Framework for assessing sustainability levels in Belgium agricultural systems - SAFE

Sustainability is now regarded as a crucial property of agricultural systems and its evaluation has become a main challenge for scientists, policy makers and farmers. In the last decade, different sets of indicators have been designed both at national and international levels. Meanwhile, more practical environmental impact assessment (EIA) tools have been developed at the farm level . However, none of these indicator sets can be used at both levels. Further, most of these initiatives focus only on environmental aspects of sustainability and do not take socio-economic aspects into consideration. Indicator selection does not always fit in a consistent and comprehensive framework, although there is a strong need to integrate sustainability indicators in order to facilitate comparison and assessment. Finally, few of these works relate to Belgian agriculture, which up til now lacked a tool for assessing the sustainability of its farms. This project aims at providing a framework for assessing sustainability levels in Belgian agricultural systems (SAFE) that overcomes the deficiencies mentioned above. This is achieved by: 1. Considering the concept of agricultural sustainability in a holistic manner – SAFE accounts for all three pillars of sustainability (environmental, economic & social). 2. Developing (a) a consistent approach for defining sustainability principles and criteria and (b) a core list of sustainability indicators identified through a standardized selection procedure. The ‘SAFE selection procedure’ is a flexible scientific process that builts on knowledge and experience of numerous experts. 3. Ensuring that the tool remains as easy as possible to interpret and thus to use, thanks to the integration procedure of sustainability indicators and the graphic expression of the results. 4. Building on a generic methodology. Though the set of selected indicators presented in this report is specific to the Belgian agricultural context, the method developed for the construction of the SAFE tool can be transferred for assessing sustainability levels in other geographical (Europe, world, …) and sectorial contexts. In particular, principles and criteria defined in SAFE have a universal value. 5. Taking action at three spatial levels, depending on the scale of application: (1) parcel (2) farm or (3) watershed for surface water-related issues, landscape/ecosystem for some soil and biodiversity related issues, and administrative units (region, state) for some environmental as well as for some socio-economic issues

Framework for assessing sustainability levels in Belgium agricultural systems - SAFE

Sustainability is now regarded as a crucial property of agricultural systems and its evaluation has become a main challenge for scientists, policy makers and farmers. In the last decade, different sets of indicators have been designed both at national and international levels. Meanwhile, more practical environmental impact assessment (EIA) tools have been developed at the farm level . However, none of these indicator sets can be used at both levels. Further, most of these initiatives focus only on environmental aspects of sustainability and do not take socio-economic aspects into consideration. Indicator selection does not always fit in a consistent and comprehensive framework, although there is a strong need to integrate sustainability indicators in order to facilitate comparison and assessment. Finally, few of these works relate to Belgian agriculture, which up til now lacked a tool for assessing the sustainability of its farms. This project aims at providing a framework for assessing sustainability levels in Belgian agricultural systems (SAFE) that overcomes the deficiencies mentioned above. This is achieved by: 1. Considering the concept of agricultural sustainability in a holistic manner – SAFE accounts for all three pillars of sustainability (environmental, economic & social). 2. Developing (a) a consistent approach for defining sustainability principles and criteria and (b) a core list of sustainability indicators identified through a standardized selection procedure. The ‘SAFE selection procedure’ is a flexible scientific process that builts on knowledge and experience of numerous experts. 3. Ensuring that the tool remains as easy as possible to interpret and thus to use, thanks to the integration procedure of sustainability indicators and the graphic expression of the results. 4. Building on a generic methodology. Though the set of selected indicators presented in this report is specific to the Belgian agricultural context, the method developed for the construction of the SAFE tool can be transferred for assessing sustainability levels in other geographical (Europe, world, …) and sectorial contexts. In particular, principles and criteria defined in SAFE have a universal value. 5. Taking action at three spatial levels, depending on the scale of application: (1) parcel (2) farm or (3) watershed for surface water-related issues, landscape/ecosystem for some soil and biodiversity related issues, and administrative units (region, state) for some environmental as well as for some socio-economic issues

Vegetarian diets are associated with healthy mood states: a cross-sectional study in Seventh Day Adventist adults

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The physical health status of vegetarians has been extensively reported, but there is limited research regarding the mental health status of vegetarians, particularly with regard to mood. Vegetarian diets exclude fish, the major dietary source of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), critical regulators of brain cell structure and function. Omnivorous diets low in EPA and DHA are linked to impaired mood states in observational and experimental studies.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We examined associations between mood state and polyunsaturated fatty acid intake as a result of adherence to a vegetarian or omnivorous diet in a cross-sectional study of 138 healthy Seventh Day Adventist men and women residing in the Southwest. Participants completed a quantitative food frequency questionnaire, Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS), and Profile of Mood States (POMS) questionnaires.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Vegetarians (VEG:n = 60) reported significantly less negative emotion than omnivores (OMN:n = 78) as measured by both mean total DASS and POMS scores (8.32 ± 0.88 vs 17.51 ± 1.88, <it>p </it>= .000 and 0.10 ± 1.99 vs 15.33 ± 3.10, <it>p </it>= .007, respectively). VEG reported significantly lower mean intakes of EPA (<it>p </it>< .001), DHA (<it>p </it>< .001), as well as the omega-6 fatty acid, arachidonic acid (AA; <it>p </it>< .001), and reported higher mean intakes of shorter-chain α-linolenic acid (<it>p </it>< .001) and linoleic acid (<it>p </it>< .001) than OMN. Mean total DASS and POMS scores were positively related to mean intakes of EPA (<it>p </it>< 0.05), DHA (<it>p </it>< 0.05), and AA (<it>p </it>< 0.05), and inversely related to intakes of ALA (<it>p </it>< 0.05), and LA (<it>p </it>< 0.05), indicating that participants with low intakes of EPA, DHA, and AA and high intakes of ALA and LA had better mood.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The vegetarian diet profile does not appear to adversely affect mood despite low intake of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids.</p

Neurocognitive outcome and mental health in children with tyrosinemia type 1 and phenylketonuria: A comparison between two genetic disorders affecting the same metabolic pathway

Tyrosinemia type 1 (TT1) and phenylketonuria (PKU) are both inborn errors of phenylalanine–tyrosine metabolism. Neurocognitive and behavioral outcomes have always featured in PKU research but received less attention in TT1 research. This study aimed to investigate and compare neurocognitive, behavioral, and social outcomes of treated TT1 and PKU patients. We included 33 TT1 patients (mean age 11.24 years; 16 male), 31 PKU patients (mean age 10.84; 14 male), and 58 age- and gender-matched healthy controls (mean age 10.82 years; 29 male). IQ (Wechsler-subtests), executive functioning (the Behavioral Rating Inventory of Executive Functioning), mental health (the Achenbach-scales), and social functioning (the Social Skills Rating System) were assessed. Results of TT1 patients, PKU patients, and healthy controls were compared using Kruskal–Wallis tests with post-hoc Mann–Whitney U tests. TT1 patients showed a lower IQ and poorer executive functioning, mental health, and social functioning compared to healthy controls and PKU patients. PKU patients did not differ from healthy controls regarding these outcome measures. Relatively poor outcomes for TT1 patients were particularly evident for verbal IQ, BRIEF dimensions “working memory”, “plan and organize” and “monitor”, ASEBA dimensions “social problems” and “attention problems”, and for the SSRS “assertiveness” scale (all p values <0.001). To conclude, TT1 patients showed cognitive impairments on all domains studied, and appeared to be significantly more affected than PKU patients. More attention should be paid to investigating and monitoring neurocognitive outcome in TT1 and research should focus on explaining the underlying pathophysiological mechanism

The Early Evolution of Biting–Chewing Performance in Hexapoda

Insects show a plethora of different mandible shapes. It was advocated that these mandible shapes are mainly a function of different feeding habits. This hypothesis was tested on a larger sampling of non-holometabolan biting–chewing insects with additional tests to understand the interplay of mandible function, feeding guild, and phylogeny. The results show that at the studied systematic level, variation in mandible biting–chewing effectivity is regulated to a large extent by phylogenetic history and the configuration of the mandible joints rather than the food preference of a given taxon. Additionally, lineages with multiple mandibular joints such as primary wingless hexapods show a wider functional space occupation of mandibular effectivity than dicondylic insects (= silverfish + winged insects) at significantly different evolutionary rates. The evolution and occupation of a comparably narrow functional performance space of dicondylic insects is surprising given the low effectivity values of this food uptake solution. Possible reasons for this relative evolutionary “stasis” are discussed

An increase in dietary n-3 fatty acids decreases a marker of bone resorption in humans

Human, animal, and in vitro research indicates a beneficial effect of appropriate amounts of omega-3 (n-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) on bone health. This is the first controlled feeding study in humans to evaluate the effect of dietary plant-derived n-3 PUFA on bone turnover, assessed by serum concentrations of N-telopeptides (NTx) and bone-specific alkaline phosphatase (BSAP). Subjects (n = 23) consumed each diet for 6 weeks in a randomized, 3-period crossover design: 1) Average American Diet (AAD; [34% total fat, 13% saturated fatty acids (SFA), 13% monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA), 9% PUFA (7.7% LA, 0.8% ALA)]), 2) Linoleic Acid Diet (LA; [37% total fat, 9% SFA, 12% MUFA, 16% PUFA (12.6% LA, 3.6% ALA)]), and 3) α-Linolenic Acid Diet (ALA; [38% total fat, 8% SFA, 12% MUFA, 17% PUFA (10.5% LA, 6.5% ALA)]). Walnuts and flaxseed oil were the predominant sources of ALA. NTx levels were significantly lower following the ALA diet (13.20 ± 1.21 nM BCE), relative to the AAD (15.59 ± 1.21 nM BCE) (p < 0.05). Mean NTx level following the LA diet was 13.80 ± 1.21 nM BCE. There was no change in levels of BSAP across the three diets. Concentrations of NTx were positively correlated with the pro-inflammatory cytokine TNFα for all three diets. The results indicate that plant sources of dietary n-3 PUFA may have a protective effect on bone metabolism via a decrease in bone resorption in the presence of consistent levels of bone formation

Does size matter for horny beetles? A geometric morphometric analysis of interspecific and intersexual size and shape variation in Colophon haughtoni Barnard, 1929, and C. kawaii Mizukami, 1997 (Coleoptera: Lucanidae)

Colophon is an understudied, rare and endangered stag beetle genus with all species endemic to isolated mountain peaks in South Africa’s Western Cape. Geometric morphometrics was used to analyse intersexual and interspecific variation of size and shape in the mandibles, heads, pronota and elytra of two sympatric species: Colophon haughtoni and Colophon kawaii. All measured structures showed significant sexual dimorphism, which may result from male-male competition for females. Female mandibles were too small and featureless for analysis, but male Colophon beetles possess large, ornate mandibles for fighting. Males had significantly larger heads and pronota that demonstrated shape changes which may relate to resource diversion to the mandibles and their supporting structures. Females are indistinguishable across species, but males were accurately identified using mandibles, heads and pronota. Male C. kawaii were significantly larger than C. haughtoni for all structures. These results support the species status of C. kawaii, which is currently in doubt due to its hybridisation with C. haughtoni. We also demonstrate the value of geometric morphometrics as a tool which may aid Colophon conservation by providing biological and phylogenetic insights and enabling species identification