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The purpose of this study is to establish a vibration prediction of pellet mills power transmission by artificial neural network. Vibration monitoring is an important task for any system to ensure safe operations. Improvement of control strategies is crucial for the vibration monitoring.

As predictive control is one of the options for the vibration monitoring in this paper, the predictive model for vibration monitoring was created.

Although the achieved prediction results were acceptable, there is need for more work to apply and test these results in real environment.

Artificial neural network (ANN) was implemented as the predictive model while extreme learning machine (ELM) and back propagation (BP) learning schemes were used as training algorithms for the ANN. BP learning algorithm minimizes the error function by using the gradient descent method. ELM training algorithm is based on selecting of the input weights randomly of the ANN network and the output weight of the network are determined analytically.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the biobased (rapeseed) oil with the addition of different amounts of metal-containing additive in a steel–bronze tribological system. The additional purpose was to find the optimal value of the additive.

This paper exposes experimental results of the performance characteristics (coefficient of friction (COF), working temperature and wear) of the biolubricant based on rapeseed oil. The amount of commercial metal-containing additive in formulated lubricant was 1, 1.5, 3 and 5 wt.%. All results were compared with the results obtained for the base rapeseed oil. Two different tribometers were used, with the same tribosystem elements materials (bronze and steel). COF experiments were performed under four different normal loads and fixed sliding speed and time. Temperature and wear were continuously monitored.

Results showed that the metal-containing additive in rapeseed oil reduced all monitored characteristics. It was also found that the dependence of all characteristics on the amount of additive is nonlinear and that there is an optimal value of it.

Owing to growing environmental concerns, vegetable oil-based lubricants and other biodegradable lubricants are expanding their area of application. Currently, one of the most widely used vegetable oil is rapeseed oil. The metal-containing additive used in this study is previously investigated as an addition to mineral- and synthetic-based oils. There are very few studies that investigate its influence on the vegetable oil-based lubricants. In addition, there is no comparative investigation of its influence on several performance characteristics (COF, temperature and wear).

This chapter highlights factors, such as stakeholder engagement and changes in operating processes, which can enable retailers to implement an alternative approach to recovering and redistributing fresh surplus food.

A successful fresh surplus food redistribution program was identified as part of a larger research project on food waste and redistribution. The “Buon Fine” program of a large Italian retailer (Coop Lombardia) was described by two senior executives who were interviewed for four hours using a semi-structured questionnaire. Collected information was triangulated with corporate reports and other publications.

Coop Lombardia implemented an expanded supply chain by cooperating with municipalities and food aid organizations. Such a process differed in important ways from the traditional “food bank” model. The latter organizations collected and distributed surplus food to disfavored populations.

The findings of this chapter will help senior executives of retail trade companies to improve the sustainability of their supply chain and help policymakers address food poverty to improve food security in their territory.

Consumers’ attitudes, especially their attitudes towards health and taste, are significant in understanding and predicting dietary behaviour. In this research, Health and Taste Attitude Scales (HTAS) developed by Roininen et al. in 1999 for measuring health and taste attitudes of consumers, were applied in Serbia. The purpose of this paper is to find out whether the same sub-scales can be identified as in HTAS applications abroad, to test the predictive validity of HTAS and to investigate respondents’ health and taste attitudes in the context of their socio-demographic characteristics.

Primary data were gathered by means of focus groups and a survey – structured personal interviews by using a questionnaire. The research was conducted in July 2013 with 300 respondents participating.

The same sub-scales were identified in Serbian consumer research as in HTAS applications abroad. Generally, all the Health sub-scales are useful predictors of consumption of several types of food perceived as healthy, while the Taste sub-scales (except Pleasure) are good predictors of consumption of both, food considered as tasty and food considered as not tasty. Out of socio-demographic variables, only age showed statistically significant correlations to some of the Taste sub-scales.

Several recommendations for companies operating on the domestic food market were given in this paper.

The first application of HTAS in Serbia, generally characterized by scarce food consumer research, was shown in this paper. It is also the first application of HTAS in a Southern European country.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate if there is a difference in hygiene parameters of raw milk produced in organic and conventional farm of similar size. In parallel, the aim was to determine if there are differences in pasteurized organic and conventional milk samples delivered on the market.

Raw milk samples were analyzed for aerobic colony count (ACC), somatic cell count (SCC), acidity, temperature, fat and protein content. On the other side, final products of organic and conventional pasteurized milk with 2.8 percent declared milk fat were analyzed for Raman spectroscopy, color change and sensorial difference.

Results of raw milk analysis showed statistically significant differences in fat content, SCC, acidity, temperature and ACC (p<0.05). It is of note that ACC for organic milk were lower for approx. 1 log CFU/ml compared to conventional milk samples. Pasteurized organic milk samples had a significantly higher L* value than those samples originating from conventional farms, indicating that organic is “more white” compared to conventional milk. According to the results of triangle test, with 95 percent confidence no more than 10 percent of the population is able to detect a difference.

A limitation of this research is the fact that good veterinary practices at farms, namely, animal health and adequate usage of medicine for treating the animals, animal welfare and animal feeding were not analyzed.

This study analyzed potential differences in organic and conventional milk at two important production stages of the milk chain – at receipt at dairy plant (raw milk) and perceived by consumers (final product).

Having the discrepancies between different descriptions of an organic food consumer profile in various researches worldwide as well as the causes of their emergence as a starting point, the purpose of this paper is to apply the method of preference-based market segmentation (by means of conjoint and cluster analysis) to Serbian organic food market, searching for advantages of using that methodological approach and deepening knowledge about specific organic food market.

The research was conducted from May to July 2014 with 400 respondents participating (aged 18-30). Primary data were gathered by means of focus groups and a survey – structured personal interviews by using a questionnaire.

When applying conjoint and cluster analysis to data about Serbian consumers’ preferences towards researched product, it is possible to identify a segment that prefers organic food the most. Compared to other segments, these consumers are predominantly female, somewhat more mature, with the highest proportion of employed and near the top by the percentage of respondents who are married and have children. They strongly value the importance of diet for health, a number of them have experience with a disease of a close person, which is believed that could be prevented by proper diet, but they do the least sports.

The authors give managerial recommendations to actors operating at domestic organic food market.

According to the authors’ knowledge, the first application of preference-based market segmentation by conjoint and cluster analysis to organic food market, performed in Serbia, generally characterised by scarce food consumer research.