Investeren in competenties; een onderzoek in de Greenports

Inventarisatie van de huidige en toekomstige vraag/behoeftes aan competenties bij ondernemers, managers en werknemers in het tuinbouwcluste

Imaging dielectric relaxation in nanostructured polymers by frequency modulation electrostatic force microscopy

We have developed a method for imaging the temperature-frequency dependence of the dynamics of nanostructured polymer films with spatial resolution. This method provides images with dielectric compositional contrast well decoupled from topography. Using frequency-modulation electrostatic-force-microscopy, we probe the local frequency-dependent (0.1–100 Hz) dielectric response through measurement of the amplitude and phase of the force gradient in response to an oscillating applied electric field. When the phase is imaged at fixed frequency, it reveals the spatial variation in dielectric losses, i.e., the spatial variation in molecular/dipolar dynamics, with 40 nm lateral resolution. This is demonstrated by using as a model system; a phase separated polystyrene/polyvinyl-acetate (PVAc) blend. We show that nanoscale dynamic domains of PVAc are clearly identifiable in phase images as those which light-up in a band of temperature, reflecting the variations in the molecular/dipolar dynamics approaching the glass transition temperature of PVAc

Boskoop en Bollenstreek. Hoe innig is de samenwerking

In het kader van de streekplanherziening Zuid-Holland Oost is in opdracht van de provincie Zuid-Holland onderzoek gedaan naar de autonome ontwikkeling van het boomteeltcomplex Boskoop en de interacties met het bloembollencomplex 'De Bollenstreek'. Om het belang van het boomteeltcomplex binnen het sierteeltcomplex Zuid-Holland te duiden zijn ook de interacties met de bloemisterij in kaart gebracht. De interacties tussen Boskoop en de Bollenstreek blijven beperkt tot een gecombineerde afzet van bloembollen en een beperkt assortiment boomteeltproducten, met name vaste planten. Mede door het groeiende belang van de bloemenveilingen in de afzet van boomteeltproducten en de toenemende vraag naar visueel aantrekkelijke boomteeltproducten is de interactie tussen Boskoop en het bloemisterijcomplex Zuid-Holland veel sterker. Vanwege de aanwezigheid van een groot assortiment aan boomteeltproducten, de beschikbaarheid van veel kennis en vakmanschap, korte transportlijnen naar de veilingen en de centrale ligging heeft Boskoop een belangrijke meerwaarde binnen het sierteeltcomplex Zuid-Holland

Introgressive hybridization and the evolutionary history of the herring gull complex revealed by mitochondrial and nuclear DNA

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Based on extensive mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequence data, we previously showed that the model of speciation among species of herring gull (<it>Larus argentatus</it>) complex was not that of a ring species, but most likely due more complex speciation scenario's. We also found that two species, herring gull and glaucous gull (<it>L. hyperboreus</it>) displayed an unexpected biphyletic distribution of their mtDNA haplotypes. It was evident that mtDNA sequence data alone were far from sufficient to obtain a more accurate and detailed insight into the demographic processes that underlie speciation of this complex, and that extensive autosomal genetic analysis was warranted.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>For this reason, the present study focuses on the reconstruction of the phylogeographic history of a limited number of gull species by means of a combined approach of mtDNA sequence data and 230 autosomal amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) loci. At the species level, the mtDNA and AFLP genetic data were largely congruent. Not only for <it>argentatus </it>and <it>hyperboreus</it>, but also among a third species, great black-backed gull (<it>L. marinus</it>) we observed two distinct groups of mtDNA sequence haplotypes. Based on the AFLP data we were also able to detect distinct genetic subgroups among the various <it>argentatus</it>, <it>hyperboreus</it>, and <it>marinus </it>populations, supporting our initial hypothesis that complex demographic scenario's underlie speciation in the herring gull complex.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We present evidence that for each of these three biphyletic gull species, extensive mtDNA introgression could have taken place among the various geographically distinct subpopulations, or even among current species. Moreover, based on a large number of autosomal AFLP loci, we found evidence for distinct and complex demographic scenario's for each of the three species we studied. A more refined insight into the exact phylogeographic history within the herring gull complex is still impossible, and requires detailed autosomal sequence information, a topic of our future studies.</p

Decay of Sexual Trait Genes in an Asexual Parasitoid Wasp.

Trait loss is a widespread phenomenon with pervasive consequences for a species’ evolutionary potential. The genetic changes underlying trait loss have only been clarified in a small number of cases. None of these studies can identify whether the loss of the trait under study was a result of neutral mutation accumulation or negative selection. This distinction is relatively clear-cut in the loss of sexual traits in asexual organisms. Male-specific sexual traits are not expressed and can only decay through neutral mutations, whereas female-specific traits are expressed and subject to negative selection. We present the genome of an asexual parasitoid wasp and compare it to that of a sexual lineage of the same species. We identify a short-list of 16 genes for which the asexual lineage carries deleterious SNP or indel variants, whereas the sexual lineag e does not. Using tissue-specific expression data from other insects, we show that fifteen of these are expressed in male-specific reproductive tissues. Only one deleterious variant was found that is expressed in the female-specific spermathecae, a trait that is heavily degraded and thought to be under negative selection in L. clavipes . Although the phenotypic decay of male-specific sexual traits in asexuals is generally slow compared with the decay of female-specific sexual traits, we show that male-specific traits do indeed accumulate deleterious mutations as expected by theory. Our results provide an excellent starting point for detailed s tudy of the genomics of neutral and selected trait decay

FDSTools: A software package for analysis of massively parallel sequencing data with the ability to recognise and correct STR stutter and other PCR or sequencing noise

Molecular Technology and Informatics for Personalised Medicine and Healt

Financiële crisis en agrosector, situatie medio oktober 2009

Deze notitie van LEI Wageningen UR geeft een beeld van de situatie in de agrosector in samenhang met de financiële crisis (kredietcrisis) medio oktober 2009. In beschouwing zijn onder meer genomen de ontwikkeling van opbrengstprijzen van belangrijke producten en kostenposten, en het effect hiervan op de inkomens en liquiditeitspositie in enkele sectoren van de land- en tuinbouw. De indeling van de notitie is: (2) algemeen, (3) de agrosector als geheel, (4) de land- en tuinbouw per deelsector en (5) visserij. Bij de agrosector is ingegaan op de export, verwerkende bedrijven, retail en dergelijke

Deciduous Teeth as an Alternative DNA Source for Postmortem Genetic Testing

Contains fulltext : 220426.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Closed access

Resultaat en financiering

Het Landbouw-Economisch Bericht 2009 biedt een verklarend overzicht van de gang van zaken in de Nederlandse agrosector. Tegen de achtergrond van de internationale en nationale economische en politieke ontwikkelingen, wordt ingegaan op ontwikkelingen in de landbouw en het landbouwbeleid in respectievelijk de wereld en de Europese Unie. Vervolgens staat de Nederlandse agrosector centraal, met aandacht voor consumptie en de voedings- en genotmiddelenindustrie. Hierna wordt aandacht besteed aan het landelijk gebied, de landbouwmilieuproblematiek en de structuur van de agrosector. De publicatie wordt afgerond met een beschouwing over de inkomensontwikkelingen in de onderscheiden delen van het agrocomplex. This report presents a survey of the economic state of Dutch agribusiness. First, attention is paid to general economic and political developments, followed by an overview of the changes in the EU policy for the agricultural sector. Next the report deals with the developments in the Dutch agricultural complex and food industry, followed by chapters describing changes in the Dutch rural area and environmental issues. Following a description of the production structure and production factors in agriculture, profi tability and income formation in the various sub sectors are analysed. The complete report is only available in Dutch, a separate English summary is available