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Introduction: Behavioral health (BH) readiness is a critical component of U.S. Army personnel readiness. Medical providers issue BH profiles in order to communicate BH-related duty limitations to the commander and reflect BH force readiness on both micro/macro-levels. A recent report indicates BH profile underutilization may be significantly elevating U.S. Army safety and mission-failure risks, and a study of BH provider decision-making suggests some providers may be hesitant to use profiles due to concerns that soldiers' attitudes toward BH profiles may negatively impact treatment utilization. This potential link, however, has not been empirically examined. This study addresses this gap by assessing soldiers' attitudes towards BH profiles to better understand how BH profiles may impact treatment utilization and explore for any BH profile-related stigma effect.Methods: Approved by the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) Institutional Review Board as part of the Land Combat Study II, the survey specific to this study included eight WRAIR-developed items assessing soldier attitudes toward BH profiles. Soldiers (N = 1,043) from two active duty U.S. Army brigades completed cross-sectional, anonymous surveys in 2017-2018. Soldier self-reported BH care utilization was assessed and used to create sub-groups for analysis.Results: A majority of soldiers indicated that being placed on a BH profile would make them as or more likely to seek (71%) and no more or less likely to drop out (84%) of BH care. Among soldiers who had received BH care, BH profiles were associated with more favorable treatment seeking attitudes among those inclined to access conventional BH services and less favorable treatment seeking and maintenance attitudes among those inclined to access BH services from sources incapable of issuing profiles. Negative attitudes towards BH profiles were significantly more prevalent when compared to physical injury profiles, except in the group who had received BH care from a source incapable of issuing a profile. No significant proportional differences were observed among soldiers toward the rationale for BH profiles. Almost all soldiers (95% or greater) preferred their BH condition not come to the commander's attention during pre-deployment screening (SRP), choosing either BH profile or crisis options instead.Conclusions: Results suggest soldiers who would be less likely to seek or more likely to drop out of BH care due to a BH profile may be those that are less likely to access conventional BH services in the first place. This may provide some preliminary reassurance to conventional providers that increased BH profiling practices may not be inversely proportional to the amount of BH care delivered and may encourage treatment-seeking behaviors among the population they serve. Soldiers seeking BH care from sources incapable of issuing a profile may be sensitive to a potential BH profile-related stigma effect (possibly more global profile-related effect in this group), which should be factored into policy outreach efforts. A BH profile represents a more palatable BH duty limitation disclosure option for many soldiers, and supports the merits of a disclosure process that is earlier than SRP for promoting risk mitigation and more honest appraisals of BH mission-readiness levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High rates of alcohol use and misuse are commonly reported for bipolar disorder (BD) and in many cases, these impact detrimentally on the course and treatment of the disorder. Therefore, knowing the reasons individuals with a diagnosis of BD give for drinking alcohol is essential for understanding this association and for treatment. This paper aimed to systematically review the literature relating to self-reported reasons and motives for alcohol use in BD. By using internet-based search engines such as PsycINFO and Medline, six relevant studies were identified and then quality-assessed using a set of criteria specifically developed for this review. Overall, the findings supported the intuitive notion that individuals with a diagnosis of BD use alcohol to relieve distressing mood states. However, there was evidence of other mood-related and mood-unrelated reasons-e.g., drinking to enhance euphoric mood or to be sociable. These findings are discussed in relation to the self-medication hypothesis and cognitive motivational models of alcohol use developed in the general population. The quality assessment also revealed several limitations including diagnostically heterogeneous samples and inconsistencies in measurement between studies, and recommendations for addressing these limitations are given. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Key Practitioner Message [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many bacterial source tracking (BST) methods are too expensive for most communities to afford. In an effort to develop an inexpensive method of detecting human sources of fecal contamination in a freshwater creek during baseflow and stormflow conditions, we combined targeted sampling with fluorometry. Targeted sampling is a prelude to BST and finds sources of fecal contamination by continued sampling and resampling over ever-decreasing distances. Fluorometry identifies human fecal contamination in water by detecting fluorescing compounds, optical brighteners, from laundry detergents. Potato Creek, a freshwater creek in Georgia (U.S.A.), had three reaches identified as containing high numbers of fecal bacteria, and these reaches were sampled by targeted sampling and fluorometry. Targeted sampling quickly and inexpensively identified humans, cattle, and dogs as the major sources of fecal contamination in the first, second, and third reaches, respectively. Fluorometric values were consistent with these identifications, but high fluorometric values were sometimes observed in areas with no fecal contamination. One likely cause of these false-positive signals was fluorescence from organic matter. For targeted sampling, the cost of each sample was $6, with a one-time equipment cost of $3,650; for fluorometry, the cost of each sample was negligible, with a one-time equipment cost of $14,250. This was the first study of this relatively inexpensive combination in freshwater during both baseflow and stormflow conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: BMS-747158-02 is a fluorine 18–labeled pyridaben derivative designed as a new myocardial perfusion imaging agent for use with positron emission tomography (PET). This study evaluated BMS-747158-02 in animal models of cardiac perfusion and compared it with established single photon emission computed tomography agents. Methods and Results: In a rat biodistribution study, BMS-747158-02 (15 μCi) had substantially higher myocardial uptake than technetium 99m sestamibi (100 μCi) at 15 minutes (3.5% ± 0.3% %ID/g vs 1.9% ± 0.1% %ID/g) and 120 minutes (3.2% ± 0.4% of injected dose per gram vs 1.8% ± 0.0% of injected dose per gram) after intravenous administration. Uptake ratios of heart to lung and liver at 60 minutes were also higher for BMS-747158-02 (12.7 ± 1.4 and 3.7 ± 0.2, respectively) than Tc-99m sestamibi (5.9 ± 0.5 and 2.4 ± 0.4, respectively). In an isolated rabbit heart model at flow rates of 1.66 to 5.06 mL·min−1 ·g−1 wet left ventricular weight, the net BMS-747158-02 heart uptake increased proportionally (0.93 ± 0.15 to 2.44 ± 0.40 mL·min−1 ·g−1) and to a greater extent than that of thallium 201 (0.76 ± 0.02 to 1.11 ± 0.02 mL·min−1 ·g−1) or Tc-99m sestamibi (0.49 ± 0.03 to 0.77 ± 0.08 mL·min−1 ·g−1). PET imaging with BMS-747158-02 showed a clear and sustained cardiac uptake in rats, rabbits, and nonhuman primates with minimal lung interference and rapid liver clearance. Myocardial perfusion deficit zones created by either permanent left coronary ligation or reperfusion after ligation in rats were both clearly identified on PET cardiac images of BMS-747158-02 and had good agreement with in vitro histology. Conclusions: BMS-747158-02 exhibited high and sustained cardiac uptake that was proportional to blood flow, and it represents a new class of PET myocardial perfusion imaging agent. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In coastal Mississippi aquatic systems, Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) has been introduced via aquaculture practices and appears to have established breeding populations. However, little is known about characteristics of bowers in non-native environments or if reproductive activities vary with water temperature. Therefore, we examined bower morphology, sediment composition, density, spatial pattern, and the distribution of bowers and reproductive leks in relation to thetanal gradients within a power plant cooling pond. We found that the Nile tilapia has the appropriate materials for building bowers, can establish active breeding leks, and distributes along thermal gradients. All of these attributes allow for successful invasion and establishment into non-native environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increased utilization of second-line antibiotics where first-line agents are appropriate, and the use of antibiotics for viral infections, are leading to the development of resistance. This retrospective study evaluated antibiotic utilization patterns of cephalosporins, macrolides, and quinolones for community-acquired infections in a health plan's patient population. Patients were identified through the health plan's computerized pharmacy claims database. Patients were considered eligible if they had been enrolled with the health plan for at least one year, and had a prescription claim for a cephalosporin, macrolide, or quinolone antibiotic between February 1, 2001 and April 30, 2001. Six hundred fifty patients were randomly selected to undergo chart review. A total of 128 patients (25.2%) from an eligible cohort of 508 health plan members had no documented diagnosis of infection in their chart. Gram staining was checked in 14 patients. Cultures were ordered for only 19 patients. Comparisons were made with regard to first-, second-, and third-line drug use in select documented infections. Of all the patients in the study, only 10.4% (53/508) had chart documentation of previous antibiotic failure. Of the 456 patients who had documentation, 63% had no known antibiotic allergies, and 19% had allergies to penicillin. The results of this study will be used to educate providers and consumers on appropriate antibiotic prescribing.