31 research outputs found
Textural properties of infra red dried apple slices as affected by high power ultrasound pre-treatment
Drying is a process frequently used in food industry, often based on the use of conventional methods using heat exchange by conduction or convection. This kind of method may lead to quality loss in structure, texture and sensory characteristics of final products. Consequently, the need for research of new drying methods arises. One of such methods is power ultrasound aided drying. The aim of this work was to investigate the impact of high power ultrasound pre-treatment on drying rate and textural properties of the infra red dried apple slices. Ultrasound device working at a frequency of 24 kHz with a power capacity of 200 W was used for ultrasound pre-treatment. The amplitudes used for ultrasonic pre-treatment were 50 and 100%. The results showed that the use of different amplitudes of ultrasound reduces the time of drying and allows elimination of more water from the apple slices. Usage of 50 and 100% of ultrasonic amplitude in great extent shortened the duration of drying (up to 40%). The results showed that hardness of samples gradually increases (50% amplitude – 97.260 N; 100% of amplitude – 217.90 N) with increase of ultrasound intensity. As a result, hardness of untreated apple slices (41.037N) was significantly lower (p < 0.05).Key words: High power ultrasound, amplitude, drying, apple
Household, community, sub-national and country-level predictors of primary cooking fuel switching in nine countries from the PURE study
Introduction. Switchingfrom polluting (e.g. wood, crop waste, coal)to clean (e.g. gas, electricity) cooking
fuels can reduce household air pollution exposures and climate-forcing emissions.While studies have
evaluated specific interventions and assessed fuel-switching in repeated cross-sectional surveys, the role
of different multilevel factors in household fuel switching, outside of interventions and across diverse
community settings, is not well understood. Methods.We examined longitudinal survey data from
24 172 households in 177 rural communities across nine countries within the Prospective Urban and
Rural Epidemiology study.We assessed household-level primary cooking fuel switching during a
median of 10 years offollow up (∼2005–2015).We used hierarchical logistic regression models to
examine the relative importance of household, community, sub-national and national-level factors
contributing to primary fuel switching. Results. One-half of study households(12 369)reported
changing their primary cookingfuels between baseline andfollow up surveys. Of these, 61% (7582)
switchedfrom polluting (wood, dung, agricultural waste, charcoal, coal, kerosene)to clean (gas,
electricity)fuels, 26% (3109)switched between different polluting fuels, 10% (1164)switched from clean
to polluting fuels and 3% (522)switched between different clean fuels
Social Entrepreneurship as a Force for More Inclusive and Innovative Societies: Cross-Country Report
Between April 2015 and December 2015, the SEFOR\ucfS consortium surveyed over 1000 social enterprises in Hungary, Romania, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Russia and China. This means that thanks to the diligent cooperation of social enterprises and funding from the European Union, we have been able to launch the world\u2019s largest and most rigorous panel database on social enterprises. This report presents key findings for all the countries investigated. Where possible, we compare findings to the 2009 SELUSI survey, the predecessor of the SEFORIS project. The SEFOR\ucfS database is unique in its scope and depth. In our conversations with social entrepreneurs, we discussed in detail topics, ranging from their innovation habits to their perceptions of the market in which they operate. It is also unique in its methodology \u2013 we adopted a special type of snowball sampling method, called respondent driven
sampling, which allowed us to survey a representative sample of social enterprises in each country through tapping into their networks. Finally, our database is unique in its rigor as we took meticulous steps to ensure highest data quality. This report is designed to help social entrepreneurs benchmark their organisation against fellow social enterprises worldwide. We hope the report can help social enterprises to better place their organisation (e.g. what makes it distinct; readily spot differences and similarities with their peers). The report will also be useful for support organisations and policy makers
to obtain an overview of social enterprises across 9 countries