Bipolar affective disorder minus left prefrontal cortex equals schizophrenia

BACKGROUND: An investigation of the relationship between bipolar affective disorder and schizophrenia, following a severe head injury and removal of the left prefrontal cortex. METHOD: A single case report. RESULTS: An individual with past history of bipolar affective disorder suffered traumatic damages to the left prefrontal cortex with a second lesion in the left temporal lobe. The patient developed typical schizophrenia nine months later. The relevance of his brain lesions in determining the schizophrenic symptoms is discussed. CONCLUSION: We propose that the specific pattern of brain injury in this patient was sufficient to change the phenotype from bipolar affective disorder to schizophrenia.     

H2Se “memory effects” upon doping profiles in GaAs grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MO-CVD)

A chemical vapor deposition “memory effect” is the tendency of a source material to adsorb onto the internal walls of the system and subsequently desorb after nominal source shutoff. H₂Se, the most common Se transport agent in metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), adsorbs onto stainless steel and glass surfaces. Among the consequences are: graded doping profiles at the end of Se-containing epitaxial layers and the depletion of H2Se gas mixtures with time. By contrast, SiH₄, the most common Si transport agent, exhibits negligible memory effect and is recommended as an alternate n-dopant source when memory effects must be entirely eliminated. Capacitance-voltage measurements are used to quantify the extent of the t₂Se “memory effect” in GaAs to identify methods for its reduction or elimination, and to distinguish the effects of diffusion and memory upon observed doping profiles. Memory effects are also anticipated when Se is a primary constituent of a semiconductor and H₂Se the transport agent.     

Subgrouping children with familial phonologic disorders

Familial aggregation of speech and language disorders was examined as a basis of subgrouping children with phonologic disorders. Fifty-nine children with phonologic disorders were subgrouped according to whether or not other nuclear family members reported a history of speech/language disorders. Thirty-four subjects (58%) reported at least one other nuclear family member affected and 25 subjects (42%) reported no other nuclear family members affected. Groups were compared on measures of articulation, phonology, language, and oral motor skills to determine if the familial phonologic subgroup presented a unique profile of speech and language deficits. Significant group differences were not observed. However, children with positive nuclear family histories tended to perform more poorly than children without histories on all tasks, although not reaching significance. Although all parents were considered to have achieved normal adult articulation, parents of children with positive family histories also tended to perform more poorly than parents of children with negative histories. Results suggested that poorer oral motor coordination and productive phonology may distinguish individuals with familial phonologic disorders from individuals with phonologic disorders of unknown origin.     

Training students to represent arithmetic word problems.

The impact of a training program to improve students' representation skills for compare word problems was tested with 96 college students in a pretest–posttest design. Pretest data supported A. B. Lewis and R. E. Mayer's (see record 1988-21646-001) comprehension model. Posttest data showed that for targeted problems, the diagram group, which learned about the types of statements found in arithmetic word problems (translation training) and also learned a method for diagraming problem information (integration training), produced greater pretest-to-posttest gains (85% to 99% correct representation) than did either the statement group, which received only translation training (83% to 89%), or the control group, which received no training (84% to 91%). On transfer items the diagram group also produced greater gains (77% to 93%) than either the statement group (84% to 87%) or the control group (80% to 81%). Arguments are made for the importance of representation training in mathematics curricula. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationship between appearance of urinary red blood cell/white blood cell casts and the onset of renal relapse in systemic lupus erythematosus

The purpose of the study was to determine the extent to which urinary sediment findings (changes in red blood cells [RBCs], white blood cells [WBCs], and the appearance of RBC and WBC casts) predict the onset of renal relapse (defined as a specific increase in proteinuria and/or serum creatinine level) in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Seventeen SLE patients with biopsy-proven diffuse proliferative glomerulonephritis at initial presentation were followed prospectively for 1,129 patient-months under a study protocol. Semiquantitative urinalyses were performed at 2-month intervals during periods with little or no SLE activity and, more frequently, during periods with increased SLE activity. Each urinalysis was accompanied by a clinical evaluation and a panel of screening tests relevant to the evaluation of SLE activity. During this study, 877 semiquantitative urinalyses were performed and 43 renal relapses were observed in 14 patients. No relapse occurred in three patients. Of the renal relapses, 30 were defined as proteinuria relapses (mean baseline proteinuria increased from 0.8 +/- 0.1 g/24 hr to 2.7 +/- 0.3 g/24 hr; P < 0.001) and 13 were defined as serum creatinine relapses (mean baseline serum creatinine increased from 2.7 +/- 0.4 mg/dL to 3.8 +/- 0.5 mg/dL; P < 0.001). Red blood cell and/or WBC casts (cellular casts) were observed before or at the onset of 35 of the 43 renal relapses (sensitivity, 81%). The mean and median intervals between the appearance of cellular casts and the onset of renal relapse was 10 +/- 2 weeks and 8 weeks, respectively.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Practical frequency source for use in agile radars

A simple circuit is described in which SAW and conventional electrical components are combined to form an agile-frequency source. The principle is illustrated by a prototype version developed for use in an experimental radar and providing 20 clean outputs at 10 MHz intervals.     

Magnetic resonance characterization of solid-state intermediates in the generation of ceramics by pyrolysis of hydridopolysilazane

Chemical intermediates produced from the pyrolysis of hydridopolysilazane (HPZ) were studied in the solid state by multinuclear nuclear magnetic resonance and electron spin resonance. When pyrolysed at temperatures of 1200°C, uncured HPZ forms a ceramic material with a composition of Si_2.2N_2.2C_1.0. A series of HPZ-derived ceramics was produced using a number of different heat-treatment temperatures, varying between 300 and 1200°C. Solid-state magnetic resonance data generated from this set of HPZ-derived ceramics elucidate important features of this complex transformation. Silicon atoms initially exist in two types of sites in the polymer,Si(Me)₃ and ()₃SiH sites. Upon pyrolysis between 300 and 400°C, the silazane cyclizes and cross-links, forming an intractable, insoluble solid. Increasing the pyrolysis temperature to between 400 and 600°C creates a matrix that is partially inorganic; at heat-treatment temperatures in this range, many of the C-H bonds of the starting polymer are cleaved. Elevating the heat-treatment temperature to between 600 and 1200°C generates a series of chemical structures with silicon in a tetrahedral site of the general form SiN_4–xC_x, where x=0, 1, 2, 3, 4. No crystalline forms of Si₃N₄ or SiC were detected in the material prepared at even the highest heat-treatment temperature of 1200 °C.