The potential of Short Food Supply Chains for sustainable urban agri-food systems: The UFIL of Milano Ristorazione

Short Food Supply Chains (SFSCs) are seen as possible sustainable alternatives to long globalized food supply chains. Different SFSCs models in the literature are built on the multidimensional concept of proximity, which refers not only to geographical closeness but also to the relationship between supply chain actors (relational proximity) and the degree of information sharing upstream and downstream (information proximity). These three dimensions of proximity can produce different sustainability impacts. This chapter investigates the innovation of introducing SFSC products in the school canteen meals served by Milano Ristorazione (MiRi) in Milan, based on the Urbal framework and the concept of SFSCs. We explore this innovation by drawing on interviews with MiRi representatives as well as the results of a participatory workshop with 20 stakeholders. To corroborate our findings, we analyse the MiRi kitchen’s meal delivery service from production centres to school canteens, following the same approach. We conclude that the geographical proximity of MiRi’s food suppliers and kitchen centres to school canteens is not sufficient to guarantee the sustainability of locally sourced products and short-distance logistics systems but that new forms of vertical cooperation and information sharing constitute key levers for sustainability. Finally, the Urban Food Innovation Lab provides learnings for practitioners and policymakers towards a new participatory approach for the development of procurement tenders focused on sustainability

Impact pathways: a home for insights from relevant and impactful operations and supply chain management research

Purpose: International Journal of Operations and Production Management (IJOPM)'s Impact Pathway (IP) section has been launched in 2020 to host short contributions grounded in current managerial practices and/or policy development, challenging established operations and supply chain management (OSCM) knowledge and highlighting innovative and relevant research directions. This commentary reflects on the achievements of the section, delineates the key features of IP papers and stimulates further development. Design/methodology/approach: This commentary provides a brief overview of the IJOPM's IP section, taking stock of the contributions that have been published so far, analysing their topics, methodologies, insights and impact. Findings: The 19 contributions published over the last three years have dealt with a variety of emerging topics, ranging from the COVID-19 response to additive manufacturing, leveraging on key evidence from managerial practice that challenges consolidated knowledge and theory, providing clear research directions as well as managerial and/or policy guidelines. Originality/value: The commentary reflects on the importance of phenomenon-driven research that seeks to bridge the gap between theory and practice, thus increasing the impact and reach of OSCM research. This is a call for contributions from scholars, business leaders and policymakers to develop further impact-oriented research

Sound absorption performance of sustainable foam materials: Application of analytical and numerical tools for the optimization of forecasting models

Traditional models used to predict acoustic properties of poroelastic materials are usually applied to fibrous layers or polyurethane foams. However, for new materials like complex cellular foams these procedures may not be applied due to the different cell microstructure. To this aim, the sound absorbing properties of novel sustainable foam materials are investigated as a function of the nature and loading of waste powders and their effects on the microstructure and the acoustic properties. The foams are prepared from naturally occurring alginates that are in situ polymerized. The morphology and the acoustic properties of the foam-cells appear linked to the particle size distribution of the starting powder. Determination of the parameters of Johnson\u2013Champoux\u2013Allard acoustic model (tortuosity, viscous characteristic length, thermal characteristic length, porosity and flow resistivity) was performed using five different forecasting methods, including traditional analytical model for fibrous materials as well as inverse procedure. A new procedure for tortuosity computation of foam is proposed and validated. Transfer Matrix Method calculation of the absorption coefficient was performed and compared with the experimental data, in order to assess the validity of the model. Indirect method technique is demonstrated to be dependent on experimental measurement of thermal characteristic length

Predição in silico de efetores de Fusarium decemcellulare, agente causal do superbrotamento do guaranazeiro.

O guaranazeiro é uma planta nativa da Amazônia de grande importância econômica e social para o estado do Amazonas, onde a sua produção vem sendo comprometida por doenças fúngicas, como o superbrotamento causado por Fusarium decemcellulare. No presente estudo conduzimos a predição in silico de efetores no secretoma deste importante patógeno do guaranazeiro.CDMICRO 2023

Acessando o potencial bioativo de Streptomyces sp. MAD39, isolada de sedimentos do Rio Madeira baseado em análises in silico do genoma.

A microbiota amazônica tem sido foco de pesquisas usando diferentes abordagens, e os resultados preliminares têm revelado grande diversidade e possibilitado a identificação de inúmeras novas espécies. A diversa microbiota amazônica tem sido também investigada quanto ao seu potencial bioativo seja para a produção de enzimas de interesse biotecnológico quanto para à atividade antimicrobiana contra patógenos que comprometem a produção de culturas de importância para o estado do Amazonas como o guaraná e açaí. Neste estudo, conduzimos o sequenciamento do genoma do Streptomyces sp. MAD39 isolado de sedimentos do Rio Madeira, visando identificar fatores associados com potencial bioativo em seu genoma, com ênfase em CAZymes.CDMICRO 2023

Predição in silico de efetores do patógeno foliar do guaranazeiro Neopestalotiopsis formicidarum.

A cultura do guaraná é de grande importância para a socioeconômica do Amazonas. Entretanto, o guaranazeiro não tem alcançado o seu potencial produtivo no Amazonas devido, entre outros, ao ataque de doenças fúngicas. Não obstante as doenças fúngicas já conhecidas, dois fungos do grupo dos pestalotióides foram identificados como agentes causais de doença no guaranazeiro: Pseudopestalotiopsis gilvanii e Neopestalotiopsis formicidarum que causam lesões foliares necróticas que progridem para queda da folha. Diante da disponibilidade do rascunho do genoma do N. formicidarum torna-se possível o seu escaneamento em busca de fatores relacionados à sua patogenicidade e alvos de controle. Conduzimos análises de bioinformática para a identificação de candidatas a efetores no secretoma do N. formicidarum (INPA2917).CDMICRO 2023

Genetic diversity of Coffea arabica.

Coffea arabica L. is a native coffee species probably originated in Abyssinia, now Ethiopia. The genetic diversity of C. arabica has economic implications directly related to profits by breeding for developing new varieties to a global market. The economic value of C. arabica genetic resources are estimated at US$ 420 million, considered a 10% discount rate. Understanding the extent of traits variability and genetic diversity is essential to guide crosses between genotypes, targeting the development of new varieties with high economic value. This chapter will present the C. arabica economic importance, primarily to Brazil, the most significant world producer; we will outline the origin and dispersion of arabica coffee and briefly show the leading germplasm banks. We will also point out contribution of genetic diversity studies based on morphological, agronomic traits, and molecular markers supporting the development of new varieties. Finally, we present an outline for the future.bitstream/item/224284/1/Genetic-diversity-of-Coffea-arabica.pd