Marktverkenning van biologische diervoeding : hoe denkt het baasje over biologisch honden- en kattenvoer?

Gezonde en duurzame voeding vinden veel consumenten niet alleen voor zichzelf steeds belangrijker, maar ook voor hun huisdier. Eigenaren zien honden en katten steeds vaker als volwaardig lid van het gezin en huishouden en vinden het belangrijk dat hun dier een goed en lang leven heeft. Biologische diervoeding zou heel goed in dit beeld kunnen passen en de vraag is wat honden- en katteneigenaren van biologische diervoeders vinden. LEI Wageningen UR is gevraagd dit te onderzoeken. De belangrijkste uitkomsten uit dit onderzoek zijn als volgt. De marktkansen voor het biologische product lijken niet heel groot. Veel mensen vinden het al snel te duur worden of vinden het voor hun dier 'een brug te ver'. Het EKO-keurmerk wekt op het diervoer vertrouwen want de meesten kennen dit keurmerk van de eigen humane voeding die gekocht wordt

Aardappeleters in de 21e eeuw: Mogelijkheden en kansen voor de biologische aardappel

Dit rapport vloeit voort uit onderzoek dat is gedaan voor een aantal bedrijven dat het LEI heeft gevraagd te achterhalen hoe biologische aardappelen beter geprofileerd kunnen worden. Om die vraag goed te kunnen beantwoorden, is het aankoop- en eetgedrag van aardappelen in het algemeen onder een groot aantal consumenten onderzocht. De inzichten die dat onderzoek heeft opgeleverd vormen de basis voor dit rapport. Het onderzoek is uitgevoerd binnen het cluster Biologische Landbouw en aangestuurd door Bioconnect

Samen eten doet goed!

Het ministerie van Volksgezondheid, Welzijn en Sport (VWS) en het ministerie van Economische Zaken, Innovatie en Landbouw (EL&I) willen weten welke rol 'samen eten' kan spelen in het verbeteren van de gezondheid van mensen. De invloed van 'samen eten' is onderzocht door het concept van Resto VanHarte te doorgronden. Resto VanHarte wil de leefbaarheid in wijken en steden in heel Nederland verbeteren. Ze heeft daartoe eetgelegenheden georganiseerd waar mensen van diverse leeftijden, religies en culturen makkelijk naar toe kunnen. Eerst is literatuuronderzoek uitgevoerd. Vervolgens is kwalitatief onderzoek onder 37 bezoekers van Resto VanHarte uitgevoerd. Ook zijn vijf managers en horecacoördinatoren van Resto VanHarte geïnterviewd. Daarna is een vragenlijst onder de bezoekers van Resto VanHarte uitgedeeld, waar 286 mensen op hebben gereageerd

Evaluation design for a complex intervention program targeting loneliness in non-institutionalized elderly Dutch people

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The aim of this paper is to provide the rationale for an evaluation design for a complex intervention program targeting loneliness among non-institutionalized elderly people in a Dutch community. Complex public health interventions characteristically use the combined approach of intervening on the individual and on the environmental level. It is assumed that the components of a complex intervention interact with and reinforce each other. Furthermore, implementation is highly context-specific and its impact is influenced by external factors. Although the entire community is exposed to the intervention components, each individual is exposed to different components with a different intensity.</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>A logic model of change is used to develop the evaluation design. The model describes what outcomes may logically be expected at different points in time at the individual level. In order to address the complexity of a real-life setting, the evaluation design of the loneliness intervention comprises two types of evaluation studies. The first uses a quasi-experimental pre-test post-test design to evaluate the effectiveness of the overall intervention. A control community comparable to the intervention community was selected, with baseline measurements in 2008 and follow-up measurements scheduled for 2010. This study focuses on changes in the prevalence of loneliness and in the determinants of loneliness within individuals in the general elderly population. Complementarily, the second study is designed to evaluate the individual intervention components and focuses on delivery, reach, acceptance, and short-term outcomes. Different means of project records and surveys among participants are used to collect these data.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>Combining these two evaluation strategies has the potential to assess the effectiveness of the overall complex intervention and the contribution of the individual intervention components thereto.</p

Laboratory selection for an accelerated mosquito sexual development rate

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Separating males and females at the early adult stage did not ensure the virginity of females of <it>Anopheles arabiensis </it>(Dongola laboratory strain), whereas two years earlier this method had been successful. In most mosquito species, newly emerged males and females are not able to mate successfully. For anopheline species, a period of 24 h post-emergence is generally required for the completion of sexual maturation, which in males includes a 180° rotation of the genitalia. In this study, the possibility of an unusually shortened sexual maturity period in the laboratory-reared colony was investigated.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The effect of two different sex-separation methods on the virginity of females was tested: females separated as pupae or less than 16 h post-emergence were mated with males subjected to various doses of radiation. T-tests were performed to compare the two sex-separation methods. The rate of genitalia rotation was compared for laboratory-reared and wild males collected as pupae in Dongola, Sudan, and analysed by Z-tests. Spermatheca dissections were performed on females mated with laboratory-reared males to determine their insemination status.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>When the sex-separation was performed when adults were less than 16 h post-emergence, expected sterility was never reached for females mated with radio-sterilized males. Expected sterility was accomplished only when sexes were separated at the pupal stage. Observation of genitalia rotation showed that some males from the laboratory strain Dongola were able to successfully mate only 11 h after emergence and 42% of the males had already completed rotation. A small proportion of the same age females were inseminated. Wild males showed a much slower genitalia rotation rate. At 17 h post-emergence, 96% of the laboratory-reared males had completed genitalia rotation whereas none of the wild males had.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This colony has been cultured in the laboratory for over one hundred generations, and now has accelerated sexual maturation when compared with the wild strain. This outcome demonstrates the kinds of selection that can be expected during insect colonization and maintenance, particularly when generations are non-overlapping and similar-age males must compete for mates.</p

Youth, Nutrition and Behaviour

Healthy nutrition is widely assumed to have a beneficial influence on educational performance and social behaviour. Yet research in developed countries about the effects of food intake on children's behaviour and school performance is limited. We propose a randomised controlled field experiment to study the effects of a school lunch programme in the Netherlands, based on an overview of studies by LEI and Food and Biobased Research, both part of Wageningen UR

Zicht op Evenwicht Landelijke implementatie van een cursus gericht op het verminderen van angst om te vallen bij zelfstandig wonende ouderen

Achtergrond: Zicht op Evenwicht is een effectieve cognitief gedragsmatige groepscursus om bezorgdheid om te vallen en gerelateerd vermijdingsgedrag bij zelfstandig wonende ouderen te verminderen. Dit artikel beschrijft de landelijke implementatiestrategie van deze cursus en de resultaten daarvan. De implementatiestrategie had als doel de cursus in 2009 en 2010 bij minimaal 50 % van 64 thuiszorgorganisaties die zijn aangesloten bij het Landelijk Steunpunt Preventie - Thuiszorg (LSP-T) te implementeren. Methoden: De implementatiestrategie is gebaseerd op de vier fasen van het ‘Replicating Effective Interventions’ (REP)model: randvoorwaarden, preimplementatie, implementatie, en borging en doorontwikkeling. Resultaten: Na voorbereidende implementatieactiviteiten zoals identificeren van belemmerende factoren, consulteren van stakeholders, gereedmaken van cursusmaterialen en training van cursusbegeleiders (n053), is Zicht op Evenwicht in de periode 2009–2010 geïmplementeerd bij 16 van thuiszorgorganisaties van het LSP-T (25 %). Nog eens vijf thuiszorgorganisaties hadden plannen om de cursus aan te bieden. De cursus is in deze periode landelijk 26 keer aangeboden, 19 keer uitgevoerd en heeft 178 cursisten bereikt. Het verschil tussen aanbod en uitvoering is een gevolg van moeizame werving van cursisten. Na de implementatiefase zijn nog eens 16 cursusbegeleiders getraind en verloopt de verspreiding van cursusmaterialen voorspoedig. Conclusie: Het implementatietraject is overeenkomstig de opzet van het REP-model verlopen. Het beoogde implementatiedoel is niet volledig bereikt in de periode van twee jaar,maar de cursus geniet zichtbaar de interesse van ouderen, cursusbegeleiders en thuiszorgorganisaties. De continuering van aandacht voor verspreiding en borging van de cursus in de eerstelijnszorg wordt daarom aanbevolen

Redox properties of the iron-sulfur clusters in activated Fe-hydrogenase from Desulfovibrio vulgaris (Hildenborough)

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/65750/1/j.1432-1033.1992.tb17261.x.pd

Cost-effectiveness of a stepped-care intervention to prevent major depression in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and/or coronary heart disease and subthreshold depression: design of a cluster-randomized controlled trial

Background: Co-morbid major depression is a significant problem among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and/or coronary heart disease and this negatively impacts quality of life. Subthreshold depression is the most important risk factor for the development of major depression. Given the highly significant association between depression and adverse health outcomes and the limited capacity for depression treatment in primary care, there is an urgent need for interventions that successfully prevent the transition from subthreshold depression into a major depressive disorder. Nurse led stepped-care is a promising way to accomplish this. The aim of this study is to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of a nurse-led indicated stepped-care program to prevent major depression among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and/or coronary heart disease in primary care who also have subthreshold depressive symptoms.Methods/design: An economic evaluation will be conducted alongside a cluster-randomized controlled trial in approximately thirty general practices in the Netherlands. Randomization takes place at the level of participating practice nurses. We aim to include 236 participants who will either receive a nurse-led indicated stepped-care program for depressive symptoms or care as usual. The stepped-care program consists of four sequential but flexible treatment steps: 1) watchful waiting, 2) guided self-help treatment, 3) problem solving treatment and 4) referral to the general practitioner. The primary clinical outcome measure is the cumulative incidence of major depressive disorder as measured with the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview. Secondary outcomes include severity of depressive symptoms, quality of life, anxiety and physical outcomes. Costs will be measured from a societal perspective and include health care utilization, medication and lost productivity costs. Measurements will be performed at baseline and 3, 6, 9 and 12 months.Discussion: The intervention being investigated is expected to prevent new cases of depression among people with type 2 diabetes mellitus and/or coronary heart disease and subthreshold depression, with subsequent beneficial effects on quality of life, clinical outcomes and health care costs. When proven cost-effective, the program provides a viable treatment option in the Dutch primary care system.Trial registration: Dutch Trial Register NTR3715. © 2013 van Dijk et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd

Identification of a sex-linked SNP marker in the salmon louse (Lepeophtheirus salmonis) using RAD sequencing

The salmon louse (Lepeophtheirus salmonis (Kr&oslash;yer, 1837)) is a parasitic copepod that can, if untreated, cause considerable damage to Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar Linnaeus, 1758) and incurs significant costs to the Atlantic salmon mariculture industry. Salmon lice are gonochoristic and normally show sex ratios close to 1:1. While this observation suggests that sex determination in salmon lice is genetic, with only minor environmental influences, the mechanism of sex determination in the salmon louse is unknown. This paper describes the identification of a sex-linked Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) marker, providing the first evidence for a genetic mechanism of sex determination in the salmon louse. Restriction site-associated DNA sequencing (RAD-seq) was used to isolate SNP markers in a laboratory-maintained salmon louse strain. A total of 85 million raw Illumina 100 base paired-end reads produced 281,838 unique RAD-tags across 24 unrelated individuals. RAD marker Lsa101901 showed complete association with phenotypic sex for all individuals analysed, being heterozygous in females and homozygous in males. Using an allele-specific PCR assay for genotyping, this SNP association pattern was further confirmed for three unrelated salmon louse strains, displaying complete association with phenotypic sex in a total of 96 genotyped individuals. The marker Lsa101901 was located in the coding region of the prohibitin-2 gene, which showed a sex-dependent differential expression, with mRNA levels determined by RT-qPCR about 1.8-fold higher in adult female than adult male salmon lice. This study's observations of a novel sex-linked SNP marker are consistent with sex determination in the salmon louse being genetic and following a female heterozygous system. Marker Lsa101901 provides a tool to determine the genetic sex of salmon lice, and could be useful in the development of control strategies