Key actors in driving behavioural change in relation to on-farm biosecurity; a Northern Ireland perspective

Background: Agriculture and farming are valued contributors to local economy in Northern Ireland (NI). There is limited knowledge about farmers’ behaviours and attitudes towards disease biosecurity measures. As part of a larger project, a scenario-based workshop with key stakeholders was organised by the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI)-NI in December 2015. Results: A total of 22 participants belonging to 12 different institutions took part in the workshop. Participants were presented with an overview of previously conducted biosecurity research in NI and England. In small groups, participants were subsequently asked to discuss and give their opinions about a series of questions across four key areas in a semi-structured approach with an external facilitator. The key areas were 1- disease risk perception at the farm level; 2-perceived barriers to implementing on farm biosecurity measures; 3- avenues to successful behaviour change and 4-key industry responsibilities and roles. The discussion showed that training in biosecurity for farmers is important and necessary. Training was recommended to be provided by veterinary surgeons, preferably via a face-to-face format. The discussion addressing disease disclosure proved particularly challenging between those who were prospective buyers of cattle, and those who sold cattle. Conclusions: This workshop provided a unique and invaluable insight into key issues regarding farm level biosecurity activities. From a policy perspective, delivering improved on-farm biosecurity must be addressed via a multidisciplinary approach. This can only be achieved with active involvement, commitment and support of a number of key industry and government stakeholders

The Role of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance in Sports Cardiology; Current Utility and Future Perspectives.

Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) is frequently used in the investigation of suspected cardiac disease in athletes. In this review, we discuss how CMR can be used in athletes with suspected cardiomyopathy with particular reference to volumetric analysis and tissue characterization. We also discuss the finding of non-ischaemic fibrosis in athletes describing its prevalence, distribution and clinical importance.The strengths of CMR include high spatial resolution, unrestricted imaging planes and lack of ionizing radiation. Regular physical exercise leads to cardiac remodeling that in certain situations can be clinically challenging to differentiate from various cardiomyopathies. Thorough morphological assessment by CMR is fundamental to ensuring accurate diagnosis. Developments in tissue characterization by late gadolinium enhancement and T1 mapping have the potential to be powerful additional tools in this challenging clinical situation. Using late gadolinium enhancement, it is also possible to detect non-ischaemic fibrosis in athletes who do not have overt cardiomyopathy. The mechanisms of this fibrosis are unclear; however, it does appear to be clinically important. We also review data on the prevalence of non-ischaemic fibrosis in athletes. CMR is a powerful tool to aid in the diagnosis of cardiomyopathy in athletes. It may also have a future role in assessing fibrosis related to long-term participation in sport

Suboptimal herd performance amplifies the spread of infectious disease in the cattle industry

Farms that purchase replacement breeding cattle are at increased risk of introducing many economically important diseases. The objectives of this analysis were to determine whether the total number of replacement breeding cattle purchased by individual farms could be reduced by improving herd performance and to quantify the effects of such reductions on the industry-level transmission dynamics of infectious cattle diseases. Detailed information on the performance and contact patterns of British cattle herds was extracted from the national cattle movement database as a case example. Approximately 69% of beef herds and 59% of dairy herds with an average of at least 20 recorded calvings per year purchased at least one replacement breeding animal. Results from zero-inflated negative binomial regression models revealed that herds with high average ages at first calving, prolonged calving intervals, abnormally high or low culling rates, and high calf mortality rates were generally more likely to be open herds and to purchase greater numbers of replacement breeding cattle. If all herds achieved the same level of performance as the top 20% of herds, the total number of replacement beef and dairy cattle purchased could be reduced by an estimated 34% and 51%, respectively. Although these purchases accounted for only 13% of between-herd contacts in the industry trade network, they were found to have a disproportionately strong influence on disease transmission dynamics. These findings suggest that targeting extension services at herds with suboptimal performance may be an effective strategy for controlling endemic cattle diseases while simultaneously improving industry productivity

Predicting the performance of tungsten in a fusion environment: a literature review

Tungsten has been proposed for use in the divertor of future fusion devices. In this environment, it will be exposed to high heat fluxes, neutron damage and hydrogen and helium implantation. This review covers previous experimental and modelling work to establish our ability to predict the performance of tungsten in a fusion environment. Surrogates for high-energy neutrons have been used to predict the change in mechanical properties of tungsten, including fission neutron and self-ion exposure. These studies are critically analysed, with a focus on the difference in results from neutron and ion studies. Further studies to improve our ability to predict the performance of tungsten are proposed as a critical part of the path towards a working fusion reactor

Symptoms of paranoia experienced by Students of Pakistani Heritage in England: The Role of Explicit and Implicit Identities and Perceived Discrimination

Individuals belonging to ethnic minority groups are less likely to experience symptoms of psychosis, such as paranoia, if they live in areas with high proportions of people from the same ethnic background. This effect may be due to processes associated with group belonging (social identification). We examined whether the relationship between perceived discrimination and paranoia was moderated by explicit and implicit Pakistani/English identification amongst students of Pakistani heritage (N=119). Participants completed measures of explicit and implicit Pakistani and English identity, a measure of perceived discrimination and a measure of paranoia. Perceived discrimination was the strongest predictor of paranoia (.31). Implicit identities moderated the relationship between perceived discrimination and paranoia (-.17). The findings suggest that higher levels of implicit Pakistani identity were most protective against high levels of paranoia (.26 (with low implicit English identity), .78 (with medium English identity), 1.46 (with high English identity). Overall, a complex relationship between identity and paranoia was apparent

Radiation-induced segregation in W-Re: from kinetic Monte Carlo simulations to atom probe tomography experiments

A viable fusion power station is reliant on the development of plasma facing materials that can withstand the combined effects of high temperature operation and high neutron doses. In this study we focus on W, the most promising candidate material. Re is the primary transmutation product and has been shown to induce embrittlement through cluster formation and precipitation below its predicted solubility limit in W. We investigate the mechanism behind this using a kinetic Monte Carlo model, implemented into Stochastic Parallel PARticle Kinetic Simulator (SPPARKS) code and parameterised with a pairwise energy model for both interstitial and vacancy type defects. By introducing point defect sinks into our simulation cell, we observe the formation of Re rich clusters which have a concentration similar to that observed in ion irradiation experiments. We also compliment our computational work with atom probe tomography (APT) of ion implanted, model W-Re alloys. The segregation of Re to grain boundaries is observed in both our APT and KMC simulations

Decoration of voids with rhenium and osmium transmutation products in neutron irradiated single crystal tungsten

High temperature, neutron irradiated single crystal tungsten, with a post irradiation composition of W - 1.20 ± 0.11 at.%Re - 0.11 ± 0.05 at.%Os - 0.03 ± 0.01 at.%Ta was characterised using a combination of Atom Probe Tomography (APT) and Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy (STEM). APT showed that within nanoscale clusters of Re/Os, the atomic density was above the theoretical limit. Complimentary High Angle Annular Dark Field (HAADF) imaging shows that some clusters contain voids at their centre which are leading to APT aberrations and enhancing the atomic density. High resolution Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy shows that voids are decorated with a shell of rhenium with a small osmium cluster to one side