Serologic Evidence of Flavivirus Infection in Bats in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico.

Serologic evidence of flavivirus infection in bats in the yucatan peninsula of Mexico.

J Wildl Dis. 2013 Jul; 49(3): 684-9
Machain-Williams C, López-Uribe M, Talavera-Aguilar L, Carrillo-Navarrete J, Vera-Escalante L, Puerto-Manzano F, Ulloa A, Farfán-Ale JA, Garcia-Rejon J, Blitvich BJ, Loroño-Pino MA

We captured 140 bats of seven species in Merida City in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico in 2010. Serum was collected from each bat and assayed by plaque reduction neutralization test (PRNT) using six flaviviruses: West Nile virus, St. Louis encephalitis virus, and dengue viruses 1-4. Flavivirus-specific antibodies were detected in 26 bats (19%). The antibody-positive bats belonged to three species: the Pallas’s long-tongued bat (Glossophaga soricina), Jamaican fruit bat (Artibeus jamaicensis), and great fruit-eating bat (Artibeus lituratus), and their flavivirus antibody prevalences were 33%, 24%, and 9%, respectively. The PRNT titers were usually highest for dengue virus 2 or dengue virus 4, but none of the titers exceeded 80. These data could indicate that most of the antibody-positive bats had been infected with dengue virus. However, because all titers were low, it is possible that the bats had been infected with another (perhaps unrecognized) flavivirus not included in the PRNT analysis, possibly a virus more closely related to dengue virus than to other flaviviruses. Each serum sample was assayed for flavivirus RNA by reverse transcription PCR, but all were negative. HubMed – eating

Meat-loving microbes: do steak-eating bacteria promote atherosclerosis?

Circ Cardiovasc Genet. 2013 Jun 1; 6(3): 308-9
Ferguson JF

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Frequency and relevance of psychoeducation in psychiatric diagnoses: Results of two surveys five years apart in German-speaking European countries.

BMC Psychiatry. 2013 Jun 18; 13(1): 170
Rummel-Kluge C, Kluge M, Kissling W

BACKGROUND: Psychoeducation has been shown to reduce relapse rates in several psychiatric disorders. Studies investigating for which psychiatric diagnoses psychoeducation is offered and assessing its perceived relevance compared to other interventions are lacking. METHODS: A two-part questionnaire addressing these questions was sent to the heads of all psychiatric hospitals in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Results were compared with those from a similar survey 5 years earlier. RESULTS: 289 of 500 (58%) institutions responded. Significantly (p = 0,02) more institutions (93%) offer any type of psychoeducation as compared to 5 years before (86%). Psychoeducation is mainly offered for schizophrenia (86%) and depression (67%) and less frequently for anxiety disorders (18%) and substance abuse (17%). For the following specific diagnoses it is offered by less than 10% of the institutions: Personality disorder, bipolar disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, dementia, obsessive compulsive disorder, sleeping disorders, eating disorders, schizophrenia plus substance abuse, pain, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and early psychosis. 25% offer diagnosis-unspecific psychoeducation. ‘Pharmacotherapy’ (99%), ‘basic occupational therapy’ (95%) and ‘psychoeducation for patients’ (93%) were the therapies being most often, ‘light therapy’ (24%) and ‘sleep deprivation’ (16%) the therapies being least often perceived as relevant by the respondents when asked about the value of different interventions offered in their hospitals. Art therapy (61%) and psychoanalytically oriented psychotherapy (59%), two therapies with a smaller evidence base than light therapy or sleep deprivation, were perceived as relevant by more than the half of the respondents. CONCLUSION: Psychoeducation for patients is considered relevant and offered frequently in German-speaking countries, however, mostly only for schizophrenia and depression. The ranking of the perceived relevance of different treatment options suggests that the evidence base is not considered crucial for determining their relevance. HubMed – eating

Buddhist Ethics and End-of-Life Care Decisions.

J Soc Work End Life Palliat Care. 2013; 9(2-3): 209-25
McCormick AJ

Buddhism has grown in the United States in the past 50 years. Immigrants come following long traditions. American converts are more eclectic. The first Buddhist precept prohibiting harm to living things, the virtue of compassion, and the goal of a peaceful death provide guidance for ethical decision making regarding organ donation, withholding and withdrawing life-sustaining treatment, voluntary cessation of eating, physician aid in dying, and euthanasia. Concepts and views from three Buddhist traditions and views of master practitioners are presented. Case examples illustrate some of the differences within Buddhism. Suggestions for social workers are provided. HubMed – eating