Species competition in multispecies grass swards

There is growing interest in establishing highly biodiverse grasslands that are also capable of maintaining high yields. In order to design successful multispecies mixtures it is necessary to know the competitiveness of individual species and how different management regimes affect this. Some species can survive in highly productive pastures, while others need nursing in special mixtures if they are to make a significant contribution to the forage. This is investigated in the ECOSERVE project and has also been studied in the earlier ORGGRASS project

Konkurrenceforhold i græsmarker med mange arter

Der er fokus på etablering af marker med stor biodiversitet og en Der er fokus på etablering af marker med stor biodiversitet og en Der er fokus på etablering af marker med stor biodiversitet og en samtidig opretholdelse af udbyttet. For at kunne designe successamtidig opretholdelse af udbyttet. For at kunne designe successamtidig opretholdelse af udbyttet. For at kunne designe successamtidig opretholdelse af udbyttet. For at kunne designe successamtidig opretholdelse af udbyttet. For at kunne designe succes-fulde mangeartsblandinger er det nødvendigt at kende de enkelte fulde mangeartsblandinger er det nødvendigt at kende de enkelte fulde mangeartsblandinger er det nødvendigt at kende de enkelte fulde mangeartsblandinger er det nødvendigt at kende de enkelte fulde mangeartsblandinger er det nødvendigt at kende de enkelte fulde mangeartsblandinger er det nødvendigt at kende de enkelte fulde mangeartsblandinger er det nødvendigt at kende de enkelte arters konkurrenceevne, og hvordan management påvirker denne. arters konkurrenceevne, og hvordan management påvirker denne. arters konkurrenceevne, og hvordan management påvirker denne. arters konkurrenceevne, og hvordan management påvirker denne. Nogle arter kan klare sig i højproduktive græsmarker og andre Nogle arter kan klare sig i højproduktive græsmarker og andre skal nurses med specialblandinger, hvis de skal bidrage væsentskal nurses med specialblandinger, hvis de skal bidrage væsentskal nurses med specialblandinger, hvis de skal bidrage væsentskal nurses med specialblandinger, hvis de skal bidrage væsentskal nurses med specialblandinger, hvis de skal bidrage væsent-ligt til foderet. ligt til foderet. ligt til foderet. Dette undersøges i projektet EcoServe og blev undersøgt i OrgDette undersøges i projektet EcoServe og blev undersøgt i OrgDette undersøges i projektet EcoServe og blev undersøgt i OrgDette undersøges i projektet EcoServe og blev undersøgt i Org-grass

Designing High-Yielding, High-Diversity and Low-Input Temporary Grasslands

Species-rich swards have received increasing interest due to their focus on ecosystem services, animal welfare and product quality. However, in high-yielding swards the proportion of herbs is often limited and there is little knowledge of their management. Seed mixture composition, cutting frequency, fertilization and grazing/cutting strategies were examined over 4 years in 3 experiments to quantify their effects on herbage yield and botanical composition. Inclusion of herbs in the sward gave similar or higher annual yields but swards established with 100% herbs depended on the presence of a driver species. The effects of management differed between species. Herb content in the sward was significantly related to the proportion of herbs in the seed mixture, whereas botanical composition was related to defoliation frequency. Continuous grazing with heifers reduced the proportion of herbs, relative to cutting, and reduced the competitiveness of ribwort plantain, caraway and lucerne, whereas chicory was unaffected. Fertilization with cattle slurry reduced the proportion of legumes and increased most of the non-leguminous species. Herb proportions changed over the 4 years, with plantain decreasing and caraway increasing. Growing weak competitors together, such as salad burnet and dandelion, with one legume showed possibilities for improving the proportion of these species in the sward. In general, it was possible to maintain diversity in the swards but with changing botanical composition over years. However maintaining weak competitors requires a special planting design

Fish Consumption Measured during Pregnancy and Risk of Cardiovascular Diseases Later in Life: An Observational Prospective Study

Previous studies have indicated a protective effect of long chain n-3 PUFAs against cardiovascular disease; however, the overall evidence remains uncertain, and there is a general lack of knowledge in the field of cardiovascular epidemiology in women. Therefore, the objective of this study was to explore the association between fish intake and cardiovascular disease among 7429 women from a prospective pregnancy cohort in Aarhus, Denmark, who were followed for 12–17 years. Exposure information derived from a questionnaire sent to the women in gestation week 16, and daily fish consumption was quantified based on assumptions of standard portion sizes and food tables. Information on admissions to hospital was obtained from the Danish National Patient Registry and diagnoses of hypertensive, cerebrovascular and ischaemic heart disease were used to define the outcome: cardiovascular disease. During the follow-up period 263 events of cardiovascular disease were identified. Overall, there was no association between cardiovascular disease and fish intake, confidence intervals for effect estimates in the different fish intake groups were wide, overlapped and for all but one they encompassed unity. Restricting the analysis to women who had reported the same fish intake in a questionnaire in gestation week 30 did not alter these findings. In conclusion, our data from a prospective cohort of relatively young and initially healthy women from Aarhus linked with information from registries could not substantiate a protective effect of fish intake against cardiovascular disease

Collagen fleece-bound fibrin sealant is not associated with an increased risk of thromboembolic events or major bleeding after its use for haemostasis in surgery: a prospective multicentre surveillance study

BACKGROUND: Topical haemostatic agents are used to help achieve haemostasis during surgery when standard surgical techniques are insufficient. The objective of this study was to confirm the safety profile of an equine collagen patch coated with human fibrinogen and human thrombin with particular focus on the occurrence of thromboembolic events (TEEs), major bleeding and immunological events. METHODS: This was a non-interventional, multicentre, prospective, surveillance study in which a collagen fleece-bound fibrin sealant was prescribed in accordance with its marketing authorisation. The decision to use the sealant was based solely on current surgical practice. All patients that received the sealant and provided informed consent were included. TEEs (any coagula-based occlusion in a vessel or the heart identified by symptomatic clinical signs and/or verified by paraclinical examination), major bleeding (any bleeding that required intervention), and immunological events (hypersensitivity including anaphylaxis) that occurred during surgery, post-operative hospital stay or 6 months of follow-up were reported as adverse events. The primary endpoint was the proportion of patients experiencing a confirmed TEE. RESULTS: A total of 3098 patients were recruited at 227 centres in 12 European countries. The most frequent types of surgery were hepatic (33%), gastrointestinal (16%) and urological (14%) and the main indication for surgery was for primary (35%) or secondary (20%) malignancy. Forty-six patients (1.5%, 95% CI 1.1–2.0%) had at least one TEE during the study. The most commonly reported TEEs were pulmonary embolism or post-procedural pulmonary embolism (n = 18) and deep vein thrombosis (n = 9). There were 64 major bleedings in 62 patients and 9 immunological events in 8 patients. CONCLUSION: Collagen fleece-bound fibrin sealant does not appear to be associated with an increased risk of TEEs, major bleeding or immunological events in patients undergoing surgery. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinicaltrials.gov number: NCT0028562

Cesarean section and rate of subsequent stillbirth, miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy: a Danish register-based cohort study

Background: With cesarean section rates increasing worldwide, clarity regarding negative effects is essential. This study aimed to investigate the rate of subsequent stillbirth, miscarriage, and ectopic pregnancy following primary cesarean section, controlling for confounding by indication. Methods and Findings: We performed a population-based cohort study using Danish national registry data linking various registers. The cohort included primiparous women with a live birth between January 1, 1982, and December 31, 2010 (n = 832,996), with follow-up until the next event (stillbirth, miscarriage, or ectopic pregnancy) or censoring by live birth, death, emigration, or study end. Cox regression models for all types of cesarean sections, sub-group analyses by type of cesarean, and competing risks analyses for the causes of stillbirth were performed. An increased rate of stillbirth (hazard ratio [HR] 1.14, 95% CI 1.01, 1.28) was found in women with primary cesarean section compared to spontaneous vaginal delivery, giving a theoretical absolute risk increase (ARI) of 0.03% for stillbirth, and a number needed to harm (NNH) of 3,333 women. Analyses by type of cesarean section showed similarly increased rates for emergency (HR 1.15, 95% CI 1.01, 1.31) and elective cesarean (HR 1.11, 95% CI 0.91, 1.35), although not statistically significant in the latter case. An increased rate of ectopic pregnancy was found among women with primary cesarean overall (HR 1.09, 95% CI 1.04, 1.15) and by type (emergency cesarean, HR 1.09, 95% CI 1.03, 1.15, and elective cesarean, HR 1.12, 95% CI 1.03, 1.21), yielding an ARI of 0.1% and a NNH of 1,000 women for ectopic pregnancy. No increased rate of miscarriage was found among women with primary cesarean, with maternally requested cesarean section associated with a decreased rate of miscarriage (HR 0.72, 95% CI 0.60, 0.85). Limitations include incomplete data on maternal body mass index, maternal smoking, fertility treatment, causes of stillbirth, and maternally requested cesarean section, as well as lack of data on antepartum/intrapartum stillbirth and gestational age for stillbirth and miscarriage. Conclusions: This study found that cesarean section is associated with a small increased rate of subsequent stillbirth and ectopic pregnancy. Underlying medical conditions, however, and confounding by indication for the primary cesarean delivery account for at least part of this increased rate. These findings will assist women and health-care providers to reach more informed decisions regarding mode of delivery

The Healthy Start project: a randomized, controlled intervention to prevent overweight among normal weight, preschool children at high risk of future overweight

BACKGROUND: Research shows that obesity prevention has to start early. Targeting interventions towards subgroups of individuals who are predisposed, but yet normal weight, may prove more effective in preventing overweight than interventions towards unselected normal weight subsets. Finally, interventions focused on other factors than diet and activity are lacking. The objectives were to perform a randomized, controlled intervention aiming at preventing overweight in children aged 2–6 years, who are yet normal weight, but have high predisposition for future overweight, and to intervene not only by improving diet and physical activity, but also reduce stress and improve sleep quality and quantity. METHODS/DESIGN: Based on information from the Danish National Birth Registry and administrative birth forms, children were selected based on having either a high birth weight, a mother who was overweight prior to pregnancy, or a familial low socioeconomic status. Selected children (n = 5,902) were randomized into three groups; an intervention group, a shadow control group followed in registers exclusively, and a control group examined at the beginning and at the end of the intervention. Approximately 21% agreed to participate. Children who presented as overweight prior to the intervention were excluded from this study (n = 92). In the intervention group, 271 children were included, and in the control group 272 were included. Information obtained from the shadow control group is on-going, but it is estimated that 394 children will be included. The intervention took place over on average 1½ year between 2009 and 2011, and consisted of optional individual guidance in optimizing diet and physical activity habits, reducing chronic stress and stressful events and improving sleep quality and quantity. The intervention also included participation in cooking classes and play arrangements. Information on dietary intake, meal habits, physical activity, sleep habits, and overall stress level was obtained by 4–7 day questionnaire diaries and objective measurements. DISCUSSION: If the Healthy Start project is effective in preventing excessive weight gain, it will provide valuable information on new determinants of obesity which should be considered in future interventions, and on new strategies to prevent development of overweight and obesity at an early age. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov, ID NCT01583335