The influence of ceremonial settings on mystical and challenging experiences occasioned by ayahuasca: A survey among ritualistic and religious ayahuasca users.

Recent studies have recognized the importance of non-pharmacological factors such as setting to induce or promote mystical experiences or challenging experiences among ayahuasca users. This study aimed to evaluate the association between the setting in which ayahuasca is consumed and the intensity of mystical and challenging experiences considering three ayahuasca using traditions (União do Vegetal, Santo Daime and neo-shamanic groups). A cross-sectional analysis was performed on survey data collected online from 2,751 participants. The Setting Questionnaire for the Ayahuasca Experience (SQAE) was used to evaluate six dimensions of the setting characteristics. The Mystical Experience Questionnaire (MEQ) and the Challenging Experience Questionnaire (CEQ) were used to quantify the psychedelic experience. Ratings on every SQAE setting dimension were negatively correlated with ratings of the CEQ (r values between 0.21 and 0.36) for all ayahuasca using traditions. Regression analysis revealed that ratings on four SQAE dimensions (Social, Comfort, Infrastructure and Decoration) explained 41% of the variance in CEQ ratings. Associations between SQAE and MEQ ratings were relatively weak and confined to the dimensions Leadership and Comfort, explaining 14% of the variance in MEQ ratings. Ratings of Social context were higher among members of União do Vegetal compared to Santo Daime and neo-shamanic members. Ratings of Infrastructure, Comfort and Decoration were more consistently correlated with MEQ in the neoshamanic tradition compared to the other traditions. This study shows that the setting is an important moderator of a challenging experience under ayahuasca. Maximizing the quality of the setting in which ayahuasca is taken will reduce the chance of a challenging experience while contributing positively to a mystical experience. The present findings can be considered when designing rituals and the (social) environment of ayahuasca ceremonies, and indicate that the SQAE questionnaire can be employed to monitor the influence of ceremonial settings on the ayahuasca experience.

Effect of Melatonin Administration on Mitochondrial Activity and Oxidative Stress Markers in Patients with Parkinson's Disease.

Mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress are extensively linked to Parkinson's disease (PD) pathogenesis. Melatonin is a pleiotropic molecule with antioxidant and neuroprotective effects. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of melatonin on oxidative stress markers, mitochondrial complex 1 activity, and mitochondrial respiratory control ratio in patients with PD. A double-blind, cross-over, placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial study was conducted in 26 patients who received either 25 mg of melatonin or placebo at noon and 30 min before bedtime for three months. At the end of the trial, in patients who received melatonin, we detected a significant diminution of lipoperoxides, nitric oxide metabolites, and carbonyl groups in plasma samples from PD patients compared with the placebo group. Conversely, catalase activity was increased significantly in comparison with the placebo group. Compared with the placebo group, the melatonin group showed significant increases of mitochondrial complex 1 activity and respiratory control ratio. The fluidity of the membranes was similar in the melatonin group and the placebo group at baseline and after three months of treatment. In conclusion, melatonin administration was effective in reducing the levels of oxidative stress markers and restoring the rate of complex I activity and respiratory control ratio without modifying membrane fluidity. This suggests that melatonin could play a role in the treatment of PD.

Evaluation of children's pain expression and behavior using audio visual distraction.

OBJECTIVES: Dental anxiety distresses children and their families with consequent poor oral health and costly pediatric dental services. Children's behaviors could be modified using a distraction technique for improved dental treatment. The study evaluates the effects of an audio-visual distraction on children's behaviors and pain expressions during dental treatment. MATERIAL AND METHODS: One hundred healthy children, between 4 and 6 years of age, were randomly assigned to one of two groups: audio visual distraction (AVD, N = 61) group and control (CTR, N = 39) group. The pre and post pain expression was collected using a faces pain rating scale from the participated children. Children's behavior was evaluated using the Frankl behavior rating scale by the assigned dentist. Data was analyzed using chi-squared tests and analysis of variance. RESULTS: The AVD group demonstrated more "definitely positive" behavior (91.8%) compared to the CTR group (35.9%) based on the Frankl scale evaluation from pre- and post-treatment (p < 0.0001). The pain rating scale did not demonstrate a significant difference in post-treatment pain scales (p = 0.2073) or changes in pain (p = 0.1532) between the AVD group and CTR group. CONCLUSIONS: The AVD is an effective distraction tool for young children during dental treatment regardless of child's subjective pain expression.

Molecular screening of cattle ticks, tick-borne pathogens and amitraz resistance in ticks of Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas province in Ecuador.

The province of Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas in Ecuador is a strategic place for cattle production and trade. The lack of knowledge about tick species, tick control and tick-borne diseases in Ecuador prompted this study with the goal of identifying the cattle-tick species and tick-borne agents present in the area and molecularly determining the potential acaricide resistance to amitraz of the major cattle tick species. Eighty-four cattle farms were visited and in 88 % of them, cattle were infested with ticks. Additionally, 24 historical samples from other surrounding Ecuadorian provinces, were screened as well. Besides morphological keys, PCR-RFLP MspI was used to confirm the presence of the Rhipicephalus ticks. The tick samples were also screened for tick-borne agents using PCR-RFLP BseDI and Hhal tests to identify circulating Babesia sp. and Anaplasma spp. Furthermore, the PCR-RFLP EciI technique was used to identify the amitraz resistance gene in populations of Rhipicephalus microplus in the province. Pooled testing was used to determine prevalence at individual-tick level. The presence of R. microplus and Amblyomma cajennense sensu lato (s.l.) ticks was found in 83 % and 21 % of the cattle farms respectively, showing R. microplus is widespread in the province of Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas. Regarding tick-borne agents, only Anaplasma marginale was observed in 50 % of the visited farms of the province, while about 27 % of the ticks tested positive according to estimations from the data of the tick pools. The presence of Babesia bigemina was only confirmed in samples collected outside the province. The amitraz resistance allele in R. microplus was found in 62 % of the farms, but the percentage of farms with cattle ticks completely resistant to this acaricide was low (2%). The findings of this study should prompt cattle producers and animal health authorities to monitor control strategies, which address the management of resistant tick populations and the epidemiologically-unstable areas of tick-borne diseases.

First Report of Aedes aegypti Transmission of Chikungunya Virus in the Americas.

During a chikungunya fever outbreak in late 2014 in Chiapas, Mexico, entomovirological surveillance was performed to incriminate the vector(s). In neighborhoods, 75 households with suspected cases were sampled for mosquitoes, of which 80% (60) harbored Aedes aegypti and 2.7% (2) Aedes albopictus. A total of 1,170 Ae. aegypti and three Ae. albopictus was collected and 81 pools were generated. Although none of the Ae. albopictus pools were chikungunya virus (CHIKV)-positive, 18 Ae. aegypti pools (22.8%) contained CHIKV, yielding an infection rate of 32.3/1,000 mosquitoes. A lack of herd immunity in conjunction with high mosquito populations, poor vector control services in this region, and targeted collections in locations of human cases may explain the high infection rate in this vector. Consistent with predictions from experimental studies, Ae. aegypti appears to be the principal vector of CHIKV in southern Mexico, while the role of Ae. albopictus remains unknown.

Ecological dominance of the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta, in its native range.

Despite the widespread impacts invasive species can have in introduced populations, little is known about competitive mechanisms and dominance hierarchies between invaders and similar taxa in their native range. This study examines interactions between the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta, and other above-ground foraging ants in two habitats in northeastern Argentina. A combination of pitfall traps and baits was used to characterize the ant communities, their dominance relationships, and to evaluate the effect of phorid flies on the interactions. Twenty-eight ant species coexisted with S. invicta in a gallery forest gap, whereas only ten coexisted with S. invicta in a xerophytic forest grassland. S. invicta was the most numerically dominant species in the richest and complex habitat (gallery forest); however it performed better as discoverer and dominator in the simpler habitat. S. invicta was active during day and night. In spite of its poor capacity to discover resources, S. invicta showed the highest ecological dominance and the second-best behavioral dominance after Camponotus blandus. S. invicta won 78% of the interactions with other ants, mostly against its most frequent competitor, Pheidole cf. obscurithorax, dominating baits via mass recruitment and chemical aggression. P. cf. obscurithorax was the best food discoverer. S. invicta won 80% of the scarce interactions with Linepithema humile. Crematogaster quadriformis was one of the fastest foragers and the only ant that won an equal number of contests against S. invicta. The low presence of phorid flies affected the foraging rate of S. invicta, but not the outcome of interspecific interactions. This study revealed that the red imported fire ant ecologically dominated other terrestrial ants in its native range; however, other species were able to be numerically dominant or co-dominant in its presence.

Arteriográfia pulmunor superselectiva en el tromboembolismo pulmonar / Superselective pulmonary angiography in the pulmonary tromboembolism

Hay un grupo de enfermos en que el diagnóstico de tromboembolismo pulmonar no puede ni establecerse ni excluírse a pesar de la clínica, laboratorio y estudios isotópicos. Nosotros hemos realizado 20 arteriografías pulmonares en pacientes con sospecha de tromboembolismo, encontrando un desacuerdo diagnóstico entre la angiografía pulmonar y el "scan" en 75% de los casos,,cambiando el diagnóstico y la terapéutica. En casos "scan" indeterminado, debe hacerse una arteriografía pulmonar superselectiva de las áreas de pulmón anormales detectadas en el "scan" por perfusión. La arteriografía pulmonar es el procedimiento diagnóstico más exacto de TEP

Cateterismo percutáneo de la vía biliar en el tratamiento de la icterícia obstructiva / Percutaneous catheterization of the biliary tract in the treatment of obstructive jaundice

El cateterismo biliar percutáneo se ofrece como una alternativa radiológica efectiva a la terapia quirúrgica de la obstrucción biliar. Fue realizado en 30 enfermos y se dejó un drenaje interno en 14 enfermos neoplásicos. En 11 casos el drenaje externo-interno fue considerado la terapia paliativa definitiva. El promedio de sobrevida fue de 2 meses y la más larga 5 meses luego del drenaje (correspondió a un enfermo con carcinoma de cabeza de páncreas, metástasis ganglionares y hepáticas). En 5 pacientes aparecieron complicaciones, falleciendo sólo uno de ellos. El drenaje biliar percutáneo mejora el estado del enfermo previo a una intervención quirúrgica definitiva. Es un método no quirúrgico que posibilita un tratamiento paliativo de larga duración en pacientes con lesiones irresecables o con inaceptable riesgo quirúrgico

Rescate de cuerpos extraños intracardíacos y de grandes vasos mediante cateterismo / Extraction of intracardiac and great vessels foreign bodies by catheterization

Se reportan dos casos de extracción de cuerpos extraños intracardíacos y de grandes vasos, mediante cateterismo. Consideramos que no debe efectuarse un intento de rescate por el método quirúrgico, sin haber utilizado previamente cualquiera de los métodos de radiologia intervencionista que se citan en este trabajo. Es importante el uso de catéteres radiopacos cuando se efectúan tratamientos de alimentación parenteral o de otro tipo, pues es así posible detectarlos radiológicamente cuando se pierden y ser rescatados por cateterismo percutáneo. Debe tenerse presente el riesgo que significa dejar abandonado un cuerpo extraño en el sector cardiovascular, lo que exige su extracción