The use of epidemiology to enhance production animal research

The approach to understanding the impact of management and disease in production animal systems has evolved with the advent of both routine on-farm data collection and new analytic epidemiology techniques. Epidemiology provides a tool to describe the host-agent-environment triad and the impact of multiple variables on productivity and health recognized by production animal veterinarians in their day-to-day work. Field trials enable veterinarians to systematically test whether or not a new treatment improves the health of the animal populations in their geographic region and under their production systems. Hypothesis-specific coding techniques, such as hierarchical variables, are used in a systematic manner to understand well-defined biological phenomenon. Clustering at multiple levels has provided the challenges of measuring management changes in each level. Using random effects models allow us to determine the relative importance of each level on the dependent variable. As epidemiologists, we have taken advantage of analytic techniques used in other fields of science. Geo-spatial statistics has been used to understand the clustering and spread of diseases and more recently, to interpret the laboratory findings related to the introduction of an exotic strain of the influenza virus. Dr. Martin, through his work as a veterinary epidemiologist and that of people he has influenced, has been an international leader in promoting the optimal health and productivity of animal populations and of ensuring the safety of foods of animal origin and preventing animal-related disease in humans.     

Abnormal Sysmex XT‐2000iV DIFF scattergram in a cat with a prominent mastocytemia

A 2‐year‐old neutered male domestic shorthair cat was presented to the emergency service of the National Veterinary School of Toulouse (France) for acute vomiting and diarrhea with lethargy, inappetence, and adypsia for the past 48 hours. Complete blood counts were performed with the ProCyte DX at the emergency department and with the Sysmex XT‐2000iV at the laboratory 2 weeks later. The scattergrams from the two analyzers revealed similar unusual and abnormal dot plots. The Sysmex XT‐2000iV DIFF scattergram also showed no clear separation between different leukocyte populations. The eosinophil cluster was in an abnormal location compared with that of the “typical” location in a normal cat. A blood smear evaluation revealed the presence of numerous mast cells. Thus, we hypothesized that the Sysmex XT‐2000iV had detected the mast cell population, and this led to errors in the differential counts. To explore this hypothesis, we manually gated on the DIFF scattergram and performed a manual differential on the blood smear. With this new gating strategy, the Sysmex XT‐2000iV and manual differentials were similar. Thus, in the case of systemic mastocytosis, mast cells can be located between the lymphocyte, monocyte, and eosinophil clusters on scattergrams.     

Serum Pancreatic Lipase Immunoreactivity Concentrations in Dogs Treated with Potassium Bromide and/or Phenobarbital

Potassium bromide, phenobarbital, or a combination of both is commonly used in the treatment of canine epilepsy. Several cases of clinical pancreatitis have been reported in dogs after treatment with potassium bromide, but the risk of elevated serum canine pancreatic lipase immunoreactivity concentrations in dogs treated with potassium bromide and/or phenobarbital has not previously been evaluated in a large group of dogs. This study suggests an increased risk for elevated serum canine pancreatic lipase immunoreactivity concentrations and possibly pancreatitis in dogs treated with potassium bromide or phenobarbital alone or in combination.     

Genetic diversity in Tunisian olive accessions and their relatedness with other Mediterranean olive genotypes

Eighty-four olive accessions obtained from the National Conservatory of Boughrara-Sfax (Tunisia), previously evaluated for morphological traits, were analysed with 47 random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers. They were compared with other olive genotypes originated from Eastern or Western Mediterranean. The highest and lowest similarities between genotypes, estimated by simple matching algorithm, were 0.98 and 0.40, respectively. A dendrogram based on Ward's method and a factorial correspondence analysis (FCA) showed that most of Tunisian accessions are closely related to olive genotypes originating from the Eastern Mediterranean and some are clustering with genotypes originated from the Western Mediterranean. These findings suggested multiple and complex origin of Tunisian olive. A comparative study between a previous morphological analysis and current RAPD assay was carried out and discussed.     

Ecoviability for ecosystem‐based fisheries management

Reconciling food security, economic development and biodiversity conservation is a key challenge, especially in the face of the demographic transition characterizing many countries in the world. Fisheries and marine ecosystems constitute a difficult application of this bio‐economic challenge. Many experts and scientists advocate an ecosystem approach to manage marine socio‐ecosystems for their sustainability and resilience. However, the ways by which to operationalize ecosystem‐based fisheries management (EBFM) remain poorly specified. We propose a specific methodological framework—viability modelling—to do so. We show how viability modelling can be applied using four contrasted case‐studies: two small‐scale fisheries in South America and Pacific and two larger‐scale fisheries in Europe and Australia. The four fisheries are analysed using the same modelling framework, structured around a set of common methods, indicators and scenarios. The calibrated models are dynamic, multispecies and multifleet and account for various sources of uncertainty. A multicriteria evaluation is used to assess the scenarios’ outcomes over a long time horizon with different constraints based on ecological, social and economic reference points. Results show to what extent the bio‐economic and ecosystem risks associated with the adoption of status quo strategies are relatively high and challenge the implementation of EBFM. In contrast, strategies called ecoviability or co‐viability strategies, that aim at satisfying the viability constraints, reduce significantly these ecological and economic risks and promote EBFM. The gains associated with those ecoviability strategies, however, decrease with the intensity of regulations imposed on these fisheries.     

Innovation and gendered negotiations: Insights from six small‐scale fishing communities

There has so far been limited investigation into gender in relation to innovation in fisheries. Therefore, this study investigates how gender relations shape the capacity and motivation of different individuals in fishing communities to innovate. We compare six fishing communities in Cambodia, the Philippines and the Solomon Islands. Our findings suggest that gendered negotiations mediate the capacity to innovate but that wider structural constraints are important constraints for both men and women. Our findings show that men's and women's capacity to innovate is strongly mediated by the behaviour of their marriage partner. Consequently, we argue that gender research from a social relational perspective has an important contribution to make in understanding poor fishing communities where new ways of doing things or new technologies are being promoted.     

The impact of maternal employment on breast-feeding duration in the UK Millennium Cohort Study

OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship of maternal employment characteristics, day care arrangements and the type of maternity leave pay to breast-feeding for at least 4 months. DESIGN: Cohort study. SETTING: Babies aged 9 months in the Millennium Cohort Study, born between September 2000 and January 2002. SUBJECTS: A total of 6917 British/Irish white employed mothers with singleton babies. RESULTS: Mothers employed part-time or self-employed were more likely to breast-feed for at least 4 months than those employed full-time (adjusted rate ratio (aRR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.30 (1.17-1.44) and 1.74 (1.46-2.07), respectively). The longer a mother delayed her return to work postpartum, the more likely she was to breast-feed for at least 4 months (P for trend < 0.001). Mothers were less likely to breast-feed for at least 4 months if they returned to work for financial reasons (aRR 0.86, 95% CI 0.80-0.93) or used informal day care arrangements rather than care by themselves or their partner (aRR 0.81, 95% CI 0.71-0.91). Mothers were more likely to breastfeed for at least 4 months if their employer offered family-friendly (aRR 1.14, 95% CI 1.02-1.27) or flexible work arrangements (aRR 1.24, 95% CI 1.00-1.55), or they received Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) plus additional pay during their maternity leave rather than SMP alone (aRR 1.13, 95% CI 1.02-1.26). These findings were independent of confounding factors, such as socio-economic status and maternal education. CONCLUSIONS: Current policies may encourage mothers to enter or return to employment postpartum, but this may result in widening inequalities in breast-feeding and persistence of low rates. Policies should aim to increase financial support and incentives for employers to offer supportive work arrangements.     

Pond Conservation Symposium: Introduction

A meeting organized by the Countryside Council for Wales, the Environment Agency and the British Ecological Society (Aquatic Ecology Group), Caersws, Powys, Wales, 5 September 1996