Seasonal patterns in rice and wheat residue burning and surface PM2.5 concentration in northern India

Carlo Montes Tek Sapkota Balwinder-Singh (2022, [Artículo])

Biomass Burning Emission Inventory Active Fires CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA AIR QUALITY BIOMASS BURNING EMISSION FIRES

High-throughput plot-level quantitative phenotyping using convolutional neural networks on very high-resolution satellite images

Francisco Pinto Matthew Paul Reynolds Robert Furbank (2024, [Artículo])

Deep Learning Object-Based Image Analysis Optical Imagery CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA AGRICULTURE IMAGE ANALYSIS PLANT BREEDING REMOTE SENSING MACHINE LEARNING

Research for development approaches in mixed crop-livestock systems of the Ethiopian highlands

Million Gebreyes James Hammond Lulseged Tamene Getachew Agegnehu Rabe Yahaya Anthony Whitbread (2023, [Artículo])

This study presents processes and success stories that emerged from Africa RISING's Research for Development project in the Ethiopian Highlands. The project has tested a combination of participatory tools at multiple levels, with systems thinking and concern for sustainable and diversified livelihoods. Bottom-up approaches guided the selection of technological interventions that could address the priority farming system challenges of the communities, leading to higher uptake levels and increased impact. Joint learning, appropriate technology selection, and the creation of an enabling environment such as the formation of farmer research groups, the establishment of innovation platforms, and capacity development for institutional and technical innovations were key to this study. The study concludes by identifying key lessons that focus more on matching innovations to community needs and geographies, systems orientation/integration of innovations, stepwise approaches to enhance the adoption of innovations, documenting farmers' capacity to modify innovations, building successful partnerships, and facilitating wider scaling of innovations for future implementation of agricultural research for development projects.

Action Research Systems Thinking CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA INNOVATION PARTNERSHIPS SCALING UP INTEGRATED CROP-LIVESTOCK SYSTEMS

Influence of novel coconut oil and beeswax edible coating and MAP on postharvest shelf life and quality attributes of lemon at low temperature

Mohammad Mainuddin Molla Ashfak Ahmed Sabuz Md Abdul Matin (2023, [Artículo])

Weight loss, turning of peel colour from green to yellow and microbial infections are the major postharvest problems of lemon. Lipid-based edible coatings and modified atmospheric packaging (MAP) are effective techniques in maintaining postharvest quality of fruits for long-term storage. With this view, an investigation was conducted for the preservation of green lemon using coconut oil and beeswax edible coating and MAP during storage at low temperature. Physiologically matured lemons were collected and washed with potable water; fruit surface water was removed and then coated with coconut oil-beeswax (90:10) or only coconut oil. After coating, lemons were packaged in MAP or kept in open crates and stored at 12±1 °C and 85±5% relative humidity (RH) for 8 weeks and a week interval, the sampling was conducted. The results revealed that coconut oil-beeswax coating had immense effect on retaining shiny green colour, reducing respiration, weight loss, shrivelling and preserving firmness and ascorbic acid of lemon throughout the storage. On the other hand, MAP mainly helped to retain moisture & firmness and reduce shrivelling. Uncoated lemons kept open lost the highest amount of ascorbic acid and retained only 13.7 mg/100 g that is significantly (p < 0.05) less than the lemons of all other treatments at 8th week of storage period. While lemons coated with coconut oil-beeswax and packaged in MAP was preserved the highest amount (24.2 mg/100 g) of ascorbic acid and there was no significant difference (p < 0.05) with the amount of ascorbic acid content of lemons coated with only coconut oil and packaged in MAP at the last week (8th week) of storage. Hue angle value was 93.4 in uncoated lemons packaged in MAP while it was 113.67 in coconut oil-beeswax coated lemon kept open and 112.64 in lemon coated with coconut oil-beeswax and packaged in MAP at 8th week of storage. Based on all sensory, physical and chemical parameters uncoated lemons kept open was acceptable up to 1 week, coconut oil-beeswax coated lemon kept open was 6 weeks and coconut oil-beeswax coated lemon packaged in MAP was 8 weeks with good quality and shiny green colour.

Edible Coating Sensory Quality Hue Angle Yellowing CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA EDIBLE FILMS RESPIRATION RATE LEMONS MODIFIED ATMOSPHERE PACKAGING COLD

Agroecology can promote climate change adaptation outcomes without compromising yield in smallholder systems

Sieglinde Snapp Yodit Kebede Eva Wollenberg (2023, [Artículo])

A critical question is whether agroecology can promote climate change mitigation and adaptation outcomes without compromising food security. We assessed the outcomes of smallholder agricultural systems and practices in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) against 35 mitigation, adaptation, and yield indicators by reviewing 50 articles with 77 cases of agroecological treatments relative to a baseline of conventional practices. Crop yields were higher for 63% of cases reporting yields. Crop diversity, income diversity, net income, reduced income variability, nutrient regulation, and reduced pest infestation, indicators of adaptative capacity, were associated with 70% or more of cases. Limited information on climate change mitigation, such as greenhouse gas emissions and carbon sequestration impacts, was available. Overall, the evidence indicates that use of organic nutrient sources, diversifying systems with legumes and integrated pest management lead to climate change adaptation in multiple contexts. Landscape mosaics, biological control (e.g., enhancement of beneficial organisms) and field sanitation measures do not yet have sufficient evidence based on this review. Widespread adoption of agroecological practices and system transformations shows promise to contribute to climate change services and food security in LMICs. Gaps in adaptation and mitigation strategies and areas for policy and research interventions are finally discussed.

CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA CLIMATE CHANGE CROPS FOOD SUPPLY GAS EMISSIONS GREENHOUSE GASES FARMING SYSTEMS AGROECOLOGY FOOD SECURITY LESS FAVOURED AREAS SMALLHOLDERS YIELDS NUTRIENTS BIOLOGICAL PEST CONTROL CARBON SEQUESTRATION LEGUMES

Study of modal coupling in tapered optical fibers

LUIS ALEJANDRO HERRERA PIAD (2019, [Tesis de doctorado])

La comunicación por fibra óptica es una forma de transmitir información mediante el envío de pulsos de luz a través de una fibra óptica. Desarrollados por primera vez en la década de los 70s, los sistemas de comunicación de fibra óptica han revolucionado la industria debido a sus ventajas sobre la transmisión eléctrica. Las tecnologías de telecomunicaciones y láseres se han relacionado recientemente con fibras de pocos modos, de área modal grande y multimodo. Más específicamente, se han propuesto linternas fotónicas, combinadores de fuentes y fibras multimodo para láseres de alta potencia y comunicaciones. Otro dispositivo que se usa frecuentemente en los láseres, sensores y otras sistemas de comunicaciones es la fibra óptica cónica o estrechada. Fue necesario maximizar la potencia óptica recolectada en una guía de onda desde el campo de difracción de un láser semiconductor; por lo tanto, la técnica de mapeo permitió la remodelación del campo capturado en el modo fundamental de la guía de onda de salida. Además, los sensores de fibra estrechada son capaces de medir diversas variables como índice de refracción, tensión, campo magnético, temperatura y señales acústicas. En comparación con las estructuras de fibra convencionales, las fibras ópticas estrechadas pueden proporcionar una serie de características útiles como un gran campo evanescente, capacidad de confinamiento, diámetro a pequeña escala y generación de supercontinuo, entre muchas otras. En este trabajo se propone una investigación sobre la interacción modal en fibras ópticas estrechadas para observar este dispositivo bajo diversos cambios físicos con el objetivo de proponer la geometría óptima que se implementará en las aplicaciones de detección y láseres de nuestro laboratorio.

CIS- Doctorado en Ingeniería Eléctrica INGENIERÍA Y TECNOLOGÍA Fibra óptica Óptica Física Tapered optical fibers Modal coupling

Review of Nationally Determined Contributions (NCD) of Kenya from the perspective of food systems

Tek Sapkota (2023, [Documento de trabajo])

Agriculture is one of the fundamental pillars of the 2022–2027 Bottom-up Economic Transformation Plan of the Government of Kenya for tackling complex domestic and global challenges. Kenya's food system is crucial for climate change mitigation and adaptation. Kenya has prioritized aspects of agriculture, food, and land use as critical sectors for reducing emissions towards achieving Vision 2030's transformation to a low-carbon, climate-resilient development pathway. Kenya's updated NDC, as well as supporting mitigation and adaptation technical analysis reports and other policy documents, has identified an ambitious set of agroecological transformative measures to promote climate-smart agriculture, regenerative approaches, and nature-positive solutions. Kenya is committed to implementing and updating its National Climate Change Action Plans (NCCAPs) to present and achieve the greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction targets and resilience outcomes that it has identified.

CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA CLIMATE CHANGE GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS FOOD SYSTEMS LAND USE CHANGE AGRICULTURE POLICIES DATA ANALYSIS FOOD WASTES

Sustainable maize intensification through site-specific nutrient management advice: Experimental evidence from Nigeria

Miet Maertens Oyakhilomen Oyinbo Tahirou Abdoulaye Jordan Chamberlin (2023, [Artículo])

There is growing evidence on the impacts of site-specific nutrient management (SSNM) from Asia. The evidence for Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), where SSNM developments are more recent and where conditions concerning soil fertility and fertilizer use differ importantly from those in Asia, is extremely scarce. We evaluate a SSNM advisory tool that allows extension agents to generate fertilizer recommendations tailored to the specific situation of an individual farmer’s field, using a three-year randomized controlled trial with 792 smallholder farmers in the maize belt of northern Nigeria. Two treatment arms were implemented: T1 and T2 both provide SSNM information on nutrient use and management, but T2 provides additional information on maize price distributions and the associated variability of expected returns to fertilizer use. We estimate average and heterogenous intent-to-treat effects on agronomic, economic and environmental plot-level outcomes. We find that T1 and T2 lead to substantial increases (up to 116%) in the adoption of good fertilizer management practices and T2 leads to incremental increases (up to 18%) in nutrient application rates, yields and revenues. Both treatments improve low levels of nutrient use efficiency and reduce high levels of greenhouse gas emission intensity, after two years of treatment. Our findings underscore the possibility of a more gradual and sustainable intensification of smallholder agriculture in SSA, as compared with the Asian Green Revolution, through increased fertilizer use accompanied by improved fertilizer management.

Randomized Controlled Trial CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION GREEN REVOLUTION FERTILIZERS GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS

Chemically modified nanoparticles for enhanced antioxidant and antimicrobial properties with cinnamon essential oil

Aaron Azael Lopez Cano VERONICA MARTINEZ AGUILAR Mariana Peña-Juárez Ricardo López Esparza Enrique Delgado Alvarado Emmanuel Gutierrez MAYRA DEL ANGEL MONROY Elias Perez Agustin L. Herrera-May JOSE AMIR GONZALEZ CALDERON (2023, [Artículo])

We explored the potential of different nanoparticles (TiO2, CaCO3, and Al2O3), considering their pure form and modified with cinnamon essential oil (CEO). These materials were characterized using various techniques, including FTIR spectroscopy, XRD analysis, TGA, and SEM. The interaction between CEO and nanoparticles changed depending on the nanoparticle type. Al2O3 nanoparticles exhibited the strongest interaction with CEO, increasing their antioxidant capacity by around 40% and their transfer of antimicrobial properties, particularly against Gram-negative bacteria. In contrast, TiO2 and CaCO3 nanoparticles showed limited interaction with CEO, resulting in lower antioxidant capacity and antimicrobial activity. Incorporating pure and CEO-modified nanoparticles into polylactic acid (PLA) films improved their mechanical and thermal properties, which are suitable for applications requiring greater strength. This research highlights the potential of metal oxide nanoparticles to enhance the antimicrobial and antioxidant capabilities of polymers. In addition, incorporating cinnamon essential oil can increase the antioxidant and antimicrobial effectiveness of the metal oxide nanoparticles and improve the mechanical and thermal properties of PLA films. Thus, these PLA films exhibit favorable characteristics for active packaging applications.

Author contributions: conceptualization, V.M.-A. and J.A.G.-C.; formal analysis, A.A.L.-C., V.M.-A., M.G.P.-J. and M.D.A.-M.; funding acquisition, A.L.H.-M.; methodology, A.A.L.-C. and V.M.-A.; investigation, E.P.; supervision, R.L.-E., E.D.-A., and E.J.G.-C.; validation, A.L.H.-M. and J.A.G.-C.; writing—original draft, V.M.-A.; writing—review and editing, M.G.P.-J. and J.A.G.-C. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding: J.A. Gonzalez-Calderon thanks CONAHCYT for supporting the Catedras-CONAHCYT Program, and Verónica Martinez thanks CONAHCYT for the Doctoral Fellowship. The authors also want to thank CONAHCYT for funding the project CF2019 265239 “Ciencia de Frontera”, which made this work possible.

Institutional review board statement: Not applicable.

Informed consent statement: Not applicable.

Data availability statement: Data is contained within the article.

Acknowledgments: The authors acknowledge Claudia Hernández and Rosa Lina Tovar for their support during the XRD and SEM analyses.

Conflicts of interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Disclaimer/publisher’s note: The statements, opinions and data contained in all publications are solely those of the individual author(s) and contributor(s) and not of MDPI and/or the editor(s). MDPI and/or the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to people or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content.

Cinnamon essential oil Antioxidant activity Antimicrobial properties Nanoparticles Polylactic acid films INGENIERÍA Y TECNOLOGÍA CIENCIAS TECNOLÓGICAS OTRAS ESPECIALIDADES TECNOLÓGICAS OTRAS OTRAS

Review of Nationally Determined Contributions (NCD) of China from the perspective of food systems

Tek Sapkota (2023, [Documento de trabajo])

China is the largest emitter of greenhouse gases (GHG) and one of the countries most affected by climate change. China's food systems are a major contributor to climate change: in 2018, China's food systems emitted 1.09 billion tons of carbondioxide equivalent (CO2eq) GHGs, accounting for 8.2% of total national GHG emissions and 2% of global emissions. According to the Third National Communication (TNC) Report, in 2010, GHG emissions from energy, industrial processes, agriculture, and waste accounted for 78.6%, 12.3%, 7.9%, and 1.2% of total emissions, respectively, (excluding emissions from land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF). Total GHG emissions from the waste sector in 2010 were 132 Mt CO2 eq, with municipal solid waste landfills accounting for 56 Mt. The average temperature in China has risen by 1.1°C over the last century (1908–2007), while nationally averaged precipitation amounts have increased significantly over the last 50 years. The sea level and sea surface temperature have risen by 90 mm and 0.9°C respectively in the last 30 years. A regional climate model predicted an annual mean temperature increase of 1.3–2.1°C by 2020 (2.3–3.3°C by 2050), while another model predicted a 1–1.6°C temperature increase and a 3.3–3.7 percent increase in precipitation between 2011 and 2020, depending on the emissions scenario. By 2030, sea level rise along coastal areas could be 0.01–0.16 meters, increasing the likelihood of flooding and intensified storm surges and causing the degradation of wetlands, mangroves, and coral reefs. Addressing climate change is a common human cause, and China places a high value on combating climate change. Climate change has been incorporated into national economic and social development plans, with equal emphasis on mitigation and adaptation to climate change, including an updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) in 2021. The following overarching targets are included in China's updated NDC: • Peaking carbon dioxide emissions “before 2030” and achieving carbon neutrality before 2060. • Lowering carbon intensity by “over 65%” by 2030 from the 2005 level. • Increasing forest stock volume by around 6 billion cubic meters in 2030 from the 2005 level. The targets have come from several commitments made at various events, while China has explained very well the process adopted to produce its third national communication report. An examination of China's NDC reveals that it has failed to establish quantifiable and measurable targets in the agricultural sectors. According to the analysis of the breakdown of food systems and their inclusion in the NDC, the majority of food system activities are poorly mentioned. China's interventions or ambitions in this sector have received very little attention. The adaptation component is mentioned in the NDC, but is not found to be sector-specific or comprehensive. A few studies have rated the Chinese NDC as insufficient, one of the reasons being its failure to list the breakdown of each sector's clear pathway to achieving its goals. China's NDC lacks quantified data on food system sub-sectors. Climate Action Trackers' "Insufficient" rating indicates that China's domestic target for 2030 requires significant improvements to be consistent with the Paris Agreement's target of 1.5°C temperature limit. Some efforts are being made: for example, scientists from the Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (IEDA-CAAS) have developed methods for calculating GHG emissions from livestock and poultry farmers that have been published as an industrial standard by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, PRC (Prof Hongmin Dong, personal communication) but this still needs to be consolidated and linked to China’s NDC. The updated Nationally Determined Contributions fall short of quantifiable targets in agriculture and food systems as a whole, necessitating clear pathways. China's NDC is found to be heavily focused on a few sectors, including energy, transportation, and urban-rural development. The agricultural sectors' and food systems' targets are vague, and China's agrifood system has a large carbon footprint. As a result, China should focus on managing the food system (production, processing, transportation, and food waste management) to reduce carbon emissions. Furthermore, China should take additional measures to make its climate actions more comprehensive, quantifiable, and measurable, such as setting ambitious and clear targets for the agriculture sector, including activity-specific GHG-reduction pathways; prioritizing food waste and loss reduction and management; promoting sustainable livestock production and low carbon diets; reducing chemical pollution; minimizing the use of fossil fuel in the agri-system and focusing on developing green jobs, technological advancement and promoting climate-smart agriculture; promoting indigenous practices and locally led adaptation; restoring degraded agricultural soils and enhancing cooperation and private partnership. China should also prepare detailed NDC implementation plans including actions and the GHG reduction from conditional targets.

CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS CLIMATE CHANGE FOOD SYSTEMS LAND USE CHANGE AGRICULTURE POLICIES DATA ANALYSIS FOOD WASTES