The interaction of preserved pragmatics and impaired syntax in Japanese and English aphasic speech.

Elicited narrative studies have shown that the underlying pragmatic factor of empathy is relatively preserved in aphasic speakers of Japanese and English (7 Japanese and 14 English-speaking aphasics of varied diagnostic types). Occasional "reversal errors" can be explained in terms of a conflict between the normal encoding of the empathic characteristics of an event and the syntactic limitations imposed by impaired production processes. To account for these findings, we propose a production model following Levelt (1989) for making pragmatic choices among syntactic forms. We also suggest that preferential access to "canonical form" might be a matter of surface morphosyntax, rather than involving semantics or more abstracts levels of syntax.

Rabies in a vaccinated wolf-dog hybrid.

In March 1993, an 11-month-old neutered male wolf-dog hybrid with a 5-day history of progressive neurologic signs was determined to have rabies. The animal was currently vaccinated for rabies with a USDA-approved canine rabies vaccine. One month prior to becoming ill, the animal was observed carrying a dead skunk in its enclosure in a rabies-endemic foothills region of northern California. The diagnosis was made by direct fluorescent antibody testing and confirmed by use of polymerase chain reaction methods when attempts to isolate rabies virus failed. Seven people required rabies postexposure prophylactic treatment. No rabies vaccine is currently licensed for use in wild animals or in wild-domestic animal hybrids in the United States. A documented case of rabies in a wolf-dog hybrid vaccinated with a USDA-approved canine rabies vaccine underscores the public safety issues faced by veterinarians caring for wild-domestic animal hybrids.

Changing trends in the epidemiology of human brucellosis in California from 1973 to 1992: a shift toward foodborne transmission.

From 1973 through 1992, 426 cases of human brucellosis were reported in California, of which 98% were laboratory confirmed. Brucella melitensis was identified in 185 cases (78.7% of the bacteriologically typed cases). Hispanics accounted for 81% of the cases from 1983 to 1992 compared with 65% during the previous decade (P < .01). The population-adjusted average annual incidence was higher in Hispanics, especially in children and teenagers, compared with non-Hispanic whites and African Americans. Slaughterhouse cases decreased from 25% during 1973-1982 to < 3% during the following decade. Changes in case distribution were characterized by a decreasing incidence in the Central Valley and an increasing incidence in the San Francisco Bay area and the southern Coast Range. Hispanics were more likely to report being infected by consumption of milk and cheese in Mexico during 1983-1992 than during the previous 10 years (relative risk, 1.45). Between 1973 and 1992, human brucellosis in California evolved from an occupational to a foodborne illness.