The food industry faces numerous challenges to assure provision of tasty and convenient food that possesses extended shelf life and shows long\uffe2\uff80\uff90term high\uffe2\uff80\uff90quality preservation. Research and development of antimicrobial materials for food applications have provided active antibacterial packaging technologies that are able to meet these challenges. Furthermore, consumers expect and demand sustainable packaging materials that would reduce environmental problems associated with plastic waste. In this review, we discuss antimicrobial composite materials for active food packaging applications that combine highly efficient antibacterial nanoparticles (i.e., metal, metal oxide, mesoporous silica and graphene\uffe2\uff80\uff90based nanomaterials) with biodegradable and environmentally friendly green polymers (i.e., gelatin, alginate, cellulose, and chitosan) obtained from plants, bacteria, and animals. In addition, innovative syntheses and processing techniques used to obtain active and safe packaging are showcased. Implementation of such green active packaging can significantly reduce the risk of foodborne pathogen outbreaks, improve food safety and quality, and minimize product losses, while reducing waste and maintaining sustainability.Microplastic effects in terrestrial ecosystems have recently moved into focus, after about a decade of research being limited to aquatic systems. While effects on soil physical properties and soil biota are starting to become apparent, there is not much information on the consequences for plant performance. We here propose and discuss mechanistic pathways through which microplastics could impact plant growth, either positively or negatively. These effects will vary as a function of plant species, and plastic type, and thus are likely to translate to changes in plant community composition and perhaps primary production. Our mechanistic framework serves to guide ongoing and future research on this important topic.
", "keywords": ["2. Zero hunger", "Soil", "Food Safety", "Microbiota", "Microplastics", "0211 other engineering and technologies", "02 engineering and technology", "Plants", "15. Life on land", "Plant Roots", "01 natural sciences", "Ecosystem", "0105 earth and related environmental sciences"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/nph.15794"}, {"href": "https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.15794"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/New%20Phytologist", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1111/nph.15794", "name": "item", "description": "10.1111/nph.15794", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1111/nph.15794"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2019-03-29T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.15454/2zqkir", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-04-03T16:21:01Z", "type": "Dataset", "title": "Science for policy 6: Urban planning: sealing the future of soil functions - datasets?", "description": "Open AccessThis dataset is part of Deliverable and 5.3 and produced by the WP4 team of the Landmark H2020 project. It contains the following shapefiles: PO6_BAU_NoZoning_50.shp PO6_BAU_NoZoning_100.shp PO6_BAU_Zoning_50.shp PO6_Sprawl_Zoning_50.shp PO6_BAU_NoZoning_50.shp PO6_Compact_Zoning_50.shp PO6_Compact_NoZoning_50.shp The metronamica Model was applied on six scenarios with combinations of business as usual, suburban sprawl or compact city development which build on the socio-economic projections and density assumptions of the ESPON-ET2050 project, and use the land use allocation parameters from the RECARE and SoilCare Integrated Assessment Models. Spatial development (zoning) was for some scenarios restricted in high productive fields. The model results give probabilities (0 \u2013 1) of urban development within the 1 km\u00b2 cells. Based on these probability percentages the different soil functions are reduced (100% of the probability and 50% of the probability) compared to the current soil functioning and, for the 50% scenarios, partly replaced by low productive grasslands as gardens and other public greenery. Z-scores are calculated from the spatial SF maps for each of the environmental zones. These environmental zones are derived from the Metzger et al. (2013). The z-scores give the signed fractional number of standard deviations by which SF means for an environmental zone are above or below the mean value and allow us indicate which areas have a higher or lower soil function performance compared to the mean value. Z-scores from the current SF maps and scenario maps were then compared to each other to calculate the change in z-scores. This change in z-scores is given in the shapefiles and describes the relative change in soil function performance. Positive values indicate an improvement in soil functioning compared to the current situation, negative values a decrease. More information regarding calculation and interpretation of both this dataset and the soil function maps used to calculate the z-scores can be found in: Vrebos D., F. Bampa, R. Creamer, A. Jones, E. Lugato, L. O\u2019Sullivan, P. Meire, R.P.O. Schulte, J. Schr\u00f6der and J. Staes (2018). Scenarios maps: visualizing optimized scenarios where supply of soil functions matches demands. LANDMARK Report 4.3. and Jones A. et al. (2019). An options document to propose future policy tools for functional soil management. LANDMARK 5.3. All available from www.landmark2020.eu.", "keywords": ["Water resources", "Food Safety", "Food Safety and Toxicology", "Nutritional Sciences", "Social Sciences", "7. Clean energy", "Pathology and Forensic Medicine", "Health and Life Sciences", "Farming Systems and Practices", "11. Sustainability", "13. Climate action", "Agriculture", " Forestry", " Horticulture", "Human Health and Pathology", "Soils and soil sciences", "Agricultural Sciences", "Life Sciences", "Hydrology and Hydrogeology", "15. Life on land", "Rural and Agricultural Sociology", "Human Nutrition and food security", "Farming Systems", "Medicine", " Health and Life Sciences", "Earth and Environmental Sciences", "Soil Sciences", "Medicine", "Geosciences"], "contacts": [{"organization": "Vrebos, Dirk, Bampa, Francesca, Schulte, Rogier, Creamer, Rachel, Jones, Arwyn, Staes, Jan, Zwetsloot Marie, Debernardini, Mariana, O\u2019Sullivan, Lilian,", "roles": ["creator"]}]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.15454/2zqkir"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.15454/2zqkir", "name": "item", "description": "10.15454/2zqkir", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.15454/2zqkir"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2019-01-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "21.15107/rcub_nardus_23157", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-04-03T16:27:53Z", "type": "Report", "title": "Optimization of the method for Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) of nucleic acids for field detection of food- and waterborne pathogens", "description": "The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that by 2050 there will be close to 10 billion people on Earth. The major global challenge is how to provide enough food for everyone, that is safe, ample and produced in a sustainable way. In regard to food safety, large-scale epidemics of foodborne diseases are a persistent threat to public health, as the number of food- and waterborne diseases significantly increases year by year, resulting in the on-going global public health issue. Foodand waterborne microbiological pathogens can be found in a variety of foodstuffs, and their early detection is extremely important to increase overall food safety, and to prevent enormous economic losses. The problems with health-unsafe food in the last 20 years, and a related rise in food poisoning cases internationally, have led to a growing and urgent demand for safe food products that will not pose a danger to consumers. On the other hand, it is equally important to ensure the absence of microbiological pathogens in the whole process of food production e.g. during crop cultivation where it is very important to perform early detection of pathogens to prevent their further spread and avoid the negative effects on yield and quality of crops or during food processing and storage. Classical microbiological cultivation methods are still considered the 'gold standard' in detection of different types of pathogens (bacteria, viruses, pathogenic fungi) during quality analysis, due to their sensitivity, relative low cost and ability to generate qualitative and quantitative information regarding the number and nature of microorganisms of a different origin. However, what is considered perhaps the biggest drawback of these methods is the fact that they require at least 3-4 days to get the first results, and even up to 7 days for confirmatory results. In addition, there are pathogens that cannot be cultivated i.e., so-called viable but non-culturable - VBNC pathogens that do not have the ability to form visible colonies, which further hinders the ability to use classical microbiological cultivation methods for their detection. Application of polymerase chain reaction, i.e. PCR, changed the way microbiological analyses are performed in the direction of detecting specific microbial DNA as a target. PCR-based methods that detect pathogen-derived nucleic acids are faster (last up to several hours), very reliable and allow the analysis of VBNC pathogens. However, these techniques depend on precise instruments, clean working conditions and hence, cannot be used in the field. In addition, PCR can give falsepositive or false-negative results due to the use of nonspecific primers or to the lack of differentiation between nucleic acids of the living (active) and dead (inactive) cells. To address these challenges, the primary focus of this doctoral dissertation is on development and optimization of innovative nucleic acid based methods for rapid detection of pathogens in food and water. More specifically, the research focus of the dissertation is the application of the isothermal loop-mediated amplification (LAMP) method, which allows for fast, simple, and reliable field detection. This approach for detection of pathogens in food of animal and plant origin and in the environment corresponds to the \u201cOne health\u201d paradigm, recommended by the FAO, that is encompassing methods of optimizing the health and well-being of people, animals, plants and environment. In line with this, the primary objectives (O) of this doctoral dissertation have been formulated as follows: O1) To perform advanced development of the LAMP method for research and potential practical purposes in order to detect pathogens in different complex matrices comprising foodstuffs (meat and vegetable), water, and soil-like matrix; O2) to determine applicability of the LAMP method for river water quality assessment as advised by the One health paradigm; O3) to improve and optimize procedures for nucleic acid (NA) isolation in order to enable rapid extraction in the field conditions and O4) comparison of the efficiency of the developed LAMP protocols versus both the conventional cultivation methods and the PCR method as the \u201cgold standard\u201d for NA amplification-based analyses. O1 formulated in the above described way comprises O1.1) establishing clearly defined protocols for LAMP detection of bacterial pathogens in various food matrices using Klebsiella aerogenes species as a model system; The protocol development includes de novo design of the specific primers, and O1.2) developing LAMP protocol for early detection of pathogenic fungi Trichoderma spp. in soil-like matrix. The protocol development includes de novo design of the specific primers. Final protocol includes implementation of colorimetric detection of the LAMP products using gold nanoparticles, thereby increasing the technology readiness level (TRL) for real-life application of the developed protocol. O2 focuses on evaluating the potential application of the LAMP method in detecting fecal indicator bacteria (FIB), such as E. coli, for river water quality assessment. O3 deals with enhancing extraction protocols for rapid DNA isolation O3.1.1) from the foodstuffs and O3.1.2) from soil-like real-life samples (Chelex 100 method) and O3.2) from highly contaminated river water samples (a syringe-based DNA isolation method) and provides evaluation of developed protocols for application in the field conditions. O4 aims to provide conclusions on the applicability of developed LAMP protocols for use in early detection of pathogens of bacterial and fungal origin, in field conditions. The key conclusions derived from the research conducted in this dissertation are that the LAMP method has been successfully optimized for the specific detection of K. aerogenes and Trichoderma spp. in various types of real-life samples. Additionally, the LAMP protocol development included design of novel LAMP primers for both K. aerogenes and Trichoderma spp. as the primer sequences for these pathogens were not found in the literature. The developed LAMP procedures using novel primers are characterized by high sensitivity and low detection limits for all tested samples, as well as with better efficiency compared to the PCR method. These aspects confirm the significant potential of the LAMP method as a diagnostic tool for pathogen detection. Additionally, the field application of the LAMP method combined with the Chelex 100 method for DNA isolation enables practical use of the developed LAMP protocols under various conditions. Furthermore, the results demonstrated that the LAMP method can also be used for detecting E. coli in complex samples such as highly contaminated water, positioning the LAMP method as a very good tool for application following the One Health approach. Notably, the protocols for both LAMP and DNA extraction procedures developed within this thesis still require further increase in TRL before commercial field applications. Taking all of the above into account, this dissertation represents a significant contribution to the research on molecular detection methods and development of innovative diagnostic tools for enhancing food and water safety, that can be of significant importance in addressing the global challenge of ensuring safe food and sustainable environment for the growing population. Further research and application of these methods may greatly contribute to food poisoning prevention, public health and environmental management, as defined in the \u201cOne health\u201d agenda.", "keywords": ["LAMP; isothermal method; nucleic acids; detection of pathogenic microorganisms; food safety; food security; field detection"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/21.15107/rcub_nardus_23157"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "21.15107/rcub_nardus_23157", "name": "item", "description": "21.15107/rcub_nardus_23157", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/21.15107/rcub_nardus_23157"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2025-05-28T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "3114970092", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-04-03T16:28:35Z", "type": "Dataset", "title": "Science for policy 6: Urban planning: sealing the future of soil functions - datasets?", "description": "Open AccessThis dataset is part of Deliverable and 5.3 and produced by the WP4 team of the Landmark H2020 project. It contains the following shapefiles: PO6_BAU_NoZoning_50.shp PO6_BAU_NoZoning_100.shp PO6_BAU_Zoning_50.shp PO6_Sprawl_Zoning_50.shp PO6_BAU_NoZoning_50.shp PO6_Compact_Zoning_50.shp PO6_Compact_NoZoning_50.shp The metronamica Model was applied on six scenarios with combinations of business as usual, suburban sprawl or compact city development which build on the socio-economic projections and density assumptions of the ESPON-ET2050 project, and use the land use allocation parameters from the RECARE and SoilCare Integrated Assessment Models. Spatial development (zoning) was for some scenarios restricted in high productive fields. The model results give probabilities (0 \u2013 1) of urban development within the 1 km\u00b2 cells. Based on these probability percentages the different soil functions are reduced (100% of the probability and 50% of the probability) compared to the current soil functioning and, for the 50% scenarios, partly replaced by low productive grasslands as gardens and other public greenery. Z-scores are calculated from the spatial SF maps for each of the environmental zones. These environmental zones are derived from the Metzger et al. (2013). The z-scores give the signed fractional number of standard deviations by which SF means for an environmental zone are above or below the mean value and allow us indicate which areas have a higher or lower soil function performance compared to the mean value. Z-scores from the current SF maps and scenario maps were then compared to each other to calculate the change in z-scores. This change in z-scores is given in the shapefiles and describes the relative change in soil function performance. Positive values indicate an improvement in soil functioning compared to the current situation, negative values a decrease. More information regarding calculation and interpretation of both this dataset and the soil function maps used to calculate the z-scores can be found in: Vrebos D., F. Bampa, R. Creamer, A. Jones, E. Lugato, L. O\u2019Sullivan, P. Meire, R.P.O. Schulte, J. Schr\u00f6der and J. Staes (2018). Scenarios maps: visualizing optimized scenarios where supply of soil functions matches demands. LANDMARK Report 4.3. and Jones A. et al. (2019). An options document to propose future policy tools for functional soil management. LANDMARK 5.3. All available from www.landmark2020.eu.", "keywords": ["Water resources", "Food Safety", "Food Safety and Toxicology", "Nutritional Sciences", "Social Sciences", "7. Clean energy", "Pathology and Forensic Medicine", "Health and Life Sciences", "Farming Systems and Practices", "11. Sustainability", "13. Climate action", "Agriculture", " Forestry", " Horticulture", "Human Health and Pathology", "Soils and soil sciences", "Agricultural Sciences", "Life Sciences", "Hydrology and Hydrogeology", "15. Life on land", "Rural and Agricultural Sociology", "Human Nutrition and food security", "Farming Systems", "Medicine", " Health and Life Sciences", "Earth and Environmental Sciences", "Soil Sciences", "Medicine", "Geosciences"], "contacts": [{"organization": "Vrebos, Dirk, Bampa, Francesca, Schulte, Rogier, Creamer, Rachel, Jones, Arwyn, Staes, Jan, Zwetsloot Marie, Debernardini, Mariana, O\u2019Sullivan, Lilian,", "roles": ["creator"]}]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/3114970092"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "3114970092", "name": "item", "description": "3114970092", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/3114970092"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2019-01-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "3135523176", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-04-03T16:28:37Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2021-03-05", "title": "Antimicrobial nanoparticles and biodegradable polymer composites for active food packaging applications", "description": "AbstractThe food industry faces numerous challenges to assure provision of tasty and convenient food that possesses extended shelf life and shows long\uffe2\uff80\uff90term high\uffe2\uff80\uff90quality preservation. Research and development of antimicrobial materials for food applications have provided active antibacterial packaging technologies that are able to meet these challenges. Furthermore, consumers expect and demand sustainable packaging materials that would reduce environmental problems associated with plastic waste. In this review, we discuss antimicrobial composite materials for active food packaging applications that combine highly efficient antibacterial nanoparticles (i.e., metal, metal oxide, mesoporous silica and graphene\uffe2\uff80\uff90based nanomaterials) with biodegradable and environmentally friendly green polymers (i.e., gelatin, alginate, cellulose, and chitosan) obtained from plants, bacteria, and animals. In addition, innovative syntheses and processing techniques used to obtain active and safe packaging are showcased. Implementation of such green active packaging can significantly reduce the risk of foodborne pathogen outbreaks, improve food safety and quality, and minimize product losses, while reducing waste and maintaining sustainability.The food industry faces numerous challenges to assure provision of tasty and convenient food that possesses extended shelf life and shows long\uffe2\uff80\uff90term high\uffe2\uff80\uff90quality preservation. Research and development of antimicrobial materials for food applications have provided active antibacterial packaging technologies that are able to meet these challenges. Furthermore, consumers expect and demand sustainable packaging materials that would reduce environmental problems associated with plastic waste. In this review, we discuss antimicrobial composite materials for active food packaging applications that combine highly efficient antibacterial nanoparticles (i.e., metal, metal oxide, mesoporous silica and graphene\uffe2\uff80\uff90based nanomaterials) with biodegradable and environmentally friendly green polymers (i.e., gelatin, alginate, cellulose, and chitosan) obtained from plants, bacteria, and animals. In addition, innovative syntheses and processing techniques used to obtain active and safe packaging are showcased. Implementation of such green active packaging can significantly reduce the risk of foodborne pathogen outbreaks, improve food safety and quality, and minimize product losses, while reducing waste and maintaining sustainability.