Consumer Appreciation of Carcass Quality of Organic vs Conventional Suckling Lamb Production

Carcass characteristics of sucking lambs (n= 40) of two breeds reared under conventional and organic conditions were analysed including objective and subjective parameters for fatness and conformation, meat and fat colour. Consumer acceptance was also studied using the home-use test. Results showed that the characteristics of the carcass of suckling lamb were similar for both types of production systems pointing out that organic production system did not affect fatness or muscle development. However, organic meat was darker (higher L* and a* values) probably related with the higher amount of exercise, although fat was not more yellow. In contrast consumers did not consider organic meat darker and there were not significant differences in appearance related with the similar conformation. These results reflect that consumer perceive organic meat as at least as good as conventional production not only regarding environmental quality but also regarding carcass quality

Organic vs Conventional Suckling Lamb Production: Product Quality and Consumer Acceptance

Samples of suckling lambs (n=40) of two breeds reared under conventional and organic conditions were analysed to asses physico-chemical characteristics, including instrumental texture, and nutritional quality in terms of fatty acid composition. Consumer acceptance was also studied using the home-use test. Results revealed that organic suckling lamb meat is healthier as shown by the lower saturated fatty acid levels, the higher polyunsaturated fatty acid contents and the higher 6/3 ratiko. The organic meat had lower instrumental hardness, received higher scores in all sensory parameters, and had statistically better fat sensation and higher ratings for overall liking. These results lend support to the notion among consumers that organic products are healthier and tastier

A SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS OF ORGANIC VERSUS CONVENTIONAL SYSTEMS OF SHEEP-FARMING

In the Mediterranean Agriculture, the organic production constitutes a real possibility for sustainable development, it can keep a population in these areas and provide it with a decent work. This paper try to establish differences between conventional and organic systems of production, so that observation of these differences would lead to conclusions relating to the level of efficiency of one system as against the other. To achieve this objective, the research team analyzed the evolution of seventeen milk sheep farms in various places in the Castilla y León Region for a whole year. The study consisted in the modeling of the results of a Cobb-Douglas production function. The findings reveal that organic farms have higher production levels with the same combination of inputs. This result is a guarantee of future for this type of production and guarantee of feasibility for these areas

QUALITY OF LIFE AND QUALITY OF WORK LIFE IN ORGANIC VERSUS CONVENTIONAL FARMERS

Sustainability is a concept developed from economic, ecological and social strategies in the decision-making process. Quality of life and quality of work life are two indicators very related to the viability and sustainability of farms. They are located into the social sustainability but in some cases the production system affects all three aspects of sustainability and transcends into a lifestyle. Organic production in several small ruminant farms analyzed in Spain provides quality of life and quality of work significantly better than conventional ones

Modeling viral coevolution: HIV multi-clonal persistence and competition dynamics

The coexistence of different viral strains (quasispecies) within the same host are nowadays observed for a growing number of viruses, most notably HIV, Marburg and Ebola, but the conditions for the formation and survival of new strains have not yet been understood. We present a model of HIV quasispecies competition, that describes the conditions of viral quasispecies coexistence under different immune system conditions. Our model incorporates both T and B cells responses, and we show that the role of B cells is important and additive to that of T cells. Simulations of coinfection (simultaneous infection) and superinfection (delayed secondary infection) scenarios in the early stages (days) and in the late stages of the infection (years) are in agreement with emerging molecular biology findings. The immune response induces a competition among similar phenotypes, leading to differentiation (quasi-speciation), escape dynamics and complex oscillations of viral strain abundance. We found that the quasispecies dynamics after superinfection or coinfection has time scales of several months and becomes even slower when the immune system response is weak. Our model represents a general framework to study the speed and distribution of HIV quasispecies during disease progression, vaccination and therapy.Comment: 20 pages, 10 figure

Exploring Respondents' Problems and Evaluation in a Survey Proposing Voice Inputs

Integrating voice inputs into web surveys holds the potential for various benefits, including eliciting more comprehensive and elaborate responses or extracting additional information from vocal tones and ambient sounds. Nevertheless, important challenges persist, including technical problems, privacy concerns, and low participation rates. Given the limited knowledge on this subject, this research note addresses four research questions, distinguishing between two voice input methods (dictation and voice recording) and two approaches to presenting them (providing a choice, or pushing respondents toward voice inputs, with a text alternative offered only in the absence of response): RQ1. What reasons are provided for not opting for voice inputs when they are offered? RQ2. Which variables are associated with the reported use of voice inputs? RQ3. What challenges do individuals answering through voice inputs report? And RQ4. How do respondents evaluate the different methods of answering they employed? Drawing on data from a survey on nursing homes conducted in February/March 2023 within the Netquest opt-in online panel in Spain (1,001 completes), where participants were offered to respond to two experimental questions through voice methods, our analyses reveal that contextual factors and the perceived challenge of oral expression are key reasons for abstaining from voice input responses. Furthermore, individuals who exhibited complete trust in the confidentiality of their responses and those already using voice input in their daily lives were significantly more likely to opt for voice inputs. Among respondents utilizing voice inputs, recurring challenges included contextual constraints and difficulties in verbal expression, alongside technical problems. Despite these hurdles, a majority of participants found answering through voice easy, although a lower proportion reported liking it. These results contribute to the limited literature and can help enhance the effectiveness of voice input surveys

Rarity of monodominance in hyperdiverse Amazonian forests.

Tropical forests are known for their high diversity. Yet, forest patches do occur in the tropics where a single tree species is dominant. Such "monodominant" forests are known from all of the main tropical regions. For Amazonia, we sampled the occurrence of monodominance in a massive, basin-wide database of forest-inventory plots from the Amazon Tree Diversity Network (ATDN). Utilizing a simple defining metric of at least half of the trees ≥ 10 cm diameter belonging to one species, we found only a few occurrences of monodominance in Amazonia, and the phenomenon was not significantly linked to previously hypothesized life history traits such wood density, seed mass, ectomycorrhizal associations, or Rhizobium nodulation. In our analysis, coppicing (the formation of sprouts at the base of the tree or on roots) was the only trait significantly linked to monodominance. While at specific locales coppicing or ectomycorrhizal associations may confer a considerable advantage to a tree species and lead to its monodominance, very few species have these traits. Mining of the ATDN dataset suggests that monodominance is quite rare in Amazonia, and may be linked primarily to edaphic factors