An epidemiologic calculator supporting spanish speaking veterinarians in a resource-limited computing environment

Statistical analysis is fundamental to the field of epidemiologic research. However, commercial statistical software packages are very expensive for personal use. Some free packages are available from the Internet, but researchers do not always have access to a computer for installing such software as they like. The authors developed an epidemiologic calculator, enabling sample size calculations as well as simple analyses, for Spanish speaking veterinarians in a resource-limited computing environment. There are at least four advantages to using the calculator, such as (1) no installation required, (2) no on-line connection required during the calculation process, (3) the open-source attitude, and (4) the publicdomain attitude.El análisis estadístico es fundamental en el campo de la investigación epidemiológica. De todas maneras, el software comercial para análisis estadístico es demasiado caro para un uso personal. Algunos programas gratuitos se consiguen en Internet, pero los investigadores no siempre tienen acceso a una computadora para instalar dicho software como quisieran. Los autores desarrollaron un Calculador Epidemiológico, permitiendo cálculos de tamaño muestral, así como análisis simples, para veterinarios hispano parlantes en un ambiente informático de recursos limitados. Tenemos entonces, al menos, cuatro ventajas por el uso del Calculador: (1) No se necesita instalación, (2) No se requiere conexión a la red durante el proceso de cálculo, (3) Una actitud de código abierto, además de, (4) Una actitud que proponga el dominio público

Calculador epidemiológico que acepta veterinarios hispanoparlantes en un ambiente informático de recursos limitados

El análisis estadístico es fundamental en el campo de la investigación epidemiológica. De todas maneras, el software comercial para análisis estadístico es demasiado caro para un uso personal. Algunos programas gratuitos se consiguen en Internet, pero los investigadores no siempre tienen acceso a una computadora para instalar dicho software como quisieran. Los autores desarrollaron un Calculador Epidemiológico, permitiendo cálculos de tamaño muestral, así como análisis simples, para veterinarios hispano parlantes en un ambiente informático de recursos limitados. Tenemos entonces, al menos, cuatro ventajas por el uso del Calculador: (1) No se necesita instalación, (2) No se requiere conexión a la red durante el proceso de cálculo, (3) Una actitud de código abierto, además de, (4) Una actitud que proponga el dominio público.Statistical analysis is fundamental to the field of epidemiologic research. However, commercial statistical software packages are very expensive for personal use. Some free packages are available from the Internet, but researchers do not always have access to a computer for installing such software as they like. The authors developed an epidemiologic calculator, enabling sample size calculations as well as simple analyses, for Spanish speaking veterinarians in a resource-limited computing environment. There are at least four advantages to using the calculator, such as (1) no installation required, (2) no on-line connection required during the calculation process, (3) the open-source attitude, and (4) the publicdomain attitude.Facultad de Ciencias Veterinaria

Evaluation of expression and function of the H+/myo-inositol transporter HMIT;

BACKGROUND: The phosphoinositide (PIns) signalling pathway regulates a series of neuronal processes, such as neurotransmitter release, that are thought to be altered in mood disorders. Furthermore, mood-stabilising drugs have been shown to inhibit key enzymes that regulate PIns production and alter neuronal growth cone morphology in an inositol-reversible manner. Here, we describe analyses of expression and function of the recently identified H+/myo-inositol transporter (HMIT) investigated as a potential regulator of PIns signalling. RESULTS: We show that HMIT is primarily a neuronal transporter widely expressed in the rat and human brain, with particularly high levels in the hippocampus and cortex, as shown by immunohistochemistry. The transporter is localised at the Golgi apparatus in primary cultured neurones. No HMIT-mediated electrophysiological responses were detected in rat brain neurones or slices; in addition, inositol transport and homeostasis were unaffected in HMIT targeted null-mutant mice. CONCLUSION: Together, these data do not support a role for HMIT as a neuronal plasma membrane inositol transporter, as previously proposed. However, we observed that HMIT can transport inositol triphosphate, indicating unanticipated intracellular functions for this transporter that may be relevant to mood control

Standard survey methods for estimating colony losses and explanatory risk factors in Apis mellifera

This chapter addresses survey methodology and questionnaire design for the collection of data pertaining to estimation of honey bee colony loss rates and identification of risk factors for colony loss. Sources of error in surveys are described. Advantages and disadvantages of different random and non-random sampling strategies and different modes of data collection are presented to enable the researcher to make an informed choice. We discuss survey and questionnaire methodology in some detail, for the purpose of raising awareness of issues to be considered during the survey design stage in order to minimise error and bias in the results. Aspects of survey design are illustrated using surveys in Scotland. Part of a standardized questionnaire is given as a further example, developed by the COLOSS working group for Monitoring and Diagnosis. Approaches to data analysis are described, focussing on estimation of loss rates. Dutch monitoring data from 2012 were used for an example of a statistical analysis with the public domain R software. We demonstrate the estimation of the overall proportion of losses and corresponding confidence interval using a quasi-binomial model to account for extra-binomial variation. We also illustrate generalized linear model fitting when incorporating a single risk factor, and derivation of relevant confidence intervals

Calculador epidemiológico que acepta veterinarios hispanoparlantes en un ambiente informático de recursos limitados

El análisis estadístico es fundamental en el campo de la investigación epidemiológica. De todas maneras, el software comercial para análisis estadístico es demasiado caro para un uso personal. Algunos programas gratuitos se consiguen en Internet, pero los investigadores no siempre tienen acceso a una computadora para instalar dicho software como quisieran. Los autores desarrollaron un Calculador Epidemiológico, permitiendo cálculos de tamaño muestral, así como análisis simples, para veterinarios hispano parlantes en un ambiente informático de recursos limitados. Tenemos entonces, al menos, cuatro ventajas por el uso del Calculador: (1) No se necesita instalación, (2) No se requiere conexión a la red durante el proceso de cálculo, (3) Una actitud de código abierto, además de, (4) Una actitud que proponga el dominio público.Statistical analysis is fundamental to the field of epidemiologic research. However, commercial statistical software packages are very expensive for personal use. Some free packages are available from the Internet, but researchers do not always have access to a computer for installing such software as they like. The authors developed an epidemiologic calculator, enabling sample size calculations as well as simple analyses, for Spanish speaking veterinarians in a resource-limited computing environment. There are at least four advantages to using the calculator, such as (1) no installation required, (2) no on-line connection required during the calculation process, (3) the open-source attitude, and (4) the publicdomain attitude.Facultad de Ciencias Veterinaria

Disease control tools to secure animal and public health in a densely populated world

Animal health is a prerequisite for global health, economic development, food security, food quality, and poverty reduction, while mitigating against climate change and biodiversity loss. We did a qualitative review of 53 infectious diseases in terrestrial animals with data from DISCONTOOLS, a specialist database and prioritisation model focusing on research gaps for improving infectious disease control in animals. Many diseases do not have any appropriate control tools, but the prioritisation model suggests that we should focus international efforts on Nipah virus infection, African swine fever, contagious bovine pleuropneumonia, peste des petits ruminants, sheeppox and goatpox, avian influenza, Rift Valley fever, foot and mouth disease, and bovine tuberculosis, for the greatest impact on the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. Easy to use and accurate diagnostics are available for many animal diseases. However, there is an urgent need for the development of stable and durable diagnostics that can differentiate infected animals from vaccinated animals, to exploit rapid technological advances, and to make diagnostics widely available and affordable. Veterinary vaccines are important for dealing with endemic, new, and emerging diseases. However, fundamental research is needed to improve the convenience of use and duration of immunity, and to establish performant marker vaccines. The largest gap in animal pharmaceuticals is the threat of pathogens developing resistance to available drugs, in particular for bacterial and parasitic (protozoal, helminth, and arthropod) pathogens. We propose and discuss five research priorities for animal health that will help to deliver a sustainable and healthy planet: vaccinology, antimicrobial resistance, climate mitigation and adaptation, digital health, and epidemic preparedness

Changing perspectives on the internationalization of R&D and innovation by multinational enterprises: a review of the literature

Internationalization of R&D and innovation by Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) has undergone a gradual and comprehensive change in perspective over the past 50 years. From sporadic works in the late 1950s and in the 1960s, it became a systematically analysed topic in the 1970s, starting with pioneering reports and “foundation texts”. Our review unfolds the theoretical and empirical evolution of the literature from dyadic interpretations of centralization versus decentralization of R&D by MNEs to more comprehensive frameworks, wherein established MNEs from Advanced Economies still play a pivotal role, but new players and places also emerge in the global generation and diffusion of knowledge. Hence views of R&D internationalization increasingly rely on concepts, ideas and methods from IB and other related disciplines such as industrial organization, international economics and economic geography. Two main findings are highlighted. First, scholarly research pays an increasing attention to the network-like characteristics of international R&D activities. Second, different streams of literature have emphasized the role of location- specific factors in R&D internationalization. The increasing emphasis on these aspects has created new research opportunities in some key areas, including inter alia: cross-border knowledge sourcing strategies, changes in the geography of R&D and innovation, and the international fragmentation of production and R&D activities

Recent confirmation of a single haplotype in the Italian population of Vespa velutina

Abstract: Vespa velutina Lepeletier, 1836 (Hymenoptera: Vespidae), the yellow-legged hornet, is a social wasp native to North of India, China and tropical and subtropical areas of Southeast Asia. Adults are predators of a wide variety of arthropods, including honey bees. Vespa velutina has been unintentionally introduced in southwestern France before 2004 and its widely spreading across the country was followed by an impressive colonization of several areas within mainland Europe and overseas. In Italy, V. velutina has been officially reported in June 2013 in Imperia province, Liguria region (northern Italy) and is now well established in the western part of this region and occasionally reported in Piedmont region. More recently, it has been spotted in Veneto, Lombardy and Tuscany regions. In order to investigate the phylogenetic relationships and the origin of Italian V. velutina nigrithorax specimens, we performed a phylogenetic analysis of thirty-three samples, collected in 2012, 2016, 2017 and 2018 from different sites (Veneto, Piedmont and Liguria regions) based on mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) gene sequence analysis. The phylogenetic analysis as well the haplotypes study confirmed the placement of 33 Italian specimens within a cluster containing the other European samples plus Chinese specimens collected in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Our results strongly supported the view that the Italian specimens of V. velutina nigrithorax derived from the spreading southward of the V. velutina nigrithorax population initially established in France, which is also moving northward (Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany, United Kingdom)