| 1. |
- A. Bateki, Christian, et al.
(author)
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Of milk and mobiles: Assessing the potential of cellphone applications to reduce cattle milk yield gaps in Africa using a case study
- 2021
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In: Computers and Electronics in Agriculture. - : Elsevier BV. - 0168-1699. ; 191
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- There are growing expectations that Information and Communication Technology (ICT) applications could help improve on-farm yields amongst smallholder farmers in developing countries, and consequently, food and nutrition security. However, few studies have quantified the actual contribution of ICT applications on farmers’ yields, and these studies predominantly focused on crop production. We assessed the potential of ICT applications to close milk yield gaps among small- and medium scale dairy cattle farmers in Africa. First, we developed a theoretical framework summarizing biophysical and socio-economic constraints that foster milk yield gaps and discussed which constraints can be addressed using ICT applications. Second, using a case study of a feeding advice application for dairy cattle pre-tested with farmers in rural Kenya, we analyzed how much stand-alone the application could contribute to close dairy cattle milk yield gaps. Our findings suggest that ICT applications could help address some existing biophysical and socio-economic constraints fostering milk yield gaps, including data collection for breeding programs, feeding management advice, and facilitating access to markets and capital. Our stand-alone ICT application closed yield gaps by 2 % to 6 % on representative farms. Several factors may explain the limited actual contribution of selected ICT applications to reduce existing milk yield gaps, including the quality of the input data and models used in ICT applications, and more structural constraints that cannot be addressed by digital tools. Therefore, although ICT applications could help address constraints to achieving higher milk yields on dairy farms, a significant contribution to improve yields may only be achieved when conditions surrounding their use are adequate.
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| 2. |
- Aagaard Hagemann, Frederik, et al.
(author)
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Challenges to Implementing the Urban Ecosystem Service Concept in Green Infrastructure Planning: A View from Practitioners in Swedish Municipalities
- 2020
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In: Socio-Ecological Practice Research. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2524-5279 .- 2524-5287. ; 2, s. 283-296
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In building a sustainable society, numerous ecosystem services have shown to play important roles for the benefit of urban residents. The distinct concept of Urban Ecosystem Services (UES) to accentuate and enhance the value of urban ecosystems has been proposed, primarily in research, with implementation in practice still at an early stage. This study examined challenges to future implementation of the UES concept in municipal planning and management of urban green spaces. Based on interviews in six Swedish municipalities, we identified four overall discourses challenging implementation of UES in municipal practice. These included (i) a need to prioritize UES in municipal planning in order to address the contemporary challenges of e.g., urbanization and biodiversity loss. This in turn creates (ii) a need for increased holistic thinking within the municipal organization, based on (iii) further documentation and standards, which should help (iv) initiate organizational transition and cross-sectorial approaches. These discourses provide interrelated challenges that could also act as opportunities for scientists and practitioners collaborations to advance integration of UES into planning and management, thereby increasing the sustainability of urban environments. This work provides a starting point for introduction of the UES concept into municipal planning.
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| 3. |
- Aakko-Saksa, Païvi T., et al.
(author)
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Renewable Methanol with Ignition Improver Additive for Diesel Engines
- 2020
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In: Energy and Fuels. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 0887-0624 .- 1520-5029.
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Reduced emissions and environmental burden from shipping are an important aim of tightening emission regulations and ambitious climate change strategy. Renewable methanol produced from biomass or from other renewable sources represents one option to face these challenges. We studied the potential of renewable methanol to offer such benefits in diesel operation in a Scania ethanol engine, which is designed for additized ethanol fuel (ED95) containing ignition improver and lubricity additives. Methanol (MD95) with several types of ignition improver and lubricity additives was studied for use in diesel engines. MD95 fuels were clean-burning, emitting even less gaseous emissions than ED95, particularly when glycerol ethoxylate was used as an ignition improver. Particle mass and number emissions originating from additives in the experimental fuels could be reduced with an oxidation catalyst. Reduced additive dosing in the MD95 fuels was studied with the aid of fuel injection into the intake manifold. Overall, the results showed that the monofuel MD95 concept is a promising solution for smaller vessels equipped with 800-1200 kW engines. ©
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| 4. |
- Abbas, Nasir, et al.
(author)
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Untargeted-metabolomics differentiation between poultry samples slaughtered with and without detaching spinal cord
- 2020
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In: Arabian Journal of Chemistry. - : ELSEVIER. - 1878-5352 .- 1878-5379. ; 13:12, s. 9081-9089
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Chicken meat is among the common and relatively inexpensive source of protein consumed worldwide from the poultry industry. Many communities show concern regarding the procedure of slaughtering animals for meat consumption due to ethical, religious, or cultural reasons. Liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS) based untargeted metabolomics of 40 chicken meat samples were evaluated to differentiate meat samples based on slaughtering methods. Samples were grouped into, Zabiha (cutting neck without detaching spinal cord) and Non-Zabiha (completely detaching neck). A volcano plot reveals at least 150 features found significantly different between the two groups having >= 2-fold changes in intensities with p-values <= 0.05. Among them 05 identified and 25 unidentified metabolites have clear differences in peak intensities. The identified features can be employed to differentiate meat obtained from different slaughtering methods. A characteristic pattern based on principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal partial least square-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) was observed among the groups. The results will benefit Halal certification, food safety, and security agencies to curb food fraud. (C) 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of King Saud University.
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| 5. |
- Abbott, D. Wade, et al.
(author)
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Seaweed and Seaweed Bioactives for Mitigation of Enteric Methane : Challenges and Opportunities
- 2020
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In: Animals. - : MDPI AG. - 2076-2615. ; 10:12
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Simple Summary The need to become more efficient in agriculture and the food industry exists parallel to the challenge of climate change. Meat and dairy production is the target of much scrutiny due to methane (CH4) emissions and global warming. On the other hand, it should be noted that two-thirds of the world's agricultural land consists of pastures and permanent grasslands and is used for livestock grazing. This land is predominantly unsuitable for arable purposes but facilitates the production of high-quality human-edible protein in the form of ruminant animal-derived meat and milk. This makes a significant contribution to feeding the world's population. There is a need to reduce CH4 emissions, however, and several approaches are being researched currently. Seaweeds are diverse plants containing bioactives that differ from their terrestrial counterparts and they are increasingly under investigation as a feed supplement for the mitigation of enteric CH4. Seaweeds are rich in bioactives including proteins, carbohydrates and to a lesser extent lipids, saponins, alkaloids and peptides. These bioactives could also play a role as feed ingredients to reduce enteric CH4. This review collates information on seaweeds and seaweed bioactives and their potential to impact on enteric CH4 emissions. Seaweeds contain a myriad of nutrients and bioactives including proteins, carbohydrates and to a lesser extent lipids as well as small molecules including peptides, saponins, alkaloids and pigments. The bioactive bromoform found in the red seaweed Asparagopsis taxiformis has been identified as an agent that can reduce enteric CH4 production from livestock significantly. However, sustainable supply of this seaweed is a problem and there are some concerns over its sustainable production and potential negative environmental impacts on the ozone layer and the health impacts of bromoform. This review collates information on seaweeds and seaweed bioactives and the documented impact on CH4 emissions in vitro and in vivo as well as associated environmental, economic and health impacts.
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| 6. |
- Abdel Hady, Ahmed Wagih Abdallah, 1990, et al.
(author)
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Micro/nano-structural evolution in spruce wood during soda pulping
- 2021
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In: Holzforschung. - : Walter de Gruyter GmbH. - 1437-434X .- 0018-3830. ; 75:8, s. 754-764
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Alkaline delignification of wood tissue is the core of the global pulping technology and the most prominent large-scale separation of the main wood components. This work aims at improved understanding of the interplay between the topochemistry of alkaline pulping and the associated morphological changes. Morphology and chemical structure of partially soda-delignified wood chips were studied combining X-ray tomography (XRT), X-ray diffraction analysis and compositional characterization (lignin and carbohydrate content). The XRT studies of wet samples (providing 3D structural information without interfering drying effects), allowed observation of the cell wall separation as an increasing amount of lignin was removed with the increasing pulping time. Comparison between the microstructure of the surface and the central parts of the treated chips showed a more delignified microstructure at the surface, which highlights the dependence of the delignification process on the mass transport (hydroxide ions and lignin fragments) through the wood tissue. The crystallite size of cellulose increased in the <200> crystal planes during the early stage of pulping while there was little effect on the <110> plane.
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| 7. |
- Abdi, Abdulhakim M., et al.
(author)
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Biodiversity decline with increasing crop productivity in agricultural fields revealed by satellite remote sensing
- 2021
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In: Ecological Indicators. - : Elsevier BV. - 1470-160X. ; 130
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Increasing land-use intensity is a main driver of biodiversity loss in farmland, but measuring proxies for land-use intensity across entire landscapes is challenging. Here, we develop a novel method for the assessment of the impact of land-use intensity on biodiversity in agricultural landscapes using remote sensing parameters derived from the Sentinel-2 satellites. We link crop phenology and productivity parameters derived from time-series of a two-band enhanced vegetation index with biodiversity indicators (insect pollinators and insect-pollinated vascular plants) in agricultural fields in southern Sweden, with contrasting land management (i.e. conventional and organic farming). Our results show that arable land-use intensity in cereal systems dominated by spring-sown cereals can be approximated using Sentinel-2 productivity parameters. This was shown by the significant positive correlations between the amplitude and maximum value of the enhanced vegetation index on one side and farmer reported yields on the other. We also found that conventional cereal fields had 17% higher maximum and 13% higher amplitude of their enhanced vegetation index than organic fields. Sentinel-2 derived parameters were more strongly correlated with the abundance and species richness of bumblebees and the richness of vascular plants than the abundance and species richness of butterflies. The relationships we found between biodiversity and crop production proxies are consistent with predictions that increasing agricultural land-use intensity decreases field biodiversity. The newly developed method based on crop phenology and productivity parameters derived from Sentinel-2 data serves as a proof of concept for the assessment of the impact of land-use intensity on biodiversity over cereal fields across larger areas. It enables the estimation of arable productivity in cereal systems, which can then be used by ecologists and develop tools for land managers as a proxy for land-use intensity. Coupled with spatially explicit databases on agricultural land-use, this method will enable crop-specific cereal productivity estimation across large geographical regions.
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| 8. |
- Abdollahi, Mehdi, 1985, et al.
(author)
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A novel cold biorefinery approach for isolation of high quality fish oil in parallel with gel-forming proteins
- 2020
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In: Food Chemistry. - : Elsevier BV. - 0308-8146 .- 1873-7072. ; 332
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The pH-shift process for isolation of gel-forming proteins from fish processing by-products was extended to allow parallel isolation of fish oil. Subjecting the floating emulsion layer formed during pH-shift processing of salmon by-products to pH-adjustment or freeze/thawing efficiently released the emulsified oil at 4 °C. However, for herring by-products higher temperature (10 °C) and a combination of the emulsion-breaking techniques was required for efficient oil release. Oil recovery yield using the adjusted pH-shift process was lower than with classic heat-induced oil isolation (90 °C/20 min), but pH-shift-produced oils had higher amounts of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA). Also, alkaline pH-shift processing produced oils with remarkably less oxidation products and free fatty acids compared with acid pH-shift process or heat-induced isolation. Extending the pH-shift process with emulsion breaking techniques can thus be a promising biorefinery approach for parallel cold production of high-quality fish oil and gel-forming proteins from fish by-products.
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| 9. |
- Abdollahi, Mehdi, 1985, et al.
(author)
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Minimizing lipid oxidation during pH-shift processing of fish by-products by cross-processing with lingonberry press cake, shrimp shells or brown seaweed
- 2020
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In: Food Chemistry. - : Elsevier BV. - 0308-8146 .- 1873-7072. ; 327
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The potential of cross-processing herring or salmon by-products with brown seaweed, shrimp peeling by-products and lingonberry press cake (called “helpers”) to minimize lipid oxidation during acid/alkaline pH-shift protein isolation was evaluated. Lingonberry press cake remarkably reduced levels of lipid hydroperoxides, malondialdehyde (MDA) and 4-hydroxy-trans2-hexenal (HHE) in both herring and salmon protein isolates (PI) while seaweed and shrimp by-product mitigated generation of MDA and HHE in herring PI. The salmon PI, however, by itself had very low oxidation levels. Cross-processing reduced protein yield compared with the classical pH-shift process by diminishing protein solubility, but still, the alkaline process version was promising. The color of the PIs varied greatly between different process combinations, reflecting partitioning of natural pigments into isolates. Altogether, cross-processing seems a promising tool for inhibition of lipid oxidation during pH-shift processing of sensitive fish by-products, with the alkaline version and lingonberry press cake being closest at hand for further studies.
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| 10. |
- Abebe, Admas Alemu, et al.
(author)
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Genome-Wide Association Analysis and Genomic Prediction for Adult-Plant Resistance to Septoria Tritici Blotch and Powdery Mildew in Winter Wheat
- 2021
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In: Frontiers in Genetics. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 1664-8021. ; 12
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Septoria tritici blotch (STB) caused by the fungal pathogen Zymoseptoria tritici and powdery mildew (PM) caused by Blumeria graminis f.sp tritici (Bgt) are among the forefront foliar diseases of wheat that lead to a significant loss of grain yield and quality. Resistance breeding aimed at developing varieties with inherent resistance to STB and PM diseases has been the most sustainable and environment-friendly approach. In this study, 175 winter wheat landraces and historical cultivars originated from the Nordic region were evaluated for adult-plant resistance (APR) to STB and PM in Denmark, Estonia, Lithuania, and Sweden. Genome-wide association study (GWAS) and genomic prediction (GP) were performed based on the adult-plant response to STB and PM in field conditions using 7,401 single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers generated by 20K SNP chip. Genotype-by-environment interaction was significant for both disease scores. GWAS detected stable and environment-specific quantitative trait locis (QTLs) on chromosomes 1A, 1B, 1D, 2B, 3B, 4A, 5A, 6A, and 6B for STB and 2A, 2D, 3A, 4B, 5A, 6B, 7A, and 7B for PM adult-plant disease resistance. GP accuracy was improved when assisted with QTL from GWAS as a fixed effect. The GWAS-assisted GP accuracy ranged within 0.53-0.75 and 0.36-0.83 for STB and PM, respectively, across the tested environments. This study highlights that landraces and historical cultivars are a valuable source of APR to STB and PM. Such germplasm could be used to identify and introgress novel resistance genes to modern breeding lines.
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