Evaluation of preservation methods for improving biogas production and enzymatic conversion yields of annual crops

BACKGROUND: The use of energy crops and agricultural residues is expected to increase to fulfil the legislative demands of bio-based components in transport fuels. Ensiling methods, adapted from the feed sector, are suitable storage methods to preserve fresh crops throughout the year for, for example, biogas production. Various preservation methods, namely ensiling with and without acid addition for whole crop maize, fibre hemp and faba bean were investigated. For the drier fibre hemp, alkaline urea treatment was studied as well. These treatments were also explored as mild pretreatment methods to improve the disassembly and hydrolysis of these lignocellulosic substrates. RESULTS: The investigated storage treatments increased the availability of the substrates for biogas production from hemp and in most cases from whole maize but not from faba bean. Ensiling of hemp, without or with addition of formic acid, increased methane production by more than 50% compared to fresh hemp. Ensiling resulted in substantially increased methane yields also from maize, and the use of formic acid in ensiling of maize further enhanced methane yields by 16%, as compared with fresh maize. Ensiled faba bean, in contrast, yielded somewhat less methane than the fresh material. Acidic additives preserved and even increased the amount of the valuable water-soluble carbohydrates during storage, which affected most significantly the enzymatic hydrolysis yield of maize. However, preservation without additives decreased the enzymatic hydrolysis yield especially in maize, due to its high content of soluble sugars that were already converted to acids during storage. Urea-based preservation significantly increased the enzymatic hydrolysability of hemp. Hemp, preserved with urea, produced the highest carbohydrate increase of 46% in enzymatic hydrolysis as compared to the fresh material. Alkaline pretreatment conditions of hemp improved also the methane yields. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the present work show that ensiling and alkaline preservation of fresh crop materials are useful pretreatment methods for methane production. Improvements in enzymatic hydrolysis were also promising. While all three crops still require a more powerful pretreatment to release the maximum amount of carbohydrates, anaerobic preservation is clearly a suitable storage and pretreatment method prior to production of platform sugars from fresh crops

Temperament, character and serotonin activity in the human brain: A positron emission tomography study based on a general population cohort

BackgroundThe psychobiological model of personality by Cloninger and colleagues originally hypothesized that interindividual variability in the temperament dimension ‘harm avoidance’ (HA) is explained by differences in the activity of the brain serotonin system. We assessed brain serotonin transporter (5-HTT) density in vivo with positron emission tomography (PET) in healthy individuals with high or low HA scores using an ‘oversampling’ study design.MethodSubjects consistently in either upper or lower quartiles for the HA trait were selected from a population-based cohort in Finland (n = 2075) with pre-existing Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) scores. A total of 22 subjects free of psychiatric and somatic disorders were included in the matched high- and low-HA groups. The main outcome measure was regional 5-HTT binding potential (BPND) in high- and low-HA groups estimated with PET and [11C]N,N-dimethyl-2-(2-amino-4-methylphenylthio)benzylamine ([11C]MADAM). In secondary analyses, 5-HTT BPND was correlated with other TCI dimensions.Results5-HTT BPND did not differ between high- and low-HA groups in the midbrain or any other brain region. This result remained the same even after adjusting for other relevant TCI dimensions. Higher 5-HTT BPND in the raphe nucleus predicted higher scores in ‘self-directedness’.ConclusionsThis study does not support an association between the temperament dimension HA and serotonin transporter density in healthy subjects. However, we found a link between high serotonin transporter density and high ‘self-directedness’ (ability to adapt and control one's behaviour to fit situations in accord with chosen goals and values). We suggest that biological factors are more important in explaining variability in character than previously thought.</jats:sec

The serum copper/zinc ratio in childhood and educational attainment: a population-based study

BACKGROUND: Micronutrients are potentially important determinants of adult outcomes such as educational attainment. Copper and zinc have known effects on several medical conditions and cognitive development. Elevated copper and depressed zinc is a common trace metal imbalance. METHODS: We estimate the correlation between the copper/zinc ratio (Cu/Zn) in childhood (year 1980) and educational attainment in adulthood (year 2010). We use the Young Finns Study (YFS) combined with the Finnish Linked Employer-Employee Data (FLEED). The regression models account for confounders such as other biomarkers and parental observables. RESULTS: We report a sizeable, negative correlation between Cu/Zn and educational attainment as measured by education in years, grades as well as the likelihood of completing university education. For example, a one standard deviation increase in Cu/Zn decreases the probability of university education by ∼4%. CONCLUSIONS: The findings are consistent with a Cu/Zn effect influencing cognitive functioning early in life. Future research should explore more deeply the precise mechanisms by which Cu/Zn affects educational attainment

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Genetic variants and blood pressure in a population-based cohort: the cardiovascular risk in young Finns study

Clinical relevance of a genetic predisposition to elevated blood pressure was quantified during the transition from childhood to adulthood in a population-based Finnish cohort (N=2357). Blood pressure was measured at baseline in 1980 (age 3–18 years) and in follow-ups in 1983, 1986, 2001, and 2007. Thirteen single nucleotide polymorphisms associated with blood pressure were genotyped, and 3 genetic risk scores associated with systolic and diastolic blood pressures and their combination were derived for all of the participants. Effects of the genetic risk score were 0.47 mm Hg for systolic and 0.53 mm Hg for diastolic blood pressures (both P&lt;0.01). The combination genetic risk score was associated with diastolic blood pressure from age 9 years onward (β=0.68 mm Hg; P=0.015). Replications in 1194 participants of the Bogalusa Heart Study showed essentially similar results. The participants in the highest quintile of the combination genetic risk score had a 1.82-fold risk of hypertension in adulthood (P&lt;0.0001) compared with the lowest quintile, independent of a family history of premature hypertension. These findings show that genetic variants are associated with preclinical blood pressure traits in childhood; individuals with several susceptibility alleles have, on average, a 0.5-mm Hg higher blood pressure, and this trajectory continues from childhood to adulthood.<br/

Childhood Infections, Socioeconomic Status, and Adult Cardiometabolic Risk

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Socioeconomic disadvantage throughout the life course is associated with increased risk of cardiometabolic diseases, but traditional risk factors do not fully account for the social gradient. We investigated the interactions between low socioeconomic status (SES) and infection in childhood and adverse cardiometabolic parameters in adulthood. METHODS: Participants from the Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study, a cohort well phenotyped for childhood and adulthood cardiometabolic risk factors and socioeconomic parameters, were linked to lifetime hospitalization data from birth onward available from the Finnish National Hospital Registry. In those with complete data, we investigated relationships between infection-related hospitalization in childhood, SES, and childhood and adult cardiometabolic parameters. RESULTS: The study cohort consisted of 1015 participants (age range 3–18 years at baseline and 30–45 years at follow-up). In adults who were raised in below-median income families, childhood infection-related hospitalizations (at age 0–5 years) were significantly associated with higher adult BMI (β ± SE comparing those with 0 vs ≥1 hospitalizations 2.4 ± 0.8 kg/m2, P = .008), waist circumference (7.4 ± 2.3 cm, P = .004), and reduced brachial flow–mediated dilatation (−2.7 ± 0.9%, P = .002). No equivalent associations were observed in participants from higher-SES families. CONCLUSIONS: Infection was associated with worse cardiovascular risk factor profiles only in those from lower-SES families. Childhood infection may contribute to social gradients observed in adult cardiometabolic disease risk factors. These findings suggest reducing childhood infections, especially in socioeconomic disadvantaged children, may reduce the cardiometabolic disease burden in adults

Meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies from the CHARGE consortium identifies common variants associated with carotid intima media thickness and plaque

Carotid intima media thickness (cIMT) and plaque determined by ultrasonography are established measures of subclinical atherosclerosis that each predicts future cardiovascular disease events. We conducted a meta-analysis of genome-wide association data in 31,211 participants of European ancestry from nine large studies in the setting of the Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology (CHARGE) Consortium. We then sought additional evidence to support our findings among 11,273 individuals using data from seven additional studies. In the combined meta-analysis, we identified three genomic regions associated with common carotid intima media thickness and two different regions associated with the presence of carotid plaque (P < 5 × 10 -8). The associated SNPs mapped in or near genes related to cellular signaling, lipid metabolism and blood pressure homeostasis, and two of the regions were associated with coronary artery disease (P < 0.006) in the Coronary Artery Disease Genome-Wide Replication and Meta-Analysis (CARDIoGRAM) consortium. Our findings may provide new insight into pathways leading to subclinical atherosclerosis and subsequent cardiovascular events

Genetic variants and blood pressure in a population-based cohort: the cardiovascular risk in young Finns study

Clinical relevance of a genetic predisposition to elevated blood pressure was quantified during the transition from childhood to adulthood in a population-based Finnish cohort (N=2,357). Blood pressure was measured at baseline in 1980 (age 3–18 years) and in follow-ups in 1983, 1986, 2001 and 2007. Thirteen single nucleotide polymorphisms associated with blood pressure were genotyped and three genetic risk scores associated with systolic and diastolic blood pressure and their combination were derived for all participants. Effects of the genetic risk score were 0.47 mmHg for systolic and 0.53 mmHg for diastolic blood pressure (both p<0.01). The combination genetic risk score was associated with diastolic blood pressure from age 9 onwards (β=0.68 mmHg, p=0.015). Replications in 1194 participants of the Bogalusa Heart Study showed essentially similar results. The participants in the highest quintile of the combination genetic risk score had a 1.82-fold risk of hypertension in adulthood (p<0.0001) compared with the lowest quintile, independent of a family history of premature hypertension. These findings show that genetic variants are associated with preclinical blood pressure traits in childhood, individuals with several susceptibility alleles have on average a 0.5 mmHg higher blood pressure and this trajectory continues from childhood to adulthood