Exploring autistic-like traits relating to empathic attitude and psychological distress in hospital pharmacists

BACKGROUND: Pharmacists are expected to play a key role in modern cancer care. Research suggests that an empathic approach and attitude in medical staff improves the quality of patient care. An empathic attitude and psychological distress are thought to be associated with autistic-like traits, but little is known about such traits. OBJECTIVE: In this study, we aimed to clarify the associations among autistic-like traits, empathic attitude in a medical context, and psychological health in hospital pharmacists. SETTING: Eligibility criteria for inclusion were certified pharmacists working at hospitals for patient care who returned their questionnaires. METHOD: Eight hundred and twenty-three hospital pharmacists completed a number of self-administered questionnaires anonymously by mail. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Scores were obtained on the Autism-Spectrum Quotient, the Jefferson Scale of Empathy, the General Health Questionnaire-12, and subscales of the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (Perspective Taking, IRI-Empathic Concern, IRIPersonal Distress). We performed correlation and mediation analyses to confirm that the empathy and general health questionnaires were associated with autism-spectrum quotient scores, and with each IRI subscale. RESULTS: Complete responses were obtained from 379 pharmacists comprising 151 males (39.8 %) with a mean age of 37.7 ± 10.8 years (missing data, n = 13) and a median of 11 years after qualification as a pharmacist. Autism-Spectrum Quotient scores were inversely correlated with empathy (r = -0.22, p < 0.001) and positively correlated with general health scores (r = 0.40, p < 0.001). In the models with mediation, the inverse correlation between autism-spectrum quotient and empathy scores was mediated indirectly by IRI-Perspective Taking and IRI-Empathic Concern, and the positive correlation between autism-spectrum quotient and general health was mediated indirectly by IRI-Personal Distress. There were also direct effects, with significant effects of autism-spectrum quotient on empathy and general health scores. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that autistic-like traits affect both empathic attitude in a medical context and the psychological health of pharmacists. We recommend that to improve empathy in those with high levels of autistic-like traits, we may need to develop specialized interventions, such as improving communication skills training

Properties of the Disorder Induced in the Purple Membrane Structure by Iodination

Iodination induces disorder in the crystalline structure of purple membrane. The properties Of the disorder were examined by X-ray diffraction experiments on the iodinated purple membrane. The analysis of the intensity and the integral width of the Bragg reflections revealed that the disorder was well characterized by the second kind of disorder. The g value, which represents the extent of the second kind of disorder, is obtained for iodinated purple membrane with various extent of iodination. The g value and the wavelength at absorption maximum of iodinated PM are well correlated, indicating that the local change around retinal is reflected in the disorder in the crystalline structure of purple membrane

High sensitivity of an ELISA kit for detection of the gamma-isoform of 14-3-3 proteins: usefulness in laboratory diagnosis of human prion disease

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The gamma-isoform of the 14-3-3 protein (14-3-3 gamma) is expressed in neurons, and could be a specific marker for neuronal damage. This protein has been reported as a detectable biomarker, especially in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) patients by Western blotting (WB) or enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs). Western blotting for 14-3-3 gamma is not sensitive, and the reported data are conflicting among publications. An ELISA specific for 14-3-3 gamma is not available.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>CJD patients (n = 114 sporadic CJD patients, 7 genetic CJD, and 3 iatrogenic CJD) and 99 patients with other neurodegenerative diseases were examined in this study. The CSF samples obtained were analyzed by Western blotting for 14-3-3 gamma, and by ELISA for total tau protein. We evaluated the sensitivity and specificity of the newly developed sandwich ELISA for 14-3-3 gamma.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The cut-off value of the 14-3-3 gamma ELISA was > 1, 683 AU/ml; and sensitivity was 95.2%, with 72.7% specificity. This specificity was the same for the total tau protein ELISA. Seven CJD cases were negative by WB but positive using the 14-3-3 gamma ELISA, indicating that the ELISA is more sensitive. All 21 cases of early stage CJD could be diagnosed using a combination of the 14-3-3γ ELISA and diffusion weighted MR imaging (DWI-MRI).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The 14-3-3 gamma ELISA was more sensitive than conventional WB, and was useful for laboratory diagnosis of CJD, similar to the ELISA for the tau protein. Using DWI-MRI and these ELISA tests on CSF, diagnosis of CJD will be possible even at early stages of the disease.</p

Insulin receptor substrate-1 (IRS-1) forms a ribonucleoprotein complex associated with polysomes

AbstractInsulin receptor substrates (IRSs) are known to play important roles in mediating intracellular insulin-like growth factors (IGFs)/insulin signaling. In this study, we identified components of messenger ribonucleoprotein (mRNP) as IRS-1-associated proteins. IRS-1 complex formation analysis revealed that IRS-1 is incorporated into the complexes of molecular mass more than 1000kDa, which were disrupted by treatment with RNase. Furthermore, oligo(dT) beads precipitated IRS-1 from cell lysates, showing that the IRS-1 complexes contained messenger RNA. Taken together with the data that IRS-1 was fractionated into the polysome-containing high-density fractions, we concluded that IRS-1 forms the novel complexes with mRNPs

White matter microstructural alterations across four major psychiatric disorders : mega-analysis study in 2937 individuals

Identifying both the commonalities and differences in brain structures among psychiatric disorders is important for understanding the pathophysiology. Recently, the ENIGMA-Schizophrenia DTI Working Group performed a large-scale meta-analysis and reported widespread white matter microstructural alterations in schizophrenia; however, no similar cross-disorder study has been carried out to date. Here, we conducted mega-analyses comparing white matter microstructural differences between healthy comparison subjects (HCS; N = 1506) and patients with schizophrenia (N = 696), bipolar disorder (N = 211), autism spectrum disorder (N = 126), or major depressive disorder (N = 398; total N = 2937 from 12 sites). In comparison with HCS, we found that schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and autism spectrum disorder share similar white matter microstructural differences in the body of the corpus callosum; schizophrenia and bipolar disorder featured comparable changes in the limbic system, such as the fornix and cingulum. By comparison, alterations in tracts connecting neocortical areas, such as the uncinate fasciculus, were observed only in schizophrenia. No significant difference was found in major depressive disorder. In a direct comparison between schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, there were no significant differences. Significant differences between schizophrenia/bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder were found in the limbic system, which were similar to the differences in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder relative to HCS. While schizophrenia and bipolar disorder may have similar pathological characteristics, the biological characteristics of major depressive disorder may be close to those of HCS. Our findings provide insights into nosology and encourage further investigations of shared and unique pathophysiology of psychiatric disorders

Inflammatory bowel disease in Tokushima prefecture : A report of questionnaire investigation

To investigate the number of cases and clinical features of inflammatory bowel disease, a questionnaire was sent to 1,271 hospitals or clinics in Tokushima prefecture. A total of 320 cases were collected from 60 institutes for the period from January to December 1997. Eight cases were excluded from this study because of duplicated report (6 cases) and inadequate diagnosis (2 cases). Finally, 312 cases were investigated on their clinical features, treatments, complications, and prognosis. The cases included 195 ulcerative colitis (male 106, female 83, gender unknown 6 cases, age ranged 9-81, mean 39.5± 14.3 (standard deviation (SD) years old), 69 Crohn's disease (male 39, female 24, gender unknown 6 cases, age ranged 17-87, mean 35.1±10.5 (SD) years old), 28 ischemic colitis (male 11, female 17, mean age 65.9±12.6 (SD) years old), 9 intestinal tuberculosis (male 1, female 6, gender unknown 2, age 66.9±6.1 (SD) years old), 4 intestinal Behcet (male 3, female 1, age 39.0±14.2 (SD) years old), 6 simple ulcers (male 3, female 3, age 67.7±11.8 (SD) years old), and a case of aphtous enteritis. Two toxic megacolon cases and 5 colorectal cancer cases were reported among the 195 ulcerative colitis patients. 44 cases out of 69 Crohn's disease patients were received surgical treatment because of severe complications including perforation (12 cases), stenosis (10 cases), internal fistula formation (8 cases) and so on. However, no case died because of the diseases except 3 untraceable patients

打叩速度とパーソナリティ

Our seminar has reache the Ioth year of its establishment, therefore, we arrange data of "the speed of tapping" from among experimental units of the psychology of physical education in the last three years, and compare these data with experimental results of some other nnits, for instance, data of "Yatabe Guilford character tests." Main purpose of this note is to present the research processes conerning the correlation betweon the so-called sportsmen\u27s aptitude and the psychological tests. As stated in this reserch note, the relationship between level of aspiration and personality has been investigated from a different point of view. But the note come to no definite conclusion at present, because our investigation regarding its statistic validity is under way. So this note is an interim report, and presents some subjects of inquiry. We give a hearty reception to comment and advice about this note

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements