Climate change and landscape development in post-closure safety assessment of solid radioactive waste disposal: Results of an initiative of the IAEA.

The International Atomic Energy Agency has coordinated an international project addressing climate change and landscape development in post-closure safety assessments of solid radioactive waste disposal. The work has been supported by results of parallel on-going research that has been published in a variety of reports and peer reviewed journal articles. The project is due to be described in detail in a forthcoming IAEA report. Noting the multi-disciplinary nature of post-closure safety assessments, here, an overview of the work is given to provide researchers in the broader fields of radioecology and radiological safety assessment with a review of the work that has been undertaken. It is hoped that such dissemination will support and promote integrated understanding and coherent treatment of climate change and landscape development within an overall assessment process. The key activities undertaken in the project were: identification of the key processes that drive environmental change (mainly those associated with climate and climate change), and description of how a relevant future may develop on a global scale; development of a methodology for characterising environmental change that is valid on a global scale, showing how modelled global changes in climate can be downscaled to provide information that may be needed for characterising environmental change in site-specific assessments, and illustrating different aspects of the methodology in a number of case studies that show the evolution of site characteristics and the implications for the dose assessment models. Overall, the study has shown that quantitative climate and landscape modelling has now developed to the stage that it can be used to define an envelope of climate and landscape change scenarios at specific sites and under specific greenhouse-gas emissions assumptions that is suitable for use in quantitative post-closure performance assessments. These scenarios are not predictions of the future, but are projections based on a well-established understanding of the important processes involved and their impacts on different types of landscape. Such projections support the understanding of, and selection of, plausible ranges of scenarios for use in post-closure safety assessments.

Resistance to infectious diseases is a heritable trait in rabbits.

Selection for disease resistance is a powerful way to improve the health status of herds and to reduce the use of antibiotics. The objectives of this study were to estimate 1) the genetic parameters for simple visually assessed disease syndromes and for a composite trait of resistance to infectious disease including all syndromes and 2) their genetic correlations with production traits in a rabbit population. Disease symptoms were recorded in the selection herds of 2 commercial paternal rabbit lines during weighing at the end of the test (63 and 70 d of age, respectively). Causes of mortality occurring before these dates were also recorded. Seven disease traits were analyzed: 3 elementary traits visually assessed by technicians on farm (diarrhea, various digestive syndromes, and respiratory syndromes), 2 composite traits (all digestive syndromes and all infectious syndromes), and 2 mortality traits (digestive mortality and infectious mortality). Each animal was assigned only 1 disease trait, corresponding to the main syndrome ( = 153,400). Four production traits were also recorded: live weight the day before the end of test on most animals ( = 137,860) and cold carcass weight, carcass yield, and perirenal fat percentage of the carcass on a subset of slaughtered animals ( = 13,765). Records on both lines were analyzed simultaneously using bivariate linear animal models after validation of consistency with threshold models applied to logit-transformed traits. The heritabilities were low for disease traits, from 0.01 ± 0.002 for various digestive syndromes to 0.04 ± 0.004 for infectious mortality, and moderate to high for production traits. The genetic correlations between digestive syndromes were high and positive, whereas digestive and respiratory syndromes were slightly negatively correlated. The genetic correlations between the composite infectious disease trait and digestive or respiratory syndromes were moderate. Genetic correlations between disease and production traits were favorable. Our results indicate that it is possible to select rabbits using visually assessed disease syndromes without the need for a trade-off between health and production traits. Using a composite criterion that includes all infectious syndromes is easy to implement and heritable and is, therefore, a promising way to improve the general disease resistance in livestock species.

Genomic prediction in French Charolais beef cattle using high-density single nucleotide polymorphism markers.

The objective of the study was to develop a genomic evaluation for French beef cattle breeds and assess accuracy and bias of prediction for different genomic selection strategies. Based on a reference population of 2,682 Charolais bulls and cows, genotyped or imputed to a high-density SNP panel (777K SNP), we tested the influence of different statistical methods, marker densities (50K versus 777K), and training population sizes and structures on the quality of predictions. Four different training sets containing up to 1,979 animals and a unique validation set of 703 young bulls only known on their individual performances were formed. BayesC method had the largest average accuracy compared to genomic BLUP or pedigree-based BLUP. No gain of accuracy was observed when increasing the density of markers from 50K to 777K. For a BayesC model and 777K SNP panels, the accuracy calculated as the correlation between genomic predictions and deregressed EBV (DEBV) divided by the square root of heritability was 0.42 for birth weight, 0.34 for calving ease, 0.45 for weaning weight, 0.52 for muscular development, and 0.27 for skeletal development. Half of the training set constituted animals having only their own performance recorded, whose contribution only represented 5% of the accuracy. Using DEBV as a response brought greater accuracy than using EBV (+5% on average). Considering a residual polygenic component strongly reduced bias for most of the traits. The optimal percentage of polygenic variance varied across traits. Among the methodologies tested to implement genomic selection in the French Charolais beef cattle population, the most accurate and less biased methodology was to analyze DEBV under a BayesC strategy and a residual polygenic component approach. With this approach, a 50K SNP panel performed as well as a 777K panel.

Economic values of body weight, reproduction and parasite resistance traits for a Creole goat breeding goal.

A specific breeding goal definition was developed for Creole goats in Guadeloupe. This local breed is used for meat production. To ensure a balanced selection outcome, the breeding objective included two production traits, live weight (BW11) and dressing percentage (DP) at 11 months (the mating or selling age), one reproduction trait, fertility (FER), and two traits to assess animal response to parasite infection: packed cell volume (PCV), a resilience trait, and faecal worm eggs count (FEC), a resistance trait. A deterministic bio-economic model was developed to calculate the economic values based on the description of the profit of a Guadeloupean goat farm. The farm income came from the sale of animals for meat or as reproducers. The main costs were feeding and treatments against gastro-intestinal parasites. The economic values were 7.69€ per kg for BW11, 1.38€ per % for FER, 3.53€ per % for DP and 3 × 10(-4)€ per % for PCV. The economic value for FEC was derived by comparing the expected profit and average FEC in a normal situation and in an extreme situation where parasites had developed resistance to anthelmintics. This method yielded a maximum weighting for FEC, which was -18.85€ per log(eggs per gram). Alternative scenarios were tested to assess the robustness of the economic values to variations in the economic and environmental context. The economic values of PCV and DP were the most stable. Issues involved in paving the way for selective breeding on resistance or resilience to parasites are discussed.

Simulated selection responses for breeding programs including resistance and resilience to parasites in Creole goats.

The Creole goat is a local breed used for meat production in Guadeloupe (French West Indies). As in other tropical countries, improvement of parasite resistance is needed. In this study, we compared predicted selection responses for alternative breeding programs with or without parasite resistance and resilience traits. The overall breeding goal included traits for production, reproduction, and parasite resilience and resistance to ensure a balanced selection outcome. The production traits were BW and dressing percentage (DP). The reproduction trait was fertility (FER), which was the number of doe kiddings per mating. The resistance trait was worm fecal egg count (FEC), which is a measurement of the number of gastro-intestinal parasite eggs found in the feces. The resilience trait was the packed cell volume (PCV), which is a measurement of the volume of red blood cells in the blood. Dressing percentage, BW, and FEC were measured at 11 mo of age, which is the mating or selling age. Fertility and PCV were measured on females at each kidding period. The breeding program accounting for the overall breeding goal and a selection index including all traits gave annual selection responses of 800 g for BW, 3.75% for FER, 0.08% for DP, -0.005 ln(eggs/g) for FEC, and 0.28% for PCV. The expected selection responses for BW and DP in this breeding program were reduced by 2% and 6%, respectively, compared with a breeding program not accounting for FEC and PCV. The overall breeding program, proposed for the Creole breed, offers the best breeding strategy in terms of expected selection responses, making it possible to improve all traits together. It offers a good balance between production and adaptation traits and may present some interest for the selection of other goat breeds in the tropics.

Genetic parameters for body weight, reproduction, and parasite resistance traits in the Creole goat.

We estimated the genetic parameters for BW, reproduction, and parasite resistance traits to implement a breeding program for the Creole goat. The traits were preweaning BW at 70 d of age (BW70d), BW at 11 mo of age (BW11), fecal egg count at 11 mo of age (FEC11) for all animals, packed cell volumes of lactating does (PCV), and their fertility (FER) and litter size (LS). We analyzed about 30 yr of data, which included 18,450 records on 11,970 animals from the INRA experimental flock in Guadeloupe (French West Indies). Heritability estimates were low for reproduction traits (0.11 ± 0.02 for LS and FER) to moderate for production traits (0.32 ± 0.03 for BW11; 0.20 ± 0.03 and 0.08 ± 0.02 for the direct and maternal heritability estimates of BW70d, respectively). Heritability estimates for gastrointestinal nematode resistance traits were situated in an intermediate range (0.13 ± 0.05 for PCV and 0.18 ± 0.04 for FEC11). Genetic correlations between FER, PCV, BW11, and the maternal effect of BW70d were altogether positive, whereas LS and FEC11 were almost uncorrelated phenotypically and genetically. These correlations are very favorable for setting up a breeding program, making it possible to improve BW, reproduction, and parasite resistance traits simultaneously.

Production systems of Creole goat and their implications for a breeding programme.

The Creole goat is a local meat breed well adapted to the tropical environment of Guadeloupe, a French island in the Caribbean. A survey of 47 goat farmers was conducted in May 2008 to describe the Guadeloupean goat farming systems. It was the preliminary step for the implementation of a breeding programme for Creole goats. Farmers had 31 does on average. A small number (4%) kept only Creole goats. Most of them (62%) had a mixed herd of Creole and crossbreds. One-third of them (34%) reared only crossbred goats. Farmers appreciate the rusticity and resistance of the Creole goat but consider its growth as too slow. The most desired traits for goat selection were conformation and growth for males (77% of the answers). These traits were also important for females (30% of the answers). Maternal qualities were also frequently cited (maternal behaviour 23%, reproduction 20% and milk production 17%). Disease resistance was not seen as an important trait (10% and 7% of the answers for bucks and does, respectively). A typology constituted of five groups of farmers was also created. Farmers of three groups were retained to participate at a selection programme. They kept Creole goats and have expressed a strong willingness to join a selection programme. The results of the survey suggest that a breeding programme should mostly focus on the Creole goat as a maternal breed. Real consideration should be given to disease resistance. The Creole goat has indeed a key role to play in the sustainability of local farming systems.

Synthesis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and graphite islands via surface-induced reaction of small molecules.

Attractive materials for molecular electronics are the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), the hydrogen-terminated segments of a graphitic plane. Since the processing of larger PAHs, for example hexa-peri-hexabenzocoronene, is complicated by their extremely low solubilities and very small vapor pressures, the possibility of a surface-assisted synthesis of planar PAHs is investigated starting from diphenylacetylene (left) and hexaphenylbenzene (right), as shown in the picture.

Endoftalmitis por acremonium kiliense / Fungal endophthalmitis for acremonium kiliense

Se presenta un caso de endoftalmitis micótica del ojo derecho en un paciente de 26 años, que había sufrido una úlcera traumática la cual se perforó a pesar del tratamiento local y general con antimicóticos. Se debieron realizar sucesivos colgajos conjuntivales para lograr curación, también se utilizó como último recurso una lente de contacto terapéutica. Del material obtenido por raspado de la úlcera de córnea y del humor vítreo se aisló Acremonium kiliense. El tratamiento médico-quirúrgico fue prolongado debido a la agresividad del hongo; se logró salvar la integridad del globo ocular (AU)

Endoftalmitis por acremonium kiliense / Fungal endophthalmitis for acremonium kiliense

Se presenta un caso de endoftalmitis micótica del ojo derecho en un paciente de 26 años, que había sufrido una úlcera traumática la cual se perforó a pesar del tratamiento local y general con antimicóticos. Se debieron realizar sucesivos colgajos conjuntivales para lograr curación, también se utilizó como último recurso una lente de contacto terapéutica. Del material obtenido por raspado de la úlcera de córnea y del humor vítreo se aisló Acremonium kiliense. El tratamiento médico-quirúrgico fue prolongado debido a la agresividad del hongo; se logró salvar la integridad del globo ocular