Stability of formal thought disorder and referential communication disturbances in schizophrenia.

This study examined the degree to which different types of communication disturbances in the speech of 48 schizophrenia patients and 28 controls were variable and state related versus stable and traitlike. Clinically rated formal thought disorder and 5 types of referential disturbance showed substantial stability within participants over time. The sixth type of referential disturbance, the vague reference, was not stable over time. Formal thought disorder was associated with the severity of core psychotic symptoms in patients, whereas referential disturbances showed little or no association with positive or negative symptom severity. Furthermore, changes in psychotic symptoms over time were accompanied by corresponding changes in formal thought disorder but not referential disturbances. These results support the idea that some types of referential disturbances are traitlike and may be reflective of vulnerability as well as manifest illness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The static and dynamic characteristics of single and multiplephase-shifted DFB laser structures

The influence of longitudinal mode spatial hole burning (LMSHB) on the performance of distributed feedback (DFB) laser structures is examined in detail. A comprehensive model has been used to interpret the experimental results and to construct a theoretical framework that was utilized to develop more advanced device designs. An increasing side mode intensity with output power, movement of the lasing mode relative to the stopband, and curvature of the light-current characteristic at low power can all be manifestations of the influence of LMSHB on the static device performance. The dynamic behavior can also be affected, with extended wavelength chirp and amplitude patterning effects on the timescale of the effective carrier recombination time being particularly important     

Cast titanium as implant material

The tissue response in rats to implants made of machined and cast titanium was evaluated after 1 and 12 weeks. The implants consisted of a circular plate portion, located in the abdominal wall, and a cylindrical rod portion protruding into the peritoneal cavity. The chemical and topographical surface properties of the two types of implants differed considerably. The implants with surrounding tissue were processed en bloc for light and electron microscopy. The bulk metal was removed by an electrochemical procedure which permitted the sectioning and evaluation of the intact implant-tissue interface. The general distribution of macrophages and fibroblasts was the same around the plate portion of both types of implants. Macrophages constituted the predominating cell type with the highest concentration in the innermost cell zone closest to the implant. The number of macrophages per section area was significantly higher around machined implants. Multinuclear giant cells, always located at the implant surface, were more frequent around cast implants. The majority of the intraperitoneal rod portions were partially (1 week) or completely (12 weeks) covered by tissue; partial or complete overgrowth of tissue was rare for machined rod portions. Imaging electron energy loss spectroscopy demonstrated the presence of titanium in macrophages in the peripheral part of the tissue capsule around cast, but not machined implants. We conclude that the tissue responses to the two types of titanium implants differed considerably in the two biological environments (soft tissue in abdominal wall; peritoneal cavity) examined and that the response in one environment does not predict the response in the other. We also believe that improvements have to be made in the casting procedure in order to reduce surface roughness and contamination before cast implants can be used in clinical applications.     

Preparation and characterization of high molecular weight poly(hydroxy ethers) with unusually high glass transition temperatures

A series of novel poly(hydroxy ethers) have been prepared via polymerization of the diglycidyl ethers of bisphenol-A ( 4 ), 4,4 ′-tribromotetramethylbiphenol ( 6a ), and 4,4 ′-tetrabromotetramethylbiphenol ( 6b ) with a variety of rigid diols in an effort to systematically modify structural features of the phenoxy repeat unit in order to control the torsional mobility of polymer backbones and produce materials with softening temperatures higher than are typical for the class. The resulting poly(hydroxy ethers) displyed glass transition temperatures ranging from 109 to 242°C. There of the polymers were characterized with respect to tensile and impact properties and were compared to the polymer sythesized from bisphenol-A ( 1 ) and bisphenol-A diglycidyl ether ( 4 ).     

89-GHz fT room-temperature silicon MOSFETs

The authors report the implementation of deep-submicrometer Si MOSFETs that at room temperature have a unity-current-gain cutoff frequency (f_T) of 89 GHz, for a drain-to-source bias of 1.5 V, a gate-to-source bias of 1 V, a gate oxide thickness of 40 Å, and a channel length of 0.15 μm. The fabrication procedure is mostly conventional, except for the e-beam defined gates. The speed performance is achieved through an intrinsic transit time of only 1.8 ps across the active device region     

Access to hypertensive care. Effects of income, insurance, and source of care

BACKGROUND: This study examines the relationship between income, health insurance, and usual source of care characteristics and screening and management of hypertension. METHODS: This is a secondary analysis of data from the 1987 National Medical Expenditure Survey. Adult survey respondents constitute a sample representative of the total adult noninstitutionalized US population. Screening, follow-up care, and pharmacologic treatment for hypertension were examined among low income individuals, the uninsured, those without a usual source of care place, and those without a particular usual source of care physician. RESULTS: The uninsured, individuals without a usual source of care place, and those without a particular usual source of care physician received less screening, follow-up care, and pharmacologic treatment for hypertension. Income did not affect receipt of hypertensive care. CONCLUSIONS: Lack of health insurance and lack of a usual source of care are barriers to hypertensive care. Policies that increase access to health insurance or to usual source of care physicians may enable more individuals to attain control of hypertension.     

Experimental study on a planar capacitative displacement sensor

An experimental study is described on a planar capacitative displacement sensor. It differs from existing models in being simple and giving scope for using film techniques. The sensor is particularly effective in measuring large displacements, e.g., in physics equipment.Translated from Izmeritel'naya Tekhnika, No. 3, pp. 36–37, March, 1995.     

Swords to plowshares: Shock wave applications to advanced lithography

xtreme ltra iolet ithography (EUVL) seeks to apply radiation in a wavelength region centered near 13 nm to produce microcircuits having feature sizes 0.1 micron or less. A critical requirement for the commercial application of this technology is the development of an economical, compact source of this radiation which is suitable for lithographic applications. A good candidate is a laser-plasma source, which is generated by the interaction of an intermediate intensity laser pulse (up to 10¹² W/cm²) with a metallic target. While such a source has radiative characteristics which satisfy the needs of an EUVL source, the debris generated during the laser-target interaction strikes at the economy of the source. Here, we review the use of concepts and computer modeling, originally developed for hypervelocity impact analysis, to study this problem.     

Screening and characterization of microorganisms with glutaryl-7ADCA acylase activity

A screening of microorganisms producing glutaryl-7ADCA acylase, an enzyme able to hydrolyse glutaric acid selectively from glutaryl-3-deacetoxy-7-aminocephalosporanic acid (glutaryl-7ADCA), has been carried out in soil samples. Five microorganisms expressing acylase activity were isolated and classified as Bacillus cereus, Achromobacter xylosooxidans, Bacillus sp., Pseudomonas sp. and Pseudomonas paucimobilis. The screening was carried out by preparing enrichment cultures containing glutaryl-7-ADCA or cephalosporin C as the selective carbon source. Four model compounds (adipoyl-, glutamyl- and glutaryl-p-nitroanilide and glutarylcoumarin), mimicking the glutaryl-7ADCA beta-lactam moiety, were synthesized as substrates suitable for the rapid screening of the microorganisms (2500) isolated from the enrichment cultures. A total of 300 strains were active on the model substrates and only 5 displayed acylase activity on glutaryl-7ADCA. The fermentation parameters, such as pH and inducer concentration, for the optimal acylase expression and acylase specificity towards the model substrates were different for each strain.