WorldWideScience

Sample records for housing animal

  1. Carbon dioxide production in animal houses

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, Søren; Blanes-Vidal, Victoria; Joergensen, H.

    2008-01-01

    cellars are emptied regularly in a four weeks interval. Due to a high and variable carbon dioxide production in deep straw litter houses and houses with indoor storage of manure longer than four weeks, we do not recommend to calculate the ventilation flow based on the carbon dioxide concentration......This article deals with carbon dioxide production from farm animals; more specifically, it addresses the possibilities of using the measured carbon dioxide concentration in animal houses as basis for estimation of ventilation flow (as the ventilation flow is a key parameter of aerial emissions from...... animal houses). The investigations include measurements in respiration chambers and in animal houses, mainly for growing pigs and broilers. Over the last decade a fixed carbon dioxide production of 185 litres per hour per heat production unit, hpu (i.e. 1000 W of the total animal heat production at 20o...

  2. Refining Housing, Husbandry and Care for Animals Used in Studies Involving Biotelemetry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hawkins, Penny

    2014-01-01

    Simple Summary Biotelemetry, the remote detection and measurement of an animal function or activity, is widely used in animal research. Biotelemetry devices transmit physiological or behavioural data and may be surgically implanted into animals, or externally attached. This can help to reduce animal numbers and improve welfare, e.g., if animals can be group housed and move freely instead of being tethered to a recording device. However, biotelemetry can also cause pain and distress to animals due to surgery, attachment, single housing and long term laboratory housing. This article explains how welfare and science can be improved by avoiding or minimising these harms. Abstract Biotelemetry can contribute towards reducing animal numbers and suffering in disciplines including physiology, pharmacology and behavioural research. However, the technique can also cause harm to animals, making biotelemetry a ‘refinement that needs refining’. Current welfare issues relating to the housing and husbandry of animals used in biotelemetry studies are single vs. group housing, provision of environmental enrichment, long term laboratory housing and use of telemetered data to help assess welfare. Animals may be singly housed because more than one device transmits on the same wavelength; due to concerns regarding damage to surgical sites; because they are wearing exteriorised jackets; or if monitoring systems can only record from individually housed animals. Much of this can be overcome by thoughtful experimental design and surgery refinements. Similarly, if biotelemetry studies preclude certain enrichment items, husbandry refinement protocols can be adapted to permit some environmental stimulation. Nevertheless, long-term laboratory housing raises welfare concerns and maximum durations should be defined. Telemetered data can be used to help assess welfare, helping to determine endpoints and refine future studies. The above measures will help to improve data quality as well as

  3. Design of laboratory and animal housing unit for radionuclide studies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1975-01-01

    The design of a combined analytical laboratory and animal housing facility is discussed. By having sample processing facilities in close proximity to the experimental animals, the necessity for transporting biological specimens long distances has been curtailed. In addition, complete radionuclide counting equipment has been installed so that samples need not leave the animal housing site for analysis, a feature based on radiological health requirements. (U.S.)

  4. Indirect Genetic Effects for group-housed animals

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Alemu, Setegn Worku

    This thesis investigated social interactions in group-housed animals. The main findings of this thesis: 1) Statistical methods to estimate indirect genetic effects when interactions differ between kin vs. non-kin were developed. 2) Indirect genetic effects contribute a substantial amount...... of heritable variation for bite mark traits in group-housed min. 3) Indirect genetic effects estimation needs to take into account systematic interactions due to sex or kin for bite mark trait in group-housed min. 4) Genomic selection can be used to increase the response to selection for survival time in Brown...

  5. Refining Housing, Husbandry and Care for Animals Used in Studies Involving Biotelemetry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Penny Hawkins

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Biotelemetry can contribute towards reducing animal numbers and suffering in disciplines including physiology, pharmacology and behavioural research. However, the technique can also cause harm to animals, making biotelemetry a ‘refinement that needs refining’. Current welfare issues relating to the housing and husbandry of animals used in biotelemetry studies are single vs. group housing, provision of environmental enrichment, long term laboratory housing and use of telemetered data to help assess welfare. Animals may be singly housed because more than one device transmits on the same wavelength; due to concerns regarding damage to surgical sites; because they are wearing exteriorised jackets; or if monitoring systems can only record from individually housed animals. Much of this can be overcome by thoughtful experimental design and surgery refinements. Similarly, if biotelemetry studies preclude certain enrichment items, husbandry refinement protocols can be adapted to permit some environmental stimulation. Nevertheless, long-term laboratory housing raises welfare concerns and maximum durations should be defined. Telemetered data can be used to help assess welfare, helping to determine endpoints and refine future studies. The above measures will help to improve data quality as well as welfare, because experimental confounds due to physiological and psychological stress will be minimised.

  6. [Emission and control of gases and odorous substances from animal housing and manure depots].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hartung, J

    1992-02-01

    Agricultural animal production in increasingly regarded as a source of gases which are both aggravating and ecologically harmful. An overview of the origin, number and quantity of trace gases emitted from animal housing and from manure stores is presented and possible means of preventing or reducing them are discussed. Of the 136 trace gases in the air of animal houses, odorous substances, ammonia and methane are most relevant to the environment. The role played by the remaining gases is largely unknown. Quantitative information is available for 23 gases. The gases are emitted principally from freshly deposited and stored faeces, from animal feed and from the animals themselves. Future work should determine sources and quantities of the gases emitted from animal housing more precisely and should aim to investigate the potential of these gases to cause damage in man, animals and environment. Odorous substances have an effect on the area immediately surrounding the animal housing. They can lead to considerable aggravation in humans. For years, VDI1 guidelines (3471/72), which prescribe distances between residential buildings and animal housing, have been valuable in preventing odour problems of this kind. Coverings are suitable for outside stores. The intensity of the odour from animal housing waste air increases from cattle through to hens and pigs; it is also further affected by the type of housing, the age of the animals and the purpose for which they are being kept. Methods of cleaning waste air (scrubbers/biofilters) are available for problematic cases. The need for guidelines to limit emissions from individual outside manure stores (lagoons) is recognised. Total ammonia emissions from animal production in the Federal Republic of Germany (up to 1989) are estimated at approximately 300,000 to 600,000 t/year. There is a shortage of satisfactory and precise research on the extent of emissions, in particular on those from naturally ventilated housing. It is

  7. Electrolyzed water and its application in animal houses

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Weichao ZHENG,Li NI,Baoming LI

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Electrolyzed water (EW can be produced by electrolysis of a dilute salt solution. Slightly acidic electrolyzed water (SAEW, pH 5.0—6.5 and neutral electrolyzed water (NEW, pH 6.5—8.5 are considered healthy and environmentally friendly because no hazardous chemicals are added in its production, there is reduced corrosion of surfaces and it minimizes the potential for damage to animal and human health. Over the last decade, EW has become increasingly popular as an alternative disinfectant for decontamination in animal houses. However, there have been some issues related to EW that are not well known, including different mechanisms for generation of SAEW and NEW, and the antimicrobial mechanism of EW. This review covers the definitions of SAEW and NEW, different generation systems for SAEW and NEW, the antimicrobial mecha- nism of EW, and recent developments related to the application of SAEW and NEW in animal houses.

  8. Verslag 20th Symposium on Housing and Fiseases of Rabbits, Furprovinding animals and Pet animals

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Rommers, J.M.

    2017-01-01

    Op 17 en 18 mei jl. werd in Celle (Duitsland) het Symposium on Housing
    and Diseases of Rabbits, Furproviding animals and Pet animals
    gehouden. Dit symposium wordt eenmaal per twee jaar georganiseerd
    door Duitsland. Er waren circa 60 deelnemers uit 12 verschillende
    landen, waaronder

  9. Overview and assessment of techniques to measure ammonia emissions from animal houses: the case of the Netherlands

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mosquera, J.; Monteny, G.J.; Erisman, J.W.

    2005-01-01

    In order to comply with the ammonia (NH 3 ) emission reduction assigned to the Netherlands development of new measures are needed, which should be supported by fast and accurate measurements to arrive at new estimates of the NH 3 emission from each agricultural source. This paper gives an overview of the current methods used in the Netherlands to measure NH 3 emissions from animal houses, and provides alternative methods for some particular situations. For mechanically ventilated animal houses, passive flux samplers placed in the ventilation shafts of the animal house are presented as alternative to measure a larger number of animal houses (replicates) with the same housing system at a low price. For naturally ventilated animal houses, when mixing in the animal house is not good enough to allow measurements within the animal house (internal tracer gas ratio method), two measurement methods are discussed: the Gaussian plume dispersion model, which is usually not suitable for agricultural situations, and the flux frame method, which is not always applicable because of distortion of the flow around the building. Finally, for animal houses with outside yards for the animals, there are at this moment no methods available to measure the NH 3 emissions from these complex situations, although quick box methods (for the outside yards) and a combination of a backward Lagrangian stochastic model with open-path concentration measurements with a tunable diode laser (TDL), look promising. - There are no methods to measure ammonia effectively from outdoor stockyards

  10. PhenoWorld: addressing animal welfare in a new paradigm to house and assess rat behaviour.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castelhano-Carlos, Magda J; Baumans, Vera; Sousa, Nuno

    2017-02-01

    The use of animals is essential in biomedical research. The laboratory environment where the animals are housed has a major impact on them throughout their lives and influences the outcome of animal experiments. Therefore, there has been an increased effort in the refinement of laboratory housing conditions which is explicitly reflected in international regulations and recommendations. Since housing conditions affect behaviour and brain function as well as well-being, the validation of an animal model or paradigm to study the brain and central nervous system disorders is not complete without an evaluation of its implication on animal welfare. Here we discuss several aspects of animal welfare, comparing groups of six rats living in the PhenoWorld (PhW), a recently developed and validated paradigm for studying rodent behaviour, with standard-housed animals (in cages of six rats or pair-housed). In this study we present new data on home-cage behaviour showing that PhW animals have a clearer circadian pattern of sleep and social interaction. We conclude that, by promoting good basic health and functioning, together with the performance of natural behaviours, and maintaining animals' control over some of their environment but still keeping some physical and social challenges, the PhW stimulates positive affective states and higher motivation in rats, which might contribute to an increased welfare for animals living in the PhW.

  11. PhenoWorld: addressing animal welfare in a new paradigm to house and assess rat behaviour

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Castelhano-Carlos, M.J.; Baumans, V.; Sousa, N.

    2017-01-01

    The use of animals is essential in biomedical research. The laboratory environment where the animals are housed has a major impact on them throughout their lives and influences the outcome of animal experiments. Therefore, there has been an increased effort in the refinement of laboratory housing

  12. How to improve housing conditions of laboratory animals: The possibilities of environmental refinement

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Baumans, V.; Loo, P.L.P. van

    2013-01-01

    Housing systems for captive animals have often been designed on the basis of economic and ergonomic considerations, such as equipment, costs, space, workload, ability to observe the animals and to maintain a certain degree of hygiene, with little or no consideration for animal welfare. Environmental

  13. Developments of Thermal Environment Techniques of Animal Housing in Hot Climate

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zhang, Guoqiang; Bjerg, Bjarne Schmidt

    It is a challenge to create the satisfied indoor climate of farm animal housing in hot climate conditions by ventilation design and control. Facing to the global warming tendency, the challenge become event great. To overcome this challenge, an optimal indoor climate control system should be able...

  14. Mutilating Procedures, Management Practices, and Housing Conditions That May Affect the Welfare of Farm Animals: Implications for Welfare Research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nordquist, Rebecca E; van der Staay, Franz Josef; van Eerdenburg, Frank J C M; Velkers, Francisca C; Fijn, Lisa; Arndt, Saskia S

    2017-02-21

    A number of mutilating procedures, such as dehorning in cattle and goats and beak trimming in laying hens, are common in farm animal husbandry systems in an attempt to prevent or solve problems, such as injuries from horns or feather pecking. These procedures and other practices, such as early maternal separation, overcrowding, and barren housing conditions, raise concerns about animal welfare. Efforts to ensure or improve animal welfare involve adapting the animal to its environment, i.e., by selective breeding (e.g., by selecting "robust" animals) adapting the environment to the animal (e.g., by developing social housing systems in which aggressive encounters are reduced to a minimum), or both. We propose adapting the environment to the animals by improving management practices and housing conditions, and by abandoning mutilating procedures. This approach requires the active involvement of all stakeholders: veterinarians and animal scientists, the industrial farming sector, the food processing and supply chain, and consumers of animal-derived products. Although scientific evidence about the welfare effects of current practices in farming such as mutilating procedures, management practices, and housing conditions is steadily growing, the gain in knowledge needs a boost through more scientific research. Considering the huge number of animals whose welfare is affected, all possible effort must be made to improve their welfare as quickly as possible in order to ban welfare-compromising procedures and practices as soon as possible.

  15. Influence of Housing System and Number of Transported Animals on Transport-induced Mortality in Slaughter Pigs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eva Voslářová

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available The study monitored the effect of the housing system and the number of animals transported together on transport-induced mortality of slaughter pigs in the Czech Republic in the period from 2004 to 2008. Concerning the type of housing during the fattening, the lowest mortality rate during the subsequent transport to slaughter houses was detected among pigs fattened on solid floor (0.047% and on deep bedding (0.084%. The highest mortality during transport was detected among pigs fattened on fully or partially slatted floor (0.139%, a significant difference (p p < 0.01 compared to the load sizes of up to 40 animals.

  16. Factors related to in-house agricultural animal caseloads in US veterinary teaching hospitals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tyler, Jeff W; Miller, Robert B; Constable, Peter D; Hostetler, Douglas E; Lakritz, Jeff; Hardin, David K; Angel, Kenneth L; Wolfe, Dwight F

    2002-01-01

    A retrospective observational study was conducted to determine whether agricultural animal caseloads at veterinary teaching hospitals declined between 1995 and 1998. Thereafter, the effect of organizational and demographic factors on 1998 in-house agricultural animal caseloads was examined. Caseload data were obtained from the American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges. Demographic and organizational data were obtained by surveys, telephone interviews, and web-based resources. Complete data were available from 25 veterinary colleges, and data from these schools were used in subsequent analyses. In 1998, in-house food animal caseload decreased relative to 1995 in 17 schools and increased relative to 1995 in 8 schools. This trend was not significant (P = .053); however, the power of the test was limited (.50). Mean 1998 caseload was 886 +/- 504. Among schools with a discipline-based organizational structure, annual mean caseload was 464 +/- 220. Among schools with a species-based organizational structure, mean caseload was 1,167 +/- 463. The regression model that best predicted caseload was a forward-stepping model that included only organizational structure as an independent variable. No additional independent variable was significantly associated with caseload.

  17. The effects of extrinsic stress on somatic markers and behavior are dependent on animal housing conditions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huzard, Damien; Mumby, Dave G; Sandi, Carmen; Poirier, Guillaume L; van der Kooij, Michael A

    2015-11-01

    Properties of the environment play an important role in animal wellbeing and may modulate the effects of external threats. Whereas stressors can affect emotion and impair cognition, environmental enrichment may prevent the occurrence of such negative sequelae. Animals exposed to semi-natural group-housing experience a complex environment; whereas environmental enrichment might protect against stressors, a socially-enriched environment(SEE) could entail aggressive inter-male encounters with additive stress effects. In the present study, we investigated the effects of exposure to external stressors, footshocks and forced swimming, on adrenal gland and body weights as well as on behavior in rats housed under SEE or standard, non-enriched environment (NEE), conditions. We found that SEEs reduced the anxiogenic effects of stress. Moreover, SEEs improved the performance in an operant task and prevented the increase in impulsive behavior produced by external stressors on NEE animals. Whereas these findings are indicative of stress-buffering effects of SEEs, adrenal gland weights were increased while total body weights were decreased in SEE rats, suggesting that SEEs may simultaneously exacerbate physiological measurements of stress. Finally, in the SEE, total aggressive behaviors and body wounds were paradoxically reduced in animals that received external stressors in comparison to non-stressed controls. The consequences of the external stressors applied here are not uniform, varying according to the housing condition and the outcome considered. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. A Survey on the Gastrointestinal Parasites of Rabbit and Guinea Pig in a Laboratory Animal House

    OpenAIRE

    Motamedi, G.,; Moharami, M.,; Paykari, H.,; Eslampanah, M.,; Omraninava, A.

    2014-01-01

    There is documented evidence that infection in laboratory animals can often influence the outcome of experiments. All infections, apparent or inapparent, are likely to increase biological variability. As a research project concerning the diversity and distribution of parasites of rabbit and guinea pig in a conventional laboratory animal house, about 87 rabbits (from 700 ) and 105 guinea pigs (from 1500 ) were selected randomly from a Research, Production & Breeding of Laboratory Animals Depar...

  19. Detection of Ebola Virus RNA through Aerosol Sampling of Animal Biosafety Level 4 Rooms Housing Challenged Nonhuman Primates

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-08-02

    Rooms Housing Challenged Nonhuman Primates 10 11 12 13 14 15 David E. Harbourt1*, Sara C. Johnston1, James Pettitt2, Travis K. Warren1 and...Sampling of ABSL-4 Rooms Housing Challenged Nonhuman 10 Primates for publication in an edition of The Journal of Infectious Disease. This 11 manuscript...embedded in the texts. This is the first report demonstrating detection of Ebola virus 17 RNA from animal rooms housing infected nonhuman primates and

  20. Health Status of Male Adult Wistar Rats from Two Experimental Animal Houses of UFMG: Leukocyte Counts, Feces and Lung Histological Exams

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrade Bruno Horta

    2002-01-01

    Full Text Available A study was conducted to compare health status of male adult Wistar rats from two Experimental Animal Houses of UFMG with literature data of SPF (free from specific pathogens and conventional rats. The animals were divided into two groups: Group I (n=10, rats from the experimental animal houses of FAFICH and Group II (n=10 from ICB and following aspects were studied: a evident clinical signs (behavior modification, hair loss (alopecia, b leukocyte counts, c feces exam and d histological study of the lungs. The rats did not show clinical signs. However, when compared with SPF and conventional rats, both the groups showed a significant increase (p<0,05 of leukocyte count. On feces exam we detected some parasites and on lung histological exam we observed fungus (Group I and bacteria (Group II. These results showed that the health status of the rats was not satisfactory and required improvements in the conditions of the animal houses.

  1. Sustained housing-type social buffering following social housing in male rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kiyokawa, Yasushi; Ishida, Aya; Takeuchi, Yukari; Mori, Yuji

    2016-05-01

    In social animals, recovery from the adverse effects of distressing stimuli is promoted by subsequent cohousing with a conspecific animal(s). This phenomenon has been termed housing-type social buffering. We previously found that social housing induced housing-type social buffering in fear-conditioned male rats. This buffering took the form of attenuated conditioned hyperthermia in response to an auditory conditioned stimulus (CS). Here, we assessed whether this social buffering is sustained even if the subject is housed alone after a period of social housing. When fear-conditioned subjects were housed alone during a 48-h period between conditioning and re-exposure to the auditory CS, they exhibited conditioned hyperthermia in response to the CS. However, conditioned hyperthermia was not observed when the 12-h period of social housing began 24 and 36h after conditioning during the 48-h period. This was not the case when the 12-h period of social housing began 0 and 12h after the conditioning. These results suggest that housing-type social buffering is sustained for 12h after the 12-h period of social housing. We next considered whether increasing the duration of social housing would extend the period of social buffering. We observed social buffering of conditioned hyperthermia 24 and 48, but not 96h after a 24-h period of social housing. These results suggest that social buffering was extended when the duration of social housing was increased. Taken together, our findings indicate that housing-type social buffering is sustained after a period of social housing. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Improved passive flux samplers for measuring ammonia emissions from animal houses, part 1: Basic principles

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Scholtens, R.; Hol, J.M.G.; Wagemans, M.J.M.; Phillips, V.R.

    2003-01-01

    At present, precise, expensive and laborious methods with a high resolution in time are needed, to determine ammonia emission rates from animal houses. The high costs for equipment, maintenance and labour limit the number of sites that can be measured. This study examines a new, simpler concept for

  3. A Survey on the Gastrointestinal Parasites of Rabbit and Guinea Pig in a Laboratory Animal House

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Motamedi, G.,

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available There is documented evidence that infection in laboratory animals can often influence the outcome of experiments. All infections, apparent or inapparent, are likely to increase biological variability. As a research project concerning the diversity and distribution of parasites of rabbit and guinea pig in a conventional laboratory animal house, about 87 rabbits (from 700 and 105 guinea pigs (from 1500 were selected randomly from a Research, Production & Breeding of Laboratory Animals Department. Samples were collected between 19.02.2010 and 20.05.2011. The samples and animals were examined by dissection and flotation methods. In this study only one species of nematodes (Passalorus ambiguus: 6.9%; one species of protozoa (Eimeria spp.: 21.8% in rabbits and one species of nematodes (Paraspidodera Uncinata: 24.7%; one species of protozoa (Balantidium coli: 11.4% in guinea pigs were identified. However, there was not any cestodes or trematodes identified from this group of laboratory animals.

  4. Scrubber capabilities to remove airborne microorganisms and other aerial pollutants from the exhaust air of animal houses

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Aarnink, A.J.A.; Landman, W.J.M.; Melse, R.W.; Zhao, Y.; Ploegaert, J.P.M.; Huynh, T.T.T.

    2011-01-01

    Two studies were conducted to assess the efficiency of air scrubbers to reduce airborne microorganisms in the exhaust air from animal houses. First, in a field study, the effects of a bio-scrubber and an acid scrubber on total bacterial counts were assessed. Higher bacterial counts were found in the

  5. Elektronische monitoring van luchtwassers op veehouderijbedrijven = Automated process monitoring and data logging of air scrubbers at animal houses

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Melse, R.W.; Franssen, J.C.T.J.

    2010-01-01

    At 6 animal houses air scrubbers equipped with an automated process monitoring and data logging system were tested. The measured values were successfully stored but the measured values, especially the pH and EC of the recirculation water, appeared not to be correct at all times.

  6. Social factors affect motor and anxiety behaviors in the animal model of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorders: A housing-style factor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsai, Meng-Li; Kozłowska, Anna; Li, Yu-Sheng; Shen, Wen-Ling; Huang, Andrew Chih Wei

    2017-08-01

    The present study examines whether housing style (e.g., single housing, same-strain-grouped housing, and different-strain-grouped housing) and rat strain (e.g., spontaneous hypertension rats [SHR] and Wistar-Kyoto rats [WKY]) mediate motor function and anxiety behavior in the open field task. From week 4 through week 10 following birth, the rats were measured 30min for locomotor activity and anxiety once per week in the open field task. The SHR rats exhibited hyperactivity in total distance traveled and movement time to form the animal model of ADHD. The SHR rats spent more time inside the square and crossed the inside-outside line more often than the WKY rats, indicating the SHR rats exhibited less anxiety behavior. The different-strain-grouped housing style (but neither the same-strain-grouped housing style nor the single housing style) decreased total distance traveled and facilitated anxiety behavior. The motor function was negatively correlated with anxiety behavior for SHR rats but not for WKY rats. Housing styles had a negative correlation between motor function and anxiety behavior. The present findings provide some insights regarding how social factors (such as housing style) affect motor function and anxiety behavior related to ADHD in a clinical setting. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Multi-Pollutant and One-Stage Scrubbers for Removal of Ammonia, Odor, and Particulate Matter from Animal House Exhaust Air

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ogink, N.W.M.; Melse, R.W.; Mosquera Losada, J.

    2008-01-01

    In several European countries, acid scrubbers and bio-scrubbers are off-the-shelf techniques for effective removal of ammonia from exhaust air from animal houses and, to a lesser extent, for odor. The number of operating air scrubbers at livestock operations in the Netherlands in 2008 is estimated

  8. Effects of diurnal emission patterns and sampling frequency on precision of measurement methods for daily ammonia emissions from animal houses

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Estelles, F.; Calvet, S.; Ogink, N.W.M.

    2010-01-01

    Ammonia concentrations and airflow rates are the main parameters needed to determine ammonia emissions from animal houses. It is possible to classify their measurement methods into two main groups according to the sampling frequency: semi-continuous and daily average measurements. In the first

  9. Scientific assessment of animal welfare.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hemsworth, P H; Mellor, D J; Cronin, G M; Tilbrook, A J

    2015-01-01

    Animal welfare is a state within the animal and a scientific perspective provides methodologies for evidence-based assessment of an animal's welfare. A simplistic definition of animal welfare might be how the animal feels now. Affective experiences including emotions, are subjective states so cannot be measured directly in animals, but there are informative indirect physiological and behavioural indices that can be cautiously used to interpret such experiences. This review enunciates several key science-based frameworks for understanding animal welfare. The biological functioning and affective state frameworks were initially seen as competing, but a recent more unified approach is that biological functioning is taken to include affective experiences and affective experiences are recognised as products of biological functioning, and knowledge of the dynamic interactions between the two is considered to be fundamental to managing and improving animal welfare. The value of these two frameworks in understanding the welfare of group-housed sows is reviewed. The majority of studies of the welfare of group-housed sows have employed the biological functioning framework to infer compromised sow welfare, on the basis that suboptimal biological functioning accompanies negative affective states such as sow hunger, pain, fear, helplessness, frustration and anger. Group housing facilitates social living, but group housing of gestating sows raises different welfare considerations to stall housing, such as high levels of aggression, injuries and stress, at least for several days after mixing, as well as subordinate sows being underfed due to competition at feeding. This paper highlights the challenges and potential opportunities for the continued improvement in sow management through well-focused research and multidisciplinary assessment of animal welfare. In future the management of sentient animals will require the promotion of positive affective experiences in animals and this

  10. 9 CFR 3.79 - Mobile or traveling housing facilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 9 Animals and Animal Products 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Mobile or traveling housing facilities... Transportation of Nonhuman Primates 2 Facilities and Operating Standards § 3.79 Mobile or traveling housing facilities. (a) Heating, cooling, and temperature. Mobile or traveling housing facilities must be...

  11. 9 CFR 3.75 - Housing facilities, general.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    .... Housing facilities and areas used for storing animal food or bedding must be free of any accumulation of trash, waste material, junk, weeds, and other discarded materials. Animal areas inside of housing... carrying out other husbandry requirements. (e) Storage. Supplies of food and bedding must be stored in a...

  12. Automation in Animal Housing and Production

    Science.gov (United States)

    Intensive, controlled environment animal production began modestly in the mid-20th century as poultry were brought indoors. While mankind had utilized structures to provide shelter for their animals for centuries, the availability of relatively inexpensive energy and the electrification of rural are...

  13. Radon and its importance for animal hygiene

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Janowski, T.M.; Tombarkiewicz, B.

    1995-01-01

    Reconnaissance studies on radon concentration were carried out for various species of animal in animal housing in the Cracow region. It was found that the level of radon inside the livestock houses depended on the type of housing and animal species. In a cow shed the concentration of radon was higher by 25% than in the atmosphere, whereas in a piggery the radon level exceeded twice that in the ambient air. However, in a poultry house the radon concentration was over 20% lower then outside. (author). 9 refs

  14. Effect of the probiotic Enterococcus faecium SF68 on presence of diarrhea in cats and dogs housed in an animal shelter.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bybee, S N; Scorza, A V; Lappin, M R

    2011-01-01

    Beneficial effects of probiotics have never been analyzed in an animal shelter. Dogs and cats housed in an animal shelter and administered a probiotic are less likely to have diarrhea of ≥2 days duration than untreated controls. Two hundred and seventeen cats and 182 dogs. Double blinded and placebo controlled. Shelter dogs and cats were housed in 2 separate rooms for each species. For 4 weeks, animals in 1 room for each species was fed Enterococcus faecium SF68 while animals in the other room were fed a placebo. After a 1-week washout period, the treatments by room were switched and the study continued an additional 4 weeks. A standardized fecal score system was applied to feces from each animal every day by a blinded individual. Feces of animals with and without diarrhea were evaluated for enteric parasites. Data were analyzed by a generalized linear mixed model using a binomial distribution with treatment being a fixed effect and the room being a random effect. The percentage of cats with diarrhea ≥2 days was significantly lower (P = .0297) in the probiotic group (7.4%) when compared with the placebo group (20.7%). Statistical differences between groups of dogs were not detected but diarrhea was uncommon in both groups of dogs during the study. Cats fed SF68 had fewer episodes of diarrhea of ≥2 days when compared with controls suggests the probiotic may have beneficial effects on the gastrointestinal tract. Copyright © 2011 by the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine.

  15. House Fly (Musca domestica L. Attraction to Insect Honeydew.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kim Y Hung

    Full Text Available House flies are of major concern as vectors of food-borne pathogens to food crops. House flies are common pests on cattle feedlots and dairies, where they develop in and feed on animal waste. By contacting animal waste, house flies can acquire human pathogenic bacteria such as Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp., in addition to other bacteria, viruses, or parasites that may infect humans and animals. The subsequent dispersal of house flies from animal facilities to nearby agricultural fields containing food crops may lead to pre-harvest food contamination with these pathogens. We hypothesized that odors from honeydew, the sugary excreta produced by sucking insects feeding on crops, or molds and fungi growing on honeydew, may attract house flies, thereby increasing the risk of food crop contamination. House fly attraction to honeydew-contaminated plant material was evaluated using a laboratory bioassay. House flies were attracted to the following plant-pest-honeydew combinations: citrus mealybug on squash fruit, pea aphid on faba bean plants, whitefly on navel orange and grapefruit leaves, and combined citrus mealybug and cottony cushion scale on mandarin orange leaves. House flies were not attracted to field-collected samples of lerp psyllids on eucalyptus plants or aphids on crepe myrtle leaves. Fungi associated with field-collected honeydews were isolated and identified for further study as possible emitters of volatiles attractive to house flies. Two fungal species, Aureobasidium pullulans and Cladosporium cladosporioides, were repeatedly isolated from field-collected honeydew samples. Both fungal species were grown in potato dextrose enrichment broth and house fly attraction to volatiles from these fungal cultures was evaluated. House flies were attracted to odors from A. pullulans cultures but not to those of C. cladosporioides. Identification of specific honeydew odors that are attractive to house flies could be valuable for the

  16. House Fly (Musca domestica L.) Attraction to Insect Honeydew.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hung, Kim Y; Michailides, Themis J; Millar, Jocelyn G; Wayadande, Astri; Gerry, Alec C

    2015-01-01

    House flies are of major concern as vectors of food-borne pathogens to food crops. House flies are common pests on cattle feedlots and dairies, where they develop in and feed on animal waste. By contacting animal waste, house flies can acquire human pathogenic bacteria such as Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp., in addition to other bacteria, viruses, or parasites that may infect humans and animals. The subsequent dispersal of house flies from animal facilities to nearby agricultural fields containing food crops may lead to pre-harvest food contamination with these pathogens. We hypothesized that odors from honeydew, the sugary excreta produced by sucking insects feeding on crops, or molds and fungi growing on honeydew, may attract house flies, thereby increasing the risk of food crop contamination. House fly attraction to honeydew-contaminated plant material was evaluated using a laboratory bioassay. House flies were attracted to the following plant-pest-honeydew combinations: citrus mealybug on squash fruit, pea aphid on faba bean plants, whitefly on navel orange and grapefruit leaves, and combined citrus mealybug and cottony cushion scale on mandarin orange leaves. House flies were not attracted to field-collected samples of lerp psyllids on eucalyptus plants or aphids on crepe myrtle leaves. Fungi associated with field-collected honeydews were isolated and identified for further study as possible emitters of volatiles attractive to house flies. Two fungal species, Aureobasidium pullulans and Cladosporium cladosporioides, were repeatedly isolated from field-collected honeydew samples. Both fungal species were grown in potato dextrose enrichment broth and house fly attraction to volatiles from these fungal cultures was evaluated. House flies were attracted to odors from A. pullulans cultures but not to those of C. cladosporioides. Identification of specific honeydew odors that are attractive to house flies could be valuable for the development of improved house

  17. House Fly (Musca domestica L.) Attraction to Insect Honeydew

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hung, Kim Y.; Michailides, Themis J.; Millar, Jocelyn G.; Wayadande, Astri; Gerry, Alec C.

    2015-01-01

    House flies are of major concern as vectors of food-borne pathogens to food crops. House flies are common pests on cattle feedlots and dairies, where they develop in and feed on animal waste. By contacting animal waste, house flies can acquire human pathogenic bacteria such as Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp., in addition to other bacteria, viruses, or parasites that may infect humans and animals. The subsequent dispersal of house flies from animal facilities to nearby agricultural fields containing food crops may lead to pre-harvest food contamination with these pathogens. We hypothesized that odors from honeydew, the sugary excreta produced by sucking insects feeding on crops, or molds and fungi growing on honeydew, may attract house flies, thereby increasing the risk of food crop contamination. House fly attraction to honeydew-contaminated plant material was evaluated using a laboratory bioassay. House flies were attracted to the following plant-pest-honeydew combinations: citrus mealybug on squash fruit, pea aphid on faba bean plants, whitefly on navel orange and grapefruit leaves, and combined citrus mealybug and cottony cushion scale on mandarin orange leaves. House flies were not attracted to field-collected samples of lerp psyllids on eucalyptus plants or aphids on crepe myrtle leaves. Fungi associated with field-collected honeydews were isolated and identified for further study as possible emitters of volatiles attractive to house flies. Two fungal species, Aureobasidium pullulans and Cladosporium cladosporioides, were repeatedly isolated from field-collected honeydew samples. Both fungal species were grown in potato dextrose enrichment broth and house fly attraction to volatiles from these fungal cultures was evaluated. House flies were attracted to odors from A. pullulans cultures but not to those of C. cladosporioides. Identification of specific honeydew odors that are attractive to house flies could be valuable for the development of improved house

  18. Green House Gas Control and Agricultural Biomass for Sustainable Animal Agriculture in Developing Countries

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J Takahashi

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available Important green house gases (GHG attributed to animal agriculture are methane (CH4 and nitrous oxide (N2O, though carbon dioxide (CO2 contributes almost half of total greenhouse effect. Rumen CH4 production in an enteric fermentation can be accounted as the biggest anthropogenic source. Some of prebiotics and probiotics have been innovated to mitigate rumen CH4 emission. The possible use of agricultural biomass consisted of non-edible parts of crop plants such as cellulose and hemi cellulose and animal wastes was proposed as a renewable energy and nitrogen sources. The ammonia stripping from digested slurry of animal manure in biogas plant applied three options of nitrogen recycling to mitigate nitrous oxide emission. In the first option of the ammonia stripping, the effect of ammonolysis on feed value of cellulose biomass was evaluated on digestibility, energy metabolism and protein utilization. Saccharification of the NH3 treated cellulose biomass was confirmed in strictly anaerobic incubation with rumen cellulolytic bacteria, Ruminoccous flavefaciens, to produce bio-ethanol as the second option of ammonia stripping. In an attempt of NH3 fuel cell, the reformed hydrogen from the NH3 stripped from 20 liter of digested slurry in thermophilic biogas plant could generate 0.12 W electricity with proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEM as the third option.

  19. How "Animal Spirits" Wrecked the Housing Market

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akerlof, George A.; Shiller, Robert J.

    2009-01-01

    Real-estate markets are almost as volatile as stock markets. Prices of agricultural land, of commercial real estate, and of homes and condominiums have gone through a series of huge bubbles, as if people never learned from the previous ones. Such events--in particular the recent housing bubble--are driven by what John Maynard Keynes called animal…

  20. Effects of ceftiofur treatment on the susceptibility of commensal porcine E.coli--comparison between treated and untreated animals housed in the same stable.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beyer, Anne; Baumann, Sven; Scherz, Gesine; Stahl, Jessica; von Bergen, Martin; Friese, Anika; Roesler, Uwe; Kietzmann, Manfred; Honscha, Walther

    2015-10-15

    Healthy farm animals have been found to act as a reservoir of extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Escherichia coli (E. coli). Therefore, the objective of the study was to determine the input of antimicrobial active ceftiofur metabolites in the stable via faeces and urine after intramuscular administration of the drug to pigs and the elucidation of the Escherichia coli ESBL resistance pattern of treated and untreated pigs housed in the same barn during therapy. For determination of the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) the method of microdilutionaccording to the recommended procedure of the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute was used. Inaddition to that, a qualitative determination was performed by agar dilution. Unsusceptible E. coli speciesselected via agar dilution with cefotaxime were confirmed by MALDI-TOF and ESBL encoding genes wereidentified by PCR. The amounts of ceftiofur measured as desfuroylceftiofur (DFC) in the different probes (plasma, urine, faeces and dust) were analysed by UPLC-MS/MS. In a first experiment two groups of pigs (6 animals per group) were housed in the same barn in two separated boxes. One group (group B) were treated with ceftiofur according to the licence (3 mg/kg administered intramuscularly (i.m.) on three consecutive days, day 1-3). During a second treatment period (day 29-31) an increased rate of ESBL resistant E. coli was detectable in these treated pigs and in the air of the stable. Moreover, the second group of animals (group A) formerly untreated but housed for the whole period in the same stable as the treated animals revealed increased resistance rates during their first treatment (day 45-47) with ceftiofur. In order to investigate the environmental input of ceftiofur during therapy and to simulate oral uptake of ceftiofur residues from the air of the stable a second set of experiments were performed. Pigs (6 animals) were treated with an interval of 2 weeks for 3 days with different doses of

  1. POPULATION OF DOGS AND HOUSING CONDITIONS IN POLISH SHELTERS FOR HOMELESS ANIMALS EXEMPLIFIED BY THE DATA FROM THE SZCZECIN SHELTER FOR HOMELESS ANIMALS IN THE YEARS 2002 - 2007

    OpenAIRE

    MAŁGORZATA PIERKO; MARCELINA GAIK

    2009-01-01

    The analysis included the state and the housing conditions in the shelter, the population of dogs, adoptions, euthanasias, castrations, deaths, escapes, the number of dogs rehomed by the original owners. The observations ascertained the trends regarding the homeless dogs in the shelter, the future prospects for the center and its rank among other animal shelters in Poland. The overpopulation problem was noted, and henceforth the the exceeding quantity of euthanized and dead cases. Another pro...

  2. The effect of housing on the diurnal behavioural profile of beef heifers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mary Clare Hickey

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available The objectives were to determine 1. the behaviour of heifers at pasture or housed on slats, and 2. the effect of housing on behavioural adaptation when moved to pasture. Forty-five continental crossbred heifers were assigned to either housing on slats at 3 m2 head-1for 5 months (H, grazing for 5 months (G or housing for 4 months, prior to grazing (HG. Lying and eating behaviour was recorded periodically for H, G and for HG post-turnout. Per day, G animals spent longer (p<0.01 eating and had a greater (p<0.001 number of daily lying bouts than H animals. While there were minor differences between G and HG animals in the 24 h period after turnout, there was no difference between G and HG animals in time spent eating, lying or in the number of lying bouts on day 1, 2, 3 or 10 post turnout. While abnormal lying behaviour was observed in 3 animals before turnout, there was no abnormal lying behaviour in HG animals by 48 h post turnout. The alteration in behaviour due to housing was not permanent.

  3. The Use of Refuges by Communally Housed Cats

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adriana Sicuto de Oliveira

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available The increase of domestic animals kept in shelters highlights the need to ensure animal welfare. Environmental enrichment can improve animal welfare in many ways, such as encouraging captive animals to use all the space available to them. The effects of physical environmental enrichment on the spatial distribution and behavioral repertoire of 35 neutered domestic cats housed communally were analyzed. The provision of boxes in the environment increases the use of available space by the cats. We suggest this improves the cats’ welfare while in communally-housed rescue shelters. The frequencies of active and especially inactive behaviors also increased in the enriched condition. In a test with vertical environmental enrichment, the animals showed an increased length of stay in refuges located at a height of 0.5 m compared to those on the ground (0.0 m. However, the entry frequency was higher in refuges at 0.0 m. Both horizontal and vertical environmental enrichment increased the use of available space, demonstrating that box refuges as enrichment are effective in providing a refuge when at a height, or a place to explore at ground level. We suggest it enhances the welfare of cats in communally housed shelters. This information adds to the body of evidence relating to cat enrichment and can be useful in designing cat housing in veterinary clinics, research laboratories, shelters and domestic homes.

  4. Telemetric assessment of social and single housing: Evaluation of electrocardiographic intervals in jacketed cynomolgus monkeys.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaiser, Robert A; Tichenor, Stephen D; Regalia, Douglas E; York, Kristina; Holzgrefe, Henry H

    2015-01-01

    Proactive efforts to socially house laboratory animals are a contemporary, important focus for enhancing animal welfare. Jacketing cynomolgus monkeys has been traditionally considered an exclusionary criterion for social housing based on unsubstantiated concerns that study conduct or telemetry equipment might be compromised. Our objective was to evaluate the effects of jacketing naïve, adolescent cynomolgus monkeys in different single and social housing types based on parallel comparisons of heart rate. Eight naive cynomolgus monkeys were randomized into pairs and ECG data were collected for 24h from each animal in each housing condition using a crossover design. Caging paradigms consisted of standard individual, standard pair, quaternary pair (4 linked cages), and European-style pair housing in non-sequential order varied by pair to control for possible time bias. Dosing and blood collection procedures were performed to characterize any effects of housing on ECG data during study conduct. There was no increase in the incidence of equipment damage in pair vs. individually housed animals. Further, animals in all 4 housing paradigms showed similar acclimation assessed as heart rate (mean 139-154 beats per minute), and maintained similar diurnal rhythms, with an expected slowing of the heart rate at night (aggregate lights out HR 110±4bpm compared to daytime 146±7bpm). This study demonstrates the effects of different social access and housing types on the study-naïve cynomolgus monkeys during jacketed cardiovascular telemetry data collection in a repeat-dose toxicology study design. There were no discernible effects of social housing on baseline ECG parameters collected via jacketed telemetry, and all animals maintained expected diurnal rhythms in all housing settings tested. These data demonstrate that cynomolgus monkeys can be socially housed during data collection as a standard practice, consistent with global efforts to improve study animal welfare. Copyright

  5. Multi-Pollutant and One-Stage Scrubbers for Removal of Ammonia, Odor, and Particulate Matter from Animal House Exhaust Air

    OpenAIRE

    Ogink, N.W.M.; Melse, R.W.; Mosquera Losada, J.

    2008-01-01

    In several European countries, acid scrubbers and bio-scrubbers are off-the-shelf techniques for effective removal of ammonia from exhaust air from animal houses and, to a lesser extent, for odor. The number of operating air scrubbers at livestock operations in the Netherlands in 2008 is estimated to clean the air of approximately 10 percent of the pigs produced nationwide. Currently, a new generation of so-called multi-pollutant air scrubbers are developed for intensive livestock production ...

  6. 9 CFR 3.77 - Sheltered housing facilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... surrounded by a natural barrier that restricts the nonhuman primates to the housing facility and protects... lighting cycle of either natural or artificial light. Lighting must be uniformly diffused throughout animal..., and the Administrator gives written permission (g) Public barriers. Fixed public exhibits housing...

  7. Pathogenesis, humoral immune responses and transmission between co-housed animals in a ferret model of human RSV infection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chan, Kok Fei; Carolan, Louise A; Druce, Julian; Chappell, Keith; Watterson, Daniel; Young, Paul; Korenkov, Daniil; Subbarao, Kanta; Barr, Ian G; Laurie, Karen L; Reading, Patrick C

    2017-11-29

    Small animal models have been used to obtain many insights regarding the pathogenesis and immune responses induced following infection with human respiratory syncytial virus (hRSV). Amongst those described to date, infections in cotton rats, mice, guinea pigs, chinchillas and Syrian hamsters with hRSV strains Long and/or A2 have been well characterised, although clinical isolates have also been examined. Ferrets are also susceptible to hRSV infection but the pathogenesis and immune responses elicited following infection have not been well characterised. Herein, we describe the infection of adult ferrets with hRSV Long or A2 via the intranasal route and characterised virus replication, as well as cytokine induction, in the upper and lower airways. Virus replication and cytokine induction during the acute phase of infection (days 0-15 post-infection) were similar between the two strains and both elicited high levels of F glycoprotein-specific binding and neutralising antibodies following virus clearance (days 16-22 post-infection). Importantly, we demonstrate transmission from experimentally infected donor ferrets to co-housed naïve recipients and have characterised virus replication and cytokine induction in the upper airways of infected contact animals. Together, these studies provide a direct comparison of the pathogenesis of hRSV Long and A2 in ferrets and highlight the potential of this animal model to study serological responses and examine interventions that limit transmission of hRSV. IMPORTANCE Ferrets have been widely used to study pathogenesis, immunity and transmission following human influenza virus infections, however far less is known regarding the utility of the ferret model to study hRSV infections. Following intranasal (IN) infection of adult ferrets with the well characterised Long or A2 strains of hRSV, we report virus replication and cytokine induction in the upper and lower airways, as well as the development of virus-specific humoral responses

  8. Social housing of non-rodents during cardiovascular recordings in safety pharmacology and toxicology studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prior, Helen; Bottomley, Anna; Champéroux, Pascal; Cordes, Jason; Delpy, Eric; Dybdal, Noel; Edmunds, Nick; Engwall, Mike; Foley, Mike; Hoffmann, Michael; Kaiser, Robert; Meecham, Ken; Milano, Stéphane; Milne, Aileen; Nelson, Rick; Roche, Brian; Valentin, Jean-Pierre; Ward, Gemma; Chapman, Kathryn

    2016-01-01

    The Safety Pharmacology Society (SPS) and National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement & Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) conducted a survey and workshop in 2015 to define current industry practices relating to housing of non-rodents during telemetry recordings in safety pharmacology and toxicology studies. The aim was to share experiences, canvas opinion on the study procedures/designs that could be used and explore the barriers to social housing. Thirty-nine sites, either running studies (Sponsors or Contract Research Organisations, CROs) and/or outsourcing work responded to the survey (51% from Europe; 41% from USA). During safety pharmacology studies, 84, 67 and 100% of respondents socially house dogs, minipigs and non-human primates (NHPs) respectively on non-recording days. However, on recording days 20, 20 and 33% of respondents socially house the animals, respectively. The main barriers for social housing were limitations in the recording equipment used, study design and animal temperament/activity. During toxicology studies, 94, 100 and 100% of respondents socially house dogs, minipigs and NHPs respectively on non-recording days. However, on recording days 31, 25 and 50% of respondents socially house the animals, respectively. The main barriers for social housing were risk of damage to and limitations in the recording equipment used, food consumption recording and temperament/activity of the animals. Although the majority of the industry does not yet socially house animals during telemetry recordings in safety pharmacology and toxicology studies, there is support to implement this refinement. Continued discussions, sharing of best practice and data from companies already socially housing, combined with technology improvements and investments in infrastructure are required to maintain the forward momentum of this refinement across the industry. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. SOME SLAUGHTER-HOUSE RATES OF HORSES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vlasta Mandić

    2000-06-01

    Full Text Available Nowdays horses are raised and used almost only for sport and recreation and, of course, for meat production. With the possibility of buying fresh horse meat and products based on horse meat, new eating habits have been acquired. The number of horses in the Republic of Croatia has been decreasing continually, which can result in import rather than in export of horse meat, unless a proper and a good breeding plan for horse meat production is made soon. In existing small private slaughter-houses, together with other animals, horses are slaughtered but in a very small number (just to meet the needs of the market. As those horses are of different genetic bases, (mostly cold blooded and cross-bred as well as of different age, sex and physical shape, the slaughter-house yield greatly varies. Due to some injuries, blindenss or lameness horses are killed coercively as to gain minimal profit. In distinction from other animals where the percentage of carcass yield is very high, sloughter-house yield of horse carcass is not high due to a small number of killed animals

  10. The Classroom Animal: Snails.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kramer, David S.

    1985-01-01

    Points out that snails are interesting and easily-managed classroom animals. One advantage of this animal is that it requires no special attention over weekends or holidays. Background information, anatomy, reproduction, and feeding are discussed, along with suggestions for housing aquatic and/or land snails. (DH)

  11. Myxomatosis: some observations on breeding the European rabbit flea Spilopsyllus cuniculi (Dale) in an animal house

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sobey, W. R.; Menzies, W.; Conolly, Dorothy

    1974-01-01

    Rabbit fleas for use in Myxomatosis investigations have been successfully bred on rabbits in an animal house. The timing of emergence appeared to be governed by a biological timing control interacting with different forms of disturbance. Yield was found to be related to litter size, the time the doe and her kittens were removed from the nest, the number of fleas put onto a doe before littering and the mean ambient temperature to which the doe was exposed in the week pre-partum. The survival rate of fleas in storage was affected by temperature, the degree of crowding, moisture content of the containers, whether fleas were fed or unfed and the source of fleas in terms of emergence times. PMID:4526409

  12. Seeing the animal

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Harfeld, Jes Lynning; Cornou, Cecile; Kornum, Anna

    2016-01-01

    This article discusses the notion that the invisibility of the animalness of the animal constitutes a fundamental obstacle to change within current production systems. It is discussed whether housing animals in environments that resemble natural habitats could lead to a re-animalization...... of the animals, a higher appreciation of their moral significance, and thereby higher standards of animal welfare. The basic claim is that experiencing the animals in their evolutionary and environmental context would make it harder to objectify animals as mere bioreactors and production systems. It is argued...... that the historic objectification of animals within intensive animal production can only be reversed if animals are given the chance to express themselves as they are and not as we see them through the tunnel visions of economy and quantifiable welfare assessment parameters....

  13. The effects of individual housing on mice and rats

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Krohn, Thomas Cæcius; Sørensen, Dorte Bratbo; Ottesen, Jan Lund

    2006-01-01

    these animals individually without negative impact on welfare, eg by providing special housing improvements. A range of studies have shown that individual housing or isolation has effects on corticosterone, the open field behaviour, barbiturate sleeping time and the metabolism of different pharmaceuticals...... in the animals. However, this review of 37 studies in rats and 17 studies in mice showed divergence in test results difficult to explain, as many studies lacked basal information about the study, eg information on genetic strains and housing conditions, such as bedding, enrichment and cage sizes. Furthermore......, test and control groups most frequently differed in cage sizes and stocking densities, and behavioural tests differed in ways which may very well explain the differences in results. Overall, there seemed to be an effect of individual housing, although it may be small, and it seems reasonable to assume...

  14. Beoordeling van de FSC 2000 als vervanger van de Leroux-meter voor het bepalen van de stroefheid van betonnen stalvloeren = Evaluation of the FSC 2000 as substitute for the Leroux apparatus for determination of skid resistance of concrete floors of animal houses

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Winkel, A.; Blanken, K.; Bokma, S.

    2010-01-01

    In this study the FSC 2000 is evaluated as a substitute for the Leroux apparatus for determination of skid resistance of concrete floors of animal houses. This study shows that the FSC 2000 is well suitable for measurements of skid resistance of concrete slats and solid floors of animal houses.

  15. Effects of Metabolic Cage Housing on Rat Behavior and Performance in the Social Interaction Test.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Whittaker, Alexandra L; Lymn, Kerry A; Howarth, Gordon S

    2016-01-01

    Although the metabolic cage is commonly used for housing nonhuman animals in the laboratory, it has been recognized as constituting a unique stressor. Such an environment would be expected to affect behavioral change in animals housed therein. However, few studies have specifically addressed the nature or magnitude of this change. The current study sought to characterize the behavioral time budget of rats in metabolic cage housing in comparison to that of individually housed animals in standard open-top cages. Rats in metabolic cages spent less time moving, manipulating enrichment, and carrying out rearing behaviors, and there was a corresponding shift toward inactivity. In an applied Social Interaction Test, behavioral scoring implied that metabolic cage housing had an anxiogenic effect. In conclusion, metabolic cage housing produces measurable effects on spontaneous and evoked behavior in rats in the laboratory. These behavioral changes may lead to a negative emotional state in these animals, which could have negative welfare consequences. Further research is needed to quantify the existence and magnitude of such an effect on rat well being.

  16. Laboratory mouse housing conditions can be improved using common environmental enrichment without compromising data

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    André, Viola; Gau, Christine; Scheideler, Angelika

    2018-01-01

    Animal welfare requires the adequate housing of animals to ensure health and well-being. The application of environmental enrichment is a way to improve the well-being of laboratory animals. However, it is important to know whether these enrichment items can be incorporated in experimental mouse...... material and shelters may be used to improve animal welfare without impairment of experimental outcome or loss of comparability to previous data collected under barren housing conditions....

  17. 9 CFR 3.1 - Housing facilities, general.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... and areas used for storing animal food or bedding must be free of any accumulation of trash, waste material, junk, weeds, and other discarded materials. Animal areas inside of housing facilities must be.... (e) Storage. Supplies of food and bedding must be stored in a manner that protects the supplies from...

  18. 21 CFR 58.90 - Animal care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 21 Food and Drugs 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Animal care. 58.90 Section 58.90 Food and Drugs... FOR NONCLINICAL LABORATORY STUDIES Testing Facilities Operation § 58.90 Animal care. (a) There shall be standard operating procedures for the housing, feeding, handling, and care of animals. (b) All...

  19. 21 CFR 58.43 - Animal care facilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... testing facility shall have a sufficient number of animal rooms or areas, as needed, to assure proper: (1... (4) routine or specialized housing of animals. (b) A testing facility shall have a number of animal... shall exist for the collection and disposal of all animal waste and refuse or for safe sanitary storage...

  20. A new animal welfare concept based on allostasis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Korte, S. Mechiel; Olivier, Berend; Koolhaas, Jaap M.

    2007-01-01

    Animal welfare is an increasing issue of public concern and debate. As a result, many countries are reconsidering the way animal welfare is embedded in the legislation and rules for housing and care of animals. This requires general agreement of what animal welfare is. Unfortunately, the current

  1. Persistence of vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) in broiler houses after the avoparcin ban

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Heuer, Ole Eske; Pedersen, Karl; Jensen, Lars Bogø

    2002-01-01

    The glycopeptide growth promoter avoparcin was banned from animal production in the EU in 1997 due to concern for the spread of vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) from food animals to humans. In recent Norwegian and Danish studies, extensive occurrence of VRE on broiler farms and in broiler......, and disinfection of the houses between rotations, and two consecutive broiler flocks from each house were sampled by taking cloacal swabs from the broilers at the time of slaughter. A total of 69 vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium isolates obtained from broiler flocks and broiler houses were subjected......-isolates from different broiler houses and from flocks reared in different houses appeared to be genetically unrelated. These findings indicated that VRE was transmitted between consecutive broiler flocks by clones of resistant. bacteria surviving in the broiler houses despite cleaning and disinfection between...

  2. Leptopirosis in animal of animal house of Biologic Science Center of Londrina State University / Leptospirose em animais do biotério central do Centro de Ciências Biológicas da Universidade Estadual de Londrina

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ernst Eckehardt Muller

    2000-12-01

    Full Text Available Leptospirosis has been described in laboratory animal house of several countries happening among mice. albino rats. guinea pigs, dogs, rabbits, monkeys and man. The laboratory animal house of Biologic Science Center of Londrina State University maintains and breeds several species of animals and stray dogs trapped in citíes of Paraná State. In this paper w e r e utilized for leptospirosis research, 325 wistar rats. 323 albino mice. 289 dogs, 135 rabbits. 119 guinea pigs, and 57 black rats trapped around of animal house. The microscopic agglutination test with 22 cultures of Leptospira interrogans showed positive results in 110 dogs and o n e guinea pig, having been found antibodies against serovars canicola (62, 7%, pyrogenes (51,8%, castellonis (30.9% and icterobaemorrhagiae (23,6%. The dark field microscopy examination of 574 urine samples (282 albino mice, 224 wistar rats, 29 black rats, 24 dogs, 13 rabbits and two guinea pigs showed positive resuíts in six dogs. The seven attempts of urine and kidneys isolation were negatives.A leptospirose tem sido descrita em biotérios de vários países, acometendo camundongos, ratos albinos, cobaios, cães, coelhos e macacos além do manipuladores. O Biotério Centrai do Centro de Ciências Biológicas da Universidade Estadual de Londrina mantém e cria várias espécies de animais além de receber cães de rua, capturados em municípios do Estado do Paraná. Neste trabalho foram utilizados para a pesquisa de leptospirose, soros de 325 ratos wistar, 323 camundongos albinos. 289 cães de rua, 135 coelhos, 119 cobaios, além de 57 ratos pretos capturados nas proximidades do biotério. A prova de somaglutinação microscópica com 22 soroiipos de Lepiospira interrogans mostrou resultados positivos em 110 cães e um cobaio, sendo encontrado anticorpos principalmente contra os soroiipos canicola (62. 7%. pyrogenes (51.8%. castellonis (30,9% e icterohaemorrhagiae (23.6%. A pesquisa direta de leptospira em

  3. Validation of an automatic system (DoubleCage) for detecting the location of animals during preference tests.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsai, P P; Nagelschmidt, N; Kirchner, J; Stelzer, H D; Hackbarth, H

    2012-01-01

    Preference tests have often been performed for collecting information about animals' acceptance of environmental refinement objects. In numerous published studies animals were individually tested during preference experiments, as it is difficult to observe group-housed animals with an automatic system. Thus, videotaping is still the most favoured method for observing preferences of socially-housed animals. To reduce the observation workload and to be able to carry out preference testing of socially-housed animals, an automatic recording system (DoubleCage) was developed for determining the location of group-housed animals in a preference test set-up. This system is able to distinguish the transition of individual animals between two cages and to record up to 16 animals at the same time (four animals per cage). The present study evaluated the reliability of the DoubleCage system. The data recorded by the DoubleCage program and the data obtained by human observation were compared. The measurements of the DoubleCage system and manual observation of the videotapes are comparable and significantly correlated (P animals and a considerable reduction of animal observation time.

  4. The Coalition for Sustainable Egg Supply: A unique public-private partnership for conducting research on the sustainability of animal housing systems using a multistakeholder approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mench, J A; Swanson, J C; Arnot, C

    2016-03-01

    The growing emphasis on ensuring the sustainability of animal agriculture is providing an impetus for the adoption of new approaches to structuring and conducting research. Sustainability is a complex topic involving many considerations related to the economic, social, and environmental impacts of production systems. Successfully addressing this topic requires multidisciplinary research as well as a high degree of communication with food system stakeholders to ensure that the research results contribute to informed decision making. In this paper, we provide an overview of a public-private partnership, the Coalition for Sustainable Egg Supply (CSES), which was formed to support research evaluating the sustainability of laying hen housing systems. Because of increasing public concerns about the behavioral restriction imposed on laying hens housed in conventional cages, the U.S. egg industry is faced with a need to transition to alternative systems. However, before the CSES project, there was limited information available about how this transition might affect trade-offs related to the sustainability of egg production. The goal of the CSES project was to provide this information by conducting holistic research on a commercial farm that had 3 different hen housing systems. The CSES members represented a variety of stakeholders, including food retailers and distributors, egg producers, universities, and governmental (USDA ARS) and nongovernmental organizations. The CSES was facilitated by a not-for-profit intermediary, the Center for Food Integrity, which was also responsible for communicating the research results to food system stakeholders, including via quantitative and qualitative consumer research. In this paper, we describe the structural aspects of the CSES that were responsible for the successful completion and dissemination of the research as well as the insights that were gained regarding multidisciplinary and multi-institutional collaboration, conducting

  5. Genome of the house fly, Musca domestica L., a global vector of diseases with adaptations to a septic environment

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Scott, Jeffrey G; Warren, Wesley C; Beukeboom, Leo W; Bopp, Daniel; Clark, Andrew G; Giers, Sarah D; Hediger, Monika; Jones, Andrew K; Kasai, Shinji; Leichter, Cheryl A; Li, Ming; Meisel, Richard P; Minx, Patrick; Murphy, Terence D; Nelson, David R; Reid, William R; Rinkevich, Frank D; Robertson, Hugh M; Sackton, Timothy B; Sattelle, David B; Thibaud-Nissen, Francoise; Tomlinson, Chad; van de Zande, Louis; Walden, Kimberly; Wilson, Richard K; Liu, Nannan

    2014-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Adult house flies, Musca domestica L., are mechanical vectors of more than 100 devastating diseases that have severe consequences for human and animal health. House fly larvae play a vital role as decomposers of animal wastes, and thus live in intimate association with many animal

  6. Assessment of implantable infusion pumps for continuous infusion of human insulin in rats: potential for group housing

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Vivi Flou Hjorth; Molck, Anne-Marie; Martensson, Martin

    2017-01-01

    compound in these studies, and a comparator model of persistent exposure by HI infusion from external pumps has recently been developed to support toxicological evaluation of long-acting insulin analogues. However, this model requires single housing of the animals. Developing an insulin-infusion model...... which allows group housing would therefore greatly improve animal welfare. The aim of the present study was to investigate the suitability of implantable infusion pumps for HI infusion in group-housed rats. Group housing of rats implanted with a battery-driven pump proved to be possible. Intravenous...... infusion of HI lowered blood glucose levels persistently for two weeks, providing a comparator model for use in two-week repeated-dose toxicity studies with new long-acting insulin analogues, which allows group housing, and thereby increasing animal welfare compared with an external infusion model....

  7. Symposium on Housing and Diseases of Rabbits, furbearing animals and pet animals

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Rommers, J.M.; Jong, de I.C.; Greef, de K.H.

    2015-01-01

    Within the Welfare Quality® project protocols have been developed to assess animal welfare on-farm in an objective, science based and practically applicable way. For various species like broilers and laying hens, sows and growing pigs, dairy cattle and veal calves, welfare assessment protocols have

  8. Pair housing and enhanced milk allowance increase play behavior and improve performance in dairy calves

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Margit Bak; Duve, Linda Rosager; Weary, D. M.

    2015-01-01

    -housed calves could perform social play behavior (play fighting), and the duration of this was greater on d 15 and 29 than on d 43 [8.3, 10.7 and 3.5 (±1.3) corresponding to 69, 115 and 12 s/24 h for d 15, 29, and 43]. Among calves on enhanced milk, pair-housed animals had a greater concentrate intake than...... observed no effect of pair versus individual housing [810 and 840 (±40) g/d]. In conclusion, greater durations of play behavior in enhanced-fed calves suggest an animal welfare benefit of this feeding method. Enhanced-fed calves consumed less concentrate, but pair housing stimulated concentrate intake......To investigate the effects of social housing and milk feeding on play behavior and performance, 48 Holstein-Friesian male and female calves were either individually or pair housed in straw-bedded pens (3.0 m × 4.5 m). Half of the calves in each housing treatment were fed a standard milk allowance...

  9. Zebrafish housing systems: a review of basic operating principles and considerations for design and functionality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lawrence, Christian; Mason, Timothy

    2012-01-01

    The strategies for housing zebrafish used in biomedical research have evolved considerably over the past three decades. To keep pace with the rapid expansion and development of the zebrafish model system, the field has generally moved from keeping fish at the level of aquarium hobbyist to that of industrialized, recirculating aquaculture. Numerous commercial system vendors now offer increasingly sophisticated housing systems based on design principles that maximize the number of animals that can be housed in a given space footprint, and they are thus able to support large and diverse research programs. This review is designed to provide managers, lab animal veterinarians, investigators, and other parties responsible for care and use of these animals with a comprehensive overview of the basic operating and design principles of zebrafish housing systems. This information can be used to help plan the construction of new facilities and/or the upgrade and maintenance of existing operations.

  10. Lighting Energy Saving with Light Pipe in Farm Animal Production

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hans von Wachenfelt

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The Swedish animal production sector has potential for saving electric lighting of €4-9 million per year using efficient daylight utilisation. To demonstrate this, two light pipe systems, Velux® (house 1 and Solatube® (house 2, are installed in two identical pig houses to determine if the required light intensity, daylight autonomy (DA, and reduced electricity use for illumination can be achieved. In each house, three light sensors continuously measure the indoor daylight relative to an outdoor sensor. If the horizontal illuminance at pig height decreases below 40 lux between 08.00 and 16.00 hours, an automatic control system activates the lights, and electricity use is measured. The daylight factor (DF and DA are determined for each house, based on annual climate data. The mean annual DA of 48% and 55% is achieved for house 1 and house 2, respectively. Light pipes in house 2 have delivered significantly more DA than those in house 1. The most common illuminance range between 0 and 160 lux is recorded in both houses, corresponding to approximately 82% and 83% of daylight time for house 1 and house 2, respectively. Further, the daylighting system for house 2 has produced a uniform DF distribution between 0.05 and 0.59. The results demonstrate that considerable electric energy savings can be achieved in the animal production sector using light pipes. Saving 50% of electric lighting would correspond to 36 GWh or 2520 t CO2 per year for Sweden, but currently the energy savings are not making the investment profitable.

  11. Complex social housing reduces food neophobia in dairy calves.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Costa, J H C; Daros, R R; von Keyserlingk, M A G; Weary, D M

    2014-12-01

    Animals are often reluctant to consume novel feeds. Research suggests that social housing can reduce fearfulness in animals. The aim of this study was to test the prediction that social housing reduces food neophobia in dairy calves. Beginning immediately at birth, Holstein bull calves were either reared individually (n=18) or in a complex social group with other calves and cows (n=18). In food neophobia tests, calves were exposed to 2 identical buckets, one empty and the other filled with a novel food (chopped hay in trial 1 and chopped carrots in trial 2). Calves were tested for 30 min/d on 3 consecutive days starting at 70 d of age. Regardless of the type of food, socially housed calves consumed more of the novel feed compared with individually housed calves. In trial 1, intake of hay as fed averaged 35 ± 6 versus 18 ± 6 g/d for socially versus individually housed calves. In trial 2, intake of chopped carrots as fed averaged 27 ± 6 versus 6 ± 6 g/d for socially versus individually housed calves, respectively. Social rearing decreased the latency to eat the novel feed. Calves housed in a complex social group began eating the hay after 1:23 ± 1:13 versus 3:58 ± 1:10 min:s for individually housed calves. Latency to begin eating the chopped carrots averaged 3:09 ± 1:17 versus 6:38 ± 1:13 min:s for socially versus individually housed calves. Treatment had no effect on time spent eating, latency to approach the food bucket or the empty bucket in either trial, or on time spent manipulating the empty bucket. These results indicate that housing dairy calves in a complex social group reduces food neophobia. More generally, this study contributes to a series of studies showing that calves raised in more complex social environments may be better able to transition to other changes in their environment. Copyright © 2014 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Technology development activities for housing research animals on Space Station Freedom

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jenner, Jeffrey W.; Garin, Vladimir M.; Nguyen, Frank D.

    1991-01-01

    The development and design of animal facilities are described in terms of the technological needs for NASA's Biological Flight Research Laboratory. Animal habitats are presented with illustrations which encompass waste-collection techniques for microgravity conditions that reduce the need for crew participation. The technology is intended to be highly compatible with animal morphology, and airflow is employed as the primary mechanism of waste control. The airflow can be utilized in the form of localized high-speed directed flow that simultaneously provides a clean animal habitat and low airflow rates. The design of an animal-habitat testbed is presented which capitalizes on contamination-control mechanisms and suitable materials for microgravity conditions. The developments in materials and technologies represent significant contributions for the design of the centrifuge facilities for the Space Station Freedom.

  13. Elimination behavior of shelter dogs housed in double compartment kennels.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Denae Wagner

    Full Text Available For animals in confinement housing the housing structure has tremendous potential to impact well being. Dogs in animal shelters are often housed in one of two types of confinement housing - single kennels and rooms or double compartment kennels and rooms most often separated by a guillotine door. This study examines the effect of housing on the location of elimination behavior in dogs housed in double compartment kennels were the majority of the dogs were walked daily. One side of the kennel contained the food, water and bed and the other side was empty and available except during cleaning time. Location of urination and defecation was observed daily for 579 dogs housed in indoor double compartment kennels for a total of 4440 days of observation. There were 1856 days (41.9% when no elimination was noted in the kennel. Feces, urine or both were observed in the kennel on 2584 days (58.1%. When elimination occurred in the kennel the probability of fecal elimination on the opposite side of the bed/food/water was 72.5% (95% CI 69.05% to 75.69%. The probability of urination on the opposite side of the bed/food/water was 77.4% (95% CI 74.33% to 80.07%. This study demonstrates the strong preference of dogs to eliminate away from the area where they eat, drink and sleep. Double compartment housing not only allows this - it allows staff the ability to provide safe, efficient, humane daily care and confers the added benefits of reducing risks for disease transmission for the individual dog as well as the population.

  14. Beneficial effects of chronic oxytocin administration and social co-housing in a rodent model of post-traumatic stress disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Janezic, Eric M; Uppalapati, Swetha; Nagl, Stephanie; Contreras, Marco; French, Edward D; Fellous, Jean-Marc

    2016-12-01

    Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is in part due to a deficit in memory consolidation and extinction. Oxytocin (OXT) has anxiolytic effects and promotes prosocial behaviors in both rodents and humans, and evidence suggests that it plays a role in memory consolidation. We studied the effects of administered OXT and social co-housing in a rodent model of PTSD. Acute OXT yielded a short-term increase in the recall of the traumatic memory if administered immediately after trauma. Low doses of OXT delivered chronically had a cumulating anxiolytic effect that became apparent after 4 days and persisted. Repeated injections of OXT after short re-exposures to the trauma apparatus yielded a long-term reduction in anxiety. Co-housing with naive nonshocked animals decreased the memory of the traumatic context compared with single-housed animals. In the long term, these animals showed less thigmotaxis and increased interest in novel objects, and a low OXT plasma level. Co-housed PTSD animals showed an increase in risk-taking behavior. These results suggest beneficial effects of OXT if administered chronically through increases in memory consolidation after re-exposure to a safe trauma context. We also show differences between the benefits of social co-housing with naive rats and co-housing with other shocked animals on trauma-induced long-term anxiety.

  15. Broiler-Housing Conditions Affect the Performance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D Mesa

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT In the last decades animal production has considerably increased worldwide to sustain an ever-growing human population. Among animal reared for consumption purposes, chickens are undoubtedly one of the most successful, mainly due to their rapid growth rate. The development of broiler farming has been accompanied in recent years by a substantial attention to animal welfare. This study is aimed at assessing the effects of different housing conditions on both feed conversion ratio and mortality of male broiler flocks through a large-scale study (more than 100 million birds involving 977 farms belonging to one major producer. For this, we evaluated nine features of the housing system using a linear model with random effect. The features were: roofing, floor, drinkers, feeders, water source, color curtain color, management, light and ventilation. A total of 3516 poultry flocks were assessed. Positive ventilation, metal and clay roof, dirt floor and owner management were shown to reduced mortality. Concrete floor, negative ventilation, blue curtains, fluorescent lightening, owner management, tap water and well water significantly improved FCR. We discuss our findings in relation with economic constraints and provide advices to encourage farmers using simple devices that will improve both production and chicken survival.

  16. Visualization and Animation in Civil Engineering

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Turner, Howard

    2002-01-01

    .... laboratory, houses the 25 Dell 530 workstations acquired. Each computer is equipped with a stereographic emitter, a trackball and a Wildcat 5110 video card to perform softcopy photogrammetry, stereo visualization, and animation...

  17. Ammonia emission from aviary housing systems for laying hens : inventory, characteristics and solutions

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Groot Koerkamp, P.W.G.

    1998-01-01

    The development and practical application of welfare friendly aviary housing systems for laying hens, that generally emit more ammonia per hen than battery cage housing systems, would conflict with the Dutch policy to substantially reduce the total emission of ammonia from animal

  18. Implementation of natural ventilation in pig houses

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Klooster, van 't C.E.

    1994-01-01

    A description of experimental work and discussion on implementation of natural ventilation in pig houses is given. A literature review describes the state of the art, animal growth data are given. It includes characterization of ventilation openings, a technique to estimate the ventilation

  19. Operationalizing Principle-Based Standards for Animal Welfare-Indicators for Climate Problems in Pig Houses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vermeer, Herman M; Hopster, Hans

    2018-03-23

    The Dutch animal welfare law includes so-called principle-based standards. This means that the objective is described in abstract terms, enabling farmers to comply with the law in their own way. Principle-based standards are, however, difficult for the inspection agency to enforce because strict limits are missing. This pilot project aimed at developing indicators (measurements) to assess the climate in pig houses, thus enabling the enforcement of principle-based standards. In total, 64 farms with weaners and 32 farms with growing-finishing pigs were visited. On each farm, a set of climate-related measurements was collected in six pens. For each of these measurements, a threshold value was set, and exceeding this threshold indicated a welfare risk. Farm inspections were carried out during winter and spring, thus excluding situations with heat stress. Assessment of the variation and correlation between measurements reduced the dataset from 39 to 12 measurements. Using a principal components analysis helped to select five major measurements as warning signals. The number of exceeded thresholds per pen and per farm was calculated for both the large (12) and small (five) sets of measurements. CO₂ and NH₃ concentrations were related to the outside temperature. On colder days, there was less ventilation, and thus CO₂ and NH₃ concentrations increased. Air quality, reflected in the CO₂ and NH₃ concentrations, was associated with respiratory problems. Eye scores were positively correlated with both pig and pen fouling, and pig and pen fouling were closely related. We selected five signal indicators: CO₂, NH₃, and tail and eye score for weaners and finishers, and added ear score for weaners and pig fouling for growing-finishing pigs. The results indicate that pig farms can be ranked based on five signal indicators related to reduced animal welfare caused by climatic conditions. This approach could be adopted to other principle-based standards for pigs as well

  20. Indirect genetic effects contribute substantially to heritable variation in aggression-related traits in group-housed mink (Neovison vison)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Alemu, Setegn Worku; Bijma, Peter; Møller, Steen Henrik

    2014-01-01

    Background Since the recommendations on group housing of mink (Neovison vison) were adopted by the Council of Europe in 1999, it has become common in mink production in Europe. Group housing is advantageous from a production perspective, but can lead to aggression between animals and thus raises...... a welfare issue. Bite marks on the animals are an indicator of this aggressive behaviour and thus selection against frequency of bite marks should reduce aggression and improve animal welfare. Bite marks on one individual reflect the aggression of its group members, which means that the number of bite marks...... genetic effects contribute to variation in number of bite marks in group-housed mink. Thus, a genetic selection design that includes both direct genetic and indirect genetic effects could reduce the frequency of bite marks and probably aggression behaviour in group-housed mink....

  1. Housing conditions influence motor functions and exploratory behavior following focal damage of the rat brain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gornicka-Pawlak, Elzbieta; Jabłońska, Anna; Chyliński, Andrzej; Domańska-Janik, Krystyna

    2009-01-01

    The present study investigated influence of housing conditions on motor functions recovery and exploratory behavior following ouabain focal brain lesion in the rat. During 30 days post-surgery period rats were housed individually in standard cages (IS) or in groups in enriched environment (EE) and behaviorally tested. The EE lesioned rats showed enhanced recovery from motor impairments in walking beam task, comparing with IS animals. Contrarily, in the open field IS rats (both lesioned and control) traveled a longer distance, showed less habituation and spent less time resting at the home base than the EE animals. Unlike the EE lesioned animals, the lesioned IS rats, presented a tendency to hyperactivity in postinjury period. Turning tendency was significantly affected by unilateral brain lesion only in the EE rats. We can conclude that housing conditions distinctly affected the rat's behavior in classical laboratory tests.

  2. Laboratory rhesus macaque social housing and social changes: Implications for research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hannibal, Darcy L; Bliss-Moreau, Eliza; Vandeleest, Jessica; McCowan, Brenda; Capitanio, John

    2017-01-01

    Macaque species, specifically rhesus (Macaca mulatta), are the most common nonhuman primates (NHPs) used in biomedical research due to their suitability as a model of high priority diseases (e.g., HIV, obesity, cognitive aging), cost effective breeding and housing compared to most other NHPs, and close evolutionary relationship to humans. With this close evolutionary relationship, however, is a shared adaptation for a socially stimulating environment, without which both their welfare and suitability as a research model are compromised. While outdoor social group housing provides the best approximation of a social environment that matches the macaque behavioral biology in the wild, this is not always possible at all facilities, where animals may be housed indoors in small groups, in pairs, or alone. Further, animals may experience many housing changes in their lifetime depending on project needs, changes in social status, management needs, or health concerns. Here, we review the evidence for the physiological and health effects of social housing changes and the potential impacts on research outcomes for studies using macaques, particularly rhesus. We situate our review in the context of increasing regulatory pressure for research facilities to both house NHPs socially and mitigate trauma from social aggression. To meet these regulatory requirements and further refine the macaque model for research, significant advances must be made in our understanding and management of rhesus macaque social housing, particularly pair-housing since it is the most common social housing configuration for macaques while on research projects. Because most NHPs are adapted for sociality, a social context is likely important for improving repeatability, reproducibility, and external validity of primate biomedical research. Am. J. Primatol. 79:e22528, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  3. Behavioural Study of Sanan and Jamnapari Cross Bred Goats Kept in a Stilted House

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ganiesha Jayamini De silva

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available A sound understanding of the normal behaviour of an animal is important to assess its welfare standards. Behaviour of confined animals is useful in order to design proper housing systems. Objective of this study was to understand the behaviour of goats kept in a stilted house. Behaviour of 14 Sanan and Jamnapari goats (14Kg-37Kg kept in stilted house was observed using an ethograme for six one hour sessions in two days (rainy and hot. Each session lasted for five minutes. Frequency and times spent on seventeen mutually exhaustive behaviours were recorded. Goats spent significantly (P<0.05 more time on eating (31% than any of the other behaviours. Other important behaviours were resting (11%, licking (10%, ruminating (10% and walking (9.5%. Goats spent a substantial time on behaviours such as lying (7.3%, running (6.3%, freezing (6% and animal interaction (5.7%. The time budget on behaviours such as saltate (0.5%, sniffing (0.59%, chattering (0.59% and importantly on drinking (0.6% were very low. Behaviors such as freezing, head movement, animal interaction, saltate, running, rumination, chattering and chirping were affected by the climatic condition of the day. It was concluded that goats kept in stilted houses spend one third of their time budget on eating and but very little time on drinking.

  4. PBI creams: a spontaneously mutated mouse strain showing wild animal-type reactivity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hendrie, C A; Van Driel, K S; Talling, J C; Inglis, I R

    2001-01-01

    PBI creams are mice derived from warfarin-resistant wild stock that has been maintained under laboratory conditions since the 1970s. This study compares their behaviour to that of laboratory mice and wild house and wood mice. Animals were tested in a black/white box and a 2.64x1.4 m runway. In the black/white box, the behaviour of PBI creams was not significantly different from that of house mice and differed most from that of laboratory mice. Notably, the PBI creams showed the greatest activity and escape-orientated behaviours. When animals were approached by the experimenter in the open runway test, the PBI creams had higher flight speeds than both house and wood mice, whilst laboratory mice failed to respond. In the closed runway test where the animals could not escape, the PBI creams, house mice and wood mice all turned and attempted to run past the approaching experimenter, whilst the laboratory mice again failed to react. At the end of this test session, the time taken to catch each animal was recorded. It took less than 5 s to catch laboratory mice but significantly longer to catch the wild strains and the PBI creams (90-100 s for the latter). In these tests, the PBI creams showed wild animal-type reactivity, and as this behaviour has been retained in the laboratory colony for over 30 years, these animals may be useful in the study of the physiological and genetic basis of fear/anxiety in mice.

  5. Odour and ammonia removal from pig house exhaust air using a biotrickling filter

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Melse, R.W.; Mol, G.

    2004-01-01

    Odour from agricultural activities, such as the spreading of manure and the housing of animals, is increasingly being considered a nuisance in densely populated countries like the Netherlands. The objective of this research was to study the odour removal from pig house exhaust air by a biotrickling

  6. Poultry Houses, WI Livestock Consortium Livestock Premises; confidentiality protected by law; use for animal health emergencies only; some aggregated county data, Published in 2009, 1:24000 (1in=2000ft) scale, Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade & Consumer Protection.

    Data.gov (United States)

    NSGIC State | GIS Inventory — Poultry Houses dataset current as of 2009. WI Livestock Consortium Livestock Premises; confidentiality protected by law; use for animal health emergencies only; some...

  7. 40 CFR 792.90 - Animal and other test system care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 31 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true Animal and other test system care. 792... Animal and other test system care. (a) There shall be standard operating procedures for the housing, feeding, handling, and care of animals and other test systems. (b) All newly received test systems from...

  8. Assessment of housing density, space allocation and social hierarchy of laboratory rats on behavioural measures of welfare.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barker, Timothy Hugh; George, Rebecca Peta; Howarth, Gordon Stanley; Whittaker, Alexandra Louise

    2017-01-01

    Minimum space allowances for laboratory rats are legislated based on weight and stocking rates, with the understanding that increased housing density encourages crowding stress. However, there is little evidence for these recommendations, especially when considering positive welfare outcomes. This study consisted of two experiments which investigated the effects of housing density (rats per cage), space allocation (surface area per rat) and social rank (dominance hierarchy) on the ability to perform simple behavioural tests. Male Sprague Dawley (SD) rats (n = 64) were allocated to either high-density (n = 8) or low-density (n = 8) cages. The second experiment investigated the effects of surface area. SD rats (n = 40) were housed in dyads in either the large (n = 10) or small (n = 10) cage. In both experiments, animals were tested on a judgment bias paradigm, with their responses to an ambiguous stimulus being ascribed as optimistic or pessimistic. Animals were also tested on open-field, novel-object recognition and social-interaction tests. Recordings were taken from 1700-2100h daily for rat observation and social rank establishment. Dominant animals responded with significantly more optimistic decisions compared to subordinates for both the housing density (psocial affiliative behaviours in the social-interaction test, and spent more time in the centre of the open-field test for both experiments. No significance was detected between housing density or space allocation treatments. These findings suggest that social rank is a significantly greater modifier of affective state than either housing density or space allocation. This finding has not yet been reported and suggests that future drafts of housing guidelines should consider animal social status in addition to floor space requirements.

  9. Assessment of housing density, space allocation and social hierarchy of laboratory rats on behavioural measures of welfare

    Science.gov (United States)

    George, Rebecca Peta; Howarth, Gordon Stanley; Whittaker, Alexandra Louise

    2017-01-01

    Minimum space allowances for laboratory rats are legislated based on weight and stocking rates, with the understanding that increased housing density encourages crowding stress. However, there is little evidence for these recommendations, especially when considering positive welfare outcomes. This study consisted of two experiments which investigated the effects of housing density (rats per cage), space allocation (surface area per rat) and social rank (dominance hierarchy) on the ability to perform simple behavioural tests. Male Sprague Dawley (SD) rats (n = 64) were allocated to either high-density (n = 8) or low-density (n = 8) cages. The second experiment investigated the effects of surface area. SD rats (n = 40) were housed in dyads in either the large (n = 10) or small (n = 10) cage. In both experiments, animals were tested on a judgment bias paradigm, with their responses to an ambiguous stimulus being ascribed as optimistic or pessimistic. Animals were also tested on open-field, novel-object recognition and social-interaction tests. Recordings were taken from 1700-2100h daily for rat observation and social rank establishment. Dominant animals responded with significantly more optimistic decisions compared to subordinates for both the housing density (ptest, and spent more time in the centre of the open-field test for both experiments. No significance was detected between housing density or space allocation treatments. These findings suggest that social rank is a significantly greater modifier of affective state than either housing density or space allocation. This finding has not yet been reported and suggests that future drafts of housing guidelines should consider animal social status in addition to floor space requirements. PMID:28926644

  10. Interaction and coupling in the emission of greenhouse gases from animal husbandry

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Monteny, G.J.; Groenestein, C.M.; Hilhorst, M.A.

    2001-01-01

    The gases methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) contribute to global warming, while N2O also affects the ozone layer. Sources of greenhouse gas emissions in animal husbandry include animals, animal houses (indoor storage of animal excreta), outdoor storage, manure and slurry treatment (e.g.,

  11. Effect of a change in housing conditions on body weight, behavior and brain neurotransmitters in male C57BL/6J mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pasquarelli, Noemi; Voehringer, Patrizia; Henke, Julia; Ferger, Boris

    2017-08-30

    The development of modern housing regimes such as individually ventilated cage (IVC) systems has become very popular and attractive in order to reduce spreading of pathogenic organisms and to lower the risk to develop a laboratory animal allergy for staff members. Additionally, optimal housing of laboratory animals contributes to improve animal health status and ensures high and comparable experimental and animal welfare standards. However, it has not been clearly elucidated whether 1) a change to IVC systems have an impact on various physiological phenotypic parameters of mice when compared to conventional, standard cages and 2) if this is further affected by changing from social to single housing. Therefore, we investigated the influence of a change in housing conditions (standard cages with social housing changed to standard or IVC cages combined with social or single housing) on body weight, behavior and a neurochemical fingerprint of male C57BL/6J mice. Body weight progression was significantly reduced when changing mice to single or social IVC cages as well as in single standard cages when compared to social standard housing. Automated motor activity measurement in the open field showed that mice maintained in social husbandry with standard cages displayed the lowest exploratory behavior but the highest activity difference upon amphetamine treatment. Elevated plus maze test revealed that a change to IVC single and social housing as well as single standard housing produced anxiety-related behavior when compared to maintenance in social standard housing. Additionally, postmortem neurochemical analysis of the striatum using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to electrochemical detection showed significant differences in striatal dopamine and serotonin turnover levels. In summary, our data indicate a crucial influence of a change in housing conditions on several mouse phenotype parameters. We propose that the maintenance of well-defined housing

  12. Genotype by housing interaction for conformation and workability traits in Danish Holsteins

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lassen, J.; Mark, Thomas

    2008-01-01

    A total of 30,190 first-parity Danish Holstein cows housed in free stalls or tie stalls were analyzed to quantify to what degree genotype by housing interaction existed for 21 conformation and 2 workability traits. Each trait measured in different housing systems was treated as 2 separate traits...... in a bivariate animal model. Genetic correlations between the 2 traits as well as differences in genetic and residual variance were used as measurements of whether or not genotype by housing interaction occurred. Genetic correlations were in general close to unity (>0.9), except for body width (0.87 +/- 0...

  13. Architecture optimization at IPEN animal facility in order to improve the welfare and the quality of the animals employed at radiopharmaceutical tests

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lainetti, Elizabeth Brigagao de Faria; Nascimento, Nanci do [Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares (IPEN-CNEN/SP), Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil)], e-mail: eblainet@ipen.br; Passos, Luiz Augusto Correa [Universidade Estadual de Campinas, SP (Brazil). Centro Multidisciplinar para a Investigacao Biologica (CEMIB/UNICAMP)

    2009-07-01

    The production and the issue of high quality laboratory animals are essentials for the accomplishment of vanguard scientific research, with reproducibility and universality. The quality of those animals depends, largely, of the available facilities for their production and lodging, to assure the demanded sanitary control and animals' well being, in agreement with the ethical principles that control the activity. The facilities also have to fill out other requirements, such as: the functionality of the environments to make possible the suitable and efficient handling of the animals, facilitating the execution of the routine activities; the respect to ergonomic principles to provide a safe environment and the operators' well being. The facilities design is of vital importance so that the mentioned requirements can be reached. The project of the Nuclear and Energy Research Institute (IPEN) Animal House Facilities was accomplished in the year of 1964. However, by that time there were not the current recommendations with respect to the sanitary, genetic and environmental controls. The facility was planned with the objective of being a production unit and a local for keeping of defined animals from sanitary, genetic and environmental point of view. Nevertheless, the original unit drawing presents an unsuitable distribution of the area where animals are stockpiled and different activities are performed. The Animal House Facilities occupies an area of 840 m{sup 2}, with one pavement, where the production areas and the stock of original animal models of the own institution are distributed, as well as the maintenance of animals from other national or foreigner institutions. It supplies rats and mice for biological tests of radiopharmaceutical lots, produced in IPEN, before they be sent to hospitals and clinics spread out in Brazil, for use in Nuclear Medicine. It also supplies rats and mice for tests of odontologic materials, for tests with growth hormones and for

  14. Architecture optimization at IPEN animal facility in order to improve the welfare and the quality of the animals employed at radiopharmaceutical tests

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lainetti, Elizabeth Brigagao de Faria; Nascimento, Nanci do; Passos, Luiz Augusto Correa

    2009-01-01

    The production and the issue of high quality laboratory animals are essentials for the accomplishment of vanguard scientific research, with reproducibility and universality. The quality of those animals depends, largely, of the available facilities for their production and lodging, to assure the demanded sanitary control and animals' well being, in agreement with the ethical principles that control the activity. The facilities also have to fill out other requirements, such as: the functionality of the environments to make possible the suitable and efficient handling of the animals, facilitating the execution of the routine activities; the respect to ergonomic principles to provide a safe environment and the operators' well being. The facilities design is of vital importance so that the mentioned requirements can be reached. The project of the Nuclear and Energy Research Institute (IPEN) Animal House Facilities was accomplished in the year of 1964. However, by that time there were not the current recommendations with respect to the sanitary, genetic and environmental controls. The facility was planned with the objective of being a production unit and a local for keeping of defined animals from sanitary, genetic and environmental point of view. Nevertheless, the original unit drawing presents an unsuitable distribution of the area where animals are stockpiled and different activities are performed. The Animal House Facilities occupies an area of 840 m 2 , with one pavement, where the production areas and the stock of original animal models of the own institution are distributed, as well as the maintenance of animals from other national or foreigner institutions. It supplies rats and mice for biological tests of radiopharmaceutical lots, produced in IPEN, before they be sent to hospitals and clinics spread out in Brazil, for use in Nuclear Medicine. It also supplies rats and mice for tests of odontologic materials, for tests with growth hormones and for researches of

  15. [Animals as a potential source of human fungal infections].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dworecka-Kaszak, Bozena

    2008-01-01

    Changing environment is a reason, that many saprotrophic fungi became opportunists and in the end also maybe a pathogenic. Host specific adaptation is not so strong among fungi, so there are many common fungal pathogens for people and for animals. Animals suffering from dermatomycosis are well recognize as source of human superficial mycoses. Breeding of different exotic animals such as parrots, various Reptiles and Amphibians, miniature Rodents and keeping them as a pets in the peoples houses, have become more and more popular in the recent years. This article is shortly presenting which animals maybe a potential source of fungal infections for humans. Looking for the other mycoses as systemic mycoses, especially candidiasis or aspergilosis there are no data, which allow excluding sick animals as a source of infection for human, even if those deep mycoses have endogenic reactivation mechanism. Immunocompromised people are in high-risk group when they take care of animals. Another important source of potentially pathogenic, mostly air-born fungi may be animal use in experimental laboratory work. During the experiments is possible that laboratory workers maybe hurt and these animals and their environment, food and house boxes could be the possible source of microorganisms, pathogenic for humans or other animals. Unusual way to inoculate these potentially pathogens into the skin of laboratory personnel may cause granulomatous, local lesions on their hands.

  16. Live LEGO House: a Mixed Reality Game for the Edutainment

    OpenAIRE

    Portalés Ricart, Cristina

    2007-01-01

    Gaming is a natural way of learning and multimedia technologies bring new possibilities in the field of edutainment. Live LEGO House in an interactive space to explore coexistence and multicultural factors through gaming based on the Mixed Reality(MXR)technology. The system consists basically on a physical/real house built with the LEGO blocks, which is enriched with different non-physical/virtual multimedia files, including sounds, videos and 3D animations with multicultural content. Childre...

  17. Prenatal Enrichment And Recovery From Perinatal Cortical Damage: Effects Of Maternal Complex Housing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Robbin eGibb

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Birth is a particularly vulnerable time for acquiring brain injury. Unfortunately, very few treatments are available for those affected. Here we explore the effectiveness of prenatal intervention in an animal model of early brain damage. We used a complex housing paradigm as a form of prenatal enrichment. Six nulliparous dams and one male rat were placed in complex housing (condomom group for 12 hours per day until the dams' delivered their pups. At parturition the dams were left in their home (standard cages with their pups. Four dams were housed in standard cages (cagemom group throughout pregnancy and with their pups until weaning. At postnatal day 3 (P3 infants of both groups received frontal cortex removals or sham surgery. Behavioural testing began on P60 and included the Morris water task and a skilled reaching task. Brains were processed for Golgi analyses. Complex housing of the mother had a significant effect on the behaviour of their pups. Control animals from the condomom group outperformed those of the cagemom group in the water task. Condomom animals with lesions performed better than their cagemom cohorts in both the water task and in skilled reaching. Condomom animals showed an increase in cortical thickness at anterior planes and thalamic area at both anterior and posterior regions. Golgi analyses revealed an increase in spine density. These results suggest that prenatal enrichment alters brain organization in manner that is prophylactic for perinatal brain injury. This result could have significant implications for the prenatal management of infants expected to be at risk for difficult birth.

  18. Public Attitudes to Housing Systems for Pregnant Pigs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ryan, E B; Fraser, D; Weary, D M

    2015-01-01

    Understanding concerns about the welfare of farm animals is important for the development of socially sustainable production practices. This study used an online survey to test how views on group versus stall housing for pregnant sows varied when Canadian and US participants were provided information about these systems, including access to scientific papers, YouTube videos, Google images, and a frequently-asked-questions page (S1 Appendix). Initial responses and changes in responses after accessing the information were analyzed from Likert scores of 242 participants and from their written comments. Participants were less willing to accept the use of gestation stalls after viewing information on sow housing. For example, initially 30.4% of respondents indicated that they supported the use of gestation stalls; this declined to 17.8% after participants were provided additional information. Qualitative analysis of comments showed that supporters of gestation stalls expressed concern about the spread of disease and aggression between animals in less confined systems, whereas supporters of group housing placed more emphasis on the sow's ability to interact socially and perform natural behaviors. These results point to public opposition to the use of gestation stalls, and indicate that the more that the public learns about gestation stalls the less willing they will be to accept their use.

  19. Survey of prevalence of overweight body condition in laboratory-housed cynomolgus macaques (Macaca fascicularis).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bauer, Sharon A; Leslie, Ken E; Pearl, David L; Fournier, Jocelyn; Turner, Patricia V

    2010-07-01

    Excessive weight gain has been reported to occur in captive cynomolgus macaques with little to no change in diet. Overweight body condition can result in development of hyperglycemia and type 2 diabetes and should be avoided. The purpose of this survey was to assess the prevalence of overweight cynomolgus macaques in North American research facilities, including breeding colonies and short-term and long-term facilities, and to describe current methods used to assess body condition. The survey consisted of 51 questions covering animal population demographics, body weight and body condition scoring, feeding, and behavior. Voluntary participants included veterinarians and animal care managers. Respondents from 13 facilities completed the survey, and information was collected on 17,500 cynomolgus macaques. The majority of surveyed facilities housed juvenile and young adult macaques. The reported prevalence of overweight (greater than 10% of ideal body weight) animals ranged between 0% and 20% and reportedly was more frequent in animals younger than 10 y. Most facilities had weight reduction strategies in place. Despite these programs, a significant proportion of animals were reported as being overweight. The results of this survey demonstrate that most North American facilities housing cynomolgus macaques recognize the importance of tracking body condition regularly. However, implementing effective weight reduction programs may be difficult in captive housing environments. Because of the potential for adverse health effects, facilities should have a means of regularly tracking body weight as well as an action plan for managing overweight animals.

  20. Biofiltration for Mitigation of Methane Emission from Animal Husbandry

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Melse, R.W.; Werf, van der A.W.

    2005-01-01

    Removal of methane from exhaust air of animal houses and manure storage has a large potential for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from animal husbandry. The aim of this study was to design a biofilter for methane removal at a full-scale livestock production facility. Air from the headspace

  1. Effects of different housing systems on growth performance and ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Effects of different housing systems on growth performance and carcass yield of two breeds of turkey. ... Bulletin of Animal Health and Production in Africa ... The results on carcass yield showed a significantly (p<0.05) higher plucked weight ...

  2. Comprehensive behavioural analysis of Long Evans and Sprague-Dawley rats reveals differential effects of housing conditions on tests relevant to neuropsychiatric disorders.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karly M Turner

    Full Text Available Genetic (G and environmental (E manipulations are known to alter behavioural outcomes in rodents, however many animal models of neuropsychiatric disorders only use a restricted selection of strain and housing conditions. The aim of this study was to examine GxE interactions comparing two outbred rat strains, which were housed in either standard or enriched cages. The strains selected were the albino Sprague-Dawley rat, commonly used for animal models, and the other was the pigmented Long Evans rat, which is frequently used in cognitive studies. Rats were assessed using a comprehensive behavioural test battery and included well-established tests frequently employed to examine animal models of neuropsychiatric diseases, measuring aspects of anxiety, exploration, sensorimotor gating and cognition. Selective strain and housing effects were observed on a number of tests. These included increased locomotion and reduced pre-pulse inhibition in Long Evans rats compared to Sprague Dawley rats; and rats housed in enriched cages had reduced anxiety-like behaviour compared to standard housed rats. Long Evans rats required fewer sessions than Sprague Dawley rats to learn operant tasks, including a signal detection task and reversal learning. Furthermore, Long Evans rats housed in enriched cages acquired simple operant tasks faster than standard housed Long Evans rats. Cognitive phenotypes in animal models of neuropsychiatric disorders would benefit from using strain and housing conditions where there is greater potential for both enhancement and deficits in performance.

  3. The Effect of Steps to Promote Higher Levels of Farm Animal Welfare across the EU. Societal versus Animal Scientists' Perceptions of Animal Welfare.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Averós, Xavier; Aparicio, Miguel A; Ferrari, Paolo; Guy, Jonathan H; Hubbard, Carmen; Schmid, Otto; Ilieski, Vlatko; Spoolder, Hans A M

    2013-08-14

    Information about animal welfare standards and initiatives from eight European countries was collected, grouped, and compared to EU welfare standards to detect those aspects beyond minimum welfare levels demanded by EU welfare legislation. Literature was reviewed to determine the scientific relevance of standards and initiatives, and those aspects going beyond minimum EU standards. Standards and initiatives were assessed to determine their strengths and weaknesses regarding animal welfare. Attitudes of stakeholders in the improvement of animal welfare were determined through a Policy Delphi exercise. Social perception of animal welfare, economic implications of upraising welfare levels, and differences between countries were considered. Literature review revealed that on-farm space allowance, climate control, and environmental enrichment are relevant for all animal categories. Experts' assessment revealed that on-farm prevention of thermal stress, air quality, and races and passageways' design were not sufficiently included. Stakeholders considered that housing conditions are particularly relevant regarding animal welfare, and that animal-based and farm-level indicators are fundamental to monitor the progress of animal welfare. The most notable differences between what society offers and what farm animals are likely to need are related to transportation and space availability, with economic constraints being the most plausible explanation.

  4. PARTICULATE MATTER CONCENTRATION AND EMISSION FACTOR IN THREE DIFFERENT LAYING HEN HOUSING SYSTEMS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Annamaria Costa

    2009-09-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study was to evaluate PM10 concentration in three different laying hens houses (traditional battery cages with aerated open manure storage, aviary system and vertical tiered cages with manure belts with forced air drying and to evaluate particulate matter emission into atmosphere during one year of observation. Internal and external temperature and relative humidity, ventilation rate, PM10 concentration have been continuously monitored in order to evaluate particulate matter concentration changes during the day and the season and to define PM10 emission factors. PM10 concentration was corrected by gravimetric technique to lower measurements error. In the aviary system house, TSP and fine particulate matter (particles smaller than 2.5 micron concentration was measured. Average yearly PM10 concentration was remarkably higher in the aviary system house with 0.215 mg m-3 vs 108 mg m-3 for the ventilated belt house and vs 0.094 mg m-3 for the traditional battery cages house. In the Aviary system housing, TSP concentration was 0.444 mg m-3 and PM2.5 was 0.032 mg m-3, highlighting the existence of a severe working environment for men and animals. Recorded values for PM10 emission were 0.433 mg h-1 hen-1 for battery cages housing type, 0.081 mg h-1 hen-1 for ventilated belt cages house, values lower than those available in literature, while the aviary system housing type showed the highest PM10 emission (1.230 mg h-1 hen-1 with appreciable peaks during the morning, together with the increased animal activity and daily farmer operations, as feed administration, cleaning and droppings removal.

  5. 9 CFR 3.78 - 0utdoor housing facilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... AGRICULTURE ANIMAL WELFARE STANDARDS Specifications for the Humane Handling, Care, Treatment, and... facility at that time of year without stress or discomfort, may be kept in outdoor facilities. (b) Shelter...) The housing facility is surrounded by a natural barrier that restricts the nonhuman primates to the...

  6. Laboratory Animal Management: Wild Birds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    National Academy of Sciences - National Research Council, Washington, DC. Inst. of Lab. Animal Resources.

    This is a report on the care and use of wild birds in captivity as research animals. Chapters are presented on procurement and identification, housing, nutrition, health of birds and personnel, reproduction in confinement, and surgical procedures. Also included are addresses of federal, state, and provencial regulatory agencies concerned with wild…

  7. The Spillover Effect of a Flood on Pets and Their People: Implications for Rental Housing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Graham, Taryn M; Rock, Melanie J

    2018-06-04

    When disasters strike, companion animals (pets) matter. Emergency planning for them is a key aspect of disaster preparedness, especially considering that people may delay evacuation out of concern for their pets. Temporary boarding options for pets are important; however, caregivers (owners) must ultimately return to permanent housing. Surprisingly little attention has been paid to housing recovery in the disaster literature on pet ownership, and no studies have examined the potential for increased vulnerability among tenants with pets. This study analyzed online rental listings in a city that was severely flooded in 2013. In the following year, demand for pet-friendly rental housing outweighed supply. Landlords frequently stipulated restrictions on the allowable sizes, species, or breeds of pets. Dogs were often banned outright. To keep their pets, prospective tenants needed to exercise flexibility in location and pay higher surcharges. The implications of housing insecurity for tenants with pets have broad relevance, not just in disaster circumstances. Giving up a companion animal to secure housing can negatively impact resilience, whereas living in unsafe environments to avoid pet relinquishment may increase vulnerability.

  8. Particulate matter emission from livestock houses: measurement methods, emission levels and abatement systems

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Winkel, Albert

    2016-01-01

    Animal houses are extremely dusty environments. Airborne particulate matter (PM) poses a health threat not only to the farmer and the animals, but, as a result of emissions from ventilation systems, also to residents living in livestock farming areas. In relation to this problem, the objectives

  9. Biofiltration of exhaust air from animal houses: removal efficiencies and practical experiences

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Melse, R.W.; Hol, J.M.G.

    2014-01-01

    Two wood-chip biofilters (capacity and surface area for biofilter #1: 75.000 m3/hour from poultry manure dryer, 68 m2; biofilter #2: 100,000 m3/hour from fattening pig house, 188 m2; media depth: 25 cm) were monitored during 6 - 10 months. Average ammonia (NH3) and odour removal efficiencies were 42

  10. 75 FR 4100 - Affirmative Fair Housing, Marketing (AFHM) Plan-Multifamily Housing, Affirmative Fair Housing...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-26

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT [Docket No. FR-5376-N-01] Affirmative Fair Housing, Marketing (AFHM) Plan-Multifamily Housing, Affirmative Fair Housing Marketing (AFHM) Plan-Single Family Housing and Affirmative Fair Housing Marketing (AFHM) Plan- Cooperatives/Condominiums AGENCY: Office of...

  11. JUNGIAN GENDER IN ANIMAL ANIMATION FROM ANTHROPOMORPHISM PERSPECTIVE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yustin Sartika

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Bear is usually depicted as a strong, brawny and blood-curdling animal. On the contrary, Pooh Bear is the fun-loving and caring main character while Masha Bear can handle all house works. Their characteristics can be related to Jungian gender theory which states that man is bisexual having both feminine and masculine sides. A focus on anima animus is established through qualitative research analysis of bear characters' actions and the characters around within the plots of Winnie-the-Pooh and Masha and the Bear. Masha and the Bear is adapted from the real story in Russia. The use of anthropomorphic storytelling in those animations can bridge the conceptual and moral gulf which separate human from animal. By using anthropomorphism perspective, this research is aimed to find the feminine and masculine stereotype of Pooh and Bear characters. Anthropomorphism is divided into the animation of physical and psychological qualities. The result shows that small bright yellow body on a short red t-shirt makes Pooh look more lovable. Another woman stereotype is portrayed from the name given, Winnie, and his most favorite honey. Masha Bear‘s physical qualities are quite identical to a real bear. Beyond his strong and brawny body, he is a spick-and-span bear. He is a merciful bear who becomes a caregiver for Masha, the parentless girl. Anthropomorphism creates great empathy in humans. This empathy can be combined with a simplified narrative to provoke genuine feeling from audiences. It draws attention to feminine and masculine stereotype of human to identify in animal animation.

  12. Autonomous houses. Autonomous house

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tanaka, S. (Tokai University, Tokyo (Japan). Faculty of Engineering)

    1991-09-30

    Self-sufficiency type houses are outlined. On condition that people gain a certain amount of income in relation with the society, they self-suffice under the given environment, allowing themselves to accept a minimum of industrial products with small environmental load. Ordinary supply from outside of fossil energy and materials which depend on it is minimized. Types are classified into three: energy, energy materials and perfect self-sufficiency. A study project for environment symbiotic houses is progressing which is planned by the Ministry of Construction and Institute of Building Energy Conservation and is invested by a private company. Its target is making a house for halving an environmental load by CO{sub 2}, for the purpose of creating the environment symbiotic house which is nice to and in harmony with the global environment and human beings. As a part of the studies on energy-saving and resource conservation on houses, introduced is a plan of an autonomous house at Izu-Atagawa. The passive method and high thermal-insulation are used for air conditioning, and hot spring water for hot water supply. Electric power is generated by hydroelectric power generation using mountain streams and by solar cells. Staple food is purchased, while subsidiary food is sufficed. 17 refs., 4 figs., 1 tab.

  13. Protecting animals and enabling research in the European Union

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Olsson, I. Anna S.; Pinto da Silva, Sandra; Townend, David

    2016-01-01

    In 1986, European Directive 86/609/EEC, regulating the use of animals in research, was one of the first examples of common legislation to set standards for animal protection across the Member States of the former European Economic Community, now the European Union, with the aim of securing a level...... objectives of the directive, particularly with a focus on securing the same high standards of animal protection across member countries. The analysis focuses on three separate issues: (1) minimum standards for laboratory animal housing and care, (2) restrictions on the use of certain animal species, and (3...

  14. Innova House - Ottawa`s advanced house

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1996-01-31

    A pilot program was developed to provide the housing industry with a means to field test innovative technologies, products and building systems, and to evaluate their overall performance. Under Canada`s Advanced House Program, ten demonstration houses were designed, built and monitored. Ottawa`s Innova House, was one of the ten houses built for this program. The innovative energy saving features of the house included (1) air distribution with small diameter ducts and an electronically commutated motor, a 2.6 kW grid-connected photovoltaic system, (3) an energy recovery ventilator (ERV) with free-cooling mode, (4) a 94 per cent efficient integrated gas heating and hot water system, (5) airtight drywall construction, (6) CFC-free exterior insulation, (7) a natural-gas-engine heat pump for air conditioning, (8) a prototype sealed combustion gas range and clothes dryer, and (9) a manifold plumbing system to conserve water. It was designed to consume one half of the energy consumed in an R-2000 home and one third of the energy of a conventional house. Several of the mechanical elements did not perform at expected levels, (lower than expected efficiencies from the heating and cooling systems and a malfunctioning ERV), nevertheless, overall performance of the house was still very close to the targets. The construction and operation of the house was described. tabs., figs.

  15. The globalisation of farm animal welfare.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fraser, D

    2014-04-01

    Animal welfare has achieved significant global prominence for perhaps three reasons. First, several centuries of scientific research, especially in anatomy, evolutionary biology and animal behaviour, have led to a gradual narrowing of the gap that people perceive between humans and other species; this altered perception has prompted grass-roots attention to animals and their welfare, initially in Western countries but now more globally asthe influence of science has expanded. Second, scientific research on animal welfare has provided insights and methods for improving the handling, housing and management of animals; this 'animal welfare science' is increasingly seen as relevant to improving animal husbandry worldwide. Third, the development and use of explicit animal welfare standards has helped to integrate animal welfare as a component of national and international public policy, commerce and trade. To date, social debate about animal welfare has been dominated bythe industrialised nations. However, as the issue becomes increasingly global, it will be important for the non-industrialised countries to develop locally appropriate approaches to improving animal welfare, for example, by facilitating the provision of shelter, food, water and health care, and by improving basic handling, transportation and slaughter.

  16. Mice prefer draught-free housing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krohn, T C; Hansen, A K

    2010-10-01

    An increasing number of rodents are housed in individually ventilated cage (IVC) systems, as these seem to be very effective for the protection of animals against infections, as well as protecting the staff against allergens. For the IVC systems to be properly ventilated, a huge amount of air has to be blown into the cage, which may cause a draught at animal level inside the cage. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the preferences of mice for differing levels of air speeds and air changes inside the cage. It has been concluded that mice do react to draughts, whereas they do not seem to be affected by a high number of air changes delivered without draught, which underlines the importance of applying draught-free IVC systems for mice.

  17. Housing markets and housing policies in India

    OpenAIRE

    Tiwari, Piyush; Rao, Jyoti

    2016-01-01

    Issues of housing in India are synonymous with ignorance of housing in active government involvement at the policy and program formulation levels. They are also due to the problems that unplanned urbanization, income disparity, poverty, illiteracy, and unemployment brought. These issues extenuated the housing problem, causing a housing shortage of 51 million in 2011. Though India has a long history of establishing policies, programs, and institutions to cater to housing, without allocating ad...

  18. [Ethical issue in animal experimentation].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parodi, André-Laurent

    2009-11-01

    In the 1970s, under pressure from certain sections of society and thanks to initiatives by several scientific research teams, committees charged with improving the conditions of laboratory animals started to be created, first in the United States and subsequently in Europe. This led to the development of an ethical approach to animal experimentation, taking into account new scientific advances. In addition to the legislation designed to provide a legal framework for animal experimentation and to avoid abuses, this ethical approach, based on the concept that animals are sentient beings, encourages greater respect of laboratory animals and the implementation of measures designed to reduce their suffering. Now, all animal experiments must first receive ethical approval--from in-house committees in the private sector and from regional committees for public institutions. Very recently, under the impetus of the French ministries of research and agriculture, the National committee for ethical animal experimentation published a national ethical charter on animal experimentation, setting the basis for responsible use of animals for scientific research and providing guidelines for the composition and functioning of ethics committees. Inspired by the scientific community itself this ethical standardization should help to assuage--but not eliminate--the reticence and hostility expressed by several sections of society.

  19. Effect of Environmental Enrichment on Singly- and Group-Housed Squirrel Monkeys

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spring, Sarah E.; Clifford, James O.; Tomko, David L.; Hargens, Alan R. (Technical Monitor)

    1996-01-01

    Nonhuman primates display an interest in novel places, habituate to new situations, and spend most of their daily activity in the wild in large groups engaging in feeding behaviors. Captivity changes these behaviors, and disrupts normal social hierarchies. In captivity, animals may exhibit stereotypical behaviors which are thought to indicate decreased psychological well-being (PWB). If an animal's behaviors can be made to approach those seen in the wild, and stereotypical behaviors are minimal it is assumed that PWB is adequate. Environmental enrichment (EE) devices have been used to address the Animal Welfare Act's requirement that the PWB of captive nonhuman primates be considered. The purpose of the present study was to examine whether various EE devices improve the PWB of captive squirrel monkeys. The present study used behavioral observation to quantify the effectiveness of several EE devices in reducing stereotypical behaviors in squirrel monkeys housed singly or in groups. Results showed that the EE devices used did not affect the expression of normal or stereotypical behaviors, but that the type of housing did.

  20. 24 CFR 982.608 - Congregate housing: Voucher housing assistance payment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... Housing Types Congregate Housing § 982.608 Congregate housing: Voucher housing assistance payment. (a... 24 Housing and Urban Development 4 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Congregate housing: Voucher housing assistance payment. 982.608 Section 982.608 Housing and Urban Development Regulations Relating to Housing and...

  1. Animal behavior and well-being symposium: Farm animal welfare assurance: science and application.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rushen, J; Butterworth, A; Swanson, J C

    2011-04-01

    Public and consumer pressure for assurances that farm animals are raised humanely has led to a range of private and public animal welfare standards, and for methods to assess compliance with these standards. The standards usually claim to be science based, but even though researchers have developed measures of animal welfare and have tested the effects of housing and management variables on welfare within controlled laboratory settings, there are challenges in extending this research to develop on-site animal welfare standards. The standards need to be validated against a definition of welfare that has broad support and which is amenable to scientific investigation. Ensuring that such standards acknowledge scientific uncertainty is also challenging, and balanced input from all scientific disciplines dealing with animal welfare is needed. Agencies providing animal welfare audit services need to integrate these scientific standards and legal requirements into successful programs that effectively measure and objectively report compliance. On-farm assessment of animal welfare requires a combination of animal-based measures to assess the actual state of welfare and resource-based measures to identify risk factors. We illustrate this by referring to a method of assessing welfare in broiler flocks. Compliance with animal welfare standards requires buy-in from all stakeholders, and this will be best achieved by a process of inclusion in the development of pragmatic assessment methods and the development of audit programs verifying the conditions and continuous improvement of farm animal welfare.

  2. OPINIONS EXPRESSED BY CATTLE BREEDERS ON HUMAN-ANIMAL RELATIONS AND THE CONDITIONS IN WHICH ANIMALS ARE KEPT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Beata SITKOWSKA

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available The survey included 69 Polish farmers running private farms which focus on cattle breeding. Based on the survey results, and answers given by dairy and beef cattle breeders, it was found that the majority of respondents present the right attitude towards animals, and that they understand the influence of the person being in charge of a herd on the behaviour of animals and production results. The majority of the surveyed breeders continue to keep their cattle in stall barns, with more than 70% believing that this system provides good conditions for animals, and approximately 10% believe this is the best system possible. Approximately 80% of breeders is of the opinion that the animal housing system used has an effect on the condition of animals’ legs. The majority of breeders say that their animals are kept in either good or very good environmental conditions.

  3. Housing and Health: The relationship between housing conditions ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    okanlawon

    2011-10-22

    Oct 22, 2011 ... Housing and Health: The relationship between housing ... The authors in chapter one, deal extensively with historical context of housing and health chronologically ... Housing and Health: Time Again for Public Health Action.

  4. Agricultural Animal Pest Control. Bulletin 767.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nolan, Maxcy P., Jr.

    Included in this training manual are descriptions and pictures of the following agricultural animal pests: mosquitoes, stable flies, horse flies and deer or yellow flies, house flies, horn flies, wound-infesting larvae, lice, mites, ticks, and bots and grubs. Information is given on the life-cycle and breeding habits of the pests. Methods of…

  5. A Laboratory Practical on the House Building Behaviour of Caddis Larvae

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hansell, M. H.

    1973-01-01

    Describes a laboratory practical on animal behavior suitable for senior secondary school or university biology classes. Several separate exercises relating to the house building behavior of caddis fly larvae are detailed, together with the time required for preparation. (JR)

  6. Communication of architectural design and Prefab-houses.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Massimo Ballabeni

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available The article investigates the relationship between architecture design and its communication, within the study of the prefab-houses, which now are widespread in Europe, as this housing type is characterized by the design research of optimized and innovative residential solutions. The operational experience conducted on case studies of “Prefab-Houses”, offered original ideas because these buildings, while exceptionally compact, share many features with larger buildings. These can be studied for their aggregability, combinatorial possibilities, furniture, the materials used and development of construction details. The communication of the project and its digital representation is particularly important as retailers generally promote these houses through catalogues. Specialized visualisation systems are therfore needed to represent effectively the inner-outer spaces, materials and customizations, with different techniques such as drawings, abstract-photorealistic rendering and animation. The match between case studies and research was considered successful in terms of teaching goals and besides research directions concerning the relationship between design representation means, modeling and 3D digital design communication systems.

  7. Effect of Hot Climatic Conditions With Different Types of Housing on Productive Efficiency and Physiological Changes in Buffalo Calves

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Habeeb, A.A.M.; Gad, A.E.; El-Tarabany, A.A.

    2012-01-01

    The present study was planned to investigate the effect of housing types under both mild and hot periods of the year on twenty four buffalo calves aged 8-10 months with average body weight 156.8 kg. The study included two periods each was of 3 months. The first period was carried out during mild conditions while the second period was carried out during hot conditions. Averages of air temperature and relative humidity values at midday inside the farm building were 20.8 ± 1.0 degree C and 72.07 ± 2.1% under mild conditions and 35.93± 1.4 degree C and 58.23 ± 1.5 under the hot period, respectively. The estimated temperature-humidity index of values 20.23 and 33.17 during mild and hot conditions, respectively, indicated absence of heat stress during the first period and exposing the animals to very severe heat stress during the second period. The animals during the two experimental periods were fed the concentrate feed mixture according to body weight and daily gain with rice straw offered ad libitum. In each of the two studied periods, the animals were divided into two equal groups according to type of housing system. The animals in the first group (6 calves) were tied from their neck in stall barn in two rows tail to tail while the animals in the second group (6 calves) were left loose housing in the barn. The results showed that heat stress conditions of summer period induced significant decreases in daily body weight gain, total proteins, albumin, globulin, glucose, total lipids, total cholesterol, triglycerides, creatinine, sodium, potassium, calcium, inorganic phosphorus and GGT as well as T4 , T3 , parathormone hormonal levels. On the other hand, significant increase in respiration rate, temperatures of rectal and skin, urea, cortisol, GOT and GPT. Concerning the effect of housing type, there were significant differences in daily body gain of buffalo calves between free and tied through the first two months of experiment, so, daily body gain of buffalo

  8. City of Ljubljana: Its housing, population and housing conditions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maša Filipovič

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available The article gives an overview of key aspect of housing in Municipality of Ljubljana. The characteristics of households, of housing and their relation influence the housing situation in the city. Characteristic of housing refer mainly to quality of the dwellings, affordability and correspondence to the wishes of the inhabitants. The second important dimensions are households and their characteristics. In Europe and Slovenia increase in number of household can be observed, which in turn are becoming smaller. The housing policy has a role in establishing a balance between households and housing, i.e. ensuring that housing corresponds to the needs of individual households and to their number. For achieving this, knowledge and appropriate data are of vital importance. In the article we present the results of the Housing survey 2005. We observe housing conditions in a comparative perspective (Ljubljana in comparison to Maribor, Slovenia and selected European cities and according to three dimensions: housing fund, households and housing conditions.

  9. Setting the farm animal welfare scene in North America /ESTABELECENDO O CENÁRIO DE BEM-ESTAR ANIMAL NA AMÉRICA DO NORTE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    ANNA K. JOHNSON

    2008-04-01

    Full Text Available ABSTRACTThe main areas of interest that this paper will address are to, set the scene on what animal welfare is, the schools that one can subscribe and how this could influence the direction that farm animal welfare could go. Second, to provide an overview on some of the critical farm animal welfare events that have occurred over the past 10 years in North America and finally to detail the legislative events; past and future that will affect farm animal welfare. Animal welfare is not a term that arose in science to express a scientific concept; rather it arose in western civilization through society to express ethical concern regarding the treatment of animals. There are three “schools of welfare”, the first school is feeling-based, the second is functioning-based and the third is nature-based. Over the past decade there has been an escalation of welfare related events inNorth America, ranging from agribusiness and marketing through to humane and animal rights groups. These events include under cover investigations that have been conducted on farm and in plants. There have been numerous campaigns against fast food chain restaurants and more recently humane and rights groups have purchased shares into these companies to voice their opinions and to have a vote. In addition there has been a push for assuring on farm animal welfarethrough a plethora of assessment, certification and third party auditing programs. More recently, successful legislative initiatives have altered the way producers are able to house farm animals in several states and in 2005 there was an update to the 28 hour rule. In conclusion, all individuals involved in keeping animals for food have a huge responsibility in making sure that their animals are housed, raised, transported and processed humanely. In addition agribusinesses will need to show increasing accountability back to their customers and consumers that farm animal welfare is of critical

  10. Effects of social isolation and environmental enrichment on laboratory housed pigs

    Science.gov (United States)

    The pig is becoming an increasingly important laboratory animal species. However, a laboratory setting often requires individual and sterile housing, which may impose stress. The objective of this study was to determine physiological, haematological and behavioral effects of isolation and environmen...

  11. Dairy cows welfare quality in tie-stall housing system with or without access to exercise

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-01-01

    Background Tie-stall housing of dairy cows is used extensively worldwide, despite of the welfare concerns regarding the restriction of voluntary movement and limitation of expression of the cows’ natural behaviour. The aim of this study was to compare the welfare quality of dairy cows kept in two types of tie-stall housing systems: with regular outdoor exercise and without access to exercise. In addition, the study investigated the relationship between different welfare measures of dairy cows kept in tie-stalls. Methods 3,192 lactating cows were assessed using the Welfare Quality® assessment protocol for cattle in 80 commercial dairy farms, half of the farms providing outdoor access for the animals to exercise. The descriptive statistical indicators were determined for the assessed measures and for the welfare criteria and principle scores. The data obtained in the two housing types were compared and the correlation coefficients were calculated between the different welfare measures. Results The significant differences found between the two housing systems for the majority of the animal based measures indicate the positive effect of exercise on the welfare of tethered cows. Many of the animal welfare parameters correlated with each other. For the farms allowing the cows’ turnout in a paddock, pasture or both, the mean scores for the welfare criteria and principles were higher than for the farms with permanent tethering of the cows, except the criteria absence of prolonged hunger and expression of social behaviours. The lowest scores were obtained for the criterion positive emotional state, in both housing systems. With regard to the overall classification, none of the farms were considered excellent. In the not classified category were only farms with all-year-round tethering of the animals and in the enhanced category only farms where the cows had outdoor access. Conclusions The welfare quality of the investigated dairy cows was significantly better in the

  12. Energy house - dream house

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1981-07-01

    An energy house a prefabricated house with an extensive minimization of heat losses, is air-conditioned by means of a combined heating system consisting of hot water cycle and recirculating heating. The energy system is trivalent: wind power, solar energy with heat pumps and normal oil heating.

  13. Exploratory behavior is linked to stress physiology and social network centrality in free-living house finches (Haemorhous mexicanus).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moyers, Sahnzi C; Adelman, James S; Farine, Damien R; Moore, Ignacio T; Hawley, Dana M

    2018-05-21

    Animal personality has been linked to individual variation in both stress physiology and social behaviors, but few studies have simultaneously examined covariation between personality traits, stress hormone levels, and behaviors in free-living animals. We investigated relationships between exploratory behavior (one aspect of animal personality), stress physiology, and social and foraging behaviors in wild house finches (Haemorhous mexicanus). We conducted novel environment assays after collecting samples of baseline and stress-induced plasma corticosterone concentrations from a subset of house finches. We then fitted individuals with Passive Integrated Transponder tags and monitored feeder use and social interactions at radio-frequency identification equipped bird feeders. First, we found that individuals with higher baseline corticosterone concentrations exhibit more exploratory behaviors in a novel environment. Second, more exploratory individuals interacted with more unique conspecifics in the wild, though this result was stronger for female than for male house finches. Third, individuals that were quick to begin exploring interacted more frequently with conspecifics than slow-exploring individuals. Finally, exploratory behaviors were unrelated to foraging behaviors, including the amount of time spent on bird feeders, a behavior previously shown to be predictive of acquiring a bacterial disease that causes annual epidemics in house finches. Overall, our results indicate that individual differences in exploratory behavior are linked to variation in both stress physiology and social network traits in free-living house finches. Such covariation has important implications for house finch ecology, as both traits can contribute to fitness in the wild. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Effect of Housing Rats in Dim Light or Long Nights on Heart Rate

    OpenAIRE

    Azar, Toni A; Sharp, Jody L; Lawson, David M

    2008-01-01

    Housing laboratory animals under lighting conditions that more closely mimic the natural environment may improve their wellbeing. This study examined the effects of dim light or a long-night photocycle on resting heart rate (HR) of rats and their HR responses to acute procedures. Male and female Sprague–Dawley (SD) and spontaneously hypertensive (SHR) rats, instrumented with radiotelemetry transmitters and housed individually under a 12:12-h light:dark photocycle with 10 lx illumination (dim ...

  15. Model-predicted ammonia emission from two broiler houses with different rearing systems

    OpenAIRE

    Lima,Nilsa Duarte Silva; Garcia,Rodrigo Garófallo; Nääs,Irenilza Alencar; Caldara,Fabiana Ribeiro; Ponso,Roselaine

    2015-01-01

    Ammonia (NH3) emissions from broiler production can affect human and animal health and may cause acidification and eutrophication of the surrounding environment. This study aimed to estimate ammonia emissions from broiler litter in two systems of forced ventilation, the tunnel ventilation (TV) and the dark house (DH). The experiment was carried out on eight commercial broiler houses, and the age of the birds (day, d), pH and litter temperature were recorded. Broilers were reared on built-up w...

  16. Pair-housing of male and female rats during chronic stress exposure results in gender-specific behavioral responses

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Westenbroek, C.; Snijders, T.A.B.; Den Boer, J.A.; Gerrits, Marjolein; Fokkema, D.S.; ter Horst, G.J

    Social support has a positive influence on the course of a depression and social housing of rats could provide an animal model for studying the neurobiological mechanisms of social support. Male and female rats were subjected to chronic footshock stress for 3 weeks and pair-housing of rats was used

  17. Incidence of Nontyphoidal Salmonella in Food-Producing Animals, Animal Feed, and the Associated Environment in South Africa, 2012-2014.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Magwedere, Kudakwashe; Rauff, Dionne; De Klerk, Grietjie; Keddy, Karen H; Dziva, Francis

    2015-11-01

    Nontyphoidal salmonellosis continues to pose a global threat to human health, primarily by causing food-borne illnesses, and food-producing animals are the principal reservoirs of many pathogenic serovars. To identify key control points and generate information that may enable future estimation of the transmission routes between the environment, animals, and humans, we examined data on Salmonella isolates in South Africa. Samples were obtained from livestock and poultry on farms, meat at abattoirs, raw materials at feed mills, animal feed, and environmental sources (eg, poultry houses, abattoirs, feed mills, water) from 2012 to 2014 in compliance with each establishment's protocols conforming to International Organization for Standardization (ISO) (ISO/TS 17728, ISO 18593:2004 and ISO 17604:2003) standards. Isolation and serotyping of Salmonella were performed according to the scope of accreditation of the respective laboratories conforming to ISO/IEC 17025:2005 standard techniques. Salmonella was isolated from 9031 of 180 298 (5.0%) samples, and these isolates were distributed among 188 different serovars. Salmonella Enteritidis was the most frequent isolate, with 1944 of 180 298 (21.5%) originating from poultry on farms, poultry meat, and poultry houses, followed by Salmonella Havana, with 677 of 180 298 (7.5%), mostly from environmental samples. Serovars that are uncommonly associated with human disease (Salmonella Idikan, Salmonella Salford, and Salmonella Brancaster) were isolated at higher frequencies than Salmonella Typhimurium, a common cause of human illness. Environmental samples accounted for 3869 of 9031 (42.8%) samples positive for Salmonella. We describe the frequent isolation of Salmonella of a wide variety of serovars, from an array of animal feeds, food animals, and food animal environment. As prevention of human salmonellosis requires the effective control of Salmonella in food animals, these data can be used to facilitate Salmonella control in

  18. Welfare assessment of dairy cows housed in a tie-stall system

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marija Vučemilo

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available Welfare assessment methods and techniques developed as a result of great interest of scientific and consumer populations regarding the welfare of animals housed in farms. In view of the fact that welfare by definition includes both physical and mental health, the welfare quality assessment includes an extensive number of measures. Welfare assessment was performed in two stables in which cows are kept in tie-stall by using the specific method described in the Welfare Quality® Assessment Protocol for Cattle. The measures included body condition score, qualitative behaviour assessment and body hygiene. The welfare assessment confirmed the importance of quality housing for ensuring better performance from animals, thus also affecting their health and productivity. It also pointed out the necessity of freeing animals by providing them with the possibility of free movement, whereat they can exhibit their physiological behaviour. It is definitely important to continue research, expand the number of researched measures in order to confirm the most useful indicators for welfare assessment and to identify the factors that within the animals’ physical and social environment affect the increase of their welfare.

  19. H2S induces a suspended animation-like state in mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blackstone, Eric; Morrison, Mike; Roth, Mark B

    2005-04-22

    Mammals normally maintain their core body temperature (CBT) despite changes in environmental temperature. Exceptions to this norm include suspended animation-like states such as hibernation, torpor, and estivation. These states are all characterized by marked decreases in metabolic rate, followed by a loss of homeothermic control in which the animal's CBT approaches that of the environment. We report that hydrogen sulfide can induce a suspended animation-like state in a nonhibernating species, the house mouse (Mus musculus). This state is readily reversible and does not appear to harm the animal. This suggests the possibility of inducing suspended animation-like states for medical applications.

  20. Water supply rates for recirculating evaporative cooling systems in poultry housing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Evaporative cooling (EC) is an important tool to reduce heat stress in animal housing systems. Expansion of ventilation capacity in tunnel ventilated poultry facilities has resulted in increased water demand for EC systems. As water resources become more limited and costly, proper planning and des...

  1. Housing conditions and sacrifice protocol affect neural activity and vocal behavior in a songbird species, the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elie, Julie Estelle; Soula, Hédi Antoine; Trouvé, Colette; Mathevon, Nicolas; Vignal, Clémentine

    2015-12-01

    Individual cages represent a widely used housing condition in laboratories. This isolation represents an impoverished physical and social environment in gregarious animals. It prevents animals from socializing, even when auditory and visual contact is maintained. Zebra finches are colonial songbirds that are widely used as laboratory animals for the study of vocal communication from brain to behavior. In this study, we investigated the effect of single housing on the vocal behavior and the brain activity of male zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata): male birds housed in individual cages were compared to freely interacting male birds housed as a social group in a communal cage. We focused on the activity of septo-hypothalamic regions of the "social behavior network" (SBN), a set of limbic regions involved in several social behaviors in vertebrates. The activity of four structures of the SBN (BSTm, medial bed nucleus of the stria terminalis; POM, medial preoptic area; lateral septum; ventromedial hypothalamus) and one associated region (paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus) was assessed using immunoreactive nuclei density of the immediate early gene Zenk (egr-1). We further assessed the identity of active cell populations by labeling vasotocin (VT). Brain activity was related to behavioral activities of birds like physical and vocal interactions. We showed that individual housing modifies vocal exchanges between birds compared to communal housing. This is of particular importance in the zebra finch, a model species for the study of vocal communication. In addition, a protocol that daily removes one or two birds from the group affects differently male zebra finches depending of their housing conditions: while communally-housed males changed their vocal output, brains of individually housed males show increased Zenk labeling in non-VT cells of the BSTm and enhanced correlation of Zenk-revealed activity between the studied structures. These results show that

  2. Comparing environmental impact of air scrubbers for ammonia abatement at pig houses

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vries, De Jerke W.; Melse, Roland W.

    2017-01-01

    Intensive livestock production involves environmental emissions and impacts, including emission of greenhouse gases and ammonia leading to climate change and terrestrial acidification. Ammonia emission from animal housing systems can be reduced by introducing air scrubbers for cleaning the

  3. Time management in a co-housed social rodent species (Arvicanthis niloticus).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castillo-Ruiz, Alexandra; Indic, Premananda; Schwartz, William J

    2018-01-19

    Sociality has beneficial effects on fitness, and timing the activities of animals may be critical. Social cues could influence daily rhythmic activities via direct effects on the circadian clock or on processes that bypass it (masking), but these possibilities remain incompletely addressed. We investigated the effects of social cues on the circadian body temperature (Tb) rhythms in pairs of co-housed and isolated grass rats, Arvicanthis niloticus (a social species), in constant darkness (DD). Cohabitation did not induce synchronization of circadian Tb rhythms. However, socio-sexual history did affect circadian properties: accelerating the clock in sexually experienced males and females in DD and advancing rhythm phase in the females in a light-dark cycle. To address whether synchronization occurs at an ultradian scale, we analyzed Tb and activity rhythms in pairs of co-housed sisters or couples in DD. Regardless of pair type, co-housing doubled the percentage of time individuals were simultaneously active without increasing individual activity levels, suggesting that activity bouts were synchronized by redistribution over 24 h. Together, our laboratory findings show that social cues affect individual "time allocation" budgets via mechanisms at multiple levels of biological organization. We speculate that in natural settings these effects could be adaptive, especially for group-living animals.

  4. Depressive-like behavior, its sensitization, social buffering, and altered cytokine responses in rhesus macaques moved from outdoor social groups to indoor housing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hennessy, Michael B; Chun, Katie; Capitanio, John P

    2017-02-01

    Psychosocial stressors appear to promote the onset of depressive illness through activation and sensitization of inflammatory mechanisms. Here, adult male rhesus monkeys brought from large outdoor social groups to indoor housing for 8 days reliably exhibited a hunched, depressive-like posture. When rehoused indoors a second 8 days about 2 weeks later, monkeys housed alone, but not those with an affiliative partner, showed sensitization of the depressive-like hunched posture. Housing indoors also affected circulating pro-inflammatory cytokines: IL-1β showed increased responsiveness to immune challenge, and IL-1β and TNF-α showed reduced suppression by dexamethasone. Sensitivity of the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 to immune challenge exhibited a relative increase from the first to the second round of indoor housing in animals housed in pairs, and a relative decrease in animals housed alone. Cytokine levels during indoor housing were positively correlated with duration of depressive-like behavior. Plasma cortisol levels increased but did not differentiate housing conditions or rounds. Results demonstrate a rapid induction and sensitization of depressive-like behavior to indoor individual housing, social buffering of sensitization, and associated inflammatory responses. This paradigm may provide a practical nonhuman primate model for examining inflammatory-mediated consequences of psychosocial stressors on depression and possible social buffering of these effects.

  5. 7 CFR 1944.664 - Housing preservation and replacement housing assistance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 13 2010-01-01 2009-01-01 true Housing preservation and replacement housing...) RURAL HOUSING SERVICE, RURAL BUSINESS-COOPERATIVE SERVICE, RURAL UTILITIES SERVICE, AND FARM SERVICE AGENCY, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE (CONTINUED) PROGRAM REGULATIONS (CONTINUED) HOUSING Housing...

  6. The Effect of Steps to Promote Higher Levels of Farm Animal Welfare across the EU. Societal versus Animal Scientists’ Perceptions of Animal Welfare

    Science.gov (United States)

    Averós, Xavier; Aparicio, Miguel A.; Ferrari, Paolo; Guy, Jonathan H.; Hubbard, Carmen; Schmid, Otto; Ilieski, Vlatko; Spoolder, Hans A. M.

    2013-01-01

    Simple Summary We studied different EU production standards and initiatives to determine whether there is still room or not for further animal welfare improvement, and which should be the best way to achieve it. Many of the adopted measures in these standards and initiatives are scientifically supported, but other aspects that are equally important for animal welfare are not included in any of them. Animal welfare improvement should consider, for each country, those aspects actually benefiting animals, but also the social expectations within each country. Economic constraints might explain the gap between what society demands, and what farm animals actually need. Abstract Information about animal welfare standards and initiatives from eight European countries was collected, grouped, and compared to EU welfare standards to detect those aspects beyond minimum welfare levels demanded by EU welfare legislation. Literature was reviewed to determine the scientific relevance of standards and initiatives, and those aspects going beyond minimum EU standards. Standards and initiatives were assessed to determine their strengths and weaknesses regarding animal welfare. Attitudes of stakeholders in the improvement of animal welfare were determined through a Policy Delphi exercise. Social perception of animal welfare, economic implications of upraising welfare levels, and differences between countries were considered. Literature review revealed that on-farm space allowance, climate control, and environmental enrichment are relevant for all animal categories. Experts’ assessment revealed that on-farm prevention of thermal stress, air quality, and races and passageways’ design were not sufficiently included. Stakeholders considered that housing conditions are particularly relevant regarding animal welfare, and that animal-based and farm-level indicators are fundamental to monitor the progress of animal welfare. The most notable differences between what society offers and what

  7. Temporal stability of personality traits in group-housed gestating sows.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horback, K M; Parsons, T D

    2016-08-01

    The movement of sows (Sus scrofa domesticus) out of individual gestation stalls and into group housing can introduce new sources of stress due to the enhanced environmental and social complexity. Some sows may have the behavioral capacity to adapt to these changes better than others. However, little is known about individual differences in behavioral responses, or personality traits, in gestating sows and how they impact the animal's ability to cope with group housing. The temporal consistency in the assessment of an animal's behavior is a prerequisite to the establishment of personality traits and was addressed at an interval of approximately five months during two consecutive gestation periods in the present study. Forty-six group-housed sows from a commercially available genetic line were assessed for aggressive and social behaviors at mixing into a group, reaction to human approach, ease of handling, exploration of an open field, and reaction to a novel object. Principal component analysis revealed the presence of three traits accounting for over 60% of the variance in behaviors: aggressive/dominant, avoidant of humans and active/exploratory. Individual component scores were significantly correlated between pregnancies demonstrating temporal stability of trait assessment. Significant relationships were found between aggressive/dominant component scores and individual feed rank at electronic sow feeding stations and skin lesion scores, as well as between avoidant of humans component scores and average number of stillbirths per litter. These findings provide evidence for the temporal stability of distinct behaviors contributing to personality traits within a group of genetically similar sows and demonstrate how these traits may be useful in identifying individuals likely to succeed in group housing.

  8. Understanding Housing Delays and Relocations Within the Housing First Model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zerger, Suzanne; Pridham, Katherine Francombe; Jeyaratnam, Jeyagobi; Hwang, Stephen W; O'Campo, Patricia; Kohli, Jaipreet; Stergiopoulos, Vicky

    2016-01-01

    This study explores factors contributing to delays and relocations during the implementation of the Housing First model in Toronto, Ontario. While interruptions in housing tenure are expected en route to recovery and housing stability, consumer and service provider views on finding and keeping housing remain largely unknown. In-person interviews and focus groups were conducted with 48 study participants, including 23 case managers or housing workers and 25 consumers. The following three factors contributed to housing delays and transfers: (1) the effectiveness of communication and collaboration among consumers and service providers, (2) consumer-driven preferences and ambivalence, and (3) provider prioritization of consumer choice over immediate housing access. Two strategies--targeted communications and consumer engagement in housing searches--supported the housing process. Several factors affect the timing and stability of housing. Communication between and among providers and consumers, and a shared understanding of consumer choice, can further support choice and recovery.

  9. Effect of individual and group housing of mice on the level of radioresistance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dorozhkina O.V.

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Aim: to examine the effect of individual and group housing of mice on radioresistance. Material and methods. Effects of individual and group housing of mice on immunity and blood systems were studied on ICR (CD-1 and C57BI6 male mice before and after proton irradiation. Results. Group housing of intact animals resulted in a decline in the number of nucleated cells in the femur bone marrow and thymus mass. The irradiation with proton with energy of 171 MeV at a dose of 1 Gy causes a statistically significant greater reduction of the number of nucleated cells in the femur bone marrow in group-housed mice. A trend toward greater safety of the number of leukocytes in the peripheral blood and higher proliferative activity of bone marrow cells, as well as lower level of aberrant mitoses have been noted in individually-housed mice. Reduction processes in the recovery period of radiation sickness take place at a greater rate in group-housed mice. Conclusion. Group housing of male mice causes increased sensitivity of the blood and immunity systems to the effects of radiation and at the same time accelerates processes of radiation recovery.

  10. Wary invaders and clever natives: sympatric house geckos show disparate responses to predator scent

    OpenAIRE

    Adam Cisterne; Eric P. Vanderduys; David A. Pike; Lin Schwarzkopf

    2014-01-01

    The ability to detect and avoid potential predators can enhance fitness, but also has costs, and thus many animals respond to potential predators either in a general (avoid all potential predators) or threat-sensitive (selectively avoid dangerous predators) manner. We used 2-choice trials to investigate strategies used by globally invasive house geckos (Hemidactylus frenatus) and native Australian house geckos (Gehyra dubia) to avoid chemical cues from potential snake predators (Acanthophis a...

  11. Housing management and maintenance practise of Dutch housing associations

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Straub, A.

    This paper summarises the state-of-the-art in housing management and maintenance practise of Dutch housing associations based on a survey conducted among almost all housing associations. We address the question what the current developments are in housing management and maintenance practice in the

  12. Animal production systems in the industrialised world.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sørensen, J T; Edwards, S; Noordhuizen, J; Gunnarsson, S

    2006-08-01

    The production of food from animal origin is relatively stable in the industrialised world. However, animal production systems are changing dramatically with respect to location, herd size and specialisation. Increased pressure from a critical public is moving animal-based production towards systems such as organic production and loose-housing systems which allow the animals to better express normal behaviour. The focus on food safety promotes systems with a high degree of biosecurity, often associated with an increase in herd size and self-containment. The globalisation of agricultural trade and increased competition also favours an increase in herd size and specialisation. These trends also lead to regions with livestock-dense areas, giving rise to environmental concerns. Therefore, good farming practice regulations and systems to provide a higher level of transparency, such as quality risk management programmes, are being developed.

  13. 24 CFR 92.252 - Qualification as affordable housing: Rental housing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 24 Housing and Urban Development 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Qualification as affordable housing: Rental housing. 92.252 Section 92.252 Housing and Urban Development Office of the Secretary, Department of Housing and Urban Development HOME INVESTMENT PARTNERSHIPS PROGRAM Project Requirements § 92.252...

  14. 24 CFR 8.28 - Housing certificate and housing voucher programs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 24 Housing and Urban Development 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Housing certificate and housing voucher programs. 8.28 Section 8.28 Housing and Urban Development Office of the Secretary, Department of Housing and Urban Development NONDISCRIMINATION BASED ON HANDICAP IN FEDERALLY ASSISTED PROGRAMS AND...

  15. Exposure to Phlebotomus argentipes (Diptera, Psychodidae, Phlebotominae sand flies in rural areas of Bihar, India: the role of housing conditions.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paritosh Malaviya

    Full Text Available Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL is a vector-borne infectious disease, caused by the protozoan Leishmania donovani, which is transmitted by phlebotomine sand flies. In an earlier study in Bihar, India, we found an association between incidence of VL and housing conditions. In the current study we investigated the influence of housing structure and conditions in and around the house on the indoor abundance of Phlebotomus argentipes, the vector of VL in this area.In each of 50 study villages in Muzaffarpur district, we randomly selected 10 houses. Light traps were installed in each house for one night during three annual peaks of sand fly density over two successive years. Sand flies captured were morphologically identified and segregated by species, sex and feeding status. Data on housing conditions and socio-economic status were also collected. We fitted a linear mixed-effects regression model with log-transformed P. argentipes counts as outcome variable and village as random effect.P. argentipes was found in all but four of the 500 households. There was considerable variability between the years and the seasons. On bivariate analysis, housing structure, dampness of the floor, keeping animals inside, presence of animal dung around the house, and socio-economic status were all significantly associated with sand fly density. Highest sand fly densities were observed in thatched houses. In the multivariate model only the housing structure and socio-economic status remained significant.Better housing conditions are associated with lower sand fly densities, independent of other socio-economic conditions. However, in this area in Bihar even in the better-built houses sand flies are present.

  16. Physical interaction is not necessary for the induction of housing-type social buffering of conditioned hyperthermia in male rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kiyokawa, Yasushi; Kodama, Yuka; Takeuchi, Yukari; Mori, Yuji

    2013-11-01

    In social animals, housing with conspecific animals after a stressful event attenuates the subsequent adverse outcomes due to the event, and this has been called housing-type social buffering. We have previously found that housing-type social buffering attenuates the enhancement of hyperthermia and Fos expression in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus that occurs in response to an aversive conditioned stimulus in male rats. Here, we analyzed the role of physical interactions during social housing in the induction of housing-type social buffering. When a fear-conditioned subject was alone after the conditioning and then exposed to the conditioned stimulus, it showed behavioral, autonomic, and neural stress responses. However, social housing, during which physical interactions were prevented by wire mesh, attenuated these autonomic and neural stress responses, as has been seen in previous studies. These results suggested that physical interaction was not necessary for the induction of housing-type social buffering. With this social cohabitation model, we then found that social cohabitation increased Fos expression in the posterior complex of the anterior olfactory nucleus of the fear-conditioned subject. Social cohabitation also increased Fos expression in 11 brain regions, including the prefrontal cortex, the nucleus accumbens, the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, and the medial, lateral, basal, and cortical amygdala. These results provide information about the neural mechanisms that induce housing-type social buffering. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Global warming and house fly control: direct effects and biodiversity concerns.

    Science.gov (United States)

    House flies are major pests of human and animal health throughout the world and are among the most difficult to control. Effective fly management relies on a balance of sanitation, insecticide use, and biological control. Climate change could upset that balance in favor of the fly unless pro-activ...

  18. 24 CFR 982.617 - Shared housing: Rent and voucher housing assistance payment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... Special Housing Types Shared Housing § 982.617 Shared housing: Rent and voucher housing assistance payment... 24 Housing and Urban Development 4 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Shared housing: Rent and voucher housing assistance payment. 982.617 Section 982.617 Housing and Urban Development Regulations Relating to...

  19. Assisted Housing - Public Housing Authorities - National Geospatial Data Asset (NGDA)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Department of Housing and Urban Development — Public Housing was established to provide decent and safe rental housing for eligible low-income families, the elderly, and persons with disabilities. Public housing...

  20. Differences in Anticipatory Behaviour between Rats (Rattus norvegicus) Housed in Standard versus Semi-Naturalistic Laboratory Environments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Makowska, I Joanna; Weary, Daniel M

    2016-01-01

    Laboratory rats are usually kept in relatively small cages, but research has shown that they prefer larger and more complex environments. The physiological, neurological and health effects of standard laboratory housing are well established, but fewer studies have addressed the sustained emotional impact of a standard cage environment. One method of assessing affective states in animals is to look at the animals' anticipatory behaviour between the presentation of a cue signalling the arrival of a reward and the arrival of that reward. The primary aim of this study was to use anticipatory behaviour to assess the affective state experienced by female rats a) reared and housed long-term in a standard laboratory cage versus a semi-naturalistic environment, and b) before and after treatment with an antidepressant or an anxiolytic. A secondary aim was to add to the literature on anticipatory behaviour by describing and comparing the frequency and duration of individual elements of anticipatory behaviour displayed by rats reared in these two systems. In all experiments, total behavioural frequency was higher in standard-housed rats compared to rats from the semi-naturalistic condition, suggesting that standard-housed rats were more sensitive to rewards and experiencing poorer welfare than rats reared in the semi-naturalistic environment. What rats did in anticipation of the reward also differed between housing treatments, with standard-housed rats mostly rearing and rats from the semi-naturalistic condition mostly sitting facing the direction of the upcoming treat. Drug interventions had no effect on the quantity or form of anticipatory behaviour, suggesting that the poorer welfare experienced by standard-housed rats was not analogous to depression or anxiety, or alternatively that the drug interventions were ineffective. This study adds to mounting evidence that standard laboratory housing for rats compromises rat welfare, and provides further scientific support for

  1. Differences in Anticipatory Behaviour between Rats (Rattus norvegicus Housed in Standard versus Semi-Naturalistic Laboratory Environments.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    I Joanna Makowska

    Full Text Available Laboratory rats are usually kept in relatively small cages, but research has shown that they prefer larger and more complex environments. The physiological, neurological and health effects of standard laboratory housing are well established, but fewer studies have addressed the sustained emotional impact of a standard cage environment. One method of assessing affective states in animals is to look at the animals' anticipatory behaviour between the presentation of a cue signalling the arrival of a reward and the arrival of that reward. The primary aim of this study was to use anticipatory behaviour to assess the affective state experienced by female rats a reared and housed long-term in a standard laboratory cage versus a semi-naturalistic environment, and b before and after treatment with an antidepressant or an anxiolytic. A secondary aim was to add to the literature on anticipatory behaviour by describing and comparing the frequency and duration of individual elements of anticipatory behaviour displayed by rats reared in these two systems. In all experiments, total behavioural frequency was higher in standard-housed rats compared to rats from the semi-naturalistic condition, suggesting that standard-housed rats were more sensitive to rewards and experiencing poorer welfare than rats reared in the semi-naturalistic environment. What rats did in anticipation of the reward also differed between housing treatments, with standard-housed rats mostly rearing and rats from the semi-naturalistic condition mostly sitting facing the direction of the upcoming treat. Drug interventions had no effect on the quantity or form of anticipatory behaviour, suggesting that the poorer welfare experienced by standard-housed rats was not analogous to depression or anxiety, or alternatively that the drug interventions were ineffective. This study adds to mounting evidence that standard laboratory housing for rats compromises rat welfare, and provides further

  2. Housing culture

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Roesdahl, Else; Scholkmann, Barbara

    2007-01-01

    On houses and their furniture and fittings, and on the study of this - with a comparison of rural, urban, monastic and aristocratic housing, and a special section on heating technologies.......On houses and their furniture and fittings, and on the study of this - with a comparison of rural, urban, monastic and aristocratic housing, and a special section on heating technologies....

  3. Behavior and milk production of buffalo cows as affected by housing system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Rosa, G; Grasso, F; Braghieri, A; Bilancione, A; Di Francia, A; Napolitano, F

    2009-03-01

    To verify the effect of 2 housing systems (with and without a pool and an ample outdoor lot) on behavior and milk yield, 45 lactating buffalo cows were group-housed in a free stall open-sided barn with concrete floor where they received 10 m(2)/head as space allowance (group NP); 43 cows were group-housed in a similar barn, but had access to an outdoor yard (36 m(2)/head) and a concrete pool of 208 m(2) (group WP). Animals were subjected to 8 sessions of instantaneous scan sampling at approximately 10-d intervals. Behavioral variables were expressed as proportions of subjects observed in each category of posture and activity. In addition, rapid behaviors such as agonistic, social, and reproductive interactions, social licking, and self-grooming were recorded continuously. These variables were expressed as number of interactions per animal. At the end of each hour of observation, temperature and relative humidity were recorded. In WP the proportion of animals observed wallowing was 0.476 +/- 0.034, whereas lower proportions were observed standing (0.389 +/- 0.029) or lying (0.141 +/- 0.021) outside the pool. In NP the proportions of animals observed standing and lying were 0.452 +/- 0.042 and 0.548 +/- 0.042, respectively. A significant relationship between mean temperatures recorded on observation days and proportion of animals in the pool was observed (r(s) = 0.41). Fewer animals from group WP were observed idling compared with buffaloes from group NP (0.44 +/- 0.024 vs. 0.509 +/- 0.024, respectively), whereas more WP animals were involved in investigative activities than NP cows (0.099 +/- 0.009 vs. 0.042 +/- 0.009, respectively). A greater number of social interactions (sniffing and nuzzling) and social lickings were observed in group WP than in group NP (0.120 +/- 0.010 vs. 0.067 +/- 0.010, and 0.151 +/- 0.018 vs. 0.090 +/- 0.018, respectively). The WP buffalo cows had a greater milk yield than NP cows (11.73 +/- 0.31 vs. 10.78 +/- 0.28 kg/d, respectively

  4. Antibiotic resistance in conjunctival and enteric bacterial flora in raptors housed in a zoological garden.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sala, Andrea; Taddei, Simone; Santospirito, Davide; Sandri, Camillo; Magnone, William; Cabassi, Clotilde S

    2016-11-01

    Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in a wide range of infectious agents is a growing public health threat. Birds of prey are considered indicators of the presence of AMR bacteria in their ecosystem because of their predatory behaviour. Only few data are reported in the literature on AMR strains isolated from animals housed in zoos and none about AMR in raptors housed in zoological gardens. This study investigated the antibiotic sensitivity profile of the isolates obtained from the conjunctival and cloacal bacterial flora of 14 healthy birds of prey, 6 Accipitriformes , 3 Falconiformes and 5 Strigiformes , housed in an Italian zoological garden. Staphylococcus spp. was isolated from 50% of the conjunctival swabs, with S. xylosus as the most common species. From cloacal swabs, Escherichia coli was cultured from all animals, while Klebsiella spp. and Proteus spp. were isolated from a smaller number of birds. Worthy of note is the isolation of Escherichia fergusonii and Serratia odorifera , rarely isolated from raptors. Staphylococci were also isolated. All the isolates were multidrug resistant (MDR). To the author's knowledge, this is the first report regarding the presence of MDR strains within raptors housed in a zoological garden. Since resistance genes can be transferred to other pathogenic bacteria, this represents a potential hazard for the emergence of new MDR pathogens. In conclusion, the obtained data could be useful for ex-situ conservation programmes aimed to preserve the health of the endangered species housed in a zoo.

  5. Is music enriching for group-housed captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wallace, Emma K.; Altschul, Drew; Körfer, Karoline; Benti, Benjamin; Kaeser, Amanda; Lambeth, Susan; Waller, Bridget M.; Slocombe, Katie E.

    2017-01-01

    Many facilities that house captive primates play music for animal enrichment or for caregiver enjoyment. However, the impact on primates is unknown as previous studies have been inconclusive. We conducted three studies with zoo-housed chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and one with group-housed chimpanzees at the National Centre for Chimpanzee Care to investigate the effects of classical and pop/rock music on various variables that may be indicative of increased welfare. Study one compared the behaviour and use of space of 18 animals when silence, classical or pop/rock music was played into one of several indoor areas. Overall, chimpanzees did not actively avoid the area when music was playing but were more likely to exit the area when songs with higher beats per minute were broadcast. Chimpanzees showed significantly fewer active social behaviours when music, rather than silence, was playing. They also tended to be more active and engage in less abnormal behaviour during the music but there was no change to either self-grooming or aggression between music and silent conditions. The genre of music had no differential effects on the chimpanzees’ use of space and behaviour. In the second study, continuous focal observations were carried out on three individuals with relatively high levels of abnormal behaviour. No differences in behaviour between music and silence periods were found in any of the individuals. The final two studies used devices that allowed chimpanzees to choose if they wanted to listen to music of various types or silence. Both studies showed that there were no persistent preferences for any type of music or silence. When taken together, our results do not suggest music is enriching for group-housed captive chimpanzees, but they also do not suggest that music has a negative effect on welfare. PMID:28355212

  6. Is music enriching for group-housed captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Emma K Wallace

    Full Text Available Many facilities that house captive primates play music for animal enrichment or for caregiver enjoyment. However, the impact on primates is unknown as previous studies have been inconclusive. We conducted three studies with zoo-housed chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes and one with group-housed chimpanzees at the National Centre for Chimpanzee Care to investigate the effects of classical and pop/rock music on various variables that may be indicative of increased welfare. Study one compared the behaviour and use of space of 18 animals when silence, classical or pop/rock music was played into one of several indoor areas. Overall, chimpanzees did not actively avoid the area when music was playing but were more likely to exit the area when songs with higher beats per minute were broadcast. Chimpanzees showed significantly fewer active social behaviours when music, rather than silence, was playing. They also tended to be more active and engage in less abnormal behaviour during the music but there was no change to either self-grooming or aggression between music and silent conditions. The genre of music had no differential effects on the chimpanzees' use of space and behaviour. In the second study, continuous focal observations were carried out on three individuals with relatively high levels of abnormal behaviour. No differences in behaviour between music and silence periods were found in any of the individuals. The final two studies used devices that allowed chimpanzees to choose if they wanted to listen to music of various types or silence. Both studies showed that there were no persistent preferences for any type of music or silence. When taken together, our results do not suggest music is enriching for group-housed captive chimpanzees, but they also do not suggest that music has a negative effect on welfare.

  7. Is music enriching for group-housed captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wallace, Emma K; Altschul, Drew; Körfer, Karoline; Benti, Benjamin; Kaeser, Amanda; Lambeth, Susan; Waller, Bridget M; Slocombe, Katie E

    2017-01-01

    Many facilities that house captive primates play music for animal enrichment or for caregiver enjoyment. However, the impact on primates is unknown as previous studies have been inconclusive. We conducted three studies with zoo-housed chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and one with group-housed chimpanzees at the National Centre for Chimpanzee Care to investigate the effects of classical and pop/rock music on various variables that may be indicative of increased welfare. Study one compared the behaviour and use of space of 18 animals when silence, classical or pop/rock music was played into one of several indoor areas. Overall, chimpanzees did not actively avoid the area when music was playing but were more likely to exit the area when songs with higher beats per minute were broadcast. Chimpanzees showed significantly fewer active social behaviours when music, rather than silence, was playing. They also tended to be more active and engage in less abnormal behaviour during the music but there was no change to either self-grooming or aggression between music and silent conditions. The genre of music had no differential effects on the chimpanzees' use of space and behaviour. In the second study, continuous focal observations were carried out on three individuals with relatively high levels of abnormal behaviour. No differences in behaviour between music and silence periods were found in any of the individuals. The final two studies used devices that allowed chimpanzees to choose if they wanted to listen to music of various types or silence. Both studies showed that there were no persistent preferences for any type of music or silence. When taken together, our results do not suggest music is enriching for group-housed captive chimpanzees, but they also do not suggest that music has a negative effect on welfare.

  8. Local tolerance testing under REACH: Accepted non-animal methods are not on equal footing with animal tests.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sauer, Ursula G; Hill, Erin H; Curren, Rodger D; Raabe, Hans A; Kolle, Susanne N; Teubner, Wera; Mehling, Annette; Landsiedel, Robert

    2016-07-01

    In general, no single non-animal method can cover the complexity of any given animal test. Therefore, fixed sets of in vitro (and in chemico) methods have been combined into testing strategies for skin and eye irritation and skin sensitisation testing, with pre-defined prediction models for substance classification. Many of these methods have been adopted as OECD test guidelines. Various testing strategies have been successfully validated in extensive in-house and inter-laboratory studies, but they have not yet received formal acceptance for substance classification. Therefore, under the European REACH Regulation, data from testing strategies can, in general, only be used in so-called weight-of-evidence approaches. While animal testing data generated under the specific REACH information requirements are per se sufficient, the sufficiency of weight-of-evidence approaches can be questioned under the REACH system, and further animal testing can be required. This constitutes an imbalance between the regulatory acceptance of data from approved non-animal methods and animal tests that is not justified on scientific grounds. To ensure that testing strategies for local tolerance testing truly serve to replace animal testing for the REACH registration 2018 deadline (when the majority of existing chemicals have to be registered), clarity on their regulatory acceptance as complete replacements is urgently required. 2016 FRAME.

  9. 24 CFR 982.606 - Congregate housing: Who may reside in congregate housing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... Special Housing Types Congregate Housing § 982.606 Congregate housing: Who may reside in congregate housing. (a) An elderly person or a person with disabilities may reside in a congregate housing unit. (b... 24 Housing and Urban Development 4 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Congregate housing: Who may reside...

  10. Effects of food motivation on stereotypies and aggression in group housed sows

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Spoolder, H.A.M.

    1998-01-01

    Changing legislation and consumer attitudes towards the welfare of farm animals means that individual housing of dry sows will soon be illegal in the United Kingdom. Other European countries, and in particular those for whom the UK is an important export market (such as The Netherlands),

  11. Bodems voor vrijloopstallen = Bedding materials in loose housing systems for dairy cattle

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dooren, van H.J.C.; Galama, P.J.; Smits, M.C.J.

    2012-01-01

    Sand, Compost and 'toemaak' (a mixture of reed, dredge and manure) had been used as bedding material for loose housing systems on three dairy research farms of Wageningen UR Livestock Research. Gaseous emissions, animal behavior and health and food safety aspects were measured and reported together

  12. Mass Housing and Changings in Housing Demand, Case of Diyarbakir, Turkey

    OpenAIRE

    M. Oguz Sinemillioglu; Can Tuncay Akın; Havva Özyılmaz

    2005-01-01

    The aim of this study is to analyze changings in housing demand, especially in term of house size in Diyarbakır case, in Turkey. Though Housing in Turkey is in a free market system, there is a Mass Housing Administration (TOKÃ ) has been doing mass houses for, relatively, middle class income people. Diyarbakır, one of the cities that TOKÃ has done two thousand houses, has taken too much migration, so that the demand in housing form and structure has different alterations. This process should ...

  13. CDBG Housing Activity

    Data.gov (United States)

    Department of Housing and Urban Development — CDBG activity related to housing, including multifamily rehab, housing services, code enforcement, operation and repair of foreclosed property and public housing...

  14. Assessment of housing design decisions in informal housing ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The rapid urbanisation of cities in developing countries has witnessed a growth in the volume of housing construction in the urban areas. The demand for housing and the inability of government to meet this demand has encouraged the growth of informal housing. The concept of healthy buildings is of great importance, ...

  15. Situation-Based Housing

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Duelund Mortensen, Peder

    2011-01-01

    Presentation of urban housing research on flexible housing types in the Copenhagen Region: Theoretical background, methodology, analyse of spatial organization, interviews and results. Cases: Pærehaven in Ølby, Køge and M-house in Ørestad, Copenhagen......Presentation of urban housing research on flexible housing types in the Copenhagen Region: Theoretical background, methodology, analyse of spatial organization, interviews and results. Cases: Pærehaven in Ølby, Køge and M-house in Ørestad, Copenhagen...

  16. 24 CFR 8.25 - Public housing and multi-family Indian housing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 24 Housing and Urban Development 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Public housing and multi-family Indian housing. 8.25 Section 8.25 Housing and Urban Development Office of the Secretary, Department of Housing and Urban Development NONDISCRIMINATION BASED ON HANDICAP IN FEDERALLY ASSISTED PROGRAMS AND...

  17. Active house concept versus passive House

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Zeiler, W.; Boxem, G.; Vehler, R.; Verhoeven, M.; Fremouw, M.

    2009-01-01

    The passive house concept is the present trend in energy efficient sustainable dwellings. Within the passive house concept every effort is made to minimize the energy use. Substantial savings can be achieved by passive energy systems, especially natural ventilation, summer shading and winter solar

  18. Effects of Outdoor Housing of Piglets on Behavior, Stress Reaction and Meat Characteristics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tomohiro Yonezawa

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Well-designed housing systems are important from the viewpoint of animal welfare and improvement of meat production. In this study, we investigated the effects of outdoor housing of pigs on their behavior, cortisol levels, and meat characteristics. Two groups that were born and raised in a spacious outdoor pen (4×10 m for every two sows or a minimum-sized standard pen in a piggery (1.9×2.2 m for every sow were studied. When their behaviors at the age of 2 to 3 wk were observed, the number of rooting episodes tended to be larger (p = 0.0509 and the total time of rooting tended to be longer (p = 0.0640 in the outdoor-housed piglets although the difference was not significant. Basal salivary cortisol levels of the outdoor piglets at the age of 4 wk were significantly lower than those of the indoor piglets (5.0±0.59 ng/ml vs. 11.6±0.91 ng/ml, 30 min after treatment, although their plasma cortisol levels were similar (53.3±3.54 ng/ml vs. 59.9±4.84 ng/ml, 30 min after treatment. When the ears were pierced at weaning, plasma and salivary cortisol levels were increased in both groups, even at 15 min after piercing. However, the increase in the outdoor-housed group was significantly less than that in the indoor-housed group. Throughout their lives, body weight and daily gain of the pigs were not significantly different between the two groups. In a meat taste preference test taken by 20 panelists, saltiness, flavor, and color of the outdoor-housed pork were found to be more acceptable. Moreover, when an electronic taste-sensing device was utilized, the C00 and CPA-C00 outputs (3.78±0.07 and −0.20±0.023, which correspond to compounds of bitterness and smells, respectively, were significantly lower in the outdoor-housed pork (5.03±0.16 and −0.13±0.009. Our results demonstrate that the outdoor housing system for piglets induces natural behaviors such as rooting and suppresses the strongest stress reaction of piglets, which could be important

  19. Effects of different floor housing systems on the welfare of fast-growing broilers with an extended fattening period

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. Çavuşoğlu

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available This study was made to investigate the long-term effects of different floor housing systems on the welfare of fast-growing broilers. The experiment was performed on 210-day-old fast-growing hybrid male chickens with identical conditions until 47 days of age. Animal-based welfare parameters were measured to investigate the welfare level in the group housed on deep litter, a litter and slat system, and a slatted floor, with five replicates for each group. Results showed that the main welfare indicators in live birds, such breast dirtiness, plumage score, footpad lesion, and hock burn lesion, were negatively affected in broilers kept on conventional deep-litter floor housing. But hemorrhage or lesion scores of the breast and shoulder of broilers in slat floor housing were found to be significantly greater than in conventional deep litter as a result of a heavy body weight at a greater slaughter age (p < 0.05. Pathologically, the prevalence of footpad and hock joint dermatitis was very high in the deep-litter housing system. Femoral head necrosis was not observed in any floor housing group. The results indicated that keeping broilers on a slat flooring system is preferable for younger slaughter ages and for a lighter slaughter weight. When considering the relationship between animal welfare and production economy, moving from one floor house system to another floor housing system should be carefully weighted in future decisions. Moreover, further investigations are needed in order to examine the incidence of joint and bone problems with muscle inflammation in heavier broilers in commercial conditions.

  20. Satisfaction with housing and housing support for people with psychiatric disabilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brolin, Rosita; Rask, Mikael; Syrén, Susanne; Baigi, Amir; Brunt, David Arthur

    2015-01-01

    The aim of this study was to investigate the degree of satisfaction with housing and housing support for people with psychiatric disabilities in Sweden. A total of 370 residents, in supported housing and in ordinary housing with housing support, completed a new questionnaire and reported a high degree of overall satisfaction, but many of them wanted to move somewhere else. Differences were found between the two different types of housing concerning satisfaction with housing support, social life and available choices. Security and privacy, as well as other's influence on the choice of residential area and dwelling proved to be important predictors for satisfaction.

  1. Coevolution of Cryptosporidium tyzzeri and the house mouse (Mus musculus)

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Kváč, Martin; McEvoy, J.; Loudová, M.; Stenger, B.; Sak, Bohumil; Květoňová, Dana; Ditrich, Oleg; Rašková, Veronika; Moriarty, E.; Rost, M.; Macholán, Miloš; Piálek, Jaroslav

    2013-01-01

    Roč. 43, č. 10 (2013), s. 805-817 ISSN 0020-7519 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA206/08/0640; GA MŠk(CZ) LH11061 Institutional support: RVO:60077344 ; RVO:67985904 ; RVO:68081766 Keywords : Cryptosporidium tyzzeri * house mouse * hybrid zone * coevolution Subject RIV: EG - Zoology; GJ - Animal Vermins ; Diseases, Veterinary Medicine (BC-A) Impact factor: 3.404, year: 2013

  2. Interaction of genotype and environment: Effect of strain and housing condition on cognitive behaviour in rodent models of schizophrenia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karly M. Turner

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available Schizophrenia is associated with many genetic and environmental risk factors and there is growing evidence that the interactions between genetic and environmental ‘hits’ are critical for disease onset. Animal models of schizophrenia have traditionally used specific strain and housing conditions to test potential risk factors. As the field moves towards testing gene (G x environment (E interactions the impact of these choices should be considered. Given the surge of research focused on cognitive deficits, we have examined studies of cognition in rodents from the perspective of GxE interactions, in which strain or housing manipulations have been varied. Behaviour is clearly altered by these factors, yet few animal models of schizophrenia have investigated cognitive deficits using different strain and housing conditions. It is important to recognise the large variation in behaviour observed when using different strain and housing combinations because GxE interactions may mask or exacerbate cognitive outcomes. Further consideration will improve our understanding of GxE interactions and the underlying neurobiology of cognitive impairments in neuropsychiatric disorders.

  3. Development of a Measure of Housing and Housing Services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clark, Colleen; Young, M Scott; Teague, Gregory; Rynearson-Moody, Sarah

    2016-01-01

    The Housing Program Measure (HPM) was designed to document critical elements of a range of housing program types and associated services. Qualitative methods, including literature review and open-ended interviews, were used to determine pertinent HPM domains and to develop the pool of items. The measure was pre-tested, and reliability and validity analyses were applied to revise and strengthen the measure. The resulting measure furthers homelessness research by providing a tool that can be used to define housing and housing services interventions across diverse projects and disciplines, to facilitate program management by matching housing resources to the needs of homeless individuals, and to support model development by measuring progress to goals.

  4. Slaughter house solid waste management in Indonesia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rhenny Ratnawati

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available The solid slaughter house waste (SSW in Indonesia is generally disposed of into open dumped landfill. This type of solid waste can cause odor and atmospheric pollution if discharged directly into the environment. Additionally, it may spread disease due to the nesting vectors, and the resulting leachate can lead to groundwater contamination. This paper reviews the characterization of slaughter house (SH types and SSW generation potential and to review the development of treatment technology of SSW and its application. The SH in Indonesia is divided into 3 classes, namely: 1 SH for large and small ruminants; 2 SH for poultry; 3 SH for pigs. Application technologies in Indonesia include compost and biogas technologies, and the use of rumen content for animal feed. Problem in biogas technology is generally caused by the high nitrogen content in the SSW. The most suitable raw material for biogas production is herbivore waste. The main advantages of using SSW for compost production are: the appropriate characteristics for composting process, free of hazardous contaminant, and appropriate composting technologies are available to reduce environmental problems caused by SSW. In addition, rumen content is considered to be a potential alternative for animal feed because have high content of amino acids (approximately 73.4% of the total protein and rich in vitamin B complex. Among the disadvantages, the composting process of SSW requires long time period and generate air pollutants, such as ammonia and hydrogen sulphide.

  5. Sydney Opera House Rise

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    2013-01-01

    Sydney Opera House Exhibition (2013) A CITA research and exhibition project, for Sydney Opera House exhibition "Danish Design at the House".......Sydney Opera House Exhibition (2013) A CITA research and exhibition project, for Sydney Opera House exhibition "Danish Design at the House"....

  6. Economic analysis of passive houses and low-energy houses compared with standard houses

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Audenaert, A.; Cleyn, S.H. de; Vankerckhove, B.

    2008-01-01

    As the energy demand used for space heating accounts for 78% of EU15 household delivered energy consumption, significant reductions in energy demand can be achieved by promoting low-energy buildings. Our study investigates three building types: the standard house, the low-energy house and the passive house. As more far-reaching measures concerning energy savings usually lead to higher investments, the aim of our study is to perform an economic analysis in order to determine the economic viability of the three building types

  7. Assisted Housing - Public Housing Developments - National Geospatial Data Asset (NGDA)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Department of Housing and Urban Development — The general location of an entire Public Housing Development. A distinct address is chosen to represent the general location of an entire Public Housing Development,...

  8. ANALYSIS OF THE EFFECTS OF THE ROOFING DESIGN ON HEAT STRESS IN DAIRY COW HOUSING

    OpenAIRE

    Paolo Liberati

    2008-01-01

    A simulation model determining the heat flow exchange between housed animals and the roofing was developed considering various relevant factors: constructive materials, slope, height, orientation, latitude, external air temperature, solar load, animal position. Results show that the most important factor to reduce heat load is the insulation. For non-insulated roofing the slope and the orientation are the most relevant factors. Considering the total exchanged energy, the non insulated roof ha...

  9. The impact of housing policies and housing markets on ethnic spatial segregation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Hans Skifter; Andersson, Roger; Wessel, Terje

    2015-01-01

    This paper examines how ethnic segregation is connected to an ethnic division of the housing market and a spatial separation of different housing tenures in four Nordic cities. Explanations for the differences across the cities are found by comparing housing markets and housing policies....... The housing markets are in all four cities ethnically segmented with high concentrations of immigrants in some forms of tenures (especially social/public housing) and low concentrations in others. We further discuss the reasons for the observed pattern. The paper shows that the spatial distribution...... housing, while co-operative housing is crucial in the fourth. It is also shown that a policy of neighbourhood tenure mix in one of the cities has resulted in a relatively low degree of segregation in spite of high concentrations of immigrants in social/public housing....

  10. A NEW PORTABLE INSTRUMENT TO EVALUATE SOFT FLOORING MATERIALS IN DAIRY COW HOUSING

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paolo Liberati

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available The improvement of flooring materials performance on animal health and welfare requires the support of reliable testing techniques. This is particularly relevant with the synthetic soft coverings used for walking areas since the friction coefficient is not only dependent on the surface characteristics, but also on the penetration of the animal hoof into the material. The paper presents the functioning of a new instrument capable of reproducing more closely the real interaction between the floor surface and the animal foot. The instrument is simple and portable and is suitable both for laboratory measurements and real housing conditions. The measurement is made in two steps: first a probe, shaped as a cow hoof and contacting the testing floor surface, is loaded with a vertical force to obtain a pressure similar to that exerted by the animal; then a pushing force parallel to the floor is applied, at a constant speed, producing a displacement along the surface. The values of the vertical and horizontal strengths required for skidding and the angle of the instrument are continuously measured and by them various parameters can be calculated. The results of the tests carried out in the laboratory and in real dairy houses are presented and, through the analysis of various calculated physical parameters, the main floor properties – more suitable for a previous estimate of the effect on animal welfare – are determined and discussed. In particular, the IPF parameter has been the only one able to predict also the foot escape among all the considered parameters.

  11. Understanding of Danish passive houses based on pilot project Comfort Houses

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brunsgaard, C.

    2010-12-15

    The aim of the research is to investigate the notion of passive houses in Denmark. When this PhD thesis was initiated, the Danish building industry has just started to become interested in the passive house concept, but the knowledge was very limited. To be able to speed up the process of constructing Danish passive houses or other low energy concepts Saint-Gobain Isover Scandinavia took the initiative to the pilot project of the Comfort Houses, ten single-family houses constructed as passive houses, and wanted to share the knowledge with the building industry and other interested. This PhD thesis was a part of the strategy. If the concept of passive houses should be successfully promoted and achieve a significant sale in Denmark, it is believed that it is necessary to do a holistic approach. Besides energy savings and new structural solutions more qualitative aspects like architecture, everyday life and the future ways of living needs to be integrated in the future understanding of passive houses. This Ph.D. thesis therefore studies the following research question: What can the experience from the Comfort Houses enlighten about the future production and use of Danish passive houses? This understanding is achieved through studies of different study fields to be able to create a more holistic understanding of the concept both covering qualitative and quantitative analysis. The main focus will be on the study fields Design Process, Architecture and Everyday Life and the Indoor environment, which will answer the following sub-research questions: 1) How has the consortiums behind the Comfort Houses approached the design process according to teamwork, method and tools? And what barriers and possibilities lie within the approaches? 2) How do the occupants of the Comfort Houses experience the passive house architecture and the technical service systems? And has their everyday life changed by moving into a passive house? If so, how? 3) To what extent do the Comfort Houses

  12. RFID Technology for Continuous Monitoring of Physiological Signals in Small Animals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Volk, Tobias; Gorbey, Stefan; Bhattacharyya, Mayukh; Gruenwald, Waldemar; Lemmer, Björn; Reindl, Leonhard M; Stieglitz, Thomas; Jansen, Dirk

    2015-02-01

    Telemetry systems enable researchers to continuously monitor physiological signals in unrestrained, freely moving small rodents. Drawbacks of common systems are limited operation time, the need to house the animals separately, and the necessity of a stable communication link. Furthermore, the costs of the typically proprietary telemetry systems reduce the acceptance. The aim of this paper is to introduce a low-cost telemetry system based on common radio frequency identification technology optimized for battery-independent operational time, good reusability, and flexibility. The presented implant is equipped with sensors to measure electrocardiogram, arterial blood pressure, and body temperature. The biological signals are transmitted as digital data streams. The device is able of monitoring several freely moving animals housed in groups with a single reader station. The modular concept of the system significantly reduces the costs to monitor multiple physiological functions and refining procedures in preclinical research.

  13. Family Open House

    Science.gov (United States)

    Search Family Open House Join us for an afternoon of science fun. The Fermilab Family Open House is a party for children of all ages to learn about the world of physics. The Open House is supported by Open House? Check out our YouTube video to learn more! Explore physics concepts with hands-on

  14. Radon house doctor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nitschke, I.A.; Brennan, T.; Wadach, J.B.; O'Neil, R.

    1986-01-01

    The term house doctor may be generalized to include persons skilled in the use of instruments and procedures necessary to identify, diagnose, and correct indoor air quality problems as well as energy, infiltration, and structural problems in houses. A radon house doctor would then be a specialist in radon house problems. Valuable experience in the skills necessary to be developed by radon house doctors has recently been gained in an extensive radon monitoring and mitigation program in upstate New York sponsored by Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. These skills, to be described in detail in this paper, include: (i) the use of appropriate instruments, (ii) the evaluation of the symptoms of a radon-sick house, (iii) the diagnostic procedures required to characterize radon sources in houses, (iv) the prescription procedures needed to specify treatment of the problem, (v) the supervision of the implementation of the treatment program, (vi) the check-up procedures required to insure the house cured of radon problems. 31 references, 3 tables

  15. Critical analysis for physical adaptation and implementation of new procedures in the IPEN'S laboratory animal division

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lainetti, Elizabeth Brigadao de Faria

    2009-01-01

    The production and the supply of high quality laboratory animals have fundamental importance for the accomplishment of vanguard scientific research, with reproducibility and universality. The quality of those animals depends, largely, of the available facilities for their production and lodging, to assure the demanded sanitary control and animals' welfare, in agreement with the ethical principles that control the activity. The facilities also have to fill out other requirements, such as: the functionality of the environments to make possible the suitable and efficient handling of the animals, facilitating the execution of the routine activities; the respect to ergonomic principles to provide a safe environment and the operators' well being. The facilities design is of vital importance so that the mentioned requirements can be reached. The project of the Nuclear and Energy Research Institute (IPEN) Animal House Facilities was accomplished in the year of 1964. However, by that time there were not the current recommendations with respect to the sanitary, genetic and environmental controls. The facility was planned with the objective of being a production unit and a local for keeping of defined animals from sanitary, genetic and environmental point of view. Nevertheless, the original unit drawing presents an unsuitable distribution of the area where animals are stocked and also different activities are performed. The Animal House Facilities occupy an area of 840 m2, with one pavement, where the production areas and the stock of original animal models of the own Institution are distributed, as well as the maintenance of animals from other national or foreigner institutions. It supplies rats and mice for biological tests of radiopharmaceutical lots, produced in IPEN, before they be sent to hospitals and clinics spread out in Brazil, for use in Nuclear Medicine. It also supplies rats and mice for tests of dental materials, for tests with growth hormones and for researches

  16. Housing First or no housing? Housing and homelessness at the end of alcohol and drug treatment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dyb, Evelyn

    2016-10-01

    The rate of alcohol and drug dependency is high among homeless persons in Norway as well as in other Western societies. National homeless surveys also show a certain correlation between discharge from institutions and homelessness. However, the rate of homelessness versus the rate with fixed abode at the end of specialised alcohol and drug treatment has not been examined using quantitative methods. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in alcohol and drug treatment units in the national health services and private clinics. The survey investigates the housing outcome at the end of treatment compared to the situation at the start of treatment using an individual questionnaire for patients ending treatment in a specific time window. Housing outcome is measured by the odds ratio of having a fixed abode at the end of treatment in relation to main intoxicating substance, type of treatment (in- and outpatient), completing versus cutting short the treatment, housing situation at the start of treatment, socioeconomic capital, mental health problems, individual plan, medical assisted treatment, and a set of background variables. The housing versus homeless situation hardly changes during the treatment period. In both a bivariate analysis and a simple multivariate model, principal intoxicating substance is the strongest predictor of having a fixed abode both before and after treatment. However, a more sophisticated analysis indicates that socioeconomic resources and social capital play along with the preferred intoxicating substance as predictors of having permanent housing. After more than a decade of a housing-led national homeless policy, and wide embracement of Housing First approaches in the European Union, homeless persons entering specialised alcohol and drug treatment are likely to return to the streets and hostels at the end of treatment. Access to housing after treatment is very limited for those lacking resources to solve their housing problem without assistance

  17. Adaptive Ventilation Control for Cattle Housing and Integrated Climate Sensing

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wang, Xiaoshuai

    2018-01-01

    Heat stress is a common threat to profitable dairy cattle farming in most regions during warm periods. It adversely affects animal behaviour, production, and health, and reportedly incurs tremendous economic losses. Animal interacts with the ambient environment in a complex way. To alleviate...... the heat stress on cattle, systematic knowledge on the effect of environmental condition on heat stress is necessary. Thus, this study sought to reveal the linkage between environmental condition and the heat load of the animal and provide effective cooling strategies for cattle housing. In this study...... for Cattle (ETIC), was developed using regression analysis based on data from two studies. The ETIC was validated and proved to be a good thermal index for predicting the heat stress level on cattle. In addition, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) technique was used to find the relationship between air...

  18. House Price, House Quality and Economic Growth

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    De Vries, P.; Boelhouwer, P.J.

    2010-01-01

    The literature on housing markets suggest that periods of economic growth are characterised by a demand for better housing quality and increasing prices. The basic principles of the theory are that the short-run price fluctuations occur due to market imperfection, while over the long term, causality

  19. Cage size, movement in and out of housing during daily care, and other environmental and population health risk factors for feline upper respiratory disease in nine North American animal shelters.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Denae C Wagner

    Full Text Available Upper respiratory infection (URI is not an inevitable consequence of sheltering homeless cats. This study documents variation in risk of URI between nine North American shelters; determines whether this reflects variation in pathogen frequency on intake or differences in transmission and expression of disease; and identifies modifiable environmental and group health factors linked to risk for URI. This study demonstrated that although periodic introduction of pathogens into shelter populations may be inevitable, disease resulting from those pathogens is not. Housing and care of cats, particularly during their first week of stay in an animal shelter environment, significantly affects the rate of upper respiratory infection.

  20. Cage size, movement in and out of housing during daily care, and other environmental and population health risk factors for feline upper respiratory disease in nine North American animal shelters.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wagner, Denae C; Kass, Philip H; Hurley, Kate F

    2018-01-01

    Upper respiratory infection (URI) is not an inevitable consequence of sheltering homeless cats. This study documents variation in risk of URI between nine North American shelters; determines whether this reflects variation in pathogen frequency on intake or differences in transmission and expression of disease; and identifies modifiable environmental and group health factors linked to risk for URI. This study demonstrated that although periodic introduction of pathogens into shelter populations may be inevitable, disease resulting from those pathogens is not. Housing and care of cats, particularly during their first week of stay in an animal shelter environment, significantly affects the rate of upper respiratory infection.

  1. Livable Housing Design: The voluntary provision of inclusive housing in Australia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Margaret Louise Ward

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper reports on a study of the voluntary provision of inclusive housing. The impetus for the study is the Livable Housing Design initiative, an agreement among Australian housing industry and community leaders in 2010 to a national guideline and voluntary strategy with a target to provide minimum access features in all new housing by 2020. Situated in and around Brisbane, Australia, the study problematises the assumption that the housing industry will respond voluntarily; an assumption which this study concludes is unfounded. The Livable Housing Design initiative asks individual agents to consider the needs of people beyond the initial contract, to proceed with objective reasoning and to do the right thing voluntarily. Instead, the study found that interviewees focused on their immediate contractual obligations, were reluctant to change established practices and saw little reason to do more than was legally required of them. This paper argues that the highly-competitive and risk-averse nature of the industry works against a voluntary approach for inclusive housing and, if the 2020 target of the Livable Housing Design.

  2. Laboratory mouse housing conditions can be improved using common environmental enrichment without compromising data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gau, Christine; Scheideler, Angelika; Aguilar-Pimentel, Juan A.; Amarie, Oana V.; Becker, Lore; Garrett, Lillian; Hans, Wolfgang; Hölter, Sabine M.; Janik, Dirk; Moreth, Kristin; Neff, Frauke; Östereicher, Manuela; Racz, Ildiko; Rathkolb, Birgit; Rozman, Jan; Bekeredjian, Raffi; Graw, Jochen; Klingenspor, Martin; Klopstock, Thomas; Ollert, Markus; Schmidt-Weber, Carsten; Wolf, Eckhard; Wurst, Wolfgang; Gailus-Durner, Valérie; Brielmeier, Markus; Fuchs, Helmut; Hrabé de Angelis, Martin

    2018-01-01

    Animal welfare requires the adequate housing of animals to ensure health and well-being. The application of environmental enrichment is a way to improve the well-being of laboratory animals. However, it is important to know whether these enrichment items can be incorporated in experimental mouse husbandry without creating a divide between past and future experimental results. Previous small-scale studies have been inconsistent throughout the literature, and it is not yet completely understood whether and how enrichment might endanger comparability of results of scientific experiments. Here, we measured the effect on means and variability of 164 physiological parameters in 3 conditions: with nesting material with or without a shelter, comparing these 2 conditions to a “barren” regime without any enrichments. We studied a total of 360 mice from each of 2 mouse strains (C57BL/6NTac and DBA/2NCrl) and both sexes for each of the 3 conditions. Our study indicates that enrichment affects the mean values of some of the 164 parameters with no consistent effects on variability. However, the influence of enrichment appears negligible compared to the effects of other influencing factors. Therefore, nesting material and shelters may be used to improve animal welfare without impairment of experimental outcome or loss of comparability to previous data collected under barren housing conditions. PMID:29659570

  3. Laboratory mouse housing conditions can be improved using common environmental enrichment without compromising data.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Viola André

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Animal welfare requires the adequate housing of animals to ensure health and well-being. The application of environmental enrichment is a way to improve the well-being of laboratory animals. However, it is important to know whether these enrichment items can be incorporated in experimental mouse husbandry without creating a divide between past and future experimental results. Previous small-scale studies have been inconsistent throughout the literature, and it is not yet completely understood whether and how enrichment might endanger comparability of results of scientific experiments. Here, we measured the effect on means and variability of 164 physiological parameters in 3 conditions: with nesting material with or without a shelter, comparing these 2 conditions to a "barren" regime without any enrichments. We studied a total of 360 mice from each of 2 mouse strains (C57BL/6NTac and DBA/2NCrl and both sexes for each of the 3 conditions. Our study indicates that enrichment affects the mean values of some of the 164 parameters with no consistent effects on variability. However, the influence of enrichment appears negligible compared to the effects of other influencing factors. Therefore, nesting material and shelters may be used to improve animal welfare without impairment of experimental outcome or loss of comparability to previous data collected under barren housing conditions.

  4. Tech House

    Science.gov (United States)

    1978-01-01

    The members of the Swain family- Dr. Charles "Bill" Swain, wife Elaine, daughter Carol, 17, son "Chuck", 12, and dog Susie have an interesting assignment. They are active participants in an important NASA research program involving the application of space-age technology to home construction. b' Transplanted Floridians, the Swains now reside in NASA's Tech House, loatedat Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia. Their job is to use and help evaluate the variety of advanced technology systems in Tech House. A contemporary three-bedroom home, Tech House incorporates NASA technology, the latest commercial building techniques and other innovations, all designed to reduce energy and water consumption and to provide new levels of comfort, convenience, security and fire safety. Tech House equipment performed well in initial tests, but a house is not a home until it has people. That's where the Swains come in. NASA wants to see how the various systems work under actual living conditions, to confirm the effectiveness of the innovations or to determine necessary modifications for improvement. The Swains are occupying the house for a year, during which NASA engineers are computer monitoring the equipment and assembling a record of day-to-day performance. . Tech House is a laboratory rather than a mass production prototype, but its many benefits may influence home design and construction. In a period of sharply rising utility costs, widespread adoption of Tech House features could provide large-scale savings to homeowners and potentially enormous national benefit in resources conservation. Most innovations are aerospace spinoffs: Some of the equipment is now commercially available; other systems are expected to be in production within a few years. Around 1980, a Tech House-type of home could be built for $45-50,000 (1 976 dollars). It is estimated that the homeowner would save well over $20,000 (again 1976 dollars) in utility costs over the average mortgage span of 20 years.

  5. The Special Importance of Housing Policy for the Housing Situation of Ethnic Minorities

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Hans Skifter; Magnusson Turner, Lena; Søholt, Susanne

    The purpose of this article is to uncover, whether housing policy has a special importance for immigrants, compared with the whole population, by comparing housing policies and immigrants’ housing outcomes in four Nordic countries: Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. There are substantial...... population varies much. These differences can only to some extent be explained by income inequalities on the housing markets in the countries, inequalities that affect immigrants. Other important explanations of why immigrants perform worse on the housing market is the shortage of rental housing (Norway......’ housing options are strict needs test for social/public housing (Finland)....

  6. The Special Importance of Housing Policy for the Housing Situation of Ethnic Minorities

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Hans Skifter; Turner, Lena Magnusson; Søholt, Susanne

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this article is to uncover, whether housing policy has a special importance for immigrants, compared with the whole population, by comparing housing policies and immigrants’ housing outcomes in four Nordic countries: Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. There are substantial...... population varies much. These differences can only to some extent be explained by income inequalities on the housing markets in the countries, inequalities that affect immigrants. Other important explanations of why immigrants perform worse on the housing market is the shortage of rental housing (Norway......’ housing options are strict needs test for social/public housing (Finland)....

  7. Exploring the Housing Needs of Older People in Standard and Sheltered Social Housing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fox, Siobhan; Kenny, Lorna; Day, Mary Rose; O'Connell, Cathal; Finnerty, Joe; Timmons, Suzanne

    2017-01-01

    Objective: Our home can have a major impact on our physical and mental health; this is particularly true for older people who may spend more time at home. Older people in social (i.e., public) housing are particularly vulnerable. Housing options for older people in social housing include standard design dwellings or specially designed "sheltered housing." The most suitable housing model should be identified, with older people consulted in this process. Method: Survey of older people (aged ≥60) living in standard or sheltered social housing. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics in SPSS Version 22. Results: Overall, 380 surveys were returned (response rate = 47.2%). All older people had similar housing needs. Those in sheltered housing were more satisfied with the physical home design and reported more positive outcomes. Older people in standard housing were less likely to have necessary adaptations to facilitate aging-in-place. Discussion: Older people in standard housing reported more disability/illnesses, are worried about the future, and felt less safe at home. However, few wanted to move, and very few viewed sheltered housing as an alternative, suggesting limited knowledge about their housing options. Future social housing designs should be flexible, that is, adaptable to the needs of the tenants over time.

  8. Biofiltration of exhaust air from animal houses: Evaluation of removal efficiencies and practical experiences with biobeds at three field sites

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Melse, Roland W.; Hol, Annemieke

    2017-01-01

    Three wood-chip based biofilters (‘biobeds’) with media depth of 0.25 m were monitored during 6–12 months (capacity and surface area for biofilter #1: 75,000 m3 h−1 from poultry manure dryer, 68 m2; biofilter #2: 100,000 m3 h−1 from pig house, 188 m2; biofilter #3: 300,000 m3 h−1 from pig house, 440

  9. Scientist' assessment of the impact of housing and management on animal welfare

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bracke, M.B.M.

    2001-01-01

    A total of 22 scientists contributed to a consensus-oriented conceptual framework for assessment of farm animal welfare, addressing priority issues in cattle, pigs, and chickens. They used the Delphi method, in which participants contributed anonymously through e-mail. The framework puts welfare in

  10. No Evidence that Infection Alters Global Recombination Rate in House Mice.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Beth L Dumont

    Full Text Available Recombination rate is a complex trait, with genetic and environmental factors shaping observed patterns of variation. Although recent studies have begun to unravel the genetic basis of recombination rate differences between organisms, less attention has focused on the environmental determinants of crossover rates. Here, we test the effect of one ubiquitous environmental pressure-bacterial infection-on global recombination frequency in mammals. We applied MLH1 mapping to assay global crossover rates in male mice infected with the pathogenic bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme Disease, and uninfected control animals. Despite ample statistical power to identify biologically relevant differences between infected and uninfected animals, we find no evidence for a global recombination rate response to bacterial infection. Moreover, broad-scale patterns of crossover distribution, including the number of achiasmate bivalents, are not affected by infection status. Although pathogen exposure can plastically increase recombination in some species, our findings suggest that recombination rates in house mice may be resilient to at least some forms of infection stress. This negative result motivates future experiments with alternative house mouse pathogens to evaluate the generality of this conclusion.

  11. Protocol voor meting van lachgasemissie uit huisvestingssystemen in de veehouderij 2010 = Measurement protocol for nitrous oxide emission from housing systems in livestock production 2010

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mosquera Losada, J.; Groenestein, C.M.; Ogink, N.W.M.

    2011-01-01

    This report describes a measurement protocol for nitrous oxide emissions from animal housing systems. The protocol is based on sampling periods of 24 hours spread over one year and can be applied in specified animal categories.

  12. Essays on Housing Markets

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bäckman, Claes

    In Denmark and in many countries around the world, housing markets are of considerable importance for households and policy-makers alike. As the boom and bust in the US and Danish housing market so aptly demonstrated, disruptions in the housing market potentially have wide-ranging consequences...... for individual households and for the aggregate economy. Housing is important because we all have to live somewhere, but also because it serves as a considerable source of both wealth and debt. As such, housing market policy can not only create vast benefits for many, but can also have substantial negative...... impacts for all, and should therefore be a topic of major interest for economists and policy makers alike. This Ph.D. thesis, entitled “Essays on Housing Markets”, analyzes the Danish housing market during the 2000s, with a focus on how policy changes affected house prices and how changes in house prices...

  13. The bishops and housing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shellabarger, Thomas

    2005-01-01

    According to Catholic social teaching, housing is not a commodity but a human right. To ensure that all people--especially low-income elderly and other vulnerable populations--have access to affordable housing, the church has established a variety of programs, services, and advocacy efforts. Much of this work is based on key concepts: preserving existing housing stock, creating new programs to provide more options for the underserved, empowering residents and communities to deal with housing issues, establishing partnerships to make organizations' efforts more successful, making housing affordable, and ending discrimination in housing. Although church ministries, community groups, the private sector, and other players must work together to find solutions to the housing crisis, federal leadership is essential. Especially with the housing affordability gap growing and the U.S. population aging, the federal government must provide the resources, leadership, and direction for effective housing solutions.

  14. Radon in houses

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Toohey, R.E.; Essling, M.A.; Markun, F.

    1985-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to determine the concentrations of 222 Rn and its short-lived daughter products in the air of single-family houses in the midwestern US. During the past year, more than 200 houses were added to the study, resulting in a total of more than 400 houses. So far, results are available for 270 of these houses, equally divided between the Chicago area and Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania. 6 refs

  15. ANALYSIS OF THE EFFECTS OF THE ROOFING DESIGN ON HEAT STRESS IN DAIRY COW HOUSING

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paolo Liberati

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available A simulation model determining the heat flow exchange between housed animals and the roofing was developed considering various relevant factors: constructive materials, slope, height, orientation, latitude, external air temperature, solar load, animal position. Results show that the most important factor to reduce heat load is the insulation. For non-insulated roofing the slope and the orientation are the most relevant factors. Considering the total exchanged energy, the non insulated roof has a good nocturnal global behaviour.

  16. Performance and welfare of steers housed on concrete slatted floors at fixed and dynamic (allometric based) space allowances.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keane, Michael P; McGee, Mark; O'Riordan, Edward G; Kelly, Alan K; Earley, Bernadette

    2018-04-03

    The objectives of the study were to determine whether allometric equations are suitable for estimating the space requirements of finishing beef cattle housed on concrete slatted floors (CSF) and to examine the effect of fixed and dynamic space allowances on the performance and welfare of these cattle. Continental crossbred steers [n = 120: mean initial live weight, 590 (SD 29.8) kg] were blocked by breed, weight, and age and assigned to 1 of 5 space allowance treatments (3 fixed and 2 dynamic) on CSF: 1) 2.0 m2 per animal, 2) 2.5 m2 per animal, 3) 3.0 m2 per animal, 4) Equation 1 (E1); y = 0.033w0.667, where y = m2 per animal and w = body weight, and 5) Equation 2 (E2); y = 0.048w0.667. The length of the feed face was 3.0 m for all treatments. Steers were offered grass silage and concentrates ad libitum. DMI was recorded weekly on a pen basis. Steers were weighed and dirt scored every 14 d. Blood samples were collected every 28 d, and analyzed for complete cell counts. Behavior was recorded using closed-circuit infrared cameras. Steers' hooves were inspected for lesions at the beginning of the study and post-slaughter. Slaughter weight and ADG were lowest, and feed conversion ratio (FCR) was poorest, for steers accommodated at 2.0 m2, and slaughter weight and ADG were greatest, and FCR was the best, for steers accommodated at E2 (P 0.05) to those accommodated at 2.0 m2 and both 3.0 m2 and E1, whereas steers accommodated at 3.0 m2 and E1 were intermediate (P > 0.05) to 2.5 m2 and E2. Carcass weight of steers housed at 2.0 m2 was lower (P < 0.05) than all other treatments. Steers housed at 2.5 m2 had lower carcass weights (P < 0.05) than those with accommodated at E1 and E2, whereas the carcass weight of steers accommodated at 3.0 m2 was intermediate. Carcass fat scores and hide weights were lower (P < 0.05) in steers accommodated at 2.0 m2 than those housed at E2 with other treatments being intermediate. The number of steers lying at any one time and the number of

  17. Oriënterend laboratoriumonderzoek naar ammoniakemissie uit bodempakketten voor vrijloopstallen = Laboratory study of ammonia emission from bedding materials of freestall dairy cattle houses

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Smits, M.C.J.; Dousma, F.; Kupers, G.C.C.; Blanken, K.

    2009-01-01

    In the Netherlands there is growing interest amongst dairy farmers in new housing systems in which animal welfare and health are improved. A promising system in this area is a loose housing system (without cubicles) where cows have a large area with a soft bedding where they can both being active

  18. Housing preferences of young adults in Indonesia: housing attributes and consequences

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farasa, N.; Kusuma, H. E.

    2018-03-01

    Nowadays, the housing demand of young adults in Indonesia is important issues for the sustainable development of the market. Facing differences of life phases, such as marriage, leaving home after graduation, and new job positioning, young adults become the main segment facing constant housing choice decisions in the housing market. In their particular phase of life, young adults have distinct preferences for housing attributes which bring a great influence on their lives in the future. Data was gathered from a survey questionnaire that was answered by 180 young adults in Indonesia, ranging from age 22-33 years. The findings suggest that the green area and view, location, simplicity, home design, and accessibility are the significant parts as housing attributes for young adults’ housing preferences in Indonesia. The effect of these attributes has many consequences such as security, personalization, mood/ambiance, maintenance, interaction, image, flexibility, environmental, economy, durability, convenience, comfort, and circulation. The biggest group of young adults who prefer comfort as their wanted consequences tend to have high preferences on housing attributes of the green area and view, and simplicity.

  19. Technologies and logistics for handling, transport and distribution of animal manures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Organizing and managing the whole manure handling chain from the animal house through transport to the point of use (e.g. in the field) is a challenging task requiring consideration of manure type and operating conditions. Solid and liquid manure must be handled differently, using very different tec...

  20. Housing of Hobson's Choice

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Vestergaard, Hedvig

    2010-01-01

    This paper looks at policies implemented to improve troubled housing estates during more than two decades. Based on evaluations of implemented programmes and case studies the paper provides a basis for discussing a number of questions: • Why do we have troubled housing estates? • What...... is the definition of troubled housing estates? • Who lives on troubled housing estates? • Who owns and manages the troubled housing estates? • What have been the reasons behind improvement programmes for troubled housing estates? • What kind of improvement programmes have been implemented and with what kind...... of results? • Have improvement programmes changed the position of the estates on the local housing markets? • What are the changes in policies and results? • What are the perspectives for policy initiatives in the field of troubled housing estates?...

  1. Animal-based measures for welfare assessment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Agostino Sevi

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Animal welfare assessment can’t be irrespective of measures taken on animals. Indeed, housing parametersrelatedtostructures, designandmicro-environment, evenifreliable parameters related to structures, design and micro-environment, even if reliable and easier to take, can only identify conditions which could be detrimental to animal welfare, but can’t predict poor welfare in animals per se. Welfare assessment through animal-based measures is almost complex, given that animals’ responses to stressful conditions largely depend on the nature, length and intensity of challenges and on physiological status, age, genetic susceptibility and previous experience of animals. Welfare assessment requires a multi-disciplinary approach and the monitoring of productive, ethological, endocrine, immunological and pathological param- eters to be exhaustive and reliable. So many measures are needed, because stresses can act only on some of the mentioned parameters or on all of them but at different times and degree. Under this point of view, the main aim of research is to find feasible and most responsive indicators of poor animal welfare. In last decades, studies focused on the following parameters for animal wel- fare assessment indexes of biological efficiency, responses to behavioral tests, cortisol secretion, neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio, lymphocyte proliferation, production of antigen specific IgG and cytokine release, somatic cell count and acute phase proteins. Recently, a lot of studies have been addressed to reduce handling and constraint of animals for taking measures to be used in welfare assessment, since such procedures can induce stress in animals and undermined the reliability of measures taken for welfare assessment. Range of animal-based measures for welfare assessment is much wider under experimental condition than at on-farm level. In welfare monitoring on-farm the main aim is to find feasible measures of proved validity and reliability

  2. SCORHE: a novel and practical approach to video monitoring of laboratory mice housed in vivarium cage racks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salem, Ghadi H; Dennis, John U; Krynitsky, Jonathan; Garmendia-Cedillos, Marcial; Swaroop, Kanchan; Malley, James D; Pajevic, Sinisa; Abuhatzira, Liron; Bustin, Michael; Gillet, Jean-Pierre; Gottesman, Michael M; Mitchell, James B; Pohida, Thomas J

    2015-03-01

    The System for Continuous Observation of Rodents in Home-cage Environment (SCORHE) was developed to demonstrate the viability of compact and scalable designs for quantifying activity levels and behavior patterns for mice housed within a commercial ventilated cage rack. The SCORHE in-rack design provides day- and night-time monitoring with the consistency and convenience of the home-cage environment. The dual-video camera custom hardware design makes efficient use of space, does not require home-cage modification, and is animal-facility user-friendly. Given the system's low cost and suitability for use in existing vivariums without modification to the animal husbandry procedures or housing setup, SCORHE opens up the potential for the wider use of automated video monitoring in animal facilities. SCORHE's potential uses include day-to-day health monitoring, as well as advanced behavioral screening and ethology experiments, ranging from the assessment of the short- and long-term effects of experimental cancer treatments to the evaluation of mouse models. When used for phenotyping and animal model studies, SCORHE aims to eliminate the concerns often associated with many mouse-monitoring methods, such as circadian rhythm disruption, acclimation periods, lack of night-time measurements, and short monitoring periods. Custom software integrates two video streams to extract several mouse activity and behavior measures. Studies comparing the activity levels of ABCB5 knockout and HMGN1 overexpresser mice with their respective C57BL parental strains demonstrate SCORHE's efficacy in characterizing the activity profiles for singly- and doubly-housed mice. Another study was conducted to demonstrate the ability of SCORHE to detect a change in activity resulting from administering a sedative.

  3. Parasitological surveillance in a rat (Rattus norvegicus) colony in São Paulo Zoo animal house

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chagas, Carolina Romeiro Fernandes; Gonzalez, Irys Hany Lima; Favoretto, Samantha Mesquita; Ramos, Patrícia Locosque

    Rattus norvegicus (Mammalia: Rodentia) is a widespread and synanthropic rodent, broadly used in medical experiments. It can also be used for feeding captive animals in zoos. Parasitological surveys are important to guarantee the health of both the animals and the staff responsible for their management. The aim of this study was to identify intestinal parasites of Rattus norvegicus offered as food to captive animals from São Paulo Zoo, and demonstrate the importance of sanitary hurdling, disease control and biosecurity. The identified protozoan parasites were Eimeria sp., Entamoeba sp., Spironucleus sp., Giardia sp., Tritrichomonas sp., Chilomastix sp., unidentified cysts and non-sporulated coccidians oocysts (Isospora/Eimeria). The following helminths were found: Syphacia muris, Rodentolepis nana and Aspiculuris tetraptera.

  4. Nordic Housing Enabler

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Helle, Tina; Brandt, Åse

    Development and reliability testing of the Nordic Housing Enabler – an instrument for accessibility assessment of the physical housing. Tina Helle & Åse Brandt University of Lund, Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine (SE) and University College Northern Jutland, Occupational Therapy department (DK......). Danish Centre for Assistive Technology. Abstract. For decades, accessibility to the physical housing environment for people with functional limitations has been of interest politically, professionally and for the users. Guidelines and norms on accessible housing design have gradually been developed......, however, the built environment shows serious deficits when it comes to accessibility. This study addresses development of a content valid cross-Nordic version of the Housing Enabler and investigation of inter-rater reliability, when used in occupational therapy practice. The instrument was translated from...

  5. 20 CFR 654.407 - Housing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 20 Employees' Benefits 3 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Housing. 654.407 Section 654.407 Employees... EMPLOYMENT SERVICE SYSTEM Housing for Agricultural Workers Housing Standards § 654.407 Housing. (a) Housing... occupants against the elements. (b) Housing shall have flooring constructed of rigid materials, smooth...

  6. The role of outsourcing in the project house - mining house relationship

    OpenAIRE

    2008-01-01

    M.Phil. The relationship between the Mining House / Owner and Project House can be spectacularly successful for both partners (and has resulted in the emergence of a few successful new project houses and plant operation companies all over the world), but can also be disastrous for both parties, if managed incorrectly. The main requirement for a successful relationship between a Mining- and Project House is that there must be something in it for both parties. This is not only measured in cu...

  7. Genetics and Genomics of Animal Behaviour and Welfare - Challanges and possibilities

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Per; Buitenhuis, Bart; Kjaer, Joergen

    2008-01-01

    Traditionally, the contribution of applied ethology to animal welfare science has concentrated on understanding the reactions of animals to their housing conditions. Domestication has had small effects on fundamental aspects of animal behaviour, and therefore, the needs of present day domesticated...... animals are closely related to the evolutionary history of the ancestors. However, the last decades have seen an unprecedented intensification of selection for increased production, which has significant side-effects on behaviour and welfare. Understanding the nature of such side-effects have therefore...... methods applied on behaviour and welfare related variables. Significant improvements in levels of fearfulness and abnormal behaviour have been achieved by selecting populations against these traits. As a next step, it is necessary to map the loci involved in affecting these traits, and quantitative trait...

  8. Plantation Houses of North Florida

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eduardo Robles

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available The concept of Plantation conjures an image that identifies the North Florida / South Georgia region of the U. S. Leon County attracted many cotton planters from Georgia, Virginia, Maryland, North and South Carolina in the 1820’s to the 1850’s. Up to the beginning of the Civil War, Leon County was the 5th largest producer of cotton counting all counties from Florida and Georgia. The Civil War brought the plantation culture to a standstill. The plantations transformed the environment based on their need for open fields in which to cultivate different crops, or raise a variety of animals with the help of slaves. From the 1900’s many plantations abandoned their land to nature producing a deep change in the local landscape. Today plantations are not used as much for planting crops but more for hunting or as tree farms. The hunting plantations do not grow crops but provide good conditions for the hunting of animals and birds. Other plantations were torn apart, sold and now are part of the Tallahassee urban fabric. In other words, they disappeared. The transformation of the plantations has been slow and steady, and has become the image of the area, even the region. The paper shows five plantations that represent five different evolutions of these traditional landscapes. The landscapes have evolved to accommodate the very local but fluid definition of place. It is this transformation, this evolving identity which helped preserve some of the traditional landscapes and the traditional architecture on them. The most prominent feature of the plantation is the “Big House” or plantation house. The house embodies all aspects of the plantation life style. The construction materials and methods reflected the times, the technologies and the available resources. The research has been done mainly in the archives of the Tallahassee Trust for Historic Preservation. The results, still pending, explain the land typology as it evolved from the golden decades

  9. Potential implementation of light steel housing system for affordable housing project in Malaysia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saikah, M.; Kasim, N.; Zainal, R.; Sarpin, N.; Rahim, M. H. I. A.

    2017-11-01

    An unparalleled number between housing demand and housing supply in Malaysia has increased the housing prices, which gives consequences to the homeownership issue. One way to reduce the housing price is by faster increase the number of affordable housing, but the construction sector faces difficulties in delivering as expected number by using conventional and current industrialised building system (IBS) due to the issue related high project cost, time and labour. Therefore, light steel housing (LSH) system as one of another type of IBS method can be utilised in housing construction project. This method can replace the conventional method that was currently used in the construction of affordable housing project. The objectives of this study are to identify the potential of LSH and influencing factors of system implementation. This is an initial stage to review the previous study related to LSH implementation in developed and developing countries. The previous study will be analysed regarding advantages and disadvantages of LSH and factors that influence the implementation of the system. Based on the literature review it is expected to define the potential and influencing factors of the LSH system. The findings are meaningful in framing and enhance construction housing method of an affordable housing project in Malaysia.

  10. Assisted Housing - Housing Choice Vouchers by Tract - National Geospatial Data Asset (NGDA)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Department of Housing and Urban Development — The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Housing Choice Voucher Program (HCVP) is the federal government's major program for assisting very...

  11. Animal models of osteoporosis - necessity and limitations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Turner A. Simon

    2001-06-01

    Full Text Available There is a great need to further characterise the available animal models for postmenopausal osteoporosis, for the understanding of the pathogenesis of the disease, investigation of new therapies (e.g. selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs and evaluation of prosthetic devices in osteoporotic bone. Animal models that have been used in the past include non-human primates, dogs, cats, rodents, rabbits, guinea pigs and minipigs, all of which have advantages and disadvantages. Sheep are a promising model for various reasons: they are docile, easy to handle and house, relatively inexpensive, available in large numbers, spontaneously ovulate, and the sheep's bones are large enough to evaluate orthopaedic implants. Most animal models have used females and osteoporosis in the male has been largely ignored. Recently, interest in development of appropriate prosthetic devices which would stimulate osseointegration into osteoporotic, appendicular, axial and mandibular bone has intensified. Augmentation of osteopenic lumbar vertebrae with bioactive ceramics (vertebroplasty is another area that will require testing in the appropriate animal model. Using experimental animal models for the study of these different facets of osteoporosis minimizes some of the difficulties associated with studying the disease in humans, namely time and behavioral variability among test subjects. New experimental drug therapies and orthopaedic implants can potentially be tested on large numbers of animals subjected to a level of experimental control impossible in human clinical research.

  12. Outstanding animal studies in allergy I. From asthma to food allergy and anaphylaxis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jensen-Jarolim, Erika; Pali-Schöll, Isabella; Roth-Walter, Franziska

    2017-06-01

    Animal models published within the past 18 months on asthma, food allergy and anaphylaxis, all conditions of rising public health concern, were reviewed. While domestic animals spontaneously develop asthma, food allergy and anaphylaxis, in animal models, divergent sensitization and challenge routes, dosages, intervals and antigens are used to induce asthmatic, food allergic or anaphylactic phenotypes. This must be considered in the interpretation of results. Instead of model antigens, gradually relevant allergens such as house dust mite in asthma, and food allergens like peanut, apple and peach in food allergy research were used. Novel engineered mouse models such as a mouse with a T-cell receptor for house dust mite allergen Der p 1, or with transgenic human hFcγR genes, facilitated the investigation of single molecules of interest. Whole-body plethysmography has become a state-of-the-art in-vivo readout in asthma research. In food allergy and anaphylaxis research, novel techniques were developed allowing real-time monitoring of in-vivo effects following allergen challenge. Networks to share tissues were established as an effort to reduce animal experiments in allergy which cannot be replaced by in-vitro measures. Natural and artificial animal models were used to explore the pathophysiology of asthma, food allergy and anaphylaxis and to improve prophylactic and therapeutic measures. Especially the novel mouse models mimicking molecular aspects of the complex immune network in asthma, food allergy and anaphylaxis will facilitate proof-of-concept studies under controlled conditions.

  13. Social Networks and Welfare in Future Animal Management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koene, Paul; Ipema, Bert

    2014-03-17

    It may become advantageous to keep human-managed animals in the social network groups to which they have adapted. Data concerning the social networks of farm animal species and their ancestors are scarce but essential to establishing the importance of a natural social network for farmed animal species. Social Network Analysis (SNA) facilitates the characterization of social networking at group, subgroup and individual levels. SNA is currently used for modeling the social behavior and management of wild animals and social welfare of zoo animals. It has been recognized for use with farm animals but has yet to be applied for management purposes. Currently, the main focus is on cattle, because in large groups (poultry), recording of individuals is expensive and the existence of social networks is uncertain due to on-farm restrictions. However, in many cases, a stable social network might be important to individual animal fitness, survival and welfare. For instance, when laying hens are not too densely housed, simple networks may be established. We describe here small social networks in horses, brown bears, laying hens and veal calves to illustrate the importance of measuring social networks among animals managed by humans. Emphasis is placed on the automatic measurement of identity, location, nearest neighbors and nearest neighbor distance for management purposes. It is concluded that social networks are important to the welfare of human-managed animal species and that welfare management based on automatic recordings will become available in the near future.

  14. Spatial Analysis on Future Housing Markets: Economic Development and Housing Implications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xin Liu

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available A coupled projection method combining formal modelling and other statistical techniques was developed to delineate the relationship between economic and social drivers for net new housing allocations. Using the example of employment growth in Tyne and Wear, UK, until 2016, the empirical analysis yields housing projections at the macro- and microspatial levels (e.g., region to subregion to elected ward levels. The results have important implications for the strategic planning of locations for housing and employment, demonstrating both intuitively and quantitatively how local economic developments affect housing demand.

  15. Social Housing Provision in Copenhagen

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tsenkova, Sasha; Vestergaard, Hedvig

    -profit housing providers, and a wide range of fiscal and regulatory instruments enhancing the competitive performance of the social housing sector. The research analyses recent housing policy measures and their impact on new social housing provision in Copenhagen. The emphasis is on the mix of housing policy......The paper provides an overview of trends and processes of change affecting new social housing provision in Denmark with a focus on Copenhagen. The local responses are reviewed within the context of changes to the unitary national housing system that functions with a robust range of private and non...... instruments implemented in three major policy domains-fiscal, financial and regulatory-to promote the production of new social housing. The system of new social housing provision is examined as a dynamic process of interaction between public and private institutions defining housing policy outcomes...

  16. Radon in Syrian houses

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Othman, I.; Hushari, M.; Raja, G.; Alsawaf, A.

    1996-01-01

    A nationwide investigation of radon levels in Syrian houses was carried out during the period 1991-1993. Passive radon diffusion dosemeters using polycarbonate detectors were distributed in houses all over Syria. Detectors were subjected to electrochemical etching to reveal latent tracks of alpha particles. The mean radon concentration in Syrian houses was found to be 45 Bq m -3 with some values several times higher. This investigation indicated that there were a few houses in Syria that require remedial action. Most houses that have high levels of radon were found in the southern area, especially in the Damascus governorate. The study also indicated that radon concentrations were higher in old houses built from mud with no tiling. (author)

  17. Environmental enrichment facilitates cocaine abstinence in an animal conflict model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ewing, Scott; Ranaldi, Robert

    2018-03-01

    In this study, we sought to discover if housing in an enriched environment (EE) is an efficacious intervention for encouraging abstinence from cocaine seeking in an animal "conflict" model of abstinence. Sixteen Long-Evans rats were trained in 3-h daily sessions to self-administer a cocaine solution (1 mg/kg/infusion) until each demonstrated a stable pattern of drug-seeking. Afterward, half were placed in EE cages equipped with toys, obstacles, and a running wheel, while the other half were given clean, standard laboratory housing. All rats then completed daily 30-min sessions during which the 2/3 of flooring closest to the self-administration levers was electrified, causing discomfort should they approach the levers; current strength (mA) was increased after every day of drug seeking until the rat ceased activity on the active lever for 3 consecutive sessions (abstinence). Rats housed in EE abstained after fewer days and at lower current strengths than rats in standard housing. These results support the idea that EE administered after the development of a cocaine-taking habit may be an effective strategy to facilitate abstinence. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. An Electronic Worker Service System of the Pig House Based on ATmega16

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Liu-An; Jin, Tian-Ming; Yu, Ya-Ping; Zhang, Guo-Qiang; Hong, Tao

    Pork is very important for people in daily life. Quality of livestock environment is closely related to the growth of animals. To improve environmental quality, the paper designed an electronic worker service system of the pig house based on ATmega16, which consisted of 6 detection modules, wireless data collecting, GSM, time circuit, display, anti-th alarm and music player, etc. A small LAN was constructed by wireless transceiver module to test and collect data of temperature, humidity and harmful gas concentration in the pig house. If one detection point exists that harmful pollutant gases concentration exceeds the standard value, GSM module took a message for livestock farmers, so that farmers can promptly arrive at the pig house to ventilate or deal with manure in the pig house, which can effectively prevent from bad things. Time of pyroelectric detector deployment can be freely set, and intrusion information was timely sent to the users. The anti-th alarm function was achieved by the auxiliary light. The music playing module is open by timer module in order to soothing pigs' life state. All are suitable for small farms and can save human resources.

  19. Traces of natural radionuclides in animal food

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Merli, Isabella Desan; Guazzelli da Silveira, Marcilei A. [Centro Universitário da FEI, São Bernardo do Campo (Brazil); Medina, Nilberto H. [Instituto de Física da USP, São Paulo (Brazil)

    2014-11-11

    Naturally occurring radioactive materials are present everywhere, e.g., in soil, air, housing materials, food, etc. Therefore, human beings and animals receive internal exposure from radioactive elements inside their bodies through breathing and alimentation. Gamma radiation has enough energy to remove an electron from the atom and compromise the rearrangement of electrons in the search for a more stable configuration which can disturb molecule chemical bonding. Food ingestion is one of the most common forms of radioisotopes absorption. The goal of this work is the measurement of natural gamma radiation rates from natural radioisotopes present in animal food. To determine the concentration of natural radionuclides present in animal food gamma-ray spectrometry was applied. We have prepared animal food samples for poultry, fish, dogs, cats and cattle. The two highest total ingestion effective doses observed refers to a sample of mineral salt cattle, 95.3(15) μSv/year, rabbit chow, with a value of 48(5) μSv/year, and cattle mineral salt, with a value of 69(7) μSv/year, while the annual total dose value from terrestrial intake radionuclide is of the order of 290 μSv/year.

  20. Traces of natural radionuclides in animal food

    Science.gov (United States)

    Merli, Isabella Desan; da Silveira, Marcilei A. Guazzelli; Medina, Nilberto H.

    2014-11-01

    Naturally occurring radioactive materials are present everywhere, e.g., in soil, air, housing materials, food, etc. Therefore, human beings and animals receive internal exposure from radioactive elements inside their bodies through breathing and alimentation. Gamma radiation has enough energy to remove an electron from the atom and compromise the rearrangement of electrons in the search for a more stable configuration which can disturb molecule chemical bonding. Food ingestion is one of the most common forms of radioisotopes absorption. The goal of this work is the measurement of natural gamma radiation rates from natural radioisotopes present in animal food. To determine the concentration of natural radionuclides present in animal food gamma-ray spectrometry was applied. We have prepared animal food samples for poultry, fish, dogs, cats and cattle. The two highest total ingestion effective doses observed refers to a sample of mineral salt cattle, 95.3(15) μSv/year, rabbit chow, with a value of 48(5) μSv/year, and cattle mineral salt, with a value of 69(7) μSv/year, while the annual total dose value from terrestrial intake radionuclide is of the order of 290 μSv/year.

  1. Traces of natural radionuclides in animal food

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Merli, Isabella Desan; Guazzelli da Silveira, Marcilei A.; Medina, Nilberto H.

    2014-01-01

    Naturally occurring radioactive materials are present everywhere, e.g., in soil, air, housing materials, food, etc. Therefore, human beings and animals receive internal exposure from radioactive elements inside their bodies through breathing and alimentation. Gamma radiation has enough energy to remove an electron from the atom and compromise the rearrangement of electrons in the search for a more stable configuration which can disturb molecule chemical bonding. Food ingestion is one of the most common forms of radioisotopes absorption. The goal of this work is the measurement of natural gamma radiation rates from natural radioisotopes present in animal food. To determine the concentration of natural radionuclides present in animal food gamma-ray spectrometry was applied. We have prepared animal food samples for poultry, fish, dogs, cats and cattle. The two highest total ingestion effective doses observed refers to a sample of mineral salt cattle, 95.3(15) μSv/year, rabbit chow, with a value of 48(5) μSv/year, and cattle mineral salt, with a value of 69(7) μSv/year, while the annual total dose value from terrestrial intake radionuclide is of the order of 290 μSv/year

  2. Do housing regimes matter? : Assessing the concept of housing regimes through configurations of housing outcomes

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dewilde, C.L.

    2017-01-01

    Based on a conceptualisation of de-commodification as the right to decent and affordable housing, we assessed to what extent this right is realised for low-to-moderate-income owners and renters across Western European housing regimes in 1995 and 2012. If differences in the social production of

  3. Brazilian Citizens' Opinions and Attitudes about Farm Animal Production Systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yunes, Maria C; von Keyserlingk, Marina A G; Hötzel, Maria J

    2017-09-28

    The inclusion of societal input is needed for food animal production industries to retain their "social license to operate"; failure to engage with the public on this topic risks the long-term sustainability of these industries. The primary aim of this study was to explore the beliefs and attitudes of Brazilians citizens not associated with livestock production towards farm animal production. A related secondary aim was to identify the specific beliefs and attitudes towards systems that are associated with restriction of movement. Each participant was shown pictures representing two of five possible major food animal industries (laying hens, beef cattle, pregnant sows, lactating sows, and poultry meat). Participants were presented a six pages survey that included demographic questions plus two sets of two pictures and a series of questions pertaining to the pictures. Each set of pictures represented a particular industry where one picture represented a housing type that is associated with behavioural restrictions and the other picture represented a system that allowed for a greater degree of movement. Participants were asked their perceptions on the prevalence of each system in Brazil, then their preference of one picture vs. the other, and the reasons justifying their preference. Immediately following, the participant repeated the same exercise with the second set of two pictures representing another industry followed by the same series of questions as described above. Quantitative data were analysed with mixed effects logistic regression, and qualitative responses were coded into themes. The proportion of participants that believed animals are reared in confinement varied by animal production type: 23% (beef cattle), 82% (poultry), 81% (laying hens), and 60% (swine). A large majority (79%) stated that farm animals are not well-treated in Brazil. Overall, participants preferred systems that were not associated with behavioural restriction. The preference for free

  4. Core fecal microbiota of domesticated herbivorous ruminant, hindgut fermenters, and monogastric animals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O' Donnell, Michelle M; Harris, Hugh M B; Ross, R Paul; O'Toole, Paul W

    2017-10-01

    In this pilot study, we determined the core fecal microbiota composition and overall microbiota diversity of domesticated herbivorous animals of three digestion types: hindgut fermenters, ruminants, and monogastrics. The 42 animals representing 10 animal species were housed on a single farm in Ireland and all the large herbivores consumed similar feed, harmonizing two of the environmental factors that influence the microbiota. Similar to other mammals, the fecal microbiota of all these animals was dominated by the Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes phyla. The fecal microbiota spanning all digestion types comprised 42% of the genera identified. Host phylogeny and, to a lesser extent, digestion type determined the microbiota diversity in these domesticated herbivores. This pilot study forms a platform for future studies into the microbiota of nonbovine and nonequine domesticated herbivorous animals. © 2017 The Authors. MicrobiologyOpen published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  5. 38 CFR 18.445 - Housing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 38 Pensions, Bonuses, and Veterans' Relief 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Housing. 18.445 Section....445 Housing. (a) Housing provided by a recipient. A recipient that provides housing to its nonhandicapped students shall provide comparable, convenient, and accessible housing to qualified handicapped...

  6. Long Term Physiologic and Behavioural Effects of Housing Density and Environmental Resource Provision for Adult Male and Female Sprague Dawley Rats

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christopher J. Pinelli

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available There is considerable interest in refining laboratory rodent environments to promote animal well-being, as well as research reproducibility. Few studies have evaluated the long term impact of enhancing rodent environments with resources and additional cagemates. To that end, male and female Sprague Dawley (SD rats were housed singly (n = 8/sex, in pairs (n = 16/sex, or in groups of four (n = 16/sex for five months. Single and paired rats were housed in standard cages with a nylon chew toy, while group-housed rats were kept in double-wide cages with two PVC shelters and a nylon chew toy and were provided with food enrichment three times weekly. Animal behaviour, tests of anxiety (open field, elevated plus maze, and thermal nociception, and aspects of animal physiology (fecal corticoid levels, body weight, weekly food consumption, organ weights, and cerebral stress signaling peptide and receptor mRNA levels were measured. Significant differences were noted, primarily in behavioural data, with sustained positive social interactions and engagement with environmental resources noted throughout the study. These results suggest that modest enhancements in the environment of both male and female SD rats may be beneficial to their well-being, while introducing minimal variation in other aspects of behavioural or physiologic responses.

  7. Chronic Co-species Housing Mice and Rats Increased the Competitiveness of Male Mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Ying-Juan; Li, Lai-Fu; Zhang, Yao-Hua; Guo, Hui-Fen; Xia, Min; Zhang, Meng-Wei; Jing, Xiao-Yuan; Zhang, Jing-Hua; Zhang, Jian-Xu

    2017-03-01

    Rats are predators of mice in nature. Nevertheless, it is a common practice to house mice and rats in a same room in some laboratories. In this study, we investigated the behavioral and physiological responsively of mice in long-term co-species housing conditions. Twenty-four male mice were randomly assigned to their original raising room (control) or a rat room (co-species-housed) for more than 6 weeks. In the open-field and light-dark box tests, the behaviors of the co-species-housed mice and controls were not different. In a 2-choice test of paired urine odors [rabbit urine (as a novel odor) vs. rat urine, cat urine (as a natural predator-scent) vs. rabbit urine, and cat urine vs. rat urine], the co-species-housed mice were more ready to investigate the rat urine odor compared with the controls and may have adapted to it. In an encounter test, the rat-room-exposed mice exhibited increased aggression levels, and their urines were more attractive to females. Correspondingly, the levels of major urinary proteins were increased in the co-species-housed mouse urine, along with some volatile pheromones. The serum testosterone levels were also enhanced in the co-species-housed mice, whereas the corticosterone levels were not different. The norepinephrine, dopamine, and 5-HT levels in the right hippocampus and striatum were not different between the 2. Our findings indicate that chronic co-species housing results in adaptation in male mice; furthermore, it appears that long-term rat-odor stimuli enhance the competitiveness of mice, which suggests that appropriate predator-odor stimuli may be important to the fitness of prey animals. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  8. Acidifier application rate impacts on ammonia emissions from US roaster chicken houses

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shah, Sanjay B.; Grimes, Jesse L.; Oviedo-Rondón, Edgar O.; Westerman, Philip W.

    2014-08-01

    Due to its potential environmental and public health impacts, emissions of ammonia (NH3) as well as several other gases from US livestock farms may be regulated. Broiler houses are important sources of NH3 emissions. However, there are no emissions data from roaster (8-12 wk old broilers, ˜4 kg ea.) houses. Producers treat the litter in broiler houses with acidifiers, such as sodium bisulfate (SBS, NaHSO4) to reduce ammonia production and protect bird health. However, there is very little data on the effect of acidifiers, particularly at high application rates on ammonia emissions. The impact of different SBS application rates [High (0.95-1.46 kg m-2, whole house), Medium (0.73 kg m-2, whole house), Low (0.37-0.49 kg m-2, whole house), and Control (0.37-0.49 kg m-2, brood chamber)] on ammonia emissions was evaluated in commercial roaster houses over 22 months spanning eight flocks. Ammonia emission from each fan was measured with an acid scrubber that operated only when the fan operated. Emissions were calculated using >95% measured data with the rest being estimated using robust methods. Exhaust ammonia-N concentrations were inversely correlated with the SBS application rates. Emission rates on animal unit (AU, where 1 AU = 500 kg live-mass) basis (ER, g d-1 AU-1) were reduced by 27, 13, and 5%, respectively, in the High, Medium, and Low treatments vs. the Control treatment (mean: 100 g d-1 AU-1, range: 86-114 g d-1 AU-1). Emission rates for the Control treatment measured in this study on roasters were mostly higher than ERs in the literature. Differences in ERs are not only due to diet, environmental and management conditions, but also due to measurement methods.

  9. The Bodies in Charge of Animal Welfare: What They Do and What They Could Do?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Giuliano Grignaschi

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available The coming into force of the 2010/63/EU (Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 September 20101 Standard, regarding the protection of animals used for scientific purposes, has made it mandatory for all establishments breeding, supplying, and using said animals to have an Animal Welfare Body (AWB. The establishment of a body such as the AWB represents a strong innovation compared to previous regulations (Dir. 86/609/CEE. Building from the key concept of the 3 Rs, European Community legislators acknowledged that the effective safeguard of animal welfare depends in large part on the professional skills of personnel in charge of their care and use. The European Community legislators therefore identify a body inside the institution that houses the animals and entrust it with the task to stimulate and support the practical implementation of the 3 Rs, by informing on technical and scientific developments on the application of said principle and the subsequent training and follow-up training of personnel. The functions assigned by the Standard to the AWB therefore focus on technical-scientific support: to supply advice to personnel in charge of animals concerning their welfare, matters relating to their acquisition, housing, care, and use, and to their integration/adoption (rehoming at the end of their use. This approach is also emphasized by vesting the AWB with the responsibility to define and review internal monitoring and communication procedures pertaining to the welfare of the animals housed in the establishment, and to follow their development and the outcome of research projects concerning the effects produced on the animals used, supplying advice on activities that could result in possible improvements. Aware of the complexity and sensitivity of the role assigned to the AWB, and of the difficulty to put into practice the directions subject matter of the Standard, The European Commission, in the years following the issue

  10. Interactive house investigation and radon diagnostics computer program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gillette, L.M.

    1990-01-01

    This paper reports on the interactive computer program called Dungeons and Radon which was developed as part of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) Radon Contractor Proficiency (RCP) Program's Radon Technology for Mitigators (RTM) course which is currently being offered in the Regional Radon Training Centers (RRTCs). The program was designed by Terry Brennan to be used in training radon mitigation contractors. The Macintosh based program consists of a series of animated, sound and voice enhanced house scenes. The participants choose where and what to investigate and where to perform diagnostic tests in order to gather enough information to design a successful mitigation system

  11. Labour Mobility and Housing: The Impact of Housing Tenure and Housing Affordability on Labour Migration in the Czech Republic

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Lux, Martin; Sunega, Petr

    2012-01-01

    Roč. 49, č. 3 (2012), s. 489-504 ISSN 0042-0980 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA403/09/1915 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z70280505 Keywords : housing * housing policy * housing tenure Subject RIV: AO - Sociology, Demography Impact factor: 1.493, year: 2012 http://usj.sagepub.com/content/early/2011/05/20/0042098011405693

  12. 34 CFR 104.45 - Housing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 34 Education 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Housing. 104.45 Section 104.45 Education Regulations of... Postsecondary Education § 104.45 Housing. (a) Housing provided by the recipient. A recipient that provides housing to its nonhandicapped students shall provide comparable, convenient, and accessible housing to...

  13. 45 CFR 605.45 - Housing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 45 Public Welfare 3 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Housing. 605.45 Section 605.45 Public Welfare... § 605.45 Housing. (a) Housing provided by the recipient. A recipient that provides housing to its nonhandicapped students shall provide comparable, convenient, and accessible housing to handicapped students at...

  14. Situation based housing

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Duelund Mortensen, Peder; Welling, Helen; Wiell Nordberg, Lene

    2007-01-01

    of the average family's lifestyle. These dwellings were ground-breaking when they were built, but today are clearly a product of their time. The reaction to functionalism and the postwar mass production gave rise to flexible dwelling with countless possibilities for room division. The housing of this period has...... characteristics which in the long run have proven to be unfortunate both in terms in terms of durability and architectural quality. Today there is a focus on the development of more open and functionally non-determined housing. A number of new housing schemes in and around Copenhagen reveal a variety...... of approaches to these goals. This working paper reviews not only a selection of new housing types, but also dwellings from the past, which each contain an aspect of changeability. Our study is based on information from users in the selected housing schemes, gathered from questionnaires, information about...

  15. How healthy and sustainable is the Dutch housing mix? Measuring and comparing the theoretical housing market balance of Dutch regional housing markets

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Leonie B. Janssen-Jansen

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Housing and its distribution over groups of households dominates debates on urban socio-spatial justice. Amsterdam even received the label ‘Just City’ as the large stock of social housing in the core of the city is said to increase societal equity. Within the Netherlands, however, the Greater Amsterdam housing market is perceived to be the most dysfunctional. As the discussion is fed by highly political and ideological perspectives, it is difficult to assess at face value how balanced the housing mix of a housing market is and to what extent it meets the community’s needs. Consequently, it is difficult to inform politicians about strategies that contribute to a healthy and sustainable housing mix and address the lack of affordable housing which is high on urban policy agendas worldwide. In an attempt to go beyond ideological and political discussions, the aim of this interdisciplinary paper is to develop a metric to measure and compare the theoretical balance of housing markets across regions and across groups of households based on income. The metric will be applied to the case of the Netherlands. The findings of the theoretical model show that large-scale provisions for low-income households may not always result in an improved housing market balance.

  16. 75 FR 5706 - Federal Housing Administration: Insurance for Manufactured Housing: Reopening of Public Comment...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-02-04

    ... 2502-AI45 Federal Housing Administration: Insurance for Manufactured Housing: Reopening of Public.... ACTION: Proposed rule; reopening of public comment period. SUMMARY: On September 15, 2008, HUD published a proposed rule entitled ``Federal Housing Administration: Insurance for Manufactured Housing.'' The...

  17. 24 CFR 3.405 - Housing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 24 Housing and Urban Development 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Housing. 3.405 Section 3.405 Housing and Urban Development Office of the Secretary, Department of Housing and Urban Development... Discrimination on the Basis of Sex in Education Programs or Activities Prohibited § 3.405 Housing. (a) Generally...

  18. The architects house

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Welling, Helen

    2007-01-01

    The architects house is an article on Edward Heiberg's own house built in 1924. Edward Heiberg was a strong advocate of functionalism, and of the notion that hitherto individualistic and emotional architecture should be replaced by an objective function-based architecture with dwellings...... for everyone. In 1924 he designed a house for himself and his family: one of the first examples of functionalism in Denmark....

  19. TARP Monthly Housing Scorecard

    Data.gov (United States)

    Department of the Treasury — Treasury and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) jointly produce a Monthly Housing Scorecard on the health of the nation’s housing market. The...

  20. Assisted Housing - Public Housing Buildings - National Geospatial Data Asset (NGDA)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Department of Housing and Urban Development — The approximate physical location of each individual Public Housing Building. If the building has more than one entrance or street address, the address of the...

  1. Inadequate housing in Ghana

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Franklin Obeng-Odoom

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Two themes are evident in housing research in Ghana. One involves the study of how to increase the number of dwellings to correct the overall housing deficit, and the other focuses on how to improve housing for slum dwellers. Between these two extremes, there is relatively little research on why the existing buildings are poorly maintained. This paper is based on a review of existing studies on inadequate housing. It synthesises the evidence on the possible reasons for this neglect, makes a case for better maintenance and analyses possible ways of reversing the problem of inadequate housing.

  2. Evaluation of the air quality in pig housing facilities equipped with a liquid-solid separation system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lavoie, J.; Beaudet, Y.; Letourneau, C.; Godbout, S.; Lemay, S.; Belzile, M.; Lachance, I.; Pouliot, F.

    2006-01-01

    A new regulation regarding agricultural operations in Quebec was passed in June 2002. It stated the new standards for managing phosphorous generated from animal livestock. The regulation is intended to protect the environment, more specifically, water, soil and air quality. This new regulation stipulates that agricultural producers acquire a balanced phosphorous assessment by 2010. In order to achieve this, a system is needed to separate solid and liquid pig manure on a daily basis. Producers must also comply with environmental requirements on odour elimination and atmospheric control. The proposed solid-liquid separation system would improve the indoor and outdoor air quality at pig housing facilities by reducing toxic gas and bioaerosol formation. In addition, it would contribute to stream purification. The solid-liquid separation technique was successfully tested in a pilot project at a mini pig housing facility. It was concluded that type of separation equipment system could readily used for other types of animal farming, such as cattle raising. 41 refs., 13 tabs., 12 figs

  3. Student Housing a Resilient Housing Rental Market: Case of Federal Polytechnic Neighbourhood Bauchi, Nigeria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zubairu Abubakar Ghani

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available In the last three decades globally higher institutions (HIs have been experiencing an unprecedented upsurge in student population and student enrolment in His generally outstrip the HIs student housing. In many countries of the world like Nigeria, HIs are obviously incapacitated in accommodating the growing student population which compelled numerous students to overflow into their HIs’ neighbourhood seeking for alternative housing accommodation in the private housing rental market. Indeed the scenario of HIs student's housing shortfalls and increasing students housing demand evolved the interest of many people in a student housing rental market. This is because it has been uncovered that business in student housing rental is lucrative and guaranteeing business that ensured profit for a long term. This paper, therefore, explores the nature and landscape of student housing rental in Nigeria where the business is immature then drawn the conclusion.

  4. Organizing Space and Time through Relational Human–animal Boundary Work

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sage, Daniel; Justesen, Lise; Dainty, Andrew

    2016-01-01

    In this article, we examine the role that animals play within human organizational boundary work. In so doing, we challenge the latent anthropocentricism in many, if not most, theories of organization that locate animal agencies outside the boundary work that is said to constitute organizing....... In developing this argument, we draw together diverse strands of work mobilizing Actor–Network Theory that engage the entanglement of human/nonhuman agencies. In bringing this work together, we suggest humans may organize, even manage, by conducting relational boundary work with animal agencies, spacings...... and timings. Our argument is empirically illustrated and theoretically developed across two cases of the spacings and timings of construction project organizations—an infrastructure project in the United Kingdom and a housing development in Scandinavia. Construction projects are well-known for their tightly...

  5. Health surveillance of specific pathogen-free and conventionally-housed mice and rats in Korea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seok, Seunghyeok; Park, Jonghwan; Cho, Suna; Baek, Minwon; Lee, Huiyoung; Kim, Dongjae; Yang, Kihwa; Jang, Dongdeuk; Han, Beomseok; Nam, Kitaek; Park, Jaehak

    2005-01-01

    The present study contains information about proper microbiological monitoring of laboratory animals' health and the standardization of microbiological monitoring methods in Korea. Microbiological quality control for laboratory animals, composed of biosecurity and health surveillance, is essential to guard against research complications and public health dangers that have been associated with adventitious infections. In this study, one hundred and twenty-two mice and ninety rats from laboratory animal breeding companies and one animal facility of the national universities in Korea were monitored in 2000-2003. Histopathologically, thickening of the alveolar walls and lymphocytic infiltration around the bronchioles were observed in mice and rats from microbiologically contaminated facilities. Cryptosporidial oocysts were observed in the gastric pits of only conventionally-housed mice and rats. Helicobacter spp. infection was also detected in 1 of 24 feces DNA samples in mice and 9 of 40 feces DNA samples in rats by PCR in 2003, but they were not Helicobacter hepaticus. This paper describes bacteriological, parasitological, and virological examinations of the animals.

  6. Assisted Housing - Multifamily Properties - Assisted

    Data.gov (United States)

    Department of Housing and Urban Development — HUD's Multifamily Housing property portfolio consist primarily of rental housing properties with five or more dwelling units such as apartments or town houses, but...

  7. 24 CFR 1715.27 - Fair housing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 24 Housing and Urban Development 5 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Fair housing. 1715.27 Section 1715.27 Housing and Urban Development Regulations Relating to Housing and Urban Development (Continued) OFFICE OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR HOUSING-FEDERAL HOUSING COMMISSIONER, DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN...

  8. Friendly vertical housing: case of walk-up flat housing development in Yogyakarta

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fosterharoldas Swasto, Deva

    2018-03-01

    In Yogyakarta Province, the local government have developed walk-up flats housing for more than ten years since the mid of the 2000s. Yogyakarta City and Sleman Regency was pioneering the construction with some blocks of flats in several locations. However, after this period, there is limited evaluation about the effectiveness of the occupancy. One of the issues is related to the sustainable housing development. Concerning this situation, it is proposed to examine how the development of walk-up flats housing in Yogyakarta City and Sleman Regency can be evaluated based on specific housing indicator, as a part of sustainable housing development concept. This paper would like to explore the phenomenon on how ‘friendly’ the flats is. The researcher will qualitatively asses variables from the walk-up flat cases in Yogyakarta City and Sleman Regency. The results suggested that the physical quality of the vertical housing situation could be enhanced to meet residents’ satisfaction.

  9. American Housing Survey (AHS)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Department of Housing and Urban Development — The AHS is the largest, regular national housing sample survey in the United States. The U.S. Census Bureau conducts the AHS to obtain up-to-date housing statistics...

  10. Risk factors related to Toxoplasma gondii seroprevalence in indoor-housed Dutch dairy goats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deng, Huifang; Dam-Deisz, Cecile; Luttikholt, Saskia; Maas, Miriam; Nielen, Mirjam; Swart, Arno; Vellema, Piet; van der Giessen, Joke; Opsteegh, Marieke

    2016-02-01

    Toxoplasma gondii can cause disease in goats, but also has impact on human health through food-borne transmission. Our aims were to determine the seroprevalence of T. gondii infection in indoor-housed Dutch dairy goats and to identify the risk factors related to T. gondii seroprevalence. Fifty-two out of ninety approached farmers with indoor-kept goats (58%) participated by answering a standardized questionnaire and contributing 32 goat blood samples each. Serum samples were tested for T. gondii SAG1 antibodies by ELISA and results showed that the frequency distribution of the log10-transformed OD-values fitted well with a binary mixture of a shifted gamma and a shifted reflected gamma distribution. The overall animal seroprevalence was 13.3% (95% CI: 11.7–14.9%), and at least one seropositive animal was found on 61.5% (95% CI: 48.3–74.7%) of the farms. To evaluate potential risk factors on herd level, three modeling strategies (Poisson, negative binomial and zero-inflated) were compared. The negative binomial model fitted the data best with the number of cats (1–4 cats: IR: 2.6, 95% CI: 1.1–6.5; > = 5 cats:IR: 14.2, 95% CI: 3.9–51.1) and mean animal age (IR: 1.5, 95% CI: 1.1–2.1) related to herd positivity. In conclusion, the ELISA test was 100% sensitive and specific based on binary mixture analysis. T. gondii infection is prevalent in indoor housed Dutch dairy goats but at a lower overall animal level seroprevalence than outdoor farmed goats in other European countries, and cat exposure is an important risk factor.

  11. United States housing, 2012

    Science.gov (United States)

    Delton Alderman

    2013-01-01

    Provides current and historical information on housing market in the United States. Information includes trends for housing permits and starts, housing completions for single and multifamily units, and sales and construction. This report will be updated annually.

  12. "House Arrest" or "Developmental Arrest"? A Study of Youth Under House Arrest.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chamiel, Elad; Walsh, Sophie D

    2018-06-01

    Studies have examined the potential benefits and risks of alternative forms of detention, such as house arrest, for adults but, despite its growing use, little research has examined the implications of house arrest for juveniles. The current research examined the experience of 14 adolescents under house arrest. Six main themes were identified in the narratives of the participants: the experience of detention, daily schedule and utilization of time, emotions and self-reflection, relationships with peers, relation to parents and supervisor(s), and contact with professionals. Findings emphasized the potential developmental dangers of house arrest at the critical stage of adolescence. Yet, analysis also showed that the period of house arrest has the potential to be a period of positive changes, and can be used for successful rehabilitation.

  13. The state of animal welfare in the context of refinement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zurlo, Joanne; Hutchinson, Eric

    2014-01-01

    The ultimate goal of the Three Rs is the full replacement of animals used in biomedical research and testing. However, replacement is unlikely to occur in the near future; therefore the scientific community as a whole must continue to devote considerable effort to ensure optimal animal welfare for the benefit of the science and the animals, i.e., the R of refinement. Laws governing the care and use of laboratory animals have recently been revised in Europe and the US and these place greater emphasis on promoting the well-being of the animals in addition to minimizing pain and distress. Social housing for social species is now the default condition, which can present a challenge in certain experimental settings and for certain species. The practice of positive reinforcement training of laboratory animals, particularly non-human primates, is gathering momentum but is not yet universally employed. Enhanced consideration of refinement extends to rodents, particularly mice, whose use is still increasing as more genetically modified models are generated. The wastage of extraneous mice and the method of their euthanasia are refinement issues that still need to be addressed. An international, concerted effort into defining the needs of laboratory animals is still necessary to improve the quality of the animal models used as well as their welfare.

  14. Assisted Housing - Low Income Housing Tax Credit Properties - National Geospatial Data Asset (NGDA)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Department of Housing and Urban Development — The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) is the primary Federal program for creating affordable housing in the United States. The LIHTC database, created by HUD and...

  15. A Painted House In Ankara: Dedebayrak House

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muzaffer Karaaslan

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available The conservative family lifestyle in the Ottoman State affected the ways that houses were planned and decorated. Different decorative programs emerged with major differences in each period. New techniques and styles began to be seen in the 18th century thanks to the influence of the West. This article will focus on the decoration of Dedebayrak House in Ankara. Decoration in the architecture found within the boundaries of Ankara consist mostly of geometrical or floral decorations and various inscriptions. The Dedebayrak House not only has these kind of decorations, but also it has these decorations in its architectural descriptions, so it makes this house the only one to have survived in Ankara. Moreover, this building is especially important as the décor included work belonging to Nakkaş Mustafa. However, these decorative features do not remain today. The situation in Turkey is such that architecture is not conserved, which leads to many historically important buildings vanishing. Neither local authorities, nor the owner of these buildings look after these buildings properly, leading their specific historical features to be lost. This situation both damages the urban fabric and harms the historical heritage of the city. Therefore, decorative features in the building will be analysed both on their own and compared to other buildings in Ankara in order to create an overall picture.

  16. Is Housing a Health Insult?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baker, Emma; Beer, Andrew; Lester, Laurence; Pevalin, David; Whitehead, Christine; Bentley, Rebecca

    2017-05-26

    In seeking to understand the relationship between housing and health, research attention is often focussed on separate components of people's whole housing 'bundles'. We propose in this paper that such conceptual and methodological abstraction of elements of the housing and health relationship limits our ability to understand the scale of the accumulated effect of housing on health and thereby contributes to the under-recognition of adequate housing as a social policy tool and powerful health intervention. In this paper, we propose and describe an index to capture the means by which housing bundles influence health. We conceptualise the index as reflecting accumulated housing 'insults to health'-an Index of Housing Insults (IHI). We apply the index to a sample of 1000 low-income households in Australia. The analysis shows a graded association between housing insults and health on all outcome measures. Further, after controlling for possible confounders, the IHI is shown to provide additional predictive power to the explanation of levels of mental health, general health and clinical depression beyond more traditional proxy measures. Overall, this paper reinforces the need to look not just at separate housing components but to embrace a broader understanding of the relationship between housing and health.

  17. Adventure of Architecture Example of Housing and Housing Areas

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ali Asasoğlu

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available Housing and the concept of space associated with this requirement are among the initial attitudes towards the human reign over the nature. The dawn of the structured environment found life with this approach within the nature. Both, housing and the housing design process overlap with the historical development of modern man, and is covered within the concept of architecture today. The contribution made by culture within this period is yet another undeniable fact. While the interaction between architecture and culture are moving forward thereby leaving traces in every era throughout the history, the culture of housing and housing design exhibits a parallel attitude which is a subsidiary, yet a highly title with a close human relationship. Culture and architecture are two closely interacting aspects which are drawing the borders of each other from time to time, hinting at quality and quantity, and evaluating such. Quite naturally, the structure which is in a deep relationship with mankind is in an exchange with all physical, social and economic qualities of the human. These qualities are fundamental determinants of the concept of culture as a human trait. The process of architecture which is usually defined as a sequence of eras that involve social movements, impulses and trends, sometimes kept moving ahead in the pursuit of individual leadership and styles. The concerns regarding the solution of space problems, setting up /designing venues and arranging the environment in line with the requirements brought up increasingly complex issues and stacks of solutions which follow such problems. It is this dynamic structure which forms the basis of the architectural problem to date. Starting with the housing and residential concepts, this study brings a critical view on the application samples and methods of the relationship between architecture and culture in terms of our country in particular while putting emphasis on the architectural venture of the

  18. Performance analysis on natural energy autonomous house, HARBEMAN house; Shizen energy jiritsu house (HARBEMAN house) no simulation ni kansuru kenkyu

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fujino, T; Saito, T [Tohoku University, Sendai (Japan)

    1997-11-25

    Outlined herein are a procedure developed to simulate performance of an energy-autonomous (independent) solar house referred to as HARBEMAN HOUSE (HH) built in 1996 in City of Sendai, comparison between the simulated and observed results, and characteristics of the solar house. The house is equipped with a solar collector and sky radiator, both installed on the roof, the former facing south to collect solar energy and generate hot water whereas the latter facing north to radiate heat and generate cool water. Both are connected to an underground heat-insulated tank having a capacity of 31m{sup 3}, which stores hot or cool water to keep their conditions for extended periods. The solar system operates in heat- or cool-storage mode. In the heat-storage mode, quantity of heat stored increases, although at a slow rate, as tank capacity increases. In the cool-storage mode, on the other hand, quantity of cool stored increases in proportion to tank capacity. This is because solar energy is collected throughout the year whereas cooling by radiation is concentrated in early spring. Loss rate of heat stored increases as tank capacity increases, and the opposite trend is observed with cool stored. 12 refs., 7 figs., 2 tabs.

  19. In-Migration and Housing Choice in Ho Chi Minh City: Toward Sustainable Housing Development in Vietnam

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ducksu Seo

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Since the initiation of Vietnam’s Doi Moi policy in 1986, the rate of urbanization has rapidly increased with a great influx of immigrants from rural areas. With such migration becoming a large acceleration factor for urban growth, the shortage of housing has become a critical problem in the cities. The Vietnamese government encouraged self-built housing and public–private partnerships to produce different types of housing stock. There are few available academic studies about housing choice in Vietnam to help understand movement dynamics and to foster sustainable housing development. The purpose of this study is to analyze housing choice and moving determinants in Ho Chi Minh City, and thereby establish recommendations for sustainable housing development in Vietnam. For an empirical study, a citizen questionnaire survey was conducted in HCMC and an in-depth analysis was carried out. The results indicate that the row house type for single-family housing is strongly preferred, but a preference for apartments is also observed for future planning. The factors influencing housing choice and movement are family income, housing ownership, housing typology, and commuting environment. These phenomena suggest that the government should prudently consider affordable housing development in many districts. The results of this study will help to establish policies for sustainable housing development in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

  20. Housing Programs for Homeless Individuals With Mental Illness: Effects on Housing and Mental Health Outcomes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benston, Elizabeth A

    2015-08-01

    This systematic review analyzed the best available research in the United States on permanent supportive housing programs for homeless individuals with mental illness and the effect of these programs on housing status and mental health. It updates older and broader reviews that included weaker studies or those that did not analyze permanent housing as an input and housing and mental health as primary outcomes. The literature search (1980-2013) yielded 14 studies (randomized controlled trials and quasi-experimental studies). The studies found that a majority of participants placed in experimental housing programs with case management support remained in housing for at least one year or experienced more days housed than homeless relative to a comparison group. Although this finding is in line with previous literature reviews on permanent supportive housing, this analysis found limitations in each of the 14 reviewed studies, such as attrition, selection and response bias, imprecise definitions and implementation of housing programs, and a lack of appropriate controls. Only three of the reviewed studies reported using a housing fidelity assessment tool to test whether the housing intervention was faithful to theoretical standards, and conceptions and implementation of housing varied widely across studies, threatening internal and external validity. Pitfalls in the best available studies on permanent supportive housing programs in the United States limit the ability of research to inform the policy goal of ending chronic homelessness and demonstrate a need for further experimental research upon which to make funding and policy decisions, especially in light of prioritized federal funds.

  1. Scottish Passive House: Insights into Environmental Conditions in Monitored Passive Houses

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Janice Foster

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Climate change and sustainability legislation in recent years has led to significant changes in construction approaches in the UK housing sector. This has resulted in the adoption of new building typologies, including the German Passivhaus (Passive House standard. This standard aims to improve occupant comfort and energy efficiency, potentially changing the ways in which homes operate and how occupants interact with them. With increasing construction of low energy dwellings, there is an emerging gap in knowledge in relation to occupant health and wellbeing, thermal comfort, and indoor air quality (IAQ. Using data collected from a two year Building Performance Evaluation (BPE study funded by Innovate UK, the environmental data (temperature, relative humidity and carbon dioxide concentrations from five Certified Passive House homes in Scotland was compared. The results demonstrate problems with overheating with peak temperatures exceeding 30 °C. Imbalanced mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR systems were identified in 80% of the dwellings and inadequate IAQ was found due to poor ventilation. Only one of the Passive Houses studied exhibited thermal conditions and IAQ which were, on the whole within Passive House parameters. This paper outlines the insights and the main issues of Scottish Passive House in the broader context of sustainability.

  2. Clay Houses

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pedro, Cathy

    2011-01-01

    In this article, the author describes a project designed for fourth-graders that involves making clay relief sculptures of houses. Knowing the clay houses will become a family heirloom makes this lesson even more worth the time. It takes three classes to plan and form the clay, and another two to underglaze and glaze the final products.

  3. Sustainable Housing Design

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lauring, Gert Michael

    2016-01-01

    Sustainable Housing Design. Integrating technical and housing quality aspects of sustainable architecture in civil engineering education. Summary An integrated design approach to sustainable architecture is outlined that combines concerns for zero energy building, good indoor climate and adequate...... phases. The outcome shows that integrated design further solutions where sustainable urban forms of settlement can be highly energy efficient while also attractive from a user perspective. Key words: Sustainable architecture, integrated design, zero-energy-housing, dense urban living. 1. Introduction...... When designing sustainable housing, energy optimization and satisfactory indoor climates are central issues that need to be incorporated from early design phases if to reach a coherent design. It might also be argued that the energy consumption of contemporary buildings only plays a rela-tively minor...

  4. Housing and Social Environments of African (Loxodonta africana and Asian (Elephas maximus Elephants in North American Zoos.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cheryl L Meehan

    Full Text Available We evaluated 255 African (Loxodonta africana and Asian (Elephas maximus elephants living in 68 North American zoos over one year to quantify housing and social variables. All parameters were quantified for the both the day and the night and comparisons were made across these time periods as well as by species and sex. To assess housing, we evaluated not only total exhibit size, but also individual animals' experiences based on the time they spent in the unique environments into which the exhibits were subdivided. Variables developed to assess housing included measurements of area as a function of time (Total Space Experience, environment type (Indoor, Outdoor, In/Out Choice and time spent on hard and soft flooring. Over the year, Total Space Experience values ranged from 1,273 square feet to 169,692 square feet, with Day values significantly greater than Night values (p<0.001. Elephants spent an average of 55.1% of their time outdoors, 28.9% indoors, and 16% in areas with a choice between being in or out. Time spent on hard flooring substrate ranged from 0% to 66.7%, with Night values significantly greater than Day (p<0.001. Social factors included number of animals functionally housed together (Social Experience and social group characteristics such as time spent with juveniles and in mixed-sex groups. Overall Social Experience scores ranged from 1 to 11.2 and were significantly greater during the Day than at Night (p<0.001. There were few significant social or housing differences between African (N = 138 and Asian (N = 117 species or between males (N = 54 and females (N = 201. The most notable exception was Total Space Experience, with African and male elephants having larger Total Space Experience than Asian and female elephants, respectively (P-value<0.05. The housing and social variables evaluated herein have been used in a series of subsequent epidemiological analyses relating to various elephant welfare outcomes.

  5. Smart Solar Housing Renovation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ham, M.; Bruijn, de D.M.P.; Vos, S.J.H.; Weijers, K.A.M.; Straver, M.C.W.; Scartezzini, J.L.

    2009-01-01

    After World War II, the demand for houses in the Netherlands was enormous. Large housing construction programs were established in the fifties, sixties and seventies. Nowadays, these houses are facing some societal, economic and technological problems. On the other hand, many of the occupants are

  6. 24 CFR 982.352 - Eligible housing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 24 Housing and Urban Development 4 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Eligible housing. 982.352 Section 982.352 Housing and Urban Development Regulations Relating to Housing and Urban Development (Continued) OFFICE OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR PUBLIC AND INDIAN HOUSING, DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT...

  7. 24 CFR 1007.20 - Eligible housing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 24 Housing and Urban Development 4 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Eligible housing. 1007.20 Section 1007.20 Housing and Urban Development Regulations Relating to Housing and Urban Development (Continued) OFFICE OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR PUBLIC AND INDIAN HOUSING, DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT...

  8. 24 CFR 982.619 - Cooperative housing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 24 Housing and Urban Development 4 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Cooperative housing. 982.619 Section 982.619 Housing and Urban Development Regulations Relating to Housing and Urban Development (Continued) OFFICE OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR PUBLIC AND INDIAN HOUSING, DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN...

  9. Environmental Health Disparities in Housing

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-01-01

    The physical infrastructure and housing make human interaction possible and provide shelter. How well that infrastructure performs and which groups it serves have important implications for social equity and health. Populations in inadequate housing are more likely to have environmental diseases and injuries. Substantial disparities in housing have remained largely unchanged. Approximately 2.6 million (7.5%) non-Hispanic Blacks and 5.9 million Whites (2.8%) live in substandard housing. Segregation, lack of housing mobility, and homelessness are all associated with adverse health outcomes. Yet the experience with childhood lead poisoning in the United States has shown that housing-related disparities can be reduced. Effective interventions should be implemented to reduce environmental health disparities related to housing. PMID:21551378

  10. Housing Inventory Count

    Data.gov (United States)

    Department of Housing and Urban Development — This report displays the data communities reported to HUD about the nature of their dedicated homeless inventory, referred to as their Housing Inventory Count (HIC)....

  11. 24 CFR 983.52 - Housing type.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 24 Housing and Urban Development 4 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Housing type. 983.52 Section 983.52 Housing and Urban Development Regulations Relating to Housing and Urban Development (Continued) OFFICE OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR PUBLIC AND INDIAN HOUSING, DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT PROJECT-BASED...

  12. Tuberculosis at the human-animal interface: an emerging disease of elephants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mikota, Susan K; Maslow, Joel N

    2011-05-01

    Over the past 15 years, cases of infection with organisms of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex have been diagnosed among captive elephants in the United States and worldwide. Outbreak investigations have documented that among staff employed at facilities housing infected animals, skin test conversion to purified protein derivative have been documented. Clonal spread among animals in close contact and even inter-species spread between elephant and human has been documented. Detection of actively infected animals relies on samples obtained by trunk wash. Diagnosis has been augmented by the development of a multi-antigen serologic assay with excellent specificity and sensitivity. Treatment regimens are still in development with efficacy largely unknown due to a paucity of both premortem follow-up and necropsy data of treated animals. The epidemiology, diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis in elephants require additional careful study of clinical data. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Coprological study of gastrointestinal parasites of captive animals at Rangpur Recreational Garden and Zoo in Bangladesh

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M.M. Khatun

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available A survey was undertaken to investigate the prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites in different groups of mammals housed at Rangpur Recreational Garden and Zoo in Bangladesh. A total of 45 fecal samples of different animals (11 carnivores, 26 herbivores and 8 primates were examined from April to September 2011 for the presence of gastrointestinal parasites. The overall prevalence of parasitic infection was 60% (27/45 of which 35.6% (16/45 were helminth infections and 24% (11/45 were protozoic infections. The identified parasites included protozoa (Balantidium coli and Coccidia sp., nematodes (Toxascaris leonina, Toxocara cati, Strongyloides sp., Dictyocaulus sp., Trichuris sp. and stomach worm, cestodes (Spirometra sp. and Moniezia benedeni and trematodes (Fasciola sp.. At least one parasite was identified in the fecal samples of all animals except of the samples from bear, python, water buck and olive baboon. Mixed infections were observed in Rhesus monkey (Trichuris sp. and Balantidium coli, in deer (Strongyloides sp. and Coccidia sp. and in lion (Toxascaris leonina and Spirometra sp.. Helminth infections were more common than protozoic infections in carnivores and herbivores, whereas in primates, protozoic infections were more common than helminth infections. The high prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites found in zoo animals in this study emphasizes the importance of controlling these parasitic infections in order to safeguard the health of housed wild animals and of the humans working with these animals.

  14. Dutch house price fundamentals

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Haffner, M.E.A.; de Vries, P.

    2009-01-01

    This paper discusses house price developments in the Netherlands, specifically focussing on the question whether current house prices in the Dutch owner-occupied market are likely to decrease. We analyse three aspects of the question based on a literature review: (1) whether there is a house price

  15. The Nordic Housing Enabler

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Helle, T.; Nygren, C.; Slaug, B.

    2014-01-01

    This study addresses development of a content-valid cross-Nordic version of the Housing Enabler and investigation of its inter-rater reliability when used in occupational therapy rating situations, involving occupational therapists, clients, and their home environments. The instrument was transla......This study addresses development of a content-valid cross-Nordic version of the Housing Enabler and investigation of its inter-rater reliability when used in occupational therapy rating situations, involving occupational therapists, clients, and their home environments. The instrument...... was translated from the original Swedish version of the Housing Enabler, and adapted according to accessibility norms and guidelines for housing design in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Iceland. This iterative process involved occupational therapists, architects, building engineers, and professional translators......, resulting in the Nordic Housing Enabler. For reliability testing, the sampling strategy and data collection procedures used were the same in all countries. Twenty voluntary occupational therapists, pair-wise but independently of each other, collected data from 106 cases by means of the Nordic Housing...

  16. 24 CFR 81.22 - Housing plans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 24 Housing and Urban Development 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Housing plans. 81.22 Section 81.22 Housing and Urban Development Office of the Secretary, Department of Housing and Urban Development THE... LOAN MORTGAGE CORPORATION (FREDDIE MAC) Housing Goals § 81.22 Housing plans. (a) If the Secretary...

  17. Understanding of Danish Passive Houses based on Pilot Project Comfort Houses

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Brunsgaard, Camilla

    are necessary to support the integrated design process like: actors in the design teams have to adapt expectations and agree about the aim and they have to establish an interest in each other’s field of specialisations. Finally, it has to be possible to implement the different expertises in the project from...... the architecture, how their everyday life is in the house and how they experience the indoor environment. And the occupants’ experiences were compared with measured data of the indoor environment, which evaluate both the performance of the house compared to the expected, but also the occupants’ behaviour...... on when optimising the work with passive houses in Denmark. The findings will hopefully support a more holistic approach to future development of passive and low energy houses....

  18. 45 CFR 1170.45 - Housing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 45 Public Welfare 3 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Housing. 1170.45 Section 1170.45 Public Welfare... ACTIVITIES Postsecondary Education § 1170.45 Housing. (a) Housing provided by the recipient. A recipient that provides housing to its nonhandicapped students shall provide comparable, convenient, and accessible...

  19. 22 CFR 142.45 - Housing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 22 Foreign Relations 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Housing. 142.45 Section 142.45 Foreign... ACTIVITIES RECEIVING FEDERAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE Postsecondary Education § 142.45 Housing. (a) Housing provided by the recipient. A recipient that provides housing to its nonhandicapped students shall provide...

  20. Housing and family: an introduction

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mulder, C.H.; Lauster, N.T.

    2010-01-01

    This paper introduces the Housing Studies special issue 'Housing and Family'. The issue consists of a collection of papers in which a number of connections between housing and family issues are highlighted. Three themes are addressed: the influence of the family of origin on housing characteristics

  1. 22 CFR 217.45 - Housing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 22 Foreign Relations 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Housing. 217.45 Section 217.45 Foreign... ACTIVITIES RECEIVING FEDERAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE Postsecondary Education § 217.45 Housing. (a) Housing provided by the recipient. A recipient that provides housing to its nonhandicapped students shall provide...

  2. Housing Retention in Single-Site Housing First for Chronically Homeless Individuals With Severe Alcohol Problems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malone, Daniel K.; Clifasefi, Seema L.

    2013-01-01

    Objectives. We studied housing retention and its predictors in the single-site Housing First model. Methods. Participants (n = 111) were chronically homeless people with severe alcohol problems who lived in a single-site Housing First program and participated in a larger nonrandomized controlled trial (2005–2008) conducted in Seattle, Washington. At baseline, participants responded to self-report questionnaires assessing demographic, illness burden, alcohol and other drug use, and psychiatric variables. Housing status was recorded over 2 years. Results. Participants were interested in housing, although a sizable minority did not believe they would be able to maintain abstinence-based housing. Only 23% of participants returned to homelessness during the 2-year follow-up. Commonly cited risk factors—alcohol and other drug use, illness burden, psychiatric symptoms, and homelessness history—did not predict resumed homelessness. Active drinkers were more likely to stay in this housing project than nondrinkers. Conclusions. We found that single-site Housing First programming fills a gap in housing options for chronically homeless people with severe alcohol problems. PMID:24148063

  3. Social housing for workers – A new housing model for Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ngo, L. M.

    2018-04-01

    Urbanization in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam is rapidly increasing. Therefore, social housing for workers who work at industrial park and processing areas, is indispensable. There are difficulties and conflicts which still remain in developing the social housing for those people in HCMC. For example, the demand of social housing is high, however employers and/or business owners did not fully pay their attentions on social houses to support the workers. On another hand, even if they built the houses, these one seem not to be sufficient for the demands and/or unable to be competed to the rental housing market from private landlords. Building a social housing model for those workers is a vital importance, this aims to improve the quality of life for the workers; for examples, healthcare, personal safety, social relationships, emotional well-being, quality of living environment, etc. In this research, we study the investment, management, and operation of the social housing for workers in HCMC. This also seeks a new housing model which will adapt the criteria towards the sustainable economic development of HCMC.

  4. 12 CFR 1282.22 - Housing plans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 12 Banks and Banking 7 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Housing plans. 1282.22 Section 1282.22 Banks and Banking FEDERAL HOUSING FINANCE AGENCY HOUSING GOALS AND MISSION ENTERPRISE HOUSING GOALS AND MISSION Housing Goals § 1282.22 Housing plans. (a) If the Director determines, under § 1282.21, that an...

  5. Medium-Density Mixed Housing: sustainable design and construction of South African social housing

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Osman, A

    2010-09-01

    Full Text Available Medium-Density Mixed Housing (MDMH), of which social housing (SH) is one component, is perceived to have the capacity to contribute to the transformation of fragmented South African cities more than the massive roll-out of government subsidised ‘one-house...

  6. Differential Health and Social Needs of Older Adults Waitlisted for Public Housing or Housing Choice Vouchers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carder, Paula; Luhr, Gretchen; Kohon, Jacklyn

    2016-01-01

    Affordable housing is an important form of income security for low-income older persons. This article describes characteristics of older persons waitlisted for either public housing or a housing choice voucher (HCV; previously Section 8) in Portland, Oregon. 358 persons (32% response rate) completed a mailed survey with questions about demographics, health and housing status, food insecurity, and preference for housing with services. Findings indicate that many waitlisted older persons experienced homelessness or housing instability, poor health, high hospital use, and food insecurity. Public housing applicants were significantly more likely to report lower incomes, homelessness, and food insecurity than HCV applicants. We conclude with policy implications for housing and health agencies that serve low-income older persons.

  7. House Restaurant at The Cliff House Sample Tasting Dinner Menu 2017

    OpenAIRE

    House Restaurant at the Cliff House

    2017-01-01

    Our award winning, Michelin star restaurant at The Cliff House Hotel, Ireland, brings foodies from all over the world to this seaside village in West Waterford. Both our main House Restaurant as well as our easy, unpretentious bar food honour the great Irish produce of Waterford, Cork and the Irish Sea. House Restaurant operates for dinner Wednesday - Saturday inclusive in Winter and Tuesday - Saturday inclusive in Summer, opening Sunday nights on bank holiday weekends. Bar Restaurant is o...

  8. The Nordic Housing Enabler

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Helle, Tina; Slaug, Bjørn; Brandt, Åse

    2010-01-01

    This study addresses development of a content valid cross-Nordic version of the Housing Enabler and investigation of its inter-rater reliability when used in occupational therapy rating situations, involving occupational therapists, clients and their home environments. The instrument was translated...... from the original Swedish version of the Housing Enabler, and adapted according to accessibility norms and guidelines for housing design in Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Iceland. This iterative process involved occupational therapists, architects, building engineers and professional translators......, resulting in the Nordic Housing Enabler. For reliability testing, the sampling strategy and data collection procedures used were the same in all countries. Twenty voluntary occupational therapists, pair-wise but independently from each other, collected data from 106 cases by means of the Nordic Housing...

  9. 45 CFR 84.45 - Housing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 45 Public Welfare 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Housing. 84.45 Section 84.45 Public Welfare... PROGRAMS OR ACTIVITIES RECEIVING FEDERAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE Postsecondary Education § 84.45 Housing. (a) Housing provided by the recipient. A recipient that provides housing to its nonhandicapped students shall...

  10. Unofficial policy: access to housing, housing information and social services among homeless drug users in Hartford, Connecticut

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Corbett A Michelle

    2007-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Much research has shown that the homeless have higher rates of substance abuse problems than housed populations and that substance abuse increases individuals' vulnerability to homelessness. However, the effects of housing policies on drug users' access to housing have been understudied to date. This paper will look at the "unofficial" housing policies that affect drug users' access to housing. Methods Qualitative interviews were conducted with 65 active users of heroin and cocaine at baseline, 3 and 6 months. Participants were purposively sampled to reflect a variety of housing statuses including homeless on the streets, in shelters, "doubled-up" with family or friends, or permanently housed in subsidized, unsubsidized or supportive housing. Key informant interviews and two focus group interviews were conducted with 15 housing caseworkers. Data were analyzed to explore the processes by which drug users receive information about different housing subsidies and welfare benefits, and their experiences in applying for these. Results A number of unofficial policy mechanisms limit drug users' access to housing, information and services, including limited outreach to non-shelter using homeless regarding housing programs, service provider priorities, and service provider discretion in processing applications and providing services. Conclusion Unofficial policy, i.e. the mechanisms used by caseworkers to ration scarce housing resources, is as important as official housing policies in limiting drug users' access to housing. Drug users' descriptions of their experiences working with caseworkers to obtain permanent, affordable housing, provide insights as to how access to supportive and subsidized housing can be improved for this population.

  11. 25 CFR 170.128 - Are housing access roads and housing streets eligible for IRR Program funding?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 25 Indians 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Are housing access roads and housing streets eligible for... INTERIOR LAND AND WATER INDIAN RESERVATION ROADS PROGRAM Indian Reservation Roads Program Policy and Eligibility Irr Housing Access Roads § 170.128 Are housing access roads and housing streets eligible for IRR...

  12. Discovery of an Exotic Population of Thereuonema tuberculata (Chilopoda:Scutigeromorpha), the Japanese House Centipede, in Ohio, U.S.A.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-02-28

    and small animals . The Epidemiology Consult Service in the U.S. Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine houses an entomology section with one... carcass had already been discarded. On subsequent weeks from 28 Apr. until 10 June 2016, building #840 and other neighboring buildings were searched for...RAFINESQUE, C. S. 1820. Annals of nature or annual synopsis of new genera and species of animals and plants discovered in North America. First Ann

  13. 6 CFR 17.405 - Housing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 6 Domestic Security 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Housing. 17.405 Section 17.405 Domestic Security... Education Programs or Activities Prohibited § 17.405 Housing. (a) General. A recipient shall not, on the... different services or benefits related to housing, except as provided in this section (including housing...

  14. 49 CFR 25.405 - Housing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 49 Transportation 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Housing. 25.405 Section 25.405 Transportation... Activities Prohibited § 25.405 Housing. (a) Generally. A recipient shall not, on the basis of sex, apply... benefits related to housing, except as provided in this section (including housing provided only to married...

  15. 22 CFR 229.405 - Housing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 22 Foreign Relations 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Housing. 229.405 Section 229.405 Foreign... Programs or Activities Prohibited § 229.405 Housing. (a) Generally. A recipient shall not, on the basis of... services or benefits related to housing, except as provided in this section (including housing provided...

  16. The interrelationships between clinical signs and their effect on involuntary culling among pregnant sows in group-housing systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Tina Birk; Bonde, Marianne Kjær; Kongsted, Anne Grete

    2010-01-01

    Sows suffering from clinical signs of disease (e.g. lameness, wounds and shoulder ulcers) are often involuntarily culled, affecting the farmer's economy and the welfare of the animals. In order to investigate the interrelationships between clinical signs of individual pregnant group-housed sows, we...

  17. Sustainable Housing in the Urban Context: International Sustainable Development Indicator Sets and Housing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Winston, Nessa; Pareja Eastaway, Montserrat

    2008-01-01

    Housing, an essential aspect of quality of life, is also significant for sustainable development (SD). All of the major international statements on SD refer to housing or settlement strategies. However, indicator sets derived from these statements often fail to include good indicators of sustainable housing. This article outlines the…

  18. Housing And Mounting Structure

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, Gene R.; Armendariz, Marcelino G.; Baca, Johnny R.F.; Bryan, Robert P.; Carson, Richard F.; Duckett, III, Edwin B.; McCormick, Frederick B.; Miller, Gregory V.; Peterson, David W.; Smith, Terrance T.

    2005-03-08

    This invention relates to an optical transmitter, receiver or transceiver module, and more particularly, to an apparatus for connecting a first optical connector to a second optical connector. The apparatus comprises: (1) a housing having at least a first end and at least a second end, the first end of the housing capable of receiving the first optical connector, and the second end of the housing capable of receiving the second optical connector; (2) a longitudinal cavity extending from the first end of the housing to the second end of the housing; and (3) an electromagnetic shield comprising at least a portion of the housing. This invention also relates to an apparatus for housing a flexible printed circuit board, and this apparatus comprises: (1) a mounting structure having at least a first surface and a second surface; (2) alignment ridges along the first and second surfaces of the mounting structure, the alignment ridges functioning to align and secure a flexible printed circuit board that is wrapped around and attached to the first and second surfaces of the mounting structure; and (3) a series of heat sink ridges adapted to the mounting structure, the heat sink ridges functioning to dissipate heat that is generated from the flexible printed circuit board.

  19. 22 CFR 146.405 - Housing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 22 Foreign Relations 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Housing. 146.405 Section 146.405 Foreign... Activities Prohibited § 146.405 Housing. (a) Generally. A recipient shall not, on the basis of sex, apply... benefits related to housing, except as provided in this section (including housing provided only to married...

  20. 10 CFR 1042.405 - Housing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Housing. 1042.405 Section 1042.405 Energy DEPARTMENT OF... Activities Prohibited § 1042.405 Housing. (a) Generally. A recipient shall not, on the basis of sex, apply... benefits related to housing, except as provided in this section (including housing provided only to married...

  1. 28 CFR 54.405 - Housing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 28 Judicial Administration 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Housing. 54.405 Section 54.405 Judicial... Activities Prohibited § 54.405 Housing. (a) Generally. A recipient shall not, on the basis of sex, apply... benefits related to housing, except as provided in this section (including housing provided only to married...

  2. 44 CFR 19.405 - Housing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 44 Emergency Management and Assistance 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Housing. 19.405 Section 19... Prohibited § 19.405 Housing. (a) Generally. A recipient shall not, on the basis of sex, apply different rules... related to housing, except as provided in this section (including housing provided only to married...

  3. Low energy housing in Ticino - The 'Vitali-Velti' house

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pahud, D.; Generelli, M. [SUPSI-DCT/LEEE-UREC, Trevano-Canobbio (Switzerland); Velti, A; Vitali, B. [architetto, Monte Carasso (Switzerland)

    2003-02-15

    This final report for the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) takes a look at work done concerning low energy consumption housing in southern Switzerland. Thanks to large windows in the south-east facade and a well insulated building envelope, the passive solar gains are quoted as providing significant contributions to heating. The remaining heating requirements are covered by a closed fireplace and an electric radiator. Heat is distributed by free convection inside the house, A double-flux ventilation system with heat recovery ensures air renewal (3 volumes per day). Each house has a solar hot water system with electric auxiliary energy supply. Space heating requirements are discussed and compared with the standard values as defined in Swiss energy standards and the conventional auxiliary space heating energy required for the houses is noted.

  4. Differences between vocalization evoked by social stimuli in feral cats and house cats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yeon, Seong C; Kim, Young K; Park, Se J; Lee, Scott S; Lee, Seung Y; Suh, Euy H; Houpt, Katherine A; Chang, Hong H; Lee, Hee C; Yang, Byung G; Lee, Hyo J

    2011-06-01

    To investigate how socialization can affect the types and characteristics of vocalization produced by cats, feral cats (n=25) and house cats (n=13) were used as subjects, allowing a comparison between cats socialized to people and non-socialized cats. To record vocalization and assess the cats' responses to behavioural stimuli, five test situations were used: approach by a familiar caretaker, by a threatening stranger, by a large doll, by a stranger with a dog and by a stranger with a cat. Feral cats showed extremely aggressive and defensive behaviour in most test situations, and produced higher call rates than those of house cats in the test situations, which could be attributed to less socialization to other animals and to more sensitivity to fearful situations. Differences were observed in the acoustic parameters of feral cats in comparison to those of house cats. The feral cat produced significantly higher frequency in fundamental frequency, peak frequency, 1st quartile frequency, 3rd quartile frequency of growls and hisses in agonistic test situations. In contrast to the growls and hisses, in meow, all acoustic parameters like fundamental frequency, first formant, peak frequency, 1st quartile frequency, and 3rd quartile frequency of house cats were of significantly higher frequency than those of feral cats. Also, house cats produced calls of significantly shorter in duration than feral cats in agonistic test situations. These results support the conclusion that a lack of socialization may affect usage of types of vocalizations, and the vocal characteristics, so that the proper socialization of cat may be essential to be a suitable companion house cat. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Passive House Solutions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Strom, I.; Joosten, L.; Boonstra, C. [DHV Sustainability Consultants, Eindhoiven (Netherlands)

    2006-05-15

    PEP stands for 'Promotion of European Passive Houses' and is a consortium of European partners, supported by the European Commission, Directorate General for Energy and Transport. In this working paper an overview is given of Passive House solutions. An inventory has been made of Passive House solutions for new build residences applied in each country. Based on this, the most common basic solutions have been identified and described in further detail, including the extent to which solutions are applied in common and best practice and expected barriers for the implementation in each country. An inventory per country is included in the appendix. The analysis of Passive House solutions in partner countries shows high priority with regard to the performance of the thermal envelope, such as high insulation of walls, roofs, floors and windows/ doors, thermal bridge-free construction and air tightness. Due to the required air tightness, special attention must be paid to indoor air quality through proper ventilation. Finally, efficient ((semi-)solar) heating systems for combined space and DHW heating still require a significant amount of attention in most partner countries. Other basic Passive House solutions show a smaller discrepancy with common practice and fewer barriers have been encountered in partner countries. In the next section, the general barriers in partner countries have been inventoried. For each type of barrier a suggested approach has been given. Most frequently encountered barriers in partner countries are: limited know-how; limited contractor skills; and acceptation of Passive Houses in the market. Based on the suggested approaches to overcoming barriers, this means that a great deal of attention must be paid to providing practical information and solutions to building professionals, providing practical training to installers and contractors and communication about the Passive House concept to the market.

  6. Constructing passive houses

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Oehler, S. [Oehler Faigle Archkom Solar Architektur, Bretten (Germany)

    2005-07-01

    Everybody can learn to build energy-efficient. It needs theoretical and practical experience. 1997 we built the first freestanding Passive House in Europe, the Passive House Oehler. There had been a lot of questions, starting with the insecurity, whether the calculation program of the Passive House Institute, the PHPP, is working properly in our case. Nobody knew at that time because nobody tried it out before. It took us a lot of time to find out and every detail of the construction hat to be invented to meet the very high demand of thermal quality. All the following houses needed less time and had fewer open questions, adding one piece of experience with every building. 2002 we realised the biggest Passive House, the office building Energon Ulm with 420 working spaces. In the meantime we have learned a lot like how to produce prefabricated timber elements for the facades, providing good insulation, air tightness and avoiding serious thermal bridges. We have proofed, that any kind of building type can be a Passive House. And with increasing experience the freedom of design and construction is growing. Even the economical efficiency increased. The Energon Ulm is providing a much better indoor climate than any other office building and was build 10 % cheaper than an average German office building. At present the Passive House Standard is the most efficient solution for the user to live in the desired comfort zone between 20 C and 25 C. This zone of individual feeling-well can be described with the term ''operative temperature''. This term is defined by factors like air temperature, radiation temperature of warm and cold surfaces, air speed and humidity. The result of all these factors has to be within 18 C to 25 C without accepting one of the factors getting extreme.

  7. 7 CFR 1944.659 - Replacement housing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 13 2010-01-01 2009-01-01 true Replacement housing. 1944.659 Section 1944.659 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) RURAL HOUSING SERVICE, RURAL BUSINESS...) PROGRAM REGULATIONS (CONTINUED) HOUSING Housing Preservation Grants § 1944.659 Replacement housing...

  8. Housing Systems and Ethnic Spatial Segregation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Hans Skifter; Andersson, Roger; Wessel, Terje

    Residential spatial segregation is related to housing markets and housing policies. In this paper, ethnic segregation is compared across four Nordic capitals and explanations for the differences are examined by comparing the housing markets and housing policies of the countries. The housing markets...

  9. Advanced Small Animal Conformal Radiation Therapy Device.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharma, Sunil; Narayanasamy, Ganesh; Przybyla, Beata; Webber, Jessica; Boerma, Marjan; Clarkson, Richard; Moros, Eduardo G; Corry, Peter M; Griffin, Robert J

    2017-02-01

    We have developed a small animal conformal radiation therapy device that provides a degree of geometrical/anatomical targeting comparable to what is achievable in a commercial animal irradiator. small animal conformal radiation therapy device is capable of producing precise and accurate conformal delivery of radiation to target as well as for imaging small animals. The small animal conformal radiation therapy device uses an X-ray tube, a robotic animal position system, and a digital imager. The system is in a steel enclosure with adequate lead shielding following National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements 49 guidelines and verified with Geiger-Mueller survey meter. The X-ray source is calibrated following AAPM TG-61 specifications and mounted at 101.6 cm from the floor, which is a primary barrier. The X-ray tube is mounted on a custom-made "gantry" and has a special collimating assembly system that allows field size between 0.5 mm and 20 cm at isocenter. Three-dimensional imaging can be performed to aid target localization using the same X-ray source at custom settings and an in-house reconstruction software. The small animal conformal radiation therapy device thus provides an excellent integrated system to promote translational research in radiation oncology in an academic laboratory. The purpose of this article is to review shielding and dosimetric measurement and highlight a few successful studies that have been performed to date with our system. In addition, an example of new data from an in vivo rat model of breast cancer is presented in which spatially fractionated radiation alone and in combination with thermal ablation was applied and the therapeutic benefit examined.

  10. House of Generations

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Geert Jensen, Birgitte

    2017-01-01

    only the benefits of living close to the family. The Aarhus Municipality project "House of Generations" is a vision for creating a framework for relationships across all generations, for meaningful encounters and for rewarding neighbourliness. Three of Aarhus Municipality's magistrate departments...... participate in the project: Health and Care, Children and Youth, and Social Conditions and Employment. A public housing association that provides student dorms also participates in the project. The physical framework will be a building with a total area of approx. 25,000 m², located at Pier 4, at Aarhus......' harbour areas. The building will be a multi-generational house comprising a mixture of flexible public housing units for students, the elderly and residents who require care (elderly disabled people and people with acquired brain injuries). The building will be connected with common areas located in close...

  11. State Housing Revival

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Donovan, Elizabeth

    2015-01-01

    Government funded housing for people in need is a challenge many countries face around the world. This research investigates how to sustainably regenerate post-war suburban state housing in New Zealand, in particular, the suburb of Glen Innes in Auckland. Reviving the community and regenerating...... the buildings is essential for improving the overall quality of the neighbourhoods both socially and physically. Achieving this in a holistic sustainable manner illustrates that there are alternatives to demolition and new builds, as the answer to the current housing shortage problems. New Zealand is confronted...... with the dilemma of what to do with existing government-funded housing which are no longer socially or physically suitable for the current demographic. New Zealand has a large cultural diversity with many new immigrants from the Pacific Islands and Asia. There is a need for culturally flexible and inclusive...

  12. House owners’ experience and satisfaction with Danish low-energy houses

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Knudsen, Henrik Nellemose; Kragh, Jesper

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to identify experience and satisfaction with new Danish detached low-energy single-family houses. A questionnaire survey was carried out in the autumn of 2013 among owners of newly built energy class 2015 houses. It included i.a. questions on their overall satisfacti...

  13. The Directive 2010/63/EU on animal experimentation may skew the conclusions of pharmacological and behavioural studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Macrì, Simone; Ceci, Chiara; Altabella, Luisa; Canese, Rossella; Laviola, Giovanni

    2013-01-01

    All laboratory animals shall be provided some form of environmental enrichment (EE) in the nearest future (Directive 2010/63/EU). Displacing standard housing with EE entails the possibility that data obtained under traditional housing may be reconsidered. Specifically, while EE often contrasts the abnormalities of consolidated disease models, it also indirectly demonstrates that their validity depends on housing conditions. We mimicked a situation in which the consequences of a novel pharmacological compound were addressed before and after the adoption of the Directive. We sub-chronically exposed standard- or EE-reared adolescent CD1 mice (postnatal days 23-33) to the synthetic compound JWH-018, and evaluated its short- and long-term potential cannabinoid properties on: weight gain, locomotion, analgesia, motor coordination, body temperature, brain metabolism ((1)H MRI/MRS), anxiety- and depressive-related behaviours. While several parameters are modulated by JWH-018 independently of housing, other effects are environmentally mediated. The transition from standard housing to EE shall be carefully monitored.

  14. Enriched Housing Reduces Disease Susceptibility to Co-Infection with Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Virus (PRRSV and Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae (A. pleuropneumoniae in Young Pigs.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ingrid D E van Dixhoorn

    Full Text Available Until today, anti-microbial drugs have been the therapy of choice to combat bacterial diseases. Resistance against antibiotics is of growing concern in man and animals. Stress, caused by demanding environmental conditions, can reduce immune protection in the host, influencing the onset and outcome of infectious diseases. Therefore psychoneuro-immunological intervention may prove to be a successful approach to diminish the impact of diseases and antibiotics use. This study was designed to investigate the effect of social and environmental enrichment on the impact of disease, referred to as "disease susceptibility", in pigs using a co-infection model of PRRSV and A. pleuropneumoniae. Twenty-eight pigs were raised in four pens under barren conditions and twenty-eight other pigs were raised in four pens under enriched conditions. In the enriched pens a combination of established social and environmental enrichment factors were introduced. Two pens of the barren (BH and two pens of the enriched housed (EH pigs were infected with PRRSV followed by A. pleuropneumoniae, the other two pens in each housing treatment served as control groups. We tested if differences in disease susceptibility in terms of pathological and clinical outcome were related to the different housing regimes and if this was reflected in differences in behavioural and immunological states of the animals. Enriched housed pigs showed a faster clearance of viral PRRSV RNA in blood serum (p = 0.014 and histologically 2.8 fold less interstitial pneumonia signs in the lungs (p = 0.014. More barren housed than enriched housed pigs developed lesions in the lungs (OR = 19.2, p = 0.048 and the lesions in the barren housed pigs showed a higher total pathologic tissue damage score (p<0.001 than those in enriched housed pigs. EH pigs showed less stress-related behaviour and differed immunologically and clinically from BH pigs. We conclude that enriched housing management reduces disease

  15. Housing Stakeholder Preferences for the "Soft" Features of Sustainable and Healthy Housing Design in the UK.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prochorskaite, Agne; Couch, Chris; Malys, Naglis; Maliene, Vida

    2016-01-07

    It is widely recognised that the quantity and sustainability of new homes in the UK need to increase. However, it is important that sustainable housing is regarded holistically, and not merely in environmental terms, and incorporates elements that enhance the quality of life, health and well-being of its users. This paper focuses on the "soft" features of sustainable housing, that is, the non-technological components of sustainable housing and neighbourhood design that can impact occupants' health and well-being. Aims of the study are to ascertain the relative level of importance that key housing stakeholders attach to these features and to investigate whether the opinions of housing users and housing providers are aligned with regards to their importance. An online survey was carried out to gauge the level of importance that the key stakeholders, such as housing users, local authorities, housing associations, and developers (n = 235), attach to these features. Results revealed that while suitable indoor space was the feature regarded as most important by all stakeholders, there were also a number of disparities in opinion between housing users and housing providers (and among the different types of providers). This implies a scope for initiatives to achieve a better alignment between housing users and providers.

  16. Social Housing in Denmark

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Vestergaard, Hedvig; Scanlon, Kath J

    2014-01-01

    Social housing is a cornerstone in the Danish welfare society and is accessible for all households. By law, social housing must be rented at cost rents, which are based on historical costs; rents do not respond to market forces. Social housing aims to provide good standard, secure and affordable...... as social initiatives in the existing stock....

  17. The First "Comfort Houses" in Denmark

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Brunsgaard, Camilla; Knudstrup, Mary-Ann; Heiselberg, Per

    2009-01-01

    The "Comfort Houses" is the most ambitious building project in passive houses in Denmark until today. Eight single family houses are built and designed by seven different consortiums. Besides fulfilling the German passive house standard the goal was to build the houses according to Danish tradition...

  18. Effects of housing system on welfare and milk yield and quality of Girgentana goats

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. Leto

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available In the past years, in Sicily, goats of the Girgentana breed have decreased so drastically in number that they risked extinction. Among the causes, particular blame can be laid at the traditional housing system, in which the goats, after coming back from pasture, were tethered in individual wooden stalls. Such a system is still considered necessary by breeders in order to avoid aggressive and harmful behaviour on the part of the animals, due to the presence of their long horns (Giaccone et al., 1994. This belief negatively interferes with the action recently initiated for the recovery and regeneration of the breed (Portolano et al., 2002; in fact, the tie stalls housing, increasing manpower, limits the increase in size in herds of Girgentana goats...

  19. From Council Housing to Social Housing. The successes and misfortunes of Social Housing policies in Italy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ferdinando Terranova

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available The issues dealt with are three: the need for medium – and large – scale territorial planning; the quality of housing; the solutions to guarantee secure flows of financing to launch programmes of public residential housing (ERP. A premise of any ERP programme is the planning and construction of a fast rail network to guarantee mass mobility. Once this premise has been satisfied, it is possible to identify agricultural areas to be expropriated for ERP interventions. This programme is characterised by operating above the municipal level, and it requires a structure that has the administrative powers of an agency. As regards the quality of housing, the following equation has to be dispensed with: public residential housing = ugly building characterised by alienation and anomy. Planners from this century have been called on to rise the challenge. To be certain of obtaining finance for ERP programmes, the old road of contributions at source from workers should be pursued as well as the establishment of a single fund that gathers together all the financing foreseen by laws made over the years and not spent, set aside for ERP.

  20. Subsidized Housing, Public Housing, and Adolescent Violence and Substance Use

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leech, Tamara G. J.

    2012-01-01

    This study examines the separate relationships of public housing residence and subsidized housing residence to adolescent health risk behavior. Data include 2,530 adolescents aged 14 to 19 who were children of the National the Longitudinal Study of Youth. The author used stratified propensity methods to compare the behaviors of each…

  1. Effects of two different rearing systems (organic and barn on production performance, animal welfare traits and egg quality characteristics in laying hens

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luigi Guidobono Cavalchini

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Alternative housing systems for hen eggs production represents clear evidence of the trend in animal housing and husbandry towards extensive rearing methods. Consumer demand is oriented towards healthy foods controlled not only under a safety point of view, but also under a welfare assessment of the animals’ living conditions. Among the different alternative systems deep litter and organic production in recent years have been improved in Italy. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether different housing systems (barn B and organic O for laying hens may influence productive performance, fear responses and egg quality characteristics. A total of 4,745 birds were housed in the B system and 2,016 in the O system, both of which were commercial facilities. In each system the same strain (Hy-Line Brown was housed and layer performance, external and internal egg characteristics, mortality and feed consumption were recorded weekly. Animal reactivity was recorded monthly with the approaching test. Moreover, the Tonic Immobility test was conducted at 70 weeks of age; feather and foot pad conditions were also investigated at the same time. The peak of laying was reached in both housing systems at 25 weeks of age and was higher in organic hens (94.5% than in barn hens (93.0%. Feed conversion rate during the overall laying period was 2.36 vs 2.20, respectively, in O and B housing systems. There was a significant difference concerning the eggs classified as very dirty, dirty and cracked between the two systems. The dirty eggs were higher in O system probably due to laying eggs in a free range area, while the higher number of cracked eggs in B system may be due to a significantly less shell thickness in this system. Egg weight increased with layer age in both housing systems. Animals reared in O system showed less fearfulness than in B emphasised by the approaching and Tonic Immobility test results. Feather scoring did not evidence any severe plumage

  2. 20 CFR 654.404 - Housing site.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 20 Employees' Benefits 3 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Housing site. 654.404 Section 654.404... THE EMPLOYMENT SERVICE SYSTEM Housing for Agricultural Workers Housing Standards § 654.404 Housing site. (a) Housing sites shall be well drained and free from depressions in which water may stagnate...

  3. Effect of Housing System, Slaughter Age and Sex on Slaughter and Carcass Parameters of Broiler Ducks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cyril Hrnčár

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study was to determine the effects of housing system slaughterage and sex on performance and carcass parameters of broiler ducks. Theexperiment was carried out in half-operation conditions experimental base ofDepartment of Poultry Science and Small Animal Husbandry of Slovak Universityof Agriculture in Nitra. A total of 60 one day old ducklings (type Peking DuckWhite were randomly divided to 2 housing groups: three-floor cage system anddeep litter system, both under uniform microclimate conditions. The housingsystem, slaughter age and sex significantly affected the slaughter weights ofbroiler ducks in 49 and 56 day of fattening. The results of this study showed the influenceof housing system, sex and slaughter age on slaughter and carcass parameters.The slaughter and carcass parameters were statistically higher (P0.05. The some slaughterand carcass parameters of male ducks were statistically higher (P<0.05 comparedwith female ducks.

  4. Multiple pump housing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Donoho, II, Michael R.; Elliott; Christopher M.

    2010-03-23

    A fluid delivery system includes a first pump having a first drive assembly, a second pump having a second drive assembly, and a pump housing. At least a portion of each of the first and second pumps are located in the housing.

  5. Influence of housing conditions and calving distance on blood metabolites in water buffalo cows

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fabio Napolitano

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study was to evaluate whether housing conditions allowing the animals to lie in the mud and performmore physical exercise can negatively affect reserve mobilization and milk production. In addition, the effect of calvingdistance on blood metabolites was assessed. The experiment was conducted on twenty-eight lactating buffalo cows,equally allocated to two treatments. Fourteen cows were group-housed in a loose open-sided barn with a concrete floorand equipped with self-locking stanchions, where they received 10 m2/head of space allowance, as in intensive systems(Group IS. Fourteen others were group-housed in a similar barn but they also had the benefit of an outdoor yard with500 m2/head as space allowance, including spontaneous vegetation and potholes for bathing and wallowing, as in traditionalsystems (Group TS. Animals were included in the experimental groups 5 days after calving. Daily milk yield, andmilk fat, protein and somatic cell content were determined 4 weeks after grouping (about 35 days after calving and thenat monthly intervals (5 recordings. Blood samples were collected from the jugular vein in vacuum tubes 10 days aftergrouping (i.e. 15 days after calving and then at 10 day intervals (17 collections. After centrifugation, plasma and serumaliquots were frozen stored until metabolite determinations (glucose, cholesterol, triglycerides, NEFA, urea, creatinine,albumins, total proteins, calcium, phosphorus, bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase, aspartate aminotransferase, alanineaminotransferase, lactate dehydrogenase and γglutamyl transferase. Treatment did not affect daily milk yield and milkfat, protein or somatic cell count content. Blood metabolite levels were not affected by treatment and interaction treatmentx time. Conversely, as expected, calving distance had an influence on most of these variables (Pparticular, in the first two months after parturition, glucose concentration decreased, whereas NEFA and

  6. Brazilian Citizens’ Opinions and Attitudes about Farm Animal Production Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria C. Yunes

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available The inclusion of societal input is needed for food animal production industries to retain their “social license to operate”; failure to engage with the public on this topic risks the long-term sustainability of these industries. The primary aim of this study was to explore the beliefs and attitudes of Brazilians citizens not associated with livestock production towards farm animal production. A related secondary aim was to identify the specific beliefs and attitudes towards systems that are associated with restriction of movement. Each participant was shown pictures representing two of five possible major food animal industries (laying hens, beef cattle, pregnant sows, lactating sows, and poultry meat. Participants were presented a six pages survey that included demographic questions plus two sets of two pictures and a series of questions pertaining to the pictures. Each set of pictures represented a particular industry where one picture represented a housing type that is associated with behavioural restrictions and the other picture represented a system that allowed for a greater degree of movement. Participants were asked their perceptions on the prevalence of each system in Brazil, then their preference of one picture vs. the other, and the reasons justifying their preference. Immediately following, the participant repeated the same exercise with the second set of two pictures representing another industry followed by the same series of questions as described above. Quantitative data were analysed with mixed effects logistic regression, and qualitative responses were coded into themes. The proportion of participants that believed animals are reared in confinement varied by animal production type: 23% (beef cattle, 82% (poultry, 81% (laying hens, and 60% (swine. A large majority (79% stated that farm animals are not well-treated in Brazil. Overall, participants preferred systems that were not associated with behavioural restriction. The

  7. Affordable housing as a niche product: The case of the Danish “SocialHousing Plus”

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Jesper Ole; Stensgaard, Anne Gro

    Establishing affordable housing is a growing demand in many larger cities there is however a number of challenges related to establishing affordable housing, as well as many different approaches. This paper presents a case-study of an affordable housing concept in the Danish social housing sector......, the “SocialHousing Plus” (“AlmenBolig+”) which is based on lowering production costs as well as operation costs including residential self-management, large-scale production of pre-fab housing units, low-energy solutions and other innovative approaches. The concept was developed in 2007, and has so far...... resulted in the production of more than 1.500 dwellings. The paper will discuss the results of the concept, and the various challenges related to it. Based on the theory of Technological Transition (Geels, 2002) it will discuss the options and limitations of providing affordable housing through developing...

  8. Timing of Environmental Enrichment Affects Memory in the House Cricket, Acheta domesticus.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Heather S Mallory

    Full Text Available Learning appears to be ubiquitous among animals, as it plays a key role in many behaviors including foraging and reproduction. Although there is some genetic basis for differences in learning ability and memory retention, environment also plays an important role, as it does for any other trait. For example, adult animals maintained in enriched housing conditions learn faster and remember tasks for longer than animals maintained in impoverished conditions. Such plasticity in adult learning ability has often been linked to plasticity in the brain, and studies aimed at understanding the mechanisms, stimuli, and consequences of adult behavioral and brain plasticity are numerous. However, the role of experiences during post-embryonic development in shaping plasticity in adult learning ability and memory retention remain relatively unexplored. Using the house cricket (Acheta domesticus as a model organism, we developed a protocol to allow the odor preference of a large number of crickets to be tested in a short period of time. We then used this new protocol to examine how enrichment or impoverishment at two developmental stages (either the last nymphal instar or young adult affected adult memory. Our results show that regardless of nymphal rearing conditions, crickets that experienced an enriched rearing condition as young adults performed better on a memory task than individuals that experienced an impoverished condition. Older adult crickets (more than 1 week post adult molt did not demonstrate differences in memory of the odor task, regardless of rearing condition as a young adult. Our results suggest that environmentally-induced plasticity in memory may be restricted to the young adult stage.

  9. Malaysian Affordability Housing Policies Revisited

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Samad Diwa

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Housing has always been a significant aspiration of family expression and distinctly priciest investment by household. It plays a momentous role in the country’s economy and so central to the societal well-being that is emplaced in the United Nation Universal declaration of Human rights. Yet in developed and developing world alike, cities struggle to provide decent housing for lower and middle income population. The provision of affordable housing is a major policy concern around the world with Malaysia being no exception; rising income hardly keep pace with price hike of housing unit and housing interventions has majorly concentrated on demand side leading to a non-responsive supply sector. Therefore, this paper highlights affordable housing issues pertaining Malaysia. It formulates Malaysian Map of affordability and conducts an evaluation of global housing schemes to better identify policy priorities for Malaysia. It’s significant to harmonize supply and demand side factors in the housing market to ensure that housing supply fits the needs of citizens based on the location, price and target group. In case of Malaysia supply oriented initiative are of urgency in short and medium run. This must be supported by long term demand side schemes in parallel. Convergence of these two factors is essential for a balanced equilibrium and obtaining affordability.

  10. Sanitary profile in mice and rat colonies in laboratory animal houses in Minas Gerais: I - Endo and ectoparasites Perfil sanitário de colônias de camundongos e ratos de biotérios de Minas Gerais: I - Endo e ectoparasitos

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    K.A. Bicalho

    2007-12-01

    Full Text Available The sanitary conditions of 13 animal houses in nine public institutions in Minas Gerais, and the presence of endo and ectoparasites of mice and rats colonies kept in these facilities were evaluated. Data about barriers to prevent the transmission of diseases and a program of sanitary monitoring were obtained through a questionnaire and local visit. Parasitological methods were performed for diagnosing mite, lice, helminthes, and protozoa parasites in 344 mice and 111 rats. Data have shown that the majority of the animal houses had neither proper physical environment nor protection barriers to prevent the transmission of infections. Parasitological results have shown that only one animal house (7.7% had parasite free animals, whereas the others have presented infected animals and the prevalences of parasites in the mice colonies were: Myobia musculi (23.1%; Myocoptes musculinus (38.5%; Radfordia affinis (15.4%; Syphacia obvelata (92.3%; Aspiculuris tetraptera (23.1%; Hymenolepis nana (15.4%; Spironucleus muris (46.2%; Giardia muris (46.2%; Tritrichomonas muris (53.8%; Trichomonas minuta (61.5%; Hexamastix muris (7.7%; and Entamoeba muris (84.6%. As for the rat colonies, the prevalences were: Poliplax spinulosa (8.1%; Syphacia muris (46.2%; Trichosomoides crassicauda (28.6%; Spironucleus muris (85.7%; Tritrichomonas muris (85.7%; Trichomonas minuta (85.7%; Hexamastix muris (14.3% and Entamoeba muris (85.7%.Avaliaram-se as condições sanitárias de 13 biotérios de nove instituições públicas do estado de Minas Gerais, bem como a presença de endo e ectoparasitos nos camundongos e ratos criados nesses biotérios. Os dados sobre barreiras contra infecções e sobre o programa de monitoramento sanitário dos animais foram obtidos por meio de um questionário e de visitas aos biotérios. Métodos parasitológicos foram utilizados para o diagnóstico de ácaros, piolhos, helmintos e protozoários em 344 camundongos e 111 ratos. A maioria dos biot

  11. Quality Affordable Housing: A Theoretical Framework for Planning and Design of Quality Housing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Noor Sharipah Sultan Sidi

    2011-10-01

    Full Text Available The provision of adequate, good or quality housing for the population has always been a major challenge and task for most nations in the world particularly the developing countries. As such various measures have been undertaken towards this end. However, the major constraint or problem in this respect has always been in defining the criteria for quality housing and establishing the standards of quality housing particularly with respect to the parameters in the determination of quality as some of the parameters are subjective and contextual such as psychological, cultural and environmental aspects. This paper is aimed at discussing the concept of quality housing and establishing the parameters and theoretical framework which can be used by researchers, town planners, architects, policy makers and others in the formulation of criteria / guidelines for the planning and design of quality housing.

  12. Creating Affordable Housing through self-management:

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Jesper Ole; Stensgaard, Anne Gro

    The paper presents a case on self-management in the Danish social housing sector as a way of providing affordable housing. It is based on an evaluation of a Danish concept for affordable housing, Social Housing Plus (“AlmenBolig+”). The concept was introduced in 2007, and so far app 1.400 housing...

  13. Captive chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) behavior as a function of space per animal and enclosure type.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neal Webb, Sarah J; Hau, Jann; Schapiro, Steven J

    2018-03-01

    Space per animal, or animal density, and enclosure type are important elements of functionally appropriate captive environments (FACEs) for chimpanzees. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recommends that captive chimpanzees be maintained in areas of >250 ft 2 /animal. Several studies have investigated chimpanzee behavior in relation to space per animal, but only two studies have examined these variables while attempting to hold environmental complexity constant. Both have found few, if any, significant differences in behavior associated with increased space per animal. The NIH does not provide recommendations pertaining to enclosure type. Although Primadomes™ and corrals are considered acceptable FACE housing, no studies have investigated chimpanzee behavior in relation to these two common types of enclosures. We examined the NIH space per animal recommendation, and the effects of enclosure type, while maintaining similar levels of environmental complexity. We used focal animal observations to record the behavior of 22 chimpanzees in three social groups following within-facility housing transfers. Chimpanzees that were moved from an area with space below the NIH recommendation to the same type of enclosure with space above the recommendation (dome to double dome) exhibited significantly more locomotion and behavioral diversity post-transfer. Chimpanzees that were moved from an area with space below the recommendation to a different type of enclosure with space above the recommendation (dome to corral) exhibited significant increases in foraging and behavioral diversity, and a decrease in rough scratching. Lastly, chimpanzees that were moved from an area above the recommendation to a different enclosure type with space equal to the recommendation (corral to double dome) exhibited an increase in behavioral diversity. These results add to the body of literature that addresses the concept of specific minimum space requirements per chimpanzee, and highlight the

  14. Pathology of mass housing projects in Iran (Mehr Housing Plan ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Mass housing in construction industry is known as projects that mass production methods are used to construct residential units in it. Mass housing is a model of construction that has high economic, technical and managerial feasibility and should optimize three areas of quality, time and cost. But it should be noted that in ...

  15. Passive houses in Norway

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Halse, Andreas

    2008-12-15

    The paper analyzes the introduction of passive houses in the Norwegian house market. Passive houses are houses with extremely low levels of energy consumption for heating, and have not yet been built in Norway, but have started to enter the market in Germany and some other countries. The construction sector is analyzed as a sectoral innovation system. The different elements of the innovation system are studied. This includes government agencies, producers, consumers, finance and education. The analysis shows that passive and low-energy houses are on the verge of market breakthrough. This can partly be explained by economic calculations, and partly by processes of learning and change in the institutional set-up of the sector. The construction sector is a sector characterized by low innovative intensity and little interaction between different agents. Those working to promote passive houses have to some extent managed to cope with these challenges. This has happened by breaking away from the traditional focus of Norwegian energy efficiency policies on technology and the economically rational agents, by instead focusing on knowledge and institutional change at the level of the producers. (Author)

  16. Housing demand or money supply? A new Keynesian dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model on China's housing market fluctuations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wen, Xing-Chun; He, Ling-Yun

    2015-08-01

    There is a bitter controversy over what drives the housing price in China in the existing literature. In this paper, we investigate the underlying driving force behind housing price fluctuations in China, especially focusing on the role of housing demand shock with that of money supply shock in explaining housing price movements, by a new Keynesian dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model. Empirical results suggest that it is housing demand, instead of money supply, that mainly drives China's housing price movements. Relevant policy implication is further discussed, namely, whether to consider the housing price fluctuations in the conduct of monetary policy. By means of the policy simulations, we find that a real house price-augmented money supply rule is a better monetary policy for China's economy stabilization. 1. Investment refers to fixed capital investment. 2. Housing price refers to national average housing price. Quarterly data on housing price during the period of our work are not directly available. However, monthly data of the value of sales on housing and sale volume on housing can be directly obtained from National Bureau of Statistics of China. We add up the monthly data and calculate one quarter's housing price by dividing the value of housing sales by its sale volume in one quarter. 3. M2 means the broad money supply in China.

  17. Effects of laboratory housing on exploratory behaviour, novelty discrimination and spatial reference memory in a subterranean, solitary rodent, the Cape mole-rat (Georychus capensis).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oosthuizen, Maria Kathleen; Scheibler, Anne-Gita; Bennett, Nigel Charles; Amrein, Irmgard

    2013-01-01

    A large number of laboratory and field based studies are being carried out on mole-rats, both in our research group and others. Several studies have highlighted the development of adverse behaviours in laboratory animals and have emphasised the importance of enrichment for captive animals. Hence we were interested in evaluating how laboratory housing would affect behavioural performance in mole-rats. We investigated exploratory behaviour, the ability to discriminate between novel and familiar environments and reference memory in the solitary Cape mole-rat (Georychus capensis). Our data showed that both wild and captive animals readily explore open spaces and tunnels. Wild animals were however more active than their captive counterparts. In the Y maze two trial discrimination task, wild animals failed to discriminate between novel and familiar environments, while laboratory housed mole-rats showed preferential spatial discrimination in terms of the length of time spent in the novel arm. The performance of the laboratory and wild animals were similar when tested for reference memory in the Y maze, both groups showed a significant improvement compared to the first day, from the 3rd day onwards. Wild animals made more mistakes whereas laboratory animals were slower in completing the task. The difference in performance between wild and laboratory animals in the Y-maze may be as a result of the lower activity of the laboratory animals. Laboratory maintained Cape mole-rats show classic behaviours resulting from a lack of stimulation such as reduced activity and increased aggression. However, they do display an improved novelty discrimination compared to the wild animals. Slower locomotion rate of the laboratory animals may increase the integration time of stimuli, hence result in a more thorough inspection of the surroundings. Unlike the captive animals, wild animals show flexibility in their responses to unpredictable events, which is an important requirement under

  18. Low energy houses and passive houses - common questions; Laagenergihus och passivhus - vanliga fraagestaellningar

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sikander, Eva; Samuelson, Ingemar; Gustavsson, Thorbjoern; Ruud, Svein; Larsson, Krister; Hiller, Carolina; Werner, Goesta; Gabrielii, Kristina

    2009-07-01

    This feasibility study of passive houses and low-energy houses has raised several questions concerning aspects of which more knowledge is needed. Many can be answered by existing knowledge, but there are still several that can only partly be answered, and some that cannot be answered at all. As there is a substantial demand for, and interest in, the construction of low-energy houses and passive houses, it is important that the remaining questions should be addressed so that the building sector can continue to develop. Examples of areas where further knowledge is needed include: moisture safe and energy-efficient building envelopes; demand-responsive ventilation, without risk of poor indoor environmental conditions; thermal comfort (summer and winter); airtight and durable detailing; design systems and working methods to ensure retention of good characteristics when converting or extending buildings; durability aspects of certain components and functions; the effects of occupants on energy use; how indoor environment conditions and functions will cope with climate change; quality assurance in order to ensure that the appropriate knowledge is applied, and that the work is carried out properly. Some important points to emphasise: The design and construction of low-energy houses and passive houses must be firmly based on the correct design principles and appropriate standards of workmanship, in order to ensure that the houses are energy-efficient, have good indoor environmental conditions and can be expected to have long lives. Proper understanding of the principles, coupled with constant quality awareness, are essential in all stages of the work from the developer, designer and construction personnel but also during operation-phase. Hitherto, low-energy houses and passive houses have been built in relatively small numbers, but the expectation is that interest in them will increase. This raises the question of how, if production is to be very much more than at present

  19. Housing Affordability Data System (HADS)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Department of Housing and Urban Development — The Housing Affordability Data System (HADS) is a set of files derived from the 1985 and later national American Housing Survey (AHS) and the 2002 and later Metro...

  20. Effect of housing rats in dim light or long nights on heart rate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Azar, Toni A; Sharp, Jody L; Lawson, David M

    2008-07-01

    Housing laboratory animals under lighting conditions that more closely mimic the natural environment may improve their wellbeing. This study examined the effects of dim light or a long-night photocycle on resting heart rate (HR) of rats and their HR responses to acute procedures. Male and female Sprague-Dawley (SD) and spontaneously hypertensive (SHR) rats, instrumented with radiotelemetry transmitters and housed individually under a 12:12-h light:dark photocycle with 10 lx illumination (dim light) or under an 8:16-h light:dark photocycle with 200 lx illumination (long nights), were compared with control rats individually housed under a 12:12-h light:dark photocycle with 200 lx illumination. Dim light and long nights significantly reduced the HR of undisturbed SD and SHR male and SHR female rats during the day and at night; however, the HR of undisturbed SD females was not affected. When rats were subjected acutely to husbandry, experimental, or stressful procedures, dim light or long nights (or both) reduced HR responses to some procedures, did not alter responses to others, and increased responses to yet other procedures. The pattern of effects varied between strains and between male and female rats. Because basal HR was reduced when rats were housed under 10 lx illumination or an 8:16-h light:dark photocycle, we concluded that housing rats under 12:12-h light:dark, 200 lx ambient light conditions was potentially stressful, We also concluded that dim light or long nights did not uniformly reduce the increased HR responses induced by acute procedures.

  1. American Housing Survey (AHS) 2011

    Data.gov (United States)

    Department of Housing and Urban Development — The AHS is the largest, regular national housing sample survey in the United States. The U.S. Census Bureau conducts the AHS to obtain up-to-date housing statistics...

  2. The Eco House

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hobbett, A. (Leicester Ecology Trust (United Kingdom))

    The Eco House is a former park keeper's lodge on the periphery of Leicester's largest public park. Taken over by Leicester Ecology Trust in 1990, the Eco House was a successor to the Trust's earlier low energy house. This has been a local authority decant house, retrofitted to show the potential for increased energy efficiency in older buildings. Many of the ideas from the earlier project were adopted by the new with a widening of its remit to include all matters of environmental concern connected with people's homes. So in addition to energy efficiency, other issues addressed include conservation of resources, wildlife, organic gardening, food production, water, environmental consumerism, recycling and health. Given that the use of energy is regarded by many environmentalists to be the single most important environmental issue today, and one which is easiest for households to address, it remains the project's dominant theme. (author)

  3. [Application of health education of house-to-house visit in malaria prevention and control].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Wen-gang; Qu, Yan; Wang, Wen-guang; Tang, Song-yuan

    2014-10-01

    To evaluate the effects of health education of house-to-house visit in malaria prevention and control in the border and minority areas. A health education of house-to-house visit in malaria prevention and control was carried out, and baseline and follow up surveys were conducted by qualitative and quantitative methods to document the changes of local villagers' knowledge, attitudes and behaviors (KAP) of malaria prevention and control in 2 counties of Yunnan Province, and the results before and after the interventions were analyzed and compared. After the intervention, the cognition rates about malaria symptoms and signs, transmission mode, preventive measures and health-seeking behaviors were 99.3%, 98.9%, 79.9% and 99.3% respectively in the local residents, and those were 39.2%, 8.2%, 47.0% and 49.9% respectively before the intervention, and all the differences were statistically significant (P all house-to-house visit is an effective community-based health education approach.

  4. A Decade of Progress toward Ending the Intensive Confinement of Farm Animals in the United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shields, Sara; Shapiro, Paul; Rowan, Andrew

    2017-01-01

    Simple Summary Over the past ten years, unprecedented changes in the way farm animals are kept on intensive production facilities have begun to take hold in the U.S. veal, egg and pork industries. Propelled by growing public support for animal welfare, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) has successfully led the effort to transition farms from using restrictive cages and crates to more open aviary and group housing systems that offer the animals far more freedom to express natural behavior. This paper describes the background history of the movement, the strategy and approach of the campaign and the challenges that were overcome to enable this major shift in farming practices. The events chronicled are set within the context of the larger societal concern for animals and the important contributions of other animal protection organizations. Abstract In this paper, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) farm animal protection work over the preceding decade is described from the perspective of the organization. Prior to 2002, there were few legal protections for animals on the farm, and in 2005, a new campaign at the HSUS began to advance state ballot initiatives throughout the country, with a decisive advancement in California (Proposition 2) that paved the way for further progress. Combining legislative work with undercover farm and slaughterhouse investigations, litigation and corporate engagement, the HSUS and fellow animal protection organizations have made substantial progress in transitioning the veal, pork and egg industries away from intensive confinement systems that keep the animals in cages and crates. Investigations have become an important tool for demonstrating widespread inhumane practices, building public support and convincing the retail sector to publish meaningful animal welfare policies. While federal legislation protecting animals on the farm stalled, there has been steady state-by-state progress, and this is complemented by

  5. Comparison of a Wooden House and a Porous Concrete Masonry House

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ďurica Pavol

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available This paper deals with an evaluation of an existing wooden panel house and its comparison with alternative material composition (porous concrete masonry house. The criteria for evaluation are the energy performance, size of the usable area, environmental impact and final costs.

  6. Access to housing subsidies, housing status, drug use and HIV risk among low-income U.S. urban residents

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dickson-Gomez Julia

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Much research has shown an association between homelessness and unstable housing and HIV risk but most has relied on relatively narrow definitions of housing status that preclude a deeper understanding of this relationship. Fewer studies have examined access to housing subsidies and supportive housing programs among low-income populations with different personal characteristics. This paper explores personal characteristics associated with access to housing subsidies and supportive housing, the relationship between personal characteristics and housing status, and the relationship between housing status and sexual risk behaviors among low-income urban residents. Methods Surveys were conducted with 392 low-income residents from Hartford and East Harford, Connecticut through a targeted sampling plan. We measured personal characteristics (income, education, use of crack, heroin, or cocaine in the last 6 months, receipt of welfare benefits, mental illness diagnosis, arrest, criminal conviction, longest prison term served, and self-reported HIV diagnosis; access to housing subsidies or supportive housing programs; current housing status; and sexual risk behaviors. To answer the aims above, we performed univariate analyses using Chi-square or 2-sided ANOVA's. Those with significance levels above (0.10 were included in multivariate analyses. We performed 2 separate multiple regressions to determine the effects of personal characteristics on access to housing subsidies and access to supportive housing respectively. We used multinomial main effects logistic regression to determine the effects of housing status on sexual risk behavior. Results Being HIV positive or having a mental illness predicted access to housing subsidies and supportive housing, while having a criminal conviction was not related to access to either housing subsidies or supportive housing. Drug use was associated with poorer housing statuses such as living on the

  7. The Index House

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reilly, M.A.

    1990-01-01

    This paper reports on the Pennsylvania Radon Research and Demonstration Project. The project involved the monitoring of the Index House for indoor radon, and was one of the earliest programs involving indoor radon contamination. The history of the house, the investigation, and testing and remediation procedures are discussed

  8. Conformal house

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ryttov, Thomas Aaby; Sannino, Francesco

    2010-01-01

    fixed point. As a consistency check we recover the previously investigated bounds of the conformal windows when restricting to a single matter representation. The earlier conformal windows can be imagined to be part now of the new conformal house. We predict the nonperturbative anomalous dimensions...... at the infrared fixed points. We further investigate the effects of adding mass terms to the condensates on the conformal house chiral dynamics and construct the simplest instanton induced effective Lagrangian terms...

  9. Sustainable Living and Co-Housing

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Marckmann, Bella; Gram-Hanssen, Kirsten; Christensen, Toke Haunstrup

    2012-01-01

    In this article we examine aspects of the different arguments for the environmental advantages of co-housing compared with individual households. The analysis is structured around four main questions, which are argued to be decisive for the question of co-housing and sustainability. The first...... is whether co-housing offers better opportunities for choosing and using more sustainable technologies, which also relates to the question of whether co-housing offers better opportunities for building smaller and denser and thus more energy efficient buildings. The second and third questions are socially...... oriented; one relates to the claim that co-housing can support pro-environmental behaviour among residents as they can support each other’s norms and practices. The fourth and last claim relates to a discussion of co-housing as a more sustainable opportunity especially for people living alone...

  10. Energy efficient residential house wall system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aldawi, Fayez; Date, Abhijit; Alam, Firoz; Khan, Iftekhar; Alghamdi, Mohammed

    2013-01-01

    The energy consumption and greenhouse gas emission by the residential housing sector are considered to be one of the largest in economically developed countries. The larger energy consumption and greenhouse gas emission not only put additional pressure on finite fossil fuel resources but also cause global warming and climate change. Additionally, the residential housing sector will be consuming more energy as the house demand and average house floor area are progressively increasing. With currently used residential house wall systems, it is hard to reduce energy consumption for ongoing house space heating and cooling. A smart house wall envelope with optimal thermal masses and insulation materials is vital for reducing our increasing energy consumption. The major aim of this study is to investigate thermal performance and energy saving potential of a new house wall system for variable climate conditions. The thermal performance modelling was carried out using commercially developed software AccuRate ® . The findings indicate that a notable energy savings can be accomplished if a smart house wall system is used. -- Highlights: • Smart house wall system. • Thermal performance modelling and star energy rating. • Energy savings and greenhouse gas reduction

  11. House Prices and Public Debt

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gjedsted Nielsen, Mads; Rzeznik, Aleksandra

    By using the 2002 case of fraud in the Danish municipality Farum by then mayor Peter Brixtofte as an exogenous shock to public debt of 1 billion DKK, I estimate the effect of public debt on house prices. I find that the average home ownership lost about 570,000 DKK or as much as 29% of the average...... house price in the municipality. Furthermore, I document that the aggregate house price loss of 2.1 billion DKK greatly exceeds the increase in public debt of 1 billion DKK. I find that the drop in house prices is sustained 1 year, indicating that the housing market initially overreacts...

  12. The Housing Finance Revolution

    OpenAIRE

    Richard K. Green; Susan M. Wachter

    2007-01-01

    While other countries dismantled their segmented housing finance systems and linked housing finance to capital markets through deregulated depositories, the US linked housing finance to capital markets through depository deregulation and securitization. Elsewhere securitization has not developed. The US provided the underpinnings for its mortgage security infrastructure with the creation of FNMA in 1938 and in order to create liquidity in the mortgage market required the standardization of mo...

  13. Risk shocks and housing markets

    OpenAIRE

    Dorofeenko, Viktor; Lee, Gabriel S.; Salyer, Kevin D.

    2010-01-01

    Abstract: This paper analyzes the role of uncertainty in a multi-sector housing model with financial frictions. We include time varying uncertainty (i.e. risk shocks) in the technology shocks that affect housing production. The analysis demonstratesthat risk shocks to the housing production sector are a quantitatively important impulse mechanism for the business cycle. Also, we demonstrate that bankruptcy costs act as an endogenous markup factor in housing prices; as a consequence, the volati...

  14. Housing Stakeholder Preferences for the “Soft” Features of Sustainable and Healthy Housing Design in the UK

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prochorskaite, Agne; Couch, Chris; Malys, Naglis; Maliene, Vida

    2016-01-01

    It is widely recognised that the quantity and sustainability of new homes in the UK need to increase. However, it is important that sustainable housing is regarded holistically, and not merely in environmental terms, and incorporates elements that enhance the quality of life, health and well-being of its users. This paper focuses on the “soft” features of sustainable housing, that is, the non-technological components of sustainable housing and neighbourhood design that can impact occupants’ health and well-being. Aims of the study are to ascertain the relative level of importance that key housing stakeholders attach to these features and to investigate whether the opinions of housing users and housing providers are aligned with regards to their importance. An online survey was carried out to gauge the level of importance that the key stakeholders, such as housing users, local authorities, housing associations, and developers (n = 235), attach to these features. Results revealed that while suitable indoor space was the feature regarded as most important by all stakeholders, there were also a number of disparities in opinion between housing users and housing providers (and among the different types of providers). This implies a scope for initiatives to achieve a better alignment between housing users and providers. PMID:26751465

  15. Housing Stability among Homeless Individuals with Serious Mental Illness Participating in Housing First Programs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pearson, Carol; Montgomery, Ann Elizabeth; Locke, Gretchen

    2009-01-01

    This article presents findings from an exploratory study of three programs using the Housing First approach to provide permanent supportive housing for single, homeless adults with serious mental illness and often co-occurring substance-related disorders. This approach provides direct, or nearly direct, access to housing that is intended to be…

  16. 24 CFR 983.155 - Completion of housing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 24 Housing and Urban Development 4 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Completion of housing. 983.155 Section 983.155 Housing and Urban Development Regulations Relating to Housing and Urban Development (Continued) OFFICE OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR PUBLIC AND INDIAN HOUSING, DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN...

  17. United States housing, first quarter 2013

    Science.gov (United States)

    Delton Alderman

    2014-01-01

    Provides current and historical information on housing market in the United States. Information includes trends for housing permits and starts, housing under construction, and housing completions for single and multifamily units, and sales and construction. This report will be updated regularly.

  18. Enriched Housing Reduces Disease Susceptibility to Co-Infection with Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Virus (PRRSV) and Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae (A. pleuropneumoniae) in Young Pigs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Dixhoorn, Ingrid D E; Reimert, Inonge; Middelkoop, Jenny; Bolhuis, J Elizabeth; Wisselink, Henk J; Groot Koerkamp, Peter W G; Kemp, Bas; Stockhofe-Zurwieden, Norbert

    2016-01-01

    Until today, anti-microbial drugs have been the therapy of choice to combat bacterial diseases. Resistance against antibiotics is of growing concern in man and animals. Stress, caused by demanding environmental conditions, can reduce immune protection in the host, influencing the onset and outcome of infectious diseases. Therefore psychoneuro-immunological intervention may prove to be a successful approach to diminish the impact of diseases and antibiotics use. This study was designed to investigate the effect of social and environmental enrichment on the impact of disease, referred to as "disease susceptibility", in pigs using a co-infection model of PRRSV and A. pleuropneumoniae. Twenty-eight pigs were raised in four pens under barren conditions and twenty-eight other pigs were raised in four pens under enriched conditions. In the enriched pens a combination of established social and environmental enrichment factors were introduced. Two pens of the barren (BH) and two pens of the enriched housed (EH) pigs were infected with PRRSV followed by A. pleuropneumoniae, the other two pens in each housing treatment served as control groups. We tested if differences in disease susceptibility in terms of pathological and clinical outcome were related to the different housing regimes and if this was reflected in differences in behavioural and immunological states of the animals. Enriched housed pigs showed a faster clearance of viral PRRSV RNA in blood serum (p = 0.014) and histologically 2.8 fold less interstitial pneumonia signs in the lungs (p = 0.014). More barren housed than enriched housed pigs developed lesions in the lungs (OR = 19.2, p = 0.048) and the lesions in the barren housed pigs showed a higher total pathologic tissue damage score (ppigs. EH pigs showed less stress-related behaviour and differed immunologically and clinically from BH pigs. We conclude that enriched housing management reduces disease susceptibility to co-infection of PRRSV and A

  19. White House Communications Agency

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Gimble, Thomas

    1995-01-01

    The Chairman, House Committee on Government Reform and Oversight; the Chairman, House Subcommittee on National Security, International Affairs, and Criminal Justice, Committee on Government Reform and Oversight...

  20. Does stimulant use impair housing outcomes in low-demand supportive housing for chronically homeless adults?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Edens, Ellen L; Tsai, Jack; Rosenheck, Robert A

    2014-01-01

    Recent research suggests low-demand housing (i.e., not contingent upon abstinence) is effective in helping people exit homelessness, even among recent active substance users. Whether active users of illicit drugs and stimulants have worse housing outcomes than primary alcohol users, however, is unknown. A total of 149 participants in a multisite supportive housing program who reported high levels of active substance use at program entry were classified as either (1) predominantly "Alcohol Use" (>10 of 30 days alcohol, but not >10 days of drug use) or (2) "Illicit Drug Use" (>10 of 30 days any single illicit drug use with or without alcohol use). Sub-analysis of the "Illicit Drug Use" group compared participants reporting high levels of "Stimulant Use" (>10 days cocaine, crack, or methamphetamine use) to those with high levels of "Non-stimulant Use" (>10 days marijuana or other non-stimulant drug use). Group differences in housing outcomes were examined with mixed model multivariate regression. During 24-month follow-up, days housed increased dramatically for both the "Alcohol Use" and the "Illicit Drug Use" groups without significant differences. Sub-analysis of illicit drug users showed stimulant use was associated with fewer days housed (p = .01) and more days homeless (p = .02) over time. Among illicit drug users, stimulant users have somewhat less successful housing outcomes than other active drug and alcohol users, though both groups maintained substantial housing improvements in low-demand housing. © American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry.

  1. 76 FR 53880 - Funds Availability for Section 514 Farm Labor Housing Loans and Section 516 Farm Labor Housing...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-08-30

    ... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Rural Housing Service Funds Availability for Section 514 Farm Labor Housing Loans and Section 516 Farm Labor Housing Grants for Off-Farm Housing for Fiscal Year 2011 AGENCY: Rural Housing Service, USDA. ACTION: Notice; correction. SUMMARY: This notice corrects the scoring...

  2. Women's housing conditions in Bangladesh.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shefali, M K

    1996-01-01

    This news article describes women's housing conditions, housing policy, and pilot programs to house poor women in Bangladesh. Although Bangladesh has a constitution that reinforces the equal status of women, in practice, men dominate and patrilineal customs determine inheritance and property rights. Religious affiliation also determines land tenure and inheritance. Muslim women can inherit 12.5% of their husband's property if there are children. 25% is inherited if wives are without children. Hindu women without sons can inherit their husband's property, but not parental property. Many families refuse to release property to women without a fight. Women, regardless of ownership of land, rarely control or use their land. The custom of requiring men to maintain wives during the marriage, and daughters until marriage, creates obstacles to women's decision making about property. Without collateral and other security women are unable to secure bank loans. Many women are also constrained by the requirement of male consent or guarantees for bank transactions. Banks do not have a gender responsive criteria for selecting loan recipients. The government does not provide sufficient housing to satisfy the growing housing needs due to population growth. Some housing is available from slum landlords. A National Housing Policy was formulated in 1993. Priority would be given to the housing needs of low income women in urban areas and women-headed households with income below the poverty line. The policy does not address the underlying factors that prevent equal access to housing for women. The government prepared a Human Settlement and Urban Development proposal for the Habitat II conference. The plan did not address gender issues. Special efforts are being made by nongovernmental groups to meet the housing needs of professional women and for some disadvantaged women.

  3. Animal welfare in cross-ventilated, compost-bedded pack, and naturally ventilated dairy barns in the upper Midwest.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lobeck, K M; Endres, M I; Shane, E M; Godden, S M; Fetrow, J

    2011-11-01

    The objective of this cohort study was to investigate animal welfare in 2 newer dairy housing options in the upper Midwest, cross-ventilated freestall barns (CV) and compost-bedded-pack barns (CB), compared with conventional, naturally ventilated freestall barns (NV). The study was conducted on 18 commercial dairy farms, 6 of each housing type, in Minnesota and eastern South Dakota. The primary breed in all farms was Holstein; 1 CV and 1 NV herd had approximately 30% Jersey-Holstein crossbreds. All freestall herds used sand for bedding. Farms were visited 4 times (once in each season) between January and November 2008, and approximately 93% of all animals in each pen were visually scored on each visit. Outcome-based measurements of welfare (locomotion, hock lesions, body condition score, hygiene, respiration rates, mortality, and mastitis prevalence) were collected on each farm. Lameness prevalence (proportion of cows with locomotion score ≥3 on a 1 to 5 scale, where 1=normal and 5=severely lame) in CB barns (4.4%) was lower than that in NV (15.9%) and CV (13.1%) barns. Lameness prevalence was similar between CV and NV barns. Hock lesion prevalence (proportion of cows with a lesion score ≥2 on a 1 to 3 scale, where 1=normal, 2=hair loss, and 3=swelling) was lower in CB barns (3.8%) than in CV (31.2%) and NV barns (23.9%). Hygiene scores (1 to 5 scale, where 1=clean and 5=very dirty) were higher for CB (3.18) than CV (2.83) and NV (2.77) barns, with no differences between CV and NV barns. Body condition scores, respiration rates, mastitis prevalence, culling, and mortality rates did not differ among housing systems. The CV and NV barns were evaluated using the cow comfort index (proportion of cows lying down in a stall divided by all animals touching a stall) and the stall usage index (proportion of cows lying divided by all animals in the pen not eating). The CV barns tended to have greater cow comfort index (85.9%) than the NV barns (81.4%) and had greater

  4. Wellbeing, activity and housing satisfaction - comparing residents with psychiatric disabilities in supported housing and ordinary housing with support.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eklund, Mona; Argentzell, Elisabeth; Bejerholm, Ulrika; Tjörnstrand, Carina; Brunt, David

    2017-08-30

    The home is imperative for the possibilities for meaningful everyday activities among people with psychiatric disabilities. Knowledge of whether such possibilities vary with type of housing and housing support might reveal areas for improved support. We aimed to compare people with psychiatric disabilities living in supported housing (SH) and ordinary housing with support (OHS) regarding perceived well-being, engaging and satisfying everyday activities, and perceived meaning of activity in one's accommodation. The importance of these factors and socio-demographics for satisfaction with housing was also explored. This naturalistic cross-sectional study was conducted in municipalities and city districts (n = 21) in Sweden, and 155 SH residents and 111 OHS residents participated in an interview that included both self-reports and interviewer ratings. T-test and linear regression analysis were used. The SH group expressed more psychological problems, but better health, quality of life and personal recovery compared to the OHS residents. The latter were rated as having less symptom severity, and higher levels of functioning and activity engagement. Both groups rated themselves as under-occupied in the domains of work, leisure, home management and self-care, but the SH residents less so regarding home management and self-care chores. Although the groups reported similar levels of activity, the SH group were more satisfied with everyday activities and rated their housing higher on possibilities for social interaction and personal development. The groups did not differ on access to activity in their homes. The participants generally reported sufficient access to activity, social interaction and personal development, but those who wanted more personal development in the OHS group outnumbered those who stated they received enough. Higher scores on satisfaction with daily occupations, access to organization and information, wanting more social interaction, and personal

  5. A New Index of Housing Sentiment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bork, Lasse; Møller, Stig Vinther; Pedersen, Thomas Quistgaard

    We propose a new measure for housing sentiment and show that it accurately tracks expectations about future house price growth rates. We construct the housing sentiment index using partial least squares on questions related to consumers' opinions of buying conditions for houses from University...

  6. A New Index of Housing Sentiment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bork, Lasse; Møller, Stig Vinther; Pedersen, Thomas Quistgaard

    We propose a new measure for housing sentiment and show that it accurately tracks expectations about future house price growth rates. We construct the housing sentiment index using partial least squares on household survey responses to questions about buying conditions for houses. We …find...

  7. A Type of Rural Houses or a Cultural Heritage That Tending to Disappear: Beehive Houses of Suruç

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mehmet Sait Şahinalp

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Beehive houses of Suruç are completely built from sun dried mudbrick. Traditionally, rural house of Suruç plain is beehive houses. It has known that these houses have been used for centuries. These houses rooms have square plan and each room have conical roof. In terms of their own characteristic, Suruç beehive houses different from other conical or dome roofed houses such as beehive house of Harran, Trullo and Clochán. Basically there are four usage spaces; living rooms, designs of granaries, barn or folds and haylofts which are respectively arranged from south to north. These usage spaces are connected to each other with eyvans or gates without door. As requirement of rural life, these houses have some outbuildings such as tendur (tandoor, kadin (hayloft, gom (open folder, ça’l, lod and seki (terrace. Due to some environmental and socio-economic problems have caused migration from countryside to cities during the last 30 years. As a result of this, the Suruç beehive houses have either disused or abandoned completely. In addition, especially in last 30 years, the villagers in the area have begun to prefer building the reinforced concrete houses. This has led some of the Suruç beehive houses either to be destroyed or abandoned. Recent survived examples of these houses can be seen in Kara, Yatırtepe and Boztepe villages

  8. Literacy Mediation in Neighbourhood Houses

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thompson, Sally

    2015-01-01

    Interactions between staff in Neighbourhood Houses, and the socially and educationally disadvantaged community members who visit Neighbourhood Houses, have been viewed through many lenses, including community development, social support, caring and compassion. This paper looks at Neighbourhood Houses as sites of pedagogical practice. More…

  9. Nunavut housing ventilation research 2003-2005

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fugler, D.

    2005-11-15

    Inuit children in Alaska and Nunavut have high rates of severe lower respiratory tract infections, with hospitalization rates of 300 per year for each 1000 infants. The aim of this research report was to summarize the findings of a pilot project measuring the indoor air quality (IAQ) in 20 Cape Dorset houses as well as a study measuring the ventilation rates of 100 house from 4 communities in Nunavut. The 20 house pilot study included a respiratory questionnaire; a detailed home inspection and data collection; a blower door airtightness test; 7 day measurements of nitrogen dioxide (NO{sub 2}), nicotine, carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}), relative humidity and temperature; a natural air change rate testing using Brookhaven tracer gas technology; and settled floor dust and bed dust collection followed by biological analysis. The 100 house study recorded 3 to 5 days of house temperatures, relative humidity and CO{sub 2}. The Brookhaven tracer gas technique was used to establish house air change rate. A questionnaire was used to assess ventilation devices. A medical questionnaire was administered and an evaluation of hospitalization data was carried out. Results indicated that a large number of Nunavut houses were not adequately ventilated. In the 20 house study, a third of the houses showed air change rates that would be considered low by any ventilation standards, and that were very low when considering the high occupancy of the houses. In the hundred house study, almost all houses indicated a mean CO{sub 2} level over 1000 ppm, and peaks exceeded 2000 ppm in approximately half the houses. The concentrations were far higher than those seen in southern Canadian homes. It was concluded that the development and promotion of energy-efficient ventilation devices could help to resolve ventilation deficiencies in Nunavut. 2 figs.

  10. 32 CFR 644.358 - Deposit of proceeds from disposal of family housing in the family housing management account.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... housing in the family housing management account. 644.358 Section 644.358 National Defense Department of....358 Deposit of proceeds from disposal of family housing in the family housing management account. (a... disposal be transferred to the DOD Family Housing Management Account. (The actual transfer of funds will be...

  11. Animal welfare assessment at slaughter in Europe: moving from inputs to outputs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Velarde, Antonio; Dalmau, Antoni

    2012-11-01

    Producers, retailers and other food chain actors increasingly recognize that consumer concerns for good animal welfare represent a business opportunity that could be profitably incorporated into their commercial strategies. Therefore, during the last decade, numerous trade groups (producers, processors, retailers and restaurant chains) have developed certification systems with their suppliers which include elements of animal welfare. The Welfare Quality® project has developed an integrated and standardised welfare assessment system based on twelve welfare criteria grouped into four main principles (good feeding, good housing, good health and appropriate behaviour) according to how they are experienced by animals. One of the innovations of the Welfare Quality® assessment system is that it focuses more on outcome measures (e.g. directly related to animal body condition, health aspects, injuries, behaviour, etc.). This paper has the objective to discuss the rationale behind the welfare assessment and to describe the Welfare Quality® assessment of pigs and cattle at the slaughterhouse. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. 7 CFR 3565.252 - Housing types.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 15 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Housing types. 3565.252 Section 3565.252 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) RURAL HOUSING SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE GUARANTEED RURAL RENTAL HOUSING PROGRAM Property Requirements § 3565.252 Housing types. The property may...

  13. 7 CFR 3560.104 - Fair housing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... DIRECT MULTI-FAMILY HOUSING LOANS AND GRANTS Borrower Management and Operations Responsibilities § 3560... Housing Marketing Plan. (1) Borrowers with housing projects that have four or more rental units must prepare and maintain an Affirmative Fair Housing Marketing Plan (AFHMP) as defined in 24 CFR part 200...

  14. The impact of house price index specification levels on the risk profile of housing corporations

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kramer, B.; Kuijl, T.; Francke, M.

    2009-01-01

    Asset Liability Management (ALM) for housing corporations is based on stochastic scenario models for important risk and return drivers such as interest and inflation rates, construction costs and sales prices of houses. Given the situation of the housing corporation (current real estate portfolio,

  15. 28 CFR 551.104 - Housing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 28 Judicial Administration 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Housing. 551.104 Section 551.104 Judicial Administration BUREAU OF PRISONS, DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE INSTITUTIONAL MANAGEMENT MISCELLANEOUS Pretrial Inmates § 551.104 Housing. To the extent practicable, pretrial inmates will be housed separately from convicted...

  16. Strategies for Living in Houses

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Colin Ripley

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The problem of queer housing can never go away because it is a central component of queerness. Queer housing is a contradiction in terms: not even a queer architect can design a queer house. But where does this leave us, as queer people living in a straight hegemony? Where does it leave us as humans with bodies, craving shelter and safety and a place to live that is in accordance with our experience of self and of living in the world? In this article the author proposes eight architectural strategies for re-occupying the Levittown Cape Cod house from 1947 for queer bodies, minds and hearts. These strategies offer modes by which the key programmatic formal and material components of the Cape Cod House can be attacked, made invalid, or détourned for queer uses, to make of the Cape Cod House a site for our pain, our longing, our anger.

  17. The mast on the house

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Landberg, L.

    1997-01-01

    An often encountered problem when preparing the basic input data for a wind atlas is the correction for the influence of the house or hut on which the mast - whose data forms the basis of this wind atlas - is placed. The paper will describe an experiment, where this problem has been addressed....... The knowledge gained will be used to give guide-lines as to the use of the WASP program to correct the observations. Should the house/hut simply be treated as an extension of the mast, should the house/hut be treated as a hill with speed-up effects, or should the house/hill be ignored completely? The paper...... will show that the house/hut should indeed be treated as a hill with speed-up effects. Placing meteorological masts on houses or huts is common practice in quite a few countries in the world. The problem is therefore one which most people involved in detailed wind resource assessment will face sooner...

  18. The mast on the house

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Landberg, L.

    2000-01-01

    An often encountered problem when preparing the basic input data for a wind atlas study is the correction for the influence of the house or hut on which the mast—whose data form the basis of this wind atlas—is placed. The article will describe an experiment where this problem has been addressed....... The knowledge gained will be used to give guidelines as to the use of the WAsP program to correct the observations. Should the house/hut simply be treated as an extension of the mast, should the house/hut be treated as a hill with speed-up effects, or should the house/hill be ignored completely? The paper...... will show that the house/hut should indeed be treated as a hill with speed-up effects. Placing meteorological masts on houses or huts is common practice in quite a few countries in the world. The problem is therefore one which most people involved in detailed wind resource assessment will face sooner...

  19. 24 CFR 954.103 - Housing strategy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 24 Housing and Urban Development 4 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Housing strategy. 954.103 Section... INDIAN HOME PROGRAM Applying for Assistance § 954.103 Housing strategy. Grantees are not required to submit a housing strategy to receive HOME funds. However, the application must demonstrate how the...

  20. Polish Housing Policy in Com parison with the Housing Policy in the UE – Selected Issues

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anna Szelągowska

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this article is to present the main principles of Polish housing policy and to compare it with the housing policy in the European Union. Poland, as an UE member, did not hammer out successful solutions which could facilitate the process of building new low-rental dwellings. The authors aim is to find the answer to research question: is it worth concentrating on fulfilling housing needs of low-income households in Poland and if yes, why? In order to do this the following hypothesis is put forward: on account of long-standing neglect connected with the Polish social housing finance there is an urgent need of housing reform oriented to the low-income housing growth.

  1. The House of Socialism in Literature. Trifonov's House on the Embankment

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Baak, Joost; Brouwer, S

    2008-01-01

    The historic house described in Trifonov's novel, (sic) (The House on the Embankment; 1976) reflects an image of Soviet life in some of its crucial phases that has an enduring significance for later generations. It can be seen as a symbol of the Soviet era, in all its aspects. During the course of

  2. 14 CFR 1253.405 - Housing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 14 Aeronautics and Space 5 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Housing. 1253.405 Section 1253.405... in Education Programs or Activities Prohibited § 1253.405 Housing. (a) Generally. A recipient shall..., or offer different services or benefits related to housing, except as provided in this section...

  3. Ndebele Inspired Houses

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rice, Nicole

    2012-01-01

    The house paintings of the South African Ndebele people are more than just an attempt to improve the aesthetics of a community; they are a source of identity and significance for Ndebele women. In this article, the author describes an art project wherein students use the tradition of Ndebele house painting as inspiration for creating their own…

  4. Are housing professionals born or made? The role of education and identity amongst housing professionals in Ireland.

    OpenAIRE

    Butler, Deborah

    2010-01-01

    The concept of a housing professional is a new and often disputed term. Qualitative research into the culture and identity of occupational groups involved in social housing provision and management has been relatively scarce. Research has concentrated, almost exclusively, on the individual involved in the housing construction and output side of housing provision. This neglect is surprising given the importance of housing in people‟s lives. The thesis examines the identities, experiences and e...

  5. Challenges for Large Housing Estates

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Vestergaard, Hedvig

    This paper examines policies and improvement programmes implemented to improve troubled housing estates during three decades. It is based on evaluations of implemented programmes conducted for the Danish ministry of housing and the National Building Fund as well as similar studies from other...... European countries. Case studies illustrate local developments and outcomes and are the base for questioning the original identification of problems and thus the chosen solutions. Perspectives for current policy initiatives in the field of troubled housing estates are discussed in a general housing market...

  6. 7 CFR 15b.33 - Housing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Housing. 15b.33 Section 15b.33 Agriculture Office of... RECEIVING FEDERAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE Postsecondary Education § 15b.33 Housing. (a) Housing provided by the recipient. A recipient that provides housing to its nonhandicapped students shall provide comparable...

  7. The solar house that rotates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miloni, R.P.

    2001-01-01

    This article describes an innovative solar building in Weiz, Austria, that uses passive solar technologies, photovoltaics and a ground-coupled heat pump to cover its minimal energy requirements. The house, which follows the sun by rotating around its central axis, is described in detail, including its climatic design and its 'plus-energy' concept. Details are also given on the materials used in the house's construction and the functioning of its thermal insulation. The various operating modes of the house from the systems point of view are described for differing seasons and climatic extremes. Marketing aspects for this standardised house, featuring personal-computer-based on-line definition of facade cladding, fittings, photovoltaic power, furnishings etc. and real-time rendering of the house are also discussed

  8. Abnormal animal behavior prior to the Vrancea (Romania) major subcrustal earthquakes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Constantin, Angela; Pantea, Aurelian

    2013-04-01

    The goal of this paper is to present some observations about abnormal animal behavior prior and during of some Romanian subcrustal earthquakes. The major Vrancea earthquakes of 4 March 1977 (Mw = 7.4, Imax = IX-X MSK), 30 August 1986 (Mw = 7.1, Io = VIII-IX MSK) and 30 May 1990 (Mw = 6.9, Io = VIII MSK), were preceded by extensive occurrences of anomalous animal behavior. These data were collected immediately after the earthquakes from the areas affected by these. Some species of animals became excited, nervous and panicked before and during the earthquakes, such as: dogs (barking and running in panic), cats, snakes, mice and rats (came into the houses and have lost their fear), birds (hens, geese, parrots), horses, fishes etc. These strange manifestations of the animals were observed on the entire territory of country, especially in the extra-Carpathian area. This unusual behavior was noticed within a few hours to days before the seismic events, but for the most of cases the time of occurrence was within two hours of the quakes. We can hope that maybe one day the abnormal animal behavior will be used as a reliable seismic precursor for the intermediate depth earthquakes.

  9. Exposures Related to House Dust Microbiota in a U.S. Farming Population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Mi Kyeong; Carnes, Megan U; Butz, Natasha; Azcarate-Peril, M Andrea; Richards, Marie; Umbach, David M; Thorne, Peter S; Beane Freeman, Laura E; Peddada, Shyamal D; London, Stephanie J

    2018-06-01

    Environmental factors can influence the house dust microbiota, which may impact health outcomes. Little is known about how farming exposures impact the indoor microbiota. We aimed to identify exposures related to bacterial communities in house dust in a U.S. farming population. We used 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing to characterize bacterial communities in vacuumed dust samples from the bedrooms of a subset of 879 households of farmers and farmers' spouses enrolled in the Agricultural Lung Health Study (ALHS), a case-control study of asthma nested within the Agricultural Health Study (AHS) in North Carolina and Iowa. Information on current farming (past 12 mo), including both crop and animal farming, and other potential microbial sources was obtained via questionnaires. We used linear regression to evaluate associations between exposures and bacterial diversity within each sample, analysis of similarity (ANOSIM), and permutational multivariate analysis of variance (PERMANOVA) to identify exposures related to diversity between samples, and analysis of composition of microbiome to examine whether exposures related to diversity were also related to differential abundance of specific operational taxonomic units (OTUs). Current farming was positively associated with bacterial diversity in house dust, with or without adjustment for nonfarm exposures related to diversity, including presence of indoor pets, home condition, and season of dust collection. Many taxa exhibited differential abundance related to farming. Some taxa in the phyla Chloroflexi and Verrucomicrobia were associated [false discovery rate (FDR)<0.05] with farming but not with other nonfarm factors. Many taxa correlated with the concentration of house dust of endotoxin, commonly studied as a general marker of exposure to the farming environment. In this farming population, house dust microbiota differed by current farming status. Understanding the determinants of the indoor microbiota is the first step

  10. House dust exposure mediates gut microbiome Lactobacillus enrichment and airway immune defense against allergens and virus infection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fujimura, Kei E; Demoor, Tine; Rauch, Marcus; Faruqi, Ali A; Jang, Sihyug; Johnson, Christine C; Boushey, Homer A; Zoratti, Edward; Ownby, Dennis; Lukacs, Nicholas W; Lynch, Susan V

    2014-01-14

    Exposure to dogs in early infancy has been shown to reduce the risk of childhood allergic disease development, and dog ownership is associated with a distinct house dust microbial exposure. Here, we demonstrate, using murine models, that exposure of mice to dog-associated house dust protects against ovalbumin or cockroach allergen-mediated airway pathology. Protected animals exhibited significant reduction in the total number of airway T cells, down-regulation of Th2-related airway responses, as well as mucin secretion. Following dog-associated dust exposure, the cecal microbiome of protected animals was extensively restructured with significant enrichment of, amongst others, Lactobacillus johnsonii. Supplementation of wild-type animals with L. johnsonii protected them against both airway allergen challenge or infection with respiratory syncytial virus. L. johnsonii-mediated protection was associated with significant reductions in the total number and proportion of activated CD11c(+)/CD11b(+) and CD11c(+)/CD8(+) cells, as well as significantly reduced airway Th2 cytokine expression. Our results reveal that exposure to dog-associated household dust results in protection against airway allergen challenge and a distinct gastrointestinal microbiome composition. Moreover, the study identifies L. johnsonii as a pivotal species within the gastrointestinal tract capable of influencing adaptive immunity at remote mucosal surfaces in a manner that is protective against a variety of respiratory insults.

  11. 76 FR 10135 - Public Housing Evaluation and Oversight: Changes to the Public Housing Assessment System (PHAS...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-02-23

    ... Vol. 76 Wednesday, No. 36 February 23, 2011 Part III Department of Housing and Urban Development 24 CFR Parts 901, 902, and 907 Public Housing Evaluation and Oversight: Changes to the Public Housing...

  12. Survey among Belgian pig producers about the introduction of group housing systems for gestating sows.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tuyttens, F A M; Van Gansbeke, S; Ampe, B

    2011-03-01

    There is a global move from individual to group housing of gestating sows. In the European Union, individual gestating stalls will be banned by 2013. Just like in other industrialized regions, these stalls have been the standard housing system for intensively kept sows from the 1960s onward in the Flemish region of Belgium. Because the socioeconomic consequences for the pig industry may be far-reaching and because farmer attitude may influence the realization of the hoped-for improvement in animal welfare in practice, we conducted a survey from 2003 until 2009 among representative samples of Flemish pig producers every 2 yr. The share of farms with group housing increased from 10.5% in 2003 to 29.8% in 2007, but then dropped to 24.6% in 2009. It appears that after 2005 users of old group housing systems in particular stopped farming. Because sow herd size increased more on farms with vs. without group housing and because the proportion of the herd that was group-housed also tended to increase between 2003 to 2009, the change to group housing took place faster when expressed at the level of the sow (from 9.1% in 2003 to 34.1% in 2009) instead of farm. The percentage of farmers planning to convert to group housing within 2 yr was 4.1% in 2003, and 6 to 7% thereafter. These were typically young farmers (P = 0.006) with a large sow herd (P manual feed delivery. User satisfaction was generally high but depended on whether or not all gestating sows were kept in group (P importance of economic reasons (P = 0.007) and type of labor (P = 0.043) decreased with the age of the system. In 2003 and 2005 the main reason for not having converted to group housing was that farmers would stop keeping sows by 2013. In 2007 and 2009 the reasons mainly concerned uncertainty about the future and maximally delaying the conversion. Belgium is one of the European Union countries where the pig industry is expected to undergo drastic changes during the few years remaining before the ban on

  13. 31 CFR 28.405 - Housing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 31 Money and Finance: Treasury 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Housing. 28.405 Section 28.405 Money... in Education Programs or Activities Prohibited § 28.405 Housing. (a) Generally. A recipient shall not... offer different services or benefits related to housing, except as provided in this section (including...

  14. 18 CFR 1317.405 - Housing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Housing. 1317.405... Discrimination on the Basis of Sex in Education Programs or Activities Prohibited § 1317.405 Housing. (a... different fees or requirements, or offer different services or benefits related to housing, except as...

  15. 36 CFR 1211.405 - Housing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Housing. 1211.405 Section... Discrimination on the Basis of Sex in Education Programs or Activities Prohibited § 1211.405 Housing. (a... different fees or requirements, or offer different services or benefits related to housing, except as...

  16. 43 CFR 41.405 - Housing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 43 Public Lands: Interior 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Housing. 41.405 Section 41.405 Public... in Education Programs or Activities Prohibited § 41.405 Housing. (a) Generally. A recipient shall not... offer different services or benefits related to housing, except as provided in this section (including...

  17. 45 CFR 86.32 - Housing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 45 Public Welfare 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Housing. 86.32 Section 86.32 Public Welfare... in Education Programs or Activities Prohibited § 86.32 Housing. (a) Generally. A recipient shall not... offer different services or benefits related to housing, except as provided in this section (including...

  18. 40 CFR 5.405 - Housing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Housing. 5.405 Section 5.405 Protection... in Education Programs or Activities Prohibited § 5.405 Housing. (a) Generally. A recipient shall not... offer different services or benefits related to housing, except as provided in this section (including...

  19. 45 CFR 2555.405 - Housing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 45 Public Welfare 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Housing. 2555.405 Section 2555.405 Public Welfare... Discrimination on the Basis of Sex in Education Programs or Activities Prohibited § 2555.405 Housing. (a... different fees or requirements, or offer different services or benefits related to housing, except as...

  20. 13 CFR 113.405 - Housing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 13 Business Credit and Assistance 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Housing. 113.405 Section 113.405... Discrimination on the Basis of Sex in Education Programs Or Activities Prohibited § 113.405 Housing. (a... different fees or requirements, or offer different services or benefits related to housing, except as...

  1. 32 CFR 196.405 - Housing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 32 National Defense 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Housing. 196.405 Section 196.405 National... Discrimination on the Basis of Sex in Education Programs or Activities Prohibited § 196.405 Housing. (a... different fees or requirements, or offer different services or benefits related to housing, except as...

  2. 10 CFR 5.405 - Housing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Housing. 5.405 Section 5.405 Energy NUCLEAR REGULATORY....405 Housing. (a) Generally. A recipient shall not, on the basis of sex, apply different rules or regulations, impose different fees or requirements, or offer different services or benefits related to housing...

  3. House price responsiveness of housing investments across major European economies

    OpenAIRE

    Gattini, Luca; Ganoulis, Ioannis

    2012-01-01

    In comparison with the large literature on house prices, housing investments have been studied far less. This paper investigates the behaviour of private residential investments for the six largest European economies, namely: Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. It employs a common modelling structure based on an error correction approach and country specific models. First, co-integration among the parsimoniously specified set of fundamental variables is dete...

  4. Moodulmaja Passion House = "Passion House" modular home

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    2015-01-01

    Moodulmaja Passion House. Arhitektuuri sihtkapitali innovatsioonipreemia 2013 kvaliteetse disaini ja perspektiivika arendustegevuse oskusliku sidumise eest. Arhitekt Eero Endjärv (Arhitekt11), sisearhitekt Hannelore Kääramees (Arhitekt11)

  5. Development of pig welfare assessment protocol integrating animal-, environment-, and management-based measures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Renggaman, Anriansyah; Choi, Hong L; Sudiarto, Sartika Ia; Alasaarela, Laura; Nam, Ok S

    2015-01-01

    Due to increased interest in animal welfare, there is now a need for a comprehensive assessment protocol to be used in intensive pig farming systems. There are two current welfare assessment protocols for pigs: Welfare Quality® Assessment Protocols (applicable in the Europe Union), that mostly focuses on animal-based measures, and the Swine Welfare Assurance Program (applicable in the United States), that mostly focuses on management- and environment-based measures. In certain cases, however, animal-based measures might not be adequate for properly assessing pig welfare status. Similarly, welfare assessment that relies only on environment- and management-based measures might not represent the actual welfare status of pigs. Therefore, the objective of this paper was to develop a new welfare protocol by integrating animal-, environment-, and management-based measures. The background for selection of certain welfare criteria and modification of the scoring systems from existing welfare assessment protocols are described. The developed pig welfare assessment protocol consists of 17 criteria that are related to four main principles of welfare (good feeding, good housing, good health, and appropriate behavior). Good feeding, good housing, and good health were assessed using a 3-point scale: 0 (good welfare), 1 (moderate welfare), and 2 (poor welfare). In certain cases, only a 2-point scale was used: 0 (certain condition is present) or 2 (certain condition is absent). Appropriate behavior was assessed by scan sampling of positive and negative social behaviors based on qualitative behavior assessment and human-animal relationship tests. Modification of the body condition score into a 3-point scale revealed pigs with a moderate body condition (score 1). Moreover, additional criteria such as feed quality confirmed that farms had moderate (score 1) or poor feed quality (score 2), especially those farms located in a high relative humidity region. The developed protocol can be

  6. Comparative Analysis of Norwegian Passive House Criteria and of Criteria related to the Concept of International Passive House Standard

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Anton, Karin; Vestergaard, Inge

    2013-01-01

    The analysis shows differences in definition of apssive house criterias. It also communicates issues os the passive house concept that are nor completely transferred by the Norwegian passive house standard.......The analysis shows differences in definition of apssive house criterias. It also communicates issues os the passive house concept that are nor completely transferred by the Norwegian passive house standard....

  7. Buying a house with solar cells. Survey among subscribers and buyers of newly built houses in Amsterdam, Netherlands

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Van Mierlo, B.; Sprengers, M.

    1995-12-01

    In a new housing estate in Amsterdam in 1995 the regional energy utility (EBA) has integrated a photovoltaic (PV) system (250 kWp) into 63 houses out of 245 houses. The parts of these owner-occupied houses with PV panels are not owned by the occupants. In order to determine which are the motives to buy solar houses and in order to analyze changes in their attitudes questionnaires were sent to potential occupants twice. First to the people who registered for the new housing project (subscribers), and second to the people who bought one of the 245 houses either with or without PV (buyers). The overall conclusion is that PV does not play an important role in the decision making process when buying a new house. It is recommended to study differences in PV preferences and opinions a few years after the buyers have moved to their new houses. 10 figs., 17 tabs., 9 refs., 3 appendices

  8. 34 CFR 106.32 - Housing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 34 Education 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Housing. 106.32 Section 106.32 Education Regulations of... Discrimination on the Basis of Sex in Education Programs or Activities Prohibited § 106.32 Housing. (a) Generally... fees or requirements, or offer different services or benefits related to housing, except as provided in...

  9. 38 CFR 23.405 - Housing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 38 Pensions, Bonuses, and Veterans' Relief 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Housing. 23.405 Section... Discrimination on the Basis of Sex in Education Programs or Activities Prohibited § 23.405 Housing. (a) Generally... fees or requirements, or offer different services or benefits related to housing, except as provided in...

  10. 45 CFR 618.405 - Housing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 45 Public Welfare 3 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Housing. 618.405 Section 618.405 Public Welfare... the Basis of Sex in Education Programs or Activities Prohibited § 618.405 Housing. (a) Generally. A... requirements, or offer different services or benefits related to housing, except as provided in this section...

  11. 29 CFR 36.405 - Housing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 29 Labor 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true Housing. 36.405 Section 36.405 Labor Office of the Secretary....405 Housing. (a) Generally. A recipient shall not, on the basis of sex, apply different rules or regulations, impose different fees or requirements, or offer different services or benefits related to housing...

  12. 24 CFR 214.313 - Housing counseling fees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 24 Housing and Urban Development 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Housing counseling fees. 214.313... HOUSING COUNSELING PROGRAM Program Administration § 214.313 Housing counseling fees. (a) Participating agencies may charge reasonable and customary fees for housing education and counseling services, as long as...

  13. Aisle-truss houses of Northern Jutland

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Eybye, Birgitte Tanderup

    2014-01-01

    The aisle-truss houses of Northern Jutland were built under hard conditions, such as harsh climate and scarce resources. Hence, the aisle-truss houses display a number of resource-saving and sustainable building principles, including the arcade construction and the use of passive energy strategies......, which make them relevant to research. This paper investigates resource-saving and sustainable principles in the aisle-truss houses of Thy, Northern Jutland. General features as well as three cases of the one-wing dwelling aisle-truss houses are studied. The aim is to improve the understanding of aisle......-truss houses. Another aim is to suggest strategies for modern sustainable building on the basis of the identified principles in aisle-truss houses....

  14. Navigating the field of housing: housing pathways of young people in Amsterdam

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hochstenbach, C.; Boterman, W.R.

    2015-01-01

    In many western cities, housing opportunities of young people are increasingly constrained due to housing market reforms and decreasing affordability as a result of processes of gentrification. Little is known about how young people deal with these constraints and how this differs across class and

  15. Preferences of group-housed female mice regarding structure of softwood bedding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kirchner, J; Hackbarth, H; Stelzer, H D; Tsai, P-P

    2012-04-01

    Bedding influences various parameters in the housing of laboratory mice, such as health, physiology and behaviour (often considered as being integral parts of welfare). Notwithstanding existent studies about bedding preferences of individually tested mice, data about group-housed mice are still lacking. The aim of this study was to find out the structure preference for softwood bedding of group-housed mice. One hundred and eight 8-week-old female mice (C57BL6/JOlaHsd and BALB/cOlaHsd) were housed in groups of three and were given one-week free access to two different bedding structures at a time. In three test combinations, softwood shaving bedding was tested versus softwood chip bedding products of three different particle sizes (fine/medium/coarse-grained). The preference test was performed in a DoubleCage system composed of two Makrolon type IIL cages, connected by a perspex tunnel. This validated system was able to detect the crossings of each individual animal with correct crossing time and direction. On the basis of these data, dwelling times on the particular bedding structures were statistically analysed as a parameter for bedding preferences. In all three test combinations, a highly significant shaving preference was detected. On average, mice spent 70% of their dwelling time on the shavings. This preference was more explicit during the light period and in C57BL/6J mice. The relative ranking of the bedding structures was: shavings > coarse-grained chips > medium chips = fine chips. By means of these results, a shaving structure as bedding can be recommended for laboratory mice, whereas fine chip structures should be avoided.

  16. The demise of compound houses

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andreasen, Jørgen; Eskemose Andersen, Jørgen

    2006-01-01

    of compound housing and analyses the advantages and disadvantages of life within such housing in Kumasi. Issues of privacy, image and communal life are usually cited by occupants dissatiesfied with life in compound houses, and the difficulty of extending them without spoiling the open spaces...... perceptions of what is acceptable urban life to the growing cohort of young African households. In addition, there is a need to explore innovative forms of tenure in order to secure the majority of Kumasi's population access to land for housing.......The compound house has long provided the accomodation required by low income households in West African cities. In Kumasi, Ghana, evidence suggests that no new compounds are being built. Instead, the city is being ringed by relatively affluent villa-style development while neighbourhoods dominated...

  17. Housing Welfare Policies in Scandinavia

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Lotte

    2013-01-01

    It is commonplace to refer to the Nordic countries of Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Iceland as a distinctive and homogenous welfare regime. As far as social housing is concerned, however, the institutional heritage of the respective countries significantly frames the ways in which social...... housing is understood, regulated and subsidized, and, in turn, how housing regimes respond to the general challenges to the national welfare states. The paper presents a historical institutionalist approach to understanding the diversity of regime responses in the modern era characterized by increasing...... marketization, welfare criticism and internationalization. The aim is to provide outside readers a theoretically guided empirical insight into Scandinavian social housing policy. The paper first lines up the core of the inbuilt argument of historical institutionalism in housing policy. Secondly, it briefly...

  18. Unitary Housing Regimes in Transition

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bengtsson, Bo; Jensen, Lotte

    2013-01-01

    Path dependence is strong in housing institutions and policy. In both Denmark and Sweden, today’s universal and ‘unitary’ (Kemeny) housing regimes can be traced back to institutions that were introduced fifty years back in history or more. Recently, universal and unitary housing systems...... in Scandinavia, and elsewhere, are under challenge from strong political and economic forces. These challenges can be summarized as economic cutbacks, privatization and Europeanization. Although both the Danish and the Swedish housing system are universal and unitary in character, they differ considerably...... in institutional detail. Both systems have corporatist features, however in Denmark public housing is based on local tenant democracy and control, and in Sweden on companies owned and controlled by the municipalities, combined with a centralized system of rent negotiations. In the paper the present challenges...

  19. Allegheny County Older Housing

    Data.gov (United States)

    Allegheny County / City of Pittsburgh / Western PA Regional Data Center — Older housing can impact the quality of the occupant's health in a number of ways, including lead exposure, housing quality, and factors that may exacerbate...

  20. Oriënterend laboratoriumonderzoek naar ammoniakemissie uit bodempakketten voor vrijloopstallen = Laboratory study of ammonia emission from bedding materials of freestall dairy cattle houses

    OpenAIRE

    Smits, M.C.J.; Dousma, F.; Kupers, G.C.C.; Blanken, K.

    2009-01-01

    In the Netherlands there is growing interest amongst dairy farmers in new housing systems in which animal welfare and health are improved. A promising system in this area is a loose housing system (without cubicles) where cows have a large area with a soft bedding where they can both being active and rest, so called freestalls. Although these systems are already applied in the USA and Israel, little is known about the environmental impacts, and particularly the ammonia emission. The aim of th...

  1. Capital Gains Taxation and House Price Fluctuations

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fuest, Clemens; Nielsen, Søren Bo

    2004-01-01

    Recent years have seen large swings in house prices in many countries. Motivated by housing price variations, proposals for taxing capital gains on housing have repeatedly been put forth. The idea seems to be that such taxes would curb the redistribution occurring between those owning houses...... and those trying to get into the market for owner-occupied housing. Our paper shows that at least in simple settings, a tax on real capital gains on housing will only lead to even bigger price swings and will not be able to redistribute between people appearing on either side of the housing market.......Keywords: capital gains tax, housing market, price fluctuationsJEL-Classification: H23, H24, R 31.Addresses:...

  2. Addressing the problem of pet overpopulation: the experience of New Hanover County Animal Control Services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McNeil, Jean; Constandy, Elisabeth

    2006-01-01

    Pet overpopulation is a problem for humans not only because of the increased rabies exposure risk but also because it puts a strain on animal control agencies, which must care for, house, and often euthanize the unwanted animals. New Hanover County, North Carolina, Animal Control Services saw the need to control this problem and developed a plan to diminish the number of unwanted companion animals in its community. With the help of training through the UNC Management Academy for Public Health, they created a successful business plan to build an on-site spay/neuter facility. The facility began operations in 2004. As of January 31, 2006, a total of 1,108 surgeries had been completed in the new facility, with no added cost to taxpayers. The facility has been a success for Animal Control Services, the Health Department, and the community as a whole.

  3. 25 CFR 700.81 - Monthly housing cost.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 25 Indians 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Monthly housing cost. 700.81 Section 700.81 Indians THE... Policies and Instructions Definitions § 700.81 Monthly housing cost. (a) General. The term monthly housing...) Computation of monthly housing cost for replacement dwelling. A person's monthly housing cost for a...

  4. Housing and child health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weitzman, Michael; Baten, Ahmareen; Rosenthal, David G; Hoshino, Risa; Tohn, Ellen; Jacobs, David E

    2013-09-01

    The connection between housing and health is well established. Physical, chemical, and biological aspects of the child's home, such as cleanliness, moisture, pests, noise, accessibility, injury risks, and other forms of housing environmental quality, all have the potential to influence multiple aspects of the health and development of children. Basic sanitation, reduced household crowding, other improvements in housing and expanded, and improved housing regulations have led to advances in children's health. For example, lead poisoning prevention policies have profoundly reduced childhood lead exposure in the United States. This and many other successes highlight the health benefits for families, particularly children, by targeting interventions that reduce or eliminate harmful exposures in the home. Additionally, parental mental health problems, food insecurity, domestic violence, and the presence of guns in children's homes all are largely experienced by children in their homes, which are not as yet considered part of the Healthy Homes agenda. There is a large movement and now a regulatory structure being put in place for healthy housing, which is becoming closely wedded with environmental health, public health, and the practice of pediatrics. The importance of homes in children's lives, history of healthy homes, asthma, and exposures to lead, carbon monoxide, secondhand/thirdhand smoke, radon, allergy triggers is discussed, as well as how changes in ambient temperature, increased humidity, poor ventilation, water quality, infectious diseases, housing structure, guns, electronic media, family structure, and domestic violence all affect children's health. Copyright © 2013 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Animal models of asthma: utility and limitations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aun MV

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Marcelo Vivolo Aun,1,2 Rafael Bonamichi-Santos,1,2 Fernanda Magalhães Arantes-Costa,2 Jorge Kalil,1 Pedro Giavina-Bianchi1 1Clinical Immunology and Allergy Division, Department of Internal Medicine, University of São Paulo School of Medicine, São Paulo, Brazil, 2Laboratory of Experimental Therapeutics (LIM20, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil Abstract: Clinical studies in asthma are not able to clear up all aspects of disease pathophysiology. Animal models have been developed to better understand these mechanisms and to evaluate both safety and efficacy of therapies before starting clinical trials. Several species of animals have been used in experimental models of asthma, such as Drosophila, rats, guinea pigs, cats, dogs, pigs, primates and equines. However, the most common species studied in the last two decades is mice, particularly BALB/c. Animal models of asthma try to mimic the pathophysiology of human disease. They classically include two phases: sensitization and challenge. Sensitization is traditionally performed by intraperitoneal and subcutaneous routes, but intranasal instillation of allergens has been increasingly used because human asthma is induced by inhalation of allergens. Challenges with allergens are performed through aerosol, intranasal or intratracheal instillation. However, few studies have compared different routes of sensitization and challenge. The causative allergen is another important issue in developing a good animal model. Despite being more traditional and leading to intense inflammation, ovalbumin has been replaced by aeroallergens, such as house dust mites, to use the allergens that cause human disease. Finally, researchers should define outcomes to be evaluated, such as serum-specific antibodies, airway hyperresponsiveness, inflammation and remodeling. The present review analyzes the animal models of asthma, assessing differences between species, allergens and routes

  6. A social philosophy of housing

    OpenAIRE

    King, Peter

    2003-01-01

    This book presents an original perspective by opening up housing to a philosophical approach. It fully integrates discussions on contemporary housing policy and social philosophy in a manner not previously attempted in the housing literature. Professor Jim Kemeny (Uppsala University) described it as ‘the first systematic application of social philosophy from an individual choice perspective’.

  7. Domotics Project Housing Block.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morón, Carlos; Payán, Alejandro; García, Alfonso; Bosquet, Francisco

    2016-05-23

    This document develops the study of an implementation project of a home automation system in a housing placed in the town of Galapagar, Madrid. This house, which is going to be occupied by a four-member family, consists of 67 constructed square meters distributed in lounge, kitchen, three bedrooms, bath, bathroom and terrace, this being a common arrangement in Spain. Thus, this study will allow extracting conclusions about the adequacy of the home automation in a wide percentage of housing in Spain. In this document, three house automation proposals are developed based on the requirements of the client and the different home automation levels that the Spanish House and Building Automation Association has established, besides two parallel proposals relating to the safety and the technical alarms. The mentioned proposed systems are described by means of product datasheets and descriptions, distribution plans, measurements, budgets and flow charts that describe the functioning of the system in every case. An evaluation of each system is included, based on other studies conclusions on this matter, where expected energy savings from each design, depending on the current cost of lighting, water and gas, as well as the expected economic amortization period is evaluated.

  8. Housing Accessibility Methodology Targeting Older People

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Helle, Tina

    accessibility problems before the planning of housing intervention strategies. It is also critical that housing standards addressing accessibility intended to accommodate people with functional limitations are valid in the sense that their definitions truly support accessibility. However, there is a paucity...... of valid and reliable assessment instruments targeting housing accessibility, and in-depth analysis of factors potentially impacting on reliability in complex assessment situations is remarkably absent. Moreover, the knowledge base informing the housing standards appears to be vague. We may therefore...... reasonably question the validity of the housing standards addressing accessibility. This thesis addresses housing accessibility methodology in general and the reliability of assessment and the validity of standards targeting older people with functional limitations and a dependence on mobility devices...

  9. House Prices and Taxes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gjedsted Nielsen, Mads

    This paper is the first to consider a large scale natural experiment to estimate the effect of taxes on house prices. We find that a 1 percentage-point increase in income tax rates lead to a drop in house prices of at most 2.2%. This corresponds to a tax capitalization for the average household...... capitalization from earlier studies. Furthermore, we find no effect of property taxes on house prices. We attribute this to the low levels of Danish municipal property tax rates compared to income tax rates....

  10. The Effects of Housing Status, Stability and the Social Contexts of Housing on Drug and Sexual Risk Behaviors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dickson-Gomez, Julia; McAuliffe, Timothy; Quinn, Katherine

    2017-07-01

    Research on the relationship between housing instability and HIV risk has often focused on two different conceptions of stability. In one conceptualization, housing stability is defined according to physical location with homeless or unstably housed individuals defined as those who reside in places not meant for human habitation or in emergency shelters. The other conceptualization has defined housing stability as individuals' degree of transience, often operationalized as the number of moves or evictions a person has had within a specified amount of time. Less studied has been the social context of living situation, e.g. living with other drug users, conflict over living expenses, or having to have sex in order to stay. This paper uses data from 392 low-income residents in Hartford, CT to explore how people in different housing situations-including those who are housed and homeless-experience housing stability, feelings of security in their homes, and the social context of their housing. We then explore how these varied measures of housing context affect drug use frequency and sexual risk. Results show that participants who are homeless feel more overall housing instability in terms of number of moves and negative reasons for moving. Those who were doubled up with family or friends were more likely to experience conflict over household expenses and more likely to live with drug users. Among homeless and housed, hard drug use was associated with experiencing violence in the place where they lived, perceiving greater housing stability, having moved for a positive reason, doubling up, and longer periods of homelessness, while number of moves and longer prison sentence predicted sexual risk. Among the housed, living with other drug users was associated with more hard drug use, while contributing money toward household expenses was associated with less hard drug use. Two significant interactions were associated with sexual risk among the housed. Those with longer

  11. Housing and health among Inuit children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kohen, Dafna E; Bougie, Evelyne; Guèvremont, Anne

    2015-11-01

    Housing conditions have been associated with child health. Inuit children are generally in poorer health than other Canadian children. They are also more likely to live in crowded households, in dwellings that need major repair, and to be exposed to second-hand smoke in the home. This study uses the 2006 Aboriginal Children's Survey to examine associations between physical and psychosocial housing characteristics and physical and mental health outcomes of Inuit children aged 2 to 5. Physical and psychosocial housing characteristics were associated with selected indicators of Inuit children's health. The presence of a smoker in the home, homeownership, and parental housing satisfaction were associated with specific physical and/or mental health outcomes, even after adjusting for other housing factors and family and child sociodemographic characteristics. Housing conditions were associated with the physical and mental health of young Inuit children, even when sociodemographic factors were taken into account. Homeownership and housing satisfaction appeared to be particularly important for young Inuit children's health.

  12. Reunifying Families, Cutting Costs: Housing-Child Welfare Partnerships for Permanent Supportive Housing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harburger, Deborah S.; White, Ruth A.

    2004-01-01

    In the absence of an adequate supply of affordable, quality housing, child welfare agencies are placed in the unenviable position of separating families to protect children from the debilitating effects of homelessness. This article presents recommendations for cost-effective housing-child welfare partnerships that will shift the burden of…

  13. 25 CFR 502.11 - House banking game.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 25 Indians 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false House banking game. 502.11 Section 502.11 Indians... CHAPTER § 502.11 House banking game. House banking game means any game of chance that is played with the house as a participant in the game, where the house takes on all players, collects from all losers, and...

  14. Intimate partner violence and housing instability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pavao, Joanne; Alvarez, Jennifer; Baumrind, Nikki; Induni, Marta; Kimerling, Rachel

    2007-02-01

    The mental and physical health consequences of intimate partner violence (IPV) have been well established, yet little is known about the impact of violence on a woman's ability to obtain and maintain housing. This cross-sectional study examines the relationship between recent IPV and housing instability among a representative sample of California women. It is expected that women who have experienced IPV will be at increased risk for housing instability as evidenced by: (1) late rent or mortgage, (2) frequent moves because of difficulty obtaining affordable housing, and/or (3) without their own housing. Data were taken from the 2003 California Women's Health Survey, a population-based, random-digit-dial, annual probability survey of adult California women (N=3619). Logistic regressions were used to predict housing instability in the past 12 months, adjusting for the following covariates; age, race/ethnicity, education, poverty status, marital status, children in the household, and past year IPV. In the multivariate model, age, race/ethnicity, marital status, poverty, and IPV were significant predictors of housing instability. After adjusting for all covariates, women who experienced IPV in the last year had almost four times the odds of reporting housing instability than women who did not experience IPV (adjusted odds ratio=3.98, 95% confidence interval: 2.94-5.39). This study found that IPV was associated with housing instability among California women. Future prospective studies are needed to learn more about the nature and direction of the relationship between IPV and housing instability and the possible associated negative health consequences.

  15. CONSUMER PREFERENCE IN TYPE OF HOUSE APPEARANCE OFFERED BY HOUSING DEVELOPER IN SEMARANG

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ali Alsharef Khlil Khalifah

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Persaingan tajam antara bisnis properti perusahaan meningkat seiring dengan bertambahnya populasi dengan meningkatnya kebutuhan rumah. Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk menganalisis preferensi konsumen tentang penampilan rumah yang ditawarkan oleh pengembang perumahan di Semarang. Populasi dalam penelitian ini pengunjung dari pameran perumahan diselenggarakan di beberapa Mall di Semarang. Teknik analisis yang digunakan adalah persepsi responden tentang preferensi konsumen dalam jenis penampilan rumah dengan analisis deskriptif karena dalam analisis deskriptif akan mencerminkan pendapat sebenarnya dari responden penelitian. Berdasarkan hasil dan analisis, kesimpulan dalam penelitian ini adalah: Jenis rumah yang konsumen paling sukai adalah tipe minimalis dan yang kedua adalah tipe Vernakular. Hal ini karena bentuk Minimalist yang ramping dan menarik di hampir setiap ruang. Tipe Minimalis juga memiliki keunikan yang sangat sederhana dan menarik juga modern. Jenis minimalis sangat populer dan harga yang lebih rendah. Sementara itu, jenis vernakular lebih hampir oleh pengusaha yang berasal dari masyarakat kelas tinggi dan mereka mengatakan jenis vernakular besar dan mewah, juga georgeous. [Title: Consumer Preference in Type of House Appearance Offered by Housing Developer in Semarang] Competition among companies property enhances along with increasing population coupled with the increasing needs of house. The purpose of this study is to analyze the consumer preference in type of house appearance offered by housing developer in Semarang. The method used in this research is qualitative methods because the qualitative methods more better in explaining the phenomena in practices. The analytical method used is depending on respondent perception about consumer preference in type of house appearance with descriptive analysis. The house type that the consumer prefer mostly is minimalist type and the second is Vernacular type. This is because the spare

  16. Analysis of USAREUR Family Housing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1985-04-01

    Standard Installation/Division Personnel System SJA ................ Staff Judge Advocate SPSS ............... Statistical Package for the...for Projecting Family Housing Requirements. a. Attempts to define USAREUR’s programmable family housing deficit Sbased on the FHS have caused anguish ...responses using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences ( SPSS ) computer program. E-2 ANNEX E RESPONSE TO ESC HOUSING QUESTIONNAIRE Section Page I

  17. Conditional use of social and private information guides house-hunting ants.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adam L Cronin

    Full Text Available Social animals can use both social and private information to guide decision making. While social information can be relatively economical to acquire, it can lead to maladaptive information cascades if attention to environmental cues is supplanted by unconditional copying. Ants frequently employ pheromone trails, a form of social information, to guide collective processes, and this can include consensus decisions made when choosing a place to live. In this study, I examine how house-hunting ants balance social and private information when these information sources conflict to different degrees. Social information, in the form of pre-established pheromone trails, strongly influenced the decision process in choices between equivalent nests, and lead to a reduced relocation time. When trails lead to non-preferred types of nest, however, social information had less influence when this preference was weak and no influence when the preference was strong. These results suggest that social information is vetted against private information during the house-hunting process in this species. Private information is favoured in cases of conflict and this may help insure colonies against costly wrong decisions.

  18. Conditional use of social and private information guides house-hunting ants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cronin, Adam L

    2013-01-01

    Social animals can use both social and private information to guide decision making. While social information can be relatively economical to acquire, it can lead to maladaptive information cascades if attention to environmental cues is supplanted by unconditional copying. Ants frequently employ pheromone trails, a form of social information, to guide collective processes, and this can include consensus decisions made when choosing a place to live. In this study, I examine how house-hunting ants balance social and private information when these information sources conflict to different degrees. Social information, in the form of pre-established pheromone trails, strongly influenced the decision process in choices between equivalent nests, and lead to a reduced relocation time. When trails lead to non-preferred types of nest, however, social information had less influence when this preference was weak and no influence when the preference was strong. These results suggest that social information is vetted against private information during the house-hunting process in this species. Private information is favoured in cases of conflict and this may help insure colonies against costly wrong decisions.

  19. Building Structure Housing: Case Study of Community Housing in Kendari City

    Science.gov (United States)

    Umar, M. Z.; Faslih, A.; Arsyad, M.; Sjamsu, A. S.; Kadir, I.

    2017-11-01

    Housing development has been pioneered through a simple home construction program to reduce the production cost. Simple housing program was developed in Kendari City. The purpose of this study is to show the principles of reducing the cost production for the type 36 homes, in Kendari City. The selected architectural objects are the lower, middle and the upper structure of type 36 house. The data collection was done by observation and in-depth discussion with construction workers. The analysis technique used in this research was a descriptive narrative analysis technique in the form of tabulation data. This study concluded that there are several principles of price reduction in the structure of public housing buildings. Quick principles exist in constructing techniques such as using cigarette packs as a foundation pad, mortar usage for rapid wall standing, and the spacing of mortars could be done manually by using two fingers on a human hand. Economic principles could be used for material matters, such as eliminating the use of gravel for concrete, the use of sand material to contain the soil, the foundation does not use sand and empty stone, and the shape of the ring beam was made using triangle reinforcement.

  20. Relationship between behavioural reactivity and feed efficiency in housed sheep

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Williams, Charlotte Amdi; Williams, Andrew Richard; Maloney, S.K.

    2010-01-01

    In this study we test the hypothesis that selecting sheep for a low behavioural reactivity to stressful situations will improve their metabolic efficiency, and thereby feed efficiency, during a controlled trial in an animal house. Twenty-four Merino wethers were used, 12 each from lines selected...... for high (HBR) and low (LBR) behavioural reactivity to stressful stimuli (human presence and social isolation). The sheep were habituated to the experimental procedures for 10 days, followed by 45 days during which voluntary feed intake was measured so that total daily energy intake was quantified....... It is possible that LBR sheep may be more efficient than HBR sheep in more stressful situations....

  1. CoC Housing Inventory Count Reports

    Data.gov (United States)

    Department of Housing and Urban Development — Continuum of Care (CoC) Homeless Assistance Programs Housing Inventory Count Reports are a snapshot of a CoC’s housing inventory, available at the national and state...

  2. Post-Tsunami Reconstruction in Sri Lanka: Houses or Housing?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khazai, B.; Franco, G.; Ingram, J. C.; Rumbaitis del Rio, C.

    2005-12-01

    Reconstruction can be an opportunity to address longer-term livelihood vulnerability within poor communities and households, and to empower the most vulnerable. The post-tsunami reconstruction efforts in Sri Lanka can be seen on two disconnected scales. On a local scale there seems to be a growing recognition by district-level government and NGOs on the importance of households in creating social, human and financial capital, as demonstrated by many programs targeted at rebuilding livelihoods and income-generating activities. On a national scale, however, programs have revealed an emphasis on houses as the physical capital rather than housing as the arena of social and economic life. The aim of national-scale programs is to deliver tangible and quantifiable products, in the form of houses built, often without regard of whether this complements or disrupts livelihoods. One example of such a directive is the implementation of a coastal buffer zone which will ban any new construction within a 100 to 200 meter band from the ocean and allowing only structures that sustained less than 40 percent damage to remain and rebuild. In general these kind of surviving structures along the coast are businesses such as hotels and restaurants. In an island nation such as Sri Lanka, where beach front property is by and large considered low-income housing, typically inhabited by fishermen who rely on the ocean for their livelihoods, the buffer zone constitutes a drastic oversight of local processes shaping these households. The product-oriented solution on the national scale has resulted in building permanent houses for fishery communities in resettlement sites kilometers away from the ocean. The focus of this presentation will be on reconciling the need for immediate shelter needs with a long-term perspective of livelihood rehabilitation using Sri Lanka as a case study. Houses themselves are often not an immediate priority for local people, whose first need is likely to resume income

  3. Sustainable Plus-energy Houses

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kazanci, Ongun Berk; Olesen, Bjarne W.

    This study is an outcome of Elforsk, project number 344-060, Bæredygtige Energi-Plus huse (Sustainable plus-energy houses). The focus of this report is to document the approach and the results of different analyses concerning a plus-energy, single family house. The house was designed...... for an international student competition, Solar Decathlon Europe 2012 and after the competition it was used as a full-scale experimental facility for one year. During this period, different heating and cooling strategies were tested and the performance of the house regarding the thermal indoor environment and energy...... was monitored. This report is structured as follows. Chapter 1 presents the project and briefly explains the different phases of the project. The details of the house’s construction and its HVAC system are explained in Chapter 2, along with the energy efficiency measures and innovations. Chapter 3 introduces...

  4. Disagreement in the Norwegian housing market

    OpenAIRE

    Wingate, Alexander; Svensen, Michael

    2016-01-01

    Do differences of opinion affect house prices? This thesis investigates how disagreement affects house prices and housing turnover. We construct a disagreement index using household’s beliefs on future house price developments. The main contribution of this study is that the household survey captures real expectations in contrast to many similar studies that use analyst forecasts or volatility based measures. This study finds that higher disagreement is significantly associated wi...

  5. Housing Characteristics, 1990

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1992-01-01

    This report on energy consumption in the residential sector covers the following topics: housing trends 1980--1990, new housing trends, availability and usage of natural gas by households, changes in appliance usage (refrigerators, entertainment appliances, cooking appliances, convenience appliances), age of major household appliances and equipment, household energy conservation activities, demand-side management programs, and a portrait of households using solar or wood as a source of energy

  6. Design, construction and testing of a DC bioeffects test enclosure for small animals. Final report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Frazier, M J; Preache, M M

    1980-11-01

    This final report describes both the engineering development of a DC bioeffects test enclosure for small laboratory animals, and the biological protocol for the use of such enclosures in the testing of animals to determine possible biological effects of the environment associated with HVDC transmission lines. The test enclosure which has been designed is a modular unit, which will house up to eight rat-sized animals in individual compartments. Multiple test enclosures can be used to test larger numbers of animals. A prototype test enclosure has been fabricated and tested to characterize its electrical performance characteristics. The test enclosure provides a simulation of the dominant environment associated with HVDC transmission lines; namely, a static electric field and an ion current density. A biological experimental design has been developed for assessing the effects of the dominant components of the HVDC transmission line environment.

  7. Fire Sales and House Prices

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Steffen; Meisner Nielsen, Kasper

    We exploit a natural experiment in Denmark to investigate when forced sales lead to fire sale discounts. Forced sales result from sudden deaths of house owners in an institutional environment in which beneficiaries are forced to settle the estate, and hence sell the house, within 12 months. We...... and the urgency of the sale also affect the average discount: Discounts are larger when house prices contract, in thin markets where demand is lower, and when the sale is more likely to be a fire sale because of financial or liquidity constraints. Late fire sales are more likely when the house price...... forced sales lead to fire sale discounts....

  8. 24 CFR 945.201 - Approval to designate housing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 24 Housing and Urban Development 4 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Approval to designate housing. 945.201 Section 945.201 Housing and Urban Development Regulations Relating to Housing and Urban Development (Continued) OFFICE OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR PUBLIC AND INDIAN HOUSING, DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND...

  9. 24 CFR 1000.101 - What is affordable housing?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 24 Housing and Urban Development 4 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false What is affordable housing? 1000.101 Section 1000.101 Housing and Urban Development Regulations Relating to Housing and Urban Development (Continued) OFFICE OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR PUBLIC AND INDIAN HOUSING, DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND...

  10. 24 CFR 125.501 - Fair Housing Organizations Initiative.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... Initiative. 125.501 Section 125.501 Housing and Urban Development Regulations Relating to Housing and Urban... FAIR HOUSING FAIR HOUSING INITIATIVES PROGRAM § 125.501 Fair Housing Organizations Initiative. (a) The Fair Housing Organizations Initiative of the FHIP provides funding to develop or expand the ability of...

  11. PRIVACY AS A CULTURAL VALUE WITHIN TRADITIONAL IRANIAN HOUSING: Lessons for Modern Iranian High Density Vertical Development Housing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Siyamak Nayyeri Fallah

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available The role of value of privacy in shaping Iranian culture is vital. In contrary to modern middle-class Iranian high density vertical development housing, this cultural principle plays a great role in shaping spatial organization of Iranian traditional housing. The aim of this study is to establish a framework to improve spatial organization of modern Iranian high density vertical development (HDVD housing through lessons learnt from traditional Iranian housing. In this regard, to reach the aim through qualitative approach and case study strategy, this value of the Iranian traditional housing was investigated. The data collection methods to collect data from middle-class traditional and modern high-density vertical development (HDVD housing, were multiple tactics as direct observation, open-ended expert interview, semi-structured and focus group interviewing, taking photo, and plan layout. As conclude, it was reached that privacy as a principle governing all aspects of life has had deep impacts on spatial organization of traditional Iranian housing. Thus through using the spatial concept of privacy learnt from traditional Iranian housing can formulate recommendations to betterment spatial organization of middle-class modern Iranian HDVD housing.

  12. Non-growth transition in the housing sector

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Xue, Jin

    This article examines the extents to which economic growth and housing stock growth has been decoupled from negative environmental impacts over the latest two decades in the metropolitan areas of Hangzhou (China) and Copenhagen (Denmark). Research results show that housing stock growth and economic...... growth has been, at best, weakly decoupled from environment impacts, implying that the goal of sustainable housing development has not been fulfilled by the decoupling strategies. The long-term incompatibility between housing stock growth and environmental sustainability suggests the necessity of non......-growth in the housing sector in order to reduce the environmental impacts from housing consumption to be within the ecological capacity. On the basis of an analysis of drivers of housing stock growth, the visions for a non-growth housing stock in both city regions are imagined in terms of potential risks...

  13. Sustainable solutions for Dutch housing. Reducing the Environmental Impacts of New and Existing Houses

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Klunder, G.

    2005-04-12

    Sustainable housing construction and management has, to date, been primarily based on an intuitive approach. Numerous measures have been formulated to promote sustainable construction and to reduce the environmental impacts of the built environment. However, little is yet known about the extent of the environmental benefits thereof. Moreover, methods and tools are mainly directed to new construction. This thesis makes clear that short-term environmental benefits in sustainable housing construction are rather limited. Renewal of the post-war housing stock offers excellent changes for improvement of the environmental performance of housing. With a newly developed method it is proven that renovation causes less environmental impacts than demolition followed by new construction. However, at the same time the usefulness of Life Cycle Assessment for buildings is doubted.

  14. 24 CFR 100.303 - 62 or over housing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 24 Housing and Urban Development 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false 62 or over housing. 100.303 Section 100.303 Housing and Urban Development Regulations Relating to Housing and Urban Development OFFICE OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR EQUAL OPPORTUNITY, DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT FAIR HOUSING...

  15. Individualized tracking of self-directed motor learning in group-housed mice performing a skilled lever positioning task in the home cage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silasi, Gergely; Boyd, Jamie D; Bolanos, Federico; LeDue, Jeff M; Scott, Stephen H; Murphy, Timothy H

    2018-01-01

    Skilled forelimb function in mice is traditionally studied through behavioral paradigms that require extensive training by investigators and are limited by the number of trials individual animals are able to perform within a supervised session. We developed a skilled lever positioning task that mice can perform within their home cage. The task requires mice to use their forelimb to precisely hold a lever mounted on a rotary encoder within a rewarded position to dispense a water reward. A Raspberry Pi microcomputer is used to record lever position during trials and to control task parameters, thus making this low-footprint apparatus ideal for use within animal housing facilities. Custom Python software automatically increments task difficulty by requiring a longer hold duration, or a more accurate hold position, to dispense a reward. The performance of individual animals within group-housed mice is tracked through radio-frequency identification implants, and data stored on the microcomputer may be accessed remotely through an active internet connection. Mice continuously engage in the task for over 2.5 mo and perform ~500 trials/24 h. Mice required ~15,000 trials to learn to hold the lever within a 10° range for 1.5 s and were able to further refine movement accuracy by limiting their error to a 5° range within each trial. These results demonstrate the feasibility of autonomously training group-housed mice on a forelimb motor task. This paradigm may be used in the future to assess functional recovery after injury or cortical reorganization induced by self-directed motor learning. NEW & NOTEWORTHY We developed a low-cost system for fully autonomous training of group-housed mice on a forelimb motor task. We demonstrate the feasibility of tracking both end-point, as well as kinematic performance of individual mice, with each performing thousands of trials over 2.5 mo. The task is run and controlled by a Raspberry Pi microcomputer, which allows for cages to be

  16. Housing Data Base for Sustainable Housing Provision

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Sultan

    The research employed a mixed method approach by collecting both quantitative and qualitative data which were analysed using descriptive analysis in SPSS. The results are ... critical examination of mass housing design in. Nigeria will show ...

  17. Review: Quantifying animal feeding behaviour with a focus on pigs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maselyne, Jarissa; Saeys, Wouter; Van Nuffel, Annelies

    2015-01-01

    The study of animal feeding behaviour is of interest to understand feeding, to investigate the effect of treatments and conditions or to predict illness. This paper reviews the different steps to undertake when studying animal feeding behaviour, with illustrations for group-housed pigs. First, one must be aware of the mechanisms that control feeding and the various influences that can change feeding behaviour. Satiety is shown to largely influence free feeding (ad libitum and without an operant condition) in animals, but 'free' feeding seems a very fragile process, given the many factors that can influence feeding behaviour. Second, a measurement method must be chosen that is compatible with the goal of the research. Several measurement methods exist, which lead to different experimental set-ups and measurement data. Sensors are available for lab conditions, for research on group-housed pigs and also for on-farm use. Most of these methods result in a record of feeding visits. However, these feeding visits are often found to be clustered into meals. Thus, the third step is to choose which unit of feeding behaviour to use for analysis. Depending on the situation, either meals, feeding visits, other raw data, or a combination thereof can be suitable. Meals are more appropriate for analysing short-term feeding behaviour, but this may not be true for disease detection. Further research is therefore needed. To cluster visits into meals, an appropriate analysis method has to be selected. The last part of this paper provides a review and discussion of the existing methods for meal determination. A variety of methods exist, with the most recent methods based on the influence of satiety on feeding. More thorough validation of the recent methods, including validation from a behavioural point of view and uniformity in the applied methods is therefore necessary. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Domotics Project Housing Block

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carlos Morón

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available This document develops the study of an implementation project of a home automation system in a housing placed in the town of Galapagar, Madrid. This house, which is going to be occupied by a four-member family, consists of 67 constructed square meters distributed in lounge, kitchen, three bedrooms, bath, bathroom and terrace, this being a common arrangement in Spain. Thus, this study will allow extracting conclusions about the adequacy of the home automation in a wide percentage of housing in Spain. In this document, three house automation proposals are developed based on the requirements of the client and the different home automation levels that the Spanish House and Building Automation Association has established, besides two parallel proposals relating to the safety and the technical alarms. The mentioned proposed systems are described by means of product datasheets and descriptions, distribution plans, measurements, budgets and flow charts that describe the functioning of the system in every case. An evaluation of each system is included, based on other studies conclusions on this matter, where expected energy savings from each design, depending on the current cost of lighting, water and gas, as well as the expected economic amortization period is evaluated.

  19. Domotics Project Housing Block

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morón, Carlos; Payán, Alejandro; García, Alfonso; Bosquet, Francisco

    2016-01-01

    This document develops the study of an implementation project of a home automation system in a housing placed in the town of Galapagar, Madrid. This house, which is going to be occupied by a four-member family, consists of 67 constructed square meters distributed in lounge, kitchen, three bedrooms, bath, bathroom and terrace, this being a common arrangement in Spain. Thus, this study will allow extracting conclusions about the adequacy of the home automation in a wide percentage of housing in Spain. In this document, three house automation proposals are developed based on the requirements of the client and the different home automation levels that the Spanish House and Building Automation Association has established, besides two parallel proposals relating to the safety and the technical alarms. The mentioned proposed systems are described by means of product datasheets and descriptions, distribution plans, measurements, budgets and flow charts that describe the functioning of the system in every case. An evaluation of each system is included, based on other studies conclusions on this matter, where expected energy savings from each design, depending on the current cost of lighting, water and gas, as well as the expected economic amortization period is evaluated. PMID:27223285

  20. Combining apps targeting professionals and senior citizens to improve housing accessibility and influence housing provision policies

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Helle, Tina; Iwarsson, Susanne; Lunn, Tine Bieber

    2015-01-01

    Two separate apps that address the increasingly important issue of accessible housing for senior citizens have been developed in different project settings. One of the apps was developed to facilitate the process for professional raters to assess housing accessibility in the context of individual...... and influence housing provision policies....

  1. The changing nature of outright homeownership in Romania : Housing wealth and housing inequality

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Soaita, A.M.; Dewilde, C.; Ronald, R.

    2018-01-01

    This chapter traces the historical construction and persistence of almost universal, outright owner-occupation of housing in Romania, which assists understanding of the centrality of homeownership to household welfare in Romania. It thus traces the enduring legacies of historic forms of housing

  2. 75 FR 66977 - Housing Trust Fund

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-29

    ...., administrative requirements; monitoring, site and neighborhood standards; and affirmative marketing). This... affordable multifamily rental housing. Income Targeting Based on tabulations of American Housing Survey data... housing for ELI households. The Secretary shall publish subsequent income targeting requirements when HUD...

  3. Effects of urbanization on host-pathogen interactions, using Yersinia in house sparrows as a model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Strubbe, Diederik; Teyssier, Aimeric; Salleh Hudin, Noraine; Van den Abeele, Anne-Marie; Cox, Ivo; Haesendonck, Roel; Delmée, Michel; Haesebrouck, Freddy; Pasmans, Frank; Lens, Luc; Martel, An

    2017-01-01

    Urbanization strongly affects biodiversity, altering natural communities and often leading to a reduced species richness. Yet, despite its increasingly recognized importance, how urbanization impacts on the health of individual animals, wildlife populations and on disease ecology remains poorly understood. To test whether, and how, urbanization-driven ecosystem alterations influence pathogen dynamics and avian health, we use house sparrows (Passer domesticus) and Yersinia spp. (pathogenic for passerines) as a case study. Sparrows are granivorous urban exploiters, whose western European populations have declined over the past decades, especially in highly urbanized areas. We sampled 329 house sparrows originating from 36 populations along an urbanization gradient across Flanders (Belgium), and used isolation combined with ‘matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization- time of flight mass spectrometry’ (MALDI-TOF MS) and PCR methods for detecting the presence of different Yersinia species. Yersinia spp. were recovered from 57.43% of the sampled house sparrows, of which 4.06%, 53.30% and 69.54% were identified as Y. pseudotuberculosis, Y. enterocolitica and other Yersinia species, respectively. Presence of Yersinia was related to the degree of urbanization, average daily temperatures and the community of granivorous birds present at sparrow capture locations. Body condition of suburban house sparrows was found to be higher compared to urban and rural house sparrows, but no relationships between sparrows’ body condition and presence of Yersinia spp. were found. We conclude that two determinants of pathogen infection dynamics, body condition and pathogen occurrence, vary along an urbanization gradient, potentially mediating the impact of urbanization on avian health. PMID:29281672

  4. 24 CFR 1006.101 - Housing plan requirements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... assistance provided by the United States, including loans, grants, and mortgage insurance; (iv) A description... State of Hawaii, including the availability of housing from other public sources and private market... period covered by the plan, including transitional housing; homeless housing; college housing; and...

  5. Public Housing Smarts: Two Universities Discover a Trove of Opportunity in New Orleans' Public Housing System.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boulard, Garry

    1998-01-01

    Tulane University and Xavier University (Louisiana) are both taking an active role in revitalizing the New Orleans public housing authority, the sixth-largest in the country. In partnership with the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development and the city's housing authority, the two institutions are cooperating in a major renovation…

  6. Housing First i Danmark

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Benjaminsen, Lars; Dyrby, Therese Marie; Enemark, Morten Holm

    Rapporten er en evaluering af arbejdet med at udbrede og forankre Housing First-indsatsen og tre evidensbaserede bostøttemetoder. Hovedprincippet i Housing First er, at udsatte borgere, der er endt i hjemløshed, får et permanent sted at bo allerede i starten af et indsatsforløb, samtidig med...... at borgeren får en intensiv social støtte i hverdagen. De evidensbaserede bostøttemetoder, der er anvendes sammen med Housing First-tilgangen er Critical Time Intervention (CTI), Intensive Case Management (ICM) og Assertive Community Treatment (ACT). Rapporten beskriver erfaringer omkring de ledelsesmæssige...... og organisatoriske rammer, målgruppen for indsatserne og om de konkrete indsatser i kommunerne. Evalueringen viser, at både borgere og kommuner har gode erfaringer med Housing First, men at især manglen på billige og passende boliger er en alvorlig barriere for udbredelsen af indsatsen. Evalueringen...

  7. Housing, energy and the environment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1991-02-01

    In 1985 the Association published An Energy Policy for Housing, setting out recommendations for action by local authorities and central Government to tackle the problem of fuel poverty and the improvement of the energy efficiency of the nation's housing. Based on a survey of Association members and discussions with other relevant organisations, the report then concluded that, ''the Government has yet to demonstrate any real commitment to positive investment in an energy efficient housing stock''. Five years later, the Association decided to undertake another survey to establish the extent to which its recommendations have been acted upon and to assess other factors which might have affected the achievement of any energy efficient housing stock. This report is the result of that new survey and it shows that, whilst many more authorities have made progress in developing good practice, much local authority housing is still energy inefficient and many low income households still suffer from fuel poverty. (author).

  8. Rethinking Affordable Housing Delivery: An Analytical Insight

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Olanrewaju Abdullateef

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Malaysia currently has a housing shortage of 12 million units. Towards the year 2020, this would require an annual supply of a minimum of 2 million homes. With the current production rate, the deficits will remain over the next 100 years. The crisis will lead to poor standards of living, un-affordable rental price, high mortgage payment, abandonment, and dilapidation of the existing housing stock. Lack of affordable housing is already a source of concern among many Malaysians. The middle and lower income earners spend more than 30% of their income on rent or for mortgage payment. Housing rent or mortgage is a basic need like foods, education, clothing and health. The government has introduced various measures to address the housing deficit. Despite these measures, the housing supply and distribution gaps continue to grow. To better understand the issues, there is a need to examine how the procurement planning in the affordable housing delivery supply chain and market is formulated, explore how cost of affordable housing would be reduced, identify the user value systems in affordable housing, and identify the criteria in the current regulatory framework? For these purposes, this paper reviews the relevant literature to reach preliminary findings on the stated issues. Among the factors found accounting for housing shortages, the overwhelming factors were that of poor policies, strategies, practice, management, and finance. The findings are meaningful in framing an affordable housing delivery model. It could also be useful to stakeholders involved in affordable housing delivery in Malaysia and elsewhere.

  9. Animal clocks: when science meets nature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kronfeld-Schor, Noga; Bloch, Guy; Schwartz, William J

    2013-08-22

    Daily rhythms of physiology and behaviour are governed by an endogenous timekeeping mechanism (a circadian 'clock'), with the alternation of environmental light and darkness synchronizing (entraining) these rhythms to the natural day-night cycle. Our knowledge of the circadian system of animals at the molecular, cellular, tissue and organismal levels is remarkable, and we are beginning to understand how each of these levels contributes to the emergent properties and increased complexity of the system as a whole. For the most part, these analyses have been carried out using model organisms in standard laboratory housing, but to begin to understand the adaptive significance of the clock, we must expand our scope to study diverse animal species from different taxonomic groups, showing diverse activity patterns, in their natural environments. The seven papers in this Special Feature of Proceedings of the Royal Society B take on this challenge, reviewing the influences of moonlight, latitudinal clines, evolutionary history, social interactions, specialized temporal niches, annual variation and recently appreciated post-transcriptional molecular mechanisms. The papers emphasize that the complexity and diversity of the natural world represent a powerful experimental resource.

  10. Social Housing: wood prefabrication techniques

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tiziana Ferrante

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available Student housing, a particular and quite significant part of social housing, and innovation in processing and production of industrial building components made of a material (wood not adequately inquired: two fields of research that have been explored for a long time allowing here to share and compare experiences gained thus far. By a selection of samples of wooden student housing in Europe we have documented the performances of this material and we have underlined, at the same time, through what happens abroad, the need of an organic national social housing plan that can meet an unsatisfied demand and boost the construction industry during this particular stage of economic crisis.

  11. Poor housing quality: Prevalence and health effects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baker, Emma; Lester, Laurence H; Bentley, Rebecca; Beer, Andrew

    2016-01-01

    Housing is a central component of productive, healthy, and meaningful lives, and a principle social determinant of health and well-being. Surprisingly, though, evidence on the ways that housing influences health in Australia is poorly developed. This stems largely from the fact that the majority of the population are accommodated in good quality housing. The dominance of a "good housing paradigm" means that households living in poor quality and unhealthy housing are doubly disadvantaged-by the quality of their housing and because policy makers in Australia do not acknowledge the health effects of housing. In this article, we examine the relationship between health outcomes and quality of housing. We base our analysis on data from the Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey, a panel dataset that is representative across Australia. We find a sizeable, policy-important, and to date under-acknowledged cohort of Australians whose health is influenced by poor-condition dwellings.

  12. Energy efficient industrialized housing research program

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Berg, R.; Brown, G.Z.; Finrow, J.; Kellett, R.; McDonald, M.; McGinn, B.; Ryan, P.; Sekiguchi, Tomoko (Oregon Univ., Eugene, OR (USA). Center for Housing Innovation); Chandra, S.; Elshennawy, A.K.; Fairey, P.; Harrison, J.; Mazwell, L.; Roland, J.; Swart, W. (Florida Solar Energy Center, Cape Canaveral, FL (USA))

    1989-12-01

    This document describes the research work completed in five areas in fiscal year 1989. (1) The analysis of the US industrialized housing industry includes statistics, definitions, a case study, and a code analysis. (2) The assessment of foreign technology reviews the current status of design, manufacturing, marketing, and installation of industrialized housing primarily in Sweden and Japan. (3) Assessment of industrialization applications reviews housing production by climate zone, has a cost and energy comparison of Swedish and US housing, and discusses future manufacturing processes and emerging components. (4) The state of computer use in the industry is described and a prototype design tool is discussed. (5) Side by side testing of industrialized housing systems is discussed.

  13. Innovative solutions in passive house details

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mlecnik, E.; Hilderson, W.

    2008-01-01

    For the realization of the first passive house demonstration projects in Belgium, passive houses were requested by convinced clients, designed by architects with experience in low energy building, and built by contractors with a feeling for working in building teams. These first passive house

  14. 7 CFR 1955.113 - Price (housing).

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 14 2010-01-01 2009-01-01 true Price (housing). 1955.113 Section 1955.113 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) RURAL HOUSING SERVICE, RURAL BUSINESS-COOPERATIVE... REGULATIONS (CONTINUED) PROPERTY MANAGEMENT Disposal of Inventory Property Rural Housing (rh) Real Property...

  15. Housing Affordability And Children's Cognitive Achievement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Newman, Sandra; Holupka, C Scott

    2016-11-01

    Housing cost burden-the fraction of income spent on housing-is the most prevalent housing problem affecting the healthy development of millions of low- and moderate-income children. By affecting disposable income, a high burden affects parents' expenditures on both necessities for and enrichment of their children, as well as investments in their children. Reducing those expenditures and investments, in turn, can affect children's development, including their cognitive skills and physical, social, and emotional health. This article summarizes the first empirical evidence of the effects of housing affordability on children's cognitive achievement and on one factor that appears to contribute to these effects: the larger expenditures on child enrichment by families in affordable housing. We found that housing cost burden has the same relationship to both children's cognitive achievement and enrichment spending on children, exhibiting an inverted U shape in both cases. The maximum benefit occurs when housing cost burden is near 30 percent of income-the long-standing rule-of-thumb definition of affordable housing. The effect of the burden is stronger on children's math ability than on their reading comprehension and is more pronounced with burdens above the 30 percent standard. For enrichment spending, the curve is "shallower" (meaning the effect of optimal affordability is less pronounced) but still significant. Project HOPE—The People-to-People Health Foundation, Inc.

  16. EL PROGRAMA CASE STUDY HOUSE: INDUSTRIA, PROPAGANDA Y VIVIENDA / Case Study House Program: industry, propaganda and housing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel Díez Martínez

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available RESUMEN En enero de 1945, John Entenza, editor de la revista californiana Arts & Architecture, puso en marcha el programa Case Study House, un ambicioso proyecto cuyo firme objetivo era investigar las posibilidades y soluciones del problema de la vivienda al que se enfrentaba los Estados Unidos de la posguerra. Para ello, Entenza diseñó una novedosa estrategia de colaboración entre algunos de los mejores arquitectos californianos del momento y la maquinaria industrial estadounidense, abierta a un proceso de reconversión de producción bélica a objetos para la población civil que tendría lugar en un tiempo récord. Así, el artículo propone el análisis de esa relación entre empresa y domesticidad, entre viabilidad económica y calidad arquitectónica, entre procesos de prefabricación y espíritu individual. Todos ellos conceptos aparentemente opuestos pero que, de la mano del programa Case Study House, lograron un entendimiento que a día de hoy sigue resultando extraordinario. SUMMARY In January 1945, John Entenza, editor of the California Arts & Architecture magazine, launched the ‘Case Study House Program’, an ambitious project whose firm objective was to investigate the possibilities and solutions for the housing problem facing the United States after the war. To do this, Entenza designed a novel strategy for collaboration between some of the best Californian architects of the time and the U.S. industrial machine, open to a process of conversion from military production to objects for the civilian population that would take place in record time. Thus, the article proposes the analysis of the relationship between business and domesticity, between economic viability and architectural quality, between prefabrication processes and individual spirit. All of these seemingly opposing concepts reached, at the hands of the ‘Case Study House Program’, an understanding that still seems extraordinary today.

  17. Women Leaders in Oxford House

    OpenAIRE

    Timpo, Phyllis; Price, Temple; Salina, Doreen; Witek, Caroline; Pommer, Nicole; Jason, Leonard A.

    2014-01-01

    This qualitative study examined women assuming leadership roles in Oxford Houses, which are communal, democratically run recovery settings for substance use disorder. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 women Oxford House leaders who shared their thoughts and experiences on leadership. Several themes emerged from qualitative data analysis, most notably that stepping up and accepting a leadership role in Oxford House had a positive effect on self-esteem, which is vital to women w...

  18. Planning of Low-rise Urban Housing Areas

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Svensson, O.

    In many countries industrialization of house building has led to the building of large, monotonous housing areas with high-rise construction. In Denmark, however, smaller, varied housing areas with low-rise construction and urban features have become predominant. This report contains guidelines...... for the planning of such housing areas....

  19. Housing and sexual health among street-involved youth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumar, Maya M; Nisenbaum, Rosane; Barozzino, Tony; Sgro, Michael; Bonifacio, Herbert J; Maguire, Jonathon L

    2015-10-01

    Street-involved youth (SIY) carry a disproportionate burden of sexually transmitted diseases (STD). Studies among adults suggest that improving housing stability may be an effective primary prevention strategy for improving sexual health. Housing options available to SIY offer varying degrees of stability and adult supervision. This study investigated whether housing options offering more stability and adult supervision are associated with fewer STD and related risk behaviors among SIY. A cross-sectional study was performed using public health survey and laboratory data collected from Toronto SIY in 2010. Three exposure categories were defined a priori based on housing situation: (1) stable and supervised housing, (2) stable and unsupervised housing, and (3) unstable and unsupervised housing. Multivariate logistic regression was used to test the association between housing category and current or recent STD. Secondary analyses were performed using the following secondary outcomes: blood-borne infection, recent binge-drinking, and recent high-risk sexual behavior. The final analysis included 184 SIY. Of these, 28.8 % had a current or recent STD. Housing situation was stable and supervised for 12.5 %, stable and unsupervised for 46.2 %, and unstable and unsupervised for 41.3 %. Compared to stable and supervised housing, there was no significant association between current or recent STD among stable and unsupervised housing or unstable and unsupervised housing. There was no significant association between housing category and risk of blood-borne infection, binge-drinking, or high-risk sexual behavior. Although we did not demonstrate a significant association between stable and supervised housing and lower STD risk, our incorporation of both housing stability and adult supervision into a priori defined exposure groups may inform future studies of housing-related prevention strategies among SIY. Multi-modal interventions beyond housing alone may also be required to

  20. Dream house in Australia

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Michael Asgaard

    2004-01-01

    This first book in the Utzon Library, which deals with Utzon's own houses, contains a number of drawings that have not previously been published. This is especially true of the four projects for his house in Bayview, Sydney, which unfortunately never got past the drawing stage, as Utzon had left ...