusted to 600C and 75 rpm. The samples were withdraw at intervals 12 and 24, 36, 48,60, and 72 hr. For bioethanol production in biofermentor of 5L the hydrolysis product were inoculated a loop of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and then incubated at 34 0C under static conditions. Samples are withdraw after 12, 24, 36, 48 and 72 hr for bioethanol and residual glucose. The results of the enzymatic hidrolysis (Figure1) showed that the treatment B (OPT hydrolyzed with amylase and cellulase) have optimum condition for glucose production, where was both of enzymes can be degraded OPT perfectly. The same results also reported by Primarini et al., (2012) reported the optimum conditions the hydrolysis of OPT was at concentration of 25% (w /v) with 0.3% (w/v) amylase, 0.6% (w /v) glucoamylase and 4% (w/v) cellulase. In the Figure 2 showed that optimum bioethanol produced at 48 hr after incubation,if time increased the biothanol decreased. According Roukas (1996), a decrease in the concentration of ethanol occur at excess glucose as substrate and product inhibition effects. Substrate concentration is too high reduces the amount of dissolved oxygen, although in very small amounts, oxygen is still needed in the fermentation by Saccaromyces cerevisiae to keep life in high cell concentrations (Nowak 2000, Tao et al. 2005). The results of the research can be conluded that the optimum enzymatic hydrolysis occured when the OPT added with amylase and cellulase and optimum bioethanol produced at 48 hr incubation using Saccharomyses cerevicea whereas 18.08 % bioethanol produced from glucose conversion. This work was funded by Directorate General of Higher Education (DGHE), Ministry of Education and Culture, contract no.245/SP2H/DIT.LimtabMas/II/2013Keywords: oil palm trunk, enzymatic hydrolysis, saccharification
Procedia PDF Downloads 5174952 Bioprospecting of Marine Actinobacteria: The Leading Way for Industrially Important Enzymes and Bioactive Natural Products
Authors: Ramesh Subramani, Mathivanan Narayanasamy, William Aalbersberg
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It is well accepted by last 35 years of research and on-going programmes that marine environment harbours abundant and unique biodiversity, which is currently playing as an important source in bioprospecting. It has become apparent that marine microorganisms are lead in the biodiscovery. Among marine organisms, actinobacteria are a target phylum for discovering novel antibiotics against increasing the multi-drug resistant human pathogens because of these taxa representing for novel genera and species. Marine actinomycetes are a proven source of new antibiotic leads and novel enzymes with important industrial applications. A total of 183 streptomycete and 25 non-streptomycete strains were isolated from different marine samples collected from north-eastern part of the Indian Ocean. Among them, 111 isolates displayed antibacterial activity against human pathogens and 151 exhibited antifungal activity against phytopathogens. Importantly, most of them produced various extracellular enzymes and 58 of them produced exopolysaccharides. Totally eight small bioactive compounds and a thermostable alkaline protease have been purified from a selected strain, Streptomyces fungicidicus. Besides, our on-going studies on non-streptomycete strains (rare actinomycetes) are most likely promising resource for new and unique compounds against current emerging drug-resistant pathogens. We have just recognised the chemical diversity in marine microorganisms. Therefore it is worthwhile to continue the exploration of marine microorganisms for new drug leads, novel enzymes and other bioprospecting research.Keywords: bioactive compounds, industrial enzymes, marine actinobacteria, microbial metabolites, marine natural products
Procedia PDF Downloads 2824951 OASIS: An Alternative Access to Potable Water, Renewable Energy and Organic Food
Authors: Julien G. Chenet, Mario A. Hernandez, U. Leonardo Rodriguez
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The tropical areas are places where there is scarcity of access to potable water and where renewable energies need further development. They also display high undernourishment levels, even though they are one of the resources-richest areas in the world. In these areas, it is common to count on great extension of soils, high solar radiation and raw water from rain, groundwater, surface water or even saltwater. Even though resources are available, access to them is limited, and the low-density habitat makes central solutions expensive and investments not worthy. In response to this lack of investment, rural inhabitants use fossil fuels and timber as an energy source and import agrochemical for soils fertilization, which increase GHG emissions. The OASIS project brings an answer to this situation. It supplies renewable energy, potable water and organic food. The first step is the determination of the needs of the communities in terms of energy, water quantity and quality, food requirements and soil characteristics. Second step is the determination of the available resources, such as solar energy, raw water and organic residues on site. The pilot OASIS project is located in the Vichada department, Colombia, and ensures the sustainable use of natural resources to meet the community needs. The department has roughly 70% of indigenous people. They live in a very scattered landscape, with no access to clean water and energy. They use polluted surface water for direct consumption and diesel for energy purposes. OASIS pilot will ensure basic needs for a 400-students education center. In this case, OASIS will provide 20 kW of solar energy potential and 40 liters per student per day. Water will be treated form groundwater, with two qualities. A conventional one with chlorine, and as the indigenous people are not used to chlorine for direct consumption, second train is with reverse osmosis to bring conservable safe water without taste. OASIS offers a solution to supply basic needs, shifting from fossil fuels, timber, to a no-GHG-emission solution. This solution is part of the mitigation strategy against Climate Change for the communities in low-density areas of the tropics. OASIS is a learning center to teach how to convert natural resources into utilizable ones. It is also a meeting point for the community with high pedagogic impact that promotes the efficient and sustainable use of resources. OASIS system is adaptable to any tropical area and competes technically and economically with any conventional solution, that needs transport of energy, treated water and food. It is a fully automatic, replicable and sustainable solution to sort out the issue of access to basic needs in rural areas. OASIS is also a solution to undernourishment, ensuring a responsible use of resources, to prevent long-term pollution of soils and groundwater. It promotes the closure of the nutrient cycle, and the optimal use of the land whilst ensuring food security in depressed low-density regions of the tropics. OASIS is under optimization to Vichada conditions, and will be available to any other tropical area in the following months.Keywords: climate change adaptation and mitigation, rural development, sustainable access to clean and renewable resources, social inclusion
Procedia PDF Downloads 2554950 Determining a Sustainability Business Model Using Materiality Matrices in an Electricity Bus Factory
Authors: Ozcan Yavas, Berrak Erol Nalbur, Sermin Gunarslan
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A materiality matrix is a tool that organizations use to prioritize their activities and adapt to the increasing sustainability requirements in recent years. For the materiality index to move from business models to the sustainability business model stage, it must be done with all partners in the raw material, supply, production, product, and end-of-life product stages. Within the scope of this study, the Materiality Matrix was used to transform the business model into a sustainability business model and to create a sustainability roadmap in a factory producing electric buses. This matrix determines the necessary roadmap for all stakeholders to participate in the process, especially in sectors that produce sustainable products, such as the electric vehicle sector, and to act together with the cradle-to-cradle approach of sustainability roadmaps. Global Reporting Initiative analysis was used in the study conducted with 1150 stakeholders within the scope of the study, and 43 questions were asked to the stakeholders under the main headings of 'Legal Compliance Level,' 'Environmental Strategies,' 'Risk Management Activities,' 'Impact of Sustainability Activities on Products and Services,' 'Corporate Culture,' 'Responsible and Profitable Business Model Practices' and 'Achievements in Leading the Sector' and Economic, Governance, Environment, Social and Other. The results of the study aimed to include five 1st priority issues and four 2nd priority issues in the sustainability strategies of the organization in the short and medium term. When the studies carried out in the short term are evaluated in terms of Sustainability and Environmental Risk Management, it is seen that the studies are still limited to the level of legal legislation (60%) and individual studies in line with the strategies (20%). At the same time, the stakeholders expect the company to integrate sustainability activities into its business model within five years (35%) and to carry out projects to become the first company that comes to mind with its success leading the sector (20%). Another result obtained within the study's scope is identifying barriers to implementation. It is seen that the most critical obstacles identified by stakeholders with climate change and environmental impacts are financial deficiency and lack of infrastructure in the dissemination of sustainable products. These studies are critical for transitioning to sustainable business models for the electric vehicle sector to achieve the EU Green Deal and CBAM targets.Keywords: sustainability business model, materiality matrix, electricity bus, carbon neutrality, sustainability management
Procedia PDF Downloads 664949 Closed-Loop Supply Chain: A Study of Bullwhip Effect Using Simulation
Authors: Siddhartha Paul, Debabrata Das
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Closed-loop supply chain (CLSC) management focuses on integrating forward and reverse flow of material as well as information to maximize value creation over the entire life-cycle of a product. Bullwhip effect in supply chain management refers to the phenomenon where a small variation in customers’ demand results in larger variation of orders at the upstream levels of supply chain. Since the quality and quantity of products returned to the collection centers (as a part of reverse logistics process) are uncertain, bullwhip effect is inevitable in CLSC. Therefore, in the present study, first, through an extensive literature survey, we identify all the important factors related to forward as well as reverse supply chain which causes bullwhip effect in CLSC. Second, we develop a system dynamics model to study the interrelationship among the factors and their effect on the performance of overall CLSC. Finally, the results of the simulation study suggest that demand forecasting, lead times, information sharing, inventory and work in progress adjustment rate, supply shortages, batch ordering, price variations, erratic human behavior, parameter correcting, delivery time delays, return rate of used products, manufacturing and remanufacturing capacity constraints are the important factors which have a significant influence on system’s performance, specifically on bullwhip effect in a CLSC.Keywords: bullwhip effect, closed-loop supply chain, system dynamics, variance ratio
Procedia PDF Downloads 1654948 Active Packaging Films Based on Chitosan Incorporated with Thyme Essential Oil and Cross Linkers and Its Effect on the Quality Shelf Life of Food
Authors: Aiman Zehra, Sajad Mohd Wani
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Packaging has a vital role as it contains and protects the food that moves from the supply chain to the consumer. Chitosan (CH) has been extensively used in food packaging applications among the plentiful natural macromolecules, including all the polysaccharide class, owing to its easy film-forming capacity, biodegradability, better oxygen and water vapour barrier ability and good mechanical strength. Compared to synthetic films, the films produced from chitosan present poor barrier and mechanical properties. To overcome its deficient qualities, a number of modification procedures are required to enhance the mechanical and physical properties. Various additives such as plasticizers (e.g., glycerol and sorbitol), crosslinkers (e.g.,CaCl₂, ZnO), fillers (nanoclay), and antimicrobial agents (e.g. thyme essential oil) have been used to improve the mechanical, thermal, morphological, antimicrobial properties and emulsifying agents for the stability and elasticity of chitosan-based biodegradable films. Different novel biocomposite films based on chitosan incorporated with thyme essential oil and different additives (ZnO, CaCl₂, NC, and PEG) were successfully prepared and used as packaging material for carrot candy. The chitosan film incorporated with crosslinkers was capable of forming a protective barrier on the surface of the candy to maintain moisture content, water activity, TSS, total sugars, and titratable acidity. ZnO +PEG +NC +CaCl₂ remarkably promotes a synergistic effect on the barrier properties of the film. The combined use of ZnO +PEG +NC +CaCl₂ in CH-TO films was more effective in preventing the moisture gain in candies. The lowest a𝓌 (0.624) was also observed for the candies stored in treatment. The color values L*, a*, b* of the candies were also retained in the film containing all the additives during the 6th month of storage. The value for L*, a*, and b* observed for T was 42.72, 9.89, and 10.84, respectively. The candies packaged in film retained TSS and acidity. The packaging film significantly p≤0.05 conserved sensory qualities and inhibited microbial activity during storage. Carrot candy was found microbiologically safe for human consumption even after six months of storage in all the packaging materials.Keywords: chitosan, biodegradable films, antimicrobial activity, thyme essential oil, crosslinkers
Procedia PDF Downloads 1004947 Traditional Industries Innovation and Brand Value Analysis in Taiwan: Case Study of a Certain Plastic Company
Authors: Ju Shan Lin
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The challenges for traditional industries in Taiwan the past few years are the changes of overall domestic and foreign industry structure, the entrepreneurs not only need to keep on improving their profession skills but also continuously research and develop new products. It is also necessary for the all traditional industries to keep updating the business strategy, let the enterprises continue to progress, and won't be easily replaced by the other industries. The traditional industry in Taiwan attach great importance to the field of enterprises upgrading and innovation in recent years, by the enterprise innovation and transformation can enhance the overall business situation also enable them to obtain more additional profits than in the past. Except the original industry structure's need to transform and upgrade, the brand's business and marketing strategy are also essential. This study will take a certain plastic company as case analysis, for the brand promotion of traditional industries, brand values and business innovation model for further exploration. It will also be mentioned that the other traditional industries cases which were already achieved success on the enterprise's upgrading and innovation, at the same time, the difficulties which they faced with and the way they overcome will be explored as well. This study will use the case study method combined with expert interviews to discuss and analyze this certain plastic company's current business situation, the existing products and the possible trends in the future. Looking forward to providing an innovative business model that will enable this plastic company to upgrade its corporate image and the brand could transform successfully.Keywords: brand marketing strategy, enterprise upgrade, industrial transformation, traditional industry
Procedia PDF Downloads 2454946 Partial Replacement of GGBS in Concrete for Prevention of Natural Resources
Authors: M. Murmu, Govardhan, J. Satya Eswari
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Concrete is the most common and widely used building material. Concrete is basically made of aggregates, both fine and coarse, glued by a cement paste which is made of cement and water. Each one of these constituents of concrete has a negative environmental impact and gives rise to different sustainability issues. The current concrete construction practice is unsustainable because, not only it consumes enormous quantities of stones, sand, and drinking water, but also one billion tons a year of cement, which is not an environment friendly material. Preventing the reduction of natural resources and enhancing the usage of waste materials has become a challenge to the scientist and engineers. A number of studies have been conducted concerning the protection of natural resources, prevention of environmental pollution and contribution to the economy by using this waste material. This paper outlines the influence of Ground Granulated Blast furnace Slag (GGBS) as partial replacement of fine aggregate on mechanical properties of concrete. The strength of concrete is determined having OPC binder, replaced the fine aggregate with15%, 30%, 45% respectively. For this purpose, characteristics concrete mix of M25 with partial replacement of cement with GGBS is used and the strength of concrete cubes and cylinder have determined. The strength of concrete specimens has been compared with the reference specimen. Also X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) tests have been performed to examine the hydration products and the microstructure of the tested specimens. A correlation has been established between the developmental strength concrete with and without GGBS through analysis of hydration products and the microstructure.Keywords: GGBS, sand, concrete, workability
Procedia PDF Downloads 5054945 An Impregnated Active Layer Mode of Solution Combustion Synthesis as a Tool for the Solution Combustion Mechanism Investigation
Authors: Zhanna Yermekova, Sergey Roslyakov
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Solution combustion synthesis (SCS) is the unique method which multiple times has proved itself as an effective and efficient approach for the versatile synthesis of a variety of materials. It has significant advantages such as relatively simple handling process, high rates of product synthesis, mixing of the precursors on a molecular level, and fabrication of the nanoproducts as a result. Nowadays, an overwhelming majority of solution combustion investigations performed through the volume combustion synthesis (VCS) where the entire liquid precursor is heated until the combustion self-initiates throughout the volume. Less amount of the experiments devoted to the steady-state self-propagating mode of SCS. Under the beforementioned regime, the precursor solution is dried until the gel-like media, and later on, the gel substance is locally ignited. In such a case, a combustion wave propagates in a self-sustaining mode as in conventional solid combustion synthesis. Even less attention is given to the impregnated active layer (IAL) mode of solution combustion. An IAL approach to the synthesis is implying that the solution combustion of the precursors should be initiated on the surface of the third chemical or inside the third substance. This work is aiming to emphasize an underestimated role of the impregnated active layer mode of the solution combustion synthesis for the fundamental studies of the combustion mechanisms. It also serves the purpose of popularizing the technical terms and clarifying the difference between them. In order to do so, the solution combustion synthesis of γ-FeNi (PDF#47-1417) alloy has been accomplished within short (seconds) one-step reaction of metal precursors with hexamethylenetetramine (HTMA) fuel. An idea of the special role of the Ni in a process of alloy formation was suggested and confirmed with the particularly organized set of experiments. The first set of experiments were conducted in a conventional steady-state self-propagating mode of SCS. An alloy was synthesized as a single monophasic product. In two other experiments, the synthesis was divided into two independent processes which are possible under the IAL mode of solution combustion. The sequence of the process was changed according to the equations which are describing an Experiment A and B below: Experiment A: Step 1. Fe(NO₃)₃*9H₂O + HMTA = FeO + gas products; Step 2. FeO + Ni(NO₃)₂*6H₂O + HMTA = Ni + FeO + gas products; Experiment B: Step 1. Ni(NO₃)₂*6H₂O + HMTA = Ni + gas products; Step 2. Ni + Fe(NO₃)₃*9H₂O + HMTA = Fe₃Ni₂+ traces (Ni + FeO). Based on the IAL experiment results, one can see that combustion of the Fe(NO₃)₃9H₂O on the surface of the Ni is leading to the alloy formation while presence of the already formed FeO does not affect the Ni(NO₃)₂*6H₂O + HMTA reaction in any way and Ni is the main product of the synthesis.Keywords: alloy, hexamethylenetetramine, impregnated active layer mode, mechanism, solution combustion synthesis
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