An improved real-time PCR assay for the detection of Old World screwworm flies

The Old World screwworm (OWS) fly, Chrysomya bezziana, is a serious pest of livestock, wildlife and humans in tropical Africa, parts of the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent, south-east Asia and Papua New Guinea. Although to date Australia remains free of OWS flies, an incursion would have serious economic and animal welfare implications. For these reasons Australia has an OWS fly preparedness plan including OWS fly surveillance with fly traps. The recent development of an improved OWS fly trap and synthetic attractant and a specific and sensitive real-time PCR molecular assay for the detection of OWS flies in trap catches has improved Australia's OWS fly surveillance capabilities. Because all Australian trap samples gave negative results in the PCR assay, it was deemed necessary to include a positive control mechanism to ensure that fly DNA was being successfully extracted and amplified and to guard against false negative results. A new non-competitive internal amplification control (IAC) has been developed that can be used in conjunction with the OWS fly PCR assay in a multiplexed single-tube reaction. The multiplexed assay provides an indicator of the performance of DNA extraction and amplification without greatly increasing labour or reagent costs. The fly IAC targets a region of the ribosomal 16S mitochondrial DNA which is conserved across at least six genera of commonly trapped flies. Compared to the OWS fly assay alone, the multiplexed OWS fly and fly IAC assay displayed no loss in sensitivity or specificity for OWS fly detection. The multiplexed OWS fly and fly IAC assay provides greater confidence for trap catch samples returning negative OWS fly results. © 2014 International Atomic Energy Agency.

Memoirs of an immigrant and his ashtray

The memoirs were written in 1999. Childhood memories in a small town in Lower Austria. Passion for playing football (soccer). Recollections of daily life with rituals of coffeehouse visits and family dinners in the countryside. First experiences of antisemitism in the mid 1930s. Rising Nazi movement and illegal meetings in the local community. Annexation of Austria in 1938. First encounters with anti-Jewish regulations and discrimination by neighbors and acquaintances. Walter experienced severe difficulties at school and was frequently insulted and beaten up. Decision to leave school. The family was forced to leave Eggenburg soon thereafter, and the town declared itself "Judenfrei" (free of Jews). Move to Vienna, where they stayed with relatives. Walter, who had been brought up as a Catholic, suddenly saw himself confronted with orthodox Jewish people of different customs. Increasing restrictions for Jews. Walter was enrolled in a program at the Vienna Jewish community to learn carpentry. Recollections of the terror of Kristallnacht. Walter and his brother Ludwig were signed up for a children transport to England by the Quaker organization and left Vienna in December 1938. Difficult feeling to depart from their parents. Arrival in Harwige. They were taken to a camp in Lowestoft. Cultural differences. Walter and his brother were sent to a training farm in Parbold. Simple living conditions and difficult circumstances. Farm work and school lessons. Outbreak of the war. Scarce news of their parents, who tried to leave for Argentina. Walter's older brother Ludwig was sent to an internment camp in Adelaide, Australia. After two years he volunteered in the Pioneer Corps and returned to England. In 1941 their parents finally managed to emigrate to Argentina. Walter decided to join them, and in 1943 he left for Buenos Aires. During the passage on the Atlantic the ship was sunk by a German submarine. Rescue by the US Army. Continuation of his trip via New York.

My First 6701 Days : July 31 1921 to December 1939 /

The memoirs contain photocopies of documents and photos as well as extracts from letters and were written in October 1989 in the United States. Description of life in Baden, a famous health resort near Vienna. The family lived in Vienna in the second district (Leopoldstadt). Recollections of schoolteachers and childhood friends. Occasional Friday night services in the Leopoldstadt temple. Theater and opera visits and cultural life in Vienna. Private piano and music lessons. Description of the family apartment and Jewish life in the Leopoldstadt. The family celebrated Christmas and observed the high Jewish holidays. Recollections of the author's bar mitzvah celebration. His mother Charlotte, nee Schwadron, was an artistic woman, who studied painting at the Frauenakademie with Tina Blau. Walter's father Leo Schaffir was born in Byalistock, Russia and studied in Berlin. He was a travelling businessmen. His family lived in Lemberg, Galicia. Leo and Charlotte Schaffir got married in 1919 in Vienna by rabbi Dr. Grunwald. Recollections of a family trip to Poland and to the World Fair in Posen in 1930. Suicide of the author's father due to business failure in 1930. Schaffir and Schwadron family history. Both families originated in Galicia, Poland. Family and social life. Summer vacation at the Semmering. Austrian politics in the 1930's and rising National Socialism. Life in Vienna after the "Anschluss" in 1938. Walter had to leave school and took lessons in graphic arts with the artist Heinrich Koerner. Preparations to emigrate. Walter was picked up in the streets in the days after Kristallnacht and released due to his mother's intervention. He was sent with his brother Kurt on a "Kindertransport" to Holland. They were sent to a quarantine camp at Heyplaat. Reunition with their mother in the United States in December 1939. Reflections on life as an emigre.

"... I want an Ocean between us!" : Letters from Samuel Kahn, devoted father of one of the thousand children brought from Germany to the United States in 1934.

The manuscript contains letters written by Samuel Kahn to his daughter in the USA between 1934 and 1937.

First Fruiting Intergeneric Hybrids between Citrus and Citropsis

Fruiting hybrids are reported for the first time between the genera Citrus L. and Citropsis (Engl.) Swing. & M.Kell. Conventional hybridization using the recently described species Citrus wakonai P.I.Forst. & M.W.Sm. and Citropsis gabunensis (Engl.) Swing. & M.Kell. resulted in high rates of fruit set and seed formation. Although seed were only half normal size, over 90% germinated without the need for embryo rescue techniques. Plant losses were high during the first few months but after six months, the 327 surviving hybrids were potted on. These grew vigorously on their own roots and 35 of them flowered within two years of sowing. Plants flowered continuously but all were pollen-sterile and ovaries abscised shortly after petal fall. However, at 25 months, two newly flowering hybrids began setting fruit. The development, identification, morphology, breeding efficiency, and future implications of this unique germplasm are described.

Promoting kangaroo as a sustainable option for meat production on the rangelands of Australia

Implications •As kangaroo meat is sourced from native wildlife, conservation of the species is important in developing sustainable meat harvesting. Landholders, conservationists, and commercial meat producers need to work together to achieve this goal. •The production of high quality meat products from field-harvested carcasses can be augmented through a better understanding of the impact that field conditions and carcass handling have on final meat eating quality. •Food safety is also paramount, with measures taken to minimize the impacts of parasitism and microbial contamination. Any breaches of inspection protocols can only serve to undermine consumer confidence and viability of the industry.

Health assessment of the Christmas Island flying fox (Pteropus melanotus natalis)

During July/August 2010, 28 Christmas Island flying foxes (Pteropus melanotus natalis) were captured and anesthetized for examination, sample collection, and release to determine the potential role of disease in recent population declines. Measurements and samples were taken for morphologic, hematologic, biochemical, and parasitologic analysis. These are the first blood reference ranges reported for this species. These data are being used to inform investigations into conservation status and population management strategies for the Christmas Island flying fox.

Ecological dynamics of emerging bat virus spillover

Viruses that originate in bats may be the most notorious emerging zoonoses that spill over from wildlife into domestic animals and humans. Understanding how these infections filter through ecological systems to cause disease in humans is of profound importance to public health. Transmission of viruses from bats to humans requires a hierarchy of enabling conditions that connect the distribution of reservoir hosts, viral infection within these hosts, and exposure and susceptibility of recipient hosts. For many emerging bat viruses, spillover also requires viral shedding from bats, and survival of the virus in the environment. Focusing on Hendra virus, but also addressing Nipah virus, Ebola virus, Marburg virus and coronaviruses, we delineate this cross-species spillover dynamic from the within-host processes that drive virus excretion to land-use changes that increase interaction among species. We describe how land-use changes may affect co-occurrence and contact between bats and recipient hosts. Two hypotheses may explain temporal and spatial pulses of virus shedding in bat populations: episodic shedding from persistently infected bats or transient epidemics that occur as virus is transmitted among bat populations. Management of livestock also may affect the probability of exposure and disease. Interventions to decrease the probability of virus spillover can be implemented at multiple levels from targeting the reservoir host to managing recipient host exposure and susceptibility.

Measuring Physiological Stress in Australian Flying-Fox Populations

Flying-foxes (pteropid bats) are the natural host of Hendra virus, a recently emerged zoonotic virus responsible for mortality or morbidity in horses and humans in Australia since 1994. Previous studies have suggested physiological and ecological risk factors for infection in flying-foxes, including physiological stress. However, little work has been done measuring and interpreting stress hormones in flying-foxes. Over a 12-month period, we collected pooled urine samples from underneath roosting flying-foxes, and urine and blood samples from captured individuals. Urine and plasma samples were assayed for cortisol using a commercially available enzyme immunoassay. We demonstrated a typical post-capture stress response in flying-foxes, established urine specific gravity as an attractive alternative to creatinine to correct urine concentration, and established population-level urinary cortisol ranges (and geometric means) for the four Australian species: Pteropus alecto 0.5–305.1 ng/mL (20.1 ng/mL); Pteropus conspicillatus 0.3–370.9 ng/mL (18.9 ng/mL); Pteropus poliocephalus 0.3–311.3 ng/mL (10.1 ng/mL); Pteropus scapulatus 5.2–205.4 ng/mL (40.7 ng/mL). Geometric means differed significantly except for P. alecto and P. conspicillatus. Our approach is methodologically robust, and has application both as a research or clinical tool for flying-foxes, and for other free-living colonial wildlife species

Livelihood, land use and environment interactions in the highlands of East Africa

This study aims at improving understanding of the interactions of livelihoods and the environment focusing on both socio-economic and biodiversity implications of land use change in the context of population pressure, global and local markets, climate change, cultural and regional historical factors in the highlands of East Africa. The study is based on three components (1) two extensive livelihood surveys, one on Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and the other in the Taita Hills of Kenya, (2) a land use change study of the southern slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro focusing on land use trends between 1960s and 1980s and 1980s and 2000 and (3) a bird diversity study focusing on the potential impacts of the future land use change on birds in the main land use types on the slopes and the adjacent plains of Mt. Kilimanjaro. In addition, information on the highlands in Embu and the adjacent lowlands in Mbeere of Kenya are added to the discussion. Some general patterns of livelihood, land use and environment interactions can be found in the three sites. However, the linkages are very complex. Various external factors at different times in history have influenced most of the major turning points. Farmers continually make small adaptations to their farming practices, but the locally conceived alternatives are too few. Farmers lack specific information and knowledge on the most suitable crops, market opportunities and the quality requirements for growing the crops for markets. Population growth emerges as the most forceful driver of land use and environmental change. The higher altitudes have become extremely crowded with population densities in some areas higher than typical urban population densities. Natural vegetation has almost totally been replaced by farmland. Decreasing farm size due to population pressure is currently threatening the viability of whole farming systems. In addition, capital-poor intensification has lead to soil fertility depletion. Agricultural expansion to the agriculturally marginal lowlands has created a new and distinct group of farmers struggling constantly with climate variability causing frequent crop failures. Extensification to the fragile drylands is the major cause of fragmentation and loss of wildlife habitat. The linkages between livelihoods, land use and the environment generally point to degradation of the environment leading to reduced environmental services and ecosystem functions. There is no indication that the system is self-regulating in this respect. Positive interventions will be needed to maintain ecosystem integrity.

Graenum Berger papers, undated, (1825)-2002

Contains correspondence, minutes, reports, clippings, manuscripts, research materials, journal articles, photographs and publications; primarily relating to Berger's involvement with Ethiopian Jewry and his efforts to bring about their rescue through the organization he formed, the American Association for Ethiopian Jews. Also contains material from Berger's other interests- his writings, travels through the world and to Israel and Ethiopia, community affiliations, research in Black American Jews, profession as a Jewish social work executive, his commitment to Jewish causes and to Israel. There are also many personal and biographical materials from the numerous long-term friendships and associations he established.

Schoolman family papers, undated, 1889-1994

The Schoolman Papers reflect Dr. Albert P. and Mrs. Bertha Schoolmans' staunch dedication to Jewish education, Jewish causes, and Israel. Bertha Schoolman, a lifelong member of Hadassah, assisted thousands of Israeli youth as chairman of the Youth Aliyah Committee. Her diaries, photos, scrapbooks, and correspondence record her numerous visits to Israel on which she helped set up schools, met with Israeli dignitaries, and participated in Zionist Conferences and events. The collection includes a 1936 letter from Hadassah founder, Henrietta Szold, praising Mrs. Schoolman's work as well as a letter from the father of Anne Frank, thanking Mrs. Schoolman for naming a Youth Aliyah center the "Anne Frank Haven" after his later daughter.

Using UHF proximity loggers to quantify male–female interactions: A scoping study of estrous activity in cattle

Reproductive efficiency is an important determinant of profitable cattle breeding systems and the success of assisted reproductive techniques (ART) in wildlife conservation programs. Methods of estrous detection used in intensive beef and dairy cattle systems lack accuracy and remain the single biggest issue for improvement of reproductive rates and such methods are not practical for either large-scale extensive beef cattle enterprises or free-living mammalian species. Recent developments in UHF (ultra high frequency) proximity logger telemetry devices have been used to provide a continuous pair-wise measure of associations between individual animals for both livestock and wildlife. The objective of this study was to explore the potential of using UHF telemetry to identify the reproductive cycle phenotype in terms of intensity and duration of estrus. The study was conducted using Belmont Red (interbred Africander Brahman Hereford–Shorthorn) cattle grazing irrigated pasture on Belmont Research Station, northeastern Australia. The cow-bull associations from three groups of cows each with one bull were recorded over a 7-week breeding season and the stage of estrus was identified using ultrasonography. Telemetry data from bull and cows, collected over 4 8-day logger deployments, were log transformed and analyzed by ANOVA. Both the number and duration of bull-cow affiliations were significantly (P < 0.001) greater in estrous cows compared to anestrus cows. These results support the development of the UHF technology as a hands-off and noninvasive means of gathering socio-sexual information on both wildlife and livestock for reproductive management.

Ecological dynamics of emerging bat virus spillover

Viruses that originate in bats may be the most notorious emerging zoonoses that spill over from wildlife into domestic animals and humans. Understanding how these infections filter through ecological systems to cause disease in humans is of profound importance to public health. Transmission of viruses from bats to humans requires a hierarchy of enabling conditions that connect the distribution of reservoir hosts, viral infection within these hosts, and exposure and susceptibility of recipient hosts. For many emerging bat viruses, spillover also requires viral shedding from bats, and survival of the virus in the environment. Focusing on Hendra virus, but also addressing Nipah virus, Ebola virus, Marburg virus and coronaviruses, we delineate this cross-species spillover dynamic from the within-host processes that drive virus excretion to land-use changes that increase interaction among species. We describe how land-use changes may affect co-occurrence and contact between bats and recipient hosts. Two hypotheses may explain temporal and spatial pulses of virus shedding in bat populations: episodic shedding from persistently infected bats or transient epidemics that occur as virus is transmitted among bat populations. Management of livestock also may affect the probability of exposure and disease. Interventions to decrease the probability of virus spillover can be implemented at multiple levels from targeting the reservoir host to managing recipient host exposure and susceptibility.