Internal parasites and association with diarrhoea in sheep at an abattoir in Western Australia

Diarrhoea (scouring) is an important issue for the sheep meat industry. Scouring is a major risk factor for fleece soiling and consequential carcase contamination with microbes that cause meat spoilage and potential dangers for humans (2). There is little information on the causes of scouring in sheep at slaughter. Strongyle worm infections are commonly implicated in scouring and reduced production, yet there is no published data quantifying strongyle infections in scouring and normal sheep at abattoirs. In addition, Giardia and Cryptosporidium have been associated with scouring in ruminants, but little is known about the prevalence, genotypes present or the effect on production in sheep populations. This study carried out at an abattoir in Western Australia (WA), aimed to investigate the extent of strongyle, Giardia and Cryptosporidium infections and any association with scouring in sheep

Responding to a Changing Energy Industry : 2007 Wind Energy Business Plan

This EMGT 835 project is a wind energy business plan for Midwest Engineering, an engineering and construction company active in the energy sector. This plan was created to develop a roadmap for the company to increase its market share in wind energy, and begin to offer new services to its clients. The need for the plan was because the company does not have a focused plan for wind energy (nor any other renewable technology) and the market for wind energy is expected to continue to be very large over the coming years. Key findings and aspects of the plan are: • The amount of revenue and profit potential from wind energy can grow by more than fifty times the current level on three years. • The investment requirements are very modest. • The more critical and immediate need is to select an “executive champion” for wind energy to lead the effort. In this report, Sections 1 through 9 are based on the EMGT 835 format, and are brief and qualitative. Appendix A is the business plan itself, in which all the critical information and details are contained. As this plan is confidential in nature, many details and figures have been changed or removed. The biggest lesson I learned from creating this business plan is that the business potential is larger than expected, and the investment needs are lower. The largest challenge will likely be addressing internal attitudes and inertia in the company, and working hard to make certain the first few projects are a success

Rotary high power transfer apparatus

An apparatus for reducing terminal-to-terminal circuit resistance and enhancing heat transfer in a rotary power transfer apparatus of the roll ring type comprising a connecting thimble for attaching an external power cable to a cone shaped terminal which is attached to a tab integral to an outer ring. An inner ring having a spherical recess mates with the spherical end of a tie connector. A cone shaped terminal is fitted to a second connecting thimble for attaching a second external power cable

Do Patients Judge Success of Treatment and Patient Acceptable Symptom State Based on Current Self-Reported Health Status?

Background: Value-based care models call for better interpretation of patient-reported outcomes. Patients may reference health status differently when appraising if an intervention was successful versus if their current state is acceptable. The purpose of this study was to determine the association between success of treatment (SOT), patient acceptable symptom state (PASS), and PROMIS measure T-scores, following a single primary care physical therapy encounter. Methods: Cross-sectional study. Ninety-two patients with musculoskeletal complaints were administered standard SOT and PASS questions, and PROMIS Physical Function, Pain Interference, and Self-Efficacy for Managing Symptoms measures. Association of PASS and SOT was determined using rank biserial correlation and chi-squared analysis. Accuracy of PROMIS T-scores to discriminate PASS and SOT was determined through receiver-operator curve analysis and likelihood ratios. Results: There was significant association between PASS and SOT (r=.393, p\u3c0.001; X2=15.7, p=0.001). The three PROMIS measures discriminated PASS with AUCs of 0.73 to 0.88 (accuracy 67.3% to 82.6%), Self-Efficacy being the strongest discriminator. Only Pain Interference T-scores discriminated SOT with AUC \u3e0.70 (accuracy 76.1%). Conclusion: PASS was more strongly associated with health status than SOT. Patients make a meaningful distinction between these two questions. Accurate clinician interpretation of PASS, SOT, and PROMIS T-scores can allow more targeted goal setting and treatment decision making

Dynamic Elite Partisanship: Party Loyalty and Agenda Setting in the U.S. House

Legislators and legislative parties must strike a balance between collective and member-level goals. While there are legislative and reputational returns to co-ordinated behavior, partisan loyalty has a detrimental effect on members’ electoral success. This article argues that members and parties navigate these competing forces by pursuing partisan legislation when the threat of electoral repercussions is relatively low – when elections are distant. This study tests our theory by examining US House members’ likelihood of voting with their party on both partisan and non-divisive votes during the course of the election cycle in order to assess whether members strategically alter their levels of party loyalty as elections approach. It also explores whether majority parties strategically structure the agenda according to variation in members’ electoral constraints. This approach allows elite partisanship to follow a dynamic process, which is referred to here as dynamic elite partisanship. The results demonstrate that as elections approach, members are less likely to cast party votes, and parties are less inclined to schedule votes that divide the parties. At the same time, the study finds no evidence of strategic variation in members’ voting behavior on broadly consensual votes with election proximity

Molecular identification of naturally acquired strongylid infections in lambs - An investigation into how lamb age influences diagnostic sensitivity

Faecal samples (n= 1155) were collected from n= 111 (Farm A) and n= 124 (Farm B) 2-6 week old female lambs on two farms in southern Western Australia across five sampling occasions (spanning 8 months). Genomic DNA was extracted directly from faecal samples and screened by PCR for ITS-2 nuclear ribosomal DNA to detect patent strongylid infections, specifically Teladorsagia circumcincta, Trichostrongylus spp., Haemonchus contortus, Oesophagostomum spp. and Chabertia ovina. The minimum amount of extracted genomic DNA necessary for successful PCR amplification was 2.0-5.0. pg.During the five sampling occasions for the two farms, the sensitivities for WEC and PCR identification of strongylid infections varied, with levels of agreement between the two sets of diagnostic results ranging from 85 to 100%. Strongylid species prevalences were high (90.3-97.3%), with T. circumcincta and Trichostrongylus spp. the most prevalent species and together they were the most common mixed strongylid infection; H. contortus was not identified in either flock. T. circumcincta was the only species associated with an increased risk of non-pelleted faeces on Farm B, where T. circumcincta-positive lambs were 2.3 and 2.6 times more likely to have non-pelleted faeces than negative lambs at the second and final samplings, respectively. The highest strongylid prevalence, mixed strongylid prevalence and mean number of strongylid species detected per lamb coincided with the highest average flock faecal worm egg counts (WECs) on both farms. There was a positive correlation between the number of strongyle species detected per lamb and both WEC and adjusted WEC (P<0.01; r 2 0.026-0.591).These results indicate that strongylid eggs were likely to be the main source of strongylid DNA in the faecal DNA extracts. Despite the progress made by the molecular approach utilised in this study, it is incapable of distinguishing between patent and non-patent sources of strongylid DNA. However there is potential for further investigation into the development of a similar molecular procedure which could be used for early larvae detection on pastures

How Gender and Race Stereotypes Impact the Advancement of Scholars in STEM: Professors’ Biased Evaluations of Physics and Biology Post-doctoral Candidates

The current study examines how intersecting stereotypes about gender and race influence faculty perceptions of post-doctoral candidates in STEM fields in the United States. Using a fully-crossed, between-subjects experimental design biology and physics professors (N = 251) from eight large, public, U.S. research universities were asked to read one of eight identical curriculum vitae (CVs) depicting a hypothetical doctoral graduate applying for a post-doctoral position in their relevant field and rate them for competence, hireability, and likeability. The candidate’s name on the CV was used to manipulate race (Asian, Black, Latinx, and White) and gender (female or male), with all other aspects of the CV held constant across conditions. Faculty in physics exhibited a gender bias favoring the male candidates as more competent and more hirable than the otherwise identical female candidates. Faculty in both biology and physics demonstrated a racial bias, rating the Asian and White candidates as more competent than Black candidates overall. Further, physics faculty rated Asian and White candidates as more hirable than Black and Latinx candidates, whereas those in biology rated the Asian candidates as more hirable than the Black candidates. An interaction between candidate gender and race emerged for those in physics whereby women Black and Latinx candidates were rated the lowest in competence compared to all others. Women were rated more likeable than men candidates across departments. Our results highlight how understanding the underrepresentation of women and racial minorities in STEM requires examining both racial and gender biases as well as how they intersect

Prevalence, faecal shedding and genetic characterisation of Yersinia spp. in sheep across four states of Australia

Objectives To develop molecular tools for the investigation of the prevalence, species and faecal shedding of Yersinia in sheep. Methods A quantitative PCR (qPCR) targeting the β subunit of the Yersinia spp. RNA polymerase gene was developed and validated. The prevalence of pathogenic Y. enterocolitica was determined by screening for the virulent yst gene. These qPCR assays were used to determine Yersinia spp. prevalence and faecal shedding concentration from 3412 faecal samples collected from approximately 1189 lambs (100–180 lambs/flock) on eight farms across Australia. This was a longitudinal study, with sheep sampled on three occasions (weaning, post-weaning and pre-slaughter). A subset of up to five positive samples from each sampling on each farm (n = 111) was sequenced. Results Yersinia spp. (including both pathogenic and non-pathogenic species) were identified in all flocks, with 60.7% of lambs shedding Yersinia spp. on at least one sampling occasion. Point prevalence ranged from 4% to 91% across farms and sampling occasions. Median Yersinia spp. bacterial concentration was 1.1 × 106, 2.8 × 106 and 5.6 × 105 organisms/g faeces at weaning, post-weaning and pre-slaughter, respectively, across all farms. Pathogenic Y. enterocolitica was identified in all eight flocks sampled, with 14.8% of lambs shedding pathogenic Y. enterocolitica on at least one sampling occasion. Conclusion Yersinia spp. and pathogenic Y. enterocolitica in particular were commonly identified in a sample of Australian sheep flocks using molecular techniques. Further studies into associations between faecal shedding of pathogenic Yersinia spp. and sheep productivity or clinical disease may utilise qPCR in conjunction with other diagnostic tools