Compulsive and impulsive symptomatology in trichotillomania

Although classified as a disorder of impulse control, trichotillomania (hair pulling) may have some phenomenological overlap with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The question arises as to whether trichotillomania is best conceptualized as a disorder characterized by impulsivity or compulsivity. Impulsive and compulsive symptoms and traits were compared in 43 patients who presented for treatment of trichotillomania, OCD or impulsive personality disorder. Trichotillomania patients had significantly lower scores of obsessive-compulsive symptoms than OCD patients, and significantly higher impulsiveness scores than this group. Measures of aggression did not differ significantly between groups.

Medial epicondylitis. An electromyographic analysis and an investigation of intervention strategies

Flexor and extensor muscle-tendon unit activity at the elbow during the golf swing was recorded from subjects with and without medial epicondylitis. There was no significant difference in total swing time between symptomatic (1.23 +/- 0.15 sec) and asymptomatic (1.15 +/- 0.13 sec) subjects nor between golfers with low (1 to 6 handicap, N = 8) and high (11 to 19 handicap, N = 8) scoring abilities. Symptomatic and asymptomatic subjects displayed similar electromyographic profiles for flexor and extensor muscles of the forearm. Electromyographic activity of the common extensor muscles was persistent throughout the four swing phases, ranging from 33.59% of maximum voluntary contraction at address to 58.77% at contact. Common flexor muscles produced a consistent burst of electromyographic activity during contact phase (flexor burst, 90.77% of maximum voluntary contraction). Symptomatic subjects' mean flexor muscle electromyographic activity was significantly greater than that of asymptomatic subjects in both address and swing phases. When forearm brace and oversized grips were imposed on symptomatic subjects, there was no significant difference in mean electromyographic magnitude or muscle activation pattern during the golf swing. Thus, the method of symptomatic relief of the intervention strategies tested is still in question.

Clinical and angiographic profile of Takayasu's arteritis in Bangladesh

Nineteen patients (11 female and 8 male) with a mean age of 22.7 years (range 10 to 35 yrs) with Takayasu's arteritis were studied between July 1985 to June 1993. These patients had both non vascular symptoms (myalgia/arthralgia in 47% and weight loss in 31%) and symptoms of vascular insufficiency such as arm claudication or numbness (37%) and hypertension due to renal artery involvement (73%). Vascular bruits were found in 73% and diminished or absent pulses was detected in 52% of patients. All patients had arterial involvement at multiple sites documented by aortography with various combinations of stenosis, irregularity of arterial lumen and aneurysm formation. Angiographic type II was most frequent (47%) form found in our series. Five patients (26%) had pulmonary artery involvement. We conclude that hypertension is one of the most common manifestation of Takayasu's arteritis in these patients and renal artery stenosis is the most common cause of hypertension.

A qualitative and quantitative analysis of the response of the retinal ganglion cell soma after stretch injury to the adult guinea-pig optic nerve

The development of a model for focal axonal injury in the optic nerve of the adult guinea-pig has allowed a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the response of the retinal ganglion cell soma to this type of injury. Large and medium sized retinal ganglion cells show classic 'central chromatolysis' in about 30% of ganglion cells between three and seven days after injury, a high proportion of which undergo degeneration between seven and 14 days. Small ganglion cells and small neurons do not demonstrate any morphological response to stretch injury of the optic nerve. However, a small number of larger ganglion cells demonstrate enlargement of the cell soma and nucleolus together with reconstitution of the rough endoplasmic reticulum between seven and 14 days after stretch injury. We suggest that these cells are either recovering from or regenerating after a non-disruptive lesion to their axons. We suggest that some of these morphological changes parallel documented regenerative responses in peripheral/extrinsic neurons after injury to their axons. We conclude that the time course of the 'axon reaction' after stretch injury to axons is longer than that obtained after crush or transection. We provide good morphological evidence that the level of injury after application of non-disruptive mechanical strain to axons is less severe than in the former two models of axonal injury and that a proportion of damaged neurons do not die but rather demonstrate either/or recovery or a regenerative response.

Neurological soft signs in female trichotillomania patients, obsessive-compulsive disorder patients, and healthy control subjects

Female trichotillomania patients, obsessive-compulsive disorder patients, and normal control subjects did not differ in total scores on a neurological soft signs battery. Further studies should determine whether the increased neurological soft signs present in obsessive-compulsive disorder and perhaps in obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders are associated with male gender only.

Primary pulmonary hypertension: clinical, echocardiographic and haemodynamic features in 14 patients

Clinical, echocardiographic and haemodynamic features in 14 patients (8 male and 6 females) with primary pulmonary hypertension, diagnosed by strict clinical and haemodynamic criteria are described. Age of the patients at diagnosis ranged from 11 years to 40 years with a mean of 23 years. The mean interval from onset of symptoms to diagnosis was 2.6 years. Common symptoms included dyspnoea on exertion (86%), fatigue (78%) and palpitation (78%). Raynaud's phenomenon was not encountered but one patient had signs and symptoms of left recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy. Pulmonary function studies showed mild restrictive ventilatory impairment (mean forced vital capacity 80% of predicted) with hypoxaemia and hypocapnea. The M-mode tracing of the pulmonary valve showed flat or negative E-F slope, a small or absent 'a' wave, and midsystolic notching in all the patients. Two-dimensional echocardiographic images showed a thickened right ventricular wall in 12(86%) patients; a normal to small left ventricular end-diastolic internal dimension in all the patients and right ventricular and right atrial enlargement in 78% of patients. Significant tricuspid regurgitation and pulmonary regurgitation was documented by Doppler interogation in 87% and 62% of patients examined respectively. Haemodynamic findings consisted of a marked rise of pulmonary artery pressure and pulmonary vascular resistance, low cardiac index and normal pulmonary artery wedge pressure. At cardiac catheterisation the mean right atrial pressure (mean +/- SD) was 9.8 +/- 4.8 mmHg; mean pulmonary artery pressure, 63.2 +/- 14.3 mmHg; cardiac index, 2.2 +/- 0.9 L/min. m2; and pulmonary vascular resistance index, 22.3 +/- 10.6 mmHg/L/min. m2; in these patients. No, death nor any sustained morbid events occurred during the diagnostic evaluation of the patients.

Biosynthesis of car1ssol and carissic Acid

Carissa carandas belongs to family apocynaceae which consists of 300 genera and 1000 species. It is a large shrub with simple thorn and commonly cultivated throughout Pakistan for hedges and is called "Kakronda". The different parts of this plant have been used for various systems of medicine (Kirtikar et al., 1993). Cardiotonic activity was found in root of this plant (Rastogi et al., 1966; Rastogi et al., 1967; Vohra et al., 1963). This plant has been mentioned in the old chemical literature as purgative, stomachic, antihelmintics and antidote for snake-bite (Kirtikar., 1933). The physical characteristics of oil from the fruits of Carissa carandas were determined by using standard methods. In addition to this a study of sugars and amino acids from the fruits of this plant was also undertaken by the present authors (Naim et al., 1986). Our studies in the chemical investigation on this plant had led to the isolation of two new triterpene carissol Ia (Naim et al., 1985) and carissic acid lb (Naim et al., 1988).

Femtosecond pulses with high energies from a coupled-cavity saturable-absorber mode-locked KCl F(A)(Tl) color-center laser

By using a bulk InGaAsP saturable absorber, we passively mode lock a KCl F(A)(Tl) color-center laser in a resonator configuration where the gain material is placed in a main cavity and the saturable absorber is placed in a weakly coupled external cavity. We obtain self-starting and self-stabilized resonant passive mode-locked laser operation, either with pulses as short as ~320 fs or average output power as high as ~380 mW. The pulse width-bandwidth product is ~0.47, with pulse energies of as much as 2.5 nJ. By temperature tuning the saturable absorber band edge, we realize laser operation with similar performance over the wavelength range of 1.50-1.55 microm. When compared with mode-locked KCl F(A)(Tl) laser operation, where both the gain material and the saturable absorber are placed in a common single cavity, the resonant passive mode-locking technique yields pulses with only moderately increased widths (by ~50 fs) but significantly higher energies (by a factor of ~4).

Biflavone from mangifera indiga

The phenolic extractive of the bark of Mangifera indica yielded a known biflavone which was characterized by spectral and chemical methods as amentoflavone. This is the first report for the isolation of biflavon from Mangifera indica.

Hepatitis B virus infection in pregnant mothers and its transmission to infants

Screening for serological markers of hepatitis B virus infection was done on 500 pregnant mothers. HBsAg, AntiHBs and HBeAg were done. HBsAg was positive in 3.6%, AntiHBs in 17.4% and HBeAg in 0.4% cases. The infants born to the asymptomatic HBsAg carrier mothers were followed up to 6 months to determine the vertical transmission of HBV infection. Rate of transmission of infection from HBsAg positive mothers to infants were 16.66% irrespective of HBeAg status, whereas it was nearly 100% in case of HBeAg positive mothers. All of the HBsAg positive infants developed the antigenemia between 3-6 months of age, supporting the hypothesis that intrapartum transmission is the major mode of vertical transmission.

Modified signed-digit trinary arithmetic by using optical symbolic substitution

Carry-free addition and borrow-free subtraction of modified signed-digit trinary numbers with optical symbolic substitution are presented. The proposed two-step and three-step algorithms can be easily implemented by using phase-only holograms, optical content-addressable memories, a multichannel correlator, or a polarization-encoded optical shadow-casting system.

Effects of fenfluramine on plasma homovanillic acid in healthy subjects

The specificity of fenfluramine as a pharmacological probe of the serotonin system has been questioned, since animal studies with high dose l-fenfluramine show increases in striatal levels of the dopamine metabolite homovanillic acid. To test the specificity of fenfluramine in humans with clinical doses, we compared plasma homovanillic acid (pHVA) concentration in healthy volunteers after administration of fenfluramine (60 mg) and placebo. There were no significant effects on pHVA, which supports previous findings that at doses used in pharmacological challenge paradigms, the effect of fenfluramine on the dopamine system is insufficient to alter measures of its change.

Numerical study of the Raman effect and its impact on soliton-dragging logic gates

Recent experiments in birefringent optical fibers in which a signal pulse in one polarization is used to switch a control pulse in another polarization are affected by the Raman self-frequency shift. These experiments are modeled numerically, with the experimentally measured Raman profiles used as input to the simulations. Both parallel and perpendicular Raman gain are kept. The effect of keeping the full Raman response rather than just an often-used linear approximation is discussed. The experimental results are in good agreement with theory, although some discrepancies exist. The possibility that these discrepancies could be due to errors in the measurements of the low-frequency portion of the perpendicular Raman gain is examined and ruled out. Other possible sources of this discrepancy are then discussed.

Billiard-ball soliton interaction gates

We demonstrate a cascadable, Boolean complete, conservative-logic interaction gate that is based on elastic collisions between temporal solitons in optical fibers. The two identical-frequency and polarization inputs are initially separated by 4.5 pulse widths, and they interact in a 7.5 walk-off length of polarization-maintaining fiber. The group velocity of one of the inputs is altered by passing the pulse through a beam splitter with a wavelength-dependent reflection coefficient. Although details within the interaction region depend on the phase between the two inputs, after the pulses separate the result is phase independent. We find that each of two 17-pJ solitons is displaced after interaction by 3.5 pulse widths so as to increase the pulses' separation.

Studies on the prospect of bioprostheses by bovine aortic valve for human use

A total of 21 heart specimens from indigenous cattle (Bos indicus) were studied. The measurement and observation of bovine heart and aortic valve in different age group is the preliminary finding of this research work. After harvesting, the bovine aortic valves were measured and the sizes ranged from 21 mm to 35 mm in orifice diameter. In comparison with implanted aortic and mitral valves at NICVD in 1989, it indicates that the selected bovine heart valves (specially aortic valves) were similar to human valve size and can be used in future for implantation as far as the size is concerned. Now further study regarding making these tissue valves implantation worthy for clinical use is to be undertaken. We strongly feel the prospect is bright.

All-optical timing restoration using a hybrid time-domain chirp switch

We demonstrate a hybrid time-domain chirp switch (TDCS) in which the nonlinear chirper is an AlGaAs waveguide and the soliton dispersive delay line is a polarization-maintaining fiber. The hybrid TDCS can restore timing in a switching or transmission system, and when combined with an optical amplifier, it can act as an ultrafast, all-optical regenerator for soliton pulses. The timing restoration concept is applicable to other non-linear materials with negligible walk-off, and the acceptable time window can be tailored by adjusting the width and intensity of a reference pulse.

HBsAg amongst unscreened operated patients

Prevalence of asymptomatic Hepatitis B carrier state varies in different countries. Surgical procedures are an important mode of dissemination of Hepatitis B virus infection. Five hundred patients whose HBsAg status was not known and had undergone a major operative procedure in the Dhaka Medical College Hospital were screened for HBsAg. Of these, 43 (8.6%) were found to be HBsAg positive. Age, sex, and previous history of jaundice didn't show any relationship with the HBsAg status. But the HBsAg positivity was found to be positively related to the past history of blood transfusion, hospitalization and injections.

Prechirper to relax the timing restrictions for soliton-dragging logic gates

The timing restrictions for soliton-dragging logic gates can be relaxed by asymmetrizing the interaction between the orthogonally polarized control and signal pulses. In particular, by prechirping the signal pulse in a normal group-velocity dispersion fiber, we find experimentally that the timing restriction can be loosened from less than 2 pulse widths to over 3.3 pulse widths. For this passive prechirper arrangement the timing restrictions are loosened at the expense of increased minimum switching energy. Soliton-dragging logic gates with a signal prechirper can provide timing restoration as well as logic-level restoration, so that two inverter gates can be cascaded to implement an ultrafast, all-optical pulse regenerator.

Raman effect in birefringent optical fibers

Equations governing the Raman effect in birefringent optical fibers are derived. Both the parallel and perpendicular Raman effects are taken into account. The evolution of solitons is discussed.

All-optical time-domain chirp switches

We describe a novel architecture for an all-optical time-domain chirp switch in which digital logic is based on timeshift keying. This architecture is a generalization of fiber soliton-dragging logic gates that have a switching energy approaching 1 pJ. By using solitons we separate the nonlinear chirping from the time shifting and, consequently, reduce the required phase shift during the nonlinear interaction. We discuss the scaling laws for energy and latency versus pulse width and show that the chirp switches have low switching energies for high-bit-rate applications.