Digital Commons Network^™

Urer, The Transcriptional Activator Of The Proteus Mirabilis Urease Gene Cluster, Is Required For Urease Activity And Virulence In Experimental Urinary Tract Infections, Jonathan D. Dattelbaum, C. Virginia Lockatell, David E. Johnson, Harry L.T. Mobley

Chemistry Faculty Publications

Proteus mirabilis, a cause of complicated urinary tract infection, produces urease, an essential virulence factor for this species. UreR, a member of the AraC/XylS family of transcriptional regulators, positively activates expression of the ure gene cluster in the presence of urea. To specifically evaluate the contribution of UreR to urease activity and virulence in the urinary tract, a ureR mutation was introduced into P. mirabilis HI4320 by homologous recombination. The isogenic ureR::aphA mutant, deficient in UreR production, lacked measurable urease activity. Expression was not detected in the UreR-deficient strain by Western blotting with monoclonal antibodies raised against UreD. Urease …

The Emergence Of Major Avian Diseases In North America: West Nile Virus And More, Robert G. Mclean

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Some major diseases of wild birds have emerged dramatically in North America recently due in part to the rapid global movement of animals and pathogens and major changes in the size, quality, and continuity of natural habitats. These diseases include invasive pathogens, emergence of new disease agents or syndromes, and reemergence of some established diseases. A prominent example is West Nile virus that invaded North America, became easily established, and has expanded throughout the continent within 4 years. A number of factors have influenced the frequency of occurrence, the variety of species affected, and the geographical extent of these emergent …

Oral Rabies Vaccination: Reducing Economic Uncertainty Via Response Surface Analysis, Ray T. Sterner, Matthew A. Kling, Stephanie A. Shwiff, Dennis Slate

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Economic uncertainty surrounds the distribution of Raboral V-RG7 as an oral rabies vaccine (ORV) bait for the containment or elimination of raccoon-variant rabies in the United States. This paper describes a costs-savings model of ORV. It also describes Excel XP7 code that was prepared to compute potential net savings (NS) and benefit-cost ratios (BCRs) associated with Raboral V-RG7 bait distributions. Currently, baits and bait distributions are relatively expensive; individual baits are produced at a cost of $1.27 for federal use and typically dispensed at >75 baits/km2. Distribution is estimated at $8.62/km², $15.80/km², and $33.30/km² for …

Mycobacterial Diseases In Wildlife, Gary W. Witmer, Thomas Deliberto, Kurt C. Vercauteren, Peter Butchko

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Mycobacterium infections occur in numerous wildlife species worldwide and this bacterial genus can also cause disease in humans and livestock. Two Mycobacterium species and one subspecies that infect wildlife are important from a wildlife damage management perspective. Mycobacterium avium, avian tuberculosis, is a ubiquitous and cosmopolitan disease of wild and domestic birds. Wild and domestic ruminants are host to M. avium paratuberculosis, also known as Johne’s disease. Finally, Mycobaterium bovis, bovine tuberculosis, is primarily associated with domestic and wild bovines and ungulates, but also infects many other species of mammals. Eradicating these diseases from wildlife populations is …

A Review Of Pathogens Of Agricultural And Human Health Interest Found In Blackbirds, Larry Clark, Robert G. Mclean

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Because of their numbers and close association with humans and agriculture. the role of blackbirds in disease transmission has been of concern. Unfortunately fear systematic and quantitative studies have been carried out that bear on this issue. We review the extant literature on zoonoses and pathogens of agricultural concern where there is documented evidence for the involvement of blackbirds and starlings. It is clear that blackbirds can exacerbate levels of risk for failures in agricultural biosecurity and human health. To what degree these levels of risk are raised is largely unknown and should be the focus of future studies because …

A Review Of Pathogens Of Agricultural And Human Health Interest Found In Canada Geese, Larry Clark

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The roles that waterfowl in general, and Canada geese in particular, have in the dissemination and transmission of viral and bacterial diseases of human or agricultural importance are covered in this review. In addition to the biological information about the etiology of the disease, economic impacts and zoonotic potential of viral and bacterial pathogens are considered. In most cases existing evidence suggests the importance of waterfowl in disease dissemination and transmission, however, definitive data are often lacking, indicating the need for more directed studies before quantitative risk assessments can be made. Finally, a brief assessment of management options is considered.

Feral Swine---Are They A Disease Threat To Livestock In The United States?, Gary W. Witmer, Robert B. Sanders, Arnold C. Taft

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Feral swine populations provide both benefits and liabilities to citizens of the United States. Their expanding range and increasing densities, however, have raised concern over the adverse environmental and agricultural effects and the increased risk of disease transmission between feral swine and livestock. We discuss the role of feral swine in the transmission of wildlife diseases and, in particular, in diseases of national significance to the livestock industry. We also discuss available management tools and strategies for reducing feral swine populations, minimizing damage or disease occurrences and eradicating populations when deemed appropriate. Finally, we note areas of research that may …

Review Of "The Health Of Nations: Infectious Disease, Environmental Change, And Their Effects On National Security And Development," By Andrew T. Price-Smith, Andrew Mierins

The University of New Hampshire Law Review

[Excerpt] "Andrew T. Price-Smith, author of The Health of Nations: Infectious Disease, Environmental Change, and Their Effects on National Security and Development, provides a well documented and reasoned analysis of the need for world leaders, including the United States, to place the threat of infectious disease on the front burner of consideration when shaping both national and international policy. Professor Price-Smith has provided both empirical data and historical analysis to support the impassioned plea for this natural threat to be taken seriously. The book is geared toward the academic community and policy analysts; however, other professionals not involved in these …

Pig Industry Biosecurity Plan - March 2003 - Protecting The Pig Industry Is Everyone's Business, Department Of Agriculture, Western Australia

Biosecurity published reports

Farmnote 71/2002 - Farm Biosecurity

Farmnote 43/2002 - Biosecurity in the livestock industries

StockGuard has been initiated to develop a series of biosecurity plans for the animal industries in Western Australia. Through StockGuard, representatives from the animal industries have been working with the Western Australian Department of Agriculture to identify potential threats to each of the animal industries and to develop action plans detailing how these threats can be managed.

The overall purpose of StockGuard is to identify threats to the animal industries and to develop effective ways to minimise the potential impact of these threats.

If an emergency pig …

The U.S. And Mexico Sin Fronteras - Without Borders: Sustainable Development From A Local Perspective, Paulette Stenzel

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

Current Status Data: Review, Recent Developments And Open Problems, Nicholas P. Jewell, Mark J. Van Der Laan

U.C. Berkeley Division of Biostatistics Working Paper Series

Researchers working with survival data are by now adept at handling issues associated with incomplete data, particular those associated with various forms of censoring. An extreme form of interval censoring, known as current status observation, refers to situations where the only available information on a survival random variable T is whether or not T exceeds a random independent monitoring time C. This article contains a brief review of the extensive literature on the analysis of current status data, discussing the implications of response-based sampling on these methods. The majority of the paper introduces some recent extensions of these ideas to …

Scwds Briefs: Volume 18, Number 2 (July 2002)

Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study: Publications

• Chronic wasting disease (CWD) recently has been identified in more free-ranging and captive cervids at additional locations in New Mexico, Wisconsin, and Colorado.
• An outbreak of low pathogenicity avian influenza (LPAI) virus apparently has been contained in domestic poultry in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.
• West Nile Virus Continues to Spread
• Update on Cryptosporidium and Giardia in Wildlife
• The accurate diagnosis of epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus (EHDV) in white-tailed deer
• In June of 2002, the Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund made a contribution to help support SCWDS' continuing investigations of avian vacuolar myelinopathy (AVM).
• …

Transboundary Watersheds: Changing Environments And Streams Of Thought [Abstract], Roger S. Pulwarty, Robert Varady, Leah Stauber

Allocating and Managing Water for a Sustainable Future: Lessons from Around the World (Summer Conference, June 11-14)

2 pages.

2002 - The Seventh Annual Symposium Of Student Scholars

Symposium of Student Scholars Program Books

The full program book from the Seventh Annual Symposium of Student Scholars, held on April 5, 2002. Includes abstracts from the presentations and posters.

Scwds Briefs: Volume 18, Number 1 (April 2002) -- Special Cwd Issue

Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study: Publications

SPECIAL CWD ISSUE

• Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies
• TSEs of Domestic Animals and Humans
• Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
• Chronic Wasting Disease 101
• CWD Epidemiology
• CWD Diagnosis
• CWD Surveillance, Doing the Numbers
• CWD Management
• CWD in Captive Cervids
• CWD in Wild Deer and Elk
• Public Health Concerns About CWD

Scwds Briefs: Volume 17, Number 4 (January 2002)

Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study: Publications

• CWD News from Nebraska and Kansas
• Tropical Bont Tick Threat: Amblyomma variegatum
• Avian vacuolar myelinopathy (AVM) was confirmed by SCWDS diagnosticians in two dead bald eagles and is suspected in another four decomposed eagle carcasses recovered since mid-November at Clarks Hill Lake along the Georgia/South Carolina border.
• The Office International des Epipoozties (OIE) agreed to restore the United Kingdom's Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) free status without vaccination for the purposes of international trade.
• Raccoon Roundworms – Public Health Update: Baylisascaris procyonis
• CSF Control Targets Wild Boars: Classical swine fever (CSF), also called hog cholera, is …

Vaccination Strategies And Backward Bifurcation In Age-Since-Infection Structured Model, Christopher Kribs, Maia Martcheva

Mathematics Faculty Publications - Archive

We consider models for a disease with acute and chronic infective stages, and variable infectivity and recovery rates, within the context of a vaccination campaign. Models for SIRS and SIS disease cycles exhibit backward bifurcations under certain conditions, which complicate the criteria for success of the vaccination campaign by making it possible to have stable endemic states when R0 < 1. We also show the extent to which the forms of the infectivity and recovery functions affect the possibility of backward bifurcations. SIR and SI models examined do not exhibit this behavior.

West Nile Virus: A Threat To North American Avian Species, Robert G. Mclean

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

West Nile virus (WNV) was introduced into the United States (US), specifically in New York City (NYC), in 1999; this translocation represented a major shift out of its normal geographical distribution of Africa, the Middle East, Europe and the western parts of Asia (Center for Disease Control 1999a). The route or method of entry into the US is still unknown. WNV is in the genus Flavivirus, the family Flaviviridae and is closely related to some other viruses in this family, such as Japanese encephalitis virus in Southeast Asia, Murray Valley encephalitis virus in Australia and St. Louis encephalitis (SLE) …

Health Promotion Evaluation And Needs Assessment In The Transylvania Region Of Romania, Bryan C. Byrd

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Since the revolution of 1989, Romania has been undergoing wide ranging changes affecting all aspects of the country including health promotion. As common to many newly independent states (NIS) the changes in socio-economics, on-going poverty, unemployment status, and the overall culture shock of political transition, has resulted in health characteristics and indicators improving in some areas but suffering in others. This project was initiated as a descriptive study of the health promotion practices of Transylvania, Romania. The goal of the research was to describe and discover the philosophical practices driving current Romanian health promotion practices, as well as to conduct …

Scwds Briefs: Volume 17, Number 3 (October 2001)

Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study: Publications

• Biosecurity Alert
• The United Kingdom appears to be near success in eradicating foot-and-mouth disease (FMD).
• USDA declares chronic wasting disease CWD emergency in captive elk.
• CWD Calamity in Colorado: Approximately 1,300 animals in seven Colorado captive elk herds currently are under quarantine because chronic wasting disease (CWD) has been diagnosed in or traced to the herds.
• Further Spread of West Nile virus (WNV)
• Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) virus was isolated from the brain of a wild white-tailed deer from Houston County, Georgia. Togaviridae, Culiseta melanura
• Equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM) is a severe neurological …

The Probe, Issue 218 – September/October 2001

The Probe: Newsletter of the National Animal Damage Control Association

Regional Directors Address NADCA's Future -- Chad Richardson & Sam Linhart
South Carolina State Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources was justified in issuing permits to kill 200 deer in an effort to control the white-tailed deer population of the Sea Pines Plantation (SPP) on Hilton Head Island.
The Animal Liberation Front (ALF) is claiming credit for a September 9 firebombing at a Tucson, Arizona, McDonald's restaurant.
Biologists from the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources (DFWR) have begun using "hair traps" to get an estimate of the state's black bear population.
A …

Territorial Defense By Coyotes (Canis Latrans) In Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming: Who, How, Where, When, And Why, Eric M. Gese

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Territorial defense and maintenance are an important facet of the social ecology of most carnivore species. From January 1991 to June 1993, we observed 54 coyotes (Canis latrans) for 2507 h in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, during which we observed 112 instances of territory defense. The identity of the coyotes involved in challenging and evicting intruding animals was known. Alpha coyotes were most likely to be involved in territorial evictions of intruding animals, followed by beta individuals; pups participated little in territory defense. Coyotes evicting intruders generally had a numerical advantage when challenging the intruders. Territory-defense rates were …

Program Abstracts, 113th Session, Iowa Academy Of Science, April 20-21, 2001, Iowa Academy Of Science

Iowa Academy of Science Documents

Presentation abstracts from the annual meeting of the Iowa Academy of Science

Circulation, Vol. 8, No. 1, Center For Coastal Physical Oceanography, Old Dominion University, Ann E. Gargett

CCPO Circulation

Spring 2001 issue of CCPO Circulation featuring article "Remarks from a New Arrival: Dr. Ann Gargett"

Disease Emergence In Birds: Challenges For The Twenty-First Century, Milton Friend, Robert G. Mclean, F. Joshua Dein

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Finch (Carpodacus mexicanus) conjunctivitis is an example of the rapid geographic spread that can result from disease emergence in naive populations. That event was neither novel nor transient relative to its occurrence or effects. Disease emergence and reemergence are hallmarks of the latter part of the twentieth century (Center for Disease Control 1994, Levins et al. 1994, DaSilva and Laccarino 1999, Gratz 1999). Current examples involving domestic animals include the problems in Europe with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, or ‘‘mad cow disease’’) (Brown 2001) and foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) (Kitching 1999). Human health has been affected by diseases caused …

Escherichia Coli O157:H7 In Free-Ranging Deer In Nebraska, David G. Renter, Jan M. Sargeant, Scott E. Hygnstrom, Jeff D. Hoffmann, Jerry R. Gillespie

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

In order to determine the prevalence and distribution of the human pathogen, Escherichia coli O157:H7, in free-ranging deer, hunters were asked to collect and submit fecal samples from deer harvested during a regular firearm season (14–22 November 1998). Prior to the season, 47% of the hunters with permits in the southeastern Nebraska (USA) study area indicated a willingness to participate in the study. Approximately 25% of successful hunters in the area submitted deer fecal samples. Escherichia coli O157:H7 was cultured from four (0.25%) of 1,608 total samples submitted. All of the fecal samples that were properly identified (1,426) and all …

Climate Change And Extreme Weather Events - Implications For Food Production, Plant Diseases, And Pests, Cynthia Rosenzweig, Ana Iglesius, X. B. Yang, Paul R. Epstein, Eric Chivian

United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Publications

Current and future energy use from burning of fossil fuels and clearing of forests for cultivation can have profound effects on the global environment, agriculture, and the availability of low-cost, high-quality food for humans. Individual farmers and consumers are expected to be affected by changes in global and regional climate. The agricultural sector in both developing and developed areas needs to understand what is at stake and to prepare for the potential for change wisely.
Despite tremendous improvements in technology and crop yield potential, food production remains highly dependent on climate, because solar radiation, temperature, and precipitation are the main …

"References" For Carnivore Conservation, John L. Gittleman, Stephan M. Funk, David Macdonald, Robert K. Wayne, Eric M. Gese

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

119-page bibliography of works cited in in CARNIVORE CONSERVATION, edited by John L. Gittleman, Stephan M. Funk, David Macdonald, and Robert K. Wayne, Cambridge University Press, 2001.

Includes approximately 2,000 items.

Serological Responses Of Coyotes To Two Commercial Rabies Vaccines, Frederick F. Knowlton, Marianna Roetto, Deborah Briggs

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Between August 1993 and September 1994 we documented serological responses of coyotes (Canis latrans) vaccinated with two commercial rabies vaccines licensed for use in domestic dogs. Serologic responses were documented by testing for rabies virus neutralizing antibodies with the rapid fluorescent focus inhibition test (RFFIT) at 30, 90, 180, 270, and 365 days post-vaccination. All coyotes vaccinated with Imrab 3^® (Rhone-Merieux, Inc.), and 75% of those vaccinated with Dura-Rab 3^® (Immunovet, Inc.) seroconverted, as evidenced by the presence of antirabies antibody titers ≥1:5 in one or more of the five post-vaccination samples. The percent of coyotes …

Field Methodology For The Determination Of The Prevalence Of Giardia Cysts And Cryptosporidium Oocysts Drinking Water And Its Association To The Development Of Diarrheal Disease In The Transylvania Region Of Romania, Rick J. Bauer

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this study was to analyze the drinking water of 69 individuals living in the Transylvania region of Romania for the presence of Giardia cysts and Cryptosporidium oocysts. The ultimate objective was to determine if a correlation exists between the presence and concentrations of these two protozoa and the reported frequency and average severity of diarrheal disease in the study group members.

To accomplish this goal, a collection, emulsion, concentration, labeling, and identification method had to be developed that could operate effectively in an international field setting. The protocol selected included the collection of samples using a compressed …