Proceedings of the COST SUSVAR/ECO-PB Workshop on organic plant breeding strategies and the use of molecular markers

In many countries,national projects are in progress to investigate the sustainable low-input approach.In the present COST network,these projects are coordinated by means of exchange of materials,establishing common methods for assessment and statistical analyses and by combining national experimental results.The common framework is cereal production in low-input sustainable systems with emphasis on crop diversity.The network is organised into six Working Groups,five focusing on specific research areas and one focusing on the practical application of the research results for variety testing:1)plant genetics and plant breeding,2)biostatistics,3)plant nutrition and soil microbiology,4)weed biology and plant competition,5)plant pathology and plant disease resistance biology and 6)variety testing and certification.It is essential that scientists from many disciplines work together to investigate the complex interactions between the crop and its environment,in order to be able to exploit the natural regulatory mechanisms of different agricultural systems for stabilising and increasing yield and quality.The results of this cooperation will contribute to commercial plant breeding as well as official variety testing,when participants from these areas disperse the knowledge achieved through the EU COST Action

The development of improved guidance on the use of fertility building crops in organic farming (CTE0204)

Fertility building crops are a key component of organic rotations where they help to provide nitrogen required for optimal crop performance. It is important that rotations and managements are planned which optimise the capture and use of this nitrogen. Some estimates are available of the nitrogen production from fertility building crops, but there was a need to produce a more comprehensive assessment of likely nitrogen fixation, release and availability under different circumstances. Thus the overall aim of the study was to provide guidelines to enable organic farmers to better estimate the nitrogen supply to a rotation following fertility building crops. This was done by a mix of literature review, empirical measurements, model development and farmer participation. The detailed objectives were: 1. To produce a literature review summarising the current knowledge on N capture and supply and secondary effects (e.g.pest/disease implications) following fertility building crops. 2. To engage the organic farming community to ensure that the most relevant issues were addressed within the project. 3. To produce an advisory leaflet summarising practical advice arising from the literature review. 4. To conduct field experiments to supply supplementary information that was required to develop a model for quantifying N supply from fertility building crops. 5. To develop a model for quantifying N supply from fertility building crops in organic systems. 6. To make on-farm measurements to validate this model. 7. To synthesise this information into practical advice for the industry in the form of a booklet on fertility building crops. The study was split into a number of interlinked work-strands: Literature review, Field experiments, On-farm monitoring, Industry engagement, Fertility building crops (FBC) model, Advisory leaflet and Guidelines booklet. The literature Review (Objective 1) was an essential first activity as it helped to guide the experimental programme (in terms of focus, techniques and approaches), avoided unnecessary replication of experimental work and provided an immediate synthesis of available information for the Industry (see Objective 3). The review also formed the basis of Objectives 5 and 7. Over 1000 references were assessed to produce a summary of the current state of knowledge in the following topic areas: • Nitrogen build-up, release and availability • Crops, pests, diseases and rotational issues The structure of the review exemplifies how the project tried to quantify N supply from fertility building crops, i.e. by separating the management process into N capture and N release. Many factors affect both of these processes. The conclusions that we were able to draw from the large body of work were able to serve three puposes: • Form the basis of advisory literature • Inform the research programme • Inform the FBC model development Industry engagement (Objective 2) was a key component of the study and there was good liaison with the organic farming industry at the beginning and throughout the duration of the project. This liaison was co-ordinated by The Organic Studies Centre at Duchy College in the South West, and by Abacus Organic Services Ltd in the East and North East. Feedback from producers was elicited throughout the project to help ensure that the industry’s requirements were met, notably with respect to trials (Objective 4) and advisory material (Objectives 3 and 7). Some of the farmers were also involved in on-farm monitoring, supplying fields which were used to take measurements of N supply from selected rotations (Objective 6). In all, the project findings were promoted at a total of 20 farmer meetings, and 7 articles were published in the popular press. A key early deliverable from the project was a summary advisory leaflet (Objective 3) based on the literature review. The draft leaflet addressed the main practical issues of fertility building crops and was presented at farmer meetings. Feedback on the leaflet was invited at these meetings and issues raised were addressed in the final version which is available on the project website and as an attachment to this report. The main field experiment (Objective 4) was designed to examine the effect of soil-N status on the quantity of N fixed and the impact on N-fixation of returning plant residues to the growing crop in cutting/mulching managements. The original project was extended with approval from Defra during 2004 to include measurements on the amount of N released following destruction of these legume management plots. As a result of industry feedback (see Objective 2), demonstration plots were also set up to look at novel legumes. The legume management data showed that in terms of fixation, maximum N yield (as measured by N offtake) occurred in the mulched grass/clover sward. But, using the measured data, separate estimates for the effect of mulching on N fixation showed it caused a reduction of between 9 and 61 kg N ha-1. In the presence of FYM there appears to have been an interaction with mulching which was sufficient to depress N fixation by an amount roughly equal to the amount of N gained from the amendment. Availability of fixed N is also important and the amount of N released following destruction of the experimental swards was assessed by measuring the uptake of nitrogen in the following ryegrass crop. Irrespective of management history, N offtake was higher at the first cut where there had been a history of FYM applications. There was positive relationship between N capture (as measured by N offtake) and total N supply (as measured by SMN and N in crop residues) but the impact of the individual N supply components on this relationship varied between sites and between cuts. Recommendations to organic farmers from this part of the work, are therefore to cut and remove herbage during the fertility building phase. This may be difficult for non-livestock enterprises and care needs to be taken that the mulch does not kill out the receiving crop. Application of organic manures to legumes should also be avoided if the maximum amount of atmospheric N is to be fixed. On-farm monitoring (Objective 6) included measurements of N accumulation (as soil and crop N) and subsequent N supply (as soil N) in 12 commercially farmed fields covering a range of soil types and rotations. The data collected were used in the FBC model (Objective 5) and highlighted the high proportion of nitrogen held within the root component of the fertility building crops. The fertility-building crops model (Objective 5) is a spreadsheet-based calculation system for estimating available N in organic rotations based on N accumulation under fertility building crops, its subsequent release and associated losses. It is based on information from the literature review (Objective 1), other soil nitrogen models, results from the field trials (Objective 4) and on-farm monitoring (Objective 6). It was recognised in the original proposal that it would not be possible within the timescale of the present project to deliver a fully functional and validated model that was suitable for release to the industry. Accordingly, a much-simplified version of the model is presented as a flow diagram in the final deliverable

Setting priorities to inform assessment of care homes’ readiness to participate in healthcare innovation: a systematic mapping review and consensus process

© 2020 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly citedOrganisational context is known to impact on the successful implementation of healthcare initiatives in care homes. We undertook a systematic mapping review to examine whether researchers have considered organisational context when planning, conducting, and reporting the implementation of healthcare innovations in care homes. Review data were mapped against the Alberta Context Tool, which was designed to assess organizational context in care homes. The review included 56 papers. No studies involved a systematic assessment of organisational context prior to implementation, but many provided post hoc explanations of how organisational context affected the success or otherwise of the innovation. Factors identified to explain a lack of success included poor senior staff engagement, non-alignment with care home culture, limited staff capacity to engage, and low levels of participation from health professionals such as general practitioners (GPs). Thirty-five stakeholders participated in workshops to discuss findings and develop questions for assessing care home readiness to participate in innovations. Ten questions were developed to initiate conversations between innovators and care home staff to support research and implementation. This framework can help researchers initiate discussions about health-related innovation. This will begin to address the gap between implementation theory and practice.Peer reviewe

Randomized controlled trial of a coordinated care intervention to improve risk factor control after stroke or transient ischemic attack in the safety net: Secondary stroke prevention by Uniting Community and Chronic care model teams Early to End Disparities (SUCCEED).

BackgroundRecurrent strokes are preventable through awareness and control of risk factors such as hypertension, and through lifestyle changes such as healthier diets, greater physical activity, and smoking cessation. However, vascular risk factor control is frequently poor among stroke survivors, particularly among socio-economically disadvantaged blacks, Latinos and other people of color. The Chronic Care Model (CCM) is an effective framework for multi-component interventions aimed at improving care processes and outcomes for individuals with chronic disease. In addition, community health workers (CHWs) have played an integral role in reducing health disparities; however, their effectiveness in reducing vascular risk among stroke survivors remains unknown. Our objectives are to develop, test, and assess the economic value of a CCM-based intervention using an Advanced Practice Clinician (APC)-CHW team to improve risk factor control after stroke in an under-resourced, racially/ethnically diverse population.Methods/designIn this single-blind randomized controlled trial, 516 adults (≥40 years) with an ischemic stroke, transient ischemic attack or intracerebral hemorrhage within the prior 90 days are being enrolled at five sites within the Los Angeles County safety-net setting and randomized 1:1 to intervention vs usual care. Participants are excluded if they do not speak English, Spanish, Cantonese, Mandarin, or Korean or if they are unable to consent. The intervention includes a minimum of three clinic visits in the healthcare setting, three home visits, and Chronic Disease Self-Management Program group workshops in community venues. The primary outcome is blood pressure (BP) control (systolic BP <130 mmHg) at 1 year. Secondary outcomes include: (1) mean change in systolic BP; (2) control of other vascular risk factors including lipids and hemoglobin A1c, (3) inflammation (C reactive protein [CRP]), (4) medication adherence, (5) lifestyle factors (smoking, diet, and physical activity), (6) estimated relative reduction in risk for recurrent stroke or myocardial infarction (MI), and (7) cost-effectiveness of the intervention versus usual care.DiscussionIf this multi-component interdisciplinary intervention is shown to be effective in improving risk factor control after stroke, it may serve as a model that can be used internationally to reduce race/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in stroke in resource-constrained settings.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT01763203

Alaska's Food (In)Security, Climate Change and the Boreal Forest, Biomass and Hydrocarbons

[Geography] -- AMSA: the future of arctic marine shipping: With more shipping traffic in the north and greater marine access due to the retreat of Arctic sea ice, the Arctic states needed to develop a strategy to protect the maritime Arctic, its people, and the environment -- [Forest Sciences] -- Changing the forest and the trees - Is it climate?: Sunspots, sun cycles, El Ninos, La Ninas, atmospheric oscillations, greenhouse gases: climate change has begun to affect the boreal more than any other forest region. / Glenn Patrick Juday -- One Tree in the Tanana Valley: Take one entire tree, and make everything you can out of it-including science and art education. / Nancy Tarnai -- Forest Dynamics & Management: This program monitors the growth and change in Alaska's forests, looking at forest health, characteristics, and regeneration. / Jingjing Liang and Tom Maline -- [High-Latitude Agriculture] -- Alaska's food (in)security: Alaskans have become aware that their food security is precarious - and they're doing something about it. / Deirdre Helfferich and Nancy Tarnai -- Leafhoppers: In Alaska, potato production accounts for 14 percent of total agricultural crop revenues, but the insect pests that can affect them are poorly understood. / Alberto Pantoja, Aaron M. Hagerty, Susan Y. Emmert, and Joseph E. Munyaneza -- You are my Sunshine!: The author took up the challenge: to make a beer brewed with Sunshine Hulless Barley, developed by AFES and released in 2009. / Anita Hartmann -- Reindeer market project makes history: For the first time, reindeer are 4-H project livestock. / George Aguiar -- Security of the red meat supply: Red meat for Alaskans, like other aspects of the food supply in the northernmost state, is dependent upon Outside sources. / Thomas F. Paragi, S. Craig Gerlach, and Alison M. Meadow -- [Natural Resources] -- Salmon and alder: Gasification of Low-Value Biomass in Alaska: Converting Alaska-specific biomass into a volatile hydrocarbon mixture could offset fuel use in remote locations. / Shawn Freitas, Andres Soria, and Cindy Bower -- Unlocking hydrocarbons from biomass: In the world of renewable energy, biomass is the sole source capable of producing hydrocarbons, the raw material needed for fuel, plastics, and the variety of products that maintain the economy. / Andres Soria -- Carex spectabilis: A Sedge for Landscaping and Revegetation in Alaska: Establishing groundcover on barren ground can be a challenge in Alaska; an indigenous sedge may provide a solution. / Jay D. McKendrick -- [People] -- Horace Drury: In Momoriam: This former director of the Alaska Agricultural & Forestry Experiment Station faced the challenge of 'new problems in a new land'. / Nancy Tarnai -- [News & Publications

Communication interventions in adult and pediatric oncology: A scoping review and analysis of behavioral targets

BackgroundImproving communication requires that clinicians and patients change their behaviors. Interventions might be more successful if they incorporate principles from behavioral change theories. We aimed to determine which behavioral domains are targeted by communication interventions in oncology.MethodsSystematic search of literature indexed in Ovid Medline, Embase, Scopus, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Clinicaltrials.gov (2000-October 2018) for intervention studies targeting communication behaviors of clinicians and/or patients in oncology. Two authors extracted the following information: population, number of participants, country, number of sites, intervention target, type and context, study design. All included studies were coded based on which behavioral domains were targeted, as defined by Theoretical Domains Framework.FindingsEighty-eight studies met inclusion criteria. Interventions varied widely in which behavioral domains were engaged. Knowledge and skills were engaged most frequently (85%, 75/88 and 73%, 64/88, respectively). Fewer than 5% of studies engaged social influences (3%, 3/88) or environmental context/resources (5%, 4/88). No studies engaged reinforcement. Overall, 7/12 behavioral domains were engaged by fewer than 30% of included studies. We identified methodological concerns in many studies. These 88 studies reported 188 different outcome measures, of which 156 measures were reported by individual studies.ConclusionsMost communication interventions target few behavioral domains. Increased engagement of behavioral domains in future studies could support communication needs in feasible, specific, and sustainable ways. This study is limited by only including interventions that directly facilitated communication interactions, which excluded stand-alone educational interventions and decision-aids. Also, we applied stringent coding criteria to allow for reproducible, consistent coding, potentially leading to underrepresentation of behavioral domains

Joint Learning Update

Over the past three years, the Joint Learning Network for Universal Health Coverage (JLN) has become a well-established practitioner-to-practitioner network of countries at the forefront of the global movement toward universal health coverage (UHC) . Now that the JLN has been active for a few years, many involved in the JLN felt that it was an appropriate time to assess what has been achieved to date and develop a roadmap for the future.In December 2012, the Rockefeller Foundation engaged Pact, an independent NGO that specializes in community engagement and networks, to conduct an independent strategic review of the JLN's value proposition, mechanisms for engaging members, and decision-making structures. Pact sampled each stakeholder group in the JLN by administering an online member survey and conducting a series of in-person interviews to gather perspectives from across the community and gain a deeper understanding of how each group contributes to the JLN's goals.One hundred and four JLN members -- a 45 percent response rate -- responded to the member survey and 27 stakeholders participated in semi-structured interviews. The results provided useful information about JLN members and how they are applying knowledge acquired through network activities in their own context

An Approach to Monitor and Initiate Community Led Actions for Antenatal Care in Rural India – A Pilot Study

Background and Objective: Utilization of antenatal care in rural India is far from universal. It requires monitoring and identification of specific needs at field level for timely corrective actions. To pilot test the triangulation of rapid quantitative (Lot Quality Assurance Sampling) and qualitative (Focus Group Discussion) monitoring tools for ensuring antenatal care in a community based program. Methods: The present study was undertaken in surrounding 23 villages of Kasturba Rural Health Training Centre (KRHTC), Anji, which is also a field practice area of Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (MGIMS), Sewagram. The monthly monitoring and action system of the study was based on the rapid quantitative monitoring tool (Lot Quality Assurance Sampling, LQAS)to find out poor performing supervision areas and overall antenatal service coverage and the qualitative methods (Focus group discussions (FGDs), and free listing) for exploring ongoing operational constraints in the processes for timely decision making at program and community level. A trained program supervisor paid house visit to 95 randomly selected pregnant women from 5 supervision areas by using pre-designed and pre-tested questionnaire. For poor performing indicators, semi structured FGDs and free listing exercise were undertaken to identify unmet service needs and reasons for its poor performance. Results: Registration of pregnancy within 12 weeks improved from 22.8% to 29.6%. The consumption of 100 or more IFA tablets during pregnancy significantly improved from 6.3% to 17.3%. There was significant improvement in awareness among pregnant women regarding danger signs and symptoms during pregnancy. Over three months period, the overall antenatal registration improved from 253 (67%) to 327 (86.7%). Conclusion: The present field based monitoring and action approach constructively identified the reasons for failures and directed specific collective actions to achieve the targets