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Keeping in view the diabetes status that has affected about 415 million people globally and is the leading cause of death in many countries along with therising demand for low Glycemic Index (GI) foods, the purpose of this paper is to optimize the extrusion process for the development of low GI snacks from underutilized crops like water chestnut and barley.

The extrusion parameters (screw speed and barrel temperature), feed moisture and water chestnut flour, barley flour proportion, were varied and their effects on system and product responses (specific mechanical energy, water absorption index, water solubility index, bulk density, expansion ratio and breaking strength) were studied.

All the system and product responses were significantly affected by independent variables. Response surface and regression models were established to determine the responses as function of process variables. Models obtained were highly significant with high coefficient of determination (R²=0.88). The optimum processing conditions obtained by numerical optimization for the development of snacks were 90°C barrel temperature, 300 rpm screw speed, 14 per cent feed moisture and WCF-to-BF ratio as 90:10. Shelf life studies confirmed that the developed snacks can be safely stored in HDPE bags for a period of six months under ambient conditions.

Water chestnut and barley flour did not blend till date for extrusion cooking. Such snacks shall be a viable food option for diabetic people and can act as laxative due to high fibre and β-glucan content from barley.

Currently, there is a great demand for those food products that are easy to prepare or ready for direct consumption. Making pear fruit/juice available round the year is desirous owing to pears' high-nutritional value and specific pleasant taste. Pear is, however, a seasonal fruit and under ambient conditions has a limited shelf life rendering it available as fresh fruit for a specific period.

The study aimed to optimize the spray drying process parameters using response surface methodology for the development of pear juice powder. The process variables included the inlet air temperature of 140–210°C, maltodextrin levels of 4–25%, atomization speed of 11,400–28,000 rpm, feed flow rate of 180–630 mL/hr, and feed total soluble solids (TSS) of 13–30°Brix. The dependent responses were powder yield, solubility, antioxidant activity {% 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging capacity}, dispersibility, hygroscopicity and particle density.

Among independent variables, inlet air temperature showed a predominant effect. The optimum processing conditions for the development of pear juice powder with optimum quality were 163.02°C inlet air temperature, 13.50% maltodextrin, 28,000 rpm atomization speed, 390.94 mL/h feed flow rate, and 25.5°Brix feed TSS. Under these optimum conditions, pear powder with desirable properties could be produced. The experimental and predicted values were found to be in agreement, indicating the suitability of the model in predicting optimizing responses of pear powder. Glass transition temperature of pear powder was found to be 36.60 ± 0.40°C, which is much higher than that of ambient temperature, suggesting better shelf stability.

The processing of pear fruit has resulted in the increased demand for pear juice powder in both domestic and international markets as a primer of new food products. The optimum conditions obtained in the current study could provide a new insight to the food industry in developing spray-dried pear powder of optimum quality. This can open up a new horizon in the field of food industry for the common masses of Jammu and Kashmir, India.

The present research was envisaged with an aim to optimize the system and the product responses for the development of tomato pomace-incorporated corn-based extrudates employing central composite rotatable design and determine its proximate, lycopene, consumer acceptability and storage studies.

Lycopene-rich extrudates were developed from corn flour blended with different levels of tomato pomace. The independent extrusion variables, namely, feed composition (95:5 to 75:25), feed moisture (12–20%), screw speed (200–600 rpm) and barrel temperature (125–185 °C), were studied to determine their influence on dependent variables, namely, specific mechanical energy, hardness, water solubility index, lateral expansion, water absorption index, bulk density and color.

All of the quality parameters were significantly (p < 0.05) influenced by independent variables. The regression models obtained for all the responses showed high coefficients of determination (R2 = 0.85–0.95). The optimum conditions for the development of tomato pomace-incorporated corn-based extrudates were feed composition (90:10), feed moisture (14%), screw speed (300 rpm) and barrel temperature (170 °C). The moisture, fat and carbohydrate contents of the extrudates were significantly reduced, whereas protein, ash and fiber were significantly (p < 0.05) enhanced after the incorporation of tomato pomace. Aluminum laminates were found to be the suitable packaging materials for extrudates for a period of 120 days in comparison to high-density polyethylene packages.

As far as the authors could possibly know, scanty literature exists wherein the tomato pomace has been utilized for the development of lycopene-rich corn-based extruded snacks. Such extrudates with significantly higher fiber and lycopene contents than corn flour will serve as a suitable alternative for the development of shelf-stable ready-to-eat extruded snacks.

Low glycemic index gluten-free cookies from high amylose rice flour were prepared by modifying baking conditions and ingredient composition.

Baking temperature, baking time, and concentration of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) were varied between 170 and 190° C, 12–25 min, and 0.2–1%, respectively, using central composite rotatable design. The developed cookies were packed in metalized polyester pouches and stored under ambient conditions for a period of 90 days.

Width and bulk density of cookies increased significantly (p < 0.05) with an increase in baking temperature, while thickness, baking loss and yield decreased with an increase in baking temperature. Puffiness increased predominantly with the increase in the concentration of CMC. Design expert predicted baking temperature of 185° C, baking time of 22 min, and 0.8% concentration of CMC as desirable conditions for the development of gluten-free cookies from rice flour. Cookies developed after following optimized conditions recorded dietary fiber of 4.66%, resistant starch (RS) content of 7.20% and predicted glycemic index (pGI) of 44.60. RS, pGI, moisture, water activity, free fatty acids and peroxide value increased significantly, whereas hardness and overall acceptability decreased during storage.

Gluten-free (GF) foods are in high demand globally due to the prevalence of celiac disease. Rice lacks gluten protein, and thus, can serve as a potential raw material for the development of GF cookies. In the present study, the ingredient modification and freezing interventions during baking were found to be crucial if the development of low GI gluten-free cookies having good RS content is targeted. Optimized GF cookies prepared via technological intervention and packed in metalized polyester were shelf stable for up to 3 months under ambient conditions. Furthermore, resistant starch content was enhanced while the predicted glycemic index was decreased during storage. Adoption of baking conditions and CMC level optimized in the present study can help to develop shelf-stable GF bakery products for people suffering from comorbidities like celiac disease and diabetes.

Resistant starch content was enhanced while predicted glycemic index was decreased during storage of gluten-free cookies prepared from high amylose rice flour. The developed cookies can be a complementary diet to people suffering from comorbidities like celiac disease and diabetes.

Health promotion strategies often attempt to change people’s behavior through targeting their risk perceptions. These perceptions may, however, be moderated by other factors. This study therefore aimed at investigating the trustworthiness and consistency of risk information, as well as respondent perceptions of the adequacy of amount received among a representative sample of former smokers, and how this information is related to gender, age, education level and whether using nicotine or not.

The respondents are part of a seven-year follow-up of former smokers in Sweden. Initially, 1400 respondents were contacted, whereof 705 (response rate 50%) answered a Web-survey. The majority (85 %) was still nicotine-free but some made use of nicotine in different forms. The data analysis includes descriptive statistics and logistic regressions.

Most respondents trusted risk information whether offered by the public authorities or came from other sources such as media, and generally perceived that there was an adequate amount. However, there were some differences between the products, where quite a few distrusted information on Nicotine Replacement Therapies (NRTs) and some perceived the information on snus and NRTs as contradictory and too little.

Knowledge about how former smokers perceive information regarding negative aspects of cigarette use may facilitate more effective risk communication with current smokers, and it may also be important for communicating information about other nicotine products to those who are trying to or who already have quit smoking.

The purpose of this paper is to study the counterfeit currency network in India. This research is an endeavour to bring out various layers which act as source, collection and distribution points in a counterfeit currency network in India. This paper also deals with the fake currency network and its linkages to terrorism.

Methodology adopted is a descriptive one which conducts a content analysis on materials derived from secondary sources supported by information from primary source data acquired through the Right to Information Act.

This paper argues that the existing measure of calculating the incidence of counterfeit notes per million is understated by the relevant stakeholders in India. This measure changes drastically when other factors such as high denomination notes and police seizures are taken into account, which has not been attempted, though it is duly acknowledged by the stakeholders. This paper has attempted to map the locations in India which act as ingress, distribution and circulation points based on evidentiary data derived from the seizure records. This paper also highlights the fact that criminal gang-operated networks of fake currency are compartmentalised, while the networks operated by terror groups are de-compartmentalised.

In the process, this paper attempts to enlighten stakeholders like law enforcement agencies, banking regulators and counter terrorism community on the penetration levels of the fake Indian currency note (FICN) networks in India and the need to target these important nodes or points or layers to break up the FICN network. This also highlights fund-raising mechanisms of terror groups, where FICN acts as the main funding resource for groups like the Indian Mujahideen for carrying out low-cost terror attacks.

The key findings of this research lie in its originality of presentation of facts in a systematic fashion.

This study examines the influence of various COVID-19 catastrophes variables on the stock market liquidity, considering the market depth and market tightness in the technology industry of the four biggest ASEAN capital markets.

The study utilised the panel data regression analysis obtained from 177 listed technology companies across the four ASEAN countries from March 2, 2020 to June 30, 2021 using the random effect and weighted least squares. The study also supported the result with robustness test, implementing the quantile regression to further present companies' segmentation within the variables.

The regression results indicate that daily growth COVID-19 confirmed cases and stringency that adversely impacted the stock market liquidity. Confirmed deaths were also found to have a detrimental effect on the stock market liquidity. On the other hand, recoveries and vaccination of COVID-19 enhance the stock market liquidity to escalate.

The study affirms that stock market liquidity is bound to be driven by the COVID-19 variables, but only to be limited to the technology industry observed in four major ASEAN capital markets. Awareness by investors and government could be shifted towards the rise of confirmed cases, recoveries, vaccination and stringency as it improves the liquidity of capital market in aggregate. However, rise of confirmed deaths negatively affect the liquidity. All in all, government and stock market regulator should promote transparency to boost investors' confidence in trading.

This study initiates the investigation in the four biggest ASEAN capital markets, particularly in the technology industry, regarding the COVID-19 catastrophes and stock market liquidity in terms of both market depth and market tightness. Further, this study enriches the impact of COVID-19 by taking the recovery cases and vaccination of COVID-19 as additional consideration.

The primary purpose of this paper is to examine the role of perceived trust, information quality, positive word of mouth and societal norms toward real estate purchase intention. The study also examines how pro-environmental self-identity mediates the relationship between positive word of mouth and real estate purchase intent, as well as between societal norms and real estate purchase intention. This research aims to delve into these intricate dynamics through a multidimensional lens.

The research employs existing scholarly works and measurable variables evaluated through a five-point Likert scale, hypothesis testing and mediation analysis to examine the proposed framework. A structured survey comprising six sections was administered, yielding 385 valid responses. The data analysis process included the use of confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling techniques.

The analysis indicates that pro-environmental self-identity has the most significant influence on real estate purchase intention, closely followed by positive word of mouth. Incorporating eco-friendly themes in marketing campaigns significantly boosts purchase intentions. However, perceived trust does not significantly impact purchase intentions. Other factors, such as information quality and societal norms, also play significant roles, underscoring the importance of understanding the complex dynamics shaping consumer decisions in the real estate market.

This research exclusively targets responses from young consumers in specific regions of India. Future studies should aim for a more extensive geographic scope, encompassing a diverse global population for a broader understanding of the subject.

Based on previous literature, this study is the first to identify the elements influencing the inclination to buy environmentally friendly real estate through social commerce.

The COVID-19 pandemic virus has affected the largest economies around the world, especially Group 8 and Group 20. The increasing numbers of confirmed and deceased cases of the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide are causing instability in stock indices every day. These changes resulted in the G8 suffering major losses due to the spread of the pandemic. This paper aims to study the impact of COVID-19 events using country lockdown announcement on the most important stock indices in G8 by using seven lockdown variables. To find the impact of the COVID-19 virus on G8, a correlation analysis and an artificial neural network model are adopted.

In this study, a Pearson correlation is used to study the strength of lockdown variables on international indices, where neural network is used to build a prediction model that can estimate the movement of stock markets independently. The neural network used two performance metrics including R² and mean square error (MSE).

The results of stock indices prediction showed that R² values of all G8 are between 0.979 and 0.990, where MSE values are between 54 and 604. The results showed that the COVID-19 events had a strong negative impact on stock movement, with the lowest point on the March of all G8 indices. Besides, the US lockdown and interest rate changes are the most affected by the G8 stock trading, followed by Germany, France and the UK.

The study has used artificial intelligent neural network to study the impact of US lockdown, decrease the interest rate in the USA and the announce of lockdown in different G8 countries.

This paper aims to compare the costs of deploying different wireless terrestrial broadband technologies in the Andes and Amazon Regions of Peru. These areas are representatives of different and challenging geographic regions throughout the globe that currently are severely underserved or unserved for vital broadband services necessary to bridge the “Digital Divide”.

The broadband technologies studied include Wi-Fi, Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), long term evolution (LTE), TVWS and new stratospheric platforms (super-pressure balloons). This study conducts a technical analysis (design and simulation) of wireless broadband networks, and a bottom-up engineering cost analysis to estimate and compare the deployment and operating costs of the networks over a 10-year period. The analysis also identifies potential regulatory barriers to deployment associated with spectrum allocation licenses and overbooking requirements intended to improve quality of service.

Comparison of the capital and operating expenses of these options over a 10-year period finds that LTE and Wi-Fi can be the lowest cost alternatives, though significantly, stratospheric balloons have the lowest initial costs for the first few years and can factor as a low-cost broadband catalyst early in deployment. Finally, the lowest cost technology broadband roadmap for the 10-year period is presented, which includes using stratospheric balloons (carrying micro-LTE base stations) for the first years and deploying complementary terrestrial LTE networks for the rest of the 10-year period.

This study presents detailed technical and engineering cost analysis results of wireless access network deployments, including advanced wireless technologies and new unmanned aerial systems, to expand broadband services to rural areas in mountainous (Andes Region) and rainforest (Amazon Region) geographies to reduce the digital divide in emerging countries. Results aim to aid governments, regulators, internet service providers (incumbents and competitive) and content providers to assess current alternatives to expand broadband service in these rural areas.