Analyzing Self-Efficacy and Summary Feedback in Automated Social Skills Training.

Although automated social skills training has been proposed to enhance human social skills, the following two aspects have not been adequately explored: what types of feedback are effective from virtual agents and the extent to which such systems enhance users' social self-efficacy. We developed an automated social skills trainer+ that follows human-based social skills training processes and implemented two types of feedback: 1) a summary of the displayed feedback and 2) feedback based on the results of their previous training. Using our developed system, we measured social self-efficacy, feedback evaluations, and the third-party ratings of participants between pre- and post-training as well as their social responsiveness scales.

Which factors have a great impact on coagulopathy and hemostatic impairment after cardiopulmonary bypass in cardiovascular surgery? An analysis based on rotational thromboelastometry.

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate which factors have a great impact on coagulopathy after cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) using rotational thromboelastometry (ROTEM).

Methods: Ninety-eight patients undergoing cardiovascular surgery using CPB were enrolled. Data of amplitude 10 min after clotting time (A10) of ROTEM measured routinely before and after CPB were retrospectively collected.

Effectiveness of a Teacher Training Program for Students with Symptoms of Developmental Disorders: Data from a Correspondence High School in Japan.

In the present study, a teacher training program based on behavioral therapy was conducted for high school correspondence course teachers of adolescents aged between 15 and 18 years who showed developmental difficulties. Participating teachers were assigned to either an immediate treatment (IT; = 13) or delayed treatment control (DTC; = 17) group to evaluate the effectiveness of the program, which comprised five 90-min sessions with small groups of three to six participants and was conducted over three months. The results showed significant improvement in students' behaviors and social responsiveness and in teachers' confidence among those in the IT group; however, those in the DTC group did not show any such improvement.

Influence of Self-Esteem and Psychiatric Diagnosis on Health-Related Quality of Life in Children and Adolescents with School Refusal Behavior.

Background: School refusal behavior (SRB), which is the refusal to attend or remain in school, has been associated with emotional, psychological, and other behavioral problems, as well as a lower health-related quality of life (HRQOL). However, the effects of self-esteem and a psychiatric diagnosis in students with SRB on HRQOL are not yet known. Understanding these relationships could help to develop more effective therapeutic interventions.

The Self-Construal Scale: A Potential Tool for Predicting Subjective Well-Being of Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Despite accumulating evidence that culture shapes the symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), no studies have yet applied the Self-Construal Scale to individuals with ASD. We compared the self-construals (measured using the Self-Construal Scale) of 31 high-functioning Japanese individuals with ASD with those of 60 typically developing (TD) individuals. We also examined how the self-construals of individuals with ASD related to their intelligence quotient, adverse childhood experiences, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, ASD symptoms during adulthood and preschool years, and subjective well-being.

A Possible Trifunctional β-Carotene Synthase Gene Identified in the Draft Genome of Aurantiochytrium sp. Strain KH105.

Labyrinthulomycetes have been regarded as a promising industrial source of xanthophylls, including astaxanthin and canthaxanthin, polyunsaturated fatty acids such as docosahexaenoic acid and docosapentaenoic acid, ω-3 oils, and terpenic hydrocarbons, such as sterols and squalene. A Thraustochytrid, sp. KH105 produces carotenoids, including astaxanthin, with strong antioxidant activity.

Embodied conversational agents for multimodal automated social skills training in people with autism spectrum disorders.

Social skills training, performed by human trainers, is a well-established method for obtaining appropriate skills in social interaction. Previous work automated the process of social skills training by developing a dialogue system that teaches social communication skills through interaction with a computer avatar. Even though previous work that simulated social skills training only considered acoustic and linguistic information, human social skills trainers take into account visual and other non-verbal features.

Automated social skills training with audiovisual information.

People with social communication difficulties tend to have superior skills using computers, and as a result computer-based social skills training systems are flourishing. Social skills training, performed by human trainers, is a well-established method to obtain appropriate skills in social interaction. Previous works have attempted to automate one or several parts of social skills training through human-computer interaction.

Event-Related Potentials Correlate with the Severity of Child and Adolescent Patients with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.

Background: Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms can continue through adolescence and adulthood, including difficulty in staying focused, paying attention, and controlling behavior, as well as hyperactivity. While children and adolescents with ADHD have functional impairments at multiple dimensions, there are no objective biological indicators to assess the severity of ADHD. Event-related potentials (ERPs) are widely used as a noninvasive method for evaluating sensory and cognitive processes involved in attention tasks.

Reliability and validity of Japanese versions of KIDSCREEN-27 and KIDSCREEN-10 questionnaires.

Objective: This study aimed to assess the reliability and validity of Japanese versions of the KIDSCREEN-27 (J-KIDSCREEN-27) and KIDSCREEN-10 (J-KIDSCREEN-10) questionnaires, which are shorter versions of the KIDSCREEN-52 (J-KIDSCREEN-52).

Methods: The present analyses are based on a pre-existing dataset of the J-KIDSCREEN-52 validation study, including 1564 children and adolescents aged 8-18 years and their 1326 parents. All were asked to complete the J-KIDSCREEN and Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) questionnaires.

[Psycho-social Treatment for Developmental Disorders -Parent and Social Skills Training-].

As one of the treatments for developmental disorders, psychosocial treatment has attracted attention. Because of the advances in support for children and adults with develop- mental disorders in terms of health, education, and welfare, comprehensive and long-term treatment may have become demanded along with medical treatment, called the spread of medication therapy for ADHD. I introduced our investigation with the child psychiatric practice organization after having spoken about the trend in support for developmental disorders in Japan in this report.

Event-related potentials in drug-naïve pediatric patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is one of the most common mental health disorders, characterized by obsessive thoughts and/or compulsive behaviors, which may involve specific disorders in cognition and/or information processing. Event-related potentials (ERPs) are commonly used as physiological measures of cognitive function as they are easily measured and noninvasive. In the present study, 20 drug-naïve pediatric patients with OCD were compared with 20 healthy control participants who were age- and sex-matched to perform the ERP.

Reliability and validity of the Japanese version of the KIDSCREEN-52 health-related quality of life questionnaire for children/adolescents and parents/proxies.

Objectives: The present study aimed to assess the reliability and validity of the Japanese version of KIDSCREEN-52 (J-KIDSCREEN-52), a generic questionnaire used to assess health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among children/adolescents and parents/proxies.

Methods: We conducted a school-based study, in which 1564 children and adolescents aged 8-18 years and their 1326 parents participated from five schools. They were asked to complete two questionnaires (the J-KIDSCREEN-52 and the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL)), and the Oslo 3-Item Social Support (OSS-3) scale.

Value-added lipid production from brown seaweed biomass by two-stage fermentation using acetic acid bacterium and thraustochytrid.

Thraustochytrid production of polyunsaturated fatty acids and xanthophylls have been generally sourced from crop-derived substrates, making the exploration of alternative feedstocks attractive since they promise increased sustainability and lower production costs. In this study, a distinct two-stage fermentation system was conceptualized for the first time, using the brown seaweed sugar mannitol as substrate for the intermediary biocatalyst Gluconobacter oxydans, an acetic acid bacterium, along with the marine thraustochytrid Aurantiochytrium sp. to produce the value-added lipids and xanthophylls.

Uncoupling of peripheral and master clock gene rhythms by reversed feeding leads to an exacerbated inflammatory response after polymicrobial sepsis in mice.

Reversed feeding uncouples peripheral and master clock gene rhythms and leads to an increased risk of disease development. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of clock gene uncoupling on sepsis-induced inflammation using a mouse cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) model. C57BL/6N mice were entrained to a 12-h light-dark cycle (lights on at 7 AM).

Utilization of waste syrup for production of polyunsaturated fatty acids and xanthophylls by Aurantiochytrium.

In the food industry, syrups containing a high concentration of sugar used for fruit preservation is abundantly discharged as a food processing waste and disposed by incineration, resulting in the rise of the manufacturing cost and environmental pollution. This study demonstrates how waste syrup can be utilized as carbon source for production of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and astaxanthin by the thraustochytrid strain, Aurantiochytrium sp. KH105.

Elevated serum BAFF levels in patients with sarcoidosis: association with disease activity.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine serum levels of B-cell-activating factor (BAFF) and its clinical association in patients with sarcoidosis. METHODS; Serum levels of BAFF from 37 patients and 21 healthy subjects were examined by ELISA. Serum angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE), lysozyme and IFN-γ levels in sarcoidosis patients were also measured.

[Effectiveness of a modified parent training of smaller groups and shorter schedules for children with pervasive developmental disorders].

Objective: We have previously reported the modified parent training of smaller groups and shorter schedules (PTSS). In this study, we applied PTSS to the mothers of children with pervasive developmental disorder (PDD) and revealed the new evidence for its effectiveness.

Methods: The participants were 30 mothers of children with PDD aged from 4.

[Reappraisal of current practice of preoperative fasting in Japan].

Background: The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) published a clinical practice guideline of preoperative fasting in 1999. A nationwide survey conducted in Japan in 2003 reveals that many hospitals have a much longer fasting period. We conducted a similar survey in three limited areas in Japan to assess the changes in fasting practice.

The vitamin E derivative, EPC-K1, suppresses inflammation during hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury and exerts hepatoprotective effects in rats.

Background: An important component of postoperative management includes alleviation of hepatic ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury, which commonly results from liver surgery. EPC-K1 is a hydroxyl radical scavenger reported to have mitigating effects on I/R injury in many organs. This study evaluates the effects of EPC-K1 on hepatic I/R injury.

Effects of preoperative oral carbohydrates and trace elements on perioperative nutritional status in elective surgery patients.

Purpose: In order to enhance postoperative recovery, preoperative consumption of carbohydrate (CHO) drinks has been used to suppress metabolic fluctuations. Trace elements such as zinc and copper are known to play an important role in postoperative recovery. Here, we examined the effects of preoperatively consuming a CHO drink containing zinc and copper.

Comparison of pervasive developmental disorder and schizophrenia by the Japanese version of the National Adult Reading Test.

Objective: In adults, it is sometimes difficult to discriminate between pervasive developmental disorder (PDD) and schizophrenia (SCH) when positive symptoms are not outstanding. We examined whether the Japanese version of the National Adult Reading Test (JART), is a valid scale for evaluating pre-morbid intelligence quotient (IQ) in patients with SCH, and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R) are useful for helping to discriminate between PDD and SCH.

Methods: Sixteen patients with adult PDD and 16 age-, education- and sex-matched patients with SCH participated in the present study.