Validation of the Ask Suicide-Screening Questions for Adult Medical Inpatients: A Brief Tool for All Ages.

BACKGROUND: Few brief suicide risk screening instruments are validated for use in both adult and pediatric medical populations. Using the pediatric Ask Suicide-Screening Questions (ASQ) development study as a model, this study aimed to determine whether the ASQ is a valid suicide risk-screening instrument for use among adults medical patients, as well as to evaluate a set of other potential screening questions for use in adults. METHODS: Adult patients hospitalized on inpatient medical/surgical units from 4 hospitals were recruited to participate in a cross-sectional instrument-validation study. The 4-item ASQ and other candidate items were compared against the 25-item, previously validated Adult Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire as the criterion standard. RESULTS: A total of 727 adult medical inpatients completed the screening process. Compared with the Adult Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire, the ASQ performed best among the full set of candidate items, demonstrating strong psychometric properties, with a sensitivity of 100% (95% confidence interval = 90%-100%), a specificity of 89% (95% confidence interval = 86%-91%), and a negative predictive value of 100% (95% confidence interval = 99%-100%). A total of 4.8% (35/727) of the participants screened positive for suicide risk based on the standard criterion Adult Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire. CONCLUSIONS: The ASQ is a valid and brief suicide risk-screening tool for use among adults. Screening medical/surgical inpatients for suicide risk can be performed effectively for both adult and pediatric patients using this brief, primary screener.

Genome-wide screen for modifiers of Na (+) /K (+) ATPase alleles identifies critical genetic loci.

BACKGROUND: Mutations affecting the Na (+) / K (+) ATPase (a.k.a. the sodium-potassium pump) genes cause conditional locomotor phenotypes in flies and three distinct complex neurological diseases in humans. More than 50 mutations have been identified affecting the human ATP1A2 and ATP1A3 genes that are known to cause rapid-onset Dystonia Parkinsonism, familial hemiplegic migraine, alternating hemiplegia of childhood, and variants of familial hemiplegic migraine with neurological complications including seizures and various mood disorders. In flies, mutations affecting the ATPalpha gene have dramatic phenotypes including altered longevity, neural dysfunction, neurodegeneration, myodegeneration, and striking locomotor impairment. Locomotor defects can manifest as conditional bang-sensitive (BS) or temperature-sensitive (TS) paralysis: phenotypes well-suited for genetic screening. RESULTS: We performed a genome-wide deficiency screen using three distinct missense alleles of ATPalpha and conditional locomotor function assays to identify novel modifier loci. A secondary screen confirmed allele-specificity of the interactions and many of the interactions were mapped to single genes and subsequently validated. We successfully identified 64 modifier loci and used classical mutations and RNAi to confirm 50 single gene interactions. The genes identified include those with known function, several with unknown function or that were otherwise uncharacterized, and many loci with no described association with locomotor or Na(+)/K(+) ATPase function. CONCLUSIONS: We used an unbiased genome-wide screen to find regions of the genome containing elements important for genetic modulation of ATPalpha dysfunction. We have identified many critical regions and narrowed several of these to single genes. These data demonstrate there are many loci capable of modifying ATPalpha dysfunction, which may provide the basis for modifying migraine, locomotor and seizure dysfunction in animals.

Self, peer, and tutor assessments of MSN competencies using the PBL-evaluator.

Professional competencies are derived from formal, informal, and hidden curricula. Problem-based learning (PBL) is one pedagogy that addresses all three curricula types and facilitates the development of key professional competencies such as critical thinking, communication skills, interpersonal relations, and self-assessment. This article reports on a formative evaluation study completed by three cohorts of master's degree students and two nurse faculty-tutors who used the Web-based PBL-Evaluator after each of 10 PBL cases delivered over two semesters. Major findings included notable differences among self, peer, and tutor in rating the five domains; an increase in ratings by PBL case and evaluator type as the two semesters progressed; and substantial differences among evaluators in providing positive and negative feedback.

Theodore X. Barber (1927-2005).

Presents an obituary for Theodore Xenophon Barber (1927-2005), one of the most prolific and influential researchers in the field of hypnosis. At the time of his death he was an active scholar in his private research enterprise, the Interdisciplinary Science Research Institute. A brief biography of Barber is followed by an overview of his published work, his theories and other influential accomplishments. Although hypnosis was the main focus of Barber's research, his interests and research encompassed other topics, including the phenomenon of investigator bias, psychical phenomena, and even comparative psychology.