Effects of cutting regime, surroundings and field age on floral resources for pollinators in hay fields

Bees and other flower-visiting insects are experiencing periods of food shortage, particularly in intensively managed agricultural landscapes in Europe. As part of the Danish project EcoServe (http://agro.au.dk/ecoserve/) we therefore investigated whether increased richness of selected herbaceous species in organic hay fields acted as a floral resource thus enhancing abundance and biodiversity of pollinators. Moreover, we investigated if availability of floral resources was affected by cutting regime (timing and number of cuttings during the growing season) in 11 herbaceous species, which are often used in grassland seed mixtures. In a field survey, we visited 20 organic hay meadows of different age (3-100 years), and conducted surveys regularly throughout the flowering season to quantify diversity of insect-pollinated plants and pollinators. Our results showed that diversity of pollinators was significantly and positively related to diversity of plants, but that hay fields embedded in a complex landscape harbored a higher diversity of both plants and insects than hay fields in more homogeneous areas. Also, diversity of plants and insects increased in older hay meadows. In an experimental set-up, we tested the availability of flowers in plots of monocultures and a mixture of 11 herbaceous species under two cutting regimes: (1) plots were cut once every four weeks throughout the growing season, and (2) plots were cut only at the end of the flowering season. While the majority of species provided flowers for pollinators when plots were not cut during the flowering season, most plant species set few if any flowers if cut frequently. One exception was Trifolium repens, which was slightly stimulated by cutting. Thus, traditional grasslands which are frequently mowed are expected to be poor in flowers. Our results suggest that it is important to leave unmowed flower-rich areas in the fields throughout the flowering season to avoid periods of food shortage. The potential for unmowed hay fields to enhance diversity and abundance of pollinators, however, depend on the composition of the surrounding landscape and age of the field

Økologiske græsmarker som fødekilde for bier og andre bestøvere

Bier og andre blomsterbesøgende insekter mangler i dag føde gennem dele af året, specielt i intensivt drevne landbrugsområder. Som en del af projektet EcoServe undersøger vi derfor i hvilket omfang økologiske græsmarker, ved iblanding af udvalgte urter, kan bidrage som fødekilde og dermed til øget antal og diversitet af bestøvere

Statin Treatment Is Associated With a Neutral Effect on Health-Related Quality of Life Among Community-Dwelling Octogenarian Men : The Helsinki Businessmen Study

Background: Statin treatment is common among 80+ people, but little is known about statin effects on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in this oldest age group. Methods: In the Helsinki Businessmen Study (HBS), men born from 1919 to 1934 (original n = 3,490), have been followed-up since the 1960s. In 2015, a questionnaire about lifestyle, diseases, and medications, and including RAND-36/SF-36 HRQoL instrument was mailed to survivors. About 612 men (72.6%) responded, 530 of them reporting their medications (98% community-living). Propensity score analysis was used to compare statin users and nonusers for HRQoL. Results: We compared 229 current statin users (median age 85 years, interquartile range 84-88 years) with 301 nonusers (86; 84-89 years). Current statin users had had significantly higher serum cholesterol level in midlife (p <.001), but current lifestyle-related characteristics were similar in users and nonusers. Statin users reported more hypertension (61.1%, p <.001), diabetes (23.6%, p Conclusions: Our study suggests that statin treatment has no significant effect on health-related quality of life among octogenarian, community-dwelling men. The results contradict concerns about statin treatment in the oldest-old, and may caution against deprescribing of statins due to old age alone.Peer reviewe

Magnetic Anisotropy of Isolated Cobalt Nanoplatelets

Motivated in part by experiments performed by M.H. Pan et al. (nanoletters, v.5, p 83, 2005), we have undertaken a theoretical study of the the magnetic properties of two-monolayer thick Co nanoplatelets with an equilateral triangular shape. The analysis is carried out using a microscopic Slater-Koster tight-binding model with atomic exchange and spin-orbit interactions designed to realistically capture the salient magnetic features of large nanoclusters containing up to 350 atoms. Two different truncations of the FCC lattice are studied, in which the nanoplatelet surface is aligned parallel to the FCC (111) and (001)crystal planes respectively. We find that the higher coordination number in the (111) truncated crystal is more likely to reproduce the perpendicular easy direction found in experiment. Qualitatively, the most important parameter governing the anisotropy of the model is found to be the value of the intra-atomic exchange integral J. If we set the value of J near the bulk value in order to reproduce the experimentally observed magnitude of the magnetic moments, we find both quasi-easy-planes and perpendicular easy directions. At larger values of J we find that the easy-axis of magnetization is perpendicular to the surface, and the value of the magnetic anisotropy energy per atom is larger. The possible role of hybridization with substrate surface states in the experimental systems is discussed.Comment: 15 pages, 13 figure

Retirement as a predictor of physical functioning trajectories among older businessmen

Background Associations between retirement characteristics and consequent physical functioning (PF) are poorly understood, particularly in higher socioeconomic groups, where postponing retirement has had both positive and negative implications for PF. Methods Multiple assessments of PF, the first of which at the mean age of 73.3 years, were performed on 1709 men who were retired business executives and managers, using the RAND-36/SF-36 instrument, between 2000 and 2010. Questionnaire data on retirement age and type of pension was gathered in 2000. Five distinct PF trajectories were created using latent growth mixture modelling. Mortality- and covariate-adjusted multinomial regression models were used to estimate multinomial Odds Ratios (mOR) on the association between retirement characteristics and PF trajectories. Results A one-year increase in retirement age was associated with decreased likelihood of being classified in the 'consistently low' (fully adjusted mOR = 0.82; 95%CI = 0.70, 0.97; P = 0.007), 'intermediate and declining' (mOR = 0.89; 95%CI = 0.83, 0.96; P = 0.002), and 'high and declining' (mOR = 0.92; 95%CI = 0.87, 0.98; P = 0.006) trajectories, relative to the 'intact' PF trajectory. Compared to old age pensioners, disability pensioners were more likely to be classified in the 'consistently low' (mOR = 23.77; 95% CI 2.13, 265.04; P = 0.010), 'intermediate and declining' (mOR = 8.24; 95%CI = 2.58, 26.35; P < 0.001), and 'high and declining' (mOR = 2.71; 95%CI = 1.17, 6.28; P = 0.020) PF trajectories, relative to the 'intact' PF trajectory. Conclusions Among executives and managers, older age at retirement was associated with better trajectories of PF in old age. Compared to old age pensioners, those transitioning into disability and early old age pensions were at risk of having consistently lower PF in old age.Peer reviewe

Retirement age and type as predictors of frailty : a retrospective cohort study of older businessmen

Objectives To study the association between retirement characteristics and frailty in a homogenous population of former business executives. Design Cross-sectional cohort study using data from the Helsinki Businessmen Study. Setting Helsinki, Finland. Participants 1324 Caucasian men, born in 1919-1934, who had worked as business executives and managers and of whom 95.9% had retired by the year 2000. Questions on age at and type of retirement, lifestyle and chronic conditions were embedded in questionnaires. Primary and secondary outcome measures Frailty assessed according to a modified phenotype definition at mean age 73.3 years. Results Mean age at retirement was 61.3 years (SD 4.3) and 37.1% had retired due to old age. The prevalence of frailty was lowest among men retiring at ages 66-67 years but increased among those who worked up to age 70 years or older. Compared with men who retired before age 55 years, those retiring at ages 58-69 years were at decreased risk of frailty in old age relative to non-frailty (adjusted ORs 0.07-0.29, pPeer reviewe

BeeFarm – mapping resources for pollinators at the farm

The aim of the BeeFarm project is to develop a farmer’s tool for assessing resources for bees at the farm. The tool includes a guided tour through the fields and semi-natural habitats of a farm, in order for the farmer to systematically assess the bee resources on the farm. The tool will make it possible for the farmers to identify resources, which are potentially limiting wild pollinator populations

All-Cause and Cause-Specific Mortality among Users of Basal Insulins NPH, Detemir, and Glargine

Background Insulin therapy in type 2 diabetes may increase mortality and cancer incidence, but the impact of different types of basal insulins on these endpoints is unclear. Compared to the traditional NPH insulin, the newer, longer-acting insulin analogues detemir and glargine have shown benefits in randomized controlled trials. Whether these advantages translate into lower mortality among users in real life is unknown. Objective To estimate the differences in all-cause and cause-specific mortality rates between new users of basal insulins in a population-based study in Finland. Methods 23 751 individuals aged >= 40 with type 2 diabetes, who initiated basal insulin therapy in 2006-2009 were identified from national registers, with comprehensive data for mortality, causes of death, and background variables. Propensity score matching was performed on characteristics. Follow-up time was up to 4 years (median 1.7 years). Results 2078 deaths incurred. With NPH as reference, the adjusted HRs for all-cause mortality were 0.39 (95% CI, 0.30-0.50) for detemir, and 0.55 (95% CI, 0.44-0.69) for glargine. As compared to glargine, the HR was 0.71 (95% CI, 0.54-0.93) among detemir users. Compared to NPH, the mortality risk for both cardiovascular causes as well as cancer were also significantly lower for glargine, and especially for detemir in adjusted analysis. Furthermore, the results were robust in various sensitivity analyses. Conclusion In real clinical practice, mortality was substantially higher among users of NPH insulin as compared to insulins detemir or glargine. Considering the large number of patients who require insulin therapy, this difference in risk may have major clinical and public health implications. Due to limitations of the observational study design, further investigation using an interventional study design is warranted.Peer reviewe