Public perceptions of drinking water: A postal survey of residents with private water supplies

Background: In Canada, the legal responsibility for the condition of private water supplies, including private wells and cisterns, rests with their owners. However, there are reports that Canadians test these water supplies intermittently and that treatment of such water is uncommon. An estimated 45% of all waterborne outbreaks in Canada involve non-municipal systems. An understanding of the perceptions and needs of Canadians served by private water supplies is essential, as it would enable public health professionals to better target public education and drinking water policy. The purpose of this study was to investigate the public perceptions of private water supplies in the City of Hamilton, Ontario (Canada), with the intent of informing public education and outreach strategies within the population. Methods: A cross-sectional postal survey of 246 residences with private water supplies was conducted in May 2004. Questions pertained to the perceptions of water quality and alternative water sources, water testing behaviours and the self-identified need for further information. Results: Private wells, cisterns or both, were the source of household water for 71%, 16% and 13% of respondents, respectively. Although respondents rated their water quality highly, 80% also had concerns with its safety. The most common concerns pertained to bacterial and chemical contamination of their water supply and its potential negative effect on health. Approximately 56% and 61% of respondents used in-home treatment devices and bottled water within their homes, respectively, mainly due to perceived improvements in the safety and aesthetic qualities compared to regular tap water. Testing of private water supplies was performed infrequently: 8% of respondents tested at a frequency that meets current provincial guidelines. Two-thirds of respondents wanted more information on various topics related to private water supplies. Flyers and newspapers were the two media reported most likely to be used. Conclusion: Although respondents rated their water quality highly, the majority had concerns regarding the water from their private supply, and the use of bottled water and water treatment devices was extensive. The results of this study suggest important lines of inquiry and provide support and input for public education programs, particularly those related to private water testing, in this population

How does reviewing the evidence change veterinary surgeons' beliefs regarding the treatment of ovine footrot? A quantitative and qualitative study

Footrot is a widespread, infectious cause of lameness in sheep, with major economic and welfare costs. The aims of this research were: (i) to quantify how veterinary surgeons’ beliefs regarding the efficacy of two treatments for footrot changed following a review of the evidence (ii) to obtain a consensus opinion following group discussions (iii) to capture complementary qualitative data to place their beliefs within a broader clinical context. Grounded in a Bayesian statistical framework, probabilistic elicitation (roulette method) was used to quantify the beliefs of eleven veterinary surgeons during two one-day workshops. There was considerable heterogeneity in veterinary surgeons’ beliefs before they listened to a review of the evidence. After hearing the evidence, seven participants quantifiably changed their beliefs. In particular, two participants who initially believed that foot trimming with topical oxytetracycline was the better treatment, changed to entirely favour systemic and topical oxytetracycline instead. The results suggest that a substantial amount of the variation in beliefs related to differences in veterinary surgeons’ knowledge of the evidence. Although considerable differences in opinion still remained after the evidence review, with several participants having non-overlapping 95% credible intervals, both groups did achieve a consensus opinion. Two key findings from the qualitative data were: (i) veterinary surgeons believed that farmers are unlikely to actively seek advice on lameness, suggesting a proactive veterinary approach is required (ii) more attention could be given to improving the way in which veterinary advice is delivered to farmers. In summary this study has: (i) demonstrated a practical method for probabilistically quantifying how veterinary surgeons’ beliefs change (ii) revealed that the evidence that currently exists is capable of changing veterinary opinion (iii) suggested that improved transfer of research knowledge into veterinary practice is needed (iv) identified some potential obstacles to the implementation of veterinary advice by farmers

Postcard: #30 Branding Calves on the Plains

This black and white photographic postcard features cowboys branding cattle. A man on the left has a cow tied with rope and is wrestling it to the ground. Five men surround a cow that is on the ground. The man in the foreground is branding the cow with a branding iron. A herd of cattle are in the background. Written text is at the bottom of the card. Handwriting is on the back of the card. (Note indicates the photo was taken by Liberal, Kansas photographer Hal Reid.)https://scholars.fhsu.edu/tj_postcards/2342/thumbnail.jp

Making the Case for a Privacy Law Approach to Human Biomaterial Regulation

Human biomaterials are in high demand from a wide variety of stakeholders, giving rise to tension and debate about the amount of control individuals should have over materials derived from their own bodies. As biobanks, universities, governments, and corporations increasingly assert control over biomaterials, individuals are left with a paltry set of legal options to protect their interests or obtain remedies when their interests are infringed. This thesis therefore identifies the limitations of existing regulatory options and proposes privacy law as a new legal tool to better recognize and protect individual interests in biomaterials. This is accomplished through a doctrinal examination of relevant law and literature applicable to biomaterial regulation and privacy law across common law jurisdictions. This work considers a range of statutory instruments and governance frameworks that regulate certain biomaterial uses (such as transplantation, research, and assisted reproduction) and shows that these instruments lack enforceable rights and remedial mechanisms. This work then considers the prospect of property law to fill this remedial vacuum, an issue that has dominated the literature in biomaterial regulation. An examination of relevant case law demonstrates that, where there are genuine contests of control over biomaterials between individuals and institutions, property rights will likely be allocated to institutions. This is, in part, because property law is better suited to recognize and protect the economic and market-based interests at stake for institutions rather than the dignity and autonomy-based interests of individuals. Privacy law, on the other hand, is designed to protect autonomy and dignity-based interests. This work therefore considers whether information privacy statutes and privacy torts could be useful to recognize and remedy violations of these interests. With respect to information privacy statutes, this thesis considers whether there is scope for physical biomaterials to be treated as a form of “personal information”, thus attracting new legal rules for their collection, storage, use, and transfer. This idea originates from discourse identifying an “informatization” of the human body currently underway. As the genetic information within biomaterials continues to grow in value and becomes increasingly accessible, there is less reason to maintain regulatory distinctions between “physical” biomaterials and the “information” within them. With respect to privacy torts, this thesis argues that there are both informational and personal privacy interests in biomaterials that, when violated, could be remedied through these privacy-based causes of action. This thesis considers situations of surreptitious genetic testing, biomaterials used in research without consent, and interferences with the deceased bodies of a plaintiff’s loved one, to illustrate the potential operation of privacy torts to biomaterial cases where a plaintiff might otherwise be left without a remedy. This analysis shows that privacy torts may offer protection in some circumstances, however, there is great jurisdictional variability in the privacy tort landscape, and individual success may therefore depend on the factual underpinnings and location of the relevant claim. Overall, the field of privacy law is growing in scope, and both legislatures and judiciaries have demonstrated a willingness to respond to social harms from advancing technologies by expanding the boundaries of this legal field. While current privacy frameworks may need to evolve further to meaningfully address and overcome the limitations of other relevant frameworks, this thesis argues that it is possible and potentially beneficial for the law to evolve in this direction to provide individuals greater control over their biomaterials. This possibility calls for greater scholarly attention to the potential role of privacy law in this context. At a minimum, a privacy law comparison provides insights into how legal claims, rights, and remedies need to be structured to provide individuals with the protection they currently lack as the quest to solve the complex problem of human biomaterial regulation continues

A global assessment of Echinococcus multilocularis infections in domestic dogs: proposing a framework to overcome past methodological heterogeneity

Echinococcus multilocularis, the aetiological agent of human Alveolar Echinococcosis, is transmitted between small mammals and wild or domestic canids. Dogs infected with E. multilocularis as dead-end hosts. Whereas E. multilocularis infections in wild hosts and humans have been well-studied in recent decades, infections in domestic dogs are sparsely reported. This literature review and meta-analysis highlighted gaps in the available data and provided a re-assessment of the global distribution of domestic dog E. multilocularis infections. We found 46 published articles documenting the prevalence of E. multilocularis in domestic dogs from 21 countries across Europe, Asia and North America. Apparent prevalence estimates ranged from 0.00% (0.00–0.33%) in Germany to 55.50% (26.67–81.12%) in China. Most studies were conducted in areas of high human Alveolar Echinococcosis. By accounting for reassessed diagnostic sensitivity and specificity, we estimated true prevalence in a subset of studies, which varied between 0.00% (0.00–12.42%) and 41.09% (21.12–65.81%), as these true prevalence estimates were seldom reported in the articles themselves. Articles also showed a heavy emphasis on rural dogs, dismissing urban ones, which is concerning due to the role urbanisation plays in the transmission of zoonotic diseases, especially those utilising pets as definitive hosts. Lastly, population studies on canine Alveolar Echinococcosis were absent, highlighting the relative focus on human rather than animal health. We thus developed a framework for investigating domestic dog E. multilocularis infections and performing risk assessment of dog-associated transmission to fill the gaps found in the literature

Genome sequencing of the extinct Eurasian wild aurochs, Bos primigenius, illuminates the phylogeography and evolution of cattle

Background Domestication of the now-extinct wild aurochs, Bos primigenius, gave rise to the two major domestic extant cattle taxa, B. taurus and B. indicus. While previous genetic studies have shed some light on the evolutionary relationships between European aurochs and modern cattle, important questions remain unanswered, including the phylogenetic status of aurochs, whether gene flow from aurochs into early domestic populations occurred, and which genomic regions were subject to selection processes during and after domestication. Here, we address these questions using whole-genome sequencing data generated from an approximately 6,750-year-old British aurochs bone and genome sequence data from 81 additional cattle plus genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism data from a diverse panel of 1,225 modern animals. Results Phylogenomic analyses place the aurochs as a distinct outgroup to the domestic B. taurus lineage, supporting the predominant Near Eastern origin of European cattle. Conversely, traditional British and Irish breeds share more genetic variants with this aurochs specimen than other European populations, supporting localized gene flow from aurochs into the ancestors of modern British and Irish cattle, perhaps through purposeful restocking by early herders in Britain. Finally, the functions of genes showing evidence for positive selection in B. taurus are enriched for neurobiology, growth, metabolism and immunobiology, suggesting that these biological processes have been important in the domestication of cattle. Conclusions This work provides important new information regarding the origins and functional evolution of modern cattle, revealing that the interface between early European domestic populations and wild aurochs was significantly more complex than previously thought

Educational archaeology and the practice of utopian pedagogy

This paper explores the idea, and some elements of the (potential) practice, of utopian pedagogy. It begins by outlining the general aims of ‘utopian pedagogy’ and notes the shift within contemporary writings away from the metaphor of the architect (armed with a utopian ‘blueprint’) towards that of the archaeologist. The ontological underpinnings of educational archaeology are discussed before attention turns to a critical examination of the pedagogical process of excavation. The key questions here are (to labour the metaphor) where to dig and how to identify a utopian find. The paper argues that, without a substantive normative vision to serve as a guide, utopian archaeology is conceptually flawed and practically ineffectual, romanticising an endlessly open process of exploration. The final section suggests that the fears associated with utopian architecture (authoritarian imposition, totalising closure) are misplaced and that drawing up a ‘blueprint’ should be the aim and responsibility of utopian pedagogy

Evaluation of the PPAR-γ agonist pioglitazone in mild asthma: a double-blind randomized controlled trial

Background Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPAR-γ) is a nuclear receptor that modulates inflammation in models of asthma. To determine whether pioglitazone improves measures of asthma control and airway inflammation, we performed a single-center randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group trial. Methods Sixty-eight participants with mild asthma were randomized to 12 weeks pioglitazone (30 mg for 4 weeks, then 45 mg for 8 weeks) or placebo. The primary outcome was the adjusted mean forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) at 12 weeks. The secondary outcomes were mean peak expiratory flow (PEF), scores on the Juniper Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ) and Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (AQLQ), fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO), bronchial hyperresponsiveness (PD20), induced sputum counts, and sputum supernatant interferon gamma-inducible protein-10 (IP-10), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1), and eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) levels. Study recruitment was closed early after considering the European Medicines Agency’s reports of a potential increased risk of bladder cancer with pioglitazone treatment. Fifty-five cases were included in the full analysis (FA) and 52 in the per-protocol (PP) analysis. Results There was no difference in the adjusted FEV1 at 12 weeks (-0.014 L, 95% confidence interval [CI] -0.15 to 0.12, p = 0.84) or in any of the secondary outcomes in the FA. The PP analysis replicated the FA, with the exception of a lower evening PEF in the pioglitazone group (-21 L/min, 95% CI -39 to -4, p = 0.02). Conclusions We found no evidence that treatment with 12 weeks of pioglitazone improved asthma control or airway inflammation in mild asthma