A spatial hazard model for cluster detection on continuous indicators of disease: application to somatic cell score

Methods for spatial cluster detection dealing with diseases quantified by continuous variables are few, whereas several diseases are better approached by continuous indicators. For example, subclinical mastitis of the dairy cow is evaluated using a continuous marker of udder inflammation, the somatic cell score (SCS). Consequently, this study proposed to analyze spatialized risk and cluster components of herd SCS through a new method based on a spatial hazard model. The dataset included annual SCS for 34 142 French dairy herds for the year 2000, and important SCS risk factors: mean parity, percentage of winter and spring calvings, and herd size. The model allowed the simultaneous estimation of the effects of known risk factors and of potential spatial clusters on SCS, and the mapping of the estimated clusters and their range. Mean parity and winter and spring calvings were significantly associated with subclinical mastitis risk. The model with the presence of 3 clusters was highly significant, and the 3 clusters were attractive, i.e. closeness to cluster center increased the occurrence of high SCS. The three localizations were the following: close to the city of Troyes in the northeast of France; around the city of Limoges in the center-west; and in the southwest close to the city of Tarbes. The semi-parametric method based on spatial hazard modeling applies to continuous variables, and takes account of both risk factors and potential heterogeneity of the background population. This tool allows a quantitative detection but assumes a spatially specified form for clusters.     

Evaluating evaporation from field crops using airborne radiometry and ground-based meteorological data

Summary Airborne measurements of reflected solar and emitted thermal radiation were combined with ground-based measurements of incoming solar radiation, air temperature, windspeed, and vapor pressure to calculate instantaneous evaporation (LE) rates using a form of the Penman equation. Estimates of evaporation over cotton, wheat, and alfalfa fields were obtained on 5 days during a one-year period. A Bowen ratio apparatus, employed simultaneously, provided ground-based measurements of evaporation. Comparison of the airborne and ground techniques showed good agreement, with the greatest difference being about 12% for the instantaneous values. Estimates of daily (24 h) evaporation were made from the instantaneous data. On three of the five days, the difference between the two techniques was less than 8%, with the greatest difference being 25%. The results demonstrate that airborne remote sensing techniques can be used to obtain spatially distributed values of evaporation over agricultural fields.     

Parental participation in progeny and effective population sizes in experimental seed orchards of wild cherry Prunus avium L. (Batsch)

Parents and progenies genetic diversity, and male and female contributions to the seed crop were assessed in three experimental Prunus avium seed orchards. Collected data were used to compare different effective population sizes, based on phenological, seed crop and paternity analysis. Our results did not show any difference of genetic diversity between parents and progenies. A limited pollen pollution was detected. We showed that distance and coflowering among clones had a significant effect on effective pollination, and a significant effect of the production of flowers was revealed in one of the seed orchards. Our study also revealed a quite low number of effective size of fathers per mother, but high effective sizes of mothers, fathers and parents at the level of the seed orchard. Finally, the calculation of effective size of mothers, fathers and parents was not highly modified when having the complete information based on the paternity analysis.     

Water sensitivity, antimicrobial, and physicochemical analyses of edible films based on HPMC and/or chitosan

Several properties of chitosan films associated or not with hydroxypropylmethylcellulose polymer (HPMC) and HPMC films incorporating or not nisin and/or milk fat were studied. Nisin addition at a level of 250 microg mL-1 and likewise chitosan at 1% (w/v) concentration were efficient for total inhibiting Aspergillus niger and Kocuria rhizophila food deterioration microorganisms. HPMC and chitosan films were transparent, whereas nisin and/or fat incorporation induced a 2-fold lightness parameter increase and, consequently, involved more white films. Measurements of tensile strength, as well as ultimate elongation, showed that chitosan and HPMC initial films were elastic and flexible. High thermal treatments and additive incorporation induced less elastic and more plastic films. Water vapor transmission as far as total water desorption rates suggested that chitosan films were slightly sensitive to water. Water transfer was decreased by <60% as compared with other biopolymer films. Regarding its hydrophobic property, the capacity of fat to improve film water barrier was very limited.     

Lupine induced "crooked calf disease" in Washington and Oregon: identification of the alkaloid profiles in Lupinus sulfureus, Lupinus leucophyllus, and Lupinus sericeus

Several lupines (Lupinus spp.) present on western U.S. rangelands contain alkaloids that are teratogenic to livestock and cause congenital birth defects in calves (crooked calf disease). Periodically, large losses of calves due to lupine-induced "crooked calf disease" occur in northern Oregon and eastern Washington state. Five lupine populations from this area representing three species (L. leucophyllus, L. sulfureus, and L. sericeus) were evaluated taxonomically and by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, and the major alkaloids in each lupine species were identified. The teratogenic alkaloid anagyrine was present in both of the lupine species responsible for the high outbreaks in east-central Washington and northeastern Oregon. However, the alkaloid profiles of the two lupines identified as L. leucophyllus were dissimilar, as were the alkaloid profiles of the two lupines identified as L. sulfureus. Botanical classification is not sufficient to determine potential teratogenicity, and it must be followed by chemical characterization to determine risk to livestock.     

The parasitoid Dolichogenidea gelechiidivoris eavesdrops on semiochemicals from its host Tuta absoluta and tomato

Journal of Pest Science - Semiochemicals such as herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) and host chemicals serve as communication signals for parasitoids searching for oviposition sites. The...     

The high biodiversity and vulnerability of two Mediterranean bathyal seamounts support the need for creating offshore protected areas

1. Seamounts host some of the most important deep-sea ecosystems. The unique environmental characteristics of seamounts sustain rich biological hot spots, which, in recent times, have suffered the effects of intense fishing pressure.
2. Biodiversity and vulnerability data are extremely scarce for Mediterranean seamounts, and this, in addition to the complex socio-economic and juridical status of offshore sites, results in difficulty in identifying the best management strategies.
3. An extensive remotely operated vehicle (ROV) survey was used to characterize the megabenthic assemblages of the summits of two upper bathyal seamounts, Ulisse and Penelope (Ligurian Sea, north-west Mediterranean Sea). The biogeographic implications of these findings and the possible environmental factors favouring the occurrence of these communities are discussed.
4. High densities of abandoned, lost, or otherwise discarded fishing gear (mainly longlines) and a reduction in the average size of the fragile and slow-growing habitat-forming gorgonian Callogorgia verticillata indicate the occurrence of high levels of anthropogenic impacts on the summit regions, which are fishing grounds for artisanal and recreational fishers.
5. The recovery of fishing data describing the first catches in the 1970s proved to be useful in inferring the short- and long-term effects of fishing practices in these previously unexploited offshore areas. In particular, the local extinction of demersal top predators, subjected to exceptional catches nearly 50 years ago, highlights the slow recovery rate of such species.
6. Criteria defining vulnerability are discussed for the two study areas, and specific conservation actions, including the creation of regulated protected areas, are proposed.

     

Influence of Temperament Score and Handling Facility on Stress,Reproductive Hormone Concentrations,and Fixed Time AI Pregnancy Rates in Beef Heifers

The objectives were (i) to evaluate the effect of temperament, determined by modified 2‐point chute exit and gait score, on artificial insemination (AI) pregnancy rates in beef heifers following fixed time AI and (ii) to determine the effect of temperament on cortisol, substance‐P, prolactin and progesterone at initiation of synchronization and at the time of AI. Angus beef heifers (n = 967) at eight locations were included in this study. At the initiation of synchronization (Day 0 = initiation of synchronization), all heifers received a body condition score (BCS), and temperament score (0 = calm; slow exit and walk or 1 = excitable; fast exit or jump or trot or run). Blood samples were collected from a sub‐population of heifers (n = 86) at both synchronization initiation and the time of AI to determine the differences in serum progesterone, cortisol, prolactin and substance‐P concentrations between temperament groups. Heifers were synchronized with 5‐day CO‐Synch+ controlled internal drug release (CIDR) protocol and were inseminated at 56 h after CIDR removal. Heifers were examined for pregnancy by ultrasound 70 days after AI to determine AI pregnancy. Controlling for synchronization treatment (p = 0.03), facility design (p = 0.05), and cattle handling facility design by temperament score interaction (p = 0.02), the AI pregnancy differed between heifers with excitable and calm temperament (51.9% vs 60.3%; p = 0.01). The alley‐way with acute bends and turns, and long straight alley‐way had lower AI pregnancy rate than did the semicircular alley‐way (53.5%, 56.3% and 67.0% respectively; p = 0.05). The serum hormone concentrations differed significantly between different types of cattle handling facility (p < 0.05). The cattle handling facility design by temperament group interactions significantly influenced progesterone (p = 0.01), cortisol (p = 0.01), prolactin (p = 0.02) and substance‐P (p = 0.04) both at the initiation of synchronization and at the time of AI. Inter‐ and intra‐rater agreement for temperament scoring were moderate and good (Kappa = 0.596 ± 0.07 and 0.797 ± 0.11) respectively. The predictive value for calm and pregnant to AI was 0.87, and excited and non‐pregnant to AI was 0.76. In conclusion, the modified 2‐point temperament scoring method can be used to identify heifers with excitable temperament. Heifers with excitable temperament had lower AI pregnancy. Further, cattle handling facility design influenced the temperament and AI pregnancy.