Newest publications
The intangible costs of overweight and obesity in Germany
(2023) Meng, Fan; Nie, Peng; Sousa-Poza, Alfonso; Meng, Fan; Institute for Health Care & Public Management, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany; Nie, Peng; Health Econometrics and Data Group, University of York, York, UK; Sousa-Poza, Alfonso; IZA, Bonn, Germany
Background: Previous literature documents the direct and indirect economic costs of obesity, yet none has attempted to quantify the intangible costs of obesity. This study focuses on quantifying the intangible costs of one unit body mass index (BMI) increase and being overweight and obese in Germany. Methods: By applying a life satisfaction-based compensation value analysis to 2002–2018 German Socio-Economic Panel Survey data for adults aged 18–65, the intangible costs of overweight and obesity are estimated. We apply individual income as a reference for estimating the value of the loss of subjective well-being due to overweight and obesity. Results: The intangible costs of overweight and obesity in 2018 amount to 42,450 and 13,853 euros, respectively. A one unit increase in BMI induced a 2553 euros annual well-being loss in the overweight and obese relative to those of normal weight. When extrapolated to the entire country, this figure represents approximately 4.3 billion euros, an intangible cost of obesity similar in magnitude to the direct and indirect costs documented in other studies for Germany. These losses, our analysis reveals, have remained remarkably stable since 2002. Conclusions: Our results underscore how existing research into obesity’s economic toll may underestimate its true costs, and they strongly imply that if obesity interventions took the intangible costs of obesity into account, the economic benefits would be considerably larger.
Tissue-level integration overrides gradations of differentiating cell identity in beetle extraembryonic tissue
(2024) Mann, Katie E.; Panfilio, Kristen A.; Mann, Katie E.; School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK; Panfilio, Kristen A.; School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK; García-Sanz, José A.; Merino, Marisa M.; Chen, Lingyi
During animal embryogenesis, one of the earliest specification events distinguishes extraembryonic (EE) from embryonic tissue fates: the serosa in the case of the insects. While it is well established that the homeodomain transcription factor Zen1 is the critical determinant of the serosa, the subsequent realization of this tissue’s identity has not been investigated. Here, we examine serosal differentiation in the beetle Tribolium castaneum based on the quantification of morphological and morphogenetic features, comparing embryos from a Tc-zen1 RNAi dilution series, where complete knockdown results in amnion-only EE tissue identity. We assess features including cell density, tissue boundary morphology, and nuclear size as dynamic readouts for progressive tissue maturation. While some features exhibit an all-or-nothing outcome, other key features show dose-dependent phenotypic responses with trait-specific thresholds. Collectively, these findings provide nuance beyond the known status of Tc-Zen1 as a selector gene for serosal tissue patterning. Overall, our approach illustrates how the analysis of tissue maturation dynamics from live imaging extends but also challenges interpretations based on gene expression data, refining our understanding of tissue identity and when it is achieved.
Host metabolome and faecal microbiome shows potential interactions impacted by age and weaning times in calves
(2023) Amin, Nida; Schwarzkopf, Sarah; Tröscher-Mußotter, Johanna; Camarinha-Silva, Amélia; Dänicke, Sven; Huber, Korinna; Frahm, Jana; Seifert, Jana; Amin, Nida; Institute of Animal Science, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany; Schwarzkopf, Sarah; Institute of Animal Science, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany; Tröscher-Mußotter, Johanna; Institute of Animal Science, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany; Camarinha-Silva, Amélia; Institute of Animal Science, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany; Dänicke, Sven; Institute of Animal Nutrition, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Brunswick, Germany; Huber, Korinna; Institute of Animal Science, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany; Frahm, Jana; Institute of Animal Nutrition, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Brunswick, Germany; Seifert, Jana; Institute of Animal Science, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany
Background: Calves undergo nutritional, metabolic, and behavioural changes from birth to the entire weaning period. An appropriate selection of weaning age is essential to reduce the negative effects caused by weaning-related dietary transitions. This study monitored the faecal microbiome and plasma metabolome of 59 female Holstein calves during different developmental stages and weaning times (early vs. late) and identified the potential associations of the measured parameters over an experimental period of 140 days. Results: A progressive development of the microbiome and metabolome was observed with significant differences according to the weaning groups (weaned at 7 or 17 weeks of age). Faecal samples of young calves were dominated by bifidobacterial and lactobacilli species, while their respective plasma samples showed high concentrations of amino acids (AAs) and biogenic amines (BAs). However, as the calves matured, the abundances of potential fiber-degrading bacteria and the plasma concentrations of sphingomyelins (SMs), few BAs and acylcarnitines (ACs) were increased. Early-weaning at 7 weeks significantly restructured the microbiome towards potential fiber-degrading bacteria and decreased plasma concentrations of most of the AAs and SMs, few BAs and ACs compared to the late-weaning event. Strong associations between faecal microbes, plasma metabolites and calf growth parameters were observed during days 42–98, where the abundances of Bacteroides, Parabacteroides , and Blautia were positively correlated with the plasma concentrations of AAs, BAs and SMs as well as the live weight gain or average daily gain in calves. Conclusion: The present study reported that weaning at 17 weeks of age was beneficial due to higher growth rate of late-weaned calves during days 42–98 and a quick adaptability of microbiota to weaning-related dietary changes during day 112, suggesting an age-dependent maturation of the gastrointestinal tract. However, the respective plasma samples of late-weaned calves contained several metabolites with differential concentrations to the early-weaned group, suggesting a less abrupt but more-persistent effect of dietary changes on host metabolome compared to the microbiome.
Modeling and optimization of bakery production scheduling to minimize makespan and oven idle time
(2023) Babor, Majharulislam; Paquet-Durand, Olivier; Kohlus, Reinhard; Hitzmann, Bernd; Babor, Majharulislam; Institute of Food Science and Biotechnology, Department of Process Analytics and Cereal Science, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany; Paquet-Durand, Olivier; Institute of Food Science and Biotechnology, Department of Process Analytics and Cereal Science, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany; Kohlus, Reinhard; Institute of Food Science and Biotechnology, Department of Process Engineering and Food Powders, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany; Hitzmann, Bernd; Institute of Food Science and Biotechnology, Department of Process Analytics and Cereal Science, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany
AbstractMakespan dominates the manufacturing expenses in bakery production. The high energy consumption of ovens also has a substantial impact, which bakers may overlook. Bakers leave ovens running until the final product is baked, allowing them to consume energy even when not in use. It results in energy waste, increased manufacturing costs, and CO2 emissions. This paper investigates three manufacturing lines from small and medium-sized bakeries to find optimum makespan and ovens’ idle time (OIDT). A hybrid no-wait flow shop scheduling model considering the constraints that are most common in bakeries is proposed. To find optimal solutions, non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA-II), strength Pareto evolutionary algorithm (SPEA2), generalized differential evolution (GDE3), improved multi-objective particle swarm optimization (OMOPSO), and speed-constrained multi-objective particle swarm optimization (SMPSO) were used. The experimental results show that the shortest makespan does not always imply the lowest OIDT. Even the optimized solutions have up to 231 min of excess OIDT, while the makespan is the shortest. Pareto solutions provide promising trade-offs between makespan and OIDT, with the best-case scenario reducing OIDT by 1348 min while increasing makespan only by 61 min from the minimum possible makespan. NSGA-II outperforms all other algorithms in obtaining a high number of good-quality solutions and a small number of poor-quality solutions, followed by SPEA2 and GDE3. In contrast, OMOPSO and SMPSO deliver the worst solutions, which become pronounced as the problem complexity grows.
Biostimulant and arbuscular mycorrhizae application on four major biomass crops as the base of phytomanagement strategies in metal-contaminated soils
(2024) Peroni, Pietro; Liu, Qiao; Lizarazu, Walter Zegada; Xue, Shuai; Yi, Zili; von Cossel, Moritz; Mastroberardino, Rossella; Papazoglou, Eleni G.; Monti, Andrea; Iqbal, Yasir; Peroni, Pietro; Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of Bologna, 40127 Bologna, Italy; (P.P.); (R.M.); (A.M.); Liu, Qiao; College of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China; (Q.L.); (S.X.); (Z.Y.); Lizarazu, Walter Zegada; Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of Bologna, 40127 Bologna, Italy; (P.P.); (R.M.); (A.M.); Xue, Shuai; College of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China; (Q.L.); (S.X.); (Z.Y.); Yi, Zili; College of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China; (Q.L.); (S.X.); (Z.Y.); Von Cossel, Moritz; Department of Biobased Resources in the Bioeconomy (340b), Institute of Crop Science, University of Hohenheim, Fruwirthstr 23, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany; Mastroberardino, Rossella; Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of Bologna, 40127 Bologna, Italy; (P.P.); (R.M.); (A.M.); Papazoglou, Eleni G.; Department of Crop Science, Agricultural University of Athens, 11855 Athens, Greece;; Monti, Andrea; Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of Bologna, 40127 Bologna, Italy; (P.P.); (R.M.); (A.M.); Iqbal, Yasir; College of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China; (Q.L.); (S.X.); (Z.Y.); Latowski, Dariusz; Kumar, Adarsh
Using contaminated land to grow lignocellulosic crops can deliver biomass and, in the long term, improve soil quality. Biostimulants and microorganisms are nowadays an innovative approach to define appropriate phytomanagement strategies to promote plant growth and metal uptake. This study evaluated biostimulants and mycorrhizae application on biomass production and phytoextraction potential of four lignocellulosic crops grown under two metal-contaminated soils. Two greenhouse pot trials were setup to evaluate two annual species (sorghum, hemp) in Italy and two perennial ones (miscanthus, switchgrass) in China, under mycorrhizae (M), root (B2) and foliar (B1) biostimulants treatments, based on humic substances and protein hydrolysates, respectively, applied both alone and in combination (MB1, MB2). MB2 increased the shoot dry weight (DW) yield in hemp (1.9 times more), sorghum (3.6 times more) and miscanthus (tripled) with additional positive effects on sorghum and miscanthus Zn and Cd accumulation, respectively, but no effects on hemp metal accumulation. No treatment promoted switchgrass shoot DW, but M enhanced Cd and Cr shoot concentrations (+84%, 1.6 times more, respectively) and the phytoextraction efficiency. Root biostimulants and mycorrhizae were demonstrated to be more efficient inputs than foliar biostimulants to enhance plant development and productivity in order to design effective phytomanagement strategies in metal-contaminated soil.