Introduction
The detection of the initial prodrome of schizophrenia (SK) before the first episode psychosis remains a major concern in current psychiatric research.
Objectives
In this paper we aimed ...to analyse clinical and psychopathological aspects of prodromes leading to first-lifetime psychotic episodes and to highlight the high-risk features in order to establish preventive strategies and to provide early intervention in SK.
Methods
This is a retrospective observational descriptive study conducted in the ‘Prof. Dr. Alexandru Obregia’ Clinical Hospital of Psychiatry in Bucharest, Romania. We collected data from the medical records of 139 patients previously diagnosed with SK who were admitted to our clinic. For all included patients, diagnoses were recorded according to the DSM-IV TR and ICD-10 classification criteria. Data collected included patient demographics and clinical information. All analyses were conducted using SPSS package.
Results
Of the 139 patients included in this study, 130 patients (93,5%) presented prodromal symptoms. 73 of these patients (52,5%) presented with negative symptoms that were more common in our study in single male patients that had low academic performance and a family history of mental illness, findings consistent with the literature. A decline in social functioning decline was observed in 64 patients (46%) prior to their first admission. 87 patients (62,6%) had a prodromal phase which lasted more than one year.
Conclusions
These findings support the value of early psychopathology in predicting the diagnosis of SK, but clinical guidelines are needed for a more systematic evaluation of the SK prodrome.
Disclosure
No significant relationships.
The inadequate thermal performance of existing buildings and ventilation strategies in buildings are currently the biggest challenges for the housing sector in Central and Eastern Europe in the ...context of addressing the sustainability and health of the built environment. Lack of adequate ventilation of indoor spaces causes poor air quality and a higher incidence of sick building syndrome (SBS), which is manifested by affecting the comfort and wellbeing in the living space. Ensuring high energy performance buildings and indoor air quality is efficiently approached by limiting emissions from sources or by partial neutralization of the pollutants, an important stage being the establishing specific emissions levels by performing monitoring studies of indoor air quality. In this context, the paper presents experimental studies focused on monitoring the concentrations of volatile organic compounds, inorganic compounds and particulate matter, from indoor air in residential spaces located in the urban area of Bucharest, Romania. The obtained results highlight the fact that in analysed spaces there are concentrations of pollutants whose values should be considered to improve the indoor air quality while addressing effectively the upgrade of energy performance in buildings.
Background
The anterior commissure (AC) of the human larynx is usually understood as an area of the glottis anteriorly situated between the two vocal folds inserting to the thyroid cartilage (TC). ...The pattern of spread of AC carcinoma could hypothesize that AC could include other structures of the ventral larynx as developmental anatomy could demonstrate.
Methods
Ten adult larynx specimens from donation program cadavers and 15 selected fetal specimens (from 11 to 34 weeks of amenorrhoea) were studied using microdissection and histological serial sections stained with hematoxylin–eosin and reticuline.
Results
In adult specimens, internal perichondrium of the TC was easily detached from the entire lateral lamina but not from an intermediate lamina superiorly marked by the superior thyroid notch. On this median band of TC is inserted the ventral connective tissue of the three levels of the larynx: the ventral part of the vocal folds with the anterior macula flava, the Broyle’s epiglottic ligament, and the subglottic part of the conoid ligament. In young fetuses (11–12 weeks), intermediate lamina of TC joined at the glottic level but not at the supraglottic level; in fetuses at 22–25 weeks, a meshwork of bundles of connective fibers inserted to the intermediate lamina of TC. In fetuses at 33–34 weeks, organization is practically identical to adult specimens.
Conclusion
According to the adult anatomical features and the organogenesis, the AC of the human larynx could be anatomically defined ventrally as being made up of the intermediate lamina of TC beneath the superior thyroid notch and dorsally the ventral insertions of vocal folds with macula flava, supraglottic Broyle’s ligament, and subglottic conoid ligament leading to a “developmental” AC definition which could better explain specific spreading of AC carcinoma.
Meta-analyses have shown that the majority of patients with schizophrenia who have not improved after 2 weeks of treatment with an antipsychotic drug are unlikely to fully respond later. We ...hypothesized that switching to another antipsychotic with a different receptor binding profile is an effective strategy in such a situation.
In total, 327 inpatients with an acute exacerbation of schizophrenia were randomized to double-blind treatment with either olanzapine (5-20 mg/day) or amisulpride (200-800 mg/day). Those patients who had not reached at least 25% Positive-and-Negative-Syndrome-Scale (PANSS) total score reduction from baseline after 2 weeks (the "non-improvers") were rerandomized double-blind to either staying on the same compound ("stayers") or to switching to the other antipsychotic ("switchers") for another 6 weeks. The primary outcome was the difference in the number of patients in symptomatic remission between the combined "switchers" and the "stayers" after 8 weeks of treatment, analyzed by logistic regression.
A total of 142 nonimprovers were rerandomized at week two. 25 (45.5 %) of the 'stayers' compared to 41 (68.3 %) of the "switchers" reached remission at endpoint (p = .006). Differences in secondary efficacy outcomes were not significant, except for the PANSS negative subscore and the Clinical-Global-Impression-Scale. "Switchers" and "stayers" did not differ in safety outcomes.
Switching "non-improvers" from amisulpride to olanzapine or vice-versa increased remission rates and was safe. The superiority in the primary outcome was, however, not paralleled by significant differences in most secondary efficacy outcomes and the effect was only apparent at the last visit making replications of longer duration necessary.
The depletion of non-renewable resources is followed by severe ecological and social impacts, and the heavily usage of raw, virgin resources leaves significant, long lasting footprints. In order to ...move into a more sustainable economic system, a recently more frequently discussed approach for overcoming the current linearity of product lifecycles is the concept of circular economy (CE). The transition to a more circular economy, where the value of products, materials and resources is maintained and circulated (by recycling activities) in the economy for as long as possible, is an essential contribution to the EU's efforts to develop a sustainable, low carbon, resource efficient and competitive economy. In this context, ecological solutions consisting of materials which helps carbon sequestration and necessitates small amounts of energy for production are becoming increasingly popular from buildings construction point of view, namely: the raw material is cheap and in large quantities; have low thermal conductivity; are from a renewable source. The paper presents an analysis of some innovative thermal insulating products made from renewable or recycled resources (recycled plastics, low quality wool, straw, cellulose), their thermal conductivities over a temperature interval and acoustics coefficients (αs, αw), the purpose being to inform the market in order to increase the present level of technical knowledge and to facilitate the implementation of high energy efficiency buildings with products from recycled materials or using industrial by-products.
The optimal management for pericardial effusions with cardiac tamponade remains controversial. This study compares the results after two commonly performed techniques: subxiphoid surgical pericardial ...drainage (DPSS) and percutaneous catheter drainage (DPPK).
We conducted a 5-year retrospective study to analyse the outcome after DPSS and DPPK in patients with non-traumatic pericardial effusions with cardiac tamponade.
Patients with non-traumatic cardiac tamponade were treated with DPSS (N=138) and DPPK (N=54). There were no statistical differences between groups regarding: age, drainage volume and duration of drainage. The etiology was malignant in 72 patients and benign in 120 patients. The 2-year survival was statistically non-significant: 55,1% in the surgical group and 44,4% in the percutaneous group, but there was a slight prevalence of malignant diagnosis in the first group (38% versus 35%). The 1-year survival in patients with proved cyto- hystological malignancy was statistically poorer than in patients with malignant diagnosis and with both negative cytology and hystology (7% versus 33%). The 1-year freedom of re-intervention for recurrence of pericardial effusion was statistically better in the surgical group as in the percutaneous one (92.8% versus 79,6%).
DPSS and DPPK can be both safely performed. DPSS appears to decrease intervention-necessitating recurrence, but it brings a minimal advantage for the malignant diagnosis over cytology alone.
In this article we describe the development of a tool that allows planners to efficiently and effectively plan space within valuable areas of a shipyard. Traditionally, space is considered as ...resource; however, it is difficult to accurately account for and plan its consumption with the currently available planning software’s. The spatial scheduling tool described in this article can be used by planners to manually or automatically reserve space within the shipyard for construction of large blocks over the entire erection period of the ship. The software is coupled with a heuristic optimization solver inspired by an algorithm used for "3D bin-packing problems." The result is the ability to efficiently generate and compare multiple space allocation alternatives in a reduced time with the ultimate goal of maintaining the critical ship erection schedule. A better solution than manual or semi-automatic allocation of blocks can be obtained through the optimization module.
New nanocomposites based on polyacrylates and five types of montmorillonites modified by edge covalent bonding, were obtained. The alkoxysilanic substituent strongly influenced the physical–chemical ...properties of the final material. All modified clay minerals exhibit a lower wettability compared to pure montmorillonite. FTIR and TGA analyses confirmed the incorporation of montmorillonite in the polyacrylate matrix. Rugged spherical particles indicated that the platelets were predominantly on the polymer particles.
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► Nanocomposites based on polyacrylate-modified montmorillonite were synthesized. ► All modified clays exhibit a lower wettability compared to pure montmorillonite. ► Rugged spherical particles indicated montmorillonite covered polymer particles.
We report surfactant-free emulsion polymerization of styrene by using five types of montmorillonite modified by grafting monofunctional alkoxysilanes. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) determinations ...were strongly influenced by the presence of modified montmorillonite. FTIR and XRD spectra confirmed the incorporation of montmorillonite in the polymer matrix. The morphology of the latex particles was changed. Spherical and snowman particles indicated that the platelets were both inside and outside of the polymer particles.
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