Publications
NIBIOs employees contribute to several hundred scientific articles and research reports every year. You can browse or search in our collection which contains references and links to these publications as well as other research and dissemination activities. The collection is continously updated with new and historical material.
2012
Authors
Erlend Nybakk Jan Inge JenssenAbstract
In this study, we address this research question: What effect do an innovation strategy and an innovative working climate have on financial performance in the Norwegian wood industry? Innovation strategy embodies four dimensions: those concerning the degree to which innovation in the form of products, processes, and business systems are embedded in the management values and priorities, and those concerning the degree of expenditure in R&D. An innovative working climate is embodied by team cohesion, supervisory encouragement, resources, autonomy, challenge, and openness to innovation. Previous studies indicate a lack of studies in traditional manufacturing and a lack of studies including both an innovation strategy and a supporting working climate. 241 CEOs answered our survey . The connectional model was tested with structural equation modelling, and all hypotheses received support. This implies that an innovation strategy and an innovative working climate enhance financial performance in traditional manufacturing firms. The results are discussed and implications are made
Abstract
Fusarium langsethiae is a recently characterized fungus within the genus Fusarium. It is found as a grain contaminant of small grain cereals such as oats and barley, and to a lesser extent wheat. Fusarium langsethiae is particularly widespread in the Nordic countries and the UK where it poses a serious problem as the main producer of T-2 and HT-2 mycotoxins. The biology of F. langsethiae and its interaction with the plant remains poorly understood, partly hampered by difficulties reproducing a natural level of infection under controlled conditions. The reported study was designed as a series of glasshouse experiments to advance our understanding of F. langsethiae biology by investigating alternative infection routes and its proliferation in oats, Avena sativa. Various methods of seed, soil, and seedling inoculation, boot injection and spray inoculation, were tested. The results clearly show a strong preference of F. langsethiae for the panicle, ruling out alternative infection routes. At relatively low temperatures spray infection, accompanied by prolonged humidity, ensured a thorough establishment of the fungus both at flowering and at early dough stage. Boot injection proved to be a reliable working tool for production of an even and predictable grain infection. Apart from in the panicle, considerable fungal proliferation was only detected in flag leaf nodes, and was a direct consequence of the boot injection method. Fungal presence in the node tissue also correlated with significant stunting of infected shoots. In light of the results the pathogenic and endophytic abilities of F. langsethiae are discussed.
Authors
Arne Hermansen Leslie A Wanner Ragnhild Nærstad Sonja KlemsdalAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
The strengthening of administrative powers is comprehensively documented within national governments. This article asks to what extent centre formation also happens within international bureaucracies. Based on a large body of data (N=121) within three international bureaucracies, this study adds two new observations: First, administrative centre formation is primarily observed inside the European Commission and only marginally within other international bureaucracies – such as the OECD and WTO Secretariats. Moreover, within the Commission, centre formation is primarily observed at the administrative centre (the General Secretariat) and only marginally within bureaucratic sub-units. Concomitantly, administrative centre formation, when observed, does not seem to profoundly penetrate and transform international bureaucracies writ large. Second, variation in centre formation both across and within international bureaucracies is associated with two often neglected variables in comparative government literature: (i) first, the accumulation of relevant organisational capacities at the executive centre, and second, the vertical and horizontal specialisation of international bureaucracies.
Authors
Jens Rohloff Joachim Kopka Alexander Erban Per Winge Robert Charles Wilson Atle M. Bones Jahn Davik Stephen K, Randall Muath AlsheikhAbstract
© 2012. This is the authors’ accepted and refereed manuscript to the article. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Annika Höjer Steffen Adler Stig Purup Hansen-Møller Jens Martinsson Kjell Håvard Steinshamn Anne-Maj GustavssonAbstract
Phytoestrogens are hormone-like substances in plants that can substantially influence human health (positively or negatively), and when fed to dairy cows are transferred to their milk. The aim of this study was to investigate effects of varying the botanical composition and regrowth interval of legume-grass silage on silage and phytoestrogen intake and milk phytoestrogen concentrations. In one experiment, 15 Swedish Red dairy cows were fed two- or three-cut red clover-grass silage (designated R2 and R3, respectively), or two-cut birdsfoot trefoil-grass silage (B2). In a second experiment, 16 Norwegian Red dairy cows were fed short-term ley silage with red clover (S3) or long-term ley silage with white clover (L3), and the effects of supplementation with α-tocopherol were also tested. There were high concentrations of formononetin and biochanin A in all silage mixtures with red clover (R2, R3, and S3). The milk concentration of equol was highest on diet R2 (1,494 μg/kg milk). Due to metabolism of biochanin A, genistein and prunetin, their concentrations in milk and the apparent recovery were low. Coumestrol was only detected in silage mixtures S3 and L3, and its milk concentration was low. Concentrations of secoisolariciresinol and matairesinol were higher in silage mixtures B2 and L3, those with legume species other than red clover and the highest grass proportions. B2 also resulted in higher enterolactone concentration than the other diets (226 μg/kg milk). Lengthening the regrowth interval increased the intake of secoisolariciresinol and decreased recovery of lignans. Feeding long-term ley silage resulted in higher lignan milk concentrations, but lower isoflavone milk concentrations than feeding short-term ley silage. The apparent recovery of all phytoestrogens except prunetin was highest on B2, indicating that condensed tannins (present in the birdsfoot trefoil) affect rumen metabolism. There was no effect of α-tocopherol supplementation on milk concentrations of any of the measured phytoestrogens. There were variations in milk concentrations of phytoestrogens, especially of equol, among cows, which could not be explained by variations in diet composition or phytoestrogen intake. The results show that milk phytoestrogen concentration is strongly influenced by silage botanical composition and management, but questions regarding phytoestrogen metabolism remain to be answered.
Authors
Laura Parducci Tina Jørgensen Mari Mette Tollefsrud Ellen Elverland Torbjørn Alm Sonia L. Fontana Keith D. Bennett James Haile Irina Matetovici Yoshihisa Suyama Mary E. Edwards Kenneth Andersen Morten Rasmussen Sanne Boessenkool Eric Coissac Christian Brochmann Pierre Taberlet Michael Houmark-Nielsen Nicolaj K. Larsen Ludovic Orlando M. Thomas P. Gilbert Kurt H. Kjær Inger Greve Alsos Eske WillerslevAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Maria L. Loureiro Steven T. Yen Rudolfo M. Jr. NaygaAbstract
No abstract has been registered