Detection and genetic diversity of porcine rotavirus A, B and C in eastern Australian piggeries.

Rotaviruses (RV) have a high prevalence in piggeries worldwide and are one of the major pathogens causing severe diarrhoea in young pigs. RV species A, B, and C have been linked to piglet diarrhoea in Australian pig herds, but their genetic diversity has not been studied in detail. Based on sequencing of the structural viral protein 7 (VP7) RVA G genotypes G3, G4 and G5, and RVC types G1, G3, G5, and G6 have been identified in Australian piggeries in previous studies. Although occurrence of RVB was reported in Australia in 1988, no further genetic analysis has been conducted. To improve health management decisions in Australian pig herds, more information on RV prevalence and genetic diversity is needed. Here, 243 enteric samples collected from 20 pig farms within Eastern Australia were analysed for the presence of RV in different age groups using a novel PCR-based multiplex assay (Pork MultiPath™ enteric panel). RVA, RVB, and RVC were detected in 10, 14, and 14 farms, respectively. Further sequencing of VP7 in selected RV-positive samples revealed G genotypes G2, G5, G9 (RVA), G6, G8, G14, G16, G20 (RVB), and G1, G3, G5, G6 (RVC) present. RVA was only detected in young (<10 weeks old) pigs whereas RVB and RVC were also detected in older animals (>11 weeks old). Interestingly, RVB and RVC G-type occurrence differed between age groups. In conclusion, this study provides new insights on the prevalence and diversity of different RV species in pig herds of Eastern Australia whilst demonstrating the ability of the Pork MultiPath™ technology to accurately differentiate between these RV species.

Mobile Navigation Using Haptic, Audio, and Visual Direction Cues with a Handheld Test Platform.

This paper reports on a series of user experiments evaluating the design of a multimodal test platform capable of rendering visual, audio, vibrotactile, and directional skin-stretch stimuli. The test platform is a handheld, wirelessly controlled device that will facilitate experiments with mobile users in realistic environments. Stimuli rendered by the device are fully characterized, and have little variance in stimulus onset timing. A series of user experiments utilizing navigational cues validates the function of the device and investigates the user response to all stimulus modes. Results show users are capable of interpreting all stimuli with high accuracy and can use the direction cues for mobile navigation. Tests included both stationary (seated) and mobile (walking a simple obstacle course) tasks. Accuracy and response time patterns are similar in both seated and mobile conditions. This device provides a means of designing and evaluating multimodal communication methods for handheld devices and will facilitate experiments investigating the effects of stimulus mode on device usability and situation awareness.

Exploration of Tactile Contact in a Haptic Display: Effects of Contact Velocity and Transient Vibrations.

Experiments were conducted using a novel tactile contact rendering device to explore important factors of the tactile contact event. The effects of contact velocity and event-based transient vibrations were explored. Our research was motivated by a need to better understand the perception of the tactile contact event and to develop a means of rendering stiff surfaces with a nonspecialized haptic device. A passive tactile display, suitable for mounting on a Phantom robot, was developed and is capable of rendering the tactile sensation of contact on a fingertip over a range of velocities commonly experienced during everyday manipulation and tactile exploration. Experiments were conducted with this device to explore how tactile contact dynamics affect the perceived stiffness of a virtual surface. It was found that contact velocity does not have a significant effect on perceived stiffness. These results can be explained by prior research that defines perceived hardness (akin to stiffness) in terms of rate-hardness. However, in agreement with prior literature with stylus-based studies, the addition of transient vibrations to the contact event can, in some cases, increase the perceived stiffness.

Improved Tactile Shear Feedback: Tactor Design and an Aperture-Based Restraint.

Tactile feedback could replace or augment visual and auditory communication in a range of important applications. This paper advances the field of tactile communication by presenting performance data on a variety of tactors and a finger restraint that is suitable for use in portable devices. Tactors, the contact elements between the device and the skin, and finger restraints were evaluated using a tangential skin displacement direction identification task. We tested tactors of three sizes and two different textures. Rough textured tactors improved communication accuracy compared to smooth tactors, but tactor size did not have a statistically significant effect. Aperture-based restraints of three sizes were evaluated on both the index finger and the thumb. The aperture-based restraint was effective when used on both the index finger and the thumb, with performances on par with our previously tested thimble-based restraint. Participants performed better with larger apertures than with smaller apertures, but there was no interaction between aperture size and finger size, meaning that the same aperture could be used with a range of finger sizes. Subjects' perceptual acuity varied with stimulus direction. We discuss the effects of contact force, finger size, and differences in perceptual acuity between the index finger and thumb.

Counterpoints of care: two moments of struggle.

This paper examines the history of care in modern society and seeks to expose how deep transformations in care arise from wider social relations. From historical survey we may discern a series of transitional points, where the practice and the experience of care was greatly, sometimes suddenly, redefined. Each betrayed deeper political and ethical struggles that went to the core of social relations, and which weren't merely therapeutic in nature. This paper explores two such 'moments'. I first examine the emergence of a new institutional landscape during the middle industrial era, in the wake of a series of legal and political reforms that sought to settle a social order uprooted and distressed by raw modernisation. I provide a composite, yet incomplete view, of how this transformation proceeded in one urban setting, colonial Melbourne. In the second instance, I review the ambitions and process of deinstitutionalisation in the late 20(th) century. Ostensibly, this reform sought, inter alia, to collapse the great division between 'fit' and 'unfit' established in 1834. Again, empirical reference is made to the reconstitution of care in Melbourne, Australia, this time during its late 20th experience of institutional reform. The focus in this case is the process of downscaling and closure for a major congregate facility, Kew Cottages. The major conclusion is that periods of intense transition in the ideology and mode of care are reflective of wider social transformations not merely of therapeutic or institutional shifts.

Serologic cross-reactivity of Australian Moraxella bovis to vaccinal bacterin strains as determined by competitive ELISA.

OBJECTIVE: To conduct a serologic survey and define pili antigenic variability via the serologic cross-reactivity of Moraxella bovis isolates from naturally occurring infectious bovine keratoconjunctivitis (IBK) outbreaks in Australia. This project applies to the development of an M bovis pili-based vaccine targeting Australian strains originating from intensive cattle producing regions. PROCEDURE: Ocular swabs were collected from cattle affected with clinical signs of IBK from 25 veterinary practices. Standard criteria were used to identify 70 M bovis. Pure, piliated isolates were evaluated with a modified competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for cell-bound M bovis pili to determine their serologic cross-reactivity with pili of vaccinal bacterin strains EPP63, FLA64, and SAH 38. RESULTS: Sixty-four percent (45/70) of M bovis isolates demonstrated homologous pili antigens to a vaccinal strain. M bovis isolates homologous to one of the three vaccinal strains were obtained in 77% (34/44) of IBK outbreaks sampled. No IBK outbreak had isolates homologous to more than one vaccinal strain; however, 29% (10/34) of outbreaks with a cross-reacting strain had non-cross-reacting strains as well. CONCLUSION: The similar prevalence of pilus antigen homology to strain FLA64 was observed with isolates derived from NSW, Tasmania, and Victoria, compared with results of prior smaller serologic studies, suggests that the common pilus antigens in M bovis within Australia have been relatively stable over the last 20 years. The prevalence of a limited number of pilus antigens in M bovis suggest that the application of a vaccine containing the bacterial strains EPP63, FLA64, and SAH38 may provide a useful management tool for reducing production losses associated with IBK in Australia.

The geography of mental health in Dunedin, New Zealand.

The process of deinstitutionalization of people with chronic mental disabilities in Western countries has often produced a spatial concentration of ex-psychiatric patients, and of mental health services, in inner city urban neighbourhoods. In this paper, the geography of mental health services and patients in Dunedin is examined, and it is shown that a concentration does exist in one neighbourhood. The history and characteristics of this neighbourhood are described. The key factors in contemporary New Zealand that have generated this spatial pattern are then considered, and Dunedin's centralized mental health geography is contrasted with the North American "zone of dependence" phenomenon. The paper concludes by considering to what extent Dunedin's emergent geography of mental health provides a supportive environment for people with mental illnesses, and exploring the policy implications for health care planners and service providers.