Gendered time in Swedish family farming

Purpose - The agricultural sector has undergone extensive changes in the 20-30 years since the peak academic debate on family farming. Still today, the understanding and concept of family farming has political implications in the processes of rural and agricultural policy. The purpose of this paper is to study the development of agrarian structure by analysing the gendered and family relations of family farming. Design/methodology/approach - This paper examines the concept of the family farm and its utilisation and diversity in the current Swedish agricultural sector from a gender perspective, using empirical data from the Farm Accountancy Data Network. The paper operationalises a situated agrarian typology and examines the gendered position and temporalities of family farms in Sweden, based on patterns of labour use. Findings - A workable, fruitful typology of the agrarian structure suitable for future comparative studies is revealed. It also demonstrates the gendered time in the farm labour process, the different temporalities involved and their interconnection between gender, family and various spheres. The spatial and geographical implications, as well as the increased dependence on family and hired labour in different farm types, are emphasised. Originality/value - The focus of this study contributes to the understanding of spatial-temporal relations of family farm business and organisation in general and in Sweden particularly. It also provides empirical basis for developing and gender mainstreaming rural and agricultural policies

High Energy Resolution-X-ray Absorption Near Edge Structure Spectroscopy Reveals Zn Ligation in Whole Cell Bacteria

Identifying the zinc (Zn) ligation and coordination environment in complex biological and environmental systems is crucial to understand the role of Zn as a biologically essential but sometimes toxic metal. Most studies on Zn coordination in biological or environmental samples rely on the extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) region of a Zn K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) spectrum. However, EXAFS analysis cannot identify unique nearest neighbors with similar atomic number (i.e., O versus N) and provides little information on Zn ligation. Herein, we demonstrate that high energy-resolution X-ray absorption near edge structure (HR-XANES) spectroscopy enables the direct determination of Zn ligation in whole cell bacteria, providing additional insights lost from EXAFS analysis at a fraction of the scan time and Zn concentration. HR-XANES is a relatively new technique that has improved our understanding of trace metals (e.g., Hg, Cu, and Ce) in dilute systems. This study is the first to show that HR-XANES can unambiguously detect Zn coordination to carboxyl, phosphoryl, imidazole, and/or thiol moieties in model microorganisms

Contributors to Surgical In-patient Satisfaction—Development and Reliability of a Targeted Instrument

ObjectivePatient satisfaction is an important indicator of healthcare system performance. High patient satisfaction is associated with greater trust in caregivers, improved compliance with treatment recommendations and a better quality of life (QOL). There are few validated instruments to measure surgical patients' satisfaction. The aim of this study was to develop a culturally-specific patient satisfaction instrument, for use as an outcome measure in evaluating surgical services.DesignPatient focus groups were convened to explore dimensions of the peri-operative hospital experience. Forums uncovered pertinent domains of interest and identified terminology understood by patients. A preliminary set of items reflecting patient satisfaction was developed. Test-retest reliability of a new surgical patient satisfaction instrument was assessed in 42 subjects at hospital discharge.ResultsDomains that emerged included; admission processes and hospital environment, information provision, nursing care, doctor and nurse interaction, and ancillary staff services. Staff attitudes and human qualities were highly valued, as was prompt attention to requests for assistance. Clarity or quality of medical information did not appear to influence in-patient satisfaction. A new measure of surgical patient satisfaction, Hong Kong Index of Inpatient Happiness (HK2Happ), was developed from focus group consultation. Test-retest generated an Intra Class Correlation of 0.868–0.935, indicating a highly stable tool.ConclusionsThe initial version of HK2Happ was reliable in assessing surgical patient satisfaction. The measure is now undergoing validity testing across different surgical patient populations for generalisation and generation of a short form of discriminant items

Uptake and speciation of zinc in edible plants grown in smelter contaminated soils

Heavy metal accumulation in edible plants grown in contaminated soils poses a major environmental risk to humans and grazing animals. This study focused on the concentration and speciation of Zn in different edible plants grown in soils contaminated with smelter wastes (Spelter, WV, USA) containing high levels of the metals Zn, Cu, Pb, Cd. Their accumulation was examined in different parts (roots, stem, and leaves) of plants and as a function of growth stage (dry seed, sprouting seed, cotyledon, and leaves) in the root vegetables radish, the leafy vegetable spinach and the legume clover. Although the accumulation of metals varied significantly with plant species, the average metal concentrations were [Zn] > [Pb] > [Cu] > [Cd]. Metal uptake studies were complemented with bulk and micro X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) at Zn K-edge and micro X-ray fluorescence (μXRF) measurements to evaluate the speciation and distribution of Zn in these plant species. Dynamic interplay between the histidine and malate complexation of Zn was observed in all plant species. XRF mapping of spinach leaves at micron spatial resolution demonstrated the accumulation of Zn in vacuoles and leaf tips. Radish root showed accumulation of Zn in root hairs, likely as ZnS nanoparticles. At locations of high Zn concentration in spinach leaves, μXANES suggests Zn complexation with histidine, as opposed to malate in the bulk leaf. These findings shed new light on the dynamic nature of Zn speciation in plants

Viabilité et financement des élevages d’aulacode (Thryonomys swinderianus) au Bénin

La catégorisation des aulacodicultures selon leur vulnérabilité est étudiée afin de faciliter leur financement au Bénin. Les aulacodicultures sélectionnées ont subi les analyses suivantes: l’établissement des classes de viabilité par une analyse en composantes principales et une analyse typologique; l’estimation de modèle d’affectation d’une aulacodiculture à sa classe de viabilité par l’analyse discriminante linéaire; la vérification de la performance du modèle afin de prévenir des défaillances financières. Selon un échantillonnage aléatoire et stratifié par département ¼ des aulacodicultures nationales est sélectionné. Trois classes de viabilité sont dégagées parmi les 108 aulacodicultures familiales et 2 classes parmi les 22 entreprises aulacodicoles. Pour le financement 44 aulacodicultures sont retenues. Les caractéristiques des classes montraient que la non-viabilité de l’aulacodiculture est due à des défaillances techniques et à une inefficacité économique. Le gradient de viabilité révélait que les entreprises aulacodicoles étaient plus techniques et rentables que les aulacodicultures familiales. Le taux d’erreur de classement était de 5% pour le modèle de viabilité des aulacodicultures familiales et de 0% pour celui des entreprises. Les deux types d’aulacodiculture, lorsqu’ils sont classés non-viables par les modèles correspondants, sont à financement risqué, et nécessitent, pour être viables, une longue durée de financement.Mots clés: Aulacodiculture; microcrédit; typologie des exploitations aulacodicoles; viabilité des exploitations agricoles; Béni

Peripheral Blood Leukocytes And Serum Nested Polymerase Chain Reaction Are Complementary Methods For Monitoring Active Cytomegalovirus Infection In Transplant Patients.

Human cytomegalovirus is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised patients. Qualitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has proven to be a sensitive and effective technique in defining active cytomegalovirus infection, in addition to having low cost and being a useful test for situations in which there is no need for quantification. Real-time PCR has the advantage of quantification; however, the high cost of this methodology makes it impractical for routine use. To apply a nested PCR assay to serum (sPCR) and to evaluate its efficiency to diagnose active cytomegalovirus infection compared with PCR of peripheral blood leukocytes (L-PCR). Samples of 37 patients were prospectively evaluated. An internal control was created and applied to sPCR to exclude false-negative results. In total, 21 patients (57%) developed active cytomegalovirus infection. After analyzing the two methods for the diagnosis of active infection, higher sensitivity and negative predictive value of the L-PCR versus sPCR (100% versus 62%), and higher specificity and positive predictive value of sPCR versus L-PCR (81% versus 50% and 72%, respectively) were observed. Discordant results were observed in 11 patients who were L-PCR-positive but sPCR-negative for active cytomegalovirus infection, five of whom developed clinical symptoms of cytomegalovirus. Clinical symptoms were observed in 14 patients, 12 of whom were diagnosed with active infection by nested L-PCR (P=0.007) and seven by nested sPCR (P=0.02). Higher specificity and a positive predictive value for sPCR were observed. Nested L-PCR and sPCR were considered to be complementary methods for the diagnosis and management of symptomatic cytomegalovirus infection.24e69-7

Auto-tracking system for human lumbar motion analysis

Previous lumbar motion analyses suggest the usefulness of quantitatively characterizing spine motion. However, the application of such measurements is still limited by the lack of user-friendly automatic spine motion analysis systems. This paper describes an automatic analysis system to measure lumbar spine disorders that consists of a spine motion guidance device, an X-ray imaging modality to acquire digitized video fluoroscopy (DVF) sequences and an automated tracking module with a graphical user interface (GUI). DVF sequences of the lumbar spine are recorded during flexion-extension under a guidance device. The automatic tracking software utilizing a particle filter locates the vertebra-of-interest in every frame of the sequence, and the tracking result is displayed on the GUI. Kinematic parameters are also extracted from the tracking results for motion analysis. We observed that, in a bone model test, the maximum fiducial error was 3.7%, and the maximum repeatability error in translation and rotation was 1.2% and 2.6%, respectively. In our simulated DVF sequence study, the automatic tracking was not successful when the noise intensity was greater than 0.50. In a noisy situation, the maximal difference was 1.3 mm in translation and 1° in the rotation angle. The errors were calculated in translation (fiducial error: 2.4%, repeatability error: 0.5%) and in the rotation angle (fiducial error: 1.0%, repeatability error: 0.7%). However, the automatic tracking software could successfully track simulated sequences contaminated by noise at a density ≤ 0.5 with very high accuracy, providing good reliability and robustness. A clinical trial with 10 healthy subjects and 2 lumbar spondylolisthesis patients were enrolled in this study. The measurement with auto-tacking of DVF provided some information not seen in the conventional X-ray. The results proposed the potential use of the proposed system for clinical applications. © 2011 - IOS Press and the authors. All rights reserved.postprin

Cellular Mercury Coordination Environment, and Not Cell Surface Ligands, Influence Bacterial Methylmercury Production

The conversion of inorganic mercury (Hg(II)) to methylmercury (MeHg) is central to the understanding of Hg toxicity in the environment. Hg methylation occurs in the cytosol of certain obligate anaerobic bacteria and archaea possessing the hgcAB gene cluster. However, the processes involved in Hg(II) biouptake and methylation are not well understood. Here, we examined the role of cell surface thiols, cellular ligands with the highest affinity for Hg(II) that are located at the interface between the outer membrane and external medium, on the sorption and methylation of Hg(II) by Geobacter sulfurreducens. The effect of added cysteine (Cys), which is known to greatly enhance Hg(II) biouptake and methylation, was also explored. By quantitatively blocking surface thiols with a thiol binding ligand (qBBr), we show that surface thiols have no significant effect on Hg(II) methylation, regardless of Cys addition. The results also identify a significant amount of cell-associated Hg-S₃/S₄ species, as studied by high energy-resolution X-ray absorption near edge structure (HR-XANES) spectroscopy, under conditions of high MeHg production (with Cys addition). In contrast, Hg-S₂ are the predominant species during low MeHg production. Hg-S₃/S₄ species may be related to enhanced Hg(II) biouptake or the ability of Hg(II) to become methylated by HgcAB and should be further explored in this context

Vulnerable Users’ Perceptions of Transport Technologies

As the global population continues to grow, age and urbanize, it is vital to provide accessible transport so that neither ageing nor disability constitute barriers to social inclusion. While technology can enhance urban access, there is a need to study the ways by which transport technologies - real-time information, pedestrian navigation, surveillance, and road pricing - could be more effectively adopted by users. The reason for this is that some people, and particularly vulnerable populations, are still likely to reluctantly use (or even avoid using) technologies perceived as 'unknown' and 'complicated'. Based on evidence from British and Swedish case studies on older people's perceptions of the aforementioned transport technologies, as well as on a Swedish case study of visually impaired people's perceptions, this article makes the case that technology is only one tool in a complex socio-technical system, and one which brings challenges. The authors also suggest that although vulnerable populations are not homogeneous when expressing attitudes towards transport technologies, their assessment criteria tend to be 'pro-social' as they usually consider that the societal benefits outweigh the personal benefits. Emphasising aspects linked to the technologies' pro-social potential or relevance to the individual user could increase acceptance