Risk factors for bovine Tuberculosis at the national level in Great Britain

<p><b>Background:</b> The continuing expansion of high incidence areas of bovine Tuberculosis (bTB) in Great Britain (GB) raises a number of questions concerning the determinants of infection at the herd level that are driving spread of the disease. Here, we develop risk factor models to quantify the importance of herd sizes, cattle imports from Ireland, history of bTB, badgers and cattle restocking in determining bTB incidence. We compare the significance of these different risk factors in high and low incidence areas (as determined by parish testing intervals).</p> <p><b>Results:</b> Large herds and fattening herds are more likely to breakdown in all areas. In areas with lower perceived risk (longer testing intervals), the risk of breaking down is largely determined by the number of animals that a herd buys in from high incidence areas. In contrast, in higher perceived risk areas (shorter testing intervals), the risk of breakdown is defined by the history of disease and the probability of badger occurrence. Despite differences in the management of bTB across different countries of GB (England, Wales and Scotland), we found no significant differences in bTB risk at the national level after these other factors had been taken into account.</p> <p><b>Conclusions:</b> This paper demonstrates that different types of farm are at risk of breakdown and that the most important risk factors vary according to bTB incidence in an area. The results suggest that significant gains in bTB control could be made by targeting herds in low incidence areas that import the greatest number of cattle from high incidence areas.</p&gt

EVOLUTION OF THE STRATOSPHERIC TEMPERATURE AND CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OVER ONE TITANIAN YEAR

Since the Voyager 1 (V1) flyby in 1980, Titans exploration from space and the ground has been ongoing for more than a full revolution of Saturn around the Sun (one Titan year or 29.5 Earth years was completed in May 2010). In this study we search for temporal variations affecting Titans atmospheric thermal and chemical structure within that year. We process Cassini CIRS data taken during the Titan flybys from 2006-2013 and compare them to the 1980 V1IRIS spectra (re-analyzed here). We also consider data from Earth-based and -orbiting observatories (such as from the ISO, re-visited). When we compare the CIRS 2010 and the IRIS data we find limited inter-annual variations, below the 25 or35 levels for the lower and middle, or the high latitudes, respectively. A return to the 1980 stratospheric temperatures and abundances is generally achieved from 50degN to 50degS, indicative of the solar radiation being the dominating energy source at 10 AU, as for the Earth, as predicted by GCM and photochemical models. However, some exceptions exist among the most complex hydrocarbons (C4H2 and C3H4), especially in the North. In the Southern latitudes, since 2012, we see a trend for an increase of several trace gases, possibly indicative of a seasonal atmospheric reversal. At the Northern latitudes we found enhanced abundances around the period of the northern spring equinox in mid-2009 (as in Bampasidis et al. 2012), which subsequently decreased (from 2010-2012) returning to values similar to those found in the V1 epoch a Titanian year before

Moderate Resolution Spitzer Infrared Spectrograph (IRS) Observations of M, L, and T Dwarfs

We present 10 - 19 um moderate resolution spectra of ten M dwarfs, one L dwarf, and two T dwarf systems obtained with the Infrared Spectrograph (IRS) onboard the Spitzer Space Telescope. The IRS allows us to examine molecular spectroscopic features/lines at moderate spectral resolution in a heretofore untapped wavelength regime. These R~600 spectra allow for a more detailed examination of clouds, non-equilibrium chemistry, as well as the molecular features of H2O, NH3, and other trace molecular species that are the hallmarks of these objects. A cloud-free model best fits our mid-infrared spectrum of the T1 dwarf epsilon Indi Ba, and we find that the NH3 feature in epsilon Indi Bb is best explained by a non-equilibrium abundance due to vertical transport in its atmosphere. We examined a set of objects (mostly M dwarfs) in multiple systems to look for evidence of emission features, which might indicate an atmospheric temperature inversion, as well as trace molecular species; however, we found no evidence of either.Comment: 19 pages, 7 figures, accepted ApJ 1/12/0

The impact of a large object with Jupiter in July 2009

On 2009 July 19, we observed a single, large impact on Jupiter at a planetocentric latitude of 55^{\circ}S. This and the Shoemaker-Levy 9 (SL9) impacts on Jupiter in 1994 are the only planetary-scale impacts ever observed. The 2009 impact had an entry trajectory opposite and with a lower incidence angle than that of SL9. Comparison of the initial aerosol cloud debris properties, spanning 4,800 km east-west and 2,500 km north-south, with those produced by the SL9 fragments, and dynamical calculations of pre-impact orbit, indicate that the impactor was most probably an icy body with a size of 0.5-1 km. The collision rate of events of this magnitude may be five to ten times more frequent than previously thought. The search for unpredicted impacts, such as the current one, could be best performed in 890-nm and K (2.03-2.36 {\mu}m) filters in strong gaseous absorption, where the high-altitude aerosols are more reflective than Jupiter's primary cloud.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figure

Factors affecting tether use and misuse

This project investigated factors relating to tether use and misuse. Volunteer testing was performed with 37 subjects on 16 different vehicles using 2 forward-facing child restraints (Britax Marathon 70 or the Evenflo Triumph), with each subject performing 8 child restraint installations on a set of four vehicles. Vehicles were selected to provide a variety of general tether locations (filler panel, upper seatback, lower seatback, floor, or roof), as well as a variety of recommended tether routings with respect to the head restraint: under, over, around. Simple instruction regarding the LATCH system was provided after the fourth trial. Subjects used the tether in 89% of the 294 forward-facing trials and attached the tether correctly in 57% of installations. Subjects were more likely to use the tether if they were less than age 40, had previous tether experience, if the tether was located on a filler panel, and if the vehicle did not have any potentially confusing hardware. In addition, tether use was 83% in the first four trials and increased to 95% in the last four trials after instruction was provided. Subjects had the greatest difficulty in the pickup truck, which use loops of webbing as a router for the installed position and the tether anchor for the adjacent position; the tether was attached correctly in only 11 percent of installations. Tethers were more likely to be used when the tether anchor was located on the filler panel of sedans, which had a use rate of 95 percent, compared to when the anchor was located on the floor, roof, or seatback, which had use rates ranging from 79 to 89 percent. Tethers were less likely to be attached correctly when there was potentially confusing hardware present, 47 percent, compared to 70 percent. In addition, tether anchors located on the filler panel or mid seatback had higher rates of correct attachment, 60 and 69 percent , respectively, than those on the floor, roof, or lower seatback, which all had correct attachment rates lower than 50 percent . No vehicle tether hardware characteristics or vehicle manual directions were associated specifically with correct tether routing and head restraint position. Installations involving the single tether strap were 10 times as likely to have the tether attached correctly and 1.7 times as likely to be routed correctly and have the head restraint positioned correctly, compared with installations with the v-shaped tether. Lack of instruction in most vehicle owner’s manuals regarding the routing of a V-style tether more challenging to use. With the single strap-style tether, it was more straightforward to have the tether strap flat and pull it tight, as well as to route it as directed. With the V-style tether, the adjustment hardware was often located underneath or close to the head restraint when installed in the vehicle, making it difficult to tighten. Recommendations to reduce tether misuse include labeling tether anchors, eliminating confusing hardware, allowing any head restraint position (including removal), providing instruction for routing V-style tethers, allowing options in tether routing, and redesigning tether anchors/routers found in pickup trucks.Insurance Institute for Highway Safetyhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/106031/1/102990.pd