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Education for a sustainable agri-food system

Food and the city has never been a more urgent theme than today, and The European Union’s priority to commit to innovation in this field will certainly enhance its economic and external strength and improve its competitive position in the world of food and life sciences. Europea Netherlands held a seminar on this topic in May 2016, during the Dutch EU presidency.To be part of this international endeavour, the Netherlands need to strengthen the digital market, support innovation in the internal market, boost domestic policy reforms, and embed their knowledge and skills in a European society that challenges itself and continues to innovate. The Netherlands is a global player in the agro, food and horticultural sector and a major player in the export market of agricultural products. This sector is one of its main economic pillars. New knowledge is being developed as we speak, which is also an export product in high demand, providing sizeable employment. This is only possible because the sector is innovative and remains up-to-date. The peri-urban areas in the Netherlands (both urban and rural areas) are characterized by high population density. This necessitates thinking about manufacturing, food, logistics and water management(circular economy). Land-based education and life sciences in the Netherlands may appear to be specific, yet it is broad too: the primary sectors are included, as well as the manufacturing businesses and services associated with it. Participants learn to work in an innovative sector in a society in transition, bringing together multiple disciplines (cross-overs) and stakeholders. This education is practical and has a strong connection to the industry. During the Europea seminar five professorships, installed by the ministry of Economic Affairs, focused on transitions in the agro and food sector. The five professorships are posted at the Dutch Agricultural Universities of applied sciences, including teacher education for sustainable connected learning and development for professional education and business communities.

Kinetics of Physiological Responses as a Measure of Intensity and Hydration Status During Experimental Physical Stress in Human Volunteers

Introduction: Strenuous physical stress induces a range of physiological responses, the extent depending, among others, on the nature and severity of the exercise, a person’s training level and overall physical resilience. This principle can also be used in an experimental set-up by measuring time-dependent changes in biomarkers for physiological processes. In a previous report, we described the effects of workload delivered on a bicycle ergometer on intestinal functionality. As a follow-up, we here describe an analysis of the kinetics of various other biomarkers. Aim: To analyse the time-dependent changes of 34 markers for different metabolic and immunological processes, comparing four different exercise protocols and a rest protocol. Methods: After determining individual maximum workloads, 15 healthy male participants (20–35 years) started with a rest protocol and subsequently performed (in a cross-over design with 1-week wash-out) four exercise protocols of 1-h duration at different intensities: 70% Wmax in a hydrated and a mildly dehydrated state, 50% Wmax and intermittent 85/55% Wmax in blocks of 2 min. Perceived exertion was monitored using the Borg’ Rating of Perceived Exertion scale. Blood samples were collected both before and during exercise, and at various timepoints up to 24 h afterward. Data was analyzed using a multilevel mixed linear model with multiple test correction. Results: Kinetic changes of various biomarkers were exercise-intensity-dependent. Biomarkers included parameters indicative of metabolic activity (e.g., creatinine, bicarbonate), immunological and hematological functionality (e.g., leukocytes, hemoglobin) and intestinal physiology (citrulline, intestinal fatty acid-binding protein, and zonulin). In general, responses to high intensity exercise of 70% Wmax and intermittent exercise i.e., 55/85% Wmax were more pronounced compared to exercise at 50% Wmax. Conclusion: High (70 and 55/85% Wmax) and moderate (50% Wmax) intensity exercise in a bicycle ergometer test produce different time-dependent changes in a broad range of parameters indicative of metabolic activity, immunological and hematological functionality and intestinal physiology. These parameters may be considered biomarkers of homeostatic resilience. Mild dehydration intensifies these time-related changes. Moderate intensity exercise of 50% Wmax shows sufficient physiological and immunological responses and can be employed to test the health condition of less fit individuals.

Application of the adverse outcome pathway (AOP) concept to structure the available in vivo and in vitro mechanistic data for allergic sensitization to food proteins

From the publisher: "Background: The introduction of whole new foods in a population may lead to sensitization and food allergy. This constitutes a potential public health problem and a challenge to risk assessors and managers as the existing understanding of the pathophysiological processes and the currently available biological tools for prediction of the risk for food allergy development and the severity of the reaction are not sufficient. There is a substantial body of in vivo and in vitro data describing molecular and cellular events potentially involved in food sensitization. However, these events have not been organized in a sequence of related events that is plausible to result in sensitization, and useful to challenge current hypotheses. The aim of this manuscript was to collect and structure the current mechanistic understanding of sensitization induction to food proteins by applying the concept of adverse outcome pathway (AOP). Main body: The proposed AOP for food sensitization is based on information on molecular and cellular mechanisms and pathways evidenced to be involved in sensitization by food and food proteins and uses the AOPs for chemical skin sensitization and respiratory sensitization induction as templates. Available mechanistic data on protein respiratory sensitization were included to fill out gaps in the understanding of how proteins may affect cells, cell-cell interactions and tissue homeostasis. Analysis revealed several key events (KE) and biomarkers that may have potential use in testing and assessment of proteins for their sensitizing potential. Conclusion: The application of the AOP concept to structure mechanistic in vivo and in vitro knowledge has made it possible to identify a number of methods, each addressing a specific KE, that provide information about the food allergenic potential of new proteins. When applied in the context of an integrated strategy these methods may reduce, if not replace, current animal testing approaches. The proposed AOP will be shared at the www.aopwiki.org platform to expand the mechanistic data, improve the confidence in each of the proposed KE and key event relations (KERs), and allow for the identification of new, or refinement of established KE and KERs." Authors: Jolanda H. M. van BilsenEmail author, Edyta Sienkiewicz-Szłapka, Daniel Lozano-Ojalvo, Linette E. M. Willemsen, Celia M. Antunes, Elena Molina, Joost J. Smit, Barbara Wróblewska, Harry J. Wichers, Edward F. Knol, Gregory S. Ladics, Raymond H. H. Pieters, Sandra Denery-Papini, Yvonne M. Vissers, Simona L. Bavaro, Colette Larré, Kitty C. M. Verhoeckx and Erwin L. Roggen

The effect of endurance exercise on intestinal integrity in well‐trained healthy men

Exercise is one of the external factors associated with impairment of intestinal integrity, possibly leading to increased permeability and altered absorption. Here, we aimed to examine to what extent endurance exercise in the glycogen‐depleted state can affect intestinal permeability toward small molecules and protein‐derived peptides in relation to markers of intestinal function. Eleven well‐trained male volunteers (27 ± 4 years) ingested 40 g of casein protein and a lactulose/rhamnose (L/R) solution after an overnight fast in resting conditions (control) and after completing a dual – glycogen depletion and endurance – exercise protocol (first protocol execution). The entire procedure was repeated 1 week later (second protocol execution). Intestinal permeability was measured as L/R ratio in 5 h urine and 1 h plasma. Five‐hour urine excretion of betacasomorphin‐7 (BCM7), postprandial plasma amino acid levels, plasma fatty acid binding protein 2 (FABP‐2), serum pre‐haptoglobin 2 (preHP2), plasma glucagon‐like peptide 2 (GLP2), serum calprotectin, and dipeptidylpeptidase‐4 (DPP4) activity were studied as markers for excretion, intestinal functioning and recovery, inflammation, and BCM7 breakdown activity, respectively. BCM7 levels in urine were increased following the dual exercise protocol, in the first as well as the second protocol execution, whereas 1 h‐plasma L/R ratio was increased only following the first exercise protocol execution. FABP2, preHP2, and GLP2 were not changed after exercise, whereas calprotectin increased. Plasma citrulline levels following casein ingestion (iAUC) did not increase after exercise, as opposed to resting conditions. Endurance exercise in the glycogen depleted state resulted in a clear increase of BCM7 accumulation in urine, independent of DPP4 activity and intestinal permeability. Therefore, strenuous exercise could have an effect on the amount of food‐derived bioactive peptides crossing the epithelial barrier. The health consequence of increased passage needs more in depth studies.

DiAgRaMs: selecting biomarkers for gut-permeability

Increased intestinal permeability is linked to both intestinal as well as peripheralinflammatory disease. Contact between intestinal contents and the underlying immune system may account for excessive immune activation and local as well as systemic inflammation. Decreasing intestinal permeability using next-generation food products provides an attractive strategy to improve human health. However, to date, insight in biomarkers which reliably and reproducibly reflect intestinal permeability are lacking. Insight in these biomarkers provides a method to easily assess the effectivity of new healthimproving food products.

DiAgRaMs: Selecting biomarkers for gut-permeability