Role of mastitis in on-farm deaths of Finnish dairy cows.

According to our recent necropsy-based study, mastitis is the most common underlying diagnosis of on-farm deaths in Finnish dairy cows. However, it remained unanswered to what extent mastitis has contributed to death of all necropsied cows. In the present study, based on histopathology we detected one third of the necropsied dairy cows having active inflammatory udder lesions (n = 110). The role of mastitis varied and was interpreted by causes of death (underlying, intermediate, immediate, other significant). Mastitis was most commonly either the underlying (28%) or both immediate and underlying cause of death (48%), and only seldom the immediate (4%) or intermediate (4%) cause of death. Mastitis occurred either as the only cause leading to death (mastitis only, MO, 39%), or with many other contributing diseases (multiple diseases, MD, 61%) which were interacting with mastitis and together leading to death. Between these groups (MO vs. MD), time of mastitis occurrence during lactation, producer-reported duration of illness, clinical signs, and medication differed, as well the histopathological severity of mastitis. The cases, where mastitis was the only initial insult, occurred evenly throughout the entire lactation, but the cases with many interacting diseases clustered in early lactation. In multiple diseases -cases mastitis occurred concurrently with metritis (31%), aspiration pneumonia (24%), acute trauma/dystocia (15%), or with other diseases, such as ketosis, hepatic lipidosis, rumenitis, and abomasal diseases. For a pathologist, the gross mastitis diagnosis was most challenging at the beginning of the lactation, especially if inflammation was mild to moderate, suggesting the value of histopathological examination being highest at that time. Also, producers reported mastitis signs less frequently if cow had many simultaneously occurring diseases. Therefore, even if clinical signs of other diseases are present, the udder should be considered a potential cause of illness, and it should be examined, especially in dry and transition period cows.

Necropsy-based study on dairy cow mortality-Underlying causes of death.

The worldwide problem of increasing dairy cow mortality is widespread in modern production systems, it causes economic losses, and indicates problems with herd health and welfare. Most studies on causes of dairy cow mortality are limited as they are based on secondary register data, or questionnaires for producers or veterinarians, and neither necropsies nor histopathologic analyses are usually performed. For this reason, no definite causes for dairy cow deaths have been determined making it difficult or impossible to implement effective preventive measures. The objectives of this study were to (1) determine the causes of on-farm mortality of Finnish dairy cows, (2) determine the usefulness of routine histopathologic analysis in bovine necropsies, and (3) assess how reliable producers' perception about the cause of death is. Underlying diagnoses of on-farm deaths were determined through necropsy of 319 dairy cows at an incineration plant. The necropsy data were combined with background information obtained from online questionnaires covering cow and herd records. Mastitis was the most common underlying diagnosis of death (26.6%), followed by digestive disorders (15.4%), other known disorders (13.8%), calving-associated disorders (12.2%), and locomotion disorders (11.9%). The underlying diagnoses of death varied during different stages of lactation and with parity. A large proportion of the study cows (46.7%) died during the first 30 d after calving, and of those, 63.6% died during the first 5 d. A routine histopathologic analysis was performed in every necropsy, and it changed the preliminary gross diagnosis in 18.2% of the cases. Producers' perception about the cause of death agreed with the necropsy-based underlying diagnosis of death in 42.8% of the cases. It was most consistent for mastitis, calving disorders, locomotion diseases, and accidents. In cases where producers had no insights about the cause of death, necropsy revealed the final underlying diagnosis in 88.2% of cases, demonstrating the usefulness of necropsy. Based on our findings, necropsies provide useful and reliable information to develop control programs for cow mortality. Including routine histopathologic analysis in necropsies, more accurate information may be obtained. Furthermore, targeting preventive measures on transitional cows may be most effective, as the number of deaths was highest at this time.

Beyond inspiration: Translating zoo and aquarium experiences into conservation behavior.

Conservation first appeared as a role for zoos and aquariums in the late 20th century, and over the past few decades has evolved to be central to the mission of modern, accredited zoos and aquariums (henceforth zoos). More recently, promoting proenvironmental behavior is increasingly recognized as an essential means for zoos to achieve their shared conservation mission. To support continued progress throughout the field, there is a need for greater clarity and confidence regarding successful approaches for promoting proenvironmental behavior. A growing body of research into the conservation-related outcomes of zoo experiences, along with findings from behavioral and social sciences, provides a basis for understanding how the relationship zoos have with their audiences can translate into measurable conservation results. By shifting the balance between motivation to act and barriers to actions so that motivation is the greater force, zoos can tip the behavior balance to successfully promote action on behalf of nature and wildlife. Zoo audiences are, on average, more intrinsically motivated to take action on behalf of wildlife than the public at large. By introducing extrinsic motivators and reducing barriers, zoos can set up the circumstances that move motivated individuals to take conservation action. Even individuals who lack intrinsic motivation can be moved to action through sufficiently attractive extrinsic benefits and low barriers. In this paper we present a framework that synthesizes this study and theory on environmental behavior change and offers actionable approaches for zoo and aquarium practitioners.

Similarity and Contact Frequency Promote Mentorship Quality among Hispanic Undergraduates in STEM.

Mentoring relationships can be important for promoting the success and persistence of undergraduates, particularly for students from historically underrepresented groups in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. While mentoring is often cited as important for attracting and retaining students from underrepresented groups in STEM, little is known about the differential mentoring processes that can result from similar and dissimilar mentor-protégé pairs. The present study tests the process-oriented mentorship model (POMM) regarding how mentor-protégé similarities and the moderating role of contact frequency influence mentorship quality and STEM research career persistence intentions among faculty-mentored Hispanic STEM majors in their senior year of college. The results indicate that mentor-protégé similarity matters. Specifically, higher levels of mentor-protégé psychological similarity were related to higher levels of psychosocial support and relationship satisfaction. Hispanic students with a Hispanic faculty mentor reported engaging in more coauthoring opportunities than peers with non-Hispanic mentors. Among those with higher contact frequency, students with same-gender mentors had higher levels of relationship satisfaction than peers with different-gender mentors; however, there were no differences among those with low contact frequency. Additionally, protégés who reported coauthoring support were more likely to also report commitment to pursuing a STEM research career.

Selective dry cow therapy effect on milk yield and somatic cell count: A retrospective cohort study.

Antibiotic dry cow therapy (aDCT) at the end of lactation is an effective mastitis control measure. Selective dry cow therapy means that only infected or presumed-infected cows are treated, instead of aDCT being used as a treatment for all cows. Because antibiotic resistance poses a global threat, livestock production is under increasing pressure to reduce antibiotic use. Changes in management should not, however, impair animal welfare or cause significant economic losses. Our objective was to compare milk yield and somatic cell count (SCC) between aDCT-treated and untreated cows in herds that used selective aDCT, taking into account risk factors for reduced yield and high SCC. The information source was 2015 to 2017 Dairy Herd Improvement data, with 4,720 multiparous cows from 172 Finnish dairy farms. The response variables were test-day milk yield (kg/d) and naturally log-transformed composite SCC (×1,000 cells/mL) during the first 154 d in milk (DIM). The statistical tool was a linear mixed-effects model with 2-level random intercepts, cows nested within herds, and a first-order autoregressive [AR(1)] correlation structure. The overall proportion of aDCT-treated cows was 25% (1,176/4,720). Due to the interaction effect, SCC on the last test day prior to dry-off affected postcalving milk yield differently in aDCT-treated cows than in untreated cows. A higher SCC prior to dry-off correlated with a greater daily yield difference after calving between cows treated and untreated. The majority of cows had SCC < 200,000 cells/mL before dry-off, and as SCC before dry-off decreased, difference in yield between aDCT-treated and untreated cows decreased. Postcalving SCC was lower for aDCT-treated cows compared with untreated cows. To illustrate, for cows with an SCC of 200,000 cells/mL before dry-off, compared with untreated cows, aDCT-treated cows produced 0.97 kg/d more milk and, at 45 DIM, had an SCC that was 20,000 cells/mL lower. Higher late-lactation SCC and lactational mastitis treatments were associated with higher postcalving SCC. A dry period lasting more than 30 d was associated with higher yields but not with SCC. Our findings indicate that a missed aDCT treatment for a high-SCC cow has a negative effect on subsequent lactation milk yield and SCC, which emphasizes the importance of accurate selection of cows to be treated.

The role of conformity in mask-wearing during COVID-19.

By September 2020, COVID-19 had claimed the lives of almost 1 million people worldwide, including more than 400,000 in the U.S. and Europe [1] To slow the spread of the virus, health officials advised social distancing, regular handwashing, and wearing a face covering [2]. We hypothesized that public adherence to the health guidance would be influenced by prevailing social norms, and the prevalence of these behaviors among others. We focused on mask-wearing behavior during fall 2020, and coded livestream public webcam footage of 1,200 individuals across seven cities. Results showed that only 50% of participants were correctly wearing a mask in public, and that this percentage varied as a function of the mask-wearing behavior of close and distant others in the immediate physical vicinity. How social normative information might be used to increase mask-wearing behavior is discussed. "Cloth face coverings are one of the most powerful weapons we have to slow and stop the spread of the virus-particularly when used universally within a community setting" CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield in July 2020.

Laryngeal spasm and tracheostomy after hydroxyapatite injection laryngoplasty.

INTRODUCTION: Adductor spasmodic dysphonia (Ad-SD) is usually treated by botulinum toxin injection into the thyroarytenoid muscles. In older patients, atrophy of these muscles is responsible for glottic leak, causing presbyphonia and is managed by vocal fold medialization using autologous fat or hydroxyapatite (HA). We report the first case of uncontrollable laryngeal spasm requiring tracheostomy after hydroxyapatite injection laryngoplasty in a patient with spasmodic dysphonia and presbyphonia. CASE REPORT: An 83-year-old man had been treated for Ad-SD by botulinum toxin injections every six months for 14 years. Due to severely disabling glottic leak, autologous fat injection laryngoplasty was then successfully performed. Six months later, following recurrence of severe hypophonia, hydroxyapatite injection was performed, subsequently complicated by immediate acute respiratory distress secondary to adductor laryngeal spasm requiring reintubation and tracheostomy. The postoperative course was marked by gradual recovery of vocal fold mobility with decannulation on day 12. DISCUSSION: This case allows a discussion of the possible pathophysiological mechanisms responsible for adductor laryngeal spasm. Vocal fold medialization procedures should be performed with caution in patients with Ad-SD.

Associations between green/blue spaces and mental health across 18 countries.

Living near, recreating in, and feeling psychologically connected to, the natural world are all associated with better mental health, but many exposure-related questions remain. Using data from an 18-country survey (n = 16,307) we explored associations between multiple measures of mental health (positive well-being, mental distress, depression/anxiety medication use) and: (a) exposures (residential/recreational visits) to different natural settings (green/inland-blue/coastal-blue spaces); and (b) nature connectedness, across season and country. People who lived in greener/coastal neighbourhoods reported higher positive well-being, but this association largely disappeared when recreational visits were controlled for. Frequency of recreational visits to green, inland-blue, and coastal-blue spaces in the last 4 weeks were all positively associated with positive well-being and negatively associated with mental distress. Associations with green space visits were relatively consistent across seasons and countries but associations with blue space visits showed greater heterogeneity. Nature connectedness was also positively associated with positive well-being and negatively associated with mental distress and was, along with green space visits, associated with a lower likelihood of using medication for depression. By contrast inland-blue space visits were associated with a greater likelihood of using anxiety medication. Results highlight the benefits of multi-exposure, multi-response, multi-country studies in exploring complexity in nature-health associations.

Dry cow therapy and early lactation udder health problems-Associations and risk factors.

Mastitis remains the most expensive disease of dairy cows, and antibiotic dry cow therapy (DCT) at dry-off is an important part of mastitis control. Regardless of the infection status, blanket DCT is administered to all quarters of all cows, which is controversial due to the worldwide problem of antimicrobial resistance. Even though selective DCT of only infected cows is a more sustainable approach, choosing animals for treatment is not always straightforward. Our aim was to evaluate whether the herd-level DCT approach is associated with early lactation udder health problems, taking into account the cow characteristics. The information source was 2015-2017 Dairy Herd Improvement data with 7461 multiparous cows from 241 Finnish dairy herds. Information on the herd-level DCT approach was obtained from farmers' questionnaire responses in 2017, and the three different approaches were selective DCT, blanket DCT, and no DCT. The statistical tool for the data analysis was a generalized linear mixed model with a random herd effect for binary outcomes and a linear mixed model with a random herd effect for a continuous outcome. The two binary outcomes were the odds of having high milk somatic cell count (SCC ≥ 200 000 cells/mL) on the first test-day within 5-45 days in milk (DIM) and the odds of mastitis treatment in early lactation up to 45 DIM. The third outcome was the mean milk lnSCC (× 1000 cells/mL) within 120 DIM. Selective DCT was the prevailing treatment practice in our data. Blanket DCT was associated with lower SCC after calving. Cows more likely to have high SCC after calving were older cows, cows with high average SCC during the previous lactation, and cows with high milk yield near dry-off. A mastitis treatment in the early lactation was more likely if, during the previous lactation, the cow had high average SCC, high peak milk production, or high milk yield near dry-off. Our findings indicate that DCT is still effective in mastitis control. Cows with high milk yield, especially near dry-off, and cows with persistently high SCC require attention when considering next lactation udder health.

Functional evaluation of mandibular reconstruction with bone free flap. A GETTEC study.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the functional results of oromandibular reconstruction by free bone flap, in terms of swallowing, speech and esthetics. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A transverse multicenter study included 134 patients reconstructed by free bone flap between 1998 and 2016, with more than 6 months' follow-up, in 9 centers. A standardized questionnaire collected data on patients and treatment. Study endpoints comprised: weight loss, mouth opening, gastrostomy dependence, type of feeding, and DHI score. The impact of patient baseline characteristics on these functional criteria was explored by uni/multivariate analysis. RESULTS: Ninety of the 134 patients had cancer. Fibula flap was mainly used (80%). 94% of reconstructions were primary successes. 71% of patients had pre- or post-operative radiation therapy. 88% had less than 50% lingual resection. 97% recovered oral feeding. 89% had intelligible speech. 86% judged their esthetic appearance as good/average. 9% had dental prosthetic rehabilitation. Radiation therapy and extensive lingual resection significantly impacted swallowing function (P=0.04 and P=0.03, respectively). Radiation therapy and oropharyngeal extension significantly increased gastrostomy dependence (P=0.04 and P=0.02, respectively). CONCLUSION: Oromandibular reconstruction by free bone flap enabled return to oral feeding in most cases. More than 80% of patients were satisfied with their result in terms of speech and esthetics. However, the rate of dental rehabilitation was low and the rate of complications was high.

Amyloidosis increase is not attenuated by long-term calorie restriction or related to neuron density in the prefrontal cortex of extremely aged rhesus macaques.

As human lifespan increases and the population ages, diseases of aging such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) are a major cause for concern. Although calorie restriction (CR) as an intervention has been shown to increase healthspan in many species, few studies have examined the effects of CR on brain aging in primates. Using postmortem tissue from a cohort of extremely aged rhesus monkeys (22-44 years old, average age 31.8 years) from a longitudinal CR study, we measured immunohistochemically labeled amyloid beta plaques in Brodmann areas 32 and 46 of the prefrontal cortex, areas that play key roles in cognitive processing, are sensitive to aging and, in humans, are also susceptible to AD pathogenesis. We also evaluated these areas for cortical neuron loss, which has not been observed in younger cohorts of aged monkeys. We found a significant increase in plaque density with age, but this was unaffected by diet. Moreover, there was no change in neuron density with age or treatment. These data suggest that even in the oldest-old rhesus macaques, amyloid beta plaques do not lead to overt neuron loss. Hence, the rhesus macaque serves as a pragmatic animal model for normative human aging but is not a complete model of the neurodegeneration of AD. This model of aging may instead prove most useful for determining how even the oldest monkeys are protected from AD, and this information may therefore yield valuable information for clinical AD treatments.

Dry-off and dairy cow udder health and welfare: Effects of different milk cessation methods.

The cessation of milking at the end of lactation is a routine management practice in dairy herds, and the importance of the dry period for milk production and udder health, has long been recognized. Among countries and herds, drying-off practices differ and include various milk cessation methods, such as changes in milking frequency and in feeding, the use of antibiotic dry cow therapy and teat sealants, and changes in housing. Published studies reporting methods of stopping milk production are scarce, and there are no uniform recommendations on optimal procedures to dry cows off for good udder health, cow welfare, and milk production. This review describes methods to stop mik production to prepare cows for the dry period and their effects on mammary involution, udder health, and dairy cow welfare. Milk yield at dry-off (the final milking at the end of lactation) is important for rapid involution, which stimulates the immune system and promotes good udder health and cow welfare. Based on the findings of this review, gradual cessation of milking over several days before the final milking can effectively reduce milk yield at dry-off and accelerate mammary gland involution while maximizing cow comfort and welfare. Data from this review indicate a target production level of 15 kg/day of milk or less at dry-off.

Antibiotic dry cow therapy, somatic cell count, and milk production: Retrospective analysis of the associations in dairy herd recording data using multilevel growth models.

Antibiotic dry cow therapy (DCT) is an important part of most mastitis control programs. Updating DCT recommendations is an ongoing topic due to the global problem of antimicrobial resistance. Finland, along with other Nordic countries, has implemented selective DCT for decades. Our study analyzed Dairy Herd Improvement (DHI) information from 241 Finnish farmers who participated in a survey about their drying-off practices. The aim was to evaluate herd-level associations between milk somatic cell count (SCC), milk production, and various antimicrobial DCT approaches both cross-sectionally in 2016 and longitudinally in 2012-2016. The three DCT approaches in the study were selective, blanket, and no DCT use. An additional aim was to evaluate whether dynamic changes occurred in herd-average SCC and annual milk production over five years, and whether these potential changes differed between different DCT approaches. The method for the longitudinal analyses was growth modeling with random coefficient models. Differences in SCC and milk production between farms with different DCT approaches were minor. Regardless of the farm's DCT approach, annual milk production increased over the years, while average SCC was reasonably constant. The variability in SCC and milk production across all DCT groups was low between years, and most of the variability was between farms. Compared to other milking systems, farms with automatic milking system (AMS) had higher SCC, and in 2016 higher milk production. The results of this study suggest that it is possible to maintain low herd-average SCC and good milk production when using selective DCT and following the guidelines for prudent antimicrobial use. Average SCC and milk production varied across the herds, suggesting that advice on DCT practices should be herd-specific. The methodology of growth modeling using random coefficient models was applicable in analyzing longitudinal data, in which the time frame was relatively short and the number of herds was limited.

French consensus regarding precautions during tracheostomy and post-tracheostomy care in the context of COVID-19 pandemic.

Tracheostomy post-tracheostomy care are regarded as at high risk for contamination of health care professionals with the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). Considering the rapid spread of the infection, all patients in France must be considered as potentially infected by the virus. Nevertheless, patients without clinical or radiological (CT scan) markers of COVID-19, and with negative nasopharyngeal sample within 24h of surgery, are at low risk of being infected. Instructions for personal protection include specific wound dressings and decontamination of all material used. The operating room should be ventilated after each tracheostomy and the pressure of the room should be neutral or negative. Percutaneous tracheostomy is to be preferred over surgical cervicotomy in order to reduce aerosolization and to avoid moving patients from the intensive care unit to the operating room. Ventilation must be optimized during the procedure, to limit patient oxygen desaturation. Drug assisted neuromuscular blockage is advised to reduce coughing during tracheostomy tube insertion. An experienced team is mandatory to secure and accelerate the procedure as well as to reduce risk of contamination.

French consensus on management of head and neck cancer surgery during COVID-19 pandemic.

In the context of the current pandemic, there is a need for specific advice concerning treatment of patients with Head and Neck cancers. The rule is to limit as much as possible the number of patients in order to reduce the risks of contamination by the SARS-Cov-2 virus for both patients and the caregivers, who are particularly exposed in ENT. The aim is to minimize the risk of loss of opportunity for patients and to anticipate the increased number of cancer patients to be treated at the end of the pandemic, taking into account the degree of urgency, the difficulty of the surgery, the risk of contaminating the caregivers (tracheotomy) and the local situation (whether or not the hospital and intensive care departments are overstretched).

Experiencing a Severe Weather Event Increases Concern About Climate Change.

Climate change is primarily driven by human-caused greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and may therefore be mitigated by changes to human behavior (Clayton et al., 2015; IPCC, 2018). Despite efforts to raise awareness and concern about climate change, GHG emissions continue to rise (IPCC, 2018). Climate change seems to be at odds with the immediate, present threats to which humans are adapted to cope (Gifford et al., 2009; Schultz, 2014; van Vugt et al., 2014). In contrast to immediate dangers, climate change is typically abstract, large scale, slow and often unrelated to the welfare of our daily lives (e.g., Ornstein and Ehrlich, 1989; Gifford, 2011). But there are moments when the consequences of climate change are readily apparent, such as extreme weather events. In the current paper, we examine the impact of personal experience with an extreme weather event, and the impact of this experience on beliefs about climate change, and intentions to take actions that can help prepare for and mitigate the consequences of climate change.

Assessment of daily activity patterns and biomarkers of pain, inflammation, and stress in lactating dairy cows diagnosed with clinical metritis.

The objectives of the present case-control study were to assess (1) daily activity patterns (lying time, number of steps, number of lying bouts, and lying bout duration), and (2) circulating concentrations of biomarkers of pain (substance P), inflammation (haptoglobin), and stress (cortisol) in lactating dairy cows diagnosed with clinical metritis. Lactating dairy cows (n = 200) from 2 commercial dairy herds were enrolled in the present study. Cows diagnosed with clinical metritis (n = 100) at 7 ± 3 d in milk were matched according to lactation and days in milk to cows without clinical metritis (NO-CM; n = 100). On study d 1, clinical metritis was diagnosed (using a Metricheck device, Simcro Tech Ltd., Hamilton, New Zealand) by the presence of watery, reddish, or brownish foul-smelling vaginal discharge, and blood samples were collected for assessment of circulating concentration of substance P, haptoglobin, cortisol, total calcium, ß-hydroxybutyrate, and blood cells. In addition, on study d 1 body condition of cows was visually assessed, and activity monitors were placed on the hind leg of a subset of cows (CM, n = 56; CON, n = 56) and were kept until study d 7. Cows showing any other signs of other diseases were not included in the study. Cows with clinical metritis tended to spend more time lying (CM = 628.92 min/d; NO-CM = 591.23 min/d) compared with NO-CM cows. Activity analysis by parity revealed that primiparous cows with clinical metritis spent more time lying compared with primiparous cows without clinical metritis. However, no differences in daily lying time were observed between multiparous cows with and without clinical metritis. Furthermore, cows in the CM group had a higher circulating concentration of substance P (CM = 47.15 pg/mL; NO-CM = 37.73 pg/mL) and haptoglobin (CM = 233.00 µg/mL; NO-CM = 99.98 µg/mL) when compared with NO-CM cows. Cows with clinical metritis had lower body condition score, and a greater proportion of cows in this group had hypocalcemia when compared with cows without clinical metritis. The circulating concentration of leukocytes and erythrocytes were decreased in cows with clinical metritis compared with cows without clinical metritis. Results from this study showed that concentrations of markers of inflammation, stress, pain, and activity were affected in cows diagnosed with clinical metritis; thus, strategies aimed to minimize the negative effects associated with clinical metritis may be required to improve the welfare of dairy cows.

Short communication: Drying-off practices and use of dry cow therapy in Finnish dairy herds.

The objective of this study was to survey drying-off practices and use of dry cow therapy (DCT) in Finland through an online questionnaire. The questionnaire was accessible to all dairy farmers of the Finnish dairy herd recording system in 2016 (approximately 5,400 farms). In total, 715 dairy producers across the country, representative of the Finnish dairy industry, participated in the survey. Cows were dried off gradually in most of the farms. Most farms (78%) reported using selective DCT, whereas 9% of farms did not use any DCT, and 13% of farms applied blanket DCT. A significant trend was observed with increasing herd size and proportion of farms using blanket DCT. Percentage of farms using blanket DCT was also higher in farms with automatic milking system. Farmer's own experience was the most commonly reported reason for choosing a particular approach to DCT. Microbiological testing of milk samples at dry-off was the preferred method of selecting cows for DCT; 82 and 64% of farms using selective and blanket DCT approach, respectively, reported testing milk samples before treatment. The second most common criteria for using antibiotic DCT were clinical mastitis history and high somatic cell count. A high number of farms using selective DCT reported treating only up to one-fourth of their cows at dry-off. Information acquired on drying-off practices in Finland allows for future monitoring of prudent antimicrobial usage at dry-off.

On-farm deaths of dairy cows are associated with features of freestall barns.

On-farm death (OFD) of a dairy cow is always a financial loss for a farmer, and potentially a welfare issue that has to be addressed within the dairy industry. The aim of this study was to explore the associations between OFD of dairy cows, housing, and herd management in freestall barns. To achieve the goal, we followed 10,837 cows calving in 2011 in 82 herds. Data were gathered with observations and a structured interview during farm visits and from a national dairy herd improvement database. The hazard of OFD was modeled with a shared frailty survival model, with SAS 9.3 PHREG procedure (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC). The study population was 58% Ayrshire and 42% Holstein cows. The median herd size and mean milk yield in the study herds were 116 cows and 9,151 kg of milk per cow per year. The overall probability of OFD was 6.0%; 1.8% of the cows died unassisted and 4.2% were euthanized. Variation in OFD percentage between individual herds was large, from 0 to 16%, accounting for 0 to 58% of all removals in the herds. Keeping close-up dry cows in their own group was associated with higher hazard of OFD [hazard ratio (HR) = 1.37] compared with keeping them in the same pen with far-off dry cows. Higher hazard on OFD was observed when barns had only one kind of calving pen; single (HR = 2.09) or group pens (HR = 1.72), compared with having both of those types. The hazard of OFD was lower if the whole herd was housed in barns or pens that had only 1 type of feed barrier at the feed bunk, namely post-and-rail (HR = 0.51) or a type with barriers between the cow's heads (HR = 0.49), compared with having 2 types. Lower OFD hazard was observed with wider than 340 cm of walking alley next to the feeding table (HR = 0.75), and with housing a whole herd in pens with only 1 type of walking alley surface, specifically slatted (HR = 0.53) or solid (HR = 0.48), compared with having both types. The hazard of OFD was higher with stalls wider than 120 cm (HR = 1.38) compared with narrower stalls. The hazard of OFD was also associated with breed, parity, and calving season. This study identified many factors that contribute to the incidence of OFD of dairy cows. The solutions for reducing on-farm mortality include housing, management, and breeding choices that are most probably herd specific.

The Constructive, Destructive, and Reconstructive Power of Social Norms: Reprise.

The influence of social norms on behavior has been a longstanding storyline within social psychology. Our 2007 Psychological Science publication presented a new rendition of this classic telling. The reported field experiment showed that social norms could be leveraged to promote residential energy conservation, but importantly, the descriptive norm was shown to increase consumption for low-consuming households. This potential destructive effect of social norms was eliminated with the addition of an injunctive message of social approval for using less energy. The article is among the 30 most-cited articles across all APS publications, which we attribute to our methodology, which measured real behavior in a large-scale field experiment and to several circumstances associated with the timing of the work. The article coincided with the explosion of social media, the emergence of behavioral economics, and a heightened level of concern about climate change. These contemporaneous activities set the stage for our work and for its high degree of citation.