Positive association between ambient temperature and salmonellosis notifications in New Zealand, 1965-2006

Objective: To investigate the temporal relationship between the monthly count of salmonellosis notifications and the monthly average temperature in New Zealand during the period 1965–2006.

Methods: A negative binomial regression model was used to analyse monthly average ambient temperature and salmonellosis notifications in New Zealand between 1965 and 2006.

Results: A 1°C increase in monthly average ambient temperature was associated with a 15% increase in salmonellosis notifications within the same month (IRR 1.15; 95% CI 1.07 – 1.24).

Conclusion: The positive association found in this study between temperature and salmonellosis notifications in New Zealand is consistent with the results of studies conducted in other countries. New Zealand is projected to experience an increase in temperature due to climate change. Therefore, all other things being equal, climate change could increase salmonellosis notifications in New Zealand.

Implications: This association between temperature and salmonellosis should be considered when developing public health plans and climate change adaptation policies. Strategically, existing food safety programs to prevent salmonellosis could be intensified during warmer periods. As the association was strongest within the same month, focusing on improving food handling and storage during this time period may assist in climate change adaptation in New Zealand.

Food concerns and support for environmental food policies and purchasing.

Consumer support for pro environmental food policies and food purchasing are important for the adoption of successful environmental policies. This paper examines consumers' views of food policy options as their predisposition to purchase pro environmental foods along with their likely demographic, educational and cognitive antecedents including food and environmental concerns and universalism values (relating to care for others and the environment). An online survey to assess these constructs was conducted among 2204 Australian adults in November 2011. The findings showed strong levels of support for both environmental food policies (50%-78% support) and pro environmental food purchasing (51%-69% intending to purchase pro environmental foods). Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling showed that different cognitive mediators exist along pathways between demographics and the two outcome variables. Support for food policy was positively related to food and environment concerns (std. Beta = 0.25), universalism (0.41), perceived control (0.07), and regulatory issues (0.64 but negatively with food security issues (-0.37). Environment purchasing intentions were positively linked to food and nutrition concerns (0.13), food and environment concerns (0.24), food safety concerns (0.19), food and animal welfare concerns (0.16), universalism (0.25), female gender (0.05), education (0.04), and perceived influence over the food system (0.17). In addition, health study in years 11 and 12 was positively related to the beginning of both of these pathways (0.07 for each). The results are discussed in relation to the opportunities that communications based on the mediating variables offer for the promotion of environmental food policies and purchasing.

Energetic and physiological correlates of prey handling and ingestion in lizards and snakes

In this review, we summarize the energetic and physiological correlates of prey handling and ingestion in lizards and snakes. There were marked differences in the magnitude of aerobic metabolism during prey handling and ingestion between these two groups, although they show a similar pattern of variation as a function of relative prey mass. For lizards, the magnitude of aerobic metabolism during prey handling and ingestion also varied as a function of morphological specializations for a particular habitat, prey type, and behavior. For snakes, interspecific differences in aerobic metabolism during prey handling seem to be correlated with adaptations for prey capture (venom injection vs. constriction). During ingestion by snakes, differences in aerobic metabolism might be due to differences in cranial morphology, although allometric effects might be a potentially confounded effect. Anaerobic metabolism is used for prey handling and ingestion, but its relative contribution to total ATP production seems to be more pronounced in snakes than in lizards. The energetic costs of prey handling and ingestion are trivial for both groups and cannot be used to predict patterns of prey-size selection. For lizards, it seems that morphological and ecological factors set the constraints on prey handling and ingestion. For snakes, besides these two factors, the capacity of the cardio-respiratory system may also be an important factor constraining the capacity for prey handling and ingestion. © 2001 Elsevier B.V.

Could handling and acclimatization affect biomarker responses in oysters?

The aim of this study was to investigate whether handling and acclimatization could affect the biomarker responses in oysters Crassostrea gigas. Adult oysters were sampled in a farming area, subjected to handling stress during two hours (shell cleaning and transport), and then acclimatized in laboratory for 2, 3 and 4 weeks. Groups of five oysters were sampled before and after the handling (T0 and T1, respectively), and after 2, 3 and 4 weeks acclimatization. During the acclimatization, water was renewed daily, food given twice a day and temperature and salinity maintained at 22 °C and 25 ppt, respectively. One group, in another tank, was kept in similar conditions and was exposed for 1 week to 0.1 % diesel after the 2-weeks acclimatization period. After exposure, gills were immediately frozen in liquid N 2 for biochemical analyses. Higher expression of heat-shock proteins (HSP70) was observed after handling, and after acclimatization periods of 3-week and 4-week, compared to the T0 group. The diesel exposed group did not show elevated levels of HSP70, when compared to the 3-week acclimatized group. The activity of glutathione S-transferase (GST) was unchanged after handling, but was lower after all acclimatization periods, compared to the T0 group. Exposure to diesel caused an increase in GST activity compared to the 3-week acclimatized group, but not compared to T0. The activity of catalase (CAT), acetylcholinesterase (AChE), and the MDA levels remained unchanged during the whole experiment. These results point to the need of a special care in laboratory and field experiments employing HSP70 and GST as biomarkers. (Supported by CNPq-CTPetro to ACDB.). © 2008 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Quality and safety of pet treats: assessment of the microbial safety and quality of pet treats

The aim of this study was to evaluate the hygienic and sanitary conditions of pettreats from an export industry. The occurrence of Salmonella, enumerated sulfite-reducing Clostridium (SRC), coagulase-positive Staphylococcus (CPS) and total(TC) and thermotolerant coliforms (TTC) was studied. Of the 108 samples ana-lyzed, 22 were contaminated by some microorganism. TC were detected at twosamples (3.5 × 101and 4.5 × 101colony-forming units [cfu]/g), SRC in 19 samples(1.0 × 101to 1.3 × 105cfu/g) and Salmonella spp. at only one sample; CPS andTTC were not detected. These findings indicate the microbiological safety of mostitems, except for a mix of dried bovine offal, with 1.3 × 105cfu/g of SRC, and onemix of dehydrated bovine viscera contaminated with Salmonella. The current pro-duction processes and the food safety management system are adequate to guar-antee the production of microbiologically safe foods, but that some improvementscan still be made with regard to cleaning and disinfection and hygiene training.

Microbiological quality and safety of minimally processed vegetables marketed in Campinas, SP-Brazil, as assessed by traditional and alternative methods

In this study, a total of 172 samples of minimally processed vegetables (MPV) were collected from supermarkets in the city of Campinas, Brazil. The MPV were analyzed using traditional and/or alternative methods for total aerobic mesophilic bacteria, total coliforms, Escherichia coil, coagulase positive staphylococci, Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes. All the MPV analyzed presented populations of aerobic mesophilic microorganisms and total coliforms were >4 log(10) CFU/g and 1.0-3.4 log(10) CFU/g, respectively. E. coil was enumerated in only 10 samples out of 172 collected, while none of the 172 samples of MPV presented contamination by coagulase positive Staphylococcus (<10(1) CFU/g). Among the four methods used for detection of Salmonella in MPV (Vidas, 1,2 Test, Reveal, and Traditional), when Reveal was used a total of 29 positive samples were reported. For L monocytogenes, the four methods tested (Vidas, Vip, Reveal, and traditional) performed similarly. The presence of Salmonella and L monocytogenes in MPV was confirmed in one (watercress) and two samples (watercress and escarole), respectively. In conclusion, it has been observed that the microbiological quality of MPV commercialized in Campinas is generally satisfactory. Besides, the choice of microbiological method should be based not only on resource and time issues, but also on parameters such as sensitivity and specificity for the specific foods under ahalysis. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Tradeoffs or Synergies? Assessing Local and Regional Food Aid Procurement through Case Studies in Burkina Faso and Guatemala

We compare the impacts across a range of criteria of local and regional procurement (LRP) relative to transoceanic shipment of food aid in Burkina Faso and Guatemala. We find that neither instrument dominates the other across all criteria in either country, although LRP commonly performs at least as well as transoceanic shipment with respect to timeliness, cost, market price impacts, satisfying recipients' preferences, food quality and safety, and in benefiting smallholder suppliers. LRP is plainly a valuable food assistance tool, but its advantages and disadvantages must be carefully weighed, compared, and prioritized depending on the context and program objectives. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Novel insights into mechanisms of food allergy and allergic airway inflammation using experimental mouse models

Over the last decades, considerable efforts have been undertaken in the development of animal models mimicking the pathogenesis of allergic diseases occurring in humans. The mouse has rapidly emerged as the animal model of choice, due to considerations of handling and costs and, importantly, due to the availability of a large and increasing arsenal of genetically modified mouse strains and molecular tools facilitating the analysis of complex disease models. Here, we review latest developments in allergy research that have arisen from in vivo experimentation in the mouse, with a focus on models of food allergy and allergic asthma, which constitute major health problems with increasing incidence in industrialized countries. We highlight recent novel findings and controversies in the field, most of which were obtained through the use of gene-deficient or germ-free mice, and discuss new potential therapeutic approaches that have emerged from animal studies and that aim at attenuating allergic reactions in human patients.

Occupational health and safety among commercial sex workers in Ghana

The topic of occupational health and safety (OHS) has been investigated for many years and continues to be a concept often researched today. Generally speaking OHS research has been centered around food safety, construction safety, transportation safety, fire safety, drug and alcohol testing, health and medical management, and industrial hygiene to name a few. However, the concept of OHS concerning female commercial sex workers (FCSWs) has rarely been investigated, often neglected, seldom discussed and is lacking in sound research. Although regarded as the "oldest profession", commercial sex work (CSW) has consistently been ignored, disregarded and under-researched due to the illegality and stigmatization of prostitution. This paper reviews occupational safety and health issues faced by FCSWs in Tema and Accra, Ghana, through in-depth interviews, visits to women's homes, field work, informal conversations and participant observations with FCSWs over a period of two months. Facets of OHS that emerged among FCSWs included sexually transmissible infections, risks associated with harassment and violence from police and clients, alcohol and drug use, irregular hospital visits and/or lack of hospital visits, immigration issues, legal and policing risks. We argue that CSW be viewed as an occupation in great need of interventions to reduce workplace risks and improve the health and safety of FCSWs^

The Environmental Health and Safety of Carbon Nanotubes: Risk, Perception, and Policy

The production and use of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) can negatively impact human health and the environment through occupational, environmental, and product life-cycle exposures. Research is underway to evaluate the known, potential, and perceived hazards associated with CNTs. Recent research and policy analyses regarding CNTs were reviewed extensively. A facility engaged in research, development, and manufacture of CNTs was observed handling CNTs and associated individuals were informally interviewed. The combined investigation characterizes the current state of the art of our understanding and implementation of policy needed to address the impacts of CNTs to human health and the environment. A gap analysis is performed of regulations, policy, and CNT control methods; conclusions and recommendations are made from the results of this analysis.

Vehicle handling and stability.

Mode of access: Internet.

Development of car/trailer handling and braking standards. Volume II: technical report for Phase I - rear wheel drive tow cars. Final report.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Office of Passenger Vehicle Research, Washington, D.C.

Development of car/trailer handling and braking standards. Volume III: appendices for Phase I. Final report.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Office of Passenger Vehicle Research, Washington, D.C.

Vehicles-in-use sub-limit maneuvers. Volume III: effects of vehicle-in-use spring sag on vehicle handling and braking. Final report.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Vehicle Engineering Research Division, Washington, D.C.

Shipping, handling and storage of radioactive materials : a literature search /

"Distributed according to TID-4500 (16th Ed.) ; Health and Safety."