Temporal lobe epilepsy and schizophrenia: Comparison of reaction time deficits.

Current theory suggests that temporal–limbic dysfunction is responsible for schizophrenic symtomatology. Such theory dovetails with many reports of a higher frequency of schizophreniform psychoses in temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) than is found with other forms of seizure activity. To explore the possibility of a common neurological substrate for the 2 disorders, a variable foreperiod reaction-time task, on which early crossover has been found to be characteristic of many schizophrenics, was administered to 11 schizophrenics, 12 TLE patients, 9 generalized seizure patients, and 10 normal controls. Results show that only TLE and schizophrenic Ss showed an early crossover of regular and irregular preparatory interval gradients. Discussion focuses on the status of crossover as a marker variable, and relevant animal and human lesion literature is reviewed. (45 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Combining propensity score matching and group-based trajectory analysis in an observational study.

In a nonrandomized or observational study, propensity scores may be used to balance observed covariates and trajectory groups may be used to control baseline or pretreatment measures of outcome. The trajectory groups also aid in characterizing classes of subjects for whom no good matches are available and to define substantively interesting groups between which treatment effects may vary. These and related methods are illustrated using data from a Montreal-based study. The effects on subsequent violence of gang joining at age 14 are studied while controlling for measured characteristics of boys prior to age 14. The boys are divided into trajectory groups based on violence from ages 11 to 13. Within trajectory group, joiners are optimally matched to a variable number of controls using propensity scores, Mahalanobis distances, and a combinatorial optimization algorithm. Use of variable ratio matching results in greater efficiency than pair matching and also greater bias reduction than matching at a fixed ratio. The possible impact of failing to adjust for an important but unmeasured covariate is examined using sensitivity analysis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Another false alarm? apnea monitor activation in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit graduate

Neonatal emergencies have become more common as increasingly sophisticated Neonatal Intensive Care Units graduate lower birth-weight babies born at younger gestational ages. These patients present a number of challenges to emergency physicians. They are often discharged with apnea monitors, which generate a high number of false alarms. Neonatal Intensive Care Unit graduates, however, are predisposed to a number of conditions that can result in true episodes of apnea. We present such a case and will discuss the unusual underlying cause of apnea, the utility of apnea monitors, and the need for emergency physicians to be prepared to evaluate and treat these potentially complicated patients.     

Combining group-based trajectory modeling and propensity score matching for causal inferences in nonexperimental longitudinal data.

A central theme of research on human development and psychopathology is whether a therapeutic intervention or a turning-point event, such as a family break-up, alters the trajectory of the behavior under study. This article describes and applies a method for using observational longitudinal data to make more transparent causal inferences about the impact of such events on developmental trajectories. The method combines 2 distinct lines of research: work on the use of finite mixture modeling to analyze developmental trajectories and work on propensity score matching. The propensity scores are used to balance observed covariates and the trajectory groups are used to control pretreatment measures of response. The trajectory groups also aid in characterizing classes of subjects for which no good matches are available. The approach is demonstrated with an analysis of the impact of gang membership on violent delinquency based on data from a large longitudinal study conducted in Montréal, Canada. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Two Classes of Cosine-Modulated IIR/IIR and IIR/FIR NPR Filter Banks

This paper introduces two classes of cosine-modulated causal and stable filter banks (FBs) with near perfect reconstruction (NPR) and low implementation complexity. Both classes have the same infinite-length impulse response (IIR) analysis FB but different synthesis FBs utilizing IIR and finite-length impulse response (FIR) filters, respectively. The two classes are preferable for different types of specifications. The IIR/FIR FBs are preferred if small phase errors relative to the magnitude error are desired, and vice versa. The paper provides systematic design procedures so that PR can be approximated as closely as desired. It is demonstrated through several examples that the proposed FB classes, depending on the specification, can have a lower implementation complexity compared to existing FIR and IIR cosine-modulated FBs (CMFBs). The price to pay for the reduced complexity is generally an increased delay. Furthermore, two additional attractive features of the proposed FBs are that they are asymmetric in the sense that one of the analysis and synthesis banks has a lower computational complexity compared to the other, which can be beneficial in some applications, and that the number of distinct coefficients is small, which facilitates the design of FBs with large numbers of channels.     

The association of dental caries with blood lead in children when adjusted for IQ and neurobehavioral performance

Associations between childhood lead exposures and dental caries in children have been reported for over 30 years, with widely varying findings and conclusions, and using measures of lead exposure which ranged from food sources and water to tooth, hair or blood lead concentrations. OBJECTIVES: This study examined the relationship of lead exposure and dental caries in a population of normatively healthy children. METHODS: This cross-sectional study used a population of 507 children aged 8-12 who were participating in a clinical trial of dental materials to examine the relationship between lead and caries. Blood lead concentrations and dental caries were examined for association in both primary and permanent teeth. Because it is possible that neurobehavioral status could be associated with both lead exposure and dental caries prevalence, we also examined neurobehavioral status of the subjects. RESULTS: A gender-specific association (males only) between lead exposure and dental caries was found in primary teeth only. Neurobehavioral measures and IQ were not associated with caries status in this population. CONCLUSIONS: This study did not support neurobehavioral status as mediating any association between lead exposure and caries in a normatively healthy population. A gender-specific association between lead and caries not previously reported was found in primary teeth, and no biological explanation for this has been suggested. We conclude that this study provides only weak evidence, if any, for an association of low-level lead exposure with dental caries.     

Blood pressure changes during short-term fluoxetine treatment

PURPOSE: To evaluate the potential diagnostic role of mediastinal sonography in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF), we screened the mediastinum of adult CF patients with and without signs of infection and healthy controls. METHODS: Fifty-four consecutive adult patients with CF and 53 healthy volunteers underwent high-resolution mediastinal sonography. The paratracheal region and aorticopulmonary window of each subject were examined for lymph nodes. Each patient was screened for clinical signs of infection. RESULTS: Lymph nodes were detectable in the mediastinum of 39 of 50 CF patients (78%); the mean total lymph node volume was 1.5 +/- 1.7 cm3. Lymph nodes were detectable in the mediastinum of 31 of 50 controls (62%); the mean total lymph node volume in this group was 0.3 +/- 0.3 cm3 (p < 0.001). In the 30 CF patients with signs of infection, the mean total lymph node volume was larger (2.0 +/- 1.8 cm3) than in the 20 CF patients without signs of infection (0.7 +/- 0.9 cm3; p = 0.002). CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that lymph node volume determination by high-resolution mediastinal sonography may help assess inflammatory activity in patients with CF.