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ABSTRACT: Bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) is a common viral disease in cattle, causing economic losses in naive herds where the virus is introduced. In the Netherlands, a BVDV control program has been in place from 1998 onward, evolving from voluntary to mandatory participation for dairy herds from April 2018 onward. Participation in the BVDV control program is not mandatory for nondairy farms. The aim of this study was to determine risk factors for new introduction of BVDV into certified BVDV-free herds in the context of a national BVDV control program in dairy herds. In this retrospective case-control study, survey data were collected from 149 dairy farms that lost their BVDV-free status (case herds) and 148 matched dairy farms that maintained their BVDV-free status (control herds) between 2018 and 2021. The survey captured information about potential risk factors and herd characteristics in the 2 yr leading up to the loss of BVDV-free status (case herds, virus detection in at least one animal or when seroconversion was detected) or remaining BVDV-free (control herds). Descriptive statistics and logistic regression with a backward selection and elimination procedure were used to identify potential risk factors associated with losing BVDV-free status. Risk factors were quantified as an odds ratio (OR) with the associated 95% CI. The risk factor with the highest OR for losing BVDV-free status was purchasing cattle from herds without BVDV-free status (OR 1.25, CI 1.10–1.41), followed by the farmer having another profession that resulted in contact with other cattle (OR 1.25, CI 1.06–1.47), housing young calves and adult cows in the same barn (OR 1.22, CI 1.08–1.38), having a permanent employee on the farm (OR 1.17, CI 1.04–1.31), having a group calving pen (OR 1.16, CI 1.03–1.32), escaped cattle from other farms that mingled with own cattle (OR 1.16, CI 1.01–1.33), and nearest distance to a nondairy farm (OR 1.15, CI 1.03–1.28). Although the BVDV status of most dairy herds can be checked in an open register, approximately one-half of the farmers indicated that they purchased cattle from BVDV-free herds although they were actually purchasing from non-BVDV-free farms. Farmers should be stimulated to actively check the true BVDV status of the herd from which cattle are purchased to further reduce the risk of introduction. In addition, indirect contact with cattle from other farms through either the farmer or other on-farm staff should be avoided. It is strongly advised to work in these situations with proper biosecurity measures such as changing boots and coveralls. The results can be used to improve BVDV control programs to further decrease the prevalence.

Background The mainstay of soil-transmitted helminth (STH) control is repeated mass drug administration (MDA) of anthelmintics to endemic populations. Individual longitudinal compliance treatment patterns are important for identifying pockets of infected individuals who remain untreated and serve as infection reservoirs. Methods The Geshiyaro Project censused the study population in Wolaita, Ethiopia at baseline in 2018. Individual longitudinal compliance was recorded for six rounds of community-wide MDA (cMDA). The probability distribution of treatment frequency was analysed by age and gender stratifications. Probabilities of transmission interruption for different compliance patterns were calculated using an individual-based stochastic model of Ascaris lumbricoides transmission. Results The never-treated (0.42%) population was smaller than expected from a random positive binomial distribution. The observed compliance frequency was well described by the beta-binomial distribution. Preschool-age children (odds ratio [OR] 10.1 [95% confidence interval {CI} 6.63 to 15.4]) had the highest never-treated proportion of the age groups. Conversely, school-age children (SAC) and adults (OR 1.03 [95% CI 0.98 to 1.09]) had the highest always-treated proportion of the age groups. Conclusions The study reports the largest dataset of individual longitudinal compliance to cMDA for STH control. Clear pattens are shown in the age-dependent distribution of individual compliance behaviour. The impact of compliance on the probability of elimination is significant, highlighting the importance of recording the full frequency distribution, not just the never-treated proportion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Invasive alien species (IAS), including aquatic invasive alien rodents (AIAR), cause extensive damage to ecosystems with significant economic, human health, and environmental concerns. In France, AIAR populations are well established, and a permanent control programme has been set up in several areas to reduce their impact. While some studies have reported the results of AIAR control activities, detailed information on current management strategies and how control activities are implemented in the field is lacking. This study evaluates the implementation of the management plan and control activities of AIAR in France regarding (i) problem definition, feasibility and objectives, (ii) planning from action plan, organization, funding and methods, (iii) field implementation from spatial prioritisation and personnel and (iv) monitoring and evaluation. Our study reveals that in France, (i) local and regional institutions mainly manage control activities primarily through volunteers and (ii) national and regional management plans on AIAR controls are missing. We elaborate on several actions that can help local and regional entities in improving their control programme, including zonation for priority actions, development of performance indicators of control activities, engagement of volunteers, and scientific monitoring of AIAR populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

IntroductionCutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a prevalent debilitating disease in many countries, particularly in Iran, the Middle East, North Africa, and South America. Bam County is the most important highly endemic focus of anthropometric CL in Iran and has been under consideration by WHO. This study investigated the environmental and geographic factors affecting the occurrence and distribution of CL in this focus.MethodsDemographic data and the home addresses of CL patients diagnosed from 2015 to 2020 were retrieved from the Leishmaniasis Center of Bam in southeast Iran. The effects of mean annual rainfall (MAR), mean annual humidity (MAH), mean annual temperature (MAT), maximum annual temperature (MaxMAT), minimum annual temperature (MinMAT), mean annual humidity (MAH), mean annual evaporation (MAE), mean annual frosty days (MAFD), mean annual snowy hours (MASH), elevation, and land cover on the distribution of CL were analyzed using geographical information systems (GIS) and univariate and multivariate regression models.ResultsOf 847 patients studied, 50.9% (n = 431) were female and 49.1% (n = 416) were male. The age classes 0–10 (n = 246) and 11–20 (n = 145) showed the highest frequency of patients, respectively. Leishmaniasis patients were reported from 66 villages/cities (11.8%) out of 561 residential areas in Bam County. Univariate analysis showed that urban settings (OR = 21.66), agriculture (OR = 5.73), orchards (OR = 5), salty land (OR = 1.05), and temperatures (OR = 2.37, 2.79 and 3.47) had positive effects on CL occurrence (p

The paper summarizes the results of the research on angular motion dynamics carried out by the team of the authors and some problems of attitude control of nanosatellites (NS). The features of CubeSat NS passive motion dynamics are described. Conditions for the possible emergence of resonance modes are studied and discussed. Recommendations are given allowing the requirements for mass-inertia characteristics and initial conditions of NS motion to be formulated at the design stage, aimed at the NS stable motion with regard to the required equilibrium position for a wide range of orbital altitudes. Algorithms for reorientation and stabilization of NS motion are proposed based on the solution of the inverse problem of dynamics and selection of optimal nominal attitude control programs. The results of this work are implemented in practice and may be useful to the developers of small spacecraft. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Approaches to the development, evaluation of efficiency and expediency of control, problem statements, and their mathematical models to make it possible to solve the problem of synthesis of adaptive programs of safety control of the technical state of a complex technical system are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Paratuberculosis is a chronic inflammatory disease leading to emaciation and production losses in ruminants. Important aspects of disease control are the detection of infected herds and environmental areas where contact between animals and the causative pathogen Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) is possible. Bedding, dust, feed, and water samples were collected from the barn of a paratuberculosis-infected dairy goat herd and analyzed for culturable MAP and MAP DNA. Cultivation was successful in 28 bedding and one dust sample, while MAP DNA was detected in 117 out of 256 samples from all materials. Samples collected from areas of high animal traffic, such as the milking parlor, were more likely to reveal positive results than adult and young goat areas. Positive culture results were also obtained from kidding pens, constituting this barn area as a possible infection site. Overall, environmental sampling may be suitable for the detection of MAP in goat herds and the identification of potential critical areas for pathogen transmission. These results should be taken into account for paratuberculosis control programs in goat herds to improve their efficiency and, thus, animal welfare. Environmental samples are often used to classify the paratuberculosis status of cattle herds. The disease is caused by Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP), predominantly through oral ingestion during infancy. In this explorative study, the presence of MAP was determined in the barn environment of a paratuberculosis-infected vaccinated dairy goat herd. A total of 256 bedding, dust, feed, and water samples were collected at eight time points and examined using culture and qPCR. Detection rates of both methods were compared, and factors determining MAP confirmation were identified. MAP was cultured from 28 bedding and one dust sample, while MAP DNA was detected in all materials (117/256). Samples from high animal traffic areas and those collected during the indoor season were more likely to yield positive culture and qPCR results. Cultivation of MAP from kidding pens indicated this area as a possible infection site. Dust proved to be the most suitable material for detecting MAP DNA, as bedding was for MAP culture. Environmental sampling was demonstrated to be an effective way to detect MAP in a dairy goat herd. qPCR results could confirm herd infection, while culture results provided insight into crucial areas for MAP transmission. These findings should be considered when designing farm-specific paratuberculosis control plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Background: Over the past 50 years, two national control programs on Clonorchis sinensis infection have been conducted in South Korea. Spatial-temporal profiles of infection risk provide useful information on assessing the effectiveness of the programs and planning spatial-targeted control strategies. Methods: Advanced Bayesian geostatistical joint models with spatial-temporal random effects were developed to analyze disease data collecting by a systematic review with potential influencing factors, and to handle issues of preferential sampling and data heterogeneities. Changes of the infection risk were analyzed. Findings: We presented the first spatial-temporal risk maps of C. sinensis infection at 5 × 5 km2 resolution from 1970 to 2020 in South Korea. Moderate-to-high risk areas were shrunk, but temporal variances were shown in different areas. The population-adjusted estimated prevalence across the country was 5.99% (95% BCI: 5.09–7.01%) in 1970, when the first national deworming campaign began. It declined to 3.95% (95% BCI: 2.88–3.95%) in 1995, when the campaign suspended, and increased to 4.73% (95% BCI: 4.00–5.42%) in 2004, just before the Clonorchiasis Eradication Program (CEP). The population-adjusted prevalence was estimated at 2.77% (95% BCI: 1.67–4.34%) in 2020, 15 years after CEP started, corresponding to 1.42 (95% BCI: 0.85–2.23) million infected people. Interpretation: The first nationwide campaign and the CEP showed effectiveness on control of C. sinensis infection. Moderate-to-high risk areas identified by risk maps should be prioritized for control and intervention. Funding: The National Natural Science Foundation of China (project no. 82073665) and the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province (project no. 2022A1515010042).

The paper considers the issues of forming the CNC-structured control programs in a problem-oriented language of the CNC system programs for processing at optimal cutting modes established using a unified methodology for solving the problems of parametric optimization of machining processes on variable cutting modes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cystic echinococcosis (CE) continues to be one of the main health problems in cattle regions. Controlling the disease requires new therapeutic strategies. Main: To evaluate the results of an intervention program based on the directly observed antiparasitic treatment of dogs in an endemic area of CE. Materials and methods: A quasi-experimental study of a single cohort of dogs from a CE endemic area was conducted. To identify infected dogs, stool samples were analyzed for antigens by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, before and after the direct and observed administration of praziquantel 5 mg per kg orally every 30 days for 3 consecutive months once a year for two years. Results: A total of 252 dogs entered the study, of which 119 (47%) dogs presented positive results for E. granulosus at the beginning of the intervention. The adverse effects that occurred with the administration of praziquantel were vomiting (13%), diarrhea (2.4%), and lethargy (2%); 229 dogs completed the 2 treatment cycles with praziquantel. The presence of some positive coproantigen was evident in 03 (1.3%) dogs after the intervention. In conclusion: Antiparasitic chemotherapy administered directly to dogs was able to reduce the prevalence of canine echinococcosis after 2 years of intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 2018, Dutch dairy farmers are obliged to opt for one of 4 routes to achieve BVDV freedom in the national BVDV eradication program. This observational study evaluated efficacy of the total BVDV program using indicators such as number of persistent infected cattle (PI's), percentage of dairy herds with a BVDV-free status, percentage of BVDV-free dairy herds with evidence of introduction of BVDV and, as well as a cost calculation per route. The Dutch BVDV program appeared to be successful as the percentage of BVDV-free dairy herds increased from 59 percent at the start of the program to 89 percent by the end of 2023. The number of PI's detected each quarter, declined from 500 PI's in the third quarter of 2019 to 83 PI's in the last quarter of 2023. The percentage BVDV-free dairy herds with evidence of (re)introduction of BVDV decreased from 1.29 percent per quarter in the first year of the mandatory program to 0.25 percent per quarter by the end of 2023. In Europe, BVDV control program designs are often tailored to the country's specific situation e.g., prevalence at the start of eradication, risk profile of a country or herd, desired speed of eradication and available funds. These results show that the Dutch approach in which multiple routes can be followed toward BVDV freedom is successful., (© 2025, The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of the American Dairy Science Association®. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).)

The development of space transport systems for the delivery of payloads and the study of the lunar surface is an important scientific and technical challenge. The article considers a near-lunar space tether system consisting of a station and a microsatellite. The station is considered as a rigid body having a cylindrical shape, and the microsatellite is considered as a spherical rigid body. The tether is considered as a weightless inextensible rod of variable length. The station moves in a near-lunar orbit, which is influenced by the Earth's gravity. The process of deployment of a radially directed near-lunar tether system is considered. The equations of motion of the space tether system are obtained using Newton's second law and the theorem on the change in the angular momentum. To release the tether and bring the orbital tether system to a working state, the article proposes to use the control program of tethers tension force, which ensures the deployment of the tether system to a position close to the vertical. A comparison of the motion of the tether system along the unperturbed lunar orbit and along the perturbed one, taking into account the gravitational influence of the Earth, is made. To substantiate the theoretical results, a numerical simulation was carried out, based on the results of which a conclusion was made about the influence of the Earth's gravity on the amplitude of oscillations of the microsatellite relative to the local vertical.

The motion of a space tether system, consisting of a constellation of two microsatellites and a space station, is investigated. The station moves in a circular undisturbed circular lunar orbit. The process of deployment of tethers to bring the system into a working near-vertical condition is considered. A program for controlling the tether tension force that ensures the deployment of tethers to the required length and stabilizes the system in the vertical position is proposed. A study of the stability of the equilibrium position of a mechanical system is carried out. It is shown that the motion carried out during the deployment of a tethered system according to the program proposed in the work is asymptotically stable.

Based on the analysis of the cutting conditions of the milling cutters and their geometric parameters, the authors propose an approach to modeling the rational positions of the coordinate systems of the workpiece and tool at the initial and final points of the cutting paths, as well as the values of the cutting tools during processing with end mills. The presented system makes it possible to reduce the cost of processing flat surfaces with end mills due to the reduction of the main (machine) time by minimizing the values of the working strokes of the milling cutters, to increase the service life and durability of the milling cutter by assigning the sparing cutting modes recommended by tool manufacturers in the area of dynamic loads when cutting the milling cutter, and to improve the surface quality indicators in the area of cutting the tool. The developments can be used in technological departments of machine-building enterprises, organizations specializing in the development of CAM systems, as well as in the educational process. Предмет разработки – параметры размерной настройки концевых фрез для обработки плоских поверхностей на станках с ЧПУ. Цель работы – разработка системы автоматизированного расчета минимальных величин врезания и перебегов концевых фрез, координат начального и конечного положения инструмента, а также основного времени для программирования обработки плоских поверхностей на станках с ЧПУ. Для исследования и решения поставленных в работе задач использовались методы теории автоматизации проектирования, аналитической геометрии, системно-структурного анализа и моделирования. На основе анализа условий врезания фрез и их геометрических параметров предложен подход к моделированию рациональных положений систем координат заготовки и инструмента в начальной и конечной точках траекторий резания, а также величин врезания инструментов при обработке концевыми фрезами. Представленная система дает возможность: снизить затраты на обработку плоских поверхностей концевыми фрезами из-за сокращения основного (машинного) времени за счет минимизации величин рабочих ходов фрез; повысить срок службы и период стойкости фрезы за счет назначения рекомендованных производителями инструмента щадящих режимов резания на участке динамических нагрузок при врезании фрезы; улучшить показатели качества поверхности на участке врезания инструмента. Разработки могут использоваться в технологических бюро машиностроительных предприятий, организациях, специализирующихся на разработке CAM-систем, а также учебном процессе.

The paper considers the vital problem of human-machine control of complex process units and complexes with a large variety of states, multidimensionality, variability, and uncertainty. In ferrous metallurgy, these units include coke batteries, blast furnaces, steelmaking outfits (arc furnaces, oxygen converters), foundry and rolling complexes, rolling mills, main shops and production facilities. It is shown that, in the context of the twenty-first century, the model approach to creating control systems for these objects does not exhibit sufficient efficacy. Alternative approaches based on case-based reasoning (CBR) are considered. In particular, they include the full-scale model of and the full-scale approach to developing support systems and management decision-making. The well-known full-scale model procedures for applying the best practices (methods of standard representative situations and exemplary process cycles) are presented. A new CBR method of automated selection and implementation of control actions with the involvement of process operators is proposed for process control systems. A modified CBR cycle of command selection and the corresponding flowchart of the software control system for a cyclic process unit are developed. The improved CBR-cycle includes several additional operations such as the correction of control decisions for selected cases; retrospective optimization of implemented control decisions; preservation of not only the best and optimized, but also erroneous decisions; case base updating; generation of solutions in unique or previously unreported situations. The structure of the case information model is formed by the example of the software control of steel melting at an oxygen converter shop. This structure includes the data on a specific situation in the control system, parameters of selected control actions, and steel melting results. An example of the control program formation for preparing and conducting the upcoming steel heat is developed on the basis of the data about a pre-selected melting case at a modern oxygen converter shop. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

More and more European countries have implemented a bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) control program. The economic effects of such programs have been evaluated in simulations, but empirical studies are lacking, especially in the final stage of the program. We investigated the economic (gross margin) and production effects (milk yield, somatic cell count, and calving interval) of the herds obtaining BVDV-free certification based on longitudinal annual accounting and herd performance data from Dutch dairy herds between 2014 and 2019, the final stages of the Dutch national BVDV-free program. This study was designed as a case-control study: two types of case herds were defined for two analyses. The case herds in the first analysis are herds where the BVDV status changed from “BVDV not free” to “BVDV free” during the study period. The not-free status refers to a herd that participated in the BVDV-free program but had not yet obtained the BVDV-free certification. In the second analysis, the case herds started participating in the Dutch BVDV-free program during the study period and obtained the BVDV-free certification. Control herds in both analyses were BVDV-free during the entire study period. Potential bias between the covariates of the two herd groups was reduced by matching case and control herds using the propensity score matching method. To compare the differences between case and control herds before and after BVDV-free certification, we used the time-varying Difference-in-Differences estimation (DID) methodology. The results indicate that there was no significant change in milk yield, somatic cell count, calving interval, and gross margin upon BVDV-free certification. There are several possible explanations for the non-significant effects observed in our study, such as the final stage of the BVDV control program, not knowing the true BVDV infection situation in case herds and not knowing if control measures were implemented in case herds prior to participating in the BVDV-free program. In our study, the effects of BVDV-free certification might have been underestimated, given that the Dutch BVDV control program became mandatory during the study period, and some of the case herds might have never experienced any BVDV infection. The results of this study suggest that in the final stage of the BVDV control program, the program may no longer have a clear benefit to the herd performance of participating dairy herds. When designing national programs to eradicate BVDV, it is therefore important to include incentives for such farms to motivate them to join the program.

Streptococcus agalactiae (group B Streptococcus, GBS) is a causative agent of mastitis in dairy cattle, mainly causing a subclinical disease associated with a high somatic cell count (SCC), and a consequent decrease in production yield and quality of milk. GBS has been almost eradicated in many Northern European countries, but there are warnings of its re-emergence as a zoonotic threat. In Italy, only two regions carry out a GBS control program: Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna. In Emilia-Romagna, the program has been in place since 2019 and provides for the bacteriological culture of bulk-tank milk (BTM) of all dairy farms every 6 months and the voluntary application of herd eradication programs in the case of positive results. To assess the progress of the program in Emilia Romagna, in terms of herd-level prevalence and GBS transmission between herds, we analyzed the results of 17,056 BTM cultures from 2,831 dairy herds, sampled bi-annually in the period 2019–2021 (six rounds total). The impact of GBS infection on SCC and milk production was also evaluated. The results show a decreasing trend in both the incidence rate (from 3.0 to 1.5%) and apparent prevalence (from 8.9 to 5.2%) of GBS over the study period. By using a susceptible-infected-susceptible (SIS) model for the estimation of the transmission parameters, a basic reproductive number R0 of 1.4 was calculated, indicating an active spread of GBS in the dairy cattle population of the Emilia-Romagna region. GBS infected farms have a consistently higher BTM SCC than negative ones (+77,000 cells/ml), corresponding to a 0.4 kg/cow/day milk loss. Moreover, GBS infected herds resulted in almost three times more likelihood of having non-marketable milk by exceeding the legal SCC limit. This study demonstrates the need to maintain the current control program against GBS to lower its occurrence and prevent significant market losses to farmers.

This paper reports a new technology for designing control programs for contour milling on CNC machines. The technology enables stabilization of the cutting process along the entire contour at the optimal level by controlling the feed, which ensures an increase in productivity when meeting the requirements for restrictions. Moreover, the effectiveness of using the technology improves with an increase in the complexity of the contour by changing the curvature of the surface. A mathematical model has been built for the interaction between the cutter and workpiece in the cutting zone when machining contours with variable curvature, which makes it possible to determine the main characteristic of the cutting process – the rate of cutting the allowance. The technology involves the use of a control program in G codes designed in any CAM system. At the first stage, a shape-formation trajectory in the form of a two-dimensional digital array is derived from the program. At the second stage, the cutter workpiece engagement in the cutting area is modeled simulated while determining the main characteristic of the cutting process – an analog of the material removal rate. And at the final stage, the simulation results are used to design a new control program, also in G-codes, with a new recorded law to control the feed, which enables the stabilization of the cutting process along the entire milling path. The software for the new technology has been developed, which automatically converts the preset control program in G-codes into a two-dimensional digital array, simulates the milling process, and designs a new control program in G-codes based on its results. The results of the experimental study into the milling of the preset contour using the developed simulation program showed an increase in productivity by 1.7 times compared to the original control program, designed in a conventional CAM system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction. For cultivated crops, the optimal form of spacing is square form, which is provided by the square cluster method of planting. Currently, due to the high metal consumption and low productivity, this method of planting has been replaced with a single-seed planting one. But this does not solve the problem of rational distribution of seeds in the field, so the problem of plant spacing with the use of the optimal square form of spacing is relevant. The aim of the study is to develop and analyze a simulation model of square cluster planting based on an algorithm for controlling the executive mechanisms of the seeder sections using devices for local coordination of the seeding apparatus. Materials and Methods. A programmable square cluster planting using local coordination of the seeding apparatus and an algorithm for its realization are considered. The article describes the construction of a simulation model of sowing planting in Simulink Matlab with justification of its elements. The seed spreading in furrows and the seeder variable speed are taken into account. The number of pulses per revolution of the encoder shaft is theoretically justified. Results. The graphs of the distance traveled, positions coordinates of the flap opening and control signals depending on the time are constructed. The analysis of the encoder settings is carried out. When varied the plant spacing and the coordinates of the first flap opening, the dimension of the last seed cluster changes in the range from –2.6 ∙ 10–3 to 2.7 ∙ 10–3 m. With the increase in the seeder speed from 1.5 to 3.0 m/s, the mathematical expectation of the seed cluster dimensions increase from 0.054 to 0.218 m, and the coefficient of variation decreases from 61.2 to 15.0%. Discussion and Conclusion. The analysis of the simulation model of the square cluster planting showed that the algorithm for controlling executive mechanisms together with the local coordination system works adequately and provides high precision of placing seed clusters in the field. The dependences of the optimal number of pulses per an encoder shaft revolution on the specified seed spacing and radius of the track measuring wheel are determined. It was determined that the maximum dimension of the last seed cluster does not exceed 2.7 mm per 1 000 m (for x = 0.3 m and t = 0.7 m). It was found that the precision of the distribution of seed clusters in the field is determined more by the seeder speed than by the settings of the measuring device.

The paper investigates the use of CAD-CAM technologies for the design and manufacture of parts on machines with numerical program control (CNC). These technologies allow designing technological routes of processing of surfaces of details of various complexity and making them on modern processing centers with CNC, and their use in the conditions of small-scale, single productions is justified and economically rational. Many operating enterprises in various industries have long been using technological equipment that is morally and physically obsolete. As a rule, wear parts (spare parts) are no longer produced for them. Replacement of obsolete technological equipment in the existing technological schemes of the production process of the enterprise requires significant material and financial costs, and its repair is complicated by the lack of spare parts. Therefore the question of manufacturing by the individual order of the enterprise of a small amount of worn out details for increase of maintainability of the operating technological equipment is actual. The article is devoted to the study of the possibilities of using CAD-CAM software systems «Autodesk Inventor», «ESPRIT» and «Creo Parametric» for the manufacture of custom worn impeller centrifugal electric pump KM 65-50-220, installed in the water treatment system of the food process . The step-by-step sequence of designing and manufacturing of a new improved (modernized) part instead of worn-out, possibilities and advantages of modern CAD-CAM software complexes, technological possibilities of CNC equipment is investigated. It is shown that the use of CAD-CAM systems «Autodesk Inventor», «Esprit» and «Creo Parametric» and a modern machining center Haas UMC-750 with CNC for the manufacture of a new improved design of the impeller of the electric pump, in single production, has significantly reduced technological time, preparation for the manufacture and replacement of worn parts, to improve the quality, reliability, durability and maintainability of the equipment operating at the enterprise.

Background and Aim: Brucellosis caused by bacteria belongs to the genus Brucella is an important zoonosis and constitutes a serious public health hazard worldwide including India. The present study aimed to estimate the knowledge of veterinarians on brucellosis, its public health threat, diagnosis, and vaccination. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted during 2013-2015 and 453 veterinarians representing 11 states/Union Territories (UT) of India (Assam, Tripura, Meghalaya, Goa, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Tamil Nadu, and Punjab) were interviewed using self-administered questionnaire. Results: Out of 453 veterinarians, 71.74% stated handling of the animals on day-to-day basis and 28.25% were engaged in administration activities. The veterinarians ranked foot-and-mouth disease and brucellosis at the first and fourth ranks among the list of ten economic impacted diseases in the country. A significant association was observed between laboratory confirmation with those who handled brucellosis-suspected cases (p=0.000). Similarly, significant association was noted for the availability of vials/slides (p=0.114), vacutainers (p=0.008), icebox (p=0.103), and refrigerator (p=0.106) for those who preferred laboratory diagnosis. Only 20% of the veterinarians recommended vaccination against bovine brucellosis, and 17% obtained laboratory confirmation for the brucellosis-suspected cases. Conclusion: The study highlighted the need for awareness programs, laboratory facilities, veterinary doctors, and protective measures for the veterinarians for combating brucellosis through the control program in the country.

Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is one of the top three, high-priority, livestock diseases in Ethiopia and hence, the need for evaluation of potential control strategies is critical. Here, we applied the test-and-segregate followed by cull strategy for the control of bTB in the intensive Alage dairy farm in Ethiopia. All cattle reared on this farm were repeatedly skin tested using the Comparative Cervical Tuberculin (CCT) test for a total of five times between 2015 and 2021. During the first (October 2015) and second (March 2017) rounds of testing, all reactor animals (>4 mm) were culled, while those that were deemed as inconclusive (1–4 mm) were segregated and retested. At retest, animals with CCT >2 mm were removed from the herd. In the third (December 2017) and fourth (June 2018) rounds of tuberculin testing, a more stringent approach was taken wherein all reactors per the severe mode of CCT test interpretation (>2 mm) were culled. A final herd status check was performed in May 2021. In summary, the number of CCT positives (>4 mm) in the farm dropped from 23.1% (31/134) in October 2015 to 0% in December 2017 and remained 0% until May 2021. In contrast, the number of Single Cervical Tuberculin (SCT) test positives (≥4 mm) increased from 1.8 to 9.5% (from 2017 to 2021), indicating that CCT test might not be sufficient to effectively clear the herd of bTB. However, a more stringent approach would result in a drastic increase in the number of false positives. The total cost of the bTB control effort in this farm holding 134–200 cattle at any given time was conservatively estimated to be ~US$48,000. This, together with the need for culling an unacceptably high number of animals based on skin test status, makes the test-and-cull strategy impractical for nationwide implementation in Ethiopia and other low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) where the infection is endemic. Hence, there is an increased emphasis on the need to explore alternate, affordable measures such as vaccination alongside accurate diagnostics to help control bTB in endemic settings.

Infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR), caused by Bovine alphaherpesvirus 1 (BoHV-1), is a disease of cattle responsible for significant economic losses worldwide. IBR is under certain communitarian regulations. Every member state can approve its own national IBR control program for the entire territory – or part of it – and can demand additional guarantees for bovids destined to its territory; therefore, every member state can be officially declared as entirely or partly IBR-free. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of IBR control and eradication programs in European countries. BoHV-1 control schemes were first introduced in the late 1970s, mainly in Northern and Central Europe. Depending on the seroprevalence rate, control strategies rely on identification and removal of seropositive animals or the use of glycoprotein E (gE)-deleted marker vaccines in infected herds. The implementation of a novel law for disease eradication at the EU level and of a European IBR data flow could make the goal of IBR eradication in all European countries easier to achieve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fruit flies are among the most destructive horticultural pests. For Queensland fruit fly (Qfly), Bactrocera tryoni (Froggatt) (Diptera: Tephritidae), the sterile insect technique (SIT) is the main control method used in southeastern Australia. SIT involves the mass rearing of Qfly, sterilisation of pupae by irradiation, transport to release centres, and release of sterile Qfly to disperse into the environment. Mating of sterile and wild flies results in no offspring; thus, the wild population rapidly decreases. Previously, research has mainly focused on improvements within the production facility. However, transport from production facility to release sites is also an essential component in all SIT programs. Here, we examined historical records from the Victorian SIT program between 2002 and 2013 in three seasons (spring, summer, and autumn). We compared quality control (QC) data of irradiated fly pupae at the mass‐rearing facility in New South Wales (limited transport) to those of pupae transported to a release centre in Victoria (extensive transport). After extensive transport, pupal weight (−0.3 mg, or −3%) and flight ability (an overall 26% decline) were lower across all seasons, but particularly in spring. Adult emergence was lower across all seasons (an overall 23% decline), but particularly in summer. All three QC parameters were more variable after extensive transport. We discuss potential causes of the observed decreased pupal quality and avenues of future research to mitigate transport losses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mycoplasma bovis is an important cattle pathogen affecting animal health, welfare, and productivity. The main disease syndromes are mastitis, pneumonia, and otitis media in young stock, as well as arthritis. Response to antibiotic treatment is poor and no effective vaccine is available. Asymptomatic carriers are common and usually harbor the organism in the airways or mammary glands. Purchase of carrier animals is a major risk for the introduction of infection into naive herds. Following the detection of M. bovis in Finland in 2012, a voluntary control program was established. It aims to prevent the spread of the infection and to help farms attain certification of a low M. bovis risk. Among the diagnostic tools in the program, nasal swabs (NS) from young calves have been tested for M. bovis to indicate the infection status of the herd. In this study, we assessed the suitability of this test method. We analyzed the effectiveness of NS and deep nasopharyngeal swabs (NP) to detect M. bovis in pneumonic and healthy calves in dairy herds recently infected with M. bovis. In pneumonic calves, NP sampling followed by culture and real-time PCR demonstrated a proportion of positive agreement (PPA) of 0.91 compared with bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL), whereas NS showed only 0.5 PPA compared with BAL. Among healthy dairy calves, overall M. bovis prevalence in NS was 29.6%. The highest rate of shedding (43%) occurred in calves 31–60 days old. At the calf level, M. bovis prevalence in NP samples was 47% compared with 33% in NS samples among the 284 studied calves. However, at the herd level, NS sampling classified 51 out of 54 herds with a positive infection status as infected, whereas in NP sampling, the respective figure was 43 out of 54 herds (p = 0.061). In conclusion, NS sampling from calves under 6 months of age and analyzed by real-time PCR is a cost-efficient method for a control program to detect M. bovis in dairy herds, even if no M. bovis mastitis has been detected in the herd. For pneumonic calves, we recommend only NP or BAL sampling.

Bovine viral diarrhea (BVD) is controlled in many countries by detection and culling of persistently infected (PI) animals. The most important risk factor for BVDV introduction is purchase. An introduced cow can be PI and transmit the virus to other cattle in the herd. If she is not PI but is pregnant, there is still a risk because the subsequently born calf may be PI, when she encountered the virus in early pregnancy. To control this risk, all cows > 1 year from non-BVDV-free herds that are introduced in herds that participate in the Dutch BVDV control program are tested for virus and antibodies. Depending on the results, subsequent measures such as suspension of the BVDV-free status, removing the animals from the herd, or testing the off-spring of the cow for virus, are undertaken. The aim of this study was to evaluate the results of this risk mitigating measure. Data on cattle movements, calving's, herd-level BVDV status, and animal-level test data were available from all dairy herds that participated in the national BVDV control program (>14,000 dairy herds) for the year 2019. The data were combined and parameters of interest were calculated, i.e., (i) the number of purchased BVD virus positive cattle and (ii) the number of BVD virus positive calves born from purchased cows within 9 months after introduction. In 2019, 217,301 cattle were introduced in Dutch dairy herds that participated in the BVDV control program. Of these, 49,820 were tested for presence of BVD virus and 27 (0.05%) cows introduced in 21 different herds tested BVD virus positive. Out of 46,727 cattle that were tested for antibodies, 20.5% tested positive. The seropositive cows produced 4,341 viable calves, of which 3,062 were tested for virus and subsequently, 40 (1.3%) were found BVD virus positive. These 40 BVD virus positive calves were born in 23 herds. The risk mitigating measure led to detection of 67 BVD virus positive animals in 44 unique herds in 2019. This study makes plausible that the probability and impact of re-introduction of BVDV can be minimized by testing introduced cattle and their subsequently born calves.

Bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) infection has a major effect on the health of cows and consequently on herd performance. Many countries have implemented control or eradication programs to mitigate BVDV infection and its negative effects. These negative effects of BVDV infection on dairy herds are well documented, but there is much less information about the effects of new introduction of BVDV on dairy herds already participating in a BVDV control program. The objective of our study was to investigate the effect of a new BVDV introduction in BVDV-free herds participating in the Dutch BVDV-free program on herd performance. Longitudinal herd-level surveillance data were combined with herd information data to create 4 unique data sets, including a monthly test-day somatic cell count (SCC) data set, annual calving interval (CIV) and culling risk (CR) data sets, and a quarterly calf mortality rate (CMR) data set. Each database contained 2 types of herds: herds that remained BVDV free during the whole study period (defined as free herds), and herds that lost their BVDV-free status during the study period (defined as breakdown herds). The date of losing the BVDV-free status was defined as breakdown date. To compare breakdown herds with free herds, a random breakdown date was artificially generated for free herds by simple random sampling from the distribution of the breakdown month of the breakdown herds. The SCC and CIV before and after a new introduction of BVDV were compared through linear mixed-effects models with a Gaussian distribution, and the CR and CMR were modeled using a negative binomial distribution in generalized linear mixed-effects models. The explanatory variables for all models included herd type, BVDV status, year, and a random herd effect. Herd size was included as an explanatory variable in the SCC, CIV, and CMR model. Season was included as an explanatory variable in the SCC and CMR model. Results showed that free herds have lower SCC, CR, CMR, and shorter CIV than the breakdown herds. Within the breakdown herds, the new BVDV introduction affected the SCC and CMR. In the year after BVDV introduction, the SCC was higher than that in the year before BVDV introduction, with a factor of 1.011 [2.5th to 97.5th percentile (95% PCTL): 1.002, 1.020]. Compared with the year before BVDV breakdown, the CMR in the year of breakdown and the year after breakdown was higher, with factors of 1.170 (95% PCTL: 1.120; 1.218) and 1.096 (95% PCTL: 1.048; 1.153), respectively. This study reveals that a new introduction of BVDV had a negative but on average relatively small effect on herd performance in herds participating in a BVDV control program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the nano‐grating equipment with adjustable period and rotation angle. First, it analyzes the principle of grating production. According to the demand characteristics of grating products, this paper proposes the producting process and equipment control algorithm of large‐scale grating products. In order to verify the effectiveness of the proposed process plan, the proposed control algorithm is run on the grating production equipment for verification. The grating products and production process data show that the proposed process has good practicability and can be used for large‐scale grating product production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Рассматривается некомпланарный управляемый гелиоцентрический перелёт космического аппарата с неидеально отражающим солнечным парусом к Венере. Целью гелиоцентрического движения является попадание космического аппарата в сферу Хилла Венеры с нулевым гиперболическим избытком скорости. Для реализации перелёта разработан алгоритм применения законов локально-оптимального управления для наискорейшего изменения оскулирующих элементов. Управление ориентацией солнечного паруса осуществляется с помощью тонкоплёночных элементов управления, расположенных по периметру поверхности солнечного паруса. В результате моделирования движения определены траектория перелёта, программа управления и необходимые ширина и площадь тонкоплёночных элементов управления.

Introduction. Automation of obtaining design parameters of the part is the most important step in the integration of the design, process planning and manufacturing. The aim of this work is to obtain part parameters, the numerical values of which can be used in parametric calculations. Materials and Methods. The work is the development of the concept of end-to-end design and technological parametrization in Computer-Aided Manufacturing. The theoretical research is based on the formal theory of data representation and processing, the set theory, and the theory of hierarchical multilevel systems. The software implementation was carried out in the Visual Studio C++ environment using KOMPAS-3D application program interface and the C3D geometric kernel application program interface. Results. A method has been developed for obtaining the initial part parameters during the transfer of information from the design engineering Computer-Aided Manufacturing systems to the technological preparation of production. A logical data structure in a relational form was developed, which made it possible to eliminate redundancy and ensure the consistency of the presentation of part parameters, taking into account the priorities of the sources of design information. The software method is implemented as part of the commercial Computer-Aided Manufacturing system for the KOMPAS- 3D platform. Source parameters (metadata, material properties, annotation parameters, parametric variables) are extracted from the 3D-model using application program interface. Integration with the KOMPAS-3D materials directory has been implemented to obtain material properties. Discussion and Conclusion. The obtaining of initial information about the part is the first step in the implementation of the end-to-end design and technological parameterization in the field of Computer-Aided Manufacturing. Due to the design and technological parameterization and associativity of the toolpath, a through technological project can be built when changes made by the designer to the part will be automatically transferred to the technological model and to the control program for the CNC machine. End-to-end parametrization is most efficiently used for parametrized parts that have several dimensional modifications. Further development of the technological parameterization is expected to focus on the tasks of the automatic workpiece selection, cutting tools and devices.

The task of controlling multi-link robots with manipulators for implementation of high-tech processes in industry has been considered in the paper. The paper presents sequential steps of using computer technology in construction of robotic-manipulators, including mathematical, algorithmic, and hardware and software tools for creating a multi-drive mechatronic system controlled by OMRON industrial microcontroller. A kinematic scheme of a robot manipulator has been described in the paper and it performs the following two types of movements – rotation around the z axis and rectilinear movement of a working element along a turning radius with precise positioning at a given point in the working space. Electromechanical design of the manipulator allows to ensure transportation of production objects in accordance with a given technological process. For designing the technological process of transporting production objects, a software module has been developed that makes it possible to automate description of basic operations for movement of the robot manipulator working body with subsequent automatic generation of a command sequence for a control program ensuring operation of electric drives in manipulator links in real time. To speed up the process of designing trajectory of the working body, a spatial simulation model of a robot-manipulator in the MatLab-Simulink environment has been developed. The paper considers a generalized diagram of a mechatronic control system for a robot-manipulator based on the OMRON programmable logic controller operating under control of a program developed in the programming environment Sysmac Studio Automation. A program for a programmable terminal with interface elements and animation elements has been developed for industrial use of the mechatronic system during adjustment and operation period. The paper provides an appearance of a robot-manipulator prototype. The developed mechatronic system of the robot-manipulator can be technologically oriented towards solving other problems of industrial production.

Abstract Background Johne’s disease is a major production limiting disease of dairy cows caused by infection with Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis in calf-hood. The disease is chronic, progressive, contagious and widespread with no treatment and no cure. Economic losses arise from decreased productivity through reduced growth, milk yield, fertility and also capital losses due to premature culling or death. Control chiefly centers upon removing those animals which actively shed bacteria and protecting calves from infection. A prolonged pre-clinical shedding phase, lack of test sensitivity, organism persistence and abundance in the environment as well as management systems that expose susceptible calves to infection make control challenging, particularly in pastoral, seasonal dairy systems. Combining a novel testing strategy to remove infected cows along with limited measures to protect vulnerable calves at pasture, this study reports the successful reduction over a four-year period of seroprevalence of cows testing positive for MAP infection in a New Zealand pastoral dairy herd. Results For all age groups considered the apparent seroprevalence of cows testing positive decreased from 297 / 1,122 (26%) in 2013–2014, to 24 / 1,030 (2.3%) in 2016–2017. Over the same period, the apparent seroprevalence in primiparous cows decreased from 39 / 260 (15%) to 7 / 275 (2.5%) and in multiparous cows from 258 / 862 (29.9%) to 17 / 755 (2.3%). The reported proportion of calved cows culled annually from suspected clinical Johne’s disease fell from 55 / 1,201 (5%) in the year preceding the control program to 5 / 1,283 (0.4%) in the final year of the study. Conclusions On this farm, reduction in the prevalence of infection was achieved by reducing the infectious pressure through targeted culling of heavily shedding animals together with limited measures to protect calves at pasture from exposure to Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis. Whilst greater protection of young animals through separation from infected cows and their colostrum and milk would have reduced the risk of neonatal infection, this study demonstrates, in this case, that these management measures while prudent were not essential for effective reduction in the prevalence of MAP infection.

Animal disease control has a long tradition in Finland. The country is free of all EU-regulated cattle diseases of categories A and B. Infectious bovine rhinotracheitis, enzootic bovine leucosis, bovine viral diarrhea, bluetongue, bovine genital campylobacteriosis, and trichomoniasis do not currently exist in the country. The prevalence of paratuberculosis, Mycoplasma bovis, salmonella infection, and Q-fever is low. The geographic location, cold climate, low cattle density, and limited animal imports have contributed to the favorable disease situation. Besides screening for selected regulated diseases, the national disease-monitoring program includes periodic active monitoring of non-regulated diseases, which allows assessment of the need for new control measures. The detection of diseases through efficient passive surveillance also plays an important part in disease monitoring. The Finnish cattle population totals 850,000 animals kept on 9,300 cattle farms, with 62,000 suckler cows in 2,100 herds and 260,000 dairy cows in 6,300 herds. Animal Health ETT, an association owned by the dairy and meat industry, keeps a centralized cattle health care register. Animal Health ETT supervises cattle imports and trade within the country and runs voluntary control programs (CP) for selected diseases. Active cooperation between authorities, the cattle industry, Animal Health ETT, and herd health experts enables the efficient planning and implementation of CPs. CPs have been implemented for cattle diseases such as salmonella, Mycoplasma bovis, ringworm, and Streptococcus agalactiae. The CP for salmonellosis is compulsory and includes all Salmonella serotypes and all cattle types. It has achieved the goal of keeping the salmonella prevalence under 1% of cattle herds. CPs for M. bovis, ringworm, and S. agalactiae are on a voluntary basis and privately funded. The CP for Mycoplasma was designed in collaboration with national experts and has been implemented since 2013. The CP includes observation of clinical signs, nasal swab sampling from calves, and bulk tank milk and clinical mastitis samples for M. bovis. M. bovis-negative herds gradually achieve lower status levels for M. bovis infection. The general challenge facing voluntary CPs is getting farms to join the programs.

Background: The non-mandatory regulation of animal diseases at the European Union (EU) level enables member states to implement mitigation programs based on their own country-specific conditions such as priority settings of the governments, availability of financial resources, and epidemiological situation. This can result in a heterogeneous distribution of mitigation activities and prevalence levels within and/or between countries, which can cause difficulties for intracommunity trade. This article aims to describe the past, current, and future mitigation activities and associated prevalence levels for four animal diseases, i.e., enzootic bovine leukosis (EBL), infectious bovine rhinotracheitis/infectious pustular vulvovaginitis (IBR/IPV), bovine viral diarrhea (BVD), and bluetongue disease (BT) for Austria. Over a period of 40 years (1978–2020), regulations concerning EBL, IBR/IPV, BVD, and BT were retraced to analyze the changes of legislation, focusing on sampling, testing, and mitigation activities in Austria, and were linked to the collected diagnostic testing results. The study results clearly demonstrate the adoption of the legislation by the Austrian governments in dependency of the epidemiological situations. Furthermore, our study shows that, related to the forthcoming Animal Health Law on April 21, 2021, Austria has a good initial situation to achieve disease-free status and/or free from infection status based on the current available epidemiological situation and previously implemented mitigation activities. The study results presented here are intended to contribute to a better comparison of the eradication status across European countries for cattle diseases by providing information about the mitigation activities and data of testing results over a period of 40 years.

As for other European countries, IBR is a significant cause of financial losses in cattle in Slovakia. The State Veterinary and Food Administration of the Slovak Republic prepared a voluntary IBR control program for cattle farms in 1995, which was implemented in 1996. In subsequent years, 48-119 farms/year enrolled in the voluntary IBR control program. Since the end of 2006, the IBR control program became compulsory by law for all cattle farms in Slovakia. Serology was used to identify infected animals using a conventional ELISA amongst non-vaccinated cattle and a gE specific ELISA in cattle vaccinated with marker vaccine. Eradication is based on culling when the serological prevalence of IBR in a herd is below 15%. When the prevalence is higher than 15%, the culling is combined with the application of a marker vaccine. A radical method where all animals are slaughtered is used with the agreement of the farmer when appropriate, especially for very small herds. Depending upon the selected eradication method, the antibody positive cattle can be gradually replaced in the herds to eliminate financial losses due to the disease. The movement of cattle is under strict control requiring a health certificate issued by the state veterinary authority and the movement must be recorded in the central livestock registry. The next step for herds is monitoring to achieve official IBR-free status. Based on the official figures from The State Veterinary and Food Administration, 60.2% herds were free of IBR in Slovakia in 2020.

Modelling the dynamic behaviour of elevators with high lifting velocities (contemporary elevators in building construction and mine elevators) is a complex task and an important step in the design process and creating conditions for safe and reliable exploitation of these machines. Due to high heights and lifting velocities, the standard procedures for dynamic exploitation are not adequate. The study presents the method of forming a dynamic model to analyse nonstationary vibrations of a rope with time-varying length with nonholonomic boundary conditions in the position where the rope is connected with the cabin (cage) and in the upcoming point of its winding onto the pulley (drum). A unique method was applied to identify the basic parameters of the dynamic model (stiffness and damping) based on experimental measures for a concrete elevator. Due to the verification of this procedure, the experiment was conducted on a mine elevator in RTB Bor, Serbia. Using the obtained computer-experimental results, the simulations of the dynamic behaviour of an empty and loaded cage were shown. In addition, the study shows the specific method as the basis for forming a control program that would enable the decrease in vertical vibrations during an elevator starting and braking mode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The constant increase in the consumption of ferrous, non-ferrous, precious and rare metals in the national economy requires an increase in the efficiency of minerals mining and processing. One of the main methods of enrichment used in the technological process of processing various ores is foam flotation. The authors provide a brief description of this process and analysis of various designs of flotation machines. The article is devoted to the modernization of the aeration unit of flotation machines with the "RIF" design. It is noted that the design of such machines effectively uses the modular principle of assembly aggregates, which allows one to upgrade individual unit, increasing the efficiency of the machine as a whole. The main part of this unit is an impeller—the most complex and fast—wearing part. The paper analyzes various designs of impellers and their manufacturing technologies. In the existing designs of flotation machines, the impellers are made of steel. It is proposed to replace this material with polyurethane, which has become widely used as a structural material due to the emergence of additive technologies in the production of various parts. This material has a relatively low cost and has an increased resistance to wear. The article formulates the main requirements for the most important operations of the technological process of impeller manufacturing. For this purpose, a 3D model of the upgraded impeller design was developed in the SolidWorks 3D computer-aided design system. The authors propose an additive technology for layer-by-layer production of an impeller on a 3D printer using the Ultimaker Cura slicer program. For the manufacturing of the proposed design of the impeller made of polyurethane, the production technology was developed by the method of layer-by-layer deposition method of Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

More than 50 million cattle are likely exposed to bovine tuberculosis (bTB) worldwide, highlighting an urgent need for bTB control strategies in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and other regions where the disease remains endemic and test-and-slaughter approaches are unfeasible. While Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) was first developed as a vaccine for use in cattle even before its widespread use in humans, its efficacy against bTB remains poorly understood. To address this important knowledge gap, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to determine the direct efficacy of BCG against bTB challenge in cattle, and performed scenario analyses with transmission dynamic models incorporating direct and indirect vaccinal effects (“herd-immunity”) to assess potential impact on herd level disease control. The analysis shows a relative risk of infection of 0.75 (95% CI: 0.68, 0.82) in 1,902 vaccinates as compared with 1,667 controls, corresponding to a direct vaccine efficacy of 25% (95% CI: 18, 32). Importantly, scenario analyses considering both direct and indirect effects suggest that disease prevalence could be driven down close to Officially TB-Free (OTF) status (

Dairy cows are negatively affected by the introduction of bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV), and consequently, produce less milk. Existing literature on potential milk production losses is based on relatively outdated data and hardly evaluates milk production loss in relation to a new BVDV infection in a surveillance system. This study determined the annual and quarterly loss in milk production of BVDV introduction in 3,126 dairy herds participating in the Dutch BVDV-free program between 2007 and 2017. Among these herds, 640 were "breakdown-herds" that obtained and subsequently lost their BVDV-free status during the study period, and 2,486 herds obtained and retained their BVDV-free status during the study period. Milk yields before and after BVDV introduction were compared through annual and quarterly linear mixed models. The fixed variables for both models included herd type (breakdown-herd or free-herd), bovine viral diarrhea status (on an annual and quarterly basis), year, season, and a random herd effect. The dependent variable was the average daily milk yield on the test day. To define the possible BVDV-introduction dates, 4 scenarios were developed. In the default scenario, the date of breakdown (i.e., loss of the BVDV-free status) was assumed as the BVDV-introduction date. For the other 3 scenarios, the BVDV-introduction dates were set at 4, 6, and 9 mo before the date of breakdown, based on the estimated birth date of a persistently infected calf. In the default scenario, the loss in milk yield due to BVDV introduction occurred mainly in the first year after breakdown, with a reduction in yield of 0.08 kg/cow per day compared with the last year before breakdown. For the other 3 scenarios, the greatest yield reduction occurred in the second year after BVDV introduction, with a loss of 0.09, 0.09, and 0.1 kg/cow per day, respectively. For the first 4 quarters after BVDV introduction in the default scenario, milk yield loss was 0.14, 0.09, 0.02, and 0.08 kg/cow per day, respectively. These quarterly results indicated that milk yield loss was greatest in the first quarter after BVDV introduction. Overall, BVDV introduction had a negative, but on average a relatively small, effect on milk yield for herds participating in the BVDV-free program. This study will enable dairy farmers and policymakers to have a clearer understanding of the quantitative milk production effect of BVDV on dairy farms in a control program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: We assessed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on TB notifications in Ukraine, stratified by multiple subgroups., Design/methods: We analyzed data from Ukraine's National TB Program from January 2015 to December 2020 using interrupted time series models. We compared observed cases to counterfactual estimated cases had the pandemic not occurred and estimated trends through December 2020 nationally and by various demographics. We compared the proportions of individuals who underwent drug susceptibility testing (DST) in February 2020 and April 2020 to assess the pandemic impact on drug resistance testing., Results: In April 2020, there were 39% (95% CI 36-42) fewer TB notifications than the estimated counterfactual (3,060 estimated; 95% CI 2,918-3,202; 1,872 observed). We observed a greater decrease in notifications among refugees/migrants compared with non-refugees/migrants (64%, 95% CI 60-67 vs. 39%, 95% CI 36-42), and individuals aged <15 years compared with those aged ≥15 years (60%, 95% CI 57-64 vs. 38%, 95% CI 36-41). We also observed a decrease in the proportion of individuals receiving DST for several drugs., Conclusions: These findings underscore the challenges to TB prevention and care during disruption and may be generalizable to the current wartime situation, especially considering the substantial increase in refugees within and leaving Ukraine., (© 2024 The Authors.)

Dairy herds participating in the Dutch milk quality assurance program for paratuberculosis are assigned a herd status on the basis of herd examinations by ELISA of individual serum or milk samples, followed by an optional confirmatory fecal PCR. Test-negative herds are assigned Status A; the surveillance of these herds consists of biennial herd examinations. Farmers falsely believing that their Status A herds are Map-free may inadvertently refrain from preventive measures. Therefore, we aimed to develop a predictive model to alert Status A farmers at increased risk of future positive ELISA results. Using data of 8566 dairy herds with Status A in January 2016, two logistic regression models were built, with the probabilities of ≥1 or ≥2 positive samples from January 2017–June 2019 as dependent variables, and province, soil type, herd size, proportion of cattle born elsewhere, time since previous positive ELISA results, and the 95th percentile of the S/P ratios in 2015–2016, as explanatory variables. As internal validation, both models were applied to predict positive ELISA results from January 2019–June 2021, in 8026 herds with Status A in January 2019. The model predicting ≥1 positive sample had an area under the receiver operating characteristics curve of 0.76 (95% CI: 0.75, 0.77). At a cut-off predicted probability πc = 0.40, 25% of Status A herds would be alerted with positive and negative predictive values of 0.52 and 0.83, respectively. The model predicting ≥2 positive samples had lower positive, but higher negative, predictive values. This study indicates that discrimination of Status A herds with high and low risks of future positive ELISA results is feasible. This might stimulate farmers with the highest risks to take additional measures to control any undetected Map infections.