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Characterization and correlation of engineering properties with microstructure in peanuts: A microscopic to macroscopic analysis
Fei Xiang, Zhenyuan Li, Yichen Zheng, Caixia Ding, Benu Adhikari, Xiaojie Ma, Xuebing Xu, Jinjin Zhu, Bello Zaki Abubakar, Aimin Shi, Hui Hu, Qiang Wang
2025, 24 (1): 339-352.   DOI: 10.1016/j.jia.2024.11.037
Abstract42)      PDF in ScienceDirect      

Peanut varieties are diverse globally, with their characters and nutrition determining the product quality.  However, the comparative analysis and statistical analysis of key quality indicators for peanut kernels across the world remains relatively limited, impeding the comprehensive evaluation of peanut quality and hindering the industry development on a global scale.  This study aimed to compare and analyze the apparent morphology, microstructure, single-cell structure, engineering and mechanical properties, as well as major nutrient contents of peanut kernels from 10 different cultivars representing major peanut-producing countries.  The surface and cross-section microstructure of the peanut kernels exhibited a dense “blocky” appearance with a distinct cellular structure.  The lipid droplets were predominantly spherical with a regular distribution within the cells.  The single-cell structure of the kernels from these 10 peanut cultivars demonstrated varying morphologies and dimensions, which exhibited correlations with their mechanical and engineering properties.  Furthermore, the mass loss versus temperature profiles of the peanut kernels revealed five distinct stages, corresponding to moisture loss, volatile loss, protein denaturation, and the degradation of various biomacromolecules.  Variations were also observed in the lipid, protein, and sucrose contents, texture, bulk density, true density, porosity, geometric mean diameter, and sphericity among the different peanut varieties.  This study establishes relationships and correlations among microstructure, engineering properties, and nutritional composition of commonly grown peanut varieties in major peanut-processing countries.  The findings provide valuable insights into peanut quality evaluation, empowering the peanut industry to enhance their processing and product development efforts.

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Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on consumers’ food safety knowledge and behavior in China
MIN Shi, XIANG Cheng, ZHANG Xiao-heng
2020, 19 (12): 2926-2936.   DOI: 10.1016/S2095-3119(20)63388-3
Abstract110)      PDF in ScienceDirect      
This study assesses the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on Chinese residents’ food safety knowledge and behavior, and explores the possible influence mechanism, namely, focus on media information.  The study is based on internet survey data of 1 373 residents in China.  A series of econometric models are developed to estimate food safety knowledge and behavior of residents.  Both the descriptive and econometric results indicate that the existence of COVID-19 cases in a community has a significantly positive effect on residents’ food safety knowledge and behavior.  Residents focusing on food safety-related information tend to have higher food safety knowledge and practice food safety behavior.  When controlling the variable focused on food safety-related information, the marginal effects of the existence of COVID-19 cases in a community on residents’ food safety knowledge and behavior significantly decrease.  However, the decrease in consumers’ food safety knowledge is quite minor.  Hence, the COVID-19 pandemic indeed improves Chinese residents’ food safety knowledge and behavior, while focus on food safety-related information is an important mechanism for improving food safety behavior.  Moreover, the estimation results of the simultaneous equations model reveal that consumers’ food safety knowledge has a significant and positive effect on their food safety behavior.  Heterogeneous impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on residents’ food safety knowledge and behavior among different regions and income groups are observed.  The findings of this study provide evidence that public health events could enhance residents’ safety awareness and behavior, while residents’ focus on relevant information plays an important role in improving knowledge and impacting behavior.
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The impact of migration on the food consumption and nutrition of left-behind family members: Evidence from a minority mountainous region of southwestern China
MIN Shi, HOU Ling-ling, Hermann Waibel, HUANG Ji-kun, MU Yue-ying
2019, 18 (8): 1780-1792.   DOI: 10.1016/S2095-3119(19)62588-8
Abstract188)      PDF in ScienceDirect      
While migration is widely recognized as a valid option for improving farmers’ income, the welfare effects of migration on left-behind family members are ambiguous.  This study examines the impacts of migration on left-behind family members’ food consumption and nutrient intake, particularly in remote rural areas in China.  Based on household survey data collected from 611 smallholder rubber farmers in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture of southwestern China, the empirical results suggest that the migration of family members contributes to improving household net income, whereas it negatively affects left-behind family members’ consumption of grain and pork.  Migration also leads to a decrease in left-behind family members’ nutrient intake.  Surprisingly, the economic returns of farmers’ migration not only do not foster the transformation of household food consumption from a staple food-dominated dietary structure to one including more meat and dairy products but also reduce left-behind family members’ nutrient intake.  This study adds to the literature on the impact of farmers’ migration.  The findings have important implications for better understanding the impacts of migration on farmers’ livelihood and human capital development in rural China.
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Demographics, societal aging, and meat consumption in China
MIN Shi, BAI Jun-fei, James Seale Jr., Thomas Wahl
2015, 14 (6): 995-1007.   DOI: 10.1016/S2095-3119(14)60984-9
Abstract1854)      PDF in ScienceDirect      
Drawn on the data collected by surveying 1340 urban households from six cities in China, this paper estimates the impacts of demographic structure and population aging on household meat consumption, by jointly considering meat consumed at home and away from home. Based on the trajectories of population, a simple simulation on meat demand trend in China is conducted subsequently. The results suggest: 1) Meat consumed away from home averagely accounts for near 30% of household total meat consumption in terms of quantity, so that its omission likely leads to a significant underestimate of total meat consumption and misunderstanding the driving forces; 2) population aging significantly and negatively affects per capita meat consumption, suggesting that the expected meat demand in China without considering population aging will be overestimated. The findings from this study have important implications for better understanding the relative issues on China’s meat consumption under the situation of population aging.
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