The concept of social dignity as a yardstick to delimit ethical use of robotic assistance in the care of older persons

Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy - With robots being introduced into caregiving, particularly for older persons, various ethical concerns are raised. Among them is the fear of replacing human...     

Outbreaks of Foot‐and‐Mouth Disease in Libya and Saudi Arabia During 2013 Due to an Exotic O/ME‐SA/Ind‐2001 Lineage Virus

Foot‐and‐mouth disease viruses are often restricted to specific geographical regions and spread to new areas may lead to significant epidemics. Phylogenetic analysis of sequences of the VP1 genome region of recent outbreak viruses from Libya and Saudi Arabia has revealed a lineage, O‐Ind‐2001, normally found in the Indian subcontinent. This paper describes the characterization of field viruses collected from these cases and provides information about a new real‐time RT‐PCR assay that can be used to detect viruses from this lineage and discriminate them from other endemic FMD viruses that are co‐circulating in North Africa and western Eurasia.     

拉米夫定与恩替卡韦治疗藏族慢性乙型肝炎患者的临床疗效和安全性对比

目的 探讨拉米夫定与恩替卡韦治疗藏族慢性乙型肝炎患者的临床疗效和安全性.方法 采用随机数字表法,将符合纳入标准的114例藏族慢性乙型肝炎患者随机分为两组:恩替卡韦组(ETV组,n=57)和拉米夫定(LVD组,n=57).恩替卡韦组给予恩替卡韦片0.5 mg,口服,1次/d;拉米夫定组给与拉米夫定片100 mg,口服,1次/d,两组分别治疗48周.于治疗前及治疗12、24、48周时点测定两组的ALT和HBV DNA值,记录ALT复常、HBV DNA转阴、HBeAg转阴及血清学转换的患者例数以及治疗过程中不良事件的发生情况.结果 与治疗前比较,两组患者治疗12、24、48周时ALT、HBV DNA定量值均下降;与LVD组比较,治疗12、24周时ETV组的ALT、HBV DNA定量值下降,ALT复常率、HBV DNA转阴率升高,差异有统计学意义(P<0.05).两组患者在治疗过程中均未发生严重不良反应事件.结论 拉米夫定与恩替卡韦治疗藏族慢性乙型肝炎患者安全、有效,但拉米夫定耐药性高,恩替卡韦在恢复肝功能及降低HBV复制的效果优于拉米夫定.     

Familial MPN Predisposition

Chronic myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) characteristically arise from a somatic mutation in the pluripotent hematopoietic stem cell, and most common recurring mutations are in the JAK2, CALR, and cMPL genes. However, these mutations are not founder mutations, but mainly drive the disease phenotype and a pre-existing germline predisposition has been long speculated, but has not been clearly defined to date. Genome-wide association studies in family clusters of MPN have identified a number of genetic variants that are associated with increased germline risk for developing clonal MPN. The strongest association discovered so far is the presence of JAK2 46/1 haplotype, and subsequently, many studies have found additional variants in other genes, most notably in TERT gene. However, these still account for a small fraction of familial MPN, and more in-depth studies including whole genome sequencing are needed to gain better insight into familial genetic predisposition of clonal MPNs.     

Rabies virus strains circulating in Bhutan: implications for control

We report a molecular epidemiological study of rabies virus (RABV) strains circulating in animal populations in Bhutan, and investigate potential origins of these viruses. Twenty-three RABV isolates originating from dogs and other domestic animals were characterized by sequencing the partial nucleoprotein (N) gene (395 bp). Phylogenetic analysis was conducted and the Bhutanese isolates were compared with rabies viruses originating from other parts of the world. Phylogenetic analysis showed that Bhutanese isolates were highly similar and were closely related to Indian strains and South Asian Arctic-like-1 viruses. Our study suggests that the rabies viruses spreading in southern parts of Bhutan have originated from a common ancestor, perhaps from the Indian virus strain.     

Is the 2015 eye care service delivery profile in Southeast Asia closer to universal eye health need!

Purpose

The year 2015 status of eye care service profile in Southeast Asia countries was compared with year 2010 data to determine the state of preparedness to achieve the World Health Organization global action plan 2019.

Methods

Information was collected from the International Agency for Prevention of Blindness country chairs and from the recent PubMed referenced articles. The data included the following: blindness and low vision prevalence, national eye health policy, eye health expenses, presence of international non-governmental organizations, density of eye health personnel, and the cataract surgical rate and coverage. The last two key parameters were compared with year 2010 data.

Results

Ten of 11 country chairs shared the information, and 28 PubMed referenced publications were assessed. The prevalence of blindness was lowest in Bhutan and highest in Timor-Leste. Cataract surgical rate was high in India and Sri Lanka. Cataract surgical coverage was high in Thailand and Sri Lanka. Despite increase in number of ophthalmologists in all countries (except Timor-Leste), the ratio of the population was adequate (1:100,000) only in 4 of 10 countries (Bhutan, India, Maldives and Thailand), but this did not benefit much due to unequal urban–rural divide.

Conclusion

The midterm assessment suggests that all countries must design the current programs to effectively address both current and emerging causes of blindness. Capacity building and proportionate distribution of human resources for adequate rural reach along with poverty alleviation could be the keys to achieve the universal eye health by 2019.

     

Laparoscopically assisted vaginal hysterectomy for large uterus: a comparative study

OBJECTIVE: To examine the safety and feasibility of laparoscopically assisted vaginal hysterectomy (LAVH) for uteri weighing 500 g or more as compared to uteri weighing less than 500 g in the management of benign gynecological diseases. METHOD: In this prospective comparative study, 189 women with different benign gynecological diseases were scheduled for laparoscopically assisted vaginal hysterectomy. They were divided into two groups, with uterine weight greater than 500 g and uterine weight less than 500 g. Outcome measures for both the groups were studied comparatively in terms of length of operative time, amount of blood loss, requirement of blood transfusion and length of hospital stay. RESULTS: Length of operation and amount blood loss were significantly greater in the uteri >o r = 500 g group than in the <500 g at 91.1 +/- 28.7 min versus 77.4 +/- 26.6 min (P < 0.01), and 570.5 +/- 503.6 ml versus 262.5 +/- 270.0 ml (P < 0.001), respectively. However, there was no difference in length of hospital stay and overall incidence of operative complications between the two groups. None of the women had any major complications though 17 minor complications were noted. There was no incidence of switching to abdominal laparatomy during the operation except for one patient who required "minilaparotomy" for removal of large surgical specimen (2400 g). Extreme intra-operative hemorrhage of more than 1000 ml occurred in five patients, however, they made full recovery after blood transfusion. Rate of blood transfusion was significantly lower in the uteri <500 g group (4.8% versus 34.9%, (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that despite the increased operating time and blood loss, LAVH can be safely performed for large uterus. However, surgeons need to be aware of the high risk of blood transfusion in these patients.