Microbes in Land Use Change Management


Book Description

Microbes in Land Use Change Management details the various roles of microbial resources in management of land uses and how the microbes can be used for the source of income due to their cultivation for the purpose of biomass and bioenergy production. Using various techniques, the disturbed and marginal lands may also be restored eco-friendly in present era to fulfil the feeding needs of mankind around the globe. Microbes in Land Use Change Management provides standard and up to date information towards the land use change management using various microbial technologies to enhance the productivity of agriculture. Needless to say that Microbes in Land Use Change Management also considers the areas including generation of alternative energy sources, restoration of degraded and marginal lands, mitigation of global warming gases and next generation -omics technique etc. Land use change affects environment conditions and soil microbial community. Microbial population and its species diversity have influence in maintaining ecosystem balance. The study of changes of microbial population provides an idea about the variation occurring in a specific area and possibilities of restoration. Meant for a multidisciplinary audience Microbes in Land Use Change Management shows the need of next-generation omics technologies to explore microbial diversity. - Describes the role of microbes in generation of alternative source of energy - Gives recent information related to various microbial technology and their diversified applications - Provides thorough insight in the problems related to landscape dynamics, restoration of soil, reclamation of lands mitigation of global warming gases etc. eco-friendly way using versatility of microbes - Includes microbial tools and technology in reclamation of degraded, disturbed and marginal lands, mitigation of global warming gases




Nutrition and Infectious Diseases


Book Description

This comprehensive and user-friendly volume focuses on the intersection between the fields of nutrition and infectious disease. It highlights the importance of nutritional status in infectious disease outcomes, and the need to recognize the role that nutrition plays in altering the risk of exposure and susceptibility to infection, the severity of the disease, and the effectiveness of treatment. Split into four parts, section one begins with a conceptual model linking nutritional status and infectious diseases, followed by primers on nutrition and immune function, that can serve as resources for students, researchers and practitioners. Section two provides accessible overviews of major categories of pathogens and is intended to be used as antecedents of pathogen-focused subsequent chapters, as well as to serve as discrete educational resources for students, researchers, and practitioners. The third section includes five in-depth case studies on specific infectious diseases where nutrition-infection interactions have been extensively explored: diarrheal and enteric disease, HIV and tuberculosis, arboviruses, malaria, and soil-transmitted helminths. The final section addresses cross-cutting topics such as drug-nutrient interactions, co-infections, and nutrition, infection, and climate change and then concludes by consolidating relevant clinical and public health approaches to addressing infection in the context of nutrition, and thus providing a sharp focus on the clinical relevance of the intersection between nutrition and infection Written by experts in the field, Nutrition and Infectious Diseases will be a go to resource and guide for immunologists, clinical pathologists, sociologists, epidemiologists, nutritionists, and all health care professionals managing and treating patients with infectious diseases.




Managing Healthy Livestock Production and Consumption


Book Description

Managing Healthy Livestock Production and Consumption is a highly interdisciplinary resource based on scientific and empirical evidence. It is illustrated with best practices of low-input livestock systems from different continents and offers predictive modelling alternatives for a more resilient future. By addressing gaps of knowledge and presenting scientific perspective studies of livestock's impact on the environment and the global food supply up to 2050, this book is useful for those advocating for sustainable food systems. Existing evidence of the effects of livestock production on food quality and nutrition is reviewed. Livestock production and consumption is a highly diverse topic where current publications only include/focus a single aspect of the issues, for example, greenhouse gas emissions or health impacts, leading to unilateral decisions such as refraining from meat consumption. However, animals are necessary to soil fertility and ecosystems balance and a more realistic resource is necessary for researchers, scientists, and policy makers. This book clarifies perceptions by presenting sound scientific evidence across livestock landscapes for the scientific community to better appreciate the ecological web of life and the social web of community related to livestock production. An edited work written by globally diverse scientists and practitioners, including field workers, technicians, and policy makers, this is a valuable resource for researchers, teachers, and development agents working in the area of sustainable livestock production and consumption of animal source foods. National, international organizations, policy makers, and donors interested in sustainable development of the livestock sector will also find the information here practical and applicable. - Describes the public-health impacts of sustainable diets and livestock products - Presents the impacts of livestock production on the environment and food supply - Explores future scenarios (up to 2050) of low input livestock systems - Includes current case studies of low input livestock systems that offer potential for scaling-up and replication for sustainable livestock futures




The Human Microbiome, Diet, and Health


Book Description

The Food Forum convened a public workshop on February 22-23, 2012, to explore current and emerging knowledge of the human microbiome, its role in human health, its interaction with the diet, and the translation of new research findings into tools and products that improve the nutritional quality of the food supply. The Human Microbiome, Diet, and Health: Workshop Summary summarizes the presentations and discussions that took place during the workshop. Over the two day workshop, several themes covered included: The microbiome is integral to human physiology, health, and disease. The microbiome is arguably the most intimate connection that humans have with their external environment, mostly through diet. Given the emerging nature of research on the microbiome, some important methodology issues might still have to be resolved with respect to undersampling and a lack of causal and mechanistic studies. Dietary interventions intended to have an impact on host biology via their impact on the microbiome are being developed, and the market for these products is seeing tremendous success. However, the current regulatory framework poses challenges to industry interest and investment.




Science Breakthroughs to Advance Food and Agricultural Research by 2030


Book Description

For nearly a century, scientific advances have fueled progress in U.S. agriculture to enable American producers to deliver safe and abundant food domestically and provide a trade surplus in bulk and high-value agricultural commodities and foods. Today, the U.S. food and agricultural enterprise faces formidable challenges that will test its long-term sustainability, competitiveness, and resilience. On its current path, future productivity in the U.S. agricultural system is likely to come with trade-offs. The success of agriculture is tied to natural systems, and these systems are showing signs of stress, even more so with the change in climate. More than a third of the food produced is unconsumed, an unacceptable loss of food and nutrients at a time of heightened global food demand. Increased food animal production to meet greater demand will generate more greenhouse gas emissions and excess animal waste. The U.S. food supply is generally secure, but is not immune to the costly and deadly shocks of continuing outbreaks of food-borne illness or to the constant threat of pests and pathogens to crops, livestock, and poultry. U.S. farmers and producers are at the front lines and will need more tools to manage the pressures they face. Science Breakthroughs to Advance Food and Agricultural Research by 2030 identifies innovative, emerging scientific advances for making the U.S. food and agricultural system more efficient, resilient, and sustainable. This report explores the availability of relatively new scientific developments across all disciplines that could accelerate progress toward these goals. It identifies the most promising scientific breakthroughs that could have the greatest positive impact on food and agriculture, and that are possible to achieve in the next decade (by 2030).




Food Security, Nutrition and Sustainability


Book Description

This book offers critical insights by international scholars, with chapters on global food security, supermarket power, new technologies, and sustainability. The book also assesses the contributions of diet and nutrition research in building socially just and environmentally sustainable food systems and provides policy recommendations to improve the health and environmental status of contemporary agri-food systems.




Critical Role of Animal Science Research in Food Security and Sustainability


Book Description

By 2050 the world's population is projected to grow by one-third, reaching between 9 and 10 billion. With globalization and expected growth in global affluence, a substantial increase in per capita meat, dairy, and fish consumption is also anticipated. The demand for calories from animal products will nearly double, highlighting the critical importance of the world's animal agriculture system. Meeting the nutritional needs of this population and its demand for animal products will require a significant investment of resources as well as policy changes that are supportive of agricultural production. Ensuring sustainable agricultural growth will be essential to addressing this global challenge to food security. Critical Role of Animal Science Research in Food Security and Sustainability identifies areas of research and development, technology, and resource needs for research in the field of animal agriculture, both nationally and internationally. This report assesses the global demand for products of animal origin in 2050 within the framework of ensuring global food security; evaluates how climate change and natural resource constraints may impact the ability to meet future global demand for animal products in sustainable production systems; and identifies factors that may impact the ability of the United States to meet demand for animal products, including the need for trained human capital, product safety and quality, and effective communication and adoption of new knowledge, information, and technologies. The agricultural sector worldwide faces numerous daunting challenges that will require innovations, new technologies, and new ways of approaching agriculture if the food, feed, and fiber needs of the global population are to be met. The recommendations of Critical Role of Animal Science Research in Food Security and Sustainability will inform a new roadmap for animal science research to meet the challenges of sustainable animal production in the 21st century.







New and Future Developments in Microbial Biotechnology and Bioengineering


Book Description

Crop Improvement through Microbial Biotechnology explains how certain techniques can be used to manipulate plant growth and development, focusing on the cross-kingdom transfer of genes to incorporate novel phenotypes in plants, including the utilization of microbes at every step, from cloning and characterization, to the production of a genetically engineered plant. This book covers microbial biotechnology in sustainable agriculture, aiming to improve crop productivity under stress conditions. It includes sections on genes encoding avirulence factors of bacteria and fungi, viral coat proteins of plant viruses, chitinase from fungi, virulence factors from nematodes and mycoplasma, insecticidal toxins from Bacillus thuringiensis, and herbicide tolerance enzymes from bacteria. - Introduces the principles of microbial biotechnology and its application in crop improvement - Lists various new developments in enhancing plant productivity and efficiency - Explains the mechanisms of plant/microbial interactions and the beneficial use of these interactions in crop improvement - Explores various bacteria classes and their beneficial effects in plant growth and efficiency