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Biomedical subjects

R Bowles

Publications and source records attributed to R Bowles.

10 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Do threatening stimuli draw or hold visual attention in subclinical anxiety?

Biases in information processing undoubtedly play an important role in the maintenance of emotion and emotional disorders. In an attentional cueing paradigm, threat words and angry faces had no advantage over positive or neutral words (or faces) in attracting attention to their own location, even for people who were highly state-anxious. In contrast, the presence of threatening cues (words and faces) had a strong impact on the disengagement of attention. When a threat cue was presented and a target subsequently presented in another location, high state-anxious individuals took longer to detect the target relative to when either a positive or a neutral cue was presented. It is concluded that threat-related stimuli affect attentional dwell time and the disengage component of attention, leaving the question of whether threat stimuli affect the shift component of attention open to debate.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Serological characterisation of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae isolated from pigs in 1993 to 1996.

OBJECTIVES: To clarify the serological identity of the prototype strain of a group of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae isolates that could not be serotyped in previous studies and to establish the serovar of 378 isolates of A pleuropneumoniae obtained from pigs in Australia over the period 1993 to 1996. DESIGN: After initial validation, QGD and IHA tests were used to characterise the prototype isolate (HS143) selected to represent the cross-reacting isolates that were found in a previous study. Next, 378 recent field isolates of A pleuropneumoniae were characterised using the existing gel diffusion serotyping technique and/or the IHA or QGD tests. RESULTS: The indirect haemagglutination test was shown to be capable of correctly recognising the reference strain for all serovars except serovar 11. While the quantitative gel diffusion test was not as effective as indirect haemagglutination, it could recognise serovar 11. When the two tests were used to examine the prototype strain (HS143) of the cross-reactive isolates, the results indicated that HS143 is serologically distinct from all 12 of the recognised serovars of A pleuropneumoniae. However, as HS143 was subsequently identified as serovar 12 by one of the leading international reference laboratories, the antiserum to isolate HS143 was used as the serovar 12 antiserum. A total of 346 of the 378 A pleuropneumoniae field isolates examined could be confidently serotyped with almost 90% of the isolates being either serovar 1 (104 isolates); serovar 7 (83 isolates) or serovar 12 (142 isolates). A range of other serovars and some cross-reactive isolates made up the remainder of the isolates. CONCLUSION: The serovar 12 antiserum produced against the international reference strain (1096) does not recognise Australian serovar 12 isolates. The antiserum raised against isolate HS143 does recognise the Australian serovar 12 isolates. The dominant serovars of A pleuropneumoniae infecting Australian pigs are (in decreasing order) serovars 12, 1 and 7.

Actinobacillus Infections↗
PubMed1997

Phenotypic characterisation of Pasteurella multocida isolates from Australian pigs.

A phenotypic characterisation of 150 isolates of bacteria previously identified as Pasteurella multocida was performed. All the isolates had been obtained from Australian pigs in the three eastern States of Queensland (110 isolates), New South Wales (21 isolates) and Victoria (19 isolates). Seven different biochemical biovars were recognised amongst the isolates. A total of 100 isolates (67%) were assigned to biovar 3, previously shown to be the most common biovar in isolates of P. multocida from Australian poultry [Fegan, N., Blackall, P.J., Pahoff, J.L., 1995. Phenotypic characterisation of Pasteurella multocida isolates from Australian poultry. Vet. Microbiol., 47, 281-286.]. Six of the seven biovars, including biovar 3, were identified as P. multocida subsp. multocida, 124 isolates in total. One other biovar, consisting of thirteen isolates, was identified as P. multocida subsp. gallicida. Within the six biovars that were identified as P. multocida subsp. multocida, biovars 12, 13 and 14 represented unusual biochemical variants. The nine isolates assigned to biovar 12 appeared to be lactose positive variants of P. multocida subsp. multocida. The three isolates in biovar 13 appeared to be ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) negative variants of P. multocida subsp. multocida. The single isolate in biovar 14 appeared to be an ODC negative, lactose positive variant of P. multocida subsp. multocida.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Comparison of a once-a-day sustained-release morphine formulation with standard oral morphine treatment for cancer pain.

Kadian/Kapanol (K) is a capsule formulation of morphine designed for 12- or 24-hourly dosing. This double-blind study compared the efficacy and safety of K every 24 hr to K every 12 hr and MS Contin tablets (MSC) every 12 hr. One hundred fifty-two patients with cancer pain were titrated to adequate analgesia with immediate-release morphine (IRM) solution. Stabilized patients were randonized to one of the three treatments for 7 +/- 1 days. Rescue medication was IRM tablets. Efficacy and safety were assessed by time to first remedication and total dose of rescue medication, pain scores, global assessments, and incidence of morphine-related side effects. Fifty-four patients were treated with K every 24 hr. 45 with K every 12 hr. and 53 with MSC every 12 hr. Mean age was 61 years and mean total daily dose of morphine was 138 mg. Forty-six percent of the K every 24 hr patients, 51% of the K every 12 hr patients, and 55% of the MSC every 12 hr patients required rescue medication on the final day. Time to remedication was 16.0 hr for K every 24 hr, 9.1 hr for K every 12 hr and 8.7 hr for MSC every 12 hr (P = 0.0010). Patient global assessment significantly favored K every 24 hr over MSC every 12 hr (P = 0.018). There were no statistically significant differences among the treatments for any morphine-related side effects when adjusted for baseline. K had efficacy and safety profiles similar to MSC every 12 hr but had the advantage of 12- or 24-hourly administration.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1996

Multilocus enzyme electrophoretic (MEE) analysis of Australian isolates of Salmonella enteritidis.

Seventy-three Australian isolates of Salmonella Enteritidis (SE) were analysed by multilocus enzyme electrophoresis (MEE) using a polyacrylamide gel system. Analysis of 11 enzyme loci identified eight electrophoretic types (ETs), with 61 of the isolates assigned to ET1, and 72 isolates considered to represent a clonal lineage. Representative isolates of each of the Australian ETs were then compared with isolates from England, Germany and the United States, using a starch gel system and 13 enzyme loci. The overseas isolates formed a single ET with representatives of the major Australian ET. It is concluded that Australian isolates of SE are closely related genetically to those from countries in which egg-borne transmission is common.

Alleles↗
PubMed1993

Variations in therapeutic interventions for Cambodian and Chilean refugee survivors of torture and trauma: a pilot study.

The treatment of refugee survivors of torture and trauma has attracted increasing clinical attention. The present study surveyed therapists concerning the emphasis that was placed on disclosure of previous traumatic experiences in therapy with refugees from Chile and Cambodia. Significant differences were found between the two groups with trauma story discussion being judged by therapists to be more important to treatment outcome in Chilean patients. The problem of potential therapist bias limits definitive conclusions, however we suggest that differences in cultural preparedness for psychotherapy aimed at uncovering previous traumatic experiences may be the main reason for variations in styles of therapy offered to these distinctive ethnic groups. Other possible explanations are differences in diagnostic profiles and types of previous traumatic experiences.

Acculturation↗
PubMed1991

Psychosocial needs of torture survivors.

Growing recognition that the world faces a modern epidemic of torture has stimulated widespread interest amongst mental health professionals in strategies for the treatment of survivors. In this article we outline the distinctive experiences of torture survivors who present for treatment in western countries. These survivors are usually refugees who, in addition to torture, have suffered a sequence of traumatic experiences and face ongoing linguistic, occupational, financial, educational and cultural obstacles in their country of resettlement. Their multiple needs call into question whether "working through" their trauma stories in psychotherapy will on its own ensure successful psychosocial rehabilitation. Drawing on our experience at a recently established service, we propose a broader therapeutic aim.

Adaptation, Psychological↗