Ebola special issue includes clinician primer

Special feature from the Journal of Disaster Medicine and Public Health

2014-10-17

(Press-News.org) Rockville, MD – Accurate knowledge regarding Ebola is critical and pertinent for practicing physicians and clinicians given the current risk of hazardous global outbreak and epidemic. The Journal, Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness has launched a special issue, Ebola Virus and Public Health, to surround the public, medical professionals and media with necessary knowledge in this critical societal moment.

On October 17, the journal published A Primer on Ebola for Clinicians. The primer was prepared by Dr. Eric Toner, internist and emergency physician, as well as Amesh A. Adalja and Thomas V. Inglesby (all of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center). The primer discusses the history, epidemiology, microbiology, clinical manifestations, biosafety, prevention, treatment and experimental vaccines to offer an informative and inclusive background on the Ebola virus for clinicians.

The scale of the uncontrolled outbreak in Western Africa makes further exportation to other parts of the world an unfortunate possibility (as citizens across the globe have already witnessed, with cases appearing in Europe and the United States). Those who serve at the frontlines of emergency medicine, critical care, infectious diseases and infection control are in high need and demand, and in some cases, high risk. The primer provided by the UPMC professionals offers clear and concise information on the fundamentals of the virus, including its diagnosis, treatment and control. The public and media are especially apt to benefit from the clear and accurate information provided by the primer, as the popularity of social media makes misinformation about Ebola easily (and rapidly) sharable, believed and misattributed.

INFORMATION: About the Journal Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness is the first comprehensive and authoritative journal emphasizing public health preparedness and disaster response for all health care and public health professionals globally. The journal seeks to translate science into practice and integrate medical and public health perspectives. DMPHP is the official journal of the Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, and is produced by Cambridge University Press.

About the Society The Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health aims to evolve a discipline around disaster medicine and public health. The society's goal is to improve global health security, with the involvement and development of global health professionals and others who are involved in responding to and or managing significant events. The mission of the SDMPH is to advance and promote excellence in education, training and research in disaster medicine and public health for all potential health system responders based on sound educational principles, scientific evidence and best clinical and public health practices.

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Biological clock disruptions increase breast cancer risk, UGA study finds

2014-10-17

Athens, Ga. – The disruption of a person's circadian rhythm—their 24-hour biological clock—has been linked to an increased risk of breast cancer, according to new University of Georgia research. The culprit, in this study in particular, is artificial light. "Exposure to artificial light leads to a significantly higher risk for developing breast cancer," said Chunla He, a biostatistics graduate student in the UGA College of Public Health. "To decrease the use of artificial light, people should avoid working at night and implement earlier bed times." Her ...

'Red effect' sparks interest in female monkeys

2014-10-17

Recent studies showed that the color red tends increase our attraction toward others, feelings of jealousy, and even reaction times. Now, new research shows that female monkeys also respond to the color red, suggesting that biology, rather than our culture, may play the fundamental role in our "red" reactions. "Previous research shows that the color red in a mating context makes people more attractive, and in the fighting context makes people seem more threatening and angry," explained Benjamin Y. Hayden, a coauthor of the study and professor in brain and cognitive sciences ...

Superconducting circuits, simplified

2014-10-17

Images/release: http://newsoffice.mit.edu/2014/cheaper-superconducting-computer-chips-1017 Computer chips with superconducting circuits — circuits with zero electrical resistance — would be 50 to 100 times as energy-efficient as today's chips, an attractive trait given the increasing power consumption of the massive data centers that power the Internet's most popular sites. Superconducting chips also promise greater processing power: Superconducting circuits that use so-called Josephson junctions have been clocked at 770 gigahertz, or 500 times the speed ...

University of Toronto study finds that action video games bolster sensorimotor skills

2014-10-17

University of Toronto study finds that action video games bolster sensorimotor skills A study led by University of Toronto psychology researchers has found that people who play action video games such as Call of Duty or Assassin's Creed seem to learn a new sensorimotor skill more quickly than non-gamers do. A new sensorimotor skill, such as learning to ride a bike or typing, often requires a new pattern of coordination between vision and motor movement. With such skills, an individual generally moves from novice performance, characterized by a low degree of coordination, ...

Sperm wars

2014-10-17

This news release is available in German. Why do male animals need millions of sperms every day in order to reproduce? And why are there two sexes anyway? These and related questions are the topic of the latest issue of the research journal Molecular Human Reproduction published today (Oct. 16th, 2014). The evolutionary biologist Steven Ramm from Bielefeld University Bielefeld has compiled this special issue on sperm competition. In nature, it is not unusual for a female to copulate with several males in quick succession – chimpanzees are one good example. 'The ...

Presence of enzyme may worsen effects of spinal cord injury and impair long-term recovery

2014-10-17

Philadelphia, PA, October 16, 2014 – Traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) is a devastating condition with few treatment options. Studies show that damage to the barrier separating blood from the spinal cord can contribute to the neurologic deficits that arise secondary to the initial trauma. Through a series of sophisticated experiments, researchers reporting in The American Journal of Pathology suggest that matrix metalloproteinase-3 (MMP-3) plays a pivotal role in disruption of the brain/spinal cord barrier (BSCB), cell death, and functional deficits after SCI. This ...

Scientists opens black box on bacterial growth in cystic fibrosis lung infection

2014-10-17

Researchers from the University of Copenhagen have shown for the first time how bacteria can grow directly in the lungs of Cystic fibrosis patients, giving them the opportunity to get tremendous insights into bacteria behavior and growth in chronic infections. The study also discovered the bacterial growth in chronic lung infections among cystic fibrosis (CF) patients was halted or slowed down by the immune cells. The researchers discovered the immune cells consumed all the oxygen and helped "suffocate" the bacteria, forcing the bacteria to switch to a much slower growth. The ...

High-speed evolution in the lab

2014-10-17

DNA analysis has become increasingly efficient and cost-effective since the human genome was first fully sequenced in the year 2001. Sequencing a complete genome, however, still costs around US$1,000. Sequencing the genetic code of hundreds of individuals would therefore be very expensive and time-consuming. In particular for non-human studies, researchers very quickly hit the limit of financial feasibility. Sequencing Groups Instead of Individuals The solution to this problem is pool sequencing (Pool-Seq). Schlötterer and his team sequence entire groups of fruit ...

Scientific breakthrough will help design the antibiotics of the future

2014-10-17

Scientists have used computer simulations to show how bacteria are able to destroy antibiotics – a breakthrough which will help develop drugs which can effectively tackle infections in the future. Researchers at the University of Bristol focused on the role of enzymes in the bacteria, which split the structure of the antibiotic and stop it working, making the bacteria resistant. The new findings, published in Chemical Communications, show that it's possible to test how enzymes react to certain antibiotics. It's hoped this insight will help scientists to develop ...

Physicists warning to 'nail beauty fans' applies to animals too

2014-10-17

The daily trimming of fingernails and toenails to make them more aesthetically pleasing could be detrimental and potentially lead to serious nail conditions. The research, carried out by experts in the School of Veterinary Medicine and Science at The University of Nottingham, will also improve our understanding of disease in the hooves of farm animals and horses. Dr Cyril Rauch, a physicist and applied mathematician, together with his PhD Student Mohammed Cherkaoui-Rbati, devised equations to identify the physical laws that govern nail growth, and used them to throw ...

1 in 8 Italian cetacean strandings show evidence of fishery interactions, with bottlenose and striped dolphins most commonly affected, according to analysis across four decades of data and more than 5

Ebola special issue includes clinician primer

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES: