Abstract The goal of this research is to better address the problems related to the widespread presence of pesticides in the environment. Despite the unquestionable utility of the pesticides against various pests in the agricultural field, most pesticides and the corresponding pesticide residues are toxic to the environment and hazardous to human health. The recent literature on organophosphate compounds emphasises a clear correlation between their use and the occurrence of disorders in the nervous system, especially in children. The conventional systems for the detection and analysis of these compounds are expensive, time‐consuming and require highly specialised operators; moreover, no online automated screening systems are yet available, that would allow the identification and quantification of the presence of these chemicals in samples from industrial sectors such as the food industry. Esterase‐based biosensors represent a viable alternative to this problem. In this fellowship programme, we aim to develop a robust and sensitive methodology that enables the screening of toxic compounds using a streamlined process, using an automated robotic system to achieve a continuous monitoring for risk assessment of pesticides.

The water-energy-food security nexus concept is a widely recognized analytical approach to consider and achieve sustainable development goals. However, the water-energy-food security nexus concept has mostly been analyzed at higher scales in a top-down manner, while examples of bottom-up and local scale applications remain limited. Breaching this gap, the research presented in this paper describes and assesses the water-energy-food nexus from a smallholder farm household perspective in the context of rural Ethiopia through a gender-specific lens. We adopted the “Actors, Resources, Dynamics and Interactions” participatory approach to co-develop a mental model of this nexus concept. Using this approach, we were able to examine the key elements and interlinkages among major nexus related resources that affect management according to gender. The results indicate that there are four aspects that differentiate between male and female farm household management with respect to the water-energy-food nexus. These differences include gender specific productive roles, perceptions of target resources, access to external actors, and decision making with respect to target resource management and utilization, which may affect the dynamics and governance of important components of the water-energy-food nexus.

A kinetic spectrophotometric method for determining residues of insecticide diflubenzuron 1(4-chlorphenyl)-3-(2,6-diflubenzoyl)urea (DFB) has been developed and validated. Kinetic method was based on the inhibitory effect of DFB on the oxidation reaction of sulfanilic acid (SA) by hydrogen peroxide in the presence of Co 2+ ions in a phosphate buffer, which was monitored at 370 nm. DFB can be measured in the concentration interval 0.102 – 3.40 μg mL -1 and 3.40 – 23.80 μg mL -1 . The detection and quantification limits of the method were calculated according to the 3σ criteria and found to be 0.077 μg mL -1 and 0.254 μg Ml -1 , respectively. The relative standard deviations for five replicate determinations of 0.102, 1.70 and 3.40 μg mL -1 DFB were 2.08, 1.22 and 1.21 %, respectively, for the first concentration interval, and the recovery percentage values were from 94.12 to 97.35 %. HPLC method was used as a parallel method to verify results of the kinetic method. The kinetic method was successfully applied to determine diflubenzuron concentrations in spiked water and baby food samples after solid phase extraction of the samples. The F and t values at 95% confidence level are lower than the theoretical ones, confirming agreement of the developed and the HPLC method.

International audience | In a context of flourishing eco-labelling programs and environment policy for food products, LCA application to agricultural systems faces the challenges of being operational, accurate and exhaustive. This is particularly challenging for the newly developing LCA and ISO-compliant water footprinting, with many LCIA methods only recently developed, but no dedicated inventory method. To support the inventory of elementary water flows, LCA practitioners have a variety of tools available, ranging from databases (e.g. World Food LCA Database) to complex agro-hydrological models. To allow all LCA practitioners to fulfil their diverse agri-food LCA objectives, a review of available inventory tools for field water flows and recommendations are needed. The selection of the appropriate method and tool for the inventory of field water flows in agri-food LCA studies depends on the objectives of the LCA study, data and resources available (time and skills). We analysed water inventory and agri-food LCA databases by evaluating the models on which they rely and their input data. Then, we explored the use of agro-hydrological models for LCA aiming at discriminating between different cropping system practices (LCA-based eco-design). Water inventory and agri-food LCA databases provide estimates of theoretical water consumed by a crop and rely on data and methods that have limitations, making them suitable only for background agricultural LCAs. In addition, databases do not support the application of water availability footprint indicators (assessing quantitative water use and water quality alteration). For the LCA-based eco-design of cropping systems, the inventory of water flows should be based on a model simulating evapotranspiration, deep percolation and runoff accounting for crop specificities, pedo-climatic conditions and agricultural management. In particular, the model should account for possible water, salinity and nutrient stresses; assess evaporation and transpiration separately; and estimate runoff and drainage according to the system specificities. Yield should not be estimated with a model but with primary data. Recommended and default data sources are provided for each input parameter. The FAO AquaCrop model represents a good trade-off between accuracy, simplicity and robustness for LCA-based eco-design of cropping systems. However, this model is not yet applicable for perennial crops. Beyond a single model selection, this is a modelling approach that we characterised in this work.

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.

As bio-ethanol is developing rapidly, its impacts on food security, water security and the environment begin to receive worldwide attention, especially within the Water–Energy–Food nexus framework. The aim of this study is to present an integrated method of assessing sweet sorghum-based ethanol potential in China in compliance with the Water–Energy–Food nexus principles. Life cycle assessment is coupled with the DSSAT (the Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer) model and geographic information technology to evaluate the spatial distribution of water consumption, net energy gain and Greenhouse Gas emission reduction potentials of developing sweet sorghum-based ethanol on marginal lands instead of cultivated land in China. Marginal lands with high water stress are excluded from the results considering their unsuitability of developing sweet sorghum-based ethanol due to possible energy–water conflicts. The results show that the water consumption, net energy gain and Greenhouse Gas emission reduction of developing sweet sorghum-based ethanol in China are evaluated as 348.95 billion m3, 182.62 billion MJ, and 2.47 million t carbon per year, respectively. Some regions such as Yunnan Province in south China should be given priority for sweet sorghum-based ethanol development, while Jilin Province and Heilongjiang Province need further studies and assessment.

Engineered water nanostructures (EWNS) synthesized utilizing electrospray and ionization of water, have been, recently, shown to be an effective, green, antimicrobial platform for surface and air disinfection, where reactive oxygen species (ROS), generated and encapsulated within the particles during synthesis, were found to be the main inactivation mechanism. Herein, the antimicrobial potency of the EWNS was further enhanced by integrating electrolysis, electrospray and ionization of de-ionized water in the EWNS synthesis process. Detailed physicochemical characterization of these enhanced EWNS (eEWNS) was performed using state-of-the-art analytical methods and has shown that, while both size and charge remain similar to the EWNS (mean diameter of 13 nm and charge of 13 electrons), they possess a three times higher ROS content. The increase of the ROS content as a result of the addition of the electrolysis step before electrospray and ionization led to an increased antimicrobial ability as verified by E. coli inactivation studies using stainless steel coupons. It was shown that a 45-min exposure to eEWNS resulted in a 4-log reduction as opposed to a 1.9-log reduction when exposed to EWNS. In addition, the eEWNS were assessed for their potency to inactivate natural microbiota (total viable and yeast and mold counts), as well as, inoculated E. coli on the surface of fresh organic blackberries. The results showed a 97% (1.5-log) inactivation of the total viable count, a 99% (2-log) reduction in the yeast and mold count and a 2.5-log reduction of the inoculated E. coli after 45 min of exposure, without any visual changes to the fruit. This enhanced antimicrobial activity further underpins the EWNS platform as an effective, dry and chemical free approach suitable for a variety of food safety applications and could be ideal for delicate fresh produce that cannot withstand the classical, wet disinfection treatments.

The current global developments have the potential to cause a ‘perfect storm’ at the core of the Anthropocene: the Food-Energy-Water-Nexus. To discuss the ethical consequences of these developments, i.e., insufficient access to the life sustaining nexus resources, the analysis is focused on Rawls' theory of justice and its implementation in Germany with a special focus on the FEW nexus. Rawls stresses in his theory of justice the prominent meaning of institutions for a fair society to meet societal challenges and to meet the challenge of our time: a stable and just society.Hence, the realization of his ideas in Germany is scrutinized and income tax and value added tax are interpreted in the sense of Douglas North and John Rawls as institutions and formal rules of society. This paper focuses on taxes as the most important institutional incentive to organize and structure the political, social and economic cooperation and analyses how these incentives affect selected German households (all households, singles, single man and woman, and couples) with respect to income and FEW expenditures.The relevant income and usage data sample (Einkommens- und Verbrauchsstichprobe (EVS)) for Germany is used for the analysis of the distribution of income types, FEW expenditures and the revenues of income tax and value added tax, i.e., the main instruments to manage the challenges of the FEW nexus. Therefore two distribution measures have been used: the dispersion of income, taxes and FEW expenditures and their skewness. Five household groups were selected for this analysis: All households, all single households, the single women households, the single men households, as well as the households of couples. The EVS data sample allows the analysis of consequences of the current societal conditions on the various households and thus serves to provide a deeper understanding of the differences between singles and couples but also between single women and men.