Development and validation of the short version of metacognitions questionnaire-Insomnia

Waine, Broomfield, Banham, & Espie (2009) developed and validated the Metacognitions Questionnaire-Insomnia (MCQ-I) to assess metacognition about sleep, which was hypothesized to have a two-factor structure consisting of metacognitive belief about sleep, and metacognitive plans about sleep. However, it is unclear if the MCQ-I reflects metacognition about sleep as hypothesized because no item analysis or factor analysis was conducted. The present study was designed to develop a short version of MCQ-I using selected items and investigate its reliability and validity. A cross-sectional survey using the MCQ-I was conducted with undergraduates (N=330) and 27 patients with chronic insomnia disorder. Results of factor analysis and item analysis of their responses indicated that MCQ-I has a two-factor structure as hypothesized, and 25 items had high internal consistency. Moreover, the MCQ-I-25 was correlated with metacognition about worry, comprehensive dimensions of cognitive arousal, and sleep disturbances. Furthermore, the MCQ-I-25 score was higher in insomnia patients than healthy students. These results suggest that MCQ-I-25 reflects metacognition about sleep and could predict cognitive arousal and insomnia

Cold preservation of the human colon and ileum with University of Wisconsin solution

The inclusion of the colon in the intestinal graft resulted in worsening patient and graft outcome and increased the incidence of infection and rejection. In this study, we examine the role of ischemia on the barrier function of the epithelium during cold ischemia. Samples were collected from 15 harvested and transplanted human donor grafts (colon, 10; ileum, 6), which were immersed in University of Wisconsin (UW) solution. Ischemia (6, 12, 24, and 45 h) and reoxygenation were performed to evaluate the mucosal electrical status using the Ussing chamber technique. The functions of enterocytes and crypt cells were tested by glucose and theophylline challenge. Modified Park's classification was applied to evaluate the severity of mucosal damage under light microscopy. The colon had higher levels of baseline potential difference, short-circuit current, and resistance than the ileum during 6-48 h of ischemia. Colonic epithelial cells responded well to theophylline stimulation at 24 h of ischemia, while there was no ileal response. The colonic mucosa was histopathologically well preserved in UW solution for 48 h, and mucosal damage induced by reoxygenation was less than in the ileum. In conclusion, electrophysiologically and histopathologically, the colon is less susceptible to cold preservation damage than the ileum during storage with UW solution

Infrared optical properties of Pr2CuO4

The ab-plane reflectance of a Pr2CuO4 single crystal has been measured over a wide frequency range at a variety of temperatures, and the optical properties determined from a Kramers-Kronig analysis. Above ~ 250 K, the low frequency conductivity increases quickly with temperature; the resistivity follows the form e^(E_a/k_BT), where E_a ~ 0.17 eV is much less than the inferred optical gap of ~ 1.2 eV. Transport measurements show that at low temperature the resistivity deviates from activated behavior and follows the form e^[(T_0/T)^1/4], indicating that the dc transport in this material is due to variable-range hopping between localized states in the gap. The four infrared-active Eu modes dominate the infrared optical properties. Below ~ 200 K, a striking new feature appears near the low-frequency Eu mode, and there is additional new fine structure at high frequency. A normal coordinate analysis has been performed and the detailed nature of the zone-center vibrations determined. Only the low-frequency Eu mode has a significant Pr-Cu interaction. Several possible mechanisms related to the antiferromagnetism in this material are proposed to explain the sudden appearance of this and other new spectral features at low temperature.Comment: 11 pages, 7 embedded EPS figures, REVTeX

Status of 48Ca double beta decay search in CANDLES

We study a strategy to reduce veto-time in the search for neutrino-less double-beta decay (0υββ) with CANDLES-III system. We develop a new likelihood analysis and apply it to our new Run010 data. We show that we can increase the un-vetoed live-time by 11.8%. Thanks to this improvements, We expect to increase a limit on the life-time of 0υββ by a factor of three by analyzing both Run009 and Run010 data

全脳型Creutzfeldt-Jakob病の1剖検例 : 特にその眼球病変について

1年7か月の経過をとり,臨床的に全脳型Creutzfeld-Jakob病と考えられていた症例を剖検した.脳は重量が695gで,び漫性に萎縮していた.眼球には肉眼的には変化はなかった.病理組織学的には大脳,小脳皮質,基底核,視床などに海綿状態,神経細胞の変性と脱落,原形質性アストロサイトの増殖,脂肪顆粒細胞の出現を認めた.大脳白質から中脳被蓋,橋にかけては広範に変性し,原形質性アストロサイトの増殖,脂肪顆粒細胞の出現を認めた.網膜では周辺網膜の外顆粒層に細胞脱落と空胞化,外網状層の変性,神経節細胞の変性と脱落,神経線維層の粗鬆化がみられた.本例の白質病変は皮質と同様の基質の変化,アストロサイトの増殖,脂肪顆粒細胞の出現などがみられたことより一次性変化と思われた.網膜の細胞脱落,空胞化,基質の粗鬆化なども大脳の変化と同様と思われ,網膜病変は一次性変化と考えられた.A case of the panencephalopathic type of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease was reported. The patient was a 59-year-old female, who was admitted in July 1982 because of gait disturbance, hallucination, left hemiparesis and Gegenhalten of the left upper extremity. In September 1982 she developed akinetic mutism which lasted until her terminal stage. She died in February 1984 after a course of one year and seven months. The brain weighed 695 g and showed diffuse atrophy. Microscopically, there was marked atrophy and loss of neurons, and proliferations of protoplasmic astrocytes throughout the cerebral and cerebellar cortex, basal ganglia and thalamus. The cerebral white matter, tegmentum of the midbrain, pons, optic nerves, optic chiasm and optic tracts showed diffuse destruction of myelins and axons with fat granule cells and astrocytic proliferations. Loss of the outer nuclear layer of the retina was more prominent in the peripheral area than in the central area. The outer plexiform layer showed a remarkable vacuolization especially in the posterior region. Retinal ganglion cells showed degenerative changes and occasional loss. In this case, white matter involvements and ocular lesions were thought to be the primary degenerative changes of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease