The direct, by-product-free conversion of basic feedstocks to products of medicinal and agricultural relevance is a broad goal of chemical research. Butadiene is a product of petroleum cracking and is produced on an enormous scale (about 12 × 10(6) metric tons annually). Here, with the use of a ruthenium catalyst modified by a chiral phosphate counterion, we report the direct redox-triggered ca...

In pursuing the dynamics of the marketplace of biotechnology in animal health and the impact that regulatory issues might have today, I would like to tell you how the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is responding to some of the regulatory challenges that the "new biotechnology" has posed. I will briefly review our policy on and authority for regulating veterinary biological produ...

Antibiotics are secondary metabolites produced by some microorganisms to inhibit or kill many other microorganisms including different bacteria, viruses and eukaryotic cells. Antibiotics are secondary metabolites and these have also been termed “idiolites” (Walker, 1974). Subsequent and widespread use of antibiotics for therapeutic purposes regularly in human, veterinary and agricultural purpos...

A detailed investigation on the production, processing and sales of Sichuan agricultural products was made. Issues like how to bring into full play the regional advantages of Sichuan agricultural products and how to promote the advantageous resource allocation and competitiveness of agricultural products in market economy were also probed. Suggestions and schemes for the e-commerce service syst...

Biochars are produced by low-oxygen gasification or pyrolysis of organic waste products, and can be co-produced with energy, achieving waste diversion and delivering a soil amendment that can improve agricultural yields. Although many studies have reported the agronomic benefits of biochars produced from pyrolysis, few have interrogated the ability of gasified biochars to improve crop productiv...

In spite of the technologies developed during the last decade, the level of food loss is still high and is reported in many countries. According to the United Nations, more than 30 per cent of the mortality rate world-wide is caused by alimentary diseases. The desire of most countries to make food safer for consumption requires better food preservation and production techniques. In this regard,...

This study is concerned with how the quality of perishable products can be improved by shortening the time interval between production and distribution. As special types of food such as dairy products decay fast, the integration of production and distribution scheduling (IPDS) is investigated. An integrated scheduling of both processes improves the performance and costs because the separated sc...

In spite of the technologies developed during the last decade, the level of food loss is still high and is reported in many countries. According to the United Nations, more than 30 per cent of the mortality rate world-wide is caused by alimentary diseases. The desire of most countries to make food safer for consumption requires better food preservation and production techniques. In this regard,...