Peer review declaration

The Organiser and/or the Editor(s) are required to declare details about their peer review processes. Therefore, please provide the following information: • Type of peer review: Double-blind Double-anonymous: author and reviewer identities are hidden to each other • Describe criteria used by Reviewers when accepting/declining papers. Was there the opportunity to resubmit articles after revisions? The submission will first be reviewed for its topic and length, then go through an originality check. The peer-review process will begin soon after the paper is found to be qualified. The paper will be sent to have a double-blind peer review by 2 reviewers. They will judge the paper based on the theme, coverage, innovation, integrity, depth, and language. One of the final acceptance suggestions including: Accept, Accept with Minor Revision, Major Revision, Reject will be given. Articles can be resubmitted after revision except receiving Reject. • Conference submission management system: https://registration.confmcee.org/ • Number of submissions received: 179 • Number of submissions sent for review: 179 • Number of submissions accepted: 64 • Acceptance Rate (Number of Submissions Accepted / Number of Submissions Received × 100): 35.8% • Average number of reviews per paper: 2 • Total number of reviewers involved: 35 • Any additional info on review process (eg Plagiarism check system): Plagiarism check system: iThenticate • Contact person for queries (Full name, affiliation, institutional email address) Han Gao, [email protected]

Qualitative Preliminary Approach for the Development of a Sensory Vocabulary for Actinidia arguta Fruits

Actinidia arguta fruits (baby kiwi) have recently been introduced and marketed in Italy under the Nergi® brand. The freshness of fruits and the maintenance of their quality after the harvest time influence the perception of taste and the sensory attributes for final acceptance by the consumer. In this work, we propose to use recently introduced sensory methods to create a sensory vocabulary not yet available for the two varieties covered by the brand: cv. Hortgem Rua® and cv. Hortgem Tahi®. The check-all-that-apply (CATA) method was performed with 15 trained tasters of Sata s.r.l. company (Alessandria, Italy) and a set of attributes were defined through a focus group (recruited at DISAFA, University of Turin) with habitual fruit consumers. The results obtained by CATA identified different profiles for the two varieties marketed under the brand, offering the opportunity to better position and communicate the taste characteristics of the product to the consumer.

The Teaching of the Church on Religious Freedom: A Break or Continuity of Tradition?

This paper elaborates upon the Catholic Church’s teaching on religious freedom in the period from The French Revolution to The Second Vatican Council. Based on quotations from the original documents, the author presents the evolution of the Church’s position that switched from the initial rejection to the final acceptance of the religious freedom over past two centuries. The fact of this dramatic change begs the question about the continuity of tradition and credibility of the contemporary position of the Church. Based on the document by the International Theological Commission, “Memory and Reconciliation: The Church and the Faults of the Past,” as well as the teaching of Pope Benedict XVI, the author demonstrates that – in contrast to some contemporary interpretations – the hermeneutics of continuity is possible regarding Church’s teaching on religious freedom.

Plant-based frozen desserts: temporal sensory profile and preference

To respond to the growing demand for specific diets aimed at lactose intolerant and vegan consumers, chocolate-flavored frozen desserts with no addition of lactose and other animal-derived products were produced, and the temporal profile and the consumers' acceptance of the samples with sucrose substitution by sweeteners were also investigated. Six frozen dessert formulations were made, three made with soy protein and three with rice protein, sweetened with sucrose, sucralose, and stevia. Acceptance tests and Time-Intensity (TI) analysis were performed to assess the intensity and duration of the attributes sweet taste, bitter taste, chocolate flavor, and melting behavior. The results showed no effect of the different plant proteins on the temporal profile and the acceptance by consumers. The use of sweeteners altered the temporal sensory profile and negatively impacted the acceptance of the samples. The sucralose-sweetened formulations were characterized by a lower intensity of sweet taste, chocolate flavor, and bitterness, whereas the stevia-sweetened formulations showed greater intensity and duration of the bitter taste. Characteristics such as the low intensity of chocolate flavor and the increase in sweetness affected the final acceptance of the product. The melting time of frozen desserts has been extended with the use of body agents to replace sucrose.

DOSTOEVSKY’S THEOLOGY: A DESCRIPTION FROM THE INSIDE

The chapter attempts to describe Dostoevsky’s theology as a cohesive system of worldview, figurative principles, and methods of text organization which aim to transform the reader. A system that is not borrowed but rather created by the author himself, who recurs to something alien only when it meets his deep internal demand — which means, essentially, when what he found outside himself corresponds to what was generated inside. The work describes the basic features of Dostoevsky’s theology: its foundations, i.e. what constantly, and yet in different ways, appear through his oeuvre — his literary works, A Writer’s Diary, articles about literature and arts, commentaries on politics. Dostoevsky-theologian proposes a view of the world and the human being as both related to God; he also introduces an interpretation of the qualities of the Divine, which is normally impeded by our everyday conscience. Moreover, he does not impose this new worldview aggressively or tyrannically but leaving to the reader the possibility to turn away from the final acceptance of it and of the consequences that follow this completely different way of seeing. Dostoevsky’s writing strategy is on principle retreat, not advancement. Because of this, the description of Dostoevsky’s theology and philosophy as a system whose coherence lies within itself, which is irreducible to our own expectations, and which refuses to be forcibly interpretated within the frameworks of other worldviews or systems, is a difficult aim that can be achieved only through reliable skills of philological analysis and hermeneutical interpretation.

Current Trends in Multidisciplinary Approaches to Understanding Consumer Preference and Acceptance of Food Products

Acceptance and preference of the sensory properties of foods are among the most important criteria determining food choice. Sensory perception and our response to food products and finally food choice itself are affected by a myriad of intrinsic as well as extrinsic factors. The pressing question is, how do these factors specifically affect our acceptance and preference for foods, both in and of themselves, and in combination in various contexts, both fundamental and applied? In addition, which factors overall play the largest role in how we perceive and behave towards food in daily life? Finally, how can these factors be utilized to affect our preferences and final acceptance of real food and food products from industrial production and beyond for healthier eating? A closer look at trends in research showcasing the influence that these factors and our senses have on our perception and affective response to food products and our food choices is timely. Thus, in this Special Issue collection “Consumer Preferences and Acceptance of Food Products”, we bring together articles which encompass the wide scope of multidisciplinary research in the space related to the determination of key factors involved linked to fundamental interactions, cross-modal effects in different contexts and eating scenarios, as well as studies that utilize unique study design approaches and methodologies.

SPIRou: NIR velocimetry and spectropolarimetry at the CFHT

ABSTRACT This paper presents an overview of SPIRou, the new-generation near-infrared spectropolarimeter/precision velocimeter recently installed on the 3.6-m Canada–France–Hawaii Telescope (CFHT). Starting from the two main science goals, i.e., the quest for planetary systems around nearby M dwarfs and the study of magnetized star/planet formation, we outline the instrument concept that was designed to efficiently address these forefront topics, and detail the in-lab and on-sky instrument performances measured throughout the intensive testing phase that SPIRou was submitted to before passing the final acceptance review in early 2019 and initiating science observations. With a central position among the newly started programmes, the SPIRou Legacy Survey (SLS) Large Programme was allocated 300 CFHT nights until at least mid 2022. We also briefly describe a few of the first results obtained in the various science topics that SPIRou started investigating, focusing in particular on planetary systems of nearby M dwarfs, transiting exoplanets and their atmospheres, magnetic fields of young stars, but also on alternate science goals like the atmospheres of M dwarfs and the Earth’s atmosphere. We finally conclude on the key role that SPIRou and the CFHT can play in coordination with forthcoming major facilities like the JWST, the ELTs, PLATO, and ARIEL over the decade.

Timeline from receipt to online publication of COVID-19 original research articles

ObjectiveTo examine the timeline from submission of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID)-related original articles compared with non-COVID-related original articles.BackgroundThere have been growing concerns about the speed and rigor of the review process for COVID-related articles by journals.MethodsUsing Dimensions, an online searchable platform, we identified PubMed-indexed journals that published >50 COVID-related articles (regardless of article type) between 1/1/2020 and 5/16/2020 and had available data on the date of article receipt. For the control group, we included consecutive full-length original investigations with available receipt date (regardless of topic) published in these journals starting from 3/1/2019 until a 1:2 ratio of COVID to non-COVID-related articles per journal was achieved.ResultsThe final number included 294 COVID-related full-length original investigations with available article receipt dates published in 16 journals with corresponding 588 control articles from the same journals. The median time from article receipt to online publication was 20 (11-32) days for COVID-articles vs. 119 (62-182) days for controls (P<0.001). The median time to final acceptance (available for 97% of the articles) was 13 (5-23) days for COVID vs. 102 (55-161) days for controls (P<0.001). These observations were seen across all the included journals in the analysis.ConclusionsIn this analysis of full-length original investigations published in 16 medical journals, the median time from receipt to final acceptance of COVID-related articles was 8 times faster compared to non-COVID-related articles published in a similar time frame in the previous year. Online publication was 6 times faster for COVID-related articles compared to controls.

Detection of a Pack-Photon: A Theoretical Analysis

The Observational prove which will result in the final acceptance of the Theory of Everything is the detection/discovery of a pack photon. In this paper, an analysis on the nature and existence of a pack-photon is described, this includes major characteristics and properties. A clue which will help certain organizations with telescopes/photon detectors at the outer space to detect a pack photon is also explained in this paper.