Lentils Beyond the Veil

On 15 July 1908 The Times advertised a talk on ‘personal experiences in spirit-photography and the scientific aspect of spiritualism’, due to take place that night at the Eustace Miles Restaurant. Attendees could look forward to not only ‘exhibitions of spirit writing’, but also to enjoying a ‘flesh-free’ meal afterwards. This entertainment speaks to confluence of spiritualist belief and vegetarian ideals that was played out elsewhere in societies, private seances and public demonstrations. Beyond a shared commitment to progressive causes, they held in common a belief in the purity of vegetable foods and the corrupting nature of flesh. Mediums were encouraged to avoid meat and disputes over the proper diet for believers raged through the movement’s periodicals. This article examines how the language of dietetics and the science of nutrition functioned in the séance, and what this reveals of the tricky negotiation of immateriality and corporality in spiritualist discourse.

Plant Volatiles of Lettuce and Chicory Cultivated in Aquaponics Are Associated to Their Microbial Community

In this work, an aquaponic cultivation system for Lactuca sativa (L.) and Chicorium intybus (L.) was compared to a hydroponic one, focusing on the main microbial populations related to food safety and their volatile compounds (VOCs), concluding with Spearman correlations among the microbes and VOCs. Different sections of both systems were sampled at the end of the commercial development of the plants. Plants cultivated in aquaponics were in general more contaminated than those from hydroponics, while for the cultivation waters a higher contamination of the hydroponics than aquaponics system was unexpectedly observed. Furthermore, the chicory exhibited higher levels of all microbial groups compared to lettuce grown under the same cultivation system. The results obtained also showed correlations between the distribution of some VOCs and microbial groups in the phyllosphere, while some examples of positive correlations between 2-nonanone (a positive phytostimulant compound) and anaerobic bacilli of the rhizosphere in lettuce were reported. So far, multivariate analysis of VOCs was able to discriminate on the basis of varieties but not on the cultivation systems. In conclusion, the microbial characteristics of the two ecosystems depended both on plant variety and cultivation method but further studies will need to deeply investigate the variables influencing the microbial quality of vegetable foods obtained by aquaponics. On the other hand, the analysis of the VOCs was more related to the microbial community of each plant variety considered, whatever the cultivation system. In precision agriculture, metabolomics may represent an opportunity to study the holobiome and through it the interactions between plants and their microbial populations, to possibly provide for a tool to assess the microbiological quality of vegetable foods obtained by aquaponic systems.

Classification of the Microstructural Elements of the Vegetal Tissue of the Pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo L.) Using Convolutional Neural Networks

Although knowledge of the microstructure of food of vegetal origin helps us to understand the behavior of food materials, the variability in the microstructural elements complicates this analysis. In this regard, the construction of learning models that represent the actual microstructures of the tissue is important to extract relevant information and advance in the comprehension of such behavior. Consequently, the objective of this research is to compare two machine learning techniques—Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) and Radial Basis Neural Networks (RBNN)—when used to enhance its microstructural analysis. Two main contributions can be highlighted from this research. First, a method is proposed to automatically analyze the microstructural elements of vegetal tissue; and second, a comparison was conducted to select a classifier to discriminate between tissue structures. For the comparison, a database of microstructural elements images was obtained from pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo L.) micrographs. Two classifiers were implemented using CNN and RBNN, and statistical performance metrics were computed using a 5-fold cross-validation scheme. This process was repeated one hundred times with a random selection of images in each repetition. The comparison showed that the classifiers based on CNN produced a better fit, obtaining F1–score average of 89.42% in front of 83.83% for RBNN. In this study, the performance of classifiers based on CNN was significantly higher compared to those based on RBNN in the discrimination of microstructural elements of vegetable foods.

Scientific validation of organic liquid formulation- Jeevamruth by studying its characteristics

Jeevamruth has its good role in vegetable foods in organic farming and Jeevamru this the fermented product which is used as plant growth enhancing substances prepared by the materials available with the farmers. They are the rich sources of beneficial microbial flora which supports, stimulates the plant growth and helps in getting better vegetative growth and also good quality yield. The prepared formulation was analysed in the GCMS to characterize the traditional formulations. The results revealed that various beneficial compounds were present in the formulations. The compounds present in the formulations are Isoenanthic acid, Columbianetin and Lomatin,1, 6-Hexanediol, Mevastatin and Gitoxigenin, Dibutoxy anthracine, Erioflorin and nagilactone, Trimegestonea, Rofe Coxib, Clupanodonic acid. The composition of jeevamurth has many scientific components which helps in the plant metabolism and also improves its growth.

Influence of simulated food and oral processing on carotenoid and chlorophyll in vitro bioaccessibility among six spinach genotypes

Increasing the density of micronutrients and bioactives in vegetable foods through plant breeding and processing is of value for consumers. However, the extent to which interactions between genetics and processing...

Culture And Community Partnership Approach to Making a Healthy Indonesian Society (GERMAS) With The Helix Method

GERMAS is a movement with the aim of improving people's healthy life and leaving unhealthy habits and behavior of society. One of the areas that become national priorities based on the Decree of the Minister of Villages for Disadvantaged Areas and Trans-Migration of the Republic of Indonesia Number 126 of 2017 concerning the determination of priority villages for village development targets, development of underdeveloped areas and transmigration, including the Village Assistance of Banjar Regency, South Kalimantan Problems in the health sector in Banjar Regency can be seen from the Health Profile Data for Banjar Regency in 2017 which shows the incidence of infectious and non-communicable diseases that are still experienced by many people in Banjar Regency such as ISPA, Hypertension, Rheumatism, Gastritis, Duodenitis, Diarrhea, Dermatitis and Pulmonary TB. One of the concepts that can be used in the implementation of the GERMAS action program is the concept of a partnership with an approach to religious figures, educational institutions, society, and the media. This study uses a quantitative descriptive-analytical design with a quantitative descriptive survey method with a random sampling technique. By using the instrument used in this study is a questionnaire sheet. Based on the research results obtained as follows: knowledge level as much as 53%, physical activity 70%, eating fruit and vegetable foods 75%, alcohol consumption 56%, health checks 15%, environmental hygiene 45%, using a latrine 23%, use of media as much as 80% and social activities as much as 80%. The results of this study hope that the people of Desa Pembantanan will implement a community movement for healthy living which includes 4 indicators, namely increasing knowledge, not drinking alcohol, environmental hygiene, and not using latrines, so that they can avoid health problems from non-communicable diseases.

Aflatoxins: A Brief Review of their Chemical Properties, Toxicological Effects and Control Measures

Aflatoxins are toxic secondary metabolites produced by the fungi of the genus Aspergillus. These substances cause food poisoning with clinical manifestations that vary according to the time of exposure and concentration of the dose ingested, representing a serious public health problem for compromising the food security, also causing considerable economic losses both in the production of stocked vegetable foods, as well as in the livestock contaminated with these substances through the feed. Therefore, this literature review aims to introduce some aspects related to the contamination of food by the fungi of the genus Aspergillus, the chemical and toxicological properties of the aflatoxins, as well as the strategies of control to avoid them in food.

Low-temperature cooking method "sous vide" in the restaurant industry: A review

The wide range of products, processing conditions, processing equipment, methods for assessing sensory and nutritional quality calls for a more holistic approach to when choosing the right food technology. The sensory quality of sous vide foods was the main factor which brought it to international attention. Today this new food service technology used by catering companies, restaurants and, increasingly, home cooks. Sous vide differs from traditional cooking methods in two fundamental ways: the raw food is vacuum-sealed in heat-stable, food-grade plastic pouches and the food is cooked using precisely-controlled heating. Sous vide cooking method it provides a high nutritional value, improved texture, and tenderness, maintains the juiciness as a result of low-temperature cooking, reduces lipid oxidation for an extended shelf life and prevents loss of volatile flavors and moisture during cooking because of vacuum packaging.This article summary reviews the basic techniques, changes in quality indicators of meat, fish and vegetable foods in regard to food safety, and science of sous vide cooking.