BACKGROUND: young adults represent a critical target for mass-vaccination strategies of COVID-19 that aim to achieve herd immunity. Healthcare students, including dental students, are perceived as the upper echelon of health literacy; therefore, their health-related beliefs, attitudes and behaviors influence their peers and communities. The main aim of this study was to synthesize a data-driven model for the predictors of COVID-19 vaccine willingness among dental students. METHODS: a secondary analysis of data extracted from a recently conducted multi-center and multi-national cross-sectional study of dental students' attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccination in 22 countries was carried out utilizing decision tree and regression analyses. Based on previous literature, a proposed conceptual model was developed and tested through a machine learning approach to elicit factors related to dental students' willingness to get the COVID-19 vaccine. RESULTS: machine learning analysis suggested five important predictors of COVID-19 vaccination willingness among dental students globally, i.e., the economic level of the country where the student lives and studies, the individual's trust of the pharmaceutical industry, the individual's misconception of natural immunity, the individual's belief of vaccines risk-benefit-ratio, and the individual's attitudes toward novel vaccines. CONCLUSIONS: according to the socio-ecological theory, the country's economic level was the only contextual predictor, while the rest were individual predictors. Future research is recommended to be designed in a longitudinal fashion to facilitate evaluating the proposed model. The interventions of controlling vaccine hesitancy among the youth population may benefit from improving their views of the risk-benefit ratio of COVID-19 vaccines. Moreover, healthcare students, including dental students, will likely benefit from increasing their awareness of immunization and infectious diseases through curricular amendments.
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
Unlike past health crises that were more localized, the highly contagious coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis is impacting the world to an unprecedented extent. This is the first study examining how and whether the COVID-19 pandemic affects herding behavior in the Eastern European stock markets. Using samples from the stock markets of Russia, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Croatia, and Slovenia from January 1, 2010 to March 10, 2021, we demonstrate that the COVID-19 pandemic has increased herding behavior in all the sample stock markets. Our results show that the COVID-19 crisis reinforces the impact of global market returns on herding behavior in these specific stock markets. We find that COVID-19 strengthens the spillover effect of regional herding on herding behavior. Thus, financial authorities should monitor investors in the stock market to avoid the increase in herding behavior as well as the reinforcement of the global market returns and regional return dispersion on herding during the period of pandemic.
- MeSH
- COVID-19 * MeSH
- Investments MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- Commerce MeSH
- Pandemics * MeSH
- SARS-CoV-2 MeSH
- Check Tag
- Humans MeSH
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
- Geographicals
- Czech Republic MeSH
- Croatia MeSH
- Hungary MeSH
- Poland MeSH
- Russia MeSH
- Slovenia MeSH
Alterations in complex behavioral patterns during the extended period of the COVID-19 pandemic are predicted to promote a variety of psychiatric disease symptoms due to enforced social isolation and self-quarantine. Accordingly, multifaceted mental health problems will continue to increase, thereby creating a challenge for society and the health care system in general. Recent studies show that COVID-19 can directly or indirectly influence the central nervous system, potentially causing neurological pathologies such as Alzheimer disease and Parkinson disease. Thus, chronic COVID-19-related disease processes have the potential to cause serious mental illnesses, including depression, anxiety, and sleep disorders. Importantly, mental health problems can foster systemic changes in functionally-linked neuroendocrine conditions that heighten a person's susceptibility to COVID-19 infection. These altered defense mechanisms may include compromised "self-control" and "self-care", as well as a "lack of insight" into the danger posed by the virus. These consequences may have serious social impacts on the future of COVID-19 survivors. Compounding the functionally related issues of altered mental health parameters and viral susceptibility are the potential effects of compromised immunity on the establishment of functional herd immunity. Within this context, mental health takes on added importance, particularly in terms of the need to increase support for mental health research and community-based initiatives. Thus, COVID-19 infections continue to reveal mental health targets, a process we must now be prepared to deal with.
- MeSH
- Alzheimer Disease epidemiology prevention & control virology MeSH
- COVID-19 complications epidemiology psychology MeSH
- Depression epidemiology prevention & control psychology MeSH
- Mental Health * MeSH
- Physical Distancing MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- Disease Susceptibility psychology MeSH
- Pandemics MeSH
- Parkinson Disease epidemiology prevention & control virology MeSH
- Self Care psychology MeSH
- Survivors psychology MeSH
- SARS-CoV-2 pathogenicity MeSH
- Self-Control psychology MeSH
- Social Isolation psychology MeSH
- Anxiety epidemiology prevention & control psychology MeSH
- Check Tag
- Humans MeSH
- Publication type
- Editorial MeSH
Out of rut, male red deer (Cervus elaphus) associate themselves in bachelor groups where animals compete for rank position via agonistic interactions. In a previous study on red deer, males were recognized either as "Non-Fighters" (NF, low frequency of attacks) or "Fighters" (F, high frequency of attacks). This study, therefore, aims to verify the consistency of the inter-individual differences in fighting attitude across different social contexts and investigate whether they could be considered an individual characteristic. Behavioral consistency was presumed across three different sampling seasons, assuming that NF would have lower cortisol (C) and testosterone (T) concentrations than the F males. In 2015 the males were kept in one large group and labelled NF and F. In 2016, the herd was divided into two subgroups ("NF" and "F") based on the frequency of attacks. Finally, in 2017, the males were divided into two randomly composed subgroups. Data about agonistic behavior and concentration of C and T were collected during each season. In 2015 the individuals differed only for the fighting attitude. After the division, the frequency of the attacks always increased, being consistently lower in NF than in F. Unexpectedly, a slight increase in the concentration of C was detected in the NF in 2016, compared to the F who experienced no difference neither in 2015 nor 2017. No significant differences were found in T. We concluded that, even though the males had shown behavioral plasticity, their diversified interaction-prone attitude had been maintained despite the modifications of the social environment.
- MeSH
- Agonistic Behavior MeSH
- Behavior, Animal * MeSH
- Hydrocortisone metabolism MeSH
- Antlers growth & development MeSH
- Seasons MeSH
- Body Weight MeSH
- Testosterone metabolism MeSH
- Deer growth & development MeSH
- Animals MeSH
- Check Tag
- Male MeSH
- Animals MeSH
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
- Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
Despite anecdotal reports of the astonishing homing abilities in dogs, their homing strategies are not fully understood. We equipped 27 hunting dogs with GPS collars and action cams, let them freely roam in forested areas, and analyzed components of homing in over 600 trials. When returning to the owner (homewards), dogs either followed their outbound track ('tracking') or used a novel route ('scouting'). The inbound track during scouting started mostly with a short (about 20 m) run along the north-south geomagnetic axis, irrespective of the actual direction homewards. Performing such a 'compass run' significantly increased homing efficiency. We propose that this run is instrumental for bringing the mental map into register with the magnetic compass and to establish the heading of the animal.
- MeSH
- Magnetic Phenomena * MeSH
- Orientation * MeSH
- Working Dogs physiology MeSH
- Dogs MeSH
- Homing Behavior * MeSH
- Animals MeSH
- Check Tag
- Male MeSH
- Dogs MeSH
- Female MeSH
- Animals MeSH
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
- Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
- Geographicals
- Czech Republic MeSH
Vydání první 239 stran : ilustrace ; 24 cm
Příručka se zaměřuje na záchranářské psy a jejich výcvik. Určeno odborné veřejnosti.
- MeSH
- Behavior, Animal MeSH
- Human-Animal Interaction MeSH
- Emergencies MeSH
- Emergency Medical Technicians MeSH
- Working Dogs MeSH
- Emergency Medical Services MeSH
- Rescue Work MeSH
- Publication type
- Handbook MeSH
- Conspectus
- Chov zvířat. Živočišná výroba
- NML Fields
- biologie
- urgentní lékařství
Disbudding is a routine practice in many dairy herds due to the effort to decrease the risk of injuries. Although the disbudding practice is regulated, it can vary among farms. The variation may be caused by many factors, such as herd size or type of breed, but also by farmers' perception of pain caused by disbudding. Hence, the aim of this study was to specify the disbudding practice on dairy farms in the Czech Republic and to assess these practices, including the use of pain mitigation medication, by breed, herd size, and sex of the disbudded calves. We analyzed data from 106 Czech dairy farms, which were collected by a trained interviewer at dairy meetings in 2014-2015. The farmers answered questions regarding the farm's basic characteristics, disbudding practice, and his/her attitude to the pain caused by disbudding. To test the influence of breed, herd size, and sex of disbudded calves on different variables, logistic regression models were used. Disbudding was performed in 92.5% of the surveyed farms; 63.3% of dairy calves were disbudded before 4 wk of age, and Czech Fleckvieh calves were 2.8 times more likely to be disbudded before 4 wk of age than Holstein calves. The hot-iron method was the most used method (69.4%). Calves were 4.5 times more likely to be disbudded by hot iron in herds where both heifers and bulls were disbudded than in herds where only heifers were disbudded. Most (>90%) surveyed farms did not use any pre- or post-procedure medication to mitigate the pain caused by disbudding. The disbudding procedure was performed mainly by farm personnel (94.9%), who were trained by a veterinarian or veterinary technician (46.9%) or by other farm personnel (37.8%) or were not trained (15.3%). Two-thirds of farmers observed behavioral changes in calves after disbudding. Most farmers estimated the pain caused by disbudding to be mild or moderate (20.4 or 45.9%, respectively) and 15.3% of farmers estimated it to be severe. Almost a quarter of interviewed farmers were unable to assess the duration of pain, 39.8% farmers estimated that the pain lasts only several minutes, and 20.4% estimated that the pain lasts up to 6 h. We detected a tendency that farmers of larger herds estimated pain duration to be shorter (odds ratio = 1.2). To improve calves' welfare, training is needed in disbudding practice, focusing on the advantage of pain mitigation.
- MeSH
- Pain veterinary MeSH
- Animal Husbandry manpower methods MeSH
- Adult MeSH
- Farms MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- Young Adult MeSH
- Attitude MeSH
- Surveys and Questionnaires MeSH
- Horns surgery MeSH
- Cattle surgery MeSH
- Veterinarians statistics & numerical data MeSH
- Farmers psychology MeSH
- Animals MeSH
- Check Tag
- Adult MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- Young Adult MeSH
- Male MeSH
- Cattle surgery MeSH
- Female MeSH
- Animals MeSH
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
- Geographicals
- Czech Republic MeSH
- Keywords
- povinné očkování dětí,
- MeSH
- Child MeSH
- Trust psychology MeSH
- Infant MeSH
- Immunity, Herd physiology immunology drug effects MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions diagnosis etiology prevention & control MeSH
- Treatment Refusal psychology statistics & numerical data trends MeSH
- Patient Acceptance of Health Care psychology MeSH
- Mandatory Programs * organization & administration utilization legislation & jurisprudence MeSH
- Child, Preschool MeSH
- Statistics as Topic MeSH
- Vaccination * methods utilization legislation & jurisprudence MeSH
- Vaccines * administration & dosage adverse effects therapeutic use MeSH
- Public Opinion history MeSH
- Legislation, Medical standards trends utilization MeSH
- Check Tag
- Child MeSH
- Infant MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- Child, Preschool MeSH
- Publication type
- Newspaper Article MeSH
Každý může mít vlastní názor, zda je dobré očkovat a je-li postup v rozporu s Vyhláškou o očkování proti infekčním nemocem obhajitelný či omluvitelný. Lze omluvit takový postup právem na svobodu rodičů nebo je sám o sobě nelegitimní a nemravný a poškozuje právo dítěte na zdraví? Nicméně z nedodržování této vyhlášky pramení mimo jiné pokles kolektivní imunity společnosti proti preventabilním onemocněním, čímž je zvýšeno riziko nákazy i těch, kteří nemohou být ze zdravotních důvodů očkováni. Zamysleme se nad tím, jak minimalizovat naše úsilí, časovou, psychickou a emoční zátěž při diskuzích s odmítači a alternativci očkování a být při tom maximálně úspěšní a pokusme se užít postupy, které se nám nejvíce osvědčily.
Everybody can have their own opinion on whether it is a good thing to vaccinate and whether a course of action contrary to the Decree on Vaccination against Infectious Diseases is justifiable or defensible. Can such a course of action be justified by the parents' right to freedom or is it illegitimate and immoral in itself, violating the child's right to health? However, non-compliance with this decree results, among other things, in a decline in the herd immunity of the population against preventable diseases, which in turn increases the risk of infection in those who cannot be vaccinated for health reasons. Let us think about how to minimize our effort and the time, mental, and emotional burden in the discussions with those refusing vaccination and seeking alternatives, while being as successful as possible, and let us attempt to use approaches that have proved most useful.
- MeSH
- Child MeSH
- Adult MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- Dissent and Disputes MeSH
- Patient Acceptance of Health Care MeSH
- Risk MeSH
- Decision Making MeSH
- Freedom MeSH
- Vaccination * trends legislation & jurisprudence MeSH
- Patient Education as Topic * MeSH
- Professional-Family Relations MeSH
- Check Tag
- Child MeSH
- Adult MeSH
- Humans MeSH
Wild giraffes live in extensive groups in the fission fusion system, maintaining long social distances and loose social bonds. Within these groups, resources are widely distributed, agonistic encounters are scarce and the dominance hierarchy was reported in males only, while never deeply analysed. In captivity, the possibility to maintain inter-individual distances is limited and part of the resources is not evenly distributed. Consequently, we suggest that agonistic encounters should be more frequent, leading to the establishment of the dominance hierarchy. Based on the differences in resource-holding potential, we suggested that the rank of an individual would be affected by age and sex. Based on hypotheses of prior ownership, we tested whether rank was positively affected by the time spent in a herd and whether it was stable in adult females, which were present long-term in the same herd. We originally monitored four herds of Rothschild giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis rothschildii) in Dvůr Králové zoo (n = 8), Liberec zoo (n = 6), and two herds in Prague zoo: Prague 1 (n = 8) and Prague 2 (n = 9). The Prague 1 and Prague 2 herds were then combined and the resulting fifth herd was observed over three consecutive years (2009, 2010, and 2011) (n = 14, 13, and 14, respectively). We revealed a significantly linear hierarchy in Dvůr Králové, Prague 2 and in the combined herd in Prague. Rank was significantly affected by age in all herds; older individuals dominated the younger ones. In females, rank was positively affected by the time spent in the herd and adult females in Prague maintained their rank during three consecutive years. This study represents the first analysis of the dominance hierarchy in the captive giraffe, and discusses the behavioural flexibility of the social structure in response to monopolisable resources in a captive environment.
