Structural equation model of factors related to quality of life for community-dwelling schizophrenic patients in Japan

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to clarify how community mental healthcare systems can be improved. METHODS: We included 79 schizophrenic patients, aged 20 to 80 years, residing in the Tokyo metropolitan area who regularly visited rehabilitation facilities offering assistance to psychiatric patients and were receiving treatment on an outpatient basis. No subjects had severe cognitive disorders or were taking medication with side effects that could prevent the completion of questionnaires. Questionnaires included items related to quality of life, self-efficacy, self-esteem, psychosis based on the Behavior and Symptom Identification Scale, health locus of control, and socio-demographic factors. We performed multiple linear regression analysis with quality of life as the dependent variable and, based on covariance structural analysis, evaluated the goodness of fit of the resulting structural equations models. RESULTS: Self-efficacy, self-esteem, and degree of psychosis significantly impacted quality of life. Marital status, age, and types of medications also influenced quality of life. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed psychiatric symptoms (Behavior and Symptom Identification Scale-32 [daily living and role functioning] (Beta = −0.537, p < 0.001) and self-efficacy (Beta = 0.249, p < 0.05) to be predictors of total quality of life score. Based on covariance structural analysis, the resulting model was found to exhibit reasonable goodness of fit. CONCLUSIONS: Self-efficacy had an especially strong and direct impact on QOL. Therefore, it is important to provide more positive feedback to patients, provide social skills training based on cognitive behavioral therapy, and engage patients in role playing to improve self-efficacy and self-concept

National survey of the association of depressive symptoms with the number of off duty and on-call, and sleep hours among physicians working in Japanese hospitals: a cross sectional study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Physicians' mental health may be adversely affected by the number of days of work and time spent on-call, and improved by sleep and days-off. The aim of this study was to determine the associations of depressive symptoms with taking days of off duty, hours of sleep, and the number of days of on-call and overnight work among physicians working in Japanese hospitals.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A cross-sectional study as a national survey was conducted by mail. The study population was 10,000 randomly selected physicians working in hospitals who were also members of the Japan Medical Association (response rate 40.5%). Self-reported anonymous questionnaire was sent to assess the number of days off-duty, overnight work, and on-calls, and the average number of sleep hours on days not working overnight in the previous one month. Depressive state was determined by the Japanese version of the Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology. Logistic regression analysis was used to explore the associations between depressive symptoms and the studied variables.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Among the respondents, 8.3% of men and 10.5% of women were determined to be depressed. For both men and women, depressive state was associated with having no off-duty days and averaging less than 5 hours of sleep on days not doing overnight work. Depressive state was positively associated with being on-call more than 5 days per month for men, and more than 8 days per month for women, and was negatively associated with being off-duty more than 8 days per month for men.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Some physicians need some support to maintain their mental health. Physicians who do not take enough days-off, who reduced sleep hours, and who have certain number of days on-calls may develop depressive symptoms.</p

ECOMICS: A Web-Based Toolkit for Investigating the Biomolecular Web in Ecosystems Using a Trans-omics Approach

Ecosystems can be conceptually thought of as interconnected environmental and metabolic systems, in which small molecules to macro-molecules interact through diverse networks. State-of-the-art technologies in post-genomic science offer ways to inspect and analyze this biomolecular web using omics-based approaches. Exploring useful genes and enzymes, as well as biomass resources responsible for anabolism and catabolism within ecosystems will contribute to a better understanding of environmental functions and their application to biotechnology. Here we present ECOMICS, a suite of web-based tools for ECosystem trans-OMICS investigation that target metagenomic, metatranscriptomic, and meta-metabolomic systems, including biomacromolecular mixtures derived from biomass. ECOMICS is made of four integrated webtools. E-class allows for the sequence-based taxonomic classification of eukaryotic and prokaryotic ribosomal data and the functional classification of selected enzymes. FT2B allows for the digital processing of NMR spectra for downstream metabolic or chemical phenotyping. Bm-Char allows for statistical assignment of specific compounds found in lignocellulose-based biomass, and HetMap is a data matrix generator and correlation calculator that can be applied to trans-omics datasets as analyzed by these and other web tools. This web suite is unique in that it allows for the monitoring of biomass metabolism in a particular environment, i.e., from macromolecular complexes (FT2DB and Bm-Char) to microbial composition and degradation (E-class), and makes possible the understanding of relationships between molecular and microbial elements (HetMap). This website is available to the public domain at: https://database.riken.jp/ecomics/

Women's Preference for a Male Acquaintance Enhances Social Reward Processing of Material Goods in the Anterior Cingulate Cortex.

Men, like the male of many animal species, use gifts to build satisfactory relationships with a desired woman. From the woman's perspective, all gifts are not always equally rewarding; the reward value of a gift depends on two factors: (1) the giver and (2) the type of the gift (the gift's social meaning). In this study, we investigated how these two factors interactively determine the reward value of a gift. Specifically, we examined how the neural processing for understanding a gift's social meaning is modulated by preferences for the giver. We performed a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study in which a female participant was asked to judge a gift from a male she was acquainted with in real life. We examined the interactive effects between (1) the female participant's attitude toward the male acquaintance (liked vs. uninteresting) and (2) the type of the gift (romantic [e.g., bouquet, earrings, and perfumes] vs. non-romantic [e.g., pencils, memo pad, and moneybox]). We found that preference for an acquaintance selectively modulated activity in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) in response to romantic gifts, compared to non-romantic gifts. In contrast, if the woman was indifferent toward an acquaintance, no activity modulation was observed in this area for the same gifts. In addition, the ACC showed functional connectivity with the supplementary motor area/dorsal ACC (SMA/dACC), an area within the dorsal mediofrontal cortex, suggesting that it integrates action monitoring and emotional and cognitive processing in decision-making. These results suggest that attitude toward an opposite sex member has a modulatory role in recognizing the social meaning of material goods--preference for the member is a powerful modulator of social reward processing

眼球運動課題を用いた注意欠如・多動症児の注意制御機能の検討

要旨：本研究は，ADHD18名，統合失調症21名，定型発達24名を対象に，４種類の眼球運動課題（サッケード，アンチサッケード，SPEM，Flash-SPEM）を行い，ADHD の注意制御機能等の認知機能について検討した。サッケード課題およびアンチサッケード課題については，視線を向けた方向の正答率と反応潜時を算出した。SPEM 課題および Flash-SPEM 課題については，眼球運動と指標のずれの程度をあらわす定量的指標を算出した。サッケードおよびアンチサッケードの反応潜時は，３つの群の間に有意差が認められなかったものの，ADHDのアンチサッケードの正答率が低下していた。また，ADHDは，統合失調症と同程度，SPEM の追跡精度が低下していた。一方，Flash-SPEM において，ADHD は注意障害が改善した。以上の結果から，ADHD は，前頭葉機能障害を背景とした，反射性の運動を抑制する機能障害および持続的注意の障害を有することが確認された。Abstract: In this study, we investigated the cognitive dysfunction of ADHD by conducting four types of eye movement tasks （saccade, anti-saccade, SPEM, Flash-SPEM） for people with ADHD. For the saccade task and the anti-saccade task, the correct rates for direction and reaction latency in which the subject turned his eyes were calculated. For SPEM tasks and Flash-SPEM tasks, quantitative indices representing the magnitude of eye movement were calculated. Latency of saccades and anti-saccades did not show any significant differences between the three groups, however the correct answer rate was low for ADHD anti-saccade. Also, the performance of SPEM of ADHD was as low as that of SPEM of schizophrenia. On the other hand, ADHD was improved with cautionary disturbance for Flash-SPEM tasks where attention is evoked. In summary of these results, it was found that ADHD is impaired in suppressing reflexive movement with the frontal lobe dysfunction in the background, and also has sustained attention disorders