Consumers' choice of broiler meat in Finland: the effects of country of origin and production methods

Among consumers there is an increasing interest and concern about the ways food is produced. This calls for the poultry industry to differentiate their products and production methods to directions valued by the consumers. In this study we use choice experiment to analyse the importance of broiler production method and the country of origin for the Finnish consumers. In the experiment, we offer several alternatives for regular broiler, including products that have been produced using organic methods, as well as products produced by emphasising animal welfare or consumer health aspects. The conditional logit model of consumer preferences for broiler meat in Finland revealed the very strong positive perceptions of domestically produced broiler products. Although the effect of production method was minor it also had an impact on consumer choice behaviour, particularly emphasising animal welfare in production increased the choice probability. The latent class analysis revealed the heterogeneity of consumer preferences but did not facilitate profiling the consumer groups based on socioeconomic data.Choice experiment, latent class analysis, preference heterogenity, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

An analysis of electronic health record-related patient safety incidents

The aim of this study was to analyse electronic health record-related patient safety incidents in the patient safety incident reporting database in fully digital hospitals in Finland. We compare Finnish data to similar international data and discuss their content with regard to the literature. We analysed the types of electronic health record-related patient safety incidents that occurred at 23 hospitals during a 2-year period. A procedure of taxonomy mapping served to allow comparisons. This study represents a rare examination of patient safety risks in a fully digital environment. The proportion of electronic health record-related incidents was markedly higher in our study than in previous studies with similar data. Human-computer interaction problems were the most frequently reported. The results show the possibility of error arising from the complex interaction between clinicians and computers.Peer reviewe

Building the content of CSR in the food chain with a stakeholder dialogue

The paper is concerned with the content of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the food supply chains. The objective is to build the content of CSR in the food chain with a stakeholder dialogue. The research project takes an action oriented approach and is based on case studies. The project draws on three different case food products and their supply chains: rye bread, broiler chicken products and margarine. The content of CSR is constructed in interaction between researchers, consumers, companies and their interest groups. The research project combines the compilation and analysis of extensive information sources, constructive technology assessment and stakeholder workshops. The paper presents how the research process is proceeding in a dialogue with researchers, representatives of case companies, consumers and other stakeholders and provides results on important CSR issues related to the case food products and their supply chains.Corporate social responsibility, supply chain, stakeholders, Agribusiness,

Meat Consumption Patterns and Intentions for Change Among Finnish Consumers

During the past few decades, meat has increasingly become a subject of controversies relating to health and safety, environment, and animal welfare. Even though these changes in perceptions of meat are not yet visible in aggregate consumption figures, they can be observed in individual consumption patterns and as intentions to change the consumption. In this study, we examine changes in meat consumption among the Finnish consumers taking into account both stated changes in the past and intended changes in the future. Based on these changes, we identify consumer segments and investigate in which ways these segments differ from each other socio-demographically and with respect to current meat consumption and the stated reasons for the change. The latent class analysis based on representative Internet survey data revealed nine consumer clusters that formed three cluster blocks. The results showed that a large number of people, over 40%, had stabile consumption patterns. A cluster block of 14% of consumers had already shifted their consumer patterns to contain more vegetables and less meat. One third of the consumers were identified to be in the middle of the change with a general tendency to decrease the use of meat and increase the use of vegetables. Although, environmental effects of meat and animal welfare issues were important reasons for change in some clusters, healthiness was the most salient stated reason for change in consumption habits.Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Livestock Production/Industries,

Oxalate-Metabolising Genes of the White-Rot Fungus Dichomitus squalens Are Differentially Induced on Wood and at High Proton Concentration

Peer reviewe

High intratumoral dihydrotestosterone is associated with antiandrogen resistance in VCaP prostate cancer xenografts in castrated mice

Antiandrogen treatment resistance is a major clinical concern in castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) treatment. Using xenografts of VCaP cells we showed that growth of antiandrogen resistant CRPC tumors were characterized by a higher intratumor dihydrotestosterone (DHT) concentration than that of treatment responsive tumors. Furthermore, the slow tumor growth after adrenalectomy was associated with a low intratumor DHT concentration. Reactivation of androgen signaling in enzalutamide-resistant tumors was further shown by the expression of several androgen-dependent genes. The data indicate that intratumor DHT concentration and expression of several androgen-dependent genes in CRPC lesions is an indication of enzalutamide treatment resistance and an indication of the need for further androgen blockade. The presence of an androgen synthesis, independent of CYP17A1 activity, has been shown to exist in prostate cancer cells, and thus, novel androgen synthesis inhibitors are needed for the treatment of enzalutamide-resistant CRPC tumors that do not respond to abiraterone.Peer reviewe

Novel Lignan and Stilbenoid Mixture Shows Anticarcinogenic Efficacy in Preclinical PC-3M-luc2 Prostate Cancer Model

Peer reviewe

Optimized design and analysis of preclinical intervention studies in vivo

Recent reports have called into question the reproducibility, validity and translatability of the preclinical animal studies due to limitations in their experimental design and statistical analysis. To this end, we implemented a matching-based modelling approach for optimal intervention group allocation, randomization and power calculations, which takes full account of the complex animal characteristics at baseline prior to interventions. In prostate cancer xenograft studies, the method effectively normalized the confounding baseline variability, and resulted in animal allocations which were supported by RNA-seq profiling of the individual tumours. The matching information increased the statistical power to detect true treatment effects at smaller sample sizes in two castration-resistant prostate cancer models, thereby leading to saving of both animal lives and research costs. The novel modelling approach and its open-source and web-based software implementations enable the researchers to conduct adequately-powered and fully-blinded preclinical intervention studies, with the aim to accelerate the discovery of new therapeutic interventions.Peer reviewe