Microcystins appear to be considered one of the most dangerous cyanobacterial toxins in the world. The accumulation and change of microcystins MC-LR and MC-RR in the “cyanobacteria–cladocera–fish” food chain were studied. Microcystis aeruginosa was fed to Moina macrocopa at three densities, 5.0 × 10³, 5.0 × 10⁵, and 5.0 × 10⁶ cells/mL, and then passed to Cyprinus flammans. The total amount of MCs in the cyanobacteria cell extract increased with increasing density. The content of MCs in M. macrocopa increased with the feeding density of M. aeruginosa. In the final stage of experiments, MC-RR was the only MC that could be transmitted by M. macrocopa and persisted in red carp. In this study, changes in the concentrations of MC-LR and MC-RR in the liver of red carp seem to indicate some kind of transformation or degradation mechanism. It shows the possibility of MCs concentration-controlled biodefense in eutrophic waters.

The microbiological safety of food and the environment in which we live is currently an intensely discussed topic. Increasing production and the demand-driven global market exert pressure on ensuring sufficient high-quality food and safe drinking water. Compared to the past, increased attention in this area is now paid to important viral agents associated with food/water contaminations in both intensive research and routine diagnostics. This interest in viral agents has also increased in recent years due to the ongoing global pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus. Food- and water-borne viruses usually cause only mild and short-term diseases. The most common is gastroenteritis manifested by fever, vomiting and watery diarrhoea. However, in addition to mild febrile illness, these agents can also cause more serious conditions – respiratory infections, hepatitis, conjunctivitis, aseptic meningitis, myocarditis, encephalitis and paralysis. Globally, these diseases have significant economic impacts and are still among the leading causes of death in developing countries.This manuscript provides an overview of food- and water-borne viruses and technologies developed and currently used for their identification as causative agents. Methods for the detection of these pathogens represent an important tool for the assessment and mitigation of potential risks associated with the contamination of food and water resources. There is currently a wide range of possible approaches. Their use is differently targeted and their sensitivity, effectiveness and specificity also vary. In the case of a specific application, it is therefore necessary to choose the appropriate method, optimize it, and then verify its applicability and limits. The chosen method should be sufficiently robust, sensitive, specific and, if possible, also time and labor saving.

In the past several decades, the irrigation of high-intensity cropping systems has caused serious groundwater depletion in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region. Optimizing the planting structure is a key method for mitigating groundwater decline. However, the optimal planting structure has not been confirmed, and the effect of planting structures has not been quantified in groundwater overdraft areas. In this study, based on a model for planting structure optimization and the elitist nondominated sorting genetic algorithm, the water saving potential was estimated, and the trade-off between water resources and agricultural production was quantified. The results showed the following: (1) The current planting structure is a highly water-consuming system. The winter wheat–summer maize double-cropping system and vegetable and fruit cropping systems are the dominant contributors to crop water consumption, accounting for 90% of the total water deficit. (2) Constrained by regional water resources, it is difficult to achieve the objectives of halting groundwater decline and food self-sufficiency simultaneously unless at least 1.0 billion m³ yr⁻¹ water from the mid-route of the South-to-North Water Transfer (SNWT) project is used for agriculture or wheat imports account for more than 25% (2.84 million ton yr⁻¹) of the regional wheat demand. (3) It is almost impossible to achieve a balance between groundwater exploitation and replenishment only by optimizing the planting structure without decreasing the agricultural output or without using external water. When the planting structure is optimized, to coordinate grain crops, cash crops and water use, at least 81–96% (4.6–5.5 billion m³ yr⁻¹) of the planned water from the SNWT project will need to be used for agriculture. (4) A viable option for restructuring planting should consider the regional self-sufficiency for wheat, a moderate surplus of vegetables/fruits to boost farmers’ income, and appropriate water transfer for groundwater sustainability. The results provide a compromise between food and water in severe groundwater overdraft areas and serve as a quantitative reference for making decisions regarding agricultural and water resource policies.

Although polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) is a promising biodegradable packaging material, it presents some disadvantages for food packaging such as poor ultraviolet (UV) and water vapor barrier properties, low mechanical strength, poor water resistance, and lack of antimicrobial properties. To overcome these limitations, novel PVA/cellulose nanocrystals (CNC)/titanium dioxide (TiO₂) nanocomposites were developed, characterized, and demonstrated for potential food packaging applications. The mechanical strength, water vapor barrier, and UV barrier properties of PVA/CNC/TiO₂ 5 % film (5 wt% TiO₂ in the PVA/CNC matrix with 5 wt% of CNCs) increased by 55.8 %, 45.2 %, and 70,056.8 %, respectively, compared to those of a PVA film. In the antibacterial simulation test, PVA/CNC/TiO₂ 5 % film could limit the growth of microorganisms for 14 days. In packaging tests with fresh garlic, PVA/CNC/TiO₂ films effectively prevented weight loss and spoilage by external influences, indicating the potential of the PVA/CNC/TiO₂ nanocomposites for food-packaging applications.

In this study, an inexact fractional programming method is employed for planning the regional-scale water-energy-food nexus (WEFN) system. The IFP cannot only deal with uncertainties expressed as interval parameters, but also handle conflicts among multiple decision stakeholders. The IFP approach is then applied to planning the WEFN system of Henan Province, China. An IFP-WEFN model has been established under consideration of various restrictions related to water and energy availability, as well as food demand. Solutions of the planting areas for different crops in different periods have been generated. The results suggested that there would be a significant increase for vegetable cultivation with an increasing rate of 24.4% and 30% respectively for the conservative and advantageous conditions, followed by the fruit cultivation. In comparison, the planting area of cotton would be decreased with a decreasing rate of 21.2%, and there would also be an explicit decrease for rice cultivation. These results can help generate a desired planting scheme in order to achieve a maximized unit benefit with respect to the water utilization. Comparison between the IFP-WEFN model and the ILP-WEFN model indicates that, even though a slightly lower benefit is obtained from IFP-WENF model, it can result in a higher unit benefit than the planting scheme from ILP-WEFN model. Consequently, the IFP-WEFN model can help decision-makers identify the sustainable agricultural water resources management schemes with a priority of water utilization efficiency.

Few studies assess the relationship between food and water access, despite global concerns about people's inability to maintain access to both food and water. We conducted a mixed-methods comparative case study in northern Nicaragua, with smallholders from two neighboring communities that differed in water availability and institutional strength, using a feminist political ecology framework and food and water security definitions that focus on access, availability, use, and stability. We adopted a participatory approach that included: a sex-disaggregated survey in 2016; interviews, participant observation, and community-based water quality testing from 2014 to 2019; and analysis of a severe drought that occurred from 2014 to 2017. Our results suggest that uneven power relations, biophysical conditions, gender, and institutions shape food and water access, and indicate that households across both communities average 2 months of drinking water insecurity during the dry season followed by an average of 2.5 months of food insecurity early in the growing season. The average duration of lean food months was similar across communities and sex, but water insecurity lasted longer in the community that had weaker local institutions and less surface water availability. Ethnographic research helped to document uneven and gendered experiences of water access and to illustrate how they were also shaped by conflicts over water for irrigation vs. domestic uses and cross-scalar limitations in water and land governance. Although we found that gender and institutions were not strong predictors of several food and water insecurity indicators on their own, both factors influenced the terms of access, conflict, and cooperative governance needed to secure resources and well-being. Our study highlights the need for theory, methods, and field research that integrate the analysis of food and water security, and it contributes to developing a feminist political ecology approach that unifies this analysis with a focus on gender.

Under its new research for development (R4D) initiative on digital innovation and transformation, the Consultative Group on International Agriculture Research (CGIAR), organised a two-day workshop on 8 and 9 November 2022, at Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India. The workshop was aimed to better understand the actor landscape of the digital ecosystem in food-water-land systems. This includes: the availability, accessibility, gender responsiveness and effectiveness of services; the challenges and opportunities in promoting an inclusive, gender-intentional and beneficial digital ecosystem; and the data management challenges associated with data security and governance. Essential stakeholders encompassing representatives from government, research, private, producer and Non-Governmental Organizations having expertise and experience in digital innovations participated in the workshop.

Aluminum-impregnated food waste was selected as a filter medium for removing As(III) from aqueous solutions. The modification of food waste and its carbonization conditions were optimized using the Box–Behnken model in the response surface methodology. Pyrolysis temperature and Al content significantly influenced the As(III) adsorption capacity of aluminum-modified food waste biochar (Al-FWB), but the pyrolysis time was insignificant. Several factors affecting the adsorption capacity of the Al-FWB, including the pH, contact time, dosage, competitive anions, and reaction temperature, were studied. The low solution pH and the presence of HCO₃⁻, SO₄²⁻, and PO₄³⁻ reduced the As(III) adsorption onto Al-FWB. The pseudo-second order model showed a better fit for the experimental data, indicating the dominance of the chemisorption process for As(III) adsorption. Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models fit the adsorption data, but the Langmuir model with a higher (<i>R</i>²) value showed a better fit. Hence, As(Ⅲ) was adsorbed onto Al-FWB as a monolayer, and the maximum As(Ⅲ) adsorption capacity of Al-FWB was 52.2 mg/g, which is a good value compared with the other porous adsorbents. Thus, Al-FWB is a promising low-cost adsorbent for removing As(III) from aqueous solutions and managing food waste.

This report presents the results of a scoping study conducted between April and June 2022 in Nepal as part of the CGIAR NEXUS Gains Initiative. The study aims to inform and offer a baseline for the development of a water - energy - food - environment (WEFE) nexus capacity strengthening strategy for the Initiative in Nepal, which will serve as a hub for NEXUS Gains capacity strengthening activities in the sub-region. The study sheds light on the current status of capacities to develop and implement nexus solutions among key Nepali actors in the water, energy, forestry, biodiversity and agriculture sectors, and on the enabling environment for pursuing such integrated solutions. The assessment draws attention to equity and inclusion as critical dimensions of WEFE nexus approaches, and identifies constraints and strategies to strengthen the capacities, leadership, and influence of women WEFE actors.

The water–energy–food nexus is a complex system where balancing the trade-offs across water, energy, and food sectors is especially difficult in resource-deficient areas. The Yellow River Basin is an area in which water shortages lead to conflicts among water, energy, and food resources. Thus, investigating the evolution state and spatial characteristics of the water–energy–food nexus in the Yellow River Basin is essential for the management of resources and sustainable development orientation of the region’s water–energy–food nexus system. This study proposed an integrated assessment framework by using synergy theory and the integrated index system method. The improved Lotka–Volterra symbiotic model was used to elucidate the development and synergy evolution status of the water–energy–food nexus system in prefecture-level cities in the Yellow River Basin between 2004 and 2019. The results show that the order degree of the water and energy subsystems in the Yellow River Basin increased by an average of 0.12 and 0.42, on average respectively, from 2004 to 2019, whereas that of the food subsystem only increased by an average of 0.004 compared to the initial year. Furthermore, most prefecture-level cities experienced subsystem degradation of one or two subsystems during the evolution of the water–energy–food nexus system. Based on the uniqueness and evolution process of each city, there are eight possibilities for system evolution and three types of feedback state between each pair of subsystems, which may lead to a certain spatial aggregation. Additionally, the interaction and competition states are more common than synergy states in the water–energy–food nexus system of the Yellow River Basin. This study provides an important basis and suggestions for the internal relationship and sustainable orientation of water–energy–food nexus systems in such water-deficient areas.