THE DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF EXPERIMENTS. By Oscar Kempthorne. New York, John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1952. 631 pp. $8.50. This book by a teacher of statistics (as well as a consultant for \"experimenters\") is a comprehensive study of the philosophical background for the statistical design of experiment. It is necessary to have some facility with algebraic notation and manipulation to be able to use the volume intelligently. The problems are presented from the theoretical point of view, without such practical examples as would be helpful for those not acquainted with mathematics. The mathematical justification for the techniques is given. As a somewhat advanced treatment of the design and analysis of experiments, this volume will be interesting and helpful for many who approach statistics theoretically as well as practically. With emphasis on the \"why,\" and with description given broadly, the author relates the subject matter to the general theory of statistics and to the general problem of experimental inference. MARGARET J. ROBERTSON

The Design and Analysis of Experiments

Bayesian inference of phylogeny using Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) plays a central role in understanding evolutionary history from molecular sequence data. Visualizing and analyzing the MCMC-generated samples from the posterior distribution is a key step in any non-trivial Bayesian inference. We present the software package Tracer (version 1.7) for visualizing and analyzing the MCMC trace files generated through Bayesian phylogenetic inference. Tracer provides kernel density estimation, multivariate visualization, demographic trajectory reconstruction, conditional posterior distribution summary, and more. Tracer is open-source and available at http://beast.community/tracer.

/pdf/posterior-summarization-in-bayesian-phylogenetics-using-2nqj1d4n5k.pdf

Posterior Summarization in Bayesian Phylogenetics Using Tracer 1.7.

1. Introduction and Overview. 2. Detecting Influential Observations and Outliers. 3. Detecting and Assessing Collinearity. 4. Applications and Remedies. 5. Research Issues and Directions for Extensions. Bibliography. Author Index. Subject Index.

Regression Diagnostics: Identifying Influential Data and Sources of Collinearity

Evolution and ecology of influenza A viruses.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) are two highly transmissible and pathogenic viruses that emerged in humans at the beginning of the 21st century. Both viruses likely originated in bats, and genetically diverse coronaviruses that are related to SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV were discovered in bats worldwide. In this Review, we summarize the current knowledge on the origin and evolution of these two pathogenic coronaviruses and discuss their receptor usage; we also highlight the diversity and potential of spillover of bat-borne coronaviruses, as evidenced by the recent spillover of swine acute diarrhoea syndrome coronavirus (SADS-CoV) to pigs. Coronaviruses have a broad host range and distribution, and some highly pathogenic lineages have spilled over to humans and animals. Here, Cui, Li and Shi explore the viral factors that enabled the emergence of diseases such as severe acute respiratory syndrome and Middle East respiratory syndrome.

/pdf/origin-and-evolution-of-pathogenic-coronaviruses-5eofmvbv9y.pdf

Origin and evolution of pathogenic coronaviruses

1. Batsaki J: 1968, Degenerative lesions of the heart. In: Pathology of the heart and blood vessels, ed. Gould S, p. 479–526. CTP, Springfield. 2. Bharati S, Rosen KM, Miller RA, Lev M: 1974, Conduction system examination in a case of spontaneous heart block in a dog. Am Heart J 88:596–600. 3. Denac M, Stunzi H, Mehring M: 1970, Atrio-ventricular compensatory rhythm in the dog following inhibition of development of the atrial musculature. Zentralbl Vet Med Reihe A 17: 920–924. 4. Frankel KA, Rosser RJ: 1976, The pathology of the heart in progressive muscular dystrophy: epimyocardial fibrosis. Hum Pathol 7:375–386. 5. Hisaoka T, Kawai S, Ohi H, et al.: 1990, Two cases of chronic myocarditis mimicking arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia. Heart Vessels Suppl. 5:51–54. 6. Jeraj K, Ogburm PN, Edwards WD, Edwards JE: 1980, Atrial standstill, myocarditis and destruction of cardiac conduction system: clinicopathologic correlation in a dog. Am Heart J 99: 185–192. 7. Liu SK: 1982, Cardiac disease in the dog and cat, In: Pig model for biomedical research, ed. Roberts HR, Dodds WJ, pp. 110– 133. Pig Research Institute, Taiwan, Republic of China. 8. Marcus FI, Fontaine GH, Guiraudon G, et al.: 1982, Right ventricular dysplasia: a report of 24 adult cases. Circulation 65: 384–398. 9. Moriuchi T, Kagawa N, Mukoyama M, Hizawa K: 1993, Autopsy analyses of the muscular dystrophies. Tokushima J Exp Med 40:83–93. 10. Scott TM: 1977, Heart. In: Pathology, ed. Anderson WAD, Kissane JM, 7th ed., pp. 737–855. C. V. Mosby, St. Louis, MO. 11. Valentine BA, Cummings JF, Cooper BJ: 1989, Development of Duchenne-type cardiomyopathy. Morphologic studies in a canine model. Am J Pathol 135:671–678. 12. Vecht RJ, Carmichael DJS, Gopal R, Philip G: 1979, Uhl’s anomaly. Br Heart J 41:676–682.

http://vdi.sagepub.com/content/10/2/194.full.pdf+html

Concurrent Rabies and Canine Distemper Encephalitis in a Raccoon (Procyon Lotor)

Sarcocysts of Sarcocystis sp. were found in 26 (50%) of 52 raccoons (Procyon lotor) from Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida, and Maryland. Although only 4 (7.7%) of 52 cardiac muscles specimens were found to contain sarcocysts, 25% to 36.5% of tongue, diaphragm, masseter muscle, and esophagus specimens were found infected. By light microscopy, sarcocyst walls were less than 3 micron thick and had no conspicuous projections; interior septa were indistinct. By transmission electron microscopy, sarcocyst walls had short (mean = 2.7 micron), villus-like protrusions; thin septa were seen within the sarcocysts. The raccoon may be an intermediate host for a Sarcocystis sp. that completes its life cycle in an unidentified, wild carnivore.

Sarcocystis in muscles of raccoons (Procyon lotor L.).

Pathogen discovery contributes to our knowledge of bat-borne viruses and is linked to the heightened interest globally in bats as recognised reservoirs of zoonotic agents. The transmission of lyssaviruses from bats-to-humans, domestic animals, or other wildlife species is uncommon, but interest in these pathogens remains due to their ability to cause an acute, progressive, invariably fatal encephalitis in humans. Consequently, the detection and characterisation of bat lyssaviruses continues to expand our knowledge of their phylogroup definition, viral diversity, host species association, geographical distribution, evolution, mechanisms for perpetuation, and the potential routes of transmission. Although the opportunity for lyssavirus cross-species transmission seems rare, adaptation in a new host and the possibility of onward transmission to humans requires continued investigation. Considering the limited efficacy of available rabies biologicals it is important to further our understanding of protective immunity to minimize the threat from these pathogens to public health. Hence, in addition to increased surveillance, the development of a niche pan-lyssavirus vaccine or therapeutic biologics for post-exposure prophylaxis for use against genetically divergent lyssaviruses should be an international priority as these emerging lyssaviruses remain a concern for global public health.

Renewed Public Health Threat from Emerging Lyssaviruses

Molecular tools for rabies diagnosis in animals

In many areas of the world, only 30 to 50% of dogs are vaccinated against rabies. On some US Indian Reservations, vaccination rates may be as low as 5 to 20%. In 2003 and 2004, we evaluated the effectiveness of commercially available baits to deliver oral rabies vaccine to feral and free-ranging dogs on the Navajo and Hopi Nations. Dogs were offered one of the following baits containing a plastic packet filled with placebo vaccine: vegetable shortening-based Ontario slim baits (Artemis Technologies, Inc.), fish-meal-crumble coated sachets (Merial, Ltd.), dog food polymer baits (Bait-Tek, Inc.), or fish meal polymer baits (Bait-Tek, Inc.). One bait was offered to each animal and its behaviour toward the bait was recorded. Behaviours included: bait ignored, bait swallowed whole, bait chewed and discarded (sachet intact), bait chewed and discarded (sachet punctured), or bait chewed and consumed (sachet punctured). Bait acceptance ranged from 30.7% to 77.8% with the fish-meal-crumble coated sachets having the highest acceptance rate of the tested baits.

Charles E. Rupprecht

Papers

Concurrent Rabies and Canine Distemper Encephalitis in a Raccoon (Procyon Lotor)

Sarcocystis in muscles of raccoons (Procyon lotor L.).

Renewed Public Health Threat from Emerging Lyssaviruses

Molecular tools for rabies diagnosis in animals

Bait Acceptability for Delivery of Oral Rabies Vaccine to Free-ranging Dogs on the Navajo and Hopi Nations