A quantitative assessment of the amount of prion diverted to category 1 materials and wastewater during processing

In this article the development and parameterization of a quantitative assessment is described that estimates the amount of TSE infectivity that is present in a whole animal carcass (bovine spongiform encephalopathy [BSE] for cattle and classical/atypical scrapie for sheep and lambs) and the amounts that subsequently fall to the floor during processing at facilities that handle specified risk material (SRM). BSE in cattle was found to contain the most oral doses, with a mean of 9864 BO ID50s (310, 38840) in a whole carcass compared to a mean of 1851 OO ID50s (600, 4070) and 614 OO ID50s (155, 1509) for a sheep infected with classical and atypical scrapie, respectively. Lambs contained the least infectivity with a mean of 251 OO ID50s (83, 548) for classical scrapie and 1 OO ID50s (0.2, 2) for atypical scrapie. The highest amounts of infectivity falling to the floor and entering the drains from slaughtering a whole carcass at SRM facilities were found to be from cattle infected with BSE at rendering and large incineration facilities with 7.4 BO ID50s (0.1, 29), intermediate plants and small incinerators with a mean of 4.5 BO ID50s (0.1, 18), and collection centers, 3.6 BO ID50s (0.1, 14). The lowest amounts entering drains are from lambs infected with classical and atypical scrapie at intermediate plants and atypical scrapie at collection centers with a mean of 3 × 10−7 OO ID50s (2 × 10−8, 1 × 10−6) per carcass. The results of this model provide key inputs for the model in the companion paper published here

Seasonal variation in collective mood via Twitter content and medical purchases

The analysis of sentiment contained in vast amounts of Twitter messages has reliably shown seasonal patterns of variation in multiple studies, a finding that can have great importance in the understanding of seasonal affective disorders, particularly if related with known seasonal variations in certain hormones. An important question, however, is that of directly linking the signals coming from Twitter with other sources of evidence about average mood changes. Specifically we compare Twitter signals relative to anxiety, sadness, anger, and fatigue with purchase of items related to anxiety, stress and fatigue at a major UK Health and Beauty retailer. Results show that all of these signals are highly correlated and strongly seasonal, being under-expressed in the summer and over-expressed in the other seasons, with interesting differences and similarities across them. Anxiety signals, extracted from both Twitter and from Health product purchases, peak in spring and autumn, and correlate also with the purchase of stress remedies, while Twitter sadness has a peak in the Winter, along with Twitter anger and remedies for fatigue. Surprisingly, purchase of remedies for fatigue do not match the Twitter fatigue, suggesting that perhaps the names we give to these indicators are only approximate indications of what they actually measure. This study contributes both to the clarification of the mood signals contained in social media, and more generally to our understanding of seasonal cycles in collective mood

Layered analytical graphs: analysing and composing using the harmonic techniques of Wayne Shorter and Chick Corea

The music of Wayne Shorter is renowned for its harmonic complexity, mainly due to Shorter’s application of “conventional jazz compositional ideas… in unconventional ways” (Ritchie, 2008, p. 15). While Shorter’s melodies are often based on a pentatonic scale and relatively simple and lyrical such as in “Deluge” from the album Juju (Shorter, 1964a) and “Oriental Folk Song” from Night Dreamer (Shorter, 1964b), the accompanying harmony he writes is often complex and unusual. The harmonic progressions Shorter uses in his works often include unusual techniques such as the use of non-functional neighbour chords, minor dominant chords, stepwise bass movement and chord movement in thirds. This dissertation outlines a way of identifying the harmonic devices being used in a Shorter composition, and applying them in writing new works. The layered analytical graphing analysis technique of Patricia Julien was used to analyse Shorter’s harmonic choices in two of his compositions recorded in 1964: “Speak No Evil” and “Fee-Fi-Fo-Fum” from the album Speak No Evil (Shorter, 1964c). This selection exemplifies his compositional style in this period. Two works by Chick Corea, a contemporary of Shorter who uses some of the same compositional techniques, were also analysed through the same process. These works are “Tones for Joan’s Bones” from his album Tones for Joan’s Bones (Corea, 1966) and “Captain Marvel” which he recorded on Light as a Feather (Corea, 1973). The layered analytical graph method of analysis involves reducing the harmonic progression of a composition down to its basic key centres, thus revealing the relative importance of each chord in the progression and providing insight into how the harmonic choices made by the composer interrelate. This dissertation demonstrates the use of this approach in reverse as a compositional tool, to assist in applying the harmonic techniques learned from these compositions to a new one that is harmonised in the style of the analysed works. By also investigating music by Corea, the versatility of this method as an analytical tool and compositional process is demonstrated, as well as the potential for its use in further research in composition beyond the scope of this paper

Great is truth

Geographical remoteness, small populations and vast sea distances between nations are all factors which go to ensuring that the islands of the Pacific remain relatively unfamiliar territory to many in the international community. That a region so wealthy in languages, cultures and social traditions could also be a place of coups and tensions and where media freedoms are often trampled upon, is also little known to many casual observers. An opportunity for independent Pacific media voices to be heard and for press freedom activists to express concerns on the international stage came to the fore when the UNESCO Director-General agreed to the University of Queensland’s bid to host, for the first time in the Pacific, the annual UNESCO World Press Freedom Day conference (2-3 May 2010). While global in nature, the conference addressed Pacific issues as a priority

Prion diseases are efficiently transmitted by blood transfusion in sheep

The emergence of variant Creutzfeld-Jakob disease, following on from the bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) epidemic, led to concerns about the potential risk of iatrogenic transmission of disease by blood transfusion and the introduction of costly control measures to protect blood supplies. We previously reported preliminary data demonstrating the transmission of BSE and natural scrapie by blood transfusion in sheep. The final results of this experiment, reported here, give unexpectedly high transmission rates by transfusion of 36% for BSE and 43% for scrapie. A proportion of BSE-infected tranfusion recipients (3 of 8) survived for up to 7 years without showing clinical signs of disease. The majority of transmissions resulted from blood collected from donors at more than 50% of the estimated incubation period. The high transmission rates and relatively short and consistent incubation periods in clinically positive recipients suggest that infectivity titers in blood were substantial and/or that blood transfusion is an efficient method of transmission. This experiment has established the value of using sheep as a model for studying transmission of variant Creutzfeld-Jakob disease by blood products in humans. (Blood. 2008; 112: 4739-4745

Coccidiosis in lambs on the south coast

Outbreaks of coccidiosis among autumn-born lambs on the south coast have approached epidemic proportions this year. Similar outbreaks are likely among late winter-spring born lambs. This article describes the disease and suggests measures for prevention and treatment

CHANGES IN FIRE SEASON PRECIPITATION IN IDAHO AND MONTANA FROM 1982-2006

Abstract. Fire season precipitation trends were investigated using daily rainfall data obtained from seventy-six Remote Automated Weather Stations (RAWS) across Idaho and Montana for the period 1982 to 2006. Missing and erroneous values from each station were corrected with gridded data from the North American Regional Reanalysis (NARR), creating temporally consistent, comparable records. Monthly precipitation was then analyzed during the core fire season (July-Sept) and biweekly precipitation was analyzed for the start of fire season (June). The end of the season was examined using October precipitation data and through identification of season slowing rain events (SSE). These analyses reveal significant changes in precipitation amount, timing and spatial autocorrelation at stations. While June precipitation has generally increased during the period, core fire season is getting drier and longer. Season slowing events are occurring 15 days later, on average, than they did in 1982, while summer rainfall is decreasing at 97% of stations with clusters of significant change focused in the central Idaho mountains and in west-central Montana. The observed trends in precipitation paired with later season slowing events could result in more active fire seasons in the Northern Rockies and may explain some of the changes in fire season that have been previously attributed to earlier Spring snowmelt and warmer temperatures