Private equity and business budgeting

This study investigates the connection between private equity funds and business budgeting. The study is based on the data from SEAF South Balkan Fund B.V., a private equity fund, which, during the 2006 to 2010 period, analyzed 483 companies in Serbia. To that end, the first part of the study presents the conceptual framework, as well as different private equity funds, such as venture capital funds, leveraged buyout funds, mezzanine funds, etc. The second part of the study shows different types of budgets, their features and characteristics, as well as different budgeting processes, methods and strategic approaches. In the third part, the connection between private equity investing and business budgeting is established. Lastly, the conclusion is drawn that the business budgeting is an important factor in creating successful companies, but that many business owners, in Serbia, do not realize its importance, or perform it

Effect of pork to beef meat ratio on the physicochemical properties of frankfurters

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of raw material, pork and beef meat, ratio on the physicochemical characteristics of emulsion-type sausage. Five different frankfurter formulations were calculated as follows: B100 (40% beef meat); B75 (30% beef and 10% pork meat); B50 (20% beef and 20% pork meat); B25 (10% beef and 30% pork meat) and B0 (40% pork meat). Frankfurters made solely from beef meat (B100) showed significantly better emulsion stability than those made with pork meat (B0). The increase in the fat content also decreased gel strength, leading to lower values of hardness, cohesiveness, gumminess and chewiness. The optimal ratios between pork and beef meat to enhance the textural properties of frankfurters were B50 and B75. The lightness values (L*) increased with increasing pork meat content, while the redness values (a*) demonstrated the opposite trend. Protein, fat and total pigments displayed a positive relation, whereas water content exhibited a negative relation with a* values

A CONTEMPORARY BIBLIOMETRIC ANALYSIS OF CULINARY TOURISM LITERATURE

Culinary tourism is recognized in academic literature as an initiator of cultural revitalization, social and economic development, as well as a source of recreation, entertainment, socializing and learning. Due to the increasing interest of the academic community in this topic, this paper refers to an evaluative bibliometric analysis of the contemporary culinary tourism literature published in the WoS category: Hospitality Leisure Sport Tourism. The aim of the paper is to provide an insight into the current state and dynamics of the development of this field through a detailed analysis of the intellectual structure of culinary tourism, the predominant research topics, the applied research methodology and the most influential articles, authors and academic journals. A critical review of the literature published in the previous decade will enable to identify research gaps as well as to suggest directions for future research whose implementation would bring the field of culinary tourism closer to the stage of maturity and roundness of scientific thought. The sublimation of the culinary tourism literature published in the most prestigious academic journals over the past decade should provide the basis for further research efforts and discussions by the academic community

Evaluative bibliometric analysis of recent trends in rural tourism literature

The development of academic thought is a slow but unquestionable process that leads to a more advanced intellectual structure of the research area. The global growth of tourism demand in rural areas has conditioned the accelerated development of rural tourism, and thus the growing interest of the academic community in this tourism specialism. In this regard, the paper aims to provide insight into recent trends in rural tourism literature and examine the intellectual structure of this discipline. A detailed review of relevant literature published in the Web of Science (WoS) tourism journals and the application of evaluative bibliometric analysis identified the predominant interests of authors and dominant research niches, the most common research regions, the most frequently used research methods, papers that had the highest impact on modelling scientific thought within the subject area, the most productive and influential journals, as well as the authors who have left the most profound trace in the analyzed discipline in the past ten years. It is expected that the paper stimulates academic discussion on the relatively steady interest of researchers and the need for further and more dynamic intellectual development in the field of rural tourism.Publishe

Healthier Meat Products Are Fashionable—Consumers Love Fashion

Meat manufacturers are nowadays in a very unenviable position. Both meat and meat products require the utilization of various additives due to their chemical composition. On the other hand, consumers demand fresh, additive-free, and high-quality products with extended shelf-life, which might be considered as healthier, even functional food. These facts push manufacturers and researchers in pursuit of modern technologies and supplements to meet these high demands. Since a high daily intake of sodium and fat might cause severe health issues, reducing these ingredients in meat products is the first task towards healthier food. Sodium can be reduced by ultrasound, high-pressure processing, pulsed electric field, and replacement of NaCl with KCl, calcium gluconate, calcium glycerophosphate, calcium lactate, and monosodium glutamate. The reduction of the fat content can be achieved through a decrease in the amount of fatty tissue in the inital mixture and/or replacement with non-lipid components, or by partial fatty tissue replacement with oils rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids. Utilization of plant proteins (soy, wheat gluten, pea, chickpea, lentil, potato, barley, oat, rice, etc.), mycoproteins or micro-algae proteins, plant fats (palm and coconut fat, canola, sunflower, soy and corn oil, etc.), and polysaccharides (starches, fibers), accompanied by a meat-like fibrous structure, resulted in delicious “meat” products, which are considered a healthier alternative to real meat. Growing interest in the replacement of potentially adverse synthetic meat additives favors the use of plant (herb, fruit and vegetable) extracts, as an endless source of bioactive substances with strong antioxidant and antimicrobial activities. These extracts can be used either in raw meat or meat products, as well as in the fodder. Reformulation strategies strengthen and ensure the willingness of consumers to pay a higher price for their own demands regarding the naturalness of synthetic, clean-labeled, additive-free meat products. After a gradual alignment with strategic national/international recommendations and legal/sub-legal frameworks, the added value of such meat products opens wide the door to new segments/entire markets

Meat colour differences between Alpine, Balkan and Serbian white goat breeds slaughtered at 18 kg of body weight

Meat colour was evaluated in 36 goat kids of both genders equally from three breeds: Alpine, Balkan and Serbian white breed. Animals were slaughtered at 18 kg of body weight and three muscles were analysed for colour characteristics and pH value: m. longissimus lumborum, m. psoas major (tenderloin) and m. semimembranosus. pH values differ significantly only for m. longissimus lumborum muscle, whereas Balkan kids had a significantly higher pH value than Alpine and Serbian white (p<0.001). The goat breed significantly affected meat CIEL*a*b* values for all muscles analysed. Lightness (L*) was generally the highest for Balkan and lowest for the Alpine breed. The differences in redness (a*) and Chroma values (C*) were not significant, while the yellowness only differed for m. longissimus lumborum muscle, whereas Serbian white kids had higher b* values compared to Alpine kids. As a colour saturation characteristic, the hue angle was higher in meat from indigenous breeds (Balkan and Serbian white) than in the Alpine breed

Goats and climate resilience

Climate change poses a major global concern and is therefore an ongoing topic. World’s population is expected to reach 9.7 billion people by 2050 and 10.4 billion by 2100, which means that the food resources will become crucial. In that respect, animal protein is considered a vital nutrient for growing human population. However, in the light of ever-changing climate events food and water sources for both animals and humans can become scarce in certain areas. The impacts of higher temperatures, changes in precipitation and extreme weather events pose the most risk on agricultural systems such as livestock. Direct and indirect influence of heat and drought caused by global warming is harmful to livestock. Small ruminants and particularly goats are considered more resilient and better adapted to hot and dry environments compared to other livestock. These animals require less in terms of feed, water and labor than large ruminants and are also more thermo-tolerant. They have certain physiological, behavioral and anatomical advantages aiding their survival during heat and drought. Goats are less of a competition to humans in terms of available food as they can thrive on plants unusable for human nutrition. The review discusses advantages of goats as species in terms of adaptation to changing climate

Evidence of West Nile virus (WNV) circulation in wild birds and WNV RNA negativity in mosquitoes of the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve, Romania, 2016

West Nile virus (WNV) is a zoonotic flavivirus whose transmission cycle in nature includes wild birds as amplifying hosts and ornithophilic mosquito vectors. Bridge vectors can transmit WNV to mammal species potentially causing West Nile Fever. Wild bird migration is a mode of WNV introduction into new areas. The Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve (DDBR) is a major stopover of wild birds migrating between Europe and Africa. The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of WNV in the DDBR during the 2016 transmission season in wild birds and mosquitoes. Blood from 68 wild birds (nine different species) trapped at four different locations was analyzed by competitive ELISA and Virus Neutralization Test (VNT), revealing positive results in 8/68 (11.8%) of the wild birds by ELISA of which six samples (three from juvenile birds) were confirmed seropositive by VNT. Mosquitoes (n = 6523, 5 genera) were trapped with CDC Mini Light traps at two locations and in one location resting mosquitoes were caught. The presence of WNV RNA was tested in 134 pools by reverse transcription quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR). None of the pools was positive for WNV-specific RNA. Based on the obtained results, WNV was circulating in the DDBR during 2016

Species diversity, host preference and arbovirus detection of Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) in south-eastern Serbia

BackgroundCulicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) is a genus of small biting midges (also known as no-see ums) that currently includes 1368 described species. They are proven or suspected vectors for important pathogens affecting animals such as bluetongue virus (BTV) and Schmallenberg virus (SBV). Currently little information is available on the species of Culicoides present in Serbia. Thus, the aim of this study was to examine species diversity, host preference and the presence of BTV and SBV RNA in Culicoides from the Stara Planina Nature Park in south-eastern Serbia.ResultsIn total 19,887 individual Culicoides were collected during three nights of trapping at two farm sites and pooled into six groups (Obsoletus group, Pulicaris group, Others group and further each group according to the blood-feeding status to freshly engorged and non-engorged). Species identification was done on subsamples of 592 individual Culicoides specimens by morphological and molecular methods (MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry and PCR/sequencing). At least 22 Culicoides species were detected. Four animal species (cow, sheep, goat and common blackbird) as well as humans were identified as hosts of Culicoides biting midges. The screening of 8291 Culicoides specimens in 99 pools for the presence of BTV and SBV RNA by reverse-transcription quantitative PCR were negative.ConclusionsThe biodiversity of Culicoides species in the natural reserve Stara Planina was high with at least 22 species present. The presence of C. imicola Kieffer was not recorded in this area. Culicoides showed opportunistic feeding behaviour as determined by host preference. The absence of SBV and BTV viral RNA correlates with the absence of clinical disease in the field during the time of sampling. These data are the direct outcome of a training programme within the Institutional Partnership Project AMSAR: Arbovirus monitoring, research and surveillance-capacity building on mosquitoes and biting midges funded by the programme SCOPES of the Swiss National Science Foundation

Physiological and cell ultrastructure disturbances in wheat seedlings generated by Chenopodium murale hairy root exudate.

Chenopodium murale L. is an invasive weed species significantly interfering with wheat crop. However, the complete nature of its allelopathic influence on crops is not yet fully understood. In the present study, the focus is made on establishing the relation between plant morphophysiological changes and oxidative stress, induced by allelopathic extract. Phytotoxic medium of C. murale hairy root clone R5 reduced the germination rate (24% less than control value) of wheat cv. Nataša seeds, as well as seedling growth, diminishing shoot and root length significantly, decreased total chlorophyll content, and induced abnormal root gravitropism. The R5 treatment caused cellular structural abnormalities, reflecting on the root and leaf cell shape and organization. These abnormalities mostly included the increased number of mitochondria and reorganization of the vacuolar compartment, changes in nucleus shape, and chloroplast organization and distribution. The most significant structural changes were observed in cell wall in the form of amoeboid protrusions and folds leading to its irregular shape. These structural alterations were accompanied by an oxidative stress in tissues of treated wheat seedlings, reflected as increased level of H2O2 and other ROS molecules, an increase of radical scavenging capacity and total phenolic content. Accordingly, the retardation of wheat seedling growth by C. murale allelochemicals may represent a consequence of complex activity involving both cell structure alteration and physiological processes.This is a post-peer-review, pre-copyedit version of an article published in Protoplasma. The final authenticated version is available online at: [http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00709-018-1250-0