Verkennende studie naar hittestress bij melkvee tijdens weidegang in gematigde klimaatstreken

An exploratory study has been conducted to gain insight into the effects of heat stress during grazing on milk production, health and welfare of dairy cows, and the economic consequences of this under Dutch climate conditions. Furthermore an exploration was carried out into options to reduce the effects of heat stress during grazing. The results of this study are described in this report

Stadsvarkens : schakel in een circulaire economie : ruimte in wet- en regelgeving voor stadsvarkens : een advies aan Stichting Stadsvarkens Ede

De Stichting Stadsvarkens te Ede wil weten aan welke regelgeving moet worden voldaan om vier varkens in een bosperceel te houden en te voeden met reststromen. Het doel is het sluiten van kringlopen binnen een circulaire economie. Dit rapport gaat in op de wet- en regelgeving rond diervoeding en op de afzet van het vlees in de setting van Stadsvarkens. Daarnaast wordt het voeren van reststromen in relatie tot diergezondheid belicht. Door studenten is binnen een ACT-traject gekeken naar relevante wetgeving en is een viertal scenario’s geschetst voor het houden van stadsvarkens die gevoerd worden met lokale reststromen. De scenario’s zijn door de onderzoekers tegen het licht gehouden en van kanttekeningen en een advies voorzien. Dit heeft geresulteerd in een ander advies, omdat verschillende knelpunten de eerdere scenario’s niet mogelijk maken

Fractional exhaled nitric oxide in preterm-born subjects: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background Decreased lung function is common in preterm‐born survivors. Increased fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) appears to be a reliable test for eosinophillic airway inflammation especially in asthma. We, systematically, reviewed the literature to compare FeNO levels in preterm‐born children and adults who did or did not have chronic lung disease of prematurity (CLD) in infancy with term‐born controls. Methods We searched eight databases up to February 2018. Studies comparing FeNO levels in preterm‐born subjects (<37 weeks’ gestation) in childhood and adulthood with and without (CLD) with term‐born subjects were identified and extracted by two reviewers. Data were analysed using Review Manager v5.3. Results From 6042 article titles, 183 full articles were screened for inclusion. Nineteen studies met the inclusion criteria. Seventeen studies compared FeNO levels in preterm‐ and term‐born children and adults; 11 studies (preterm n = 640 and term n = 4005) were included in a meta‐analysis. The mean FeNO concentration difference between the preterm‐born and term‐born group was −0.74 (95% CI −1.88 to 0.41) ppb. For the six studies reporting data on CLD (preterm n = 204 and term n = 211) the mean difference for FeNO levels was −2.82 (95% CI −5.87 to 0.22) ppb between the preterm‐born CLD and term‐born groups. Conclusions Our data suggest that preterm born children with and without CLD have similar FeNO levels to term‐born children suggesting an alternative mechanism to eosinophilic inflammation for symptoms of wheezing and airway obstruction observed in preterm‐born subjects

Werken aan meerwaarde van regionale landbouw en biodiversiteit : de oogst van vier jaar Echt Overijssel!

"Werken aan" heeft in Echt Overijssel! vele betekenissen. Livestock Research, CLM, Natuurmonumenten, Louis Bolk Instituut hebben gewerkt aan de ontwikkeling van duurzaamheid via de drie thema’s: (agro)biodiversiteit, regionale landbouw en markt. De werkvorm was er een met agrarische ondernemers, met kennisinstellingen, met terreinbeheerders, en vele andere partners in het keten- en kennisnetwerk. Kosten en opbrengsten voor biologische bedrijfsvoering zijn berekend voor verschillende bedrijfsvormen. Gebruikmakend van diverse teelten, die alternatief veevoer leveren. Vanuit teelt en beheerperspectief is het zoeken naar de balans tussen gewasopbrengst (productwaarde) en biodiversiteit (natuurwaarde)

Allogenic Faecal Microbiota Transfer Induces Immune-Related Gene Sets in the Colon Mucosa of Patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Faecal microbiota transfer (FMT) consists of the introduction of new microbial communities into the intestine of a patient, with the aim of restoring a disturbed gut microbiota. Even though it is used as a potential treatment for various diseases, it is unknown how the host mucosa responds to FMT. This study aims to investigate the colonic mucosa gene expression response to allogenic (from a donor) or autologous (own) FMT in patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). In a recently conducted randomised, double-blinded, controlled clinical study, 17 IBS patients were treated with FMT by colonoscopy. RNA was isolated from colonic biopsies collected by sigmoidoscopy at baseline, as well as two weeks and eight weeks after FMT. In patients treated with allogenic FMT, predominantly immune response-related gene sets were induced, with the strongest response two weeks after the FMT. In patients treated with autologous FMT, predominantly metabolism-related gene sets were affected. Furthermore, several microbiota genera showed correlations with immune-related gene sets, with different correlations found after allogenic compared to autologous FMT. This study shows that the microbe-host response is influenced by FMT on the mucosal gene expression level, and that there are clear differences in response to allogenic compared to autologous FMT.Peer reviewe

Kringlooplandbouw in Noord-Nederland : van marge naar mainstream

Sinds 1990 wordt er in Noord-Nederland, waaronder de Noordelijke Friese Wouden en de provincie Drenthe, door melkveehouders, wetenschappers en beleidsmakers geëxperimenteerd om de kringloop van mineralen op het bedrijf zo goed mogelijk te sluiten. Steeds meer agrarisch ondernemers worden zich bewust van het belang van het sluiten van de kringloop ingegeven door aanscherping in mestwetgeving, schaarste van grondstoffen, hogere kosten van kunstmest en belasting van de omgeving. Zij zullen naar de toekomst de nieuwe kringloopboeren kunnen worden. Efficiënt gebruik van grond- en hulpstoffen is de kerngedacht

Stringency of the 2-His–1-Asp Active-Site Motif in Prolyl 4-Hydroxylase

The non-heme iron(II) dioxygenase family of enzymes contain a common 2-His–1-carboxylate iron-binding motif. These enzymes catalyze a wide variety of oxidative reactions, such as the hydroxylation of aliphatic C–H bonds. Prolyl 4-hydroxylase (P4H) is an α-ketoglutarate-dependent iron(II) dioxygenase that catalyzes the post-translational hydroxylation of proline residues in protocollagen strands, stabilizing the ensuing triple helix. Human P4H residues His412, Asp414, and His483 have been identified as an iron-coordinating 2-His–1-carboxylate motif. Enzymes that catalyze oxidative halogenation do so by a mechanism similar to that of P4H. These halogenases retain the active-site histidine residues, but the carboxylate ligand is replaced with a halide ion. We replaced Asp414 of P4H with alanine (to mimic the active site of a halogenase) and with glycine. These substitutions do not, however, convert P4H into a halogenase. Moreover, the hydroxylase activity of D414A P4H cannot be rescued with small molecules. In addition, rearranging the two His and one Asp residues in the active site eliminates hydroxylase activity. Our results demonstrate a high stringency for the iron-binding residues in the P4H active site. We conclude that P4H, which catalyzes an especially demanding chemical transformation, is recalcitrant to change

Validation of a Novel Immunoline Assay for Patient Stratification according to Virulence of the Infecting Helicobacter pylori Strain and Eradication Status

Helicobacter pylori infection shows a worldwide prevalence of around 50%. However, only a minority of infected individuals develop clinical symptoms or diseases. The presence of H. pylori virulence factors, such as CagA and VacA, has been associated with disease development, but assessment of virulence factor presence requires gastric biopsies. Here, we evaluate the H. pylori recomLine test for risk stratification of infected patients by comparing the test score and immune recognition of type I or type II strains defined by the virulence factors CagA, VacA, GroEL, UreA, HcpC, and gGT with patient's disease status according to histology. Moreover, the immune responses of eradicated individuals from two different populations were analysed. Their immune response frequencies and intensities against all antigens except CagA declined below the detection limit. CagA was particularly long lasting in both independent populations. An isolated CagA band often represents past eradication with a likelihood of 88.7%. In addition, a high recomLine score was significantly associated with high-grade gastritis, atrophy, intestinal metaplasia, and gastric cancer. Thus, the recomLine is a sensitive and specific noninvasive test for detecting serum responses against H. pylori in actively infected and eradicated individuals. Moreover, it allows stratifying patients according to their disease state

Systematic Review of Medicine-Related Problems in Adult Patients with Atrial Fibrillation on Direct Oral Anticoagulants

New oral anticoagulant agents continue to emerge on the market and their safety requires assessment to provide evidence of their suitability for clinical use. There-fore, we searched standard databases to summarize the English language literature on medicine-related problems (MRPs) of direct oral anticoagulants DOACs (dabigtran, rivaroxban, apixban, and edoxban) in the treatment of adults with atri-al fibrillation. Electronic databases including Medline, Embase, International Pharmaceutical Abstract (IPA), Scopus, CINAHL, the Web of Science and Cochrane were searched from 2008 through 2016 for original articles. Studies pub-lished in English reporting MRPs of DOACs in adult patients with AF were in-cluded. Seventeen studies were identified using standardized protocols, and two reviewers serially abstracted data from each article. Most articles were inconclusive on major safety end points including major bleeding. Data on major safety end points were combined with efficacy. Most studies inconsistently reported adverse drug reactions and not adverse events or medication error, and no definitions were consistent across studies. Some harmful drug effects were not assessed in studies and may have been overlooked. Little evidence is provided on MRPs of DOACs in patients with AF and, therefore, further studies are needed to establish the safety of DOACs in real-life clinical practice