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Consumer responses to plant viruses in the context of an emerging agri-food risk: a cross-country comparison
No full textPlant viruses cause economic losses in fruit and vegetable supply chains, which is a concern to government, and industry stakeholders, including this involved in primary production. There is increasing scientific knowledge about potential environmental impacts and (the lack of) human
health risks associated with plant viruses. However, there is currently limited understanding of consumer perceptions of this emerging agrifood issue, which hinders effective risk management and communication. Consumers’ risk perceptions of fruits and vegetables infected by plant viruses were assessed using an online survey. Data were collected in Belgium (n ¼ 649), Slovenia (n ¼ 597), Spain (n ¼ 649), and the United Kingdom (n ¼ 641), representing countries within the European region with different regulatory approaches to plant health risk analysis and
different agronomic conditions. Participants from different countries reported medium levels of risk perceptions and intentions to avoid purchases of infected fruits and vegetables, with the highest levels observed for Spanish participants. Stronger pro-environmental attitudes and risk perceptions contributed to expressed intention to avoid purchases. Plant viruses evoked medium levels of negative emotions (disgust, fear and worry), increasing participants’ risk perceptions. Participants who indicated that they were aware that virus infections can increase the resistance of host plants to abiotic and biotic stresses also held greater risk perceptions. Greater trust in plant viruses-related
information provided by scientists was associated with higher risk perceptions. Trust in government resulted in lower intentions of avoiding purchases. Policy implications to enhance food risk management and communication associated with plant viruses are proposed
BATTLEFIELD TACTICS FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF ZYMOSEPTORIA TRITICI
Get PDFZymoseptoria tritici, often known as Septoria Tritici Blotch or STB, is a major disease of wheat which can cause yield reductions of 30-50% by reducing the photosynthetic area of the crop. A range of cultural techniques can be employed but in isolation these have limited success for control. Z. tritici control is still heavily reliant on fungicides which is becoming ever more challenging due to increasing fungicide resistance. This paper discusses how Z. tritici can be controlled by a series the military battlefield strategy through shaping, decisive and sustaining actions, underpinned by a constantly refreshed understanding of the operating environment. Decisive actions are those actions that, without which, the mission (in this case achieving a good yield from a wheat crop) could not be achieved. Shaping actions are those actions that set conditions for a successful decisive action. Sustaining actions are those which sustain the ability to deliver shaping and decisive actions Considering Z. tritici management using this range of strategies will effectively help severe yield loss from disease infection
Improving stormwater infrastructure with Low-Carbon SuDS: a comparison of porous asphalt versus interlocking permeable pavements
No full textClimate change resulting in frequent flooding events have caused catastrophic effects to Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in recent times. Rainfall events have become less predictable in recent years. This paper presented the findings of a project that evaluated permeable pavement systems (PPS) using low-carbon materials, recycled aggregates, and carbon-negative aggregates within its structure as a sustainable drainage system (SuDS). It replicates typical drainage systems, reducing the surface runoff volumetric rates and retaining stormwater pollutants from downstream runoff. Low carbon permeable pavements and Carbon Negative pavement systems are novel structural pavements implementing materials which can withstand the same axial loading as the conventional pavements and can enhance stormwater quality by water treatment through filtration and infiltration between sub-base layers. Carbon-negative aggregates utilise patented technology that converts secondary waste products into high-quality aggregates based on a process that absorbs CO2 into the pavement materials. This paper evaluates two pilot-scaled Low-Carbon-Porous Asphalt Pavement (LC-PAP) systems versus two carbon-negative interlocking concrete block permeable pavement systems (CN-ICB-PPS) on the overall environmental and structural performance. It was found that the pavement systems achieved similar permeability for stormwater remediation results using a combination of virgin aggregates, recycled aggregates, and carbon-negative aggregates for the CN-ICB-PPS and LC-PAP. The pavement systems utilising greater content of carbon-negative aggregates displayed a higher water infiltration rate when compared to the CN-ICB-PPS because of the sub-base design implemented. The LC-PAP systems could achieve the necessary strength at a lower cost, implementing low-carbon recycled materials and carbon-negative aggregates forming 70 % of sub-base layer of the pavements. For the LC-PAP system, ammonium, nitrates, colour, BOD and COD from the stormwater influent decreased significantly when compared to outflow water samples from the CN-ICB-PPS. Due to the variations in the top layers of the pavements with very small pore-spaces, this ensured a greater pollutant retention rate improving the overall stormwater quality being discharged from the pavement. The CN-ICB-PPS displaced a slight decrease in ammonium, nitrates, and colour over the period of study. Moreover, the LC-PAP contained higher content of low-carbon materials and recycled aggregates, placed above the saturation zone of the pavement, allowing some stormwater pollutants to filtrate easily through the pavement structur
Impact of BIM on the Construction Industry in the United Kingdom
No full textThis research topic will focus on the impact that BIM (Building Information Modelling) has provided in the construction industry whilst exploring the origin of BIM, the advantages of the tool, the opinions on BIM, and many more topics. This study will prove that BIM is beneficial to all relevant construction practitioners and why it has become a mandatory practice to follow in the industry in the United Kingdom (UK). The paper indicates how BIM has been overlooked within the construction industry and that many people are not aware of the benefits of BIM. This is concerning as BIM has recently become mandatory for large government projects and still, there is a large percentage of industry professionals who have chosen to ignore the tool, mainly due to lack of knowledge. This research will explore how BIM can contribute to one of the largest industries in the UK thereby making it more efficient in every aspect throughout a construction project life cycle. Evidence from this study shows that there are construction companies, currently active in the field, who have chosen not to expose their staff to BIM-related training. This is distressing as the tool has been proven to bring a positive change to most aspects of a project
The need for more inclusive deliberation on ethics and governance in agricultural and food biotechnology
No full textAn inclusive and socially legitimate governance structure is absent to address concerns over new agricultural biotechnologies. Establishing an agricultural bioethics commission devoted to inclusive deliberation on ethics and governance in agricultural and food biotechnology is urgent. Highlighting the social and ethical dimensions of current agricultural bioengineering disputes in the food system, we discuss how a nationally recognized policy forum could improve decision-making and increase public understanding
of the issues. We clarify ways the concepts that are used to
categorize food and frame governance of food affect consumer
choices, and how dissemination of information and the mode of dissemination can contribute to social inequities. We cite the record of medically-oriented bioethic commissions and the history of international bioethic commissions in support of our argument, and end by discussing what such a commission dedicated to agriculture and food issues could reasonably be expected to achieve
Drivers of Chinese public attitudes towards agri-food applications based on synthetic biology: the results of qualitative exploratory research
No full textSynthetic biology (SB) has attracted global interest in recent years due to its potential not only to produce various potentially beneficial applications including within the agri-food sector but also to cause multiple risks.
However, public attitudes towards SB food have been infrequently investigated. The focus of this research relates to how Chinese participants respond to different SB agri-food applications, and whether these responses differ
from responses to GM foods. Seven categories of factors that shaped participants’ attitudes towards SB agri-food applications were identified based on six focus groups in Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities. These were: 1) perceived benefit, risk and ethical issues associated with specific SB applications, 2) affect/emotions evoked by SB applications, 3) attitudes associated with SB in general, 4) features or traits of applications, 5) personal experience and values, 6) social context, and 7) information to which individuals are exposed. Whilst some participants ‘made sense’ of SB based on existing attitudes towards GM, participants’ attitudes towards SB were less crystallised, resulting in more changes of attitudes towards SB applications after group discussions compared with GM applications. Perceptions of ethical issues associated with SB using synthetic genes also differed from those associated with GM which uses genes from other organisms. The results indicate that it is necessary to establish a more effective mechanism to engage interested stakeholders, including consumers, and co-develop socially acceptable SB agri-food products. It is also important to consider the combined influence of multiple factors in specific cultural or socio-economic contexts when
developing targeted communication strategies
Unravelling the effects of straw return on rice production in central China: Evidence for future policy-making
No full textThe practice of straw return represents an effective and sustainable approach to recycling and reusing agricultural residues, thereby significantly contributing to the circular economy within the agri-food sector. Although this practice holds significant promise for enhancing soil quality and mitigating pollution resulting from straw burning, the realization of these substantial benefits depends on the
extent to which farmers are willing to embrace this practice, a decision closely tied to the anticipated economic benefits it offers. The present study aimed to
explore the effect of straw return on rice production in terms of rice yield and net return using a representative household survey of 1752 rice farmers in central China. The results showed that there exist threshold effects of the years of straw return on both rice yield and net income, which decline as years of straw return increase below the thresholds, and then increase linearly above the thresholds.
Overall, after implementing the straw return practice, it took an average of about 3.5 years to observe a positive effect on rice yields and about 7.5 years to see an increase in net income. The estimates were robust to threshold regression, Lasso regression and random forest regression methods. Nonetheless, the provision of essential technical guidance to farmers via agricultural cooperatives could contribute to expediting the realization of the benefits associated with implementing straw return practices. The results imply that the current incentive mechanism aimed at diffusing straw return practice should be fine-tuned by considering the time required for straw return to generate economic benefits in specific contexts, ensuring better compensation for initial losses. Interventions that shorten the time needed to realize these benefits, such as providing additional technical training for farmers, should be implemented. Furthermore, the uncertainty regarding the time frame for benefit realization should be communicated clearly and effectively to farmers
Artificial intelligence-based optimization for ring-opening metathesis polymerization of proton exchange membrane
No full textThe proton exchange membrane (PEM) is one of the significant components in PEM fuel cells. However, conventional
synthesis experiments for proton exchange membrane (PEM) require considerable workload and time due to complicated
conditions and various influencing factors. Here we initially utilized artificial intelligence (AI) techniques based on the artificial wolf pack algorithm (AWPA) to optimize the synthesis reaction conditions of the ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) reaction of norbornene derivatives for PEM preparation. An empirical model was established based on four variables, including temperature, reaction time, catalyst amount and ratio of reactants, with two fitness functions, including molecular weight (MW) and molecular weight distribution (MWD). Four trend indices were used, including the mean average precision (mAP), the mean, standard deviation (mSTD), the moving mean of the average precision (mmAP) and the moving mean of standard derivation (mmSD). The theoretical optimum values of operating conditions were obtained successfully, including reactant ratio (0.71), temperature (41.23 °C), catalyst content (0.20) and reaction time (47.94 min).
The method in this paper helps optimize PEM preparation conditions and guides a database for AI-aid ROMP reactions
Assessment of the use of CABI’s decision support tools for biosecurity– Pest Risk Analysis Tool and Horizon Scanning Tool
Get PDFCABI’s Horizon Scanning Tool (HST) and Pest Risk Analysis (PRA) Tool were launched in
2018 and 2019, respectively, and have since undergone enhancements to improve their
design, usability and technical content in response to user needs. An assessment of their use,
benefits and outcomes of use show that both tools are valuable resources as pest risk decision
support tools for biosecurity. Although used globally, the tools are a relatively more valuable
resource for lower-income countries in the global south, whose National Plant Protection
Organizations have been granted gratis subscription. However usage in the global south is
limited by the tools’ internet dependency. Despite this, we find that the HST has a diverse
range of users and the PRA Tool is being used by the target user group, i.e. those mandated
to carry out pest risk assessments within National Plant Protection Organizations. Case
studies from Ghana and Zambia show that the PRA Tool can become part of the favoured
workflow for National Plant Protection Agencies, superceding paper-based questionnaires.
The study finds that the tools have been used to establish more robust pest risk assessment
practices and have resulted in important trade and policy outcomes and inter-agency
collaboration. Furthermore, there are cases that show that PRA results have helped to
highlight weak links in national plant health systems and processes