Assessment of the proportion of under-reporting during the 2007 equine influenza outbreak in New South Wales, Australia.

During the 2007 equine influenza (EI) outbreak in Australia, there was no objective information about the possible under-reporting of cases by horse owners either so that they would avoid movement restrictions or because of their inability to detect infection. This investigation aimed to estimate the proportion of underreporting during the outbreak based on the results of surveillance undertaken in conjunction with vaccination. The results provided improved estimates of morbidity during the outbreak and indicated the level of under-reporting likely to occur in future outbreaks of other infectious diseases in horses in Australia. Keywords: disease control program; epidemiology; equine influenz

Attack risk on infected properties during the 2007 equine influenza outbreak in New South Wales, Australia

Abstract The aim of this preliminary study was to estimate the proportions of seropositive horses on infected premises (IPs) in order to assess the attack risk of the disease. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to evaluate the differences in attack risks between enterprise sizes and predefined spatial clusters/regions. The average attack risk experienced during the outbreak was 96.88% (median 100%) but it differed according to the size of the enterprise and other geographical and demographic conditions. The highest attack risks were observed in the Dubbo cluster/region and the lowest in the Narrabri–Northern cluster. Properties with fewer horses were generally more likely to have higher attack risks than larger enterprises though this was not true for all cluster/region. Keywords equine influenza, epidemic, seroprevalenc

Assessment of the proportion of under-reporting during the 2007 equine influenza outbreak in New South Wales, Australia.

During the 2007 equine influenza (EI) outbreak in Australia, there was no objective information about the possible under-reporting of cases by horse owners either so that they would avoid movement restrictions or because of their inability to detect infection. This investigation aimed to estimate the proportion of underreporting during the outbreak based on the results of surveillance undertaken in conjunction with vaccination. The results provided improved estimates of morbidity during the outbreak and indicated the level of under-reporting likely to occur in future outbreaks of other infectious diseases in horses in Australia. Keywords: disease control program; epidemiology; equine influenz

Attack risk on infected properties during the 2007 equine influenza outbreak in New South Wales, Australia

Abstract The aim of this preliminary study was to estimate the proportions of seropositive horses on infected premises (IPs) in order to assess the attack risk of the disease. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to evaluate the differences in attack risks between enterprise sizes and predefined spatial clusters/regions. The average attack risk experienced during the outbreak was 96.88% (median 100%) but it differed according to the size of the enterprise and other geographical and demographic conditions. The highest attack risks were observed in the Dubbo cluster/region and the lowest in the Narrabri–Northern cluster. Properties with fewer horses were generally more likely to have higher attack risks than larger enterprises though this was not true for all cluster/region. Keywords equine influenza, epidemic, seroprevalenc

Motor timing deficits in community and clinical boys with hyperactive behaviour: The effect of methylphenidate on motor timing.

In a previous paper we showed that community children with hyperactive behavior were more inconsistent than controls in the temporal organization of their motor output. In this study we investigated: (1) various aspects of motor timing processes in 13 clinically diagnosed boys with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) who were compared to 11 community boys with hyperactive behavior and to a control group and (2) the effect of methylphenidate on the motor timing processes in the clinical group with ADHD in a double blind, cross-over, medication-placebo design, including 4 weeks of medication. The clinical group with ADHD, like the community group with hyperactivity, showed greater variability in sensorimotor synchronization and in sensorimotor anticipation relative to controls. The clinical group was also impaired in time perception, which was spared in the community group with hyperactivity. The persistent, but not the acute dose, of methylphenidate reduced the variability of sensorimotor synchronization and anticipation, but had no effect on time perception. This study shows that motor timing functions are impaired in both clinical and community children with hyperactivity. It is the first study to show the effectiveness of persistent administration of methylphenidate on deficits in motor timing in ADHD children and extends the use of methylphenidate from the domain of attentional and inhibitory functions to the domain of executive motor timing

Available Coal Resoures of the Handshoe 7.5–Minute Quadrangle, Knott County, Kentucky

Coal resources available for mining have been estimated for the Handshoe Quadrangle within the Hazard Coal Reserve District of the Eastern Kentucky Coal Field. Twelve coal beds within the quadrangle are potentially mineable and comprise the basis of these resource estimates. Seven of these beds have been commercially developed, but only four have produced more than 1 million tons: the Tiptop, Hazard No. 8, Hazard No. 4, and Upper Elkhorn No. 3. A computerized Geographic Information System was used to calculate estimates of original, mined-out, and remaining resources, restrictions to mining, and available resources

Available Coal Resources of the Salyersville South 7.5-Minute Quadrangle, Magoffin County, Kentucky

Coal resources available for mining have been estimated for the Salyersville South Quadrangle, which is located in the Licking River Coal Reserve District of the Eastern Kentucky Coal Field. Nine coal beds within the quadrangle are potentially mineable and constitute the basis of these resource estimates. Seven of these beds have been commercially developed, but only five have produced more than 1 million tons: from youngest to oldest, the Skyline A, Lower Broas, Lower Peach Orchard, Middle Peach Orchard, and Upper Peach Orchard. A computerized Geographic Information System was used to calculate estimates of original, mined-out, and remaining resources, as well as restrictions to mining and available resources

The value of tibial mounted inertial measurement units to quantify running kinetics in elite football (soccer) players. A reliability and agreement study using a research orientated and a clinically orientated system

In elite football, measurement of running kinetics with inertial measurement units (IMUs) may be useful as a component of periodic health examination (PHE). This study determined the reliability of, and agreement between a research orientated IMU and clinically orientated IMU system for initial peak acceleration (IPA) and IPA symmetry index (SI) measurement during running in elite footballers. On consecutive days, 16 participants performed treadmill running at 14kmph and 18kmph. Both IMUs measured IPA and IPA SI concurrently. All measurements had good or excellent within-session reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC2,1) range = 0.79-0.96, IPA standard error of measurement (SEM) range = 0.19-0.62 g, IPA SI SEM range = 2.50-8.05%). Only the research orientated IMU demonstrated acceptable minimal detectable changes (MDCs) for IPA at 14kmph (range = 7.46-9.80%) and IPA SI at both speeds (range = 6.92-9.21%). Considering both systems, between-session IPA reliability ranged from fair to good (ICC2,1 range = 0.63-0.87, SEM range = 0.51-1.10 g) and poor to fair for IPA SI (ICC2,1 range = 0.32-0.65, SEM range = 8.07-11.18%). All MDCs were >10%. For IPA and SI, the 95% levels of agreement indicated poor between system agreement. Therefore, the use of IMUs to evaluate treadmill running kinetics cannot be recommended in this population as a PHE test to identify prognostic factors for injuries or for rehabilitation purposes

Estimation of sensitivity and flock-sensitivity of pooled faecal culture for Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis in sheep

Pooled faecal culture (PFC) is a widely used test in ovine Johne’s disease (OJD) control programmes in Australia but information about its characteristics is limited. We conducted this study to estimate sensitivity and flock-sensitivity of PFC in sheep with different OJD histopathological lesions in simulated flocks with a range of infection prevalence levels. Initially, a known quantity of faeces from sheep with pauci- or multi-bacillary lesions was pooled with uncontaminated faeces from confirmed non-infected sheep and cultured using PFC technique. PFC sensitivity, calculated as a proportion of the pools of a particular size that tested positive, was determined to be 90% in sheep with the multibacillary form of the disease but varied with pool size in sheep with the paucibacillary form of OJD. Subsequently, probabilistic models were developed to estimate overall pool-sensitivity achieved in a flock (Sek) and flock-sensitivity of PFC (FSe) in various simulated scenarios. In flocks with a given ratio of multi- to pauci-bacillary sheep and with low to moderate infection prevalence level, Sek decreased with increase in pool size, but increased with pool size in flocks with ≥ 10 % prevalence. FSe, in contrast, increased with pool size in all the tested scenarios. Both Sek and FSe increased with infection prevalence, ratio of multi- to pauci-bacillary sheep and the number of pools sourced from flocks. Sensitivity analyses indicated that the estimates and trends were robust to moderate changes in input parameters. The results suggest that the current testing of seven pools of size 50 is adequate for most scenarios, however, for very low prevalence flocks, a gain in FSe can be made by increasing the number of pools tested and a higher Sek can be achieved by reducing pool sizes. Keywords: pooling, paratuberculosis, ovine Johne’s disease, Australia, Mycobacterium, epidemiology.Meat and livestock australi