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.     

Application of the Minnesota Code in evaluating electrocardiographic features of ischemic heart disease in patients exposed to carbon disulphide

Summary We examined 81 men exposed for a long time to carbon disulphide (CS₂) and tested the possible electrocardiographic (ECG) changes of ischemic heart disease (I.H.D.). The subjects were examined twice in two years. In order to make the ECG evaluation more objective, the Minnesota Code was applied. Two obligatory ECG examinations and only one submaximal effort test were carried out. For comparative evaluation, the control group was examined once. We proved that, in spite of the accepted opinion concerning the atheromatous action of CS₂, this compound does not cause ECG symptoms of I.H.D. in a higher percentage of exposed persons. It also does not cause any significant increase in I.H.D. symptoms in dynamic ECG observations.     

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.     

全科住培医师职业内驱力量表的编制及其信效度评价

目的 开发全科住培医师职业内驱力测量量表,并检验其信效度。方法 结合职业内驱力和全科住培医师发展现状的文献分析和质性访谈结果,构建量表条目池。通过专家德尔菲咨询,形成初版量表。对403名全科住培医师进行问卷调查,检验量表的信效度。结果 全科住培医师职业内驱力量表包括11个条目,划分为3个维度;量表的Cronbach’s α系数为0.945;各个维度的Cronbach’s α系数均在0.850以上,KMO系数为0.925。因子分析显示,所有条目的因子载荷均≥0.4,共同性均>0.2,保留11个条目。经因子分析抽取3个公因子进行相关分析提示：量表总分的各公因子之间相关系数大于0,且呈现出显著正相关（P<0.01）。根据各因子所含条目内容、理论研究和专家建议,分别将其命名为学科归属、发展期望、认同需求,分别含3个条目、3个条目和5个条目。结论 该研究形成的全科住培医师职业内驱力量表结构合理,具有良好的信效度,适用于全科住培医师职业内驱力测评,为住培医师职业教育提供指引。     

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...     

不明原因散发性全面发育迟缓儿童遗传因素预测表的制订及临床应用

目的 通过分析散发性不明原因全面发育迟缓（GDD）患儿的临床特征,制订该类患儿的遗传因素风险预测表,以助于筛选需要进一步进行遗传学检测的患儿,缩短病因学诊断流程。方法 选取2019年6月—2022年6月在赣州市妇幼保健院儿童神经康复科就诊的散发性不明原因GDD患儿396例。依据基因测序结果将检测结果阳性的患儿归为阳性组（130例）,检测结果阴性的患儿归为阴性组（266例）。通过回顾性分析25项临床特征的组间差异,制订遗传因素风险预测表,并使用受试者工作特征（ROC）曲线评估该量表预测患儿基因诊断阳性率的效能。结果 阳性组与阴性组患儿父亲高龄生育、MRI提示结构畸形、癫痫、毛发异常、头围异常、颅骨外观异常、皮肤异常、眼外观异常或畸形、鼻梁外观异常或畸形、耳廓畸形或耳位异常、下颌畸形、牙齿异常、出生低张力、非智力因素合并症比较,差异均有统计学意义（P <0.05）,依据综合筛选,将19个条目归类至双亲因素、异常面容、器官畸形、非智力因素合并症、异常头颅MRI改变5个项目作为最终量表条目,制订遗传因素风险预测表。ROC曲线结果提示量表曲线下面积为0.707,最佳截断值为3分,敏感性为6...