A refined TALDICE-1a age scale from 55 to 112 ka before present for the Talos Dome ice core based on high-resolution methane measurements

A precise synchronization of different climate records is indispensable for a correct dynamical interpretation of paleoclimatic data. A chronology for the TALDICE ice core from the Ross Sea sector of East Antarctica has recently been presented based on methane synchronization with Greenland and the EDC ice cores and δ<sup>18</sup>O<sub>ice</sub> synchronization with EDC in the bottom part (TALDICE-1). Using new high-resolution methane data obtained with a continuous flow analysis technique, we present a refined age scale for the age interval from 55–112 thousand years (ka) before present, where TALDICE is synchronized with EDC. New and more precise tie points reduce the uncertainties of the age scale from up to 1900 yr in TALDICE-1 to below 1100 yr over most of the refined interval and shift the Talos Dome dating to significantly younger ages during the onset of Marine Isotope Stage 3. Thus, discussions of climate dynamics at sub-millennial time scales are now possible back to 110 ka, in particular during the inception of the last ice age. Calcium data of EDC and TALDICE are compared to show the impact of the refinement to the synchronization of the two ice cores not only for the gas but also for the ice age scale

Factors driving pig owners' motivation and satisfaction to perform eradications from Swine dysentery.

Brachyspira hyodysenteriae is one of the agents of swine dysentery (SD) and its eradication is an effective, but costly control measure. Being a voluntary measure, knowledge about drivers of motivation and satisfaction regarding the eradication of SD would help to convince farmers to eradicate. We aimed to describe eradications performed in Switzerland and to analyse factors influencing the pig owners' perception (motivation and satisfaction) of SD eradications to provide a basis to formulate recommendations and guidelines. Pig farmers (n = 68) having conducted an SD eradication and being interested in the study were interviewed using a standardised digital questionnaire. We assessed their motivation as moderately or highly motivated. Based on the farmers' evaluation of nine aspects of the eradication, satisfaction was considered to be moderate (<7/9 aspects positively evaluated) or high (≥7/9). Farms with fattening pigs and farms with breeding stock were analysed separately in subsets. First, multivariable factor analysis for mixed data (FAMD) were performed to describe the main patterns of variation. Then, risk factors for motivation and satisfaction were quantified by means of logistic regression models. Mainly total depopulations (73.5%) had been performed. Of the 36 farmers with breeding pigs, 24 were highly motivated, and 20 highly satisfied. Of the 61 farmers with fattening pigs, 45 were highly motivated and 42 highly satisfied. The FAMD revealed that the two main components explained only 17.0% and 11.0% (breeding stock) and 13.0% and 11.0% (fattening pigs) of the total variation, respectively. For farmers with breeding stock no significant factors for motivation were detected, but they were more satisfied (OR 25.0) when they had a batch farrowing of 3 weeks. Farmers with fattening pigs were more likely to be more motivated when providing access to outdoor areas (OR 3.3) and when it was their own initiative (OR 5.5). Farmers were more likely to be satisfied when they had only fattening pigs (OR 5.7), when the eradication was their own initiative (OR 5.5) and when they did not disinfect the barns during the eradication (OR 15.6). Farmers deciding themselves to eradicate are presumably more likely convinced of the benefits of the eradication. Satisfaction associated with a 3-weeks batch farrowing might be related to an easier to organise eradication and no disinfection to reduced labour and costs. In summary, the majority of the farmers were satisfied with the eradication. Education could promote self-motivation of farmers, and subsidies might support the implementation of SD eradications

Decreasing Proportion of Recent Infections among Newly Diagnosed HIV-1 Cases in Switzerland, 2008 to 2013 Based on Line-Immunoassay-Based Algorithms.

BACKGROUND: HIV surveillance requires monitoring of new HIV diagnoses and differentiation of incident and older infections. In 2008, Switzerland implemented a system for monitoring incident HIV infections based on the results of a line immunoassay (Inno-Lia) mandatorily conducted for HIV confirmation and type differentiation (HIV-1, HIV-2) of all newly diagnosed patients. Based on this system, we assessed the proportion of incident HIV infection among newly diagnosed cases in Switzerland during 2008-2013. METHODS AND RESULTS: Inno-Lia antibody reaction patterns recorded in anonymous HIV notifications to the federal health authority were classified by 10 published algorithms into incident (up to 12 months) or older infections. Utilizing these data, annual incident infection estimates were obtained in two ways, (i) based on the diagnostic performance of the algorithms and utilizing the relationship 'incident = true incident + false incident', (ii) based on the window-periods of the algorithms and utilizing the relationship 'Prevalence = Incidence x Duration'. From 2008-2013, 3'851 HIV notifications were received. Adult HIV-1 infections amounted to 3'809 cases, and 3'636 of them (95.5%) contained Inno-Lia data. Incident infection totals calculated were similar for the performance- and window-based methods, amounting on average to 1'755 (95% confidence interval, 1588-1923) and 1'790 cases (95% CI, 1679-1900), respectively. More than half of these were among men who had sex with men. Both methods showed a continuous decline of annual incident infections 2008-2013, totaling -59.5% and -50.2%, respectively. The decline of incident infections continued even in 2012, when a 15% increase in HIV notifications had been observed. This increase was entirely due to older infections. Overall declines 2008-2013 were of similar extent among the major transmission groups. CONCLUSIONS: Inno-Lia based incident HIV-1 infection surveillance proved useful and reliable. It represents a free, additional public health benefit of the use of this relatively costly test for HIV confirmation and type differentiation

Mitochondrial neurogastrointestinal encephalomyopathy in three siblings: Clinical, genetic and neuroradiological features

Mitochondrial neurogastrointestinal encephalomyopathy (MNGIE) is a rare autosomal recessive disorder in which a nuclear mutation of the thymidine phosphorylase (TP) gene causes mitochondrial genomic dysfunction. Patients suffer from gastrointestinal dysmotility, cachexia, ptosis, external ophthalmoparesis, myopathy and polyneuropathy. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) shows leukoencephalopathy. We describe clinical, genetic and neuroradiological features of three brothers affected with MNGIE. Clinical examination, laboratory analyses, MRI and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) of the brain, and genetic analysis have been performed in all six members of the family with the three patients with MNGIE. Two of them are monozygous twins. They all suffered from gastrointestinal dysmotility, cachexia, ophthalmoplegia, muscular atrophies, and polyneuropathy. Urinary thymidine was elevated in the patients related to the severity of clinical disease, and urinary thymidine (normally not detectable) was also found in a heterozygous carrier. Brain MRI showed leukoencephalopathy in all patients; however, their cognitive functioning was normal. Brain MRS demonstrated reduced N-acetylaspartate and choline in severely affected areas. MRI of heterozygous carriers was normal. A new mutation (T92N) in the TP gene was identified. Urinary thymidine is for the first time reported to be detectable in a heterozygous carrier. MRS findings indicate loss of neurons, axons, and glial cells in patients with MNGIE, but not in heterozygous carrier

Greenland records of aerosol source and atmospheric lifetime changes from the Eemian to the Holocene

The Northern Hemisphere experienced dramatic changes during the last glacial, featuring vast ice sheets and abrupt climate events, while high northern latitudes during the last interglacial (Eemian) were warmer than today. Here we use high-resolution aerosol records from the Greenland NEEM ice core to reconstruct the environmental alterations in aerosol source regions accompanying these changes. Separating source and transport effects, we find strongly reduced terrestrial biogenic emissions during glacial times reflecting net loss of vegetated area in North America. Rapid climate changes during the glacial have little effect on terrestrial biogenic aerosol emissions. A strong increase in terrestrial dust emissions during the coldest intervals indicates higher aridity and dust storm activity in East Asian deserts. Glacial sea salt aerosol emissions in the North Atlantic region increase only moderately (50%), likely due to sea ice expansion. Lower aerosol concentrations in Eemian ice compared to the Holocene are mainly due to shortened atmospheric residence time, while emissions changed little.It is supported by funding agencies and institutions in Belgium (FNRS-CFB and FWO), Canada (NRCan/GSC), China (CAS), Denmark (FIST), France (IPEV, CNRS/INSU, CEA and ANR), Germany (AWI), Iceland (RannIs), Japan (NIPR), Korea (KOPRI), The Netherlands (NWO/ALW), Sweden (VR), Switzerland (SNF), United Kingdom (NERC), and the USA (US NSF, Office of Polar Programs). Long-term support of ice core research at the University of Bern by SNF is gratefully acknowledged

Millennial changes in North American wildfire and soil activity over the last glacial cycle

Climate changes in the North Atlantic region during the last glacial cycle were dominated by the slow waxing and waning of the North American ice sheet as well as by intermittent, millennial-scale Dansgaard-Oeschger climate oscillations. However, prior to the last deglaciation, the responses of North American vegetation and biomass burning to these climate variations are uncertain. Ammonium in Greenland ice cores, a product from North American soil emissions and biomass burning events, can help to fill this gap. Here we use continuous, high-resolution measurements of ammonium concentrations between 110,000 to 10,000 years ago from the Greenland NGRIP and GRIP ice cores to reconstruct North American wildfire activity and soil ammonium emissions. We find that on orbital timescales soil emissions increased under warmer climate conditions when vegetation expanded northwards into previously ice-covered areas. For millennial-scale interstadial warm periods during Marine Isotope Stage 3, the fire recurrence rate increased in parallel to the rapid warmings, whereas soil emissions rose more slowly, reflecting slow ice shrinkage and delayed ecosystem changes. We conclude that sudden warming events had little impact on soil ammonium emissions and ammonium transport to Greenland, but did result in a substantial increase in the frequency of North American wildfires

High-resolution mineral dust and sea ice proxy records from the Talos Dome ice core

In this study we report on new non-sea salt calcium (nssCa2+, mineral dust proxy) and sea salt sodium (ssNa+, sea ice proxy) records along the East Antarctic Talos Dome deep ice core in centennial resolution reaching back 150 thousand years (ka) before present. During glacial conditions nssCa2+ fluxes in Talos Dome are strongly related to temperature as has been observed before in other deep Antarctic ice core records, and has been associated with synchronous changes in the main source region (southern South America) during climate variations in the last glacial. However, during warmer climate conditions Talos Dome mineral dust input is clearly elevated compared to other records mainly due to the contribution of additional local dust sources in the Ross Sea area. Based on a simple transport model, we compare nssCa2+ fluxes of different East Antarctic ice cores. From this multi-site comparison we conclude that changes in transport efficiency or atmospheric lifetime of dust particles do have a minor effect compared to source strength changes on the large-scale concentration changes observed in Antarctic ice cores during climate variations of the past 150 ka. Our transport model applied on ice core data is further validated by climate model data. The availability of multiple East Antarctic nssCa2+ records also allows for a revision of a former estimate on the atmospheric CO2 sensitivity to reduced dust induced iron fertilisation in the Southern Ocean during the transition from the Last Glacial Maximum to the Holocene (T1). While a former estimate based on the EPICA Dome C (EDC) record only suggested 20 ppm, we find that reduced dust induced iron fertilisation in the Southern Ocean may be responsible for up to 40 ppm of the total atmospheric CO2 increase during T1. During the last interglacial, ssNa+ levels of EDC and EPICA Dronning Maud Land (EDML) are only half of the Holocene levels, in line with higher temperatures during that period, indicating much reduced sea ice extent in the Atlantic as well as the Indian Ocean sector of the Southern Ocean. In contrast, Holocene ssNa+ flux in Talos Dome is about the same as during the last interglacial, indicating that there was similar ice cover present in the Ross Sea area during MIS 5.5 as during the Holocene

A prospective evaluation of the feasibility and utility of additional tools to obtain information from recently diagnosed HIV infected patients

QUESTION UNDER STUDY: Can additional information be obtained from recently HIV diagnosed individuals? METHODS: A 1-year prospective Swiss study, including all newly diagnosed HIV-infected patients. Information on circumstances of HIV infection was collected through physician- and patient questionnaires and patient interviews. Information on timing of infection was linked with an HIV-antibody avidity assay. RESULTS: Of 710 newly HIV diagnosed patients, 543 (76%) physician questionnaires (PhyQ) and 145 (20%) patient questionnaires (PaQ) were returned. PhyQ required fewer reminders (57% vs 28% spontaneous return). Patients whose doctors had returned the PhyQ were comparable to total population group. In contrast, a strong bias towards well educated recently infected Swiss men having sex with men (MSM) was seen in patients returning PaQ or agreeing to an interview. 83% of patients claimed that they knew the infection source and 85% infection place. Unprotected sexual contact was the most frequently cited infection source (92%; n = 404). Men mainly claimed occasional (43%) and women steady (61%) partners as the most likely source of HIVinfection. Serum for timing of infection was available in 98% of patients. Recent infections (RI) were highest in MSM (51%) and intravenous drug users (IDU, 54%). Compared to women, heterosexual men were more than twice as likely to be diagnosed with a RI. CONCLUSION: Relevant additional information on circumstances of HIV infection in newly diagnosed patients can easily be collected from treating physicians. Collecting information from patients is not a feasible option, with the exception of qualitative interviews in a selected group of patients