Feed intake, milk yield and variation in the reticulo-rumen pH with Norwegian Red dairy cows given access to concentrate feeds differing in the level of local ingredients

When trying to achieve a higher degree of self-sufficiency, there is a challenge with the high starch levels in grain and the Norwegian climate, which is not particularly well adapted to the cultivation of oil crops. To ensure high milk production, it is important to ensure that the cow has enough rumen-degradable and rumen-indegradable proteins. Because of its nine essential amino acids, soy has been much used as a raw material. The soy sector is highly concentrated and requires large landmasses. The environmental movement has contributed to increased demands for more local food. A high proportion of starch in the feed ration of ruminants can lead to metabolic disturbances, such as subacute rumen acidosis, also referred to as 'subacute rumen acidosis' (SARA). In dairy cows, SARA is characterized by daily episodes of low pH (5.2-6.0) over a longer period, which results in reduced fiber digestion and possibly reduced milk production. Alkaline concentrate has a higher pH, and thus an expected buffer capacity, and this is believed to counteract the negative consequences of feeding with high starch. Alkaline products also contain increased levels of non-protein nitrogen (NPN), and when the rumen microbes are in the presence of easily fermentable carbohydrates from grains and NPN it is expected to produce high quality microbial protein synthesis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of different concentrate mixtures with alkaline grain in diets for high-yielding dairy cows on feed intake, rumen environment and milk production. The experiment was conducted with a 4x4 Latin square design where 4 different formulations of concentrate (commercial feed (CON), alkaline concentrate with fine physical structure (AUF), alkaline concentrate with coarse physical structure (AUC), and ingredients as in AUC, except that the Alka-150 ingredient has been replaced with grain and urea inclusion (NUF)), tested over 4 periods. All the animals had free access to good quality grass silage. Daily milk production, milk composition, rumen fermentation products, rumen pH, body condition score, and body weight were recorded. No significant effect of the AUF concentrate compared to CON when looking at milk yield, ECM, BCS, and protein yield. There were only numerical pH and VFA differences between the four diets. Substitution of soya with alkaline grains with fine physical structure showed promising results in this trial with high-yielding dairy cows given good quality grass silage

Isotopic analysis of cyanobacterial nitrogen fixation associated with subarctic lichen and bryophyte species.

Dinitrogen fixation by cyanobacteria is of particular importance for the nutrient economy of cold biomes, constituting the main pathway for new N supplies to tundra ecosystems. It is prevalent in cyanobacterial colonies on bryophytes and in obligate associations within cyanolichens. Recent studies, applying interspecific variation in plant functional traits to upscale species effects on ecosystems, have all but neglected cryptogams and their association with cyanobacteria. Here we looked for species-specific patterns that determine cryptogam-mediated rates of N-2 fixation in the Subarctic. We hypothesised a contrast in N-2 fixation rates (1) between the structurally and physiologically different lichens and bryophytes, and (2) within bryophytes based on their respective plant functional types. Throughout the survey we supplied N-15-labelled N-2 gas to quantify fixation rates for monospecific moss, liverwort and lichen turfs. We sampled fifteen species in a design that captures spatial and temporal variations during the growing season in Abisko region, Sweden. We measured N-2 fixation potential of each turf in a common environment and in its field sampling site, in order to embrace both comparativeness and realism. Cyanolichens and bryophytes differed significantly in their cyanobacterial N-2 fixation capacity, which was not driven by microhabitat characteristics, but rather by morphology and physiology. Cyanolichens were much more prominent fixers than bryophytes per unit dry weight, but not per unit area due to their low specific thallus weight. Mosses did not exhibit consistent differences in N-2 fixation rates across species and functional types. Liverworts did not fix detectable amounts of N-2. Despite the very high rates of N-2 fixation associated with cyanolichens, large cover of mosses per unit area at the landscape scale compensates for their lower fixation rates, thereby probably making them the primary regional atmospheric nitrogen sink

Better mental health in children of Vietnamese refugees compared with their Norwegian peers - a matter of cultural difference?

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There are conflicting results on whether immigrant children are at a heightened risk of mental health problems compared with native youth in the resettlement country.</p> <p>The objective of the study</p> <p>To compare the mental health of 94 Norwegian-born children from a community cohort of Vietnamese refugees, aged 4 - 18 years, with that of a Norwegian community sample.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The SDQ was completed by two types of informants; the children's self-reports, and the parents' reports, for comparison with Norwegian data from the Health Profiles for Children and Youth in the Akershus study.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The self-perceived mental health of second-generation Vietnamese in Norway was better than that of their Norwegian compatriots, as assessed by the SDQ. In the Norwegian-Vietnamese group, both children and parents reported a higher level of functioning.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This surprising finding may result from the lower prevalence of mental distress in Norwegian-Vietnamese children compared with their Norwegian peers, or from biased reports and cultural differences in reporting emotional and behavioural problems. These findings may represent the positive results of the children's bi-cultural competencies.</p

Tamm Review: On the nature of the nitrogen limitation to plant growth in Fennoscandian boreal forests

The supply of nitrogen commonly limits plant production in boreal forests and also affects species composition and ecosystem functions other than plant growth. These interrelations vary across the landscapes, with the highest N availability, plant growth and plant species richness in ground-water discharge areas (GDAs), typically in toe-slope positions, which receive solutes leaching from the much larger groundwater recharge areas (GRAs) uphill. Plant N sources include not only inorganic N, but, as heightened more recently, also organic N species. In general, also the ratio inorganic N over organic N sources increase down hillslopes. Here, we review recent evidence about the nature of the N limitation and its variations in Fennoscandian boreal forests and discuss its implications for forest ecology and management. The rate of litter decomposition has traditionally been seen as the determinant of the rate of N supply. However, while N-rich litter decomposes faster than N-poor litter initially, N-rich litter then decomposes more slowly, which means that the relation between N % of litter and its decomposability is complex. Moreover, in the lower part of the mor-layer, where the most superficial mycorrhizal roots first appear, and N availability matters for plants, the ratio of microbial N over total soil N is remarkably constant over the wide range in litter and soil C/N ratios of between 15 and 40 for N-rich and N-poor sites, respectively. Nitrogen-rich and -poor sites thus differ in the sizes of the total N pool and the microbial N pool, but not in the ratio between them. A more important difference is that the soil microbial N pool turns over faster in N-rich systems because the microbes are more limited by C, while microbes in N-poor systems are a stronger sink for available N. Furthermore, litter decomposition in the most superficial soil horizon (as studied by the so-called litter-bag method) is associated with a dominance of saprotrophic fungi, and absence of mycorrhizal fungi. The focal zone in the context of plant N supply in N-limited forests is further down the soil profile, where ectomycorrhizal (ECM) roots become abundant. Molecular evidence and stable isotope data indicate that in the typical N-poor boreal forests, nitrogen is retained in saprotrophic fungi, likely until they run out of energy (available C-compounds). Then, as heightened by recent research, ECM fungi, which are supplied by photosynthate from the trees, become the superior competitors for N. In N-poor boreal soils strong N retention by microorganisms keeps levels of available N very low. This is exacerbated by an increase in tree C allocation to mycorrhizal fungi (TCAM) relative to net primary production (NPP) with decreasing soil N supply, which causes ECM fungi to retain much of the available soil N for their own growth and transfer little to their tree hosts. The transfer of N through the ECM fungi, and not the rate of litter decomposition, is likely limiting the rate of tree N supply under such conditions. All but a few stress-tolerant less N-demanding plant species, like the ECM trees themselves and ericaceous dwarf shrubs, are excluded. With increasing N supply, a weakening of ECM symbiosis caused by the relative decline in TCAM contributes to shifts in soil microbial community composition from fungal dominance to bacterial dominance. Thus, bacteria, which are less C-demanding, but more likely to release N than fungi, take over. This, and the relatively high pH in GDA, allow autotrophic nitrifying bacteria to compete successfully for the NH4+ released by C-limited organisms and causes the N cycle to open up with leaching of nitrate (NO3−) and gaseous N losses through denitrification. These N-rich conditions allow species-rich communities of N-demanding plant species. Meanwhile, ECM fungi have a smaller biomass, are supplied with N in excess of their demand and will export more N to their host trees. Hence, the gradient from low to high N supply is characterized by profound variations in plant and soil microbial physiologies, especially their relations to the C-to-N supply ratio. We propose how interactions among functional groups can be understood and modelled (the plant-microbe carbon-nitrogen model). With regard to forest management these perspectives explain why the creation of larger tree-free gaps favors the regeneration of tree seedlings under N-limited conditions through reduced belowground competition for N, and why such gaps are less important under high N supply (but when light might be limiting). We also discuss perspectives on the relations between N supply, biodiversity, and eutrophication of boreal forests from N deposition or forest fertilization

Spela spel om spel : en studie i möjligheter för spelbolags diversifiering på marknaden för vadslagning inom esport

Syftet med avhandlingen var att uppskatta möjligheten för diversifiering samt undersöka förutsättningarna för etablering på marknaden för vadslagning inom esport för ett spelbolag. Detta gjordes genom en intern analys av ett spelbolag (paf) samt en extern analys av marknaden för vadslagning inom esport. I avhandlingen visar vi att en organisation som paf har goda förutsättningar för diversifiering till marknaden för vadslagning inom esport och att marknaden för vadslagning inom esport växer kraftigt. Detta leder till att en expansion till marknaden för vadslagning inom esport borde vara ett sunt strategiskt beslut för paf och andra spelbolag med liknande eller bättre resurser.The purpose of this research was to discover the possibilities for diversification and the conditions for possible establishment on the market for esports betting for online gambling operators. This was done by doing an internal analysis of one gambling company (paf) and an external analysis of the market for esports betting. In the study we found that an organization such as paf meet almost all conditions for a good diversification to the esports betting market and that the market for esports betting is growing rapidly. This would suggest that diversification into the esports betting market would be a good strategic choice for paf and any gambling company with similar or better resources