Three breeds (Fleckvieh, Holstein, and Jersey) were included in a reference population, separately and together, to assess the accuracy of prediction of genomic breeding values in single-breed ...validation populations. The accuracy of genomic selection was defined as the correlation between estimated breeding values, calculated using phenotypic data, and genomic breeding values. The Holstein and Jersey populations were from Australia, whereas the Fleckvieh population (dual-purpose Simmental) was from Austria and Germany. Both a BLUP with a multi-breed genomic relationship matrix (GBLUP) and a Bayesian method (BayesA) were used to derive the prediction equations. The hypothesis tested was that having a multi-breed reference population increased the accuracy of genomic selection. Minimal advantage existed of either GBLUP or BayesA multi-breed genomic evaluations over single-breed evaluations. However, when the goal was to predict genomic breeding values for a breed with no individuals in the reference population, using 2 other breeds in the reference was generally better than only 1 breed.
Construction still accounts for a disproportionate number of injuries, inducing consequent socioeconomic impacts. Despite recent attempts to improve construction safety by harnessing emerging ...technologies and intelligent systems, most frameworks still consider tasks and activities in isolation and use secondary, aggregated, or subjective data that prevent their widespread adoption. To address these limitations, we used a newly introduced conceptual framework and accompanying natural language processing system to extract standard information in the form of fundamental attributes from a set of 5298 raw accident reports. We then applied state-of-the-art data mining techniques to discover attribute combinations that contribute to injuries. We refer to these incompatibilities as “construction safety clashes”. The main contribution of our study lies in the methodological advancements that it brings to the construction safety domain. In light of the results obtained, our approach shows great promise to become a standard way of extracting valuable, actionable insights from injury reports in a fully unsupervised way. The use of our methodology could enable construction practitioners to ground their safety-related decisions on objective, empirical data, rather than on limited personal experience or expert opinion, which is the current industry standard. Finally, our methodology allows construction accidents to be viewed as perturbations in underlying networks of fundamental attributes. While the analysis of the current data set provides preliminary evidence for this theory, comparison to non-accident reports will be required for validation.
•Concept of safety clashes is introduced•Safety risk attribute data sets are represented as weighted undirected graphs•Data mining is applied to graphs and attribute data to identify safety clashes•Qualitative analysis of the output shows promising potential of the methodology•The “accident as attribute network perturbations” theory is introduced
Background: Global environmental change is exacerbating human vulnerability to adverse atmospheric conditions including air pollution, aeroallergens such as pollen, and extreme weather events. Public ...information and advisories are a central component of responses to mitigate the human impacts of environmental hazards. Digital technologies are emerging as a means of providing personalised, timely and accessible warnings. Method: We describe AirRater, an integrated online platform that combines symptom surveillance, environmental monitoring, and notifications of changing environmental conditions via a free smartphone app. It was developed and launched in Tasmania, Australia (population 510 000), with the aim of reducing health impacts and improving quality of life in people with conditions such as asthma and allergic rhinitis. We present environmental data, user uptake and results from three online evaluation surveys conducted during the first 22 months of operation, from October 2015 through August 2017. Results: There were 3,443 downloads of the app from all regions of Tasmania. Of the 1,959 individuals who registered, 79% reported having either asthma or allergic rhinitis. Downloads increased during adverse environmental conditions and following publicity. Symptom reports per active user were highest during spring (72%), lowest in autumn (37%) and spiked during periods of reduced air quality. In response to online surveys, most users reported that the app was useful and had improved their understanding of how environmental conditions affect their health, and in some cases had prompted action such as the timely use of medication. Conclusion: Active engagement and consistent positive feedback from users demonstrates the potential for considerable individual, clinical and wider public health benefits from integrated and personalised monitoring systems such as AirRater. The perceived health benefits require objective verification, and such systems need to address several challenges in providing timely, reliable and valid environmental data.
Ozone (O3) from 17 atmospheric chemistry models taking part in the Atmospheric Chemistry and Climate Model Intercomparison Project (ACCMIP) has been used to calculate tropospheric ozone radiative ...forcings (RFs). All models applied a common set of anthropogenic emissions, which are better constrained for the present-day than the past. Future anthropogenic emissions follow the four Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) scenarios, which define a relatively narrow range of possible air pollution emissions. We calculate a value for the pre-industrial (1750) to present-day (2010) tropospheric ozone RF of 410 mW m−2. The model range of pre-industrial to present-day changes in O3 produces a spread (±1 standard deviation) in RFs of ±17%. Three different radiation schemes were used – we find differences in RFs between schemes (for the same ozone fields) of ±10%. Applying two different tropopause definitions gives differences in RFs of ±3%. Given additional (unquantified) uncertainties associated with emissions, climate-chemistry interactions and land-use change, we estimate an overall uncertainty of ±30% for the tropospheric ozone RF. Experiments carried out by a subset of six models attribute tropospheric ozone RF to increased emissions of methane (44±12%), nitrogen oxides (31 ± 9%), carbon monoxide (15 ± 3%) and non-methane volatile organic compounds (9 ± 2%); earlier studies attributed more of the tropospheric ozone RF to methane and less to nitrogen oxides. Normalising RFs to changes in tropospheric column ozone, we find a global mean normalised RF of 42 mW m−2 DU−1, a value similar to previous work. Using normalised RFs and future tropospheric column ozone projections we calculate future tropospheric ozone RFs (mW m−2; relative to 1750) for the four future scenarios (RCP2.6, RCP4.5, RCP6.0 and RCP8.5) of 350, 420, 370 and 460 (in 2030), and 200, 300, 280 and 600 (in 2100). Models show some coherent responses of ozone to climate change: decreases in the tropical lower troposphere, associated with increases in water vapour; and increases in the sub-tropical to mid-latitude upper troposphere, associated with increases in lightning and stratosphere-to-troposphere transport. Climate change has relatively small impacts on global mean tropospheric ozone RF.
Genomic prediction is applicable to individuals of different breeds. Empirical results to date, however, show limited benefits in using information on multiple breeds in the context of genomic ...prediction. We investigated a multitask Bayesian model, presented previously by others, implemented in a Bayesian stochastic search variable selection (BSSVS) model. This model allowed for evidence of quantitative trait loci (QTL) to be accumulated across breeds or for both QTL that segregate across breeds and breed-specific QTL. In both cases, single nucleotide polymorphism effects were estimated with information from a single breed. Other models considered were a single-trait and multitrait genomic residual maximum likelihood (GREML) model, with breeds considered as different traits, and a single-trait BSSVS model. All single-trait models were applied to each of the 2 breeds separately and to the pooled data of both breeds. The data used included a training data set of 6,278 Holstein and 722 Jersey bulls, as well as 374 Jersey validation bulls. All animals had genotypes for 474,773 single nucleotide polymorphisms after editing and phenotypes for milk, fat, and protein yields. Using the same training data, BSSVS consistently outperformed GREML. The multitask BSSVS, however, did not outperform single-trait BSSVS, which used pooled Holstein and Jersey data for training. Thus, the rigorous assumption that the traits are the same in both breeds yielded a slightly better prediction than a model that had to estimate the correlation between the breeds from the data. Adding the Holstein data significantly increased the accuracy of the single-trait GREML and BSSVS in predicting the Jerseys for milk and protein, in line with estimated correlations between the breeds of 0.66 and 0.47 for milk and protein yields, whereas only the BSSVS model significantly improved the accuracy for fat yield with an estimated correlation between breeds of only 0.05. The relatively high genetic correlations for milk and protein yields, and the superiority of the pooling strategy, is likely the result of the observed admixture between both breeds in our data. The Bayesian model was able to detect several QTL in Holsteins, which likely enabled it to outperform GREML. The inability of the multitask Bayesian models to outperform a simple pooling strategy may be explained by the fact that the pooling strategy assumes equal effects in both breeds; furthermore, this assumption may be valid for moderate- to large-sized QTL, which are important for multibreed genomic prediction.
Finfish aquaculture is a fast-growing primary industry and is increasingly common in coastal ecosystems. Bacterioplankton is ubiquitous in marine environment and respond rapidly to environmental ...changes. Changes in bacterioplankton community are not well understood in semi-enclosed stratified embayments. This study aims to examine aquaculture effects in the composition and functional profiles of the bacterioplankton community using amplicon sequencing along a distance gradient from two finfish leases in a marine embayment. Results revealed natural stratification in bacterioplankton associated to NOx, conductivity, salinity, temperature and PO4. Among the differentially abundant bacteria in leases, we found members associated with nutrient enrichment and aquaculture activities. Abundant predicted functions near leases were assigned to organic matter degradation, fermentation, and antibiotic resistance. This study provides a first effort to describe changes in the bacterioplankton community composition and function due to finfish aquaculture in a semi-enclosed and highly stratified embayment with a significant freshwater input.
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•Aquaculture abundant taxa were related to biochemical processes, pathogens, and fish gut microbiome•Aquaculture enriched functional profile were related to organic matter degradation, fermentation, and antibiotic resistance•Differences between leases could be related to changes in hydrodynamics, location, and production and management practices
The stomach's acidic pH is a crucial barrier against foodborne pathogens such as Salmonella enterica. This study investigated the survival of S. enterica under simulated oral and gastric conditions ...(SGC; pH 2 for 120 min) as a function of intrinsic pathogen characteristics and food matrix. Fifty-seven S. enterica strains isolated from food and human infections (previously characterized by serotype, virulotype, multi-drug resistance, isolation source, and isolation season) were subjected to SGC using water as a vehicle. Population reduction among the 57 isolates ranged from 2.7 to 4.7 log CFU, revealing that human isolates were inactivated less than food isolates (p = 0.0008). Among food strains, strains isolated during the cold season (food sampled from December to February) displayed the highest reduction (p = 0.00002). Six representatives of the 57 S. enterica strains were selected according to their virulotype and antimicrobial profile. They were further used to evaluate their survival under SGC in four food matrices (water, mango, tomato, and chicken), measuring S. enterica at 30 min intervals. The strains in chicken showed the lowest reduction and inactivation rate (1.42 ± 0.35 log CFU; 0.03 ± 0.005 min−1), followed by tomato (3.75 ± 0.57 log CFU; 0.15 ± 0.02 min−1), water (4.23 ± 0.27 log CFU; 0.17 ± 0.02 min−1), and mango (4.49 ± 0.39 log CFU; 0.17 ± 0.03 min−1). These data suggest that not all S. enterica strains have the same ability to survive under SGC, influencing the probability of arriving into the small intestine.
•The survival of S. enterica strains was strain and serotype depended under gastric conditions•The S. enterica isolates from warm season were more resistant to the inactivation under gastric conditions than the isolated in cold season•The S. enterica strains vehiculized in chicken had a higher survival during the gastric simulation•The antimicrobial resistance profile and the presence of virulence genes did not effect the survival of S. enterica.
Aims
The Australian tuna industry is based on the ranching of wild southern bluefin tuna (SBT, Thunnus maccoyii). Within this industry, only opportunistic pathogens have been reported infecting ...external wounds of fish. This study aimed to identify different culturable bacteria present in three cohorts of SBT and to determine normal bacteria and potential pathogens in isolates from harvest fish and moribund/dead fish. Post‐mortem changes in the microbiota were also studied.
Methods and Results
Moribund/dead showed a greater proportion of members from the family Vibrionaceae than harvested fish; the latter presented mainly non‐Vibrio species. In harvested fish spleens, Vibrio splendidus I complex was the most commonly identified group among Vibrio isolates, while most groups from the family Vibrionaceae were isolated from gills. For moribund/dead, Vibrio chagasii and Photobacterium damselae subsp. damselae were common in gill, spleen and kidney samples. Non‐Vibrio isolates from gills were characterized using 16S rRNA sequencing as Flavobacteriaceae and classes Gammaproteobacteria and Alphaproteobacteria, mainly from the genera Winogradskyella and Tenacibaculum. Post‐mortem changes showed dynamic shifts in bacterial dominance in gills, with Vibrionaceae and non‐Vibrio spp. found in similar proportions initially and types related to Pseudoalteromonas ruthenica prevailing after 27 h. Spleen samples showed little bacterial growth until 5 h post‐mortem, while various Vibrio‐associated species were isolated 27 h post‐mortem.
Conclusions
Bacterial isolates found include a range of potentially pathogenic bacteria that should be monitored though most of them have yet to be associated with disease in tuna.
Significance and Impact of the Study
This study forms a foundation for future research into the bacterial population dynamics under different culture conditions of SBT. An understanding of the bacterial compositions in SBT is necessary to evaluate the effects of some bacterial species on their health.
Summary
Although genomic selection offers the prospect of improving the rate of genetic gain in meat, wool and dairy sheep breeding programs, the key constraint is likely to be the cost of ...genotyping. Potentially, this constraint can be overcome by genotyping selection candidates for a low density (low cost) panel of SNPs with sparse genotype coverage, imputing a much higher density of SNP genotypes using a densely genotyped reference population. These imputed genotypes would then be used with a prediction equation to produce genomic estimated breeding values. In the future, it may also be desirable to impute very dense marker genotypes or even whole genome re‐sequence data from moderate density SNP panels. Such a strategy could lead to an accurate prediction of genomic estimated breeding values across breeds, for example. We used genotypes from 48 640 (50K) SNPs genotyped in four sheep breeds to investigate both the accuracy of imputation of the 50K SNPs from low density SNP panels, as well as prospects for imputing very dense or whole genome re‐sequence data from the 50K SNPs (by leaving out a small number of the 50K SNPs at random). Accuracy of imputation was low if the sparse panel had less than 5000 (5K) markers. Across breeds, it was clear that the accuracy of imputing from sparse marker panels to 50K was higher if the genetic diversity within a breed was lower, such that relationships among animals in that breed were higher. The accuracy of imputation from sparse genotypes to 50K genotypes was higher when the imputation was performed within breed rather than when pooling all the data, despite the fact that the pooled reference set was much larger. For Border Leicesters, Poll Dorsets and White Suffolks, 5K sparse genotypes were sufficient to impute 50K with 80% accuracy. For Merinos, the accuracy of imputing 50K from 5K was lower at 71%, despite a large number of animals with full genotypes (2215) being used as a reference. For all breeds, the relationship of individuals to the reference explained up to 64% of the variation in accuracy of imputation, demonstrating that accuracy of imputation can be increased if sires and other ancestors of the individuals to be imputed are included in the reference population. The accuracy of imputation could also be increased if pedigree information was available and was used in tracking inheritance of large chromosome segments within families. In our study, we only considered methods of imputation based on population‐wide linkage disequilibrium (largely because the pedigree for some of the populations was incomplete). Finally, in the scenarios designed to mimic imputation of high density or whole genome re‐sequence data from the 50K panel, the accuracy of imputation was much higher (86–96%). This is promising, suggesting that in silico genome re‐sequencing is possible in sheep if a suitable pool of key ancestors is sequenced for each breed.
The increasing prevalence of obesity is a major public health concern, since obesity is associated with several chronic diseases.
To monitor trends in state-specific data and to examine changes in ...the prevalence of obesity among adults.
Cross-sectional random-digit telephone survey (Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System) of noninstitutionalized adults aged 18 years or older conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state health departments from 1991 to 1998.
States that participated in the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.
Body mass index calculated from self-reported weight and height.
The prevalence of obesity (defined as a body mass index > or =30 kg/m2) increased from 12.0% in 1991 to 17.9% in 1998. A steady increase was observed in all states; in both sexes; across age groups, races, educational levels; and occurred regardless of smoking status. The greatest magnitude of increase was found in the following groups: 18- to 29-year-olds (7.1% to 12.1%), those with some college education (10.6% to 17.8%), and those of Hispanic ethnicity (11.6% to 20.8%). The magnitude of the increased prevalence varied by region (ranging from 31.9% for mid Atlantic to 67.2% for South Atlantic, the area with the greatest increases) and by state (ranging from 11.3% for Delaware to 101.8% for Georgia, the state with the greatest increases).
Obesity continues to increase rapidly in the United States. To alter this trend, strategies and programs for weight maintenance as well as weight reduction must become a higher public health priority.
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