Search Results (819)

Mycelium-based composites (MBCs)—biomaterials made from fungal-inoculated substrates—are promising candidates to replace conventional rigid thermal insulation panels. However, many MBCs are made from hemp, a plant material that is quite difficult to source in many countries for regulation reasons, and mobilizes agricultural fields at the expense of food and feed crops. Meanwhile, many of our natural and urban ecosystems are subject to invasion by plants that are just burnt or even left in place, while they may be very good substrate for MBCs. This study investigated the comparative physical and thermal properties of MBCs derived from two distinct lignocellulosic feedstocks: hemp shives (a traditional material) and biomass from the highly invasive species Reynoutria japonica. Polyisocyanurate (PIR) was included as a synthetic benchmark. The MBCs produced from R. japonica demonstrated as low a thermal conductivity as the hemp MBCs in our internally developed method, but also as the PIR standard. However, they exhibited suboptimal physical characteristics: higher bulk density (166 vs. 128 kg/m³ for hemp) and significantly higher water absorption (7.5% vs. 3.5% volume uptake after 2 min). This suggest that they are a less viable alternative to hemp-based MBCs for heat insulation applications. Full article

U.S. hospitals generate considerable food waste, contributing to environmental degradation strategies. This study evaluated the feasibility, impact, and perception of a novel composting program implemented at Rhode Island Hospital over six months beginning in December 2024. Compostable waste bins were installed in the cafeteria with educational signage. Surveys assessing composting knowledge, attitudes, and roles in waste management were distributed to staff, patients, and administrators. Collected food waste was transported to Bootstrap Compost, which provided daily weight data used to estimate greenhouse gas emissions reductions, compare composting with landfill disposal costs, and project annual outcomes. Over the study period, 490.6 kg of food waste were diverted from landfills, corresponding to a reduction of 0.35 metric tons of CO₂-equivalent emissions. While composting was more expensive than landfill disposal ($6.45/kg vs. $0.24/kg), cost neutrality could be achieved with diversion rates at or above 116 kg per day. Surveys revealed strong support for composting but limited awareness of its relevance to healthcare’s environmental footprint. Respondents suggested improvements in education, signage, and infrastructure. This program demonstrated how hospital-based composting initiatives align with healthcare institutions’ environmental stewardship goals while highlighting financial and logistical challenges relevant for pilot–scale efforts. Full article

Agrivoltaics—the co-location of photovoltaic energy production with agriculture—offers a promising pathway to address growing pressures on land, food, and clean energy resources. This study evaluates the first agrivoltaic pilot installation in Jordan, located in Amman (935 m above sea level; hot-summer Mediterranean climate), during its first operational year. Two 11.1 kWp bifacial photovoltaic (PV) systems were compared: (i) a south-facing array tilted at 10°, and (ii) a vertical east–west “fence” configuration. The tilted system achieved an annual specific yield of 1962 kWh/kWp, approximately 35% higher than the 1288 kWh/kWp obtained from the vertical array. Seasonal variation was observed, with the performance gap widening to ~45% during winter and narrowing to ~22% in June. As expected, the vertical system exhibited more uniform diurnal output, enhanced early-morning and late-afternoon generation, and lower soiling losses. The light profiles measured for the year indicate that vertical systems barely impede the light requirements of crops, while the tilted system splits into distinct profiles for the intra-row area (akin to the vertical system) and sub-panel area, which is likely to support only low-light requirement crops. This configuration increases the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) by roughly 88% compared to a conventional ground-mounted system due to elevated structural costs. In contrast, the vertical east–west system provides an energy yield equivalent to about 33% of the land area at the tested configuration but achieves this without increasing the LCOE. These results highlight a fundamental trade-off: elevated tilted systems offer greater land-use efficiency but at higher cost, whereas vertical systems preserve cost parity at the expense of lower energy density. Full article

Background/Objectives: The overconsumption of animal-derived proteins represents a threat to both the environment and our health. Although there is widespread agreement that reducing meat consumption represents a more sustainable alternative, few studies have explored the implicit relations guiding these food choices. This empirical study explores meat consumption and vegetarianism through the lens of Relational Frame Theory. It is hypothesized that people who eat meat have different relational responses to images of meat and plant-based alternatives than vegetarians. Methods: We used the Implicit Attribute Classification Task (IMPACT) to measure relational responses, testing whether omnivores find plant-based proteins (1) less tasty, (2) less familiar, and (3) more expensive than vegetarians do. We registered the response latencies and calculated D-scores from 110 participants who completed an online test. Results: The study failed to find any statistically significant differences in the IMPACT measures between omnivores and vegetarians, given our specific participants and stimuli. Conclusions: Relational responding measures offer a useful approach to understanding consumer choices. However, they are highly sensitive to the task parameters and could be enhanced by further integration with other consumer behavior models when explaining meat consumption. Full article

The worldwide population is anticipated to reach 10.12 billion by the year 2100, thereby amplifying the necessity for sustainable agricultural methodologies to secure food availability while reducing ecological consequences. Conventional synthetic pesticides, while capable of increasing crop yields by as much as 50%, present considerable hazards such as toxicity, the emergence of resistance, and environmental pollution. This review examines biopesticides, originating from microbial (e.g., Bacillus thuringiensis, Trichoderma spp.), plant, or animal sources, as environmentally sustainable alternatives which address pest control through mechanisms including antibiosis, hyperparasitism, and competition. Biopesticides provide advantages such as biodegradability, minimal toxicity to non-target organisms, and a lower likelihood of resistance development. The global market for biopesticides is projected to be valued between USD 8 and 10 billion by 2025, accounting for 3–4% of the overall pesticide sector, and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12–16%. To mitigate production costs, agro-industrial byproducts such as rice husk and starch wastewater can be utilized as economical substrates in both solid-state and submerged fermentation processes, which may lead to a reduction in expenses ranging from 35% to 59%. Strategies for process intensification, such as the implementation of intensified bioreactors, continuous cultivation methods, and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven monitoring systems, significantly improve the upstream stages (including strain development and fermentation), downstream processes (such as purification and drying), and formulation phases. These advancements result in enhanced productivity, reduced energy consumption, and greater product stability. Patent activity, exemplified by 2371 documents from 1982 to 2021, highlights advancements in formulations and microbial strains. The integration of circular economy principles in biopesticide production through process intensification enhances the safety, quality, and sustainability of food systems. Projections suggest that by the 2040s to 2050s, biopesticides may achieve market parity with synthetic alternatives. Obstacles encompass the alignment of regulations and the ability to scale in order to completely achieve these benefits. Full article

Organic foods are often more expensive because the use of synthetic pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers is prohibited, and production generally requires more labor. Consumers may feel that organically produced foods are healthier than conventionally produced; however, studies on nutritional value are mixed. This review examines existing reports of micronutrients, including vitamins, minerals, and other bioactive compounds, in plant- and animal-based foods from organic and conventional systems. A literature review was conducted using keywords related to micronutrients, organic farming, and conventional farming. Because the number of available studies was limited, no publication date restrictions were applied. After a preliminary screening of abstracts to determine their relevance to the study’s purpose, 120 articles were included. Reports are reviewed describing higher amounts of vitamin C, vitamin E, magnesium, iron, and polyphenols in organic produce and of certain animal products showing more antioxidants or fat-soluble vitamins. At the same time, many studies found no noteworthy differences, and some authors report higher nutrient levels in conventionally raised foods. Factors such as soil fertility, fertilizer use, and climate conditions may then influence micronutrient food content as much or more than farming methods. While organic foods may sometimes provide enhanced micronutrient levels, the overall evidence from existing literature does not support a consistent nutritional advantage associated with organic production. Full article

We present a novel framework for hyperspectral satellite image classification that explicitly balances spatial nearness with spectral similarity. The proposed method is trained on closed-set datasets, and it generalizes well to open-set agricultural scenarios that include both class distribution shifts and presence of novel and absence of known classes. This scenario is reflective of real-world agricultural conditions, where geographic regions, crop types, and seasonal dynamics vary widely and labeled data are scarce and expensive. The input data are projected onto a lower-dimensional spectral manifold, and a pixel-wise classifier generates an initial class probability saliency map. A kernel-based spectral-spatial weighting strategy fuses the spatial-spectral features. The proposed approach improves the classification accuracy by $7.22$–$15\%$ over spectral-only models on benchmark datasets. Incorporating an additional unsupervised learning refinement step further improves accuracy, surpassing several recent state-of-the-art methods. Requiring only 1–$10\%$ labeled training data and at most two tuneable parameters, the framework operates with minimal computational overhead, qualifying it as a data-efficient and scalable few-shot learning solution. Recent deep architectures although exhibit high accuracy under data rich conditions, often show limited transferability under low-label, open-set agricultural conditions. We demonstrate transferability to new domains—including unseen crop classes (e.g., paddy), seasons, and regions (e.g., Piedmont, Italy)—without re-training. Rice paddy fields play a pivotal role in global food security but are also a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, especially methane, and extent mapping is very critical. This work presents a novel perspective on hyperspectral classification and open-set adaptation, suited for sustainable agriculture with limited labels and low-resource domain generalization. Full article

Background/Objectives: Under the urban–rural dual structure, rural children’s health security faces multiple challenges. These stem from geographical disadvantages, inadequate resources, and systemic flaws in medical insurance design. The outpatient cost-sharing policy is a key design to address these issues. Methods: Using data from the 2018 China Household Income Project (CHIP), this study employs Propensity Score Matching, Ordered Probit, Logit, and a Two-Part Model to examine the association between the policy and the health and economic outcomes of rural children. Conclusions: The results show that the policy is significantly associated with better child health scores and a higher probability of reimbursement. These positive associations appear to be connected to three potential factors: higher use of outpatient services, better mother’s health, and greater school-related food and accommodation expenses. In contrast to adult populations, no significant substitution between outpatient and inpatient services was observed for children, suggesting the non-discretionary and rigid nature of pediatric hospitalization decisions. This research provides robust empirical evidence for the policy’s potential benefits, offering important implications for optimizing the child medical security system. Full article

The optimization and control of the food fermentation process, which are vital for consistent product quality, are often hindered by the limitations of conventional analytical methods. Conventional wet-chemistry methods for food fermentation process analysis are slow, expensive, and require significant reagents and skilled personnel. Near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy is a powerful tool for non-destructive analysis of fermentation processes, with key advantages of speed, cost-effectiveness, minimal sample preparation, and reagent-free operation. This review provides an overview of the fundamental principles of NIR, the importance of chemometrics for building robust calibration models, and its application in the food fermentation process. Furthermore, this review also critically evaluates the challenges and opportunities of using NIR spectroscopy for fermentation process analysis and control. This review aims to provide novel insights into the application of NIR spectroscopy in the food fermentation industry, improving the process control and quality assurance for the intelligent transformation (from empirical control to AI-based control) of fermented foods. Full article

Nitrogen fertilization is extensively applied in agricultural activities to improve food production. However, the applied dose of nitrogen is often higher than that required for the desired productivity level of a given crop. Thus, research on methods that could increase the uptake of nitrogen supplied with fertilizers by plants is of high significance. One way to achieve this goal is to employ a hybrid fertilization technique (a combination of the application of solid fertilizers in the first dose with foliar application of liquid fertilizers in the second and third doses), using reduced doses of nitrogen fertilizers as well as fertilizers enriched with 10% sulfur in the form of thiosulfate. The aim of our study was to assess the productivity resulting from different fertilization treatments and the stability of the resulting yield based on interactions between the method of fertilizer application and environmental conditions. To determine interaction patterns, an additive main effects and multiplicative interaction model was employed. The key finding is that sulfur-enriched fertilizers can significantly increase yield, but at the expense of reduced stability. However, yield stability was more strongly related to meteorological conditions. Understanding of such interactions can help increase the efficiency of selection and accuracy of recommendations for new technologies of crop cultivation. Full article

Conflicts between crop farmers and herdsmen in Nigeria have intensified in recent decades, posing a danger to agricultural sustainability, rural livelihoods, and food security. This study investigated coping strategies that arable crop farmers have adopted in Enugu State, Nigeria, against herders’ incursions. Data were collected through the use of a structured questionnaire. According to the result, herders’ activities, including crop destruction, assaults on women, and intimidation, have severely affected livelihoods, which has resulted in reduced income and declining productivity. In response, most farmers applied some measures such as fencing, group farming, and cultivating small plots near homesteads to avoid clashing with the marauding Fulani pastoralists. Among all the measures adopted by the farmers, results reveal that only collective strategies, such as group farming and cultivating small plots close to homesteads, were sustainable. The study pointed out the limited capacity of rural households to cope alone and suggested the need for government assistance, such as the provision of less expensive protective infrastructure and stronger community security arrangements. The study recommends that the government should ensure and employ conflict management strategies through empowering traditional institutions with delegated legislation to ameliorate further occurrences. The research contributes to the body of literature by revealing the farmers’ viewpoints and strategies within the broader discourse on farmer–herder conflicts in Nigeria. Full article

Food irradiation is increasingly used to extend shelf life and control pests and diseases. Monitoring post-treatment doses typically relies on expensive, laborious instruments and may miss low doses. We previously proposed a chemical fingerprinting method that estimates dose based on indicator reaction rates, but this approach was tested only on freshly irradiated samples. In this study, we investigated the feasibility of determining the order of magnitude of dose in irradiated raw potato tubers after several days of storage. A completely randomized experimental design was used. Water extracts of potatoes were assayed in oxidation–reduction and aggregation reactions in 96-well plates; reaction rates were tracked by absorbance and fluorescence and analyzed chemometrically. We could distinguish dose orders of magnitude (0, 100, 1000 Gy) after 0, 2, and 6 days of storage at 4 °C. The accuracy of dose recognition on day 6 was at least 97% by using SoftMax regression (SR) or linear discriminant analysis (LDA); irradiated and non-irradiated samples were confidently distinguished using partial least square–discriminant analysis (PLS-DA). The reaction-based method of dose assessment is simple, rapid, and does not require sophisticated equipment. Full article

Caproate is a valuable medium-chain fatty acid (MCFA) that is found to be extensively used in biofuel production, food preservation, and the pharmaceutical industries. Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) from waste streams can be upgraded sustainably through their biological synthesis via anaerobic chain elongation. However, caproate production is frequently limited in real-world systems due to low carbon conversion efficiency and a lack of electron donors. In this study, we developed a two-stage fermentation strategy employing yellow water—a high-strength organic wastewater from liquor manufacturing—as a novel substrate. During primary fermentation, Lactobacillus provided endogenous electron donors by converting the residual carbohydrates in the yellow water into lactic acid. Nano zero-valent iron (NZVI) was introduced to the secondary fermentation to enhance power reduction and electron flow, further promoting caproate biosynthesis. The caproate production increased significantly due to the synergistic action of lactic acid and NZVI, reaching a maximum concentration of 20.41 g·L⁻¹ and a conversion efficiency of 69.50%. This strategy enhances carbon recovery and electron transport kinetics while lowering dependency on expensive external donors like hydrogen or ethanol. Microbial community analysis using 16S rRNA sequencing revealed enrichment of chain-elongating bacteria such as Clostridium kluyveri. These findings demonstrate the feasibility of employing an integrated fermentation–electron management technique to valorize industrial yellow water into compounds with added value. This study offers a scalable and environmentally sound pathway for MCFA production from waste-derived resources. Full article

Financial literacy plays a crucial role in promoting social and economic resilience, particularly in vulnerable contexts where access to education and financial services is limited. This study provides the first empirical analysis of the determinants of financial literacy among women horticulturists in Guinea Bissau in West Africa, a group that sustains household income and local markets through informal work. A survey with face-to-face data collection was employed, using a structured questionnaire to assess financial literacy across three dimensions: financial attitude, financial behavior, and financial knowledge. All 978 women horticulturists at the Pessubé Farm were invited to participate in the survey, and 200 valid questionnaires were returned and used as the final sample. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multiple linear regression. Results revealed prudent and consistent financial behaviors, mid to low financial attitudes marked by concern about expenses and short-term planning, and limited conceptual financial knowledge, with frequent uncertainty on basic topics such as inflation, interest, and diversification. Regression analysis showed that financial satisfaction and food sufficiency are positively associated with higher levels of financial literacy, while overdue debts exert a negative effect. These findings highlight that strengthening financial literacy in low income and informal settings requires context sensitive strategies integrating financial education, debt management, and food security initiatives, emphasizing the multidimensional nature of financial literacy and its role in inclusive and sustainable development. Full article

Food ingredient prediction from images is a challenging multi-label classification task with significant applications in dietary assessment and automated recipe recommendation systems. This task is particularly difficult due to highly imbalanced classes in real-world datasets, where most ingredients appear infrequently while several common ingredients dominate. In such imbalanced scenarios, the F-score metric is often used to provide a balanced evaluation measure. However, existing methods for training artificial neural networks to directly optimize for the F-score typically rely on computationally expensive hyperparameter optimization. This paper presents a novel approach for direct F-score optimization by reformulating the problem as cost-sensitive classifier optimization. We propose a computationally efficient algorithm for estimating the optimal relative cost parameters. When evaluated on the Recipe1M dataset, our approach achieved a micro F1 score of 0.5616. This represents a substantial improvement from the state-of-the-art method’s score of 0.4927. Our F-score optimization framework offers a principled and generalizable solution to class imbalance problems. It can be extended to other imbalanced binary and multi-label classification tasks beyond food analysis. Full article