The World Organisation for Animal Health - current and potential roles in safe international trade of bees and other insects.

The World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH, founded as OIE) is the recognised intergovernmental standard-setting organisation for animal health and welfare. The WOAH mandate is to support its members in the prevention of the spread of animal diseases of concern, as listed in the Terrestrial Animal Health Code (Terrestrial Code). Once a disease, infection or infestation is listed, national Veterinary Authorities have the obligation regularly to notify WOAH of the presence or absence of the listed disease. In regard to insects, the scope of the Terrestrial Code limits its recommendations to preserving the health of bees (species of the genus Apis, extended to the genus Bombus and to the stingless bees for one disease). However, it does not include standards to mitigate the potential animal health risks associated with the international trade of other insects. A description of the standard-setting process and a review of the history of the standards for bee health highlight the resources and requirements to expand the scope of the Terrestrial Code to include recommendations for animal health risk mitigation measures for the safety of international trade in insects. Any initiative to develop guidance on insect trade should include WOAH in its role as the sole global standard-setting organisation on animal health and welfare matters. This aligns with the WOAH commitment to a One Health approach.

L'Organisation mondiale de la santé animale (OMSA, fondée en tant qu'OIE) est l'organisation inter-gouvernementale reconnue pour l'élaboration de normes relatives à la santé et au bien-être des animaux. L'OMSA a pour mandat d'apporter un soutien à ses Membres afin de prévenir la propagation des maladies animales d'importance majeure listées dans le Code sanitaire pour les animaux terrestres (Code terrestre). Dès lors qu'une maladie, une infection ou une infestation figure sur cette liste, les Autorités vétérinaires ont l'obligation de notifier régulièrement à l'OMSA la présence ou l'absence de cette maladie sur leur territoire. S'agissant des insectes, le champ d'application du Code terrestre limite ses recommandations à la préservation de la santé des abeilles (espèces du genre Apis, avec l'inclusion du genre Bombus et des abeilles sans dard pour une maladie). Néanmoins, le Code terrestre ne contient pas de normes visant à atténuer les risques pour la santé animale associés aux échanges internationaux d'autres insectes. La description faite par les auteurs du processus d'élaboration des normes et leur aperçu rétrospectif de la mise au point des normes relatives à la santé des abeilles font ressortir les ressources et les conditions nécessaires pour élargir le champ d'application du Code terrestre afin d'y inclure des recommandations portant sur les mesures d'atténuation des risques pour la santé animale applicables à la sécurité sanitaire des échanges internationaux d'insectes. Toute initiative visant à fournir des orientations sur les échanges d'insectes devrait inclure l'OMSA dans son rôle d'unique organisation chargée de l'élaboration des normes internationales relatives à la santé animale et au bien-être des animaux. Cette exigence est en cohérence avec l'engagement de l'OMSA en faveur de l'approche Une seule santé.

La Organización Mundial de Sanidad Animal (OMSA, fundada como OIE) es la organización intergubernamental facultada para ejercer funciones normativas en materia de sanidad y bienestar de los animales. La OMSA tiene por mandato ayudar a sus miembros a prevenir la propagación de una serie de enfermedades animales de importancia, recogidas en el Código Sanitario para los Animales Terrestres (Código Terrestre) de la OMSA. La inclusión de una enfermedad, infección o infestación en la lista de la OMSA obliga a las autoridades veterinarias nacionales a dar cuenta periódicamente a la OMSA de la presencia o ausencia de esa patología en su territorio. Por lo que respecta a los insectos, en el Código Terrestre solo se formulan una serie de recomendaciones para proteger la salud de las abejas (categoría que corresponde a las especies del género Apis, extensible también al género Bombus y, en el caso de una enfermedad, a las abejas sin aguijón). El Código Terrestre, sin embargo, no contiene norma alguna destinada a mitigar los posibles riesgos zoosanitarios ligados al comercio internacional de otros insectos. Los autores describen el proceso normativo y repasan la historia de las normas relativas a la sanidad de las abejas, con lo que ponen de relieve los recursos y demás elementos necesarios para conferir mayor alcance al Código Terrestre incluyendo en él recomendaciones sobre medidas de mitigación del riesgo zoosanitario para un comercio seguro de insectos a escala internacional. Toda iniciativa encaminada a marcar pautas sobre el comercio de insectos debería incluir a la OMSA, única organización con potestad normativa mundial sobre temas de sanidad y bienestar de los animales, lo que además se encuadra en el compromiso de la OMSA con los planteamientos de «Una sola salud¼.

Genomic evaluation of dairy heifer livability.

Differences in breeds and sire lines suggest the presence of a genetic component for heifer livability (HLIV). Genomic evaluation for this trait can increase profitability and improve animal health and welfare. Evaluations for HLIV were examined from 3,362,499 calf data records from heifers of all breeds born from 2009 to 2016. Data were obtained from the national cooperator database maintained by the Council on Dairy Cattle Breeding (https://www.uscdcb.com/). The total number of deaths reported was 134,753 (4.01%), which included herds with death loss between 1.5 and 25.5%. Age at death was evaluated and ranged from >2 d of age until the heifer left the herd, with a maximum of 18 mo of age. Records were not included until 3 yr after the birthdate so that live status of contemporaries could be confirmed by a calving date for those animals. Deaths observed until 2 d after birth were considered to be a stillbirth rather than a failure of HLIV. The scale used for analysis of HLIV was 0 (died) or 100 (live), and the heritability estimate was 0.7% based on sire model with restricted maximum likelihood estimation. Genomic predicted transmitting abilities for Holstein ranged from -1.6% to +1.6% with a standard deviation of 0.5%, and genomic predicted transmitting abilities for Jersey ranged from -0.5% to +0.5% with a standard deviation of 0.2%. The mean overall death loss was about 4%. Reliabilities of genomic predictions for young animals averaged 46% for Holsteins and 30% for Jerseys, and corresponding traditional parent average reliabilities averaged 16% and 12%, respectively. Correlations of HLIV were 0.44 with productive life, 0.18 to 0.22 with yield traits, and 0.29 with early first calving on proven Holstein bulls. The HLIV trait had a favorable genetic trend in recent years, likely because of the indirect selection associated with the correlated traits. The trait HLIV should receive 1% of emphasis on the Lifetime Net Merit index, resulting in economic progress worth $50,000/yr. By encouraging more comprehensive recording on calf mortality, the reliabilities of genetic predictions could increase significantly.

Investigating conception rate for beef service sires bred to dairy cows and heifers.

The widespread use of sexed semen on US dairy cows and heifers has led to an excess of replacement heifers' calves, and the sale prices for those calves are much lower than in the past. Females not selected to produce the next generation of replacement heifers are increasingly being bred to beef bulls to produce crossbred calves for beef production. The purpose of this study was to investigate the use of beef service sires bred to dairy cows and heifers and to provide a tool for dairy producers to evaluate beef service sires' conception. Sire conception rate (SCR) is a phenotypic evaluation of service sire fertility that is routinely calculated for US dairy bulls. A total of 268,174 breedings were available, which included 36 recognized beef breeds and 7 dairy breeds. Most of the beef-on-dairy inseminations (95.4%) were to Angus (AN) bulls. Because of the limited number of records among other breeds, we restricted our final evaluations to AN service sires bred to Holstein (HO) cows. Service-sire inbreeding and expected inbreeding of resulting embryo were set to zero because pedigree data for AN bulls were unavailable. There were 233,379 breedings from 1,344 AN service sire to 163,919 HO cows. A mean (SD) conception rate of 33.8% (47.3%) was observed compared with 34.3% (47.5%) for breedings with HO sires mated to HO cows. Publishable AN bulls were required to have ≥100 total matings, ≥10 matings in the most recent 12 mo, and breedings in at least 5 herds. Mean SCR reliability was 64.5% for 116 publishable bulls, with a maximum reliability of 99% based on 25,217 breedings. Average SCR was near zero (on AN base) with a range of -5.1 to 4.4. Breedings to HO heifers were also examined, which included 19,437 breedings (443 AN service sire and 15,971 HO heifers). A mean (SD) conception rate of 53.0% (49.9%) was observed, compared with 55.3% (49.7%) for breedings with a HO sire mated to a HO heifer. Beef sires were used more frequently in cows known to be problem breeders, which explains some of the difference in conception rate. Mean service number was 1.92 and 2.87 for HO heifers and 2.13 and 3.04 for HO cows mated to HO and AN sires, respectively. Mating dairy cows and heifers to beef bulls may be profitable if calf prices are higher, fertility is improved, or if practices such as sexed semen, genomic testing, and improved cow productive life allow herd owners to produce both higher quality dairy replacement and increased income from market calves.

Defining the optimal period length and stage of growth or lactation to estimate residual feed intake in dairy cows.

Residual feed intake (RFI) is an estimate of animal feed efficiency, calculated as the difference between observed and expected feed intake. Expected intake typically is derived from a multiple regression model of dry matter intake on energy sinks, including maintenance and growth in growing animals, or maintenance, gain in body reserves, and milk production in lactating animals. The best period during the production cycle of a dairy cow to estimate RFI is not clear. Here, we characterized RFI in growing Holstein heifers (RFIGrowth; ∼10 to 14 mo of age; n = 226) and cows throughout a 305-d lactation (RFILac-Full; n = 118). The goals were to characterize relationships between RFI estimated at different production stages of the dairy cow; determine effects of selection for efficiency during growth on subsequent lactation and feed efficiency; and identify the most desirable testing scheme for RFILac-Full. For RFIGrowth, intake was predicted from multiple linear regression of metabolizable energy (ME) intake on mid-test body weight (BW)0.75 and average daily gain (ADG). For RFILac-Full, predicted intake was based on regression of BW0.75, ADG, and energy-corrected milk yield. Mean energy intake of the least and most efficient growing heifers (±0.5 standard deviations from mean RFIGrowth of 0) differed by 3.01 Mcal of ME/d, but the groups showed no difference in mid-test BW or ADG. Phenotypic correlation between RFIGrowth and RFI of heifers estimated in the first 100 d in milk (RFILac100DIM; n = 130) was 0.37. Ranking of these heifers as least (mean + 0.5 standard deviations), middle, or most efficient (mean - 0.5 standard deviations) based on RFIGrowth resulted in 43% maintaining the same ranking by RFILac100DIM. On average, the most efficient heifers ate 3.27 Mcal of ME/d less during the first 100 DIM than the least efficient heifers, but exhibited no differences in average energy-corrected milk yield, ADG, or BW. The correlation between RFILac100DIM and RFILac-Full was 0.72. Thus, RFIGrowth may serve as an indicator trait for RFI during lactation, and selection for heifers exhibiting low RFIGrowth should improve overall herd feed efficiency during lactation. Correlation analysis between RFILac-Full (10 to 305 DIM) and subperiod estimates of RFI during lactation indicated a test period of 64 to 70 d in duration occurring between 150 to 220 DIM provided a reliable approximation (r ≥ 0.90) of RFILac-Full among the test periods evaluated.

High-density genome-wide association study for residual feed intake in Holstein dairy cattle.

Improving feed efficiency (FE) of dairy cattle may boost farm profitability and reduce the environmental footprint of the dairy industry. Residual feed intake (RFI), a candidate FE trait in dairy cattle, can be defined to be genetically uncorrelated with major energy sink traits (e.g., milk production, body weight) by including genomic predicted transmitting ability of such traits in genetic analyses for RFI. We examined the genetic basis of RFI through genome-wide association (GWA) analyses and post-GWA enrichment analyses and identified candidate genes and biological pathways associated with RFI in dairy cattle. Data were collected from 4,823 lactations of 3,947 Holstein cows in 9 research herds in the United States. Of these cows, 3,555 were genotyped and were imputed to a high-density list of 312,614 SNP. We used a single-step GWA method to combine information from genotyped and nongenotyped animals with phenotypes as well as their ancestors' information. The estimated genomic breeding values from a single-step genomic BLUP were back-solved to obtain the individual SNP effects for RFI. The proportion of genetic variance explained by each 5-SNP sliding window was also calculated for RFI. Our GWA analyses suggested that RFI is a highly polygenic trait regulated by many genes with small effects. The closest genes to the top SNP and sliding windows were associated with dry matter intake (DMI), RFI, energy homeostasis and energy balance regulation, digestion and metabolism of carbohydrates and proteins, immune regulation, leptin signaling, mitochondrial ATP activities, rumen development, skeletal muscle development, and spermatogenesis. The region of 40.7 to 41.5 Mb on BTA25 (UMD3.1 reference genome) was the top associated region for RFI. The closest genes to this region, CARD11 and EIF3B, were previously shown to be related to RFI of dairy cattle and FE of broilers, respectively. Another candidate region, 57.7 to 58.2 Mb on BTA18, which is associated with DMI and leptin signaling, was also associated with RFI in this study. Post-GWA enrichment analyses used a sum-based marker-set test based on 4 public annotation databases: Gene Ontology, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways, Reactome pathways, and medical subject heading (MeSH) terms. Results of these analyses were consistent with those from the top GWA signals. Across the 4 databases, GWA signals for RFI were highly enriched in the biosynthesis and metabolism of amino acids and proteins, digestion and metabolism of carbohydrates, skeletal development, mitochondrial electron transport, immunity, rumen bacteria activities, and sperm motility. Our findings offer novel insight into the genetic basis of RFI and identify candidate regions and biological pathways associated with RFI in dairy cattle.

Comparison of false-negative rates and limits of detection following macrofoam-swab sampling of Bacillus anthracis surrogates via Rapid Viability PCR and plate culture.

AIMS: We evaluated the effects of Bacillus anthracis surrogates, low surface concentrations, surface materials and assay methods on false-negative rate (FNR) and limit of detection (LOD95 ) for recovering Bacillus spores using a macrofoam-swab sampling procedure. METHODS AND RESULTS: Bacillus anthracis Sterne or Bacillus atrophaeus Nakamura spores were deposited over a range of low target concentrations (2-500 per coupon) onto glass, stainless steel, vinyl tile and plastic. Samples were assayed using a modified Rapid Viability-PCR (mRV-PCR) method and the traditional plate culture method to obtain FNR and LOD95 results. CONCLUSIONS: Mean FNRs tended to be lower for mRV-PCR compared to culturing, and increased as spore concentration decreased for all surface materials. Surface material, but not B. anthracis surrogate, influenced FNRs with the mRV-PCR method. The mRV-PCR LOD95 was lowest for glass and highest for vinyl tile. LOD95 values overall were lower for mRV-PCR than for the culture method. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF STUDY: This study adds to the limited data on FNR and LOD95 for mRV-PCR and culturing methods with low concentrations of B. anthracis sampled from various surface materials by the CDC macrofoam-swab method. These are key inputs for planning characterization and clearance studies for low contamination levels of B. anthracis.

Proteomic signatures differentiating Bacillus anthracis Sterne sporulation on soil relative to laboratory media.

The process of sporulation is vital for the stability and infectious cycle of Bacillus anthracis. The spore is the infectious form of the organism and therefore relevant to biodefense. While the morphological and molecular events occurring during sporulation have been well studied, the influence of growth medium and temperature on the proteins expressed in sporulated cultures is not well understood. Understanding the features of B. anthracis sporulation specific to natural vs. laboratory production will address an important question in microbial forensics. In an effort to bridge this knowledge gap, a system for sporulation on two types of agar-immobilized soils was used for comparison to cultures sporulated on two common types of solid laboratory media, and one liquid sporulation medium. The total number of proteins identified as well as their identity differed between samples generated in each medium and growth temperature, demonstrating that sporulation environment significantly impacts the protein content of the spore. In addition, a subset of proteins common in all of the soil-cultivated samples was distinct from the expression profiles in laboratory medium (and vice versa). These differences included proteins involved in thiamine and phosphate metabolism in the sporulated cultures produced on soils with a notable increase in expression of ATP binding cassette (ABC) transporters annotated to be for phosphate and antimicrobial peptides. A distinct set of ABC transporters for amino acids, sugars and oligopeptides were found in cultures produced on laboratory media as well as increases in carbon and amino acid metabolism-related proteins. These protein expression changes indicate that the sporulation environment impacts the protein profiles in specific ways that are reflected in the metabolic and membrane transporter proteins present in sporulated cultures.

The burden of seasonal respiratory infections on a national telehealth service in England.

Seasonal respiratory illnesses present a major burden on primary care services. We assessed the burden of respiratory illness on a national telehealth system in England and investigated the potential for providing early warning of respiratory infection. We compared weekly laboratory reports for respiratory pathogens with telehealth calls (NHS 111) between week 40 in 2013 and week 29 in 2015. Multiple linear regression was used to identify which pathogens had a significant association with respiratory calls. Children aged <5 and 5-14 years, and adults over 65 years were modelled separately as were time lags of up to 4 weeks between calls and laboratory specimen dates. Associations with respiratory pathogens explained over 83% of the variation in cold/flu, cough and difficulty breathing calls. Based on the first two seasons available, the greatest burden was associated with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and influenza, with associations found in all age bands. The most sensitive signal for influenza was calls for 'cold/flu', whilst for RSV it was calls for cough. The best-fitting models showed calls increasing a week before laboratory specimen dates. Daily surveillance of these calls can provide early warning of seasonal rises in influenza and RSV, contributing to the national respiratory surveillance programme.

Genomic evaluation of age at first calving.

From their time of birth until their first lactation, dairy heifers incur management, health, and feed expenses while not producing milk. Much effort has been made to estimate optimal ages of first calving (AFC) for cows to reduce these costs, which can be as high as $2.50 per day, and ensure that animals are productive earlier in life. To identify AFC for 3 dairy cattle breeds (Holstein, Jersey, and Brown Swiss) that maximizes production, we retrieved phenotypic records for more than 14 million cows calving between 1997 and 2015 from the US national dairy database. The mean AFC for Holstein and Jersey has decreased by 2.4 and 2.7 mo, respectively, since 2006. When comparing the association of AFC with production and fertility traits, we found that decreased AFC was correlated with greater fertility and higher milk yield for all but the earliest group (18 to 20 mo). We also identified an unfavorable correlation of lower AFC with increasing stillbirth rates in Holstein (0.047 least squares means compared with a baseline of 24 mo) and Brown Swiss (0.062 least squares means). Finally, we identified favorable genetic correlations of lower AFC with lifetime net merit, heifer conception rate, cow conception rate, and daughter pregnancy rate in Holstein and Jersey cattle, and favorable correlations for net merit and heifer conception rate in Brown Swiss. To maximize lifetime production and reduce the effects of AFC on stillbirth, the AFC that maximizes production for Holstein and Brown Swiss is 21 to 22 mo, and for Jersey it is 20 to 21 mo. However, the effect of AFC on stillbirth reduces the benefits of calving at very young ages. Calculated genomic predicted transmitting ability for AFC showed an improvement in reliability of 20 percentage points in genomic young bulls compared with parent averages in Holstein, suggesting that genomic testing can improve selection for this trait.

The changing case-mix of hip fractures in Scotland - evidence from the Scottish Hip Fracture Audit.

Until discontinued in 2008, the Scottish Hip Fracture Audit collected and reported on data relating to the quality of care of hip fracture patients in Scotland. In 2013, the audit was recommenced under the umbrella of the MSK Audit group, which audits high volume orthopaedic pathways across Scotland. Our aim is to report on the changes in the demographics of hip fracture patients in Scotland between 2003 and 2013. There was an increase in the proportion of male patients from 2003 to 2013 (22.4% to 29.5%; p < 0.0001). An increased percentage of hip fracture patients were admitted from their own home (63.9% to 73.1%; p < 0.0001). Both these factors have deleterious effects on the outcome, and use of necessary resources, following hip fracture. There was also an increase in the percentage of patients who were American Society of Anesthesiologists Grade 3 (52.9% to 56.4%). Over the last decade, there has been a shift in the demographics of Scotland's hip fracture patients. If hip fracture incidence increases as predicted, this potentially more-challenging case-mix will likely impact on multiple health resources.

Conductivity in organic semiconductors hybridized with the vacuum field.

Much effort over the past decades has been focused on improving carrier mobility in organic thin-film transistors by optimizing the organization of the material or the device architecture. Here we take a different path to solving this problem, by injecting carriers into states that are hybridized to the vacuum electromagnetic field. To test this idea, organic semiconductors were strongly coupled to plasmonic modes to form coherent states that can extend over as many as 10(5) molecules and should thereby favour conductivity. Experiments show that indeed the current does increase by an order of magnitude at resonance in the coupled state, reflecting mostly a change in field-effect mobility. A theoretical quantum model confirms the delocalization of the wavefunctions of the hybridized states and its effect on the conductivity. Our findings illustrate the potential of engineering the vacuum electromagnetic environment to modify and to improve properties of materials.

A Study of Hypermethylated Circulating Tumor DNA as a Universal Colorectal Cancer Biomarker.

BACKGROUND: Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) has emerged as a good candidate for tracking tumor dynamics in different cancer types, potentially avoiding repeated tumor biopsies. Many different genes can be mutated within a tumor, complicating procedures for tumor monitoring, even with highly sensitive next-generation sequencing (NGS) strategies. Droplet-based digital PCR (dPCR) is a highly sensitive and quantitative procedure, allowing detection of very low amounts of circulating tumor genetic material, but can be limited in the total number of target loci monitored. METHODS: We analyzed hypermethylation of 3 genes, by use of droplet-based dPCR in different stages of colorectal cancer (CRC), to identify universal markers for tumor follow-up. RESULTS: Hypermethylation of WIF1 (WNT inhibitory factor 1) and NPY (neuropeptide Y) genes was significantly higher in tumor tissue compared to normal tissue, independently of tumor stage. All tumor tissues appeared positive for one of the 2 markers. Methylated ctDNA (MetctDNA) was detected in 80% of metastatic CRC and 45% of localized CRC. For samples with detectable mutations in ctDNA, MetctDNA and mutant ctDNA (MutctDNA) fractions were correlated. During follow-up of different stage CRC patients, MetctDNA changes allowed monitoring of tumor evolution. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that MetctDNA could be used as a universal surrogate marker for tumor follow-up in CRC patients, and monitoring MetctDNA by droplet-based dPCR could avoid the need for monitoring mutations.

False-negative rate, limit of detection and recovery efficiency performance of a validated macrofoam-swab sampling method for low surface concentrations of Bacillus anthracis Sterne and Bacillus atrophaeus spores.

AIMS: We sought to evaluate the effects of Bacillus species, low surface concentrations, and surface material on recovery efficiency (RE), false-negative rate (FNR) and limit of detection for recovering Bacillus spores using a validated macrofoam-swab sampling procedure. METHODS AND RESULTS: The performance of a macrofoam-swab sampling method was evaluated using Bacillus anthracis Sterne (BAS) and Bacillus atrophaeus Nakamura (BG) spores applied at nine low target surface concentrations (2 to 500 CFU per plate or coupon) to positive-control plates and test coupons (25·8064 cm(2) ) of four surface materials (glass, stainless steel, vinyl tile and plastic). The Bacillus species and surface material had statistically significant effects on RE, but surface concentration did not. Mean REs were the lowest for vinyl tile (50·8% with BAS and 40·2% with BG) and the highest for glass (92·8% with BAS and 71·4% with BG). FNR values (which ranged from 0 to 0·833 for BAS and from 0 to 0·806 for BG) increased as surface concentration decreased in the range tested. Surface material also had a statistically significant effect on FNR, with FNR the lowest for glass and highest for vinyl tile. Finally, FNR tended to be higher for BG than for BAS at lower surface concentrations, especially for glass. CONCLUSIONS: Concentration and surface material had significant effects on FNR, with Bacillus species having a small effect. Species and surface material had significant effects on RE, with surface concentration having a nonsignificant effect. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: The results provide valuable information on the performance of the macrofoam-swab method for low surface concentrations of Bacillus spores, which can be adapted to assess the likelihood that there is no contamination when all macrofoam-swab samples fail to detect B. anthracis.

Reducing animal sequencing redundancy by preferentially selecting animals with low-frequency haplotypes.

Many studies leverage targeted whole-genome sequencing (WGS) experiments to identify rare and causal variants within populations. As a natural consequence of their experimental design, many of these surveys tend to sequence redundant haplotype segments due to their high frequency in the base population, and the variants discovered within sequencing data are difficult to phase. We propose a new algorithm, called inverse weight selection (IWS), that preferentially selects individuals based on the cumulative presence of rare frequency haplotypes to maximize the efficiency of WGS surveys. To test the efficacy of this method, we used genotype data from 112,113 registered Holstein bulls derived from the US national dairy database. We demonstrate that IWS is at least 6.8% more efficient than previously published methods in selecting the least number of individuals required to sequence all haplotype segments ≥4% frequency in the US Holstein population. We also suggest that future surveys focus on sequencing homozygous haplotype segments as a first pass to achieve a 50% reduction in cost with an added benefit of phasing variant calls efficiently. Together, this new selection algorithm and experimental design suggestion significantly reduce the overall cost of variant discovery through WGS experiments, making surveys for causal variants influencing disease and production even more efficient.

If a trauma patient is tachycardic, should we call for a counsellor?

BACKGROUND: It has been suggested in the literature that raised heart rate in the early period after trauma is associated with the development of post-traumatic psychopathology, but little account has been taken of the potential confounding effect of injury severity. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cohort of 154 patients, studied as part of a wider investigation of trauma outcomes, was included. Initial heart rate in the accident & emergency department, and injury severity score and new injury severity scores were recorded. Patients completed the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) as a measure of psychopathology at presentation and again at two- and six-month follow-up. RESULTS: There was no relationship between psychopathology at presentation and initial heart rate or injury severity. Raised heart rate was associated with post-traumatic psychopathology at two months but not at six months. When the potential confounding effect of injury severity was controlled for, there was no independent correlation between heart rate and post-traumatic psychopathology. Injury severity score and new injury severity scores were strongly associated with GHQ-28 caseness. CONCLUSION: Post-traumatic tachycardia is not associated with development of psychopathology, but injury severity is. Previous studies that have suggested a link between tachycardia and development of psychopathology are flawed because they have not considered the confounding effect of severity of injury.

Bacillus anthracis spores germinate extracellularly at air-liquid interface in an in vitro lung model under serum-free conditions.

AIMS: To better understand the parameters that govern spore dissemination after lung exposure using in vitro cell systems. METHODS AND RESULTS: We evaluated the kinetics of uptake, germination and proliferation of Bacillus anthracis Sterne spores in association with human primary lung epithelial cells, Calu-3 and A549 cell lines. We also analysed the influence of various cell culture medium formulations related to spore germination. CONCLUSIONS: We found negligible spore uptake by epithelial cells, but germination and proliferation of spores in the serum-free extracellular environment was evident. Spore germination was appreciably higher in immortalized cell cultures than in primary epithelial cells. Additionally, spores still germinated apically at a mucus-secreting air-liquid interface lung barrier that was devoid of cell culture medium much earlier than medium-only controls. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: The role of lung epithelial cells in B. anthracis spore dissemination after inhalation remains poorly defined and rather controversial. These results are novel as they show spore germination is appreciably enhanced in the presence of lung cells in vitro, however, the cell line and cell state (air-liquid interface vs submerged in medium) dictates the extent of germination and in some cases proliferation.

Short communication: Use of young bulls in the United States.

The availability of genomic evaluations since 2008 has resulted in many changes to dairy cattle breeding programs. One such change has been the increased contribution of young bulls (0.8 to 3.9 yr old) to those programs. The increased use of young bulls was investigated using pedigree data and breeding records obtained from the US national dairy database (Beltsville, MD). The adoption of genotyping was so rapid that by 2009, >90% of all Holstein artificial insemination (AI) service sires and 86% of Jersey AI service sires were genotyped, regardless of age. The percentage of sons sired by young bulls increased by 49 percentage points (10% in 2008 compared with 59% in 2012) due to the onset of genomic evaluations for Holsteins and by 46 percentage points for Jerseys (11 and 57%, respectively). When limiting these data to sons retained for breeding purposes through AI, the increase was even more dramatic, increasing approximately 80 percentage points from 2008 to 2012 for both Holsteins and Jerseys (1, 5, 28, 52, and 81% for Holsteins and 3, 4, 43, 46, and 82% for Jerseys from 2008 through 2012). From US breeding records from 2007 through 2012, 24,580,793 Holstein and 1,494,095 Jersey breedings were examined. Young bulls accounted for 28% and 25% of Holstein and Jersey breedings in 2007, respectively. These percentages increased to 51% of Holstein and 52% of Jersey breedings in 2012, representing 23- and 27-percentage-unit increases, respectively. Matings to genotyped young bulls have rapidly increased while the use of nongenotyped bulls has diminished since the onset of genomics. Mean sire age for Holstein male progeny born in 2012 was 2.7 yr younger than males born in 2006, and 1.3 yr younger for females; corresponding values for Jerseys were 2.3 and 0.9 yr. Holstein male offspring had an increase of 281 kg between 2006 and 2012, compared with 197 kg between 2000 and 2006 for parent averages (PA) for milk, an increase of 84 kg between the 2 periods. Jersey male offspring had an increase of 49 kg between the 2 periods. To demonstrate the economic impact of the differential use of young bulls, herds were grouped by the frequency of their use of young bulls, and average PTA for milk and net merit for cows that were bred in 2003 through 2012 were calculated. In 2012, herds using >75% young bulls created offspring that had a PA of +52 kg for milk and +$58 net merit compared with herds using no young bulls. Jersey herds using >75% young bulls created offspring that had a PA of +142 kg for milk and +$63 for net merit compared with herds using no young bulls. Use of young bulls has greatly reduced the generation interval and improved the rate of genetic gain since the implementation of genomic evaluations.

Genomic evaluation, breed identification, and discovery of a haplotype affecting fertility for Ayrshire dairy cattle.

Genomic evaluations of dairy cattle in the United States have been available for Brown Swiss, Holsteins, and Jerseys since 2009. As of January 2013, 1,023 Ayrshires had genotypes in the North American database. Evaluation accuracy was assessed using genomic evaluations based on 646 bulls with 2008 traditional evaluations to predict daughter performance of up to 180 bulls in 2012. Mean gain in reliability over parent average for all traits was 8.2 percentage points. The highest gains were for protein yield (16.9 percentage points), milk yield (16.6 percentage points), and stature (16.2 percentage points). Twelve single nucleotide polymorphisms were useful for Ayrshire breed determination. Fewer breed-determining SNP were available for Ayrshires than for Holsteins, Jerseys, and Brown Swiss because of the similarity of Ayrshires and Holsteins. A haplotype that affects fertility was identified on chromosome 17 and traces back in the genotyped population to the bull Selwood Betty's Commander (born in 1953). The haplotype carrier frequency for genotyped Ayrshires was 26.1%. Sire conception rate was decreased by 4.3 ± 2.5 percentage points for carriers of the haplotype as determined by 618 matings of carrier sire by carrier maternal grandsire. Genomic evaluations for Ayrshires were officially implemented in the United States in April 2013.

Comparison of single-trait to multi-trait national evaluations for yield, health, and fertility.

Flexible software was designed to replace the current animal model programs used for national genetic evaluations. Model improvements included (1) multi-trait processing, (2) multiple fixed class and regression variables, (3) differing models for different traits, (4) random regressions, and (5) foreign data included using pseudo-records. Computational improvements included (6) parallel processing, (7) renumbering class variables to equation numbers within the program so that estimated effects are output with original identification numbers, and (8) reliability computed within the same program. When applied to 3 fertility traits of 27,971,895 cows and heifers, the new model used daughter pregnancy rate as a correlated trait to improve heifer and cow conception rate evaluations for older animals and in herd-years where records are missing, and also added information from crossbreds. When applied to 7 traits and 76,846,327 lactation records of 30,064,300 cows, gains in accuracy were small for yield and somatic cell score, moderate for daughter pregnancy rate, and larger for productive life for recent bulls compared with single-trait evaluations. For very old bulls, multi-trait gains were also large for protein because lactation records were available only for milk and fat. Multi-trait productive life was computed with exact rather than approximate methods; however, correlated information from conformation was excluded, reducing advantages of the new model over the previous software. Estimates of breed differences, inbreeding depression, and heterosis were similar to previous estimates; new estimates were obtained for conception rates. Predictions were compared by truncating 4 yr of data, and genetic trend validation was applied to all breed-trait combinations. The estimates of trend account for increases in inbreeding across time. Incorporation of foreign data gave correlations above 0.98 for new with previous evaluations of foreign Holstein bulls, but lower for other breeds. The 7-trait model required 35 GB of memory and 3 d to converge using 7 processors. The new software was implemented for fertility traits in 2013 and is scheduled for implementation with yield, somatic cell score, and productive life in 2014. Further revision of the models and software may be needed in the near future to account for genomic preselection.

Sorting nanoparticles with intertwined plasmonic and thermo-hydrodynamical forces.

We exploit plasmonic and thermo-hydrodynamical forces to sort gold nanoparticles in a microfluidic environment. In the appropriate regime, the experimental data extracted from a Brownian statistical analysis of the kinetic motions are in good agreement with Mie-type theoretical evaluations of the optical forces acting on the nanoparticles in the plasmonic near field. This analysis enables us to demonstrate the importance of thermal and hydrodynamical effects in a sorting perspective.