Epidemiological situation of bovine brucellosis in the State of São Paulo, Brazil

Realizou-se um estudo para caracterizar a situação epidemiológica da brucelose bovina no Estado de São Paulo. O Estado foi estratificado em sete circuitos produtores de bovinos, e 150 rebanhos com atividade reprodutiva foram aleatoriamente selecionados em cada um deles. No total, foram amostrados 1.073 rebanhos. Foram aletoriamente coletadas amostras de soro de 10 ou 15 fêmeas bovinas com idade ³24 meses, totalizando 8.761 animais. Os soros foram submetidos a um protocolo de testes em série, tendo o teste do antígeno acidificado tamponado como método de triagem e o da fixação de complemento como confirmatório. A prevalência estimada de rebanhos com pelo menos um animal soropositivo foi de 9,7% [7,8-11,6%], enquanto a prevalência estimada de animais soropositivos foi de 3,8% [0,7-6,9%], no Estado. Em cada rebanho foi aplicado um questionário epidemiológico para avaliar o grau de associação de possíveis fatores de risco (odds ratio, OR) com a doença. Propriedades com 87 ou mais bovinos (OR= 2,25) e compra de reprodutores (OR= 1,56) foram as variáveis mais associadas à condição de foco de brucelose. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ARQUIVOA study to characterize the epidemiological situation of bovine brucellosis in the State of São Paulo was carried out. The state was stratified in seven cattle production regions and 150 herds with reproductive activity were randomly selected within each one. A total of 1,073 herds were sampled. In a second stage, 10 or 15 cows older than 24 month age (in herds with <100 cows and herds ≥100 cows, respectively) were bled at random. A total of 8,761 animals were bled. Sera were tested using a serial testing procedure with the Rose Bengal test as the screening method and the Complement Fixation as the confirmatory method. The estimated prevalence of herds with at least one positive animal was 9.7% [7.8-11.6%], whereas the estimated prevalence of positive cattle was 3.8% [0.7-6.9%] in São Paulo State. An epidemiological questionnaire was applied in each farm, allowing the evaluation of the association of selected risk factors with the disease. The characteristics associated with the brucellosis infected herds were farms with more than 87 bovines (OR= 2.25) and introduction of breeding cattle (OR= 1.56)

Height Systems and Vertical Datums: a Review in the Australian Context

This paper reviews (without equations) the various definitions of height systems and vertical geodetic datum surfaces, together with their practical realisation for users in Australia. Excluding geopotential numbers, a height system is a one-dimensional coordinate system used to express the metric distance (height) of a point from some reference surface. Its definition varies according to the reference surface chosen and the path along which the height is measured. A vertical geodetic datum is the practical realisation of a height system and its reference surface for users, nominally tied to mean sea level. In Australia, the normal-orthometric height system is used, which is embedded in the Australian Height Datum (AHD). The AHD was realised by the adjustment of ~195,000 km of spirit-levelling observations fixed to limited-term observations of mean sea level at multiple tide-gauges. The paper ends by giving some explanation of the problems with the AHD and of the differences between the AHD and the national geoid model, pointing out that it is preferable to recompute the AHD

Defining public examination standards

4.95SIGLELD:81/28753(Defining). / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

Surface-composition of ceramic CeGd-oxide

The atomic composition of the outermost atomic layers of gadolinium-doped ceria, Ce0.8Gd0.2O1.9, was determined with Low Energy Ion Scattering (LEIS). Due to the surface sensitivity of this technique it was possible to determine that the outer 5 monolayers are Gd-enriched. The Ce/Gd ratio changes from 1 at the outermost surface to 4.2 in the ‘bulk'. When this ceria would be used as the electrolyte in a fuel cell, such a surface Gd enrichment could influence its operation. Only in the first monolayer was some Ca observed. No difference in surface composition was observed between samples sintered at 1300 and 1600°C, in spite of large differences in oxygen ionic-conductivity observed previously. At a depth of about 20 monolayers a sudden shift in surface conductivity is observed that might be correlated with a structural change of the material at the grain boundary. The quantification with LEIS was checked with Rutherford Backscattering Spectroscopy (RBS), giving good agreement for the bulk composition

Surface-composition of ceramic CeGd-oxide

The atomic composition of the outermost atomic layers of gadolinium-doped ceria, Ce0.8Gd0.2O1.9, was determined with Low Energy Ion Scattering (LEIS). Due to the surface sensitivity of this technique it was possible to determine that the outer 5 monolayers are Gd-enriched. The Ce/Gd ratio changes from 1 at the outermost surface to 4.2 in the ‘bulk'. When this ceria would be used as the electrolyte in a fuel cell, such a surface Gd enrichment could influence its operation. Only in the first monolayer was some Ca observed. No difference in surface composition was observed between samples sintered at 1300 and 1600°C, in spite of large differences in oxygen ionic-conductivity observed previously. At a depth of about 20 monolayers a sudden shift in surface conductivity is observed that might be correlated with a structural change of the material at the grain boundary. The quantification with LEIS was checked with Rutherford Backscattering Spectroscopy (RBS), giving good agreement for the bulk composition