Physics-Informed Deep Learning for Muscle Force Prediction With Unlabeled sEMG Signals.

Computational biomechanical analysis plays a pivotal role in understanding and improving human movements and physical functions. Although physics-based modeling methods can interpret the dynamic interaction between the neural drive to muscle dynamics and joint kinematics, they suffer from high computational latency. In recent years, data-driven methods have emerged as a promising alternative due to their fast execution speed, but label information is still required during training, which is not easy to acquire in practice. To tackle these issues, this paper presents a novel physics-informed deep learning method to predict muscle forces without any label information during model training. In addition, the proposed method could also identify personalized muscle-tendon parameters. To achieve this, the Hill muscle model-based forward dynamics is embedded into the deep neural network as the additional loss to further regulate the behavior of the deep neural network. Experimental validations on the wrist joint from six healthy subjects are performed, and a fully connected neural network (FNN) is selected to implement the proposed method. The predicted results of muscle forces show comparable or even lower root mean square error (RMSE) and higher coefficient of determination compared with baseline methods, which have to use the labeled surface electromyography (sEMG) signals, and it can also identify muscle-tendon parameters accurately, demonstrating the effectiveness of the proposed physics-informed deep learning method.

A scoping review of antimicrobial resistance in the Australian dairy cattle industry.

INTRODUCTION: Quantification of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is beneficial to inform policies and direct prudent antimicrobial use. AIM: This study aimed to assess the current published evidence of AMR from passive and active ad hoc surveillance activities within the Australian dairy cattle industry. METHODS: Following a scoping review framework 373 articles published before January 2023 were retrieved using the keyword search function from two online databases (PubMed® and Web of Science™ Core Collection). The duplicate articles were removed and the title, abstract, and full text of the remaining articles were reviewed following the study objectives and inclusion criteria (location, subject/theme, and data). Data from the remaining articles were extracted, summarised, interpreted and the study quality assessed using the Grades of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation guidelines. RESULTS: A total of 29 articles dating from the 1960 s until 2022 were identified to meet the study criteria (passive: n = 15; active: n = 14). Study characteristics such as sampling type, sampling method, and AMR assessment were all common characteristics from both passive and active surveillance articles, being milk samples, individual sampling, and phenotypic assessment respectively. Passive surveillance articles had a wider range in both the type of bacteria and the number of antimicrobials investigated, while active surveillance articles included a higher number of bacterial isolates and sampling from healthy populations. There was an overall low level of clinical AMR across all articles. Higher prevalence of non-wildtype Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp., and Staphylococcus spp., although limited in data, was suggested for commonly used Australian veterinary antimicrobials for these bacteria. The prevalence of phenotypic AMR varied due to the health and age status of the sampled animals. The articles reviewed in this study suggest the prevalence of AMR genes was higher for commonly used antimicrobials, although genes were not always related to the phenotypic AMR profile. CONCLUSIONS: Published evidence of AMR in the Australian dairy cattle industry is limited as demonstrated by only 29 articles included in this review following selection criteria screening. However, collectively these articles provide insight on industry AMR prevalence. For example, the suggestion of non-wildtype bacteria within the Australian dairy cattle indicating a risk of emerging or increasing industry AMR. Therefore, further surveillance is required to monitor the development of future AMR risk within the industry. Additionally, evidence suggesting that animals varying in health and age differ in prevalence of AMR imply a requirement for further research into animal population demographics to reduce potential bias in data collated in both national and global surveillance activities.

A participatory approach to understand the attitudes and perceptions towards priority endemic cattle diseases among dairy farmers and animal health experts in Henan province, China.

The dairy industry is threatened by a variety of endemic diseases and emerging diseases, and various control programs have been initiated in China. The increased application of evidence to policymaking can help improve the efficiency of disease control programs; however, the relevant research literature is currently lacking. The objective of this study was to gain an in-depth understanding of the attitudes and perceptions towards priority endemic diseases among dairy farmers and animal health experts by taking Henan province of China as the example and using semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions, respectively. This study involved 24 farmers and 27 animal health experts from December 2019 to January 2021. The diseases considered by farmers to be of significance to their animals are different from those considered priorities by the participating experts and the government list. From the perspective of the individual farmers, the effects of zoonotic disease risks such as bovine brucellosis and tuberculosis appear to be less pronounced than "visible" losses at the farm level, contrary to the opinion of experts. Participating experts believed that poor on-farm biosecurity measures posed challenges to the control and eradication of priority endemic diseases; however, there are gaps in farmers' understanding of biosecurity principles, and low motivations to take such disease prevention measures. Several other challenges to the control and eradication of priority endemic diseases also emerged in the data, including the lack of diagnostic tools applicable in the field as well as differential diagnostic tools to differentiate natural infection from vaccination, lack of effective and commercially available vaccines against single or multiple pathogen(s) or new genotypes/serotypes, weak early warning and information networks and insufficient economic compensation. A holistic understanding of people's perceptions of disease control would facilitate the implementation of inclusive and engaging disease control strategies, thereby increasing the efficiency of disease control.

An Accurate Millimeter-Wave Imaging Algorithm for Close-Range Monostatic System.

An efficient and more accurate millimeter-wave imaging algorithm, applied to a close-range monostatic personnel screening system, with consideration of dual path propagation loss, is presented in this paper. The algorithm is developed in accordance with a more rigorous physical model for the monostatic system. The physical model treats incident waves and scattered waves as spherical waves with a more rigorous amplitude term as per electromagnetic theory. As a result, the proposed method can achieve a better focusing effect for multiple targets in different range planes. Since the mathematical methods in classical algorithms, such as spherical wave decomposition and Weyl identity, cannot handle the corresponding mathematical model, the proposed algorithm is derived through the method of stationary phase (MSP). The algorithm has been validated by numerical simulations and laboratory experiments. Good performance in terms of computational efficiency and accuracy has been observed. The synthetic reconstruction results show that the proposed algorithm has significant advantages compared with the classical algorithms, and the reconstruction by using full-wave data generated by FEKO further verifies the validity of the proposed algorithm. Finally, the proposed algorithm performs as expected over real data acquired by our laboratory prototype.

Prevalence, distribution, and risk factors of bovine tuberculosis in dairy cattle in central China.

Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is one of the priority epidemic diseases in dairy cattle in China. Continuous surveillance and evaluation of the control programs will help on improving the efficiency of bTB control policy. We designed this study to investigate both animal and herd level prevalence of bTB, as well as to determine the associated factors in dairy farms in Henan and Hubei provinces. A cross-sectional study was conducted from May 2019 to September 2020 in central China (Henan and Hubei provinces). We sampled 40 herds in Henan and six herds in Hubei via stratified systematic sampling and administrated a questionnaire consisting of 35 factors. A total of 4900 whole blood samples were collected from 46 farms, including 545 calves < six months old and 4355 cows ≥ six months old. This study demonstrated a high animal-(18.65%, 95% CI: 17.6-19.8) and herd-level (93.48%, 95%CI: 82.1-98.6) prevalence of bTB in dairy farms in central China. The Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) and negative binomial regression models showed that herd positivity was associated with the practice of introducing new animals (RR = 1.7, 95%CI: 1.0-3.0, p = 0.042), and changing the disinfectant water in the wheel bath at the farm entrance every three days or less (RR = 0.4, 95%CI: 0.2-0.8, p = 0.005) which reduced the odds of herd positivity. In addition, the result illustrated that testing cows with a higher age group (≥ 60 months old) (OR=1.57, 95%CI: 1.14-2.17, p = 0.006) and within the early stage of lactation (DIM=60-120 days, OR=1.85, 95%CI: 1.19-2.88, p = 0.006) and the later stage of lactation (DIM≥301 days, OR=2.14, 95%CI: 1.30-3.52, p = 0.003) could maximize the odds of detecting seropositive animals. Our results have plenty of benefit to improve bTB surveillance strategies in China and elsewhere in the world. The LASSO and the negative binomial regression models were recommended when dealing with high herd-level prevalence and high dimensional data in questionnaire-based risk studies.

Prevalence and antimicrobial resistance of Salmonella and the enumeration of ESBL E. coli in dairy farms in Hubei Province, China.

Dairy cattle and their products have been linked to human outbreaks of Salmonella and Escherichia coli (E. coli). The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence and antimicrobial resistance of Salmonella and to enumerate Extended-spectrum ß-lactamase (ESBL)-producing E. coli in apparently healthy lactating dairy cows in Hubei Province, China. In a cross-sectional study, a total of 291 adult lactating dairy cows from 10 dairy farms were sampled for the detection of Salmonella and ESBL E. coli. Overall, Salmonella was cultured from 15 out of 291 sampled animals (5.2 %; 95 % confidence intervals (CI): 2.9, 8.4), all from two herds with a herd prevalence of 20.0 % (95 % CI: 2.5, 55.6) and the main serotype being S. Dublin. The within-herd prevalence ranged between 0.0 % and 33.3 %. ESBL E. coli was detected by culture in all farms with an animal level prevalence of 59.1 % (95 % CI: 53.2, 64.8) and 116 samples (39.9 %, 95 % CI: 34.2, 45.7) contained ESBL E. coli with a number exceeding 104 CFU/g feces. Sixty percent (9/15) of Salmonella isolates were resistant to ampicillin, however all isolates were sensitive to the other 8 antimicrobials tested. Ninety percent (95 % CI: 84.6, 94.1) of ESBL E. coli contained the resistance gene blaCTX-M, but no ESBL Salmonella was found. Our findings contribute to the understanding of the prevalence and antimicrobial resistance of Salmonella and the enumeration of ESBL E. coli and will assist in the decision-making for the control of Salmonella in Hubei Province.

Prevalence and antimicrobial resistance of Salmonella and ESBL E. coli isolated from dairy cattle in Henan Province, China.

Salmonella and ESBL-producing E. coli pose a threat to public health through the food chain. A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the prevalence and antimicrobial resistance of Salmonella and ESBL E. coli in apparently healthy lactating dairy cattle in Henan Province. Thirty-five lactating cows per farm were sampled by fecal swabbing from 38 farms, with samples being pooled to a total of 7 pooled samples per herd. Eight of the 266 pooled fecal samples (3.0%) were positive for Salmonella (95% confidence intervals (CI): 1.3, 5.8) with a herd-level Salmonella prevalence of 13.2% (95% CI: 4.4, 28.1). The within-herd prevalence for pooled samples for Salmonella ranged from 0.0% to 28.6%. A high proportion of resistance to tetracycline (6/8) and florfenicol (6/8) was obtained in the cultured Salmonella. Multi-drug resistant isolates were observed on 4/5 Salmonella-positive farms. ESBL E. coli were identified on all farms (100% - 34/34, 95% CI: 89.7, 100). All ESBL E. coli isolates (n = 216) contained the blaCTX-M gene and two isolates also contained the blaTEM gene. Our study reports the prevalence and antimicrobial resistance of Salmonella and ESBL E. coli in apparently healthy lactating dairy cows from Henan Province.

Evaluation of an ELISA for the diagnosis of bovine tuberculosis using milk samples from dairy cows in China.

Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is an important zoonotic disease in developing countries including China. Lack of rapid and simple detection methods for surveillance affects efficient control and eradication of this disease. The objective of this study was to determine the feasibility of using an individual and bulk milk sample ELISA based on the fusion protein of four specific antigens (CFP10/ESAT-6/MPB70/MPB83) of Mycobacterium bovis for the rapid detection and surveillance of bTB in dairy cattle herds and to identify individual animal factors that affect its results. The study population consisted of 388 dairy cows from four herds in Henan province, China. The serum sample ELISA (cut-off value 30%) and milk sample ELISA (cut-off value 10%) were shown to have good agreement, while, there was fair agreement between a blood sample IFN-γ in vitro release assay and the milk sample ELISA (cut-off value 10%) (Cohen's kappa statistic of 0.492 and 0.306, respectively). The sensitivity and specificity for the milk sample ELISA using a S/P% cut-off value of 10%, as estimated using a Bayesian latent class analysis model, was 48.4% (95%CI: 31.0 - 85.2) and 97.1% (95%CI: 92.2 - 99.7), respectively. Although both ELISAs had comparable sensitivities and specificities, the milk sample ELISA had a greater discriminatory ability, as measured by the area under the curve (ROC), than the serum sample ELISA with the difference of their AUCs being - 0.069 (95%PCI: -0.121 to -0.021). Further, it was estimated that the lower limit of detection at an animal level lacto-prevalence might be 1.1% with this milk ELISA using bulk milk samples. Additionally, a mixed linear regression model, incorporating herd as a random effect variable, was constructed to investigate the association between natural log-transformed bTB sample-to-positive ratio (LnS/P%) and milk data. Across the model, natural log-transformed Somatic Cell Count (SCC) and parity had a positive effect on the LnS/P% of bTB antibody response, and milk urea nitrogen had a curvilinear association with LnS/P%. In conclusion, a milk ELISA for bTB antibodies, especially bulk tank milk antibodies, could be used as an efficient tool for rapid screening in surveillance, which might be followed by confirmatory testing with IFN-γ assay in dairy cattle, during the implementation of bTB control programmes. Relevant milk factors should be considered to adjust the S/P% with the aim of classifying the infection status of animals and herds as accurately as possible.

Meeting sustainable development goals via robotics and autonomous systems.

Robotics and autonomous systems are reshaping the world, changing healthcare, food production and biodiversity management. While they will play a fundamental role in delivering the UN Sustainable Development Goals, associated opportunities and threats are yet to be considered systematically. We report on a horizon scan evaluating robotics and autonomous systems impact on all Sustainable Development Goals, involving 102 experts from around the world. Robotics and autonomous systems are likely to transform how the Sustainable Development Goals are achieved, through replacing and supporting human activities, fostering innovation, enhancing remote access and improving monitoring. Emerging threats relate to reinforcing inequalities, exacerbating environmental change, diverting resources from tried-and-tested solutions and reducing freedom and privacy through inadequate governance. Although predicting future impacts of robotics and autonomous systems on the Sustainable Development Goals is difficult, thoroughly examining technological developments early is essential to prevent unintended detrimental consequences. Additionally, robotics and autonomous systems should be considered explicitly when developing future iterations of the Sustainable Development Goals to avoid reversing progress or exacerbating inequalities.

Antimicrobial use on Australian dairy cattle farms - A survey of veterinarians.

AIMS: The aims of this study were to determine antimicrobial prescription patterns and the factors affecting antimicrobial selection amongst Australian dairy veterinarians. METHODS: A structured questionnaire was administered to Australian dairy cattle veterinarians using the Qualtrics online survey platform. Questions focused on their (1) demographics; (2) opinions surrounding antimicrobial use, resistance, and stewardship; (3) decision-making drivers of both prescription and selection of commonly prescribed antimicrobials; (4) awareness on the guidelines for antimicrobial usage and sources of information concerning antimicrobials. KEY RESULTS: A total of 135 responses (14.1% response rate) from all eight dairying regions in Australia were received. The attitudes, perceptions, and concerns of dairy veterinarians towards antimicrobials indicated a high agreement regarding label indications (96%), consequences of off-label prescription (95%), and the presence of an antimicrobial resistance (AMR) risk (73%), when prescribing antibiotics. A four-dimensional categorical principal components analysis (CATPCA) model indicated most of the variation in opinion was due to AMR risk, trade-offs, prescription concerns and active substance concerns. The first active substance most dairy veterinarians chose for a scenario involving mastitis and dry cow therapy (DCT) treatment was cloxacillin. Decision-making drivers for antimicrobial choice when providing advice regarding the supply of antimicrobials for mastitis and DCT treatment were predominately clinical factors; however, diagnostics were rarely used in determining antimicrobial choice due to cost of implementation, diagnostic accuracy (sensitivity, specificity), and benefit issues. Non-clinical decision-making drivers included the perception of practicality for Australian Veterinary Association (AVA) prescription guidelines, opinions surrounding AMR risk and prescription concerns, consideration of Expert Advisory Group on Antimicrobial Resistance (EAGAR) scores, number of years worked with dairy farms, and the number of dairy farms they regularly consult for. When available at the practice, prescription policies were considered to impact on animal welfare outcomes and on the probability of AMR emergence. The major information sources influencing decision making on antimicrobial prescription for the Australian dairy veterinarians were clinical experience (93%) and product labels (81%). CONCLUSIONS: Australian dairy veterinarians are generally aware of the risk of resistance to antimicrobials and the need for stewardship, with clinical factors having the most impact on antimicrobial prescription. However, non-clinical factors incorporating awareness of guidelines and their attitudes on antimicrobial resistance risk and prescription concerns impact on the choice and prescription of antimicrobials. IMPLICATIONS: The development of prescription policy and guidelines, alongside effective communicative extension programs to increase veterinarian uptake, provides an avenue to mitigate AMR risk in Australian dairy cattle.

Benefit-cost analysis of a H7N9 vaccination program in poultry in Guangxi, China.

China launched a H7N9 vaccination program in poultry, starting from the Guangxi and Guangdong provinces in July 2017, followed by other provinces in September 2017, as a response to a steep increase of H7N9 influenza human infections from September 2016. Since then, H5-H7 bivalent vaccine has been used in the nationwide avian influenza compulsory vaccination program to replace the existing H5N1 vaccine. However, the economic returns of the H7N9 vaccination program in China have never been adequately assessed. This study was designed to evaluate the economic value of the H7N9 vaccination program in Guangxi by assessing the benefits and costs of the program compared to not vaccinating against H7N9. A benefit-cost analysis (BCA) was undertaken to evaluate the adoption of a vaccination program against H7N9 in each of three consecutive years from July 2017 to June 2020 with the baseline scenario (the absence of H7N9 vaccination in the 12-month period July 2016 to June 2017). Both animal and public health perspectives were included in the BCA framework and took account of both the private and public sectors. Benefit-Cost Ratio (BCR) of the three-year H7N9 vaccination program was 18.6 (90 %PI: 15.4; 21.8), and total Net Present Values reached to CNY 1.63 billion (90 %PI: 1.37 billion; 1.89 billion). The extra revenue generated by the yellow broiler industry comprised 93.8 % of the total benefits after adoption of H7N9 vaccination program in Guangxi. While cost-savings in public health and animal health expenditure avoided were 3.6 % and 2.6 %, respectively. Total costs arising from adoption of the revised vaccination program over the three years were CNY 12.46 million (90 %PI: 11.49 million; 14.14 million), CNY 34.87 million (90 %PI: 31.88 million; 40.06 million), and CNY 44.28 million (90 %PI: 39.66 million; 52.27 million), respectively. Sensitivity analysis found the yellow broiler wholesale prices contributed 97.7 % of the variance of the total NPV of three vaccination years. The study results demonstrate the significant economic advantage of implementing a vaccination program against H7N9 in Guangxi. It also offers a new set of evidence to China's H7N9 vaccination policy and debates around economic values of conducting routine avian influenza vaccination.

Analysis of the movement of live broilers in Guangxi, China and implications for avian influenza control.

Most Chinese provinces have a daily-updated database of live animal movements; however, the data are not efficiently utilized to support interventions to control H7N9 and other avian influenzas. Based on official records, this study assessed the spatio-temporal patterns of live broilers moved out of and within Guangxi in 2017. The yearly and monthly networks were analyzed for inter- and intra-provincial movements, respectively. Approximately 200,000 movements occurred in 2017, involving the transport of 200 million live broilers from Guangxi. Although Guangxi exported to 24 out of 32 provinces of China, 95% of inter-provincial movements occurred with three bordering provinces. Within Guangxi, counties were highly connected through the live broiler movements, creating conditions for rapid virus spreading throughout the province. Interestingly, a peak in movements during the Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations, late January in 2017, was not observed in this study, likely due to H7N9-related control measures constraining live bird trading. Both intra- and inter-provincial movements in March 2017 were significantly higher than in other months of that year, suggesting that dramatic price changes may influence the movement's network and reshape the risk pathways. However, despite these variations, the same small proportion of counties (less than 20%) exporting/importing more than 90% of inter- and intra-provincial movements remains the same throughout the year. Interventions, particularly surveillance and improving biosecurity, targeted to those counties are thus likely to be more effective for avian influenza risk mitigation than implemented indiscriminately. Additionally, simulations further demonstrated that targeting counties according to their degree or betweenness in the movement network would be the most efficient way to limit disease transmission via broiler movements. The study findings provide evidence to support the design of risk-based control interventions for H7N9 and all other avian influenza viruses in broiler value chains in Guangxi.

A mixed methods study of stakeholders' practices and attitudes on avian influenza H7N9 vaccination for the yellow broiler industry in Guangxi, China.

In response to a sudden increase in H7N9 human infections, China introduced an H5/H7 bivalent inactivated vaccine for poultry in Guangxi and Guangdong provinces in July 2017, which subsequently became integrated into the existing compulsory national H5N1 vaccination programme from September 2017. Although the vaccination programme effectively reduced H7N9 infections in humans and poultry, there are ongoing arguments against continuing this long-term vaccination. These discussions have drawn policymakers to think about the possibility of stopping routine vaccination for H7N9 avian influenza viruses (AIVs) in China; however, they have not considered the poultry industry stakeholders' practices on and attitudes towards this vaccination. This study investigated H7N9 vaccination practices in the yellow broiler industry in Guangxi and stakeholders' attitudes on H7N9 vaccination, using a mixed methods design. The study found H7N9 vaccination was well adopted in the yellow broiler industry in Guangxi regardless of the source of the vaccines. Most stakeholders believed vaccination was the best measure to control H7N9 and H5N1 AIVs, and they showed a strong willingness to continue with vaccination even without government subsidies or freely provided vaccines. The motivations by stakeholders for using vaccines to control H7N9 and H5N1 were different due to the epidemiological differences between the two strains. Understanding poultry industry stakeholders' practices and attitudes on H7N9 vaccination has important practical implications in planning vaccination policies, particularly when considering the possibility of vaccination withdrawal.

Prevalence and risk factors for Salmonella spp. contamination of slaughtered chickens in Taiwan.

The present study was designed to estimate the prevalence of Salmonella contamination in Taiwanese broilers at slaughter and to identify risk factors associated with the presence of Salmonella in processed batches of broilers. Carcass rinse samples from 362 batches of broilers were collected from 45 chicken abattoirs in Taiwan between February 2013 and November 2014. Univariate analyses and multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify putative risk factors for contamination. Salmonella was detected in 32.6 % (95 % CI: 30.4-34.8) of individual broilers and 56.4 % (95 % CI: 51.1-61.5) of the sampled batches. The multivariable logistic regression model identified season (July to November) (OR = 1.95; 95 % CI: 1.2-3.2) as increasing the risk of infection. Abattoirs in the southern region (Taichung and Kaohsiung) (OR = 0.45; 95 % CI: 0.3-0.8); batches scalded for > 90 s (OR = 0.2; 95 % CI: 0.1-0.3) and batches of commercial white broilers (BR) (OR = 0.21; 95 % CI: 0.1-0.4) all had a decreased risk of contamination compared to abattoirs from the northern region, scalding < 90 s and Taiwan native chickens (TNC), respectively. This study highlights the influence of environmental conditions and poultry breed on the risk of Salmonella contamination of chickens during slaughter.

An abattoir-based study on the prevalence of bovine tuberculosis from culled adult dairy cows in Wuhan, China.

Abattoir surveillance is an integral component of a bovine tuberculosis (bTB) eradication programme. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of bTB among culled adult dairy cows in Wuhan, China and to further assess two diagnostic procedures as an adjunct to the confirmation of M. bovis in animals with TB-like lesions. The study was conducted in an abattoir located in Wuhan, China over a period of 41 days from June to July 2019. A total of 171 culled adult dairy cows were sampled and inspected, and blood samples collected from 134 of these. The viscera and lymph nodes of the carcasses were visually inspected and palpated for TB-like lesions. A total of 28.1 % (48/171) of the carcasses had gross TB-like lesions. 89.6 % (43/48) of the animals with TB-like lesions were positive to a PCR procedure for bTB. The sensitivity and specificity for post-mortem examination for TB-like lesions using a Bayesian latent class analysis model was estimated to be 60.8 % and 86.6 %, respectively. A seroprevalence of 20.9 % (28/134) was recorded for antibody response to M. bovis antigens MPB70 and MPB83 based on an ELISA procedure. There was a low-moderate agreement between the ELISA and PCR results in the detection of bTB (Kappa = 0.46, 95 % CI: 0.24-0.67). The study confirms a high prevalence of bTB among culled adult dairy cows in the abattoir and highlights the need to implement surveillance for bTB based on post-mortem examination and ELISA and PCR methods in association with backward tracing of infected dairy herds.

Use of Rv0222-Rv2657c-Rv1509 Fusion Protein to Improve the Accuracy of an Antibody ELISA for Extra-Pulmonary Tuberculosis in Humans.

(1) Background: Tuberculosis (TB) in humans is a serious chronic epidemic disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tb). The diagnosis of TB, especially extra-pulmonary TB (EPTB), is difficult. Isolation of M. tb from culture has a low sensitivity in patients with TB and an even lower sensitivity in cases of EPTB. Although Xpert MTB/RIF assays and serological tests are more sensitive than the above tests, they still lack sensitivity for EPTB diagnosis. (2) Methods: To improve the accuracy of TB diagnosis, a Rv0222-Rv2657c-Rv1509 fusion protein based iELISA was constructed, the diagnosis of TB, pulmonary TB (PTB) and EPTB was then evaluated. Sera of 40 TB patients including 14 with PTB, 14 with EPTB and 12 with no information about the form of TB, and five pneumonia patients were investigated. (3) Results: The sensitivity of the ELISA in TB, PTB and EPTB patients was 80% (95% CI: 64.4, 90.9%), 85.7% (95% CI: 57.2, 98.2%) and 92.8% (95% CI: 66.1, 99.8%), respectively, with a specificity of 70% (95% CI: 53.5, 83.4%). Both the sensitivity and specificity with this fusion protein were higher than for CFP10/ESAT6 (used as reference antigen) fusion protein (71.4%; 95% CI: 41.9, 91.6%, and 67.5%; 95% CI: 50.9, 81.4%), respectively, in cases of EPTB. All pneumonia patients' sera tested negative in both ELISAs. (4) Conclusion: use of these new fusion proteins as antigens in serological assays has the potential to improve the diagnosis of all forms of TB in humans, especially EPTB.

Key issues affecting the current status of infectious diseases in Chinese cattle farms and their control through vaccination.

Infectious diseases can have a major impact on the profitability of the cattle industry. To determine the occurrence of bovine infectious diseases in China and the adoption of vaccination to control them, a national-wide questionnaire and focus group meeting were performed. The questionnaire was administered to 189 farmers including 93 dairy farmers, 80 beef cattle farmers and 16 yak farmers. Since it is compulsory to vaccinate cattle against foot and mouth disease, the coverage of vaccination to this disease was the highest (100% of dairy and yak farms and 92.5% of beef farms). However, the implementation of vaccination against other diseases was vastly different between cattle types with less than 50% of farms adopting vaccination (except brucellosis vaccine in yak farms). In a focus group meeting of 36 cattle experts on the key issues affecting the frequency of infectious diseases in cattle and the vaccination practices adopted on Chinese cattle farms, the lack of effective vaccines against single or multiple pathogens, a lack of tools for the early and correct diagnosis of disease, difficulties in licensing novel vaccines and diagnostic agents, low efficiency in disseminating knowledge on diseases and control products to producers were identified as key issues. In conclusion, except for FMD, the control of most infectious diseases of cattle in China requires improving. Development of improved control measures and diagnostic tests along with the development and implementation of educational material for producers on cattle diseases should be given priority.

Rapid synchronized fabrication of vascularized thermosets and composites.

Bioinspired vascular networks transport heat and mass in hydrogels, microfluidic devices, self-healing and self-cooling structures, filters, and flow batteries. Lengthy, multistep fabrication processes involving solvents, external heat, and vacuum hinder large-scale application of vascular networks in structural materials. Here, we report the rapid (seconds to minutes), scalable, and synchronized fabrication of vascular thermosets and fiber-reinforced composites under ambient conditions. The exothermic frontal polymerization (FP) of a liquid or gelled resin facilitates coordinated depolymerization of an embedded sacrificial template to create host structures with high-fidelity interconnected microchannels. The chemical energy released during matrix polymerization eliminates the need for a sustained external heat source and greatly reduces external energy consumption for processing. Programming the rate of depolymerization of the sacrificial thermoplastic to match the kinetics of FP has the potential to significantly expedite the fabrication of vascular structures with extended lifetimes, microreactors, and imaging phantoms for understanding capillary flow in biological systems.

Seroconversion to Brucella spp. and Toxoplasma gondii in Sheep and Goats in Dohuk Province, Iraq and Its Association with Pregnancy Loss.

In this study, sera from 240 small ruminants (192 sheep and 48 goats) belonging to 12 farms in Dohuk Province, northern Iraq, were collected on two occasions to investigate the incidence risk of seroconversion to Brucella spp. and Toxoplasma gondii. All selected animals were confirmed pregnant (approximately 2 months pregnant) by ultrasound examination at the time of the first blood collection. A second ultrasound examination and blood sampling were undertaken two months after the initial scanning/sampling. Antibodies to Brucella were tested using the Rose Bengal Test (RBT) and an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (iELISA), and the results were interpreted in series. The Latex Agglutination Test (LAT) and an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (iELISA) were also used in series to confirm the presence of antibodies to T. gondii. The seroprevalence for Brucella and Toxoplasma increased significantly between the two sampling times (p = 0.0003 and 0.03 in first and second sampling, respectively). The incidence risk of seroconversion to Brucella over the two months was 10.6% (95% CI: 6.9-15.3) and 7.3% (95% CI: 4.3-11.6) for Toxoplasma. Animals that seroconverted to Brucella were 2.9 times more likely to lose their pregnancy (95% CI: 1.6-5.5) than animals that remained seronegative; however, seroconversion to Toxoplasma had no significant impact on loss of pregnancy. This study is the first reported investigation on the association of seroconversion to Brucella and Toxoplasma with the reproductive outcome of pregnant sheep and goats in northern Iraq. Brucellosis and toxoplasmosis continue to negatively impact small ruminants' reproductive performance and compromising food security in Iraq. It is hoped that this study will assist the development of a better-informed economic model to estimate Brucella and Toxoplasma burden in small animals in northern Iraq, and such a model could be used to validate the impact of various potential intervention programs in.

Infection and risk factors of human and avian influenza in pigs in south China.

The coinfection of swine influenza (SI) strains and avian/human-source influenza strains in piggeries can contribute to the evolution of new influenza viruses with pandemic potential. This study analyzed surveillance data on SI in south China and explored the spatial predictor variables associated with different influenza infection scenarios in counties within the study area. Blood samples were collected from 7670 pigs from 534 pig farms from 2015 to 2017 and tested for evidence of infection with influenza strains from swine, human and avian sources. The herd prevalences for EA H1N1, H1N1pdm09, classic H1N1, HS-like H3N2, seasonal human H1N1 and avian influenza H9N2 were 88.5, 64.5, 60.3, 57.8, 12.9 and 10.3 %, respectively. Anthropogenic factors including detection frequency, chicken density, duck density, pig density and human population density were found to be better predictor variables for three influenza infection scenarios (infection with human strains, infection with avian strains, and coinfection with H9N2 avian strain and at least one swine strain) than were meteorological and geographical factors. Predictive risk maps generated for the four provinces in south China highlighted that the areas with a higher risk of the three infection scenarios were predominantly clustered in the delta area of the Pearl River in Guangdong province and counties surrounding Poyang Lake in Jiangxi province. Identification of higher risk areas can inform targeted surveillance for influenza in humans and pigs, helping public health authorities in designing risk-based SI control strategies to address the pandemic influenza threat in south China.