Neuropsychological functioning following fetal striatal transplantation in Huntington''s chorea: three case presentations

How a chronic illness leads to emotional disorders in a child or adolescent is primarily defined by the style of coping within the family. coping style describes the inner confrontation and the way of coming to terms with the disease and its effective management. For the treating physician, knowledge of the determining factors is important not only to perceive disturbances in the patient-physician relationship but also between the child or adolescent and his family. This is important when deciding whether the physician himself can intervene or whether outside help is necessary. Of these determining factors, the cognitive understanding of the disease by the affected child or adolescent and the art of communication within the family are described. Most important is the parental coping style, formed in earlier crisis situations, into which the child or adolescent is now integrated. Pathological "pseudo" solutions together with reasonably successful forms of coping and their influence on the patient-doctor-relationship are discussed.     

Heterogeneity of semantic and visuospatial deficits in early Alzheimer's disease.

Staging of visuospatial and semantic deficits in patients with dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT) was examined. The authors hypothesized that semantic ability would be more impaired in these patients, reflecting predominant temporal pathology early in the disease. However, in the 1st study (n?=?26). 3 patients (11.5%) had marked visual but no semantic impairment. This finding was extended in a 2nd study with a 2nd patient sample (n?=?21) and more specific tasks. Two patients (9.5%) again had visual but no semantic impairment. These studies confirm that, in patients with DAT presenting with relatively focal deficits, visual deficits sometimes occur before semantic problems. The findings are discussed with regard to the cognitive demands and neuroanatomical underpinning of the tests used and point to the necessity of using cognitively specific tests to enable accurate analysis of deficits in the context of the neuroanatomical basis of impairment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Design, integration and demonstration of a 50 W JP8/kerosene fueled portable SOFC power generator

A man-portable solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) system integrated with desulfurized JP8 partial oxidation (POX) reformer was demonstrated to supply a continuous power output of 50 W. This paper discusses some of the design paths chosen and challenges faced during the thermal integration of the stack and reformer in aiding the system startup and shutdown along with balance of plant and power management solutions. The package design, system capabilities, and test results of the prototype unit are presented.     

Hand preference predicts reactions to novel foods and predators in marmosets (Callithrix geoffroyi).

In chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus), left-handed individuals are less likely than right-handed individuals to explore new objects and situations, suggesting a relationship between the hemispheric specialization of emotional states and motor function. To further explore this relationship and to test the hypothesis that fearfulness is related to hand preference, we assessed willingness to approach, sniff, and taste novel foods, and the duration of freeze reactions in response to hawk calls, in 18 Geoffroy's marmosets (Callithrix geoffroyi). In accordance with these hypotheses, left-handed marmosets were slower to explore novel foods and slower to emerge from a freeze response than right-handed marmosets. Hand preference and at least some features of temperament seem to be related in this and other species of primates. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Neuropsychological effects of depression and age in an elderly sample: A confirmatory study.

Few well-controlled studies have directly examined the relationship of age and depression with neuropsychological function while at the same time examining the possible influence of general medical illness. Toward this end, 44 elderly patients with unipolar major depression were compared with 30 nondepressed controls with a range of neuropsychological tests. The depressed patients evidenced a broad base of deficits relative to controls, as well as more rapid declines with increasing age on tests of complex psychomotor function, copying, and perceptual integration. Overall level of general medical illness had minimal influence on neuropsychological test performance in either group. In light of recent reports contradictory to the findings presented here, the importance of participant selection variables in neuropsychological studies of late-life depression is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Accuracy of the conductance catheter for measurement of ventricularvolumes seen clinically: effects of electric field homogeneity andparallel conductance

The conductance-volume method is an important clinical tool which allows the assessment of left ventricular function in vivo. However, the accuracy of this method is limited by the homogeneity of electric field the conductance catheter produces and the parallel conductance of surrounding structures. This paper examines these sources of error in volumes seen clinically, The characteristics of electric field within a chamber were examined using computer simulation. Nonconductive and conductive models were constructed and experimental measurements obtained using both single-field (SF) and dual-field (DF) excitation. Results from computer simulations and in vitro measurements were compared to validate the proposed theoretical model of conductance-volume method. The effects of field homogeneity and significance of parallel conductance in volume measurement were then determined. The results of this study show that DF provide a more accurate measure of intraventricular volume than SF, especially at larger volumes. However, both significantly underestimate true volume at larger volumes. In addition, the parallel conductance due to the chamber wall is significant at small volumes, but diminishes at larger volumes. Furthermore, the effect of parallel conductance beyond the chamber wall may be negligible. This study demonstrates the limitations in applying current conductance technology to patients with dilated hearts