Impacts of longitudinal water curtain cooling system on transcriptome-related immunity in ducks.

BACKGROUND: The closed poultry houses integrated with a longitudinal water curtain cooling system (LWCCS) are widely used in modern poultry production. This study showed the variations in environmental conditions in closed houses integrated with a longitudinal water curtain cooling system. We evaluated the influence of different environmental conditions on duck growth performance and the transcriptome changes of immune organs, including the bursa of Fabricius and the spleen. RESULT: This study investigated the slaughter indicators and immune organ transcriptomes of 52-day-old Cherry Valley ducks by analyzing the LWCC at different locations (water curtain end, middle position, and fan cooling end). The results showed that the cooling effect of the LWCCS was more evident from 10:00 a.m. -14:00. And from the water curtain end to the fan cooling end, the hourly average temperature differently decreased by 0.310℃, 0.450℃, 0.480℃, 0.520℃, and 0.410℃, respectively (P < 0.05). The daily and hourly average relative humidity decreased from the water curtain end to the fan cooling end, dropping by 7.500% and 8.200%, respectively (P < 0.01). We also observed differences in production performance, such as dressing weight, half-eviscerated weight, skin fat rate, and percentage of abdominal fat (P < 0.01), which may have been caused by environmental conditions. RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) revealed 211 and 279 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the ducks' bursa of Fabricius and spleen compared between the water curtain end and fan cooling end, respectively. The Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis of the two organs showed the DEGs were mainly enriched in cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, integral component of membrane, Retinoic acid-inducible gene I (RIG-I)-like receptors (RLRs) signaling pathway, etc. Our results implied that full-closed poultry houses integrated with LWCCS could potentially alter micro-environments (water curtain vs. fan cooling), resulting in ducks experiencing various stressful situations that eventually affect their immunity and production performance. CONCLUSION: In this study, our results indicated that uneven distributions of longitudinal environmental factors caused by LWCCS would affect the dressed weight, breast muscle weight, skin fat rate, and other product performance. Moreover, the expression of immune-related genes in the spleen and bursa of ducks could be affected by the LWCCS. This provides a new reference to optimize the use of LWCCS in conjunction with close duck houses in practical production.

Relationship between the housing coldness/warmth evaluation by CASBEE Housing Health Checklist and psychological distress based on TMM Community-Based Cohort Study: a cross-sectional analysis.

OBJECTIVES: Previous studies have reported the relationship between housing environment and health, although due to cost and effort, it was difficult to conduct housing condition surveys on a large scale. The CASBEE Housing Health Checklist (the Checklist) made it possible to easily evaluate the housing condition from the resident's perspective. This study examined the relationship between housing coldness/warmth evaluation using the Checklist and psychological distress in a large-scale general Japanese population. STUDY DESIGN: A cross-sectional study. METHODS: We analysed data from 29,380 people aged ≥20 years who lived in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. As an assessment of housing coldness/warmth, we used the Checklist. We classified participants' total scores on the Checklist related to coldness/warmth into quartiles. The Kessler 6 scale was used as an indicator of psychological distress. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to estimate the adjusted odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Adjusted OR and P-values for linear trends were calculated using the quartiles of the Checklists' score. RESULTS: Among participants in Q1 (i.e., poorer subjective house condition), the percentage of people with psychological distress was high. Compared to the highest quartile, Q1 showed poorer evaluation of housing coldness/warmth, and higher OR for psychological distress. The OR (95% CI) of psychological distress for Q3, Q2, and Q1 compared with Q4 were 1.93 (1.74-2.14), 2.82 (2.55-3.12), and 5.78 (5.25-6.35), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Housing coldness/warmth evaluation was significantly related to psychological distress. This finding suggests that maintaining a comfortable thermal environment at home could be important for residents' mental health.

Association between housing environment and depressive symptoms among older people: a multidimensional assessment.

BACKGROUND: Depression is a common mental disorder among older people. This study aimed to assess the association between housing environment factors and depressive symptoms among older people using a multidimensional assessment method. METHODS: The study uses a population-based cross-sectional design. A total of 950 participants aged ≥ 60 years were selected using a complex multistage sampling design from 22 locations in China. All data were collected using questionnaires by face-to-face interviews. A total of 938 participants were included in the analysis, and 17.1% of males and 23.1% of females were identified as having depressive symptoms. The depressive symptoms were assessed using the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale. The housing environment was assessed on the basis of four dimensions: physical, social, psychological, and cognition and physical function. Cumulative logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the association between housing environment and depressive symptoms. RESULTS: The Cochran-Armitage trend test showed that the depressive symptom scores were linearly negatively associated with self-assessed housing environment, living arrangement, life satisfaction, and other physical environment factors and linearly positively associated with cognitive and physical function scores. The results of cumulative logistic regression analysis showed that the housing environment was significantly associated with depressive symptoms. The participants' self-assessed housing environment was strongly associated with the levels of depressive symptom scores, and the odds ratio was 3.47 (95% CI, 1.14-10.82, P = 0.003). CONCLUSION: The housing environment was significantly associated with depressive symptoms. Our results suggest that multi-dimensional assessment in the housing environment may be an effective way to develop intervention strategies of depressive symptoms among older people.

Change in housing environment and residential satisfaction following exit from permanent supportive housing.

Moving On initiatives (MOIs) transition stable permanent supportive housing (PSH) residents into mainstream housing without embedded services. While this approach frees up PSH for homeless individuals in need, open questions remain regarding MOI recipients' long-term outcomes. This exploratory study examines how housing environment and residential satisfaction, potential predictors of housing retention, change from PSH to mainstream housing. Subjective assessments of housing and neighborhood quality and residential satisfaction, as well as objective neighborhood-level data, are used to examine housing-related change for New York City MOI recipients. Participants generally moved to less-distressed neighborhoods with lower poverty and crime. Subjective perceptions of some aspects of neighborhood and housing quality also improved post-move. Participants tended to move farther from public transportation but were on average located within one mile of the nearest subway station. Results can be taken as early indicators of the potential benefits of MOIs.

Examining Housing Environments and Health Status of Older Adults with Physical Disabilities in South Korea.

The present study examined the relationships between housing environments and health and well-being among older adults with physical disabilities in South Korea. Data are from the 2014 National Survey on Persons with Disabilities. We modelled four health and well-being outcomes - perceived stress, depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation, and life satisfaction - by various housing environments among 2,077 older adults with physical disabilities. The results illustrate that home ownership and perceived house accessibility are associated with health and well-being. Findings indicate that efforts to promote the health of older adults with physical disabilities need to be accompanied by improvements in their housing environment.

The Effects of Housing Environments on the Performance of Activity-Recognition Systems Using Wi-Fi Channel State Information: An Exploratory Study.

Recently, device-free human activity⁻monitoring systems using commercial Wi-Fi devices have demonstrated a great potential to support smart home environments. These systems exploit Channel State Information (CSI), which represents how human activities⁻based environmental changes affect the Wi-Fi signals propagating through physical space. However, given that Wi-Fi signals either penetrate through an obstacle or are reflected by the obstacle, there is a high chance that the housing environment would have a great impact on the performance of a CSI-based activity-recognition system. In this context, this paper examines whether and to what extent housing environment affects the performance of the CSI-based activity recognition systems. Activities in daily living (ADL)⁻recognition systems were implemented in two typical housing environments representative of the United States and South Korea: a wood-frame apartment (Unit A) and a reinforced concrete-frame apartment (Unit B), respectively. The experimental results show that housing environments, combined with various environmental factors (i.e., structural building materials, surrounding Wi-Fi interference, housing layout, and population density), generate a significant difference in the accuracy of the applied CSI-based ADL-recognition systems. This outcome provides insights into how such ADL systems should be configured for various home environments.

A method of determining bending properties of poultry long bones using beam analysis and micro-CT data.

While conventional mechanical testing has been regarded as a gold standard for the evaluation of bone heath in numerous studies, with recent advances in medical imaging, virtual methods of biomechanics are rapidly evolving in the human literature. The objective of the current study was to evaluate the feasibility of determining the elastic and failure properties of poultry long bones using established methods of analysis from the human literature. In order to incorporate a large range of bone sizes and densities, a small number of specimens were utilized from an ongoing study of Regmi et al. (2016) that involved humeri and tibiae from 3 groups of animals (10 from each) including aviary, enriched, and conventional housing systems. Half the animals from each group were used for 'training' that involved the development of a regression equation relating bone density and geometry to bending properties from conventional mechanical tests. The remaining specimens from each group were used for 'testing' in which the mechanical properties from conventional tests were compared to those predicted by the regression equations. Based on the regression equations, the coefficients of determination for the 'test' set of data were 0.798 for bending bone stiffness and 0.901 for the yield (or failure) moment of the bones. All regression slopes and intercepts values for the tests versus predicted plots were not significantly different from 1 and 0, respectively. The study showed the feasibility of developing future methods of virtual biomechanics for the evaluation of poultry long bones. With further development, virtual biomechanics may have utility in future in vivo studies to assess laying hen bone health over time without the need to sacrifice large groups of animals at each time point.

A study about the impact of indoor air pollution on cognitive function among middle-aged and older adult people in India.

BACKGROUND: In the 21st century, people still use solid fuel for cooking at home, resulting in poor indoor air quality. Prolonged exposure to such conditions may negatively affect one's cognitive function. So, the present study examines the possible association between IAP and the cognitive function of individuals aged 45 years or above in India. METHODS: The study utilizes secondary data, procured from the longitudinal ageing study in India (2017-18). Treatment effects through regression-adjusted models were applied to represent the association between IAP and cognitive health and the results are represented by beta coefficient (ß). Three separate models with a 95% confidence interval adjusting with the other factors like housing environment, individual and behavioural were framed. RESULTS: The study revealed that households without a separate kitchen (ß = -0.64; 95%CI: -0.90 to -0.39) and electricity (ß = -0.97; 95%CI: -1.34 to -0.61) significantly affect cognitive strength. Cognitive decline is likely more pronounced among older adults (ß = -1.19; 95%CI: -1.42 to -0.96) than the middle-aged population. Moreover, the cognitive ability of rural residents (ß = -1.11; 95%CI: -1.49 to -0.73) and women (ß = -2.05; 95%CI: -2.29 to -1.81) is negatively associated with IAP exposure. Older adults with no reading habits (ß = -6.28; 95%CI: -6.72; to -5.85) and physical inactivity (ß = -0.96; 95%CI: -1.22 to -0.70) had a sign of notable decline in cognitive ability. CONCLUSIONS: Findings revealed that cognitive function is negatively associated with IAP, demanding a deep intervention plan to minimize the detrimental effect.

A systematic review of the relationship between housing environmental factors and bovine respiratory disease in preweaned calves - Part 2: Temperature, relative humidity and bedding.

Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) is a challenge in all housed farming systems that raise calves. Farm to farm variation in BRD prevalence can be partially attributed to variation in host immunity, pathogens and housing environment. Unlike host immunity and BRD pathogens, housing environment has not been well investigated. The objective of this systematic review was to identify the measurable environmental variables associated with BRD in housed preweaned calves. Pubmed, CAB Direct and Scopus databases were searched. To be considered for inclusion publications had to be published in English, before 24 November, 2022 and include at least one measurable/ manipulated environmental variable and a standardized method of BRD detection. In total 12 publications were included in this review. In this second part of the systematic review the environmental variables identified were; temperature (9 publications); relative humidity (8 publications); bedding (5 publications); ventilation (1 publication); air CO2 concentration (1 publication) and air velocity (4 publications). Of the publications that were examined a statistically significant relationship to BRD was identified in 4/9 publications examining temperature, 3/8 examining relative humidity, 2/4 examining air velocity, 2/5 examining bedding, 0/1 examining ventilation rates and 0/1 examining CO2 concentration. From this review it is clear high airspeed at calf level should be avoided as should deep, wet pack bedding. The relationship between BRD prevalence and both high and low temperature requires more investigation to identify temperature thresholds associated with increased risk of BRD as well as the most influential modifiers. An optimal environment for housed calves could not be clearly identified in this review.

A systematic review of the relationship between housing environmental factors and bovine respiratory disease in preweaned calves - Part 1: Ammonia, air microbial count, particulate matter and endotoxins.

Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) is one of the leading causes of mortality and morbidity in calves across diverse management systems. Despite expert opinion often citing the influence of housing environment on the level of respiratory disease in calf groups, there have been few reviews of environmental factors that predispose to BRD. This systematic review was undertaken to identify the measurable environmental variables associated with respiratory disease in housed preweaned calves. To achieve this Pubmed, CAB Direct and Scopus databases were searched. To be considered for inclusion, publications had to be fully published in English, published before 24 November, 2022 and include at least one measurable/ manipulated environmental variable and a standardized method of BRD detection. Twelve publications were included in this review. These examined a wide range of risk factors including air microbial count (four publications), air particulate matter (one publication); air endotoxins (one publication) and air ammonia (four publications). From the included publications, a statistically significant relationship to BRD was identified in 2/4 examining air microbial count, 1/1 examining air particulate matter, 1/1 examining air endotoxins and 2/4 examining air ammonia. This review indicated a paucity of evidence from the peer-review literature demonstrating a significant association between the many investigated exposure factors and BRD occurrence. An optimal environment for housed calves could not be clearly identified in this review.

Household clutter and crowding constrain associations between maternal sensitivity and child theory of mind.

Social interactions between parents and children are important for developing theory of mind, but these may be disrupted by aspects of the proximal home environment. The current study observed maternal sensitivity and its associations with child theory of mind and the housing environment (index by clutter and crowding) in a sample of mothers and their 3.5-year-old twins (N = 250 children). Maternal sensitivity and housing environment were measured from experimenter report and child theory of mind was measured through behavioural tasks. Results show that the association between maternal sensitivity and child theory of mind was moderated by the housing environment, where the positive associations between maternal sensitivity and child theory of mind were only observed at lower levels of clutter and crowding in the housing environment. Additional contextual variables and processes are discussed.

Tuberculosis Predictive Index for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients Based on Biological, Social, Housing Environment, and Psychological Well-Being Factors.

Indonesia is currently undergoing an epidemiological transition, with the double burden of disease due to increasing industrialization and urbanization leading to an increase in the prevalence of non-communicable diseases such as obesity and diabetes. On the other hand, the prevalence of infectious diseases such as tuberculosis remains high. Several factors were considered as risk factors in tuberculosis coincidence with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The purpose of this study was to develop a predictive index for tuberculosis in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients based on their biological, social, and environmental factors, and their psychological well-being as well. This case-control study involved 492 respondents consisting of 246 type 2 diabetes mellitus patients The variables studied were biological and social factors, the quality of their housing, and psychological well-being. Data analysis was conducted using a logistic regression test. The results showed that the predictive index formula was as follows: -3.218 + 0.867 × age + 1.339 × sex + 1.493 × history of contact with previous patient + 1.089 × glycemic control + 1.622 × tuberculosis clinical symptoms + 1.183 × body mass index + 0.891 × duration of diabetes mellitus + 0.454 × area of ventilation + 0.583 × psychological well-being. It is suggested that health workers, especially in primary health care facilities, will be able to increase the awareness of the risk of the coincidence of diabetes mellitus with tuberculosis.

Effect of housing environment and hen strain on egg production and egg quality as well as cloacal and eggshell microbiology in laying hens.

This study was conducted to determine the effect of housing environment and laying hen strain on performance, egg quality, and microbiology of the cloaca and eggshell. A total of 1,152 Hy-Line Brown (HB) and Hy-Line W-36 White Leghorn (W-36) hens were used. All hens were kept in conventional cages (CC) from 18 to 32 wk of age and then moved to either enriched colony cages (EC) or free-range (FR) pens or continued in CC. Hens were randomly allocated into a 2 × 3 factorial arrangement of 2 laying hen strains (brown and white) and 3 housing environments (CC, EC, and FR) in a split plot in time (hen age) design. The experiment was conducted from 32 to 85 wk of age. The experiment was divided into 2 phases: early phase (32-51 wk of age) and late phase (52-85 wk of age). A 3-way interaction was observed for hen day egg production (HDEP) among housing environments, hen strain, and bird age in the early phase (P = 0.004) as well as in the late phase (P < 0.0001). In both of the phases, HDEP was higher in CC and FR than in EC. Hy-Line W-36 hens raised in EC had the lowest HDEP compared to other treatments. A 3-way interaction was observed for feed intake (FI; P = 0.017) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) in the late phase (P < 0.0001). The lowest FI and highest FCR were observed in EC for W-36 hens. Free-range hens performed in-between for eggshell quality when compared to CC and EC while HB had better egg quality than W-36. Free-range hens had higher cloacal bacterial counts for aerobes, anaerobes, and coliforms than CC and EC. Higher eggshell bacterial contamination was observed in eggs from FR versus eggs from CC and EC. These results indicate that both housing environment and laying hen strain affect performance and egg quality as well as cloacal and eggshell microbiology. Further studies should be conducted to determine food safety and economic impacts when using different hen strains and housing environments.

Measuring deterioration of small-area housing environment: Construction of a multi-dimensional assessment index and validation in shared refugee accommodation.

Housing is an important health determinant, in particular for asylum seekers and refugees (ASR) living in state-provided accommodation and struggling for residential autonomy. However, few validated objective measurement tools exist to measure housing quality in the sense of the deterioration of the housing environment. We aimed to construct and validate an instrument to enable resource-efficient monitoring of and health research on such housing quality. After considering existing theoretical frameworks on housing effects on health, we constructed an easily applicable tool measuring the degree of "Small-area Housing Environment Deterioration" (SHED), based on the "Broken Windows" - index. In a validation study, we tested SHED index's objectivity and reliability, measuring inter-/intra-rater reliability and internal consistency and discussed its strengths and limitations by means of cognitive testing. We ran a field-test as part of a population-based, cross-sectional refugee health survey in a random sample of 58 shared accommodation centers across 44 districts of the German federal state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, enabling us to test index applicability and convergence with ASR's satisfaction with their living place. The new SHED index provides a validated and field-tested measure of deterioration of small-area housing environment with substantial reliability. Serving both researchers and policy-makers, SHED offers an easily applicable index to support epidemiological analyses on housing as a contextual and social determinant of health as well as evidence-informed decision making in questions of housing policies.

Effects of the housing environment and laying hen strain on tibia and femur bone properties of different laying phases of Hy-Line hens.

This study aimed to determine the effect of the housing environment and laying hen strain on tibia and femur properties. A 3 × 2 factorial arrangement of 3 housing environments (conventional cages [CC], enriched colony cages [EC], and free range [FR]) and 2 laying hen strains (Hy-Line W-36 [W-36] and Hy-Line Brown [HB]) in a completely randomized design was conducted from 32 to 85 wk of age. Six left tibias were collected at 8 different time points (38, 45, 52, 59, 65, 72, 79, and 85 wk of age), whereas 6 left femurs were collected at 3 time points (38, 65, and 85 wk of age). Tibias were evaluated for tibia breaking strength (TBS) and ash percentage, whereas femurs were evaluated for bone mineral density (BMD), bone mineral content, bone volume as a fraction tissue volume, and porosity percentage from total, cortical, medullary, and trabecular bones. The higher TBS (P = 0.0005) and ash percentage (P = 0.045) was observed in hens raised in FR systems compared with those raised in the CC. Overall, TBS of W-36 hens was significantly greater than that of HB hens (P < 0.0001); however, there was no difference in the ash percentage between the strains (P > 0.05). An interaction between the housing environment and hen strain was observed for BMD (P = 0.04), wherein W-36 hens raised in the FR system had higher BMD than HB hens. Similarly, hens raised in FR systems had higher trabecular bone volume than those raised in CC (P = 0.022). Hen strain influenced total and cortical bone properties: BMD, bone volume as a fraction tissue volume, and porosity percentage, wherein W-36 hens had better properties than HB hens (P < 0.05). Trabecular BMD was higher in W-36 hens than in HB hens (P = 0.04), whereas bone volume was higher in HB hens (P < 0.0001). The results suggest that raising laying hens in alternative housing systems that have provision for exercise such as FR reduces structural bone loss, stimulate structural bone formation, and improve breaking strength of bones; however, it varies with the strain.

The Effect of the Climatic Housing Environment on the Growth of Dairy-Bred Calves in the First Month of Life on a Scottish Farm.

Calf housing is naturally thermodynamic, with interactions between various elements such as wind speed, air temperature, and humidity. This study investigated the effect of the proportion of time for which calves were exposed to effective environmental temperatures below their lower critical temperature (LCT) on their daily liveweight gain (DLWG) within their first month of life. This study used the naturally occurring climatic environment, whereas other such studies have been conducted under climatically controlled conditions. Air temperature (°C), relative humidity (%), and wind speed (m/s) were recorded within the calf housing from birth until approximately 28 days of age, with calves being health-scored and weighed at regular intervals. Calves were housed from birth until 6-14 days old in individual hutches, and then moved into group housing igloo pens. Whilst individually housed, calves that spent less than 32% of their time below their LCT had a DLWG of 0.06 ± 0.34 kg/d (mean ± SE) compared to calves that spent more than 97% of their time below their LCT, which had a DLWG of -0.19 ± 0.045 kg/d. When group housed, calves that spent less than 1% of their time below their LCT had a DLWG of 0.59 ± 0.18 kg/d, whereas calves that spent more than 28% of their time below their LCT had a DLWG of 0.53 ± 0.23 kg/d. The proportion of time for which calves were exposed to effective environmental temperatures below their LCT had a significant effect on DLWG when calves were individually housed. Therefore, exposure to effective environmental temperatures below the LCT can be detrimental to the growth of the calf in the early stages of its life.

Effects of Housing Types on Cecal Microbiota of Two Different Strains of Laying Hens During the Late Production Phase.

Due to animal welfare issues, European Union has banned the use of conventional cages (CC) and non-EU countries including the US are also under constant public pressure to restrict their use in egg production. Very limited information is available on the composition of the microbial community of hens raised in different housing environments. This study was conducted to determine the effects of CC and enriched colony cages (EC) on cecal microbiota of two commercial laying hen strains, Hy-Line W36 (W36) and Hy-Line Brown (HB) during the late production stage (53, 58, 67, and 72 weeks of age). Cecal microbiota was studied by analyzing 16S rRNA gene sequences with Quantitative Insights Into Microbial Ecology (QIIME) 2 ver. 2018.8. Differentially abundant taxa were identified by Linear discriminant analysis Effect Size (LEfSe) analysis (P < 0.05, LDA score > 2.0). At phylum level, Actinobacteria was significantly enriched in W36 at all time points while Synergistetes (53 weeks), Spirochaetes (58 weeks), and Synergistetes and Spirochaetes (67 weeks) were significantly higher in HB. At genus level, Bifidobacterium (at all time points) and butyric acid producing genera such as Butyricicoccus and Subdoligranulum (58 and 72 weeks) were significantly higher in W36 as compared to HB. Moreover, Proteobacteria (72 weeks) and its associated genus Campylobacter (67 and 72 weeks) were significantly enriched in EC as compared to CC. Alpha diversity was significantly higher in HB (at all time points) and in EC (67 weeks) as compared to W36 and CC, respectively. Similarly, there was a significant difference in community structure (beta diversity) between W36 and HB (all time points) as well as between EC and CC (67 weeks). The effect of housing and strains was not only seen at the bacterial composition and structure but also reflected at their functional level. Notably, KEGG metabolic pathways predicted to be involved in carbohydrates degradation and amino acids biosynthesis by PICRUSt analysis were significantly different between W36 and HB housed at CC and EC. In sum, cecal microbiota composition, diversities, and their functional pathways were affected by housing type which further varied between two commercial laying hen strains, HB and W36. This suggests that both housing and genetic strains of laying hens should be considered for selection of the alternative housing systems such as enriched colony cage.

Workshop Report: Zebrafish and Other Fish Models-Description of Extrinsic Environmental Factors for Rigorous Experiments and Reproducible Results.

Current standards for husbandry and maintenance of zebrafish and other aquatic species in the laboratory are diverse, and are subject to laboratory performance, engineering, and practice standards (the Guide), institutional interpretation, national animal welfare laws, and cultural differences. Consequently, it is difficult, and probably not advantageous, to establish a single standard in view of the hardy nature of zebrafish and the diversity of research requirements it is used to address. Based on their natural habitat, zebrafish can thrive in a variety of environmental conditions, which is a specific advantage for working with this laboratory organism. However, it also makes reporting and reproducibility difficult, because variations in the husbandry and environmental conditions, including the environmental conditions before and during experiments, are often underreported in the scientific literature. This lack of consistency presents a potential problem for research reproducibility. To begin addressing this emerging scientific gap, the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) Office of Research Infrastructure Programs (ORIP), Division of Construction and Instruments (DCI), hosted a workshop in late 2017, entitled "Zebrafish and Other Aquatic Models: Reporting of Environmental Husbandry Conditions for Rigorous Experiments and Reproducible Results," that was attended by ∼60 participants. The objectives of the workshop were to bring together a diverse group of stakeholders-researchers, facility managers, veterinarians, journal editors, commercial vendors, and others to (1) review current husbandry and environmental management practices for the care of zebrafish and other aquatic organisms in the laboratory and to (2) propose a process for the development of a minimal set of environmental parameters that should be reported in publications to ensure rigor and robustness of experiments and reproducible outcomes. The participants also discussed how these recommendations, as an initial step, might be collected, disseminated, implemented, and improved upon after future iteration.

[Health Risk Factors for Housing Environment and Risk Management].

After the 1990s, many effective measures were taken to improve indoor air pollution in Japan. However, as a result of major changes in building materials, consumer products, and lifestyle, and new scientific findings on health effects associated with indoor environmental pollution, new issues have been indicated, such as chemical pollutants in indoor dusts or indoor pollutants caused by new chemicals that were substituted from chemicals that Indoor Air Quality Guideline was set. On the other hand, scientific evidence for the links between housing environment and health has accumulated substantially in recent decades. Therefore, the World Health Organization (WHO) is developing Housing and Health Guidelines to provide policymakers with recommendations on healthy housing conditions such as thermal comfort, indoor air pollution, crowding, and home injuries. In this paper, the basic principles of healthy housing, the current status of Japanese dwellings, and the recent approaches of WHO are summarized.

Quality of Life (QoL) Survey in Hong Kong: Understanding the Importance of Housing Environment and Needs of Residents from Different Housing Sectors.

This study presents a Quality of Life (QoL) survey to understand the influence of the housing environment and needs of residents from different housing sectors. The research focuses on Hong Kong where living conditions have become the main affect for people's QoL. Through a household survey using a standard instrument "Word Health Organisation (WHO) Quality of Life-BREF", the article found that among the four WHO QoL domains (Physical Health, Psychological Health, Social Relations And Environment), Environment, particularly its constitute aspect housing environment was the most influential factor for overall quality of life for the public rental housing sector where low-income people live. This research also found that different groups of people have differing needs of their housing environments: the low-income group needs better location and privacy while the medium and high-income groups need better architectural quality. Based on differentiating their needs and wants, this research argues for prioritizing the low-income group's needs for effectively improving their QoL.