Kansas Speaks 2014 Statewide Public Opinion Survey

The Docking Institute of Public Affairs at Fort Hays State University conducted the 2014 Kansas Speaks survey from September 10 to September 27, 2014. A random sample of adult residents of Kansas age 18 and older was surveyed by telephone to assess their attitudes and opinions regarding various issues of interest to Kansas citizens

Lake and climate models linkage: a 3-D hydrodynamic contribution

International audienceUnder a Canadian Foundation for Climate and Atmospheric Sciences (CFCAS) project, targeted to study the feasibility to link regional climate models with lake models, one of the tasks was to consider such a coupling in large lakes. The objective is to provide detailed information on temperature and circulation distributions of the lake to take into account the spatial variability for temperature and the heat exchange through the water's surface. The major contribution of this work is focused on realistic representation of the heat fluxes and temperature distributions to and from lakes especially during the thermally stratified ice-free periods. This paper presents the detailed 3-D ELCOM model applied in Lake Erie in order to produce, at the surface layer of the lake, the spatial distribution of temperature and heat exchanges that eventually can be coupled with a regional climate model (CRCM). Preliminary results will be presented on how this lake model may improve the regional climate models, which currently do not consider such large lake circulation effects

Kansas Speaks 2016 Statewide Public Opinion Survey

To assess attitudes and opinions of Kansans, the Docking Institute has surveyed a random sample of Kansas residents age 18 and older every year since 2009. For this year’s survey, the Docking Institute purchased from Scientific Telephone Samples a random sample consisting of Kansas landline telephone numbers and cell phone numbers. Interviewers are highly trained student researchers pursuing degrees at Fort Hays State University. From September 1st to October 13th, a total of 2,914 Kansas residents were contacted by telephone, with 1,043 of them completed the survey, resulting in a 36% response rate. The margin of error was 3% at the 95% confidence level. A margin of error of 3% means that there is a 95% probability that findings among the sample vary no more than +/- 3 % from the value that would be found if all adult Kansas residents were surveyed, assuming no response bias. Out of these 1,043 respondents, 892 respondents were identified as likely voters, which resulted in a margin of error of +/- 3.2%

Susceptibility of turkeys to pandemic-H1N1 virus by reproductive tract insemination

The current pandemic influenza A H1N1 2009 (pH1N1) was first recognized in humans with acute respiratory diseases in April 2009 in Mexico, in swine in Canada in June, 2009 with respiratory disease, and in turkeys in Chile in June 2009 with a severe drop in egg production. Several experimental studies attempted to reproduce the disease in turkeys, but failed to produce respiratory infection in turkeys using standard inoculation routes. We demonstrated that pH1N1 virus can infect the reproductive tract of turkey hens after experimental intrauterine inoculation, causing decreased egg production. This route of exposure is realistic in modern turkey production because turkey hens are handled once a week for intrauterine insemination in order to produce fertile eggs. This understanding of virus exposure provides an improved understanding of the pathogenesis of the disease and can improve poultry husbandry to prevent disease outbreaks

Kansas Speaks 2015 Statewide Public Opinion Survey

The Docking Institute of Public Affairs at Fort Hays State University conducted the 2015 Kansas Speaks survey from September 14 to October 5, 2015. A random sample of adult residents of Kansas age 18 and older was surveyed by telephone to assess their attitudes and opinions regarding various issues of interest to Kansas citizens

The TESS light curve of the eccentric eclipsing binary 1SWASP J011351.29+314909.7 -- no evidence for a very hot M-dwarf companion

A 2014 study of the eclipsing binary star 1SWASPJ011351.29+314909.7 (J0113+31) reported an unexpectedly high effective temperature for the M-dwarf companion to the 0.95-M$_{\odot}$ primary star. The effective temperature inferred from the secondary eclipse depth was $\sim$600 K higher than the value predicted from stellar models. Such an anomalous result questions our understanding of low-mass stars and might indicate a significant uncertainty when inferring properties of exoplanets orbiting them. We seek to measure the effective temperature of the M-dwarf companion using the light curve of J0113+31 recently observed by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). We use the pycheops modelling software to fit a combined transit and eclipse model to the TESS light curve. To calculate the secondary effective temperature, we compare the best-fit eclipse depth to the predicted eclipse depths from theoretical stellar models. We determined the effective temperature of the M dwarf to be ${\rm T}_{\rm eff,2}$ = 3208 $\pm$ 43 K, assuming $\log g_2$ = 5, [Fe/H] = $-0.4$ and no alpha-element enhancement. Varying these assumptions changes ${\rm T}_{\rm eff,2}$ by less than 100 K. These results do not support a large anomaly between observed and theoretical low-mass star temperatures.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, published in MNRA

Susceptibility of North American Ducks and Gulls to H5N1 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Viruses

Species-related differences in clinical response and duration and extent of viral shedding exist between North American ducks and gulls infected with H5N1 HPAI viruses

Phylogenetics and Pathogenesis of Early Avian Influenza Viruses (H5N1), Nigeria

Three highly pathogenic avian influenza subtype H5N1 and 4 Newcastle disease viruses were isolated from sick or dead chickens in southwestern Nigeria. Sequencing and phylogenetic analysis placed them within H5N1 subclade 2.2.2. Intravenous and intranasal pathogenicity tests produced systemic disease with vascular endothelial cell tropism in chickens

Pathobiology and innate immune responses of gallinaceous poultry to clade 2.3.4.4A H5Nx highly pathogenic avian influenza virus infection

In the 2014–2015 Eurasian lineage clade 2.3.4.4A H5 highly pathogenic avian infuenza (HPAI) outbreak in the U.S., backyard focks with minor gallinaceous poultry and large commercial poultry (chickens and turkeys) operations were afected. The pathogenesis of the frst H5N8 and reassortant H5N2 clade 2.3.4.4A HPAI U.S. isolates was investi‑ gated in six gallinaceous species: chickens, Japanese quail, Bobwhite quail, Pearl guinea fowl, Chukar partridges, and Ring-necked pheasants. Both viruses caused 80–100% mortality in all species, except for H5N2 virus that caused 60% mortality in chickens. The surviving challenged birds remained uninfected based on lack of clinical disease and lack of seroconversion. Among the infected birds, chickens and Japanese quail in early clinical stages (asymptomatic and listless) lacked histopathologic fndings. In contrast, birds of all species in later clinical stages (moribund and dead) had histopathologic lesions and systemic virus replication consistent with HPAI virus infection in gallinaceous poultry. These birds had widespread multifocal areas of necrosis, sometimes with heterophilic or lymphoplasmacytic infam‑ matory infltrate, and viral antigen in parenchymal cells of most tissues. In general, lesions and antigen distribution were similar regardless of virus and species. However, endotheliotropism was the most striking diference among species, with only Pearl guinea fowl showing widespread replication of both viruses in endothelial cells of most tis‑ sues. The expression of IFN-γ and IL-10 in Japanese quail, and IL-6 in chickens, were up-regulated in later clinical stages compared to asymptomatic birds.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Pathobiology and innate immune responses of gallinaceous poultry to clade 2.3.4.4A H5Nx highly pathogenic avian influenza virus infection

International audienceAbstractIn the 2014–2015 Eurasian lineage clade 2.3.4.4A H5 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreak in the U.S., backyard flocks with minor gallinaceous poultry and large commercial poultry (chickens and turkeys) operations were affected. The pathogenesis of the first H5N8 and reassortant H5N2 clade 2.3.4.4A HPAI U.S. isolates was investigated in six gallinaceous species: chickens, Japanese quail, Bobwhite quail, Pearl guinea fowl, Chukar partridges, and Ring-necked pheasants. Both viruses caused 80–100% mortality in all species, except for H5N2 virus that caused 60% mortality in chickens. The surviving challenged birds remained uninfected based on lack of clinical disease and lack of seroconversion. Among the infected birds, chickens and Japanese quail in early clinical stages (asymptomatic and listless) lacked histopathologic findings. In contrast, birds of all species in later clinical stages (moribund and dead) had histopathologic lesions and systemic virus replication consistent with HPAI virus infection in gallinaceous poultry. These birds had widespread multifocal areas of necrosis, sometimes with heterophilic or lymphoplasmacytic inflammatory infiltrate, and viral antigen in parenchymal cells of most tissues. In general, lesions and antigen distribution were similar regardless of virus and species. However, endotheliotropism was the most striking difference among species, with only Pearl guinea fowl showing widespread replication of both viruses in endothelial cells of most tissues. The expression of IFN-γ and IL-10 in Japanese quail, and IL-6 in chickens, were up-regulated in later clinical stages compared to asymptomatic birds