Screening for neuropsychological impairment in alcoholics.

A short self-report instrument that could predict neuropsychological impairment in at-risk patients would be advantageous to clinicians treating alcoholics. Seventy-three Veterans Administration alcoholics and 36 control subjects were administered a 50-item self-report symptom checklist, the Neuropsychological Impairment Scale (NIS); psychological measures of anxiety and depression; and a battery of neuropsychological tests known to be sensitive to brain dysfunction. Alcoholics differed from control subjects on the neuropsychological tests and in their NIS profiles. Multiple regression analyses revealed that select NIS subscales could predict neuropsychological impairment in alcoholic subjects. These subscales, however, were found to be more strongly correlated with standard measures of anxiety and depression than with cognitive performance. The confounding role of affect in predicting neuropsychological impairment from self-report questionnaires is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A switching device based on a-Si:H n-i-δp-i-n stackedstructure: modeling and characterization

A new two-terminal switching device based on an a-Si:H n-i-δp-i-n symmetrical structure is investigated. The current through the device arises from thermionic emission of electrons over the triangular barrier lowered by the applied voltage. The key role of the thickness and of the doping level of the central δp layer on the electrical behavior of the device is analyzed in detail by a numerical model. The current-voltage characteristic of an optimized device exhibits an ON/OFF current ratio, taken at 3 and 1 V, respectively, of six orders of magnitude with a nonlinearity factor η=3.7     

Pericardial cysts. Report on 9 treated cases

From 1976 to 1993, nine patients (5 men, 4 women) with pericardial cysts were treated in Authors' Department. Of the nine cysts, six were located in the right cardiophrenic angle, one in the subcarinal site, one in the right tracheobronchial angle, and one in the para-auricular site just above the diaphragm. Four patients were asymptomatic. A correct diagnosis was possible preoperatively only in patients with cysts typically located in the cardiophrenic angle. Eight patients were surgically treated by a standard posterolateral or axillary thoracotomy. One patient with a large pericardial cyst underwent needle percutaneous aspiration and CT-guided drainage of the cyst with a positive outcome. There was no operative morbidity or mortality.     

Embedded-TM: Energy and complexity-effective hardware transactional memory for embedded multicore systems

We investigate how transactional memory can be adapted for embedded systems. We consider energy consumption and complexity to be driving concerns in the design of these systems and therefore adapt simple hardware transactional memory (HTM) schemes in our architectural design. We propose several different cache structures and contention management schemes to support HTM and evaluate them in terms of energy, performance, and complexity. We find that ignoring energy considerations can lead to poor design choices, particularly for resource-constrained embedded platforms. We conclude that with the right balance of energy efficiency and simplicity, HTM will become an attractive choice for future embedded system designs.     

Detection of environmental hazards through the feature-based fusion of optical and SAR data: a case study in southern Italy

The use of remote-sensing images is becoming common practice in the fight against environmental crimes. However, the challenge of exploiting the complementary information provided by radar and optical data, and by more conventional sources encoded in geographic information systems, is still open. In this work, we propose a new workflow for the detection of potentially hazardous cattle-breeding facilities, exploiting both synthetic aperture radar and optical multitemporal data together with geospatial analyses in the geographic information system environment. The data fusion is performed at a feature-based level. Experiments on data available for the area of Caserta, in southern Italy, show that the proposed technique provides very high detection capability, up to 95%, with a very low false alarm rate. A fast and easy-to-use system has been realized based on this approach, which is a useful tool in the hand of agencies engaged in the protection of territory.     

GABAB receptor intracellular trafficking after internalization in Paramecium

The number of neurotransmitter receptors on the plasma membrane is regulated by the traffic of intracellular vesicles. Golgi-derived vesicles provide newly synthesized receptors to the cell surface, whereas clathrin-coated vesicles are the initial vehicles for sequestration of surface receptors, which are ultimately degraded or recycled. We have previously shown that GABAB receptors display a punctuate vesicular pattern dispersed on the cell surface and throughout the cytoplasm and are internalized via clathrin-dependent and -independent endocytosis. Here we have studied constitutive GABAB receptor trafficking after internalization in Paramecium primaurelia by confocal laser scanning microscopy and multiple immunofluorescence analysis. After internalization, receptors are targeted to the early endosomes characterized by the molecular markers EEA1 and rab5. Some of these receptors, destined for recycling back to the plasma membrane, traffic from the early endosomes to the endosomal recycling compartment that is characterized by the presence of rab4-immunoreactivity (IR). Receptors that are destined for degradation exit the endosomal pathway at the early endosomes and traffic to the late endosome-lysosome pathway. In fact, some of the GABAB-positive compartments were identified as lysosomal structures by double staining with the lysosomal marker LAMP-1. GABAB vesicle structures also colocalize with TGN38-IR and rab11-IR. TGN38 and rab11 are proteins found in association with post-Golgi and recycling endosomes, respectively.     

Polypropylene‐based composites reinforced with textile wastes

The present work describes the preparation of polypropylene composites reinforced with cotton fibers, which were obtained from textile waste. The cellulosic fibers were bleached and then chemically modified on the surface using acetylation or silanization methods. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis and energy dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy confirmed the efficiency of both treatments. Results of thermal degradation by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) of treated fibers indicated that the acetylated ones decreased thermal stability while the silanized fibers increased this property. The influence of the chemical modifications and fibers content in polypropylene‐based composites was studied by thermomechanical and mechanical properties (dynamic mechanical analysis and tensile tests) and thermal analyses (TGA and differential scanning calorimetry). The results showed that the addition of the obtained cellulose fibers in polypropylene caused increase of storage and Young's moduli, along with stress at break. Moreover, scanning electronic microscopy micrographs of cryofractured surfaces revealed stronger adhesion between fiber and matrix in the composites reinforced with the modified fibers. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017 , 134, 45060.     

Acrylate/EVA reactive blends and semi‐IPN: Chemical,chemical–physical,and thermo‐optical characterization

In the present work, blends between poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) or its copolymer with butyl methacrylate P(MMA‐co‐BMA) and poly(ethylene‐co‐vinyl acetate) (EVA) rubbers obtained applying the reactive blending principles were deeply investigated to clarify the chemistry of the system. A copolymeric phase, which is created in situ, was isolated and its chemical structure was determined through NMR analysis. The blends were also crosslinked with a flexible dimethacrylate to realize semi‐interpenetrated networks. The blends were characterized for their properties of interest (mechanical and optical behaviors). Particularly, an accurate investigation of the optical properties as a function of the temperature was performed. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2006     

Poly(3‐hydroxybutyrate‐co‐3‐hydroxyvalerate)‐based biocomposites reinforced with kenaf fibers

Biodegradable thermoplastic‐based composites reinforced with kenaf fibers were prepared and characterized. Poly(3‐hydroxybutyrate‐co‐3‐hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV), produced by bacterial fermentation, was selected as polymeric matrix. To improve PHBV/fibers adhesion, low amount of a proper compatibilizing agent, obtained by grafting maleic anhydride onto PHBV, was added during matrix/fibers melt mixing (reactive blending). When compared with uncompatibilized composites, the presence of the compatibilizer induces a stronger interfacial adhesion and a more pronounced improvement of the mechanical properties. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 2007