Wechsler Memory Scale-3 Faces Subtest Performance in Head Injured and Probable Malingering Patients

Abstract Forced choice recognition memory tests are often useful in the identification of insufficient effort or symptom exaggeration. These measures are typically evaluated to determine if scores are lower than those obtained by patients with cognitive impairment or if scores are less than would be obtained by chance. This study compared the WMS-III Faces subtest performances of 48 nonlitigating head injured patients to that of 25 probable malingerers to determine the diagnostic utility of various cut-off scores. Patients were examined an average of 9.5 months after mild (n = 15) or moderate (n = 33) head trauma. Litigants scored below probable malingering cutoffs on the TOMM or portland digit recognition an average of 24 months after minor or mild head trauma. Probable malingerers obtained significantly lower scores on the Faces subtests than head injured patients. No head injured patient scored below 24/48 on Faces 2 or 49/96 on the total of the Faces 1 and 2 trials. 20% of probable malingerers performed below these cut-off scores. 95% of head injured patients scored above 26/48 on the Faces 1, 28/48 on Faces 2, and 56/96 on the total of the Faces trials. Twnty-four percent of probable malingerers performed below one or more of these cut-off scores. Application of the binomial theorem to the faces subtests indicates that scores of 18 or less on Faces 1 or 2 and 39 or less on Faces total fall significantly below chance at the .05 level. Eight percent of probable malingerers scored significantly below chance on one or more of these measures

Model-driven design allows growth of Mycoplasma pneumoniae on serum-free media

Mycoplasma pneumoniae is a slow-growing, human pathogen that causes atypical pneumonia. Because it lacks a cell wall, many antibiotics are ineffective. Due to its reduced genome and dearth of many biosynthetic pathways, this fastidious bacterium depends on rich, undefined medium for growth, which makes large-scale cultivation challenging and expensive. To understand factors limiting growth, we developed a genome-scale, constraint-based model of M. pneumoniae called iEG158_mpn to describe the metabolic potential of this bacterium. We have put special emphasis on cell membrane formation to identify key lipid components to maximize bacterial growth. We have used this knowledge to predict essential components validated with in vitro serum-free media able to sustain growth. Our findings also show that glycolysis and lipid metabolism are much less efficient under hypoxia; these findings suggest that factors other than metabolism and membrane formation alone affect the growth of M. pneumoniae. Altogether, our modelling approach allowed us to optimize medium composition, enabled growth in defined media and streamlined operational requirements, thereby providing the basis for stable, reproducible and less expensive production.This work has received funding from European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement no. 634942 (MycoSynVac) and no. 670216 (MYCOCHASSIS)