Public Opinions on Removing Disincentives and Introducing Incentives for Organ Donation: Proposing a European Research Agenda.

The shortage of organs for transplantations is increasing in Europe as well as globally. Many initiatives to the organ shortage, such as opt-out systems for deceased donation and expanding living donation, have been insufficient to meet the rising demand for organs. In recurrent discussions on how to reduce organ shortage, financial incentives and removal of disincentives, have been proposed to stimulate living organ donation and increase the pool of available donor organs. It is important to understand not only the ethical acceptability of (dis)incentives for organ donation, but also its societal acceptance. In this review, we propose a research agenda to help guide future empirical studies on public preferences in Europe towards the removal of disincentives and introduction of incentives for organ donation. We first present a systematic literature review on public opinions concerning (financial) (dis)incentives for organ donation in European countries. Next, we describe the results of a randomized survey experiment conducted in the United States. This experiment is crucial because it suggests that societal support for incentivizing organ donation depends on the specific features and institutional design of the proposed incentive scheme. We conclude by proposing this experiment's framework as a blueprint for European research on this topic.

Opt-out choice framing attenuates gender differences in the decision to compete in the laboratory and in the field.

Research shows that women are less likely to enter competitions than men. This disparity may translate into a gender imbalance in holding leadership positions or ascending in organizations. We provide both laboratory and field experimental evidence that this difference can be attenuated with a default nudge-changing the choice to enter a competitive task from a default in which applicants must actively choose to compete to a default in which applicants are automatically enrolled in competition but can choose to opt out. Changing the default affects the perception of prevailing social norms about gender and competition as well as perceptions of the performance or ability threshold at which to apply. We do not find associated negative effects for performance or wellbeing. These results suggest that organizations could make use of opt-out promotion schemes to reduce the gender gap in competition and support the ascension of women to leadership positions.

The incidence and role of negative citations in science.

Citations to previous literature are extensively used to measure the quality and diffusion of knowledge. However, we know little about the different ways in which a study can be cited; in particular, are papers cited to point out their merits or their flaws? We elaborated a methodology to characterize "negative" citations using bibliometric data and natural language processing. We found that negative citations concerned higher-quality papers, were focused on a study's findings rather than theories or methods, and originated from scholars who were closer to the authors of the focal paper in terms of discipline and social distance, but not geographically. Receiving a negative citation was also associated with a slightly faster decline in citations to the paper in the long run.

Carbon footprint of organic beef meat from farm to fork: a case study of short supply chain.

BACKGROUND: Sustainability of food systems is one of the big challenges facing humanity. Local food networks, especially those using organic methods, are proliferating worldwide, and little is known about their carbon footprints. This study aims to assess greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with a local organic beef supply chain using a cradle-to-grave approach. RESULTS: The study determined an overall burden of 24.46 kg CO2  eq. kg-1 of cooked meat. The breeding and fattening phase was the principal source of CO2 in the production chain, accounting for 86% of the total emissions. Enteric methane emission was the greatest source of GHG arising directly from farming activities (47%). The consumption of meat at home was the second high point in GHG production in the chain (9%), with the cooking process being the main source within this stage (72%). Retail and slaughtering activities respectively accounted for 4.1% and 1.1% of GHG emissions for the whole supply chain. CONCLUSION: The identification of the major sources of GHG emissions associated with organic beef produced and consumed in a local food network may stimulate debate on environmental issues among those in the network and direct them toward processes, choices and habits that reduce carbon pollution. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry.

Challenges and priorities for modelling livestock health and pathogens in the context of climate change.

Climate change has the potential to impair livestock health, with consequences for animal welfare, productivity, greenhouse gas emissions, and human livelihoods and health. Modelling has an important role in assessing the impacts of climate change on livestock systems and the efficacy of potential adaptation strategies, to support decision making for more efficient, resilient and sustainable production. However, a coherent set of challenges and research priorities for modelling livestock health and pathogens under climate change has not previously been available. To identify such challenges and priorities, researchers from across Europe were engaged in a horizon-scanning study, involving workshop and questionnaire based exercises and focussed literature reviews. Eighteen key challenges were identified and grouped into six categories based on subject-specific and capacity building requirements. Across a number of challenges, the need for inventories relating model types to different applications (e.g. the pathogen species, region, scale of focus and purpose to which they can be applied) was identified, in order to identify gaps in capability in relation to the impacts of climate change on animal health. The need for collaboration and learning across disciplines was highlighted in several challenges, e.g. to better understand and model complex ecological interactions between pathogens, vectors, wildlife hosts and livestock in the context of climate change. Collaboration between socio-economic and biophysical disciplines was seen as important for better engagement with stakeholders and for improved modelling of the costs and benefits of poor livestock health. The need for more comprehensive validation of empirical relationships, for harmonising terminology and measurements, and for building capacity for under-researched nations, systems and health problems indicated the importance of joined up approaches across nations. The challenges and priorities identified can help focus the development of modelling capacity and future research structures in this vital field. Well-funded networks capable of managing the long-term development of shared resources are required in order to create a cohesive modelling community equipped to tackle the complex challenges of climate change.

The autumn low milk yield syndrome in Brown Swiss cows in continental climates: hypotheses and facts.

Extensive research has been conducted globally on the impact of heat stress (HS) on animal health and milk production in dairy cows. In this article, we examine the possible reasons for the decrease in milk production in Brown Swiss (BS) cows during the autumn season, known as the autumn low milk yield syndrome (ALMYS). This condition has been extensively studied in high-yielding Holstein Friesian (HF) cattle and has also been observed in BS cows with a daily milk yield of around 30 kg. Our hypothesis is that the drop in milk yield and the increased prevalence of mastitis in autumn, as found in our recent studies, may be a long-term consequence of summer HS. We re-evaluate our previous findings in light of the possible manifestation of an HS-related form of ALMYS in BS cows. As milk yield, mastitis spread, and reproductive function of cows are interrelated and have seasonal dependence, we examine the consistency of our hypothesis with existing data. The significant drop in milk yield in BS cows in autumn (by 2.0-3.2 kg), as well as the threshold of milk yield decrease (temperature-humidity index of 70.7), may point in favour of the manifestation of ALMYS in BS cows, similar to HF cows. Only the percentage effect of seasonal factor (59.4%; p < 0.05) on milk yield of BS cows was significant. HS-related ALMYS provides a robust conceptual framework for diverse sets of productive and animal health data in BS cows, similar to observations in high-yielding HF cattle. However, the limitations associated with the lack of additional data (e.g. immunological indicators) suggest the need for further research to confirm ALMYS in BS breed.

Short communication: Lymphoproliferative response to lipopolysaccharide and incidence of infections in periparturient dairy cows.

This preliminary study aimed at assessing whether the in vitro proliferation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells in response to lipopolysaccharide permits individual characterization of periparturient dairy cows, and whether this parameter may be associated with incidence of infections and with some of the single nucleotide polymorphisms located on the toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) gene. Based on the average response of peripheral blood mononuclear cells to lipopolysaccharide over 7 time points during the transition period, 31 cows were categorized as low (LO), medium (MED), and high (HI) responders. This categorization identified 7 HI, 19 MED, and 5 LO cows, respectively. Genomic DNA was genotyped for P-226 C>G and E3+2021 C>T TLR4 single nucleotide polymorphisms. Monitoring of the health status revealed that 8 of the 31 cows suffered from clinical mastitis, metritis, or interdigital dermatitis during the first 60d in milk. The association study pointed out that none of the HI cows and all of the LO cows developed an infection; cows with the CCGT haplotype remained healthy and none of them belonged to the LO responder category.

Expectations, reference points, and compliance with COVID-19 social distancing measures.

We study the behavioral impact of announcements about the duration of a policy and their relationship with people's expectations in the context of the COVID-19 lockdowns. We surveyed representative samples of Italian residents at three moments of the first wave of the pandemic to test how intentions to comply with social-isolation measures depend on the duration of their possible extension. Individuals were more likely to reduce, and less likely to increase, their compliance effort if the hypothetical extension was longer than they expected, whereas positive surprises had a lesser impact. The behavioral response to the (mis)match between expected versus hypothesized extensions is consistent with expectations acting as reference points and can help explain the increase in observed physical proximity in Italy following lockdown extension announcements. Our findings suggest that public authorities should consider citizens' expectations when announcing policy changes.

Effects of fatty acid mixtures on proliferation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells in dairy cows.

This in vitro study was performed to assess the effects of three different mixtures of nonesterifed fatty acids (NEFA) on mitogen-driven proliferation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) in dairy cows. Substantially, the three mixtures differed for n-6 to n-3 fatty acids (FA) ratio and were intended to mimic plasma NEFA composition of cows given fat supplements with different n-6 to n-3 FA ratio. PBMC from six Holstein heifers were cultured in media containing three different mixtures of oleic, palmitic, stearic, linoleic, palmitoleic, or linolenic acid at concentrations mimicking different degree of lipomobilisation. Proliferation of PBMC was stimulated by concanavalin A or pokeweed mitogen (PWM). Low concentrations of the three mixtures (62.5 and 125 µmol/l), did not affect the ability of PBMC to proliferate. Concentrations of the three mixtures mimicking medium-intense lipomobilisation (500, 1,000 and 1,500 µmol/l) impaired to the same extent proliferation of PBMC. The addition to cultures of the three mixtures at concentration of 250 µmol/l, impaired the proliferation only in PBMC stimulated with PWM. Even in this case, the three mixtures did not exert differential effects on PBMC proliferation. Present results reinforce the hypothesis that high concentrations of plasma NEFA play a role in the immunosuppression taking place in cows undergoing intense lipomobilisation, and authorize to suggest that under these conditions different composition of plasma NEFA in terms of different n-6 to n-3 FA ratio cannot prevent their negative effects on lymphocyte proliferation.

In vitro antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity of an oleuropein-enriched extract obtained from olives leaves on BME-UV1 cells.

In this in vitro study, for the first time was evaluated the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effect of an Oleuropein-enriched extract (OleE) on bovine mammary epithelial cell line (BME-UV1). OleE was obtained from olives leaves and characterized by HPLC and NMR analysis. Cell viability test indicated that OleE at concentrations of 7.8 up to 250 µg/mL did not exert cytotoxic effect. At concentration of 31.2 up to 250 µg/mL, a dose dependent reduction of ROS production induced by hydrogen peroxide was observed. In addition, OleE at 62.5, 125 and 250 µg/mL showed a dose-dependent reduction in gene expression of TNF, IL1B, and IL10 after exposure to LPS. The downregulation of ROS production and cytokines expression in BME-UV1 by OleE confirmed the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. In vivo experiments will be necessary for future applications of OleE as natural feed supplement in dairy cattle to reduce incidence of oxidative stress in peripartal period.

Dynamics of the temperature-humidity index in the Mediterranean basin.

The study was aimed at describing the temperature humidity index (THI) dynamics over the Mediterranean basin for the period 1951-2007. The THI combines temperature and humidity into a single value, and may help to predict the effects of environmental warmth in farm animals. In particular, on the basis of THI values, numerous studies have been performed to establish thresholds for heat stress in dairy cows. The THI was calculated by using monthly mean values of temperature and humidity obtained from the National Center for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research reanalysis project. The analysis demonstrated a high degree of heterogeneity of THI patterns over the Mediterranean basin, a strong north-south gradient, and an overall warming during the study period, which was particularly marked during summer seasons. Results indicated that several areas of the basin present summer THI values which were unfavorable to cow welfare and productivity, and that risk of heat stress for cows is generally greater in the countries of the south coast of the basin. Furthermore, THI data from the summer 2003 revealed that severe positive anomalies may impact areas normally characterized by a favorable climate for animal production. In conclusion, THI dynamics should be taken into careful consideration by farmers and policy makers operating in Mediterranean countries when planning investments in the sector of animal production. The investments should at least partially be directed towards implementation of adaptation measures, which may help to alleviate the impact of hot on farm animals welfare, performance and health.

Anti-proliferative effect of pomegranate peel extracts on bovine peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs).

Pomegranate peel extracts prepared in our laboratories from a waste of juice fruit processing were tested on bovine peripheral blood mononuclear cells to evaluate the effects on viability, oxidative stress and proliferation. The (3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5 diphenyl tetrazolium bromide) assay pointed out that the extracts were not cytotoxic at the tested concentrations (0.1, 1.0, and 10 µg/mL). A moderate protective effect against Reactive Oxygen Species production induced by hydrogen peroxide or lipopolysaccharide and a significant anti-proliferative activity against proliferation induced by concanavalin A were observed on cell lines treated with the extracts at 10 µg/mL. Based on these results, pomegranate peel extracts seem promising as feed supplement for dairy cattle, in particular around calving, when the animals are subjected to an increase of the metabolic activity, responsible for oxidative stress and diseases. However, in vivo studies are needed to investigate the stability of the extracts across the bovine gastrointestinal tract barrier.

Carbon Footprint of Mediterranean Pasture-Based Native Beef: Effects of Agronomic Practices and Pasture Management under Different Climate Change Scenarios.

A better understanding of soil organic carbon (SOC) dynamics is needed when assessing the carbon footprint (CFP) of livestock products and the effectiveness of possible agriculture mitigation strategies. This study aimed (i) to perform a cradle-to-gate CFP of pasture-based beef cattle in a Mediterranean agropastoral system (ii) and to assess the effects on the CFP of alternative tillage, fertilizing, and grazing practices under current (NCC) and future climate change (CC) scenarios. Minimum (Mt) and no-tillage (Nt) practices were compared to current tillage (Ct); a 50% increase (Hf) and decrease (Lf) in fertilization was evaluated against the current (Cf) rate; and rotational grazing (Rg) was evaluated versus the current continuous grazing (Cg) system. The denitrification-decomposition (DNDC) model was run using NCC as well as representative concentration pathways to investigate the effects of farm management practices coupled with future CC scenarios on SOC dynamics, N2O fluxes, and crop yield. Within NCC and CtCf, an emission intensity of 26.9 ± 0.7 kg CO2eq per kg live body weight was estimated. Compared to Ct, the adoption of Mt and Nt reduced the CFP by 20% and 35%, respectively, while NtHf reduced it by 40%. Conservation tillage practices were thus shown to be effective in mitigating greenhouse gas emissions.

Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of pomegranate peel extracts on bovine mammary epithelial cells BME-UV1.

Pomegranate peel extracts (PPE) were tested for the first time on BME-UV1, a valid cellular model to study the bovine mammary epithelial metabolism, to evaluate the effects on the oxidative stress and inflammatory status. Based on the statistical analysis of MTT data, PPE at 0.1, 1.0 and 10 µg/mL resulted not cytotoxic after 24 h, 48 h and 7 days of treatment. At the same concentrations, PPE induced a reduction of ROS production elicited by the addition of hydrogen peroxide or lipopolysaccharide evidencing an antioxidant effect confirmed also by a decrease of malondialdehyde. At 10 µg/mL, PPE reduced pro-inflammatory cytokines expressions showing an anti-inflammatory effect on BME-UV1 treated with lipopolysaccharide. Although in vivo experiments are necessary, the results of this study are promising for future applications of PPE as feed supplement for dairy cattle, in particular around calving, when the animals are more subject to oxidative stress and inflammatory diseases.

In-vitro effect of heat stress on bovine monocytes lifespan and polarization.

Heat stress (HS) has a negative impact on dairy cows' health, milk production, reproductive performance and immune defenses. Cellular and molecular responses to high temperatures in bovine polymorphonuclear cells and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) have been investigated so far. On the contrary, the effects of high temperatures on isolated monocytes remain almost undisclosed. The aim of this study was to unravel the in vitro effects of high temperatures, simulating a severe HS related body hyperthermia, on bovine lifespan and M1/M2 polarisation. The PBMCs were isolated from whole blood of 9 healthy dairy cattle. Monocytes were sorted by magnetic activated cell sorting and cultured over night at 39 °C (normothermia) or 41 °C (HS). Apoptotic rate and viability were assessed and mRNA abundance for heat shock proteins (HSPs), heat transcription factors (HSFs) and genes involved in monocyte/macrophage polarization (STAT1, STAT2, STAT3, STAT6, IL1ß, TGF1ß, IL-10, COX2) were quantified by qPCR. We found that apoptosis increased in monocytes exposed to 41 °C, as compared to control, while viability conversely decreased. HS increased the abundance of HSF1 and HSP70. The concomitant decrease of STAT1 and STAT2 and the increase of STAT6 genes abundance at 41 °C suggest, at transcriptional factors level, a polarization of monocytes from a classical activated M1 to a non-classically activated M2 monocytes. In conclusion, the exposure of bovine monocytes to high temperatures affects their lifespan as well as the abundance of genes involved in HS response and in monocyte/macrophages polarization phenotype, confirming that bovine immune response may be significantly affected by hyperthermia.

Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Pomegranate Peel Extracts on In Vitro Human Intestinal Caco-2 Cells and Ex Vivo Porcine Colonic Tissue Explants.

The aim of this study was to determine the anti-inflammatory potential of pomegranate peel extracts (PPE) prepared from waste material of pomegranate juice production both in vitro on Caco-2 cells and ex vivo using porcine colonic tissue explants. Caco-2 cells were stimulated in vitro by TNF and colonic tissue explants were stimulated ex vivo with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Both tissues were co-treated with PPE at 0, 1.0, 2.5, 5.0, 10 and 25 µg/mL. The secretion of CXCL8 in the supernatant of both experiments was determined by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and the relative expression of inflammatory cytokines were evaluated in the colonic tissue by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (QPCR). The 2.5 to 25 µg/mL of PPE suppressed CXCL8 (p < 0.001) in the Caco-2 cells, whereas CXCL8 production was suppressed by only 5 and 25 µg/mL (p < 0.01) of PPE in the colonic explants. The 5 µg/mL of PPE also suppressed the expression of IL1A (p < 0.05), IL6 (p < 0.01) and CXCL8 (p < 0.05) in LPS challenged colonic tissues compared to controls. In conclusion, the 5 µg/mL of PPE consistently elicits strong anti-inflammatory activity. These results support the potential of bioactive compounds from the waste peel of pomegranate in terms of their anti-inflammatory activity in cells and tissues of the gastrointestinal tract.

Motivating Cord Blood Donation with Information and Behavioral Nudges.

Umbilical cord blood is a source of hematopoietic stem cells essential to treat life-threatening diseases, such as leukemia and lymphoma. However, only a very small percentage of parents donate upon delivery. The decision to donate the cord blood occurs at a very specific time and when parents likely experience emotional, informational, and decisional overloads; these features of cord blood donation make it different from other pro-social activities. In collaboration with an OB-GYN clinic in Milan, Italy, we conducted the first randomized controlled trial that applies tools from behavioral science to foster cord blood donation, and quantified the gains that informational and behavioral "nudges" can achieve. We found that information and "soft" commitments increased donations; approaching expecting parents closer to the delivery date and providing them with multiple reminders, moreover, had the strongest impact. However, a significant portion of women who expressed consent to donate could not do so because of organizational constraints. We conclude that simple, non-invasive behavioral interventions that address information gaps and procrastination, and that increase the salience of the activity can substantially enhance altruistic donations of cord blood, especially when coupled with organizational support.