Assessing the Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology Self-Report scores to predict continuous employment in mood disorder patients

ObjectiveDepression significantly impacts the job performance and attendance of workers, leading to increased absenteeism. Predicting occupational engagement for individuals with depression is of paramount importance. This study aims to determine the cut-off score which predicts continuous employment for patients with mood disorders using the Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology, Self-Report (QIDS-SR).MethodsIn a prospective observational trial conducted in Tokyo, 111 outpatients diagnosed with either major depressive disorder or bipolar depression were enrolled. Their employment statuses of these participants were tracked over a six-month period after their QIDS-SR scores were recorded. Based on their employment trajectories, participants were categorized into either continuous or non-continuous employment groups. Binary logistic regression was applied to examine the relationship between the QIDS-SR scores and employment outcomes, with adjustments for age, gender, and psychiatric diagnoses. Receiver operating characteristic curves were utilized to identify the optimal QIDS-SR cut-off values for predicting continuous employment.FindingsBinary logistic regression demonstrated that a lower score on the QIDS-SR was linked to an elevated likelihood of continuous employment (adjusted odds ratio 1.15, 95% CI: 1.06-1.26, p=0.001). The optimal cut-off point, determined by the Youden Index, was 10/11, showcasing a 63% sensitivity and 71% specificity.ConclusionThe results emphasize the potential of the QIDS-SR as a prognostic instrument for predicting employment outcomes among individuals with depressive disorders. These findings further underscore the importance of managing depressive symptoms to mild or lower intensities to ensure ongoing employment

The Quiescent Intracluster Medium in the Core of the Perseus Cluster

Clusters of galaxies are the most massive gravitationally-bound objects in the Universe and are still forming. They are thus important probes of cosmological parameters and a host of astrophysical processes. Knowledge of the dynamics of the pervasive hot gas, which dominates in mass over stars in a cluster, is a crucial missing ingredient. It can enable new insights into mechanical energy injection by the central supermassive black hole and the use of hydrostatic equilibrium for the determination of cluster masses. X-rays from the core of the Perseus cluster are emitted by the 50 million K diffuse hot plasma filling its gravitational potential well. The Active Galactic Nucleus of the central galaxy NGC1275 is pumping jetted energy into the surrounding intracluster medium, creating buoyant bubbles filled with relativistic plasma. These likely induce motions in the intracluster medium and heat the inner gas preventing runaway radiative cooling; a process known as Active Galactic Nucleus Feedback. Here we report on Hitomi X-ray observations of the Perseus cluster core, which reveal a remarkably quiescent atmosphere where the gas has a line-of-sight velocity dispersion of 164+/-10 km/s in a region 30-60 kpc from the central nucleus. A gradient in the line-of-sight velocity of 150+/-70 km/s is found across the 60 kpc image of the cluster core. Turbulent pressure support in the gas is 4% or less of the thermodynamic pressure, with large scale shear at most doubling that estimate. We infer that total cluster masses determined from hydrostatic equilibrium in the central regions need little correction for turbulent pressure.Comment: 31 pages, 11 Figs, published in Nature July

Contrast-enhanced Computed Tomography-Guided Percutaneous Cryoablation of Renal Cell Carcinoma in a Renal Allograft: First Case in Asia

Nephron-sparing treatment should be offered whenever possible to avoid dialysis in allograph cases. Cryoablation is a new treatment option for treating small-sized renal cell cancer (RCCs). We report a case of RCC arising in a kidney allograft treated by cryoablation. To our knowledge, this is the first case in Asia of RCC in a renal allograft treated using cryoablation. Contrast-enhanced CT-guided percutaneous renal needle biopsy and cryoablation were used to identify the RCC, which could not be identified by other techniques. The postoperative course was uneventful. Contrast-enhanced CT also showed no recurrence or metastases at the 6-month follow-up

Hitomi Constraints on the 3.5 keV Line in the Perseus Galaxy Cluster

High-resolution X-ray spectroscopy with Hitomi was expected to resolve the origin of the faint unidentified E=3.5 keV emission line reported in several low-resolution studies of various massive systems, such as galaxies and clusters, including the Perseus cluster. We have analyzed the Hitomi first-light observation of the Perseus cluster. The emission line expected for Perseus based on the XMM-Newton signal from the large cluster sample under the dark matter decay scenario is too faint to be detectable in the Hitomi data. However, the previously reported 3.5 keV flux from Perseus was anomalously high compared to the sample-based prediction. We find no unidentified line at the reported high flux level. Taking into account the XMM measurement uncertainties for this region, the inconsistency with Hitomi is at a 99% significance for a broad dark-matter line and at 99.7% for a narrow line from the gas. We do not find anomalously high fluxes of the nearby faint K line or the Ar satellite line that were proposed as explanations for the earlier 3.5 keV detections. We do find a hint of a broad excess near the energies of high-n transitions of Sxvi (E=3.44 keV rest-frame) -- a possible signature of charge exchange in the molecular nebula and another proposed explanation for the unidentified line. While its energy is consistent with XMM pn detections, it is unlikely to explain the MOS signal. A confirmation of this interesting feature has to wait for a more sensitive observation with a future calorimeter experiment

Hitomi (ASTRO-H) X-ray Astronomy Satellite

The Hitomi (ASTRO-H) mission is the sixth Japanese x-ray astronomy satellite developed by a large international collaboration, including Japan, USA, Canada, and Europe. The mission aimed to provide the highest energy resolution ever achieved at E  >  2  keV, using a microcalorimeter instrument, and to cover a wide energy range spanning four decades in energy from soft x-rays to gamma rays. After a successful launch on February 17, 2016, the spacecraft lost its function on March 26, 2016, but the commissioning phase for about a month provided valuable information on the onboard instruments and the spacecraft system, including astrophysical results obtained from first light observations. The paper describes the Hitomi (ASTRO-H) mission, its capabilities, the initial operation, and the instruments/spacecraft performances confirmed during the commissioning operations for about a month