IgE antibody during infection with the ovine abomasal nematode, Teladorsagia circumcincta: primary and secondary responses in serum and gastric lymph of sheep

A monoclonal antibody to ovine IgE was employed in an ELISA to investigate the IgE antibody responses in serum and gastric lymph to a primary infection of Teladorsagia circumcincta, and following challenge in previously infected sheep. During a primary response, IgE antibody to antigens derived from the infective third stage (L3) and adult (L5) worms were negligible, with low levels of IgE antibody detected in serum and lymph. In contrast, there was a pronounced IgE antibody response in 2/4 sheep to L3 antigens during 2-8 days after challenge of previously infected animals but low levels of IgE antibody to L5 antigens. This response was confirmed in a second but similar experiment, where relatively high levels of IgE antibody was detected to antigens from L3. Antibody levels were higher in lymph than in serum from the same animals, and Western blots of L3 antigen following SDS-PAGE under reducing conditions revealed several bands of MW26-96KD which reacted with the IgE antibody from gastric lymph. Immunohistochemical staining indicated that these IgE antibodies may be reacting with allergens associated with the surface cuticle of the worms.     

Selection of climate change scenario data for impact modelling

Impact models investigating climate change effects on food safety often need detailed climate data. The aim of this study was to select climate change projection data for selected crop phenology and mycotoxin impact models. Using the ENSEMBLES database of climate model output, this study illustrates how the projected climate change signal of important variables as temperature, precipitation and relative humidity depends on the choice of the climate model. Using climate change projections from at least two different climate models is recommended to account for model uncertainty. To make the climate projections suitable for impact analysis at the local scale a weather generator approach was adopted. As the weather generator did not treat all the necessary variables, an ad-hoc statistical method was developed to synthesise realistic values of missing variables. The method is presented in this paper, applied to relative humidity, but it could be adopted to other variables if needed.     

Time and resource management: the time plan

The creation and monitoring of a plan which accurately reflects the detailed scope of work against a realistic timescale is central to the establishment of effective control over a project. The plan must be established at an early stage so that all project activities can be identified and controlled. Adoption of a structure approach to this will make it easier to produce a good time plan     

Research policy and review 26: where does the United States stand in the global resource scarcity debate?

"U.S. policy on world resources and population underwent a drastic shift between the 1970s and 1980s. Underlying this shift were deep and persistent divisions among social scientists and policy scientists who are students of the global resource scarcity hypothesis. This article consists of a brief review of the history of the debate between those who believe that resources are becoming increasingly scarce and those who do not. Major focuses include the ambiguities of scarcity measures, and economic literature such as The Limits to Growth, Global 2000, the critique of Julian Simon, and The Resourceful Earth."