scholarly journals Potential consumer exposure to respirable particles and TiO2 due to the use of eyebrow powders

Author(s):  
Hyeon-Ju Oh ◽  
Taewon T. Han ◽  
Gediminas Mainelis
Foods ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 1545
Author(s):  
Valentina Maria Merlino ◽  
Daniela Fracassetti ◽  
Alessandra Di Canito ◽  
Simona Pizzi ◽  
Danielle Borra ◽  
...  

The consumption of traditional wine has decreased in Europe during the last fifteen years. In parallel, new wine alternatives obtained by blending wines and fruit juices or by flavoring wines with artificial or natural flavors have appeared on the market. Recently, an innovative fruit wine obtained by co-fermentation of grape must and kiwi juice has been proposed and its potential of attraction for consumers should be exploited. To assess the potential consumer acceptability and expectations towards this new product, an online choice experiment has been conducted involving a consumer group of young adults (18–35 years old; n = 373). After the data collection, participants were divided into two groups according to whether they had already tasted a fruit wine (neophiles) or had never tasted it (new entries). For each group, the individual’s responses (on wine consumption habits, expectations and willingness to consume and pay a fruit wine) were analyzed through Principal Component Analysis. Different consumption styles and expectation patterns were defined in the two groups. However, in general, neophiles showed consumption patterns based on the evaluation of fruit quality, sales format, alcoholic content and the presence or not of bubbles, not giving importance to the brand. In contrast, new entries’ responses identified consumption patterns driven by the willingness to pay for a new product, the product value for money and packaging features. Differences between the two groups in expectations about the product sensory characteristics also emerged. These findings should contribute to this area of study by integrating environmental, economic and social dimensions and addressing food innovation and sustainability in the fruit and wine chains.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 3555
Author(s):  
Chien-Hsiung Chen ◽  
Zhongzhen Lin

In the present era, technology is developing rapidly. Smartphones play a significant part in people’s lives. However, the research on smartphones mainly focuses on the area of technological realization. The purposes of this study were to examine the relationship between the various rear cameras in smartphones and consumer perceptions, and to understand consumers’ purchasing intentions and preferences. Through the methods of multidimensional scaling (MDS), factor analysis and triangular fuzzy numbers, the visual images of the smartphone rear cameras were analyzed and discussed. The results indicate that the visual images taken by different shapes of rear camera are quite distinct in the categories of innovative and fashionable, and simple and pure, but less distinct in the categories of harmonious and ordered, premium and technical, and superior and valuable. Through a comprehensive comparison, four groups whose images were similar were created. The outcome effectively reflects the potential consumer demands for smartphone rear camera patterns, providing insights for design practices in the smartphone industry.


Foods ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 1147
Author(s):  
Amalie Moxness Reksten ◽  
Zillur Rahman ◽  
Marian Kjellevold ◽  
Esther Garrido Gamarro ◽  
Shakuntala H. Thilsted ◽  
...  

Fish represent an important part of the Sri Lankan and Bangladeshi diet. However, fish is also a source of contaminants that may constitute a health risk to consumers. The aim of this study was to analyse the contents of arsenic, cadmium, mercury, and lead in 24 commonly consumed marine fish species from the Bay of Bengal and to assess the potential health risk associated with their consumption. Mercury and lead contents did not exceed the maximum limits for any of the sampled species, and consumer exposure from estimated daily consumption was assessed to be minimal for adults and children. Numerous samples exceeded the maximum limit for cadmium (58%), particularly those of small size (≤25 cm). However, consumer exposure was insignificant, and health assessment showed no risk connected to consumption. These data represent an important contribution to future risk/benefit assessments related to the consumption of fish.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (15) ◽  
pp. 8433
Author(s):  
Fatima Lambarraa-Lehnhardt ◽  
Rico Ihle ◽  
Hajar Elyoubi

The Green Moroccan Plan (GMP) is a national long-term strategy launched by the Moroccan government to support the agricultural sector as the main driver of social and economic development. The GMP involves a labeling strategy based on geographical indications, aimed at protecting and promoting the marketing of locally produced food specialties and linking their specific qualities and reputations to their domestic production region. We evaluated the success of this policy by comparing consumers’ attitudes and preferences toward a local product having a geographical indication label to one without. We conducted a survey of 500 consumers in main Moroccan cities. The potential consumer set for the local product was found to be segmented, indicating the potential for a domestic niche of environmentally aware consumers preferring organically and sustainably produced food. We applied the analytical hierarchy process to prioritize the attributes of the commodities of interest, which underscores the importance of the origin when choosing a local product without origin labeling; for the labeled product, intrinsic quality attributes are considered to be more important. These findings demonstrate the limited promotion of the established origin labeling in the domestic market. Hence, we recommend that the Moroccan government reinforce the labeling scheme with an organic label to increase the market potential of the environmentally aware consumers by ensuring sustainable production of local products.


2020 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 106-114
Author(s):  
Y. Kim ◽  
◽  
А. Yermekbayeva ◽  

This work is devoted to the speech impact of advertising texts, in other words, the language of advertising, the purpose of which is to attract the attention of a potential consumer by making the message as memorable and unusual as possible, lively and catchy, colorful and attractive to a potential listener / buyer. The significance of the work lies in the fact that the author, in the process of analyzing the basic structural elements of the advertising message (slogan and main body), determines the main speech techniques for the influence of advertising texts: expressive means, including metaphors, epithets metonymy, speech turns, paths, various grammatical forms and other forms of influence: nominative, one-part, verb sentences, comparative and superlative adjectives, rhymes, imperative verbs, adverbs, lexical repetition. On specific examples of advertising slogans, evidence is given that the above speech means contribute to increased demand for the advertised product or service. During the study, the author confirms the hypothesis put forward at the beginning of the study: if you skillfully use speech exposure, i.e. to choose words whose harmonious combination lays in the subconscious of a person the information transmitted to him by the manufacturer through high-quality advertising, then such an advertising text can become the key to the success of trade. The work is of great practical importance: the material presented in it can be used by students to improve the culture of speech, improve stylistically differentiated speech, as well as school teachers as methodological material in the Russian language when studying the section «Vocabulary», «Stylistics».


Nanomaterials ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 2546
Author(s):  
Rikke Bramming Jørgensen ◽  
Ida Teresia Kero ◽  
Aleksander Blom ◽  
Esten Eide Grove ◽  
Kristin von Hirsch Svendsen

Background: It is difficult to assess workers’ exposure to ultrafine particles (UFP) due to the lack of personal sampling equipment available for this particle fraction. The logbook method has been proposed as a general method for exposure assessment. This method measures the time and concentration components of the time-weighted average concentration separately and could be suitable for investigation of UFP exposure. Objectives: In this study, we have assessed workers’ exposure to UFP in a ferrosilicon plant. The main tasks of the furnace workers were identified, and the logbook method was used in combination with stationary measurements of UFP taken as close to the identified task areas as possible. In order to verify the results, respirable particles were collected using stationary sampling in close proximity to the UFP measuring instrument, and personal full-shift sampling of respirable particles was performed simultaneously. Thus, exposure to respirable particles determined using the logbook method could be compared to the results of standard measurement. Methods: The particle number concentration of ultrafine particles was determined using a NanoScan SMPS. Respirable particle concentration and exposure were determined using a sampling train consisting of a pump, filter, filter cassettes, and SKC Cyclone for the respirable fraction. Attendance times for workers at each work location were registered via thorough observations made by the research team. Results: The logbook method for exposure estimation based on stationary sampling equipment made it possible to calculate UFP exposure for workers operating the furnaces at a ferrosilicon plant. The mid-size furnace and the large furnace were evaluated separately. The workers operating the largest furnace were exposed to 1.47 × 104 particles/cm3, while workers operating the mid-size furnace were exposed to 2.06 × 104 particles/cm3, with a mean of 1.74 × 104 particles/cm3. Substantial contributions from the casting area, ladle transport corridor, and both tapping areas were made. Exposure to respirable particles was 2.04 mg/m3 (logbook); 2.26 mg/m3 (personal sampling) for workers operating the large-sized furnace, 3.24 mg/m3 (logbook); 2.44 mg/m3 (personal sampling) for workers operating the medium-sized furnace, and 2.57 mg/m3 (logbook); 2.53 mg/m3(personal sampling) on average of all tappers. The average ratio of these two methods’ results was 1.02, which indicates that the logbook method could be used as a substitute for personal sampling when it is not possible to perform personal sampling, at least within this industry. Conclusions: The logbook method is a useful supplement for exposure assessment of UFP, able to identify the most polluted areas of the workplace and the contribution of different work tasks to the total exposure of workers, enabling companies to take action to reduce exposure.


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