Willingness to Pay: Australian Consumers and “On the Farm” Welfare

The success of welfare legislation for nonhuman animals rests upon primary producer compliance that, in turn, is affected by public willingness to pay (WTP) for such initiatives. Although the topic of the welfare of animals on farms (and relevant legislation) is becoming increasingly important to the Australian public, there remain relatively few recent assessments of the variables that may affect WTP and, therefore, support initiatives aimed at improving the welfare of animals living on farms. This study surveyed 1,224 community members in Queensland, Australia. The study assessed respondents' self-rated knowledge of, and concern regarding, farm animal welfare. In addition, the survey asked respondents how much more they would be prepared to pay for animal-based products to ensure that they came from a source where the Five Freedoms were met. Although self-rated knowledge and level of concern were found to affect WTP, the study found only concern for farm animal welfare actually predicted consumer behavior. Further analyses showed a potential confound between knowledge levels and locality. This article discusses the implications of this for future initiatives to increase WTP.     

Relationships between pollutant discharge and water quality in the rivers from “better” to “worse” water quality

The long-term relationship between pollutant discharge and river water quality of biological/biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) in the Yamato-gawa River, Japan, has been found to be similar to perturbation or dynamic equilibrium change of alternative stable states in the ecosystem fields with a linear relationship as a usual condition. Similar relationships have been observed in short-terms for single precipitation events both in the Richmond River, Australia, and in a mountainous watershed in Japan. On the contrary, nutrient concentrations have not changed in a long-term besides nutrient discharge increases in the Richmond River. In this paper, long-term chronological relationships of annual pollutant discharges and water quality in the Brisbane River, Australia, were investigated based on pollutant discharge estimations and water quality monitoring data as a case study in the “better” water quality river. Effects of precipitation variation were taken into account in the pollutant discharge estimations by introducing precipitation variance coefficient (PVC). Total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) concentrations in the river were found to be improved with fluctuations in the lower Brisbane River Catchment during 1975–2012. Long-term dynamic equilibrium alterations of pollutant discharge and water quality were found for TN and TP at the first time in the Brisbane River. The investigated term was found to be divided into two phases, 1975–2001 and 2001–2012 for TN, and 1975–2007 and 2005–2012 for TP. Both pollutant discharges and pollutant concentrations in the river were smaller in Phase 2 than Phase 1. Based on the relationships in the three rivers, a hypothesis on pollutant discharge and water quality from “better” to “worse” river water environment was presented that rapid and/or excess pollutant discharge increases cause perturbation or dynamic equilibrium alterations with the basal relationships as the linear relationships.     

On the disposition of a phosphorylated protein (“synapsin I”) and its associated kinases in synaptosomes from rat brain

Endogenous phosphorylation of synapsin I (protein I), a phosphoprotein located on the surface of synaptic vesicles, was studied in vesicles prepared from synaptosomes lysed in the absence (control) or presence of 50 M-cyclic AMP (cAMP-treated). Compared to synaptic plasma membrane (SPM) fractions prepared in parallel, and confirming previous work, the vesicle fractions were highly enriched on a unit protein basis in Ca²⁺-calmodulin-dependent kinase activity towards synapsin I. In contrast, with control vesicles the magnitude of the total phosphorylation of synapsin I in the presence of cyclic AMP was similar to that observed in SPM, but regulation by cyclic AMP was only partial. In cAMP-treated vesicles, however, synapsin I phosphorylation was highly enriched compared to SPM and the activity was virtually independent of cyclic AMP. The results show that while the free catalytic subunit of the cyclic AMP-dependent kinase remains associated with synapsin I during vesicle isolation the holoenzyme remains bound to membrane fragments, probably through its regulatory subunit.Dedicated to Henry McIlwain.     

Infection Density Dynamics of the Citrus Greening Bacterium “Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus” in Field Populations of the Psyllid Diaphorina citri and Its Relevance to the Efficiency of Pathogen Transmission to Citrus Plants

Huanglongbing, or citrus greening, is a devastating disease of citrus plants recently spreading worldwide, which is caused by an uncultivable bacterial pathogen, “Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus,” and vectored by a phloem-sucking insect, Diaphorina citri. We investigated the infection density dynamics of “Ca. Liberibacter asiaticus” in field populations of D. citri with experiments using field-collected insects to address how “Ca. Liberibacter asiaticus” infection density in the vector insect is relevant to pathogen transmission to citrus plants. Of 500 insects continuously collected from “Ca. Liberibacter asiaticus”-infected citrus trees with pathological symptoms in the spring and autumn of 2009, 497 (99.4%) were “Ca. Liberibacter asiaticus” positive. The infections were systemic across head-thorax and abdomen, ranging from 10³ to 10⁷ bacteria per insect. In spring, the infection densities were low in March, at ∼10³ bacteria per insect, increasing up to 10⁶ to 10⁷ bacteria per insect in April and May, and decreasing to 10⁵ to 10⁶ bacteria per insect in late May, whereas the infection densities were constantly ∼10⁶ to 10⁷ bacteria per insect in autumn. Statistical analysis suggested that several factors, such as insect sex, host trees, and collection dates, may be correlated with “Ca. Liberibacter asiaticus” infection densities in field D. citri populations. Inoculation experiments with citrus seedlings using field-collected “Ca. Liberibacter asiaticus”-infected insects suggested that (i) “Ca. Liberibacter asiaticus”-transmitting insects tend to exhibit higher infection densities than do nontransmitting insects, (ii) a threshold level (∼10⁶ bacteria per insect) of “Ca. Liberibacter asiaticus” density in D. citri is required for successful transmission to citrus plants, and (iii) D. citri attaining the threshold infection level transmits “Ca. Liberibacter asiaticus” to citrus plants in a stochastic manner. These findings provide valuable insights into understanding, predicting, and controlling this notorious citrus pathogen.     

Evaluation of “Classic” and Emerging Contaminants Resulting from the Application of Biosolids to Agricultural Lands: A Review

The presence of detectable amounts of contaminants in treated sewage sludge (concentrations μg/kg – mg/kg) has led to concerns that land applications of biosolids may result in an accumulation of contaminants in the soil and their subsequent translocation through the food chain. Despite advances in wastewater management (e.g., anaerobic, thermophilic, and mesophilic digestion), many compounds and their metabolites remain intact following treatment. This review looks at the main risk factors relating to the occurrence of “classic” (persistent organic pollutants [POPs]) and emerging pollutants (pharmaceuticals and personal care products) in biosolids. Relevant EU legislation and risk assessment strategies for the control of emerging contaminants are also considered. Organic pollutants regulated under the Stockholm Convention on POPs along with PPCPs were identified as contaminants of concern based on the risk factors: persistence, bioaccumulation, and toxicity (PBT). PPCPs were recognized as being of particular concern as their high transformation/removal rates are compensated by their continuous introduction into the environment. This study highlights the growing concern in relation to emerging contaminants in biosolids and highlights risk assessment strategies that can be used to characterize potential human/environmental risks.     

Systematic Evaluation of “Compliance” to Prescribed Treatment Medications and “Abstinence” from Psychoactive Drug Abuse in Chemical Dependence Programs: Data from the Comprehensive Analysis of Reported Drugs

This is the first quantitative analysis of data from urine drug tests for compliance to treatment medications and abstinence from drug abuse across “levels of care” in six eastern states of America. Comprehensive Analysis of Reported Drugs (CARD) data was used in this post-hoc retrospective observational study from 10,570 patients, filtered to include a total of 2,919 patients prescribed at least one treatment medication during 2010 and 2011. The first and last urine samples (5,838 specimens) were analyzed; compliance to treatment medications and abstinence from drugs of abuse supported treatment effectiveness for many. Compared to non-compliant patients, compliant patients were marginally less likely to abuse opioids, cannabinoids, and ethanol during treatment although more likely to abuse benzodiazepines. Almost 17% of the non-abstinent patients used benzodiazepines, 15% used opiates, and 10% used cocaine during treatment. Compliance was significantly higher in residential than in the non-residential treatment facilities. Independent of level of care, 67.2% of the patients (n = 1963; P<.001) had every treatment medication found in both first and last urine specimens (compliance). In addition, 39.2% of the patients (n = 1143; P<.001) had no substance of abuse detected in either the first or last urine samples (abstinence). Moreover, in 2010, 16.9% of the patients (n = 57) were abstinent at first but not at last urine (deteriorating abstinence), the percentage dropped to 13.3% (n = 174) in 2011; this improvement over years was statistically significant. A longitudinal analysis for abstinence and compliance was studied in a randomized subset from 2011, (n = 511) representing 17.5% of the total cohort. A statistically significant upward trend (p = 2.353×10⁻⁸) of abstinence rates as well as a similar but stronger trend for compliance ((p = 2.200×10⁻¹⁶) was found. Being cognizant of the trend toward drug urine testing being linked to medical necessity eliminating abusive screening, the interpretation of these valuable results require further intensive investigation.     

Reply and explanation to Little et al. “Response to: On the choice of methodology for evaluating dose‑rate effects on radiation‑related cancer risks”

Radiation and Environmental Biophysics -     

The controversial biography of Paolo Boccone (1633–1704) and his “Grand Tour” from the Mediterranean to northern Europe

Paolo Boccone (1633–1704), a Sicilian botanist of the second half of the seventeenth century, was a figure who still arouses interest in the emblematic character of his scientific experience, which is connected with a personal history that is still in many ways mysterious and unexplored. Elements which help us understand the complexity of the character and the cultural and material difficulties that he had to face are to be found in his works. They have allowed us to build up a picture of his tireless activity as a traveller and his active presence in the majority of European cultural centres of the time.     

Taxonomic review of the lace bug genus Omoplax (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Tingidae) endemic to “Oriental Galapagos” (the Ogasawara Islands,Japan) with the description of its new allied genus and species

In this study, we revise the lace bugs (family Tingidae) from the Ogasawara Islands, Japan (also known as the “Oriental Galapagos”). Three species belonging to two endemic genera are recognized: Acanthomoplax tomokunii gen. et sp. nov. , Omoplax desecta (Horváth, 1912), and O. majorcarinae Guilbert, 2001. A key to species is provided to facilitate the identification of Ogasawaran lace bugs.