The study was conducted to assess consumers’ preference and willingness to pay for different pepper varieties in Osun State, Nigeria. The study used the major pepper types – Capsicum chinenses (Rodo), C. annum (Tatase), C. frutescens (Sombo) and C. pubescens (Bawa), being sold in the markets in Osun State, Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique was used to collect data from 100 respondents. The primary data collected were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The study showed that consumers mostly preferred and were willing to pay more for C. chinenses (Rodo) than any other types of pepper. Household size, primary occupation, total household income, availability and meal-making ability of pepper were the factors that influenced consumers’ preference for the different varieties of pepper while the willingness to pay for pepper varieties by consumers was influenced by affordability, availability, taste and thickness. The study recommends that since availability and affordability influenced preference and willingness to pay for pepper varieties, policies should be aimed at increasing farmers’ production as this will ensure that pepper is readily available and affordable for consumers.

Land consolidation is a powerful and effective tool in solving the fragmentation problem of agricultural lands to form a larger, more rational and efficient land for the farmers. The benefits of land consolidation projects are providing access to parcels, efficient use of water resources, real location of parcels, and reducing the costs of irrigation and drainage projects. Although not sufficiently successful, the land consolidation projects in Turkey had been initiated in 1961. This study was aimed to measure and assess the knowledge, expectation and attitudes of farmers on the land consolidation project planned to be implemented for some villages in Artova District of Tokat Province, Turkey. The study was carried out in Taşpınar and Aşağı Güçlü villages which were included in the consolidation program. In these villages, 62 farmers were selected by proportional sampling method out of 175 producers registered in the Farmer Registration System (FRS) and, face to face questionnaires were carried out with them. The results indicated that the producers support the project primarily due to the convenience in irrigation and increasing the efficiency of mechanization. Chi-square analysis revealed that the problems caused by disadvantages of fragmented land structure, importance of land integrity and the experience on a previous consolidation project area are important for the producers supporting the land consolidation project.

Salmonella is known as one of the main factors of food-borne gastroenteritis, and with this feature, it poses a great risk in terms of public health and economic losses. It is estimated that of the approximately 94 million cases of salmonellosis occurring in the world each year (about 85 percent of these are food-borne), an average of 150,000 result in death. Current social trends highlight the important health benefits of fresh produce in our daily diet. As an irony; Uncooked consumption of fresh herbal products is increasingly identified as a source of transmission for pathogens of intestinal origin, and epidemics occurring in this way are spreading rapidly. Today, the frequency of anthropogenic pathogen outbreaks associated with fresh produce, spices, and nuts has surpassed those associated with foods of animal origin. Human pathogens in the production chain; It can be transferred to plant material by basic means such as the use of animal manure, contaminated irrigation water, biological vectors (insects and animals) and contaminated seeds. In the light of these data, many intestinal pathogens have been identified as phyllo sphere-associated bacteria. Despite all these findings, there are many unknowns on the persistence and infectivity of Salmonella in contaminated plant hosts. In this review article, the factors affecting the attachment, colonization and survival of Salmonella on plant surfaces, as well as the information on the infection processes that continue with the invasion of plant tissues are discussed in the light of contemporary literature data.

The study aims at determining the physicochemical, proximate composition and the total viable count of Staphylococcus aureus in ‘Nono’ and yoghurt samples in Kaduna, Nigeria.Three hundred and eighty-four (384) fermented milk samples (Nono and yoghurt) were obtained from different selling points and were evaluated for the occurrence of S. aureus. The physicochemical and proximate analyses (pH, total titratable acidity, moisture content, ash content, protein content, and fat content) were determined. The results of the analyses showed that Nono had pH range of 3.56-3.61, total titratable acidity: 0.71-1.72, moisture content: 82.23-83.87%, ash content: 0.30-0.31%, crude protein content: 1.50-1.61%, crude fat content: 0.35-0.38 %. For yoghurt, the pH ranged from 3.76 -3.82, total titratable acidity: 1.10 -1.15, moisture content: 77.76-80.06%, ash content: 0.68- 0.70%, crude protein content: 3.40-3.45% and crude fat content: 1.76-1.79% from all the study areas. One hundred and four of the total samples were contaminated with S. aureus. Out of the 104 isolates of S. aureus that were isolated and identified, 88 were coagulase positive S.aureus. The Microgen Staph ID kit (Oxoid) was used to further confirm the characteristics of the 60 isolates of the coagulase positive S. aureus. The kit confirmed 43 isolates as S. aureus, the results indicated the presence of S. aureus in the milk samples which is of public health importance, as this can contribute to food-borne intoxication which can lead to food poisoning. There is a need for proper pasteurisation of raw milk to help eradicate S. aureus infection before human consumption.

Disasters adversely affect human life. Many people face sheltering problems after disasters. Temporary shelter areas are very important in terms of meeting people's post-disaster sheltering needs. In this study, it was aimed to determine temporary shelter areas in the city center of Burdur. The AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) method was used to determine temporary shelter areas. According to certain criteria and spatial standards, six temporary shelter areas were determined in the city center of Burdur, and their adequacy was tested. Temporary shelters are located in urban open and green lands. Temporary shelter areas determined under today's conditions are adequate. However, it is predicted that temporary shelter areas will be inadequate in the upcoming process. Some recommendations were made about the problems and the path to be followed in the upcoming process. These recommendations will be useful for the post-disaster process.

In this study, it was investigated the total amounts of phenolic and flavonoid substances and antioxidant activities in different solvent extracts of Lonicera iberica M. Bieb. wild fruit. Total phenolic contents of the extracts were determined as equivalent to gallic acid using Folin-Ciocalteu reagent, and total flavonoid contents as equivalent to quercetin by aluminium nitrate method. In addition, the antioxidant properties of the extracts were determined using free radical scavenging (DPPH) and reducing power (FRAP) methods. The amount of total phenolic substance of L. iberica fruits in hexane and methanol extracts was calculated as 30.96 ± 0.67 mg of GAE / g and 23.70 ± 1.56 mg of GAE / g, respectively. In addition, the amount of total flavonoid substance was calculated as 46.50 ± 8.54 mg of QE / g and 42.09 ± 2.58 mg of QE / g, respectively. It was determined that DPPH radical scavenging activity correlated with total phenolic and flavonoid amount of substance, and L. iberica had a strong antioxidant effect. It is predicted that our study will shed light on new researches, since it is the first study done with L. Iberica fruits in this field.

Many people in different parts of the world benefit from alternative medicine in the treatment and prevention of diseases. Plants are among the important natural materials used in alternative medicine. In this study, the antioxidant and antimicrobial potential of Datura stramonium L. was determined. Ethanol extracts of the plant's flower parts were obtained in the soxhlet device. The antioxidant and oxidant potential of the plant extract was determined using Rel Assay TAS and TOS kits. Antimicrobial activity was tested by the agar dilution method. The TAS value of the plant extract was 7.559±0.224 mmol/L, the TOS value was 10.711±0.243 μmol/L, and the OSI value was 0.142±0.002. It was determined that the plant extract was effective against bacteria and fungus strains at 100-400 μg/mL concentration. As a result, it was determined in our study that D. stramonium can be a natural antioxidant and antimicrobial source.

Son yıllarda gıda kaynakları dünya nüfusu ve ekolojik problemlerin artışına bağlı olarak büyük bir hızla tükenmektedir. Bu nedenle gıdaların üretilmesi kadar korunması ve dayanıklılığının geliştirilmesi de büyük önem taşımaktadır. Özellikle et ve balık ürünleri hassas gıdalar olduklarından uygun olmayan depolama koşulları altında çok çabuk bozulabilmektedir. Taze veya işlenmiş et ve balık ürünlerinde, depolama süresince biyokimyasal ve mikrobiyal bozulmaların bir sonucu olarak çeşitli kalite kayıpları meydana gelebilmektedir. Et ve balık ürünlerinde arzu edilen duyusal özelliklerin korunması, biyolojik, kimyasal ve mikrobiyolojik bozulmaların geciktirilmesi amacıyla kullanılan ambalajlama yöntemleri arasında ilgi çekici bir yaklaşım olarak yenilebilir film ve kaplama uygulamaları dikkat çekmektedir. Protein, lipit veya polisakkarit gibi doğal kaynaklardan elde edilen, çevre dostu ve biyolojik olarak parçalanabilir materyallerin kullanıldığı yenilebilir film ve kaplamalar düşük maliyetli ve kolay uygulanabilir olması nedeniyle ön plana çıkmaktadır. Ayrıca yenilebilir film ve kaplamalar antimikrobiyaller, antioksidanlar ve lezzet arttırıcı maddeler gibi aktif bileşenler için taşıyıcı olarak hareket edebilmektedir. Aktif bileşenleri içeren yenilebilir film ve kaplamalar, et ve balık ürünlerinin muhafaza edilmesi için uygundur. Söz konusu ambalajlama yöntemi nem kaybını engelleyerek, mikrobiyolojik bozulmaları geciktirerek ve patojen mikroorganizmaların üremesini kısıtlayarak, lipit, protein ve pigment oksidasyonunu yavaşlatarak ve ürünlerin duyusal özellikler açısından kabul edilebilirliğini uzatarak et ve balık ürünlerinin depolama süresini uzatmayı hedeflemektedir. Bu derlemede aktif bileşenler ile zenginleştirilmiş yenilebilir film ve kaplamaların et, balık ve türev ürünlerine uygulanması ve depolama süresince bu ürünlerde meydana gelebilecek mikrobiyal ve oksidatif bozulmalara ve duyusal kalite kayıplarına karşı gösterdiği koruyucu etki hakkında bilgi verilmiştir.

Green tea obtained from the leaves of Camellia sinensis (L.) Kuntze having potential health benefits. It contains significant amounts of antioxidant and is considered as world healthiest drink. Polyphenols in tea are thought to exhibits anti-carcinogenic and anti-inflammatory effects. Green tea catechins acts as immune modulators in immune dysfunction and also play a role in protection from degenerative diseases. Intake of green tea catechins suppress high fat diet induced obesity, prevent lipid and glucose metabolism disorders and reduce risk of coronary heart disease. Green tea constituent epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) is a potential antioxidant that shows protective effects against photo toxicity and photo carcinogenesis. In vitro animal experiments have suggested that polyphenols in green tea protect from lung cancer by their antioxidant and antimutagenic properties. This study chiefly highlights the convenience of green tea on health and propagates its further prospects.

Licorice, also known as the root of Glycyrrhiza glabra, has been used for many years in traditional medicine to treat various diseases. Licorice root has remarkable pharmacological properties and these biological effects are predominantly attributed to its content of polyphenols and flavonoids. The aim of this study was to determine the proliferative effect of licorice root extract on human osteoblast cells. The study groups were exposed to various concentrations of licorice root extract on 31.25, 62.5, 250, 500, 1000 μg/mL for 24, and 48 h. The proliferative effect of the extract on human osteoblast cells was assessed using the MTT assay. After 24 and 48 h, cell proliferation of groups treated were increased statistically significant compared to the control cells, and also all concentrations showing no cytotoxic effects on osteoblast cells. Phytomedical applications of licorice root may represent a promising approach in the treatment of periodontal regeneration and osteoporosis.