Hemiataxia: A Novel Presentation of Anti-NMDA Receptor Antibody Mediated Encephalitis in an Adolescent.

Anti-NMDA receptor antibody associated encephalitis as a cause of new-onset neuropsychiatric manifestations in children and adults can represent a significant diagnostic challenge for clinicians. Clinical signs often include encephalopathy, new-onset psychosis, and movement phenomenon. Although orofacial dyskinesias were initially identified as a characteristic movement phenomenon in this type of encephalitis, an expanded range of abnormalities has recently been reported, including isolated ataxia. We report a case of isolated hemiataxia in a young adult with mild initial psychiatric manifestations. A personal and family history of preceding neuropsychiatric symptoms produced diagnostic confusion and resulted in a significant diagnostic and therapeutic delay. Our case confirms the unilateral movement manifestations that have been emphasized in recent reports. Additionally, it confirms the need for involvement of neurologic as well as psychiatric services in the evaluation of such cases and emphasizes the importance of the neurologic examination in presentations with an initial psychiatric predominance

Dynamics of Air-Fluidized Granular System Measured by the Modulated Gradient Spin-echo

The power spectrum of displacement fluctuation of beads in the air-fluidized granular system is measured by a novel NMR technique of modulated gradient spin-echo. The results of measurement together with the related spectrum of the velocity fluctuation autocorrelation function fit well to an empiric formula based on to the model of bead caging between nearest neighbours; the cage breaks up after a few collisions \cite{Menon1}. The fit yields the characteristic collision time, the size of bead caging and the diffusion-like constant for different degrees of system fluidization. The resulting mean squared displacement increases proportionally to the second power of time in the short-time ballistic regime and increases linearly with time in the long-time diffusion regime as already confirmed by other experiments and simulations.Comment: 4 figures. Submited to Physical Review Letters, April 200

Measurement of statistical nuclear spin polarization in a nanoscale GaAs sample

We measure the statistical polarization of quadrupolar nuclear spins in a sub-micrometer (0.6 um^3) particle of GaAs using magnetic resonance force microscopy. The crystalline sample is cut out of a GaAs wafer and attached to a micro-mechanical cantilever force sensor using a focused ion beam technique. Nuclear magnetic resonance is demonstrated on ensembles containing less than 5 x 10^8 nuclear spins and occupying a volume of around (300 nm)^3 in GaAs with reduced volumes possible in future experiments. We discuss how the further reduction of this detection volume will bring the spin ensemble into a regime where random spin fluctuations, rather than Boltzmann polarization, dominate its dynamics. The detection of statistical polarization in GaAs therefore represents an important first step toward 3D magnetic resonance imaging of III-V materials on the nanometer-scale.Comment: 20 pages, 6 figures, 1 supplementary fil

Morphological hysteresis in the evolution of beach profiles under sequences of wave climates - Part 1; observations

Novel series of experiments are presented that demonstrate morphological hysteresis in the evolution to equilibrium of beach profiles under sequences of different wave climates. The experiments were conducted in a wave flume at medium scale using both monochromatic and random waves, representing 2D conditions. Beach profiles were obtained with high spatial resolution at frequent intervals with a laser profiler, from which shoreline location, bar position and sediment transport rates were derived. Experiments were conducted for sequences of wave climates, where a sequence comprised of 6-13 sequential tests, each commencing with the beach profile from the preceding test. Each test was run until equilibrium conditions were obtained and had a constant wave height, increased or decreased relative to the preceding test. Cyclical conditions were also included, with erosive and accretive wave conditions of short durations alternating through multiple cycles, so that equilibrium conditions were not reached during a test. With a sequence of increasing wave heights, the relationship between the shoreline position and the bulk cross-shore sediment transport, at equilibrium, was non-monotonic, indicating a maximum in the landward sediment transport rate. For test series comprised of a sequence of increasing wave heights followed by a sequence of decreasing wave heights, morphological hysteresis was observed in the equilibrium shoreline position and bulk cross-shore sediment transport, such that shoreline recession, or offshore transport, continued in some instances after reductions in wave height. This is inconsistent with classical equilibritim type shoreline evolution models. However, when equilibrium conditions were not reached, in the cyclic sequences, no such morphological hysteresis was observed and a dynamic equilibrium is reached. The morphological hysteresis occurs because of the decay, stranding, or increased relative depth, of the breaker bar following a reduction in wave height, often in conjunction with a new breaker bar generated by further offshore transport in the inner surf zone. Similar sequences of morphological response are evident in field data and larger scale tests in the literature. Finally, it is shown that the morphological hysteresis can be explained using the classical equilibrium beach state model of Wright et al. (1985) by introducing the concept of a subsequent alternate active beach state, which may occur following a change in wave conditions

The Johnson-Segalman model with a diffusion term in Couette flow

We study the Johnson-Segalman (JS) model as a paradigm for some complex fluids which are observed to phase separate, or ``shear-band'' in flow. We analyze the behavior of this model in cylindrical Couette flow and demonstrate the history dependence inherent in the local JS model. We add a simple gradient term to the stress dynamics and demonstrate how this term breaks the degeneracy of the local model and prescribes a much smaller (discrete, rather than continuous) set of banded steady state solutions. We investigate some of the effects of the curvature of Couette flow on the observable steady state behavior and kinetics, and discuss some of the implications for metastability.Comment: 14 pp, to be published in Journal of Rheolog

Social support for and through exercise and sport in a sample of men with serious mental illness.

Social support is important for people experiencing serious mental illness and is also important during the initiation and maintenance of exercise. In this article we draw on interpretive research into the experiences of 11 men with serious mental illness to explore four dimensions of social support both for and through exercise. Our findings suggest that informational, tangible, esteem, and emotional support were both provided for and given by participants through exercise. We conclude that experiences of both receiving and giving diverse forms of support in this way are significant for some people living with and recovering from serious mental illness

Cost-effectiveness of a preferred intensity exercise programme for young people with depression compared with treatment as usual: An economic evaluation alongside a clinical trial in the UK

© 2017 BMJ Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved. Objectives To assess the cost-effectiveness of preferred intensity exercise programme for young people with depression compared with a treatment as usual control group. Design A ‘within trial’ cost-effectiveness and cost-utility analysis conducted alongside a randomised controlled trial. The perspective of the analysis was the UK National Health Service and social services. setting The intervention was provided in a community leisure centre setting. Participants 86 young people aged 14–17 years attending Tier 2 and Tier 3 CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) outpatient services presenting with depression. Interventions The intervention comprised 12 separate sessions of circuit training over a 6-week period. Sessions were supervised by a qualified exercise therapist. Participants also received treatment as usual. The comparator group received treatment as usual. results We found improvements in the Children’s Depression Inventory-2 (CDI-2) and estimated cost-effectiveness at £61 per point improvement in CDI-2 for the exercise group compared with control. We found no evidence that the exercise intervention led to differences in quality-adjusted life years (QALY). QALYs were estimated using the EQ-5D-5L (5-level version of EuroQol-5 dimension). conclusions There is evidence that exercise can be an effective intervention for adolescents with depression and the current study shows that preferred intensity exercise could also represent a cost-effective intervention in terms of the CDI-2

Penetration depth, multiband superconductivity, and absence of muon-induced perturbation in superconducting PrOs4_{4}Sb12_{12}

Transverse-field muon spin rotation ($\mu$SR) experiments in the heavy-fermion superconductor PrOs$_{4}$Sb$_{12}$ ($T_{c}=1.85$ K) suggest that the superconducting penetration depth $\lambda(T)$ is temperature-independent at low temperatures, consistent with a gapped quasiparticle excitation spectrum. In contrast, radiofrequency (rf) inductive measurements yield a stronger temperature dependence of $\lambda(T)$, indicative of point nodes in the gap. This discrepancy appears to be related to the multiband structure of PrOs$_{4}$Sb$_{12}$. Muon Knight shift measurements in PrOs$_{4}$Sb$_{12}$ suggest that the perturbing effect of the muon charge on the neighboring Pr$^{3+}$ crystalline electric field is negligibly small, and therefore is unlikely to cause the difference between the $\mu$SR and rf results.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figure

Labour supply and skills demands in fashion retailing

If, as Adam Smith once famously suggested, Britain was a nation of shopkeepers then it is now a nation of shopworkers. Retail is now a significant part of the UK economy, accounting for £256 billion in sales and one-third of all consumer spending (Skillsmart, 2007). It is the largest private sector employer in the UK, employing 3m workers, or 1 in 10 of the working population. For future job creation in the UK economy retail is also similarly prominent and the sector is expected to create a further 250,000 jobs to 2014 (Skillsmart, 2007). The centrality of retail to economic success and job creation is apparent in other advanced economies. For example, within the US, retail sales is the occupation with the largest projected job growth in the period 2004-2014 (Gatta et al., 2009) and in Australia retail accounts for 1 in 6 workers (Buchanan et al., 2003). Within the UK these workers are employed in approximately 290,000 businesses, encompassing large and small organizations and also a number of sub-sectors. This variance suggests that retail should not be regarded as homogenous in its labour demands. Hart et al. (2007) note how skill requirements and the types of workers employed may differ across the sector. This chapter further opens up this point, providing an analysis of the labour supply and skills demands for the sub-sectors of clothing, footwear and leather goods, which are described by Skillsmart (2007: 48) as being 'significant categories in UK retailing'

Propagator Resolved Transverse Relaxation Exchange Spectroscopy

We use the propagator resolved transverse relaxation exchange technique to look at the movement of fluid in three different types of rock samples. The two pore model previously used to fit molecular exchange simulations to the experimental data is expanded to accommodate the three site exchange seen in two of the samples. Estimated values for pore space characteristics from the simulations were compared to values calculated from X‐Ray CT data of the samples. While discrepancies exist between the NMR and X‐Ray CT results, the molecular exchange behavior estimated from the three samples reflects well with their morphology