Analysing the innovation process in the EU Integrated Programme,ISAFRUIT

Summary

ISAFRUIT is an integrated European Union Project focussed on increasing fruit consumption as a means to improve human health, through evaluating the fruit chain and addressing bottlenecks therein. The innovations which are being developed throughout the ISAFRUIT Project have been analysed to determine both the success factors and the obstacles in reaching the commercialisation stage. Only 9.58% of the deliverables planned within the Project were focussed on developing technological innovations. There is evidence, however, of successes in the development of new innovations arising from the ISAFRUIT Project, with several other potential innovations in the pipeline. Of the technologies identified, 67% are still at the “invention stage”; that is, the stage prior to bridging the so-called “valley of death”, the stage between an invention and an innovation. Those which are considered to have moved over the “valley of death” either had industry partners included in the Project, or had consulted with industry to ensure that the technology was relevant, or met a recognised industry need. Many of the technologies which made less progress did not have the same interactions with industry. A number of other issues were identified which prevented further progress towards innovation. The need for scientists to publish scientific papers, both for their career pathways and to increase their chances of future funding, was identified as one issue, although the filing of patents is now becoming more accepted and recognised. The patenting system is considered complex by many scientists and is not well-understood. Finally, agreements between partners on the sharing of intellectual property rights can cause a delay in the innovation process.     

Six hypotheses for profitable apple production based on the economic work-package within the ISAFRUIT Project

Summary

As a result of an economic analysis of apple farms in Switzerland, Germany, The Netherlands, and France, we identified six factors that can be influenced by apple producers that might impact the economic success of their orchard. The critical factors identified were: yield; quality of the apples (as graded results); orchard size; number of cultivars; production costs; and specialisation in organic production and/or farmgate sales. Yield and graded results were the most important factors for the economic success of an orchard. Orchard size and production costs only affected the economics of an orchard under different conditions such as the size of the apple surface, or poor yield. The number of cultivars did influence the economic success of an orchard. Apple farms under organic production regimes and farmgate sales benefited from higher prices and, therefore, had a higher chance of economic success. The main condition for success was to maintain high product prices.     

The paradigm of consumer-driven and responsive supply chains: an integrated project approach

Summary

This paper describes an integrated project approach that forms the basis of the studies on consumer-driven innovative and responsive supply chains in ISAFRUIT Pillar 1. This integrated approach leads to a wide range of in-depth results on trends, preferences, and innovativeness of the European consumer in the context of fruit, and on product innovation, chain innovativeness, and transition strategies for the European fruit industry. Differences in, for instance, preferences for different fresh, prepared, and processed fruit products across consumers and across consumption situations, and differences in consumer innovativeness in the context of novel fruit products, lead towards a cross-cultural European segmentation and a variety of consumer-driven fruit chain strategies to valorise the added value of fruit products. Inputs from social, natural, and technical sciences are combined to optimise true consumer-driven innovativeness.     

大数据在水果冷链供应链中的应用

大数据作为新时代的象征,已被广泛应用于我国农产品冷链供应的各个环节。分析了我国水果冷链物流的产生及对大数据应用的需求,基于我国冷链物流发展现状进一步分析了大数据在水果冷链供应链中的具体应用。从重视顶层设计、加强基础设施建设、做好大数据收集工作等方面提出建议,以期为我国水果冷链物流、鲜果保质供应乃至助推乡村振兴战略的实施提供有益参考。     

Mapping large-scale forest dynamics: a geospatial approach

Digital map of forest dynamics is emerging as a useful research and management tool. As a key issue to address in developing digital maps of forest dynamics, spatial autocorrelation has been distinguished into ??true?? and ??false?? gradients. Previous ecological models are mostly focused on either ??true?? or ??false?? gradient, and little has been studied to simultaneously account for both gradients in a single model. The main objective of this study was to incorporate both gradients of spatial autocorrelation in a deterministic geospatial model to provide improved accuracy and reliability in future digital maps of forest dynamics. The mapping was based on two underlying assumptions??unit homogeneity and intrinsic stationarity. This study shows that when the factors causing the spatial non-stationarity have been accounted for, forest states could become a stationary process. A prototype geospatial model was developed for the Alaska boreal forest to study current and future stockings across the region. With areas of the highest basal area increment rate projected to cluster along the major rivers and the lowest near the four major urban developments in Alaska, it was hypothesized that moisture limitation and inappropriate human interference were the main factors affecting the stocking rates. These results could be of unprecedented value, especially for the majority of Alaska boreal region where little information is available.     

The role of landscape structure on the abundance of a disease vector planthopper: a quantitative approach

Studies of patchily distributed insect populations have made clear the importance of host patch size and degree of isolation in determining the distribution of these populations. For such populations, patch connectivity will have an effect on patterns of patch occupancy and regional dynamics. In the present study we performed a series of observations to estimate the effect of landscape structure on the abundance of Delphacodes kuscheli (Homoptera: Delphacidae), vector of “Mal de Río Cuarto” disease to maize. Actively dispersing D. kuscheli individuals were collected in 19 sampling sites during the spring of 2004, using sticky traps placed at 2 m above ground level. Land use and landscape pattern were quantified, using Landsat 5 TM images for the area where each sampling site was placed. Four land use categories were considered in the analysis; winter pastures, winter cereals, perennial pasture and stubble. The spatial pattern analysis program FRAGSTATS was employed to estimate the patch area, patch proximity index, Total Class Area and the Mean Proximity Index for each of the land use categories in those sites where insect samples were taken. Partial Least Squares Regression analysis techniques were employed to relate the mean abundance of D. kuscheli and the landscape measures. Eighty percent of the variation of the mean insect abundance was explained by two first PLSR components. The proximity index of the local host patches, the amount of area left to stubble, local host patch area and total area of winter pastures were the most important variables affecting the abundance of dispersing D. kuscheli individuals. We found that the abundance of the dispersive fraction of the population of D. kuscheli is affected mostly by the surrounding landscape, particularly by the proximity of other host patches, and the permeability of the matrix represented by the stubble.     

The feature of TCR-zeta chain expression in patients with CML by real-time quantitative PCR

AIM: To establish a real-time PCR technique for detection and quantification of TCR ζ chain expression and to investigate TCR ζ chain expression level in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). METHODS: Real-time PCR with SYBR GreenⅠ technology was used for detecting TCR ζ chain expression level in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 30 patients with CML and 30 normal individuals. β2 -microglobulin gene (β2M) was used as an endogenous reference. Relative changes in TCR ζ chain expression level were used by the 2- △△Ct method between patients with CML and normal individuals. RESULTS: The SYBR GreenⅠ real-time technique for quantitative detection of TCR ζ chain expression levels was established successfully. The expression level of TCR ζ chain in 18 patients with CML was reduced. However, the TCR ζ chain expressed increased in 12 patients with CML. CONCLUSION: The TCR ζ chain expression level is divided into down expression (60%) and over expression (40%) groups, and the down expression of TCR ζ chain might related to cellular immunodeficiency in most of CML patients.     

香椿叶总黄酮抗氧化作用研究

利用比色法研究了香椿叶总黄酮在体外对O2·-,DPPH·活性氧自由基的清除作用。实验结果表明香椿叶总黄酮对O2·-,DPPH·自由基均有明显的清除作用,其50%抑制浓度(IC50)分别为176.84,444.58μg/ml。     

Developing alternative forest cutting patterns: A simulation approach

This study examines effects of different forest cutting patterns on habitat fragmentation in managed forest landscapes. We use computer simulation to conduct experiments in which we examine effects of different cutting patterns, cutting-unit size, and special constraints (e.g., a forest reserve, a stream system, or a road system) on landscape patterns. Fragmentation indices are used to quantify structural changes over the cutting cycle and among different treatments of the experiments. Degree of fragmentation varies greatly among the five cutting patterns used; aggregation of cutting units results in low degree and gradual change of fragmentation. Cutting patterns with larger cutting units and additional landscape constraints also lead to lower degree of fragmentation. Moreover, differences in fragmentation among the treatments are not observed until 30% or 50% of the landscape is cut.     

The social and spatial dynamics of community food production: a landscape approach to policy and program development

Community food production in the form of home gardening, community gardening, school gardening, and urban farming continues to increase in popularity in many parts of the world. This interest has led to public and private investment in community food production and increased need for urban agricultural planning as a way to manage growth and prioritize resource allocation. Municipal planning and thoughtful institutional support for the practice will require program evaluation and greater attention to the spatial composition and configuration of this widely dispersed practice. This article explores the results of community-supported landscape socio-ecological research in Madison, WI (USA) to assess the spatial and social dynamics of community food production. Results indicate that community food production resources are unevenly distributed across the study area. Historic community garden placement does appear to be consistent with community prioritization which dictates placing resources in areas with low median household income. However, home garden presence and recent community garden placement both occur in areas of higher than average median household income. Specific focus is placed on how an understanding of landscape placement and pattern has helped inform attempts to meet municipal and regional objectives in addressing urban food insecurity.     

The effects of urban greenway environment on recreational activities in tropical high-density Singapore: A computer vision approach

The urban greenway has been increasingly recognised as an important type of green infrastructure especially for land-scarce, densely-populated cities to efficiently provide their residents with continuous public spaces close to nature for recreation. Nevertheless, empirical studies on urban greenways and their recreational use rarely focus on high-density environment. Moreover, most research endeavours in this field are also largely confined to the subtropical climate, whereas much of the world’s future urban growth is projected to occur in the form of high-density mega-cities in much of tropical South and Southeast Asia. In view of these gaps, this study proposes a new approach that employs Computer Vision tools to examine the effects of the greenway’s physical environment on recreational activities, taking tropical Singapore as the test bed. The semantic segmentation model, PSPNet and the action detection model, ACAM are adapted and applied in conjunction with geographical information system tools to measure the greenway’s physical environment and people’s recreational activity at the human scale, and analyse their relationships. The result reveals a pattern that sees the clustering of different types of recreational activities at different time periods. It also reveals the relationships between recreational activities and specific environmental features, which were observed to have influenced the overall spatial distributions of the recreational activities. The finding also corroborates the design strategies for Singapore’s future urban greenways and offers a reference for engaging community groups to participate in the maintenance of urban greenways.     

Designing agricultural landscapes for natural pest control: a transdisciplinary approach in the Hoeksche Waard (The Netherlands)

The green–blue network of semi-natural non-crop landscape elements in agricultural landscapes has the potential to enhance natural pest control by providing various resources for the survival of beneficial insects that suppress crop pests. A study was done in the Hoeksche Waard to explore how generic scientific knowledge about the relationship between the spatial structure of the green–blue network and enhancement of natural pest control can be applied by stakeholders. The Hoeksche Waard is an agricultural area in the Netherlands, characterized by arable fields and an extensive network of dikes, creeks, ditches and field margins. Together with stakeholders from the area the research team developed spatial norms and design rules for the design of a green–blue network that supports natural pest control. The stakeholders represented different interests in the area: farmers, nature and landscape conservationists, water managers, and local and regional politicians. Knowledge about the spatial relationship among beneficial insects, pests and landscape structure is incomplete. We conclude that to apply scientific knowledge about natural pest control and the role of green–blue networks to stakeholders so that they can apply it in landscape change, knowledge transfer has to be transparent, area specific, understandable, practical and incorporate local knowledge.     

Landscape phenology: an integrative approach to seasonal vegetation dynamics

This brief report addresses the theory and methodology of landscape phenology (LP), along with synopsis of a case study conducted in the northern Wisconsin temperate mixed forest. LP engages questions related to ecosystem phenology, landscape genetics, and vegetation change science across multiple scales, which have rarely been addressed by existing studies. Intensive in situ observations, remote sensing data, and spatiotemporal analysis are employed for understanding patterns and processes within the complexity of seasonal landscape dynamics. A hierarchical upscaling approach is also introduced. Results from the case study suggest that plot-scale phenology lacks spatial autocorrelation and varies individualistically, with genetic heterogeneity overriding small microenvironmental gradients. However, at the landscape level, forest phenology responds coherently to weather fluctuations. The resultant LP index confirms the relative reliability of moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS)-based land surface phenology (LSP). Due to technological advancement in spatial data acquisition and analysis, LP has the ability to connect conventional plant phenology studies back to their intricate ecological context, and provides a new approach to validating coarse-scale monitoring and modeling of LSP and other seasonal ecosystem processes.     

Integrity in the fresh produce supply chain: solutions and approaches to an emerging issue

Long supply and complex fresh produce supply chains provide opportunity for fraudulent activity to occur especially further processing or re-packing of products to mask opaque practice and non-compliant behaviour. Price premiums for products designated as ‘high-value’, for example, organic produce, produce of particular provenance, or geographical production area provides motivation for less scrupulous actors to present for sale, produce that is mislabelled or misrepresented. People integrity as well as data, product and process integrity are gaining wider attention in the horticultural sector. Types of fraud critiqued in this review paper include mislabelling, substitution or misrepresentation of origin (country or regional location), method of production (organic or conventional) or incorrect varietal declaration. These challenges and the existing and emerging technologies that are both used within a quality assurance programme and alternatively used by regulators when investigating potential instances of fraudulent behaviour are considered. New methodological solutions and approaches are emerging and such techniques will develop rapidly to meet the growing challenge of fraud and to ensure consumer trust in the industry is maintained especially as types of food fraud evolve and become more sophisticated.     

Sustainable landscape pattern: a landscape approach to serving spatial planning

Landscape Ecology - Spatial planning system needs the support of approaches toward achieving sustainability, with sustainable landscape pattern (SLP) for one potential spatial approach. However,...     

Small urban woodlands as biodiversity conservation hot-spot: a multi-taxon approach

To evaluate the importance of urban woodlands to serve as potential sites for biodiversity conservation, we analysed bird, carabid beetle and small mammal community responses to urbanisation at different spatial scales. We analysed the relationships between the variations of the structure (species richness S, diversity H′ and dominance D) of animal communities of woodlands distributed along a rural–urban gradient, and the variations along this same gradient of (1) the vegetation within woodlands, (2) the landscape at 100 m and (3) 600 m around the woodlands. We identified the spatial scales whose variations along the gradient most affected each animal community structure, and characterised community responses to these variations. Our results showed that urbanisation affected taxa differently according to their dispersal ability. Carabid beetles, less mobile, seem to be sensitive to increasing fragmentation and built surfaces from periurban to town centre which could make their movement within the urban landscape difficult. Birds, mobile species, seem to be more sensitive to variations of the vegetation structure within woodlands from periurban to town centre that could affect their capacity to maintain in habitat patches. Although our study did not allow relating the small mammal community structure to urbanisation, it suggests that this taxa is sensitive to urban local disturbances. A relevant management scale of woodlands can be specified for each taxa conservation. Urban woodlands accommodate over 50% of the species present in periurban woodlands, and effective management could enhance this number. Woodlands seem to be a good choice for promoting biodiversity conservation in towns.     

The use of native turf mixtures to approach sustainable lawn in urban landscapes

Native grasses are excellent candidate species for manipulation to produce dwarf and turf type varieties as well as for producing cultivars with higher attractiveness and requiring less maintenance to be used as a turf grass in arid and semi-arid regions of the world. This investigation was conducted to explore visual qualities of native grasses and their mixtures compared to commercial turf. The field experiment was set out in a split-plot in time based on a randomized experimental design with three replications. We used two native monoculture accessions, perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L. ‘Yarand’) and (Lolium perenne L. ‘Shadegan’), Native low-variety Mixture (NM1): consisting of 50% Lolium multiflorum ‘Shadegan’? 50% Festuca spp. ‘Shadegan’, Native high-variety Mixture (NM2): consisting of 55% Lolium perenne L. ‘Yarand’? 35% Lolium perenne L. ‘Shadegan’? 5% L. multiflorum ‘Shadegan’ and 5% Festuca spp. ‘Shadegan’ and compared this with one commercial turf mixture that is commonly used in landscaping. Results indicated the effects of seasons and turf grass types and their interaction had significant effects on most variables including quality, season color, leaf texture, density, quality after clipping (p < 0.01). The visual quality measurements indicated the superiority of L. perenne ‘Shadegan’ over other native monoculture and polyculture and its ablility to compete with the commercial turf. The native turf mixture of NM2 showed several good characteristics. L. perenne ‘Yarand’ had statistically the lowest score for visual appeal as compared with the other turf types. This research suggests that the use of native grass species of L. perenne ‘Shadegan’ is worth investigating for better performance of the native landscape.     

Assessing habitat fragmentation on marine epifaunal macroinvertebrate communities: an experimental approach

Habitat fragmentation is considered a major cause of biodiversity loss, both on terrestrial and marine environments. Understanding the effects of habitat fragmentation on the structure and dynamics of natural communities is extremely important to support management actions for biodiversity conservation. However, the effects of habitat fragmentation on marine communities are still poorly understood. Here we evaluated whether habitat fragmentation affects the structure of epifaunal communities in the sublittoral zone, in the northern coast of São Paulo state, Brazil. Five experimental landscapes were constructed, each one forming a large continuous patch. After 4 weeks, each landscape was cut on three patches of different sizes. Epifaunal macroinvertebrate communities were sampled at the edge and interior of experimental landscapes before manipulation to evaluate edge effects. After four more weeks, communities from the three patch sizes were also sampled to evaluate patch size effects. We compared the diversity of communities at different levels of fragmentation by total abundance, rarefied taxon richness, Shannon–Wiener diversity index, Simpson’s dominance index, and abundance of dominant taxa. Higher taxon richness and gastropod abundance were recorded in the patch edges, but no significant differences were found among patch sizes. We found a significant effect of habitat fragmentation, with lower abundances of Gammaridea (the dominant taxon), Ophyuroidea, and Pycnogonida after the experimental fragmentation. Lower abundances of dominant taxa resulted in higher diversity and lower dominance in fragmented landscapes when compared to integral, pre-manipulation landscapes. Our results suggest that fragmentation of landscapes in the system studied can reduce dominance, and that even small patch sizes can be important for the conservation of macroinvertebrate diversity.