Verwaarding van reststromen in de biologische retail - Een case-studie bij Udea/EkoPlaza

Dit is het verslag van een onderzoek naar de mogelijkheden om reststromen van het biologische retailkanaal te verwaarden. De reststromen in de biologische sector zijn in het algemeen moeilijker te organiseren dan in de reguliere sector. Dit komt doordat het volume van de reststromen relatief klein is door de beperkte omvang van de biologische sector. Aan de andere kant is een mogelijke pré dat in de biologische sector het streven naar verwaarding van reststromen eerder past binnen het profiel (van maatschappelijk verantwoord ondernemen) dan in de reguliere sector. Specifiek wordt in onderliggend onderzoek gekeken naar de reststromen van de biologische retailer Udea/EkoPlaza

Verwaarding van reststromen in de biologische retail (deel 2) : een casestudie bij Udea/EkoPlaza

Het terugdringen van voedselverliezen vormt een belangrijk thema in de verduurzaming van de voedselketen. Ook de biologische supermarkt Udea/EkoPlaza is continu op zoek naar nieuwe oplossingen voor de reststromen die ontstaan in zowel de EkoPlaza-winkels als in het distributiecentrum van Udea. De productgroep aardappelen, groente en fruit (AGF) kent bij Udea/EkoPlaza de grootste reststroom. In dit onderzoek zijn diverse mogelijkheden tot verwaarding van deze reststroom aan bod gekomen. Zo is de aankoopintentie onderzocht van consumenten ten aanzien van zogenaamde geüpcyclede producten. Dit zijn voedingsproducten die geproduceerd zijn op basis van reststromen. Er is onderzocht in hoeverre aansluiting kan worden gevonden bij lopende initiatieven omtrent de herbenutting van reststromen in diervoeder. Ook is de mogelijkheid onderzocht van de vergisting en/of compostering van reststromen

Early human brain development:insights into macroscale connectome wiring

BACKGROUND: Early brain development is closely dictated by distinct neurobiological principles. Here, we aimed to map early trajectories of structural brain wiring in the neonatal brain. METHODS: We investigated structural connectome development in 44 newborns, including 23 preterm infants and 21 full-term neonates scanned between 29 and 45 postmenstrual weeks. Diffusion-weighted imaging data were combined with cortical segmentations derived from T2 data to construct neonatal connectome maps. RESULTS: Projection fibers interconnecting primary cortices and deep gray matter structures were noted to mature faster than connections between higher-order association cortices (fractional anisotropy (FA) F = 58.9, p < 0.001, radial diffusivity (RD) F = 28.8, p < 0.001). Neonatal FA-values resembled adult FA-values more than RD, while RD approximated the adult brain faster (F = 358.4, p < 0.001). Maturational trajectories of RD in neonatal white matter pathways revealed substantial overlap with what is known about the sequence of subcortical white matter myelination from histopathological mappings as recorded by early neuroanatomists (mean RD 68 regions r = 0.45, p = 0.008). CONCLUSION: Employing postnatal neuroimaging we reveal that early maturational trajectories of white matter pathways display discriminative developmental features of the neonatal brain network. These findings provide valuable insight into the early stages of structural connectome development

Effects of substitution, and adding of carbohydrate and fat to whey-protein on energy intake, appetite, gastric emptying, glucose, insulin, ghrelin, cck and glp-1 in healthy older men - a randomized controlled trial

Protein-rich supplements are used widely for the management of malnutrition in the elderly. We reported previously that the suppression of energy intake by whey protein is less in older than younger adults. The aim was to determine the effects of substitution, and adding of carbohydrate and fat to whey protein, on ad libitum energy intake from a buffet meal (180-210 min), gastric emptying (3D-ultrasonography), plasma gut hormone concentrations (0-180 min) and appetite (visual analogue scales), in healthy older men. In a randomized, double-blind order, 13 older men (75 ± 2 years) ingested drinks (~450 mL) containing: (i) 70 g whey protein (280 kcal; 'P₂₈₀'); (ii) 14 g protein, 28 g carbohydrate, 12.4 g fat (280 kcal; 'M₂₈₀'); (iii) 70 g protein, 28 g carbohydrate, 12.4 g fat (504 kcal; 'M₅₀₄'); or (iv) control (~2 kcal). The caloric drinks, compared to a control, did not suppress appetite or energy intake; there was an increase in total energy intake (drink + meal, p < 0.05), which was increased most by the M₅₀₄-drink. P₂₈₀- and M₅₀₄-drink ingestion were associated with slower a gastric-emptying time (n = 9), lower ghrelin, and higher cholecystokinin (CCK) and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) than M₂₈₀ (p < 0.05). Glucose and insulin were increased most by the mixed-macronutrient drinks (p < 0.05). In conclusion, energy intake was not suppressed, compared to a control, and particularly whey protein, affected gastric emptying and gut hormone responses.Caroline Giezenaar, Yonta van der Burgh, Kylie Lange, Seva Hatzinikolas, Trygve Hausken, Karen L. Jones, Michael Horowitz, Ian Chapman, and Stijn Soene

A translucent interstellar cloud at z=2.69: CO, H2 and HD in the line-of-sight to SDSS J123714.60+064759.5

We present the analysis of a sub-DLA system (log N(H^0)=20.0+/-0.15, z_abs=2.69) toward SDSS J123714+064759 (z_em=2.78). Using the VLT/UVES and X-shooter spectrographs, we detect H2, HD and CO molecules in absorption with log N(H2,HD,CO)=(19.21,14.48,14.17). The overall metallicity of the system is super-solar ([Zn/H]=+0.34) and iron is highly depleted ([Fe/Zn]=-1.39), revealing metal-rich and dusty gas. The strongest H2 component does not coincide with the centre of the HI absorption. This implies that the molecular fraction in this component, f=2N(H2)/(2N(H2)+N(H^0)), is larger than the mean molecular fraction =1/4 in the system. This is supported by the detection of Cl^0 associated with this H2-component having N(Cl^0)/N(Cl^+)>0.4. Since Cl^0 is tied up to H2 by charge exchange reactions, this means that the molecular fraction in this component is not far from unity. The size of the molecular cloud is probably smaller than 1pc. Both the CO/H2=10^-5 and CO/C^0~1 ratios for f>0.24 indicate that the cloud classifies as translucent, i.e., a regime where carbon is found both in atomic and molecular form. The corresponding extinction, Av=0.14, albeit lower than the definition of a translucent sightline (based on extinction properties), is high for the observed H^0 column density. This means that intervening clouds with similar local properties but with larger column densities could be missed by current magnitude-limited QSO surveys. The excitation of CO is dominated by radiative interaction with the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation (CMBR) and we derive Tex(CO)=10.5+0.8-0.6 K when TCMBR(z=2.69)=10.05 K is expected. The astration factor of deuterium -with respect to the primordial D/H ratio- is only about 3. This can be the consequence of accretion of unprocessed gas from the intergalactic medium onto the associated galaxy. [abridged]Comment: 17 pages, 21 figures, 8 tables, accepted for publication in A&

Successful control of a hospital-wide outbreak of OXA-48 producing Enterobacteriaceae in the Netherlands, 2009 to 2011

On 31 May 2011, after notification of Klebsiella pneumoniae(KP)(OXA-48);(CTX-M-15) in two patients, nosocomial transmission was suspected in a Dutch hospital. Hospital-wide infection control measures and an outbreak investigation were initiated. A total of 72,147 patients were categorised into groups based on risk of OXA-48 colonisation or infection, and 7,527 were screened for Enterobacteriaceae(OXA-48) by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Stored KP isolates (n=408) were retrospectively tested for OXA-48 and CTX-M-1 group extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBL). 285 KP isolates from retrospective and prospective patient screening were genotyped by amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP). 41 isolates harbouring different Enterobacteriaceae species were analysed by plasmid multilocus sequence typing (pMLST). No nosocomial transmission of Enterobacteriaceae(OXA-48) was detected after 18 July 2011. Enterobacteriaceae(OXA-48) were found in 118 patients (KP (n=99), Escherichia coli (n=56), >= 1 Enterobacteriaceae(OXA-48) species (n=52)),of whom 21 had clinical infections. 39/41 (95%) of OXA-48 containing plasmids were identical in pMLST. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of KPOXA-48 and E. coli(OXA-48) for imipenem and meropenem ranged from = 16 mg/L, and 153/157 (97%) had MIC >0.25mg/L for ertapenem. AFLP identified a cluster of 203 genetically linked isolates (62 KPOXA-48;(CTX-M15); 107 KPCTX-M-15; 34 KPOXA-48). The 'oldest' KPCTX-M-15 and KPOXA-48 clonal types originated from February 2009 and September 2010, respectively. The last presumed outbreak-related KPOXA-48 was detected in April 2012. Uncontrolled transmission of KP (CTX-M-15) evolved into a nosocomial outbreak of KPOXA-48; CTX-M15 with large phenotypical heterogeneity. Although the outbreak was successfully controlled, the contribution of individual containment measures and of the hospital relocating into a new building just before outbreak notification was impossible to quantify

Can Mobile Phone Data Improve Emergency Response to Natural Disasters?

Peter Gething and Andrew Tatem discuss the potential impact of mobile phone positioning data on disaster response and highlight challenges that must be addressed if use of this technology is to develop

Subunit-selective proteasome activity profiling uncovers uncoupled proteasome subunit activities during bacterial infections

The proteasome is a nuclear‐cytoplasmic proteolytic complex involved in nearly all regulatory pathways in plant cells. The three different catalytic activities of the proteasome can have different functions, but tools to monitor and control these subunits selectively are not yet available in plant science. Here, we introduce subunit‐selective inhibitors and dual‐color fluorescent activity‐based probes for studying two of the three active catalytic subunits of the plant proteasome. We validate these tools in two model plants and use this to study the proteasome during plant–microbe interactions. Our data reveal that Nicotiana benthamiana incorporates two different paralogs of each catalytic subunit into active proteasomes. Interestingly, both β1 and β5 activities are significantly increased upon infection with pathogenic Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000 lacking hopQ1‐1 [PtoDC3000(ΔhQ)] whilst the activity profile of the β1 subunit changes. Infection with wild‐type PtoDC3000 causes proteasome activities that range from strongly induced β1 and β5 activities to strongly suppressed β5 activities, revealing that β1 and β5 activities can be uncoupled during bacterial infection. These selective probes and inhibitors are now available to the plant science community, and can be widely and easily applied to study the activity and role of the different catalytic subunits of the proteasome in different plant species.Bio-organic Synthesi