Despite the established presence of microplastics in consumable products and inhalable air and the associated health hazards, the actual extent of human exposure to microplastics is currently unknown. We estimated exposure to microplastics through 24-h composite sampling of drinking water, cooked food, and respirable air. Daily average exposures of 382 ± 205, 594 ± 269, and 1036 ± 493 particles per person were observed through drinking water, air, and food, respectively. Our estimates suggest an average daily exposure of 2012 ± 598 microplastic particles per person via these dominant routes. Considering the variety of common consumer plastics, the plastic intake was calculated to be 122.25 ± 177.38 to 202.80 ± 294.25 mg per person per day. Food ingestion was observed to be the major pathway, with fragments as the dominant particle type, followed by fibers and spherical beads. The major polymers identified in the food samples were polyethylene terephthalate, polystyrene, polynorbornene, nylon, polychloroprene, and copolymer polyacrylamide. These results provide a realistic estimate of urban exposure to microplastics and may be helpful in their risk characterization.

The water-energy-food (WEF) nexus has become a key concept to promote the cross-sectoral coordination toward sustainable development. In particular, understanding the interdependences of these pillars, as well as addressing a life cycle perspective, is essential when evaluating food production systems. This study explores the environmental impacts and nutritional quality of potato chips, addressing life cycle thinking and a WEF nexus approach. For this purpose, the combined application of life cycle assessment (LCA) and the Nutrient-Rich Food 9.3 (NRF9.3) index was considered to identify the main environmental hotspots and advanced opportunities. The results indicated a major contribution of the cultivation stage on water use, whereas the processing accounted for most of the impacts in energy-related indicators and eutrophication potentials. Improvement opportunities reside in the joint application of drip irrigation, allowing to achieve important water savings, as well as the use of natural gas or pellets instead of diesel, which constitute cleaner energy sources. On the other hand, a poor nutritional density of potato chips became evident from the quantification of the NRF9.3, which can be significantly improved if potatoes undergo a roasted process instead of frying. | This research was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through the KAIROS-BIOCIR project (PID2019-104925RB) (AEO/FEDER, UE).

An on-line system employing switchable-hydrophilicity solvent-based liquid-phase microextraction (SHS-LPME) is described in this work. The method is based on the preconcentration of the species formed between cobalt and the reagent 1-nitroso-2-naphthol (NN), with subsequent detection by digital image colorimetry. The system's operation begins with the on-line mixture of sample, switchable solvent, and an alkaline agent in a reaction coil. Then the mixture is transported to an extraction chamber. The introduction of a proton donor leads to the passage of the solvent to its hydrophobic form, which allows phase separation. The rich phase is then directed to a glass tube, where detection is performed. Octanoic acid, sodium carbonate, and sulfuric acid were used as the extraction solvent, the alkaline agent, and the proton donor, respectively. Under optimized conditions, the method presented a detection limit of 0.8 μg L⁻¹ and an enrichment factor of 41. The precision obtained was 4.8% (20 μg L⁻¹). The accuracy of the method was tested by the analysis of Tomato Leaves certified reference material (NIST 1573a). The method was applied to the determination of cobalt in food, dietary supplements, and water samples. The method is presented as a green alternative and very accessible to the determination of cobalt in the analyzed samples.

China has proposed “ecological conservation and high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin” to a major national strategy, which puts forward higher requirements for water, energy, and food along the Yellow River (TYR). However, the water–energy–food nexus (WEF) system in TYR basin is very complicated. Based on the theory and method of harmonious regulation, this paper puts forward a new WEF harmony framework (WEFH) to study the harmonious balance of WEF in TYR. WEFH cannot only evaluate the harmonious balance of WEF, but also identify the main influencing factors, and further study the harmonious regulation of WEF. For the key steps of regulation and control, we provide a variety of methods to choose from in this framework. In practice, we apply this framework to the regulation of WEF in the nine provinces along TYR. The results show that during 2005–2018, the harmony degree of WEF in the nine provinces along TYR is between 0.29 and 0.58. The harmony degree of WEF has improved over time, but there is still a lot of room for improvement. Among them, per capita water resources, hydropower generation ratio, carbon emissions, and another 12 indicators have great influence on the harmony of WEF. We have established eight control schemes for nine of these indicators. In eight control schemes, most areas have reached a moderate level of harmony degree. These results show that the framework proposed in this paper is helpful to the comprehensive management of regional WEF and provides a viable scheme for the optimization of WEF.

The present study aims to identify and quantify the phenolic compounds of Azadirachta indica leaf extract using HPLC-MS and to evaluate the antioxidant, antibacterial (against different Gram-positive and negative bacteria) and in vitro anti-proliferative activities of this extract (against breast, human liver and cervix adenocarcinoma-derived cells). The application of this extract as a natural antioxidant for food preservation was also tested on oil-in-water food emulsions for the first time in the present work in order to determine the use of Azadirachta indica leaves as a natural additive to preserve the food against lipid oxidation and rancidity. The results obtained revealed that 50%-aqueous ethanol leaf extract showed the best extraction yield (25.14%), which was characterized by a high content in phenolic compounds and strong antioxidant activity. Moreover, this leaf extract inhibited the growth of the bacterial strains tested (Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Salmonella paratyphi and Micrococcus luteus) and showed better anti-proliferative activity against breast and cervix adenocarcinoma-derived cells than human liver cancer cells after 48 h of treatment. Additionally, Azadirachta indica leaf extract showed almost similar effects as gallic acid solutions (0.25% and 0.5%) in preserving the oxidation of oil-in-water food emulsions and prevented the formation of secondary oxidation products (malondialdehyde) as well. The results obtained suggested that extracts of Azadirachta indica leaves are a potential source of antioxidant and antibacterial compounds and pointed to the potential of these natural extracts as therapeutic agents. | Peer Reviewed | Postprint (published version)

The human-earth system is confronted with the challenge of providing a range of resources for a growing and more prosperous world population while simultaneously reducing environmental degradation. The sustainable development goals and the planetary boundaries define targets to manage this challenge. Many of these are linked to the land system, such as biodiversity, water, food, nutrients and climate, and are strongly interconnected. A key question is how measures can be designed in the context of multi-dimensional sustainability targets to exploit synergies. To address this, a nexus approach is adopted that acknowledges the interconnectedness between the important sub-systems water, land, food, and climate. This study quantifies synergies and trade-offs from ambitious interventions in different components of this water-land-fod-climate nexus at the global scale. For this purpose, a set of six harmonized scenarios is simulated with the model of agricultural production and its impact on the environment and Integrated model to assess the global environment models. The multi-model approach improves robustness of the results while shedding light on variations coming from different modelling approaches. Our results show that measures in the food component towards healthy diets with low meat consumption have synergies with all other nexus dimensions: Increased natural land improving terrestrial biodiversity (+4% to +8%), lower greenhouse gas emissions from land (-45% to -58%), reduced irrigation water withdrawals to protect or restore hydrological environmental flows (-3% to -24%), and reductions in nitrogen surpluses (-23% to -35%). Climate mitigation measures in line with the Paris Agreement have trade-offs with the water and food components of the nexus, as they adversely affect irrigation water withdrawals (+5% to +30% in 2050 compared to reference scenario) and food prices (+1% to +20%). The analysis of a scenario combining all measures reveals how certain measures are in conflict while others reinforce each other. This study provides an example of a nexus approach to scenario analysis providing input to the next generation of pathways aiming to achieve multiple dimensions of sustainable development.

Achieving food and water security is one of the most important goals of policymakers in different countries. Water scarcity in Iran could be one of the major food security challenges in the future. For this purpose, climatic zoning was performed using the Domarten method. After calculating the water requirement using CROPWAT software; the amount of virtual water, water footprint, water productivity, volume of water consumed by each crop in each zone and the optimal food gap in different climates were calculated. According to the results; The per capita water footprint of the agricultural sector in hyper-arid, desert arid, semi-arid, Mediterranean and humid climates and Iran is 1611.97, 1228.09, 665.83, 884.01, 600.21 and 998.20cubic meters, respectively. In addition, the intensity of water consumption within the 5 climatic zones and Iran is 64.89, 88.03, 63.19, 41.01, 56.38 and 65.48 %, respectively. Net virtual water imports for each zone show that desert arid and humid zones are exporters of virtual water and hyper-arid, semi-arid and Mediterranean zones are importers of virtual water.The results show a contradiction between the realization of water security and food security in terms of quantity. The results showed that if the goal is to establish water security; by increasing the net import of virtual water (in the case of high-consumption products with low water efficiency), the intensity of pressure on domestic water resources in each area could be reduced. But if the goal is self-sufficiency; If the current situation does not change (crop composition in cropping pattern, yield and irrigation efficiency in each zone), more pressure will be put on water resources. Therefore, in order to achieve the goals of self-sufficiency and water security coefficients at the same time; It is recommended to increase the yield, improve the irrigation efficiency, formulate a suitable cultivation pattern and allocate water resources according to water productivity and its yield in each zone.

There is limited focus on the water-energy-food (WEF) nexus approach at the local scale, particularly considering the social contexts of neglected territories. To contribute to this debate, we propose a framework to address this topic in an area in Angra dos Reis, Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil, as a case study. A survey was conducted regarding residents' perceptions, choices, practices and access to water, energy, and food. The interviews highlighted important topics on the WEF nexus. As a result, a set of 12 indicators with data available on official datasets was proposed, reflecting residents' perceptions of WEF safety. For each indicator, thresholds were established based mainly on the goals defined by Brazilian policies across different spheres-federal, state, or municipal. Thus, each indicator is multi-scale and integrative, since it comprises a local perspective (from the interview results), an official perspective (from the official databases), and a threshold. The results showed problems with energy and water supply, and the presence of home cropping, contrasting with residents who do not have access to basic food and experience extreme poverty. All these elements drew attention to the possibility of applying the WEF nexus approach, searching for feasible solutions which can support better decisions and governance in neglected territories.

In this work, the effects of refrigerator freezing method (RF), spiral tunnel freezing method (SF), and liquid nitrogen spray freezing method (LF) on water distribution, microstructure, retrogradation, and digestion properties of Liangpi are investigated. Results from SEM and water distribution show the starch gel structure of Liangpi after LF treatment is more continuous, and its A₂₁ content is higher, which are closer to fresh Liangpi, followed by SF and RF. XRD and FT‐IR data indicate that as the freezing rate increases, the relative crystallinity and R₁₀₄₇/₁₀₂₂ value of the samples decrease. This is consistent with the data obtained from texture properties. Texture properties of samples treat by LF and SF are closer to fresh Liangpi, especially the hardness index. The in vitro digestibility of Liangpi also shows the same trend. Therefore, the freezing method with a faster rate could inhibit the starch gel retrogradation, improve the texture properties of Liangpi, and guarantee the quality of Liangpi. However, considering the economics of enterprise production, the spiral tunnel freezing method is more suitable for the actual production of frozen Liangpi. The data obtained provide a theoretical guidance for the actual production of frozen Liangpi.

Global warming, water scarcity and limited land resources are the most challenging problems facing agriculture to ensure food security for the expected 9 billion people in 2050. To solve these problems, the classical optimal planting pattern, based on crop suitability evaluation method, is often adopted to reallocate water and land resources. However, whether or not the classical optimal planting pattern, which only considers environmental conditions in crop suitability evaluation, is beneficial to the regional carbon neutrality goal and saves water and energy resources has rarely been explored. Here, China’s major arid food production area, the middle reaches of Heihe River Basin, is chosen as the demonstration to explore this issue. The classical optimal planting pattern obtained by crop suitability evaluation is compared with current planting in terms of planting distribution, carbon sequestration, energy consumption and water productivity from 2002 to 2016. Interestingly, the results indicate that optimal planting would reduce the regional net carbon sequestration capacity by up to 13.09% and increase regional carbon emissions by up to 22%, which is harmful to reach the commitment of carbon neutrality goal in China. Contrary, optimal crop planting pattern can increase regional water productivity by 1.74–32.59% and economic benefits by 1.52–30.55% while having little impact on energy consumption and water consumption. Considering the contradictions effects of classical optimal planting pattern on the food-energy-water-carbon nexus, we strongly recommend redefining the “optimal” in crop planting management by taking impacts on carbon into consideration to alleviate the crisis of global warming.