Cognitive functions of adults with ADHD:a neuropsychological examination in a clinical referral context

Neuropsychological functions are important for our daily life, such as being alert and focused, planning ahead, setting and prioritizing goals, and selecting, storing, and retrieving information from our memory. Adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) typically report problems in neuropsychological functions and therefore undergo a thorough assessment. This thesis aimed to enhance the understanding of neuropsychological characteristics in adults with ADHD for improved differential diagnosis, optimized evaluation, and targeted treatments. First, we revealed that impairments in neuropsychological functions occur commonly in adults who were suspected of having ADHD but were not specific to adults diagnosed with ADHD. Neuropsychological assessments may be useful instruments to identify individuals’ cognitive strengths and weaknesses, rather than for the differential diagnosis of ADHD. Second, we observed that adults with ADHD reported significantly more severe ADHD symptoms in childhood than adults who did not meet the diagnostic criteria of ADHD. This finding highlights the importance of asking about childhood behavior retrospectively as it could potentially contribute to the differential diagnosis of ADHD. Third, we showed that the performances of different neuropsychological functions were not isolated but strongly connected in the ADHD group. We conclude that we may be able to shorten and streamline the clinical neuropsychological assessment to save valuable clinical resources. Finally, we demonstrated that attention performance may be stable over repeated assessments in the majority of patients with ADHD. This finding suggests that a one-time attention assessment is sensitive in revealing attention deficits and repeated assessment may not be necessary considering the limited clinical resources

Photoinduced Temperature Gradients in Sub-wavelength Plasmonic Structures: The Thermoplasmonics of Nanocones

Plasmonic structures are renowned for their capability to efficiently convert light into heat at the nanoscale. However, despite the possibility to generate deep sub-wavelength electromagnetic hot spots, the formation of extremely localized thermal hot spots is an open challenge of research, simply because of the diffusive spread of heat along the whole metallic nanostructure. Here we tackle this challenge by exploiting single gold nanocones. We theoretically show how these structures can indeed realize extremely high temperature gradients within the metal, leading to deep sub-wavelength thermal hot spots, owing to their capability of concentrating light at the apex under resonant conditions even under continuous wave illumination. A three-dimensional Finite Element Method model is employed to study the electromagnetic field in the structure and subsequent thermoplasmonic behaviour, in terms of the three-dimensional temperature distribution. We show how the latter is affected by nanocone size, shape, and composition of the surrounding environment. Finally, we anticipate the use of photoinduced temperature gradients in nanocones for applications in optofluidics and thermoelectrics or for thermally induced nanofabrication

catena-Poly[[[aqua­[2-(6-chloro­pyridin-3-yl)acetato-κO]sodium]-di-μ-aqua] monohydrate]

The crystal structure of the title compound, {[Na(C7H5ClNO2)(H2O)3]·H2O}n, features polymeric chains along [010]. The Na+ cation is octa­hedrally coordinated by four bridging water mol­ecules, a terminal water mol­ecule and an O atom derived from a monodentate carboxyl­ate ligand. Adjacent polyhedra share two O⋯O edges. The polymeric chains are linked into a three-dimensional network via O—H⋯O and O—H⋯N hydrogen bonds

Networks of Neuropsychological Functions in the Clinical Evaluation of Adult ADHD

This study applied network analysis to explore the relations between neuropsychological functions of individuals in the clinical evaluation of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in adulthood. A total of 319 participants from an outpatient referral context, that is, 173 individuals with ADHD (ADHD group) and 146 individuals without ADHD (n-ADHD group), took part in this study and completed a comprehensive neuropsychological assessment. A denser network with stronger global connectivity was observed in the ADHD group compared to the n-ADHD group. The strongest connections were consistent in both networks, that is, the connections between selective attention and vigilance, and connections between processing speed, fluency, and flexibility. Further centrality estimation revealed attention-related variables to have the highest expected influence in both networks. The observed relationships between neuropsychological functions, and the high centrality of attention, may help identify neuropsychological profiles that are specific to ADHD and optimize neuropsychological assessment and treatment planning of individuals with cognitive impairment

プラットフォーム ジギョウシャ ヲ カイシタ ヒョウゲンキセイ ニ カンスル イチコウサツ

三成 賢次教授　坂元 一哉教授　退職記念

インターネット プラットフォーム ニ オケル パブリック フォーラム ホウリ ノ テキヨウ カノウセイ ニ カンスル イチコウサツ 2 カン プラットフォーム ジギョウシャ ヲ カイシタ ヒョウゲンキセイ ノ ケンポウテキ トウセイ ニ カンスル ヨビテキ コウサツ

論

インターネット プラットフォーム ニ オケル パブリック フォーラム ホウリ ノ テキヨウ カノウセイ ニ カンスル イチコウサツ １ プラットフォーム ジギョウシャ ヲ カイシタ ヒョウゲンキセイ ノ ケンポウテキ トウセイ ニ カンスル ヨビテキ コウサツ

論

Intermedin protects against myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury in diabetic rats.

BACKGROUND: Diabetic patients, through incompletely understood mechanisms, endure exacerbated ischemic heart injury compared to non-diabetic patients. Intermedin (IMD) is a novel calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) superfamily member with established cardiovascular protective effects. However, whether IMD protects against diabetic myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (MI/R) injury is unknown. METHODS: Diabetes was induced by streptozotocin in Sprague--Dawley rats. Animals were subjected to MI via left circumflex artery ligation for 30 minutes followed by 2 hours R. IMD was administered formally 10 minutes before R. Outcome measures included left ventricular function, oxidative stress, cellular death, infarct size, and inflammation. RESULTS: IMD levels were significantly decreased in diabetic rats compared to control animals. After MI/R, diabetic rats manifested elevated intermedin levels, both in plasma (64.95 +/- 4.84 pmol/L, p \u3c 0.05) and myocardial tissue (9.8 +/- 0.60 pmol/L, p \u3c 0.01) compared to pre-MI control values (43.62 +/- 3.47 pmol/L and 4.4 +/- 0.41). IMD administration to diabetic rats subjected to MI/R decreased oxidative stress product generation, apoptosis, infarct size, and inflammatory cytokine release (p \u3c 0.05 or p \u3c 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: By reducing oxidative stress, inflammation, and apoptosis, IMD may represent a promising novel therapeutic target mitigating diabetic ischemic heart injury

It Takes Time:Vigilance and Sustained Attention Assessment in Adults with ADHD

Objectives: The present study compares the utility of eight different tests of vigilance and sustained attention in the neuropsychological examination of adults with Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Methods: Thirty-one adults diagnosed with ADHD performed eight tests for vigilance and sustained attention, spread over three assessment days. Results: Adults with ADHD showed cognitive impairments in most tests and test variables, even though their sensitivity differed greatly. No specific type of test variable stands out to be the most sensitive, and no evidence for a differential deterioration of performance over time was observed. Conclusion: This study underscores the role of vigilance and sustained attention tests in the assessment of adult ADHD. It is further concluded that summary scores over the entire test duration are sufficient, but that all variables of a test should be considered. Finally, we hypothesize that reassessment on a different day may benefit a more accurate clinical assessment of adults with ADHD, in order to adequately take intraindividual fluctuations and limitations regarding test reliability into account