Risperidone versus clozapine in treatment-resistant chronic schizophrenia: a randomized double-blind study. The Risperidone Study Group.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to compare the short-term efficacy and safety of risperidone and clozapine in treatment-resistant chronic schizophrenic patients. METHOD: In a controlled double-blind, multicenter study, 86 inpatients with chronic schizophrenia (DSM-III-R), who were resistant to or intolerant of conventional neuroleptics, were randomly assigned to receive risperidone or clozapine for 8 weeks after a 7-day washout period. After a 1-week dose-titration phase, doses were fixed at 6 mg/day of risperidone and 300 mg/day of clozapine for 1 week and then adjusted according to each patient's response. The final mean doses were 6.4 mg/day of risperidone and 291.2 mg/day of clozapine. Treatment efficacy and safety were evaluated with several well-known rating scales. RESULTS: Both risperidone and clozapine significantly reduced the severity of psychotic symptoms (scores on the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale and the Clinical Global Impression scale) from baseline, with no significant between-group differences. At endpoint, 67% of the risperidone group and 65% of the clozapine group were clinically improved (reduction of 20% or more in total Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale score). Risperidone appeared to have a faster onset of action. In both groups extrapyramidal symptoms and other adverse events were few, and their severity was generally mild. Neither group showed evidence of a relation between drug plasma concentrations and clinical effectiveness. CONCLUSIONS: Risperidone was well tolerated and as effective as medium doses of clozapine in patients with chronic schizophrenia who had been resistant to or intolerant of conventional neuroleptics.

High-intensity intermittent training in hypoxia: a double-blinded, placebo-controlled field study in youth football players.

High-intensity intermittent training in hypoxia: A double-blinded, placebo-controlled field study in youth football players. J Strength Cond Res 29(1): 226-237, 2015-This study examined the effects of 5 weeks (∼60 minutes per training, 2 d·wk) of run-based high-intensity repeated-sprint ability (RSA) and explosive strength/agility/sprint training in either normobaric hypoxia repeated sprints in hypoxia (RSH; inspired oxygen fraction [FIO2] = 14.3%) or repeated sprints in normoxia (RSN; FIO2 = 21.0%) on physical performance in 16 highly trained, under-18 male footballers. For both RSH (n = 8) and RSN (n = 8) groups, lower-limb explosive power, sprinting (10-40 m) times, maximal aerobic speed, repeated-sprint (10 × 30 m, 30-s rest) and repeated-agility (RA) (6 × 20 m, 30-s rest) abilities were evaluated in normoxia before and after supervised training. Lower-limb explosive power (+6.5 ± 1.9% vs. +5.0 ± 7.6% for RSH and RSN, respectively; both p < 0.001) and performance during maximal sprinting increased (from -6.6 ± 2.2% vs. -4.3 ± 2.6% at 10 m to -1.7 ± 1.7% vs. -1.3 ± 2.3% at 40 m for RSH and RSN, respectively; p values ranging from <0.05 to <0.01) to a similar extent in RSH and RSN. Both groups improved best (-3.0 ± 1.7% vs. -2.3 ± 1.8%; both p ≤ 0.05) and mean (-3.2 ± 1.7%, p < 0.01 vs. -1.9 ± 2.6%, p ≤ 0.05 for RSH and RSN, respectively) repeated-sprint times, whereas sprint decrement did not change. Significant interactions effects (p ≤ 0.05) between condition and time were found for RA ability-related parameters with very likely greater gains (p ≤ 0.05) for RSH than RSN (initial sprint: 4.4 ± 1.9% vs. 2.0 ± 1.7% and cumulated times: 4.3 ± 0.6% vs. 2.4 ± 1.7%). Maximal aerobic speed remained unchanged throughout the protocol. In youth highly trained football players, the addition of 10 repeated-sprint training sessions performed in hypoxia vs. normoxia to their regular football practice over a 5-week in-season period was more efficient at enhancing RA ability (including direction changes), whereas it had no additional effect on improvements in lower-limb explosive power, maximal sprinting, and RSA performance.

Nucleation and growth of GaN nanorods on Si (111) surfaces by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy - The influence of Si- and Mg-doping

The self-assembled growth of GaN nanorods on Si (111) substrates by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy under nitrogen-rich conditions is investigated. An amorphous silicon nitride layer is formed in the initial stage of growth that prevents the formation of a GaN wetting layer. The nucleation time was found to be strongly influenced by the substrate temperature and was more than 30 min for the applied growth conditions. The observed tapering and reduced length of silicon-doped nanorods is explained by enhanced nucleation on nonpolar facets and proves Ga-adatom diffusion on nanorod sidewalls as one contribution to the axial growth. The presence of Mg leads to an increased radial growth rate with a simultaneous decrease of the nanorod length and reduces the nucleation time for high Mg concentrations.

Modifications in the Si valence band after ion-beam-induced oxidation

The changes undergone by the Si surface after oxygen bombardment have special interest for acquiring a good understanding of the Si+-ion emission during secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) analysis. For this reason a detailed investigation on the stoichiometry of the builtup surface oxides has been carried out using in situ x-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS). The XPS analysis of the Si 2p core level indicates a strong presence of suboxide chemical states when bombarding at angles of incidence larger than 30°. In this work a special emphasis on the analysis and interpretation of the valence band region was made. Since the surface stoichiometry or degree of oxidation varies with the angle of incidence, the respective valence band structures also differ. A comparison with experimentally measured and theoretically derived Si valence band and SiO2 valence band suggests that the new valence bands are formed by a combination of these two. This arises from the fact that Si¿Si bonds are present on the Si¿suboxide molecules, and therefore the corresponding 3p-3p Si-like subband, which extends towards the Si Fermi level, forms the top of the respective new valence bands. Small variations in intensity and energy position for this subband have drastic implications on the intensity of the Si+-ion emission during sputtering in SIMS measurements. A model combining chemically enhanced emission and resonant tunneling effects is suggested for the variations observed in ion emission during O+2 bombardment for Si targets.

Structural and optical properties of dilute InAsN grown by molecular beam epitaxy

We perform a structural and optical characterization of InAs1¿xNx epilayers grown by molecular beam epitaxy on InAs substrates x 2.2% . High-resolution x-ray diffraction HRXRD is used to obtain information about the crystal quality and the strain state of the samples and to determine the N content of the films. The composition of two of the samples investigated is also obtained with time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectroscopy ToF-SIMS measurements. The combined analysis of the HRXRD and ToF-SIMS data suggests that the lattice parameter of InAsN might significantly deviate from Vegard"s law. Raman scattering and far-infrared reflectivity measurements have been carried out to investigate the incorporation of N into the InAsN alloy. N-related local vibrational modes are detected in the samples with higher N content. The origin of the observed features is discussed. We study the compositional dependence of the room-temperature band gap energy of the InAsN alloy. For this purpose, photoluminescence and optical absorption measurements are presented. The results are analyzed in terms of the band-anticrossing BAC model. We find that the room-temperature coupling parameter for InAsN within the BAC model is CNM=2.0 0.1 eV.

Double-tagged fluorescent bacterial bioreporter for the study of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon diffusion and bioavailability.

Bacterial degradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), ubiquitous contaminants from oil and coal, is typically limited by poor accessibility of the contaminant to the bacteria. In order to measure PAH availability in complex systems, we designed a number of diffusion-based assays with a double-tagged bacterial reporter strain Burkholderia sartisoli RP037-mChe. The reporter strain is capable of mineralizing phenanthrene (PHE) and induces the expression of enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) as a function of the PAH flux to the cell. At the same time, it produces a second autofluorescent protein (mCherry) in constitutive manner. Quantitative epifluorescence imaging was deployed in order to record reporter signals as a function of PAH availability. The reporter strain expressed eGFP proportionally to dosages of naphthalene or PHE in batch liquid cultures. To detect PAH diffusion from solid materials the reporter cells were embedded in 2 cm-sized agarose gel patches, and fluorescence was recorded over time for both markers as a function of distance to the PAH source. eGFP fluorescence gradients measured on known amounts of naphthalene or PHE served as calibration for quantifying PAH availability from contaminated soils. To detect reporter gene expression at even smaller diffusion distances, we mixed and immobilized cells with contaminated soils in an agarose gel. eGFP fluorescence measurements confirmed gel patch diffusion results that exposure to 2-3 mg lampblack soil gave four times higher expression than to material contaminated with 10 or 1 (mg PHE) g(-1).

Collaboration entre cliniciens et chercheurs autour de la "consultation systémique": double regard sur un cas clinique

Cet article vise à montrer comment chercheurs et cliniciens peuvent collaborer et s'enrichir mutuellement en utilisant la «consultation systémique», en deux séances, dont le but est l'évaluation des interactions familiales, avec mise en lumière des ressources comme des difficultés de la famille. Lors d'une première rencontre, les questions qui motivent les parents et/ou le(s) thérapeute(s) à consulter sont formulées et la famille est invitée à faire des jeux familiaux semi-standardisés qui sont filmés. Lors d'une deuxième rencontre réunissant les mêmes personnes, un visionnement d'extraits des films sert de base aux réponses des chercheurs et à une discussion commune. Une vignette clinique, concernant des violences intrafamiliales, illustrera la richesse et l'utilité de ces consultations et montrera qu'une collaboration entre chercheurs et cliniciens est fructueuse pour toutes les parties concernées.

Cefuroxime prophylaxis is effective in noninstrumented spine surgery: a double-blind, placebo-controlled study.

STUDY DESIGN: Double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial. OBJECTIVE: To assess the efficacy of 1 preoperative 1.5 g dose of cefuroxime in preventing surgical site infection after surgery for herniated disc. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Antibiotic prophylaxis was only tested in nonconclusive trials in this setting. METHODS: The study was conducted in 2 university hospitals in Switzerland. Patients were assessed for occurrence of surgical site infection (defined by the criteria of the Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention), other infections, or adverse events up to 6 months after surgery. Outcome measures were compared in a univariate, per-protocol analysis. RESULTS: Baseline characteristics were similar in patients allocated to cefuroxime (n = 613) or placebo (n = 624). Eight (1.3%) patients in the cefuroxime group and 18 patients (2.8%) in the placebo group developed a surgical site infection (P = 0.073). A diagnosis of spondylodiscitis or epidural abscess was made in 9 patients in the placebo group, but none in the cefuroxime group (P < 0.01), which corresponded to a number necessary to treat of 69 patients to prevent one of these infections. There were no significant adverse events attributed to either cefuroxime or placebo. CONCLUSION: A single, preoperative dose of cefuroxime significantly reduces the risk of organ-space infection, most notably spondylodiscitis, after surgery for herniated disc.

Continuum Double Exchange Model

We present a continuum model for doped manganites which consist of two species of quantum spin-1 / 2 fermions interacting with classical spin fields. The phase structure at zero temperature turns out to be considerably rich: antiferromagnetic insulator, antiferromagnetic two band conducting, canted two band conducting, canted one band conducting, and ferromagnetic one band conducting phases are identified, all of them being stable against phase separation. There are also regions in the phase diagram where phase separation occurs

Low energy excitations of double quantum dots in the lowest Landau level regime

We study the spectrum and magnetic properties of double quantum dots in the lowest Landau level for different values of the hopping and Zeeman parameters by means of exact diagonalization techniques in systems of N=6 and 7 electrons and a filling factor close to 2. We compare our results with those obtained in double quantum layers and single quantum dots. The Kohn theorem is also discussed.