Consumers’ willingness to pay for beef direct sales. A regional comparison across the Pyrenees

Willingness to pay (WTP) for direct market of beef is investigated in two Spanish and two French regions located on both sides of the Pyrenees. Given the novelty of this distribution system, especially in Spain, a contingent valuation approach is undertaken, and a double-bounded model is estimated. Different patterns of awareness, use and WTP are found across regions. Likewise, the profile of current and potential users of direct sale chains is investigated. Experience in the different stages involved from choice to final consumption of beef, intensity of varied beef consumption, familiarity with direct market of food in general, and beef in particular, are some of the relevant factors to explain WTP and the probability of getting engaged into a direct distribution system of beef

Consumer profile and acceptability of cooked beef steaks with edible and active coating containing oregano and rosemary essential oils

Fresh animal products are highly perishable and characterized by a short shelf-life. Edible coatings with natural antioxidants (essential oils: EOs) could improve stability, ensure quality, and increase the shelf-life of fresh products. Due to the strong flavor of EOs, their use should consider consumer preferences and sensory acceptability. This study evaluated the effects of edible coating (with oregano and rosemary essential oil) on beef in relation to consumer preferences, besides the determination of habits of consumption and buying intentions of consumers. Acceptability scores from three clusters of consumers was described. Coating with oregano was the preferred. The higher consumer acceptance and willingness to buy this product indicate a great potential and possibility of using coatings with essential oils in fresh animal products

Corporate social responsibility, engagement, burnout and satisfaction with life in an NGO in Colombia

La salud mental es una de las principales áreas de interés en el marco de bienestar social y en el contexto organizacional. En este sentido, se ha convertido en un reto para las organizaciones no gubernamentales que contribuyen al sector de economía de los servicios sociales, alcanzar un equilibrio entre dos aspectos íntimamente relacionados como lo son la salud y el servicio a la comunidad. Este artículo tuvo como objetivo describir la responsabilidad social corporativa, el engagement y la satisfacción con la vida en una muestra de 57 colaboradores de una ONG colombiana. Los participantes completaron el Maslach Burnout Inventory, la Escala de Satisfacción con la Vida y la Encuesta de Adicción al Trabajo. Los resultaron arrojaron que el engagement en el trabajo, está directamente relacionado con actitudes positivas hacia las tareas laborales y en la satisfacción de vida.Mental health is one of the main areas of interest within the framework of social welfare and the organizational context. In this sense, it has become a challenge for non-governmental organizations that contribute to the social services economy sector, striking a balance between two closely related aspects such as health and community service. This article aimed to describe corporate social responsibility, engagement and satisfaction with life in a sample of 57 employees of a Colombian NGO. Participants filled the Maslach Burnout Inventory, Life Satisfaction Scale and Work Addiction Survey. The results showed that engagement at work is directly related to positive attitudes towards work tasks and the satisfaction with life

Depression and anxiety in decision-making, existential isolation, death and lack of vital sense in religious and non-religious people

El presente estudio tiene como objetivo describir la ansiedad ante las situaciones existenciales en religiosos y no religiosos en una muestra 100 universitarios colombianos, con una edad promedio de 22 años. Los participantes completaron el ANSIV que mide ansiedad existencial (ANSIV) y la Escala de Depresión de Zung. Los hallazgos comprueban que los no religiosos presentaron mayor ansiedad que los religiosos frente a la toma de decisiones; que no se observaron diferencias en relación al sentido de vida en ambos grupos; que los no religiosos presentaron ansiedad más exacerbada frente a la muerte que los religiosos y que los religiosos se encontraron menos ligeramente deprimidos que los no religiosos.The present study aims to describe the anxiety in existential situations in religious and non-religious people in a sample of 100 students from Colombia with an average age of 22 years. The participants completed the ANSIV that measures Existential Anxiety and SelfRating Depression Scale. The findings show that the non-religious presented higher anxiety than the religious people in decision-making process; no differences were observed in relation to the meaning of life in both groups; non-religious presented anxiety more exacerbated in the face of death than religious people and the religious were found slightly less depressed than non-religious

Depression and anxiety in decision-making, existential isolation, death and lack of vital sense in religious and non-religious people

El presente estudio tiene como objetivo describir la ansiedad ante las situaciones existenciales en religiosos y no religiosos en una muestra 100 universitarios colombianos, con una edad promedio de 22 años. Los participantes completaron el ANSIV que mide ansiedad existencial (ANSIV) y la Escala de Depresión de Zung. Los hallazgos comprueban que los no religiosos presentaron mayor ansiedad que los religiosos frente a la toma de decisiones; que no se observaron diferencias en relación al sentido de vida en ambos grupos; que los no religiosos presentaron ansiedad más exacerbada frente a la muerte que los religiosos y que los religiosos se encontraron menos ligeramente deprimidos que los no religiosos.The present study aims to describe the anxiety in existential situations in religious and non-religious people in a sample of 100 students from Colombia with an average age of 22 years. The participants completed the ANSIV that measures Existential Anxiety and SelfRating Depression Scale. The findings show that the non-religious presented higher anxiety than the religious people in decision-making process; no differences were observed in relation to the meaning of life in both groups; non-religious presented anxiety more exacerbated in the face of death than religious people and the religious were found slightly less depressed than non-religious

Satisfaction with life and its relations with religion and health in Colombian university students

El presente estudio tuvo como objetivo estimar las correlaciones entre la satisfacción con la vida, la religión y la salud en una muestra de 446 participantes (42,60% varones y el 57,40% mujeres), con edades comprendidas entre los 18 a 69 años. Adicionalmente se llevó a cabo un análisis de regresión múltiple por pasos con el fin de conocer las variables predictoras de la satisfacción con la vida. Todos los participantes completaron los siguientes instrumentos: Cuestionario sociodemográfico, Escala de Satisfacción con la Vida, Cuestionario de Salud SF-36 y Escala de Religiosidad. A partir de los resultados se comprobó que la satisfacción con la vida no se asocia con la religión profesada. Mayor satisfacción con la vida fue predicha por mayor práctica religiosa organizacional, mejor salud general, mejor salud mental y mejor rol emocional. En definitiva, el nivel de satisfacción con la vida no parece estar relacionado con la religión profesada, aunque sí con la práctica de actividades que propone la institución religiosa de cada uno.The objective of the present study was to estimate the correlations between the satisfaction with life, religion and health in a sample of 446 participants (42,60% men and 57,40% women) between the ages of 18 to 69 years. In addition, an analysis of multiple regression by steps was made in order to determine the predictors of life satisfaction. All participants completed the following instruments: Sociodemographic Questionnaire, Satisfaction with Life Scales, SF-36 Questionnaire of Health and Scale of Religiosity. From the results it was found that the satisfaction with life was not associated with the religion professed. Greater satisfaction with life was predicted by greater organizational religious practice, better general health, better mental health and better emotional role. In conclusion the level of satisfaction with life does not seem to be related to the religion professed, but with the practice of activities proposed by the religious institution of each one

Simulating rewetting events in intermittent rivers and ephemeral streams: a global analysis of leached nutrients and organic matter

Climate change and human pressures are changing the global distribution and extent of intermittent rivers and ephemeral streams (IRES), which comprise half of the global river network area. IRES are characterized by periods of flow cessation, during which channel substrates accumulate and undergo physico‐chemical changes (preconditioning), and periods of flow resumption, when these substrates are rewetted and release pulses of dissolved nutrients and organic matter (OM). However, there are no estimates of the amounts and quality of leached substances, nor is there information on the underlying environmental constraints operating at the global scale. We experimentally simulated, under standard laboratory conditions, rewetting of leaves, riverbed sediments, and epilithic biofilms collected during the dry phase across 205 IRES from five major climate zones. We determined the amounts and qualitative characteristics of the leached nutrients and OM, and estimated their areal fluxes from riverbeds. In addition, we evaluated the variance in leachate characteristics in relation to selected environmental variables and substrate characteristics. We found that sediments, due to their large quantities within riverbeds, contribute most to the overall flux of dissolved substances during rewetting events (56‐98%), and that flux rates distinctly differ among climate zones. Dissolved organic carbon, phenolics, and nitrate contributed most to the areal fluxes. The largest amounts of leached substances were found in the continental climate zone, coinciding with the lowest potential bioavailability of the leached organic matter. The opposite pattern was found in the arid zone. Environmental variables expected to be modified under climate change (i.e. potential evapotranspiration, aridity, dry period duration, land use) were correlated with the amount of leached substances, with the strongest relationship found for sediments. These results show that the role of IRES should be accounted for in global biogeochemical cycles, especially because prevalence of IRES will increase due to increasing severity of drying events

Simulating rewetting events in intermittent rivers and ephemeral streams: A global analysis of leached nutrients and organic matter

Climate change and human pressures are changing the global distribution and the ex‐ tent of intermittent rivers and ephemeral streams (IRES), which comprise half of the global river network area. IRES are characterized by periods of flow cessation, during which channel substrates accumulate and undergo physico‐chemical changes (precon‐ ditioning), and periods of flow resumption, when these substrates are rewetted and release pulses of dissolved nutrients and organic matter (OM). However, there are no estimates of the amounts and quality of leached substances, nor is there information on the underlying environmental constraints operating at the global scale. We experi‐ mentally simulated, under standard laboratory conditions, rewetting of leaves, river‐ bed sediments, and epilithic biofilms collected during the dry phase across 205 IRES from five major climate zones. We determined the amounts and qualitative character‐ istics of the leached nutrients and OM, and estimated their areal fluxes from riverbeds. In addition, we evaluated the variance in leachate characteristics in relation to selected environmental variables and substrate characteristics. We found that sediments, due to their large quantities within riverbeds, contribute most to the overall flux of dis‐ solved substances during rewetting events (56%–98%), and that flux rates distinctly differ among climate zones. Dissolved organic carbon, phenolics, and nitrate contrib‐ uted most to the areal fluxes. The largest amounts of leached substances were found in the continental climate zone, coinciding with the lowest potential bioavailability of the leached OM. The opposite pattern was found in the arid zone. Environmental vari‐ ables expected to be modified under climate change (i.e. potential evapotranspiration, aridity, dry period duration, land use) were correlated with the amount of leached sub‐ stances, with the strongest relationship found for sediments. These results show that the role of IRES should be accounted for in global biogeochemical cycles, especially because prevalence of IRES will increase due to increasing severity of drying event

Clustering COVID-19 ARDS patients through the first days of ICU admission. An analysis of the CIBERESUCICOVID Cohort

Background Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) can be classified into sub-phenotypes according to different inflammatory/clinical status. Prognostic enrichment was achieved by grouping patients into hypoinflammatory or hyperinflammatory sub-phenotypes, even though the time of analysis may change the classification according to treatment response or disease evolution. We aimed to evaluate when patients can be clustered in more than 1 group, and how they may change the clustering of patients using data of baseline or day 3, and the prognosis of patients according to their evolution by changing or not the cluster.Methods Multicenter, observational prospective, and retrospective study of patients admitted due to ARDS related to COVID-19 infection in Spain. Patients were grouped according to a clustering mixed-type data algorithm (k-prototypes) using continuous and categorical readily available variables at baseline and day 3.Results Of 6205 patients, 3743 (60%) were included in the study. According to silhouette analysis, patients were grouped in two clusters. At baseline, 1402 (37%) patients were included in cluster 1 and 2341(63%) in cluster 2. On day 3, 1557(42%) patients were included in cluster 1 and 2086 (57%) in cluster 2. The patients included in cluster 2 were older and more frequently hypertensive and had a higher prevalence of shock, organ dysfunction, inflammatory biomarkers, and worst respiratory indexes at both time points. The 90-day mortality was higher in cluster 2 at both clustering processes (43.8% [n = 1025] versus 27.3% [n = 383] at baseline, and 49% [n = 1023] versus 20.6% [n = 321] on day 3). Four hundred and fifty-eight (33%) patients clustered in the first group were clustered in the second group on day 3. In contrast, 638 (27%) patients clustered in the second group were clustered in the first group on day 3.Conclusions During the first days, patients can be clustered into two groups and the process of clustering patients may change as they continue to evolve. This means that despite a vast majority of patients remaining in the same cluster, a minority reaching 33% of patients analyzed may be re-categorized into different clusters based on their progress. Such changes can significantly impact their prognosis

The evolution of the ventilatory ratio is a prognostic factor in mechanically ventilated COVID-19 ARDS patients

Background: Mortality due to COVID-19 is high, especially in patients requiring mechanical ventilation. The purpose of the study is to investigate associations between mortality and variables measured during the first three days of mechanical ventilation in patients with COVID-19 intubated at ICU admission. Methods: Multicenter, observational, cohort study includes consecutive patients with COVID-19 admitted to 44 Spanish ICUs between February 25 and July 31, 2020, who required intubation at ICU admission and mechanical ventilation for more than three days. We collected demographic and clinical data prior to admission; information about clinical evolution at days 1 and 3 of mechanical ventilation; and outcomes. Results: Of the 2,095 patients with COVID-19 admitted to the ICU, 1,118 (53.3%) were intubated at day 1 and remained under mechanical ventilation at day three. From days 1 to 3, PaO2/FiO2 increased from 115.6 [80.0-171.2] to 180.0 [135.4-227.9] mmHg and the ventilatory ratio from 1.73 [1.33-2.25] to 1.96 [1.61-2.40]. In-hospital mortality was 38.7%. A higher increase between ICU admission and day 3 in the ventilatory ratio (OR 1.04 [CI 1.01-1.07], p = 0.030) and creatinine levels (OR 1.05 [CI 1.01-1.09], p = 0.005) and a lower increase in platelet counts (OR 0.96 [CI 0.93-1.00], p = 0.037) were independently associated with a higher risk of death. No association between mortality and the PaO2/FiO2 variation was observed (OR 0.99 [CI 0.95 to 1.02], p = 0.47). Conclusions: Higher ventilatory ratio and its increase at day 3 is associated with mortality in patients with COVID-19 receiving mechanical ventilation at ICU admission. No association was found in the PaO2/FiO2 variation