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Through the exploration of disease risk analysis methods employed for four different UK herpetofauna translocations, we illustrate how disease hazards can be identified, and how the risk of disease can be analysed. Where ecological or geographical barriers between source and destination sites exist, parasite populations are likely to differ in identity or strain between the two sites, elevating the risk from disease and increasing the number and category of hazards requiring analysis. Simplification of the translocation pathway through the avoidance of these barriers reduces the risk from disease. The disease risk analysis tool is intended to aid conservation practitioners in decision making relating to disease hazards prior to implementation of a translocation.

Streptococcus pyogenes, a common pathogen of humans, was isolated from the carcass of a free-living European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) found in northern England in June 2014. The animal had abscessation of the deep right cervical lymph node, mesenteric lymph nodes and liver. The S. pyogenes strain isolated from the lesions, peritoneal and pleural cavities was characterised as emm 28, which can be associated with invasive disease in humans. This is the first known report of S. pyogenes in a hedgehog and in any free-living wild animal that has been confirmed by gene sequencing. As close associations between wild hedgehogs and people in England are common, we hypothesise that this case might have resulted from anthroponotic infection.

The attachment of energy-dispersive analysers to scanning transmission electron microscopes makes possible accurate high spatial resolution microanalysis. This paper quantifies the X-ray spatial resolution obtainable for good sensitivity microanalysis as a function of microscope lens settings and primary electron beam accelerating voltage in a 200 kV scanning transmission electron microscope. It is shown that at 200 kV a resolution of approximately 500 A is possible with a 1500 A thick nickel-iron-chromium alloy specimen. At 100 kV the resolution drops to nearer 1000 A These figures are supported by Monte Carlo calculations of electron trajectories in thin films. Comparisons of experimentally measured and theoretically predicted X-ray intensities suggest a severe loss of signal intensity within the microscope; this loss becomes greater at higher accelerating voltages. The influence on microanalysis of angle of specimen inclination to beam and to the detector is considered and precautions necessary to limit beam drift during 1000 s analyses are discussed. The application of high sensitivity, high resolution microanalysis methods to a grain boundary segregation effect in an austenitic creep resistant steel is described. It is shown that titanium segregates in a zone 1000-1 500 di thick on either side of the grain boundary to a level of approximately three times the matrix concentration.When considering high energy electron beams (i.e. 100

Homogeneous glasses of known compositions have been prepared using the coprecipitated gel technique for use as chemical standards. Three of the glasses produced have been tested in a collaborative study to assess their suitability as chemical standards for laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.

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The hen harrier (Circus cyaneus) remains severely restricted as a breeding species in England despite sufficient habitat for over 300 breeding pairs. Human persecution is the main limiting factor and in the UK, there have been 45 confirmed incidents of shooting of hen harriers since records began (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds unpublished data). The authors report the pathological examination of a hen harrier, the detection of suspected ballistic fragments by radiograph and explain how scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX) was used to confirm (i) the composition of one ballistic remnant and (ii) that the remnant had been projected into and had damaged the bone. The authors report the use of post-analysis software to discriminate apparent anomalies produced by the proprietary SEM-EDX software package and discuss broader uses of SEM-EDX for wildlife crime investigation.