Joint Effect of Childhood Abuse and Family History of Major Depressive Disorder on Rates of PTSD in People with Personality Disorders

Objective. Childhood maltreatment and familial psychopathology both lead to an increased risk of the development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in adulthood. While family history of psychopathology has traditionally been viewed as a proxy for genetic predisposition, such pathology can also contribute to a stress-laden environment for the child. Method. Analyses were conducted to evaluate the joint effect of childhood abuse and a family history of major depressive disorder (MDD) on diagnoses of PTSD and MDD in a sample of 225 adults with DSM-IV Axis II disorders. Results. Results showed that the rate of PTSD in the presence of both childhood abuse and MDD family history was almost six-fold (OR = 5.89, P = .001) higher relative to the absence of both factors. In contrast, the rate of MDD in the presence of both factors was associated with a nearly three-fold risk relative to the reference group (OR = 2.75, P = .01). Conclusions. The results from this observational study contribute to a growing understanding of predisposing factors for the development of PTSD and suggest that joint effects of family history of MDD and childhood abuse on PTSD are greater than either factor alone

Catechol-O-methyltransferase Val158Met genotype in healthy and personality disorder individuals: Preliminary results from an examination of cognitive tests hypothetically differentially sensitive to dopamine functions

A functional polymorphism of the gene coding for Catechol-O-methyltrasferase (COMT), an enzyme responsible for the degradation of the catecholamine dopamine (DA), epinephrine, and norepinephrine, is associated with cognitive deficits. However, previous studies have not examined the effects of COMT on context processing, as measured by the AX-CPT, a task hypothesized to be maximally relevant to DA function. 32 individuals who were either healthy, with schizotypal personality disorder, or non-cluster A, personality disorder (OPD) were genotyped at the COMT Val158Met locus. Met/Met (n = 6), Val/Met (n = 10), Val/Val (n = 16) individuals were administered a neuropsychological battery, including the AX-CPT and the N-back working memory test. For the AX-CPT, Met/Met demonstrated more AY errors (reflecting good maintenance of context) than the other genotypes, who showed equivalent error rates. Val/Val demonstrated disproportionately greater deterioration with increased task difficulty from 0-back to 1-back working memory demands as compared to Met/Met, while Val/Met did not differ from either genotypes. No differences were found on processing speed or verbal working memory. Both context processing and working memory appear related to COMT genotype and the AX-CPT and N-back may be most sensitive to the effects of COMT variation

Catechol-O-methyltransferase Val158Met genotype in healthy and personality disordered individuals: An examination of cognitive tests hypothetically differentially sensitive to dopamine functions

A functional polymorphism of the gene coding for Catechol-O-methyltrasferase (COMT), an enzyme responsible for the degradation of the catecholamine dopamine (DA), epinephrine, and norepinephrine, is associated with cognitive deficits. However, previous studies have not examined the effects of COMT on context processing, as measured by the AX-CPT, a task hypothesized to be maximally relevant to DA function. 32 individuals who were either healthy, with schizotypal personality disorder, or non-cluster A, personality disorder (OPD) were genotyped at the COMT Val158Met locus. Met/Met (n = 6), Val/Met (n = 10), Val/Val (n = 16) individuals were administered a neuropsychological battery, including the AX-CPT and the N-back working memory test. For the AX-CPT, Met/Met demonstrated more AY errors (reflecting good maintenance of context) than the other genotypes, who showed equivalent error rates. Val/Val demonstrated disproportionately greater deterioration with increased task difficulty from 0-back to 1-back working memory demands as compared to Met/Met, while Val/Met did not differ from either genotypes. No differences were found on processing speed or verbal working memory. Both context processing and working memory appear related to COMT genotype and the AX-CPT and N-back may be most sensitive to the effects of COMT variation

Ultrasonic inspection of flooded mineshafts for stability monitoring

This is the author accepted manuscript.The final version is available from Maney via the DOI in this record.Inspecting abandoned mine shafts is critical in ensuring their safety through early identification of signs of deterioration. Since the common inspection methods of CCTV and LiDAR are not very effective underwater, two modules have been designed for inspecting the linings of flooded, abandoned mine shafts. Using sonar technology, they allow the early stages of degradation to the lining to be detected which – since this could be indicative of imminent collapse – provides protection against the consequential risk to property and human life. Detailed measurements of several shafts’ cross-sections have been recorded using profiling and imaging sonar technology. Although imaging sonar provides very different results in the confined and reverberant environment of a mine shaft, compared to its more common environment of a seabed, it was shown that when combined with the profiling sonar, it allows shafts to be surveyed in a shorter period of time and improves the reliability of the profiling function.European Commissio

Isolation of Haemophilus parasuis in lungs of pigs in Lima, Peru: a report of three cases

Se presentan tres casos ocurridos entre mayo y junio de 2006, en base a muestras de pulmón de cerdo procedentes de dos granjas de crianza porcina y de un camal de la zona de Lima. Los resultados del aislamiento y pruebas bioquímicas fueron compatibles con Haemophilus parasuis.The paper document three cases occurred in May and June, 2006, based on lung samples from pigs of two farms and one slaughterhouse in Lima, Peru. The results of isolation and biochemical test were compatible with Haemophilus parasuis

Joint Effect of Childhood Abuse and Family History of Major Depressive Disorder on Rates of PTSD in People with Personality Disorders

Objective. Childhood maltreatment and familial psychopathology both lead to an increased risk of the development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in adulthood. While family history of psychopathology has traditionally been viewed as a proxy for genetic predisposition, such pathology can also contribute to a stress-laden environment for the child. Method. Analyses were conducted to evaluate the joint effect of childhood abuse and a family history of major depressive disorder (MDD) on diagnoses of PTSD and MDD in a sample of 225 adults with DSM-IV Axis II disorders. Results. Results showed that the rate of PTSD in the presence of both childhood abuse and MDD family history was almost six-fold (OR = 5.89, P = .001) higher relative to the absence of both factors. In contrast, the rate of MDD in the presence of both factors was associated with a nearly three-fold risk relative to the reference group (OR = 2.75, P = .01). Conclusions. The results from this observational study contribute to a growing understanding of predisposing factors for the development of PTSD and suggest that joint effects of family history of MDD and childhood abuse on PTSD are greater than either factor alone

FRECUENCIA DE INFECCIÓN CON ACTINOBACILLUS PLEUROPNEUMONIAE EN GRANJAS PORCINAS TECNIFICADAS DE LA COSTA PERUANA

The objective of the study was to determine the frequency of antibodies against the ApxIV toxin of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae, causal agent of porcine pleuropneumonia in 10 commercial pig farms of Arequipa, Lima, Ica and La Libertad departments. Blood samples were collected from animals in the growing and finishing stages (30 per farm) and analyzed by the indirect ELISA test using a commercial kit. The results showed that 23.7% (71/300) of the animals presented antibodies against the ApxIV toxin, and the highest frequency was found in the farm located in Ica (60%). The presence of antibodies against the ApxIV toxin indicated the presence of A. pleuropneumoniae infection in pig commercial farms in Peru.El objetivo del estudio fue determinar la frecuencia de anticuerpos contra la toxina ApxIV de Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae, causante de pleuroneumonía porcina en 10 granjas porcinas tecnificadas de los departamentos de Arequipa, Lima, Ica y La Libertad. Se colectaron muestras de sangre de porcinos de las etapas de crecimiento y acabado (30 por granja) y se analizaron mediante la prueba de ELISA indirecta con un kit comercial. El 23.7% (71/300) de los animales presentaron anticuerpos contra la toxina ApxIV, correspondiendo la mayor frecuencia a la granja del departamento de Ica (60.0%). La presencia de anticuerpos contra la toxina ApxIV evidencia la presencia de la infección con A. pleuropneumoniae en la industria porcina del Perú

Bovine brucellosis in Codo del Pozuzo district, Huanuco

En base a un diagnóstico circunstancial de dos casos de brucelosis en un hato bovino del distrito de Codo del Pozuzo, Huánuco, se llevó a cabo un estudio de prevalencia de Brucella sp. en 5439 bovinos entre abril a junio de 2007. Dos bovinos resultaron positivos a la prueba de Rosa de Bengala, pero negativos a la prueba confirmativa de Fijación del Complemento. El modelo de simulaciones estocásticas de distribución beta mostró una prevalencia de 0.02% con intervalo de confianza mínimo de 0 y máximo de 0.06%.A seroprevalence study on 5439 cattle from April to June 2007 was conducted based on a circumstantial diagnosis of two cases of bovine brucellosis in the district of Codo del Pozuzo, en the region of Huanuco. Two animals resulted positive to the Rose Bengal test but negative to the Complement Fixation test. The beta distribution using a simulation model showed a prevalence of 0.02% with a minimum interval of confidence of 0 and maximum of 0.06%

Cognitive and mood functioning in borderline and schizotypal personality disorders

Research suggests many shared clinical features across individuals with Schizotypal Personality Disorder (SPD) and Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), including problems with attention/ executive functioning and mood. Therefore, aspects of these areas of functioning were compared in SPD and BPD to better characterize their respective difficulties. BPD, SPD, and healthy control (HC) participants were administered measures of cognitive and mood functioning. Compared with healthy controls, SPD patients performed significantly worse on aspects of the Delayed-Matching- to-Sample task, a measure of short-term visual memory abilities; however, the individuals with BPD did not differ from healthy controls. Neither of the patient groups differed from HC’s on measures of processing speed or planning. With regard to mood functioning, the BPD group exhibited significantly higher levels of affective disturbance (e.g., sadness, fear, anger) compared with the SPD patients and HCs. Overall, findings suggest different patterns of fronto-subcortical weakness in each patient group. While SPD patients exhibited relative weakness with short-term memory, BPD patient performance on such measures did not reveal relative weakness compared with HCs but did implicate problems with mood