The retail food environment (RFE) has a significant impact on people’s dietary behavior and diet-related outcomes. Although RFE research has received a lot of attention, there are very few studies that shed light on ...The retail food environment (RFE) has a significant impact on people’s dietary behavior and diet-related outcomes. Although RFE research has received a lot of attention, there are very few studies that shed light on the foodscape and assessment methodologies in the China context. Based on open data obtained from Dianping.com and AutoNavi map, we classified all food outlets into six types. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) techniques were employed to create two network buffer areas (1-km and 3-km) and calculate the absolute measures and relative measures (i.e., mRFEI and Rmix). We modified the calculation of relative measures by adding items and assigning weights. The mean mRFEI using the 1-km and 3-km buffer sizes across the communities were 10.45 and 20.12, respectively, while the mean mRmix of the two buffer sizes were 20.97 and 58.04, indicating that residents in Wuhan have better access to fresh and nutritious food within 3-km network buffers. Residents in urban areas are more likely to be exposed to an unhealthy food environment than those in rural areas. Residents in Xinzhou and Qiaokou districts are more likely to be subjected to unfavorable neighborhood RFE. The open data-driven methods for assessing RFE in Wuhan, China may guide community-level food policy interventions and promote active living by shifting built environments to increase residents’ access to healthy food.展开更多
This paper develops a moderated mediation model in which the interactive effects of food traceability and environmental dynamism on firm performance are mediated by the core capabilities(operating capabilities and mar...This paper develops a moderated mediation model in which the interactive effects of food traceability and environmental dynamism on firm performance are mediated by the core capabilities(operating capabilities and marketing capabilities)in food supply chain context, by invoking the indirect view of organizational learning theory. Our hypotheses were tested using hierarchical regression and bootstrapping methods with a sample of 216 food manufacturing firms in China, and a survey-based, two-informant design was used to collect data. The results revealed that operating and marketing capabilities fully mediate the food traceability-performance link. In addition, environmental dynamism positively moderates the food traceability-core capabilities link. Moreover, it is found that operating and marketing capabilities transform the interactive impacts of environmental dynamism and food traceability into firm performance. Our study offers a fine-grained picture of the essential food traceability-performance link by revealing for the first time that there is an interactive impacts of food traceability and environmental dynamism on firm performance via core capabilities.展开更多
Urbanisation is the key factor underpinning and catalysing changes in food systems, environmental quality, climate change and agriculture livelihoods in the overall urban ecosystem setting and its sustainability. The ...Urbanisation is the key factor underpinning and catalysing changes in food systems, environmental quality, climate change and agriculture livelihoods in the overall urban ecosystem setting and its sustainability. The paper explores Dar es Salaam, a rapidly expanding city in Sub-Saharan Africa, and shows that urban agriculture provides urban ecosystem services and contributes to environmental sustainability. The interconnections of environmental justice, urban ecosystem services and climate change and variability found eminent feature that influence land governance, productivity and aesthetic value of the city. The study reaffirms the pivotal role urban agriculture which plays to enhance community health services and access to resources, with important implications on urban environmental sustainability and redistributive spatial land use planning policies and practices. The process of urbanisation, forms of urban agriculture and government strategies for enhanced urban food systems in the city economy have been highlighted. Equally, the process triggers the transformation of settlements from rural in character to modernity with an augmented land use conflicts. The results suggests that with increasing population, a clear spatial land use planning and management strategy is required to overcome the challenges and enhanced food systems and urban environmental sustainability in rapidly urbanizing cities like Dar es Salaam in Sub-Saharan Africa.展开更多
A new method for the determination of cobalt was developed by dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction preconcentra-tion and flame atomic absorption spectrometry. In the proposed approach, 1,5-bis(di-2-pyridyl) methyl...A new method for the determination of cobalt was developed by dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction preconcentra-tion and flame atomic absorption spectrometry. In the proposed approach, 1,5-bis(di-2-pyridyl) methylene thiocarbohydrazide (DPTH) was used as a chelating agent, and chloroform and ethanol were selected as extraction and dispersive solvents. Some factors influencing the extraction efficiency of cobalt and its subsequent determination, including extraction and dispersive solvent type and volume, pH of sample solution, concentration of the chelating agent, and extraction time, were studied and optimized. Under the optimum conditions, a preconcentration factor of 8 was reached. The detection limit for cobalt was 12.4 ng?mL–1, and the relative standard deviation (RSD) was 3.42% (n = 7, c = 100 ng?mL–1). The method was successfully applied to the determination of cobalt in food, environmental and water samples.展开更多
Biosensors have been developed using various types of sensing elements like biomacromolecules (viz. enzymes, antibodies, receptors, nucleic acids, etc.) organelles, tissues, intact cells of both microorganisms and hig...Biosensors have been developed using various types of sensing elements like biomacromolecules (viz. enzymes, antibodies, receptors, nucleic acids, etc.) organelles, tissues, intact cells of both microorganisms and higher organisms. A recent trend is the emergence of aptamers as sensing elements that has the potential to replace all the above ligands. This is possible due to the unique features of aptamers (sensitivity, specificity, reusability, stability, non-immunogenic- ity), which can be easily exploited in biosensor technology. Aptasensors are thus basically biosensors based on aptamers as ligand molecules. Here we review the various applications of aptasensors in health (specifically in diagnostics), food industry and environmental monitoring.展开更多
The research objective of this review is to discuss the rationale that led to the development of Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) and investigate this agricultural approach as a potential solution to mitigate ...The research objective of this review is to discuss the rationale that led to the development of Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) and investigate this agricultural approach as a potential solution to mitigate the increased pressures on food security. It describes the need for urban cultivation systems using controlled environments and how they can be harnessed to address pressures facing food security. The factors that have contributed to the growth of CEAs, education, environmental justice, and the advantages and disadvantages of growing crops in CEAs in urban areas will be discussed. The article reviews global urban cultivation systems using controlled environments, by identifying the technologies needed to establish them. The practice of CEA is being increasingly adopted worldwide and we describe urban agriculture and compare it with traditional growing systems. Indoor farming systems that integrate into existing urban infrastructure such as vertical farming and plant factories using CEAs are discussed. Indoor farming gives urban areas enhanced access to food sources, but the cost is high, however decreasing due to recent technological advances. The current review extends the literature by incorporating recent research on the topic of agriculture in urban areas and food security. This review seeks to provide additional information regarding the viability of CEA in urban areas.展开更多
A very simple, ultra-sensitive, highly selective and non-extractive new spectrofluorimetric method for the determination of arsenic at pico-trace levels using 2-(α-pyridyl)-thioquinaldinamide (PTQA) has been develope...A very simple, ultra-sensitive, highly selective and non-extractive new spectrofluorimetric method for the determination of arsenic at pico-trace levels using 2-(α-pyridyl)-thioquinaldinamide (PTQA) has been developed. PTQA has been proposed as a new analytical reagent for the direct non-extractive spectrofluorimetric determination of Arsenic (V). This novel fluorimetric reagent, PTQA becomes oxidized in a slightly acidic (0.025 - 0.1 M H2SO4) solution with Arsenic (V) in absolute ethanol to produce highly fluorescent oxidized product (λex = 303 nm;λem = 365 nm). Constant and maximum fluorescence intensities were observed over a wide range of acidity (0.025 - 0.1 M H2SO4) for the period between 2 min and 24 h. Linear calibration graphs were obtained for 0.001 - 800-μgL-1 of As, having a detection limit of 0.1-ngL-1;the quantification limit of the reaction system was found to be 1-ngL-1 and the RSD was 0% - 2%. A large excess of over 60 cations, anions and complexion agents (like, chloride, phosphate, azide, tartrate, oxalate, SCN, etc.) do not interfere in the determination. The developed method was successfully used in the determination of arsenic in several Certified Reference Materials (alloys, steels, ores, human urine, hair, nails, bovine liver and sediments) as well as in some biological fluids (human blood, urine, hair, nail and milk), soil samples, food samples (vegetables, fruits, rice, corn and wheat), solutions containing both arsenic (III) and arsenic (V) speciation and complex synthetic mixtures. The results of the proposed method for assessing biological, food and soil samples were comparable with both ICP-OES & AHG-AAS and were found to be in excellent agreement.展开更多
A new spectrofluorimetric reagent 2-(α-pyridyl)-thioquinaldinamide (PTQA) has been synthesized and characterized through novel reaction techniques. A very simple, ultra-sensitive and highly selective non-extractive n...A new spectrofluorimetric reagent 2-(α-pyridyl)-thioquinaldinamide (PTQA) has been synthesized and characterized through novel reaction techniques. A very simple, ultra-sensitive and highly selective non-extractive new spectrofluorimetric method for the determination of vanadium at Pico-trace levels using 2-(α-pyridyl)-thioquinaldinamide (PTQA) has been developed. PTQA has been proposed as a new analytical reagent for the direct non-extractive spectrofluorimetric determination of vanadium (V). This novel fluorimetric reagent, PTQA becomes oxidized in a slightly acidic (0.0035 - 0.0085 M H2SO4) solution within vanadium (V) in 20% ethanol to produce highly fluorescent oxidized product (λex = 319 nm;λem = 371 nm). Constant and maximum fluorescence intensities were observed over a wide range of acidity (0.0035 - 0.0085 M H2SO4) for the period between 5 min and 24 h. Linear calibration graphs were obtained for 0.001 - 600-μg·L-1 of V, having a detection limit of 0.3-ng·L-1;the quantification limit of the reaction system was found to be 3-ng·L-1 and the RSD was 0% - 2%. A large excess of over 60 cations, anions and complexing agents (like, chloride, phosphate, azide, tartrate, oxalate, SCN- etc.) do not interfere in the determination. The developed method was successfully used in the determination of vanadium in several Certified Reference Materials (alloys, steels, serum, bovine liver, drinking water, soil and sediments) as well as in some environmental waters (potable and polluted), biological fluids (human blood, urine, hair and milk), soil samples and food samples (vegetables, rice and wheat) solutions containing both vanadium (IV) and vanadium (V) speciation and complex synthetic mixtures. The results of the proposed method for assessing biological, food and vegetable samples were comparable with inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) and atomic-absorption spectrophotometer (AAS) was found to be in excellent agreement.展开更多
通过探讨变化环境下水-生态-能源-粮食(Water-Ecology-Energy-Food,WEEF)纽带关系的演化规律,旨在解决实现全球可持续发展目标(Sustainable Development Goals,SDGs)面临的资源安全、生态保护及绿色经济转型中的关键技术问题,为经济社...通过探讨变化环境下水-生态-能源-粮食(Water-Ecology-Energy-Food,WEEF)纽带关系的演化规律,旨在解决实现全球可持续发展目标(Sustainable Development Goals,SDGs)面临的资源安全、生态保护及绿色经济转型中的关键技术问题,为经济社会绿色可持续发展提供理论支撑。系统分析了国内外WEEF纽带关系的最新研究动态,解析了变化环境对WEEF纽带关系的影响机理,构建了影响定量解析体系,从技术方案、政策体系、系统措施等方面提出了变化环境下WEEF纽带关系协同保障策略。系统揭示了变化环境下WEEF纽带关系的耦合机制,在此基础上提出了系统性的协同保障对策,可为提升资源利用效率、推动生态保护修复及促进经济社会高质量发展提供科学依据。展开更多
文摘The retail food environment (RFE) has a significant impact on people’s dietary behavior and diet-related outcomes. Although RFE research has received a lot of attention, there are very few studies that shed light on the foodscape and assessment methodologies in the China context. Based on open data obtained from Dianping.com and AutoNavi map, we classified all food outlets into six types. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) techniques were employed to create two network buffer areas (1-km and 3-km) and calculate the absolute measures and relative measures (i.e., mRFEI and Rmix). We modified the calculation of relative measures by adding items and assigning weights. The mean mRFEI using the 1-km and 3-km buffer sizes across the communities were 10.45 and 20.12, respectively, while the mean mRmix of the two buffer sizes were 20.97 and 58.04, indicating that residents in Wuhan have better access to fresh and nutritious food within 3-km network buffers. Residents in urban areas are more likely to be exposed to an unhealthy food environment than those in rural areas. Residents in Xinzhou and Qiaokou districts are more likely to be subjected to unfavorable neighborhood RFE. The open data-driven methods for assessing RFE in Wuhan, China may guide community-level food policy interventions and promote active living by shifting built environments to increase residents’ access to healthy food.
基金supported by the research grant from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (71803183)the Financial Funds of Ministry of Agriculture (051821301112421010)
文摘This paper develops a moderated mediation model in which the interactive effects of food traceability and environmental dynamism on firm performance are mediated by the core capabilities(operating capabilities and marketing capabilities)in food supply chain context, by invoking the indirect view of organizational learning theory. Our hypotheses were tested using hierarchical regression and bootstrapping methods with a sample of 216 food manufacturing firms in China, and a survey-based, two-informant design was used to collect data. The results revealed that operating and marketing capabilities fully mediate the food traceability-performance link. In addition, environmental dynamism positively moderates the food traceability-core capabilities link. Moreover, it is found that operating and marketing capabilities transform the interactive impacts of environmental dynamism and food traceability into firm performance. Our study offers a fine-grained picture of the essential food traceability-performance link by revealing for the first time that there is an interactive impacts of food traceability and environmental dynamism on firm performance via core capabilities.
文摘Urbanisation is the key factor underpinning and catalysing changes in food systems, environmental quality, climate change and agriculture livelihoods in the overall urban ecosystem setting and its sustainability. The paper explores Dar es Salaam, a rapidly expanding city in Sub-Saharan Africa, and shows that urban agriculture provides urban ecosystem services and contributes to environmental sustainability. The interconnections of environmental justice, urban ecosystem services and climate change and variability found eminent feature that influence land governance, productivity and aesthetic value of the city. The study reaffirms the pivotal role urban agriculture which plays to enhance community health services and access to resources, with important implications on urban environmental sustainability and redistributive spatial land use planning policies and practices. The process of urbanisation, forms of urban agriculture and government strategies for enhanced urban food systems in the city economy have been highlighted. Equally, the process triggers the transformation of settlements from rural in character to modernity with an augmented land use conflicts. The results suggests that with increasing population, a clear spatial land use planning and management strategy is required to overcome the challenges and enhanced food systems and urban environmental sustainability in rapidly urbanizing cities like Dar es Salaam in Sub-Saharan Africa.
文摘A new method for the determination of cobalt was developed by dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction preconcentra-tion and flame atomic absorption spectrometry. In the proposed approach, 1,5-bis(di-2-pyridyl) methylene thiocarbohydrazide (DPTH) was used as a chelating agent, and chloroform and ethanol were selected as extraction and dispersive solvents. Some factors influencing the extraction efficiency of cobalt and its subsequent determination, including extraction and dispersive solvent type and volume, pH of sample solution, concentration of the chelating agent, and extraction time, were studied and optimized. Under the optimum conditions, a preconcentration factor of 8 was reached. The detection limit for cobalt was 12.4 ng?mL–1, and the relative standard deviation (RSD) was 3.42% (n = 7, c = 100 ng?mL–1). The method was successfully applied to the determination of cobalt in food, environmental and water samples.
文摘Biosensors have been developed using various types of sensing elements like biomacromolecules (viz. enzymes, antibodies, receptors, nucleic acids, etc.) organelles, tissues, intact cells of both microorganisms and higher organisms. A recent trend is the emergence of aptamers as sensing elements that has the potential to replace all the above ligands. This is possible due to the unique features of aptamers (sensitivity, specificity, reusability, stability, non-immunogenic- ity), which can be easily exploited in biosensor technology. Aptasensors are thus basically biosensors based on aptamers as ligand molecules. Here we review the various applications of aptasensors in health (specifically in diagnostics), food industry and environmental monitoring.
文摘The research objective of this review is to discuss the rationale that led to the development of Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) and investigate this agricultural approach as a potential solution to mitigate the increased pressures on food security. It describes the need for urban cultivation systems using controlled environments and how they can be harnessed to address pressures facing food security. The factors that have contributed to the growth of CEAs, education, environmental justice, and the advantages and disadvantages of growing crops in CEAs in urban areas will be discussed. The article reviews global urban cultivation systems using controlled environments, by identifying the technologies needed to establish them. The practice of CEA is being increasingly adopted worldwide and we describe urban agriculture and compare it with traditional growing systems. Indoor farming systems that integrate into existing urban infrastructure such as vertical farming and plant factories using CEAs are discussed. Indoor farming gives urban areas enhanced access to food sources, but the cost is high, however decreasing due to recent technological advances. The current review extends the literature by incorporating recent research on the topic of agriculture in urban areas and food security. This review seeks to provide additional information regarding the viability of CEA in urban areas.
文摘A very simple, ultra-sensitive, highly selective and non-extractive new spectrofluorimetric method for the determination of arsenic at pico-trace levels using 2-(α-pyridyl)-thioquinaldinamide (PTQA) has been developed. PTQA has been proposed as a new analytical reagent for the direct non-extractive spectrofluorimetric determination of Arsenic (V). This novel fluorimetric reagent, PTQA becomes oxidized in a slightly acidic (0.025 - 0.1 M H2SO4) solution with Arsenic (V) in absolute ethanol to produce highly fluorescent oxidized product (λex = 303 nm;λem = 365 nm). Constant and maximum fluorescence intensities were observed over a wide range of acidity (0.025 - 0.1 M H2SO4) for the period between 2 min and 24 h. Linear calibration graphs were obtained for 0.001 - 800-μgL-1 of As, having a detection limit of 0.1-ngL-1;the quantification limit of the reaction system was found to be 1-ngL-1 and the RSD was 0% - 2%. A large excess of over 60 cations, anions and complexion agents (like, chloride, phosphate, azide, tartrate, oxalate, SCN, etc.) do not interfere in the determination. The developed method was successfully used in the determination of arsenic in several Certified Reference Materials (alloys, steels, ores, human urine, hair, nails, bovine liver and sediments) as well as in some biological fluids (human blood, urine, hair, nail and milk), soil samples, food samples (vegetables, fruits, rice, corn and wheat), solutions containing both arsenic (III) and arsenic (V) speciation and complex synthetic mixtures. The results of the proposed method for assessing biological, food and soil samples were comparable with both ICP-OES & AHG-AAS and were found to be in excellent agreement.
文摘A new spectrofluorimetric reagent 2-(α-pyridyl)-thioquinaldinamide (PTQA) has been synthesized and characterized through novel reaction techniques. A very simple, ultra-sensitive and highly selective non-extractive new spectrofluorimetric method for the determination of vanadium at Pico-trace levels using 2-(α-pyridyl)-thioquinaldinamide (PTQA) has been developed. PTQA has been proposed as a new analytical reagent for the direct non-extractive spectrofluorimetric determination of vanadium (V). This novel fluorimetric reagent, PTQA becomes oxidized in a slightly acidic (0.0035 - 0.0085 M H2SO4) solution within vanadium (V) in 20% ethanol to produce highly fluorescent oxidized product (λex = 319 nm;λem = 371 nm). Constant and maximum fluorescence intensities were observed over a wide range of acidity (0.0035 - 0.0085 M H2SO4) for the period between 5 min and 24 h. Linear calibration graphs were obtained for 0.001 - 600-μg·L-1 of V, having a detection limit of 0.3-ng·L-1;the quantification limit of the reaction system was found to be 3-ng·L-1 and the RSD was 0% - 2%. A large excess of over 60 cations, anions and complexing agents (like, chloride, phosphate, azide, tartrate, oxalate, SCN- etc.) do not interfere in the determination. The developed method was successfully used in the determination of vanadium in several Certified Reference Materials (alloys, steels, serum, bovine liver, drinking water, soil and sediments) as well as in some environmental waters (potable and polluted), biological fluids (human blood, urine, hair and milk), soil samples and food samples (vegetables, rice and wheat) solutions containing both vanadium (IV) and vanadium (V) speciation and complex synthetic mixtures. The results of the proposed method for assessing biological, food and vegetable samples were comparable with inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) and atomic-absorption spectrophotometer (AAS) was found to be in excellent agreement.
文摘通过探讨变化环境下水-生态-能源-粮食(Water-Ecology-Energy-Food,WEEF)纽带关系的演化规律,旨在解决实现全球可持续发展目标(Sustainable Development Goals,SDGs)面临的资源安全、生态保护及绿色经济转型中的关键技术问题,为经济社会绿色可持续发展提供理论支撑。系统分析了国内外WEEF纽带关系的最新研究动态,解析了变化环境对WEEF纽带关系的影响机理,构建了影响定量解析体系,从技术方案、政策体系、系统措施等方面提出了变化环境下WEEF纽带关系协同保障策略。系统揭示了变化环境下WEEF纽带关系的耦合机制,在此基础上提出了系统性的协同保障对策,可为提升资源利用效率、推动生态保护修复及促进经济社会高质量发展提供科学依据。
