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Purpose – In this study, the possibility of the application of rice husks for adsorbing Mn(II) ion in the water phase has been studied.

Design/Methodology/Approach – Experimental studies have been initiated by preparing activated carbon from rice husks. The activation of rice husks was done using both physical and chemical treatment methods through heating at 110 °C and washing with citric acid activator at 0.2 M, 0.4 M, and 0.6 M. The adsorption tests were conducted as two part tests: preliminary and primary. The preliminary test was conducted to choose the best condition of four independent variables, i.e., contact time (0–120 minutes), activator concentrations (0.2, 0.4, and 0.6 M), initial Mn(II) concentrations (10, 20, 50, 100, 200, and 400 mg/L), and adsorption temperatures (30, 47, and 67 °C).

Findings – By identifying the substituted groups using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy after activation with citric acid, it was found that the highest transmittance percentage was present in activated carbon with 0.2 M of citric acid. The best adsorption capacity and efficiency was 13.87 mg/g and 79.60%, respectively, which were obtained at 200 mg/L initial concentration with a 0.2 M citric acid concentration for 120 min contact time at 47 °C. These results lead to a conclusion that rice husks after activation with citric acid can be applied as an adsorbent for Mn(II) adsorption in the water phase.

Research Limitations/Implications – The activated carbon produced was only applicable for the adsorption of Mn(II) ions from the water phase, but not applicable for the adsorption of other heavy metals ions.

Practical Implications – Rice husks were potentially prepared as an adsorbent for Mn(II) ion adsorption in the water phase that was low cost, environmental friendly, and easy to prepare.

Originality/Value – Activated carbon prepared from biomass was mostly carried out using acids at high concentrations while the study was conducted using weak acids (citric acid) at low concentrations.

Demand for dietary fibre-enriched and low sugar bakery products is increasing rapidly due to current high incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Overripe banana has been discarded due to its low quality and appearance. However, overripe banana exhibits rich sources of natural sweetener and dietary fibre which could potentially be used as a novel food ingredient in bakery product. Thus, the study aims to determine the nutritional properties, sensory acceptability and glycaemic index (GI) value of chocolate cookies formulated with overripe banana sweetener (OBS) as partial replacement (10, 15 and 20%) for table sugar and utilization of overripe banana residue (OBR) as partial replacement (8%) for wheat flour.

Nutritional composition was analysed using AOAC methods and sensory acceptability using 7-point hedonic scaling method. In Vivo GI determination was continued according to FAO/WHO method.

Incorporation of OBR and OBS significantly (p < 0.05) increased nutritional values of chocolate cookies. Chocolate cookies formulated with 8% OBR +20% OBS recorded the highest TDF (7.80%) and ash (1.47%) content. Sucrose content of chocolate cookies was reduced significantly with increasing level of OBS. Sensory scores for control and 8% OBR-incorporated cookie were not significant difference for all the sensory attributes. Moreover, incorporation of OBS up to 15% produced higher scores in term of aroma, flavour and overall acceptance. Three formulations of chocolate cookies (control, 8% OBR and 8% OBR +15% OBS) were selected for GI testing and recorded GI values of 63, 56 and 50, respectively.

Overripe banana can be used as a food ingredient in developing high fibre and low-GI cookie.

Crops are increasingly affected by drought; hence, the current study explored the potential role of three desert endophytic fungi, Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus terreus and Talaromyces variabilis, in conferring drought tolerance in tomato plants.

Preserved endophytic fungi from a Rhazya stricta desert plant were adopted to obtain the required fungal treatment; tomatoes received fungal treatments directly in plastic trays and subsequently in pots. Drought was applied using 15% of PEG-6000 at two stages: flowering and fruiting. The following parameters were measured: pollen sterility, growth characteristics, morphological analysis and biochemical analysis, including proline, gibberellic acid (GA3) and chlorophyll measurements; thus, the data were analyzed statistically using SPSS software.

All applied endophytes significantly promoted pollen viability and tomato yield under stressed and nonstressed conditions. Interestingly, these endophytes significantly enhanced the number of trichomes under drought stress and promoted tomato fruit quality. The colonized tomato plants accumulated a high proline level under drought stress but lower than un-inoculated stressed plants. Also, a significant rise in growth characteristics was observed by A. fumigatus and A. terreus under normal conditions. Moreover, both raised GA3 levels under drought-stressed and nonstressed conditions. Also these two endophytes enhanced chlorophyll and carotenoid contents under drought stress. Fruit characteristics were enhanced by nonstressed T. variabilis and stressed A. fumigatus.

The present endophytic fungi provide impressive benefits to their host in normal and drought-stressed conditions. Consequently, they represent valuable sources as sustainable and environmentally friendly alternatives to mitigate drought stress.

Several factors may play critical roles in alterations to product quality during storage of hog plum juice. This study aims to evaluate variations to physicochemical, antioxidant, anti-nutritional properties and microbial stability of hog plum juice during storage.

Juice was produced from hog plum fruits and stored for eight weeks at refrigerated and ambient conditions. Physicochemical, antioxidant properties, antinutritional factors and microbial properties of juices were determined using standard procedures

Degradation of ascorbic acid was higher in juices stored at ambient conditions (64.4%) compared to those stored by refrigeration (44.4%). Trends were similar for total phenolic, total flavonoid and total carotenoid contents. Total phenolic, total carotenoid and lycopene contents of fresh juice were 3.9 mg GAE/mL, 4.0 mg/mL and 1.3 mg/mL, which were not significantly different (at p = 0.08, 0.07 and 0.08, respectively) from the values at two weeks of storage at refrigerated conditions (3.9 mg GAE/mL, 3.9 mg/mL and 1.3 mg/mL). A sharp decrease of more than 40% (p = 0.02) in lycopene was recorded after four weeks, irrespective of storage temperature. Pasteurized hog plum juice showed no microbial growth until after four weeks of refrigerated storage when 1 CFU/mL each of bacterial and fungal growth were recorded. The juices, however, showed higher susceptibility to fungal growth as storage period increased.

Other variables not considered in this study such as nature of packaging materials may have significantly contributed to the observed data set. Further studies may, therefore, widen the scope of discussion to evaluate the associated relationship of these variables. Hog plum juice retained a considerable amount of bioactive components during refrigerated storage, which makes it a viable nutraceutical drink with industrial potentials and possible positive health implications for consumers.

This study provides new information that support the possible classification and use of hog plum juice as a safe functional beverage for human consumption.

Although the effect of storage temperature was significant in most of the properties studied, storage duration seems to have a greater influence on the stability of quality parameters during the storage of hog plum juice.

The purpose of this article is to investigate on changes of the microbial load and the chemical and physical properties of date fruits stored for 6 months under two different temperatures.

A composite sample of 100 kg date fruits from the Khalas variety, season 2019, was collected from the local market in Al Ahsa Province, Saudi Arabia, packaged in 1 kg lots, stored at room and refrigerator temperatures and the microbial contamination and the chemical and physical properties monitored over a period of six months of storage. Total bacteria, lactic acid bacteria, Enterobacteriaceae, yeasts and molds were counted and representatives of yeast and mold contaminants were identified using morphological, physiological and molecular typing techniques. Changes in the color and texture of the samples were also monitored during storage.

The yeasts detected were two strains of each of Lachancea thermotolerans and Rhodosporidiobolus fluvialis and one strain of Cystofilobasidium lacus-mascardii. For molds, one strain of each of Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus, Penicillium chrysogenum and Aspergillus caespitosus have been detected. No significant growth of these microorganisms was observed, but enough load persisted during storage that makes the samples not meeting the microbiological standards. There were significant changes in the color and texture of the fruits during storage.

These findings add important information that can help producers and processors to improve quality and promote marketing of date fruits, especially to international markets.

This paper aims to use the advertisements of three major brands – Chymol, Formamint and Lifebuoy Soap – to examine how advertisers responded to the 1918–1919 influenza pandemic in Great Britain influenza pandemic. It looks particularly at the ways in which marketing strategies changed and how these strategies were enacted in the lexical and semiotic choices (e.g. language, image, colour, typography, texture, materiality, composition and layout) of advertisements.

A total of 120 advertisements for the three brands were collected from the British Newspaper Archive and analysed using the theory and analytical tools of multimodal critical discourse analysis. The general themes and semiotic structures of the advertisements were identified, with the aim of deconstructing the meaning potentials of verbal and visual resources used to convey ideas about the pandemic, and how they work to shape public understanding of the products and make them appear as effective and credible.

Each brand rapidly changed their marketing strategy in response to the influenza pandemic, using such techniques as testimonials, hyperbole, scaremongering and pseudoscientific claims to persuade consumers that their products offered protection. Whilst these strategies may appear manipulative, they also had the function of fostering reassurance and sympathy amongst the general public in a moment of turmoil, indicating the important role of brands in building consumer trust and promoting a sense of authority in early twentieth-century Britain.

Exploring the way in which advertisers responded to the 1918‐1919 influenza pandemic reminds us of the challenges of distinguishing legitimate and illegitimate medical advice in a fast-moving pandemic and highlights the need to cast a critical eye to the public health information, particularly when it comes from unofficial sources with vested interests.