Pea-barley intercrop N dynamics in farmers fields

Knowledge about crop performances in farmers’ fields provides a link between on-farm practice and re-search. Thereby scientists may improve their ability to understand and suggest solutions for the problems facing those who have the responsibility of making sound agricultural decisions. Nitrogen (N) availability is known to be highly heterogeneous in terrestrial plant communities (Stevenson and van Kessel, 1997), a heterogeneity that in natural systems is often associated with variation in the distri-bution of plant species. In intercropping systems the relative proportion of component crops is influenced by the distribution of growth factors such as N in both time and space (Jensen, 1996). In pea-barley intercrops, an increase in the N supply promotes the growth of barley thereby decreasing the N accumulation of pea and giving rise to changes in the relative proportions of the intercropped components (Jensen, 1996). The pres-sure of weeds may, however, significantly change the dynamics in intercrops (Hauggaard-Nielsen et al., 2001). Data from farmers’ fields may provide direct, spatially explicit information for evaluating the poten-tials of improving the utilisation of field variability by intercrops

Stool Microbiota Diversity Analysis of Blastocystis-Positive and Blastocystis-Negative Individuals

Blastocystis is a unicellular eukaryote found in the gastrointestinal tract of both human and other animal hosts. The clinical significance of colonic Blastocystis colonization remains obscure. In this study, we used metabarcoding and bioinformatics analyses to identify differences in stool microbiota diversity between Blastocystis-positive and Blastocystis-negative individuals (n = 1285). Alpha diversity was significantly higher in Blastocystis carriers. At phylum level, Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes were enriched in carriers, while Proteobacteria were enriched in non-carriers. The genera Prevotella, Faecalibacterium, Flavonifracter, Clostridium, Succinivibrio, and Oscillibacter were enriched in carriers, whereas Escherichia, Bacteroides, Klebsiella, and Pseudomonas were enriched in non-carriers. No difference in beta diversity was observed. Individuals with Blastocystis-positive stools appear to have gut microbiomes associated with eubiosis unlike those with Blastocystis-negative stools, whose gut microbiomes are similar to those associated with dysbiosis. The role of Blastocystis as an indicator organism and potential modulator of the gut microbiota warrants further scrutiny.publishedVersio

Fecal Microbiota Transplantation from Overweight or Obese Donors in Cachectic Patients with Advanced Gastroesophageal Cancer : A Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-Controlled, Phase II Study

Purpose Cachexia is a multifactorial syndrome, associated with poor survival in patients with cancer, and is influenced by the gut microbiota. We investigated the effects of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) on cachexia and treatment response in patients with advanced gastroesophageal cancer. Experimental Design: In a double-blind randomized placebo-controlled trial performed in the Amsterdam University Medical Center, we assigned 24 cachectic patients with metastatic HER2-negative gastroesophageal cancer to either allogenic FMT (healthy obese donor) or autologous FMT, prior to palliative chemotherapy (capecitabine and oxaliplatin). Primary objective was to assess the effect of allogenic FMT on satiety. Secondary outcomes were other features of cachexia, along with disease control rate (DCR), overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), and toxicity. Finally, exploratory analyses were performed on the effect of FMT on gut microbiota composition (metagenomic sequencing) and metabolites (untargeted metabolomics). Results: Allogenic FMT did not improve any of the cachexia outcomes. Patients in the allogenic group (n = 12) had a higher DCR at 12 weeks (P = 0.035) compared with the autologous group (n = 12), longer median OS of 365 versus 227 days [ HR = 0.38; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.14-1.05; P = 0.057] and PFS of 204 versus 93 days (HR = 0.50; 95% CI, 0.21-1.20; P = 0.092). Patients in the allogenic group showed a significant shift in fecal microbiota composition after FMT (P = 0.010) indicating proper engraftment of the donor microbiota. Conclusions: FMT from a healthy obese donor prior to first-line chemotherapy did not affect cachexia, but may have improved response and survival in patients with metastatic gastroesophageal cancer. These results provide a rational for larger FMT trials.Peer reviewe

CRM i danske virksomheder

Kundeorientering er blevet et nyt og nødvendigt mantra hos mange virksomheder i jagten på vækst. Natur-ligvis profitabel vækst, det kan dog være en udfordring for mange at sikre dette viser erfaringerne. Her er CRM konceptet et centralt og afgørende element. Mange virksomheder oplever ikke alene knaphed på finan-sielle ressourcer, men også knaphed på kunder. Knapheden på kunder opleves som en udfordring, når profi-table kunder skal tiltrækkes, og eksisterende profitable kunder skal fastholdes. Derfor arbejder flere og flere virksomheder med CRM konceptet og loyalitetsteorien. Denne observation bekræftes i en analyse fra PwC1. Her siger hele 77 pct. af toplederne, at de forventer at investere i tiltag omkring fastholdelse af og mersalg til eksisterende kunder. Ligeledes fremhæver 67 pct. af toplederne, at højeste prioritet for investeringerne i de kommende 12 måneder er at forøge kundebasen. Det synes også i den grad som en nødvendig prioritering. En undersøgelse2 viser, at de europæiske forbruge-re kan undvære 92 pct. af de Brands som findes på markedet i dag. Derfor bør arbejdet med kundedata og kunderelationer være en essentiel prioritering, der er nødvendig for at skabe vækst på såvel top- som bund-linje. Aktiviteter vedrørende kunder kræver indsigt i, dels hvad der er kundens værdioplevelse, dels hvad kundens potentiale er i forhold til virksomheden (livstidsværdi), samt hvordan du som virksomhed bedst kommunike-rer med forskellige kundesegmenter (målrettet og relevant) på den mest effektfulde og effektive måde. Udfordringerne kan være mange, men netop en oplevelse af knaphed på kunder enten via lave fastholdelses-rater, lav tilgang af nye kunder eller en kombination, sætter behovet for viden i perspektiv. Det er ikke kun et spørgsmål om tilfredshed og villigheden til at ville anbefale og genkøbe et produkt/serviceydelse. Det er der-imod en systematisk indsamling, bearbejdning, deling og anvendelse af viden proaktivt og konstruktivt i rela-tion til kunder og markedet, der er et afgørende konkurrenceparameter. Ligesom evnen til at anvende og kommunikere denne viden så den af modtageren opleves målrettet og relevant, er afgørende for succesen. Ønsket om kundefastholdelse er et element, men ambitionen om vækst også gennem nye kunder stiller kon-stant nye krav til de måder, virksomheder tilbyder deres services og produkter. En anden udfordring synes at være, at forbrugernes adfærd og holdninger forandres. Den klassiske lineære tilgang til kunder og markedet (AIDA modellen) synes afløst af en cirkulær og mere ustruktureret adfærd som kan betegnes kundens ECO system3. Denne adfærd stiller store krav til opsamlin-gen af viden, bearbejdning heraf, delingen og anvendelsen af de touch points kunden samt virksomheden har. Den karakteristiske kampagnebaserede tilgang til markedet synes at have en mindre og mindre virk-ningsgrad. Kampagner vil blive afløst af en procesbaseret tilgang, der tager sit udgangspunkt i kundens ad-færd og holdninger i forhold til en gensidig værdiskabelse

STRENGTHENING REGIONAL COOPERATION IN FISHERIES DATA COLLECTION

fishPi was a research project with the aim of “Strengthening regional cooperation in the area of fisheries data collection”. The project brought together over 40 experts from 13 scientific institutes in 12 countries (10 member states (MS)) and two internationally recognised survey design experts. It was funded by EU MARE grant MARE/2014/19, with a 14 month timeline commencing in April 2015. This project has trialled the way sampling designs would be developed in a regional setting and showed that collaboration and consultation is required at face to face meetings through regional groups that focus on a particular group of fisheries. The project was the first step in this process and one of the main outcomes is the framework to take the process forward; developing data formats, data sharing agreements and easily accessible software for data sharing, checking and analysis, and for the simulation testing of sampling designs.European Unio

Intramolecular Triplet Diffusion Facilitates Triplet Dissociation in a Pentacene Hexamer

Triplet dynamics in singlet fission depend strongly on the strength of the electronic coupling. Covalent systems in solution offer precise control over such couplings. Nonetheless, efficient free triplet generation remains elusive in most systems, as the intermediate triplet pair 1(T1T1) is prone to triplet‐triplet annihilation due to its spatial confinement. In the solid state, entropically driven triplet diffusion assists in the spatial separation of triplets, resulting in higher yields of free triplets. Control over electronic coupling in the solid state is, however, challenging given its sensitivity to molecular packing. We have thus developed a hexameric system (HexPnc) to enable solid‐state‐like triplet diffusion at the molecular scale. This system is realized by covalently tethering three pentacene dimers to a central subphthalocyanine scaffold. Transient absorption spectroscopy, complemented by theoretical structural optimizations and steady‐state spectroscopy, reveals that triplet diffusion is indeed facilitated due to intramolecular cluster formation. The yield of free triplets in HexPnc is increased by a factor of up to 14 compared to the corresponding dimeric reference (DiPnc). Thus, HexPnc establishes crucial design aspects for achieving efficient triplet dissociation in strongly coupled systems by providing avenues for diffusive separation of 1(T1T1), while, concomitantly, retaining strong interchromophore coupling which preserves rapid formation of 1(T1T1).Efficient free triplet generation via singlet fission remains elusive in covalent systems. We have developed a hexameric pentacene system, in which three pentacene dimers are covalently linked to a central subphthalocyanine scaffold. This allows for an entropically driven triplet diffusion, resulting in higher yields of free triplets, and establishes crucial design aspects for achieving efficient triplet dissociation in strongly coupled systems. image Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/50110000165