Search results for: Philippine İndigenous vegetables

Authors: Maryam Nzari

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Today, with the advancement of Internet technology, one of the tools used by humans is a tool that allows them to do what they need easily. Online platforms in different forms and by providing different services make it possible for users to communicate with each other and users with platforms. Audience communication with mass media is not the same as in the past. Today the conditions are different; With online platforms that provide the latest news minute by minute, he has access to all the content and can choose more quickly and easily. According to professionals Galloway, Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Google companies create a wide range. They are among the products and services that are connected with the daily life of billions of people all over the planet. Over time, platforms gain high economic value and in this way gain power that will influence the social, cultural, economic and political aspects of people’s lives. As a result of the effects of the process of platformization on all areas of individual and collective life, we now live in a platform society, which communicates It is close to “platform politics”. Nowadays, with social media platforms, users can interact with many people and people can share their data on various topics with others in this space. In this research, what will be investigated is the role of these online platforms in economic growth and the introduction of local culture areas in tourist areas. Tourism in a region is linked with various factors; One of the important factors that attract tourists to a region is its culture, and on the other hand, this culture can also affect economic growth. Without a proper understanding of the culture of these tourist areas, it is not possible to plan properly for the growth of the tourism industry and the subsequent increase in economic growth. The interaction of local people and tourists will have social and cultural effects on each other and will give them the opportunity to get to know each other. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to examine issues such as the role that online platforms play in cultural interaction in tourist areas and to understand that online platforms are only seeking to show the good aspects of a region and then generate enough extra income or that platforms can They play a role beyond what we imagine and introduce the culture of a region in a proper way so that we don’t see disagreements in the tourism planning of that region. in this article It has been tried by using library and field methods Answer the questions.

Keywords: online platforms, economic growth, culture Indigenous, tourism

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Authors: Olupemi E. Oludare

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This paper investigates the creative practice engaged in Juju music, a Nigerian Neo-traditional genre of the Yoruba, and its influence on the consciousness of societal praxis. It takes a musical and cultural perspective, as representational indices of how the people’s religious, social, educational, and political consciousness is expressed in their music. The study adopts the historical cum descriptive design in its methodology, tracing the historical development of Juju music, the appropriation of musical and cultural materials in its creative process, and a descriptive analysis of its musical practice, in order to substantiate the role and function of Juju music and its musicians in the political, philosophical, and social consciousness of Nigeria’s pre- and post-independence epoch. Data were collected through oral interviews of selected Juju practitioners, stakeholders, and enthusiasts. It also employed the use of discography of Juju musicians. This paper discusses musical factors such as form, melodic and rhythmic patterns, and thematic materials, while highlighting cultural factors such as linguistic elements, with textual analysis, as a conscious avenue of expression. The study revealed that Juju musicians composed their music by engaging both indigenous and foreign musical materials, as a means of creative practice for musical entertainment, while expressing the people’s consciousness of their beliefs, values, and socio-political issues, hence the music functioning as a vehicle for social commentaries. The popularization and commercialization of Juju music brought the musicians national and international accolades, subsequently attracting contributions from contemporary musicians, which led to innovations of new brands, such as ‘Afro-Juju’, ‘Gospel-Juju’, ‘Hip-Hop-Juju’, etc., albeit retaining the basic musical elements of its progenitor, as a conscious music for socio-cultural functions. This study concludes that Juju music and its musicians remain germane in the musical scene of the nation’s social, educational, and political terrain, especially in the current Nigerian democratic climate. This paper recommends the promotion and patronage of the Juju music in its original form, to prevent its decline in current times, since it serves as an enrichment of national identity both in Nigeria, and Internationally.

Keywords: appropriation, consciousness, creative practice, national identity, neo-traditional

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Authors: Santiago Silva de Andrade

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In recent decades, Marx's ecological theory of the value-form and the theory of metabolic rift have represented fundamental methodological innovations for social scientists interested in environmental transformations and their relationships with the development of the capital system. However, among Latin American environmental historians, such theoretical and methodological instruments have been used infrequently and very cautiously. This investigation aims to demonstrate how the concepts of metabolic rift and ecological value-form are important for understanding the environmental, economic and social transformations in the Amazon region between the second half of the 19th century and the end of the 20th century. Such transformations manifested themselves mainly in two dimensions: the first concerns the link between the manufacture of tropical substances for export and scientific developments in the fields of botany, chemistry and agriculture. This link was constituted as a set of social, intellectual and economic relations that condition each other, configuring an asymmetrical field of exchanges and connections between the demands of the industrialized world - personified in scientists, naturalists, businesspeople and bureaucrats - and the agencies of local social actors, such as indigenous people, riverside dwellers and quilombolas; the second dimension concerns the imperative link between the historical development of the capitalist world-system and the restructuring of the natural world, its landscapes, biomes and social relations, notably in peripheral colonial areas. The environmental effects of capitalist globalization were not only seen in the degradation of exploited environments, although this has been, until today, its most immediate and noticeable aspect. There was also, in territories subject to the logic of market accumulation, the reformulation of patterns of authority and institutional architectures, such as property systems, political jurisdictions, rights and social contracts, as a result of the expansion of commodity frontiers between the 16th and 21st centuries. . This entire set of transformations produced impacts on the ecological landscape of the Amazon. This demonstrates the need to investigate the histories of local configurations of power, spatial and ecological - with their institutions and social actors - and their role in structuring the capitalist world-system , under the lens of the ecological theory of value-form and metabolic rift.

Keywords: amazon, ecology, form-value, metabolic rift

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Authors: R. B. B. Samantha Ramachandra, L. D. J. Upul Senarath, S. H. Padmal De Silva

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Dietary pattern largely differs over countries and even within a country, it shows cultural differences. The dietary pattern changes the energy consumption and micronutrient intake, directly affects the pregnancy outcome. The dietary diversity was used as an indirect measure to assess micronutrient adequacy for pregnant mothers in this study. The study was conducted as a baseline survey with the objective of designing an intervention to improve the dietary diversity of pregnant mothers in Sri Lanka. The survey was conducted in Kalutara district of Sri Lanka in 2015 among 769 pregnant mothers at different gestational ages. Dietary diversity questionnaire developed by Food and Agricultural Organization’s (FAO) Food and Nutrition technical Assistance (FANTA) II project, recommended for cross-country use with adaptations was used for data collection. Trained data collectors met pregnant mothers at field ante-natal clinic and questioned on last 24hr dietary recall with portion size and coded food items to identify the diversity. Pregnant mothers were identified from randomly selected 21 clusters of public health midwife areas. 81.5% mothers (n=627) in the sample had been registered at Public Health Midwife (PHM) before 8 weeks of gestation. 24.4% of mothers were with low starting BMI and 22.7% mothers were with high starting BMI. 47.6% (n=388) mothers had abstained from at least one food item during the pregnancy. The food group with the highest consumption was rice (98.4%) followed by sugar (89.9%). 76.1% mothers had consumed milk, 73% consumed fish and sea foods. Consumption of green leaves was 52% and Vit A rich foods consumed only by 49% mothers. Animal organs, flesh meat and egg all showed low prevalence as 4.7%, 21.6% and 20% respectively. Consumption of locally grown roots, nut, legumes all showed very low prevalence. Consumption of 6 or more food groups was considered as good dietary diversity (DD), 4 to 5 food groups as moderate diversity and 3 or less food groups as poor diversity by FAO FANTA II project. 42.1% mothers demonstrated good DD while another 42.1% recorded moderate diversity. Working mothers showed better DD (51.6%, n=82/159) compared to housewives in the sample (chi = 10.656a,. df=2, p=0.005). The good DD showed gradual improvement from 43.1% to 55.5% along the poorest to richest wealth index (Chi=48.045, df=8 and p=0.000). DD showed significant association with the ethnicity and Moors showed the lowest DD. DD showed no association with the home gardening even though where better diversity expected among those who have home gardening (p=0.548). Sri Lanka is a country where many food items can be grown in the garden and semi-urban setting have adequate space for gardening. Many Sri Lankan mothers do not add homegrown items in their meal. At the same time, their consumption of animal food shows low prevalence. The DD of most of the mothers being either moderate or low (58%) may result from inadequate micro nutrient intake during pregnancy. It is recommended that adding green leaves, locally grown vegetables, roots, nuts and legumes can help increasing the DD of Sri Lankan mothers at low cost.

Keywords: dietary diversity, pregnant mothers, micro-nutrient, food groups

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Authors: Rajkumar Ghosh

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Fluoride contamination is a growing concern in various regions across the globe, including North 24 Parganas in West Bengal, India. The presence of excessive fluoride in the environment can have detrimental effects on crops, soil quality, and water resources. This note aims to shed light on the implications of fluoride contamination and its impact on the agricultural sector in North 24 Parganas. The agricultural lands in North 24 Parganas have been significantly affected by fluoride contamination, leading to adverse consequences for crop production. Excessive fluoride uptake by plants can hinder their growth, reduce crop yields, and impact the quality of agricultural produce. Certain crops, such as paddy, vegetables, and fruits, are more susceptible to fluoride toxicity, resulting in stunted growth, leaf discoloration, and reduced nutritional value. Fluoride-contaminated water, often used for irrigation, contributes to the accumulation of fluoride in the soil. Over time, this can lead to soil degradation and reduced fertility. High fluoride levels can alter soil pH, disrupt the availability of essential nutrients, and impair microbial activity critical for nutrient cycling. Consequently, the overall health and productivity of the soil are compromised, making it increasingly challenging for farmers to sustain agricultural practices. Fluoride contamination in North 24 Parganas extends beyond the soil and affects water resources as well. The excess fluoride seeps into groundwater, making it unsafe for consumption. Long-term consumption of fluoride-contaminated water can lead to various health issues, including dental and skeletal fluorosis. These health concerns pose significant risks to the local population, especially those reliant on contaminated water sources for their daily needs. Addressing fluoride contamination requires concerted efforts from various stakeholders, including government authorities, researchers, and farmers. Implementing appropriate water treatment technologies, such as defluoridation units, can help reduce fluoride levels in drinking water sources. Additionally, promoting alternative irrigation methods and crop diversification strategies can aid in mitigating the impact of fluoride on agricultural productivity. Furthermore, creating awareness among farmers about the adverse effects of fluoride contamination and providing access to alternative water sources are crucial steps toward safeguarding the health of the community and sustaining agricultural activities in the region. Fluoride contamination poses significant challenges to crop production, soil health, and water resources in North 24 Parganas, West Bengal. It is imperative to prioritize efforts to address this issue effectively and implement appropriate measures to mitigate fluoride contamination. By adopting sustainable practices and promoting awareness, the community can work towards restoring the agricultural productivity, soil quality and ensuring access to safe drinking water in the region.

Keywords: fluoride contamination, drinking water, toxicity, soil health

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Authors: Steeve Mercier, Joan Netten, Olivier Massé

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The traditional lack of success of most Canadian students in the regular French program in attaining the ability to communicate spontaneously led to the conceptualization of a modified program. This program, called Intensive French, introduced and evaluated as an experiment in several school districts, formed the basis for the creation of a more effective approach for the development of skills in a second/foreign language and literacy: the Neurolinguistic Approach (NLA).The NLA expresses the major change in the understanding of how communication skills are developed: learning to communicate spontaneously in a second language depends on the reuse of structures in a variety of cognitive situations to express authentic messages rather than on knowledge of the way a language functions. Put differently, it prioritises the acquisition of implicit competence over the learning of grammatical knowledge. This is achieved by the adoption of a literacy-based approach and an increase in intensity of instruction.Besides having strong support empirically from numerous experiments, the NLA has sound theoretical foundation, as it conforms to research in neurolinguistics. The five pedagogical principles that define the approach will be explained, as well as the differences between the NLA and the paradigm on which most current resources and teaching strategies are based. It is now 25 years since the original research occurred. The use of the NLA, as it will be shown, has expanded widely. With some adaptations, it is used for other languages and in other milieus. In Canada, classes are offered in mandarin, Ukrainian, Spanish and Arabic, amongst others. It has also been used in several indigenous communities, such as to restore the use of Mohawk, Cri and Dene. Its use has expanded throughout the world, as in China, Japan, France, Germany, Belgium, Poland, Russia, as well as Mexico. The Intensive French program originally focussed on students in grades 5 or 6 (ages 10 -12); nowadays, the programs based on the approach include adults, particularly immigrants entering new countries. With the increasing interest in inclusion and cultural diversity, there is a demand for language learning amongst pre-school and primary children that can be successfully addressed by the NLA. Other current experiments target trilingual schools and work with Inuit communities of Nunavik in the province of Quebec.

Keywords: neuroeducation, neurolinguistic approach, literacy, second language acquisition, plurilingualism, foreign language teaching and learning

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Authors: Juan C. Pérez-Mesa, Emilio Galdeano-Gómez, Jerónimo De Burgos-Jiménez, José F. Bienvenido-Bárcena, José F. Jiménez-Guerrero

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Environmental cost and transport congestion on roads resulting from product distribution in Europe have to lead to the creation of various programs and studies seeking to reduce these negative impacts. In this regard, apart from other institutions, the European Commission (EC) has designed plans in recent years promoting a more sustainable transportation model in an attempt to ultimately shift traffic from the road to the sea by using intermodality to achieve a model rebalancing. This issue proves especially relevant in supply chains from peripheral areas of the continent, where the supply of certain agrifood products is high. In such cases, the most difficult challenge is managing perishable goods. This study focuses on new approaches that strengthen the modal shift, as well as the reduction of externalities. This problem is analyzed by attempting to promote intermodal system (truck and short sea shipping) for transport, taking as point of reference highly perishable products (vegetables) exported from southeast Spain, which is the leading supplier to Europe. Methodologically, this paper seeks to contribute to the literature by proposing a different and complementary approach to establish a comparison between intermodal and the “only road” alternative. For this purpose, the multicriteria decision is utilized in a p-median model (P-M) adapted to the transport of perishables and to a means of shipping selection problem, which must consider different variables: transit cost, including externalities, time, and frequency (including agile response time). This scheme avoids bias in decision-making processes. By observing the results, it can be seen that the influence of the externalities as drivers of the modal shift is reduced when transit time is introduced as a decision variable. These findings confirm that the general strategies, those of the EC, based on environmental benefits lose their capacity for implementation when they are applied to complex circumstances. In general, the different estimations reveal that, in the case of perishables, intermodality would be a secondary and viable option only for very specific destinations (for example, Hamburg and nearby locations, the area of influence of London, Paris, and the Netherlands). Based on this framework, the general outlook on this subject should be modified. Perhaps the government should promote specific business strategies based on new trends in the supply chain, not only on the reduction of externalities, and find new approaches that strengthen the modal shift. A possible option is to redefine ports, conceptualizing them as digitalized redistribution and coordination centers and not only as areas of cargo exchange.

Keywords: environmental externalities, intermodal transport, perishable food, transit time

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Authors: Nabeel Mohammed Ali

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Background and significance of the study: This study focuses on the experiences, perspectives, and issues of the working-class Aboriginals and immigrants in Australia. In addition to dealing with their lives, struggles, and aspirations of working-class people, poetry of labor presents an insight into a neglected literary writing that goes beyond the social discourse of class distinction. In this contemporary context, it explores a broader spectrum of challenges and experiences, such as the complexities of modern labor, immigration, indigenous rights, social justice, multiculturalism, economic inequality, advocating for workers' rights and labor movements, the impact of globalization on local industries, and the evolution of labor in the digital age. Aims of the Study: The study will try to answer the following questions: What insights does poetics of labor provide to affect the literary creation of poetry at the time, as well as whether it can create a change in the social fabric of Australian diversity? What are the main themes and issues that Aboriginal and immigrant poets address in their works? How do they reflect the realities and challenges of working-class people in Australia? How do they use language, form, and style to convey their messages and emotions? How do the poets engage with and critique the dominant narratives and ideologies of Australian society and culture? How do they challenge or resist the stereotypes, prejudices, and discrimination that they face? And how do they show solidarity or empathy with others who share similar struggles or aspirations? Methodology: The study will utilize traditional Marxist paradigms to analyze the poetry of the selected poets in the context of the evolving sociopolitical landscape of the 21st century. The Neo-Marxist literary criticism is used as a theoretical tool to analyze the texts. The concept of Power dynamics to analyze the intersectionality of race, labor and class. Findings: The poetry of contemporary Australian Aboriginal and immigrant poets labor, represents a critical, yet under-explored, discussion of the intersection of labor, class, and a multicultural identity. The study will deal with the poetry of the Aboriginal poet Ali Cobby Eckermann (1963- ) and the immigrant Chinese poet Ouyang Yu ( 1955- ).

Keywords: aboriginals, immigrants, Australia, working-class, Ali eckermann, ouyang Yu

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Authors: Sundru Manjulata Devi, Prakash M. Halami

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The immemorial use of fermented foods from vegetables, dairy and other biological sources are of great demand in India because of their health benefits. However, the diversity of Lactobacillus plantarum group (LPG) of vegetable origin has not been revealed yet, particularly with reference to their probiotic functionalities. In the present study, the different species of probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum group (LPG) i.e., L. plantarum subsp. plantarum MTCC 5422 (from fermented cereals), L. plantarum subsp. argentoratensis FG16 (from fermented bamboo shoot) and L. paraplantarum MTCC 9483 (from fermented gundruk) (as characterized by multiplex recA PCR assay) were considered to investigate their relative expression of MUB domains of mub gene (mucin binding protein) by Real time PCR. Initially, the allelic variation in the mub gene was assessed and found to encode three different variants (Type I, II and III). All the three types had 8, 9 and 10 MUB domains respectively (as analysed by Pfam database) and were found to be responsible for adhesion of bacteria to the host intestinal epithelial cells. These domains either get inserted or deleted during speciation or evolutionary events and lead to divergence. The reverse transcriptase qPCR analysis with mubLPF1+R1 primer pair supported variation in amplicon sizes with 300, 500 and 700 bp among different LPG strains. The relative expression of these MUB domains significantly unregulated in the presence of 1% mucin in overnight grown cultures. Simultaneously, the mub gene expressed efficiently by 7 fold in the culture L. paraplantarum MTCC 9483 with 10 MUB domains. An increase in the expression levels for L. plantarum subsp. plantarum MTCC 5422 and L. plantarum subsp. argentoratensis FG16 (MCC 2974) with 9 and 8 repetitive domains was around 4 and 2 fold, respectively. The detection and expression of an integrase (int) gene in the upstream region of mub gene reveals the excision and integration of these repetitive domains. Concurrently, an in vitro adhesion assay to mucin and exclusion of pathogens (such as Listeria monocytogenes and Micrococcus leuteus) was investigated and observed that the L. paraplantarum MTCC 9483 with more adhesion domains has more ability to adhere to mucin and inhibited the growth of pathogens. The production and expression of plantaricin-like bacteriocin (plnNC8 type) in MTCC 9483 suggests the pathogen inhibition. Hence, the expression of MUB domains can act as potential biomarkers in the screening of a novel probiotic LPG strain with adherence property. The present study provides a platform for an easy, rapid, less time consuming, low-cost methodology for the detection of potential probiotic bacteria. It was known that the traditional practices followed in the preparation of fermented bamboo shoots/gundruk/cereals of Indian foods contain different kinds of neutraceuticals for functional food and novel compounds with health promoting factors. In future, a detailed study of these food products can add more nutritive value, consumption and suitable for commercialization.

Keywords: adhesion gene, fermented foods, MUB domains, probiotics

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Authors: Vinay Singh, Chandra Deo, Asit Chakrabarti, Lopamudra Sahoo, Mahak Singh, Rakesh Kumar, Dinesh Kumar, H. Bharati, Biswajit Das, V. K. Mishra

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The most widely used feed resources in poultry feed, like maize and soybean, are expensive as well as in short supply. Hence, there is a need to utilize non-conventional feed ingredients to cut down feed costs. As an alternative, brewery by-products like brewers’ dried grains are potential non-conventional feed resources. North-East India is inhabited by many tribes, and most of these tribes prepare their indigenous local brew, mostly using rice grains as the primary substrate. Choak, a homemade rice beer waste, is an excellent and cheap source of protein and other nutrients. Fresh homemade rice beer waste (rice brewer’s grain) was collected locally. The proximate analysis indicated 28.53% crude protein, 92.76% dry matter, 5.02% ether extract, 7.83% crude fibre, 2.85% total ash, 0.67% acid insoluble ash, 0.91% calcium, and 0.55% total phosphorus. A feeding trial with 5 treatments (incorporating rice beer waste at the inclusion levels of 0,10,20,30 & 40% by replacing maize and soybean from basal diet) was conducted with 25 laying hens per treatment for 16 weeks under completely randomized design in order to study the production performance, blood-biochemical parameters, immunity, egg quality and cost economics of laying hens. The results showed substantial variations (P<0.01) in egg production, egg mass, FCR per dozen eggs, FCR per kg egg mass, and net FCR. However, there was not a substantial difference in either body weight or feed intake or in egg weight. Total serum cholesterol reduced significantly (P<0.01) at 40% inclusion of rice beer waste. Additionally, the egg haugh unit grew considerably (P<0.01) when the graded levels of rice beer waste increased. The inclusion of 20% rice brewers dried grain reduced feed cost per kg egg mass and per dozen egg production by Rs. 15.97 and 9.99, respectively. Choak (homemade rice beer waste) can thus be safely incorporated into the diet of laying hens at a 20% inclusion level for better production performance and cost-effectiveness.

Keywords: choak, rice beer waste, laying hen, production performance, cost economics

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Authors: Shiva Mardani, Mehdi Nasr-Esfahani, Majid Olia, Hamid Molahosseini, Hamed Hassanzadeh Khankahdani

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Plant-parasitic nematodes cause serious diseases on plants and effectively reduce food production in quality and quantity worldwide, with at least 17 nematode species in the three important and major genera, including Meloidogyne, Heterodera, and Pratylenchus. Root-knot nematodes (RKN), Meloidogyne spp. with the dominant species, Meloidogynejavanica, are considered as the important plant pathogens of agricultural products globally. The hosts range can be vegetables, bedding plants, grasses, shrubs, numerous weeds, and trees, including forests. In this study, chemical management was carried out on RKN, M. javanica, to investigate the efficacy of Iranian Abamectin insecticide product [acaricide Abamectin (Vermectin® 2% EC, Gyah Corp., Iran)] verses imported normal Abamectin available in the Iran markets [acaricide Abamectin (Vermectin® 1.8% EC, Cropstar Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.)] each of which at the rate of 8 L./ha, on Tomatoes, Solanumlycopersicum L., (No. 29-41, Dutch company Siemens) as a test plant, and the controls (infested to RKN and without any chemical pesticides treatments); and (sterile soil without any RKN and chemical pesticides treatments) at the greenhouse in Isfahan, Iran. The trails were repeated thrice. The results indicated a highly significant reduction in RKN population and an increase in biomass parameters at 1% level of significance, respectively. Relatively similar results were obtained in all the three experiments conducted on tomato root-knot nematodes. The treatments of Gyah-Abamectin (51.6%) and external Abamectin (40.4%) had the highest to least effect on reducing the number of larvae in the soil compared to the infected controls, respectively. Gyah-Abamectin by 44.1% and then external one by 31.9% had the highest effect on reducing the number of larvae and eggs in the root and 31.4% and 24.1% reduction in the number of galls compared to the infected controls, respectively. Based on priority, Gyah-Abamectin (47.4 % ) and external Abamectin (31.1 %) treatments had the highest effect on reducing the number of egg- masses in the root compared to the infected controls, with no significant difference between Gyah-Abamectin and external Abamectin. The highest reproduction of larvae and egg in the root was observed in the infected controls (75.5%) and the lowest in the healthy controls (0.0%). The highest reduction in the larval and egg reproduction in the roots compared to the infected controls was observed in Gyah-Abamectin and the lowest in the external one. Based on preference, Gyah-Abamectin (37.6%) and external Abamectin (26.9%) had the highest effect on the reduction of the larvae and egg reproduction in the root compared to the infected controls, respectively. Regarding growth parameters factors, the lowest stem length was observed in external Abamectin (51.9 cm), with nosignificantly different from Gyah-Abamectin and healthy controls. The highest root fresh weight was recorded in the infected controls (19.81 gr.) and the lowest in the healthy ones (9.81 gr.); the highest root length in the healthy controls (22.4 cm), and the lowest in the infected controls and external Abamectin (12.6 and 11.9 cm), respectively. Conclusively, the results of these three tests on tomato plants revealed that Gyah-Abamectin 2% compared to external Abamectin 1.8% is competitive in the chemical management of the root nematodes of these types of products and is a suitable alternative in this regard.

Keywords: solanum lycopersicum, vermectin, biomass, tomato

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Authors: Titinan Pothong, Prasit Wangpakapattanawong, Stephen Elliott

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Shifting cultivation is an indigenous agricultural practice among upland people and has long been one of the major land-use systems in Southeast Asia. As a result, fallows and secondary forests have come to cover a large part of the region. However, they are increasingly being replaced by monocultures, such as corn cultivation. This is believed to be a main driver of deforestation and forest degradation, and one of the reasons behind the recurring winter smog crisis in Thailand and around Southeast Asia. Accurate biomass estimation of trees is important to quantify valuable carbon stocks and changes to these stocks in case of land use change. However, presently, Thailand lacks proper tools and optimal equations to quantify its carbon stocks, especially for secondary evergreen forests, including fallow areas after shifting cultivation and smaller trees with a diameter at breast height (DBH) of less than 5 cm. Developing new allometric equations to estimate biomass is urgently needed to accurately estimate and manage carbon storage in tropical secondary forests. This study established new equations using a destructive method at three study sites: approximately 50-year-old secondary forest, 4-year-old fallow, and 7-year-old fallow. Tree biomass was collected by harvesting 136 individual trees (including coppiced trees) from 23 species, with a DBH ranging from 1 to 31 cm. Oven-dried samples were sent for carbon analysis. Wood density was calculated from disk samples and samples collected with an increment borer from 79 species, including 35 species currently missing from the Global Wood Densities database. Several models were developed, showing that aboveground biomass (AGB) was strongly related to DBH, height (H), and wood density (WD). Including WD in the model was found to improve the accuracy of the AGB estimation. This study provides insights for reforestation management, and can be used to prepare baseline data for Thailand’s carbon stocks for the REDD+ and other carbon trading schemes. These may provide monetary incentives to stop illegal logging and deforestation for monoculture.

Keywords: aboveground biomass, allometric equation, carbon stock, secondary forest

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Authors: Fekadu Gadissa, Kassahun Tesfaye, Kifle Dagne, Mulatu Geleta

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‘Ethiopian dinich’ also called ‘Ethiopian potato’ is one of the economically important ‘orphan’ edible tuber crops indigenous to Ethiopia. We evaluated the morphological and agronomic traits performances of 174 samples from Ethiopia at multiple locations using 12 qualitative and 16 quantitative traits, recorded at the correct growth stages. We observed several morphotypes and phenotypic variations for qualitative traits along with a wide range of mean performance values for all quantitative traits. Analysis of variance for each quantitative trait showed a highly significant (p<0.001) variation among the collections with eventually non-significant variation for environment-traits interaction for all but flower length. A comparatively high phenotypic and genotypic coefficient of variation was observed for plant height, days to flower initiation, days to 50% flowering and tuber number per hill. Moreover, the variability and coefficients of variation due to genotype-environment interaction was nearly zero for all the traits except flower length. High genotypic coefficients of variation coupled with a high estimate of broad sense heritability and high genetic advance as a percent of collection mean were obtained for tuber weight per hill, number of primary branches per plant, tuber number per hill and number of plants per hill. Association of tuber yield per hectare of land showed a large magnitude of positive phenotypic and genotypic correlation with those traits. Principal components analysis revealed 76% of the total variation for the first six principal axes with high factor loadings again from tuber number per hill, number of primary branches per plant and tuber weight. The collections were grouped into four clusters with the weak region (zone) of origin based pattern. In general, there is high genetic-based variability for ‘Ethiopian dinich’ improvement and conservation. DNA based markers are recommended for further genetic diversity estimation for use in breeding and conservation.

Keywords: agro-morphological traits, Ethiopian dinich, genetic diversity, variance components

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Authors: K. C. Sharda

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Introduction: In the world, almost half of the population are lacking proper access to improved sanitation services. In Nepal, large number of people are living without access to any sanitation facility. Ecological sanitation toilet which is defined as water conserving and nutrient recycling system for use of human urine and excreta in agriculture would count a lot to utilize locally available resources, to regenerate soil fertility, to save national currency and to achieve the goal of elimination open defecation in country like Nepal. The objectives of the research were to test the efficacy of human urine for improving crop performance and to evaluate the feasibility of ecological sanitation in rural area of Central Nepal. Materials and Methods: The field investigation was carried out at Palung Village Development Committee (VDC) of Makawanpur District, Nepal from March – August, 2016. Five eco-san toilets in two villages (Angare and Bhot Khoriya) were constructed and questionnaire survey was carried out. During the questionnaire survey, respondents were asked about socio-economic parameters, farming practices, awareness of ecological sanitation and fertilizer value of human urine and excreta in agriculture. In prior to a field experiment, soil was sampled for analysis of basic characteristics. In the field experiment, cauliflower was cultivated for a month in the two sites to compare the fertilizer value of urine with chemical fertilizer and no fertilizer with three replications. The harvested plant samples were analyzed to understand the nutrient content in plant with different treatments. Results and Discussion: Eighty three percent respondents were engaged in agriculture growing mainly vegetables, which may raise the feasibility of ecological sanitation. In the study area, water deficiencies in dry season, high demand of chemical fertilizer, lack of sanitation awareness were found to be solved. The soil at Angare has sandier texture and lower nitrogen content compared to that in Bhot Khoriya. While the field experiment in Angare showed that the aboveground biomass of cauliflower in the urine fertilized plot were similar with that in the chemically fertilized plot and higher than those in the non-fertilized plots, no significant difference among the treatments were found in Bhot Khoriya. The more distinctive response of crop growth to the three treatments in the former might be attributed to the poorer soil productivity, which in turn could be caused by the poorer inherent soil fertility and the poorer past management by the farmer in Angare. Thus, use of urine as fertilizer could help poor farmers with low quality soil. The significantly different content of nitrogen and potassium in the plant samples among three treatments in Bhot Khoriya would require further investigation. When urine is utilized as a fertilizer, the productivity could be increased and the money to buy chemical fertilizer would be utilized in other livelihood activities. Ecological sanitation is feasible in the area with similar socio-economic parameter.

Keywords: cauliflower, chemical fertilizer, ecological sanitation, Nepal, urine

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Authors: Mihaela Munteanu (Pila), Silvius Stanciu

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This paper presents the aspects of the official control of fishery in the Republic of Moldova. Currently, the regulations and the activity of national institutions with responsibilities in the field of food quality are in a process of harmonization with the European rules, aiming at European integration, quality improvement and providing a higher level of food safety. The National Agency for Food Safety is the main national body with responsibilities in the field of food safety. In the field of fishery products, the Agency carries out an intensive activity of informing the citizen and controlling the products marketed. The paper presents the dangers related to the consumption of fish and fishery products traded on the national market, the sanitary-veterinary inspections conducted by the profile institution and the improper situations identified. The national market of fishery products depends largely on imports, mainly focused on ocean fish. The research carried out has shown that during the period 2011-2018, following the inspections carried out on fishery products traded on the national market, a number of inconsistencies have been identified. Thus, indigenous products were frequently detected with sensory characteristics unfit for consumption, and being commercialized in inappropriate locations or contaminated with chemical pollutants. On import products controlled, the most frequent inconsistent situations have been represented by inconsistent sensory aspects and by parasite contamination. Taking into account the specific aspects of aquatic products, including the high level of alterability, special conditions of growth, marketing, culinary preparation and consumption are necessary in order to decrease the risk of disease over the population. Certificates, attestations and other documents certifying the quality of batches, completed by additional laboratory examinations, are necessary in order to increase the level of confidence on the quality of products marketed in the Republic. The implementation of various control procedures and mechanisms at national level, correlated with the focused activity of the specialized institutions, can decrease the risk of contamination and avoid cases of disease on the population due to the consumption of fishery products.

Keywords: fishery products, food safety, quality control, Republic of Moldova

Procedia PDF Downloads 135

Authors: Lena Payati, Maria Kazou, Effie Tsakalidou

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Table olives are one of the most popular fermented vegetables worldwide, which along with olive oil, have a crucial role in the world economy. They are highly appreciated by the consumers for their characteristic taste and pleasant aromas, while several health and nutritional benefits have been reported as well. Until recently, microbial biogeography, i.e., the study of microbial diversity over time and space, has been mainly associated with wine. However, nowadays, the term 'terroir' has been extended to other crops and food products so as to link the geographical origin and environmental conditions to quality aspects of fermented foods. Taking the above into consideration, the present study focuses on the microbial fingerprinting of the most important olive varieties of Greece with the state-of-the-art amplicon-based metagenomics analysis. Towards this, in 2019, 61 samples from 38 different olive varieties were collected at the final stage of ripening from 13 well spread geographical regions in Greece. For the metagenomics analysis, total DNA was extracted from the olive samples, and the 16S rRNA gene and ITS DNA region were sequenced and analyzed using bioinformatics tools for the identification of bacterial and yeasts/fungal diversity, respectively. Furthermore, principal component analysis (PCA) was also performed for data clustering based on the average microbial composition of all samples from each region of origin. According to the composition, results obtained, when samples were analyzed separately, the majority of both bacteria (such as Pantoea, Enterobacter, Roserbergiella, and Pseudomonas) and yeasts/fungi (such as Aureobasidium, Debaromyces, Candida, and Cladosporium) genera identified were found in all 61 samples. Even though interesting differences were observed at the relative abundance level of the identified genera, the bacterial genus Pantoea and the yeast/fungi genus Aureobasidium were the dominant ones in 35 and 40 samples, respectively. Of note, olive samples collected from the same region had similar fingerprint (genera identified and relative abundance level) regardless of the variety, indicating a potential association between the relative abundance of certain taxa and the geographical region. When samples were grouped by region of origin, distinct bacterial profiles per region were observed, which was also evident from the PCA analysis. This was not the case for the yeast/fungi profiles since 10 out of the 13 regions were grouped together mainly due to the dominance of the genus Aureobasidium. A second cluster was formed for the islands Crete and Rhodes, both of which are located in the Southeast Aegean Sea. These two regions clustered together mainly due to the identification of the genus Toxicocladosporium in relatively high abundances. Finally, the Agrinio region was separated from the others as it showed a completely different microbial fingerprinting. However, due to the limited number of olive samples from some regions, a subsequent PCA analysis with more samples from these regions is expected to yield in a more clear clustering. The present study is part of a bigger project, the first of its kind in Greece, with the ultimate goal to analyze a larger set of olive samples of different varieties and from different regions in Greece in order to have a reliable olives’ microbial biogeography.

Keywords: amplicon-based metagenomics analysis, bacteria, microbial biogeography, olive microbiota, yeasts/fungi

Procedia PDF Downloads 98

Authors: Ajay Kumar Pandey

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White grub (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), locally known as Kurmula, Pagra, Chinchu, is a major destructive pest in western Himalayan region of Uttarakhand state of India. Various crops like cereals (up land paddy, wheat, and barley), vegetables (capsicum, cabbage, tomato, cauliflower, carrot etc) and some pulse (like pigeon pea, green gram, black gram) are grown with limited availability of primary resources. Among the various limitations in successful cultivation of these crops, white grub has been proved a major constraint in for all crops grown in hilly area. The losses incurred due to white grubs are huge in case of commercial crops like sugarcane, groundnut, potato, maize and upland rice. Moreover, it has been proved major constraint in potato production in mid and higher hills of India. Adults emerge in May-June following the onset of monsoon and thereafter defoliate the apple, apricot, plum, and walnut during night while 2nd and 3rd instar grubs feed on live roots of cultivated as well as non cultivated crops from August to January. Survey was conducted in hilly (Pauri and Tehri) as well as plain area (Haridwar district) of Uttarakhand state. Collection of beetle was done from various locations from August to September of five consecutive years with the help of light trap and directly from host plant. The grub was also collected by excavating one square meter area from different locations and reared in laboratory to find out adult. During the collection, the diseased or dead cadaver were also collected and brought in the laboratory and identified the causal organisms. Total 25 species of white grub was identified out of which Holotrichia longipennis, Anomala dimidiata, Holotrichia lineatopennis, Maladera insanabilis, Brahmina sp. make complex problem in different area of Uttarakhand where they cause severe damage to various crops. During the survey, it was observed that white grubs beetles have variation in preference of host plant, even in choice of fruit and leaves of host plant. It was observed that, a white grub species, which identified as Lepidiota mansueta Burmeister., was causing severe havoc to sugarcane crop grown in major sugarcane growing belt of Haridwar district. The study also revealed that Bacillus cereus, Beauveria bassiana, Metarhizium anisopliae, Steinernema, Heterorhabditis are major disease causing agents in immature stage of white grub under rain-fed condition of Uttarakhand which caused 15.55 to 21.63 percent natural mortality of grubs with an average of 18.91 percent. However, among the microorganisms, B. cereus found to be significantly more efficient (7.03 percent mortality) then the entomopathogenic fungi (3.80 percent mortality) and nematodes (3.20 percent mortality).

Keywords: Lepidiota, profiling, Uttarakhand, whitegrub

Procedia PDF Downloads 206

Authors: N. C. Shahi, Anupama Singh, E. Kate

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Drying is practiced to enhance the storage life, to minimize losses during storage, and to reduce transportation costs of agricultural products. Drying processes range from open sun drying to industrial drying. In most of the developing countries, use of fossil fuels for drying of agricultural products has not been practically feasible due to unaffordable costs to majority of the farmers. On the other hand, traditional open sun drying practiced on a large scale in the rural areas of the developing countries suffers from high product losses due to inadequate drying, fungal growth, encroachment of insects, birds and rodents, etc. To overcome these problems a middle technology dryer having low cost need to be developed for farmers. In case of mechanical dryers, the heated air is the main driving force for removal of moisture. The air is heated either electrically or by burning wood, coal, natural gas etc. using heaters. But, all these common sources have finite supplies. The lifetime is estimated to range from 15 years for a natural gas to nearly 250 years for coal. So, mankind must turn towards its safe and reliable utilization and may have undesirable side effects. The mechanical drying involves higher cost of drying and open sun drying deteriorates the quality. The solar tunnel dryer is one of promising option for drying various agricultural and agro-industrial products on large scale. The advantage of Solar tunnel dryer is its relatively cheaper cost of construction and operation. Although many solar dryers have been developed, still there is a scope of modification in them. Therefore, an attempt was made to develop Solar tunnel dryer and test its performance using highly perishable commodity i.e. leafy vegetables (spinach). The effect of air velocity, loading density and shade net on performance parameters namely, collector efficiency, drying efficiency, overall efficiency of dryer and specific heat energy consumption were also studied. Thus, the need for an intermediate level technology was realized and an effort was made to develop a small scale Solar Tunnel Dryer . A dryer consisted of base frame, semi cylindrical drying chamber, solar collector and absorber, air distribution system with chimney and auxiliary heating system, and wheels for its mobility were the main functional components. Drying of fenugreek was carried out to analyze the performance of the dryer. The Solar Tunnel Dryer temperature was maintained using the auxiliary heating system. The ambient temperature was in the range of 12-33oC. The relative humidity was found inside and outside the Solar Tunnel Dryer in the range of 21-75% and 35-79%, respectively. The solar radiation was recorded in the range of 350-780W/m2 during the experimental period. Studies revealed that total drying time was in range of 230 to 420 min. The drying time in Solar Tunnel Dryer was considerably reduced by 67% as compared to sun drying. The collector efficiency, drying efficiency, overall efficiency and specific heat consumption were determined and were found to be in the range of 50.06- 38.71%, 15.53-24.72%, 4.25 to 13.34% and 1897.54-3241.36 kJ/kg, respectively.

Keywords: overall efficiency, solar tunnel dryer, specific heat consumption, sun drying

Procedia PDF Downloads 294

Authors: Gayathri.G, Hemamalini.A.J, Chandrasekaran.A

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Problem statement: Nutritional deficiency, especially calcium, may lead to poor bone formation and mineralization. Although there are plenty of synthetic supplements available, it is essential to make a calcium rich food supplement accessible to combat calcium deficiency that could be readily prepared at the household level. Thus the current study aimed to formulate and standardize an indigenous low-cost calcium-rich food supplement and to study the impact of supplementation on the bone resorption and formation markers. Methods: A Randomized controlled trial was conducted with 60 subjects distributed equally in control and experimental groups, including perimenopausal and postmenopausal women. A plant-based calcium-rich product was developed and supplemented in form of balls as a midmorning and evening snack by addition of optimized proportions of leaves of Sesbania Grandiflora, seeds of Sesamum indicum, Eleusine coracana, Glycine max, Vigna mungo for a period of 6 months. Postmenopausal and perimenopausal women received 1200mg and 800mg of calcium per day from the supplemented, respectively. Outcome measures like serum calcium; betacrosslaps (bone resorption marker) and total P1NP (bone absorption marker) were assessed after 3 months and after 6 months. Results: There were no significant changes seen in the serum calcium and total P1NP levels (bone formation marker) among the subjects during the supplementation period. The bone resorption marker (betacrosslaps) reduced in all the groups and the reduction (0.32 ± 0.130 ng/ml to 0.25 ± 0.130 ng/ml) was found to be statistically highly significant (p < 0.01) in experimental group of perimenopausal subjects and significant (p < 0.05) in experimental group of postmenopausal subjects (1.11 ± 0.290 ng/ml to 0.42 ± 0.263 ng/ml). Conclusion: With the current severe calcium deficiency in the Indian population, integrating low-cost, calcium-rich native foods that could be readily prepared at household level would be useful in raising the nutritional consumption of calcium, which would, in turn, decrease bone turnover.

Keywords: calcium, sesbania grandiflora, sesamum indicum, eleusine coracana, glycine max, vigna mungo, postmenopause, perimenopause, bone resorption, bone absorption, betacrosslaps, total P1NP

Procedia PDF Downloads 112

Authors: António Inês, Ana Guimarães, José Maria, Vânia Laranjo, Armando Venâncio, Luís Abrunhosa

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Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) play a key role in the biopreservation of a wide range of fermented food products, such as yogurt, cheese, fermented milks, meat, fish, vegetables (sauerkraut, olives and pickles), certain beer brands, wines and silage, allowing their safe consumption, which gave to these bacteria a GRAS (Generally Recognised as Safe) status. Besides that, the use of LAB in food and feed is a promising strategy to reduce the exposure to dietary mycotoxins, improving their shelf life and reducing health risks, given the unique mycotoxin decontaminating characteristic of some LAB. Mycotoxins present carcinogenic, mutagenic, teratogenic, neurotoxic and immunosuppressive effects over animals and Humans, being the most important ochratoxin A (OTA), aflatoxins (AFB1), trichothecenes, zearalenone (ZEA), fumonisin (FUM) and patulin. In a previous work of our group it was observed OTA biodegradation by some strains of Pediococcus parvulus isolated from Douro wines. So, the aim of this study was to enlarge the screening of the biodetoxification over more mycotoxins besides OTA, including AFB1, and ZEA. This ability was checked in a collection of LAB isolated from vegetable (wine, olives, fruits and silage) and animal (milk and dairy products, sausages) sources. All LAB strains were characterized phenotypically (Gram, catalase) and genotypically. Molecular characterisation of all LAB strains was performed using genomic fingerprinting by MSP-PCR with (GTG)5 and csM13 primers. The identification of the isolates was confirmed by 16S rDNA sequencing. To study the ability of LAB strains to degrade OTA, AFB1 and ZEA, a MRS broth medium was supplemented with 2.0 μg/mL of each mycotoxin. For each strain, 2 mL of MRS supplemented with the mycotoxins was inoculated in triplicate with 109 CFU/mL. The culture media and bacterial cells were extracted by the addition of an equal volume of acetonitrile/methanol/acetic acid (78:20:2 v/v/v) to the culture tubes. A 2 mL sample was then collected and filtered into a clean 2 mL vial using PP filters with 0.45 μm pores. The samples were preserved at 4 °C until HPLC analysis. Among LAB tested, 10 strains isolated from milk were able to eliminate AFB1, belonging to Lactobacillus casei (7), Lb. paracasei (1), Lb. plantarum (1) and 1 to Leuconostoc mesenteroides. Two strains of Enterococcus faecium and one of Ec. faecalis from sausage eliminated ZEA. Concerning to strains of vegetal origin, one Lb. plantarum isolated from elderberry fruit, one Lb. buchnerii and one Lb. parafarraginis both isolated from silage eliminated ZEA. Other 2 strains of Lb. plantarum from silage were able to degrade both ZEA and OTA, and 1 Lb. buchnerii showed activity over AFB1. These enzymatic activities were also verified genotypically through specific gene PCR and posteriorly confirmed by sequencing analysis. In conclusion, due the ability of some strains of LAB isolated from different sources to eliminate OTA, AFB1 and ZEA one can recognize their potential biotechnological application to reduce the health hazards associated with these mycotoxins. They may be suitable as silage inoculants or as feed additives or even in food industry.

Keywords: bio-detoxification, lactic acid bacteria, mycotoxins, food and feed

Procedia PDF Downloads 546

Authors: Selinda England, Ben Bodnaryk

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With an unprecedented increase in provincial immigration and government support for greater international and culturally diverse learners, a trade/applied learning-focused polytechnic with four campuses within one Canadian province saw the need for intercultural awareness and an intercultural teaching competence strategy for faculty training. An institution-wide pre-assessment needs survey was conducted in 2018, in which 87% of faculty professed to have some/no training when working with international and/or culturally diverse learners. After researching fellow Polytechnics in Canada and seeing very little in the way of faculty support for intercultural competence, an institutional project team comprised of members from all facets of the Polytechnic was created and included: Indigenous experts, Academic Chairs, Directors, Human Resource Managers, and international/settlement subject matter experts. The project team was organized to develop and implement a new academic model focused on enriching intercultural competence among faculty. Utilizing a competency based model, the project team incorporated inclusive terminology into competency indicators and devised a four-phase proposal for implementing intercultural teacher training: a series of workshops focused on the needs of international and culturally diverse learners, including teaching strategies based on current TESOL methodologies, literature and online resources for quick access when planning lessons, faculty assessment examples and models of interculturally proficient instructors, and future job descriptions - all which promote and encourage development of specific intercultural skills. Results from a post-assessment survey (to be conducted in Spring 2020) and caveats regarding improvements and next steps will be shared. The project team believes its intercultural and inclusive teaching competency-based model is one of the first, institution-wide faculty supported initiatives within the Canadian college and Polytechnic post-secondary educational environment; it aims to become a leader in both the province and nation regarding intercultural competency training for trades, industry, and business minded community colleges and applied learning institutions.

Keywords: cultural diversity and education, diversity training teacher training, teaching and learning, teacher training

Procedia PDF Downloads 91

Authors: H. Chabalala, A. Grootboom, M. Tang

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The innovative development, production, and clinical utilisation of African natural medicines requires frameworks from systematisation, innovation, registration. Afrika faces challenges when it comes to these sectors. The opposite is the case as is is evident in ancient Asian (Traditional Chinese Medicine and Indian Ayurveda and Siddha) medical systems, which are interfaced into their respective national health and educational systems. Afrikan Natural Medicines (ANMs) are yet to develop systematisation frameworks, i.e. disease characterisation and medicines classification. This paper explores classical medical systems drawn from Afrikan and Chinese experts in natural medicines. An Afrikological research methodology was used to conduct in-depth interviews with 20 key respondents selected through purposeful sampling technique. Data was summarised into systematisation frameworks for classical disease theories, patient categorisation, medicine classification, aetiology and pathogenesis of disease, diagnosis and prognosis techniques and treatment methods. It was discovered that ancient Afrika had systematic medical cosmologies, remnants of which are evident in most Afrikan cultural health practices. Parallels could be drawn from classical medical concepts of antiquity, like Chinese Taoist and Indian tantric health systems. Data revealed that both the ancient and contemporary ANM systems were based on living medical cosmologies. The study showed that African Natural Healing Systems have etiological systems, general pathogenesis knowledge, differential diagnostic techniques, comprehensive prognosis and holistic treatment regimes. Systematisation models were developed out of these frameworks, and this could be used for evaluation of clinical research, medical application including development of curriculum for high-education. It was envisaged that frameworks will pave way towards the development, production and commercialisation of ANMs. This was piloted in inclusive innovation, technology transfer and commercialisation of South African natural medicines, cosmeceuticals, nutraceuticals and health infusions. The central model presented here in will assist in curriculum development and establishment of Afrikan Medicines Hospitals and Pharmaceutical Industries.

Keywords: African Natural Medicines, Indigenous Knowledge Systems, Medical Cosmology, Clinical Application

Procedia PDF Downloads 110

Authors: Tatsuya Kasuga, Hidehisa Shimada, Kimio Oguchi

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Recent rapid progress in ICT (Information and Communication Technology) has advanced the penetration of sensor networks (SNs) and their attractive applications. Agriculture is one of the fields well able to benefit from ICT. Plant factories control several parameters related to plant growth in closed areas such as air temperature, humidity, water, culture medium concentration, and artificial lighting by using computers and AI (Artificial Intelligence) is being researched in order to obtain stable and safe production of vegetables and medicinal plants all year anywhere, and attain self-sufficiency in food. By providing isolation from the natural environment, a plant factory can achieve higher productivity and safe products. However, the biggest issue with plant factories is the return on investment. Profits are tenuous because of the large initial investments and running costs, i.e. electric power, incurred. At present, LED (Light Emitting Diode) lights are being adopted because they are more energy-efficient and encourage photosynthesis better than the fluorescent lamps used in the past. However, further cost reduction is essential. This paper introduces experiments that reveal which color of LED lighting best enhances the growth of cultured radish sprouts. Radish sprouts were cultivated in the experimental environment formed by a hydroponics kit with three cultivation shelves (28 samples per shelf) each with an artificial lighting rack. Seven LED arrays of different color (white, blue, yellow green, green, yellow, orange, and red) were compared with a fluorescent lamp as the control. Lighting duration was set to 12 hours a day. Normal water with no fertilizer was circulated. Seven days after germination, the length, weight and area of leaf of each sample were measured. Electrical power consumption for all lighting arrangements was also measured. Results and discussions: As to average sample length, no clear difference was observed in terms of color. As regards weight, orange LED was less effective and the difference was significant (p < 0.05). As to leaf area, blue, yellow and orange LEDs were significantly less effective. However, all LEDs offered higher productivity per W consumed than the fluorescent lamp. Of the LEDs, the blue LED array attained the best results in terms of length, weight and area of leaf per W consumed. Conclusion and future works: An experiment on radish sprout cultivation under 7 different color LED arrays showed no clear difference in terms of sample size. However, if electrical power consumption is considered, LEDs offered about twice the growth rate of the fluorescent lamp. Among them, blue LEDs showed the best performance. Further cost reduction e.g. low power lighting remains a big issue for actual system deployment. An automatic plant monitoring system with sensors is another study target.

Keywords: electric power consumption, LED color, LED lighting, plant factory

Procedia PDF Downloads 167

Authors: Susmita Goswami, Joyeeta Mitra, Indu Gaur, Neha Bhadauria, Shilpi Shilpi, Prabir K. Paul

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'Malbhog’, an indigenous banana variety, much prized for its flavour and delicacy suffers production losses due to Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cubense. The pathogen enters young plants through feeder roots causing wilting of plants ultimately leading to death of plants. The pathogen spreads rapidly to other plants in the field. In eastern part of India, this variety escapes the onslaught of the pathogen when either co-cultivated or rotated with Amorphophallus campanulatus (yam). The present study provides an insight into the physiological aspect of the biocontrol by yam. In vitro application of sterile aqueous extract of yam tuber (100gm/100ml distilled water and its 1:10 and 1:100 dilutions) were mixed with PDA media which was substantially inoculated with spores of Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cubense. The extract could significantly reduce germination of pathogen spores. Banana variety susceptible to Fusarium sp was raised in soil rite under aseptic conditions. Spores of the pathogen (106 spores/ml) were inoculated into the soil rite. The plants were spread with aqueous extract of yam. The control plants were treated with sterilized distilled water. The activity of phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL), polyphenol oxidase (PPO) and peroxidase (POX) were estimated in leaves and roots at interval of 24 hours for 5 days after treatment. The incidence of wilt disease was recorded after two weeks. The results demonstrated that yam extract could induce significant activity of PAL, PPO and POX along with accumulation of phenols in both roots and leaves of banana plants. However, significantly high activity of enzymes and phenol accumulation was observed in roots. The disease incidence was significantly low in yam treated plants. The results clearly demonstrated the control of the pathogen due to induction of defense mechanism in the host by the extract. The observed control of the pathogen in the field could possibly be due to induction of such defense responses in host by exudates leached into the soil from yam tubers. Yam extract could be a potential source of environment-friendly biocide against Panama wilt of banana.

Keywords: Amorphophallus campanulatus, banana, Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cubense, phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL), polyphenol oxidase (PPO), peroxidase (POX)

Procedia PDF Downloads 232

Authors: Nikkey Keshri

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Arctic is a polar region located at the north of the earth. This consists of the Arctic Ocean and other parts of Canada, Russia, the United States, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. Arctic has vast natural resources which are exploited with modern technology, and the economic opening up of Russia has given new opportunities. All these states have connected with the Arctic region for economic activities and this effect the region ecology. The pollution problem is a serious threat to the people health living around pollution sources. Due to the prevailing worldwide sea and air currents, the Arctic area is the fallout region for long-range transport pollutants, and in some places the concentrations exceed the levels of densely populated urban areas. The Arctic is especially vulnerable to the effects of global warming, as has become apparent in the melting sea ice in recent years. Climate models predict much greater warming in the Arctic than the global average, resulting in significant international attention to the region. The global warming has an adverse impact on the climate, indigenous people, wildlife, and infrastructure. However, there are several opportunities that have emerged in the form of shipping routes, resources, and new territories. The shipping route through the Arctic is a reality and is currently navigable for a few weeks during summers. There are large deposits of oil and gas, minerals and fish and the surrounding countries with Arctic coastlines are becoming quite assertive about exercising their sovereignty over the newfound wealth. The main part of the research is that how the opening of Northern Sea Route is providing opportunities or problem in the Arctic and it is becoming geopolitically important. It focuses on the interest Arctic and non Arctic states, their present and anticipated global geopolitical aims. The Northern Sea Route might open up due to climate changes and that Iceland might benefit or has an impact from the situation. Efforts will be made to answer the research question: ‘Whether Opening of North Sea Route is providing opportunities or becoming a risk for Arctic region?’ Every research has a structure which usually called design. In this research, both Qualitative and Quantitative method is used in terms of various literature, maps, pie- charts, etc to find out the answer for the research question. The aim of this research is to find out the impact of Opening of North Sea Route over Arctic region and how this make arctic geopolitically important. The aim behind this research is to find out the impact of climate change and how the particular geographical area is being affected.

Keywords: climate change, geopolitics, international relation, Northern Sea Route

Procedia PDF Downloads 241

Authors: Afees Adebayo Salam

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This paper attempts an in-depth analysis of the economic impact of Ogbomoso migrant community in the Jos metropolis. It discusses the factors that motivated a sizeable number of Ogbomoso people (from southwestern Nigeria) to leave their hometown for a new place/space in Jos (northern Nigeria). It examines the historical antecedent of Ogbomoso migrants in northern Nigeria with emphasis on Jos metropolis. The movement of Ogbomoso migrants to Jos was dictated by the economic and social challenges of colonial and post-colonial periods. The political crisis of the 1960s was a contributory factor to the process of Ogbomoso migration to other parts of Nigeria. In the aftermath, many people migrated from Ogbomoso to different parts of the country and beyond to seek for better economic opportunities. The establishment of Ogbomoso migrant community in Jos was dated back to the colonial era when taxation was introduced by the British. Many people could not pay these taxes from their peasant farming activities, while some embarked on migration to places such as Jos, Kaduna, Kano, Keffi and Bauchi due to the harsh economic situation at home. Their settlement in Jos brought about success in several spheres of human endeavours. Ogbomoso migrants dominated both paid jobs and private business sector such as textile merchants, food stuff sellers, herbalists, printers, transporters, and religious missionaries, as well as clerical officers in the government establishments. Their remittances were invested in different sectors of Ogbomoso economy. The migrants had in one way or the other contributed to the socio-economic development of their host community in Jos as entrepreneurs. Branches of such industries were located in their hometown of Ogbomoso as a clear demonstration of community development. The remittance pattern of the migrants has transformed Ogbomoso to enviable position. Moreover, the economic success of Ogbomoso migrants over the period under review indicates the process of nation building due to peaceful nature of inter-ethnic engagements between Ogbomoso migrants and their host community in Jos. Therefore, the paper makes use of oral, archival and secondary sources to analyse the processes of migration and its economic impact. Oral interviews were conducted in Ogbomoso town with veteran migrants and their family members. Interviews were also conducted in Jos with the indigenous host community as well as other urban residents. Archival materials were obtained from Arewa House Archives and the National Archives, Kaduna and the National Archives, Ibadan.

Keywords: Ogbomoso migrants, Jos metropolis, community development, economic impact

Procedia PDF Downloads 204

Authors: M. Soubadra Devy, Savitha Swamy, Chethana V. Casiker

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Sustainable smart cities are emerging as an important concept in response to the exponential rise in the world’s urbanizing population. While earlier, only technical, economic and governance based solutions were considered, more and more layers are being added in recent times. With the prefix of 'sustainability', solutions which help in judicious use of resources without negatively impacting the environment have become critical. We present a case study of Bangalore city which has transformed from being a garden city and pensioners' paradise to being an IT city with a huge, young population from different regions and diverse cultural backgrounds. This has had a big impact on the green spaces in the city and the biodiversity that they support, as well as on farming/gardening practices. Edible landscapes comprising farms lands, home gardens and neighbourhood parks (NPs henceforth) were examined. The land prices of areas having NPs were higher than those that did not indicate an appreciation of their aesthetic value. NPs were part of old and new residential areas largely managed by the municipality. They comprised manicured gardens which were similar in vegetation structure and composition. Results showed that NPs that occurred in higher density supported reasonable levels of biodiversity. In situations where NPs occurred in lower density, the presence of a larger green space such as a heritage park or botanical garden enhanced the biodiversity of these parks. In contrast, farm lands and home gardens which were common within the city are being lost at an unprecedented scale to developmental projects. However, there is also the emergence of a 'neo-culture' of home-gardening that promotes 'locovory' or consumption of locally grown food as a means to a sustainable living and reduced carbon footprint. This movement overcomes the space constraint by using vertical and terrace gardening techniques. Food that is grown within cities comprises of vegetables and fruits which are largely pollinator dependent. This goes hand in hand with our landscape-level study that has shown that cities support pollinator diversity. Maintaining and improving these man-made ecosystems requires analysing the functioning and characteristics of the existing structures of governance. Social network analysis tool was applied to NPs to examine relationships, between actors and ties. The management structures around NPs, gaps, and means to strengthen the networks from the current state to a near-ideal state were identified for enhanced services. Learnings from NPs were used to build a hypothetical governance structure and functioning of integrated governance of NPs and edible landscapes to enhance ecosystem services such as biodiversity support, food production, and aesthetic value. They also contribute to the sustainability axis of smart cities.

Keywords: biodiversity support, ecosystem services, edible green spaces, neighbourhood parks, sustainable smart city

Procedia PDF Downloads 120

Authors: Jin Yue

Abstract:

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: Kenza Benali

Abstract:

Over the past decade, a number of remarkable projects in urban brownfield reconversion emerged across Canada, including the reconversion of former military bases owned by the Canada Lands Company (CLC) into sustainable communities. However, unlike other developments, the regeneration project of the former Canadian Forces Base Rockcliffe in Ottawa – which was announced as one of the most ambitious Smart growth projects in Canada – faced serious obstacles in terms of social acceptance by the local community, particularly urban minorities composed of Francophones, Indigenous and vulnerable groups who live near or on the Base. This turn of events led to the project being postponed and even reconsidered. Through an analysis of its press coverage, this research aims to understand the causes of this urban conflict which lasted for nearly ten years. The findings reveal that the conflict is not limited to the “standard” issues common to most conflicts related to urban mega-projects in the world – e.g., proximity issues (threads to the quality of the surrounding neighbourhoods; noise, traffic, pollution, New-build gentrification) often associated with NIMBY phenomena. In this case, the local actors questioned the purpose of the project (for whom and for what types of uses is it conceived?), its local implementation (to what extent are the local history and existing environment taken into account?), and the degree of implication of the local population in the decision-making process (with whom is the project built?). Moreover, the interests of the local actors have “jumped scales” and transcend the micro-territorial level of their daily life to take on a national and even international dimension. They defined an alternative view of how this project, considered strategic by his location in the nation’s capital, should be a reference as well as an international showcase of Canadian ambition and achievement in terms of urban sustainability. This vision promoted, actually, a territorial and national identity approach - in which some cultural values are highly significant (respect of social justice, inclusivity, ethnical diversity, cultural heritage, etc.)- as a counterweight to planners’ vision which is criticized as a normative/ universalist logic that ignore the territorial peculiarities.

Keywords: smart growth, brownfield reconversion, sustainable neighborhoods, Canada Lands Company, Canadian Forces Base Rockcliffe, urban conflicts

Procedia PDF Downloads 361

Authors: Jamal Ahmad

Abstract:

The Sanctuary of the Kafirs is a sanctified place for the people of Kalash which contain the sacred remains of their culture. The existence of the cultural Sanctuary is not limited up to boundaries of culture but its canopy also contain the spiritual attachments in terms of religion, rituals, introspections, myths, customs and living standards. Culture is the manifestation of the human intellectual achievement in a qualitative phenomenon of a place. The ethnic people of Hindu Kush (Kalash) are an indigenous group that practices Animism. They believe in Animistic Symbology i-e the material universe has high spiritual power. The Animism in their living standard comes from the high spiritualized and sacred sacrifices of animals goats, sheep etc. in their festivals which is the symbol of purity. Similarly certain cultural and religious phenomena make its behavior, its living pattern, its fairy tales, its birth and even its death unique. The scattered and the vanishing fragments of the Kafiristan, demands the phenomenal solution which molds all these factors into preserving standards. It demands a place of belief where, their unique culture, religion, festivals and life style make a sincere base for future existence, and such phenomena of place will consciously or unconsciously molds these ideas into building fabric. The Sanctuary contains ancient vandalized cemetery, the qaliq* the mujnatikeen*, the jastaks*, dewadoor* an amphitheater for dancing and ritual performances, an herbal garden and a profile sanctuary of the blood line of Kalash. The Case-Analysis provokes a new architecture of place, as the Phenomenological Architecture, which requires a place and phenomenon to take place. The Animistic Symbology and Phenomenology both are the part of their life but needs to reveal its hidden meaning and existence i-e (The Balamain, the alpine meadows, the sacred river). The Architectural work is strengthened by the philosophies of Animism and Phenomenology which make it easy to understand. The Scope of work is to reincarnate the ethical boundaries between the neighboring tribes and the Kafirs, by a series of dwellings, cultural and religious communal buildings and spaces, gardens and streets layout under the umbrella of ethical beliefs of Kalash community. So we conclude to build the Sanctuary of the Kafirs, in Bamboret valley of Kalash.

Keywords: Qaliq, Mujnatikeen, Dewadoor, Jastaks

Procedia PDF Downloads 316