Search

To analyse consumers' attitudes and perceptions towards pork, online surveys were performed with 11,294 consumers from ten European Union (EU) and four non-EU countries. The survey indicates that, although animal welfare affects consumers' view on pork, it is not consumers' primary concern. For most countries, the ranking order of food motives was health and natural, sensory quality, price, and animal welfare. The ranking order for pork production preferences was quality and health, environmental and animal friendliness, regional identity, and production efficiency. A choice experiment, conducted for four countries: Denmark, France, Italy, and Poland, showed that natural was the most important factor, followed by health, taste, animals' pain and stress, costs, and pharmaceutical interventions. Four consumer segments were identified: Demanding, Average, Low-on-eco, and Indifferent. Although the percentage shares of these groups differ in each country, we conclude that consumer consumption motives and production preferences are sufficiently similar to include them as communicative elements in marketing strategies for meat from non-castrated pigs., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

A consumer study was performed in four EU countries to further clarify the acceptability of meat with boar taint. In Denmark, France, Italy and Poland, a total of 476 female consumers evaluated 8 meat patties from boars with varying levels of skatole (0.10-0.40μg/g fat tissue) and androstenone (0.47-2.00 μg/g fat tissue), in a pair-wise comparison with patties from castrates. Boar meat patties were always less preferred than the castrate meat patties, regardless of the level of androstenone and skatole. Acceptability of the boar meat patties decreased with increasing skatole level. In samples with low skatole levels, higher levels of androstenone also reduced acceptability among androstenone sensitive consumers. No clear threshold levels for androstenone and skatole could be identified. Maps presenting the reduction in preference due to increasing levels of skatole and androstenone, and corrected for the general acceptance of the meat product were developed, taking into account androstenone sensitivity. Further work is needed, covering the whole range of androstenone and skatole levels found in entire male pigs and for a wider set of meat products., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Inertial modes are the eigenmodes of contained rotating fluids restored by the Coriolis force. When the fluid is incompressible, inviscid, and contained in a rigid container, these modes satisfy Poincaré's equation that has the peculiarity of being hyperbolic with boundary conditions. Inertial modes are, therefore, solutions of an ill-posed boundary-value problem. In this paper, we investigate the mathematical side of this problem. We first show that the Poincaré problem can be formulated in the Hilbert space of square-integrable functions, with no hypothesis on the continuity or the differentiability of velocity fields. We observe that with this formulation, the Poincaré operator is bounded and self-adjoint, and as such, its spectrum is the union of the point spectrum (the set of eigenvalues) and the continuous spectrum only. When the fluid volume is an ellipsoid, we show that the inertial modes form a complete base of polynomial velocity fields for the square-integrable velocity fields defined over the ellipsoid and meeting the boundary conditions. If the ellipsoid is axisymmetric, then the base can be identified with the set of Poincaré modes, first obtained by Bryan [Philos. Trans. R. Soc. London 180, 187 (1889)PTRMAD1364-503X10.1098/rsta.1889.0006], and completed with the geostrophic modes.

The aim of this work was to study the sensitivity of Chinese and Russian female consumers to androstenone and skatole and to identify their preference for pork patties from entire male pigs compared with those from castrated pigs. One-hundred-twenty women in each country were enrolled. The sensitivity of the consumers to both compounds was tested using smell strips and triangular tests. Pairwise tests were performed comparing patties from castrated male pigs with patties from boars with different levels of androstenone and skatole. Approximately 70% of the Russian and 60% of the Chinese consumers were sensitive to skatole and 37% and 32% were sensitive to androstenone, respectively. Nevertheless, a higher percentage of sensitive Russian consumers compared to Chinese consumers disliked the smell of both compounds. In Russia, the consumers' preferences were higher for patties with low levels of both compounds, while no differences were found in China. In both countries, consumers who were sensitive to skatole also preferred patties with low levels of both compounds. Thus, the levels of androstenone and skatole affect boar patty preferences., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Animal acoustic communication often takes the form of complex sequences, made up of multiple distinct acoustic units. Apart from the well-known example of birdsong, other animals such as insects, amphibians, and mammals (including bats, rodents, primates, and cetaceans) also generate complex acoustic sequences. Occasionally, such as with birdsong, the adaptive role of these sequences seems clear (e.g. mate attraction and territorial defence). More often however, researchers have only begun to characterise - let alone understand - the significance and meaning of acoustic sequences. Hypotheses abound, but there is little agreement as to how sequences should be defined and analysed. Our review aims to outline suitable methods for testing these hypotheses, and to describe the major limitations to our current and near-future knowledge on questions of acoustic sequences. This review and prospectus is the result of a collaborative effort between 43 scientists from the fields of animal behaviour, ecology and evolution, signal processing, machine learning, quantitative linguistics, and information theory, who gathered for a 2013 workshop entitled, 'Analysing vocal sequences in animals'. Our goal is to present not just a review of the state of the art, but to propose a methodological framework that summarises what we suggest are the best practices for research in this field, across taxa and across disciplines. We also provide a tutorial-style introduction to some of the most promising algorithmic approaches for analysing sequences. We divide our review into three sections: identifying the distinct units of an acoustic sequence, describing the different ways that information can be contained within a sequence, and analysing the structure of that sequence. Each of these sections is further subdivided to address the key questions and approaches in that area. We propose a uniform, systematic, and comprehensive approach to studying sequences, with the goal of clarifying research terms used in different fields, and facilitating collaboration and comparative studies. Allowing greater interdisciplinary collaboration will facilitate the investigation of many important questions in the evolution of communication and sociality., (© 2014 Cambridge Philosophical Society.)

We report a case of AIDS-related Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) with Primary Effusion Lymphoma (PEL) in a 28-year-old, African American male. Kaposi's sarcoma is an AIDS defining disease and typically will disseminate early in the course of the disease affecting the skin, mucous membranes, gastrointestinal tract, lymph nodes, and lungs. This case reports an unusual presentation of the disease along with primary effusion lymphoma. Although the most common organ systems affected by KS are the respiratory and the gastrointestinal systems, the lungs of this patient did not show any evidence of KS. Additionally, the patient demonstrates the rarely seen liver and unique pancreatic involvement by KS along with unusual synchronous bilateral pleural and peritoneal cavity involvement by PEL, adding to the distinct pattern of invasive AIDS-related Kaposi's sarcoma.

For Dutch fattening pig farms, this study explored (1) farmers' perceptions towards animal disease risks and animal health risk management; (2) factors underlying farmers' adoption of the two risk management strategies, namely, biosecurity measures and animal health programs. The risks included endemic and epidemic diseases. Data were obtained through a questionnaire (n=164). A behavioral model was developed using the Health Belief Model and tested using structural equation modeling. Endemic and epidemic diseases were regarded as an operational and catastrophic risk, respectively. Farmers considered severity of epidemics as slightly more important, compared to endemics. For both disease categories, farmers valued biosecurity measures as a more effective strategy than animal health programs. In the behavioral model, perceived benefits in terms of strategy efficacy was the strongest direct predictor of strategy adoption. Other behavioral components had a minor indirect effect, namely, via perceived benefits, and only in case of biosecurity measures. The indirect effect path did, however, vary per disease category. For endemics, such a path captured the effect of perceived susceptibility on perceived benefits mediated by perceived severity. For epidemics, it only captured the effect of perceived severity on perceived benefits. The results also revealed the importance of innate risk characteristics of farmers in their adoption decisions. In particular, general self-protection behavior directly contributed to decisions to adopt a certain strategy. The obtained knowledge highlights possible ways of improvement of programs aimed at promoting effective risk management strategies., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Liver lesion prevalence in slaughtered finishing pigs in the Netherlands remained relatively high from the mid-1990s until 2004, although sufficient measures existed to control the main cause, an infection with the roundworm Ascaris suum. In July 2004 a new incentive mechanism was installed to induce finishing pig producers to increase control of A. suum infections. This paper compares the effectiveness of two Dutch incentive mechanisms: a collective insurance - in place prior to July 2004 - and a reduction in producer payment for each delivered pig with a liver lesion - in place from July 2004. Liver inspection data of pigs slaughtered in 2003-2006 by a major Dutch slaughter company were analysed with an out-of-sample dynamic forecast test and non-parametric bootstrapping. Results showed that after introduction of the price reduction, mean liver lesion prevalence decreased from 9 to 5%. A reduced liver lesion prevalence ranging from 0 to 46 percentage points was observed on 67% of 1069 farms that delivered both during the insurance and the price reduction. The number of farms with a liver lesion prevalence of 5.0% or less increased from 52 to 68%. The price reduction for each pig with a liver lesion was a more effective incentive mechanism to induce finishing pig producers to control A. suum infections than the collective insurance.

This paper presents an analysis of a Salmonella control program for Dutch dairy herds. Salmonella control strategies were evaluated using a computer-based model consisting of an epidemiological module and an economics module. The epidemiological module is a state transition model of the infectivity of a herd, with the unit of analysis being the individual farm. The probability of a herd going from one state in the model to another state was derived from biological characteristics of Salmonella infections in dairy herds, and the presence or absence of risk factors. The economics module was based on partial budgeting. Control measures were modeled as influencing the risk factors. Amongst the measures considered were the prohibition of transporting potentially infectious animals and manure to farms, the culling of chronically infected animals, and herd management measures such as separate housing of groups of animal that differ in age. Alternative strategies, both compulsory and obligatory, were defined and evaluated concerning the reduction of prevalence of infected herds, the cost of a strategy, and cost-effectiveness. Results of the model suggested that a compulsory control strategy which included culling chronically infected animals and prohibiting the transport of potentially infected animals reduces the prevalence of Salmonella positive herds considerably, and was most cost-effective. Adding hygienic measures and a ban on the transport of animal manure further reduces prevalence, but only slightly, and with substantially more costs.

The aim of this paper is to examine the environmental effects of pig production and possibilities at farm level to limit these effects. According to the 'EC Nitrate Directive' the application of animal manure should not exceed 170 kg N/ha. Supply of animal manure in the 12 European member states exceeds 170 kg N per ha, approximately 13% of the number of holdings. The production of nitrogen from animal manure at member state level exceeds 170 kg N/ha in Belgium and The Netherlands. The performance and mineral excretion per sow and per fattening pig on Dutch farms in 1995 were estimated using data from 362 sow farms and 631 farms with growing-finishing pigs. Average annual P(2)O(5) excretion per sow and per fattening pig amounted to 14.0 and 5.0 kg year(-1), respectively. Average annual N-excretion per sow and per fattening pig amounted to 30.8 and 13.1 kg/ year respectively. Observed differences between farms in annual mineral excretion per animal are large. Farms with low annual mineral excretion have better productivity figures. The possibilities of reducing the mineral excretion are mainly dependent on the onset of the situation. In many cases lowering the mineral content in the feed alone will not be sufficient. There are possibilities for reducing the mineral excretion level but it takes time to implement the appropriate measures and they are not feasible for all farms. The emission of ammonia from animals which is produced in the barn can only be reduced by allowing new housing systems that meet specific environmental requirements. The emission of ammonia can be diminished by reducing the emitting surface, the slurry temperature, the air movement above the emission surface, the N contents and the pH of the slurry. Over the last few years, low emission housing systems for each pig category have been developed.

Housing systems of sows have to meet the requirements of the sow and the requirements of the producer. Criteria that have to be taken into account are productivity, labor input and management, welfare and health, and economy. Different housing systems for sows are described with respect to these criteria.

Suppose P is a pth degree real polynomial function in n variables and f=PS(n-1) is the restriction of P to the unit sphere S(n-1) in R(n). Bernstein's inequality asserts that ([unk](0) (k)f)(2) + p(2)([unk](0) (k-1)f)(2) /= 1 and differentiation is with respect to arc length theta along any geodesic in S(n-1). We find the constant corresponding to p(2k) when parallelf parallelinfinity is replaced by parallelf parallel(2). One application is a condition on the coefficients of the expansion in surface spherical harmonics of any g: S(n-1) --> R, which condition suffices to assure that g is k times differentiable.