Is there burnout related to work among Dutch dental hygienists?: Combining studies by using the UBOS and the UWES.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the prevalence of burnout among Dutch young and more experienced dental hygienists and the work experience of young professional dental hygienists. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Two studies were carried out using the Dutch version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory; the Utrecht Burnout Scale (UBOS) and the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES). In Study I, 400 participants completed an online questionnaire, including the UBOS-general version. In Study II, a questionnaire was distributed via social media to young professionals, including the UBOS-health care version and the UWES-9. RESULTS: 2.5% of 157 dental hygienists (Study I) satisfied the norm of burnout. Dental hygienists' average work experience was 16.6 years, and one-thirds worked 25-32 hours per week. In Study II, 73 young professionals (M = 26.5 years) reported 32.9 weekly working hours. Three-quarters were employed and worked in a dental clinical team practice. UWES-mean scores indicated a moderate to high level of work engagement. Mostly, all aspects of burnout were low compared with the test Manual norms. CONCLUSIONS: Exploratory findings show that generally burnout appears no threat for Dutch dental hygienists, and moderate to high level of work engagement coincides with a low level of burnout-related symptoms.

A comparison of 2 evaporative cooling systems on a commercial dairy farm in Saudi Arabia.

Efficacy of 2 cooling systems (Korral Kool, KK, Korral Kool Inc., Mesa, AZ; FlipFan dairy system, FF, Schaefer Ventilation Equipment LLC, Sauk Rapids, MN) was estimated utilizing 400 multiparous Holstein dairy cows randomly assigned to 1 of 4 cooled California-style shade pens (2 shade pens per cooling system). Each shaded pen contained 100 cows (days in milk=58±39, milk production=56±18 kg/d, and lactation=3±1). Production data (milk yield and reproductive performance) were collected during 3mo (June-August, 2013) and physiological responses (core body temperature, respiration rates, surface temperatures, and resting time) were measured in June and July to estimate responses of cows to the 2 different cooling systems. Water and electricity consumption were recorded for each system. Cows in the KK system displayed slightly lower respiration rates in the month of June and lower surface temperatures in June and July. However, no differences were observed in the core body temperature of cows, resting time, feed intake, milk yield, services/cow, and conception rate between systems. The FF system used less water and electricity during this study. In conclusion, both cooling systems (KK and FF) were effective in mitigating the negative effects of heat stress on cows housed in arid environments, whereas the FF system consumed less water and electricity and did not require use of curtains on the shade structure.

Effect of complementation of cattle cooling systems with feedline soakers on lactating dairy cows in a desert environment.

Two experiments were conducted on a commercial dairy farm in eastern Saudi Arabia to investigate the effects of Korral Kool (KK; Korral Kool Inc., Mesa, AZ) cattle cooling systems complemented with feedline soakers on core body temperature (CBT) of dairy cows. In both experiments, cows had access to KK 24h/d. In the first experiment, 7 primiparous and 6 multiparous lactating Holstein dairy cows were assigned to 1 of 2 pens, which were assigned randomly to treatment sequence over 4 d in a switchback design. Soakers were on (ON24) or off (OFF24) for 24h/d. For the second experiment, 20 multiparous lactating Holstein cows were assigned randomly to 1 of 2 pens, which were assigned randomly to treatment sequence in a switchback design. This experiment lasted 4 d and feedline soakers alternately remained off or were on (ON12) for 12h/d. In experiment 1, average ambient temperature was 30 ± 0.9°C and average relative humidity was 44 ± 14% (mean ± SD). Feedline soakers complementing KK systems for 24 h/d decreased the mean CBT of lactating dairy cows compared with KK systems alone (38.80 vs. 38.98 ± 0.061°C, respectively). A significant treatment by time interaction was found. The greatest treatment effects occurred at 2100 h; treatment means at this time were 39.26 and 38.85 ± 0.085°C for OFF24 and ON24 treatments, respectively. In experiment 2, average ambient temperature was 35 ± 1.5°C and average relative humidity was 33 ± 16%. Feedline soakers running for 12 h/d significantly decreased the mean 24-h CBT from 39.16 to 38.99 ± 0.084°C. Treatment by time interaction was also significant; the greatest treatment effects occurred at 1500 h, when ON12 reduced CBT from 39.38 to 38.81 ± 0.088°C. These results demonstrate that complementing the KK system with feedline soakers decreased the CBT of dairy cows housed in desert environments. However, the combined systems were not sufficient to lower CBT to normal temperatures in this extreme environment.

Effects of running time of a cattle-cooling system on core body temperature of cows on dairy farms in an arid environment.

Two experiments were conducted on a commercial dairy farm to describe the effects of a reduction in Korral Kool (KK; Korral Kool Inc., Mesa, AZ) system operating time on core body temperature (CBT) of primiparous and multiparous cows. In the first experiment, KK systems were operated for 18, 21, or 24 h/d while CBT of 63 multiparous Holstein dairy cows was monitored. All treatments started at 0600 h, and KK systems were turned off at 0000 h and 0300 h for the 18-h and 21-h treatments, respectively. Animals were housed in 9 pens and assigned randomly to treatment sequences in a 3 × 3 Latin square design. In the second experiment, 21 multiparous and 21 primiparous cows were housed in 6 pens and assigned randomly to treatment sequences (KK operated for 21 or 24 h/d) in a switchback design. All treatments started at 0600 h, and KK systems were turned off at 0300 h for the 21-h treatments. In experiment 1, cows in the 24-h treatment had a lower mean CBT than cows in the 18- and 21-h treatments (38.97, 39.08, and 39.03±0.04°C, respectively). The significant treatment by time interaction showed that the greatest treatment effects occurred at 0600 h; treatment means at this time were 39.43, 39.37, and 38.88±0.18°C for 18-, 21-, and 24-h treatments, respectively. These results demonstrate that a reduction in KK system running time of ≥3 h/d will increase CBT. In experiment 2, a significant parity by treatment interaction was found. Multiparous cows on the 24-h treatment had lower mean CBT than cows on the 21-h treatment (39.23 and 39.45±0.17°C, respectively), but treatment had no effect on mean CBT of primiparous cows (39.50 and 39.63±0.20°C for 21- and 24-h treatments, respectively). A significant treatment by time interaction was observed, with the greatest treatment effects occurring at 0500 h; treatment means at this time were 39.57, 39.23, 39.89, and 39.04±0.24°C for 21-h primiparous, 24-h primiparous, 21-h multiparous, and 24-h multiparous cows, respectively. These results demonstrate that multiparous and primiparous cows respond differently when KK system running time decreases from 24 to 21 h. We conclude that in desert climates, the KK system should be operated continuously to decrease heat stress of multiparous dairy cows, but that operating time could be reduced from 24 to 21 h for primiparous cows. Reducing system operation time should be done carefully, however, because CBT was elevated in all treatments.

A comparison of the effects of 2 cattle-cooling systems on dairy cows in a desert environment.

An experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of operation time and size of Korral Kool (KK; Korral Kool Inc., Mesa, AZ) systems on core body temperature (CBT) of dairy cows. Two KK systems were compared: a system with 1.29-m-diameter, 3-hp fans spaced 6 m apart (referred to as small) and a system with 1.52-m-diameter, 5-hp fans spaced 8 m apart (referred to as big). Forty-eight multiparous Holstein cows were assigned randomly to 8 pens (4 big, 4 small), and pens were assigned randomly to a sequence of treatments (KK operated for 21 or 24 h/d) in a switchback design. A complementary calorimetric analysis was developed to investigate the cooling area under the KK units of the big and small systems. Twenty-five sensors distributed equally under the KK units measured ambient temperature at 5-min intervals for 2 h. Average ambient temperature was 35.0±0.6°C and relative humidity was 45±8%. There were significant treatment effects on mean CBT: cows on the small 24-h treatment had a lower mean CBT than cows on the small 21-h treatment (39.22 vs. 39.36±0.14°C), and cows on the big 24-h treatment had a lower mean CBT than cows on the big 21-h treatment (38.95 vs. 39.09±0.13°C). A significant treatment by time interaction was observed. The greatest difference between systems occurred at 0100 h; treatment means at this time were 39.05, 39.01, 39.72, and 39.89±0.16°C for the big 24-h, big 21-h, small 24-h, and small 21-h treatments, respectively. At certain times of day, the big system reduced CBT more than the small system. These results show that CBT of multiparous cows decreased when KK system operational time was increased from 21 to 24 h regardless of the size of the KK cooling system used. The calorimetric analysis showed that even though the big system resulted in lower mean ambient temperatures than the small system, the distance between units in the big system should be decreased to reduce the variation in temperature under the big units.