Characterization of small ruminant lentivirus A4 subtype isolates and assessment of their pathogenic potential in naturally infected goats.

BACKGROUND Small ruminant lentiviruses escaping efficient serological detection are still circulating in Swiss goats in spite of a long eradication campaign that essentially eliminated clinical cases of caprine arthritis encephalitis in the country. This strongly suggests that the circulating viruses are avirulent for goats.To test this hypothesis, we isolated circulating viruses from naturally infected animals and tested the in vitro and in vivo characteristics of these field isolates. METHODS Viruses were isolated from primary macrophage cultures. The presence of lentiviruses in the culture supernatants was monitored by reverse transcriptase assay. Isolates were passaged in different cells and their cytopathogenic effects monitored by microscopy. Proviral load was quantified by real-time PCR using customized primer and probes. Statistical analysis comprised Analysis of Variance and Bonferroni Multiple Comparison Test. RESULTS The isolated viruses belonged to the small ruminant lentiviruses A4 subtype that appears to be prominent in Switzerland. The 4 isolates replicated very efficiently in macrophages, displaying heterogeneous phenotypes, with two isolates showing a pronounced cytopathogenicity for these cells. By contrast, all 4 isolates had a poor replication capacity in goat and sheep fibroblasts. The proviral loads in the peripheral blood and, in particular, in the mammary gland were surprisingly high compared to previous observations. Nevertheless, these viruses appear to be of low virulence for goats except for the mammary gland were histopathological changes were observed. CONCLUSIONS Small ruminant lentiviruses continue to circulate in Switzerland despite a long and expensive caprine arthritis encephalitis virus eradication campaign. We isolated 4 of these lentiviruses and confirmed their phylogenetic association with the prominent A4 subtype. The pathological and histopathological analysis of the infected animals supported the hypothesis that these A4 viruses are of low pathogenicity for goats, with, however, a caveat about the potentially detrimental effects on the mammary gland. Moreover, the high proviral load detected indicates that the immune system of the animals cannot control the infection and this, combined with the phenotypic plasticity observed in vitro, strongly argues in favour of a continuous and precise monitoring of these SRLV to avoid the risk of jeopardizing a long eradication campaign.

Memoiren einer Großmutter : Bilder aus der Kulturgeschichte der Juden Russlands im 19. Jahrhundert

Pauline Wengeroff. Mit ein. Geleitw. von Gustav Karpeles

Effectiveness of Personal Protective Equipment for Healthcare Workers Caring for Patients with Filovirus Disease: A Rapid Review.

BACKGROUND A rapid review, guided by a protocol, was conducted to inform development of the World Health Organization's guideline on personal protective equipment in the context of the ongoing (2013-present) Western African filovirus disease outbreak, with a focus on health care workers directly caring for patients with Ebola or Marburg virus diseases. METHODS Electronic databases and grey literature sources were searched. Eligibility criteria initially included comparative studies on Ebola and Marburg virus diseases reported in English or French, but criteria were expanded to studies on other viral hemorrhagic fevers and non-comparative designs due to the paucity of studies. After title and abstract screening (two people to exclude), full-text reports of potentially relevant articles were assessed in duplicate. Fifty-seven percent of extraction information was verified. The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation framework was used to inform the quality of evidence assessments. RESULTS Thirty non-comparative studies (8 related to Ebola virus disease) were located, and 27 provided data on viral transmission. Reporting of personal protective equipment components and infection prevention and control protocols was generally poor. CONCLUSIONS Insufficient evidence exists to draw conclusions regarding the comparative effectiveness of various types of personal protective equipment. Additional research is urgently needed to determine optimal PPE for health care workers caring for patients with filovirus.

Wright’s Version of Critical Realism

N. T. Wright’s research project “Christian Origins and the Question of God” is characterized by its use of the method of critical realism. Now, “critical realism” is a term that has been used in connection with different epistemo-logical positions because the term has been “constantly reinvented.” It is very easy to make up a term when one wants to distinguish oneself from an assumed naïve approach to reality. As has been observed earlier, the use of a distinct term does not necessarily mean the same if used by another author; the context is important. One has to track literal dependencies to evaluate whether continuity with former uses of a term is intended. That is to say, the term “critical realism” has proven to be equivocal, although this has rarely been noticed . This does not mean that taking such a critical realist stance cannot present a decisive advantage over rather unreflective approaches to whatever sort of reality. Nevertheless, philosophically it can probably only be a start. The purpose of this contribution to this compendium will be to analyze the content claims and the status of N. T. Wright’s critical realism in these regards, with a special emphasis on Paul and the Faithfulness of God, of course.

Internet-based interpretation bias modification for social anxiety: A pilot study

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The biased interpretation of ambiguous social situations is considered a maintaining factor of Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD). Studies on the modification of interpretation bias have shown promising results in laboratory settings. The present study aims at pilot-testing an Internet-based training that targets interpretation and judgmental bias. METHOD: Thirty-nine individuals meeting diagnostic criteria for SAD participated in an 8-week, unguided program. Participants were presented with ambiguous social situations, were asked to choose between neutral, positive, and negative interpretations, and were required to evaluate costs of potential negative outcomes. Participants received elaborate automated feedback on their interpretations and judgments. RESULTS: There was a pre-to-post-reduction of the targeted cognitive processing biases (d = 0.57-0.77) and of social anxiety symptoms (d = 0.87). Furthermore, results showed changes in depression and general psychopathology (d = 0.47-0.75). Decreases in cognitive biases and symptom changes did not correlate. The results held stable accounting for drop-outs (26%) and over a 6-week follow-up period. Forty-five percent of the completer sample showed clinical significant change and almost half of the participants (48%) no longer met diagnostic criteria for SAD. LIMITATIONS: As the study lacks a control group, results lend only preliminary support to the efficacy of the intervention. Furthermore, the mechanism of change remained unclear. CONCLUSION: First results promise a beneficial effect of the program for SAD patients. The treatment proved to be feasible and acceptable. Future research should evaluate the intervention in a randomized-controlled setting.

Das Buch Simchath Hanefesch von Henele Kirchhain aus dem Jahre 1727 : Reimuntersuchung als Beitrag zur Kenntnis der jüdisch-deutschen Mundarten

Bern, Univ., Diss., 1913/14

Na 1 Nachlass Max Horkheimer, 600 - Korrespondenzen u.a. mit Friedrich Pollock (p. VI 42, 211-386)

Briefwechsel zwischen Max Horkheimer, Frederick Pollock und Karl August und Olga Wittfogel; 2 Briefe zwischen Edith B. Bernett und Max Horkheimer, April 1940; 2 Briefe zwischen Max Horkheimer und Philip Vaudrin, Juli 1939; 3 Briefe an David H. Stevens von Max Horkheimer, 26.03.1938; 1 Brief von A. Radcliffe an Frederick Pollock, 18.11.1937; 3 Briefe an Max Horkheimer von der Columbia University Faculty of Political Science (New York), November 1937; 2 Briefe von der Columbia University Department of History (New York) an Max Horkheimer, November 1937; 1 Brief an Max Horkheimer von Sharon Beard, 27.11.1937; 1 Brief von Ruth Benedict an Max Horkheimer, 19.11.1937; 1 Brief an Max Horkheimer von Franz Boas, 19.11.1937; 1 Brief von R. E. Chaddock an Max Horkheimer, 21.11.1937; 1 Brief an Max Horkheimer von Ch'ao-ting Chi, 19.11.1937; 1 Brief von J. M. Clark an Max Horkheimer, 22.11.1937; 1 Brief an Dr. Wertheimer von Morris R. Cohen, 29.11.1937; 1 Brief von Alfred E. Cohn an Max Horkheimer, 26.11.1937; 1 Brief an Max Horkheimer von John J. Coss, 22.11.1937; 1 Brief von George S. Counts an Max Horkheimer, 24.11.1937; 1 Brief an Max Horkheimer von A. P. Evans, 22.11.1937; 3 Briefe von Gertrude Stewart an Max Horkheimer, 20. - 24.11.1937; 1 Brief an Max Horkheimer von L. C. Goodrich, 22.11.1937; 1 Brief von John W. Innes an Max Horkheimer, 20.11.1937; 1 Brief an Max Horkheimer von Philip C. Jessup, 24.11.1937; 1 Brief von John A. Krout an Max Horkheimer, 23.11.1937; 1 Brief an Max Horkheimer von Bruno Lasker, 20.11.1937; 1 Brief von Samuel McCune Lindsay an Max Horkheimer, 24.11.1937; 1 Brief an Max Horkheimer von K. N. Llewellyn, 26.11.1937; 1 Brief von R. S. Lynd an Max Horkheimer, [November 1937]; 1 Brief an Max Horkheimer von R. M. MacIver, 19.11.1937; 1 Brief von Julian W. Mack an Max Horkheimer, 24.11.1937; 1 Brief an Max Horkheimer von Arthur Maxmahon, 20.11.1937; 1 Brief von Jerome Michael an Max Horkheimer, 26.11.1937; 1 Brief an Max Horkheimer von Wesley C. Mitchell, 22.11.1937; 1 Brief von der Columbia University School of Business (New York) an Max Horkheimer, 22.11.1937; 2 Briefe zwischen Max Horkheimer und der John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation (New York), November 1937; 2 Briefe von der Columbia University Department of Psychology (New York) an Max Horkheimer, November 1937; 1 Brief an Max Horkheimer von Goodwin Watson, 23.11.1937; 1 Brief von Otto Nathan an Max Horkheimer, 26.11.937; 1 Brief an Max Horkheimer von John K. Norton, 23.11.1937; 1 Brief von der Columbia University Department of Chinese (New York) an Max Horkheimer, 23.11.1937; 1 Brief an Max Horkheimer von Gerold Tanquary Robinson, 19.11.1937; 1 Brief von der Columbia University Department of Public Law and Government (New York) an Max Horkheimer, 22.11.1937; 1 Brief an Max Horkheimer von R. C. Sailer, 20.11.1937; 1 Brief von Herbert W. Schneider an Max Horkheimer, 22.11.1937; 1 Brief an Max Horkheimer von R. L. Schuyler, 20.11.1937; 1 Brief von Pauline Steorns an Max Horkheimer, 22.11.1937; 1 Brief an Max Horkheimer von Frank Tannenbaum, 19.11.1937; 1 Brief von Alfred Vagés an Max Horkheimer, 26.11.1937;

Implications of Health Care Reform (Medical Ethics Series, 2011)

A video of a panel discussion on how Obama's Health Care Reform would affect Texas Medical Center institutions and health care in general.Speakers include Tom Cole (moderator), Roberta Schwartz (Methodist Hospital), Pauline Rosenau (UT-Houston School of Public Health), and Laurence McCullough (Baylor College of Medicine).

Predicting smokeless tobacco cessation in a blue -collar population

The use of smokeless tobacco products is undergoing an alarming resurgence in the United States. Several national surveys have reported a higher prevalence of use among those employed in blue-collar occupations. National objectives now target this group for health promotion programs which reduce the health risks associated with tobacco use.^ Drawn from a larger data set measuring health behaviors, this cross-sectional study tested the applicability of two related theories, the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) and the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), to smokeless tobacco (SLT) cessation in a blue-collar population of gas pipeline workers. In order to understand the determinants of SLT cessation, measures were obtained of demographic and normative characteristics of the population and specific constructs. Attitude toward the act of quitting (AACT) and subjective norm (SN) are constructs common to both models, perceived behavioral control (PBC) is unique to the TPB, and the number of past quit attempts is not contained in either model. In addition, a self-reported measure was taken of SLT use at two-month follow-up.^ The study population was comprised of all male SLT users who were field employees in a large gas pipeline company with gas compressor stations extending from Texas to the Canadian border. At baseline, 199 employees responded to the SLT portion of the survey, 118 completed some portion of the two-month follow-up, and 101 could be matched across time.^ As hypothesized, significant correlations were found between constructs antecedent to AACT and SN, although crossover effects occurred. Significant differences were found between SLT cessation intenders and non-intenders with regard to their personal and normative beliefs about quitting as well as their outcome expectancies and motivation to comply with others' beliefs. These differences occurred in the expected direction, with the mean intender score consistently higher than that of the non-intender.^ Contrary to hypothesis, AACT predicted intention to quit but SN did not. However, confirmatory of the TPB, PBC, operationalized as self-efficacy, independently contributed to the prediction of intention. Statistically significant relationships were not found between intention, perceived behavioral control, their interactive effects, and use behavior at two-month follow-up. The introduction of number of quit attempts into the logistic regression model resulted in insignificant findings for independent and interactive effects.^ The findings from this study are discussed in relation to their implications for program development and practice, especially within the worksite. In order to confirm and extend the findings of this investigation, recommendations for future research are also discussed. ^