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PLACARD Summary of evolving issues in CCA and DRR: 2015–2020 : Work Package 3 – PLACARD Knowledge brokerage
No full textDomesticated equine species and their derived hybrids differ in their fecal microbiota
Get PDFBackground: Compared to horses and ponies, donkeys have increased degradation of dietary fiber. The longer total mean retention time of feed in the donkey gut has been proposed to be the basis of this, because of the increased time available for feed to be acted upon by enzymes and the gut microbiota. However, differences in terms of microbial concentrations and/or community composition in the hindgut may also underpin the increased degradation of fiber in donkeys. Therefore, a study was conducted to assess if differences existed between the fecal microbiota of pony, donkey and hybrids derived from them (i.e. pony × donkey) when fed the same forage diet.Results: Fecal community composition of prokaryotes and anaerobic fungi significantly differed between equine types. The relative abundance of two bacterial genera was significantly higher in donkey compared to both pony and pony x donkey: Lachnoclostridium 10 and ‘probable genus 10’ from the Lachnospiraceae family. The relative abundance of Piromyces was significantly lower in donkey compared to pony × donkey, with pony not significantly differing from either of the other equine types. In contrast, the uncultivated genus SK3 was only found in donkey (4 of the 8 animals). The number of anaerobic fungal OTUs was also significantly higher in donkey than in the other two equine types, with no significant differences found between pony and pony × donkey. Equine types did not significantly differ with respect to prokaryotic alpha diversity, fecal dry matter content or fecal concentrations of bacteria, archaea and anaerobic fungi.Conclusions: Donkey fecal microbiota differed from that of both pony and pony × donkey. These differences related to a higher relative abundance and diversity of taxa with known, or speculated, roles in plant material degradation. These findings are consistent with the previously reported increased fiber degradation in donkeys compared to ponies, and suggest that the hindgut microbiota plays a role. This offers novel opportunities for pony and pony × donkey to extract more energy from dietary fiber via microbial mediated strategies. This could potentially decrease the need for energy dense feeds which are a risk factor for gut-mediated disease
Educational differences in healthy, environmentally sustainable and safe food consumption among adults in the Netherlands
No full textObjective:To assess the differences in healthy, environmentally sustainable and safe food consumption by education levels among adults aged 19-69 in the Netherlands.Design:This study used data from the Dutch National Food Consumption Survey 2007-10. Food consumption data were obtained via two 24-h recalls. Food consumption data were linked to data on food composition, greenhouse gas emissions (GHGe) and concentrations of contaminants. The Dutch dietary guidelines (2015), dietary GHGe and dietary exposure to contaminants were used as indicators for healthy, environmentally sustainable and safe food consumption, respectively.Setting:The Netherlands.Participants:2106 adults aged 19-69 years.Results:High education groups consumed significantly more fruit (+28 g), vegetables (men +22 g; women +27 g) and fish (men +6 g; women +7 g), and significantly less meat (men -33 g; women -14 g) compared with low education groups. Overall, no educational differences were found in total GHGe, although its food sources differed. Exposure to contaminants showed some differences between education groups.Conclusions:The consumption patterns differed by education groups, resulting in a more healthy diet, but equally environmentally sustainable diet among high compared with low education groups. Exposure to food contaminants differed between education groups, but was not above safe levels, except for acrylamide and aflatoxin B1. For these substances, a health risk could not be excluded for all education groups. These insights may be used in policy measures focusing on the improvement of a healthy diet for all.</p
ZEEVIVO Zeewier in visvoer : Visproductie: selectie en karakterisatie van op zeewier gebaseerde eiwitconcentraten voor visvoeders
Get PDFBetween biodiversity conservation and sustainable forest management – A multidisciplinary assessment of the emblematic Białowieża Forest case
No full textThe tension between biodiversity conservation and multipurpose forest management may lead to conflicts. An internationally prominent example is the Białowieża Forest Massif (BFM), an extensive forest complex with high levels of naturalness. We apply a systematic, multidisciplinary assessment process to review empirical evidence on different dimensions of the BFM conflict. While there is broad consensus that this forest massif is an exceptional place worth conserving and that a way forward is a zonation system combining conservation with management, exactly how this should be done has yet to be agreed upon. Our assessment shows that the key reasons for the BFM controversy go beyond the availability of knowledge on the ecological status of the BFM and include: 1) evidence stemming from different sources, which is often contradictory and prone to different interpretations; 2) knowledge gaps, particularly with regard to socio-economic drivers and beneficiaries as well as uncertainties about future trends; 3) fundamentally different values and priorities among stakeholder groups, resulting in power struggles, and an overall lack of trust. We conclude that evidence-based knowledge alone is insufficient to cope with complex conservation conflicts. While more evidence may help assess the consequences of decisions, the actual management decisions depend on different actors' worldviews, which are rooted in their professional identities and power, and their political and legal realities. This calls for conflict management through a well-organized participatory process organized and supervised by a body deemed legitimate by the groups involved.</p
Dataset for the model of a municipality competitiveness in relation to the geothermal resources exploitation in Poland
No full textThis dataset corresponds with the manuscript “The impact of geothermal resources on the competitiveness of municipalities: evidence from Poland” [1]. In the paper, the geothermal resources are assumed as a local competitive advantage for the municipalities that exploit them. In order to examine the relation between the exploitation of the geothermal resources and local competitiveness we determine a model of municipality competitiveness in Poland. Concept of the local competitiveness is referred to place-based measures (Lovering [2], Mytelka and Farinelli [3], Plummer and Taylor [4], Kitson et al. [5]) and it is related to the management of local resources (Malecki [6], Turok [7]). Literature review suggests that the local competitiveness is best reflected in the indicators of economic welfare and sustainability (Meyer-Stamer [8], Audretsch et al. [9]). Therefore, we use an expert method to build the model of a municipality competitiveness indicators on the example of Poland. Throughout the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method engaged experts select the 24 indicators of local competitiveness. This method serves in situations of a problem complexity (Kamenetzky [10], Saaty [11]) and as a multicriteria method in the regional studies (Dinc et al. [12]). Aggregation of the AHP selected indicators yields a synthetic competitiveness index for each of the municipalities that we examine. This index constitutes the model dependent variable in the related research article. This procedure of building municipality competitiveness model sets an example of approaching a complex phenomenon such as the local competitiveness definition. The versatility of this method enables its application into related research cases.</p
Multilevel modelling as a tool to include variability and uncertainty in quantitative microbiology and risk assessment. Thermal inactivation of Listeria monocytogenes as proof of concept
Get PDFVariability is inherent in biology and also substantial for microbial populations. In the context of food safety risk assessment, it refers to differences in the response of different bacterial strains (between-strain variability) and different cells (within-strain variability) to the same condition (e.g. inactivation treatment). However, its quantification based on empirical observations and its incorporation in predictive models is a challenge for both experimental design and (statistical) analysis. In this article we propose the use of multilevel models to quantify (different levels of) variability and uncertainty and include them in the predictions. As proof of concept, we analyse the microbial inactivation of Listeria monocytogenes to thermal treatments including different levels of variability (between-strain and within-strain) and uncertainty. The relationship between the microbial count and time was expressed using a (non-linear) Weibullian model. Moreover, we defined stochastic hypotheses to describe the different types of variation at the level of the kinetic parameters, as well as in the observations (microbial counts). The model parameters (kinetic parameters and variances) are estimated using Bayesian statistics. The multilevel approach was compared against an analogous, single-level model. The multilevel methodology shrinks extreme parameter estimates towards the mean according to uncertainty, thus mitigating overfitting. In addition, this approach enables to easily incorporate different levels of variation (between-strain and/or within-strain variability and/or uncertainty) in the predictions. On the other hand, multilevel (Bayesian) models are more complex to define, implement, analyse and communicate than single-level models. Nevertheless, their ability to incorporate different sources of variability in predictions make them very suitable for Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment.</p
Deriving optimal weather pattern definitions for the representation of precipitation variability over India
No full textThis study utilizes cluster analysis to produce sets of weather patterns for the Indian subcontinent. These patterns have been developed with future applications in mind; specifically relating to the occurrence of high-impact weather and meteorologically induced hazards such as landslides. The weather patterns are also suited for use within probabilistic medium- to long-range weather pattern forecasting tools driven by ensemble prediction systems. A total of 192 sets of weather patterns have been generated by varying the parameter which is clustered, the spatial domain and the number of weather patterns. Non-hierarchical k-means clustering was applied to daily 1200 UTC ERA-Interim reanalysis data between 1979 and 2016 using pressure at mean sea level (PMSL) and u- and v-component winds at 10-m, 925-hPa and 850-hPa. The resultant weather pattern sets (clusters) were analysed for their ability to represent the main climatic precipitation patterns over India using the explained variation score. Weather patterns generated using 850-hPa winds are among the most representative, with 30 patterns being enough to represent variability within different phases of the Indian climate. For example, several weather pattern variants are evident within the active monsoon, break monsoon and retreating monsoon. There are also several variants of weather patterns susceptible to western disturbances. These weather pattern variants are useful when it comes to identifying periods most susceptible to high-impact weather within a large-scale regime, such as identifying the most flood prone periods within the active monsoon. They hence have potentially many forecasting applications.</p
Een natuurlijkere toekomst voor Nederland in 2120
No full textOns land staat voor grote uitdagingen, zoals een aanzienlijke woningopgave, de energietransitie, behoud van biodiversiteit en een passend antwoord bieden aan klimaatverandering. Samen zullen deze uitdagingen bepalend zijn voor de ruimtelijke inrichting van Nederland en de keuzen die we daarin gezamenlijk en in samenhang maken. De publicatie van het toekomstperspectief “Een natuurlijkere toekomst voor Neder-land in 2120” en de vele reacties die daarop volgden, laten zien dat er behoefte is aan een vergezicht. Een vergezicht waarin veel van de uitdagingen samenkomen en op hun plek vallen. Een vergezicht dat kansen biedt: geen doembeeld, maar een groen beeld. Een vergezicht als uitnodiging
Microbiota of sows and their offspring
No full textMicrobiota composition was determined of sow feces, sow vaginal swabs and piglet jejunal digesta. Samples were frozen on dry-ice and stored at -80°C. To isolate DNA, samples were mixed in a 1:1 ratio with phosphate buffered saline (PBS) and centrifuged for 5 min at 4°C at 300xg. Supernatant was collected and centrifuged for 10 min at 4°C at 9000xg. DNA was extracted from the pellet using the “QIAamp DNA stool minikit” (Qiagen, Valencia, CA, USA) according to manufacturers’ instructions, after mechanical shearing of the bacteria in Lysing Matrix B tubes using the FastPrep-24 (MP Biomedicals, Solon, OH, USA). Quality and quantity of DNA were checked using the NANOdrop (Agilent Technologies, Santa Clara, CA, USA). PCR was used to amplify (20 cycles) the 16S rRNA gene V3 fragment using forward primer V3_F (CCTACGGGAGGCAGCAG) and reverse primer V3_R (ATTACCGCGGCTGCTGG). PCR efficiency was checked on agarose gel. Amplicons were sequenced using paired-end, excluding one sample that did not pass the quality control, 150bp technology on a MiSeq sequencer (Illumina, San Diego, CA, USA) at a sequencing depth in the range of 196K-1.2M read-pairs per sample (median 670,647 read-pairs per sample)