Forskere skal forebygge økosvindel

En stigende efterspørgsel på økologiske fødevarer har i de senere år medført madforfalskning og snyd. Nu vil et europæisk forskningsprojekt med Det Natur- og Biovidenskabelige Fakultet ved Københavns Universitet i spidsen udvikle metoder, der både kan afsløre fødevarens geografiske oprindelse og om den er økologisk eller ej

A qualitative study of the motivations for Anabolic-androgenic steroid use: the role of Muscle Dysmorphia and Self-esteem in Long-term users

Background: The use of Anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) among the non-competitive weightlifting community has increased considerably in the UK in recent years, presenting a public health issue. The motives behind use have received considerable attention, with motivations linked to body dissatisfaction, low self-esteem, and more recently, muscle dysmorphia (MD). However, the causal roles of MD and self-esteem in AAS use remain unclear. Therefore, this paper examines the origins and changes to motivations in long-term users. Methods: A qualitative study recruited eight male weightlifters from a needle exchange programme in South Wales, UK. Participants were interviewed about their initial introduction to AAS and their motivations for initial and continued use. Results: The interview data confirmed the importance of the training community in providing advice and guidance on AAS. Those interviewed cited some motivations for use which included self-esteem, body dissatisfaction, MD, social acceptance, and age-related concerns. Implicit in these motivations was a psychological addiction to the positive effects following AAS use, which for some men, had led to psychological dependency and body image pathology. Conclusions: The changes in motivations described by the AAS users provide key insights into the complex nature of AAS use. For some men, low self-esteem, body dissatisfaction and MD precede AAS use, and for others, they are consequences of use. These findings have significant implications for future research and public health initiatives

An evaluation of the quality of statistical design and analysis of published medical research : results from a systematic survey of general orthopaedic journals

Background: The application of statistics in reported research in trauma and orthopaedic surgery has become ever more important and complex. Despite the extensive use of statistical analysis, it is still a subject which is often not conceptually well understood, resulting in clear methodological flaws and inadequate reporting in many papers. Methods: A detailed statistical survey sampled 100 representative orthopaedic papers using a validated questionnaire that assessed the quality of the trial design and statistical analysis methods. Results: The survey found evidence of failings in study design, statistical methodology and presentation of the results. Overall, in 17% (95% confidence interval; 10–26%) of the studies investigated the conclusions were not clearly justified by the results, in 39% (30–49%) of studies a different analysis should have been undertaken and in 17% (10–26%) a different analysis could have made a difference to the overall conclusions. Conclusion: It is only by an improved dialogue between statistician, clinician, reviewer and journal editor that the failings in design methodology and analysis highlighted by this survey can be addressed

A new sighting study for the fixed concentration procedure to allow for gender differences

The fixed concentration procedure (FCP) has been proposed as an alternative to the median lethal concentration (LC50) test (organisation for economic co-operation and development (OECD) test guideline [TG] 403) for the assessment of acute inhalation toxicity. The FCP tests animals of a single gender (usually females) at a number of fixed concentration levels in a sequential fashion. It begins with a sighting study that precedes the main FCP study and is used to determine the main study starting concentration. In this paper, we propose a modification to the sighting study and suggest that it should be conducted using both male and female animals, rather than just animals of a single gender. Statistical analysis demonstrates that, when females are more sensitive, the new procedure is likely to give the same classification as the original FCP, whereas, if males are more sensitive, the new procedure is much less likely to lead to incorrect classification into a less toxic category. If there is no difference in the LC50 for females and males, the new procedure is slightly more likely to classify into a more stringent class than the original FCP. Overall, these results show that the revised sighting study ensures gender differences in sensitivity do not significantly impact on the performance of the FCP, supporting its use as an alternative test method for assessing acute inhalation toxicity

Breast and bowel cancer screening uptake patterns over 15 years for UK south Asian ethnic minority populations, corrected for differences in socio-demographic characteristics

Background A number of studies have reported low uptake of cancer screening programmes by South Asian populations in the UK. However, studies to date have not adjusted findings for differences in demographics and socio-economic status of these populations. Methods Subjects: All residents in Coventry and Warwickshire, UK, eligible for screening. Uptakes compared for round 1 (2000–02) and round 2 (2003–05) of a national bowel cancer screening pilot, and for rounds 1, 2 and 5 of the established NHS breast cancer screening programme (commenced 1989). Data: Bowel screening data were analysed for 123,367 invitees in round 1 and 116,773 in round 2 (total 240,140 cases). Breast screening data were analysed for 61,934, 62,829 and 86,749 invitees in rounds 1, 2 and 5 respectively (total 211,512 cases). Analysis: Screening uptake was compared for two broad meta-categories (South Asian and non-Asian) and for five Asian subgroups (Hindu-Gujarati; Hindu-Other; Muslim; Sikh; South Asian Other). Univariate and multivariate analyses examined screening uptake and various demographic attributes of invitees, including age, gender, deprivation and ethnic group. Results South Asians demonstrated significantly lower (p <0.001) unadjusted bowel screening uptake; 32.8% vs. 61.3% for non-Asians (round 1). Rates were particularly low for the Muslim subgroup: 26.1% (round 1), 21.5% (round 2). For breast screening, a smaller difference was observed between South Asians and non-Asians; initially 60.8% vs. 75.4% (round 1) and later 66.8% vs. 77.7% (round 5). Thus, the disparity reduced gradually over time, alongside an overall trend of increased uptake. However, figures remained consistently low for Muslims (51% in rounds 1 and 5). After adjusting for age, deprivation (and gender), bowel screening uptake remained significantly lower for all South Asian subgroups. After similar adjustments, breast screening uptake remained lower for all subgroups except Hindu-Gujaratis. For Muslims registered with an Asian (vs. non-Asian) GP, bowel screening uptake was significantly lower (p <0.001). However, breast screening uptake for Muslims with an Asian (vs. non-Asian) GP showed no difference (p = 0.12) in the same period. Colonoscopy and breast assessment uptakes were similar for both meta-categories, but Asian response time appeared slower for colonoscopy. The percentage of abnormal FOBT results was significantly higher for South Asian invitees. A slight increase in abnormal mammograms was observed for Muslims over time (2.7% to 4.2% in rounds 1 and 5 respectively). Conclusion The lower cancer screening uptakes observed for the South Asian population cannot be attributed to socio-economic, age or gender population differences. Although breast screening disparities have reduced over time, significant differences remain. We conclude that both programmes need to implement and assess interventions to reduce such differences

Women on the Edge: Making the case for Intersectional Feminist Science Fiction

This study explores the relationship between Intersectionality, feminist postmodernism and Feminist Science Fiction in the late 20th century. It incorporates a case study of Kathy Acker's Empire of the Senseless, Octavia E. Butler's Kindred and Dawn, and the first volume of the comic series Bitch Planet by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Valentine De Landro. The main argument of this study is that contemporary third wave feminism combines the literary techniques of feminist postmodern experimental literature and intersectionality to contemporary third wave feminist science fiction. The techniques of multi-axis character formation and reclamation have led to diverse and satirical feminist science fiction.No embargoAcademic Major: EnglishAcademic Major: Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studie

Økologiske grise skal vise deres værd

Etisk kvalitet i kvalitetskød skal frem i lyset i et nyt forskningsprojekt, der skal finde og formilde potentialet og mulighederne ved produktion af slagtesvin på friland

A statistical evaluation of the effects of gender differences in assessment of acute inhalation toxicity

Acute inhalation toxicity of chemicals has conventionally been assessed by the median lethal concentration (LC50) test (organisation for economic co-operation and development (OECD) TG 403). Two new methods, the recently adopted acute toxic class method (ATC; OECD TG 436) and a proposed fixed concentration procedure (FCP), have recently been considered, but statistical evaluations of these methods did not investigate the influence of differential sensitivity between male and female rats on the outcomes. This paper presents an analysis of data from the assessment of acute inhalation toxicity for 56 substances. Statistically significant differences between the LC50 for males and females were found for 16 substances, with greater than 10-fold differences in the LC50 for two substances. The paper also reports a statistical evaluation of the three test methods in the presence of unanticipated gender differences. With TG 403, a gender difference leads to a slightly greater chance of under-classification. This is also the case for the ATC method, but more pronounced than for TG 403, with misclassification of nearly all substances from Globally Harmonised System (GHS) class 3 into class 4. As the FCP uses females only, if females are more sensitive, the classification is unchanged. If males are more sensitive, the procedure may lead to under-classification. Additional research on modification of the FCP is thus proposed

Repeated training of homing pigeons reveals age dependent idiosyncrasy and visual landmark use.

Recent research into the navigational strategies of homing pigeons (Columba livia) inthe familiar area has highlighted the phenomenon of route fidelity – birds formingidiosyncratic flight paths to which they are loyal over multiple releases from the samesite, and even returning to this path when released from a near-by unfamiliar location.Such results highlight the potential importance of visual landmark cues in the homingprocess. However, not all birds have been shown to produce idiosyncratic routes orshow this route-joining behaviour. Here we use birds with and without flight experienceto study the formation of idiosyncratic routes when released repeatedly from a singlelocation, followed by two off-route releases with differing topography to see how flightexperience and local landmark features can influence navigational strategy in thefamiliar area. We found that, over the course of 20 sequential releases, birds withgreater flight experience tended to form idiosyncratic routes whereas less experiencedbirds did not show this tendency. When released from near-by sites (from which thebirds had not previously been released), a range of navigational strategies were seen,including flying parallel to the learned route (suggestive of a learned compassdirection), a direct flight path towards home (again indicative of compass use), re-joining the learned route, and following the coastline. These latter strategies aresuggestive of landmark usage. Analysis using time lag embedding was also used toassess the off-route releases, and the short-term correlation dimension valuesproduced (ranging from 1.5-2.5) were also indicative of strategies using one or twofactors (landmarks, compass, or a combination of these two). Individual birds oftenshowed different strategies at different sites, suggesting that the use of differentnavigational cues is highly flexible and situationally dependent