The scientific community has responded to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic by rapidly undertaking research to find effective strategies to reduce the burden of this disease. ...Encouragingly, researchers from a diverse array of fields are collectively working towards this goal. Research with infectious severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is undertaken in high-containment laboratories; however, it is often desirable to work with samples at lower-containment levels. To facilitate the transfer of infectious samples from high-containment laboratories, we have tested methods commonly used to inactivate virus and prepare the sample for additional experiments. Incubation at 80°C, a range of detergents, Trizol reagents, and UV energies were successful at inactivating a high titer of SARS-CoV-2. Methanol and paraformaldehyde incubation of infected cells also inactivated the virus. These protocols can provide a framework for in-house inactivation of SARS-CoV-2 in other laboratories, ensuring the safe use of samples in lower-containment levels.
The recent SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has brought many questions over the origin of the virus, the threat it poses to animals both in the wild and captivity, and the risks of a permanent viral reservoir ...developing in animals. Animal experiments have shown that a variety of animals can become infected with the virus. While coronaviruses have been known to infect animals for decades, the true intermediate host of the virus has not been identified, with no cases of SARS-CoV-2 in wild animals. The screening of wild, farmed, and domesticated animals is necessary to help us understand the virus and its origins and prevent future outbreaks of both COVID-19 and other diseases. There is intriguing evidence that farmed mink infections (acquired from humans) have led to infection of other farm workers in turn, with a recent outbreak of a mink variant in humans in Denmark. A thorough examination of the current knowledge and evidence of the ability of SARS-CoV-2 to infect different animal species is therefore vital to evaluate the threat of animal to human transmission and reverse zoonosis.
Neuroanatomy of creativity Jung, Rex E.; Segall, Judith M.; Jeremy Bockholt, H. ...
Human brain mapping,
March 2010, Letnik:
31, Številka:
3
Journal Article
Highlights • This study represents the largest prospective analysis of randomly sampled FCV in Europe. • The overall prevalence of FCV at a European level was 9.2% (7.8, 10.8, 95% confidence ...interval). • Several risk factors were positively associated with FCV shedding. • Phylogenetic analysis showed extensive variability and no countrywide clusters. • Plasma raised to the FCV-F9 vaccine strain neutralized 97% of field isolates at titres ≥ 1:4.
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•Studies on removal of various pollutants from greywater in GROW constructed wetland.•HRT and OLR had significant impact on performance of GROW system.•Change of plant species and ...filling materials affected the performance of GROW system.•Surfactants and PCPs are effectively removed by GROW constructed wetland.•Treated water meets the USEPA standard limits for reuse.
The availability of freshwater resources is becoming universally depleted, leading to the requirement for a focused management strategy for treating and reusing wastewater. In particular for urban and developing areas, small scale decentralized treatment systems are becoming popular. The GROW (Green Roof-top Water Recycling System) constructed wetland is one such option that provides a solution without a permanent land requirement and offering medium to high treatment efficiency. The performance of the GROW system was monitored from November 2013 to April 2015 in treating greywater from the Krishna Student Hostel in IIT Madras. The performance of the GROW wetland cells were examined over four monitoring periods in Phase 1 namely: 1) start-up stage, 2) seasonal variation 3) change of flow rate and 4) change in organic fraction (26.8, 25.9 and 25.5g COD/cubic meter/day respectively). In Phase 2, the plants and the filling materials were changed and the performance of GROW wetland cells were evaluated. The system was fed with greywater at a flow rate of 62, 70, 82, 100 and 120L/day respectively with hydraulic retention time of 0.7–1.3days. The samples taken from the inlet and the outlets of the GROW system were taken weekly and analyzed for the following parameters; pH, COD, BOD, TSS, TN, NO3–N, TP, FC, SDS, PG and TMA. In the study, the overall removal efficiency was greater than 82% for all the parameters. The GROW wetlands reduced all the above mentioned parameters to within or closely to the USEPA standard limits for reuse. The reusable effluent water is named ‘Green Water’.
Objectives
Feline calicivirus (FCV) is a highly variable and globally important feline pathogen for which vaccination has been the mainstay of control. Here, we test whether the continued use of ...FCV-F9, one of the most frequently used vaccine strains globally, is driving the emergence of vaccine-resistant viruses in the field.
Methods
This study made use of two representative panels of field isolates previously collected from cats visiting randomly selected veterinary practices across the UK as part of separate cross-sectional studies from 2001 and 2013/2014. Phylogenetic analysis and in vitro virus neutralisation tests were used to compare the genetic and antigenic relationships between these populations and FCV-F9.
Results
Phylogenetic analysis showed a typically radial distribution dominated by 52 distinct strains, with strains from both 2001 and 2013/2014 intermingled. The sequence for FCV-F9 appeared to be integral to this phylogeny and there were no significant differences in the genetic distances within each studied population (intra-population distances), or between them (inter-population distances), or between each population and FCV-F9. A 1 in 8 dilution neutralised 97% and 100% of the 2001 and 2013/14 isolates, respectively, and a 1 in 16 dilution neutralised 87% and 75% of isolates, respectively. There was no significant difference either in variance between the FCV-F9 neutralising titres for the two populations, or in the distribution of neutralisation titres across the two populations.
Conclusions and relevance
Although FCV is a highly variable virus, we found no evidence for a progressive divergence of field virus from vaccine strain FCV-F9, either phylogenetically or antigenically, with FCV-F9 antisera remaining broadly and equally cross-reactive to two geographically representative and temporally separated FCV populations. We suggest this may be because the immunodominant region of the FCV capsid responsible for neutralisation may have structural constraints preventing its longer term progressive antigenic evolution.
A 2022 canine gastroenteritis outbreak in the United Kingdom was associated with circulation of a new canine enteric coronavirus closely related to a 2020 variant with an additional spike gene ...recombination. The variants are unrelated to canine enteric coronavirus-like viruses associated with human disease but represent a model for coronavirus population adaptation.
The lack of population health surveillance for companion animal populations leaves them vulnerable to the effects of novel diseases without means of early detection. We present evidence on the ...effectiveness of a system that enabled early detection and rapid response a canine gastroenteritis outbreak in the United Kingdom. In January 2020, prolific vomiting among dogs was sporadically reported in the United Kingdom. Electronic health records from a nationwide sentinel network of veterinary practices confirmed a significant increase in dogs with signs of gastroenteric disease. Male dogs and dogs living with other vomiting dogs were more likely to be affected. Diet and vaccination status were not associated with the disease; however, a canine enteric coronavirus was significantly associated with illness. The system we describe potentially fills a gap in surveillance in neglected populations and could provide a blueprint for other countries.
Exposure to suicide is a known risk factor for suicide. Ambulance staff are exposed to work-related stressors including attending suicides, which may elevate their risk for mental health ...problems/suicide. Little is known about ambulance staff's perspectives on how they experience these events and whether they feel equipped to respond to bereaved families at the scene of death. This study explores the perspectives of ambulance staff about responding to deaths by suicide.
A convenience sample of ambulance staff recruited from one ambulance service in England. In-depth, qualitative, semi-structured face-to-face interviews conducted with nine ambulance staff (six male, three female) to explore experiences of responding to suicide. Data analyzed using thematic analysis.
Participants reported the experience of job-related strain including exposure to the suicide/suicidal ideation of colleagues; they described suppressing their distress despite significant emotional impact. All participants had been personally bereaved by suicide and responding to suicide was a common part of their job. They were often the first professionals at the scene, and undertook varied and often conflicting roles: negotiating with patients in crisis; informing individuals of the death of a loved one; preserving the body/potential crime scene; dealing with the intense emotional reactions of bereaved individuals. Participants reported long-term, salient memories of these events; however, there was a reported lack of acknowledgment in the workplace that suicides may be traumatic and no guidance for staff on how to cope. Opportunities to debrief were reportedly rare, and there was reluctance to access work-based liaison services. Training in how to respond to individuals bereaved by suicide was also lacking.
The study is the first to reveal the complex challenges faced by ambulance staff in responding to suicide without adequate training and support. It demonstrates the potential impact that responding to suicide can have personally and professionally on staff, and emphasizes the need for employers to support staff wellbeing in better ways. Training and postvention support could enable better coping among staff, more effective support for bereaved individuals and reduce the risk of death by suicide both in those bereaved by suicide and in ambulance staff.
Background: There is a lack of national population data concerning infectious disease in companion animals. Here, we piloted the feasibility of linking diagnostic laboratories, population ...surveillance and modern sequencing approaches to extract targeted diagnostic samples from laboratories before they were discarded, as a novel route to better understand national epidemiology of major small animal pathogens.
Methods: Samples tested for canine or feline parvovirus were requested from a national veterinary diagnostic laboratory and analysed by Sanger or next generation sequencing. Samples were linked to electronic health data held in the SAVSNET database.
Results: Sequences obtained from positive samples, together with associated metadata, provided new insights into the recent geographical distribution of parvovirus strains in circulation in the United Kingdom (UK).
Conclusions: This collaboration with industry represents a ‘National Virtual Biobank’ that can rapidly be called on, to efficiently add new layers of epidemiological information of relevance to animal, and potentially human, population health.
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