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Crop wild relatives (CWRs) have provided breeders with several 'game-changing' traits or genes that have boosted crop resilience and global agricultural production. Advances in breeding and genomics have accelerated the identification of valuable CWRs for use in crop improvement. The enhanced genetic diversity of breeding pools carrying optimum combinations of favorable alleles for targeted crop-growing regions is crucial to sustain genetic gain. In parallel, growing sequence information on wild genomes in combination with precise gene-editing tools provide a fast-track route to transform CWRs into ideal future crops. Data-informed germplasm collection and management strategies together with adequate policy support will be equally important to improve access to CWRs and their sustainable use to meet food and nutrition security targets.

This research paper presents a step by step conceptual design and life prediction approach for the design, modeling and simulation of head shaft of a belt bucket elevator, to be used for conveying grains to a height of 33.5 m and at the rate of 200 tons/h. output. For this elevator system, the force and torque acting on the head shaft as well as the bending moment were calculated. Furthermore, the diameter of each cross section of the shaft was determined taking into consideration the geometric and fatigue stress concentration factors, due to shoulders which contribute significantly to most fatigue failures of shafts. The stress induced on the shaft by the force and the factor of safety for each cross section of the shaft was calculated using the DE-Goodman criterion. The model of the shaft was created from the calculated diameters and subjected to static and fatigue analysis using SolidWorks FEA. The results were validated by comparing the values from the FEA and the calculated values for stress and factor of safety of the critical section of the shaft, which showed an equivalent value. The FEA gave a fatigue load factor greater than one, which signifies that the shaft will not go into failure mode within the infinite life cycle of the shaft. The value of the fatigue strength obtained from FEA was higher than the value for the maximum von misses stress of the shaft, this result shows that the head shaft will sustain the loading stresses over a finite life prediction. This research is significant because the stress induced forces on the head shaft from each component of the elevator system were properly identified and analyzed so as to obtain precise results for life prediction.

Pyrolysis is becoming a prominent method for producing bio-oil from biomass. It has the potential to contribute to the development of a viable renewable fuel market while also ensuring environmental sustainability. In this study, bio-oil was produced from abundantly available pig hair in a fixed bed reactor. The influence of pyrolysis factors such as temperature and heating rate on the production of bio-oil, bio-char, and syngas was examined. The prepared materials were pyrolyzed at 50 °C intervals in the temperature range of 300 to 550 °C. The results showed that the pyrolysis temperature has a moderate impact on product yields and bio-oil properties. The maximum bio-oil yield of 51.8 wt% was obtained at a pyrolysis temperature of 450 °C while the other product yields were 39.5 wt.% of bio-char and 43.0 wt.% of non-condensable gasses. The viscosity, density, elemental analysis, API density, pH, moisture and ash contents, and other physicochemical parameters of bio-oil were measured, and the gross calorific value (HHV) and net calorific value (LHV) were determined to be 20.66 MJ/kg and 19.31 MJ/kg, respectively. The bio-oil had a low water content and pH value, as a result, the content of oxygenated compounds has decreased, favouring the presence of non-oxygenated chemical compounds as revealed by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Gas-chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC–MS). The bio-oil contained compounds such as 2,6-octadienal,3,7-dimethyl (38.86%), citral (24.9%),.beta.-myrcene (5.47%), linoelaidic acid (5.41%), trans-13-octadecanoic acid (4.32%), hydrocarbon, ester, alcohol, ketones, alkanes, fatty acid, toluene, aromatic etc. were identified in the bio-oil which can be used in the manufacturing of chemicals, pharmaceutical and dyes industries, paint and perfume industries, and flammable gasses. As technology progresses, bio-oil will become a more feasible alternative to diesel. This study demonstrated that pig hair is a viable feedstock for a wide range of prospective fossil fuel substitutes and has a wide range of uses in the chemical, pharmaceutical, and dye sectors, as well as the biodiesel industry.

The durability of a machine structure is based on its mechanical performance through its entire service life. To avoid structural failures in machines, it is a standard design practice that machines be analyzed based on the types of loading (static and fatigue) associated with it in order to design safe and dependable machine structures. These types of analyses are performed with the purpose of estimating the behavior of the mechanical parts under specific operational conditions. The aim of this research is to investigate the effect of different loading to the maximum load on the redesigned shafts of an existing cassava peeling machine capable of peeling at least one (10) tons of cassava tubers with different weight, size or shape per day to ascertain the effects on the bending moment, shear force, deflection angle, shear stress and bending stress, and evaluate if there is need to reduce or increase the thickness of the shafts to a standard considered to be safe and economical. The three shafts of the cassava peeling machine have been carefully analyzed to check for their fatigue life under different loading conditions. From the analysis, with stress values of 48.640MPa, 49.1289MPa, 3.06089MPa and shaft diameter values of 34.6799mm, 34.7955mm, 13.7941mm evaluated from the reduced stress diagrams and ideal diameter diagrams for abrasive cylinder shaft, peeling cylinder shaft, and retainer shaft respectively, gave positive results because none of stress values were greater than reduced stresses (calculated stress value from Tresca’s theory) on the respective shafts. Therefore, a standard steel shaft of 35mm diameter is appropriate for manufacturing of the machine and also safe and economical.

Societal Impact Statement Biodiversity is essential to food security and nutrition locally and globally. By reviewing the global state of edible plants and highlighting key neglected and underutilized species (NUS), we attempt to unlock plant food resources and explore the role of fungi, which along with the wealth of traditional knowledge about their uses and practices, could help support sustainable agriculture while ensuring better protection of the environment and the continued delivery of its ecosystem services. This work will inform a wide range of user communities, including scientists, conservation and development organizations, policymakers, and the public of the importance of biodiversity beyond mainstream crops. Summary As the world's population is increasing, humanity is facing both shortages (hunger) and excesses (obesity) of calorie and nutrient intakes. Biodiversity is fundamental to addressing this double challenge, which involves a far better understanding of the global state of food resources. Current estimates suggest that there are at least 7,039 edible plant species, in a broad taxonomic sense, which includes 7,014 vascular plants. This is in striking contrast to the small handful of food crops that provide the majority of humanity's calorie and nutrient intake. Most of these 7,039 edible species have additional uses, the most common being medicines (70%), materials (59%), and environmental uses (40%). Species of major food crops display centers of diversity, as previously proposed, while the rest of edible plants follow latitudinal distribution patterns similarly to the total plant diversity, with higher species richness at lower latitudes. The International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List includes global conservation assessments for at least 30% of edible plants, with ca. 86% of them conserved ex situ. However, at least 11% of those species recorded are threatened. We highlight multipurpose NUS of plants from different regions of the world, which could be key for a more resilient, sustainable, biodiverse, and community participation‐driven new “green revolution.” Furthermore, we explore how fungi could diversify and increase the nutritional value of our diets. NUS, along with the wealth of traditional knowledge about their uses and practices, offer a largely untapped resource to support food security and sustainable agriculture. However, for these natural resources to be unlocked, enhanced collaboration among stakeholders is vital.

This study evaluated the nutritional, morphometric and biochemical profiles of six (6) formulated instant weaning foods in comparison with a commercial weaning food (Nutrend) as positive control and the vital growers mesh as negative control. The six instant weaning foods were formulated from selected staple foods and protein supplements. Diets (A-C) were formulated from rice-lentil based and diets (D-F) from sweet potato- soybean based at respective ratios of 70:10, 60:20 and 50:30, and blended with groundnut, crayfish and smoked fish in varying quantity to make up 100 g. These were compared with Nutrend (G) and vital growers mash (H) serving as positive and negative controls, respectively. From the study, saponin contents for all formulated diets were within safe limit at levels

The impact of climate change is causing challenges for the agricultural production and food systems. More nutritious and climate resilient crop varieties are required, but lack of available and accessible trait diversity is limiting crop improvement. Crop wild relatives (CWR) are the wild cousins of cultivated crops and a vast resource of genetic diversity for breeding new, higher yielding, climate change tolerant crop varieties, but they are under-conserved (particularly in situ), largely unavailable and therefore underutilized. Here we apply species distribution modelling, climate change projections and geographic analyses to 1261 CWR species from 167 major crop genepools to explore key geographical areas for CWR in situ conservation worldwide. We identify 150 sites where 65.7% of the CWR species identified can be conserved for future use., Holly Vincent et al. use species distribution modeling, climate change projections, and geographical analyses of more than 1200 crop wild relatives, identifying 150 key conservation areas most effective in preserving genetic diversity of crop wild relatives.

We assess the impact of corruption on firm growth using the World Bank Enterprise Survey (WBES) data on Nigerian firms for the periods 2006 and 2008. We measure corruption as firms’ informal payments to get things done faster and bypass due process. Firm growth is measured as sales growth of firms. To address endogeneity issues and the possibility of measurement error, we use industry averages of firms’ informal payments as an instrument in a Two-Stage Least Squares (2SLS) estimation. The results we obtain for both 2006 and 2008 confirm that informal payments substantially hinder firm growth in Nigeria. The results are robust and still hold after controlling for city variation and omitting outliers. The findings suggest that in the quest to improve firm growth, measures that focus on implementing frameworks that shorten the duration required for documentation and other firm-related services provided by the government would discourage informal payments and thus, improve firms’ sales growth.