Land use planning decisions using multi-criteria analysis: The case of the master plan for the western part of the coastal zone of Thessaloniki, Greece

Land use planning decisions involve tackling complex problems and confronting multiple interests. A variety of factors and criteria need to be considered when planning for intricate and multifaceted environments, such as physical, social, economic, environmental, institutional etc. These factors which interact with each other, either in a complementary or conflicting way, cannot always be easily integrated into the decision-making process. Quantitative approaches such as Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) techniques combined with GIS have been developed to conduct land suitability analysis and to support decision-making.Drawing on a completed project within the IPA Cross-Border Programme ‘Greece – the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 2007-2013’ titled “Soil degradation assessment and rehabilitation strategies for sustainable land use planning“ (acronym TERRAMED), the paper presents the application of the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), developed by Thomas L. Saaty in the 1970s, to produce decision maps in order to define the suitability of future land uses in the western part of the coastal zone of Thessaloniki in Greece. The analyses and scenarios produced constituted the basis for the formulation of specific strategies and actions, within the broader process of developing a master plan for this particular area.The paper stresses the importance of MCDM methods in providing a rational framework for making consistent land use planning decisions, being able to improve the transparency of the planning processes and to contribute to consensus building on policies and actions

Milk oligosaccharides: a review

Milk oligosaccharides (OSs) confer unique health benefits to the neonate. Although human digestive enzymes cannot degrade these sugars, they support specific commensal microbes and act as decoys to prevent the adhesion of pathogenic micro-organisms to gastrointestinal cells. The limited availability of human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) impedes research into these molecules and their potential applications in functional food formulations. Recent studies show that complex OSs with fucose and N-acetyl neuraminic acid (key structural elements of HMO bioactivity) also exist in caprine milk, suggesting a potential source of bioactive milk OSs suitable as a functional food ingredient

Sugar beet leaves: from biorefinery to techno-functionality

Sugar beet leaves (SBL), which are a side stream of the sugar beets cultivation, are currently left unexploited after sugar beets have been harvested. The general aim of this thesis was to study the biorefinery of SBL, with a special focus on the isolation of proteins. To reach this aim the research was divided into three sub-aims: 1) to determine whether there is variability in the chemical composition of the leaves due to pre-harvest conditions (plant age), 2) to evaluate the variability of the techno-functionality of leaf soluble protein concentrate (LSPC) due to system conditions and 3) to extend current product and process synthesis approaches to enable the design of biorefining process. To address the first aim, SBL collected at different time points were used. Despite a small variation in the chemical composition of the leaves of different plant ages, a large effect of the plant age on the quality of LSPC was observed. In particular, LSPC from old plants was brown (indicative of polyphenol oxidase - PPO - activity), whereas LSPC from young plants was yellow. Based on these data, samples extracted with sodium disulfite (to inhibit PPO-mediated browning) were used for further experiments. The obtained LSPC consisted mainly of protein (69.3% w/w db (N∙5.23)) and carbohydrates (5.1% w/w db; half of which was charged carbohydrates). The main protein present in LSPC was Rubisco. The emulsion and foam properties of LSPC were studied as a function of protein concentration (Cp), pH and ionic strength (I). The minimal Cp of LSPC needed to form a stable emulsion (Ccr) was comparable to that of other widely used plant proteins, such as soy protein isolate. A critical ζ-potential (ζcr ~ 11 mV) was identified, below which flocculation occurs. At pH 8.0 and high I (0.5 M) the Ccr was higher than at low I (0.01 M), which relates to a higher protein adsorbed amount at the interface (Γmax). The foam ability (FA) of LSPC increased with Cp at all conditions tested. The FA was related to the soluble and not to the total Cp in the bulk. Interestingly, the minimal Cp; i.e.CcrFA needed to reach highest FA was constant as a function of pH. At high I (0.5 M) LSPC had higher FA than at low I (0.01 M), which was related to the faster adsorption of proteins at the interface. A minimum Cp was required to form stable foams. At pH 3.0 and 5.0 the foam stability of LSPC was higher than at pH 8.0. This was postulated to be due to formation of aggregates (between proteins or between proteins and charged carbohydrates). From these data it was shown that the techno-functional properties of LSPC could be linked to the molecular and interfacial properties of the dominant proteins in the concentrates. Thus, predictions for the techno-functional properties of impure systems, such as LSPC, can be made using only the known molecular properties of the dominant proteins and a small set of experiments. The knowledge acquired through the previous studies was used to adapt an existing methodology; namely the product-driven-process synthesis (PDPS) methodology, to extend its use in biorefinery. The adapted PDPS contained 4 novel steps, which facilitated its use in biorefinery. To illustrate how this new approach can be used in practice, a case study of a sugar beet leaves biorefinery was presented.</p

OLIGOSACCHARIDES IN GOAT MILK: STRUCTURE, HEALTH EFFECTS AND ISOLATION

Oligosaccharides have been widely recognized for their prebiotic and anti-infective properties. Among the different types of mammalian milk, the one of humans is the richest source of naturally derived oligosaccharides. However, their use as a basis for functional foods is hampered, due to their structural complexity, which in turn makes their re-synthesis extremely difficult. Thus, oligosaccharides from other sources have to be used. In this sense, goat milk constitutes a very appealing candidate, as it contains the highest amount of oligosaccharides among domestic animals, while goat milk oligosaccharides show significant similarities to human milk oligosaccharides from a structural point of view. Studies on goat milk oligosaccharides are scant, and more data is required in order to provide solid clinical evidence of their beneficial effects on humans. The aim of this review is to collect and present the main research findings on goat milk oligosaccharides structure, health effects and isolation

Using product driven process synthesis in the biorefinery

In this work, we propose the use of the product-driven process synthesis (PDPS) methodology for the product and process design stage in biorefinery. The aim of the biorefinery is to optimize the total use of the whole feedstock – with focus being on various products simultaneously – rather than to maximize the extraction yield of one single product. The challenge is therefore two-fold; first to identify the main compounds of interest, i.e. the products of the biorefinery, and second to design a process scheme that will allow for an optimal quantity and quality of the identified compounds. To illustrate how PDPS can be used in biorefinery a case study based on sugar beet leaves is described. The identification of the main compounds of interest is based on the functionalities that they can deliver in the final applications, rather than on their quantities in the feedstock. To design the process scheme for the extraction of the selected compounds, task networks, currently used for the extraction of the individual compounds of interest, are used after adaptations. These adaptations are done on the basis of the qualitative and/or quantitative changes that certain tasks – used for the extraction of one compound – may cause on another compound of interest. By using the sugar beet leaves biorefinery case, we show that the PDPS methodology can be a useful tool for structured decision making during the product and process design stage in biorefinery

Towards predicting the emulsion properties of plant protein extracts from sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) leaf and soybean (Glycine max)

To apply (novel) proteins such as sugar beet leaf proteins (LSPC) as emulsifier their emulsion properties need to be tested over a wide range of conditions, which is impractical. Recently, a model was proposed to predict the efficiency of proteins to form and stabilize an emulsion -based on the protein molecular properties (e.g. size, charge) and system parameters-. In this model, the critical protein concentration (Ccr), to prevent coalescence during emulsion formation and flocculation induced by changes in system conditions, is the key descriptor. This study investigates whether the model, developed for single protein systems, can be applied to more complex systems containing multiple proteins, i.e. LSPC and soy protein isolate (SPI). Despite the complexity of LSPC and SPI, Ccr for emulsion formation and salt-induced flocculation (at ζ ≥ ζcr) were in close agreement with the predictions. At ζ < ζcr (i.e. pH close to pI), the critical energy barrier of 5 kBT and surface coverage were found to be the most important parameters to predict emulsion stability. As experimental values for Ccr were close to the theoretical Ccr calculated using the model, it was concluded that protein mixtures behave similar as single protein systems. This shows that the model developed to predict the emulsion properties of single protein systems can also be applied, at least to get decent estimations, to more complex (plant) protein systems containing multiple proteins

Using product driven process synthesis in the biorefinery

In this work, we propose the use of the product-driven process synthesis (PDPS) methodology for the product and process design stage in biorefinery. The aim of the biorefinery is to optimize the total use of the whole feedstock - with focus being on various products simultaneously - rather than to maximize the extraction yield of one single product. The challenge is therefore two-fold; first to identify the main compounds of interest, i.e. the products of the biorefinery, and second to design a process scheme that will allow for an optimal quantity and quality of the identified compounds. To illustrate how PDPS can be used in biorefinery a case study based on sugar beet leaves is described. The identification of the main compounds of interest is based on the functionalities that they can deliver in the final applications, rather than on their quantities in the feedstock. To design the process scheme for the extraction of the selected compounds, task networks, currently used for the extraction of the individual compounds of interest, are used after adaptations. These adaptations are done on the basis of the qualitative and/or quantitative changes that certain tasks - used for the extraction of one compound - may cause on another compound of interest. By using the sugar beet leaves biorefinery case, we show that the PDPS methodology can be a useful tool for structured decision making during the product and process design stage in biorefinery