Washington State University

About: Washington State University is a education organization based out in Pullman, Washington, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Gene. The organization has 26947 authors who have published 57736 publications receiving 2341509 citations. The organization is also known as: WSU & Wazzu.

Increased food and ecosystem security via perennial grains

Abstract: Despite doubling of yields of major grain crops since the 1950s, more than one in seven people suffer from malnutrition ( 1 ) Global population is growing; demand for food, especially meat, is increasing; much land most suitable for annual crops is already in use; and production of nonfood goods (eg, biofuels) increasingly competes with food production for land ( 2 ) The best lands have soils at low or moderate risk of degradation under annual grain production but make up only 126% of global land area (165 million km2) ( 3 ) Supporting more than 50% of world population is another 437 million km2 of marginal lands (335% of global land area), at high risk of degradation under annual grain production but otherwise capable of producing crops ( 3 ) Global food security depends on annual grains—cereals, oilseeds, and legumes—planted on almost 70% of croplands, which combined supply a similar portion of human calories ( 4 , 5 ) Annual grain production, though, often compromises essential ecosystem services, pushing some beyond sustainable boundaries ( 5 ) To ensure food and ecosystem security, farmers need more options to produce grains under different, generally less favorable circumstances than those under which increases in food security were achieved this past century Development of perennial versions of important grain crops could expand options

Assessing the Quality of Activities in a Smart Environment

Abstract: Objectives: Pervasive computing technology can provide valuable health monitoring and assistance technology to help individuals live independent lives in their own homes. As a critical part of this technology, our objective is to design software algorithms that recognize and assess the consistency of activities of daily living that individuals perform in their own homes. Methods: We have designed algorithms that automatically learn Markov models for each class of activity. These models are used to recognize activities that are performed in a smart home and to identify errors and inconsistencies in the performed activity. Results: We validate our approach using data collected from 60 volunteers who performed a series of activities in our smart apartment testbed. The results indicate that the algorithms correctly label the activities and successfully assess the completeness and consistency of the performed task. Conclusions: Our results indicate that activity recognition and assessment can be automated using machine learning algorithms and smart home technology. These algorithms will be useful for automating remote health monitoring and interventions.

Nonthermal preservation of foods using combined processing techniques.

Abstract: In the last 2 decades, consumer demand for fresher, higher quality, and safer food has promoted research on nonthermal methods of food preservation for the inactivation of microorganisms and enzymes as an alternative to thermal processes. However, the high resistance of certain enzymes and microorganisms to nonthermal processes, especially bacterial spores, limit their application. To expand the use of nonthermal processes in the food industry, combinations of these technologies with traditional or emerging food preservation techniques are being studied. The use of nonthermal processes in combination with other preservation technologies presents a number of potential benefits to food preservation. The purpose of this article is to review some successful combinations of different nonthermal technologies, such as high hydrostatic pressure, ultrasound, pulsed electric fields, and irradiation, with traditional or emerging food preservation technologies.