The Evolution of Life Histories in Holo-anhydrobiotic Animals: A First Approach

The life histories of holo-anhydrobiotic animals differ fromthose of all other organisms by a regular or irregular entranceinto an ametabolic state induced by desiccation. Such ametabolicperiods will arrest growth and reproduction completely and thusaffect primary life history parameters dramatically. The selectiveforces and the genetic and physiological trade-offs acting onanhydrobiotic animals are to a large extent unknown. Assuminglow growth rates and low juvenile to adult survival, generaltheoretical models on life history responses to stress predictthat anhydrobiotic animals will be selected for a high degreeof iteroparity, with low fecundity, large egg size, and lowtotal reproductive investment. A high degree of variabilityin growth and reproduction should create a selective force inthe same direction. Although basic empirical data on life historyparameters are very scarce, available observations seem to beconsistent with this prediction.     

The Children's Treatment of Animals Questionnaire: A Rasch Analysis

ABSTRACT

The study of human–animal interactions is limited by a paucity of empirically validated measures of humane treatment of companion animals. The current study reports findings from a psychometric analysis of the Children's treatment of animals Questionnaire (CTAQ; thompson and Gullone 2003), an instrument that assesses children's humane interactions with nonhuman animals. Specifically, the current study extends what is known about the psychometric properties of the CTAQ by using traditional and item response theory analyses. The CTAQ was administered to a sample of 217 school-age children whose mothers were currently receiving residential or non-residential domestic violence services. Item-analysis, exploratory factor analysis, and parallel analysis were conducted to replicate previous psychometric evaluations of the CTAQ. Rasch analysis of the CTAQ was also conducted to provide a stringent test of unidimensionality and to identify potential invariance in item functioning across various demographic variables. The CTAQ showed adequate fit to the Rasch model; one modification, removal of item 5, was required. A Rasch principal components analysis of residuals indicated a single latent dimension among the remaining 12 items. Scale use was appropriate; Rasch-andrich thresholds increased with category values and no disordering of categories was evident. Examination of item-person maps indicated the sample was also well-targeted. Notably, evidence of differential item function was found across Spanish and English translations. Overall, findings indicate that the CTAQ is an appropriate unidimensional measure of children's humane treatment of animals. The measure is particularly well-suited for children ages 7 to 12 years who are at risk for exposure to and perpetration of animal cruelty. We recommend use of a 12-item version of the CTAQ to enhance the utility of the total score as a latent measure of children's humane treatment of companion animals.     

An Uncertain Dominion: Irish Psychiatry,Methadone, and the Treatment of Opiate Abuse

This paper investigates some productive ambiguities around the medical administration of methadone in the Republic of Ireland. The tensions surrounding methadone maintenance therapy (MMT) are outlined, as well as the sociohistorical context in which a serious heroin addiction problem in Ireland developed. Irish psychiatry intervened in this situation, during a time of institutional change, debates concerning the nature of addiction, moral panics concerning heroin addiction in Irish society and the recent boom in the Irish economy, known popularly as the Celtic Tiger. A particular history of this sort illuminates how technologies like MMT become cosmopolitan, settling into, while changing, local contexts.     

The Long-Term Health Consequences of Child Physical Abuse,Emotional Abuse,and Neglect: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background

Child sexual abuse is considered a modifiable risk factor for mental disorders across the life course. However the long-term consequences of other forms of child maltreatment have not yet been systematically examined. The aim of this study was to summarise the evidence relating to the possible relationship between child physical abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect, and subsequent mental and physical health outcomes.

Methods and Findings

A systematic review was conducted using the Medline, EMBASE, and PsycINFO electronic databases up to 26 June 2012. Published cohort, cross-sectional, and case-control studies that examined non-sexual child maltreatment as a risk factor for loss of health were included. All meta-analyses were based on quality-effects models. Out of 285 articles assessed for eligibility, 124 studies satisfied the pre-determined inclusion criteria for meta-analysis. Statistically significant associations were observed between physical abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect and depressive disorders (physical abuse [odds ratio (OR) = 1.54; 95% CI 1.16–2.04], emotional abuse [OR = 3.06; 95% CI 2.43–3.85], and neglect [OR = 2.11; 95% CI 1.61–2.77]); drug use (physical abuse [OR = 1.92; 95% CI 1.67–2.20], emotional abuse [OR = 1.41; 95% CI 1.11–1.79], and neglect [OR = 1.36; 95% CI 1.21–1.54]); suicide attempts (physical abuse [OR = 3.40; 95% CI 2.17–5.32], emotional abuse [OR = 3.37; 95% CI 2.44–4.67], and neglect [OR = 1.95; 95% CI 1.13–3.37]); and sexually transmitted infections and risky sexual behaviour (physical abuse [OR = 1.78; 95% CI 1.50–2.10], emotional abuse [OR = 1.75; 95% CI 1.49–2.04], and neglect [OR = 1.57; 95% CI 1.39–1.78]). Evidence for causality was assessed using Bradford Hill criteria. While suggestive evidence exists for a relationship between maltreatment and chronic diseases and lifestyle risk factors, more research is required to confirm these relationships.

Conclusions

This overview of the evidence suggests a causal relationship between non-sexual child maltreatment and a range of mental disorders, drug use, suicide attempts, sexually transmitted infections, and risky sexual behaviour. All forms of child maltreatment should be considered important risks to health with a sizeable impact on major contributors to the burden of disease in all parts of the world. The awareness of the serious long-term consequences of child maltreatment should encourage better identification of those at risk and the development of effective interventions to protect children from violence. Please see later in the article for the Editors'' Summary     

Calculating and Describing Uncertainty in Risk Assessment: The Bayesian Approach

Quantification of uncertainty associated with risk estimates is an important part of risk assessment. In recent years, use of second-order distributions, and two-dimensional simulations have been suggested for quantifying both variability and uncertainty. These approaches are better interpreted within the Bayesian framework. To help practitioners better use such methods and interpret the results, in this article, we describe propagation and interpretation of uncertainty in the Bayesian paradigm. We consider both the estimation problem where some summary measures of the risk distribution (e.g., mean, variance, or selected percentiles) are to be estimated, and the prediction problem, where the risk values for some specific individuals are to be predicted. We discuss some connections and differences between uncertainties in estimation and prediction problems, and present an interpretation of a decomposition of total variability/uncertainty into variability and uncertainty in terms of expected squared error of prediction and its reduction from perfect information. We also discuss the role of Monte Carlo methods in characterizing uncertainty. We explain the basic ideas using a simple example, and demonstrate Monte Carlo calculations using another example from the literature.     

Implementation of Cognitive-Behavioral Substance Abuse Treatment in Sub-Saharan Africa: Treatment Engagement and Abstinence at Treatment Exit

Aims

This study documented the treatment cascade for engagement in care and abstinence at treatment exit as well as examined correlates of these outcomes for the first certified Matrix Model^® substance abuse treatment site in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Design

This retrospective chart review conducted at a resource-limited community clinic in Cape Town, South Africa, assessed treatment readiness and substance use severity at treatment entry as correlates of the number of sessions attended and biologically confirmed abstinence at treatment exit among 986 clients who initiated treatment from 2009–2014. Sociodemographic and clinical correlates of treatment outcomes were examined using logistic regression, modeling treatment completion and abstinence at treatment exit separately.

Results

Of the 2,233 clients who completed screening, approximately 44% (n = 986) initiated treatment. Among those who initiated treatment, 45% completed at least four group sessions, 30% completed early recovery skills training (i.e., at least eight group sessions), and 13% completed the full 16-week program. Approximately half (54%) of clients who provided a urine sample had negative urine toxicology results for any substance at treatment exit. Higher motivation at treatment entry was independently associated with greater odds of treatment completion and negative urine toxicology results at treatment exit.

Conclusions

Findings provide initial support for the successful implementation the Matrix Model in a resource-limited setting. Motivational enhancement interventions could support treatment initiation, promote sustained engagement in treatment, and achieve better treatment outcomes.     

Feeding Wild Animals: The Urge,the Interaction,and the Consequences

Abstract

Endangered species recovery requires a rapid, concerted effort on several fronts, including an understanding of sociological considerations such as the values and attitudes of local people. We examined the values and attitudes of residents living in and around the City of Hamilton, Victoria, toward the endangered, mainland Australia population of eastern barred bandicoots (Perameles gunnii) and bandicoot conservation efforts using a sample telephone survey. Over 90% of those surveyed indicated that they favored efforts to save the bandicoot and nearly 100% believed that bandicoots have a right to exist. Support was broad and varied little with respect to gender, age, level of education, or income. Attitude scale scores supported these results, with most people scoring relatively high on moralistic and naturalistic/ecologistic scales and relatively low on utilitarian and negativistic scales. Of people surveyed, 45.5% owned cats. Cats pose a major threat to bandicoot survival because of predation and disease transmission. Although cat owners and nonowners displayed similar levels of support for bandicoot conservation, 70% of cat owners allowed their cats out at night, when bandicoots are most active. The results suggest that the local public would support new conservation measures invoked to enhance bandicoot survival and represents a potentially valuable source of volunteer labor. A public affairs program should educate the public about the role of domestic cats in bandicoot decline and explicitly point out the contradiction between strong support for bandicoot conservation and the behavior of permitting cats to roam free at night. To increase chances of success, managers and conservationists should recognize the importance of nonbiological aspects, such as values and attitudes of local people, to endangered species restoration efforts.     

Wild Animals in Our Backyard. A Contextual Approach to the Intrinsic Value of Animals

As a reflection on recent debates on the value of wild animals we examine the question of the intrinsic value of wild animals in both natural and man-made surroundings. We examine the concepts being wild and domesticated. In our approach we consider animals as dependent on their environment, whether it is a human or a natural environment. Stressing this dependence we argue that a distinction can be made between three different interpretations of a wild animal’s intrinsic value: a species-specific, a naturalistic, and an individualistic interpretation. According to the species-specific approach, the animal is primarily considered as a member of its species; according to the naturalistic interpretation, the animal is seen as dependent on the natural environment; and according to the individualistic approach, the animal is seen in terms of its relationship to humans. In our opinion, the species-specific interpretation, which is the current dominant view, should be supplemented—but not replaced by—naturalistic and individualistic interpretations, which focus attention on the relationship of the animal to the natural and human environments, respectively. Which of these three interpretations is the most suitable in a given case depends on the circumstances and the opportunity for the animal to grow and develop according to its nature and capabilities.     

Enteric Viruses of Humans and Animals in Aquatic Environments: Health Risks, Detection, and Potential Water Quality Assessment Tools

Waterborne enteric viruses threaten both human and animal health. These pathogens are host specific and cause a wide range of diseases and symptoms in humans or other animals. While considerable research has documented the risk of enteric viruses to human health from contact with contaminated water, the current bacterial indicator-based methods for evaluation of water quality are often ineffectual proxies for pathogenic viruses. Additionally, relatively little work has specifically investigated the risk of waterborne viruses to animal health, and this risk currently is not addressed by routine water quality assessments. Nonetheless, because of their host specificity, enteric viruses can fulfill a unique role both for assessing health risks and as measures of contamination source in a watershed, yet the use of animal, as well as human, host-specific viruses in determining sources of fecal pollution has received little attention. With improved molecular detection assays, viruses from key host groups can be targeted directly using PCR amplification or hybridization with a high level of sensitivity and specificity. A multispecies viral analysis would provide needed information for controlling pollution by source, determining human health risks based on assessments of human virus loading and exposure, and determining potential risks to production animal health and could indicate the potential for the presence of other zoonotic pathogens. While there is a need to better understand the prevalence and environmental distribution of nonhuman enteric viruses, the development of improved methods for specific and sensitive detection will facilitate the use of these microbes for library-independent source tracking and water quality assessment tools.     

Animals,disease, and man: making connections

The intricate causal relationships between disease in man and disease in animals first began to be elucidated in the mid-19th century. Although the connections between animal and human disease are now generally understood, individuals as well as societies remain slow to act on this knowledge. This paper examines the gradual recognition of these disease connections and explores the parallel theme of man's reluctance to appreciate the implications of these connections. It identifies factors that have inhibited the realization of the links between disease in man and animals, and discusses several milestones in the scientific elucidation of these links. Beginning with emerging concerns over the relationship between bovine and human tuberculosis in the 1860s, it follows the discovery of insect vectors, animal reservoirs, and the links between animals, influenza, and man. Despite warnings of the potential significance for human disease of patterns of changes in the relationship with animals and the natural world, scientists have continued to treat human and animal health as largely independent disciplines, while historians too have neglected this important aspect of human disease.