Dutch Consumers’ Willingness to Pay for Broiler Welfare

This article analyzes Dutch consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for the welfare of broiler chickens and the consequences for nonhuman animal welfare policies. Using data from a discrete-choice experiment and a random parameter logit model, this study showed that consumers particularly value opportunities for outdoor access and the method used for anesthesia before slaughter. The WTP was also positively related to the number of consumers buying the same product, indicating that they experience the public-good dilemma. Moreover, the WTP was higher if consumers knew that animal welfare practices were subject to public or collective supervision. Women, people with more education, those with higher income, and nonreligious people had relatively high WTP values. For 87.5% of the respondents, the WTP exceeded the price difference between a broiler with a higher level of animal welfare and a regular chicken. The findings suggest that the Dutch market for broiler chickens can be improved by raising consumer confidence in the labeling system.     

The Influence of Diverse Values,Ecological Structure,and Geographic Context on Residents’ Multifaceted Landscaping Decisions

Previous research has examined the influence of values on human-ecological decisions, yet disparate approaches render inferences across studies difficult. In this paper, we present a robust conceptualization of values, encompassing general life values, broad-based environmental orientations, and specific yard priorities, while comparatively examining how these influence residents’ land-management practices. Coupling a social survey with observational field data in Phoenix, Arizona, we address how 1) diverse values affect residents’ multifaceted landscaping practices, 2) yard structure impacts water and chemical applications, and 3) land management varies across distinctive geographic contexts. Overall, values were not strongly related to land management decisions. Of those that were significant, most were related to groundcover and herbicide use. Yet diverse environmental values influenced landscaping practices in varying and complex ways. In addition, the historic and socioeconomic setting of neighborhoods affect the extent of lawns and related management inputs, while heightened use of pesticides in rock-based, drought-tolerant yards challenges the notion of these lawn alternatives as an environmentally friendly and low maintenance choice.     

The Influence of Photoperiod,Light Starting Time and Type of Food on Plodia interpunctella (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)’s Fecundity and Longevity

Biology Bulletin - Plodia interpunctella (Hübner) dried fruit moth was used in this study. The influence of photoperiod, light starting time and type of food on P. interpunctella’s...     

The Influence of Individual and Team Cognitive Ability on Operators’ Task and Safety Performance: A Multilevel Field Study in Nuclear Power Plants

While much research has investigated the predictors of operators’ performance such as personality, attitudes and motivation in high-risk industries, its cognitive antecedents and boundary conditions have not been fully investigated. Based on a multilevel investigation of 312 nuclear power plant main control room operators from 50 shift teams, the present study investigated how general mental ability (GMA) at both individual and team level can influence task and safety performance. At the individual level, operators’ GMA was predictive of their task and safety performance and this trend became more significant as they accumulated more experience. At the team level, we found team GMA had positive influences on all three performance criteria. However, we also found a “big-fish-little-pond” effect insofar as team GMA had a relatively smaller effect and inhibited the contribution of individual GMA to workers’ extra-role behaviors (safety participation) compared to its clear beneficial influence on in-role behaviors (task performance and safety compliance). The possible mechanisms related to learning and social comparison processes are discussed.     

Factors That Influence a Mother’s Willingness to Preserve Umbilical Cord Blood: A Survey of 5120 Chinese Mothers

Background

Umbilical Cord blood (UCB), which contains a substantive number of stem cells, could be widely used in transplants to treat a variety of oncologic, genetic, hematologic, and immunodeficiency disorders. However, only a small portion of mothers preserve or donate their UCB in China. The limited availability of UCB has hampered stem cell research and therapy nowadays. To date, no systemic investigations regarding factors that influence a mother’s willingness to preserve UCB have been performed in China. In the current study, we are trying to determine those factors which will provide useful information for national health policy development and will raise awareness of the importance of UCB preservation.

Methods

During 2011 to 2013, 5120 mothers with the average age of 26.1±8.4 years were included in this study. Those mothers participated in a standardized survey. The information gathered consisted of delivery time, occupation, level of education, knowledge of preservation of UCB, willingness to store UCB, and related concerns. The results have been analyzed with SPSS 16.0.

Results

The results showed that first-time mothers showed a greater willingness to preserve their UCB (73.3%) compared to those having their second (48.9%) or third child (40.3%). Mothers who were employed at Government Agencies and Organizations were more willing to preserve their UCB (87.3%) than those employed at factories (62.0%), and those who were unemployed (27.3%). Mothers holding master’s or college degrees were more willing to preserve their UCB (72.5% and 71.1%, respectively) than mothers with high school diplomas (48.7%) or those who only went to preliminary school or middle school (40.7%). The two strongest factors that influenced an unwillingness to preserve UCB were the high cost and concerns regarding the safety of the preservation.

Conclusions

The results showed that mothers with higher education or those having better occupations are more likely to preserve their UCB in China. These mothers have related knowledge and understand the importance of the preservation and they could more readily afford the relatively high cost. The government, clinicians and UCB banks should combine efforts to take measures, such as increasing public knowledge of the importance of UCB preservation and decreasing the high cost for its storage will most likely increase the frequency of UCB preservation which will further benefit stem cell research and therapy.     

The Symmetry of Children’s Knees Is Linked to Their Adult Sprinting Speed and Their Willingness to Sprint in a Long-Term Jamaican Study

Jamaican athletes are prominent in sprint running but the reasons for their success are not clear. Here we consider the possibility that symmetry, particularly symmetry of the legs, in Jamaican children is linked to high sprinting speed in adults. Our study population was a cohort of 288 rural children, mean age 8.2 (±1 SD = 1.7) years in 1996. Symmetry was measured in 1996 and 2006 from the fluctuating asymmetry (FA) of three lower-body traits and we constructed a lower body composite FA trait (Comp lb-FA). In 2010 we measured sprinting speed (for 90 m and 180 m races) in participants recruited from our original cohort. There were 163 untrained adults in our sample. We found: (i) high Comp lb and knee symmetry in 1996 and 2006 were linked to fast sprinting times in our 2010 runners and (ii) our sample of sprinters appears to have self-selected for greater symmetry. We conclude that high knee symmetry in childhood is linked to an ability to sprint fast in adult Jamaicans as well as a readiness to sprint.     

Can Patient Safety Incident Reports Be Used to Compare Hospital Safety? Results from a Quantitative Analysis of the English National Reporting and Learning System Data

Background

The National Reporting and Learning System (NRLS) collects reports about patient safety incidents in England. Government regulators use NRLS data to assess the safety of hospitals. This study aims to examine whether annual hospital incident reporting rates can be used as a surrogate indicator of individual hospital safety. Secondly assesses which hospital characteristics are correlated with high incident reporting rates and whether a high reporting hospital is safer than those lower reporting hospitals. Finally, it assesses which health-care professionals report more incidents of patient harm, which report more near miss incidents and what hospital factors encourage reporting. These findings may suggest methods for increasing the utility of reporting systems.

Methods

This study used a mix methods approach for assessing NRLS data. The data were investigated using Pareto analysis and regression models to establish which patients are most vulnerable to reported harm. Hospital factors were correlated with institutional reporting rates over one year to examine what factors influenced reporting. Staff survey findings regarding hospital safety culture were correlated with reported rates of incidents causing harm; no harm and death to understand what barriers influence error disclosure.

Findings

5,879,954 incident reports were collected from acute hospitals over the decade. 70.3% of incidents produced no harm to the patient and 0.9% were judged by the reporter to have caused severe harm or death. Obstetrics and Gynaecology reported the most no harm events [OR 1.61(95%CI: 1.12 to 2.27), p<0.01] and pharmacy was the hospital location where most near-misses were captured [OR 3.03(95%CI: 2.04 to 4.55), p<0.01]. Clinicians were significantly more likely to report death than other staff [OR 3.04(95%CI: 2.43 to 3.80) p<0.01]. A higher ratio of clinicians to beds correlated with reduced rate of harm reported [RR = -1.78(95%Cl: -3.33 to -0.23), p = 0.03]. Litigation claims per bed were significantly negatively associated with incident reports. Patient satisfaction and mortality outcomes were not significantly associated with reporting rates. Staff survey responses revealed that keeping reports confidential, keeping staff informed about incidents and giving feedback on safety initiatives increased reporting rates [r = 0.26 (p<0.01), r = 0.17 (p = 0.04), r = 0.23 (p = 0.01), r = 0.20 (p = 0.02)].

Conclusion

The NRLS is the largest patient safety reporting system in the world. This study did not demonstrate many hospital characteristics to significantly influence overall reporting rate. There were no association between size of hospital, number of staff, mortality outcomes or patient satisfaction outcomes and incident reporting rate. The study did show that hospitals where staff reported more incidents had reduced litigation claims and when clinician staffing is increased fewer incidents reporting patient harm are reported, whilst near misses remain the same. Certain specialties report more near misses than others, and doctors report more harm incidents than near misses. Staff survey results showed that open environments and reduced fear of punitive response increases incident reporting. We suggest that reporting rates should not be used to assess hospital safety. Different healthcare professionals focus on different types of safety incidents and focusing on these areas whilst creating a responsive, confidential learning environment will increase staff engagement with error disclosure.     

Willingness to Consult a Veterinarian on Physician’s Advice for Zoonotic Diseases: A Formal Role for Veterinarians in Medicine?

Physicians appear to find zoonotic diseases a challenge and consider that this topic belongs more to the veterinary profession. However, veterinarians have no formal role in clinical medicine. Data were collected as part of the Queensland Social Survey 2014 to determine the willingness of the public, if diagnosed with a zoonotic disease, to consult a veterinarian on the advice of a physician. Self-reported willingness to consult with a veterinarian at the respondent’s own expense was 79.8% (95% CI: 81.96%-77.46%) (976/1223). If the cost was funded by Medicare, the Australian public health insurance scheme, 90.7% (95% CI: 92.18%-88.92%) (1109/1223) would be willing to consult a veterinarian. Therefore, a large majority of Australian residents would be willing to consult with a veterinarian on the advice of their physician if they had a zoonotic disease. Does this indicate a possible new role for veterinarians under Clinical One Health?     

The Role of Latin America’s Land and Water Resources for Global Food Security: Environmental Trade-Offs of Future Food Production Pathways

One of humanity’s major challenges of the 21st century will be meeting future food demands on an increasingly resource constrained-planet. Global food production will have to rise by 70 percent between 2000 and 2050 to meet effective demand which poses major challenges to food production systems. Doing so without compromising environmental integrity is an even greater challenge. This study looks at the interdependencies between land and water resources, agricultural production and environmental outcomes in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), an area of growing importance in international agricultural markets. Special emphasis is given to the role of LAC’s agriculture for (a) global food security and (b) environmental sustainability. We use the International Model for Policy Analysis of Agricultural Commodities and Trade (IMPACT)—a global dynamic partial equilibrium model of the agricultural sector—to run different future production scenarios, and agricultural trade regimes out to 2050, and assess changes in related environmental indicators. Results indicate that further trade liberalization is crucial for improving food security globally, but that it would also lead to more environmental pressures in some regions across Latin America. Contrasting land expansion versus more intensified agriculture shows that productivity improvements are generally superior to agricultural land expansion, from an economic and environmental point of view. Finally, our analysis shows that there are trade-offs between environmental and food security goals for all agricultural development paths.     

Influence of Vectors’ Risk-Spreading Strategies and Environmental Stochasticity on the Epidemiology and Evolution of Vector-Borne Diseases: The Example of Chagas’ Disease

Insects are known to display strategies that spread the risk of encountering unfavorable conditions, thereby decreasing the extinction probability of genetic lineages in unpredictable environments. To what extent these strategies influence the epidemiology and evolution of vector-borne diseases in stochastic environments is largely unknown. In triatomines, the vectors of the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, the etiological agent of Chagas’ disease, juvenile development time varies between individuals and such variation most likely decreases the extinction risk of vector populations in stochastic environments. We developed a simplified multi-stage vector-borne SI epidemiological model to investigate how vector risk-spreading strategies and environmental stochasticity influence the prevalence and evolution of a parasite. This model is based on available knowledge on triatomine biodemography, but its conceptual outcomes apply, to a certain extent, to other vector-borne diseases. Model comparisons between deterministic and stochastic settings led to the conclusion that environmental stochasticity, vector risk-spreading strategies (in particular an increase in the length and variability of development time) and their interaction have drastic consequences on vector population dynamics, disease prevalence, and the relative short-term evolution of parasite virulence. Our work shows that stochastic environments and associated risk-spreading strategies can increase the prevalence of vector-borne diseases and favor the invasion of more virulent parasite strains on relatively short evolutionary timescales. This study raises new questions and challenges in a context of increasingly unpredictable environmental variations as a result of global climate change and human interventions such as habitat destruction or vector control.     

The effects of preservation procedures on amniotic membrane’s ability to serve as a substrate for cultivation of endothelial cells

Amniotic membrane (AM) has been used as a scaffold for the ex vivo expansion of different types of cells and a cell delivery matrix in regenerative medicine. Since the preservation procedures can influence the AM properties for experimental and clinical purposes, this study was established to investigate the feasibility of using the AM after different preservation methods to serve as substrates for endothelial cell expansion ex vivo. The effects of cryopreservation and lyophilization were evaluated on mechanical and histological characteristics of the AM, and the results were compared with the fresh AM. The ECM components of the basement membrane were well conserved in all groups. Although lyophilization resulted in more histological changes and lower level of physical variables including thickness, F_max, elongation at break and suture retention than the fresh and cryopreserved AM, endothelial cells grown on the lyophilized AM were better attached to the basement membrane. Cytotoxicity assay by MTT showed that the lyophilized AM is a compatible substrate for endothelial cells cultivation. The findings of this study suggest that the lyophilized AM is a suitable matrix for cultivation of endothelial cells due to this fact that lyophilization led to exposure of basement membrane of the AM.     

The effect of hands-on activities on children’s knowledge and disgust for animals

Research has shown that hands-on activities in biology/science education tend to improve children’s attitudes towards science. These hands-on activities can influence children’s interest in various ways, perhaps because they invoke varying emotions. We used a sample of 10–12-year-old children (n = 142) to examine the effect of hands-on activities with living snails on children’s achievements and disgust sensitivity. Children with living snails received significantly higher knowledge scores about snails measured with both a knowledge test and with analyses of drawings as compared with control children who received a traditional lecture without living snails. Disgust sensitivity was significantly lower in the experimental group and children who scored higher on the disgust scale received a lower knowledge test score. It would seem that the emotion of disgust negatively correlates with achievement.     

The midpoint of sleep on working days: A measure for chronodisruption and its association to individuals’ well-being

There is consistent evidence suggesting a relationship between individuals’ sleep–wake rhythms and well-being. The indiscriminate demands from daily working routines, which do not respect this individual physiological rhythm, might be mediating this phenomenon. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the relationship between the characteristics of sleep routines during working days and psychological well-being. This was a cross-sectional study on 825 individuals from rural communities from southern Brazil. The study protocol included a questionnaire on demographic characteristics, working routines, health complaints, and habits; the Munich Chronotype Questionnaire for sleep–wake rhythm and; the WHO-Five well-being index. Since sex has been shown to affect sleep circadian rhythm and well-being, analysis was performed on men and women separately. In the proposed hierarchical regression models, different factors contributed to well-being according to sex. Among men, sleep–wake and work-related variables did not predict well-being scores. Among women, later midpoints of sleep on working days (B?=??1.243, SE B?=?0.315, β?=??0.220), working more days per week (B?=??1.507, SE B?=?0.494, β?=?0.150), having longer working journeys (B?=??0.293, SE B?=?0.105, β?=??0.166), earlier working journey midpoints (B?=?0.465, SE B?=?0.222, β?=?0.115), and being exposed to less sunlight (B?=?0.140, SE B?=?0.064, β?=?0.103) predicted worse well-being. For the subgroup of women with days free from work, we have found a correlation between later midpoints of sleep during the week with worse well-being (Pearson’s r?=??0.159, p?=?0.045) while the same relationship was not significantly observed with the midpoint of sleep on non-working days (Pearson’s r?=??0.153, p?=?0.054). Considering WHO-Five as categorical, based on proposed clinical cut-offs, among women working 7-d/week, those with worst well-being (WHO-Five?<?13) had the latest midpoint of sleep (F?=?4.514, p?=?0.012). Thus, the midpoint of sleep on working days represents the interaction between individuals’ sleep–wake behavior and working routines. It plays an important role as a stress factor and may be a useful alternative variable related to chronodisruption.     

The Influence of Ionizing Radiation on Proneness to Audiogenic Seizure and Behavior in Krushinsky–Molodkina Rats

Biophysics - We studied the effects of whole body gamma-radiation (4 Gy, dose rate 0.6 Gy/min) and proton-beam head irradiation (with an energy of 150 meV, 4 Gy and a dose rate of 0.8 Gy/min) on...     

The Impact of Increased Food Availability on Reproduction in a Long-Distance Migratory Songbird: Implications for Environmental Change?

Many populations of migratory songbirds are declining or shifting in distribution. This is likely due to environmental changes that alter factors such as food availability that may have an impact on survival and/or breeding success. We tested the impact of experimentally supplemented food on the breeding success over three years of northern wheatears (Oenanthe oenanthe), a species in decline over much of Europe. The number of offspring fledged over the season was higher for food-supplemented birds than for control birds. The mechanisms for this effect were that food supplementation advanced breeding date, which, together with increased resources, allowed further breeding attempts. While food supplementation did not increase the clutch size, hatching success or number of chicks fledged per breeding attempt, it did increase chick size in one year of the study. The increased breeding success was greater for males than females; males could attempt to rear simultaneous broods with multiple females as well as attempting second broods, whereas females could only increase their breeding effort via second broods. Multiple brooding is rare in the study population, but this study demonstrates the potential for changes in food availability to affect wheatear breeding productivity, primarily via phenotypic flexibility in the number of breeding attempts. Our results have implications for our understanding of how wheatears may respond to natural changes in food availability due to climate changes or changes in habitat management.     

Influence of method of application of paclobutrazol on soil residues and growth retardation in a ‘Starkrimson-Delicious’ apple orchard

A 3-year field study was conducted to determine the influence of mode of application of the gibberellin-inhibitor paclobutrazol (PP333), [(2RS,3RS)-1-(4-chlorophenyl)-4,4-dimethyl-2-(1,2,4 triazol-1-yl)pentan-3-ol], on PP333 soil residue levels and vegetative growth retardation of 10-year-old Starkrimson Delicious (Malus Domestica Borkh.) spur-type apple trees. Treatments were applied in March, 1986 and consisted of foliar or soil sprays (200 ppm, 7 × applications at petal fall (+) 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 weeks) or a single soil drench (8.2 g A.I./tree) applied to the collar at petal fall. Foliar sprays were applied with and without a plastic ground cover to evaluate the influence of foliar runoff on the degree of soil absorption and its subsequent effect on vegetative growth. PP333 was extracted over a 3 year period (1986–88) from 400 cm² soil patches located at the drip line of each tree, with the exception of soil drenches which were sampled near the collar. PP333 soil extracts were purified and quantitatively analyzed by HPLC. PP333 soil residue levels following foliar sprays were comparable to the soil spray treatment for each year and decreased at a rate of 50% per year from 1986–1988. Foliar sprays retarded terminal growth in the year of application, whereas the soil spray did not inhibit growth until the following year. PP333 residue levels were highest in the soil drench where growth retardation was evident in 1987 and 1988. The greatest carry-over effect occurred in the soil treatments, especially the soil drench application which resulted in the highest soil residue rates throughout the 3 year period.     

What Should I Eat and Why? The Environmental,Genetic, and Behavioral Determinants of Food Choice: Summary from a Pennington Scientific Symposium

This review details the proceedings of a Pennington Biomedical scientific symposium titled, “What Should I Eat and Why? The Environmental, Genetic, and Behavioral Determinants of Food Choice.” The symposium was designed to review the literature about energy homeostasis, particularly related to food choice and feeding behaviors, from psychology to physiology. This review discusses the intrinsic determinants of food choice, including biological mechanisms (genetics), peripheral and central signals, brain correlates, and the potential role of the microbiome. This review also address the extrinsic determinants (environment) of food choice within our physical and social environments. Finally, this review reports the current treatment practices for the clinical management of eating‐induced overweight and obesity. An improved understanding of these determinants will inform best practices for the clinical treatment and prevention of obesity. Strategies paired with systemic shifts in our public health policies and changes in our “obesogenic” environment will be most effective at attenuating the obesity epidemic.     

The Influence of Data Resolution on Predicted Distribution and Estimates of Extent of Current Protection of Three ‘Listed’ Deep-Sea Habitats

Modelling approaches have the potential to significantly contribute to the spatial management of the deep-sea ecosystem in a cost effective manner. However, we currently have little understanding of the accuracy of such models, developed using limited data, of varying resolution. The aim of this study was to investigate the performance of predictive models constructed using non-simulated (real world) data of different resolution. Predicted distribution maps for three deep-sea habitats were constructed using MaxEnt modelling methods using high resolution multibeam bathymetric data and associated terrain derived variables as predictors. Model performance was evaluated using repeated 75/25 training/test data partitions using AUC and threshold-dependent assessment methods. The overall extent and distribution of each habitat, and the percentage contained within an existing MPA network were quantified and compared to results from low resolution GEBCO models. Predicted spatial extent for scleractinian coral reef and Syringammina fragilissima aggregations decreased with an increase in model resolution, whereas Pheronema carpenteri total suitable area increased. Distinct differences in predicted habitat distribution were observed for all three habitats. Estimates of habitat extent contained within the MPA network all increased when modelled at fine scale. High resolution models performed better than low resolution models according to threshold-dependent evaluation. We recommend the use of high resolution multibeam bathymetry data over low resolution bathymetry data for use in modelling approaches. We do not recommend the use of predictive models to produce absolute values of habitat extent, but likely areas of suitable habitat. Assessments of MPA network effectiveness based on calculations of percentage area protection (policy driven conservation targets) from low resolution models are likely to be fit for purpose.