Danish dairy farmers' acceptance of and willingness to use semen from bulls produced by means of in vitro embryo production and genomic selection.

A novel technology combining in vitro production and genomic embryo selection is currently under development in dairy cattle breeding. Adoption of this technology will probably accelerate genetic progress toward the main breeding goals of economic interest, as well as allow selection for traits of societal concern such as decreased methane emissions and improved animal welfare. However, dairy farmers, and especially organic farmers, could find the technology morally questionable and reject its use. This cross-sectional study surveyed Danish dairy farmers' general acceptance of the combined technology and their reported likelihood of using semen produced with it. Drawing on diffusion theory, a questionnaire was developed to examine the way farmers discover and communicate about new technological breeding options, and to measure the factors which predict acceptance and likelihood of adopting the technology. The questionnaire was sent to a randomly selected sample of organic and conventional dairy farmers in Denmark, and 85 organic and 71 conventional farmers (41% response rate) completed it. Seventy-six percent of farmers reported that they would be likely to use semen from bulls derived from the technology. A majority (61%) also found the technology acceptable, but many (33%) were unsure or undecided. Most farmers saw the technology as beneficial, but ethical reservations were aired by around a fifth of the farmers. There were no differences between organic and conventional farmers in likelihood of using, perceived utility, and ethical reservations about the technology. Self-reported idealistic organic farmers showed lower acceptance of the technology, but reported similar likelihood of using semen produced by it. Young farmers (20-39 yr) exhibited higher acceptance of the technology. Larger producers (in terms of number of cows) were more likely to report that they will use and accept the technology. We conclude that it is likely that semen from the technology combining in vitro production and genomic selection would be widely used by both organic and conventional farmers provided that costs can be kept low, and that there are advantages in terms of achieving breeding goals. Structural developments, growth in size of dairy farms, acceptance by young farmers, and the fact that economic incentives (and even ethical arguments) seem to favor the technology all point to this conclusion.

Welfare assessments based on lifetime health and production data in Danish dairy cows.

The objective of this study was to describe how information about the whole lifetime of the cow can be used when defining nonhuman animal-based criteria of the welfare of animals on the farm. Often measured over a short period, disease occurrence provides information relevant for assessing the current welfare state of the herd. Arguably, however, if disease records are to be used as ethically relevant welfare indicators, it is also important to record disease occurrence over the individual animal's entire life span. Thus, it matters ethically whether the burden of an outbreak of disease or other condition affecting animal welfare is carried by a few individuals or is distributed more evenly. To illustrate this principle, the study obtained data on disease treatment records and production from 392,287 cows from the Danish Cattle Database. The average cow had lived for 5 years and produced more than 22,000 L of milk. The medium number of treatments a cow had received for any disease was 2, but 10% of the cows had received more than 8 treatments for a disease. The study concluded that lifetime description provides a measure of disease occurrence that gives added value of ethical relevance to single-point prevalence or short-term incidence.

[Violence and aggression in adolescents and young adults. Review of the recent literature]. / Violence et agressivité chez les adolescents et les jeunes adultes. Revue critique de la littérature récente.

A highly topical subject, violence, its consequences as well as its causes, deserve more attention on behalf of the public health authorities. On one hand, nowadays, the concepts in this field tend to become more global than before; however, on the other hand the epidemiological, etiological and therapeutic approaches benefit also from considering more limited behavior categories and age groups. In this review of the international literature, the authors focus their attention on intentional (excluding accidents) and interpersonal (excluding self-destructive behavior) violence. They consider by priority adolescents (10 to 19) and young adults (15 to 24). After a general introduction to the theme and the presentation of the relevant concepts and definitions, the authors, as a complement to their earlier publication on violence, develop epidemiological aspects concerning mortality, morbidity and the sources of information about these two topics. Their view is partly a critical one, including considerations on risk factors and risk predictors. The etiological aspects are developed along three axes : biomedical components, mainly of neuro-psychiatric and neurological nature ; family violence ; the broader social environment. The following part is devoted to care and prevention. In the discussion, several of the main issues considered in the conceptual, epidemiological, etiological as well as curative and preventive approaches are brought up again, with a perspective on presenting new proposals for further consideration and developments as well as on broadening the initial debate of the introduction.

Depressive symptoms and employment status among Belgian adolescents.

The association of employment status and depressive symptoms was assessed by means of the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression (CES-D) scale in a population of 898 male and female subjects aged 16 to 21. The unemployed subjects (N = 300) scored significantly higher on depressive symptoms than did the students (N = 300) or the employed workers (N = 298) even when gender was controlled. Although the quantity of depressive symptoms differed, the nature of the symptoms experienced was similar in the three groups. Affective symptoms were more common than symptoms in somatic or interpersonal areas, suggesting that in adolescence and young adulthood there is a high degree of affective disturbance. We conclude that primary unemployment is associated with a substantial degree of depressive morbidity.

Intentional violence among adolescents and young adults: an epidemiological perspective.

Intentional violence consists mainly of non-accidental interpersonal violence and suicidal behaviour; the remaining categories are other violence and/or violence with undeterminted intention [corrected]. In almost all the countries considered in this study, intentional violence is taking on worrying proportions in adolescence (10-19-year-olds) and is on the increase among young adults (15-24-year-olds). The scale of the problem is relatively well known thanks to national mortality rates. The relative proportions of murders and suicides vary considerably from one country to another, though they remain fairly constant over time, whether the diachronic progression of mortality due to intentional violence increases, remains stable or falls in the country concerned; this is true for both sexes and for both the age groups considered (15-19 and 20-24). Nevertheless, in view of the much higher incidence of intentionally violent behaviour that does not result in death, more resources should be allocated to epidemiological studies in that area, especially in terms of quantitative and qualitative methods, where possible in association with interdisciplinary projects. Only with a better knowledge of the risk factors and if possible identification of the predictive factors (in the probabilistic sense of the term) could we devise, conduct and evaluate preventive measures that are better targeted than those used so far, whether the factors are socio-cultural, socioeconomic or psychosocial. This is the justification, especially the ethical justification, of further epidemiological studies of an analytical or even interventional nature, going beyond the descriptive studies that have been made by most researchers to date.

Effectiveness of Commercial Germicide Products Against the Ropy Slime-Producing Lactic Acid Bacteria.

The effectiveness of certain commercial germicides against ropy slime-producing lactic acid bacteria was studied using the 5-5-5-suspension test and a tray test which simulated surface disinfection conditions in actual use. The rate of the destruction of the bacteria was lower in the tray test, and the bacteria seemed to be more resistant to the germicides on a steel surface than in vitro. The sanitizer products proved to be more effective than the detergent-sanitizer products. Quaternary ammonium products and an acid sanitizer with hydrogen peroxide were more effective than products containing chlorine compounds and polyhexamethylene biguanide chloride. The effectiveness of hypochlorite products appeared to be dependent on the concentration of available chlorine. The resistance of the ropy slime-producing bacteria may prove problematic if ineffective germicides are used. The use of detergent sanitizers and low-concentration hypochlorite products is not recommended.

[Depressive symptoms in adolescents (1). Prevalence - remedy]. / Symptomes dépressifs chez l'adolescent (1). Prévalence - recours.

This study concerns a population of 900 Belgian adolescents aged 16 to 21, i.e. 300 students, 300 workers and 300 unemployed. They accepted to answer a detailed questionnaire including a French version of the CES-D scale (Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression). The prevalence rates of depressive symptoms observed in Belgium are higher than those found in the US. Moreover the Belgian adolescents observed in this study reach more often than U.S. adolescents the level of "clinical depressions" (18.9%). The rates are still higher when "occasional depressive symptoms" are also considered (occurrence: 1-2 days during the last week). However comparisons of this kind cannot be interpreted in a simplistic way. The rates vary with the social status of the adolescents: the unemployed present the highest level, followed by students; the workers have, comparatively, the lowest rates. These high prevalence rates require in depth analyses. The adolescents may need medical, psychological or social assistance which should be offered, at the primary care level. However their own choice leads them to get help elsewhere: close friends, partners (couple), simple friends (in French: "copain" and "copine"), siblings etc. Adolescents consult their doctor only exceptionally. This raises important questions, namely in the field of the training of health personnel.

Longitudinal studies: social and psychological factors.

In spite of the great variety of longitudinal studies, one may consider two main orientations: on one hand the "comprehensive" studies, based on the combined or parallel observation of numerous psychosocial characteristics collected at successive stages of the child's development; on the other hand, studies focussed on limited topics based on the observation and longitudinal analysis of a restricted number of specific characteristics. Some examples of these different approaches are presented. The chapter considers, finally, several methodological issues, including new developments as well as constraints and problems. Recent methodological developments concern, i.a., videoscopic recording techniques which may be applied to the behaviour of mother and child (etc...) whether in the laboratory or in normal life-situations. Moreover, in view of the statistical analysis of the datas appropriate instruments are developed which at the same time keep the nuances and details of the clinical observation. Finally, some examples of problems linked to the attrition-rate of the observed sample are presented, as well as specific ethical issues raised by longitudinal studies.