CULTIVATED EDGE: Mediating rural and urban gaps in informal settlements

Usually when you think of agriculture, you think of a farm, of production and of profitability and not on how can cities benefit from these practices, specially informal settlements. Urban agriculture is practiced almost as a hobby in industrialized nations, but it’s a response to a need in developing countries. In the case of Ciudad Bolivar, an informal settlement on the edge of Bogota, Colombia, urban farming resulted from food scarcity and poverty. The project develops design placemaking strategies aimed at improving the built environment and, as a result, the social cohesion of the neighborhood. The thesis proposes a community where agriculture is introduced at the initial stages of the design process, with farming gardens, food markets, and a community hub that coalesce into a performative edge and mediate between the rural and urban worlds. An edge that creates a more connected and livable community, one that harvests tradition

Detection of arenavirus in a peripheral odontogenic fibromyxoma in a red tail boa (Boa constrictor constrictor) with inclusion body disease

A captive bred red tail boa (Boa constrictor constrictor) was presented with a large intraoral mass originating from the buccal gingiva, attached to the right dentary teeth row. Based on the clinical features and histological examination, the diagnosis of a peripheral odontogenic fibromyxoma was made. Sections of liver biopsies and circulating lymphocytes contained relatively few eosinophilic intracytoplasmic inclusion bodies, indistinguishable from those observed in inclusion body disease-affected snakes. Inclusion bodies were not observed in cells comprising the neoplastic mass. Using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), arenavirus was detected in the neoplastic tissue. Two years after surgical removal of the mass, recurrence of the neoplastic lesion was observed. Numerous large inclusion body disease inclusions were abundantly present in the neoplastic cells of the recurrent fibromyxoma. Sections of liver biopsies and circulating lymphocytes contained relatively few intracytoplasmic inclusions. The RT-PCR revealed the presence of arenavirus in blood, a liver biopsy, and neoplastic tissue. The present case describes the co-occurrence of an arenavirus infection and an odontogenic fibromyxoma in a red tail boa

Boid inclusion body disease : the enigma unraveled?

Boid inclusion body disease is a worldwide occurring disease in boas and pythons. The identity of the etiological agent of the disease remained elusive for several decades. Recently however, contemporary diagnostic methods and experimental studies delivered compelling proof that a group of divergent reptarenaviruses arc the causative agents of BIBD. In contrast to what was initially thought, boid snakes can be persistent carriers of the viral disease without showing clinical signs. Although the cause of BIBD has been demonstrated, the diagnosis of BIBD may be challenging depending on the involved snake species, and the differentiation between comorbidities related to BIBD and clinical disease caused by concurrent disorders remains problematic. In this article, the course of BIBD infection in boid snakes, the major differences that are encountered towards the diagnosis of BIBD in pythons versus boas and the overall management of BIBD in captive snake collections are described

Prevalence of inclusion body disease and associated comorbidity in captive collections of boid and pythonid snakes in Belgium

Inclusion body disease (IBD) is caused by reptarenaviruses and constitutes one of the most notorious viral diseases in snakes. Although central nervous system disease and various other clinical signs have been attributed to IBD in boid and pythonid snakes, studies that unambiguously reveal the clinical course of natural IBD and reptarenavirus infection are scarce. In the present study, the prevalence of IBD and reptarenaviruses in captive snake collections and the correlation of IBD and reptarenavirus infection with the clinical status of the sampled snakes were investigated. In three IBD positive collections, long-term follow-up during a three- to seven-year period was performed. A total of 292 snakes (178 boas and 114 pythons) from 40 collections in Belgium were sampled. In each snake, blood and buffy coat smears were evaluated for the presence of IBD inclusion bodies (IB) and whole blood was tested for reptarenavirus RNA by RT-PCR. Of all tested snakes, 16.5% (48/292) were positive for IBD of which all were boa constrictors (34.0%; 48/141) and 17.1% (50/292) were reptarenavirus RT-PCR positive. The presence of IB could not be demonstrated in any of the tested pythons, while 5.3% (6/114) were reptarenavirus positive. In contrast to pythons, the presence of IB in peripheral blood cells in boa constrictors is strongly correlated with reptarenavirus detection by RT-PCR (P<0.0001). Although boa constrictors often show persistent subclinical infection, long-term follow-up indicated that a considerable number (22.2%; 6/27) of IBD/reptarenavirus positive boas eventually develop IBD associated comorbidities

Functional performance criteria for comparison of less flammable transformer oils with respect to fire and explosion risk

Power grids worldwide are expanding not only driven by ambitious clean energy, but also because of the rising need for reliable energy. Key components of these power grids are transformers. Transformers are traditionally filled with mineral oil, to serve as a coolant and dielectric insulator. Now globally a rising trend is observed towards the adoption of less flammable, biodegradable transformer liquids at ever increasing voltages and power ratings. The objective of this report is to discuss past, current and future attempts to quantify the fire and explosion risk in less flammable liquid filled high voltage transformers. Testing procedure standards that give a reliable assessment of the fire behavior of electro technical insulating liquid based on relevant physical characteristics of the fluids are currently under development, such as IEC 60695-8-3. However more effort is required in order to provide meaningful information concerning the relation between small-scale tests and large-scale tests and that between the tests and failure scenarios in real life applications. The experimental focus of this report, small-scale comparative tests in the Cone Calorimeter and other settings, is limited to pool fires. Spray and vapour/gas cloud fires and explosions, even though of great importance, are not considered. In total 5 liquids were tested: mineral oil, silicone liquid, synthetic ester and 2 natural esters. The comparative tests display a wide range of fire properties for the respective liquids. The higher the fire point the longer it takes for a liquid to ignite. Polluting the samples with 3% mineral oil decreased the time to ignition, especially for the natural esters. The heat release rate calculated from the cone experiments show analogies with the heat of combustion values tabled, except for the silicone liquid where a crust formation on the liquid’s surface impeded combustion. Heat losses from the burning surface to cooler liquid below or boundaries greatly also affect the burning behaviour. These complexities result in the fact that great care should be taken when scaling this small scale burning behaviour to use in fire safety applications

Prolonged environmental persistence requires efficient disinfection procedures to control Devriesea agamarum associated disease in lizards

Aims: Devriesea agamarum infection causes chronic proliferative dermatitis, especially in desert dwelling lizards. The present study was concerned with evaluating persistency of D. agamarum in the environment and the evaluation of the efficacy of various disinfection procedures. Methods and Results: First, the survival of D. agamarum was assessed both in dermal crusts obtained from clinically and naturally infected lizards, and during periods of prolonged nutrient starvation on dry surface, in moist sand and in distilled water. Secondly, a modified European Suspension Test was performed to determine the efficacy of eight procedures for the disinfection of equipment, environmental surfaces and the topical treatment of D. agamarum-associated dermal lesions. The bacterium proved to persist and remain viable for up to 57 days in dermal crusts and for more than 5 months in moist sand and distilled water. In contrast, survival on dry surfaces was limited. The results of the described dilution-neutralization method demonstrated that most of the tested disinfection procedures were sufficient in achieving a 5-decimal logarithmic reduction in the number of D. agamarum colony-forming units. The use of relatively low concentrations of hydrogen peroxide and a boric and peracetic acid solution on the other hand resulted in insufficient reduction in viable counts. Conclusions: Devriesea agamarum can persist for long periods of time in the environment, especially under moist conditions, making the use of suitable disinfection procedures necessary. Significance and Impact of the Study: This study demonstrates the need for a dry environment for most desert lizards and the use of effective disinfection procedures next to antimicrobial treatment to eliminate D. agamarum-associated disease from captive saurian collections