In recent years, the safety of copper in drinking water has increasingly been questioned. Copper speciation is an important factor that affects its bioavailability and toxicity; thus, it is critical to investigate the speciation of copper that is ingested from food and drinking water during in vitro digestion. After digestion, water- and food-derived copper formed 60 ± 4% 0.1–1 kDa and 49 ± 6% 10–1,000 kDa copper complexes, respectively. Under simulated fasting drinking water conditions, up to 90 ± 2% 0.1–1 kDa copper complexes formed. In addition, using ion selective electrode analysis, water-derived copper was detected that contained higher Cu²⁺ concentrations after digestion than those of food-derived copper. These results indicate that water-derived copper forms smaller-sized species and exhibits higher Cu²⁺ concentrations during digestion than those of food-derived copper, thereby highlighting the importance of reassessing the safety limit for copper in drinking water.

With the aim of developing bioprocesses for waste valorization and a reduced water footprint, we optimized a two-step fermentation process that employs the oleaginous yeast Cutaneotrichosporon oleaginosus for the production of oil from liquid cheese whey permeate. For the first step, the addition of urea as a cost-effective nitrogen source allowed an increase in yeast biomass production. In the second step, a syrup from candied fruit processing, another food waste supplied as carbon feeding, triggered lipid accumulation. Consequently, yeast lipids were produced at a final concentration and productivity of 38 g/L and 0.57 g/L/h respectively, which are among the highest reported values. Through this strategy, based on the valorization of liquid food wastes (WP and mango syrup) and by recovering not only nutritional compounds but also the water necessary for yeast growth and lipid production, we addressed one of the main goals of the circular economy. In addition, we set up an accurate and fast-flow cytometer method to quantify the lipid content, avoiding the extraction step and the use of solvents. This can represent an analytical improvement to screening lipids in different yeast strains and to monitoring the process at the single-cell level.

The food, energy, and water (FEW) sectors are heavily impacted by increasing vulnerability of natural resources. The concept of a FEW Nexus highlights resource interdependencies and the need for integrated decision making across FEW sectors. The objective of this paper is to identify how regional-scale FEW stakeholders in the Umatilla Basin, OR USA perceive the FEW Nexus and to co-produce a FEW Nexus conceptual model aimed to aid regional decision support. A five-stage qualitative stakeholder engagement process, which included the development of futures scenario narratives, allowed FEW stakeholders and researchers to learn from one another and recognize opportunities to adaptively manage FEW resources, particularly when faced with chronic and acute stresses in the region. The resulting conceptual model integrates individual FEW sub-sector adaptive management actions and identifies impacts from these actions to other FEW sub-sectors, compensating for different timescales and trigger points. The visualization of resource management actions and impacts via the conceptual model increased communication among FEW stakeholders and provided a structural framework for a decision support tool currently being developed for the region. While the conceptual model is based on a regional FEW Nexus, this nexus is heavily influenced by global forces particularly agricultural trade, transboundary water negotiations, changing climate conditions, and interstate energy production. Thus, the resulting conceptual model can be adapted from hyper-local to global because its modular design allows researchers and stakeholders to decide which sectors to include depending upon salient FEW issues and scales.

Resumo: O objetivo do presente estudo foi analisar as ações da RedeCoop nas cooperativas participantes, por meio da abordagem FEW Nexus (nexo alimento-energia-água). Para isso, considerou-se uma pesquisa qualitativa e o método de pesquisa foi o estudo de caso. Adicionalmente, o método de análise escolhido foi a análise de conteúdo com categorias pré-analíticas. A coleta de dados deu-se através de entrevistas com os gestores das cooperativas e documentos, como atas, chamadas públicas e postagens em redes sociais. Ao longo da análise dos resultados, analisou-se a segurança alimentar, energética e hídrica e a produção agrícola familiar dentro do âmbito das cooperativas participantes da RedeCoop. Segundo a análise dos resultados, a RedeCoop possui ações diretas e indiretas no que tange aos elementos do nexo alimento-energia-água. Age, positivamente, nas cooperativas participantes, diretamente, nos elementos alimento e energia; e, ainda, atua indiretamente no que diz respeito ao elemento água. Nas conclusões, apresentou-se possíveis ações que podem fortalecer a atuação da RedeCoop nos elementos FEW Nexus. A presente pesquisa mostrou que a discussão do FEW Nexus poderá auxiliar a agricultura familiar sustentável. Além disso, o estudo tem a capacidade de contribuir na elaboração de políticas públicas que auxiliem na produção de alimentos feita pelos agricultores familiares.

Introduction Stunting or linear growth faltering, measured by length-for-age Z-score (LAZ), remains a significant public health challenge, particularly in rural low-income and middle-income countries. It is a marker of inadequate environments in which infants are born and raised. However, the contributions of household resource insecurities, such as food and water, to growth and growth trajectory are understudied. Methods We used the cluster-randomised Sanitation Hygiene and Infant Nutrition Efficacy trial to determine the association of household-level food insecurity (FI) and water insecurity (WI) on LAZ and LAZ trajectory among infants during early life. Dimensions of FI (poor access, household shocks, low availability and quality) and WI (poor access, poor quality, low reliability) were assessed with the multidimensional household food insecurity and the multidimensional household water insecurity measures. Infant length was converted to LAZ based on the 2006 WHO Child Growth Standards. We report the FI and WI fixed effects from multivariable growth curve models with repeated measures of LAZ at 1, 3, 6, 12 and 18 months (M1–M18). Results A total of 714 and 710 infants were included in our analyses of LAZ from M1 to M18 and M6 to M18, respectively. Mean LAZ values at each time indicated worsening linear growth. From M1 to M18, low food availability and quality was associated with lower LAZ (β=−0.09; 95% −0.19 to –0.13). From M6 to M18, poor food access was associated with lower LAZ (β=−0.11; 95% −0.20 to –0.03). None of the WI dimensions were associated with LAZ, nor with LAZ trajectory over time. Conclusion FI, but not WI, was associated with poor linear growth among rural Zimbabwean infants. Specifically, low food availability and quality and poor food access was associated with lower LAZ. There is no evidence of an effect of FI or WI on LAZ trajectory. | PR | 2 Promoting Healthy Diets and Nutrition for all; IFPRI3; CRP4; DCA | PHND; A4NH | CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH)

Food-energy-water nexus governance has been promoted as an approach to integrate the management and policy of the three sectors together for coordinated governance. However, there are limited approaches to evaluate, assess, or measure the governance of the food-energy-water nexus. Assessment of the governance process is important to move the concept from conceptualization toward implementation and to understand the specific potential and limits of the nexus governance process. Therefore, this study presents a theoretical framework and associated indicator set to assess urban collaborative food-energy-water nexus governance in practice. This theoretical framework is then applied to two example cases: Phoenix, Arizona, USA and Cape Town, South Africa. The implementation of this framework provides recommended factors needed for improved collaborative FEW nexus governance in cities. These cases showcase the utility of this framework in assessing urban collaborative food-energy-water nexus governance.

Among oral delivery systems, oil in water nano-emulsions (O/W NEs) are of particular interest to improve pharmacokinetics of lipophilic compounds. Recently, we have implemented a successful strategy to improve O/W NEs stability, based on a polymeric coating on an oil core, namely secondary O/W NEs, through the use of pharma grade formulations. However, in the field of food supplements, food grade materials are the top choice since they combine safety and cost effectiveness. Here, we have replaced pharma grade (PG) with food grade (FG) materials in the preparation of the polymer coated O/W NEs, and performed a comparative study between the two formulations to assess the FG one. At the same time, in order to provide formulations with enhanced mucus-adhesion to the intestinal barrier, secondary O/W NEs were prepared by adding thiol groups to chitosan (Ct) via a simple non-covalent procedure based on N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC) salification, thus easily implementable to a food supplement formulation. PG and FG formulations, in different materials combinations, were prepared and physico-chemically characterized (DLS, ¹H NMR, ITC, CRYO-TEM) showing similar behaviour. FG formulations (NEs, Ct-NEs and Ct-NAC-NEs) loaded with curcumin were prepared and compared with the free drug in terms of drug bioaccessibility through the INFOGEST protocol confirming improved bioaccessibility. Very interestingly, by comparing mucus-adhesion properties of the two polymeric coatings (Ct and Ct-NAC) within an intestine on chip device able to mimic the complex intestinal functions, a significant enhancement in the mucus-adhesive properties of the proposed novel Ct-NAC-NE formulation was observed with respect to Ct due to the presence of thiol groups. Nonetheless, in-vivo assays are required as a final assessment of the proposed system.

There is an important practical significance to understanding and evaluating the nexus of water, energy, and food (WEF) for ensuring regional security. The Yellow River Basin is a typical area displaying the contradiction between water, energy, and food development caused by the difference in resource distribution and production attributes. The nexus of the WEF system in the Yellow River Basin is systematically and innovatively studied from different perspectives. The aim of the research is to analyze the distribution and transfer direction of single resource elements, the matching and evolution of two kinds of resources linked by water resources, and finally the nexus based on Copula function. The results show that water resources, farmland, and energy production are concentrated in different areas, while the center of gravity shifted to the northwest, northeast, and west of the basin, respectively. For the resource balance of energy production and available industrial water resources, the matching degree has become worse in recent years. For the resource balance of farmland areas and available agricultural water resources, the matching degree in the most source area and middle reaches has improved, but the gap among different sub-regions has widened slightly. It is proven that the three-dimensional t Copula is well characterized by the nexus of the WEF system in the Yellow River Basin. The joint not exceeding the probability of the WEF (W ≤ 7.08 × 10¹⁰ m³, E ≤ 6.24 × 10⁸ TCE, F ≤ 4.23 × 10⁷ t) is about 0.3–0.4. The WEF system in the Yellow River Basin (Gₙ = 0.728 and 0.688) may still have certain security risks in the future compared with other regions in the world, which needs to be regulated by more reasonable policies. This study can provide a theoretical basis for ensuring regional water, energy, and food security.

Pharmaceutical and food pollutants have threatened global health. Pharmacotherapy has left a positive impression in the field of health and life of people and animals. However, the many unresolved problems brought along with residues of pharmaceuticals in the environmental and food. Consumption of the world's freshwater resources, toxic chemicals, air pollution, plastic waste directly affects water and soil resources. Pesticides have a wide role in pollutants. Therefore, the determination of pesticides is significant to eliminate their negative effects on living things. Nowadays, there are many analytical methods available. However, new analysis methods are still being researched due to certain limitations of traditional methods. Electrochemical sensors have drawn attention because of their superior properties, such as short analysis time, affordability, high sensitivity, and selectivity. The development of new analytical strategies for assessing risks from pharmaceutical to food pollutants in water and soil sources is important for the measurement of different pollutants. Moreover, the 2D-carbon nanomaterials used in the development of electrochemical sensors are widely utilized to enlarge the surface area, increase porosity, and make easy immobilization. Graphene (graphene derivations) and carbon nanotubes integrated nanosensors are widely used for the determination of pesticides. 2D-carbon nanomaterials can be tailored according to the purpose of the study. The characterization and synthesis methods of 2D-carbon nanomaterials are widely explained. Furthermore, enzyme nanobiosensors, especially Acetylcholinesterase (AChE), are widely used to determine pesticides. The three main topics are focused on in this review: 2D-carbon nanomaterials, pesticides that threaten life, and the application of 2D-carbon nanomaterials-based electrochemical sensors. The various developed 2D-carbon nanomaterials-based electrochemical sensors were applied in pharmaceutical forms, fruits, tap/lake water, beverages, and soils sources. This work aims to indicate the recently published paper related to pesticide analysis and highlight the importance of 2D-nanomaterials on sensors.