Consumer’s perceptions of organic foods in Ambato, Ecuador

2020 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 263-280
Author(s):  
Juan Carlos Castro Analuiza ◽  
Cristina Checa Morales ◽  
José Perea

Objective: The aim of this study was to identify the factors that explain consumers purchasing behavior towards organic food products in Ambato (Ecuador). Methodology: Data were collected from a survey of 1,500 organic consumers and other 1,500 consumers who prefer conventional foods, and analyzed using multivariate techniques. Results: Principal component analysis identified four factors which explain the buying behavior of organic consumers: Belief in health benefits, quality and taste attributes; belief in environmental benefits; and contextual issues. Cluster analysis identified three groups of organic consumers: organic consumers interested in self benefit and highly influenced by contextual aspects (Group I), organic consumers interested in expected environment benefits (Group II) and organic consumers very interested in self benefits and less affected by contextual aspects (Group III). The relationships established in organic consumers are different to conventional consumers. This defines different variables that explain the purchase process. The socio-demographics profiles were different in gender and occupation; women and free license workers were more frequently interested in buying organic foods. Limitations: The study was carried out in the city of Ambato that could be considered representative of the Ecuadorian urban society. The results should be complemented by future studies focused on other cities or rural areas. Practical implications: Results suggest that the Ecuadorian organic sector follows the developing patterns identified in the Western countries. This implies that the promotion and practical support for the organic sector should be focused on strengthening positive attitudes towards organic purchases.

2021 ◽  
pp. 1035-1042
Author(s):  
Franciele da Silva Quemel ◽  
Andira Pricila Dantas ◽  
Lincon Sanches ◽  
Ana Cláudia Graças Alves Viana ◽  
Eloísa Schneider Silva ◽  
...  

Turmeric or curcuma (Curcuma longa L.) is a Zingiberaceae whose essential oil and coloring pigments obtained from the rhizome have been widely used in the food industry and medicine. This study aimed to extract and identify the chemical compounds found in C. longa essential oil from rhizomes collected in six different locations of Brazil. The oil extraction was carried out by hydrodistillation technique, using a Clevenger- type apparatus. The chemical constituents were identified by Gas Chromatography coupled to Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). The principal component analysis (PCA) and the hierarchical cluster analysis (cluster)were done for the obtained data; and the composition of the studied accesses was verified. Three groups of chemotypes were obtained: group I was formed by the accesses of Campo Grande / Indígena-MS, Mara Rosa-GO, Campo Grande-MS and Perobal-PR, and had Ar-turmerone as its main compound; group II, formed by the access of Santa Tereza do Oeste-PR, presented α-costol and α-Phellandrene as the predominant compounds; and group III, the access of Holambra-SP, differed from the others regarding its essential oil chemical composition whose main agents were Curlone, Zingiberene, β-sesquiphellandrene, Humulene epoxide II, cis-α-trans-Bergamotol. The predominant chemical class in all accesses was hydrocarbon sesquiterpenes (Santa Tereza do Oeste-PR and Holambra-SP) and oxygenated sesquiterpenes (the others). This study evidenced the formation of three chemotypes


2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Monica Amelia ◽  
Diana K Jasaputra ◽  
Rita Tjokropranoto

Helminths infections caused by Soil-Transmitted Helminths (STH) are found in manypeople living in developing countries, especially in rural areas. People often use pomegranate asan anthelmintic. The aim of this research is to find out the effects of pomegranate peel (Punicagranatum L.) as an anthelmintic to female Ascaris suum in vitro. The research on the effects ofpomegranate peel extract has been conducted on 900 female Ascaris suum in vitro. Ascaris suumare divided into 5 groups, group I: pomegranate peel extract of dose 25%, group II: pomegranatepeel extract of 50%, group III: pomegranate peel extract of 75%, group IV: 0.9% NaCl as anegative control, and group V is given mebendazole 0.5% as a positive control. The meanpercentage of dead worms in group I is 39%, in group II 61%, while in group III 82%, but itspotential is lower than mebendazole, which kills 100%. The treatment using pomegranate peelextract of 25%, 50% and 75% respectively has significant differences with p < 0.05 againstnegative control (NC) using a 0.9% NaCl. The research concludes that the pomegranate peelextract has an anthelmintic effect against Ascaris suum females in vitro.Keywords: pomegranate peel extract, anthelmintic effect, in vitro


Toxics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 278
Author(s):  
Hong-gil Lee ◽  
Yoon Joo Byun ◽  
Young-Woo Chun ◽  
Hoe-Jung Noh ◽  
Dong-Jin Kim ◽  
...  

Traffic-related facilities typically have much lower metal emissions than other sources; however, they can be numerous and widespread as well. Subdividing pollution sources is necessary to assess soil contamination characteristics and identify sources according to the contamination cause. Anthropogenic contamination by metals was quantitatively determined using contamination factor (Cf) and evaluated using multivariate analysis. More than half of the concentrations for Zn, Pb, and Cu in soils were higher than that in the natural background (NB). Cf of metals was, in decreasing order, Zn > Pb = Cu > Ni = As. Zn, Pb, and Cu were identified as anthropogenic contaminants in correlation analysis. Principal component analysis showed that the two main contamination causes were coarse particles from the maintenance or crushing activities of vehicles and nonexhaust/exhaust emissions. Clusters were classified according to those two anthropogenic and lithogenic causes and included Group I (Zn, Pb, and Cu in garages, auto repair shops, and auto salvage yards), Group II (Zn, Pb, and Cu in parking lots, driving schools, and roadsides), and Group III (As and Ni with high lithogenic properties). Anthropogenic input and sources of soil contamination by metals in traffic-related facilities were appropriately estimated through the combination of Cf and multivariate analysis.


2000 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 295-300 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valéria Carpentieri-Pípolo ◽  
Antônio Eduardo Pípolo ◽  
Flávio André Martins da Silva ◽  
Marcos Rafael Petek

Thirty-four soybean lines were assessed for twelve traits. The genetic distances were estimates using multivariate techniques, to identify parents to be included in breeding programs for hybridization. Grouping by the Tocher method, from generalized Mahalanobis distances, divided the 34 lines into four groups. The most important agronomic traits, weight of seeds per plot, plant height, height of first pod and days to maturity were considered when recommending for crossing. The following crosses were recommended based on the genetic divergence and the key agronomic traits: lines 23, 10, 2, 27 and 25 (group I) with genotype 6 (group II) and genotype 16 (group III). Thus only ten crosses would be made, representing only 2% of the total crosses which could be made in the partial diallel among the 34 lines assessed, which would allow up to 561 combinations.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Liying Niu ◽  
Dajing Li ◽  
Chunquan Liu ◽  
Wuyang Huang ◽  
Xiaojun Liao

Dense phase carbon dioxide (DPCD) offers advantages of enhanced physical and nutritional qualities during the processing of juices. Here, freshly squeezed orange juice was treated with DPCD, and changes of physical properties and volatile components were investigated and compared with the original untreated and thermally treated samples. The correlations among physiochemical properties were also examined based on Pearson correlation, cluster analysis (CA), and principal component analysis (PCA). Significant correlations were found among the particle size, color parameters, and volatile compounds in the DPCD-treated samples. The 12 parameters were clustered into three groups using CA and PCA, and the eight volatile compounds were separated within the three groups. Nonanal and citronellol were clustered in group I, and they increased for a longer duration of more than 40 min with higher levels than the control. Parameters in group II included D (4,3), L∗, a∗, ethyl butyrate, and trans-2-hexenol, and they linearly decreased after 10–60 min DPCD treatment. The parameters of b∗ and monoterpenes were clustered in group III, and they decreased within 40 min of DPCD treatment and then increased to an intermediate level. In addition, PCA clearly showed that the orange juice samples under DPCD for 10–60 min formed a “U” shape on the two-dimensional plot and that the samples treated by DPCD for 10 min and 20 min were closer to freshly squeezed orange juice than the heat-treated orange juice. This indicated that the nonthermal DPCD process offers the potential to be used more extensively in juice products.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 608-619
Author(s):  
Alexander I. Kostyaev ◽  
Galina N. Nikonova

The purpose of the study is to test the hypothesis of the priority role of livestock breeding in the development of rural areas on the basis of an analysis of livestock industries and determine the degree of territorial heterogeneity of this phenomenon. The study was carried out on the example of 29 regions of the Non-Black Earth Zone of the Russian Federation. Methods of ranking, correlation and variational analysis were used. A noticeable correlation was established between the indicators of the development of the livestock industry and rural development (p = 0.5; 0.6). For poultry farming, this relationship is moderate (p = 0.3; 0.3), pig breeding - weak negative (p = - 0.1; - 0.1). Concrete calculations confirmed the lack of influence of the development of pig breeding on one of the important indicators of the development of rural areas - the growth of acreage. The features of territorial heterogeneity in the development of cattle breeding and rural areas have been consistently investigated on the basis of the same methodology. Three equal groups of regions with a relatively high, medium and relatively low level of their development were identified. It is shown that the group of regions with a relatively high level of development of cattle breeding in the Non-Black Earth Region accounts for about half of the volume of milk and 56% of the production of cattle for slaughter. Neighboring regions in group I form two, in group II - one, in group III - three areas. When comparing the results obtained for cattle breeding and rural areas, it was found that the composition of the regions in the corresponding groups coincides by 67-78 %. When calculating the correlation coefficient between the final ranks of the regions, established when determining the heterogeneity of the development of livestock breeding and the heterogeneity of the development of rural areas, a high tightness of the correlation was revealed (p = 0.7). The hypothesis being tested was confirmed.


2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Piasecki ◽  
Agnieszka Pilarska ◽  
Radosław Golba

Abstract The purpose of the work was to identify the hidden relationship between water consumption and meteorological factors, using principal component analysis. In addition, clusters of similar days were identified based on relationships identified by k-means. The study was based on data from the city of Toruń (Poland). The analysis was based on daily data from 2014–2017 divided into three groups. Group I included data from the entire period, Group II- from warm half-years (April–September), and Group III-from cold half-years (January–March and October–December). For Groups I and II the extent of water consumption was explained by two principal components. PC1 includes variables that increase water consumption, and PC2 includes variables that lessen water demand. In Group III, water consumption was not linked to any component. The k-means method was used to identify clusters of similar days. In terms of PC1, the most numerous days were Saturdays, and in terms of PC2 Sundays and holidays. It was determined that further research aimed at explaining the specificity of water consumption on particular days of the week is appropriate.


2011 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margarita Rico-González ◽  
Jesús Mª Gómez García

Women's participation in the socio-economic activities of rural areas has been frequently underestimated. However, in recent years there is a clear awareness of public authorities that women’s inclusion in strategies for the economic revitalisation of the rural world is essential to fix population and generate income and employment in this territory. The objective of this paper focuses on determining the economic contribution of women to the development of rural areas of the Spanish region of Castilla y León. It analyses the relationship between the degree of development of rural communities and the socioeconomic characteristics of women who live in those territories. The analysis follows a methodology based on three types of multivariate techniques: the principal component analysis, the multiple regression analysis and the analysis of clusters. The results show that the economic and social participation of women in rural areas is a precondition to achieve a higher level of welfare and development in these areas.


Author(s):  
K.K. SEKHRI ◽  
C.S. ALEXANDER ◽  
H.T. NAGASAWA

C57BL male mice (Jackson Lab., Bar Harbor, Maine) weighing about 18 gms were randomly divided into three groups: group I was fed sweetened liquid alcohol diet (modified Schenkl) in which 36% of the calories were derived from alcohol; group II was maintained on a similar diet but alcohol was isocalorically substituted by sucrose; group III was fed regular mouse chow ad lib for five months. Liver and heart tissues were fixed in 2.5% cacodylate buffered glutaraldehyde, post-fixed in 2% osmium tetroxide and embedded in Epon-araldite.


Author(s):  
Anton Bózner ◽  
Mikuláš Gažo ◽  
Jozef Dostál

It is anticipated that Japanese quail /Coturnix coturnix japonica/ will provide animal proteins in long term space flights. Consequently this species of birds is of research interest of international space program INTERCOSMOS. In the year 1987 we reported on an experiment /2/ in which the effect of chronic acceleration of 2 G hypergravitation, the hypodynamy and the simultaneous effect of chronic acceleration and the location in the centre of the turntable of the centrifuge on the protein fractions in skeletal muscles was studied. The ultrastructure of the heart muscle was now in this experiments examined as well.Japanese quail cockerels, aged 48 days were exposed to 2 G hypergravitation /group IV/ in a 6,4 m diameter centrifuge, to hypodynamy /group III/ and their combination /group V/, respectively for 6 days / Fig.1/. The hypodynamy in group III was achieved by suspending the birds in jackets without contact the floor. The group II was located in the centre ofthe turntable of the centrifuge. The control group I. was kept under normal conditions. The quantitative ultrastructure of myocard was evaluated by the methods of Weibel/3/ - this enables to determine the number, relative size and volume of mitochondria volume of single mitochondria, defficiency of mitochondrial cristae and volume of myofibrils.


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