Outcome prediction with a social cognitive battery: a multicenter longitudinal study.

The interest in social cognition in schizophrenia is justified by the relationship between deficits in these skills and negative functional outcomes. Although assessment batteries have already been described, there is no consensus about which measures are useful in predicting patient functioning or quality of life (QoL). We investigated a set of five measures of recognition of facial emotions, theory of mind (ToM), and empathy in a cohort of 143 patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder at inclusion and, amongst whom 79 were reassessed 1 year later.

Assessing metacognitive and help-seeking strategies in schizophrenia: design and psychometric validation of the Versailles Metacognitive Strategies Evaluation Questionnaire.

Objectives: The aim of this study is to design a questionnaire, the Versailles Metacognitive Strategies Evaluation Questionnaire, for assessing the use of metacognitive and help-seeking strategies in three key-domains of impaired daily functioning in schizophrenia. To evaluate its psychometric properties (internal consistency, factor structure, convergent and divergent validity, and stability).

Design: Development of a questionnaire and psychometric validation procedure in patients with schizophrenia compared with healthy controls.

Confirmation of a Two-Factor Solution to the Questionnaire of Cognitive and Affective Empathy in a French Population of Patients With Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders.

The Questionnaire of Cognitive and Affective Empathy (QCAE) is a tool for self-assessing the cognitive and emotional components of empathy. A study showed that a two-factor model fits the data of patients with schizophrenia, whereas other reports on healthy subjects have suggested a five-factor decomposition. We aimed to replicate the model of et al.

Synthesis of Nanostructured/Macroscopic Low-Density Copper Foams Based on Metal-Coated Polymer Core-Shell Particles.

A robust, millimeter-sized low-density Cu foam with ∼90% (v/v) porosity, ∼30 nm thick walls, and ∼1 μm diameter spherical pores is prepared by the slip-casting of metal-coated polymer core-shell particles followed by a thermal removal of the polymer. In this paper, we report our key findings that enable the development of the low-density Cu foams. First, we need to synthesize polystyrene (PS) particles coated with a very thin Cu layer (in the range of tens of nanometers).

Lentiviral vector-driven inhibition of 5-HT synthesis in B3 bulbo-spinal serotonergic projections - Consequences on nociception, inflammatory and neuropathic pain in rats.

Although it is well established that bulbo-spinal serotonergic projections contribute to pain control mechanisms, whether they exert anti- or pro-nociceptive modulations is still a matter of debate. In order to reappraise the role of 5-HT in descending controls, we used RNA interference to selectively inhibit 5-HT synthesis in B3 neurons and assess resulting changes in nociception. Rats were injected into the bulbar B3 group with a recombinant lentiviral vector, LV-shTPH2, encoding RNA interfering with tryptophan hydroxylase 2 expression.

Patients with schizophrenia are less prone to interpret virtual others' empathetic questioning as helpful.

Individuals with schizophrenia are impaired in their neurocognition and present cognitive biases. These impairments may lead to a deficit in recognizing helping intentions of others. To investigate recognition of help, we designed a card-guessing game (Virtual Help Recognition Paradigm) involving two successive virtual agents asking questions to the participant at different moments of the game.

How and why affective and reactive virtual agents will bring new insights on social cognitive disorders in schizophrenia? An illustration with a virtual card game paradigm.

In recent decades, many studies have shown that schizophrenia is associated with severe social cognitive impairments affecting key components, such as the recognition of emotions, theory of mind, attributional style, and metacognition. Most studies investigated each construct separately, precluding analysis of the interactive and immersive nature of real-life situation. Specialized batteries of tests are under investigation to assess social cognition, which is thought now as a link between neurocognitive disorders and impaired functioning.

[Depression in the elderly: prodroma or risk factor for dementia? A critical review of the literature].

A strong link between depression and dementia is now well documented in the literature. However, the nature of this relationship is much discussed. Are depression and dementia linked by comorbidity due to the frequency of both disorders in the aged? Can depression be a prodrome of dementia? Are recurrent depressive episodes a risk factor for dementia? Despite many methodological difficulties, strong arguments are developed in the litterature to support these various assumptions.

Correlations of theory of mind deficits with clinical patterns and quality of life in schizophrenia.

Background: Numerous studies have demonstrated the existence of theory of mind (ToM) impairments in patients with schizophrenia. The clinical consequences of these impairments are currently under debate. Accumulated evidence suggests that ToM deficits are linked to negative and disorganization symptoms, but direct correlations are lacking.

Strength of shock-loaded single-crystal tantalum [100] determined using in situ broadband x-ray Laue diffraction.

The strength of shock-loaded single crystal tantalum [100] has been experimentally determined using in situ broadband x-ray Laue diffraction to measure the strain state of the compressed crystal, and elastic constants calculated from first principles. The inferred strength reaches 35 GPa at a shock pressure of 181 GPa and is in excellent agreement with a multiscale strength model [N. R.

In patients with schizophrenia, symptoms improvement can be uncorrelated with quality of life improvement.

Objectives: Quality of life has been found to be associated with symptoms in patients with schizophrenia. Nevertheless, the mechanism that underlies this association is still unclear. The objective of this paper is to prospectively evaluate the quality of life of patients with schizophrenia in relation to the concurrent evolution of their symptoms, their expectations and their perceived position in life.

[Cognitive aging in schizophrenia].

The development of studies of aging patients with schizophrenia results from their increasing life expectancy in accordance with that of the general population, but remains far below that one. Studies devoted to cognitive deficits in these patients globally show various complex cognitive deficits, which usually remain stable in their evolution. However, some patients develop a severe cognitive decline after 65 years, following a long institutionalization.

ELISA: a cryocooled 10 GHz oscillator with 10(-15) frequency stability.

This article reports the design, the breadboarding, and the validation of an ultrastable cryogenic sapphire oscillator operated in an autonomous cryocooler. The objective of this project was to demonstrate the feasibility of a frequency stability of 3x10(-15) between 1 and 1000 s for the European Space Agency deep space stations. This represents the lowest fractional frequency instability ever achieved with cryocoolers.

Quantitative assessment of attribution of intentions to others in schizophrenia using an ecological video-based task: a comparison with manic and depressed patients.

Schizophrenia is characterized by the impairment of several facets of social cognition. This has been demonstrated in numerous studies that focused on specific aspects of social cognition such as the attribution of intentions, emotions, or false beliefs to others. However, most of these studies relied on complex verbal descriptions or impoverished social stimuli.

Two-year study of relapse prevention by a new education program in schizophrenic patients treated with the same antipsychotic drug.

It is not clear whether patient's psycho-education enhances compliance to antipsychotic treatments and reduces the number of relapses. Here we investigated the impact of a new psycho-educational program (SOLEDUC) on the one- and two-years rate of relapse (primary outcome measure) and a number of clinical assessments (secondary outcome measures). This was a multicentric French clinical trial (51 centers) of Phase IV, open, controlled, randomized, consisting in two parallel groups: the Soleduc group (N=111) and the control group (N=109).

Outcome revealed by preference in schizophrenia (OPS): development of a new class of outcome measurements.

The objective of this paper is to describe the development of a new type of outcome measurement, based on revealed preference, which can be used in serious chronic illnesses. Fifteen texts of about 200 words each were written by one of the authors on the day-to-day life of 15 schizophrenic patients. These 15 'slices of life' thus described were then ranked in terms of acceptability by a second group of 10 schizophrenic patients and by a group of 12 relatives of schizophrenic patients.

Scale for the evaluation of communication disorders in patients with schizophrenia: a validation study.

Objective: A scale for the evaluation of communication disorders in patients with schizophrenia (Schizophrenia Communication Disorder Scale-SCD) is proposed based on studies showing that cognitive disorders specific to the disorganization seen in schizophrenia consist of context processing deficits and problems in the attribution of mental states. Thus the focus of this scale is on the cognitive difficulties revealed in conversation during a structured interview.

Method: Fifty-six patients with schizophrenia, depression or mania were evaluated.

[The construct of late schizophrenia: a misleading concept].

In the DSM-IV, late schizophrenia is defined by an onset over 40 or even 60 of age, delusional ideas, hallucinations, favorable response to treatment and a good outcome. The relevance of this construct is discussed with regard to the French psychiatric tradition in which the dissociative syndrome is central to the diagnosis of schizophrenia. The occurrence of psychotic symptoms in patients over 60 raises difficult diagnostic questions and is considered according to the potential consequences of the diagnosis of late schizophrenia.

A cryogenic open-cavity sapphire reference oscillator with low spurious mode density.

In this paper, we describe the implementation of a microwave cryogenic sapphire oscillator (CSO) at the Laboratoire de Physique et Métrologie des Oscillateurs. In our realization we solved the problem of the spurious modes by operating the sapphire resonator in an open cavity. The CSO compared to a hydrogen maser demonstrates a frequency stability better than 3 x 10(-14) at short term.

The detection of intentional contingencies in simple animations in patients with delusions of persecution.

Background: It has been proposed that delusions of persecution are caused by the tendency to over-attribute malevolent intentions to other people's actions. One aspect of intention attribution is detecting contingencies between an agent's actions and intentions. Here, we used simplified stimuli to test the hypothesis that patients with persecutory delusions over-attribute contingency to agents' movements.