Consumer acceptance of novel fruits and fruit products

The task of the Deliverable 1.3.7 Report on case studies of fruit innovations is to provide information on consumers' acceptance of innovative fruit and fruit products selected for case studies in Deliverable 1.3.2 List of selected fruit innovations, and to validate findings from previous stages of WP 1.3 research. The task of the Deliverable 1.3.9 List of characteristics for future fruit innovations is to provide a list of product characteristics and recommendations that can increase the success of fruit innovations in the future. This report presents results of case studies carried out in February and March, 2010, in four European countries: Greece, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain. It also presents product characteristics accepted by consumers and recommendations for development of future innovative fresh fruits and fruit products, as well as recommended strategies and policies, which were formulated on the basis of findings of case study and previous stages of WP1.3 research and their validation

State business: gender, sex and marriage in Tajikistan

This article examines the relation of the state to masculinity and sexuality by way of an exploration of the sexual problems of a young man and his wife in Tajikistan at the end of the Soviet era. It suggests that the regime’s inattention to this kind of issue was bound up with the importance to the state of projecting appropriate versions of masculinity. It further posits the idea that the continued refusal of the independent Tajik state to offer appropriate treatments for sexual dysfunction is consistent with the image of modernity President Rahmon wishes to present to the world. The article shows that as masculinity discursively occupies the superior gender position, with men expected to dominate, the state is itself impotent to respond when they are, in fact, unable to do so in sexual practice. However, the myth of male dominance persists to the point that it may prevent women from seeing beyond their subordination and finding mutually beneficial solutions in their familial and sexual relationships

Nanoscale imaging reveals laterally expanding antimicrobial pores in lipid bilayers

Antimicrobial peptides are postulated to disrupt microbial phospholipid membranes. The prevailing molecular model is based on the formation of stable or transient pores although the direct observation of the fundamental processes is lacking. By combining rational peptide design with topographical (atomic force microscopy) and chemical (nanoscale secondary ion mass spectrometry) imaging on the same samples, we show that pores formed by antimicrobial peptides in supported lipid bilayers are not necessarily limited to a particular diameter, nor they are transient, but can expand laterally at the nano-to-micrometer scale to the point of complete membrane disintegration. The results offer a mechanistic basis for membrane poration as a generic physicochemical process of cooperative and continuous peptide recruitment in the available phospholipid matrix

Vermiculite bio-barriers for Cu and Zn remediation: an eco-friendly approach for freshwater and sediments protection

The increase in heavy metal contamination in freshwater systems causes serious environmental problems in most industrialized countries, and the effort to find ecofriendly techniques for reducing water and sediment contamination is fundamental for environmental protection. Permeable barriers made of natural clays can be used as low-cost and eco-friendly materials for adsorbing heavy metals from water solution and thus reducing the sediment contamination. This study discusses the application of permeable barriers made of vermiculite clay for heavy metals remediation at the interface between water and sediments and investigates the possibility to increase their efficiency by loading the vermiculite surface with a microbial biofilm of Pseudomonas putida, which is well known to be a heavy metal accumulator. Some batch assays were performed to verify the uptake capacity of two systems and their adsorption kinetics, and the results indicated that the vermiculite bio-barrier system had a higher removal capacity than the vermiculite barrier (?34.4 and 22.8 % for Cu and Zn, respectively). Moreover, the presence of P. putida biofilm strongly contributed to fasten the kinetics of metals adsorption onto vermiculite sheets. In open-system conditions, the presence of a vermiculite barrier at the interface between water and sediment could reduce the sediment contamination up to 20 and 23 % for Cu and Zn, respectively, highlighting the efficiency of these eco-friendly materials for environmental applications. Nevertheless, the contribution of microbial biofilm in open-system setup should be optimized, and some important considerations about biofilm attachment in a continuous-flow system have been discussed.This work has been produced thanks to the collaboration of Dip.SA (University of Bologna) and IBB (University of Minho). A particular acknowledgment is due to Dr. E. Rosales. The work was partially financed by the FCT Strategic Project Pest-OE/EQB/LA0023 and the Project ‘‘BioEnv—Biotechnology and Bioengineering for a sustainable world,’’ co-funded by the Programa Operacional Regional do Norte (ON.2–O Novo Norte), QREN, FEDER

Advancing the use of passive sampling in risk assessment and management of contaminated sediments: Results of an international passive sampling inter-laboratory comparison

This work presents the results of an international interlaboratory comparison on ex situ passive sampling in sediments. The main objectives were to map the state of the science in passively sampling sediments, identify sources of variability, provide recommendations and practical guidance for standardized passive sampling, and advance the use of passive sampling in regulatory decision making by increasing confidence in the use of the technique. The study was performed by a consortium of 11 laboratories and included experiments with 14 passive sampling formats on 3 sediments for 25 target chemicals (PAHs and PCBs). The resulting overall interlaboratory variability was large (a factor of ∼10), but standardization of methods halved this variability. The remaining variability was primarily due to factors not related to passive sampling itself, i.e., sediment heterogeneity and analytical chemistry. Excluding the latter source of variability, by performing all analyses in one laboratory, showed that passive sampling results can have a high precision and a very low intermethod variability

Language of Lullabies: The Russification and De-Russification of the Baltic States

This article argues that the laws for promotion of the national languages are a legitimate means for the Baltic states to establish their cultural independence from Russia and the former Soviet Union

Inwestycje w energię odnawialną na obszarach wiejskich województwa mazowieckiego współfinansowane ze środków polityki regionalnej Unii Europejskiej

EU regional policy funding was said to be a significant source of co-financing renewable energy investments in Poland, however, what has not yet been investigated thus far is the impact of such financing in rural areas of the Mazovian Voivodship, the biggest in the country. Thus, the aim of the paper is to explore the main outcomes of using this funding for RE investments in rural areas of the Mazovian Voivodship and look into the relations between these outcomes and important factors determining them. The study is based on qualitative and quantitative data from the SIMIK 2007-2013 data base of the Ministry of Development, Local Data Bank of Statistics Poland, data from 3 classifications of communes and a questionnaire survey. Findings prove that RE investments in the rural Mazovian Voivodship differ from investments in other rural areas of Poland as they only used wind and solar RE, were carried out only by local self-governments and enterprises, and obtained EU co-funding only from regional operational programmes. The similarities between RE investments in the rural Mazovian Voivodship and other rural areas of the country indicate an insufficient adjustment of eligible costs to total costs and a lower than available share of EU funding in eligible costs, both significantly increasing the share of non-EU funding necessary to carry out projects. The shortage of funding was indicated by local authorities and the respondents of the survey as the main obstacle in supporting local development and was the reason for taking other than RE investment development priorities. The paper concludes with recommendations on an increase of RE investments in the rural Mazovian Voivodship.Fundusze polityki regionalnej UE są określane jako ważne źródło współfinansowania inwestycji w energię odnawialną w Polsce. Jednak do tej pory nie zbadano, czym ich wykorzystanie poskutkowało na obszarach wiejskich województwa mazowieckiego, największego województwa w kraju. Dlatego celem artykułu jest zbadanie głównych rezultatów wykorzystania tego finansowania dla inwestycji w energię odnawialną na obszarach wiejskich tego regionu oraz określenie związków między tymi wynikami a ważnymi czynnikami je determinującymi. Wykorzystano dane jakościowe i ilościowe z bazy danych SIMIK 2007-2013 Ministerstwa Rozwoju, Banku Danych Lokalnych GUS oraz dane z 3 klasyfikacji gmin i badania ankietowego. Wyniki wskazują, że inwestycje w energię odnawialną na obszarach wiejskich województwa mazowieckiego różniły się od inwestycji na pozostałych obszarach wiejskich w Polsce, ponieważ wykorzystywały wyłącznie energię wiatrową i słoneczną, były realizowane wyłącznie przez samorządy lokalne i przedsiębiorstwa, a dofinansowanie ze środków UE pochodziło tylko z regionalnego programu operacyjnego. Podobieństwa między inwestycjami w odnawialne źródła energii na obszarach wiejskich województwa i na obszarach wiejskich kraju wskazują na niewystarczające dostosowanie kosztów kwalifikowalnych do kosztów całkowitych oraz niższy niż dostępny udział finansowania UE w kosztach kwalifikowalnych, co znacznie zwiększa udział finansowania krajowego niezbędnego do realizacji projektów. W badaniu ankietowym wskazano niedobór środków krajowych i zbyt mało środków unijnych, jako główną przeszkodę we wspieraniu rozwoju lokalnego i przyczynę realizacji innych priorytetów niż inwestycje w OZE. Artykuł kończą rekomendacje dotyczące zwiększenia inwestycji w energię odnawialną na obszarach wiejskich województwa mazowieckiego

Zjawiska reologiczne w pianotwórczych środkach gaśniczych. Część III - Badania jakości piany uzyskanej z koncentratów o róźnej lepkości

W artykule omówiono strukturę piany i czynniki wpływające na jej właściwości oraz mechanizmy niszczenia. Przedstawiono badania wpływu temperatury koncentratu i roztworu pianotwórczego na jakość i trwałość piany gaśniczej. Określono znaczenie właściwości reologicznych środków gaśniczych oraz ich wpływ na efektywność działań straży pożarnej.The article describes influence of various elements on foam structure and properties as well as mechanisms of destroy. It presents research into of concentrate and solution temperature on quality and stability of extinguishing foam. It determinates importance of rheology properties of extinguishing media for efficiency operating of fire guards