Can epidemiology and economics make a meaningful contribution to national animal-disease control?

The general role of veterinary epidemiology and economics to national animal-disease control throughout the world is considered for the four main groupings of animal diseases: zoonotic, food-borne, endemic and epidemic diseases. This is done by considering how veterinary epidemiology and economics has contributed to priority setting (which diseases come first?), decision-making (for a given disease, which strategy is best?), and disease control implementation (how can optimal delivery and adoption of selected interventions best be achieved?). Within each of these categories, progress made and future opportunities are discussed. In addition, a review is made of how veterinary epidemiology and economics has been institutionalised. We conclude that veterinary epidemiology and economics holds a unique role in the development of national policies and strategies for improved animal health world-wide. However, we consider that we must capitalise more on the unique comparative advantage of the partnership between veterinarians and agricultural economists. We believe that much remains to be done to improve the "institutionalisation" of veterinary epidemiology and economics, and the adoption and impact of the products of our unique partnership, particularly in countries of the developing world.     

Comparison of methods to assess dog owners' therapeutic compliance

Objective To compare different methods for assessing the compliance of veterinary clients administering medication to their dogs.
Procedure Thirty-one owners whose dogs were prescribed amoxycillin-clavulanate, twice and thrice daily, for a duration of five to seven days were recruited from three Sydney veterinary hospitals. Compliance was assessed by electronic monitoring devices, return medication counts, client self-reports and veterinarians' estimation of likely compliance.
Results Electronic monitoring showed owners administered on average 84% (range 7 to 104%) of prescribed medication to their dogs. Both return medication counts and client self-reports tended to overestimate therapeutic compliance when compared with electronic monitoring. When questioned, the majority of owners (71%) claimed perfect compliance with the prescribed regimen. No correlation was found between veterinarians' estimates of owner compliance and that assessed electronically.
Conclusion Electronic monitoring provided valuable information on dose timing and variation, but proved costly and difficult to employ in veterinary practice. Simplicity and low cost of return medication counts makes this method attractive for use in veterinary compliance studies. Client self-reports reliably detected some noncompliers and permitted identification of individual problems or errors. For practical purposes a combination of return medication counts and client self-reports may have merit in future veterinary compliance studies.     

An ecological risk assessment for spinosad use on cotton

Spinosad is a reduced-risk insecticide with a novel mode of action that provides an alternative to older classes of insecticides such as organophosphates, carbamates and pyrethroids. A comprehensive ecological risk assessment for spinosad use in US cotton crops is presented within a framework of tiered levels of refinement following the guidelines of the US EPA for ecological risk assessments. Toxicity information for a variety of species is documented and utilized, environmental concentrations estimated, and risk characterizations in the form of risk quotients are quantified. Results indicate that spinosad use in cotton does not exceed the most conservative Tier I levels of concern (LOC) values for groundwater, mammals and birds or acute risk to aquatic organisms. Use of very conservative Tier I screening methods resulted in exceeding LOC values for chronic exposure for some aquatic organisms, thus prompting further refinement. When the exposure prediction was refined using less conservative, Tier II mechanistic environmental fate transport models to predict offsite transport and environmental concentrations, chronic risk was not predicted for these species. Spinosad is acutely toxic to bees under laboratory conditions, but toxicity of residue studies and field studies indicate that under actual use conditions the impact on bees is minimal.     

The management of intensive dairy farms can be improved for better welfare and milk yield

The intensive breeding is often considered a risk of low welfare in dairy cows. Namely, the high yield has been suggested to be per se a cause of well-being reduction. Conversely, we have in many farms demonstrated that high milk yielding cows are not necessarily in a bad welfare condition, while many environmental and management problems can cause a distress situation and a reduced milk yield. To confirm these results, in an average yielding dairy farm affected by several problems, the welfare was assessed according to an Integrated Diagnostic System which considers health status, milk yield and quality, feeding strategy, blood profiles etc. The same check-up has been repeated a year later, after some attempts to correct main mistakes previously observed: dry and lactating cow diets, n° of cubicles, hygiene conditions, preparation and milking procedures etc. In one year only part of the mistakes have been fully corrected; nevertheless, the animal response was definitively improved suggesting a better welfare situation: improvement of teat and body condition (BCS) scores and reduction of open days, of legs and feet lesions and of somatic cell count (SCC : 283 vs. 456 cells/μl) as well as an increase of milk yield (25.2 vs. 20.1 kg/d).

Results confirmed that better breeding techniques can optimise the animal welfare and optimise milk yield in the intensive systems.     

柴达木盆地主要河流的水化学特征

为了保护水资源,不仅需要了解人为引起的水质污染状况,而且需要研究河流水体在自然界的循环过程中所形成的水化学特征及其时空变化。本文对柴达木盆地主要河流的水化学特征进行了分析、研究,对水质状况进行了评价。     

青海省天然草地主要灌木,半灌木饲用植物资源及评价

对青海省天然草地灌木、半灌木饲用植物的数量构成、分布及其在草原中的作用及饲用价值进行了统计分析,旨在为开辟荒漠区的饲料资源提供资料。     

Paediatric HUS Cases Related to the Consumption of Raw Milk Sold by Vending Machines in Italy: Quantitative Risk Assessment Based on Escherichia coli O157 Official Controls over 7 years

A quantitative risk assessment (RA) was developed to estimate haemolytic‐uremic syndrome (HUS) cases in paediatric population associated with the consumption of raw milk sold in vending machines in Italy. The historical national evolution of raw milk consumption phenomenon since 2008, when consumer interest started to grow, and after 7 years of marketing adjustment, is outlined. Exposure assessment was based on the official Shiga toxin‐producing Escherichia coli O157:H7 (STEC) microbiological records of raw milk samples from vending machines monitored by the regional Veterinary Authorities from 2008 to 2014, microbial growth during storage, consumption frequency of raw milk, serving size, consumption preference and age of consumers. The differential risk considered milk handled under regulation conditions (4°C throughout all phases) and the worst time–temperature field handling conditions detected. In case of boiling milk before consumption, we assumed that the risk of HUS is fixed at zero. The model estimates clearly show that the public health significance of HUS cases due to raw milk STEC contamination depends on the current variability surrounding the risk profile of the food and the consumer behaviour has more impact than milk storage scenario. The estimated HUS cases predicted by our model are roughly in line with the effective STEC O157‐associated HUS cases notified in Italy only when the proportion of consumers not boiling milk before consumption is assumed to be 1%. Raw milk consumption remains a source of E. coli O157:H7 for humans, but its overall relevance is likely to have subsided and significant caution should be exerted for temporal, geographical and consumers behaviour analysis. Health education programmes and regulatory actions are required to educate people, primarily children, on other STEC sources.     

浅析人才测评的发展历史与技术原理

人才测评技术是一种科学的评价体系,人才测评技术已成为人力资源管理的核心技术,本文从人才测评的历史发展和人才测评的技术原理等方面分析了应如何正确使用人才测评技术的原理,这对提高人才评价科学性、客观性和准确性有积极的推动作用。     

土壤中重金属复合污染的表征

综述了土壤中重金属复合污染表征方法的研究进展,目的在于为农业生态环境中重金属污染的研究和防治提供参考     

意大利蝗取食特性及损失估计研究

野外条件下,对意大利蝗（Calliptamus italicus）的取食特性、食量进行了研究;同时用笼罩和模拟方法测定了意大利蝗对田间产草量造成的损失。研究结果表明：意大利蝗若虫喜食冷蒿（Artemisia frigida Willd.）、针叶苔草（Carex onoei Franch. et Sav.）;而成虫则喜食冷蒿、新疆鼠尾草（Salvia deserta Schang）、黄花苜蓿（Medicago falcata Linn.）。意大利蝗3、4、5、6龄若虫以及成虫日平均食量分别为14.27、18.77、20.80、27.65、29.26 mg/头;在4、8、12、16头/m2密度下,笼罩产草量损失分别为5.66、16.45、26.78、26.41 g/m2;模拟产草量损失分别为6.23、19.40、26.65、30.85 g/m2。相关性分析结果表明,两者显著相关。上述结果对于指导意大利蝗的防治和更有效地控制意大利蝗的危害具有非常重要的意义。