Courgette Production: Pollination Demand, Supply, and Value

This is the final version of the article. Available from OUP via the DOI in this record.Courgette (Cucurbita pepo L.) production in the United Kingdom is estimated to be worth £6.7 million. However, little is known about this crop’s requirement for insect-mediated pollination (pollinator dependence) and if pollinator populations in a landscape are able to fulfil its pollination needs (pollination deficit). Consequently, pollination experiments were conducted over 2 yr to explore pollinator dependence and pollination deficit in field-grown courgette in the United Kingdom. Results showed that pollination increased yield by 39% and there was no evidence of pollination limitation on crop yield. This was evidenced by a surprisingly low pollination deficit (of just 3%) and no statistical difference in yield (length grown, circumference, and weight) between open- and hand-pollinated crops. Nonetheless, the high economic value of courgettes means that reducing even the small pollination deficit could still increase profit by ∼£166/ha. Interestingly, 56% of fruit was able to reach marketable size and shape without any pollination. Understanding a crop’s requirement for pollinators can aid growers in their decision-making about what varieties and sites should be used. In doing so, they may increase their agricultural resilience and further their economic advantage.This work was funded as part of PhD studentship (CP118) sponsored by the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board, United Kingdom. J.O. was also supported by a grant from the Natural Environment Research Council United Kingdom [NE/J014893/1]

Bombus terrestris in a mass‐flowering pollinator‐dependent crop: A mutualistic relationship? (article)

This is the final version. Available on open access from Wiley via the DOI in this recordThe dataset associated with this article is in ORE at https://doi.org/10.24378/exe.823Bumblebees (Bombus spp.) rely on an abundant and diverse selection of floral resources to meet their nutritional requirements. In farmed landscapes, mass‐flowering crops can provide an important forage resource for bumblebees, with increased visitation from bumblebees into mass‐flowering crops having an additional benefit to growers who require pollination services. This study explores the mutualistic relationship between Bombus terrestris L. (buff‐tailed bumblebee), a common species in European farmland, and the mass‐flowering crop courgette (Cucurbita pepo L.) to see how effective B. terrestris is at pollinating courgette and in return how courgette may affect B. terrestris colony dynamics. By combining empirical data on nectar and pollen availability with model simulations using the novel bumblebee model Bumble‐BEEHAVE, we were able to quantify and simulate for the first time, the importance of courgette as a mass‐flowering forage resource for bumblebees. Courgette provides vast quantities of nectar to ensure a high visitation rate, which combined with abundant pollen grains, enables B. terrestris to have a high pollination potential. While B. terrestris showed a strong fidelity to courgette flowers for nectar, courgette pollen was not found in any pollen loads from returning foragers. Nonetheless, model simulations showed that early season courgette (nectar) increased the number of hibernating queens, colonies, and adult workers in the modeled landscapes. Synthesis and applications. Courgette has the potential to improve bumblebee population dynamics; however, the lack of evidence of the bees collecting courgette pollen in this study suggests that bees can only benefit from this transient nectar source if alternative floral resources, particularly pollen, are also available to fulfill bees’ nutritional requirements in space and time. Therefore, providing additional forage resources could simultaneously improve pollination services and bumblebee populations.Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)Agriculture and Horticulture Development Boar

BEESCOUT: A model of bee scouting behaviour and a software tool for characterizing nectar/pollen landscapes for BEEHAVE.

PublishedJournal ArticleThis is the final version of the article. Available from Elsevier via the DOI in this record.Social bees are central place foragers collecting floral resources from the surrounding landscape, but little is known about the probability of a scouting bee finding a particular flower patch. We therefore developed a software tool, BEESCOUT, to theoretically examine how bees might explore a landscape and distribute their scouting activities over time and space. An image file can be imported, which is interpreted by the model as a "forage map" with certain colours representing certain crops or habitat types as specified by the user. BEESCOUT calculates the size and location of these potential food sources in that landscape relative to a bee colony. An individual-based model then determines the detection probabilities of the food patches by bees, based on parameter values gathered from the flight patterns of radar-tracked honeybees and bumblebees. Various "search modes" describe hypothetical search strategies for the long-range exploration of scouting bees. The resulting detection probabilities of forage patches can be used as input for the recently developed honeybee model BEEHAVE, to explore realistic scenarios of colony growth and death in response to different stressors. In example simulations, we find that detection probabilities for food sources close to the colony fit empirical data reasonably well. However, for food sources further away no empirical data are available to validate model output. The simulated detection probabilities depend largely on the bees' search mode, and whether they exchange information about food source locations. Nevertheless, we show that landscape structure and connectivity of food sources can have a strong impact on the results. We believe that BEESCOUT is a valuable tool to better understand how landscape configurations and searching behaviour of bees affect detection probabilities of food sources. It can also guide the collection of relevant data and the design of experiments to close knowledge gaps, and provides a useful extension to the BEEHAVE honeybee model, enabling future users to explore how landscape structure and food availability affect the foraging decisions and patch visitation rates of the bees and, in consequence, to predict colony development and survival.We thank Peter Kennedy and Emma Wright for their contributions to the development of BEESCOUT and its publication. This work was funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council of the UK [BB/J014915/1]

Influence de facteurs environnementaux influençant la teneur en urée dans le lait de vache en Wallonie et estimation des rejets azotés

Study on environmental factors influencing the urea content of cow's milk in Wallonia and estimation of nitrogen rejection. In Wallonia (South of Belgium), the urea content of milk produced on farms is assessed by the "Comité du lait". A total of 8,295,337 pieces of data recording the urea content in milk tanks was collected on Walloon farms in 2000 and during the period 2002-2011. These data were analyzed using a linear model. The fixed effects of the agricultural area or vulnerable zone, the month, the year and the interactions between these parameters were included in the model. The levels of fat and protein content in the milk were used as covariates. The average urea content in milk was found to be 255 mg·l-1. Four percent of the observations recorded a urea content of over 350 mg·l-1 and 14% recorded a urea content of over 400 mg·l-1. The models explained 38% and 35% of the variation in milk urea for the agricultural area and the vulnerable area variables, respectively. Within these models, the variables of month, region, year and the month-year interaction were the components that provided the most information. Milk urea content was higher in the summer period – April to October – than during the winter period – November to March – (287 vs 210 mg·l-1). This observation can be explained by the change in the cows' diet. During the summer, most of the cows grazed; ingestion of grass can lead to a nitrogen surplus in the diet. In the so-called "Limoneuse" and "Sablo-limoneuse" agricultural areas, recorded urea content was lower than in "Ardenne" and "Haute-Ardenne" (223 and 220 mg vs 278 and 284 mg·l-1, respectively). This difference can be explained by a greater use of grass in the diet in Ardenne and Haute-Ardenne. In vulnerable areas, urea content was lower (236 vs 273 mg·l-1). Annual nitrogen production calculated using different prediction equations ranged from 82 to 119 kg N per cow depending on the agricultural area

How do child and adolescent mental health problems influence public sector costs? Interindividual variations in a nationally representative British sample.

Author's manuscript version. The final published version of the article is available from the publisher as an open access article via: DOI: 10.1111/jcpp.12327BACKGROUND: Policy and practice guidelines emphasize that responses to children and young people with poor mental health should be tailored to needs, but little is known about the impact on costs. We investigated variations in service-related public sector costs for a nationally representative sample of children in Britain, focusing on the impact of mental health problems. METHODS: Analysis of service uses data and associated costs for 2461 children aged 5-15 from the British Child and Adolescent Mental Health Surveys. Multivariate statistical analyses, including two-part models, examined factors potentially associated with interindividual differences in service use related to emotional or behavioural problems and cost. We categorized service use into primary care, specialist mental health services, frontline education, special education and social care. RESULTS: Marked interindividual variations in utilization and costs were observed. Impairment, reading attainment, child age, gender and ethnicity, maternal age, parental anxiety and depression, social class, family size and functioning were significantly associated with utilization and/or costs. CONCLUSIONS: Unexplained variation in costs could indicate poor targeting, inequality and inefficiency in the way that mental health, education and social care systems respond to emotional and behavioural problems.Department of Health (England)Wellcome Trus

Impact of a novel home-based exercise intervention on health indicators in inactive premenopausal women: a 12-week randomised controlled trial

Purpose: This study tested the hypothesis that a novel, audio-visual-directed, home-based exercise training intervention would be effective at improving cardiometabolic health and mental well-being in inactive premenopausal women. Methods: Twenty-four inactive premenopausal women (39 ± 10 years) were randomly assigned to an audio-visual-directed exercise training group (DVD; n = 12) or control group (CON; n = 12). During the 12-week intervention period, the DVD group performed thrice-weekly training sessions of 15 min. Training sessions comprised varying-intensity movements involving multiplanar whole-body accelerations and decelerations (average heart rate (HR) = 76 ± 3% HRmax). CON continued their habitual lifestyle with no physical exercise. A series of health markers were assessed prior to and following the intervention. Results: Following the DVD intervention, HDL cholesterol (pre: 1.83 ± 0.45, post: 1.94 ± 0.46 mmol/L) and mental well-being, assessed via the Warwick Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale, improved (P 0.05). There were no pre-post intervention changes in any of the outcome variables in the CON group (P > 0.05). Conclusion: The present study suggests that a novel, audio-visual-directed exercise training intervention, consisting of varied-intensity movements interspersed with spinal and lower limb mobility and balance tasks, can improve [HDL cholesterol] and mental well-being in premenopausal women. Therefore, home-based, audio-visual-directed exercise training (45 min/week) appears to be a useful tool to initiate physical activity and improve aspects of health in previously inactive premenopausal women.This article is freely available via Open Access. Click on the Publisher URL to access it via the publisher's site.The study was supported by FIFA-Medical Assessments and Research Centre (F-MARC) and Nordea-fonden (Grant No. 1-ST-P $−$-036-JZ-F1-05858).published version, accepted version (12 month embargo

Socio-psychological factors, beyond knowledge, predict people’s engagement with pollinator conservation (article)

This is the final version. Available on open access from Wiley via the DOI in this recordThe dataset associated with this article is located in ORE at: https://doi.org/10.24378/exe.2783Nature conservation often depends on the behaviour of individuals, which can be driven by socio-psychological factors such as a person’s attitude, knowledge and identity. Despite extensive ecological research about pollinator declines, there has been almost no social research assessing the drivers of people’s engagement in pollinator conservation behaviour. To address this gap, we used a large-scale, online questionnaire in the UK, broadly framed around the Theory of Planned Behaviour. We received a total of 1,275 responses from a wide range of ages, incomes and education levels, despite a selection bias towards people with a pre-existing interest in pollinators. A range of socio-psychological factors predicted people’s pollinator conservation actions and explained 45% of the variation. Respondents’ diversity of nature interactions and perceived behavioural control (feeling able to help pollinators) were consistently important predictors of people’s pollinator conservation actions, whilst the importance of other socio-psychological factors depended on the particular action. Notably, knowledge was far less important overall than people’s perceptions and other socio-psychological factors, highlighting a knowledge-action gap. Further unexplained variation in people’s behaviour can partly be explained by structural and contextual factors, particularly regarding social norms around tidiness. From a practical perspective, our findings reveal three main insights: (i) Several simple, low-cost pollinator conservation actions (reduced mowing, leaving areas unmown and creating patches of bare ground for ground-nesting bees) are currently under-utilised so should be priorities for pollinator conservation programmes. (ii) Strategies are needed to overcome reported practical barriers, for example by providing free resources (e.g. seeds of pollen- and nectar-rich plants) and communicating simple beneficial actions that can be carried out with limited time, space and money. (iii) Knowledge is just one (relatively less important) factor that predicts pollinator conservation behaviour – othersocio-psychological factors provide potential pathways for increasing uptake, and structural and contextual limitations also need to be considered. In practice, this could be achieved by engaging, inspiring and empowering the public to help pollinators and to take responsibility for their local environment, for example through environmental education and community programmes facilitating public interest and involvement in the management of greenspace.Halpin TrustNatural Environment Research Council (NERC)Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty unitEconomic and Social Research Council (ESRC)Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)European Regional Development Fund (ERDF

Hemochromatosis Genetic Variants and Musculoskeletal Outcomes: 11.5‐Year Follow‐Up in the UK Biobank Cohort Study

This is the final version. Available on open access from Wiley via the DOI in this recordData Availability Statement: Data are available on application to the UK Biobank (https://www.ukbiobank.ac.uk/enable-your-research/register).The iron overload disorder hemochromatosis is primarily caused by the homozygous HFE p.C282Y variant, but the scale of excess related musculoskeletal morbidity is uncertain. We estimated hemochromatosis-genotype associations with clinically diagnosed musculoskeletal outcomes and joint replacement surgeries in the UK Biobank community cohort. A total of 451,143 European ancestry participants (40 to 70 years at baseline) were followed in hospital records (mean 11.5-years). Cox proportional hazards models estimated HFE p.C282Y and p.H63D associations with incident outcomes. Male p.C282Y homozygotes (n = 1294) had increased incidence of osteoarthritis (n = 52, hazard ratio [HR]: 2.12 [95% confidence interval, CI: 1.61 to 2.80]; p = 8.8 × 10−8), hip replacement (n = 88, HR: 1.84 [95% CI: 1.49 to 2.27]; p = 1.6 × 10−8), knee replacement (n = 61, HR: 1.54 [95% CI: 1.20 to 1.98]; p = 8.4 × 10−4), and ankle and shoulder replacement, compared to males with no HFE mutations. Cumulative incidence analysis, using Kaplan–Meier lifetable probabilities demonstrated 10.4% of male homozygotes were projected to develop osteoarthritis and 15.5% to have hip replacements by age 75, versus 5.0% and 8.7% respectively without mutations. Male p.C282Y homozygotes also had increased incidence of femoral fractures (n = 15, HR: 1.72 [95% CI: 1.03 to 2.87]; p = 0.04) and osteoporosis (n = 21, HR: 1.71 [95% CI: 1.11 to 2.64]; p = 0.02), although the latter association was limited to those with liver fibrosis/cirrhosis diagnoses. Female p.C282Y homozygotes had increased incidence of osteoarthritis only (n = 57, HR: 1.46, [95% CI: 1.12 to 1.89]; p = 0.01). Male p.C282Y/p.H63D compound heterozygotes experienced a modest increased risk of hip replacements (n = 234, HR: 1.17 [95% CI: 1.02 to 1.33], p = 0.02), but this did not pass multiple testing corrections. In this large community cohort, the p.C282Y homozygote genotype was associated with substantial excess musculoskeletal morbidity in males. Wider HFE genotype testing may be justified, including in orthopedic clinics serving higher HFE variant prevalence populations.Medical Research Council (MRC)National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR

Haemochromatosis HFE genotypes and association with chondrocalcinosis: Early data from analysis in UK Biobank

The iron-overload disorder haemochromatosis is primarily caused by the homozygous HFE p.C282Y variant. Musculoskeletal changes including arthropathy and chondrocalcinosis (cartilage calcification) are well-recognised features of the clinical disease, however, less is known about chondrocalcinosis formation in those with the p.C282Y variant. We used UK Biobank iDXA (dual-energy X-ray absorptiometer) images to assess for chondrocalcinosis in the knee and to explore any association with p.C282Y genotype. Methods: We used data from 144 p.C282Y homozygotes of European genetic ancestry (aged 48 to 80years) and 144 controls matched for age, sex, and BMI. Within these 288 participants, 264 had relevant knee iDXA (GELunar, Bedford) imaging. These images were reviewed for radiological evidence of chondrocalcinosis by an experienced reporting radiographer. Logistic regression models assessed associations between the p.C282Y homozygous genotype and chondrocalcinosis. Analyses were stratified by sex and adjusted for age. Results: Male p.C282Y homozygotes had significantly increased odds of radiological chondrocalcinosis in either imaged knee when compared with matched controls without HFE haemochromatosis mutations (OR=12.59 [95% CI:1.51-104.70] p=0.019). Female p.C282Y homozygotes did not have increased odds of chondrocalcinosis in either knee, (OR=3.51 [95% CI:0.69-17.79] p=0.129). Larger sample sizes are needed to increase power and we plan to review further iDXA images within UK Biobank and also to explore any associations with an arthritis diagnosis. Conclusion: In this community genotyped sample, male p.C282Y homozygotes demonstrated significantly increased odds of developing chondrocalcinosis within the knee. These results may support further investigations such as serum ferritin levels when chondrocalcinosis is identified on imaging.National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR

Socio-psychological factors, beyond knowledge, predict people’s engagement with pollinator conservation (dataset)

A questionnaire about people’s perceptions, knowledge and behaviour relating to pollinators was distributed from March-June 2018, primarily via social media and email. The survey received 1,275 responses, which are provided here, in a single csv data file.The article associated with this dataset is located in ORE at: http://hdl.handle.net/10871/123383This is the dataset used for the Knapp et al. (2020) article "Socio-psychological factors, beyond knowledge, predict people’s engagement with pollinator conservation" published in People and Nature.Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)Halpin TrustEuropean Regional Development Fund (ERDF)Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) UnitCornwall CouncilWelsh Assembly Governmen