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Imperfect estimation of Lepeophtheirus salmonis abundance and Its impact on salmon lice treatment on Atlantic salmon farms
No full textAccurate monitoring of sea lice levels on salmon farms is critical to the efficient management of louse infestation, as decisions around whether and when to apply treatment depend on an estimation of abundance. However, as with all sampling, the estimated abundance of salmon lice through sampling salmon cannot perfectly represent the abundance on a given farm. While suggestions to improve the accuracy of lice abundance estimates have previously been made, the significance of the accuracy of such estimation has been poorly understood. Understanding the extent of error or bias in sample estimates can facilitate an assessment as to how influential this “imperfect” information will likely be on management decisions, and support methods to mitigate negative outcomes associated with such imperfect estimates. Here, we built a model of a hypothetical Atlantic salmon farm using ordinary differential equations and simulated salmon lice (Lepeophtheirus salmonis) abundance over an entire production cycle, during which salmon were periodically sampled using Monte Carlo approaches that adopted a variety of sample sizes, treatment thresholds, and sampling intervals. The model could thus track two instances of salmon lice abundance: true abundance (based on the underlying model) and monitored abundance (based on the values that could be estimated under different simulated sampling protocols). Treatments, which depend on monitored abundance, could be characterized as early, timely, or late, as a result of over-estimation, appropriate estimation, and under-estimation, respectively. To achieve timely treatment, it is important to delay treatments until true abundance equals some treatment threshold and to execute treatment as soon as this threshold is reached. Adopting larger sample sizes increased the frequency of timely treatments, largely by reducing the incidence of early treatments due to less variance in the monitored abundance. Changes in sampling interval and treatment threshold also influenced the accuracy of abundance estimates and thus the frequency of timely treatments. This study has implications for the manner in which fish should be sampled on salmon farms to ensure accurate salmon lice abundance estimates and consequently the effective application treatment
The role of traditional rituals in resisting energy injustice: The case of hydropower developments in Svaneti, Georgia
No full textThis study intervenes in the energy justice literature by bringing to the foreground the local, emplaced, and bottom-up perspective. We specifically explore the potential of place-based agency, expressed in the form of traditional rituals, to expand the repertoire of extra-institutional means of resistance against various manifestations of energy injustice. We investigate the recent developments in the hydropower sector in the Svaneti region of the Republic of Georgia. Based on a qualitative research design involving personal interviews and document analysis, we explain how and why the traditional ritual of taking the oath of unity on the icon of St. George has been used to oppose hydropower developments, and how the employment of this extra-institutional action is linked to the changed political opportunity structure. In addition to underscoring the need to recognize and respect the cultural and religious importance assigned to traditional rituals by local communities, the findings of our study imply a need to consider traditional rituals not merely as symbolic or/and performative means of resistance, but also as political tools that may have a significant impact on the development of energy projects
DTU‐DADS‐Aqua: A simulation framework for modelling waterborne spread of highly infectious pathogens in marine aquaculture
No full textSimulation models are useful tools to predict and elucidate the effects of factors influencing the occurrence and spread of epidemics in animal populations, evaluate the effectiveness of different control strategies and ultimately inform decision-makers about mitigations to reduce risk. There is a paucity of simulation models to study waterborne transmission of viral and bacterial pathogens in marine environments. We developed a stochastic, spatiotemporal hybrid simulation model (DTU-DADS-Aqua) that incorporates a compartmental model for infection spread within net-pens, an agent-based model for infection spread between net-pens within and between sites and uses seaway distance to inform farm-site hydroconnectivity. The model includes processes to simulate infection transmission and control over surveillance, detection and depopulation measures. Different what-if scenarios can be explored according to the input data provided and user-defined parameter values, such as daily surveillance and depopulation capacities or increased animal mortality that triggers diagnostic testing to detect infection. The latter can be easily defined in a software application, in which results are summarized after each simulation. To demonstrate capabilities of the model, we simulated the spread of infectious salmon anaemia virus (ISAv) for realistic scenarios in a transboundary population of farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) in New Brunswick, Canada and Maine, U.S.A. We assessed the progression of infection in the different simulated outbreak scenarios, allowing for variation in the control strategies adopted for ISAv. Model results showed that improved disease detection, coupled with increasing surveillance visits to farm-sites and increased culling capacity for depopulation of infected net-pens reduced the number of infected net-pens and outbreak duration but the number of ISA-infected farm sites was minimally affected. DTU-DADS-Aqua is a flexible modelling framework, which can be applied to study different infectious diseases in the aquatic environment, allowing the incorporation of alternative transmission and control dynamics. The framework is open-source and available at https://github.com/upei-aqua/DTU-DADS-Aqua
Longevity of print book use at a small public university: A 30-year longitudinal study
No full textThis research uses the circulation history of print books in the University of Prince Edward Island’s (UPEI) collection to measure the longevity of usage using three different categories: Becher-Biglan (BB), major subject and academic department. Two sets of data provide for longitudinal analysis up to 30 years. About 10,000 books met the criteria for part 1, which had an average ten-year circulation longevity. About 14% had only one year of use and about 24% had less than five years’ longevity. There was little variation by BB, and the only major subjects that were noticeably different from the median were business and education, which were about 20% shorter. Part 2 included about 4,000 more recent books. 37% circulated for just one year and 64% circulated for at most a four-year range. There was very little variation in these results when broken down by BB, major subjects and academic departments. The one exception is business, which had a notably higher portion used only in one year. The circulation longevity of print books has significantly shortened over the last three decades at UPEI
Animal welfare testing for shooting and darting free-ranging wildlife: a review and recommendations
No full textSeveral important techniques for managing wildlife rely on ballistics (the behaviour of projectiles), including
killing techniques (shooting) as well as capture and marking methods (darting). Because all ballistic techniques have the
capacity to harm animals, animal welfare is an important consideration. Standardised testing approaches that have allowed
refinement for other physical killing and capture methods (e.g. traps for mammals) have not been applied broadly to
ballistic methods. At the same time, new technology is becoming available for shooting (e.g. subsonic and lead-free
ammunition) and darting (e.g. dye-marker darts). We present several case studies demonstrating (a) how basic ballistic
testing can be performed for novel firearms and/or projectiles, (b) the benefits of identifying methods producing
undesirable results before operational use, and (c) the welfare risks associated with bypassing testing of a technique before
broad-scale application. Following the approach that has been used internationally to test kill-traps, we suggest the
following four-step testing process: (1) range and field testing to confirm accuracy and precision, the delivery of
appropriate kinetic energy levels and projectile behaviour, (2) post-mortem assessment of ballistic injury in cadavers,
(3) small-scale live animal pilot studies with predetermined threshold pass/fail levels, and (4) broad-scale use with
reporting of the frequency of adverse animal welfare outcomes. We present this as a practical approach for maintaining and
improving animal welfare standards when considering the use of ballistic technology for wildlife management
Development of N,O‐carboxymethyl chitosan‐starch biomaterial inks for 3D printed wound dressing applications
No full textIn this paper, a novel hybrid biomaterial ink consisting of two water-soluble polymers is investigated: starch and N,O-carboxymethyl chitosan (NOCC). The biomaterial ink is used to fabricate controlled release biodegradable wound dressing scaffolds via a novel low-temperature solvent (organic)-free 3D printing technique. NOCC is a variant of chitosan with a high degradation rate that can lead to an immediate release of the drugs, and starch, on the other hand, is used to alter degradation and drug release characteristics of the biomaterial. Mupirocin, a topical anti-infective, is incorporated into the biomaterial inks. Different biomaterial inks in terms of NOCC to starch ratio are prepared and characterized. Printability and rheology of the samples are investigated, and the release of mupirocin over time is quantified. The efficacy of the developed 3D printed wound dressings against Staphylococcus aureus is examined through disk diffusion assays. Increasing NOCC accelerated the release of the drug from the scaffold and led to larger zones of inhibition in the early hours of the in vitro tests; this phenomenon is correlated to the enhanced hydrophilicity of NOCC-dominated scaffolds. The drug release and the zone of inhibition are controlled by altering starch to NOCC ratio in the biomaterial ink
Development of a risk prediction model for assessing dental readiness in the Canadian Armed Forces
No full textIntroduction
The establishment and sustainment of a high state of dental readiness in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) are the primary missions of the Royal Canadian Dental Corps. The objective of this study was to develop a risk prediction tool to estimate dental readiness in active CAF personnel.
Materials and Methods
The prediction model was developed to predict the classification of non-deployable (yes/no) within 12 months (primary) and 18 months (secondary) using both dental history data (including dental attendance, restorations, root canals, and third molar status) and demographic information. Two cohorts were used for development: a recruit cohort who enrolled between April 2016 and March 2017 and a longer-serving member (LSM) cohort who had their recall dental exam between May 2014 and October 2014. Each group was followed until April 26, 2018. Elastic net logistic regression models were used to create the models. Model performance was evaluated using area under the curve, F1, and the Brier score.
Results
The recruit cohort included 2,828 individuals and the LSM cohort included 2,398 individuals. Overall, the classification of non-deployable occurred in 5.1% of the study population within 12 months and 9.6% of the population within 18 months. The models predicted the outcome with an area under the receiver operating curve of 0.77 in recruits and 0.70 in LSMs.
Conclusion
The prediction model shows potential but its performance and usability could be further improved through the consistent collection of high quality, discretely entered, epidemiological data following standardized diagnostic terminology and coding. A recalibrated and automated version of this model could assist in decision making, resource allocation, and the enhancement of military dental readiness.Department of National Defenc
Longitudinal environmental Staphylococcus contamination in a new small animal veterinary hospital and utility of cleaning checklists
No full textStaphylococci are inhabitants of skin and mucous membranes with Staphylococcus pseudintermedius (SP) and Staphylococcus aureus (SA) serving as important pathogens for animals and people, respectively. Previous research has identified the environment as potentially important in hospital-associated infections and zoonotic transmission in veterinary settings. The objective of this pilot study was to determine the longitudinal prevalence over repeated samplings of environmental coagulase-positive Staphylococcus (CPS) in a new veterinary hospital and evaluate associations between contamination and environmental and clinical (caseload, cleaning checklists and staff numbers) factors. Cleaning and disinfection compliance, based on staff-completed checklists, were reviewed for the three shifts immediately prior to sampling. We hypothesized that over time, environmental contamination would increase as the clinic developed and caseload increased and compliance to cleaning checklists would decrease with increasing caseload. Over 18 months, 351 environmental samples were collected at five sampling times (sampling occurred before opening the hospital and every 3 to 6 months thereafter). Overall contamination with CPS was 30.8% (108/351), with SA (16.8%) and SP (13.1%) identified from the contaminated surfaces. Overall, methicillin-resistant strains (MRSA and MRSP) were infrequently recovered (combined n = 3; <1%). Point prevalence of CPS contamination was relatively stable over the study period (22.5%–28.4%), with the exception of an increase at the fourth sampling (52.9%). Cleaning compliance varied over the study period (57.9%–100%); the lowest reported cleaning coincided with the highest proportion of CPS contamination. The most commonly contaminated surfaces were chairs (7/15; 46.7%), examination tables (19/47; 40.4%) and computers (12/35; 34.3%); these items were infrequently included on cleaning lists. Surfaces not included in the checklist were 2.3 times more likely to be contaminated by CPS than those that were included (OR: 2.3, CI 95%: 1.02 –5.35, p-value=.04). MRSA and MRSP were rarely isolated from the environment in the newly opened hospital, indicating it may take time for resistant strains to enter the environment and persist on surfaces. This study identified the possible utility of cleaning checklists for directing cleaning practices and reducing the environmental contamination
The role of perceived quality on high-speed railway tourists’ behavioral intention: An application of the extended theory of planned behavior
No full textSince the COVID-19 pandemic, airlines worldwide have enforced strict travel restrictions, driving passengers to seek alternative transportations such as High-Speed Railway (HSR). Nevertheless, the current understanding of HSR travelers’ behavior is scarce. Moreover, despite the extensive application of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to explain and predict patrons and tourists’ behavior in the tourism and hospitality context, little research has employed this theory to examine HSR travelers’ processes in making travelling decisions. This study developed a research model by integrating perceived quality into the TPB and examined the relation between HSR passengers’ service quality and intention to travel in the future and the mediating effect of TPB attributes. It is found that perceived train service quality and perceived travel quality have a significant influence on the TPB attributes, which further influence HSR travelers’ travel intention. This study contributes practical implications to destinations and the travel industry that they might attract visitors by marketing the corresponding HSR train service quality and travel experience quality. This also provides recovery guidelines for the transportation and travel industry after the COVID-19 pandemic
Using personality feedback for work-related development and performance improvement: A rapid evidence assessment
No full textThe personality-related literature in industrial and organizational (I–O) psychology and management has focused on the validity of personality scales for predicting criteria like job performance, and corresponding applications for personnel selection. In parallel, and subject to much less research attention, personality inventories have been used for developmental purposes in group workshops and individual coaching. Personality-assessment feedback represents modern means through which to follow ancient advice to “know thyself” (Emre, The personality brokers: The strange history of Myers-Briggs and the birth of personality testing. 2019, p. xviii). However, task-based feedback intervention theory (Kluger & DeNisi, Psychological Bulletin, 119, 1996, 254–284) casts doubt on the effectiveness of self-focused feedback cues for performance improvement. The present article synthesized studies on the impact of work-related personality-feedback interventions (PFIs) on performance- or development-related criteria through a Rapid Evidence Assessment (Barends et al., CEBMa guideline for rapid evidence assessments in management and organizations, version 1.0, 2017). Structured queries of five databases plus reference list and forward-citation searches identified a diverse set of 12 empirical studies. Most studies used a type-based rather than a trait-based assessment tool, with the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) being the most popular. No study examined PFI impact on observer ratings of job performance. Though there were some indications of beneficial effects, researchers have not yet established the causal impact of PFIs on performance-related criteria, and the possibility exists of negative side-effects. Practitioners are urged to apply PFIs with caution, temper expectations, evaluate intervention effectiveness, and share results—possibly as part of researcher–practitioner partnership