FOOD SAFETY IN THE MEAT INDUSTRY: A REGULATORY QUAGMIRE

Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Livestock Production/Industries,

FIRMS, INCENTIVES, AND THE SUPPLY OF FOOD SAFETY: A FORMAL MODEL OF GOVERNMENT ENFORCEMENT

Recent instances of significant food safety breeches in both meat and biotechnology challenge traditional safety efforts. A formal model utilizing agency theory is used to explore the power relationships between the regulator and the firm. Fundamental issues effecting firms' supply of safety are demonstrated and alternative corrective mechanisms are discussed.Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Induction of triploidy with caffeine treatment in the African catfish (Clarias gariepinus)

Induction of triploidy is one of the biotechnological methods in aquaculture used for genetic manipulation. It refers to a state where organisms have three complete sets of chromosomes instead of two and can result in sterility. Caffeine treatment that is safe and inexpensive, serve to induce triploidy in catfish. To suppress the second meiotic division, fertilized eggs were exposed to three different concentrations (5, 10 and 15 mM) of caffeine solution for 20 min beginning at 3 min after fertilization. After that, the eggs were incubated at ambient temperature until hatching. The induction of triploidy in fry was determined for three concentrations of caffeine by means of flow-cytometric analysis. The lowest rate of triploidy (20.40 ± 1.13%) was obtained in the group treated with 5 mM caffeine and the highest (69.10 ± 2.18%) in the group treated with 15 mM caffeine. Our results suggest that caffeine can be used to induce triploidy in catfish

"You Know You Are Sick, Why Do You Carry A Pregnancy Again?" Applying the Socio-Ecological Model to Understand Barriers to PMTCT Service Utilization in Western Kenya.

ObjectiveThroughout most of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) services are readily available. However, PMTCT programs in SSA have had suboptimal performance compared to other regions of the world. The main objective of this study is to explore the socio-ecological and individual factors influencing the utilization of PMTCT services among HIV-positive pregnant women in western Kenya using a social ecological model as our analytical lens.MethodsData were collected using in-depth interviews with 33 HIV-infected women attending government health facilities in rural western Kenya. Women with HIV-infected infants aged between 6 weeks to 6 months with a definitive diagnosis of HIV in the infant, as well as those with an HIV-negative test result in the infant were interviewed between November 2012 and June 2013. Coding and analysis of the transcripts followed grounded theory tenets. Coding reports were discussed in a series of meetings held among the authors. We then employed constant comparative analysis to discover dominant individual, family, society and structural determinants of PMTCT use.ResultsBarriers to women's utilization of PMTCT services fell within the broad constructs of the socio-ecological model of individual, family, society and structural determinants. Several themes cut across the different steps of PMTCT cascade and relate to different constructs of the socio-ecological model. These themes include: self-motivation, confidence and resilience, family support, absence or reduced stigma, right provider attitude and quality of health services provided. We also found out that these factors ensured enhanced maternal health and HIV negative children.ConclusionThe findings of this study suggest that a woman's social environment is an important determinant of MTCT. PMTCT Interventions must comprehensively address multiple factors across the different ecological levels. More research is however required for the development of multi-component interventions that combine strategies at different ecological levels

Rare Decay of the Top t -> cgg in the Standard Model

We calculate the one-loop flavor changing neutral current top quark decay t -> cgg in the Standard Model. We demonstrate that the rate for t -> cgg exceeds the rate for a single gluon emission t -> cg by about two orders of magnitude, while the rate for t -> cq barq (q=u) is slightly smaller than for t -> cg.Comment: 22 pages, 4 figures and 2 tables. Typo in Eq.2.1 corrected, text slightly modified, references added. Version to appear in Phys.Rev.

Implementation of repeat HIV testing during pregnancy in Kenya: a qualitative study.

BackgroundRepeat HIV testing in late pregnancy has the potential to decrease rates of mother-to-child transmission of HIV by identifying mothers who seroconvert after having tested negative for HIV in early pregnancy. Despite being national policy in Kenya, the available data suggest that implementation rates are low.MethodsWe conducted 20 in-depth semi-structured interviews with healthcare providers and managers to explore barriers and enablers to implementation of repeat HIV testing guidelines for pregnant women. Participants were from the Nyanza region of Kenya and were purposively selected to provide variation in socio-demographics and job characteristics. Interview transcripts were coded and analyzed in Dedoose software using a thematic analysis approach. Four themes were identified a priori using Ferlie and Shortell's Framework for Change and additional themes were allowed to emerge from the data.ResultsParticipants identified barriers and enablers at the client, provider, facility, and health system levels. Key barriers at the client level from the perspective of providers included late initial presentation to antenatal care and low proportions of women completing the recommended four antenatal visits. Barriers to offering repeat HIV testing for providers included heavy workloads, time limitations, and failing to remember to check for retest eligibility. At the facility level, inconsistent volume of clients and lack of space required for confidential HIV retesting were cited as barriers. Finally, at the health system level, there were challenges relating to the HIV test kit supply chain and the design of nationally standardized antenatal patient registers. Enablers to improving the implementation of repeat HIV testing included client dissemination of the benefits of antenatal care through word-of-mouth, provider cooperation and task shifting, and it was suggested that use of an electronic health record system could provide automatic reminders for retest eligibility.ConclusionsThis study highlights some important barriers to improving HIV retesting rates among pregnant women who attend antenatal clinics in the Nyanza region of Kenya at the client, provider, facility, and health system levels. To successfully implement Kenya's national repeat HIV testing guidelines during pregnancy, it is essential that these barriers be addressed and enablers capitalized on through a multi-faceted intervention program

Assessing Production Efficiency of Dairy Farms in Burdur Province, Turkey

This study finds that a sample of 132 dairy farmers located in Burdur Province, Turkey, are producing at a low level of production efficiency. Efficiency ranges from 24 percent to 94 percent, with the average being 50 percent. Eighty one percent of the variation in output among the sampled farmers is due to differences in their production efficiency. If a farmer with average efficiency improved efficiency to that of the most efficient farmer in the sample, then the average dairy farmer could realize a 47 percent saving in cost. Two statistically significant factors associated with the variation in production efficiency are identified: the type of feeding system used and herd size. Use of extension programs explained little of the variation in production efficiency

Effects of the loading direction on high strain rate behavior of woven graphite/epoxy composites

Effects of the loading direction on high strain rate behavior of cylindrical woven graphite/epoxy composites are presented. Compressive split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) was used for high strain rate experiments. Cylindrical specimens were loaded diametrically and transversely at the impact energies of 67 J, 163 J, and 263 J. Micro Laser Raman spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used for surface characterization. It is observed that diametrically loaded specimens show permanent plastic deformation with high ductility resulting in a catastrophic failure while transversely loaded specimens exhibit viscoplastic deformation with some recoverable damage. As a result of this, Raman peak shifted to higher values for the diametrically loaded fibers whereas almost no change was observed in the Raman shift of transversely loaded fibers

Effect of the contact geometry on high strain rate behavior of woven graphite/epoxy composites

Effects of the loading direction on high strain rate behavior of cylindrical woven graphite/epoxy composites are presented. Compressive split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) was used for high strain rate experiments. Cylindrical specimens were loaded diametrically and transversely at the impact energies of 67 J, 163 J, and 263 J. Micro Laser Raman spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used for surface characterization. It is observed that diametrically loaded specimens show permanent plastic deformation with high ductility resulting in a catastrophic failure while transversely loaded specimens exhibit viscoplastic deformation with some recoverable damage. As a result of this, Raman peak shifted to higher values for the diametrically loaded fibers whereas almost no change was observed in the Raman shift of transversely loaded fibers

Comparison of Electron and Hole Charge-Discharge Dynamics in Germanium Nanocrystal Flash Memories

Cataloged from PDF version of article.Electron and hole charge and discharge dynamics are studied on plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition grown metal-oxide-silicon germanium nanocrystal flash memory devices. Electron and hole charge and discharge currents are observed to differ significantly and depend on annealing conditions chosen for the formation of nanocrystals. At low annealing temperatures, holes are seen to charge slower but to escape faster than electrons. They discharge slower than electrons when annealing temperatures are raised. The results suggest that discharge currents are dominated by the interface layer acting as a quantum well for holes and by direct tunneling for elec-trons. (c) 2008 American Institute of Physics