Determination of Macronutrient Compositions in Selected, Frequently Consumed Leafy Vegetables, Prepared According to Common Culinary Methods in Sri Lanka

Information regarding realistic macronutrient gains by consuming cooked Sri Lankan leafy vegetables are rare. Some available information often overestimates available carbohydrate contents and under-estimates dietary fibre contents, as a result of not using in-vitro digestion models prior to proximate analysis. In aim to address this issue, nine most frequently consumed leafy vegetables types in Sri Lanka were cooked and analysed for their moisture, digestible carbohydrate, protein, fat, soluble fibre and insoluble fibre contents. All vegetables were prepared in most frequently practiced culinary methods by the local community such as salads, tempered with oils, or as curries/gravies. Dry weights of all macronutrients were determined using six replicates to maximize the accuracy of results.Majority of the leafy vegetable types selected elicited substantial amounts of dietary fibre. The highest content of insoluble dietary fibre was present in Centella asiatica (centella) leaves salad (51.0±3.4%), whereas highest percentage of soluble dietary fibre was in Heracleum sphondylium (hogweed) leaves prepared as a curry (16.4±1.7%). H. sphondylium curry (20.7±1.3%) and Sesbania grandiflora (Hummingbird) leaves salad (20.7±0.9%) resulted in greatest amounts of digestible carbohydrates.The highest fat content (12.6±0.5%) was in Ipomoea aquatic (water spinach) since it was tempered with coconut oil as it is the mostly practiced local culinary method for Ipomoea. Spinacia oleracea (spinach) curry elicited the highest protein content (4.8±0.9%) among all leafy vegetables.Keywords: Dietary fibre, leafy vegetables, digestible carbohydrates, Centella asiatica, Heracleum sphondylium, Sesbania grandiflor

Investigation of Daily Macronutrient intakes by Sri Lankan Managerial Level Employees working in the Private Sector

With changes of lifestyles and social values in the food culture, many individuals working as managerial level employees in the as private sector are seemingly selecting more improper daily meal combinations. This study was designed to determine whether this occurrence can have a severe impact to imbalance the daily nutrient intakes by the individuals in the mentioned social segment, which increase the tendency of having nutrition related chronic diseases. In a hierarchy range from junior executives to CEOs of private sector organizations, 800 individuals were selected by disproportionate stratified random sampling. Selected individuals are interviewed using a structured questionnaire to assess their daily food combinations and their consumed portion sizes. Frequently consumed meal combinations were then analyzed for their macronutrient composition, to compare with world Health organizations’ (WHO) Reference Dietary Intake (RDI) levels of nutrients. The results reveal of significantly (p<0.05) higher daily fat (45.3 ±1.7 g/day) and protein (65.2 ±1.4 g/day) intakes than the WHO recommendation levels and significantly (p<0.05) lower in dietary fibre (22.3 ±1.1 g/day) contents by selected participants. Carbohydrate intake (133.1 ±2.2 g/day) was higher than reference levels but was not significant (p>0.05). This indicates of a considerable risk for many individuals in the concerned social segment, of having non-communicable diseases, if observed dietary patterns are continued

Centralized Platform for Managing Activities in E-Commerce Store

This project is a web-based online shop management system for an existing store. This online shop management system mainly considers managing and automating the tasks in the online store. One of the main problems raised on existing systems was that there is no control with the admin user to manage items in the store. This system has users as Customers (Buyers), Admins, and Sellers.  This proposed system allows these three users to manage their activities in a central platform. This research paper mainly discusses the main functionalities available in this system, how these functionalities are performed by each user, and the way that these functionalities are implemented and tested.  An in-depth discussion of the tools and technology chosen to develop this system and the reason behind those choices are also included in this research paper

Hundred Years of Lactitol: From Hydrogenation to Food Ingredient

The first report on the synthesis of lactitol dates back to the early 1920s. Nearly 100 years have passed since then, and the applications of lactitol have exceeded its original purpose. Currently, lactitol is used in bakery, confectionery, chocolate, desserts, chewing gum, cryoprotectant, delivery agent, and stabilizer in biosensors. Lactitol is the main reaction product derived from the hydrogenation of lactose. This chapter is aimed at providing a succinct overview of the historical development of lactitol, a summary of its synthesis, and an overview of its properties and applications

Multidrug efflux pumps:structure, function and regulation

Infections arising from multidrug-resistant pathogenic bacteria are spreading rapidly throughout the world and threaten to become untreatable. The origins of resistance are numerous and complex, but one underlying factor is the capacity of bacteria to rapidly export drugs through the intrinsic activity of efflux pumps. In this Review, we describe recent advances that have increased our understanding of the structures and molecular mechanisms of multidrug efflux pumps in bacteria. Clinical and laboratory data indicate that efflux pumps function not only in the drug extrusion process but also in virulence and the adaptive responses that contribute to antimicrobial resistance during infection. The emerging picture of the structure, function and regulation of efflux pumps suggests opportunities for countering their activities

DEVELOPMENT OF NUTRI SAUSAGE USING LOCALLY AVAILABLE RAW MATERIALS

This study was performed to produce a consumer oriented meat product with high nutrirtive value while considering the chemical and microbiological requirements within Sri Lankan standards. The requirement of meat based health beneficial convenient foods has increased many folds in the last two decades. This new Nutri sausage was produced by using underutilized locally available unpolished red rice, prawns, carrots, gotukola (Centella asiatica), red onion and curry leaves in addition to the ingredients used to make sausages. This new sausage was produced without adding nitrate salts, phosphate, preservatives, flavour enhancers, artificial colours and ascorbic salts. Different percentages of ingredients were mixed to develop three different formulas.After evaluating the production parameters and sensory properties of the three different formulas, one of the formulas was selected as the best for overall qualities. Chemical and microbiological tests were carried out for the selected final formulation. The protein, fiber and fat content of the newly developed sausages were 20.26%,9.60%, and 8.36% respectively. Caloric value of the sausage was 139.84 kcal/100g. Oil absorption of the Nutri sausage during frying was 0.34%. The nitrite salt content of the sausage was about 5.249ppm. The Manganese, Copper, Zinc, Iron, Magnesium, Sodium, Calcium, and Potassium content of the Nutri sausage were 3.04μg/g,7.89μg/g, 43.00μg/g, 71.90μg/g, 511.96μg/g, 3663.04μg/g, 24307.90 μg/g, and 4218.45μg/g respectively. The product was safer for the consumption from day one up to more than four months of storage under the frozen condition. Market analysis was carried out to find the acceptability of the Nutri sausage among the target market. Consumer panel represented the entire population of people who would purchase the product. Market survey showed a higher acceptability by rating as 'very good’ in terms of the product strength and disparity from the existing product in the local market. The cost analysis showed that the new product is affordable for the local market. Key Words: Nutritive, Golukola, Consume

Small-cell network site planning: A framework based on terrain effects and urban geography characteristics

This paper introduces a novel small-cell network planning framework that considers geographical terrain variation and urban geography characteristics. The framework ensures adequate coverage and addresses all radio-frequency propagation characteristics and limits. © 2014 Engineers Australia

DEVELOPMENT OF A PROFITABLE BUSINESS MODEL TO PROMOTE CONSULTANCY ON FOOD SAFETY THROUGH EVALUATING CURRENT PRACTICES IN TEA INDUSTRY

The local tea industry provides opportunities for earning foreign currencies and livelihood for the majority of estate labourers. A study was carried out to develop a profitable business model to promote consultancy on the food safety in tea industry improving efficiency, hygienic standards and awareness. The objectives were to achieve a leap value through value innovation while breaking away from existing competition, to evaluate the current level of understanding and practices of food safety applications in order to ensure food safety awareness among factory owners, managers, factory officers and workforce. Thirty (30) tea factories were randomly selected and persuaded for analyses. Open ended discussions held were focused on buyer requirements and prices for value added consulting. The Blue Ocean Strategy was used to achieve a leap value through value innovation without entering in to existing competition. The market boundaries were reconstructed using value curve development through strategic canvas and marketed with selected samples. Out of 30 factories selected for the study, the majority responded positively; 18 volunteered to meet and Gaps were conducted for 9. Five of them rescheduled the opportunity to a later date, while the rest refused. The Gap analysis was carried out using written parameters against GMP while photographing total plant for specific activities. Data was analyzed comparing generic conditions verses current practices while offering numerical values for specific areas of GMP requirements and their importance. The traditional marketing approach failed mainly due to lack of reputation rather than the lack of expertise. New strategic approach created opportunities to enter the market with 55% success rate for conducted Gaps. Factory owners tend to buy with a leap in value. Consultancy can be promoted as a customary package. Middle level pricing and long-term system maintenance will open up mass market and long-term cash inflow. It supports developing a comprehensive food safety management system by enhancing available quality tools or food safety systems and integrating relevant trainings into system development.Key Words: Food Safety, Tea Industry, ConsultancyFor full paper: [email protected]