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The relationship between bats and coronaviruses (CoVs) has received considerable attention since the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-like CoV was identified in the Chinese horseshoe bat (Rhinolophidae) in 2005. Since then, several bats throughout the world have been shown to shed CoV sequences, and presumably CoVs, in the feces; however, no bat CoVs have been isolated from nature. Moreover, there are very few bat cell lines or reagents available for investigating CoV replication in bat cells or for isolating bat CoVs adapted to specific bat species. Here, we show by molecular clock analysis that alphacoronavirus (α-CoV) sequences derived from the North American tricolored bat (Perimyotis subflavus) are predicted to share common ancestry with human CoV (HCoV)-NL63, with the most recent common ancestor between these viruses occurring approximately 563 to 822 years ago. Further, we developed immortalized bat cell lines from the lungs of this bat species to determine if these cells were capable of supporting infection with HCoVs. While SARS-CoV, mouse-adapted SARS-CoV (MA15), and chimeric SARS-CoVs bearing the spike genes of early human strains replicated inefficiently, HCoV-NL63 replicated for multiple passages in the immortalized lung cells from this bat species. These observations support the hypothesis that human CoVs are capable of establishing zoonotic-reverse zoonotic transmission cycles that may allow some CoVs to readily circulate and exchange genetic material between strains found in bats and other mammals, including humans.

A study was conducted to further investigate whether the Keane Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Scale of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) can be employed as a separate instrument administered outside the context of the full MMPI. A group of Vietnam combat veterans with diagnosed PTSD and two comparison groups of veterans without PTSD (Vietnam combat and era veterans) were diagnosed by clinical interviews. Over 84% of the 64 veterans in the study were accurately classified by the Keane PTSD Scale into their original diagnostic groups. Excellent test sensitivity was demonstrated, with 90% of combat veterans with PTSD being properly classified by the Keane PTSD Scale when the recommended cutoff score of 30 was utilized. The clinical and research implications are discussed.