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Background This prospective cohort study aimed at evaluating patterns of polypharmacy and aggressive and violent behavior during a 1-year follow-up in patients with severe mental disorders. Methods A total of 340 patients (125 inpatients from residential facilities and 215 outpatients) were evaluated at baseline with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I and II, Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, Specific Levels of Functioning scale, Brown-Goodwin Lifetime History of Aggression, Buss-Durkee Hostility Inventory, Barratt Impulsiveness Scale, and State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory-2. Aggressive behavior was rated every 15 days with the Modified Overt Aggression Scale and treatment compliance with the Medication Adherence Rating Scale. Results The whole sample was prescribed mainly antipsychotics with high levels of polypharmacy. Clozapine prescription and higher compliance were associated with lower levels of aggressive and violent behavior. Patients with a history of violence who took clozapine were prescribed the highest number of drugs. The patterns of cumulative Modified Overt Aggression Scale mean scores of patients taking clozapine (n = 46), other antipsychotics (n = 257), and no antipsychotics (n = 37) were significantly different (P = . 001). Patients taking clozapine showed a time trend at 1-year follow-up (24 evaluations) indicating a significantly lower level of aggressive behavior. Patient higher compliance was also associated with lower Modified Overt Aggression Scale ratings during the 1-year follow-up. Conclusion Both inpatients and outpatients showed high levels of polypharmacy. Clozapine prescription was associated with lower Modified Overt Aggression Scale ratings compared with any other antipsychotics or other psychotropic drugs. Higher compliance was associated with lower levels of aggressive and violent behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glioblastoma is the most common and aggressive malignant primary brain tumor. Despite decades of research and the advent of new therapies, patients with glioblastoma continue to have a very poor prognosis. Radiation therapy has a major role as adjuvant treatment for glioblastoma following surgical resection. Many studies have shown that polymorphisms of genes involved in pathways of DNA repair may affect the sensitivity of the cells to treatment. Although the role of these polymorphisms has been investigated in relation to response to radiotherapy, their role as predisposing factors to glioblastoma has not been clarified yet. In the present study, we evaluated the association between polymorphisms in DNA repair genes, namely: XRCC1 rs25487, XRCC3 rs861539 and RAD51 rs1801320, with the susceptibility to develop glioblastoma. Eighty-five glioblastoma patients and 70 matched controls were recruited for this study. Data from the 1000 Genomes Project (98 Tuscans) were also downloaded and used for the association analysis. Subjects carrying RAD51 rs1801320 GC genotype showed an increased risk of glioblastoma (GC vs GG, χ = 10.75; OR 3.0087; p = 0.0010). The C allele was also significantly associated to glioblastoma (χ = 8.66; OR 2.5674; p = 0.0032). Moreover, RAD51 rs1801320 C allele increased the risk to develop glioblastoma also when combined to XRCC1 rs25487 G allele and XRCC3 rs861539 C allele (χ = 6.558; p = 0.0053). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A method has been developed to perform high-frequency deep-water normal-mode calculations in the multikilohertz region in water depths of the order of 5 km. The results from this technique agree with fast field program (FFP) solutions as well as with infinite-frequency solutions in the appropriate limit. The wave-theory calculations presented therefore provide a set of test cases for future numerically more efficient approximations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An experiment was conducted in a shallow water region of the Mediterranean Sea to study wind-generated noise. In addition to measuring the noise field, propagation-loss data were collected and used in a detailed modeling of the environment. The environmental information was then used as input to a noise model based on wave theory that computes the noise field in the water column for a given (unknown) source strength. By comparing model predictions with data, the influence of the environment on recorded noise levels could be removed and a measure of the noise source spectrum levels obtained as a function of wind speed. It was found that noise levels correlate better with wind speed than with wave height. In addition it was found that the nearfield contribution dominates the noise level, with the result of producing virtually constant noise intensity over depth from moderate to high wind speeds and frequencies above 200 Hz. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are two basic problems associated with performing high-frequency deep-water normal mode calculations. First, in deep water the number of modes is approximately of the order of the frequency, and lengthy calculations must therefore be performed. The second problem is that numerical instabilities occur because of the evanescent nature of the lower modes which are 'trapped' in the deep sound channel. Because of these problems, normal mode calculations have typically been done only for frequencies less than a few hundred hertz in deep water. A method has been developed to perform such calculations in the multi-kilohertz region in deep water of the order of 5 km. The results from this technique have been favorably compared with infinite frequency solutions. The wave theory calculations presented, therefore, provide a set of test cases for possible future numerically more efficient approximations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]