Patterns of neurocognitive impairment in first-episode bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.

BACKGROUND:
Researching psychotic disorders in unison rather than as separate diagnostic groups is widely advocated, but the viability of such an approach requires careful consideration from a neurocognitive perspective.
AIMS:
To describe cognition in people with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia and to examine how known causes of variability in individual's performance contribute to any observed diagnostic differences.
METHOD:
Neurocognitive functioning in people with bipolar disorder (n = 32), schizophrenia (n = 46) and healthy controls (n = 67) was compared using analysis of covariance on data from the Northern Ireland First Episode Psychosis Study.
RESULTS:
The bipolar disorder and schizophrenia groups were most impaired on tests of memory, executive functioning and language. The bipolar group performed significantly better on tests of response inhibition, verbal fluency and callosal functioning. Between-group differences could be explained by the greater proclivity of individuals with schizophrenia to experience global cognitive impairment and negative symptoms.
CONCLUSIONS:
Particular impairments are common to people with psychosis and may prove useful as endophenotypic markers. Considering the degree of individuals' global cognitive impairment is critical when attempting to understand patterns of selective impairment both within and between these diagnostic groups.

Child Welfare Interventions: Patterns of Social Work Practice

Some 10 years ago one of the authors embarked on a research study examining the potential for social workers to shift from a child protection to a child welfare practice orientation (Spratt, 2000; 2001; Spratt and Callan, 2004). The research reported here develops that work; examining how social workers respond to ‘child care problems’ (CCPs). The results indicate that Northern Irish Health and Social Services Trusts (equivalent to Local Authorities in England and Wales) have responded to social policy goals to balance the protection of a lesser number of children whilst meeting the welfare needs of the greater by reducing the number of referrals designated ‘child protection investigations’ (CPIs) and increasing the number of CCPs. Closer analysis reveals, however, that a filtering system has been developed by social workers to address perceived child protection risks within CCP cases. Paradoxically, this leads to early closure of the more concerning cases, with service provision largely confined to the least concerning. The authors argue that the ways in which social workers balance social policing and supportive functions in practice may indicate possible responses to an increase in referred families anticipated within Every Child Matters (Chief Secretary to the Treasury, 2003).

Comparative analysis of synovial fluid and plasma proteomes in juvenile arthritis - Proteomic patterns of joint inflammation in early stage disease

Synovial fluid is a potential source of novel biomarkers for many arthritic disorders involving joint inflammation, including juvenile idiopathic arthritis. We first compared the distinctive protein ‘fingerprints’ of local inflammation in synovial fluid with systemic profiles within matched plasma samples. The synovial fluid proteome at the time of joint inflammation was then evaluated across clinical subgroups to identify early disease associated proteins. We measured the synovial fluid and plasma proteomes using the two-dimensional fluorescence difference gel electrophoresis approach. Image analysis software was used to highlight the expression levels of joint and subgroup associated proteins across the study cohort (n = 32). A defined subset of 30 proteins had statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) between sample types such that synovial fluid could be differentiated from plasma. Furthermore distinctive synovial proteome expression patterns segregate patient subgroups. Protein expression patterns localized in the chronically inflamed joint therefore have the potential to identify patients more likely to suffer disease which will spread from a single joint to multiple joints. The proteins identified could act as criteria to prevent disease extension by more aggressive therapeutic intervention directed at an earlier stage than is currently possible.

Fruit and vegetable consumption in older individuals in Northern Ireland: levels and patterns

Low intakes of fruit and vegetables have previously been reported in the older population of Great Britain, particularly among certain socio-demographic groups. Levels and patterns of consumption in the older population of Northern Ireland, however, remain unknown. A representative sample of 1000 members of the older population of Northern Ireland were contacted by telephone to assess average intake of all fruits and vegetables and various demographic details. Data from 426 individuals (representative of the whole population) reported a mean consumption of 4.0 (SD 1-3) and 4.1 (SD 1-3) portions of fruit and vegetables per weekday and per weekend day respectively. Regression analyses revealed greater consumption on weekdays by females (B 0.53; P

Children's serial recall errors: Implications for theories of short-term memory development

Three experiments examined developmental changes in serial recall of lists of 6 letters, with errors classified as movements, omissions, intrusions, or repetitions. In Experiments 1 and 2, developmental differences between groups of children aged from 7 to 11 years and adults were found in the pattern of serial recall errors. The errors of older participants were more likely to be movements than were those of younger participants, who made more intrusions and omissions. The number of repetition errors did not change with age, and this finding is interpreted in terms of a developmentally invariant postoutput response inhibition process. This interpretation was supported by the findings of Experiment 3, which measured levels of response inhibition in 7-, 9-, and 11-year-olds by comparing recall of lists with and without repeated items. Response inhibition remained developmentally invariant, although older children showed greater response facilitation (improved correct recall of adjacent repeated items). Group differences in the patterns of other errors are accounted for in terms of developmental changes in levels of output forgetting and changes in the efficiency of temporal encoding processes, (C) 2000 Academic Press.

Influence of solution viscosity and injection protocol on distribution patterns of jet injectors: Application to photodynamic tumour targeting

Photodynamic therapy of deep or nodular skin tumours is currently limited by the poor tissue penetration of the porphyrin precursor 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) and preformed photosensitisers. In this study, we investigated the potential of jet injection to deliver both ALA and a preformed photosensitiser (meso-tetra (N-methyl-4-pyridyl) porphine tetra tosylate, TMP) into a defined volume of skin. Initial studies using a model hydrogel showed that as standoff distance is increased, injection depth decreases. As the ejected volume is increased, injection depth increases. It was also shown, for the first time, that, as injection solution viscosity was increased, for a given injection setting and standoff distance, both total depth of jet penetration, L-t, and depth at which the maximum width of the penetration pattern occurred, L-m, decreased progressively. For a standoff distance of zero, the maximum width of the penetration pattern, L-w, increased progressively with increasing viscosity at each of the injection settings. Conversely, when the standoff distance was 2.5 mm, L-w decreased progressively with increasing viscosity. Studies with neonate porcine skin revealed that an injection protocol comprising an 8.98 mPas solution, an arbitrary injection setting of 8 and a standoff distance of zero was capable of delivering photosensitisers to a volume of tissue (L-t of 2.91 mm, L-m of 2.14 mm, L-w of 5. 10 mm) comparable to that occupied by a typical nodular basal cell carcinoma. Both ALA and TMP were successfully delivered using jet injection, with peak tissue concentrations (67.3 mg cm(-3) and 5.6 mg cm(-3), respectively) achieved at a depth of around 1.0 mm and substantial reductions in drug concentration seen at depths below 3.0 mm. Consequently, jet injection may be suitable for selective targeting of ALA or preformed photosensitisers to skin tumours. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Exploratory analysis of spatiotemporal patterns of cellular automata by clustering compressibility

In this paper we study the classification of spatiotemporal pattern of one-dimensional cellular automata (CA) whereas the classification comprises CA rules including their initial conditions. We propose an exploratory analysis method based on the normalized compression distance (NCD) of spatiotemporal patterns which is used as dissimilarity measure for a hierarchical clustering. Our approach is different with respect to the following points. First, the classification of spatiotemporal pattern is comparative because the NCD evaluates explicitly the difference of compressibility among two objects, e.g., strings corresponding to spatiotemporal patterns. This is in contrast to all other measures applied so far in a similar context because they are essentially univariate. Second, Kolmogorov complexity, which underlies the NCD, was used in the classification of CA with respect to their spatiotemporal pattern. Third, our method is semiautomatic allowing us to investigate hundreds or thousands of CA rules or initial conditions simultaneously to gain insights into their organizational structure. Our numerical results are not only plausible confirming previous classification attempts but also shed light on the intricate influence of random initial conditions on the classification results.

Patterns of variation at a mitochondrial sequence-tagged-site locus provides new insights into the postglacial history of European Pinus sylvestris populations

Due to their maternal mode of inheritance, mitochondrial markers can be regarded as almost 'ideal' tools in evolutionary studies of conifer populations. In the present study, polymorphism was analysed at one mitochondrial intron (nad 1, exon B/C) in 23 native European Pinus sylvestris populations. In a preliminary screening for variation using a polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism approach, two length variants were identified. By fully sequencing the 2.5 kb region, the observed length polymorphism was found to result from the insertion of a 31 bp sequence, with no other mutations observed within the intron. A set of primers was designed flanking the observed mutation, which identified a novel sequence-tagged-site mitochondrial marker for P. sylvestris. Analysis of 747 trees from the 23 populations using these primers revealed the occurrence of two distinct haplotypes in Europe. Within the Iberian Peninsula, the two haplotypes exhibited extensive population differentiation (Phi(ST) = 0.59; P less than or equal to 0.001) and a marked geographical structuring. In the populations of central and northern Europe, one haplotype largely predominated, with the second being found in only one individual of one population.