| 1. |
- A. Bateki, Christian, et al.
(författare)
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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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Ingår i: Computers and Electronics in Agriculture. - : Elsevier BV. - 0168-1699. ; 191
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)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.
(författare)
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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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Ingår i: Socio-Ecological Practice Research. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2524-5279 .- 2524-5287. ; 2, s. 283-296
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)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. |
- Aakala, Tuomas, et al.
(författare)
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Drivers of snag fall rates in Fennoscandian boreal forests
- 2024
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Ingår i: Journal of Applied Ecology. - : Wiley. - 0021-8901 .- 1365-2664.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Persistence of standing dead trees (snags) is an important determinant for their role for biodiversity and dead wood associated carbon fluxes. How fast snags fall varies widely among species and regions and is further influenced by a variety of stand- and tree-level factors. However, our understanding of this variation is fragmentary at best, partly due to lack of empirical data. Here, we took advantage of the accruing time series of snag observations in the Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish National Forest Inventories that have been followed in these programs since the mid-1990s. We first harmonized observations from slightly different inventory protocols and then, using this harmonized dataset of ca. 43,000 observations that had a consistent 5-year census interval, we modelled the probability of snags of the main boreal tree species Pinus sylvestris, Picea abies and Betula spp. falling, as a function of tree- and stand-level variables, using Bayesian logistic regression modelling. The models were moderately good at predicting snags remaining standing or falling, with a correct classification rate ranging from 68% to 75% among species. In general, snag persistence increased with tree size and climatic wetness, and decreased with temperature sum, advancing stage of decay, site productivity and disturbance intensity (mainly harvesting). Synthesis and applications: The effect of harvesting demonstrates that an efficient avenue to increase the amount of snags in managed forests is protecting them during silvicultural operations. In the warmer future, negative relationship between snag persistence and temperature suggests decreasing the time snags remain standing and hence decreasing habitat availability for associated species. As decomposition rates generally increase after fall, decreasing snag persistence also implies substantially faster release of carbon from dead wood. The effect of harvesting demonstrates that an efficient avenue to increase the amount of snags in managed forests is protecting them during silvicultural operations. In the warmer future, negative relationship between snag persistence and temperature suggests decreasing the time snags remain standing and hence decreasing habitat availability for associated species. As decomposition rates generally increase after fall, decreasing snag persistence also implies substantially faster release of carbon from dead wood.image
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| 4. |
- Aakko-Saksa, Païvi T., et al.
(författare)
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Renewable Methanol with Ignition Improver Additive for Diesel Engines
- 2020
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Ingår i: Energy and Fuels. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 0887-0624 .- 1520-5029.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)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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| 5. |
- Aalaei, Kataneh, et al.
(författare)
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Application of a dye-binding method for the determination of available lysine in skim milk powders.
- 2016
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Ingår i: Food Chemistry. - : Elsevier BV. - 1873-7072 .- 0308-8146. ; 196, s. 815-820
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A dye-binding method using Acid Orange 12 was investigated regarding its suitability for the quantification of available lysine, as a means of monitoring the Maillard reaction in skim milk powders. The method was evaluated by analyzing a wide range of milk powders produced by three different drying methods and stored under various conditions. A pilot-scale freeze-dryer, spray-dryer and drum-dryer were used to produce skim milk powders and the samples were stored at two temperatures (20°C and 30°C) and two relative humidities (33% and 52%) under strictly controlled conditions. Moreover to validate the method, two protein isolates; bovine serum albumin and casein were investigated for their available lysine content. The results demonstrate the suitability of this method for measuring the available lysine in skim milk powders with good precision and high reproducibility. The relative standard deviations obtained from the 125 freeze-dried powders were 1.8%, and those from the 100 drum-dried samples were all 1.9%. The highest variation was found for the spray-dried powders, which showed relative standard deviations between 0.9% and 6.7%.
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| 6. |
- Aalaei, Kataneh, et al.
(författare)
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Storage stability of freeze-dried, spray-dried and drum-dried skim milk powders evaluated by available lysine
- 2016
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Ingår i: LWT - Food Science and Technology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0023-6438. ; 73, s. 675-682
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Formation of Maillard products and the influencing factors, which are of crucial importance for both manufacturers and consumers, are still not fully understood. Thus in this study available lysine was used as a marker to monitor the extent of Maillard reactions in freeze-dried, spray-dried and drum-dried skim milk powders during 200 days of storage at highly controlled atmospheres. Storage variables included two temperatures (20 °C, 30 °C) and two relative humidities (33%, 52%). The available lysine in five replicates was quantified at pre-determined intervals by a dye-binding method using Acid-orange 12, validated in our previous work. Findings of this study show that temperature and relative humidity during storage have a profound influence on the rate of available lysine loss. Choice of the drying technology as the other investigated variable also had a significant impact. The drying process least affected the available lysine content in freeze-dried powders, followed by spray-dried and drum-dried powders. Storage at 52% relative humidity and 30 °C for 200 days led to a 39.2–45.9% decrease in the available lysine content, regardless of the drying of skim milk powder, while the powders stored at 33% relative humidity and 20 °C did not show a significant loss during the same period of time.
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| 7. |
- Aalaei, Kataneh, et al.
(författare)
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The Impact of Different Drying Techniques and Controlled Storage on the Development of Advanced Glycation End Products in Skim Milk Powders Using Isotope Dilution ESI-LC-MS/MS
- 2017
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Ingår i: Food and Bioprocess Technology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1935-5130 .- 1935-5149. ; 10:9, s. 1704-1714
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The impact of different drying techniques and storage conditions on the formation of carboxymethyl lysine (CML) as an advanced glycation end product (AGE) was investigated in various pilot-scale produced skim milk powders (SMP). CML, an indicator of advanced stages of the Maillard reaction, was analyzed by isotope dilution ESI-LC-MS/MS after drying and at intervals during storage for 200 days. The aim of this study is to increase the awareness that the development of AGEs can be hindered by controlled storage, which is mostly neglected at the domestic level by the consumers. Pilot-scale freeze-dryer, spray-dryer, and drum-dryer were utilized for manufacturing SMPs. The storage was designed in such a way that it simulated how an average consumer keeps the dried products at home, specifically after opening the packages and how the products may be exposed to unfavorable conditions. To do so, four storage conditions including two temperatures (20 °C, 30 °C) and two relative humidities RH (33%, 52%) were studied and CML formation was monitored using LC-MS/MS. Our results show that the spray-dried samples developed two times higher CML after 200 days, compared to the freeze-dried samples, and this value was 1.6 times for the drum-dried samples. Storage at 52% RH developed 9.8–10 times more CML in the samples, in comparison with 33% RH, at the same storage temperature (P < 0.05). Our findings demonstrate that AGEs, molecules suspected to be involved in risks factors for auto-immune diseases, may be formed during storage of SMPs after opening the packages by the consumers.
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| 8. |
- Abarenkov, Kessy, et al.
(författare)
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PlutoF—a web based workbench for ecological and taxonomic research, with an online implementation for fungal ITS sequences
- 2010
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Ingår i: Evolutionary Bioinformatics. - 1176-9343. ; 6, s. 189-196
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- DNA sequences accumulating in the International Nucleotide Sequence Databases (INSD) form a rich source of information for taxonomic and ecological meta-analyses. However, these databases include many erroneous entries, and the data itself is poorly annotated with metadata, making it difficult to target and extract entries of interest with any degree of precision. Here we describe the web-based workbench PlutoF, which is designed to bridge the gap between the needs of contemporary research in biology and the existing software resources and databases. Built on a relational database, PlutoF allows remote-access rapid submission, retrieval, and analysis of study, specimen, and sequence data in INSD as well as for private datasets though web-based thin clients. In contrast to INSD, PlutoF supports internationally standardized terminology to allow very specific annotation and linking of interacting specimens and species. The sequence analysis module is optimized for identification and analysis of environmental ITS sequences of fungi, but it can be modified to operate on any genetic marker and group of organisms. The workbench is available at http://plutof.ut.ee.
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| 9. |
- Abarenkov, Kessy, et al.
(författare)
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Protax-fungi: A web-based tool for probabilistic taxonomic placement of fungal internal transcribed spacer sequences
- 2018
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Ingår i: New Phytologist. - : Wiley. - 0028-646X .- 1469-8137. ; 220:2, s. 517-525
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- © 2018 New Phytologist Trust. Incompleteness of reference sequence databases and unresolved taxonomic relationships complicates taxonomic placement of fungal sequences. We developed Protax-fungi, a general tool for taxonomic placement of fungal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences, and implemented it into the PlutoF platform of the UNITE database for molecular identification of fungi. With empirical data on root- and wood-associated fungi, Protax-fungi reliably identified (with at least 90% identification probability) the majority of sequences to the order level but only around one-fifth of them to the species level, reflecting the current limited coverage of the databases. Protax-fungi outperformed the Sintax and Rdb classifiers in terms of increased accuracy and decreased calibration error when applied to data on mock communities representing species groups with poor sequence database coverage. We applied Protax-fungi to examine the internal consistencies of the Index Fungorum and UNITE databases. This revealed inconsistencies in the taxonomy database as well as mislabelling and sequence quality problems in the reference database. The according improvements were implemented in both databases. Protax-fungi provides a robust tool for performing statistically reliable identifications of fungi in spite of the incompleteness of extant reference sequence databases and unresolved taxonomic relationships.
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| 10. |
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