Classical swine fever and foot-and-mouth disease in Lao PDR

Approximately 75% of the population of Lao PDR is engaged in agriculture and the vast majority (approximately 90%) of these producers are in the smallholder sector. Livestock are an important contributor to national, agricultural and village economies and are relied on for food security. The pig population has increased over the past 5 years at an annual average increase of 4.7% at the national herd level and up to 20% in some provinces. Cattle and buffalo populations have grown at more modest rates of 1–2% (Figure 1). Disease, including foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) and classical swine fever (CSF), is a major constraint to efficient and sustainable livestock production. Up to 80–90% of pigs and 99% of cattle and buffalo are produced in the smallholder sector using low input practices; as such, there is limited private sector input. Disease reporting, diagnosis, control and prevention are addressed by the Lao Government through the National Department of Livestock and Fisheries (DLF) and local agriculture and forestry offices at provincial and district government levels. These activities are supported by international partners such as the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), Commonwealth Scientific and Investigation Research Organisation (CSIRO), Japanese International Cooperation Association (JICA), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), European Union (EU) and Office International des Epizooties (OIE). Disease reporting and communication are passive and reports are made from villages through government administrations at district and provincial levels and then to the national level—the DLF and the National Animal Health Centre (NAHC). Communication of FMD-related information at regional and international levels is coordinated by the OIE South-East Asian FMD regional coordination unit (SEAFMD RCU), where reports are submitted monthly. Disease reporting for CSF is less well coordinated and information is provided to the OIE

An evaluation of curriculum-related specialties in grades five and six

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit

Insights into processing and cyclization events associated with biosynthesis of the cyclic peptide kalata B1

Plant cyclotides are the largest family of gene-encoded cyclic proteins. They act as host defense molecules to protect plants and are promising candidates as insecticidal and nematocidal agents in agriculture. For this promise to be realized a greater understanding of the post-translational processing of these proteins is needed. Cyclotides are cleaved from precursor proteins with subsequent ligation of the N and C termini to form a continuous peptide backbone. This cyclization step is inefficient in transgenic plants and our work aims to shed light on the specificity requirements at the excision sites for cyclic peptide production. Using the prototypic cyclotide kalata B1 (kB1) expressed from the Oak1 gene, MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry was used to examine the cyclization efficiency when mutants of the Oak1 gene were expressed in transgenic Nicotiana benthamiana. Cleavage at the N terminus of the cyclotide domain occurs rapidly with no strict specificity requirements for amino acids at the cleavage site. In contrast, the C-terminal region of the cyclotide domain in the P2, P1, P1', and P2' positions is highly conserved and only specific amino acids can occupy these positions. The cyclization reaction requires an Asn at position P1 followed by a small amino acid (Ala, Gly, Ser) at the P1' position. The P2' position must be filled by Leu or Ile; in their absence an unusual post-translational modification occurs. Substitution of the P2' Leu with Ala leads to hydroxylation of the neighboring proline. Through mutational analysis this novel proline hydroxylation motif was determined to be Gly-Ala-Pro-Ser

Eye movement patterns during the recognition of three-dimensional objects: Preferential fixation of concave surface curvature minima

This study used eye movement patterns to examine how high-level shape information is used during 3D object recognition. Eye movements were recorded while observers either actively memorized or passively viewed sets of novel objects, and then during a subsequent recognition memory task. Fixation data were contrasted against different algorithmically generated models of shape analysis based on: (1) regions of internal concave or (2) convex surface curvature discontinuity or (3) external bounding contour. The results showed a preference for fixation at regions of internal local features during both active memorization and passive viewing but also for regions of concave surface curvature during the recognition task. These findings provide new evidence supporting the special functional status of local concave discontinuities in recognition and show how studies of eye movement patterns can elucidate shape information processing in human vision

Moving towards personalising translation technology

Technology has had an important impact on the work of translators and represents a shift in the boundaries of translation work over time. Improvements in machine translation have brought about further boundary shifts in some translation work and are likely to continue having an impact. Yet translators sometimes feel frustrated with the tools they use. This chapter looks to the field of personalisation in information technology and proposes that personalising translation technology may be a way of improving translator-computer interaction. Personalisation of translation technology is considered from the perspectives of context, user modelling, trust, motivation and well-being

Epitaxial graphene immunosensor for human chorionic gonadotropin

Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), a 37 kDa glycoprotein hormone, is a key diagnostic marker of pregnancy and has been cited as an important biomarker in relation to cancerous tumors found in the prostate, ovaries and bladder.A novel chemically-modified epitaxial graphene diagnostic sensor has been developed for ultrasensitive detection of the biomarker hCG. Multi-layer epitaxial graphene (MEG), grown on silicon carbide substrates, was patterned using electron beam lithography to produce channel based devices. The MEG channels have been amine terminated using 3-Aminopropyl-triethoxysilane (APTES) in order to attach the anti-hCG antibody to the channel.Detection of binding of hCG with its graphene-bound antibody was monitored by measuring reduction of the channel current of the graphene biosensor. The sensitivity of the sensor device was investigated using varying concentrations of hCG, with changes in the channel resistance of the sensor observed upon exposure to hCG. The detection limit of the sensor was 0.62 ng/mL and the sensor showed a linear response to hCG in the range 0.62–5.62 ng/mL with a response of 142 Ω/ng/mL. At concentrations above 5.62 ng/mL the sensor begins to saturate