Development of a Performance-Based Measure of Executive Functions in Patients with Schizophrenia

A performance-based measure for assessing executive functions (EF) is useful to understand patients’ real life performance of EF. This study aimed to develop a performance-based measure of executive functions (PEF) based on the Lezak model and to examine psychometric properties (i.e., unidimensionality and reliability) of the PEF using Rasch analysis in patients with schizophrenia. We developed the PEF in three phases: (1) designing the preliminary version of PEF; (2) consultation with experts, cognitive interviews with patients, and pilot tests on patients to revise the preliminary PEF; (3) establishment of the final version of the PEF and examination of unidimensionality and Rasch reliability. Two hundred patients were assessed using the revised PEF. After deleting items which did not satisfy the Rasch model’s expectations, the final version of the PEF contained 1 practice item and 13 test items for assessing the four domains of EF (i.e., volition, planning, purposive action, and effective performance). For unidimensional and multidimensional Rasch analyses, the 4 domains showed good reliability (i.e., 0.77–0.85 and 0.87–0.90, respectively). Our results showed that the PEF had satisfactory unidimensionality and Rasch reliability. Therefore, clinicians and researchers could use the PEF to assess the four domains of EF in patients with schizophrenia.     

Soluble ACE2-mediated cell entry of SARS-CoV-2 via interaction with proteins related to the renin-angiotensin system

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Muscle oxygenation dynamics in response to electrical stimulation as measured with near‐infrared spectroscopy: A pilot study

Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) is used for preventing muscle atrophy and improving muscle strength in patients and healthy people. However, the current intensity of NMES is usually set at a level that causes the stimulated muscles to contract. This typically causes pain. Quantifying the instantaneous changes in muscle microcirculation and metabolism during NMES before muscle contraction occurs is crucial, because it enables the current intensity to be optimally tuned, thereby reducing the NMES‐induced muscle pain and fatigue. We applied near‐infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) to measure instantaneous tissue oxygenation and deoxygenation changes in 43 healthy young adults during NMES at 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, and 35 mA. Having been stabilized at the NIRS signal baseline, the tissue oxygenation and total hemoglobin concentration increased immediately after stimulation in a dose‐dependent manner (P < 0.05) until stimulation was stopped at the level causing muscle contraction without pain. Tissue deoxygenation appeared relatively unchanged during NMES. We conclude that NIRS can be used to determine the optimal NMES current intensity by monitoring oxygenation changes.      

HaploShare: identification of extended haplotypes shared by cases and evaluation against controls

Recent founder mutations may play important roles in complex diseases and Mendelian disorders. Detecting shared haplotypes that are identical by descent (IBD) could facilitate discovery of these mutations. Several programs address this, but are usually limited to detecting pair-wise shared haplotypes and not providing a comparison of cases and controls. We present a novel algorithm and software package, HaploShare, which detects extended haplotypes that are shared by multiple individuals, and allows comparisons between cases and controls. Testing on simulated and real cases demonstrated significant improvements in detection power and reduction of false positive rate by HaploShare relative to other programs.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13059-015-0662-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Highly Efficient Flexible Hybrid Nanocrystal‐Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) Solar Cells

A novel scheme for hybridizing inkjet‐printed thin film Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ (CIGS) solar cells with self‐assembled clusters of nanocrystal quantum dots (NQDs), which provides a 10.9% relative enhancement of the photon conversion efficiency (PCE), is demonstrated. A non‐uniform layer of NQD aggregates is deposited between the transparent conductive oxide and a CdS/CIGS p‐n junction using low cost pulsed‐spray deposition. Hybridization significantly improves the external quantum efficiency of the hybrid devices in the absorption range of the NQDs and in the red to near‐IR parts of the spectrum. The low wavelength response enhancement is found to be induced by luminescent down‐shifting (LDS) from the NQD layer, while the increase at longer wavelengths is attributed to internal scattering from NQD aggregates. LDS is demonstrated using time‐resolved spectroscopy, and the morphology of the NQD layer is investigated in fluorescence microscopy and cross‐sectional transmission electron microscopy. The influence of the NQD dose on the PCE of the hybrid devices is investigated and an optimum value is obtained. The low costs and limited material consumptions associated with pulsed‐spray deposition make these flexible hybrid devices promising candidates to help push thin‐film photovoltaic technology towards grid parity.     

Bronchial circulation: An auto-perfusion method for assessing its vasomotor activity and the study of alpha-and beta-adrenoceptors in the bronchial artery

A new technique of autoperfusion has been devised for the study of the vasomotor activity of the bronchial artery. The artery is perfused with autologous blood from the femoral artery at a constant flow rate, therefore a change in the perfusion pressure can be related to a change in the active tension of the vascular wall. The method was employed in assessing the effect of α-and β-adrenoceptor stimulations and α- and β-adrenoceptor blockades. The results clearly show both α- and β-adrenoceptors exist in the bronchial artery.