Comparative analysis of cattle breeds as satellite cells donors for cultured beef

Background: Cultured meat is a promising new field with the potential for considerable environmental and animal welfare benefits. One technological approach to cultured meat production utilises the proliferative and differentiative capacity of muscle-derived satellite cells (SCs) to produce large volumes of cultured muscle tissue from small biopsies of donor animals. Differing genotypes between cattle breeds lead to predictable phenotypic traits, resulting in breeds being favoured for their respective meat or milk production characteristics in the livestock industry. However, whilst these breeds show significant differences in muscle growth, it is unclear whether the physiological differences observed between them in vivo are reflected in differences in SC behaviour in vitro, particularly with respect to proliferation, differentiation and cellular longevity, and hence whether particular breeds might represent preferred SC donors for a cultured beef bioprocess. Results: Comparing SCs isolated from five breeds (Belgian Blue, Holstein Friesian, Galloway, Limousin and Simmental), we found that the proliferation rates were largely unaffected by the donor breed. In contrast, potentially meaningful differences were observed in the kinetics and extent of myogenic differentiation. Furthermore, whilst differentiation dropped for all breeds with increasing population doublings (PDs), SCs from Belgian Blue and Limousin cattle showed significantly longer retention of differentiation capacity over long-term passaging. Conclusion: SCs from all breeds were able to proliferate and differentiate, although Limousin and (particularly) Belgian Blue cattle, both breeds commonly used for traditional meat production, may represent preferred donors for cultured beef production.

Household Earnings and Income Volatility in the UK, 2009–2017

We study the volatility of sources of individual and household level income in the UK in the years 2009-2017, following the Great Recession and government austerity. We find that the volatility of (pre-tax) earnings and disposable income has fallen for the working-age in this period, largely due to fewer negative and large earnings shocks. For older individuals, we also find a fall in the volatility of private income, mainly due to fewer positive and large income shocks. Taxes and transfers help stabilise incomes, with social security cash benefits and income-dependent refundable tax credits reducing household private income volatility by around a quarter for the working age, and 40 percent for those aged 60 or over. However, over the sample period, taxes and benefits became less well correlated with earnings, reducing their ability to counteract swings in labour income. The findings illustrate the consequences of fiscal retrenchment and the cut-backs to welfare benefits on the stability of incomes.

Regulacja prawna pomocy społecznej w Polsce w okresie powojennym do 1989 roku

The article’s aim is to examine the legal regulation of social welfare in Poland after World War II up to the year 1989. The article analyzes the legal position of beneficiaries of social welfare benefits in that period. The political situation in Poland after the end of World War II introduced changes in the perception of the pre-war system of social welfare. In the period of the Polish People’s Republic, social welfare was based on an incorrect legal basis and the legal position of beneficiaries of social welfare was not protected by law. Social welfare was transferred to the Ministry of Health and its organizational system was centralized. Such a situation lasted until the Act of 29 November 1990 on Social Welfare was passed. Theoretical and historical methods of legal research were used in this article.

Evaluation of different types of enrichment - their usage and effect on home cage behavior in female mice

Numerous studies ascertained positive effects of enriched environments on the well-being of laboratory animals including behavioral, physiological and neurochemical parameters. Conversely, such conclusions imply impaired animal welfare and health in barren husbandry conditions. Moreover, inappropriate housing of laboratory animals may deteriorate the quality of scientific data. Recommendations for housing laboratory animals stipulate that cages should be enriched to mitigate adverse effects of barren housing. In this context, it is not only unclear what exactly is meant by enrichment, but also how the animals themselves interact with the various items on offer. Focal animal observation of female C57BL/6J mice either housed in conventional (CON) or enriched (ENR) conditions served to analyze the impact of enriching housing on welfare related behavior patterns including stereotypical, maintenance, active social, and inactive behaviors. CON conditions resembled current usual housing of laboratory mice, whereas ENR mice received varying enrichment items including foraging, housing and structural elements, and a running disc. Active and inactive use of these elements was quantitatively assessed. CON mice showed significantly more inactive and stereotypical behavior than ENR mice. ENR mice frequently engaged with all enrichment elements, whereby riddles to obtain food reward and the running disc preferably served for active interactions. Offering a second level resulted in high active and inactive interactions. Structural elements fixed at the cagetop were least attractive for the mice. Overall, the presented data underline the positive welfare benefits of enrichment and that mice clearly differentiate between distinct enrichment types, demonstrating that the perspective of the animals themselves should also be taken into account when specifying laboratory housing conditions. This is particularly important, as the ensuring of animal welfare is an essential prerequisite for reliable, reproducible, and scientifically meaningful results.

Chicken or the egg: Vitamin D deficiency in Chronic Kidney Disease of Uncertain Etiology in Sri Lanka

Background Vitamin D deficiency is a poorly studied nutritional disorder in CKDu. There are no published studies on vitamin D levels in CKDu; a unique environmental nephropathy in tropical countries. This study was aimed to describe the prevalence of vitamin D, iron and vitamin B12 status in CKDu patients and to determine associations between vitamin D status and socio demographic factors, nutritional status and dietary intake of vitamin D. Method This was a cross sectional survey conducted among the CKDu patients in Wilgamuwa area, in Mathale district located in the Central province of Sri Lanka. Data was collected by laboratory evaluation, clinical examination and interviewer administered questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS statistical software. Results Out of the 150 of respondents, 74.0% (n = 111) had vitamin D deficiency, 72.0% (n = 108) had anemia, and 3.3% (n = 5) had vitamin B12 deficiency, in both genders. There was no significant difference in the prevalence of anemia, low serum ferritin and vitamin B12 deficiency between males and females. Gender was significantly associated with the vitamin D deficiency (p<0.05). Females were 7.69 times more likely to have vitamin D deficiency compared to males. Vitamin D deficiency was 1.7 times higher among those who received social welfare benefits than those who did not receive it. High intake of fish was protective against vitamin D deficiency. Conclusion Isolated Vitamin D deficiency was the most prevalent nutritional deficiency among CKDu patients of Sri Lanka. Correction of these deficiencies may have a favorable effect on CKDu outcome.

Phenomenon of Causal Fraud Health Insurance in Hospitals: Theory of gear fraud

Objective: To describe and explore the experiences of hospital employees with the causes of fraud in the health insurance program at the hospitals. Design And Setting: This research was carried out at government hospitals in the Southeast Sulawesi Province in collaboration with BPJS Health, namely the Bahteramas Regional General Hospital and the Kendari City Regional General Hospital. Triangulation was carried out at BPJS Health, the Center for Health Insurance Financing at the Ministry of Health and the Center for Health Policy and Management at Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta. This research was conducted for one year, namely January 2020 to February 2021qualitative method with a phenomenological approach. Data collection methods were carried out through in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and document studies. The number of participants in this study was 44 people consisting of doctors in charge of services, nurses, midwives, and case-mix team including coders who met the inclusion criteria. Data analysis used the Moustakas method. Result: The causes of health insurance fraud in hospitals financial motives (the desire to get money or material or economic or welfare benefits, get high service services and low employee salaries), behavioral motives (low integrity, lifestyle and employee habits of committing fraud0, and social motives (kinship, humanitarian factors, avoiding conflict, social position, and the existence of pressure), internal controls (a weak monitoring system, poorly enforced regulations, unclear regulations and limited hospitals providing services, no monitoring and evaluation, and there are no sanctions for fraud perpetrators), revenue targets (hospitals income and increasing the number of claims), leadership (leadership style or weak leadership in the hospitals and the absence of transparency), incentive systems (poor distribution of incentives and the absence of transparency of services from hospitals management), National Health Insurance (NHI) regulations (dynamic regulations and the availability of the National Guidelines for Medical Services has not been fulfilled and there is no standard for readmission and fragmentation), the NHI financing system (inconvenience of the financing system and the adequacy of the INA-CBGs tariff calculation), and the BPJS Health system (inconvenience of the BPJS Health system and the BPJS Health system which makes it difficult). Conclusions: The causes of health insurance fraud in hospitals can be explained by the gear fraud theory that Internal factors are the main cause and external factors predispose to health insurance fraud in hospitals. These internal and external factors interact with each other like the working mechanism of a gear. Understanding the theory of gear fraud will help formulate fraud prevention efforts in health insurance programs in hospitals that are more comprehensive and focus on eliminating the causes of fraud.

Examining Care Assessment Scores of Community-Dwelling Adults in Flanders, Belgium: The Role of Socio-Psychological and Assessor-Related Factors

One of the primary objectives of health systems is to provide a fair system by providing a comprehensive and holistic approach to caregiving rather than focusing on a single aspect of a person’s care needs. This approach is often embodied by using standardized care assessments across health and social care settings. These assessments are completed by professional assessors and yield vital information regarding a person’s health or contextual characteristics (e.g., civic engagement, psychosocial wellbeing, environmental characteristics, informal care). However, these scores may be subject to bias that endangers the fairness of the health system. In this study, we investigate to what extent socio-economic and psychological indicators and assessor-related indicators are associated with BelRAI Screener care assessment scores amongst 743 community-dwelling adults nested within 92 assessors in Flanders, Belgium. Findings indicate that there is significant variance in scores at the assessor-level. Socio-psychological characteristics of clients are associated with scores: being fluent in Dutch and providing informal care are associated with low care dependency, while living with children, feelings of depression, and the presence of an informal caregiver during assessment are associated with high care dependency. We discuss the importance of rigorous assessor training and the potential for socio-psychological factors to contribute to the allocation of welfare benefits in light of the Flemish home care system’s potential (lack of) fairness.