Search results for "AGRICULTURE"

Care Workers’ Readiness for Robotization : Identifying Psychological and Socio-Demographic Determinants

2020

Successful implementation of robots in welfare services requires that the staff approves of them as a part of daily work tasks. In this study, we identified psychological and socio-demographic determinants associated with readiness for robotization among professional Finnish care-workers. National survey data were collected from professional care workers (n = 3800) between October and November 2016. Random samples were drawn from the member registers of two Finnish trade unions. The data were analyzed with regression models for respondents with and without firsthand experience with robots. The models explained 34–39% of the variance in the readiness for robotization. The readiness was posit…

Wood pellets for home heating can be considered environmentally friendly fuels? Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in their ashes

2016

This paper reports the results of the first quantitative investigations of PAHs in wood pellet ashes. Investigations were carried out into the fifteen PAHs identified by the US-Environment Protection Agency (US-EPA) as requiring priority monitoring; other non-US-EPA listed PAHs and perylene were also investigated. The total concentrations for the 17 investigated compounds, expressed as the sum of the concentrations (∑PAHs), in the ashes produced by the wood pellet combustion, ranged from 0.064mg kg-1 to 0.90mg kg-1 of dry weight with a means of 0.31mg kg-1. The lowest concentrations (<0.1mg kg-1) were measured in the conifer ash samples. Concentrations of PAHs found in this paper will al…

2016

Near Eastern genomes from Iran The genetic composition of populations in Europe changed during the Neolithic transition from hunting and gathering to farming. To better understand the origin of modern populations, Broushaki et al. sequenced ancient DNA from four individuals from the Zagros region of present-day Iran, representing the early Neolithic Fertile Crescent. These individuals unexpectedly were not ancestral to early European farmers, and their genetic structures did not contribute significantly to those of present-day Europeans. These data indicate that a parallel Neolithic transition probably resulted from structured farming populations across southwest Asia. Science , this issue …

Neuropsychiatric Symptoms as Predictors of Clinical Course in Neurodegeneration. A Longitudinal Study

2019

Background: To study the extent to which neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) influence the cognitive and functional decline in frontotemporal degeneration (FTD) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Methods: We assessed the progression of NPS and their influence on cognitive and functional progression in a group of FTD (n = 36) and AD patients (n = 47) at two different stages of the disease (2.5 years). A standardized scale was used to assess NPS—the Columbia University Scale for Psychopathology in Alzheimer’s Disease (CUSPAD)—which tracks different symptoms including depression, psychotic symptoms, as well as sleep and conduct problems. In addition, in a subsample of patients (AD n = 14 and FTD n = 14…

Tillage intensity and pasture in rotation effectively shape soil microbial communities at a landscape scale

2018

International audience; Soil microorganisms are essential to agroecosystem functioning and services. Yet, we still lack information on which farming practices can effectively shape the soil microbial communities. The aim of this study was to identify the farming practices, which are most effective at positively or negatively modifying bacterial and fungal diversity while considering the soil environmental variation at a landscape scale. A long-term research study catchment (12 km2 ) representative of intensive mixed farming (livestock and crop) in Western Europe was investigated using a regular grid for soil sampling (n = 186). Farming systems on this landscape scale were described in terms…

It is Time for Action in the Struggle against Antibiotic-Resistance, Let’s Start Reducing or Replacing Antibiotics in Agriculture

2016

Million people around the world are infected each year and thousands of them die from pathogens that are resistant to the treatment by any of known antibiotics [1]. The excessive use and abuse of antibiotics in clinical setting and in agriculture, added to the great ability of microorganisms to evolve, are the causes of the wide spread of isolates resistant to all major classes of current antibiotics. It is time for action in order to tackle antimicrobial-resistance (AMR), which can be considered a major threat to global health care and security. While we are waiting for new antimicrobial molecules and strategies, shorter-term approaches are needed to address the menace of AMR and preserve …

Effect of Jasonia glutinosa on immune and oxidative status of gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata L.).

2020

Jasonia glutinosa (rock-tea, RT) has numerous biological activities. In the present work, the beneficial effects of dietary RT on gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata L.) were studied. Fish fed experimental diets containing 0 (control), 10 or 30% of RT for 15 and 30 days. Samples from skin mucus, blood, head kidney, liver and gut were obtained at 15 and 30 days. The antioxidant properties from RT were analysed such as the antioxidant capacity and phenolic content. The heat shock protein 70 level (HSP70) and the total oxidized proteins were evaluated on skin mucus as stress markers. Immune parameters, both humoral (peroxidase activity, immunoglobulin M levels and complement activity) and cellula…

Replacement of fishmeal with corn gluten meal in feeds for juvenile rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) does not affect oxygen consumption during for…

2017

Abstract We compared oxygen consumption (MO 2 , mg/kg/h) of c. 80 g rainbow trout ( Oncorhynchus mykiss ) in an intermittent-flow swim respirometer at 15 °C. Before the tests the fish were grown in flow through tanks (15 °C) with either fishmeal (FM) or corn gluten meal (CGM) based diets (c. 52% protein) for a period of 3–4.5 months. Ten individuals from both treatment groups were fasted for 48 h before the swim test, which consisted of 18 loops of 210 s over three different periods: acclimation period (6 loops at 0.5 body lengths per s, BL/s), exercise period (8 loops at increased speed from 1 to 2.5 BL/s with recovery loops at 0.5 BL/s), and a recovery period (four loops at 0.5 BL/s). We …

The genetic prehistory of the Baltic Sea region

2018

Correction: Nature communications 9 (2018), art. no. 1494 doi:10.1038/s41467-018-03872-y While the series of events that shaped the transition between foraging societies and food producers are well described for Central and Southern Europe, genetic evidence from Northern Europe surrounding the Baltic Sea is still sparse. Here, we report genome-wide DNA data from 38 ancient North Europeans ranging from similar to 9500 to 2200 years before present. Our analysis provides genetic evidence that hunter-gatherers settled Scandinavia via two routes. We reveal that the first Scandinavian farmers derive their ancestry from Anatolia 1000 years earlier than previously demonstrated. The range of Mesolit…

Pesticide residues in honey bees, pollen and beeswax: Assessing beehive exposure

2018

In order to study the distribution of pesticide residues in beekeeping matrices, samples of live in-hive worker honey bees (Apis mellifera), fresh stored pollen and beeswax were collected during 2016–2017 from 45 apiaries located in different landscape contexts in Spain. A total of 133 samples were screened for 63 pesticides or their degradation products to estimate the pesticide exposure to honey bee health through the calculation of the hazard quotient (HQ). The influence of the surrounding environment on the content of pesticides in pollen was assessed by comparing the concentrations of pesticide residues found in apiaries from intensive farming landscapes to those found in apiaries loca…