PR | IFPRI3; CRP2; CRP5; A Ensuring Sustainable food production; 2 Promoting Healthy Diets and Nutrition for all; Promoting insect-based ecosystem services to smallholders | EPTD; PIM | CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM); CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE)

Plant-based food materials are porous and hygroscopic in nature; therefore, it contains three water environments, namely, intercellular, intracellular water and cell wall water. The intercellular water is known as capillary water or free water which is less constrained than intracellular water, considered as loosely bound water (LBW), and cell wall water, which is recognised as strongly bound (SBW). During food processing such as drying, frying, heating and cooking, optimisation of heat and mass transfer is crucial. The existing heat and mass transfer models for food processing are developed based on the concept that all of the water inside the food material is bulk water, which can act as free water that can be easily transported. This simplistic assumption has been made due to a lack of sufficient data to enable consideration of the proportion of free and bound water in plant-based food materials. Therefore, the aim of the present study is to investigate the proportion of different types of water such as free, LBW and SBW in 11 different plant-based food materials. The water proportion was investigated using 1H NMR T2 relaxometry. The experimental results uncovers that plant-based food materials contain about 80 to 92% LBW, 6 to 16% free water and only about 1 to 6% SBW. This investigation also confirms that among the five different fruits, kiwi contains the lowest percentage of LBW while Apple contains the highest percentage of LBW. Among the vegetables, eggplant comprises the largest amount of LBW while cucumber contains least amount of SBW. An attempt was made to establish a relationship between physical properties of fruits and vegetables and the proportion of the different types of water. Interestingly, it was found that SBW strongly depends on the proportion of solid in the sample tissue whereas FW depends on the porosity of the material.Food preservation is a major concern in today's world as about one-third of the global food production is lost annually due to lack of proper processing and preservation. Food processing is very energy intensive process and it consumes about 15–20% of energy used in industrial processes. Quality of processed food is also a big concern in the industries. Therefore energy efficiency and food quality are two major concerns in the food processing industry.The current food processing techniques such as drying are unable to ensure best quality and energy efficiency as many microlevel fundamentals of hygroscopic food material are unknown. One of the major unknown is the proportions and characteristics of different types of water inside the food materials and because of this an optimised food processing cannot be designed in order to ensure high quality and energy efficiency. The existing heat and mass transfer models are based on some simplistic assumptions, for instance all of the water inside the food material is considered bulk water; which means that it acts as free water that can be transported easily. This simplistic assumption has long been used due to lack of sufficient data to enable consideration of the proportion of free and bound water. Therefore, the aim of the present study is to determine the proportion of different types of water such as free water, loosely bound water (LBW) and strongly bound water (SBW) and establish relationship between physical properties and water characteristics in hygroscopic food materials.The findings of this study will enhance the understanding of plant-based food tissue that will contribute to a better understanding of potential changes occurring during food processing and will contribute to the development of accurate heat and mass transfer models and prediction of deformation. These findings will ultimately be significant for the equipment design engineers in food processing industry.

Triazole fungicides are systemic fungicides applied to protect crops from fungus infections. Its use must be controlled due to the potential harmful effects in environment and human health. Before determination with a chromatographic system, analyte must be isolated and preconcentrated with an extraction step. This review presents the most used microextraction techniques for those compounds in water and several food matrices, mainly solid phase microextraction (SPME) and liquid phase microextraction (LPME) procedures. The most relevant analytical parameters of some studies from the recent literature are collected and also some advantages and disadvantages comparing SPME and LPME procedures are presented.

In the present study, a new ultrasound assisted extraction (UAE) method was developed for preconcentration of selenite, Se(iv), from sample matrices prior to analysis. The method is based on complex formation between phenoxazine dye, resazurin, and triiodide, I₃⁻, which is produced by oxidation of iodide with Se(iv) in the presence of cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) at pH 5.0, and then the extraction of the complex into the micellar phase of the extracting agent. The proposed process offers good sensitivity, ease of use and short analysis time. The variables affecting complex formation and extraction efficiency were studied and optimized in detail. Under optimal conditions, a good linear relationship was obtained in the range of 2.5–120 μg L⁻¹ with a detection limit of 0.76 μg L⁻¹. The precision was found to be 3.5% (n: 5, 10 and 40 μg L⁻¹). After preconcentration of a 15 mL sample, a sensitivity enhancement factor of 34.1 was obtained. The method offers good sensitivity, ease of use and short analysis time. Total inorganic Se was determined after the reduction of Se(vi) to Se(iv) using hydrochloric acid. The validation was evaluated by analysis of two standard reference materials (SRMs) and the recovery test. Finally, the method was successfully applied to the determination of inorganic Se in selected samples, and recoveries higher than 93.7% to 103% were obtained.

Triazole fungicides are systemic fungicides applied to protect crops from fungus infections. Its use must be controlled due to the potential harmful effects in environment and human health. Before determination with a chromatographic system, analyte must be isolated and preconcentrated with an extraction step. This review presents the most used microextraction techniques for those compounds in water and several food matrices, mainly solid phase microextraction (SPME) and liquid phase microextraction (LPME) procedures. The most relevant analytical parameters of some studies from the recent literature are collected and also some advantages and disadvantages comparing SPME and LPME procedures are presented.

Red grape pomace (RGP) and onion solid wastes (OSW) were used as raw material to produce flavonoid-enriched extracts, using ultrasound-assisted solid-liquid extraction. The extraction medium used was composed of water and glycerol and under the conditions used the extraction of flavonoids from both materials was shown to obey first-order kinetics. Maximum diffusivities (De) values were 4.01 × 10−11 and 2.35 × 10−11 m2·s−1, for RGP and OSW extraction, respectively, while the corresponding activation energies (Ea) were 14.00 and 15.23 kJ·mol−1.

In the inner Aral Sea Basin of Central Asia, numerous small lakes scattered over the irrigated landscape supply diverse ecosystem services for humans and nature. This study aimed to estimate the water volumes and assess the potentials of these small lakes for instance as irrigation reserve during the ever-recurring periods of water scarcity in the ecologically endangered Amudarya Delta. Bathymetric measurements gathered in the Khorezm region, Northwest Uzbekistan, permitted developing a statistical relationship between the surface and volume of the lakes. Landsat satellite data enabled for classifying the water bodies and hence deriving lake volumes over the study area. In 2002, the lakes stored ~0.032 km³ water during the winter season, but ~0.057 km³ during the main, 5–6 months spanning irrigation period. The area-wide increase in lake volumes during the irrigation period underlined the magnitude to which the currently practiced, inefficient use of irrigation water, produces excess water that in turn contributes to the existence of the small, mesotrophic lakes. Based on crop water requirements, calculations showed that the reuse of lake water may compensate for water-scarce situations, albeit to a certain extend only. An increased share (13 % above average) of water-intensive rice fields in the vicinity of the lakes substantiated that some lakes are already used in this way. It is argued that, in case of sufficient water quality, as indicated by other studies, more targeted exploration of such lake water can help simultaneously both, increasing food and water security of the households surrounding the lakes and safeguarding a supply to maintain different ecosystem functions. Integrated management of all water resources may reduce excess irrigation water supply to the region, which in turn may lessen the dependency of Central Asian downstream countries on transboundary water and supply water resources for the ecosystems in the river deltas.

The Philippines currently relies largely on fossil-fuel based power generation (about 77 percent) and is expected to increase power generation from coal-based (fossil) plants to meet future energy demand, which would negatively affect environmental outcomes. Primary energy supply is expected to double between 2011 and 2030. The renewable energy potential is relatively high in the Philippines and could contribute to supply modern reliable energy services and improve energy security. The government’s energy reform agenda highlights the importance of access to more reliable energy using indigenous energy resources while minimizing imported fossil-fuel use in an optimal and cost-effective way. The feasibility of this type of diversification from fossil-fuel to renewable energy based power generation can be assessed by applying energy optimization models, such as MARKAL1/TIMES2. Application of a bottom-up energy optimization model can provide important insights into the implications of prospective conversion technologies that can be pursued by the Philippine government in a cost-efficient and effective way to ensure energy security and develop a low-carbon society. | Non-PR | CRP5; Phil-EWF; IFPRI2 | EPTD | CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE)

PR | IFPRI3; ISI; E Building Resilience | EPTD | CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE)

OBJECTIVES: To carrying out an integrated analysis on regional environment and human health in China and to detect the association between longevity and daily element intake from food and drinking water. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: All the 18 cities and counties in Hainan Province. MEASUREMENTS: The distribution of elderly population and longevity indexes at a county level in Hainan Province were investigated. Quality of food and drinking water in Hainan was evaluated by comparing the chemical elements with National Standards. In addition, the association between element concentrations in food and water and longevity was examined using spearman’s rank correlation. RESULTS: The proportion of elderly people is higher in the northern part of the province compared with southern counties. Food contributes a greater proportion of daily element intake than drinking water. Compared with the National Standards, reaching rates for elements were over 85% for both food and drinking water. There was a positive correlation between daily intake of Cu, Se, and Zn from food and water and aging and longevity indexes, and a negative correlation between Pb intake and these indexes. CONCLUSION: The quality of food and water in Hainan Province are good and that, compared with water, food is a more important source of trace elements. An appropriate supply of Cu, Se, and Zn is important, whereas excessive intake of Pb should be avoided. The findings also provide basic data to support further studies on regional variations in longevity and their relationship to diet and drinking water.