Environmental factors, life events, and trauma in the course of bipolar disorder.

The etiology and clinical course of bipolar disorder are considered to be determined by genetic and environmental factors. Although the kindling hypothesis emphasizes the impact of environmental factors on initial onset, their connection to the outcome and clinical course have been poorly established. Hence, there have been numerous research efforts to investigate the impact of environmental factors on the clinical course of illness.

Hollow screws: a diagnostic tool for intracranial empyema.

Background: Subdural (SDE) and epidural empyema (EDE) are life-threatening intracranial infections. They require immediate diagnosis and treatment. However, in some cases, magnet resonance imaging (MRI) is not able to contribute to diagnosis; therefore, surgical exploration is indicated.

Minimally invasive decompression of chronic subdural haematomas using hollow screws: efficacy and safety in a consecutive series of 320 cases.

Background: Chronic subdural haematoma (cSDH) is a frequent pathology in neurosurgery. Surgical treatment varies widely and is often characterised by repeated decompression. Therapeutic efficacy was evaluated by clinical symptom relief and haematoma reduction on preoperative and postoperative CT scans.

Bio-friendly synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles in aqueous solution at near-neutral pH and low temperature.

ZnO nanoparticles are synthesized using a new bio-friendly method. The experimental conditions are very mild: aqueous solution at near-neutral pH and 37 degrees C. The as-obtained nanoparticles show the stable wurtzite structure without the need of annealing.

Formation of apatitic calcium phosphates in a Na-K-phosphate solution of pH 7.4.

Poorly crystalline, apatitic calcium phosphate powders have been synthesized by slowly adding a Na- and K-containing reference phosphate solution with a pH value of 7.4 to an aqueous calcium nitrate solution at 37 degrees C. Nano-particulated apatitic powders obtained were shown to contain small amounts of Na and K, which render them more similar in chemical composition to that of the bone mineral.

Cation-induced collapse of low-molecular-weight polyacrylic acid in the dispersion of barium titanate.

Observations on the steric layers formed by the adsorption of low-molecular-weight polyacrylic acid (PAA) were taken using the colloidal probe method in an atomic force microscope. The effects of divalent barium ions and of monovalent potassium ions at varying concentrations were observed on the repulsive interaction profiles. High ionic concentrations screened double-layer forces to small distances, whereby the acting forces were reduced to steric interactions.