Developing the agroecological niche in Nicaragua: The roles of knowledge flows and intermediaries.

Supporting transitions to sustainable, resilient agri-food systems is important to ensure stable food supply in the face of growing climate extremes. Agroecology, or diversified farming systems based on ecological principles, can contribute to such systems. Based on a qualitative case study of Nicaragua, a forerunner in agroecology, this paper unpacks an ongoing transition to agroecology, focusing on how the transition has been shaped by knowledge flows and intermediary actors.

A handmade trap for malaria mosquito surveillance by citizens in Rwanda.

For effective sampling of mosquitoes in malaria surveillance programmes, it is essential to include attractive cues in traps. With the aim of implementing a citizen science project on malaria vectors in rural Rwanda, a handmade plastic bottle trap was designed and tested in the field to determine its effectiveness in capturing adult Anopheles gambiae sensu lato, the main malaria vector, and other mosquito species. Carbon dioxide (CO2) and light were used as attractive cues.

Australian Parkinson's Genetics Study (APGS): pilot (n=1532).

Purpose: Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder associated with progressive disability. While the precise aetiology is unknown, there is evidence of significant genetic and environmental influences on individual risk. The Australian Parkinson's Genetics Study seeks to study genetic and patient-reported data from a large cohort of individuals with PD in Australia to understand the sociodemographic, genetic and environmental basis of PD susceptibility, symptoms and progression.

Citizen science for monitoring the spatial and temporal dynamics of malaria vectors in relation to environmental risk factors in Ruhuha, Rwanda.

Background: As part of malaria prevention and control efforts, the distribution and density of malaria mosquitoes requires continuous monitoring. Resources for long-term surveillance of malaria vectors, however, are often limited. The aim of the research was to evaluate the value of citizen science in providing insight into potential malaria vector hotspots and other malaria relevant information, and to determine predictors of malaria vector abundance in a region where routine mosquito monitoring has not been established to support vector surveillance.

Impact of Covid-19 on farming systems in Europe through the lens of resilience thinking.

Context: Resilience is the ability to deal with shocks and stresses, including the unknown and previously unimaginable, such as the Covid-19 crisis.

Objective: This paper assesses (i) how different farming systems were exposed to the crisis, (ii) which resilience capacities were revealed and (iii) how resilience was enabled or constrained by the farming systems' social and institutional environment.

Methods: The 11 farming systems included have been analysed since 2017.

Non-uniform Effects of Nociceptive Stimulation to Motoneurones during Experimental Muscle Pain.

Nociceptive stimulation is predicted to uniformly inhibit motoneurone pools of painful muscles and those producing painful movements. Although reduced motoneurone discharge rate during pain provides some evidence, recent data show evidence of increased excitability of some motoneurones. These observations suggest non-uniform effects of nociception on motoneurone excitability.

Monitoring mosquito nuisance for the development of a citizen science approach for malaria vector surveillance in Rwanda.

Background: Many countries, including Rwanda, have mosquito monitoring programmes in place to support decision making in the fight against malaria. However, these programmes can be costly, and require technical (entomological) expertise. Involving citizens in data collection can greatly support such activities, but this has not yet been thoroughly investigated in a rural African context.

The Queensland Parkinson's Project: An Overview of 20 Years of Mortality from Parkinson's Disease.

Objective: The consensus is that life expectancy for individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD) is reduced, but estimations vary. We aimed to provide an overview of 20 years of mortality and risk factor data from the Queensland Parkinson's Project.

Methods: The analysis included 1,334 PD and 1,127 control participants.

Why (not) participate in citizen science? Motivational factors and barriers to participate in a citizen science program for malaria control in Rwanda.

This study explores the motivational factors and barriers to participate in a citizen science program for malaria control in Rwanda. It assesses the changes in motivational factors over time and compares these factors among age and gender groups. Using a qualitative approach, this study involved 44 participants.

What do people benefit from a citizen science programme? Evidence from a Rwandan citizen science programme on malaria control.

Background: Malaria control remains a challenge globally and in malaria-endemic countries in particular. In Rwanda, a citizen science programme has been set up to improve malaria control. Citizens are involved in collecting mosquito species and reporting mosquito nuisance.

Perspective: Current Pitfalls in the Search for Future Treatments and Prevention of Parkinson's Disease.

We are gradually becoming aware that there is more to Parkinson's disease (PD) than meets the eye. Accumulating evidence has unveiled a disease complexity that has not (yet) been incorporated into ongoing efforts aimed at slowing, halting or reversing the course of PD, likely underlying their lack of success. There is a substantial latency between the actual onset of PD pathology and our ability to confirm diagnosis, during which accumulating structural and functional damage might be too advanced for effective modification or protection.

Role of individual perceptions in the consistent use of malaria preventive measures: mixed methods evidence from rural Rwanda.

Background: Malaria preventive measures, including long-lasting insecticide-treated bet nets (LLINs), indoor residual spraying (IRS), and controlling mosquito breeding sites, are key measures to achieve malaria elimination. Still, compliance with these recommended measures remains a major challenge. By applying a novel and comprehensive model for determinants of malaria prevention behaviour, this study tests how individual perceptions influence the intentions to use malaria preventive measures and explores strategies that stimulate their consistent use.

The role of farmers' intrinsic motivation in the effectiveness of policy incentives to promote sustainable agricultural practices.

This paper examines the effectiveness of intrinsic and extrinsic motivations on the adoption intensity of sustainable agricultural practices (SAPs) among annual crop farmers in Chile. We use the farmers' attitude towards SAPs as a proxy of intrinsic motivation, while extrinsic motivation is represented by an economic incentive to promote the use of SAPs. The policy program we studied is administered by the Chilean Ministry of Agriculture under the name System of Incentives for the Agro-Environmental Sustainability of Degraded Soils (SIRSD-S.

Healthy, but Disgusting: An Investigation Into Consumers' Willingness to Try Insect Meat.

Consumption of insects has gained interest because it may provide a more sustainable and healthier alternative for conventional meat. However, in Western societies, insect consumption is met with resistance due to negative attitudes based on fear and disgust. To further understand consumers' willingness to try insect meat, a 2 (meat type: bovine vs.

The elephant in the room: How a technology's name affects its interpretation.

In this work, using experiments, we investigate the role of the name of a technology on the informed evaluation of that technology. We argue that a name can influence interpretations by activating cognitive structures. Using genomics-accelerated breeding as a case, we show that the name 'genomics' makes people evaluate related information as similar to genetic modification.

Evaluating perceptions of risk in mosquito experts and identifying undocumented pathways for the introduction of invasive mosquito species into Europe.

In several reported cases of the entry of invasive mosquito species (IMSs) into Europe, the introduction was associated with a specific pathway of introduction or dispersal. The identification of potential pathways for the introduction of IMSs and evaluations of the importance of the different pathways are key to designing proper surveillance strategies to promptly detect and control introductions in non-infested areas. The main goals of the present study were to identify other, previously undocumented, pathways of introduction into Europe, and to identify mosquito experts' perceptions regarding control measures against IMS introductions via different documented pathways.

Experimental Pain Decreases Corticomuscular Coherence in a Force- But Not a Position-Control Task.

Differences in neural drive could explain variation in adaptation to acute pain between postural and voluntary motor actions. We investigated whether cortical contributions, quantified by corticomuscular coherence, are affected differently by acute experimental pain in more posturally focused position-control tasks and voluntary focused force-control tasks. Seventeen participants performed position- and force-control contractions with matched loads (10% maximum voluntary contraction) before and during pain (injection of hypertonic saline into the infrapatellar fat pad of the knee).

Acceptance of new sanitation: The role of end-users' pro-environmental personal norms and risk and benefit perceptions.

Current sanitation systems are inherently limited in their ability to address the new challenges for (waste)water management that arise from the rising demand to restore resource cycles. These challenges include removal of micropollutants, water (re)use, and nutrient recovery. New opportunities to address these challenges arise from new sanitation, a system innovation that combines elements of source separation, local treatment and reuse, and less use of water.

Factors driving public tolerance levels and information-seeking behaviour concerning insects in the household environment.

Background: The public's negative attitudes towards household insects drive tolerance for these insects and their control. Tolerance levels are important in integrated pest management (IPM), as are pest knowledge and information. The risk information seeking and processing (RISP) model describes the relationships between personal factors and information-seeking behaviour.

The Essential Elements of a Risk Governance Framework for Current and Future Nanotechnologies.

Societies worldwide are investing considerable resources into the safe development and use of nanomaterials. Although each of these protective efforts is crucial for governing the risks of nanomaterials, they are insufficient in isolation. What is missing is a more integrative governance approach that goes beyond legislation.

Social-cognitive determinants of the tick check: a cross-sectional study on self-protective behavior in combatting Lyme disease.

Background: Performing a tick check after visiting nature is considered the most important preventive measure to avoid contracting Lyme disease. Checking the body for ticks after visiting nature is the only measure that can fully guarantee whether one has been bitten by a tick and provides the opportunity to remove the tick as soon as possible, thereby greatly reducing the chance of contracting Lyme disease. However, compliance to performing the tick check is low.

Risk perceptions of public health and food safety hazards in poultry husbandry by citizens, poultry farmers and poultry veterinarians.

Differences in risk perceptions of public health and food safety hazards in various poultry husbandry systems by various stakeholder groups, may affect the acceptability of those husbandry systems. Therefore, the objective was to gain insight into risk perceptions of citizens, poultry farmers, and poultry veterinarians regarding food safety and public health hazards in poultry husbandry systems, and into factors explaining these risk perceptions. We surveyed risk perceptions of Campylobacter contamination of broiler meat, avian influenza introduction in laying hens, and altered dioxin levels in eggs for the most commonly used broiler and laying hen husbandry systems in Dutch citizens (n = 2,259), poultry farmers (n = 100), and poultry veterinarians (n = 41).

Cerebellar transcranial direct current stimulation improves adaptive postural control.

Objective: Rehabilitation interventions contribute to recovery of impaired postural control, but it remains a priority to optimize their effectiveness. A promising strategy may involve transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) of brain areas involved in fine-tuning of motor adaptation. This study explored the effects of cerebellar tDCS (ctDCS) on postural recovery from disturbance by Achilles tendon vibration.

An extended theory of planned behavior to predict consumers' willingness to buy mobile slaughter unit meat.

The current study investigated the determinants of consumers' intention to purchase meat from mobile slaughter units (MSU). The theory of planned behavior (TPB) and the value belief norm theory (VBN) were used as conceptual lenses to guide this investigation. We conducted a survey among 329 respondents in the Netherlands who buy meat for themselves and/or for others.