A Low-Cost Sensor Network for Monitoring Peatland.

Peatlands across the world are vital carbon stores. However, human activities have caused the degradation of many sites, increasing their greenhouse gas emissions and vulnerability to wildfires. Comprehensive monitoring of peatlands is essential for their protection, tracking degradation and restoration, but current techniques are limited by cost, poor reliability and low spatial or temporal resolution.

Calibration of a Low-Cost Methane Sensor Using Machine Learning.

In order to combat greenhouse gas emissions, the sources of these emissions must be understood. Environmental monitoring using low-cost wireless devices is one method of measuring emissions in crucial but remote settings, such as peatlands. The Figaro NGM2611-E13 is a low-cost methane detection module based around the TGS2611-E00 sensor.

Scanning head with 128-element 20-MHz PVDF linear array transducer.

A scanning head has been designed and fabricated that incorporates a 20-MHz, 128-element linear transducer. The scanning head also incorporates -200 V pulsers and a custom 16-channel amplifier. The transducer was constructed with 28 microm PVDF film with an element pitch of 250 microm.

Evaluation of the risk of endocarditis and other cardiovascular events on the basis of the severity of periodontal disease in dogs.

Objective: To test the hypothesis that increased severity of periodontal disease in dogs is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular-related events, such as endocarditis and cardiomyopathy, as well as markers of inflammation.

Design: Historical cohort observational study.

Sample Population: 59,296 dogs with a history of periodontal disease (periodontal cohort), of which 23,043 had stage 1 disease, 20,732 had stage 2 disease, and 15,521 had stage 3 disease; and an age-matched comparison group of 59,296 dogs with no history of periodontal disease (nonperiodontal cohort).

Adverse events after vaccine administration in cats: 2,560 cases (2002-2005).

Objective: To determine the incidence of vaccine-associated adverse events (VAAEs) diagnosed within 30 days of vaccination in cats and characterize risk factors for their occurrence.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Animals: 496,189 cats vaccinated at 329 hospitals.

Prevalence of and risk factors for canine tick infestation in the United States, 2002-2004.

Knowledge of the geographic range and seasonal activity of vector ticks is important for determining which people or animals are at risk of acquiring tick-borne infections. Several time-consuming methods requiring large-scale organization are used to map geographic and seasonal variations in tick distribution. A cost-effective, complementary approach to study tick distribution using a large nation-wide veterinary database is described in this paper.

Prevalence and risk factors for Giardia and coccidia species of pet cats in 2003-2004.

Prevalence and risk factors for feline coccidia and Giardia species infections were estimated for cats visiting 434 Banfield hospitals in 40 states in 2003-2004. Evaluated were 631,021 cats making 1,456,712 office visits (encounters) and having 211,105 fecal examinations. The overall fecal prevalences of coccidia and Giardia species were 1.

Purdue University-Banfield National Companion Animal Surveillance Program for emerging and zoonotic diseases.

A National Companion Animal Surveillance Program (NCASP) was established at Purdue University to monitor clinical syndromes and diseases using the electronic medical records of >80,000 companion animals visiting >500 Banfield hospitals weekly in 44 states. With funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, NCASP was initially developed for syndromic surveillance of Category A agents of bioterrorism. Surveillance was expanded through inclusion of electronic reports from Antech Diagnostics, a nationwide network of integrated veterinary diagnostic laboratories serving >18,000 private veterinary practices.

Estimated prevalence of nematode parasitism among pet cats in the United States.

Objective: To estimate prevalences of roundworm, hookworm, and whipworm infections in pet cats in the United States and identify risk factors for parasitism.

Design: Retrospective period prevalence survey.

Study Population: 356,086 cats examined at 359 private veterinary hospitals during 2003.

By which name should I call thee? The consequences of having multiple names.

The nominal competitor effect suggests that, when a person has two names associated with them, recall of either name is more difficult than if they just had one name. Drawing on a connectionist framework, this effect could arise either if multiple names were represented as being connected to a single person identity node (PIN), or if multiple names were represented as being connected via one-to-one links to multiple PINs. Whilst the latter has intuitive appeal, results from two experiments support the former architecture.

Adverse events diagnosed within three days of vaccine administration in dogs.

Objective: To determine incidence rates and potential risk factors for vaccine-associated adverse events (VAAEs) diagnosed within 3 days of administration in dogs.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Animals: 1,226,159 dogs vaccinated at 360 veterinary hospitals.

A space-time cluster of adverse events associated with canine rabies vaccine.

Electronic medical records of a large veterinary practice were used for surveillance of potential space-time clustering of adverse events associated with rabies vaccination in dogs. The study population was 257,564 dogs vaccinated in 169 hospitals in 13 US metropolitan areas during a 24-month period. Using a scan statistic for population rate data, significant space-time clusters were identified involving the Atlanta and Tampa/St.

Incidence of and risk factors for adverse events associated with distemper and rabies vaccine administration in ferrets.

Objective: To determine incidence of and risk factors for adverse events associated with distemper and rabies vaccine administration in ferrets.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Animals: 3,587 ferrets that received a rabies or distemper vaccine between January 1, 2002, and December 31, 2003.