Organic production and consumption in Norway - new knowledge through research and dissemination

The Norwegian government has since 2006 had a goal of 15 % organic food production and consumption, initially by 2015 and later adjusted to 2020. The goal has primarily been justified by consumer demands, and to some extent by environmental benefits. Organic farming is said to be a “spear point” in the development of a more environmental friendly and sustainable agriculture in Norway, but the government’s policy lacks thorough political support and the goal is far from achieved. In 2012, certified land and land area under conversion to organic farming comprised 5.6 % of the agricultural area (Debio 2013). The turnover of organic products was more than 1.1 billion NOK in 2012; an increase of 11 % from 2011 (NAA 2012). In 2009, organic food represented 1.3 % of total food turnover in Norway (Willer and Kilcher 2011). The share of grassland in organic managed land comprised 77 % in 2012 (Debio 2013). Strong efforts are needed to reach the official goal in 2020 and to diversify the organic production. The Action Plan for Organic Farming (MAF 2009) points out actions to reach the governmental goal, including research and dissemination of knowledge

The effect of mixing entire male pigs prior to transport to slaughter on behaviour, welfare and carcass lesions

peer-reviewedData set for article is also provided.Research is needed to validate lesions recorded at meat inspection as indicators of pig welfare on farm. The aims were to determine the influence of mixing pigs on carcass lesions and to establish whether such lesions correlate with pig behaviour and lesions scored on farm. Aggressive and mounting behaviour of pigs in three single sex pens was recorded on Day −5, −2, and −1 relative to slaughter (Day 0). On Day 0 pigs were randomly allocated to 3 treatments (n = 20/group) over 5 replicates: males mixed with females (MF), males mixed with males (MM), and males unmixed (MUM). Aggressive and mounting behaviours were recorded on Day 0 at holding on farm and lairage. Skin/tail lesions were scored according to severity at the farm (Day −1), lairage, and on the carcass (Day 0). Effect of treatment and time on behaviour and lesions were analysed by mixed models. Spearman rank correlations between behaviour and lesion scores and between scores recorded at different stages were determined. In general, MM performed more aggressive behaviour (50.4 ± 10.72) than MUM (20.3 ± 9.55, P < 0.05) and more mounting (30.9 ± 9.99) than MF (11.4 ± 3.76) and MUM (9.8 ± 3.74, P < 0.05). Skin lesion scores increased between farm (Day −1) and lairage (P < 0.001), but this tended to be significant only for MF and MM (P = 0.08). There was no effect of treatment on carcass lesions and no associations were found with fighting/mounting. Mixing entire males prior to slaughter stimulated mounting and aggressive behaviour but did not influence carcass lesion scores. Carcass skin/tail lesions scores were correlated with scores recorded on farm (rskin = 0.21 and rtail = 0.18, P < 0.01) suggesting that information recorded at meat inspection could be used as indicators of pig welfare on farm.This study was part of the PIGWELFIND project funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), Ireland

Depression in stroke rehabilitation

Despite recent advances in understanding the pathophysiology of poststroke depression, major questions remain. They include the relative importance of lesion location and size and the confounding effects of time since stroke, age, prior history of depression, and cerebral atrophy. To evaluate these issues, we systematically assessed depressive features, functional status, and brain structure with computer tomography scans in 91 men undergoing stroke rehabilitation. Forty percent met DSM-III criteria for major depressive disorder. Mood disturbance was more severe for patients with right than with left hemisphere lesions, correlated with functional disability and lesion size, and was associated with previous history of depression. Age, time since stroke, and atrophy did not correlate with mood. Depression is common in delayed stroke recovery, regardless of lesion location. Because there are no demographic or anatomic features that predict the absence of depression, depression screening should be part of the assessment of all patients undergoing stroke rehabilitation.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/30792/1/0000446.pd

Assessment of diffuse Lewy body disease by 2-[18F]fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose positron emission tomography (FDG PET)

BACKGROUND: Lewy body disease is, after Alzheimer's disease, the second most common cause of senile degenerative dementia with progressive cognitive deterioration, fluctuation of cognitive and motoric functions and psychotic symptoms. It is characterized histologically by the occurrence of Lewy bodies in allocortical, neocortical and subcortical structures. The aim of this study was to measure the cortical glucose metabolism using FDG PET (2-[18F]fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose position emission tomography) compared to normal subjects. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Five patients (5 m, mean age 75 y) with clinically suspected diffuse Lewy body disease (DLB) were studied with FDG PET. PET studies of the head were performed with a Siemens ECAT-ART PET-scanner with attenuation correction using 137-Cs point sources. RESULTS: We found the same distribution pattern of diffuse glucose hypometabolism in the entire cortical region with relative sparing of the primary sensory-motor cortex in all the patients. The few cases reported in the literature so far describe findings similar to ours. CONCLUSION: The pattern of diffuse glucose hypometabolism in the entire cortex including the occipital region seems to be a typical feature of DLB that is distinctive from dementia of Alzheimer's disease

New Insights Into Legacy Phosphorus From Fractionation of Streambed Sediment

Streambed and lake sediment was studied in Savjaan, a eutrophic mesoscale catchment (722 km(2)) in central Sweden. Triplicate sediment cores from five lakes and nine streams, ranging from headwater to fourth order, were sampled. The sediment was analyzed with a sequential extraction method, where six different phosphorus (P) fractions were measured. The results showed that streambed sediments store considerable amounts of P and in some cases have comparable P contents (g/kg DW) to lake sediment. Land use, soil type, and drainage area (location in the catchment) had a significant effect on the different P fractions found in surficial sediments. Sediment from lakes and forested headwater streams generally had high proportions of organic P and iron bound P. In larger streams located in agricultural areas on clay soils closer to the catchment outlet, with dense sediment and a relatively low proportion of organic matter, P was to a larger extent bound to calcium. Streambed sediment may be an important catchment scale P store and should be considered when modeling catchment P dynamics. The large stores of streambed legacy P should also be considered when performing ditch maintenance to avoid unnecessary mobilization of bioavailable P

Time-dynamic effects on the global temperature when harvesting logging residues for bioenergy

The climate mitigation potential of using logging residues (tree tops and branches) for bioenergy has been debated. In this study, a time-dependent life cycle assessment (LCA) was performed using a single-stand perspective. Three forest stands located in different Swedish climate zones were studied in order to assess the global temperature change when using logging residues for producing district heating. These systems were compared with two fossil reference systems in which the logging residues were assumed to remain in the forest to decompose over time, while coal or natural gas was used for energy. The results showed that replacing coal with logging residues gave a direct climate benefit from a single-stand perspective, while replacing natural gas gave a delayed climate benefit of around 8-12 years depending on climate zone. A sensitivity analysis showed that the time was strongly dependent on the assumptions for extraction and combustion of natural gas. The LCA showed that from a single-stand perspective, harvesting logging residues for bioenergy in the south of Sweden would give the highest temperature change mitigation potential per energy unit. However, the differences between the three climate zones studied per energy unit were relatively small. On a hectare basis, the southern forest stand would generate more biomass compared to the central and northern locations, which thereby could replace more fossil fuel and give larger climate benefits

Long-Term Safety of Intraperitoneal Radio Transmitter Implants in Brown Bears (Ursus arctos)

Intraperitoneal radio transmitters have been widely used in free-ranging wild mammals, but there are no long-term studies on their biocompatibility or technical stability within the abdominal cavity of animals. Possible negative health effects may bias results from ecological studies on instrumented animals and raise concerns over animal welfare issues. The aim of this study was to evaluate the long-term technical stability and pathological effects of Telonics intraperitoneal very high frequency (VHF) radio transmitters in brown bears (Ursus arctos). We instrumented 305 individual bears with intraperitoneal VHF radio transmitters during a 19-year period. We surgically removed devices that had been in bears for 1–9 years and collected transmitters from animals that died 1–13 years after implantation. We took biopsies for histopathology from tissue encapsulating implants in live bears. Retrieved transmitters underwent a technical inspection. Of the 125 transmitters removed from live bears, 66 were free-floating in the peritoneal cavity [a mean (SD) of 3.8 (1.5) years after implantation], whereas 59 were encapsulated in the greater omentum [4.0 (1.8) years after implantation]. Histopathology of biopsies of the 1–15 mm thick capsules in 33 individuals showed that it consisted of organized layers of connective tissue. In one third of the bears, the inner part of the capsule was characterized by a foreign body reaction. We inspected 68 implants that had been in bears for 3.9 (2.4) years. The batteries had short-circuited four (5.9%) of these devices. This resulted in the death of two animals 10 and 13 years after implantation. In two other bears that underwent surgery, we found the short-circuited devices to be fully encapsulated within the peritoneal cavity 5 and 6 years after implantation. A significant proportion of the other 64 inspected implants showed serious technical problems, such as corrosion of metal parts or the batteries (50%), detachment of the end cap (11.8%), and erosion (7.4%) or melting (5.9%) of the wax coating. We conclude that the wax coating of the transmitters was not biocompatible, that the technical quality of the devices was poor, and that these implants should not be used in brown bears

Targeted analysis of four breeds narrows equine Multiple Congenital Ocular Anomalies locus to 208 kilobases

The syndrome Multiple Congenital Ocular Anomalies (MCOA) is the collective name ascribed to heritable congenital eye defects in horses. Individuals homozygous for the disease allele (MCOA phenotype) have a wide range of eye anomalies, while heterozygous horses (Cyst phenotype) predominantly have cysts that originate from the temporal ciliary body, iris, and/or peripheral retina. MCOA syndrome is highly prevalent in the Rocky Mountain Horse but the disease is not limited to this breed. Affected horses most often have a Silver coat color; however, a pleiotropic link between these phenotypes is yet to be proven. Locating and possibly isolating these traits would provide invaluable knowledge to scientists and breeders. This would favor maintenance of a desirable coat color while addressing the health concerns of the affected breeds, and would also provide insight into the genetic basis of the disease. Identical-by-descent mapping was used to narrow the previous 4.6-Mb region to a 264-kb interval for the MCOA locus. One haplotype common to four breeds showed complete association to the disease (Cyst phenotype, n = 246; MCOA phenotype, n = 83). Candidate genes from the interval, SMARCC2 and IKZF4, were screened for polymorphisms and genotyped, and segregation analysis allowed the MCOA syndrome region to be shortened to 208 kb. This interval also harbors PMEL17, the gene causative for Silver coat color. However, by shortening the MCOA locus by a factor of 20, 176 other genes have been unlinked from the disease and only 15 genes remain

A High Density SNP Array for the Domestic Horse and Extant Perissodactyla: Utility for Association Mapping, Genetic Diversity, and Phylogeny Studies

An equine SNP genotyping array was developed and evaluated on a panel of samples representing 14 domestic horse breeds and 18 evolutionarily related species. More than 54,000 polymorphic SNPs provided an average inter-SNP spacing of ∼43 kb. The mean minor allele frequency across domestic horse breeds was 0.23, and the number of polymorphic SNPs within breeds ranged from 43,287 to 52,085. Genome-wide linkage disequilibrium (LD) in most breeds declined rapidly over the first 50–100 kb and reached background levels within 1–2 Mb. The extent of LD and the level of inbreeding were highest in the Thoroughbred and lowest in the Mongolian and Quarter Horse. Multidimensional scaling (MDS) analyses demonstrated the tight grouping of individuals within most breeds, close proximity of related breeds, and less tight grouping in admixed breeds. The close relationship between the Przewalski's Horse and the domestic horse was demonstrated by pair-wise genetic distance and MDS. Genotyping of other Perissodactyla (zebras, asses, tapirs, and rhinoceros) was variably successful, with call rates and the number of polymorphic loci varying across taxa. Parsimony analysis placed the modern horse as sister taxa to Equus przewalski. The utility of the SNP array in genome-wide association was confirmed by mapping the known recessive chestnut coat color locus (MC1R) and defining a conserved haplotype of ∼750 kb across all breeds. These results demonstrate the high quality of this SNP genotyping resource, its usefulness in diverse genome analyses of the horse, and potential use in related species

Mutations in or near the Transmembrane Domain Alter PMEL Amyloid Formation from Functional to Pathogenic

PMEL is a pigment cell-specific protein that forms physiological amyloid fibrils upon which melanins ultimately deposit in the lumen of the pigment organelle, the melanosome. Whereas hypomorphic PMEL mutations in several species result in a mild pigment dilution that is inherited in a recessive manner, PMEL alleles found in the Dominant white (DW) chicken and Silver horse (HoSi)—which bear mutations that alter the PMEL transmembrane domain (TMD) and that are thus outside the amyloid core—are associated with a striking loss of pigmentation that is inherited in a dominant fashion. Here we show that the DW and HoSi mutations alter PMEL TMD oligomerization and/or association with membranes, with consequent formation of aberrantly packed fibrils. The aberrant fibrils are associated with a loss of pigmentation in cultured melanocytes, suggesting that they inhibit melanin production and/or melanosome integrity. A secondary mutation in the Smoky chicken, which reverts the dominant DW phenotype, prevents the accumulation of PMEL in fibrillogenic compartments and thus averts DW–associated pigment loss; a secondary mutation found in the Dun chicken likely dampens a HoSi–like dominant mutation in a similar manner. We propose that the DW and HoSi mutations alter the normally benign amyloid to a pathogenic form that antagonizes melanosome function, and that the secondary mutations found in the Smoky and Dun chickens revert or dampen pathogenicity by functioning as null alleles, thus preventing the formation of aberrant fibrils. We speculate that PMEL mutations can model the conversion between physiological and pathological amyloid