Epidemiology of rabies post-exposure prophylaxis—United States of America, 2006–2008

Background

The United States of America (USA) does not have a national reporting system for rabies post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP). We describe the epidemiology of PEP in the USA so recommendations can be made during a PEP shortage.

Methods

A two-part questionnaire designed to evaluate PEP distribution practices and estimate PEP use was administered to state health department representatives.

Results

Seventy-five percent of participants responded that no public health guidance was needed to make a recommendation for PEP. The annual national average PEP use is 23,415 courses of PEP (range: 10,645–35,845).

Conclusion

PEP is loosely monitored and a precise estimate of PEP use is unknown. Improved national surveillance for PEP is needed.     

Prevalence of Hepatitis E Virus Antibodies,Israel, 2009–2010

We investigated prevalence of hepatitis E virus in a sample of the population of Israel. The overall seroprevalence of antibodies to the virus was 10.6% (95% CI 8.4%–13.0%); age-adjusted prevalence was 7.6%. Seropositivity was associated with age, Arab ethnicity, low socioeconomic status, and birth in Africa, Asia, or the former Soviet Union.     

再见,"鼻涕虫"

青少年正在长身体，又因上课、作业端坐时间过长，常有弯背现象。有一部分青少年，脊柱本身并没有伤病．但由于经常低头、窝胸．导致“曲线”变形而形成驼背。习惯性低头窝胸和韧带紧缩．后面的肌肉和韧带松弛．日久则形成脊柱韧带前紧后松。数年后，脊柱的前缘被压变窄，成为楔形，使驼背形成。这时再矫治就比较费事。驼背不仅影响形体美，又会挤压与脑、脊髓相关的脑神经、脊神经、内脏神经，造成神经障碍。导致青少年记忆力下降、反应迟钝、智商偏低。可以说驼背同近视一样，是危害青少年健康成长的一大公害。     

Harder,better, faster … Yet stronger? Working conditions and self‐declaration of chronic diseases

The role played by working conditions in worker health status has been widely acknowledged in the literature in general but has received less attention in economics, due to the inherent statistical biases and lack of data available to determine the role of simultaneous and chronic exposures. This study aims to estimate the causal impact of detrimental working conditions on the self‐declaration of chronic diseases in France. Using a rebuilt retrospective lifelong panel and defining indicators for physical and psychosocial strains, I implement a mixed econometric strategy that relies on difference‐in‐differences and matching methods to take into account for selection biases as well as unobserved heterogeneity. For men and women, I find deleterious effects of both types of working conditions on the declaration of chronic diseases after exposure, with varying patterns of impacts according to the nature and magnitude of the strains. These results provide insights into the debate on legal retirement age postponement and justify not only policies being enacted early in individuals' careers in order to prevent subsequent midcareer health repercussions, but also schemes that are more focused on psychosocial risk factors.     

Ambient PM<Subscript>10</Subscript> impacts brought by the extreme flooding event of March 24–26, 2015, in Copiapó, Chile

On March 24–26, 2015, the Chilean city of Copiapó (27° 22′ S, 70° 20′ W), located in the hyperarid Atacama Desert, suffered an intense flooding brought by an extreme, unique rainfall event with a 35-year record of daily precipitation. A receptor model (positive matrix factorization, version 5) analysis, applied to ambient PM₁₀ chemical speciation from three short-term sampling campaigns, resolved four sources: crustal/road dust, sea salt, secondary sulfates, and emissions from Paipote copper smelter located 8 km east of Copiapó. Wind trajectories computed with US NOAA’s Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory model (HYSPLIT) supported the above source identification and explained variability in source contributions. It was found that crustal/road dust increased 50 μg/m³, in April 8–10, 2015, as compared with values in November 2014 and October–November 2015, respectively. This was the dominant PM₁₀ source after the flooding and before debris were cleaned up, being on order of magnitude higher that the other source contributions. The Paipote copper smelter contributed with primary PM₁₀ emissions and secondary sulfates; this combined contribution averaged 11.8 μg/m³. Sea salt contributions contributed an average of 3.3 μg/m³. In normal conditions, crustal/road dust averaged 2.9 μg/m³, but the other resolved sources also contributed with crustal elements as their emissions are transported by winds to Copiapó. The positive matrix factorization solution included an unresolved concentration of 7.4 μg/m³. The small number of samples and the lack of measurements of nitrate, ammonia, and organic and elemental carbon may explain this result. Hence, sources such as secondary nitrates and combustion sources plus fugitive dust from sources surrounding Copiapó might be included in that unresolved concentration.     

Carbonaceous Species of PM<Subscript>2.5</Subscript> in Megacity Delhi,India During 2012–2016

Organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) in PM_2.5 were estimated to study the seasonal and inter-annual variability of atmospheric total carbonaceous aerosols (TCA) at an urban site of megacity Delhi, India for 5 years from January, 2012 to December, 2016. The annual average (±?standard deviation) concentrations of PM_2.5, OC, EC and TCA were 128?±?81, 16.6?±?12.2, 8.4?±?5.8 and 34.5?±?25.2 µg m^?3, respectively. During the study, significant seasonal variations in mass concentrations of PM_2.5, OC, EC and TCA were observed with maxima in winter and minima in monsoon seasons. Significant correlations between OC and EC, and OC/EC ratio suggested that vehicular emissions, fossil fuel combustion and biomass burning could be major sources of carbonaceous aerosols of PM_2.5 at the sampling site of Delhi, India.     

Microevolution of Monophasic Salmonella Typhimurium during Epidemic,United Kingdom, 2005–2010

Microevolution associated with emergence and expansion of new epidemic clones of bacterial pathogens holds the key to epidemiologic success. To determine microevolution associated with monophasic Salmonella Typhimurium during an epidemic, we performed comparative whole-genome sequencing and phylogenomic analysis of isolates from the United Kingdom and Italy during 2005–2012. These isolates formed a single clade distinct from recent monophasic epidemic clones previously described from North America and Spain. The UK monophasic epidemic clones showed a novel genomic island encoding resistance to heavy metals and a composite transposon encoding antimicrobial drug resistance genes not present in other Salmonella Typhimurium isolates, which may have contributed to epidemiologic success. A remarkable amount of genotypic variation accumulated during clonal expansion that occurred during the epidemic, including multiple independent acquisitions of a novel prophage carrying the sopE gene and multiple deletion events affecting the phase II flagellin locus. This high level of microevolution may affect antigenicity, pathogenicity, and transmission.     

Beyond ‘beer,fags, egg and chips’? Exploring lay understandings of social inequalities in health

This paper seeks to contribute to the limited body of work that has directly explored lay understandings of the causes of health inequalities. Using both quantitative and qualitative methodology, the views of people living in contrasting socio-economic neighbourhoods are compared. The findings support previous research in suggesting that lay theories about causality in relation to health inequalities, like lay concepts of health and illness in general, are multi-factorial. The findings, however, also illustrate how the ways in which questions about health and illness are asked shape people's responses. In the survey reported on here people had no problem offering explanations for health inequalities and, in response to a question asking specifically about area differences in health experience, people living in disadvantaged areas 'constructed' explanations which included, but went beyond, individualistic factors to encompass structural explanations that gave prominence to aspects of 'place'. In contrast, within the context of in-depth interviews, people living in disadvantaged areas were reluctant to accept the existence of health inequalities highlighting the moral dilemmas such questions pose for people living in poor material circumstances. While resisting the notion of health inequalities, however, in in-depth interviews the same people provided vivid accounts of the way in which inequalities in material circumstances have an adverse impact upon health. The paper highlights ways in which different methodologies provide different and not necessarily complementary understandings of lay perspectives on the causes of inequalities in health.     

Elevated Concentrations of Ethinylestradiol, 17β-Estradiol,and Medroxyprogesterone have Little Effect on Reproduction and Survival of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Ceriodaphnia </Emphasis><Emphasis Type="Italic">dubia</Emphasis>

Wastewater effluent contains synthetic and natural hormones, often in complex mixtures, that may be associated with reproductive abnormalities in fish and other aquatic biota. We exposed the sentinel invertebrate Ceriodaphnia dubia to the natural estrogen 17beta-estradiol (E(2)), a synthetic estrogen, ethinylestradiol (EE(2)), and a synthetic progestin, medroxyprogesterone in a 7-day test. These compounds had no significant effect on reproduction or survival even at 10(6) times the concentrations at which reproductive effects have been documented in several fish species. C. dubia is routinely used for screening the toxicity of wastewater effluent. However, in the standard chronic 7-day exposure the endpoints of survival and reproduction were insensitive to several synthetic and natural vertebrate hormones. The C. dubia 7-day chronic toxicity test is probably not a useful monitoring tool for vertebrate hormones and their pharmaceutical analogs unless other sensitive endpoints such as maturation rates, molt frequency, and offspring sex ratios are incorporated in a practical manner.     

Managing hope,denial or temporal anomie? Informal cancer carers’ accounts of spouses’ cancer diagnoses

Carers of cancer patients' emotional responses to cancer diagnoses have been a central focus within psycho-oncology. Some of this literature asserts that the maladaptive coping strategy denial is prevalent amongst carers. Using semi-structured, longitudinal interviews with 32 Australian Capital Territory carers of a spouse with cancer and an interactionist sociology of emotions framework to understanding their emotions, this study aimed to both contribute to the literature on cancer carers' coping strategies and provide a richer sociological depiction of carers' emotional reactions to a cancer diagnosis. The results raise questions about the value of singularly examining denial in cancer carers. Instead, these data suggest that carers use a range of coping strategies in the short-term and do emotion work to adapt to a challenged temporal orientation. The term temporal anomie is offered to describe carers' disrupted orientations in time and facilitate further discussion on the link between time and emotion work. Findings also show the importance of medical professionals' casting of the prognosis, from imminent death to certain future, to this temporal re-orientation and emotion work process. Instead of 'managing hope,' as much of the cancer communication literature describes it, findings suggest that physicians address cancer carers' and patients' temporal anomie. Future research might benefit from moving beyond individualistic conceptualisations of carers' emotions to include the cultural, temporal and interactionist influences.     

071000,China;3.State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant

the identification methods of cry genes.The current research on genetically modified plant and gene engineering microbes were analyzed,and the prospect of researching was expected simultaneously.Bacillus thuringiensis;Molecular biology河北省自然科学基金(C2005000642)0华北农学报Acta Agriculturae Boreali-Sinica10-13S476D046AD;D046_A胡晓婷;6-9利用同源序列发掘抗病候选基因的方法吕香玲;卢峰;宋波;沈阳农业大学农学院,辽宁省农业科学院作物所,沈阳农业大学农学院 辽宁沈阳110161,辽宁沈阳110161,辽宁沈阳110161同源序列;;抗病候选基因;;抗病基因;;克隆抗病基因的分离和克隆对于实施作物抗病基因育种及开展抗病机制的研究具有重要意义。目前植物抗病基因的克隆方法主要有转座子标签技术和图位克隆技术。该法对于未知基因产物或者没有进行精细定位的性状来讲,其应用受到极大限制。近年来,很多研究探索了利用同源序列发掘抗病候选基因的途径。本研究归纳和总结了三条发掘抗病候选基因的方法,旨在对作物抗病基因及其连锁标记的发掘起到一定的指导作用。The Methods of Identifying Resistant Candidate Genes by Homologic SequencesLU Xiang-ling     

Influence of Ploidy and Metal–Metal Interactions on the Accumulation of Ag,Cd, and Cu in Oysters <Emphasis Type="Italic">Crassostrea Gigas</Emphasis> Thunberg

The present study was designed to compare the response to contaminants in diploid with triploid specimens of the oyster Crassostrea gigas. The reproduction investment in bivalve molluscs has priority on somatic growth. Thus, genetic sterilization by triploidy induction enables the energy flux to be directed toward somatic growth and glucide storage. Bioaccumulation was examined for Ag (10 g/L), Cd (10 g/L), and Cu (30 g/L) to determine if the response to metals follows similar patterns in diploid (2n) and triploid (3n) groups. The effect of ploidy was also evaluated as a function of dry weight of soft tissue and condition index. Moreover, the reciprocal influence of these metals on their incorporation was studied. The results showed that the major factor governing the degree of metal bioaccumulation by oysters is the nature of the metal introduced in the experimental medium. Thus, the uptake of Cd is proportionally more important than in the case of Ag and even more in Cu. For Cu-treated samples, the influence of ploidy on weight and metal body burden (and Cu concentration) was not significant, whereas for Ag and Cd, significant differences according to genetic type were evidenced by higher tissue weight and lower concentrations in triploid than diploid specimens. Metal–metal interactions study especially showed a reciprocal antagonism between Ag and Cu.     

Investigation of Zinc,Copper, Lead and Cadmium Accumulation in the Tissues of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Sander lucioperca</Emphasis> (L., 1758) Living in Hirfanlı Dam Lake,Turkey

This study, some metals (zinc, copper, lead and cadmium) were analyzed in liver, muscle and gills of Sander lucioperca (Linnaeus, 1758) caught from the Hirfanlı Dam Lake in December 2007. The highest concentrations were found in liver (zinc:32.5 μg/g, lead:10.73 μg/g, copper:5.85 μg/g, cadmium:0.76 μg/g) of Sander lucioperca. It was seen that the accumulation of zinc, lead and cadmium primarily took place in liver followed by muscles and gills. It was observed that copper is mainly accumulated in liver followed by gill and mucsles.