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Maximizing Use of Pelagic Capture Fisheries for Global Protein Supply: Potential and Caveats Associated with Fish and Co‐Product Conversion into Value‐Add Ingredients
Get PDFpeer-reviewedGlobally, capture fisheries contribute significantly to protein supply and the food security of a third of the world's population. Although capture fisheries production has not significantly increased in tonnes landed per annum during the last two decades (since 1990), it still produced a greater tonnage of protein than aquaculture in 2018. Policy in the European Union and other locations favors production of fish through aquaculture to preserve existing fish stocks and prevent extinction of species from overfishing. However, aquaculture production of fish in order to feed the growing global population would need to increase from 82 087 kT in 2018 to 129 000 kT by 2050. The Food and Agriculture Organization states that global production of aquatic animals was 178 million tonnes in 2020. Capture fisheries contributed 90 million tonnes (51%) of this. For capture fisheries to be a sustainable practice in alignment with UN sustainability goals, ocean conservation measures must be followed and processing of capture fisheries may need to adapt food-processing strategies already used extensively in the processing of dairy, meat, and soy. These are required to add value to reduced fish landings and sustain profitability.The author would like to acknowledge the Ecologically and Economically Sustainable Mesopelagic Fisheries (MEESO) project that received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 817669
Improving the physical and wettability properties of skim milk powders through agglomeration and lecithination
Get PDFpeer-reviewedThis study aimed to reduce the bulk density of skim milk powders (SMP) and improve subsequent wettability and dissolution by a combination of agglomeration and lecithination. Agglomeration significantly increased powder particle size from a D90 of 120–201 μm, and decreased tapped bulk density (0.73–0.65 g/cm3), although it led to increased friability (32.7%) compared to regular SMP (22.9%). Spraying lecithin on to SMP in the fluid bed improved wettability (8.94 s) compared to regular SMP (>300 s). Agglomeration without lecithination had no effect on powder wettability, similarly, adding lecithin in to liquid skim milk concentrate prior to drying did not improve subsequent powder wettability. Overall, improving the functionality of skim milk is quite complex, and while powder bulk density can be reduced by agglomeration, the particles remain susceptible to breakdown, and the wettability is relatively poor, although this can be improved by spraying lecithin directly on to the powder particles.Enterprise Irelan
Behaviour change interventions for responsible antimicrobial use on farms
Get PDFpeer-reviewedBackground
In the coming years, major governance changes in the form of policy directives and regulations will catalyse major top-down change with respect to animal health on European farms in an effort to combat the OneHealth threat of antimicrobial resistance. This top-down approach must be met with bottom-up strategies to ensure target actors (namely, farmers and vets) are supported and motivated to change their practices, thus, avoiding unintended consequences of forced change. Although much behavioural research has explored the factors influencing antimicrobial practices on farms, a gap exists translating these findings into evidence-based behaviour change interventions that can be put into practice. The current study aims to fill this gap. It provides insights into identifying, understanding, and changing the behaviours of farmers and veterinarians with respect to the responsible use of antimicrobials in farming.
Results
Through an inter-disciplinary and multi-actor approach, the study combines scientific knowledge from the behavioural sciences and animal health sciences, coupled with tacit knowledge from a co-design, participatory approach to recommend seven behaviour change interventions that can help to support good practices amongst farmers and vets, with respect to animal health, and reduce the use of antimicrobials on farms. The behaviour change interventions include message framing; OneHealth awareness campaign; specialised communications training; on-farm visual prompts and tools; social support strategies (for both farmers and vets); and antimicrobial use monitoring. The study details each intervention with respect to their evidence base and scientific concept, grounded in behavioural science, along with stakeholder feedback on design and delivery of the interventions.
Conclusions
These behaviour change interventions can be taken, adapted, and put into practice by the agri-food community to support good animal health practices and responsible antimicrobial use on farms
Immunoproteomic analysis of the serum IgG response to cell wall-associated proteins of Staphylococcus aureus strains belonging to CC97 and CC151
Get PDFpeer-reviewedCC97 and CC151 are two of the most common Staphylococcus aureus lineages associated with bovine intramammary infection. The genotype of the infecting S. aureus strain influences virulence and the progression of intramammary disease. Strains from CC97 and CC151 encode a distinct array of virulence factors. Identification of proteins elaborated in vivo will provide insights into the molecular mechanism of pathogenesis of these lineages, as well as facilitating the development of tailored treatments and pan-lineage vaccines and diagnostics. The repertoire of genes encoding cell wall-anchored (CWA) proteins was identified for S. aureus strains MOK023 (CC97) and MOK124 (CC151); MOK023 encoded more CWA proteins than MOK124. Serum collected during an in vivo challenge trial was used to investigate whether the humoral response to cell wall proteins was strain-specific. Immunoproteomic analysis demonstrated that the humoral response in MOK023-infected cows predominantly targeted high molecular weight proteins while the response in MOK124-infected cows targeted medium or low molecular weight proteins. Antigenic proteins were identified by two-dimensional serum blotting followed by mass spectometry-based identification of immunoreactive spots, with putative antigens subsequently validated. The CWA proteins ClfB, SdrE/Bbp and IsdA were identified as immunogenic regardless of the infecting strain. In addition, a number of putative strain-specific imunogens were identified. The variation in antigens produced by different strains may indicate that these strains have different strategies for exploiting the intramammary niche. Such variation should be considered when developing novel control strategies including vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics
Plasma lutein and zeaxanthin concentrations associated with musculoskeletal health and incident frailty in The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA)
Get PDFpeer-reviewedIntroduction
Lutein and zeaxanthin are diet-derived carotenoids that are proposed to help mitigate frailty risk and age-related declines in musculoskeletal health via their anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the association between lutein and zeaxanthin status and indices of musculoskeletal health and incident frailty among community-dwelling adults aged ≥50 years in the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA).
Methods
Cross-sectional analyses (n = 4513) of plasma lutein and zeaxanthin concentrations and grip strength, usual gait speed, timed up-and-go (TUG), probable sarcopenia (defined as grip strength <27 kg in men, <16 kg in women), and bone mass (assessed using calcaneal broadband ultrasound stiffness index) were performed at Wave 1 (2009–2011; baseline). In the longitudinal analyses (n = 1425–3100), changes in usual gait speed (at Wave 3, 2014–2015), grip strength (Wave 4, 2016) and TUG (at Wave 5, 2018), incident probable sarcopenia (at Wave 4) and incident frailty (Fried's phenotype, Frailty Index, FRAIL Scale, Clinical Frailty Scale-classification tree, at Wave 5) were determined. Data were analysed using linear and ordinal logistic regression, adjusted for confounders.
Results
Cross-sectionally, plasma lutein and zeaxanthin concentrations were positively associated with usual gait speed (B [95 % CI] per 100-nmol/L higher concentration: Lutein 0.59 [0.18, 1.00], Zeaxanthin 1.46 [0.37, 2.55] cm/s) and inversely associated with TUG time (Lutein −0.07 [−0.11, −0.03], Zeaxanthin −0.14 [−0.25, −0.04] s; all p 0.05). Plasma lutein concentration was positively associated with bone stiffness index (0.54 [0.15, 0.93], p 0.05).
Conclusion
Higher plasma lutein and zeaxanthin concentrations at baseline were associated with a reduced likelihood of incident frailty after ~8 years of follow up. Baseline plasma lutein and zeaxanthin concentrations were also positively associated with several indices of musculoskeletal health cross-sectionally but were not predictive of longitudinal changes in these outcomes over 4–8 years.Horizon 2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie ActionsThis work was supported by the Teagasc Research Leaders 2025 programme co-funded by Teagasc and the European Union's Horizon 2020 - Research and Innovation Framework Programme under the H2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions grant agreement number 754380. TILDA is funded by Atlantic Philanthropies, the Irish Department of Health and Irish Life. Roman Romero-Ortuno is funded by a grant from Science Foundation Ireland under grant number 18/FRL/6188
Annual yields of multispecies grassland mesocosms outperformed monocultures across a drought gradient due to complementarity effects and rapid recovery
No full textpeer-reviewedDataset contains the dry matter yield from mesocosms across 12 harvests (6 in each of two years), 5 water treatments and 5 grassland communities. Mesocosms were fully randomly distributed in the glasshouse in which the trial took place
Influence of a cattle access point on temporal changes in stream turbidity
Get PDFpeer-reviewedPeer-ReviewedUnrestricted cattle access can have negative impacts on aquatic systems, including increases in stream water turbidity and suspended sediment levels. Many agri-environmental policies require the exclusion of livestock from waterbodies; however, data that quantify these impacts are scarce. This study used sensors measuring turbidity, a proxy for suspended sediment, together with motion-detecting cameras, to examine the influence of cattle in-stream activity on water quality in north-east Ireland. Two nephelometers, which automatically measured and logged turbidity, were placed upstream and downstream of a cattle access point in July 2017, while cameras were used to record cattle behaviour. A second deployment was made during February 2018 when cattle were absent. During low flows, frequent short-lived increases in turbidity were recorded at the downstream nephelometer only. These coincided with cattle accessing the water. There was a significant positive relationship between the longitudinal differences (downstream − upstream) in turbidity and the total number of cattle accessing the stream. There was no relationship between turbidity and stream discharge in July (when cattle were present), although that period was dominated by lower flow levels, with only 2 days in which discharge increased above baseflow. In contrast, there were no similar short-lived increases in turbidity in February 2018 when cattle were absent from the field, but there was a strong significant positive relationship between stream discharge and turbidity. These results highlight the consequences of cattle access for water column turbidity levels, particularly during periods of low streamflow, and therefore inform future agri-environmental policy in Ireland
Labour self-sufficiency on family dairy farms in Ireland: a case study approach considering labour requirement, input and management
Get PDFpeer-reviewedPeer-ReviewedThe efficient use of labour input is essential to the success of farms; however, many countries are experiencing a
decreasing family workforce on-farm as a result of perceived labour intensive work and poor work–life balance. Four
farms identified from two labour time-use studies were selected as case studies to investigate management of the
family dairy farm in terms of herd size, while also meeting the labour requirements and maintaining a satisfactory
work–life balance. A mixed methods approach was used; quantitative analysis described the labour profile and
characteristics of the farms, while the qualitative interviews provided insights into strategies to achieve labour
efficiency. The results demonstrate that a family farm with a herd size of ∼120 cows with appropriate facilities and
streamlined practices can operate effectively with a total labour input of 2,986 h/yr. The labour contributed by the
farmer and the farm family represented 77.5% of the total annual labour requirement. Contractors or hired employees
contributed the remaining labour input, depending on individual circumstances. The annual average working day
length for the farmer (excluding breaks) was 7.8 h/d. The analysed narratives of the farmers demonstrated their
view that a seasonal, pasture-based spring calving system of production is a key influence in achieving relatively
high labour efficiency on-farm, if it is ensured that the peak workload in spring is managed effectively. The study
highlights that the overall labour demand can be reduced on Irish family farms through the management of facilities
and practices. The farmer and family members can then decide on the degree of self-sufficiency with regard to
labour, that is, what proportion of that labour they wish to contribute based on their lifestyle choices, cost and
availability of contractors and hired workers
The MAP model: approaching behaviour change conversations on farm
Get PDFPeer-reviewedWith the increasing focus on preventative medicine, herd health management and sustainability, farmers are continually being challenged to make changes to their farm routine and farm behaviours (Bord Bia, 2022; Svensson et al., 2022). In this context, the role of the veterinary practitioner becomes ever more critical as an advocate for change. However, to fulfil the potential of this role, it has been recognised that veterinary practitioners could benefit from training in evidence-based communication strategies, specifically designed to support behaviour change (Bard et al. 2019). The behavioural sciences such as health psychology have extensively studied the area of behaviour change, exploring its theoretical underpinnings and developing strategies which can be used to encourage it. This has led to a growing interest in adapting behavioural science-based behaviour change communication strategies to the field of veterinary medicine (Svensson et al. 2020a; 2020b; Bard 2018). One such behaviour change communication strategy which may be applicable is the MAP (Motivation, Action and Prompts) of Behaviour Change model (NHS Education for Scotland (NES), 2022)
