Prima, se potete, servono soldi per aiutare i superstiti di Haiyan, anche pochi. In cambio, letture gratuite sopratutto se collaborate con un’Ong.
PLoS Currents- Disasters pubblica articoli indispensabili alle Ong, come questo sulle priorità sanitarie durante i disastri.
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Su PLoS Currents Outbreaks, altra rivista utile, c’è una rassegna sul nuovo coronavirus MERS-CoV, che tra settembre 2012 e ottobre 2013 è stato identificato in 144 pazienti in nove paesi diversi. Dei 114 pazienti ricoverati per i quali ci sono dati, 53 sono morti, ma erano immunodepressi per altre patologie. Per fortuna che è molto meno infettivo del coronavirus della SARS, perché
None of the antimicrobial agents used so far, including the antivirals, appear to be successful in improving severe progressive disease.
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Negli Stati Uniti, la pubblicità dei farmaci è libera, ma infondata, scrivono Jeffrey Lacasse e Jonathan Leo su PLoS Medicine, nel caso degli inibitori selettivi della ricattura della serotonina prescritti a man bassa contro la depressione ed efficaci forse in un terzo dei casi. All’incirca come un placebo, ma con effetti collaterali:
In 1998, at the dawn of consumer advertising of SSRIs, Professor Emeritus of Neuroscience Elliot Valenstein summarized the scientific data by concluding, “What physicians and the public are reading about mental illness is by no means a neutral reflection of all the information that is available”. The current state of affairs has only confirmed the veracity of this conclusion. The incongruence between the scientific literature and the claims made in FDA-regulated SSRI advertisements is remarkable, and possibly unparalleled.
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Gratis, ma non indispensabile.
Della serie “la ricerca è come il maiale, non si butta via niente”. Su PLoS One, Terry Powis et al. pubblicano un paper sull’alimentazione maya in epoca precolombiana. Comincia male:
The present study initially was conducted to search for chemical traces of cacao (Theobroma cacao) in a variety of vessel forms (e.g., bowls, jars, and vases), and most notably spouted jars, which were recovered from a variety of contexts (e.g., burials, caches) at Chiapa de Corzo. We also were interested in identifying flavorings and/or seasonings that could have been added to the cacao beverages. While we sought to recover chemical traces of cacao, none were found.
Visto che ci sono
We identified, however, traces of Capsicum in 38% of the sampled pottery. … The information obtained from the Chiapa de Corzo vessels extends the date of chili pepper use by the ancient Mesoamerican peoples by several hundred years into the Middle Preclassic period to about 400 BCE.
Si sa che il peperoncino veniva consumato in America Latina 8.000 anni fa, non è un gran contributo alla storia del cibo. Comunque le analisi sono state fatte con cura e con ottimi strumenti. Per il resto, gli autori hanno solo domande:
Was the chili ground up to produce a paste or a salsa and subsequently used as a seasoning in foods that were offered to the Zoquean gods or chiefs? Or, were the peppers left whole in the pots? …
Further, were chili peppers consumed by elites and non-elites alike? All the chili-positive pottery vessels analyzed were discovered in different elite contexts from a long span of time from 400 BCE through CE 300, so was there restricted use of this pungent fruit 2,400 years ago? …
Why would there be evidence of chili peppers in a spouted jar? …
Is it possible that the chili substance inside these vessels was used for medicinal, ritual, or magical purposes rather than culinary?
Non hanno trovato risposte, ma non si lasciano abbattere:
These questions, among others, would be promising but spicy areas of future research.