Teachers’ Written Feedback on Digital Answer Scripts during COVID-19: Views, Preferences, and Expectations of the EFL Students

This study aimed at exploring Bangladeshi students’ views, preferences and suggestions regarding teacher’s feedback on the digital examination scripts during the COVID-19 pandemic. It followed the quantitative method of research to check the views, preferences and expectations of the students on feedback on the digital answer scripts provided by the teachers. Purposive sampling was used in the present study. The sample consisted of 115 undergraduate students at the Department of English, Green University of Bangladesh, Bangladesh. The obtained data was quantified and analyzed using Microsoft Excel. The findings revealed that students acknowledged the importance of feedback in the digital answer scripts and prefer both negative and positive feedback from the teacher. The findings also show that the students expect corrective feedback based on the grammar and language errors in the answer scripts. However, the results revealed that a portion of the students focuses only on the score they receive and not on the feedback.   Based on the findings, the study implies that the teachers should explore the students’ views regarding specific types of feedback and develop a method to provide comments that attract the students to go through all the comments and reflect for future improvements

Investigation of the human nasal microbiome in persons with long- And short-term exposure to methicillin-resistant <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> and other bacteria from the pig farm environment

Since its emergence in the early 2000s, livestock-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus clonal complex 398 (LA-MRSA CC398) has led to an increasing number of human infections in Denmark and other European countries with industrial pig production. LA-MRSA CC398 is primarily associated with skin infections among pig farm workers but is also increasingly recognized as a cause of life-threatening disease among elderly and immunocompromised people. Pig farm workers may serve as vehicles for the spread of LA-MRSA CC398 and other farm-origin bacteria between farms and into the general population. Yet, little is known about the bacterial community dynamics in pig farm workers and other persons with long- and short-term exposure to the pig farm environment. To gain insight into this, we investigated the nasal microbiomes in pig farm workers during a workweek on four LA-MRSA CC398-positive pig farms, as well as in short-term visitors two hours before, immediately after, and 48 hours after a 1-hour visit to another LA-MRSA CC398-positive pig farm. S. aureus and LA-MRSA CC398 carriage was quantified by means of culture, and the composition of the bacterial communities was investigated through sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene. Pig farm workers often carried LA-MRSA CC398 and other bacteria from the pig farm environment, both at work and at home, although at lower levels at home. In contrast, short-term visitors were subject to a less dramatic and rapidly reversible change in the nasal bacterial community composition. These results suggest that pig farm workers may be an important source of LA-MRSA CC398 and perhaps other pathogens of human and veterinary relevance

High Genetic Similarity of MRSA ST88 Isolated From Pigs and Humans in Kogi State, Nigeria

We determined the prevalence and genetic characteristics of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolated from pigs and humans between September 2013 and February 2015 in Kogi State, a central region in Nigeria. A total of 680 nasal swabs were collected and analyzed from pigs (n = 425) and “pig-contact” humans (n = 55) on 35 farms, and “non-pig-contact” humans (n = 200). MRSA was recovered from 20 (4.7%) pigs on 12 farms and 18 (7.0%) humans. Six (2.4%) of the human isolates were recovered from “pig-contact” humans, of which only three work on farms also harboring MRSA positive pigs. All 38 MRSA were resistant to β-lactams only, belonged to spa type t1603, sequence type (ST) 88, and mecA was associated with a SCCmec IVa element. Four isolates from a pig, a pig-contact human from the same farm, a pig-contact human from a pig farm in a different district, and a non-pig-contact human were subjected to whole genome sequencing (WGS). Core genome SNP analysis revealed high genetic similarity between strains (3–11 SNP differences), despite the temporal (2 year gap) and geographic (165 km) differences between isolates. Furthermore, these Nigerian isolates form a distinct clade when compared to other African MRSA ST88 isolates. All but one porcine strain was positive for scn suggesting a possible human origin and that pigs were either transiently contaminated by humans or result of a very recent human-to-pig transmission event. To our knowledge, this is the first report of genetically confirmed MRSA in pigs in Nigeria, which appear to be a typical CA-MRSA clone present in the human population

Horses in Denmark Are a Reservoir of Diverse Clones of Methicillin-Resistant and -Susceptible Staphylococcus aureus

Denmark is a country with high prevalence of livestock-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) clonal complex (CC) 398 in pigs. Even though pig farming is regarded as the main source of human infection or colonization with MRSA CC398, 10–15% of the human cases appear not to be linked to pigs. Following the recent reports of MRSA CC398 in horses in other European countries and the lack of knowledge on S. aureus carriage in this animal species, we carried out a study to investigate whether horses constitute a reservoir of MRSA CC398 in Denmark, and to gain knowledge on the frequency and genetic diversity of S. aureus in horses, including both methicillin-resistant and -susceptible S. aureus (MSSA). Nasal swabs were collected from 401 horses originating from 74 farms, either at their farms or prior to admission to veterinary clinics. Following culture on selective media, species identification by MALDI-TOF MS and MRSA confirmation by standard PCR-based methods, S. aureus and MRSA were detected in 54 (13%) and 17 (4%) horses originating from 30 (40%) and 7 (9%) farms, respectively. Based on spa typing, MSSA differed genetically from MRSA isolates. The spa type prevalent among MSSA isolates was t127 (CC1), which was detected in 12 horses from 11 farms and represents the most common S. aureus clone isolated from human bacteremia cases in Denmark. Among the 17 MRSA carriers, 10 horses from three farms carried CC398 t011 harboring the immune evasion cluster (IEC), four horses from two farms carried IEC-negative CC398 t034, and three horses from two farms carried a mecC-positive MRSA lineage previously associated with wildlife and domestic ruminants (CC130 t528). Based on whole-genome phylogenetic analysis of the 14 MRSA CC398, t011 isolates belonged to the recently identified horse-adapted clone in Europe and were closely related to human t011 isolates from three Danish equine veterinarians, whereas t034 isolates belonged to pig-adapted clones. Our study confirms that horses carry an equine-specific clone of MRSA CC398 that can be transmitted to veterinary personnel, and reveals that these animals are exposed to MRSA and MSSA clones that are likely to originate from livestock and humans, respectively

No apparent transmission of livestock-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus CC398 in a survey of staff at a regional Danish hospital

Abstract Background In recent years, livestock-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (LA-MRSA) multi locus sequence type CC398 has spread widely in the livestock production in Europe. The rates of LA-MRSA in hospitals have been found to be largely determined by contact to and density of livestock in the area. Methods This is a cross sectional study of the prevalence of LA-MRSA among hospital staff in a Danish hospital situated in a livestock production region. We analysed nasal swabs, air and dust samples for the presence of MRSA using PCR and mass spectrometry. Results Of 1745 employees, 545 (31%) contributed nasal swabs. MRSA was not detected in any participant, nor was it detected in air or dust at the hospital or in houses of employees living on farms. Four percent of the participants had contact to pigs either directly or through household members. LA-MRSA was detected in two of 26 samples from animal sheds, both of them from pig farms. The participation rate was relatively low, but participants were representative for the source population with regards to animal contact and job titles. Conclusions The study suggests a low point prevalence of LA-MRSA carriage in Danish hospital staff even in regions where livestock production is dense. Should more studies confirm our findings we see no need for additional hospital precautions towards LA-MRSA in Denmark at the moment. We think that our data might reduce potential stigmatization of hospital workers with contact to LA-MRSA positive farms at their work places and in their communities

Prevalence of gastrointestinal parasitism of cattle in Banskhali upazilla, Chittagong, Bangladesh

The objectives of this study were to investigate the prevalence of gastrointestinal parasitism (GP), and to determine the effects of age, sex, breed, body score and body weight in the occurrences of GP of cattle in Banskhali Upazilla, Chittagong, Bangladesh. A total of 50 fecal samples were randomly collected directly from rectum of cattle. The samples were examined by routine coproscopical methods for the presence of different parasites and oocysts. Overall prevalence of GP infestation was 72% (n=36/50). Prevalence of Paramphistomum spp. infestation was found to be the highest (30%; n=15/50) followed by Toxocara spp. (12%; n=6/50), Fasciola spp. (10%; n=5/50), Oesophagostomum spp. (8%; n=4/50), Moniezia spp. (6%; n=3/50) and Trichostrongylus spp. (2%; n=1/50). Young cattle were mostly infested as compared to adult and calf. The results of this study provides an epidemiological forecast showing the prevalence of GP in cattle, which can be helpful for the clinician in diagnosis of such infections

Effect of beef tallow on growth performance, carcass characteristics, meat composition, and lipid profile of growing lambs

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of diets with inclusion of beef tallow on growth, and carcass characteristics, meat quality, and lipid profile in growing lambs. The experiment was conducted with 15 lambs for 63 days. The lambs were randomly allotted into three dietary treatments (T0, T1, and T2) with five animals in each group; T0 (control diet without beef tallow), T1 (diet with 2% beef tallow), and T2 (diet with 4% beef tallow). The body weight and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were significantly (P0.05) on meat quality and chemical composition among the three dietary groups. Group T1 showed the highest increase of cholesterol concentration (11.5%) at the end of experiment, but serum triglyceride concentration was not significantly (P>0.05) correlated with any of the three dietary groups. To sum up, the use of beef tallow at 2% level in lamb diet can increase their performance without having any deleterious effect on carcass, meat quality and lipid profile. [J Adv Vet Anim Res 2015; 2(3.000): 346-352

Modeling and roles of meteorological factors in outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1.

The highly pathogenic avian influenza A virus subtype H5N1 (HPAI H5N1) is a deadly zoonotic pathogen. Its persistence in poultry in several countries is a potential threat: a mutant or genetically reassorted progenitor might cause a human pandemic. Its world-wide eradication from poultry is important to protect public health. The global trend of outbreaks of influenza attributable to HPAI H5N1 shows a clear seasonality. Meteorological factors might be associated with such trend but have not been studied. For the first time, we analyze the role of meteorological factors in the occurrences of HPAI outbreaks in Bangladesh. We employed autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) and multiplicative seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average (SARIMA) to assess the roles of different meteorological factors in outbreaks of HPAI. Outbreaks were modeled best when multiplicative seasonality was incorporated. Incorporation of any meteorological variable(s) as inputs did not improve the performance of any multivariable models, but relative humidity (RH) was a significant covariate in several ARIMA and SARIMA models with different autoregressive and moving average orders. The variable cloud cover was also a significant covariate in two SARIMA models, but air temperature along with RH might be a predictor when moving average (MA) order at lag 1 month is considered