Search results for: food security status

Authors: Hamed Ahari, Behrouz Akbari Adreghani, Vadood Razavilar, Amirali Anvar, Sima Moradi, Hourieh Shalchi

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Considering the ever increasing population and industrialization of the developmental trend of humankind's life, we are no longer able to detect the toxins produced in food products using the traditional techniques. This is due to the fact that the isolation time for food products is not cost-effective and even in most of the cases, the precision in the practical techniques like the bacterial cultivation and other techniques suffer from operator errors or the errors of the mixtures used. Hence with the advent of nanotechnology, the design of selective and smart sensors is one of the greatest industrial revelations of the quality control of food products that in few minutes time, and with a very high precision can identify the volume and toxicity of the bacteria. Methods and Materials: In this technique, based on the bacterial antibody connection to nanoparticle, a sensor was used. In this part of the research, as the basis for absorption for the recognition of bacterial toxin, medium sized silica nanoparticles of 10 nanometer in form of solid powder were utilized with Notrino brand. Then the suspension produced from agent-linked nanosilica which was connected to bacterial antibody was positioned near the samples of distilled water, which were contaminated with Staphylococcus aureus bacterial toxin with the density of 10-3, so that in case any toxin exists in the sample, a connection between toxin antigen and antibody would be formed. Finally, the light absorption related to the connection of antigen to the particle attached antibody was measured using spectrophotometry. The gene of 23S rRNA that is conserved in all Staphylococcus spp., also used as control. The accuracy of the test was monitored by using serial dilution (l0-6) of overnight cell culture of Staphylococcus spp., bacteria (OD600: 0.02 = 107 cell). It showed that the sensitivity of PCR is 10 bacteria per ml of cells within few hours. Result: The results indicate that the sensor detects up to 10-4 density. Additionally, the sensitivity of the sensors was examined after 60 days, the sensor by the 56 days had confirmatory results and started to decrease after those time periods. Conclusions: Comparing practical nano biosensory to conventional methods like that culture and biotechnology methods(such as polymerase chain reaction) is accuracy, sensitiveness and being unique. In the other way, they reduce the time from the hours to the 30 minutes.

Keywords: exotoxin, nanobiosensor, recognition, Staphylococcus aureus

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Authors: Carola Cappa

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Chickpea cooking water (known as aquafaba, AF) is a “waste” product having interesting technological properties exploitable for sustainable plant-based food applications that can encounter a larger consumers demand. Different process conditions to obtain AF were defined; the addition of hydrocolloid (i.e., guar gum) and lactic acid to improve the techno-functionalities of aquafaba was explored, and the effects of these ingredients on the foaming properties and the quality of plant-based target confectionery products were investigated. Meringues having a solid foam structure and a simple formulation (i.e., foaming agent and sugar) and chocolate mousse were chosen as target foods. The effects of the sugar particle size reduction on the empirical and fundamental rheological properties of the foaming agent and of the mousse were evaluated. The treatment did not significantly change the viscosity of the system, while the overrun and foam stability were affected by sugar particle size, and mousse with coarse sugar was characterized by a higher consistency, confirming the importance of the particle size of the ingredients on the texture of the final product. This study proved that AF, a recycled “waste” product, possesses interesting techno-functionalities properties further enhanced by adding lactic acid and modulable according to ingredient particle size; these AF results are useable for plant-based food applications.

Keywords: foaming properties, foam stability, foam texture, particle size, acidification, aquafaba

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Authors: Farah Jafarpisheh, John Hutson, Howard Fallowfield

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Growing Sorghum varieties, with the potential of the animal food source, by using the treated wastewater from High Rate Algae Ponds (HRAPs) is an attractive subject. For the first time, in South Australia, Sorghum Earthnote variety one (SE1) has been grown using the wastewater from HRAPs. In this study, after the first harvest, the roots left in the soil. After a short period of time, sorghum started to regrow again, which can increase the value of planting sorghum by using the wastewater. This study demonstrates the higher amount of green biomass with the potential of animal food source after the second harvest. Different parameters, including height(mm), number of leaves and tiller, Brix percentage, fresh and dry leaf weight(g), total top fresh weight(g), stem and seed dry and fresh weight(g) have been measured in the field after first and second harvest. The results demonstrated the higher height, number of tiller, and diameter after the second harvest. Number of leaves and leaves fresh weight and total top weight increased by 6 and 10 times, respectively. Brix percentage increased by 2 times. In the first harvest, no seeds harvested, while in the second harvest, 134 g seeds harvested. This sorghum variety (SE1) showed the acceptable green biomass, especially after the second harvest. This property will add to the value of sorghum in this condition, as it will not need extra fertilizer and labor work for seed planting.

Keywords: energy, high rate algae ponds, HRAPs, Sorghum, waste water

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Authors: Devi Srinivas, K. Sindhuja

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This paper presents architecture to improve surveillance applications based on the usage of the service oriented paradigm, with smart phones as user terminals, allowing application dynamic composition and increasing the flexibility of the system. According to the result of moving object detection research on video sequences, the movement of the people is tracked using video surveillance. The moving object is identified using the image subtraction method. The background image is subtracted from the foreground image, from that the moving object is derived. So the Background subtraction algorithm and the threshold value is calculated to find the moving image by using background subtraction algorithm the moving frame is identified. Then, by the threshold value the movement of the frame is identified and tracked. Hence, the movement of the object is identified accurately. This paper deals with low-cost intelligent mobile phone-based wireless video surveillance solution using moving object recognition technology. The proposed solution can be useful in various security systems and environmental surveillance. The fundamental rule of moving object detecting is given in the paper, then, a self-adaptive background representation that can update automatically and timely to adapt to the slow and slight changes of normal surroundings is detailed. While the subtraction of the present captured image and the background reaches a certain threshold, a moving object is measured to be in the current view, and the mobile phone will automatically notify the central control unit or the user through SMS (Short Message System). The main advantage of this system is when an unknown image is captured by the system it will alert the user automatically by sending an SMS to user’s mobile.

Keywords: security, graphical password, persuasive cued click points

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Authors: O. J. Akinsola, Yinan Zheng, Rose Anorlu, F. T. Ogunsola, Lifang Hou, Robert Leo-Murphy

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Cervical Cancer (CC) is the 2nd most common cancer among women living in low and middle-income countries, with no associated symptoms during formative periods. With the advancement and innovative medical research, there are numerous preventive measures being utilized, but the incidence of cervical cancer cannot be truncated with the application of only screening tests. The mortality associated with this invasive cervical cancer can be nipped in the bud through the important role of early-stage detection. This study research selected an array of different top features selection techniques which was aimed at developing a model that could validly diagnose the risk factors of cervical cancer. A retrospective clinic-based cohort study was conducted on 178 HIV-associated cervical cancer patients in Lagos University teaching Hospital, Nigeria (U54 data repository) in April 2022. The outcome measure was the automated prediction of the HIV-associated cervical cancer cases, while the predictor variables include: demographic information, reproductive history, birth control, sexual history, cervical cancer screening history for invasive cervical cancer. The proposed technique was assessed with R and Python programming software to produce the model by utilizing the classification algorithms for the detection and diagnosis of cervical cancer disease. Four machine learning classification algorithms used are: the machine learning model was split into training and testing dataset into ratio 80:20. The numerical features were also standardized while hyperparameter tuning was carried out on the machine learning to train and test the data. Logistic Regression (LR), Decision Tree (DT), Random Forest (RF), and K-Nearest Neighbor (KNN). Some fitting features were selected for the detection and diagnosis of cervical cancer diseases from selected characteristics in the dataset using the contribution of various selection methods for the classification cervical cancer into healthy or diseased status. The mean age of patients was 49.7±12.1 years, mean age at pregnancy was 23.3±5.5 years, mean age at first sexual experience was 19.4±3.2 years, while the mean BMI was 27.1±5.6 kg/m2. A larger percentage of the patients are Married (62.9%), while most of them have at least two sexual partners (72.5%). Age of patients (OR=1.065, p<0.001**), marital status (OR=0.375, p=0.011**), number of pregnancy live-births (OR=1.317, p=0.007**), and use of birth control pills (OR=0.291, p=0.015**) were found to be significantly associated with HIV-associated cervical cancer. On top ten 10 features (variables) considered in the analysis, RF claims the overall model performance, which include: accuracy of (72.0%), the precision of (84.6%), a recall of (84.6%) and F1-score of (74.0%) while LR has: an accuracy of (74.0%), precision of (70.0%), recall of (70.0%) and F1-score of (70.0%). The RF model identified 10 features predictive of developing cervical cancer. The age of patients was considered as the most important risk factor, followed by the number of pregnancy livebirths, marital status, and use of birth control pills, The study shows that data mining techniques could be used to identify women living with HIV at high risk of developing cervical cancer in Nigeria and other sub-Saharan African countries.

Keywords: associated cervical cancer, data mining, random forest, logistic regression

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Authors: Caroline Dupre, David Hupin, Christ Goumou, Francois Belan, Frederic Roche, Thomas Celarier, Bienvenu Bongue

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Background: Previous cohorts have been notably criticized for not studying the different type of physical activity and not investigating household activities. The objective of this work was to analyse the relationship between physical activity and cognitive decline in older people living in the community. Impact of type of physical activity on the results has been realised. Methods: The study used data from the longitudinal and observational study , FrèLE (FRagility: Longitudinal Study of Expressions). The collected data included: socio-demographic variables, lifestyle, and health status (frailty, comorbidities, cognitive status, depression). Cognitive decline was assessed by using: Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). Physical activity was assessed by the Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly (PASE). This tool is structured in three sections: the leisure activity, domestic activity, and professional activity. Logistic regressions and proportional hazards regression models (Cox) were used to estimate the risk of cognitive disorders. Results: At baseline, the prevalence of cognitive disorders was 6.9% according to MMSE. In total, 1167 participants without cognitive disorders were included in the analysis. The mean age was 77.4 years, and 52.1% of the participants were women. After a 2 years long follow-up, we found cognitive disorders on 53 participants (4.5%). Physical activity at baseline is lower in older adults for whom cognitive decline was observed after two years of follow-up. Subclass analyses showed that leisure and domestic activities were associated with cognitive decline, but not professional activities. Conclusions: Analysis showed a relationship between cognitive disorders and type of physical activity. The current study will be completed by the MoCA for mild cognitive impairment. These findings compared to other ongoing studies, will contribute to the debate on the beneficial effects of physical activity on cognition.

Keywords: aging, cognitive function, physical activity, mixed models

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Authors: Meshandren Naidoo

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An artificial intelligence (AI) system named DABUS 2021 made headlines when it became the very first AI system to be listed in a patent which was then granted by the South African patent office. This grant raised much criticism. The question that this research intends to answer is (1) whether, in South African patent law, an AI can be an inventor. This research finds that despite South African law not recognising an AI as a legal person and despite the legislation not explicitly allowing AI to be inventors, a legal interpretative exercise would allow AI inventorship.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, intellectual property, inventorship, patents

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Authors: Racheli Magnezi, Inbal Gazit, Michal Rassin, Joseph Barr, Orna Tal

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An effective process for transmitting patient critical information is essential for patient safety and for improving communication among healthcare staff. Previous studies have discussed handover tools such as SBAR (Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation) or SOFI (Short Observational Framework for Inspection). Yet, these formats lack flexibility, and require special training. In addition, nurses and physicians have different procedures for handing over information. The objectives of this study were to establish a universal, structured tool for handover, for both physicians and nurses, based on parameters that were defined as ‘important’ and ‘appropriate’ by the medical team, and to implement this tool in various hospital departments, with flexibility for each ward. A questionnaire, based on established procedures and on the literature, was developed to assess attitudes towards the most important information for effective handover between shifts (Cronbach's alpha 0.78). It was distributed to 150 senior physicians and nurses in 62 departments. Among senior medical staff, 12 physicians and 66 nurses responded to the questionnaire (52% response rate). Based on the responses, a handover form suitable for all hospital departments was designed and implemented. Important information for all staff included: Patient demographics (full name and age); Health information (diagnosis or patient complaint, changes in hemodynamic status, new medical treatment or equipment required); and Social Information (suspicion of violence, mental or behavioral changes, and guardianship). Additional information relevant to each unit included treatment provided, laboratory or imaging required, and change in scheduled surgery in surgical departments. ICU required information on background illnesses, Pediatrics required information on diet and food provided and Obstetrics required the number of days after cesarean section. Based on the model described, a flexible tool was developed that enables handover of both common and unique information. In addition, it includes general logistic information that must be transmitted to the next shift, such as planned disruptions in service or operations, staff training, etc. Development of a simple, clear, comprehensive, universal, yet flexible tool designed for all medical staff for transmitting critical information between shifts was challenging. Physicians and nurses found it useful and it was widely implemented. Ongoing research is needed to examine the efficiency of this tool, and whether the enthusiasm that accompanied its initial use is maintained.

Keywords: handover, nurses, hospital, critical information

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Authors: Abdollah Jamshidi, Tayebeh Zeinali, Mehrnaz Rad, Jamshid Razmyar

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Listeria infections occur worldwide in variety of animals and man. Listeriae are widely distributed in nature. The organism has been isolated from the feces of humans and several animals, different soils, plants, aquatic environments and food of animal and vegetable origin. Listeria monocytogenes is recognized as important food-borne pathogens due to its high mortality rate. This organism is able to growth at refrigeration temperature, and high osmotic pressure. Poultry can become contaminated environmentally or through healthy carrier birds. In recent decades, prophylactic use of antimicrobial agents may be lead to emergence of antibiotic resistant organisms, which can be transmitted to human through consumption of contaminated foods. In this study, from 200 fresh chicken carcasses samples which were collected randomly from different supermarkets and butcheries, 80 samples were detected as contaminate with Listeria spp. and 19% of the isolates identified as Listeria monocytogene using multiplex PCR assay. Conventional methods were used to differentiate other species of the listeria genus. The results showed the most prevalent isolates as L. monocytogenes (48.75%). Other isolates were detected as Listeria innocua (28.75%), Listeria murrayi (20%), Listeria grayi (3.75%) and Listeria welshimeri (2.5%).The Majority of the isolates had multidrug resistance to commonly used antibiotics. Most of them were resistant to erythromycin (50%), followed by Tetracycline (44.44%), Clindamycin (41.66%), and Trimethoprim (25%). Some of them showed resistance to chloramphenicol (17.65%). The results indicate the resistance of the isolates to antimicrobials commonly used to treat human listeriosis, which could be a potential health hazard for consumers.

Keywords: listeria species, L. monocytogenes, antibiotic resistance, chicken carcass

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Authors: M. M. Shahidul Hassan, Omiya Hassan

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Bangladesh has set its goal to reach upper middle-income country status by 2024. To attain this status, the country must satisfy the World Bank requirement of achieving minimum Gross National Income (GNI). Number of youth job seekers in the country is increasing. University graduates are looking for decent jobs. So, the vital issue of this country is to understand how the GNI and jobs can be increased. The objective of this paper is to address these issues and find ways to create more job opportunities for youths at home and abroad which will increase the country’s GNI. The paper studies proportion of different goods Bangladesh exported, and also the percentage of employment in different sectors. The data used here for the purpose of analysis have been collected from the available literature. These data are then plotted and analyzed. Through these studies, it is concluded that growth in sectors like agricultural, ready-made garments (RMG), jute industries and fisheries are declining and the business community is not interested in setting up capital-intensive industries. Under this situation, the country needs to explore other business opportunities for a higher economic growth rate. Knowledge can substitute the physical resource. Since the country consists of the large youth population, higher education will play a key role in economic development. It now needs graduates with higher-order skills with innovative quality. Such dispositions demand changes in a university’s curriculum, teaching and assessment method which will function young generations as active learners and creators. By bringing these changes in higher education, a knowledge-based society can be created. The application of such knowledge and creativity will then become the commodity of Bangladesh which will help to reach its goal as an upper middle-income country.

Keywords: Bangladesh, economic sectors, economic growth, higher education, knowledge-based economy, massifcation of higher education, teaching and learning, universities’ role in society

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Authors: A. Bortkiewcz, A. Dudarewicz, P. Małecki, M. Kłaczyński, T. Wszołek, Małgorzata Pawlaczyk-Łuszczyńska

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Low-frequency noise (LFN) has been recognized as a special environmental pollutant. It is usually considered a broadband noise with the dominant content of low frequencies from 10 Hz to 250 Hz. A growing body of data shows that LFN differs in nature from other environmental noises, which are at comparable levels but not dominated by low-frequency components. The primary and most frequent adverse effect of LFN exposure is annoyance. Moreover, some recent investigations showed that LFN at relatively low A-weighted sound pressure levels (40−45 dB) occurring in office-like areas could adversely affect the mental performance, especially of high-sensitive subjects. It is well documented that high-frequency noise disturbs various types of human functions; however, there is very little data on the impact of LFN on well-being and health, including the cardiovascular system. Heart rate variability (HRV) is a sensitive marker of autonomic regulation of the circulatory system. Walker and co-workers found that LFN has a significantly more negative impact on cardiovascular response than exposure to high-frequency noise and that changes in HRV parameters resulting from LFN exposure tend to persist over time. The negative reactions of the cardiovascular system in response to LFN generated by wind turbines (20-200 Hz) were confirmed by Chiu. The scientific aim of the study is to assess the relationship between the spectral-temporal characteristics of LFN and the activity of the autonomic nervous system, considering the subjective assessment of annoyance, sensitivity to this type of noise, and cognitive and general health status. The study will be conducted in 20 male students in a special, acoustically prepared, constantly supervised room. Each person will be tested 4 times (4 sessions), under conditions of non-exposure (sham) and exposure to noise of wind turbines recorded at a distance of 250 meters from the turbine with different frequencies and frequency ranges: acoustic band 20 Hz-20 kHz, infrasound band 5-20 Hz, acoustic band + infrasound band. The order of sessions of the experiment will be randomly selected. Each session will last 1 h. There will be a 2-3 days break between sessions to exclude the possibility of the earlier session influencing the results of the next one. Before the first exposure, a questionnaire will be conducted on noise sensitivity, general health status using the GHQ questionnaire, hearing organ status and sociodemographic data. Before each of the 4 exposures, subjects will complete a brief questionnaire on their mood and sleep quality the night before the test. After the test, the subjects will be asked about any discomfort and subjective symptoms during the exposure. Before the test begins, Holter ECG monitoring equipment will be installed. HRV will be analyzed from the ECG recordings, including time and frequency domain parameters. The tests will always be performed in the morning (9-12) to avoid the influence of diurnal rhythm on HRV results. Students will perform psychological tests 15 minutes before the end of the test (Vienna Test System).

Keywords: neurovegetative control, heart rate variability (HRV), cognitive processes, low frequency noise

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Authors: Vangelis Papadimitropoulos

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This paper is part of the research program “Techno-Social Innovation in the Collaborative Economy”, funded by the Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation (H.F.R.I.) for the years 2022-2024. The paper showcases the Open Food Network (OFN) as an open-sourced digital platform supporting short food supply chains in local agricultural production and consumption. The paper outlines the research hypothesis, the theoretical framework, and the methodology of research as well as the findings and conclusions. Research hypothesis: The model of open cooperativism as a vehicle for systemic change in the agricultural sector. Theoretical framework: The research reviews the OFN as an illustrative case study of the three-zoned model of open cooperativism. The OFN is considered a paradigmatic case of the model of open cooperativism inasmuch as it produces commons, it consists of multiple stakeholders including ethical market entities, and it is variously supported by local authorities across the globe, the latter prefiguring the mini role of a partner state. Methodology: Research employs Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe’s discourse analysis -elements, floating signifiers, nodal points, discourses, logics of equivalence and difference- to analyse the breadth of empirical data gathered through literature review, digital ethnography, a survey, and in-depth interviews with core OFN members. Discourse analysis classifies OFN floating signifiers, nodal points, and discourses into four themes: value proposition, governance, economic policy, and legal policy. Findings: OFN floating signifiers align around the following nodal points and discourses: “digital commons”, “short food supply chains”, “sustainability”, “local”, “the elimination of intermediaries” and “systemic change”. The current research identifies a lack of common ground of what the discourse of “systemic change” signifies on the premises of the OFN’s value proposition. The lack of a common mission may be detrimental to the formation of a common strategy that would be perhaps deemed necessary to bring about systemic change in agriculture. Conclusions: Drawing on Laclau and Mouffe’s discourse theory of hegemony, research introduces a chain of equivalence by aligning discourses such as “agro-ecology”, “commons-based peer production”, “partner state” and “ethical market entities” under the model of open cooperativism, juxtaposed against the current hegemony of neoliberalism, which articulates discourses such as “market fundamentalism”, “privatization”, “green growth” and “the capitalist state” to promote corporatism and entrepreneurship. Research makes the case that for OFN to further agroecology and challenge the current hegemony of industrial agriculture, it is vital that it opens up its supply chains into equivalent sectors of the economy, civil society, and politics to form a chain of equivalence linking together ethical market entities, the commons and a partner state around the model of open cooperativism.

Keywords: sustainability, the digital commons, open cooperativism, innovation

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Authors: Kitty Kioskli, Theofanis Fotis, Nineta Polemi

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The European Union (EU) directive Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act in Article 9 requires that risk management of AI systems includes both technical and human oversight, while according to NIST_AI_RFM (Appendix C) and ENISA AI Framework recommendations, claim that further research is needed to understand the current limitations of social threats and human-AI interaction. AI threats within social contexts significantly affect the security and trustworthiness of the AI systems; they are interrelated and trigger technical threats as well. For example, lack of explainability (e.g. the complexity of models can be challenging for stakeholders to grasp) leads to misunderstandings, biases, and erroneous decisions. Which in turn impact the privacy, security, accountability of the AI systems. Based on the NIST four fundamental criteria for explainability it can also classify the explainability threats into four (4) sub-categories: a) Lack of supporting evidence: AI systems must provide supporting evidence or reasons for all their outputs. b) Lack of Understandability: Explanations offered by systems should be comprehensible to individual users. c) Lack of Accuracy: The provided explanation should accurately represent the system's process of generating outputs. d) Out of scope: The system should only function within its designated conditions or when it possesses sufficient confidence in its outputs. Biases may also stem from historical data reflecting undesired behaviors. When present in the data, biases can permeate the models trained on them, thereby influencing the security and trustworthiness of the of AI systems. Social related AI threats are recognized by various initiatives (e.g., EU Ethics Guidelines for Trustworthy AI), standards (e.g. ISO/IEC TR 24368:2022 on AI ethical concerns, ISO/IEC AWI 42105 on guidance for human oversight of AI systems) and EU legislation (e.g. the General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679, the NIS 2 Directive 2022/2555, the Directive on the Resilience of Critical Entities 2022/2557, the EU AI Act, the Cyber Resilience Act). Measuring social threats, estimating the risks to AI systems associated to these threats and mitigating them is a research challenge. In this paper it will present the efforts of two European Commission Projects (FAITH and THEMIS) from the HorizonEurope programme that analyse the social threats by building cyber-social exercises in order to study human behaviour, traits, cognitive ability, personality, attitudes, interests, and other socio-technical profile characteristics. The research in these projects also include the development of measurements and scales (psychometrics) for human-related vulnerabilities that can be used in estimating more realistically the vulnerability severity, enhancing the CVSS4.0 measurement.

Keywords: social threats, artificial Intelligence, mitigation, social experiment

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Authors: Walter E. Allen, Robert D. Murray

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Many large transit agencies have adopted RFID technology and electronic automatic fare collection (AFC) or smart card systems, but small and rural agencies remain tied to obsolete manual, cash-based fare collection. Small countries or transit agencies can benefit from the implementation of smart card AFC technology with the promise of increased passenger convenience, added passenger satisfaction and improved agency efficiency. For transit agencies, it reduces revenue loss, improves passenger flow and bus stop data. For countries, further implementation into security, distribution of social services or currency transactions can provide greater benefits. However, small countries or transit agencies cannot afford expensive proprietary smart card solutions typically offered by the major system suppliers. Deployment of Contactless Fare Media System (CFMS) Standard eliminates the proprietary solution, ultimately lowering the cost of implementation. Acumen Building Enterprise, Inc. chose the Yuma County Intergovernmental Public Transportation Authority (YCIPTA) existing proprietary YCAT smart card system to implement CFMS. The revised system enables the purchase of fare product online with prepaid debit or credit cards using the Payment Gateway Processor. Open and interoperable smart card standards for transit have been developed. During the 90-day Pilot Operation conducted, the transit agency gathered the data from the bus AcuFare 200 Card Reader, loads (copies) the data to a USB Thumb Drive and uploads the data to the Acumen Host Processing Center for consolidation of the data into the transit agency master data file. The transition from the existing proprietary smart card data format to the new CFMS smart card data format was transparent to the transit agency cardholders. It was proven that open standards and interoperability design can work and reduce both implementation and operational costs for small transit agencies or countries looking to expand smart card technology. Acumen was able to avoid the implementation of the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standards (DSS) which is expensive to develop and costly to operate on a continuing basis. Due to the substantial additional complexities of implementation and the variety of options presented to the transit agency cardholder, Acumen chose to implement only the Directed Autoload. To improve the implementation efficiency and the results for a similar undertaking, it should be considered that some passengers lack credit cards and are averse to technology. There are more than 1,300 small and rural agencies in the United States. This grows by 10 fold when considering small countries or rural locations throughout Latin American and the world. Acumen is evaluating additional countries, sites or transit agency that can benefit from the smart card systems. Frequently, payment card systems require extensive security procedures for implementation. The Project demonstrated the ability to purchase fare value, rides and passes with credit cards on the internet at a reasonable cost without highly complex security requirements.

Keywords: automatic fare collection, near field communication, small transit agencies, smart cards

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Authors: Jin Yue

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Fresh produces especially fruits, vegetables, meats and aquatic products have limited shelf life and are highly susceptible to deterioration. Essential oils (EOs) extracted from plants have excellent antioxidant and broad-spectrum antibacterial activities, and they can play as natural food preservatives. But EOs are volatile, water insoluble, pungent, and easily decomposing under light and heat. Many approaches have been developed to improve the solubility and stability of EOs such as polymeric film, coating, nanoparticles, nano-emulsions and nanofibers. Construction of active packaging film which can incorporate EOs with high loading efficiency and controlled release of EOs has received great attention. It is still difficult to achieve accurate release of antibacterial compounds at specific target locations in active packaging. In this research, a relative humidity-responsive packaging material was designed, employing the electrospinning technique to fabricate a nanofibrous film loaded with a 4-terpineol/β-cyclodextrin inclusion complexes (4-TA/β-CD ICs). Functioning as an innovative food packaging material, the film demonstrated commendable attributes including pleasing appearance, thermal stability, mechanical properties, and effective barrier properties. The incorporation of inclusion complexes greatly enhanced the antioxidant and antibacterial activity of the film, particularly against Shewanella putrefaciens, with an inhibitory efficiency of up to 65%. Crucially, the film realized controlled release of 4-TA under 98% high relative humidity conditions by inducing the plasticization of polymers caused by water molecules, swelling of polymer chains, and destruction of hydrogen bonds within the cyclodextrin inclusion complex. This film with a long-term antimicrobial effect successfully extended the shelf life of Litopenaeus vannamei shrimp to 7 days at 4 °C. To further improve the loading efficiency and long-acting release of EOs, we synthesized the γ-cyclodextrin-metal organic frameworks (γ-CD-MOFs), and then efficiently anchored γ-CD-MOFs on chitosan-cellulose (CS-CEL) composite film by in situ growth method for controlled releasing of carvacrol (CAR). We found that the growth efficiency of γ-CD-MOFs was the highest when the concentration of CEL dispersion was 5%. The anchoring of γ-CD-MOFs on CS-CEL film significantly improved the surface area of CS-CEL film from 1.0294 m2/g to 43.3458 m2/g. The molecular docking and 1H NMR spectra indicated that γ-CD-MOF has better complexing and stabilizing ability for CAR molecules than γ-CD. In addition, the release of CAR reached 99.71±0.22% on the 10th day, while under 22% RH, the release pattern of CAR was a plateau with 14.71 ± 4.46%. The inhibition rate of this film against E. coli, S. aureus and B. cinerea was more than 99%, and extended the shelf life of strawberries to 7 days. By incorporating the merits of natural biopolymers and MOFs, this active packaging offers great potential as a substitute for traditional packaging materials.

Keywords: active packaging, antibacterial activity, controlled release, essential oils, food quality control

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Authors: Seyyed Payman Ziapour, Ahmadali Enayati, Sadegh Kheiri, Farzaneh Sahraei-Rostami, Reza Ali Mohammadpour, Mahmoud Fazeli-Dinan, Mohsen Aarabi, Fatemeh Asgarian, Seyed Hassan Nikookar, Mohammad Sarafrazi

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Rhipicephalus bursa (R. bursa) is a two-host ixodid tick with wide distribution in north of Iran especially in domestic animals of Mazandaran Province. The prolonged or incorrect use of chemical insecticides has led to build up of resistance in hard ticks in many areas of the world. Lack of basic information on resistance status of R. bursa was the reason behind this study to determine the susceptibility status of the species to lambda-cyhalothrin insecticide in Mazandaran Province. From May 2013 to March 2014, R. bursa ticks were collected on sheep, goat and cattle in different districts of Mazandaran Province. The engorged female ticks were reared in a controlled insectary for producing 12-18 days old larvae for larval packet test (LPT) bioassay against discriminant doses of lambda-cyhalothrin 5% EC (MAC SILAT®). 80% of ten pooled tick populations were susceptible to lambda-cyhalothrin as resistance ratios (RR50s) varied from 1 to 2.94 when compared with the most susceptible population NH-16. Only GK-12 and BF-6 populations (from plain areas of Galugah and Fereydunkenar Counties, respectively) were classified as resistant level I at LC50 level. Population NK-2 (from woodland areas of Kojour district in Nowshahr County) showed the highest resistance ratio of RR99 = 4.32 and 30% of tick populations were resistant at LC99 level. Our research showed initiation of lambda-cyhalothrin resistance in Rhipicephalus bursa populations in Mazandaran Province, Northern Iran. This is considered a warning to policy makers for disease control in the study area. This research is a part of the PhD thesis of SP. Ziapour by grant No. 92-89 in Student Research Committee, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Iran.

Keywords: Rhipicephalus bursa, hard tick, lambda-cyhalothrin resistance, Iran

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Authors: Rebeca P Ramos-Bueno, Maria Jose Gonzalez-Fernandez, Rosa M. Moreno-Zamora, Antonia Barros Heras, Yolanda Serrano Alonso, Carolina Sanchez Barranco

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Insects are a new source of fatty acids (FA), so they are considered a sustainable and environmentally friendly alternative for both animal feed and the human diet, and furthermore, their harvesting/rearing require a low-tech and low capital investment. For that reason, lipids obtained by insect breeding open interesting possibilities with alimentary and industrial purposes, i.e., the production of biodiesel. Particularly, certain insect species, especially during the larval stage, contain high proportions of fat which is highly dependent on their feed and stage of development. Among them, Hermetia illucens larvae can be bred on food wastes to produce fat- and protein-rich raw materials for food by-product management. So, insects can act as excellent bioconverters of organic waste to nutrient-rich materials. In this regard, the aim of the study was to evaluate the effects of fruit byproducts on the FA compositions of Tenebrio molitor, Zophoba morio, and H. illucens larvae. Firstly, oil was extracted with the green solvent ethyl acetate, and FA methyl ester was obtained and analyzed by GC to show the FA profile. In addition, the triacylglycerol (TAG) profile was obtained by HPLC. Dehydrated watermelon, tomato, and papaya by-products, as well as wheat-based control feed, were assayed. High FA content was reached by Z. morio larvae fed with all fruits; however, no differences were shown in lipid profile with any change. It is worth highlighting that both Z. morio and H. illucens could be selected as the best candidates for biodiesel production due to their high content of saturated FA. On the other hand, T. molitor larvae showed a higher content of monounsaturated FA than control larvae, whereas the n-6 polyunsaturated FA content decreased in larvae fed with fruits. This result indicates that the improvement of the FA profile of Tenebrio can depend on both the type of feeding and the intended use. The lipid profile of H. illucens larvae fed with papaya and tomato showed a slight increase in the content of α-linoleic acid (ALA, 18:3n3). This FA is the precursor of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6n3), which plays an important role as a component of structural lipids in cell membranes as well as in the synthesis of eicosanoids, protecting and resolving. Also, it was evaluated the TAG profile of Z. morio larvae due to their highest oil content. The results showed a high oleic acid (OA, 18:1n9) content, which displays modulatory effects in a wide range of physiological functions, having anti-inflammatory and anti-atherogenic properties. In conclusion, this study clearly shows that Z. morio and H. illucens larvae constitute an alternative source of OA- and ALA-rich oils, respectively, which can be devoted for food use, as well as for using in the food and pharmaceutical industries, with agronomic implications. Finally, although the profile of Z. morio was not improved with fruit feeding, this kind of feeding could be used due to its low environmental impact.

Keywords: fatty acids, fruit byproducts, Hermetia illucens, Zophoba morio, Tenebrio molitor, insect rearing

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Authors: Maryam Nazari

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COVID-19 is a respiratory disease triggered by the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, that has reached pandemic status today. Acute inflammation and immune cells infiltration into lung injuries result in multi-organ failure. The presence of other non-communicable diseases (NCDs) with systemic inflammation derived from COVID-19 may exacerbate the patient's situation and increase the risk for adverse effects and mortality. This pandemic is a novel situation and the scientific community at this time is looking for vaccines or drugs to treat the pathology. One of the biggest challenges is focused on reducing inflammation without compromising the correct immune response of the patient. In this regard, addressing the nutritional factors should not be overlooked not only as a matter of avoiding the presence of NCDs with severe infections but also as an adjunctive way to modulate the inflammatory status of the patients. Despite the pivotal role of nutrition in modifying immune response, due to the novelty of the COVID-19 disease, information about the effects of specific dietary agents is limited in this area. From the macronutrients point of view, protein deficiency (quantity or quality) has negative effects on the number of functional immunoglobulins and gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT). High biological value proteins or some amino acids like arginine and glutamine are well known for their ability to augment the immune system. Among lipids, fish oil has the ability to inactivate enveloped viruses, suppress pro-inflammatory prostaglandin production and block platelet-activating factors and their receptors. In addition, protectin D1, which is an Omega-3 PUFAs derivation, is a novel antiviral drug. So it seems that these fatty acids can reduce the severity and/or improve recovery of patients with COVID-19. Carbohydrates with lower glycemic index and fibers are associated with lower levels of inflammatory cytokines (CRP, TNF-α, and IL-6). Short-Chain Fatty acids not only exert a direct anti-inflammatory effect but also provide appropriate gut microbial, which is important in gastrointestinal issues related to COVID-19. From the micronutrients point of view, Vitamins A, C, D, E, iron, magnesium, zinc, selenium and copper play a vital role in the maintenance of immune function. Inadequate status in these nutrients may result in decreased resistance against COVID-19 infection. There are specific bioactive compounds in the diet that interact with the ACE2 receptor, which is the gateway for SARS and SARS-CoV-2, and thus controls the viral infection. Regarding this, the potential benefits of probiotics, resveratrol (a polyphenol found in grape), oleoylethanolamide (derived from oleic acid), and natural peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ agonists in foodstuffs (like curcumin, pomegranate, hot pepper) are suggested. Yet, it should be pointed out that most of these results have been reported in animal models and further human studies are needed to be verified.

Keywords: Covid-19, inflammation, nutrition, dietary agents

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Authors: Ahmad Ghanem, Mohamad Yasin, Mona Abdel Rehim, Fabrice Gouanve, Eliane Espuche

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Biodegradable polymers are of great interest, especially for biomedical and packaging applications. Current research efforts are focused on the development of biopolymers with the purpose of reducing the plastic pollution induced by the widely used in biodegradable polyolefins. The main challenge is focused on the elaboration of biopolymers having properties competitive to those of polyolefins. On the other hand, graphene oxide (GO), a graphene derivative, is characterized by the presence of several functional groups on the surface such as carboxylic, hydroxyl and epoxide. This feature enables modification of GO surface with different modifiers to obtain versatile surface properties and overcome the problem of graphene sheets aggregations during inclusion in a polymer matrix. In this context, poly (butylene succinate) (PBS) as promising biopolyester is modified through blending with different ratios of functionalized (GO) to improve its barrier properties. Modification of GO has been carried out using different hyperbranched polymeric structures in order to increase miscibility of the nanosheets in the hosting polymeric matrix. Films have been prepared from the modified PBS and their mechanical, thermal and gas barrier properties were investigated. The results reveal enhancement in the thermal and mechanical properties beside observed improvement of the barrier properties for the films prepared from the modified PBS. This improvement is related to the strong dependence on tortuosity effects of dispersion, exfoliation levels of fillers into the polymer matrix and interactions between the fillers and the polymer matrix.

Keywords: gas barrier properties, graphene oxide, food packaging, transport properties

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Authors: Charles Mazhazhate

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This study interrogates and analyses the intricate kin- and- kith network patterns of corruption and mismanagement of resources prevalent in public sector supply chains bedeviling the developing economies of Sub-Saharan Africa with particular reference to Zimbabwe. This is forcing governments to resort to harsh fiscal policies that see their citizens paying high taxes against a backdrop of incomes below the poverty datum line, and this negatively affects their quality of life. The corporate world is also affected by the various tax-regime instituted. Mismanagement of resources and corrupt practices are rampant in state-owned enterprises to the extent that institutional policies, procedures, and practices are often flouted for the benefit of a clique of individuals. This interwoven in kith and kin blood human relations in organizations where appointments to critical positions are based on ascribed status. People no longer place value in their systems to make them work thereby violating corporate governance principles. Greediness and ‘unholy friendship connections’ are instrumental in fueling the employment of people who know each other from their discrete backgrounds. Such employments or socio-metric unions are meant to protect those at the top by giving them intelligent information through spying on what other subordinates are doing inside and outside the organization. This practice has led to the underperforming of organizations as those employees with connections and their upper echelons favorites connive to abuse resources for their own benefit. Even if culprits are known, no draconian measures are employed as a deterrence measure. Public value along public sector supply chains is lost. The study used a descriptive case study research design on fifty organizations in Zimbabwe mainly state-owned enterprises. Both qualitative and quantitative instrumentations were used. Both Snowball and random sampling techniques were used. The study found out that in all the fifty SOEs, there were employees in key positions related to top management, with tentacles feeding into the law enforcement agents, judiciary, security systems, and the executive. Such employees in public seem not to know each other with but would be involved in dirty scams and then share the proceeds with top people behind the scenes. The study also established that the same employees do not have the necessary competencies, qualifications, abilities, and capabilities to be in those positions. This culture is now strong that it is difficult to bust. The study recommends recruitment of all employees through an independent employment bureau to ensure strategic fit.

Keywords: corruption, state owned enterprises, strategic fit, public sector supply chains, efficiency

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Authors: Said Benaissa, David Plets, Emmeric Tanghe, Jens Trogh, Luc Martens, Leen Vandaele, Annelies Van Nuffel, Frank A. M. Tuyttens, Bart Sonck, Wout Joseph

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The herd monitoring and managing - in particular the detection of ‘attention animals’ that require care, treatment or assistance is crucial for effective reproduction status, health, and overall well-being of dairy cows. In large sized farms, traditional methods based on direct observation or analysis of video recordings become labour-intensive and time-consuming. Thus, automatic monitoring systems using sensors have become increasingly important to continuously and accurately track the health status of dairy cows. Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) and internet-of-things (IoT) can be effectively used in health tracking of dairy cows to facilitate herd management and enhance the cow welfare. Since on-cow measuring devices are energy-constrained, a proper characterization of the off-body wireless channel between the on-cow sensor nodes and the back-end base station is required for a power-optimized deployment of these networks in barns. The aim of this study was to characterize the off-body wireless channel in indoor (barns) environment at 868 MHz using LoRa nodes. LoRa is an emerging wireless technology mainly targeted at WSNs and IoT networks. Both large scale fading (i.e., path loss) and temporal fading were investigated. The obtained path loss values as a function of the transmitter-receiver separation were well fitted by a lognormal path loss model. The path loss showed an additional increase of 4 dB when the wireless node was actually worn by the cow. The temporal fading due to movement of other cows was well described by Rician distributions with a K-factor of 8.5 dB. Based on this characterization, network planning and energy consumption optimization of the on-body wireless nodes could be performed, which enables the deployment of reliable dairy cow monitoring systems.

Keywords: channel, channel modelling, cow monitoring, dairy cows, health monitoring, IoT, LoRa, off-body propagation, PLF, propagation

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Authors: Muuz Abraha Meshesha

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Illegal Migration, specifically Trafficking in person is one of the primary issues of the day affecting all states of the world with variation on the extent of the root causes and consequences that led people to migrate irregularly and the consequences it is costing on humanity. This paper intends to investigate the root causes and consequences of illegal migration in Ethiopia’s Tigray Regional state and come up with alternative intervening strategy. To come up with pertinent and robust research finding, this study employed mixed research approach involving qualitative and quantitative data in line with purposive and snow ball sampling selection technique. The study revealed that, though poverty is the most commonly sensed pushing factor for people to illegally migrate, the issue of psycho-social orientation and attitudinal immersion of the local community for illegal migration, both in thinking and action is the most pressing problem that urges serious intervention. Trafficking in persons and Illegal migration in general, is becoming the norm of the day in the study area that overtly reveal illegal migration is an issue beyond livelihood securing demand in practice. Basically, parties engaged in illegal migration and the accomplice with human traffickers these days in the study area are found to be more than urgency for food security and a need to escape from livelihood impoverishment. Therefore, this study come up with a new paradigm insight indicating that illegal migration is believed by the local community members as an optional path way of doing business in illegal way while the attitude of the community and officials authorized to regulate is being part of the channel or to the least tolerant of this grave global danger. The study also found that the effect of illegal migration is significantly manifested in long run than in short term periods. Therefore, a need for critical consideration on attitudinal based intervention and youth oriented and enforceable legal and policy framework accountability framework is required to face and control illegal migration by international, national, local stakeholders. Besides this, economy based development interventions that could engage and reorient the youth, as primary victims of trafficking, and expansion of large scale projects that can employ large number of youths at a time.

Keywords: human traficking, illegal migration, migration, tigray region

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Authors: Chiara Colarusso, Michela Terlizzi, Aldo Pinto, Rosalinda Sorrentino

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Cigarette smoking is the main cause and the most common risk factor for both COPD and lung cancer. In our previous studies, we proved that caspase-11 in mice and its human analogue, caspase-4, are involved in lung carcinogenesis and that AIM2 inflammasome might play a pro-cancerous role in lung cancer. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate potential crosstalk between COPD and lung cancer, focusing on AIM2 and caspase-11-dependent inflammasome signaling pathway. To mimic COPD, we took advantage of an experimental first-hand smoking mouse model and, to confirm what was observed in mice, we used human samples of lung adenocarcinoma patients stratified according to the smoking and COPD status. We demonstrated that smoke exposure led to emphysema-like features, bronchial tone impairment, and release of IL-1-like cytokines (IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-33, IL-18) in a caspase-1 independent manner in C57Bl/6N. Rather, a dysfunctional caspase-11 in smoke-exposed 129Sv mice was associated to lower bronchial inflammation, collagen deposition, and IL-1-like inflammation. In addition, for the first time, we found that AIM2 inflammasome is involved in lung inflammation in smoking and COPD, in that its expression was higher in smoke-exposed C57Bl/6N compared to 129Sv smoking mice, who instead did not show any alteration of AIM2 in both macrophages and dendritic cells. Moreover, we found that AIM2 expression in the cancerous tissue, albeit higher than non-cancerous tissue, was not statistically different according to the COPD and smoking status. Instead, the higher expression of AIM2 in non-cancerous tissue of smoker COPD patients than smokers who did not have COPD was correlated to a higher hazard ratio of poor survival rate than patients who presented lower levels of AIM2. In conclusion, our data highlight that caspase-11 in mice is associated to smoke-induced lung latent inflammation which could drive the establishment of lung cancer, and that AIM2 inflammasome plays a role at the crosstalk between smoking/COPD and lung adenocarcinoma in that its higher presence is correlated to lower survival rate of smoker COPD adenocarcinoma.

Keywords: COPD, inflammasome, lung cancer, lung inflammation, smoke

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Authors: Kung-Jen Tu, Danny Vernatha

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To assist individual departments within universities in their energy management tasks, this study explores the application of Building Information Modeling in establishing the ‘BIM based Energy Management Support System’ (BIM-EMSS). The BIM-EMSS consists of six components: (1) sensors installed for each occupant and each equipment, (2) electricity sub-meters (constantly logging lighting, HVAC, and socket electricity consumptions of each room), (3) BIM models of all rooms within individual departments’ facilities, (4) data warehouse (for storing occupancy status and logged electricity consumption data), (5) building energy management system that provides energy managers with various energy management functions, and (6) energy simulation tool (such as eQuest) that generates real time 'standard energy consumptions' data against which 'actual energy consumptions' data are compared and energy efficiency evaluated. Through the building energy management system, the energy manager is able to (a) have 3D visualization (BIM model) of each room, in which the occupancy and equipment status detected by the sensors and the electricity consumptions data logged are displayed constantly; (b) perform real time energy consumption analysis to compare the actual and standard energy consumption profiles of a space; (c) obtain energy consumption anomaly detection warnings on certain rooms so that energy management corrective actions can be further taken (data mining technique is employed to analyze the relation between space occupancy pattern with current space equipment setting to indicate an anomaly, such as when appliances turn on without occupancy); and (d) perform historical energy consumption analysis to review monthly and annually energy consumption profiles and compare them against historical energy profiles. The BIM-EMSS was further implemented in a research lab in the Department of Architecture of NTUST in Taiwan and implementation results presented to illustrate how it can be used to assist individual departments within universities in their energy management tasks.

Keywords: database, electricity sub-meters, energy anomaly detection, sensor

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Authors: Francesco Pinci

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This study focuses on sustainability and consumer behavior in relation to packaging aesthetics. It investigates the significance of product packaging as a potent marketing tool with a specific emphasis on commercially available pasta as a case study. The research delves into the visual components of packaging, encompassing aspects such as color, shape, packaging material, and logo design. The findings of this study hold particular relevance for food and beverage companies as they seek to gain a comprehensive understanding of the factors influencing consumer purchasing decisions. Furthermore, the study places a significant emphasis on the sustainability aspects of packaging, exploring how eco-friendly and environmentally conscious packaging choices can impact consumer preferences and behaviors. The insights generated from this research contribute to a more sustainable approach to packaging practices and inform marketers on the effective integration of sustainability principles in their branding strategies. Overall, this study provides valuable insights into the dynamic interplay between aesthetics, sustainability, and consumer behavior, offering practical implications for businesses seeking to align their packaging practices with sustainable and consumer-centric approaches. In this study, packaging designs and images from the website of Eataly US.Eataly is one of the leading distributors of authentic Italian pasta worldwide, and its website serves as a rich source of packaging visuals and product representations. By analyzing the packaging and images showcased on the Eataly website, the study gained valuable insights into consumer behavior and preferences regarding pasta packaging in the context of sustainability and aesthetics.

Keywords: consumer behaviour, sustainability, food marketing, neuromarketing

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Authors: Hrudaya Kamasani

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The cultural prevalence of vigilante justice is sustained through the social sanction for foregoing a judicial trial to determine guilt. Precisely due to its roots in social sanction, it has repercussions as more than just being symptomatic of cultural values that condone violence. In the long term, the practice of vigilante justice as a response to incidents of sexual violence, while veiled in civic discontent over the standards of women’s security in society, can adversely affect the discourse on sexual violence. To illustrate the impact that acts of vigilante justice can have in prematurely ending a budding discourse on sexual violence, the paper reviews three cases of heinous crimes committed against women in India that gained popular attention in the discursive spaces. The 2012 Nirbhaya rape and murder case in Delhi demonstrates how the criminal justice system can spur a social movement and can result in legislative changes and a discourse that challenged a wide range of socio-cultural issues of women’s security and treatment. The paper compares it with two incidents of sexual violence in India that ended with the suspects being killed in the name of vigilante justice that had wide social sanction. The two cases are the 2019 extrajudicial killing of Priyanka Reddy rape and murder case suspects in Hyderabad and the 2015 mob lynching of an accused in a rape case in Dimapur. The paper explains why the absence of judicial trials in sexual violence cases results in ending any likelihood of the instances inspiring civic engagement with the discourse on sexual violence.

Keywords: sexual violence, vigilante justice, extrajudicial killing, cultural values of violence, Nirbhaya rape case, mob violence

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Authors: P. Chandhra Sekhar, R. A. Deshpande, T. Raghunatha

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The government of India has given special attention on rural electrification under Rajiv Gandhi Grameena Vidyuthikarana Yojana (RGGVY) during 10th plan and 11th plan. Government of India electrified about 107523 villages and 21164003 BPL Households. This paper briefs about various rural electrification programs initiated by government of India and status of RGGVY in India. The paper mainly describes about challenges in the rural electrification, new ideas recently implemented and suggestions for improvement in the rural electrification.

Keywords: rural electrification, RGGVY, NJY, BPL

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Authors: Olufemi Samuel Shola, Oladapo Adenike Adesola

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Inadequate dietary intake has increased the susceptibility of under five children to malnutrition and infections. This study, therefore, assessed the feeding practices of children of 0-23 months of age among mothers in urban areas of Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria. Simple random sampling technique was used to select four hundred (400) mothers out of 710 mothers from 7 primary health care centres in Akure metropolis for the study. Data were collected using modified WHO 2003 Questionnaire on child feeding practices. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, while chi-square was used to determine the association between variables. Results showed that 52.0% of the children were males, with 47.5% in the 6-8 months age group. More than half (57.0%) of the mothers were between the ages of 20-29 years, and 45.0% had secondary education. Majority (94.3%) of the mothers breastfed their children in the last 24 hours preceding the survey. The feeding practices history of mothers showed that 28.0% and 53.7% of the mothers initiated breastfeeding less than 30 minutes and between 30 minutes to 1 hour after delivery, respectively. Also, 52.0% of mothers practiced exclusive breastfeeding for six months, while 26.2% breastfed from 6 months up to 2 years of age. Dietary diversity of the children age 6-23 months revealed that 68.7% of the children attained the minimum dietary diversity by consuming 4 or more food groups in the last 24 hours. There was a significant association (P < 0.05) between mothers’ education (n=180), occupation(n=41) and dietary diversity (n= 150) and meal frequency (n=209). Therefore, the study concluded that the duration of breastfeeding and time of introduction of complementary food did not meet WHO recommended guidelines. There is urgent need to launching more programmes.

Keywords: breastfeeding, mothers, child feeding, urban areas, ondo state, nigeria

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Authors: Sandra Cecilia Bautista-Rodríguez, Vladimir Melgarejo

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Climate change, loss of ecosystems, increasing poverty, increasing marginalization of rural communities and declining food security are global issues that require urgent attention. In this regard, a great deal of research has focused on how agroecosystems respond to these challenges as they provide ecosystem services (ES) that lead to higher levels of resilience, adaptation, productivity and self-sufficiency. Hence, the valuing of ecosystem services plays an important role in the decision-making process for the design and management of agroecosystems. This paper aims to define the link between ecosystem service valuation methods and ES value dimensions in agroecosystems from ecological economics and agroecology. The method used to identify valuation methodologies was a literature review in the fields of Agroecology and Ecological Economics, based on a strategy of information search and classification. The conceptual framework of the work is based on the multidimensionality of value, considering the social, ecological, political, technological and economic dimensions. Likewise, the valuation process requires consideration of the ecosystem function associated with ES, such as regulation, habitat, production and information functions. In this way, valuation methods for ES in agroecosystems can integrate more than one value dimension and at least one ecosystem function. The results allow correlating the ecosystem functions with the ecosystem services valued, and the specific tools or models used, the dimensions and valuation methods. The main methodologies identified are multi-criteria valuation (1), deliberative - consultative valuation (2), valuation based on system dynamics modeling (3), valuation through energy or biophysical balances (4), valuation through fuzzy logic modeling (5), valuation based on agent-based modeling (6). Amongst the main conclusions, it is highlighted that the system dynamics modeling approach has a high potential for development in valuation processes, due to its ability to integrate other methods, especially multi-criteria valuation and energy and biophysical balances, to describe through causal cycles the interrelationships between ecosystem services, the dimensions of value in agroecosystems, thus showing the relationships between the value of ecosystem services and the welfare of communities. As for methodological challenges, it is relevant to achieve the integration of tools and models provided by different methods, to incorporate the characteristics of a complex system such as the agroecosystem, which allows reducing the limitations in the processes of valuation of ES.

Keywords: ecological economics, agroecosystems, ecosystem services, valuation of ecosystem services

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Authors: Aaron Herve Mbwe Mbissik, Lotfi Khiari, Otmane Raji, Abdellatif Elghali, Abdelkarim Lajili, Muhammad Ouabid, Martin Jemo, Jean-Louis Bodinier

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Potassium (K) is an essential macronutrient for plant growth, helping to regulate several physiological and metabolic processes. Evaporite-related potash salts, mainly sylvite minerals (K chloride or KCl), are the principal source of K for the fertilizer industry. However, due to the high potash-supply risk associated with its considerable price fluctuations and uneven geographic distribution for most agriculture-based developing countries, the development of alternative sources of fertilizer K is imperative to maintain adequate crop yield, reduce yield gaps, and food security. Alkaline Igneous rocks containing significant K-rich silicate minerals such as K feldspar are increasingly seen as the best alternative available. However, these rocks may require to be hydrothermally treatment to enhance the release of potassium. In this study, we evaluate the fertilizing capacity of raw and hydrothermally treated K-bearing silicate rocks from different areas in Morocco. The effectiveness of rock powders was tested in a greenhouse experiment using ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum) by comparing them to a control (no K added) and to a conventional fertilizer (muriate of potash: MOP or KCl). The trial was conducted in a randomized complete block design with three replications, and plants were grown on K-depleted soils for three growing cycles. To achieve our objective, in addition to the analysis of the muriate response curve and the different biomasses, we also examined three necessary coefficients, namely: the K uptake, then apparent K recovery (AKR), and the relative K efficiency (RKE). The results showed that based on the optimum economic rate of MOP (230 kg.K.ha⁻¹) and the optimum yield (44 000 kg.K.ha⁻¹), the efficiency of K silicate rocks was as high as that of MOP. Although the plants took up only half of the K supplied by the powdered rock, the hydrothermal material was found to be satisfactory, with a biomass value reaching the optimum economic limit until the second crop cycle. In comparison, the AKR of the MOP (98.6%) and its RKE in the 1st cycle were higher than our materials: 39% and 38%, respectively. Therefore, the raw and hydrothermal materials mixture could be an appropriate solution for long-term agronomic use based on the obtained results.

Keywords: K-uptake, AKR, RKE, K-bearing silicate rock, MOP

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