Development of skeletal muscle and adipose tissues in neonatal dairy calves upon a maternal supplementation with essential fatty acids and conjugated linoleic acids

Neonatal calves, which dams were supplemented with essentially fatty acids (EFAs) or conjugated linoleic acids (CLAs) from late gestation until early lactation, were investigated. The supplemented fatty acids were increased in different muscle and adipose tissues of the five-day-old calves as a result of maternal transfer. While CLAs appeared to promote a switch from slow to fast fiber type, EFAs appeared to promote for example the adipocyte differentiation in intramuscular fat. Overall, no major effects of the altered fatty acid supply on muscle and adipose tissue development were observed

The effectiveness of the Danish Organic Action Plan 2020 to increase the level of organic public procurement in Danish public kitchens

AbstractObjectiveTo measure the effect of organic food conversion projects on the percentage of organic food used in Danish public kitchens participating in the Danish Organic Action Plan 2020.DesignThe current longitudinal study was based on measurements of organic food percentages in Danish public kitchens before and after kitchen employees participated in conversion projects.SettingPublic kitchens participating in the nine organic food conversion projects under the Danish Organic Action Plan 2020, initiated during autumn 2012 and spring 2013 and completed in summer 2015.SubjectsA total of 622 public kitchens.ResultsThe average (median) increase in organic food percentage from baseline to follow-up was 24 percentage points (P&lt;0·001) during an overall median follow-up period of 1·5 years. When analysing data according to public kitchen type, the increase remained significant for seven out of eight kitchens. Furthermore, the proportion of public kitchens eligible for the Organic Cuisine Label in either silver (60–90 % organic food procurement) or gold (90–100 % organic food procurement) level doubled from 31 % to 62 %, respectively, during the conversion period. Conversion project curriculum mostly included elements of ‘theory’, ‘menu planning’, ‘network’ and ‘Organic Cuisine Label method’ to ensure successful implementation.ConclusionsThe study reports significant increases in the level of organic food procurement among public kitchens participating in the Danish Organic Action Plan 2020. Recommendations for future organic conversion projects include adding key curriculum components to the project’s educational content and measuring changes in organic food percentage to increase the chances of successful implementation.</jats:sec

A Learning Approach for Future Competencies in Manufacturing using a Learning Factory

This paper describes a study on future competence needs in manufacturing and how a learning factory utilising a Connective Model for Didactic Design can be used in teaching and learning of these competencies. The paper briefly reports on a literature study, and a set of interviews in Norwegian manufacturing companies to get a better understanding on the expected future competence needs. This was used to design a learning process with four steps: 1: Exploration, 2: Product and process design, 3: Problem solving and 4: Debriefing. The method was tested in a case study where undergraduate students are learners following the 4-step method. The approach was evaluated through feedback from the learners.publishedVersio

Environmental toxicants in breast milk of Norwegian mothers and gut bacteria composition and metabolites in their infants at 1&nbsp;month.

BACKGROUND:Early disruption of the microbial community may influence life-long health. Environmental toxicants can contaminate breast milk and the developing infant gut microbiome is directly exposed. We investigated whether environmental toxicants in breastmilk affect the composition and function of the infant gut microbiome at 1&nbsp;month. We measured environmental toxicants in breastmilk, fecal short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), and gut microbial composition from 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing using samples from 267 mother-child pairs in the Norwegian Microbiota Cohort (NoMIC). We tested 28 chemical exposures: polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polybrominated flame retardants (PBDEs), per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), and organochlorine pesticides. We assessed chemical exposure and alpha diversity/SCFAs using elastic net regression modeling and generalized linear models, adjusting for confounders, and variation in beta diversity (UniFrac), taxa abundance (ANCOM), and predicted metagenomes (PiCRUSt) in low, medium, and high exposed groups. RESULTS:PBDE-28 and the surfactant perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) were associated with less microbiome diversity. Some sub-OTUs of Lactobacillus, an important genus in early life, were lower in abundance in samples from infants with relative "high" (&gt; 80th percentile) vs. "low" (&lt; 20th percentile) toxicant exposure in this cohort. Moreover, breast milk toxicants were associated with microbiome functionality, explaining up to 34% of variance in acetic and propionic SCFAs, essential signaling molecules. Per one standard deviation of exposure, PBDE-28 was associated with less propionic acid (- 24% [95% CI - 35% to - 14%] relative to the mean), and PCB-209 with less acetic acid (- 15% [95% CI - 29% to - 0.4%]). Conversely, PFOA and dioxin-like PCB-167 were associated with 61% (95% CI 35% to 87%) and 22% (95% CI 8% to 35%) more propionic and acetic acid, respectively. CONCLUSIONS:Environmental toxicant exposure may influence infant gut microbial function during a critical developmental window. Future studies are needed to replicate these novel findings and investigate whether this has any impact on child health

In situ observations of trophic behaviour and locomotion of Princaxelia amphipods (Crustacea, Pardaliscidae) at hadal depths in four West Pacific Trenches

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Assessing Motivational Differences Between Young and Older Adults When Playing an Exergame.

Background: Currently, exergames are used by different age groups for both recreational and training/rehabilitation purposes. However, little is known about how to design exergames so that they are motivating for specific age groups and health outcomes. Objective: In this article, we compare motivational factors between healthy young and older adults by analyzing their assessments of the same balance training exergame. Materials and Methods: We performed a laboratory-based assessment of a custom-made balance training exergame with 12 healthy young and 10 healthy older adults. Their answers to a semistructured text input questionnaire were analyzed qualitatively. Results: Both age groups were motivated by a combination of intrinsic and extrinsic motivational factors. We found that the young adults tended to be motivated by the game challenge and the in-game reward system (scores). In contrast, the older adults were more motivated by the perceived health effects (both physical and cognitive) and the joy of playing, with less regard for the in-game rewards. Conclusion: The differences in motivational factors that were identified between young and older adults have several design implications. For older adults less effort can be put on designing the in-game reward system and more on showing the player the potential health effects of their play. Furthermore, the competition aspect can be downplayed and more focus placed on simply making the gaming experience itself as joyful as possible

Økonomiske avvik i Helseetaten: En undersøkende studie om muligheter for læring ved bruk av RPA

Samfunnet stiller i dag høye krav til at offentlige virksomheter bruker deres ressurser på en kostnadseffektiv måte, som speiler samfunnets behov av offentlige tjenester. Den teknologiske omstillingen i samfunnet fører til et behov for nye og forbedrede styringsverktøy som kan effektivisere og forbedre tradisjonell rapportering, og potensielt bidra til ny læring i organisasjoner. I denne case-undersøkelsen ser vi nærmere på hvordan Robotic Process Automation (RPA) kan bidra til å skape læringsprosesser ved økonomiske avvik i Helseetaten. Basert på fem kvalitative intervjuer av nøkkelinformanter, og tidligere publisert teori har vi utarbeidet en egen læringsmodell for bruk av industri 4.0-teknologier. Modellen skal bidra med økt bevissthet til hvilket kunnskapsnivå organisasjonen har i dag, og hvordan kunnskapen om industri 4.0-teknologier bidrar til økt verdiskapning. Læringsmodellen kan også bidra til å bevisstgjøre hvordan virksomheten kan bruke ressurser effektivt ved hjelp av ny teknologi, og bevare kunnskap i virksomheten gjennom overordnede prioriteringer. Våre funn viser at Helseetaten har en etablert læringskultur tilknyttet deres kjernekompetanse, hvilket bidrar til forbedret styring i virksomheten. Selv om organisasjonen har et godt grunnlag for organisatorisk læring, viser våre funn at Helseetaten ikke har nok kunnskap om RPA for at det skal bidra til læring og økt virksomhetsytelse i dag. På bakgrunn av vår undersøkelse konkluderer vi med at RPA-teknologi kan bidra til læring ved økonomiske avvik, og dermed forbedret økonomisk styring. Vi fremhever til slutt områder for videre forskning.Society today places high demands on the Norwegian public sector to use their resources in a cost-effective manner, which reflects society's needs for public services. The technological development in society leads to a need for new and improved management tools that can enhance and improve traditional reporting, and potentially contribute to new learning in organizations. In this case study, we take a closer look at how Robotic Process Automation (RPA) can contribute to creating learning processes in the event of financial deviations in Oslo Local Authority, Agency for Health. Based on five qualitative interviews of key informants, and previously published theory, we have created our own learning model for the usage of industry 4.0 technologies. The model will contribute to increased awareness of the level of knowledge the organization has today, and how the knowledge of Industry 4.0 technologies contributes to increased value creation. The learning model can also help to raise awareness of how the business can use resources efficiently with the help of new technology and preserve knowledge in the business through overall priorities. Our findings show that the Oslo Local Authority, Agency for Health has an established learning culture linked to their core competence, which contributes to improved management in the business. Although the organization has a good foundation for organizational learning, our findings show that the Oslo Local Authority, Agency for Health does not have enough knowledge about RPA for it to contribute to learning and increased business performance today. On the basis of our investigation, we conclude that RPA technology can contribute to learning in the event of financial deviations, and thus improved financial management. Finally, we highlight areas for further research

Designing for movement quality in exergames: Lessons learned from observing senior citizens playing stepping games

-Background: Exergames are increasingly used as an exercise intervention to reduce fall risk in elderly. However, few exergames have been designed specifically for elderly, and we lack knowledge about the characteristics of the movements elicited by exergames and thereby about their potential to train functions important for fall risk reduction. Objective: This study investigates game elements and older players' movement characteristics during stepping exergames in order to inform exergame design for movement quality in the context of fall preventive exercise. Methods: Fourteen senior citizens (mean age 73 years ± 5.7, range 65 - 85) played 3 stepping exergames in a laboratory. Each of the exergames was described with respect to 7 game elements (physical space, sensing hardware technology, game graphics and sound, model of user, avatar/mapping of movements, game mechanism and game narrative). Five movement characteristics (weight shift; variation in step length, speed, and movement direction; visual independency) were scored on a 5-point Likert scale based on video observations of each player and each game. Disagreement between raters was resolved by agreement. Differences in scores for the 3 exergames were analyzed with a multivariate one-way ANOVA. Results: The Mole received the highest sum score and the best score on each of the 5 movement characteristics (all p values <0.0005). LightRace scored the lowest of the 3 exergames on weight shift and variation in movement direction (both p values <0.0005), while DanceDanceRevolution scored lowest on step length variation and visual independency (p < 0.03 and p < 0.0005, respectively), and lower than The Mole on speed variation (p < 0.05). The physical space players used when exergaming and the on-screen representation of the player, affected movement quality positively as indexed by multiple weight shifts and variation in stepping size, direction, and speed. Furthermore, players' movements improved when playing speed-affected game progression and when the game narrative was related to a natural context. Conclusion: Comparing differences in game elements with associated differences in game movement requirements provides valuable insights about how to design for movement quality in exergames. This provided important lessons for the design of exergames for fall-preventive exercise in senior citizens and illustrates the value of including analyses of movement characteristics when designing such exergames