Functional Properties of Yellowfin Tuna (Thunnus albacares) Skin Collagen Hydrolysate Fraction obtained by Ultrafiltration Purification

Hydrolyzed collagen with different fractions is broadly applied in various industries due to its functional properties. The study aimed to purify and fractionate the hydrolyzed collagen from yellowfin tuna skin by ultrafiltration and evaluate the functional properties of its fractions. The effect of temperature, pH, and pressure on membrane flux, nitrogen recovery efficiency, and degree of separation was investigated. Afterward, several functional properties of hydrolyzed collagen fractions including solubility, emulsification, foaming, and antioxidant properties were evaluated. The optimum ultrafiltration conditions for hydrolyzed collagen were temperature 25 °C, pH 6.5 and pressure 12 psi provided optimum membrane flux (3.4 L/m2.h) and nitrogen recovery efficiency (80.81%), and the smallest degree of separation (27.45%). The products after ultrafiltration were separated into two fractions, F1 (< 3 kDa), and F2 (3-5 kDa), with the volume of 10% and 90%, respectively. Both hydrolyzed collagen fractions were more than 96% soluble at pH below 8.0, where the F2 fraction dissolved better than F1. As pH was higher than 8.0, both fractions were almost completely dissolved. In addition, the emulsifying and foaming abilities of the F1 fraction were better than the F2. However, the F2 fraction was more resistant to oxidation with higher antioxidant activity. In conclusion, this research indicates that different fractions from hydrolyzed collagen from yellowfin tuna skin have various functional properties that could be applied in food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries.

Streamlining the Municipal Waste Management System in the City of Nitra (Slovak Republic) Based on a Public Survey

The main problems of the city of Nitra (Slovak Republic) in the field of municipal waste management include: 1. High production of municipal waste per capita; 2. Low rate of its separation; 3. High landfill rate; 4. No opportunity for composting; 5. Establishment of illegal landfills in the city; 6. Low waste prevention rate. To identify the attitudes and opinions of the respondents, and to evaluate certain behavioural practices of the inhabitants of Nitra in the management of municipal solid waste, we used a structured questionnaire (realized in 2020). The results of the questionnaire correspond to the behaviour of 4911 inhabitants of the city (6.46%). This paper evaluates the respondents’ answers, which could be utilised by the local government—not only for a more appropriate setting of municipal waste management and separation, but also in waste prevention and monitoring changes in the consumer behaviour of city residents. The degree of separation in individual housing construction (IHC) and complex housing construction (CHC) was statistically evaluated and compared separately. For paper and glass, a higher degree of separation was reflected in CHC; while conversely, households living in CHC avoided bio-waste and kitchen waste more than IHC households. The most common reason for not participating in the separate collection was the lack of collection containers, the distance of containers from their households, or the low frequency of their collection. The results of the questionnaire show the need for more rigorous education about waste generation, its proper separation, and its prevention.

Network Structure Impacts the Synchronization of Collective Beliefs

People’s beliefs are influenced by interactions within their communities. The propagation of this influence through conversational social networks should impact the degree to which community members synchronize their beliefs. To investigate, we recruited a sample of 140 participants and constructed fourteen 10-member communities. Participants first rated the accuracy of a set of statements (pre-test) and were then provided with relevant evidence about them. Then, participants discussed the statements in a series of conversational interactions, following pre-determined network structures (clustered/non-clustered). Finally, they rated the accuracy of the statements again (post-test). The results show that belief synchronization, measuring the increase in belief similarity among individuals within a community from pre-test to post-test, is influenced by the community’s conversational network structure. This synchronization is circumscribed by a degree of separation effect and is equivalent in the clustered and non-clustered networks. We also find that conversational content predicts belief change from pre-test to post-test.

Comprehensive Strategy for Sample Preparation for the Analysis of Food Contaminants and Residues by GC–MS/MS: A Review of Recent Research Trends

Food safety and quality have been gaining increasing attention in recent years. Gas chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (GC–MS/MS), a highly sensitive technique, is gradually being preferred to GC–MS in food safety laboratories since it provides a greater degree of separation on contaminants. In the analysis of food contaminants, sample preparation steps are crucial. The extraction of multiple target analytes simultaneously has become a new trend. Thus, multi-residue analytical methods, such as QuEChERs and adsorption extraction, are fast, simple, cheap, effective, robust, and safe. The number of microorganic contaminants has been increasing worldwide in recent years and are considered contaminants of emerging concern. High separation in MS/MS might be, in certain cases, favored to sample preparation selectivity. The ideal sample extraction procedure and purification method should take into account the contaminants of interest. Moreover, these methods should cooperate with high-resolution MS, and other sensitive full scan MSs that can produce a more comprehensive detection of contaminants in foods. In this review, we discuss the most recent trends in preparation methods for highly effective detection and analysis of food contaminants, which can be considered tools in the control of food quality and safety.

HYDRAULIC MACHINES FOR SEPARATION OF WET DISPERSED SYSTEMS

Separation processes of wet dispersed systems are quite common in the food, processing and other industries. In particular, these include processes related to the production of fruit and vegetable juices, jams, sunflower and olive oil, the extraction of fat from meat rinds in meat production, the separation of whey from cheese mass in the production of cheese, the separation of grated cocoa into butter and pulp, dehydration of wet dispersed waste of food production (alcohol grain, beer pellets, beet pulp, coffee and barley sludge). These processes are quite energy-intensive and have low-productivity, therefore, much attention is paid for modernization of equipment for their implementation in the direction of improving the indicated efficiency characteristics, as well as increasing reliability and reducing material consumption, complexity and price of working machines. At the same time, the known hydraulic static presses do not provide of low final moisture content of the product and the required productivity of the working process. Vibratory pressing equipment is often quite complex, unreliable and generates intense noise and vibration during of operation. Screw presses with an electromechanical drive, despite of their advantages, do not allow to achieve of the necessary degree of separation of the components of the dispersed system, in addition, their actuators are structurally quite complex and wear out quickly. The authors propose improved schemes of hydraulic presses for separation of wet dispersed systems, which can provide high rates of efficiency of the working process and have a simple and reliable design. The article also presents equations for calculating of the main operating parameters of the proposed equipment.

Estimating the Methane Emissions and Energy Potential from Trichy and Thanjavur Dumpsite by LandGEM Model

One major factor, contributing to the emission of greenhouse gas in the environment is generation of hazardous gases in municipal landfills. Due to these potential negative impacts, it is obligatory to estimate the amount and type of landfill gasses to design and build a gas collecting system. Landfill gas emissions are governed by the type of waste, its biodegradability, its methane emission potential, the degree of separation and other miscellaneous factors. There are various US EPA recommendation model. The Landfill Gas Emissions Model (LandGEM) is one the conventional model and also provides better estimation compared to other method. It is used to the amount of gases produced in the landfills of Trichy (Ariyamangalam) landfill and Thanjavur (Srinivasapuram) landfills have been predicted. According to the results, the largest amount of landfill gas emissions would be in 1993 for Trichy (Ariyamangalam) landfill and in 2027 for Thanjavur (Srinivasapuram) landfill. The total amount of produced gas, methane and carbon dioxide would be 16.2E + 10, 8.2E + 10 and 16.2 + 10 cubic meters per year in 1993 for trichy and 13E + 6, 5E + 6 and 13E + 6 cubic meters per year in 2027 for Thanjavur.

GEN Z AND RELIGIOUS-BASED SOCIAL DISTANCE

Gen Z is the generation that were born between 1996 and 2015. In this paper the gen z is represented by university students who become the respondents of this research. The main focus of this paper is describing the religion-based social distance among the university students. Social distance is the degree of separation between different social groups. The specific group this paper focuses on is the religion-based groups. The main theory employs in this research is Social Scale theory that provide the basic instrument of social distance measurement. To gather the data this research uses survey and interviews. The result depicts that there are social distances on particular religious groups. The percentages of respondents who feel a distance to certain religious groups are varied. The percentages of respondent who perceived a distance toward Islam is only 7,5 percent. Whereas the percentage that of social distance to local religions, on the other hand, is staggering on the value 84,3 percent. The result signifies that most of respondent feel that they have a social distance to local religious groups. The respondent argues that the main reason for the social distance toward the local religious group is the perception that the local religious believers are more likely to form a cult that might be endangered the social harmony in the university.

Diversity and Diet Differences of Small Mammals in Commensal Habitats

The stability of diversity of syntopic (inhabiting the same habitat in the same time) small mammals in commensal habitats, such as farmsteads and kitchen gardens, and, as a proxy of their diet, their isotopic niches, was investigated in Lithuania in 2019–2020. We tested whether the separation of species corresponds to the trophic guilds, whether their diets are related to possibilities of getting additional food from humans, and whether their diets are subject to seasonal trends. We analyzed diversity, dominance and distribution of hair δ13C and δ15N values. Diversity and dominance was not stable and differed according to human influence. The highest small mammal species richness occurred in commensal habitats that provided additional food. The degree of separation of species was higher in homestead habitats than in kitchen gardens, where a 1.27 to 35.97% overlap of isotopic niches was observed between pairs of species. Temporal changes in δ13C and δ15N values in the hair of the mammals were not equally expressed in different species. The isotopic overlap may depend on dietary plasticity, minimizing interspecific competition and allowing co-existence of syntopic species. Thus, small mammal trophic ecology is likely related to intensity of agricultural activities in the limited space of commensal habitats.

7. Separation of powers

This chapter looks at the separation of powers. The separation of powers is a doctrine requiring that executive, legislative, and judicial powers within a state should be clearly divided and allocated to separate institutions; the aim is to prevent the concentration of power in any one branch and reduce the potential for arbitrary or oppressive exercise of power. Although the degree of separation between the three branches varies between states, codified constitutions will regulate those spheres of power by allocating specific roles and functions to each branch and will allow checks or controls to operate between them to ensure accountability. The separation of powers in the UK is weakest between the legislative and executive, and strongest and most distinct between the judiciary and the other two branches. Indeed, the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 has brought stronger separation between the judiciary and the executive, making the judiciary more autonomous.