Attention-deficit hyperactivity symptomatology after traumatic brain injury: a prospective study

OBJECTIVE: To study prospectively the course of attention-deficit hyperactivity (ADH) symptomatology in children and adolescents after traumatic brain injury (TBI). It was hypothesized that ADH symptomatology would be significantly related to severity of injury. METHOD: Subjects were children (n = 50) aged 6 to 14 years at the time they were hospitalized after TBI. The study used a prospective follow-up design. Assessments of preinjury psychiatric, behavioral, socioeconomic, family functioning, and family psychiatric history status were conducted. Severity of injury was assessed by standard clinical scales, and neuroimaging was analyzed. RESULTS: The main finding of this study was that change in ADH symptomatology in the first 2 years after TBI in children and adolescents was significantly related to severity of injury. Overall ADH symptomatology during the study was significantly related to a measure of family dysfunction when family psychiatric history, socioeconomic status, and severity of injury were controlled. CONCLUSION: The presence of a positive "dose-response" relationship between severity of injury and change in ADH symptoms, present from the 3-month assessment, was consistent with an effect directly related to brain damage.     

From scattered data to actionable knowledge: flexible cyber security reporting in the military domain

International Journal of Information Security - Numerous cyber situational awareness models have been proposed in recent years. Yet, one of the main challenges still remains mostly unsolved, which...     

Thermo-sensitive poly(N-vinylcaprolactam-co-acetoacetoxyethyl methacrylate) microgels: 2. Incorporation of polypyrrole

In a previous paper [Polymer (2003) in press DOI: 10.1016/j.polymer.2003.09.037] polymeric temperature-sensitive microgels were prepared by surfactant-free emulsion co-polymerization of N-vinylcaprolactam (VCL) and acetoacetoxyethyl methacrylate (AAEM). In the present work, VCL/AAEM microgels were used as a template for oxidative polymerization of pyrrole (Py). It was found that pyrrole polymerization takes place directly in microgel structure leading to composite particles. Influence of microgel structure and amount of incorporated polypyrrole (PPy) on particle properties is discussed. Obtained stable composite microgels show similar thermal sensitivity as VCL/AAEM particles with fully reversible collapse-swelling properties.     

Impulsive and callous traits are more strongly associated with delinquent behavior in higher risk neighborhoods among boys and girls.

The purpose of the present study was to determine whether the effect of impulsive and callous personality traits on delinquent behavior varied across neighborhood context in a population-based, statewide sample of 85,000 Iowa schoolchildren ages 10-19. Two previous studies examining the association between impulsivity and delinquency across disadvantaged and affluent neighborhoods have yielded contrasting findings. Results of the present study suggested a robust moderating effect of neighborhood context on personality risk for delinquency. The relation between impulsivity and delinquency was greater in neighborhoods low in collective efficacy compared to neighborhoods high in collective efficacy. A similar interaction was found for callous personality traits, indicating the consistency of the moderating effect of neighborhood context on personality risk for delinquency. Gender differences were also examined, and results were replicated in a holdout sample. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Functional studies of synthetic gramicidin hybrid ion channels in CHO cells

The function of a gramicidin hybrid ion channel in living Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells was investigated by the patch clamp method. The synthetic ion channel 1 consists of two cyclohexyl ether amino acids that link two mini-gramicidin strands. With 1 at a concentration of 1.0 microM, an increase in the whole-cell membrane conductance was observed after 1.37 min. The conductance showed larger currents when Cs(+) was used as charge carrier than when Na(+) and K(+) were used. In single-channel recordings with Cs(+) as charge carrier, the substance showed comparable single-channel amplitudes in the membrane of living cells and artificial black lipid bilayers. In addition to functioning as a cation channel, compound 1 appeared to be a water channel. Exposure of the CHO cells to an extracellular hypoosmotic solution did not substantially change the cell volume. Extracellular hypoosmotic conditions in the presence of 1 increased the cell size to 146.5 % that of the control. Thus, the synthetic hybrid channel 1 can function as a cation channel with some Cs(+) specificity, and as a water channel in CHO cells.     

Acetylation of faba bean legumin: conformational changes and aggregation

The effect of progressive acetylation upon the conformation of the 11S globulin legumin from faba bean has been studied using chemical analysis, UV, fluorescence and CD spectroscopy, viscometry and analytical ultracentrifugation. The modification did not induce complete dissociation of the oligomeric protein. Only 30% of the protein was found to be a dissociated 3S subunit after excessive acetylation, whereas 70% was a dimeric legumin aggregate with a molecular mass of about 700 kDa. The aggregation of the highly modified legumin in high‐ionic‐strength buffer solution leads to soluble higher legumin oligomers. The acetylation resulted in a moderate molecular expansion of legumin due to a changed tertiary structure, whereas the far‐UV circular dichroism spectra did not provide definitive evidence of a decrease in domain‐stabilizing β‐sheet conformations in their secondary structure. © 2000 Society of Chemical Industry     

Additional modules for versatile and economical PCR-based gene deletion and modification in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

An important recent advance in the functional analysis of Saccharomyces cerevisiae genes is the development of the one-step PCR-mediated technique for deletion and modification of chromosomal genes. This method allows very rapid gene manipulations without requiring plasmid clones of the gene of interest. We describe here a new set of plasmids that serve as templates for the PCR synthesis of fragments that allow a variety of gene modifications. Using as selectable marker the S. cerevisiae TRP1 gene or modules containing the heterologous Schizosaccharomyces pombe his5⁺ or Escherichia coli kan^r gene, these plasmids allow gene deletion, gene overexpression (using the regulatable GAL1 promoter), C- or N-terminal protein tagging [with GFP(S65T), GST, or the 3HA or 13Myc epitope], and partial N- or C-terminal deletions (with or without concomitant protein tagging). Because of the modular nature of the plasmids, they allow efficient and economical use of a small number of PCR primers for a wide variety of gene manipulations. Thus, these plasmids should further facilitate the rapid analysis of gene function in S. cerevisiae. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The spider environment

Visual composition is an interactive development of different applications by the direct manipulation of reusable components. We believe that the visual composition approach deals directly with the complexity of large software systems, making their development easier, more flexible, and easier to be understood. This is accomplished by implementing abstraction, reuse and visualization concepts. The developer becomes a component builder and no longer creates large applications that are hard to maintain and enhance. The user will have the freedom to choose the components he needs to build an application, and to mix and match components from different developers until the desired functionality is achieved. The visual Spider environment allows the creation of different kinds of applications. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.