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Low grain yield caused by high altitude; cold climate; small, cultivated land area, and poor soil fertility is the critical factor posing a potential risk to local food security in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP). Analyzing spatial distribution of the increase potential of grain production in the QTP could be contributable to developing a regional increase in the space of grains to ensure food security. Taking spring wheat and highland barley as objectives, this study simulated the annual potential yields of spring wheat and highland barley at the site level. They estimated their yield gaps and production increase potentials at the regional and county level and mapped their spatial distribution in 2020, based on the methodologies of the literature data collection, using the WOFOST model and GIS analysis. The yield gaps of spring wheat and highland barley were 3.7 and 2.4 t ha−1 for the whole QTP, accounting for 51.4% and 39.5% of their potential yields, respectively. At the county level, the yield gap ranges of spring wheat and highland barley were 1.5–7.0 t ha−1 and 0.3–5.9 t ha−1 across the QTP, respectively. When the yield gap was fully developed, spring wheat and highland barley productions had the potentials of 497.4 and 717.4 Kt for the whole QTP, equal to 118.2% and 75.2% of their current total production, respectively. Spatially, the counties with a large increase potential of spring wheat were mainly distributed in Haidong, Hainan, Xining, Shannan, Nyingchi, and Lhasa, while those with low potential were located in Xigaze and Shannan. Regarding highland barley, Lhasa, Shannan, Xigaze, Yushu, and Hainan had a larger potential to increase. To increase grain production in the QTP, the priority should be given to the shrinkage of the yield gap in the counties with larger potentials to increase, such as Hainan, Shannan, Lhasa, etc., through improving the irrigation rate and fertilizer usage in the farmland.

This paper reports the results of an analysis of process wastewater streams in the context of an increase in yeast production. This research is based on the analysis of data from the biggest yeast factory in Europe. The research presented in this paper involves the analysis of the influence of direction of additional wastewater into the evaporator station on yeast production. In the process wastewater, nitrogen is mainly present in organic forms. The analysis reported in this paper involves the concentration of total nitrogen in wastewater streams, as it is the main parameter applied to determine the amount of wastewater that can be applied in agricultural fields. Directing additional wastewater into the evaporator station can offer a simultaneous increase in the volume of its use in the field of agriculture and will ultimately yield an increase in productivity (under conditions where additional pressure on the natural environment is not exerted). The results obtained in this analysis were an increase in production of ηYp = 0.1027, corresponding to about 6500 Mg of yeast per year. This is a feasible value, which can be derived from the existing agricultural field area and the properties of the evaporator station in the factory. At the same time, the same increase in the volume of organic fertilizer is obtained. This fertilizer is generated as a byproduct of the pre-treatment of wastewater at the evaporator station. Thus, the increase in the production of the fertilizer can have a positive effect on fields in local farms, which are typically the recipients of this fertilizer.

Soil organic carbon sequestration has been promoted to combat climate change while improving soil fertility. However, its quantitative contribution to crop productivity has proven elusive. Using data from 13,662 controlled field trials with 66,593 treatments across a broad range of soils, climates and management practices, we here show that yields increase with increased soil organic carbon, until no further increase (p < 0.05) occurs above mean optimum soil organic carbon of 43.2–43.9 g kg−1 for maize, 12.7–13.4 g kg−1 for wheat and 31.2–32.4 g kg−1 for rice. Sequestering soil organic carbon is one-fifth as effective (that is, 80% less) as nitrogen fertilization for improving crop yield where soil management is optimized. By increasing soil organic carbon beyond current technology to optimum levels, global production of the three most important staple crops increases by 4.3% (sufficient to provide calories for 640 million people). However, currently available management practices would increase crop production by only 0.7% once other production constraints have already been addressed. Therefore, yield improvements under currently available technologies are unlikely to drive adoption of soil organic carbon sequestration globally, except in hot-spot regions where crop production benefits most, or unless novel practices that allow greater soil organic carbon sequestration beyond current limitations can further increase yields cost-effectively.Increasing soil organic carbon can, under optimum management only, enhance global production of maize, wheat and rice by up to 0.7% with important regional differences, according to 13,662 field trials across a broad range of soils, climates and management practices.

Food security and land required for food production largely depend on rate of yield gain of major cereal crops. Previous projections of food security are often more optimistic than what historical yield trends would support. Many econometric projections of future food production assume compound rates of yield gain, which are not consistent with historical yield trends. Here we provide a framework to characterize past yield trends and show that linear trajectories adequately describe past yield trends, which means the relative rate of gain decreases over time. Furthermore, there is evidence of yield plateaus or abrupt decreases in rate of yield gain, including rice in eastern Asia and wheat in northwest Europe, which account for 31% of total global rice, wheat and maize production. Estimating future food production capacity would benefit from an analysis of past crop yield trends based on a robust statistical analysis framework that evaluates historical yield trajectories and plateaus. Food security and the conservation of natural ecosystems largely rely on the increase in crop yields. Here, the authors examine global crop yield trends since 1960, and establish a robust statistical framework for estimating historical trajectories and identifying yield plateaus.

Currently, hydrogen is mainly generated by steam methane reforming, with significant CO2 emissions, thus exacerbating the greenhouse effect. This environmental concern promotes methane cracking, which represents one of the most promising alternatives for hydrogen production with theoretical zero CO/CO2 emissions. Methane cracking has been intensively investigated using metallic and carbonaceous catalysts. Recently, research has focused on methane pyrolysis in molten metals/salts to prevent both reactor coking and rapid catalyst deactivation frequently encountered in conventional pyrolysis. Another expected advantage is the heat transfer improvement due to the high heat capacity of molten media. Apart from the reaction itself that produces hydrogen and solid carbon, the energy source used in this endothermic process can also contribute to reducing environmental impacts. While most researchers used nonrenewable sources based on fossil fuel combustion or electrical heating, concentrated solar energy has not been thoroughly investigated, to date, for pyrolysis in molten media. However, it could be a promising innovative pathway to further improve hydrogen production sustainability from methane cracking. After recalling the basics of conventional catalytic methane cracking and the developed solar cracking reactors, this review delves into the most significant results of the state-of-the-art methane pyrolysis in melts (molten metals and salts) to show the advantages and the perspectives of this new path, as well as the carbon products’ characteristics and the main factors governing methane conversion.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is the most prevalent metabolic disorder characterized by chronic hyperglycemia and an inadequate response to circulatory insulin by peripheral tissues resulting in insulin resistance. Insulin resistance has a complex pathophysiology, and it is contributed to by multiple factors including oxidative stress. Oxidative stress refers to an imbalance between free radical production and the antioxidant system leading to a reduction of peripheral insulin sensitivity and contributing to the development of T2DM via several molecular mechanisms. In this review, we present the molecular mechanisms by which the oxidative milieu contributes to the pathophysiology of insulin resistance and diabetes mellitus.

Many studies have shown that hydrogen could play a large role in the energy transition for hard-to-electrify sectors, but previous modelling has not included the necessary features to assess its role. They have either left out important sectors of hydrogen demand, ignored the temporal variability in the system or neglected the dynamics of learning effects. We address these limitations and consider learning-by-doing for the full green hydrogen production chain with different climate targets in a detailed European sector-coupled model. Here, we show that in the next 10 years a faster scale-up of electrolysis and renewable capacities than envisaged by the EU in the REPowerEU Plan can be cost-optimal to reach the strictest +1.5 o C target. This reduces the costs for hydrogen production to 1.26 €/kg by 2050. Hydrogen production switches from grey to green hydrogen, omitting the option of blue hydrogen. If electrolysis costs are modelled without dynamic learning-by-doing, then the electrolysis scale-up is significantly delayed, while total system costs are overestimated by up to 13% and the levelised cost of hydrogen is overestimated by 67%. This study highlights the importance of including learning-by-doing for hydrogen production in energy models. It reveals that scaling up renewable capacities and electrolysis faster than the EU’s REPowerEU Plan can be cost-effective under strict climate targets, reducing hydrogen production costs and shifting from grey to green hydrogen.

Oxidative stress is a phenomenon caused by an imbalance between production and accumulation of oxygen reactive species (ROS) in cells and tissues and the ability of a biological system to detoxify these reactive products. ROS can play, and in fact they do it, several physiological roles (i.e., cell signaling), and they are normally generated as by-products of oxygen metabolism; despite this, environmental stressors (i.e., UV, ionizing radiations, pollutants, and heavy metals) and xenobiotics (i.e., antiblastic drugs) contribute to greatly increase ROS production, therefore causing the imbalance that leads to cell and tissue damage (oxidative stress). Several antioxidants have been exploited in recent years for their actual or supposed beneficial effect against oxidative stress, such as vitamin E, flavonoids, and polyphenols. While we tend to describe oxidative stress just as harmful for human body, it is true as well that it is exploited as a therapeutic approach to treat clinical conditions such as cancer, with a certain degree of clinical success. In this review, we will describe the most recent findings in the oxidative stress field, highlighting both its bad and good sides for human health.

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have captivated researchers for over 25 years, yet few have successfully transitioned to commercial markets. This Perspective elucidates the progress, challenges and opportunities in moving MOFs to market, focusing on applied research. The five applied research steps that enable technology development and demonstration are reviewed: synthesis, forming, processing (washing and activation), prototyping and compliance. Furthermore, the importance of a comprehensive techno-economic analysis incorporating a complete picture of costs and revenues is discussed. Readers can use the understanding of applied research presented herein to tackle their MOF commercialization challenges. Metal–organic frameworks are a class of materials that have attracted researchers for over 25 years and have been proposed for many applications. This Perspective discusses critical topics in applied research for commercialization, and highlights challenges associated with product development.

Globally, the climate is changing, and this has implications for livestock. Climate affects livestock growth rates, milk and egg production, reproductive performance, morbidity, and mortality, along with feed supply. Simultaneously, livestock is a climate change driver, generating 14.5% of total anthropogenic Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions. Herein, we review the literature addressing climate change and livestock, covering impacts, emissions, adaptation possibilities, and mitigation strategies. While the existing literature principally focuses on ruminants, we extended the scope to include non-ruminants. We found that livestock are affected by climate change and do enhance climate change through emissions but that there are adaptation and mitigation actions that can limit the effects of climate change. We also suggest some research directions and especially find the need for work in developing country settings. In the context of climate change, adaptation measures are pivotal to sustaining the growing demand for livestock products, but often their relevance depends on local conditions. Furthermore, mitigation is key to limiting the future extent of climate change and there are a number of possible strategies.