Effects of Media Coverage on Demand

Food safety crises usually receive widespread publicity and an extensive media coverage which evidently is mainly negative. Based on previous research, the purpose of this article is to illustrate the impact of positive and negative food safety information on demand both in the short and long term. Apparently, asymmetric effects of media coverage provoke a shift in the consumers' perception of risk and, in a subsequent step, their reactions. This cycle shall be investigated and explained in detail since it improves the prospects for a prediction of consumers' reactions to food safety crises. Results will contribute to the European Commission's research project Food Risk Communication and Consumers' Trust in the Food Supply Chain - TRUST.food safety, media coverage, risk perception, consumer behaviour, Demand and Price Analysis,

Making the Most of What You Have: Data to Optimize Space and Achieve Research Goals

Every institution has a strategic goal for more research funding and results. The drive for funding is inextricably tied to competition for top researchers, and competition for researchers is directly related to investments in and optimization of research space on university campuses. The case for focusing on space is critical when you expect each lab to produce $1 million or more in expenditures every 4 years. How can you use data analytics to optimize space allocation for research? How can you creatively use under-utilized spaces for short- and long-term research investments? This session will discuss Carnegie R2 and R1 and USNWR rankings as related to strategic research investments, cover key challenges in aligning PI, space and expenditure datasets, and demonstrate the use of data tools to optimize space assets

Trust as a Determinant of Consumer Behaviour in Food Safety Crises

Based on an enhancement of Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behaviour, this article investigates German consumers' trust in different sources of information. Moreover, it discusses the settings and the extent to which consumers' trust influences consumers' behaviour both in the case of a standard purchasing situation and in the environment of a hypothetical food safety incidence such as bird flu . Results indicate that both the consumers' attitude and their trust in suppliers of information is a crucial factor determining their behaviour under uncertainty.consumer behaviour, uncertainty, trust, food safety, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

The Impact of Interactions Among Native Grassland Species: A Study of Interactions Between Two Invasive Species (Bromus tectorum and Setaria faberi) and Two Native Species (Helianthus annuus and Rudbeckia hirta)

Allelopathy is a description of an interaction between two plant species, usually negative, that impacts their growth or germination. There has been ample data published regarding the impact of allelopathic species in agricultural settings, but little attention has been given to the potential interactions between invasive and native species. Two culprits that have employed allelopathy to great effect in agricultural settings are cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) and giant foxtail (Setaria faberi). This study posits that allelopathic interactions, similar to those found in agriculture, are occurring between native and invasive species on the Great Plains. A set of greenhouse trials was established to determine the effects of interplanting of native and invasive species (simulating the annual fight for germination and resources in Spring). The invasive species biomass was harvested after 6 weeks for the second set of trials, set to simulate native species germinating under last season’s growth of invasive tissue. This scenario is common in the grasslands of Nebraska, where germination often occurs under the dead foliage of last season’s growth. In examining the interactions between the two invasive species, described above, and two native species, sunflower (Helianthus annuus) and black eyed susan (Rudbeckia hirta), it was found that there were small differences between the control and experimental populations. Vigor and speed of development was negatively impacted in both Rudbeckia and sunflower, likely due to interspecies competition. Both invasive species showed a deleterious effect on native plant growth compared to the control. There was no impact on germination or growth in the trials with dead invasive biomass spread over the surface of the soil

THE INFERTILITY INDUSTRY: INSPIRING TECHNOLOGY GIVES BIRTH TO COMPLEX MORAL UNCERTAINTIES

Assisted reproductive technologies (ART) are rapidly advancing, permitting more couples and individuals to overcome their infertility. These advances, taking place largely outside the reach or view of government regulation or oversight, create numerous important consequences that raise serious ethical considerations. There is a need for consumer protection for infertile couples, as well as the assurance of the safety and efficacy of techniques and donated human cellular materials. Most fundamentally the moral questions raised by the techniques and their consequences must be addressed. The legal status of embryos, the many problems that arise from multiple fetus pregnancies that result from over-implantation of embryos, the non-therapeutic genetic screening that the technology permits, and the ever-increasing maternal age all raise fundamental ethical dilemmas. These dilemmas are not being resolved because any discussion or resolution treads close to the emotional and politically charged politics of abortion. This paper highlights the various consequences of ART, identifies the ethical consequences, and discusses the proper forum for their possible resolution

Detecting Balsam Woolly Adelgid Infestations Using Tree Rings

Balsam woolly adelgid (BWA), Adelges piceae(Ratzeburg), is a sap-sucking, exotic invasive insect that arrived in North America from central Europe around 1900. Since then, its range has expanded from New Brunswick, Canada to the southern Appalachian Mountains. It is a threat to all North American true-fir species, but populations can be controlled by cold continental winters. Adelgid feeding leaves noticeable traces on the wood tissue (“rotholz”) and causes a temporary positive radial growth response among affected trees. The purpose of this research was to determine dates of initial outbreaks, balsam fir radial growth change during outbreaks, and the relationship between cold winter temperatures and BWA outbreaks in the highlands of West Virginia. I used these two indicators on the wood tissue collected from tree cores from 14 balsam fir stands (Abies balsamea) and compared them to that of red spruce (Picea rubens) trees growing nearby. I also compared infestation dates with local climate records, to ascertain the relationships between infestations and winter air temperatures. I observed rotholz in 28% of the trees in all stands with the earliest evidence of occurrence at Upper Tract in 1952, four decades before BWA was first observed by the US-Forest Service at a Tucker County seed orchard. Using a host vs non-host model, I observed increases in growth caused by infestations particularly in 1988-1994 and 2000-2005. These periods are also periods of high rotholz occurrence. Periods of reduced infestation, as evidenced by normal or reduced growth and less rotholz, tend to occur following exceptionally cold winters. My results suggest that future monitoring of BWA should include tree core sampling for rotholz and growth increases in addition to exterior evaluation of trees. My results also suggest that as winters continue to warm, infestations may become more frequent and more severe

A Developmental Study of Apoptotic Markers and Histamine in Cephalopod Statocysts

Cephalopods can participate in complex navigation using landmarks that show context due to their statocysts. Statocysts are analogous to the vertebrate vestibular and auditory system encased in cartilage rather than bone making them more easily accessible. Age and anatomical dysfunctions are the reasons for many human vestibular malfunctions. Two of these sources are endolymph hydrops and aging. In the past, endolymph pressure changes were attributed to the ineffectual ion transport. Recent studies have illuminated the possibility of histamine receptors in the semicircular canal could be responsible for patients’ endolymph pressure changes rather than the previous belief that the pressure changes were due to high salt diets. Cephalopods have provided several models for studying vestibular dysfunction and a multitude of other peripheral and central nervous system attributes. The natural life stage of cephalopods results in immune suppression called senescence. Identifying developmental apoptotic changes, as well as assessing statocyst histamine amounts could indicate the validity of using cephalopods as a model for vertebrate vestibular malfunctions. We hypothesized that cell death and histamine would increase with age. Cephalopods were obtained from the Marine Biology Lab in Woods Hole Massachusetts and fixed less than sixteen hours post mortem. The specimens were then dissected and embedded to be put on slides. Immunofluorescence using indirect histamine and TUNEL assay were performed to evaluate the statocysts developmentally. These assays were done in duplicate; however, statistical significance was not determined. The results also seemingly contradicted our hypothesis with higher amounts of cell death, as well as histamine present in the young adults when compared to senescent adults across all species. However, it is worth noting that the nascent pilot study was successful in documenting histamine and apoptosis in the statocyst

Predictive impact of rare genomic copy number variations in siblings of individuals with autism spectrum disorders.

Identification of genetic biomarkers associated with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) could improve recurrence prediction for families with a child with ASD. Here, we describe clinical microarray findings for 253 longitudinally phenotyped ASD families from the Baby Siblings Research Consortium (BSRC), encompassing 288 infant siblings. By age 3, 103 siblings (35.8%) were diagnosed with ASD and 54 (18.8%) were developing atypically. Thirteen siblings have copy number variants (CNVs) involving ASD-relevant genes: 6 with ASD, 5 atypically developing, and 2 typically developing. Within these families, an ASD-related CNV in a sibling has a positive predictive value (PPV) for ASD or atypical development of 0.83; the Simons Simplex Collection of ASD families shows similar PPVs. Polygenic risk analyses suggest that common genetic variants may also contribute to ASD. CNV findings would have been pre-symptomatically predictive of ASD or atypical development in 11 (7%) of the 157 BSRC siblings who were eventually diagnosed clinically