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This study examined the effects of climate change on rice production in 30 Chinese provinces spanning 1998–2017. The study used the pooled mean group technique to capture the long-run and short-run effects of changing climatic conditions on rice production. It further employed the Dumitrescu–Hurlin panel causality test to examine the path of causality between the key variables and rice production. The study found that, in the long run, average temperature negatively influenced rice production, but average rainfall had a positive effect on rice production. The results indicated that the cultivated area and fertilizer usage were positively related to rice production in the long run. The short-run results accentuated that average temperature favourably influenced nationwide rice production, whereas average rainfall had no substantial effect on national rice production. The cultivated area had a significant positive short-term relationship with rice production, although the impact of fertilizer usage on rice production was negligible in the short run. Besides, the results established a bidirectional causality between rice output and the cultivated area, but there was a one-way causality running from fertilizer usage to rice output. Finally, the results indicated that, except for rainfall, a unidirectional causality exists between temperature and rice production. The study, therefore, recommends that in the case of crop failure due to weather conditions, policymakers could implement a new pricing policy to mitigate the deterioration of the farmers’ income. The government must also develop and implement an insurance scheme that compensates farmers for catastrophes induced by rainfall deficiency.

We contribute to the literature on the effectiveness of aid and to energy poverty literature by providing the first study that examines the effect of aid on energy poverty. Using eight rounds of the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and sub-national aid data for Senegal, we find that aid lowers the probability of energy poverty. Our main results show that living within a 25km radius of an aid project reduces the likelihood of being energy poor by 4.5 percentage points. This finding is robust to a suite of sensitivity checks. We also examine four channels through which aid could influence energy – income poverty, education, health and economic growth – and find that income poverty, education and economic growth are mechanisms through which aid transmits to energy poverty.

Capsicum annuum var. aviculare to Tarahumara and Papago Indians and farmers of Sonora desert is a promising biological and commercial value as a natural resource from arid and semiarid coastal zones. Traditionally, apply synthetic fertilizers to compensate for soil nitrogen deficiency. However, indiscriminate use of these fertilizers might increase salinity. The inoculation by plant growth promoting bacteria (PGPB) and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) represents an alternative as potential bio fertilizer resources for salty areas. Seeds ecotypes from four areas of Sonora desert (Mazocahui, Baviacora, Arizpe, La Tortuga), in order to inoculate them with one species of PGPB and AMF. Two germination tests were carried out to study the effect of salinity, temperature regime (night/day) and inoculation with PGPB and AMF growth factors measured on germination (percentage and rate), plant height, root length, and produced biomass (fresh and dry matter). The results indicated that from four studied ecotypes, Mazocahui was the most outstanding of all, showing the highest germination under saline and non-saline conditions. However, the PGPB and AMF influenced the others variables evaluated. This study is the first step to obtain an ideal ecotype of C. a. var. aviculare, which grows in the northwest of México and promoting this type of microorganisms as an efficient and reliable biological product. Studies of the association of PGPB and AMF with the C. a. var. aviculare-Mazocahui ecotype are recommended to determine the extent to which these observations can be reproduced under field conditions.

The ability to reuse winery wastewater would be of significant benefit to the wine industry, as it could potentially be a cost-effective method of wastewater management, whilst at the same time providing a valuable water resource. This study investigated the effects of different dilutions of a semi-synthetic winery wastewater on the growth and germination of four common crop species in a glasshouse study; barley (Hordeum vulgare), millet (Pennisetum glaucum), lucerne (Medicago sativa) and phalaris (Phalaris aquatica). The wastewater caused a significant delay in the germination of lucerne, millet and phalaris, although overall germination percentage of all species was not affected. Vegetative growth was significantly reduced in all species, with millet being the most severely affected. The germination index of barley correlated very highly (r(2)=0.99) with barley biomass, indicating that barley seed germination bioassays are highly relevant to plant growth, and therefore may be of use as a bioassay for winery wastewater toxicity.

To test whether youths who engage in vigorous physical activity are more likely to have lean bodies while ingesting relatively large amounts of energy. For this purpose, we studied the associations of both physical activity and adiposity with energy intake in adolescents.The study subjects were adolescents who participated in 1 of 2 cross-sectional studies, the Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence (HELENA) study (n = 1450; mean age, 14.6 years) or the European Youth Heart Study (EYHS; n = 321; mean age, 15.6 years). Physical activity was measured by accelerometry, and energy intake was measured by 24-hour recall. In the HELENA study, body composition was assessed by 2 or more of the following methods: skinfold thickness, bioelectrical impedance analysis, plus dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry or air-displacement plethysmography in a subsample. In the EYHS, body composition was assessed by skinfold thickness.Fat mass was inversely associated with energy intake in both studies and using 4 different measurement methods (P ≤ .006). Overall, fat-free mass was positively associated with energy intake in both studies, yet the results were not consistent across measurement methods in the HELENA study. Vigorous physical activity in the HELENA study (P < .05) and moderate physical activity in the EYHS (P < .01) were positively associated with energy intake. Overall, results remained unchanged after adjustment for potential confounding factors, after mutual adjustment among the main exposures (physical activity and fat mass), and after the elimination of obese subjects, who might tend to underreport energy intake, from the analyses.Our data are consistent with the hypothesis that more physically active and leaner adolescents have higher energy intake than less active adolescents with larger amounts of fat mass.

The development of perennial wheat could have a number of advantages for improving the sustainability of Australian dryland agricultural systems. The profitability that might be expected from perennial wheat of different types was investigated using MIDAS (Model of an Integrated Dryland Agricultural System), a bioeconomic model of a mixed crop/livestock farming system. Although perennial wheat may produce a lower grain yield and quality than annual wheat, it is expected inputs of fertiliser, herbicide and sowing costs will be lower. Perennial wheat used solely for grain production was not selected as part of an optimal farm plan under the standard assumptions. In contrast, dual-purpose perennial wheat that produces grain and additional forage during summer and autumn than annual wheat can increase farm profitability substantially (AU$20/ha over the whole farm) and 20% of farm area was selected on the optimal farm plan under standard assumptions. Forage from perennial wheat replaced stubble over summer and grain supplement at the break of season and increased farm stock numbers. The additional value added by grazing also reduced the relative yield required for perennial wheat to be profitable. This analysis suggests perennial wheat used for the dual purposes of grain and forage production could be developed as a profitable option for mixed crop/livestock producers.

Abstract Background Environmental awareness and consumer demand for healthy diets and wellness have directed the attention of academia and the food industry towards discovering sustainable packaging materials, including active edible type of packaging. Numerous active edible films and coatings use milk proteins in their formulations. Milk proteins, comprising of caseins and whey proteins, are important for human nutrition, but also gain importance as natural product polymers with potential to be used as encapsulation carriers for nutraceuticals for various food and biotechnological applications. Scope and approach This review provides an overview of the recent trends and advances in active edible packaging materials originating from milk proteins and their technological characteristics (delaying moisture loss, providing oxygen barriers, exhibiting good tensile strength and elongation, offering flexibility, and generally having neutral taste and flavour). Recently, significant achievements have been made to increase the shelf life of perishable food and control the release and transport of nutraceuticals and bioactive molecules by using milk proteins. The results presented here show that packaging materials comprised of milk proteins can be optimised by the food industry and be employed as active edible packaging for improved quality and safety features of fresh food products. Key findings and conclusions Active edible packaging materials made from milk proteins provide great potential for improving food safety, quality and versatility, and could potentially decrease the number of concerns from suppliers and consumers. Nevertheless, certain critical aspects, such as regulatory issues (migration of active substances, labelling, and allergenicity), economics and customer desires, should be considered for the successful introduction of active edible packaging solutions in the food sector. It is to be expected that the milk protein-based vehicle systems present alone or as part of novel sustainable packaging forms will become an essential strategy for launching safe food products, and therefore have the potential for increasing profit margins for the food industry.