Northwest Arkansas Consumer Perceptions of Poultry Production

Poultry production holds an important place in Arkansas economically and as a food source. The importance of poultry production ultimately hinges on the demands of the consumers and the perceptions that drive their purchases. With this in mind, this study surveyed consumers to assess their perceptions of poultry production in Arkansas. The instrument used to survey consumers was created by the researcher and an expert committee at the University of Arkansas. Consumers were interviewed through direct communication at grocery stores in northwest Arkansas. Data gathered from the study were analyzed for descriptive and correlational statistics. Data showed that consumers were less knowledgeable regarding the use of hormones in poultry production, the healthiness of conventionally produced poultry, and the presence of factory farms for poultry production in Arkansas. Consumers were more knowledgeable regarding the affordability of poultry as compared to other meats, the use of antibiotics in poultry production methods, and poultry as a source of food-borne illness. Based on these descriptive and correlational statistics, recommendations were made to maintain the viability of poultry production in Arkansas, including marketing and educational efforts tailored to improve consumer understanding of conventional production practices and the need for further research to better understand the causes of negative perceptions of poultry production

Poultry Production Messaging: A Content Analysis of Three National Newspapers from 1994 to 2014

Consumers are increasingly concerned with the use of antibiotics and hormones in poultry production, and the news media is the primary way consumers gain knowledge about this subject. This study assessed articles about antibiotic and hormone use in poultry production from the New York Times, USA Today, and the Wall Street Journal from 1994 to 2014. This study employed a content analysis methodology to assess selected articles (n = 139) for key messaging about antibiotic and hormone use in poultry production, article tone, article framing, and article journalistic quality. Data gathered from key messages were assessed for emergent themes that were reported as frequencies, and data gathered about tone, framing, and journalistic quality were assessed for frequencies and significant differences between media outlets (p \u3c .05). Five emergent themes were evident in the analysis of these articles: 1) consumers awareness of and concern for antibiotic/hormone use in poultry production (41.0%, n = 57); 2) the role of antibiotic use in poultry production in increased levels of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (40.3%, n = 56); 3) regulation of antibiotic use in poultry production (36.0%, n = 50); 4) purpose of antibiotic/hormone use in poultry production (32.4%, n = 45); and 5) transparency of antibiotic use poultry production practices (13.7%, n = 19). Articles were written with primarily a neutral or negative tone, and the human interest and responsibility frames were evoked most frequently. Articles showed the most quality in terms of selectivity of information included in the articles, while displaying the lowest percentage of quality in objectivity. Conclusions were drawn from the findings, and recommendations were made for agricultural communicators and journalists, as well as for public relations in the poultry industry. These included a stronger focus on understanding and addressing consumer concern about antibiotic and hormone use in poultry production, increased transparency, and improved relations with media contacts who cover antibiotic and hormone use in poultry production issues. Additionally, future research recommendations are made, including qualitative research to understand why journalists and gatekeepers set agendas and how they frame articles about antibiotic and hormone use in poultry production and stronger research focus on determining the link between antibiotic use in poultry production and increased antibiotic-resistant bacteria

Visual Communications on the Road in Arkansas: Analysis of Secondary Students Videos

In the summer of 2010, the Visual Communications on the Road in Arkansas: Creative Photo and Video Projects to Promote Agriculture program was initiated. The program consisted of a two-week agricultural communications curriculum that would be taught by agricultural science teachers in Arkansas. The curriculum was composed of lessons about photography, writing, and videography, and the program introduced students to digital photography and videography equipment and the proper uses of equipment. Once the curriculum was taught in secondary schools, a mobile classroom unit—consisting of a travel trailer, photography and videography equipment, and laptop computers equipped with editing software—would visit the school to assist students with the creation of short promotional videos about agriculture. The student-created videos were used as a hands-on extension of the curriculum learned in the classroom. Completed videos were posted to YouTube and then analyzed to assess student application of competencies taught in the curriculum. The researchers created a coding sheet to systematically assess all posted videos and inter- and intrarater reliability was maintained. An analysis of data gathered from the video assessment showed that secondary students were able to effectively apply many of the techniques taught in the curriculum through the agricultural videos created. Additional findings and recommendations for application and future research are presented

Consumer perceptions of poultry production in Arkansas: Perceptions analysis

Poultry production holds an important place in Arkansas economically and as a food source. The importance of poultry production ultimately hinges on the demands of the consumer. With this in mind, this study surveyed consumers to assess their perceptions of poultry production in Arkansas. The instrument, used to survey consumers, was created by the researcher and an expert committee at the University of Arkansas. Consumers were interviewed through direct communication at grocery stores in northwest Arkansas. Data gathered from the study were analyzed for descriptive and correlational statistics. Two key findings were that consumers were unsure about the use of hormones and antibiotics in poultry production, and consumers agreed that poultry production has a positive effect on Arkansas. Based on these descriptive and correlational statistics, recommendations were made for marketing and education efforts to maintain the viability of poultry production in Arkansas. For example, consumers need to be educated about poultry production practices pertaining to conventional production processes, hiring in the poultry industry, and the use of factory farms to produce poultry

Consumer Perceptions of Poultry Production: A Focus on Arkansas

Poultry production holds an important place in Arkansas economically and as a food source. The viability of poultry production ultimately hinges on consumer demand and the perceptions that drive their purchases. With this in mind, this study surveyed consumers to assess their perceptions of poultry production in Arkansas. The instrument used to survey consumers was created by the researcher and an expert committee at the University of Arkansas. Consumers were surveyed through direct communication at grocery stores in Northwest Arkansas. Data gathered from the study were analyzed using descriptive and correlational statistics. Consumers were uncertain as to whether or not conventionally produced poultry possessed unsafe levels of antibiotics and hormones (M = 3.68, SD = 1.45). Consumers also thought the majority of poultry farms in Arkansas were factory farms (M = 4.15, SD = 1.37). Consumers perceived organic poultry as a more healthy food than conventionally produced poultry (M = 4.47, SD = 1.39). Based on these results, specific recommendations were made to maintain the viability of poultry production in Arkansas. Marketing and communication efforts should be tailored to improve consumer understanding of antibiotic and hormone use in poultry production and the healthiness of conventionally produced poultry. Messaging and marketing should depict the reality of conventional poultry production, and agricultural communicators should work to improve logic and reason for combatting campaigns that misinform the public about agriculture. This research also highlights the need for further research to better understand the ways consumers develop perceptions of poultry production

Poultry Production Messaging in Two National-Circulation Newspapers

Consumers are concerned about the use of antibiotics and hormones in poultry. News media is the primary way consumers gain knowledge about this subject. This study assessed articles in an effort to describe and compare coverage of antibiotic and hormone use in poultry production from The New York Times (NYT) and The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) between 1994 and 2014. Content analysis methodology was used to assess selected articles (N = 265) to identify key messages about antibiotic and hormone use in poultry production, article type, type by year, and complete a comparison of focus, frames, and emergent themes. Five emergent themes were identified: 1) consumers awareness of and concern for antibiotic/hormone use in poultry production (NYT 38.8%, WSJ 51.2%); 2) the role of antibiotic use in poultry production in increased levels of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (NYT 43.8%, WSJ 24.4%); 3) regulation of antibiotic use in poultry production (NYT 35.0%, WSJ 31.7%); 4) purpose of antibiotic/hormone use in poultry production (NYT 32.5%, WSJ 29.3%); and 5) transparency of antibiotic use poultry production practices (NYT 15.0%, WSJ 12.2%). Articles were primarily news stories, and there was an increase in articles focused on antibiotic and hormone use in poultry over the 20-year period. NYT was 8.8 times more likely to write an editorial on one of these topics than was the WSJ. Recommendations include increased understanding and addressing consumer concern about antibiotic and hormone use in poultry production, increased transparency, and improved relations with media contacts who cover poultry production issues

Literature Themes from Five Decades of Agricultural Communications Publications

The discipline of agricultural communications has been developing for nearly two centuries. As the discipline has adapted, professional organizations such as the American Association of `Agricultural College Editors (AAACE) and the Association for Communication Excellence in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Life and Human Sciences (ACE) have published literature representative of the topics and issues that have impacted the discipline through magazines and journals such as the AAACE, ACE Quarterly, and the Journal of Applied Communications (JAC). The purpose of this study was to review the literature published in AAACE, ACE Quarterly, and JAC from 1968-2015 to identify primary and secondary literature themes. There were 13 emergent themes identified. The most prolific primary theme identified was Channel Development, Use or Research while the most prolific secondary theme identified was Educating Professionals. A count of the number of articles classified as “professional development” and “research” revealed a shift in the focus in the journal outlets. In earlier years, the discipline focused mainly on professional development articles (AAACE and ACE Quarterly), but transitioned almost completely to research (JAC). This research acknowledges that the discipline has experienced significant literary shifts and provides a recommendation for further research in audience analysis of the literature coming from the journals of the discipline

Hyperhydration to Improve Kidney Outcomes in Children with Shiga Toxin-Producing E. coli Infection: A multinational embedded cluster crossover randomized trial (the HIKO STEC trial)

BACKGROUND: Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) infections affect children and adults worldwide, and treatment remain solely supportive. Up to 15-20% of children infected by high-risk STEC (i.e., E. coli that produce Shiga toxin 2) develop hemolytic anemia, thrombocytopenia, and kidney failure (i.e., hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS)), over half of whom require acute dialysis and 3% die. Although no therapy is widely accepted as being able to prevent the development of HUS and its complications, several observational studies suggest that intravascular volume expansion (hyperhydration) may prevent end organ damage. A randomized trial is needed to confirm or refute this hypothesis. METHODS: We will conduct a pragmatic, embedded, cluster-randomized, crossover trial in 26 pediatric institutions to determine if hyperhydration, compared to conservative fluid management, improves outcomes in 1040 children with high-risk STEC infections. The primary outcome is major adverse kidney events within 30 days (MAKE30), a composite measure that includes death, initiation of new renal replacement therapy, or persistent kidney dysfunction. Secondary outcomes include life-threatening, extrarenal complications, and development of HUS. Pathway eligible children will be treated per institutional allocation to each pathway. In the hyperhydration pathway, all eligible children are hospitalized and administered 200% maintenance balanced crystalloid fluids up to targets of 10% weight gain and 20% reduction in hematocrit. Sites in the conservative fluid management pathway manage children as in- or outpatients, based on clinician preference, with the pathway focused on close laboratory monitoring, and maintenance of euvolemia. Based on historical data, we estimate that 10% of children in our conservative fluid management pathway will experience the primary outcome. With 26 clusters enrolling a mean of 40 patients each with an intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.11, we will have 90% power to detect a 5% absolute risk reduction. DISCUSSION: HUS is a devastating illness with no treatment options. This pragmatic study will determine if hyperhydration can reduce morbidity associated with HUS in children with high-risk STEC infection. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05219110 . Registered on February 1, 2022

A clinical evaluation of the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of intravenous alfaxalone in cyclodextrin in male and female rats following a loading dose and constant rate infusion

Objective: To characterise, as a clinical study, the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics and describe the hypnotic effect of the neurosteroid alfaxalone (3α-hydroxy-5 α-pregnane-11, 20-dione) formulated with 2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin in male and female rats. Study design: Prospective, experimental laboratory study. Animals: Twelve (six male and six female) adult, aged matched Sprague Dawley rats. Methods: Surgery and instrumentation was performed under isoflurane anaesthesia in an oxygen/nitrous oxide mixture (1:2) and local anaesthetic infiltration. All animals received a loading dose (1.67 mg kg -1 minute -1) for 2.5 minutes followed by a constant rate infusion (0.75 mg kg -1 minute -1) for 120 minutes of alfaxalone. Isoflurane and nitrous oxide was discontinued 2.5 minutes after the alfaxalone infusion started. Cardiorespiratory variables (heart rate, respiratory rate, arterial blood pressure, end tidal carbon dioxide tension) and clinical signs of anaesthetic depth were evaluated throughout anaesthesia. Carotid artery blood samples were collected at strategic time points for blood gas analysis, haematology and biochemistry and plasma concentrations of alfaxalone. Plasma samples were assayed using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC/MS). Results: There were significant differences between the sexes for plasma clearance (p = 0.0008), half-life (p = 0.0268) and mean residence time (p = 0.027). Mean arterial blood pressure was significantly higher in the male rats (p = 0.0255). Conclusions and clinical relevance: This study confirms alfaxalone solubilized in a 2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin provides excellent total intravenous anaesthesia in rats. Sex-based differences in pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics were demonstrated and must be considered when designing biomedical research models using alfaxalone