Drie nieuwe Ponto-Kaspische inwijkelingen dringen door tot in kanalen in de provincie Antwerpen: De zoetwaterpolychaet <i>Hypania invalida</i> (Grube, 1860) en, voor het eerst in België, de platworm <i>Dendrocoelum romanodanubiale</i> (Codreanu, 1949) en de Donaupissebed <i>Jaera istri</i> Veuille, 1979

Since 2000 three Ponto-Caspian invaders have been found in canals in the province of Antwerp (N.E.-Belgium): the freshwater polychaete Hypania invalida (Grube, 1860), the triclad Dendrocoelum romanodanubiale (Codreanu, 1949) and the freshwater isopod Jaera istri Veuille, 1979. Staff members of the 'Vlaamse Milieumaatschappij (Flemish Environmental Agency) collected these species on artificial substrates (nets filled with broken bricks). H. invalida had been discovered before in Belgium in the river Meuse in 2000 (Vanden Bossche et.al., 2001). D. romanodanubiale and J. istri were never recorded before in Belgium. Before its discovery in the Belgian Meuse in August-September 2000, H.invalida had already been found in May 2000 in the Albert Canal at Genk in the province of Limbourg. Between 2001 and 2003, the polychaete was sampled at several stations of the Albert Canal and its adjacent canals in the provinces of Antwerp and Limbourg. Here, it often is accompanied by D. romanodanubiale and J. istri. In 2003 the polychaet had also been encountered in the Sea canal Brussels - Scheldt in the province of Antwerp. The discontinuous distribution indicates that navigation plays an important role in the dispersal of the species. Other Ponto-Caspian species such as Dikerogammarus villosus (Sovinskij, 1894) are either already present in the canals or soon to be expected there. Some of these species will probably also invade the Scheldt basin

Alien macrocrustaceans in freshwater ecosystems in the eastern part of Flanders (Belgium)

Biological invasions of freshwater macroinvertebrates are gaining more and more interest because the ecological and economical impact of some of these species is high. Since crustacean taxa appear to be successful groups invading new areas, an inventory of the macrocrustaceans in Flanders was made. At least 22 freshwater macrocrustacean species have been reported from Flemish water bodies. A detailed study of six canals, one small artificial watercourse and one natural river in the eastern part of Flanders revealed that invaders such as Dikerogammarus villosus, Gammarus tigrinus and Chelicorophium curvispinum are already quite common. Especially D. villosus is currently rapidly expanding and has a serious impact on native and other exotic gammarid species. Based on observations in neighbouring countries, several additional species are expected to arrive in the near future. A follow-up of the alien species together with a monitoring scheme to detect new incoming species is valuable to estimate the size of the problem and to be able to closely follow their ecological and economical impact

Fecal Volatile Organic Ccompound Profiles from White-Tailed Deer (\u3ci\u3eOdocoileus virginianus\u3c/i\u3e) as Indicators of \u3ci\u3eMycobacterium bovis\u3c/i\u3e Exposure or \u3ci\u3eMycobacterium bovis\u3c/i\u3e Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) Vaccination

White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) serve as a reservoir for bovine tuberculosis, caused by Mycobacterium bovis, and can be a source of infection in cattle. Vaccination with M. bovis Bacille Calmette Guerin (BCG) is being considered for management of bovine tuberculosis in deer. Presently, no method exists to non-invasively monitor the presence of bovine tuberculosis in deer. In this study, volatile organic compound profiles of BCG-vaccinated and non-vaccinated deer, before and after experimental challenge with M. bovis strain 95–1315, were generated using solid phase microextraction fiber head-space sampling over suspended fecal pellets with analysis by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Chromatograms were processed using XCMS Online to characterize ion variation among treatment groups. The principal component scores resulting from significant (α = 0.05) ion responses were used to build linear discriminant analysis models. The sensitivity and specificity of these models were used to evaluate the feasibility of using this analytical approach to distinguish within group comparisons between pre- and post-M. bovis challenge: non-vaccinated male or female deer, BCG-vaccinated male deer, and the mixed gender non-vaccinated deer data. Seventeen compounds were identified in this analysis. The peak areas for these compounds were used to build a linear discriminant classification model based on principal component analysis scores to evaluate the feasibility of discriminating between fecal samples from M. bovis challenged deer, irrespective of vaccination status. The model best representing the data had a sensitivity of 78.6% and a specificity of 91.4%. The fecal head-space sampling approach presented in this pilot study provides a non-invasive method to discriminate between M. bovis challenged deer and BCG-vaccinated deer. Additionally, the technique may prove invaluable for BCG efficacy studies with free-ranging deer as well as for use as a non-invasive monitoring system for the detection of tuberculosis in captive deer and other livestock

Decreasing population selection rates of resistance mutation K65R over time in HIV-1 patients receiving combination therapy including tenofovir

Objectives The use of tenofovir is highly associated with the emergence of mutation K65R, which confers broad resistance to nucleoside/nucleotide analogue reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs), especially when tenofovir is combined with other NRTIs also selecting for K65R. Although recent HIV-1 treatment guidelines discouraging these combinations resulted in reduced K65R selection with tenofovir, updated information on the impact of currently recommended regimens on the population selection rate of K65R is presently lacking. Methods In this study, we evaluated changes over time in the selection rate of resistance mutation K65R in a large population of 2736 HIV-1-infected patients failing combination antiretroviral treatment between 2002 and 2010. Results The K65R resistance mutation was detected in 144 patients, a prevalence of 5.3%. A large majority of observed K65R cases were explained by the use of tenofovir, reflecting its wide use in clinical practice. However, changing patterns over time in NRTIs accompanying tenofovir resulted in a persistent decreasing probability of K65R selection by tenofovir-based therapy. The currently recommended NRTI combination tenofovir/emtricitabine was associated with a low probability of K65R emergence. For any given dual NRTI combination including tenofovir, higher selection rates of K65R were consistently observed with a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor than with a protease inhibitor as the third agent. Discussion Our finding of a stable time trend of K65R despite elevated use of tenofovir illustrates increased potency of current HIV-1 therapy including tenofovi

Seasonal variation in preference dictates space use in an invasive generalist

The spatiotemporal distribution of resources is a critical component of realized animal distributions. In agricultural landscapes, space use by generalist consumers is influenced by ephemeral resource availability that may produce behavioral differences across agricultural seasons, resulting in economic and production consequences and increased human-wildlife conflict. Our objective was to assess changes in habitat selection across seasons in an invasive generalist omnivore (feral pigs, Sus scrofa). Hypothesizing that pig space use is primarily driven by forage availability, we predicted strong selection for the most nutritionally beneficial crops and resource types as agricultural seasons progressed. We deployed GPS collars on 13 adult feral pigs in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley to study resource selection in a fragmented agricultural landscape. We estimated resource selection using mixed-effect logistic regression to assess variation in selection across planting, growing, harvest, and fallow seasons

Summer habitat use and movements of invasive wild pigs (Sus scrofa) in Canadian agro-ecosystems

Resource selection informs understanding of a species’ ecology and is especially pertinent for invasive species. Since introduced to Canada, wild pigs (Sus scrofa Linnaeus, 1978) remain understudied despite recognized negative impacts on native and agricultural systems globally. Elsewhere in North America, pigs typically use forests and forage in agricultural crops. We hypothesized Canadian wild pigs would behave similarly, and using GPS locations from 15 individuals, we examined diel and seasonal resource selection and movement in the Canadian prairie region. Forests were predominately selected during the day, while corn (Zea mays L.), oilseeds, and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) were predominately selected at night. Forests and corn were consistently selected throughout the growing season.Wetlands and forests showed greater use rates than other habitats, with evident trade-offs as crop use increased with the timing of maturation. Activity was consistent with foraging in growing crops. Results indicate diel patterns were likely a function of short-term needs to avoid daytime anthropogenic risk, while seasonal patterns demonstrate how habitats that fill multiple functional roles——food, cover, and thermoregulation——can be optimized. Understanding selection by invasive species is an important step in understanding their potential environmental impacts in novel environments and informs their management

Music-of-Light Stethoscope: A Demonstration of the Photoacoustic Effect

In this paper we present a system aimed at demonstrating the photoacoustic (PA) effect for educational purposes. PA imaging is a hybrid imaging modality that requires no contrast agent and has a great potential for spine and brain lesion characterisation, breast cancer and blood flow monitoring notably in the context of fetal surgery. It relies on combining light excitation with ultrasound reception. Our brief was to present and explain PA imaging in a public-friendly way suitable for a variety of ages and backgrounds. We developed a simple, accessible demonstration unit using readily available materials. We used a modulated light emitting diode (LED) torch and an electronic stethoscope. The output of a music player was used for light modulation and the chest piece of the stethoscope covered by a black tape was used as an absorbing target and an enclosed chamber. This demonstration unit was presented to the public at the Bloomsbury Festival On Light in October 2015. Our stall was visited by over 100 people of varying ages. Twenty families returned in-depth evaluation questionnaires, which show that our explanations of the photoacoustic effect were well understood. Their interest in biomedical engineering was increased