Camera traps unveil demography, social structure, and home range of six unhabituated Western chimpanzee groups in the Moyen Bafing National Park, Guinea

Precise estimates of population dynamics and social grouping patterns are required for effective conservation of wild animal populations. It is difficult to obtain such information on non-human great apes as they have slow reproductive rates. To gain a better understanding of demography in these populations, previous research has typically involved habituation\, a process that requires years. Here, we collected data continuously over year-long periods to monitor an unhabituated population of critically endangered Western chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) in the Moyen Bafing National Park, Guinea. We used two arrays of 100 camera traps that were placed opportunistically in two distinct 100 km2 sites, named Bakoun and Koukoutamba. We identified 227 individuals in Bakoun and 207 in Koukoutamba through their unique facial features. Our camera trap data make clear that these individuals belong to six and seven closed groups, respectively. Six of those groups were near-completely sampled with an average minimum size of 46.8 individuals (range: 37-58), and a mean adult sex ratio of 1.32 (range: 0.93-2.10). We described the demographic composition of these groups and use Bayesian social network analysis to understand population structure. The network analyses suggested that the social bonds within the two populations were structured by sex homophily, with male chimpanzees being more or equally likely to be observed together than other adult associations. Through estimation of minimum convex polygons, we described the minimum home range for those groups. Compared to other chimpanzee groups living in a similar environment (mosaic savanna-forest), the Moyen Bafing region seems to host a high-density of chimpanzees with small home ranges for their group size. Our research highlights the potential of camera traps for studying the demographic composition of chimpanzee populations with high resolution and obtaining crucial information on several groups in a time-efficient and cost-effective way.

Effect of an intervention of exercise on sleep and seizure frequency in idiopathic epileptic dogs

OBJECTIVE

The goal of this study was to compare sleep and seizure frequency between epileptic dogs prescribed a 20% activity increase and epileptic dogs not prescribed an activity increase.

METHODS

Sixty-nine dogs receiving anti-epileptic drug therapy were enrolled in a 6-month prospective, randomised, placebo-controlled clinical trial with an intention-to-treat analysis. A canine activity monitoring device was used to measure activity levels and sleep scores.

RESULTS

Using an intention-to-treat analysis, the treatment group had an average of 0.381 more seizures per month (95% CI: 0.09 to 0.68) compared with the control group, although the difference in seizure days per month was not statistically significant. In a subgroup analysis of dogs whose activity increased by at least 10%, partial compliers had 0.719 more seizures per month (95% CI: 0.22 to 1.22) and 0.581 seizure days per month (95% CI: 0.001 to 1.16) compared with the control group. Sleep scores increased by 1.2% in the treatment compared with the control group (95% CI: 0.2 to 2.3%).

CONCLUSIONS

Seizure frequency and sleep score increased slightly, but significantly, in dogs with idiopathic epilepsy prescribed an increase in activity, compared with a control group.

Vaccination programmes and health systems in the European Union. Report of the Expert Panel on effective ways of investing in Health

Background

Vaccination is one of the most cost-effective public health interventions available and the main tool for primary prevention of communicable diseases. However, the EU is facing increasing outbreaks of vaccine preventable diseases, while some fatal cases of measles and diphtheria have been reported.

Methods

The presented report is based on the work of the Expert Panel on effective ways of investing in Health, which was informed by a literature review on the main factors (enablers and obstacles) influencing vaccination uptake.

Results

Obstacles to vaccination coverage include individuals’ and parents’ concerns or fears about vaccine safety and side effects, lack of trust, social norms, exposure to rumours and myths undermining confidence in vaccines, failure by some healthcare providers to counter these myths and provide evidence-informed advice, access barriers (e.g. poor availability, co-payments), and failure to understand the underlying mechanisms that decrease vaccination confidence. Enablers include sources of reliable information about vaccination, exposure to positive media messages, building trust in institutions and providers, building confidence in vaccination, easy access and availability to healthcare services, ease of administration, active involvement and engagement by healthcare providers, and targeting of high-risk groups.

Conclusions

There is a range of policy options that countries can implement to increase vaccination coverage. Communication strategies about the benefits of vaccination are important but need to be combined with opportunities for dialogue with vaccine hesitant groups and participatory approaches. These strategies need to be targeted not only at the uninformed (i.e. the lack of information) but also at the misinformed (when the information is incorrect) or disinformed (when information is spread with the intention to deceive).

Promotion of mental health and prevention of mental disorders: priorities for implementation

There is compelling evidence from high-quality studies that mental health promotion and primary prevention interventions can reduce the risk of mental disorders, enhance protective factors for good mental and physical health, and lead to lasting positive effects on a range of social and economic outcomes. This paper reviews the available evidence in order to guide the implementation of mental health promotion and prevention interventions in the Eastern Mediterranean Region. The paper identifies a number of priority areas that can generate clear health and social gains in the population and be implemented and sustained at a reasonable cost. The interventions cover population groups across the lifespan from infancy to adulthood and include actions delivered across different settings and delivery platforms. "Best practices" were identified as interventions for which there is evidence not only of their effectiveness but also of their feasibility within resource constraints. The implications of the findings for capacity development are considered.

Comparative histological and biometric study of the coronary, radial and left internal thoracic arteries

In an attempt to elucidate the causes of occlusion of radial arteries used for coronary artery bypass grafts and to improve the results of these procedures, we studied the biometry and histology of the coronary, radial and left internal thoracic arteries. These arteries were harvested from 20 cadavers (13 males, 7 females). The specimens were calibrated to the various bypass graft sites using coronary calibrators, and were then submitted to histological examination to determine the structure and innervation of the vessel wall. No correlation was observed between the internal calibers of these various arteries, with the exception of the anterior interventricular and right coronary arteries. Intimal changes and the presence of atheromatous plaque were observed in coronary and radial arteries, but never in the internal thoracic artery. Like the coronary arteries and their branches, the radial artery is a muscular artery. Aging of muscular arteries results in thickening of the intima, which becomes fibrotic due to migration of myocytes from the media and duplication of the internal elastic lamina. The media becomes fibrous, hypertrophic or atrophic. The walls of the radial and coronary arteries contain several adventitial nerves (sympathetic and parasympathetic nerve fibers), but these nerve fibers were not observed in the wall of the left internal thoracic artery. In contrast, the internal thoracic artery, like the aorta, is an elastic artery. Aging of elastic arteries is first observed between the ages of 20 and 29 years and is characterized by loss of one or several elastic laminae of the media and more marked intimal thickening, over a variable length. Even if a radial artery's caliber is similar to that of the coronary artery, histological evolution and graft patency depend on its muscular identity.

A community needs assessment for rural mental health promotion

This paper describes the needs assessment phase of a mental health promotion programme for rural communities in Ireland. As part of a larger study encompassing four rural communities, a cross-sectional study of the mental health beliefs and perceptions of 1014 people was carried out. Employing a combination of interviewer-administered questionnaire and the vignette method, the needs assessment explores the levels of awareness, current practices, attitudes and stigma concerning depression and suicide among a randomly selected quota sample of community members. Lower levels of awareness, less confidence in dealing with mental health issues, negative attitudes to help-seeking and social stigma emerge as particular issues for men and the under 40 age group. Women were found to have more positive attitudes generally, were more likely to use informal social support networks and were more open about discussing mental health matters. The predominant interpretation of the depression vignette was to view it as a mental health problem with good prospects for recovery given appropriate help. Social relationships, negative thinking patterns and social stresses were perceived as being particularly important in explaining the origins of depression. The implications of the findings for planning the intervention phase of the project are considered.

Death education: knowledge, attitudes, and perspectives of Irish parents and teachers

This article reports on a cross-sectional survey of the knowledge, attitudes and perspectives of Irish parents and school teachers concerning children's grief and the concept of death education. The sample comprised 119 parents and 142 teachers of Irish Primary-school children (5-12 years of age) who completed a self-administered questionnaire. Both parents and teachers reported high levels of understanding of the nature of children's grief and strongly supported the view that death should be discussed with children before they encounter it. Although discussions of death were reported in the classroom and in the home, both teachers and parents, particularly men, reported being uncomfortable talking to children about death. There was general support for inclusion of death education in the school curriculum, with both teachers and parents supporting the need for further teacher training to undertake its delivery. There were few significant differences between the expressed attitudes of parents and teachers. However, teachers were more likely than parents to agree that death education would take away from parental responsibility. The implications of the findings for further work in this area are considered.

Film-screen versus digitized mammography: assessment of clinical equivalence

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to determine whether diagnostic accuracy and callback rates using digitized film images are equivalent to those using film-screen mammograms.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Sixty sets of mammograms (four views per case) were digitized at a spatial resolution of 100 microm. The images were reviewed by seven mammographers. Five regions were evaluated in each breast. Each region was scored on a scale of 0 100% for suspicion of malignancy, and a receiver operating characteristic analysis was performed. Callback rates were calculated using a published lexicon scale.

RESULTS

The observers' mean diagnostic accuracies using films and digitized images were 0.872 and 0.848, respectively. The upper 95% confidence boundary on the difference in accuracy was 0.066. The mean callback rate for normal, benign, and malignant areas using films versus digitized images was 0.048 versus 0.055, 0.498 versus 0.441, and 0.786 versus 0.737, respectively. The upper 95% confidence boundary for the absolute difference in callback rates was 0.037, 0.026, and 0.130 for normal, benign, and malignant areas, respectively.

CONCLUSION

The diagnostic accuracies of the digitized images and films were similar; however, an increase in callback rates of 0.037 (i.e., upper 95% confidence boundary) for normal results and a reduction in the callback rates of 0.130 for malignant lesions is important. The use of digitized film images, at a spatial resolution of 100 microm, may compromise patient treatment in clinical practice.

A mediational model of quality of life for individuals with severe mental health problems

BACKGROUND

Despite the increasing importance of quality of life in the mental health field, the theoretical conceptualization of the construct remains poorly developed. A proposed mediational model of quality of life, which links subjective quality of life with self-related constructs, is examined with a group of long-term psychiatric hostel residents. The present study aims to develop a measure of quality of life based on the proposed model, to explore the data and their implications for service development and finally to conduct a preliminary analysis of the model's predictions.

METHODS

A cross-sectional research design was employed. Quality of life interviews, using a modified version of Lehman's Quality of Life Interview, were carried out with 54 psychiatric residents in Greece. The model's predictions were examined by using a series of regression analyses.

RESULTS

The results indicate that perceived improvements in lifestyle, greater autonomy and positive self-concept are significantly and directly associated with better quality of life. In contrast, a direct relationship between objective indicators and subjective quality of life was not found.

CONCLUSIONS

The traditional two-part quality of life model that includes objective indicators of life circumstances and subjective indicators is extended to included the constructs of self-concept and perceived autonomy. The present extended mediational model of quality of life for individuals with long-term mental health problems appears to have important implications for the planning and delivery of mental health programmes.

From Leros asylum to community-based facilities: levels of functioning and quality of life among hostel residents in Greece

The pattern of mental health care in Greece is undergoing a major transformation. The Leros Projects I and II supported the development of 13 community hostels located throughout the Greek mainland. These hostels provide residential care to more than 100 former psychiatric inpatients, mainly from Leros asylum. The present study evaluates the impact of the resettlement process on the residents' perceived quality of life (QoL) together with an examination of the residents' psychiatric and behavioural functioning four years after the move from hospital. The target sample (n = 99) comprised of individuals who may be considered 'chronic' psychiatric patients with a long history of institutionalisation and many are socially deprived with few family ties. The residents' functioning profile indicates a range of different levels of abilities. The QoL findings show that the majority of residents (70%) perceived the movement from the traditional hospital regime to the community hostels as being a positive change and expressed their satisfaction (74%) with the new living situation. This study demonstrates that even the most dependent, chronic psychiatric patients in Greece can be maintained in community settings and are able to articulate generally reliable and valid responses concerning the impact of service changes.

Quality of life as an outcome measure in evaluating mental health services: a review of the empirical evidence

This paper addresses the question of how well quality of life measures function as valid and sensitive outcome indicators of mental health services. Findings from the major empirical studies of quality of life in the mental health area over the last 15 years are reviewed. The extent to which existing studies provide evidence of the ability of quality of life measures to discriminate the impact of service interventions on the well-being of psychiatric clients is examined. Findings from cross-sectional, comparative, repeated-measures and randomised studies are presented. The available empirical evidence is critically examined and the methodological and theoretical implications of current findings for future work are considered.

Characterization of a small variable surface glycoprotein from Trypanosoma vivax

Several biochemical properties of a variant surface glycoprotein (VSG) from the parasite Trypanosoma (Duttonella) vivax have been determined. ILDat 2.1 VSG is approximately 40 kDa in size making this the smallest trypanosome VSG described to date. The glycolipid anchor of ILDat 2.1 VSG is resistant to treatment with T. brucei-derived phospholipase C and data based on lectin affinity chromatography, incorporation of radiolabelled sugar and treatment with endoglycosidase H suggest that the T. vivax VSG bears little carbohydrate. cDNA to ILDat 2.1 VSG mRNA has been cloned and the encoded protein sequence includes the N-terminal amino acid peptide sequence derived from native VSG. The molecular weight of the VSG predicted from the translated cDNA sequence is similar to that of the native molecule and in support of the biochemical data it is devoid of sites for N-linked glycosylation. Examination of the deduced ILDat 2.1 VSG protein sequence reveals that it is most similar to T. congolense VSGs in the distribution of Cys residues and like the former it does not contain any of the defined VSG C-terminal domain types. However, unlike T. congolense VSGs it does not readily fit into the currently described VSG N-terminal domain types. Our studies suggest that ILDat 2.1 VSG is distinct from any of the previously characterized VSGs.

Quality of life as an evaluative measure in assessing the impact of community care on people with long-term psychiatric disorders

BACKGROUND

The impact of community resettlement on the quality of life of people with long-term psychiatric disorders, is evaluated in a longitudinal study.

METHOD

A repeated measures design was used to examine the sensitivity of an adapted version of Lehman's Quality of Life Interview in evaluating change. Completed interviews were carried out with 29 of the original cohort at one year post-discharge. The relationship between quality of life and ratings of client functioning is explored.

RESULTS

Significant changes in the objective quality of life indices include improved living conditions (F = 40.00, P < 0.001), higher levels of social contact (F = 29.52, P < 0.01) and increased leisure activities (F = 4.57, P < 0.05). Apart from increased satisfaction with living situation (F = 6.94, P < 0.01), there were no significant changes in the subjective indices. Ratings of psychiatric state and social functioning did not significantly correlate with global quality of life at one year post-discharge.

CONCLUSIONS

Concerns in relation to the sensitivity of life satisfaction ratings in evaluating programme interventions are raised.

Sequencing and modeling of anti-DNA immunoglobulin Fv domains. Comparison with crystal structures

Models for the three-dimensional structures of the combining regions of six DNA-binding antibodies have been derived from the sequence data for their Fv domains presented here. Using the amino acid sequences and the canonical structure classes described by Chothia and Lesk (Chothia, C., and Lesk, A.M. (1987) J. Mol. Biol. 196, 901), model loops were selected from immunoglobulin domains of known structure for five of the six antibody hypervariable regions. Models for the third complementarity-determining region of the heavy chain were constructed from known immunoglobulin loops of similar length and sequence. Comparison of three of the models with the respective crystal structure indicates that this procedure can generate a working model of the antibody combining region that provides useful information on the nature of the interactions between antibodies and nucleic acids. As part of our continuing investigation into the structural basis of antibody-DNA recognition, the observed and predicted models for the combining regions of nucleic acid-binding antibodies have been examined. In general, single strand-specific antibodies have deep clefts where the antigen might bind, whereas duplex-specific antibodies present a relatively flat surface. In addition, on the basis of both sequence and structure, there is little to distinguish autoimmune antibodies from those produced by immunization. Testable hypotheses for how these antibodies might interact with single- and double-stranded nucleic acids are presented.

Cloning and expression of an autoimmune DNA-binding single chain Fv. Only the heavy chain is required for binding

Hed 10 is a murine autoimmune antibody which binds tightly to the single-stranded DNA, poly(dT). The heavy and light chain variable region genes of Hed 10 were cloned and then joined by a 42 base-pair linker with the aid of a PCR ligation technique to produce a single chain Fv gene. After insertion into an expression vector the single chain Fv protein (scFv Hed 10) was produced in high yield and was purified by chromatography on an oligo (dT) cellulose column. The binding of scFv Hed 10 to poly (dT) was measured by fluorescence quenching and a binding constant of 3.2 x 10(6) M-1 was calculated. Previously [Lee et al. (1982) Biochemistry 21, 4940-4945] the binding constant of Fab Hed 10 to poly (dT) was found to be 12.7 x 10(6) M-1. In addition the Vh gene of Hed 10 was expressed independently as well as another scFv which contained the Vh region of Hed 10 linked to the light chain variable region of Jel 42, an antibody specific for Hpr protein of E. coli (scFv 10 H.42 L). Both of these proteins had binding constants for poly (dT) in the range of 6 x 10(6) M-1. Therefore, the light chain of Hed 10 contributes little to the binding of this autoimmune antibody to DNA.

Sequences of the variable regions of three monoclonal antibodies specific for histidine-containing protein of the bacterial phosphoenolpyruvate:sugar phosphotransferase system

The variable regions of three monoclonal antibodies, Jel 42, Jel 44, and Jel 324, specific for the histidine-containing protein of the bacterial phosphoenolpyruvate:sugar phosphotransferase system have been sequenced from their respective mRNAs. The Vh gene families were deduced from the percent homology to the concensus gene sequences and the J gene and D gene usage was also analysed.