Reimagining agriculture with perennial crops

Perennial crops have been identified as a pathway to implement ecological intensification, which in extent could make agriculture more socio-economically and ecologically sustainable. This is a master thesis in Agroecology – a growing scientific discipline that aims to investigate problems in the food system using a holistic and transdisciplinary approach, incorporating and integrating both natural and social sciences to transform the food system. In this context, the present paper has focused on the initial steps of introducing the perennial grain crop Kernza to the United States, applying a systems perspective to integrate early knowledge from experimental farmers with research on plant-soil interactions, comparing the abundance of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in a perennial settings with their annual monologues. In the first part of the paper, interviews with five experimental farmers across the US are analyzed using an innovation framework to gauge what motivated their choice to grow Kernza, and what other variables might have affected their decisions to adopt the crop at this early time. The results show that these growers represent a variety of typical farmer backgrounds with very different motivations for experimenting with the crop, including using it for its abilities to reduce weed-pressure, earn profits from a new and exciting crop, or to support researchers in developing these crops; where the most common reason to adopt and trial the crop was curiosity and interest in sustainability. It was shown that the most important attributes affecting the diffusion of new innovations like Kernza include their relative advantage, such as the economic benefits for the farmer, Kernza’s soil-building capabilities, and that the complexity of growing the crop can be alleviated by improving the distribution of knowledge. This may be done by creating model farms where the current benefits of the crop can be put on display, and where economic performance in such a context can be highlighted for innovators and early adopters. Furthermore, the results show that these crops could be attractive and relatively easy to implement by farmers that already grow small grains, perennial seeds like lucerne, or otherwise have the knowledge, equipment and socioeconomic means of growing a grain currently in development. But for the crop to reach its current potential, such plantings should consider using Kernza as a dual-purpose crop to make use of both seed and plant residues for forage, primarily on marginal lands that otherwise would not have generated any reasonable income. The second part of the thesis set out to analyze the abundance of AMF in a 3-yr Kernza field, a 1-yr Kernza field, a 1-yr Kernza-lucerne intercrop, and a field planted with winter wheat using PLFA and NLFA-analyses. The results show a significantly higher abundance of the NLFA 16:15 indicative of AM hyphae in the oldest perennial cropping system at a soil depth of 30-60 cm, with similar but not significant differences visible at soil depths 0-5 cm and 5-30 cm. This was in line with the hypothesis that time between disturbance and the perennial nature of these crops should generate more abundant microbial communities than in crop agriculture dominated by high disturbance and annual crops. The implications of these findings are discussed, followed by suggestions for future research topics to enhance the understanding of perennial grains and perennial polycultures, and the interactions between these crops and the soil – innovations that holistically attempt to tackle numerous problems of agriculture at the same time. It is concluded that perennial crops have the potential to become a paradigm-shifting innovation capable of changing the mental models governing agriculture today: from high yields and high input systems reliant on annuals, to resilient farming systems where nature is the measure

Kommersiella takväxthus ur ett svenskt perspektiv

Det har sagts att tjugohundratalet är urbaniseringens århundrade. Detta stämmer inte minst för Sverige, där 85 procent av landets befolkning idag bor i urbana miljöer. Detta sker emellertid inte utan vissa uppoffringar och negativa effekter. Med städernas utbredning har allt mer jordbruksmark tagits i anspråk för bebyggelse. Städerna utgör på detta sätt ett konstant tryck mot landets jordbruksmarker och avståndet mellan producent och konsument ökar som aldrig förr. Detta har lett till att region Skåne satt stopp för alla nybyggnationer på skånsk åkermark och manar istället till en förtätning av de urbana ytorna. Denna utveckling kan emellertid leda till nya problem för de rörelser som arbetar med stadsodling. Med tätare städer kan konkurransen om de kvarvarande markytorna bli större. Det kan därför vara intressant att undersöka alternativa sätt att odla livsmedel i städerna. Inom ramarna för detta arbete har möjligheten att odla livsmedel i takbyggda växthus undersökts. Syftet har varit att ta fram fakta om hur kommersiella takväxthus skulle fungera i Sverige och hur denna produktionsform skiljer sig från traditionellt markbyggda växthus. Arbetet är utformat som en litteraturstudie där befintliga företag inom takväxthusområdet har undersökts. Dessutom har svensk och internationell forskning på området studerats. Exempel på uppvärmningsbehov, vattenbehov och skördenivåer har också utretts. Resultaten visar att takväxthus skiljer sig väldigt lite från markbyggda växthus, men har också mycket gemensamt med gröna tak. Dels genom att båda koncepten kan väga relativt mycket, men också i hur exempelvis dagvatten kan hanteras. Både takväxthus och gröna tak bidrar till att förbättra en stads dagvattenhantering. De isolerar dessutom byggnaden de är installerade på, sommar så väl som vinter. Gröna tak bidrar utöver detta till en ökad biodiversitet i staden, medan takväxthus som fördel kan leverera lokalt producerade livsmedel. Takväxthusets flöden föreslås också kunna sammankopplas med den underliggande byggnaden för att ytterligare effektivisera miljöfördelarna från takväxthuset. Problemen för takväxthus innefattar bland annat höga investeringskostnader, låga marginaler på frukt och grönt, långa återbetalningstider och tunga laster. Dessutom kan frågorna om hur de ska värmas, hur bevattningen ska ske och vilka skördar som kan förväntas ställa till problem. Lösningarna på dessa problem är flera, men inte alltid enkla. Bland annat kan innovativa försäljningsmodeller bidra till att öka företagets lönsamhet. Tillkommer gör också stora besparingar i uppvärmning, då takväxthus tar väl till vara på värmeläckaget från byggnaden det står på. Samtidigt får takväxthuset en exponering som många trädgårds- och växthusföretag saknar. När det gäller laster så kan dessa i vissa fall reduceras genom att välja material som väger mindre och genom att noga planera för hur inredningsdetaljerna kan spridas på takets yta. Växthusen föreslås i arbetet kunna värmas med hjälp av restvärme från byggnader och industrier runt om, men även fjärrvärme och olika gasbrännare kan bli aktuella. Bevattningen skulle med fördel för både företaget och staden kunna ske med insamlat regnvatten. Problemet med detta är vad som händer om regnvattnet inte räcker till. Då kan resterande vattenbehov behöva köpas in av kommunen. Skördarna i ett takbyggt växthus förväntas inte skilja sig nämnvärt jämfört med ett markbyggt. Preliminära beräkningar har i arbetet gjorts på kruksallat och tomater. Här har det visat sig att kruksallat med stor sannolikhet genererar högst inkomster per kvadratmeter växthusyta räknat. Kruksallat har även visat sig behöva mindre värme än tomat, vilket medför att växthusets effektbehov kan vara lägre om denna kulturväxt skulle odlas i ett takväxthus. Sammantaget bedöms takväxthus kunna fungera i vissa storstäder i Sverige, men det är ytterst viktigt att noga överväga alla aspekter. Eftersom växthuset med stor sannolikhet kan bli väldigt dyrt krävs en noga utarbetad affärsidé för att detta ska gå att genomföra i Sverige.The 21st century has been called an urban century. For a country like Sweden, this is motivated by the fact that 85 percent of the country’s population now reside in urban areas. However, the growing trend towards a more urbanized world does not pass us by without any negative effects. With urban sprawl eating away at agricultural land, pushing it away ever so slightly with every passing year, the distance between producers and consumers keeps on increasing. This has led the county of Skåne to ban all new construction work on agricultural lands. With this act, urban areas might cease to expand, paving way for denser cities. But this may lead to less space being available for urban farming, an alternative way of producing food in urban areas. In this literary review an attempt is made to investigate the possibility of growing food products on a commercial scale in rooftop greenhouses. The purpose of the thesis is to investigate how these greenhouses would function in Sweden. To achieve this, companies who work with roof top greenhouses have been studied. Also both Swedish and international research has been reviewed. The results show that rooftop greenhouses differ very little from ordinary greenhouses on the ground. But rooftop greenhouses also have many things in common with green roofs. For example, they both exhibit weight related problems when put on roofs. However they also benefit the city in similar ways. Both are known to enhance a building, an area, or a city’s storm water management. Furthermore, they may improve the insulation of their respective buildings, both during the summer and the winter months. The green roof adds value by increasing biodiversity. A greenhouse is instead a producer of food. The greenhouse could also be connected to the ventilation system of the building it stands on. This would allow the whole complex to exchange energy and gases in a more controlled manner, further adding to the environmental benefits of rooftop greenhouses. However rooftop greenhouses are not without problems. A primary concern is related to the high investment costs, low profit margins on food products as well as long payback times. Other problems include the load bearing capacity of interesting buildings, how the greenhouses may be heated and watered as well as how high the harvests may be. Possible solutions may be to use different types of sales models. Others serve to decrease building loads by choosing materials that weigh less and also distributing loads effectively. Choices for heating the greenhouse include waste heat from other buildings or nearby industries, district heating and/or natural gas. In order to provide adequate amounts of water to the plants, rainwater may be collected and used, but preferably not as the only source. If the building requires more rainwater than can be harvested, municipally sourced water may be necessary. For a rooftop greenhouse, the harvests are expected to be the same as in an ordinary greenhouse on the ground. Preliminary calculations show that lettuce grown in pots is a better option than growing tomatoes. These generate higher incomes but also serve to lower the need for greenhouse heating. This has to do with the fact that lettuces require less heat than for example tomatoes. This paper concludes that commercial rooftop greenhouses might have a chance in some Swedish urban areas. It is however advisable to carefully study all aspects of such an endeavor

Action and Function of ASB Proteins in Compartment Size Regulation

One of the most important and defining processes during development is the pattern formation of the various compartments in embryos. In an effort to discover the participants involved in regulating compartment size, we identified, in Danio rerio (zebrafish) embryos, the ankyrin repeat and SOCS box-containing protein 11 (d-asb11) gene. We first showed that d-Asb11 is a key mediator of Delta-Notch Signaling, acting at the level of DeltaA ubiquitylation, important in fine-tuning the lateral inhibition gradients between DeltaA and Notch. We, then, isolated a zebrafish having a germline deletion of the d-Asb11 cullin box subdomain and showed that this deletion resulted in loss of d-Asb11 activity. As a consequence, the animals were defective for Notch signaling and proper cell fate specification within the neurogenic regions of zebrafish embryos. We also provided evidence that d-Asb11 is important in maintaining myogenic proliferation in the stem cell compartment of zebrafish embryos and muscle regenerative responses in adult animals. This finding is supported by the highly specific d-Asb11 expression found in proliferating satellite cells in zebrafish muscle. In addition, we have applied immunoaffinity chromatograpy followed by tandem mass spectrometry to identify human ASB11 interacting proteins. The data confirmed the role of ASB11 as a subs

Dynamics in the ordered and disordered phases of barocaloric adamantane

High-entropy order-disorder phase transitions can be used for efficient and eco-friendly barocaloric solid-state cooling. Here the barocaloric effect is reported in an archetypal plastic crystal, adamantane. Adamantane has a colossal isothermally reversible entropy change of 106 J K-1 kg-1 . Extremely low hysteresis means that this can be accessed at pressure differences less than 200 bar. Configurational entropy can only account for about 40% of the total entropy change; the remainder is due to vibrational effects. Using neutron spectroscopy and supercell lattice dynamics calculations, it is found that this vibrational entropy change is mainly caused by softening in the high-entropy phase of acoustic modes that correspond to molecular rotations. We attribute this behaviour to the contrast between an 'interlocked' state in the low-entropy phase and sphere-like behaviour in the high-entropy phase. Although adamantane is a simple van der Waals solid with near-spherical molecules, this approach can be leveraged for the design of more complex barocaloric molecular crystals. Moreover, this study shows that supercell lattice dynamics calculations can accurately map the effect of orientational disorder on the phonon spectrum, paving the way for studying the vibrational entropy, thermal conductivity, and other thermodynamic effects in more complex materials.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figure

A robust semi-automatic delineation workflow using denoised diffusion weighted magnetic resonance imaging for response assessment of patients with esophageal cancer treated with neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy

Background and Purpose: Diffusion weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DW-MRI) can be prognostic for response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (nCRT) in patients with esophageal cancer. However, manual tumor delineation is labor intensive and subjective. Furthermore, noise in DW-MRI images will propagate into the corresponding apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) signal. In this study a workflow is investigated that combines a denoising algorithm with semi-automatic segmentation for quantifying ADC changes. Materials and Methods: Twenty patients with esophageal cancer who underwent nCRT before esophagectomy were included. One baseline and five weekly DW-MRI scans were acquired for every patient during nCRT. A self-supervised learning denoising algorithm, Patch2Self, was used to denoise the DWI-MRI images. A semi-automatic delineation workflow (SADW) was next developed and compared with a manually adjusted workflow (MAW). The agreement between workflows was determined using the Dice coefficients and Brand Altman plots. The prognostic value of ADCmean increases (%/week) for pathologic complete response (pCR) was assessed using c-statistics. Results: The median Dice coefficient between the SADW and MAW was 0.64 (interquartile range 0.20). For the MAW, the c-statistic for predicting pCR was 0.80 (95% confidence interval (CI):0.56–1.00). The SADW showed a c-statistic of 0.84 (95%CI:0.63–1.00) after denoising. No statistically significant differences in c-statistics were observed between the workflows or after applying denoising. Conclusions: The SADW resulted in non-inferior prognostic value for pCR compared to the more laborious MAW, allowing broad scale applications. The effect of denoising on the prognostic value for pCR needs to be investigated in larger cohorts.</p

Branched chain amino acids are associated with metabolic complications in liver transplant recipients

Background: Obesity, dyslipidemia and type 2 diabetes (T2D) contribute substantially to increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in patients after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLTx). Elevated plasma branched chain amino acids (BCAA) are linked to metabolic disturbances and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk profiles in several non-OLTx populations. Methods: Cross-sectional analysis of liver transplant recipients from TransplantLines, a single-center biobank and cohort study. BCAA plasma levels were measured by means of nuclear-magnetic resonance spectroscopy. CVD and cardiometabolic factors were collected by using data from electronic patient records. Associations were determined between BCAA plasma levels and T2D, Metabolic Syndrome (MetS), CVD as well as mTOR inhibition in liver transplant recipients. Results: 336 Patients were divided into sex-stratified tertiles of total BCAA. MetS (P &lt; 0.001) and T2D (P = 0.002) were significantly more frequent in subjects in the highest BCAA tertile. In logistic regression analyses, the multivariable adjusted odds ratio (OR) per 1 standard deviation increase in BCAA was 1.68 (95%CI: 1.18–2.20, P = 0.003) for MetS and 1.60 (95%CI: 1.14–2.23, P = 0.006) for T2D. Use of Sirolimus (mTOR inhibitor) was significantly associated with higher BCAA plasma levels, independent of age, sex, time after OLTx, MetS and other immunosuppressive medication (adjusted P = 0.002). Conclusion: Elevated BCAA plasma levels are associated with T2D, MetS and use of Sirolimus in liver transplant recipients. BCAA plasma levels may represent a valuable biomarker for cardiometabolic complications after OLTx.</p

A robust semi-automatic delineation workflow using denoised diffusion weighted magnetic resonance imaging for response assessment of patients with esophageal cancer treated with neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy

Background and Purpose: Diffusion weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DW-MRI) can be prognostic for response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (nCRT) in patients with esophageal cancer. However, manual tumor delineation is labor intensive and subjective. Furthermore, noise in DW-MRI images will propagate into the corresponding apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) signal. In this study a workflow is investigated that combines a denoising algorithm with semi-automatic segmentation for quantifying ADC changes. Materials and Methods: Twenty patients with esophageal cancer who underwent nCRT before esophagectomy were included. One baseline and five weekly DW-MRI scans were acquired for every patient during nCRT. A self-supervised learning denoising algorithm, Patch2Self, was used to denoise the DWI-MRI images. A semi-automatic delineation workflow (SADW) was next developed and compared with a manually adjusted workflow (MAW). The agreement between workflows was determined using the Dice coefficients and Brand Altman plots. The prognostic value of ADCmean increases (%/week) for pathologic complete response (pCR) was assessed using c-statistics. Results: The median Dice coefficient between the SADW and MAW was 0.64 (interquartile range 0.20). For the MAW, the c-statistic for predicting pCR was 0.80 (95% confidence interval (CI):0.56–1.00). The SADW showed a c-statistic of 0.84 (95%CI:0.63–1.00) after denoising. No statistically significant differences in c-statistics were observed between the workflows or after applying denoising. Conclusions: The SADW resulted in non-inferior prognostic value for pCR compared to the more laborious MAW, allowing broad scale applications. The effect of denoising on the prognostic value for pCR needs to be investigated in larger cohorts.</p

Branched chain amino acids are associated with metabolic complications in liver transplant recipients

Background: Obesity, dyslipidemia and type 2 diabetes (T2D) contribute substantially to increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in patients after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLTx). Elevated plasma branched chain amino acids (BCAA) are linked to metabolic disturbances and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk profiles in several non-OLTx populations. Methods: Cross-sectional analysis of liver transplant recipients from TransplantLines, a single-center biobank and cohort study. BCAA plasma levels were measured by means of nuclear-magnetic resonance spectroscopy. CVD and cardiometabolic factors were collected by using data from electronic patient records. Associations were determined between BCAA plasma levels and T2D, Metabolic Syndrome (MetS), CVD as well as mTOR inhibition in liver transplant recipients. Results: 336 Patients were divided into sex-stratified tertiles of total BCAA. MetS (P &lt; 0.001) and T2D (P = 0.002) were significantly more frequent in subjects in the highest BCAA tertile. In logistic regression analyses, the multivariable adjusted odds ratio (OR) per 1 standard deviation increase in BCAA was 1.68 (95%CI: 1.18–2.20, P = 0.003) for MetS and 1.60 (95%CI: 1.14–2.23, P = 0.006) for T2D. Use of Sirolimus (mTOR inhibitor) was significantly associated with higher BCAA plasma levels, independent of age, sex, time after OLTx, MetS and other immunosuppressive medication (adjusted P = 0.002). Conclusion: Elevated BCAA plasma levels are associated with T2D, MetS and use of Sirolimus in liver transplant recipients. BCAA plasma levels may represent a valuable biomarker for cardiometabolic complications after OLTx.</p

Branched Chain Amino Acids are associated with Metabolic Complications in Liver Transplant Recipients

BACKGROUND: Obesity, dyslipidemia and type 2 diabetes (T2D) contribute substantially to increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in patients after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLTx). Elevated plasma branched chain amino acids (BCAA) are linked to metabolic disturbances and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk profiles in several non-OLTx populations. METHODS: Cross-sectional analysis of liver transplant recipients from TransplantLines, a single-center biobank and cohort study. BCAA plasma levels were measured by means of nuclear-magnetic resonance spectroscopy. CVD and cardiometabolic factors were collected by using data from electronic patient records. Associations were determined between BCAA plasma levels and T2D, Metabolic Syndrome (MetS), CVD as well as mTOR inhibition in liver transplant recipients. RESULTS: 336 Patients were divided into sex-stratified tertiles of total BCAA. MetS (P<0.001) and T2D (P=0.002) were significantly more frequent in subjects in the highest BCAA tertile. In logistic regression analyses, the multivariable adjusted odds ratio (OR) per 1 standard deviation increase in BCAA was 1.68 (95%CI: 1.18-2.20, P=0.003) for MetS and 1.60 (95%CI: 1.14-2.23, P=0.006) for T2D. Use of Sirolimus (mTOR inhibitor) was significantly associated with higher BCAA plasma levels, independent of age, sex, time after OLTx, MetS and other immunosuppressive medication (adjusted P=0.002). CONCLUSION: Elevated BCAA plasma levels are associated with T2D, MetS and use of Sirolimus in liver transplant recipients. BCAA plasma levels may represent a valuable biomarker for cardiometabolic complications after OLTx