scholarly journals Advanced Application of Electrospun Polycaprolactone Fibers for Seed Germination Activity

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Fatirah Fadil ◽  
Nor Dalila Nor Affandi ◽  
Nur Aqilah Ibrahim ◽  
Mohd Iqbal Misnon ◽  
Ahmad Mukifza Harun ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Seed Germination ◽  
Mung Bean ◽  
Food Production ◽  
High Surface ◽  
Food Prices ◽  
Electrospun Fibers ◽  
Electrospinning Technique ◽  
Home Food ◽  
Preliminary Study ◽  
Radicle Length

The increasing intensity of coronavirus (COVID-19) spreading emphasizes the significant development in home food production to reduce the incoming socioeconomic impact from soaring food prices, supply chain fragility, and severe economic crisis. This preliminary study was initiated to demonstrate the possibility of using electrospun fibers as a potential substrate in the application of seed germination activity. The drive of this preliminary study was to integrate the electrospun nanofiber-based material in exploring the current surge in home food production via seed germination in order to introduce cheap source of food without being distracted by the pandemic impact in general. Mung bean (Vigna radiata L. Wilczek) was chosen as it is easy and fast to sprout. Four samples of poly (ε-caprolactone)- (PCL-) based fibers were prepared by means of electrospinning technique, with the optimized flow rate between 0.05 and 0.20 ml/min at a fixed distance of 10 cm needle tip to collector. Mung bean seeds were allowed to germinate on the fabricated electrospun PCL fibers for 96 hours. Our observations include germination percentage, seedling weight, radicle length, and plumule growth. The highest radicle length and plumule length of seedlings were 27.8 mm and 6.7 mm, respectively. There were no inhibitory effects on seed germination and minimal structural fragmentation of smaller diameter electrospun fibers as revealed by FESEM. These results show that the seeds were able to germinate on electrospun PCL fiber substrate, owing to the properties of high surface area and excellent fluid water uptake of PCL fibers.

Food, Water and the Consequences of Society Not Valuing the Environment

2019 ◽  
pp. 858-878 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tony Allan
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Food System ◽  
Food Prices ◽  
The Political ◽  
Environmental Services ◽  
Accounting Systems ◽  
The Impact

The first purpose of this chapter is to highlight the impact of the food system on environmental and human health. The delivery of secure affordable food is a political imperative. Unfortunately, the food system that delivers it is environmentally blind. Food prices do not effectively reflect the value of food and often seriously mislead on the costs and impacts of food production. For example, actual food production takes place in a failed market—the value of environmental services such as water and the supporting ecosystems are not taken into account. The second purpose is to summarize and expose the political economy of the different ‘market’ modes of the food system. It is shown that there are weak players such as underrewarded and undervalued farmers who support society by producing food and stewarding our unvalued environment. The inadequacies of accounting systems are also critiqued.

scholarly journals Mechanical and Dielectric Properties of Aligned Electrospun Fibers

Fibers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 4
Author(s):  
Blesson Isaac ◽  
Robert M. Taylor ◽  
Kenneth Reifsnider
Keyword(s):  
Dielectric Properties ◽  
Dielectric Property ◽  
Electrospun Nanofibers ◽  
Cold Drawing ◽  
General Interest ◽  
Electrospun Fibers ◽  
Energy Storage Devices ◽  
Electrospinning Technique ◽  
Specific Strength ◽  
Aligned Nanofibers

This review paper examines the current state-of-the-art in fabrication of aligned fibers via electrospinning techniques and the effects of these techniques on the mechanical and dielectric properties of electrospun fibers. Molecular orientation, system configuration to align fibers, and post-drawing treatment, like hot/cold drawing process, contribute to better specific strength and specific stiffness properties of nanofibers. The authors suggest that these improved, aligned nanofibers, when applied in composites, have better mechanical and dielectric properties for many structural and multifunctional applications, including advanced aerospace applications and energy storage devices. For these applications, most fiber alignment electrospinning research has focused on either mechanical property improvement or dielectric property improvement alone, but not both simultaneously. Relative to many other nanofiber formation techniques, the electrospinning technique exhibits superior nanofiber formation when considering cost and manufacturing complexity for many situations. Even though the dielectric property of pure nanofiber mat may not be of general interest, the analysis of the combined effect of mechanical and dielectric properties is relevant to the present analysis of improved and aligned nanofibers. A plethora of nanofibers, in particular, polyacrylonitrile (PAN) electrospun nanofibers, are discussed for their mechanical and dielectric properties. In addition, other types of electrospun nanofibers are explored for their mechanical and dielectric properties. An exploratory study by the author demonstrates the relationship between mechanical and dielectric properties for specimens obtained from a rotating mandrel horizontal setup.

Effects of different vermicompost extracts of palm oil mill effluent and palm-pressed fiber mixture on seed germination of mung bean and its relative toxicity

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (36) ◽  
pp. 35805-35810 ◽  
Author(s):  
Parveen Fatemeh Rupani ◽  
Asha Embrandiri ◽  
Mahamad Hakimi Ibrahim ◽  
Vikram Ghole ◽  
Chew Tin Lee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Seed Germination ◽  
Palm Oil ◽  
Mung Bean ◽  
Palm Oil Mill Effluent ◽  
Relative Toxicity ◽  
Palm Oil Mill

scholarly journals Nutrition-Sensitive Agriculture: A Systematic Review of Impact Pathways to Nutrition Outcomes

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Indu K Sharma ◽  
Sabina Di Prima ◽  
Dirk Essink ◽  
Jacqueline E W Broerse
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Women's Empowerment ◽  
Food Prices ◽  
Women’S Empowerment ◽  
Local Institutions ◽  
Impact Pathways ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Nutrition Sensitive ◽  
The Impact

ABSTRACT The role of agriculture in reducing undernutrition is widely recognized, yet there is also consensus on the need to make the sector nutrition-sensitive. Evidence on the impact pathways from nutrition-sensitive agriculture (NSA) interventions, agricultural interventions with specific nutrition objectives, and actions detailing each temporal stage to reach nutrition outcomes is limited, however. We thus synthesized study results regarding impact of NSA interventions on nutrition outcomes relating to undernutrition, and constructed an impact pathway by mapping the evidence on each temporal stage from interventions to nutrition outcomes. We used Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses to conduct and report our systematic review of studies on NSA interventions implemented in low- and lower-middle-income countries. Forty-three studies that met the inclusion criteria were extracted and synthesized across impact and pathways analyses. We carried out a thematic analysis of the effect of NSA interventions using evidence-based indicators and constructed the pathways by adopting a published framework on agriculture to nutrition pathways. Our findings reveal that NSA interventions can significantly improve dietary practices, and have the potential to enhance care practices and reduce occurrence of diseases, indicating their effectiveness in simultaneously addressing multiple determinants of undernutrition. However, NSA interventions have a lesser impact on nutritional status. NSA interventions lead to nutrition outcomes through 5 key pathways: food production, nutrition-related knowledge, agricultural income, women's empowerment, and strengthening of local institutions. We emphasize the need to carefully design, implement, and evaluate interventions with consideration for factors affecting impact pathways. Future research should focus on the effect of interventions combining multisector components, and pathways through non-food-production-related income, women's empowerment, strengthening of local institutions, food prices at intervention level, and expenditure on health care.

Can food production diversity influence farm households’ dietary diversity? An appraisal from two-dimensional food diversity measures

2017 ◽  
Vol 44 (12) ◽  
pp. 1597-1608 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dare Akerele ◽  
Adebayo Musediku Shittu
Keyword(s):  
Panel Data ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Dietary Diversity ◽  
Food Prices ◽  
Farm Households ◽  
Two Dimensional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Farm Production ◽  
Food Diversity ◽  
Production Diversity

Purpose Emphasis on the potential roles diverse farm production systems could play in enhancing food consumption variety and nutritional well-being in rural developing countries has increased in recent times. However, there are paucities of empirical works connecting diversity in agricultural production and dietary diversity in Africa, and Nigeria in particular. The purpose of this paper is to, therefore, examine, among others, the causal link between farm production diversity and consumption of varied diets among farm households in Nigeria using a nationally representative panel data. Design/methodology/approach Unlike the simple food count measure, the authors adopt two-dimensional indices to assess food diversity, and estimated both fixed and random effects versions of panel data econometrics models with the two-dimensional indices as regressands. Findings Results show that food production system is less diverse with an average farm household consuming fairly varied foods across seasons. All the econometrics models estimated consistently established positive and statistically significant influence of farm production diversity on household dietary diversity. Higher food prices, especially rice and roots and tubers could substantially reduce dietary diversity with the negative effects likely to be more devastating for low-income farm households. The specificity of household being a net food seller had positive, although weak influence on dietary diversity. Originality/value The findings accentuate, among others, the need for strategies to promote farm production diversity, transform farm households to net-sellers of foods and enable them take advantage of food price signals to boost farm incomes as important pathway for diet quality improvement and reduction of food insecurity, malnutrition and related diseases in rural Nigeria

scholarly journals Label-Free Optical Biosensing Using Low-Cost Electrospun Polymeric Nanofibers

Chemosensors ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 119
Author(s):  
Paula Martínez-Pérez ◽  
Salvador Ponce-Alcántara ◽  
Nieves Murillo ◽  
Ana Pérez-Márquez ◽  
Jon Maudes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
High Surface ◽  
Protein A ◽  
Volume Ratio ◽  
Polyamide 6 ◽  
Optical Biosensor ◽  
Label Free ◽  
Electrospinning Technique ◽  
Optical Biosensing

Polymeric nanofiber matrices are promising structures to develop biosensing devices due to their easy and affordable large-scale fabrication and their high surface-to-volume ratio. In this work, the suitability of a polyamide 6 nanofiber matrix for the development of a label-free and real-time Fabry–Pérot cavity-based optical biosensor was studied. For such aim, in-flow biofunctionalization of nanofibers with antibodies, bound through a protein A/G layer, and specific biodetection of 10 µg/mL bovine serum albumin (BSA) were carried out. Both processes were successfully monitored via reflectivity measurements in real-time without labels and their reproducibility was demonstrated when different polymeric nanofiber matrices from the same electrospinning batch were employed as transducers. These results demonstrate not only the suitability of correctly biofunctionalized polyamide 6 nanofiber matrices to be employed for real-time and label-free specific biodetection purposes, but also the potential of electrospinning technique to create affordable and easy-to-fabricate at large scale optical transducers with a reproducible performance.

scholarly journals Electrospun polyacrylonitrile–lauric acid composite nanofiber webs as a thermal energy storage material

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 155892501882489 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ezgi Ismar ◽  
A Sezai Sarac
Keyword(s):  
Energy Storage ◽  
Phase Change ◽  
Thermal Energy ◽  
Thermal Energy Storage ◽  
Lauric Acid ◽  
Solid Phase ◽  
High Surface ◽  
Attenuated Total Reflection ◽  
Electrospinning Technique ◽  
Composite Nanofiber

Phase-change materials have remarkable characteristics due to their simple phase-changeable nature. Within a certain temperature range, these materials can easily change from solid phase to liquid phase or vice versa. It is possible to build thermal energy storage mechanisms, thanks to their latent heat. In this study, composite nanofiber structures were prepared with lauric acid and polyacrylonitrile blends. Nanofiber webs were fabricated via electrospinning technique and combined with phase-change material due to their light weight and high surface area. Thermal energy storage properties were investigated via differential scanning calorimeter, and structural analysis was studied by Fourier transform infrared–attenuated total reflection spectroscopy. Scanning electron microscope was used to investigate the surface morphology of the fibers. Blended polyacrylonitrile–lauric acid nanofibers were successfully converted to nanofiber formation without losing their properties. Results showed that fabricated polyacrylonitrile–lauric acid composite nanofiber webs can be used as a thermal energy storage patch.

scholarly journals Designing Multifunctional Protective PVC Electrospun Fibers with Tunable Properties

Polymers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 2086
Author(s):  
Pedro J. Rivero ◽  
Iker Rosagaray ◽  
Juan P. Fuertes ◽  
José F. Palacio ◽  
Rafael J. Rodríguez
Keyword(s):  
Fiber Diameter ◽  
Electrospinning Process ◽  
Operating Parameters ◽  
Electrospun Fibers ◽  
Polymeric Precursor ◽  
Operational Parameters ◽  
Electrospinning Technique ◽  
Coating Morphology ◽  
Hydrophobic Nature ◽  
First Time

In this work, the electrospinning technique is used for the fabrication of electrospun functional fibers with desired properties in order to show a superhydrophobic behavior. With the aim to obtain a coating with the best properties, a design of experiments (DoE) has been performed by controlling several inputs operating parameters, such as applied voltage, flow rate, and precursor polymeric concentration. In this work, the reference substrate to be coated is the aluminum alloy (60661T6), whereas the polymeric precursor is the polyvinyl chloride (PVC) which presents an intrinsic hydrophobic nature. Finally, in order to evaluate the coating morphology for the better performance, the following parameters—such as fiber diameter, surface roughness (Ra, Rq), optical properties, corrosion behavior, and wettability—have been deeply analyzed. To sum up, this is the first time that DoE has been used for the optimization of superhydrophobic or anticorrosive surfaces by using PVC precursor for the prediction of an adequate surface morphology as a function of the input operational parameters derived from electrospinning process with the aim to validate better performance.

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