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Plant organs move throughout the diurnal cycle, changing leaf and petiole positions to balance light capture, leaf temperature, and water loss under dynamic environmental conditions. Upward movement of the petiole, called hyponasty, is one of several traits of the shade avoidance syndrome (SAS). SAS traits are elicited upon perception of vegetation shade signals such as far-red light (FR) and improve light capture in dense vegetation. Monitoring plant movement at a high temporal resolution allows studying functionality and molecular regulation of hyponasty. However, high temporal resolution imaging solutions are often very expensive, making this unavailable to many researchers. Here, we present a modular and low-cost imaging setup, based on small Raspberry Pi computers that can track leaf movements and elongation growth with high temporal resolution. We also developed an open-source, semiautomated image analysis pipeline. Using this setup, we followed responses to FR enrichment, light intensity, and their interactions. Tracking both elongation and the angle of the petiole, lamina, and entire leaf in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) revealed insight into R:FR sensitivities of leaf growth and movement dynamics and the interactions of R:FR with background light intensity. The detailed imaging options of this system allowed us to identify spatially separate bending points for petiole and lamina positioning of the leaf.

Het dagelijks eten van vlees, eieren en zuivel staat steeds meer ter discussie. Meer en meer mensen kiezen, om uiteenlopende redenen, voor alternatieve eiwitbronnen. Mycoproteïne is zo’n alternatief. Direct na productie wordt mycoproteïne standaard ingevroren. Kan dit duurzamer? En hoe zit het met de voedselveiligheid van dit type producten; vooral wanneer er wordt gepionierd met hergebruik van zijstromen uit de levensmiddelenindustrie.

Het dagelijks eten van vlees, eieren en zuivel staat steeds meer ter discussie. Meer en meer mensen kiezen, om uiteenlopende redenen, voor alternatieve eiwitbronnen. Mycoproteïne is zo’n alternatief. Direct na productie wordt mycoproteïne standaard ingevroren. Kan dit duurzamer? En hoe zit het met de voedselveiligheid van dit type producten; vooral wanneer er wordt gepionierd met hergebruik van zijstromen uit de levensmiddelenindustrie.

Traditionally, meat and dairy products have been important protein sources in the human diet. Consumers are eating more plant-based proteins, which is reflected in current market trends. Assessing how alternative proteins are processed and their impact on food safety helps realize market opportunities while ensuring food safety. In this review, an analysis of the food safety hazards, along with current industry trends and processing methods associated with alternative proteins for meat and dairy products for the European Union market is described. Understanding the effects of processing and safety alternative proteins is paramount to ensuring food safety and understanding the risks to consumers. However, the data here is limited. With the expected further increase in protein alternatives in consumers’ diets, the risk of food allergens is apparent. The occurrence of processing contaminants in plant-based alternatives may occur, along with anti-nutritional compounds, which interfere with the absorption of nutrients. Further, typical food safety hazards related to the plant, the product itself, or processing are relevant. Although hazards in insects and seaweed are being addressed, other protein alternatives like cultured meat and SCPs warrant attention. Our findings can aid industry and governmental authorities in understanding current trends and prioritizing hazards for future monitoring.

05 oktober 2022, Item does not contain fulltext, Background: Staff-client relationships impact the quality of support and life of people with severe to profound intellectual disabilities and challenging behavior, but are challenging to build due to clients’ intense, complex and varying support needs. The present study explores the perspectives of professionals and relatives on what affects these interpersonal relationships. Method: 17 professionals and 11 relatives participated in focus groups and interviews. Data collection and analysis was performed in collaboration with a co-researcher. Data were synthesized thematically. Results: Interpersonal relationships constituted equivalence, striving for mutual understanding, trust and exploring clients’ potential. The combination of staff characteristics (enthusiasm/passion, patience, resilience, creativity/humor, flexibility) and expertise (knowledge, vulnerability/sincerity, self-reflection) enabled staff to build these relationships. The importance of involving relatives was addressed. Contextual influences included the team (cooperation, flexibility, culture), organization (cooperation, boundary conditions) and setting (predictability, interior/atmosphere). Conclusions: The findings make practical knowledge explicit and scientifically underpinned for this specific population.

Aims Patients with cardiac disease are considered high risk for poor outcomes following hospitalization with COVID-19. The primary aim of this study was to evaluate heterogeneity in associations between various heart disease subtypes and in-hospital mortality. Methods and results We used data from the CAPACITY-COVID registry and LEOSS study. Multivariable Poisson regression models were fitted to assess the association between different types of pre-existing heart disease and in-hospital mortality. A total of 16 511 patients with COVID-19 were included (21.1% aged 66-75 years; 40.2% female) and 31.5% had a history of heart disease. Patients with heart disease were older, predominantly male, and often had other comorbid conditions when compared with those without. Mortality was higher in patients with cardiac disease (29.7%; n= 1545 vs. 15.9%; n= 1797). However, following multivariable adjustment, this difference was not significant [adjusted risk ratio (aRR) 1.08, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.02-1.15; P = 0.12 (corrected for multiple testing)]. Associations with in-hospital mortality by heart disease subtypes differed considerably, with the strongest association for heart failure (aRR 1.19, 95% CI 1.10-1.30; P <0.018) particularly for severe (New York Heart Association class III/IV) heart failure (aRR 1.41, 95% CI 1.20-1.64; P < 0.018). None of the other heart disease subtypes, including ischaemic heart disease, remained significant after multivariable adjustment. Serious cardiac complications were diagnosed in <1% of patients. Conclusion Considerable heterogeneity exists in the strength of association between heart disease subtypes and in-hospital mortality. Of all patients with heart disease, those with heart failure are at greatest risk of death when hospitalized with COVID-19. Serious cardiac complications are rare during hospitalization. [GRAPHICS] .

As planetary boundaries loom, there is an urgent need to develop sustainable equilibriums between societies and the resources they consume, thereby avoiding regime shifts to undesired states. Transient system trajectories to a stable state may differ substantially, posing significant challenges to distinguishing sustainable from unsustainable trajectories. We use stylized models to show how feedbacks between anthropogenic harvest regimes and resource availability drive transient dynamics. We show how substantial time lags may occur between interventions and social-ecological outcomes, and that sudden system collapses need not be linked to recent environmental changes. Historical reconstructions of island state populations show a variety of transient dynamics that closely corresponds to model expectations based on island differences in productivity and harvesting regime. We conclude that vulnerable social-ecological systems may persist when the population:resource ratio remains within a viable range of intermediate (rather than small) values, which implies that averting environmental crises may require counter-intuitive measures.

In de programmering voor de huidige adviesperiode (2017-2021) is voorzien dat de Maatschappelijke Adviesraad Faunaschade advies afgeeft over een robuust ganzenbeleid. De Adviesraad heeft in 2019 besloten om de advisering over het ganzenbeleid gefaseerd uit te brengen. Bij de totstandkoming van het nu voorliggende advies heeft de Adviesraad gesprekken gevoerd met partijen die nauw bij het ganzenbeleid betrokken zijn. Voor u ligt het eindadvies dat allereerst ingaat op de context en de urgentie van de ganzenproblematiek, een gespreksagenda beschrijft en een uitwerking van de agendapunten geeft. Tot slot worden er aanbevelingen gedaan voor het proces waarmee dit vormgegeven kan worden. In de bijlage treft u de analyse aan van de ganzenproblematiek, die de Adviesraad mede als basis heeft gebruikt voor dit advies.

Background: A better understanding of food-related behaviour and its determinants can be achieved through harmonisation and linking of the various data-sources and knowledge platforms. Scope: We describe the key decision-making in the development of a prototype of the Determinants and Intake Platform (DI Platform), a data platform that aims to harmonise and link data on consumer food behaviour. It will be part of the Food Nutrition Health Research Infrastructure (FNH-RI) that will facilitate health, social and food sciences. Approach: The decision-making was based on the evidence of user needs and data characteristics that guided the specification of the key building blocks of the DI Platform. Eight studies were carried out, including consumer online survey; interview studies of key DI Platform stakeholders; desk research and workshops. Key findings: Consumers were most willing to share data with universities, then industry and government. Trust, risk perception and altruism predicted willingness to share. For most other stakeholders non-proprietary data was most likely to be shared. Lack of data standards, and incentives for sharing were the main barriers for sharing data among the key stakeholders. The value of various data types would hugely increase if linked with other sources. Finding the right balance between optimizing data sharing and minimizing ethical and legal risks was considered a key challenge. Conclusions: The development of DI Platform is based on careful balancing of the user, technical, business, legal and ethical requirements, following the FAIR principles and the need for financial sustainability, technical flexibility, transparency and multi-layered organisational governance.

Het blijft meldingen regenen bij de NVWA: Salmonella in gehaktbroodjes, rookworsten en in basilicumkruidenstrooiers, Listeria monocytogenes in bevroren mais, allergenen in producten die daar niet in horen. Waarom gaat het toch zo frequent mis? Het antwoord is vaak terug te voeren op het verkeerd uitvoeren van reinigings- en desinfectieprocedures. Terug naar de basis.

Irrigation water is a potential source of contamination of leafy vegetables that are grown in the field. There is an urgent need to support technologies that are designed to ensure food safety, including those technologies that can disinfect irrigation water used to cultivate crops. Previous research has yet to evaluate the microbial and economic efficacies of water disinfection technologies to be applied during primary production to combat foodborne pathogens. The literature describes potential water disinfection technologies that could be applied, but studies often focus on plant pathogens and mainly focus on laboratory-scale research. In this study, ozone, UV, and membrane filtration were evaluated at the lab-scale, and UV with and without pre-filtration were examined in a field trial to determine the reduction of E. coli in surface water that is used to irrigate leafy vegetables. The cost-effectiveness and applications at the field-scale were also considered. We determined that UV treatment (300–600 J/m2) reduced E. coli up to 3 log in irrigation water. In the lab, we found that ozone, UF, and combined disinfection technologies reduced E. coli up to 4 log. The cost calculation for UV disinfection (0.09 €/m3) showed to be less than that of ozone (0.36 €/m3) and UF (0.43 €/m3). Overall, UV was found to be the most feasible disinfection technology in terms of microbial and cost efficacies to treat surface water used for the agricultural irrigation of crops. The outcomes of this research can provide input into the minimum requirements needed for water disinfection technologies considering the use and reuse of agricultural waters.