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The purpose of this article is to investigate on changes of the microbial load and the chemical and physical properties of date fruits stored for 6 months under two different temperatures.

A composite sample of 100 kg date fruits from the Khalas variety, season 2019, was collected from the local market in Al Ahsa Province, Saudi Arabia, packaged in 1 kg lots, stored at room and refrigerator temperatures and the microbial contamination and the chemical and physical properties monitored over a period of six months of storage. Total bacteria, lactic acid bacteria, Enterobacteriaceae, yeasts and molds were counted and representatives of yeast and mold contaminants were identified using morphological, physiological and molecular typing techniques. Changes in the color and texture of the samples were also monitored during storage.

The yeasts detected were two strains of each of Lachancea thermotolerans and Rhodosporidiobolus fluvialis and one strain of Cystofilobasidium lacus-mascardii. For molds, one strain of each of Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus, Penicillium chrysogenum and Aspergillus caespitosus have been detected. No significant growth of these microorganisms was observed, but enough load persisted during storage that makes the samples not meeting the microbiological standards. There were significant changes in the color and texture of the fruits during storage.

These findings add important information that can help producers and processors to improve quality and promote marketing of date fruits, especially to international markets.

Blood lipid and lipoprotein abnormalities are common among patients with diabetes. The study aimed to assess dietary fat intake and its association with blood lipids among patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) considering sex differences.

A cross-sectional observational study was conducted with patients (207 males and 197 females) with T2DM. The daily food intake and its contents of fat and fat types were assessed through face-to-face interview. Anthropometric measurements, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), triglyceride, total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol were initially recorded.

The results revealed that TC, LDL and HDL cholesterol levels were significantly higher in females than in males. However, the TC: HDL ratio was significantly higher in males than in females. The results also showed that the daily intake of saturated fatty acid (SFA) slightly exceeded the daily recommended allowance. However, the monounsaturated fatty acid + polyunsaturated fatty acid/SFA (MUFA + PUFA/SFA) ratio was within the recommended ratio. In addition, this study found that the main sources of SFA and cholesterol intake were milk and milk products. A significant association between high fat intake and HbA1c levels was observed (r = 0.234, p < 0.001).

As it is a cross-sectional observational study, this study has the natural limitation where it can only demonstrate an association.

The types of dietary fat intake may contribute to blood lipid abnormalities and differences effects may exist among male and female. Studies on the effect of daily fat intake and its types on blood lipids in patients with diabetes, in particular Saudi patients with diabetes are limited. This study focused on the amount and type of the consumed fat among male and female Saudi patients with T2DM and studied the relationship between the type of consumed fat and blood lipid profiles.

This paper explores the indigenous climate knowledge (ICK) of the Gwadar fishing community in Pakistan. The main purpose of this paper is to explore the accuracy of ICK and how climatic change brings changes to it and the social lives of local fishers.

Qualitative research methods, including participant observation, in-depth interviews and oral histories, were used to collect the data.

Finding from this long fieldwork shows that this fishing community has a harmonious relationship with nature and local ecology. Their knowledge of local ecology enables them to have equal access to natural resources, sustainable resource management, disaster risk reduction and strong social organization on the coast of Gwadar. Recently their deep relationship with local ecology and sociocultural organization has been disturbed due to huge climate changes caused by human manipulation of the environment. Their ability to foresee climatic events has been reduced. They are finding it impossible to estimate fish availability due to massive climate changes. Local communities are losing their traditional livelihoods and socioeconomic autonomy as a result of growing climate change. Climatic change adds to the existing poverty situation and increases political instability in the region.

The study suggests using the fishermen’s valuable indigenous knowledge of local ecology, climate and its ties to local traditions, culture and resource management for a scientific understanding of climate change and marine resource management in Gwadar, Pakistan.

This is an ethnographic study based on a long term field work. Fishing community is passing through catastrophic climatic changes in the region. This community has been ignored by both government and researchers to record their problems and bring them to academia and media. Therefore, this study will help them raise their voices.

The ionization of the air surrounding the phase conductor in high-voltage transmission lines results in a phenomenon known as the Corona effect. To avoid this, Corona rings are used to dampen the electric field imposed on the insulator. The purpose of this study is to present a fast and intelligent surrogate model for determination of the electric field imposed on the surface of a 120 kV composite insulator, in presence of the Corona ring.

Usually, the structural design parameters of the Corona ring are selected through an optimization procedure combined with some numerical simulations such as finite element method (FEM). These methods are slow and computationally expensive and thus, extremely reducing the speed of optimization problems. In this paper, a novel surrogate model was proposed that could calculate the maximum electric field imposed on a ceramic insulator in a 120 kV line. The surrogate model was created based on the different scenarios of height, radius and inner radius of the Corona ring, as the inputs of the model, while the maximum electric field on the body of the insulator was considered as the output.

The proposed model was based on artificial intelligence techniques that have high accuracy and low computational time. Three methods were used here to develop the AI-based surrogate model, namely, Cascade forward neural network (CFNN), support vector regression and K-nearest neighbors regression. The results indicated that the CFNN has the highest accuracy among these methods with 99.81% R-squared and only 0.045468 root mean squared error while the testing time is less than 10 ms.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, for the first time, a surrogate method is proposed for the prediction of the maximum electric field imposed on the high voltage insulators in the presence Corona ring which is faster than any conventional finite element method.

We introduce decision support tools aimed at optimizing perishable food supply chain management, effectively balancing conflicting objectives such as the exporter’s product collection cost and the importer’s profit. This involves considering factors like perishability, selling price, discount rate, and order quantity to achieve optimal outcomes.

This study considered a three-echelon supply chain comprising farmers, a single exporter, and a single importer providing a single, random-lifetime, perishable product under deterministic customer demand. The proposed mathematical model derived the optimal order quantity, selling price, and discount rate for the entire supply chain. This integrated optimization model treats both demand and supply sides as a multi-objective problem, employing a nonlinear program and a two-stage capacitated vehicle routing problem formulation. Numerical examples and a case study focusing on Thailand durian supply chain were conducted to illustrate the approach of the proposed model.

Taking into account both the importer’s profit and the exporter’s product collection cost, the proposed integrated supply chain model and tools maximize profitability, minimizes waste, and meets demand by optimizing perishable product collection costs and proposing a discount system for selling prices.

Limited to a single perishable product in a three-echelon international food supply chain. Future research can explore different products and supply chain contexts.

The tools enhance decision-making for supply chain managers, improving efficiency, reducing costs, and enhancing customer satisfaction in the perishable food industry.

The proposed model aids in local workforce management by forecasting required manpower for upcoming seasons. By factoring in product quality and pricing, it ensures customers receive fresh products at fair prices. Furthermore, the near-zero waste concept enhances storage conditions at importers' facilities, contributing to improved environmental hygiene.

The integrated model and decision support tools offer a novel approach to address complexities and conflicting objectives in perishable food supply chains, providing practical insights for researchers and practitioners.

This paper analyzes the consumption of fruits and vegetables (FV) in Senegal by: (1) urban and rural areas; (2) FV types (African-indigenous vs non-indigenous); (3) sources of FV (imports, purchases and own-production).

The authors undertake descriptive and regression analyses on consumption of FV sourced from purchases, own-production and gifts. The data come from primary surveys in 2017/2018 of 6,328 rural and urban households in Senegal.

The analysis showed that FV are important in urban and rural food consumption. A stunning 76% of rural FV consumption is from purchases, showing the importance of FV supply chains even into and among rural areas. Only 12% of national FV consumption is from imports. Most FV consumption in rural and urban areas is now of non-indigenous FV; African-indigenous FV have a minor share.

A limitation of this paper is that it uses a cross-sectional dataset.

There are few national survey-based studies of FV consumption in Africa. This is the first to disaggregate FV consumption between primary versus secondary cities and rural towns, and rural areas close to and far from cities, in such detail regarding types and sources of FV as outlined in the findings. The regressions contribute by including determinants beyond income, including gender, employment, spatiality and education.

The purpose of this paper is to describe and analyze the impacts that the recent proliferation of private and overlapping standards is having in the trade of agricultural products from developing countries.

In a first stage industry experts in the Chilean fresh fruit trading industry were interviewed to understand the perceived impact that private standards are imposing in the industry. These interviews allowed to identify the market case study, table grapes, the landscape of private standards and their prevalence in different countries. In a second stage, a gravity trade model for trade in table grapes was estimated, with a focus on the more stringent countries identified by experts in the first stage.

We show evidence that the proliferation of private standards required by large European retailers has diverted trade away from more stringent countries that require more certifications (and into less stringent European markets). We also show that the costs of these additional certifications have been shared by trading partners, via an increase in direct sales, as opposed to consignment (the traditional marketing mode), which is associated with higher prices.

The impacts of the recent proliferation of private and overlapping standards in international trade needs to be better understood both by the legal and economic literature. While the use of private standards has been growing since the 1990s, there is a recent trend of large European retailers imposing their own and overlapping standards that needs to be better understood to inform policy.

While there is a thin literature on the impact of private standards on trade, most of this has studied the effects of the now de facto mandatory GlobalGAP certification. However, there is a recent trend by large European retailers of demanding their own private certifications, together with other already existing overlapping private standards. This study describes and analyzes the impacts of this rather new trend.

Due to the recent disruptions caused by COVID-19, global supply chains are stress tested. The affected supply chains have interfered with market tonnage prices for the yield of perishable products like mangoes that are highly dependent on their quality. This research, through empirical findings, thus determines and comprehends the factors influencing mango quality (size).

A framework is developed for finding the potential factors of quality building on the previous literature and studies on the available topic. The data collection included face-to-face interviews comprising 240 farmers, hired managers and preharvest contractors in India's Jangaon, Rangareddy and Yadadri Bhuvanagiri districts of Telangana state. The data analysis is done using multiple regression, and the outcomes form the basis of the design of the experiments model.

The empirical insights support that the quality of mango is affected by factors such as the number of picking cycles, the cost of fertilizer, the variety of fertilizers used, the variety of pesticides used and pesticide application frequency. The direct implications are the benefit to farmers in improving mango quality and maximizing profit per yield cycle.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the first research that has specifically focused on holistically improving the quality(size) of mangoes.

The findings contribute to the perishable supply chain literature, specifically to the mango study, to comprehensively showcase the factors impacting the quality of mangoes and provide guidance to farmers regarding orchard practices.

The primary objective of this study is to investigate the application of blockchain technology (BCT) in the agri-food supply chain, focusing on traceability and food safety.

The study employed a semi-structured interview method with representatives from the cherry supply chain to evaluate their awareness and acceptance of BCT's impact. Additionally, the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) was utilized to determine digital investment priorities in supply chain strategies. By applying the supply chain operations reference (SCOR) model framework to the cherry supply chain, the study aimed to address the question “Which process model is suitable for implementing BCT in the agri-food supply chain?”

The global agri-food supply chains are characterized by significant food losses, escalating prices along the chain, and food safety risks. Concurrently, consumer concerns regarding food safety, quality and transparency are on the rise. BCT, with its ability to ensure data integrity, immutability, and seamless tracking of chain movements, presents immense potential as a secure infrastructure in the agri-food supply chain traceability.

The developed analytic framework and the study's findings can be adapted to different sectors and different sub-sectors within agri-food supply chains.

While urban farming is advocated as a contributor to urban sustainability and resilience, the “informal” household-practiced urban agriculture activities are taking place within urban spaces in most Emirati neighbourhoods but unfortunately without investigating their potential as participatory processes that could efficiently help attain urban sustainability and resilience on the neighbourhood level. So, this research is a humble attempt to bridge the gap of the lack of official recognition of informal residents-led processes and their products in a way that help understand them and their impacts and to explore the possibility of developing them further into wider community shared urban agriculture activities.

The research adopted the case study method and selected a representative neighbourhood to investigate informal residents-led urban agriculture practices. The utilized qualitative–quantitative investigation tools included map analysis, field observation and in-depth interviews with the residents of the selected neighbourhood.

The results of the research have revealed that the residents managed to successfully pursue informal urban farming processes that have led to significant environmental, social and economic sustainability and resilience outcomes. While these informal urban farming activities are performed individually by each household, the interviewed residents have shown enthusiasm to take part in larger-scale collective community urban farming activities, especially in the deserted public and semi-public spaces in their neighbourhood.

The research outcomes significantly contribute to the growing worldwide discourse about urban agriculture/farming, especially in a country like the UAE where such activities are almost overlooked. Based on its findings, the research concludes by proposing a set of recommended actions to legitimatize these informal urban agriculture processes in the urban development regulations and to build on them to encourage the local communities towards more collective urban farming activities.