Integrating animal welfare into disaster management using an 'all-hazards' approach.

Statistics show that disasters have expanded in scope and scale, with impacts on both humans and animals. As animals are valued not only for their economic value, but also for their companionship, people sometimes risk their lives to protect them, and emergency responders are expected to safeguard their welfare during emergencies. This paper discusses experiences from different regions of the world in animal disaster risk reduction and management in terms of legislation, funding streams, planning, capacity development, and communications. It is widely recognised that human, animal and environmental well-being are interconnected; therefore, as this is the case, and as veterinarians are at the forefront in ensuring animal welfare, they should be involved throughout the disaster management cycle. While animals and their welfare should always be considered in national disaster management plans, sub-regional authorities must be empowered to integrate animal welfare principles when responding to emergencies and implementing risk reduction programmes. Capacity development is key for Veterinary Services personnel who work in the fields of disaster management and risk reduction. Training tools and curricula developed by different organisations are available to foster skills such as incident coordination, risk communication, or response planning using tools such as the Livestock Emergency Guidelines and Standards (LEGS). Intergovernmental organisations also play a significant role in setting the standards and frameworks within which professionals operate.

Les données statistiques montrent un accroissement de l'amplitude et de la portée des catastrophes ainsi que l'impact qu'elles peuvent avoir sur les populations humaines et animales. La valeur des animaux n'étant pas seulement économique mais également affective, en cas de catastrophe c'est parfois au péril de leur vie que des personnes tentent de sauver animaux et il est attendu des services de secours d'urgence qu'ils prennent en compte le bien-être animal lors de leurs interventions. Les auteurs examinent l'expérience acquise dans diverses régions du monde en matière de réduction et de gestion des risques de catastrophes affectant les animaux, notamment en termes de législation, de mécanismes de financement, de planification, de renforcement des capacités et de communication. Il est désormais établi que le bien-être humain et animal et la qualité environnementale sont étroitement interconnectés ; par conséquent, il est important que les vétérinaires, qui assurent en première ligne la protection du bien-être animal, soient également associés à toutes les phases du cycle de la gestion des catastrophes. S'il est indispensable que les plans nationaux de gestion des catastrophes prennent en compte les animaux et leur bien-être, les autorités locales devraient également être habilitées à intégrer les principes du bien-être animal lors des interventions d'urgence et de la mise en œuvre des programmes de réduction des risques. Il est crucial de renforcer les capacités des personnels des Services vétérinaires qui travaillent dans les domaines de la gestion des catastrophes et de la réduction des risques. Un certain nombre d'outils et de programmes de formation conçus par différentes organisations sur la base des Normes et directives pour l'aide d'urgence à l'élevage (LEGS) permettent de mettre en place des compétences spécialisées dans la coordination en cas d'incidents, la communication sur les risques et la planification des interventions d'urgence. Les organisations intergouvernementales jouent également un rôle important en établissant les normes et les cadres d'intervention applicables aux professionnels.

Los datos estadísticos demuestran que tanto el alcance como la escala de los desastres van en aumento y repercuten en poblaciones tanto humanas como animales. A veces las personas arriesgan la vida para proteger a sus animales, pues el apego a ellos responde no solo a su valor económico, sino también a consideraciones afectivas. Por este motivo, del personal que interviene en situaciones de emergencia se espera que salvaguarde también el bienestar de los animales. Los autores describen experiencias de distintas regiones del mundo en materia de reducción y gestión del riesgo de desastre ganadero, deteniéndose en aspectos como la legislación, los flujos de financiación, la planificación, la adquisición de medios de acción y las comunicaciones. Poca duda cabe de que el bienestar humano, el animal y el ambiental están conectados entre sí. Si tal es el caso, y dado que los veterinarios son los primeros responsables de velar por el bienestar animal, es obvio que habría que integrarlos en todas las fases del ciclo de gestión de desastres. A la vez que en los planes nacionales de gestión de desastres siempre se debe tener presente la cuestión de los animales y su bienestar, también es preciso que las autoridades de ámbito infrarregional estén capacitadas para integrar los principios del bienestar animal en la respuesta a situaciones de emergencia y en los programas de reducción del riesgo que implanten. La adquisición de capacidad es un elemento clave para el personal de los Servicios Veterinarios que trabaja en la gestión de desastres y la reducción del correspondiente riesgo. Existen herramientas de formación y planes de estudios elaborados por diversas organizaciones que sirven para potenciar competencias como las de coordinación en caso de incidente, comunicación del riesgo o planificación de la respuesta con empleo de las directrices y normas para emergencias ganaderas (Livestock Emergency Guidelines and Standards, LEGS). Las organizaciones intergubernamentales cumplen también una importante función a la hora de establecer las normas y marcos de referencia que encuadran la labor de los profesionales.

A computer-aided design tool for biomedical OBT sensor tuning in cell-culture assays.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The biomedical engineering must frequently develop sensor designs by including information from performance of bio-samples (cell cultures or tissues), technical specifications of transducers, and constrains from electronic circuits. A computer program for real-time cell culture monitoring system design is developed; analyzing, modelling and integrating into the program design flow the electrodes, cell culture and test circuit's influences. METHODS: The computer tool, first, generates an equivalent electric circuit model for the cell-electrode bio-systems based on the area covered by cells, which also considers the cell culture dynamics. Second, proposes an Oscillation Based Test (OBT) parameterized circuit, for Electrical Cell-Substrate Sensing (ECIS) measurements of the cell culture system bioimpedance. Third, simulates electrically the full system to define the best system parameter values for the sensor. RESULTS: Reported experimental results are based on commercial gold electrodes and the AA8 cell line. Characteristics of the cell lines, as time-division or cell size, are incorporated into the program design flow, showing that for a given assay, the optimal OBT circuit parameters can be selected with the help of the computer tool. The electrical simulations of the full system demonstrate that the can be correctly predicted the output frequency and amplitude ranges of the voltage response, obtaining accurate results when cell culture approaches to confluence phase. CONCLUSION: It is proposed a computer program for system design of biosensors applied to monitoring cell culture dynamics. The program allows obtaining confident system information by electrical stimulation. All system components (electrodes, cell culture and test circuits) are properly modelled. The employed procedure can be applied to any other 2D electrode layout or alternative circuit technique for ECIS test. Finally, deep insight information on cell size, number, and time-division can be extracted from the comparison with real cell culture assays in the future.

Characterization of Implanted Stents through Neointimal Tissue Bioimpedance Simulations.

This work describes how is possible the definition of the light hole or lumen in implanted stents affected by restenosis processes using the BioImpedance (BI) as biomarker. The main approach is based on the fact that neointimal tissues implied in restenosis can be detected and measured thanks to their respective conductivity and dielectric properties. For this goal, it is proposed a four-electrode setup for bioimpedance measurement. The influence of the several involved tissues in restenosis: fat, muscle, fiber, endothelium and blood, have been studied at several frequencies, validating the setup and illustrating the sensitivity of each one. Finally, a real example using a standard stent, has been analyzed for stable and vulnerable plaques in restenosis test cases, demonstrating that the proposed method is useful for the stent obstruction test. Bioimpedance simulation test has been performed using the electric physics module in COMSOL Multiphysics®.

A tracking algorithm for cell motility assays in CMOS systems.

This work proposes a method for the study and real-time monitoring of a single cell on a 2D electrode matrix, of great interest in cell motility assays and in the characterization of cancer cell metastasis. A CMOS system proposal for cell location based on occupation maps data generated from Electrical Cell-substrate Impedance Spectroscopy (ECIS) has been developed. From experimental assays data, an algorithm based on the analysis of the eight nearest neighbours has been implemented to find the cell center of mass. The path followed by a cell, proposing a Brownian route, has been simulated with the proposed algorithm. The presented results give an accuracy over 95% in the determination of the coordinates (x, y) from the expected cell center of mass.

Fistula between the middle ear and subarachnoid space as a cause of recurrent meningitis: detection by means of thin-section, complex-motion tomography.

Recurrent meningitis due to a fistula between the subarachnoid space and the middle ear or mastoid cavities has various causes, including congenital anomalies, trauma, and infection. Five cases are described in which thin-section, complex-motion tomograms showed bony abnormalities which suggested both the site and cause of the fistula. Accurate determination of the site of the fistula with this technique facilitated appropriate surgical correction in each patient. Meningitis has not recurred in any of the cases.

[Study of 1,595 brucellosis cases in the Almeria province (1972-1998) based on epidemiological data from disease reporting]. / Estudio de 1.595 casos de brucelosis en la provincia de Almería (1972-1998) según datos epidemiológicos de declaración de la enfermedad.

OBJECTIVE: To know clinical, diagnostic, and treatment issues of brucellosis in the Almeria province. METHODS: Descriptive, epidemiological study from 1,595 disease report cards in the Almeria province during the 1972-1998 period. Issues concerning complications and treatment were reported in 890 cards (57.8%), symptoms, signs and hemograms in 565 (35.4%), and other diagnostic findings in all cards. The chi2 test was used to compare independent qualitative parameters for a 95% CI. RESULTS: In the early phase the most common symptom was asthenia (95.2%); sweating in the chronic stage (95.8%). The most commonly recorded sign was spleen enlargement (37.5%) and the most commonly reported complication was bone and joint involvement (22.8%). No changes in symptoms occurred over years. The hemogram revealed anemia in 30.3% of cases. Blood culture was positive for 91.2%. Regarding serological diagnosis, rose Bengal was positive for 99.2% of cases; the most common agglutination titer to Brucella or B. mellitensis was 1/640 (13.5%). The most commonly used therapy consisted of the association tetracycline plus streptomycin (42.4%). For 42.6% of cards, patients were transferred to hospital, particularly since 1984. CONCLUSIONS: Generally speaking, clinical data recorded in the reporting card regarding brucellosis disease reveal the clinical features of the disease, after a long surveillance period. Rose Bengal should be used as screening test for the diagnosis of this disease.