An investigation of climate change and its impact on healthcare provision in South Africa

Climate change, a reality, a myth, a conspiracy, remains a point of research and concern, specifically with regards to the impact it has on human health. Reports concerning climate change are accepted by many but are also rejected by prominent figures of society and powerful enterprises flourishing in the race for economic development. Yet all living organisms on Earth are dependent on its natural resources and delicate balance of co-existence. A disruption of ecological balance will bring about changes to biomes and niches. These changes will affect disease patterns and well-being for all. Vulnerable groups will be most affected. If these changes have occurred and continue to occur what provision should be made to reduce population vulnerability? What investment should be made to public healthcare to assist vulnerable population groups and improve adaptability? This study was conducted with the aide of the South African Red Cross Society in three large South African provinces, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and Kwa-Zulu Natal, each known for its rich diverse ecologies and tropical to sub-tropical climates. The study aimed to determine the level of awareness amongst the healthcare workers with emphasis on education. The participants were counsellors working closely with the National Department of Health and local clinics. A total of 101 participants completed a close-ended questionnaire. The results indicated a strong workforce of young people with post-matric qualifications and strong views. Qualitative research was used with descriptive statistics to analyse and describe the data collected. It was, therefore, recommended that investment be made into this growing workforce in healthcare, as well as healthcare as a whole, since climate change, as documented, will threaten food security and water availability, see altered diseases patterns including emerging and re-emergence of infectious diseases and cardiovascular concerns brought on by heat stress. Funding must support education and training to strengthen awareness and preparedness so as to empower this workforce so that they may assist local populations to better adapt to the changes, become more resilient and, thereby, reduce their vulnerability and riskHealth StudiesM.Sc. (Life Sciences

Powerful sequence similarity search methods and in-depth manual analyses can identify remote homologs in many apparently "orphan" viral proteins

The genome sequences of new viruses often contain many "orphan" or "taxon-specific" proteins apparently lacking homologs. However, because viral proteins evolve very fast, commonly used sequence similarity detection methods such as BLAST may overlook homologs. We analyzed a data set of proteins from RNA viruses characterized as "genus specific" by BLAST. More powerful methods developed recently, such as HHblits or HHpred (available through web-based, user-friendly interfaces), could detect distant homologs of a quarter of these proteins, suggesting that these methods should be used to annotate viral genomes. In-depth manual analyses of a subset of the remaining sequences, guided by contextual information such as taxonomy, gene order, or domain cooccurrence, identified distant homologs of another third. Thus, a combination of powerful automated methods and manual analyses can uncover distant homologs of many proteins thought to be orphans. We expect these methodological results to be also applicable to cellular organisms, since they generally evolve much more slowly than RNA viruses. As an application, we reanalyzed the genome of a bee pathogen, Chronic bee paralysis virus (CBPV). We could identify homologs of most of its proteins thought to be orphans; in each case, identifying homologs provided functional clues. We discovered that CBPV encodes a domain homologous to the Alphavirus methyltransferase-guanylyltransferase; a putative membrane protein, SP24, with homologs in unrelated insect viruses and insect-transmitted plant viruses having different morphologies (cileviruses, higreviruses, blunerviruses, negeviruses); and a putative virion glycoprotein, ORF2, also found in negeviruses. SP24 and ORF2 are probably major structural components of the virionsd

Phylogenetic analysis and temporal diversification of mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) based on nuclear genes and morphology

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Phylogenetic analyses provide a framework for examining the evolution of morphological and molecular diversity, interpreting patterns in biogeography, and achieving a stable classification. The generic and suprageneric relationships within mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) are poorly resolved, making these subjects difficult to address.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We carried out maximum parsimony and maximum likelihood, including Bayesian, analyses on a data set consisting of six nuclear genes and 80 morphological characters to assess their ability to resolve relationships among 25 genera. We also estimated divergence times based on sequence data and fossil calibration points, using Bayesian relaxed clock methods. Strong support was recovered for the basal position and monophyly of the subfamily Anophelinae and the tribes Aedini and Sabethini of subfamily Culicinae. Divergence times for major culicid lineages date to the early Cretaceous.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Deeper relationships within the family remain poorly resolved, suggesting the need for additional taxonomic sampling. Our results support the notion of rapid radiations early in the diversification of mosquitoes.</p

Taxing sin and saving lives: Can alcohol taxation reduce female homicides?

With costs exceeding $5.8 billion per year, violence against women has significant ramifications for victims, their families, the health care systems that treat them, and the employers who depend on their labor. Prior research has found that alcohol abuse contributes to violence against both men and women, and that stringent alcohol control policies can reduce alcohol consumption and in turn some forms of violence. In this paper, we estimate the direct relationship between an important alcohol control measure, excise taxes, and the most extreme form of violence, homicide. We use female homicide rates as our measure of severe violence, as this measure is consistently and accurately reported across multiple years. Our results provide evidence that increased alcohol taxes reduce alcohol consumption and that reductions in alcohol consumption can reduce femicide. Unfortunately, a direct test of the relationship does not have the power to determine whether alcohol taxes effectively reduce female homicide rates. We conclude that while alcohol taxes have been shown to effectively reduce other forms of violence against women, policy makers may need alternative policy levers to reduce the most severe form of violence against women

Powerful sequence similarity search methods and in-depth manual analyses can identify remote homologs in many apparently "orphan" viral proteins.

The genome sequences of new viruses often contain many "orphan" or "taxon-specific" proteins apparently lacking homologs. However, because viral proteins evolve very fast, commonly used sequence similarity detection methods such as BLAST may overlook homologs. We analyzed a data set of proteins from RNA viruses characterized as "genus specific" by BLAST. More powerful methods developed recently, such as HHblits or HHpred (available through web-based, user-friendly interfaces), could detect distant homologs of a quarter of these proteins, suggesting that these methods should be used to annotate viral genomes. In-depth manual analyses of a subset of the remaining sequences, guided by contextual information such as taxonomy, gene order, or domain cooccurrence, identified distant homologs of another third. Thus, a combination of powerful automated methods and manual analyses can uncover distant homologs of many proteins thought to be orphans. We expect these methodological results to be also applicable to cellular organisms, since they generally evolve much more slowly than RNA viruses. As an application, we reanalyzed the genome of a bee pathogen, Chronic bee paralysis virus (CBPV). We could identify homologs of most of its proteins thought to be orphans; in each case, identifying homologs provided functional clues. We discovered that CBPV encodes a domain homologous to the Alphavirus methyltransferase-guanylyltransferase; a putative membrane protein, SP24, with homologs in unrelated insect viruses and insect-transmitted plant viruses having different morphologies (cileviruses, higreviruses, blunerviruses, negeviruses); and a putative virion glycoprotein, ORF2, also found in negeviruses. SP24 and ORF2 are probably major structural components of the virions

Youths with asthma and their experiences of self-management education: a qualitative systematic review protocol

REVIEW QUESTION: What are the experiences of youths with asthma in self-management education

Novel flaviviruses from mosquitoes : Mosquito-specific evolutionary lineages within the phylogenetic group of mosquito-borne flaviviruses

Peer reviewe

Novel virus discovery and genome reconstruction from field RNA samples reveals highly divergent viruses in dipteran hosts.

We investigated whether small RNA (sRNA) sequenced from field-collected mosquitoes and chironomids (Diptera) can be used as a proxy signature of viral prevalence within a range of species and viral groups, using sRNAs sequenced from wild-caught specimens, to inform total RNA deep sequencing of samples of particular interest. Using this strategy, we sequenced from adult Anopheles maculipennis s.l. mosquitoes the apparently nearly complete genome of one previously undescribed virus related to chronic bee paralysis virus, and, from a pool of Ochlerotatus caspius and Oc. detritus mosquitoes, a nearly complete entomobirnavirus genome. We also reconstructed long sequences (1503-6557 nt) related to at least nine other viruses. Crucially, several of the sequences detected were reconstructed from host organisms highly divergent from those in which related viruses have been previously isolated or discovered. It is clear that viral transmission and maintenance cycles in nature are likely to be significantly more complex and taxonomically diverse than previously expected

Chronic pancreatitis in dogs: A retrospective study of clinical, clinicopathological, and histopathological findings in 61 cases

The objective of the present study was to characterize the clinical, clinicopathologic, and histopathologic findings of dogs with chronic pancreatitis. The necropsy database at Texas A&M University was searched for reports of dogs with histologic evidence of chronic pancreatitis defined as irreversible histologic changes of the pancreas, i.e. fibrosis and atrophy. Medical records and necropsy reports were retrieved and reviewed. A reference necropsy population of 100 randomly selected dogs was used for signalment and concurrent disease comparisons. Cases were categorized as clinical or incidental chronic pancreatitis based on the presence of vomiting, decreased appetite, or both versus neither of these signs. All archived pancreata samples were evaluated histologically and scored using a published pancreatic scoring system. A total of 61 dogs with chronic pancreatitis were included in the study. The most frequent clinical signs were lethargy, decreased appetite, vomiting, and diarrhea. Compared to the reference necropsy population, chronic pancreatitis cases were more likely to be older, neutered, and of the non-sporting/toy breed group and to have concurrent endocrine, hepatobiliary, or neurologic diseases. Clinical chronic pancreatitis cases had significantly higher histological scores for pancreatic necrosis and peripancreatic fat necrosis. Clinical chronic pancreatitis cases were significantly more likely to have hepatobiliary or endocrine disease as well as increased liver enzyme activities, and cholesterol and bilirubin concentrations. In conclusion, clinical disease resulting from chronic pancreatitis might be related to the presence of pancreatic necrosis and pancreatic fat necrosis. The signalment, presentation, and concurrent diseases of dogs with chronic pancreatitis are similar to those previously reported for dogs with acute pancreatitis.http://www.elsevier.com/locate/tvjlam2013ab201