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Summary: The growing global population has increased the protein needs and the combination of animal with plant proteins can be an effective strategy to meet future protein demand. This study aimed to investigate the impact of pH between 6.2 and 7.0 on the thermal stability of a 1:1 mixture of chickpea protein concentrate (CPC) and whey protein isolate (WPI), and their respective control. After heat treatment, CPC:WPI mixture showed an increase in viscosity (from 20.5 mPa.s at pH 7.0 to 110.8 mPa.s at pH 6.2, respectively), and particle size (from 5.7 to 56.5 μm at pH 7.0 and 6.2, respectively). The physical stability of the heat‐treated CPC:WPI mixture decreased, as the sediment increased from 3.3 mm at pH 7.0 to 7.8 mm at pH 6.2. This study highlighted the enhanced thermal stability of CPC:WPI at pHs closer to neutrality and offers valuable insights for the formulation of innovative plant protein‐enriched food. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista de Derecho de la Seguridad Social, Laborum is the property of Ediciones Laborum S.L. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Livestock production systems contribute significantly to environmental impacts at the global level, and meat consumption is projected to increase with the population. There is a need to reduce the impact of food production, including that from beef systems. Different production systems, ranging from traditional grazing to landless systems, coexist within the beef sector. Among these, mixed systems have emerged as a promising alternative. These mixed systems typically involve adult cattle in grazing systems alongside fattening calves in landless systems, potentially achieving higher productivity while reducing the overall environmental impacts. The first step towards proposing mitigation strategies involves identifying the impacts of the sector. This study aimed to estimate the main environmental impacts of four types of mixed beef systems based on the origin of the calves that are raised, fattened, and slaughtered. Using life cycle assessment, the study evaluated the environmental impacts from the cradle to the slaughterhouse gate, expressed per kilogram of carcass weight. The four systems assessed include suckler cow farms that fatten their own offspring (beef single farm, BSF), a system in which calves raised on a suckler farm are fattened on a different farm (beef fattening unit, BFU), and systems in which dairy calves are fattened on growing units, with calves either from Spain (dairy national, DN) or from farms located abroad (dairy abroad, DA). Primary data were obtained from representative surveys of farmers and slaughterhouses, and allocation between co-products was performed according to the updated guidelines of Environmental Product Declarations and the Product Category Rules for meat. Seven environmental impact categories were assessed: climate change, marine eutrophication, freshwater eutrophication, stratospheric ozone depletion, terrestrial acidification, photochemical ozone formation on ecosystems, and photochemical ozone formation on human health. The results indicate that meat production from BSF and BFU has greater environmental impacts than that from DN and DA systems, primarily due to the lower environmental burden allocated to dairy calves, whereas the contribution of slaughterhouse activities to the environmental impacts was minimal. This study highlights the importance of mitigating the environmental impacts associated with feed production, enteric fermentation, and manure management in beef systems. Future studies should consider potential environmental benefits of grazing animals such as carbon sequestration and biodiversity promotion.

The impact of different concentrations of sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (NaCMC) on the micellization process in cationic, ester-functionalized, ethyl-substituted imidazolium-based surface-active ionic liquids (SAILs) ([CnEeim]Br where, n = 12, 14, 16) were investigated using specific conductivity and surface tension measurements at 298 K. The study focused on determining the critical micelle concentration (CMC) of the three pure SAILs and their mixtures with NaCMC to evaluate various thermodynamic and interfacial parameters. The results showed that the CMC values decreased significantly with increasing hydrophobicity of the SAILs, while the CMC increased with a gradual increase in the NaCMC mole fraction in the SAIL–NaCMC mixed systems. It was observed that the excess free energy of micellization ( ∆ G e x m ) and the minimum free energy of surface at equilibrium ( ∆ G min s ) exhibited an opposite behaviour, indicating that the formed mixed micelles were stable while the formed surface was unstable. The results of this study are useful for evaluating the properties of SAIL–NaCMC mixed systems to improve and better understand their applications in the food, medical and cosmetic industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of a diet transition from animal protein to plant protein, both for sustainable and healthy scopes, innovative plant-based foods are being developing. A combination with milk proteins has been proposed as a strategy to overcome the scarce functional and sensorial properties of plant proteins. Based on this mixture were designed several colloidal systems such as suspensions, gels, emulsions, and foams which can be found in many food products. This review aims to give profound scientific insights on the challenges and opportunities of developing such binary systems which could soon open a new market category in the food industry. The recent trends in the formulation of each colloidal system, as well as their limits and advantages are here considered. Lastly, new approaches to improve the coexistence of both milk and plant proteins and how they affect the sensorial profile of food products are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influence of droplet size and composition on Ostwald ripening (OR) and compositional ripening (CR) in mixed emulsions was examined. This was achieved by preparing emulsions and nanoemulsions from two different hydrocarbon oils (tetradecane and hexadecane) that have different water-solubilities. These different kinds of droplets were then mixed together and changes in their compositions were monitored using differential scanning calorimetry, while changes in their sizes were monitored using light scattering and optical microscopy. Initially, there was a rapid transfer of oil molecules from smaller to larger droplets, which was mainly driven by OR (and possibly droplet coalescence). As a result, the addition of the small droplets promoted the growth of the larger ones. CR retarded this type of droplet growth when the oil in the smaller droplets had a lower water-solubility than the oil in the larger droplets. These results are important for gaining a better understanding of the behavior of foods and other products containing mixtures of different kinds of droplets. They may also be important when designing emulsion-based delivery systems for incorporating non-polar active ingredients into pre-existing lipid phases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Casein micelles and pea proteins formed a mixed gel by acidification. • In the mixed system, casein micelles and pea proteins seem not to form strong bonds with each other but rather interactions with themselves. • Pea proteins are mainly responsible for the characteristics of mixed gels. • Modifications in the composition of mixed gels and thermal treatment can produce different gels to be used in different applications. The increased demand for plant-based products brings a new challenge to the food industry. Especially, proteins from soy, chickpea, and pea are being highly demanded as food ingredients. However, they still present some drawbacks such as poor techno-functional properties and remarkable beany flavor that hamper their wider application. Contrarily, milk products such as yogurt and cheeses are highly consumed and accepted worldwide. Therefore, the association of plant proteins, such as pea with milk proteins is an interesting strategy to incorporate more plant-based proteins into people's diet. However, this strategy can largely impact gel formation and final structure. This study aims to develop mixed casein micelles (CMs) and pea proteins gel at high concentrations in four protein ratios, 80:20, 60:40, 40:60, and 20:80 by acidification. The effect of a thermal treatment before gelation was also evaluated. The replacement of CMs for pea proteins disturbed the gel formation at the beginning of acidification, demand more time to increase the G*, being this effect more pronounced as more casein is replaced in the system. Despite of this effect, the final gel elasticity was higher in the presence of pea proteins for the ratios 80:20 and 60:40, probably due to the formation of pea network. It is hypothesized that pea proteins can form a network when surrounded by CMs, however, CMs restrict pea proteins aggregation. This study describes that the final characteristics of mixed gels can be tailored by changing protein ratios and applying thermal treatment before acidification, opening the possibility for the development of innovative food products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review is devoted to self-organizing systems based on amphiphilic compounds of different types, i.e., open-chain and macrocyclic ones. Conventional colloidal surfactants have been considered both in the individual form and in the presence of modifiers, including electrolytes and cosurfactants. Special attention has been focused on the role of structural factors, in particular, an analysis has been performed for the cases of the most pronounced influence of surfactant structure (the nature of head groups and counterions, the passage to dicationic surfactants, and the occurrence of calix[4]arene cores) on the aggregation characteristics, morphological behavior, and functional activity of the systems. Macrocyclic amphiphiles are typical objects of supramolecular chemistry. The final part of the review presents the comparison between two types of the systems: (1) amphiphilic calixarenes (covalent functionalization of macrocycles with alkyl fragments) and (2) calixarene–surfactant binary composites (noncovalent modification of the macrocyclic platform). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The partial replacement of proteins from animal sources by plant proteins in formulated food products has been proposed as useful to improve sustainability aspects of the products without dramatically changing their techno-functional properties. Although several research groups have published on the gelling properties of mixed systems containing whey and soy protein isolates (WPI and SPI), their foaming properties are much less described. In this context, the main objective of this paper was to evaluate the structural and foaming properties of samples containing different mass ratios of WPI:SPI (100:0, 75:25, 50:50, 25:75 and 0:100) before and after heat treatment. The samples were evaluated according to their solubility, foaming capacity (FC), foam microstructure and foam stability (FS). Before heat treatment, mixing SPI to WPI did not affect the solubility of whey proteins, but, after heat treatment, insoluble co-aggregates were formed. Similar FC was measured for all samples despite their WPI:SPI ratio and the applied heat treatment. The partial replacement of WPI by SPI changed the microstructure of the foams and had an antagonistic effect on the FS of the samples, due to the negative effect of insoluble soy protein aggregates and/or insoluble co-aggregates on the reinforcement of the air-water interfacial film. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • "Nanoregion" was used as an adjustable template to prepare porous HER catalyst. • Porous NiCo@NC with higher active area was synthesized by the "Nanoregion". • Porous NiCo@NC showed superior electrocatalytic HER activity. • The overpotential (10 mA cm−2) and Tafel slope reduced by 42 % and 33.9 %. The development of porous electrocatalytic materials with high activity and large specific surface area is the key to realizing efficient hydrogen production by water electrolysis. In this paper, a universial strategy for preparing porous non-precious metal electrocatalysts with high effective surface area is provided based on the "nanoregion" formed by ionic liquid mixture system, and the feasibility is verified by constructing a porous NiCo@NC based electrocatalyst. The microstructure, surface composition, specific surface area and electrochemical properties of the porous electrocatalyst are investigated systematically. Compared with the traditional hydrothermal synthesis, the "nanoregion" effect can give the NiCo@NC electrocatalyst rich pore structure and good hydrophilicity, thus effectively improve the effective surface area available for the electrochemical reaction. As a result, the overpotential for HER on NiCo@NC-500 prepared in the ionic liquid mixing system is 113 mV lower than that on NiCo@NC-500-w prepared by common hydrothermal process, and the Tafel slope decreases by 37 mV dec−1 (33.9 %), further verifying the effectiveness of this simple and green strategy to develop porous non-precious metal electrocatalysts for hydrogen production by the "nanoregion" effect of ionic liquid mixture system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of a diet transition from animal protein to plant protein, both for sustainable and healthy scopes, innovative plant-based foods are being developing. A combination with milk proteins has been proposed as a strategy to overcome the scarce functional and sensorial properties of plant proteins. Based on this mixture were designed several colloidal systems such as suspensions, gels, emulsions, and foams which can be found in many food products. This review aims to give profound scientific insights on the challenges and opportunities of developing such binary systems which could soon open a new market category in the food industry. The recent trends in the formulation of each colloidal system, as well as their limits and advantages are here considered. Lastly, new approaches to improve the coexistence of both milk and plant proteins and how they affect the sensorial profile of food products are discussed.

Relative sea level fluctuations during the Frasnian generated two shallow-marine, mixed siliciclastic-carbonate successions in the Devonian Asturo-Leonese Basin. Each system represents a third-order sequence-stratigraphical unit deposited in the same basin during comparable extreme greenhouse conditions without nearby fluvial entry points. Depositional control on the siliciclastic and carbonate distribution was driven by relative sea level fluctuations, basin geometry, availability of sand and the way sediment was distributed by shelf currents. Early Variscan flexural bending of the continental crust changed the basin shape from a shelf with a gradual profile and low dip (early Frasnian) towards a shelf with a steep depositional dip (late Frasnian). Shelf distribution changed from along-shelf transport (early Frasnian) towards offshore-directed gravity flows (late Frasnian). As a consequence, siliciclastic-carbonate distribution changed from a predominance of skeletal carbonate in the proximal shoreface – foreshore area and siliciclastic predominance distally (early Frasnian), to a distribution pattern with proximal shoreface skeletal carbonates, offshore muddy carbonates and a siliciclastic zone in between where gravity flows distributed the siliciclastic sediment down dip (late Frasnian).

Copyright of Shipin Kexue/ Food Science is the property of Food Science Editorial Department and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In the reliability literature, several results have been presented to compare binary (two states) systems. Often, such results are obtained from copula-based extensions of fuzzy measures , where a fuzzy measure describes the structure of a system and a copula describes the stochastic dependence among the lifetimes of its components. Other similar results have been obtained in terms of the concept of signature. Here, we extend all those results to multi-state systems made up from binary components by suitably constructing corresponding mixed binary systems. For such a construction, we show how any fuzzy measure can be decomposed as a convex combination of { 0 , 1 } -valued fuzzy measures and how such a decomposition extends to the corresponding aggregation function. For a mixed system we can furthermore consider its signature and so we can also define a signature for the multi-state system. For mixed systems associated to different multi-state systems, we can thus obtain different comparison results, which can be translated into the corresponding comparisons for the parent multi-state systems. Stochastic comparisons are obtained for the discrete random variables which represent the states of two systems at time t , as well. The arguments in the paper will be illustrated by means of examples and related remarks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

European farms and regions follow the trend of agricultural specialisation, which results in a disconnection between crop and livestock production. High-input specialised farming systems are continuing to be developed even though they generate negative environmental impacts. Despite these trends, a few pioneering farmers have intentionally reintegrated livestock onto crop farms in several regions. To date, research has rarely examined farmers' motivations to develop such systems. We aimed to identify French farmers' motivations for reintegrating livestock onto specialised crop farms and into crop-producing regions. Following innovation-tracking principles, we identified 18 crop farmers who had reintegrated livestock in two regions where crop farming predominates: Occitanie and the Parisian Basin. The farmers' profiles varied in production mode, farm size, the crops and livestock produced, and the type and duration of livestock reintegration. Semi-directed interviews focused on the farmers' motivations for having reintegrated livestock. At the end of the interviews, we asked them to select and rank 10 of 36 cards that represented their main agronomic, economic, social and environmental motivations for crop-livestock farming. We transcribed the interviews and performed inductive content analysis, which was then triangulated with the farmers' rankings of the cards. Seven categories of motivations for reintegrating livestock emerged from the interviews: following personal ethical and moral values, increasing and stabilising income, promoting ecosystem services, increasing self-sufficiency and traceability, connecting to the local community, decreasing pollution and keeping the landscape open. In both discourse analysis and motivation card rankings, agronomic motivations (including promoting ecosystem services) were predominant, especially improving soil life and fertility. Farmers ranked economic and social categories nearly equally. Improving and stabilising income was cited by 17/18 farmers in their discourse, consistently with the two most-selected economic motivation cards. Strengthening social connections was the most-selected social motivation in card rankings and was mentioned by 14/18 farmers in their discourse, particularly for connections among farmers. Environmental motivation cards were selected less often, except for environmental stewardship, which was consistent with the desire to build an environmentally friendly farming system to follow personal ethical and moral values mentioned by 10 farmers in their discourse. This study is the first to provide a ranked summary of crop farmers' motivations for reintegrating livestock. Understanding this diversity is an initial step in incentivising, promoting and/or supporting the development of this innovative sustainable practice under favourable conditions and can encourage public actions that promote it. [Display omitted] • Specialisation of crop or livestock production has negative environmental impacts. • A few pioneering farmers have reintegrated livestock onto crop farms and into crop regions. • We identified seven categories of motivations for reintegrating livestock. • Promoting ecosystem services and following personal values were the main motivations. • Strengthening social connections and improving income were other major motivations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The production system has a large share in the environmental impacts of beef. • Beef systems had higher impacts due to the low burdens allocated to dairy calves. • Strategies to reduce the impacts of feed production and manure management are needed. • Slaughter and transport present a low contribution to all the assessed impacts. • Combining grazing and landless systems can reduce the impacts of beef production. Livestock production systems contribute significantly to environmental impacts at the global level, and meat consumption is projected to increase with the population. There is a need to reduce the impact of food production, including that from beef systems. Different production systems, ranging from traditional grazing to landless systems, coexist within the beef sector. Among these, mixed systems have emerged as a promising alternative. These mixed systems typically involve adult cattle in grazing systems alongside fattening calves in landless systems, potentially achieving higher productivity while reducing the overall environmental impacts. The first step towards proposing mitigation strategies involves identifying the impacts of the sector. This study aimed to estimate the main environmental impacts of four types of mixed beef systems based on the origin of the calves that are raised, fattened, and slaughtered. Using life cycle assessment, the study evaluated the environmental impacts from the cradle to the slaughterhouse gate, expressed per kilogram of carcass weight. The four systems assessed include suckler cow farms that fatten their own offspring (beef single farm, BSF), a system in which calves raised on a suckler farm are fattened on a different farm (beef fattening unit, BFU), and systems in which dairy calves are fattened on growing units, with calves either from Spain (dairy national, DN) or from farms located abroad (dairy abroad, DA). Primary data were obtained from representative surveys of farmers and slaughterhouses, and allocation between co-products was performed according to the updated guidelines of Environmental Product Declarations and the Product Category Rules for meat. Seven environmental impact categories were assessed: climate change, marine eutrophication, freshwater eutrophication, stratospheric ozone depletion, terrestrial acidification, photochemical ozone formation on ecosystems, and photochemical ozone formation on human health. The results indicate that meat production from BSF and BFU has greater environmental impacts than that from DN and DA systems, primarily due to the lower environmental burden allocated to dairy calves, whereas the contribution of slaughterhouse activities to the environmental impacts was minimal. This study highlights the importance of mitigating the environmental impacts associated with feed production, enteric fermentation, and manure management in beef systems. Future studies should consider potential environmental benefits of grazing animals such as carbon sequestration and biodiversity promotion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Familiar mixed dairy sheep farm is the most widespread system in the Mediterranean basin, in Latin America and in developing countries (85%). There is a strong lack of technological adoption in packages of feeding and land use in small-scale farms. To increase competitiveness, it would be of great interest to deepen the knowledge of how innovation was selected, adopted, and spread. The objective of this research was to select strategic feeding and land use technologies in familiar mixed dairy sheep systems and later assess dairy sheep farms in Spain. This objective was assessed by combining qualitative and quantitative methodologies. In the first stage, with the aim to identify and select the appropriate technologies, a panel of 107 experts in dairy sheep production was used. A questionnaire was applied to all of them with successive rounds using Delphi methodology. Later, these technologies were grouped by principal components analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis (CA). In a second stage the technological results from a random sample of 157 farms in the Center of Spain were collected. The technologies selected were linked to the technological adoption level of the farms in Castilla la Mancha by a multiple regression model. Ten technologies were selected by the 107 experts. Four factors were retained by PCA that explained at 67.11% of variance. The first factor is related to feeding strategies, the second to land use for livestock production, the third to efficient management of land resources or ecoefficiency and the fourth to by-products use. The expert evaluation was grouped in three clusters using the Ward’s method and the squared Euclidean distance measure, where the second showed higher values in the adoption level of each technology. The multiple regression model explained the relationship between the technologies and the technological level of the farms (R2 73.53%). The five technologies selected were: use of unifeed (1), supplemental feeding (5), grazing (6), raw materials production (7) and sustainable use of water and soil (10). These ten technologies identified can be directly extended to small-scale dairy farms from other countries in the Mediterranean basin and Latin America. This technological selection was supported from the broad and diverse panel of experts used. Besides, five technologies identified by the quantitative model will be able to be taken into account for the development of public innovation policies. They are direct technologies and easy to apply on the farm and seeking increased viability through innovation vs. intensification.

This paper deals with the stress-strength system reliability based on signatures. By using signature-based properties of strength systems, the performance of the stress-strength reliability is assessed. It is shown that the survival function of the remaining strength of a system can be expressed as a mixture of the survival functions of the remaining strengths of their components and for systems consisting of exponential components, it is derived explicitly. The optimal system configuration in terms of the signature has been determined under an exponential stress-strength model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the article the methodological bases for the new criteria of goods and services efficiency and standards in a new cyber environment, and also the reasons and consequences of the robotic goods and services demands' transformation are defined. The newest era of the mass cyber development and hybridization as the following robotization stage is predicted, the analysis of the new mass commercialization challenges and threats of its breakthrough researches is carried out. The global environment influence on the level of corporate robotization and replacement of a non-hybrid environment by the totally hybrid environment are given on the example of the countries pioneers of the forced technological development (Japan, the USA, South Korea, and Germany). The definitions and the existing robots' classifications of three generations are revealed, taking into the account its main criteria robots' so called self-training ability.The methodological criteria and requirements to the leading countries' competitiveness in a new cyber environment in "the sixth technological shift era", including the military, social, political and economic stability, the defensive potential in the new hybrid and contactless cyber wars, are described.The comparative analysis of the well-known forecasts is conducted, including 'The Future of Employment is carried out: How Susceptible Are Jobs to Computerization" by Karl Frey and Michael Osborn, 'The Future of Jobs, 2025: Working Side-By-Side with Robots" from "Forrester Research" the forecast of the World Economic Forum (WEF) of'The Future of Jobs" from 2016 and "Robotic Nation" of Marshall Brian, for the period till 2025 about the mass robotization effects, including the influence of robotization on the global employment.The target approach analysis is carried out, as well as the progressive methodological approaches on the governmental and corporate levels are described. The value of the efficient implementation criteria of the Revolutions of Robots Program in Japan is defined (key quantitative planned targets till 2020, and the five areas for the scientific researches concentration). The analyzed best experience is expedient to be applied in the Russian Federation, including the strategic robotic development plan in Japan, aimed at the transformation of the non-robotic systems into the fully robotic systems and the forced mass robotization.The complex analysis of the cross-disciplinary links, valued for the scientific breaks through, which define the global technological development, is given.The analytical list of the revealed robotization challenges and threats to governments, business, safety, health, private life, freedom of consciousness and the person al will is provided. The new business purposes, roles and tasks in the robotization an era and the governmental functions are revealed, and the global needs' and demands' transformation forecast is given.It is supposed that a robot's competitiveness will depend on its existing in-building technological ability level and/or the new technological environmental level for the following generation of the robotic line embedding, taking into an account the field robotic efficiency criteria. The importance of rationalization and multifunctional, dual purpose robotic abilities is emphasized.The conditions of the new hybrid environment connected with robotization are revealed: The quantitative analysis of the main global androids projects is provided. The author's innovations in the article are meaningful for the decisions making persons in the field of robotization.

Spatial heterogeneity is a property of natural ecosystems. Integrated crop‐livestock systems (ICLS) aim to mimic natural ecosystem functions as pillars of sustainable intensification, and grazing is a process that potentially affects spatial heterogeneity. Then, we investigated the effect of different grazing intensities, defined according to a range of sward heights (intensive grazing, 10 cm; moderate grazing, 20 cm; moderate‐light grazing, 30 cm; light grazing, 40 cm; and ungrazed), on the spatial heterogeneity and biomass productivity of mixed Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) and black oat (Avena strigosa Schreb.) pastures. The mixture was grazed by steers under continuous variable stocking, using put‐and‐take animals to maintain targeted sward heights. The pasture was in rotation with soybean in an integrated crop‐livestock system for 15 years. Data concerns pasture phase on the 15th rotation cycle. Cattle grazing at moderate to light intensities increased pasture spatial heterogeneity and total aboveground primary productivity, while intensive grazing led to homogeneous overgrazed canopies with frequent bare soil patches. Pre‐grazing sward structure suggests that the summer crop rotation buffers the contrasts created by grazing at different intensities. This study suggests that moderate to light grazing intensities increase pasture productive efficiency and create more heterogeneous canopies in ICLS, while intensive grazing should be avoided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For certain applications, it is useful to control the rate and extent of lipid digestion in different regions of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) e.g., to control bioavailability, satiety, or blood lipid levels. In the current study, lipid digestion was modulated by mixing two kinds of lipid-loaded biopolymer microgels (alginate beads and carrageenan beads) with different GIT responses. The microgels were formed by mixing lipid droplets with anionic polysaccharide solutions, and then injecting them into a calcium ion solution to cross-link the polysaccharides. Alginate beads remained intact throughout the GIT, leading to a relatively slow digestion rate, whereas carrageenan beads became deformed and dissociated, leading to faster digestion. Experiments using an in vitro GIT model indicated that the rate of lipid digestion could be controlled by mixing alginate microgels with carrageenan microgels. The rate of lipid digestion of the mixed system (1:1) was between that of the two individual systems. These mixed microgel systems may be useful in developing functional foods that modulate lipid blood levels, hormone release, and energy intake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, we investigated the removal of Cr(VI) and the associated bacterial activity in the systems containing Bacillus subtilis BSn5 ( B. subtilis BSn5) and hematite. The microcalorimetry was used to study the effect of hematite on the normal physiological functions of B. subtilis BSn5 towards the removal of Cr(VI) for the first time. The results of the heat flux and the sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) showed that hematite does not affect the normal physiological functions of B. subtilis BSn5, and can help the strains maintain their activity in the presence of Cr(VI). More importantly, the relative capacity and intensity of Cr(VI) and total Cr removal by B. subtilis BSn5 in the presence of hematite were higher than that in the absence of hematite. The enhancement effect could be associated with their mineral adsorption, biosorption, Fe(II) reduction, bioreduction and immobilization functions. This study demonstrates the possibility of reducing the toxicity of Cr(VI) and enhancing the Cr(VI) removal efficiency in contaminated environments using a combination of hematite and B. subtilis BSn5. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nutrients found in residues from agricultural cultures are important reserves for subsequent crops. The objective was to assess the decomposition and release of nutrients from different crop residues for subsequent soybean cultivation. The study was conducted in Mid-Northern Mato Grosso State, Brazil. The residual straw of cropping systems - maize, brachiaria and maize/brachiaria consortium - were sampled, weighted, disposed in litter bags and then distributed on the soil. The adopted experimental design followed the completely randomized arrangement with three repetitions. Treatments were determined based on harvest time, which was performed every 14 days within 140 days for maize, and within 154 days for brachiaria and for the consortium. The remaining dry matter and nutrients content, and half-time life were evaluated. Maize showed the highest straw dry matter yield (14,176 kg ha-1), and the consortium recorded the biggest nutrient accumulation per hectare (K=172.2; N= 141.7 and Ca=56.0 kg ha-1). Brachiaria straw presented the fastest decomposition rate (85%) and the highest nutrient release (K=99%; N=92%; Mg=98% and Ca=90% of total initial content). The total K released reached 150 kg ha-1, which can fit the needs of soybean crops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite their recognized agricultural sustainability benefits, mixed crop-livestock farms have declined in the Northern hemisphere. As such, crop-livestock integration beyond the farm level is a promising alternative to this trend, but the knowledge of critical factors and strategies towards its successful implementation is still lacking. We developed an analytical framework to assess the critical determinants of the emergence and outcomes of integration, which helped us understand farmers’ collective strategies for reducing integration transaction costs. The resulting framework distinguishes between three types of transaction costs: information gathering, collective decision-making, and operational and monitoring costs. These costs are influenced by several factors: external environment attributes, resources engaged in crop-livestock integration, and participating actors and their arrangements. Application of the framework onto six case studies all across the world (Asia, Europe and America) demonstrated it can be utilized for various projects implemented at multiple organizational levels (farm-to-farm, local groups, and regional levels) over distinct farming systems (conventional and organic). Specific policies should be developed to strengthen social networks through the mutual understanding of such integration benefits, since they play a key role in lowering the costs of information gathering and collective decision-making. A legal framework to establishing a formal contract should contribute to lower long-term monitoring costs, especially when trust among actors developing. Operational costs largely depend on the spatial proximity of farms, but this can be overcome by extending the scale of integration in terms of covered area and number of participants. Here, appropriate coordination by third-party entities is essential, and should be targeted by financial and technical support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To what extent do presidential candidates influence voting in mixed member legislative elections? A sizable literature addresses presidential–legislative coattail effects in the American context, with less attention given to this interaction in non-Western democracies. Nor is the role of past voting behavior adequately assessed in the literature. Taiwan's historic 2016 election allows for an analysis of the extent in which the popularity of presidential candidates influences coattail voting in the more complex electoral environment of two-vote mixed legislative systems. Evidence finds that, controlling for partisanship and previous voting behavior, voters who supported a presidential candidate were more likely to also support the party's legislative candidates, although this influence is stronger in regards to Democratic Progressive Party's Tsai Ing-wen. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]