Nutrition and health claims – call for and justification of governmental intervention from the consumers’ perspective

In December 2006 the Regulation (EC) No. 1924/2006 on the use of nutrition and health claims (NHCs) on foods was enacted in order to prevent consumer deception and to harmonise law within the EU. Against this background, this paper analyses the potential costs and benefits linked with NHCs and the necessity for governmental intervention to regulate NHCs within a theoretical and empirical framework. The theoretical investigation shows that NHCs can induce direct economic effects as well as spillover effects in the market of information. Whether those effects are beneficial or adverse depends on the truthfulness of the NHCs, and consumers’ perception and processing of such claims. As self regulatory forces of the market might not be sufficient to prevent market failure due to fraudulent claims, governmental intervention seems necessary. An analysis of the EU Regulation on NHCs reveals that this law focuses on preventing the authorisation of false or misleading claims. It is less concerned with not authorising a true and correctly understood claim. The results of the empirical analysis which is based on a standardized consumer survey reveal that the stated impact of NHCs on product perception considerably differs among consumers. While e.g. some consumers feel misled by NHCs on products with a negative nutrient profile such as candies, others point out that such claims have no impact on their product perception or even help them to make better choices. The results also indicate that the great majority of consumers is opposed to a ban of NHCs on products with a negative nutrient profile such as candies and salt.nutrition and health claims, consumer deception, information economics, market transparency, consumer protection policy, Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Die Konstruktion von Männerbildern in Russland: Kontinuität und Wandel von Männerbildern in den 90er Jahren am Beispiel sowjetischer und postsowjetischer Filme

"Gender, die soziokulturelle Norm von Geschlecht, ist eine der fundamentalen Institutionen einer Gesellschaft. In den Geschlechternormen reproduzieren sich die herrschenden Machtstrukturen, nach denen soziale Ordnungen organisiert werden. Will man den gesellschaftlichen Umbruch in Rußland untersuchen, ist es jenseits der Analyse des staatlichen Umbaus notwendig, den sozialen Wandel anhand der Veränderungen dieser zentralen sozialen Stratifikationslinien nachzuverfolgen. In einer männlich dominierten Gesellschaft wie in Rußland, in der die wichtigen politischen und gesellschaftlichen Entscheidungsträger fast ausschließlich Männer sind, kommt der Konzeption von Männlichkeit diesbezüglich eine herausragende Bedeutung zu: Nach dem Soziologen Robert W. Connell strukturiert sich Macht in einer Gesellschaft analog zu der in ihr hegemonialen Männlichkeit. Daher soll die Frage nach dem sozialen Wandel in Rußland in dieser Arbeit anhand der sich verändernden Konzepte von Männlichkeit untersucht werden. Da Gender medial vermittelt wird macht es im Zeitalter der massenmedialen Kommunikation und angesichts der besonderen Bedeutung des Kinos in Rußland Sinn, die Gender-Konzepte anhand ihrer cineastischen Darstellung zu untersuchen. Die filmischen Gesellschaftsporträts sind Zeitdokumente, in denen die Normen von Männlichkeit sichtbar und nachvollziehbar werden. Diente das Ideal von Männlichkeit in der Sowjetunion anfänglich noch der Mobilisierung für den gesellschaftlichen Aufbau, den Krieg und der Implementation sowjetischer Werte, so wurde Männlichkeit in der Zeit der Stagnation Indikator für die gesellschaftliche Krise. In den 80er Jahren wurde diese Krise zunehmend über die Agonie und den Zerfall männlicher Ideale dargestellt. Setzte sich die kritische Auseinandersetzung mit Männlichkeit auch während der Perestroika fort, so lässt sich seit Mitte der 90er Jahre ein neuer Trend hin zu einem restaurativ-patriarchalen Männlichkeitsideal feststellen." (Autorenreferat

Das artistische Denken von Gilles Deleuze

Was ist Philosophie Kunst Bewegungs-Bild Zeit-Bild Kin

Psychoanalyse auf Arabisch

Der vorliegende soziologische Artikel thematisiert, wie in den letzten Jahrzehnten arabische PsychoanalytikerInnen und Gruppierungen die Etablierung und Professionalisierung der Psychoanalyse in einzelnen Ländern der arabischen Welt vorantreiben. Er gibt Einblicke in die sich dabei abspielenden heterogenen Geschichten der arabischen psychoanalytischen Bewegungen. Im Zentrum stehen die psychoanalytischen Communities Syriens, Ägyptens und des Libanon. Die Autorin streift ausserdem Fragen der Arabisierung der Psychoanalyse am Beispiel der Übersetzbarkeit der psychoanalytischen Literatur in die arabische Sprache. Ebenso umreisst sie verschiedene Lesarten dessen, wie der Aneignungsprozess der Psychoanalyse in der arabischen Welt verstanden werden kann

Changes in renal parameters and their association with subclinical vector-borne infections in Bernese Mountain dogs

BACKGROUND An increased risk for glomerulonephritis and a higher prevalence of antibodies to Borrelia (B.) burgdorferi sensu lato have been reported in Bernese mountain dogs (BMDs). The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of laboratory abnormalities suggestive of kidney disease in clinically healthy BMDs compared to a control population and to investigate if there is a correlation with the occurrence of antibodies to B. burgdorferi sensu lato, Ehrlichia canis, and Anaplasma (A.) spp. and with the occurrence of Dirofilaria (D.) immitis antigen. A total of 197 BMDs and 57 control dogs were included in the study. Laboratory evidence of kidney disease was defined as renal azotemia and/or proteinuria with a urine protein creatinine ration of more than 0.5 in an inactive urine sediment. A SNAP®4Dx® ELISA (IDEXX, Laboratories, Inc., Westbrook, ME, USA) was used to detect antibodies to B. burgdorferi sensu lato, E. canis and Anaplasma spp. and antigen of D. immitis. RESULTS Laboratory evidence of kidney disease was significantly more common in BMDs than in control dogs (17.8% versus 1.8%) (p = 0.005). The proportion of BMDs with anti-B. burgdorferi sensu latu antibodies and anti-A. phagocytophilum antibodies was significantly higher in BMDs (p < 0.001). However, an association between these findings could not be identified. CONCLUSION BMDs are more often affected by kidney disease and have a higher prevalence of antibodies to bacterial pathogens transmitted by Ixodes ticks than control dogs. However, a causal relationship between these two variables could not be established due to a lack of association between these two findings

Evaluation of an in-house dot enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to detect antibodies against feline panleukopenia virus

Measuring antibody titres to determine a cat’s immunity to core diseases instead of just administering annual vaccinations has not been established in Germany so far. An in-house test kit for the detection of antibodies against feline panleukopenia virus (FPV), feline herpesvirus-1 and feline calicivirus – the ImmunoComb Feline VacciCheck – is now available in several European countries. The aim of this study was to assess the quality of the ImmunoComb Feline VacciCheck to determine antibodies by comparing it to a gold standard. The test is aimed for use in practice to assist decision-making when performing an individual health assessment to see whether a cat is potentially unprotected against FPV and requires FPV vaccination. Sera from 347 cats were included in the study. For antibody detection, haemagglutination inhibition (HI) was performed as gold standard. Sensitivity, specificity and positive and negative predictive values of the ImmunoComb Feline VacciCheck were determined for three different HI titre cut-off points (1:20, 1:40, 1:80). In comparison to the HI, the ImmunoComb Feline VacciCheck showed a sensitivity of 79%, 83% and 87%, and a specificity of 89%, 86% and 81%, respectively. Specificity of the ImmunoComb Feline VacciCheck, which was considered the most important parameter, was acceptable in comparison to HI. Especially when considering an antibody titre of 1:20 sufficient for protection (eg, in an adult animal), the ImmunoComb Feline VacciCheck can be recommended for use in veterinary practice

Novel potential interacting partners of fibronectin in spontaneous animal model of interstitial cystitis

Feline idiopathic cystitis (FIC) is the only spontaneous animal model for human interstitial cystitis (IC), as both possess a distinctive chronical and relapsing character. Underlying pathomechanisms of both diseases are not clearly established yet. We recently detected increased urine fibronectin levels in FIC cases. The purpose of this study was to gain further insight into the pathogenesis by assessing interacting partners of fibronectin in urine of FIC affected cats. Several candidate proteins were identified via immunoprecipitation and mass spectrometry. Considerable changes in FIC conditions compared to physiological expression of co-purified proteins were detected by Western blot and immunohistochemistry. Compared to controls, complement C4a and thioredoxin were present in higher levels in urine of FIC patients whereas loss of signal intensity was detected in FIC affected tissue. Galectin-7 was exclusively detected in urine of FIC cats, pointing to an important role of this molecule in FIC pathogenesis. Moderate physiological signal intensity of galectin-7 in transitional epithelium shifted to distinct expression in transitional epithelium under pathophysiological conditions. I-FABP expression was reduced in urine and urinary bladder tissue of FIC cats. Additionally, transduction molecules of thioredoxin, NF-κB p65 and p38 MAPK, were examined. In FIC affected tissue, colocalization of thioredoxin and NF-κB p65 could be demonstrated compared to absent coexpression of thioredoxin and p38 MAPK. These considerable changes in expression level and pattern point to an important role for co-purified proteins of fibronectin and thioredoxin-regulated signal transduction pathways in FIC pathogenesis. These results could provide a promising starting point for novel therapeutic approaches in the future

Comparison of Transmittance and Reflectance Pulse Oximetry in Anesthetized Dogs

Objectives: The tongue is the standard site for placement of a pulse oximeter probe but is difficult to access during certain procedures such as dental and ophthalmic procedures and computerized tomography of the head. The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of a new-generation reflectance pulse oximeter using the tail and tibia as sites for probe attachment. Materials and Methods: A total of 100 client-owned dogs that underwent anesthesia for various reasons were premedicated with butorphanol (n = 50; 0.2 mg/kg; group BUT) or butorphanol and dexmedetomidine (n = 50; 5 μg/kg; group DEX), administered intravenously. Anesthesia was induced with propofol and maintained with sevoflurane. A transmittance pulse oximeter probe was placed on the tongue and served as the reference standard. A reflectance probe was randomly placed on the tail base or the proximal tibia, and the position changed after testing. Signals from three consecutive measurements were obtained at each position. Failure was defined as “no signal,” “low signal,” or a pulse difference >10/min compared with the ECG heart rate. Data were analyzed using chi-square test, Wilcoxon matched-pair signed-rank test, and Bland-Altman analysis. P < 0.05 was considered significant. Results: In both groups (BUT and DEX), failure rate was higher when the tibia and tail were used as probe sites compared with the tongue. In both groups, the failure rate was higher for the tibia than for the tail. Dexmedetomidine-induced vasoconstriction increased failure rate at all probe positions. Clinical Significance: The tail base, but not the tibia, is an acceptable position for reflectance pulse oximeter probes in dogs. The tongue remains the probe site of choice, if accessible