Sustainable Systems of a Chrysanthemum Production Area in Tahara City, Aichi Prefecture: Focusing on the Farmer's Network

Nitrate-nitrogen (N) losses in surface drainage and runoff water from ornamental plant production areas can be considerable. In N-limited watersheds, discharge of N from production areas can have negative impacts on nontarget aquatic systems. This study monitored nitrate-N concentrations in production area drainage water originating from a foliage plant production area. Concentrations in drainage water were monitored during the transition from 100% reliance on fertigation using urea and nitrate-based soluble formulations (SF) to a nitrate-based controlled-release formulation (CRF). During the SF use period, nitrate-N concentrations ranged from 0.5 to 322.0 mg·L−1 with a median concentration of 31.2 mg·L−1. Conversely, nitrate-N concentrations during the controlled-release fertilization program ranged from 0 to 147.9 mg·L−1 with a median concentration of 0.9 mg·L−1. This project demonstrates that nitrate-N concentrations in drainage water during the CRF program were reduced by 94% to 97% at the 10th through 95th percentiles relative to the SF fertilization program. Nitrate-N concentrations in drainage water from foliage plant production areas can be reduced by using CRF fertilizer formulations relative to SF formulations/fertigation. Similar results should be expected for other similar containerized crops. Managers located within N-limited watersheds facing N water quality regulations should consider the use of CRF fertilizer formulations as a potential tool (in addition to appropriate application rates and irrigation management) for reducing production impacts on water quality.

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Sorption of pesticides used in banana production on soils of Ecuador

Soil Research ◽

10.1071/sr02015 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 40 (7) ◽

pp. 1085 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Tanya Cáceres ◽

Guang-Guo Ying ◽

Rai Kookana

Keyword(s):

River Basin ◽

Ecosystem Health ◽

Production Systems ◽

Parent Compound ◽

Mean Value ◽

Organic Carbon Content ◽

Banana Production ◽

Kd Values ◽

Production Area ◽

Impact Of Pesticides

There is concern about the migration and adverse impact of pesticides used in banana production systems in Ecuador on aquaculture and ecosystem health. Therefore, we studied the sorption of chlorothalonil, fenamiphos, and its 2 metabolites (fenamiphos sulfone and fenamiphos sulfoxide), by batch method on 6 surface soils from the Guayas River Basin (1–3�S, 79–81�W), a major banana production area of Ecuador. The sorption of chlorothalonil on the 6 soils was high and varied considerably as shown by the Kd values ranging from 68.50 to 152.60 L/kg. The sorption coefficients normalised with the organic carbon content of soil (Koc) for chlorothalonil ranged from 2330 to 7336 kg/L, with a mean value of 4012 kg/L. These Koc values are higher than those previously reported in the literature. The sorption of fenamiphos and its metabolites to the 6 soils varied among soils in a similar pattern. The Kd values ranged from 5.66 to 14.31�L/kg for fenamiphos, from 2.81 to 8.79 L/kg for fenamiphos sulfone, and from 0.77 to 4.00 L/kg for fenamiphos sulfoxide, respectively. In all of the soils the sorption coefficients of both metabolites of fenamiphos were lower than that for the parent compound. The Koc values ranged from 220 to 515 kg/L (mean value 371 kg/L) for fenamiphos, from 29 to 141 kg/L (mean value of 76 kg/L) for fenamiphos sulfoxide, and from 79 to 334 kg/L (mean value of 191 kg/L) for fenamiphos sulfone. Chlorothalonil had much stronger sorption than fenamiphos and its metabolites on the Ecuadorian soil. Due to lower sorption and therefore greater mobility and longer persistence of the fenamiphos metabolites, these compounds need adequate consideration during residue monitoring and assessment of potential off-site impacts on ecosystem health and aquaculture in the Guayas River Basin.

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Burial and Exhumation History of the Lujing Uranium Ore Field, Zhuguangshan Complex, South China: Evidence from Low-Temperature Thermochronology

Minerals ◽

10.3390/min11020116 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

pp. 116

Author(s):

Yue Sun ◽

Barry P. Kohn ◽

Samuel C. Boone ◽

Dongsheng Wang ◽

Kaixing Wang

Keyword(s):

Early Cretaceous ◽

Late Cretaceous ◽

South China ◽

Thermal History ◽

Fission Track ◽

Thermal Evolution ◽

Negative Relationship ◽

The Tibetan Plateau ◽

Uranium Ore ◽

Production Area

The Zhuguangshan complex hosts the main uranium production area in South China. We report (U-Th)/He and fission track thermochronological data from Triassic–Jurassic mineralized and non-mineralized granites and overlying Cambrian and Cretaceous sandstone units from the Lujing uranium ore field (LUOF) to constrain the upper crustal tectono-thermal evolution of the central Zhuguangshan complex. Two Cambrian sandstones yield reproducible zircon (U-Th)/He (ZHe) ages of 133–106 Ma and low effective uranium (eU) content (270–776 ppm). One Upper Cretaceous sandstone and seven Mesozoic granites are characterized by significant variability in ZHe ages (154–83 Ma and 167–36 Ma, respectively), which show a negative relationship with eU content (244–1098 ppm and 402–4615 ppm), suggesting that the observed age dispersion can be attributed to the effect of radiation damage accumulation on 4He diffusion. Correspondence between ZHe ages from sandstones and granites indicates that surrounding sedimentary rocks and igneous intrusions supplied sediment to the Cretaceous–Paleogene Fengzhou Basin lying adjacent to the LUOF. The concordance of apatite fission track (AFT) central ages (61–54 Ma) and unimodal distributions of confined track lengths of five samples from different rock units suggest that both sandstone and granite samples experienced a similar cooling history throughout the entire apatite partial annealing zone (~110–60 °C). Apatite (U-Th-Sm)/He (AHe) ages from six non-mineralized samples range from 67 to 19 Ma, with no apparent correlation to eU content (2–78 ppm). Thermal history modeling of data suggests that the LUOF experienced relatively rapid Early Cretaceous cooling. In most samples, this was followed by the latest Early Cretaceous–Late Cretaceous reheating and subsequent latest Late Cretaceous–Recent cooling to surface temperatures. This history is considered as a response to the transmission of far-field stresses, involving alternating periods of regional compression and extension, related to paleo-Pacific plate subduction and subsequent rollback followed by Late Paleogene–Recent India–Asia collision and associated uplift and eastward extrusion of the Tibetan Plateau. Thermal history models are consistent with the Fengzhou Basin having been significantly more extensive in the Late Cretaceous–Early Paleogene, covering much of the LUOF. Uranium ore bodies which may have formed prior to the Late Cretaceous may have been eroded by as much as ~1.2 to 4.8 km during the latest Late Cretaceous–Recent denudation.

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Perceptions of geographical indication labels as quality indicators inside and outside the labels’ area of influence: the case of spring fruits

Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems ◽

10.1017/s1742170521000181 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-7

Author(s):

Rabadán Adrián ◽

Martínez-Carrasco Laura ◽

Brugarolas Margarita ◽

Bernabéu Rodolfo

Keyword(s):

Logistic Regression ◽

Regression Analysis ◽

Quality Indicators ◽

Added Value ◽

Geographical Indications ◽

Geographical Indication ◽

Protected Designation Of Origin ◽

Rural Environments ◽

Production Area ◽

Area Of Influence

Abstract Geographical indications (GIs) are valuable attributes that enhance the competitiveness of agri-food products, generate added value and revitalize rural environments. The aim of this work was to analyze the attributes spring fruit consumers associate with GIs when they decide to purchase these products. Moreover, the changes in these associations with the increasing distance between the region of production and the place of consumption were also evaluated. We specifically analyzed two GIs used for spring fruits: the protected geographical indication for Mountain Cherries from Alicante (Spain) and the protected designation of origin for Loquats from Callosa d'En Sarriá (Spain). Data were analyzed using logistic regression analysis. The results show the significant association in consumers' minds between the preference for GI fruit and the importance attributed to the place of production (origin). The association of different attributes with the GI fruit label is product dependent as the number of attributes associated in the case of cherries (origin, organic, color and variety) is higher than for loquats (origin and variety). Regarding the distance between the production area and the place of consumption, our findings suggest that the closer the consumer is to the GI area of influence, the more attributes they associate with these labels. In this regard, increasing the knowledge of the GI labels beyond their area of influence could boost the demand for these products as consumers would be aware of the different quality attributes concentrated in that label.

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Spirals of Sustainable Academic Motivation, Creativity, and Trust of Higher Education Staff

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13137057 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (13) ◽

pp. 7057

Author(s):

Martina Blašková ◽

Dominika Tumová ◽

Rudolf Blaško ◽

Justyna Majchrzak-Lepczyk

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

Academic Motivation ◽

Slovak Republic ◽

Point Of View ◽

Scientific Management ◽

Administrative Staff ◽

Sustainable Systems ◽

New Concepts ◽

Future Improvement ◽

The University

Sustainability has to penetrate more and more into higher education. It should not focus only on traditional elements. It should also enter new, but for future improvement, extremely important areas. Based on this premise, creativity and motivation, when additionally interconnected and supported by trust that is provided and achieved, decide on the progress and sustainability of universities. This connection is gaining importance especially from the point of view of building solid foundations and mechanisms that functionally preserve the potential effects of these elements in the future. For this reason and following the nature, importance, and content of sustainable academic motivation (SAM), the paper introduces two new concepts: sustainable academic creativity (SAC) and sustainable academic trust (SAT). For further original contributions, the paper hypothesizes the existence of mutual—spiral—relations of sustainable academic motivation (SAM), sustainable academic creativity (SAC), and sustainable academic trust (SAT). The empirical section tests the validity of this claim in the universities of two countries: the Slovak Republic and Poland. A survey performed on a sample of n=181 pedagogical, scientific, management, and administrative staff in higher education confirms the existence of these spirals. The results indicate the spiral effect of motivation when connected with creativity and trust and show that it is accented by the crucial principles of sustainability (responsibility, novelty, usefulness, progress, etc.). Therefore, the paper’s conclusion contains the explanations for the potential occurrence of three types of sustainably mutual systems and complexes. These are: (a) individual sustainable systems of SAM, SAC, and SAT; (b) group/sectional sustainable systems of SAM, SAC, and SAT; and (c) the global sustainable complex of SAM, SAC, and SAT in the university.

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Evaluating the Authenticity of the Raw-Milk Cheese Fontina (PDO) with Respect to Similar Cheeses

Foods ◽

10.3390/foods10020350 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (2) ◽

pp. 350

Author(s):

Luisa Pellegrino ◽

Johannes A. Hogenboom ◽

Veronica Rosi ◽

Paolo D’Incecco

Keyword(s):

Amino Acids ◽

Free Amino Acids ◽

Free Amino ◽

Raw Milk ◽

Manufacturing Processes ◽

Food Authenticity ◽

Promising Tool ◽

Production Area ◽

The Mean ◽

Raw Milk Cheese

The implementation of quality assurance schemes for the assessment of PDO food authenticity is an issue involving manufacturers, traders, retailers and consumers. In this respect, reliable analytical methods are needed to integrate paper-trailing information. The feasibility of distinguishing the Italian Fontina PDO cheese from the generic Fontal cheese was preliminarily evaluated on a set of commercial samples by measuring selected parameters (pH, alkaline phosphatase activity, content of copper, volatiles, extent of proteolysis) related to the different manufacturing processes. The relative profile of free amino acids proved to be a promising tool. A new set of 41 samples of Fontina PDO cheese was collected at representative dairies within the recognized production area and analyzed for free amino acids. A chemometric model of Fontina PDO cheese was built based on the mean content and standard deviation of 15 free amino acids. On this basis, all of the PDO samples were correctly identified, whereas all of the Fontal cheeses were recognized as different cheeses.

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Predicted Number of Pregnant Women in Aichi Prefecture, Japan: Estimation by Machine Learning Database Construction for Disaster Preparation

Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness ◽

10.1017/dmp.2020.417 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-9

Author(s):

Kanetoshi Hattori ◽

Ritsuko Hattori

Keyword(s):

Machine Learning ◽

Pregnant Women ◽

Disaster Preparedness ◽

Correlation Coefficients ◽

Database Construction ◽

Aichi Prefecture ◽

Cascade Correlation ◽

Correlation Learning ◽

Disaster Preparation ◽

Area Data

Abstract Aichi prefecture, Japan is predicted to be hit by Mega-earthquake. Aichi Prefectural Association of Midwives has been making efforts to improve disaster preparedness for pregnant women. This project aims to acquire area data of pregnant women for simulated studies of rescue activities. Number of women in census survey areas in Nagoya City was acquired from nationwide data of pregnant women by machine learning (Cascade-Correlation Learning Architecture). Quite high correlation coefficients between actual data and estimation data were observed. Rescue simulations have been carried out based on the data acquired by this study.

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Learning to find a way out of non-sustainable systems

Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions ◽

10.1016/j.eist.2021.04.001 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 39 ◽

pp. 155-172

Author(s):

Katrien Van Poeck ◽

Leif Östman

Keyword(s):

Sustainable Systems

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