There exists an urgent need to develop iterative risk assessment strategies of zoonotic diseases. The aim of this study is to develop a method of prioritizing 98 zoonoses derived from animal pathogens in Japan and to involve four major groups of stakeholders: researchers, physicians, public health officials, and citizens. We used a combination of risk profiling and analytic hierarchy process (AHP). Profiling risk was accomplished with semi-quantitative analysis of existing public health data. AHP data collection was performed by administering questionnaires to the four stakeholder groups. Results showed that researchers and public health officials focused on case fatality as the chief important factor, while physicians and citizens placed more weight on diagnosis and prevention, respectively. Most of the six top-ranked diseases were similar among all stakeholders. Transmissible spongiform encephalopathy, severe acute respiratory syndrome, and Ebola fever were ranked first, second, and third, respectively.
Abstract.A simple and clear means to identify the physiological status of follicles is essential for study of follicular biology. In the present study, we verified a novel classification procedure based on analysis of the follicular population and glucose concentration in follicular fluid (FF) as an alternative method to classify bovine follicles. Paired ovaries were collected from heifers, and the number of follicles and stage of the CL were recorded. Follicles were initially divided into the following 3 groups according to diameter and the ratio of E2 and P4 (E/P): E2 active (E-A: E/P≥1), E2 inactive (E-I: E/P<1, ≥8.5 mm) and small follicles (E/P<1, <8.5 mm). E-A follicles were easily identified as E2-rich dominant follicles and were further classified according to diameter and stage of the CL as early dominant (EDF: <8.5 mm), dominant (DF: ≥8.5 mm, stages I-III) or preovulatory follicles (POF: ≥8.5 mm, stage IV). E-I follicles were classified as follows based on the status of the accompanying follicles: early atretic (EAF: without an E-A follicle), mid-atretic (MAF: with an EDF or DF) and late atretic follicles (LAF: with an EAF or POF). The follicular P4 concentrations of the MAF and LAF were significantly higher compared with that of the EAF, while follicular glucose concentration of the LAF was lower compared with those of EAF and MAF, indicating that this classification can be used to distinguish early atretic follicles from more advanced atretic follicles. Small follicles were classified as growing (GF: without E-A follicles) and suppressed small follicles (SSF: with E-A follicles). The SSF was easily identifiable by this procedure, but some GF populations likely contained SSF. To identify true GF, the ratio of E2 in the GF and accompanying EAF may be used. In conclusion, analysis of the follicular population in conjunction with biochemical indices such as steroid and glucose concentrations in FF provides a simple and accurate means of classifying bovine follicles. battoir-derived ovaries have been used extensively as sources of oocytes for embryo production in vitro. Ovaries also provide useful materials for investigating the physiological functions of follicles. Although recent development of ultrasonography enables researchers to monitor development of follicles in real time, follicular samples derived from abattoir-harvested ovaries continue to be cheap and valuable materials for investigating the biochemical natures of follicular fluid (FF) and ovarian functions such as gene/ protein expression. For this reason, a simple and accurate method to determine the physiological status of follicles is necessary. To date, some follicular classification methods have been advocated. These methods are based on morphological, histological and biochemical criteria, but none of them are without faults.Histological examination employs the incidence of pycnosis in granulosa cell nuclei and the degree of granulosa/thecal integrity as the criteria [1]. Although this method is sensitive enough to detect a slight sign o...
ABSTRACT. Thailand is a developing nation dependent on agriculture. Due to lack of modern public health practices, she suffers from the consequences of foodborne illnesses. The number of foodborne infection cases has nearly doubled in the past 10 years. Salmonella and Campylobacter pose the greatest risk of bacterial contaminants, mostly from pigs and chickens, and this paper will review livestock production systems and foodborne diseases from cases stemming from these sources. Due to the complexity of the livestock production systems, collection of data to date has been sporadic, but it is clear that controls are needed in slaughterhouse processing methods, and more communication between agencies and surrounding regions is paramount for proper surveillance to have any significant effect.
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