5 research outputs found
Pineapple by-products: A critical review of their bioactive compounds as eco-friendly pesticides in pest management
No full textPineapple processing generates significant waste in the form of peels, leaves, crowns, stems, and cores. Although their bioactive compounds have been explored, a literature review on their pesticidal properties is lacking. This paper reviews the research on the bioactive compounds in the byproducts (peels, leaves, stem, crown and core) in the last 5 years to give the recent knowledge on the bioactive compounds of the pineapple byproducts as ecofriendly pesticides in food storage management, examining their efficacy against common pests, mechanisms of action, and potential applications while considering human health safety and environmental impact. Among the bioactives identified in the pineapple waste are phenolic, terpenes, and organic acids. Studies have highlighted the pesticidal properties of extracts from waste against various food storage pests. They disrupt pest physiology, inhibit growth, and have antimicrobial activity. Despite these studies over the last five years, there are various opportunities to research the bioactive compounds present in pineapple waste, which could drive its commercialization and utilization
The Road to Re-Use of Spice By-Products: Exploring Their Bioactive Compounds and Significance in Active Packaging
No full textSpice by-products, often discarded as waste, represent an untapped resource for sustainable packaging solutions due to their unique, multifunctional, and bioactive profiles. Unlike typical plant residues, these materials retain diverse phytochemicals—including phenolics, polysaccharides, and other compounds, such as essential oils and vitamins—that exhibit controlled release antimicrobial and antioxidant effects with environmental responsiveness to pH, humidity, and temperature changes. Their distinctive advantage is in preserving volatile bioactives, demonstrating enzyme-inhibiting properties, and maintaining thermal stability during processing. This review encompasses a comprehensive characterization of phytochemicals, an assessment of the re-utilization pathway from waste to active materials, and an investigation of processing methods for transforming by-products into films, coatings, and nanoemulsions through green extraction and packaging film development technologies. It also involves the evaluation of their mechanical strength, barrier performance, controlled release mechanism behavior, and effectiveness of food preservation. Key findings demonstrate that ginger and onion residues significantly enhance antioxidant and antimicrobial properties due to high phenolic acid and sulfur-containing compound concentrations, while cinnamon and garlic waste effectively improve mechanical strength and barrier attributes owing to their dense fiber matrix and bioactive aldehyde content. However, re-using these residues faces challenges, including the long-term storage stability of certain bioactive compounds, mechanical durability during scale-up, natural variability that affects standardization, and cost competitiveness with conventional packaging. Innovative solutions, including encapsulation, nano-reinforcement strategies, intelligent polymeric systems, and agro-biorefinery approaches, show promise for overcoming these barriers. By utilizing these spice by-products, the packaging industry can advance toward a circular bio-economy, depending less on traditional plastics and promoting environmental sustainability in light of growing global population and urbanization trends
Do differences in the scale of irrigation projects generate different impacts on poverty and production?
No full textThis paper investigates differences in household production and consumption among small- and large-scale irrigators to assess whether the scale of an irrigation project increases household welfare in Mali. Much of the evidence of the impact of irrigation does not use counterfactual analysis to estimate such impact or distinguish between the scale of the irrigation projects to be evaluated. In the dataset collected by the author, both a large-scale irrigation project and small-scale projects are used to construct counterfactual groups. Propensity score matching is used to estimate the average treatment effect on the treated for small and large irrigators relative to nonirrigators on agricultural production, agricultural income, and consumption per capita. Small-scale irrigation has a larger effect on agricultural production and agricultural income than large-scale irrigation, but large-scale irrigation has a larger effect on consumption per capita. This suggests that market integration and nonfarm externalities are important in realizing gains in agricultural surplus from irrigation.Irrigation, program evaluation,
Christ Absent and Present: A Study in Pauline Christology
No full textThe aim of this thesis is to contribute to the study of Pauline Christology by examining how Paul conceives of the exalted Christ. In particular it considers the exalted Christ through the lens of his absence and presence. The fact that the exalted Christ can be simultaneously present (e.g. Rom 8:10) and absent (e.g. Rom 8:34) points to the complexity in Paul’s conceptuality. The main argument of this thesis is that if the absence of Christ is carefully delineated then the seeming paradox concerning the presence and absence of Christ actually disappears.
Given that New Testament studies have generally not considered the exalted Christ through this lens, in chapter one we do not present a history of research but provide an entry point to our thesis by examining how two of the 20th Century’s most significant Pauline scholars, Albert Schweitzer and Ernst Käsemann, conceived of the exalted Christ. These two Pauline interpreters are particularly relevant given that they view the exalted Christ in such sharply distinct ways and so help orientate us to the theological issues that are crucial to understanding the nature of the exalted Christ.
In chapter two, we consider a number of texts where Paul expresses the reality of the absence of Christ from the world. We examine a number of passages which indicate that the absence of Christ is a bodily absence since, for Paul, the exalted Christ remains a human being with a discrete, located, human body. Because Christ retains a discrete and distinguishable human body, he is not universally located.
In chapters three and four we turn to investigate three of the most significant modes of the presence of Christ and, in particular, consider how these relate to his bodily absence. In chapter three we consider his epiphanic presence and his dynamic presence. The former is seen in an extended section in 2 Corinthians (2:14-4:12) where Paul repeatedly employs epiphanic language and imagery. The dynamic mode of Christ’s presence is seen in texts where Paul portrays Christ as the agent of his own presence.
Finally, in chapter four we consider the bodily presence of Christ. Here Paul employs the concept of the body to suggest Christ’s intense presence with his people whether individually, corporately or in the Lord’s Supper. This use of body imagery to express the presence of Christ would seem to call into question our suggestion that the absence of Christ might be understood in bodily terms. However, throughout this chapter we see that the bodily presence of Christ is a mediated presence and not an absolute, unqualified presence
Embodied souls, ensouled bodies : an exercise in christological anthropology and its significance for the mind/body debate ; with special reference to Karl Barth's 'Church dogmatics' III/2
No full textContemporary developments in cognitive neuroscience are having a profound impact on the philosophy of mind as philosophers work to understand the implications of these advances for appreciating what it means to be a human person. At the same time, a recent consensus has formed among contemporary theologians around the thesis that Jesus Christ is the revelation of what it means to be truly human. Unfortunately, very few thinkers have made any concerted effort to bring these two developments into dialogue with one another. This study addresses this lack by drawing on the anthropological insights of Karl Barth and bringing them to bear on certain aspects of the contemporary discussions regarding the mind/brain relationship.
The thesis thus comprises two major sections. The first develops an understanding of Karl Barth’s theological anthropology focusing on three major facets: (1) the centrality of Jesus Christ for any real understanding of human persons; (2) the resources that such a christologically determined view of human nature has for engaging in interdisciplinary discourse; and (3) the ontological implications of this approach for understanding the mind/body relationship. The second part of the study then draws on this theological foundation to consider the implications that understanding human nature christologically has for analyzing and assessing several prominent ways of explaining the mind/body relationship.
This study, then, is an exercise in understanding the nature of a christocentric anthropology and its implications for understanding human ontology. While it will devote significant attention to the theology of Karl Barth and various contemporary philosophers of mind, its fundamental aim is to draw together these apparently disparate fields of inquiry by engaging both theology and philosophy in a vital dialogue on the nature of the human person as revealed in the person and work of Jesus Christ
