Bringing analysis of gender and social–ecological resilience together in small-scale fisheries research: Challenges and opportunities

The demand for gender analysis is now increasingly orthodox in natural resource programming, including that for small-scale fisheries. Whilst the analysis of social–ecological resilience has made valuable contributions to integrating social dimensions into research and policy-making on natural resource management, it has so far demonstrated limited success in effectively integrating considerations of gender equity. This paper reviews the challenges in, and opportunities for, bringing a gender analysis together with social–ecological resilience analysis in the context of small-scale fisheries research in developing countries. We conclude that rather than searching for a single unifying framework for gender and resilience analysis, it will be more effective to pursue a plural solution in which closer engagement is fostered between analysis of gender and social-ecological resilience whilst preserving the strengths of each approach. This approach can make an important contribution to developing a better evidence base for small-scale fisheries management and policy

Impact of down-regulation of starch branching enzyme IIb in rice by artificial microRNA- and hairpin RNA-mediated RNA silencing

The inactivation of starch branching IIb (SBEIIb) in rice is traditionally associated with elevated apparent amylose content, increased peak gelatinization temperature, and a decreased proportion of short amylopectin branches. To elucidate further the structural and functional role of this enzyme, the phenotypic effects of down-regulating SBEIIb expression in rice endosperm were characterized by artificial microRNA (amiRNA) and hairpin RNA (hp-RNA) gene silencing. The results showed that RNA silencing of SBEIIb expression in rice grains did not affect the expression of other major isoforms of starch branching enzymes or starch synthases. Structural analyses of debranched starch showed that the doubling of apparent amylose content was not due to an increase in the relative proportion of amylose chains but instead was due to significantly elevated levels of long amylopectin and intermediate chains. Rices altered by the amiRNA technique produced a more extreme starch phenotype than those modified using the hp-RNA technique, with a greater increase in the proportion of long amylopectin and intermediate chains. The more pronounced starch structural modifications produced in the amiRNA lines led to more severe alterations in starch granule morphology and crystallinity as well as digestibility of freshly cooked grains. The potential role of attenuating SBEIIb expression in generating starch with elevated levels of resistant starch and lower glycaemic index is discussed

Diversity of Global Rice Markets and the Science Required for Consumer-Targeted Rice Breeding

With the ever-increasing global demand for high quality rice in both local production regions and with Western consumers, we have a strong desire to understand better the importance of the different traits that make up the quality of the rice grain and obtain a full picture of rice quality demographics. Rice is by no means a ‘one size fits all’ crop. Regional preferences are not only striking, they drive the market and hence are of major economic importance in any rice breeding / improvement strategy. In this analysis, we have engaged local experts across the world to perform a full assessment of all the major rice quality trait characteristics and importantly, to determine how these are combined in the most preferred varieties for each of their regions. Physical as well as biochemical characteristics have been monitored and this has resulted in the identification of no less than 18 quality trait combinations. This complexity immediately reveals the extent of the specificity of consumer preference. Nevertheless, further assessment of these combinations at the variety level reveals that several groups still comprise varieties which consumers can readily identify as being different. This emphasises the shortcomings in the current tools we have available to assess rice quality and raises the issue of how we might correct for this in the future. Only with additional tools and research will we be able to define directed strategies for rice breeding which are able to combine important agronomic features with the demands of local consumers for specific quality attributes and hence, design new, improved crop varieties which will be awarded success in the global market

Percepção dos consumidores relativamente à carne de bovino: critérios de escolha a partir de grupos de discussão

Nas economias desenvolvidas, a segurança dos alimentos, o bem‑estar animal e o ambiente têm vindo a assumir relevância nas preocupações dos consumidores. Procurámos saber, através da metodologia dos grupos de discussão (focus groups) realizados em duas cidades de Portugal, Lisboa e Porto, as preocupações e perceções dos consumidores relativamente a estes atributos, os quais são essencialmente acreditados. Este conhecimento é fundamental para a aplicação posterior de métodos de preferências declaradas. Foi ainda possível obter, com base em exercícios de seleção entre carnes diferenciadas, e através de um modelo logit, intervalos de preços passíveis de serem utilizados posteriormente na definição de cenários em experiências de escolha (método de preferências declaradas) -----ABSTRACT-----In developed economies, food safety, animal welfare and the environment have become relevant consumers’ concerns. We conducted several focus groups in two Portuguese cities, Lisboa and Porto, in order to get participants perceptions and concerns for these attributes, which are essentially credence attributes. This knowledge is critical for the subsequent application of stated preference methods. It was also possible to estimate, based on exercises of selection among different meats, and through a logit model, price ranges that could be used in the definition of scenarios for choice experiments (stated preference method)info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Maintaining the yield of edible rice in a warming world

High temperature increases the amount of chalk in rice (Oryza sativa L.) grains, which causes grains to break during polishing, lowering the amount of rice for consumption. Here, we examined the effect of elevated temperature on substrate supply to the panicle, the capacity of the panicle to produce edible grains, and underlying factors affecting yield of edible grain in two varieties. During grain-filling, substrate supply followed a bell shaped curve, and high temperature significantly shortened supply time. The rate of grain-filling did not change and paddy yield fell in both varieties. In high temperature, yield loss in IR8 was due to lighter grains relative to those grown in cool temperature, but in IR60, it was due to the early sacrifice of 30% of the spikelets. The yield of edible rice was zero for IR8 and similar to 60% for IR60 for the high temperature treatments, and 100% for IR60 and 70% for IR8 in the cool temperature. IR60 differs from IR8 in regulation of substrate supply, architecture of the panicles and the capacity of the panicles to alter sink size in response to the stress and these factors may be responsible for the difference in edible rice in the two varieties

Techno-economic analysis and life-cycle assessment of jet fuels production from waste cooking oil via in situ catalytic transfer hydrogenation

This work evaluates the feasibility of renewable jet-fuel production from waste cooking oil (WCO) via catalytic transfer hydrogenation (CTH) using isopropanol as hydrogen donor. Results were compared to a commercial hydroprocessed renewable jet (HRJ) fuel technology, employing process simulation-based techno-economic analysis (TEA) and life-cycle assessment (LCA). The two routes were compared in terms of product yield, energy consumption, economic and environmental metrics, and allocation methods. The total capital expenditure of CTH plant (7.3M$) was significantly lower than that of HRJ ($149.7M$). The annual revenues were comparable ( 3c150M$/year), due to similar fuel yields. To be profitable, the liquid fuel should be sold at $3.00/gal and$1.67/gal for CTH and HRJ, respectively. The cumulative fossil energy demand (CED) of HRJ was 1.6 times that of CTH and the total 100-year GWP of CTH was 8% less than HRJ's, with both systems not sequestering CO2 through co-product offsets. Mass-, energy-, and market-value allocations were utilized. Sensitivity analysis indicated that both systems were driven by transportation factors and not process inputs. Trend analysis on CTH's energy-return-on-investment (EROI) showed that wide improvements could be made in energy efficiency (EROI = 10.30\u201311.30). From an investment/construction perspective, CTH (95% cheaper) appears to outperform HRJ at similar revenues