How farmers in Switzerland perceive fertilizers from recycled anthropogenic nutrients (urine).

We studied acceptance of a urine-based fertilizer product using a mail survey of 467 Swiss farmers. We distinguished among four production types: organic or IP farming, and with or without vegetable production. Considering that the idea of urine-based fertilizers is new, acceptance among the answering farmers was surprisingly high, with 57% explicitly stating that they thought it was a good or very good idea, and 42% willing to purchase such a product. The farmers of different production types did not differ strongly in their attitude towards urine-based fertilizers. Especially IP and vegetable farmers, who purchased additional fertilizers anyway, seem willing to accept urine-based fertilizers, hereby preferring a grainy, odorless ammonium nitrate fertilizer. Absolutely essential is a hazard-free product: 30% of all farmers had concerns regarding micropollutants. Based on fertilizer data, we demonstrate an existing demand for the nutrients N, P, and K in Switzerland, which could be partially substituted by a recycled urine product. Finally, we discuss methodological requirements of social science surveys. To obtain representative data on an entire population in a mail survey, multiple contacts with respondents are necessary. We argue that information and participation of stakeholders at an early stage is essential for successful technology transfer.

Evoked otoacoustic emissions and auditory selective attention.

The auditory system has an extensive peripheral efferent innervation. The question addressed in this paper is whether the olivocochlear bundle (OCB) efferent system innervating the outer hair cells (OHC) of the cochlea plays a role in selective attention. As evoked otoacoustic emissions (EOAE) provide a measure of the active micromechanical properties of OHCs, they can be used to assess the role of the efferent system in attention. Six experiments using tone-pip EOAEs are reported. In each experiment, EOAEs generated by 1 or 2 kHz tone pips when they were attended were compared with EOAEs to the same stimuli when they were unattended. In three experiments (1-4), a non-linear stimulus difference method was used to record a pure cochlear component of EOAEs. In Exps. 1-5, 1 and 2 kHz tone pips were delivered to the same ear and the difficulty of the subjects' task was manipulated in order to produce a more focussed attentional state or contralateral noise was presented to determine whether attention effects are dependent upon having an already activated efferent system. In Exp.6, the 1 and 2 kHz stimuli were delivered to opposite ears. A total of 70 subjects participated in the six experiments. There were no effects of attention on EOAEs in any of the experiments in the direction of previously reported effects. The results of these first six experiments employing simple attention switches between fixed auditory objects do not support active cochlear involvement in selective attention.

Plasma esterase-1 (ES-1) activity in rats is influenced by the amount and type of dietary fat, and butyryl cholinesterase activity by the type of dietary fat.

In previous work, we studied, under conditions of ad libitum food consumption, the effect of amount and type of dietary fat on plasma esterase-1 (ES-1) and butyryl cholinesterase activity in rats. This was done by the isoenergetic replacement of dietary fat by carbohydrates or by another fat source. The observed change in enzyme activity could theoretically be determined by either the dietary omission or the addition or by the combination. In the present work, we studied under restricted feeding conditions the effect of supplemental energy in various forms to determine the effect of the supplement alone. Supplemental coconut fat, but not isoenergetic amounts of either glucose or casein, raised plasma ES-1 activity. None of these supplements influenced butyryl cholinesterase activity. In a second experiment, we demonstrated that the ES-1 enhancing effect of supplemental coconut fat also occurred with fish oil, whereas the stimulatory effects of olive oil and corn oil were less pronounced. Supplemental fish oil, but not the three other fats, significantly reduced the depression in butyryl cholinesterase activity. Plasma cholesterol concentration was negatively associated with butyryl cholinesterase activity, but was not related to ES-1 activity. The two esterases were not correlated with plasma triglyceride concentration. We conclude that both the amount and type of fat in the diet of rats have specific influences on plasma ES-1 activity and that butyryl cholinesterase activity is affected by the type of fat.