Integral health farming
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Investigating Parkinson’s disease risk across farming activities using data mining and large-scale administrative health data
The risk of Parkinson’s disease (PD) associated with farming has received considerable attention, in particular for pesticide exposure. However, data on PD risk associated with specific farming activities is lacking. We aimed to explore whether specific farming activities exhibited a higher risk of PD than others among the entire French farm manager (FM) population. A secondary analysis of real-world administrative insurance claim data and electronic health/medical records (TRACTOR project) was conducted to estimate PD risk for 26 farming activities using data mining. PD cases were identified through chronic disease declarations and antiparkinsonian drug claims. There were 8845 PD cases among 1,088,561 FMs. The highest-risk group included FMs engaged in pig farming, cattle farming, truck farming, fruit arboriculture, and crop farming, with mean hazard ratios (HRs) ranging from 1.22 to 1.67. The lowest-risk group included all activities involving horses and small animals, as well as gardening, landscaping and reforestation companies (mean HRs: 0.48–0.81). Our findings represent a preliminary work that suggests the potential involvement of occupational risk factors related to farming in PD onset and development. Future research focusing on farmers engaged in high-risk farming activities will allow to uncover potential occupational factors by better characterizing the farming exposome, which could improve PD surveillance among farmers.
Genetic breeding for indoor vertical farming
Indoor vertical farming emerges as a sustainable paradigm, enabling crop cultivation in vertically layered ecosystems under precisely controlled environmental parameters. This innovative approach not only bolsters climate resilience but also minimizes the strain on precious arable land and water resources, aligning with sustainable principles. While posited as a transformative solution to global food security challenges and the limitations of traditional agriculture, a pivotal facet within indoor farming necessitates sustainable optimization: the crops cultivated within. Conventional commercial crop varieties utilized in indoor vertical farming lack tailored adaptations to controlled environments, underscoring the imperative to cultivate crops endowed with distinct indoor-farming traits. These include better performance under energy-efficient artificial lighting, high growth rate, and unique flavours. In this review, we highlight recent technological advancements in crop breeding and elaborate these coveted indoor-farming traits. In addition, we illuminate potential genetic workflows essential for breeders to strategically refine crops as a foundation for the long-term sustainability of indoor farming.
Nitrogen flow in food production and consumption system of Inner Mongolia from 2000 to 2020
Decoupled crop and livestock production caused serious disconnection of nitrogen utilization in agro-pastoral ecotone of northern China. In this study, we employed a material flow analysis approach to investigate reactive nitrogen (Nr) flow in the food production and consumption system in Inner Mongolia from 2000 to 2020. Results indicated that agricultural production system is the primary source of Nr input for the food consumption system. The environmental nitrogen load in Inner Mongolia has been increasing progressively, from 266 Gg in 2000 to 882 Gg in 2020, primarily due to the rapid increase in livestock farming and significant losses of nitrogen in feces and urine. Our results raise the attention to promote the close integration of farmland production and livestock system in the decoupled crop and livestock production system.
Resolving the fundamentals of the J-integral concept by multi-method in situ nanoscale stress-strain mapping
The integrity of structural materials is oftentimes defined by their resistance against catastrophic failure through dissipative plastic processes at the crack tip, commonly quantified by the J-integral concept. However, to date the experimental stress and strain fields necessary to quantify the J-integral associated with local crack propagation in its original integral form were inaccessible. Here, we present a multi-method nanoscale strain- and stress-mapping surrounding a growing crack tip in two identical miniaturized fracture specimens made from a nanocrystalline FeCrMnNiCo high-entropy alloy. The respective samples were tested in situ in a scanning electron microscope and a synchrotron X-ray nanodiffraction setup, with detailed analyzes of loading states during elastic loading, crack tip blunting and general yielding, corroborated by a detailed elastic-plastic finite element model. This complementary in situ methodology uniquely enabled a detailed quantification of the J-integral along different integration paths from experimental nanoscale stress and strain fields. We find that conventional linear-elastic and elastic-plastic models, typically used to interpret fracture phenomena, have limited applicability at micron to nanoscale distances from propagating cracks. This for the first time unravels a limit to the path-independence of the J-integral, which has significant implications in the development and assessment of modern damage-tolerant materials and microstructures.
Mineral-ecological cropping systems mitigate biodiversity-productivity trade-offs of the organic vs. conventional farming dichotomy
Conventional agriculture significantly reduces biodiversity, while organic farming promotes it, but often yields half as much. Addressing this biodiversity-productivity trade-off is crucial for future agriculture. Mineral-ecological cropping systems (MECS) have been suggested as an alternative, blending organic and conventional methods by avoiding chemical-synthetic pesticides and using mineral fertilizers. In a German experiment with 168 parcels, we compared MECS, conventional, and organic systems in terms of ecological and economic performance. Arthropod diversity was measured through standardized species collections and DNA-metabarcoding. Productivity was assessed via yields and economic profits. MECS showed similar arthropod diversity to other farming systems, achieved 90% of conventional crop yields, and produced 1.8 times of the organic yield. Profits from MECS were on average 37% higher than the conventional system with a short wheat-maize-soy crop rotation. Further farm-level studies are needed, but MECS could be a reasonable alternative to both organic and conventional farming and can mitigate biodiversity-productivity trade-offs.
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