Vegetable Garden Research Articles

Characterization of Organic, Inorganic and Integrated Farming Practices for Livelihood Assessment in Jammu Region – A Case Study of Sambha District

Aim: Organic farming is considered as a solution to environmental ills associated with modern agriculture. Survey covered crop, livestock, homestead, agro forestry systems with data pertaining to 120 farmers from 06 villages of Sambha district in Jammu division. Data refer to the input output details and other socio-economic characteristics of farm households in the crop year 2019-2020.
 Study Design: Descriptive statistics like sum, average, percentage and ratio were calculated to examine the socioeconomic characteristics of the sample farmers.
 Place and Duration of Study: Survey covered crop, livestock, homestead, agro forestry systems with data pertaining to 120 farmers from 06 villages of Sambha district in Jammu division.
 Methodology: Random sampling technique has been used for collecting data. A combination of descriptive statistics, mathematical and statistical techniques was used to analyse the data collected.
 Results: Out of 120 sample farmers, the highest percentage of farmers was in small farm category followed by marginal, landless, medium and large. Average farm size for landless, marginal, small, medium and large were 0.02 ha, 0.71 ha, 1.43 ha, 2.65 ha and 4.80 ha, respectively. All the five categories of farmers showed little variation in terms of the age of households of the farmer. Farmer’s age, literacy and farm size are factors having impact on decision making processes in farming. Own cultivated land for marginal, small, medium and large were 0.53 ha, 1.21 ha, 2.23 ha and 4.21 ha, respectively whereas using above formula total cultivated land for marginal, small, medium and large were 0.71ha, 1.43ha, 2.65ha, and 4.80 ha respectively. Among the six major farming systems, the highest number of farmers practiced Crop+Livestock+Poultry (C-L-P) system. C-L-P was followed by Crop+Livestock+Poultry+Agroforestry (C-L-P-A), Crop+Livestock+Kitchen gardening (C-L-K), Crop +Vegetables (C-V), Crops+Horticulture (C-H) and Vegetable+Horticulture (V-H) systems. Cereals were major crops of the region followed by pulses in high land areas and horticultural crops. Out of five cropping patterns, net returns was the highest in Rice-maize-vegetable cultivation (Rs.120344 ha-1) followed by Maize-Potato-Wheat (Rs.103380 ha-1), Pulse-Mustard-Wheat (Rs.101100ha-1), Rice-Pulses-Wheat (Rs. 98000 ha-1) and Rice-Wheat system (Rs.88950 ha-1). The overall food security index in case of integrated farming practicing households was 1.13. However, food security indices of food secure households and food insecure households were 1.37 and 0.87, respectively. From the index it can be seen that even though the farmers are practicing integrated farming
 Conclusion: The study reveals that crop–livestock–poultry–homestead farming system was the most popular in integrated farming systems. Integrated farming has the potential of increasing farmers’ income and employment creation over the mixed and traditional farming practices in the study areas. The extent of food security situation was much better among the integrated farm households when compared to others. Farm households practicing organic in integrated farming were more economically self-sustainable having different modules comprising of livestock, horticulture, poultry and crop. In UT of Jammu where land is scarce, effort should be taken to increase production through integration of various production components in agriculture for efficient utilization of resources. It would result in production of diversified products from minimum area and help in increasing the income of the farmers

La memoria e la città. Rigenerare il complesso salesiano a Faenza

The former Salesian Complex in Faenza has been developed since the second half of the nineteenth century, growing up to include a whole urban block next to the southern city walls, which used to be empty in times, serving as a vegetable garden. The area constitutes nowadays probably the largest urban section of the historical centre being managed by a single authority. This place represents a singular resource for the city: for its extension, but especially for its role in promoting youth and citizenship, slightly becoming a veritable lieu de memoire in Faenza contemporary history. As an evidence of that, when the Ispettoria Salesiana decided to close the boarding school and to sell the whole property to private investors, a large part of city stakeholders and common people mobilized, asking the municipality to purchase it and to restore the area. A challenging undertaking, if we consider the recession period, the weakness of public financial resources and a strong need not to give up the unity of the place, as well as its value for urban memory and civic education. The present essay aims to describe the circumstances and the approach that led to the completion of this effort, building on three main principles: the recognition of the potential of places, the development of a wide engaging system, and finally an interpretation of the design process as a global and open strategy.

Michael Thompson, MD

Michael Thompson, MD

New locations and distribution of the alien species Acalipha australis L. (Euforbiaceae) in Azerbaijan

Abstract:The article is devoted to the introduced species Acalypha australis L., which has recently been actively expanding its secondary range in Azerbaijan. The results of the study of the distribution and new localities of the species in the republic are discussed, the areas are specified, the species composition of phytocenoses is described, the influence of field moisture on the vitality of A. australis and the dependence on vertical zoning are considered. The main habitats of the species are garden plots, vegetable gardens, park zones and the sides of small water channels, the introduction of A. australis into forest, coastal ecosystems is noted. Keywords: invasive species, Greater Caucasus, Lesser Caucasus, forest ecosystems, coastal strip, agrocenoses, abundance

COMPOSTING AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO REDUCE COMMON WASTE VOLUME IN HOSPITALS

Composting is an alternative that has been used on a large scale as a tool for sustainability practices, being a form of recycling organic waste that avoids overloading waste in landfills. The process generates an organic compost that can be used to fertilize the soil in gardens and vegetable gardens. The present work aims to show that composting is a viable and safe procedure to use in hospitals. The methodology used was a qualitative bibliographic research, a literature review authors who are reference in the subject, using the databases of academic google and scielo. It is possible to state that the construction of a compost bin aims to dispose of organic waste from the hospital, in areas that do not pose a risk of contamination of this material by microorganisms that pose a risk to the environment or human beings, and should use organic waste from cafeterias and snack bars. These residues pass by the natural process of decomposition (nutrient cycling) so that the final product is an organic compound that can be used in hospital gardens and generate a lower cost for their maintenance, in addition to reducing the use of fertilizers that are potential environmental polluters. Another important factor is the decrease in the occurrence of insects, as they are naturally attracted to areas with the presence of organic matter. Thus, by separating these residues at the generation sites, and directing them to composters, results in a reduction in the occurrence of pests in the entire hospital area, and maintaining a safe environment for patients and employees. It can be concluded that the construction of a program for the reuse of food that is not consumed is important to improve the vision of sustainability in hospitals, making it possible to apply composting in different places, as part of waste management, reducing thus the environmental impact caused by these residues due to the generation and disposal of waste. Keywords: Sustainability in hospitals. Organic Waste. Composters. Nutrient cycling.

Financial Security of Farmers through Homestead Vegetable Production in Barishal District, Bangladesh

Homestead farming is always ignored though it is a boundless promising area for economic sustainability. Therefore, the present study was undertaken to determine the present status of the homestead vegetable production and also to ascertain the socio-economic condition of the local farmers of the Barishal District. The influence of different types of socio-economic factors on the economic security of the farmers through homestead vegetable production was also investigated through this study. Following proportionate random sampling technique, a total number of 180 farmers were sampled from three villages of Babuganj Upazila of Barishal of Bangladesh and were interviewed through a predesigned questionnaire. The findings of the study revealed that half of farmers were more than 50 years old, of whom 89% were educated either primary to more than SSC level and had an average family annual income of USD 1967.9. The family size of the respondents indicated that 80% of the farmers had small to medium (4-6 members) family size. The findings also indicated that, on an average, the farmers had 1.25 acre of total land and 0.17 acre of homestead vegetable land in which they spent about 3 hours of time in a day to perform homestead vegetable production. Out of all the farmers, 30% of them didn’t receive any training on any agriculture related issues and 30% of them didn’t receive any training on homestead vegetable gardening related issues. The farmers of the study area practiced some technologies in homestead vegetable production, like, balanced fertilizer use, and pheromone trap. The farmers produced different types of vegetables in their homestead areas and among them green papaya, brinjal and tomato were the dominant. The results of the study also revealed that the farmers earned about USD 50 per year from homestead vegetable gardening which helped them to upsurge some sorts of financial safety and improve nutritional status of their families. In addition, out of nine attributes, two attributes, namely, family size and vegetable land ownership had significant influence on the financial security through homestead vegetable gardening.

The influence of abiotic factors on the growth and development of parsnip plants

The main drivers influencing plant growth, yield increase and its quality characteristics are biotic and abiotic factors. Combinations of abiotic stresses, such as drought and heat, have a much greater impact on yields and product quality. Plants' response to these stresses can vary depending on the species and different stages of development. Understanding the mechanisms and how they protect plants from stress has become vital for improving the yield and quality of parsnip products in changing climates. The purpose of the study was to determine the influence of abiotic factors (temperature and precipitation) on the yield, duration of phenological phases of growth and development of plants, the dynamics of leaf and root mass growth of parsnip in the conditions of the Right-Bank Forest-Steppe of Ukraine. The research was carried out in the field experiment of the Department of Vegetable Growing and Closed Ground in the National Research Institute “Fruit and Vegetable Garden” of NUBiP of Ukraine within the conditions of the Right-Bank Forest-Steppe of Ukraine during 2015-2017. The area of the registered plot was 11.3 m2, and the repetition rate of the experiment is four times. The placement of variants is systematic. The research found that the shortest sowing-emergence period lasted 16 days in the variants sown in the 3rd ten-day period of May and the 1st ten-day period of June. A significant delay of 21 days in this period was noted for sowings from 1st to 3rd ten-day periods of April. The duration of the period from the beginning of root crop formation to bunch ripeness was the shortest when sown in the 1st ten-day period of April – 28 days, and the longest when sown in the 1st ten-day period of June – 51 days. The growing season ranged from 110 to 165 days and was characterised by GDD (> 10 °C) of 1102.4-1439.0 °C and precipitation of 128.1-225.2 mm. After sowing in April, intensive growth of root crops from 2.9 to 3.5 g / day was observed in the second half of August. After sowing in May, the greatest increase in root crops from 2.1 to 2.7 g/day was noted in the first half of September. Thus, for sowings in the 1st ten-day period of June, this figure was the highest in the second half of September (1.9 g/day). The variant sown in the 1st ten-day period of April provided a high yield of root crops of 50.3 t/ha, which is 5.3 t/ha or 11.8% significantly more than the control variant. When sowing in the following terms, a significant decrease in yields was observed compared to the control, namely: for 3rd ten-day period of April – by 3.5 t/ha, or 7.7%, for 1st ten-day period of May – by 8.8 t/ha, or 19.6%, for 2nd ten-day periods of May – by 17.4 t/ha, or 38.6%, for 3rd ten-day periods of May – by 23.0 t/ha, or 51.1%, for 1st ten-day period of June – by 31.7 t/ha, 70.6% compared to the control. A strong direct correlation (r = 0.74-0.99) was found between the growing season and yield, root mass, marketability, and biochemical parameters, namely: dry matter, dry soluble matter, sugars, vitamin C. An inverse correlation (r = -0.98) was observed between the duration of the growing season and nitrates. Increasing the growing season by 10 days increases the yield up to 6.9 t/ha, marketability up to 2.7%, root weight up to 31 g, dry matter content up to 0.7%, dry soluble matter up to 0.3%, sugars up to 0.5%, vitamin C up to 0.8 mg/100 g and reduces the nitrate content to 8.4 mg/kg. Leaf area, photosynthetic potential, and net photosynthetic productivity are strongly directly related (r = 0.92-0.98) to yield. For increasing the leaf surface area to 1.0 thousand m2 the yield is also growing up to 0.7 t/ha. Increasing the photosynthetic potential to 0.05 million m2 days/ha increases the yield to 0.2-1.2 t/ha. Also, the yield increases to 0.3-0.7 t/ha with an increase in net photosynthetic productivity to 0.05 g/m2 per day. The molecular knowledge on plant responses to abiotic stress is promising for further study and is likely to advance crop resilience to climate change and increase the economic efficiency of production

The Productivity and Profitability of Marshland Farming System: the Case of Ligawasan Marsh in Maguindanao

Wetlands have been used for agriculture because of their natural fertility. This is true in Ligawasan Marsh in Southern Philippines where residents have been farming as main source of livelihood. This study determines the productivity and profitability of rice, corn and mungbean as primary crops in a marshland community in Maguindanao. It was conducted during dry season combining quantitative and qualitative design. Triangulation method was applied using survey, key informant interview, focus group discussions and observation. There were 24 farmers who participated in the study. The average yields for rice, corn and mungbean were at 1.5 t ha−1,.78 t ha−1, and 0.32 t ha−1, respectively. Farmers earn Php 13,860.65 per ha for rice, 3,933.56 for corn, and Php 12,898.83 for mungbeans. Productivity and profitability is low compared to established data on yield and net income. Farmers, however, are spending very minimal which make them less dependent from external input. The average cost of production is lower than the established production cost. Farming in a marshland community is considered as low external input agriculture. There is a need to diversify farmers’ income including vegetable gardening, duck raising, and fishing and adopt a better cropping calendar.

Functional and Taxonomic Diversity of Collembola as Complementary Tools to Assess Land Use Effects on Soils Biodiversity

Collembola have been proposed for several decades as a good model organisms to survey soil biodiversity; but most of the studies focused on taxonomic endpoints. The main objectives of this study are to compare the effects of the different land uses, including urban and industrial land uses, while using both collembolan functional and taxonomic biodiversity approaches. We collected data on 3,056 samples of Collembola communities across 758 sites in various land uses throughout France. The types of land use considered included all types of human activity from forestry to urban, industrial, traffic, mining and military areas, agricultural grassland, arable land, vineyards and urban vegetable gardens. In order to study functional and taxonomic biodiversity, we used community-weighted means, functional indices, species richness and density. When looking at collembolan functional diversity, urban and industrial soils appear clearly less diversified than when considering the taxonomic diversity. We suspect here a functional homogenization effect commonly reported in the literature for various organisms in urban ecosystems. Our study provides range of values for different taxonomic and functional indices of Collembola communities in a wide land use classification across France.

Southwest Harvest for Health: An Adapted Mentored Vegetable Gardening Intervention for Cancer Survivors.

Harvest for Health is a home-based vegetable gardening intervention that pairs cancer survivors with Master Gardeners from the Cooperative Extension System. Initially developed and tested in Alabama, the program was adapted for the different climate, growing conditions, and population in New Mexico. This paper chronicles the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of “Southwest Harvest for Health”. During the nine-month single-arm trial, 30 cancer survivor-Master Gardener dyads worked together to establish and maintain three seasonal gardens. Primary outcomes were accrual, retention, and satisfaction. Secondary outcomes were vegetable and fruit (V and F) intake, physical activity, and quality of life. Recruitment was diverse and robust, with 30 survivors of various cancers, aged 50–83, roughly one-third minority, and two-thirds females enrolled in just 60 days. Despite challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic, retention to the nine-month study was 100%, 93% reported “good-to-excellent” satisfaction, and 87% “would do it again.” A median increase of 1.2 servings of V and F/day was documented. The adapted home-based vegetable gardening program was feasible, well-received, and resulted in increased V and F consumption among adult cancer survivors. Future studies are needed to evaluate the effectiveness of this program and to inform strategies to increase the successful implementation and further dissemination of this intervention.

Integration of food waste composting and vegetable gardens in a university campus

Local composting (household, community and small scale applications) is considered a sustainable option for bio-waste recovery and is receiving increasing demand from society. Higher education institutions are no exception, but detailed and comprehensive long-term studies on composting programs on university campuses are lacking. The local composting program of the University of A Coruña (UDC) offers a decentralized service for the treatment of food waste from 11 university canteens using static and dynamic composters located in 9 different composting areas. Considering the three pillars of sustainability, this work describes the characteristics of the different composting technologies used and their investment and operational costs, the routine monitoring process and product quality, the integration of the composting systems as living labs for biotechnology and environmental engineering courses, and the use of compost in the university vegetable gardens. The agents involved in the project are the canteen staff, the university gardening company, external composting operators, university researchers and teachers, sustainability scholarship students and volunteer people. Organic waste is usually delivered directly by canteen staff to composters. The gardening service provides green waste from UDC campus (crushed pruning) that is used as bulking material. The monitoring and maintenance of the composting areas is currently in charge of external staff provided by a local NGO dedicated to cooperation and job reintegration of the unemployed. The service also allows the incorporation of volunteers and scholarship students as operators and process monitoring supervisors. The main result of this project was the prevention of a large amount of waste that did not require collection and transportation, or disposal or incineration. This is being done in an economically sustainable way, as decentralized composting costs have been lower than the average costs of municipal solid waste treatment in the region. The lower investment costs of static composters largely offset the higher labour costs and result in lower overall costs than those of the dynamic composter. The dissemination of composting practice to society was another important outcome of the project.

AWWA Water Science Author Spotlight

Having recently published an article in AWWA Water Science, Amina Stoddart answered questions from the publication's editor-in-chief, Kenneth L. Mercer, about the research. An Automated and High-Throughput Method for Adenosine Triphosphate Quantification Fatou Secka, Nicole E. Allward, and Graham Gagnon I am an assistant professor in the Centre for Water Resources Studies in the Department of Civil and Resource Engineering at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, Canada. Our team has broad research interests in the water and wastewater treatment space. Our team members can often be found in our local wastewater treatment plants working on process optimization or testing new treatment and monitoring strategies. Amina hikes near Morden, Nova Scotia. I was introduced to water research as an undergraduate student at Acadia University. I was offered an undergraduate student research assistant position by my favorite professor and now my friend and colleague, Dr. Jennie Rand. I was responsible for collecting drinking water samples from a local water system and doing chemical and microbiological water quality analyses. I loved visiting the treatment plant and pumping station and learning how the system worked. My favorite days continue to be those that I spend onsite in water and wastewater treatment plants. Amina, a kayaking enthusiast, navigates the Bay of Fundy. Students (left to right) Sydney Lowe, Gillian Stanton, and Madison Gouthro take a break from operating a wastewater pilot plant at the Dartmouth Wastewater Treatment Plant in Halifax. Photo by Gillian M.L. Stanton Amina and her dog Mel enjoy an afternoon at her converted shipping container cabin. Water samples should be analyzed for microbiological parameters without delay to ensure that they remain representative of the water quality at the time the sample was taken. This work was led by our students, Fatou Secka and Nicole Allward, and their goal was to automate ATP analysis so that many samples could be analyzed in a high-throughput manner, reducing overall operator involvement and analysis time. I am an avid kayaker and love to explore lakes and coastlines by kayak. Effective wastewater treatment is a key component to ensuring that these spaces remain unpolluted and available to be enjoyed now and into the future. Anytime we can assess the microbiological quality of drinking water quickly and easily, we are taking a step to protect public health. Health Canada recently revised its document, Guidance on the Use of Heterotrophic Plant Counts in Canadian Drinking Water Supplies, to recognize other metrics that can be used to assess biological stability in drinking water distribution systems (now Health Canada's Guidance on Monitoring the Biological Stability of Drinking Water in Distribution Systems). ATP was included in this document as a suggested parameter/method to assess the biological stability. It is anticipated that our method could be of use to utilities that may generate a significant number of ATP samples. I grew up in Nova Scotia. I lived in its capital city, Halifax, for many years while I was attending Dalhousie University and continue to travel there every day for work. Halifax is surrounded by the beautiful Halifax Harbour. Unfortunately, when I was growing up, the harbour was well known locally for its poor water quality as a result of many years of direct discharge of raw sewage. Treatment systems have since been put in place and the harbour water quality has improved significantly. However, there is still work to be done. My first major grant as an assistant professor involves a partnership with Halifax Water in which we are investigating treatment optimization strategies to improve effluent water quality at the wastewater treatment plants that discharge into the harbour. I live in rural Nova Scotia with my partner Jordan, our daughter Willa, our dog Mel, and our horses Jac, Rob, and Brie. We love spending our free time horseback riding, kayaking, hiking, and working in our vegetable gardens. On weekends we like to spend time relaxing near the ocean in our converted shipping container cabin.

P6 The Seed to Supper Online Program and Its Effect on Motivation to Consume Fruit and Vegetables Among Beginning Gardeners in New Mexico

<h3>Objective</h3> To assess whether Seed to Supper Online, an online, self-paced, beginning vegetable gardening program designed for adults gardening on a budget, impacts participants' motivation to consume more fruits and vegetables. <h3>Use of Theory or Research</h3> The Social Cognitive Theory guides the Seed to Supper Online program. Additionally, Seed to Supper Online was developed following the Quality Matters Standards. <h3>Target Audience</h3> Thirty-three adults who participated in Seed to Supper Online, a self-paced online course offered statewide in New Mexico. <h3>Program Description</h3> Using the Canvas course management system, Seed to Supper, traditionally a face-to-face program, was adapted and converted to an online self-paced program. The course consists of 7 modules that include lecture videos, hands on activities, quizzes, and self-reflection. Participants can optionally join a private Facebook group and bi-monthly live virtual Q&A sessions. Topics covered include planning, soil, planting, garden care, and harvesting. <h3>Evaluation Methods</h3> Participants completed an electronic pre and post intervention survey. The surveys collected information on participants' gardening experience, learning goals, and motivations regarding fruit and vegetable consumption. <h3>Results</h3> The survey showed positive results, with 90% of participants reporting they had more motivation to eat more fruits and vegetables after completing the Seed to Supper Online course. <h3>Conclusion</h3> The findings from this test suggest participating in the Seed to Supper Online course increases participants' motivation to eat fruits and vegetables, which may lead to increased fruit and vegetable consumption among adults.

Education and Female Agency in the Garden: Doris Lessing’s “Flavors of Exile”

Doris Lessing’s recent centenary brought opportunities to look at her works with fresh eyes. This is also the case with Lessing’s interest in education (Cairnie 2008; Sperlinger 2017), especially that of children in their transition to youth. This paper argues that this was an interest with which Lessing consistently concerned herself in both her fiction and non-fiction writings. Using the corpus of her African short stories as a primary reference framework, this paper studies “Flavours of Exile” (1957), a short story in which a family’s vegetable garden becomes a learning space for informal experimentation. The story is used by Lessing as a platform to raise her concerns about the education of the female subject in the historical context of decolonisation.

HOUSEHOLD FOOD SECURITY AND COPING STRATEGIES DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Food security is one of the crucial areas of global concerns, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. When the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared COVID-19 as a pandemic, a number of countries, including Malaysia, started to impose a generalised quarantine or lockdown as a measure to curb the spread of the disease. The key aspect of this measure is the restricted movement of people, goods and transportation. As a result, food supply and consequently, food security became embroiled in the mix. Questions such as will we be able to get the food supply during the pandemic, will there be enough food for everyone, and how will we cope in ensuring household food security were asked. Thus, the aim of this paper is to explore the issues of household food security and the short-term coping strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically focusing on the views of respondents from Sarawak, Malaysia. Findings and discussion in this paper are based on data that was collected online from 235 respondents from all over Sarawak, Malaysia. It is found that availability of food is not really an issue but the challenges of food security during the COVID-19 pandemic are more focused on access to their preferred food and the choices of food that are available. A number of coping strategies has also been identified, such as getting food from alternative sources like online shopping, home vegetable gardens and preservation and storing of surplus food to make them last longer. These measures are not considered as severe.

The Effects of Agricultural Experience Program on Agricultural Literacy and Hand Function Improvement of Adolescents Living in Self-reliance Residence Hall

Background and objective This study was conducted to increase understanding of agriculture through agricultural experience programs for adolescents living in self-reliance residence hall, and to investigate changes in work performance ability through changes in hand function. Methods There were 11 subjects, and the average age was 18.2 years, all males without disabilities. The agricultural experience program consists of a total of 10 sessions including orientation and watching videos on future agriculture, creating vegetable gardens, planting, managing each crop, harvesting, visiting the processing room, and selling at a local food store. Results The change in agricultural literacy by the agricultural experience program positively improved from a score of 113.73 to 127.91 (&lt;italic&gt;p&lt;/italic&gt; = .008). The changes by sub-item are as follows. The value and safety of agri-foods (&lt;italic&gt;p&lt;/italic&gt; = .020) and agriculture and natural environment (&lt;italic&gt;p&lt;/italic&gt; = .007) were significantly improved. The function and value of rural areas (&lt;italic&gt;p&lt;/italic&gt; = .050), production of agricultural products (&lt;italic&gt;p&lt;/italic&gt; = .160), processing and distribution of agricultural products (&lt;italic&gt;p&lt;/italic&gt; = .248), and agricultural policies (&lt;italic&gt;p&lt;/italic&gt; = .058) were not significantly changed. The simple function of the hands was measured by the number of pegs inserted during 30 seconds, and the assembly function was measured by the number of pegs inserted during 60 seconds. In the case of simple function, the dominant hand was improved from 14.82 to 15.83 (&lt;italic&gt;p&lt;/italic&gt; = .014), and the non-dominant hand was also significantly improved from 13.79 to 15.01 (&lt;italic&gt;p&lt;/italic&gt; = .002). There was no significant improvement in the simple function (&lt;italic&gt;p&lt;/italic&gt; = .153) and assembly function (&lt;italic&gt;p&lt;/italic&gt; = .770) of both hands. Conclusion It is considered that the agricultural experience program will enable youths living in self-reliance residence halls to enhance their understanding of agriculture as an occupation, and enable them to play a role as wise consumers by positively affecting improvements in their agricultural literacy and simple hand functions.

Research on functional space of community-based medical-nursing combined facilities for the aged in small cities

ABSTRACT The aging of the population is accelerating. In China, the relationship between the differences in aged care and medical resources is being explored, but there is a lack of research on the aged care and medical needs of older people in the community and the functional space of aged care institutions. In this paper, questionnaires, interviews and observations were conducted with older adults over 60 years of age in a small urban community. Statistical methods were used to analyze their real needs in terms of living and health requirements. The results showed that 1) The number of members in the whole family was significantly associated with the choice of home care model. 2) There was a high demand for day care, emergency stations and home services among the seniors in the community. 3) Watching television, drinking tea, and growing vegetables and flowers were the most popular activities among the seniors. 4) There was a high demand for nursing services, medical services and medical equipment among the seniors in the community. Conclusion. Family service station, ornamental room, tea room, vegetable garden and healthy green environment should be the most basic functional spaces. Professional medical places for the seniors should be provided in the community.

Integrated Approach in Addressing Undernutrition in Developing Countries: A Scoping Review of Integrated Water Access, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH)+Nutrition Interventions.

ABSTRACTA scoping review of integrated water access, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) plus nutrition interventions was conducted mainly to describe different components of intervention and examine their effectiveness in improving nutritional outcomes among children. Of the 8 small- to large-scale interventions, 6 were conducted in sub-Saharan Africa and the remaining 2 in South Asia. All the interventions were done in rural settings; the majority involved sanitation and hygiene deliverables along with the nutrition strategies, such as distribution of nutrition supplements. In assessing effectiveness, no significant improvements were seen in growth indicators; reduction in diarrheal rate among children was also not universal across interventions. Further strengthening of WASH, especially an improvement in “W”, or water access, is warranted to ensure uptake of sanitation and hygiene behaviors and prevent the fecal–oral route among children. Improved water access will also enhance the effectiveness of nutrition initiatives, such as promoting vegetable gardening and utilization of child nutrient supplements.

Demonstration gardens with EDTA-washed soil. Part III: Plant growth, soil physical properties and production of safe vegetables

In previous reports large-scale EDTA-based soil washing using ReSoil® technology was demonstrated. In the current study, we established a vegetable garden with nine raised beds (4 × 1 × 0.5 m), three with original (contaminated) soil, three with remediated soil, and three with remediated soil vitalized by addition of vermicompost, earthworms, and rhizosphere inoculum. The garden was managed in 6 rotations between July 2018 and November 2019. Buckwheat was sown first as a green manure followed by spinach, lamb's lettuce, chicory, garlic, onion, leek, lettuce, carrot, kohlrabi and spinach again. Buckwheat growth on the remediated soil was reduced by half. Throughout the gardening process there were no remarkable differences in bulk density, hydraulic conductivity, available water capacity, and aggregate stability of the original and remediated soil. Biomass yield and plant performance, as measured by NDVI, also remained similar regardless of soil treatment. Remediation reduced Pb concentration in edible parts of vegetables from 76 (garlic) to 95% (kohlrabi), Zn concentration from 14 (lettuce) to 76% (first cutting of chicory), and Cd concentration from 33% (carrot) to 91% (leek and second cutting of chicory). The transfer of metals from soil to root and from root to shoot occurred in the order: Pb < Zn < Cd. The bioconcentration of toxic metals in edible plant parts was generally lower in the remediated soils. Application of ReSoil® technology and growing vegetables that exclude metals, especially Cd, has potential for safe food production on remediated soils. Vitalization had little effect on the properties of the remediated soil.

The Food Environment of Primary School Learners in a Low-to-Middle-Income Area in Cape Town, South Africa.

Rapid changes in food environments, where less nutritious foods have become cheaper and more accessible, have led to the double burden of malnutrition (DBM). The role food environments have played in shaping the DBM has attained global interest. There is a paucity of food environment research in low-to-middle-income countries. We conducted a case study of the food environments of school aged learners. A primary school in Cape Town was recruited. A multi-method design was used: a home food and eating behaviours questionnaire completed by 102 household respondents and four questions completed by 152 learners; learner participatory photography; a semi-structured school principal interview; a tuckshop inventory; observation of three-day tuckshop purchases. Foods that were commonly present in households: refined carbohydrates, fats/oils, chicken, processed meats, vegetables, fruit, legumes, snacks/drinks. Two thirds of households had rules about unhealthy drinks/snacks, ate supper together and in front of the TV, ate a home cooked meal five–seven times/week and ate breakfast together under two times/week. Vegetables were eaten under two times/week in 45% of households. A majority of learners (84%) took a lunchbox to school. Twenty-five learners photographed their food environment and 15 participated in semi-structured interviews. Six themes emerged: where to buy; what is available in the home; meal composition; family dynamics; peer engagement; food preparation. Items bought at informal food outlets included snacks, drinks and grocery staples. The principal interview revealed the establishment of a healthy school food environment, including a vegetable garden, although unhealthy snacks were sold at the tuckshop. Key dimensions of the food environment that require further investigation in disadvantaged urban and informal settlement areas include the home availability of unhealthy foods, eating behaviours in households and healthfulness of foods sold by informal food outlets.