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Background The role of onset polarity (OP) in patients with bipolar disorder (BD) has been increasingly investigated over the last few years, for its clinical, prognostic, and therapeutic implications. The present study sought to assess whether OP was associated with specific correlates, in particular with a differential suicidal risk in BD patients. Methods A sample of 362 recovered BD patients was dichotomized by OP: depressed (DO) or elevated onset (EO: hypomanic/manic/mixed). Socio-demographic and clinical variables were compared between the subgroups. Additionally, binary logistic regression was performed to assess features associated with OP. Results DO compared with EO patients had older current age and were more often female, but less often single and unemployed. Clinically, DO versus EO had a more than doubled rate of suicide attempts, as well as significantly higher rates of BD II diagnosis, lifetime stressful events, current psychotropics and antidepressants use, longer duration of the most recent episode (more often depressive), but lower rates of psychosis and involuntary commitments. Limitations Retrospective design limiting the accurate assessment of total number of prior episodes of each polarity. Conclusions Our results support the influence of OP on BD course and outcome. Moreover, in light of the relationship between DO and a higher rate of suicide attempts, further investigation may help clinicians in identifying patients at higher risk of suicide attempts.

Background: Patients with acute pulmonary embolism (APE) with concomitant chronic heart failure (CHF) are characterized by higher mortality rates than APE patients without CHF. The aim of this study is to evaluate the potential impact of APE on early and long-term prognosis in patients with CHF. Methods: This study included 87 patients with CHF with suspected APE. Patients were divided into two groups according to spiral computed tomography results: one group with confirmed APE and one with excluded APE. Total and cardiovascular mortality in patients of both groups during a 6- and 36-month follow up period was assessed. Potential risk factors for mortality in patients with CHF in short and long-term observations were identified. Results: APE was diagnosed in 35 patients, and excluded in the remaining 52 patients. Total and cardiovascular 6-month mortality was higher in APE patients than in patients without APE: 34.3% and 28.5% vs. 13.4% and 11.5%, p = 0.02, p = 0.02, respectively. In 6-month follow-up the only independent risk factor for mortality was the presence of APE (HR = 2.7, 95% CI 1.1–24.4, p = 0.04). However, in the 36-month follow-up APE had no effect on mortality. Conclusions: Patients with CHF and acute episode of PE are characterized by a higher 6-month total and cardiovascular mortality rate following discharge from hospital compared to patients hospitalized due to acute CHF decompensation. Moreover, recent episode of PE in patients with CHF is an independent risk factor for early mortality in a 6-month follow-up.

This Commentary describes how some of the Cleveland Fed’s macroeconomic forecasting models have been modified to use a Taylor rule for monetary policy. After briefly describing the Taylor rule implementation, the article shows that the Taylor rule included in one of our models successfully captures the course of monetary policy in the most recent episode of policy tightening.

Background: Few studies have evaluated the supernatural beliefs of patients with schizophrenia. This study aimed to study the personal beliefs, aetiological models and help seeking behaviour of patients with schizophrenia using a self-rated questionnaire. Materials and Methods: Seventy three patients returned the completed supernatural Attitude questionnaire. Results: 62% of patients admitted that people in their community believed in sorcery and other magico-religious phenomena. One fourth to half of patients believed in ghosts/evil spirit (26%), spirit intrusion (28.8%) and sorcery (46.6%). Two-third patients believed that mental illness can occur either due to sorcery, ghosts/evil spirit, spirit intrusion, divine wrath, planetary/astrological influences, dissatisfied or evil spirits and bad deeds of the past. 40% of the subjects attributed mental disorders to more than one of these beliefs. About half of the patients (46.6%) believed that only performance of prayers was sufficient to improve their mental status. Few patients (9.6%) believed that magico-religious rituals were sufficient to improve their mental illness but about one-fourth (24.7%) admitted that during recent episode either they or their caregivers performed magico-religious rituals. Conclusion: Supernatural beliefs are common in patients with schizophrenia and many of them attribute the symptoms of mental disorders to these beliefs.

During the recent financial crisis dedicated short bias (DSB) hedge funds exhibited extremely strong results while many other hedge fund strategies suffered badly. This article, prompted by this recent episode, investigates DSB hedge fund performance over an extended sample period, from January 1994 to December 2008. Performance and risk evaluation are carried out on an equally weighted DSB hedge fund portfolio using three different factor model specifications and both linear and nonlinear estimation techniques. The authors conclude that DSB hedge funds are a significant source of diversification for equity market investors and produce statistically significant levels of alpha. Their findings are robust to the specification of traditional and alternative risk factors, nonlinearity, and the omission of the crisis periods, which are particularly favorable for the DSB strategy.

Martian gullies are small-scale, geologically recent features characterized by the alcove-channel-apron morphology associated with flows with a component of liquid water. Theories advanced to explain Martian gully formation include groundwater processes and melting of near-surface ice due to climate variation. Gullies are often associated with ‘mantling terrain’ that drapes topography at mid to high latitudes and which has been proposed to be ice-rich. We have morphologically classified Martian gullies into four groupings according to whether they form solely within the mantle (Type A), erode into ‘bedrock’ (Type B), and by how well developed they appear (1 or 2). Orientation, length, geological setting and latitude were also recorded, as well as whether more than one generation of gullies formed on a given slope (labelled ‘reactivated’). About 25% of gullies form solely within the mantle; these are generally shorter than gullies that erode bedrock and the morphologically simplest gullies (A1) are the shortest. We present latitude and orientation trends for the most recent episode of gully formation. We suggest that this recent activity is probably controlled by either deposition of ice-rich material or degradation of pre-existing ice-rich material.

We report the case of a patient with a long history of dysthymia and major depressive episodes requiring repeated hospitalization. We describe the most recent episode, associated with catatonia symptomatology and features suggestive of cognitive impairment. The absence of a clear initial psychopharmacological response alongside the clinical severity made the patient a potential candidate for electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). A regional cerebral blood flow SPECT (SPECT-rCBF), performed to rule out concomitant Alzheimer disease (AD), revealed a markedly decreased neocortical uptake, with no definitive pattern of concomitant primary cognitive impairment. Because a gradual clinical improvement was observed in the patient, with evidence of enhanced cerebral reperfusion in a second SPECT-rCBF study at two weeks after admission, the application of ECT was discounted and an expectant attitude was adopted.

Bang Goes the Theory is a popular BBC television science magazine series in the UK that has, in fact, been referred to previously in the present publication in an interview with one of its former presenters (2010 Phys. Educ. 45 298). In a recent episode, a range of modern scientific techniques for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer was examined. One segment in particular examined the technique of external beam radiotherapy, in which x-rays may be directed toward the patient from a variety of angles to maximize the irradiation of the tumour site and minimize that of healthy tissue within the body. This, in turn, leads to cell death (or at least the cessation of cell reproduction) by the ionization of DNA within the nucleus.

The current study tested hypotheses derived from Joiner's (2005) interpersonal theory of suicide, which proposes that deliberate self-harm (DSH) becomes increasingly more reinforcing with repetition. One hundred six participants with a history of DSH completed questionnaires about their emotions and experience of physical pain during their most recent DSH episode. Consistent with prediction, people with more numerous past DSH episodes felt more soothed, more relieved, and calmer following their most recent episode of DSH. Contrary to prediction, greater numbers of past DSH episodes were associated with more intense physical pain during the most recent episode. The findings suggest that the emotion regulation functions of DSH may become more reinforcing with repetition.

Long–short hedge funds are often very highly levered, despite the costs of leverage that became apparent during the LTCM crisis in 1998 and the more recent episode in 2008. This note explores potential market imperfections that may explain the use of leverage.

The content of episodic memory consists of representations of unique past events. Episodic memories are grounded in a temporal framework (i.e., we remember when an event occurred). It has recently been argued that episodic-like memory in rats is qualitatively different from human episodic memory because, rather than remembering when an earlier past event occurred, rats used the cue of how long ago it occurred. We asked, therefore, whether rats remember the time of day at which they encountered a distinctive event, in addition to what occurred and where it happened. Rats were tested in the morning and afternoon, on separate days. A distinctive flavor (chocolate) was replenished at a daily-unique location at only one of these times. The interval between first and second daily opportunities to eat (study and test, respectively) was constant. Rats adjusted their revisits to the chocolate location at different times of day by using time of day rather than the cue of how long ago an event occurred. Two lines of evidence suggest that rats remembered the time at which the distinctive event occurred. First, under conditions in which the time of test (but not time of study) was novel, rats immediately transferred their knowledge of the chocolate contingency to the new test time. Second, under conditions in which predictions for study and test times were put in conflict, rats again used study time. Our results suggest that, at the time of memory assessment, rats remember when a recent episode occurred, similar to human episodic memory.

The influence of patient age on various features of ocular toxoplasmosis has been a subject of study for many years. The age at which Toxoplasma gondii infection occurs in different populations is related to socioeconomic factors and studies suggest that ocular toxoplasmosis is a more severe disease at the extremes of age. The prevalence of ocular involvement is markedly different between individuals with congenital and those with post-natally acquired infections. Even among those with post-natally acquired infections, age influences the risk and timing of ocular involvement. The severity of toxoplasmic retinochoroiditis (in terms of lesion size, location and associated inflammation) is also affected by patient age at the time of initial infection or recurrence. The risk of recurrent toxoplasmic retinochoroiditis is influenced by age at the time of initial infection and age at most recent episode of active disease. Understanding of relationships between ocular toxoplasmosis and patient age is incomplete; evidence has often been indirect and in some cases conflicting. The influence of patient age on ocular toxoplasmosis should be studied in a systematic manner to provide a better understanding of disease mechanisms and to provide clinical information that can used to establish better strategies for disease treatment and prevention.

This essay examines the role of social interactions in the search for blood stem cells, in a recent episode of biomedical research. Linked to mid-20th century cell biology, genetics and radiation research, the search for blood stem cells coalesced in the 1960s and took a developmental turn in the late 1980s, with significant ramifications for immunology, stem cell and cancer biology. Like much contemporary biomedical research, this line of inquiry exhibits a complex social structure and includes several prominent scientific successes, recognized as such by participating researchers. I use personal interviews and the published record to trace the social interactions crucial for scientific success in this episode. All recognized successes in this episode have two aspects: improved models of blood cell development, and new interfaces with other lines of research. The narrative of the search for blood stem cells thus yields a robust account of scientific success in practice, which generalizes to other scientific episodes and lends itself to expansion to include wider social contexts.

To assess the long-term risk of developing permanent AF in relation to the signal-averaged P wave duration (SAPWD) and clinical and echocardiographic characteristics.In an observational study design we studied 131 patients with earlier ECG-documented AF and successfully restored sinus rhythm attending a long-term, follow-up visit at hospital or at home. Established permanent AF was examined in relation to primary clinical, echocardiographic, and electrophysiological parameters.Only prolonged SAPWD (p=0.006) was associated with an increased risk of development of permanent AF. The risk of permanent AF after 3 years follow-up was 0.72 with an SAPWD equal to 180 ms versus 0.39 with a normal SAPWD (130 ms). We found no prognostic effect of age, gender, dilated left atrium, long duration of AF history, or long duration of the most recent episode of AF. Co-existing hypertension reduced the risk of permanent AF; this could be explained by concomitant treatment with angiotensin-converting-enzyme-inhibitors.Prolonged SAPWD (a marker of atrial remodelling) appears to be a risk factor for long-term development of permanent AF.

The recent episode in Flint, Michigan, has brought the issue of lead in water into the public eye. But the dangers of lead exposure have been recognized for millennia, and we have the knowledge required to redress this social crime — if only we had the political will.

International audience; One of the most striking consequences of the recent episode of sovereign debt market stress in the Eurozone has been the increase in the share of public debt held by the domestic sector in fragile economies. However, the causes and potential consequences of this increase were only given scarce attention in the literature on the Euro area sovereign debt crisis. In order to fill this gap, we first determine the shocks that impact the variation in the share of sovereign debt held at home in an SVAR model on a sample of Eurozone countries between 2002 and 2014, distinguishing between external and domestic shocks. Thanks to several alternative tests, we show that home bias in sovereign debt responds positively to country-specific fundamentals and expectation shocks but we find no evidence that the increase in home bias is destabilizing per se in the short-run. Second, a stylized theoretical model backed by the empirical results predicts that the consequences for sovereign debt crisis depend on the relative impact of domestic initial destabilizing shocks and increased home bias. The analysis suggests that an increase in home bias in times of sovereign debt stress, despite reflecting deteriorating fiscal conditions, may make default less likely.

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, its successor states have suffered from cyclical currency crises. The most recent episode of 2014–2016 was caused by a combination of external and domestic factors. The former include tighter US monetary policy, slower global growth, and declining commodity prices, whereas the latter include the former Soviet Union (FSU) economies’ extreme macroeconomic fragility (a legacy of past crises), numerous microeconomic rigidities and structural distortions in addition to governmental deficits. In addition, the Russian–Ukraine conflict dealt a heavy blow to both economies and their neighbors. Effective anti-crisis policies must aim at eliminating all deep-rooted causes of repeated financial and macroeconomic turbulence and must involve deep structural and institutional reforms in the entire region.

We present the case of a 63-year-old woman with heterotaxy syndrome and polysplenia who presented with clinical signs and symptoms of recurrent acute pancreatitis in which the biliary origin had been seen in the most recent episode. This syndrome is rare in adult patients because it is associated with congenital heart defects. It is important to know the visceral anomalies that are common in this syndrome to avoid confusing them with pathological processes.

Since the early 1980s, private, for‐profit corporations have become increasingly involved in all aspects of scientific research, especially of biomedical research. In this essay, I argue that there are dangerous epistemic consequences of this trend, which should be more thoroughly examined by social epistemologists. In support of this claim, I discuss a recent episode of pharmaceutical research involving the painkiller Vioxx. I argue that the research on Vioxx was epistemically problematic and that the primary cause of these inadequacies was faulty institutional arrangements. More specifically, the research was organized in such a way as to allow short‐term commercial interests to compromise epistemic integrity. Thus, the Vioxx case study, in conjunction with numerous case studies developed elsewhere, provides strong reasons for believing that the privatization of the biomedical sciences is epistemically worrisome, and it suggests that the primary response to this situation should be a social, or organiza...

Young injectors are a group with high-risk behaviours, particularly with respect to HIV infection and hepatitis C. A leading strategy to prevent these infections could be the prevention of injection, especially among the youngest individuals. We report analyses on initiation into drug injection from a prospective cohort study of street youth conducted in Montreal, Canada. Among 118 non-injector participants under 18 years of age followed for an average of 1.31 years, we estimated an incidence rate of injection of 22.7 per 100 person-years. Independent predictors of initiation were: a lifetime history of use of ≥4 types of drugs, recent daily alcohol drinking, a recent episode of homelessness, a lifetime history of rape, and recent involvement in survival sex. The observed high rate of initiation into injection clearly indicates that interventions to prevent injection should target especially adolescent street youth. These interventions should address simultaneously individual and structural factors, such ...

The series of directly observed sunspot numbers is nearly 400 years long. We stress that the recently compiled group sunspot number series is an upgrade of the old Wolf series and should always be used before 1850. The behavior of solar activity on longer time scales can be studied only using indirect proxies. Such proxies as aurorae occurrence or naked-eye sunspot observations are qualitative indicators of solar activity but can be hardly quantitatively interpreted. Cosmogenic isotope records provide a basis for quantitative estimate of the past solar activity. Here we overview the main methods of the long-term solar activity reconstruction on the centennial to multimillennia time scale. We discuss that regression-based reconstructions of solar activity lead to very uncertain results, while recently developed physics-based models raise solar activity reconstruction to a new level and allow studying its behavior on a multimillennia time scale. In particular, the reconstructions show that the recent episode of high solar activity is quite unusual in the multimillennia time scale.

Fusarium infections are important problem worldwide, cause a broad spectrum of infections in human including superficial infections as well as locally invasive and disseminated infections. We report a rare case of perinephric abscess caused by Fusarium chlamydosporum in a child who had a recent episode of pyelonephritis. This case illustrates the ever increasing spectrum of rare but offending pathogenic fungi in an immunocompetent host. Fungal infections should always be suspected in patients having one or the other underlying risk factor or who are unresponding to antibacterial therapy. Early diagnosis of infection with a specific pathogen may lead to changes in antifungal therapy and may be critical for an improved outcome.

This investigation assessed the relationships among recalled, expected, and actual muscle pain intensity and unpleasantness during a period of 48 hours. We hypothesized that (1). specific expectations of pain after 24 hours would account for a significant amount of variance in actual pain, (2). recalled pain from the most recent episode of naturally occurring muscle pain would be significantly associated with expected pain, and (3). the accuracy of expectations (ie, the difference between expected and actual pain) would increase across time as the onset of muscle pain occurred. Ninety-five students completed 3 sessions. In Session 1, recalled muscle pain and expected muscle pain in the next 24 hours were collected before exercise. In Sessions 2 and 3, muscle pain during movement and expected pain in the next 24 hours were collected. Recalled muscle pain was associated with expectations at baseline, r values [equals].26 to.47, P [lt ].05. The accuracy of expected intensity increased during the study, t [equals] 3.20, P [lt ].01, and the accuracy of expected unpleasantness was associated with change in expected unpleasantness, r values [equals] [minus ].28, P [lt ].01. The amount of variance in actual intensity and unpleasantness accounted for by expectations increased up to 55% and 52%, respectively, during the study. Expected unpleasantness did not account for variance in actual intensity. Expected intensity accounted for 3% of the variance in actual unpleasantness, but only in the second 24-hour period. Thus, our hypotheses were generally supported, but unanticipated findings regarding changes across time in the relationships among recalled, expected, and actual muscle pain were also detected.

Acute otitis media (AOM) is the most frequent bacterial disease and leading cause of antibacterial prescriptions in infants and children. Although AOM resolves spontaneously in most patients, antibacterial treatment is believed to be indicated in most industrial countries, particularly for infants, to prevent severe complications and relieve symptoms more rapidly. The classical duration of oral antibacterial therapy has been 10 days. During the last decade, the efficacy of shortened course antibacterial therapy has been demonstrated in many trials. Advantages of shorter treatment periods include less expense, better compliance, and potentially less impact on the commensal flora. However, short course antibacterial therapy may not be appropriate for children

The subjectivism of Austrian economics helps to explain the statistical fact of long memory in asset prices. The theory of Big Players is an Austrian approach to understanding the effects of discretionary policymaking in markets. It leads to implications that can be tested with statistics. In particular, Big Players induce herding and, thereby, an increase of persistence in asset prices. A recent episode in Slovenian monetary theory provides a case study. This case study adds to a set of similar studies, all tending to support the theory of Big Players.

Conflicts between science and its cultural context have been and are still frequent, especially those arising from an alleged incompatibility between scientific and humanistic cultures. A recent episode of these conflicts can be found in the so called science wars, in which the place and the social prestige of science with respect to humanistic culture have been discussed, and some proposals to overcome the traditional antagonism between them have been outlined. In this paper, I address this last matter and, returning to some ideas of Otto Neurath about the unity of science, I conclude that the coexistence and understanding between science and humanities should be based on their collaboration in the solution of social problems., Han sido y son frecuentes los conflictos de la ciencia con su entorno cultural, en especial los que surgen de una supuesta incompatibilidad entre la cultura científica y la humanista. Un capitulo reciente de estos conflictos han sido las llamadas guerras de la ciencia, en las que se ha venido discutiendo sobre el lugar y prestigio social de la ciencia respecto de la cultura de humanidades y se han esbozado algunas propuestas para superar el tradicional antagonismo entre ellas. En este artículo trato de esta última cuestión y, retomando ideas de Otto Neurath acerca de la unidad de la ciencia, concluyo que el mejor modo posible de coexistencia y entendimiento entre ciencia y humanidades es el que tiene como base su colaboración en la solución de problemas sociales.

The patient was a single, 36year-old white man. He was admitted to our institution due to agitated behavior and psychosis, with a diagnosis of bipolar I disorder from his most recent episode, which was mixed and severe with moodincongruent psychotic features. He presented with depressed mood of 3 weeks’ duration, associated with early and intermittent insomnia, decreased energy, racing thoughts, and psychomotor agitation. Furthermore, he exhibited persecutory delusions, believing that people were “out to get him,” and was thus physically aggressive to those he encountered. He denied any suicidal or homicidal ideations, and substance abuse screens returned with negative results. The patient was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis at 19 years, but because he was “living on the streets,” he failed to receive adequate treat

A 50-year-old male presented with recurrent effusion around the left knee joint. There was no history of trauma to the knee or recent episode of fever. On clinical examination, suprapatellar fullness with decreased range of movement was noted. However, there was no tenderness or redness of the overlying skin. There were no complaints in other joints of the body or a similar family history. He was advised X-ray of the knee joint (anteroposterior and lateral view) which showed advanced degenerative changes in the form of reduced tibiofemoral joint space, osteophyte formation with subchondral sclerosis, and cystic changes. A large suprapatellar fullness was also seen (Fig. 1). He was advised magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to look for any synovial or intraarticular pathology (Figs. 2, 3 and 4).

MARK VONNEGUTThirty-eight years ago, in the midst of a psychotic illness that included hearing voices and paranoid ideation, I was diagnosed with schizophrenia. During my most recent episode 24 yea...

1. History A 13-year-old boy was admitted for intermittent diarrhea and a recent episode of sharp, well localized pain in the left thigh. Blood tests, blood cultures and stool specimens were obtained during the intestinal work-up and the results were pending at time of radiological examination. The patient was referred for radiological work-up of the unspecific pain of the left femur. Conventional radiographs and fine focus magnification radiographs of the left femur were done. Because the findings on the conventional radiographs were inconclusive an MRIscan of both thighs was obtained.

Culp (1994) provides a defense for a form of experimental reasoning entitled ‘robustness’. Her strategy is to examine a recent episode in experimental microbiology—the case of the mistaken discovery of a bacterial organelle called a ‘mesosome’—with an eye to showing how experimenters effectively used robust experimental reasoning (or could have used robust reasoning) to refute the existence of the mesosome. My plan is to criticize Culp's assessment of the mesosome episode and to cast doubt on the epistemic significance of robustness. In turn, I present a different account of the experimental reasoning microbiologists used in arriving at the conclusion that mesosomes are artifacts. I call this form of reasoning ‘reliable process reasoning’, and close the paper with a brief discussion of how experimental microbiologists justify the claim that an experimental process is reliable.

During the last 500 years large numbers of herring have occasionally appeared in winter along the Swedish Skagerrak coast. These “Bohuslan” herring periods, sometimes lasting for several decades, were probably caused by a temporary shift of the over-wintering grounds of North Sea herring. In normal years North Sea herring over-winter in the adjacent waters of the northeastern North Sea. As yet there is no commonly accepted explanation for the occasional shifts of the over-wintering grounds towards the Skagerrak.The environmental cause of the Bohuslan herring periods was investigated by looking at the most recent episode of herring invasions in the Skagerrak. In the winters of 1962-1965 large numbers of North Sea herring again entered the Skagerrak and these invasions showed many features of the old Bohuslan herring periods. The only anomalous environmental parameter at this time was a high frequency of easterly winds in the autumns of 1962 and 1963. It is assumed that these easterly winds forced surface water out of the Skagerrak and thereby strengthened the subsurface Norwegian Trench Current that flows into the Skagerrak. This current could easily transport herring from the normal over-wintering area near Egersund Bank towards the Skagerrak. It is shown that former Bohuslan or Skagerrak herring periods started in years when the North Atlantic Oscillation was in a negative phase and when easterly winds must have dominated in autumn too.Bohuslan herring periods were more persistent than the periods of easterly winds. The persistence of the herring migrations is explained by “site-fidelity” of the older herring. Once a new migration has been adopted by the population it is repeated in subsequent years even when the original environmental cause has disappeared. An existing migration pattern can be changed only by a new, strong year class, that has not yet developed an attachment to the traditional over-wintering area. It is shown that the two most recent episodes of Skagerrak invasions were indeed initiated by strong recruiting year classes.

SummaryThe object of this study was to analyse the results of laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) without previous endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) in mild acute biliary pancreatitis (ABP) patients once the acute attack had resolved. Seventy-six patients were operated on after a recent episode of mild ABP, as determined by the presence of three or less positive Ranson-Imrie criteria (ABP-Group). Depending on the proximity of LC to the ABP attack, the ABP-Group was further divided into two subgroups. Forty patients were operated on during the first 2 weeks after the onset of pancreatic symptoms (early-LC subgroup), and 36 were operated on between 16 and 60 days (delayed-LC subgroup). The results are compared with 411 patients who underwent LC for uncomplicated cholelithiasis (Control-Group) during the same period. The operative time and incidence of common bile duct stones were significantly superior in the ABP-Group (p

Purpose: To determine predisposing factors, best method of treatment, and the final outcome in cases of Descemet's membrane detachment. Setting: A tertiary care teaching eye hospital. Methods: All cases of Descemet's detachment from January 1986 to May 1994 were retrospectively reviewed. Twelve eyes of 11 patients with partial or total detachment of Descemet's membrane were identified. Patients with small localized detachments at the incision area were excluded. Results: All but one patient had surgical repair. Ten eyes had successful reattachment after up to four attempts at repair. Methods of repair included intracameral air or sulfur hexafluoride (SF 6 ) 20% gas, with or without corneal sutures. After a followup of 3 to 79 months, eight eyes retained clear corneas, four eyes developed corneal edema and scarring, and two required penetrating keratoplasty. No definite predisposing factor could be identified, although four eyes had preoperative diagnoses of glaucoma and recent corneal edema. Conclusion: Surgical repair with injection of intracameral air or SF 6 20% was successful in most cases of Descemet's membrane detachment. A preoperative diagnosis of glaucoma and a recent episode of corneal edema may increase the risk of detachment.

W i d c l YOUR PATIENTS will be asking you about awareness under anesthesia quite a bit more in the near future. That’s because the subject has been a popular point of discussion in Hollywood. A recent episode of the TV series Nip/ Tuck dealt with awareness and, of course, the big blockbuster movie Awake (Fig 1) will be coming out in the fall. Anyone who has watched the medical dramas ER or Grey’s Anatomy knows that sometimes certain liberties are taken with the facts; however, many of our patients do not know that. The bloggers are already complaining that anesthesia healthcare providers have engaged in a conspiracy of keeping the problem of anesthetic awareness secret from the general public.

One of the most striking consequences of the recent episode of sovereign debt market stress in the Eurozone has been the increase in the share of public debt held by the domestic sector in fragile economies. However, the causes and potential consequences of this increase were only given scarce attention in the literature on the Euro area sovereign debt crisis. In order to fill this gap, we first identify the shocks that impact the variation in the share of sovereign debt held at home in an SVAR model on a sample of Eurozone countries between 2002 and 2014, distinguishing between external and domestic shocks. Thanks to several alternative tests, we show that home bias in sovereign debt responds positively to country-specific fundamentals and expectations shocks but we find no evidence that the increase in home bias is destabilizing per se in the short-run. Second, a stylized theoretical model backed by the empirical results predicts that the consequences for sovereign debt crisis depend on the relative impact of domestic initial destabilizing shocks and increased home bias. The analysis suggests that an increase in home bias in times of sovereign debt stress, despite reflecting deteriorating fiscal conditions, may make default less likely.

We study the course of the Swiss price level during the recent episode where Switzerland enforced a floor on the Swiss Franc exchange rate relative to the Euro. Given the strong nominal upward pressure on the Swiss currency the introduced limit of 1.20 Francs per Euro led to a quasi-fixed exchange rate from 2011 until early 2015. This measure was specifically aimed at helping the firms of the Swiss export sector to compete internationally. A further reason for imposing this floor was the Swiss National Bank’s concern with deflationary pressures. Interestingly, it turned out that during the episode with a quasi-fixed exchange rate the Swiss price level came under downward pressure. We offer an analysis that helps to understand this depreciation of the Swiss currency in real terms which in fact contributed to the exchange rate floor being eventually abandoned. The article thus clarifies some intricate mechanisms affecting the choice of exchange rate policies which are so important for firms in the export sector. As a theoretical contribution (complementing the well-known Balassa-Samuelson analysis) the article presents a computable equilibrium model that explains real exchange rate variations with diverging trends in the productivity growth of the non-traded goods sectors of economies.

The velocity structure for the upper and middle crust in the epicentral tract of the Great 1897 Assam Earthquake (western half of the Shillong massif) was estimated using locally recorded microearthquake data. The relatively homogeneous upper crustal layer has P and S wave velocities of 5.9 ± 0.2 and 3.4 ± 0.1 km/s, respectively, with a thickness of 11 to 12 km. The average P and S wave velocities in the middle part of the crust down to a depth of about 26 km were estimated to be 6.3 ± 0.6 and 3.5 ± 0.2 km/s, respectively. The larger scatter in P velocity estimate of the mid-crustal layer was investigated using synthetic examples. Our preference is for the model in which this crustal region is assumed to comprise of a number of thin layers with alternate low and high seismic velocities. From theoretical considerations we confirm that it is possible to estimate the velocity structure for a horizontally layered model using the velocity estimation procedure (a combination of the Wadati, Riznichenko and Bune method) we have used. We also carried out detailed model analysis to check how effective this velocity estimation procedure is for the type of array data we have. Combining the estimated velocity structure with our earlier work on seismicity of this area we propose that the upper homogeneous crustal layer in the Shillong massif may be moving relatively southward across an intracrustal thrust zone. We suggest that the Great 1897 Assam Earthquake may represent the most recent episode of this relative southward movement of the massif.

A bill came before the Senate in 1995 that was designed to "pro tect" the American flag. The measure failed to pass, but for many Americans, the attempt was only the most recent episode in a long and tragic story of flag protectionism which belies what the flag stands for. One part of this story, a practice called pledging allegiance to the American flag, has been part of American school ritual for decades.1 Few Americans object to this exercise; most persons willingly partici pate because they see it as purposeful in instilling a sense of loyalty and devotion to their country. Some religious groups, though, strongly ob ject to taking part. These include the Jehovah's Witnesses,2 some Men nonite groups,3 the Jehovites, the Elijah Voice Society, the Church of God, the Amish, the Christadelphians, and the Molokans.4 The Jeho vah's Witnesses (often called Witnesses) claim American adherents of

Purpose – The aim is to review developments on the internet, especially those of general cybernetic interest.Design/methodology/approach – A recent episode involving a hoax paper is reviewed, along with discussions of the implications for paper refereeing and information dissemination generally. Some sources of information on nanotechnology, with applications in medicine, are reviewed.Findings – That a hoax paper was accepted casts doubt on the review process, but the situation is not clear‐cut and the usefulness of mammoth conferences is also questioned. Nanotechnology is shown to be poised for major advances.Practical implications – The generation of a convincing hoax paper is an interesting technical achievement in itself. Implications for the review process are explored. Sources of information on nanotechnology are indicated.Originality/value – It is hoped this is a valuable periodic review.

Little literature exists addressing the risk of performing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients who have had recent gastrointestinal bleeding (GIB). This study analyzed mortality, re-infarction and further GIB rates among patients who had PCI within 30 days of a GIB event. ICD-9

Lithology and tectonics (jointing, faulting) combined with relative relief and steep slopes induce slope failures in the Polish Flysch Carpathians. Therefore, landslides are frequent within inhabited areas of the Polish Carpathians and a major problem for local communes. This chapter presents a case study from a rural commune, which is located on the borderline between the Beskid Wyspowy Mountains and the Carpathian Foothills. The local geology makes that area extremely susceptible to landslides. A recent episode of landslide reactivation occurred in May and June of 2010 there, as a result of the clustering of continuous and heavy rainfalls, which appear to be the most important factor capable of triggering diverse types of mass movement. The analysis was based on the fieldwork conducted in 2010–2011 in the Łososina Dolna Commune and the research methods established by Polish National Geological Institute for the SOPO Landslide Protection Program. A total of 572 landslides were identified and documented in the study area, which occupies 17.2% of Łososina Dolna Commune. This contribution demonstrates that mass movements are significant processes which limit human activities.

Background: Bipolar disorders often remain unrecognized in clinical practice, which may be a consequence of imprecise recall of manic symptoms earlier in life. This study will therefore examine the validity oldie widely used Mood Disorder Questionnaire (MDQ) in detecting a (hypo)manic episode and explore the impact of recall bias.Methods: As an indication of impairments in recalling manic symptoms, we examined the long-term reliability of the MDQ after two years of follow-up in a sample of 2087 persons. Then, the validity of he MDQ was tested against the gold standard of a CIDI-based DSM-IV (hypo)manic episode Its performance was compared for detecting a lifetime episode (at T1) versus a recent episode in the past two years (at T2).Results: The long term reliability of the MDQ was limited as the coned recall of individual items ranged horn 44.6% to 68.8% after two years. The overall validity of the MDQ in detecting a lifetime (hypo)manic episode was limited and no adequate cut-off point with acceptable sensitivity and specificity could be identified. However, the MDQ accurately detected a recent episode with a sensitivity of 0.83 and a specificity of 0.82 for the standard and optimal cut-off point of Taking into account two additional MDQ questions on clustering in time and severity of problems decreased its validity.Limitations: Patients with a primary, clinical diagnosis of bipolar disorder were excluded.Conclusions: The MDQ accurately detected recent (hypo)manic episodes, but imprecise recall may result in a limited performance for episodes earlier in life. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

We study the course of the Swiss price level during the recent episode where Switzerland enforced a floor on the Swiss Franc exchange rate relative to the Euro. Given the strong nominal upward pressure on the Swiss currency the introduced limit of 1.20 Francs per Euro led to a quasi-fixed exchange rate from 2011 until early 2015. This measure was specifically aimed at helping the firms of the Swiss export sector to compete internationally. A further reason for imposing this floor was the Swiss National Bank’s concern with deflationary pressures. Interestingly, it turned out that during the episode with a quasi-fixed exchange rate the Swiss price level came under downward pressure. We offer an analysis that helps to understand this depreciation of the Swiss currency in real terms which in fact contributed to the exchange rate floor being eventually abandoned. The article thus clarifies some intricate mechanisms affecting the choice of exchange rate policies which are so important for firms in the export sector. As a theoretical contribution (complementing the well-known Balassa-Samuelson analysis) the article presents a computable equilibrium model that explains real exchange rate variations with diverging trends in the productivity growth of the non-traded goods sectors of economies.

During a recent episode of procrastinating on the Internet, I came across an advertisement for Thudguard, a protective helmet for babies learning to walk. I'm not making this up: its motto is “You take the first step and protect your toddler's brain.” It turns out that not only does a walking helmet for normal toddlers exist, but Thudguard has a lot of competition on eBay.

ObjectivesBipolar I most recent episode-manic (BP-I-M) is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in hospitalized patients. While BP-I-M has been extensively studied in the past, the contemporary data for impact of BP-I-M on cost of hospitalization are largely lacking.MethodsWe queried the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project's Nationwide Inpatient Sample (HCUP-NIS) dataset between 1998–2011 using the ICD-9 codes. Severity of comorbid conditions was defined by Deyo modification of Charlson comorbidity index. Primary outcome was in-hospital mortality and secondary outcome was total charges for hospitalization. Using SAS 9.2, Chi2 test, t-test and Cochran-Armitage test were used to test significance.ResultsA total of 10,875 patients were analyzed; 57.13% were female and 42.87% were male (P < 0.0001); 74.78% were white, 14.51% black and 10.71% of other race (P < 0.0001). Rate of hospitalization increased from 528.71/million to 588.76/million from 1998–2011. Overall mortality was 0.42% and mean cost of hospitalization was 22,215.77$. The in-hospital mortality increased from 0.37% to 0.82% (P < 0.0001) and mean cost of hospitalization increased from 10,580.54$ to 40,737.65$. Total spending on BP-I-M related admissions have increased from $44.24 million/year to $187.00 million/year.ConclusionsWhile mortality has slightly decreased from 1998 to 2011, the cost has significantly increased from $44.24 million/year to $187.00 million/year, which leads to an estimated $ 142.76 million/year additional burden to US health care system from. In the era of cost conscious care, preventing BP-I-M related hospitalization could save billions of dollars every year. Focused efforts are needed to establish preventive measures for BP-I-M related hospitalization.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

>A case of tuberculous epididymitis which presented as an acute hydrocele is reported and the relevant literature reviewed. The patient had undergone contralateral orchidectomy 20 years previously for the same condition associated with pulmonary tuberculosis. The most recent episode followed unrelated illness; the diagnosis was confirmed after surgical intervention and cure was achieved with adjuvant chemotherapy. Although rare, genital tuberculosis should still be considered in cases of scrotal swelling when there is a history of previous tuberculous disease or exposure.

Ultra-compact X-ray binaries (UCXBs) are accreting systems with periods less than 1 hour, which qualifies them to contain a degenerate donor-companion. One would expect such systems to have the easiest theoretical explanation, compared to other kinds of X-ray binaries. Nonetheless, current theory fails to explain high mass transfer (MT) rates in three recently well observed long-period UCXBs. We find that this range of MT rates can be maintained if the donor is a remnant of an out-of-thermal-equilibrium naked core of a giant which was revealed in a very recent episode of a common envelope (CE) event., Proceedings of IAUS 291 "Neutron Stars and Pulsars: Challenges and Opportunities after 80 years", J. van Leeuwen (ed.); 3 pages, 3 figures

Differences between early- and delayed-responders to antipsychotic medication as a marker of subsequent symptom change to 18months are unknown.To examine the association between initial non-, early- and delayed-response and subsequent symptom change up to 18months in the antipsychotic treatment of the symptoms of recent-episode schizophrenia.Participants were from a double-blind randomized clinical trial of recent episode schizophrenia (n=263). Based on attainment of a 20% PANSS total change in the initial four weeks, the following groups were created and compared: "non-" (i.e., no-response): "early-" (i.e. within 2weeks) and "delayed-" (i.e. 3-4weeks) responders. Mixed modeling was used to predict PANSS percent change with group, time and the time-group interaction.Analysis of the PANSS total percent change showed significant (p.01) group, time, and time-group interaction effects. Compared to non-responders, early-responders maintained significantly greater total response from week 5 to 44, and delayed-responders from week 5 to 20. After this time, non-responders and the other groups did not significantly differ on change. Generally, differences between the delayed- and early-responders were not statistically significance. Results were similar on the PANSS positive, negative and general psychopathology symptom subscales.Early-response is marked by up to 39weeks of longer subsequent symptom response than non-response, and infrequently differs to delayed-response. This has implications for consideration of switching and clinical trial design.

Moreno Glacier has been consistently advancing during a period of general glacier retreat this century, and has repeatedly dammed an arm of Lago Argentino. The most recent episode of ice-dam failure and catastrophic lake drainage occurred in 1988. However, the recent periodicity of this behaviour has now been interrupted, and the current characteristics of the terminus suggest a future retreat. Because of the nature of calving dynamics, such a retreat would be rapid and irreversible in the short term. Neighbouring Ameghino Glacier, after almost a century of near-stagnation, commenced calving in a newly formed proglacial lake in about 1967 and then retreated 3 km at a mean rate of 334myr-1 for the next nine years in a fashion analagous to that predicted for Moreno Glacier. The behaviour of these glaciers cannot be related directly to regional climate trends; terminus response is more closely controlled by the interplay between calving dynamics and topography. Calving is therefore a potentially significant factor in glacio-climatic reconstruction, even in 'terrestrial' settings.