Search Results (5,394)

Hypertension or high blood pressure drives structural and functional cardiac remodelling through sustained pressure overload, oxidative stress, and chronic inflammation. Lifestyle modifications including regular exercise and a healthy diet including fruits and vegetables help in attenuating high blood pressure. Berries are small fruits abundant in polyphenols, vitamins and minerals which provide these fruits with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. One such berry is the Saskatoon berry (Amelanchier alnifolia), which is rich in anthocyanins and procyanidins with demonstrated cardiometabolic activity, yet its effects on hypertension and cardiac remodelling have not been studied. This study evaluated the impact of 16-week Saskatoon berry supplementation on cardiovascular structure, function, inflammation, and oxidative stress in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs). Age-matched Wistar Kyoto (WKY) rats served as normotensive controls. Saskatoon berry supplementation did not significantly lower systolic or diastolic blood pressure in SHRs; however, echocardiography results revealed trends towards attenuation of hypertensive cardiac remodelling. Saskatoon berry supplementation reduced interventricular septal and posterior wall thickness, decreased left ventricular (LV) mass, and partially preserved systolic function, as reflected by improved ejection fraction and fractional shortening. Diastolic relaxation (IVRT) remained impaired, indicating selective effects on systolic rather than lusitropic function. Serum TNF-α and TBARS were not significantly altered, whereas IL-10 was partially restored, suggesting a modest improvement in systemic inflammatory balance. Principal component analysis integrating all hemodynamic, echocardiographic, and biochemical variables revealed a dominant pathological remodelling axis that distinguished WKY from SHRs. Saskatoon berry supplementation shifted SHRs toward an intermediate multivariate phenotype, supporting a coordinated improvement across structural and functional domains despite persistent hypertension. Together, these findings indicate that Saskatoon berry exerts blood pressure-independent cardioprotective effects that mitigate hypertensive LV hypertrophy and preserve systolic performance. Saskatoon berry may represent a promising functional food ingredient for attenuating cardiac remodelling in hypertension. Full article

Agri-food systems are increasingly exposed to environmental, economic, and social challenges, including climate change, biodiversity loss, resource depletion, and growing territorial inequalities. In this context, agroecology is increasingly recognised as a transformative paradigm integrating ecological, economic, social, cultural, and political dimensions within broader processes of food-system transition. Within the PRIMA AgrEcoMed project, 24 Italian agroecological initiatives led by women and young farmers were analysed to explore their contribution to agroecological transition processes in Mediterranean rural areas. The study adopts a qualitative multiple-case study approach and evaluates the selected initiatives through the framework of the 13 Principles of Agroecology proposed by the High-Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition, organised into three operational axes: improving resource efficiency, strengthening resilience, and ensuring social responsibility and fairness. The results show that the analysed initiatives combine ecological farming practices with processes of multifunctionality, territorial networking, knowledge co-creation, short supply chains, and community engagement. The findings suggest that several initiatives move beyond input-reduction strategies associated with “weak agroecology” and display characteristics consistent with stronger agroecological pathways based on territorial embeddedness, collective learning, and the reorganisation of relationships between production, consumption, and local communities. The paper highlights the relevance of agroecology not only as an environmentally sustainable farming approach, but also as a broader socio-ecological and territorial transition process, as well as the importance of policy frameworks to support territorial agroecological systems. Full article

Agronomic practices and interannual climate variability significantly modulate the bioactive composition of agricultural by-products. This study evaluated the effects of farming systems (organic vs. conventional) and geographic locality across two harvest seasons (2022–2023) on the fatty acid (FA) profiles of peel and seeds from the “Mollar de Elche” pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) Protected Designation of Origin (PDO). Gas chromatography (GC-FID) analyses demonstrated that the harvest year, characterized by significantly reduced extreme temperature days in 2023, exerted a dominant, overriding effect on lipid biosynthesis compared to agronomic management. In the seeds, punicic acid was the unequivocal predominant FA, increasing dramatically from an average of ~75,700 mg/kg dry matter (DM) under severe heat stress (2022) to ~150,000 mg/kg DM under milder conditions (2023) (p < 0.001). In the peel, polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) accumulation was strictly dependent on the interaction between localized geographic micro-conditions and climate, rendering the farming system a secondary factor. Crucially, the milder 2023 season significantly enhanced the unsaturated-to-saturated (U/S) ratio in both tissues and markedly improved cardiovascular lipid quality, lowering both the Atherogenic (AI) and Thrombogenic (TI) indices. These findings demonstrate that while organic farming can optimize lipid unsaturation under favorable climatic conditions, severe environmental stress nullifies these agronomic benefits, highlighting the need for climate-resilient strategies to valorize pomegranate by-products. Full article

This study examines the influence of green market orientation (GMO) and green entrepreneurial orientation (GEO) on business competitiveness in increasingly demanding environmental contexts. Drawing on the literature on strategic management and sustainability, this research analyzes how environmentally oriented market and entrepreneurial capabilities contribute to strengthening firms’ competitive positioning. Using a quantitative approach, data were collected from 200 companies in the agri-food and manufacturing sectors, and the data were analyzed through Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The results confirm that both GMO (β = 0.534; p < 0.001) and GEO (β = 0.395; p < 0.001) have a significant influence on competitiveness, with GMO showing a stronger impact. These findings suggest that firms integrating environmental market demands and fostering innovation, proactiveness, and risk-taking with an ecological focus achieve enhanced competitive performance. This study concludes that green-oriented strategic capabilities constitute key drivers of sustainable competitive advantages and represent a relevant pathway for organizational strengthening in dynamic and environmentally regulated markets. Full article

Yellow mealworm (Tenebrio molitor) larvae can convert low-value organic residues into insect biomass, but their performance depends on substrate composition and feeding strategy. We evaluated vegetable wastes, okara–wheat–bran diets and kitchen waste–wheat–bran mixtures under a dynamic feeding regime. Ingredient and proximate compositions were determined, and larval growth, fresh-weight-based waste reduction (WR), bioconversion rate (BCR) and feed conversion efficiency (FCE), pupal output, nutritional composition and heavy metal contents were assessed. Among vegetable wastes, potato showed the highest numerical WR (95.18 ± 0.73%) and relatively high BCR and FCE, whereas pumpkin produced the most pupae (109.00 ± 8.62 per replicate). Cabbage showed reduced biomass conversion and pupal output. In the okara trial, 40% okara showed the highest numerical WR (75.88 ± 0.39%), 10% okara maximized FCE (15.83 ± 0.38%) and 20% okara produced the greatest pupal output. Principal component analysis (PCA) indicated treatment-specific conversion and developmental patterns, but was interpreted as an exploratory association analysis rather than a causal model. Kitchen waste mixtures increased the relative fat proportion and reduced the relative protein proportion of larvae; the 3:2 mixture increased crude fat to 37.90 ± 0.22% while retaining 57.39 ± 0.40% crude protein. Higher kitchen waste inclusion was associated with greater larval arsenic (As) content, reaching 0.803 ± 0.001 mg/kg in the 5:2 treatment. Substrate composition should therefore be optimized together with conversion efficiency, product quality and safety screening. Full article

Hydrodynamic cavitation is assessed as a conditional process-intensification platform for the sustainable recovery and transformation of bioactive and functional fractions from agri-food residues, food-processing by-products, and plant-derived matrices. The analysis focuses on fractions enriched in polyphenols, flavonoids, pectins, carotenoids, proteins, pigments, essential oils, and other value-added compounds with potential relevance for food, nutraceutical, formulation-oriented, and related high-value applications. Rather than being considered an inherently green or universally superior technology, hydrodynamic cavitation is evaluated according to the specific process functions it can provide, including matrix disruption, mass-transfer enhancement, solvent-use reduction, recovery of pectin-associated fractions, protein extraction, macromolecular restructuring, dispersion, and process integration. Quantitative and scale-relevant indicators are considered where available, including recovery yield, target-compound content, solvent use, operating conditions, treated volume, energy input, fraction quality, and reporting limits. Comparison with ultrasound-assisted extraction, microwave-assisted extraction, pulsed electric fields, subcritical water extraction, natural deep eutectic solvents, and enzyme-assisted extraction indicates that its advantage is most defensible when hydrodynamic effects address a clearly identified matrix or process limitation. The available evidence supports substantial potential for wet matrices, plant by-products, aqueous suspensions, and liquid food systems. However, critical gaps remain in energy reporting, selectivity, recovered-fraction stability, scale-up, downstream processing, and application-oriented validation. Recovered fractions should therefore be regarded as candidate ingredients or functional intermediates, rather than as direct evidence of efficacy in final products. Full article

Non-invasive Electrical Impedance Tomography (EIT) and Electrical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) are emerging as promising techniques for real-time monitoring and quality assessment in food processing and agri-food applications. This study reviews recent advances in impedance-based sensing for fruit characterization and investigates the experimental implementation of multi-electrode impedance measurements for tomographic imaging. Particular attention is devoted to electrode configurations, electrode polarization effects, and equivalent circuit modeling. Experimental measurements were performed on yellow honeydew melon samples using a four-electrode configuration and a impedance analyzer Keysight E4990 (Keysight Technologies, Santa Rosa, USA) over the frequency range from 20 Hz to 1 MHz. The impedance spectra were validated through Kramers–Kronig consistency tests and interpolated using several fractional-order equivalent circuit models, including single-Cole, double-Cole, and Hayden-based models. The results show that four-electrode measurements are less sensitive to electrode-sample interface artifacts than conventional two-electrode approaches, thereby providing a more reliable estimate of the sample impedance, particularly at low frequencies. Among the tested models, the double-Cole model provided the best interpolation accuracy, while the fractional Hayden models effectively described the temporal evolution of extracellular resistance and membrane-related parameters. Preliminary EIT reconstructions further demonstrate the feasibility of non-destructive tomographic imaging for fruit monitoring. These findings support the potential of EIS and EIT as low-cost, portable, and non-invasive tools for smart food quality assessment and precision agriculture applications. Full article

Structural inefficiencies and labor shortages within the global tomato agrifood chain pose significant threats to its economic sustainability. While vision-dominated systems, encompassing structural and spectral dimensions, have pioneered intelligent management, their limitations in environmental robustness and computational overhead necessitate a new approach. Furthermore, dimensional incompleteness remains a challenge in decoding internal states. Multisensory perception, integrating physical (tactile and auditory) and chemical (olfactory and gustatory) modalities, enables the quantitative characterization of tomato physiological states. Based on technological advancements at the leading edge of knowledge, a critical perspective on the mushrooming field of multisensory perception is highlighted. Grounded in the capabilities and bottlenecks of visual perception, the discussion outlines significant progress in multisensory perception, along with its challenges and prospects. Crucially, it delineates the construction pathway of digital fingerprints that couple instrumental sensing signals with human sensory experiences and envisions the landscape of multimodal fusion to address practical challenges. This perspective provides a roadmap for sensorially transparent evaluation systems in the tomato agrifood chain. Full article

Agriculture plays a fundamental role in ensuring global food security in the context of a growing population; however, it is also responsible for the substantial consumption of natural resources and greenhouse gas emissions. In this context, the adoption of sustainable practices represents a key strategy to improve agri-food supply chains, including the citrus sector. This study applies the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) protocol to conduct a systematic review aimed at assessing the economic value generated by environmental, social, and economic sustainability practices along the citrus supply chain. The analysis focuses in particular on the role of sustainability certifications, examining both their potential benefits and the constraints associated with their adoption for producers and markets. Positioned at the beginning of the supply chain, producers play a pivotal role in the adoption of sustainable practices, whereas consumers, at the end, are instrumental in assigning market value to sustainability attributes through their purchasing decisions. The results highlight that, although consumer interest in ethical and environmentally friendly citrus products is increasing, this demand is often constrained by the lack of clear, standardized, and easily interpretable sustainability indicators. The review also reveals a significant imbalance in the existing literature, with economic assessments predominantly focused on environmental and production-related outcomes, while the economic value generated by social sustainability practices remains largely unexplored. Moreover, the review emphasizes the strategic role of policymakers in fostering sustainable transitions by providing economic incentives and facilitating access to finance, particularly for smallholders. Overall, the findings suggest that sustainability can generate economic value in the citrus supply chain; however, its effectiveness strongly depends on market recognition, certification credibility, supply chain organization, and institutional support. Full article

This study evaluates the feasibility of using coffee silverskin flour (CSF) as a milk cream replacer in full-fat ice cream to enhance its nutritional and functional profile. Two formulations were developed by replacing milk cream with CSF at levels of 15.78% (SSIC25) and 31.56% (SSIC50). Results showed a significant reduction (p < 0.05) in fat content, decreasing from 10.14 g/100 g in the control sample to 5.91 g/100 g in SSIC50. Concurrently, total dietary fiber increased significantly from 3.22 to 7.34 g/100 g. The incorporation of CSF also enriched the mineral profile, with calcium and potassium levels increasing by 27.77% and 38.56% in SSIC50, respectively. Bioactive compounds were notably enhanced; caffeine content reached 335.25 mg/100 g, and caffeic acid derivatives reached 69.51 mg/100 g in the highest substitution level. Physicochemical analysis revealed that overrun increased significantly from 29.2% to 52.17%, while the melting rate remained unaffected. Sensory evaluation indicated that although CSF increased bitterness and grittiness, the SSIC25 formulation maintained favorable consumer acceptance scores (>6.0). In conclusion, coffee silverskin flour serves as a sustainable, health-promoting ingredient for frozen desserts, with a 15.78% replacement level identified as the optimal threshold for balancing nutritional improvement and sensory acceptance. Full article

Silages produced from different forage species exhibit substantial variability in chemical composition, digestibility, and fermentation characteristics, which may influence forage quality and preservation efficiency in livestock systems. This study evaluated the nutritional and fermentative variability of silages produced from six forage species (Zea mays L., Sorghum bicolor L., Medicago sativa L., Helianthus annuus L., Cenchrus purpureus, and Saccharum officinarum L.) using multivariate analytical approaches. A database comprising 237 observations, obtained from 24 independent ensiling experiments, was analyzed. Chemical composition, fermentative parameters, and in vitro dry matter digestibility were evaluated through principal component analysis (PCA), canonical discriminant analysis (CDA), and Pearson correlation analysis. Significant differences among forage species were detected (p < 0.05). PCA explained 76.2% of the total variance in the chemical dataset and 85.1% in the fermentative dataset, revealing clear multivariate patterns among silage types. Chemical composition traits provided greater discrimination among silages than fermentative variables, particularly through differences in fiber fractions, soluble carbohydrates, digestibility, and buffering capacity. Corn and sorghum silages were associated with greater starch availability and favorable fermentation profiles, whereas elephant grass and sugarcane exhibited higher fiber concentrations. Alfalfa showed greater crude protein concentration and digestibility, while sunflower was characterized by elevated lignin concentration. Overall, multivariate analyses provided an integrated interpretation of nutritional and fermentative relationships among silages, highlighting species-specific responses to ensiling and their implications for forage conservation and livestock production systems. Full article

Staphylococcus aureus is a major food safety concern because of its ability to produce heat-stable enterotoxins, develop antimicrobial resistance, and express virulence factors associated with persistence and pathogenicity. The present study characterised S. aureus isolates recovered from ready-to-eat (RTE) foods and food handlers’ hands in university food service establishment in northern Portugal, focusing on virulence-associated genes, antimicrobial resistance profiles, and biofilm production. A total of 261 samples were analysed, including 156 RTE food samples and 105 hand swabs. Twenty-nine coagulase-positive staphylococci isolates were recovered and confirmed as S. aureus by detection of the nuc gene, corresponding to an overall prevalence of 11.11% (29/261). Of these, 20 isolates were obtained from food handlers’ hands and 9 from RTE foods. The hla and sei genes were detected in all isolates, while seg and tst were detected in 93.10%; sed was not detected. Biofilm-forming capacity was identified in 44.83% of isolates, with most strains exhibiting weak to moderate biofilm production. Resistance to at least one antimicrobial agent was observed in 31.0% of isolates, and presumptive methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus represented 13.79%, all classified as multidrug-resistant. These findings support the occurrence of handling-related contamination and reinforce the need for strict hygiene practices, temperature control, and continuous monitoring in institutional food service environments. Full article

The growing demand for sustainable alternatives to non-renewable growing media components, such as sphagnum peat, has driven interest in compost–biochar combinations as high-quality horticultural substrates. Nevertheless, the effects of incorporating biochar at the onset of co-composting on process dynamics and the quality of the resulting end-products remain poorly understood and insufficiently characterized. This study evaluated the influence of hardwood residue-derived biochar as an additive on the co-composting of corn stover and swine manure under greenhouse conditions over 94 days. Three treatments were established: a Control (C; without biochar), CB1 (10% v/v biochar), and CB2 (20% v/v biochar), each with three replicates. Physicochemical properties (pH, electrical conductivity, water holding capacity, bulk density, particle size distribution, total organic carbon), enzyme activities (FDA hydrolysis, dehydrogenase, urease, arginine ammonification, acid phosphatase, arylsulfatase), compost stability (Solvita^® test), and phytotoxicity (germination index) were monitored throughout the process and at process completion. Results showed that biochar addition significantly influenced physicochemical and biological parameters in a dose-dependent manner. The CB2 treatment reduced electrical conductivity by 46% relative to the Control (1.87 vs. 3.45 mS/cm) and increased water-holding capacity by 32% (479 vs. 364%), while all treatments met the Chilean composting standard NCh 2880. Enzyme activities were generally higher in the Control and CB1 treatments, indicating that high biochar rates may limit microbial activity due to recalcitrant carbon inputs, yet a 20% biochar addition improved compost maturity and reduced phytotoxicity. These findings indicate that, within the tested range (10–20% v/v), biochar incorporation appears to enhance the quality, supporting its potential as a sustainable component in growing media formulations as an alternative to peat. Full article

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)-based remote sensing using high-throughput spectral imaging has emerged as an effective non-destructive alternative for large-scale agricultural monitoring. This study evaluates the performance of UAV-based multispectral (MSI) and hyperspectral (HSI) imaging combined with machine learning for estimating in-season nitrogen uptake in spring wheat and canola. Field trials were conducted at irrigated and non-irrigated sites in southern and central Alberta, Canada, respectively, over three growing seasons (2023–2025). Coincident with ground-truth tissue sampling, aerial imagery was collected and processed to train and validate six machine learning models, using ~520 matchups per crop. All models successfully estimated nitrogen uptake across years and locations, although performance varied by sensor and data types. For canola, ANN produced the highest MSI-based accuracy (R² = 0.83, RMSE = 0.5%), whereas HSI data improved prediction performance, with SVR achieving the best results (R² = 0.90, RMSE = 0.40%). In wheat, ANN yielded the highest accuracy for both MSI and HSI data (R² = 0.77, RMSE = 0.54% for MSI; R² = 0.8, RMSE = 0.48% for HSI). These findings demonstrate that UAV-based spectral imaging combined with machine learning provides a reliable and scalable approach for non-destructive nitrogen uptake estimation. Although MSI sensors produced strong predictive performance, the enhanced spectral resolution of HSI data consistently improved estimation accuracy for both crops across varied growing conditions. Full article

The operationalization of the One Health (OH) approach remains a major challenge due to persistent fragmentation across human, animal, and environmental data systems. This gap is exacerbated by climate change, which acts as a risk multiplier for pathogen transmission and agri-food system vulnerability. Drawing on more than a decade of research, including the re-emergence of brucellosis in Italy and the 2024 Salmonella Umbilo outbreak, this perspective discusses key weaknesses in current data management, particularly the lack of real-time, interoperable data sharing. To address these challenges, we propose an AI-enabled One Health Information System (OH-IS), grounded in FAIR data principles and privacy-preserving architectures. The proposed conceptual framework integrates multi-matrix data streams, combining Earth observation data, genomic surveillance through whole-genome sequencing (WGS), and livestock mobility within a geospatially integrated architecture to support timely decision-making in vulnerable settings. By analyzing the constraints of siloed databases, we discuss how automated semantic harmonization could conceptually support improved risk assessment and outbreak reconstruction in recent zoonotic events. This approach may facilitate a transition from descriptive to anticipatory surveillance, providing a scalable model to move One Health from a conceptual paradigm toward a more integrated and data-driven surveillance framework aligned with EU digital health policies and global health security priorities. Full article