Scales of depression,ill-being and the quality of life—is there any difference? An assay in taxonomy

The application of a model based on the three time dimensions of past, present and future can be used to generate an alternative taxonomy for the classification of depression, ill-being and quality of life. In relation to time, depression can be defined as the passage from a healthy past to a painful present, ill-being as the painful present of the individual and the quality of life (QOL) as the degree to which the subject's present life is commensurate with his aspirations. Such an approach opens up conceptual and methodological areas of research which will allow the construction of a new type of scale. Depression scales should be constructed with two time dimensions: past and present; ill-being scales only refer to the present and QOL scales should have two time dimensions: present and future. It would be possible to combine these three scales into a single scale with three dimensions. Such a scale would enable depression and ill-being to be quantified, accurately diagnosed and monitored. The relative importance of principal symptoms could be assessed, facilitating the choice of therapy and follow-up methods.     

Conners教师评定量表的中国城市常模和信度研究

目的　建立Conners教师评定量表 (TRS)的中国城市常模 ,并对其进行信度检验。方法　在全国 14个城市对 35 76名儿童年进行Conners教师量表的评定 ,对其中 4 0名儿童间隔二周进行重测。结果　TRS各条目分与量表总评分之间的相关系数在 0 2 6 5～ 0 6 89;总问卷Cronbachα系数为 0 94 1,Spearman brown分半信度为 0 896 ,间隔二周量表总分的重测相关系数为 0 5 4 4 ,4个因子的重测相关系数在 0 391～ 0 6 71(P <0 0 1)。结论　Conners教师评定量表的中国城市常模符合我国国情 ,具有良好的信度 ,值得推广和应用。     

Evaluating therapeutic outcome in epileptic patients using the changes of interval and duration

BACKGROUND: Seizure frequency is in abnormal distribution, and it is not enough to express the trend of concentration using means, and its median loses a lot of information, thus it lacks of a standard for evaluating the therapeutic effects based on seizure frequency. OBJECTIVE: To establish a method for evaluating the therapeutic effects on anti-epileptic drugs using changes of interval and duration of seizure. DESIGN: A prospective cohort study. SETTING: Zhumadian Psychiatric Hospital. PARTICIPANTS: Outpatients and inpatients suffering from epilepsy attending firstly visited Zhumadian Psychiatric Hospital from June 2001 to June 2002 were enrolled. They were diagnosed as epileptic according to the International Classification of Epileptic Seizure by International League Against Epilepsy (1981) based on the clinical history, physical examination, and investigations. The interval time was no more than 6 months. Informed consent was obtained from all the subjects, and the study was approved by the hospital ethical committee. METHODS: ① For the first visit and each follow-up, the following data were recorded, including general demographic information, seizure type, the date and time of ictus, the duration of ictus, and inducement or situation related, according to which the following indexes could be calculated, including seizure styles, interval, duration, cluster frequency and cluster duration. The information from the first review was noted as annals A. The second interview was taken at the end of the evaluating period; the information from the second review was noted as annals B. The third interview was taken within two weeks after the second one; the information from the third review was noted as annals C. The annals B or the annals C were respectively compared with the annals A in the light of the same types or the same styles of the same patient. Summation of the scores of interval change and duration change of the same type or the same style and 5 of basic score was the score of a corresponding seizure type or a corresponding style of one patient. In order to test its reliability and validity, the score of change of frequency or duration plus 5 scores respectively was the score of frequency or duration. ② Reliability and validity were tested by calculating corresponding correlation coefficient with SPSS 11.0. ROC curve was used for developing diagnostic criterion of predicting therapeutic effects with SPSS 11.0. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: ① Reliability and validity; ② Diagnostic criterion for predicting therapeutic effects one year later. RESULTS: Totally 28 patients were involved in the final analysis of results. ① Reliability and validity were high: rinter-rater=0.98, rtest-retest=0.99, rconstruct validity=0.83. ② A total score > 6 was the optimal diagnostic criteria for predicting therapeutic effects one year later, in other words, a patient who scored more than 6 at the evaluating period may be seizure-free one year later. CONCLUSION: It is a potential tool for evaluating epileptic therapeutic outcome, and it can be diffusely used in interrelated fields after being further validated.     

Depression Scale (DEPS) among suicide attempters

The Depression Scale (DEPS), a new screening instrument for detecting depression in primary health care, was compared with the Hamilton Depression Scale (HDS) among 50 suicide attempters. Using the HDS as a gold standard, the positive and negative predictive values of the DEPS for the diagnosis of depression were 98% and 20%, respectively. The correlation between the total HDS scores and the total DEPS scores was 0.60. The DEPS may help general practitioners to detect depression among suicide attempters, but it should not be used to exclude depression.     

Mood state and cerebral metabolism in persons with age-associated memory impairment

People undergoing medical procedures sometimes experience feelings that may influence the results. In this study, we explore the relationship between changes in mood state self-ratings and cerebral glucose metabolism during positron emission tomography (PET) in persons with age-associated memory impairment (mean age 59.4±9.8 years). Brain regions of interest involved in both mood and memory were examined. Mood ratings of increased boredom correlated significantly with mesial temporal and parietal asymmetry and decreased parietal metabolism. Mood ratings of increased fatigue correlated with basal ganglia asymmetry and the right basal ganglia and left mesial temporal metabolism. These findings suggest that subjective mood state changes during PET may influence metabolism in brain regions implicated in emotion and memory function in people with age-related memory complaints.     

Evaluation of a Swedish version of the Arthritis Self-Efficacy Scale.

There is a great need today for clinically useful instruments in the rehabilitation of chronic pain patients. The Arthritis Self-efficacy Scale measures patients' perceived self-efficacy to cope with the consequences of chronic arthritis. The aim of the present study was to evaluate a Swedish version of the Arthritis Self-efficacy Scale with respect to factor structure and reliability. Twenty-five chronic pain patients and twenty-four rheumatology patients were given a Swedish version of the Arthritis Self-efficacy Scale twice within a three week interval. The three factor structure of the scale was confirmed; Cronbach's alpha for internal consistency ranged between 0.82-0.91 and test-retest correlations ranged between 0.81-0.91, showing that the instrument satisfactorily met psychometric standards.     

High level production of soluble single chain antibodies in small-scale Escherichia coli cultures

We have investigated the effect of growth and induction conditions on the production of soluble single-chain Fv antibody fragments in Escherichia coli under the control of wt lac promoter. The scFv was directed into the periplasmic space by a pelB leader sequence. Addition of sucrose to the medium gave a 15–25-fold increase in the yield of soluble scFv-phOx (3.0 mg/l) for bacterial shake-tube cultures and an increase of 80–150-fold (16.5 mg/l) for shake-flask cultures. Using flask culture in the presence of 0.4 M sucrose, a significant amount of scFv was released into the medium. We found that the scFv could be made to accumulate in the periplasm or be secreted into the medium by simply changing the incubation conditions and the concentration of the inducer. The ratio between soluble antibody fragments and insoluble scFv aggregates proved to be dependent on the strength of the promoter. Lowering the incubation temperature below 20°C had no effect on the yield of soluble antibody fragments in the periplasm, but they were no longer secreted into the medium. An example of high level production in shake-flask cultures and one-step purification by immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC) is described for a soluble scFv specific for the T cell surface antigen CD3. The biological activity of the purified anti-CD3 scFv was demonstrated by flow cytometry. This method should be especially useful for the functional screening of a large number of clones in small-scale cultures.     

No correlation between number of MRI-evident lesions in cerebrum and the soleus stretch reflex in multiple sclerosis patients

The aim of the study was to investigate if the stretch reflex of the soleus muscle was useful in quantifying upper motor neuron lesions. The soleus stretch reflex was recorded in 10 healthy subjects and 20 patients with active relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis and correlated to the number of MRI lesions in cerebrum and clinical scores (expanded disability status scale and regional functional scoring system). The short latency stretch reflex was elicited by rotating the left ankle joint 4 degrees with a rise time in the interval of 40-640 ms. The amplitude of the stretch was larger in multiple sclerosis patients being 88.5 microV in patients and 12.8 microV in controls, P = 0.007. The sensitivity of the stretch reflex expressed as the slope of the best linear fit was increased in MS patients to 2.6 microVs/degree compared with 0.6 microVs/degree (0.1-2.2) in controls, P = 0.009. There was no correlation between amplitude of the stretch reflex and number of MRI lesions (r = -0.03). In conclusion, the soleus stretch reflex might be useful to quantify spasticity but is not useful in detecting dysfunction of upper motor neurons in MS.     

The Reactivity of Psychosis Rating Form (RPRF): background,development and psychometrics

The ICD-10 and DSM-IV classifications have both given low priority to “reactivity” to acute stress as a classificatory principle for functional psychoses. In Scandinavia, reactivity is still considered an important factor in the development of such psychoses. Reactivity is a complex concept, and its various components are historically examined. The Reactivity of Psychosis Rating Form (RPRF) was developed in order to operationalize reactivity. Seven of the 10 elements of RPRF can be rated reliably. Factor analysis of the RPRF yields three factors: stressor, onset and change, that also show high interrater reliability. Our results indicate that RPRF has both construct and discriminant validity. Further studies with the RPRF may elucidate the true status of reactivity in functional psychoses.     

全科医生内隐胜任力量表的编制及应用研究

背景 全科医生是基层医疗服务的“主力军”,现有关于全科医生胜任力的研究大部分强调应着力提升全科医生的知识和技能水平,忽略了全科医生内隐素质的重要性。目前我国仍缺乏评估全科医生内隐胜任力的有效工具,开发全科医生内隐胜任力量表（GPICRS）对于提高基层医疗服务质量具有重要意义。目的 编制GPICRS,并对其进行评价,旨在为提升全科医生胜任力提供一定的参考。方法 在文献分析和行为事件访谈的基础上,形成初始版量表。于2021年9—12月,采用随机抽样法,从全国选取380例全科医生为研究对象,采用初始版GPICRS对其进行调查,通过项目净化、探索性因子分析、验证性因子分析、信效度分析验证量表的合理性,基于加权平均法评价全科医生的内隐胜任力水平,比较不同特征全科医生的GPICRS平均总得分及各维度得分。结果 共回收有效问卷335份（88.2%）。GPICRS由工作动机、自我效能感、医学人文关怀和医学职业素养4个维度14个条目构成。探索性因子分析结果显示,KMO值为0.737,Bartlett’s球形检验χ2=592.715、P<0.001,表明数据适合进行因子分析;按特征根>1.00...