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Genome-wide association study for genotype by lactation stage interaction of milk production traits in dairy cattle
No full textSubstantial evidence demonstrates that the genetic background of milk production traits changes during lactation. However, most GWAS for milk production traits assume that genetic effects are constant during lactation and therefore might miss those quantitative trait loci (QTL) whose effects change during lactation. The GWAS for genotype by lactation stage interaction are aimed at explicitly detecting the QTL whose effects change during lactation. The purpose of this study was to perform GWAS for genotype by lactation stage interaction for milk yield, lactose yield, lactose content, fat yield, fat content, protein yield, and somatic cell score to detect QTL with changing effects during lactation. For this study, 19,286 test-day records of 1,800 first-parity Dutch Holstein cows were available and cows were genotyped using a 50K SNP panel. A total of 7 genomic regions with effects that change during lactation were detected in the GWAS for genotype by lactation stage interaction. Two regions on Bos taurus autosome (BTA)14 and BTA19 were also significant based on a GWAS that assumed constant genetic effects during lactation. Five regions on BTA4, BTA10, BTA11, BTA16, and BTA23 were only significant in the GWAS for genotype by lactation stage interaction. The biological mechanisms that cause these changes in genetic effects are still unknown, but negative energy balance and effects of pregnancy may play a role. These findings increase our understanding of the genetic background of lactation and may contribute to the development of better management indicators based on milk composition.</p
Energy saving measures in optimally controlled greenhouse lettuce cultivation
No full textEfforts to increase the energy use efficiency (EUE) of greenhouses are made in various fields, e.g., crop management and breeding; greenhouse design and technology; and climate control, including optimal control. Quantifying and comparing the influence of the different components of the greenhouse system on EUE is important for improving greenhouse energy efficiency. In this study, we examined an optimally controlled greenhouse lettuce system during a winter cycle in the Netherlands. A model sensitivity analysis of the optimal control problem aimed at minimizing heating was performed to investigate which of the system components had the strongest influence on EUE. The results were compared with a previous study examining energy saving measures in lettuce cultivation. It was found that a reduction in indoor temperature, an increase in roof transmissivity, and to a lesser extent, an increase in insulation, improved the EUE of an optimally controlled greenhouse in a similar way as a conventionally controlled greenhouse. A 10% increase in EUE of the optimally controlled greenhouse was achieved by each of the following: a 0.2°C decrease in minimum indoor temperature; a 7% decrease in heat loss through the cover; a 13% increase in yield factor; and a 13% increase in net photosynthesis. The results suggest that finding ways to decrease the indoor temperature without reducing yield has the highest potential for increasing EUE. In addition, optimal control may be combined with known energy saving measures to achieve a higher EUE than previously found.</p
Effect of fructans, prebiotics and fibres on the human gut microbiome assessed by 16S rRNA-based approaches : a review
No full textThe inherent and diverse capacity of dietary fibres, nondigestible oligosaccharides (NDOs) and prebiotics to modify the gut microbiota and markedly influence health status of the host has attracted rising interest. Research and collective initiatives to determine the composition and diversity of the human gut microbiota have increased over the past decade due to great advances in high-throughput technologies, particularly the 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) sequencing. Here we reviewed the application of 16S rRNA-based molecular technologies, both community wide (sequencing and phylogenetic microarrays) and targeted methodologies (quantitative PCR, fluorescent in situ hybridisation) to study the effect of chicory inulin-type fructans, NDOs and specific added fibres, such as resistant starches, on the human intestinal microbiota. Overall, such technologies facilitated the monitoring of microbiota shifts due to prebiotic/fibre consumption, though there are limited community-wide sequencing studies so far. Molecular studies confirmed the selective bifidogenic effect of fructans and galactooligosaccharides (GOS) in human intervention studies. Fructans only occasionally decreased relative abundance of Bacteroidetes or stimulated other groups. The sequencing studies for various resistant starches, polydextrose and beta-glucan showed broader effects with more and different types of gut microbial species being enhanced, often including phylotypes of Ruminococcaceae. There was substantial variation in terms of magnitude of response and in individual responses to a specific fibre or NDO which may be due to numerous factors, such as initial presence and relative abundance of a microbial type, diet, genetics of the host, and intervention parameters, such as intervention duration and fibre dose. The field will clearly benefit from a more systematic approach that will support defining the impact of prebiotics and fibres on the gut microbiome, identify biomarkers that link gut microbes to health, and address the personalised response of an individual's microbiota to prebiotics and dietary fibres.</p
Passende beoordeling scheuren blijvend grasland : Natura 2000-gebied Springendal & Dal van de Mosbeek
Full text linkIn het kader van de vergroening van het Europese landbouwbeleid (GLB) geldt sinds 1 januari 2015 voor het blijvend grasland in Natura 2000-gebieden een ploeg- en omzetverbod, ook wel scheurverbod genoemd. Het doel van deze vergroeningsmaatregel is het beschermen van de biodiversiteit binnen de Natura 2000-gebieden en het behoud van koolstofrijke bodems. Vanuit de agrarische sector in het Natura 2000-gebied Springendal & Dal van de Mosbeek en de provincie Overijssel is verzocht tot opheffing van het ploeg- en omzetverbod daar waar mogelijk. Voorliggende studie beoordeelt de ecologische gevolgen van (gedeeltelijke) opheffing van het ploeg- en omzetverbod in relatie tot de instandhoudingsdoelstellingen van de betreffende Natura 2000-gebieden (Passende beoordeling)
Valorization of bio-residuals in the food and forestry sectors in support of a circular bioeconomy : A review
No full textThis literature review focuses on valorization of bio-residuals from the brewery, dairy, slaughterhouse and forestry sectors. Bio-residuals are organic wastes, side streams, or residues that remain at the end of the processing of a biological raw material. These under-utilized resources have the potential to support circular bioeconomies, given they can be valorized through viable value chains. To better understand this potential and gain insights in the opportunities for these resources, we analyzed 57 publications that contained findings related to value chains for bio-residuals valorization. The value chains were partitioned into the categories of resource procurement, transport and handling, transformation and processing, valorization and market, and end use. Additionally, the contextual drivers were analyzed, including policy and governance, business strategies, economics, demand, innovation, research, and development, and actors and networks. After summarizing the state of the art in research for bio-residuals valorization, the value chains were categorized for each sector. The push-pull factors were then identified, and how these influence bio-residual value chains. These analyses reveal that the dairy industry has a well-developed value chain for bio-residuals, with a myriad products from whey being pulled by market demand. With the knowledge and capabilities of the dairies, this creates a modular value chain for these products. The slaughterhouse industry resembles the dairy industry, but has greater barriers for valorization of animal by-products and so less market pull, leading to more conglomeration of rendering operations. Valorization of slaughterhouse residuals indicates a captive value chain. Contrarily, valorization of brewers spent grains (BSG) has been slow to develop, due mainly to low supplier capability, and the BSG value chain is dominated by the use of unprocessed BSG as animal feed. The forestry industry has been slow to invest in technological and market capabilities for valorizing residuals, due to weak market pull, high capital needs, and risk-adverse strategies among the few incumbent firms. As a result, the value chain for forest residues is still mainly hierarchical and rather undeveloped; yet with the recent entry of many new firms competing for biomass for a variety of end products, a shift towards a relational value chain serving a greener and more complex industrial symbiosis production model could be developing. Synthesizing across the sectors, we conclude that the materiality of the residuals, regulations, transformation technology, firm capabilities, actors, and the market are all important factors shaping the value chains for bio-residual products, with each sector having unique challenges and opportunities related to their value chains. As such, more research is needed not only in transformation and processing of residuals, but also regarding more downstream parts of the value chain, such as end-product markets, as well as cross-cutting issues such as governance and regulation. This would better promote valorization pathways, creating a market pull rather than just a technology push for bio-residuals.</p
Palaeosols and their cover sediments of a glacial landscape in northern central Europe : Spatial distribution, pedostratigraphy and evidence on landscape evolution
No full textKnowledge of the distribution, types and properties of buried soils, i.e. palaeosols, is essential in understanding how lowlands in northern central Europe have changed over past millennia. This is an indispensable requirement for evaluating long-term human impact including soil erosion and land-cover dynamics. In the Serrahn area (62 km2), a young glacial landscape representative for northeastern Germany and part of the Müritz National Park, 26 pedosedimentary sections were documented and analysed. To this end, a multiproxy-approach was applied using pedology, micromorphology, geochronology, and palaeoecology. Statistical and spatial analyses of c. 5200 soil profiles, of which 10% contain palaeosols, show that buried soils cover an area of 5.7 km2, i.e. 9% of the area studied. Most palaeosols are Cambisols, Arenosols and Gleysols. Palaeosols are mainly covered by aeolian and colluvial sands, as well as by lacustrine sands and peat. Radiocarbon and luminescence dating together with palynological and anthracological data reveal that former land surfaces were dominantly buried through erosion triggered by human activity in the late Holocene. In addition, but to a clearly smaller extent, Lateglacial/early Holocene palaeosols and cover sediments occur. Following Medieval clear-cutting and intensive land use, the study area is today again widely forested. The high share of buried land surfaces detected here is expected to be representative for the hilly glacial landscapes even in the wider region, i.e. in northern central Europe, and should be considered in soil mapping, soil carbon budgeting and assessments of past human impact.</p
De bijdrage van de vastgoedsector aan een natuurinclusieve leefomgeving : Achtergrondrapport
Full text linkThe real estate industry can play a key role in a wider transition to a nature-inclusive living environment that offers social, economic and ecological resilience. In this research, we look explicitly for a pro-active green contribution from the industry to the liveability and resilience of urban areas. To set such practices in motion, we are looking for points of departure in the considerations being made by different actors in the real estate industry. We do this by developing a transition approach for nature-inclusive enterprise. This approach looks at the real estate industry more widely, including landowners, investors, architects, property owners and project developers
Does the face show what the mind tells? A comparison between dynamic emotions obtained from facial expressions and Temporal Dominance of Emotions (TDE)
Full text linkMeasuring food-evoked emotions dynamically during consumption can be done using explicit self-report methods such as Temporal Dominance of Emotions (TDE), and implicit methods such as recording facial expressions. It is not known whether or how dynamic explicit and implicit emotion measures correspond. This study investigated how explicit self-reported food-evoked emotions evaluated with TDE are related to implicit food-evoked emotions determined from facial expressions. Fifty-six participants evaluated six yogurts with granola pieces varying in size, hardness and concentration, using multiple bite assessment employing TDE for the first, third and fifth bite of consumption. Consumers were video recorded during each bite of consumption and facial expressions were analysed using FaceReader™. Happy, interested, disgusted and bored were similar descriptors measured explicitly and implicitly. Little overlap was observed regarding the type of emotion characterization by FaceReader™ and TDE. Products were mainly discriminated along the valence dimension (positive – negative), and directly reflected product discrimination in terms of liking. FaceReader™ further differentiated the least liked products from each other on arousal and negative facial expressions. Our results indicated little dynamics in food-evoked emotions within and between bites. Facial expressions seemed more dynamic within bites, while explicit food-evoked emotion responses seemed more dynamic between bites. We conclude that FaceReader™ intensities of emotions and dominance durations observed in TDE are not directly comparable and show little overlap. Moreover, food-evoked emotion responses were fairly stable from first to last bite and only very limited changes were observed using implicit and explicit emotions measures.</p
The Water Land Roads Investment Programme of the NRO : An outline to support the formulation of Phase III (2020-2024)
No full textElektromagnetische velden veroorzaken stressreacties bij planten: Wat wordt de impact van 5G in de kas?
No full textPlanten hebben zich aangepast aan de natuurlijke omgevingsfactoren. Maar hoe gaat het als er een factor bijkomt, die door de mens gecreëerd wordt? Mobiele telefoons, wifi en draadloze apparatuur rukken op in de kas en daarmee hun elektromagnetische velden. En door de komst van 5G zal dat nog flink toenemen