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African Swine Fever (ASF) has emerged as a disease of great concern to swine producers and government disease control agencies because of its severe consequences to animal health and the pig industry. Early detection of an ASF introduction is considered essential for reducing the impact of the disease. Risk-based surveillance approaches have been used as enhancements to early disease epidemic detection systems in livestock populations. Such approaches may consider the role wildlife plays in hosting and transmitting a disease. In this study, a method is presented to estimate and map the risk of introducing ASF into the domestic pig population through wild boar intermediate hosts. It makes use of data about hunted wild boar, rest areas along motorways connecting ASF affected countries to Switzerland, outdoor piggeries, and forest cover. These data were used to compute relative wild boar abundance as well as to estimate the risk of both disease introduction into the wild boar population and disease transmission to domestic pigs. The way relative wild boar abundance was calculated adds to the current state of the art by considering the effect of beech mast on hunting success and the probability of wild boar occurrence when distributing relative abundance values among individual grid cells. The risk of ASF introduction into the domestic pig population by wild boar was highest near the borders of France, Germany, and Italy. On the north side of the Alps, areas of high risk were located on the unshielded side of the main motorway crossing the Central Plateau, which acts as a barrier for wild boar. Estimating the risk of disease introduction into the domestic pig population without the intermediary of wild boar suggested that dispersing wild boar may play a key role in spreading the risk to areas remote from motorways. The results of this study can be used to focus surveillance efforts for early disease detection on high risk areas. The developed method may also inform policies to control other diseases that are ...

The Brazilian power generation sector faces a paradigm change driven by, on one hand, a shift from a hydropower dominated mix and, on the other hand, international goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The objective of this work is to evaluate five scenarios for the Brazilian power sector until 2050 using a multi-criteria decision analysis tool. These scenarios include a baseline trend and low carbon policy scenarios based on carbon taxes and carbon emission limits. To support the applied methodology, a questionnaire was elaborated to integrate the perceptions of experts on the scenario evaluation process. Considering the results from multi-criteria analysis, scenario preference followed the order of increasing share of renewables in the power sector. The preferable option for the future Brazilian power sector is a scenario where wind and biomass have a major contribution. The robustness of the multi-criteria tool applied in this study was tested by a sensitivity analysis. This analysis demonstrated that, regardless of the respondents' preferences and backgrounds, scenarios with higher shares of fossil fuel sources are the least preferable option, while scenarios with major contributions from wind and biomass are the preferable option to supply electricity in Brazil through 2050. ; The research that allowed the publication of this paper has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Union in the context of the CLIMACAP project (EuropeAid/131944/C/SER/Multi) and of the U.S. Agency for International Development and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in the context of the LAMP project (under Interagency Agreements DW89923040 and DW89923951US). The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of the authors and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union or the U.S. government. The authors would like to thank the feedback and efforts from all CLIMACAP and LAMP project partners for enabling the research results reported in this article. This research was ...

Abstract Infections negatively influence the production of tambaqui, and in north Brazil, the wide distribution of this parasitic disease has generated concern among fish farmers. The objective of this study was to review published literature on this pathogen. Six main online research databases were searched using the keywords "Neoechinorhynchus buttnerae", "acantocefalose", and "acanthocephalan fish". Based on a set of predetermined criteria, 39 publications were selected for this review. The mechanism of pathogenic action of N. buttnerae is related to the degree of penetration of the proboscis. Infection results in histopathological and morphological changes in the host. The recurrence of the parasite in the northern region was greater twelve years after their first occurrence. The lack of specific legislation on veterinary products for aquatic animals, combined with the neglect of good management practices, and the absence of a contingency plan for the control of acanthocephalan infections have contributed to the current health situation of Colossoma macropomum northern Brazil. Additional information about the occurrence of the disease, pathogenicity, and control of acanthocephalan infections are imperative for developing a disease contingency plan in the region and research to address these should be encouraged by the sector.

The physiological significance of biometric body condition indices (bBCI) is poorly understood. We hypothesized that bBCI are composite metrics of nutritional physiology, physical fitness and health. To test this hypothesis, we first compared the performance of eight bBCI, using 434 Southern European carnivores from six species as a model system; and then identified, by non-destructive methods, the hematology and serum biochemistry correlates of three selected bBCI. Fulton's K Index, Major Axis Regression Residuals and Scaled Mass Index were the only bBCI insensitive to the effect of sex and age. The most informative physiological parameters in explaining the variation of these bBCI were the albumin (Effect Size (ES) = − 1.66 to − 1.76), urea (ES = 1.61 to 1.85) and total bilirubin (ES = − 1.62 to − 1.79). Hemoglobin and globulins (positive) and cholesterol (negative) were moderately informative (0.9 <|ES|< 1.5). This study shows that most bBCI do not control for the effect of age and sex in Southern European carnivores. Our results support that bBCI are composite measures of physiologic processes, reflecting a positive gradient from protein-poor to protein-rich diets, accompanied by increased physical fitness. Biometric body condition indices allow the integration of ecologically relevant physiological aspects in an easily obtained metric. ; This work was supported by Junta de Comunidades de Castilla-La Mancha [Project PREG-05-23], Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and European Union-FEDER funds [Project CGL2009-10741]; Organismo Autónomo Parques Nacionales [Project OAPN352/2011]; Empreendimentos Eólicos do Vale do Minho S.A. and Associação para a Conservação do Habitat do Lobo Ibérico (ACHLI); Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia [grants SFRH/BPD/116596/2016 to N.S. and SFRH/BD/144087/2019 to M.N. and UID/BIA/50027/2019 to P.M.]; FCT/MCTES, through national funds, and the co-funding by the FEDER, within the PT2020 Partnership Agreement and Compete 2020 [cE3c—UIDB/00329/2020]; Juan de la Cierva research contracts from Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, Funder Id: 10.13039/501100004837 from the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness [FJCI-2015-24949 to F.D.R.]; and the European Union H2020 [Project H2020 VACDIVA 862874 to J.A.B.]. ; Peer reviewed

International audience ; With global science-policy conventions for biodiversity and ecosystem services in place, much effort goes into monitoring and reporting on the progress toward policy targets. As conservation actions happen locally, can such global monitoring and reporting efforts effectively guide conservation. actions at subnational level? In this paper we explore three different perspectives: policy reporting for policy implementation; scientific knowledge for empowerment and actions; and from past trends to influencing the future. Using these three perspectives, we identify ways forward for both decision makers and scientists on how to engage, inform and empower a larger diversity of actors who make decisions on the future of biodiversity and ecosystem services at multiple scales Without doubt, scientific understanding of why and where biodiversity and ecological resilience are degrading is advancing [1",2]. In addition, there is enormous investment and engagement by both decision makers and scientists to maintain and raise the environmental stakes on international policy agendas in the face of worldwide economic, social and political challenges. Global biodiversity targets as set by the signatories to the Convention on Biological Diversity in 2010 (the Aichi targets), the 2013 European Union strategy on adaptation to climate change, and the Sustainable Development Goals, require short to medium term action in translating such targets to local conservation actions [e.g. 3], for instance at the level of protected areas, watersheds or a village [4]. With the first thematic, regional and global assessment reports of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) being published [5,6] or steadily advancing, it is timely to reflect on how the substantial scientific and political investments in monitoring and reporting on progress toward global biodiversity and ecosystem service targets can be used effectively for conservation actions. Taking the perspective of ...

Abstract
The objective of this opinion was to determine if any wild caught fish species, originating from specific fishing grounds and consumed in the EU/EFTA could be considered free of zoonotic parasites. In this Opinion the term 'fishery products' only refers to fresh finfish. As there are multiple fish species and numerous potential parasites, Anisakis sp. was used as an indicator of zoonotic parasites in marine areas. This parasite species is particularly suited as it is common in marine environments, capable of infecting multiple fish species and is the subject of the majority of published studies. On the rare occasion where Anisakis sp. data were not available, or all tests were negative, other parasites such as Contracaecum osculatum (s.l.) and/or Phocanema spp. were considered. In freshwater systems, all zoonotic parasites were investigated. Consumption, import and landing data were used to determine the most relevant fish species and, where possible, the source fishing areas were identified. The most commonly consumed wild caught fish species in the EU/EFTA include tuna, cod, Alaskan pollock, hake, herring, sardines, mackerel, trout and saithe. Although the majority of these fish are caught in the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean and the Black Sea (37) as well as several areas in the Indian Ocean, imported fish may originate from any global fishing areas, with the exception of Antarctica. Based on the data, at least one zoonotic parasite has been reported in at least one fish species in each of the FAO marine fishing areas. Thus, due to relative low fish host specificity of the zoonotic parasites, the panel concluded that all wild caught fish species may be exposed to and infected with zoonotic parasites. The same applies to freshwater fishing areas, with many areas having multiple studies reporting the presence of zoonotic parasites in the wild caught fish species.

© The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the European Psychiatric Association. This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. ; Background: Compulsory admission procedures of patients with mental disorders vary between countries in Europe. The Ethics Committee of the European Psychiatric Association (EPA) launched a survey on involuntary admission procedures of patients with mental disorders in 40 countries to gather information from all National Psychiatric Associations that are members of the EPA to develop recommendations for improving involuntary admission processes and promote voluntary care. Methods: The survey focused on legislation of involuntary admissions and key actors involved in the admission procedure as well as most common reasons for involuntary admissions. Results: We analyzed the survey categorical data in themes, which highlight that both medical and legal actors are involved in involuntary admission procedures. Conclusions: We conclude that legal reasons for compulsory admission should be reworded in order to remove stigmatization of the patient, that raising awareness about involuntary admission procedures and patient rights with both patients and family advocacy groups is paramount, that communication about procedures should be widely available in lay-language for the general population, and that training sessions and guidance should be available for legal and medical practitioners. Finally, people working in the field need to be constantly aware about the ethical challenges surrounding compulsory admissions. ; info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion