International audience | Use of nanonized curcumin-whey protein (CWP) composite particles as Pickering stabilizers are an attractive strategy due to their edibility and natural origin. This study aimed to examine the effect of physico-chemical conditions (pH, ionic strength, protein form) during the formation of CWP composite nanoparticles on their physico-chemical characteristics (size, surface charge, morphology) and further their Pickering ability by influencing their aptitude to stabilize oil/water interfaces. Our study demonstrated that, to favor the protein-curcumin interactions and to improve the particle characteristics (smaller size, monodispersity), one should increase the accessibility of hydrophobic moiety of proteins (denaturation) and control ionic strength. Increasing the concentration of the CWP composite nanoparticles decreased size and polydispersity enhancing emulsion stability. Use of these CWP composite nanoparticles in food products with high ionic strength will tend to flocculation and thereby emulsions destabilization. This work allows for a better understanding of the role of physico-chemical conditions on the formation of CWP composite nanoparticles and thereof their oil/water interfacial activity.

The population aggregation and economic development caused by urbanization significantly influence the efficiency of urban resource consumption. However, the coupling interactions between crucial resource consumptions such as food, energy and water (FEW) and urbanization processes within highly urbanized areas has not been well-studied. In this study, we constructed an assessment framework for the coupling efficiency measurement of FEW resource consumptions in 10 administrative districts across Shenzhen megacity during 2012&ndash:2020, based on the data envelopment analysis (DEA). This study demonstrated that, from the perspective of the FEW nexus, increasing efficiencies in the energy consumption of most districts improved the municipal FEW efficiency, while more than half of the districts did not achieve water resource efficiencies throughout the period. Concerning regional economic development, 80% of the districts improved coupling FEW efficiencies by 2020, the average values of which were higher for Yantian, Nanshan, Luohu and Dapeng, and lower for Baoan, Longgang and Guangming, with a downtrend only being observed in Guangming. Overall, the value of the coupling FEW efficiency of Shenzhen megacity rose by 35% from 2012 to 2020. Correlation analysis showed that synergistic effects of efficient resource consumption occurred in most districts, and economic urbanization was the main driving factor of regional FEW efficiencies within Shenzhen megacity. This study provides instructive insights into the status of urban resource consumption and suggests that the coordination of FEW management should be further improved by fiscal intervention to maintain economic development with the limited resources available, which would have valuable implications for synergistic FEW governance in megacities in China and elsewhere.

Water scaricity is an increasingly critical issue for food production around the world. This is particularly true for the world's poorest region, Sub-Saharan Africa, due to its growing malnutrition and almost complete dependence on rainfed agriculture. Given that agriculture is the primary consumer of freshwater around the globe and the demand for domestic, industrial, and environment water uses is steadily rising, strategies for the sustainable use of water in agriculture are urgently needed | Non-PR | IFPRI1 | EPTD

A composite of MCM-41 silica with rice husk was modified with dithizone with the aid of microwave radiation. The modified composite was characterized by different techniques and utilized for preconcentration of Cu²⁺, Zn²⁺ and Pb²⁺ prior to determination by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS). The adsorption process is optimized to attain the maximum efficiency. The procedure presented satisfying uptake characteristics with maximum adsorption capacity of 142.7, 102.9 and 228.8 mg g⁻¹ towards Cu²⁺, Zn²⁺ and Pb²⁺, respectively. The calibration graphs were linear up to 400 μg L⁻¹ for Cu²⁺ and Zn²⁺ and up to 800 μg L⁻¹ for Pb²⁺ with preconcentration factor of 240. The limits of detection were 0.28, 0.21 and 0.48 μg L⁻¹ for Cu²⁺, Zn²⁺ and Pb²⁺, respectively. The optimized procedure was utilized for the preconcentration of Cu²⁺, Zn²⁺ and Pb²⁺ in water and food samples prior to determination by FAAS with accepted precision and accuracy.

The interaction between regional water, energy, food and ecology systems has the characteristics of high correlation and complexity. In-depth study of the relationship between the four systems under green development is greatly significant for regional sustainable development. In this study, pressure-state-response (PSR) model was firstly innovatively introduced to analyze the internal coupling mechanism of water-energy-food-ecology (WEFE) system. Then an evaluation index system for the coupling coordination development of WEFE system was constructed by taking water, energy, food and ecology subsystems as the criterion layer. Finally, the coupling coordination degree (CCD) model was used to analyze the coupling coordination development level of the nine provinces and two cities along the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) from 2008 to 2019. And obstacle degree model was adopted to explore the main factors affecting the coupling coordination development of WEFE system. The results showed that the development level of the WEFE system in the YREB was far-reaching influenced by the development of energy subsystem on the one hand, and also by food subsystem on the other hand. From the perspective of time dimension, the coupling coordination development level of WEFE system in Shanghai presented a gradual upward trend with a state of intermediate coordination, and those in some provinces such as Jiangsu have undergone a brief jumping change from near coordination to primary coordination, while those in some provinces such as Anhui fluctuated up and down from 2008 to 2019. As for the YREB, it always remained in the state of the primary coordination with unobvious upward trend, which presented the characteristic of “lower reaches > upper reaches > middle reaches”. In terms of the space dimension, the CCD values of WEF system in the YREB showed an obvious concave distribution pattern of "higher in the east and west, but lower in the middle" during the study period. Proportion of environmental protection investment and food production per unit area were the primary and secondary factors affecting the coupling coordination development of WEFE system in the YREB. Therefore, some recommendations should be put forward to promote green sustainable development of regional resources and environment.

The current work focuses on the facile and effective synthesis of a new nanocomposite based on multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) decorated with magnetic core–shell Fe₃O₄@SiO₂ and functionalized with 3-mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane (3-MPTS) used in the vortex-assisted dispersive magnetic solid-phase extraction (VA–DMSPE) of Cd(II) ions in environmental and food samples. The nanocomposite was characterized and the parameters that influenced the VA–DMSPE were optimized through a fractional factorial design 2⁵–¹. The proposed method provided a preconcentration factor of 33.14 times, detection and quantification limits of 0.090 μg L⁻¹ and 0.302 μg L⁻¹, respectively, and a linearity range of 0.001–40.0 μg L⁻¹. The developed method was effectively applied to preconcentrate and determine Cd(II) in water, tobacco, green tea leaves, ginkgo biloba, carrots, and rice samples, and its accuracy was evaluated using GF AAS.

Novel porous covalent organic framework (COF) based on condensation reaction between cyanuric chloride, 4,4′-ethylendianiline, and 3,4,9,10-perylenetetracarboxylic dianhydride was synthesized via sealed tube condition. The results COF was used as a new adsorbent for solid-phase microextraction (SPME) for extracting trifluralin and chlorpyrifos from vegetables, fruit samples, and wastewater. Gas chromatograph with a corona discharge-ion mobility spectrometer as the detector was also used for analyzing the target analytes. Some parameters that affected the extraction, such as stirring rate, time and temperature of extraction and pH were investigated, exhaustively. The detection limits were 0.13, and 0.15 µg/L and the linear ranges of 0.45–20 and 0.50–25 µg/L with a linearity coefficient of 0.9965 and 0.9987 were also obtained for trifluralin and chlorpyrifos, respectively. The method was applied successfully to analyze some real samples of cucumber, carrot, grape, and agriculture wastewater, and the results showed a relative recovery in the range of 87% to 110%.

The global demand for resources such as energy, land, or water is constantly increasing. It is therefore not surprising that research on the Food-Energy-Water (FEW) nexus has become a scientific as well as a general focus in recent years. A significant increase in publications since 2015 can be observed, and it can be expected that this trend will continue. A multilevel (macro, meso, and micro) perspective is essential, as the FEW nexus has cross-sectoral interdependencies. Several review studies on the FEW nexus can be found in the literature, in general, it can be concluded that the FEW nexus is a multi-disciplinary and complex topic. The studies examined identify essential fields of action for research, policy, and society. However, questions such as what are the main research fields at each level? Is it possible to divide the research into specific clusters? and do the clusters correlate with the levels, and what are the methods of modeling used in the clusters and levels? are still not fully discussed in the literature. An extensive literature review was conducted to get insight into the existing research areas. Especially in such fields as the FEW nexus, the amount of literature can get huge, and a human could get lost analyzing the literature manually. For that, we created word clouds and performed a cluster- and network-analysis to support the selection of most relevant papers for a detailed reading. In 2021, the most publications were published, with 173 publications, which corresponds to a share of 26.6 %. There has been a significant increase since 2015, and it can be expected that this trend will continue in the coming years. Most of the first authors come from the USA (25.4 %), followed by China with 22.4 %. From the word cloud and the top 20 words, which appear in the title and abstract, it can be deduced that the topic water is the most represented. However, the terms system, resource, model, study, change, development, and management also appear to be very important, which indicates the importance of a holistic approach to the topic. In total 9 clusters could be identified at the different levels. It can be seen that three clusters form well. For the others, a rather diffuse picture can be observed. In order to find out which topics are hidden behind the individual clusters, 6 publications from each cluster were subjected to a more detailed examination. With these steps, a number of 54 publications were identified for detailed consideration. The modeling approaches that are currently being applied in research can be classified into domain-specific tools (e. g. global water models, crop models or global climate models) and into more general tools to perform for example a life cycle analysis, spatial analysis using geographic information system, or system dynamics for a general understanding of the links between the domains. With the domain-specific tools, detailed research questions can be addressed to answer questions for a specific domain. However, these tools have the disadvantage that especially the links between the sectors food, energy, and water are not fully considered. Many implementations that are made today are at lowest level (micro) relate to bounded spatial areas and are derived from macro and meso level goals.

The global demand for resources such as energy, land, or water is constantly increasing. It is therefore not surprising that research on the Food-Energy-Water (FEW) nexus has become a scientific as well as a general focus in recent years. A significant increase in publications since 2015 can be observed, and it can be expected that this trend will continue. A multilevel (macro, meso, and micro) perspective is essential, as the FEW nexus has cross-sectoral interdependencies. Several review studies on the FEW nexus can be found in the literature, in general, it can be concluded that the FEW nexus is a multi-disciplinary and complex topic. The studies examined identify essential fields of action for research, policy, and society. However, questions such as what are the main research fields at each level? Is it possible to divide the research into specific clusters? and do the clusters correlate with the levels, and what are the methods of modeling used in the clusters and levels? are still not fully discussed in the literature. An extensive literature review was conducted to get insight into the existing research areas. Especially in such fields as the FEW nexus, the amount of literature can get huge, and a human could get lost analyzing the literature manually. For that, we created word clouds and performed a cluster- and network-analysis to support the selection of most relevant papers for a detailed reading. In 2021, the most publications were published, with 173 publications, which corresponds to a share of 26.6 %. There has been a significant increase since 2015, and it can be expected that this trend will continue in the coming years. Most of the first authors come from the USA (25.4 %), followed by China with 22.4 %. From the word cloud and the top 20 words, which appear in the title and abstract, it can be deduced that the topic water is the most represented. However, the terms system, resource, model, study, change, development, and management also appear to be very important, which indicates the importance of a holistic approach to the topic. In total 9 clusters could be identified at the different levels. It can be seen that three clusters form well. For the others, a rather diffuse picture can be observed. In order to find out which topics are hidden behind the individual clusters, 6 publications from each cluster were subjected to a more detailed examination. With these steps, a number of 54 publications were identified for detailed consideration. The modeling approaches that are currently being applied in research can be classified into domain-specific tools (e. g. global water models, crop models or global climate models) and into more general tools to perform for example a life cycle analysis, spatial analysis using geographic information system, or system dynamics for a general understanding of the links between the domains. With the domain-specific tools, detailed research questions can be addressed to answer questions for a specific domain. However, these tools have the disadvantage that especially the links between the sectors food, energy, and water are not fully considered. Many implementations that are made today are at lowest level (micro) relate to bounded spatial areas and are derived from macro and meso level goals.

Organic toxins are persistent chemicals of global concern capable of accumulating in environment and food. Surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is a promising technique that facilitates onsite detection of organic toxins. However, the fabrication of a SERS substrate is complicated and difficult to provide flexibility, fastness and cost-effectiveness. This study aims to develop a paper-based SERS method using grape skin-gold nanoparticles/graphene oxide (GE-AuNPs/GO) as SERS substrate and evaluate its efficiency with rhodamine 6G (Rh6G) as a model organic toxin and a real water and food contaminant. GE-AuNPs synthesized by green method using grape skin waste extract and GE-AuNPs/GO showed a surface plasmon resonance at 536 and 539 nm, particle size 18.6 and 19.5 nm, and zeta potential −44.6 and −59.7 mV, respectively. Paper-based SERS substrates were prepared by coating a hydrophobic thin-film of 30% polydimethylsiloxane solution in hexane on Whatman no. 1 filter paper, followed by drop-casting GE-AuNPs or GE-AuNPs/GO and drying. The SERS signals of Rh6G showed an enhancement factor of 5.8 × 10⁴ for GE-AuNPs and 1.92 × 10⁹ for GE-AuNPs/GO, implying that a combination of electromagnetic surface plasmon, charge transfer and molecular resonances may be responsible for a higher enhancement of signal by the latter. A low detection limit of 7.33 × 10⁻¹¹ M in the linear range of 10⁻¹¹–10⁻⁵ M was obtained for GE-AuNPs/GO, while the relative standard deviation of repeatability and reproducibility was 9.6 and 12.6%, respectively. Paper-based GE-AuNPs/GO SERS substrate was highly stable as <20% loss in efficiency was shown over a 60-day storage period. Application to real samples showed a high recovery of Rh6G from tap water (93.9–100.8%) as well as food samples such as red chilli powder (91.0–95.4%), red glutinous rice ball (96.6–98.3%) and tomato ketchup (98.9–102.3%) after QuEChERS extraction. Collectively, the developed paper-based GE-AuNPs/GO can be a potential substrate for sensitive onsite detection of rhodamine 6G by SERS method.