Differential diagnosis of attention deficit and conduct disorders using conditional probabilities.

Attention deficit and conduct disorders require an important yet often difficult differential diagnosis. Prior efforts to determine which symptoms are optimal for making this differential diagnosis have been limited by a reliance on statistics that do not supply the probability of the disorders given a symptom's presence (positive predictive power) or the probability that the disorder is not present given the absence of the symptom (negative predictive power). This investigation examined the utility of these latter statistics in the differential diagnosis of childhood attention deficit and conduct disorders. The data consisted of symptoms from a standardized maternal psychiatric interview collected for a sample of 76 clinic-referred boys. Results indicated that some symptoms are optimal as inclusion criteria, some as exclusion criteria, some as neither, and some as both. Furthermore, some symptoms that have been traditionally associated with the diagnosis of one disorder were actually found to be more useful in the diagnosis of the other disorder. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Description of the process of presentation and recognition of forest vegetation objects on multispectral space images

This article describes a method for interpreting multispectral images, which is described from the perspective of the mathematical theory of pattern recognition. The presented recognition network belongs to the class of known voter algorithms. A theoretical estimate of the size of a test set is provided. Results of applying the algorithm to stud multispectral space images of forest vegetation are given.     

The effects of story structure on the recall of stories in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

This study explored influences of story structure properties on recall of story events by children with and without attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Participants listened to and retold 2 stories. Two properties of the stories' causal structure were derived: the number of causal connections an event has to other events and whether an event is on the causal chain linking events from beginning to end. The extent to which causal properties and the more subjective property of perceived importance predicted recall in the 2 groups of children was examined. Each property predicted recall, but there were group differences in sensitivity to causal structure that were moderated by intelligence level and gender. Variations in amount and allocation of cognitive resources applied to comprehension contributed to performance of children with ADHD. There are implications for understanding academic and social difficulties common in children with ADHD. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Methylphenidate and baseball playing in ADHD children: Who's on first?

The effects of 0.3 and 0.6 mg/kg methylphenidate were analyzed in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over study in which 17 boys (ages 7.8–9.9 yrs) with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) played in baseball games. Drug effects were evaluated on children's attention during the game, as indictated by their on-task behavior on the field and their ability to answer questions about the status of the game at all times. Judgment during batting, batting skill during the game, and performance on skill drills prior to the game were also assessed as a function of medication. Results revealed that methylphenidate had a beneficial effect on attending during the game. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The behavioral effects of sugar: A comment on Buchanan.

Contends that studies undertaken to systematically examine the effects of sugar ingestion on the behavior of both hyperactive and normal children have failed to document any consistent adverse effects that would justify S. Buchanan's (see record 1985-25856-001) labeling of sugar as a toxin. It is suggested that unsupported statements do much to reinforce the fears of both parents and professionals, at the expense of reason. (13 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Playroom observations of activity level and sustained attention: Two-year stability.

48 6–12 yr old males, originally evaluated as outpatients in a child psychiatry clinic, were seen again 2 yrs later at follow-up. Measures of gross and fine motor activity, sustained attention, and self-vocalization showed significant stability over the 2 yrs for both free play and restricted academic settings. Several activity and attention measures showed significant improvement between referral and follow-up. Results suggest that the present playroom procedure measures aspects of hyperactive behavior that show some stability among clinic-referred boys. (5 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

GAC NDVI interannual coefficient of variation (CoV) images: Ground truth sampling of the Sahel along north-south transects

While Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) images are widely used for assessing vegetation vigour and extent, much remains to be known regarding both how the images themselves and their interannual variation correspond to ground-level reality. This work addresses these issues through a discussion of a series of six north-south transects in the West African Sahel. In some cases along these transects, vegetation spatial aggregation and density vary directly withthe NDVI coefficient of variation (CoV), while in others community dynamics confound identifying such relationships. Analysis of CoV data infers the existence of a signal for rapid, dynamic land degradation (describable by the term 'desertification') in both the northern and southern Sahel.     

Cognitive engagement and story comprehension in typically developing children and children with ADHD from preschool through elementary school.

The present study examined children's cognitive engagement with television as a function of the continuity of central or incidental content and whether this varied with age and clinical status. In Experiment 1, 9- to 11-year-old children's response times on a secondary task were slower the later a probe occurred in a sequence of central events, and response times predicted recall. Experiment 2 extended these results to 6- to 8-year-old children. Experiment 3 revealed that children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) failed to show the pattern consistently observed for comparison children. The results support the hypothesis that typically developing children build a representation during viewing that reflects the causal structure of the televised story but that this skill is deficient in 4- to 9-year-old children with ADHD. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Distinguishing between acute and symptomatic chronic hepatitis B virus infection

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Differentiating between an acute hepatitis B (AH-B) infection and an acute exacerbation of a chronic hepatitis B (CH-B) infection can present a problem for the clinician. The only current serological method of distinguishing between acute and symptomatic chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is the immunoglobulin M antibody to hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HBc) assay, which can be problematic. Therefore, in an attempt to better distinguish between acute and chronic HBV infection, sera from 26 patients with AH-B and 53 patients with CH-B were compared in a variety of experimental immunoassays. METHODS: Experimental assays have been designed to detect free antibody to hepatitis B e antigen (anti-HBe), hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)/anti-HBe immune complexes (ICs), and hepatitis B surface antigens (HBsAg)/antibody to hepatitis B surface antigen (anti-HBs) in the presence of excess antigen. An additional assay was developed to detect a novel anti-HBc specificity, designated antibody to woodchuck hepatitis virus (anti-HBcW), which cross-reacts with the core antigen of the woodchuck hepatitis virus. RESULTS: Sera from patients with CH-B showed significantly higher levels of free anti-HBe, HBeAg/anti-HBe ICs, and HBsAg/anti-HBs ICs compared with AH-B patient sera. Furthermore, patients with CH-B consistently produced high titer anti-HBcW, whereas patients with AH-B produced little or no anti-HBcW antibody. CONCLUSIONS: The serology of AH-B infection and symptomatic CH-B infection can be distinguished using a variety of experimental immunoassays in addition to the immunoglobulin M anti-HBc assay.     

Glassomer—Processing Fused Silica Glass Like a Polymer

Fused silica glass is one of the most important high‐performance materials for scientific research, industry, and society. However due to its high chemical and thermal resistance as well as high hardness, fused silica glass is notoriously difficult to structure. This work introduces Glassomer, a solid nanocomposite, which can be structured using polymer molding and subtractive technologies at submicrometer resolution. After polymer processing Glassomer is turned into optical grade fused silica glass during a final heat treatment. The resulting glass has the same optical transparency as commercial fused silica and a smooth surface with a roughness of a few nanometers. This work makes high‐performance fused silica glass components accessible to high‐throughput fabrication technologies and will enable numerous optical, photonic and medical applications in science and industry.