Descriptions of two new species of Aelurillus Simon, 1884 (Araneae,Salticidae) from the Mediterranean,with the synonymization of A. steliosi Dobroruka, 2002

Two Aelurillus species are described as new, Aelurillus alboclypeus sp. n. (♂♀, from Turkey) and Aelurillus deltshevi sp. n. (♂, from Macedonia, Bulgaria and Azerbaijan). Aelurillus steliosi Dobroruka, 2002 is synonymized with Aelurillus leipoldae (Metzner, 1999). Additional distributions of the closely related species Aelurillus v-insignitus are provided for the region of study. Distributional maps are provided for the five species reported in this paper.     

First record of the mygalomorph spider family Paratropididae (Arachnida,Araneae) in North America with the description of a new species of Paratropis Simon from Mexico,and with new ultramorphological data for the family

A new species of the genus Paratropis is described from North America: Paratropis tuxtlensissp. n., from a tropical rainforest in Veracruz, Mexico. This is the fifth Paratropis and the tenth paratropidid species described and the first North American record of this Neotropical family. The species is described based on adult males and females, and juveniles. The juveniles show ontogenetic variation in the number of cuspules on the labium and endites, and in the number and position of leg trichobothria. This is the second Paratropis species, and the third paratropidid known from both sexes. The scanning electron photographs (SEM) reveal new morphological data and contribute to the knowledge of the family.     

Epidemiology of cholera in travellers,and conclusions for vaccination recommendations.

All cases of cholera imported to Europe and North America between 1975 and 1981 were reviewed to assess the danger of cholera for visitors to endemic areas. Data were obtained from the health authorities of the respective countries. From a total of 129 cases notified to the World Health Organisation detailed reports were obtained on 117 patients. Of these, 66 (56%) were immigrants, refugees, from endemic areas, or foreign workers returning from leave in their native countries. Only 51 (44%) were citizens of countries in Europe or North America. The incidence per journey for foreign travellers visiting Africa or Asia was about 1 in 500 000. Stay in hospital was always short, and fewer than 2% of patients died. In view of the minimal risk and lack of reliability of cholera vaccination, such protection is not indicated for ordinary tourists visiting developing countries.     

Culture,Stress and Recovery from Schizophrenia: Lessons from the Field for Global Mental Health

This cultural case study investigates one U.S. psychosocial rehabilitation organization’s (Horizons) attempt to implement the recovery philosophy of the U.S. Recovery Movement and offers lessons from this local attempt that may inform global mental health care reform. Horizons’ “recovery-oriented” initiatives unwittingly mobilized stressful North American discourses of valued citizenship. At times, efforts to “empower” people diagnosed with schizophrenia to become esteemed self-made citizens generated more stressful sociocultural conditions for people whose daily lives were typically remarkably stressful. A recovery-oriented mental health system must account for people diagnosed with schizophrenia’s sensitivity to stress and offer consumers contextually relevant coping mechanisms. Any attempt to export U.S. mental health care practices to the rest of the world must acknowledge that (1) sociocultural conditions affect schizophrenia outcomes; (2) schizophrenia outcomes are already better in the developing world than in the United States; and (3) much of what leads to “better” outcomes in the developing world may rely on the availability of locally relevant techniques to address stress.     

Epidemiology and molecular relationships of Cryptosporidium spp. in people, primates, and livestock from Western Uganda

Background

Cryptosporidium is one of the most common parasitic diarrheal agents in the world and is a known zoonosis. We studied Cryptosporidium in people, livestock, and non-human primates in the region of Kibale National Park, Uganda. Land use change near the park has resulted in fragmented forest patches containing small, remnant populations of wild primates that interact intensively with local people and livestock. Our goal was to investigate risk factors for Cryptosporidium infection and to assess cross-species transmission using molecular methods.

Methodology/Principal Findings

Diagnostic PCR revealed a prevalence of Cryptosporidium of 32.4% in humans, 11.1% in non-human primates, and 2.2% in livestock. In the case of humans, residence in one particular community was associated with increased risk of infection, as was fetching water from an open water source. Although 48.5% of infected people reported gastrointestinal symptoms, this frequency was not significantly different in people who tested negative (44.7%) for Cryptosporidium, nor was co-infection with Giardia duodenalis associated with increased reporting of gastrointestinal symptoms. Fecal consistency was no different in infected versus uninfected people or animals. DNA sequences of the Cryptosporidium oocyst wall protein gene placed all infections within a well-supported C. parvum/C. hominis clade. However, the only two sequences recovered from primates in the core of the park''s protected area fell into a divergent sub-clade and were identical to published sequences from C. parvum, C. hominis, and C. cuniculus, suggesting the possibility of a separate sylvatic transmission cycle.

Conclusions/Significance

Cryptosporidium may be transmitted frequently among species in western Uganda where people, livestock, and wildlife interact intensively as a result of anthropogenic changes to forests, but the parasite may undergo more host-specific transmission where such interactions do not occur. The parasite does not appear to have strong effects on human or animal health, perhaps because of persistent low-level shedding and immunity.