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The dynamics of consumers can be affected by both nutrient-deficient food (low phosphorus (P) to carbon (C) ratio) and nutrient-excessive (high P:C) food, which is known as the stoichiometric knife-edge phenomenon. In this study, aiming to illustrate the responses of herbivores and omnivores to food with excessive P content, we present and analyze a tri-trophic level stoichiometric knife-edge model incorporating the intraguild predation structure. The model dynamics are theoretically examined, including the boundedness and positivity of solutions, the existence and stability of boundary equilibria, and the existence of positive equilibria. Numerical simulations show that the model has complex dynamics, encompassing chaotic-like oscillations, multiple types of bifurcations, long transients, and regime shifts. Moderate P levels facilitate the coexistence of the three species, whereas both lower and higher P levels result in the extinction of herbivores and omnivores. Specifically, the energy enrichment paradox occurs at low P levels. In contrast, the nutrient enrichment paradox occurs at high P levels, both of which are detrimental to the survival of herbivores and omnivores. Furthermore, the high-intensity predation of producers by omnivores helps to restrain the occurrence of chaotic dynamics. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the mechanisms of multi-species coexistence.

The hollow core photonic crystal waveguide biosensor is designed and described. The biosensor was tested in experiments for artificial sweetener identification in drinks. The photonic crystal waveguide biosensor has a high sensitivity to the optical properties of liquids filling up the hollow core. The compactness, good integration ability to different optical systems and compatibility for use in industrial settings make such biosensor very promising for various biomedical applications.

Presently the entire world, especially the third-world countries, are greatly suffering from food shortages while the available food is sometimes of low quality due to poor processing and lack of storage facilities. To increase the shelf life and improve the quality, the food products need to be appropriately processed, packaged, and protected to minimize the risk of contamination and spoilage. The use of sustainable, low-cost, and lightweight biobased materials could be potential candidates used for food packaging to ensure the transportation of food to other regions and preserve it for extended duration. The idea of introducing different technologies to food science is to increase the sustainability, shelf-life, and nutritional quality of food. Currently, the development of a new generation of products with improved properties for food packaging is of utmost importance. Nanocellulose, a versatile material possessing unique structural, physico-chemical, mechanical, thermal, and biological features, has been vastly explored in food industry for various application. This chapter describes the merits and challenges of nanocellulose in food science as well as its functionalization through surface modification and in situ addition of reinforcement materials to meet the demand of using it as food packaging material and dietary aid, food additive, and emulsion stabilizer. It also discusses the development of active food packaging materials by using biodegradable polymers and antimicrobial materials as an innovative and attractive approach in food science to inhibit the growth of microorganism and retain the quality, freshness, and safety of food.

Agriculture and food (agri-food) supply chains have been suffering from many issues such as lack of traceability, poor visibility and low efficiency. These issues directly and significantly affect management efforts to ensure compliance of agri-food production, improve food safety and quality, prevent food waste and reduce supply chain operation costs. This chapter will be discussing the application of blockchain technology in agri-food supply chains to address the identified issues. In this chapter, we will evaluate the potential of blockchain technology in this application area. We also point out several challenges one may face during the application process.

The threat of continued food scares has driven growth in the organic market in the last few years, as consumers have come to distrust many conventional products and have taken a greater interest in food safety mechanisms. This concern for food safety is now at its peak throughout Europe, and Spanish consumers are similarly concerned about the quality of the food they are eating.

Spanish organic agriculture has grown very fast in the last decade; the land devoted to organic production methods has increased more than 150 times and the manufacturers are also solidly established. On the other hand, the efforts to boost organic production have to be accompanied by the development of a national action plan for organic food to improve the whole situation of the organic sector and to assure consumers of consistent product quality.

As a part of a research project, we describe here the situation of the Spanish organic food sector and the political initiatives carried out, and the analysis of the Spanish consumer, through a national survey carried out by telephone interviews. The consumers' knowledge level about organic products, their behaviour and attitude facing these products are studied. And, as conclusions of this research study, we show possible marketing strategies to satisfy the consumers' needs and preferences.