ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to develop a brief schema questionnaire for adults (BSQ-A) and investigate its validity and reliability. METHODS: A 36-item questionnaire was developed or selected by six psychiatrists. The questionnaire was administered to 209 subjects in Seoul and Gyeonggi area. The construct validity was investigated by performing principal component analysis, and the reliability was assessed in terms of the internal consistency using Cronbach's alpha. RESULTS: The principal component analysis revealed 18 factors underlying 18 early maladaptive schemas (EMSs). These 18 factors accounted for 87.488% of the common variance. The Cronbach's alpha was high, indicating that the reliability of the questionnaire was satisfactory. Every schema showed a positive correlation with most psychological measures. CONCLUSION: The results indicate that the BSQ-A is a reliable and valid scale for assessing EMSs. Although there are many limitations, the present study is expected to form the basis of future research.
Subject(s)
Adult , Humans , Principal Component Analysis , Psychiatry , Reproducibility of Results , SeoulABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to develop a Mental Health Questionnaire for Adults (MHQ-A) and investigate its validity and reliability. METHODS: A 73-item questionnaire was developed or selected by seven psychiatrists and a clinical psychologist. The questionnaire was administered to 351 subjects in Seoul and Gyeonggi area. The construct validity was investigated by performing principal component analysis, and the reliability was assessed in terms of the internal consistency using Cronbach's alpha. RESULTS: Principal component analysis revealed 15 factors underlying the psychiatric disorder and symptom category. Taken together, these 15 factors accounted for 64.023% of the common variance. Cronbach's alpha was high, indicating that the reliability of the questionnaire was satisfactory. Every category showed a positive correlation with most psychological measures. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that the MHQ-A is a reliable and valid scale for assessing psychiatric disorders. Although there were many limitations, the present study has significance as the basis of future research.
Subject(s)
Adult , Humans , Mental Health , Principal Component Analysis , Psychiatry , Psychology , Reproducibility of Results , SeoulABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: An early diagnosis to improve the outcome of depression demands a briefer and more reliable measure than any other diagnosis. The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) is reliable measure made in 1999. In this study, we tried to verify the reliabilty and validity of two types of PHQ-2, and to compare these two types. METHODS: From July of 2011 to September of 2012, a total of 74 outpatients and inpatients in the Department of Psychiatry, Keimyung University Dongsan Medical Center performed the depression scales. As a normal control group, 58 individuals working in the hospital performed the PHQ-2 and PHQ-9. RESULTS: The internal consistency and test-retest reliabilty were favorable. Two types of the PHQ-2 were statistically significant in correlation between item and total scores. In comparison of mean scores of the PHQ-2 between two groups, the differences between groups were statistically significant. Correaltion of the total scores of other depression scales with those of the PHQ-2 was statistically significant both in scales. Examined according to the severity of depression by other scales, the total mean scores of the PHQ-2 tended to increase according to the severity of depression. The optimal cut-off score was 3 in Scaled PHQ-2 (Sensitivity : 91.9%, Specificity : 100%). CONCLUSION: The assessed reliabilty and validity of the PHQ-2 made it an attractive measure for depression screening over other scales. Scaled PHQ-2 was more reliable and valid than Yes or No PHQ-2. Therefore, the PHQ-2 is a briefer and more useful measure for screening depression.
Subject(s)
Humans , Depression , Early Diagnosis , Inpatients , Mass Screening , Outpatients , Surveys and Questionnaires , Sensitivity and Specificity , Weights and MeasuresABSTRACT
BACKGOUND: Dendritic cells (DC) are pivotal antigen presenting cells and serve a unique role in initiating immunity. To test the hypothesis that pre-immunization of recipient with certain DC subsets of donor origin can influence graft outcome. METHODS: We have studied the effects of immunization with allogeneic CD4+CD11c+(MDC) and CD8+CD11c+(LDC) DCs on the allograft response. RESULTS: Both immature MDC and LDC subsets from DBA/2 were able to prime naive allogeneic C57BL/6 (B6) T cells in MLR. In vitro allogeneic T cell responses were attenuated by the addition of anti-CD154 mAb into the culture. T cells from B6 mice that received DBA/2 MDC intravenously 4 weeks before testing mounted weaker MLR driven cell proliferation than T cells from LDC pretreated B6 mice. Consistent with the MLR results, combined pretreatment with MDC, but not LDC, plus anti-CD154 mAb produced donor-strain specific long-term graft survival and induced tolerance while treatment with LDC plus anti-CD154 mAb created minimal prolongation of allograft survival in a pancreas islet transplant model (DBA/2->B6). The beneficial effects exerted by MDC and anti-CD154 mAb pretreatment were correlated with TH1 to TH2 immune deviation and with the amplified donor-specific suppressive capacity by recipient CD4+CD25+T cells. CONCLUSION: These findings highlight the capacity of MDC to modulate alloimmune responses, and suggest therapeutic approaches for the induction of donor specific tolerance.
Subject(s)
Animals , Humans , Mice , Allografts , Antigen-Presenting Cells , Cell Proliferation , Dendritic Cells , Graft Survival , Immunization , Pancreas , T-Lymphocytes , Tissue Donors , Transplantation Tolerance , TransplantsABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Bcl-xL and bax act as checkpoints of the apoptotic cell death. Although apoptosis is one of major mechanism of cell death in renal allografts inflicted by various events, the role of bcl-xL and bax in kidney transplantation has not been characterized yet. We therefore studied intragraft expression of bcl-x and bax and its clinical significance in renal transplantation. METHODS: We localized the expression of bcl-x, bcl-xS and bax proteins by immunohistochemistry, and measured the magnitude of the gene transcription of bax and bcl-xL by semi-quantitative RT-PCR in 37 implantation allograft biopsies(18 from 9 cadaveric donors, 19 from living donors), and 17 biopsies from patients undergoing acute rejection(AR). RESULTS: Immunoreactivities for bax, bcl-x, and bcl-xS were observed in tubular epithelial cells but not in glomeruli and vessels in implantation and AR biopsies. The infiltrating lymphocytes in AR expressed bax and bcl-xS but not for bcl-x. Comparing the intragraft gene transcript level of each allograft of a pair of recipients, who received graft from the same cadaveric donor, showed a higher bcl-xL in the patients with a higher concentration of postoperative 7th day serum creatinine. The transcript level of bcl-xL was higher in the Banff grade II and III AR biopsies than in the borderline or grade I AR, and also higher in steroid-resistant AR than in steroid-responsive patients. CONCLUSION: These results implicated the apoptotic death of infiltrating lymphocytes during rejection, and the compensatory up-regulation of bcl-xL in response to various apoptotic stimuli occurring in renal allografts.
Subject(s)
Humans , Allografts , Apoptosis , bcl-2-Associated X Protein , Biopsy , Cadaver , Cell Death , Creatinine , Epithelial Cells , Gene Expression , Immunohistochemistry , Kidney Transplantation , Lymphocytes , Tissue Donors , Transplantation , Transplants , Up-RegulationABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Bcl-xL and bax act as checkpoints of the apoptotic cell death. Although apoptosis is one of major mechanism of cell death in renal allografts inflicted by various events, the role of bcl-xL and bax in kidney transplantation has not been characterized yet. We therefore studied intragraft expression of bcl-x and bax and its clinical significance in renal transplantation. METHODS: We localized the expression of bcl-x, bcl-xS and bax proteins by immunohistochemistry, and measured the magnitude of the gene transcription of bax and bcl-xL by semi-quantitative RT-PCR in 37 implantation allograft biopsies(18 from 9 cadaveric donors, 19 from living donors), and 17 biopsies from patients undergoing acute rejection(AR). RESULTS: Immunoreactivities for bax, bcl-x, and bcl-xS were observed in tubular epithelial cells but not in glomeruli and vessels in implantation and AR biopsies. The infiltrating lymphocytes in AR expressed bax and bcl-xS but not for bcl-x. Comparing the intragraft gene transcript level of each allograft of a pair of recipients, who received graft from the same cadaveric donor, showed a higher bcl-xL in the patients with a higher concentration of postoperative 7th day serum creatinine. The transcript level of bcl-xL was higher in the Banff grade II and III AR biopsies than in the borderline or grade I AR, and also higher in steroid-resistant AR than in steroid-responsive patients. CONCLUSION: These results implicated the apoptotic death of infiltrating lymphocytes during rejection, and the compensatory up-regulation of bcl-xL in response to various apoptotic stimuli occurring in renal allografts.