Evaporation from the dried-up lake bed of Lake Urmia, Iran.

Lake Urmia in north-western Iran was once one of the world's largest hyper-saline lakes and represented a unique ecosystem for a number of endangered species. The lake's shrinking over the past decades has attracted considerable attention and several studies have addressed its water balance. Yet, evaporation of shallow groundwater from the dried-up lake bed has not been fully quantified - despite the appreciable size of these areas (approx.

Processes controlling the extent of groundwater pollution with chromium from tanneries in the Hazaribagh area, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

The Hazaribagh industrial area in Dhaka city, the capital of Bangladesh, is considered one of the hotspots of chromium (Cr) pollution, due to excessive discharge of Cr contaminated waste over decades by approximately 150 tanneries. In 2000, elevated Cr concentrations were observed in the underlying Dupi Tila Aquifer (DTA), which is heavily deployed for drinking water supply of Dhaka city's population. In the following years, Cr concentrations in the DTA have dropped and apparently stayed low.

Childhood pegboard task predicts adult-onset psychosis-spectrum disorder among a genetic high-risk sample.

Motor abnormalities have been established as a core aspect of psychosis-spectrum disorders, with numerous studies identifying deficits prior to clinical symptom presentation. Additional research is needed to pinpoint standardized motor assessments associated with psychosis-spectrum disorders prior to illness onset to enhance prediction and understanding of etiology. With a long history of findings among people with diagnosable psychosis-spectrum disorders, but little research conducted during the premorbid phase, pegboard tasks are a viable and understudied measure of premorbid for psychosis motor functioning.

YouTube as a crowd-generated water level archive.

In view of the substantial costs associated with classic monitoring networks, participatory data collection methods can be deemed a promising option to obtain complementary data. An emerging trend in this field is social media mining, i.e.

Childhood dyspraxia predicts adult-onset nonaffective-psychosis-spectrum disorder.

Several neurological variables have been investigated as premorbid biomarkers of vulnerability for schizophrenia and other related disorders. The current study examined whether childhood dyspraxia predicted later adult nonaffective-psychosis-spectrum disorders. From a standardized neurological examination performed with children (aged 10-13) at genetic high risk of schizophrenia and controls, several measures of dyspraxia were used to create a scale composed of face/head dyspraxia, oral articulation, ideomotor dyspraxia (clumsiness), and dressing dyspraxia (n = 244).

Premorbid teacher-rated social functioning predicts adult schizophrenia-spectrum disorder: a high-risk prospective investigation.

Social functioning deficits are a core component of schizophrenia spectrum disorders, and may emerge years prior to the onset of diagnosable illness. The current study prospectively examines the relation between teacher-rated childhood social dysfunction and later mental illness among participants who were at genetic high-risk for schizophrenia and controls (n=244). The teacher-rated social functioning scale significantly predicted psychiatric outcomes (schizophrenia-spectrum vs.

Middle palaeolithic and neolithic occupations around Mundafan Palaeolake, Saudi Arabia: implications for climate change and human dispersals.

The Arabian Peninsula is a key region for understanding climate change and human occupation history in a marginal environment. The Mundafan palaeolake is situated in southern Saudi Arabia, in the Rub' al-Khali (the 'Empty Quarter'), the world's largest sand desert. Here we report the first discoveries of Middle Palaeolithic and Neolithic archaeological sites in association with the palaeolake.

Premorbid multivariate markers of neurodevelopmental instability in the prediction of adult schizophrenia-spectrum disorder: a high-risk prospective investigation.

The authors examined whether multiple childhood indicators of neurodevelopmental instability known to relate to schizophrenia-spectrum disorders could predict later schizophrenia-spectrum outcomes. A standardized battery of neurological and intellectual assessments was administered to a sample of 265 Danish children in 1972, when participants were 10-13 years old. Parent psychiatric diagnoses were also obtained in order to evaluate the predictive strength of neurodevelopmental factors in combination with genetic risk.

Childhood motor coordination and adult schizophrenia spectrum disorders.

Objective: The authors examined whether motor coordination difficulties assessed in childhood predict later adult schizophrenia spectrum outcomes.

Method: A standardized childhood neurological examination was administered to a sample of 265 Danish children in 1972, when participants were 10-13 years old. Adult diagnostic information was available for 244 members of the sample.

Premorbid childhood ocular alignment abnormalities and adult schizophrenia-spectrum disorder.

This study examined the relation between childhood ocular alignment deficits and adult psychiatric outcomes among children at high-risk for schizophrenia and controls. A sample of 265 Danish children was administered a standardized eye exam assessing strabismus and related ocular alignment deficits. All children whose mothers or fathers had a psychiatric diagnosis of schizophrenia comprised the first group (N=90).

Clinical, cytogenetic, and molecular genetic characterization of two unrelated patients with different duplications of 21q.

We present 2 patients with dup(21q). Patient MP01 had mild mental retardation, facial findings characteristic of Down syndrome (DS), and a terminal duplication of chromosome 21. His karyotype was 46,XY,dup(21) (q22.

Hyperactive behavior and minor physical anomalies.

Minor physical anomalies (MPAs) are congenital abnormalities of body structure which reflect fetal maldevelopment. They originate in the same embryonic layer that produces the central nervous system, and it is reasoned that MPAs are markers of nervous system anomalies. High MPA counts have been associated with hyperactive behavior in normal and clinical populations of boys, and with inhibited behavior in normal groups of girls.

Neurological dysfunctioning in offspring of schizophrenics in Israel and Denmark. A replication analysis.

Neurological functioning was compared in children at risk for schizophrenia from samples recruited in Israel and Denmark. In both samples neurological signs were assessed in school-age children with one schizophrenic parent and a matched group of children with no mentally ill parents. Multidimensional Scalogram Analysis of data identified, in both samples, a radex structure of neurological functioning, radiating from motor to sensory-perceptual signs.

Children at-risk: child abuse in Denmark.

In Denmark there have been few case reports on child abuse, but only one epidemiological study conducted in 1969. We have therefore initiated a number of countrywide studies by contacting all pediatric departments, Institutes of Forensic Medicine and the public health officers in Denmark. The present study describes the findings from the city of Copenhagen during 1970-79.