Detection of reticuloendotheliosis virus as a contaminant of fowl pox vaccines.

This study was designed to detect reticuloendotheliosis virus (REV) as a contaminant in fowl pox vaccines. A total of 30 fowl pox vaccine samples were examined for the presence of REV using both in vitro and in vivo methods. In in vitro testing, the fowl pox vaccine samples were inoculated into chicken embryo fibroblast cultures prepared from specific-pathogen-free embryonated chicken eggs, and the cultures were examined using PCR to detect REV. In in vivo testing, each fowl pox vaccine sample was inoculated into 5-d-old specific-pathogen-free chicks, which were kept under observation for up to 12 wk postinoculation; serum samples were collected at 15, 30, and 45 d postinoculation for the detection of REV-specific antibodies using ELISA. Tissue samples were collected at 8 and 12 wk postinoculation for histopathological examination. Of the tested vaccines, only one imported vaccine sample tested positive for REV using PCR. Serum samples collected from chicks infected with the PCR-positive vaccine batch also tested positive for REV-specific antibodies using ELISA. Histopathological examination of the liver, spleen, and bursa of Fabricius demonstrated the presence of tumor cells in these organs, confirming the results obtained using PCR and ELISA, and indicating that the sample was contaminated with REV. These data clearly indicate that the screening of all commercial poultry vaccines for viruses is an important factor in assuring the biosafety of animal vaccines.

On the origin and domestication history of Barley (Hordeum vulgare).

Remains of barley (Hordeum vulgare) grains found at archaeological sites in the Fertile Crescent indicate that about 10,000 years ago the crop was domesticated there from its wild relative Hordeum spontaneum. The domestication history of barley is revisited based on the assumptions that DNA markers effectively measure genetic distances and that wild populations are genetically different and they have not undergone significant change since domestication. The monophyletic nature of barley domestication is demonstrated based on allelic frequencies at 400 AFLP polymorphic loci studied in 317 wild and 57 cultivated lines. The wild populations from Israel-Jordan are molecularly more similar than are any others to the cultivated gene pool. The results provided support for the hypothesis that the Israel-Jordan area is the region in which barley was brought into culture. Moreover, the diagnostic allele I of the homeobox gene BKn-3, rarely but almost exclusively found in Israel H. spontaneum, is pervasive in western landraces and modern cultivated varieties. In landraces from the Himalayas and India, the BKn-3 allele IIIa prevails, indicating that an allelic substitution has taken place during the migration of barley from the Near East to South Asia. Thus, the Himalayas can be considered a region of domesticated barley diversification.

Knowledge and attitudes of primary health care personnel concerning mental health problems in developing countries: a follow-up study.

Within the context of a World Health Organization coordinated collaborative study health workers in six developing countries were assessed 18 months after their training for improvement in their knowledge and attitude towards mental health problems and their management. The approaches to training varied between study areas, but the degree of improvement following the training, was of equal magnitude in all countries. The training process has formalized the recognition by the health workers that treatment of mental health problems is an integral part of their work.

[The symptoms questionnaire for problem detection in adults]. / El cuestionario de síntomas para la detección de problemas en adultos.

This questionnaire has been designed considering transcultural differences. Its validation includes an approximately 400-patient sample, with their relatives as control sample population. Such populations come from General Health Centers located in Colombia, India, the Philippines, and Sudan. In each area, different cut-off points were used on the calculation of sensitivity and specificity. This instrument is currently used in different parts of the world: It is demonstrating to be valuable and sensitive a tool for identifying mental disorders among individuals seeking treatment at General Health Services. At the same time, it is being used in a training manual for Psychiatry primary care workers. Even though the instrument does not diagnosticate, it nonetheless identifies individuals suffering from psychological disrupting symptoms. Both its simplicity and high sensitivity help in a practical approach to Psychiatry primary care strategies.

El cuestionario de síntomas para la detección de problemas en adultos. / [The symptoms questionnaire for problem detection in adults]

This questionnaire has been designed considering transcultural differences. Its validation includes an approximately 400-patient sample, with their relatives as control sample population. Such populations come from General Health Centers located in Colombia, India, the Philippines, and Sudan. In each area, different cut-off points were used on the calculation of sensitivity and specificity. This instrument is currently used in different parts of the world: It is demonstrating to be valuable and sensitive a tool for identifying mental disorders among individuals seeking treatment at General Health Services. At the same time, it is being used in a training manual for Psychiatry primary care workers. Even though the instrument does not diagnosticate, it nonetheless identifies individuals suffering from psychological disrupting symptoms. Both its simplicity and high sensitivity help in a practical approach to Psychiatry primary care strategies.

Value of intraprostatic injection of zinc and vitamin C and of ultrasound application in infertile men with chronic prostatitis.

Seventy infertile men with chronic prostatitis were treated by prostatic massage and wide-spectrum chemotherapy as basic treatment to which intraprostatic injection of zinc or vitamin C with or without ultrasound application was added as a new line of treatment. Comparison showed no significant improvement of the additive treatment over the conventional treatment used alone. Pus cells in the expressed prostatic smear diminished significantly after treatment, which was associated with significant increase of percentage of motile spermatozoa and significant decrease of abnormal forms. Bacterial flora was studied in comparison with findings in 20 cases of infertile males without prostatitis; staphylococci predominated in both patient and control groups.

Zona-free hamster egg-sperm penetration assay: I. Testing of human semen fertilizability.

The zona-free hamster egg penetration test was performed on semen samples from 21 fertile donors, 57 infertile patients with normal semen parameters, and 63 infertile patients with subnormal spermiogram, as well as on 19 frozen semen samples. In the donor group 100% of the samples gave a positive range of penetration (PRP) of 20-96% with a mean penetration rate (MPR) of 53%, while 84% of the frozen samples showed a PRP of 18-44% and an MPR of 31%. Although 74% of the samples from infertile patients with normal spermiograms gave a PRP of 11-92% and an MPR of 34%, only 46% of the semen samples from the infertile patients with subnormal spermiogram showed a PRP of 21-100% but an MRP of 43%.

Zona-free hamster egg-sperm penetration assay: II. Correlative study with routine semen analysis.

This work studied the effect of variations in the different parameters of routine semen analysis on the penetration rate of the spermatozoa into the zona-free hamster eggs, using semen samples from 21 fertile donors, 57 infertile patients with normal spermiograms, 63 infertile patients with subnormal spermiograms, and 19 frozen semen samples. The results of the hamster test do not correlate with the percentage of motile spermatozoa, the percentage of live spermatozoa, or the percentage of spermatozoa with normal morphology in the semen samples. A positive correlation was found between the results of the hamster test and three other parameters of the semen analysis: the sperm concentration, the progressive type of motility, and a pH range of 7.2-7.7, but these positive correlations were statistically insignificant.

The WHO collaborative study on strategies for extending mental health care, II: The development of new research methods.

Teams in seven developing countries under sponsorship of the World Health Organization have been carrying out collaborative operational research on providing mental health care through primary health care services. New techniques of identifying mental disorders in children and adults have been developed and tested. Methods of assessing the skills and attitudes of health workers toward mental health work and of gauging community attitudes toward mental illness have also been developed. Results have been directly applied in planning better mental health care. The authors conclude that cross-cultural collaborative research is effective in improving mental health care for those in greatest need.

The WHO collaborative study on strategies for extending mental health care, III: Evaluative design and illustrative results.

Teams in seven developing countries have adopted a common research design to evaluate new community mental health care services. The nature of the intervention programs varied considerably according to the characteristics of each area. Observations made before the intervention and 18 to 24 months after showed significant changes in the attitudes, knowledge, and diagnostic accuracy of health staff and in community attitudes and reactions. A considerable number of individuals with serious mental disorders received effective care for the first time.

The burden of mental illness on the family. Results of observations in four developing countries. A report from the WHO Collaborative Study on Strategies for Extending Mental Health Care.

As part of the WHO Collaborative Study on Strategies for Extending Mental Health Care 259 families in four developing countries (Colombia, India, Sudan and the Philippines) were screened with regard to the social burden caused by mental illness of one of its members. Levels of subsistence, previous illness, financial burden, personal relations and social acceptance were studied. The social burden was greatest in the urban areas.

Knowledge and attitudes of primary health care personnel concerning mental health problems in developing countries.

A semi-structured interview for assessing the knowledge and attitude of health workers concerning mental health problems was applied in seven developing country areas within the context of a World Health Organization coordinated collaborative study. The results indicate a lack of basic mental health training associated with a failure to recognize mental health problems, restricted knowledge concerning psychotropic drug therapy, and an inability to visualize practical forms of mental health care which could be introduced at primary care level. The results were used to design appropriate training programs, and the observations will be repeated to assess the effectiveness of training.

Treatment of asthenozoospermia by intratesticular testosterone therapy.

A single intratesticular injection of 0.5 cc of 50 mg/ml of an aqueous testosterone suspension was administered to 14 patients with asthenozoospermia. In 7 cases, injection was combined with ultrasound of 0.5 w/cm2 for 2 min weekly for 4 weeks. In another 4 cases, only ultrasound was applied. Intratesticular injection with or without ultrasound caused a significant increase of motility percentage. Sperm density improved in cases that were associated with oligozoospermia (less than 20 million/ml). Ultrasound therapy (0.5 w/cm2 for 2 min) used alone had no effect on semen parameters. Associated hormonal changes in blood plasma were evaluated.

Childhood mental disorders in primary health care: results of observations in four developing countries. A report from the WHO collaborative Study on Strategies for Extending Mental Health Care.

To ascertain the frequency of mental disorders in Sudan, Philippines, India, and Columbia, 925 children attending primary health care facilities were studied. Rates of between 12% and 29% were found in the four study areas. The range of mental disorders diagnosed was similar to the encountered in industrialized countries. The research procedure involved a two-stage screening in which a ten-item "reporting questionnaire" constituted the first stage. The study has shown that mental disorders are common among children attending primary health care facilities in four developing countries and that accompanying adults (usually the mothers) readily recognize and report common psychologic and behavioral symptoms when these are solicited by means of a simple set of questions. Despite this, the primary health workers themselves recognized only between 10% and 22% of the cases of mental disorder. The result have been used to design appropriate brief training courses in childhood mental disorders for primary health workers in the countries participating in the study.

The classification of psychiatric disorder. A reliability study in the WHO collaborative study on strategies for extending mental health care.

Altogether 26 psychiatrists and other mental health workers, from Colombia, Brazil, Sudan, Egypt, India and the Philippines tried to reach agreement on the classification of 10 case histories, using the International Classification of Diseases (8th revision). The exercise was part of the WHO Collaborative Study on Strategies for Extending Mental Health Care. Conventions, mistakes, differences of opinion and a lack of rules are discussed as causes for disagreement.

Mental disorders in primary health care: a study of their frequency and diagnosis in four developing countries.

1624 patients who were attending primary health facilities in 4 developing countries were examined to determine how many were suffering from mental disorder. Using stringent criteria to establish the presence of psychiatric morbidity, 225 cases were found, indicating an overall frequency of 13.9%. The great majority of cases were suffering from neurotic illnesses and for most the presenting complaint was of a physical symptom, such as headache, abdominal pain, cough or weakness. The health workers following their normal procedure correctly detected one third of the psychiatric cases.