In 2010, USAID catalyzed the formation of One Health University Networks as part of a holistic response designed to promote the One Health approach for addressing complex health challenges. This globally connected One Health University network now includes the African One Health University Network (AFROHUN) and the Southeast Asia University Network (SEAOHUN) and has representation from over 120 universities in 17 countries across Africa and Southeast Asia. Over more than 15 years of USAID investment, these networks have trained more than 85,000 students, in-service professionals and faculty around the world in One Health principles and collaborative problem solving, grounded in One Health core competencies. These One Health practitioners have gone on to contribute to improved global health security in their communities and countries. The evolution and maturation of these networks is a testament to a strong vision and dedication to the task by leadership and donors. As the global academic community continues to refine and adapt training methodologies for ‘future ready’ individuals, resources and examples from One Health University Networks stand as a legacy to build upon.

A Canadian outbreak investigation into a cluster of Escherichia coli O121 was initiated in late 2016. When initial interviews using a closed-ended hypothesis-generating questionnaire did not point to a common source, cases were centrally re-interviewed using an open-ended approach. The open-ended interviews led cases to describe exposures with greater specificity, as well as food preparation activities. Data collected supported hypothesis generation, particularly with respect to flour exposures. In March 2017, an open sample of Brand X flour from a case home, and a closed sample collected at retail of the same brand and production date, tested positive for the outbreak strain of E. coli O121. In total, 76% (16/21) of cases reported that they used or probably used Brand X flour or that it was used or probably was used in the home during their exposure period. Crucial hypothesis-generating techniques used during the course of the investigation included a centralised open-ended interviewing approach and product sampling from case homes. This was the first outbreak investigation in Canada to identify flour as the source of infection.

Background: Over 35,000 Canadians lose their lives to cardiac arrest each year. CPR and automated external defibrillator (AED) use are modifiable factors. Survival rates drop by 7-10% each minute that defibrillation is delayed, and survival rates are less than 5% after 12 minutes of ventricular fibrillation which stresses the need for bystander AED use in out-of-hospital arrests. Niagara Region lacks a publicly accessible registry of AEDs. AED access is a major focus in King County, Washington which has higher survival rates and has all AEDs registered with Emergency Medical Services. Aim Statement: This project aims to log 100 or more AEDs within a year into a publicly accessible registry and to connect the registry information to medical trainees in the Niagara region and all employees of the Niagara Health System involved in patient care. Measures & Design: PulsePoint is an application used to register AEDs within the Niagara region. PulsePoint allows users to geotag AEDs while tracking data entries. Over 16 weeks, 4 PDSA cycles tested the effectiveness of logging methods for AEDs including opportunistic logging, daily emailed reminders, and contacting organizations with high likelihood of having an AED. Information about the project and registry was shared with residents and medical students in Niagara. A second phase of cycles involves relaying information to Niagara Health system employees and the medical community. A final cycle will target a broader group of local organizations with intermediate probability of having AEDs. Primary outcome measures include the numbers of regional AEDs logged and members reached by knowledge sharing cycles. Evaluation/Results: PulsePoint was found to be an effective, free, publicly accessible resource to log AEDs within the Niagara region. The initial round of 4 PDSA cycles added a total of 56 new AEDs within the region, which were logged into PulsePoint app and the Excel spreadsheet. Through the fourth PDSA cycle, 136 businesses were contacted and made aware of the project and the AED application. In addition,138 health-related colleagues and medical students were contacted to raise awareness. PDSA cycles five through eight are currently ongoing or in the planning stages. Discussion/Impact: Raising awareness among emergency services and sharing information about the registry to local CPR training providers will be paramount. Creating awareness of PulsePoint and installing AEDs in locations that currently lack such devices could ultimately improve cardiac arrest survival rates within Niagara Region.

Frozen raw breaded chicken products (FRBCP) have been identified as a risk factor for Salmonella infection in Canada. In 2017, Canada implemented whole genome sequencing (WGS) for clinical and non-clinical Salmonella isolates, which increased understanding of the relatedness of Salmonella isolates, resulting in an increased number of Salmonella outbreak investigations. A total of 18 outbreaks and 584 laboratory-confirmed cases have been associated with FRBCP or chicken since 2017. The introduction of WGS provided the evidence needed to support a new requirement to control the risk of Salmonella in FRBCP produced for retail sale.

Blood culture contamination (BCC) has been associated with unnecessary antibiotic use, additional laboratory tests and increased length of hospital stay thus incurring significant extra hospital costs. We set out to assess the impact of a staff educational intervention programme on decreasing intensive care unit (ICU) BCC rates to <3% (American Society for Microbiology standard). BCC rates during the pre-intervention period (January 2006–May 2011) were compared with the intervention period (June 2011–December 2012) using run chart and regression analysis. Monthly ICU BCC rates during the intervention period were reduced to a mean of 3·7%, compared to 9·5% during the baseline period (P < 0·001) with an estimated potential annual cost savings of about £250 100. The approach used was simple in design, flexible in delivery and efficient in outcomes, and may encourage its translation into clinical practice in different healthcare settings.

Within the EURECA project (Towards self-sustainable EUropean REgional CAttle breeds), we interviewed a total of 371 farmers of 15 local cattle breeds in eight European countries. Besides collecting data on farmers, land use, herd composition and economic role of cattle, we aimed at understanding farmers' motives and values in keeping local cattle. The most frequent first reason to keep the local breed was productivity, followed by tradition. When comparing the local breed with a mainstream breed, only in four breeds was productivity considered the same, while in three breeds more than 50 percent of farmers valued the local breed as more profitable. The local breed was valued as always superior or the same on functional traits. Farmers were asked which type of appreciation they thought representatives of various stakeholders had on their local breed: a positive appreciation was observed in 33 percent of farmers. On average across breeds, 39 percent of farmers expect to increase the size of their herd in the next few years and 5 percent plan to give up farming. The degree of dependence of farmers on economic incentives was estimated by asking farmers their expected behaviour under three scenarios of change of subsidies. Most farmers demanded activities for promoting local breed farming. The results are discussed in terms of breed sustainability and conservation.

We critically review key lines of evidence and theoretical argument relevant to Machery's “heterogeneity hypothesis.” These include interactions between different kinds of concept representations, unified approaches to explaining contextual effects on concept retrieval, and a critique of empirical dissociations as evidence for concept heterogeneity. We suggest there are good grounds for retaining the concept construct in human cognition.

Laser-produced plasmas have many properties similar to, or which can be scaled to, those encountered in space, magnetospheric, ionospheric, and astrophysical situations. We describe several such experiments performed with the PHAROS III Nd-laser facility at NRL.