Identification of Chlamydia gallinacea in a parrot and in free-range chickens in Australia.

Chlamydia gallinacea is a recently described bacterial species in a genus known to infect and cause disease in animals and humans. Our report describes the identification of C. gallinacea infection in free-range laying chickens (Gallus gallus) in Australia, and the identification of C. gallinacea infection in a parrot, a wild Australian galah (Eolophus roseicapillus). There is currently little knowledge of the effects of C. gallinacea infection on avian hosts, but it has been linked to respiratory disease in humans and could potentially cause similar disease in other species. Our report highlights the need for further study and surveillance of Chlamydia species in both wild and domestic hosts in Australia.

Evaluation of the use of buprenorphine for opioid withdrawal in an emergency department.

OBJECTIVES: To examine the use of buprenorphine for the treatment of opioid withdrawal (OW) in an emergency department (ED) setting. METHODS: The medical records of all adult patients who presented to the study ED during a 10 week period for OW were abstracted. Subjects were categorized as receiving buprenorphine, symptomatic treatment or no pharmacologic treatment for their OW. The three groups were compared by patient and service characteristics, withdrawal symptoms and outcomes. RESULTS: Of the 11,019 patients who presented to the ED during the 10 week study period, 158 (1.4%) were eligible. Subjects were more likely to receive buprenorphine (56%) compared to symptomatic treatment only (26%) or no pharmacologic treatment (18%). Subjects who received buprenorphine were more likely to have a history of suicide ideation (34% versus 12% p<0.05) compared to subjects who received symptomatic treatment(s) and were less likely to present with a gastrointestinal complaint (9% versus 25% p<0.05). Subjects who received buprenorphine were less likely to return to the same ED within 30 days for a drug-related visit (8%) compared to those who received symptomatic treatment (17%) (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Buprenorphine was a common treatment for OW in this ED without any documented adverse outcomes. Given that it did not result in an increase in drug-related return ED visits and its proven efficacy in other settings, a prospective evaluation of its potential value to ED patients who present with OW is warranted.

Relationship of temperament and perceptions of nonshared environment in bulimia nervosa.

OBJECTIVE: Examine the relationship between temperament variables and perceptions of nonshared environment as they relate to bulimia nervosa. METHOD: Fifty-seven adult women completed the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire and the Sibling Inventory of Differential Experience. These measures provided assessments of frequently studied temperament traits as well as nonshared environmental factors believed to be associated with psychopathology and temperament. RESULTS: Bulimic subjects showed higher levels of harm avoidance than did control subjects. Also, bulimic subjects perceived their fathers as less affectionate and more controlling than control subjects. Among bulimics, high levels of harm avoidance were associated with high levels of maternal affection and low levels of maternal control. Similarly, among bulimics, high levels of novelty seeking were more likely to be associated with decreased paternal control than was true for control subjects. DISCUSSION: These findings highlight the possible relationship between particular temperamental variables and associated family responses in bulimia nervosa.

Saccadic latency during perceptual processing and sequence learning.

The difference between simple and choice manual reaction time (RT) has been taken to be a measure of the time necessary for various cognitive operations. In contrast, simple and choice saccadic latencies (SL - time elapsing from stimulus onset to saccade initiation) are quite similar, suggesting that such responses may be more automated. In the present investigation, SL and saccadic reaction times (SR - time elapsing from stimulus onset to saccade completion) were measured for targets appearing in the same and different locations, and to different ends of compound stimuli (big arrows) composed of small elements (little arrows) using either the global figure or the local elements as indicators of required saccade direction. In addition, measures of sequence learning were obtained behaviorally over iterative trials (decreases in response time) and with post-test interrogation. The results indicated that local response times were significantly slower than choice or global response times. Both global precedence and consistency effects were observed. Robust sequence learning was observed under the local condition, but only in the choice condition were all subjects able to recall the sequence correctly. These results are discussed in terms of proposed models of visual perception and saccade generation based on parallel processing.

Anticipation in Swedish families with schizophrenia.

Nineteen parent-offspring pairs obtained from 14 two-generation families with available medical records and diagnosis of schizophrenia were studied to compare the ages of onset of the parent generation with those of the offspring generation. The mean age of onset for the parent generation was 37.3 +/- 6.0 years and for the offspring generation was 20.8 +/- 4.4. The mean difference was thus 16.5 +/- 6.2, suggesting the occurrence of anticipation in schizophrenia (p < 0.001). Although some ascertainment biases (like reduced fertility in early-onset parents or early detection of symptoms in offsprings of affected parents) may partially contribute to the occurrence of anticipation, this study replicates recent reports of anticipation in several neuropsychiatric disorders, some of which have been shown to be associated with unstable expansions of trinucleotide repeats in the genomic DNA.