Novel foci of Dermacentor reticulatus ticks infected with Babesia canis and Babesia caballi in the Netherlands and in Belgium

BACKGROUND : Autochthonous populations of Dermacentor reticulatus ticks in the Netherlands were discovered after fatal cases of babesiosis occurred in resident dogs in 2004. The presence of D. reticulatus in the Netherlands has also linked with the emergence of piroplasmosis in the resident horse population. The aim of this study was to put together results of continued surveillance of field sites and hosts for this tick in the Netherlands and also in Belgium and determine their infection status for Babesia and Theileria species. METHODS : Ticks were collected from the vegetation at 11 locations between 2011 and 2013. D. reticulatus ticks were also collected from different hosts between 2007 and 2013. Ticks were screened by PCR and reverse line blot (RLB). RESULTS : A total of 1368 D. reticulatus ticks were collected from 4 previously known field locations and from 5 new locations in the Netherlands and from 2 sites in Belgium (one old and one new location). A total of 855 ticks collected from 8 locations in the Netherlands and 2 locations in Belgium were tested. Fourteen ticks (1,64%) collected at 4 field locations (Dintelse Gorzen, Rozenburg, Slikken van de Heen and St. Philipsland) were positive for Babesia canis, whereas two ticks were positive for Babesia caballi, one tick in the Dintelse Gorzen in the Netherlands and one tick was found positive in De Panne in Belgium. A further 1092 D. reticulatus ticks were collected between 2007 and 2013 from 40 dogs (132 ticks), two ticks from two humans, 51 ticks from 15 horses, two ticks from two cats, one tick from a roe deer, whereas most ticks (904) were collected from cattle (n = 25). Ticks were found throughout the year on dogs in nearly all provinces of the Netherlands. None of the ticks collected from these hosts were infected. CONCLUSIONS : D. reticulatus is continuing its spread into novel areas. The finding that some autochthonous ticks are infected with B. canis and B. caballi poses a threat to the resident dog and horse population and justifies year-round tick control measures.Prof. Frederic Beugnet and Dr. Fabien Danlois of Merial are thanked for their continued interest and financial support for this study.http://www.parasitesandvectors.comam201

Modern code review benefits-primary findings of a systematic literature review

Modern Code Review (MCR) an effective quality assurance technique that can ensure software quality and customer satisfaction through the identification of defects, code improvement and accelerating the development process. It is an asynchronous and lightweight review process supported with review tools, for instance, Gerrit. It is a light version of Fagan's inspection process and has developed as a practice for opensource and industrial software development. Researches have been conducted in the context of MCR utilizing various data collection methodologies such as interviews, surveys and comment analysis from review tools. Besides defect detection, other benefits have been reported concerning MCR process adoption, for instance, knowledge sharing, team awareness, collaboration, etc. However, the team members involved in MCR activities are not aware of the benefits of MCR activities as the literature is dispersed. No, systematize study available reporting benefits concerning MCR. As a consequence, there is a lack of actual awareness of the adoption of the MCR process. Therefore, the objective of the study is to systematically analyze and report the benefits of the MCR process. Systematic Literature Review has been utilized to identify MCR benefits. Thematic analysis has been performed to group the identified benefits into the relevant themes. The themes and reported benefits are validated by the experts for their relevancy. The study findings report 54 unique benefits, grouped into 9 themes. This research has implications for the software industry, engineer and researchers. The industry can incorporate the MCR process widely, whereas software engineers being aware of the real benefits of MCR can provide their participation effectively in achieving those benefits in reality. In future, the researchers can extend this study by identifying more benefits in different research settings and by quantifying the reported benefits of MCR