History and epidemiology of foot-and-mouth disease in Afghanistan: A retrospective study

Background Foot and mouth disease (FMD) is endemic in Afghanistan with serotypes O, A and Asia 1 being prevalent. A retrospective study of data collected through passive surveillance of outbreaks of FMD in Afghanistan from 1995 to 2016 was undertaken to determine the temporal and spatial distribution of FMD in the country. Results A total of 4171 outbreaks were reported between 1995 and 2008 with a strong correlation between the number of outbreaks and the number of provinces (r = 0.85, s = 68.2, p < 0.001); and between the number of outbreaks and the number of districts containing infected animals (r = 0.68, s = 147.8, p = 0.008). Of 7558 samples collected from livestock originating from 34 provinces in 2009, 2011 and 2013–2015, 54.1% were test positive (FMDV 3ABC-trapping ELISA) and the prevalence varied significantly between years (χ2 = 263.98, df = 4, P < 0.001). Clinically suspected cases were reported in 2016 with a substantial positive correlation (r = 0.70, P < 0.001) between the number of districts with cases and the number of reported cases. Serotype O was the predominant serotype detected during the study period, although serotypes A and Asia1 were also detected. Cattle were involved in all outbreaks in the study period and infections were detected in all years of the study in Hirat province in the north-west (bordering Iran), Nangarhar province in the east (bordering Pakistan) and Kabul province in the centre of the country. Conclusions The current paper was the first analysis of existing data focusing on the spatiotemporal distribution of FMD in Afghanistan. The findings from this study provide valuable direction for further research to understand the epidemiology of FMD and its control in Afghanistan

Interface reactions and Kirkendall voids in metal organic vapor phase epitaxy grown Cu In,Ga Se2 thin films on GaAs

Cu In1 xGax Se2 CIGS films were grown on 001 GaAs at 570 C or 500 C by means of metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy. All films were Cu rich [Cu In Ga gt;1] with pseudomorphic Cu2Se second phases found only on the growth surface. During growth, diffusion of Ga from the substrate and vacancies generated by the formation of CIGS from Cu2Se at the surface occurred. The diffusion processes lead to the formation of Kirkendal voids at the GaAs CIGS interface. Transmission electron microscopy and nanoprobe energy dispersive spectroscopy were used to analyze these diffusion and void formation processes. The diffusivity of Ga in CIGS was found to be relatively low. This is postulated to be due to a comparatively low concentration of point defects in the epitaxial films. A reaction model explaining the observed profiles and voids is propose

Elastic π+p\pi^{+}p and π+π+\pi^{+}\pi^{+} scattering at LHC

We discuss the possibility of measuring leading neutron production at the LHC. These data could be used to extract from it $\pi^+ p$ and $\pi^+\pi^+$ cross-sections. In this note we give some estimates for the case of elastic cross-sections and discuss related problems and prospects.Comment: 26 pages, 25 figures, to be published, minor text correction

An investigation of classical swine fever virus seroprevalence and risk factors in pigs in East Nusa Tenggara, eastern Indonesia

Classical swine fever virus (CSFV) is a highly infectious disease of pigs. It has had significant impacts on East Nusa Tenggara, eastern Indonesia since its introduction in 1997. In spite of its importance to this region, little is known about its seroprevalence and distribution, and pig-level and farmer-level factors that may have an impact on the serological status of an individual pig. To address this knowledge deficit, a cross-sectional seroprevalence survey was conducted in 2010 involving 2160 pigs and 805 farmers from four islands in the region. Farmer questionnaires and pig record forms were used to collect data about the farmers and pigs surveyed. Blood was collected from each pig to determine its CSFV serological status. Apparent and true prevalence were calculated for each island, district, subdistrict, and village surveyed. CSFV serological status was used as an outcome variable in mixed effects logistic regression analyses.Overall true CSFV seroprevalence was estimated at 17.5% (lower CI 16.0%; upper CI 19.5%). Seroprevalence estimates varied widely across the islands, districts, subdistricts, and villages. Manggarai Barat, a district on the western end of Flores Island, contained pigs that were positive for antibody to CSFV. This result was unexpected, as no clinical cases had been reported in this area. Older pigs and pigs that had been vaccinated for CSFV were more likely to test positive for antibody to CSFV. The final multivariable model accounted for a large amount of variation in the data, however much of this variation was explained by the random effects with less than 2% of the variation explained by pig age and pig CSFV vaccination status.In this study we documented the seroprevalence of CSFV across four islands in East Nusa Tenggara, eastern Indonesia. We also identified risk factors for the presence of antibody to CSFV. Further investigation is needed to understand why clinical CSFV has not been reported on the western end of Flores Island, and to identify additional risk factors that explain CSFV serological status to inform disease control strategies

Validation of the Virtual Reality Everyday Assessment Lab (VR-EAL):An immersive virtual reality neuropsychological battery with enhanced ecological validity

International audienceObjective: The assessment of cognitive functions such as prospective memory, episodic memory, attention, and executive functions benefits from an ecologically valid approach to better understand how performance outcomes generalize to everyday life. Immersive virtual reality (VR) is considered capable of simulating real-life situations to enhance ecological validity. The present study attempted to validate the Virtual Reality Everyday Assessment Lab (VR-EAL), an immersive VR neuropsychological battery, against an extensive paper-andpencil neuropsychological battery. Methods: Forty-one participants (21 females) were recruited: 18 gamers and 23 non-gamers who attended both an immersive VR and a paper-and-pencil testing session. Bayesian Pearson correlation analyses were conducted to assess construct and convergent validity of the VR-EAL. Bayesian t-tests were performed to compare VR and paper-and-pencil testing in terms of administration time, similarity to real life tasks (i.e., ecological validity), and pleasantness. Results: VR-EAL scores were significantly correlated with their equivalent scores on the paper-and-pencil tests. The participants' reports indicated that the VR-EAL tasks were significantly more ecologically valid and pleasant than the paper-and-pencil neuropsychological battery. The VR-EAL battery also had a shorter administration time. Conclusion: The VR-EAL appears as an effective neuropsychological tool for the assessment of everyday cognitive functions, which has enhanced ecological validity, a highly pleasant testing experience, and does not induce cybersickness

Propagation inhibition and wave localization in a 2D random liquid medium

Acoustic propagation and scattering in water containing many parallel air-filled cylinders is studied. Two situations are considered and compared: (1) wave propagating through the array of cylinders, imitating a traditional experimental setup, and (2) wave transmitted from a source located inside the ensemble. We show that waves can be blocked from propagation by disorders in the first scenario, but the inhibition does not necessarily imply wave localization. Furthermore, the results reveal the phenomenon of wave localization in a range of frequencies.Comment: Typos in Fiures are correcte

Particle-Like Description in Quintessential Cosmology

Assuming equation of state for quintessential matter: $p=w(z)\rho$, we analyse dynamical behaviour of the scale factor in FRW cosmologies. It is shown that its dynamics is formally equivalent to that of a classical particle under the action of 1D potential $V(a)$. It is shown that Hamiltonian method can be easily implemented to obtain a classification of all cosmological solutions in the phase space as well as in the configurational space. Examples taken from modern cosmology illustrate the effectiveness of the presented approach. Advantages of representing dynamics as a 1D Hamiltonian flow, in the analysis of acceleration and horizon problems, are presented. The inverse problem of reconstructing the Hamiltonian dynamics (i.e. potential function) from the luminosity distance function $d_{L}(z)$ for supernovae is also considered.Comment: 35 pages, 26 figures, RevTeX4, some applications of our treatment to investigation of quintessence models were adde

QCD Strings as Constrained Grassmannian Sigma Model:

We present calculations for the effective action of string world sheet in R3 and R4 utilizing its correspondence with the constrained Grassmannian sigma model. Minimal surfaces describe the dynamics of open strings while harmonic surfaces describe that of closed strings. The one-loop effective action for these are calculated with instanton and anti-instanton background, reprsenting N-string interactions at the tree level. The effective action is found to be the partition function of a classical modified Coulomb gas in the confining phase, with a dynamically generated mass gap.Comment: 22 pages, Preprint: SFU HEP-116-9

A Derivation of Three-Dimensional Inertial Transformations

The derivation of the transformations between inertial frames made by Mansouri and Sexl is generalised to three dimensions for an arbitrary direction of the velocity. Assuming lenght contraction and time dilation to have their relativistic values, a set of transformations kinematically equivalent to special relativity is obtained. The ``clock hypothesis'' allows the derivation to be extended to accelerated systems. A theory of inertial transformations maintaining an absolute simultaneity is shown to be the only one logically consistent with accelerated movements. Algebraic properties of these transformations are discussed. Keywords: special relativity, synchronization, one-way velocity of light, ether, clock hypothesis.Comment: 16 pages (A5), Latex, one figure, to be published in Found. Phys. Lett. (1997

Symmetry characterization of eigenstates in opal-based photonic crystals

The complete symmetry characterization of eigenstates in bare opal systems is obtained by means of group theory. This symmetry assignment has allowed us to identify several bands that cannot couple with an incident external plane wave. Our prediction is supported by layer-KKR calculations, which are also performed: the coupling coefficients between bulk modes and externally excited field tend to zero when symmetry properties mismatch.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, submitted to Physical Review