<abstract><title style='display:none'>Summary</title>Constant confrontations with microbial threats pose major challenges to human and animal health, agricultural and food production, and public safety. Identifying pathogenic bacteria (species) and tracking strains (by series of well-characterized isolates) to their sources are especially important in outbreak investigations. Compared to the identification of the species, the identification of the source and spread of microbial infections represents a major—and many times futile—challenge. This is due to the multitude of ways microorganisms can occur and spread within healthcare facilities and in the community; how, when, and where they can contaminate the complex nutrition chain, leading to natural and man-made outbreaks.Typing is the characterization of isolates or strains below species or subspecies level. Typing of bacterial isolates is an essential procedure to identify the microbe causing the illness or to track down an outbreak to the suspected source. In the genomic era, the introduction of molecular methods has largely replaced phenotypic methods and “molecular epidemiology” has emerged as a new discipline. The current molecular typing methods can be classified into three categories: (a) PCR-based methods, (b) DNA fragment analysis-based methods, and (c) DNA sequence-based methods, including the new exciting era of high-throughput genome sequencing.</abstract>

Institute of Medical Microbiology and Hygiene, Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety, Währingerstrasse 25a, 1090 Vienna,

Department of Biotechnology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU), Muthgasse 18, 1190 Vienna,

Molecular typing of bacteria for epidemiological surveillance and outbreak investigation / Molekulare Typisierung von Bakterien für die epidemiologische Überwachung und Ausbruchsabklärung

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Summary</title>The United Nations have declared 2016 as the International Year of Pulses, which aims at communicating the various benefits of legume cropping and legume-protein-based food consumption. As the term “pulses” is inherently excluding soybean from other grain legumes, this review aims at challenging the scientific justification of this separation from both historical and crop science perspectives toward a better understanding of grain legumes and their contributions to food security. An analysis of the historical development and uses of the term “pulses” reveals that it is not used unambiguously throughout the recent scientific literature, and that the separation of soybean from other grain legumes occurred rather recently. Soybean, while being extensively used as an oilseed and animal feedstuff in some parts of the world, is an important protein crop species in other regions with a seed protein content of 40% and outstanding nutritional and food health properties as compared to most other grain legumes. Owing to similar agronomic features such as symbiotic nitrogen fixation and comparable seed protein properties, it does not seem scientifically justified to separate soybean from other food legumes. Therefore, focusing on “grain legumes” rather than “pulses” would better support food security and nutritional quality goals.</abstract>

Soybean versus other food grain legumes: A critical appraisal of the United Nations International Year of Pulses 2016

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Summary</title>In terms of botanical composition, grassland vegetation in experimental plots and field studies can be described by means of different parameters (plant density, cover, frequency or yield proportion). Each parameter describes different features, which under certain circumstances may be correlated one to each other to some extent, but are not fully equivalent. The choice of the parameter to be assessed depends therefore, in first instance, on the specific aim of the investigation. For the assessment of the chosen parameter, many methods are available that differ from each other in terms of subjectivity, precision, effort and requirement for technical equipment. The choice of method depends mainly on the required precision, the affordable effort and on the available resources.</abstract>

Methods to describe the botanical composition of vegetation in grassland research

<trans-abstract xml:lang="en"><title style='display:none'>Summary</title>Although the Austrian organic specialist trade only constitutes a small share of overall organic food revenues, the number of organic specialist trade shops has been increasing constantly. The aim of this study is to analyze customers of Viennese organic supermarkets (a type of organic specialist trade) and to derive target groups based on this analysis. Using a standardized questionnaire, 211 customers of organic supermarket “denn’s” were surveyed. Within the analysis of the survey, sociodemographic and psychographic attributes as well as attributes related to buying behavior were detected. The target group segmentation was done by cluster analysis using two cluster methods (single linkage and ward method). Descriptive survey results show that customers of Viennese organic supermarket “denn’s” are mainly female. Generally, customers are middle-aged and show a comparatively high level of education and income. When buying organic food, personal health is the most important aspect, followed by environmental protection and animal welfare. Regarding eating habits, more than 60% of the surveyed customers are vegetarians or vegans and about 35% follow a gluten- or lactose-free diet. Moreover, the crucial purchase motives are product selection, product information and pricing. Through cluster analysis four different target groups of customers were identified.</trans-abstract>

Segmentierung der Kunden des Wiener Bio-Supermarktes „denn’s Biomarkt“ mithilfe einer Clusteranalyse

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Summary</title>Silages of hybrids of napier grass (CO-3 or CO-4) and sorghum and their combinations (50% napier grass hybrid + 50% of sorghum) were tested under three cutting intervals (4, 6 and 8 weeks). Sorghum silage had a leafy and soft texture with a fruity smell, which proved its desirable character with normal lactic acid fermentation. As such, it was with its comparatively higher dry matter content at the 6 or 8 weeks cutting interval, more suitable for ensiling. The crude protein concentration was not modified by the ensiling process, which was proved by the low ammoniacal nitrogen content. Sorghum silage had lower pH values at all three cutting intervals. On the basis of the NH3-N/TN content (&lt;10%), all silages could be considered as of good quality. Sorghum silage could be considered as the best among tested silages as compared with hybrid napier var. CO-3 or CO-4. The optimum quality of the sorghum silage with the highest soluble carbohydrates concentration and lactic acid &gt;3% could be obtained at the 6-week cutting interval.</abstract>

Evaluation of silages of hybrids of napier grass and sorghum in the low country wet zone of Sri Lanka

<abstract>
<title style='display:none'>Summary</title>
One of the key factors influencing agricultural development and farm performance is access to finance. There are several factors that influence access to finance, including financial management capacity, which is linked to financial literacy. The paper analyzes the factors which determine farmers’ financial management behavior, in the case of Kosovo, based on a structured farm survey focusing on the vineyard sector. The findings suggest that half of the interviewed farmers did not keep records regarding costs and incomes. The likelihood to keep financial records is linked to several household and farm attributes. Market-oriented farmers who had contracts were more likely to keep financial records than those who did not. Policymakers through public advisory services as well as financial institutions should address the need to improve financial literacy among farmers.
</abstract>

Financial literacy for farmers – the case of vineyard farmers in Kosovo

<abstract>
<title style='display:none'>Summary</title>
Macrozoobenthos is a sedentary aquatic biota and is often used as a bioindicator for assessing water conditions. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the species diversity of the macrozoobenthos and to analyze the heavy metal contamination in <italic>Faunus ater</italic> in the Rasian and Asahan estuaries in Aceh Province, Indonesia. The sampling was carried out in July 2022 on a squared transect of 1 m × 1 m for the collection of macrozoobenthos samples at random locations. The results showed that there were 17 macrozoobenthos species from both locations, of which 14 species were found in the Rasian River estuary and seven species in the Asahan River estuary. The diversity index of macrozoobenthos was in a moderate category. <italic>Terebralia sulcata</italic> had a higher density in the Asahan River, while <italic>F. ater</italic> had a higher density in the Rasian River. The results of the heavy metal analysis in the <italic>F. ater</italic> sample showed that this macrozoobenthos was contaminated by mercury, cadmium, and lead, of which the concentration of mercury exceeded the threshold limit, and they are, therefore, not safe for consumption.
</abstract>

Macrozoobenthos diversity and heavy metal contamination in <italic>Faunus ater</italic> in the Rasian and Asahan rivers in the southern coast of Aceh, Indonesia

<abstract>
<title style='display:none'>Summary</title>
The Russian invasion of Ukraine represents an unforeseen and significant market disruption for global trade with wide-ranging effects on global trade, particularly on the economies of the major import countries of Ukrainian agricultural commodities. The general impact and consequences of the war on the global economy are described, and key components of the market disruptions are identified and put into a historical and geographical context. The degree of interconnectedness between the war in Ukraine and world trade and global gross domestic product (GDP) indices is highlighted. Changes in production and export volumes of the main Ukrainian agricultural commodities and their impact on major import countries are described. Actual and future measures to stabilise and soften the volatility of affected agricultural markets are presented.
</abstract>

Institute of Marketing & Innovation at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences

The War in Ukraine and Its Impact on Global Agricultural Trade

<abstract>
<title style='display:none'>Summary</title>
Prolonged and/or intense drought leads to the deterioration of plant water balance, inducing embolism formation in the water conducting system, the xylem. The consequent loss of water transport capacity from roots to leaves (hydraulic failure) has been proposed as a main driver of plant mortality. Substantial inter- and intraspecific variation of resistance to embolism formation has been reported in plants. Hence, screening of different species/individuals is key to project the impact of future climate on ecosystems, while supporting breeding and reforestation. This review seeks to explain the mechanisms of water transport in plants and the phenomenon of embolism formation under drought stress by using concise and straightforward scholarly language. The main aim is to introduce non-expert readers (students, nonacademics, and academics from different scientific fields) to plant hydraulics and the controversial world of methods for measuring the vulnerability to embolism formation. To convey the message in full, we provide ranges of water potential values and widely used drought resistance indexes characterizing plants from different biomes. Various established methods used worldwide to monitor hydraulic efficiency under stress and measure hydraulic vulnerability by means of curves of different plant organs are introduced. Both classical widely used destructive methods and current non-destructive techniques, which have been gaining momentum in the last decade, are described. The main advantages and disadvantages of each method are briefly discussed to support decisions and selection of the most suitable method in experimental practice.
</abstract>

Plant hydraulics and measurement of vulnerability to embolism formation: a guide for beginners

<abstract>
<title style='display:none'>Summary</title>
Lake Chad, situated in the semi-arid region of African Sahel, plays a vital role in hydrogeological balance of regional ecosystems. It presents an essential water source and provides a habitat for rare wildlife species including migrating waterbirds. However, the lake has shrunk significantly since the 1960s and has continued to reduce in size and extent during recent decades. Trends in drying and shrinking of Lake Chad are caused by environmental factors and changed climate. The desiccation of the lake is threatening environmental sustainability. This study focused on identification of changes in the Chad Lake area, wetland extent, and associated land cover types. The methods include the Geographic Resources Analysis Support System (GRASS) Geographic Information System (GIS) for remote sensing data classification. The maximum likelihood discriminant analysis classifier was applied for analysis of multispectral Landsat 8–9 OLI/TIRS images in 2013, 2017, and 2022. Detected changes in land cover types reflect variations in water balance and wetland area and extent around Lake Chad over recent decades. Cartographic scripting tools of GRASS GIS provide an efficient method of digital image processing for monitoring endorheic lakes of Central Africa. GRASS GIS methods provide an opportunity to automatically classify Earth observation data with cartographic scripts for environmental monitoring.
</abstract>

Using open-source software GRASS GIS for analysis of the environmental patterns in Lake Chad, Central Africa

<abstract>
<title style='display:none'>Summary</title>
Climate change scenarios predict more frequent and intense drought periods for 2071–2100 in the most important and intensively used agricultural region of Austria, the Marchfeld. Current and predicted lower precipitation scenarios were simulated at a lysimeter station for 9 years. Plant biomass, nitrogen (N) and carbon (C) content, and δ13C and δ15N values of plant compartments were monitored in years 7–9. Aboveground biomass of cereals and grain yield decreased under the predicted scenario, while the quality of grain (% N) was unaffected. Weed and catch crops grown in winter were not affected or were even positively affected, possibly due to the accumulation of nutrients in the soil following the lower plant uptake in summer. Accordingly, low plant δ15N values were mainly attributed to the presence of higher proportion of mineral fertilizer in the predicted precipitation scenario. As expected, water stress significantly increased δ13C values in plants grown over summer, while this was not seen for plants growing over winter. Fertile agricultural soil might ameliorate but cannot outbalance the negative impact of more frequent and intense drought periods.
</abstract>

More extreme and frequent drought periods reduced crop production and altered stable isotope ratios of C and N in plants

<abstract>
<title style='display:none'>Summary</title>
Globally, coastal cultivation regions (CCRs) are facing irrigation water shortages due to the impacts of climate change (ICV). CCRs have repeatedly suffered from saline irrigation water, increases in temperature, and reduced rainfall, resulting in irrigation water shortages. The aim of this study was, therefore, to evaluate the impacts of weather variables on the rice water requirement (RWR) in CCRs in Kien Giang Province. The response of rice grain yield to weather variables was estimated by simulating the AquaCrop model under different crop cultivation schedules (CCSs). These schedules involved advancing or delaying the sowing date by 30 days compared to the current common sowing date (baseline) for winter-spring (WS) and summer-fall (SF) vegetation seasons. The AquaCrop model demonstrated accurate simulation capabilities, as indicated by the high correlation values of statistical error indexes during the validation and calibration procedures. The findings revealed that rice grain yields would enhance up to 7.8% and 5.6% compared to the baseline when CCSs involve sowing 20 days earlier for WS vegetation season and are advanced by 20 days for SF vegetation season. Overall, modifying CCSs for coastal rice paddies in the study area, while considering weather variables, would have a positive contribution by mitigating the adverse effects of ICV.
</abstract>

Vietnam National University-Ho Chi Minh City

Adapting to climate variability for rice cultivation paddies in the lowland coastal regions of Kien Giang Province, Vietnam

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Summary</title>The flavin and heme cofactor containing enzyme cellobiose dehydrogenase (CDH) is ubiquitously distributed in wood-degrading fungi. Current research provides compelling evidence that CDH is an activator for cellulolytic monooxygenases, which enhance the accessibility of crystalline cellulose surfaces for hydrolases. Such oxidative cellulose degradation contributes to the overall cellulolytic capabilities of wood decaying fungi to a large extent, and holds great potential to improve the efficiency of commercial enzyme mixtures for biomass processing and biofuel production. This review summarizes current literature with regard to the distribution, structure and physiological role of CDH in the light of recent findings.</abstract>

Cellobiose dehydrogenase: An essential enzyme for lignocellulose degradation in nature – A review / Cellobiosedehydrogenase: Ein essentielles Enzym für den Lignozelluloseabbau in der Natur – Eine Übersicht

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Summary</title>The discussion on the role of livestock in human food security is often controversial. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to assess the net contribution of different livestock to human food protein and energy supply. Furthermore, the proportions of feed protein and feed energy derived from different land categories were estimated. National data from 2011–2013 for the main Austrian livestock categories (cattle, dairy cows, growing-fattening bulls, swine, broiler chickens, laying hens, turkeys, sheep, and goats) were used in this case study. Cattle were the only species that were net contributors to both the human protein and energy supply. When accounting for the differences in protein quality between human-edible plant inputs and animal products, not only cattle, but also laying hens, sheep, and goats increased the value of protein available for human consumption. Except for growing-fattening bulls, about 50% of the feed protein and energy for ruminants was derived from permanent grassland, which could otherwise not be used for human food production. The results of this study showed that depending on the production system, the transformation process of feed into food of animal origin results in either an increase or decrease of the available food for human consumption, but it always increases protein quality.</abstract>

University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU), Department of Sustainable Agricultural Sytems, Division of Livestock Sciences, 1180 Vienna,

Agricultural Research and Education Centre Raumberg-Gumpenstein, Institute of Organic Farming and Farm Animal Biodiversity, 8951 Trautenfels,

Net food production of different livestock: A national analysis for Austria including relative occupation of different land categories / Netto-Lebensmittelproduktion der Nutztierhaltung: Eine nationale Analyse für Österreich inklusive relativer Flächenbeanspruchung

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Summary</title>Organic farming represents an integral part of agriculture in Austria. The share of organic holdings and the share of area being organically farmed are already high relative to other countries within the European Union. So far, analyses of the organic sector have mainly focused on the economic output and the utilised area; less is known about absolute crop yields per hectare and the gap between organic and conventional crop yields. Given their relevance for profitability calculations and production strategies, such data is of major interest for farmers, advisors, and decision-makers. To address this lack of knowledge, we combine the Austrian farm accountancy data and Integrated Administration and Control System data for Austria. This paper presents a statistical analysis of organic crop yield data for the national Austrian territory as well as for regional categories and covers the period from 2003–2016. The results show a significant difference in crop yields: i) between organic and conventional farming systems; ii) between regional categories in Austria. Organic cereals achieve 35% lower average crop yields than conventional systems, yields for organic root and tuber crops were 27–49% lower. Yield gaps of oilseed and protein crops vary widely between respective crop species.</abstract>

Comparison of organic and conventional crop yields in Austria

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Summary</title><italic>Asclepias syriaca</italic> is an invasive alien plant that has recently spread in Central Europe. The spatiotemporal spread of <italic>A. syriaca</italic> was reconstructed based on the distribution data for Austria. <italic>A. syriaca</italic> has increased in abundance and range, especially after the year 2005. At present, the species occurs primarily in eastern Austria (Vienna, Lower Austria), while it was rarely recorded in southern and western Austria. Further spread and range filling is probable. Moreover, the distribution of <italic>A. syriaca</italic> along roadsides and the role of road type and adjoining land use in facilitating its spread were studied in an area of high presence of the species in Lower Austria in 2018. It was shown that <italic>A. syriaca</italic> occurred regularly along roadsides and the chance of finding <italic>A. syriaca</italic> was higher along unpaved roads and along roadsides bordered by forests and grassland. The results indicate that the road network contributes to the spread of <italic>A. syriaca</italic> in the study area, most likely by providing suitable and well connected habitats. If <italic>A. syriaca</italic> densities are to be lowered, emphasis should be placed on both a proper roadside management (e.g., mowing regimes) and on the control of the species in the respective adjacent habitat.</abstract>

Roads support the spread of invasive <italic>Asclepias syriaca</italic> in Austria

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Summary</title>In the context of mismanagement of natural resources going with an increasing consumption of protein from animal origin through the world population, one major challenge for the future in animal nutrition is the improvement of its efficiency and hence sustainability. Up to now, a broad range of methods like feed additives or technological treatments have been available to improve the efficiency or the production of pig-derived and poultry-derived food and hence the sustainability in pig and poultry nutrition. Nevertheless, the exact knowledge of the mode of action of these tools is a prerequisite for their successful application. Furthermore, information concerning their impact on the nutrient availability of the different feedstuffs is of great importance, in order to formulate diets that cover the animals’ requirements. Diets covering the animals’ performance level ovoid undersupplies, which can lead to health problems on the on hand, on the other hand the emissions of nitrogen are kept as low as possible.As a result, the consumption of natural resources like grains can be considerably reduced and the substitution of regional by-products from the feed and food processing industry like wheat bran, dried distillers grains with solubles or rapeseed meal can be dramatically enhanced in diets for monogastric animals, thus contributing to more sustainable livestock production. By improving the efficiency of the production of animal-derived food, the term “sustainable’’ remains highly significant. Increasing efficiency plays an important role in ensuring that the resources required for pig and poultry nutrition are foreseeably available. Currently, there is a combination of different tools like feed additives or technological feed treatments the most promising way of improving sustainability in pig and poultry production systems.</abstract>

Sustainable pig and poultry nutrition by improvement of nutrient utilisation – A review

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