A panel discussion at the annual CEEZAD meeting features from left: Shawn Babiuk, Canadian Food Inspection Agency; Alan Young, Medgene Labs; Kristi Moore, Ceva; Adolfo Garcia-Sastre, Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai; Teshome Mabatsion, Meria; Gerd Sutter, Ludwig-Maximilians- Universität München; and Dr. Luis Rodriguez, Foreign Animal Disease Research, Plum Island Animal Disease Center; and Michael Jarvis, University of Plymouth.

Dr. Jürgen Richt, CEEZAD’s director, said the meeting featured presentations on the most pressing topics in the area of food animal disease control and biosecurity.

“I was thrilled both at the depth of knowledge presented at the conference as well as at the enthusiasm of participants for what they heard,” Dr. Richt said. “Participant after participant told me how much they learned about the most recent developments in the field of zoonotic disease research and vaccine development and production, and how encouraged they were by what they heard.”

The meeting attracted experts in the animal health industry from every continent. In addition to presentations, sessions also featured “gap analyses” where experts defined gaps in their areas of expertise and challenged one another regarding the next steps to be taken in each field of study.

Among the highlights:

• Dr. Roy Curtiss III, head of the Curtiss Labs, member of the National Academy of Sciences and a faculty member at the Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathology at the University of Florida’s College of Veterinary Medicine, reported on new platform technologies for dealing with Salmonella outbreaks. Dr. Curtiss noted that traditional means of attenuating viruses and bacteria to serve as live vaccines are associated with a reduction in the potential/ability to induce protective immunity. He said his lab has solved that problem by encoding antigens to resemble wild-type virulent Salmonella – which more effectively allow induction of protective immune responses -- at the time of oral administration. He also discussed other potential advantages to genetically programming recombinant attenuated Salmonella vaccines to exhibit regulated “delayed attenuation,” regulated “delayed synthesis of protective antigens,” and “regulated delayed lysis” in the target animal.
• Dr. Will Fischer, a scientist at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, reported on the search for a universal Foot-and-Mouth disease vaccine. Dr. Fischer described how he perfected “mosaic” vaccine cocktails that displayed a multitude of variable antigenic epitopes. When formulated as an inactivated and adjuvanted FMDV vaccine, the product conferred protection from challenge with a heterologous FMDV serotype A virus challenge. From these results, Dr. Fischer concluded that synthetic “mosaic” immunogens, optimized with the inclusion of high-frequency linear epitopes, can fold correctly in vivo and be presented to the immune system in a way that it mediates protection against diverse FMDV isolates in an intra-serotype context. He also said his approach to universal vaccines increases the breadth of vaccine response formulations, and may enable much broader immune responses, possibly leading to a much sought after “universal” vaccine for Foot-and-Mouth Disease.
• Dr. Anton Gerilovych, of the National Scientific Center in Kharkiv, Ukraine, reported on the threat of the ongoing African Swine Fever (ASF) outbreaks in Eastern Europe. ASF is a highly contagious disease of swine that can be transmitted by wild and domestic pigs, and which crosses borders either by the illegal importing of pig meat or by the contamination of domestic pig supplies by wild pigs. The disease broke out in the Caucuses region of Eastern Europe in 2007 (Georgia/Armenia), and subsequently transferred to the Russian Federation, with a later outbreak in Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland and Estonia. Dr. Gerilovych said about 1,000 outbreaks were detected in Eurasia so far, with economic losses estimated in the hundreds of millions of dollars. He cited weak levels of biosecurity in small backyard farms and as a major problem in Ukraine, and recommended creation of buffer zones as well as multi-institutional collaboration on development of ASF diagnostics and vaccines. He also said that vaccination strategies should be supported by effective surveillance of wild and domestic pigs.
• Dr. David Williams, group leader for emergency disease diagnosis at the Australian Animal Health Laboratory (AAHL-CSIRO) in Geelong, reported on the use of oral fluids to improve detection and surveillance of ASF. In the event of an ASF outbreak, he stressed, the key to rapid detection and control would be immediate access to accurate diagnostic tools and an efficient surveillance strategy. Dr. Williams noted that a major barrier to efficient and accurate surveillance is the complexity and cost of collecting and testing statistically appropriate numbers of samples. He said oral fluid-based diagnostics provides a possible solution because it allows pen-based sampling as opposed to individual arrival-based sampling. Dr. Williams reported on tests done in his lab at AAHL using samples from ASF-infected pigs, saying that “while only a limited number of positive oral fluid samples were tested, the presence of antibodies in those samples was consistent with the development of serum antibodies,” suggesting the potential for ASF surveillance.
• Dr. Young Lyoo, professor of veterinary medicine at Konkuk University in Seoul, South Korea, reported on research into a modified live Classical Swine Fever Virus (CSFV) vaccine. Classical Swine Fever (CSF) is an important viral disease in swine due to its morbidity and mortality. In recent years, vaccination has been regarded as an important tool for the prevention and control of the disease. Dr. Lyoo reported that new research data raises questions about the safety and efficacy of live attenuated CSF vaccines. He said the safety and efficacy of live attenuated CSF vaccines needs to be re-evaluated.
• Dr. Florian Krammer, Department of Microbiology/Immunology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai, New York, said several human universal/broadly protective influenza virus vaccine candidates are under development. He said these vaccines are based on different strategies to induce protective immune responses against antigenetically and genetically different influenza A (and B) viruses. These strategies include sequential vaccination with divergent antigens, multivalent approaches, vaccination with glycan-modified antigens, vaccination with minimal antigens, and vaccination with antigens that have centralized/optimized sequences.
• Dr. Luis Rodriguez, research leader at the Plum Island Animal Disease Center (PIADC), reported on an adenovirus-vectored vaccine for Foot-and-Mouth Disease. Rodriguez said such a vaccine has recently been granted a USDA provisional license for production and potential use in cattle in the U.S. He cautioned, however, that some shortcomings remain before that technology can be deployed into the field. Those shortcomings include production yield, downstream processing, genetic stability during production passages and relatively high protective doses. Rodriguez said research at Plum Island is focusing on addressing those shortcomings.
• Dr. Heinz Feldmann, chief of the virology laboratory at the Rocky Mountain Laboratories (NIAID-NIH), reported on progress on the Ebola virus vaccine. Feldmann said efficacy studies of the VSV-based Ebola vaccine in rodent and non-human primates models have shown promising results with good safety and immunogenicity profiles. He also said promising results were obtained in early human trials.
• Dr. Alan Young, chief scientific officer at Medgene Labs, reported on Medgene’s commercial development, in conjunction with CEEZAD, of a highly efficacious, subunit vaccine against Rift Valley Fever based on a baculovirus platform. Dr. Young said the DIVA-compatible vaccine can be stored in a highly stable form as antigen concentrate for extended periods and rapidly produced in response to an RVFV outbreak. He said the RVFV vaccine effectively induced neutralizing and protective antibodies in the target animal species, sheep and cattle. The concept of a subunit DIVA-compatible efficacious vaccine using the baculovirus platform can be extended to other transboundary animal diseases.

Dr. Gregg Hanzlicek, director of production animal field investigations, speaks at a session in Stockton, Kansas, on the upcoming Veterinary Feed Directive.

“We have had the opportunity to be present at state veterinary continuing education meetings as well as meetings with producers and feed manufacturers and distributors,” said Dr. Michael Apley, professor of production medicine and clinical pharmacology. “These sessions have helped us all get to the same page on the rules and how we can work together to make the transition as smooth as possible. It isn’t very often that I don’t come home with another question to submit to the FDA for clarification.”

Other faculty members in the college and at the Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory have also accumulated considerable mileage by reaching out: Dr. Dan Thomson, Jones professor of production medicine and epidemiology, Dr. Brian Lubbers, director of clinical microbiology, and Dr. Gregg Hanzlicek, director of production animal field investigations. Each has made presentations and spoke at regional meetings both in and outside of Kansas, including places such as New York, Georgia, New Mexico, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and Oklahoma.

Dr. Lubbers emphasized the role veterinarians will have. “The revisions to the Veterinary Feed Directive that become effective January 2017 are the most significant changes to drug use regulations the veterinary profession has experienced for more than 20 years,” he said. “Veterinarians will now have to authorize all use of in-feed antibiotics in food animals.”

Veterinary practitioners have also sought out these faculty members and invited them to speak in their local communities. Recently, Dr. Hanzlicek spoke in Stockton, Kansas, along with the local veterinarian and K-State alumnus Dr. Craig Iwanski, who owns Central Veterinary Services with his wife, Dr. Jessica Iwanski. Both graduated from the College of Veterinary Medicine in 1996.

“Our meeting was well attended, and the information Dr. Hanzlicek provided will only enhance the understanding of the Veterinary Feed Directive rules,” Dr. Craig Iwanski said. “We appreciate his willingness to present at our meetings as an authority on this subject.”

Dr. Thomson observed that once the new rules are implemented, the roles of faculty and practicing veterinarians may be reversed. “The practitioners that will actually be doing it will be teaching us in academia on how it works in the real world,” he said.

Dr. Apley echoed this opinion. “The upside of these meetings is the contact we have with the veterinarians and producers,” he said. “These interactions ground us and help us better understand what we need to do to serve producers and veterinarians in Kansas and in the United States. Around July, I had a naïve view that by Jan. 1, we would all be ready to go. It’s clear now that there are so many nuances about putting VFD in place and how we apply it, that it will take a couple of years to work through the details of the multiple situations in which medically important antibiotics are used in the feed.”

“Most importantly, we want to express our thanks from the college and from the Diagnostic Lab to the practitioners and producers we have been meeting with,” Dr. Hanzlicek said. “Our efforts to reach out pale next to the efforts that will be required in the near future by our practitioners and their clients.”

In addition these personal visits and meetings, the Beef Cattle Institute at Kansas State University has recently collaborated with the Kansas Department of Agriculture and K-State Research and Extension to develop a new website, VFDInfo.org, which houses educational modules specific to producers, feed mill operators, veterinarians and distributors.

“Since the day I got here, I found that people are really friendly here and you really feel part of the K‑State family,” said Dr. Devreese, who is an assistant professor at Ghent University in Belgium. “Here it’s like one big family. Back home, the university is one big place, but it’s all scattered around the city, so you don’t really feel that connection with other colleges or other faculties.”

Dr. Devreese has worked closely with Dr. Ronette Gehring, associate professor in the anatomy and physiology department at the veterinary college. He also been working with Dr. Jim Riviere, director of the ICCM, MacDonald Endowed Chair in Veterinary Medicine, Kansas Bioscience Eminent Scholar and University Distinguished Professor. Dr. Devreese’s visit to Kansas State University was supported by a grant from the Fleming Research Foundation.

“Mathias was an absolutely joy to interact and work with,” Dr. Riviere said. “His European perspective also broadened many of our discussions related to our developing global food animal residue avoidance program. Such international study visits are a clear example of the drawing power of the ICCM.”

“It has been very rewarding to host Dr Devreese as a visiting scholar in the ICCM,” Dr. Gehring said. “We have many common interests, including pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic modeling, drug and contaminant residues in foods of animal origin, and antimicrobial resistance. Our students and postdocs benefited from interacting with a faculty member from another institution and continent, and we all gained a fresh perspective on shared research topics.”

“At Ghent University, we do a lot of pharmacokinetic studies in different animal species, pigs, poultry, also cockatiels, dogs, cats – a really big variety of animal species,” Dr. Devreese explained on how he decided to visit Kansas State University. “I was looking for a lab that has great expertise in pharmacokinetics modeling. I searched several publications, Scholar, PubMed, etc. I came to the ICCM eventually. Dr. Riviere and Dr. Gehring both have lots of publications on that particular subject I was looking for.”

Dr. Devreese arrived in September and plans to be back in Belgium by the second weekend in December.

“I brought a lot of datasets to model here, and we’ve been through all of them,” Dr. Devreese exclaimed. “I’m pretty pleased with my stay here. I’ve learned lots with all the analysis we had to do –mainly learning to work with the software. It’s just like I expected and hoped for.”

Dr. Devreese’s visit has not been spent entirely looking at graphs and data on computers.

“In Belgium, we’re really into cycling, so the day I got here, I bought myself a bicycle,” Dr. Devreese said. “I’ve been riding it back and forth to my home here, and the university all day. I really enjoy cycling on the weekends because the Flint Hills are really amazing. It’s really scenic. Also, the weather has been really nice here – it’s like Belgium summer here all the time, so that was really beneficial for cycling on the weekends and the evening.”

Because his experience has been very rewarding, Dr. Devreese has sought to give students at both universities similar opportunities.

“I’ve been in contact with the international exchange officer here, and we would like to set up an exchange between Ghent University and Kansas State University,” Dr. Devreese said. “The idea would be that one final-year student from Ghent would come here and one last-year student from K-State would go to Ghent for a couple of weeks or months to learn more about clinical practice. It would be very helpful to get another view of clinical practice and more experience because, for instance, the beef cattle here is very different than the Belgian White Blue breed, whose calves always have to be born by caesarian section. This breed has so much muscle it can’t give natural birth, so I think it would be really interesting for K-State students to come learn in Ghent where our veterinarians do 10 caesarian sections a day during calving season. We can really exchange knowledge, and clinical experience and practices.”

Dr. Devreese explained how the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree program is different in where students can enter the program at the undergraduate level. They must study for six years rather than having four years at the graduate level as in the United States. He said the first couple of years focus on basic sciences, anatomy, physiology, and as students become more advanced, they will go into clinical sciences, in the third, fourth and fifth year.

Another aspect of Dr. Devreese’s visit to Kansas State University has involved interacting with the veterinary faculty.

Cyndi Davidson, front right, attends an animal welfare lecture during a special symposium held in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

On the morning of the symposium, attendees were greeted with a fabulous breakfast spread, including a first for me — vegan cream cheese! The morning lineup of speakers began with Dr. Susan Krebsbach, veterinary adviser for the HSVMA, where she reminded us that animal welfare incorporates three components: body, mind and nature. All three of these values must be considered when evaluating animal welfare, but one or more are often compromised in favor of reducing cost or maximizing profit. This talk challenged me to rethink what I thought I knew about the definition of animal welfare and gave me an appreciation for how difficult it is to standardize it for all species.

Dr. Wendy Wolfson, assistant professor of shelter medicine at LSU, gave a talk titled, “A Practitioner’s Role in Addressing Neglect, Cruelty and Dog Fighting,” that I felt to be very empowering. She stressed that veterinarians should not feel intimidated to report cases of suspected animal abuse. Dr. Wolfson gave us a glimpse into the rapidly expanding field of veterinary forensic science, where I learned that a skin biopsy can tell you the age of a scar and that maggots can reveal time and location of death, provide DNA, and can be used for toxicological analysis.

Dr. Barry Kipperman, a private practitioner in the San Francisco area, gave a talk on farm animal welfare, and he proposed a question that greatly resonated with me as a student. He asked, “Is it consistent with our oath for veterinarians to support intensive confinement practices?” As we discussed the use of swine gestation crates and poultry battery cages — two hot topics in the realm of animal welfare — it got me thinking how a lot of farming practices deemed acceptable may not be consistent with what is outlined in the veterinarian’s oath. Dr. Kipperman challenged us to avoid complacency and to speak up and take action whenever we feel improvements should be made to the status quo.

Other topics covered in the symposium were beef cattle welfare, equine welfare issues, commercial dog breeding (“puppy mills”), the impact of costs of care on animal and veterinarian well-being, and an inspiring presentation by Dr. Barry Kellogg, a seasoned world traveler and expert on disaster-relief coordination. Dr. Kellogg shared pictures and stories of his 50+ year career of taking risks, refusing to say no, and actively seeking opportunities to make a difference. His talk created a palpable electricity in the room as our heads filled with ideas on how to make a meaningful impact on the world.

On the following day, Nov. 13, a small group of us visited the Pen Pals Animal Shelter at the Dixon Correctional Institute in Jackson, Louisiana. The animal shelter began as an emergency respite for animals displaced by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and later Hurricane Gustav in 2008. The not-for-profit shelter became a permanent fixture in 2010, and provides training to carefully screened offenders who care for the animals housed there. What impressed me the most about the facility was how the dogs quieted down immediately after our group walked away — the anxious barks and appeals for attention were not an ongoing cacophony, which to me signified the dogs were generally calm and comfortable in their surroundings. The offenders in charge of the dogs do a commendable job of addressing those three pillars of animal welfare: mind, body and nature, which was very satisfying to observe.

Cyndi joins a tour of the Pen Pals Animal Shelter at Dixon Correctional Institution. She is in the back row, center

A candid moment with symposium speakers Dr. Barry Kellogg, Dr. Susan Krebsbach and Dr. Barry Kipperman.

“In this activity, students learned the basic lifecycle of ticks, how ticks feed and what diseases are transmitted by ticks,” Dr. Mulcahy said. “The introductory lecture also included how to identify the most common tick species in Kansas, what to do if you are bitten by a tick, and the best ways to avoid ticks and tick-borne diseases. After the lecture portion, students tested their newly acquired skills and used microscopes to identify local tick species.”

Below are a couple of photos from the event.

Both projects utilize expertise from K-State’s College of Agriculture, the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Collaborative Research on Sustainable Intensification, or SIIL, the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Collaborative Research on Sorghum and Millet, or SMIL, the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for the Reduction of Post-Harvest Loss, or PHL, and the College of Veterinary Medicine.

"An exciting component of both of these projects is that they have combined the expertise of K-State faculty from several disciplines with the international research networks of multiple K-State Feed the Future Innovation Labs," Vipham said. "It is a great example of the research capacity that exists at K-State."

Ethiopia is a target country of the three Innovation Labs, which create opportunities for collaborative efforts between the Labs. Through collaboration with Ethiopian partners, the Reach grant will expand on current Innovation Lab research in Ethiopia, including research funded by SMIL.

"These grants provide another opportunity for the Feed the Future Innovation Labs at K-State as well as the Colleges of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine to leverage our collaboration towards a research for development outcome," said Nat Bascom, SMIL assistant director. "Within our own lab, our scientific research network and long-term partnership with Ethiopia’s national sorghum improvement program will support the projects in finding new solutions to address the feed and forage constraint felt by smallholders across the country."

Furthermore, both projects will directly align with the research as well as human and institutional capacity development goals of SIIL and PHL.

In addition to the synergies leveraged at K-State, the Reach grant will engage with a diverse group of institutions and organizations in Ethiopia, including key research partners of Hawassa University, Oda Bultum University, Haramaya University and the Ethiopian Institute of Agriculture Research.

"We recognize that we cannot meet the goal of reducing global hunger and poverty through individual effort," Vipham said. "We are specifically focusing on unifying the efforts of multiple research-for-development programs seeking to improve human livelihoods, environmental impacts, and social and economic outcomes in Ethiopia."

The Reach grant is not only multi-institutional, but also utilizes the expertise of its multidisciplinary team. The K-State faculty members engaged in the project include Doohong Min, assistant professor of forage management, Barry Bradford, professor of dairy nutrition, and Travis O’Quinn, assistant professor of meat science. Mary Murimi, professor of nutritional sciences at Texas Tech University, also is a collaborator on the project.

"Multidisciplinary research is becoming more common, and rightfully so," Pendell said. "The project funded by the Reach grant is intended to investigate multiple dimensions of the cattle value chain, from feed production and cattle nutrition, to farmer income generation and human nutrition."

The leaders of the $107,000 Focus grant, "Safe Feed Safe Food: Mycotoxin Prevalence and Mitigation Measures in Ethiopia," will be collaborating closely with 24 farmer cooperatives, which are a part of the ACDI/VOCA Feed Enhancement for Ethiopian Development II initiative.

"The extent of risks posed by mycotoxins in livestock feeds in the region is currently poorly known," said Dr. Van der Merwe, project leader. "This project will start to fill in some of the knowledge gaps, and will help to build local risk assessment capacity for the future."

Honor(s) and Award(s)

• Dr. Z. Lin received the KSU International Collaboration Award
• Dr. S. Aryal received K-state open access publishing fund (KOAPF) award of $1,495.00
• Yue Yuan, (Dr. S-O Choi), Graduate Student Council Travel Award ($750)
• Tuyen Nguyen, (Dr. S. Aryal),Graduate Student Council Travel Award ($500)
• Soma S. Sriadibhatla, (Dr. S. Aryal) Graduate Student Council Travel Award ($500)
• Tuyen Nguyen, graduate student-Dr. S. Aryal, 1^st place at International Society for Biomedical Polymer and Polymeric Biomaterials, Iselin, NJ.
• Soma S. Sridibhatla, graduate student - Dr. S. Aryal, 3^rd place at International Society for Biomedical Polymer and Polymeric Biomaterials, Iselin, NJ.
• C. Ferrel, undergraduate student of Dr. S. Aryal, received 2nd at ACS regional meeting, Manhattan, KS.

Patent Applications

• DeLong RK and Hurst MN. (Inventors). KSURF Disc. 2015-034; Attorney Docket No. 47796. Title: "Two-Dimensional Fluorescence Difference Spectroscopy Characterization of Nanoparticles" U.S. Patent Application No. 15/344,150 filed on November 4, 2016

Grants Awarded

• USDA-NIFA-2014-41489-25729. Food Animal Residue Avoidance Databank (FARAD) $360,000. 09/01/2016-08/31/2017. PI: Gehring R, Co-I: Riviere JE, Lin Z, Jaberi-Douraki M.
• KSU Global Campus Internal Grant Program. Development of a Full Offering of Online Courses in Computational Comparative Medicine. $17,800. 09/01/2016-08/30/2018. PI: Gehring, R. Co-PI: Comer J, Jaberi-Douraki M, Lin Z, Volkova V.
• KSU Mark Derrick Canine Research Fund. Population pharmacokinetics and clinical efficacy of fluconazole in dogs with fungal disease. $8,330. 08/01/2016-07/31/2019. PI: KuKanich K; Co-I: KuKanich B, Lin Z, Rankin A.

Publications

• Lin Z, Cuneo M, Rowe JD, Li M, Tell LA, Allison S, Carlson J, Riviere JE, Gehring R. (2016). Estimation of tulathromycin depletion in plasma and milk after subcutaneous injection in lactating goats using a nonlinear mixed-effects pharmacokinetic modeling approach. BMC Veterinary Research 12:258, 2016.
• Lin Z, Gehring R, Mochel JP, Lavé T, Riviere JE. Mathematical modeling and simulation in animal health - Part II: principles, methods, applications, and value of physiologically based pharmacokinetic modeling in veterinary medicine and food safety assessment. Journal of Veterinary Pharmacology and Therapeutics 39:421-438, 2016
• Aryal S, Stigliano C, Key J, Ramirez M, Anderson J, Karmonik C, Fung S, Decuzzi P. Paramagnetic Gd3+ labeled red blood cells for magnetic resonance angiography. Biomaterials 98:163-170, 2016.
• Nguyen TDT, Pitchaimani A, Aryal S. Engineered nanomedicine with alendronic acid corona improves targeting to osteosarcoma. Scientific Reports 6:36707, 2016.
• DeLong RK, Mitchell JA, Morris RT, Comer J, Hurst MN, Ghosh K, Wanekaya A, Mudge M, Schaeffer A, Washington LL, Risor-Marhanka A, Thomas S, Marroquin S, Lekey A, Smith JJ, Garrad R, Aryal S, Abdelhakiem M,Glaspell GP. Enzyme and cancer cell selectivity of nanoparticles: Inhibition of 3-D metastatic phenotype and experimental melanoma by zinc oxide. Journal of Biomedical Nanotechnology 13:1–11, 2017.
• Hurst MN, DeLong RK. Two-Dimensional Fluorescence Difference Spectroscopy to Characterize Nanoparticles and their Interactions. Scientific Reports 6:33287, 2016.
• Volkova VV, KuKanich B, Riviere JE. Exploring post-treatment reversion of antimicrobial resistance in enteric bacteria of food animals as a resistance mitigation strategy. Foodborne Pathogens Disease 13(11): 610-617, 2016.
• Chittenden JT, Riviere JE. Assessment of penetrant and vehicle mixture properties on transdermal permeability using a mixed effect pharmacokinetic model of ex vivo porcine skin. Biopharmaceutics Drug Disposition 37: 387-396, 2016.
• Williams FM, Rothe H, Barrett G, Chiodini A, Whyte J, Cronin MT, Monteiro-Riviere NA, Plautz J, Roper C, Westerhout J, Yang C, Guy RH. Assessing the safety of cosmetic chemicals: consideration of a flux decision tree to predict dermally delivered systemic dose for comparison with oral Threshold of Toxicological Concern (TTC). Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology 76:174-186, 2016
• Chen R, Zhang Y, Monteiro-Riviere NA, Riviere JE. Quantification of nanoparticle pesticide absorption: computational approaches based on experimental data. Nanotoxicology 10 (8):1118-1128, 2016.
• Sasidharan A, Chandran P, Monteiro-Riviere NA. Biocorona bound gold nanoparticles augments their hematocompatibility irrespective of size or surface charge. ACS Biomaterials Science and Engineering 2 (90), 1608-1618, 2016.

Abstracts

• Jin S, Gehring R, Riviere JE, Lin Z. Statistical simulations of the impact of variations in marker residue to total residue ratios of food animal drugs on human food safety. Research and the State Graduate Student Poster Session of KSU, November, 2016.
• Li M, Gehring R, Riviere JE, Lin Z. Development of a physiologically based pharmacokinetic model for penicillin G in swine and cattle for food safety assessment. The Annual Meeting of the Central States Society of Toxicology, November 18, 2016.
• Ramani M and DeLong RK. Quantifying the RNA nanobio interface: Implications for the functional impact of zinc and cobalt oxide nanoparticles on RNA. 51st ACS Midwest Regional Meeting, Manhattan, KS, October 26-28, 2016.
• Park SC and Choi S-O. Solution blow spinning: fabrication of micro- and nanofibers with various morphologies. 51st ACS Midwest Regional Meeting, Manhattan, KS, October 26-28, 2016.
• Kim MJ and Choi S-O. Solution spraying technique for improving the stability of biopharmaceuticals in dissolving microneedles. 51st ACS Midwest Regional Meeting, Manhattan, KS, October 26-28, 2016.
• Yuan Y, Choi SO, and Kim J. Characterization of wetted surface area from superhydrophobic polystyrene web. 51st ACS Midwest Regional Meeting, Manhattan, KS, October 26-28, 2016.
• Yuan Y, Choi SO, and Kim J.Influence of electrospun morphology on superhydrophobicity. International Textile and Apparel Association (ITAA) Annual Conference, Vancouver, BC, Canada, November 8-11, 2016.
• Yuan Y, Choi S-O, and Kim J. Analysis of water contact area on a superhydrophobic web. The Fiber Society Fall Meeting and Technical Conference, Ithaca, NY, October 11-12, 2016.
• Nguyen TDT, Pitchaimani A, Aryal S. Engineered nano-detoxifier for intracellular detoxification of doxorubicin. International Society for Biomedical Polymer and Polymeric Biomaterials, Iselin, NJ, 2016.
• Sridibhatla SS, Nguyen TDT, Pitchaimani A, Aryal S. Synthesis and characterization of bisphosphonate functionalized poly(l-lactide) as a bone seeking agent. International Society for Biomedical Polymer and Polymeric Biomaterials, Iselin, NJ, 2016.
• Pitchaimani A, Nguyen TDT, Aryal S. Near infrared mediated photothermal therapy and T1- weighted magnetic resonance imaging using Gd3+ tethered gold nanorods. The 51st ACS Regional Meeting, October 26-28, 2016, Manhattan, KS.
• Nguyen TDT, Pitchaimani A, Aryal S. Targeted hybrid therapeutic nanoparticle against bone cancer. The 51st ACS Regional Meeting, October 26-28, 2016, Manhattan, KS.
• Ferrel C, Nguyen TDT, Pitchaimani A, Aryal S. Engineered biomimetic liposome inspired by the properties of red blood cell. The 51st ACS Regional Meeting, October 26-28, 2016, Manhattan, KS.
• Monteiro-Riviere NA. Chandran P. Biocoronas modulate gold nanoparticle cell uptake in vascular endothelial cells. 11^th International Particle Toxicology Conference, p.17, #56, 2016.
• Riviere JE, Monteiro-Riviere NA. Predicting and modeling in vivo nanoparticle biodistribution: caveats to making in vitro and rodent interspecies extrapolations. 11^th International Particle Toxicology Conference, p.54, #55, 2016.
• Jeffrey B, Monteiro-Riviere NA, Mitchel D, Choi K, Koci K, Riviere JE. Potential mechanism of toxicity of hexahydroisohumulone in an in vitro canine model. WINNS Growing Science in Pet Nutrition, October, 2016.
• Monteiro-Riviere NA, Chandran P. Role of physicochemical properties of gold nanoparticles on biocorona formation and cellular uptake profiles in human endothelial cells. The 51^st Midwest Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society, pp.46-47, #134, 2016.
• Li Y, Monteiro-Riviere NA. Protein coronas affect the mechanisms of cell uptake and inflammatory effects of gold nanoparticles. The 51^st Midwest Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society, p.57, #223, 2016.
• Choi K, Monteiro-Riviere NA. Role of the protein corona in hepatocyte uptake, cellular responses to gold nanoparticles and the underlying mechanisms of toxicity. The 51^st Midwest Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society, p.84, #415, 2016.
• Monteiro-Riviere NA. Nanoparticle-Protein Interactions: Implications to Safety Assessment using In Vitro Methods. The 5^th Sustainable Nanotechnology Organization Conference. p.40, 2016, Orlando, Fl.
• Riviere JE. Considerations required for making in vitro to in vivo and interspecies extrapolations of nanoparticle biological interactions using in silico computational modeling. The 5^th Annual Sustainable Nanotechnology Organization Conference. Orlando, FL 2016.
• Riviere JE,Monteiro-Riviere NA. Predicting and modeling in vivo nanoparticle biodistribution: caveats to making in vitro and rodent interspecies extrapolations. 11^th International Particle Toxicology Conference, p.54, #55, 2016.
• Riviere JE: Caveats to making in vitro to in vivo and interspecies extrapolations of nanoparticle biological interactions using in silico computationaL modeling. The 51^st Midwest Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society, pp.-47, #135, 2016.
• Chen R, Comer J, Riviere JE. Biological surface adsorption index. Environmental applications and parallel molecular dynamics simulation. The 51^st Midwest Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society, pp.36, #12, 2016.

Invited Presentations

• Aryal S. A look toward the theranostic biomaterials. University of Missouri-Kansas City, KS, September 29, 2016.
• Aryal S. Magnetic resonance glowing red blood cells. Biomedical Engineering Society, Minneapolis, MN, October 5-8, 2016.
• Aryal S. Development of clinically relevant biomimetic magnetic resonance imaging contrast agent. ACS Regional Meeting, Manhattan, KS, October 28, 2016.
• Jaberi-Douraki M. Mathematical modeling with multidisciplinary applications in biological systems, Kansas Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (KS-LSAMP), Manhattan, KS, 20016.
• Choi S-O. Spray-based fabrication of polymeric micro- and nanostructures, Dongguk University, Department of Medical Biotechnology, Goyang, Korea, November, 2016.
• Choi S-O. Spray deposition process for improving the stability of biopharmaceuticals during polymer microneedle fabrication The 2nd Korea-Japan Workshop on Microneedles, Seoul, Korea, November 1, 2016.
• Choi S-O. Spray-based methods for the fabrication of micro- and nanostructures. The 51st ACS Midwest Regional Meeting, Manhattan, KS, October 26-28, 2016
• Monteiro-Riviere NA. Is Skin a Barrier or Portal to Nanoparticle Exposure”. University of Kansas Medical Center, Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Therapeutics, Kansas City, KS October 18, 2016.
• Monteiro-Riviere NA. Role of Physicochemical Properties of Gold Nanoparticles on Biocorona Formation and Cellular Uptake Profiles in Human Endothelial Cells. The 51^st Midwest Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society, Manhattan, KS. October 27, 2016.
• Monteiro-Riviere NA. Nanoparticle-Protein Interactions: Implications to Safety Assessment using In Vitro Methods. The 5^th Sustainable Nanotechnology Organization Conference, Orlando, Fl. November 11, 2016.
• Riviere JE. Considerations required for making in vitro to in vivo and interspecies extrapolations of nanoparticle biological interactions using in silico computational modeling. The 5^th Sustainable Nanotechnology Organization Conference, Orlando, Fl. November 11, 2016.

Scientific Sessions

• Chair: Aryal S, Pereira R. Biomedical imaging and optics: Molecular imaging, Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) Annual Meeting, October 5-8, 2016 Minneapolis, MN.
• Chair: Aryal S, Decuzzi. Biomedical imaging and optics: Nanotheranostics, Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) Annual Meeting, October 5-8, 2016, Minneapolis, MN
• Chair: Aryal S. Nanomedicine, ACS Regional Meeting, October 26-28, 2016, Manhattan, KS.
• Moderator: Jaberi-Douraki M. Moderator at the Field of Dreams Conference, St. Louis MO. November, 2016.
• Monteiro-Riviere. Internal Advisory Committee for the Center for Engineering Tissue Response, Repair and Reconstruction (CETR³), University of Kansas CoBre Program. 2016.

Bovine anaplasmosis is a blood disease caused by Anaplasma marginale which can cause adult-animal sudden death, abortion, weight loss, and a reduction in performance. Animals that become infected and survive become lifelong persistently-infected carriers. As carriers, they often show few or no symptoms and serve as a source of infection to the rest of the herd. Because of the nature of the disease, some herds remain at an unknown infection status.

Several studies have been completed assessing the prevalence of the disease in several U.S. states, but none have been completed in Kansas. The increase in the number of positive cases in Kansas test submissions to the KSVDL from 2013 to 2015 suggests either an increase in bovine anaplasmosis awareness among veterinarians or producers or the prevalence of the disease has increased in certain areas of the state.

In addition to estimating the level of anaplasmosis in Kansas cow-calf herds, this study will also investigate the different A. marginale strains present in Kansas. Differentiation is important because strains differ in the severity of clinical signs they produce, and the only vaccine available contains only one strain. This strain may be different than those present in some areas of Kansas, which might help explain the lack of vaccine effectiveness that has been reported.

The study involves collecting blood samples from 16,100 adult bovines, which will represent 1,610 Kansas cow-calf operations. The samples will be stored, and because they will represent a large portion of the Kansas cow-calf industry, they can be used in the future to discover the prevalence and risk factors associated with several other important bovine diseases including bovine viral diarrhea, Johne’s disease, and bovine leukosis.

Understanding anaplasmosis prevalence and the management factors that contribute to its presence in cow-calf herds will be important for formulating both prevention and disease management plans in the near future. This information will not only be useful for Kansas herds, but herds throughout the United States.

The targeted sampling period will start Oct. 1, 2016 with a targeted endpoint of Jan. 31, 2017.

Kansas veterinary practitioners will be calling on their clients to participate in this study. If you are selected to participate, the KSVDL encourages you to say yes, as your participation is important for the success of the project.

More information is available by contacting Gregg Hanzlicek, veterinarian with the KSVDL at 785-532-4853 or email gahanz@vet.k-state.edu.

SCAAEP Conference draws a nice crowd

A total number of 45 Veterinarians and students attended the 2016 SCAAEP Fall Equine Conference, which was very good considering is the weekend before the fall/Thanksgiving break. Attendees enjoyed the lunch sponsored by the Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, and a lot of good information was shared during the conference about colic evaluation, mare repo problems and field dentals. Below are a few pictures from the conference.

Questions about Alumni or CE events?

Contact:

Ashley McCowan
Alumni and Events Coordinator
785-532-4833
amccowan@vet.k-state.edu

Dana Parker
Program Assistant
785-532-4528
dlaparker@vet.k-state.edu