There is a growing concern in society about the continuing intensive usage of pesticides in farming and its effects on environmental and human health. Insight in the intentions of farmers to reduce ...pesticide use may help identify pathways towards farming systems with reduced environmental impacts. We used the Reasoned Action Approach to identify which social-psychological constructs determine farmers' intentions to decrease pesticide use. We analysed 681 responses to an online survey to assess which constructs drive intention, and identified which beliefs pose barriers and drive the motivation of farmers to decrease pesticide use. Our results show that the intention to reduce pesticide use is strongly determined by whether other farmers also act. Furthermore, farmers perceive limited capacity and autonomy to reduce pesticide use, and motivations to reduce pesticide use were based on environmental considerations. Finally, decreasing pesticide use was considered risky, but the relative importance of risk attitude was offset by the environmental considerations of farmers. This indicates that farmers need successful examples of how to decrease pesticide use, either via exchange with peer farmers or knowledge provisioning on alternative pest control methods. These insights may be useful to direct policy making to influence farmers' intentions to decrease pesticide use.
•Farmers' intention to reduce pesticide use was strongly determined by whether other farmers also act.•Farmers perceived limited capacity and autonomy to reduce pesticide use.•Farmers motivations to reduce pesticide use were based on environmental considerations.•Decreasing pesticide use was considered risky, but the relative importance of risk attitude was offset by the environmental considerations of farmers.
Boron-doped double-walled carbon nanotubes (DWCNTs) were produced by the catalytic decomposition of tetrahydrofuran and triisopropyl borate over a Fe–Mo/MgO catalyst at 900
°C. The synthesized ...B-doped DWCNTs had average outer and inner diameters in the range of 1.6–2.4
nm and 0.8–1.6
nm within the bundle, respectively. They had a larger interlayer spacing in the range of 0.36–0.39
nm, than did undoped DWCNTs. The B-C bonding evident from the B 1s signals in the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results indicated that highly coordinated boron atoms replaced the carbon atoms within the graphene sheet. As the triisopropyl borate concentration was increased from 0 to 2.5
M, the substituted boron concentration increased from 0.8 to 3.1
at.%. The results demonstrate that the substituted boron concentration in the hexagonal carbon lattices can be easily controlled by regulating the triisopropyl borate concentration.
Although it is well established that the extracellular matrix affects tumour progression, not much is known about the various components and their effect on head and neck squamous cell carcinoma ...(HNSCC) progression. Levels of collagen type XI α1 (colXIα1), a minor fibrillar collagen, have been shown to be increased in tumour compared with normal tissue in several cancers, including colorectal, breast, and non-small cell lung cancer. Currently, the functional significance of colXIα1 is not understood.
We examined the expression levels of colXIα1 mRNA and elucidated the functional role of colXIα1 in HNSCC. Cell proliferation, invasion, and migration were examined with and without colXIα1 knockdown with siRNA in HNSCC cells.
Our data demonstrate that colXIα1 expression is increased in tumour samples compared with levels in normal adjacent tissue in 16/23 HNSCC patients. In addition, colα11 is increased in HNSCC cell lines compared with normal immortalised epithelial cells and is increased in tumour-derived fibroblasts compared with normal fibroblasts. Using an siRNA approach, we demonstrate that colXIα1 contributes to proliferation, migration, and invasion of HNSCC.
Our cumulative findings suggest that colXIα1 contributes to HNSCC tumorigenesis and may serve as a potential therapeutic target.
Summary
Background Melanoma incidence and pigmentary disorders are known to be related to the degree of skin pigmentation, but few data exist on the specific impact of ultraviolet radiation (UVR) on ...melanocytes in skin of different constitutive pigmentation.
Objectives To analyse UVR‐induced DNA damage within melanocytes in different skin‐colour types.
Methods Skin samples were objectively classified into light, intermediate, tan, brown and dark skin according to their individual typology angle (°ITA), based on colorimetric parameters. Samples were exposed to increasing doses of solar simulated radiation. Detection of DNA damage specifically in melanocytes was achieved by cyclobutane thymine dimer (CPD)–tyrosinase‐related protein 1 double staining.
Results For light, intermediate and tan skin, accumulation of CPDs in melanocytes was detected at the lowest dose, with a steep increase with dose. At estimated erythemally equivalent doses, around 80–100% of melanocytes were positive for CPDs in tan, intermediate and light skin types. In contrast, in dark and brown skin types, CPDs were found in only approximately 15% of melanocytes at the highest dose.
Conclusions This work demonstrates that melanocytes from constitutively highly pigmented skin types are less impacted in terms of UVR‐induced DNA damage than those from lighter skin types, even those that are moderately pigmented.
What’s already known about this topic?
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The amount of melanin in skin inversely correlates with the risk of skin cancer, including melanoma.
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Specific data on the impact of ultraviolet radiation (UVR) on melanocytes in skin of different constitutive pigmentation are rare.
What does this study add?
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This study yields new insights into the relationship between the level of constitutive pigmentation and UVR‐induced DNA damage within melanocytes, explaining the susceptibility of certain skin types to melanoma or pigmentary disorders.
Many believe the health status of organic dairy herds in Europe should be improved to meet consumers’ and legislators’ expectations to improve animal welfare. This paper reports on a study in four ...countries that examined dairy farmers’ intentions towards improving the health status of their organic herds through the use of the Theory of Planned Behaviour. It was found that farmers across the countries were positive about taking additional preventative measures to improve the health status of their herds. They believed this would not only improve herd physical performance, such as milk yield and fertility, but also achieve greater cost effectiveness and improved job satisfaction for them.
Most study farmers would implement a tailored package of improvement measures designed by the study team with higher uptake most likely being by younger farmers, those who make greater use of veterinarians and professional advisory services, and those supplying specialist milk-marketing chains. Furthermore, farmers will be most likely to take-up additional health promotion if compatible with their everyday activities and if they have strong business performance goals aimed at maximising the physical performance of the herd.
Understanding the context and drivers of farmers’ decision-making is critical to designing successful voluntary disease control interventions. This study uses a questionnaire based on the Reasoned ...Action Approach framework to assess the determinants of farmers’ intention to participate in a hypothetical reactive vaccination scheme against Bluetongue.
Results suggest that farmers’ attitude and social pressures best explained intention. A mix of policy instruments can be used in a complementary way to motivate voluntary vaccination based on the finding that participation is influenced by both internal and external motivation. Next to informational and incentive-based instruments, social pressures, which stem from different type of perceived norms, can spur farmers' vaccination behaviour and serve as catalysts in voluntary vaccination schemes.
When designing effective voluntary vaccination strategies against animal disease epidemics, policy-makers need to take into account that different groups of farmers base their participation decisions ...on different considerations. Using the past Bluetongue virus serotype 8 epidemic of 2006-2009 in Europe as an example, this paper uses the Reasoned Action Approach to identify a set of attitudinal beliefs being the major drivers behind the intended decision to participate in voluntary vaccination. The results show that there is heterogeneity among farmers in these beliefs. In particular, perceived risk, which was captured by a risk attitude and a risk perception of the farmer, and personality traits are associated with variability in beliefs about vaccination against Bluetongue. The patterns found between perceived risk, personality traits and other farm and farmer characteristics were discussed in relation to the governance of animal health.
•Farmers’ beliefs drive the intention to vaccinate voluntarily against Bluetongue.•Knowing the influential beliefs can help in selecting suitable policy instruments.•Attitudinal and normative beliefs ...are the most influential.•The past Bluetongue vaccination strategy in the Netherlands is evaluated.•Social interaction mechanisms might advance the design of vaccination strategies.
This research utilizes the Reasoned Action Approach framework to study which beliefs drive the intention of farmers to participate in a voluntary vaccination scheme against Bluetongue.
Knowing the driving beliefs can help in selecting an appropriate mix of policy instruments to enhance the participation rate and thereby improve the cost-effectiveness and efficiency of voluntary vaccination strategies. Results are used to evaluate the policy instruments used by the Dutch government in their 2008 vaccination strategy (communicative intervention and vaccine subsidization).
The paper posits that social interaction mechanisms, such as peer group pressure, might advance the design of voluntary vaccination strategies.
In order to put a halt to the Bluetongue virus serotype 8 (BTV-8) epidemic in 2008, the European Commission promoted vaccination at a transnational level as a new measure to combat BTV-8. Most ...European member states opted for a mandatory vaccination campaign, whereas the Netherlands, amongst others, opted for a voluntary campaign. For the latter to be effective, the farmer's willingness to vaccinate should be high enough to reach satisfactory vaccination coverage to stop the spread of the disease. This study looked at a farmer's expected utility of vaccination, which is expected to have a positive impact on the willingness to vaccinate. Decision analysis was used to structure the vaccination decision problem into decisions, events and payoffs, and to define the relationships among these elements. Two scenarios were formulated to distinguish farmers' mindsets, based on differences in dairy heifer management. For each of the scenarios, a decision tree was run for two years to study vaccination behaviour over time. The analysis was done based on the expected utility criterion. This allows to account for the effect of a farmer's risk preference on the vaccination decision. Probabilities were estimated by experts, payoffs were based on an earlier published study. According to the results of the simulation, the farmer decided initially to vaccinate against BTV-8 as the net expected utility of vaccination was positive. Re-vaccination was uncertain due to less expected costs of a continued outbreak. A risk averse farmer in this respect is more likely to re-vaccinate. When heifers were retained for export on the farm, the net expected utility of vaccination was found to be generally larger and thus was re-vaccination more likely to happen. For future animal health programmes that rely on a voluntary approach, results show that the provision of financial incentives can be adjusted to the farmers' willingness to vaccinate over time. Important in this respect are the decision moment and the characteristics of the disease. Farmers' perceptions of the disease risk and about the efficacy of available control options cannot be neglected.
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