Montana Department of Transportation

Abstract Widespread declines in North American birds have elevated the need for proactive conservation planning and delivery to promote recovery. Long‐term monitoring at large spatial and temporal extents has been critical to identifying declines, but there is also a need for monitoring designs that can track species at scales relevant to management activities, which often occur within smaller jurisdictions. We highlight Integrated Monitoring in Bird Conservation Regions (IMBCR), a rigorous monitoring program in the western United States providing population estimates at multiple spatial scales from individual management units to state and region‐wide. Additionally, we publicize the availability of program trend estimates to management professionals via the Rocky Mountain Avian Data Center (RMADC). Here, we explore contemporary IMBCR trends in three western states, Colorado, Montana, and Wyoming, and document the continued decline of grassland bird species as well as declines in common generalists. We also provide an example of spatial heterogeneity in trends among management boundaries and discuss potential applications of fine‐resolution trend data, such as evaluating the effects of management. Finally, we provide an example application demonstrating the value of regional IMBCR trends in species prioritization efforts by state management agencies as a part of State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP) revisions.

Brucella canis is a zoonotic pathogen of dogs that poses diagnostic challenges. While direct detection of B. canis by PCR or culture is ideal, serologic diagnosis is necessary for identification of carrier animals and can support a clinical diagnosis of brucellosis. Prior to 2022, B. canis seroscreening in the United States was primarily performed using a commercially available rapid slide agglutination test. However, the kit was discontinued by the manufacturer in early 2022, leaving a gap in the availability of commercial B. canis seroassays. The goal of this study was to compare the performance of three B. canis serologic tests that are currently available: VMRD Brucella ovis ELISA, Bionote Anigen Rapid C.Brucella Ab immunochromatographic lateral flow assay, and VMRD B. canis indirect fluorescent antibody (IFA) assay. A panel of 56 banked serum specimens originally submitted to the Cornell University Animal Health Diagnostic Center (the study reference laboratory) for B. canis seroscreening was distributed to 12 testing laboratories. Each sample was run on three assays developed at the reference lab: rapid slide agglutination test with 2-mercaptoethanol (2-ME RSAT), agar gel immunodiffusion test using cytoplasmic antigen (AGID II), and Canine Brucella Multiplex. Five testing labs ran the ELISA, six ran the lateral flow, and six ran the IFA. When evaluated as a screening assay, we compared the assays to the 2ME-RSAT. The ELISA had the highest sensitivity (96.8, 95%CI 83.8-99.9) but the lowest specificity (79.3, 95%CI 57.9-92.9). The sensitivity of the lateral flow was 90.6% (95%CI 75-98%) and the IFA was 87.5% (95%CI 71-96.5). Specificity for the lateral flow was 95.8% (95%CI 78.9-99.9) and IFA was 97.5% (95%CI 67.6-97.3). When compared to AGID II and Canine Brucella Multiplex, the test assays were all highly sensitive, but specificity was <90%. Interrater reliability was highest for IFA (Κ = 0.92) and lowest for the lateral flow (Κ = 0.82). Serial testing of positive samples with a more specific test, such as AGID II, will continue to be necessary when using any of the three assays tested in this study.

BackgroundAccess to a full range of contraceptive options ensures that individuals can make autonomous decisions about their health and wellbeing. Contraceptive continuity requires that individuals have access in their local communities to a variety of methods, which may change throughout their reproductive lives. Individuals living in rural areas face healthcare access barriers which require special considerations to ensure continuous and effective utilization of contraception to support family planning decision-making. One particular type of family planning service—contraception provided to the postpartum individual—presents challenges related to reimbursement, provider training, and timing of placement, which can be complicated further for individuals who must travel for care.ObjectiveThis study sought to assess family planning provider perspectives in rural communities, including their knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to general contraception provision, provision of contraception in the specialized circumstance of the postpartum period, and provider assessment of barriers to care to identify strategies to improve access to contraception across the reproductive life cycle.MethodsWe conducted a mixed methods study with an electronic survey of 90 reproductive healthcare providers, and semi-structured follow-up interviews of 9 providers. All providers are currently licensed and provide patient care in Montana. The survey instrument was designed with feedback from physicians and nurses and included questions on contraceptive practices, knowledge, and barriers to providing contraceptive care. Quantitative survey results were analyzed using descriptive statistics and bivariate tests of significance. Qualitative interviews were coded using a combined inductive and deductive approach.ResultsMontana providers consistently reported cost and insurance-related procedural barriers. Additional important themes emerged from qualitative interviews regarding barriers to contraceptive access, including experiences with provider-, institutional-, and practice-level barriers, and provider philosophy and approach to contraceptive care.ConclusionsThis study identifies knowledge gaps, institutional and procedural barriers and facilitators, and provider approaches to contraceptive care in Montana. Findings suggest that the need to increase provider awareness of Montana Medicaid coverage of immediate postpartum contraception. Results should inform future interventions to increase access to hospital-based contraceptive care.

Abstract M. ovipneumoniae is a respiratory pathogen that can cause mild to moderate pneumonia and reduced productivity in domestic lambs. However, studies on both natural and experimental M. ovipneumoniae infection have reported highly variable clinical signs and pathology. Here, we assessed the impact of administering M. ovipneumoniae to the upper respiratory tract (URT) or to the lower respiratory tract (LRT) of two-months-old specific pathogen-free lambs. Lambs were inoculated with PBS (control) or with ceftiofur-treated nasal wash fluid obtained from sheep with natural M. ovipneumoniae infection, monitored for eight weeks, and subsequently euthanized. All lambs in the URT and LRT groups developed a stable infection with M. ovipneumoniae. M. ovipneumoniae infection led to lower weight gains and mild respiratory disease, with significantly greater effects following LRT inoculation compared to URT inoculation. At necropsy, lambs inoculated via the LRT showed consolidation of the cranial and alveolar, bronchiolar, and interstitial inflammation that was significantly more severe in the LRT compared to the URT group. M. ovipneumoniae loads in the trachea and bronchi also were significantly higher after LRT than URT inoculation. Interestingly, 9/10 inoculated lambs also tested positive for M. haemolytica in nasal swab but not in bronchial swab samples. In summary, our study suggests that bypassing protective mechanisms of the URT by delivering respiratory pathogens to the LRT leads to more severe respiratory disease and lung damage than delivery to the URT. We also confirmed that M. ovipneumoniae significantly enhances the susceptibility of lambs to secondary respiratory pathogens such as M. haemolytica.

Ice formation on roads leads to a higher incidence of accidents and increases winter de-icing/anti-icing costs. This study analyzed 3 years (2019–2021) of Road Weather Information System (RWIS) sub-hourly measurements collected by the Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) to understand the first-order factors of road ice formation and its mechanisms. First, road ice is formed only when the road pavement surface temperature is equal to or below the freezing point (i.e., 32 °F (i.e., 0 °C)), while the corresponding 2 m air temperature could be above 32 °F. Nevertheless, when the road pavement was below 32 °F ice often did not form on the roads. Therefore, one challenge is to know under what conditions road ice forms. Second, the pavement surface temperature is critical for road ice formation. The clear road (i.e., with no ice or snow) surface pavement temperature is generally warmer than the air temperature during both day and night. This feature is different from a natural land surface, where the land skin temperature is lower than the air temperature on cloud-free nights due to radiative cooling. Third, subsurface temperature, measured using a RWIS subsurface sensor below a road surface, did not vary as much as the pavement temperature and, thus, may not be a good index for road ice formation. Fourth, urban heat island effects lead to black ice formation more frequently than roads located in other regions. Fifth, evaporative cooling from the water surface near a road segment further reduces the outlying air temperature, a mechanism that increases heat loss for bridges or lake-side roads in addition to radiative cooling. Additionally, mechanical lifting via mountains and hills is also an efficient mechanism that makes the air condense and, consequently, form ice on the roads. Forecasting road ice formation is in high demand for road safety. These observed features may help to develop a road ice physical model consisting of functions of hyper-local weather conditions, local domain knowledge, the road texture, and geographical environment.

Appendix 1. Recording of sounds produced by killer whales feeding on a pygmy sperm whale 370 km west of Monterey, California. Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.

Public health laboratories (PHLs) provide specialized testing services for programs focused on the prevention and control of communicable diseases, early detection of congenital disorders, testing for antimicrobial resistance, and identification of environmental contaminants, among other responsibilities. Although national public health programs and partners provide some funding support, training, and technical resources to PHLs, no dedicated funding is provided from federal programs to fully support comprehensive PHL services across the United States or the underlying infrastructure needed for PHLs to provide and ensure their core functions and capabilities. Public health laboratories have begun to rely on a "community of practice" approach to addressing various service needs by creating and formalizing regional consortia, which are organized groups of geographically clustered PHLs that share expertise, capacities, and capabilities to enhance PHL services. The number of states participating in these networks increased from 13 to 48 from 2015 to 2020, including participation by multiple local PHLs and a territorial PHL. These consortia have enabled strengthening of partnerships and collaboration among PHLs to address regional priorities and challenges. We explore the background and evolution of regional consortia, outline some of their practices and activities, review lessons learned from these successful collaborations, and discuss the positive effect they have on the national public health system.

We report a case of thelaziasis in a 26-year-old female, acquired in Oregon. A total of 14 worms were removed from the patient's left eye and were morphologically identified as being Thelazia gulosa. Until now, only two species of Thelazia have been implicated in causing human disease, Thelazia callipaeda in Asia and Europe and occasional reports of Thelazia californiensis from the United States of America. Here, we describe a third, previously unreported parasite of humans, T. gulosa (the cattle eyeworm) as an agent of human thelaziasis and the first reported case of human thelaziasis in North America in over two decades.