How to improve Drenchrite

Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of DrenchRite and how it relates to faecal egg count reduction tests (FECRT) will lead to clearer interpretation of DrenchRite results and a better perspective on both tests. In previous studies efficacy was estimated for worms resistant to BZ, LEV and BZILEV combinations by FECRT, DrenchRite and post mortem worm counts. Correlations of in vivo efficacy with FECRT determined by them were: Trichostrongylus colubriformis 88%, Ostertagia circumcincta 56% and Haemonchus contortus 69%. The low correlation for O. circumcincta was associated with the variability in estimating species composition when O. circumcincta was present at low levels. Correlations of DrenchRite with in vivo efficacy were: O. circumcincta 87%, T. colubriformis 82% and H. contortus 80%. The correlation between resistance determined by Larval Development Assay (LDA) and FECRT was not high at 61% (averaged over drugs and species). Similar data for Macrocyclic Lactones (ML) resistant worms are not yet available. Previous studies have shown for some LDA systems that eggs are more likely to be inhibited in development to L3s early (2-3 weeks post infection (PI)) and late (beyond 10 weeks PI) after infection and are most resilient to the effect of drugs at about 7 weeks PI. No systematic changes in DrenchRite results were observed over age of worm infection when tested weekly for 2 to 14 week old worms. Large bowel worms of sheep have not generally been examined under LDA conditions so a study was undertaken to determine the LD50s of susceptible Oesophagostomum columbianum (nodule worm) and Chabertia ovina (large mouthed bowel worm) on DrenchRite plates. LD50s for BZ and LEV were approximately 0.04 and 0.8 uM respectively for both worms. For the ML O. columbianum had a much higher LD50 (45 nM) than C. ovina (8 nM). In relation to the other common sheep worms, development characteristics of C. ovina in LDA is like H. contortus while O. columbianum is more like O. circumcincta. Both large bowel worms were very sensitive to BZILEV combinations, with LD50s 4 to 8 fold lower than those observed for H. contortus and O. circumcincta

Biodiversity increases the resistance of ecosystem productivity to climate extremes

It remains unclear whether biodiversity buffers ecosystems against climate extremes, which are becoming increasingly frequent worldwide1. Early results suggested that the ecosystem productivity of diverse grassland plant communities was more resistant, changing less during drought, and more resilient, recovering more quickly after drought, than that of depauperate communities2. However, subsequent experimental tests produced mixed results3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13. Here we use data from 46 experiments that manipulated grassland plant diversity to test whether biodiversity provides resistance during and resilience after climate events. We show that biodiversity increased ecosystem resistance for a broad range of climate events, including wet or dry, moderate or extreme, and brief or prolonged events. Across all studies and climate events, the productivity of low-diversity communities with one or two species changed by approximately 50% during climate events, whereas that of high-diversity communities with 16–32 species was more resistant, changing by only approximately 25%. By a year after each climate event, ecosystem productivity had often fully recovered, or overshot, normal levels of productivity in both high- and low-diversity communities, leading to no detectable dependence of ecosystem resilience on biodiversity. Our results suggest that biodiversity mainly stabilizes ecosystem productivity, and productivity-dependent ecosystem services, by increasing resistance to climate events. Anthropogenic environmental changes that drive biodiversity loss thus seem likely to decrease ecosystem stability14, and restoration of biodiversity to increase it, mainly by changing the resistance of ecosystem productivity to climate events

How to improve Drenchrite

Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of DrenchRite and how it relates to faecal egg count reduction tests (FECRT) will lead to clearer interpretation of DrenchRite results and a better perspective on both tests. In previous studies efficacy was estimated for worms resistant to BZ, LEV and BZILEV combinations by FECRT, DrenchRite and post mortem worm counts. Correlations of in vivo efficacy with FECRT determined by them were: Trichostrongylus colubriformis 88%, Ostertagia circumcincta 56% and Haemonchus contortus 69%. The low correlation for O. circumcincta was associated with the variability in estimating species composition when O. circumcincta was present at low levels. Correlations of DrenchRite with in vivo efficacy were: O. circumcincta 87%, T. colubriformis 82% and H. contortus 80%. The correlation between resistance determined by Larval Development Assay (LDA) and FECRT was not high at 61% (averaged over drugs and species). Similar data for Macrocyclic Lactones (ML) resistant worms are not yet available. Previous studies have shown for some LDA systems that eggs are more likely to be inhibited in development to L3s early (2-3 weeks post infection (PI)) and late (beyond 10 weeks PI) after infection and are most resilient to the effect of drugs at about 7 weeks PI. No systematic changes in DrenchRite results were observed over age of worm infection when tested weekly for 2 to 14 week old worms. Large bowel worms of sheep have not generally been examined under LDA conditions so a study was undertaken to determine the LD50s of susceptible Oesophagostomum columbianum (nodule worm) and Chabertia ovina (large mouthed bowel worm) on DrenchRite plates. LD50s for BZ and LEV were approximately 0.04 and 0.8 uM respectively for both worms. For the ML O. columbianum had a much higher LD50 (45 nM) than C. ovina (8 nM). In relation to the other common sheep worms, development characteristics of C. ovina in LDA is like H. contortus while O. columbianum is more like O. circumcincta. Both large bowel worms were very sensitive to BZILEV combinations, with LD50s 4 to 8 fold lower than those observed for H. contortus and O. circumcincta

The biological effectiveness of heavy ion radiations in the environment

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:DXN006952 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

Facebookin hyödyntäminen koripalloseurojen viestinnässä

Tässä opinnäytetyössä selvitetään Facebookin roolia koripalloseurojen viestinnässä. Facebook ja koripallo ovat molemmat tällä hetkellä ajankohtaisia aiheita. Työssä perehdytään myös sosiaalisen median hyötyihin yritykselle sekä asiakkaalle. Opinnäytetyö tehtiin syksyn 2011 ja kevään 2012 välisenä aikana. Työn tarkoitus on tutkia käyttävätkö seurat Facebookia ja millä tavoin ne ovat yhteydessä kuluttajiin. Lisäksi selvitetään käyttävätkö koripalloseurat koko Facebookin kapasiteettia markkinoimiseen ja mitkä ovat seurojen tavoitteet Facebookin käytöstä tulevaisuudessa. Tutkimus rajattiin suomalaisiin koripalloseuroihin. Opinnäytetyö tehtiin kvalitatiivisena tutkimuksena ja siihen sisältyy teoria osuus sekä empiirinen osuus. Teoriaosuus koostuu kolmesta eri aihealueesta: digitaalisesta markkinoinnista, sosiaalisesta mediasta sekä Facebookista. Empiirisessä osuudessa esitellään tulokset eri teemoissa sekä pohditaan tuloksia. Teemat ovat Facebookin käytön syyt, käyttötavat, käytön aktiivisuus, sivujen vastuuhenkilöt sekä Facebookin käytön tulevaisuus seuroissa. Tutkimus toteutettiin haastattelulla sekä sähköpostikyselyillä. Osallistuneet seurat ovat juniorijoukkueita ja naisten sekä miesten pääsarja- ja divisioonajoukkueita. Tutkimuksessa haastateltiin yhtä seuraa ja seitsemän seuraa vastasi sähköpostikyselyihin. Tutkimustulokset osoittivat, että koripalloseurat käyttävät Facebookia apuna viestinnässään, mutta eivät läheskään koko sen kapasiteettia. Seurojen edustajat ymmärsivät kuitenkin Facebookin tärkeän merkityksen tulevaisuudessa.The study examines Facebook’s role in public relations of basketball clubs. Facebook and basketball are both current subjects at the moment. The study also orientates with benefits of social media for the company and the consumer. The thesis was written during the autumn 2011 and the spring 2012. The aim of the thesis was to study if basketball clubs use Facebook and how they connect with consumers by using it. In addition, the aim was to find out if basketball clubs use the whole capacity of Facebook in marketing and what their plans are for using Facebook in the future. The study was restricted to the Finnish basketball clubs. The method is qualitative and it consist of a theory section and an empirical section. The theory section consist of three different areas: digital marketing, social media and Facebook. The results of the empirical section are introduced in different themes and discussions. The themes are reasons, methods and frequency of using Facebook, the people responsible for the club’s Facebook-pages and the club’s plans of using Facebook in the future. The study was carried out using interviews and e-mail inquiries. The clubs who attended to the study were junior clubs, women’s and men’s top league and division clubs. One club was interviewed and seven clubs answered to the e-mail inquiry. The results of the study showed that basketball clubs use Facebook as a help in marketing, but not even nearly the whole capacity. Representatives of the clubs, however, understood the importance of Facebook in the future

Mesothelioma among Motor Vehicle Mechanics: An Updated Review and Meta-analysis

Background: We published a meta-analysis of the association between work as a motor vehicle mechanic and mesothelioma in 2004. Since then, several relevant studies on this topic have been published. Thus, to update the state-of-the-science on this issue, we conducted a new systematic review and meta-analysis. Methods: A comprehensive PubMed literature search through May 2014 was conducted to identify studies that reported relative risk estimates for mesothelioma among motor vehicle mechanics (in general), and those who were engaged in brake repair (specifically). Studies were scored and classified based on study characteristics. Random-effects meta-analyses generated summary relative risk estimates (SRREs) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI). Heterogeneity of results was examined by calculating Q-test P-values (P-H) and I 2 estimates. Sub-group and sensitivity analyses were conducted for relevant study characteristics and quality measures. Results: Ten case-control studies, one cohort study, and five proportionate mortality ratio (PMR)/standardized mortality odds ratio (SMOR) studies were identified and included in the quantitative assessment. Most meta-analysis models produced SRREs below 1.0, and no statistically significant increases in mesothelioma were observed. The SRRE for all studies was 0.80 (95% CI: 0.61-1.05) with significant heterogeneity (P-H <0.001, I 2 = 62.90). A similar SRRE was observed among the five Tier 1 studies with the highest quality ratings (SRRE = 0.76, 95% CI: 0.46-1.25), with no heterogeneity among studies (P-H = 0.912, I 2 = 0.00). Meta-analysis of the Tier 2 (n = 5) and Tier 3 (n = 6) studies resulted in SRREs of 1.09 (95% CI: 0.76-1.58) and 0.73 (95% CI: 0.49-1.08), respectively. Restricting the analysis to Tiers 1 and 2 combined resulted in an SRRE of 0.92 (95% CI: 0.72-1.29). The SRRE specific to brake work (n = 4) was 0.64 (95% CI: 0.38-1.09). Conclusions: This meta-analysis of the epidemiologic studies provides evidence that motor vehicle mechanics, including workers who were engaged in brake repair, are not at an increased risk of mesothelioma. \ua9 2015 The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Occupational Hygiene Society

Response to Kay Teschke. Re: Mesothelioma among Motor Vehicle Mechanics: An Updated Review and Meta-analysis

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