Expert Opinion on the Perceived Effectiveness and Importance of On-Farm Biosecurity Measures for Cattle and Swine Farms in Switzerland.

Biosecurity is crucial for safeguarding livestock from infectious diseases. Despite the plethora of biosecurity recommendations, published scientific evidence on the effectiveness of individual biosecurity measures is limited. The objective of this study was to assess the perception of Swiss experts about the effectiveness and importance of individual on-farm biosecurity measures for cattle and swine farms (31 and 30 measures, respectively). Using a modified Delphi method, 16 Swiss livestock disease specialists (8 for each species) were interviewed. The experts were asked to rank biosecurity measures that were written on cards, by allocating a score from 0 (lowest) to 5 (highest). Experts ranked biosecurity measures based on their importance related to Swiss legislation, feasibility, as well as the effort required for implementation and the benefit of each biosecurity measure. The experts also ranked biosecurity measures based on their effectiveness in preventing an infectious agent from entering and spreading on a farm, solely based on transmission characteristics of specific pathogens. The pathogens considered by cattle experts were those causing Bluetongue (BT), Bovine Viral Diarrhea (BVD), Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) and Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis (IBR). Swine experts expressed their opinion on the pathogens causing African Swine Fever (ASF), Enzootic Pneumonia (EP), Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS), as well as FMD. For cattle farms, biosecurity measures that improve disease awareness of farmers were ranked as both most important and most effective. For swine farms, the most important and effective measures identified were those related to animal movements. Among all single measures evaluated, education of farmers was perceived by the experts to be the most important and effective for protecting both Swiss cattle and swine farms from disease. The findings of this study provide an important basis for recommendation to farmers and policy makers.

Body mass index of Vietnamese children ages 6--15 years old

Childhood overweight can increase the risk of chronic diseases later in life. To determine the prevalence, trends and determinants of overweight among children ages 6-15 years old in Vietnam, we assessed data on body mass index (BMI) and demographic and socio-economic characteristics obtained from the 1992 Vietnam Living Standard Survey (1992 VLSS), the 1997 Vietnam Living Standard Survey (1997 VLSS), and the 2000 General Nutrition Survey (2000 GNS). These surveys used multi-stage cluster sample designs to produce nationally representative samples of Vietnamese children ages 6-15 years in 1992-1993, 1997-1998 and 2000. BMI classification was determined using cut-off values set by the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF). The mean prevalence of at risk of overweight and overweight among Vietnamese children rapidly increased from 0.4% in 1992 to 2.0% in 2000, along with a high prevalence of underweight (33.4% in 2000). Increases in weight, height and BMI varied according to gender, area of residence and socioeconomic status. Age, areas of residence and education of the household head are statistically significant predictors of at risk of overweight and overweight. This study identified the prevalence and trends of weight among children crucial to understanding the prevention of child overweight in Vietnam. ^

Evaluation of the association between cryptosporidiosis outbreaks and two interactive water fountain parks: Epidemiologic analysis and implications for public health

Background. A community-wide outbreak of cryptosporidiosis occurred in Dallas County during the summer of 2008. A subset of cases occurring with onset of illness within a 2 week interval was epidemiologically linked to 2 neighborhood interactive water fountain parks. ^ Methods. A case control study was conducted to evaluate risk factors associated with developing illness with cryptosporidiosis from the fountain parks. Cases were selected from a line list from the epidemiological study. The selection for the controls was either healthy family members or a daycare center nearby. Cases and controls were not matched. ^ Results. Interviews were completed for 44 fountain park attendees who met case definition and 54 community controls. Twenty-seven percent (27.3%) of the cases and 13.0% of the controls were between the ages of 0–4 years. Thirty-nine percent (38.6%) of the cases and 24.1% of the controls were between the ages of 5–13 years. Fourteen percent (13.6%) of the cases and 33.3% of the controls were between the ages of 14–31 years. Twenty percent (20.5%) of the cases and 29.6% of the controls were between the ages of 32–63 years. 47.7% of the cases and 42.6% of the controls were males. Fountain park attendees who reported having been splashed in the face with water were 10 times more likely to become ill than controls (OR = 10.0, 95% CI = 2.8–35.1). Persons who reported having swallowed water from the interactive fountains were 34 times more likely to become ill than controls (OR = 34.3, 95%CI = 9.3–125.7). ^ Conclusion. Prompt reporting of cases, identification of outbreak sources, and immediate implementation of remediation measures were critical in curtailing further transmission from these particular sites through the remainder of the season. This investigation underscores the potential for cryptosporidiosis outbreaks to occur in interactive fountain parks, and the need for enhanced preventive measures in these settings. Education of the public regarding avoidance of behaviors such as drinking water from interactive fountains is also an important component of public health prevention efforts. ^

Planning and implementation efficacy as a determinant of health risk communication outcomes: Case studies of the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS)

This study was conducted under the auspices of the Subcommittee on Risk Communication and Education of the Committee to Coordinate Environmental Health and Related Programs (CCEHRP) to determine how Public Health Service (PHS) agencies are communicating information about health risk, what factors contributed to effective communication efforts, and what specific principles, strategies, and practices best promote more effective health risk communication outcomes.^ Member agencies of the Subcommittee submitted examples of health risk communication activities or decisions they perceived to be effective and some examples of cases they thought had not been as effective as desired. Of the 10 case studies received, 7 were submitted as examples of effective health risk communication, and 3, as examples of less effective communication.^ Information contained in the 10 case studies describing the respective agencies' health risk communication strategies and practices was compared with EPA's Seven Cardinal Rules of Risk Communication, since similar rules were not found in any PHS agency. EPA's rules are: (1) Accept and involve the public as a legitimate partner. (2) Plan carefully and evaluate your efforts. (3) Listen to the public's specific concerns. (4) Be honest, frank, and open. (5) Coordinate and collaborate with other credible sources. (6) Meet the needs of the media. (7) Speak clearly and with compassion.^ On the basis of case studies analysis, the Subcommittee, in their attempts to design and implement effective health risk communication campaigns, identified a number of areas for improvement among the agencies. First, PHS agencies should consider developing a focus specific to health risk communication (i.e., office or specialty resource). Second, create a set of generally accepted practices and guidelines for effective implementation and evaluation of PHS health risk communication activities and products. Third, organize interagency initiatives aimed at increasing awareness and visibility of health risk communication issues and trends within and between PHS agencies.^ PHS agencies identified some specific implementation strategies the CCEHRP might consider pursuing to address the major recommendations. Implementation strategies common to PHS agencies emerged in the following five areas: (1) program development, (2) building partnerships, (3) developing training, (4) expanding information technologies, and (5) conducting research and evaluation. ^

ASSOCIATIONS AND INTERRELATIONSHIPS OF SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS, BEHAVIORAL FACTORS AND BIOLOGICAL FACTORS WITH BIRTH WEIGHT

Although the influences of socioeconomic, behavioral and biological factors on birth weight have been extensively studied, most studies have been limited to clinical populations. This study examines such relationships in a national probability sample, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey of 1971-1974. The study sample consisted of 2161 white children and 812 black children, aged 1 to 5 years. Analyses were performed on a subsample consisting of 753 white and 138 black children whose mothers were also selected into the survey. Detailed analyses examined interrelationships among socio-economic, behavioral and biological factors by means of multiple regression and partial correlation procedures in the white population. These analyses were not carried out among blacks because of an observed clustering bias introduced in the black subsample that hampered generalization to the US population.^ The results among the whites indicated that the biological factors of maternal height, maternal weight, maternal size (weight/height('2)), maternal age and sex of child were independently related to birth weight and were also interrelated with socioeconomic factors such as family income, education of the mother and education of the head of the household. The joint effect was significantly associated with birth weight.^ Mothers' dietary practices represented the behavioral factors. Selected nutrients from the mothers' 24-hour dietary recall were used to develop indices of dietary quality. Dietary quality was significantly interrelated with socioeconomic status, biological factors and birth weight.^ The findings of this study suggest that smaller, younger mothers of lower socioeconomic status and female children were significantly associated with lower birth weight. The findings also suggest that dietary quality is a mediating factor among socioeconomic status and biological factors in that mothers with more financial and educational resources have better dietary practices. Such mothers may also practice other health behaviors that would prevent having a low birthweight baby. This dissertation contributes primarily to the further conceptualization and empirical testing of the interrelationships among socioeconomic, behavioral and biological factors with respect to birth weight. ^

AN ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF THE DEMAND FOR CARE IN A FREE-STANDING EMERGENCY CENTER

Free-standing emergency centers (FECs) represent a new approach to the delivery of health care which are competing for patients with more conventional forms of ambulatory care in many parts of the U.S. Currently, little is known about these centers and their patient populations. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to describe the patients who visited two commonly-owned FECs, and determine the reasons for their visits. An economic model of the demand for FEC care was developed to test its ability to predict the economic and sociodemographic factors of use. Demand analysis of other forms of ambulatory services, such as a regular source of care (RSOC), was also conducted to examine the issues of substitution and complementarity.^ A systematic random sample was chosen from all private patients who used the clinics between July 1 and December 31, 1981. Data were obtained by means of a telephone interview and from clinic records. Five hundred fifty-one patients participated in the study.^ The typical FEC patient was a 26 year old white male with a minimum of a high school education, and a family income exceeding $25,000 a year. He had lived in the area for at least twenty years, and was a professional or a clerical worker. The patients made an average of 1.26 visits to the FECs in 1981. The majority of the visits involved a medical complaint; injuries and preventive care were the next most common reasons for visits.^ The analytic results revealed that time played a relatively important role in the demand for FEC care. As waiting time at the patients' regular source of care increased, the demand for FEC care increased, indicating that the clinic serves as a substitute for the patients' usual means of care. Age and education were inversely related to the demand for FEC care, while those with a RSOC frequented the clinics less than those lacking such a source.^ The patients used the familiar forms of ambulatory care, such as a private physician or an emergency room in a more typical fashion. These visits were directly related to the age and education of the patients, existence of a regular source of care, and disability days, which is a measure of health status. ^

Counselors' education in complex contexts with special reference to Latin America

This paper makes reference to the importance lying, at present, on the professional education of counselors. It goes through the history of the different pre-scientific and scientific stages of counseling, and it points out the main representatives in Latin America . It also shows the current state of the specialization, taking as an antecedent some in-depth, widely encompassing research carried out in the European Union in this area. Coincidences and differences are exposed here in terms of professional profiles, university degrees, institutional dependence, up-dating processes and modes of intervention. The current state of postgraduate studies at university is also touched upon, and the different proposals for further education in Latin America are analyzed as well as their dependence upon an undergraduate degree in Psychology, Educational Sciences or Psycho-pedagogy. Finally, this paper places counseling within the complexity and the need to provide all-encompassing and integrative answers which require a wide and deep enough education so as to answer all these issues and problems.

Vocation in the insertion of the university student and the graduate

The work plan aims at deepening the analysis of the theoretic assumptions which support the practice in Vocational Guidance: analyzing the incidence of endogenous and exogenous factors both in the election and studying of a particular course of study and in the occupational resolution of the graduate. This analysis enables the revision and the new theoretic conceptualization which is afterwards transferred to the course, and to different groups and provincial institutions where the practice of Vocational Guidance occurs, as well as to other schools in the Northwest provinces of Argentina. Semiotic analysis, statistical elaboration and the research-action approach which, while surveying data renders a service to the milieu, provide the base for the project. Said project focuses on the following individuals: 1) freshmen, who offer us the following aspects to be considered: a) factors which either favor or hinder the insertion of the students attending the first years of the course; b) the conditions making up the learning situation in each subject, from the teaching point of view; c) the influence of institutional dimension in the insertion process; 2) graduands: the characteristics of the situation following graduation from University, those of the labor field and the different ways of gaining access to it are investigated. This analysis is carried out in the courses of study of Psychology and English (education of Professionals in English and English for Professionals).

Counselors' education in complex contexts with special reference to Latin America

This paper makes reference to the importance lying, at present, on the professional education of counselors. It goes through the history of the different pre-scientific and scientific stages of counseling, and it points out the main representatives in Latin America . It also shows the current state of the specialization, taking as an antecedent some in-depth, widely encompassing research carried out in the European Union in this area. Coincidences and differences are exposed here in terms of professional profiles, university degrees, institutional dependence, up-dating processes and modes of intervention. The current state of postgraduate studies at university is also touched upon, and the different proposals for further education in Latin America are analyzed as well as their dependence upon an undergraduate degree in Psychology, Educational Sciences or Psycho-pedagogy. Finally, this paper places counseling within the complexity and the need to provide all-encompassing and integrative answers which require a wide and deep enough education so as to answer all these issues and problems.

Vocation in the insertion of the university student and the graduate

The work plan aims at deepening the analysis of the theoretic assumptions which support the practice in Vocational Guidance: analyzing the incidence of endogenous and exogenous factors both in the election and studying of a particular course of study and in the occupational resolution of the graduate. This analysis enables the revision and the new theoretic conceptualization which is afterwards transferred to the course, and to different groups and provincial institutions where the practice of Vocational Guidance occurs, as well as to other schools in the Northwest provinces of Argentina. Semiotic analysis, statistical elaboration and the research-action approach which, while surveying data renders a service to the milieu, provide the base for the project. Said project focuses on the following individuals: 1) freshmen, who offer us the following aspects to be considered: a) factors which either favor or hinder the insertion of the students attending the first years of the course; b) the conditions making up the learning situation in each subject, from the teaching point of view; c) the influence of institutional dimension in the insertion process; 2) graduands: the characteristics of the situation following graduation from University, those of the labor field and the different ways of gaining access to it are investigated. This analysis is carried out in the courses of study of Psychology and English (education of Professionals in English and English for Professionals).

Counselors' education in complex contexts with special reference to Latin America

This paper makes reference to the importance lying, at present, on the professional education of counselors. It goes through the history of the different pre-scientific and scientific stages of counseling, and it points out the main representatives in Latin America . It also shows the current state of the specialization, taking as an antecedent some in-depth, widely encompassing research carried out in the European Union in this area. Coincidences and differences are exposed here in terms of professional profiles, university degrees, institutional dependence, up-dating processes and modes of intervention. The current state of postgraduate studies at university is also touched upon, and the different proposals for further education in Latin America are analyzed as well as their dependence upon an undergraduate degree in Psychology, Educational Sciences or Psycho-pedagogy. Finally, this paper places counseling within the complexity and the need to provide all-encompassing and integrative answers which require a wide and deep enough education so as to answer all these issues and problems.

Vocation in the insertion of the university student and the graduate

The work plan aims at deepening the analysis of the theoretic assumptions which support the practice in Vocational Guidance: analyzing the incidence of endogenous and exogenous factors both in the election and studying of a particular course of study and in the occupational resolution of the graduate. This analysis enables the revision and the new theoretic conceptualization which is afterwards transferred to the course, and to different groups and provincial institutions where the practice of Vocational Guidance occurs, as well as to other schools in the Northwest provinces of Argentina. Semiotic analysis, statistical elaboration and the research-action approach which, while surveying data renders a service to the milieu, provide the base for the project. Said project focuses on the following individuals: 1) freshmen, who offer us the following aspects to be considered: a) factors which either favor or hinder the insertion of the students attending the first years of the course; b) the conditions making up the learning situation in each subject, from the teaching point of view; c) the influence of institutional dimension in the insertion process; 2) graduands: the characteristics of the situation following graduation from University, those of the labor field and the different ways of gaining access to it are investigated. This analysis is carried out in the courses of study of Psychology and English (education of Professionals in English and English for Professionals).

A new way of teaching different subjects in a foreign language in the Building Engineering Degree at the Universidad Politécnica.

The European Union has been promoting linguistic diversity for many years as one of its main educational goals. This is an element that facilitates student mobility and student exchanges between different universities and countries and enriches the education of young undergraduates. In particular, a higher degree of competence in the English language is becoming essential for engineers, architects and researchers in general, as English has become the lingua franca that opens up horizons to internationalisation and the transfer of knowledge in today’s world. Many experts point to the Integrated Approach to Contents and Foreign Languages System as being an option that has certain benefits over the traditional method of teaching a second language that is exclusively based on specific subjects. This system advocates teaching the different subjects in the syllabus in a language other than one’s mother tongue, without prioritising knowledge of the language over the subject. This was the idea that in the 2009/10 academic year gave rise to the Second Language Integration Programme (SLI Programme) at the Escuela Arquitectura Técnica in the Universidad Politécnica Madrid (EUATM-UPM), just at the beginning of the tuition of the new Building Engineering Degree, which had been adapted to the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) model. This programme is an interdisciplinary initiative for the set of subjects taught during the semester and is coordinated through the Assistant Director Office for Educational Innovation. The SLI Programme has a dual goal; to familiarise students with the specific English terminology of the subject being taught, and at the same time improve their communication skills in English. A total of thirty lecturers are taking part in the teaching of eleven first year subjects and twelve in the second year, with around 120 students who have voluntarily enrolled in a special group in each semester. During the 2010/2011 academic year the degree of acceptance and the results of the SLI Programme have been monitored. Tools have been designed to aid interdisciplinary coordination and to analyse satisfaction, such as coordination records and surveys. The results currently available refer to the first and second year and are divided into specific aspects of the different subjects involved and into general aspects of the ongoing experience.

Multidisciplinary Learning, Another way of Teaching Maths in Engineering

Multidisciplinary training is widely appreciated in industry and business, and nevertheless usually is not addressed in the early stages of most undergraduate programs. We outline here a multidisciplinary course for undergraduates studying engineering in which mathematics would be the common language, the transverse tool. The goal is motivating students to learn more mathematics and as a result, improve the quality of engineering education. The course would be structured around projects in four branches in engineering: mechanical, electrical, civil and bio-tech. The projects would be chosen among a wide variety of topics in engineering practice selected with the guidance of professional engineers. In these projects mathematics should interact with at least two other basic areas of knowledge in engineering: chemistry, computers science, economics, design or physics.

Health and safety in the construction : subject pending to be included in the curriculum of architecture in Spain

The art of construction is a risky activity that directly affects the life and physical integrity of persons. Since the approval of Law 31/1995, of November 8, Prevention of Occupational Risks was the first legislation that established the current basis in all sectors and then transposed into Spanish law Directive 92/57/CEE called Royal Decree 1627/1997 of October 24, on minimum safety and health dispositions in construction works, measures have been proposed to develop a mixed body of scientific literature composed of researchers and professionals in the field of occupational safety and health, but even today there is still no clear and firm proposal, showing a lack of awareness in the occupational risk prevention and, therefore, a consolidation of the culture of prevention in society. Therefore, the technicians, who make up the building process, can incur in very high responsibilities, such as: Author of the project, Coordinator of Safety and Health during the preparation of the project and during the execution of works, Site Management: Site Manager. This involves the immediate creation of a general training in prevention for all architects starting when still studying, as well as specific training, appropriate and complementary to all the architects that will be devoted to the specialty of occupational safety and health in construction works. That is, first, we must make the responsible bodies aware of the urgent need to integrate risk prevention in the curricula of architecture and later in the continuing education of the profession. It is necessary that our teaching must conform to the laws on safety and health, due to the fact that the law recognizes our academic degrees and professional qualifications to perform functions in that area