Organic production and consumption in Norway - new knowledge through research and dissemination

The Norwegian government has since 2006 had a goal of 15 % organic food production and consumption, initially by 2015 and later adjusted to 2020. The goal has primarily been justified by consumer demands, and to some extent by environmental benefits. Organic farming is said to be a “spear point” in the development of a more environmental friendly and sustainable agriculture in Norway, but the government’s policy lacks thorough political support and the goal is far from achieved. In 2012, certified land and land area under conversion to organic farming comprised 5.6 % of the agricultural area (Debio 2013). The turnover of organic products was more than 1.1 billion NOK in 2012; an increase of 11 % from 2011 (NAA 2012). In 2009, organic food represented 1.3 % of total food turnover in Norway (Willer and Kilcher 2011). The share of grassland in organic managed land comprised 77 % in 2012 (Debio 2013). Strong efforts are needed to reach the official goal in 2020 and to diversify the organic production. The Action Plan for Organic Farming (MAF 2009) points out actions to reach the governmental goal, including research and dissemination of knowledge

Cystic Cervical Intramedullary Ependymoma with Previous lntracyst Hemorrhage: Magnetic Resonance Imaging at 1.5 T

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/117483/1/jon199442111.pd

The effect of mixing entire male pigs prior to transport to slaughter on behaviour, welfare and carcass lesions

peer-reviewedData set for article is also provided.Research is needed to validate lesions recorded at meat inspection as indicators of pig welfare on farm. The aims were to determine the influence of mixing pigs on carcass lesions and to establish whether such lesions correlate with pig behaviour and lesions scored on farm. Aggressive and mounting behaviour of pigs in three single sex pens was recorded on Day −5, −2, and −1 relative to slaughter (Day 0). On Day 0 pigs were randomly allocated to 3 treatments (n = 20/group) over 5 replicates: males mixed with females (MF), males mixed with males (MM), and males unmixed (MUM). Aggressive and mounting behaviours were recorded on Day 0 at holding on farm and lairage. Skin/tail lesions were scored according to severity at the farm (Day −1), lairage, and on the carcass (Day 0). Effect of treatment and time on behaviour and lesions were analysed by mixed models. Spearman rank correlations between behaviour and lesion scores and between scores recorded at different stages were determined. In general, MM performed more aggressive behaviour (50.4 ± 10.72) than MUM (20.3 ± 9.55, P < 0.05) and more mounting (30.9 ± 9.99) than MF (11.4 ± 3.76) and MUM (9.8 ± 3.74, P < 0.05). Skin lesion scores increased between farm (Day −1) and lairage (P < 0.001), but this tended to be significant only for MF and MM (P = 0.08). There was no effect of treatment on carcass lesions and no associations were found with fighting/mounting. Mixing entire males prior to slaughter stimulated mounting and aggressive behaviour but did not influence carcass lesion scores. Carcass skin/tail lesions scores were correlated with scores recorded on farm (rskin = 0.21 and rtail = 0.18, P < 0.01) suggesting that information recorded at meat inspection could be used as indicators of pig welfare on farm.This study was part of the PIGWELFIND project funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), Ireland

Depression in stroke rehabilitation

Despite recent advances in understanding the pathophysiology of poststroke depression, major questions remain. They include the relative importance of lesion location and size and the confounding effects of time since stroke, age, prior history of depression, and cerebral atrophy. To evaluate these issues, we systematically assessed depressive features, functional status, and brain structure with computer tomography scans in 91 men undergoing stroke rehabilitation. Forty percent met DSM-III criteria for major depressive disorder. Mood disturbance was more severe for patients with right than with left hemisphere lesions, correlated with functional disability and lesion size, and was associated with previous history of depression. Age, time since stroke, and atrophy did not correlate with mood. Depression is common in delayed stroke recovery, regardless of lesion location. Because there are no demographic or anatomic features that predict the absence of depression, depression screening should be part of the assessment of all patients undergoing stroke rehabilitation.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/30792/1/0000446.pd

Trade-Offs Between Carbon Stocks and Timber Recovery in Tropical Forests are Mediated by Logging Intensity

Forest degradation accounts for ~70% of total carbon losses from tropical forests. Substantial emissions are from selective logging, a land-use activity that decreases forest carbon density. To maintain carbon values in selectively logged forests, climate change mitigation policies and government agencies promote the adoption of reduced-impact logging (RIL) practices. However, whether RIL will maintain both carbon and timber values in managed tropical forests over time remains uncertain. In this study, we quantify the recovery of timber stocks and aboveground carbon at an experimental site where forests were subjected to different intensities of RIL (4, 8, and 16 trees/ha). Our census data span 20 years postlogging and 17 years after the liberation of future crop trees from competition in a tropical forest on the Guiana Shield, a globally important forest carbon reservoir. We model recovery of timber and carbon with a breakpoint regression that allowed us to capture elevated tree mortality immediately after logging. Recovery rates of timber and carbon were governed by the presence of residual trees (i.e., trees that persisted through the first harvest). The liberation treatment stimulated faster recovery of timber albeit at a carbon cost. Model results suggest a threshold logging intensity beyond which forests managed for timber and carbon derive few benefits from RIL, with recruitment and residual growth not sufficient to offset losses. Inclusion of the breakpoint at which carbon and timber gains outpaced postlogging mortality led to high predictive accuracy, including out-of-sample R2 values \u3e90%, and enabled inference on demographic changes postlogging. Our modeling framework is broadly applicable to studies that aim to quantify impacts of logging on forest recovery. Overall, we demonstrate that initial mortality drives variation in recovery rates, that the second harvest depends on old growth wood, and that timber intensification lowers carbon stocks

Human shields mediate sexual conflict in a top predator

Selecting the right habitat in a risky landscape is crucial for an individual's survival and reproduction. In predator–prey systems, prey often can anticipate the habitat use of their main predator and may use protective associates (i.e. typically an apex predator) as shields against predation. Although never tested, such mechanisms should also evolve in systems in which sexual conflict affects offspring survival. Here, we assessed the relationship between offspring survival and habitat selection, as well as the use of protective associates, in a system in which sexually selected infanticide (SSI), rather than interspecific predation, affects offspring survival. We used the Scandinavian brown bear ( Ursus arctos ) population with SSI in a human-dominated landscape as our model system. Bears, especially adult males, generally avoid humans in our study system. We used resource selection functions to contrast habitat selection of GPS-collared mothers that were successful (i.e. surviving litters, n = 19) and unsuccessful (i.e. complete litter loss, n = 11) in keeping their young during the mating season (2005–2012). Habitat selection was indeed a predictor of litter survival. Successful mothers were more likely to use humans as protective associates, whereas unsuccessful mothers avoided humans. Our results suggest that principles of predator–prey and fear ecology theory (e.g. non-consumptive and cascading effects) can also be applied to the context of sexual conflict

New Insights Into Legacy Phosphorus From Fractionation of Streambed Sediment

Streambed and lake sediment was studied in Savjaan, a eutrophic mesoscale catchment (722 km(2)) in central Sweden. Triplicate sediment cores from five lakes and nine streams, ranging from headwater to fourth order, were sampled. The sediment was analyzed with a sequential extraction method, where six different phosphorus (P) fractions were measured. The results showed that streambed sediments store considerable amounts of P and in some cases have comparable P contents (g/kg DW) to lake sediment. Land use, soil type, and drainage area (location in the catchment) had a significant effect on the different P fractions found in surficial sediments. Sediment from lakes and forested headwater streams generally had high proportions of organic P and iron bound P. In larger streams located in agricultural areas on clay soils closer to the catchment outlet, with dense sediment and a relatively low proportion of organic matter, P was to a larger extent bound to calcium. Streambed sediment may be an important catchment scale P store and should be considered when modeling catchment P dynamics. The large stores of streambed legacy P should also be considered when performing ditch maintenance to avoid unnecessary mobilization of bioavailable P

Missense Mutation in Exon 2 of SLC36A1 Responsible for Champagne Dilution in Horses

Champagne coat color in horses is controlled by a single, autosomal-dominant gene (CH). The phenotype produced by this gene is valued by many horse breeders, but can be difficult to distinguish from the effect produced by the Cream coat color dilution gene (CR). Three sires and their families segregating for CH were tested by genome scanning with microsatellite markers. The CH gene was mapped within a 6 cM region on horse chromosome 14 (LOD = 11.74 for θ = 0.00). Four candidate genes were identified within the region, namely SPARC [Secreted protein, acidic, cysteine-rich (osteonectin)], SLC36A1 (Solute Carrier 36 family A1), SLC36A2 (Solute Carrier 36 family A2), and SLC36A3 (Solute Carrier 36 family A3). SLC36A3 was not expressed in skin tissue and therefore not considered further. The other three genes were sequenced in homozygotes for CH and homozygotes for the absence of the dilution allele (ch). SLC36A1 had a nucleotide substitution in exon 2 for horses with the champagne phenotype, which resulted in a transition from a threonine amino acid to an arginine amino acid (T63R). The association of the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) with the champagne dilution phenotype was complete, as determined by the presence of the nucleotide variant among all 85 horses with the champagne dilution phenotype and its absence among all 97 horses without the champagne phenotype. This is the first description of a phenotype associated with the SLC36A1 gene