Catalogue Search | MBRL
Are you sure you want to remove the book from the shelf?
{{itemTitle}}
162,967
result(s) for
"Plant engineering"
Sort by:
Seeds, science, and struggle
Genetic engineering has a wide range of cultural, economic, and ethical implications, yet it has become almost an article of faith that regulatory decisions about biotechnology be based only on evidence of specific quantifiable risks; to consider anything else is said to \"politicize\" regulation. In this study of social protest against genetically engineered food, Abby Kinchy turns the conventional argument on its head. Rather than consider politicization of the regulatory system, she takes a close look at the scientization of public debate about the \"contamination\" of crops resulting from pollen drift and seed mixing. Advocates of alternative agriculture confront the scientization of this debate by calling on international experts, carrying out their own research, questioning regulatory science in court, building alternative markets, and demanding that their governments consider the social and economic impacts of the new technologies. Kinchy focuses on social conflicts over canola in Canada and maize in Mexico, drawing out their linkages to the global food system and international environmental governance. The book ultimately demonstrates the shortcomings of dominant models of scientific risk governance, which marginalize alternative visions of rural livelihoods and sustainable food production.The hardcover edition does not include a dust jacket.
eBook
Manufacturing facilities design and material handling
\"Designed for junior- and senior-level courses in plant and facilities planning and manufacturing systems and procedures, this textbook also is suitable for graduate-level and two-year college courses. The book takes a practical, hands-on, project-oriented approach to exploring the techniques and procedures for developing an efficient facility layout. It also introduces state-of-the-art tools including computer simulation. Access to Layout-iQ workspace planning software is included for purchasers of the book. Theoretical concepts are clearly explained and then rapidly applied to a practical setting through a detailed case study at the end of the volume. The book systematically leads students through the collection, analysis, and development of information to produce a quality functional plant layout for a lean manufacturing environment. All aspects of facility design, from receiving to shipping, are covered. In the sixth edition of this successful book, numerous updates and corrections have been made, and a chapter on engineering cost estimating and analysis has been added. Also, rather than including brief case-in-point examples at the end of each chapter, a single, detailed case study is provided that better exposes students to the multiple considerations that need to be taken into account when improving efficiency in a real manufacturing facility. The textbook has enjoyed substantial international adoptions and has been translated into Spanish and Chinese\"-- Provided by publisher.
Book
Consumer Valuation of and Attitudes towards Novel Foods Produced with New Plant Engineering Techniques: A Review
We follow the PRISMA extension for scoping reviews to review the emerging international body of empirical evidence on consumers’ attitudes and willingness to pay (WTP) for novel foods produced with New Plant Engineering Techniques (NPETs). NPETs include genome/gene editing, cisgenesis, intragenesis, and RNA interference. These novel foods are often beneficial for the environment and human health and more sustainable under increasingly prevalent climate extremes. These techniques can also improve animal welfare and disease resistance when applied to animals. Despite these abilities of NPETs, evidence suggests that many, but not all, consumers discount these novel foods relative to conventional ones. Our review sorts out findings to identify conditioning factors that can increase the acceptance of and WTP for these novel foods in a significant segment of consumers. International patterns of acceptance are identified. We also analyze how information and knowledge interact with consumer acceptance of these novel foods and technologies. Heterogeneity of consumers—across cultures and borders and in attitudes towards science and innovation—emerges as a key determinant of acceptance and WTP. Acceptance and WTP tend to increase when socially beneficial attributes—as opposed to producer-oriented cost-saving attributes—are generated by NPETs. NPET-improved foods are systematically less discounted than transgenic foods. Most of the valuation estimates are based on hypothetical experiments and surveys and await validation through revealed preferences in actual purchases in food retailing environments.
Journal Article
Engineering Applications of Pneumatics and Hydraulics
Requiring only a basic knowledge of the physics of fluids, Engineering Applications of Pneumatics and Hydraulics provides a sound understanding of fluid power systems and their uses within industry. It takes a strongly practical approach in describing pneumatics and hydraulics in modern industry and is filled with diagrams of components, equipment and plant.
The pneumatic and hydraulic graphical symbols used in everyday fluid power systems and circuits are particularly explained and well illustrated. In addition to descriptions of equipment and plant, maintenance and troubleshooting is also covered, with an emphasis on safety systems and safety regulations.
This second edition delves into the same fluid power technical areas as in the first edition, but with a complete update of current safety legislation and guidance on the latest regulations. Codes of practice, technical standards and standardisation organisations have also been updated to enable readers to search for the newest information and requirements regarding the use and application of pneumatics and hydraulics in industry whilst reflecting advances in technology.
The book is written for students from levels 3 to 5, and for a wide range of practising engineers, especially in the engineering disciplines of mechanical, plant, process and operations engineering, as well as measurement and control engineering within mechatronics.
eBook
Evolution Made to Order
Plant breeders have long sought technologies to extend human control over nature. Early in the twentieth century, this led some to experiment with startlingly strange tools like x-ray machines, chromosome-altering chemicals, and radioactive elements. Contemporary reports celebrated these mutation-inducing methods as ways of generating variation in plants on demand. Speeding up evolution, they imagined, would allow breeders to genetically engineer crops and flowers to order. Creating a new food crop or garden flower would soon be as straightforward as innovating any other modern industrial product. In Evolution Made to Order, Helen Anne Curry traces the history of America's pursuit of tools that could intervene in evolution. An immersive journey through the scientific and social worlds of midcentury genetics and plant breeding and a compelling exploration of American cultures of innovation, Evolution Made to Order provides vital historical context for current worldwide ethical and policy debates over genetic engineering.
eBook
Rhizosphere Engineering With Plant Growth-Promoting Microorganisms for Agriculture and Ecological Sustainability
The rhizosphere is undoubtedly the most complex microhabitat, comprised of an integrated network of plant roots, soil, and a diverse consortium of bacteria, fungi, eukaryotes, and archaea. The rhizosphere conditions have a direct impact on crop growth and yield. Nutrient-rich rhizosphere environments stimulate plant growth and yield and vice versa. Extensive cultivation exhaust most of the soils which need to be nurtured before or during the next crop. Chemical fertilizers are the major source of crop nutrients but their uncontrolled and widespread usage has posed a serious threat to the sustainability of agriculture and stability of an ecosystem. These chemicals are accumulated in the soil, drained in water, and emitted to the air where they persist for decades causing a serious threat to the overall ecosystem. Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) present in the rhizosphere convert many plant-unavailable essential nutrients e.g., nitrogen, phosphorous, zinc, etc. into available forms. PGPR produces certain plant growth hormones (such as auxin, cytokinin, and gibberellin), cell lytic enzymes (chitinase, protease, hydrolases, etc.), secondary metabolites, and antibiotics, and stress alleviating compounds (e.g., 1-Aminocyclopropane-1- carboxylate deaminase), chelating agents (siderophores), and some signaling compounds (e.g., N-Acyl homoserine lactones) to interact with the beneficial or pathogenic counterparts in the rhizosphere. These multifarious activities of PGPR improve the soil structure, health, fertility, and functioning which directly or indirectly support plant growth under normal and stressed environments. Rhizosphere engineering with these PGPR has a wide-ranging application not only for crop fertilization but developing eco-friendly sustainable agriculture. Due to severe climate change effects on plants and rhizosphere biology, there is growing interest in stress-resilient PGPM and their subsequent application to induce stress (drought, salinity, and heat) tolerance mechanism in plants. This review describes the three components of rhizosphere engineering with an explicit focus on the broader perspective of PGPM that could facilitate rhizosphere engineering in selected hosts to serve as an efficient component for sustainable agriculture.
Journal Article