The Library of Congress National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped leads a co-operative network of specialized libraries and ancillary agencies that are delivering a successful programme of reading and informational services to blind, visually impaired and handicapped users. Its unique position within the Library of Congress and the benefits which emanate from this relati...

A well-functioning Knowledge Management (KM) is a competitive advantage for enterprises that act in co-operative and distributed networks with knowledge intensive production processes. A KM approach for distributed and dynamic entrepreneurial networks is currently missing. This paper presents a description model that comprises the relevant entities for an approach to KM in networks that integra...

This study assessed the effects of carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning on the corpus callosum (CC). Sixty-two CO-poisoned patients had MRI scans and a battery of neuropsychological tests within 24 h (day of exposure) of CO poisoning and at 6 months post CO exposure. Serial quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (QMRI) analysis of the CC was carried out, with the day of exposure scans compared to th...

INTRODUCTION Schizophrenia to a considerably great degree impairs the social functioning of the persons affected in the spheres of interpersonal and occupational contacts, as well as self-care. It brings about serious cognitive, perceptual, motor and emotional deficits, inevitably leading to the social withdrawal of patients. This phenomenon may assume various forms, from the limitations in int...

BACKGROUND High prevalence of depression among primary care patients has increased the need for more research in this field. The objectives of our study were to analyse how depressed patients evaluate their health; which co-morbid diseases are associated with depression; how depression influences the patients' consultation rate in family practice (FP); how disability is associated with depressi...

OBJECTIVE To study the co-occurrence of psychiatric disorders (PD) and communication disorders (CD) and their relationship with global functioning in maltreated children and adolescents. METHODS The sample comprised 143 maltreated children and adolescents (55.8% male). All underwent clinical communication and psychiatric evaluations, as well as global functioning assessment using the Children...

The objective of this study was to assess psychomotor functioning and attention in individuals with bipolar disorder during the depressed phase of illness. Measures of attention and psychomotor functioning were administered to a sample of 24 bipolar I and II patients and a matched sample of healthy controls. Relative to the healthy controls, the bipolar sample demonstrated evidence of psychomot...

BACKGROUND Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and metals (lead and cadmium) are neurotoxic and affect neurobehavioral performance. Yet little is known about the association between exposure to multiple neurotoxic compounds and cognitive functioning in older adults. METHODS Using data from two consecutive cycles of the National Health and Nutrition and Examination Survey (1999-2002), path analys...

Plant physiological adaptation to the global rise in atmospheric CO(2) concentration (CO(2)) is identified as a crucial climatic forcing. To optimize functioning under rising CO(2), plants reduce the diffusive stomatal conductance of their leaves (g(s)) dynamically by closing stomata and structurally by growing leaves with altered stomatal densities and pore sizes. The structural adaptations re...

Compatible solutes are components that can be quickly accumulated and degraded inside fungal cells. They do not disturb the functioning of proteins and protect the cell under adverse conditions. In this issue of the Biochemical Journal, Solomon and co-workers evaluate the role of mannitol, one of these components, in Stagonospora nodorum, a plant-pathogenic fungus, and find surprising effects o...