La Echinacea purpurea es una especie vegetal que se viene empleando en gran medida en el tratamiento de enfermedades respiratorias en humanos desde tiempos ancestrales; las investigaciones recientes indican que tiene un potencial importante en la inmunocompetencia, en la auto oxidación como antioxidante, como desinflamante, antibacteriano, etc. Se está ensayando en la alimentación animal y las referencias en producción de cuyes son muy escasas o, prácticamente, nulas. Se evaluó un extracto comercial de Echinacea purpurea en 60 cuyes en crecimiento a través del concentrado (T2) y del agua de bebida (T3), en cantidades recomendadas por el fabricante. Se suministró el alimento en cantidades fijas (60 g de chala verde y 30 g de concentrado por animal por día). Los incrementos acumulados de peso fueron mejores (P<0.05) cuando el extracto se suministró en el concentrado, los dos tratamientos con el extracto fueron superiores al testigo (T1); la conversión alimenticia fue considerablemente mejor en T2. El hígado y el bazo fueron de mayor tamaño en T2, indicando mejor capacidad de síntesis y de inmunocompetencia. Es recomendable evaluar productos que sean de menor precio para que su empleo resulte económicamente viable.

Located in a semi-arid and arid zone, Iran is suffering from growing challenges of water scarcity. In the paradigm of a circular economy, the reuse of treated wastewater in agriculture is currently regarded as a possible solution for alleviating the issues of water scarcity and pollution. Accordingly, this research aims to assess the use of polluted water in the integrated management of water resources in Semnan. The research used the Water Evaluation and Planning System (WEAP) software package to model and analyze the water sector. Also, the Bayesian network method was used to assess the risk of using polluted water and its effects on humans and plants. The research explored two general scenarios for the study site of Semnan. The first scenario assumes the increase in population, crops (food), and industries, and the second has the same assumptions plus an increase in agricultural efficiency (food production). Based on the results, the agricultural, urban, and industrial water demands are 37, 0.06, and 0.01 million m3 in the base year, respectively. The water demand in the next years will be higher due to population growth. Finally, it is safer to use the wastewater of both treatment plants of the region (Mehdishahr and Semnan) in the industry than in other sectors. Additionally, the wastewater of the Mehdishahr Sewage Treatment Plant is more reliable than that of the Semnan Sewage Treatment Plant. HIGHLIGHTS Management of a smart city.; Critical assessment on Iran's water resources development.; A novel framework and multisectoral approach toward the implementation of IWRM and the W&F nexus in Iran, case study Semnan, is proposed.; Enhancing IWRM and W&F nexus may eradicate hunger as the agriculture sector is disconnected with water, by replacing water reuse.;

The aim of this study was to investigate the pathogenic potential and antibiotic resistance of 59 Escherichia coli isolates from ready-to-eat (RTE) street food (n = 31) and drinking water (n = 28) sold in the city of Maputo, Mozambique. The isolates were characterized by XbaI subtyping analysis via pulsed field gel electrophoresis. Multiplex PCRs were performed targeting five virulence genes (stx, lt, st, astA, and eae) and three groups of antibiotic-resistant genes, namely ß-lactamases (extended-spectrum ß-lactamase and AmpC), tetracycline (tetA, tetB, and tetM) and sulfamethoxazole/ trimethoprim (sul1, sul2, and sul3). The stx virulence gene, encoding the Shiga/Vero (VT) toxin produced by the verotoxin-producing E. coli (VTEC), was identified with similar frequency in isolates from food (5/31) and water (6/28). The highest percentages of resistant isolates from food and water were found for ß-lactams imipenem (35.5 and 39.3%, respectively) and ampicillin (39.3 and 46.4%, respectively). Multidrug resistance was observed in 31.3% of the isolates, being higher in E. coli isolates from water (45.5%) compared to RTE street food isolates (19.2%). Virulence genes were detected in 73% of the multidrug-resistant isolates. Concerning antibiotic-resistant genes, ESBL was the most frequent (57.7%) among -lactamases while tetA was the most frequent (50%) among non- -lactamases | info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

In Kenya, 57% of the municipal solid waste generated is Food waste (FW) which has high organic content. However, the treatment and bioconversion of FW to biogas have always been challenging due to its rapid biodegradation, resulting from rapid hydrolysis and accumulation of volatile fatty acids and lowering pH in the bioreactor. In this study, the anaerobic digestibility of FW as a mono substrate was compared to co-digestion of FW with water hyacinth (WH) for improved biogas production and organic matter removal efficiency in a laboratory batch reactor. Different mix proportions of FW and WH were co-digested under mesophilic conditions (37 °C) at a dilution of 6% (w/v) Total Solids (TS) content. The TS of the substrates (Food waste and Water Hyacinth) were pre-processed to have a concentration of TS at 6% (60 g/L) to operate a wet AD which requires the substrate to be less than 15% TS. The proportions of WH: FW (v/v) were 100:0, 85:15, 70:30, 55:45, 30:70, 15:85, and 0:100. In the batch rectors the anaerobic co-digestion was conducted with Substrate to Inoculum (S/I) ratio of 1:1. FW is generally considered to have high volatile solids which hydrolyze rapidly lowering pH arising from excess production of Hydrogen which in presence of CO₂ and acetogenic bacteria leads to more production of acetate, formate and other long chain fatty acids which inhibits methanogenesis as a result of rapid acidification. The rapid acidification of the bioreactors that are used to treat FW results in the inhibition of the methanogenesis process. The co-digestion of the substrates could have improved the process parameters by reducing acidity caused by the high C/N ratio, reducing the inhibitory range, and increasing the buffer capacity which enhanced the bio-methane potential and the microbial activity. The batch experiments were set in triplicate for both cases of FW, WH, mixtures, and Inoculum. The results showed that the average gas yields after 81 days for the various mix proportions were 256.27and 357.69 ml/g-VS for mono-digestion of WH and FW respectively. For the mixtures of WH: FW the average reported biogas production were 305.01, 280.27, 548.91,616.01 and 270.87 ml/g-VS for mixtures of 15:85, 30:70, 55:45,70:30 and 85:15 respectively. The modified Gompertz model showed that the digesters with WH and FW alone had lag times of 2.599 and 1.052 days respectively. The mix substrates of WH: FW 85:15, 70:30, 55:45, 30:70 and 15:85 shown lag times of 2.456, 3.777, 2.574, 1.956 and 1.75 days respectively. A mix (WH: FW) of 70:30 had the highest maximum specific biogas production Rmax and the maximum biogas production potential of 18.19 mlCH₄/gVS per day and 607.7mlCH₄/gVS respectively. The R² and RSME values ranged from 0.9867 to 0.9963 and 2.663 to 9.359 respectively in all the digesters. The study shows that the co-digestion of WH and FW in the mix ratio of 70:30 improved the volume of biogas produced and organic matter removal efficiency reached 79%.

Management of water-food-energy nexus (WEFN) is of great importance to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. The development of WEFN management strategies is challenged by extensive uncertainties in different system components. Also, agricultural activities would contribute a large portion of the total GHG emissions in many countries, which are affecting the promised carbon neutrality in future. In this study, an inexact fractional fuzzy chance constraint programming method was developed towards planning the water-food-energy nexus system under consideration of both uncertainties and greenhouse gases (GHG) emission. An inexact fractional fuzzy chance constraint programming-based water-energy-food nexus (IFFCCP-WEFN) model has been established under consideration of various restrictions and GHG emissions. Solutions of the planting areas for different crops in different periods have been generated. These results imply that the corn cultivation would be prioritized to satisfy cereal demand due to its relatively lower GHG emission intensity. But the residual resources, after satisfying cereal demand, would tend to be allocated to vegetable planting. Comparison has been conducted among the IFFCCP-WEFN model and WEFN models based the inexact fuzzy chance constraint programming approach with and without GHG emissions. The results indicate that, the results from IFFCCP-WEFN model would achieve a highest unit benefit and lowest total GHG emissions. The total GHG emissions can be 11% less at most than GHG emissions from the resulting crop structures of the other two comparable models. Consequently, the developed IFFCCP-WEFN model can help decision-makers identify the desirable planting structure for crops with a priority of low GHG emission rate. The major contributions in this study include (i) the inexact fractional fuzzy chance constraint programming method to deal with interval and fuzzy parameters, reflect decision makers’ preferences and handle conflicts among contradictory objectives, (ii) the IFFCCP-WEFN model to achieve a maximized unit benefit with respect GHG emissions

The concentration on producing clean energy such as biofuels in recent years has had an impact on some of the natural resources that humans use, such as water, food, and land. In this paper, a two-phase approach to design and optimize a biofuel supply chain based on Jatropha Curcas L. oil and used cooking oil (UCO) is presented by considering the nexus between energy, water, food, waste, and land (EWFWL) in order to protect natural resources and create environmental security. In the first phase, the most appropriate sites for Jatropha cultivation are determined by considering the accessibility, geological, environmental and climatic criteria, using the Geographic Information System (GIS). In the second phase, a novel multi-objective model is designed considering the EWFWL nexus and solved using the Torabi-Hassini method. The model is validated using real data from Fars province, Iran, as well as a sensitivity analysis. In this study, some of main contributions are identifying suitable Jatropha cultivation sites in Fars province, Iran; development an innovative optimization model regarding EWFWL nexus; and considering financial parameters and global distribution along with EWFWL nexus. According to the results, the sale of biofuel to local and foreign consumers accounts for the largest proportion of network revenues, contributing for 59.25% of total revenue. Furthermore, increasing the use of UCOs for biofuel production will reduce Jatropha output, and consequently reduce water, land use, and increase food security. If UCO shortage occurs, more lands will be dedicated to Jatropha farms and food-loss and water consumption increase. By focusing on biofuel production over UCO, policymakers can produce less Jatropha and decrease the use of land for Jatropha cultivation. Furthermore, effluent-based irrigation can be more widely used to save fresh water by irrigating Jatropha farms.

Polystyrene-polyricinoleic acid copolymer containing silver nano particles (AgPSrici) was synthesized and used in separation of molybdenum from different aqueous and foodstuff samples during a dispersive-µ-solid phase extraction approach. The synthesized nano particles were verified using Fourier transform infraredspectroscopy. An electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry has been used for measurement of the studied ions. AgPSrici amount pH, sample volume, elution solvent kind, and the time of extraction were the effective parameters that were optimized by one-variable-at-one-time method. Analytical data of the method was calculated and limit of detection, relative standard deviation, limit of quantification were 0.022 µg L⁻¹, 2.9%, 150, and 0.066 µg L⁻¹, respectively. The synthesized adsorption capacity was obtained 170 mg g⁻¹.Accuracy of the method was studied by performing the method on certified reference materials and the presence of different interfering ions was studied. Molybdenum content of different water and foodstuffs was determined by the introduced method.

An environmentally friendly, sensitive, easy and fast ultrasound-assisted ionic liquid-based dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction technique (UA-IL-DLLME) was developed to preconcentrate trace quantities of nickel Ni(II) ion in water, food and tobacco samples prior to detection by FAAS. The proposed technique based on utilisationthe of ionic liquid (IL) (1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium tris(pentafluoroethyl)trifluorophosphate [HMIM][FAP]) as an extraction solvent for Ni(II) ions after the complexation with quinalizarin (Quinz) at pH 6.0. The impact of different analytical parameters on the microextraction efficiency was investigated. In the range of 2.0–300 µg L⁻¹, the calibration graph was linear. Limit of detection and preconcentration factor were 0.6 µg L⁻¹ and 100. Relative standard deviation (RSD%) as precision at 50 and 100 µg L⁻¹ of Ni(II) were 2.4% and 3.6%, respectively (n = 10). The validation of the proposed procedure was verified by a test of two certified reference materials (TMDA-51.3 fortified water, TMDA-53.3 fortified water and SRM spinach leaves 1570A) applying the standard addition method. Finally, the proposed UA-IL-DLLME method was developed and applied to preconcentrate and determine of trace quantities of Ni(II) in real water, food and tobacco samples with satisfactory results.

As a fundamental solution to the ecological problems of resources and environment, the Green Transition of Cultivated Land-use (GTCL) has become an inherent requirement for promoting ecological progress and implementing the food security strategy in the new era. This paper proposed a theoretical framework of GTCL and constructed a GTCL development index system based on four aspects: water, land, food and carbon; then, by applying a comprehensive evaluation model, a coupling coordination model and exploratory spatial data analysis, the development level of GTCL in China’s 31 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions in 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015 and 2020 was evaluated and the spatial and temporal rates of change of “water, land, food and carbon” (WLFC) and their coupling coordination were finally analyzed to reveal the “water, land, food and carbon” effect of GTCL. Results showed that the systemic changes of WLFC and its coupling coordination degree of GTCL presented a spatial and temporal coincidence with a high degree of consistency; from 2000 to 2020, the overall GTCL rate in all Chinese provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions showed a “W”-shaped fluctuation uptrend. In the past five years, the development level of GTCL was higher in Northeast China, followed by Central China and North China, while South China was at a low level. In addition, WLFC showed a more obvious “W”-shaped fluctuation, with higher coupling coordination in Northeast China in good coordination and lower coordination in East China and Southwest China. Therefore, according to the results of the study, areas were divided into: benefit leading area, quality improvement area, connotation tapping potential area, ductile development area and ecological reserve area for the regulation of GTCL in all Chinese provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions.

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