DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT : The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/Supplementary material, further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author. | BACKGROUND : Multidrug-resistant extended-spectrum b-lactamase (ESBL)- producing Enterobacterales is regarded as a critical health issue, yet, surveillance in the water-plant-food interface remains low, especially in Africa. OBJECTIVES : The objective of the study was to elucidate the distribution and prevalence of antimicrobial resistance in clinically significant members of the Enterobacterales order isolated from the water-plant-food interface in Africa. METHODS : A literature search was conducted using six online databases according to the PRISMA guidelines. All available published studies involving phenotypic and genotypic characterization of ESBL-producing Enterobacterales from water, fresh produce or soil in Africa were considered eligible. Identification and characterization methods used as well as a network analysis according to the isolation source and publication year were summarized. Analysis of Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp. and Klebsiella pneumoniae included the calculation of the multiple antibiotic resistance (MAR) index according to isolation sources and statistical analysis was performed using RStudio. RESULTS : Overall, 51 studies were included for further investigation. Twelve African countries were represented, with environmental AMR surveillance studies predominantly conducted in South Africa. In 76.47% of the studies, occurrence of antimicrobial resistant bacteria was investigated in irrigation water samples, while 50.98% of the studies included fresh produce samples. Analysis of bacterial phenotypic antimicrobial resistance profiles were reported in 94.12% of the studies, with the disk diffusion method predominantly used. When investigating the MAR indexes of the characterized Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Salmonella spp., from different sources (water, fresh produce or soil), no significant differences were seen across the countries. The only genetic determinant identified using PCR detection in all the studies was the blaCTX−M resistance gene. Only four studies used whole genome sequence analysis for molecular isolate characterization. DISCUSSION : Globally, AMR surveillance programmes recognize ESBL- and carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales as vectors of great importance in AMR gene dissemination. However, in low- and middle-income countries, such as those in Africa, challenges to implementing effective and sustainable AMR surveillance programmes remain. This review emphasizes the need for improved surveillance, standardized methods and documentation of resistance gene dissemination across the farm-to-fork continuum in Africa | https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/sustainable-food-systems | am2024 | Plant Production and Soil Science | SDG-15:Life on land

Department of Geography and Environmental Sciences | Department of Geography and Environmental Sciences | Globally, the occurrence of cyanobacterial blooms in freshwater ecosystems has become a concern. Cyanobacteria produces secondary metabolites, known as cyanotoxins that cause acute and chronic poisoning in animals and humans. History of mining, industrial activities and poor maintenance of wastewater treatment infrastructure are the main causes of the hyper-eutrophic conditions affecting most dams in South Africa. The co-occurrence of multiple stressors in agricultural waters and soils potentially pose a human and animal risk if contaminated water and plants are ingested. The study investigated the co-existence of cyanotoxins, anionic surfactants and metal species in irrigation water, agricultural soils and food crops and determine the health risks associated with consuming cyanotoxins contaminated plants in the Crocodile (West) Marico Water Management Area, which covers parts of Gauteng and Northwest Provinces. Lastly, the study assessed the applicability of passive sampling technology in monitoring of cyanotoxins using DIAON HP20 resins as an adsorbent. Water, food crops and soil samples were collected from Roodeplaat and Hartbeespoort dam sites in irrigation canals and cropping fields in June 2019, September 2019, February 2020, and March 2021. Seven sites were selected for sampling of water for cyanotoxins, anionic surfactants and toxic metals, while 4 farmland sites were selected for agricultural soils and food crops in Roodeplaat and Hartbeespoort sites. Physicochemical parameters of the irrigation water (pH, temperature, EC, TDS, DO), chlorophyll-a and dissolved nutrients were also monitored using Spectrophotometer and Spectro-Quant® Merck Pharo 100 with the photo-metric test kits from Merck, respectively. The levels of Microcystins (MCs), anionic surfactants, and metals were detected and quantified using the ELISA method, anionic surfactant portable photometer and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP- MS), respectively. The results are presented for each chapters below. The results for chapter 1 revealed the co-existence of cyanotoxins, metal species and anionic surfactants in the irrigation water, and agricultural soils, across sampling sites, throughout sampling period. The microcystins in irrigation water ranged from 0.00 to 15.57 μg/L. Total anionic surfactants in irrigation water and agricultural soil ranged from 0.01 to 3.49 mg/L and 1.81 to 5.46 mg/kg, respectively. Among all the physicochemical parameters only pH (p = 0.624), TDS (p = - 0.466), EC (p = - 0.445), and turbidity (p = 0.521) correlated with MCs. Moreover, total anionic surfactant showed to have positive moderate relationship with levels of MCs in irrigation water (p = 0.342). Metal species in irrigation water were decreased in the following order: Al > Mn > Fe > B > Zn > Ni > Cu > Pb > Cr > As and were all below the maximum DWAF acceptable limit, implying that the water was safe for irrigation use. Metal species in other soil sampling sites such as 16534.61 – 33285 mg/kg (Fe), 111.25 – 723.4 mg/kg (Cr),4.44 – 23.93 mg/kg (Pb), 0.80 – 9.70 mg/kg (As), 22.11 – 33.95 mg/kg (Cu), and 33.70 – 85.885 mg/kg (Ni) were above the maximum limit set by DEA, USEPA, and FAO/WHO for agricultural use. Thus, soils from Roodeplaat and Hartbeespoort farmland sites are contaminated by the mentioned metals. The findings from the second chapter of results revealed the bio-accumulation of microcystins and metals in food crops. The estimated daily intake (EDI) for MCs in all food crops for both adults and children were below 0.04 μg/kg DW acceptable value set by World Health Organisation, implying that the crops were safe for human consumption by adult and children population. Metal species levels accumulated in plant samples collected from different sampling sites, showed that 0.21 to 10.80 mg/kg (Cr), 19.64 to 734.00 mg/kg (Fe), 5.45 to 76.80 mg/kg (Zn), 0.01 to 0.20 mg/kg (As), 0.96 to 60.40 mg/kg (Cu), and 0.10 to 0.70 mg/kg (Pb) were above the EU and FAO/WHO guideline standards. Spearman correlation between metals in plants and water showed that only Pb (p = 0.874) and As (p = 0.809) in irrigation water had a positive moderate association with metals in plants collected from the sampling sites. The estimated daily intake (EDI) of metals via consumption of the crops were found to be below the maximum tolerable daily intake (MTDI) proposed for each metal. The translocation factors (TF) showed that only Cu and Cd were rapidly transported to the plant’s edible parts from the soil. Moreover, target hazard quotient (THQ) for each metal were below 1, indicating that consuming the food crops wont cause carcinogenic effect to the adult population, while hazard index (HI) for other sites was found to be >1 for crop plants, thus plants from these sites pose a health hazards to adult population. In addition, the target cancer risk (TCR) value for Cr and Ni in crops from other sampling sites were above the maximum threshold implying that there is a potential cancer risk to adult population over a long-term. In addition, findings from the third chapter showed that SPATT was applicable in monitoring and detecting MCs across all sampling sites and sampling months. The MCs levels in grab and SPATT bags ranged from 0.14 to 13.03 μg/L and 0.99 to 2.28 ng/g resin throughout the sampling sites and months, respectively. Thus, showing the persistence of MCs in canals and farm dams of Roodeplaat and Hartbeespoort. A spearman correlation revealed that pH (p = 0.776), Turbidity (p = 0.699) and DO (p = 0.829) had a significant positive association with total toxins in grab samples, while total dissolved MCs in SPATT samples showed negative moderate relationship with TDS (p = - 0.615) and EC (p = - 0.602). Total toxin concentrations in SPATT bags and Grab samples did not show any correlation this is because SPATT bags detect and collect microcystins within water column overtime, unlike point (Grab sampling), hence, there is no relationship between the two-sampling method. Overall results showed that SPATT bags with DIAON HP20 resin as an adsorbent proved to be applicable in monitoring and detecting microcystins in the irrigation water of Roodeplaat and Hartbeespoort sites. | NRF

The current study gives more information on Lepidoptera (butterfly) diversity and their food plant resources in the conifer woods of Shimla Water Catchment Wildlife Sanctuary, Himachal Pradesh. The study was carried out during the three distinct seasons; summer, monsoon, and autumn from March 2019–April 2022. A total of 1650 butterflies, representing 68 species and 6 families were recorded. The Nymphalidae comprised the greatest number of species (28 species), followed by the Lycaenidae (15), Pieridae (13), Papilionidae (7), Hespiradie (4) and Riodinidae (1). Species abundance and richness were more in mixed forest type which owing water and grass-cover availability supported most unique butterfly assemblages as compared to pure conifers and oak forest. The months from April to November harbor the greatest abundance of species. An overall reduction in species abundance was seen from December through January and until the end of March. This study provides an understanding of butterflies and has inspired additional investigation for the restoration of forest habitats in this protected area. The current study on diversity shows the importance of preserving biodiversity and monitoring climate change. It offers a basic identification, gathers data from a comparative viewpoint, allows synthesis, and develops and stimulates ideas and hypotheses that are applicable to other fields.

The new energy context since 2021 has led to dramatic increases in the energy bills of agribusinesses, affecting the price of foodstuffs. A considerable part of energy consumption is due to the heating of water at high temperatures. The present study analyzed the feasibility of using a Solar Water Heating System (SWHS) with an evacuated tube collector. In particular, the required sizing changes, potential savings and cost-effectiveness were analyzed. The results show that the new energy context makes the SWHS investment highly attractive: a payback of less than 4 years in most of the scenarios analyzed; energy savings of more than 60% in the scenarios with higher irradiation; a reduction in total energy expenditure of more than 50% in the favorable scenarios close to the current reality. The new context especially favors cold and temperate climates, with very sharp drops in payback compared to the previous situation. To achieve these values, it is necessary to design an optimized sizing of the SWHS, reducing the risk of future variations in the price of energy. The results of the study should serve as a reference for decision making in the agroindustrial sector to reduce the energy bill and strategic dependence on fossil fuels from third countries.

Erosion is severe in major agricultural sectors and areas of concentrated intense rainfall, such as southern Brazil, Argentina, India, eastern China, the Midwestern United States, Ethiopia, and Mediterranean Europe. To meet the world's food needs while protecting the environment, a more environmentally friendly agricultural model is needed. How much the adoption of introduced SWCP can contribute to food security is so, a puzzle that needs to be investigated today. Therefore, this research was conducted to evaluate the impact of soil and water conservation practices (SWCP) on food consumption score (FCS), and food intake in kilocalories at the household level by using 89 adopters and 161 non-adopter households. Cross-sectional data were produced from 250 samples by utilizing, a multistage sampling techniques. The causal effect of generated SWCP adoption data, were analyzed by propensity score matching model (PSM). Results gained by PSM show adoptions of introduced SWCP have an additional kilocalorie of 854.78. Concerning FCS, adopter households can obtain 7.28 scores of food frequency than their comparable groups. Since our study was limited to using analysis at the individual level and other food security indicators rather than calorie intake and FCS. Further study should be recommended concerning the impact of SWC on food security at the individual level by using multiple food security measure indicators.

The current study gives more information on Lepidoptera (butterfly) diversity and their food plant resources in the conifer woods of Shimla Water Catchment Wildlife Sanctuary, Himachal Pradesh. The study was carried out during the three distinct seasons; summer, monsoon, and autumn from March 2019–April 2022. A total of 1650 butterflies, representing 68 species and 6 families were recorded. The Nymphalidae comprised the greatest number of species (28 species), followed by the Lycaenidae (15), Pieridae (13), Papilionidae (7), Hespiradie (4) and Riodinidae (1). Species abundance and richness were more in mixed forest type which owing water and grass-cover availability supported most unique butterfly assemblages as compared to pure conifers and oak forest. The months from April to November harbor the greatest abundance of species. An overall reduction in species abundance was seen from December through January and until the end of March. This study provides an understanding of butterflies and has inspired additional investigation for the restoration of forest habitats in this protected area. The current study on diversity shows the importance of preserving biodiversity and monitoring climate change. It offers a basic identification, gathers data from a comparative viewpoint, allows synthesis, and develops and stimulates ideas and hypotheses that are applicable to other fields.

Organophosphate (OP) pesticides remain a worldwide health concern due to their acute or chronic poisoning and widespread use in agriculture around the world. There is a need for robust and field-deployable tools for onsite detection of OP pesticides in food and water. Herein, we present an integrated smartphone/resistive biosensor for simple, rapid, reagentless, and sensitive monitoring of OP pesticides in food and environmental water. The biosensor leverages the hydrolytic activity of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) to its substrate, acetylcholine (ACh), and unique transport properties of polyaniline nanofibers (PAnNFs) of chitosan/AChE/PAnNF/carbon nanotube (CNT) nanocomposite film on a gold interdigitated electrode. The principle of the sensor relies on OP inhibiting AChE, thus, reducing the rate of ACh hydrolysis and consequently decreasing the rate of protons doping the PAnNFs. Such resulted decrease in conductance of PAnNF can be used to quantify OP pesticides in a sample. A mobile app for the biosensor was developed for analyzing measurement data and displaying and sharing testing results. Under optimal conditions, the biosensor demonstrated a wide linear range (1 ppt–100 ppb) with a low detection limit (0.304 ppt) and high reproducibility (RSD <5%) for Paraoxon-Methyl (PM), a model analyte. Furthermore, the biosensor was successfully applied for analyzing PM spiked food/water samples with an average recovery rate of 98.3% and provided comparable results with liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. As such, the nanosensing platform provides a promising tool for onsite rapid and sensitive detection of OP pesticides in food and environmental water.

Accurate dietary assessment is crucial for nutrition and health research. Traditional methods, such as food records, food frequency questionnaires, and 24-hour dietary recalls (24HR), have limitations, such as the need for trained interviewers, time-consuming procedures, and inaccuracies in estimations. Novel technologies, such as image-based dietary assessment apps, have been developed to overcome these limitations. SNAQ is a novel image-based food-recognition app which, based on computer vision, assesses food type and volume, and provides nutritional information about dietary intake. This cross-sectional observational study aimed to investigate the validity of SNAQ as a dietary assessment tool for measuring energy and macronutrient intake in adult women with normal body weight (n = 30), compared to doubly labeled water (DLW), a reference method for total daily energy expenditure (TDEE). Energy intake was also estimated using a one-day 24HR for direct comparison. Bland–Altman plots, paired difference tests, and Pearson’s correlation coefficient were used to assess agreement and relationships between the methods. SNAQ showed a slightly higher agreement (bias = −329.6 kcal/day) with DLW for total daily energy intake (TDEI) compared to 24HR (bias = −543.0 kcal/day). While both SNAQ and 24HR tended to underestimate TDEI, only 24HR significantly differed from DLW in this regard (p < 0.001). There was no significant relationship between estimated TDEI and TDEE using SNAQ (R2 = 27%, p = 0.50) or 24HR (R2 = 34%, p = 0.20) and there were no significant differences in energy and macronutrient intake estimates between SNAQ and 24HR (Δ = 213.4 kcal/day). In conclusion, these results indicate that SNAQ provides a closer representation of energy intake in adult women with normal body weight than 24HR when compared to DLW, but no relationship was found between the energy estimates of DLW and of the two dietary assessment tools. Further research is needed to determine the clinical relevance and support the implementation of SNAQ in research and clinical settings. Clinical trial registration: This study is registered on ClinicalTrials.gov with the unique identifier NCT04600596 (https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04600596).

Australia’s 2019–2020 bushfires had a devastating impact on animals, humans, and ecosystems. They also demonstrated the lack of evidence or guidance for wildlife provisioning in response to severe fire events when volunteers and wildlife organisations rose to respond. In addition, the unprecedented scale and intensity of the fires and an absence of institutional support for wildlife provisioning meant that well-intentioned interventions were largely uncoordinated and lacked clear short-term, mid-term, and long-term objectives. Fundamentally, a lack of consensus was revealed on whether any such interventions are advisable. Given the strong evidence indicating that future bushfire seasons will become longer and more intense in Australia and elsewhere, the welfare and survival of millions of wild animals are at risk every year. Understanding the impacts of supplementary resource interventions and contributing to the development of best practice information is crucial to inform the response to the next major fire event. Here, we contextualize the arguments for and against provisioning within a ‘One Welfare’ framework that recognizes that animal welfare, biodiversity, and the environment are intertwined with human welfare and community resilience. We propose that the One Welfare approach can facilitate appropriate consideration of the extant scientific and lay literature; local legislation; views of stakeholders; emerging data; and modelling from historic fire events. As a further step, we see merit in engaging with wildlife provisioners and the broader conservation community to build an evidence base for future wildlife provisioning activities. From an informed position, we can encourage beneficial interventions and reduce the risk of negative outcomes. Finally, we propose controlled experiments (e.g., using hazard reduction burns), ongoing data collection using emergent technology, and longitudinal analysis to address shifting research priorities as the climate changes. We conclude that the ordered collection of the necessary evidence relevant to each of the three stakeholder groups in the One Welfare framework has the greatest potential to support an informed policy platform on wildlife provisioning across Australia that is feasible, legal, and sustainable.