Production Chain Research Articles

Developing a multi-objective model for a multi-level supply chain of blood products under uncertainty and the global pandemic: a hybrid robust optimization approach

The global COVID-19 pandemic has caused a substantial decrease in the blood supply and its products as a vital commodity. It has had adversely affected on the activities of blood organizations and facilities as well as public health. In this critical situation, the particular supply and blood demand products have affected certain sensitive managerial decisions. The purpose of the present study is to develop a multi-objective formulation for a multi-level supply chain of blood products under uncertainty and global pandemic conditions. The modeling is based on three objectives: minimizing the costs of the entire blood supply chain network, minimizing the pandemic virus transmission by donors in each of the blood donation centers, and maximizing the attractiveness of the blood donation centers in order to optimize the blood supply chain conditions and meet the needs of patients in the best possible way. Besides, since uncertainty is an integral part of supply chains, an efficient combination of scenarios, intervals and fuzzy robust optimization approaches is applied. As the results show, using robust approaches to deal with uncertain parameters can provide excellent conditions for efficient responses to those who demand blood products as well as pandemic patients who need the plasma of survivors.

Use of Essential oils as potential antimicrobial agents in meat preservation

The Producers and the manufacturers have been challenged by the increasing demand for the safe and high-quality meat and meat products over the past few decades. Particularly, the recent demand for minimally the processed, the easily prepared, and the ready-to-eat meat products combined with the novel concepts of all-natural and clean-label has rapidly increased. These products may contain natural or organic ingredients without artificial preservatives that do not trigger the common food allergies or the sensitivities. The meat and the meat products are highly prone to microbial contamination since they are rich in essential nutrients and perishable. This is further accelerated by some intrinsic factors including pH and water activity of the fresh meat. In general, the freshest meat has a water activity value higher than 0.85, and its pH value falls within the favorable pH range for spoilage bacteria of the meat. Hence, deterioration in quality and potential public health issues is common if these products are not properly handled and preserved. The significant spoilage of the meat and the meat products occurs every year at different levels of the production chain including the preparation, the storage, and the distribution. Besides the lipid oxidation and the autolytic enzymatic spoilage, the microbial spoilage plays a significant role in this deterioration process leading to a substantial economic and environmental impact.

Se and Hg in processed fish-derived products and their fish raw materials: Occurrence, Se:Hg molar ratio, HBVSe index, bioaccessibility and Caco-2 cells toxicity

Processing conditions applied during food production could affect food component contents and bioaccessibility. Here, possible changes in Hg and Se total and species contents and bioaccessibility have been tracked in each stage of the production chain of processed fish-derived products. Therefore, Se:Hg molar ratio and Selenium Health Benefit Value (HBVSe) were calculated for final products and raw materials, resulting favorable in all cases, suggesting the safety of surimi-based products regarding mercury. Speciation studies revealed the presence of SeMeSeCys and SeMet in all samples. Thus, the integrity of the selenium species seems to be maintained. Moreover, in vitro gastrointestinal digestion model evidenced that Se bioaccessibility ranged between 20–39 % for all samples, while in case of Hg was between 8–37 %. Additionaly, SeMeSeCys and SeMet were also identified in the gastrointestinal extracts. Finally, no cytotoxicity was observed after exposure of Caco-2 cells to the gastrointestinal extracts.

Challenges and Opportunities in the Sustainable Improvement of Carrot Production.

From an agricultural perspective, carrots are a significant tap root vegetable crop in the Apiaceae family because of their nutritional value, health advantages, and economic importance. The edible part of a carrot, known as the storage root, contains various beneficial compounds, such as carotenoids, anthocyanins, dietary fiber, vitamins, and other nutrients. It has a crucial role in human nutrition as a significant vegetable and raw material in the nutraceutical, food, and pharmaceutical industries. The cultivation of carrot fields is susceptible to a wide range of biotic and abiotic hazards, which can significantly damage the plants' health and decrease yield and quality. Scientific research mostly focuses on important biotic stressors, including pests, such as nematodes and carrot flies, as well as diseases, such as cavity spots, crown or cottony rot, black rot, and leaf blight, caused by bacteria, fungi, and oomycetes. The emerging challenges in the field include gaining a comprehensive understanding of the interaction between hosts and pathogens in the carrot-pathogen system, identifying the elements that contribute to disease development, expanding knowledge of systemic treatments, exploring host resistance mechanisms, developing integrated control programs, and enhancing resistance through breeding approaches. In fact, the primary carrot-growing regions in tropical and subtropical climates are experiencing abiotic pressures, such as drought, salinity, and heat stress, which limit carrot production. This review provides an extensive, up-to-date overview of the literature on biotic and abiotic factors for enhanced and sustainable carrot production, considering the use of different technologies for the shelf-life extension of carrots. Therefore, it addresses the current issues in the carrot production chain, opening new perspectives for the exploration of carrots both as a food commodity and as a source of natural compounds.

Triple quenching effect of nanozyme catalyzed precipitation combined with enzyme-free amplification for photoelectrochemical biosensing of circulating tumor DNA

In this work, a new photoelectrochemical (PEC) biosensor based on triple quenching effect of nanozyme catalyzed precipitation to PEC signal of MgIn2S4 was constructed for ultrasensitive detection of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA). Enzyme-free amplification technology was used to convert target ctDNA into a large number of product chains (PC) to improve the detection sensitivity. Co3O4 nanozyme with excellent peroxidase (POD)-like activity was introduced to the surface of MgIn2S4 by PC. Co3O4 could oxidize chromogenic agent 3-Amino-9-ethylcarbazole (AEC) to produce red insoluble precipitation in the presence of H2O2, resulting in the PEC signal “off” of MgIn2S4 to achieve ultrasensitive detection of ctDNA. In particular, Co3O4 nanozyme showed three synergistic quenching effects on PEC signal of MgIn2S4, which contributed greatly to improving the detection sensitivity. Firstly, the light absorption range of Co3O4 could reach 1000 nm, and compete with MgIn2S4 for light absorption. Secondly, the produced red precipitation belonged to the insulating material and had large electrochemical impedance, which hindered the transmission of photogenerated carriers. Thirdly, the precipitation also prevented the electron donor ascorbic acid (AA) from transferring electrons to MgIn2S4. This biosensor provided a promising sensitive PEC detection technology for ctDNA, and further broadened the application of nanozymes in the field of PEC analysis.

A nanoscale γ-cyclodextrin metal-organic framework loaded with eugenol (CMFE) for controlling F. graminearum on the wheat during harvest time

The loss of grains in the production chain caused huge waste worldwide, and the control of plant pathogenic fungi during harvest time is a critical solution to mitigate the damage. Eugenol, an important component of clove oil (Syzygium aromaticum L.), has antioxidant, antifungal, and other activities. In this study, the unstable eugenol was incorporated into the nanoscale γ-cyclodextrin metal-organic framework (γ-CD-MOF), a cubic porous structure synthesized by vapor diffusion method. The investigation of morphologies, functional groups, crystalline structures and weight losing behaviors demonstrated the inclusion complex prepared from γ-CD-MOF and eugenol (CMFE). Compared with the γ-CD loaded with eugenol (CE), CMFE exhibited an improved loading rate with 4.06 % (w/w). And CMFE enhanced the stability of its inner eugenol against degradation by light and air. Moreover, the CMFE demonstrated a significant anti-F. graminearum activity both in the medium and on the wheat grains. The inhibition rate reached 83.8 % at 8 mg/mL in vitro, while the growth of the hyphae was effectively restrained at 4 mg/g in vivo. CMFE could damage the mycelial cell wall and trigger intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation, thus exhibiting its anti-F. graminearum activity. Our results showed that the biocompatible CMFE would be an environment-friendly substitute to chemical fungicides for the prevention of fungal contamination caused by F. graminearum.

Viral Drugs and Antiviral Politics

Abstract This article focuses on the social biography of the Soviet-made antiviral pharmaceutical “Arbidol” (umifenovir), used in Russia as a popular medication to treat influenza. Despite doubts cast on its efficacy, the drug remained a staple for treating upper respiratory infections in Russia. When H1N1 arrived in Siberia in 2009, a shortage of medicine on pharmacy shelves caused by Arbidol’s rapid bulk purchasing led to a social outcry, as well as to discussions about the political corruption underpinning the drug’s production, promotion, and supply chain. By tracking the ways in which Arbidol endured over time through different epidemic waves, this article explores how both viruses and antiviral medicines weave medical and political efficacies together. By using Arbidol as a productive hinge, I analyze the ways in which conspiracy in times of social and medical crisis demonstrate how pharmaceutical and political efficacies are mutually co-constituted.

Description of Streptomyces siderophoricus sp. nov., a promising nocardamine-producing species isolated from the rhizosphere soil of Mangifera indica.

An actinomycete, designated strain CH9-7T, was isolated from the rhizosphere soil of Mangifera indica. The morphological and chemotaxonomic properties, such as the production of spiral spore chains and the presence of LL-diaminopimelic acid in the peptidoglycan, showed that it belongs to the genus Streptomyces. Based on the 16S rRNA gene analysis, it was confirmed that strain CH9-7T was a member of the genus Streptomyces and revealed 99.9% 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity to its closest relative strains, Streptomyces lydicus NBRC 13058 T and Streptomyces chattanoogensis NBRC 12754 T. Although the strain showed high 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity values, however, genome relatedness indexes exhibited that the average nucleotide identity based on the MUMmer (ANIm) algorithm, the average amino acid identity (AAI), and the digital DNA-DNA hybridization values between strain CH9-7T and its closest phylogenomic relatives were below the threshold values for delineation of a novel species, (ANIm ranging from 87.5 to 88.6, AAI ranging from 80.6 to 84.6, and dDDH ranging from 28.4 to 31.7), respectively. A taxonomic position of strain CH9-7T in the phylogenomic tree showed that the closest relative strain was S. lydicus NBRC 13058 T. The comparative phenotypic studies between strain CH9-7T and its closest relatives revealed that strain CH9-7T could be classified as a novel species of the genus Streptomyces. Thus, the name Streptomyces siderophoricus sp. nov. is proposed for the strain. The type strain is CH9-7T ( = TBRC 17833 T = NBRC 116426 T). The chemical investigation led to the isolation of four known compounds (compounds 1-4). Among these compounds, compound 1 was identified to be nocardamine, a promising bioactive substance.

The Application of Deep Learning in the Whole Potato Production Chain: A Comprehensive Review

The Application of Deep Learning in the Whole Potato Production Chain: A Comprehensive Review

Public Health Significance of Verocytotoxigenic Escherichia coli: An Overview

Meat is a global vital protein source catering to diverse diets. By 2050, world’s population may rise to 9 billion and the demand for meat will exceed supply, necessitating a doubling of meat production. Nutritionally rich composition makes meat, a fertile ground for numerous microbes, leading to spoilage and foodborne illnesses, impacting human health. External factors like poor hygiene, inadequate post-production storage, mishandling and more contribute to meat contamination. The zoonotic strains of E. coli can cause severe food poisoning, with over 700 identified serotypes, hence it is crucial to identify, monitor and control E. coli to ensure food safety. Among E. coli pathotypes, Verocytotoxigenic E. coli (VTEC) stands out as major cause of food poisoning. The VTEC toxin (Shiga toxin), can induce mild diarrhea to severe form of illness like Hemorrhagic Uremic Syndrome and Hemorrhagic Colitis, posing a severe public health risk. The Cattle is a primary reservoir for VTEC, which, by faecal shedding, can pollute food, water and the environment. Furthermore, E. coli can spread through contaminated meat, raw milk and milk products. This bacterium is commonly found in the immediate surroundings of animal reservoir, including soil, grass and manure, leading to potential contamination of milk. E. coli infections not only impact humans but also animals, with cattle, sheep and poultry acting as reservoirs for different E. coli strains. Cattle populations frequently harbor E. coli O157:H7 asymptomatic carriers, contributing to faecal contamination of food and water sources. Educating the public about the risks associated with improper meat handling and contamination is essential to reduce foodborne illnesses. Monitoring and surveillance of meat quality in local markets, as are crucial steps towards ensuring food safety. This underscores the importance of understanding and managing E. coli contamination in meat to safeguard public health and ensure the safety of meat products in the global food supply chain.

Etna volcanic ash as new sustainable supplementary cementitious material

The use of supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) is one of the fundamental pillars in the transition towards sustainable binders, and the seek for new alternative SCMs is becoming more and more important to front, on one hand, the increased request, and the expected future shortage of some existing SCMs, such as blast furnace and steel slag, on the other. In this work the use of volcanic ash as a pozzolanic constituent in the manufacture of a type IV mixed cement has been explored. Thousands of tons of ash are erupted for each Strombolian event from the volcano Etna (Italy) . The periodicity and magnitude of the events is variable but very often impressive. In the year 2021 alone, 51 significant paroxysmal events occurred. The enormous quantities of material removed from urbanized areas constitute a valuable resource that can be reused instead of being disposed of as waste. The experimental results of the tests carried out for the physical, mechanical and chemical characterization of the new mixed cement showed that the volcanic material meets the requirements dictated by the standard EN 196-5 to assess pozzolanic properties, and can be effectively used in the production of commercial pozzolanic cements as a partial, or even total replacement for the natural pozzolans. These findings are fundamental to encourage the start-up of a production chain aimed at recycling the waste eruptive material of volcanoes that insist on urbanized areas. Moreover, a review of the regulative framework concerning test methods assessing the pozzolanicity of volcanic material is given.

Studying seriality in material culture by geometric morphometrics–gold wild boars from the Arzhan-2 barrow, Tuva

In the field of material culture, seriality refers to the serial production of nearly the same object in terms of shape and size, yielding visually identical artefacts. Subtle variations may nevertheless occur, depending on the technologies used, or the number and reliability of moulds, for example. Geometric morphometrics based on landmark analysis, along with accompanying statistical techniques, provides methods well-suited for identifying small but archaeologically significant variations in shape and size within such datasets. In this study, we exemplify the efficiency of geometric morphometrics in a context of seriality, using a large series of centimetric-sized gold wild boars decorating a case for bow and arrows, discovered in the Arzhan-2 barrow of the early Scythian time. A total of twenty-seven 2D landmarks was collected for each specimen to assess the level of similarity between individuals with high precision, and to investigate the presence of subgroups, possibly indicating the use of several models. However, due to the homogeneous nature of the dataset, notable measurement errors may obscure the sought-after archaeological signal. To mitigate this, each specimen was measured twice by three different operators. Boas coordinates of the six replicates were then averaged, resulting in a reduction of the effect of measurement errors. Two distinct shape groups are identified, consisting of an approximately equal number of individuals. These findings suggest that the entire set of wild boars could have been produced via two separate manufacturing chains, possibly running in parallel, where two distinct, albeit very similar, solid models were involved. Within each group, discreet variations in size were observed. They are probably due to variable shrinkage during casting. These observations would have been difficult for the naked eye, even for an expert in the field, because the striking similarity within the series and the post-processing by the goldsmith obscure the shape signal originating from the moulds. Besides the original information provided here about the gold wild boars of Arzhan-2, it is worth emphasizing that the use of these techniques should be encouraged, particularly when applied to the study of seriality. The workflow described can easily be reproduced and adapted for almost any serially produced archaeological assemblage.

Influence of sequential machining process on the surface topography of dies

Near net-shape manufacturing of components is a trend that aims to significantly reduce machining times and material waste, trading the machining efficiency for smaller lead times. Cold forging of gear-shaped components is one such operation that generates a component with superior geometrical accuracy and precision, however, the machined cavity is often subject to high mechanical loads and fatigue failures. The usual manufacturing chain involves hard machining, die-sinking electro-discharge machining, and mechanical polishing with abrasive media. Without proper knowledge of the resulting surface roughness and morphology, the tribological aspects of the surface can be neglected. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the manufacturing chain of gear-shaped cavities in terms of surface roughness, surface morphology, and surface residual stresses generated after die-sinking electro-discharge machining (roughing and finishing regimes), as well as mechanical polishing. The surface of the gear tooth was evaluated in three distinct regions: flank, top, and bottom. The results showcased that, even though the surface roughness/texture of the different regions of interest illustrates similar magnitudes, the surface morphology presented completely adverse features, highlighting the importance of a thorough analysis of the machined surface. Residual stress analysis indicated that the mechanical polishing operation was not enough to remove the high-magnitude tensile residual stresses.

Dynamic impacts of public health events on price fluctuations in broiler industry Chain in China: Evidence from COVID-19 epidemic.

Using weekly data from January 2020 to December 2021 on the prices of various links in the Chinese broiler industry chain and the COVID-19 epidemic, we employed a time-varying parametric vector auto-regressive (TVP-VAR) model to investigate the dynamic effects of public health events on price fluctuations of upstream, midstream, and downstream products in the Chinese broiler industry chain. Our findings showed that the COVID-19 epidemic had different effects on the prices of various broiler products, both in direction and magnitude, at different lags and time intervals. Chicken and live chicken prices were impacted the most, followed by broiler chick prices, while broiler feed prices were impacted the least. The epidemic constantly impacted broiler chick and chicken prices, while its effect on live chicken prices was initially negative but turned positive afterwards. Additionally, the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on broiler product prices consistently increased with more extended lag periods. The impulse responses at different epidemic time points were heterogeneous. With the results of this study, policy recommendations can be suggested to relevant government departments to optimize the prevention and control measures for public health emergencies and ensure price stability in the broiler industry.

Compound criticality of bauxite production: implications for sustainability and trade neo-colonialism

We describe bauxite as having compound criticality. (1) It is a critical raw material (CRM) from which alumina and thereby aluminium are produced, and aluminium has the highest production levels of all metals deemed significant to the Clean Energy Transition. (2) Gallium is a by-product CRM, extracted during alumina refining. (3) Multiple other CRM by-products could be extracted during alumina refining: scandium, lithium, cobalt, titanium and REE. (4) Production is profoundly influenced by price inelasticity (for by-products), regime instability of bauxite production and supply chain bottlenecks. We review the geology of bauxite ore deposits as a function of complex CRM supply potential, and interrogate the trait of criticality using four of the world's dominant producer nations of bauxite and potential patterns of value addition from raw materials to refined products. Trade agreements and mitigation strategies to ensure security of supply in consumer regions prioritize removal of low-cost bauxite by large-scale mining operations and shipping of unprocessed ore at high CO 2 footprint from producer nations. Ore-refining nations have investments that are deemed extractive because they remove large quantities of raw material for export with minimal or no in-country processing and they can also place producer nations in debt. Opposition to neo-colonial debt-trap policies and extractive practices increases regime instability and thereby criticality. We highlight how societal-environmental-political interactions and the mineral-energy nexus in the bauxite-aluminium supply chain are subject to increasing turbulence, which may reshape the geographies of supply chains.

Assessment of Brazil's vesicular syndrome surveillance system: Profile of notifications and performance of the official veterinary service

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is an ailment that causes serious damage to the productive chain, and its control through vaccination is of utmost importance for its eradication. Brazil initiated the National Foot-and-Mouth Disease Surveillance Program (PNEFA) with the aim of making the country FMD-free by 2026. As part of the program, notifications of vesicular lesions became mandatory for the Official Veterinary Service (OVS), which is responsible for verifying them. Due to its size, border areas with countries that do not have FMD-free status pose a risk to Brazil and require greater attention. This study described the profile of notifications of suspected outbreaks of vesicular syndrome in Brazil and analyzed the performance of the surveillance system. The results showed 7134 registered notifications of suspected vesicular syndrome outbreaks from 2018 to 2022, with 2022 having the highest number (n = 2343 or 32.85 %). The species that generated the most notifications were swine (90.99 %), cattle and buffaloes (7.54 %), goats and sheep (1.44 %), and others (0.03 %). The sources of notification were "Veterinary medicine professionals" (61.82 %), "Owners or employees" (13.66 %), "Third parties" (8.90 %), "OVS" (7.20 %), and "others" (2.66 %). 41.69 % of notifications originated from non-border municipalities, and 58.32 % from border areas. Only the state of Paraná account for 51.73 % of the total notifications. This state also accounted for 66.70 % of the 32.47 % of notifications with a final diagnosis of "absence of clinically compatible signs or susceptible animals", indicating a certain lack of knowledge in the area, leading to unnecessary notifications and system overload. The performance of the OVS was evaluated based on the service response time from notification registration trough Logistic and Negative binomial regressions. A total of 27.83 % of notifications did not meet the Brazilian legally specified time, and the zone related to the state of Parana needs improvements in performance. The presence and peaks of Senecavirus A cases may have influenced an increased number of swine notifications and led to a decrease in OVS response time. The results demonstrate better performance of surveillance in border areas. Given the vast territory of Brazil, it is not expected that 100 % of responses occur within the legal timeframe, however, the performance of the surveillance system proved to be adequate, with 86 % complied to the legislation. The performance indicators could be used as a monitoring tool, along with indicators to demonstrate system overload. Continued education actions are crucial for strengthening PNEFA.

A Comprehensive Bibliometric Study in the Context of Chemical Hazards in Coffee.

The research aimed to carefully review the chemical hazards linked to the coffee production chain to analyse the risks and opportunities for consumers and the environment, as well as identify potential knowledge gaps. The Scopus database was consulted from 1949 to April 2024 to conduct a bibliometric analysis. As a result, 680 articles were analysed. Results indicated a significant increase in research activity since 2015. China, Brazil, and the USA were the leading countries in scientific production and collaborations. The most prolific journals in this field were Chemosphere, Science of the Total Environment, Food Chemistry, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, and Journal of Environmental Management, all of which are in the first quartile. The word analysis revealed two main themes: the first focuses on the chemical hazards of coffee and their impact on health, while the second explores the waste generated during coffee production and its potential for reuse. The topics covered in the research include the composition of coffee, associated chemical hazards, possible health risks, and ways to reuse waste for environmental protection. Future research should concentrate on optimising techniques and processes to ensure quality, safety, and sustainability.

Disease burden, management strategies, and unmet needs in α-thalassemia due to hemoglobin H disease.

Alpha-thalassemia is an inherited blood disorder caused by impaired α-globin chain production, leading to anemia and other complications. Hemoglobin H (HbH) disease is caused by a combination of mutations generally affecting the expression of three of four α-globin alleles; disease severity is highly heterogeneous, largely driven by genotype. Notably, non-deletional mutations cause a greater degree of ineffective erythropoiesis and hemolysis, higher transfusion burden, and increased complication risks versus deletional mutations. There are limited treatment options for HbH disease, and effective therapies are needed. This review discusses the pathophysiology of HbH disease, current management strategies, unmet needs, and emerging treatment options.

Mapping chromium flows in China's stainless-steel product chain: A product-level substance flow analysis

Chromium (Cr) is a critical metal that supports the development of China's emerging industries. Approximately 82% of China's Cr is used to manufacture stainless steel. However, the stainless-steel product chain has often been referred to as a “black box” in Cr substance flow analysis, leading to limited guidance for Cr management. This study aims to fill this gap by analysing Cr flows and in-use stock patterns in China's stainless-steel product chain from 2012 to 2022. During this period, China's Cr consumption experienced significant growth, increasing by over 10% annually, with 90.4% being imported. The Energy Infrastructure sector emerged as the dominant consumer of Cr (8,099 kt) and in-use stock (7,702 kt), Heavy Machinery products accounting for the highest Cr consumption (3,269 kt). Conducting product-level SFA is crucial for sustainable Cr resource management and environmental policy-making.

The contribution of digitization to successful international expansion: lessons from Decathlon’s strategic movements

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explain to what extent digitization is an opportunity to international development of the firm by drawing on the international expansion of the French Decathlon group. The retailer and manufacturer have adopted a number of interesting strategies, following “specific movements,” as the authors have noted. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected using the Europress database. The authors compiled press articles about the development of the Decathlon company and discussed the various stages of the brand's growth to enhance understanding and propose refinements to the current knowledge of companies' internationalization. Findings The findings support the idea that digitization of the distribution and production chain reduces transaction costs and accelerates the conquest of market share. Digitization brings new experiential knowledge to companies and facilitates internationalization. Decathlon's success lies not in its resources or in the art of managing its internal capabilities, but rather in the ability to combine organizational resources with key external capabilities (development of technological partnerships). Originality/value The originality of this research lies in the logic of deepening the steps of companies’ internationalization integrating new technologies that shift current comprehension of this phenomenon. After the COVID-19 period, digitization is accelerated and represent threats and probably opportunities to break down barriers to companies’ abroad expansion.