The effect of simulated auditory hallucinations on daily activities in schizophrenia patients.

BACKGROUND: Auditory hallucinations often influence schizophrenia patients in many aspects. In order to develop effective behavioral interventions for overcoming enduring auditory hallucinations, it is necessary to understand how the annoying symptom affects the daily lives of the patients. This study evaluated the effect of hearing unusual voices on performing the activities of daily life in schizophrenia patients. METHODS: Eighteen hallucinating patients, 18 nonhallucinating patients and 20 normal controls performed the virtual daily-life task of packing 8 items for travel under 3 conditions: (1) without unusual voices and without avatars, (2) with unusual voices and without avatars and (3) with unusual voices and with avatars. Task completion time and the number of times the packing list was checked were recorded as a measure of the task performance. RESULTS: When exposed to unusual voices without avatars, hallucinating patients checked the packing list fewer times than nonhallucinating patients, and they required longer to complete the task, as positive and negative symptoms were worse. Subjective responses to unusual voices were stronger in hallucinating patients than in nonhallucinating patients. CONCLUSIONS: Daily-life activities of hallucinating patients may be less easily influenced by odd auditory stimuli in a nonsocial situation than those of nonhallucinating patients; however, hallucinating patients may feel more strongly affected by unusual voices. To better evaluate and thereby understand the difficulties faced by hallucinating patients in their daily life, the discrepancies between objective and subjective measures as well as social situations should be taken into consideration.

Characterization of Ag nanoparticle superlattice structure prepared using two carboxylic acids.

One-step hydrothermal process is introduced for the synthesis of highly ordered self-assembled Ag nanoparticles. Ag nanoparticles with same diameter and narrow size distribution are synthesized in the presence of the mixture of two capping molecules, the combination of sodium oleate and aromatic carboxylic acid. Self-assembled 3D superlattice structures of Ag nanoparticles are synthesized in aqueous system without any post-procedure. Effects of aromatic carboxylic acid to sodium oleate and the nature of interaction between nanoparticles in superlattices are characterized with TEM examinations and FT-IR spectra.

Template assisted growth of cobalt ferrite nanowires.

Cobalt ferrite nanowires with a diameter of about 30 nm have been prepared inside anodized aluminum oxide (AAO) templates with one end closed nanopores using a vacuum infiltration method. The ferrite phase formation was confirmed by X-ray diffraction. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were employed to characterize the morphology and structure of nanowires. SQUID magnetometer measurement showed that the nanowires to have both ferrimagnetic and superparamagnetic characteristics. A model for formation of discontinuous nanowires and particle agglomeration inside the template is discussed to explain these results.

Characterization on the microstructure of gamma-ray irradiated Nd2Fe14B magnet.

The effect of 60Co gamma-ray irradiation on the microstructure of Nd2Fe14B magnets was investigated with electron spin resonance (ESR) and thermal mechanical analyzer (TMA). When the 60Co gamma-ray with dose from 0 Mrad to 100 Mrad was exposed to Nd2Fel,4B magnet having different sizes at room temperature, the increased demagnetization properties of the Nd2Fe14B magnets were studied by Hall probe. For all samples, changed Curie temperature and micro-crystal structure of Nd2Fe14B magnet by gamma-ray irradiation has been also studied. Moreover the strong and broad single line shaped ESR signal in the resonance magnetic field is attributed to unpaired electron of iron ions in the sample by the effect of gamma-ray irradiation.