There is, I think, something ethereal about i —the square root of minus one. I remember first hearing about it at school. It seemed an odd beast at that time—an intruder hovering on the edge of reality.

Usually familiarity dulls this sense of the bizarre, but in the case of i it was the reverse: over the years the sense of its surreal nature intensified. It seemed that it was impossible to write mathematics that described the real world in …

I and i

By Pierre Bourdieu (London: Routledge, 2010), xxx + 607 pp. £15.99 paper. A combination of social theory, statistical data, illustrations, and interviews, Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judg...

Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste

The State of Food and Agriculture

The UK has passed legislation that introduces the world’s first long-term legally binding framework to tackle the dangers of climate change (The Climate Change Act 20084). The act requires Government to set carbon budgets, which are limits on greenhouse gas emissions in the UK for consecutive five year periods. 
Models analysed in IPCC AR4 have a range of 0-60% for an AMOC decrease over the next 100 years. The RAPID-WATCH 26˚N observations provide the only continuous measurements of the AMOC strength and vertical structure, and are thus a vital monitoring tool for this key climate variable'.
Analysis of the PSMSL data set, reviewed by scientific panels such as the IPCC, inform studies of impacts of climate change on both national and international levels (e.g. UK Marine Climate Change Impacts Partnership (MCCIP), UK Climate Impacts Programme (UKCIP), UK Foresight Flood and Coastal Defence Review, Charting Progress and Charting Progress 2, IPCC Working Group II).

Climate change impacts

The development of sustainable renewable polymers from natural resources has increasingly gained attention from scientists, engineers as well as the general public and government agencies. This review covers recent progress in the field of renewable bio-based monomers and polymers from natural resources: terpenes, terpenoids, and rosin, which are a class of hydrocarbon-rich biomass with abundance and low cost, holding much potential for utilization as organic feedstocks for green plastics and composites. This review details polymerization and copolymerization of terpenes such as pinene, limonene, and myrcene and their derivatives, terpenoids including carvone and menthol, and rosin-derived monomers. The future direction on the utilization of these natural resources is discussed.

Progress in Renewable Polymers from Natural Terpenes, Terpenoids, and Rosin

Abstract The current study looks at a variety of factors that affect eating patterns. This is about internal and external aspects that lead to a thorough assessment of consumer behavior, with an emphasis on driving forces and obstacles that significantly affect each consumer’s food preferences. The information is based on questionnaire research of traditional and fiber food consumption as well as specific consumer purchasing behaviors. The results of the questionnaire survey were analyzed using qualitative aspects analysis and other statistical methods (ANOVA, t-test). The study’s goal is to provide comprehensive strategies that encourage and support the intake of nutritious meals, especially in light of how different food motivations and knowledge factors influence Lebanese consumer behavior. Based on the findings, individual eating motivation and its impact on consumers’ behavior in Lebanon when making food purchase decisions were found. Sources of potential influences include information, the social environment, and environmental variables. Processes like social learning influence the interplay between these components as well as food choices and eating habits. As a result, future programs to encourage healthy eating habits might profit by putting more of an emphasis on learning principles and food preferences when programs are implemented.

Food determinants and motivation factors impact on consumer behavior in Lebanon

Influence of Freeze-drying on the texture of mushrooms.

O objectivo deste trabalho incidiu no desenvolvimento de sumos, nectares e compotas enriquecidos com inulina, a partir de polpa e concentrado de tuberculos de alcachofra de Jerusalem. Para tal, produziram-se sumos de laranja, ginja e maca com concentrado de alcachofra, nectares de laranja, ginja e maca com polpa e concentrado de alcachofra e, ainda, compotas de amoras e frutos silvestres com concentrado e polpa de alcachofra. Seguidamente, foram efectuadas analises fisico-quimicas, que consistiram na determinacao do pH e do indice de refractometria dos produtos e na determinacao de acucares totais e redutores; foram tambem efectuadas analises microbiologicas e sensoriais. As analises realizadas mostram que os produtos obtidos contem um alto teor de inulina e oligofrutose, e que a quantidade de sacarose contida nestes produtos e inferior a quantidade de frutose. Atraves das analises sensoriais realizadas, pode-se concluir que alguns produtos analisados foram organolepticamente aceites pelo painel.

Desenvolvimento de alimentos funcionais a partir de alcachofra de Jerusalém

Wheatgrass is a valuable source of nutrients and phytochemicals with therapeutic properties. However, its shorter life span makes it unavailable for use. So, storage-stable products must be developed through processing in order to enhance its availability. Drying is a very important part of the processing of wheatgrass. Thus, in this study, the effect of fluidized bed drying on the proximate, antioxidant, and functional properties of wheatgrass was investigated. The wheatgrass was dried in a fluidized bed drier at different temperatures (50, 55, 60, 65, 70 °C) using a constant air velocity of 1 m/s. With increasing temperature, the moisture content was reduced at a faster rate, and all drying processes took place during the falling rate period. Eight mathematical models under thin layer drying were fitted into the moisture data and were evaluated. The Page model was the most effective in explaining the drying kinetics of wheatgrass, followed by the Logarithmic model. The R2, chi-square, and root mean squared value for Page model was 0.995465–0.999292, 0.000136–0.0002, and 0.013215–0.015058, respectively. The range of effective moisture diffusivity was 1.23–2.81 × 10−10 m2/s, and the activation energy was 34.53 kJ/mol. There was no significant difference in the proximate composition of was seen at different temperatures. The total phenolic content (117.16 ± 0.41–128.53 ± 0.55 mgGAE/g), antioxidant activity (33.56 ± 0.08–37.48 ± 0.08% (DPPH), and FRAP (1.372 ± 0.001–1.617 ± 0.001 mgAAE/g) increased with the rise in temperature. A significant increase was observed in functional properties, except for the rehydration ratio, which decreased with rising temperature. The current study suggests that fluidized bed drying improves the nutritional retention of wheatgrass with good antioxidant activity and functional properties that can be used to make functional foods.

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Fluidized Bed Drying of Wheatgrass: Effect of Temperature on Drying Kinetics, Proximate Composition, Functional Properties, and Antioxidant Activity

Meat contains basic and essential nutrients to humans, and recently has been given a special attention to the presence of bioactive compounds. The objective of this work was the simultaneous determination of coenzymes Q9 and Q10 in pork meat, using HPLC. For this study were used 122 meat samples from different muscles and different breeds of pork. Besides, it was also evaluated the influence of animal breed and muscle type in the contents of CoQ9 and CoQ10. The results showed that the breed influenced significantly the mean content of CoQ9 (0.70 mg 100 g -1 ) and CoQ10 (3.76 mg 100 g -1 ) (p<0.0001), being this significantly higher in the meat from the breed ‘ Alentejano’ when compared to the other breeds (Large White and Landrace). The type of muscle was also responsible for the variation in the levels of coenzymes in the samples analysed (p<0.05) and (p <0.0001) respectively. From the results obtained it was concluded that the breed ‘Alentejano’ presented the highest contents in both coenzymes (CoQ9 and CoQ10) and that, among the muscles evaluated, the muscle Semimembranousus (Sm) showed higher concentrations of CoQ10.

/pdf/determination-of-the-content-of-coenzymes-q9-and-q10-in-pork-3yf5gwiejt.pdf

Raquel Guiné

Papers

Food determinants and motivation factors impact on consumer behavior in Lebanon

Influence of Freeze-drying on the texture of mushrooms.

Desenvolvimento de alimentos funcionais a partir de alcachofra de Jerusalém

Fluidized Bed Drying of Wheatgrass: Effect of Temperature on Drying Kinetics, Proximate Composition, Functional Properties, and Antioxidant Activity

Determination of the content of coenzymes Q9 and Q10 in pork meat from different breeds.