Validation of a reduction in time for avian influenza virus isolation using specific pathogen-free embryonated chicken eggs.

Background: The international gold standard for avian influenza virus (AIV) diagnosis is virus isolation (VI) in specific pathogen-free embryonated chicken eggs (ECEs). AIV isolation typically involves a 6-day turnaround, during which premises under suspicion for notifiable AIV infection are held under restriction regardless of molecular diagnoses, often with significant welfare implications.

Methods: A reduction in time for negation by VI was investigated following experimental inoculation of AIV from known-positive original clinical material into ECEs.

Difference in differences analysis evaluates the effects of the badger control policy on bovine tuberculosis in England.

Persistent tuberculosis (TB) in cattle populations in England has been associated with an exchange of infection with badgers (Meles meles). A badger control policy (BCP) commenced in 2013. Its aim was to decrease TB incidence in cattle by reducing the badger population available to provide a wildlife reservoir for bovine TB.

Constraining Suprathermal Electron Evolution in a Parker Spiral Field With Cassini Observations.

Suprathermal electrons in the solar wind consist of the "halo," present at all pitch angles, and the "strahl" which is a field-aligned, beam-like population. Examining the heliospheric evolution of strahl beams is key to understanding the in-transit processing of solar wind suprathermal electrons, in particular, to identify electron scattering mechanisms and to establish the origin of the halo population. Not only does this have significant implications with regard to the kinetic processes occurring within the solar wind but also its thermodynamic evolution, as the suprathermal electrons carry the majority of the solar wind heat flux.