The Phrenic Component of Acute Schizophrenia – A Name and Its Physiological Reality

Decreased heart rate variability (HRV) was shown for unmedicated patients with schizophrenia and their first-degree relatives, implying genetic associations. This is known to be an important risk factor for increased cardiac mortality in other diseases. The interaction of cardio-respiratory function and respiratory physiology has never been investigated in the disease although it might be closely related to the pattern of autonomic dysfunction. We hypothesized that increased breathing rates and reduced cardio-respiratory coupling in patients with acute schizophrenia would be associated with low vagal function. We assessed variability of breathing rates and depth, HRV and cardio-respiratory coupling in patients, their first-degree relatives and controls at rest. Control subjects were investigated a second time by means of a stress task to identify stress-related changes of cardio-respiratory function. A total of 73 subjects were investigated, consisting of 23 unmedicated patients, 20 healthy, first-degree relatives and 30 control subjects matched for age, gender, smoking and physical fitness. The LifeShirt®, a multi-function ambulatory device, was used for data recording (30 minutes). Patients breathe significantly faster (p<.001) and shallower (p<.001) than controls most pronouncedly during exhalation. Patients' breathing is characterized by a significantly increased amount of middle- (p<.001), high- (p<.001), and very high frequency fluctuations (p<.001). These measures correlated positively with positive symptoms as assessed by the PANSS scale (e.g., middle frequency: r = 521; p<.01). Cardio-respiratory coupling was reduced in patients only, while HRV was decreased in patients and healthy relatives in comparison to controls. Respiratory alterations might reflect arousal in acutely ill patients, which is supported by comparable physiological changes in healthy subjects during stress. Future research needs to further investigate these findings with respect to their physiological consequences for patients. These results are invaluable for researchers studying changes of biological signals prone to the influence of breathing rate and rhythm (e.g., functional imaging)

The Electromagnetic Shielding of Optoelectronic Devices by Mesh Structures

In this work, the shielding properties of mesh structures with various cell sizes on a K108 glass substrate are studied. The transmission spectra of the samples were obtained in a frequency range from 1 GHz to 1620 THz. A comparison of the experimental transmission spectra with those obtained using several theoretical models, and a numerical calculation were carried out. The most optimal theoretical model used to describe the shielding properties of a mesh structure in the frequency range upper-bounded by a resonant frequency is the one-mode calculation model. Anti-reflection coatings were used to increase the transmission coefficient of the structures in the visible and near-IR spectral ranges. These mesh structures can be used to shield optoelectronic devices such as a video camera or a laser rangefinder from microwaves

THERMAL STABILITY OF THE MULTILAYER STRUCTURE IN THIN FILMS [In2O3/C]25

Thin-film coatings [In2O3/C]25 were by ion-beam sputtering. X-ray diffraction patterns were taken and analyzed after exposure to temperature annealing, the results of which made conclusions about the change in the structure of the layers after heating to 200-550°C