Development of Three-Stage Bioaerosol Sampler for Size-Selective Sampling

In this study, a three-stage bioaerosol sampler with a sampling flow rate of 170 L/min was designed and fabricated for sampling the bioaerosols released during human breathing and coughing, and its performance was evaluated. The sampler was constructed using a cyclone separator with a cutoff size of 2.5 µm as a preseparator, a multi-nozzle virtual impactor with a cutoff size of 0.34 µm as an aerosol concentrator, and a BioSampler, which is a commercial product, for collecting bioaerosols in a collection fluid. The collection efficiency of the sampler was evaluated through simulations and experiments. Only particles with sizes of 0.1-4 µm were selectively collected in the collection fluid. Bacteriophage bioaerosols were sampled using the developed sampler and ACD-200 Bobcat sampler, which is a commercial product. The amounts of collected bacteriophages were compared using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique. The sampling performance of the developed sampler was similar to that of the ACD-200 Bobcat sampler. Moreover, the developed sampler showed its ability to sample bioaerosols of a specific size-range and collect them directly in a collection fluid for the PCR analysis. Therefore, the developed sampler is expected to be useful for indoor environmental monitoring by effectively sampling the bioaerosols released indoors during human breathing and coughing.

Innovative Vibrating Hydraulic Dredge for Striped Venus (Chamelea gallina) Fishing

This work proposes the experimentation of an innovative hydraulic dredge for clam fishing (Chamelea gallina) in the Adriatic Sea (Italy). This innovative gear aimed at increasing the selectivity of the typical hydraulic dredge used currently, while at the same reducing the impact on benthos through the conception, installation, and experimentation of innovative technological solutions, consisting mainly of a vibrating bottom panel on the dredge and a “warning device” on the dredge mouth. Comparative experiments of the traditional vs. the modified gear, employing two boats fishing in parallel on the northern coast of Abruzzi (Adriatic Sea) and contrasting the catch with both paired comparisons and through modelling, showed that the innovative hydraulic dredge retains fewer undersize clams while yielding similar amounts of commercial product, moreover of higher quality; at the same time, it takes on board less discard, and catches significantly less vagile fauna. In short, the innovative gear is gaining five times over a list of six parameters considered as positive and/or advantageous for the clam fishery. The results allow proposals of potential improvements to clam-fishing instruments to make the selection processes more effective while promoting a lower impacting fishery, which is essential for clam management.

Commercial Product Returns

The increasing use of online shopping has escalated product returns and consequently the importance of their management. In parallel, the increasing scholarly interest on the subject is reflected in the number of publications. In such fast-growing research fields, mapping the whole research activity is useful in highlighting research areas that could provide a better knowledge accumulation in the field. With this aim, this chapter conducts co-citation and co-word analysis to identify future research directions. According to results, there is a need for future research to investigate 1) the consumer reaction when the service level received conflicts with the retailer environment (un)friendly operations, 2) the impacts of retailer return policies on their reverse logistics management, 3) the implementation difficulties of handling omni-channel returns in different organizational structures, and 4) the effectiveness of technological tools and applications used to avoid returns. This chapter also discusses the implications of COVID-19 on the commercial product returns research.

The use of the two different mycotoxin deactivators in the nutrition of dairy cows

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of two different commercial products for mycotoxin deactivation in the dairy cows’ nutrition. The research was done on the 18 dairy cows in the different phase of lactation, with the average production of 14 L of milk per day. The diet contained in average 8 kg of concentrate feed, 10 kg of mixed peas and wheat forage, 4 kg hay of alfalfa and cereal straw ad libitum. Before starting the trials all components of the cows’ ration were analysed for the presence of aflatoxin B1, while cow’s milk was analysed for the presence of aflatoxin M1. In the first phase of the trial cows were fed diet containing aflatoxin B1 at level of 5±0.9 µg/kg, which resulted in the average aflatoxin M1concentration of 181±3.5 ng/kg in the milk. In the second phase of the trail 0.5 % of the commercial product 1 (Neozel®) was added into the feed ration of cows and after the period of adaptation, the aflatoxin M1 concentration in milk was measured. In the third phase of the trail 0.3 % of the commercial product 2 (miko-Stop 0.3®) was added into the feed ration of cows and also, after the period of adaptation, the concentration of aflatoxin M1 in milk was measured. The last phase was the control phase in which cows were fed diets with aflatoxin B1 (5 µg/kg) without added mycotoxin deactivators. The use of both commercial products for ten days resulted in the reduction of aflatoxin M1 levels for 35.9 % and 53.6 %, respectively.

Eco-friendly surfactants in glyphosate formulation

Weeds affect various crops worldwide, causing low yields and, therefore, significant economic losses. These losses can be minimized by the use of herbicides such as glyphosate. However, the efficiency of glyphosate depends on the type of agrochemical formulations. The most widely used surfactant is polyethoxylated tallow amine. Nevertheless, the disadvantage of these compounds is that their toxicity is greater than that of glyphosate itself. Thus, this study aimed to develop an environmentally-friendly combination of surfactants that can increase the performance of glyphosate compared to other currently used formulations. Saponin (S) is environmentally friendly and has a unique ability to go through the waxy cuticle of the weed leaf. However, its interfacial properties are very poor. In contrast, the alkyl glucoside (AG) mixture has shown excellent interfacial properties, being an environmentally safe surfactant, but cannot pass through the cuticle. In the present study, we mixed both surfactants. Two formulations were made with 20% (F1) and 2% (F2) of S with 4% AG. To verify the usefulness of our formulations, they were compared against a commercial product. The results showed that the commercial product had better CMC 0.3±0.1% and pC20 1.155±0.099 than our formulations F1 and F2. Formulations F1 and F2 showed better gCMC than the commercial product 36.5±4.1 mN/m and 30.9±1.4 mN/m, respectively. Field tests showed that F2 was more effective than the commercial product in eliminating weeds at the end of the test at 30 days. Our results allowed confirming that the use of saponin improves the efficiency of glyphosate. The work showed that structures similar to cyclopentaneperhydrophenanthrene are very effective for introducing drugs into plants through the leaves. This is an advance in general and in particular for the increase of the yield in certain crops.

Cricket flour in a traditional beverage (chucula): emotions and perceptions of Colombian consumers

Incorporating sustainable raw materials into food has been a challenge in two correlated stages. Firstly, on the design and development of a product. Secondly, on how consumers accept it. This study aimed to evaluate the level of sensory acceptance and the emotional response of the addition of cricket flour (CR) to dried mixtures of different granulometry and solubility of chucula, which is a traditional hot beverage in Colombia. In addition, this chucula was assessed on granulometric distribution, solubility, water activity, and colour characteristics. The characteristics of chucula elaborated from commercial cereal and legumes flours with the addition of CR (ChFCr) were significantly different (P<0.05) with a higher value to the particle size of 150 μm. The addition of CR 4.6% w/w in the dried mixtures of chucula increases aw and decreases solubility. However, there are no significant differences in water absorption and colour. The chucula elaborated by the traditional method (ChTM) had an acceptance close to the chucula reference commercial product (75%), with a greater purchase intention. The addition of CR reduces the purchase intention by 8%. However, 74% of the panellists liked the chucula elaborated by the traditional method with CR (ChTMCr), which as a hot beverage, has a milky brown appearance, a cocoa smell, and a sweet and nutty flavour. Traditional chucula generated different emotions: traditional, joyful, warm, good-natured, pleased, energetic, and nostalgic. In comparison, the emotions related to the chucula with CR were adventurous, aggressive, enthusiastic. However, the neophobia results for these products were significantly different (P<0.05), being higher for the group of consumers older than 45 years, the values found to be less than 2.5 are indicators of an opportunity to incorporate CR in traditional products, as it is, in this case, a beverage.

An Evaluation of Dictyophora indusiata Mucilage as a Binder in Tablet Formulations

Dictyophora indusiata known as bamboo mushroom is an edible mushroom in Genus Dictyophora, Family Phallaceae that could produce highly viscous mucilage encased in the peridium. The viscous mucilage is clear-colorless hydrocolloid with high viscosity and high adhesive nature which made it possible to be developed into pharmaceutical excipients. This research work aimed at the application of the mucilage as a tablet binder. The mucilage was prepared as redispersible powder by lyphilization before used. The dried mucilage could be effectively used as a binder in paracetamol tablet formulations both as dry and wet binder. Increasing of the dried mucilage amount caused the stronger tablet with higher disintegration time. The optimum concentrations of the dried mucilage in tablet formulations were 2.0% w/w as dry binder and 1.0% w/w as wet binder. The obtained tablets revealed low friability and fast disintegration time. The drug dissolution was conformable to USP37 standard and comparable to that of commercial product. Accordingly, the Dictyophora indusiata mucilage could be functionally used as a tablet binder

Introduction

The introduction sets out the aims of the book—namely, to produce a cultural history of the phonograph in Spain, from the first notices about Edison’s invention in 1878, to the development of the music record as a commercial product and as a cultural artifact. It situates the book within existing research, arguing that telling the early history of recording technologies necessitates a context-sensitive approach that puts the focus on how local discourses, practices, and communities contributed to shaping these transnational technologies. It sets out the historical and political context in which the phonograph arrived to and developed in Spain, focusing on the political and cultural movement known as Regeneracionismo.