Evaluating the need for an animal welfare assurance programme in South Tyrolean dairy farming

Animal welfare assurance is of great importance as dairy farming is recently under increasing pressure to meet societal and commercial expectations. Therefore, this study aims to determine the current welfare situation of dairy cattle housed in tie-stalls and free stalls in South Tyrol (Eastern Italian Alps) in order to evaluate the need for establishment of an animal welfare assurance programme. For reasons of research economy, a protocol was used for data collection that would also be applicable for practical use in an animal welfare assurance scheme. Analyses of resource-based and animal-based indicators recorded in 204 farms in North and South Tyrol (1891 dairy cows) reveal some important animal welfare problems mainly related to the provision of resources and the prevalence of skin alterations especially in tie-stall barns, which are still widely spread in mountain areas. Hence, the implementation of an animal welfare assurance scheme is urgently needed to reflect public concerns through regular and standardised monitoring of welfare indicators and continuous encouragement of improvements in dairy cattle welfare towards predefined targets. Concerning tie-stalls, interventions in stall design as well as the selective use of local breeds best adapted to the mountainous conditions appear to be appropriate measures to optimise dairy cattle health and welfare. These findings substantiate the high value of the data that would be collected as part of the assurance programme to gain insights, which could be used in preventive and corrective health plans to improve welfare-friendliness in dairy farming of South Tyrol

An economic way of reducing health, environmental, and other pressures of urban traffic: a decision analysis on trip aggregation

BACKGROUND: Traffic congestion is rapidly becoming the most important obstacle to urban development. In addition, traffic creates major health, environmental, and economical problems. Nonetheless, automobiles are crucial for the functions of the modern society. Most proposals for sustainable traffic solutions face major political opposition, economical consequences, or technical problems. METHODS: We performed a decision analysis in a poorly studied area, trip aggregation, and studied decisions from the perspective of two different stakeholders, the passenger and society. We modelled the impact and potential of composite traffic, a hypothetical large-scale demand-responsive public transport system for the Helsinki metropolitan area, where a centralised system would collect the information on all trip demands online, would merge the trips with the same origin and destination into public vehicles with eight or four seats, and then would transmit the trip instructions to the passengers' mobile phones. RESULTS: We show here that in an urban area with one million inhabitants, trip aggregation could reduce the health, environmental, and other detrimental impacts of car traffic typically by 50–70%, and if implemented could attract about half of the car passengers, and within a broad operational range would require no public subsidies. CONCLUSION: Composite traffic provides new degrees of freedom in urban decision-making in identifying novel solutions to the problems of urban traffic

Insights into the oral health beliefs and practices of mothers from a north London Orthodox Jewish community

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The objective of this study was to explore oral health knowledge and beliefs and access to dental care in a culturally distinct Orthodox Jewish community in North London, with a view to informing local health policy.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A dual method qualitative approach to data collection was adopted in this study utilising semi-structured face to face interviews and focus groups with women from this North London orthodox Jewish community. In total nine interviews and four focus groups were conducted with a purposive sample of thirty three mothers from the community aged 21-58 years. The data were transcribed and analysed using Framework Methodology</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Cultural influences, competing pressures and perceptions of hereditary influences, together with a lack of contemporary oral health knowledge are the main factors affecting oral health knowledge and beliefs. This supported an overall perspective of disempowerment or a perceived lack of control over oral health behaviours, both for mothers and their children. Community signposting pointed mothers to dental services, whilst family pressures together with inadequate capacity and capability and generic barriers such as fear and cost acted as barriers. Mothers from this community welcomed community development initiatives from the NHS.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The results of this study provide insight into the challenges of a culturally isolated community who would welcome community support through schools and expanded culturally appropriate opening hours to improve access to dental care.</p

Assessment of foot health and animal welfare: clinical findings in 229 dairy Mediterranean Buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis) affected by foot disorders.

BACKGROUND Lameness represents the third most important health-related cause of economic loss in the dairy industry after fertility and mastitis. Although, dairy Mediterranean Buffaloes (MB) and dairy cows share similar breeding systems predisposing to similar herd problems, published studies exploring its relevance and role in these ruminants are still rare and incomplete. The aims of this study were to describe the clinical findings of foot disorders (FDs) in dairy MB and their influence on animal welfare, determined by assessment of locomotion score (LS), body condition score (BCS) and cleanliness score (CS). RESULTS Of 1297 multiparous MB submitted to routine trimming procedures, 229 buffaloes showed at least one FD. The prevalence of buffaloes affected by FDs was 17.7 %, while motility and lameness indexes were 84.1 % (1091/1297) and 15.9 % (206/1297), respectively. Overgrowth was present in 17.0 % (220/1297), corkscrew claw in 15.8 % (205/1297), interdigital phlegmon in 0.9 % (12/1297), white line abscess in 0.8 % (11/1297), digital dermatitis in 0.1 % (1/1297) and interdigital hyperplasia in 0.1 % (1/1297). Simultaneous presence of FDs was recorded in 17.0 % of MB (221/1297): overgrowth and corkscrew claw occurred together in 15.8 % of cases (205/1297), overgrowth and interdigital phlegmon in 0.3 % (4/1297), overgrowth and white line abscess in 0.8 % (11/1297), digital dermatitis and interdigital hyperplasia in 0.1 % (1/1297). The presence of FDs was always associated with lameness (LS > 2), except from 23 MB with simultaneous overgrowth and interdigital phlegmon occurrence. The majority of MB within the under-conditioned group (95.5 %, 43/45) and all those with CS > 2 (122/122) had a locomotion score above the threshold of normality (LS > 2). Furthermore, foot diseases such as interdigital hyperplasia, white line abscess and digital dermatitis or interdigital hyperplasia seemed to occur more frequently associated with decreased BCS and increased CS scores. CONCLUSIONS This study describes for the first time the involvement of white line disease, interdigital phlegmona, digital dermatitis and interdigital hyperplasia in foot disorders of dairy Mediterranean buffalo and shows their association with an impairment of animal welfare

Systematic Review of Potential Health Risks Posed by Pharmaceutical, Occupational and Consumer Exposures to Metallic and Nanoscale Aluminum, Aluminum Oxides, Aluminum Hydroxide and Its Soluble Salts

Aluminum (Al) is a ubiquitous substance encountered both naturally (as the third most abundant element) and intentionally (used in water, foods, pharmaceuticals, and vaccines); it is also present in ambient and occupational airborne particulates. Existing data underscore the importance of Al physical and chemical forms in relation to its uptake, accumulation, and systemic bioavailability. The present review represents a systematic examination of the peer-reviewed literature on the adverse health effects of Al materials published since a previous critical evaluation compiled by Krewski et al. (2007). Challenges encountered in carrying out the present review reflected the experimental use of different physical and chemical Al forms, different routes of administration, and different target organs in relation to the magnitude, frequency, and duration of exposure. Wide variations in diet can result in Al intakes that are often higher than the World Health Organization provisional tolerable weekly intake (PTWI), which is based on studies with Al citrate. Comparing daily dietary Al exposures on the basis of “total Al”assumes that gastrointestinal bioavailability for all dietary Al forms is equivalent to that for Al citrate, an approach that requires validation. Current occupational exposure limits (OELs) for identical Al substances vary as much as 15-fold. The toxicity of different Al forms depends in large measure on their physical behavior and relative solubility in water. The toxicity of soluble Al forms depends upon the delivered dose of Al+ 3 to target tissues. Trivalent Al reacts with water to produce bidentate superoxide coordination spheres [Al(O2)(H2O4)+ 2 and Al(H2O)6 + 3] that after complexation with O2•−, generate Al superoxides [Al(O2•)](H2O5)]+ 2. Semireduced AlO2• radicals deplete mitochondrial Fe and promote generation of H2O2, O2 • − and OH•. Thus, it is the Al+ 3-induced formation of oxygen radicals that accounts for the oxidative damage that leads to intrinsic apoptosis. In contrast, the toxicity of the insoluble Al oxides depends primarily on their behavior as particulates. Aluminum has been held responsible for human morbidity and mortality, but there is no consistent and convincing evidence to associate the Al found in food and drinking water at the doses and chemical forms presently consumed by people living in North America and Western Europe with increased risk for Alzheimer\u27s disease (AD). Neither is there clear evidence to show use of Al-containing underarm antiperspirants or cosmetics increases the risk of AD or breast cancer. Metallic Al, its oxides, and common Al salts have not been shown to be either genotoxic or carcinogenic. Aluminum exposures during neonatal and pediatric parenteral nutrition (PN) can impair bone mineralization and delay neurological development. Adverse effects to vaccines with Al adjuvants have occurred; however, recent controlled trials found that the immunologic response to certain vaccines with Al adjuvants was no greater, and in some cases less than, that after identical vaccination without Al adjuvants. The scientific literature on the adverse health effects of Al is extensive. Health risk assessments for Al must take into account individual co-factors (e.g., age, renal function, diet, gastric pH). Conclusions from the current review point to the need for refinement of the PTWI, reduction of Al contamination in PN solutions, justification for routine addition of Al to vaccines, and harmonization of OELs for Al substances