ABSTRACT The objective in this review was to discuss the importance of maize currently and the crucial role it may play in the future for food production in scenarios of water shortage, as well as the importance of conserving its landrace cultivars, which have a considerable portion of the reserve of genetic variability. Maize plants, when exposed to water deficit, may develop physiological, morphological, biochemical and anatomical adaptation mechanisms. With the aid of genetic improvement, characteristics that impart tolerance are fixed in plants through conventional methods. In this context, ‘Tuxpeño Sequia’ cultivars were developed in Mexico, while in Africa, one of the most important strategies was the development of ‘DT’ (Drought-tolerant) cultivars. In the United States, one of the most important processes was the development of PionerAquamax® hybrids, while in Brazil, it was the development of cultivars with the ‘Maya Latente’ gene. Through genetic transformation, the hybrid ‘MON 87460’ was developed. However, it should be mentioned that, for a cultivar to be well accepted by producers, besides having one or more adaptation characteristics, it must have a high grain yield. Biotechnological tools such as the use of molecular markers, genetic transformation, and modeling through bioinformatics, associated with conventional selection, will be fundamental to guarantee the advancement of water deficit tolerance in maize. | RESUMO O objetivo nesta revisão foi discutir a importância da cultura do milho na atualidade e o papel crucial que pode desempenhar no futuro para a produção de alimentos em cenários de deficiência hídrica, bem como a importância de conservar suas cultivares crioulas, que detêm uma parcela considerável dessa reserva de variabilidade genética. As plantas de milho, quando expostas à deficiência hídrica, podem desenvolver mecanismos fisiológicos, morfo-anatômicos, bioquímicos e moleculares de adaptação. Com o auxílio do melhoramento genético são fixadas nas plantas as características adaptativas que conferem tolerância via métodos convencionais, com a seleção e incorporação da característica, ou pelo emprego de transformação genética. Nesse sentido, foram desenvolvidas, por meio do melhoramento convencional, a cultivar Tuxpeño Sequia, no México, enquanto na África, uma das estratégias mais importantes foi o desenvolvimento das cultivares DT (Drought-tolerant). Já nos Estados Unidos, um dos processos mais importantes foi o desenvolvimento dos híbridos PionerAquamax® ao passo que, no Brasil, foi o desenvolvimento das cultivares possuidoras do caráter latente na cultivar Maya Latente. Por meio da transformação genética foi desenvolvido o híbrido ‘MON 87460’. Entretanto, deve ser mencionado que, para uma cultivar ser bem aceita pelos produtores, além de possuir uma ou mais características de adaptação, precisa ter alta produção de grãos. Ferramentas biotecnologicas como uso de marcadores moleculares, transformação genética, e modelagem através da bioinformática, associadas à seleção convencional, serão fundamentais para garantir o avanço na tolerância à deficiência hídrica em milho.

The San Antonio Region is home to a rapidly growing population with developing energy and agricultural sectors competing for water, land, and financial resources. Despite the tight interconnectedness between water, energy, and food challenges, little is known about the levels of communication and coordination among the various officials responsible for making the decisions that affect the management and planning of the three resource systems. It has been postulated that efficient communication is a prerequisite to developing resource allocation strategies that avoid potential unintended negative consequences that could result from inefficient allocation of natural resources and competing demands. Factors that may impact communication are identified and their potential roles are considered in improving existing levels of communication between San Antonio's water officials and those at other energy, food, and water institutions in the San Antonio Region. A questionnaire designed to gather information on stakeholder concerns, frequency of communication, and participation in engagement forums was sent to public water officials in the Region. Using social network analysis and bivariate Ordinary Least Square regression analysis, the authors conclude that while modest levels of communication exist among water institutions, a very low level of communication exists between water institutions and those responsible for food and energy. It was further concluded that the frequency of communication among officials at different water institutions is higher among those that participated in stakeholder engagement activities. However, there is insufficient evidence to suggest that participation in stakeholder engagement activities improves communication frequency between water stakeholders and those in the food and energy sectors. There is also insufficient evidence to conclude that people at water institutions in San Antonio would have a higher frequency of communication with other water, energy, and food stakeholder in correlation with a higher level of concern about future water availability in the Region.

Recently, food-grade Pickering particles, particularly plant proteins, have attracted tremendous attention because they are biobased, environmentally-friendly and edible. To explore the potential of tea water-insoluble protein (TWIP) nanoparticles from tea residues for stabilizing Pickering emulsions, the average hydrodynamic diameter (DH), zeta potential and morphologic profiles of TWIP nanoparticles were characterized using dynamic light scattering (DLS), laser Doppler velocimetry (LDV) and atomic force microscopy (AFM), respectively. The results indicated that TWIP nanoparticles were irregular colloidal particles with a DH greater than 300 nm and a negative charge of more than −30 mV at ionic strengths of 0–400 mM and a fixed TWIP nanoparticle concentration (2.0%). Furthermore, the effect of the TWIP nanoparticle concentration (0.5–4.0%, w/v) and oil-water ratio (2:8–6:4) on the characteristics of the Pickering emulsions stabilized via TWIP nanoparticles was investigated. Increasing the TWIP nanoparticle concentration generated a firm and thick TWIP nanoparticle-based interfacial layer, as verified by Cryo-scanning electron microscopy imaging, and decreased the droplet size of Pickering emulsions at an oil-water ratio of 4:6. Additionally, an increase of the oil-water ratio to 6:4 favored the formation of emulsions with extraordinary creaming stability at the fixed TWIP nanoparticle concentration of 2.0%. The present study is the first to suggest TWIP nanoparticles as a type of food-grade Pickering particle.

Rapid development of food factories in both developed and developing countries, owing to continued growth in the world population, plays a critical role in the food supply chain, including environmental issues such as pollution, emissions, energy and water consumption, and thus food system sustainability. The objective of this study was to briefly review various environmental aspects of food processing operations, including aquatic, atmospheric, and solid waste generation, and also to discuss several strategies that many companies are using to reduce these negative impacts as well as to improve water and energy efficiency. To obtain higher energy efficiencies in food processing factories, two key operations can play critical roles: non-thermal processing (e.g., high pressure processing) and membrane processes. For higher water efficiency, reconditioning treatments resulting in water reuse for other purposes can be conducted through chemical and/or physical treatments. With regards to reducing volumes of processing food waste, two approaches include value-added by-product applications (e.g., animal feed) and/or utilization of food waste for energy production. Finally, we present trends for lowering operational costs in food processing.

Water, food, and energy supply is one of the main issues that the growing world population has been faced, and Iran is not excepted. Following the UN Millennium Development Goals, researchers have presented a variety of interdisciplinary approaches to achieve a dynamic balance between the resource production and consumption. The most important approach is the Water, Energy, and Food (WEF) Nexus. Due to the available resources scarcity which are intensifying on a daily basis, every opportunity should be exploited to balance the current consumption and resources. The Nexus approach enhances productivity by integrating water, energy, and their recycles. This article refers to the strategic relationship between sustainable development with respect to the Nexus of water, food, and energy, as well as identifying the policies of these three sectors, to ensure that they are targeted for optimal use of resources.

The main limiting factor impeding the operationalisation of the WEF nexus has been lack of metrics and tools to translate the concept into a fully-fledged operational framework to support policy and decision-making. This study developed a WEF nexus model by (i) defining WEF nexus sustainability indicators, and (ii) calculating composite indices for those indicators to establish numerical relationships among WEF nexus resources using South Africa as a case study. The composite indices show WEF nexus performance as well as monitoring and evaluation of WEF resources management. The indicators were integrated through the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) in a multicriteria decision-making (MCDM). The established quantitative relationships indicate resource utilisation, management and performance through a spider graph to illustrate WEF nexus performance, providing a general overview of the level of interactions, interrelationships and inter-connectedness of resources. The shape of the spider graph is determined by the level of the interdependencies and interactions among the WEF nexus sectors, whose management is viewed either as sustainable or unsustainable depending on the classification of the developed integrated index. The spider graph for South Africa showed an over-emphasis on food self-sufficiency and water productivity at the expense of other sectors. The deformed shape of the spider graph is a demonstration of the sectoral or “silo” approach in resource management. The calculated integrated WEF nexus index of 0.203 for South Africa classified the country under the low sustainability category. The developed model is a decision support tool that provides evidence for interventions in priority areas. The model demonstrates the capabilities of the WEF nexus to evaluate synergies and trade-offs in a systematic and integrated way to increases efficiency and productivity in resource management for sustainable development.

The food-water-energy nexus concept helps to produce an integrative solutions to secure the water-related ecosystem services sustainably. This study aims to quantify and map water provisioning and soil erosion regulating services from both demand and supply sides in a spatially explicit manner. It considers the Wabe River catchment of the Omo-Gibe Basin in tropical data-sparse region of East Africa as a case study and uses the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs (InVEST) annual and seasonal water yield and sediment delivery models. The water demands and biophysical parameters data were collected from primary and secondary sources and prepared according to the requirement of the models. The models output were validated after conducting sensitivity analysis of the input parameters. The result shows that the rainfall amount of the catchment is highly seasonal, which causes the surface water to vary according to the seasons. The high annual precipitation and low actual evapotranspiration of the catchment resulted high annual water yields. However, the people in the catchment did not satisfied their domestic water demand as result of inaccessibility and poor management of the rain water. The high net supply of water, especially in the rainy season, carries detached top soil via heavy rainfall in the upper catchment areas. Even though the existing land cover and management practices contribute to sediment retention, a large amount of sediment is exported to rivers, which jeopardizes the food and energy security. Thus, the management of water is essential for enhancing the security of the food-water-energy nexus in the catchment. The methods applied in this study can increase spatial understanding of the water-related ecosystem services especially in data–sparse catchments of the tropics, and lead to improvement of water management to enhance the security nexus.

Gabriela Coelho-de-Souza, Rosa Lia Barbieri, Viviane Camejo Pereira, Camila Traesel Schreiner, Rafaela Biehl Printes, Mercedes Rivas, Marene Machado Marchi (Organizadoras).

El presente trabajo refleja el análisis de los insumos y materiales utilizados en el laboratorio de ensayo, con el fin de conocer y determinar los residuos que se generan en el proceso de análisis de muestras, de esta manera se crea un instructivo que establece los responsables, lineamientos para manejo de muestras y disposición final adecuada de estas y de los demás residuos que se generan en el desarrollo de las actividades. De esta forma la empresa minimiza el impacto ambiental que puede ocasionar y cumple con la normatividad ambiental pertinente. | This work reflects the analysis of the inputs and materials used in the test laboratory, in order to know and determine the waste generated in the process of analysis of samples, thus creating an instruction that establishes those responsible, guidelines for handling samples and adequate final disposal of these and other waste generated in the development of activities. In this way the company minimizes the environmental impact that it can cause and complies with the relevant environmental regulations.