Chord length sampling with memory effects for spatially heterogeneous Markov media: Application to the rod model.

In this work we propose a modified Chord Length Sampling (CLS) algorithm, endowed with two layers of "memory effects," aimed at solving particle transport problems in one-dimensional spatially nonhomogeneous Markov media. CLS algorithms are a family of Monte Carlo methods which account for the stochastic nature of the media by sampling on-the-fly the random interfaces between material phases during the particle propagation. The possibility for the particles to remember the last crossed interfaces increases the accuracy of these models with respect to reference solutions obtained by solving the Boltzmann equation on a large number of realizations of the Markov media.

Use of a serious game to strengthen medication adherence in euthymic patients with bipolar disorder following a psychoeducational programme: A randomized controlled trial.

Background: Although psychoeducation programmes are the gold-standard intervention in bipolar disorder (BD), more innovative tools are needed to broaden and consolidate their effects, especially on treatment adherence. Serious games could be an option.

Methods: We carried out a two-arm open randomized controlled trial to compare the add-on use of the serious game BIPOLIFE® for one month (n = 20) vs.

A study of the real-world effectiveness of group psychoeducation for bipolar disorders: Is change in illness perception a key mediator of benefit?

Background: Findings from efficacy trials of group psychoeducation (PE) for bipolar disorders (BD) led to its inclusion in evidence-based guidelines as a first-line mandatory treatment. However, pragmatic trials and observational studies are needed to determine its real-world effectiveness, impact on outcomes deemed important to patients and to clarify potential mediators of any benefits.

Methods: Individuals with BD were offered the opportunity to participate in 20h of PE and asked to complete pre- and post-intervention ratings of symptoms, knowledge about BD, medication adherence, and illness perception.

Affect intensity measure in bipolar disorders: a multidimensional approach.

Background: Emotional dysregulation, characterized by high levels of both arousal and intensity of emotional responses, is a core feature of bipolar disorders (BDs). In non-clinical populations, the 40-item Affect Intensity Measure (AIM) can be used to assess the different dimensions of emotional reactivity.

Methods: We analyzed the factor structure of the AIM in a sample of 310 euthymic patients with BD using Principal Component Analysis and examined associations between AIM sub-scale scores and demographic and illness characteristics.

Neurocognitive performance as an endophenotype for bipolar disorder.

Identification of the underlying liability to develop bipolar disorders (BD) is hindered by the genetic complexity and phenotypic heterogeneity of the disease. The use of endophenotypes has been acknowledged as a promising approach that may detect the hidden manifestations of a genetic liability for an illness. One of the most commonly proposed endophenotypes in BD is neurocognitive performance.

Duration of untreated bipolar disorder: missed opportunities on the long road to optimal treatment.

Objective: Duration of untreated illness represents a potentially modifiable component of any diagnosis-treatment pathway. In bipolar disorder (BD), this concept has rarely been systematically defined or not been applied to large clinically representative samples.

Method: In a well-characterized sample of 501 patients with BD, we estimated the duration of untreated bipolar disorder (DUB: the interval between the first major mood episode and first treatment with a mood stabilizer).

Clinical expression of bipolar disorder type I as a function of age and polarity at onset: convergent findings in samples from France and the United States.

Background: The clinical presentation, course, and comorbidities of bipolar disorder type I are highly heterogeneous, and this variability remains poorly predictable. Certain onset characteristics (eg, age and polarity at onset) may delineate subgroups differing in clinical expression and outcome.

Method: We retrospectively investigated the association between both age and polarity at onset and the clinical characteristics of bipolar I disorder (DSM-IV) in 2 independent adult samples: 480 French patients assessed in 1992-2006 (patients had been recruited from 3 university-affiliated psychiatry departments) and 714 US patients assessed in 1991-2003 (data were extracted from the Bipolar Disorder Phenome Database).

Is processing speed a valid cognitive endophenotype for bipolar disorder?

Objectives: The current study investigated whether a single brief cognitive assessment, processing speed, could be considered as a valid endophenotype for bipolar disorder (BD).

Methods: Processing speed was assessed using the Digit Symbol Test (DST) in 53 euthymic BD probands (BD-P), 50 unaffected first-degree relatives (UFDR) and 60 unrelated healthy controls (HC).

Results: Euthymic BD-P and the UFDR were significantly more impaired on DST performance even after controlling for demography and current mood symptoms (effect sizes 0.

Effect of absorbable and nonabsorbable sugars on intestinal calcium absorption in humans.

The effects of glucose, galactose, and lactitol on intestinal calcium absorption and gastric emptying were studied in 9, 8, and 20 healthy subjects, respectively. Calcium absorption was measured by using a double-isotope technique and the kinetic parameters were obtained by a deconvolution method. The gastric emptying rate was determined with 99mTc-diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid and was expressed as the half-time of the emptying curve.

Calcium absorption from milk in lactase-deficient subjects.

Intestinal calcium absorption from milk containing lactose (+) and from another containing glucose (-) was studied in eight patients with normal lactase (NL) and seven lactase-deficient (LD) subjects to determine if lactase deficiency is implicated in Ca absorption. The results were compared with data obtained from Ca ingestion in a water solution. Ca absorption was measured by a double-isotope technique and the kinetic indices were obtained by a deconvolution method.

[Influence of chronic renal failure on the D-xylose test in man].

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of chronic renal insufficiency on absorption, distribution and elimination of D-xylose which was chosen as a "test substance". Pharmacokinetic analysis was based on eighteen D-xylose tests carried out either by the enteral or parenteral route in a randomized fashion on nine patients suffering from chronic renal insufficiency. These results were compared with those obtained in healthy volunteers.

A simple method for measurement of intestinal calcium absorption in humans by double-isotope technique.

We describe a method for the fast calculation of total fractional calcium absorption (TFCaA) by the double-isotope technique (45Ca orally and 47Ca intravenously). The gamma- and beta-activities of plasma or urine samples were measured simultaneously. 47Ca activity was obtained by a gamma-ray spectrometer after exclusion of scandium 47.

Effects of lactose on intestinal calcium absorption in normal and lactase-deficient subjects.

The effect of lactose on intestinal calcium absorption was studied in 12 normal-lactase subjects and 7 lactase-deficient subjects. Calcium absorption was compared by using the double isotope technique with or without the presence of an oral load of 50 g of lactose in each subject. The kinetic parameters were measured by the deconvolution method.

[Pharmacokinetic study of a cephalosporin: cefoperazone in patients with a Kehr drain].

Cefoperazone is a semi-synthetic cefalosporine for parenteral use which has an excellent activity against a wide range of grampositive and gramnegative bacteria, especially Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterobacter, Proteus indole positive and Serratia marcescens. The pharmacokinetics of the new antibiotic have been studied in patients who had undergone cholecystectomy and choledochotomy for lithiasis and who required T-tube drainage of the bile duct. Five patients were anicteric and one was icteric.

[Excess mortality in out-patients psychiatry: first results of a Geneva study].

The project intends to prove an excess of mortality among the out-patients of the official psychiatric center of Geneva. The study is of the follow-up retrospective type. The primary results confirm the hypothesis.

[Pharmacokinetic study of a cephalosporin, cefoperazone, in liver failure].

The pharmacokinetics of cefoperazone, a semi-synthetic cephalosporin for parenteral use with a spectrum covering P. aeruginosa, E. cloacae, indole-positive Proteus and S.

[Diagnosis of lactase deficiency with the expired hydrogen (H2) test].

To determine the sensitivity and specificity of breath hydrogen (H2) in detecting lactase deficiency, breath H2 collected by end-expiratory sampling and capillary blood glucose were measured after ingestion of 50 g of lactose in 36 patients with biopsy-proved isolated lactase deficiency, 42 with normal lactase activity and 6 with lactase deficiency secondary to mucosal lesions. All patients had digestive symptoms clinically compatible with lactose malabsorption. The maximum increase in breath H2 concentration was more than 1.

Asphyxia caused by laryngeal impaction of an esophageal polyp.

We report a case of asphyxia due to laryngeal obstruction by an esophageal polyp with subsequent cerebral anoxia and death. We review the clinical manifestations and pathological aspects of benign esophageal tumors, with emphasis on the importance of an early diagnosis if a patient has repeated sensations of a regurgitated pharyngeal mass.

[Heparin treatment. Comparison between intravenous and subcutaneous administration].

48 patients with acute deep venous thrombosis of the lower limbs were treated with sodium heparin. In 23 patients heparin was injected subcutaneously (s.c.

[Exhaled hydrogen test in the detection of lactase deficiency].

To determine the validity of breath H2 measurements in detecting lactase deficiency, capillary blood glucose and breath H2 were measured after ingestion of 50 g lactose in 34 patients with abdominal symptoms or diarrhea. 18 patients had biopsy-proven lactase deficiency and 16 normal lactase activity. Blood glucose determination produced 2 false-positive results while breath H2 measurements provided 2 false-negative and 4 false-positive results.