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IntroductionPANDEM-Source (PS) is a tool to collect and integrate openly available public health-related data from heterogeneous data sources to support the surveillance of infectious diseases for pandemic management. The tool may also be used for pandemic preparedness by generating surveillance data for training purposes. It was developed as part of the EU-funded Horizon 2020 PANDEM-2 project during the COVID-19 pandemic as a result of close collaboration in a consortium of 19 partners, including six European public health agencies, one hospital, and three first responder organizations. This manuscript describes PS's features and design to disseminate its characteristics and capabilities to strengthen pandemic preparedness and response.MethodsA requirement-gathering process with EU pandemic managers in the consortium was performed to identify and prioritize a list of variables and indicators useful for surveillance and pandemic management. Using the COVID-19 pandemic as a use case, we developed PS with the purpose of feeding all necessary data to be displayed in the PANDEM-2 dashboard.ResultsPS routinely monitors, collects, and standardizes data from open or restricted heterogeneous data sources (users can upload their own data). It supports indicators and health resources related data from traditional data sources reported by national and international agencies, and indicators from non-traditional data sources such as those captured in social and mass media, participatory surveillance, and seroprevalence studies. The tool can also calculate indicators and be used to produce data for training purposes by generating synthetic data from a minimal set of indicators to simulate pandemic scenarios. PS is currently set up for COVID-19 surveillance at the European level but can be adapted to other diseases or threats and regions.ConclusionWith the lessons learnt during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to keep building capacity to monitor potential threats and develop tools that can facilitate training in all the necessary aspects to manage future pandemics. PS is open source and its design provides flexibility to collect heterogeneous data from open data sources or to upload end users's own data and customize surveillance indicators. PS is easily adaptable to future threats or different training scenarios. All these features make PS a unique and valuable tool for pandemic management.

"Experience design" is a term that has risen to the forefront in a variety of professional fields and has relevance for the field of park and recreation. Park and recreation professionals are primarily focused on providing experiences and thus could naturally consider themselves experienced designers. Surprisingly, experience design is not a topic often discussed within park and recreation publications or curriculum. This absence is at least in part attributable to the fact that experience design is an emerging field that has grown independently out of multiple disciplines. Consequently, the fields of park and recreation and experience design overlap in a variety of mutually beneficial ways which deserve further consideration. The purpose of this paper is to provide leisure educators a brief introduction to the practice of experience design and present information drawn from experience designers across a variety of fields about the skills, certifications, and resources necessary to become an experienced designer.

Groundwater is subject to the intrusion of pollutants of various types. These pollutants can have natural or anthropogenic sources. Their consumption can therefore affect human health, but also affects the development of vegetation. The objective of this article is to analyze the effect of the dispersion coefficient parameters on the spatio-temporal distribution of pollutants in a saturated porous medium with a finite thickness. This layer is subjected to two types of conditions at the outlet of the aquifer where the dispersion coefficient is a function of depth. The partial differential equations were solved using an implicit finite difference technique. The results of the analysis suggest that the behavior of the concentration profile was influenced by the different output boundary conditions. On the other hand, the parameter, b of the dispersion coefficient depending on the distance has a significant impact on the movement of the solute in a saturated porous medium compared to the parameter, a. In other words, it has more effect on the dispersion of pollutants in aquifers. This study highlights the need to bring insight on the transports parameters while modeling the transport of solute in a porous media.

In this study, the Burgers equation governing the time-dependent dispersion phenomena is solved numerically using the finite difference scheme and the Runge-Kutta 4 algorithm with appropriate initial and boundary conditions. Two time-dependent dispersion functions have been implemented to analyze the spatio-temporal variation in the domain. For the values of KL and KA < 1.2 years, a significant retention of the mass of solute is observed when the dispersion function is asymptotic. The results obtained show that the concentration profiles are similar when the values of KL and KA ≥ 1.2 years. These results demonstrate the importance of the nature of the dispersion function on the retention capacity of solutes in the porous medium.

The densification mechanism in L-PBF of AlSi10Mg alloy with varying process parameters has been investigated. The suitability of using volumetric [Jmm−3], areal [Jmm−2] and linear [Jmm−1] energy density as design parameters is discussed. To compare process conditions between continuous and pulsed laser systems, the jump speed vj of a pulsed L-PBF system is calculated by means of an experimentally validated FE thermal model previously developed at TWI. The importance of using vj in scan speed calculations is demonstrated. This allowed calculation of accurate energy levels comparable to optimal conditions reported in literature. The power factor (PF) model and the specific point energy (ESP), used to describe and replicate the laser welding process in different laser systems, have been adapted to describe the L-PBF process. ESP - PF curve is introduced, showing optimal processing windows applicable to different L-PBF systems with powers ranging from 175 to 967 W and laser focus diameter from 75 to 300 μm. Quantitative indicators for hatch spacing and layer thickness optimisation are presented for processing AlSi10Mg alloy: 1) melt-width overlapping coefficient ≥ 30%, 2) width-to-depth ratio ≥ 0.8 (using the measured half width) and 3) melt-depth limit

Oral Pseudomembranous Candidiasis (OPC) is an opportunistic and "hidden" fungal infection related to immunosuppressed hospitalized patients. This study reports a clinical case of a white female patient, 69 years old, diagnosed with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) who presented with a severe oral pseudomembranous candidiasis after hospitalization. During the anamnesis, dysgeusia, xerostomia and burning mouth symptoms were reported. Intraoral examination revealed multiple white detachable plaques throughout oral mucosa. The initial management included the use of local antifungal medication resulting in a slightly improvement. However, due to the systemic conditions, a significant worsening of the oral fungal infection during the flowing days has occurred, requiring a systemic antifungal administration that promotes a full oral health recovering and patient's relief. The importance of qualified dentists working in hospital environments in order to diagnose "hidden" oral fungal infections such as OPC is critical to provide a comprehensive oral health patient care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To investigate the role of free-living animals such as sparrows, rodents and flies as potential reservoirs of Campylobacter spp on a dairy farm, and to assess the genetic diversity among Campylobacter isolates from the farm and an urban source., Methods: A total of 290 samples (bovine, passerine and rodent faeces, and whole flies) were collected from a large commercial dairy farm in the Manawatu district in New Zealand, and from faeces from urban sparrows in a nearby city. Other samples collected from the dairy farm included five from silage, two from aprons worn by workers during milking, two from workers' boots and two from water in troughs in a paddock. Isolates of thermophilic Campylobacter spp were identified morphologically and phenotypically and further characterised molecularly using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and the restriction enzyme SmaI., Results: Campylobacter jejuni was the only Campylobacter species isolated from all samples. The highest prevalence was found in faeces from dairy cows (54%), followed by faeces from sparrows from the urban area (40%) and the farm (38%), and from rodents (11%) and whole flies (9%). Other samples from the farm environment such as silage, trough water, and workers' aprons and boots were also positive for C. jejuni. Of the 22 restriction patterns obtained, seven were common to more than one source., Conclusions: Cattle, sparrows, rodents and flies are potential reservoirs of C. jejuni on dairy farms. Identical clones of C. jejuni carried by cattle, sparrows, flies and rodents probably indicate a common source of infection. The high level of asymptomatic carriage of C. jejuni by healthy dairy cows could be sufficient to maintain infections within the dairy farm surroundings via environmental contamination.

One of the risks for contamination of edible product in the pre-inspection area of processing lines in meat plants is cross contamination. This can occur directly as a result of carcass-to-carcass contact or indirectly via knives or the hands of butchers. Standard procedures require that operators rinse their hands and knives to remove any visible contamination. In New Zealand, protective gloves are not allowed in the pre-inspection area because they are considered a potential risk for cross contamination until the carcasses have passed the final meat inspection. However, the risk of injury to the bare hands is as high in this area as in other parts of the plant, where such gloves are permitted. There is therefore a need to evaluate the risk of bacterial cross contamination via bare hands and via protective gloves. The present study compared bacterial adherence to bare hands and to gloves after rinsing for 5 s in a shower of water at 40 degrees C and after rinsing gloves in hotter water (60 degrees C) following simulated contact with the hide of a recently slaughtered animal. Under laboratory conditions there were no statistically significant differences between bacterial adherence to bare hands or to gloves rinsed in water at 40 degrees C or 60 degrees C.

A survey was carried out to determine the prevalence of Yersiniae in wild passerines in the lower half of the North island of New Zealand over a period of 12 months. Samples of soil, water and foliage were also collected. Out of a total of 1370 avian samples, only two strains of Y. pseudotuberculosis were isolated and a total of 98 strains of environmental yersiniae were identified, including Y. enterocolitica biotype 1a, Y. frederiksenii, Y. kristensenii and Y. intermedia. No strains of Y. pseudotuberculosis were isolated from 1032 non-avian samples collected, which included 100 samples taken from wild mammals. From the non-avian samples, 51 strains of environmental Yersiniae were identified, of which the relative prevalence of Yersinia enterocolitica, biotype 1a, Y. frederiksenii, Y. kristensenii and Y. intermedia was similar to that in the rural passerines. The prevalence of Yersiniae in soil samples was greater in rural areas than in urban areas of the survey region. In both rural and urban passerine populations, the prevalence of Yersiniae was greater in the winter and early summer than at other times of the year.

Thirteen isolates of Yersinia spp., regarded as environmental strains, were recovered from 70 sausages containing venison which were presented for sale through retail outlets. It is not possible to incriminate venison as the source of these strains because the sausages contained other food ingredients. The pathogenic potential of such environmental strains remains unclear.

The carcasses of 370 very young slaughter calves condemned for various diseases and defects at routine post-mortem meat inspection were subjected to further and more detailed macroscopic examination as well as histopathological examination of some tissues. Of the carcasses examined, 138 were condemned for navel ill, and in the majority of these cases the lesions extended beyond the umbilicus, particularly involving the umbilical vein and the urachus. Enzootic pneumonia was the most common cause of pleuritic lesions in the carcass, and 75 carcasses were condemned for this lesion. Arthritis, whether localised or involving a number of joints, was the primary lesion in 32 carcasses. Focal interstitial nephritis was observed in the kidneys of 36 carcasses, while 23 carcasses were condemned for wounds and bruising. A number of other miscellaneous diseases and defects, including generalised peritonitis, jaundice, hepatic abscesses and fever, were observed at low rates in condemned carcasses. Resolution or localisation of lesions had occurred at the time of slaughter on average in 35% of the condemned carcasses and the judgment of total condemnation was difficult to justify on a scientific basis and would not have been applied to other classes of slaughtered livestock. In the case of wounds and bruising, 95.6% of the carcasses could have been trimmed. There was also considerable variation in the likely pathogenesis and systemic effects of the diseases and defects observed. A need for clear and specific judgment criteria to be applied to the carcasses of very young slaughter calves at post-mortem meat inspection was identified.

Information on veterinary public health organisation and activities was obtained from government sources in countries located in the Western Pacific region. This region has a wide range of geographical features, population densities, farming practices, social structures and disease prevalences. In spite of this variation, there is common agreement on the importance of veterinary public health both for the provision of safe food and for the control of zoonotic diseases. Not all countries, however, are able to put all the resources they would wish into these activities; financial, social and personnel constraints are recognised.