Vaccine 2017 Oct 13. Epub 2017 Oct 13.

Saint Louis University, School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, United States.

Introduction: Intentional aerosolization of Yersinia pestis may result in pneumonic plague which is highly fatal if not treated early.

Methods: We conducted a phase 1 randomized, double blind (within each group), placebo controlled, dose escalation trial to evaluate a plague vaccine, Flagellin/F1/V, in healthy adults aged 8 through 45years. Vaccine was administered intramuscularly on Days 0 and 28 at a dose of 1, 3, 6 or 10mcg. Read More

Braz J Infect Dis 2017 Oct 11. Epub 2017 Oct 11.

Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Faculdade de Farmácia, Departamento de Análises Clínicas e Toxicológicas, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.

Objectives: The plague, which is an infectious disease caused by Yersinia pestis, still threatens many populations in several countries. The worldwide increase in human plague cases and the potential use of the bacteria as a biological weapon reinforce the need to study the immunity that is induced by potential vaccine candidates. To determine the immunogenicity of antigenic preparations based on the F1 protein and the total extract from Y. Read More

Int J Antimicrob Agents 2017 Oct 10. Epub 2017 Oct 10.

Yersinia Research Unit, WHO Collaborating Center, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France. Electronic address:

Emergence of antibiotic-resistant Y. pestis strains represents a public health concern. Two antibiotic-resistant Y. Read More

Environ Microbiol 2017 Oct 13. Epub 2017 Oct 13.

University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC, USA.

Vibrio vulnificus is a Gram-negative aquatic bacterium first isolated by the United States (US) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 1964. This bacterium is part of the normal microbiota of estuarine waters and occurs in high numbers in molluscan shellfish around the world, particularly in warmer months. Infections in humans are derived from consumption of seafood produce and from water exposure. Read More

Sci Rep 2017 Oct 11;7(1):12973. Epub 2017 Oct 11.

Department of Population Health Sciences, Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Tech, Virginia, USA.

Numerous historical works have mentioned that trade routes were to blame for the spread of plague in European history, yet this relationship has never been tested by quantitative evidence. Here, we resolve the hypothetical role of trade routes through statistical analysis on the geo-referenced major trade routes in the early modern period and the 6,656 geo-referenced plague outbreak records in AD1347-1760. Ordinary Least Square (OLS) estimation results show that major trade routes played a dominant role in spreading plague in pre-industrial Europe. Read More

Curr Oncol Rep 2017 Oct 5;19(12):76. Epub 2017 Oct 5.

Medical Oncology Group of Australia, Clinical Oncology Society of Australia, Queensland Clinical Oncology Group, Brisbane, 4000, Australia.

Purpose Of Review: The purpose of this mini review is to evaluate the literature on B vitamins and chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy.

Recent Findings: One hundred and five journal articles were evaluated and nine manuscripts were included. There was one in vitro, one was an animal and seven were human studies. Read More

BMJ 2017 Oct 5;359:j4595. Epub 2017 Oct 5.

The BMJ.

Glob Chang Biol 2017 Oct 4. Epub 2017 Oct 4.

Centre for Conservation Research, Calgary Zoological Society, 1300 Zoo Road NE, Calgary, Alberta, T2E 7V6, Canada.

Given climate change, species' climatically suitable habitats are increasingly expected to shift poleward. Some imperiled populations towards the poleward edge of their species' range might therefore conceivably benefit from climate change. Interactions between climate and population dynamics may be complex, however, with climate exerting effects both indirectly via influence over food availability and more directly, via effects on physiology and its implications for survival and reproduction. Read More

Cytokine 2017 Sep 30. Epub 2017 Sep 30.

Institute of Preventive Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, Sichuan 611130, China; Research Center of Avian Disease, College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, Sichuan 611130, China; Key Laboratory of Animal Disease and Human Health of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, Sichuan 611130, China. Electronic address:

The human stimulator of interferon gene (STING) is an important molecule in innate immunity that stimulates type I interferon (IFN) production. However, the role of duck STING (duSTING) in innate immunity has yet to be explained. In this study, the full length of the duSTING cDNA sequence (1149bp), which encodes 382 amino acid (aa) residues, was reported and showed the highest sequence similarity with chicken STINGs. Read More

Adv Gerontol 2017 ;30(4):547-557

Saint-Petersburg № 40 City Hospital of Kurortny area, 9, Borisov str., Sestroretsk, St. Petersburg, 197706, Russian Federation;

Intravascular Ultrasound (IVUS) of coronary arteries has lately been extensively used in the routine work of catheter laboratories. This method`s availability for qualifying the structure of atherosclerosis plague, degree of stricture formation in artery opening, length of the plaque while choosing the relevant size of stent and also for stent apposition control after implantation, makes IVUS an irreplaceable help in endovascular surgeons` work. Combination of coronary angiography and IVUS best represents the plaqued segments of artery total picture. Read More

Sheng Wu Gong Cheng Xue Bao 2017 Sep;33(9):1513-1524

Institute of Pathogen Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100730, China.

Yersinia pestis, the cause of plague, is transmitted by flea bite. Y. pestis forms a biofilm in the proventriculus of its flea vector to enhance transmission. Read More

Int J Infect Dis 2017 Sep 19;64:80-84. Epub 2017 Sep 19.

Bacterial Diseases Branch, Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, CO, USA.

Background: Plague is a virulent zoonosis reported most commonly from Sub-Saharan Africa. Early treatment with antibiotics is important to prevent mortality. Understanding knowledge gaps and common behaviors informs the development of educational efforts to reduce plague mortality. Read More

J Infect Dis 2017 Sep;216(6):761-770

Yersinia Research Unit, Microbiology Department, Institut Pasteur.

Background: Susceptibility to infection is in part genetically driven, and C57BL/6 mice resist various pathogens through the proinflammatory response of their M1 macrophages (MPs). However, they are susceptible to plague. It has been reported elsewhere that Mus spretus SEG mice resist plague and develop an immune response characterized by a strong recruitment of MPs. Read More

Front Biosci (Schol Ed) 2018 Jan 1;10:101-118. Epub 2018 Jan 1.

School of Biotechnology, Adamas University, Barasat, Kolkata 700126, WB, India, and Centre for Interdisciplinary Research and Education, Jodhpur Park, Kolkata 700068, WB, India,

In the history of human civilization, influenza is the second most catastrophic killer disease for mankind with plague ranking first in the medieval times. The 1918-1919 'Spanish flu' killed 20-50 million people worldwide. According to a report from WHO, there have been four pandemics, several epidemics and recurrent seasonal outbreaks of influenza in different parts of the world. Read More

J Clin Psychopharmacol 2017 Sep 18. Epub 2017 Sep 18.

From the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University, Hamilton; and Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

P R Health Sci J 2017 Sep;36(3):130-139

Academia Puertorriqueña de la Historia, San Juan, Puerto Rico; Assistant Professor, ad honorem, University of Puerto Rico Schools of Public Health and Medicine; Captain (Retired), Commissioned Corps of the US Public Health Service; a native of Puerto Rico, where he served much of his career. The content of this article does not necessarily represent the official views of the United States Public Health Service.

The history of the US Public Health Service (PHS) is usually presented in terms of diseases or discoveries; this article examines twenty years' activity in one location. When the United States invaded Puerto Rico in 1898, the Marine Hospital Service (now PHS) took responsibility for foreign quarantine, inspection of immigrants, and medical care for merchant seamen. Its officers evaluated the sanitary conditions of port cities, helped reorganize local disease surveillance and control, and investigated endemic diseases (e. Read More

Biomed Res Int 2017 20;2017:5696542. Epub 2017 Aug 20.

Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Rua da Junqueira 100, 1349-008 Lisboa, Portugal.

Plague, in the Middle Ages known as Black Death, continues to occur at permanent foci in many countries, in Africa, Asia, South America, and even the USA. During the last years outbreaks were reported from at least 3 geographical areas, in all cases after tens of years without reported cases. The recent human plague outbreaks in Libya and Algeria suggest that climatic and other environmental changes in Northern Africa may be favourable for Y. Read More

Vet Res 2017 Sep 13;48(1):47. Epub 2017 Sep 13.

Institute of Preventive Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Wenjiang, Chengdu, 611130, People's Republic of China.

Duck plague virus (DPV), a member of alphaherpesvirus sub-family, can cause significant economic losses on duck farms in China. DPV Chinese virulent strain (CHv) is highly pathogenic and could induce massive ducks death. Attenuated DPV vaccines (CHa) have been put into service against duck plague with billions of doses in China each year. Read More

J Invertebr Pathol 2017 Sep 6;150:73-75. Epub 2017 Sep 6.

Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, Prague 2 CZ-12844, Czech Republic.

Although the introduction of the crayfish plague pathogen Aphanomyces astaci to Europe is responsible for substantial declines in native crayfish populations throughout the whole continent, its presence has never been officially confirmed in many European regions, including most of the Balkan Peninsula. We demonstrate that the recent crayfish mortality observed in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Mostarsko blato karst field, Neretva river drainage) was caused by A. astaci. Read More

Braz J Microbiol 2017 Aug 26. Epub 2017 Aug 26.

Anhui Medical University, 81 Meishan Road, Hefei 230032, Anhui, People's Republic of China; Laboratory of Analytical Microbiology, State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing 100071, China. Electronic address:

We developed a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay for the detection of Y. pestis by targeting the 3a sequence on chromosome. All 11 species of the genus Yersinia were used to evaluate the specificity of LAMP and PCR, demonstrating that the primers had a high level of specificity. Read More

Annu Rev Microbiol 2017 Sep;71:215-232

Laboratory of Zoonotic Pathogens, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, Montana 59840; email:

Interest in arthropod-borne pathogens focuses primarily on how they cause disease in humans. How they produce a transmissible infection in their arthropod host is just as critical to their life cycle, however. Yersinia pestis adopts a unique life stage in the digestive tract of its flea vector, characterized by rapid formation of a bacterial biofilm that is enveloped in a complex extracellular polymeric substance. Read More

PLoS One 2017 8;12(9):e0183508. Epub 2017 Sep 8.

Alliance for Global Water Adaptation, Corvallis, OR, United States of America.

Mass migrations by Odonata, although less studied than those of Monarch butterflies and plague locusts, have provoked comment and study for many years. Relatively recently, increasing interest in dragonflies, supported by new technologies, has resulted in more detailed knowledge of the species involved, behavioral mechanisms, and geographic extent. In this paper we examine, in four independent but complementary studies, how larval habitat and emergence phenology interact with climate to shape the evolution of migratory strategy in Anax junius, a common species throughout much of the eastern United States and southern Canada. Read More

ASAIO J 2017 Sep 5. Epub 2017 Sep 5.

From the *Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York and †Division of Cardiology, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York.

Durable ventricular assist device (VAD) therapy remains an important treatment for end-stage heart failure. Despite advancements in device design, postimplant infectious complications continue to plague this population. In this study, we aim to evaluate the use of durable VAD therapy in patients on active immunosuppression. Read More

Ecohealth 2017 Sep 6. Epub 2017 Sep 6.

Department of Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA.

The endangered black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes) is affected by plague, caused by Yersinia pestis, both directly, as a cause of mortality, and indirectly, because of the impacts of plague on its prairie dog (Cynomys spp.) prey base. Recent developments in vaccines and vaccine delivery have raised the possibility of plague control in prairie dog populations, thereby protecting ferret populations. Read More

PLoS One 2017 5;12(9):e0183714. Epub 2017 Sep 5.

Institute for Integrative Biology of the Cell (I2BC), CEA, CNRS, Univ. Paris-Sud, Université Paris-Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette cedex, France.

Francisella tularensis, a small Gram-negative bacterium, is capable of infecting a wide range of animals, including humans, and causes a plague-like disease called tularemia-a highly contagious disease with a high mortality rate. Because of these characteristics, F. tularensis is considered a potential agent of biological terrorism. Read More

PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2017 Sep 5;11(9):e0005887. Epub 2017 Sep 5.

Plague Research Unit, Institut Pasteur de Madagascar, Antananarivo, Madagascar.

Background: Yersinia pestis appears to be maintained in multiple, geographically separate, and phylogenetically distinct subpopulations within the highlands of Madagascar. However, the dynamics of these locally differentiated subpopulations through time are mostly unknown. To address that gap and further inform our understanding of plague epidemiology, we investigated the phylogeography of Y. Read More

Rev Philos Psychol 2017 24;8(3):501-517. Epub 2016 Oct 24.

University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.

The assumption that psychological states and processes are computational in character pervades much of cognitive science, what many call the computational theory of mind. In addition to occupying a central place in cognitive science, the computational theory of mind has also had a second life supporting "individualism", the view that psychological states should be taxonomized so as to supervene only on the intrinsic, physical properties of individuals. One response to individualism has been to raise the prospect of "wide computational systems", in which some computational units are instantiated outside the individual. Read More

J Cancer Res Ther 2017 Jul-Sep;13(3):498-500

Department of Internal Medicine, GMC, Nagpur, Maharashtra, India.

Introduction: Waiting lists are problems that plague all government radiation therapy centers across the country, leading to disease progression, and reduced treatment efficacy. No shows for appointments create artificial access issues, reduce revenues, waste staff time, and negatively affect patient care.

Methodology: A Retrospective analysis of 180 patients, who were given an appointment and were to be started for radiation therapy at the Department of Radiation Therapy and Oncology, at our institute from May 1, 2013 to July 31, 2013, was done. Read More

J Virol Methods 2017 Nov 30;249:66-68. Epub 2017 Aug 30.

Department of Biotechnology, Guangxi Key Laboratory of Veterinary Biotechnology, Guangxi Veterinary Research Institute, 51 Youai North Road, Nanning 530001, PR China.

Sequence analysis of duck plague virus (DPV) revealed that there was a 528bp (B fragment) deletion within the UL2 gene of DPV attenuated vaccine strain in comparison with field virulent strains. The finding of gene deletion provides a potential differentiation test between DPV virulent strain and attenuated strain based on their UL2 gene sizes. Thus we developed a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay targeting to the DPV UL2 gene for simultaneous detection of DPV virulent strain and attenuated strain, 827bp for virulent strain and 299bp for attenuated strain. Read More

Med Humanit 2017 Sep 8;43(3):141-147. Epub 2016 Nov 8.

Previous influenza pandemics are usually invoked in pandemic preparedness planning without a thorough analysis of the events surrounding them, what has been called the 'configuration' of epidemics. Historic pandemics are instead used to contrast them to the novelty of the coming imagined plague or as fear of a ghost-like repetition of the past. This view of pandemics is guided by a biomedical framework that is ahistorical and reductionist. Read More

PLoS One 2017 30;12(8):e0183478. Epub 2017 Aug 30.

Chemical and Biological Signature Sciences, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington, United States of America.

The rapid pace of bacterial evolution enables organisms to adapt to the laboratory environment with repeated passage and thus diverge from naturally-occurring environmental ("wild") strains. Distinguishing wild and laboratory strains is clearly important for biodefense and bioforensics; however, DNA sequence data alone has thus far not provided a clear signature, perhaps due to lack of understanding of how diverse genome changes lead to convergent phenotypes, difficulty in detecting certain types of mutations, or perhaps because some adaptive modifications are epigenetic. Monitoring protein abundance, a molecular measure of phenotype, can overcome some of these difficulties. Read More

Bull Exp Biol Med 2017 Aug 29;163(4):519-522. Epub 2017 Aug 29.

Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Volgograd State Medical University, Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, Volgograd, Russia.

We demonstrated the possibility of obtaining insertion mutants by a modified technique using EZ::TN5 system during culturing of the recipient strain on a dense nutrient medium and exclusion of the centrifugation stage. The frequency of transposon mutants of E. coli 10979/EZ::TN5 was 2×10(-6). Read More

Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2017 9;7:358. Epub 2017 Aug 9.

Laboratory of Zoonotic Pathogens, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of HealthHamilton, MT, United States.

Yersinia pestis is a gram-negative, zoonotic, bacterial pathogen, and the causative agent of plague. The bubonic form of plague occurs subsequent to deposition of bacteria in the skin by the bite of an infected flea. Neutrophils are recruited to the site of infection within the first few hours and interactions between neutrophils and Y. Read More

Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2017 8;7:355. Epub 2017 Aug 8.

MOH Key Laboratory of Systems Biology of Pathogens, Institute of Pathogen Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical CollegeBeijing, China.

Yersinia pestis biofilm formation, controlled by intracellular levels of the second messenger molecule cyclic diguanylate (c-di-GMP), is important for blockage-dependent plague transmission from fleas to mammals. HmsCDE is a tripartite signaling system that modulates intracellular c-di-GMP levels to regulate biofilm formation in Y. pestis. Read More

Infect Immun 2017 Nov 18;85(11). Epub 2017 Oct 18.

Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine, Columbia, Missouri, USA

Yersinia pestis causes bubonic, pneumonic, and septicemic plague, diseases that are rapidly lethal to most mammals, including humans. Plague develops as a consequence of bacterial neutralization of the host's innate immune response, which permits uncontrolled growth and causes the systemic hyperactivation of the inflammatory response. We previously found that host type I interferon (IFN) signaling is induced during Y. Read More

Arch Iran Med 2017 Aug;20(8):553-557

1)Research Centre for Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran. 2)Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran.

Dr. Marcel Baltazard (1908-1971), French scientist and former director of Pasteur Institute of Iran, is known in the international arena due to his research on the control of infectious diseases such as plague, rabies, relapsing fever, leprosy, smallpox and tuberculosis. Dr. Read More

Genome Announc 2017 Aug 24;5(34). Epub 2017 Aug 24.

State Research Center for Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, Obolensk, Russia

We here report the draft genome sequences of 8 Yersinia pestis subsp. microtus bv. caucasica strains isolated from the East Caucasian (previous name, Dagestan) mountain focus (no. Read More

J Vasc Nurs 2017 Sep 26;35(3):146-156. Epub 2017 May 26.

Division of Vascular Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland; Division of Advanced Practice Providers, Department of Nursing, University of Maryland Medical Center, Baltimore, Maryland. Electronic address:

Surgical site infections (SSIs) have always complicated recovery after surgery, being associated with increased cost of hospitalization, length of stay, and mortality. The most significant measure to reduce the incidence of SSI was the standardization of prophylactic antibiotic administration in patients undergoing surgical procedures. Since then, countless measures have been proposed to improve rates of SSI and patient outcome, but few have been as efficacious as prophylactic antibiotics. Read More

Microb Pathog 2017 Oct 18;111:94-98. Epub 2017 Aug 18.

Department of Microbiology, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran. Electronic address:

Antibacterial activity of Bifidobacterium species has been considered as an important probiotic property for development of human gut immunity. This study was conducted to assess the genotypes and antibacterial activities of the native Bifidobacterium isolates obtained from the human's breast milk and the feces of their paired infants. Fifty-six samples from twenty-eight mothers' milk and paired infants feces were collected and cultured. Read More

Emerg Infect Dis 2017 Sep;23(9):1517-1521

Plague is a highly virulent fleaborne zoonosis that occurs throughout many parts of the world; most suspected human cases are reported from resource-poor settings in sub-Saharan Africa. During 2008-2016, a combination of active surveillance and laboratory testing in the plague-endemic West Nile region of Uganda yielded 255 suspected human plague cases; approximately one third were laboratory confirmed by bacterial culture or serology. Although the mortality rate was 7% among suspected cases, it was 26% among persons with laboratory-confirmed plague. Read More

Uisahak 2017 Apr;26(1):59-94

Dept. of Medical History & Institute for History of Medicine, College of Medicine, Yonsei University.

This paper examined whether the preventive measures taken by the Hong Kong's colonial authorities were legitimate during the 1894 Hong Kong plague epidemic, and illuminated the correlation between the plague epidemic and hospital space in Hong Kong in the late 19th century. The quarantine measures taken by the colonial authorities were neither a clear-cut victory for Western medicine nor for a rational quarantine based on scientific medical knowledge. Hong Kong's medical officials based on the miasma theory, and focused only on house-to-house inspections and forced quarantine or isolation, without encouraging people to wear masks and without conducting disinfection. Read More

Int J Health Policy Manag 2016 Sep 13;6(5):289-291. Epub 2016 Sep 13.

School of Physical and Occupational Therapy, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.

Investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) continues to plague health-oriented government regulation. This is particularly reflected in recent challenges to tobacco control measures through bilateral investment agreements. There are numerous reform proposals circulating within the public health community. Read More

PLoS One 2017 15;12(8):e0183375. Epub 2017 Aug 15.

Key Laboratory of Adaptation and Evolution of Plateau Biota, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining, Qinghai, China.

The primary host of plague in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP), China, is Marmota himalayana, which plays an essential role in the maintenance, transmission, and prevalence of plague. To achieve a more clear insight into the differentiation of M. himalayana, complete cytochrome b (cyt b) gene and 11 microsatellite loci were analyzed for a total of 423 individuals from 43 localities in the northeast of the QTP. Read More

Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis 2017 Sep 9;17(9):635-644. Epub 2017 Aug 9.

1 Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , Fort Collins, Colorado.

Our longitudinal study of plague dynamics was conducted in north-central New Mexico to identify which species in the community were infected with plague, to determine the spatial and temporal patterns of the dynamics of plague epizootics, and to describe the dynamics of Yersinia pestis infection within individual hosts. A total of 3156 fleas collected from 535 small mammals of 8 species were tested for Y. pestis DNA. Read More

Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2017 21;7:331. Epub 2017 Jul 21.

Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics, University of KentuckyLexington, KY, United States.

The FeoABC ferrous transporter is a wide-spread bacterial system. While the feoABC locus is regulated by a number of factors in the bacteria studied, we have previously found that regulation of feoABC in Yersinia pestis appears to be unique. None of the non-iron responsive transcriptional regulators that control expression of feoABC in other bacteria do so in Y. Read More

Infect Dis Poverty 2017 Aug 7;6(1):124. Epub 2017 Aug 7.

College of Resources and Environmental Science, Nanjing Agricultural University, No.6 Tongwei Road, Nangjing, 210095, China.

Background: The nest flea index of Meriones unguiculatus is a critical indicator for the prevention and control of plague, which can be used not only to detect the spatial and temporal distributions of Meriones unguiculatus, but also to reveal its cluster rule. This research detected the temporal and spatial distribution characteristics of the plague natural foci of Mongolian gerbils by body flea index from 2005 to 2014, in order to predict plague outbreaks.

Methods: Global spatial autocorrelation was used to describe the entire spatial distribution pattern of the body flea index in the natural plague foci of typical Chinese Mongolian gerbils. Read More

J Pain Symptom Manage 2017 Sep 1;54(3):400-403. Epub 2017 Aug 1.

The Divinity School, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA. Electronic address:

Health care providers have much to learn from Albert Camus' great novel, The Plague. The Plague tells the story of a bubonic plague epidemic through the lens of doctor-narrator Rieux. In addition to Rieux, this essay also focuses on the perspective of Father Paneloux, a Jesuit priest, who provides important religious commentary on the epidemic, before falling victim to it and dying. Read More

J Clin Nurs 2017 Aug 3. Epub 2017 Aug 3.

Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing and, Berman Institute of Bioethics, 1809 Ashland Avenue Baltimore MD, 21205.

Aims And Objectives: The aim of this qualitative descriptive study was to describe common characteristics and themes of the concept of moral resilience as reported by inter-professional clinicians in healthcare.

Background: Research has provided an abundance of data on moral distress with limited research to resolve and help negate the detrimental effects of moral distress. This calls for much needed research on how to mitigate the negative consequences of moral distress that plague nurses and other healthcare providers. Read More

Bull Hist Med 2017 ;91(2):210-232

This article traces a seven-hundred-year history of one puzzling treatment for plague buboes that used the rumps of chickens to draw out the bubo's poisons. It traces the origin of the recipe to Avicenna's Canon and explores how medieval and early modern physicians altered the treatment and explained its workings up to the early eighteenth century. Much of the analysis focuses on the variants of the recipe that German physicians created as they adapted or elaborated on older recipes. Read More