The Cl-36 in the stratosphere

Initial measurements of the cosmogenic radionuclide, Cl-36, in the lower stratosphere were made by accelerator mass spectrometry. Samples were obtained using the large volume LASL air sampling pods on a NASA WB-57F aircraft. Untreated (for collection of particulates only) and tetrabutyl ammonium hydroxide treated (for collection of particulates and HCl) IPC-1478 filters were flown on three flights in the lower stratosphere. Chlorine (Cl) and Cl compounds are important trace constituents for stratospheric chemistry, in particular with respect to O3 destruction. Stratospheric Cl chemistry has recently received increased attention with the observation of strong O3 depletion in the Antarctic winter vortex and in the weaker and more complex Arctic winter vortices. Cosmogenic (Cl-36) is produced by spallation reactions from Ar mainly in the stratosphere, and has had several applications as a geochemical tracer. The large amounts of Cl-36 introduced by nuclear weapon testing have been removed from the stratosphere by now, and measurements in the stratosphere to obtain cosmogenic production rates and concentration distributions is now possible. The use of cosmogenic Cl-36 as a tracer for stratospheric Cl chemistry and for stratospheric/tropospheric exchange processes is investigated. A first attempt to determine stratospheric and tropospheric production rates, the partitioning of Cl-36 among particulate and gaseous Cl compounds, and the respective inventories and removal rates is being made. Results from a flight at 13.7 km, 30-33 degrees N, 97-107 degrees W, and from a second flight at 17.7 km, 43-45-36 degrees N, 92-94 degrees W, for the untreated and treated filters respectively are presented

Complete genome sequences of four African horse sickness virus strains from a commercial tetravalent live attenuated vaccine

This is a report of the complete genome sequences of plaque-selected isolates of each of the four virus strains included in a South African commercial tetravalent African horse sickness attenuated live virus vaccine

Effects of harvesting and stubble management on abundance of pest rodents (Mus musculus) in a conservation agriculture system

BACKGROUND: The shift to more environmentally sensitive agricultural practices over the last several decades has changed farmland landscapes worldwide. Changes including no-till and retaining high biomass mulch has been coincident with an increase in rodent pests in South Africa, India, South America and Europe, indicating a possible conflict between conservation agriculture (CA) and rodent pest management. Research on effects of various crop management practices associated with CA on pest rodent population dynamics is needed to anticipate and develop CA-relevant management strategies. RESULTS: During the Australian 2020–2021 mouse plague, farmers used postharvest stubble management practices, including flattening and/or cutting, to reduce stubble cover in paddocks to lessen habitat suitability for pest house mice. We used this opportunity to assess the effects of both harvest and stubble management on the movement and abundance of mice in paddocks using mouse trapping and radio tracking. We found that most tracked mice remained resident in paddocks throughout harvest, and that mouse population abundance was generally unaffected by stubble management. CONCLUSION: Recent conversions to CA practices have changed how pest house mice use cropped land. Management practices that reduce postharvest habitat complexity do not appear to reduce the attractiveness of paddocks to mice, and further research into new management strategies in addition to toxic bait use is required as part of an integrated pest management approach.</p

Psychosocial care needs of melanoma survivors : are they being met?

Patients who have survived malignant melanoma for more than five years may lack the opportunity to talk about their burden. As a consequence their psychosocial care needs remain undetected and available supportive interventions may not be utilised. Therefore, the psychosocial burden of this patient group needs to be assessed using specific screening instruments. The aim of this study was to investigate the psychosocial burden of long-term melanoma survivors, their psychosocial care needs and the determinants of these needs. We wanted to find out if the use of professional support corresponds to the care needs defined by experts. Using the cancer registry of Rhineland-Palatinate, melanoma patients diagnosed at least 5 years before the survey were contacted by physicians. N = 689 former patients completed the Hornheide Questionnaire (short form HQ-S) to identify psychosocial support need (scale cut off ≥ 16 or item-based cut-off score) and the potential psychosocial determinants of these needs. Additionally, they were asked about their utilisation of the professional support system. More than one third (36%) of them was in need for professional psychosocial support. The highest burden scores concerned worry about tumour progression. Younger age (< 50), higher general fatigue, higher symptom burden, lower general health, negative social interactions and unfulfilled information needs were significant predictors of the need for psychosocial intervention. Related to the percentage of survivors identified as ‘in need’, the professional support system was underused. Further studies should investigate whether using the HQ-S to routinely identify burdened melanoma patients could lead to better fulfilment of their intervention needs, ultimately enhancing health-related quality of life

Post-outbreak African horse sickness surveillance : a scenario tree evaluation in South Africa’s controlled area

An African horse sickness (AHS) outbreak occurred in March and April 2016 in the controlled area of South Africa. This extended an existing trade suspension of live equids from South Africa to the European Union. In the post‐outbreak period ongoing passive and active surveillance, the latter in the form of monthly sentinel surveillance and a stand‐alone freedom from disease survey in March 2017, took place. We describe a stochastic scenario tree analysis of these surveillance components for 24 months, starting July 2016, in three distinct geographic areas of the controlled area. Given that AHS was not detected, the probability of being free from AHS was between 98.3% and 99.8% assuming that, if it were present, it would have a prevalence of at least one infected animal in 1% of herds. This high level of freedom probability had been attained in all three areas within the first 9 months of the 2‐year period. The primary driver of surveillance outcomes was the passive surveillance component. Active surveillance components contributed minimally (<0.2%) to the final probability of freedom. Sensitivity analysis showed that the probability of infected horses showing clinical signs was an important parameter influencing the system surveillance sensitivity. The monthly probability of disease introduction needed to be increased to 20% and greater to decrease the overall probability of freedom to below 90%. Current global standards require a 2‐year post‐incursion period of AHS freedom before re‐evaluation of free zone status. Our findings show that the length of this period could be decreased if adequately sensitive surveillance is performed. In order to comply with international standards, active surveillance will remain a component of AHS surveillance in South Africa. Passive surveillance, however, can provide substantial evidence supporting AHS freedom status declarations, and further investment in this surveillance activity would be beneficial.http://wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/tbed2021-04-08hj2020Production Animal StudiesVeterinary Tropical Disease

Impacts of Waste from Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations on Water Quality

Waste from agricultural livestock operations has been a long-standing concern with respect to contamination of water resources, particularly in terms of nutrient pollution. However, the recent growth of concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) presents a greater risk to water quality because of both the increased volume of waste and to contaminants that may be present (e.g., antibiotics and other veterinary drugs) that may have both environmental and public health importance. Based on available data, generally accepted livestock waste management practices do not adequately or effectively protect water resources from contamination with excessive nutrients, microbial pathogens, and pharmaceuticals present in the waste. Impacts on surface water sources and wildlife have been documented in many agricultural areas in the United States. Potential impacts on human and environmental health from long-term inadvertent exposure to water contaminated with pharmaceuticals and other compounds are a growing public concern. This work-group, which is part of the Conference on Environmental Health Impacts of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations: Anticipating Hazards—Searching for Solutions, identified needs for rigorous ecosystem monitoring in the vicinity of CAFOs and for improved characterization of major toxicants affecting the environment and human health. Last, there is a need to promote and enforce best practices to minimize inputs of nutrients and toxicants from CAFOs into freshwater and marine ecosystems

Estimated Maternal Pesticide Exposure from Drinking Water and Heart Defects in Offspring

Our objective was to examine the relationship between estimated maternal exposure to pesticides in public drinking water and the risk of congenital heart defects (CHD). We used mixed-effects logistic regression to analyze data from 18,291 nonsyndromic cases with heart defects from the Texas Birth Defects Registry and 4414 randomly-selected controls delivered in Texas from 1999 through 2005. Water district-level pesticide exposure was estimated by linking each maternal residential address to the corresponding public water supply district’s measured atrazine levels. We repeated analyses among independent subjects from the National Birth Defects Prevention Study (NBDPS) (1620 nonsyndromic cases with heart defects and 1335 controls delivered from 1999 through 2005). No positive associations were observed between high versus low atrazine level and eight CHD subtypes or all included heart defects combined. These findings should be interpreted with caution, in light of potential misclassification and relatively large proportions of subjects with missing atrazine data. Thus, more consistent and complete monitoring and reporting of drinking water contaminants will aid in better understanding the relationships between pesticide water contaminants and birth defects

Tuberculosis diagnostics and biomarkers: needs, challenges, recent advances, and opportunities

Tuberculosis is unique among the major infectious diseases in that it lacks accurate rapid point-of-care diagnostic tests. Failure to control the spread of tuberculosis is largely due to our inability to detect and treat all infectious cases of pulmonary tuberculosis in a timely fashion, allowing continued Mycobacterium tuberculosis transmission within communities. Currently recommended gold-standard diagnostic tests for tuberculosis are laboratory based, and multiple investigations may be necessary over a period of weeks or months before a diagnosis is made. Several new diagnostic tests have recently become available for detecting active tuberculosis disease, screening for latent M. tuberculosis infection, and identifying drug-resistant strains of M. tuberculosis. However, progress toward a robust point-of-care test has been limited, and novel biomarker discovery remains challenging. In the absence of effective prevention strategies, high rates of early case detection and subsequent cure are required for global tuberculosis control. Early case detection is dependent on test accuracy, accessibility, cost, and complexity, but also depends on the political will and funder investment to deliver optimal, sustainable care to those worst affected by the tuberculosis and human immunodeficiency virus epidemics. This review highlights unanswered questions, challenges, recent advances, unresolved operational and technical issues, needs, and opportunities related to tuberculosis diagnostics