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Recently, the ‘weird’ has found multiple points of connection with environmental philosophy and ecocriticism seeking to ‘unsettle the Anthropos of the anthropocene’. Weird’s preoccupation with geological spans of ‘deep time’, the inadequacy of human reason, and the mutual enfleshment of all material being, have been hailed as usefully chiming with core principles emerging in these fields of thought. This essay does not, however, merely wish to re-rehearse these existing arguments; nor do I wish to argue that the weird is always uniquely appropriate for representing a contemporary ecological orientation or perception, and indeed I will call into question some of the ways that Gothic and anthropocene have been combined in critical work to date. Rather, I tease out some specific ways that certain uses of weird may well be valuable in fostering such new noticing in a ‘vivid intimacy’ (as Timothy Morton phrases it), as well as ways in which certain iconic deployments of recent weird may actively obscure some forms of such noticing. This chapter considers how some weird writing not only depicts epistemological disorientation, abject disgust or peaceful coexistence, but also offers a queer and nonreproductive erotics of nonhuman encounter and annihilation. This work may crucial exceed either revulsion or epistemological confusion, as hitherto emphasised in critical responses to the Weird and the Anthropocene. ‘Queering’ a discourse necessarily includes taking account of desire that exceeds heteronormative encounters. In addition, however, queering can include broader, stranger disruptions to hegenomic scripts for desire, and to explore some of these possible trajectories of longing I will draw on the writing of Caitlín R. Kiernan. As such, this chapter will explore some of the ways that a weird poetics may simultaneously limit and enrich the ‘arts of noticing’, while remaining wary of elevating weird to an ideal response. Shudder, slither and strangeness are not always sal

Recently, the ‘weird’ has found multiple points of connection with environmental philosophy and ecocriticism seeking to ‘unsettle the Anthropos of the anthropocene’. Weird’s preoccupation with geological spans of ‘deep time’, the inadequacy of human reason, and the mutual enfleshment of all material being, have been hailed as usefully chiming with core principles emerging in these fields of thought. This essay does not, however, merely wish to re-rehearse these existing arguments; nor do I wish to argue that the weird is always uniquely appropriate for representing a contemporary ecological orientation or perception, and indeed I will call into question some of the ways that Gothic and anthropocene have been combined in critical work to date. Rather, I tease out some specific ways that certain uses of weird may well be valuable in fostering such new noticing in a ‘vivid intimacy’ (as Timothy Morton phrases it), as well as ways in which certain iconic deployments of recent weird may actively obscure some forms of such noticing. This chapter considers how some weird writing not only depicts epistemological disorientation, abject disgust or peaceful coexistence, but also offers a queer and nonreproductive erotics of nonhuman encounter and annihilation. This work may crucial exceed either revulsion or epistemological confusion, as hitherto emphasised in critical responses to the Weird and the Anthropocene. ‘Queering’ a discourse necessarily includes taking account of desire that exceeds heteronormative encounters. In addition, however, queering can include broader, stranger disruptions to hegenomic scripts for desire, and to explore some of these possible trajectories of longing I will draw on the writing of Caitlín R. Kiernan. As such, this chapter will explore some of the ways that a weird poetics may simultaneously limit and enrich the ‘arts of noticing’, while remaining wary of elevating weird to an ideal response. Shudder, slither and strangeness are not always sal

Recently, the ‘weird’ has found multiple points of connection with environmental philosophy and ecocriticism seeking to ‘unsettle the Anthropos of the anthropocene’. Weird’s preoccupation with geological spans of ‘deep time’, the inadequacy of human reason, and the mutual enfleshment of all material being, have been hailed as usefully chiming with core principles emerging in these fields of thought. This essay does not, however, merely wish to re-rehearse these existing arguments; nor do I wish to argue that the weird is always uniquely appropriate for representing a contemporary ecological orientation or perception, and indeed I will call into question some of the ways that Gothic and anthropocene have been combined in critical work to date. Rather, I tease out some specific ways that certain uses of weird may well be valuable in fostering such new noticing in a ‘vivid intimacy’ (as Timothy Morton phrases it), as well as ways in which certain iconic deployments of recent weird may actively obscure some forms of such noticing. This chapter considers how some weird writing not only depicts epistemological disorientation, abject disgust or peaceful coexistence, but also offers a queer and nonreproductive erotics of nonhuman encounter and annihilation. This work may crucial exceed either revulsion or epistemological confusion, as hitherto emphasised in critical responses to the Weird and the Anthropocene. ‘Queering’ a discourse necessarily includes taking account of desire that exceeds heteronormative encounters. In addition, however, queering can include broader, stranger disruptions to hegenomic scripts for desire, and to explore some of these possible trajectories of longing I will draw on the writing of Caitlín R. Kiernan. As such, this chapter will explore some of the ways that a weird poetics may simultaneously limit and enrich the ‘arts of noticing’, while remaining wary of elevating weird to an ideal response. Shudder, slither and strangeness are not always sal

Helminth infections are ubiquitous in grazing ruminant production systems, and are responsible for significant costs and production losses. Anthelmintic Resistance (AR) in parasites is now widespread throughout Europe, although there are still gaps in our knowledge in some regions and countries. AR is a major threat to the sustainability of modern ruminant livestock production, resulting in reduced productivity, compromised animal health and welfare, and increased greenhouse gas emissions through increased parasitism and farm inputs. A better understanding of the extent of AR in Europe is needed to develop and advocate more sustainable parasite control approaches. A database of European published and unpublished AR research on gastrointestinal nematodes (GIN) and liver fluke (Fasciola hepatica) was collated by members of the European COST Action “COMBAR” (Combatting Anthelmintic Resistance in Ruminants), and combined with data from a previous systematic review of AR in GIN. A total of 197 publications on AR in GIN were available for analysis, representing 535 studies in 22 countries and spanning the period 1980–2020. Reports of AR were present throughout the European continent and some reports indicated high within-country prevalence. Heuristic sample size-weighted estimates of European AR prevalence over the whole study period, stratified by anthelmintic class, varied between 0 and 48%. Estimated regional (country) prevalence was highly heterogeneous, ranging between 0% and 100% depending on livestock sector and anthelmintic class, and generally increased with increasing research effort in a country. In the few countries with adequate longitudinal data, there was a tendency towards increasing AR over time for all anthelmintic classes in GIN: aggregated results in sheep and goats since 2010 reveal an average prevalence of resistance to benzimidazoles (BZ) of 86%, macrocyclic lactones except moxidectin (ML) 52%, levamisole (LEV) 48%, and moxidectin (MOX) 21%. All maj

Helminth infections, mainly by gastrointestinal nematodes (GIN), are one of the main concerns for animal health, welfare and productivity in grazing ruminant livestock worldwide. The use of a sensitive, precise, accurate, low-cost, and easy-to-perform copromicroscopic technique is of pivotal importance to perform reliable fecal egg count (FEC) and fecal egg count reduction test (FECRT), in order to determine the need of anthelmintic treatment, but also anthelmintic efficacy or resistance. This approach is fundamental to a correct and efficient control of GIN. Unfortunately, in worldwide ruminant farm practice, repeated anthelmintic treatments are carried out, without prior diagnosis of infection, contributing to the spread of Anthelmintic Resistance (AR). Tackling this phenomenon, improving mainly the GIN diagnosis and AR status in farm animals, is a priority of the European COST Action “COMBAR—COMBatting Anthelmintic Resistance in Ruminants” and of the STAR-IDAZ International Research Consortium on Animal Health. One of the specific objectives of the COMBAR Working Group 1 (WG1) is to conduct an European market analysis of new diagnostics and develop a business plan for commercial test introduction, leveraging technical know-how of participants. Since the Mini-FLOTAC in combination with the Fill-FLOTAC may be considered a good candidate for a standardized FEC and FECRT in the laboratory, as well as directly in the field, the aim of this study was to conduct SWOT (Strength—Weaknesses—Opportunities—Threats) and PESTEL (Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental, and Legal) analyses of these tools in 20 European countries involved in the COMBAR WG1, in order to identify the opportunities, barriers, and challenges that might affect the Mini-FLOTAC and Fill-FLOTAC commercialization in Europe.

We report a European wide assessment of the economic burden of gastrointestinal nematodes, Fasciola hepatica (common liver fluke) and Dictyocaulus viviparus (bovine lungworm) infections to the ruminant livestock industry. The economic impact of these parasitic helminth infections was estimated by a deterministic spreadsheet model as a function of the proportion of the ruminant population exposed to grazing, the infection frequency and intensity, the effect of the infection on animal productivity and mortality and anthelmintic treatment costs. In addition, we estimated the costs of anthelmintic resistant nematode infections and collected information on public research budgets addressing helminth infections in ruminant livestock. The epidemiologic and economic input data were collected from international databases and via expert opinion of the Working Group members of the European Co-operation in Science and Technology (COST) action COMbatting Anthelmintic Resistance in ruminants (COMBAR). In order to reflect the effects of uncertainty in the input data, low and high cost estimates were obtained by varying uncertain input data arbitrarily in both directions by 20 %. The combined annual cost [low estimate-high estimate] of the three helminth infections in 18 participating countries was estimated at € 1.8 billion [€ 1.0–2.7 billion]. Eighty-one percent of this cost was due to lost production and 19 % was attributed to treatment costs. The cost of gastrointestinal nematode infections with resistance against macrocyclic lactones was estimated to be € 38 million [€ 11–87 million] annually. The annual estimated costs of helminth infections per sector were € 941 million [€ 488 – 1442 million] in dairy cattle, € 423 million [€ 205–663 million] in beef cattle, € 151million [€ 90–213 million] in dairy sheep, € 206 million [€ 132–248 million] in meat sheep and € 86 million [€ 67–107 million] in dairy goats. Important data gaps were present in all phases of the calculations which

An elicitation exercise was conducted to collect and identify pressing questions concerning the study of helminths in livestock, to help guide research priorities. Questions were invited from the research community in an inclusive way. Of 385 questions submitted, 100 were chosen by online vote, with priority given to open questions in important areas that are specific enough to permit investigation within a focused project or programme of research. The final list of questions was divided into ten themes. We present the questions and set them briefly in the context of the current state of knowledge. Although subjective, the results provide a snapshot of current concerns and perceived priorities in the field of livestock helminthology, and we hope that they will stimulate ongoing or new research efforts.

The nematode Ascaridia galli (order Ascaridida) is an economically important intestinal parasite responsible for increased food consumption, reduced performance and elevated mortality in commercial poultry production. This roundworm is an emerging problem in several European countries on farms with laying hens, as a consequence of the recent European Union (EU) ban on conventional battery cages. As infection is associated with slow development of low levels of acquired protective immunity, parasite control relies on repeated use of dewormers (anthelmintics). Benzimidazoles (BZ) are currently the only anthelmintic registered in the EU for use in controlling A. galli and there is an obvious risk of overuse of one drug class, selecting for resistance. Thus we developed a reference transcriptome of A. galli to investigate the response in gene expression before and after exposure to the BZ drug flubendazole (FLBZ). Transcriptional variations between treated and untreated A. galli showed that transcripts annotated as mitochondrial glutamate dehydrogenase and cytochrome P450 were significantly down-regulated in treated worms, whereas transcripts homologous to heat shock proteins (HSP), catalase, phosphofructokinase, and a multidrug resistance Pglycoprotein (PGP1) were significantly up-regulated in treated worms. Investigation of candidate transcripts responsible for anthelmintic resistance in livestock nematodes led to identification of several tubulins, including six new isoforms of beta-tubulin, and several ligandgated ionotropic receptors and ABC-transporters. We discovered several transcripts associated with drug binding and processing genes, but further characterisation using a larger set of worms exposed to BZs in functional assays is required to determine how these are involved in drug binding and metabolism., Funding Agencies|Formas [FORMAS 2013-665]; SNIC through Uppsala Multidisciplinary Centre for Advanced Computational Science (UPPMAX) [b2014242]

Background: The development of anthelmintic resistance (AR) to macrocyclic lactones in the equine roundworm Parascaris equorum has resulted in benzimidazoles now being the most widely used substance to control Parascaris infections. However, over-reliance on one drug class is a risk factor for the development of AR. Consequently, benzimidazole resistance is widespread in several veterinary parasites, where it is associated with single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in drug targets encoded by the beta-tubulin genes. The importance of these SNPs varies between different parasitic nematodes, but it has been hypothesised that they occur, at low allele frequencies, even in unselected populations. This study investigated whether these SNPs exist in the P. equorum population and tested the hypothesis that BZ resistance can develop from pre-existing SNPs in codons 167, 198 and 200 of the beta-tubulin isotype 1 and 2 genes, reported to be associated with AR in strongylids. The efficacy of the oral paste formula fenbendazole on 11 farms in Sweden was also assessed. Methods: Two isotype-specific primer pairs were designed, one on either side of the codon 167 and one on either side of codons 198 and 200. A pool of 100 000 larvae was sequenced using deep amplicon sequencing by Illumina HiSeq. Faecal egg count reduction test was used to assess the efficacy of fenbendazole. Results: No SNPs were observed in codons 167, 198 or 200 of the beta-tubulin isotype 1 or 2 genes of P. equorum, even though 100 000 larvae were sequenced. Faecal egg count reduction testing of fenbendazole showed that this anthelmintic was still 100% effective, meaning that the likelihood of finding high allele frequency of SNPs associated with benzimidazoles resistance in P. equorum was low. Unexpectedly, the allele frequencies observed in single worms were comparable to those in pooled samples. Conclusions: We concluded that fenbendazole does not exert selection pressure on the beta-tubulin genes of isotype