Context-Processing Deficits in Schizotypal Personality Disorder.

Research suggests that schizotypal personality disorder (SPD) is a part of the spectrum of schizophrenia-related illnesses. This article hypothesizes that a deficit in the representation and maintenance of context is a core cognitive disturbance in schizophrenia and that SPD individuals should demonstrate context-processing deficits. To test this hypothesis, the authors administered 3 versions of their AX-CPT task, designed to assess context processing, to 35 healthy controls and 26 individuals with DSM-IV SPD. They also administered working memory and selective attention tasks. SPD individuals displayed context representation deficits similar to those found in schizophrenia but did not show the same additional deficits in context maintenance. Context processing was strongly associated with working memory and selective attention performance in the SPD individuals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A new technique for on-line and off-line high speed computation

A novel technique for both online and offline computation is presented. With this technique, a reconstruction analysis in elementary particle physics, otherwise prohibitively long, has been accomplished. It will be used online in an upcoming Fermilab experiment to reconstruct more than 100000 events per second and to trigger on the basis of that information. The technique delivers 40 gigaoperations per second, has a bandwidth on the order of gigabytes per second, and has a modest cost. An overview of the program, details of the system, and performance measurements are presented     

Family burden following traumatic brain injury.

Investigated burden experienced by 60 spouses and 71 parents who served as primary caregivers to individuals with traumatic brain injury (BI). Burden levels, as assessed by the Questionnaire on Resources and Stress (QRS-SF), were compared for spouses and parents. Both parents and spouses exhibited high levels of burden. Relative to spouses, parents reported significantly greater burden related to lifespan care. Spouses reported significantly less personal reward than did parents. The presence of social aggression and cognitive disability in the individual with BI was found to have a greater association with subjective burden of caregivers than was the presence of physical disability or injury severity. Results of previous studies with QRS-SF scores show that the responsibility assumed by spouses and parents of persons with BI was as great as that experienced by families of people with severe chronic physical disabilities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the linear and nonlinear complexity profile of nonlinear pseudorandom number generators

We obtain lower bounds on the linear and nonlinear complexity profile of a general nonlinear pseudorandom number generator, of the inversive generator, and of a new nonlinear generator called quadratic exponential generator. The results are interesting for applications to cryptography and Monte Carlo methods.     

Aspects of orientation-dependent grain growth in extra-low carbon and interstitial-free steels during continuous annealing

The present work concentrates on the application of orientation imaging microscopy (OIM) based on the electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD) technique to the investigation of the microstructural evolution of an extra-low carbon (ELC) steel and a Ti-Nb-bearing interstitial-free (IF) steel, during continuous annealing. Aspects like the nucleation, the evolution of the recrystallized volume fraction and grain size of grains with different orientations, the interface area limiting recrystallized {111} regions, and the apparent growth rates have been considered. Different criteria have been applied in order to identify crystallites produced during annealing. During the first stages of annealing, a network of grain boundaries with misorientations higher than 10 deg is produced, mainly inside the deformed γ-fiber grains. The crystallites formed within this network, free from cells or subgrains at their interiors, can be considered as potential nuclei. However, among all, only some of them become effective due to an important selection. The {111} recrystallized grains have a significant size and number advantage as compared with other texture components, and a hard impingement between clusters of {111} grains is produced during grain growth. The effect of grain growth behind the recrystallization front seems to be negligible as compared with the grain coarsening produced by the migration of this front, driven by the cold-work stored energy.     

Optimization techniques for curved path computing

Participating media with an inhomogeneous index of refraction make light follow curved paths. Simulating this in a global illumination environment has usually been neglected due to the complexity of the calculations involved, sacrificing accurate physical simulations for efficient visual results. This paper aims to simulate non-linear media in a more reasonable time than previous works without losing physical correctness. Accuracy is achieved by solving the Eikonal equation of geometrical optics, which describes the path followed by a light beam that traverses a non-linear medium. This equation is used in the context of a photon mapping extension.     

Analysis of the effect of polypyrrole synthesis conditions on its capacity to reduce hexavalent chromium

This paper reports the capacity of polypyrrole to reduce toxic hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)). The influence of using different electrolytes during the polymer's synthesis has been studied. To improve the reduction of Cr(VI), the parameters considered were the polypyrrole morphology and the amount of conducting polymer. Polypyrrole obtained by cyclic voltammetry at a low sweep rate using KBr as supporting electrolyte showed better performance for Cr(VI) reduction compared to coatings obtained by constant potential or cyclic voltammetry at high sweep rates.