Salmonella (sero)types and their resistance patterns isolated from pig faecal and post-mortem samples in 2000 - 2003

The purpose of this survey was to describe the porcine Salmonella isolates derived from faecal samples and post-mortem material (PMM) during years 2000 - 2003. Salmonella was isolated by direct inoculation on BGANO-plates (faeces, intestinal content) or sheep blood agar (organs). Antimicrobial susceptibility was tested by the agar diffusion method. Salmonella was isolated in 3.2% of all porcine submissions received at the Animal Health Service. A total of 960 salmonellae were isolated from a total of 589 submissions from 488 different herds. S. Typhimurium was the most frequently isolated serotype (N= 808, 92.6% of 873 isolates typed), and Salmonella Typhimurium DT104 was the most frequently determined phagetype (N=98, 29.6% of 333 S. Typhimurium typed). Resistance to antimicrobials occurred in 52.5% of all isolates, mainly in the multiresistant phagetype DT1 04. In less than half of the submissions (44%), other pathogens were isolated as well. In cases of clinical diarrhoea, multiple pathogens and pathogens with multiple antimicrobial resistance may be involved and therapy and preventive measures should be adjusted accordingly

Adapting agriculture in 2050 in Flevoland; perspectives from stakeholders

Although recently more research has gone into farm level studies, little attention has been given to the variety of responses of farmers, considering their characteristics, objectives and the socio-economic, technological and political contexts (Reidsma et al, 2010). In the Agri-Adapt project we focus on farm level adaptation within an agricultural region considering the socio-economic context of 2050

Magnetic component

A magnetic component has a core (100) with a cavity (105) and a winding structure (21) accommodated in the cavity (105). The winding structure (21) has a height (27) in a direction transverse to its bottom (126) and top faces (125), and is provided with a number of turns (121) which extend from the bottom (126) to the top face (125). The core (100) has a magnetic gap area (24), which has an extension that is at least 50 % of the height (27) of the winding structure. Therewith, eddy currents are substantially limited

Exact solution of a model DNA-inversion genetic switch with orientational control

DNA inversion is an important mechanism by which bacteria and bacteriophage switch reversibly between phenotypic states. In such switches, the orientation of a short DNA element is flipped by a site-specific recombinase enzyme. We propose a simple model for a DNA inversion switch in which recombinase production is dependent on the switch state (orientational control). Our model is inspired by the fim switch in Escherichia coli. We present an exact analytical solution of the chemical master equation for the model switch, as well as stochastic simulations. Orientational control causes the switch to deviate from Poissonian behaviour: the distribution of times in the on state shows a peak and successive flip times are correlated.Comment: Revised version, accepted for publicatio

The need for a supply of high quality organic vegetable seeds

Production of high quality organic vegetable seeds encounters several challenges. Research is performed to support seed companies in producing vigorous and healthy organic vegetable seeds. Examples are provided with respect to research on seed vigour, determining critical control points to avoid disease transmission to the seeds, seed treatments with natu-ral compounds, new seed sorting techniques and enhancement of the natural plant defence. It is noticed that the restrictions in EU regulation 2092/91 on organic production are at present blocking the use of promising natural and sustainable components for seed treatments

Improvement of the quality of propagation material for organic farming system

The use of organic propagation material is obligatory according to the current EU regulations for organic production. However, frequently difficulties are en-countered regarding the availability, the costs or the quality. In the Netherlands a national research program aims at developing solutions, needed for improving the production of high quality organic propagation material. The main emphasis in the pro-gram is on the model crops cabbage, onion, wheat and potato. Individual projects within the program include epidemiological studies of seed borne dis-eases to develop disease prevention strategies, meth-ods to improve resistance of seeds and seedlings towards pathogens and methods to control silver scurf in seed potatoes, development of multi-spectral analysis and sorting techniques and methods for analysis and improvement of seed vigour. Active involvement of producers and users of the seeds or seed potatoes ensures that the results will be imple-mented in practice. The program also aims at strengthening the international collaboration, amongst others through involvement in international research projects

Turning local knowledge on agroforestry into an online decision-support tool for tree selection in smallholders' farms

Article purchased; Published online: 31 May 2016This paper presents the main features of a unique decision-support tool developed for selecting tree species in coffee and cocoa agroforestry systems. This tool aims at assisting in the selection of appropriate shade trees taking into account local conditions as well as needs and preferences of smallholder farmers while maximizing ecosystem services from plot to landscape level. This user-friendly and practical tool provides site-specific recommendations on tree species selection via simple graphical displays and is targeted towards extension services and stakeholders directly involved in sustainable agroforestry and adaptation to climate change. The tool is based on a simple protocol to collect local agroforestry knowledge through farmers’ interviews and rankings of tree species with respect to locally perceived key ecosystem services. The data collected are first analysed using the BradleyTerry2 package in R, yielding the ranking scores that are used in the decision-support tool. Originally developed for coffee and cocoa systems of Uganda and Ghana, this tool can be extended to other producing regions of the world as well as to other cropping systems. The tool will be tested to see if repeated assessments show consistent ranking scores, and to see if the use of the tool by extension workers improves their shade tree advice to local farmers

Design and results of a new interference refractometer based on a commercially available laserinterferometer

A new type of interference refractometers, based on a commercially available laserinterferometer, has been developed. The design and behaviour of this refractometer are presented in this paper.A review of measurements on stability, absolute measuring accuracy and a comparison with calculated values of the refractive index of air will be given. The maximum uncertainty has been evaluated as 5 parts in 108.This refractometer can be very useful for the accurate determination of the refractive index of air and other gases and also for the calibration of automatic compensators of commercially available laserinterferometers

Alternaria brassicicola and Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris in organic seed production of Brassicae: Epidemiology and seed infection

Aanbevelingen op basis van een literatuuronderzoek om zaadbesmetting door A. brassicicaola te voorkomen bij biologische zaadproductie van Brassica