PLoS currents最新文献

{"title":"Health Care Transition Experiences of Males with Childhood-onset Duchenne and Becker Muscular Dystrophy: Findings from the Muscular Dystrophy Surveillance Tracking and Research Network (MD STARnet) Health Care Transitions and Other Life Experiences Survey.","authors":"Pangaja Paramsothy,&nbsp;Adrienne R Herron,&nbsp;Molly M Lamb,&nbsp;Kathi Kinnett,&nbsp;Jodi Wolff,&nbsp;Michele L Yang,&nbsp;Joyce Oleszek,&nbsp;Shree Pandya,&nbsp;Annie Kennedy,&nbsp;Darryl Cooney,&nbsp;Deborah Fox,&nbsp;Daniel Sheehan","doi":"10.1371/currents.md.7de8a1c6798d7a48d38ea09bd624e1cd","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1371/currents.md.7de8a1c6798d7a48d38ea09bd624e1cd","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><b>Introduction:</b> As the proportion of males with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) surviving into adulthood increases, more information is needed regarding their health care transition planning, an essential process for adolescents and young adults with DMD. The objective of this study was to describe the health care transition experiences of a population of males living with Duchenne or Becker muscular dystrophy (DBMD). <b>Methods:</b> The eligible participants, identified through the Muscular Dystrophy Surveillance Tracking and Research Network (MD STARnet) surveillance project, were 16-31 years old and lived in Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Iowa, or western New York (n=258). The MD STARnet Health Care Transitions and Other Life Experiences Survey was conducted in 2013 and administered online or in a telephone interview. Sixty-five males (25%) completed the survey. Among non-ambulatory males, response differences were compared by age group. Statistical comparisons were conducted using Fisher's exact test, or when appropriate, the Chisquare test. <b>Results:</b> Twenty-one percent of non-ambulatory males aged 16-18 years, 28% of non-ambulatory males aged 19-23 years, 25% of non-ambulatory males aged 24-30 years, and 18 ambulatory males had a written transition plan. Nineteen percent of non-ambulatory males aged 24-30 years had delayed or gone without needed health care in the past 12 months. Among non-ambulatory males aged 24-30 years, 75% had cardiology providers and 69% had pulmonology providers involved in their care in the past 12 months. Twentyeight percent of non-ambulatory males aged 19-23 years and 25% of non-ambulatory males aged 24-30 years reported that they did not receive health care or other services at least once because they were unable to leave their home. Non-ambulatory males aged 16-18 years (29%) were less likely to have ever discussed how to obtain or keep health insurance as they get older compared to non-ambulatory males aged 24-30 years (69%) (p <0.01). <b>Discussion:</b> This study identified potential barriers to the successful health care transition of males with DBMD. The results of this study may indicate a lack of targeted informational resources and education focused on supporting the transition of young men with DBMD as they age from adolescence into adulthood within the healthcare system. Future studies could determine the reasons for the potential barriers to health care and identify the optimal transition programs for males with DBMD. There are a few online resources on transition available to adolescents and young adults with special health care needs.</p>","PeriodicalId":74464,"journal":{"name":"PLoS currents","volume":"10 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-08-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6112277/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"36483399","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Vulnerabilities Associated with Post-disaster Declines in HIV-testing: Decomposing the Impact of Hurricane Sandy.","authors":"Erin Thomas,&nbsp;Linda Ekperi,&nbsp;Tanya Telfair LeBlanc,&nbsp;Erica Elaine Adams,&nbsp;Grete E Wilt,&nbsp;Noelle-Angelique Molinari,&nbsp;Eric G Carbone","doi":"10.1371/currents.dis.e735c842bab99a2f564cc9a502394bbe","DOIUrl":"10.1371/currents.dis.e735c842bab99a2f564cc9a502394bbe","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Using Interrupted Time Series Analysis and generalized estimating equations, this study identifies factors that influence the size and significance of Hurricane Sandy's estimated impact on HIV testing in 90 core-based statistical areas from January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2013.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Generalized estimating equations were used to examine the effects of sociodemographic and storm-related variables on relative change in HIV testing resulting from Interrupted Time Series analyses.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>There is a significant negative relationship between HIV prevalence and the relative change in testing at all time periods. A one unit increase in HIV prevalence corresponds to a 35% decrease in relative testing the week of the storm and a 14% decrease in relative testing at week twelve. Building loss was also negatively associated with relative change for all time points. For example, a one unit increase in building loss at week 0 corresponds with an 8% decrease in the relative change in testing (p=0.0001) and a 2% at week twelve (p=0.001).</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>Our results demonstrate that HIV testing can be negatively affected during public health emergencies. Communities with high percentages of building loss and significant HIV disease burden should prioritize resumption of testing to support HIV prevention.</p>","PeriodicalId":74464,"journal":{"name":"PLoS currents","volume":"10 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-08-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6108781/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"36483395","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Earthquake in Western Iran: Renovation Kills.","authors":"Abbas Ostadtaghizadeh,&nbsp;Mona Khaleghy Rad,&nbsp;Hamidreza Aghababaeian,&nbsp;Mehdi Zare,&nbsp;Farnaz Kamranzad","doi":"10.1371/currents.dis.ac10620db4a0c944e605c4c226a75f64","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1371/currents.dis.ac10620db4a0c944e605c4c226a75f64","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Earthquake is the most important cause of death from natural disasters in Iran. This paper brings attention to the main causes of loss of life due to the Kermanshah province earthquake (Nov 12 2017), and provides a wakeup call about the unsafe nature of buildings there.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This study is based on official reports review and a field assessment in the areas affected by the earthquake in western Iran.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Although buildings in this area are mainly old structures, strangely, more than 70% of the destroyed buildings in this earthquake were under 5 years of age, newly built or renovated buildings according to mandated building codes.</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>Mandated building codes and construction rules and regulations are not respected even for the newly constructed or reconstructed structures buildings.</p>","PeriodicalId":74464,"journal":{"name":"PLoS currents","volume":"10 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-08-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6117122/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"36491966","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Tracing Back the Source of an Outbreak of Salmonella Typhimurium; National Outbreak Linked to the Consumption of Raw and Undercooked Beef Products, the Netherlands, October to December 2015.","authors":"Gudrun Freidl,&nbsp;Stefanie Schoss,&nbsp;Margreet Te Wierik,&nbsp;Max Heck,&nbsp;Paulien Tolsma,&nbsp;Anouk Urbanus,&nbsp;Ife Slegers-Fitz-James,&nbsp;Ingrid Friesema","doi":"10.1371/currents.outbreaks.1c667d62b51eb9840f5f7eb617e56bc1","DOIUrl":"10.1371/currents.outbreaks.1c667d62b51eb9840f5f7eb617e56bc1","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>On 23 October 2015, six related cases with gastroenteritis called the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority. They suspected filet américain, a raw beef spread, to be the source of infection. Leftovers and stool samples tested positive for Salmonella Typhimurium. Multiple locus variable-number of tandem repeat analysis (MLVA) revealed a MLVA pattern (02-23-08-08-212), which had not been detected in the Netherlands before. Concomitantly, an increase of this MLVA type was observed in the national Salmonella surveillance, amounting to 46 cases between 26 October and 9 December.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>To investigate whether filet américain or an alternative (related) source could  be linked to surveillance-reported cases, cases (n=38) were invited to complete a questionnaire and upstream source tracing to map the food supply chain was initiated.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Rapid interdisciplinary action resulted in identification of a contaminated 46-ton batch of beef distributed via a Dutch deboning plant as the likely source of infection. In total, 24/29 respondents (83%) could be linked to the incriminated batch of beef products (predominantly filet américain and minced beef).</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>Repeated identification of raw meat products as a source of infection emphasizes the importance of awareness of the risk of infection when handling or consuming these products. Improved measures and procedures on product labelling, pre-treatment or product testing should be considered.</p>","PeriodicalId":74464,"journal":{"name":"PLoS currents","volume":"10 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-08-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6117123/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"36491967","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The 2015 Outbreak of Severe Influenza in Kashmir, North India: Emergence of a New Clade of A/H1n1 Influenza Virus.","authors":"Parvaiz Koul,&nbsp;Varsha Potdar,&nbsp;Hyder Mir,&nbsp;Mandeep Chadha","doi":"10.1371/currents.outbreaks.519e170f2740fabd4ccd1642ff533364","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1371/currents.outbreaks.519e170f2740fabd4ccd1642ff533364","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Following the initial outbreak of A/H1N1pdm09, periodic resurgences of the virus, with variable morbidity and mortality, have been reported from various parts of India including the temperate Kashmir region of northern India. An outbreak of A/H1N1 was reported in early 2015 across India with a high morbidity and mortality. We studied patients during the outbreak in Kashmir.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Patients (n=1780, age 1 month to 90 years, median 35 years) presenting with acute respiratory illness to a tertiary care hospital in Srinagar, Kashmir from October 2014 to April 2015 were recruited. After clinical data recording, combined throat and nasal swabs were collected in viral transport medium and tested by real-time RT-PCR for influenza viruses. All influenza A positive samples were further subtyped using primers and probes for A/H1N1pdm09 and A/H3 whereas influenza B samples were further subtyped into B/Yamagata and B/Victoria lineages. Virus isolation, hemagglutination inhibition testing, sequencing and phylogenetic analysis was carried out using standard procedures. Testing for H275Y mutation was done to determine sensitivity to oseltamivir. All patients received symptomatic therapy and influenza positive patients were administered oseltamivir.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Of the 1780 patients, 540 (30%) required hospitalization and 533 tested positive for influenza [influenza A=517(A/H1N1pdm09=437, A/H3N2=78 with co-infection of both in 2 cases); influenza B=16 (B/Yamgata=15)]. About 14% (n=254) had been vaccinated against influenza, having received the NH 2014-15 vaccine, 27 (11.3%) of these testing positive for influenza.  Sixteen patients, including 4 pregnant females, died due to multi-organ failure. HA sequencing depicted that 2015 isolates belonged to Clade 6B.1. No H275Y mutation was reported from A/H1N1 positives.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Resurgent outbreak of A/H1N1pdm09, with emergence of clade 6B.1, in 2014-15 resulted in high rate of hospitalizations, morbidity and mortality. Periodic resurgences and appearance of mutants emphasize continued surveillance so as to identify newer mutations with potential for outbreaks and severe outcomes.</p>","PeriodicalId":74464,"journal":{"name":"PLoS currents","volume":"10 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-08-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6122875/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"36514134","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"An Evaluation of Global Hazard Communication with Ethical Considerations.","authors":"Thomas Richardson,&nbsp;Gemma Hayward,&nbsp;Kevin Blanchard,&nbsp;Virginia Murray","doi":"10.1371/currents.dis.47581b109e865f7b64d831f86a7fd7f4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1371/currents.dis.47581b109e865f7b64d831f86a7fd7f4","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Despite the large number of hazards occurring every year, it is often only the most catastrophic and rapidly occurring hazards that are covered in detail by major news outlets. This can result in an under-reporting of smaller or slowly evolving hazards such as drought. Furthermore, the type or country in which the hazard occurs may have a bearing on whether it receives media coverage. The Public Health England (PHE) global weekly hazards bulletin is designed to inform subscribers of hazards occurring in the world in a given week regardless of location or type of natural hazard. This paper will aim to examine whether the bulletin is reporting these events in a way that matches a number of international disaster databases.  It will also seek to answer if biases within media outlets reporting of an event is impacting on the types of hazards and events being covered.  Through the analysis of data collected, it is hoped to be able to consider the ethical implications of such a bulletin service and provide recommendations on how the service might be improved in the future.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The study used a year's worth of global hazards bulletins sent by Public Health England.  These bulletins aim to communicate hazards in the form of compiled articles from news outlets around the world. Data from these bulletins was collected and analysed by hazard type and the country in which hazards occurred.  It was then compared to recognised hazard databases to assess similarities and differences in the hazards being reported via media or through dedicated hazard databases. The recognised hazard databases were those run by the Emergency Events Database (EM-DAT), European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) respectively.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The PHE bulletin overall was found to be comparable to other global hazard or disaster databases in terms of hazards included by both country and type of hazard. The PHE bulletin covered a greater number of unique hazard events than the other databases and also covered more types of hazard. It also gave more frequent coverage to the United Kingdom and Canada than the other databases, with other countries appearing less frequently. More generally, the PHE bulletin and the databases it was compared to appear to focus more on hazards either occurring in developed countries or fast-onset ones such as landslides or floods. On the other hand, slow-onset hazards such as drought or those occurring in developing countries appear to be under-reported and are given less importance in both the bulletin and databases.</p><p><strong>Discussion and recommendations: </strong>We recommend that the resources compared review their inclusion criteria and assess whether the discrepancies in hazard type and country can be ratified through changes in how hazards are assessed for inclusion. More research should be ","PeriodicalId":74464,"journal":{"name":"PLoS currents","volume":"10 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-08-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6112269/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"36483397","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The 2016-2017 Chikungunya Outbreak in Karachi.","authors":"Darakhshan Guhar,&nbsp;Nadia Jamil,&nbsp;Shoukat Jahan Talpur,&nbsp;Gulzar Ahmed Channa,&nbsp;Maliha Wajeeh,&nbsp;Muhammad Zohaib Khan,&nbsp;Saifullah Khan","doi":"10.1371/currents.outbreaks.7257f6b05d8c18cf9e6eb222248be79f","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1371/currents.outbreaks.7257f6b05d8c18cf9e6eb222248be79f","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Chikungunya is an incipient disease, caused by Chikungunya virus (CHKV) that belongs to genus alphavirus of the family Togaviridae.</p><p><strong>Materials and methods: </strong>In this study, during an outbreak of CHKV in Dec 2016 in Karachi, Pakistan, samples were collected from patients presenting with fever, tiredness and pain in muscles and joints. Total 126 sera were tested for the presence of Chikungunya infection through ELISA and Real-time Reverse Transcriptase PCR assay.</p><p><strong>Results and discussion: </strong>This study showed that approx 79.4% samples were positive for CHKV. To our knowledge, this is the first reported outbreak from last decades in which the presence of CHKV is confirmed in Karachi while affecting such large no. of individuals..</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>CHKV diagnosis should be considered by the scientists and clinicians as a differential diagnosis in febrile patients, and appropriate control strategies must be adopted for its surveillance.</p>","PeriodicalId":74464,"journal":{"name":"PLoS currents","volume":"10 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-08-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6112271/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"36483398","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Knowing What We Know - Reflections on the Development of Technical Guidance for Loss Data for the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.","authors":"Lorcan Clarke,&nbsp;Kevin Blanchard,&nbsp;Rishma Maini,&nbsp;Alin Radu,&nbsp;Nuha Eltinay,&nbsp;Zehra Zaidi,&nbsp;Virginia Murray","doi":"10.1371/currents.dis.537bd80d1037a2ffde67d66c604d2a78","DOIUrl":"10.1371/currents.dis.537bd80d1037a2ffde67d66c604d2a78","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>To report on activities aligned with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, national governments will use the Sendai Monitor platform to track progress using a series of indicators that inform seven Global Targets originally agreed in 2015. In February 2017, the UN General Assembly adopted a set of 38 agreed indicators based on work led by an open-ended intergovernmental expert working group (OIEWG) on indicators and terminology relating to disaster risk reduction. In January 2018 the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction released technical guidance documents in advance of the launch of the Sendai Monitor in March 2018.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This paper discusses several challenges to recording and reporting on loss data under the Sendai Framework. Additional insights to elaborate on discussion build upon commentary and examples raised during a workshop held on developing loss data that was hosted by the United Nations Office of Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), the Integrated Research on Disaster Risk (IRDR) programme, and Public Health England (PHE) from February 15-17 2017 at the Royal Society in London, United Kingdom. The meeting's purpose was to refine technical guidance notes concerning Global Targets A, B, C, and D, which had been drafted in coordination with the work of the OIEWG. The workshop was attended by representatives from UN Agencies, UN Member States, international scientific bodies, academic bodies, the government of the United Kingdom and the private sector.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Global Targets A, B, C and D of the Sendai Framework have common and specific complexities which require acknowledgement and support in recording, reporting and using disaster loss data. Discussions during the February 2017 loss data workshop highlighted a number of complexities and the need for common standards and principles for loss data. Individual target complexities include attribution of health impacts, assessing impacts, consistently calculating economic losses and measuring disruption to critical infrastructure.</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>Transparent monitoring is critical to ensure political will, financial efforts and effective evidence support the global shift towards more sustainable development. Data involves common challenges which can undermine accuracy and understanding of reporting across the frameworks that outline the United Nations' 2030 Agenda. Disaster loss data adds further challenges which require support and innovation to ensure stakeholders across sectors in all sectors have appropriate technical guidance that can support useful loss data management processes. The February 2017 workshop highlighted systemic challenges with working with loss data and highlighted several pertinent pathways to progress on the breadth and reliability of disaster loss data across different settings.</p>","PeriodicalId":74464,"journal":{"name":"PLoS currents","volume":"10 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-08-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6086691/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"36450174","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Attachment, Bushfire Preparedness, Planning, and Response among Animal Guardians: A South Australian Case Study.","authors":"Lisel O'Dwyer,&nbsp;Kirrilly Thompson","doi":"10.1371/currents.dis.f659ce48594ea47f5a20de03e9dfa43a","DOIUrl":"10.1371/currents.dis.f659ce48594ea47f5a20de03e9dfa43a","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Animal ownership has been identified as a risk factor for human survivability of natural disasters. Animal guardians have been reported to react or act in ways that may put their own safety and that of emergency services personnel at risk when faced with a natural disaster. Recent research has suggested that this risk factor could be reconfigured as a protective factor, whereby desires to save animals from natural disaster harm could motivate increased planning and preparedness behaviours amongst animal guardians. However, there has been no research to determine if bushfire planning and response behaviours differ between pet owners with low and high attachment; and how the relationship may differ in relation to small or large animals.</p><p><strong>Methods and procedure: </strong>We investigated the relationship between people's emotional attachment to different types of pets and their preparation and actions during the Pinery bushfire in South Australia in November 2015. Thirty-four people who were impacted by the fire participated in an online survey. Data were collected about their preparedness, planning and response behaviours as well as their animal attachment (high or low).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>We identified 10 characteristics (behaviours, attributes, skills and beliefs) associated with high animal attachment scores, and eight associated with low animal attachment scores.</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>Our discussion of the differences in demographics, preparedness, planning and response characteristics of participants with high and low animal attachment confirms research suggesting that animal guardians take risks to save their animals during disasters. Our findings also support recent propositions that animal attachment and ownership could be used to increase the natural disaster preparedness and survivability of animal guardians. However, making sure that animal attachment functions as a protective factor requires active and effective intervention through education, behaviour change and social marketing strategies. Whilst our study is high in ecological validity, future research with larger samples sizes is required to determine the generalisability of our findings to animal owners and guardians in other locations, facing fires with other characteristics, especially for owners and guardians with low levels of attachment.</p>","PeriodicalId":74464,"journal":{"name":"PLoS currents","volume":"10 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-08-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6097849/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"36470230","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Removal of the Mitochondrial Fission Factor Mff Exacerbates Neuronal Loss and Neurological Phenotypes in a Huntington's Disease Mouse Model.","authors":"Moon Yong Cha,&nbsp;Hsiuchen Chen,&nbsp;David Chan","doi":"10.1371/currents.hd.a4e15b80c4915c828d39754942c6631f","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1371/currents.hd.a4e15b80c4915c828d39754942c6631f","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>Excessive mitochondrial fission has been associated with several neurodegenerative diseases, including Huntington's disease (HD). Consequently, mitochondrial dynamics has been suggested to be a promising therapeutic target for Huntington's disease. Mitochondrial fission depends on recruitment of Drp1 to mitochondria, and Mff (mitochondrial fission factor) is one of the key adaptor proteins for this process. Removal of Mff therefore greatly reduces mitochondrial fission. Here we investigate whether removal of Mff can mitigate HD-associated pathologies in HD transgenic mice (R6/2) expressing mutant Htt.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>We compared the phenotype of HD mice with and without Mff. The mice were monitored for lifespan, neurological phenotypes, Htt aggregate formation, and brain histology.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>We found that HD mice lacking Mff display more severe neurological phenotypes and have shortened lifespans. Loss of Mff does not affect mutant Htt aggregation, but it accelerates HD pathology, including neuronal loss and neuroinflammation.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Our data indicate a protective role for mitochondrial fission in HD and suggest that more studies are needed before manipulation of mitochondrial dynamics can be applied to HD therapy.</p>","PeriodicalId":74464,"journal":{"name":"PLoS currents","volume":"10 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-07-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6149597/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"36550416","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}