Abundance of root nodules on common bean, Phaseolus vulgaris : a comparison between Swedish fields with and without a recent history of common bean cultivation

Legumes such as common bean, Phaseolus vulgaris L. are climate-smart protein sources which can be part of sustainable agriculture and eating habits to increase the resilience in our food system. Common bean cultivation in Sweden is expanding to new and larger areas where common bean has not been grown before, and it is currently unclear whether farmers should be recommend to inoculate with efficient rhizobia when sowing common bean on fields where the crop has not been grown before. To evaluate the need for inoculation, this study has examined root nodulation of common bean plants cultivated on fields with and without a recent history of common bean cultivation. Farmer’s fields on the two Swedish islands Öland and Gotland were used for the investigations and a farmer survey was conducted to collect information about the fields. Soil pH, root nodules and plant biomass were measured at pod fill and pods as well as residual plant biomass were measured at full maturity. There was a clear difference in presence of root nodules between the two types of fields. Both root nodule abundance and proportion of active root nodules per plant with root nodules were significantly higher on fields with a recent history of common bean cultivation than on fields where common bean was not cultivated for at least 20 years. However, neither aboveground biomass weight at pod fill, nor pod weight at maturity were significantly correlated with number of root nodules or proportion of active root nodule. These results emphasize the importance of giving recommendations to inoculate common bean seeds with the right species of rhizobium bacteria before sowing, when cultivating common bean on a field for the first time. An additional recommendation might be to decrease the amount of nitrogen fertilization of common bean, since common bean plants grew well even with a very low abundance of root nodules and where many of them were inactive, indicating that soils contained enough plant-available nitrogen for plant growth without help of nitrogen fixation. However, further investigations are needed before to give firm recommendations on reduced nitrogen fertilization of common bean.Baljväxter såsom trädgårdsböna, Phaseolus vulgaris L. är klimatsmarta proteinkällor som kan vara en del av ett hållbart jordbruk och hållbara matvanor. Den svenska odlingen av trädgårdsböna har ökat under senare år, vilket innebär att nya arealer, där grödan inte odlats tidigare, tas i anspråk för odling av trädgårdsböna. I dagsläget förekommer olika rekommendationer angående inokulering av trädgårdsböna, och det finns osäkerhet hos lantbrukare om de bör inokulera trädgårdsböna när den odlas på nya arealer. För att utvärdera behovet av inokulering har denna studie undersökt förekomst av rotknölar på plantor av trädgårdsböna som odlats på fält med och utan tidigare odling av trädgårdsböna, för att utvärdera behovet av inokulering. Fält hos lantbrukare på de två Svenska öarna Öland och Gotland användes för undersökningarna och lantbrukarna intervjuades för att få information om fälten. Jordens pH-värde, förekomst av rotknölar på plantorna samt växtbiomassa undersöktes vid baljsättning, och baljor samt resterande växtbiomassa undersöktes vid mognad. Det var stor skillnad i rotknölsutveckling mellan de två typerna av fält. Både rotknölsförekomst och andel aktiva rotknölar per planta med rotknölar var signifikant högre på fält med tidigare odling av trädgårdsböna än på fält där trädgårdsböna inte odlats på minst 20 år. Dock var varken vikt av växtbiomassa vid baljsättning eller baljvikt vid mognad signifikant korrelerade med rotknölsförekomst eller andel aktiva rotknölar. Dessa resultat betonar vikten av att ge rekommendationen att inokulera utsäde till trädgårdsböna med rätt art av rhizobium bakterier då trädgårdsböna odlas för första gången på ett fält. En ytterligare rekommendation skulle kunna vara att minska på mängden gödsel till trädgårdsböna, eftersom att plantor av trädgårdsböna växte väl även med en mycket liten rotknölsförekomst och där många rotknölar var inaktiva, vilket indikerar att jordarna innehöll tillräckliga mängder växttillgängligt kväve för en god tillväxt utan hjälp av kvävefixering. Detta behöver dock utforskas mer för att kunna ge säkrare rekommendationer angående reducerad kvävegödsling till trädgårdsböna

Black coffee twig borer, Xylosandrus compactus (Eichhoff) on robusta coffee in Uganda : impact of shade level on abundance of BCTB and knowledge levels about BCTB

The Black Coffee Twig Borer (BCTB), (Xylosandrus compactus (Eichhoff)) is a devastating pest on robusta coffee in Uganda. The coffee in Uganda grows mostly in agroforestry systems where trees and crops are combined and interact with each other. Farmers believe they have to cut down other trees in order to reduce the problem of the BCTB, because they think the trees increase the risk of receiving the pest on their farm. This is against the vision of Vi Agroforestry, who plant and preserve trees in order to increase stability within the farming systems. This study investigated if abundance of the BCTB increases with increased amount of shade on robusta coffee. Another aim of the study was to investigate if the knowledge level and opinion about BCTB and shade for coffee, vary between farmers, officers and researchers. The study was mostly conducted in Kalungu and in Bukomansimbi districts in the central region of Uganda. This included the observational field study as well as interviews with the farmers and officers working in these districts. Other interviews with researchers and officers working with the whole country were conducted in the surroundings of the capital, Kampala. We measured amount of shade in relation to degree of infestation by the BCTB by counting their entrance/exit holes on coffee trees in each farmer’s coffee plantation. The opinions and knowledge between the three groups of people (farmers, officers and researchers) differed in some questions. One question that resulted in various answers, especially among the officers and researchers, was if shaded or sun-exposed coffee is most affected by the BCTB. Most of the farmers said it is the shaded coffee that is most affected by the BCTB. Our observational study showed a significant (P<0.05) increase of infestation by the BCTB between two categories of shade, from 0-20 % to 41-60 % shade. The increase of infestation was close to significant (p=0.075) also between two other shade categories 0-20 % and 61-80 % shade. The shade by trees may not be the only reason for more infestation close to other trees, since they can be alternative host trees for the BCTB. However, there were different opinions among farmers, officers and researchers about possible host trees and this disagreement can be explained by a lack of research or that new information has not reached out. There is literature supporting that A. chinensis is a host for BCTB, but no such evidence is found for F. natalensis. These findings are interesting for future design of coffee agroforestry systems, but still more research is needed to be able to take the right measurements when it comes to BCTB, shade and effects of possible host trees intercropped with coffee. The interview results indicate that officers need more training so that they can provide consistent and relevant advice regarding shade. An interesting approach for further research would be to investigate if there is a host tree that is more attractive than coffee and thus could work as an attractant (trap crop) for BCTB. The infested twigs of this host tree could then be harvested and used as cooking fuel. As an extension of our study it would be interesting to sample more coffee trees within the three higher shade categories (41-60 %, 61-80 % and 81-100 %), to see if there is a significant increase of BCTB even for these higher shade categories

Psychotic Illness in First-Time Mothers with No Previous Psychiatric Hospitalizations: A Population-Based Study

Unnur Valdimarsdóttir and colleagues studied the risk factors for psychiatric illness following childbirth and found that, for women who had never previously been hospitalized for a psychiatric illness, the risk of mental illness was greatly increased following childbirth

Multiple sclerosis and psychiatric disorders : comorbidity and sibling risk in a nationwide Swedish cohort

Background: Psychiatric disorders are known to be prevalent in Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Objective: To study comorbidity between MS and bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and depression in a nation-wide cohort and to determine whether shared genetic liability underlies the putative association. Methods: We identified ICD-diagnosed patients with MS (n=16,467), bipolar disorder (n=30,761), schizophrenia (n= 22,781) and depression (n=172,479) in the Swedish National Patient Register and identified their siblings in the Multi-Generation Register. The risk of MS was compared in psychiatric patients and in matched unexposed individuals. Shared familial risk between MS and psychiatric disorders was estimated by sibling comparison. Results: The risk of MS was increased in patients with bipolar disorder (hazard ratio [HR] 1.8, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.6-2.2, p<0.0001) and depression (HR 1.9, 95% CI 1.7-2.0, p<0.0001). MS risk in schizophrenia was decreased (HR 0.6, 95% CI 0.4-0.9, p=0.005). The association between having a sibling with a psychiatric disorder and developing MS was not significant. Conclusion: We found a strong positive association between MS and bipolar disorder and depression that could not be explained by genetic liability. The unexpected negative association between MS and schizophrenia might be spurious or indicate possible protective mechanisms that warrant further exploration.Stockholm County CouncilThe Swedish Research CouncilKarolinska InstitutetAccepte

Neonatal Blood Methylation Marks Associated with Obstetric Pain Relief

The placenta, responsible for intrauterine development, can facilitate modifications within the placental epigenome in response to changes in the mother. In turn these changes have the potential to also influence the neonate1. Pain relief during delivery is widely used and frequently involves the use of nitrous oxide (N2O, commonly referred to as laughing gas), and pudendal blocks. These treatments, alone or in combination, are generally accepted as safe methods of providing pain relief to mothers. However, laughing gas and local anesthetics such as the ones used during pudendal blocks have been known to cross the placental barrier from mother to child2,3. Furthermore, although current literature about the effects of laughing gas and pudendal blocks on the epigenome, when used as maternal pain relief, is very limited, some evidence implicates effects of obstetric anesthesia on the neonatal methylome2,4,5. Thus, it is reasonable to hypothesize that obstetric pain relief administered to the mother during childbirth may affect the methylome of the child. In conclusion, we detected methylome-wide significantly associated loci for laughing gas and pudendal block treatment when studied in combination, but not for either of the treatments separately.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/uresposters/1421/thumbnail.jp

Autism risk across generations: a population-based study of advancing grandpaternal and paternal age

Importance: Advancing paternal age has been linked to autism

Cerebrospinal fluid microglia and neurodegenerative markers in twins concordant and discordant for psychotic disorders

International audienceThe jacket type offshore wind turbine transfers efficiently the horizontal load applied on the wind turbine to an axial load on the four piles of its foundation. The axial behaviour of one single pile of the foundation is investigated in a geotechnical centrifuge. The model pile, tested under a 100 g centrifuge acceleration, is designed to represent a cast-in-place pile with a 1.8 m diameter and a 40 m embedded length. The pile, installed in dense Fontainebleau sand, is instrumented with a load sensor at its end to measure the tip resistance. By subtracting the total load applied on the pile, its shaft capacity is also calculated. Different axial loading paths are applied: i) monotonic loadings in compression and tension to obtain ultimate capacities and ii) cyclic loadings which represent a more realistic loading path applied by the jacket during its life time in order to observe the tip and shaft capacities reductions

MethylPCA: a toolkit to control for confounders in methylome-wide association studies

Background In methylome-wide association studies (MWAS) there are many possible differences between cases and controls (e.g. related to life style, diet, and medication use) that may affect the methylome and produce false positive findings. An effective approach to control for these confounders is to first capture the major sources of variation in the methylation data and then regress out these components in the association analyses. This approach is, however, computationally very challenging due to the extremely large number of methylation sites in the human genome. Result We introduce MethylPCA that is specifically designed to control for potential confounders in studies where the number of methylation sites is extremely large. MethylPCA offers a complete and flexible data analysis including 1) an adaptive method that performs data reduction prior to PCA by empirically combining methylation data of neighboring sites, 2) an efficient algorithm that performs a principal component analysis (PCA) on the ultra high-dimensional data matrix, and 3) association tests. To accomplish this MethylPCA allows for parallel execution of tasks, uses C++ for CPU and I/O intensive calculations, and stores intermediate results to avoid computing the same statistics multiple times or keeping results in memory. Through simulations and an analysis of a real whole methylome MBD-seq study of 1,500 subjects we show that MethylPCA effectively controls for potential confounders. Conclusions MethylPCA provides users a convenient tool to perform MWAS. The software effectively handles the challenge in memory and speed to perform tasks that would be impossible to accomplish using existing software when millions of sites are interrogated with the sample sizes required for MWAS

Waiting time for cancer treatment and mental health among patients with newly diagnosed esophageal or gastric cancer: a nationwide cohort study

Background Except for overall survival, whether or not waiting time for treatment could influences other domains of cancer patients’ overall well-being is to a large extent unknown. Therefore, we performed this study to determine the effect of waiting time for cancer treatment on the mental health of patients with esophageal or gastric cancer. Methods Based on the Swedish National Quality Register for Esophageal and Gastric Cancers (NREV), we followed 7,080 patients diagnosed 2006–2012 from the time of treatment decision. Waiting time for treatment was defined as the interval between diagnosis and treatment decision, and was classified into quartiles. Mental disorders were identified by either clinical diagnosis through hospital visit or prescription of psychiatric medications. For patients without any mental disorder before treatment, the association between waiting time and subsequent onset of mental disorders was assessed by hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence interval (CI), derived from multivariable-adjusted Cox model. For patients with a preexisting mental disorder, we compared the rate of psychiatric care by different waiting times, allowing for repeated events. Results Among 4,120 patients without any preexisting mental disorder, lower risk of new onset mental disorders was noted for patients with longer waiting times, i.e. 18–29 days (HR 0.86; 95% CI 0.74-1.00) and 30–60 days (HR 0.79; 95% CI 0.67-0.93) as compared with 9–17 days. Among 2,312 patients with preexisting mental disorders, longer waiting time was associated with more frequent psychiatric hospital care during the first year after treatment (37.5% higher rate per quartile increase in waiting time; p for trend = 0.0002). However, no such association was observed beyond one year nor for the prescription of psychiatric medications. Conclusions These data suggest that waiting time to treatment for esophageal or gastric cancer may have different mental health consequences for patients depending on their past psychiatric vulnerabilities. Our study sheds further light on the complexity of waiting time management, and calls for a comprehensive strategy that takes into account different domains of patient well-being in addition to the overall survival.This study was partly supported by the Swedish Cancer Society (grant No: CAN 2014/417).Peer Reviewe