Methane mitigating feed additives in future dairy production

Enteric methane emitted from ruminant metabolism is the most prominent greenhouse gas produced in livestock production. Mitigation strategies in the form of different types of methane reducing feed additives are approaching the market in near future. The effects of implementing the feed additives into the dairy sector was evaluated in this study. The chemical synthesized compound 3-Nitrooxypropanol and the algae Asparagopsis taxiformis are the most prominent methane reducing feed additives with the potential of reducing enteric methane production up to 30% without reducing milk yield or nutrient utilization. Effects on volatile fatty acids, protein profile, and fatty acid composition observed encourage further studies on milk quality to ensure that dairy products are not affected. The concentration of different fatty acids and protein shifted, while the total concentration of fat and protein in the milk was unaffected. Compounds deriving from methane mitigating additives in the form of bromoform and nitrites have known health concerns in larger quantities. Accumulation and excretion of these compounds is an area of research needed to ensure a safe long-term usage. The possibility of economic foundation, and survey results showing optimism amongst both consumers and producers support further studies for implementation of methane reducing feed additives into the dairy production.Metan som bildas och släpps ut från idisslarens metabolism är den mest framträdande växthusgasen som produceras i nötkreaturproduktion. En ny strategi för att minska metanutsläpp är i form av metanreducerande fodertillsatser som i olika form närmar sig marknaden inom en snar framtid. Effekterna av att införa fodertillsatserna i mejerisektorn utvärderades i denna studie. Den kemiskt syntetiserade föreningen 3-Nitrooxipropanol och algen Asparagopsis taxiformis är de mest framträdande metanreducerande fodertillskotten med potential att minska metanproduktion med upp till 30 % utan att minska mjölkutbytet eller näringsutnyttjandet. Effekter på flyktiga fettsyror, proteinprofil och fettsyrasammansättning har observerats och uppmuntrar ytterligare studier på mjölkkvalitet för att säkerställa att mejeriproduktionen inte påverkas. Koncentrationen av olika fettsyror och protein skiftade, medan den totala koncentrationen av fett och protein i mjölken var opåverkad. Föreningar som härrör från metanreducerande tillsatser i form av bromoform och nitriter har kända hälsoproblem i större mängder. Ackumulering och utsöndring av dessa föreningar är ett fortsatt forskningsområde som behövs för att säkerställa en säker långtidsanvändning. Möjligheten till ekonomiskt stöd för dessa tillskott samt enkätresultat som visar optimism bland både konsumenter och producenter stödjer ytterligare studier för införande av metanreducerande tillsatser i mejeriproduktionen

Svenska gårdsmejerier

Mjölk och mejeriprodukter har alltid varit en viktig näringskälla världen över, och har en inverkan på både länders ekonomi såväl som hälsa. Produktionen av hantverksmässigt tillverkade ostar uppvisar en enorm variation och diversitet som har gett stora möjligheter för utveckling. Variationerna kan påverkas av djurarter, miljö, foder samt individens genetik i kombination med bakterier från miljön, tillsatta starterkulturer och hantverket. Genom en enkätundersökning genomfördes en kartläggning över hur svenska gårdsmejeriers produktion ser ut. Enkäten skickades ut till gårdsmejerier och mathantverkare i Sverige. Utöver enkätundersökningen undersöktes även mejeriprodukters grundläggande kemi, framförallt ostarnas, genom en litteraturstudie. Mjölken är komplex och skiljer sig mellan idisslare. Beroende på mjölkens sammansättning och dess nutritionella komponenter skiljer sig djurens mjölk såväl i produktionsprocessen som i slutlig produkt. Kor, får och getter är de tre främst använda djuren inom svensk mejeriproduktion, vilket också stämde bland de gårdsmejerister som svarade på den enkät som skickades ut. Av de som hade egna djur för mejeriproduktion hade 51% kor, 41% getter och 8% får. De olika gårdarna varierade stort i antal djur och en del satsade på specifika raser. Förutom djurfördelningen konstaterades att nästan alla som svarade på enkäten hade egna mejerier där ost utgjorde en av de huvudsakliga produkterna som producerades. Starterkulturer tillsattes under produktionen i form av mjölksyrabakterier. Man förlitade sig även på en sekundär mikroflora från exempelvis tillverkningsmiljön eller utrustning. Starterkulturer kan vara definierade och köpas färdiga, men även tas fram på det egna mejeriet. Olika varianter på starterkulturer användes på de olika mejerierna. De flesta köpte in starterkultur men några hade sina egentillverkade. Många gårdsmejerister accepterade, eller till och med föredrog, variation i sina produkter efter säsong och geografi.Milk and dairy products have always been an important source of nutrition worldwide and have an impact on both economy as well as health. The production of artisan-made cheeses shows a huge variety and diversity that has provided great opportunities for development. The variations can be influenced by animal species, the environment, feed and the individual's genetics in combination with bacteria from the environment, added starter cultures and artisan food production. In this study, based on a survey, an overview was made of specific methods used for the manufacture of dairy products by Swedish small-scale farmers. The questionnarie was sent to farmhouse dairies and artisanal dairy producers in Sweden. In addition to the survey, basic dairy chemistry, especially for cheese, was also investigated through a literature study. The milk is complex and differs between ruminants. Depending on the milk composition, the animals’ milk differ both in the processability as well as in the final product. Cows, sheep and goats are the three most widely used animals in Swedish dairy production. This also applied to the Swedish farm dairies who took part in the survey. Of those who had their own animals for dairy production, 51% had cows, 41% goats and 8% sheep. The different farms varied widely in number of animals and some invested in specific breeds. In addition to the distribution of animals, it was found that almost all the respondents had their own dairies where cheese was one of the main products produced. Starter cultures were added during production in the form of lactic acid bacteria. They also relied on a secondary microflora from, for example, the manufacturing environment or the equipment. Starter cultures can be defined and purchased ready-made, but also developed on the own dairy. Different varieties of starter cultures were used at the different dairies. Most farms bought starter culture, but some had their own made. Many dairy farmers accepted, or even preferred, variability in their products by season and geography

Emotion recognition, alexithymia, empathy, and emotion regulation in women with anorexia nervosa

Purpose Anorexia nervosa (AN) is associated with challenges in recognizing, understanding, and interpreting one's own and other's emotional states, feelings, and thoughts. It is unknown whether difficulties in emotion processing occur independently of common comorbid symptoms of AN and predict acute eating disorder characteristics. We aimed to examine emotion recognition, alexithymia, emotion regulation, and empathy in individuals with AN and to assess whether these predict eating disorder symptoms independently from comorbid symptoms. Methods Participants included 42 women with AN and 40 healthy control (HC) women between 18-30 years. Basic and complex emotion recognition was assessed with face photos and video clips. Alexithymia, empathy, emotion regulation, and comorbid symptoms (anxiety, depressive, and obsessive-compulsive symptoms and ASD traits) were assessed with self-assessment questionnaires. Results Participants with AN exhibited difficulties in basic and complex emotion recognition, as well as increased alexithymia, decreased empathy, and challenges in emotion regulation when compared to HCs. After controlling for comorbid symptoms, differences remained only in complex emotion recognition. Challenges in emotion recognition were associated with lower body mass index, and increased alexithymia was associated with increased eating disorder symptoms. Increased challenges in emotion regulation were associated with a shorter duration of illness, higher body mass index, and increased eating disorder symptoms. Conclusions Participants with AN displayed widespread deficit in emotion processing, but only challenges in complex emotion recognition occurred independently from comorbid symptoms. Deficits in emotion processing may contribute to the illness severity and thus could be an important treatment target.Peer reviewe

Atypical sensory processing is associated with lower body mass index and increased eating disturbance in individuals with anorexia nervosa

Background:Elevated autism spectrum disorder (ASD) traits are associated with anorexia nervosa (AN). Conversely, eating disturbances, which are core characteristics of AN, are common in ASD. Among individuals with ASD, atypical sensory processing is associated with eating disturbance. Because AN and ASD appear to overlap, it would be crucial to understand whether sensory processing atypicality exist also in AN. Further, it would be essential to find if atypical sensory processing is associated with eating disturbances in individuals with AN, since treatment modifications may be needed. We therefore aimed to examine whether atypical sensory processing is associated with AN and its core characteristics. MethodsParticipants of the current study included 42 individuals with AN and 40 healthy controls (HCs). All participants were adult women. Sensory processing, other ASD traits, and eating disorder symptoms were assessed with self-report questionnaires. ResultsIndividuals with AN reported lower registration, decreased sensation seeking, increased sensory sensitivity, and increased sensation avoiding compared to HCs. When analyzing groups with restrictive AN (AN-R) and binge-purge type AN (AN-BP) separately, only individuals with AN-R exhibited decreased sensation seeking, and only those with AN-BP exhibited lower registration. After controlling for body mass index as a covariate, group differences remained significant only in sensory sensitivity between individuals with AN and HCs. Increased atypical sensory processing predicted lower body mass index and increased disordered eating. ConclusionResults suggest that sensory processing appears to differ between AN and HC women, and AN subtypes may exhibit distinct sensory processing atypicality. Sensory sensitivity may be stable traits whereas other aspects of atypical sensory processing may be related to acute AN. Atypical sensory processing may contribute to the severity of AN, and thus it is crucial to recognize sensory processing differences when treating individuals with AN.Peer reviewe

Laihuushäiriö ja autismikirjo

Laihuushäiriöön liittyy usein autismikirjolle tyypillisiä piirteitä, eli vaikeuksia sosiaalisessa tiedonkäsittelyssä ja vuorovaikutuksessa, joustamatonta ja kaavamaista käyttäytymistä sekä aistitiedon käsittelyn poikkeavuuksia. Osa laihuushäiriötä sairastavista täyttää autismikirjon häiriön diagnostiset kriteerit, ja heillä syömishäiriöoireiden taustalla vaikuttavat autismikirjon piirteet. Lisäksi joillain autismikirjon piirteet mahdollisesti korostuvat akuutin laihuushäiriön aikana. Autismikirjon piirteet liittyvät laihuushäiriön heikompaan ennusteeseen ja lisäävät häiriön pitkittymisen riskiä. Laihuushäiriötä sairastavat autismikirjolla olevat henkilöt eivät mahdollisesti hyödy riittävästi laihuushäiriön tämänhetkisistä hoitomenetelmistä, ja hoitokäytäntöjä tulisikin muokata niin, että heitä hoidettaessa autismikirjon piirteet huomioitaisiin nykyistä paremmin.Peer reviewe

Out of focus – brain attention control deficits in adult ADHD

Modern environments are full of information, and place high demands on the attention control mechanisms that allow the selection of information from one (focused attention) or multiple (divided attention) sources, react to changes in a given situation (stimulus-driven attention), and allocate effort according to demands (task-positive and task-negative activity). We aimed to reveal how attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) affects the brain functions associated with these attention control processes in constantly demanding tasks. Sixteen adults with ADHD and 17 controls performed adaptive visual and auditory discrimination tasks during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Overlapping brain activity in frontoparietal saliency and default-mode networks, as well as in the somato-motor, cerebellar, and striatal areas were observed in all participants. In the ADHD participants, we observed exclusive activity enhancement in the brain areas typically considered to be primarily involved in other attention control functions: During auditory-focused attention, we observed higher activation in the sensory cortical areas of irrelevant modality and the default-mode network (DMN). DMN activity also increased during divided attention in the ADHD group, in turn decreasing during a simple button-press task. Adding irrelevant stimulation resulted in enhanced activity in the salience network. Finally, the irrelevant distractors that capture attention in a stimulus-driven manner activated dorsal attention networks and the cerebellum. Our findings suggest that attention control deficits involve the activation of irrelevant sensory modality, problems in regulating the level of attention on demand, and may encumber top-down processing in cases of irrelevant information. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

The effect of metal dissolution on carbon production by high-temperature molten salt electrolysis

High-temperature molten salt electrolysis is suitable for the production of carbon morphologies such as carbon nanotubes and nano-onions. In this study, CO2 was electrochemically reduced to solid carbon by molten lithium carbonate electrolysis in an Inconel 625 vessel at a fixed temperature of 750°C. Four different cathodes (clean nickel, used nickel, stainless steel, and galvanized steel) were used to determine the effect of the electrode material on the morphology produced. The carbonaceous products obtained were analyzed with scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), Raman microscopy, and X-ray diffraction (XRD). With nickel cathodes, the dominant forms of carbon were spherical, whereas tubular structures dominated with steel-based cathodes. Nano-onion was the structure of carbon with the least metal impurities. Iron was discovered to promote carbon nanotube growth. In the presence of iron, nanotube wool was also found. A greater number of different morphologies were observed when the amount of metal impurities increased. The correlation found between XRD results and sample masses suggests that the amount of metal impurities in the sample varied more than the carbon content. Thus, the yield of the process can be expected to be fairly similar between parallel experiments.publishedVersionPeer reviewe

Enchantment in Business Ethics Research

This article draws attention to the importance of enchantment in business ethics research. Starting from a Weberian understanding of disenchantment, as a force that arises through modernity and scientific rationality, we show how rationalist business ethics research has become disenchanted as a consequence of the normalisation of positivist, quantitative methods of inquiry. Such methods absent the relational and lively nature of business ethics research and detract from the ethical meaning that can be generated through research encounters. To address this issue, we draw on the work of political theorist and philosopher, Jane Bennett, using this to show how interpretive qualitative research creates possibilities for enchantment. We identify three opportunities for reenchanting business ethics research related to: (i) moments of novelty or disruption; (ii) deep, meaningful attachments to things studied; and (iii) possibilities for embodied, affective encounters. In conclusion, we suggest that business ethics research needs to recognise and reorient scholarship towards an appreciation of the ethical value of interpretive, qualitative research as a source of potential enchantment

Cognitive Behavioral and Cognitive Remediation Strategies for Managing Co-Occurring Anorexia Nervosa and Elevated Autism Spectrum Traits

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a potentially severe eating disorder whose core characteristics include energy intake restriction leading to low body weight. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disorder characterized by deficits in social interaction and communication as well as repetitive, stereotyped behavior and interests. Both high ASD traits and diagnosed ASD are over-represented among individuals with AN, and AN and ASD appear to share certain neurocognitive features. These features are associated with the severity of eating disorder symptoms and prolongation of AN. Thus, individuals with AN and high ASD traits or ASD may benefit less from traditional treatment when compared to those with low ASD traits. No previous reviews have summarized what is known about treatment adaptations for individuals with AN and high ASD traits or ASD. The purpose of this narrative review was to investigate the feasibility of cognitive remediation therapy (CRT), cognitive remediation and emotional skill training (CREST), and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and give an overview of treatment modifications for individuals with AN and co-occurring ASD or high ASD traits. We found nine studies that fulfilled our inclusion criteria. The combined results suggest that individuals with AN and high ASD traits or ASD benefit less from CRT, CREST, and CBT than those with AN and low ASD traits. However, CRT and CREST administered in individual format may be associated with improved cognitive flexibility, motivation for change, and decreased alexithymia among adults with AN and high ASD traits or ASD. Individuals with comorbid AN and ASD themselves highlight the importance of treatment adaptations that take the characteristics of ASD into account. In the future, controlled studies of the treatment strategies for individuals with AN and ASD/high ASD traits are needed in order to improve the outcome of individuals with this challenging comorbidity.Peer reviewe