Studies on the epidemiology and potential extent of cattle tick infestations in the tick free area of Queensland

1. INTRODUCTION 2. LIFE CYCLE OF THE CATTLE TICK 3. FACTORS AFFECTING THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE CATTLE TICK 4. ANALYSIS OF PAST AND PRESENT TICK OUTBREAKS 5. TICK PLOT STUDIES 6. CSIRO MODEL PREDICTIONS 7. SUMMARY OF CONCLUSIONS 8. GENERAL DISCUSSION 9. REFERENCES 10. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 11. APPENDIX: DESCRIPTION OF THE TICK PLOT BASED CATTLE TICK POPULATION MODE

High-level coordination and strategy in the 2007 equine influenza outbreak response.

The equine influenza (EI) outbreak presented many challenges that required high-level coordination and decision making, as well as the development of new approaches for satisfactory and consistent resolution. This paper outlines the elements of the national coordination arrangements, preparatory arrangements in place prior to the outbreak that facilitated national coordination, and some of the issues faced and resolved in the response

The role of the spleen in protective immunity against Angiostrongylus cantonensis in rats: Splenectomy and passive spleen cell transfers

Splenectonuzed rats infected with Angiostrongylus cantonensis had more and longer worms and lower anti-A. cantonensis antibody titres compared to intact and sham operated rats. Splenectomy, however, had no effect on the capacity of rats to mount a cell-mediated immune response, as assessed by the in vitro uptake of tritiated thymidine by peripheral blood lymphocytes following stimulation by PHA and adult worm antigen. Adoptive protection and antibody production against A. cantonensis could be transferred with immune spleen cells. This protection was strongly dose and time dependent. Protection was adoptively conferred with 3 × 109 spleen cells transferred 7 days before infection

Software and equipment for increased efficiency of field rainfall simulation and associated laboratory analyses

A computer-based system was developed to efficiently integrate data collection from a rainfall simulator and the subsequent analyses of samples in the laboratory. Innovations include a triple tipping-bucket to improve precision when measuring a wide range of runoff rates from the simulator, and an electronic `latch' to interface the tipping buckets to a computer. Oven-proof field sample bottles and an RS232 compatible balance have streamlined laboratory procedures and almost eliminated transcription errors. In the field, a computer functions as a real-time clock, a field notebook and a datalogger that produces hardcopy in tabular and graphical formats. In the laboratory, a computer reads the balance, collates field data, calculates results and saves the files in a spreadsheet-compatible format. The system was inexpensive to build as no proprietary data-capture hardware or software was used. All programs were written in the familiar Microsoft QuickBasic language

Microbes as engines of ecosystem function: When does community structure enhance predictions of ecosystem processes?: Linking microbes to ecosystem processes

International audienceMicroorganisms are vital in mediating the earth's biogeochemical cycles; yet, despite our rapidly increasing ability to explore complex environmental microbial communities, the relationship between microbial community structure and ecosystem processes remains poorly understood. Here, we address a fundamental and unanswered question in microbial ecology: 'When do we need to understand microbial community structure to accurately predict function?' We present a statistical analysis investigating the value of environmental data and microbial community structure independently and in combination for explaining rates of carbon and nitrogen cycling processes within 82 global datasets. Environmental variables were the strongest predictors of process rates but left 44% of variation unexplained on average, suggesting the potential for microbial data to increase model accuracy. Although only 29% of our datasets were significantly improved by adding information on microbial community structure, we observed improvement in models of processes mediated by narrow phylogenetic guilds via functional gene data, and conversely, improvement in models of facultative microbial processes via community diversity metrics. Our results also suggest that microbial diversity can strengthen predictions of respiration rates beyond microbial biomass parameters, as 53% of models were improved by incorporating both sets of predictors compared to 35% by microbial biomass alone. Our analysis represents the first comprehensive analysis of research examining links between microbial community structure and ecosystem function. Taken together, our results indicate that a greater understanding of microbial communities informed by ecological principles may enhance our ability to predict ecosystem process rates relative to assessments based on environmental variables and microbial physiology