Barking up the same tree: a comparison of ethnomedicine and canine ethnoveterinary medicine among the Aguaruna

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>This work focuses on plant-based preparations that the Aguaruna Jivaro of Peru give to hunting dogs. Many plants are considered to improve dogs' sense of smell or stimulate them to hunt better, while others treat common illnesses that prevent dogs from hunting. This work places canine ethnoveterinary medicine within the larger context of Aguaruna ethnomedicine, by testing the following hypotheses: H1 -- Plants that the Aguaruna use to treat dogs will be the same plants that they use to treat people and H2 -- Plants that are used to treat both people and dogs will be used for the same illnesses in both cases.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Structured interviews with nine key informants were carried out in 2007, in Aguaruna communities in the Peruvian department of Amazonas. Informants provided freelists of plants given to dogs and explained the purpose, preparation and route of administration used. For each plant, informants also described any uses for treating people. Botanical voucher specimens were collected and additional informal observations were made, accompanying people on hunting trips.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Out of 35 plant species given to dogs, 29 (83%) are also given to humans for some medicinal purpose, while five are used only for dogs. However, the same plant is used to treat the same illness in both humans and dogs in only 53% of the cases. Forty-three percent of plants used to treat a particular illness for both dogs and people are administered in the same manner for both.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Results suggest that Aguaruna canine ethnoveterinary medicine is, at least partly, an independent cognitive domain. Some of the difference in plant use between dogs and people can be explained by the fact that certain diseases mentioned only apply to dogs. Although reports of canine ethnoveterinary medicine are very sparse in the literature, Aguaruna practices show some similarities with a few trends reported for other Amazonian societies, particularly, in the prevalence of the nasal route of administration, the use of plant-based psychoactives and in the importance of ants and wasps, in some form, for training dogs.</p

Experimental plug&play quantum coin flipping

Performing complex cryptographic tasks will be an essential element in future quantum communication networks. These tasks are based on a handful of fundamental primitives, such as coin flipping, where two distrustful parties wish to agree on a randomly generated bit. Although it is known that quantum versions of these primitives can offer information-theoretic security advantages with respect to classical protocols, a demonstration of such an advantage in a practical communication scenario has remained elusive. Here, we experimentally implement a quantum coin flipping protocol that performs strictly better than classically possible over a distance suitable for communication over metropolitan area optical networks. The implementation is based on a practical plug&play system, designed for quantum key distribution. We also show how to combine our protocol with coin flipping protocols that are almost perfectly secure against bounded adversaries, hence enhancing them with a level of information-theoretic security. Our results offer a powerful toolbox for future secure quantum communications.Comment: Version 2, 19 pages including detailed security analysi

Differences between patients' and clinicians' report of sleep disturbance: a field study in mental health care in Norway

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The aims of the study was to assess the prevalence of diagnosed insomnia and the agreement between patient- and clinician-reported sleep disturbance and use of prescribed hypnotic medication in patients in treatment for mental disorders.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We used three cross-sectional, multicenter data-sets from 2002, 2005, and 2008. Data-set 1 included diagnostic codes from 93% of all patients receiving treatment in mental health care in Norway (<it>N </it>= 40261). Data-sets 2 (<it>N </it>= 1065) and 3 (<it>N </it>= 1181) included diagnostic codes, patient- and clinician-reported sleep disturbance, and use of prescribed hypnotic medication from patients in 8 mental health care centers covering 10% of the Norwegian population.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>34 patients in data-set 1 and none in data-sets 2 and 3 had a diagnosis of insomnia as a primary or comorbid diagnosis. In data-sets 2 and 3, 42% and 40% of the patients reported sleep disturbance, whereas 24% and 13% had clinician-reported sleep disturbance, and 7% and 9% used hypnotics. Patients and clinicians agreed in 29% and 15% of the cases where the patient or the clinician or both had reported sleep disturbance. Positive predictive value (PPV) of clinicians' evaluations of patient sleep disturbance was 62% and 53%. When the patient reported sleep disturbance as one of their most prominent problems PPV was 36% and 37%. Of the patients who received hypnotic medication, 23% and 29% had neither patient nor clinician-rated sleep disturbance.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>When patients meet the criteria for a mental disorder, insomnia is almost never diagnosed, and sleep disturbance is imprecisely recognized relative to the patients' experience of sleep disturbance.</p

A multilocus assay reveals high nucleotide diversity and limited differentiation among Scandinavian willow grouse (Lagopus lagopus)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There is so far very little data on autosomal nucleotide diversity in birds, except for data from the domesticated chicken and some passerines species. Estimates of nucleotide diversity reported so far in birds have been high (~10^-3) and a likely explanation for this is the generally higher effective population sizes compared to mammals. In this study, the level of nucleotide diversity has been examined in the willow grouse, a non-domesticated bird species from the order Galliformes, which also holds the chicken. The willow grouse (<it>Lagopus lagopus</it>) has an almost circumpolar distribution but is absent from Greenland and the north Atlantic islands. It primarily inhabits tundra, forest edge habitats and sub-alpine vegetation. Willow grouse are hunted throughout its range, and regionally it is a game bird of great cultural and economical importance.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We sequenced 18 autosomal protein coding loci from approximately 15–18 individuals per population. We found a total of 127 SNP's, which corresponds to 1 SNP every 51 bp. 26 SNP's were amino acid replacement substitutions. Total nucleotide diversity (<it>π</it>_<it>t</it>) was between 1.30 × 10^-4and 7.66 × 10^-3(average <it>π</it>_{<it>t </it>}= 2.72 × 10^-3± 2.06 × 10^-3) and silent nucleotide diversity varied between 4.20 × 10^-4and 2.76 × 10^-2(average <it>π</it>_{<it>S </it>}= 9.22 × 10^-3± 7.43 × 10^-4). The synonymous diversity is approximately 20 times higher than in humans and two times higher than in chicken. Non-synonymous diversity was on average 18 times lower than the synonymous diversity and varied between 0 and 4.90 × 10^-3(average <it>π</it>_{<it>a </it>}= 5.08 × 10^-4± 7.43 × 10³), which suggest that purifying selection is strong in these genes. <it>F</it>_STvalues based on synonymous SNP's varied between -5.60 × 10^-4and 0.20 among loci and revealed low levels of differentiation among the four localities, with an overall value of <it>F</it>_ST= 0.03 (95% CI: 0.006 – 0.057) over 60 unlinked loci. Non-synonymous SNP's gave similar results. Low levels of linkage disequilibrium were observed within genes, with an average r²= 0.084 ± 0.110, which is expected for a large outbred population with no population differentiation. The mean per site per generation recombination parameter (ρ) was comparably high (0.028 ± 0.018), indicating high recombination rates in these genes.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We found unusually high levels of nucleotide diversity in the Scandinavian willow grouse as well as very little population structure among localities with up to 1647 km distance. There are also low levels of linkage disequilibrium within the genes and the population recombination rate is high, which is indicative of an old panmictic population, where recombination has had time to break up any haplotype blocks. The non-synonymous nucleotide diversity is low compared with the silent, which is in agreement with effective purifying selection, possibly due to the large effective population size.</p

Development and evaluation of a web-based breast cancer cultural competency course for primary healthcare providers

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>To develop and evaluate a continuing medical education (CME) course aimed at improving healthcare provider knowledge about breast cancer health disparities and the importance of cross-cultural communication in provider-patient interactions about breast cancer screening.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>An interactive web-based CME course was developed and contained information about breast cancer disparities, the role of culture in healthcare decision making, and demonstrated a model of cross-cultural communication. A single group pre-/post-test design was used to assess knowledge changes. Data on user satisfaction was also collected.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In all, 132 participants registered for the CME with 103 completing both assessments. Differences between pre-/post-test show a significant increase in knowledge (70% vs. 94%; p < .001). Ninety-five percent of participants agreed that the web based training was an appropriate tool to train healthcare providers about cultural competency and health disparities.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>There was an overall high level of satisfaction among all users. Users felt that learning objectives were met and the web-based format was appropriate and easy to use and suggests that web-based CME formats are an appropriate tool to teach cultural competency skills. However, more information is needed to understand how the CME impacted practice behaviors.</p

A multicenter phase III trial comparing irinotecan-gemcitabine (IG) with gemcitabine (G) monotherapy as first-line treatment in patients with locally advanced or metastatic pancreatic cancer

Our purpose was to determine the response rate and median and overall survival of gemcitabine as monotherapy versus gemcitabine plus irinotecan in advanced or metastatic pancreatic cancer. Patients with histologically or cytologically confirmed adenocarcinoma who were chemotherapy and radiotherapy naive were enrolled. Patients were centrally randomised at a one-to-one ratio to receive either gemcitabine monotherapy (900 mg m−2 on days 1, 8 and 15 every 4 weeks (arm G), or gemcitabine (days 1 and 8) plus irinotecan (300 mg m−2 on day 8) (arm IG), repeated every 3 weeks. The total number of cycles administered was 255 in the IG arm and 245 in the G arm; the median number of cycles was 3. In all, 145 patients (71 in arm IG and 74 in arm G) were enrolled; 60 and 70 patients from arms IG and G, respectively, were evaluable. A complete clinical response was achieved in three (4.3%) arm G patients; nine (15%) patients in arm IG and four (5.7%) in arm G achieved a partial response. The overall response rate was: arm IG 15% and arm G 10% (95% CI 5.96–24.04 and 95% CI 2.97–17.03, respectively; P=0.387). The median time to tumour progression was 2.8 months and 2.9 months and median survival time was 6.4 and 6.5 months for the IG and G arms, respectively. One-year survival was 24.3% for the IG arm and 21.8% for the G arm. No statistically significant difference was observed comparing gemcitabine monotherapy versus gemcitabine plus irinotecan in the treatment of advanced pancreatic cancer, with respect to overall and 1-year survival

To respond or not to respond - a personal perspective of intestinal tolerance

For many years, the intestine was one of the poor relations of the immunology world, being a realm inhabited mostly by specialists and those interested in unusual phenomena. However, this has changed dramatically in recent years with the realization of how important the microbiota is in shaping immune function throughout the body, and almost every major immunology institution now includes the intestine as an area of interest. One of the most important aspects of the intestinal immune system is how it discriminates carefully between harmless and harmful antigens, in particular, its ability to generate active tolerance to materials such as commensal bacteria and food proteins. This phenomenon has been recognized for more than 100 years, and it is essential for preventing inflammatory disease in the intestine, but its basis remains enigmatic. Here, I discuss the progress that has been made in understanding oral tolerance during my 40 years in the field and highlight the topics that will be the focus of future research

A novel biweekly pancreatic cancer treatment schedule with gemcitabine, 5-fluorouracil and folinic acid

Pancreatic adenocarcinoma is a common disease considered to be poorly responsive to antiblastic treatment. Recent clinical and preclinical results suggest that a combined treatment of gemcitabine (GEM), 5-flurouracil (5-FU) and folinic acid (FA) offers a clinical benefit in patients with advanced pancreas adenocarcinoma. The aim of this phase II clinical trial was to evaluate the antitumour activity and toxicity of a novel biweekly schedule of this combination in patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma. A total of 42 patients received a 30 min infusion of FA (100 mgm2) and 5-FU (400 mgm2) (FUFA) on days 1–3, and GEM 1000 mgm2 on day 1 every 15 days. We observed 13 objective responses (two complete, 11 partial) and 23 stable diseases. The median time to progression was 9.75 months (95% Confidence Interval (CI), 6.88–12.62) and the median overall survival was 13.10 months (95% CI 9.64–16.56). There were seven cases of each grade III gastroenteric and haematological toxicity. The GEM plus FUFA combination appears to be well tolerated and very active in patients with pancreatic carcinoma

The breast feeding mother and xenon anaesthesia: four case reports. Breast feeding and xenon anaesthesia

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Four nursing mothers consented to anaesthesia for urgent surgery only on condition that their ability to breast feed would not be impaired.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Following induction of general anaesthesia with propofol and remifentanil, 65-69% xenon supplemented with remifentanil was used as an inhalational anaesthetic for maintenance.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>After finishing surgery the women could be extubated between 2:52 and 7:22 minutes. The women were fully alert just minutes after extubation and spent about 45 minutes in the recovery room before discharge to a regular ward. They resumed regular breast feeding some time later. The propofol concentration in the blood was measured after 0, 30, 90, and 300 minutes and in the milk after 90 and 300 minutes. Just 90 minutes after extubation, the concentration of propofol in the milk was limited (> 3 mg/l) so that pharmacological effects on the babies were excluded after oral intake. Also, no traces of xenon gas were found in the maternal milk at any time. After propofol induction and maintenance of anaesthesia with xenon in combination with a water-soluble short-acting drug like remifentanil, the concentration of propofol in maternal milk is low (> 3 mg/l 90 min after anesthesia) and harmless after oral intake.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These results, as well as the rapid elimination and absence of metabolism of xenon, are of great interest to nursing mothers. General anaesthesia with propofol for induction only, combined with remifentanil and xenon for maintenance, has not yet been described in breast feeding mothers.</p