Validation interne de la version française du NEO-PI-R et influence de l'âge, du sexe et de la profession

We have examined the internal validity of the French translation of the NEO PI-R personality test which measures the « big five » (Rolland, 1993). The impact of age, gender and professional categories on the NEO PI-R scales was assessed. A large sample (n=731) of subjects of different age, gender and profession and a sample of Swiss students (n=261) responding anonymously were used. Factor analyses confirmed the structure of the instrument (5 domains) and the structures of the domains in terms of facets (six facets within each domain). On the other hand, the age has a significant impact on all the domains of the NEO PI-R; the gender has an impact on the scores on N (neuroticism), O (openness) and A (agreeableness), and the profession has an impact on the domains E (extraversion), O (openness) and A (agreeableness). The scores on several facets are also affected by those three variables. Our study gives the researchers and the practitioner a reference score table according to the studied variables.

The hierarchical structures of the NEO-PI-R and the 16PF5

The present study compares the higher-level dimensions and the hierarchical structures of the fifth edition of the 16 PF with those of the NEO PI-R. Both inventories measure personality according to five higher-level dimensions. These inventories were however constructed according to different methods (bottom-up vs. top-down). 386 participants filled out both questionnaires. Correlations, regressions and canonical correlations made it possible to compare the inventories. As expected they roughly measure the same aspects of personality. There is a coherent association among four of the five dimensions measured in the tests. However Agreeableness, the remaining dimension in the NEO PI-R, is not represented in the 16 PF 5. Our analyses confirmed the hierarchical structures of both instruments, but this confirmation was more complete in the case of the NEO PI-R. Indeed, a parallel analysis indicated that a four-factor solution should be considered in the case of the 16 PF 5. On the other hand, the NEO PI-R's five-factor solution was confirmed. The top-down construction of this instrument seems to make for a more legible structure. Of the two five-dimension constructs, the NEO PI-R thus seems the more reliable. This confirms the relevance of the Five Factor Model of personality.

Comparison of the NEO-FFI, the NEO-FFI-R and an alternative short version of the NEO-PI-R (NEO-60) in Swiss and Spanish samples

Three different short versions of the NEO-PI-R were compared: The NEO-FFI, the NEO-FFI-R, and a new short version developed in the current study (NEO-60). This new version is intended to improve the psychometric characteristics of the original NEO-FFI, specially in regard to the factor structure at the item-level. A French version of the NEO-PI-R was given to 1090 Swiss subjects, whereas the Spanish (Castilian) version of the NEO-PI-R was administered to 1006 Spanish subjects. Results replicate the limitations of the NEO-FFI already found in other countries. Compared to the NEO-FFI, reliability coefficients and factor structure was enhanced by the NEO-FFI-R and the NEO-60 in both samples, although substantial differences were not found. The factor structure of the NEO-60 shows the best fit since only three items do not load mainly on their own factor in both samples. Besides, correlations between items and NEO-PI-R domain scores are also higher for the items included in the NEO-60 version. On the other hand, convergent correlations with the NEO-PI-R dimensions were satisfactory irrespective of the version, and confirmatory factor analyses show slight differences among the different models generated after the three short versions.

The 16PF5 and the NEO-PI-R in Spanish and Swiss samples: A cross-cultural comparison

This study compared the Spanish (Castilian) and French versions of the 16PF5 and of the NEO-PI-R in Spanish and Swiss samples. The five-factor solution for the 16PF5 only seems clear for the Castilian version, but not for the French version. Indeed, the congruence coefficients for the Tough-Mindedness and the Self-Control dimensions are low. On the other hand, the five-factor solutions are highly similar for both countries concerning the NEO-PI-R, and the congruence coefficients are above .95 for all five dimensions. The low cross-cultural replicability for the 16PF5 makes it difficult to analyze the differences at the mean level for this inventory. For the NEO-PI-R, the differences are generally very small and globally account for 2.6% of the total variance. Spaniards seem to have slightly lower scores on Actions and slightly higher scores on Dutifulness. These differences could either be due to translation problems, sample selection, or cultural differences.

How to confirm C.E.R.A. doping in athletes' blood?

C.E.R.A. (Continuous Erythropoietin Receptor Activator) is a new third-generation erythropoiesis-stimulating agent that has recently been linked with abuse in endurance sports. The anti-doping community rapidly reacted by releasing a high-throughput screening ELISA allowing the detection of C.E.R.A. doping in athletes' blood. In order to return adverse analytical findings, anti-doping laboratories, however, need, as far as possible, to confirm the presence of the drug in athletes' samples through orthogonal methods. This article focuses on the comparison of 2 proposed confirmation assays based on gel electrophoresis that were coupled with a new sample immunopurification method. IEF, the classical method used to target erythropoietin (EPO) and its recombinant analogues in athletes' samples, and SARKOSYL-PAGE were applied to the plasma samples of subjects having received a single injection of C.E.R.A. It was demonstrated that SARKOSYL-PAGE was at least 6 times more sensitive than IEF, with comparable specificity. A longer detection window coupled with easier interpretation criteria led us to recommend the use of SARKOSYL-PAGE to confirm C.E.R.A. presence in athletes' blood.

Versión reducida del cuestionario CaMir (CaMir-R) para la evaluación del apego [Short version of CaMir questionnaire (CaMir-R) to assess attachment].

The CaMir is a questionnaire aimed at measuring attachment cognitions. It is based on subjects' evaluations of past and present attachment experiences and family functioning. It is a widely used tool both in research and in clinical settings. The aim of this study was to develop a short version of CaMir in Spanish (CaMir-R) and to obtain evidence about its validity and reliability in a sample of 676 adolescents (364 female and 312 male) belonging to different groups (clinical, maltreated, and community samples) with an age range between 13 and 19 years (M = 15.62, SD = 1.49). We examined its internal structure, convergent, and decision validity, the relationship between its dimensions and psychopathological symptoms, as well as its internal consistency and temporal stability. The CaMir-R included 7 factors whose internal consistency indexes ranged between 0.60 and 0.85. With the exception of the «Parental Permissiveness» dimension, which did not show good reliability, the results suggest that the CaMir-R provides a valid and reliable assessment of attachment representations and of the conception of family functioning.

Marked increase of the astrocytic marker S100B in the cerebrospinal fluid of HIV-infected patients on LPV/r-monotherapy.

OBJECTIVE: To determine changes of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers of patients on monotherapy with lopinavir/ritonavir. DESIGN: The Monotherapy Switzerland/Thailand study (MOST) trial compared monotherapy with ritonavir-boosted lopinavir with continued therapy. The trial was prematurely stopped due to virological failure in six patients on monotherapy. It, thus, offers a unique opportunity to assess brain markers in the early stage of HIV virological escape. METHODS: : Sixty-five CSF samples (34 on continued therapy and 31 on monotherapy) from 49 HIV-positive patients enrolled in MOST. Using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, we determined the CSF concentration of S100B (astrocytosis), neopterin (inflammation), total Tau (tTau), phosphorylated Tau (pTau), and amyloid-β 1-42 (A&#946;), the latter three indicating neuronal damage. Controls were CSF samples of 29 HIV-negative patients with Alzheimer dementia. RESULTS: In the CSF of monotherapy, concentrations of S100B and neopterin were significantly higher than in continued therapy (P = 0.006 and P = 0.013, respectively) and Alzheimer dementia patients (P < 0.0001 and P = 0.0005, respectively). In Alzheimer dementia, concentration of A&#946; was lower than in monotherapy (P = 0.005) and continued therapy (P = 0.016) and concentrations of tTau were higher than in monotherapy (P = 0.019) and continued therapy (P = 0.001). There was no difference in pTau among the three groups. After removal of the 16 CSF with detectable viral load in the blood and/or CSF, only S100B remained significantly higher in monotherapy than in the two other groups. CONCLUSION: Despite full viral load-suppression in blood and CSF, antiretroviral monotherapy with lopinavir/ritonavir can raise CSF levels of S100B, suggesting astrocytic damage.

Cross-species and cross-platform gene expression studies with the Bioconductor-compliant R package 'annotationTools'.

Background: The variety of DNA microarray formats and datasets presently available offers an unprecedented opportunity to perform insightful comparisons of heterogeneous data. Cross-species studies, in particular, have the power of identifying conserved, functionally important molecular processes. Validation of discoveries can now often be performed in readily available public data which frequently requires cross-platform studies.Cross-platform and cross-species analyses require matching probes on different microarray formats. This can be achieved using the information in microarray annotations and additional molecular biology databases, such as orthology databases. Although annotations and other biological information are stored using modern database models ( e. g. relational), they are very often distributed and shared as tables in text files, i.e. flat file databases. This common flat database format thus provides a simple and robust solution to flexibly integrate various sources of information and a basis for the combined analysis of heterogeneous gene expression profiles.Results: We provide annotationTools, a Bioconductor-compliant R package to annotate microarray experiments and integrate heterogeneous gene expression profiles using annotation and other molecular biology information available as flat file databases. First, annotationTools contains a specialized set of functions for mining this widely used database format in a systematic manner. It thus offers a straightforward solution for annotating microarray experiments. Second, building on these basic functions and relying on the combination of information from several databases, it provides tools to easily perform cross-species analyses of gene expression data.Here, we present two example applications of annotationTools that are of direct relevance for the analysis of heterogeneous gene expression profiles, namely a cross-platform mapping of probes and a cross-species mapping of orthologous probes using different orthology databases. We also show how to perform an explorative comparison of disease-related transcriptional changes in human patients and in a genetic mouse model.Conclusion: The R package annotationTools provides a simple solution to handle microarray annotation and orthology tables, as well as other flat molecular biology databases. Thereby, it allows easy integration and analysis of heterogeneous microarray experiments across different technological platforms or species.