Irradiation for mold and mycotoxin control : a review

The mycotoxin issue requires constant vigilance from economic, regulatory, and scientific agents to minimize its toxicological effects on human and on animals. The implementation of good practices to avoid fungal growth and mycotoxin production on agricultural commodities is essential to achieve most restrictive safety standards; however, the contribution of novel technologies that may act on post-harvesting and post-storage situations may be equally important. Several methodologies, more or less technologically advanced, may be used for this purpose. In this work, we review the role, contribution, and impact of irradiation technology to control the presence of fungi and mycotoxins in food and in feed. The effect of this technology on the viability of mold spores and on the elimination of mycotoxins is reviewed. A critical evaluation of the advantages and disadvantages of irradiation in this context is presented.Thalita Calado and Luis Abrunhosa received support through grants SFRH/BD/79364/2011 and SFRH/BPD/43922/2008, respectively, from the Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia - FCT, Portugal. The authors also thank the FCT Strategic Project PEst-OE/EQB/LA0023/2013 and the project "BioInd - Biotechnology and Bioengineering for Improved Industrial and Agro-Food processes, REF. NORTE-07-0124-FEDER-000028," which is cofunded by the Programa Operacional Regional do Norte (ON. 2 - O Novo Norte), QREN, FEDER

Outreach initiatives operated by universities for increasing interest in science and technology

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in European Journal of Engineering Edutaion on 2016, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/03043797.2015.1121468Since the 1990s, the low number of students choosing to study science and technology in higher education has been on the societal agenda and many initiatives have been launched to promote awareness regarding career options. The initiatives particularly focus on increasing enrolment in the engineering programmes. This article describes and compares eight European initiatives that have been established and operated by universities (and in some cases through collaboration with other actors in society). Each initiative is summarised in a short essay that discusses motivation, organisation, pedagogical approach, and activities. The initiatives are characterised by comparing the driving forces behind their creation, how the initiative activities relate to the activities at the university, size based on the number of participants and cost per participant and pedagogical framework. There seem to be two main tracks for building outreach activities, one where outreach activities are based on the university’s normal activities, and one where outreach activities are designed specifically for the visiting students.Gumaelius, L.; Almqvistb, M.; Arnadottir, A.; Axelsson, A.; Conejero, JA.; García Sabater, JP.; Klitgaard, L.... (2016). Outreach initiatives operated by universities for increasing interest in science and technology. European Journal of Engineering Education. 41(6):589-622. https://doi.org/10.1080/03043797.2015.1121468S58962241

Risk propensity in the foreign direct investment location decision of emerging multinationals

A distinguishing feature of emerging economy multinationals is their apparent tolerance for host country institutional risk. Employing behavioral decision theory and quasi-experimental data, we find that managers’ domestic experience satisfaction increases their relative risk propensity regarding controllable risk (legally protectable loss), but decreases their tendency to accept non-controllable risk (e.g., political instability). In contrast, firms’ potential slack reduces relative risk propensity regarding controllable risk, yet amplifies the tendency to take non-controllable risk. We suggest that these counterbalancing effects might help explain observation that risk-taking in FDI location decisions is influenced by firm experience and context. The study provides a new understanding of why firms exhibit heterogeneous responses to host country risks, and the varying effects of institutions