Socio-economic status decides on migration in Bihar, says IIT Hyderabad study

A study on migration of people from rural areas of Bihar to other states for work by an IIT Hyderabad researcher has revealed that social hierarchy in the State plays an important role in the migration destination and the kind of work a migrant undertakes

Plantebasert fiskefôr : overføringspotensialet til mykotoksiner og fytoøstrogener fra fôr til fisk og konsekvenser for fiskehelse og mattrygghet

The introduction of novel feed ingredients has brought tremendous changes in the field of aquaculture. The shift to non-marine resources was necessary because of rising prices for fish meal and fish oil and their decreasing availability. At the same time, the total global as well as the per-capita fish consumption has increased, which has caused an enormous expansion of the fish farming industry. The introduction of suitable alternatives for the fish-derived feed components was therefore a pre-requisite for the growth of aquaculture. Novel feed ingredients are currently mostly plant-based, including vegetable oils and protein concentrates from different legumes or wheat gluten. The change in aquafeeds towards “green” ingredients may have negative effects on fish health and product quality, which in turn can lead to economic losses. The main concerns are connected to the presence of plant-borne contaminants including endogenous anti-nutritional factors (ANF). However, new feed processing techniques methods have considerably reduced their occurrence, and sensitive detection methods allow controlling compliance with maximum levels that have been implemented by food and feed safety authorities. Nevertheless, some ANF such as natural toxins, phytoestrogens and allergenic peptides are rather resistant to heat and digestion and have the potential to be carried over into the food chain. The biological activities of these substances in fish is little known and requires more detailed investigation. This thesis addresses the impact of “green” aquafeeds on fish health and food safety, focussing on mycotoxins and phytoestrogens that are typically present in plant-based ingredients used for fish diets. The plant ingredients used in this study were wheat gluten (WG), soybean protein concentrate (SPC) and pea protein concentrate (PPC), which were fed to zebrafish (Danio rerio) and Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) with the aim to investigate possible effects on the fish and the transmissibility potentials of target ANF into edible parts in connection with food safety. The project objectives were formulated to address these questions by analysing different aspects of this complex issue. All experiments performed in the course of the project were based on samples from initially conducted feeding trials in zebrafish and salmon using different custom-made diets produced with definite levels of the three selected plant protein preparations. Control feed was based on fish meal (FM) as the only source of protein, whereas the test diets contained WG, SPC or PPC at levels of 15% or 30%, replacing the FM. Salmon were exposed to five feed types, i.e. FM, WG15, WG30, SPC15 and SPC30, while zebrafish were additionally exposed to PPC15 and PPC30. The first analytical project activities were performed with the aim of identifying the carry-over potentials of 25 mycotoxins and phytoestrogens that are frequently occurring in the selected plant protein sources. A quantitative multi-analyte liquid chromatography-high resolution tandem mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS/MS) method for the simultaneous determination of the target substances in feed and fish matrices was developed and validated. Sample preparation was optimised for each matrix by selecting suitable extraction solvents. The analysis of the method performance characteristics showed high specificities for all analytes with sufficient to excellent sensitivities in the different matrices. Linear calibration curves were generated either by using matching stable isotope-labelled derivates or similar-structure homologues as internal standards, or by using matrix-matched external standards. The method precision and accuracy data were in the range suggested in international validation guidelines for quantitative instrumental analysis. Applying the 25-in-1 method to the analysis of feed and fish samples from the feeding trials showed only low levels of the mycotoxin enniatin B in WG-containing diets and of the isoflavones daidzein (DAI), genistein (GEN) and glycitein (GLY) and their respective glucoside forms in SPC- and PPC-based diets, demonstrating the effectiveness of maximum level recommendations and modern feed processing technologies in the Norwegian aquaculture industry. Consequently, carry-over into fish muscle was not observed, confirming that fillets from plant-fed salmon were safe for human consumption. The second objective in this project was to understand the metabolic fate of major soybean isoflavones in exposed salmon. Products from the hepatic biotransformation of DAI, GEN and GLY in salmon had not been previously identified, but knowledge about possibly harmful metabolites is essential for the assessment of potential risks. Due to the lack of suitable metabolism models for salmon, liver microsomes and primary hepatocytes were prepared in-house for applications in in vitro metabolism assays. The salmon liver fractions were characterised with respect to Phase I cytochrome P450 (CYP) and Phase II uridine-diphosphate-glucuronosyltransferase (UGT) enzyme activities using specific probe substrates. Two new methods, one for the simultaneous measurement of five CYP activities and one for five UGT activities, were developed using LC-Triple-Quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry (TripleQ-MS/MS) for the specific detection of the substrates and their metabolites. The methods were optimised in assays with commercially available human liver microsomes with known enzyme activities and then used for the salmon liver preparations, under consideration that the available probe substrates were specific for human CYP and UGT enzymes. Subsequently, DAI, GEN and GLY were metabolised by using the salmon liver microsomes and primary hepatocytes and metabolites were analysed by LC-HRMS/MS. The isoflavones were effectively eliminated by UGT to metabolites that were preliminarily identified as the 7-O-glucuronides based on the measurement of exact masses, fragmentation patterns, and retention times. In contrast, the production of oxidative metabolites was insignificant. Only small amounts of four mono-hydroxylated DAI metabolites were detectable, when the incubations were upscaled. These findings suggested that bioaccumulation of phytoestrogens in farmed salmon and consumer risks from soybean-containing aquafeeds are unlikely. The third and fourth project activities were committed to the identification of potential nutrigenomic effects from plant protein-based diets on fish health using transcriptomic analysis of fast muscle, liver and intestine of exposed zebrafish and salmon. Microarray hybridisation analysis was conducted in liver and intestine of salmon fed with FM, WG, and SPC containing diets. Gene expression data were processed and analysed with Nofima’s bioinformatics software STARS. In addition, growth performance parameters and apparent digestibilities were recorded, and typical enzyme biomarkers for liver health were analysed in serum. The gene expression profiles in the different salmon tissues showed that several metabolic pathways were the least affected by the SPC15 diet and the most affected by the WG30 diet. The majority of the changes in gene expression patterns occurred in the intestine, in particular in genes related to lipid metabolism and transport, sterol metabolism, immunity and tissue structure and integrity. This study confirmed thus results of previous research on effects of SPC in salmon; however, the observations with regard to WG30 feed implied that the salmon were undergoing nutritional stress and showed symptoms similar to those of gluten sensitivity in humans. In zebrafish, global transcriptome changes were analysed in fast muscle after exposure to FM, SPC30 or WG30 diets using RNA-seq technology. The analysis was extended to on-growing salmon by testing selected differentially expressed genes in the zebrafish model using salmon paralogue-specific qPCR assays. Global gene expression changes in the muscle of zebrafish fed with plant diets were moderate, with the highest changes observed in fish fed with the SPC diets, whereas no changes were found for the PPC diets, when compared to the FM-control group. Differentially expressed genes in the SPC and WG feeding groups had important functions in regulating muscle growth, maintaining muscle structure and function, and muscle tissue homeostasis. Most of those genes and their paralogues were similarly affected in salmon fed with the same diets, with some species-specific regulation. In conclusion, the work presented in this thesis shows that the inclusion of plant-based ingredients into aquafeeds is not of concern for consumers of salmon products regarding potential health risks from the carry-over of mycotoxins and phytoestrogens, but that a high percentage of WG or SPC in the diet can cause adverse effects in fish.Introduksjonen av nye ingredienser i fôr har medført store forandringer innen fiskeoppdrett. Overgangen til ikke-marine ressurser har vært nødvendig i forhold til stigende priser og redusert tilgang på fiskemel og fiskeolje. Samtidig har etterspørselen etter fisk økt på både globalt og individuelt nivå, noe som har ført til sterk vekst innen fiskeoppdrett. Innføringen av passende alternativer til fiskebaserte ingredienser i fôret har vært og fortsetter å være grunnleggende for den sterke veksten innen denne sektoren. De fleste nye ingredienser til fiskefôr baserer seg på planter, for eksempel vegetabilske oljer og proteinkonsentrater fra forskjellige erteblomstplanter og hvetegluten. Overgangen til «grønne» ingredienser i fiskefôr kan ha negative konsekvenser for fiskens helse, og dermed sluttproduktets kvalitet, noe som kan igjen kan føre til økonomiske tap. Hovedbekymringene knytter seg til kontaminanter som forekommer i planter, blant annet endogene ernæringsmotvirkende faktorer (ANF). Likevel har nye fôrprossesseringsteknikker redusert forekomsten av disse, i tillegg til at presise målingsmetoder gjør at nivåene holder seg innenfor begrensningene som er satt av myndighetene. Til tross for dette viser enkelte ANF, blant annet naturlige toksiner, fytoøstrogener og peptider med allergipotensiale, motstandsdyktighet mot varmebehandling og fiskens fordøyelse, og kan muligens bli overført i næringskjeden. De biologiske virkningene til disse stoffene i fisk er lite kjent, og må forskes nøyere på. Denne avhandlingen omtaler virkningen av «grønt» fiskefôr på fiskens helse og matsikkerhet og fokuserer på mykotoksiner og fytoøstrogener som til vanlig forekommer i plantebaserte fôringredienser for fiskenæring. I denne studien ble det brukt hvetegluten (WG), soyaproteinkonsentrat (SPC) og erteproteinkonsentrat (PPC), som ble fôret til sebrafisk (Danio rerio) og laks (Salmo salar L.) med målet å undersøke mulige virkninger på fisken og overføringspotensialet av utpekte ANF i henhold til mattrygghet. Prosjektets mål ble utledet for å ta for seg problemstillingen ved å se på de forskjellige aspektene av det sammensatte emnet. Alle eksperimentene som ble utført i løpet av prosjektet er basert på fôringsforsøk på laks og sebrafisk, som ble utført i begynnelsen av studien, ved hjelp av skreddersydde fôrtyper, med fastsatte nivåer av de tre utvalgte preparatene av planteproteiner. Kontrollfôret var basert på fiskemel (FM) som eneste proteinkilde, imens fôrtypene som ble testet inneholdt WG, SPC eller PPC i 15% og 30% konsentrasjon, som erstatning for FM. Laksen ble eksponert for fem fôrtyper: FM, WG15, WG30, SPC15 og SPC30, imens sebrafiskene i tillegg ble eksponert for PPC15 og PPC30. De første analysene i prosjektet ble foretatt med mål om å identifisere overføringspotensialet til 25 ulike mykotoksiner og fytoøstrogener som ofte opptrer i de nevnte planteproteinene. En kvantitativ væskekromatografisk høyoppløsende massespektrometrisk metode (LC-HRMS/MS) som samtidig analyserer og måler de utvalgte analyttene i fiskefôr og fiskeprøver ved å velge ut egnede løsemidler. Metoden viste høy spesifisitet for alle analytter med tilstrekkelig til fremragende følsomhet i forskjellige matriser. Lineære kalibreringskurver ble laget ved å enten benytte stabile isotopmerkede derivater eller homologer med liknende struktur som interne standarder, eller ved å benytte eksterne standarder i sammensvarende matriser. Metodens resultater for presisjon og nøyaktighet var innenfor internasjonalt gitte retningslinjer for kvantitativ instrumentell analyse. Ved å anvende 25-i-én-metoden til å analysere fôr og fiskeprøver fra fôringseksperimentene viste kun lave nivåer av mykotoksinet enniatin B i fôr som inneholder WG, i tillegg til lave nivåer av isoflavonene daidzein (DAI), genistein (GEN) og glycitein (GLY) og deres hendholdsvise glukoside former i SPC- og PPC-baserte fôrsammensetninger. Dette demonstrerer effektiviteten til de satte grenseverdiene samt moderne fôrprosseseringsteknologi i norsk fiskeoppdrett. Det fører til at det ikke ble funnet spor av overført ANF i fiskenes muskelvev, som bekrefter at laks fôret med plantebasert fôr er trygt for mennesker å spise. Det andre målet med prosjektet var å undersøke og forstå den metabolske nedbrytningsprosessen til soya-isoflavoner i laks. Produkter fra den hepatiske biotransformasjonen til DAI, GEN og GLY i laks hadde ikke blitt identifisert tidligere, men kunnskap om potensielt skadelige metabolitter er avgjørende for å kartlegge mulige risikoer. På grunn av manglende metabolske nedbrytningsmodeller for laks, ble levermikrosomer og primære hepatocytter laget på laboratoriet for å brukes i in vitro metabolisme-assayer. Lakseleverfraksjonene ble karakterisert i henhold til fase I cytokrom P450 (CYP) og fase II uridin-difosfat-glukoronosyltransferase (UGT)- enzymaktiviteter ved å bruke spesifikke prøvesubstrater. To nye metoder, hvorav en for samtidig måling av fem CYP-aktiviteter og en for fem UGT-aktiviteter, ble utviklet ved å bruke LC-trippel-kvadrupol-massespektrometri (TripleQ-MS/MS) for å spesifikt kartlegge substratene og deres metabolitter. Metodene ble optimalisert i assayer med kommersielt tilgjengelige mikrosomer fra menneskelever med kjente enzymaktiviteter, og deretter brukt for lakseleverpreparatene, med forbehold at de tilgjengelige prøvesubstratene var spesifikke for menneskelige CYP og UGT-enzymer. I følge ble DAI, GEN og GLY metabolisert ved å bruke lakselevermikrosomer og primære hepatocytter, og metabolitter analysert med LC-HRMS/MS. Isoflavonene ble effektivt eliminert av UGT til metabolitter som foreløpig ble identifisert som 7-O-glukuronider basert på målinger av eksakte masser, fragmenteringsmønstre og retensjonstider. Til forskjell var produksjonen av oksidative metabolitter ubetydelig. Kun små mengder med fire mono-hydroksilerte DAI-metabolitter var målbare når inkubasjonene ble oppskalert. Disse funnene indikerer at bioakkumulering av fytoøstrogener i oppdrettslaks fra soyaproteiner i fôret er usannsynlig og derfor medfører liten risiko for forbrukere. Aktivitetene i den tredje og fjerde delen av prosjektet knyttet seg rundt kartlegging av potensielle nutrigenomiske effekter på fiskens helse som følge av et kosthold som baserer seg på planteproteiner, ved hjelp av transkriptomisk analyse av muskler, lever og tarm i eksponert laks og sebrafisk. En microarray hybridiseringsanalyse ble utført i leveren og tarmen til laks fôret med FM, WG og SPC-holdig fôr. Genekspresjonsdataene ble prosessert og analysert ved hjelp av Nofimas bioinformasjonsdatavare STARS. I tillegg ble andre variabler som tilvekst og apparent fordøyelighet, samt typiske enzymatiske biomarkører for leverhelse analysert i serum. Profilene til det genetiske uttrykket i de ulike vevsprøvene av laks, viste at vekst og biosynteseveier ble minst påvirket av fôret som inneholdt SPC15, og mest påvirket av det som inneholdt WG30. Flertallet av forandringene av uttrykkelsen til genmønstre forekom i tarmen, særlig i gener tilknyttet transport av lipoproteiner, sterolmetabolisme, immunitet, samt vevsstruktur og integritet. Studien bekrefter dermed resultatene av tidligere forskning på effektene SPC har i laks. Likevel viser observasjonene i forhold til WG30-fôret at laksen gjennomgikk ernæringsbetinget stress og viste symptomer som liknet glutensensitivitet i mennesker. I sebrafisk ble forandringer i hele transkriptomet analysert i muskel etter av fiskene var eksponert med FM, SPC30 eller WG30 i fôr ved hjelp av RNA-seq-teknologi. Analysen ble utvidet til laks i vekstfasen ved å teste gener som viste forskjeller i uttrykk i sebrafiskmodellen, ved å bruke paralog-spesifikke qPCR assayer for laks. Forandringer i det helhetlige genetiske uttrykket i musklene til sebrafisk som ble fôret med plantebasert fôr var moderate. De tydeligste forandringene ble funnet i fisk med SPC-holdig fôr, imens ingen forandringer ble funnet i sammenheng med PPC-holdig fôr, sammenlignet med FM-kontrollgruppen. Forskjellig uttrykte gener hadde viktige funksjoner i regulering av muskelvekst, opprettholdelse av muskelstruktur og funksjon samt homeostase i muskelvevet. De fleste av disse genene og paralogene ble påvirket på liknende måte i laks fôret med samme typer fôr, under forbehold av noe spesiesspesifikk regulering. Konklusjonen til arbeidet som er presentert i denne avhandlingen er at bruk av plantebaserte ingredienser i fiskefôr ikke utgjør grunn til bekymring for forbrukere av lakseprodukter i forhold til potensielle helserisikoer fra overføringen av mykotoksiner og fytoøstrogener. Likevel kan høye andeler av WG og SPC i fôret ha skadelige virkninger på fisken

Fundamentalism and its stereotypes

The author explains that in its origin the term fundamentalism has no direct negative or violent connotation. However, this term has often been applied to those who resort to violence based on the ideological or religious adherence. Historically, most of fundamentalists have been moderate and apply passive and peaceful methods in their activities. Only active fundamentalists use extreme measures to achieve their religious ideals. The heightening existence of the active fundamentalism, and the disruption caused by it, leads to the projection that all fundamentalists are inherently violent in nature. This stereotype has been imposed on Islam particularly in the post-September 11, 2001 period. Investigating the relationship between Islam and fundamentalism the author asserts that, even though fundamentalism can exist in Islam, not all Muslim fundamentalists are active and violent

Development of sports-specific classification for Paralympic skiers with visual impairment

Introduction: The Paralympic Games are not only a platform for athletes with disabilities to achieve their dreams, but the Games also play a major role in changing societal attitudes towards people with disabilities and accelerating the progress towards achieving a goal of equality for all. Classification plays a significant role in making Paralympic competitions fair for all athletes. The overall purpose of the studies described in this thesis was to design evidence-based classification systems for the visually impaired category of Para nordic and Para alpine skiing. The specific objectives of the thesis were four-fold. The first and second objectives were to determine a minimum disability criterion that determines eligibility for competition and to develop additional criteria that group athletes with similar impairments into competition classes, respectively, in both Para nordic and Para alpine skiing. The third objective was to investigate the effect of the use of blindfolds on the skiing performance of Para skiers in the most severe visual impairment class, as the Paralympics rules currently mandate the use of blindfold by those skiers in Para nordic and Para alpine skiing. The final objective was to assess the validity of visual field measurements conducted with the Arc perimeter, which was the perimeter used in all the previously mentioned studies. Experiment I: Eight visual acuity and contrast sensitivity impairments and six peripheral visual field impairments were simulated in able-sighted skiers who participated in the study. The visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, and visual fields of each participant were assessed with and without the simulated impairments. The participants raced through specially designed short nordic or alpine racecourses with and without the simulated impairments and the changes in the race times with and without the simulated impairments were analyzed to identify the minimum levels of vision impairment that significantly affected skiing performance. These studies suggested that moderate reductions in visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, and visual field appear to have significant detrimental effects on nordic and alpine skiing performance. Experiment II and III: A wide range of visual functions such as static and dynamic visual acuities, light sensitivity, glare sensitivity, glare recovery, contrast sensitivity, translational and radial motion perception, and visual field was assessed binocularly in elite Para nordic and Para alpine skiers who participated in the studies. The relationships between skiing performances, which were calculated using modified Para nordic and Para alpine skiing points systems based on participants’ raw times, and the levels of visual functions assessed were analysed 1) to identify the visual functions associated with skiing performance (Experiment II) and 2) to develop sports class allocation criteria (Experiment III). It was concluded that VA and VF are the only visual functions that need to be included in the classification. It was also concluded that Para nordic and Para alpine skiers with light perception or no light perception vision performed significantly worse compared to the skiers with measurable vision and thus should be allocated to a different class than participants with measurable visual acuity. Experiment IV: Participants, who were elite Para nordic and Para alpine skiers, were asked to ski specially designed short nordic or alpine courses with and without their blindfolds in randomized orders. Time taken to complete the courses were compared between the two blindfold conditions to assess the effect of the blindfold on skiing performances. Results from these studies suggested that the blindfolds do not significantly affect performances in Para nordic and Para alpine skiers who are eligible to compete in the B1 class and that blindfolds need not be mandatory in both the sports. Experiment V: Visual acuity and visual fields were assessed binocularly in adult participants with monocular or binocular visual field defects. The functional visual field scores obtained using an Arc perimeter were compared with the functional visual field scores obtained using a Humphrey Field Analyzer, and the agreement between both methods was assessed using Bland-Altman plots to assess the validity of the visual field measurements obtained using Arc perimeter. This final study concluded that the functional scores obtained using an Arc perimeter could be used as an efficient and feasible way to assess visual fields for classification research purposes. Conclusion: The results from these studies provide evidence to support the development of sport-specific classification systems for the vision impairment category in both Para nordic and Para alpine skiing. The decision to change, or not change, the Para nordic and Para alpine skiing classification regulations for athletes with vision impairments remains at the sole discretion of the International Paralympic Committee

Investigation of molecular mechanisms of biofilm dispersal and attempts to create an inducible gene expression system in 'Campylobacter'

Campylobacter jejuni is the leading cause of bacterial foodborne diseases worldwide. C. jejuni and Campylobacter coli are the most predominant species of the genus that are responsible for gastrointestinal diseases in humans (Epps et al., 2013). C. jejuni 11168H strain can form biofilms, whose cells are more resistant to antimicrobials and disinfectants, perhaps due to the fact that the bacterial cells are secured in an extra cellular polymeric matrix consisting of eDNA (extracellular DNA), proteins, and polysaccharides (Brown et al., 2015b). Bacterial dispersion takes place following the biofilm maturation step. The dispersed cells demonstrate greater colonizing properties than their sessile counterparts (Guilhen et al., 2017). Therefore, studying the factors governing the dispersal process is vital as it would give a better understanding of the pathogen and may lead to the development of novel antimicrobial treatments, which in turn may help prevent future cases of campylobacteriosis. In this study, dispersal of C. jejuni 11168H biofilms was observed. The role of the cj0979 gene in biofilm formation was investigated and it was concluded that this gene alone was not responsible for the regulation of C. jejuni 11168H biofilm dispersal. Purified Cj0979 exhibited DNase activity and could degrade lambda DNA. In addition, purified Cj0979 reduced C. jejuni 11168H biofilm development, when added to the initial stages of biofilm formation. Importantly, these findings provide insights into the dispersal process of C. jejuni biofilms, which has not been reported elsewhere. A development and validation of an arabinoseinducible gene expression system was undertaken in thisresearch to aid in the study of essential genes and nuclease encoding genes involved in biofilm dispersal. As a primary step, arabinose transporter genes araE and lacYA177C were introduced into C. jejuni since the transporters required for arabinose uptake are not present within these bacteria. Arabinose is essential for promoter function. The integration constructs carrying the arabinose transporter genes, were verified by genome sequencing, confirming that they were free of deletions and pointmutations. The gene cassettes carrying the araE and modified lacY genes were successfully integrated into the C. jejuni 11168H chromosome. Despite successful introduction of araE and modified lacY genes into C. jejuni 11168H induction of gene expression from PBAD promoter could not be achieved. Possible reasons for this finding are discussed

Genetic analysis of age at conception as a fertility proxy in ewe lambs of Norwegian White Sheep: heritability and genetic correlation with body growth and leanness

The aim of this study was to estimate the genetic variation and heritability of ewe’s age at first lambing (a fertility proxy) in ewe lambs of Norwegian White Sheep and to estimate the genetic correlations between number of days till lambing and, respectively, growth rate and fat deposition at slaughter (EUROP classification score) in half year-old ewes, utilizing data on the ewe itself or on sibs (for fat deposition). The data of this study is from the breed Norwegian white sheep (NWS) and was made available by Animalia. From the original dataset one dataset was sampled containing 91683 females with weaning weight information and amongst these 31002 ewes with information for number of days at lambing. Pedigree files traced back to third generation were used in the analysis. Age at litter, the fertility success trait showed considerable heritability of 0.08 and had a genetic and environmental correlation of zero with the most focused traits in the Norwegian sheep breeding program; growth rate and fat score. Therefore, we conclude that farmers can select this fertility success trait without affecting the current objectives of the breeding goal. On the contrary, such a strategy would make positive steps towards economic and environmental sustainability.The aim of this study was to estimate the genetic variation and heritability of ewe’s age at first lambing (a fertility proxy) in ewe lambs of Norwegian White Sheep and to estimate the genetic correlations between number of days till lambing and, respectively, growth rate and fat deposition at slaughter (EUROP classification score) in half year-old ewes, utilizing data on the ewe itself or on sibs (for fat deposition). The data of this study is from the breed Norwegian white sheep (NWS) and was made available by Animalia. From the original dataset one dataset was sampled containing 91683 females with weaning weight information and amongst these 31002 ewes with information for number of days at lambing. Pedigree files traced back to third generation were used in the analysis. Age at litter, the fertility success trait showed considerable heritability of 0.08 and had a genetic and environmental correlation of zero with the most focused traits in the Norwegian sheep breeding program; growth rate and fat score. Therefore, we conclude that farmers can select this fertility success trait without affecting the current objectives of the breeding goal. On the contrary, such a strategy would make positive steps towards economic and environmental sustainability