Kardar-Parisi-Zhang universality class and the anchored Toom interface.

We revisit the anchored Toom interface and use Kardar-Parisi-Zhang scaling theory to argue that the interface fluctuations are governed by the Airy1 process with the role of space and time interchanged. The predictions, which contain no free parameter, are numerically well confirmed for space-time statistics in the stationary state. In particular, the spatial fluctuations of the interface computed numerically agree well with those given by the GOE edge distribution of Tracy and Widom [Commun. Math. Phys. 177, 727 (1996)].

Porous silicon formation and electropolishing.

Electrochemical etching of silicon in hydrofluoride containing electrolytes leads to pore formation for low and to electropolishing for high applied current. The transition between pore formation and polishing is accompanied by a change of the valence of the electrochemical dissolution reaction. The local etching rate at the interface between the semiconductor and the electrolyte is determined by the local current density. We model the transport of reactants and reaction products and thus the current density in both, the semiconductor and the electrolyte. Basic features of the chemical reaction at the interface are summarized in the law of mass-action-type boundary conditions for the transport equations at the interface. We investigate the linear stability of a planar and flat interface. Upon increasing the current density the stability flips either through a change of the valence of the dissolution reaction or by a nonlinear boundary condition at the interface.

Universal distributions for growth processes in 1+1 dimensions and random matrices

We develop a scaling theory for Kardar-Parisi-Zhang growth in one dimension by a detailed study of the polynuclear growth model. In particular, we identify three universal distributions for shape fluctuations and their dependence on the macroscopic shape. These distribution functions are computed using the partition function of Gaussian random matrices in a cosine potential.

Evaluation of intensive inpatient treatment of patients with severe personality disorders.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine whether severe personality disorders improve or deteriorate with intensive inpatient treatment. METHODS: Overall 216 patients diagnosed as having personality disorders by DSM-III-R criteria were prospectively monitored at two private psychiatric hospitals from admission through discharge to one-year follow-up. RESULTS: Substantial positive change in the sample was recorded at discharge, and the improvements held up at one-year follow-up. The proportion of patients with scores of 50 or more on the Global Assessment Scale was 3.7 percent at the time of admission. By discharge the proportion had increased to 55.1 percent, and by one-year follow-up it had risen to 66.3 percent. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that patients with severe personality disorders benefit from intensive inpatient treatment. We found no evidence that hospitalization of such patients is associated with regression or deterioration of function.

Bosonization, vicinal surfaces, and hydrodynamic fluctuation theory.

Through a Euclidean path integral we establish that the density fluctuations of a Fermi fluid in one dimension are related to vicinal surfaces and to the stochastic dynamics of particles interacting through long range forces with inverse distance decay. In the surface picture one easily obtains the Haldane relation, and identifies the scaling exponents governing the low energy, Luttinger liquid behavior. For the stochastic particle model we develop a hydrodynamic fluctuation theory, through which in some cases the large distance Gaussian fluctuations are proved nonperturbatively.

The effect of attention/information processing impairment of tardive dyskinesia and neuroleptics in chronic schizophrenics.

In this article we report the results of a test of the hypothesis that a form of attention/information processing dysfunction, attentional set impairment, is exacerbated by facial-oral tardive dyskinesia in schizophrenics. This hypothesis was tested in the context of a study that was aimed at determining whether the Reaction Time Crossover Effect, a well-established form of attentional set impairment in schizophrenia, was "affected" by neuroleptic treatment. Our results indicate that the crossover effect is resistant to modification by neuroleptics, but that it is exacerbated by facial-oral tardive dyskinesia. We speculate that neurophysiological mechanisms underlying tardive dyskinesia interact with or are similar to those underlying attentional set impairment.

Assessing need for extended psychiatric hospitalization.

The authors developed a set of rating scales to assess a wide range of variables believed by clinicians to influence the optimal length of hospital stay. They report the results of interrater reliability studies, a factor analysis of the scales, and a correlational study of the factors with actual length of stay. They describe the potential applications of the scales to clinical practice and research.

Effects of extended hospitalization: a one-year follow-up study.

The C. F. Menninger Memorial Hospital is conducting an ongoing follow-up study of the effects of extended hospitalization. The authors report key indicators of outcome at one year postdischarge for 110 patients hospitalized on extended care units for at least 180 days. Outcome is determined by postdischarge rates of rehospitalization, postdischarge suicide attempts, and occupational functioning at the time of the one-year follow-up interview. After comparing these areas with preadmission levels of symptomatology and functioning, the authors report significant improvement in each category at the time of follow-up.

Outcome at discharge for patients in an ongoing follow-up study of hospital treatment.

Methodological and practical difficulties have limited the growth of knowledge about outcome of psychiatric hospital treatment. The authors report on outcome at hospital discharge for 103 long-term and 93 short-term patients treated at the C. F. Menninger Memorial Hospital, part of an ongoing follow-up study of hospital treatment. Discharge outcome is based mainly on ratings of symptoms, global functioning, and therapeutic alliance as well as on patients' reports of satisfaction. At discharge both long- and short-term patients were found to have low levels of symptoms (based on the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale) and a relatively adequate level of functioning (in the 51-to-60 range on the Global Assessment Scale) and to have been highly satisfied with treatment.