Evaluating outcomes of the child and adolescent psychiatric unit: A prospective study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The aims of this prospective study are to clarify the outcomes of child psychiatric inpatient treatment and to identify factors associated with patient improvement.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The attending psychiatrist used the Children's Global Assessment Scale (CGAS) to assess youths at admission to and discharge from a child and adolescent psychiatric unit in Japan(N = 126, mean age = 12.8, SD = 1.9). Hospital records gathered sociodemographic and clinical variables. In addition, youths and their primary caregivers assessed themselves using the Youth Self Report (YSR) and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), respectively. Longitudinal analyses compared each scales' baseline and discharge scores. We also examined factors associated with changes in functioning (CGAS).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Longitudinal comparisons revealed that CGAS, CBCL and YSR scores showed improvement over time (CGAS: t = -14.40, p = 0.00; CBCL: t = 3.80, p = 0.00; YSR: t = 2.40, p = 0.02). Linear regressions determined that the factors associated with improvement in CGAS included age, lower CGAS scores at admission, frequency of group therapy and psychiatric diagnosis.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This evaluation of children and adolescents in an inpatient unit demonstrated clinical improvement over time and identified factors associated with said improvement.</p

A phase diagram of the pinch-off-type behavior of impulsively-induced viscoelastic liquid jets

In this study, we systematically investigate the jet behaviors of viscoelastic liquids, focusing on the region of high velocity and high viscoelasticity, which has not been investigated in previous studies. We generate viscoelastic jets using an impulsive force and categorize the resulting jets into two types: pinch-off jets (jets that break up during elongation after ejection) and no-pinch-off jets (jets that pull back to the nozzle after maximum elongation or jets that return without elongation after ejection). We then propose criteria to characterize these regions using the Weissenberg number and the Reynolds number, which are dimensionless numbers composed of the rheological properties of the solution and the initial conditions of the jet injection. It is found that pinch-off jets occur at $Re \gtrsim 23.4Wi$ in regions of high elasticity $Wi \gtrsim 10$, and at $Re \gtrsim 250$ in regions of low elasticity $Wi \lesssim 10$. We also show that the phase diagram can be explained by modeling a focused jet using the finitely extensible non-linear elastic dumbbell model with the Chilcott-Rallison closure approximation (FENE-CR)

Poor performance on the Iowa gambling task in children with obsessive-compulsive disorder

Background: Several lines of evidence implicate orbitofrontal cortex dysfunction in the pathophysiology of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The purpose of this study was to investigate neuropsychological dysfunction of the orbitofrontal cortex in children with OCD. Methods: The Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), which reflects orbitofrontal cortex function, and the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), which is associated with functioning of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, were administered to 22 children with OCD and 22 healthy controls matched for gender, age, and intelligence. Results: OCD patients displayed poor performance on the IGT. In contrast, performance on the WCST was not impaired in OCD patients compared to controls. Conclusions: These findings are in line with previous studies demonstrating that OCD in childhood is associated with a dysfunction of orbitofrontal-striatal-thalamic circuitry.ArticleANNALS OF GENERAL PSYCHIATRY. 11:25 (2012)journal articl

The reliability and validity of the Questionnaire - Children with Difficulties (QCD)

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Questionnaire-Children with Difficulties (QCD), which was developed for the evaluation of children's daily life behaviors during specified periods of the day. Methods: The subjects were 1,514 Japanese public elementary and junior high school students. For the examination of reliability, Cronbach's alpha was calculated to assess the internal consistency of the questionnaire. With regard to validity, correlation coefficients were calculated to examine whether QCD scores correlated with those of the ADHD-Rating Scale (ADHD-RS) and the Oppositional Defiant Behavior Inventory (ODBI). Results: Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the total score of the QCD was .876. The correlation coefficients of the QCD score with ADHD-RS and ODBI scores were -.514 and -.577, respectively. Conclusions: The internal consistency and validity of the QCD were demonstrated. The QCD is a reliable and valid instrument for evaluating daily life problems for children during different time periods of the day.ArticleCHILD AND ADOLESCENT PSYCHIATRY AND MENTAL HEALTH. 7:11 (2013)journal articl

Study of the sleep patterns, sleep habits, and sleep problems in Japanese elementary school children using the CSHQ-J

Objective: This study aimed to examine the sleep patterns, sleep habits, and sleep problems in Japanese elementary school children from the aspect of their developmental age. Methods: The Japanese version of the Children&apos;s Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ-J) was distributed to the parents of 330 students of which 296 (154 boys and 142 girls) questionnaires were returned. The subjects were divided into 3 groups by grade (Low-grade [1st−2nd graders], Middle-grade [3rd−4th graders], and High-grade [5th−6th graders]). Results: Bedtime was significantly later and sleep duration was significantly shorter in the older students. The total CSHQ-J score was significantly higher in the Low-grade group compared with that in the High-grade group. Regarding the sub-items of the CSHQ-J, the scores for &quot;bedtime resistance&quot; and &quot;sleep anxiety&quot; were significantly higher in the Low-grade group compared with those in the High-grade group. Conclusions: That sleep duration was significantly shorter in the older students was attributable to their later bedtimes. Differences in the total and sub-item scores of the CSHQ-J were largely attributable to the autonomy of sleep

A foot-care program to facilitate self-care by the elderly: A non-randomized intervention study UMIN000029632 UMIN

金沢大学医薬保健研究域保健学系Objective: We aimed to evaluate a foot-care awareness program designed to improve foot morphology, physical functioning, and fall prevention among the community-dwelling elderly. Eleven independent community-dwelling elderly women (aged 61-83 years) were provided with foot-care advice and shown effective foot-care techniques to perform regularly for 6 months, and compared with a control group of 10 elderly women who did not receive any intervention. Measurements of foot form, functional capacity, subjective foot movement, and physical function were taken at baseline and 6-month follow-up. Results: At follow-up, improvements were seen in the intervention group in foot morphology, subjective foot movement, foot pressure, and balance. In the intervention group, 90% of women had maintained or improved foot form and none of them had fallen during the post-intervention period, compared to the control group where 30% improved foot form (p = 0.0075) and four (40%) of them had fallen. Therefore, a foot-care program may have the potential to prevent falls and improve mobility among the elderly. Trial Registration UMIN-CTR No. UMIN000029632. Date of Registration: October 19, 2017 © 2017 The Author(s)

CNVs in Three Psychiatric Disorders

BACKGROUND: We aimed to determine the similarities and differences in the roles of genic and regulatory copy number variations (CNVs) in bipolar disorder (BD), schizophrenia (SCZ), and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). METHODS: Based on high-resolution CNV data from 8708 Japanese samples, we performed to our knowledge the largest cross-disorder analysis of genic and regulatory CNVs in BD, SCZ, and ASD. RESULTS: In genic CNVs, we found an increased burden of smaller (500 kb) exonic CNVs in SCZ/ASD. Pathogenic CNVs linked to neurodevelopmental disorders were significantly associated with the risk for each disorder, but BD and SCZ/ASD differed in terms of the effect size (smaller in BD) and subtype distribution of CNVs linked to neurodevelopmental disorders. We identified 3 synaptic genes (DLG2, PCDH15, and ASTN2) as risk factors for BD. Whereas gene set analysis showed that BD-associated pathways were restricted to chromatin biology, SCZ and ASD involved more extensive and similar pathways. Nevertheless, a correlation analysis of gene set results indicated weak but significant pathway similarities between BD and SCZ or ASD (r = 0.25–0.31). In SCZ and ASD, but not BD, CNVs were significantly enriched in enhancers and promoters in brain tissue. CONCLUSIONS: BD and SCZ/ASD differ in terms of CNV burden, characteristics of CNVs linked to neurodevelopmental disorders, and regulatory CNVs. On the other hand, they have shared molecular mechanisms, including chromatin biology. The BD risk genes identified here could provide insight into the pathogenesis of BD

Association of variations in HLA class II and other loci with susceptibility to EGFR-mutated lung adenocarcinoma

Lung adenocarcinoma driven by somatic EGFR mutations is more prevalent in East Asians (30-50%) than in European/Americans (10-20%). Here we investigate genetic factors underlying the risk of this disease by conducting a genome-wide association study, followed by two validation studies, in 3,173 Japanese patients with EGFR mutation-positive lung adenocarcinoma and 15,158 controls. Four loci, 5p15.33 (TERT), 6p21.3 (BTNL2), 3q28 (TP63) and 17q24.2 (BPTF), previously shown to be strongly associated with overall lung adenocarcinoma risk in East Asians, were re-discovered as loci associated with a higher susceptibility to EGFR mutation-positive lung adenocarcinoma. In addition, two additional loci, HLA class II at 6p21.32 (rs2179920; P =5.1 × 10(-17), per-allele OR=1.36) and 6p21.1 (FOXP4) (rs2495239; P=3.9 × 10(-9), per-allele OR=1.19) were newly identified as loci associated with EGFR mutation-positive lung adenocarcinoma. This study indicates that multiple genetic factors underlie the risk of lung adenocarcinomas with EGFR mutations