Differentiating poor validity from probable impairment on the medical symptom validity test: a cross-validation study

Aims: In neuropsychological evaluations, it is often difficult to ascertain whether poor performance on measures of validity is due to poor effort or malingering, or whether there is genuine cognitive impairment. Dunham and Denney created an algorithm to assess this question using the Medical Symptom Validity Test (MSVT). We assessed the ability of their algorithm to detect poor validity versus probable impairment, and concordance of failure on the MSVT with other freestanding tests of performance validity.

Methods: Two previously published datasets (n?=?153 and n?=?641, respectively) from outpatient neuropsychological evaluations were used to test Dunham and Denney’s algorithm, and to assess concordance of failure rates with the Test of Memory Malingering and the forced choice measure of the California Verbal Learning Test, two commonly used performance validity tests.

Results: In both datasets, none of the four cutoff scores for failure on the MSVT (70%, 75%, 80%, or 85%) identified a poor validity group with proportionally aligned failure rates on other freestanding measures of performance validity. Additionally, the protocols with probable impairment did not differ from those with poor validity on cognitive measures.

Conclusions: Despite what appeared to be a promising approach to evaluating failure on the easy MSVT subtests when clinical data are unavailable (as recommended in the advanced interpretation program, or advanced interpretation [AI], of the MSVT), the current findings indicate the AI remains the gold standard for doing so. Future research should build on this effort to address shortcomings in measures of effort in neuropsychological evaluations.     

Measuring hope amongst Tanzanian women who participate in microfinance: An evaluation of the Snyder hope scale

ABSTRACT

Measuring hope reliably and accurately remains an important research objective, not least in less prosperous settings where ‘holding on to hope’ may be critically important in the struggle against adverse life conditions. The State Hope Scale was designed for use in the US. Despite reported application in diverse cultures and using translations the scale has not been extensively validated outside US populations. This study contributes to a larger project exploring the measurement of hope and provides a critique of Snyder’s scale as used in a Tanzanian female population of 1021 urban microfinance participants. We evaluate the scale’s validity through assessment of the empirical distribution of scores, item response profiles, internal consistency and discriminatory ability. Participants mostly scored very high and many reached very near the maximum attainable score. Hardly any endorsed the negative half of the response scale. Several problems are discussed including poor discrimination and strong evidence of acquiescence response bias. We also found little association of the scale scores with hypothesised correlates of hope. Future improvements on the measurement of hope are recommended, especially in studies outside the narrow Western context in which the scale was devised.     

Lack of ceramide synthase 2 suppresses the development of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis by impairing the migratory capacity of neutrophils

Ceramide synthases (CerS) synthesise ceramides of defined acyl chain lengths, which are thought to mediate cellular processes in a chain length-dependent manner. In experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), an animal model of multiple sclerosis (MS), we observed a significant elevation of CerS2 and its products, C24-ceramides, in CD11b⁺ cells (monocytes and neutrophils) isolated from blood. This result correlates with the clinical finding that CerS2 mRNA expression and C24-ceramide levels were significantly increased by 2.2- and 1.5-fold, respectively, in white blood cells of MS patients. The increased CerS2 mRNA/C24-ceramide expression in neutrophils/monocytes seems to mediate pro-inflammatory effects, since a specific genetic deletion of CerS2 in blood cells or a total genetic deletion of CerS2 significantly delayed the onset of clinical symptoms, due to a reduced infiltration of immune cells, in particular neutrophils, into the central nervous system. CXCR2 chemokine receptors, expressed on neutrophils, promote the migration of neutrophils into the central nervous system, which is a prerequisite for the recruitment of further immune cells and the inflammatory process that leads to the development of MS. Interestingly, neutrophils isolated from CerS2 null EAE mice, as opposed to WT EAE mice, were characterised by significantly lower CXCR2 receptor mRNA expression resulting in their reduced migratory capacity towards CXCL2. Most importantly, G-CSF-induced CXCR2 expression was significantly reduced in CerS2 null neutrophils and their migratory capacity was significantly impaired. In conclusion, our data strongly indicate that G-CSF-induced CXCR2 expression is regulated in a CerS2-dependent manner and that CerS2 thereby promotes the migration of neutrophils, thus, contributing to inflammation and the development of EAE and MS.     

腺病毒介导MDA-7/IL-24选择性杀伤肝癌 细胞HepG2的研究

目的 ：观察MDA-7/IL-24基因对肝癌的选择性杀伤作用，为肝癌的基因治疗提供理论基础。 方法 ：将携带人MDA-7/IL-24基因的腺病毒Ad.mda-7感染人正常肝细胞L02和肝癌细胞HepG2;用RT-PCR法观察MDA-7/IL-24基因的表达;ELISA方法检测细胞培养上清液中MDA-7/IL-24蛋白的浓度;4甲基偶氮唑蓝染色法（MTT）及Hoechst染色观察MDA-7/IL-24对肝癌细胞的生长抑制和杀伤作用;Annexin-V和PI双染后流式细胞仪检测2种细胞的凋亡;用流式细胞仪检测细胞周期。 结果 ：复制缺陷型腺病毒能介导外源基因MDA-7/IL-24在肝癌细胞株HepG2和正常细胞L02中的高效表达;细胞培养上清液中有MDA-7/IL-24蛋白的表达; MDA-7/IL-24能明显抑制肝癌细胞生长并可促进肝癌细胞的凋亡;MDA-7/IL-24阻滞肝癌细胞于G2/M期，能选择性杀伤肝癌细胞而对正常的肝细胞无阻滞作用和毒性作用。结论 ：复制缺陷型重组腺病毒载体Ad.mda-7能介导MDA-7/IL-24基因在人肝癌细胞中高效表达，促使细胞增殖阻滞及诱导肿瘤细胞凋亡，选择性地杀伤肝癌细胞HepG2，而对正常肝细胞L02无任何毒性作用。     

Dissociation of GFAP intermediate filaments in EAE: observations in the lumbar spinal cord

Acute experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE) in the Lewis rat is a cell-mediated autoimmune disease of central nervous system myelin. The lesion has been characterized by breakdown of the blood-brain barrier, edema, and periventricular infiltration of macrophages and lymphocytes. At the early stage of the disease, the astrocytes show a marked increase in immunostaining for glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). A corresponding increase in GFAP content, however, cannot be demonstrated. Electron microscopic examination of the early lesion shows a typical reactive astrocytic response expressed by an enlarged watery cytoplasm, particularly at the level of the processes surrounding neurons and blood vessels and in the neuropil itself. The astroglial processes contain numerous glycogen particles (aggregates and single particles). Glial filaments are also conspicuous and are arranged in small bundles or loose thin filaments adjacent to the bundles. The glial filaments that normally appear as tight bundles have expanded and appear less dense. We suggest that the increase in GFAP immunostaining of the astrocytes in the early lesion is due in part to edema, which causes dissociation of the filaments and thereby exposes more antigenic sites to the antibodies.     

Validation of the Brazilian-Portuguese Version of the European Community Respiratory Health Survey in Asthma Patients

Background. The European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS) questionnaire was planned to answer questions about the distribution of asthma. Our objective was to determine the cultural equivalence of the ECRHS into the Brazilian-Portuguese language. Methods. We translated the ECRHS according to international criteria. Results. Small cultural adaptations were necessary. Among the 80 participating patients, the Cronbach indices were higher (0.98-1.00) and the Kappa indices varied from 0.77 to 1.00. Conclusion. The study suggests that the Brazilian version of the ECRHS is conceptually equivalent to the original and similarly reliable and may be used in international studies involving Portuguese-speaking respiratory patients.     

9 Survivin反义寡核苷酸对人肝癌细胞的抑制作用

目的:探讨survivin反义寡核苷酸（ASODN）对人肝癌细胞HepG2的抑制作用。方法:采用免疫组织化学法检测肝细胞癌（HCC）组织中survivin的表达。采用脂质体介导survivin ASODN体外转染人肝癌细胞株HepG2，Western blot检测细胞survivin蛋白的表达，FCM检测细胞的凋亡率，观察细胞在软琼脂中的集落形成能力。建立人肝癌裸鼠皮下移植瘤模型，观察survivin ASODN的体内抑癌作用。 结果:（1）肝癌组织中survivin表达阳性率为75.8％(25/33)，明显高于癌旁组织和正常肝组织(P<0.01);（2）survivin ASODN体外转染可明显下调HepG2细胞survivin蛋白表达，ASODN组HepG2细胞凋亡率明显高于空白对照组和SODN组(P<0.01)，ASODN组HepG2细胞在软琼脂中形成的集落数目明显少于空白对照组和SODN组(P<0.01);（3）ASODN组瘤体生长速度较空白对照组和SODN组明显减慢(P<0.01)，ASODN组瘤体重量较空白对照组和SODN组明显减轻(P<0.05)。结论:Survivin在HCC组织中高表达;survivin ASODN可以诱导HepG2细胞凋亡，在体外实验和动物实验中对HepG2细胞生长都有抑制作用。