Genome sequences of Listeria monocytogenes strains J1816 and J1-220, associated with human outbreaks.

Listeria monocytogenes has caused numerous human outbreaks. Here we report draft genomes of L. monocytogenes J1816 and J1-220, which belong to epidemic clones II and IV, respectively.

Genome sequence of the clinical O4:K12 serotype Vibrio parahaemolyticus strain 10329.

Vibrio parahaemolyticus is the leading cause of food-borne illnesses worldwide. Here, we report a draft genome of V. parahaemolyticus strain 10329 of the O4:K12 serotype.

Discriminative stimulus effects of tramadol in humans.

Tramadol is an unscheduled atypical analgesic that acts as an agonist at μ-opioid receptors and inhibits monoamine reuptake. Tramadol can suppress opioid withdrawal, and chronic administration can produce opioid physical dependence; however, diversion and abuse of tramadol is low. The present study further characterized tramadol in a three-choice discrimination procedure.

Increased blood pressure after abrupt cessation of daily cannabis use.

Objective: Cannabis is the most widely used illicit drug. Acute cannabis administration increases blood pressure (BP) and heart rate and tolerance develops to these effects with heavy use. A valid and reliable withdrawal syndrome occurs in most daily users, but few studies have assessed the cardiovascular effects of withdrawal.

Draft genome sequences of six Escherichia coli isolates from the stepwise model of emergence of Escherichia coli O157:H7.

Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) of serotype O157:H7 has been implicated in food-borne illnesses worldwide. An evolutionary model was proposed in which the highly pathogenic EHEC O157:H7 serotype arose from its ancestor, enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC) O55:H7 (sorbitol fermenting [SOR(+)] and β-glucuronidase positive [GUD(+)]), through sequential gain of virulence, phenotypic traits, and serotype change.

Drug use and sport--a commentary on: Injury, pain and prescription opioid use among former National Football League football players by Cottler et al.

The accompanying paper by Cottler et al. reports on findings from a telephone survey study that examined opioid analgesic use and misuse by U.S.

Induction of opioid-dependent individuals onto buprenorphine and buprenorphine/naloxone soluble-films.

A sublingual soluble-film formulation of buprenorphine/naloxone (B/N) has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of opioid dependency. This preparation provides unit-dose, child-resistant packaging amenable to tracking and accountability, offers more rapid dissolution, and has a potentially preferred taste vs. tablets.

A randomized controlled trial of fluoxetine in the treatment of cocaine dependence among methadone-maintained patients.

Background: Cocaine abuse and dependence continue to be widespread. Currently, there are no pharmacotherapies shown to be effective in the treatment of cocaine dependence.

Methods: A 33-week outpatient clinical trial of fluoxetine (60 mg/day, po) for cocaine dependence that incorporated abstinence-contingent voucher incentives was conducted.

Effects of oral caffeine pretreatment on response to intravenous nicotine and cocaine.

Previous research suggests that under conditions of chronic daily caffeine administration, caffeine increases the effects of nicotine. Little is known about the effects of caffeine pretreatment on response to nicotine under infrequent caffeine administration conditions. The present study examined whether infrequent (not on consecutive days) acute oral caffeine administration alters subject-rated, physiological, and monetary value effects of intravenous nicotine in regular users of caffeine, tobacco, and cocaine.

Cigarette smoking knowledge, attitudes, and practices of patients and staff at a perinatal substance abuse treatment center.

This study compares cigarette smoking knowledge, attitudes, and practices (S-KAP) of opioid- and other substance-dependent patients and their multidisciplinary staff at an outpatient perinatal substance abuse treatment center. Consenting patients (n = 95) and staff (n = 41) concurrently completed a modified form of the S-KAP survey instrument. Ninety-five percent of patients reported currently smoking, and half endorsed wanting "to quit smoking now.

Physical dependence potential of daily tramadol dosing in humans.

Rationale: Tramadol is an atypical, mixed-mechanism analgesic involving both opioid and catecholamine processes that appears to have low abuse potential and may be useful as a treatment for opioid dependence.

Objectives: The current study assessed the level of physical dependence and opioid blockade efficacy produced by daily maintenance on oral tramadol.

Methods: Nine residential opioid-dependent adults were maintained on two doses of daily oral tramadol (200 and 800 mg) for approximately 4-week intervals in a randomized, double-blind, crossover design.

Acute effects of intramuscular and sublingual buprenorphine and buprenorphine/naloxone in non-dependent opioid abusers.

Rationale: Buprenorphine is a partial mu opioid receptor agonist with clinical efficacy as a pharmacotherapy for opioid dependence. A sublingual combination formulation was developed containing buprenorphine and naloxone with the intent of decreasing abuse liability in opioid-dependent individuals. However, the addition of naloxone may not limit abuse potential of this medication when taken by individuals without opioid physical dependence.

Effects of repeated tramadol and morphine administration on psychomotor and cognitive performance in opioid-dependent volunteers.

Tramadol is an atypical, mixed mechanism analgesic used to treat moderate to severe pain. Based on evidence that tramadol has relatively low abuse potential and can relieve opioid withdrawal, tramadol may be useful for treating opioid dependence. The purpose of this study was to assess the performance side-effect profile of tramadol.

Human abuse liability assessment of oxycodone combined with ultra-low-dose naltrexone.

Rationale: Prescription opioid abuse has risen dramatically in the United States as clinicians have increased opioid prescribing for alleviation of both acute and chronic pain. Opioid analgesics with decreased risk for abuse are needed.

Objective: Preclinical and clinical studies have shown that opioids combined with ultra-low-dose naltrexone (NTX) may have increased analgesic potency and have suggested reduced abuse or dependence liability.

The relationship between antidepressant use and smoking cessation in pregnant women in treatment for substance abuse.

Background: Bupropion's efficacy for smoking cessation in pregnant women is unknown.

Objectives: To determine if substance-dependent women prescribed bupropion smoked fewer cigarettes/day than those prescribed citalopram/escitalopram or no antidepressant medication.

Methods: Comparison of smoking in bupropion (n = 11), citalopram/escitalopram (n = 17), and no antidepressant (n = 28) groups.

Analysis of High-Throughput Flow Cytometry Data Using plateCore.

Flow cytometry (FCM) software packages from R/Bioconductor, such as flowCore and flowViz, serve as an open platform for development of new analysis tools and methods. We created plateCore, a new package that extends the functionality in these core packages to enable automated negative control-based gating and make the processing and analysis of plate-based data sets from high-throughput FCM screening experiments easier. plateCore was used to analyze data from a BD FACS CAP screening experiment where five Peripheral Blood Mononucleocyte Cell (PBMC) samples were assayed for 189 different human cell surface markers.

Relationship between cigarette use and mood/anxiety disorders among pregnant methadone-maintained patients.

This study investigates the association between cigarette use and current mood/anxiety disorders among pregnant opioid-dependent patients. Pregnant methadone-maintained women (N = 122) completed the Addiction Severity Index and Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV. Participants were categorized based on past 30 days cigarette use: no (n = 15) and any smoking (n = 107); this latter group was then subdivided into light (one to ten cigarettes/day; n = 55), and heavy smokers (11+ cigarettes/day; n = 52).

Concurrent validation of the Clinical Opiate Withdrawal Scale (COWS) and single-item indices against the Clinical Institute Narcotic Assessment (CINA) opioid withdrawal instrument.

Introduction: The Clinical Opiate Withdrawal Scale (COWS) is an 11-item clinician-administered scale assessing opioid withdrawal. Though commonly used in clinical practice, it has not been systematically validated. The present study validated the COWS in comparison to the validated Clinical Institute Narcotic Assessment (CINA) scale.

Screening for Mood Disorder in Pregnant Substance-dependent Patients.

The Addiction Severity Index (ASI) and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) were compared as screening tests for current mood disorder in pregnant substance-dependent patients (N = 187). Mean ASI psychiatric Interviewer Severity Rating (ISR) and BDI scores for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder-IV diagnosed current mood disorder patients (n = 51) were 4.4 and 17.

flowCore: a Bioconductor package for high throughput flow cytometry.

Background: Recent advances in automation technologies have enabled the use of flow cytometry for high throughput screening, generating large complex data sets often in clinical trials or drug discovery settings. However, data management and data analysis methods have not advanced sufficiently far from the initial small-scale studies to support modeling in the presence of multiple covariates.

Results: We developed a set of flexible open source computational tools in the R package flowCore to facilitate the analysis of these complex data.

Changing profile of abused substances by older persons entering treatment.

This study evaluated whether there were increasing admissions for illicit drug abuse treatment among older persons from 1992 to 2005 in the United States and describes the characteristics, number, and type of substances most commonly abused in this population over this 14-year period. Analyses used public data files from the Treatment Episode Data Set, which tracks federally and state funded substance abuse treatment admissions. From 1992 to 2005, admissions for illicit drug abuse increased significantly; in 2005, 61% of admissions age 50 to 54 years old and 45% of admissions age 55 years and older reported some type of illicit drug abuse, most commonly heroin or cocaine abuse.

Genomic analysis of closely related astroviruses.

To understand astrovirus biology, it is essential to understand factors associated with its evolution. The current study reports the genomic sequences of nine novel turkey astrovirus (TAstV) type 2-like clinical isolates. This represents, to our knowledge, the largest genomic-length data set available for any one astrovirus type.