Effect of dopamine receptor antagonists on cocaine subjective effects: a naturalistic case study

Schizophrenic patients on neuroleptic medications abuse cocaine and report cocaine-induced euphoria. This study was undertaken to provide better clinical characterization of these phenomena by administering the POMS and a custom-designed questionnaire. A group of heavy cocaine users who were not mentally ill served as the control group. The results clearly suggest that schizophrenic patients report cocaine-induced euphoria and post-use craving despite being treated with therapeutic doses of haloperidol or fluphenazine. The responses of the control group were similar to that of the schizophrenic group except that the latter subjects reported a greater degree of anxiety. These results suggest that blockade of D2 receptors is not sufficient to block cocaine-induced subjective effects in humans.     

Circuit Placement, Chip Optimization, and Wire Routing for IBM IC Technology

Recent advances in integrated circuit technology have imposed new requirements on the chip physical design process. At the same time that performance requirements are increasing, the effects of wiring on delay are becoming more significant. Larger chips are also increasing the chip wiring demand, and the ability to efficiently process these large chips in reasonable time and space requires new capabilities from the physical design tools. Circuit placement is done using algorithms which have been used within IBM for many years, with enhancements as required to support additional technologies and larger data volumes. To meet timing requirements, placement may be run iteratively using successively refined timing-derived constraints. Chip optimization tools are used to physically optimize the clock trees and scan connections, both to improve clock skew and to improve wirability. These tools interchange sinks of equivalent nets, move and create parallel copies of clock buffers, add load circuits to balance clock net loads, and generate balanced clock tree routes. Routing is done using a grid-based, technology-independent router that has been used over the years to wire chips. There are numerous user controls for specifying router behavior in particular areas and on particular interconnection levels, as well as adjacency restrictions.     

The maternal-to-zygotic transition in embryonic patterning of Caenorhabditis elegans

PURPOSE: To compare the analgesic efficacy and safety of nonpreserved ketorolac tromethamine 0.5% with those of its vehicle in the treatment of postsurgical ocular pain following radial keratotomy. METHODS: This study employed a multicenter, double-masked, randomized, parallel-group design. Radial keratotomy patients were treated with either nonpreserved ketorolac tromethamine 0.5% or its vehicle four times daily for up to 3 days following surgery. Patients were provided with an escape medication (acetaminophen) for use only as needed for intolerable pain. RESULTS: Patients treated with ketorolac reported significantly greater pain relief (P < or =.023), less pain intensity (P < or =.047), less use of escape medication (P < or =.001), fewer symptoms of ocular discomfort (P=.024), and fewer sleep disturbances (P < or =.013) than did patients treated with vehicle. No treatment-related adverse events were reported in the ketorolac group, and only one treatment-related adverse event was reported in the vehicle group. Most other safety findings were equivalent in the two treatment groups except that there were significantly less eyelid erythema (P=.026) and eyelid edema (P < or =.001) in the ketorolac group. CONCLUSIONS: Nonpreserved ketorolac tromethamine 0.5% ophthalmic solution was significantly more effective than, and as safe as, vehicle in the treatment of postoperative pain associated with radial keratotomy. Therefore, topical ketorolac may be a valuable treatment option for the maintenance of patient comfort following refractive surgery.     

Independent secretion of different digestive enzymes by the pancreas

Pancreatic secretion was collected from the cannulated duct of anesthetized rabbits during the perfusion of the upper duodenum with a balanced salt solution with or without 5 mM glucose. The secretion of amylase, chymotrypsinogen, trypsinogen, and total protein was measured. While glucose did not increase overall digestive enzyme secretion, it did change the proportions of the enzymes in secretion. In addition, the following was observed: 1) non-0,0 intercepts when the output of one enzyme was plotted against that of another (an enzyme-pair plot), 2) changes in the variance of the slope and intercept of enzyme-pair plots, and 3) an increase in the variance around the slope of an enzyme-pair plot, concurrent with a decrease in the variance around the slope of a plot for another enzyme pair that contained a common member. These observations suggest that different digestive enzymes can be secreted independently of each other.     

Increased interestingness of extraneous details in a multimedia science presentation leads to decreased learning.

In Experiment 1, students received an illustrated booklet, PowerPoint presentation, or narrated animation that explained 6 steps in how a cold virus infects the human body. The material included 6 high-interest details mainly about the role of viruses in sex or death (high group) or 6 low-interest details consisting of facts and health tips about viruses (low group). The low group outperformed the high group across all 3 media on a subsequent test of problem-solving transfer (d = .80) but not retention (d = .05). In Experiment 2, students who studied a PowerPoint lesson explaining the steps in how digestion works performed better on a problem-solving transfer test if the lesson contained 7 low-interest details rather than 7 high-interest details (d = .86), but the groups did not differ on retention (d = .26). In both experiments, as the interestingness of details was increased, student understanding decreased (as measured by transfer). Results are consistent with a cognitive theory of multimedia learning, in which highly interesting details sap processing capacity away from deeper cognitive processing of the core material during learning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Low-Frequency Noise Characteristics of HgCdTe Infrared Photodiodes Operating at High Temperatures

We present experimental results of 1/f noise characterization in n ⁺/p mercury-vacancy-doped photodiodes. The 1/f noise was measured as a function of temperature and diode bias voltage for different photodiode configurations. We have investigated the 1/f noise of devices with various geometries and structures, in different spectral bands, and produced using different growth processes. Contrasting 1/f noise behavior was observed in mid-wavelength infrared range (MWIR) and long-wavelength infrared range (LWIR) devices. The results indicate that the 1/f noise in MWIR photodiodes is proportional to the diode area, which implies the presence of a previously unreported noise-generating mechanism occurring in bulk material. The 1/f noise in the LWIR photodiodes was found to be independent of diode geometry, indicating the presence of a diffusion current modulation at specific points of the junction.     

Methodology of estimating restraint use in children: Roadside observation or parking lot interview survey

Objective

To compare the differences in Canadian national estimates of correct child restraint use obtained using the standard roadside observation method compared to a detailed parking lot interview.

Design

A multi-stage stratified survey design was used to conduct roadside observational and interview data collection at 182 randomly selected sites across Canada. For each site, a roadside intersection location and a parking lot location were used for the roadside observational survey and the interview respectively. Weighted estimates of correct restraint use from both locations were compared.

Results

Estimates of correct restraint use were significantly higher for all children under the age of 9 in the parking lot sample. The largest discrepancy between the two samples was in booster seat aged children (ages 4–8) where 29.1% versus 67.8% of children were observed to be correctly restrained using the roadside and the parking lot methodology respectively. There was a 67% participation refusal rate in the parking lot survey.

Conclusions

There are specific advantages and limitations to both survey designs. The purpose of the data collection must be considered when selecting the methodology. Parking lot surveys provide richer data regarding restraint use/misuse. Estimates of correct restraint use must be approached with caution due to the effect of consent bias resulting in over inflation of estimates. Roadside observation is adequate and appropriate for providing national estimates of correct restraint use.     

Impulse Response Time Measurements in Hg<Subscript>0.7</Subscript>Cd<Subscript>0.3</Subscript>Te MWIR Avalanche Photodiodes

The response time of front-sided illuminated n-on-p Hg_0.7Cd_0.3Te electron avalanche photodiodes (e-APDs) at T = 77 K was studied using impulse response measurements at λ = 1.55 μm. We measured typical rise and fall times of 50 ps and 800 ps, respectively, at gains of M ≈ 100, and a record gain-bandwidth (GBW) product of GBW = 1.1 THz at M = 2800. Experiments as a function of the collection width have shown that the fall time is strongly limited by diffusion. Variable-gain measurements showed that the impulse response is first-order sensitive to the level of the output amplitude. Only a slight increase in the rise time and the fall time was observed with the gain at constant output amplitude, which is consistent with a strongly dominant electron multiplication. Comparisons of the experimental results with Silvaco finite element simulations confirmed the diffusion limitation of the response time and allowed the illustration of the transit time and RC effects.     

Experimental Performance and Monte Carlo Modeling of Long Wavelength Infrared Mercury Cadmium Telluride Avalanche Photodiodes

We evaluated the performance of long-wavelength infrared (LWIR, λ _c = 9.0 μm at 80 K) mercury cadmium telluride electron-injected avalanche photodiodes (e-APDs) in terms of gain, excess noise factor, and dark current, and also spectral and spatial response at zero bias. We found an exponential gain curve up to 23 at 100 K and a low excess noise factor close to unity (F = 1–1.25). These properties are indicative of a single carrier multiplication process, which is electron impact ionization. The dark current is prevailed by a diffusion current at low reverse bias. However, tunneling currents at higher reverse bias limited the usable gain. The measurements of the pixel spatial response showed that the collection width, and, especially, the amplitude of the response peak, increased with temperature. Furthermore, we developed a Monte Carlo model to understand the multiplication process in HgCdTe APDs. The first simulation results corroborated experimental measurements of gain and excess noise factor in mid-wavelength infrared (MWIR, x = 0.3) and LWIR (x = 0.235) e-APDs at 80 K. This model makes it possible for phenomenological studies to be performed to identify the main physical effects and technological parameters that influence the gain and excess noise. The study of the effect of the n ⁻-layer thickness on APD performance demonstrated the existence of an optimum value in terms of gain.