Molecular phylogenetics of cool-season grasses in the subtribes Agrostidinae, Anthoxanthinae, Aveninae, Brizinae, Calothecinae, Koeleriinae and Phalaridinae (Poaceae, Pooideae, Poeae, Poeae chloroplast group 1).

Circumscriptions of and relationships among many genera and suprageneric taxa of the diverse grass tribe Poeae remain controversial. In an attempt to clarify these, we conducted phylogenetic analyses of >2400 new DNA sequences from two nuclear ribosomal regions (ITS, including internal transcribed spacers 1 and 2 and the 5.8S gene, and the 3'-end of the external transcribed spacer (ETS)) and five plastid regions (, , , , ), and of more than 1000 new and previously published ITS sequences, focused particularly on Poeae chloroplast group 1 and including broad and increased species sampling compared to previous studies.

Substance misuse in the psychiatric emergency service; a descriptive study.

Substance misuse is frequently encountered in the psychiatric emergency service (PES) and may take many forms, ranging from formal DSM-IV diagnoses to less obvious entities such as hazardous consumption. Detecting such patients using traditional screening instruments has proved problematic. We therefore undertook this study to more fully characterize substance misuse in the PES and to determine whether certain variables might help better screen these patients.

The elderly in the psychiatric emergency service (PES); a descriptive study.

Background: The impact of an aging population on the psychiatric emergency service (PES) has not been fully ascertained. Cognitive dysfunctions aside, many DSM-IV disorders may have a lower prevalence in the elderly, who appear to be underrepresented in the PES. We therefore attempted to more precisely assess their patterns of PES use and their clinical and demographic characteristics.

Principles underlying the Bilingual Aphasia Test (BAT) and its uses.

The Bilingual Aphasia Test (BAT) is designed to be objective (so it can be administered by a lay native speaker of the language) and equivalent across languages (to allow for a comparison between the languages of a given patient as well as across patients from different institutions). It has been used not only with aphasia but also with any condition that results in language impairment (Alzheimer's, autism, cerebellar lesions, developmental language disorders, mild cognitive impairment, motor neuron disease, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's, vascular dementia, etc.).

Aggressive behaviors in the psychiatric emergency service.

Introduction: Studies of aggressive behaviors in a nonforensic mental health setting have focused primarily on the inpatient ward and, on event prediction, using behavior-based clinical rating scales. Few studies have specifically targeted aggressive behaviors in the psychiatric emergency service or determined whether assessing the demographic and clinical characteristics of such patients might prove useful for their more rapid identification.

Methods: We used a prospectively acquired database of over 20,900 visits to four services in the province of Quebec, Canada, over a two-year period from September 2002 onwards.

Is psychiatric emergency service (PES) use increasing over time?

Background: Several recent studies have reported a significant increase in medical emergency department (ED) use for reasons of mental health. The diagnostic profile of these patients however differs from that usually described for patients visiting the psychiatric emergency service (PES). Few studies have specifically focused upon long-term PES utilization rates.

A qualitative study of a psychiatric emergency.

Background: The psychiatric emergency service (PES) is a major hub in the mental health care delivery system. The aim of this study was to more precisely define what psychiatrists consider to be a psychiatric emergency and to examine the underlying basis of this assessment.

Methods: Over twenty-two thousand PES visits were assessed prospectively for pertinence and urgency by psychiatrists in four functionally and structurally different services in the province of Quebec, Canada.

Pathological gambling and the psychiatric emergency service.

Objective: Pathological gambling (PG) has been associated with several negative mental health outcomes. We attempted to assess the impact of PG at the level of the psychiatric emergency service (PES).

Methods: In a first trial, clinical and demographic data were acquired from patients visiting the PES of a major university teaching hospital in downtown Montreal from July 1, 1996, to December 31, 2000.

The bilingual Loch Ness Monster raises its non-asymmetric head again-or, why bother with such cumbersome notions as validity and reliability? Comments on Evans et al. (2000).

All of the experimental studies of the past 25 years combined and the meta-analyses of their findings have not advanced our knowledge of the lateralization of language in bilingual speakers one bit. We are left with a clutter of inherently uninterpretable contradictory results. Successive studies do not contribute a single brick to the edifice or a single piece to the puzzle-only more confusion.