Investigating the effects of jute nesting material and enriched piglet mats on sow welfare and piglet survival.

Domesticated sows are motivated to perform nesting behavior prior to farrowing, and nesting material can reduce piglet cold stress. However, nesting material may not be practical in most production systems due to the potential for clogging slurry systems. Therefore, the study objectives were to assess an alternative nesting material provided prior to farrowing on sow welfare and piglet survival, and to investigate the effect of the entire nesting environment on piglet survival and growth performance.

AIDS: family physicians' attitudes and experiences.

A study was developed to examine the current experiences and opinions of a national sample of family physicians with regard to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). The survey response rate was 72.5% (757 questionnaires were returned out of a sample of 1044).