Lipid Profiles in Preliminary Germinated Brown Rice Beverages Compared to Non-Germinated Brown and White Rice Beverages

Brown rice is nutritionally superior to white rice, yet oil rancidity can be problematic during processing and storage regarding sensory attributes. Germinating brown rice is known to generally increase some health-promoting compounds. In response to increasing the consumption of plant-based beverages, we sprouted unstabilized brown rice, using green technologies and saccharification enzymes for value-added beverages. ‘Rondo’ paddy rice was dehulled, sorted and germinated, and beverages were produced and compared against non-germinated brown and white brewers rice beverages. The preliminary germinated brown rice beverage contained significantly higher concentrations of total lipids, diacylglycerols, triacylglycerols, free sterols, phytosterol esters and oryzanols than both non-germinated brown and white rice beverages. White rice beverages had significantly higher free fatty acids. Significant lipid losses occurred during sieving, yet novel germinated brown rice beverages contained appreciable levels of valuable health-beneficial lipids, which appeared to form natural emulsions. Further pilot plant investigations should be scaled-up for pasteurization and adjusted through emulsification to ameliorate sieving losses.

Livestock Feed Processing and Storage Mechanizims in Bench Maji, Sheka Ad Kaffa Zones, South West Ethiopia

This study was conducted in Kaffa, Bench Maji and Sheka zones with the objective of assessing livestock feed processing and storage mechanisms in South West Ethiopia. Purposive sampling technique was used to select study districts based on livestock population, accessibility and availability of feed resources. A total of 384 households having a minimum one hectare of land and livestock were randomly selected for interview. The mean total number of cattle in the study area was 8.48+6.79 per households. Majority of the respondents could not practice livestock feed processing and storage mechanisms in dry and wet season in the study area. The bases for feed provision for livestock in the study area were production level, work load and availability of feed ingredients. Different plants parts were used for livestock to increase milk yield, to improve growth rate and to treat diseases. Livestock production was lowest in dry season due to lack of feed shortage in the dry season. Due to this conclusion, government office should give training how to process and store feeds for dry season.

Methods for determining color characteristics of vegetable raw materials. A review

Food product quality defines a complex of food product properties such size, shape, texture, color and others, and determines acceptability of these products for consumers. It is possible to detect defects in plant raw materials by color and classify them by color characteristics, texture, shape, a degree of maturity and so on. Currently, the work on modernization of color control systems has been carried out for rapid and objective measuring information about color of plant raw materials during their harvesting, processing and storage. The aim of the work is to analyze existing methods for determining color characteristics of plant raw materials described in foreign and domestic studies. Also, this paper presents the results of the experimental studies that describe the practical use of methods for measuring food product color. At present, the following methods for determining color characteristics by the sensor analysis principle are used: sensory, spectrophotometric and photometric. These methods have several disadvantages. Therefore, computer vision has found wide application as an automated method for food control. It is distinguished by high confidence and reliability in the process of determining freshness, safety, a degree of maturity and other parameters of plant raw materials that are heterogeneous in terms of the abovementioned indicators. The computer vision method is realized in the following systems: conventional, hyperspectral and multispectral. Each subsequent system is a component of the preceding one. Materials presented in the paper allow making a conclusion about the effectiveness of the computer vision systems with the aim of automatic sorting and determining quality of plant raw materials in the food industry.

Investments in the Sustainable Development of the Potato Sector in Ukraine Based on the Optimal Balance of Production and Consumption

Growing role of potato farming in food security system of the country needs attracting the new investment in preserving and process restructuring of the sector, at scientifically proven approach to defining the optimal scope of potato production, processing, and storage – to avoid the extra stocks, unnecessary losses, and inefficient investment resources at any stage of agri-food chain. Purpose of the study is to justify the conceptual model of investing in development of Ukrainian potato sector, based on calculated optimal structure of balance between potato production and consumption, as well as the effective combination of fresh and processed products, to ensure competitive parameters of potato market in actual market environment. Object of the study is forming and increasing the added value in agri-food chain, due to optimal parameters of balance between potato production and consumption. The study methodology is based on system analysis laws, which allow justifying the competitive parameters of Ukrainian potato sector in varying economic space, thus reducing the unnecessary loss in “producing-processing-transporting-sale-consumption” chain. Use of developed optimization model for potato production/consumption balance, by minimizing the potato residues at the end of year, revealed the extra stock (2.4 million tons) in early 2020, which was unbalanced with consumer demand. Due to inefficient distribution of gross potato yield in Ukraine, conclusion was made on need to reduce investment in overproduction (17.5%) and direct the major investment flows in potato processing industry, increase the export potential, and expand the foreign market boundaries for Ukrainian potato products, semi-finished and fresh products, at ensuring the relevant quality. In this view, authors proposed a conceptual investment model for potato sector of Ukraine, based on optimal balance of potato production and consumption till 2027, which ensures achieving the strategic result in terms of global competition.

Lack of ZnT8 protects pancreatic islets from hypoxia- and cytokine induced cell death

Pancreatic β-cells depend on the well-balanced regulation of cytosolic zinc concentrations, providing sufficient zinc ions for the processing and storage of insulin, but avoiding toxic effects. The zinc transporter ZnT8, encoded by SLC30A8, is a key player regarding islet cell zinc homeostasis, and polymorphisms in this gene are associated with altered type 2 diabetes susceptibility in man. The objective of this study was to investigate the role of ZnT8 and zinc in situations of cellular stress as hypoxia or inflammation. Isolated islets of wild-type and global ZnT8-/- mice were exposed to hypoxia or cytokines and cell death was measured. To explore the role of changing intracellular Zn2+ concentrations, wild-type islets were exposed to different zinc concentrations using zinc chloride or the zinc chelator N,N,N′,N′-tetrakis(2-pyridinylmethyl)-1,2-ethanediamine (TPEN). Hypoxia or cytokine (TNFα, IFNγ, IL1β) treatment induced islet cell death, but to a lesser extent in islets from ZnT8-/- mice, which were shown to have a reduced zinc content. Similarly, chelation of zinc with TPEN reduced cell death in wild-type islets treated with hypoxia or cytokines, whereas increased zinc concentrations aggravated the effects of these stressors. This study demonstrates a reduced rate of cell death in islets from ZnT8-/- mice as compared to wild-type islets when exposed to two distinct cellular stressors, hypoxia or cytotoxic cytokines. This protection from cell death is, in part, mediated by a reduced zinc content in islet cells of ZnT8-/- mice. These findings may be relevant for altered diabetes burden in carriers of risk SLC30A8 alleles in man.

Visual Data Analysis Technology Based on Data Center

Today, people are in an information explosion society, and visualization technology(VT) is an inevitable product of the development of the information society. With the emergence of multimedia products such as computers, networks, and communications, humans are paying more and more attention to data processing. Many countries in the world have already begun research in this area and have achieved remarkable results. VT is a core part of data analysis, also known as information processing and storage technology. It has a very extensive and important application in the field of data management. However, because the key information hidden in the data is often immersed in the massive data, it is necessary to filter the data information efficiently, and the visualization data analysis technology is a crucial part. This article adopts the experimental analysis method, which aims to provide a new method to solve the problems of traditional technology and the challenges that may arise in the future by further understanding the existing visual data analysis technology and development trend. According to the research results, the recognition rate of the optimized color visualization features under different classifiers is higher than that of the original emotional features. It can be seen that visual analysis technology is not limited to data sets with physical meaning, but can also be applied to abstract feature sets such as emotional features.

Production and Marketing Problems Faced by Dry Grape Producers of Karnataka

The study was an “ex post-facto” research carried out in Vijayapura district of KarnatakaState during the year 2020-21. Two taluks were purposively selected based on the highestproduction of dry grapes to make a sample size of 200. The collected problems wereanalyzed using Garret’s ranking methodology to develop a quantitative position of eachproblem. The findings showed that dry grape producers faced production and marketingproblems more severely. Among the production problems, heavy investment on inputs,no standard package of practices available from agriculture or horticulture universities andhigh rate of interest were prominent. Similarly, in the case of marketing problems, no localmarket and lack of processing and storage units were ranked at top. There is an immediateneed to improve various marketing practices by developing a strategy in order to overcomethese impediments which will enhance the entrepreneurial access of the dry grape producers.

Review of Research on Physical and Mechanical Properties and Engineering Application of Metal Tailings

Processing and storage requirements for metal residues are becoming stricter to achieve the carbon neutralization target. The physical and mechanical properties of tailings affect the stability of tailing dams. Metal tailings can be used as secondary resources, and it is easy to pollute the environment under poorly managed conditions. Therefore, it is necessary and urgent to reuse these deposits such as iron tailings, copper tailings, zinc tailings et al. This article discusses the current research on the mechanical properties of metal tailings and its engineering application. Based on previous research, it is pointed out that there still needs more attention on the mechanical properties of metal tailing sands, especially under different conditions like dry-wet, freeze-thaw, dynamic loads and large-scale application. In the future, research on the filling of metal tailings as roadbed and new building materials will be one of the directions to solve the problem of tailing pond accumulation.