Effect of enhanced biosecurity and selected on-farm factors on Campylobacter colonization of chicken broilers

Human campylobacteriosis is the most commonly reported gastrointestinal bacterial infection in the EU; poultry meat has been identified as the main source of infection. We tested the hypothesis that enhanced biosecurity and other factors such as welfare status, breed, the practice of partial depopulation and number of empty days between flocks may prevent Campylobacter spp. caecal colonization of poultry batches at high levels (>123 000 c.f.u./g in pooled caecal samples). We analysed data from 2314 poultry batches sampled at slaughter in the UK in 2011–2013. We employed random-effects logistic regression to account for clustering of batches within farms and adjust for confounding. We estimated population attributable fractions using adjusted risk ratios. Enhanced biosecurity reduced the odds of colonization at partial depopulation [odds ratio (OR) 0·25, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0·14–0·47] and, to a lesser extent, at final depopulation (OR 0·47, 95% CI 0·25–0·89). An effect of the type of breed was also found. Under our assumptions, approximately 1/3 of highly colonized batches would be avoided if they were all raised under enhanced biosecurity or without partial depopulation. The results of the study indicate that on-farm measures can play an important role in reducing colonization of broiler chickens with Campylobacter spp. and as a result human exposure

‘Next-Generation’ surveillance: an epidemiologists’ perspective on the use of molecular information in food safety and animal health decision-making

Advances in the availability and affordability of molecular and genomic data are transforming human health care. Surveillance aimed at supporting and improving food safety and animal health is likely to undergo a similar transformation. We propose a definition of ‘molecular surveillance’ in this context and argue that molecular data are an adjunct to rather than a substitute for sound epidemiological study and surveillance design. Specific considerations with regard to sample collection are raised, as is the importance of the relation between the molecular clock speed of genetic markers and the spatiotemporal scale of the surveillance activity, which can be control- or strategy-focused. Development of standards for study design and assessment of molecular surveillance system attributes is needed, together with development of an interdisciplinary skills base covering both molecular and epidemiological principles

Annotation and the Ancient Greek Hero: Past, Present, and Future

My presentation will discuss the significance of annotation in the context of the highly successful HarvardX MOOC CB 22.1x The Ancient Greek Hero, which has been given twice, once in the spring of 2013, and once in the fall of 2013, and for which a third version is in preparation. I will discuss how annotation has been a source of knowledge about the interpretation of Homeric poetry, the primary vehicle for the study of the ancient Greek hero, since the death of Alexander the Great, and how the massive preservation of ancient annotations in medieval manuscripts of the Homeric _Iliad_ (including two at the Escorial in Madrid) and their digitization by a team of scholars and undergraduates is a vital educational project. More particularly, and in this same historical vein, I will discuss the way in which digital annotation has been a vital part of the HarvardX MOOC on the Ancient Greek Hero both as a tool for readers — becoming good readers of ancient texts is a central goal of this MOOC — and as a tool for self-assessment. I will also discuss how a new generation of federated annotation tools being developed by Daniel Cebrián Robles and Philip Desenne that feature tagging ontologies and the annotation of images promises to enhance the educational effectiveness of the next iteration of this MOOC.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Book Review: Enchanted Lives, Enchanted Objects: American Women Collectors and the Making of Culture 1800-1940

Review of Enchanted Lives, Enchanted Objects: American Women Collectors and the Making of Culture 1800-1940 by Dianne Sachko Macleo

Cozine Creek Restoration Project

Our Environmental Studies senior capstone class (ENVS 470) wrote and submitted an application for a $15,000 grant from the Oregon Watershed and Enhancement Board (OWEB) to restore a section of the college’s property along Cozine Creek. We worked in partnership with the Greater Yamhill Watershed Council (GYWC) and Upshot LLC, a local contractor, to develop a restoration plan. The initial step will be to control invasive species, mainly Himalayan blackberry and English ivy. We then will plant native species such as Oregon grape, salmonberry, and Indian plum. The site will have five treatment options including combinations of manual and chemical removal. Future ENVS classes will monitor the effectiveness of the treatment options, the growth and survival of native plants, and the effectiveness of deer exclusion devices. The ENVS department, GYWC, and community members will maintain the area through ongoing volunteer work parties. The grant will also fund a Cozine Creek Stewardship student internship position to help coordinate future efforts. The goal of this project is to restore the water quality and ecological integrity of the area, encourage proper usage of the property, and renew our connection to Cozine Creek, both for Linfield College and the surrounding community

Examining Water Quality along Cozine Creek

Water is an essential resource for all life. Water sustains ecological processes that are important to the survival of fish, vegetation, wetlands, and birds. It contributes to humans by providing drinking water, irrigation, and also is an inspiration for recreational, cultural, and spiritual practices. Anthropogenic activities affect water quality in various ways, and a significant portion of the human population is currently experiencing water stress. The quality of water, as well as its social and economic value, share a positive relationship. Therefore, as water quality becomes degraded by pollution, the environmental, social, and economic value also decrease. The recognition of the importance of safe water has created crucial policies in the United States and internationally. Our study looks specifically into the water quality of Cozine Creek, located in Yamhill County, Oregon. The goal of our study was to determine how water quality variables compared among our sampling sites in 2017 and across the years from 2011 to 2017. We used the definition of water quality as determined by measuring physical, chemical, and biological characteristics. We measured dissolved oxygen (DO), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), pH, temperature, flow, turbidity, macroinvertebrates, bacterial counts, nutrients, and surrounding vegetation. To present a better understanding to the measurements of the water quality variables, we compared the measurements to the scientifically known parameters of healthy salmonid habitat, since the presence of salmon indicates a healthy watershed. Our data suggest that the overall quality of our three sites along Cozine Creek is poor, and there was little to no improvement of water quality when compared to previous years\u27 data. It is likely that the water quality can be attributed to agricultural and urban runoff possibly containing waste, storm water, pesticides, fertilizer, and other chemicals

SurF: an innovative framework in biosecurity and animal health surveillance evaluation

Surveillance for biosecurity hazards is being conducted by the New Zealand Competent Authority, the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) to support New Zealand's biosecurity system. Surveillance evaluation should be an integral part of the surveillance life cycle, as it provides a means to identify and correct problems and to sustain and enhance the existing strengths of a surveillance system. The surveillance evaluation Framework (SurF) presented here was developed to provide a generic framework within which the MPI biosecurity surveillance portfolio, and all of its components, can be consistently assessed. SurF is an innovative, cross‐sectoral effort that aims to provide a common umbrella for surveillance evaluation in the animal, plant, environment and aquatic sectors. It supports the conduct of the following four distinct components of an evaluation project: (i) motivation for the evaluation, (ii) scope of the evaluation, (iii) evaluation design and implementation and (iv) reporting and communication of evaluation outputs. Case studies, prepared by MPI subject matter experts, are included in the framework to guide users in their assessment. Three case studies were used in the development of SurF in order to assure practical utility and to confirm usability of SurF across all included sectors. It is anticipated that the structured approach and information provided by SurF will not only be of benefit to MPI but also to other New Zealand stakeholders. Although SurF was developed for internal use by MPI, it could be applied to any surveillance system in New Zealand or elsewhere

Inferring source attribution from a multi-year multi-source dataset of Salmonella in Minnesota

Salmonella enterica is a global health concern because of its widespread association with foodborne illness. Bayesian models have been developed to attribute the burden of human salmonellosis to specific sources with the ultimate objective of prioritizing intervention strategies. Important considerations of source attribution models include the evaluation of the quality of input data, assessment of whether attribution results logically reflect the data trends and identification of patterns within the data that might explain the detailed contribution of different sources to the disease burden. Here, more than 12,000 non-typhoidal Salmonella isolates from human, bovine, porcine, chicken and turkey sources that originated in Minnesota were analysed. A modified Bayesian source attribution model (available in a dedicated R package), accounting for non-sampled sources of infection, attributed 4,672 human cases to sources assessed here. Most (60%) cases were attributed to chicken, although there was a spike in cases attributed to a non-sampled source in the second half of the study period. Molecular epidemiological analysis methods were used to supplement risk modelling, and a visual attribution application was developed to facilitate data exploration and comprehension of the large multiyear data set assessed here. A large amount of within-source diversity and low similarity between sources was observed, and visual exploration of data provided clues into variations driving the attribution modelling results. Results from this pillared approach provided first attribution estimates for Salmonella in Minnesota and offer an understanding of current data gaps as well as key pathogen population features, such as serotype frequency, similarity and diversity across the sources. Results here will be used to inform policy and management strategies ultimately intended to prevent and control Salmonella infection in the state