Clinical usefulness of the screen for cognitive impairment in psychiatry (SCIP-S) scale in patients with type I bipolar disorder

Background: The relevance of persistent cognitive deficits to the pathogenesis and prognosis of bipolar disorders (BD) is understudied, and its translation into clinical practice has been limited by the absence of brief methods assessing cognitive status in Psychiatry. This investigation assessed the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the Screen for Cognitive Impairment in Psychiatry (SCIP-S) for the detection of cognitive impairment in BD. Methods: After short training, psychiatrists at 40 outpatient clinics administered the SCIP three times over two weeks to a total of 76 consecutive type I BD admissions. Experienced psychologists also administered a comprehensive battery of standard neuropsychological instruments to clinical sample and 45 healthy control subjects. Results: Feasibility was supported by a brief administration time (approximately 15 minutes) and minimal scoring errors. The reliability of the SCIP was confirmed by good equivalence of forms, acceptable stability (ICC range 0.59 to 0.87) and adequate internal consistency (Chronbach's alpha of 0.74). Construct validity was granted by extraction of a single factor (accounting 52% of the variance), acceptable correlations with conventional neuropsychological instruments, and a clear differentiation between bipolar I and normal samples. Efficiency was also provided by the adequate sensitivity and specificity. Limitations: The sample size is not very large. The SCIP and the neurocognitive battery do not cover all potentially relevant cognitive domains. Also, sensitivity to change remains unexplored. Conclusion: With minimal training, physicians obtained a reliable and valid estimate of cognitive impairment in approximately 15 minutes from an application of the SCIP to type I BD patients

Spanish version of the Screen for Cognitive Impairment in Psychiatry (SCIP-S): Psychometric properties of a brief scale for cognitive evaluation in schizophrenia

[EN] Objective: The Screen for Cognitive Impairment in Psychiatry (SCIP) is a brief scale designed for detecting cognitive deficits in several psychotic and affective disorders. This study examined the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the SCIP in a sample of outpatients suffering schizophrenia-spectrum disorders. Methods: Psychometric properties were evaluated in a sample of 126 stable patients with schizophrenia. Men and women 18 to 55 years of age were recruited from consecutive admissions to 40 psychiatric outpatient clinics in Spain and asked to complete a series of cognitive measures at baseline, as well as three versions of the SCIP separated by one week intervals. A matched sample of 39 healthy controls was also subjected to the baseline examination. The feasibility, reliability and validity of the SCIP was examined; concurrent validity was assessed by means of a complete neuropsychological battery. Results: Average time for SCIP administration was 16.02 (SD=5.01) minutes. Test–retest reliability intra-class correlation coefficients ranged from 0.74 to 0.90, with an internal consistency Cronbach's alpha value of 0.73. The three parallel forms of SCIP were shown to be equivalent. The SCIP scales were correlated with corresponding neuropsychological instruments, with Pearson's r between 0.38 and 0.60, pb0.01. The SCIP effectively discriminated between the patient and control samples. Factor analysis revealed one significant dimension, cognitive performance, that accounted for 49.8% of the total variance. Conclusions: The Spanish version of the SCIP is a simple, brief, valid and reliable tool for detection of cognitive impairment in patients with schizophrenia by minimally trained healthcare personnel

Neurocognitive diagnosis and cut-off scores of the Screen for Cognitive Impairment in Psychiatry (SCIP-S)

[EN] Objectives: To demonstrate the ability of the Screen for Cognitive Impairment in Psychiatry (SCIP-S) to discriminate between cognitively-impaired individuals and those with adequate functioning in a sample of schizophrenic and bipolar patients, as well as in a control group. Methods: The SCIP-S, together with a full neuropsychological battery, was administered to three groups: patients with schizophrenia, patients diagnosed with bipolar disorder I, and controls. The battery scores were used to perform a standardization with respect to the control group and this served to determine the comparison groups (cognitively impaired versus unimpaired) for each of the subtests of the SCIP-S. A full analysis of decision validity was conducted on the basis of receiver operating characteristic curves (sensitivity and specificity, +LR and −LR, PPV and NPV). Results: All the subtests yielded adequate values for sensitivity and specificity with the proposed cut-off points, while the total score of the SCIP (<70) was associated with a sensitivity of 87.9 and specificity of 80.6. Conclusions: The SCIP-S shows adequate decision validity as a screening tool for cognitive deficit in patients diagnosed with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder

¿Víctimas o Delincuentes?: Jóvenes implicados en los sistemas de protección y justicia juvenil en Cataluña: Un estudio exploratorio

The present study analyses the sociodemographic characteristics, victimological profile and externalizing symptomatology of young people involved in juvenile justice, and dually involved youth in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. The sample consisted of 101 adolescents (M = 16.08 years, SD = 0.99) involved in the juvenile justice system in Catalonia, 29.7% of whom were dually involved. Victimization and externalizing symptomatology were evaluated with the Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire and the Youth Self-Report, respectively. The study concludes that dually involved youth were exposed to neglect, parental interference and were most likely to have had witnessed murders and domestic violence. Regarding the externalizing symptomatology, young people involved in juvenile justice presented higher scores than those dually involved, differences that were not observed in the subscale of transgression behaviors.Se presenta un análisis de las características sociodemográficas, perfil victimológico y sintomatología externalizante de los jóvenes con expediente único en justicia juvenil, y aquellos jóvenes con doble expediente en el sistema de protección y de justicia juvenil. La muestra consta de 101 adolescentes (M = 16,08 años; DT = 0,99) implicados en el sistema de justicia juvenil en Cataluña y de los cuáles un 29,7% presentan doble expediente. La victimización y la sintomatología externalizante fueron evaluadas con el Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire y el Youth Self-Report, respectivamente. Los jóvenes con doble expediente están mayoritariamente expuestos a victimización por negligencia, interferencia parental y han sido testigos de asesinatos y violencia doméstica. En cuanto a la sintomatología externalizante, en la subescala conductas agresivas los jóvenes de expediente único presentaron puntuaciones superiores que aquellos jóvenes de doble expediente, diferencias que no se observaron en la subescala conductas de trasgresión de normas

Ceramic Barrier Layers for Flexible Thin Film Solar Cells on Metallic Substrates: A Laboratory Scale Study for Process Optimization and Barrier Layer Properties

Flexible thin film solar cells are an alternative to both utility‐scale and building integrated photovoltaic installations. The fabrication of these devices over electrically conducting low‐cost foils requires the deposition of dielectric barrier layers to flatten the substrate surface, provide electrical isolation between the substrate and the device, and avoid the diffusion of metal impurities during the relatively high‐temperatures required to deposit the rest of the solar cell device layers. The typical roughness of low‐cost stainless‐steel foils is in the hundred‐nanometer range, which is comparable or larger than the thin film layers comprising the device and this may result in electrical shunts that decrease solar cell performance. This manuscript assesses the properties of different single‐layer and bilayer structures containing ceramics inks formulations based on Al2O3, AlN or Si3N4 nanoparticles and deposited over stainless‐steel foils using a rotogravure printing process. The best control of the substrate roughness was achieved for bilayers of Al2O3 or AlN with mixed particle size, which reduced the roughness and prevented the diffusion of metals impurities but AlN bilayers exhibited as well the best electrical insulation propertiesPeer reviewe

Monkeypox outbreak in Spain: clinical and epidemiological findings in a prospective cross-sectional study of 185 cases.

Since May 2022, a new outbreak of monkeypox has been reported in several countries, including Spain. The clinical and epidemiological characteristics of the cases in this outbreak may differ from those in earlier reports. To document the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of cases of monkeypox in the current outbreak. We conducted a prospective cross-sectional study in multiple medical facilities in Spain to describe the cases of monkeypox in the 2022 outbreak. In total, 185 patients were included. Most cases started with primarily localized homogeneous papules, not pustules, in the probable area of inoculation, which could be cutaneous or mucous, including single lesions. Generalized small pustules appeared later in some of them. Heterogeneous lesions occurred during this generalized phase. All patients had systemic symptoms. Less common lesions included mucosal ulcers (including pharyngeal ulcers and proctitis) and monkeypox whitlows. Four patients were hospitalized, none died. Smallpox vaccination and well-controlled HIV disease were not associated with markers of severity. Contact during sex is the most likely mechanism of transmission. In this outbreak, cases have been described in men who have sex with men and are strongly associated with high-risk sexual behaviours. Seventy-six per cent of the patients had other sexually transmitted diseases upon screening. The clinical findings in this outbreak differ from previous findings and highly suggest contact transmission and initiation at the entry site. The characterization of the epidemiology of this outbreak has implications for control. What is already known about this topic? Monkeypox eruption is described as consisting of pustules. The roles of HIV and previous smallpox vaccination in the prognosis are unknown. The transmission route was initially described as respiratory droplets and was later suggested to be via sexual contact. What does this study add? Initial lesions at the probable inoculation area were homogeneous and papular (pseudopustules). Generalized small pustules appeared later in some of them. Heterogeneous lesions occurred during this generalized phase. All patients had systemic symptoms. Less common signs included mucosal ulcers (including pharyngeal ulcers and proctitis) and monkeypox whitlows. Well-controlled HIV and previous smallpox vaccination were not associated with severity. No patient died. The data support the hypothesis of transmission via contact during sex. Although this might change, the outbreak is currently limited mostly to men who have sex with men, with high-risk factors for sexually transmitted diseases