[Socio-labor conditions and psychological burnout in workers during the pandemic. A comparative study]. / Condiciones sociolaborales y desgaste psíquico en trabajadores durante la pandemia. Estudio comparativo.

Background: The pandemic derived from COVID-19 has caused a great impact in all the contexts in wich the human being operates, including the labor context. Multiple studies have shown the influence that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on both public and private organizations. From this derives the importance of assessings the real work context of the Mexican population in times of pandemic and the factors that are related to the appearance of psychological exhaustion. Objective: To compare the sociocultural conditions and the presence of psychological exhaustion in workers of government institutions and individuals in southern Jalisco during the COVID-19 pandemic. Material and methods: This is a cross-sectional descriptive correlational study, with a non-probabilistic sample of two organizations; one of a public governmental nature and another private of a food business. The dependent variable was psychological exhaustion addressed through instrument 4 of the CTCPS-MAC battery. Results: Significant differences were identified between both companies in two of the three factors that make up psychological exhaustion, in the cognitive-emotional response factor (z = -3.920, p < 0.05) and in the physiological response factor (z = -31.982, p < 0.05) the employees of the private company are considered more vulnerable. Conclusions: The levels of general psychological exhaustion are higher in the workers of private companies, as well as in the dimensions that comprise it.

Introducción: la pandemia derivada por la COVID-19 ha causado gran impacto en todos los contextos en los que se desenvuelve el ser humano, incluido el contexto laboral. Múltiples estudios han demostrado la influencia que la pandemia por COVID-19 ha tenido en organizaciones tanto públicas como privadas. De esto se deriva la importancia de valorar el contexto laboral real de la población mexicana en tiempos de pandemia y los factores que están relacionados con la aparición del desgaste psíquico. Objetivo: comparar las condiciones socioculturales y la presencia de desgaste psíquico en trabajadores de instituciones de gobierno y particulares del sur del estado de Jalisco, México, durante la pandemia por COVID-19. Material y métodos: se trata de un estudio analítico transversal correlacional, con una muestra no probabilísticas de dos organizaciones: una de carácter público gubernamental y otra privada de giro alimenticio. La variable dependiente fue el desgaste psíquico, abordado a través del instrumento 4 de la batería CTCPS-MAC. Resultados: se identificaron diferencias significativas entre ambas empresas en dos de tres factores que componen el desgaste psíquico, en el factor de respuestas cognitivo-emocionales (z = -3.920, p < 0.05) y en el factor de respuestas fisiológicas (z = -31.982, p < 0.05) los empleados de la empresa privada son considerados más vulnerables. Conclusiones: los niveles de desgaste psíquico general son más altos en los trabajadores de las empresas privadas, así como en las dimensiones que lo conforman.

Field Trial of Factors Associated With the Presence of Dead and Non-ambulatory Pigs During Transport Across Three Colombian Slaughterhouses.

Transport by land is an essential component for the commercialization of fattening pigs and can have a negative impact on animal welfare. In slaughterhouses, the presence of dead and non-ambulatory animals is an indicator of poor welfare during transport. The objective of the study was to identify risk factors associated with the frequency of dead and non-ambulatory pigs during transport. A survey was conducted in three Colombian slaughterhouses. Data were collected from 372 batches (n = 18,437 gilts barrows) and transported directly from the farms to the slaughterhouses. Each truck was individually evaluated; a structured survey was administered to drivers, non-ambulatory and dead pigs on arrival were identified and blood samples were obtained from non-ambulatory pigs to assess physiological indicators of stress. Mortality rates per batch at arrival ranged from 0.08 to 0.17% and prevalence of non-ambulatory pigs per batch ranged from 0.84 to 1.37%.The results of the multilevel mixed effects linear regression model identified the following as risk factors associated with the frequency of total transport losses: truck speed (P = 0.04), distance (P < 0.01), transport time (P < 0.01), load size (P < 0.01) and the driver (P < 0.01) including the farm as a fixed effect. This study identified risk factors that increased the probability of total transport losses during land transport under Colombian commercial conditions. But more research that involves commercial drivers is needed to develop effective strategies to improve Colombian pig's transportation chain.

Empathy Levels among Veterinary Medicine Students in Colombia (South America).

Empathy plays an important role in veterinarians' relationships with their patients, clients, and colleagues. Because it relates to greater clinical competence and facilitates the acquisition of information for diagnosing, prescribing therapies, and identifying and treating animal pain, empathy is an essential competence to be strengthened during professional training. The objective of this study was to evaluate the empathy levels of veterinary medicine students toward people and animals and to identify associated factors. The animal empathy scale and the Davis interpersonal reactivity index were applied through an electronic survey to first-, third-, and fifth-year students (n = 559) in three veterinarian medical schools in Colombia. A principal components analysis was performed to identify composite scores of human and animal empathy levels. The empathy toward humans total score ranged from 0 to 112, and the empathy toward animals total score was between 22 and 198. The average empathy scores for students were 89.67 ± 9.02 (mean ± SD; range: 60-115) and 115.01 ± 13.41 (mean ± SD; range: 67-165), respectively. The results suggest that empathy scores toward people are acceptable. Gender, university, program type, age, year of study, and diet were significantly associated with empathy levels toward animals. It is proposed that levels of empathy toward animals be strengthened by fostering a positive learning environment, developing ethical and animal welfare competencies, and increasing empathetic contact and hands-on experience with animals during the curriculum.

Dantrolene hinders dengue virus-induced upregulation and translocation of calmodulin to cardiac cell nuclei.

Dengue virus (DENV) infection elevates intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i), but it is unknown whether Ca2+ and calmodulin (CaM) are involved in DENV infection. We conducted immunofluorescence and western blot experiments and measured [Ca2+]i examining the effects of DENV infection and drugs that alter Ca2+/CaM functions on CaM translocation, DENV2 infection, protein expression, virus-inducible STAT2 protein abundance, and CREB phosphorylation in H9c2 cells. DENV infection increased CaM expression, its nuclear translocation and NS3 and E viral proteins expression and colocalization in a manner that could be blocked by the ryanodine receptor antagonist dantrolene. DENV infection also increased CREB phosphorylation, an effect inhibited by either dantrolene or the CaM inhibitor W7. Dantrolene substantially hindered infection as assessed by focus assays in Vero cells. These results suggest that Ca2+ and CaM play an important role in DENV infection of cardiac cells and that dantrolene may protect against severe DENV cardiac morbidity.

Iceberg Indicators for Animal Welfare in Rural Sheep Farms Using the Five Domains Model Approach.

Animal welfare for sheep in extensive rural farms is difficult to quantify among rural farmers due to several factors, including the lack of technology and the low level of interaction they have with the animals. The purpose of this study was to search for animal-based iceberg indicators using the Five Domains Model approach and study the relationship between sheep reactive behavior (flight distance), sheep handling training and farmers job satisfaction. Thirteen extensive commercial dual-purpose sheep farms (n = 520 animals) were evaluated in Marulanda, Caldas (Colombia, South America). On-farm Animal Welfare Indicators (AWIN) were assessed using an adapted version of this protocol. Socio-demographic characteristics, sheep handling training and job satisfaction were evaluated using a structured interview. Blood and stool samples were taken to determine Fecal Egg Count and Packed Cell Volume. Bivariate regression models were used to find animal-based indicators that predicted Nutrition, Ambience, Health and Behavior welfare domains, and a Qualitative Behavior Analysis was used for mind state domain analysis. Body condition score (BCS) (p = 0.001), fleece cleanliness (p = 0.03), FAMACHA© Score (p = 0.05), and flight distance in meters (p = 0.19) were found to be indicators, and were useful for predicting overall welfare assessment (R2 = 0.85) on theses farms. Regarding mind welfare domain, Qualitative Behavioral Assessment found two principal components (PC) that explained 82% and 67% of the variance, and described emotional valence and energy levels of sheep, respectively. Sheep handling training (ß = -8.75, p = 0.004) and job satisfaction (ß = -7.5, p = 0.013) had a negative association with the average flock flight distance. Spearman's rank correlations were significant (p < 0.001) between Fecal Egg Count, Packed Cell Volume, FAMACHA© Score (FS), Body Weight (BW) and, BCS. The strongest association was observed between Packed Cell Volume (PCV) and Fecal Egg Count (FEC) (r = -0.43), also FS was correlated with PCV (r = -0.28) and FEC (r = 0.21), and BCS was correlated with weight (r = 0.32). We suggest that these animal-based indicators could be useful as iceberg indicators for extensive sheep production systems and may set the ground for more research in small extensive sheep farms to develop strategies to find welfare problems and solutions.

Animal-Based Measurements to Assess the Welfare of Dairy Cull Cows during Pre-Slaughter.

Culling is the departure of cows from the herd as a result of sale, slaughter, health, national regulations, salvage, or death. Cull cows are removed from farms with poor health, production, behavior, or other problems, and during pre-slaughter they are sometimes kept without food and water, which compromises their well-being. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the welfare state of culled dairy cows during pre-slaughter using some animal-based measurements and to identify possible associations between them. Data were recorded for 62 different dairy production farms referring to 137 cull cows (n = 60 Holstein and n = 77 Normandy crosses) slaughtered in an abattoir in Colombia (South America). In this study, we evaluated and recorded land transport conditions, the health of animals on arrival to the abattoir, human-animal interaction, stress physiological variables and the association of these variables with characteristic bruises on the carcass, the lairage time, the presence of diseases, and the stage of pregnancy. In total, 98.5% of the cows were very thin, 35.7% were pregnant, and 84.7% had bruising on the carcass. In total, 74.5% had clinical conditions; these included skin lesions (32.4%), mastitis (27.5%), lameness (21.6%), vulvar secretions (8.8%), diarrhea (6.8%), and eye carcinoma (2.9%). The total number of cull cows with bruises during pre-slaughter was associated with lot size, transport time, presence of pregnancy, body score condition, and creatine kinase levels. The results suggest that the cows were not fit for transport because their health was severely affected before they left the farms. The animal-based indicators used in this study are useful for evaluating the welfare of cull dairy cows at abattoirs.

Association between Attitude and Empathy with the Quality of Human-Livestock Interactions.

The human-animal interactions are a key component of human and animal welfare. The quality of this interaction can therefore be assessed by measuring the reaction response of the animals to the handler's behavior. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between attitude and empathy towards the animals with the quality of human-livestock interactions. Additionally, we aimed to investigate whether the quality of cattle handling deteriorates as the working day progresses. A total of 18 livestock handlers and 1514 Colombian commercial Zebu steers were evaluated. A questionnaire pack consisting of 50 questions regarding demographic information, attitude and empathy characteristics was applied, using a structured interview. Each handlers' responses to positive and negative attitude and empathy questions were calculated to produce a composite score. Observations of human-animal interactions were made at three times during the day (5:00, 7:00 and 9:00), each observation lasting 30 min. The handlers had an average age of 39.4 ± 3.4 y (range = 18-66 y), with little schooling but a lot of experience in the trade (17.13 ± 14.21 y). During handling, hitting, prodding and hand raising predominated over other actions (p < 0.05), and in response, the cattle behaved by freezing and running. Significant differences were found in the interactions used by handlers depending on the time of day (p < 0.05). The empathy total score ranged from 20 to 100, and the attitude total score between 24 and 120. The average attitude and empathy scores for handlers were 85.05 ± 6.92 (mean ±SD; range, 73-97) and 74.61 ± 4.72 (mean ±SD; range, 65-83), respectively. It has been concluded that there is an association between handlers' attitudes and empathy towards animals and the quality of human-animal interaction during pre-slaughter.