Nutritional, physical and sensory quality of gingerbread prepared using different sweeteners

Received: February 11th, 2023 ; Accepted: May 28th, 2023 ; Published: June 16th, 2023 ; Correspondence: [email protected] aim of the study was to investigate the effects of replacing refined beet sucrose in gingerbread with different types of sweeteners (cane sugar, sorbitol, xylitol, maple syrup). The content of fat, dry matter, dietary fibre, ash, crude protein, amino acids, selected microelements, and caloric value were determined. Organoleptic and dimensional (3D-analysis) properties were also evaluated. The fat content in samples ranged from 11.13% to 11.97%, crude fibre content - from 0.53% to 0.55%, ash content - from 0.72% to 1.06%, and crude protein - from 7.92% to 8.12%. The analysis of amino acids revealed that glutamic acid was dominant in the samples with its concentration ranging from 19.14 mg g-1 (control sample) to 23.88 mg g-1 (sample with maple syrup). The caloric value was the highest in the control sample which contained sucrose from sugar beet and the one containing xylitol (~4,480 cal g-1 ). The lowest - in the sample with maple syrup (4,247 cal g-1 ). The total content of selected microelements determined in the tested samples with atomic absorption spectrometry (Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, Co, Ni, Cr, Cd and Pb) were within the limits permitted by the regulations of the Slovak legislation. The 3D analysis of samples with Volscan Profiler indicated that volume, width and height was better in the samples with sweeteners than in the control sample. The gingerbread with xylitol had best organoleptic properties, as evaluated by sensory panellists

SLOVAKIA. Critical junctures in the media transformation process.

In Slovakia, we record several critical junctures in the years 2000 – 2020, which had a significant impact on the media development, as well as on the opportunities and risks for deliberative communication and democracy. These included the advent of online media after 2000, the rise of social media since 2004, the worldwide economic crisis in 2008, the corruption case ‘Gorilla’ in 2011, the murder of the investigative journalist Ján Kuciak in 2018 and the COVID-19 pandemic since 2020. These events also affected the individual domains studied in Slovakia. Within the legal and ethical regulation, there are laws and standards that guarantee freedom of the press and the conduct of journalists is governed by multiple ethical codes. However, the most significant risks for the media in the journalistic domain are political influences and the pressures from media owners. These issues were also reflected in the decline in media credibility, as confirmed by research in the domain of media usage patterns. A rather positive phenomenon is, despite the persistent absence of empirical data that would support the claim, a sufficient number of academics who deal with the media competencies of media users. In summary, solid conditions (legislative, ethical, educational) for the media have been created in Slovakia, but the influences of politicians and media owners, job instability and poor financial evaluation of journalists remain a risk

SLOVAKIA. Risks and Opportunities Related to Media and Journalism Studies (2000–2020). Case Study on the National Research and Monitoring Capabilities.

Slovakia with a population of 5.3 million is one of the smaller countries in the Mediadelcom project, so the authors were able to identify and describe almost all relevant publications that contributed to the scholarly reflection on the four media domains in 2000 – 2020. The researchers mapped 865 publications, which included 707 academic and 159 non-academic outputs. Within the academic outputs, the project participants found that the most represented are academic articles, then academic books and finally academic book chapters. Most publications are written in Slovak and then in English. A smaller part of the body of literature is indexed in WoS or Scopus databases. Within the non-academic outputs, the project participants found that nonacademic articles, books and research reports have the largest representation. Most outputs are published in Slovak and without indexing in WoS or Scopus databases. Based on these findings, the authors claim that the media studies field has a well-established tradition in Slovakia, which is constantly evolving