Validation of the Chinese Version of the Schizophrenia Cognition Rating Scale

Kuan-Wei Huang,Pao-Yen Lin,Yu Lee,Yu-Chi Huang,Chi-Fa Hung,Sheng-Yu Lee,Chih-Ken Chen,Liang-Jen Wang 대한신경정신의학회 2022 PSYCHIATRY INVESTIGATION Vol.19 No.7

Objective The Schizophrenia Cognition Rating Scale (SCoRS) is an interview-based assessment tool for evaluating the cognitive deficit and daily functioning of patients with schizophrenia.Methods Sixty-eight patients with schizophrenia and 68 age- and sex-matched healthy individuals were recruited to validate the Chinese version of SCoRS in this study. All participants underwent cognitive assessment using the SCoRS, which was verified by the Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia (BACS), and the UCSD Performance-based Skills Assessment, Brief Version (UPSA-B). Patients with schizophrenia were additionally assessed using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS).Results SCoRS ratings reported by patients (SCoRS-S), those reported by the interviewer (SCoRS-I), and SCoRS global scores (SCoRS-G) showed significant correlation with all subscales of the BACS and the UPSA-B. On receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, SCoRS-S, SCoRS-I, and SCoRS-G significantly differentiated patients with schizophrenia from healthy controls. Moreover, SCoRS-S and SCoRS-I ratings showed positive correlation with the negative symptoms and general symptoms of PANSS.Conclusion The Chinese version of SCoRS showed good discriminant, concurrent, and external validity, suggesting that it is a useful and convenient tool for assessment of cognitive function among Mandarin-speaking patients with schizophrenia in clinical practice.

The Improvement of the Opacity and Printing Strength of Fancy Paper Overlaid Plywood

LAN-SHENG KUO,YUAN-SHING PERNG,EUGENE I-CHEN WANG,CHEN-FA YEN,TSUEN-HAN KAO 한국펄프·종이공학회 2006 한국펄프종이학회 기타 간행물 Vol.- No.-

The purpose of this study is to investigate the opacity and printing strength of MG paper overlaid plywood. The printing strength of ink on MG paper can be evaluated effectively by a formula E<SUP>*2</SUP> = [(L<SUP>*</SUP>)<SUP>2</SUP> + (a<SUP>*</SUP>)<SUP>2</SUP> + (b<SUP>*</SUP>)<SUP>2</SUP>]<SUP>1/2</SUP> that we proposed. Higher E value indicates good printing strength of ink-on-paper. We also assess the real color of translucent printed MG paper with a formula CIE △E<SUP>*</SUP> (color difference between a pile of same paper to be opaque and fancy paper laminated board). In addition, the color difference on paper surface caused by the color of wood-based board (bottom) can be evaluated by a formula of Pc. No. Generally, an acceptable appearance quality of fancy boards is △E<SUP>*</SUP> < 2.0 and small Pc.No. value. The experimental results showed that Japan-made MG papers ?J1, J2 and J3 have better printing strength and gloss than that of Taiwan-made paper (T1). The reason for this was that Taiwan-made paper has poor printing strength and low gloss, which might be correlated to the fiber compositions in paper. Higher printing strength can be seen for short fiber containing handsheets when comparing to that of handsheets. Nonetheless, low-freeness sheets gives better printing strength than that of high-freeness sheets. High-opacity MG paper gives good opacifying effect to the fancy paper laminated wood-based boards. Comparing the surface color of 2 kinds of fancy paper laminated boards, paperboard T1 laminated with high-opacity fancy paper showed slight color difference. The same results can be seen for ?? g/㎡ handsheets. Higher-opacity Acacia and Eucalyptus bleached sulfate pulps (short fiber) gives higher opacifying effect on the plywood when comparing to Northan pine and Radiata pine sulfate pulps(long fiber). The former ones also showed small color differences when comparing the color differences between the color of fancy paper and laminated paper board. Additionally, the color of bottom plywood can’t be shown through for the highopacify surface paper adhered to. Besides, the PC No of the base paper laminated board is small as well. Apparently, we can add colorants to the binders for the manufacture of various handsheets (30 g/㎡) with various pulp mix ratios to increase the opacity of paperboards to certain extents. When we using yellow and brown binders in paper laminated board, the color difference between Acacia and Eucalyptus handsheets overlaid boards decreasing to 2.0 (acceptable △E<SUP>*</SUP>< 2.0, hard to discern), but not much improvement for Northern and Radiata pines. Definitely, show-through defects can be discernible for lower opacity papers. In general, admirable printing strength of fancy paper by which glued to plywood can be made with high-opacity paper and colored binders techniques.

Impact of Chronic Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C on Adverse Hepatic Fibrosis in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Related to Betel Quid Chewing

Jeng, Jen-Eing,Tsai, Meng-Feng,Tsai, Hey-Ru,Chuang, Lea-Yea,Lin, Zu-Yau,Hsieh, Min-Yuh,Chen, Shinn-Chern,Chuang, Wan-Lung,Wang, Liang-Yen,Yu, Ming-Lung,Dai, Chia-Yen,Tsai, Jung-Fa Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.2

The pathogenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) related to habitual betel quid (BQ) chewing is unclear. Risk of HCCis increased with adverse hepatic fibrosis. This study aimed to assess the impact of chronic viral hepatitis on adverse hepatic fibrosis in HCC related to BQ chewing. This hospital-based case-control study enrolled 200 pairs of age- and gender-matched patients with HCC and unrelated healthy controls. Serologic hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), antibodies to hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV), ${\alpha}$-fetoprotein (AFP), and surrogate markers for significant hepatic fibrosis were measured. Information on substance-use habits was obtained with a questionnaire. By analysis of surrogate markers for hepatic fibrosis, the prevalence of significant hepatic fibrosis in patients chewing BQ was between 45.8% and 91.7%, whereas that for patients without BQ chewing was between 18.4% and 57.9%. The difference was significant (P <0.05 for each surrogate marker). Multivariate analysis indicated that cirrhosis with Child-Pugh C (odds ratio (OR) = 3.28; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.29-8.37), thrombocytopenia (OR = 3.92, 95% CI, 1.77-8.68), AFP >400 mg/L (OR = 2.21, 95% CI, 1.05-4.66) and male gender (OR = 4.06, 95% CI, 1.29-12.77) were independent factors associated with habitual BQ chewing. In conclusion, adverse hepatic fibrosis and severe liver damage play important roles in the pathogenesis of BQ-related HCC, which could be aggravated by chronic hepatitis B and hepatitis C. BQ-cessation programs and prevention of chronic HBV/HCV infection are needed to prevent HCC related to BQ chewing.

Equal Z standard-setting method to estimate the minimum number of panelists for a medical school’s objective structured clinical examination in Taiwan: a simulation study

Ying-Ying Yang,Pin-Hsiang Huang,Ling-Yu Yang,Chia-Chang Huang,Chih-Wei Liu,Shiau-Shian Huang,Chen-Huan Chen,Fa-Yauh Lee,Shou-Yen Kao,Boaz Shulruf 한국보건의료인국가시험원 2022 보건의료교육평가 Vol.19 No.-

Purpose Undertaking a standard-setting exercise is a common method for setting pass/fail cut scores for high-stakes examinations. The recently introduced equal Z standard-setting method (EZ method) has been found to be a valid and effective alternative for the commonly used Angoff and Hofstee methods and their variants. The current study aims to estimate the minimum number of panelists required for obtaining acceptable and reliable cut scores using the EZ method. Methods The primary data were extracted from 31 panelists who used the EZ method for setting cut scores for a 12-station of medical school’s final objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) in Taiwan. For this study, a new data set composed of 1,000 random samples of different panel sizes, ranging from 5 to 25 panelists, was established and analyzed. Analysis of variance was performed to measure the differences in the cut scores set by the sampled groups, across all sizes within each station. Results On average, a panel of 10 experts or more yielded cut scores with confidence more than or equal to 90% and 15 experts yielded cut scores with confidence more than or equal to 95%. No significant differences in cut scores associated with panel size were identified for panels of 5 or more experts. Conclusion The EZ method was found to be valid and feasible. Less than an hour was required for 12 panelists to assess 12 OSCE stations. Calculating the cut scores required only basic statistical skills.

Independent and Additive Interaction Between Tumor Necrosis Factor β +252 Polymorphisms and Chronic Hepatitis B and C Virus Infection on Risk and Prognosis of Hepatocellular Carcinoma: a Case-Control Study

Jeng, Jen-Eing,Wu, Hui-Fang,Tsai, Meng-Feng,Tsai, Huey-Ru,Chuang, Lea-Yea,Lin, Zu-Yau,Hsieh, Min-Yuh,Chen, Shinn-Chern,Chuang, Wan-Lung,Wang, Liang-Yen,Yu, Ming-Lung,Dai, Chia-Yen,Tsai, Jung-Fa Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.23

To assess the contribution of tumor necrosis factor $(TNF){\beta}$ +252 polymorphisms to risk and prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), we enrolled 150 pairs of sex- and age-matched patients with HCC, patients with cirrhosis alone, and unrelated healthy controls. $TNF{\beta}$ +252 genotypes were determined by polymerase chain reaction with restriction fragment length polymorphism. Multivariate analysis indicated that $TNF{\beta}$ G/G genotype [odds ratio (OR), 3.64; 95%CI, 1.49-8.91], hepatitis B surface antigen (OR, 16.38; 95%CI, 8.30-32.33), and antibodies to hepatitis C virus (HCV) (OR, 39.11; 95%CI, 14.83-103.14) were independent risk factors for HCC. There was an additive interaction between $TNF{\beta}$ G/G genotype and chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV)/HCV infection (synergy index=1.15). Multivariate analysis indicated that factors associated with $TNF{\beta}$ G/G genotype included cirrhosis with Child-Pugh C (OR, 4.06; 95%CI, 1.34-12.29), thrombocytopenia (OR, 6.55; 95%CI, 1.46-29.43), and higher serum ${\alpha}$-fetoprotein concentration (OR, 2.53; 95%CI, 1.14-5.62). Patients with $TNF{\beta}$ G/G genotype had poor cumulative survival (p=0.005). Cox proportional hazard model indicated that $TNF{\beta}$ G/G genotype was a biomarker for poor HCC survival (hazard ratio, 1.70; 95%CI, 1.07-2.69). In conclusion, there are independent and additive effects between $TNF{\beta}$ G/G genotype and chronic HBV/HCV infection on risk for HCC. It is a biomarker for poor HCC survival. Carriage of this genotype correlates with disease severity and advanced hepatic fibrosis, which may contribute to a higher risk and poor survival of HCC. Chronic HBV/HCV infected subjects with this genotype should receive more intensive surveillance for early detection of HCC.