Rent increase strategies and distributive justice: the socio-spatial effects of rent control policy in Amsterdam.

Rent controls and rent setting regulation in different contexts incorporate and balance different aims, in particular when securing affordability and the effective distribution of scarce housing by incorporating market mechanisms. As rent policy is frequently discussed in terms of affordability or market functioning in broad terms, small-scale distributive socio-spatial effects are often not regarded. In this paper, three strategies under the new rent sum policy are compared against the former policy and practice for Amsterdam, the Netherlands, to observe the effects of distributive justice. The new rent policy partly decentralizes rent increase decisions from the national level to local authorities and housing associations. Using microdata on all social housing units and their tenants' distributive justice, outcomes under the former policy and practice are observed for a 6-year period (2008-2014) and the effects of three different rent increase strategies under the new rent sum policy are forecasted for the same period, combining an ex ante and an ex post evaluation. The possibilities for housing associations to vary rent increases for different groups of tenants in order to improve distributive justice outcomes are explored. Results show that all three possible strategies decrease the observed affordability gap between new and long-term tenants. Valuing the distributions of these strategies by applying two different standards for distributive justice shows the rent sum policy may only result in modest improvements.

Farmers' knowledge and expectations of antimicrobial use and resistance are strongly related to usage in Dutch livestock sectors.

Comprehensive strategies to improve on-farm antimicrobial use (AMU) are needed to contain antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Little is known about farmers' motivating and enabling factors, and about their influence on AMU. In a cross-sectional online survey, Dutch dairy, veal and pig farmers (n=457) reported their on-farm AMU as "Defined Daily Dose Animal" per year (DDDAF) and completed a detailed questionnaire on their view, knowledge and behavior towards AMU and AMR. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) on the questionnaire items identified four psychological factors labeled as 'referent beliefs', 'perceived risk', 'knowledge', and 'undesired attitude to regulations'. Linear regression was done to explore the relationship between the obtained factors and on-farm AMU across the three animal sectors. Dairy farmers showed the highest factor scores for 'knowledge' and the lowest for 'perceived risk'. 'Knowledge' scores were significantly and inversely related to AMU (P=0.0004). Borderline significant associations with AMU were found for 'perceived risk' and 'undesired attitude to regulations' (negative and positive relationships respectively). There were no apparent differences for these relationships between the three livestock sectors. Behavioral interventions in farmers such as educational campaigns or increased support by veterinarians could empower farmers with more prudent and rational practices, eventually reducing AMU in food animals.

[Falling due to vitamin B12 deficiency]. / Vallen door een vitamine B12-deficiëntie.

BACKGROUND: Ataxia due to a vitamin B12 deficiency can be a cause of falls in elderly patients. CASE DESCRIPTION: An 86-year-old woman presented with functional decline and gait problems. She had been falling regularly. The patient's gait was ataxic and she was unable to stand without support. Additional laboratory tests showed a volume macrocytic blood picture and a severe vitamin B12 deficiency, as well as antibodies directed against intrinsic factor and parietal cells. We diagnosed her as having falls and ataxia caused by vitamin B12 deficiency. Vitamin B12 supplementation resulted in improvement of gait. CONCLUSION: Ataxia due to vitamin B12 deficiency is a rare problem which in 20-25% of cases is not accompanied by anaemia. Prompt treatment reduces the chance of neurological sequelae.