Challenges and methodology for indexing the computerized patient record.

PubMed

Ehrler, Frédéric; Ruch, Patrick; Geissbuhler, Antoine; Lovis, Christian

2007-01-01

Patient records contain most crucial documents for managing the treatments and healthcare of patients in the hospital. Retrieving information from these records in an easy, quick and safe way helps care providers to save time and find important facts about their patient's health. This paper presents the scalability issues induced by the indexing and the retrieval of the information contained in the patient records. For this study, EasyIR, an information retrieval tool performing full text queries and retrieving the related documents has been used. An evaluation of the performance reveals that the indexing process suffers from overhead consequence of the particular structure of the patient records. Most IR tools are designed to manage very large numbers of documents in a single index whereas in our hypothesis, one index per record, which usually implies few documents, has been imposed. As the number of modifications and creations of patient records are significant in a day, using a specialized and efficient indexation tool is required.

Detection of Apoptosis in Early Life Stages as a Tool to Evaluate Chemical Control of Invasive Species

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-08-01

ERDC/TN ANSRP-07-2 August 2007 Detection of Apoptosis in Early Life Stages as a Tool to Evaluate Chemical Control of Invasive Species by J...4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Detection of Apoptosis in Early Life Stages as a Tool to Evaluate Chemical Control of Invasive Species 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b...heralding apoptosis . Data analysis. An apoptotic index (API) was established by calculating the percentage of embryos in each life stage with

Utility and applicability of the "Childhood Obesity Risk Evaluation" (CORE)-index in predicting obesity in childhood and adolescence in Greece from early life: the "National Action Plan for Public Health".

PubMed

Manios, Yannis; Vlachopapadopoulou, Elpis; Moschonis, George; Karachaliou, Feneli; Psaltopoulou, Theodora; Koutsouki, Dimitra; Bogdanis, Gregory; Carayanni, Vilelmine; Hatzakis, Angelos; Michalacos, Stefanos

2016-12-01

Early identification of infants being at high risk to become obese at their later childhood or adolescence can be of vital importance in any obesity prevention initiative. The aim of the present study was to examine the utility and applicability of the "Childhood Obesity Risk Evaluation (CORE)" index as a screening tool for the early prediction of obesity in childhood and adolescence. Anthropometric, socio-demographic data were collected cross-sectionally and retrospectively from a representative sample of 5946 children, and adolescents and were combined for calculating the CORE-index score. Logistic regression analyses were performed to examine the associations of the CORE-index score with obesity by gender and age group, and cut-off point analysis was also applied to identify the optimal value of the CORE-index score that differentiates obese from non-obese children. Mean CORE-index score in the total sample was 3.06 (sd 1.92) units (range 0-11 units). Each unit increase in the CORE-index score was found to be associated with a 30 % (95 % C.I. 1.24-1.36) increased likelihood for obesity in childhood or adolescence, while the optimal cut-off value of the CORE-index score that predicted obesity with the highest possible sensitivity and specificity was found to be 3.5. The present study supports the utility and applicability of the CORE-index as a screening tool for the early identification of infants that are potentially at a higher risk for becoming obese at their childhood and adolescence. This tool could be routinely used by health professionals to identify infants at high risk and provide appropriate counselling to their parents and caregivers so as to maximize the effectiveness of early obesity prevention initiatives. What is known? • Childhood obesity has reached epidemic proportions worldwide. • Certain perinatal and socio-demographic indices that were previously identified as correlates of childhood obesity in children were combined to develop the CORE-index, a screening tool that estimates obesity risk in 9-13 year-old children. What is new? • The utility and applicability of the CORE-index as screening tool can be extended to the age range of 6-15 years. • The CORE-index is a cost-effective screening tool that can assist health professionals in initiating obesity preventive measures from early life.

Use of annual phosphorus loss estimator (APLE) model to evaluate a phosphorus index

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Maryland’s Phosphorus Site Index (MD-PSI) has been used to guide management decisions to minimize the potential for phosphorus (P) loss from agricultural fields in Maryland since 2002. The index was recently revised and renamed the University of Maryland Phosphorus Management Tool (UM-PMT), and the...

Development of a stand-scale forest biodiversity index based on the state forest inventory

Treesearch

Diego Van Den Meersschaut; Kris Vandekerkhove

2000-01-01

Ecological aspects are increasingly influencing silvicultural management. Estimating forest biodiversity has become one often major tools for evaluating management strategies. A stand-scale forest biodiversity index is developed, based on available data from the state forest inventory. The index combines aspects of forest structure, woody and herbal layer composition,...

The NLM Indexing Initiative's Medical Text Indexer.

PubMed

Aronson, Alan R; Mork, James G; Gay, Clifford W; Humphrey, Susanne M; Rogers, Willie J

2004-01-01

The Medical Text Indexer (MTI) is a program for producing MeSH indexing recommendations. It is the major product of NLM's Indexing Initiative and has been used in both semi-automated and fully automated indexing environments at the Library since mid 2002. We report here on an experiment conducted with MEDLINE indexers to evaluate MTI's performance and to generate ideas for its improvement as a tool for user-assisted indexing. We also discuss some filtering techniques developed to improve MTI's accuracy for use primarily in automatically producing the indexing for several abstracts collections.

Evaluation of Phosphorus Site Assessment Tools: Lessons from the USA.

PubMed

Sharpley, Andrew; Kleinman, Peter; Baffaut, Claire; Beegle, Doug; Bolster, Carl; Collick, Amy; Easton, Zachary; Lory, John; Nelson, Nathan; Osmond, Deanna; Radcliffe, David; Veith, Tamie; Weld, Jennifer

2017-11-01

Critical source area identification through phosphorus (P) site assessment is a fundamental part of modern nutrient management planning in the United States, yet there has been only sparse testing of the many versions of the P Index that now exist. Each P site assessment tool was developed to be applicable across a range of field conditions found in a given geographic area, making evaluation extremely difficult. In general, evaluation with in-field monitoring data has been limited, focusing primarily on corroborating manure and fertilizer "source" factors. Thus, a multiregional effort (Chesapeake Bay, Heartland, and Southern States) was undertaken to evaluate P Indices using a combination of limited field data, as well as output from simulation models (i.e., Agricultural Policy Environmental eXtender, Annual P Loss Estimator, Soil and Water Assessment Tool [SWAT], and Texas Best Management Practice Evaluation Tool [TBET]) to compare against P Index ratings. These comparisons show promise for advancing the weighting and formulation of qualitative P Index components but require careful vetting of the simulation models. Differences among regional conclusions highlight model strengths and weaknesses. For example, the Southern States region found that, although models could simulate the effects of nutrient management on P runoff, they often more accurately predicted hydrology than total P loads. Furthermore, SWAT and TBET overpredicted particulate P and underpredicted dissolved P, resulting in correct total P predictions but for the wrong reasons. Experience in the United States supports expanded regional approaches to P site assessment, assuming closely coordinated efforts that engage science, policy, and implementation communities, but limited scientific validity exists for uniform national P site assessment tools at the present time. Copyright © by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, Inc.

Current Quality-of-Life Tools Available for Use in Contact Dermatitis.

PubMed

Swietlik, Jacquelyn; Reeder, Margo

2016-01-01

Contact dermatitis is a common dermatologic condition that can cause significant impairment in patients' overall quality of life (QoL). This impact is separate and potentially more clinically relevant than one's disease "severity" in contact dermatitis and should be consistently addressed by dermatologists. Despite this, QoL tools specific to contact dermatitis are lacking, and there is little consistency in the literature regarding the tool used to evaluate clinical response to therapies. Measurements currently available to evaluate disease-related QoL in contact dermatitis fit into 1 of the following 3 general types: generic health-related QoL measures, dermatology-related QoL measures, or specific dermatologic disease-related QoL measures. This article reviews the strengths and weaknesses of existing QoL tools used in contact dermatitis including: Short Form Survey 36, Dermatology Life Quality Index, Skindex-29, Skindex-16, Dermatology-Specific Quality of Life, and Fragrance Quality of Life Index.

Nitrate leaching index

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The Nitrate Leaching Index is a rapid assessment tool that evaluates nitrate (NO3) leaching potential based on basic soil and climate information. It is the basis for many nutrient management planning efforts, but it has considerable limitations because of : 1) an oversimplification of the processes...

Evaluation of Computer Tools for Idea Generation and Team Formation in Project-Based Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ardaiz-Villanueva, Oscar; Nicuesa-Chacon, Xabier; Brene-Artazcoz, Oscar; Sanz de Acedo Lizarraga, Maria Luisa; Sanz de Acedo Baquedano, Maria Teresa

2011-01-01

The main objective of this research was to validate the effectiveness of Wikideas and Creativity Connector tools to stimulate the generation of ideas and originality by university students organized into groups according to their indexes of creativity and affinity. Another goal of the study was to evaluate the classroom climate created by these…

Development and preliminary validation of an index for indicating the risks of the design of working hours to health and wellbeing.

PubMed

Schomann, Carsten; Giebel, Ole; Nachreiner, Friedhelm

2006-01-01

BASS 4, a computer program for the design and evaluation of workings hours, is an example of an ergonomics-based software tool that can be used by safety practitioners at the shop floor with regard to legal, ergonomic, and economic criteria. Based on experiences with this computer program, a less sophisticated Working-Hours-Risk Index for assessing the quality of work schedules (including flexible work hours) to indicate risks to health and wellbeing has been developed to provide a quick and easy applicable tool for legally required risk assessments. The results of a validation study show that this risk index seems to be a promising indicator for predicting risks of health complaints and wellbeing. The purpose of the Risk Index is to simplify the evaluation process at the shop floor and provide some more general information about the quality of a work schedule that can be used for triggering preventive interventions. Such a risk index complies with practitioners' expectations and requests for easy, useful, and valid instruments.

Evaluation of experimental methods for assessing safety for ultrasound radiation force elastography.

PubMed

Skurczynski, M J; Duck, F A; Shipley, J A; Bamber, J C; Melodelima, D

2009-08-01

Standard test tools have been evaluated for the assessment of safety associated with a prototype transducer intended for a novel radiation force elastographic imaging system. In particular, safety has been evaluated by direct measurement of temperature rise, using a standard thermal test object, and detection of inertial cavitation from acoustic emission. These direct measurements have been compared with values of the thermal index and mechanical index, calculated from acoustic measurements in water using standard formulae. It is concluded that measurements using a thermal test object can be an effective alternative to the calculation of thermal index for evaluating thermal hazard. Measurement of the threshold for cavitation was subject to considerable variability, and it is concluded that the mechanical index still remains the preferred standard means for assessing cavitation hazard.

Bibliometric indexes, databases and impact factors in cardiology

PubMed Central

Bienert, Igor R C; de Oliveira, Rogério Carvalho; de Andrade, Pedro Beraldo; Caramori, Carlos Antonio

2015-01-01

Bibliometry is a quantitative statistical technique to measure levels of production and dissemination of knowledge, as well as a useful tool to track the development of an scientific area. The valuation of production required for recognition of researchers and magazines is accomplished through tools called bibliometricindexes, divided into quality indicators and scientific impact. Initially developed for monographs of statistical measures especially in libraries, today bibliometrics is mainly used to evaluate productivity of authors and citation repercussion. However, these tools have limitations and sometimes provoke controversies about indiscriminate application, leading to the development of newer indexes. It is important to know the most common search indexes and use it properly even acknowledging its limitations as it has a direct impact in their daily practice, reputation and funds achievement. PMID:26107458

An approach to value-based simulator selection: The creation and evaluation of the simulator value index tool.

PubMed

Rooney, Deborah M; Hananel, David M; Covington, Benjamin J; Dionise, Patrick L; Nykamp, Michael T; Pederson, Melvin; Sahloul, Jamal M; Vasquez, Rachael; Seagull, F Jacob; Pinsky, Harold M; Sweier, Domenica G; Cooke, James M

2018-04-01

Currently there is no reliable, standardized mechanism to support health care professionals during the evaluation of and procurement processes for simulators. A tool founded on best practices could facilitate simulator purchase processes. In a 3-phase process, we identified top factors considered during the simulator purchase process through expert consensus (n = 127), created the Simulator Value Index (SVI) tool, evaluated targeted validity evidence, and evaluated the practical value of this SVI. A web-based survey was sent to simulation professionals. Participants (n = 79) used the SVI and provided feedback. We evaluated the practical value of 4 tool variations by calculating their sensitivity to predict a preferred simulator. Seventeen top factors were identified and ranked. The top 2 were technical stability/reliability of the simulator and customer service, with no practical differences in rank across institution or stakeholder role. Full SVI variations predicted successfully the preferred simulator with good (87%) sensitivity, whereas the sensitivity of variations in cost and customer service and cost and technical stability decreased (≤54%). The majority (73%) of participants agreed that the SVI was helpful at guiding simulator purchase decisions, and 88% agreed the SVI tool would help facilitate discussion with peers and leadership. Our findings indicate the SVI supports the process of simulator purchase using a standardized framework. Sensitivity of the tool improved when factors extend beyond traditionally targeted factors. We propose the tool will facilitate discussion amongst simulation professionals dealing with simulation, provide essential information for finance and procurement professionals, and improve the long-term value of simulation solutions. Limitations and application of the tool are discussed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Automatic concept extraction from spoken medical reports.

PubMed

Happe, André; Pouliquen, Bruno; Burgun, Anita; Cuggia, Marc; Le Beux, Pierre

2003-07-01

The objective of this project is to investigate methods whereby a combination of speech recognition and automated indexing methods substitute for current transcription and indexing practices. We based our study on existing speech recognition software programs and on NOMINDEX, a tool that extracts MeSH concepts from medical text in natural language and that is mainly based on a French medical lexicon and on the UMLS. For each document, the process consists of three steps: (1) dictation and digital audio recording, (2) speech recognition, (3) automatic indexing. The evaluation consisted of a comparison between the set of concepts extracted by NOMINDEX after the speech recognition phase and the set of keywords manually extracted from the initial document. The method was evaluated on a set of 28 patient discharge summaries extracted from the MENELAS corpus in French, corresponding to in-patients admitted for coronarography. The overall precision was 73% and the overall recall was 90%. Indexing errors were mainly due to word sense ambiguity and abbreviations. A specific issue was the fact that the standard French translation of MeSH terms lacks diacritics. A preliminary evaluation of speech recognition tools showed that the rate of accurate recognition was higher than 98%. Only 3% of the indexing errors were generated by inadequate speech recognition. We discuss several areas to focus on to improve this prototype. However, the very low rate of indexing errors due to speech recognition errors highlights the potential benefits of combining speech recognition techniques and automatic indexing.

Evaluation of the phosphorus site assessment tools:lessons from the U.S.

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Freshwater eutrophication is generally limited or accelerated by phosphorus (P) inputs, with agriculture considered a contributor along with point sources. To help assess the impairments, NRCS incorporated the P Indexing risk assessment tool into the 590 Nutrient Management Conservation Practice St...

Evaluation of 3D Gamma index calculation implemented in two commercial dosimetry systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xing, Aitang; Arumugam, Sankar; Deshpande, Shrikant; George, Armia; Vial, Philip; Holloway, Lois; Goozee, Gary

2015-01-01

3D Gamma index is one of the metrics which have been widely used for clinical routine patient specific quality assurance for IMRT, Tomotherapy and VMAT. The algorithms for calculating the 3D Gamma index using global and local methods implemented in two software tools: PTW- VeriSoft® as a part of OCTIVIUS 4D dosimeter systems and 3DVHTM from Sun Nuclear were assessed. The Gamma index calculated by the two systems was compared with manual calculated for one data set. The Gamma pass rate calculated by the two systems was compared using 3%/3mm, 2%/2mm, 3%/2mm and 2%/3mm for two additional data sets. The Gamma indexes calculated by the two systems were accurate, but Gamma pass rates calculated by the two software tools for same data set with the same dose threshold were different due to the different interpolation of raw dose data by the two systems and different implementation of Gamma index calculation and other modules in the two software tools. The mean difference was -1.3%±3.38 (1SD) with a maximum difference of 11.7%.

Measuring Workload Demand of Informatics Systems with the Clinical Case Demand Index

PubMed Central

Iyengar, M. Sriram; Rogith, Deevakar; Florez-Arango, Jose F

2017-01-01

Introduction: The increasing use of Health Information Technology (HIT) can add substantially to workload on clinical providers. Current methods for assessing workload do not take into account the nature of clinical cases and the use of HIT tools while solving them. Methods: The Clinical Case Demand Index (CCDI), consisting of a summary score and visual representation, was developed to meet this need. Consistency with current perceived workload measures was evaluated in a Randomized Control Trial of a mobile health system. Results: CCDI is significantly correlated with existing workload measures and inversely related to provider performance. Discussion: CCDI combines subjective and objective characteristics of clinical cases along with cognitive and clinical dimensions. Applications include evaluation of HIT tools, clinician scheduling, medical education. Conclusion: CCDI supports comparative effectiveness research of HIT tools. In addition, CCDI could have numerous applications including training, clinical trials, design of clinical workflows, and others. PMID:29854166

Evaluation of selection index: application to the choice of an indirect multitrait selection index for soybean breeding.

PubMed

Bouchez, A; Goffinet, B

1990-02-01

Selection indices can be used to predict one trait from information available on several traits in order to improve the prediction accuracy. Plant or animal breeders are interested in selecting only the best individuals, and need to compare the efficiency of different trait combinations in order to choose the index ensuring the best prediction quality for individual values. As the usual tools for index evaluation do not remain unbiased in all cases, we propose a robust way of evaluation by means of an estimator of the mean-square error of prediction (EMSEP). This estimator remains valid even when parameters are not known, as usually assumed, but are estimated. EMSEP is applied to the choice of an indirect multitrait selection index at the F5 generation of a classical breeding scheme for soybeans. Best predictions for precocity are obtained by means of indices using only part of the available information.

Evaluation of the Missoula-VITAS Quality of Life Index--revised: research tool or clinical tool?

PubMed

Schwartz, Carolyn E; Merriman, Melanie P; Reed, George; Byock, Ira

2005-02-01

Quality of life (QOL) is a central outcome measure in caring for seriously ill patients. The Missoula-VITAS Quality of Life Index (MVQOLI) is a 25-item patient-centered index that weights each of five QOL dimensions (symptoms, function, interpersonal, wellbeing, transcendence) by its importance to the respondent. The measure has been used to assess QOL for hospice patients, and has been found to be somewhat complex to use and analyze. This study aimed to simplify the measure, and evaluate the reliability and validity of a revised version as either a research or clinical tool (i.e., "psychometric" versus "clinimetric"). Two data collection efforts are described. The psychometric study collected QOL data from 175 patients at baseline, 3-5 days, and 21 days later. The implementation study evaluated the feasibility and utility of the MVQOLI-R during over six weeks of use. End-stage renal patients on dialysis, hospice, or long-term care patients participated in the psychometric study. The implementation study was done in hospice, home health, and palliative care settings. The MVQOLI-R and the Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale. The psychometric and implementation studies suggest that the MVQOLI-R performs well as a clinical tool but is not powerful as an outcome research instrument. The MVQOLI-R has the heterogeneous structure of clinimetric tools, and demonstrated both relevance and responsiveness. Additionally, in a clinical setting the MVQOLI-R was useful therapeutically for stimulating communication about the psychosocial and spiritual issues important to the tasks of life completion and life closure. The MVQOLI-R has clinical utility as a patient QOL assessment tool and may have therapeutic utility as a tool for fostering discussion among patients and their clinicians, as well as for helping patients identify sources of suffering and opportunities during this time in their lives.

Validation of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Task Load Index as a tool to evaluate the learning curve for endoscopy training.

PubMed

Mohamed, Rachid; Raman, Maitreyi; Anderson, John; McLaughlin, Kevin; Rostom, Alaa; Coderre, Sylvain

2014-03-01

Although workplace workload assessments exist in different fields, an endoscopy-specific workload assessment tool is lacking. To validate such a workload tool and use it to map the progression of novice trainees in gastroenterology in performing their first endoscopies. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration Task Load Index (NASA-TLX) workload assessment tool was completed by eight novice trainees in gastroenterology and 10 practicing gastroenterologists⁄surgeons. An exploratory factor analysis was performed to construct a streamlined endoscopy-specific task load index, which was subsequently validated. The 'Endoscopy Task Load Index' was used to monitor progression of trainee exertion and self-assessed performance over their first 40 procedures. From the factor analysis of the NASA-TLX, two principal components emerged: a measure of exertion and a measure of self-efficacy. These items became the components of the newly validated Endoscopy Task Load Index. There was a steady decline in self-perceived exertion over the training period, which was more rapid for gastroscopy than colonoscopy. The self-efficacy scores for gastroscopy rapidly increased over the first few procedures, reaching a plateau after this period of time. For colonoscopy, there was a progressive increase in reported self-efficacy over the first three quartiles of procedures, followed by a drop in self-efficacy scores over the final quartile. The present study validated an Endoscopy Task Load Index that can be completed in <1 min. Practical implications of such a tool in endoscopy education include identifying periods of higher perceived exertion among novice endoscopists, facilitating appropriate levels of guidance from trainers.

Fine-grained indexing of the biomedical literature: MeSH subheading attachment for a MEDLINE indexing tool.

PubMed

Névéol, Aurélie; Shooshan, Sonya E; Mork, James G; Aronson, Alan R

2007-10-11

This paper reports on the latest results of an Indexing Initiative effort addressing the automatic attachment of subheadings to MeSH main headings recommended by the NLM's Medical Text Indexer. Several linguistic and statistical approaches are used to retrieve and attach the subheadings. Continuing collaboration with NLM indexers also provided insight on how automatic methods can better enhance indexing practice. The methods were evaluated on corpus of 50,000 MEDLINE citations. For main heading/subheading pair recommendations, the best precision is obtained with a post-processing rule method (58%) while the best recall is obtained by pooling all methods (64%). For stand-alone subheading recommendations, the best performance is obtained with the PubMed Related Citations algorithm. Significant progress has been made in terms of subheading coverage. After further evaluation, some of this work may be integrated in the MEDLINE indexing workflow.

Fine-Grained Indexing of the Biomedical Literature: MeSH Subheading Attachment for a MEDLINE Indexing Tool

PubMed Central

Névéol, Aurélie; Shooshan, Sonya E.; Mork, James G.; Aronson, Alan R.

2007-01-01

Objective This paper reports on the latest results of an Indexing Initiative effort addressing the automatic attachment of subheadings to MeSH main headings recommended by the NLM’s Medical Text Indexer. Material and Methods Several linguistic and statistical approaches are used to retrieve and attach the subheadings. Continuing collaboration with NLM indexers also provided insight on how automatic methods can better enhance indexing practice. Results The methods were evaluated on corpus of 50,000 MEDLINE citations. For main heading/subheading pair recommendations, the best precision is obtained with a post-processing rule method (58%) while the best recall is obtained by pooling all methods (64%). For stand-alone subheading recommendations, the best performance is obtained with the PubMed Related Citations algorithm. Conclusion Significant progress has been made in terms of subheading coverage. After further evaluation, some of this work may be integrated in the MEDLINE indexing workflow. PMID:18693897

A Stream Multimetric Macroinvertebrate Index (MMI) for the Sand Hills Ecoregion of the Southeastern Plains, USA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kosnicki, Ely; Sefick, Stephen A.; Paller, Michael H.; Jerrell, Miller S.; Prusha, Blair A.; Sterrett, Sean C.; Tuberville, Tracey D.; Feminella, Jack W.

2016-10-01

A macroinvertebrate multimetric index is an effective tool for assessing the biological integrity of streams. However, data collected under a single protocol may not be available for an entire region. We sampled macroinvertebrates from the full extent of the Sand Hills ecoregion Level IV of the Southeastern Plains with a standard protocol during the summers of 2010-2012. We evaluated the performance of 94 metrics through a series of screening criteria and built 48 macroinvertebrate multimetric indexs with combinations of the best performing metrics, representing richness, habit, functional feeding guild, sensitivity, and community composition. A series of narrative-response tests for each macroinvertebrate multimetric index was used to find the best performing macroinvertebrate multimetric index which we called the Sand Hills macroinvertebrate multimetric index. The Sand Hills macroinvertebrate multimetric index consisted of the measures Biotic Index, % Shredder taxa, Clinger taxa2/total taxa, Plecoptera and Trichoptera richness, and Tanytarsini taxa2/Chironomidae taxa. Comparison of the Sand Hills macroinvertebrate multimetric index with existing assessment tools calculated with our data indicated that the Sand Hills macroinvertebrate multimetric index performs at a high level with regard to identifying degraded sites and in its response to stress gradients.

Psychometric Properties of Korean Version of the Second Victim Experience and Support Tool (K-SVEST).

PubMed

Kim, Eun-Mi; Kim, Sun-Aee; Lee, Ju-Ry; Burlison, Jonathan D; Oh, Eui Geum

2018-02-13

"Second victims" are defined as healthcare professionals whose wellness is influenced by adverse clinical events. The Second Victim Experience and Support Tool (SVEST) was used to measure the second-victim experience and quality of support resources. Although the reliability and validity of the original SVEST have been validated, those for the Korean tool have not been validated. The aim of the study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Korean version of the SVEST. The study included 305 clinical nurses as participants. The SVEST was translated into Korean via back translation. Content validity was assessed by seven experts, and test-retest reliability was evaluated by 30 clinicians. Internal consistency and construct validity were assessed via confirmatory factor analysis. The analyses were performed using SPSS 23.0 and STATA 13.0 software. The content validity index value demonstrated validity; item- and scale-level content validity index values were both 0.95. Test-retest reliability and internal consistency reliability were satisfactory: the intraclass consistent coefficient was 0.71, and Cronbach α values ranged from 0.59 to 0.87. The CFA showed a significantly good fit for an eight-factor structure (χ = 578.21, df = 303, comparative fit index = 0.92, Tucker-Lewis index = 0.90, root mean square error of approximation = 0.05). The K-SVEST demonstrated good psychometric properties and adequate validity and reliability. The results showed that the Korean version of SVEST demonstrated the extent of second victimhood and support resources in Korean healthcare workers and could aid in the development of support programs and evaluation of their effectiveness.

Improvement of impact noise in a passenger car utilizing sound metric based on wavelet transform

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Sang-Kwon; Kim, Ho-Wuk; Na, Eun-Woo

2010-08-01

A new sound metric for impact sound is developed based on the continuous wavelet transform (CWT), a useful tool for the analysis of non-stationary signals such as impact noise. Together with new metric, two other conventional sound metrics related to sound modulation and fluctuation are also considered. In all, three sound metrics are employed to develop impact sound quality indexes for several specific impact courses on the road. Impact sounds are evaluated subjectively by 25 jurors. The indexes are verified by comparing the correlation between the index output and results of a subjective evaluation based on a jury test. These indexes are successfully applied to an objective evaluation for improvement of the impact sound quality for cases where some parts of the suspension system of the test car are modified.

Quantifying the relative contribution of an ecological reserve to conservation objectives

USGS Publications Warehouse

Aagaard, Kevin; Lyons, James E.; Thogmartin, Wayne E.

2017-01-01

Evaluating the role public lands play in meeting conservation goals is an essential step in good governance. We present a tool for comparing the regional contribution of each of a suite of wildlife management units to conservation goals. We use weighted summation (simple additive weighting) to compute a Unit Contribution Index (UCI) based on species richness, population abundance, and a conservation score based on IUCN Red List classified threat levels. We evaluate UCI for a subset of the 729 participating wetlands of the Integrated Waterbird Management and Monitoring (IWMM) Program across U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Regions 3 (Midwest USA), 4 (Southeast USA), and 5 (Northeast USA). We found that the median across-Region UCI for Region 5 was greater than Regions 3 and 4, while Region 4 had the greatest within-Region UCI median. This index is a powerful tool for wildlife managers to evaluate the performance of units within the conservation estate.

Evacuation performance evaluation tool.

PubMed

Farra, Sharon; Miller, Elaine T; Gneuhs, Matthew; Timm, Nathan; Li, Gengxin; Simon, Ashley; Brady, Whittney

2016-01-01

Hospitals conduct evacuation exercises to improve performance during emergency events. An essential aspect in this process is the creation of reliable and valid evaluation tools. The objective of this article is to describe the development and implications of a disaster evacuation performance tool that measures one portion of the very complex process of evacuation. Through the application of the Delphi technique and DeVellis's framework, disaster and neonatal experts provided input in developing this performance evaluation tool. Following development, content validity and reliability of this tool were assessed. Large pediatric hospital and medical center in the Midwest. The tool was pilot tested with an administrative, medical, and nursing leadership group and then implemented with a group of 68 healthcare workers during a disaster exercise of a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The tool has demonstrated high content validity with a scale validity index of 0.979 and inter-rater reliability G coefficient (0.984, 95% CI: 0.948-0.9952). The Delphi process based on the conceptual framework of DeVellis yielded a psychometrically sound evacuation performance evaluation tool for a NICU.

Evaluation of phosphorus site assessment tools: lessons from the USA

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Critical source area identification through phosphorus (P) site assessment is a fundamental part of modern nutrient management planning in the U.S. To date, the P Index has been the primary tool for P site assessment adopted by US states, but there has been only patchy testing of the many versions ...

The Early Development Index and Children from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Backgrounds

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Li, Jianghong; D'Angiulli, Amedeo; Kendall, Garth E.

2007-01-01

The Early Development Index (EDI) is a teacher-completed checklist, intended to be a population-level tool to measure children's readiness for school and to alert communities to potential developmental problems in children. In response to the increasing popularity of the EDI, this paper provides a critical and timely evaluation and identifies the…

Using the annual phosphorus loss estimator (APLE) model to evaluate the University of Maryland phosphorus management tool

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Maryland’s phosphorus site index (PSI) has been used to guide management decisions to minimize the potential for P loss from agricultural fields in Maryland since the adoption of the Water Quality Improvement Act of 1998. The index was recently revised and renamed the University of Maryland Phospho...

Performance evaluation of inpatient service in Beijing: a horizontal comparison with risk adjustment based on Diagnosis Related Groups.

PubMed

Jian, Weiyan; Huang, Yinmin; Hu, Mu; Zhang, Xiumei

2009-04-30

The medical performance evaluation, which provides a basis for rational decision-making, is an important part of medical service research. Current progress with health services reform in China is far from satisfactory, without sufficient regulation. To achieve better progress, an effective tool for evaluating medical performance needs to be established. In view of this, this study attempted to develop such a tool appropriate for the Chinese context. Data was collected from the front pages of medical records (FPMR) of all large general public hospitals (21 hospitals) in the third and fourth quarter of 2007. Locally developed Diagnosis Related Groups (DRGs) were introduced as a tool for risk adjustment and performance evaluation indicators were established: Charge Efficiency Index (CEI), Time Efficiency Index (TEI) and inpatient mortality of low-risk group cases (IMLRG), to reflect respectively work efficiency and medical service quality. Using these indicators, the inpatient services' performance was horizontally compared among hospitals. Case-mix Index (CMI) was used to adjust efficiency indices and then produce adjusted CEI (aCEI) and adjusted TEI (aTEI). Poisson distribution analysis was used to test the statistical significance of the IMLRG differences between different hospitals. Using the aCEI, aTEI and IMLRG scores for the 21 hospitals, Hospital A and C had relatively good overall performance because their medical charges were lower, LOS shorter and IMLRG smaller. The performance of Hospital P and Q was the worst due to their relatively high charge level, long LOS and high IMLRG. Various performance problems also existed in the other hospitals. It is possible to develop an accurate and easy to run performance evaluation system using Case-Mix as the tool for risk adjustment, choosing indicators close to consumers and managers, and utilizing routine report forms as the basic information source. To keep such a system running effectively, it is necessary to improve the reliability of clinical information and the risk-adjustment ability of Case-Mix.

[Emotional Intelligence Index: a tool for the routine assessment of mental health promotion programs in schools].

PubMed

Veltro, Franco; Ialenti, Valentina; Morales García, Manuel Alejandro; Gigantesco, Antonella

2016-01-01

After critical examination of several aspects relating to the evaluation of some dimensions of emotional intelligence through self-assessment tools, is described the procedure of construction and validation of an Index for its measurement, conceived only for the routine assessment of health promotion programs mental in schools that include among their objectives the improvement of emotional intelligence specifically "outcome-oriented". On the basis of the two most common international tools, are listed 27 items plus 6 of control, illustrated two Focus Group (FG) of students (face validity). The scale obtained by FG was administered to 300 students, and the results were submitted to factorial analysis (construct validity). It was also evaluated the internal consistency with Cronbach's Alpha and studied concurrent validity with the emotional quotient inventory, a scale of perceived self-efficacy and a stress test rating. From the analysis of FG all the original items were modified, deleted 4, and reduced the encoding system from 6 to 4 levels of Likert scale. Of the 23 items included in the analysis have emerged five factors (intra-psychic dimension, interpersonal, impulsivity, adaptive coping, sense of self-efficacy) for a total of 15 items. Very satisfactory were the results of the validation process of internal consistency (0.72) and the concurrent validity. The results are positive. It is obtained in fact the shortest routine assessment tool currently available in Italy which constitutes a real Index, for which compilation are required on average 3 minutes. Is emphasized the characteristic of an Index, and not of questionnaire or interview for clinical use, highlighting the only specific use for mental health promotion programs in schools.

Proposal of an environmental performance index to assess solid waste treatment technologies

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Goulart Coelho, Hosmanny Mauro, E-mail: hosmanny@hotmail.com; Lange, Lisete Celina; Coelho, Lineker Max Goulart

2012-07-15

Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Proposal of a new concept in waste management: Cleaner Treatment. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Development of an index to assess quantitatively waste treatment technologies. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Delphi Method was carried out so as to define environmental indicators. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Environmental performance evaluation of waste-to-energy plants. - Abstract: Although the concern with sustainable development and environment protection has considerably grown in the last years it is noted that the majority of decision making models and tools are still either excessively tied to economic aspects or geared to the production process. Moreover, existing models focus on the priority steps of solid waste management, beyond wastemore » energy recovery and disposal. So, in order to help the lack of models and tools aiming at the waste treatment and final disposal, a new concept is proposed: the Cleaner Treatment, which is based on the Cleaner Production principles. This paper focuses on the development and validation of the Cleaner Treatment Index (CTI), to assess environmental performance of waste treatment technologies based on the Cleaner Treatment concept. The index is formed by aggregation (summation or product) of several indicators that consists in operational parameters. The weights of the indicator were established by Delphi Method and Brazilian Environmental Laws. In addition, sensitivity analyses were carried out comparing both aggregation methods. Finally, index validation was carried out by applying the CTI to 10 waste-to-energy plants data. From sensitivity analysis and validation results it is possible to infer that summation model is the most suitable aggregation method. For summation method, CTI results were superior to 0.5 (in a scale from 0 to 1) for most facilities evaluated. So, this study demonstrates that CTI is a simple and robust tool to assess and compare the environmental performance of different treatment plants being an excellent quantitative tool to support Cleaner Treatment implementation.« less

Tools developed and disseminated by guideline producers to promote the uptake of their guidelines.

PubMed

Flodgren, Gerd; Hall, Amanda M; Goulding, Lucy; Eccles, Martin P; Grimshaw, Jeremy M; Leng, Gillian C; Shepperd, Sasha

2016-08-22

The uptake of clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) is inconsistent, despite their potential to improve the quality of health care and patient outcomes. Some guideline producers have addressed this problem by developing tools to encourage faster adoption of new guidelines. This review focuses on the effectiveness of tools developed and disseminated by guideline producers to improve the uptake of their CPGs. To evaluate the effectiveness of implementation tools developed and disseminated by guideline producers, which accompany or follow the publication of a CPG, to promote uptake. A secondary objective is to determine which approaches to guideline implementation are most effective. We searched the Cochrane Effective Practice and Organisation of Care (EPOC) Group Specialised Register, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL); NHS Economic Evaluation Database, HTA Database; MEDLINE and MEDLINE In-Process and other non-indexed citations; Embase; PsycINFO; CINAHL; Dissertations and Theses, ProQuest; Index to Theses; Science Citation Index Expanded, ISI Web of Knowledge; Conference Proceedings Citation Index - Science, ISI Web of Knowledge; Health Management Information Consortium (HMIC), and NHS Evidence up to February 2016. We also searched trials registers, reference lists of included studies and relevant websites. We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and cluster-RCTs, controlled before-and-after studies (CBAs) and interrupted time series (ITS) studies evaluating the effects of guideline implementation tools developed by recognised guideline producers to improve the uptake of their own guidelines. The guideline could target any clinical area. Two review authors independently extracted data and assessed the risk of bias of each included study using the Cochrane 'Risk of bias' criteria. We graded our confidence in the evidence using the approach recommended by the GRADE working group. The clinical conditions targeted and the implementation tools used were too heterogenous to combine data for meta-analysis. We report the median absolute risk difference (ARD) and interquartile range (IQR) for the main outcome of adherence to guidelines. We included four cluster-RCTs that were conducted in the Netherlands, France, the USA and Canada. These studies evaluated the effects of tools developed by national guideline producers to implement their CPGs. The implementation tools evaluated targeted healthcare professionals; none targeted healthcare organisations or patients.One study used two short educational workshops tailored to barriers. In three studies the intervention consisted of the provision of paper-based educational materials, order forms or reminders, or both. The clinical condition, type of healthcare professional, and behaviour targeted by the CPG varied across studies.Two of the four included studies reported data on healthcare professionals' adherence to guidelines. A guideline tool developed by the producers of a guideline probably leads to increased adherence to the guidelines; median ARD (IQR) was 0.135 (0.115 and 0.159 for the two studies respectively) at an average four-week follow-up (moderate certainty evidence), which indicates a median 13.5% greater adherence to guidelines in the intervention group. Providing healthcare professionals with a tool to improve implementation of a guideline may lead to little or no difference in costs to the health service. Implementation tools developed by recognised guideline producers probably lead to improved healthcare professionals' adherence to guidelines in the management of non-specific low back pain and ordering thyroid-function tests. There are limited data on the relative costs of implementing these interventions.There are no studies evaluating the effectiveness of interventions targeting the organisation of care (e.g. benchmarking tools, costing templates, etc.), or for mass media interventions. We could not draw any conclusions about our second objective, the comparative effectiveness of implementation tools, due to the small number of studies, the heterogeneity between interventions, and the clinical conditions that were targeted.

Winter maintenance performance measure.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2016-01-01

The Winter Performance Index is a method of quantifying winter storm events and the DOTs response to them. : It is a valuable tool for evaluating the States maintenance practices, performing post-storm analysis, training : maintenance personnel...

Tools for Supporting Distributed Agile Project Planning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Xin; Maurer, Frank; Morgan, Robert; Oliveira, Josyleuda

Agile project planning plays an important part in agile software development. In distributed settings, project planning is severely impacted by the lack of face-to-face communication and the inability to share paper index cards amongst all meeting participants. To address these issues, several distributed agile planning tools were developed. The tools vary in features, functions and running platforms. In this chapter, we first summarize the requirements for distributed agile planning. Then we give an overview on existing agile planning tools. We also evaluate existing tools based on tool requirements. Finally, we present some practical advices for both designers and users of distributed agile planning tools.

Brunnstrom Recovery Stage and Motricity Index for the Evaluation of Upper Extremity in Stroke: Analysis for Correlation and Responsiveness

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Safaz, Ismail; Ylmaz, Bilge; Yasar, Evren; Alaca, Rdvan

2009-01-01

The aim of this study was to find out first whether Brunnstrom recovery stage (BRS) and motricity index (MI) were correlated with each other and second to observe whether the two assessment tools were sensitive to changes regarding the rehabilitation outcome. Forty-six stroke patients who were admitted to the Stroke Rehabilitation Unit at our…

The Classification and Evaluation of Computer-Aided Software Engineering Tools

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-09-01

International Business Machines Corporation Customizer is a Registered Trademark of Index Technology Corporation Data Analyst is a Registered Trademark of...years, a rapid series of new approaches have been adopted including: information engineering, entity- relationship modeling, automatic code generation...support true information sharing among tools and automated consistency checking. Moreover, the repository must record and manage the relationships and

Assessment of workload using NASA Task Load Index in perianesthesia nursing.

PubMed

Young, Gloria; Zavelina, Lyubov; Hooper, Vallire

2008-04-01

According to the Institute of Medicine (IOM), as many as 44,000 to 98,000 people in the United States die in hospitals every year due to medical errors. Multiple physiological and psychological factors can impact the health care provider's attention span, making medical errors more likely. Some of these factors include increased workload, fatigue, cognitive overload, ineffective interpersonal communications, and faulty information processing. Postanesthesia nurses, responsible for providing care to unstable patients emerging from anesthesia with multiple life-threatening conditions, must make critical decisions on a minute-by-minute basis. The current ASPAN Patient Classification/Recommended Staffing Guidelines does not adequately take into account varying care requirements among the patients. If a tool could be found that effectively evaluated staff's workload, ongoing assessment would be enhanced and resources better used. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration-Task Load Index (NASA-TLX), a multifaceted tool for evaluating perceptual (subjective) workload, has seen extensive applications and is widely regarded as the strongest tool available for reporting perceptions of workload. This article will survey various uses of the NASA-TLX and consider the potential uses for this tool in perianesthesia nursing.

An Evaluation of h-Index as a Measure of Research Productivity Among Canadian Academic Plastic Surgeons.

PubMed

Hu, Jiayi; Gholami, Arian; Stone, Nicholas; Bartoszko, Justyna; Thoma, Achilleas

2018-02-01

Evaluation of research productivity among plastic surgeons can be complex. The Hirsch index (h-index) was recently introduced to evaluate both the quality and quantity of one's research activity. It has been proposed to be valuable in assessing promotions and grant funding within academic medicine, including plastic surgery. Our objective is to evaluate research productivity among Canadian academic plastic surgeons using the h-index. A list of Canadian academic plastic surgeons was obtained from websites of academic training programs. The h-index was retrieved using the Scopus database. Relevant demographic and academic factors were collected and their effects on the h-index were analyzed using the t test and Wilcoxon Mann-Whitney U test. Nominal and categorical variables were analyzed using χ 2 test and 1-way analysis of variance. Univariate and multivariate models were built a priori. All P values were 2 sided, and P < .05 was considered to be significant. Our study on Canadian plastic surgeons involved 175 surgeons with an average h-index of 7.6. Over 80% of the surgeons were male. Both univariable and multivariable analysis showed that graduate degree ( P < .0001), academic rank ( P = .03), and years in practice ( P < .0001) were positively correlated with h-index. Limitations of the study include that the Scopus database and the websites of training programs were not always up-to-date. The h-index is a novel tool for evaluating research productivity in academic medicine, and this study shows that the h-index can also serve as a useful metric for measuring research productivity in the Canadian plastic surgery community. Plastic surgeons would be wise to familiarize themselves with the h-index concept and should consider using it as an adjunct to existing metrics such as total publication number.

Self-evaluated automatic classifier as a decision-support tool for sleep/wake staging.

PubMed

Charbonnier, S; Zoubek, L; Lesecq, S; Chapotot, F

2011-06-01

An automatic sleep/wake stages classifier that deals with the presence of artifacts and that provides a confidence index with each decision is proposed. The decision system is composed of two stages: the first stage checks the 20s epoch of polysomnographic signals (EEG, EOG and EMG) for the presence of artifacts and selects the artifact-free signals. The second stage classifies the epoch using one classifier selected out of four, using feature inputs extracted from the artifact-free signals only. A confidence index is associated with each decision made, depending on the classifier used and on the class assigned, so that the user's confidence in the automatic decision is increased. The two-stage system was tested on a large database of 46 night recordings. It reached 85.5% of overall accuracy with improved ability to discern NREM I stage from REM sleep. It was shown that only 7% of the database was classified with a low confidence index, and thus should be re-evaluated by a physiologist expert, which makes the system an efficient decision-support tool. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of a French medical multi-terminology indexer for the manual annotation of natural language medical reports of healthcare-associated infections.

PubMed

Sakji, Saoussen; Gicquel, Quentin; Pereira, Suzanne; Kergourlay, Ivan; Proux, Denys; Darmoni, Stéfan; Metzger, Marie-Hélène

2010-01-01

Surveillance of healthcare-associated infections is essential to prevention. A new collaborative project, namely ALADIN, was launched in January 2009 and aims to develop an automated detection tool based on natural language processing of medical documents. The objective of this study was to evaluate the annotation of natural language medical reports of healthcare-associated infections. A software MS Access application (NosIndex) has been developed to interface ECMT XML answer and manual annotation work. ECMT performances were evaluated by an infection control practitioner (ICP). Precision was evaluated for the 2 modules and recall only for the default module. Exclusion rate was defined as ratio between medical terms not found by ECMT and total number of terms evaluated. The medical discharge summaries were randomly selected in 4 medical wards. From the 247 medical terms evaluated, ECMT proposed 428 and 3,721 codes, respectively for the default and expansion modules. The precision was higher with the default module (P1=0.62) than with the expansion (P2=0.47). Performances of ECMT as support tool for the medical annotation were satisfactory.

Impact of Image Noise on Gamma Index Calculation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, M.; Mo, X.; Parnell, D.; Olivera, G.; Galmarini, D.; Lu, W.

2014-03-01

Purpose: The Gamma Index defines an asymmetric metric between the evaluated image and the reference image. It provides a quantitative comparison that can be used to indicate sample-wised pass/fail on the agreement of the two images. The Gamma passing/failing rate has become an important clinical evaluation tool. However, the presence of noise in the evaluated and/or reference images may change the Gamma Index, hence the passing/failing rate, and further, clinical decisions. In this work, we systematically studied the impact of the image noise on the Gamma Index calculation. Methods: We used both analytic formulation and numerical calculations in our study. The numerical calculations included simulations and clinical images. Three different noise scenarios were studied in simulations: noise in reference images only, in evaluated images only, and in both. Both white and spatially correlated noises of various magnitudes were simulated. For clinical images of various noise levels, the Gamma Index of measurement against calculation, calculation against measurement, and measurement against measurement, were evaluated. Results: Numerical calculations for both the simulation and clinical data agreed with the analytic formulations, and the clinical data agreed with the simulations. For the Gamma Index of measurement against calculation, its distribution has an increased mean and an increased standard deviation as the noise increases. On the contrary, for the Gamma index of calculation against measurement, its distribution has a decreased mean and stabilized standard deviation as the noise increases. White noise has greater impact on the Gamma Index than spatially correlated noise. Conclusions: The noise has significant impact on the Gamma Index calculation and the impact is asymmetric. The Gamma Index should be reported along with the noise levels in both reference and evaluated images. Reporting of the Gamma Index with switched roles of the images as reference and evaluated images or some composite metrics would be a good practice.

Validation of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Task Load Index as a tool to evaluate-the learning curve for endoscopy training

PubMed Central

Mohamed, Rachid; Raman, Maitreyi; Anderson, John; McLaughlin, Kevin; Rostom, Alaa; Coderre, Sylvain

2014-01-01

BACKGROUND: Although workplace workload assessments exist in different fields, an endoscopy-specific workload assessment tool is lacking. OBJECTIVE: To validate such a workload tool and use it to map the progression of novice trainees in gastroenterology in performing their first endoscopies. METHODS: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration Task Load Index (NASA-TLX) workload assessment tool was completed by eight novice trainees in gastroenterology and 10 practicing gastroenterologists/surgeons. An exploratory factor analysis was performed to construct a streamlined endoscopy-specific task load index, which was subsequently validated. The ‘Endoscopy Task Load Index’ was used to monitor progression of trainee exertion and self-assessed performance over their first 40 procedures. RESULTS: From the factor analysis of the NASA-TLX, two principal components emerged: a measure of exertion and a measure of self-efficacy. These items became the components of the newly validated Endoscopy Task Load Index. There was a steady decline in self-perceived exertion over the training period, which was more rapid for gastroscopy than colonoscopy. The self-efficacy scores for gastroscopy rapidly increased over the first few procedures, reaching a plateau after this period of time. For colonoscopy, there was a progressive increase in reported self-efficacy over the first three quartiles of procedures, followed by a drop in self-efficacy scores over the final quartile. DISCUSSION: The present study validated an Endoscopy Task Load Index that can be completed in <1 min. Practical implications of such a tool in endoscopy education include identifying periods of higher perceived exertion among novice endoscopists, facilitating appropriate levels of guidance from trainers. PMID:24619638

Dewey Decimal Classification Online Project: Evaluation of a Library Schedule and Index Integrated into the Subject Searching Capabilities of an Online Catalog. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Markey, Karen; Demeyer, Anh N.

In this research project, subject terms from the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) Schedules and Relative Index were incorporated into an online catalog as searcher's tools for subject access, browsing, and display. Four features of the DDC were employed to help searchers browse for and match their own subject terms with the online catalog's…

A comparison of rating scales used in the diagnosis of extraesophageal reflux.

PubMed

Musser, Joy; Kelchner, Lisa; Neils-Strunjas, Jean; Montrose, Marshall

2011-05-01

To evaluate the level of agreement between reflux area index scores, the reflux symptom index (RSI), and the reflux finding score (RFS). Inter- and intrarater reliability of the RFS was assessed. A criterion of pH 5 was used to evaluate its effects on agreement. Adult participants were enrolled in this prospective study. Eighty-two participants (72 patients and 10 controls) completed the RSI, videoendoscopy, and 24-hour pH probe monitoring. The reflux area index for extraesophageal reflux (EER) events was calculated at pH 4 and 5. Two speech-language pathologists and one otolaryngologist independently rated 36 endoscopic examinations using the RFS through a web-based system. A repeated rating of six examinations was completed. Chi-square revealed poor agreement between the diagnostic tools, regardless of which pH criterion was used. Intraclass correlation coefficients revealed fair interrater reliability of the RFS and moderate intrarater reliability. Independent-sample t tests for the RFS and reflux area index (RAI) scores failed to identify patients from normal controls. The results of this study highlight the lack of agreement among the current available diagnostic tools for EER. Raters were not in agreement regarding the presence and severity of physical findings of EER. Results support the need for greater consensus among the clinical tools used in the diagnosis of EER. Physical rating scales may overidentify patients and would benefit from uniform scales and training. Assessing EER occurring at pH 5 may also yield important diagnostic information. Further research is needed to verify normative RAI cutpoints. Copyright © 2011 The Voice Foundation. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

Performance evaluation of inpatient service in Beijing: a horizontal comparison with risk adjustment based on Diagnosis Related Groups

PubMed Central

Jian, Weiyan; Huang, Yinmin; Hu, Mu; Zhang, Xiumei

2009-01-01

Background The medical performance evaluation, which provides a basis for rational decision-making, is an important part of medical service research. Current progress with health services reform in China is far from satisfactory, without sufficient regulation. To achieve better progress, an effective tool for evaluating medical performance needs to be established. In view of this, this study attempted to develop such a tool appropriate for the Chinese context. Methods Data was collected from the front pages of medical records (FPMR) of all large general public hospitals (21 hospitals) in the third and fourth quarter of 2007. Locally developed Diagnosis Related Groups (DRGs) were introduced as a tool for risk adjustment and performance evaluation indicators were established: Charge Efficiency Index (CEI), Time Efficiency Index (TEI) and inpatient mortality of low-risk group cases (IMLRG), to reflect respectively work efficiency and medical service quality. Using these indicators, the inpatient services' performance was horizontally compared among hospitals. Case-mix Index (CMI) was used to adjust efficiency indices and then produce adjusted CEI (aCEI) and adjusted TEI (aTEI). Poisson distribution analysis was used to test the statistical significance of the IMLRG differences between different hospitals. Results Using the aCEI, aTEI and IMLRG scores for the 21 hospitals, Hospital A and C had relatively good overall performance because their medical charges were lower, LOS shorter and IMLRG smaller. The performance of Hospital P and Q was the worst due to their relatively high charge level, long LOS and high IMLRG. Various performance problems also existed in the other hospitals. Conclusion It is possible to develop an accurate and easy to run performance evaluation system using Case-Mix as the tool for risk adjustment, choosing indicators close to consumers and managers, and utilizing routine report forms as the basic information source. To keep such a system running effectively, it is necessary to improve the reliability of clinical information and the risk-adjustment ability of Case-Mix. PMID:19402913

Analysis of semantic search within the domains of uncertainty: using Keyword Effectiveness Indexing as an evaluation tool.

PubMed

Lorence, Daniel; Abraham, Joanna

2006-01-01

Medical and health-related searches pose a special case of risk when using the web as an information resource. Uninsured consumers, lacking access to a trained provider, will often rely on information from the internet for self-diagnosis and treatment. In areas where treatments are uncertain or controversial, most consumers lack the knowledge to make an informed decision. This exploratory technology assessment examines the use of Keyword Effectiveness Indexing (KEI) analysis as a potential tool for profiling information search and keyword retrieval patterns. Results demonstrate that the KEI methodology can be useful in identifying e-health search patterns, but is limited by semantic or text-based web environments.

Facial Angiofibroma Severity Index (FASI): reliability assessment of a new tool developed to measure severity and responsiveness to therapy in tuberous sclerosis-associated facial angiofibroma.

PubMed

Salido-Vallejo, R; Ruano, J; Garnacho-Saucedo, G; Godoy-Gijón, E; Llorca, D; Gómez-Fernández, C; Moreno-Giménez, J C

2014-12-01

Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) is an autosomal dominant neurocutaneous disorder characterized by the development of multisystem hamartomatous tumours. Topical sirolimus has recently been suggested as a potential treatment for TSC-associated facial angiofibroma (FA). To validate a reproducible scale created for the assessment of clinical severity and treatment response in these patients. We developed a new tool, the Facial Angiofibroma Severity Index (FASI) to evaluate the grade of erythema and the size and extent of FAs. In total, 30 different photographs of patients with TSC were shown to 56 dermatologists at each evaluation. Three evaluations using the same photographs but in a different random order were performed 1 week apart. Test and retest reliability and interobserver reproducibility were determined. There was good agreement between the investigators. Inter-rater reliability showed strong correlations (> 0.98; range 0.97-0.99) with inter-rater correlation coefficients (ICCs) for the FASI. The global estimated kappa coefficient for the degree of intra-rater agreement (test-retest) was 0.94 (range 0.91-0.97). The FASI is a valid and reliable tool for measuring the clinical severity of TSC-associated FAs, which can be applied in clinical practice to evaluate the response to treatment in these patients. © 2014 British Association of Dermatologists.

Use of the NatureServe Climate Change Vulnerability Index as an Assessment Tool for Reptiles and Amphibians: Lessons Learned.

PubMed

Tuberville, Tracey D; Andrews, Kimberly M; Sperry, Jinelle H; Grosse, Andrew M

2015-10-01

Climate change threatens biodiversity globally, yet it can be challenging to predict which species may be most vulnerable. Given the scope of the problem, it is imperative to rapidly assess vulnerability and identify actions to decrease risk. Although a variety of tools have been developed to assess climate change vulnerability, few have been evaluated with regard to their suitability for certain taxonomic groups. Due to their ectothermic physiology, low vagility, and strong association with temporary wetlands, reptiles and amphibians may be particularly vulnerable relative to other groups. Here, we evaluate use of the NatureServe Climate Change Vulnerability Index (CCVI) to assess a large suite of herpetofauna from the Sand Hills Ecoregion of the southeastern United States. Although data were frequently lacking for certain variables (e.g., phenological response to climate change, genetic variation), sufficient data were available to evaluate all 117 species. Sensitivity analyses indicated that results were highly dependent on size of assessment area and climate scenario selection. In addition, several ecological traits common in, but relatively unique to, herpetofauna are likely to contribute to their vulnerability and need special consideration during the scoring process. Despite some limitations, the NatureServe CCVI was a useful tool for screening large numbers of reptile and amphibian species. We provide general recommendations as to how the CCVI tool's application to herpetofauna can be improved through more specific guidance to the user regarding how to incorporate unique physiological and behavioral traits into scoring existing sensitivity factors and through modification to the assessment tool itself.

Use of the NatureServe Climate Change Vulnerability Index as an Assessment Tool for Reptiles and Amphibians: Lessons Learned

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tuberville, Tracey D.; Andrews, Kimberly M.; Sperry, Jinelle H.; Grosse, Andrew M.

2015-10-01

Climate change threatens biodiversity globally, yet it can be challenging to predict which species may be most vulnerable. Given the scope of the problem, it is imperative to rapidly assess vulnerability and identify actions to decrease risk. Although a variety of tools have been developed to assess climate change vulnerability, few have been evaluated with regard to their suitability for certain taxonomic groups. Due to their ectothermic physiology, low vagility, and strong association with temporary wetlands, reptiles and amphibians may be particularly vulnerable relative to other groups. Here, we evaluate use of the NatureServe Climate Change Vulnerability Index (CCVI) to assess a large suite of herpetofauna from the Sand Hills Ecoregion of the southeastern United States. Although data were frequently lacking for certain variables (e.g., phenological response to climate change, genetic variation), sufficient data were available to evaluate all 117 species. Sensitivity analyses indicated that results were highly dependent on size of assessment area and climate scenario selection. In addition, several ecological traits common in, but relatively unique to, herpetofauna are likely to contribute to their vulnerability and need special consideration during the scoring process. Despite some limitations, the NatureServe CCVI was a useful tool for screening large numbers of reptile and amphibian species. We provide general recommendations as to how the CCVI tool's application to herpetofauna can be improved through more specific guidance to the user regarding how to incorporate unique physiological and behavioral traits into scoring existing sensitivity factors and through modification to the assessment tool itself.

Development of a phantom and a methodology for evaluation of depth kerma and kerma index for dental cone beam computed tomography.

PubMed

Batista, W O; Navarro, M V T; Maia, A F

2013-12-01

Basically, all modalities of diagnostic radiology require phantoms suitable for dosimetric evaluations. New technologies frequently arise unaccompanied of tools for dosimetric evaluations and quality control. In this study, a low-cost phantom and a consequent proposed methodology for dosimetric evaluations in cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) were presented. The developed phantom has typical dimensions of the human face, was built in polymethyl methacrylate and filled with water. Three devices with different technological concepts were evaluated and a proposed index, kerma index-height product (PKIH), was defined as an option to the use of air kerma-area product. The results of this study show relatively uniform kerma profiles for scanners with field of views (FOVs) of large diameters and non-uniform for FOVs of small diameters. With regard to the values obtained for the kerma indexes, much higher values were found for the equipment FOVs with small diameter compared with the values of the two other equipment that have larger diameters. The results indicate that (1) there is a need for special phantoms for use in CBCT, (2) the use of P(KA) in the evaluation of protocols on different equipment can lead to false interpretations and (3) the new index is a suitable alternative for the use of P(KA) in CBCT.

Design of an instrument to measure the quality of care in Physical Therapy.

PubMed

Cavalheiro, Leny Vieira; Eid, Raquel Afonso Caserta; Talerman, Claudia; Prado, Cristiane do; Gobbi, Fátima Cristina Martorano; Andreoli, Paola Bruno de Araujo

2015-01-01

To design an instrument composed of domains that would demonstrate physical therapy activities and generate a consistent index to represent the quality of care in physical therapy. The methodology Lean Six Sigma was used to design the tool. The discussion involved seven different management groups staff. By means of brainstorming and Cause & Effect Matrix, we set up the process map. Five requirements composed the quality of care index in physical therapy, after application of the tool called Cause & Effect Matrix. The following requirements were assessed: physical therapist performance, care outcome indicator, adherence to physical therapy protocols, measure whether the prognosis and treatment outcome was achieved and Infrastructure. The proposed design allowed evaluating several items related to physical therapy service, enabling customization, reproducibility and benchmarking with other organizations. For management, this index provides the opportunity to identify areas for improvement and the strengths of the team and process of physical therapy care.

Use of instruments to evaluate leadership in nursing and health services.

PubMed

Carrara, Gisleangela Lima Rodrigues; Bernardes, Andrea; Balsanelli, Alexandre Pazetto; Camelo, Silvia Helena Henriques; Gabriel, Carmen Silvia; Zanetti, Ariane Cristina Barboza

2018-03-12

To identify the available scientific evidence about the use of instruments for the evaluation of leadership in health and nursing services and verify the use of leadership styles/models/theories in the construction of these tools. Integrative literature review of indexed studies in the LILACS, PUBMED, CINAHL and EMBASE databases from 2006 to 2016. Thirty-eight articles were analyzed, exhibiting 19 leadership evaluation tools; the most used were the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire, the Global Transformational Leadership Scale, the Leadership Practices Inventory, the Servant Leadership Questionnaire, the Servant Leadership Survey and the Authentic Leadership Questionnaire. The literature search allowed to identify the main theories/styles/models of contemporary leadership and analyze their use in the design of leadership evaluation tools, with the transformational, situational, servant and authentic leadership categories standing out as the most prominent. To a lesser extent, the quantum, charismatic and clinical leadership types were evidenced.

Implementing a Quantitative Analysis Design Tool for Future Generation Interfaces

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-03-01

with Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) has resulted in the need of a platform to evaluate interface design. The Vigilant Spirit Control Station ( VSCS ...Spirit interface. A modified version of the HCI Index was successfully applied to perform a quantitative analysis of the baseline VSCS interface and...time of the original VSCS interface. These results revealed the effectiveness of the tool and demonstrated in the design of future generation

Information for Consumers (Drugs)

MedlinePlus

... Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies (REMS) REMS is a risk management plan required by FDA for certain prescription drugs, that uses tools beyond routine professional labeling to ensure that the benefits of the drug outweigh its risks. Index to Drug - Specific Information List of drugs ...

Development of a self-reporting tool to obtain a combined index of severity of fibromyalgia (ICAF).

PubMed

Vallejo, Miguel A; Rivera, Javier; Esteve-Vives, Joaquim

2010-01-07

Fibromyalgia is a syndrome with heterogeneous symptoms. The evaluation in the clinical setting usually fails to cover the complexity of the syndrome. This study aims to determine how different aspects of fibromyalgia are inter-related when measured by means of a self-reporting tool. The objective is to develop a more complete evaluation model adjusted to the complexity and multi-dimensional nature of the syndrome. Application was made of the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, the Brief Pain Inventory, the Fatigue Assessment Scale, the Health Assessment Questionnaire, the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28), the Chronic Pain Coping Inventory, the Arthritis Self-efficacy Scale and the Sleep Quality Scale. An assessment was made, on the basis of clinical interviews, case histories and specific tests, of the patient sociodemographic data, comorbidity, physical exploration and other clinical indexes. An exploratory factor analysis was made, with comparisons of the clinical index scores in extreme groups of patients. The ICAF composed of 59 items was obtained, offering four factors that explain 64% of the variance, and referred to as Emotional Factor (33.7%), Physical-Activity (15%), Active Coping (9%) and Passive Coping (6.3%). A t-test between the extreme scores of these factors in the 301 patients revealed statistically significant differences in occupational status, medically unexplained syndromes, number of tender points, the six-minutes walk test, comorbidity and health care costs. This study offers a tool allowing more complete and rapid evaluation of patients with fibromyalgia. The test intrinsically evaluates the emotional aspects: anxiety and depression, and their impact upon social aspects. It also evaluates patient functional capacity, fatigue, sleep quality, pain, and the way in which the patient copes with the disease. This is achieved by means of a self-assessment questionnaire based on elements from well known tests.

Using multi-terminology indexing for the assignment of MeSH descriptors to health resources in a French online catalogue.

PubMed

Pereira, Suzanne; Névéol, Aurélie; Kerdelhué, Gaétan; Serrot, Elisabeth; Joubert, Michel; Darmoni, Stéfan J

2008-11-06

To assist with the development of a French online quality-controlled health gateway(CISMeF), an automatic indexing tool assigning MeSH descriptors to medical text in French was created. The French Multi-Terminology Indexer (FMTI) relies on a multi-terminology approach involving four prominent medical terminologies and the mappings between them. In this paper,we compare lemmatization and stemming as methods to process French medical text for indexing. We also evaluate the multi-terminology approach implemented in F-MTI. The indexing strategies were assessed on a corpus of 18,814 resources indexed manually. There is little difference in the indexing performance when lemmatization or stemming is used. However, the multi-terminology approach outperforms indexing relying on a single terminology in terms of recall. F-MTI will soon be used in the CISMeF production environment and in a Health MultiTerminology Server in French.

Impact of the Z potential technique on reducing the sperm DNA fragmentation index, fertilization rate and embryo development.

PubMed

Duarte, Carlos; Núñez, Víctor; Wong, Yat; Vivar, Carlos; Benites, Elder; Rodriguez, Urso; Vergara, Carlos; Ponce, Jorge

2017-12-01

In assisted reproduction procedures, we need to develop and enhance new protocols to optimize sperm selection. The aim of this study is to evaluate the ability of the Z potential technique to select sperm with intact DNA in non-normospermic patients and evaluate the impact of this selection on embryonic development. We analyzed a total of 174 human seminal samples with at least one altered parameter. We measured basal, post density gradients, and post density gradients + Z potential DNA fragmentation index. To evaluate the impact of this technique on embryo development, 54 cases were selected. The embryo development parameters evaluated were fertilization rate, cleavage rate, top quality embryos at the third day and blastocysts rate. We found significant differences in the study groups when we compared the sperm fragmentation index by adding the Z potential technique to density gradient selection vs. density gradients alone. Furthermore, there was no significant difference in the embryo development parameters between the low sperm fragmentation index group vs. the moderate and high sperm fragmentation index groups, when selecting sperms with this new technique. The Z potential technique is a very useful tool for sperm selection; it significantly reduces the DNA fragmentation index and improves the parameters of embryo development. This technique could be considered routine for its simplicity and low cost.

Evaluation of blade-strike models for estimating the biological performance of large Kaplan hydro turbines

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Deng, Z.; Carlson, T. J.; Ploskey, G. R.

2005-11-01

Bio-indexing of hydro turbines has been identified as an important means to optimize passage conditions for fish by identifying operations for existing and new design turbines that minimize the probability of injury. Cost-effective implementation of bio-indexing requires the use of tools such as numerical and physical turbine models to generate hypotheses for turbine operations that can be tested at prototype scales using live fish. Blade strike has been proposed as an index variable for the biological performance of turbines. Report reviews an evaluation of the use of numerical blade-strike models as a means with which to predict the probability ofmore » blade strike and injury of juvenile salmon smolt passing through large Kaplan turbines on the mainstem Columbia River.« less

Role of BMI, airflow obstruction, St George's Respiratory Questionnaire and age index in prognostication of Asian COPD.

PubMed

Chan, Hiang Ping; Mukhopadhyay, Amartya; Chong, Pauline Lee Poh; Chin, Sally; Wong, Xue Yun; Ong, Venetia; Chan, Yiong Huak; Lim, Tow Keang; Phua, Jason

2017-01-01

COPD is a complex condition with a heavy burden of disease. Many multidimensional tools have been studied for their prognostic utility but none has been universally adopted as each has its own limitations. We hypothesize that a multidimensional tool examining four domains, health-related quality of life, disease severity, systemic effects of disease and patient factors, would better categorize and prognosticate these patients. We first evaluated 300 patients and found four factors that predicted mortality: BMI, airflow obstruction, St George's Respiratory Questionnaire and age (BOSA). A 10-point index (BOSA index) was constructed and prospectively validated in a cohort of 772 patients with all-cause mortality as the primary outcome. Patients were categorized into their respective BOSA quartile group based on their BOSA score. Multivariate survival analyses and receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves were used to assess the BOSA index. Patients in BOSA Group 4 were at higher risk of death compared with their counterparts in Group 1 (hazard ratio (HR): 0.29, 95% CI: 0.16-0.51, P < 0.001) and Group 2 (HR: 0.53, 95% CI: 0.34-0.82, P = 0.005). Race and gender did not affect mortality. The area under the ROC curve for BOSA index was 0.690 ± 0.025 while that for Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) 2011 was 0.641 ± 0.025 (P = 0.17). The BOSA index predicts mortality well and it has at least similar prognostic utility as GOLD 2011 in Asian patients. The BOSA index is a simple tool that does not require complex equipment or testing. It has the potential to be used widely. © 2016 Asian Pacific Society of Respirology.

Measuring environmental sustainability in agriculture: A composite environmental impact index approach.

PubMed

Sabiha, Noor-E; Salim, Ruhul; Rahman, Sanzidur; Rola-Rubzen, Maria Fay

2016-01-15

The present study develops a composite environmental impact index (CEII) to evaluate the extent of environmental degradation in agriculture after successfully validating its flexibility, applicability and relevance as a tool. The CEII tool is then applied to empirically measure the extent of environmental impacts of High Yield Variety (HYV) rice cultivation in three districts of north-western Bangladesh for a single crop year (October, 2012-September, 2013). Results reveal that 27 to 69 per cent of the theoretical maximum level of environmental damage is created due to HYV rice cultivation with significant regional variations in the CEII scores, implying that policy interventions are required in environmentally critical areas in order to sustain agriculture in Bangladesh. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Psychometric Properties of the Persian Version of Death Depression Scale-Revised in Iranian Patients with Acute Myocardial Infarction.

PubMed

Sharif Nia, Hamid; Pahlevan Sharif, Saeed; Lehto, Rebecca H; Allen, Kelly A; Goudarzian, Amir Hossein; Yaghoobzadeh, Ameneh; Soleimani, Mohammad Ali

2017-07-01

Objective: Limited research has examined the psychometric properties of death depression scales in Persian populations with cardiac disease despite the need for valid assessment tools for evaluating depressive symptoms in patients with life-limiting chronic conditions. The present study aimed at evaluating the reliability and validity of the Persian Version of Death Depression Scale - Revised (DDS-R) in Iranian patients who had recent acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Method: This psychometric study was conducted with a convenience sample of 407 patients with AMI diagnosis who completed the Persian version of the DDS-R. The face, content, and construct validity of the scale were ascertained. Internal consistency, test-retest, and construct reliability (CR) were used to assess reliability of the Persian Version of DDS-R. Results: Based on maximum likelihood exploratory factor analysis and consideration of conceptual meaning, a 4-factor solution was identified, explaining 75.89% of the total variance. Goodness-of-fit indices (GFI), Comparative Fit Index (CFI), Normed Fit Index (NFI), Incremental Fit Index (IFI), and Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA) in the final DDS-R structure demonstrated the adequacy of the 4-domain structure. The internal consistency, construct reliability, and Intra-class Correlation Coefficients (ICC) were greater than .70. Conclusion: The DDS-R was found to be a valid and reliable assessment tool for evaluating death depression symptoms in Iranian patients with AMI.

The Index Offence Representation Scales; a predictive clinical tool in the management of dangerous, violent patients with personality disorder?

PubMed

McGauley, Gill; Ferris, Scott; Marin-Avellan, Luisa; Fonagy, Peter

2013-10-01

Forensic mental health professionals attach considerable importance to their patient's description of his or her index offence. Despite this, there is no systematic approach to examining and formulating the patient's offence narrative. To use the index offence narratives and capacity to mentalize of violent offender-patients with personality disorder to develop a tool to predict their progress and to evaluate that tool. In a prospective, cohort study, the index offence narratives of 66 violent high security hospital patients with personality disorder were obtained from a semi-structured interview and used to generate the Index Offence Representational Scales (IORS). The predictive validity of these scales was investigated across a range of outcome variables, controlling for the association between initial and final value of the dependent variable. The degree to which patients held internal representations of interpersonal violence and malevolence, as measured by the IORS, predicted subsequent violent behaviour. In contrast to their actual aggressive behaviour, these patients rated themselves as having fewer symptoms on the Symptom Checklist-90-R (SCL-90-R) and fewer problems in interpersonal relationships on the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems. A more empathic victim representation on the IORS predicted better engagement with treatment. The IORS show promise for helping clinicians formulate the early institutional pathway of seriously violent people with personality disorder, particularly with respect to their overt aggression and prosocial engagement. Replication studies are, however, indicated. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Actigraphy--a useful tool for motor activity monitoring in stroke patients.

PubMed

Reiterer, Veronika; Sauter, Cornelia; Klösch, Gerhard; Lalouschek, Wolfgang; Zeitlhofer, Josef

2008-01-01

The aim of the present study was the evaluation of actigraphy as a tool to objectify the recovery process after motor paresis due to stroke. The motor activity of both arms of patients suffering from stroke was actigraphically recorded at four different time points during the course of rehabilitation: 24-36 h, 5-7 days, 3 months, and 6 months after stroke. Motor activity monitored by wrist-worn actigraphs located at the impaired side revealed an increase in activity between the first two time points and the subsequent ones. Additionally, actigraphic recordings showed lower total motor activity at the impaired side as compared to the nonimpaired side. A significant positive correlation was found between the actigraphically recorded motor activity and the results of the Scandinavian Stroke scale, the Barthel Index, the Rankin Scale Score and with the Motoricity Index during the 1st week, which corresponds to the time when neurological deficits were most pronounced. Our results suggest that actigraphy is a useful tool in the objective evaluation of motor activity after stroke. Moreover, actigraphy covers additional aspects that are not reflected by the usual stroke scales in a clinical situation. Copyright 2008 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Distributed and Collaborative Software Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghezzi, Giacomo; Gall, Harald C.

Throughout the years software engineers have come up with a myriad of specialized tools and techniques that focus on a certain type of software analysissoftware analysis such as source code analysis, co-change analysis or bug prediction. However, easy and straight forward synergies between these analyses and tools rarely exist because of their stand-alone nature, their platform dependence, their different input and output formats and the variety of data to analyze. As a consequence, distributed and collaborative software analysiscollaborative software analysis scenarios and in particular interoperability are severely limited. We describe a distributed and collaborative software analysis platform that allows for a seamless interoperability of software analysis tools across platform, geographical and organizational boundaries. We realize software analysis tools as services that can be accessed and composed over the Internet. These distributed analysis services shall be widely accessible in our incrementally augmented Software Analysis Broker software analysis broker where organizations and tool providers can register and share their tools. To allow (semi-) automatic use and composition of these tools, they are classified and mapped into a software analysis taxonomy and adhere to specific meta-models and ontologiesontologies for their category of analysis.

Developing and evaluating a target-background similarity metric for camouflage detection.

PubMed

Lin, Chiuhsiang Joe; Chang, Chi-Chan; Liu, Bor-Shong

2014-01-01

Measurement of camouflage performance is of fundamental importance for military stealth applications. The goal of camouflage assessment algorithms is to automatically assess the effect of camouflage in agreement with human detection responses. In a previous study, we found that the Universal Image Quality Index (UIQI) correlated well with the psychophysical measures, and it could be a potentially camouflage assessment tool. In this study, we want to quantify the camouflage similarity index and psychophysical results. We compare several image quality indexes for computational evaluation of camouflage effectiveness, and present the results of an extensive human visual experiment conducted to evaluate the performance of several camouflage assessment algorithms and analyze the strengths and weaknesses of these algorithms. The experimental data demonstrates the effectiveness of the approach, and the correlation coefficient result of the UIQI was higher than those of other methods. This approach was highly correlated with the human target-searching results. It also showed that this method is an objective and effective camouflage performance evaluation method because it considers the human visual system and image structure, which makes it consistent with the subjective evaluation results.

Reflective random indexing for semi-automatic indexing of the biomedical literature.

PubMed

Vasuki, Vidya; Cohen, Trevor

2010-10-01

The rapid growth of biomedical literature is evident in the increasing size of the MEDLINE research database. Medical Subject Headings (MeSH), a controlled set of keywords, are used to index all the citations contained in the database to facilitate search and retrieval. This volume of citations calls for efficient tools to assist indexers at the US National Library of Medicine (NLM). Currently, the Medical Text Indexer (MTI) system provides assistance by recommending MeSH terms based on the title and abstract of an article using a combination of distributional and vocabulary-based methods. In this paper, we evaluate a novel approach toward indexer assistance by using nearest neighbor classification in combination with Reflective Random Indexing (RRI), a scalable alternative to the established methods of distributional semantics. On a test set provided by the NLM, our approach significantly outperforms the MTI system, suggesting that the RRI approach would make a useful addition to the current methodologies.

Evaluation of dietary intake in Danish adults by means of an index based on food-based dietary guidelines.

PubMed

Knudsen, Vibeke K; Fagt, Sisse; Trolle, Ellen; Matthiessen, Jeppe; Groth, Margit V; Biltoft-Jensen, Anja; Sørensen, Mette R; Pedersen, Agnes N

2012-01-01

Data on dietary intake and physical activity has been collected from a representative sample of the Danish population from 2003-2008. The aim of the present study was to describe the habitual diet in Denmark and to evaluate the overall diet quality using a diet quality index based on the National Food-Based Dietary Guidelines (FBDG), which consists of seven guidelines regarding diet and one regarding physical activity. Data from the Danish National Survey of Diet and Physical Activity 2003-2008 (n=3354) were included. The diet quality index was constructed based on five of the seven dietary guidelines. Individuals were categorised according to quartiles of the diet quality index, and food and nutrient intakes were estimated in each of the groups. Macronutrient distribution did not meet recommendations in any of the groups, as energy from total fat and especially saturated fat was too high. A high intake of high-fat milk products, fat on bread and processed meat contributed to a high intake of total fat and saturated fat, and sugar-sweetened soft drinks contributed to a high intake of added sugars in the group below the lowest quartile of the diet quality index. Individuals above in the highest quartile had higher intakes of 'healthy foods' such as fish, fruit and vegetables, rye bread, and also a higher consumption of water and wine. Overall, intakes of micronutrients were sufficient in all groups. The diet quality index is a useful tool in assessing food and nutrient intake in individuals with high vs. low degree of compliance towards the dietary guidelines, and provides a valuable tool in future studies investigating variations in dietary intakes with respect to lifestyle, demographic and regional differences in Denmark.

Multiphoton gradient index endoscopy for evaluation of diseased human prostatic tissue ex vivo

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huland, David M.; Jain, Manu; Ouzounov, Dimitre G.; Robinson, Brian D.; Harya, Diana S.; Shevchuk, Maria M.; Singhal, Paras; Xu, Chris; Tewari, Ashutosh K.

2014-11-01

Multiphoton microscopy can instantly visualize cellular details in unstained tissues. Multiphoton probes with clinical potential have been developed. This study evaluates the suitability of multiphoton gradient index (GRIN) endoscopy as a diagnostic tool for prostatic tissue. A portable and compact multiphoton endoscope based on a 1-mm diameter, 8-cm length GRIN lens system probe was used. Fresh ex vivo samples were obtained from 14 radical prostatectomy patients and benign and malignant areas were imaged and correlated with subsequent H&E sections. Multiphoton GRIN endoscopy images of unfixed and unprocessed prostate tissue at a subcellular resolution are presented. We note several differences and identifying features of benign versus low-grade versus high-grade tumors and are able to identify periprostatic tissues such as adipocytes, periprostatic nerves, and blood vessels. Multiphoton GRIN endoscopy can be used to identify both benign and malignant lesions in ex vivo human prostate tissue and may be a valuable diagnostic tool for real-time visualization of suspicious areas of the prostate.

[New bibliometric indicators for the scientific literature: an evolving panorama].

PubMed

La Torre, G; Sciarra, I; Chiappetta, M; Monteduro, A

2017-01-01

Bibliometrics is a science which evaluates the impact of the scientific work of a journal or of an author, using mathematical and statistical tools. Impact Factor (IF) is the first bibliometric parameter created, and after it many others have been progressively conceived in order to go beyond its limits. Currently bibliometric indexes are used for academic purposes, among them to evaluate the eligibility of a researcher to compete for the National Scientific Qualification, in order to access to competitive exams to become professor. Aim of this study is to identify the most relevant bibliometric indexes and to summarized their characteristics. A revision of bibliometric indexes as been conducted, starting from the classic ones and completing with the most recent ones. The two most used bibliometric indexes are the IF, which measures the scientific impact of a periodical and bases on Web of Science citation database, and the h-index, which measures the impact of the scientific work of a researcher, basing on Scopus database. Besides them other indexes have been created more recently, such as the SCImago Journal Rank Indicator (SJR), the Source Normalised Impact per Paper (SNIP) and the CiteScore index. They are all based on Scopus database and evaluate, in different ways, the citational impact of a periodic. The i10-index instead is provided from Google Scholar database and allows to evaluate the impact of the scientific production of a researcher. Recently two softwares have been introduced: the first one, Publish or Perish, allows to evaluate the scientific work of a researcher, through the assessment of many indexes; the second one, Altmetric, measure the use in the Web of the academic papers, instead of measuring citations, by means of alternative metrics respect to the traditional ones. Each analized index shows advantages but also criticalities. Therefore the combined use of more than one indexes, citational and not, should be preferred, in order to correctly evaluate the work of reserchers and to finally improve the quality and the development of scientific research.

Comparing and refining karst disturbance index methods through application in an island karst setting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Porter, Brandon L.; North, Leslie A.; Polk, Jason S.

2016-12-01

The interconnected nature of surface and subsurface karst environments allows easy disturbance to their aquifers and specialized ecosystems from anthropogenic impacts. The karst disturbance index is a holistic tool used to measure disturbance to karst environments and has been applied and refined through studies in Florida and Italy, among others. Through these applications, the karst disturbance index has evolved into two commonly used methods of application; yet, the karst disturbance index is still susceptible to evaluation and modification for application in other areas around the world. The geographically isolated and highly vulnerable municipality of Arecibo, Puerto Rico's karst area provides an opportunity to test the usefulness and validity of the karst disturbance index in an island setting and to compare and further refine the application of the original and modified methods. This study found the both methods of karst disturbance index application resulted in high disturbance scores (Original Method 0.54 and Modified Method 0.69, respectively) and uncovered multiple considerations for the improvement of the karst disturbance index. An evaluation of multiple methods together in an island setting also resulted in the need for adding additional indicators, including Mogote Removal and Coastal Karst. Collectively, the results provide a holistic approach to using the karst disturbance index in an island karst setting and suggest a modified method by which scaling and weighting may compensate for the difference between the original and modified method scores and allow interested stakeholders to evaluate disturbance regardless of his or her level of expertise.

Design and Psychometric Evaluation of the Quality of Life in Patients With Anal Fistula Questionnaire.

PubMed

Ferrer-Márquez, Manuel; Espínola-Cortés, Natalia; Reina-Duarte, Angel; Granero-Molina, José; Fernández-Sola, Cayetano; Hernández-Padilla, José Manuel

2017-10-01

Quality of life is often considered when deciding and evaluating the treatment strategy for patients diagnosed with anal fistula. The purpose of this study was to develop and psychometrically test the Quality of Life in Patients with Anal Fistula Questionnaire. This was an observational cross-sectional study for the development and validation of a psychometric tool. The study was conducted at a general hospital in the southeast of Spain. A convenience sample included 54 patients diagnosed with anal fistula. The reliability of the tool was assessed through its internal consistency (Cronbach α) and temporal stability (Spearman correlation coefficient (r) between test-retest). The content validity index of the items and the scale was calculated. Correlation analysis and an ordinal regression analysis between the developed tool and the Short Form 12 Health Survey examined its concurrent validity. Principal component analysis and known-group analysis using the Kruskal-Wallis test examined its construct validity. The reliability of the developed questionnaire was very high (α = 0.908; r = 0.861; p < 0.01). Its content validity was excellent (all-item content validity index = 0.79-1.00; scale validity index = 0.92). Evidence of its concurrent validity included strong correlation between the developed tool and Short Form 12 Health Survey (r = 0.734; p < 0.001), and participant scores on the developed tool explained ≈46.2% of the between-subject variation for the participant scores on Short Form 12 Health Survey (Nagelkerke R = 0.462). Confirming its construct validity, principal component analysis revealed that 2 factors explained 81.63% of the total variance found. Known-group analysis evidenced the ability of the questionnaire to detect expected differences in patients presenting with different symptomatology. The major limitations of this study were the use of a small sample of Spanish-speaking patients, not including patients in the initial development of the questionnaire, and developing the scoring system using a summation method. The Quality of Life in Patients with Anal Fistula Questionnaire has proven to be a valid, reliable, and concise tool that could contribute to the evaluation of quality of life among patients with an anal fistula. See Video Abstract at http://links.lww.com/DCR/A368.

Intrinsic Property Forecast Index (iPFI) as a Rule of Thumb for Medicinal Chemists to Remove a Phototoxicity Liability.

PubMed

Fournier, Jean-François; Bouix-Peter, Claire; Duvert, Denis; Luzy, Anne-Pascale; Ouvry, Gilles

2018-04-12

Phototoxicity occurs when UV irradiation causes otherwise benign compounds to become irritant, sensitizers, or even genotoxic. This toxicity is particularly a concern after topical application and in dermatological programs where skin irritation can be incompatible with the desired therapeutic outcome. This brief article establishes that the intrinsic property forecast index (iPFI) can be used to evaluate the probability of a compound being phototoxic and gives medicinal chemists a practical tool to handle this liability.

Psychometric validation of the Chinese version of the Johns Hopkins Fall Risk Assessment Tool for older Chinese inpatients.

PubMed

Zhang, Junhong; Wang, Min; Liu, Yu

2016-10-01

To culturally adapt and evaluate the reliability and validity of the Chinese version of the Johns Hopkins Fall Risk Assessment Tool among older inpatients in the mainland of China. Patient falls are an important safety consideration within hospitals among older inpatients. Nurses need specific risk assessment tools for older inpatients to reliably identify at-risk populations and guide interventions that highlight fixable risk factors for falls and consequent injuries. In China, a few tools have been developed to measure fall risk. However, they lack the solid psychometric development necessary to establish their validity and reliability, and they are not widely used for elderly inpatients. A cross-sectional study. A convenient sampling was used to recruit 201 older inpatients from two tertiary-level hospitals in Beijing and Xiamen, China. The Johns Hopkins Fall Risk Assessment Tool was translated using forward and backward translation procedures and was administered to these 201 older inpatients. Reliability of the tool was calculated by inter-rater reliability and Cronbach's alpha. Validity was analysed through content validity index and construct validity. The Inter-rater reliability of Chinese version of Johns Hopkins Fall Risk Assessment Tool was 97·14% agreement with Cohen's Kappa of 0·903. Cronbach's α was 0·703. Content of Validity Index was 0·833. Two factors represented intrinsic and extrinsic risk factors were explored that together explained 58·89% of the variance. This study provided evidence that Johns Hopkins Fall Risk Assessment Tool is an acceptable, valid and reliable tool to identify older inpatients at risk of falls and falls with injury. Further psychometric testing on criterion validity and evaluation of its advanced utility in geriatric clinical settings are warranted. The Chinese version of Johns Hopkins Fall Risk Assessment Tool may be useful for health care personnel to identify older Chinese inpatients at risk of falls and falls with injury. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Proposal of an environmental performance index to assess solid waste treatment technologies.

PubMed

Coelho, Hosmanny Mauro Goulart; Lange, Liséte Celina; Coelho, Lineker Max Goulart

2012-07-01

Although the concern with sustainable development and environment protection has considerably grown in the last years it is noted that the majority of decision making models and tools are still either excessively tied to economic aspects or geared to the production process. Moreover, existing models focus on the priority steps of solid waste management, beyond waste energy recovery and disposal. So, in order to help the lack of models and tools aiming at the waste treatment and final disposal, a new concept is proposed: the Cleaner Treatment, which is based on the Cleaner Production principles. This paper focuses on the development and validation of the Cleaner Treatment Index (CTI), to assess environmental performance of waste treatment technologies based on the Cleaner Treatment concept. The index is formed by aggregation (summation or product) of several indicators that consists in operational parameters. The weights of the indicator were established by Delphi Method and Brazilian Environmental Laws. In addition, sensitivity analyses were carried out comparing both aggregation methods. Finally, index validation was carried out by applying the CTI to 10 waste-to-energy plants data. From sensitivity analysis and validation results it is possible to infer that summation model is the most suitable aggregation method. For summation method, CTI results were superior to 0.5 (in a scale from 0 to 1) for most facilities evaluated. So, this study demonstrates that CTI is a simple and robust tool to assess and compare the environmental performance of different treatment plants being an excellent quantitative tool to support Cleaner Treatment implementation. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

WHATIF: an open-source desktop application for extraction and management of the incidental findings from next-generation sequencing variant data

PubMed Central

Ye, Zhan; Kadolph, Christopher; Strenn, Robert; Wall, Daniel; McPherson, Elizabeth; Lin, Simon

2015-01-01

Background Identification and evaluation of incidental findings in patients following whole exome (WGS) or whole genome sequencing (WGS) is challenging for both practicing physicians and researchers. The American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) recently recommended a list of reportable incidental genetic findings. However, no informatics tools are currently available to support evaluation of incidental findings in next-generation sequencing data. Methods The Wisconsin Hierarchical Analysis Tool for Incidental Findings (WHATIF), was developed as a stand-alone Windows-based desktop executable, to support the interactive analysis of incidental findings in the context of the ACMG recommendations. WHATIF integrates the European Bioinformatics Institute Variant Effect Predictor (VEP) tool for biological interpretation and the National Center for Biotechnology Information ClinVar tool for clinical interpretation. Results An open-source desktop program was created to annotate incidental findings and present the results with a user-friendly interface. Further, a meaningful index (WHATIF Index) was devised for each gene to facilitate ranking of the relative importance of the variants and estimate the potential workload associated with further evaluation of the variants. Our WHATIF application is available at: http://tinyurl.com/WHATIF-SOFTWARE Conclusions The WHATIF application offers a user-friendly interface and allows users to investigate the extracted variant information efficiently and intuitively while always accessing the up to date information on variants via application programming interfaces (API) connections. WHATIF’s highly flexible design and straightforward implementation aids users in customizing the source code to meet their own special needs. PMID:25890833

Improving the Performance of Temperature Index Snowmelt Model of SWAT by Using MODIS Land Surface Temperature Data

PubMed Central

Yang, Yan; Onishi, Takeo; Hiramatsu, Ken

2014-01-01

Simulation results of the widely used temperature index snowmelt model are greatly influenced by input air temperature data. Spatially sparse air temperature data remain the main factor inducing uncertainties and errors in that model, which limits its applications. Thus, to solve this problem, we created new air temperature data using linear regression relationships that can be formulated based on MODIS land surface temperature data. The Soil Water Assessment Tool model, which includes an improved temperature index snowmelt module, was chosen to test the newly created data. By evaluating simulation performance for daily snowmelt in three test basins of the Amur River, performance of the newly created data was assessed. The coefficient of determination (R 2) and Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE) were used for evaluation. The results indicate that MODIS land surface temperature data can be used as a new source for air temperature data creation. This will improve snow simulation using the temperature index model in an area with sparse air temperature observations. PMID:25165746

An evaluation of multiple trauma severity indices created by different index development strategies.

PubMed

Gustafson, D H; Fryback, D G; Rose, J H; Prokop, C T; Detmer, D E; Rossmeissl, J C; Taylor, C M; Alemi, F; Carnazzo, A J

1983-07-01

Evaluation of the effectiveness of emergency trauma care systems is complicated by the need to adjust for the widely variable case mix found in trauma patient populations. Several strategies have been advanced to construct the severity indices that can control for these population differences. This article describes a validity and reliability comparison of trauma severity indices developed under three different approaches: 1) use of a multi-attribute utility (MAU) model; 2) an actuarial approach relying on empirical data bases; and 3) an "ad hoc" approach. Seven criteria were identified to serve as standards of comparison for four different indices. The study's findings indicate that the index developed using the MAU theory approach associates most closely with physician judgments of trauma severity. When correlated with a morbidity outcome measure, the MAU-based index shows higher levels of agreement than the other indices. The index development approach based on the principles of MAU theory has several advantages and it appears to be a powerful tool in the creation of effective severity indices.

Electronic tools to support medication reconciliation: a systematic review.

PubMed

Marien, Sophie; Krug, Bruno; Spinewine, Anne

2017-01-01

Medication reconciliation (MedRec) is essential for reducing patient harm caused by medication discrepancies across care transitions. Electronic support has been described as a promising approach to moving MedRec forward. We systematically reviewed the evidence about electronic tools that support MedRec, by (a) identifying tools; (b) summarizing their characteristics with regard to context, tool, implementation, and evaluation; and (c) summarizing key messages for successful development and implementation. We searched PubMed, the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Embase, PsycINFO, and the Cochrane Library, and identified additional reports from reference lists, reviews, and patent databases. Reports were included if the electronic tool supported medication history taking and the identification and resolution of medication discrepancies. Two researchers independently selected studies, evaluated the quality of reporting, and extracted data. Eighteen reports relative to 11 tools were included. There were eight quality improvement projects, five observational effectiveness studies, three randomized controlled trials (RCTs) or RCT protocols (ie, descriptions of RCTs in progress), and two patents. All tools were developed in academic environments in North America. Most used electronic data from multiple sources and partially implemented functionalities considered to be important. Relevant information on functionalities and implementation features was frequently missing. Evaluations mainly focused on usability, adherence, and user satisfaction. One RCT evaluated the effect on potential adverse drug events. Successful implementation of electronic tools to support MedRec requires favorable context, properly designed tools, and attention to implementation features. Future research is needed to evaluate the effect of these tools on the quality and safety of healthcare. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Medical Informatics Association. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Osteoporosis Self-Assessment Tool for Asians Can Predict Neurologic Prognosis in Patients with Isolated Moderate Traumatic Brain Injury

PubMed Central

Chan, Hon-Man; Huang, Shiuh-Lin; Lin, Chih-Lung; Kwan, Aij-Lie; Lou, Yun-Ting; Chen, Chao-Wen

2015-01-01

Objectives Osteoporosis Self-Assessment Tool for Asians (OSTA) has been proved to be a simple and effective tool for recognizing osteoporosis risk. Our previous study has demonstrated that the preoperative OSTA index was a good prognostic predictor for stage II and III colon cancer patients after surgery. We aim to evaluate the value of OSTA index in prognostication of isolated traumatic brain injury with moderate severity (GCS 9-13). Methods We retrospectively reviewed all patients visiting Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital emergency department due to isolated moderate traumatic brain injury from Jan. 2010 to Dec. 2012. Background data (including the OSTA index), clinical presentations, management and outcomes (ICU admission days, total admission days, complications, Glasgow outcome score (GOS) at discharge, mortality) of the patients were recorded for further analysis. Our major outcome was good neurologic recovery defined as GOS of 5. Pearson chi-square test and the Mann-Whitney U test were used to compare demographic features. Multiple logistic regression was used to identify independent risk factors. Results 107 isolated moderate TBI patients were studied. 40 patients (37.4%) showed good recovery and 10 (9.3%) died at discharge. The univariate analysis revealed that younger age, higher OSTA index, lower ISS, lower AIS-H, and avoidance to neurosurgery were associated with better neurologic outcome for all moderate TBI patients. Multivariate analysis revealed that lower ISS, higher OSTA, and the avoidance of neurosurgery were independent risk factors predicting good neurologic recovery. Conclusion Higher ISS, lower OSTA index and exposure to neurosurgery were the independent risk factors for poorer recovery from isolated moderate TBI. In addition to labeling the cohort harboring osteoporotic risk, OSTA index could predict neurologic prognosis in patients with isolated moderate traumatic brain injury. PMID:26186582

Design of an instrument to measure the quality of care in Physical Therapy

PubMed Central

Cavalheiro, Leny Vieira; Eid, Raquel Afonso Caserta; Talerman, Claudia; do Prado, Cristiane; Gobbi, Fátima Cristina Martorano; Andreoli, Paola Bruno de Araujo

2015-01-01

ABSTRACT Objective: To design an instrument composed of domains that would demonstrate physical therapy activities and generate a consistent index to represent the quality of care in physical therapy. Methods: The methodology Lean Six Sigma was used to design the tool. The discussion involved seven different management groups staff. By means of brainstorming and Cause & Effect Matrix, we set up the process map. Results: Five requirements composed the quality of care index in physical therapy, after application of the tool called Cause & Effect Matrix. The following requirements were assessed: physical therapist performance, care outcome indicator, adherence to physical therapy protocols, measure whether the prognosis and treatment outcome was achieved and Infrastructure. Conclusion: The proposed design allowed evaluating several items related to physical therapy service, enabling customization, reproducibility and benchmarking with other organizations. For management, this index provides the opportunity to identify areas for improvement and the strengths of the team and process of physical therapy care. PMID:26154548

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pardo-Bosch, Francesc, E-mail: francesc.pardo@upc.edu; Political Science Department, University of California - Berkeley; Aguado, Antonio, E-mail: antonio.aguado@upc.edu

Infrastructure construction, one of the biggest driving forces of the economy nowadays, requires a huge analysis and clear transparency to decide what projects have to be executed with the few resources available. With the aim to provide the public administrations a tool with which they can make their decisions easier, the Sustainability Index of Infrastructure Projects (SIIP) has been defined, with a multi-criteria decision system called MIVES, in order to classify non-uniform investments. This index evaluates, in two inseparable stages, the contribution to the sustainable development of each infrastructure project, analyzing its social, environmental and economic impact. The result ofmore » the SIIP allows to decide the order with which projects will be prioritized. The case of study developed proves the adaptability and utility of this tool for the ordinary budget management.« less

Examining Concurrent Validity and Predictive Utility for the Addiction Severity Index and Texas Christian University (TCU) Short Forms

PubMed Central

PANKOW, JENNIFER; SIMPSON, D. DWAYNE; JOE, GEORGE W.; ROWAN-SZAL, GRACE A.; KNIGHT, KEVIN; MEASON, PAUL

2012-01-01

Treatment providers need tools which are designed to identify risk, treatment needs, and monitor client engagement. These are essential components in substance abuse treatment for offender populations. This study evaluated a flexible set of 1-page modular assessments known as the TCU Short Forms and compared them with the measures of global domains contained in the Addiction Severity Index (ASI). The sample was based on 540 adult males and females in corrections-based substance abuse treatment services located in Arkansas and Missouri. Results suggest the set of TCU forms and ASI both reliably represent core clinical domains, but TCU Short Forms explained more variance in therapeutic engagement criteria measured during treatment. Similarities and differences of the assessment tools are discussed, along with applications PMID:23087588

[Frail-VIG index: Design and evaluation of a new frailty index based on the Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment].

PubMed

Amblàs-Novellas, Jordi; Martori, Joan Carles; Molist Brunet, Núria; Oller, Ramon; Gómez-Batiste, Xavier; Espaulella Panicot, Joan

Frailty is closely linked to health results. Frailty indexes (FI) and the Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) are multidimensional tools. FI serve to quantitatively measure frailty levels. They have shown to have an excellent correlation with mortality. However, they are infrequently used in clinical practice. Given the need for new, more concise, and pragmatic FI, a new FI is proposed based on a CGA (Frail-VIG Index). A prospective, observational, longitudinal study was conducted, with cohort follow up at 12 months or death. Participants were patients admitted in the Geriatric Unit of the University Hospital of Vic (Barcelona, Spain) during 2014. Contrast of hypothesis log-rank for survival curves according to Frail-VIG index, and analysis of ROC curves were performed to assess prognostic capacity. A total of 590 patients were included (mean age=86.39). Mortality rate at 12 months was 46.4%. The comparative analysis showed statistically significant differences (P<.05) for almost all variables included in the Frail-VIG index. Survival curves also show significant differences (X 2 =445, P<.001) for the different Frail-VIG index scores. The area under the ROC curve at 12 months was 0.9 (0.88-0.92). An administration time of the Index is estimated at less than 10minutes. Results endorse the Frail-VIG index as a simple (as for contents), rapid (for administration time) tool, with discriminative (for situational diagnosis) and predictive capacity (high correlation with mortality). Copyright © 2016 SEGG. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Using multi-terminology indexing for the assignment of MeSH descriptors to health resources in a French online catalogue

PubMed Central

Pereira, Suzanne; Névéol, Aurélie; Kerdelhué, Gaétan; Serrot, Elisabeth; Joubert, Michel; Darmoni, Stéfan J.

2008-01-01

Background: To assist with the development of a French online quality-controlled health gateway (CISMeF), an automatic indexing tool assigning MeSH descriptors to medical text in French was created. The French Multi-Terminology Indexer (F-MTI) relies on a multi-terminology approach involving four prominent medical terminologies and the mappings between them. Objective: In this paper, we compare lemmatization and stemming as methods to process French medical text for indexing. We also evaluate the multi-terminology approach implemented in F-MTI. Methods: The indexing strategies were assessed on a corpus of 18,814 resources indexed manually. Results: There is little difference in the indexing performance when lemmatization or stemming is used. However, the multi-terminology approach outperforms indexing relying on a single terminology in terms of recall. Conclusion: F-MTI will soon be used in the CISMeF production environment and in a Health MultiTerminology Server in French. PMID:18998933

Real-time particle size analysis using focused beam reflectance measurement as a process analytical technology tool for a continuous granulation-drying-milling process.

PubMed

Kumar, Vijay; Taylor, Michael K; Mehrotra, Amit; Stagner, William C

2013-06-01

Focused beam reflectance measurement (FBRM) was used as a process analytical technology tool to perform inline real-time particle size analysis of a proprietary granulation manufactured using a continuous twin-screw granulation-drying-milling process. A significant relationship between D20, D50, and D80 length-weighted chord length and sieve particle size was observed with a p value of <0.0001 and R(2) of 0.886. A central composite response surface statistical design was used to evaluate the effect of granulator screw speed and Comil® impeller speed on the length-weighted chord length distribution (CLD) and particle size distribution (PSD) determined by FBRM and nested sieve analysis, respectively. The effect of granulator speed and mill speed on bulk density, tapped density, Compressibility Index, and Flowability Index were also investigated. An inline FBRM probe placed below the Comil-generated chord lengths and CLD data at designated times. The collection of the milled samples for sieve analysis and PSD evaluation were coordinated with the timing of the FBRM determinations. Both FBRM and sieve analysis resulted in similar bimodal distributions for all ten manufactured batches studied. Within the experimental space studied, the granulator screw speed (650-850 rpm) and Comil® impeller speed (1,000-2,000 rpm) did not have a significant effect on CLD, PSD, bulk density, tapped density, Compressibility Index, and Flowability Index (p value > 0.05).

The Readability of Principles of Macroeconomics Textbooks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tinkler, Sarah; Woods, James

2013-01-01

The authors evaluated principles of macroeconomics textbooks for readability using Coh-Metrix, a computational linguistics tool. Additionally, they conducted an experiment on Amazon's Mechanical Turk Web site in which participants ranked the readability of text samples. There was a wide range of scores on readability indexes both among…

Evaluating the suitability of the Soil Vulnerability Index (SVI) classification scheme using the SWAT model

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Conservation practices are effective ways to mitigate non-point source pollution, especially when implemented on critical source areas (CSAs) known to be the areas contributing disproportionately to high pollution loads. Although hydrologic models are promising tools to identify CSAs within agricul...

Development of the IBD Disk: A Visual Self-administered Tool for Assessing Disability in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases.

PubMed

Ghosh, Subrata; Louis, Edouard; Beaugerie, Laurent; Bossuyt, Peter; Bouguen, Guillaume; Bourreille, Arnaud; Ferrante, Marc; Franchimont, Denis; Frost, Karen; Hebuterne, Xavier; Marshall, John K; OʼShea, Ciara; Rosenfeld, Greg; Williams, Chadwick; Peyrin-Biroulet, Laurent

2017-03-01

The Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) Disability Index is a validated tool that evaluates functional status; however, it is used mainly in the clinical trial setting. We describe the use of an iterative Delphi consensus process to develop the IBD Disk-a shortened, self-administered adaption of the validated IBD Disability Index-to give immediate visual representation of patient-reported IBD-related disability. In the preparatory phase, the IBD CONNECT group (30 health care professionals) ranked IBD Disability Index items in the perceived order of importance. The Steering Committee then selected 10 items from the IBD Disability Index to take forward for inclusion in the IBD Disk. In the consensus phase, the items were refined and agreed by the IBD Disk Working Group (14 gastroenterologists) using an online iterative Delphi consensus process. Members could also suggest new element(s) or recommend changes to included elements. The final items for the IBD Disk were agreed in February 2016. After 4 rounds of voting, the following 10 items were agreed for inclusion in the IBD Disk: abdominal pain, body image, education and work, emotions, energy, interpersonal interactions, joint pain, regulating defecation, sexual functions, and sleep. All elements, except sexual functions, were included in the validated IBD Disability Index. The IBD Disk has the potential to be a valuable tool for use at a clinical visit. It can facilitate assessment of inflammatory bowel disease-related disability relevant to both patients and physicians, discussion on specific disability-related issues, and tracking changes in disease burden over time.

Deterministic and fuzzy-based methods to evaluate community resilience

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kammouh, Omar; Noori, Ali Zamani; Taurino, Veronica; Mahin, Stephen A.; Cimellaro, Gian Paolo

2018-04-01

Community resilience is becoming a growing concern for authorities and decision makers. This paper introduces two indicator-based methods to evaluate the resilience of communities based on the PEOPLES framework. PEOPLES is a multi-layered framework that defines community resilience using seven dimensions. Each of the dimensions is described through a set of resilience indicators collected from literature and they are linked to a measure allowing the analytical computation of the indicator's performance. The first method proposed in this paper requires data on previous disasters as an input and returns as output a performance function for each indicator and a performance function for the whole community. The second method exploits a knowledge-based fuzzy modeling for its implementation. This method allows a quantitative evaluation of the PEOPLES indicators using descriptive knowledge rather than deterministic data including the uncertainty involved in the analysis. The output of the fuzzy-based method is a resilience index for each indicator as well as a resilience index for the community. The paper also introduces an open source online tool in which the first method is implemented. A case study illustrating the application of the first method and the usage of the tool is also provided in the paper.

Multifractal analysis for grading complex fractionated electrograms in atrial fibrillation.

PubMed

Orozco-Duque, A; Novak, D; Kremen, V; Bustamante, J

2015-11-01

Complex fractionated atrial electrograms provide an important tool for identifying arrhythmogenic substrates that can be used to guide catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation (AF). However, fractionation is a phenomenon that remains unclear. This paper aims to evaluate the multifractal properties of electrograms in AF in order to propose a method based on multifractal analysis able to discriminate between different levels of fractionation. We introduce a new method, the h-fluctuation index (hFI), where h is the generalised Hurst exponent, to extract information from the shape of the multifractal spectrum. Two multifractal frameworks are evaluated: multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis and wavelet transform modulus maxima. hFI is exemplified through its application in synthetic signals, and it is evaluated in a database of electrograms labeled on the basis of four degrees of fractionation. We compare the performance of hFI with other indexes, and find that hFI outperforms them. The results of the study provide evidence that multifractal analysis is useful for studying fractionation phenomena in AF electrograms, and indicate that hFI can be proposed as a tool for grade fractionation associated with the detection of target sites for ablation in AF.

Usefulness of the University of California San Diego Performance-Based Skills Assessment for the evaluation of cognitive function and activities of daily living function in patients with cognitive impairment.

PubMed

Jeon, Dong-Wook; Ju, Hyun-Bin; Jung, Do-Un; Kim, Sung-Jin; Shim, Joo-Cheol; Moon, Jung-Joon; Kim, You-Na

2017-10-25

To assess the usefulness of the University of California San Diego Performance-Based Skills Assessment (UPSA) as a new diagnostic method and tool for the assessment of cognitive function and activities of daily living function in patients with cognitive impairment. In total, 35 patients with cognitive impairment and 35 healthy controls were recruited for this study. The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR), and Global Deterioration Scale (GDS) were used for the evaluation of cognitive function, while the Barthel Activities of Daily Living Index (BADL), Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Index (IADL), and UPSA were used for the evaluation of activities of daily living function. UPSA scores were significantly lower in patients with cognitive impairment than in controls. The UPSA total score was significantly correlated with MMSE, CDR, GDS, and IADL scores. With regard to the detection of cognitive impairment, UPSA exhibited a greater determination power (R 2 = 0.593) compared with BADL (R 2 = 0.149) and IADL (R 2 = 0.423) and higher sensitivity and specificity compared with IADL. Our results suggest that UPSA is a useful tool for the evaluation of cognitive function and activities of daily living function in patients with cognitive impairment.

Wastewater treatment evaluation for enterprises based on fuzzy-AHP comprehensive evaluation: a case study in industrial park in Taihu Basin, China.

PubMed

Hu, Wei; Liu, Guangbing; Tu, Yong

2016-01-01

This paper applied the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation (FCE) technique and analytic hierarchy process (AHP) procedure to evaluate the wastewater treatment for enterprises. Based on the characteristics of wastewater treatment for enterprises in Taihu basin, an evaluating index system was established for enterprise and analysis hierarchy process method was applied to determine index weight. Then the AHP and FCE methods were combined to validate the wastewater treatment level of 3 representative enterprises. The results show that the evaluation grade of enterprise 1, enterprise 2 and enterprise 3 was middle, good and excellent, respectively. Finally, the scores of 3 enterprises were calculated according to the hundred-mark system, and enterprise 3 has the highest wastewater treatment level, followed by enterprise 2 and enterprises 1. The application of this work can make the evaluation results more scientific and accurate. It is expected that this work may serve as an assistance tool for managers of enterprise in improving the wastewater treatment level.

Collaborative GIS for flood susceptibility mapping: An example from Mekong river basin of Viet Nam

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thanh, B.

2016-12-01

Flooding is one of the most dangerous natural disasters in Vietnam. Floods have caused serious damages to people and made adverse impact on social economic development across the country, especially in lower river basin where there is high risk of flooding as consequences of the climate change and social activities. This paper presents a collaborative platform of a combination of an interactive web-GIS framework and a multi-criteria evaluation (MCE) tool. MCE is carried out in server side through web interface, in which parameters used for evaluation are groups into three major categories, including (1) climatic factor: precipitation, typhoon frequency, temperature, humidity (2) physiographic data: DEM, topographic wetness index, NDVI, stream power index, soil texture, distance to river (3) social factor: NDBI, land use pattern. Web-based GIS is based on open-source technology that includes an information page, a page for MCE tool that users can interactively alter parameters in flood susceptible mapping, and a discussion page. The system is designed for local participation in prediction of the flood risk magnitude under impacts of natural processes and human intervention. The proposed flood susceptibility assessment prototype was implemented in the Mekong river basin, Viet Nam. Index images were calculated using Landsat data, and other were collected from authorized agencies. This study shows the potential to combine web-GIS and spatial analysis tool to flood hazard risk assessment. The combination can be a supportive solution that potentially assists the interaction between stakeholders in information exchange and in disaster management, thus provides for better analysis, control and decision-making.

Utility of the RENAL index -Radius; Exophytic/endophytic; Nearness to sinus; Anterior/posterior; Location relative to polar lines- in the management of renal masses.

PubMed

Konstantinidis, C; Trilla, E; Lorente, D; Morote, J

2016-12-01

The growing incidence of renal masses and the wide range of available treatments require predictive tools that support the decision making process. The RENAL index -Radius; Exophytic/endophytic; Nearness to sinus; Anterior/posterior; Location relative to polar lines- helps standardise the anatomy of a renal mass by differentiating 3 groups of complexity. Since the introduction of the index, there have been a growing number of studies, some of which have been conflicting, that have evaluated the clinical utility of its implementation. To analyse the scientific evidence on the relationship between the RENAL index and the main strategies for managing renal masses. A search was conducted in the Medline database, which found 576 references on the RENAL index. In keeping with the PRISM Declaration, we selected 100 abstracts and ultimately reviewed 96 articles. The RENAL index has a high degree of interobserver correlation and has been validated as a predictive nomogram of histological results. In active surveillance, the index has been related to the tumour growth rate and probability of nephrectomy. In ablative therapy, the index has been associated with therapeutic efficacy, complications and tumour recurrence. In partial nephrectomy, the index has been related to the rate of complications, conversion to radical surgery, ischaemia time, function preservation and tumour recurrence, a finding also observed in radical nephrectomy. The RENAL index is an objective, reproducible and useful system as a predictive tool of highly relevant clinical parameters such as the rate of complications, ischaemia time, renal function and oncological results in the various currently accepted treatments for the management of renal masses. Copyright © 2016 AEU. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

[The Italian instrument evaluating the nursing students clinical learning quality].

PubMed

Palese, Alvisa; Grassetti, Luca; Mansutti, Irene; Destrebecq, Anne; Terzoni, Stefano; Altini, Pietro; Bevilacqua, Anita; Brugnolli, Anna; Benaglio, Carla; Dal Ponte, Adriana; De Biasio, Laura; Dimonte, Valerio; Gambacorti, Benedetta; Fasci, Adriana; Grosso, Silvia; Mantovan, Franco; Marognolli, Oliva; Montalti, Sandra; Nicotera, Raffaela; Randon, Giulia; Stampfl, Brigitte; Tollini, Morena; Canzan, Federica; Saiani, Luisa; Zannini, Lucia

2017-01-01

. The Clinical Learning Quality Evaluation Index for nursing students. The Italian nursing programs, the need to introduce tools evaluating the quality of the clinical learning as perceived by nursing students. Several tools already exist, however, several limitations suggesting the need to develop a new tool. A national project aimed at developing and validating a new instrument capable of measuring the clinical learning quality as experience by nursing students. A validation study design was undertaken from 2015 to 2016. All nursing national programs (n=43) were invited to participate by including all nursing students attending regularly their clinical learning. The tool developed based upon a) literature, b) validated tools already established among other healthcare professionals, and c) consensus expressed by experts and nursing students, was administered to the eligible students. 9606 nursing in 27 universities (62.8%) participated. The psychometric properties of the new instrument ranged from good to excellent. According to the findings, the tool consists in 22 items and five factors: a) quality of the tutorial strategies, b) learning opportunities; c) safety and nursing care quality; d) self-direct learning; e) quality of the learning environment. The tool is already used. Its systematic adoption may support comparison among settings and across different programs; moreover, the tool may also support in accrediting new settings as well as in measuring the effects of strategies aimed at improving the quality of the clinical learning.

Developing and Evaluating a Target-Background Similarity Metric for Camouflage Detection

PubMed Central

Lin, Chiuhsiang Joe; Chang, Chi-Chan; Liu, Bor-Shong

2014-01-01

Background Measurement of camouflage performance is of fundamental importance for military stealth applications. The goal of camouflage assessment algorithms is to automatically assess the effect of camouflage in agreement with human detection responses. In a previous study, we found that the Universal Image Quality Index (UIQI) correlated well with the psychophysical measures, and it could be a potentially camouflage assessment tool. Methodology In this study, we want to quantify the camouflage similarity index and psychophysical results. We compare several image quality indexes for computational evaluation of camouflage effectiveness, and present the results of an extensive human visual experiment conducted to evaluate the performance of several camouflage assessment algorithms and analyze the strengths and weaknesses of these algorithms. Significance The experimental data demonstrates the effectiveness of the approach, and the correlation coefficient result of the UIQI was higher than those of other methods. This approach was highly correlated with the human target-searching results. It also showed that this method is an objective and effective camouflage performance evaluation method because it considers the human visual system and image structure, which makes it consistent with the subjective evaluation results. PMID:24498310

Comparison of creatinine index and geriatric nutritional risk index for nutritional evaluation of patients with hemodialysis.

PubMed

Hwang, Wonsun; Cho, Mi Sook; Oh, Ji Eun; Lee, Ji Hyun; Jeong, Jong Cheol; Shin, Gyu-Tae; Kim, Heungsoo; Park, Inwhee

2018-05-18

Malnutrition is prevalent in hemodialysis (HD) patients, and the risk of mortality is strongly correlated with malnutrition. Current methods of nutritional evaluation are mostly subjective, time-consuming, and cumbersome. Creatinine index (CI) and geriatric nutritional risk index (GNRI) are very simple and objective methods to assess the nutritional status of HD patients. The present study compares the performance of CI and GNRI as nutritional risk assessment tools. Eighty-eight patients with end-stage renal disease on HD were recruited from a single tertiary center. A clinical dietitian carried out individual interviews of all patients and made nutritional diagnosis. Demographic and clinical data were also used to derive GNRI and CI over 4 months. Thirty-eight out of 88 patients (44%) were diagnosed with normal nutritional status. Twenty-two patients (25%) were diagnosed with severe malnutrition and 27 (31%) had moderate malnutrition. Compared with patients with severe malnutrition, the normal group and those with moderate malnutrition showed significantly higher levels of body mass index and GNRI. Even though GNRI was associated with CI, protein intake, uric acid, and normalized protein nitrogen were not significantly correlated with GNRI, whereas the markers were highly associated with CI (P = 0.000). GNRI enable the identification of the severe malnutrition group but not the normal and moderate-malnutrition groups. However, based on CI, the normal group was distinguished while those with severe and moderate malnutrition were not. Either CI or GNRI was a valid tool for longitudinal observation of nutritional status of patients on chronic HD and facilitated the screening of cases with malnutrition. Compared with GNRI, CI ranked higher in performance for the assessment and monitoring of nutritional status in HD patients. © 2018 International Society for Hemodialysis.

Development of a Comprehensive and Interactive Tool to Inform State Violence and Injury Prevention Plans.

PubMed

Wilson, Lauren; Deokar, Angela J; Zaesim, Araya; Thomas, Karen; Kresnow-Sedacca, Marcie-Jo

The Center of Disease Control and Prevention's Core State Violence and Injury Prevention Program (Core SVIPP) provides an opportunity for states to engage with their partners to implement, evaluate, and disseminate strategies that lead to the reduction and prevention of injury and violence. Core SVIPP requires awardees to develop or update their state injury and violence plans. Currently, literature informing state planning efforts is limited, especially regarding materials related to injury and violence. Presumably, plans that are higher quality result in having a greater impact on preventing injury and violence, and literature to improve quality would benefit prevention programming. (1) To create a comprehensive injury-specific index to aid in the development and revision of state injury and violence prevention plans, and (2) to assess the reliability and utility of this index. Through an iterative development process, a workgroup of subject matter experts created the Violence and Injury Prevention: Comprehensive Index Tool (VIP:CIT). The tool was pilot tested on 3 state injury and violence prevention plans and assessed for initial usability. Following revisions to the tool (ie, a rubric was developed to further delineate consistent criteria for rating; items were added and clarified), the same state plans were reassessed to test interrater reliability and tool utility. For the second assessment, reliability of the VIP:CIT improved, indicating that the rubric was a useful addition. Qualitative feedback from states suggested that the tool significantly helped guide plan development and communicate about planning processes. The final VIP:CIT is a tool that can help increase plan quality, decrease the research-to-practice gap, and increase connectivity to emerging public health paradigms. The tool provides an example of tailoring guidance materials to reflect academic literature, and it can be easily adapted to other topic areas to promote quality of strategic plans for numerous outcomes.

Development of a Comprehensive and Interactive Tool to Inform State Violence and Injury Prevention Plans

PubMed Central

Wilson, Lauren; Deokar, Angela J.; Zaesim, Araya; Thomas, Karen; Kresnow-Sedacca, Marcie-jo

2018-01-01

Context The Center of Disease Control and Prevention’s Core State Violence and Injury Prevention Program (Core SVIPP) provides an opportunity for states to engage with their partners to implement, evaluate, and disseminate strategies that lead to the reduction and prevention of injury and violence. Core SVIPP requires awardees to develop or update their state injury and violence plans. Currently, literature informing state planning efforts is limited, especially regarding materials related to injury and violence. Presumably, plans that are higher quality result in having a greater impact on preventing injury and violence, and literature to improve quality would benefit prevention programming. Objective (1) To create a comprehensive injury-specific index to aid in the development and revision of state injury and violence prevention plans, and (2) to assess the reliability and utility of this index. Design Through an iterative development process, a workgroup of subject matter experts created the Violence and Injury Prevention: Comprehensive Index Tool (VIP:CIT). The tool was pilot tested on 3 state injury and violence prevention plans and assessed for initial usability. Following revisions to the tool (ie, a rubric was developed to further delineate consistent criteria for rating; items were added and clarified), the same state plans were reassessed to test interrater reliability and tool utility. Results For the second assessment, reliability of the VIP:CIT improved, indicating that the rubric was a useful addition. Qualitative feedback from states suggested that the tool significantly helped guide plan development and communicate about planning processes. Conclusion The final VIP:CIT is a tool that can help increase plan quality, decrease the research-to-practice gap, and increase connectivity to emerging public health paradigms. The tool provides an example of tailoring guidance materials to reflect academic literature, and it can be easily adapted to other topic areas to promote quality of strategic plans for numerous outcomes. PMID:29189505

A Hybrid Evaluation System Framework (Shell & Web) with Standardized Access to Climate Model Data and Verification Tools for a Clear Climate Science Infrastructure on Big Data High Performance Computers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kadow, C.; Illing, S.; Kunst, O.; Cubasch, U.

2014-12-01

The project 'Integrated Data and Evaluation System for Decadal Scale Prediction' (INTEGRATION) as part of the German decadal prediction project MiKlip develops a central evaluation system. The fully operational hybrid features a HPC shell access and an user friendly web-interface. It employs one common system with a variety of verification tools and validation data from different projects in- and outside of MiKlip. The evaluation system is located at the German Climate Computing Centre (DKRZ) and has direct access to the bulk of its ESGF node including millions of climate model data sets, e.g. from CMIP5 and CORDEX. The database is organized by the international CMOR standard using the meta information of the self-describing model, reanalysis and observational data sets. Apache Solr is used for indexing the different data projects into one common search environment. This implemented meta data system with its advanced but easy to handle search tool supports users, developers and their tools to retrieve the required information. A generic application programming interface (API) allows scientific developers to connect their analysis tools with the evaluation system independently of the programming language used. Users of the evaluation techniques benefit from the common interface of the evaluation system without any need to understand the different scripting languages. Facilitating the provision and usage of tools and climate data increases automatically the number of scientists working with the data sets and identify discrepancies. Additionally, the history and configuration sub-system stores every analysis performed with the evaluation system in a MySQL database. Configurations and results of the tools can be shared among scientists via shell or web-system. Therefore, plugged-in tools gain automatically from transparency and reproducibility. Furthermore, when configurations match while starting a evaluation tool, the system suggests to use results already produced by other users-saving CPU time, I/O and disk space. This study presents the different techniques and advantages of such a hybrid evaluation system making use of a Big Data HPC in climate science. website: www-miklip.dkrz.de visitor-login: guest password: miklip

A Hybrid Evaluation System Framework (Shell & Web) with Standardized Access to Climate Model Data and Verification Tools for a Clear Climate Science Infrastructure on Big Data High Performance Computers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kadow, Christopher; Illing, Sebastian; Kunst, Oliver; Ulbrich, Uwe; Cubasch, Ulrich

2015-04-01

The project 'Integrated Data and Evaluation System for Decadal Scale Prediction' (INTEGRATION) as part of the German decadal prediction project MiKlip develops a central evaluation system. The fully operational hybrid features a HPC shell access and an user friendly web-interface. It employs one common system with a variety of verification tools and validation data from different projects in- and outside of MiKlip. The evaluation system is located at the German Climate Computing Centre (DKRZ) and has direct access to the bulk of its ESGF node including millions of climate model data sets, e.g. from CMIP5 and CORDEX. The database is organized by the international CMOR standard using the meta information of the self-describing model, reanalysis and observational data sets. Apache Solr is used for indexing the different data projects into one common search environment. This implemented meta data system with its advanced but easy to handle search tool supports users, developers and their tools to retrieve the required information. A generic application programming interface (API) allows scientific developers to connect their analysis tools with the evaluation system independently of the programming language used. Users of the evaluation techniques benefit from the common interface of the evaluation system without any need to understand the different scripting languages. Facilitating the provision and usage of tools and climate data increases automatically the number of scientists working with the data sets and identify discrepancies. Additionally, the history and configuration sub-system stores every analysis performed with the evaluation system in a MySQL database. Configurations and results of the tools can be shared among scientists via shell or web-system. Therefore, plugged-in tools gain automatically from transparency and reproducibility. Furthermore, when configurations match while starting a evaluation tool, the system suggests to use results already produced by other users-saving CPU time, I/O and disk space. This study presents the different techniques and advantages of such a hybrid evaluation system making use of a Big Data HPC in climate science. website: www-miklip.dkrz.de visitor-login: click on "Guest"

Establishing a Measurement Tool for a Nursing Work Environment in Taiwan.

PubMed

Lin, Li-Chiu; Lee, Huan-Fang; Yen, Miaofen

2017-02-01

The nursing work environment is a critical global health care problem. Many health care providers are concerned about the associations between the nursing work environment and the outcomes of organizations, nurses, and patients. Nursing work environment instruments have been assessed in the West but have not been considered in Asia. However, different cultures will affect the factorial structure of the tool. Using a stratified nationwide random sample, we created a measurement tool for the nursing work environment in Taiwan. The Nursing Work Environment Index-Revised Scale and the Essentials of Magnetism scale were used to examine the factorial structure. Item analysis, exploratory factor analysis, and confirmatory factor analysis were used to examine the hypothesis model and generate a new factorial structure. The Taiwan Nursing Work Environment Index (TNWEI) was established to evaluate the nursing work environment in Taiwan. The four factors were labeled "Organizational Support" (7 items), "Nurse Staffing and Resources" (4 items), "Nurse-Physician Collaboration" (4 items), and "Support for Continuing Education" (4 items). The 19 items explained 58.5% of the variance. Confirmatory factor analysis showed a good fit to the model (x2/df = 5.99; p < .05, goodness of fit index [GFI] = .90; RMSEA = .07). The TNWEI provides a comprehensive and efficient method for measuring the nurses' work environment in Taiwan.

Decision support methodology to establish priorities on the inspection of structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cortes, V. Juliette; Sterlacchini, Simone; Bogaard, Thom; Frigerio, Simone; Schenato, Luca; Pasuto, Alessandro

2014-05-01

For hydro-meteorological hazards in mountain areas, the regular inspection of check dams and bridges is important due to the effect of their functional status on water-sediment processes. Moreover, the inspection of these structures is time consuming for organizations due to their extensive number in many regions. However, trained citizen-volunteers can support civil protection and technical services in the frequency, timeliness and coverage of monitoring the functional status of hydraulic structures. Technicians should evaluate and validate these reports to get an index for the status of the structure. Thus, preventive actions could initiate such as the cleaning of obstructions or to pre-screen potential problems for a second level inspection. This study proposes a decision support methodology that technicians can use to assess an index for three parameters representing the functional status of the structure: a) condition of the structure at the opening of the stream flow, b) level of obstruction at the structure and c) the level of erosion in the stream bank. The calculation of the index for each parameter is based upon fuzzy logic theory to handle ranges in precision of the reports and to convert the linguistic rating scales into numbers representing the structure's status. A weighting method and multi-criteria method (Analytic Hierarchy Process- AHP and TOPSIS), can be used by technicians to combine the different ratings according to the component elements of the structure and the completeness of the reports. Finally, technicians can set decision rules based on the worst rating and a threshold for the functional indexes. The methodology was implemented as a prototype web-based tool to be tested with technicians of the Civil Protection in the Fella basin, Northern Italy. Results at this stage comprise the design and implementation of the web-based tool with GIS interaction to evaluate available reports and to set priorities on the inspection of structures. Keywords Decision-making, Multi-criteria methods, Torrent control structures, Web-based tools.

Relation between different metal pollution criteria in sediments and its contribution on assessing toxicity.

PubMed

Alves, Cristina M; Ferreira, Carlos M H; Soares, Helena M V M

2018-05-14

Several tools have been developed and applied to evaluate the metal pollution status of sediments and predict their potential ecological risk assessment. To date, a comprehensive relationship between the information given by these sediment tools for predicting metal bioavailability and the effective toxicity observed is lacking. In this work, the possible inter-correlations between the data outcoming from using several qualitative evaluation tools of the sediment contamination (contamination factor, CF, the enrichment factor, EF, or the geoaccumulation index, Igeo), metal speciation on sediments (evaluated by the modified BCR sequential extraction procedure) and free metal concentrations in pore waters were studied. It was also our aim to evaluate if these assessment tools could be used for predicting the pore waters toxicity data as toxicity proxy. Principal component analysis and cluster analysis revealed that two quality indices used (CF and EF) were highly correlatable with the more labile fractions from BCR sediment speciation. However, neither of these parameters did correlate with the toxicity of pore waters measured by the chronic toxicity (72 h) in Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata. In contrast, the toxic effects of the given total metal load in sediments were better evaluated by using an additive metal approach using pore water free metal concentrations. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of the TBET model for improving P-indices in southern states

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Management of agricultural nonpoint source phosphorus (P) requires identification of fields susceptible to P loss. P-Indices are the most common tools used to identify critical source areas of P loss. However, the success of the P-index approach is impeded by insufficient measured P loss data. Simul...

Uniform Resource Locators (URLs): Powerful Reference Tools for Librarians and Information Professionals.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Teresa S.

The Internet is a network of networks which continually accumulates and amasses information, much of which is without organization and evaluation. This study addresses the need for establishing a database of Uniform Resource Locators (URLs), and for collecting, organizing, indexing, and publishing catalogs of URLs. Librarians and information…

Text Readability and Intuitive Simplification: A Comparison of Readability Formulas

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Crossley, Scott A.; Allen, David B.; McNamara, Danielle S.

2011-01-01

Texts are routinely simplified for language learners with authors relying on a variety of approaches and materials to assist them in making the texts more comprehensible. Readability measures are one such tool that authors can use when evaluating text comprehensibility. This study compares the Coh-Metrix Second Language (L2) Reading Index, a…

Quality indexing with computer-aided lexicography

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Buchan, Ronald L.

1992-01-01

Indexing with computers is a far cry from indexing with the first indexing tool, the manual card sorter. With the aid of computer-aided lexicography, both indexing and indexing tools can provide standardization, consistency, and accuracy, resulting in greater quality control than ever before. A brief survey of computer activity in indexing is presented with detailed illustrations from NASA activity. Applications from techniques mentioned, such as Retrospective Indexing (RI), can be made to many indexing systems. In addition to improving the quality of indexing with computers, the improved efficiency with which certain tasks can be done is demonstrated.

The Primary Care Electronic Library (PCEL) five years on: open source evaluation of usage.

PubMed

Robinson, Judas; de Lusignan, Simon; Kostkova, Patty

2005-01-01

The Primary Care Electronic Library (PCEL) is a collection of indexed and abstracted internet resources. PCEL contains a directory of quality-assured internet material with associated search facilities. PCEL has been indexed, using metadata and established taxonomies. Site development requires an understanding of usage; this paper reports the use of open source tools to evaluate usage. This evaluation was conducted during a six-month period of development of PCEL. To use open source to evaluate changes in usage of an electronic library. We defined data we needed for analysis; this included: page requests, visits, unique visitors, page requests per visit, geographical location of users, NHS users, chronological information about users and resources used. During the evaluation period, page requests increased from 3500 to 10,000; visits from 1250 to 2300; and unique visitors from 750 to 1500. Up to 83% of users come from the UK, 15% were NHS users. The page requests of NHS users are slowly increasing but not as fast as requests by other users in the UK. PCEL is primarily used Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday is the busiest day with use lessening through the week. NHS users had a different list of top ten resources accessed than non-NHS users, with only four resources appearing in both. Open source tools provide useful data which can be used to evaluate online resources. Improving the functionality of PCEL has been associated with increased use.

SME Worker Affective (SWA) index based on environmental ergonomics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ushada, M.; Kusuma Aji, G.; Okayama, T.; Khidir, M.

2018-04-01

Small-Medium sized (SME) is a focal type of Indonesian industry which contributes to national emerging economies. Indonesian goverment has developed employee social security system (BPJS Ketenagakerjaan) to support worker quality of life. However, there were limited research which could assist BPJS Ketenagakerjaan in evaluating worker quality of life. Worker quality of life could be categorized as the highest worker needs or affective states. SME Worker Affective (SWA) index is being concerned as a basic tool to make balance between worker performance and quality of life in workstation of SMEs. The research objectives are: 1) To optimize the environmental ergonomics in SMEs; 2) To quantify SME Worker Affective (SWA) index based on optimized environmental ergonomics. The research advantage is to support Indonesian goverment in monitoring SMEs good practices to its worker quality of life. Simulated annealing optimized the heart rate and environmental ergonomics parameters. SWA index was determined based on comparison between optimized heart rate and environmental ergonomics parameters. SWA index were quantified for 380 data of worker. The evaluation indicated 51.3% worker in affective and 48.7% in non-affective condition. Research results indicated that stakeholders of SMEs should put more attention on environmental ergonomics and worker affective.

COPD assessment test (CAT): simple tool for evaluating quality of life of chemical warfare patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

PubMed

Lari, Shahrzad M; Ghobadi, Hassan; Attaran, Davood; Mahmoodpour, Afsoun; Shadkam, Omid; Rostami, Maryam

2014-01-01

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is one of the serious late pulmonary complications caused by sulphur mustard exposure. Health status evaluations of chemical warfare patients with COPD are important to the management of these patients. The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy of the COPD assessment test (CAT) in evaluating the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of chemical warfare patients with COPD. Eighty-two consecutive patients with stable COPD were enrolled in this study. All subjects were visited by one physician, and the HRQOL was evaluated by the CAT and St. George Respiratory Questionnaires (SGRQs). In addition, a standard spirometry test, 6-min walk distance test and pulse oxymetry were conducted. The severity of the COPD was determined using Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) staging and the body mass index, obstruction, dyspnoea and exercise (BODE) index. The mean age of the patients was 47.30 ± 7.08 years. The mean CAT score was 26.03 ± 8.28. Thirty-five (43%) patients were in CAT stage 3. There were statistically significant correlations between the CAT and the SGRQ (r = 0.70, P = 0.001) and the BODE index (r = 0.70, P = 0.001). A statistically significant inverse correlation was found between the CAT score and the forced expiratory volume in 1 s (r = -0.30, P = 0.03). Our results demonstrated that the CAT is a simple and valid tool for assessment of HRQOL in chemical warfare patients with COPD and can be used in clinical practice. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Portfolio as a tool to evaluate clinical competences of traumatology in medical students

PubMed Central

Santonja-Medina, Fernando; García-Sanz, M Paz; Martínez-Martínez, Francisco; Bó, David; García-Estañ, Joaquín

2016-01-01

This article investigates whether a reflexive portfolio is instrumental in determining the level of acquisition of clinical competences in traumatology, a subject in the 5th year of the degree of medicine. A total of 131 students used the portfolio during their clinical rotation of traumatology. The students’ portfolios were blind evaluated by four professors who annotated the existence (yes/no) of 23 learning outcomes. The reliability of the portfolio was moderate, according to the kappa index (0.48), but the evaluation scores between evaluators were very similar. Considering the mean percentage, 59.8% of the students obtained all the competences established and only 13 of the 23 learning outcomes (56.5%) were fulfilled by >50% of the students. Our study suggests that the portfolio may be an important tool to quantitatively analyze the acquisition of traumatology competences of medical students, thus allowing the implementation of methods to improve its teaching. PMID:26929675

Portfolio as a tool to evaluate clinical competences of traumatology in medical students.

PubMed

Santonja-Medina, Fernando; García-Sanz, M Paz; Martínez-Martínez, Francisco; Bó, David; García-Estañ, Joaquín

2016-01-01

This article investigates whether a reflexive portfolio is instrumental in determining the level of acquisition of clinical competences in traumatology, a subject in the 5th year of the degree of medicine. A total of 131 students used the portfolio during their clinical rotation of traumatology. The students' portfolios were blind evaluated by four professors who annotated the existence (yes/no) of 23 learning outcomes. The reliability of the portfolio was moderate, according to the kappa index (0.48), but the evaluation scores between evaluators were very similar. Considering the mean percentage, 59.8% of the students obtained all the competences established and only 13 of the 23 learning outcomes (56.5%) were fulfilled by >50% of the students. Our study suggests that the portfolio may be an important tool to quantitatively analyze the acquisition of traumatology competences of medical students, thus allowing the implementation of methods to improve its teaching.

Cotton genotypes selection through artificial neural networks.

PubMed

Júnior, E G Silva; Cardoso, D B O; Reis, M C; Nascimento, A F O; Bortolin, D I; Martins, M R; Sousa, L B

2017-09-27

Breeding programs currently use statistical analysis to assist in the identification of superior genotypes at various stages of a cultivar's development. Differently from these analyses, the computational intelligence approach has been little explored in genetic improvement of cotton. Thus, this study was carried out with the objective of presenting the use of artificial neural networks as auxiliary tools in the improvement of the cotton to improve fiber quality. To demonstrate the applicability of this approach, this research was carried out using the evaluation data of 40 genotypes. In order to classify the genotypes for fiber quality, the artificial neural networks were trained with replicate data of 20 genotypes of cotton evaluated in the harvests of 2013/14 and 2014/15, regarding fiber length, uniformity of length, fiber strength, micronaire index, elongation, short fiber index, maturity index, reflectance degree, and fiber quality index. This quality index was estimated by means of a weighted average on the determined score (1 to 5) of each characteristic of the HVI evaluated, according to its industry standards. The artificial neural networks presented a high capacity of correct classification of the 20 selected genotypes based on the fiber quality index, so that when using fiber length associated with the short fiber index, fiber maturation, and micronaire index, the artificial neural networks presented better results than using only fiber length and previous associations. It was also observed that to submit data of means of new genotypes to the neural networks trained with data of repetition, provides better results of classification of the genotypes. When observing the results obtained in the present study, it was verified that the artificial neural networks present great potential to be used in the different stages of a genetic improvement program of the cotton, aiming at the improvement of the fiber quality of the future cultivars.

Benchmarking to Identify Practice Variation in Test Ordering: A Potential Tool for Utilization Management.

PubMed

Signorelli, Heather; Straseski, Joely A; Genzen, Jonathan R; Walker, Brandon S; Jackson, Brian R; Schmidt, Robert L

2015-01-01

Appropriate test utilization is usually evaluated by adherence to published guidelines. In many cases, medical guidelines are not available. Benchmarking has been proposed as a method to identify practice variations that may represent inappropriate testing. This study investigated the use of benchmarking to identify sites with inappropriate utilization of testing for a particular analyte. We used a Web-based survey to compare 2 measures of vitamin D utilization: overall testing intensity (ratio of total vitamin D orders to blood-count orders) and relative testing intensity (ratio of 1,25(OH)2D to 25(OH)D test orders). A total of 81 facilities contributed data. The average overall testing intensity index was 0.165, or approximately 1 vitamin D test for every 6 blood-count tests. The average relative testing intensity index was 0.055, or one 1,25(OH)2D test for every 18 of the 25(OH)D tests. Both indexes varied considerably. Benchmarking can be used as a screening tool to identify outliers that may be associated with inappropriate test utilization. Copyright© by the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP).

Soil salinity mapping and hydrological drought indices assessment in arid environments based on remote sensing techniques

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elhag, Mohamed; Bahrawi, Jarbou A.

2017-03-01

Vegetation indices are mostly described as crop water derivatives. The normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) is one of the oldest remote sensing applications that is widely used to evaluate crop vigor directly and crop water relationships indirectly. Recently, several NDVI derivatives were exclusively used to assess crop water relationships. Four hydrological drought indices are examined in the current research study. The water supply vegetation index (WSVI), the soil-adjusted vegetation index (SAVI), the moisture stress index (MSI) and the normalized difference infrared index (NDII) are implemented in the current study as an indirect tool to map the effect of different soil salinity levels on crop water stress in arid environments. In arid environments, such as Saudi Arabia, water resources are under pressure, especially groundwater levels. Groundwater wells are rapidly depleted due to the heavy abstraction of the reserved water. Heavy abstractions of groundwater, which exceed crop water requirements in most of the cases, are powered by high evaporation rates in the designated study area because of the long days of extremely hot summer. Landsat 8 OLI data were extensively used in the current research to obtain several vegetation indices in response to soil salinity in Wadi ad-Dawasir. Principal component analyses (PCA) and artificial neural network (ANN) analyses are complementary tools used to understand the regression pattern of the hydrological drought indices in the designated study area.

Psychometric Adaptation of the Beck Hopelessness Scale as a Self-Rated Suicide Risk Screening Instrument Among Nigerian University Students.

PubMed

Aloba, Olutayo; Awe, Oluwatosin; Adelola, Aderopo; Olatunji, Philemon; Aloba, Tolulope

2018-03-01

Globally, suicide is the most important cause of mortality among adolescents and young adults. The factor that correlates most significantly with suicide is hopelessness. The aim is to explore the psychometric adaptation of the Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS) as a suicide risk evaluation tool among Nigerian university students. A total of 554 Nigerian students completed the BHS and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS). Suicide risk level among them was determined by interviewing them with the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview Suicidality module. Cronbach's alpha for the 16-item BHS was 0.87. It exhibited satisfactory concurrent validity with the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) Suicidality module and the subscales of the DASS among the students. The 2-factor model of the BHS-16 exhibited satisfactory indices of fitness (goodness of fit index = 0.930; parsimonious goodness of fit index = 0.601; comparative fit index = 0.934; incremental fit index = 0.936; Tucker-Lewis index = 0.910; root mean square error of approximation = 0.059; χ 2 / df = 1.9). Receiver operating characteristics curve indicated that the best cutoff score for those categorized as high suicide risk was 7 (sensitivity 0.700, specificity 0.908, AUC = 0.897). The BHS has satisfactory psychometric properties as a suicide risk screening tool among Nigerian university students.

IMRT vs. 3D Noncoplanar Treatment Plans for Maxillary Sinus Tumors: A New Tool for Quantitative Evaluation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Levin, Daphne; Menhel, Janna; Alezra, Dror

2008-01-01

We compared 9-field, equispaced intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), 4- to 5-field, directionally optimized IMRT, and 3-dimensional (3D) noncoplanar planning approaches for tumors of the maxillary sinus. Ten patients were planned retrospectively to compare the different treatment techniques. Prescription doses were 60 to 70 Gy. Critical structures contoured included optic nerves and chiasm, lacrimal glands, lenses, and retinas. As an aid for plan assessment, we introduced a new tool: Critical Organ Scoring Index (COSI), which allows quantitative evaluation of the tradeoffs between target coverage and critical organ sparing. This index was compared with other, commonly used conformity indices. For amore » reliable assessment of both tumor coverage and dose to critical organs in the different planning techniques, we introduced a 2D, graphical representation of COSI vs. conformity index (CI). Dose-volume histograms and mean, maximum, and minimum organ doses were also compared. IMRT plans delivered lower doses to ipsilateral structures, but were unable to spare them. 3D plans delivered less dose to contralateral structures, and were more homogeneous, as well. Both IMRT approaches gave similar results. In cases where choice of optimal plan was difficult, the novel 2D COSI-CI representation gave an accurate picture of the tradeoffs between target coverage and organ sparing, even in cases where other conformity indices failed. Due to their unique anatomy, maxillary sinus tumors may benefit more from a noncoplanar approach than from IMRT. The new graphical representation proposed is a quick, visual, reliable tool, which may facilitate the physician's choice of best treatment plan for a given patient.« less

Adaptation and validation of Spanish version of the pediatric Voice Handicap Index (P-VHI).

PubMed

Sanz, Lorena; Bau, Patricia; Arribas, Ignacio; Rivera, Teresa

2015-09-01

The voice in childhood is a communication tool and a form of emotional expression. It is estimated that 6 to 23% of children may have voice disorders. There is a test, the Pediatric Voice Handicap Index (P-VHI), validated in English to assess the specific impact on quality of life of children with speech pathology. Spanish is the second most widely used language in the world in terms of number of speakers, with over 500 million native speakers, so it is necessary to have tools that allow us to evaluate the effects of dysphonia in Spanish-speaking children. The aim of our study is the validation of the Spanish version of the P-VHI. We performed a cross-sectional study including patients between 4 and 15 years of age. The English P-VHI validated version was translated into Spanish and this translation was reviewed and modified by three specialists in Otorhinolaryngology. There were two study groups, children who had dysphonia (n=44) and a control group of children without alterations in voice (n=44). The questionnaire was always answered by parents. Significant differences were found between the group of children with dysphonia and the control group in the overall P-VHI score and the different subscales (p<0.001). Optimal internal consistency with a good Cronbach's alpha (α=0.81) was found, with high test-retest reliability (Wilcoxon z: -0847, p>0.05). The Spanish version of the P-VHI is a validated tool that has good internal consistency. It is a reliable test that evaluates the Voice Handicap Index in the pediatric population, with easy application for daily clinical practice. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Mismatch Between Patient Education Materials About Sickle Cell Disease and the Literacy Level of Their Intended Audience.

PubMed

McClure, Elizabeth; Ng, Jared; Vitzthum, Kelly; Rudd, Rima

2016-05-12

Despite the first goal of the 2010 National Action Plan to Improve Health Literacy, the literacy demands of much health information exceeds the reading skills of most US adults. The objective of this study was to assess the health literacy level of publicly available patient education materials for people with sickle cell disease (SCD). We used 5 validated tools to evaluate 9 print and 4 online patient education materials: the simple measure of gobbledygook (SMOG) to assess reading grade level, the Peter Mosenthal and Irwin Kirsch readability formula (PMOSE/IKIRSCH) to assess structure and density, the Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool (PEMAT) to assess actionability (how well readers will know what to do after reading the material) and understandability, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC's) Clear Communication Index (Index) to obtain a comprehensive literacy demand score, and the Printed Cancer Education Materials for African Americans Cultural Sensitivity Assessment Tool. Materials' scores reflected high reading levels ranging from 8th grade to 12th grade, appropriate (low) structural demand, and low actionability relative to understandability. CDC suggests that an appropriate Index score should fall in or above the 90th percentile. The scores yielded by materials evaluated in this assessment ranged from the 44th to the 76th percentiles. Eight of the 13 materials scored within the acceptable range for cultural sensitivity. Reading levels of available patient education materials exceed the documented average literacy level of the US adult population. Health literacy demands should be a key consideration in the revision and development of patient education materials for people with SCD.

Multiple approaches to fine-grained indexing of the biomedical literature.

PubMed

Neveol, Aurelie; Shooshan, Sonya E; Humphrey, Susanne M; Rindflesh, Thomas C; Aronson, Alan R

2007-01-01

The number of articles in the MEDLINE database is expected to increase tremendously in the coming years. To ensure that all these documents are indexed with continuing high quality, it is necessary to develop tools and methods that help the indexers in their daily task. We present three methods addressing a novel aspect of automatic indexing of the biomedical literature, namely producing MeSH main heading/subheading pair recommendations. The methods, (dictionary-based, post- processing rules and Natural Language Processing rules) are described and evaluated on a genetics-related corpus. The best overall performance is obtained for the subheading genetics (70% precision and 17% recall with post-processing rules, 48% precision and 37% recall with the dictionary-based method). Future work will address extending this work to all MeSH subheadings and a more thorough study of method combination.

Pollution indices as useful tools for the comprehensive evaluation of the degree of soil contamination-A review.

PubMed

Kowalska, Joanna Beata; Mazurek, Ryszard; Gąsiorek, Michał; Zaleski, Tomasz

2018-04-05

The paper provides a complex, critical assessment of heavy metal soil pollution using different indices. Pollution indices are widely considered a useful tool for the comprehensive evaluation of the degree of contamination. Moreover, they can have a great importance in the assessment of soil quality and the prediction of future ecosystem sustainability, especially in the case of farmlands. Eighteen indices previously described by several authors (I geo , PI, EF, C f , PI sum , PI Nemerow , PLI, PI ave , PI Vector , PIN, MEC, CSI, MERMQ, C deg , RI, mCd and ExF) as well as the newly published Biogeochemical Index (BGI) were compared. The content, as determined by other authors, of the most widely investigated heavy metals (Cd, Pb and Zn) in farmland, forest and urban soils was used as a database for the calculation of all of the presented indices, and this shows, based on statistical methods, the similarities and differences between them. The indices were initially divided into two groups: individual and complex. In order to achieve a more precise classification, our study attempted to further split indices based on their purpose and method of calculation. The strengths and weaknesses of each index were assessed; in addition, a comprehensive method for pollution index choice is presented, in order to best interpret pollution in different soils (farmland, forest and urban). This critical review also contains an evaluation of various geochemical backgrounds (GBs) used in heavy metal soil pollution assessments. The authors propose a comprehensive method in order to assess soil quality, based on the application of local and reference GB.

Adjustment of the thermal component of two tourism climatological assessment tools using thermal perception and preference surveys from Hungary

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kovács, Attila; Unger, János; Gál, Csilla V.; Kántor, Noémi

2016-07-01

This study introduces new methodological concepts for integrating seasonal subjective thermal assessment patterns of people into the thermal components of two tourism climatological evaluation tools: the Tourism Climatic Index (TCI) and the Climate-Tourism/Transfer-Information-Scheme (CTIS). In the case of the TCI, we replaced the air temperature and relative humidity as the basis of the initial rating system with the physiologically equivalent temperature (PET)—a complex human biometeorological index. This modification improves the TCI's potential to evaluate the thermal aspects of climate. The major accomplishments of this study are (a) the development of a new, PET-based rating system and its integration into the thermal sub-indices of the TCI and (b) the regionalization of the thermal components of CTIS to reflect both the thermal sensation and preference patterns of people. A 2-year-long (2011-2012) thermal comfort survey conducted in Szeged, Hungary, from spring to autumn was utilized to demonstrate the implementation of the introduced concepts. We found considerable differences between the thermal perception and preference patterns of Hungarians, with additional variations across the evaluated seasons. This paper describes the proposed methodology for the integration of the new seasonal, perception-based, and preference-based PET rating systems into the TCI, and presents the incorporation of new PET thresholds into the CTIS. In order to demonstrate the utility of the modified evaluation tools, we performed case study climate analyses for three Hungarian tourist destinations. The additional adjustments introduced during the course of those analyses include the reduction of TCI's temporal resolution to 10-day intervals and the exclusion of nocturnal and winter periods from the investigation.

Correlation between nutritional markers and appetite self-assessments in hemodialysis patients.

PubMed

Oliveira, Claudia M C; Kubrusly, Marcos; Lima, André T; Torres, Danielle M; Cavalcante, Natasha M R; Jerônimo, Antônio L C; Oliveira, Thiago C B

2015-05-01

Protein-energy malnutrition is among the comorbidities that most strongly affect the prognosis of patients with chronic kidney disease. Anorexia, defined as a loss of desire to eat, is one cause of such malnutrition. Tools that evaluate appetite and the correlation between appetite and nutritional parameters require further study. To evaluate the appetite status in patients from 2 hemodialysis clinics in Fortaleza, Brazil and the correlations between appetite (evaluated in the past week and in the past 4 weeks) and demographic, laboratory, and nutritional parameters. This was a cross-sectional study of patients aged ≥18 years who had undergone dialysis for >3 months. Appetite was evaluated using the first 3 questions of the Appetite and Diet Assessment Tool (ADAT) questionnaire, which evaluate the appetite status during the past week as well as 1 question from the Kidney Disease and Quality of Life™ Short Form that assesses appetite in the past 4 weeks. The patients were divided into 3 groups according to the degree of appetite: group 1: very good and good appetite (ADAT) or not and somewhat (Kidney Disease and Quality of Life™ Short Form); group 2: fair or moderately; and group 3: poor and very poor, or very much and extremely. The nutritional parameters evaluated were body mass index (BMI), serum albumin, Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index (GNRI) and lean body mass index (lean mass in kilogram per square meter) as obtained by multifrequency bioelectrical impedance analysis. Patients with a BMI <23 kg/m(2), albumin <4 g/dL, GNRI <98, and lean body mass index below the lowest quartile were considered malnourished. The associations between appetite and nutritional variables were tested using Fisher exact test and by comparing the means of the variables in the 3 groups using the analysis of variance and Kruskal-Wallis tests. A total of 136 patients were included in the study with a mean age of 50.9 years and a median time on dialysis of 45 months; 57% of the patients were male. Regarding the first question on the ADAT questionnaire, 36% of patients exhibited anorexia in the past week. Furthermore, 28.7% of the population reported a lack of appetite in the last month. Moreover, 34.3% of the patients were considered malnourished according to BMI, 34.1% according to albumin, and 31.6% according to GNRI. Among the studied variables, the mean values of the following variables were different between groups 1, 2, and 3: hemoglobin (P = .0186), creatinine (P = .0392), albumin (P = .0065), GNRI (P = .0274), and lean BMI (P = .0274). The prevalence of a lack of appetite in hemodialysis patients in both the past week and the past month was high in the present study. The questionnaire evaluating appetite in the last 4 weeks could be used as a malnutrition screening tool in hemodialysis patients as suggested by the correlation of decreased appetite in the last month with variables that assess nutritional status such as albumin, lean body mass index, and GNRI. Copyright © 2015 National Kidney Foundation, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

SETs: stand evaluation tools: II. tree value conversion standards for hardwood sawtimber

Treesearch

Joseph J. Mendel; Paul S. DeBald; Martin E. Dale

1976-01-01

Tree quatity index tables are presented for 12 important hardwood species of the oak-hickory forest. From these, tree value conversion standards are developed for each species, log grade, merchantable height, and diameter at breast height. The method of calculating tree value conversion standards and adapting them to different conditions is explained. A computer...

Surrogate analysis and index developer (SAID) tool and real-time data dissemination utilities

USGS Publications Warehouse

Domanski, Marian M.; Straub, Timothy D.; Wood, Molly S.; Landers, Mark N.; Wall, Gary R.; Brady, Steven J.

2015-01-01

The use of acoustic and other parameters as surrogates for suspended-sediment concentrations (SSC) in rivers has been successful in multiple applications across the Nation. Critical to advancing the operational use of surrogates are tools to process and evaluate the data along with the subsequent development of regression models from which real-time sediment concentrations can be made available to the public. Recent developments in both areas are having an immediate impact on surrogate research, and on surrogate monitoring sites currently in operation. The Surrogate Analysis and Index Developer (SAID) standalone tool, under development by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), assists in the creation of regression models that relate response and explanatory variables by providing visual and quantitative diagnostics to the user. SAID also processes acoustic parameters to be used as explanatory variables for suspended-sediment concentrations. The sediment acoustic method utilizes acoustic parameters from fixed-mount stationary equipment. The background theory and method used by the tool have been described in recent publications, and the tool also serves to support sediment-acoustic-index methods being drafted by the multi-agency Sediment Acoustic Leadership Team (SALT), and other surrogate guidelines like USGS Techniques and Methods 3-C4 for turbidity and SSC. The regression models in SAID can be used in utilities that have been developed to work with the USGS National Water Information System (NWIS) and for the USGS National Real-Time Water Quality (NRTWQ) Web site. The real-time dissemination of predicted SSC and prediction intervals for each time step has substantial potential to improve understanding of sediment-related water-quality and associated engineering and ecological management decisions.

Thermal comfort assessment of a surgical room through computational fluid dynamics using local PMV index.

PubMed

Rodrigues, Nelson J O; Oliveira, Ricardo F; Teixeira, Senhorinha F C F; Miguel, Alberto Sérgio; Teixeira, José Carlos; Baptista, João S

2015-01-01

Studies concerning indoor thermal conditions are very important in defining the satisfactory comfort range in health care facilities. This study focuses on the evaluation of the thermal comfort sensation felt by surgeons and nurses, in an orthopaedic surgical room of a Portuguese hospital. Two cases are assessed, with and without the presence of a person. Computational fluid dynamic (CFD) tools were applied for evaluating the predicted mean vote (PMV) index locally. Using average ventilation values to calculate the PMV index does not provide a correct and enough descriptive evaluation of the surgical room thermal environment. As studied for both cases, surgeons feel the environment slightly hotter than nurses. The nurses feel a slightly cold sensation under the air supply diffuser and their neutral comfort zone is located in the air stagnation zones close to the walls, while the surgeons feel the opposite. It was observed that the presence of a person in the room leads to an increase of the PMV index for surgeons and nurses. That goes in line with the empirical knowledge that more persons in a room lead to an increased heat sensation. The clothing used by both classes, as well as the ventilation conditions, should be revised accordingly to the amount of persons in the room and the type of activity performed.

Evaluating disturbance on mediterranean karst areas: the example of Sardinia (Italy)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Waele, Jo

2009-07-01

Evaluating the human disturbance on karst areas is a difficult task because of the complexity of these peculiar and unique environments. The human impact on karstic geo-ecosystems is increasingly important and there is an increasing need for multidisciplinary tools to assess the environmental changes in karst areas. Many disciplines, such as biology, geomorphology, hydrology and social-economical sciences are to be considered to sufficiently evaluate the impact on these intrinsically vulnerable areas. This article gives an overview of the evolution of environmental impact on karst areas of the island Sardinia (Italy). For this particular case, the most important impacts in the past 50 years are derived from the following activities, in decreasing importance: (1) mining and quarrying; (2) deforestation, agriculture and grazing; (3) building (widespread urbanisation, isolated homes, etc.) and related infrastructures (roads, sewer systems, aqueducts, waste dumps, etc.); (4) tourism; (5) military activities. To evaluate the present environmental state of these areas the Disturbance Index for Karst environments [Van Beynen and Townsend (Environ Manage 36:101-116)] is applied in a slightly modified version. Instead of considering the indicators of environmental disturbances used in the original method, this slightly modified index evaluates the disturbances causing the deterioration of the environmental attributes. In the Sardinian case study, 27 disturbances have been evaluated, giving rise to the definition of a Disturbance Index ranging between 0 (Pristine) and 1 (highly disturbed). This Disturbance Index simplifies the original KDI method, appears to adequately measure disturbance on Mediterranean karst areas and could be applied with success to other similar regions.

Inflammation-driven malnutrition: a new screening tool predicts outcome in Crohn's disease.

PubMed

Jansen, Irene; Prager, Matthias; Valentini, Luzia; Büning, Carsten

2016-09-01

Malnutrition is a frequent feature in Crohn's disease (CD), affects patient outcome and must be recognised. For chronic inflammatory diseases, recent guidelines recommend the development of combined malnutrition and inflammation risk scores. We aimed to design and evaluate a new screening tool that combines both malnutrition and inflammation parameters that might help predict clinical outcome. In a prospective cohort study, we examined fifty-five patients with CD in remission (Crohn's disease activity index (CDAI) <200) at 0 and 6 months. We assessed disease activity (CDAI, Harvey-Bradshaw index), inflammation (C-reactive protein (CRP), faecal calprotectin (FC)), malnutrition (BMI, subjective global assessment (SGA), serum albumin, handgrip strength), body composition (bioelectrical impedance analysis) and administered the newly developed 'Malnutrition Inflammation Risk Tool' (MIRT; containing BMI, unintentional weight loss over 3 months and CRP). All parameters were evaluated regarding their ability to predict disease outcome prospectively at 6 months. At baseline, more than one-third of patients showed elevated inflammatory markers despite clinical remission (36·4 % CRP ≥5 mg/l, 41·5 % FC ≥100 µg/g). Prevalence of malnutrition at baseline according to BMI, SGA and serum albumin was 2-16 %. At 6 months, MIRT significantly predicted outcome in numerous nutritional and clinical parameters (SGA, CD-related flares, hospitalisations and surgeries). In contrast, SGA, handgrip strength, BMI, albumin and body composition had no influence on the clinical course. The newly developed MIRT was found to reliably predict clinical outcome in CD patients. This screening tool might be used to facilitate clinical decision making, including treatment of both inflammation and malnutrition in order to prevent complications.

EJSCREEN Version 1, EJ Index Alternatives

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This map service displays alternative environmental justice (EJ) indexes used in EJSCREEN. The alternative EJ indexes combine each of the 12 environmental indicators and one of two demographic indexes using different methods than the Primary EJ Index. EJ Index Alternative 1 is a combination of a blockgroup environmental factor, the populaiton of the blockgroup, and the demographic index. This EJ Index measures how much a particular place contributes to the total burden faced by subpopulations highlighted by the demographic index. EJ Index Alternative 2 is a combination of a blockgroup environmental factor and the demographic index. Two options are presented for both EJ Index Alternative 1 and Alternative 2-- they are combined with the primary demographic index and alternative demographic index. EJSCREEN is an environmental justice screening tool that provides EPA with a nationally consistent approach to screening for potential areas of EJ concern that may warrant further investigation. The EJ indexes are block group level results that combine multiple demographic factors with a single environmental variable (such as proximity to traffic) that can be used to help identify communities living with the greatest potential for negative environmental and health effects. The EJSCREEN tool is currently for internal EPA use only. It is anticipated that as users become accustomed to this new tool, individual programs within the Agency will develop program use guidelines a

Development and initial validation of the Localized Scleroderma Skin Damage Index and Physician Global Assessment of disease Damage: a proof-of-concept study

PubMed Central

Vilaiyuk, Soamarat; Torok, Kathryn S.; Medsger, Thomas A.

2010-01-01

Objective. To develop and assess the psychometric properties of the Localized Scleroderma (LS) Skin Damage Index (LoSDI) and Physician Global Assessment of disease Damage (PGA-D). Methods. Damage was defined as irreversible/persistent changes (>6 months) due to previous active disease/complications of therapy. Eight rheumatologists assessed the importance of 17 variables in formulating the PGA-D/LoSDI. LS patients were evaluated by two rheumatologists using both tools to assess their psychometric properties. LoSDI was calculated by summing three scores for cutaneous features of damage [dermal atrophy (DAT), subcutaneous atrophy (SAT) and dyspigmentation (DP)] measured at 18 anatomic sites. Patient GA of disease severity (PtGA-S), Children's Dermatology Life Quality Index (CDLQI) and PGA-D were recorded at the time of each examination. Results. Thirty LS patients (112 lesions) and nine patient-visit pairs (18 lesions) were included for inter- and intra-rater reliability study. LoSDI and its domains DAT, SAT, DP and PGA-D demonstrated excellent inter- and intra-rater reliability (reliability coefficients 0.86–0.99 and 0.74–0.96, respectively). LoSDI correlated moderately with PGA-D and poorly with PtGA-S and CDLQI. PGA-D correlated moderately with PtGA-S, but poorly with CDLQI. Conclusions. To complete the LS Cutaneous Assessment Tool (LoSCAT), we developed and evaluated the psychometric properties of the LoSDI and PGA-D in addition to the LS Skin Severity Index (LoSSI). These instruments will facilitate evaluation of LS patients for individual patient management and clinical trials. LoSDI and PGA-D demonstrated excellent reliability and high validity. LoSCAT provides an improved understanding of LS natural history. Further study in a larger group of patients is needed to confirm these preliminary findings. PMID:20008472

The recomBead Borrelia antibody index, CXCL13 and total IgM index for laboratory diagnosis of Lyme neuroborreliosis in children.

PubMed

Skogman, B H; Lager, M; Henningsson, A J; Tjernberg, I

2017-11-01

For laboratory diagnostics of Lyme neuroborreliosis (LNB), the recomBead Borrelia antibody index (AI) assay has shown promising results in a mixed age population, but has not previously been evaluated with specific focus on paediatric patients. The aim of the study was to evaluate the recomBead Borrelia AI assay in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) for the laboratory diagnosis of LNB in children. We also wanted to explore whether early markers, such as CXCL13 in CSF and/or total IgM index could be useful as complementary diagnostic tools. Children being evaluated for LNB in a Swedish Lyme endemic area were included in the study (n = 146). Serum and CSF were collected on admission. Patients with other specific diagnoses were controls (n = 15). The recomBead Borrelia AI assay and the recomBead CXCL13 assay (Mikrogen) were applied together with total IgM index. The overall sensitivity for recomBead Borrelia AI (IgM and IgG together) was 74% and the specificity was 97%. However, the highest sensitivity (91%) at an acceptable level of specificity (90%) was obtained by recomBead Borrelia AI together with CXCL13 and total IgM index, showing a positive predictive value of 84% and a negative predictive value of 95%. Thus, the recomBead Borrelia AI assay performs with moderate sensitivity and high specificity in paediatric LNB patients. The major advantage seems to be increased sensitivity in the possible LNB group compared to the IDEIA assay. The diagnostic sensitivity may be further increased by using a combination of early markers, such as CXCL13 in CSF and total IgM index.

Validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the Optimality Index-US (OI-US) to assess maternity care outcomes.

PubMed

Yucel, Cigdem; Taskin, Lale; Low, Lisa Kane

2015-12-01

Although obstetrical interventions are used commonly in Turkey, there is no standardized evidence-based assessment tool to evaluate maternity care outcomes. The Optimality Index-US (OI-US) is an evidence-based tool that was developed for the purpose of measuring aggregate perinatal care processes and outcomes against an optimal or best possible standard. This index has been validated and used in Netherlands, USA and UK until now. The objective of this study was to adapt the OI-US to assess maternity care outcomes in Turkey. Translation and back translation were used to develop the Optimality Index-Turkey (OI-TR) version. To evaluate the content validity of the OI-TR, an expert panel group (n=10) reviewed the items and evidence-based quality of the OI-TR for application in Turkey. Following the content validity process, the OI-TR was used to assess 150 healthy and 150 high-risk pregnant women who gave birth at a high volume, urban maternity hospital in Turkey. The scores between the two groups were compared to assess the discriminant validity of the OI-TR. The percentage of agreement between two raters and the Kappa statistic were calculated to evaluate the reliability. Content validity was established for the OI-TR by an expert group. Discriminant validity was confirmed by comparing the OI scores of healthy pregnant women (mean OI score=77.65%) and those of high-risk pregnant women (mean OI score=78.60%). The percentage of agreement between the two raters was 96.19, and inter-rater agreement was provided for each item in the OI-TR. OI-TR is a valid and reliable tool that can be used to assess maternity care outcomes in Turkey. The results of this study indicate that although the risk statuses of the women differed, the type of care they received was essentially the same, as measured by the OI-TR. Care was not individualised based on risk and for a majority of items was inconsistent with evidence based practice, which is not optimal. Use of the OI-TR will help to provide a standardized way to assess maternity care process and outcomes of maternity care in Turkey which can inform future research aimed at improving maternity care outcomes. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Return on Scientific Investment - RoSI: a PMO dynamical index proposal for scientific projects performance evaluation and management.

PubMed

Caous, Cristofer André; Machado, Birajara; Hors, Cora; Zeh, Andrea Kaufmann; Dias, Cleber Gustavo; Amaro Junior, Edson

2012-01-01

To propose a measure (index) of expected risks to evaluate and follow up the performance analysis of research projects involving financial and adequate structure parameters for its development. A ranking of acceptable results regarding research projects with complex variables was used as an index to gauge a project performance. In order to implement this method the ulcer index as the basic model to accommodate the following variables was applied: costs, high impact publication, fund raising, and patent registry. The proposed structured analysis, named here as RoSI (Return on Scientific Investment) comprises a pipeline of analysis to characterize the risk based on a modeling tool that comprises multiple variables interacting in semi-quantitatively environments. This method was tested with data from three different projects in our Institution (projects A, B and C). Different curves reflected the ulcer indexes identifying the project that may have a minor risk (project C) related to development and expected results according to initial or full investment. The results showed that this model contributes significantly to the analysis of risk and planning as well as to the definition of necessary investments that consider contingency actions with benefits to the different stakeholders: the investor or donor, the project manager and the researchers.

Assessing clarity of message communication for mandated USEPA drinking water quality reports.

PubMed

Phetxumphou, Katherine; Roy, Siddhartha; Davy, Brenda M; Estabrooks, Paul A; You, Wen; Dietrich, Andrea M

2016-04-01

The United States Environmental Protection Agency mandates that community water systems (CWSs), or drinking water utilities, provide annual consumer confidence reports (CCRs) reporting on water quality, compliance with regulations, source water, and consumer education. While certain report formats are prescribed, there are no criteria ensuring that consumers understand messages in these reports. To assess clarity of message, trained raters evaluated a national sample of 30 CCRs using the Centers for Disease Control Clear Communication Index (Index) indices: (1) Main Message/Call to Action; (2) Language; (3) Information Design; (4) State of the Science; (5) Behavioral Recommendations; (6) Numbers; and (7) Risk. Communication materials are considered qualifying if they achieve a 90% Index score. Overall mean score across CCRs was 50 ± 14% and none scored 90% or higher. CCRs did not differ significantly by water system size. State of the Science (3 ± 15%) and Behavioral Recommendations (77 ± 36%) indices were the lowest and highest, respectively. Only 63% of CCRs explicitly stated if the water was safe to drink according to federal and state standards and regulations. None of the CCRs had passing Index scores, signaling that CWSs are not effectively communicating with their consumers; thus, the Index can serve as an evaluation tool for CCR effectiveness and a guide to improve water quality communications.

Performance of a light fluorescence device for the detection of microbial plaque and gingival inflammation.

PubMed

Rechmann, Peter; Liou, Shasan W; Rechmann, Beate M T; Featherstone, John D B

2016-01-01

The hypothesis to be tested was that using the SOPROCARE system in fluorescence perio-mode allows scoring of microbial plaque that is comparable to the Turesky modification of the Quigley Hein plaque index (T-QH) and scoring of gingival inflammation comparable to the Silness and Löe gingival inflammation index (GI). Fifty-five subjects with various amounts of microbial plaque were recruited. The T-QH and GI index were recorded. SOPROCARE pictures were recorded in fluorescence perio-mode and in daylight mode. Finally, conventional digital photographs were taken. All pictures were assessed using the same criteria as described for the clinical indices. The average T-QH was 1.1 ± 1.2 (mean ± SD). Scoring with SOPROCARE perio-mode led to a slightly higher average than the T-QH scores. SOPROCARE daylight mode and digital photography showed the highest plaque scores. The average GI index was 0.7 ± 0.9. SOPROCARE in perio-mode scored slightly lower. Linear regression fits between the different clinical indices and SOPROCARE scores were significantly different from zero demonstrating high goodness of fit. The study demonstrated that the SOPROCARE fluorescence assessment tool in perio-mode allows reliable judgment of microbial plaque and gingival inflammation levels similar to the established Turesky-modified Quigley Hein index and the Silness and Löe gingival inflammation index. Training on plaque-free teeth will actually reduce scoring errors. The SOPROCARE fluorescence tool in perio-mode provides reliable evaluation of microbial plaque and gingival inflammation for the dental clinician.

Looking at prescription quality in Ayurveda: Developing, validating and pilot testing a prescription quality index for Ayurveda.

PubMed

Rastogi, Sanjeev

2017-11-06

Prescription quality can be a direct predictor of the net outcome of a health care delivery effort. Quality of prescription may be considered as a cumulative matrix of multiple components of a prescription on the basis of their relative importance. Prescription quality index is a recognized tool in clinical medicine for multiple purposes including the prediction of health care intervention outcome. Considering the importance of prescription quality among every system of medicine, an attempt was made to design a prescription quality index for Ayurveda. The Prescription Quality Index for Ayurveda was designed through item selection following a thorough literature search and was validated through multiple peer group discussions. Final draft of index containing 38 individual items carrying different scores as per their importance in the prescription was subjected to a pilot test upon 1576 indoor prescriptions generated in 2015 at State Ayurvedic College Hospital, Lucknow. The study revealed large information gaps in the components of the prescription where it was supposed to be noted by the prescribers. These gaps in the Ayurvedic prescriptions were most significant in the areas pertaining to Ayurvedic fundamentals of clinical examination, disease diagnosis and Ayurvedic drug intake methods. Prescription Quality Index for Ayurveda was found useful in underlining the gaps between the ideal and generated prescriptions. This can be utilized as a useful tool to evaluate the quality of Ayurvedic prescriptions by seeing their adherence to the standard prescription template. Copyright © 2017 Transdisciplinary University, Bangalore and World Ayurveda Foundation. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Assessing safety culture in NICU: psychometric properties of the Italian version of Safety Attitude Questionnaire and result implications.

PubMed

Zenere, Alessandra; Zanolin, M Elisabetta; Negri, Roberta; Moretti, Francesca; Grassi, Mario; Tardivo, Stefano

2016-04-01

Neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) are a high-risk setting. The Safety Attitude Questionnaire (SAQ) is a widely used tool to measure safety culture. The aims of the study are to verify the psychometric properties of the Italian version of SAQ, to evaluate safety culture in the NICUs and to identify improvement interventions. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 6 level III NICUs. The SAQ was translated into Italian and adapted to the context, a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed to validate the questionnaire. 193 questionnaires were collected. The mean response rate was 59.7% (range 44.5%-95.7%). The answers were analysed according to six factors: f1 - teamwork climate, f2 - safety climate, f3 - job satisfaction, f4 - stress recognition, f5 - perception of management, f6 - working conditions. The CFA indexes were adequate (McDonald's omega indexes varied from 0.74 to 0.94, the SRMR index was equal to 0.79 and the RMSEA index was 0.070, 95% CI = 0.063-0.078). The mean composite score was 57.6 (SD 17.9), ranging between 42.3 and 69.7 on a standardized 100-point scale. We highlighted significant differences among units and professions (P < 0.05). The Italian version of the SAQ proved to be an effective tool to evaluate and compare the safety culture in the NICUs. The obtained scores significantly varied both within and among the NICUs. The organizational and structural characteristics of the involved hospitals probably affect the safety culture perception by the staff. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Evaluation of the APEX model to simulate runoff quality from agricultural fields in the southern region of the US

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The phosphorus (P) Index (PI) is the risk assessment tool approved in the NRCS 590 standard used to target critical source areas and practices to reduce P losses. A revision of the 590 standard, suggested using the Agricultural Policy/Environmental eXtender (APEX) model to assess the risk of nitroge...

The Gypsy Moth Event Monitor for FVS: a tool for forest and pest managers

Treesearch

Kurt W. Gottschalk; Anthony W. Courter

2007-01-01

The Gypsy Moth Event Monitor is a program that simulates the effects of gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar (L.), within the confines of the Forest Vegetation Simulator (FVS). Individual stands are evaluated with a susceptibility index system to determine the vulnerability of the stand to the effects of gypsy moth. A gypsy moth outbreak is scheduled in the...

BIOSIM2 USER'S MANUAL, VERSION 2.0.03 - A PROGRAM THAT APPLIES THE COEFFICIENT OF BIOTIC SIMILARITY, B, TO COMPLEX DATA MATRICES

EPA Science Inventory

The Pinkham-Pearson index of similarity has been evaluated by EPA as one of the more powerful tools for comparing community structure in its rapid bioassessment protocol. However, its use has been limited because the program that ran it, BioSim1, was only available in DOS format....

Municipal solid waste management: identification and analysis of engineering indexes representing demand and costs generated in virtuous Italian communities.

PubMed

Gamberini, R; Del Buono, D; Lolli, F; Rimini, B

2013-11-01

The definition and utilisation of engineering indexes in the field of Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSWM) is an issue of interest for technicians and scientists, which is widely discussed in literature. Specifically, the availability of consolidated engineering indexes is useful when new waste collection services are designed, along with when their performance is evaluated after a warm-up period. However, most published works in the field of MSWM complete their study with an analysis of isolated case studies. Conversely, decision makers require tools for information collection and exchange in order to trace the trends of these engineering indexes in large experiments. In this paper, common engineering indexes are presented and their values analysed in virtuous Italian communities, with the aim of contributing to the creation of a useful database whose data could be used during experiments, by indicating examples of MSWM demand profiles and the costs required to manage them. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Weighting Criteria and Prioritizing of Heat stress indices in surface mining using a Delphi Technique and Fuzzy AHP-TOPSIS Method.

PubMed

Asghari, Mehdi; Nassiri, Parvin; Monazzam, Mohammad Reza; Golbabaei, Farideh; Arabalibeik, Hossein; Shamsipour, Aliakbar; Allahverdy, Armin

2017-01-01

Heat stress as a physical harmful agent can increase the risk of health and safety problems in different workplaces such as mining. Although there are different indices to assess the heat stress imposed on workers, choosing the best index for a specific workplace is so important. Since various criteria affect an index applicability, extracting the most effective ones and determining their weights help to prioritize the existing indices and select the optimal index. In order to achieve this aim, present study compared some heat stress indices using effective methods. The viewpoints of occupational health experts and the qualitative Delphi methods were used to extract the most important criteria. Then, the weights of 11 selected criteria were determined by Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process. Finally, fuzzy TOPSIS technique was applied for choosing the most suitable heat stress index. According to result, simplicity, reliability, being low cost, and comprehensiveness were the most determinative criteria for a heat stress index. Based on these criteria and their weights, the existing indices were prioritized. Eventually, wet bulb glob temperature appropriated the first priority and it was proposed as an applicable index for evaluating the heat stress at outdoor hot environments such as surface mines. The use of these strong methods allows introducing the most simple, precise, and applicable tool for evaluation the heat stress in hot environments. It seems that WBGT acts as an appropriate index for assessing the heat stress in mining activities at outdoors.

A new analysis of heart rate variability in the assessment of fetal parasympathetic activity: An experimental study in a fetal sheep model.

PubMed

Garabedian, C; Champion, C; Servan-Schreiber, E; Butruille, L; Aubry, E; Sharma, D; Logier, R; Deruelle, P; Storme, L; Houfflin-Debarge, V; De Jonckheere, J

2017-01-01

Analysis of heart rate variability (HRV) is a recognized tool in the assessment of autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity. Indeed, both time and spectral analysis techniques enable us to obtain indexes that are related to the way the ANS regulates the heart rate. However, these techniques are limited in terms of the lack of thresholds of the numerical indexes, which is primarily due to high inter-subject variability. We proposed a new fetal HRV analysis method related to the parasympathetic activity of the ANS. The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of our method compared to commonly used HRV analysis, with regard to i) the ability to detect changes in ANS activity and ii) inter-subject variability. This study was performed in seven sheep fetuses. In order to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of our index in evaluating parasympathetic activity, we directly administered 2.5 mg intravenous atropine, to inhibit parasympathetic tone, and 5 mg propranolol to block sympathetic activity. Our index, as well as time analysis (root mean square of the successive differences; RMSSD) and spectral analysis (high frequency (HF) and low frequency (LF) spectral components obtained via fast Fourier transform), were measured before and after injection. Inter-subject variability was estimated by the coefficient of variance (%CV). In order to evaluate the ability of HRV parameters to detect fetal parasympathetic decrease, we also estimated the effect size for each HRV parameter before and after injections. As expected, our index, the HF spectral component, and the RMSSD were reduced after the atropine injection. Moreover, our index presented a higher effect size. The %CV was far lower for our index than for RMSSD, HF, and LF. Although LF decreased after propranolol administration, fetal stress index, RMSSD, and HF were not significantly different, confirming the fact that those indexes are specific to the parasympathetic nervous system. In conclusion, our method appeared to be effective in detecting parasympathetic inhibition. Moreover, inter-subject variability was much lower, and effect size higher, with our method compared to other HRV analysis methods.

Evaluating financial risk management strategies under climate change for hydropower producers on the Great Lakes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meyer, Eliot S.; Characklis, Gregory W.; Brown, Casey

2017-03-01

Hydropower on the Great Lakes makes up a substantial fraction of regional electricity generation capacity. Hydropower producers on the Niagara River (flowing between lakes Erie and Ontario) operate as run-of-river, and changing lake levels alter interlake flows reducing both generation and revenues. Index-based insurance contracts, wherein contract payouts are linked to lake levels, offer a tool for mitigating this risk. As a potentially useful tool, pricing of financial insurance is typically based on historical behavior of the index. However, uncertainty with respect to the impacts of climate change on lake level behavior and how this might translate to increased (or decreased) risk for those selling or buying the insurance remains unexplored. Portfolios of binary index-insurance contracts are developed for hydropower producers on the Niagara River, and their performance is evaluated under a range of climate scenarios. Climate Informed Decision Analysis is used to inform the sensitivity of these portfolios to potential shifts in long-term, climatological variations in water level behavior. Under historical conditions, hydropower producers can use portfolios costing 0.5% of mean revenues to increase their minimum revenue threshold by approximately 18%. However, a one standard deviation decrease in the 50 year mean water level potentially doubles the frequency with which these portfolios would underperform from the perspective of a potential insurer. Trade-offs between portfolio cost and the frequency of underperformance are investigated over a range of climate futures.

Vesicoureteral Reflux Index: 2-Institution Analysis and Validation.

PubMed

Arlen, Angela M; Garcia-Roig, Michael; Weiss, Aaron D; Leong, Traci; Cooper, Christopher S; Kirsch, Andrew J

2016-04-01

The vesicoureteral reflux index is a novel tool designed to predict spontaneous reflux resolution in infants younger than 2 years. We performed a multi-institutional validation study to confirm the discriminatory power of the vesicoureteral reflux index to predict the vesicoureteral reflux resolution rate in young children. We identified patients diagnosed with primary vesicoureteral reflux before age 24 months who had 2 or more voiding cystourethrograms available. Demographics, vesicoureteral reflux grade and timing, ureteral anomalies and radiographic outcomes were evaluated. The C-index was estimated for time to event model assessment. A total of 219 girls and 150 boys met study inclusion criteria. Mean ± SD age at diagnosis was 4.7 ± 4.9 months. Of the patients 101 (27.4%) had early to mid filling, 214 (58%) had late filling and 54 (14.6%) had voiding only vesicoureteral reflux. High grade reflux was present in 87 patients (23.6%) and ureteral anomalies were observed in 50 (13.6%). A vesicoureteral reflux index of 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 or greater showed an improvement/resolution rate of 88.2%, 77.3%, 62.3%, 32.1% and 14.3%, respectively. On time to event analysis children with filling phase vesicoureteral reflux (p <0.001), grade 4-5 reflux (p <0.001) and ureteral anomalies (p = 0.003) had significantly longer median time to resolution. Median time to spontaneous resolution was 12.6, 12.7, 15.1, 25.6 and 31 months or greater for a vesicoureteral reflux index of 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 or greater, respectively (C-index 0.305, 95% CI 0.252-0.357). During the study period 65 patients (17.6%) underwent surgical intervention. The vesicoureteral reflux index is a simple tool that reliably predicts significant improvement and spontaneous resolution of primary reflux in patients diagnosed at younger than 2 years. The index provides valuable prognostic information, facilitating individualized patient care. Copyright © 2016 American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

How To Succeed in Promoting Your Web Site: The Impact of Search Engine Registration on Retrieval of a World Wide Web Site.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tunender, Heather; Ervin, Jane

1998-01-01

Character strings were planted in a World Wide Web site (Project Whistlestop) to test indexing and retrieval rates of five Web search tools (Lycos, infoseek, AltaVista, Yahoo, Excite). It was found that search tools indexed few of the planted character strings, none indexed the META descriptor tag, and only Excite indexed into the 3rd-4th site…

Body Mass Index Table

MedlinePlus

... Aim for a Healthy Weight » Healthy Weight Tools » BMI Calculator » Body Mass Index Table 1 Home Assessing ... Eat Right Be Physically Active Healthy Weight Tools BMI Calculator Menu Plans Portion Distortion Key Recommendations Healthy ...

The contribution of morphological knowledge to French MeSH mapping for information retrieval.

PubMed Central

Zweigenbaum, P.; Darmoni, S. J.; Grabar, N.

2001-01-01

MeSH-indexed Internet health directories must provide a mapping from natural language queries to MeSH terms so that both health professionals and the general public can query their contents. We describe here the design of lexical knowledge bases for mapping French expressions to MeSH terms, and the initial evaluation of their contribution to Doc'CISMeF, the search tool of a MeSH-indexed directory of French-language medical Internet resources. The observed trend is in favor of the use of morphological knowledge as a moderate (approximately 5%) but effective factor for improving query to term mapping capabilities. PMID:11825295

Evaluating Cellular Polyfunctionality with a Novel Polyfunctionality Index

PubMed Central

Larsen, Martin; Sauce, Delphine; Arnaud, Laurent; Fastenackels, Solène; Appay, Victor; Gorochov, Guy

2012-01-01

Functional evaluation of naturally occurring or vaccination-induced T cell responses in mice, men and monkeys has in recent years advanced from single-parameter (e.g. IFN-γ-secretion) to much more complex multidimensional measurements. Co-secretion of multiple functional molecules (such as cytokines and chemokines) at the single-cell level is now measurable due primarily to major advances in multiparametric flow cytometry. The very extensive and complex datasets generated by this technology raise the demand for proper analytical tools that enable the analysis of combinatorial functional properties of T cells, hence polyfunctionality. Presently, multidimensional functional measures are analysed either by evaluating all combinations of parameters individually or by summing frequencies of combinations that include the same number of simultaneous functions. Often these evaluations are visualized as pie charts. Whereas pie charts effectively represent and compare average polyfunctionality profiles of particular T cell subsets or patient groups, they do not document the degree or variation of polyfunctionality within a group nor does it allow more sophisticated statistical analysis. Here we propose a novel polyfunctionality index that numerically evaluates the degree and variation of polyfuntionality, and enable comparative and correlative parametric and non-parametric statistical tests. Moreover, it allows the usage of more advanced statistical approaches, such as cluster analysis. We believe that the polyfunctionality index will render polyfunctionality an appropriate end-point measure in future studies of T cell responsiveness. PMID:22860124

Robotics FAQ Index

Science.gov Websites

faqs.org Robotics FAQ Index faqs.org faqs.org - Internet FAQ Archives Robotics FAQ Index [By Updates | Archive Stats | Search | Help] Internet RFC Index Usenet FAQ Index Other FAQs Documents Tools

Feasibility, reliability, and validity of the Japanese version of the 12-item World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule-2 in preoperative patients.

PubMed

Ida, Mitsuru; Naito, Yusuke; Tanaka, Yuu; Matsunari, Yasunori; Inoue, Satoki; Kawaguchi, Masahiko

2017-08-01

The avoidance of postoperative functional disability is one of the most important concerns of patients facing surgery, but methods to evaluate disability have not been definitively established. The aim of our study was to evaluate the feasibility, reliability, and validity of the Japanese version of the 12-item World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule-2 (WHODAS 2.0-J) in preoperative patients. Individuals aged ≥55 years who were scheduled to undergo surgery in a tertiary-care hospital in Japan between April 2016 and September 2016 were eligible for enrolment in the study. All patients were assessed preoperatively using the WHODAS 2.0-J, the 8-Item Short Form (SF-8) questionnaire, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology Index (TMIG Index). The feasibility, reliability, and validity of WHODAS2.0-J were evaluated using response rate, Cronbach's alpha (a measure of reliability), and the correlation between the WHODAS 2.0-J and the SF-8 questionnaire and TMIG Index, respectively. A total of 934 patients were enrolled in the study during the study period, of whom 930 completed the WHODAS 2.0-J (response rate 99.5%) preoperatively. Reliability and validity were assessed in the 898 patients who completed all three assessment tools (WHODAS 2.0-J, SF-8 questionnaire, and TMIG Index) and for whom all demographic data were available. Cronbach's alpha was 0.92. The total score of the WHODAS 2.0-J showed a mild or moderate correlation with the SF-8 questionnaire and TMIG Index (r = -0.63 to -0.34). The WHODAS 2.0-J is a feasible, reliable, and valid instrument for evaluating preoperative functional disability in surgical patients.

Innovation in Evaluating the Impact of Integrated Service-Delivery: The Integra Indexes of HIV and Reproductive Health Integration

PubMed Central

Mayhew, Susannah H.; Ploubidis, George B.; Sloggett, Andy; Church, Kathryn; Obure, Carol D.; Birdthistle, Isolde; Sweeney, Sedona; Warren, Charlotte E.; Watts, Charlotte; Vassall, Anna

2016-01-01

Background The body of knowledge on evaluating complex interventions for integrated healthcare lacks both common definitions of ‘integrated service delivery’ and standard measures of impact. Using multiple data sources in combination with statistical modelling the aim of this study is to develop a measure of HIV-reproductive health (HIV-RH) service integration that can be used to assess the degree of service integration, and the degree to which integration may have health benefits to clients, or reduce service costs. Methods and Findings Data were drawn from the Integra Initiative’s client flow (8,263 clients in Swaziland and 25,539 in Kenya) and costing tools implemented between 2008–2012 in 40 clinics providing RH services in Kenya and Swaziland. We used latent variable measurement models to derive dimensions of HIV-RH integration using these data, which quantified the extent and type of integration between HIV and RH services in Kenya and Swaziland. The modelling produced two clear and uncorrelated dimensions of integration at facility level leading to the development of two sub-indexes: a Structural Integration Index (integrated physical and human resource infrastructure) and a Functional Integration Index (integrated delivery of services to clients). The findings highlight the importance of multi-dimensional assessments of integration, suggesting that structural integration is not sufficient to achieve the integrated delivery of care to clients—i.e. “functional integration”. Conclusions These Indexes are an important methodological contribution for evaluating complex multi-service interventions. They help address the need to broaden traditional evaluations of integrated HIV-RH care through the incorporation of a functional integration measure, to avoid misleading conclusions on its ‘impact’ on health outcomes. This is particularly important for decision-makers seeking to promote integration in resource constrained environments. PMID:26800517

Innovation in Evaluating the Impact of Integrated Service-Delivery: The Integra Indexes of HIV and Reproductive Health Integration.

PubMed

Mayhew, Susannah H; Ploubidis, George B; Sloggett, Andy; Church, Kathryn; Obure, Carol D; Birdthistle, Isolde; Sweeney, Sedona; Warren, Charlotte E; Watts, Charlotte; Vassall, Anna

2016-01-01

The body of knowledge on evaluating complex interventions for integrated healthcare lacks both common definitions of 'integrated service delivery' and standard measures of impact. Using multiple data sources in combination with statistical modelling the aim of this study is to develop a measure of HIV-reproductive health (HIV-RH) service integration that can be used to assess the degree of service integration, and the degree to which integration may have health benefits to clients, or reduce service costs. Data were drawn from the Integra Initiative's client flow (8,263 clients in Swaziland and 25,539 in Kenya) and costing tools implemented between 2008-2012 in 40 clinics providing RH services in Kenya and Swaziland. We used latent variable measurement models to derive dimensions of HIV-RH integration using these data, which quantified the extent and type of integration between HIV and RH services in Kenya and Swaziland. The modelling produced two clear and uncorrelated dimensions of integration at facility level leading to the development of two sub-indexes: a Structural Integration Index (integrated physical and human resource infrastructure) and a Functional Integration Index (integrated delivery of services to clients). The findings highlight the importance of multi-dimensional assessments of integration, suggesting that structural integration is not sufficient to achieve the integrated delivery of care to clients--i.e. "functional integration". These Indexes are an important methodological contribution for evaluating complex multi-service interventions. They help address the need to broaden traditional evaluations of integrated HIV-RH care through the incorporation of a functional integration measure, to avoid misleading conclusions on its 'impact' on health outcomes. This is particularly important for decision-makers seeking to promote integration in resource constrained environments.

Optimal antiretroviral therapy adherence as evaluated by CASE index score tool is associated with virological suppression in HIV-infected adults in Dakar, Senegal.

PubMed

Byabene, A K; Fortes-Déguénonvo, L; Niang, K; Manga, M N; Bulabula, A N H; Nachega, J B; Seydi, M

2017-06-01

To determine the prevalence and factors associated with optimal antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence and virological failure (VLF) among HIV-infected adults enrolled in the national ART programme at the teaching hospital of Fann, Dakar, Senegal. Cross-sectional study from 1 September 2013 to 30 January 2014. (1) optimal ART adherence by the Center for Adherence Support Evaluation (CASE) Index Score (>10) and (2) VLF (HIV RNA > 1000 copies/ml). Diagnostic accuracy of CASE Index Score assessed using sensitivity (Se), specificity (Sp), positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to identify independent factors associated with optimal adherence and VLF. Of 98 HIV-infected patients on ART, 68% were female. The median (IQR) age was 42 (20-50) years. A total of 57 of 98 (60%) were on ART more than 3 years, and majority (88%) were on NNRTI-based first-line ART regimen. A total of 79 of 98 (80%) patients reported optimal ART adherence, and only five of 84 (5.9%) had documented VLF. Patients with VLF were significantly more likely to have suboptimal ART adherence (17.7% vs. 2.9%; P = 0.02). CASE Index Score showed the best trade-off in Se (78.9%, 95% CI: 54.4-93.9%), Sp (20.0%, 95% CI: 11.1-31.7), PPV (22.4, 95% CI: 13.1-34.2%) and NPV (76.5%, 95% CI: 50.1-93.2), when used VLF threshold of HIV RNA >50 copies/ml. Factors independently associated with VLF were CASE Index Score <10 ([aOR] = 13.0, 95% CI: 1.1-147.9; P = 0.04) and being a boosted PI-based ART regimen ([aOR] = 27.0, 95% CI: 2.4-309.4; P = 0.008). Optimal ART adherence is achievable in a high proportion of HIV-infected adults in this study population. CASE Index Score was independently associated with virological outcomes, supporting usefulness of this low-cost ART adherence monitoring tool in this setting. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Personality and Learning Styles Surrounded by W3 Software: The Macao Portuguese School Case

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Negreiros, João; Baptista, Zelia; Lee, Leanda

2014-01-01

One of the purposes of this study is to evaluate how the choice of teaching method can be assisted by knowledge of a student's personality type and learning style. The present research is undertaken in the context of Web 2.0 tools use within the Portuguese literature subject at Escola Portuguesa de Macao (EPM). The Felder-Soloman index of learning…

Servomotors . (Latest citations from the Aerospace Database)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1997-01-01

The bibliography contains citations concerning the design, testing, and application of servomotors. AC, DC, and brushless motor drives are discussed. Applications are examined, including use in hydraulic presses; teleprinters; machine tools; sewing machines; and servocontrol devices for instrumentation, robots, and aircraft control. Testing methods evaluate precision, vibration and vibration reduction, and stability of servomotors. (Contains 50-250 citations and includes a subject term index and title list.)

An Evaluation of Curriculum-Based Measurement of Mathematics Word Problem--Solving Measures for Monitoring Third-Grade Students' Mathematics Competence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leh, Jayne M.; Jitendra, Asha K.; Caskie, Grace I. L.; Griffin, Cynthia C.

2007-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the tenability of a curriculum-based mathematical word problem-solving (WPS) measure as a progress-monitoring tool to index students' rate of growth or slope of achievement over time. Participants consisted of 58 third-grade students, who were assessed repeatedly over 16 school weeks. Students were measured…

Creating a spatially-explicit index: a method for assessing the global wildfire-water risk

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Robinne, François-Nicolas; Parisien, Marc-André; Flannigan, Mike; Miller, Carol; Bladon, Kevin D.

2017-04-01

The wildfire-water risk (WWR) has been defined as the potential for wildfires to adversely affect water resources that are important for downstream ecosystems and human water needs for adequate water quantity and quality, therefore compromising the security of their water supply. While tools and methods are numerous for watershed-scale risk analysis, the development of a toolbox for the large-scale evaluation of the wildfire risk to water security has only started recently. In order to provide managers and policy-makers with an adequate tool, we implemented a method for the spatial analysis of the global WWR based on the Driving forces-Pressures-States-Impacts-Responses (DPSIR) framework. This framework relies on the cause-and-effect relationships existing between the five categories of the DPSIR chain. As this approach heavily relies on data, we gathered an extensive set of spatial indicators relevant to fire-induced hydrological hazards and water consumption patterns by human and natural communities. When appropriate, we applied a hydrological routing function to our indicators in order to simulate downstream accumulation of potentially harmful material. Each indicator was then assigned a DPSIR category. We collapsed the information in each category using a principal component analysis in order to extract the most relevant pixel-based information provided by each spatial indicator. Finally, we compiled our five categories using an additive indexation process to produce a spatially-explicit index of the WWR. A thorough sensitivity analysis has been performed in order to understand the relationship between the final risk values and the spatial pattern of each category used during the indexation. For comparison purposes, we aggregated index scores by global hydrological regions, or hydrobelts, to get a sense of regional DPSIR specificities. This rather simple method does not necessitate the use of complex physical models and provides a scalable and efficient tool for the analysis of global water security issues.

Exploring the Components of the Palmer Drought Indices Using the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) River Basin as a Case Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Perrone, D.; Duncan, L. L.; Jacobi, J. H.; Hornberger, G.

2012-12-01

Water resources are vital to sustaining ecosystem services, energy and food supplies, and industrial processes. Competition for water resources is likely to intensify as the population increases, economy grows, and land develops. Drought events intensify water scarcity, and recent events in many countries, including the United States (US), Great Britain, and Sri Lanka, highlight how important it is to provide meaningful context to water planners and managers. Palmer's drought indices - Z Index, Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI), and Palmer Hydrological Drought Index (PHDI) - are widely used and accepted by scientists and policy makers in the US to understand drought and manage water resources. Drought index values at the climate division scale are available, but a transparent calculation tool at multiple spatial and temporal scales is not readily available. Moreover, a close look at the development of the indices reveals a number of subjective calculation methods and regionally biased factors. For researchers studying areas with overlapping climate divisions, performing international research, or working with limited, site-specific data, the ability to control and modify calculations is desired. This research presents a transparent tool for calculating Palmer's drought indices. We use the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) River Basin, located in the southeastern US, as our case study to explore and evaluate the sensitivity of Palmer's indices to temperature and precipitation anomalies, calibration periods, and other index components. The ACF has suffered two major droughts (2007 and 2012) in the past five years and supports multiple demand-side sectors - agriculture in Georgia, public and recreational supply for the Atlanta metropolitan area, hydroelectric power in Alabama, tri-state navigation, and ecosystem services. We show how the PDSI varies in response to changes in precipitation, calibration period, and a number of other variables. The aim of the work is to make this easily used tool available to help professionals who work toward facilitating water management and reducing water conflicts in the future.

An easy-to-use tool for the evaluation of leachate production at landfill sites.

PubMed

Grugnaletti, Matteo; Pantini, Sara; Verginelli, Iason; Lombardi, Francesco

2016-09-01

A simulation program for the evaluation of leachate generation at landfill sites is herein presented. The developed tool is based on a water balance model that accounts for all the key processes influencing leachate generation through analytical and empirical equations. After a short description of the tool, different simulations on four Italian landfill sites are shown. The obtained results revealed that when literature values were assumed for the unknown input parameters, the model provided a rough estimation of the leachate production measured in the field. In this case, indeed, the deviations between observed and predicted data appeared, in some cases, significant. Conversely, by performing a preliminary calibration for some of the unknown input parameters (e.g. initial moisture content of wastes, compression index), in nearly all cases the model performances significantly improved. These results although showed the potential capability of a water balance model to estimate the leachate production at landfill sites also highlighted the intrinsic limitation of a deterministic approach to accurately forecast the leachate production over time. Indeed, parameters such as the initial water content of incoming waste and the compression index, that have a great influence on the leachate production, may exhibit temporal variation due to seasonal changing of weather conditions (e.g. rainfall, air humidity) as well as to seasonal variability in the amount and type of specific waste fractions produced (e.g. yard waste, food, plastics) that make their prediction quite complicated. In this sense, we believe that a tool such as the one proposed in this work that requires a limited number of unknown parameters, can be easier handled to quantify the uncertainties. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of the nutrition screening tool for childhood cancer (SCAN).

PubMed

Murphy, Alexia J; White, Melinda; Viani, Karina; Mosby, Terezie T

2016-02-01

Malnutrition is a serious concern for children with cancer and nutrition screening may offer a simple alternative to nutrition assessment for identifying children with cancer who are at risk of malnutrition. The present paper aimed to evaluate the nutrition screening tool for childhood cancer (SCAN). SCAN was developed after an extensive review of currently available tools and published screening recommendation, consideration of pediatric oncology nutrition guidelines, piloting questions, and consulting with members of International Pediatric Oncology Nutrition Group. In Study 1, the accuracy and validity of SCAN against pediatric subjective global nutrition assessment (pediatric SGNA) was determined. In Study 2, subjects were classified as 'at risk of malnutrition' and 'not at risk of malnutrition' according to SCAN and measures of height, weight, body mass index (BMI) and body composition were compared between the groups. The validation of SCAN against pediatric SGNA showed SCAN had 'excellent' accuracy (0.90, 95% CI 0.78-1.00; p < 0.001), 100% sensitivity, 39% specificity, 56% positive predictive value and 100% negative predictive value. When subjects in Study 2 were classified into 'at risk of malnutrition' and 'not at risk of malnutrition' according to SCAN, the 'at risk of malnutrition' group had significantly lower values for weight Z score (p = 0.001), BMI Z score (p = 0.001) and fat mass index (FMI) (p = 0.04), than the 'not at risk of malnutrition' group. This study shows that SCAN is a simple, quick and valid tool which can be used to identify children with cancer who are at risk of malnutrition. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd and European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism. All rights reserved.

Transcultural adaptation into Spanish of the Induction Compliance Checklist for assessing children's behaviour during induction of anaesthesia.

PubMed

Jerez-Molina, Carmen; Lázaro-Alcay, Juan J; Ullán-de la Fuente, Ana M

2017-10-17

Cross-cultural adaptation into Spanish of the Induction Compliance Checklist (ICC) for assessing children's behaviour during induction of anaesthesia. A descriptive cross-sectional observational study was conducted on a sample of 81 children aged 2 to 12 years operated in an ambulatory surgery unit of a paediatric hospital in Barcelona. Adaptation by translation-back translation of the tool and analysis of the scale's validity and reliability. Face validity of the tool was guaranteed through a discussion group and inter-observer reliability was evaluated, obtaining an intraclass correlation index of r = 0.956. The ICC scale validated for the Spanish population can be an effective tool for the presurgical evaluation of activities carried out to minimise children's anxiety. The ICC is an easy-to-use scale completed by operating room staff in one minute and would provide important information about children's behaviour, specifically during induction. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Development of a phosphorus index for pastures fertilized with poultry litter--factors affecting phosphorus runoff.

PubMed

DeLaune, Paul B; Moore, Philip A; Carman, Dennis K; Sharpley, Andrew N; Haggard, Brian E; Daniel, Tommy C

2004-01-01

Currently, several state and federal agencies are proposing upper limits on soil test phosphorus (P), above which animal manures cannot be applied, based on the assumption that high P concentrations in runoff are due to high soil test P. Recent studies show that other factors are more indicative of P concentrations in runoff from areas where manure is being applied. The original P index was developed as an alternative P management tool incorporating factors affecting both the source and transport of P. The objective of this research was to evaluate the effects of multiple variables on P concentrations in runoff water and to construct a P source component of a P index for pastures that incorporates these effects. The evaluated variables were: (i) soil test P, (ii) soluble P in poultry litter, (iii) P in poultry diets, (iv) fertilizer type, and (v) poultry litter application rate. Field studies with simulated rainfall showed that P runoff was affected by the amount of soluble P applied in the fertilizer source. Before manure applications, soil test P was directly related to soluble P concentrations in runoff water. However, soil test P had little effect on P runoff after animal manure was applied. Unlike most other P indices, weighting factors of the P source components in the P index for pastures are based on results from runoff studies conducted under various management scenarios. As a result, weighting factors for the P source potential variables are well justified. A modification of the P index using scientific data should strengthen the ability of the P index concept to evaluate locations and management alternatives for P losses.

Content Validation and Evaluation of an Endovascular Teamwork Assessment Tool.

PubMed

Hull, L; Bicknell, C; Patel, K; Vyas, R; Van Herzeele, I; Sevdalis, N; Rudarakanchana, N

2016-07-01

To modify, content validate, and evaluate a teamwork assessment tool for use in endovascular surgery. A multistage, multimethod study was conducted. Stage 1 included expert review and modification of the existing Observational Teamwork Assessment for Surgery (OTAS) tool. Stage 2 included identification of additional exemplar behaviours contributing to effective teamwork and enhanced patient safety in endovascular surgery (using real-time observation, focus groups, and semistructured interviews of multidisciplinary teams). Stage 3 included content validation of exemplar behaviours using expert consensus according to established psychometric recommendations and evaluation of structure, content, feasibility, and usability of the Endovascular Observational Teamwork Assessment Tool (Endo-OTAS) by an expert multidisciplinary panel. Stage 4 included final team expert review of exemplars. OTAS core team behaviours were maintained (communication, coordination, cooperation, leadership team monitoring). Of the 114 OTAS behavioural exemplars, 19 were modified, four removed, and 39 additional endovascular-specific behaviours identified. Content validation of these 153 exemplar behaviours showed that 113/153 (73.9%) reached the predetermined Item-Content Validity Index rating for teamwork and/or patient safety. After expert team review, 140/153 (91.5%) exemplars were deemed to warrant inclusion in the tool. More than 90% of the expert panel agreed that Endo-OTAS is an appropriate teamwork assessment tool with observable behaviours. Some concerns were noted about the time required to conduct observations and provide performance feedback. Endo-OTAS is a novel teamwork assessment tool, with evidence for content validity and relevance to endovascular teams. Endo-OTAS enables systematic objective assessment of the quality of team performance during endovascular procedures. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Three-dimensional analysis of enamel surface alteration resulting from orthodontic clean-up -comparison of three different tools.

PubMed

Janiszewska-Olszowska, Joanna; Tandecka, Katarzyna; Szatkiewicz, Tomasz; Stępień, Piotr; Sporniak-Tutak, Katarzyna; Grocholewicz, Katarzyna

2015-11-18

The present study aimed at 3D analysis of adhesive remnants and enamel loss following the debonding of orthodontic molar tubes and orthodontic clean-up to assess the effectiveness and safety of One-Step Finisher and Polisher and Adhesive Residue Remover in comparison to tungsten carbide bur. Thirty human molars were bonded with chemical-cure orthodontic adhesive (Unite, 3M, USA), stored 24 h in 0.9 % saline solution, debonded and cleaned using three methods (Three groups of ten): tungsten carbide bur (Dentaurum, Pforzheim, Germany), one-step finisher and polisher (One gloss, Shofu Dental, Kyoto, Japan) and Adhesive Residue Remover (Dentaurum, Pforzheim, Germany). Direct 3D scanning in blue-light technology to the nearest 2 μm was performed before etching and after adhesive removal. Adhesive remnant height and volume as well as enamel loss depth and volume were calculated. An index of effectiveness and safety was proposed and calculated for every tool; adhesive remnant volume and duplicated enamel lost volume were divided by a sum of multiplicands. Comparisons using parametric ANOVA or nonparametric ANOVA rank Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to compare between tools for adhesive remnant height and volume, enamel loss depth and volume as well as for the proposed index. No statistically significant differences in the volume (p = 0.35) or mean height (p = 0.24) of adhesive remnants were found (ANOVA rank Kruskal-Wallis test) between the groups of teeth cleaned using different tools. Mean volume of enamel loss was 2.159 mm(3) for tungsten carbide bur, 1.366 mm(3) for Shofu One Gloss and 0.659 mm(3) for Adhesive Residue Remover - (F = 2.816, p = 0.0078). A comparison of the proposed new index between tools revealed highly statistically significant differences (p = 0.0081), supporting the best value for Adhesive Residue Remover and the worst - for tungsten carbide bur. The evaluated tools were all characterized by similar effectiveness. The most destructive tool with regards to enamel was the tungsten carbide bur, and the least was Adhesive Residue Removal.

Socioeconomic and Reproductive Determinants of Waist-Hip Ratio Index in Menopausal Women

PubMed Central

Rastegari, Zahra; Noroozi, Mahnaz; Paknahad, Zamzam

2017-01-01

Background: Health evaluation is carried out using various anthropometric methods including waist–hip ratio (WHR) index. This method is applied for estimating body fat distribution. This study was aimed to investigate the socioeconomic and reproductive determinants of WHR index in menopausal women. Materials and Methods: For this cross-sectional study, samples were 278 menopausal women in Isfahan, Iran, who were selected by stratified sampling and invited to ten health centers. The data collection tools were a questionnaire and the standard meter tape. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistical tests. Results: The mean of WHR index was X̄ = 0.9 ± 7.54. There was a significantly statistical relation between age, job, educational status, number of pregnancies and deliveries, age of the first delivery, and WHR index. Conclusion: Based on the results, body fat distribution of menopausal women is of android (central) type. It is suggested that measuring WHR index should be done in menopausal women and also during the postpartum period in specific intervals. Furthermore, women should be familiarized with related factors to this index, and it is recommended to avoid pregnancy and delivery at early ages and repeated pregnancies. PMID:29307978

Systematic review of fall risk screening tools for older patients in acute hospitals.

PubMed

Matarese, Maria; Ivziku, Dhurata; Bartolozzi, Francesco; Piredda, Michela; De Marinis, Maria Grazia

2015-06-01

To determine the most accurate fall risk screening tools for predicting falls among patients aged 65 years or older admitted to acute care hospitals. Falls represent a serious problem in older inpatients due to the potential physical, social, psychological and economic consequences. Older inpatients present with risk factors associated with age-related physiological and psychological changes as well as multiple morbidities. Thus, fall risk screening tools for older adults should include these specific risk factors. There are no published recommendations addressing what tools are appropriate for older hospitalized adults. Systematic review. MEDLINE, CINAHL and Cochrane electronic databases were searched between January 1981-April 2013. Only prospective validation studies reporting sensitivity and specificity values were included. Recommendations of the Cochrane Handbook of Diagnostic Test Accuracy Reviews have been followed. Three fall risk assessment tools were evaluated in seven articles. Due to the limited number of studies, meta-analysis was carried out only for the STRATIFY and Hendrich Fall Risk Model II. In the combined analysis, the Hendrich Fall Risk Model II demonstrated higher sensitivity than STRATIFY, while the STRATIFY showed higher specificity. In both tools, the Youden index showed low prognostic accuracy. The identified tools do not demonstrate predictive values as high as needed for identifying older inpatients at risk for falls. For this reason, no tool can be recommended for fall detection. More research is needed to evaluate fall risk screening tools for older inpatients. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Index of tobacco control sustainability (ITCS): a tool to measure the sustainability of national tobacco control programmes.

PubMed

Jackson-Morris, Angela; Latif, Ehsan

2017-03-01

To produce a tool to assess and guide sustainability of national tobacco control programmes. A two-stage process adapting the Delphi and Nominal group techniques. A series of indicators of tobacco control sustainability were identified in grantee/country advisor reports to The International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease under the Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Control (2007-2015). Focus groups and key informant interviews in seven low and middle-income countries (52 government and civil society participants) provided consensus ratings of the indicators' relative importance. Data were reviewed and the indicators were accorded relative weightings to produce the 'Index of Tobacco Control Sustainability' (ITCS). All 31 indicators were considered 'Critical' or 'Important' by the great majority of participants. There was consensus that a tool to measure progress towards tobacco control sustainability was important. The most critical indicators related to financial policies and allocations, a national law, a dedicated national tobacco control unit and civil society tobacco control network, a national policy against tobacco industry 'Corporate Social Responsibility' (CSR), national mortality and morbidity data, and national policy evaluation mechanisms. The 31 indicators were agreed to be 'critical' or 'important' factors for tobacco control sustainability. The Index comprises the weighted indicators as a tool to identify aspects of national tobacco control programmes requiring further development to augment their sustainability and to measure and compare progress over time. The next step is to apply the ITCS and produce tobacco control sustainability assessments. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

Multiple ecosystem services landscape index: a tool for multifunctional landscapes conservation.

PubMed

Rodríguez-Loinaz, Gloria; Alday, Josu G; Onaindia, Miren

2015-01-01

The contribution of ecosystems to human well-being has been widely recognised. Taking into account existing trade-offs between ecosystem services (ES) at the farm scale and the dependence of multiple ES on processes that take place at the landscape scale, long-term preservation of multifunctional landscapes must be a priority. Studies carried out from such perspective, and those that develop appropriate indicators, could provide useful tools for integrating ES in landscape planning. In this study we propose a new integrative environmental indicator based on the ES provided by the landscape and named "multiple ecosystem services landscape index" (MESLI). Because synergies and trade-offs between ES are produced at regional or local levels, being different from those perceived at larger scales, MESLI was developed at municipality level. Furthermore, in order to identify main drivers of change in ES provision at the landscape scale an analysis of the relationship between the environmental and the socioeconomic characteristics of the municipalities was carried out. The study was located in the Basque Country and the results demonstrated that the MESLI index is a good tool to measure landscape multifunctionality at local scales. It is effective evaluating landscapes, distinguishing between municipalities based on ES provision, and identifying the drivers of change and their effects. This information about ES provisioning at the local level is usually lacking; therefore, MESLI would be very useful for policy-makers and land managers because it provides relevant information to local scale decision-making. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Short, self-report voice symptom scales: psychometric characteristics of the voice handicap index-10 and the vocal performance questionnaire.

PubMed

Deary, Ian J; Webb, Alison; Mackenzie, Kenneth; Wilson, Janet A; Carding, Paul N

2004-09-01

Short, self-report symptom questionnaires are useful in routine clinical situations for assessing the progress of disorders and the influence of interventions. The Voice Handicap Index-10 (VHI-10) and Vocal Performance Questionnaire (VPQ) are brief self-reported assessments of voice pathology, apparently useful in the general voice clinic population. Little is known of the structure or internal consistency of either tool, nor whether they correlate. This study carried out a substantial, systematic evaluation of their performance in the Laryngology office setting. 330 adult (222 women, 108 men) voice clinic attenders completed the VHI and the VPQ. The VHI-10 and VPQ each had a large, single principal component, high internal consistency, and were highly correlated (disattenuated r=0.91). The VHI-10 and the VPQ are similar, short, convenient, internally-consistent, unidimensional tools. The total VHI-10 or VPQ score is a good overall indicator of the severity of voice disorders.

Chroma Shift and Gamut Shape: Going Beyond Average Color Fidelity and Gamut Area

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Royer, Michael P.; Houser, Kevin W.; David, Aurelien

Though sometimes referred to as a two-measure system for evaluating color rendition, IES TM-30-15 includes key components that go beyond the two high-level average values, Fidelity Index (IES Rf) and Gamut Index (IES Rg). This article focuses on the Color Vector Graphic and Local Chroma Shift (IES Rcs,hj), discussing the calculation methods for these evaluation tools and providing context for the interpretation of the values. We illustrate why and how the Color Vector Graphic and Local Chroma Shift values capture information about color rendition that is impossible to describe with average measures (such as CIE Ra, IES Rf, or IESmore » Rg), but that is pertinent to more completely quantifying color rendition, and to understanding human evaluations of color quality in the built environment. We also present alternatives for quantifying the Color Vector Graphic and Local Chroma Shift values, which can inform the development of future measures.« less

Screening tool for oropharyngeal dysphagia in stroke - Part I: evidence of validity based on the content and response processes.

PubMed

Almeida, Tatiana Magalhães de; Cola, Paula Cristina; Pernambuco, Leandro de Araújo; Magalhães, Hipólito Virgílio; Magnoni, Carlos Daniel; Silva, Roberta Gonçalves da

2017-08-17

The aim of the present study was to identify the evidence of validity based on the content and response process of the Rastreamento de Disfagia Orofaríngea no Acidente Vascular Encefálico (RADAVE; "Screening Tool for Oropharyngeal Dysphagia in Stroke"). The criteria used to elaborate the questions were based on a literature review. A group of judges consisting of 19 different health professionals evaluated the relevance and representativeness of the questions, and the results were analyzed using the Content Validity Index. In order to evidence validity based on the response processes, 23 health professionals administered the screening tool and analyzed the questions using a structured scale and cognitive interview. The RADAVE structured to be applied in two stages. The first version consisted of 18 questions in stage I and 11 questions in stage II. Eight questions in stage I and four in stage II did not reach the minimum Content Validity Index, requiring reformulation by the authors. The cognitive interview demonstrated some misconceptions. New adjustments were made and the final version was produced with 12 questions in stage I and six questions in stage II. It was possible to develop a screening tool for dysphagia in stroke with adequate evidence of validity based on content and response processes. Both validity evidences obtained so far allowed to adjust the screening tool in relation to its construct. The next studies will analyze the other evidences of validity and the measures of accuracy.

A DNA Barcode Library for Korean Chironomidae (Insecta: Diptera) and Indexes for Defining Barcode Gap

PubMed Central

Kim, Sungmin; Song, Kyo-Hong; Ree, Han-Il; Kim, Won

2012-01-01

Non-biting midges (Diptera: Chironomidae) are a diverse population that commonly causes respiratory allergies in humans. Chironomid larvae can be used to indicate freshwater pollution, but accurate identification on the basis of morphological characteristics is difficult. In this study, we constructed a mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI)-based DNA barcode library for Korean chironomids. This library consists of 211 specimens from 49 species, including adults and unidentified larvae. The interspecies and intraspecies COI sequence variations were analyzed. Sophisticated indexes were developed in order to properly evaluate indistinct barcode gaps that are created by insufficient sampling on both the interspecies and intraspecies levels and by variable mutation rates across taxa. In a variety of insect datasets, these indexes were useful for re-evaluating large barcode datasets and for defining COI barcode gaps. The COI-based DNA barcode library will provide a rapid and reliable tool for the molecular identification of Korean chironomid species. Furthermore, this reverse-taxonomic approach will be improved by the continuous addition of other speceis’ sequences to the library. PMID:22138764

Transmission Index Research of Parallel Manipulators Based on Matrix Orthogonal Degree

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shao, Zhu-Feng; Mo, Jiao; Tang, Xiao-Qiang; Wang, Li-Ping

2017-11-01

Performance index is the standard of performance evaluation, and is the foundation of both performance analysis and optimal design for the parallel manipulator. Seeking the suitable kinematic indices is always an important and challenging issue for the parallel manipulator. So far, there are extensive studies in this field, but few existing indices can meet all the requirements, such as simple, intuitive, and universal. To solve this problem, the matrix orthogonal degree is adopted, and generalized transmission indices that can evaluate motion/force transmissibility of fully parallel manipulators are proposed. Transmission performance analysis of typical branches, end effectors, and parallel manipulators is given to illustrate proposed indices and analysis methodology. Simulation and analysis results reveal that proposed transmission indices possess significant advantages, such as normalized finite (ranging from 0 to 1), dimensionally homogeneous, frame-free, intuitive and easy to calculate. Besides, proposed indices well indicate the good transmission region and relativity to the singularity with better resolution than the traditional local conditioning index, and provide a novel tool for kinematic analysis and optimal design of fully parallel manipulators.

Are the frail destined to fail? Frailty index as predictor of surgical morbidity and mortality in the elderly.

PubMed

Farhat, Joseph S; Velanovich, Vic; Falvo, Anthony J; Horst, H Mathilda; Swartz, Andrew; Patton, Joe H; Rubinfeld, Ilan S

2012-06-01

America's aging population has led to an increase in the number of elderly patients necessitating emergency general surgery. Previous studies have demonstrated that increased frailty is a predictor of outcomes in medicine and surgical patients. We hypothesized that use of a modification of the Canadian Study of Health and Aging Frailty Index would be a predictor of morbidity and mortality in patients older than 60 years undergoing emergency general surgery. Data were obtained from the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program Participant Use Files database in compliance with the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program Data Use Agreement. We selected all emergency cases in patients older than 60 years performed by general surgeons from 2005 to 2009. The effect of increasing frailty on multiple outcomes including wound infection, wound occurrence, any infection, any occurrence, and mortality was then evaluated. Total sample size was 35,334 patients. As the modified frailty index increased, associated increases occurred in wound infection, wound occurrence, any infection, any occurrence, and mortality. Logistic regression of multiple variables demonstrated that the frailty index was associated with increased mortality with an odds ratio of 11.70 (p < 0.001). Frailty index is an important predictive variable in emergency general surgery patients older than 60 years. The modified frailty index can be used to evaluate risk of both morbidity and mortality in these patients. Frailty index will be a valuable preoperative risk assessment tool for the acute care surgeon. Prognostic study, level II. Copyright © 2012 by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins

An Additive Definition of Molecular Complexity.

PubMed

Böttcher, Thomas

2016-03-28

A framework for molecular complexity is established that is based on information theory and consistent with chemical knowledge. The resulting complexity index Cm is derived from abstracting the information content of a molecule by the degrees of freedom in the microenvironments on a per-atom basis, allowing the molecular complexity to be calculated in a simple and additive way. This index allows the complexity of any molecule to be universally assessed and is sensitive to stereochemistry, heteroatoms, and symmetry. The performance of this complexity index is evaluated and compared against the current state of the art. Its additive character gives consistent values also for very large molecules and supports direct comparisons of chemical reactions. Finally, this approach may provide a useful tool for medicinal chemistry in drug design and lead selection, as demonstrated by correlating molecular complexities of antibiotics with compound-specific parameters.

Groundwater vulnerability and risk mapping using GIS, modeling and a fuzzy logic tool.

PubMed

Nobre, R C M; Rotunno Filho, O C; Mansur, W J; Nobre, M M M; Cosenza, C A N

2007-12-07

A groundwater vulnerability and risk mapping assessment, based on a source-pathway-receptor approach, is presented for an urban coastal aquifer in northeastern Brazil. A modified version of the DRASTIC methodology was used to map the intrinsic and specific groundwater vulnerability of a 292 km(2) study area. A fuzzy hierarchy methodology was adopted to evaluate the potential contaminant source index, including diffuse and point sources. Numerical modeling was performed for delineation of well capture zones, using MODFLOW and MODPATH. The integration of these elements provided the mechanism to assess groundwater pollution risks and identify areas that must be prioritized in terms of groundwater monitoring and restriction on use. A groundwater quality index based on nitrate and chloride concentrations was calculated, which had a positive correlation with the specific vulnerability index.

The use of the h-index in academic otolaryngology.

PubMed

Svider, Peter F; Choudhry, Zaid A; Choudhry, Osamah J; Baredes, Soly; Liu, James K; Eloy, Jean Anderson

2013-01-01

The h-index is an objective and easily calculable measure that can be used to evaluate both the relevance and amount of scientific contributions of an individual author. Our objective was to examine how the h-index of academic otolaryngologists relates with academic rank. A descriptive and correlational design was used for analysis of academic otolaryngologists' h-indices using the Scopus database. H-indices of faculty members from 50 otolaryngology residency programs were calculated using the Scopus database, and data was organized by academic rank. Additionally, an analysis of the h-indices of departmental chairpersons among different specialties was performed. H-index values of academic otolaryngologists were higher with increased academic rank among the levels of assistant professor, associate professor, and professor. There was no significant difference between the h-indices of professors and department chairpersons within otolaryngology. H-indices of chairpersons in different academic specialties were compared and were significantly different, suggesting that the use of this metric may not be appropriate for comparing different fields. The h-index is a reliable tool for quantifying academic productivity within otolaryngology. This measure is easily calculable and may be useful when evaluating decisions regarding advancement within academic otolaryngology departments. Comparison of this metric among faculty members from different fields, however, may not be reliable. Copyright © 2012 The American Laryngological, Rhinological, and Otological Society, Inc.

Design and validation of a three-instrument toolkit for the assessment of competence in electrocardiogram rhythm recognition.

PubMed

Hernández-Padilla, José M; Granero-Molina, José; Márquez-Hernández, Verónica V; Suthers, Fiona; López-Entrambasaguas, Olga M; Fernández-Sola, Cayetano

2017-06-01

Rapid and accurate interpretation of cardiac arrhythmias by nurses has been linked with safe practice and positive patient outcomes. Although training in electrocardiogram rhythm recognition is part of most undergraduate nursing programmes, research continues to suggest that nurses and nursing students lack competence in recognising cardiac rhythms. In order to promote patient safety, nursing educators must develop valid and reliable assessment tools that allow the rigorous assessment of this competence before nursing students are allowed to practise without supervision. The aim of this study was to develop and psychometrically evaluate a toolkit to holistically assess competence in electrocardiogram rhythm recognition. Following a convenience sampling technique, 293 nursing students from a nursing faculty in a Spanish university were recruited for the study. The following three instruments were developed and psychometrically tested: an electrocardiogram knowledge assessment tool (ECG-KAT), an electrocardiogram skills assessment tool (ECG-SAT) and an electrocardiogram self-efficacy assessment tool (ECG-SES). Reliability and validity (content, criterion and construct) of these tools were meticulously examined. A high Cronbach's alpha coefficient demonstrated the excellent reliability of the instruments (ECG-KAT=0.89; ECG-SAT=0.93; ECG-SES=0.98). An excellent context validity index (scales' average content validity index>0.94) and very good criterion validity were evidenced for all the tools. Regarding construct validity, principal component analysis revealed that all items comprising the instruments contributed to measure knowledge, skills or self-efficacy in electrocardiogram rhythm recognition. Moreover, known-groups analysis showed the tools' ability to detect expected differences in competence between groups with different training experiences. The three-instrument toolkit developed showed excellent psychometric properties for measuring competence in electrocardiogram rhythm recognition.

Predictors of one and two years' mortality in patients with colon cancer: A prospective cohort study.

PubMed

Quintana, José M; Antón-Ladislao, Ane; González, Nerea; Lázaro, Santiago; Baré, Marisa; Fernández-de-Larrea, Nerea; Redondo, Maximino; Briones, Eduardo; Escobar, Antonio; Sarasqueta, Cristina; García-Gutierrez, Susana; Aróstegui, Inmaculada

2018-01-01

Tools to aid in the prognosis assessment of colon cancer patients in terms of risk of mortality are needed. Goals of this study are to develop and validate clinical prediction rules for 1- and 2-year mortality in these patients. This is a prospective cohort study of patients diagnosed with colon cancer who underwent surgery at 22 hospitals. The main outcomes were mortality at 1 and 2 years after surgery. Background, clinical parameters, and diagnostic tests findings were evaluated as possible predictors. Multivariable multilevel logistic regression and survival models were used in the analyses to create the clinical prediction rules. Models developed in the derivation sample were validated in another sample of the study. American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Status Classification System (ASA), Charlson comorbidity index (> = 4), age (>75 years), residual tumor (R2), TNM stage IV and log of lymph nodes ratio (> = -0.53) were predictors of 1-year mortality (C-index (95% CI): 0.865 (0.792-0.938)). Adjuvant chemotherapy was an additional predictor. Again ASA, Charlson Index (> = 4), age (>75 years), log of lymph nodes ratio (> = -0.53), TNM, and residual tumor were predictors of 2-year mortality (C-index:0.821 (0.766-0.876). Chemotherapy was also an additional predictor. These clinical prediction rules show very good predictive abilities of one and two years survival and provide clinicians and patients with an easy and quick-to-use decision tool for use in the clinical decision process while the patient is still in the index admission.

The skin aging index: a new approach for documenting anti-aging products or procedures.

PubMed

Nkengne, Alex; Roure, Romain; Rossi, Ana Beatriz; Bertin, Christiane

2013-08-01

The overall appearance of an aged skin is characterized by a combination of several attributes such as wrinkles, brown spots and sagging. Our objective was to develop and validate a statistical framework to assess the overall anti-ageing benefits of products/procedures. Different skin attributes were evaluated by a clinical grader and combined using a Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The Skin Ageing Index was defined as the normalized projection of the clinical grading values on the first PCA axis. Several Skin Indexes were built by grouping specific parameters related to a skin condition such as overall ageing, wrinkles and sagging. The method was validated following two steps. Firstly, a clinical study was performed on 173 Caucasian women and the correlation between the Skin Indexes and the volunteers' real and perceived age was estimated. Secondly, a double-blinded placebo-controlled randomized study was performed on 87 Caucasian women to assess the efficacy of an anti-wrinkle cream containing retinol, hyaluronic acid and dihydroxymethylchromone. Facial wrinkles were clinically evaluated and a Wrinkle Index was built. All indexes were highly correlated with the real and the perceived age (0.57 ≤ Pearson R ≤ 0.92, P-value ≤ 0.05). Finally, the Wrinkle Index provides documented evidence that the tested product significantly reduced the appearance of wrinkles versus the placebo and the baseline assessment (-23.53% after 4 weeks, -27.83% after 8 weeks). Skin ageing Indexes capture information relevant to the visual transformation of facial skin with age, while providing documented product benefits. These tools may enable a simpler and more consistent comparison of anti-ageing products/procedures. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The research on user behavior evaluation method for network state

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Chengyuan; Xu, Haishui

2017-08-01

Based on the correlation between user behavior and network running state, this paper proposes a method of user behavior evaluation based on network state. Based on the analysis and evaluation methods in other fields of study, we introduce the theory and tools of data mining. Based on the network status information provided by the trusted network view, the user behavior data and the network state data are analysed. Finally, we construct the user behavior evaluation index and weight, and on this basis, we can accurately quantify the influence degree of the specific behavior of different users on the change of network running state, so as to provide the basis for user behavior control decision.

Piloting a programme tool to evaluate malaria case investigation and reactive case detection activities: results from 3 settings in the Asia Pacific.

PubMed

Cotter, Chris; Sudathip, Prayuth; Herdiana, Herdiana; Cao, Yuanyuan; Liu, Yaobao; Luo, Alex; Ranasinghe, Neil; Bennett, Adam; Cao, Jun; Gosling, Roly D

2017-08-22

Case investigation and reactive case detection (RACD) activities are widely-used in low transmission settings to determine the suspected origin of infection and identify and treat malaria infections nearby to the index patient household. Case investigation and RACD activities are time and resource intensive, include methodologies that vary across eliminating settings, and have no standardized metrics or tools available to monitor and evaluate them. In response to this gap, a simple programme tool was developed for monitoring and evaluating (M&E) RACD activities and piloted by national malaria programmes. During the development phase, four modules of the RACD M&E tool were created to assess and evaluate key case investigation and RACD activities and costs. A pilot phase was then carried out by programme implementers between 2013 and 2015, during which malaria surveillance teams in three different settings (China, Indonesia, Thailand) piloted the tool over a period of 3 months each. This study describes summary results of the pilots and feasibility and impact of the tool on programmes. All three study areas implemented the RACD M&E tool modules, and pilot users reported the tool and evaluation process were helpful to identify gaps in RACD programme activities. In the 45 health facilities evaluated, 71.8% (97/135; min 35.3-max 100.0%) of the proper notification and reporting forms and 20.0% (27/135; min 0.0-max 100.0%) of standard operating procedures (SOPs) were available to support malaria elimination activities. The tool highlighted gaps in reporting key data indicators on the completeness for malaria case reporting (98.8%; min 93.3-max 100.0%), case investigations (65.6%; min 61.8-max 78.4%) and RACD activities (70.0%; min 64.7-max 100.0%). Evaluation of the SOPs showed that knowledge and practices of malaria personnel varied within and between study areas. Average monthly costs for conducting case investigation and RACD activities showed variation between study areas (min USD $844.80-max USD $2038.00) for the malaria personnel, commodities, services and other costs required to carry out the activities. The RACD M&E tool was implemented in the three pilot areas, identifying key gaps that led to impacts on programme decision making. Study findings support the need for routine M&E of malaria case reporting, case investigation and RACD activities. Scale-up of the RACD M&E tool in malaria-eliminating settings will contribute to improved programme performance to the high level that is required to reach elimination.

Coastwide Reference Monitoring System (CRMS) Vegetation Volume Index: An assessment tool for marsh habitat focused on the three-dimensional structure at CRMS vegetation monitoring stations

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wood, William B.; Visser, Jenneke M.; Piazza, Sarai C.; Sharp, Leigh A.; Hundy, Laura C.; McGinnis, Tommy E.

2015-12-04

The VV and VVI will be used to establish trends, to make comparisons, and to evaluate restoration projects. Assessments that rely on the VVI will be included in appropriate Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act (CWPPRA) project reports and analyses. Implementation of the VVI will give coastal managers a new tool to design, implement, and monitor coastal restoration projects. A yearly trajectory of site, project, basin, and coastwide VVI will be posted on the CRMS Web site as data are collected. The primary purpose of the tool is to assess CWPPRA restoration project effectiveness, but it will also be useful in identifying areas in need of restoration and in coastwide vegetation assessments.

A high-performance spatial database based approach for pathology imaging algorithm evaluation

PubMed Central

Wang, Fusheng; Kong, Jun; Gao, Jingjing; Cooper, Lee A.D.; Kurc, Tahsin; Zhou, Zhengwen; Adler, David; Vergara-Niedermayr, Cristobal; Katigbak, Bryan; Brat, Daniel J.; Saltz, Joel H.

2013-01-01

Background: Algorithm evaluation provides a means to characterize variability across image analysis algorithms, validate algorithms by comparison with human annotations, combine results from multiple algorithms for performance improvement, and facilitate algorithm sensitivity studies. The sizes of images and image analysis results in pathology image analysis pose significant challenges in algorithm evaluation. We present an efficient parallel spatial database approach to model, normalize, manage, and query large volumes of analytical image result data. This provides an efficient platform for algorithm evaluation. Our experiments with a set of brain tumor images demonstrate the application, scalability, and effectiveness of the platform. Context: The paper describes an approach and platform for evaluation of pathology image analysis algorithms. The platform facilitates algorithm evaluation through a high-performance database built on the Pathology Analytic Imaging Standards (PAIS) data model. Aims: (1) Develop a framework to support algorithm evaluation by modeling and managing analytical results and human annotations from pathology images; (2) Create a robust data normalization tool for converting, validating, and fixing spatial data from algorithm or human annotations; (3) Develop a set of queries to support data sampling and result comparisons; (4) Achieve high performance computation capacity via a parallel data management infrastructure, parallel data loading and spatial indexing optimizations in this infrastructure. Materials and Methods: We have considered two scenarios for algorithm evaluation: (1) algorithm comparison where multiple result sets from different methods are compared and consolidated; and (2) algorithm validation where algorithm results are compared with human annotations. We have developed a spatial normalization toolkit to validate and normalize spatial boundaries produced by image analysis algorithms or human annotations. The validated data were formatted based on the PAIS data model and loaded into a spatial database. To support efficient data loading, we have implemented a parallel data loading tool that takes advantage of multi-core CPUs to accelerate data injection. The spatial database manages both geometric shapes and image features or classifications, and enables spatial sampling, result comparison, and result aggregation through expressive structured query language (SQL) queries with spatial extensions. To provide scalable and efficient query support, we have employed a shared nothing parallel database architecture, which distributes data homogenously across multiple database partitions to take advantage of parallel computation power and implements spatial indexing to achieve high I/O throughput. Results: Our work proposes a high performance, parallel spatial database platform for algorithm validation and comparison. This platform was evaluated by storing, managing, and comparing analysis results from a set of brain tumor whole slide images. The tools we develop are open source and available to download. Conclusions: Pathology image algorithm validation and comparison are essential to iterative algorithm development and refinement. One critical component is the support for queries involving spatial predicates and comparisons. In our work, we develop an efficient data model and parallel database approach to model, normalize, manage and query large volumes of analytical image result data. Our experiments demonstrate that the data partitioning strategy and the grid-based indexing result in good data distribution across database nodes and reduce I/O overhead in spatial join queries through parallel retrieval of relevant data and quick subsetting of datasets. The set of tools in the framework provide a full pipeline to normalize, load, manage and query analytical results for algorithm evaluation. PMID:23599905

The Registry of Knowledge Translation Methods and Tools: a resource to support evidence-informed public health.

PubMed

Peirson, Leslea; Catallo, Cristina; Chera, Sunita

2013-08-01

This paper examines the development of a globally accessible online Registry of Knowledge Translation Methods and Tools to support evidence-informed public health. A search strategy, screening and data extraction tools, and writing template were developed to find, assess, and summarize relevant methods and tools. An interactive website and searchable database were designed to house the registry. Formative evaluation was undertaken to inform refinements. Over 43,000 citations were screened; almost 700 were full-text reviewed, 140 of which were included. By November 2012, 133 summaries were available. Between January 1 and November 30, 2012 over 32,945 visitors from more than 190 countries accessed the registry. Results from 286 surveys and 19 interviews indicated the registry is valued and useful, but would benefit from a more intuitive indexing system and refinements to the summaries. User stories and promotional activities help expand the reach and uptake of knowledge translation methods and tools in public health contexts. The National Collaborating Centre for Methods and Tools' Registry of Methods and Tools is a unique and practical resource for public health decision makers worldwide.

Performance index and meta-optimization of a direct search optimization method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krus, P.; Ölvander, J.

2013-10-01

Design optimization is becoming an increasingly important tool for design, often using simulation as part of the evaluation of the objective function. A measure of the efficiency of an optimization algorithm is of great importance when comparing methods. The main contribution of this article is the introduction of a singular performance criterion, the entropy rate index based on Shannon's information theory, taking both reliability and rate of convergence into account. It can also be used to characterize the difficulty of different optimization problems. Such a performance criterion can also be used for optimization of the optimization algorithms itself. In this article the Complex-RF optimization method is described and its performance evaluated and optimized using the established performance criterion. Finally, in order to be able to predict the resources needed for optimization an objective function temperament factor is defined that indicates the degree of difficulty of the objective function.

Evaluation of the Seat Index Point Tool for Military Seats

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-12-01

millimeters mm2 ft2 squarefeet 0.093 square meters m2 yd2 square yard 0.836 square meters m2 Ac acres 0.405 hectares ha mi2 square miles 2.59 square...square miles mi2 VOLUME mL milliliters 0.034 fluid ounces fl oz L liters 0.264 gallons gal m3 cubic meters 35.314 cubic feet ft3 m3 cubic meters

Evaluation of the Seat Index Point Tool for Military Seats

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-12-01

645.2 square millimeters mm2 ft2 squarefeet 0.093 square meters m2 yd2 square yard 0.836 square meters m2 Ac acres 0.405 hectares ha mi2 square...yards yd2 ha hectares 2.47 acres ac km2 square kilometers 0.386 square miles mi2 VOLUME mL milliliters 0.034 fluid ounces fl oz L liters 0.264

Effects of two classification strategies on a Benthic Community Index for streams in the Northern Lakes and Forests Ecoregion

USGS Publications Warehouse

Butcher, Jason T.; Stewart, Paul M.; Simon, Thomas P.

2003-01-01

Ninety-four sites were used to analyze the effects of two different classification strategies on the Benthic Community Index (BCI). The first, a priori classification, reflected the wetland status of the streams; the second, a posteriori classification, used a bio-environmental analysis to select classification variables. Both classifications were examined by measuring classification strength and testing differences in metric values with respect to group membership. The a priori (wetland) classification strength (83.3%) was greater than the a posteriori (bio-environmental) classification strength (76.8%). Both classifications found one metric that had significant differences between groups. The original index was modified to reflect the wetland classification by re-calibrating the scoring criteria for percent Crustacea and Mollusca. A proposed refinement to the original Benthic Community Index is suggested. This study shows the importance of using hypothesis-driven classifications, as well as exploratory statistical analysis, to evaluate alternative ways to reveal environmental variability in biological assessment tools.

Symbolic dynamics of heart rate variability - a promising tool to investigate cardiac sympathovagal control in attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)?

PubMed

Tonhajzerova, Ingrid; Farsky, Ivan; Mestanik, Michal; Visnovcova, Zuzana; Mestanikova, Andrea; Hrtanek, Igor; Ondrejka, Igor

2016-06-01

We aimed to evaluate complex cardiac sympathovagal control in attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) by using heart rate variability (HRV) nonlinear analysis - symbolic dynamics. We examined 29 boys with untreated ADHD and 25 healthy boys (age 8-13 years). ADHD symptoms were evaluated by ADHD-RS-IV scale. ECG was recorded in 3 positions: baseline supine position, orthostasis, and clinostasis. Symbolic dynamics indices were used for the assessment of complex cardiac sympathovagal regulation: normalised complexity index (NCI), normalised unpredictability index (NUPI), and pattern classification measures (0V%, 1V%, 2LV%, 2UV%). The results showed that HRV complexity was significantly reduced at rest (NUPI) and during standing position (NCI, NUPI) in ADHD group compared to controls. Cardiac-linked sympathetic index 0V% was significantly higher during all posture positions and cardiovagal index 2LV% was significantly lower to standing in boys suffering from ADHD. Importantly, ADHD symptom inattention positively correlated with 0V%, and negatively correlated with NCI, NUPI. Concluding, symbolic dynamics revealed impaired complex neurocardiac control characterised by potential cardiac beta-adrenergic overactivity and vagal deficiency at rest and to posture changes in boys suffering from ADHD that is correlated with inattention. We suggest that symbolic dynamics indices could represent promising cardiac biomarkers in ADHD.

Design of embedded system to determine liquid refractive index based on ultrasonic sensor using an ATMega328

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Radiyonoa, Y.; Surantoro, S.; Pujayanto, P.; Budiharti, R.; Respati, Y. S.; Saputro, D. E.

2018-05-01

The occurrence of the broken pencil shadow into a glass of water becomes an interesting matter to be learned. The students of senior high school still find difficulty in determining liquid refractive index. To overcome this problem, it needs to develop an experimental tool to determine liquid refractive index by utilizing the newest technology. It is expected to be useful for students. This study is aimed to (1) make the design of physics learning experimental tool determinant of a liquid refractive index assisted by microcontroller based on ultrasonic sensors ATMega328 (2) explain the working principle and experimental result of liquid refractive indexing instrument assisted with ATMega328 microcontroller based ultrasonic sensor. This research used the experimental method. The result of the research shows design of physics learning experimental tool determinant of a liquid refractive index assisted by microcontroller based on ultrasonic sensors ATMega328 that has relative counting mistake of 0.36% on the measurement of aquades liquid refractive index, relative mistake of 0.18% on the 5% NaCl measurement, 0.24% on 5% glucose, and relative mistake of 0.50% on the measurement of 5 % fructose liquid refractive index. It has been created a proper device to be used in determining liquid refractive index.

Comparative and quantitative analysis of white light-emitting diodes and other lamps used for home illumination

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rubinger, Rero Marques; da Silva, Edna Raimunda; Pinto, Daniel Zaroni; Rubinger, Carla Patrícia Lacerda; Oliveira, Adhimar Flávio; da Costa Bortoni, Edson

2015-01-01

We compared the photometric and radiometric quantities in the visible, ultraviolet, and infrared spectra of white light-emitting diodes (LEDs), incandescent light bulbs and a compact fluorescent lamp used for home illumination. The color-rendering index and efficiency-related quantities were also used as auxiliary tools in this comparison. LEDs have a better performance in all aspects except for the color-rendering index, which is better with an incandescent light bulb. Compact fluorescent lamps presented results that, to our knowledge, do not justify their substitution for the incandescent light bulb. The main contribution of this work is an approach based on fundamental quantities to evaluate LEDs and other light sources.

EJSCREEN Version 1, Primary EJ Index

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The primary EJ index measures how much a particular place contributes to overall nationwide differences in environmental indicator values between demographic groups. This EJ index is a combination of a block group environmental factor, the population of the block group, and the demographic composition of the block group. In this index, the demographic composition of the block group is the difference between the block group??s composition and the national average, as measured by the primary demographic index. EJSCREEN is an environmental justice screening tool that provides EPA with a nationally consistent approach to screening for potential areas of EJ concern that may warrant further investigation. The EJ indexes are block group level results that combine multiple demographic factors with a single environmental variable (such as proximity to traffic) that can be used to help identify communities living with the greatest potential for negative environmental and health effects. The EJSCREEN tool is currently for internal EPA use only. It is anticipated that as users become accustomed to this new tool, individual programs within the Agency will develop program use guidelines and a community of practice will develop around them within the EPA Geoplatform. Users should keep in mind that screening tools are subject to substantial uncertainty in their demographic and environmental data, particularly when looking at small geographic areas, such as Census block group

A tool and index to assess surgical capacity in low income countries: an initial implementation in Sierra Leone.

PubMed

Groen, Reinou S; Kamara, Thaim B; Dixon-Cole, Richmond; Kwon, Steven; Kingham, T Peter; Kushner, Adam L

2012-08-01

A first step toward improving surgical care in many low and middle income countries is to document the need. To facilitate the collection and analysis of surgical capacity data and measure changes over time, Surgeons OverSeas (SOS) developed a tool and index based on personnel, infrastructure, procedures, equipment, and supplies (PIPES). A follow-up assessment of 10 government hospitals in Sierra Leone was completed 42 months after an initial survey in 2008 using the PIPES tool. An index based on number of operating rooms, personnel, infrastructure, procedures, equipment, and supplies was calculated. An index was also calculated, using the 2008 data for comparison. Most hospitals demonstrated an increased index that correlated with site visits that verified improved conditions. Connaught Hospital in Sierra Leone had the highest score (9.2), consistent with its being the best equipped and staffed Ministry of Health and Sanitation facility. Makeni District Hospital had the greatest increase, from 3.8 to 7.5, consistent with a newly constructed facility. The PIPES tool was easily administered at hospitals in Sierra Leone and an index was found useful. Surgical capacity in Sierra Leone improved between 2008 and 2011, as demonstrated by an increase in the overall PIPES indices.

Freva - Freie Univ Evaluation System Framework for Scientific Infrastructures in Earth System Modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kadow, Christopher; Illing, Sebastian; Kunst, Oliver; Schartner, Thomas; Kirchner, Ingo; Rust, Henning W.; Cubasch, Ulrich; Ulbrich, Uwe

2016-04-01

The Freie Univ Evaluation System Framework (Freva - freva.met.fu-berlin.de) is a software infrastructure for standardized data and tool solutions in Earth system science. Freva runs on high performance computers to handle customizable evaluation systems of research projects, institutes or universities. It combines different software technologies into one common hybrid infrastructure, including all features present in the shell and web environment. The database interface satisfies the international standards provided by the Earth System Grid Federation (ESGF). Freva indexes different data projects into one common search environment by storing the meta data information of the self-describing model, reanalysis and observational data sets in a database. This implemented meta data system with its advanced but easy-to-handle search tool supports users, developers and their plugins to retrieve the required information. A generic application programming interface (API) allows scientific developers to connect their analysis tools with the evaluation system independently of the programming language used. Users of the evaluation techniques benefit from the common interface of the evaluation system without any need to understand the different scripting languages. Facilitation of the provision and usage of tools and climate data automatically increases the number of scientists working with the data sets and identifying discrepancies. The integrated web-shell (shellinabox) adds a degree of freedom in the choice of the working environment and can be used as a gate to the research projects HPC. Plugins are able to integrate their e.g. post-processed results into the database of the user. This allows e.g. post-processing plugins to feed statistical analysis plugins, which fosters an active exchange between plugin developers of a research project. Additionally, the history and configuration sub-system stores every analysis performed with the evaluation system in a database. Configurations and results of the tools can be shared among scientists via shell or web system. Therefore, plugged-in tools benefit from transparency and reproducibility. Furthermore, if configurations match while starting an evaluation plugin, the system suggests to use results already produced by other users - saving CPU/h, I/O, disk space and time. The efficient interaction between different technologies improves the Earth system modeling science framed by Freva.

Glycemic penalty index for adequately assessing and comparing different blood glucose control algorithms

PubMed Central

Van Herpe, Tom; De Brabanter, Jos; Beullens, Martine; De Moor, Bart; Van den Berghe, Greet

2008-01-01

Introduction Blood glucose (BG) control performed by intensive care unit (ICU) nurses is becoming standard practice for critically ill patients. New (semi-automated) 'BG control' algorithms (or 'insulin titration' algorithms) are under development, but these require stringent validation before they can replace the currently used algorithms. Existing methods for objectively comparing different insulin titration algorithms show weaknesses. In the current study, a new approach for appropriately assessing the adequacy of different algorithms is proposed. Methods Two ICU patient populations (with different baseline characteristics) were studied, both treated with a similar 'nurse-driven' insulin titration algorithm targeting BG levels of 80 to 110 mg/dl. A new method for objectively evaluating BG deviations from normoglycemia was founded on a smooth penalty function. Next, the performance of this new evaluation tool was compared with the current standard assessment methods, on an individual as well as a population basis. Finally, the impact of four selected parameters (the average BG sampling frequency, the duration of algorithm application, the severity of disease, and the type of illness) on the performance of an insulin titration algorithm was determined by multiple regression analysis. Results The glycemic penalty index (GPI) was proposed as a tool for assessing the overall glycemic control behavior in ICU patients. The GPI of a patient is the average of all penalties that are individually assigned to each measured BG value based on the optimized smooth penalty function. The computation of this index returns a number between 0 (no penalty) and 100 (the highest penalty). For some patients, the assessment of the BG control behavior using the traditional standard evaluation methods was different from the evaluation with GPI. Two parameters were found to have a significant impact on GPI: the BG sampling frequency and the duration of algorithm application. A higher BG sampling frequency and a longer algorithm application duration resulted in an apparently better performance, as indicated by a lower GPI. Conclusion The GPI is an alternative method for evaluating the performance of BG control algorithms. The blood glucose sampling frequency and the duration of algorithm application should be similar when comparing algorithms. PMID:18302732

Protocol for a systematic review of screening tools for fear of recurrent illness in common life-threatening diseases.

PubMed

Jones, Jenny; Kane, Paul; Polson, Rob; Leslie, Stephen J; Hulbert-Williams, Nicholas J; Simard, Sébastien; Ozakinci, Gozde; Hubbard, Gill

2015-03-19

A myocardial infarction (MI) ('heart attack') can be intensely stressful, and the impact of this event can leave patients with clinically significant post-MI stress symptoms. Untreated stress can make heart disease worse. Few tools are available that screen for specific thoughts or beliefs that can trigger post-MI stress responses. In other life-threatening illnesses, fear of recurrence (FoR) of illness has been identified as a key stressor, and screening tools have been developed to identify this. The aim of this review is to identify FoR screening tools used in other common life-threatening diseases that report on the development of the tool, to assess if there are any that can be adapted for use in MI survivors so that those with high levels of FoR can be identified and helped. The review will evaluate full FoR screening tools and methods of measurement used in common life-threatening disease clinical populations. The Campbell and Cochrane Libraries, Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), PsycINFO, MEDLINE, Embase, Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts (ASSIA), Published International Literature on Traumatic Stress (PILOTS), Social Services Abstracts, Sociological Abstracts, Web of Knowledge, Health and Psychosocial Instruments and SCOPUS databases will be searched for relevant studies published from database inception. Reference lists and published reviews/meta-analyses will also be searched. All titles and abstracts will be screened and relevant full-text versions retrieved by two reviewers, who will then extract all the data. Each will independently review all data extracted by the other. Selected studies will also be assessed by two independent researchers using the COnsensus-based standards for the Selection of health status measurement INstruments (COSMIN) checklist and other quality criteria. This will be done to evaluate the degree to which their measurement properties meet the standards for good methodological quality. Disagreement will be resolved through consensus. Untreated post-MI stress has a considerable psychological and physical impact on MI survivors. Therefore, there is a critical need to develop a screening tool to identify fear of recurrent MI so that those affected can be identified and directed to appropriate support interventions. This proposed research will enable a tool to be developed and adapted for use in the MI survivor patient population. CRD42014010500.

Development and psychometric testing of Holistic Clinical Assessment Tool (HCAT) for undergraduate nursing students.

PubMed

Wu, Xi Vivien; Enskär, Karin; Pua, Lay Hoon; Heng, Doreen Gek Noi; Wang, Wenru

2016-09-22

A major focus in nursing education is on the judgement of clinical performance, and it is a complex process due to the diverse nature of nursing practice. A holistic approach in assessment of competency is advocated. Difficulties in the development of valid and reliable assessment measures in nursing competency have resulted in the development of assessment instruments with an increase in face and content validity, but few studies have tested these instruments psychometrically. It is essential to develop a holistic assessment tool to meet the needs of the clinical education. The study aims to develop a Holistic Clinical Assessment Tool (HCAT) and test its psychometric properties. The HCAT was developed based on the systematic literature review and the findings of qualitative studies. An expert panel was invited to evaluate the content validity of the tool. A total of 130 final-year nursing undergraduate students were recruited to evaluate the psychometric properties (i.e. factor structure, internal consistency and test-retest reliability) of the tool. The HCAT has good content validity with content validity index of .979. The exploratory factor analysis reveals a four-factor structure of the tool. The internal consistency and test-retest reliability of the HCAT are satisfactory with Cronbach alpha ranging from .789 to .965 and Intraclass Correlation Coefficient ranging from .881 to .979 for the four subscales and total scale. HCAT has the potential to be used as a valid measure to evaluate clinical competence in nursing students, and provide specific and ongoing feedback to enhance the holistic clinical learning experience. In addition, HCAT functions as a tool for self-reflection, peer-assessment and guides preceptors in clinical teaching and assessment.

Psychometric evaluation of a new instrument in Spanish to measure the wellness of university nursing faculty.

PubMed

Hurtado-Pardos, Barbara; Casas, Irma; Lluch-Canut, Teresa; Moreno-Arroyo, Carmen; Nebot-Bergua, Carlos; Roldán-Merino, Juan

2018-01-02

The aim of this study was to design and validate an instrument to measure the wellness among university nursing faculty. The study was performed in two phases. Phase I consisted of the development of the instrument with discussion groups and participant consensus. We designed an instrument including the 21 items or psychosocial risk factors identified and estimated an index by evaluating the frequency and intensity of each item. The items were grouped into 3 dimensions: teaching work demands, curricular demands, and organizational difficulties. Phase II, we evaluated the psychometric properties of the tool in a sample of 263 participants. Exploratory factor analysis showed a 3-factor structure that explained 53% of the total variance. The internal consistency of the instrument was 0.91 for the whole instrument. The results indicate that the tool developed is valid and reliable and may be a good instrument to monitor the wellness of university nursing faculty.

Association between Functional Movements Skills and Health Indicators in Children Aged between 9 and 12 Years Old

PubMed Central

Comeau, Megan E.; Bouchard, Danielle R.; Levesque, Cindy; Jonhson, Michel J.; Rioux, Brittany V.; Mayo, Andrea

2017-01-01

Background: Children’s health is a current concern and data suggests that poor fundamental movement skills (FMS) could be associated with poor health, which may or may not be mediated by low physical activity level. However, tools to assess FMS have not been standardized, and could consequently lead to different associations between FMS and health indicators. Objective: The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the associations between FMS and health indicators using two different FMS measurement tools often used in Canada. Methods: A total of 145 children between the ages of 9 to 12 were recruited from schools, after school programs, and summer camps in 2016. FMS were evaluated using the Passport for Life (bound, plank, run, kick, throw) and the PLAYbasic (run, hop, throw, kick, and balance). The association between each test and an average score for each tool were tests with health indicators including anthropometric measures, grip strength, cardiorespiratory fitness, and percent body fat. Results: Participants were composed of 54.2% boys aged 10.4 ± 1.2 years with an average body mass index of 18.8 ± 3.8 kg/m2. The association between the average score of both tools was 0.77 (p < 0.01), body mass index was significantly associated with 67% of FMS elements using the Passport for Life (r ranging from −0.18 to −0.32; p < 0.05), and 60% of FMS using the PLAYbasic (r ranging from −0.15 to −0.30; p < 0.05). There were no significant differences between the associations of the health indicators with FMS and either FMS assessment tool (Passport for Life and PLAYbasic) (p = 0.05). Average score of FMS was significantly associated with all health indicators using both PLAYbasic and Passport for Life (all p < 0.05). Conclusions: Health indicators in children are associated with FMS regardless of whether the Passport for Life or the PLAYbasic was used as the assessment tool. It is worth investigating if interventions that improve FMS lead to improvements in these health indicators. PMID:28869580

Ascites Index - a novel technique to evaluate ascites in ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome: a concept-proof study.

PubMed

Szkodziak, Piotr Robert; Czuczwar, Piotr; Wrona, Wojciech; Paszkowski, Tomasz; Szkodziak, Filip; Woźniak, Sławomir

2018-01-01

Controlled ovarian hyperstimulation is an important step in infertility treatment. In some cases, however, ovar-ian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) can occur. In its severe forms, ascites is likely to develop, associated with dyspnea. The aim of this study was to explore the usefulness of Ascites Index (AsI), a new tool for quantitative determination of ascites in patients with OHSS, to obtain data for planning further trials. Twelve patients with OHSS and ascites were included in the study. All patients were admitted to the hospital because of abdominal pain and dyspnea due to increasing ascites. Ultrasound measurements of ascites extent were performed in four external quadrants of the abdomen. Pockets of free fluid were measured. The obtained values were totaled, forming the Ascites Index (AsI), similarly to the amniotic fluid index. Because of dyspnea, paracentesis was performed in all cases. Median AsI at which patients reported dyspnea was 29.0 cm (range 21.6-38.6 cm). At AsI values less than 21.6 cm, no dyspnea was observed in any of the 12 studied patients. To avoid complications, 2000 mL of ascitic fluid was collected in each patient. After paracentesis, range of AsI decreased to 12.1-14.5 cm. The proposed AsI seems to be a promising tool for estimating and monitoring the ascites extent in OHSS. It can be estimated using basic ultrasound equipment. AsI requires further studies for standardization and transferability to other causes of ascites.

Methods of eutrophication assessment in the context of the water framework directive: Examples from the Eastern Mediterranean coastal areas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pavlidou, Alexandra; Simboura, Nomiki; Rousselaki, Eleni; Tsapakis, Manolis; Pagou, Kalliopi; Drakopoulou, Paraskevi; Assimakopoulou, Georgia; Kontoyiannis, Harilaos; Panayotidis, Panayotis

2015-10-01

A set of methodological tools were tested in order to assess the eutrophication quality of selected coastal areas in Eastern Mediterranean Sea, Greece, in the context of the Water Framework Directive under various anthropogenic pressures. Three, five-step tools, namely, TRIX, chlorophyll-a (chl-a) biomass classification scheme, and eutrophication index (E.I.) were applied in oligotrophic waters for (a) the whole water column and (b) the euphotic zone. The relationship among the eutrophication assessment indices and the ecological quality status (EcoQ) assessment indices for benthic macroinvertebrates (BENTIX index) and macroalgae (ecological evaluation index-EEIc) was also explored. Agricultural activities and mariculture are the pressures mostly related to the eutrophication assessment of the selected Greek coastal water bodies. Chl-a proved to be the criterion with the best overall correlation with the EcoQ indices, while TRIX with the lowest. Moreover, among the eutrophication indices, E.I. showed better overall agreement with BENTIX showing that probably it reflects the indirect relation of macroinvertebrates with water eutrophication in a better way. Among the eutrophication indices used, TRIX rather overestimated the eutrophication status of the selected coastal areas. The first stage of eutrophication was reflected more efficiently using E.I. than TRIX, but E.I. seems to be a rather sensitive index. A future modification of the high to good boundary of E.I. may be needed in order to demonstrate the high status of the relatively undisturbed Greek coastal sites.

Measurement properties of comorbidity indices in maternal health research: a systematic review.

PubMed

Aoyama, Kazuyoshi; D'Souza, Rohan; Inada, Eiichi; Lapinsky, Stephen E; Fowler, Robert A

2017-11-13

Maternal critical illness occurs in 1.2 to 4.7 of every 1000 live births in the United States and approximately 1 in 100 women who become critically ill will die. Patient characteristics and comorbid conditions are commonly summarized as an index or score for the purpose of predicting the likelihood of dying; however, most such indices have arisen from non-pregnant patient populations. We sought to systematically review comorbidity indices used in health administrative datasets of pregnant women, in order to critically appraise their measurement properties and recommend optimal tools for clinicians and maternal health researchers. We conducted a systematic search of MEDLINE and EMBASE to identify studies published from 1946 and 1947, respectively, to May 2017 that describe predictive validity of comorbidity indices using health administrative datasets in the field of maternal health research. We applied a methodological PubMed search filter to identify all studies of measurement properties for each index. Our initial search retrieved 8944 citations. The full text of 61 articles were identified and assessed for final eligibility. Finally, two eligible articles, describing three comorbidity indices appropriate for health administrative data remained: The Maternal comorbidity index, the Charlson comorbidity index and the Elixhauser Comorbidity Index. These studies of identified indices had a low risk of bias. The lack of an established consensus-building methodology in generating each index resulted in marginal sensibility for all indices. Only the Maternal Comorbidity Index was derived and validated specifically from a cohort of pregnant and postpartum women, using an administrative dataset, and had an associated c-statistic of 0.675 (95% Confidence Interval 0.647-0.666) in predicting mortality. Only the Maternal Comorbidity Index directly evaluated measurement properties relevant to pregnant women in health administrative datasets; however, it has only modest predictive ability for mortality among development and validation studies. Further research to investigate the feasibility of applying this index in clinical research, and its reliability across a variety of health administrative datasets would be incrementally helpful. Evolution of this and other tools for risk prediction and risk adjustment in pregnant and post-partum patients is an important area for ongoing study.

Identification of Patients with Sleep Disordered Breathing: Comparing the Four-Variable Screening Tool, STOP, STOP-Bang, and Epworth Sleepiness Scales

PubMed Central

Silva, Graciela E.; Vana, Kimberly D.; Goodwin, James L.; Sherrill, Duane L.; Quan, Stuart F.

2011-01-01

Study Objective: The Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) has been used to detect patients with potential sleep disordered breathing (SDB). Recently, a 4-Variable screening tool was proposed to identify patients with SDB, in addition to the STOP and STOP-Bang questionnaires. This study evaluated the abilities of the 4-Variable screening tool, STOP, STOP-Bang, and ESS questionnaires in identifying subjects at risk for SDB. Methods: A total of 4,770 participants who completed polysomnograms in the baseline evaluation of the Sleep Heart Health Study (SHHS) were included. Subjects with RDIs ≥ 15 and ≥ 30 were considered to have moderate-to-severe or severe SDB, respectively. Variables were constructed to approximate those in the questionnaires. The risk of SDB was calculated by the 4-Variable screening tool according to Takegami et al. The STOP and STOP-Bang questionnaires were evaluated including variables for snoring, tiredness/sleepiness, observed apnea, blood pressure, body mass index, age, neck circumference, and gender. Sleepiness was evaluated using the ESS questionnaire and scores were dichotomized into < 11 and ≥ 11. Results: The STOP-Bang questionnaire had higher sensitivity to predict moderate-to-severe (87.0%) and severe (70.4%) SDB, while the 4-Variable screening tool had higher specificity to predict moderate-to-severe and severe SDB (93.2% for both). Conclusions: In community populations such as the SHHS, high specificities may be more useful in excluding low-risk patients, while avoiding false positives. However, sleep clinicians may prefer to use screening tools with high sensitivities, like the STOP-Bang, in order to avoid missing cases that may lead to adverse health consequences and increased healthcare costs. Citation: Silva GE; Vana KD; Goodwin JL; Sherrill DL; Quan SF. Identification of patients with sleep disordered breathing: comparing the Four-Variable screening tool, STOP, STOP-Bang, and Epworth Sleepiness Scales. J Clin Sleep Med 2011;7(5):467-472. PMID:22003341

A spatially encoded dose difference maximal intensity projection map for patient dose evaluation: A new first line patient quality assurance tool

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hu Weigang; Graff, Pierre; Boettger, Thomas

2011-04-15

Purpose: To develop a spatially encoded dose difference maximal intensity projection (DD-MIP) as an online patient dose evaluation tool for visualizing the dose differences between the planning dose and dose on the treatment day. Methods: Megavoltage cone-beam CT (MVCBCT) images acquired on the treatment day are used for generating the dose difference index. Each index is represented by different colors for underdose, acceptable, and overdose regions. A maximal intensity projection (MIP) algorithm is developed to compress all the information of an arbitrary 3D dose difference index into a 2D DD-MIP image. In such an algorithm, a distance transformation is generatedmore » based on the planning CT. Then, two new volumes representing the overdose and underdose regions of the dose difference index are encoded with the distance transformation map. The distance-encoded indices of each volume are normalized using the skin distance obtained on the planning CT. After that, two MIPs are generated based on the underdose and overdose volumes with green-to-blue and green-to-red lookup tables, respectively. Finally, the two MIPs are merged with an appropriate transparency level and rendered in planning CT images. Results: The spatially encoded DD-MIP was implemented in a dose-guided radiotherapy prototype and tested on 33 MVCBCT images from six patients. The user can easily establish the threshold for the overdose and underdose. A 3% difference between the treatment and planning dose was used as the threshold in the study; hence, the DD-MIP shows red or blue color for the dose difference >3% or {<=}3%, respectively. With such a method, the overdose and underdose regions can be visualized and distinguished without being overshadowed by superficial dose differences. Conclusions: A DD-MIP algorithm was developed that compresses information from 3D into a single or two orthogonal projections while hinting the user whether the dose difference is on the skin surface or deeper.« less

Evaluation of Applying a Combination of Red Cell Indexes and Formulas to Differentiate β-Thalassemia Trait from Iron Deficiency Anemia in the Thai Population.

PubMed

Pornprasert, Sakorn; Thongsat, Choosak; Panyachadporn, Uraiporn

2017-03-01

Red cell indexes and formulas have been established as simple, fast, and inexpensive tools to differentiate β-thalassemia (β-thal) trait from iron deficiency anemia. However, none of them showed 100.0% sensitivity and specificity. Moreover, one index may show greater sensitivity and specificity in one population but is ineffective in another population. This study evaluated the diagnostic reliability of a combination of two red cell indexes [red blood cell (RBC) and red blood cell distribution width (RDW)] and nine formulas called '11T score' for differentiation of β-thal trait and iron deficiency anemia in the Thai population. A total of 103 cases, 67 β-thal trait and 36 iron deficiency anemia, Thai subjects with microcytic hypochromic anemia [mean corpuscular volume (MCV) <80.0 fL and mean corpuscular hemoglobin (Hb) (MCH) <27.0 pg] were involved in this retrospective study. The results showed that the 11T score with a cutoff value of 7 was able to discriminate between β-thal trait and iron deficiency anemia with sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), and efficiency (EFF) higher than 70.0%. It also had 85.4% of correctly identified cases and the highest value of Youden's Index (YI) (73.8%) when compared to the 11T score with other cutoff values (5, 6, 8 and 9) and other indexes. Thus, the 11T score with the cutoff value of 7 could be used to differentiate β-thal trait from iron deficiency anemia in the Thai population.

[Nutritional assessment of alcoholic liver cirrhotic patients treated in the liver Clinic of the Mexico's General Hospital].

PubMed

Landa-Galván, H V; Milke-García, Ma P; León-Oviedo, C; Gutiérrez-Reyes, G; Higuera-de la Tijera, F; Pérez-Hernández, J L; Serralde-Zúñiga, A E

2012-01-01

Malnutrition in the cirrhotic patient is associated to a higher morbidity and mortality rate; however, the diagnosis is complex, so the study objective was to assess the nutritional status using different methods. Adult patients with alcoholic liver cirrhosis treated in the Liver Clinic of the Mexico's General Hospital were evaluated. Anthropometric measurements and a 24 hours recall were made; screening tools (Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool, Nutritional Risk Screening-2002) and a method for assessing nutritional status specifically in cirrhotic patients (Royal Free Hospital Global Assessment) were used. We included 62 patients, 51.6% of them were men. Malnutrition by arm muscle area was 31.3% in men and 10% in women, and by arm fat area was 23.3% in women and 3.1% in men (p < 0.05). With the screening tools the percentages of malnutrition risk were 43.5% and 54.8% respectively, vs. 1.6% identified as "low weight" with the Body Mass Index. With the Royal Free Hospital Global Assessment tool the percentage of malnutrition was 45.2%. Patients with malnutrition had an energy and protein intake significantly lower than the well-nourished: 19.7 kcal/kg and 0.89 g/kg vs 30 kcal/kg and 1.25 g/kg (p < 0.005). Malnutrition is a common complication in patients with liver cirrhosis. Men have higher depletion of muscle mass and women a higher loss of body fat. The Body Mass Index is not a reliable tool for assessing malnutrition. It's advisable to use tools with indicators of body composition such as the Royal Free Hospital Global Assessment.

Cross-cultural adaptation, validation, and responsiveness of the Korean version of the AUSCAN Osteoarthritis Index.

PubMed

Moon, Ki Won; Lee, Shin-Seok; Kim, Jin Hyun; Song, Ran; Lee, Eun Young; Song, Yeong Wook; Bellamy, Nicholas; Lee, Eun Bong

2012-11-01

The Australian/Canadian Osteoarthritis Hand Index (AUSCAN) is a patient self-reported 15-item questionnaire measuring the severity of hand osteoarthritis symptoms in the respect of pain, stiffness, and function. In this study, we developed a Korean version of the AUSCAN Index (K-AUSCAN) and confirmed its reliability, validity, and responsiveness. The AUSCAN Index was translated into Korean by 3 translators and translated back into English by 3 different translators. In a group of 53 patients with clinical hand osteoarthritis (mean age 58.3 ± 7.6 years), validity was evaluated against other outcome measures, including the Functional Index for Hand Osteoarthritis (FIHOA) and Multidimensional Health Assessment Questionnaire (MDHAQ). Test-retest reliability was assessed at a 2-weeks interval in 51 patients. Internal consistency of K-AUSCAN was evaluated by Cronbach's α. Responsiveness was measured by standardized response mean (SRM). The test-retest reliability of K-AUSCAN yielded intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.46 for pain, 0.58 for stiffness, and 0.67 for function. The internal consistency of K-AUSCAN was satisfactory with Cronbach's α of 0.89 for pain and 0.93 for function. The K-AUSCAN index showed good correlation with other measures (r (2) was 0.67 for K-AUSCAN pain and MDHAQ pain; r (2) was 0.72 for K-AUSCAN function and FIHOA). The pain and function of K-AUSCAN correlated substantially with each other and moderately with stiffness subscale. The average SRM for K-AUSCAN pain, stiffness, and function was -0.92, -0.48, and -0.84, respectively. The Korean version of the AUSCAN Index is a valid, reliable, and responsive tool for the assessment of hand osteoarthritis symptoms.

Dental Videographic Analysis using Digital Age Media.

PubMed

Agarwal, Anirudh; Seth, Karan; Parmar, Siddharaj; Jhawar, Rahul

2016-01-01

This study was to evaluate a new method of smile analysis using videographic and photographic softwares (as in this study Photoshop Elements X, Windows Movie Maker 2012) as primary assessment tools and to develop an index for malocclusion and treatment plan that could be used in assessing severity of maloc-clussion. Agarwal A, Seth K, Parmar S, Jhawar R. Dental Videographic Analysis using Digital Age Media. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2016;9(4):355-363.

Objective assessment of induced acute pain in neonatology with the Newborn Infant Parasympathetic Evaluation index.

PubMed

Cremillieux, C; Makhlouf, A; Pichot, V; Trombert, B; Patural, H

2018-07-01

Objective tools are needed to improve pain assessment in newborns. The aim of this study was to assess the correlation between the Newborn Infant Parasympathetic Evaluation (NIPE) index and two pain scales during a painful procedure in premature infants. Each baby born at least at 26 weeks of gestational age (GA) undergoing a planned painful procedure in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) was eligible. NIPE index, heart rate variability (HRV) indices and Neonatal Acute Pain scale (DAN) were recorded across three periods: the first at rest 5 min before the painful procedure (T1), the second during it (T2) and the third 3 min after the end of it (T3). The Premature Infant Pain Profile-Revised (PIPP-R) pain scale was recorded at T2. Sixty-four recordings were performed in 29 preterm infants (mean GA = 29.9 ± 4.2 weeks). Twenty-eight tachograms were coupled to NIPE for analysis. We did not find a correlation between the NIPE index and DAN and PIPP-R at the pain time T2. Between T1 and T2, heart rate was higher (159 ± 16 vs. 169 ± 12, p < 0.001). Considering the linear HRV indices, we did not observe a modification in parasympathetic or sympathetic activity, while for the nonlinear HRV indices (H exponent, Approximate and conditional Entropy), a significant change towards a loss of physiological chaotic cardiac behaviour was detected. The NIPE index seems to be not reliable to assess acute pain in the preterm infant, but other HRV indices could be explored as additional tools next to pain scales in NICUs. The NIPE monitor was developed for objective pain assessment in neonates based on HFnu variations, but it does not seem reliable enough for assessing acute pain in real time in preterm neonates. Pain assessment in preterm babies still relies on pain scales. © 2018 European Pain Federation - EFIC®.

The use of medical quality indices as a performance-enhancement tool for community clinics.

PubMed

Elhayany, A

2001-12-01

One of the most important issues for a country, its population and doctors is the effective use of its health system. The extensive variation in doctors' performance leads to a tremendous waste of resources. To combat this, and at the same time ensure that medical quality plays a role when making decisions on interventions, it is essential to equip doctors and clinic directors with information on the quality of the medical care they are providing. In order to assist clinic directors in maintaining medical quality, Clalit Health Services has developed comparative medical indices enabling doctors to compare their performance to that of their colleagues, as well as to the standard and their performance over time. The development of an index to evaluate the quality of medical treatment offered in clinics provides doctors and the health system with an essential tool to lessen the existing variation among doctors and to enhance and evaluate performance.

A review of decision support, risk communication and patient information tools for thrombolytic treatment in acute stroke: lessons for tool developers

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Tools to support clinical or patient decision-making in the treatment/management of a health condition are used in a range of clinical settings for numerous preference-sensitive healthcare decisions. Their impact in clinical practice is largely dependent on their quality across a range of domains. We critically analysed currently available tools to support decision making or patient understanding in the treatment of acute ischaemic stroke with intravenous thrombolysis, as an exemplar to provide clinicians/researchers with practical guidance on development, evaluation and implementation of such tools for other preference-sensitive treatment options/decisions in different clinical contexts. Methods Tools were identified from bibliographic databases, Internet searches and a survey of UK and North American stroke networks. Two reviewers critically analysed tools to establish: information on benefits/risks of thrombolysis included in tools, and the methods used to convey probabilistic information (verbal descriptors, numerical and graphical); adherence to guidance on presenting outcome probabilities (IPDASi probabilities items) and information content (Picker Institute Checklist); readability (Fog Index); and the extent that tools had comprehensive development processes. Results Nine tools of 26 identified included information on a full range of benefits/risks of thrombolysis. Verbal descriptors, frequencies and percentages were used to convey probabilistic information in 20, 19 and 18 tools respectively, whilst nine used graphical methods. Shortcomings in presentation of outcome probabilities (e.g. omitting outcomes without treatment) were identified. Patient information tools had an aggregate median Fog index score of 10. None of the tools had comprehensive development processes. Conclusions Tools to support decision making or patient understanding in the treatment of acute stroke with thrombolysis have been sub-optimally developed. Development of tools should utilise mixed methods and strategies to meaningfully involve clinicians, patients and their relatives in an iterative design process; include evidence-based methods to augment interpretability of textual and probabilistic information (e.g. graphical displays showing natural frequencies) on the full range of outcome states associated with available options; and address patients with different levels of health literacy. Implementation of tools will be enhanced when mechanisms are in place to periodically assess the relevance of tools and where necessary, update the mode of delivery, form and information content. PMID:23777368

Validation of a screening tool for attention and executive functions (EpiTrack Junior) in children and adolescents with absence epilepsy.

PubMed

Kadish, Navah Ester; Baumann, Matthias; Pietz, Joachim; Schubert-Bast, Susanne; Reuner, Gitta

2013-10-01

Our prospective study aimed at the validation of EpiTrack Junior, a neuropsychological screening tool for attention and executive functions in children with epilepsy. Twenty-two children with absence epilepsy aged 8-17 years underwent comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation including EpiTrack Junior and measures of intelligence, verbal and nonverbal memory, word fluency and visuoconstructive organization. Concurrent and discriminant validity of EpiTrack Junior subtests and total score as well as sensitivity and specificity of the total score were analyzed. EpiTrack Junior total score was impaired in 59% of participants. Concurrent validity was demonstrated in 4/6 subtests and for the total score. Discriminant validity was shown with respect to verbal and nonverbal long-term memory. Sensitivity was higher than specificity and highest for the "working memory index". EpiTrack Junior is recommended as a sensitive and time-efficient screening tool for attention and executive functions in children with epilepsy. Impaired results should be followed up with detailed evaluation including information from the parents and school as well as counseling where indicated. © 2013.

Measuring the Closeness of Relationships: A Comprehensive Evaluation of the 'Inclusion of the Other in the Self' Scale

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

Understanding the nature and influence of social relationships is of increasing interest to behavioral economists, and behavioral scientists more generally. In turn, this creates a need for tractable, and reliable, tools for measuring fundamental aspects of social relationships. We provide a comprehensive evaluation of the 'Inclusion of the Other in the Self' (IOS) Scale, a handy pictorial tool for measuring the subjectively perceived closeness of a relationship. The tool is highly portable, very easy for subjects to understand and takes less than 1 minute to administer. Across our three online studies with a diverse adult population (n = 772) we show that six different scales designed to measure relationship closeness are all highly significantly positively correlated with the IOS Scale. We then conduct a Principal Component Analysis to construct an Index of Relationship Closeness and find that it correlates very strongly (ρ = 85) with the IOS Scale. We conclude that the IOS Scale is a psychologically meaningful and highly reliable measure of the subjective closeness of relationships. PMID:26068873

The reliability of three psoriasis assessment tools: Psoriasis area and severity index, body surface area and physician global assessment.

PubMed

Bożek, Agnieszka; Reich, Adam

2017-08-01

A wide variety of psoriasis assessment tools have been proposed to evaluate the severity of psoriasis in clinical trials and daily practice. The most frequently used clinical instrument is the psoriasis area and severity index (PASI); however, none of the currently published severity scores used for psoriasis meets all the validation criteria required for an ideal score. The aim of this study was to compare and assess the reliability of 3 commonly used assessment instruments for psoriasis severity: the psoriasis area and severity index (PASI), body surface area (BSA) and physician global assessment (PGA). On the scoring day, 10 trained dermatologists evaluated 9 adult patients with plaque-type psoriasis using the PASI, BSA and PGA. All the subjects were assessed twice by each physician. Correlations between the assessments were analyzed using the Pearson correlation coefficient. Intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) was calculated to analyze intra-rater reliability, and the coefficient of variation (CV) was used to assess inter-rater variability. Significant correlations were observed among the 3 scales in both assessments. In all 3 scales the ICCs were > 0.75, indicating high intra-rater reliability. The highest ICC was for the BSA (0.96) and the lowest one for the PGA (0.87). The CV for the PGA and PASI were 29.3 and 36.9, respectively, indicating moderate inter-rater variability. The CV for the BSA was 57.1, indicating high inter-rater variability. Comparing the PASI, PGA and BSA, it was shown that the PGA had the highest inter-rater reliability, whereas the BSA had the highest intra-rater reliability. The PASI showed intermediate values in terms of interand intra-rater reliability. None of the 3 assessment instruments showed a significant advantage over the other. A reliable assessment of psoriasis severity requires the use of several independent evaluations simultaneously.

Radiological Evaluation of Strategic Structures in Patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment and Early Alzheimer's Disease.

PubMed

Nesteruk, Tomasz; Nesteruk, Marta; Styczyńska, Maria; Barcikowska-Kotowicz, Maria; Walecki, Jerzy

2016-01-01

The aim of the study was to evaluate the diagnostic value of two measurement techniques in patients with cognitive impairment - automated volumetry of the hippocampus, entorhinal cortex, parahippocampal gyrus, posterior cingulate gyrus, cortex of the temporal lobes and corpus callosum, and fractional anisotropy (FA) index measurement of the corpus callosum using diffusion tensor imaging. A total number of 96 patients underwent magnetic resonance imaging study of the brain - 33 healthy controls (HC), 33 patients with diagnosed mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and 30 patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) in early stage. The severity of the dementia was evaluated with neuropsychological test battery. The volumetric measurements were performed automatically using FreeSurfer imaging software. The measurements of FA index were performed manually using ROI (region of interest) tool. The volumetric measurement of the temporal lobe cortex had the highest correct classification rate (68.7%), whereas the lowest was achieved with FA index measurement of the corpus callosum (51%). The highest sensitivity and specificity in discriminating between the patients with MCI vs. early AD was achieved with the volumetric measurement of the corpus callosum - the values were 73% and 71%, respectively, and the correct classification rate was 72%. The highest sensitivity and specificity in discriminating between HC and the patients with early AD was achieved with the volumetric measurement of the entorhinal cortex - the values were 94% and 100%, respectively, and the correct classification rate was 97%. The highest sensitivity and specificity in discriminating between HC and the patients with MCI was achieved with the volumetric measurement of the temporal lobe cortex - the values were 90% and 93%, respectively, and the correct classification rate was 92%. The diagnostic value varied depending on the measurement technique. The volumetric measurement of the atrophy proved to be the best imaging biomarker, which allowed the distinction between the groups of patients. The volumetric assessment of the corpus callosum proved to be a useful tool in discriminating between the patients with MCI vs. early AD.

Evaluation of three indices for biofilm accumulation on complete dentures.

PubMed

Paranhos, Helena de Freitas Oliveira; Lovato da Silva, Claudia Helena; de Souza, Raphael Freitas; Pontes, Karina Matthes de Freitas

2010-03-01

The objective of this study was to evaluate the accuracy and reproducibility of three complete denture biofilm indices (Prosthesis Hygiene Index; Jeganathan et al. Index; Budtz-Jørgensen Index) by means of a computerised comparison method. Clinical studies into denture hygiene have employed a large number of biofilm indices among their outcome variables. However, the knowledge about the validity of these indices is still scarce. Sixty-two complete denture wearers were selected. The internal surfaces of the upper complete dentures were stained (5% erythrosine) and photographed. The slides were projected on paper, and the biofilm indices were applied over the photos by means of a scoring method. For the computerised method, the areas (total and biofilm-covered) were measured by dedicated software (Image Tool). In addition, to compare the results of the computerised method and Prosthetic Hygiene Index, a new scoring scale (including four and five graded) was introduced. For the Jeganathan et al. and Budtz-Jørgensen indices, the original scales were used. Values for each index were compared with the computerised method by the Friedman test. Their reproducibility was measured by means of weighed kappa. Significance for both tests was set at 0.05. The indices tested provided similar mean measures but they tended to overestimate biofilm coverage when compared with the computerised method (p < 0.001). Agreement between the Prosthesis Hygiene Index and the computerised method was not significant, regardless of the scale used. Jeghanathan et al. Index showed weak agreement, and consistent results were found for Budtz-Jorgensen Index (kappa = 0.19 and 0.39 respectively). Assessment of accuracy for the biofilm indices showed instrument bias that was similar among the tested methods. Weak inter-instrument reproducibility was found for the indices, except for the Budtz-Jørgensen Index. This should be the method of choice for clinical studies when more sophisticated approaches are not possible.

The ZJU index is a powerful index for identifying NAFLD in the general Chinese population.

PubMed

Li, Linman; You, Wenyi; Ren, Wei

2017-10-01

The ZJU index is a novel model for detecting non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) that it is calculated based on combination of the body mass index, fasting plasma glucose, triglycerides, and the serum alanine aminotransferase-to-aspartate transaminase ratio. We aimed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of the ZJU index in detecting NAFLD in the Chinese population. This was a cross-sectional study. Anthropometric measurements, laboratory data, and ultrasonography features were collected through a standard protocol. The ZJU index, fatty liver index, hepatic steatosis index, lipid accumulation product, and visceral adiposity index were calculated. Then the predictive values of the five indices were compared according to the area under receiver-operating characteristic curve (AUROC) values. A total of 19,804 participants were recruited, of whom 7324 participants were diagnosed with NFALD and 12,480 subjects were regarded as controls. The AUROC value for NAFLD identification by the ZJU index was 0.925 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.919-0.931), which was significantly higher than the values for the other four models (P < 0.001). Furthermore, from age 31 years to >60 years, the AUROC for the ZJU increased from 87.1 to 95.4%, values which were also greater than those for the other four indices. Analysis by sex also showed that the performance of the ZJU index in males and females was better than that of the other four indices. The ZJU index is an accurate and easy to employ tool for identifying NAFLD in the general Chinese population.

Development of the Psychiatric Nurse Job Stressor Scale (PNJSS).

PubMed

Yada, Hironori; Abe, Hiroshi; Funakoshi, Yayoi; Omori, Hisamitsu; Matsuo, Hisae; Ishida, Yasushi; Katoh, Takahiko

2011-10-01

The aim of the present study was to develop a tool, the Psychiatric Nurse Job Stressor Scale (PNJSS), for measuring the stress of psychiatric nurses, and to evaluate the reliability and validity of the PNJSS. A total of 302 psychiatric nurses completed all the questions in an early version of the PNJSS, which was composed of 63 items and is based on past literature of psychiatric nurses' stress. A total of 22 items from four factors, 'Psychiatric Nursing Ability', 'Attitude of Patients', 'Attitude Toward Nursing' and 'Communication', were extracted in exploratory factor analysis. With regard to scale reliability, the item-scale correlation coefficient was r = 0.265-0.570 (P < 0.01), the Cronbach alpha coefficient was 0.675-0.869, and the test-retest correlation coefficient was r = 0.439-0.771 (P < 0.01). With regard to scale validity, the convergent validity of the 'job stressor' scale was r = 0.172-0.420 (P < 0.01), and the predictive validity of the 'job reaction' scale was r = 0.201-0.453 (P < 0.01). The compatibility of the factor model to the data was 1.750 (χ(2) /d.f., 343.189/196, P < 0.01), the goodness of fit index was 0.910, the adjusted goodness of fit index was 0.883, the comparative fit index was 0.924, and the root mean square error of approximation was 0.050. The PNJSS has sufficient reliability and validity as a four-factor structure containing 22 items, and is valid as a tool for evaluating psychiatric nurse job stressors. © 2011 The Authors. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences © 2011 Japanese Society of Psychiatry and Neurology.

The Localized Scleroderma Cutaneous Assessment Tool: responsiveness to change in a pediatric clinical population.

PubMed

Kelsey, Christina E; Torok, Kathryn S

2013-08-01

Lack of agreement on how to accurately capture disease outcomes in localized scleroderma (LS) has hindered the development of efficacious treatment protocols. The LS Cutaneous Assessment Tool (LoSCAT), consisting of the modified LS Skin Severity Index (mLoSSI) and the LS Damage Index, has potential for use in clinical trials. The goal of this article is to further evaluate the clinical responsiveness of the LoSCAT. Based on the modifiable nature of disease activity versus damage, we expected the mLoSSI to be responsive to change. At 2 study visits, a physician completed the LoSCAT and Physician Global Assessment (PGA) of Disease Activity and of Disease Damage for 29 patients with LS. Spearman correlations were used to examine the relationships between the change in the LoSCAT and the PGA scores. To evaluate contrasted group validity, patients were grouped according to disease activity classification and change scores of groups were compared. Minimal clinically important differences were calculated and compared with the standard error of measurement. Change in the mLoSSI score correlated strongly with change in the PGA of Disease Activity score, whereas change in the LS Damage Index score correlated weakly with change in the PGA of Disease Damage score. The mLoSSI and PGA of Disease Activity exhibited contrasted group validity. Minimal clinically important differences for the activity measures were greater than the respective standard errors of measurement. Only 2 study visits were included in analysis. This study gives further evidence that the LoSCAT, specifically the mLoSSI, is a responsive, valid measure of activity in LS and should be used in future treatment studies. Copyright © 2013 American Academy of Dermatology, Inc. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

A revisitation of TRIX for trophic status assessment in the light of the European Water Framework Directive: application to Italian coastal waters.

PubMed

Pettine, Maurizio; Casentini, Barbara; Fazi, Stefano; Giovanardi, Franco; Pagnotta, Romano

2007-09-01

The trophic status classification of coastal waters at the European scale requires the availability of harmonised indicators and procedures. The composite trophic status index (TRIX) provides useful metrics for the assessment of the trophic status of coastal waters. It was originally developed for Italian coastal waters and then applied in many European seas (Adriatic, Tyrrhenian, Baltic, Black and Northern seas). The TRIX index does not fulfil the classification procedure suggested by the WFD for two reasons: (a) it is based on an absolute trophic scale without any normalization to type-specific reference conditions; (b) it makes an ex ante aggregation of biological (Chl-a) and physico-chemical (oxygen, nutrients) quality elements, instead of an ex post integration of separate evaluations of biological and subsequent chemical quality elements. A revisitation of the TRIX index in the light of the European Water Framework Directive (WFD, 2000/60/EC) and new TRIX derived tools are presented in this paper. A number of Italian coastal sites were grouped into different types based on a thorough analysis of their hydro-morphological conditions, and type-specific reference sites were selected. Unscaled TRIX values (UNTRIX) for reference and impacted sites have been calculated and two alternative UNTRIX-based classification procedures are discussed. The proposed procedures, to be validated on a broader scale, provide users with simple tools that give an integrated view of nutrient enrichment and its effects on algal biomass (Chl-a) and on oxygen levels. This trophic evaluation along with phytoplankton indicator species and algal blooms contribute to the comprehensive assessment of phytoplankton, one of the biological quality elements in coastal waters.

Integrating Fat Embolism Syndrome Scoring Indices in Sickle Cell Disease: A Practice Management Review.

PubMed

Bailey, Keneisha; Wesley, Jagila; Adeyinka, Adebayo; Pierre, Louisdon

2017-01-01

Fat embolism syndrome (FES) has been described in the literature as a rare complication of sickle cell disease (SCD). A review article published in 2005 reported 24 cases of FES associated with SCD. In many cases, a definitive diagnosis of FES in SCD is made on autopsy because of the lack of early recognition and the paucity of sensitive and specific testing for this syndrome. Patients with FES usually have a fulminant, rapidly deteriorating clinical course with mortality occurring within the first 24 hours. We postulate that FES is not well recognized in SCD and that FES scores are useful diagnostic tools in patients with SCD. We queried the electronic medical records with the diagnostic codes for SCD with acute chest syndrome (ACS), pulmonary embolism, or acute respiratory distress syndrome admitted to our hospital from 2008 to 2016 to identify patients suspected of having FES. In addition, we performed an extensive literature review to evaluate the management practice of pediatric patients with FES and SCD from 1966 to 2016. Six patients met our selection criteria from the hospital records, and 4 case reports from the literature search were also included. We applied the Gurd and Wilson criteria and the Schonfeld Fat Embolism Index to identify patients who met the criteria for FES. Nine patients fulfilled Gurd and Wilson criteria, and 9 patients who were evaluable met the Schonfeld criteria for FES. A rapidly deteriorating clinical course in a patient with SCD presenting with ACS or severe vaso-occlusive crisis should trigger a high index of suspicion for FES. Gurd and Wilson criteria or the Schonfeld Fat Embolism Index are useful diagnostic tools for FES in SCD.

First results of infrared thermography applied to the evaluation of hydraulic conductivity in rock masses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pappalardo, Giovanna

2018-03-01

An innovative methodological approach using infrared thermography (IRT) provides a potential contribution to the indirect assessment of hydraulic conductivity of jointed rock masses. This technique proved a suitable tool to evaluate the degree of fracturing of rock masses along with their discontinuity systems, which expedite water flow within the rock mass itself. First, based on the latest scientific outcomes on the application of IRT to the geomechanics of rock systems, rock mass surveys were carried out at different outcrops (dolostone, limestone and porphyroid) and hydraulic conductivity was empirically assessed through approaches well known in the international literature. Then, IRT campaigns were performed at each surveyed rock mass, with the purpose of evaluating the corresponding Cooling Rate Index, strictly linked to the cooling attitude of the rock. Such index was correlated with the assessed hydraulic conductivity and satisfactory regression equations were achieved. The interesting results show that hydraulic conductivity values are likely to be linked with the cooling behavior of rock masses, which, in turn, is affected by spacing, aperture and persistence of discontinuities.

Validation of the Spanish version of the Index of Spouse Abuse.

PubMed

Plazaola-Castaño, Juncal; Ruiz-Pérez, Isabel; Escribà-Agüir, Vicenta; Jiménez-Martín, Juan Manuel; Hernández-Torres, Elisa

2009-04-01

Partner violence against women is a major public health problem. Although there are currently a number of validated screening and diagnostic tools that can be used to evaluate this type of violence, such tools are not available in Spain. The aim of this study is to analyze the validity and reliability of the Spanish version of the Index of Spouse Abuse (ISA). A cross-sectional study was carried out in 2005 in two health centers in Granada, Spain, in 390 women between 18 and 70 years old. Analyses of the factorial structure, internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and construct validity were conducted. Cutoff points for each subscale were also defined. For the construct validity analysis, the SF-36 perceived general health dimension, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and the Goldberg 12-item General Health Questionnaire were included. The psychometric analysis shows that the instrument has good internal consistency, reproducibility, and construct validity. The scale is useful for the analysis of partner violence against women in both a research setting and a healthcare setting.

Assessing Instructional Sensitivity Using the Pre-Post Difference Index: A Nontechnical Tool for Extension Educators

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Adedokun, Omolola A.

2018-01-01

This article provides an illustrative description of the pre-post difference index (PPDI), a simple, nontechnical yet robust tool for examining the instructional sensitivity of assessment items. Extension educators often design pretest-posttest instruments to assess the impact of their curricula on participants' knowledge and understanding of the…

Environmental Exposures, Genetic Polymorphisms and p53 Mutational Spectra in a Case-Control Study of Breast Cancer

DTIC Science & Technology

1999-01-01

potential benefits of serotonin reuptake inhibitors in X1 tests were performed to evaluate associations of 5-HTT smoking cessation (15) suggested... dogs , sausages, bacon and cold diet assessment instrument used is a well-established tool for cuts was also assessed. A poultry index included...Controls were frequency-matched to cases on age and county. The listing of licensed New York State drivers was used for random selection of women

[Influence of contractual medical association on inpatient service performance].

PubMed

Wu, Zhi-jun; Jian, Wei-yan

2015-06-18

To study the influence of contractual medical association on inpatient service performance. The data came from "Database of Inpatient Record" administered by Department of Medical Insurance. Using diagnosis related groups (DRG) as the tool of risk-adjustment, the third-tier general hospitals and second-tier general hospitals in medical alliance as the intervention group, and the average level of the same grade local hospitals as the control group, the influence of medical alliance on inpatient service performance was evaluated. The difference in difference (DID) method was used for the data analysis. The assessing indicators included the number of DRG group, case mix index (CMI), the total weight, cost efficiency index and time efficiency index. After the establishment of medical association, compared with the average level of the same grade local hospitals, in the third-tier general hospitals of medical alliance, the growth rate of the total weight had declined, and cost efficiency index had increased, while in the second-tier general hospitals of medical alliance, the CMI value had declined, and the cost efficiency index had increased. Contractual medical association played a role of triage patients, and improved the service levels and management efficiency of the second-tier general hospitals.

Relationships between body roundness with body fat and visceral adipose tissue emerging from a new geometrical model

PubMed Central

Thomas, Diana M.; Bredlau, Carl; Bosy-Westphal, Anja; Mueller, Manfred; Shen, Wei; Gallagher, Dympna; Maeda, Yuna; McDougall, Andrew; Peterson, Courtney M.; Ravussin, Eric; Heymsfield, Steven B.

2013-01-01

Objective To develop a new geometrical index that combines height, waist circumference (WC), and hip circumference (HC) and relate this index to total and visceral body fat. Design and Methods Subject data were pooled from three databases that contained demographic, anthropometric, dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) measured fat mass, and magnetic resonance imaging measured visceral adipose tissue (VAT) volume. Two elliptical models of the human body were developed. Body roundness was calculated from the model using a well-established constant arising from the theory. Regression models based on eccentricity and other variables were used to predict % body fat and % VAT. Results A body roundness index (BRI) was derived to quantify the individual body shape in a height-independent manner. Body roundness slightly improved predictions of % body fat and % VAT compared to the traditional metrics of body mass index (BMI), WC, or HC. On this basis, healthy body roundness ranges were established. An automated graphical program simulating study results was placed at http://www.pbrc.edu/bodyroundness. Conclusions Body roundness index, a new shape measure, is a predictor of % body fat and % VAT and can be applied as a visual tool for health status evaluations. PMID:23519954

The Shorezone Functionality Index applied to Central Europe lakes.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zennaro, Barbara; Siligardi, Maurizio

2013-04-01

While most of earlier indices were characterized by a particular analysis, for example to the water itself (chemical analyses) or the biotic environment (biotic extended index), the Lake Shorezone Functionality Index (SFI) looks at the overall status of the lacustrine environment, extending out from the lake itself to also include the surrounding territory and watershed topography. Biotic and abiotic parameters are collected in the field with an ecological point of view to evaluate the buffering capacity of riparian vegetation, the complexity and artificiality of the shoreline, the anthropogenic use of the surrounding territory, and the way the inputs from the watershed enter the lake. Each shore stretch with similar parameters is evaluated in the field with a different form. The parameters collected are then run into a dedicated software (SFINX02) that will assigned a functionality level ranging from excellent to bad (divided into 5 categories as suggested from the WFD 2000/60/CE). The same software can also be used to model different scenarios, offering therefore a toll to foresee the impacts that public or private work may have on the lake, or to plan tailored restoration actions. The data transferred into a GIS environment is used to carry out further spatial analysis and to easily display the results in maps. The SFI reports, thematic maps and brochures give specific indications on what actions are needed to improve the functionality of the lake and to avoid stress to the lake. Therefore this index can be used to plan, monitor and evaluate restoration efforts. The SFI index is easily surveyed, speedily and economically, and it evaluates the state of the environment, assists in the identification of the causes of deterioration and represents a powerful tool that can be used for sustainable planning and management. To date, the Shorezone Functionality Index (created in 2009) has been used within the Eulakes and Silmas European projects in Italy (Lake Garda, Idro, Levico, Caldonazzo), Austria (Lake Neusiedl, Wothersee and MillstatterSee), Slovenia (Lake Bohinj), Poland (Lake Charzykowskie) and Hungary (Lake Balaton), and in Chile on lakes of the Araucania region (Lake Villarica, Boho).

Impact of a Cost Visibility Tool in the Electronic Medical Record on Antibiotic Prescribing in an Academic Medical Center

PubMed Central

Fargo, Kelly L.; Johnston, Jessica; Stevenson, Kurt B.; Deutscher, Meredith

2015-01-01

Background: Studies evaluating the impact of passive cost visibility tools on antibiotic prescribing are lacking. Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate whether the implementation of a passive antibiotic cost visibility tool would impact antibiotic prescribing and decrease antibiotic spending. Methods: An efficiency and effectiveness initiative (EEI) was implemented in October 2012. To support the EEI, an antibiotic cost visibility tool was created in June 2013 displaying the relative cost of antibiotics. Using an observational study of interrupted time series design, 3 time frames were studied: pre EEI, post EEI, and post cost visibility tool implementation. The primary outcome was antibiotic cost per 1,000 patient days. Secondary outcomes included case mix index (CMI)–adjusted antibiotic cost per 1,000 patient days and utilization of the cost visibility tool. Results: Initiation of the EEI was associated with a $4,675 decrease in antibiotic cost per 1,000 patient days (P = .003), and costs continued to decrease in the months following EEI (P = .009). After implementation of the cost visibility tool, costs remained stable (P = .844). Despite CMI increasing over time, adjustment for CMI had no impact on the directionality or statistical significance of the results. Conclusion: Our study demonstrated a significant and sustained decrease in antibiotic cost per 1,000 patient days when focused medication cost reduction efforts were implemented, but passive cost visibility tool implementation was not associated with additional cost reduction. Antibiotic cost visibility tools may be of most benefit when prior medication cost reduction efforts are lacking or when an active intervention is incorporated. PMID:26405341

Measuring assessment standards in undergraduate medical programs: Development and validation of AIM tool.

PubMed

Sajjad, Madiha; Khan, Rehan Ahmed; Yasmeen, Rahila

2018-01-01

To develop a tool to evaluate faculty perceptions of assessment quality in an undergraduate medical program. The Assessment Implementation Measure (AIM) tool was developed by a mixed method approach. A preliminary questionnaire developed through literature review was submitted to a panel of 10 medical education experts for a three-round 'Modified Delphi technique'. Panel agreement of > 75% was considered the criterion for inclusion of items in the questionnaire. Cognitive pre-testing of five faculty members was conducted. Pilot study was done with 30 randomly selected faculty members. Content validity index (CVI) was calculated for individual items (I-CVI) and composite scale (S-CVI). Cronbach's alpha was calculated to determine the internal consistency reliability of the tool. The final AIM tool had 30 items after the Delphi process. S-CVI was 0.98 with the S-CVI/Avg method and 0.86 by S-CVI/UA method, suggesting good content validity. Cut-off value of < 0.9 I-CVI was taken as criterion for item deletion. Cognitive pre-testing revealed good item interpretation. Cronbach's alpha calculated for the AIM was 0.9, whereas Cronbach's alpha for the four domains ranged from 0.67 to 0.80. 'AIM' is a relevant and useful instrument with good content validity and reliability of results, and may be used to evaluate the teachers´ perceptions about assessment quality.

Effects of kinesiotherapy, ultrasound and electrotherapy in management of bilateral knee osteoarthritis: prospective clinical trial

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Although recent advances in knee osteoarthritis (OA) treatment and evaluation were achieved, to the best of our knowledge, few studies have evaluated the longitudinal effect of therapeutic modalities on the functional exercise capacity of patients with knee OA. The purpose was to investigate the effects of kinesiotherapy and electrotherapy on functional exercise capacity, evaluated using the six-minute walk test (6-MWT) in patients with bilateral knee OA. Secondary measurements included range of motion (ROM), severity of knee pain (VAS), and a measure of perceived health and physical function, evaluated using the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities (WOMAC) Osteoarthritis Index. Methods A total of 40 women with bilateral knee OA were assigned to three groups: kinesiotherapy (KIN, n = 16), transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS, n = 12), or ultrasound (US, n = 10). The groups underwent 12 weeks of intervention twice per week. The participants were subjected to the 6-MWT, ROM, VAS and WOMAC index. These tests were performed before and after the intervention. The study was focused on outpatients and was carried out at Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Brazil. Results At follow-up, the KIN and US groups had significantly higher 6-MWT distances (19.8 ± 21.7 and 14.1 ± 22.5%, respectively) compared with their respective pre-intervention values. All treatments were effective for reducing pain and improving the WOMAC index. Conclusions We demonstrated that the 6-MWT is a tool that can be used to evaluate improvements in the functional exercise capacity of patients submitted to a clinical intervention. PMID:22999098

Effects of kinesiotherapy, ultrasound and electrotherapy in management of bilateral knee osteoarthritis: prospective clinical trial.

PubMed

Mascarin, Naryana Cristina; Vancini, Rodrigo Luiz; Andrade, Marã Lia Dos Santos; Magalhães, Eduardo de Paiva; de Lira, Claudio Andre Barbosa; Coimbra, Ibsen Bellini

2012-09-22

Although recent advances in knee osteoarthritis (OA) treatment and evaluation were achieved, to the best of our knowledge, few studies have evaluated the longitudinal effect of therapeutic modalities on the functional exercise capacity of patients with knee OA. The purpose was to investigate the effects of kinesiotherapy and electrotherapy on functional exercise capacity, evaluated using the six-minute walk test (6-MWT) in patients with bilateral knee OA. Secondary measurements included range of motion (ROM), severity of knee pain (VAS), and a measure of perceived health and physical function, evaluated using the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities (WOMAC) Osteoarthritis Index. A total of 40 women with bilateral knee OA were assigned to three groups: kinesiotherapy (KIN, n = 16), transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS, n = 12), or ultrasound (US, n = 10). The groups underwent 12 weeks of intervention twice per week. The participants were subjected to the 6-MWT, ROM, VAS and WOMAC index. These tests were performed before and after the intervention. The study was focused on outpatients and was carried out at Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Brazil. At follow-up, the KIN and US groups had significantly higher 6-MWT distances (19.8 ± 21.7 and 14.1 ± 22.5%, respectively) compared with their respective pre-intervention values. All treatments were effective for reducing pain and improving the WOMAC index. We demonstrated that the 6-MWT is a tool that can be used to evaluate improvements in the functional exercise capacity of patients submitted to a clinical intervention.

Clinical and pathologic relevance of p53 index in canine osseous tumors.

PubMed

Loukopoulos, P; Thornton, J R; Robinson, W F

2003-05-01

The clinicopathologic value of the immunohistochemical (IHC) expression of p53 protein was evaluated in 167 canine osseous tumors. p53 staining frequency and intensity in tumor cells was expressed as a p53 index. p53 index was significantly higher in osteosarcomas than in other sarcomas, chondrosarcoma, multilobular tumor of bone, and tumors initially misdiagnosed as osteosarcomas as well as in appendicular versus axial and in distal versus proximal osteosarcomas. A strong correlation is demonstrated between the p53 index and a range of clinicopathologic parameters in osteosarcoma, including the tumor site, histologic grade and score, mitotic index, degree of tumor necrosis, and pleomorphism. Chondroblastic osteosarcomas had significantly higher and telangiectatic osteosarcomas significantly lower p53 index than did osteosarcomas belonging to other histopathologic subtypes, a fact that tends to reinforce the perception of these osteosarcomas as distinct clinicopathologic entities. Entire males had higher p53 index than did neutered males. p53 index was higher in Rottweilers than in Great Danes and Terriers, confirming breed susceptibilities to osteosarcoma. p53 index showed no association with age, primary or secondary site status, or the presence of metastases or other tumor types. Biopsy samples had a higher p53 index than did postmortem samples, either because of differences in sample processing or the possibility that p53 overexpression is more evident at the earlier stages of osteosarcoma pathogenesis, presumably represented by the biopsy material. IHC examination for p53 and the derived index has the potential to be used as an additional diagnostic tool and prognostic indicator for osseous tumors.

Safety assessment in plant layout design using indexing approach: implementing inherent safety perspective. Part 2-Domino Hazard Index and case study.

PubMed

Tugnoli, Alessandro; Khan, Faisal; Amyotte, Paul; Cozzani, Valerio

2008-12-15

The design of layout plans requires adequate assessment tools for the quantification of safety performance. The general focus of the present work is to introduce an inherent safety perspective at different points of the layout design process. In particular, index approaches for safety assessment and decision-making in the early stages of layout design are developed and discussed in this two-part contribution. Part 1 (accompanying paper) of the current work presents an integrated index approach for safety assessment of early plant layout. In the present paper (Part 2), an index for evaluation of the hazard related to the potential of domino effects is developed. The index considers the actual consequences of possible escalation scenarios and scores or ranks the subsequent accident propagation potential. The effects of inherent and passive protection measures are also assessed. The result is a rapid quantification of domino hazard potential that can provide substantial support for choices in the early stages of layout design. Additionally, a case study concerning selection among various layout options is presented and analyzed. The case study demonstrates the use and applicability of the indices developed in both parts of the current work and highlights the value of introducing inherent safety features early in layout design.

Comparison of Oncotype DX® Recurrence Score® with other risk assessment tools including the Nottingham Prognostic Index in the identification of patients with low-risk invasive breast cancer.

PubMed

Cotter, Maura Bríd; Dakin, Alex; Maguire, Aoife; Walshe, Janice M; Kennedy, M John; Dunne, Barbara; Riain, Ciarán Ó; Quinn, Cecily M

2017-09-01

Oncotype DX® is a gene expression assay that quantifies the risk of distant recurrence in patients with hormone receptor positive early breast cancer, publicly funded in Ireland since 2011. The aim of this study was to correlate Oncotype DX® risk groupings with traditional histopathological parameters and the results of other risk assessment tools including Recurrence Score-Pathology-Clinical (RSPC), Adjuvant Risk Index (Adj RI), Nottingham Prognostic Index (NPI) and the Adjuvant! Online 10-year score (AO). Patients were retrospectively identified from the histopathology databases of two Irish hospitals and patient and tumour characteristics collated. Associations between categorical variables were evaluated with Pearson's chi-square test. Correlations were calculated using Spearman's correlation coefficient and concordance using Lin's concordance correlation coefficient. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS software, version 22.0.In our 300 patient cohort, Oncotype DX® classified 59.7% (n = 179) as low, 30% (n = 90) as intermediate, and 10.3% (n = 31) as high risk. Overall concordance between the RS and RSPC, Adj RI, NPI, and AO was 67.3% (n = 202), 56.3% (n = 169), 59% (n = 177), and 36.3% (n = 109), respectively. All risk assessment tools classified the majority of patients as low risk apart from the AO 10-year score, with RSPC classifying the highest number of patients as low risk. This study demonstrates that there is good correlation between the RS and scores obtained using alternative risk tools. Concordance with NPI is strong, particularly in the low-risk group. NPI, calculated from traditional clinicopathological characteristics, is a reliable alternative to Oncotype DX® in the identification of low-risk patients who may avoid adjuvant chemotherapy.

Teaching leadership in trauma resuscitation: Immediate feedback from a real-time, competency-based evaluation tool shows long-term improvement in resident performance.

PubMed

Gregg, Shea C; Heffernan, Daithi S; Connolly, Michael D; Stephen, Andrew H; Leuckel, Stephanie N; Harrington, David T; Machan, Jason T; Adams, Charles A; Cioffi, William G

2016-10-01

Limited data exist on how to develop resident leadership and communication skills during actual trauma resuscitations. An evaluation tool was developed to grade senior resident performance as the team leader during full-trauma-team activations. Thirty actions that demonstrated the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education core competencies were graded on a Likert scale of 1 (poor) to 5 (exceptional). These actions were grouped by their respective core competencies on 5 × 7-inch index cards. In Phase 1, baseline performance scores were obtained. In Phase 2, trauma-focused communication in-services were conducted early in the academic year, and immediate, personalized feedback sessions were performed after resuscitations based on the evaluation tool. In Phase 3, residents received only evaluation-based feedback following resuscitations. In Phase 1 (October 2009 to April 2010), 27 evaluations were performed on 10 residents. In Phase 2 (April 2010 to October 2010), 28 evaluations were performed on nine residents. In Phase 3 (October 2010 to January 2012), 44 evaluations were performed on 13 residents. Total scores improved significantly between Phases 1 and 2 (p = 0.003) and remained elevated throughout Phase 3. When analyzing performance by competency, significant improvement between Phases 1 and 2 (p < 0.05) was seen in all competencies (patient care, knowledge, system-based practice, practice-based learning) with the exception of "communication and professionalism" (p = 0.56). Statistically similar scores were observed between Phases 2 and 3 in all competencies with the exception of "medical knowledge," which showed ongoing significant improvement (p = 0.003). Directed resident feedback sessions utilizing data from a real-time, competency-based evaluation tool have allowed us to improve our residents' abilities to lead trauma resuscitations over a 30-month period. Given pressures to maximize clinical educational opportunities among work-hour constraints, such a model may help decrease the need for costly simulation-based training. Therapeutic study, level III.

The Effect of Molecular Contamination on the Emissivity Spectral Index in Orion A

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coudé, Simon; Bastien, Pierre; Drabek, Emily; Johnstone, Doug; Hatchell, Jennifer

2013-07-01

The emissivity spectral index is a critical component in the study of the physical properties of dust grains in cold and optically thin interstellar star forming regions. Since submillimeter astronomy is an ideal tool to measure the thermal emission of those dust grains, it can be used to characterize this important parameter. We present the SCUBA-2 shared risks observations at 450 μm and 850 μm of the Orion A molecular cloud obtained at the James-Clerk-Maxwell telescope. Previous studies showed that molecular emission lines can also contribute significantly to the measured fluxes in those continuum bands. We use HARP 12CO 3-2 maps to evaluate the total molecular line contamination in the SCUBA-2 maps and its effect on the determination of the spectral index in highly contaminated areas. With the corrected fluxes, we have obtained new spectral index maps for different regions of the well-known integral-shaped filament. This work is part of an ongoing effort to characterize the properties of star forming regions in the Gould belt with the new instruments available at the JCMT.

[Construction of a psychological aging scale for healthy people].

PubMed

Lin, Fei; Long, Yao; Zeng, Ni; Wu, Lei; Huang, Helang

2017-04-28

To construct a psychological aging scale, and to provide a tool and indexes for scientific evaluation on aging.
 Methods: The age-related psychological items were collected through literature screening and expert interview. The importance, feasibilityand the degree of authority for the psychological index system were graded by two rounds of Delphi method. Using analytic hierarchy process, the weight of dimensions and items were determined. The analysis for internal consistency reliability, correlation and exploratory factor was performed to evaluate the reliability and validity of the scales.
 Results: By two rounds of Delphi method, 17 experts offered the results as follows: the coefficient of expert authorities was 0.88±0.06, the coordination coefficients for the importance and feasibility in second round were 0.456 (P<0.01) and 0.666 (P<0.01), respectively. The consistency was good. The psychological aging scale for healthy people included 4 dimensions as follows: cognitive function, emotion, personality and motivation. The weight coefficients for the 4 dimensions were 0.338, 0.250, 0.166 and 0.258, respectively. The Cronbach's α coefficient for the scale was 0.822, the reliability was 0.817, the content validity index (CVI) was 0.847, and the cumulative contribution rate for the 5 factors was51.42%.
 Conclusion: The psychological aging scale is satisfied, which can provide reference for the evaluation for aging. The indicators were representative and well-recognized.

Evaluation of Evidence-Based Nursing Pain Management Practice

PubMed Central

Song, Wenjia; Eaton, Linda H.; Gordon, Debra B.; Hoyle, Christine; Doorenbos, Ardith Z.

2014-01-01

Background It is important to ensure that cancer pain management is based on the best evidence. Nursing evidence-based pain management can be examined through an evaluation of pain documentation. Aims This study aimed to (a) modify and test an evaluation tool for nursing cancer pain documentation, and (b) describe the frequency and quality of nursing pain documentation in one oncology unit via electronic medical system. Design and Setting A descriptive cross-sectional design was used for this study at an oncology unit of an academic medical center in the Pacific Northwest. Methods Medical records were examined for 37 adults hospitalized during April and May of 2013. Nursing pain documentations (N = 230) were reviewed using an evaluation tool modified from the Cancer Pain Practice Index to consist of 13 evidence-based pain management indicators, including pain assessment, care plan, pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic interventions, monitoring and treatment of analgesic side effects, communication with physicians, and patient education. Individual nursing documentation was assigned a score from 0 (worst possible) to 13 (best possible), to reflect the delivery of evidence-based pain management. Results The participating nurses documented 90% of the recommended evidence-based pain management indicators. Documentation was suboptimal for pain reassessment, pharmacologic interventions, and bowel regimen. Conclusions The study results provide implications for enhancing electronic medical record design and highlight a need for future research to understand the reasons for suboptimal nursing documentation of cancer pain management. For the future use of the data evaluation tool, we recommend additional modifications according to study settings. PMID:26256215

[Evaluation of work-related biomechanical overload: techniques for the acquisition and analysis of surface EMG signal].

PubMed

Pigini, Lucia; Colombini, Daniela; Rabuffetti, M; Ferrarin, M

2010-01-01

The aim of this research was to obtain information concerning muscle fatigue and muscle activation levels by measuring quantitative parameters through the surface electromyographic signal, and use such information to integrate the OCRA (Occupational Repetitive Actions) method for risk assessment of upper limb biomechanical overload Along with the main risk factors associated with the development of work-related upper limb musculoskeletal disorders (UL WMSDs) like posture, movement, frequency of action and organizational factors, this method also takes into account the muscular effort. Unlike the other risk factors that can be directly measured during inspections on farms, muscular effort is currently estimated only via a subjective assessment scale (Borg CR-10 scale). A new apparatus and new procedures were implemented for synchronized EMG and video acquisition, which guarantee a high degree of inter- and intra-subject repeatability, and an ad hoc software for data elaboration was developed They have been specifically designed for "on the field" applications. The methodology was first tested in the laboratory on a group of 12 healthy subjects, studying a repetitive task, running in two different ways, (high/low OCRA index) and interspersed with isometric tests for an indirect measurement of dynamic fatigue. The methodology was then tested in a working environment to compare the muscular effort required during the use of different types of tools for pruning. Results of the laboratory protocol showed onset of fatigue for Anterior Deltoid, Middle Deltoid and Brachial Triceps muscles only for the high-risk index mode, as demonstrated by the significance of the Bonferroni tests (p < 0.05) on MDF (Median Frequency) calculated from isometric tests. They also showed significant differences in terms of higher level of muscle activation, and thus required force, in the case of high OCRA index work task compared to the one at low risk (Wilcoxon, p < 0.05) for all analysed muscle groups with regard to 10th, 50th and 90th percentile of the APDF (Amplitude Probability Distribution Function). These results clearly defined the differences of subjectively perceived effort. The results of field" application showed that the tested protocol was also easily exportable to a real working environment and that the numerical parameters extracted from the EMG signal can be a useful tool for evaluating effort levels of different muscles of the upper limb and for comparing different work tools, through effort indexes referred to single muscles. It can therefore be concluded that by integrating the information about the 'FORCE' factor in the OCRA method, the calculated parameters may provide objective information useful in analyzing and designing ergonomic tools and workplaces.

Influence of reminder therapy for controlling bacterial plaque in patients undergoing orthodontic treatment: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

PubMed

Lima, Igor Felipe Pereira; de Andrade Vieira, Walbert; de Macedo Bernardino, Ítalo; Costa, Pedro Augusto; Lima, Anderson Paulo Barbosa; Pithon, Matheus Melo; Paranhos, Luiz Renato

2018-04-17

To assess the scientific evidence regarding the influence of reminder therapy on plaque index, gingival index, and white spots in patients subjected to orthodontic treatment. Randomized clinical trials were searched in the electronic databases LILACS, PubMed, SciELO, Scopus, Web of Science, Embase, LIVIVO, and Cochrane Library. The databases OpenThesis and OpenGrey were used to capture the "gray literature," preventing selection and publication biases. The risk of bias was assessed by the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Checklist for Randomized Controlled Trials tool. The software Review Manager was used for the meta-analysis. The heterogeneity among studies was assessed through the I 2 statistic. A summary of the overall strength of evidence available was assessed using the Grades of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation tool. A total of 332 records were found, from which only 7 articles met the inclusion criteria and were subjected to analysis. Reminder therapy showed improved scores for the plaque index (standardized mean difference = -1.22; 95% confidence interval = -2.03 to -0.42; P = .003) and the gingival index (standardized mean difference = 1.49; 95% confidence interval = -2.61 to 0.37; P = .009). Moreover, there was lower occurrence of white spots (relative risk = 0.53; 95% confidence interval = 0.38 to 0.74; P < .001) when reminder therapy was implemented. According to the existing high-quality evidence, reminder therapy is a valuable strategy and may contribute to the reduction of plaque and gingival indices as well as to the lower occurrence of white spots in patients subjected to orthodontic treatment.

Development of a prediction model for residual disease in newly diagnosed advanced ovarian cancer.

PubMed

Janco, Jo Marie Tran; Glaser, Gretchen; Kim, Bohyun; McGree, Michaela E; Weaver, Amy L; Cliby, William A; Dowdy, Sean C; Bakkum-Gamez, Jamie N

2015-07-01

To construct a tool, using computed tomography (CT) imaging and preoperative clinical variables, to estimate successful primary cytoreduction for advanced epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). Women who underwent primary cytoreductive surgery for stage IIIC/IV EOC at Mayo Clinic between 1/2/2003 and 12/30/2011 and had preoperative CT images of the abdomen and pelvis within 90days prior to their surgery available for review were included. CT images were reviewed for large-volume ascites, diffuse peritoneal thickening (DPT), omental cake, lymphadenopathy (LP), and spleen or liver involvement. Preoperative factors included age, body mass index (BMI), Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status (ECOG PS), American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score, albumin, CA-125, and thrombocytosis. Two prediction models were developed to estimate the probability of (i) complete and (ii) suboptimal cytoreduction (residual disease (RD) >1cm) using multivariable logistic analysis with backward and stepwise variable selection methods. Internal validation was assessed using bootstrap resampling to derive an optimism-corrected estimate of the c-index. 279 patients met inclusion criteria: 143 had complete cytoreduction, 26 had suboptimal cytoreduction (RD>1cm), and 110 had measurable RD ≤1cm. On multivariable analysis, age, absence of ascites, omental cake, and DPT on CT imaging independently predicted complete cytoreduction (c-index=0.748). Conversely, predictors of suboptimal cytoreduction were ECOG PS, DPT, and LP on preoperative CT imaging (c-index=0.685). The generated models serve as preoperative evaluation tools that may improve counseling and selection for primary surgery, but need to be externally validated. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Validation of the Auto-Inflammatory Diseases Activity Index (AIDAI) for hereditary recurrent fever syndromes

PubMed Central

Piram, Maryam; Koné-Paut, Isabelle; Lachmann, Helen J; Frenkel, Joost; Ozen, Seza; Kuemmerle-Deschner, Jasmin; Stojanov, Silvia; Simon, Anna; Finetti, Martina; Sormani, Maria Pia; Martini, Alberto; Gattorno, Marco; Ruperto, Nicolino

2014-01-01

Objectives To validate the Auto-Inflammatory Diseases Activity Index (AIDAI) in the four major hereditary recurrent fever syndromes (HRFs): familial Mediterranean fever (FMF), mevalonate kinase deficiency (MKD), tumour necrosis factor receptor-associated periodic syndrome (TRAPS) and cryopyrin-associated periodic syndromes (CAPS). Methods In 2010, an international collaboration established the content of a disease activity tool for HRFs. Patients completed a 1-month prospective diary with 12 yes/no items before a clinical appointment during which their physician assessed their disease activity by a questionnaire. Eight international experts in auto-inflammatory diseases evaluated the patient's disease activity by a blinded web evaluation and a nominal group technique consensus conference, with their consensus judgement considered the gold standard. Sensitivity/specificity/accuracy measures and the ability of the score to discriminate active from inactive patients via the best cut-off score were calculated by a receiver operating characteristic analysis. Results Consensus was achieved for 98/106 (92%) cases (39 FMF, 35 CAPS, 14 TRAPS and 10 MKD), with 26 patients declared as having inactive disease and 72 as having active disease. The median total AIDAI score was 14 (range=0–175). An AIDAI cut-off score ≥9 discriminated active from inactive patients, with sensitivity/specificity/accuracy of 89%/92%/90%, respectively, and an area under the curve of 98% (95% CI 96% to 100%). Conclusions The AIDAI score is a valid and simple tool for assessing disease activity in FMF/MKD/TRAPS/CAPS. This tool is easy to use in clinical practice and has the potential to be used as the standard efficacy measure in future clinical trials. PMID:24026675

Reliability and Validation of the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire in Over Active Bladder to Persian Language.

PubMed

Sari Motlagh, Reza; Hajebrahimi, Sakineh; Sadeghi-Bazargani, Homayoun; Joodi Tutunsaz, Javad

2015-05-01

Overactive bladder syndrome is a common syndrome in the world in both men and women. Correct diagnosis and accurate measurement of symptoms severity and also quality of life of patients is necessary to ensure proper treatment and to facilitate sound relationships among patients, researchers and doctors. The International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire in Over Active Bladder (ICIQ-OAB) questionnaire is a concise and strong tool to evaluate the symptoms of OAB and their effects on patients' quality of life and treatment results. The objective of this study was to translate and validate a simple and strong tool that could be used in clinics and research. First, the original British English questionnaire was translated into Persian by two bilingual and originally Persian-speaking translators. Then the Persian version was back translated to English and a native English speaker studied and compared the questionnaire with the original version. At the end, the translated and corrected Persian version was finalized by a research team. Content validity of the items and ensuring that the questions could convey the main concept to readers was assessed through Modified Content Validity Index (MCVI). Reliability was calculated by Cronbach's α coefficient. Internal Consistency of the questionnaire with the calculation of Kendall correlation coefficient were evaluated by performing test-retest in 50 participants. The modified content validity index was > 0.78 for all of the questions. Cronbach's α coefficient was calculated 0.76 for all of the participants. Kendall correlation coefficient was calculated for test-re-test assessment 0.66. Both of which indicates the reliability of this questionnaire. Persian version of ICIQ-OAB questionnaire is a simple and strong tool for research, treatment and screening purposes. © 2014 Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

Changes in quality of life (WHOQOL-BREF) and addiction severity index (ASI) among participants in opioid substitution treatment (OST) in low and middle income countries: an international systematic review.

PubMed

Feelemyer, Jonathan P; Jarlais, Don C Des; Arasteh, Kamyar; Phillips, Benjamin W; Hagan, Holly

2014-01-01

Opioid substitution treatment (OST) can increase quality of life (WHOQOL-BREF) and reduce addiction severity index (ASI) scores among participants over time. OST program participants have noted that improvement in quality of life is one of the most important variables to their reduction in drug use. However, there is little systematic understanding of WHOQOL-BREF and ASI domain changes among OST participants in low and middle-income countries (LMIC). Utilizing PRISMA guidelines we conducted a systematic literature search to identify OST program studies documenting changes in WHOQOL-BREF or ASI domains for participants in buprenorphine or methadone programs in LMIC. Standardized mean differences for baseline and follow-up domain scores were compared along with relationships between domain scores, OST dosage, and length of follow-up. There were 13 OST program studies with 1801 participants from five countries eligible for inclusion in the review. Overall, statistically significant changes were noted in all four WHOQOL-BREF domain and four of the seven ASI domain scores (drug, psychological, legal, and family) documented in studies. Dosage of pharmacologic medication and length of follow-up did not affect changes in domain scores. WHOQOL-BREF and ASI domain scoring is a useful tool in measuring overall quality of life and levels of addiction among OST participants. Coupled with measurements of blood-borne infection, drug use, relapse, and overdose, WHOQOL-BREF and ASI represent equally important tools for evaluating the effects of OST over time and should be further developed as integrated tools in the evaluation of participants in LMIC. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Critical thinking evaluation in reflective writing: Development and testing of Carter Assessment of Critical Thinking in Midwifery (Reflection).

PubMed

Carter, Amanda G; Creedy, Debra K; Sidebotham, Mary

2017-11-01

develop and test a tool designed for use by academics to evaluate pre-registration midwifery students' critical thinking skills in reflective writing. a descriptive cohort design was used. a random sample (n = 100) of archived student reflective writings based on a clinical event or experience during 2014 and 2015. a staged model for tool development was used to develop a fifteen item scale involving item generation; mapping of draft items to critical thinking concepts and expert review to test content validity; inter-rater reliability testing; pilot testing of the tool on 100 reflective writings; and psychometric testing. Item scores were analysed for mean, range and standard deviation. Internal reliability, content and construct validity were assessed. expert review of the tool revealed a high content validity index score of 0.98. Using two independent raters to establish inter-rater reliability, good absolute agreement of 72% was achieved with a Kappa coefficient K = 0.43 (p<0.0001). Construct validity via exploratory factor analysis revealed three factors: analyses context, reasoned inquiry, and self-evaluation. The mean total score for the tool was 50.48 (SD = 12.86). Total and subscale scores correlated significantly. The scale achieved good internal reliability with a Cronbach's alpha coefficient of .93. this study establishedthe reliability and validity of the CACTiM (reflection) for use by academics to evaluate midwifery students' critical thinking in reflective writing. Validation with large diverse samples is warranted. reflective practice is a key learning and teaching strategy in undergraduate Bachelor of Midwifery programmes and essential for safe, competent practice. There is the potential to enhance critical thinking development by assessingreflective writing with the CACTiM (reflection) tool to provide formative and summative feedback to students and inform teaching strategies. Crown Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Multimedia educational tools for cognitive surgical skill acquisition in open and laparoscopic colorectal surgery: a randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Shariff, U; Kullar, N; Haray, P N; Dorudi, S; Balasubramanian, S P

2015-05-01

Conventional teaching in surgical training programmes is constrained by time and cost, and has room for improvement. This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of a multimedia educational tool developed for an index colorectal surgical procedure (anterior resection) in teaching and assessment of cognitive skills and to evaluate its acceptability amongst general surgical trainees. Multimedia educational tools in open and laparoscopic anterior resection were developed by filming multiple operations which were edited into procedural steps and substeps and then integrated onto interactive navigational platforms using Adobe® Flash® Professional CS5 10.1. A randomized controlled trial was conducted on general surgical trainees to evaluate the effectiveness of online multimedia in comparison with conventional 'study day' teaching for the acquisition of cognitive skills. All trainees were assessed before and after the study period. Trainees in the multimedia group evaluated the tools by completing a survey. Fifty-nine trainees were randomized but 27% dropped out, leaving 43 trainees randomized to the multimedia group (n = 25) and study day group (n = 18) who were available for analysis. Posttest scores improved significantly in both groups (P < 0.01). The change in scores (mean ± SD) in the multimedia group was not significantly different from the study day group (6.02 ± 5.12 and 5.31 ± 3.42, respectively; P = 0.61). Twenty-five trainees completed the evaluation survey and experienced an improvement in their decision making (67%) and in factual and anatomical knowledge (88%); 96% agreed that the multimedia tool was a useful additional educational resource. Multimedia tools are effective for the acquisition of cognitive skills in colorectal surgery and are well accepted as an educational resource. Colorectal Disease © 2014 The Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland.

An Absolute Index (Ab-index) to Measure a Researcher’s Useful Contributions and Productivity

PubMed Central

Biswal, Akshaya Kumar

2013-01-01

Bibliographic analysis has been a very powerful tool in evaluating the effective contributions of a researcher and determining his/her future research potential. The lack of an absolute quantification of the author’s scientific contributions by the existing measurement system hampers the decision-making process. In this paper, a new metric system, Absolute index (Ab-index), has been proposed that allows a more objective comparison of the contributions of a researcher. The Ab-index takes into account the impact of research findings while keeping in mind the physical and intellectual contributions of the author(s) in accomplishing the task. The Ab-index and h-index were calculated for 10 highly cited geneticists and molecular biologist and 10 young researchers of biological sciences and compared for their relationship to the researchers input as a primary author. This is the first report of a measuring method clarifying the contributions of the first author, corresponding author, and other co-authors and the sharing of credit in a logical ratio. A java application has been developed for the easy calculation of the Ab-index. It can be used as a yardstick for comparing the credibility of different scientists competing for the same resources while the Productivity index (Pr-index), which is the rate of change in the Ab-index per year, can be used for comparing scientists of different age groups. The Ab-index has clear advantage over other popular metric systems in comparing scientific credibility of young scientists. The sum of the Ab-indices earned by individual researchers of an institute per year can be referred to as Pr-index of the institute. PMID:24391941

Computational algorithm to evaluate product disassembly cost index

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zeid, Ibrahim; Gupta, Surendra M.

2002-02-01

Environmentally conscious manufacturing is an important paradigm in today's engineering practice. Disassembly is a crucial factor in implementing this paradigm. Disassembly allows the reuse and recycling of parts and products that reach their death after their life cycle ends. There are many questions that must be answered before a disassembly decision can be reached. The most important question is economical. The cost of disassembly versus the cost of scrapping a product is always considered. This paper develops a computational tool that allows decision-makers to calculate the disassembly cost of a product. The tool makes it simple to perform 'what if' scenarios fairly quickly. The tool is Web based and has two main parts. The front-end part is a Web page and runs on the client side in a Web browser, while the back-end part is a disassembly engine (servlet) that has disassembly knowledge and costing algorithms and runs on the server side. The tool is based on the client/server model that is pervasively utilized throughout the World Wide Web. An example is used to demonstrate the implementation and capabilities of the tool.

Effects of Work-Related Stress on Work Ability Index among Iranian Workers.

PubMed

Gharibi, Vahid; Mokarami, Hamidreza; Taban, Abrahim; Yazdani Aval, Mohsen; Samimi, Kazem; Salesi, Mahmood

2016-03-01

Work Ability Index (WAI) is a well-known and valid self-report tool that has been widely used in various studies to identify and avoid early retirement and work-related disability. Nevertheless, very few studies have been carried out to evaluate work ability in Iran. We aimed to investigate the WAI and the effect of work-related stress on it among Iranian workers. A cross-sectional, descriptive and analytic study was carried out among 449 workers from five working sectors in three big cities of Iran. Work ability and work-related stress were measured using the Persian version of WAI and the Persian version of Health and Safety Executive Stress Indicator Tool. More than a third of the workers surveyed (34.70%) did not have an appropriate level of work ability (WAI < 37). There was a significant correlation between subscales of work-related stress and the mean score of WAI. Furthermore, the variables of body mass index, sleep quality, exercise activity, job tenure, and three subscales of work-related stress including demands, supervisor support, and role were significant predictors of WAI. According to the results of this study, the interventional programs must be focused on improving supervisors support, eliminating ambiguity and conflicts in the role of workers in their job and organization, reducing job demands, improving sleep quality, and increasing exercise activity.

Validation and Adaptation of the Singing Voice Handicap Index for Egyptian Singing Voice.

PubMed

Abou-Elsaad, Tamer; Baz, Hemmat; Afsah, Omayma; Abo-Elsoud, Hend

2017-01-01

Measuring the severity of a voice disorder is difficult. This can be achieved by both subjective and objective measures. The Voice Handicap Index is the most known and used self-rating tool for voice disorders. The Classical Singing Handicap Index (CSHI) is a self-administered questionnaire measuring the impact of vocal deviation on the quality of life of singers. The objective of this study was to develop an Arabic version of the CSHI and to test its validity and reliability in Egyptian singers with different singing styles with normal voice and with voice disorders. The interpreted version was administered to 70 Egyptian singers including artistic singers (classical and popular) and specialized singers (Quran reciters and priests) who were divided into 40 asymptomatic singers (control group) and 30 singers with voice disorders. Participants' responses were statistically analyzed to assess the validity and reliability, and to compare the patient group with the control group. Quran reciters, patients with no previous professional training, and patients with vocal fold lesions demonstrated the highest scores. The Arabic version of CSHI is found to be a reliable, valid, and sensitive self-assessment tool that can be used in the clinical practice for the evaluation of the impact of voice disorders on singing voice. Copyright © 2017 The Voice Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Geospatial tools effectively estimate nonexceedance probabilities of daily streamflow at ungauged and intermittently gauged locations in Ohio

USGS Publications Warehouse

Farmer, William H.; Koltun, Greg

2017-01-01

Study regionThe state of Ohio in the United States, a humid, continental climate.Study focusThe estimation of nonexceedance probabilities of daily streamflows as an alternative means of establishing the relative magnitudes of streamflows associated with hydrologic and water-quality observations.New hydrological insights for the regionSeveral methods for estimating nonexceedance probabilities of daily mean streamflows are explored, including single-index methodologies (nearest-neighboring index) and geospatial tools (kriging and topological kriging). These methods were evaluated by conducting leave-one-out cross-validations based on analyses of nearly 7 years of daily streamflow data from 79 unregulated streamgages in Ohio and neighboring states. The pooled, ordinary kriging model, with a median Nash–Sutcliffe performance of 0.87, was superior to the single-site index methods, though there was some bias in the tails of the probability distribution. Incorporating network structure through topological kriging did not improve performance. The pooled, ordinary kriging model was applied to 118 locations without systematic streamgaging across Ohio where instantaneous streamflow measurements had been made concurrent with water-quality sampling on at least 3 separate days. Spearman rank correlations between estimated nonexceedance probabilities and measured streamflows were high, with a median value of 0.76. In consideration of application, the degree of regulation in a set of sample sites helped to specify the streamgages required to implement kriging approaches successfully.

Measuring Road Network Vulnerability with Sensitivity Analysis

PubMed Central

Jun-qiang, Leng; Long-hai, Yang; Liu, Wei-yi; Zhao, Lin

2017-01-01

This paper focuses on the development of a method for road network vulnerability analysis, from the perspective of capacity degradation, which seeks to identify the critical infrastructures in the road network and the operational performance of the whole traffic system. This research involves defining the traffic utility index and modeling vulnerability of road segment, route, OD (Origin Destination) pair and road network. Meanwhile, sensitivity analysis method is utilized to calculate the change of traffic utility index due to capacity degradation. This method, compared to traditional traffic assignment, can improve calculation efficiency and make the application of vulnerability analysis to large actual road network possible. Finally, all the above models and calculation method is applied to actual road network evaluation to verify its efficiency and utility. This approach can be used as a decision-supporting tool for evaluating the performance of road network and identifying critical infrastructures in transportation planning and management, especially in the resource allocation for mitigation and recovery. PMID:28125706

The Index of Narrative Microstructure: A Clinical Tool for Analyzing School-Age Children's Narrative Performances

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Justice, Laura M.; Bowles, Ryan P.; Kaderavek, Joan N.; Ukrainetz, Teresa A.; Eisenberg, Sarita L.; Gillam, Ronald B.

2006-01-01

Purpose: This research was conducted to develop a clinical tool--the Index of Narrative Microstructure (INMIS)--that would parsimoniously account for important microstructural aspects of narrative production for school-age children. The study provides field test age- and grade-based INMIS values to aid clinicians in making normative judgments…

Mind Maps: Hot New Tools Proposed for Cyberspace Librarians.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Humphreys, Nancy K.

1999-01-01

Describes how online searchers can use a software tool based on back-of-the-book indexes to assist in dealing with search engine databases compiled by spiders that crawl across the entire Internet or through large Web sites. Discusses human versus machine knowledge, conversion of indexes to mind maps or mini-thesauri, middleware, eXtensible Markup…

Ecoclimatic indicators to study climate suitability of areas for the cultivation of specific crops

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Caubel, J.; Garcia de Cortazar Atauri, I.; Cufi, J.; Huard, F.; Launay, M.; Ripoche, D.; Graux, A.; deNoblet, N.

2013-12-01

Climatic conditions play a fundamental role in the suitability of geographical areas for cropping. In the context of climate change, we could expect changes in overall climatic conditions and so, on the suitability for cropping. Therefore, assessing the future climate suitability of areas for cropping is decisive for anticipating agriculture in a given area. Moreover, it is crucial to have access to the split up information concerning the effect of climate on the achievement of the main ecophysiological processes and cultural practices taking place during the crop cycle. In this way, stakeholders can envisage land use adaptations under climate change conditions, such as changes in cultural practices or development of new varieties for example. We proposed an aggregation tool of ecoclimatic indicators to design evaluation trees of climate suitability of areas for cropping, GETARI (Generic Evaluation Tool of Ecoclimatic Indicators). It calculates an overall climate suitability index at the annual scale, from a designed evaluation tree. This aggregation tool allows to characterize climate suitability according to crop ecophysiology, grain/fruit quality or crop management. GETARI proposes the major ecophysiological processes and cultural practices taking place during phenological periods, together with the climatic effects that are known to affect their achievement. The climatic effects on the ecophysiological processes (or cultural practices) during phenological periods are captured by the ecoclimatic indicators, which are agroclimatic indicators calculated over phenological periods. They give information about crop response to climate through ecophysiological or agronomic thresholds. Those indices of suitability are normalized and aggregated according to aggregation rules in order to compute an overall climate index. In order to illustrate how GETARI can be used, we designed evaluation trees in order to study the climate suitability for maize cropping regarding ecophysiology, for wheat cropping regarding its management and for grape cropping regarding its quality. The designed evaluation trees were developed in accordance with expert assessment and were applied in some past climatic conditions in France to verify their consistence. To conclude, the use of indicators does not replace models but represent additional tools for understanding and spatializing some results obtained by models. Their use can provide information about suitability of geographical areas for cropping in future climatic conditions and can enable to minimize the risk of crop failure. This work is carried out under the research program ORACLE (Opportunities and Risks of Agrosystems & forests in response to CLimate, socio-economic and policy changEs in France (and Europe).

Utility of C-peptide for a reliable estimate of insulin secretion in children with growth hormone deficiency.

PubMed

Ciresi, Alessandro; Cicciò, Floriana; Radellini, Stefano; Giordano, Carla

2016-08-01

GH treatment (GHT) can lead to glucose metabolism impairment through decreased insulin sensitivity and impaired pancreatic β-cell function, which are the two key components of the pathogenesis of diabetes. Therefore, in addition to insulin sensitivity, during GHT it is very important to perform a reliable evaluation of insulin secretion. However, conflicting data exist regarding the insulin secretion in children during GHT. C-peptide provides a more reliable estimate of β-cell function than insulin, but few studies evaluated it during GHT. Our aim was to assess the usefulness of C-peptide in the evaluation of insulin secretion in GH deficiency (GHD) children. In 48 GHD children, at baseline and after 12 and 24months of GHT, and in 56 healthy subjects we evaluated fasting and glucagon-stimulated (AUCCpep) C-peptide levels in addition to other commonly used secretion indexes, such as fasting and oral glucose tolerance test-stimulated insulin levels (AUCINS), Homa-β, and insulinogenic index. The main outcomes were the change in C-peptide during GHT and its correlation with the auxological and hormonal parameters. At baseline GHD children showed a significant lower AUCCpep (p=0.006), while no difference was found for the other indexes. Both fasting C-peptide (beta 0.307, p=0.016) and AUCCpep (beta 0.379, p=0.002) were independently correlated with IGF-I SDS, while no correlation was found for all other indexes. After 12months an increase in Homa-β (p<0.001), fasting C-peptide (p=0.002) and AUCCpep (p<0.001) was found. At multivariate analysis, only fasting C-peptide (beta 0.783, p=0.001) and AUCCpep (beta 0.880, p<0.001) were independently correlated with IGF-I SDS. C-peptide, rather than the insulin-derived indexes, has proved to be the most useful marker of insulin secretion correlated to IGF-I levels in GHD children. Therefore, we suggest the use of glucagon test both as diagnostic test for the GH assessment and as a useful tool for the evaluation of insulin secretion during GHT in children. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of TV commercials using neurophysiological responses.

PubMed

Yang, Taeyang; Lee, Do-Young; Kwak, Youngshin; Choi, Jinsook; Kim, Chajoong; Kim, Sung-Phil

2015-04-24

In recent years, neuroscientific knowledge has been applied to marketing as a novel and efficient means to comprehend the cognitive and behavioral aspects of consumers. A number of studies have attempted to evaluate media contents, especially TV commercials using various neuroimaging techniques such as electroencephalography (EEG). Yet neurophysiological examination of detailed cognitive and affective responses in viewers is still required to provide practical information to marketers. Here, this study develops a method to analyze temporal patterns of EEG data and extract affective and cognitive indices such as happiness, surprise, and attention for TV commercial evaluation. Twenty participants participated in the study. We developed the neurophysiological indices for TV commercial evaluation using classification model. Specifically, these model-based indices were customized using individual EEG features. We used a video game for developing the index of attention and four video clips for developing indices of happiness and surprise. Statistical processes including one-way analyses of variance (ANOVA) and the cross validation scheme were used to select EEG features for each index. The EEG features were composed of the combinations of spectral power at selected channels from the cross validation for each individual. The Fisher's linear discriminant classifier (FLDA) was used to estimate each neurophysiological index during viewing four different TV commercials. Post hoc behavioral responses of preference, short-term memory, and recall were measured. Behavioral results showed significant differences for all preference, short-term memory rates, and recall rates between commercials, leading to a 'high-ranked' commercial group and a 'low-ranked' group (P < 0.05). Neural estimation of happiness results revealed a significant difference between the high-ranked and the low-ranked commercials in happiness index (P < 0.01). The order of rankings based on happiness and attention matched well with the order of behavioral response rankings. In the elapsed-time analysis of the highest-ranked commercial, we could point to visual and auditory semantic structures of the commercial that induced increases in the happiness index. Our results demonstrated that the neurophysiological indices developed in this study may provide a useful tool for evaluating TV commercials.

Applying the Newman-Peacock Prognostic System to a Portuguese Obstetrical Population - A Useful Tool?

PubMed

Mendes Silva, Rita; Clode, Nuno

2018-01-01

 External cephalic version (ECV) is a maneuver that enables the rotation of the non-cephalic fetus to a cephalic presentation. The Newman-Peacock (NP) index, which was proposed by Newman et al. in a study published in 1993, was described as a prediction tool of the success of this procedure; it was validated in a North-American population, and three prognostic groups were identified.  To evaluate the value of the NP score for the prediction of a successful ECV in a Portuguese obstetrical population, and to evaluate maternal and fetal safety.  We present an observational study conducted from 1997-2016 with pregnant women at 36-38 weeks of pregnancy who were candidates for external cephalic version in our department. Demographic and obstetrical data were collected, including the parameters included in the NP index (parity, cervical dilatation, estimated fetal weight, placental location and fetal station). The calculation of the NP score was performed, and the percentages of success were compared among the three prognostic groups and with the original study by Newman et al. The performance of the score was determined using the Student t -test, the Chi-squared test, and a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve.  In total, 337 women were included. The overall success rate was of 43.6%. The univariate analysis revealed that multiparity, posterior placentation and a less engaged fetus were factors that favored a successful maneuver ( p  < 0.05). Moreover, a higher amniotic fluid index was also a relevant predictive factor ( p  < 0.05). The Newman-Peacock score had a poorer performance in our population compared with that of the sample of the original study, but we still found a positive relationship between higher scores and higher prediction of success ( p  < 0.001). No fetal or maternal morbidities were registered.  The Newman-Peacock score had a poorer performance among our population compared to its performance in the original study, but the results suggest that this score is still a useful tool to guide our clinical practice and counsel the candidate regarding ECV. Thieme Revinter Publicações Ltda Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Risk of malignancy index used as a diagnostic tool in a tertiary centre for patients with a pelvic mass.

PubMed

Håkansson, Fanny; Høgdall, Estrid V S; Nedergaard, Lotte; Lundvall, Lene; Engelholm, Svend A; Pedersen, Anette T; Hartwell, Dorthe; Høgdall, Claus

2012-04-01

Risk of malignancy index (RMI), based on a serum cancer antigen 125 level, ultrasound findings and menopausal status, is used to discriminate ovarian cancer from benign pelvic mass. In Denmark, patients with pelvic mass and RMI ≥200 are referred to tertiary gynecologic oncology centers according to the national guidelines for ovarian cancer treatment. The guidelines include recalculation of RMI at the tertiary center and, if indicated, positron emission tomography/computed tomography and fast-track surgery by specialists in cancer surgery. The aim of this study was to validate the use of RMI ≥200 as a tool for preoperative identification of ovarian cancer at a tertiary center. Prospective observational study. A tertiary center in Copenhagen, Denmark. One thousand one hundred and fifty-nine women with pelvic mass. The RMI was calculated after ultrasound examination and blood sampling for serum cancer antigen 125 analysis within two weeks before surgery. Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values were calculated to evaluate the ability of RMI to distinguish between ovarian cancer and benign pelvic mass. There were 778 women diagnosed with benign pelvic mass, while 251 had ovarian cancer and 74 had borderline ovarian tumor. Fifty-six women were diagnosed with other forms of cancer. Sensitivity and specificity for ovarian cancer vs. benign pelvic mass for RMI ≥200 were 92 and 82%, respectively. Corresponding positive and negative predictive values were 62 and 97%. Risk of malignancy index ≥200 is a reliable tool for identifying patients with ovarian cancer pelvic masses at a tertiary centre to select patients for further preoperative examinations. © 2012 The Authors Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica© 2012 Nordic Federation of Societies of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

An empowerment intervention for Indigenous communities: an outcome assessment.

PubMed

Kinchin, Irina; Jacups, Susan; Tsey, Komla; Lines, Katrina

2015-08-21

Empowerment programs have been shown to contribute to increased empowerment of individuals and build capacity within the community or workplace. To-date, the impact of empowerment programs has yet to be quantified in the published literature in this field. This study assessed the Indigenous-developed Family Wellbeing (FWB) program as an empowerment intervention for a child safety workforce in remote Indigenous communities by measuring effect sizes. The study also assessed the value of measurement tools for future impact evaluations. A three-day FWB workshop designed to promote empowerment and workplace engagement among child protection staff was held across five remote north Queensland Indigenous communities. The FWB assessment tool comprised a set of validated surveys including the Growth and Empowerment Measure (GEM), Australian Unity Wellbeing Index, Kessler psychological distress scale (K10) and Workforce engagement survey. The assessment was conducted pre-intervention and three months post-intervention. The analysis of pre-and post-surveys revealed that the GEM appeared to be the most tangible measure for detecting positive changes in communication, conflict resolution, decision making and life skill development. The GEM indicated a 17 % positive change compared to 9 % for the Australian Unity Wellbeing Index, 5 % for the workforce engagement survey and less than 1 % for K10. This study extended qualitative research and identified the best measurement tool for detecting the outcomes of empowerment programs. The GEM was found the most sensitive and the most tangible measure that captures improvements in communication, conflict resolution, decision making and life skill development. The GEM and Australian Unity Wellbeing Index could be recommended as routine measures for empowerment programs assessment among similar remote area workforce.

Effects of random aspects of cutting tool wear on surface roughness and tool life

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nabil, Ben Fredj; Mabrouk, Mohamed

2006-10-01

The effects of random aspects of cutting tool flank wear on surface roughness and on tool lifetime, when turning the AISI 1045 carbon steel, were studied in this investigation. It was found that standard deviations corresponding to tool flank wear and to the surface roughness increase exponentially with cutting time. Under cutting conditions that correspond to finishing operations, no significant differences were found between the calculated values of the capability index C p at the steady-state region of the tool flank wear, using the best-fit method or the Box-Cox transformation, or by making the assumption that the surface roughness data are normally distributed. Hence, a method to establish cutting tool lifetime could be established that simultaneously respects the desired average of surface roughness and the required capability index.

CRIE: An automated analyzer for Chinese texts.

PubMed

Sung, Yao-Ting; Chang, Tao-Hsing; Lin, Wei-Chun; Hsieh, Kuan-Sheng; Chang, Kuo-En

2016-12-01

Textual analysis has been applied to various fields, such as discourse analysis, corpus studies, text leveling, and automated essay evaluation. Several tools have been developed for analyzing texts written in alphabetic languages such as English and Spanish. However, currently there is no tool available for analyzing Chinese-language texts. This article introduces a tool for the automated analysis of simplified and traditional Chinese texts, called the Chinese Readability Index Explorer (CRIE). Composed of four subsystems and incorporating 82 multilevel linguistic features, CRIE is able to conduct the major tasks of segmentation, syntactic parsing, and feature extraction. Furthermore, the integration of linguistic features with machine learning models enables CRIE to provide leveling and diagnostic information for texts in language arts, texts for learning Chinese as a foreign language, and texts with domain knowledge. The usage and validation of the functions provided by CRIE are also introduced.

Verification and Validation of NASA-Supported Enhancements to Decision Support Tools of PECAD

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ross, Kenton W.; McKellip, Rodney; Moore, Roxzana F.; Fendley, Debbie

2005-01-01

This section of the evaluation report summarizes the verification and validation (V&V) of recently implemented, NASA-supported enhancements to the decision support tools of the Production Estimates and Crop Assessment Division (PECAD). The implemented enhancements include operationally tailored Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) products and products of the Global Reservoir and Lake Monitor (GRLM). The MODIS products are currently made available through two separate decision support tools: the MODIS Image Gallery and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) MODIS Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) Database. Both the Global Reservoir and Lake Monitor and MODIS Image Gallery provide near-real-time products through PECAD's CropExplorer. This discussion addresses two areas: 1. Assessments of the standard NASA products on which these enhancements are based. 2. Characterizations of the performance of the new operational products.

Real-time decision support systems: the famine early warning system network

USGS Publications Warehouse

Funk, Christopher C.; Verdin, James P.

2010-01-01

A multi-institutional partnership, the US Agency for International Development’s Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWS NET) provides routine monitoring of climatic, agricultural, market, and socioeconomic conditions in over 20 countries. FEWS NET supports and informs disaster relief decisions that impact millions of people and involve billions of dollars. In this chapter, we focus on some of FEWS NET’s hydrologic monitoring tools, with a specific emphasis on combining “low frequency” and “high frequency” assessment tools. Low frequency assessment tools, tied to water and food balance estimates, enable us to evaluate and map long-term tendencies in food security. High frequency assessments are supported by agrohydrologic models driven by satellite rainfall estimates, such as the Water Requirement Satisfaction Index (WRSI). Focusing on eastern Africa, we suggest that both these high and low frequency approaches are necessary to capture the interaction of slow variations in vulnerability and the relatively rapid onset of climatic shocks.

Evaluation of natural language processing from emergency department computerized medical records for intra-hospital syndromic surveillance

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background The identification of patients who pose an epidemic hazard when they are admitted to a health facility plays a role in preventing the risk of hospital acquired infection. An automated clinical decision support system to detect suspected cases, based on the principle of syndromic surveillance, is being developed at the University of Lyon's Hôpital de la Croix-Rousse. This tool will analyse structured data and narrative reports from computerized emergency department (ED) medical records. The first step consists of developing an application (UrgIndex) which automatically extracts and encodes information found in narrative reports. The purpose of the present article is to describe and evaluate this natural language processing system. Methods Narrative reports have to be pre-processed before utilizing the French-language medical multi-terminology indexer (ECMT) for standardized encoding. UrgIndex identifies and excludes syntagmas containing a negation and replaces non-standard terms (abbreviations, acronyms, spelling errors...). Then, the phrases are sent to the ECMT through an Internet connection. The indexer's reply, based on Extensible Markup Language, returns codes and literals corresponding to the concepts found in phrases. UrgIndex filters codes corresponding to suspected infections. Recall is defined as the number of relevant processed medical concepts divided by the number of concepts evaluated (coded manually by the medical epidemiologist). Precision is defined as the number of relevant processed concepts divided by the number of concepts proposed by UrgIndex. Recall and precision were assessed for respiratory and cutaneous syndromes. Results Evaluation of 1,674 processed medical concepts contained in 100 ED medical records (50 for respiratory syndromes and 50 for cutaneous syndromes) showed an overall recall of 85.8% (95% CI: 84.1-87.3). Recall varied from 84.5% for respiratory syndromes to 87.0% for cutaneous syndromes. The most frequent cause of lack of processing was non-recognition of the term by UrgIndex (9.7%). Overall precision was 79.1% (95% CI: 77.3-80.8). It varied from 81.4% for respiratory syndromes to 77.0% for cutaneous syndromes. Conclusions This study demonstrates the feasibility of and interest in developing an automated method for extracting and encoding medical concepts from ED narrative reports, the first step required for the detection of potentially infectious patients at epidemic risk. PMID:21798029

World Wide Web Indexes and Hierarchical Lists: Finding Tools for the Internet.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Munson, Kurt I.

1996-01-01

In World Wide Web indexing: (1) the creation process is automated; (2) the indexes are merely descriptive, not analytical of document content; (3) results may be sorted differently depending on the search engine; and (4) indexes link directly to the resources. This article compares the indexing methods and querying options of the search engines…

The University of Western Ontario Pediatric Audiological Monitoring Protocol (UWO PedAMP)

PubMed Central

Moodie, Sheila T.; Malandrino, April C.; Richert, Frances M.; Clench, Debbie A.; Scollie, Susan D.

2011-01-01

This study proposed and evaluated a guideline for outcome evaluation for infants and children with hearing loss who wear hearing aids. The University of Western Ontario Pediatric Audiological Monitoring Protocol (UWO PedAMP) was developed following a critical review of pediatric outcome evaluation tools and was systematically examined by the Network of Pediatric Audiologists of Canada. It consists of tools to gather clinical process outcomes as well as functional caregiver reports. The UWO PedAMP was administered to a clinical population of infants and children with hearing aids. Sixty-eight children were administered the functional outcome evaluation tools (i.e., caregiver reports) a total of 133 times. Clinical process outcomes of hearing aid verification (e.g., real-ear-to-coupler difference) revealed typical aided audibility (e.g., Speech Intelligibility Index). Results for the LittlEARS® questionnaire revealed that typically developing children with hearing loss who wear hearing aids are meeting auditory development milestones. Children with mild to moderate comorbidities displayed typical auditory development during the 1st year of life after which development began to decline. Children with complex factors related to hearing aid use had lower scores on the LittlEARS, but auditory development was in parallel to norms. Parents’ Evaluation of Aural/Oral Performance (PEACH) results indicated no age effect on scoring for children above 2 years of age; however, the effect of degree of hearing loss was significant. This work provides clinicians with a systematic, evidence-based outcome evaluation protocol to implement as part of a complete pediatric hearing aid fitting. PMID:22194316

Benchmarking short sequence mapping tools

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background The development of next-generation sequencing instruments has led to the generation of millions of short sequences in a single run. The process of aligning these reads to a reference genome is time consuming and demands the development of fast and accurate alignment tools. However, the current proposed tools make different compromises between the accuracy and the speed of mapping. Moreover, many important aspects are overlooked while comparing the performance of a newly developed tool to the state of the art. Therefore, there is a need for an objective evaluation method that covers all the aspects. In this work, we introduce a benchmarking suite to extensively analyze sequencing tools with respect to various aspects and provide an objective comparison. Results We applied our benchmarking tests on 9 well known mapping tools, namely, Bowtie, Bowtie2, BWA, SOAP2, MAQ, RMAP, GSNAP, Novoalign, and mrsFAST (mrFAST) using synthetic data and real RNA-Seq data. MAQ and RMAP are based on building hash tables for the reads, whereas the remaining tools are based on indexing the reference genome. The benchmarking tests reveal the strengths and weaknesses of each tool. The results show that no single tool outperforms all others in all metrics. However, Bowtie maintained the best throughput for most of the tests while BWA performed better for longer read lengths. The benchmarking tests are not restricted to the mentioned tools and can be further applied to others. Conclusion The mapping process is still a hard problem that is affected by many factors. In this work, we provided a benchmarking suite that reveals and evaluates the different factors affecting the mapping process. Still, there is no tool that outperforms all of the others in all the tests. Therefore, the end user should clearly specify his needs in order to choose the tool that provides the best results. PMID:23758764

SU-E-J-102: Performance Variations Among Clinically Available Deformable Image Registration Tools in Adaptive Radiotherapy: How Should We Evaluate and Interpret the Result?

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nie, K; Pouliot, J; Smith, E

Purpose: To evaluate the performance variations in commercial deformable image registration (DIR) tools for adaptive radiation therapy. Methods: Representative plans from three different anatomical sites, prostate, head-and-neck (HN) and cranial spinal irradiation (CSI) with L-spine boost, were included. Computerized deformed CT images were first generated using virtual DIR QA software (ImSimQA) for each case. The corresponding transformations served as the “reference”. Three commercial software packages MIMVista v5.5 and MIMMaestro v6.0, VelocityAI v2.6.2, and OnQ rts v2.1.15 were tested. The warped contours and doses were compared with the “reference” and among each other. Results: The performance in transferring contours was comparablemore » among all three tools with an average DICE coefficient of 0.81 for all the organs. However, the performance of dose warping accuracy appeared to rely on the evaluation end points. Volume based DVH comparisons were not sensitive enough to illustrate all the detailed variations while isodose assessment on a slice-by-slice basis could be tedious. Point-based evaluation was over-sensitive by having up to 30% hot/cold-spot differences. If adapting the 3mm/3% gamma analysis into the evaluation of dose warping, all three algorithms presented a reasonable level of equivalency. One algorithm had over 10% of the voxels not meeting this criterion for the HN case while another showed disagreement for the CSI case. Conclusion: Overall, our results demonstrated that evaluation based only on the performance of contour transformation could not guarantee the accuracy in dose warping. However, the performance of dose warping accuracy relied on the evaluation methodologies. Nevertheless, as more DIR tools are available for clinical use, the performance could vary at certain degrees. A standard quality assurance criterion with clinical meaning should be established for DIR QA, similar to the gamma index concept, in the near future.« less

Reliability of Lactation Assessment Tools Applied to Overweight and Obese Women.

PubMed

Chapman, Donna J; Doughty, Katherine; Mullin, Elizabeth M; Pérez-Escamilla, Rafael

2016-05-01

The interrater reliability of lactation assessment tools has not been evaluated in overweight/obese women. This study aimed to compare the interrater reliability of 4 lactation assessment tools in this population. A convenience sample of 45 women (body mass index > 27.0) was videotaped while breastfeeding (twice daily on days 2, 4, and 7 postpartum). Three International Board Certified Lactation Consultants independently rated each videotaped session using 4 tools (Infant Breastfeeding Assessment Tool [IBFAT], modified LATCH [mLATCH], modified Via Christi [mVC], and Riordan's Tool [RT]). For each day and tool, we evaluated interrater reliability with 1-way repeated-measures analyses of variance, intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs), and percentage absolute agreement between raters. Analyses of variance showed significant differences between raters' scores on day 2 (all scales) and day 7 (RT). Intraclass correlation coefficient values reflected good (mLATCH) to excellent reliability (IBFAT, mVC, and RT) on days 2 and 7. All day 4 ICCs reflected good reliability. The ICC for mLATCH was significantly lower than all others on day 2 and was significantly lower than IBFAT (day 7). Percentage absolute interrater agreement for scale components ranged from 31% (day 2: observable swallowing, RT) to 92% (day 7: IBFAT, fixing; and mVC, latch time). Swallowing scores on all scales had the lowest levels of interrater agreement (31%-64%). We demonstrated differences in the interrater reliability of 4 lactation assessment tools when applied to overweight/obese women, with the lowest values observed on day 4. Swallowing assessment was particularly unreliable. Researchers and clinicians using these scales should be aware of the differences in their psychometric behavior. © The Author(s) 2015.

Dental Videographic Analysis using Digital Age Media

PubMed Central

Seth, Karan; Parmar, Siddharaj; Jhawar, Rahul

2016-01-01

Aims and objectives This study was to evaluate a new method of smile analysis using videographic and photographic softwares (as in this study Photoshop Elements X, Windows Movie Maker 2012) as primary assessment tools and to develop an index for malocclusion and treatment plan that could be used in assessing severity of maloc-clussion. How to cite this article Agarwal A, Seth K, Parmar S, Jhawar R. Dental Videographic Analysis using Digital Age Media. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2016;9(4):355-363. PMID:28127169

Evaluation of user interface and workflow design of a bedside nursing clinical decision support system.

PubMed

Yuan, Michael Juntao; Finley, George Mike; Long, Ju; Mills, Christy; Johnson, Ron Kim

2013-01-31

Clinical decision support systems (CDSS) are important tools to improve health care outcomes and reduce preventable medical adverse events. However, the effectiveness and success of CDSS depend on their implementation context and usability in complex health care settings. As a result, usability design and validation, especially in real world clinical settings, are crucial aspects of successful CDSS implementations. Our objective was to develop a novel CDSS to help frontline nurses better manage critical symptom changes in hospitalized patients, hence reducing preventable failure to rescue cases. A robust user interface and implementation strategy that fit into existing workflows was key for the success of the CDSS. Guided by a formal usability evaluation framework, UFuRT (user, function, representation, and task analysis), we developed a high-level specification of the product that captures key usability requirements and is flexible to implement. We interviewed users of the proposed CDSS to identify requirements, listed functions, and operations the system must perform. We then designed visual and workflow representations of the product to perform the operations. The user interface and workflow design were evaluated via heuristic and end user performance evaluation. The heuristic evaluation was done after the first prototype, and its results were incorporated into the product before the end user evaluation was conducted. First, we recruited 4 evaluators with strong domain expertise to study the initial prototype. Heuristic violations were coded and rated for severity. Second, after development of the system, we assembled a panel of nurses, consisting of 3 licensed vocational nurses and 7 registered nurses, to evaluate the user interface and workflow via simulated use cases. We recorded whether each session was successfully completed and its completion time. Each nurse was asked to use the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Task Load Index to self-evaluate the amount of cognitive and physical burden associated with using the device. A total of 83 heuristic violations were identified in the studies. The distribution of the heuristic violations and their average severity are reported. The nurse evaluators successfully completed all 30 sessions of the performance evaluations. All nurses were able to use the device after a single training session. On average, the nurses took 111 seconds (SD 30 seconds) to complete the simulated task. The NASA Task Load Index results indicated that the work overhead on the nurses was low. In fact, most of the burden measures were consistent with zero. The only potentially significant burden was temporal demand, which was consistent with the primary use case of the tool. The evaluation has shown that our design was functional and met the requirements demanded by the nurses' tight schedules and heavy workloads. The user interface embedded in the tool provided compelling utility to the nurse with minimal distraction.

Research on the performance evaluation of agricultural products supply chain integrated operation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Jiake; Wang, Xifu; Liu, Yang

2017-04-01

The agricultural product supply chain integrated operation can ensure the quality and efficiency of agricultural products, and achieve the optimal goal of low cost and high service. This paper establishes a performance evaluation index system of agricultural products supply chain integration operation based on the development status of agricultural products and SCOR, BSC and KPI model. And then, we constructing rough set theory and BP neural network comprehensive evaluation model with the aid of Rosetta and MATLAB tools and the case study is about the development of agricultural products integrated supply chain in Jing-Jin-Ji region. And finally, we obtain the corresponding performance results, and give some improvement measures and management recommendations to the managers.

Water scarcity: moving beyond indexes to innovative institutions.

PubMed

Jarvis, W Todd

2013-01-01

Water scarcity is a media darling often times described as a trigger of conflict in arid regions, a by-product of human influences ranging from desertification to climate change, or a combination of natural- and human-induced changes in the water cycle. A multitude of indexes have been developed over the past 20 years to define water scarcity to map the "problem" and guide international donor investment. Few indexes include groundwater within the metrics of "scarcity." Institutional communication contributes to the recognition of local or regional water scarcity. However, evaluations that neglect groundwater resources may incorrectly define conditions as scarce. In cases where there is a perception of scarcity, the incorporation of groundwater and related storage in aquifers, political willpower, new policy tools, and niche diplomacy often results in a revised status, either reducing or even eliminating the moniker locally. Imaginative conceptualization and innovative uses of aquifers are increasingly used to overcome water scarcity. © 2013, National Ground Water Association.

A preliminary index of biotic integrity for monitoring the condition of the Rio Paraiba do Sul, southeast Brazil.

PubMed

Araujo, Francisco Gerson; Fichberg, Ilana; Pinto, Benjamin Carvalho Teixeira; Peixoto, Magna Galvao

2003-10-01

The biodiversity of many Brazilian rivers is seriously threatened by industrial and municipal pollution, and Rio Paraiba do Sul, located between two major industrial centers is one example of this situation. A survey of the fish assemblage was conducted from October 1998 to September 1999 and the data were used to develop an index of biotic integrity (IBI). We sampled three zones in bracketing a large urban-industrial complex to evaluate water quality changes and the usefulness of the IBI as a monitoring tool. Water quality was classified as poor upstream of the effluent discharges, very poor near the discharges, and poor-fair downstream of the discharges, with this latter situation revealing the current biological capacity of the river. Physical and chemical habitat characteristics were also measured at each site to construct an independent environmental index to validate the IBI. The habitat and IBI indices were highly correlated, suggesting this IBI would be applicable to other large rivers in southeast Brazil.

The development of a preliminary rock reef fish multimetric index for assessing thermal and urban impacts in a tropical bay.

PubMed

Teixeira-Neves, Tatiana Pires; Neves, Leonardo Mitrano; Araújo, Francisco Gerson

2016-08-15

We developed a multimetric index for assessing ecological conditions in rocky reefs areas to evaluate thermal and urban influences on fish community. Eight metrics were selected to assess thermal influence: (1) total number of species; (2) number of water column species; (3) number of transient species; (4) density of individuals with low resilience; (5) density of omnivores; (6) density of carnivores; (7) number of cryptic species; (8) density of herbivores. For urban influence, six metrics were selected: (1) total density; (2) ratio between the number of rare species and the total number of species; (3) density of individuals with heavy fishing pressure; (4) number of resident species; (5) number of cryptic species; (6) density of herbivores. This preliminary index succeed in discriminating control/impacted sites and proved to be an important tool to assess impacts that alter fish community and have potential to be used in tropical rock reef coastal areas. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Synthetic Comparator Approach to Local Evaluation of School-Based Substance Use Prevention Programming.

PubMed

Hansen, William B; Derzon, James H; Reese, Eric L

2014-06-01

We propose a method for creating groups against which outcomes of local pretest-posttest evaluations of evidence-based programs can be judged. This involves assessing pretest markers for new and previously conducted evaluations to identify groups that have high pretest similarity. A database of 802 prior local evaluations provided six summary measures for analysis. The proximity of all groups using these variables is calculated as standardized proximities having values between 0 and 1. Five methods for creating standardized proximities are demonstrated. The approach allows proximity limits to be adjusted to find sufficient numbers of synthetic comparators. Several index cases are examined to assess the numbers of groups available to serve as comparators. Results show that most local evaluations would have sufficient numbers of comparators available for estimating program effects. This method holds promise as a tool for local evaluations to estimate relative effectiveness. © The Author(s) 2012.

A simple Bird Sensitivity to Oil Index as a management tool in coastal and marine areas subject to oil spills when few biological information is available.

PubMed

Romero, A F; Oliveira, M; Abessa, D M S

2018-03-01

This study sought to develop a simple index for ranking birds' environmental sensitivity to oil in which birds are used as biological indicators. The study area consisted of both the Santos Estuarine System (SES), and the Laje de Santos Marine State Park (LSMSP), located in Southeastern Brazil. Information on the bird species and their feeding and nesting behaviors were obtained from the literature and were the basis of the sensitivity index created. The SES had a higher number of species, but only about 30% were found to be highly sensitive. The LSMSP presented a much lower number of species, but all of them were considered to be highly sensitive to oil. Due to its simplicity, this index can be employed worldwide as a decision-making tool that may be integrated into other management tools, particularly when robust information on the biology of birds is lacking. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The importance of serum albumin determination method to classify patients based on nutritional status.

PubMed

Alcorta, M Duque; Alvarez, P Chanca; Cabetas, R Nuñez; Martín, Mj Alcaide; Valero, M; Candela, C Gómez

2018-06-01

The global health community has recognized the role of food and nutrition in health maintenance and disease prevention. Undernutrition is an important problem in clinical circles but it is still not highly considered by specialists. It is well known the consequences of undernutrition on the immunological systems. Furthermore, the main consequences are an increase of morbidity-mortality rates, postoperative complications, length of stay and number of hospital early readmissions. These are all reasons to lead to increase health-care financial costs. The total assistance quality could be improved by the arrangement of an automatic detection system of undernutrition. In our hospital, we use the screening tool "CONtrolling NUTritional status" (CONUT). To measure albumin, the laboratory could use bromocresol green (BCG) and bromocresol purple (BCP) method. The aim of this study is to evaluate the CONNUT tool to classify patients using two different albumin methods to measure. The albumin and cholesterol performed in Advia 2400 analyzer using bromocresol green and purple methods to measure albumin. The total lymphocytes performed in Advia 2120. We calculate CONNUT index and classify the patients based on nutritional status. When we classified our patients based on nutritional status (CONNUT), 28% were misclassified, almost in moderate and severe groups. This is very important because this tool generates a multidisciplinary action to the patient. Therefore, in the Clinical Laboratory we have to know the methods we use, the validity of these methods in future tools/index and the management and outcome of the patients. Copyright © 2018 European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Optimal Embedding for Shape Indexing in Medical Image Databases

PubMed Central

Qian, Xiaoning; Tagare, Hemant D.; Fulbright, Robert K.; Long, Rodney; Antani, Sameer

2010-01-01

This paper addresses the problem of indexing shapes in medical image databases. Shapes of organs are often indicative of disease, making shape similarity queries important in medical image databases. Mathematically, shapes with landmarks belong to shape spaces which are curved manifolds with a well defined metric. The challenge in shape indexing is to index data in such curved spaces. One natural indexing scheme is to use metric trees, but metric trees are prone to inefficiency. This paper proposes a more efficient alternative. We show that it is possible to optimally embed finite sets of shapes in shape space into a Euclidean space. After embedding, classical coordinate-based trees can be used for efficient shape retrieval. The embedding proposed in the paper is optimal in the sense that it least distorts the partial Procrustes shape distance. The proposed indexing technique is used to retrieve images by vertebral shape from the NHANES II database of cervical and lumbar spine x-ray images maintained at the National Library of Medicine. Vertebral shape strongly correlates with the presence of osteophytes, and shape similarity retrieval is proposed as a tool for retrieval by osteophyte presence and severity. Experimental results included in the paper evaluate (1) the usefulness of shape-similarity as a proxy for osteophytes, (2) the computational and disk access efficiency of the new indexing scheme, (3) the relative performance of indexing with embedding to the performance of indexing without embedding, and (4) the computational cost of indexing using the proposed embedding versus the cost of an alternate embedding. The experimental results clearly show the relevance of shape indexing and the advantage of using the proposed embedding. PMID:20163981

Optimal embedding for shape indexing in medical image databases.

PubMed

Qian, Xiaoning; Tagare, Hemant D; Fulbright, Robert K; Long, Rodney; Antani, Sameer

2010-06-01

This paper addresses the problem of indexing shapes in medical image databases. Shapes of organs are often indicative of disease, making shape similarity queries important in medical image databases. Mathematically, shapes with landmarks belong to shape spaces which are curved manifolds with a well defined metric. The challenge in shape indexing is to index data in such curved spaces. One natural indexing scheme is to use metric trees, but metric trees are prone to inefficiency. This paper proposes a more efficient alternative. We show that it is possible to optimally embed finite sets of shapes in shape space into a Euclidean space. After embedding, classical coordinate-based trees can be used for efficient shape retrieval. The embedding proposed in the paper is optimal in the sense that it least distorts the partial Procrustes shape distance. The proposed indexing technique is used to retrieve images by vertebral shape from the NHANES II database of cervical and lumbar spine X-ray images maintained at the National Library of Medicine. Vertebral shape strongly correlates with the presence of osteophytes, and shape similarity retrieval is proposed as a tool for retrieval by osteophyte presence and severity. Experimental results included in the paper evaluate (1) the usefulness of shape similarity as a proxy for osteophytes, (2) the computational and disk access efficiency of the new indexing scheme, (3) the relative performance of indexing with embedding to the performance of indexing without embedding, and (4) the computational cost of indexing using the proposed embedding versus the cost of an alternate embedding. The experimental results clearly show the relevance of shape indexing and the advantage of using the proposed embedding. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A cricket Gene Index: a genomic resource for studying neurobiology, speciation, and molecular evolution

PubMed Central

Danley, Patrick D; Mullen, Sean P; Liu, Fenglong; Nene, Vishvanath; Quackenbush, John; Shaw, Kerry L

2007-01-01

Background As the developmental costs of genomic tools decline, genomic approaches to non-model systems are becoming more feasible. Many of these systems may lack advanced genetic tools but are extremely valuable models in other biological fields. Here we report the development of expressed sequence tags (EST's) in an orthopteroid insect, a model for the study of neurobiology, speciation, and evolution. Results We report the sequencing of 14,502 EST's from clones derived from a nerve cord cDNA library, and the subsequent construction of a Gene Index from these sequences, from the Hawaiian trigonidiine cricket Laupala kohalensis. The Gene Index contains 8607 unique sequences comprised of 2575 tentative consensus (TC) sequences and 6032 singletons. For each of the unique sequences, an attempt was made to assign a provisional annotation and to categorize its function using a Gene Ontology-based classification through a sequence-based comparison to known proteins. In addition, a set of unique 70 base pair oligomers that can be used for DNA microarrays was developed. All Gene Index information is posted at the DFCI Gene Indices web page Conclusion Orthopterans are models used to understand the neurophysiological basis of complex motor patterns such as flight and stridulation. The sequences presented in the cricket Gene Index will provide neurophysiologists with many genetic tools that have been largely absent in this field. The cricket Gene Index is one of only two gene indices to be developed in an evolutionary model system. Species within the genus Laupala have speciated recently, rapidly, and extensively. Therefore, the genes identified in the cricket Gene Index can be used to study the genomics of speciation. Furthermore, this gene index represents a significant EST resources for basal insects. As such, this resource is a valuable comparative tool for the understanding of invertebrate molecular evolution. The sequences presented here will provide much needed genomic resources for three distinct but overlapping fields of inquiry: neurobiology, speciation, and molecular evolution. PMID:17459168

An index-based robust decision making framework for watershed management in a changing climate.

PubMed

Kim, Yeonjoo; Chung, Eun-Sung

2014-03-01

This study developed an index-based robust decision making framework for watershed management dealing with water quantity and quality issues in a changing climate. It consists of two parts of management alternative development and analysis. The first part for alternative development consists of six steps: 1) to understand the watershed components and process using HSPF model, 2) to identify the spatial vulnerability ranking using two indices: potential streamflow depletion (PSD) and potential water quality deterioration (PWQD), 3) to quantify the residents' preferences on water management demands and calculate the watershed evaluation index which is the weighted combinations of PSD and PWQD, 4) to set the quantitative targets for water quantity and quality, 5) to develop a list of feasible alternatives and 6) to eliminate the unacceptable alternatives. The second part for alternative analysis has three steps: 7) to analyze all selected alternatives with a hydrologic simulation model considering various climate change scenarios, 8) to quantify the alternative evaluation index including social and hydrologic criteria with utilizing multi-criteria decision analysis methods and 9) to prioritize all options based on a minimax regret strategy for robust decision. This framework considers the uncertainty inherent in climate models and climate change scenarios with utilizing the minimax regret strategy, a decision making strategy under deep uncertainty and thus this procedure derives the robust prioritization based on the multiple utilities of alternatives from various scenarios. In this study, the proposed procedure was applied to the Korean urban watershed, which has suffered from streamflow depletion and water quality deterioration. Our application shows that the framework provides a useful watershed management tool for incorporating quantitative and qualitative information into the evaluation of various policies with regard to water resource planning and management. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Bioimpedance Spectroscopy as a Practical Tool for the Early Detection and Prevention of Protein-Energy Wasting in Hemodialysis Patients.

PubMed

Arias-Guillén, Marta; Perez, Eduardo; Herrera, Patricia; Romano, Bárbara; Ojeda, Raquel; Vera, Manel; Ríos, José; Fontseré, Néstor; Maduell, Francisco

2018-04-21

To evaluate whether body composition monitor (BCM) could be a practical instrument for nephrologists to assess nutritional status in patients on hemodialysis (HD) and whether it is more effective in identifying patients at highest risk of developing protein-energy wasting (PEW) alone or in combination with other tools currently used for that purpose. Observational cross-sectional study in 91 HD patients (60 ± 14 years, 70.3% male, 24 ± 4.1 kg/m 2 body mass index) from 2 different locations. Nutritional status was evaluated by anthropometric methods (biceps and triceps skinfold thickness, waist circumference, and arm muscular circumference), biochemical nutritional markers, malnutrition-inflammation score (MIS), and BCM. The patients were grouped into those with and without PEW by using classical criteria and then classified as being adequately or inadequately nourished according to a BCM flow chart to detect those requiring preferential nutritional intervention. A multivariate approach was used to calculate the risk of developing PEW. Anthropometric measurements revealed significantly lower body mass index (<23 kg/m 2 ; odds ratios [OR] = 13.3 and P = 0.001) and arm muscular circumference < p10 (OR = 34, P < 0.001) in the PEW group. MIS was above 5 in all the patients classified as having PEW. BCM showed that fat tissue index < p10 was significantly lower in this group (OR = 1.52), and a decision tree using the lean tissue index < p10, fat tissue index < p10, and extracellular water > 15% revealed that 42.9% of the patients would need nutritional monitoring. On multivariate analysis, insufficient nutritional status detected by BCM decision tree was an independent prognostic factor for developing PEW. About 9.89% of the patients were classified as PEW, with MIS > 5, and insufficient nutritional status detected by BCM required preferential nutritional intervention. BCM is a practical instrument for nephrologists to assess nutritional status in patients on HD and is useful for the early prevention and detection of PEW, as is able to identify differences in body composition, predict clinically important outcomes, and classify patients requiring preferential nutritional intervention. Copyright © 2018 National Kidney Foundation, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Galactomannan enzyme immunoassay and quantitative Real Time PCR as tools to evaluate the exposure and response in a rat model of aspergillosis after posaconazole prophylaxis.

PubMed

Cendejas-Bueno, Emilio; Forastiero, Agustina; Ruiz, Isabel; Mellado, Emilia; Buitrago, María José; Gavaldà, Joan; Gomez-Lopez, Alicia

2016-11-01

A steroid-immunosuppressed rat model of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis was use to examine the usefulness of galactomannan enzyme immunoassay (GM) and quantitative real time PCR (RT-PCR) in evaluating the association between response and exposure after a high dose of prophylactic posaconazole. Two different strains of Aspergillus fumigatus with different in vitro posaconazole susceptibility were used. Serum concentrations demonstrated similar posaconazole exposure for all treated animals. However, response to posaconazole relied on the in vitro susceptibility of the infecting strain. After prophylaxis, galactomannan index and fungal burden only decreased in those animals infected with the most susceptible strain. This study demonstrated that both biomarkers may be useful tools for predicting efficacy of antifungal compounds in prophylaxis. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier España, S.L.U. and Sociedad Española de Enfermedades Infecciosas y Microbiología Clínica. All rights reserved.

Test-retest reliability of the Capute scales for neurodevelopmental screening of a high risk sample: Impact of test-retest interval and degree of neonatal risk.

PubMed

McCurdy, M; Bellows, A; Deng, D; Leppert, M; Mahone, E; Pritchard, A

2015-01-01

Reliable and valid screening and assessment tools are necessary to identify children at risk for neurodevelopmental disabilities who may require additional services. This study evaluated the test-retest reliability of the Capute Scales in a high-risk sample, hypothesizing adequate reliability across 6- and 12-month intervals. Capute Scales scores (N = 66) were collected via retrospective chart review from a NICU follow-up clinic within a large urban medical center spanning three age-ranges: 12-18, 19-24, and 25-36 months. On average, participants were classified as very low birth weight and premature. Reliability of the Capute Scales was evaluated with intraclass correlation coefficients across length of test-retest interval, age at testing, and degree of neonatal complications. The Capute Scales demonstrated high reliability, regardless of length of test-retest interval (ranging from 6 to 14 months) or age of participant, for all index scores, including overall Developmental Quotient (DQ), language-based skill index (CLAMS) and nonverbal reasoning index (CAT). Linear regressions revealed that greater neonatal risk was related to poorer test-retest reliability; however, reliability coefficients remained strong. The Capute Scales afford clinicians a reliable and valid means of screening and assessing for neurodevelopmental delay within high-risk infant populations.

Case study of microarthropod communities to assess soil quality in different managed vineyards

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gagnarli, E.; Goggioli, D.; Tarchi, F.; Guidi, S.; Nannelli, R.; Vignozzi, N.; Valboa, G.; Lottero, M. R.; Corino, L.; Simoni, S.

2015-07-01

Land use influences the abundance and diversity of soil arthropods. The evaluation of the impact of different management strategies on soil quality is increasingly sought, and the determination of community structures of edaphic fauna can represent an efficient tool. In the area of Langhe (Piedmont, Italy), eight vineyards characterized for physical and chemical properties (soil texture, soil pH, total organic carbon, total nitrogen, calcium carbonate) were selected. We evaluated the effect of two types of crop management, organic and integrated pest management (IPM), on abundance and biodiversity of microarthropods living at the soil surface. Soil sampling was carried out in winter 2011 and spring 2012. All specimens were counted and determined up to the order level. The biodiversity analysis was performed using ecological indexes (taxa richness, dominance, Shannon-Wiener, Buzas and Gibson's evenness, Margalef, equitability, Berger-Parker), and the biological soil quality was assessed with the BSQ-ar index. The mesofauna abundance was affected by both the type of management and sampling time. On the whole, a higher abundance was in organic vineyards (N = 1981) than in IPM ones (N = 1062). The analysis performed by ecological indexes showed quite a high level of biodiversity in this environment, particularly in May 2012. Furthermore, the BSQ-ar values registered were similar to those obtained in preserved soils.

The search and selection for primary studies in systematic reviews published in dental journals indexed in MEDLINE was not fully reproducible.

PubMed

Faggion, Clovis Mariano; Huivin, Raquel; Aranda, Luisiana; Pandis, Nikolaos; Alarcon, Marco

2018-06-01

To evaluate whether the reporting of search strategies and the primary study selection process in dental systematic reviews is reproducible. A survey of systematic reviews published in MEDLINE-indexed dental journals from June 2015 to June 2016 was conducted. Study selection was performed independently by two authors, and the reproducibility of the selection process was assessed using a tool consisting of 12 criteria. Regression analyses were implemented to evaluate any associations between degrees of reporting (measured by the number of items positively answered) and journal impact factor (IF), presence of meta-analysis, and number of citations of the systematic review in Google Scholar. Five hundred and thirty systematic reviews were identified. Following our 12 criteria, none of the systematic reviews had complete reporting of the search strategies and selection process. Eight (1.5%) systematic reviews reported the list of excluded articles (with reasons for exclusion) after title and abstract assessment. Systematic reviews with more positive answers to the criteria were significantly associated with higher journal IF, number of citations, and inclusion of meta-analysis. Search strategies and primary study selection process in systematic reviews published in MEDLINE-indexed dental journals may not be fully reproducible. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of tablet PC as a tool for teaching tooth brushing to children.

PubMed

Salama, F; Abobakr, I; Al-Khodair, N; Al-Wakeel, M

2016-12-01

This study evaluated the effect of a single time tooth brushing instruction using video on a tablet PC (Apple iPad) compared to operator presentation using jaw model for plaque removal. This cross-sectional study included a convenience sample of 100 children divided into two groups. For Group 1 brushing was demonstrated to the child by the operator with the use of a jaw model. This demonstration was videotaped for subsequent use in Group 2 using a tablet PC (Apple iPad). Plaque index was recorded before and after demonstration of the assigned method of teaching tooth brushing. The results showed a significant difference using the two methods. The difference between the mean plaque index values with the jaw model and tablet PC at baseline and after tooth brushing represented 17.27% (50% improvement) and 11.56% (34% improvement) respectively. Boys showed a 18.3%. higher improvement in tooth brushing compared to girls. Seventy-five percent of the children reported using tablet computers in their daily life. CONCLUSION Teaching children by using a jaw model was more effective in improving plaque index score than using video on tablet PC by 16%. Both methods of tooth brushing teaching were fully accepted by all children.

Measuring pain in patients undergoing hemodialysis: a review of pain assessment tools

PubMed Central

Upadhyay, Chandani; Cameron, Karen; Murphy, Laura; Battistella, Marisa

2014-01-01

Background Patients undergoing hemodialysis frequently report pain with multifactorial causes, not limited to that experienced directly from hemodialysis treatment. Their pain may be nociceptive, neuropathic, somatic or visceral in nature. Despite this, pain in this population remains under-recognized and under-treated. Although several tools have been used to measure pain in patients undergoing hemodialysis as reported in the literature, none of them have been validated specifically in this population. The objective for this review was to compare and contrast these pain assessment tools and discuss their clinical utility in this patient population. Methods To identify pain assessment tools studied in patients undergoing hemodialysis, a literature search was performed in PubMed and Medline. An expert panel of dialysis and pain clinicians reviewed each tool. Each pain assessment tool was assessed on how it is administered and scored, its psychometric properties such as reliability, validity and responsiveness to change, and its clinical utility in a hemodialysis population. Brief Pain Inventory, McGill Pain Questionnaire, Pain Management Index, Edmonton Symptom Assessment System, Visual Analogue Scale and Faces Pain Scale were evaluated and compared. Results This assessment will help clinicians practicing in nephrology to determine which of these pain assessment tools is best suited for use in their individual clinical practice. PMID:25852910

[Clinical practice guidelines (II): searching and critical evaluation].

PubMed

Alonso, P; Bonfill, X

2007-01-01

Clinical practice guidelines have unique characteristics of the Internet era in which they are starting to be increasingly popular. The fact that they are often elaborated by governmental agencies and are not published in conventional journals means that they may not be accessible using the usual search methods employed for other types of scientific studies and documents (clinical trials, reviews, etc.). The Internet has become an essential tool for locating clinical practice guidelines, and meta-search engines, specific databases, directories, and elaborating institutions are of special importance. The relative lack of indexing of clinical practice guides means that Medline and Embase are not as useful in this context as in searching for original studies. With the aim of evaluating the validity, reproducibility, and reliability of clinical practice guidelines, a series of European institutions designed a tool to evaluate clinical practice guidelines at the end of the 1990s. This instrument, named AGREE, aims to offer a framework for the evaluation of the quality of clinical practice guidelines. It can also be useful in the design of new clinical practice guidelines as well as in the evaluation of the validity of guidelines to be updated or adapted. The AGREE instrument has become the reference for those that use guidelines, those that elaborate them, and for healthcare providers.

Multi-component assessment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: an evaluation of the ADO and DOSE indices and the global obstructive lung disease categories in international primary care data sets

PubMed Central

Jones, Rupert C; Price, David; Chavannes, Niels H; Lee, Amanda J; Hyland, Michael E; Ställberg, Björn; Lisspers, Karin; Sundh, Josefin; van der Molen, Thys; Tsiligianni, Ioanna

2016-01-01

Suitable tools for assessing the severity of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) include multi-component indices and the global initiative for chronic obstructive lung disease (GOLD) categories. The aim of this study was to evaluate the dyspnoea, obstruction, smoking, exacerbation (DOSE) and the age, dyspnoea, obstruction (ADO) indices and GOLD categories as measures of current health status and future outcomes in COPD patients. This was an observational cohort study comprising 5,114 primary care COPD patients across three databases from UK, Sweden and Holland. The associations of DOSE and ADO indices with (i) health status using the Clinical COPD Questionnaire (CCQ) and St George’s Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) and COPD Assessment test (CAT) and with (ii) current and future exacerbations, admissions and mortality were assessed in GOLD categories and DOSE and ADO indices. DOSE and ADO indices were significant predictors of future exacerbations: incident rate ratio was 1.52 (95% confidence intervals 1.46–1.57) for DOSE, 1.16 (1.12–1.20) for ADO index and 1.50 (1.33–1.68) and 1.23 (1.10–1.39), respectively, for hospitalisations. Negative binomial regression showed that the DOSE index was a better predictor of future admissions than were its component items. The hazard ratios for mortality were generally higher for ADO index groups than for DOSE index groups. The GOLD categories produced widely differing assessments for future exacerbation risk or for hospitalisation depending on the methods used to calculate them. None of the assessment systems were excellent at predicting future risk in COPD; the DOSE index appears better than the ADO index for predicting many outcomes, but not mortality. The GOLD categories predict future risk inconsistently. The DOSE index and the GOLD categories using exacerbation frequency may be used to identify those at high risk for exacerbations and admissions. PMID:27053297

Multi-component assessment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: an evaluation of the ADO and DOSE indices and the global obstructive lung disease categories in international primary care data sets.

PubMed

Jones, Rupert C; Price, David; Chavannes, Niels H; Lee, Amanda J; Hyland, Michael E; Ställberg, Björn; Lisspers, Karin; Sundh, Josefin; van der Molen, Thys; Tsiligianni, Ioanna

2016-04-07

Suitable tools for assessing the severity of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) include multi-component indices and the global initiative for chronic obstructive lung disease (GOLD) categories. The aim of this study was to evaluate the dyspnoea, obstruction, smoking, exacerbation (DOSE) and the age, dyspnoea, obstruction (ADO) indices and GOLD categories as measures of current health status and future outcomes in COPD patients. This was an observational cohort study comprising 5,114 primary care COPD patients across three databases from UK, Sweden and Holland. The associations of DOSE and ADO indices with (i) health status using the Clinical COPD Questionnaire (CCQ) and St George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) and COPD Assessment test (CAT) and with (ii) current and future exacerbations, admissions and mortality were assessed in GOLD categories and DOSE and ADO indices. DOSE and ADO indices were significant predictors of future exacerbations: incident rate ratio was 1.52 (95% confidence intervals 1.46-1.57) for DOSE, 1.16 (1.12-1.20) for ADO index and 1.50 (1.33-1.68) and 1.23 (1.10-1.39), respectively, for hospitalisations. Negative binomial regression showed that the DOSE index was a better predictor of future admissions than were its component items. The hazard ratios for mortality were generally higher for ADO index groups than for DOSE index groups. The GOLD categories produced widely differing assessments for future exacerbation risk or for hospitalisation depending on the methods used to calculate them. None of the assessment systems were excellent at predicting future risk in COPD; the DOSE index appears better than the ADO index for predicting many outcomes, but not mortality. The GOLD categories predict future risk inconsistently. The DOSE index and the GOLD categories using exacerbation frequency may be used to identify those at high risk for exacerbations and admissions.

Cutoffs and cardiovascular risk factors associated with neck circumference among community-dwelling elderly adults: a cross-sectional study.

PubMed

Coelho, Hélio José; Sampaio, Ricardo Aurélio Carvalho; Gonçalvez, Ivan de Oliveira; Aguiar, Samuel da Silva; Palmeira, Rafael; Oliveira, José Fernando de; Asano, Ricardo Yukio; Sampaio, Priscila Yukari Sewo; Uchida, Marco Carlos

2016-01-01

In elderly people, measurement of several anthropometric parameters may present complications. Although neck circumference measurements seem to avoid these issues, the cutoffs and cardiovascular risk factors associated with this parameter among elderly people remain unknown. This study was developed to identify the cutoff values and cardiovascular risk factors associated with neck circumference measurements among elderly people. Cross-sectional study conducted in two community centers for elderly people. 435 elderly adults (371 women and 64 men) were recruited. These volunteers underwent morphological evaluations (body mass index and waist, hip, and neck circumferences) and hemodynamic evaluations (blood pressure values and heart rate). Receiver operating characteristic curve analyses were used to determine the predictive validity of cutoff values for neck circumference, for identifying overweight/obesity. Multivariate analysis was used to identify cardiovascular risk factors associated with large neck circumference. Cutoff values for neck circumference (men = 40.5 cm and women = 35.7 cm), for detection of obese older adults according to body mass index, were identified. After a second analysis, large neck circumference was shown to be associated with elevated body mass index in men; and elevated body mass index, blood pressure values, prevalence of type 2 diabetes and hypertension in women. The data indicate that neck circumference can be used as a screening tool to identify overweight/obesity in older people. Moreover, large neck circumference values may be associated with cardiovascular risk factors.

Comprehensive drought characteristics analysis based on a nonlinear multivariate drought index

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Jie; Chang, Jianxia; Wang, Yimin; Li, Yunyun; Hu, Hui; Chen, Yutong; Huang, Qiang; Yao, Jun

2018-02-01

It is vital to identify drought events and to evaluate multivariate drought characteristics based on a composite drought index for better drought risk assessment and sustainable development of water resources. However, most composite drought indices are constructed by the linear combination, principal component analysis and entropy weight method assuming a linear relationship among different drought indices. In this study, the multidimensional copulas function was applied to construct a nonlinear multivariate drought index (NMDI) to solve the complicated and nonlinear relationship due to its dependence structure and flexibility. The NMDI was constructed by combining meteorological, hydrological, and agricultural variables (precipitation, runoff, and soil moisture) to better reflect the multivariate variables simultaneously. Based on the constructed NMDI and runs theory, drought events for a particular area regarding three drought characteristics: duration, peak, and severity were identified. Finally, multivariate drought risk was analyzed as a tool for providing reliable support in drought decision-making. The results indicate that: (1) multidimensional copulas can effectively solve the complicated and nonlinear relationship among multivariate variables; (2) compared with single and other composite drought indices, the NMDI is slightly more sensitive in capturing recorded drought events; and (3) drought risk shows a spatial variation; out of the five partitions studied, the Jing River Basin as well as the upstream and midstream of the Wei River Basin are characterized by a higher multivariate drought risk. In general, multidimensional copulas provides a reliable way to solve the nonlinear relationship when constructing a comprehensive drought index and evaluating multivariate drought characteristics.

The Healthy Beverage Index Is Associated with Reduced Cardiometabolic Risk in US Adults: A Preliminary Analysis.

PubMed

Duffey, Kiyah J; Davy, Brenda M

2015-10-01

Beverage recommendations exist, but few evaluate overall beverage intake quality. Our objective was to develop a scoring algorithm for assessing beverage intake quality among US adults (aged ≥19 years), and to examine the association between overall beverage quality and cardiometabolic risk. We developed a scoring algorithm, similar to the Healthy Eating Index-2010, using recommendations for total beverage energy, meeting fluid requirements, and consuming within recommended limits for beverage subgroups (eg, low-fat milk, fruit juice). Multiple scoring systems were evaluated. The final scoring system, which consisted of 10 components, was applied to the average of 2 days of 24-hour dietary intake data for adults (aged ≥19 years) from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), 2005-2010. Poisson regression models stratified by sex and body mass index multivariables were used to examine the cross-sectional association between the Healthy Beverage Index (HBI) score and cardiometabolic outcomes. The 10-item index had a mean±standard deviation score of 63±16 from a possible 100 points. Each 10-point higher HBI score was associated with lower odds ratios for hypertension (men and women); high fasting insulin level, high fasting glucose level, and high low-density lipoprotein cholesterol level (women and overweight/obese men), low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level (women), and high C-reactive protein level (men). We found positive associations between higher HBI scores and more favorable lipid profiles; hypertension risk; and, among men, C-reactive protein levels. These preliminary results suggest that the HBI could be a valuable tool to evaluate overall beverage intake quality in adults. More research is needed to understand whether improvements in beverage quality and, thus, HBI score, are associated with beneficial changes in health. Copyright © 2015 Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Challenges for implementing water quality monitoring and analysis on a small Costa Rican catchment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Golcher, Christian; Cernesson, Flavie; Tournoud, Marie-George; Bonin, Muriel; Suarez, Andrea

2016-04-01

The Costa Rican water regulatory framework (WRF) (2007), expresses the national concern about the degradation of surface water quality observed in the country since several years. Given the urgency of preserving and restoring the surface water bodies, and facing the need of defining a monitoring tool to classify surface water pollution, the Costa-Rican WRF relies on two water quality indexes: the so-called "Dutch Index" (D.I) and the Biological Monitoring Working Party adapted to Costa Rica (BMWP'CR), allowing an "easy" physicochemical and biological appraisal of the water quality and the ecological integrity of water bodies. Herein, we intend to evaluate whether the compound of water quality indexes imposed by Costa Rican legislation, is suitable to assess rivers local and global anthropogenic pressure and environmental conditions. We monitor water quality for 7 points of Liberia River (northern pacific region - Costa Rica) from March 2013 to July 2015. Anthropogenic pressures are characterized by catchment land use and riparian conditions. Environmental conditions are built from rainfall daily series. Our results show (i) the difficulties to monitor new sites following the recent implementation of the WRF; (ii) the statistical characteristics of each index; and (iii) a modelling tentative of relationships between water quality indexes and explanatory factors (land-use, riparian characteristics and climate conditions).

Body mass index and body composition scaling to height in children and adolescent.

PubMed

Chung, Sochung

2015-09-01

Childhood obesity prevalence has been increased and known to be related to various diseases and mortality in adult and body mass index (BMI) has been widely used as a screening tool in children with obesity. It is important to understand what BMI is and its limitations. BMI is a measure of weight adjusted for height. Weight scales to height with a power of about 2, is the basis of BMI (weight/height(2)) as the scaling of body weight to height across adults provides powers rounded to 2. BMI has the advantage of a simple and noninvasive surrogate measure of body fat, but it has limitation in differentiating body fat from lean (fat free) mass and low-moderate sensitivity is problematic for clinical applications. Among overweight children higher BMI levels can be a result of increased either fat or fat-free mass. BMI could be divided into fat-free mass index and fat mass index. Monitoring of the changes in body composition is important as distinguishing changes in each component occur with rapid growth in adolescents as it is occur in concert with changes in the hormonal environment. Reference values for each body composition indexes and chart created with selected percentiles of a normal adolescent population could be helpful in growth assessment and health risk evaluation.

Predictive validity of the identification of seniors at risk screening tool in a German emergency department setting.

PubMed

Singler, Katrin; Heppner, Hans Jürgen; Skutetzky, Andreas; Sieber, Cornel; Christ, Michael; Thiem, Ulrich

2014-01-01

The identification of patients at high risk for adverse outcomes [death, unplanned readmission to emergency department (ED)/hospital, functional decline] plays an important role in emergency medicine. The Identification of Seniors at Risk (ISAR) instrument is one of the most commonly used and best-validated screening tools. As to the authors' knowledge so far there are no data on any screening tool for the identification of older patients at risk for a negative outcome in Germany. To evaluate the validity of the ISAR screening tool in a German ED. This was a prospective single-center observational cohort study in an ED of an urban university-affiliated hospital. Participants were 520 patients aged ≥75 years consecutively admitted to the ED. The German version of the ISAR screening tool was administered directly after triage of the patients. Follow-up telephone interviews to assess outcome variables were conducted 28 and 180 days after the index visit in the ED. The primary end point was death from any cause or hospitalization or recurrent ED visit or change of residency into a long-term care facility on day 28 after the index ED visit. The mean age ± SD was 82.8 ± 5.0 years. According to ISAR, 425 patients (81.7%) scored ≥2 points, and 315 patients (60.5%) scored ≥3 points. The combined primary end point was observed in 250 of 520 patients (48.1%) on day 28 and in 260 patients (50.0%) on day 180. Using a continuous ISAR score the area under the curve on day 28 was 0.621 (95% confidence interval, CI 0.573-0.669) and 0.661 (95% CI 0.615-0.708) on day 180, respectively. The German version of the ISAR screening tool acceptably identified elderly patients in the ED with an increased risk of a negative outcome. Using the cutoff ≥3 points instead of ≥2 points yielded better overall results.

What are the most effective methods for assessment of nutritional status in outpatients with gastric and colorectal cancer?

PubMed

Abe Vicente, Mariana; Barão, Katia; Silva, Tiago Donizetti; Forones, Nora Manoukian

2013-01-01

To evaluate methods for the identification of nutrition risk and nutritional status in outpatients with colorectal (CRC) and gastric cancer (GC), and to compare the results to those obtained for patients already treated for these cancers. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 137 patients: group 1 (n = 75) consisting of patients with GC or CRC, and group 2 (n = 62) consisting of patients after treatment of GC or CRC under follow up, who were tumor free for a period longer than 3 months. Nutritional status was assessed in these patients using objective methods [body mass index (BMI), phase angle, serum albumin]; nutritional screening tools [Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST), Malnutrition Screening Tool (MST), Nutritional Risk Index (NRI)], and subjective assessment [Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment (PGSGA)]. The sensitivity and specificity of each method was calculated in relation to the PG-SGA used as gold standard. One hundred thirty seven patients participated in the study. Stage IV cancer patients were more common in group 1. There was no difference in BMI between groups (p = 0.67). Analysis of the association between methods of assessing nutritional status and PG-SGA showed that the nutritional screening tools provided more significant results (p < 0.05) than the objective methods in the two groups. PG-SGA detected the highest proportion of undernourished patients in group 1. The nutritional screening tools MUST, NRI and MST were more sensitive than the objective methods. Phase angle measurement was the most sensitive objective method in group 1. The nutritional screening tools showed the best association with PG-SGA and were also more sensitive than the objective methods. The results suggest the combination of MUST and PG-SGA for patients with cancer before and after treatment. Copyright © AULA MEDICA EDICIONES 2013. Published by AULA MEDICA. All rights reserved.

New assessment tools that measure sleep vital signs: the SleepMed Insomnia Index and the Sleep Matrix

PubMed Central

Bogan, Richard K; Turner, Jo Anne

2007-01-01

Insomnia is the leading sleep disorder in the US; however, diagnosis is often problematic. This pilot study assessed the clinical value of a novel diagnostic insomnia questionnaire. The SleepMed Insomnia Index (SMI) was administered to 543 consecutive patients and 50 normal control subjects during a pilot study. Mean SMI scores were assessed based on subsequent sleep-related diagnoses. The SMI scores for patients with sleep-related disorders were significantly higher than those for the control group (p < 0.001) and highest for the 90 patients comprising the insomnia group. Analysis of the SMI scores from the 90 insomnia patients indicates a high degree of reliability (Cronbach’s alpha: 0.7). These data support our clinical experience with this diagnostic tool which indicates a strong likelihood of disrupted nighttime sleep in patients with high SMI scores. Following further validation, the SMI may prove to be a valuable tool for evaluating sleep disorders, specifically as an aid in the diagnosis of insomnia. The Sleep Matrix is a visual tool that quantifies a sleep complaint by combining scores from the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) and the SMI. The SMI measures an insomnia component while the ESS is an accepted measure of daytime sleepiness. The Sleep Matrix visually displays the complexity of the sleep complaint in an effort to differentiate insomnia with differing etiologies from other sleep disorders and measure treatment outcomes. To pilot test the Sleep Matrix, the tool was administered to 90 patients with insomnia and to 22 normal controls. Plots from the insomnia patients were concentrated into the “insomnia zone” while scores from the normal controls were located in the “normal zone” located in the lower left quadrant. Additional research using the Sleep Matrix could provide data that the tool could be utilized to visually aid the clinician in the diagnosis of unknown sleep complaints. PMID:19300579

Evaluation of Evidence-based Nursing Pain Management Practice.

PubMed

Song, Wenjia; Eaton, Linda H; Gordon, Debra B; Hoyle, Christine; Doorenbos, Ardith Z

2015-08-01

It is important to ensure that cancer pain management is based on the best evidence. Nursing evidence-based pain management can be examined through an evaluation of pain documentation. The aim of this study was to modify and test an evaluation tool for nursing cancer pain documentation, and describe the frequency and quality of nursing pain documentation in one oncology unit via the electronic medical system. A descriptive cross-sectional design was used for this study at an oncology unit of an academic medical center in the Pacific Northwest. Medical records were examined for 37 adults hospitalized during April and May 2013. Nursing pain documentations (N = 230) were reviewed using an evaluation tool modified from the Cancer Pain Practice Index to consist of 13 evidence-based pain management indicators, including pain assessment, care plan, pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic interventions, monitoring and treatment of analgesic side effects, communication with physicians, and patient education. Individual nursing documentation was assigned a score ranging from 0 (worst possible) to 13 (best possible), to reflect the delivery of evidence-based pain management. The participating nurses documented 90% of the recommended evidence-based pain management indicators. Documentation was suboptimal for pain reassessment, pharmacologic interventions, and bowel regimen. The study results provide implications for enhancing electronic medical record design and highlight a need for future research to understand the reasons for suboptimal nursing documentation of cancer pain management. For the future use of the data evaluation tool, we recommend additional modifications according to study settings. Copyright © 2015 American Society for Pain Management Nursing. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Dose gradient curve: A new tool for evaluating dose gradient.

PubMed

Sung, KiHoon; Choi, Young Eun

2018-01-01

Stereotactic radiotherapy, which delivers an ablative high radiation dose to a target volume for maximum local tumor control, requires a rapid dose fall-off outside the target volume to prevent extensive damage to nearby normal tissue. Currently, there is no tool to comprehensively evaluate the dose gradient near the target volume. We propose the dose gradient curve (DGC) as a new tool to evaluate the quality of a treatment plan with respect to the dose fall-off characteristics. The average distance between two isodose surfaces was represented by the dose gradient index (DGI) estimated by a simple equation using the volume and surface area of isodose levels. The surface area was calculated by mesh generation and surface triangulation. The DGC was defined as a plot of the DGI of each dose interval as a function of the dose. Two types of DGCs, differential and cumulative, were generated. The performance of the DGC was evaluated using stereotactic radiosurgery plans for virtual targets. Over the range of dose distributions, the dose gradient of each dose interval was well-characterized by the DGC in an easily understandable graph format. Significant changes in the DGC were observed reflecting the differences in planning situations and various prescription doses. The DGC is a rational method for visualizing the dose gradient as the average distance between two isodose surfaces; the shorter the distance, the steeper the dose gradient. By combining the DGC with the dose-volume histogram (DVH) in a single plot, the DGC can be utilized to evaluate not only the dose gradient but also the target coverage in routine clinical practice.

Development and validation of a macroinvertebrate index of biotic integrity (IBI) for assessing urban impacts to Northern California freshwater wetlands.

PubMed

Lunde, Kevin B; Resh, Vincent H

2012-06-01

Despite California policies requiring assessment of ambient wetland condition and compensatory wetland mitigations, no intensive monitoring tools have been developed to evaluate freshwater wetlands within the state. Therefore, we developed standardized, wadeable field methods to sample macroinvertebrate communities and evaluated 40 wetlands across Northern California to develop a macroinvertebrate index of biotic integrity (IBI). A priori reference sites were selected with minimal urban impacts, representing a best-attainable condition. We screened 56 macroinvertebrate metrics for inclusion in the IBI based on responsiveness to percent urbanization. Eight final metrics were selected for inclusion in the IBI: percent three dominant taxa; scraper richness; percent Ephemeroptera, Odonata, and Trichoptera (EOT); EOT richness; percent Tanypodinae/Chironomidae; Oligochaeta richness; percent Coleoptera; and predator richness. The IBI (potential range 0-100) demonstrated significant discriminatory power between the reference (mean = 69) and impacted wetlands (mean = 28). It also declined with increasing percent urbanization (R (2) = 0.53, p < 0.005) among wetlands in an independent validation dataset (n = 14). The IBI was robust in showing no significant bias with environmental gradients. This IBI is a functional tool to determine the ecological condition at urban (stormwater and flood control ponds), as well as rural freshwater wetlands (stockponds, seasonal wetlands, and natural ponds). Biological differences between perennial and non-perennial wetlands suggest that developing separate indicators for these wetland types may improve applicability, although the existing data set was not sufficient for exploring this option.

Diagnosis and treatment of shock due to massive pulmonary embolism: approach with transesophageal echocardiography and intrapulmonary thrombolysis.

PubMed

Krivec, B; Voga, G; Zuran, I; Skale, R; Pareznik, R; Podbregar, M; Noc, M

1997-11-05

To evaluate the diagnostic value of transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) as an initial diagnostic tool in shocked patients. The second objective was to study therapeutic impact of intrapulmonary thrombolysis in patients with diagnosed massive pulmonary embolism. Prospective observational study. Medical ICU in 800-bed general hospital. Twenty-four consecutive patients with unexplained shock and distended jugular veins. In 18 patients, right ventricular dilatation with global or segmental hypokinesis was documented. In addition, central pulmonary thromboemboli (12 patients), reduced contrast flow in right pulmonary artery (one patient), and right ventricular free wall akinesis (one patient) were found. No additional echocardiographic findings were apparent in four patients. According to pulmonary scintigraphy or autopsy, sensitivity of TEE for diagnosis of massive pulmonary embolism (MPE) in patients with right ventricular dilatation was 92% and specificity was 100%. In patients without right ventricular dilatation, left ventricular dysfunction (four patients) or cardiac tamponade (two patients) was confirmed. Intrapulmonary thrombolysis was evaluated in 11 of 13 patients with MPE. Two patients died prior to attempted thrombolysis. Three patients received streptokinase and eight received urokinase. Twenty-four hours after beginning of treatment, total pulmonary resistance index significantly decreased for 59% and mean pulmonary artery pressure for 31%. Cardiac index increased for 74%. Nine of 11 patients receiving thrombolysis survived to hospital discharge. Bedside TEE is a valuable tool for diagnosis of MPE. It enables immediate intrapulmonary thrombolysis, which seems to be an effective therapeutic alternative in our group of patients with obstructive shock.

Estimating vegetation dryness to optimize fire risk assessment with spot vegetation satellite data in savanna ecosystems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Verbesselt, J.; Somers, B.; Lhermitte, S.; van Aardt, J.; Jonckheere, I.; Coppin, P.

2005-10-01

The lack of information on vegetation dryness prior to the use of fire as a management tool often leads to a significant deterioration of the savanna ecosystem. This paper therefore evaluated the capacity of SPOT VEGETATION time-series to monitor the vegetation dryness (i.e., vegetation moisture content per vegetation amount) in order to optimize fire risk assessment in the savanna ecosystem of Kruger National Park in South Africa. The integrated Relative Vegetation Index approach (iRVI) to quantify the amount of herbaceous biomass at the end of the rain season and the Accumulated Relative Normalized Difference vegetation index decrement (ARND) related to vegetation moisture content were selected. The iRVI and ARND related to vegetation amount and moisture content, respectively, were combined in order to monitor vegetation dryness and optimize fire risk assessment in the savanna ecosystems. In situ fire activity data was used to evaluate the significance of the iRVI and ARND to monitor vegetation dryness for fire risk assessment. Results from the binary logistic regression analysis confirmed that the assessment of fire risk was optimized by integration of both the vegetation quantity (iRVI) and vegetation moisture content (ARND) as statistically significant explanatory variables. Consequently, the integrated use of both iRVI and ARND to monitor vegetation dryness provides a more suitable tool for fire management and suppression compared to other traditional satellite-based fire risk assessment methods, only related to vegetation moisture content.

Strain sonoelastographic evaluation of biceps muscle intrinsic stiffness after botulinum toxin-A injection.

PubMed

Aşkın, Ayhan; Kalaycı, Özlem Tuğçe; Bayram, Korhan Barış; Tosun, Aliye; Demirdal, Ümit Seçil; Atar, Emel; İnci, Mehmet Fatih

2017-01-01

The most commonly used clinical tools for measuring spasticity are modified Ashworth scale (MAS) and Tardieu scale but both yield subjective rather than objective results. Ultrasound elastography (EUS) provides information on tissue stiffness and allows the qualitative or quantitative measurements of the mechanical properties of tissues. To assess the stiffness of biceps brachialis muscles in stroke patients by strain EUS and to investigate the sonoelastographic changes and its correlations with clinical evaluation parameters after botulinum toxin-A (BTA) injections. This is a prospective study. A total of 48 chronic stroke patients requiring BTA injections to biceps brachialis muscles were included in the study. All patients received injections with BTA to biceps brachialis muscles under ultrasound guidance. MAS, goniometric measurements, and strain EUS assessments were performed at preintervention and at 4-week postintervention. Strain index values of biceps muscle on the affected side were significantly increased compared with those on the unaffected side (p < 0.01). At 4 weeks after BTA injection, significant improvements were observed in MAS grades and goniometric measurements (p < 0.05). Statistically significant differences were also found between the MAS grades and strain index values in both pre-/postintervention period (p < 0.01). No significant correlations were observed between clinical parameters and strain EUS findings. Strain EUS is a promising diagnostic tool for assessing stiffness in spastic muscles, in establishing the treatment plan and monitoring the effectiveness of the therapeutic modality.

Middle-aged women's decisions about body weight management: needs assessment and testing of a knowledge translation tool.

PubMed

Stacey, Dawn; Jull, Janet; Beach, Sarah; Dumas, Alex; Strychar, Irene; Adamo, Kristi; Brochu, Martin; Prud'homme, Denis

2015-04-01

This study aims to assess middle-aged women's needs when making body weight management decisions and to evaluate a knowledge translation tool for addressing their needs. A mixed-methods study used an interview-guided theory-based survey of professional women aged 40 to 65 years. The tool summarized evidence to address their needs and enabled women to monitor actions taken. Acceptability and usability were reported descriptively. Sixty female participants had a mean body mass index of 28.0 kg/m(2) (range, 17.0-44.9 kg/m(2)), and half were premenopausal. Common options for losing (82%) or maintaining (18%) weight included increasing physical activity (60%), eating healthier (57%), and getting support (40%). Decision-making involved getting information on options (52%), soliciting others' decisions/advice (20%), and being self-motivated (20%). Preferred information sources included written information (97%), counseling (90%), and social networking websites (43%). Five professionals (dietitian, personal trainer, occupational therapist, and two physicians) had similar responses. Of 53 women sent the tool, 27 provided acceptability feedback. They rated it as good to excellent for information on menopause (96%), body weight changes (85%), and managing body weight (85%). Most would tell others about it (81%). After 4 weeks of use, 25 women reported that the wording made sense (96%) and that the tool had clear instructions (92%) and was easy to use across time (88%). The amount of information was rated as just right (64%), but the tool had limited space for responding (72%). When making decisions about body weight management, women's needs were "getting information" and "getting support." The knowledge translation tool was acceptable and usable, but further evaluation is required.

Middle-aged women’s decisions about body weight management: needs assessment and testing of a knowledge translation tool

PubMed Central

Stacey, Dawn; Jull, Janet; Beach, Sarah; Dumas, Alex; Strychar, Irene; Adamo, Kristi; Brochu, Martin; Prud’homme, Denis

2015-01-01

Abstract Objective This study aims to assess middle-aged women’s needs when making body weight management decisions and to evaluate a knowledge translation tool for addressing their needs. Methods A mixed-methods study used an interview-guided theory-based survey of professional women aged 40 to 65 years. The tool summarized evidence to address their needs and enabled women to monitor actions taken. Acceptability and usability were reported descriptively. Results Sixty female participants had a mean body mass index of 28.0 kg/m2 (range, 17.0-44.9 kg/m2), and half were premenopausal. Common options for losing (82%) or maintaining (18%) weight included increasing physical activity (60%), eating healthier (57%), and getting support (40%). Decision-making involved getting information on options (52%), soliciting others’ decisions/advice (20%), and being self-motivated (20%). Preferred information sources included written information (97%), counseling (90%), and social networking websites (43%). Five professionals (dietitian, personal trainer, occupational therapist, and two physicians) had similar responses. Of 53 women sent the tool, 27 provided acceptability feedback. They rated it as good to excellent for information on menopause (96%), body weight changes (85%), and managing body weight (85%). Most would tell others about it (81%). After 4 weeks of use, 25 women reported that the wording made sense (96%) and that the tool had clear instructions (92%) and was easy to use across time (88%). The amount of information was rated as just right (64%), but the tool had limited space for responding (72%). Conclusions When making decisions about body weight management, women’s needs were “getting information” and “getting support.” The knowledge translation tool was acceptable and usable, but further evaluation is required. PMID:25816120

Estimation and Comparison of Salivary Calcium, Phosphorous, Alkaline Phosphatase and pH Levels in Periodontal Health and Disease: A Cross-sectional Biochemical Study.

PubMed

Patel, Rufi Murad; Varma, Siddhartha; Suragimath, Girish; Zope, Sameer

2016-07-01

In oral diagnostics there is a great challenge to determine biomarkers for screening and evaluating the disease activity. Biomarkers can also serve as a useful tool to measure the efficacy of the therapy. To evaluate and compare the levels of salivary calcium, phosphorous, alkaline phosphatase and pH levels in periodontally healthy subjects and patients with gingivitis and periodontitis. The present study consisted of 150 subjects aged between 20-45 years who were divided into three groups; periodontally healthy, gingivitis and chronic periodontitis. Prior to the clinical examination the demographic details, relevant information of the subject, gingival index, plaque index, Oral Hygiene Index (OHI) and pH were recorded. Biochemical assay of saliva i.e., inorganic calcium, phosphorous and alkaline phosphatase were estimated by colorimetric method. ANOVA and Tukey's test were applied for statistical analysis. The mean levels of biomarkers studied were; inorganic calcium (12.55μg/dl), phosphorous (14.50μg/dl), alkaline phosphatase (49.62μg/dl) and pH (11.65). There was a gradual increase in these levels as the condition progressed from health to gingivitis or periodontitis which was statistically significant at p<0.001. Based on these results, it can be concluded that, the biomarkers like salivary calcium, phosphorous, alkaline phosphatase and pH can be considered for evaluating the diagnosis and prognosis of periodontal tissues in disease and health.

Suitability of different comfort indices for the prediction of thermal conditions in tree-covered outdoor spaces in arid cities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ruiz, María Angélica; Correa, Erica Norma

2015-10-01

Outdoor thermal comfort is one of the most influential factors in the habitability of a space. Thermal level is defined not only by climate variables but also by the adaptation of people to the environment. This study presents a comparison between inductive and deductive thermal comfort models, contrasted with subjective reports, in order to identify which of the models can be used to most correctly predict thermal comfort in tree-covered outdoor spaces of the Mendoza Metropolitan Area, an intensely forested and open city located in an arid zone. Interviews and microclimatic measurements were carried out in winter 2010 and in summer 2011. Six widely used indices were selected according to different levels of complexity: the Temperature-Humidity Index (THI), Vinje's Comfort Index (PE), Thermal Sensation Index (TS), the Predicted Mean Vote (PMV), the COMFA model's energy balance (S), and the Physiological Equivalent Temperature (PET). The results show that the predictive models evaluated show percentages of predictive ability lower than 25 %. Despite this low indicator, inductive methods are adequate for obtaining a diagnosis of the degree and frequency in which a space is comfortable or not whereas deductive methods are recommended to influence urban design strategies. In addition, it is necessary to develop local models to evaluate perceived thermal comfort more adequately. This type of tool is very useful in the design and evaluation of the thermal conditions in outdoor spaces, based not only to climatic criteria but also subjective sensations.

Comprehensive evaluation index system of total supply capability in distribution network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Linyao; Wu, Guilian; Yang, Jingyuan; Jia, Shuangrui; Zhang, Wei; Sun, Weiqing

2018-01-01

Aiming at the lack of a comprehensive evaluation of the distribution network, based on the existing distribution network evaluation index system, combined with the basic principles of constructing the evaluation index, put forward a new evaluation index system of distribution network capacity. This paper is mainly based on the total supply capability of the distribution network, combining single index and various factors, into a multi-evaluation index of the distribution network, thus forming a reasonable index system, and various indicators of rational quantification make the evaluation results more intuitive. In order to have a comprehensive judgment of distribution network, this paper uses weights to analyse the importance of each index, verify the rationality of the index system through the example, it is proved that the rationality of the index system, so as to guide the direction of distribution network planning.

Nutritional evaluation of patients receiving dialysis for the management of protein-energy wasting: what is old and what is new?

PubMed

Riella, Miguel C

2013-05-01

Advances in the nutritional support of hospitalized patients in the early 1970s led to the recognition that tools were needed to evaluate the nutritional status of patients. The observation that malnutrition in patients receiving dialysis was associated with increased morbidity and mortality prompted many expert groups to develop nutritional scoring systems to be applied in these patients. Given the diverse and confusing terminologies that emerged from these publications, the International Society of Renal Nutritional and Metabolism convened an expert panel to recommend a new nomenclature and preferred methods to evaluate the nutritional status of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). The new and inclusive term protein-energy wasting (PEW) refers to a systematically defined condition based on certain criteria and reflects malnutrition and wasting caused not only by inadequate nutrient intake but also by depletion resulting from the inflammatory and noninflammatory conditions that prevail in this population. Serial assessment of nutritional status for detection and management of PEW is recommended using old and new scoring tools, including the Subjective Global Assessment (SGA), malnutrition inflammation score (MIS), Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index (GNRI), and PEW definition criteria. These tools, which are reliable methods and predictors of outcomes, are reviewed in this article. Copyright © 2013 National Kidney Foundation, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A new generation of tools for search, recovery and quality evaluation of World Wide Web medical resources.

PubMed

Aguillo, I

2000-01-01

Although the Internet is already a valuable information resource in medicine, there are important challenges to be faced before physicians and general users will have extensive access to this information. As a result of a research effort to compile a health-related Internet directory, new tools and strategies have been developed to solve key problems derived from the explosive growth of medical information on the Net and the great concern over the quality of such critical information. The current Internet search engines lack some important capabilities. We suggest using second generation tools (client-side based) able to deal with large quantities of data and to increase the usability of the records recovered. We tested the capabilities of these programs to solve health-related information problems, recognising six groups according to the kind of topics addressed: Z39.50 clients, downloaders, multisearchers, tracing agents, indexers and mappers. The evaluation of the quality of health information available on the Internet could require a large amount of human effort. A possible solution may be to use quantitative indicators based on the hypertext visibility of the Web sites. The cybermetric measures are valid for quality evaluation if they are derived from indirect peer review by experts with Web pages citing the site. The hypertext links acting as citations need to be extracted from a controlled sample of quality super-sites.

Comparison of Voice Handicap Index Scores Between Female Students of Speech Therapy and Other Health Professions.

PubMed

Tafiadis, Dionysios; Chronopoulos, Spyridon K; Siafaka, Vassiliki; Drosos, Konstantinos; Kosma, Evangelia I; Toki, Eugenia I; Ziavra, Nausica

2017-09-01

Students' groups (eg, teachers, speech language pathologists) are presumably at risk of developing a voice disorder due to misuse of their voice, which will affect their way of living. Multidisciplinary voice assessment of student populations is currently spread widely along with the use of self-reported questionnaires. This study compared the Voice Handicap Index domains and item scores between female students of speech and language therapy and of other health professions in Greece. We also examined the probability of speech language therapy students developing any vocal symptom. Two hundred female non-dysphonic students (aged 18-31) were recruited. Participants answered the Voice Evaluation Form and the Greek adaptation of the Voice Handicap Index. Significant differences were observed between the two groups (students of speech therapy and other health professions) through Voice Handicap Index (total score, functional and physical domains), excluding the emotional domain. Furthermore, significant differences for specific Voice Handicap Index items, between subgroups, were observed. In conclusion, speech language therapy students had higher Voice Handicap Index scores, which probably could be an indicator for avoiding profession-related dysphonia at a later stage. Also, Voice Handicap Index could be at a first glance an assessment tool for the recognition of potential voice disorder development in students. In turn, the results could be used for indirect therapy approaches, such as providing methods for maintaining vocal health in different student populations. Copyright © 2017 The Voice Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A new casemix adjustment index for hospital mortality among patients with congestive heart failure.

PubMed

Polanczyk, C A; Rohde, L E; Philbin, E A; Di Salvo, T G

1998-10-01

Comparative analysis of hospital outcomes requires reliable adjustment for casemix. Although congestive heart failure is one of the most common indications for hospitalization, congestive heart failure casemix adjustment has not been widely studied. The purposes of this study were (1) to describe and validate a new congestive heart failure-specific casemix adjustment index to predict in-hospital mortality and (2) to compare its performance to the Charlson comorbidity index. Data from all 4,608 admissions to the Massachusetts General Hospital from January 1990 to July 1996 with a principal ICD-9-CM discharge diagnosis of congestive heart failure were evaluated. Massachusetts General Hospital patients were randomly divided in a derivation and a validation set. By logistic regression, odds ratios for in-hospital death were computed and weights were assigned to construct a new predictive index in the derivation set. The performance of the index was tested in an internal Massachusetts General Hospital validation set and in a non-Massachusetts General Hospital external validation set incorporating data from all 1995 New York state hospital discharges with a primary discharge diagnosis of congestive heart failure. Overall in-hospital mortality was 6.4%. Based on the new index, patients were assigned to six categories with incrementally increasing hospital mortality rates ranging from 0.5% to 31%. By logistic regression, "c" statistics of the congestive heart failure-specific index (0.83 and 0.78, derivation and validation set) were significantly superior to the Charlson index (0.66). Similar incrementally increasing hospital mortality rates were observed in the New York database with the congestive heart failure-specific index ("c" statistics 0.75). In an administrative database, this congestive heart failure-specific index may be a more adequate casemix adjustment tool to predict hospital mortality in patients hospitalized for congestive heart failure.

Derivative based sensitivity analysis of gamma index

PubMed Central

Sarkar, Biplab; Pradhan, Anirudh; Ganesh, T.

2015-01-01

Originally developed as a tool for patient-specific quality assurance in advanced treatment delivery methods to compare between measured and calculated dose distributions, the gamma index (γ) concept was later extended to compare between any two dose distributions. It takes into effect both the dose difference (DD) and distance-to-agreement (DTA) measurements in the comparison. Its strength lies in its capability to give a quantitative value for the analysis, unlike other methods. For every point on the reference curve, if there is at least one point in the evaluated curve that satisfies the pass criteria (e.g., δDD = 1%, δDTA = 1 mm), the point is included in the quantitative score as “pass.” Gamma analysis does not account for the gradient of the evaluated curve - it looks at only the minimum gamma value, and if it is <1, then the point passes, no matter what the gradient of evaluated curve is. In this work, an attempt has been made to present a derivative-based method for the identification of dose gradient. A mathematically derived reference profile (RP) representing the penumbral region of 6 MV 10 cm × 10 cm field was generated from an error function. A general test profile (GTP) was created from this RP by introducing 1 mm distance error and 1% dose error at each point. This was considered as the first of the two evaluated curves. By its nature, this curve is a smooth curve and would satisfy the pass criteria for all points in it. The second evaluated profile was generated as a sawtooth test profile (STTP) which again would satisfy the pass criteria for every point on the RP. However, being a sawtooth curve, it is not a smooth one and would be obviously poor when compared with the smooth profile. Considering the smooth GTP as an acceptable profile when it passed the gamma pass criteria (1% DD and 1 mm DTA) against the RP, the first and second order derivatives of the DDs (δD’, δD”) between these two curves were derived and used as the boundary values for evaluating the STTP against the RP. Even though the STTP passed the simple gamma pass criteria, it was found failing at many locations when the derivatives were used as the boundary values. The proposed derivative-based method can identify a noisy curve and can prove to be a useful tool for improving the sensitivity of the gamma index. PMID:26865761

Search Engines for Tomorrow's Scholars

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fagan, Jody Condit

2011-01-01

Today's scholars face an outstanding array of choices when choosing search tools: Google Scholar, discipline-specific abstracts and index databases, library discovery tools, and more recently, Microsoft's re-launch of their academic search tool, now dubbed Microsoft Academic Search. What are these tools' strengths for the emerging needs of…

Using perinatal morbidity scoring tools as a primary study outcome.

PubMed

Hutcheon, Jennifer A; Bodnar, Lisa M; Platt, Robert W

2017-11-01

Perinatal morbidity scores are tools that score or weight different adverse events according to their relative severity. Perinatal morbidity scores are appealing for maternal-infant health researchers because they provide a way to capture a broad range of adverse events to mother and newborn while recognising that some events are considered more serious than others. However, they have proved difficult to implement as a primary outcome in applied research studies because of challenges in testing if the scores are significantly different between two or more study groups. We outline these challenges and describe a solution, based on Poisson regression, that allows differences in perinatal morbidity scores to be formally evaluated. The approach is illustrated using an existing maternal-neonatal scoring tool, the Adverse Outcome Index, to evaluate the safety of labour and delivery before and after the closure of obstetrical services in small rural communities. Applying the proposed Poisson regression to the case study showed a protective risk ratio for adverse outcome following closures as compared with the original analysis, where no difference was found. This approach opens the door for considerably broader use of perinatal morbidity scoring tools as a primary outcome in applied population and clinical maternal-infant health research studies. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Conceptual frameworks in astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pundak, David

2016-06-01

How to evaluate students' astronomy understanding is still an open question. Even though some methods and tools to help students have already been developed, the sources of students' difficulties and misunderstanding in astronomy is still unclear. This paper presents an investigation of the development of conceptual systems in astronomy by 50 engineering students, as a result of learning a general course on astronomy. A special tool called Conceptual Frameworks in Astronomy (CFA) that was initially used in 1989, was adapted to gather data for the present research. In its new version, the tool included 23 questions, and five to six optional answers were given for each question. Each of the answers was characterized by one of the four conceptual astronomical frameworks: pre-scientific, geocentric, heliocentric and sidereal or scientific. The paper describes the development of the tool and discusses its validity and reliability. Using the CFA we were able to identify the conceptual frameworks of the students at the beginning of the course and at its end. CFA enabled us to evaluate the paradigmatic change of students following the course and also the extent of the general improvement in astronomical knowledge. It was found that the measure of the students’ improvement (gain index) was g = 0.37. Approximately 45% of the students in the course improved their understanding of conceptual frameworks in astronomy and 26% deepened their understanding of the heliocentric or sidereal conceptual frameworks.

ecological geological maps: GIS-based evaluation of the Geo-Ecological Quality Index (GEQUI) in Sicily (Central Mediterranean)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nigro, Fabrizio; Arisco, Giuseppe; Perricone, Marcella; Renda, Pietro; Favara, Rocco

2010-05-01

The condition of landscapes and the ecological communities within them is strongly related to levels of human activity. As a consequence, determining status and trends in the pattern of human-dominated landscapes can be useful for understanding the overall conditions of geo-ecological resources. Ecological geological maps are recent tools providing useful informations about a-biotic and biotic features worldwide. These maps represents a new generation of geological maps and depict the lithospheric components conditions on surface, where ecological dynamics (functions and properties) and human activities develop. Thus, these maps are too a fundamental political tool to plan the human activities management in relationship to the territorial/environmental patterns of a date region. Different types of ecological geological maps can be develop regarding the: conditions (situations), zoning, prognosis and recommendations. The ecological geological conditions maps reflects the complex of parameters or individual characteristics of lithosphere, which characterized the opportunity of the influence of lithosphere components on the biota (man, fauna, flora, and ecosystem). The ecological geological zoning maps are foundamental basis for prognosis estimation and nature defenses measures. Estimation from the position of comfort and safety of human life and function of ecosystem is given on these maps. The ecological geological prognosis maps reflect the spatial-temporary prognoses of ecological geological conditions changing during the natural dynamic of natural surrounding and the main-during the economic mastering of territory and natural technical systems. Finally, the ecological geological recommendation maps are based on the ecological geological and social-economical informations, aiming the regulation of territory by the regulation of economic activities and the defense of bio- and socio-sphere extents. Each of these maps may also be computed or in analytic or in synthetic way. The first, characterized or estimated, prognosticated one or several indexes of geological ecological conditions. In the second type of maps, the whole complex is reflected, which defined the modern or prognosticable ecological geological situation. Regarding the ecological geological zoning maps, the contemporary state of ecological geological conditions may be evaluated by a range of parameters into classes of conditions and, on the basis of these informations, the estimation from the position of comfort and safety of human life and function of ecosystem is given. Otherwise, the concept of geoecological land evaluation has become established in the study of landscape/environmental plannings in recent years. It requires different thematic data-sets, deriving from the natural-, social- and amenity-environmental resources analysis, that may be translate in environmental (vulnerability/quality) indexes. There have been some attempts to develop integrated indices related to various aspects of the environment within the framework of sustainable development (e.g.: United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development, World Economic Forum, Advisory Board on Indicators of Sustainable Development of the International Institute for Sustainable Development, Living Planet Index established by the World Wide Fund for Nature, etc.). So, the ecological geological maps represent the basic tool for the geoecological land evaluation policies and may be computed in terms of index-maps. On these basis, a GIS application for assessing the ecological geological zoning is presented for Sicily (Central Mediterranean). The Geo-Ecological Quality Index (GEQUI) map was computed by considering a lot of variables. Ten variables (lithology, climate, landslide distribution, erosion rate, soil type, land cover, habitat, groundwater pollution, roads density and buildings density) generated from available data, were used in the model, in which weighting values to each informative layer were assigned. An overlay analysis was carried out, allowing to classify the region into five classes: bad, poor, moderate, good and high.

General principles of institutional risks influence on pension systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nepp, A. N.; Shilkov, A. A.; Sheveleva, A. Y.; Mamedbakov, M. R.

2016-12-01

This paper examines the tools used to study the influence of institutional factors on investment returns. The research object are the tools used in the evaluation of institutional risks in the pension system, in particular, the correlation model of factors impacting on the `anti-director' index, econometric estimates combining the different determinants of savings, the model of endogenous institutional change, etc. Research work focusing on issues of institutional factors affecting pension systems (authored by La Porta, Guiso, Gianetti, El-Mekkaouide Freitas, Neyapti B., and others) is reviewed. The model is examined in terms of the impact of institutional risks on pension systems, especially with regard to the funded part. The study identified the following factors that affect financial institutions, including pension institutions: management quality, regulation quality, rule of law, political stability, and corruption control.

Treatment of Neurogenic Cough with Tramadol: A Pilot Study.

PubMed

Dion, Gregory R; Teng, Stephanie E; Achlatis, Efstratios; Fang, Yixin; Amin, Milan R

2017-07-01

This study employs validated cough assessment tools to prospectively determine the impact of tramadol on cough severity and quality of life in subjects with neurogenic cough. The study was a prospective case series with planned data collection at a tertiary care academic medical center laryngology practice. Sixteen consecutive collected subjects with neurogenic cough prospectively completed pre- and posttreatment validated cough assessment tools, the cough severity index (CSI) and Leicester Cough Questionnaire (LCQ). All subjects in the study reported at least some improvement in their cough symptoms. In a Wilcoxon signed rank test that compared paired results, CSI scores improved from 23 to 14 and LCQ scores improved from 74 to 103 ( P = .003 and P = .005, respectively). This small preliminary assessment suggests that tramadol warrants additional evaluation as a treatment for neurogenic cough.

[Google Scholar and the h-index in biomedicine: the popularization of bibliometric assessment].

PubMed

Cabezas-Clavijo, A; Delgado-López-Cózar, E

2013-01-01

The aim of this study is to review the features, benefits and limitations of the new scientific evaluation products derived from Google Scholar, such as Google Scholar Metrics and Google Scholar Citations, as well as the h-index, which is the standard bibliometric indicator adopted by these services. The study also outlines the potential of this new database as a source for studies in Biomedicine, and compares the h-index obtained by the most relevant journals and researchers in the field of intensive care medicine, based on data extracted from the Web of Science, Scopus and Google Scholar. Results show that although the average h-index values in Google Scholar are almost 30% higher than those obtained in Web of Science, and about 15% higher than those collected by Scopus, there are no substantial changes in the rankings generated from one data source or the other. Despite some technical problems, it is concluded that Google Scholar is a valid tool for researchers in Health Sciences, both for purposes of information retrieval and for the computation of bibliometric indicators. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier España, S.L. and SEMICYUC. All rights reserved.

Rock Drilling Performance Evaluation by an Energy Dissipation Based Rock Brittleness Index

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Munoz, H.; Taheri, A.; Chanda, E. K.

2016-08-01

To reliably estimate drilling performance both tool-rock interaction laws along with a proper rock brittleness index are required to be implemented. In this study, the performance of a single polycrystalline diamond compact (PDC) cutter cutting and different drilling methods including PDC rotary drilling, roller-cone rotary drilling and percussive drilling were investigated. To investigate drilling performance by rock strength properties, laboratory PDC cutting tests were performed on different rocks to obtain cutting parameters. In addition, results of laboratory and field drilling on different rocks found elsewhere in literature were used. Laboratory and field cutting and drilling test results were coupled with values of a new rock brittleness index proposed herein and developed based on energy dissipation withdrawn from the complete stress-strain curve in uniaxial compression. To quantify cutting and drilling performance, the intrinsic specific energy in rotary-cutting action, i.e. the energy consumed in pure cutting action, and drilling penetration rate values in percussive action were used. The results show that the new energy-based brittleness index successfully describes the performance of different cutting and drilling methods and therefore is relevant to assess drilling performance for engineering applications.

From Politics to Parity: Using a Health Disparities Index to Guide Legislative Efforts for Health Equity

PubMed Central

Simpson, Sean L.; Hairston, Kristen G.

2011-01-01

Objectives. We created an index quantifying the longitudinal burden of racial health disparities by state and compared this index to variables to guide the construction of, and validate support for, legislative efforts aimed at eliminating health disparities. Methods. We evaluated 5 focus areas of greatest racial disparities in health from 1999 to 2005 and compiled state health disparities index (HDI) scores. We compared these scores with variables representing the purported social determinants of health. Results. Massachusetts (0.35), Oklahoma (0.35), and Washington (0.39) averaged the fewest disparities. Michigan (1.22), Wisconsin (1.32), and Illinois (1.50) averaged the greatest disparities. The statistical reference point for nationwide average racial disparities was 1.00. The longitudinal mixed model procedure yielded statistically significant correlations between HDI scores and Black state population percentage as well as with the racial gap in uninsured percentages. We noted a trend for HDI correlations with median household income ratios. Conclusions. On the basis of the HDI-established trends in the extent and distribution of racial health disparities, and their correlated social determinants of health, policymakers should consider incorporating this tool to advise future efforts in minority health legislation. PMID:21233445

Relationships between body roundness with body fat and visceral adipose tissue emerging from a new geometrical model.

PubMed

Thomas, Diana M; Bredlau, Carl; Bosy-Westphal, Anja; Mueller, Manfred; Shen, Wei; Gallagher, Dympna; Maeda, Yuna; McDougall, Andrew; Peterson, Courtney M; Ravussin, Eric; Heymsfield, Steven B

2013-11-01

To develop a new geometrical index that combines height, waist circumference (WC), and hip circumference (HC) and relate this index to total and visceral body fat. Subject data were pooled from three databases that contained demographic, anthropometric, dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) measured fat mass, and magnetic resonance imaging measured visceral adipose tissue (VAT) volume. Two elliptical models of the human body were developed. Body roundness was calculated from the model using a well-established constant arising from the theory. Regression models based on eccentricity and other variables were used to predict %body fat and %VAT. A body roundness index (BRI) was derived to quantify the individual body shape in a height-independent manner. Body roundness slightly improved predictions of %body fat and %VAT compared to the traditional metrics of body mass index (BMI), WC, or HC. On this basis, healthy body roundness ranges were established. An automated graphical program simulating study results was placed at http://www.pbrc.edu/bodyroundness. BRI, a new shape measure, is a predictor of %body fat and %VAT and can be applied as a visual tool for health status evaluations. Copyright © 2013 The Obesity Society.

A novel approach for evaluating the risk of health care failure modes.

PubMed

Chang, Dong Shang; Chung, Jenq Hann; Sun, Kuo Lung; Yang, Fu Chiang

2012-12-01

Failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) can be employed to reduce medical errors by identifying the risk ranking of the health care failure modes and taking priority action for safety improvement. The purpose of this paper is to propose a novel approach of data analysis. The approach is to integrate FMEA and a mathematical tool-Data envelopment analysis (DEA) with "slack-based measure" (SBM), in the field of data analysis. The risk indexes (severity, occurrence, and detection) of FMEA are viewed as multiple inputs of DEA. The practicality and usefulness of the proposed approach is illustrated by one case of health care. Being a systematic approach for improving the service quality of health care, the approach can offer quantitative corrective information of risk indexes that thereafter reduce failure possibility. For safety improvement, these new targets of the risk indexes could be used for management by objectives. But FMEA cannot provide quantitative corrective information of risk indexes. The novel approach can surely overcome this chief shortcoming of FMEA. After combining DEA SBM model with FMEA, the two goals-increase of patient safety, medical cost reduction-can be together achieved.

Economic evaluation of manual therapy for musculoskeletal diseases: a protocol for a systematic review and narrative synthesis of evidence.

PubMed

Kim, Chang-Gon; Mun, Su-Jeong; Kim, Ka-Na; Shin, Byung-Cheul; Kim, Nam-Kwen; Lee, Dong-Hyo; Lee, Jung-Han

2016-05-13

Manual therapy is the non-surgical conservative management of musculoskeletal disorders using the practitioner's hands on the patient's body for diagnosing and treating disease. The aim of this study is to systematically review trial-based economic evaluations of manual therapy relative to other interventions used for the management of musculoskeletal diseases. Randomised clinical trials (RCTs) on the economic evaluation of manual therapy for musculoskeletal diseases will be included in the review. The following databases will be searched from their inception: Medline, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Econlit, Mantis, Index to Chiropractic Literature, Science Citation Index, Social Science Citation Index, Allied and Complementary Medicine Database (AMED), Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR), National Health Service Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects (NHS DARE), National Health Service Health Technology Assessment Database (NHS HTA), National Health Service Economic Evaluation Database (NHS EED), CENTRAL, five Korean medical databases (Oriental Medicine Advanced Searching Integrated System (OASIS), Research Information Service System (RISS), DBPIA, Korean Traditional Knowledge Portal (KTKP) and KoreaMed) and three Chinese databases (China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), VIP and Wanfang). The evidence for the cost-effectiveness, cost-utility and cost-benefit of manual therapy for musculoskeletal diseases will be assessed as the primary outcome. Health-related quality of life and adverse effects will be assessed as secondary outcomes. We will critically appraise the included studies using the Cochrane risk of bias tool and the Drummond checklist. Results will be summarised using Slavin's qualitative best-evidence synthesis approach. The results of the study will be disseminated via a peer-reviewed journal and/or conference presentations. PROSPERO CRD42015026757. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

The development of a new tool for the evaluation of handicap in elderly: the Geriatric Handicap Scale (GHS).

PubMed

Verrusio, Walter; Renzi, Alessia; Spallacci, Giulia; Pecci, Maria Tecla; Pappadà, Maria Antonella; Cacciafesta, Mauro

2018-02-10

To date, the comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) does not include an evaluation tool for handicap. To develop a new instrument for assessing handicap in the elderly: the Geriatric Handicap Scale (GHS). 656 community-dwelling elderly were enrolled in this study. We identified the thematic areas investigated by the CGA which showed a significant correlation with the handicap condition (handicap yes/not) to be included in our scale (Phase 1). Afterwards, we evaluated the possible correlations between: (1) the score obtained in each area of GHS and those obtained in CGA tests investigating similar dimensions, (2) GHS total score and the Multidimensional Prognostic Index (MPI) total score (Phase 2). In Phase 1, data analysis showed several significant correlations between the handicap condition and the scores obtained to the CGA tests exploring cognition, mood, functional impairment, comorbidity, social and environmental variables. Thus, we developed a tool considering five variables: (1) cognition and mood; (2) functional impairment; (3) hearing/visual impairment; (4) any additional comorbidity factors; (5) environmental/social risk factors. In Phase 2, data analysis showed significant correlations between the score obtained in each area of GHS and those obtained in the CGA tests investigating similar dimensions. A positive correlation between GHS total score and MPI total score (r = 68; p = 0.001) was also reported. Cut-off score for the GHS was established. Psychometric properties of GHS were also investigated and adequate estimates of internal reliability were demonstrated. Our tool could prove useful to correctly categorize the disadvantageous condition related to patient's disability.

Quantitative measurement of hypertrophic scar: intrarater reliability, sensitivity, and specificity.

PubMed

Nedelec, Bernadette; Correa, José A; Rachelska, Grazyna; Armour, Alexis; LaSalle, Léo

2008-01-01

The comparison of scar evaluation over time requires measurement tools with acceptable intrarater reliability and the ability to discriminate skin characteristics of interest. The objective of this study was to evaluate the intrarater reliability and sensitivity and specificity of the Cutometer, the Mexameter, and the DermaScan C relative to the modified Vancouver Scar Scale (mVSS) in patient-matched normal skin, normal scar (donor sites), and hypertrophic scar (HSc). A single investigator evaluated four tissue types (severe HSc, less severe HSc, donor site, and normal skin) in 30 burn survivors with all four measurement tools. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) for the Cutometer was acceptable (> or =0.75) for the maximum deformation measure for the donor site and normal skin (>0.78) but was below the acceptable range for the HSc sites and all other parameters. The ICC for the Mexameter erythema (>0.75) and melanin index (>0.89) and the DermaScan C total thickness measurement (>0.82) were acceptable for all sites. The ICC for the total of the height, pliability, and vascularity subscales of the mVSS was acceptable (0.81) for normal scar but below the acceptable range for the scar sites. The DermaScan C was clearly able to discriminate HSc from normal scar and normal skin based on the total thickness measure. The Cutometer was less discriminating but was still able to discriminate HSc from normal scar and normal skin. The Mexameter erythema index was not a good discriminator of HSc and normal scar. Receiver operating characteristic curves were generated to establish the best cutoff point for the DermaScan C total thickness and the Cutometer maximum deformation, which were 2.034 and 0.387 mm, respectively. This study showed that although the Cutometer, the DermaScan C, and the Mexameter have measurement properties that make them attractive substitutes for the mVSS, caution must be used when interpreting results since the Cutometer has a ceiling effect when measuring rigid tissue such as HSc and the Mexameter erythema index does not discriminate normal scar from HSc.

Critical Aspects of the Coastal Drought Index: Length of Salinity Data Record and Ecological Response Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Conrads, P. A.; Tufford, D. L.; Darby, L. S.

2015-12-01

The phenomenon of coastal drought has a different dynamic from upland droughts that are typically characterized by agricultural, hydrologic, meteorological, and(or) socio-economic impacts. Because of the uniqueness of drought impacts on coastal ecosystems, a coastal drought index (CDI) that uses existing salinity datasets for sites in South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida was developed using an approach similar to the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI). CDIs characterizing the 1- to 24-month salinity conditions were developed and the evaluation of the CDI indicates that the index can be used for different estuary types (for example, brackish, olioghaline, or mesohaline), for regional comparison between estuaries, and as an index for wet conditions (high freshwater inflow) in addition to drought conditions. Unlike the SPI where long-term precipitation datasets of 50 to 100 years are available for computing the index, there are a limited number of salinity data sets of greater than 10 or 15 years for computing the CDI. To evaluate the length of salinity record necessary to compute the CDI, a 29-year dataset was resampled into 5-, 10-, 15-, and 20-year interval datasets. Comparison of the CDI for the different periods of record show that the range of salinity conditions in the 10-, 15-, and 20-year datasets were similar and results were a close approximation to the CDI computed by using the full period of record. The CDI computed with the 5-year dataset had the largest differences with the CDI computed with the 29-year dataset but did provide useful information on coastal drought and freshwater conditions. An ongoing National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) drought early warning project in the Carolinas is developing ecological linkages to the CDI and evaluating the effectiveness of the CDI as a prediction tool for adaptation planning for future droughts. However, identifying potential coastal drought response datasets is a challenge. Coastal drought is a relatively new concept and existing datasets may not have been collected or understood as "drought response" datasets. We have considered drought response datasets including tree growth and liter fall, harmful algal blooms occurrence, Vibrio infection occurrence, shellfish harvesting data, and shark attacks.

Evaluation of quality of life related to nutritional status.

PubMed

Wanden-Berghe, Carmina; Sanz-Valero, Javier; Escribà-Agüir, Vicenta; Castelló-Botia, Isabel; Guardiola-Wanden-Berghe, Rocio

2009-04-01

The way in which the quality of life related to health (HRQoL) is affected by the nutritional status of the patient is a subject of constant interest and permanent debate. The purpose of the present paper is to review those studies that relate HRQoL to nutritional status and examine the tools (questionnaires) that they use to investigate this relationship. A critical review of published studies was carried out via an investigation of the following databases: MEDLINE (via PubMed); EMBASE; The Cochrane Library; Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL); Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) Web of Science; Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature (LILACS); Spanish Health Sciences Bibliographic Index (IBECS). The search was carried out from the earliest date possible until July 2007.The medical subject heading terms used were 'quality of life', 'nutritional status' and 'questionnaires'. The articles had to contain at least one questionnaire that evaluated quality of life. Twenty-eight documents fulfilling the inclusion criteria were accepted, although none of them used a specific questionnaire to evaluate HRQoL related to nutritional status. However, some of them used a combination of generic questionnaires with the intention of evaluating the same. Only three studies selectively addressed the relationship between nutritional status and quality of life, this evaluation being performed not by means of specific questionnaires but by statistical analysis of data obtained via validated questionnaires.

Face and Content Validity of the MacArthur Competence Assessment Tool for the Treatment of Iranian Patients.

PubMed

Saber, Ali; Tabatabaei, Seyed Mahmoud; Akasheh, Godarz; Sehat, Mojtaba; Zanjani, Zahra; Larijani, Bagher

2017-01-01

There is not a valid Persian tool for measuring the decision-making competency of patients. The aim of this study is to evaluate the face and content validity of the MacArthur Competence Assessment Tool for the treatment of Iranian Persian-speaking patients. To assess the validity of the Persian version of the tool, a self-administrated questionnaire was designed. The Lawshe method was also used for assessing each item. Content validity ratio (CVR) and content validity index (CVI) were used to assess the content validity quantitatively. According to the experts' judgment, questions with a CVR ≥0.62 and CVR <0.62 were maintainable and unmaintainable, respectively. The questions were designed in a manner to achieve the desirable result (CVR ≥0.62). The CVI scale (S-CVI) and CVI (S-CVI/Ave) were 0.94 (higher than 0.79). Thus, the content validity was confirmed. Since capacity assessments are usually based on physician's subjective judgment, they are likely to bias and therefore, with this suitably validated tool, we can improve judgment of physicians and health-care providers in out- and in-patient cases.

Computational assessment of hemodynamics-based diagnostic tools using a database of virtual subjects: Application to three case studies.

PubMed

Willemet, Marie; Vennin, Samuel; Alastruey, Jordi

2016-12-08

Many physiological indexes and algorithms based on pulse wave analysis have been suggested in order to better assess cardiovascular function. Because these tools are often computed from in-vivo hemodynamic measurements, their validation is time-consuming, challenging, and biased by measurement errors. Recently, a new methodology has been suggested to assess theoretically these computed tools: a database of virtual subjects generated using numerical 1D-0D modeling of arterial hemodynamics. The generated set of simulations encloses a wide selection of healthy cases that could be encountered in a clinical study. We applied this new methodology to three different case studies that demonstrate the potential of our new tool, and illustrated each of them with a clinically relevant example: (i) we assessed the accuracy of indexes estimating pulse wave velocity; (ii) we validated and refined an algorithm that computes central blood pressure; and (iii) we investigated theoretical mechanisms behind the augmentation index. Our database of virtual subjects is a new tool to assist the clinician: it provides insight into the physical mechanisms underlying the correlations observed in clinical practice. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Assessment of home environments with a fungal index using hydrophilic and xerophilic fungi as biologic sensors.

PubMed

Abe, K

2012-06-01

  Previously, the author proposed a 'fungal index' that quantifies the capacity for fungal growth in a test environment where a device (fungal detector) encapsulating spores of a xerophilic sensor fungus Eurotium herbariorum was placed. It was also found that an extremely xerophilic fungus, Aspergillus penicillioides, was suitable as a sensor fungus at sites with lower relative humidity (RH). In this report, the hydrophilic fungus Alternaria alternata was added to sensor fungi for the determination of the index in extremely humid environments. Measurements of the index and observations of the formation of spores by the sensor fungi were made in stable climates in moisture chambers, under natural conditions in homes, and in bathrooms prepared in an artificial climate chamber. Higher index values and earlier sporulation were obtained at higher RH in stable climates. The hydrophilic Alt. alternata showed the greatest response at 100% and 97.3% RH, the moderately xerophilic Eur. herbariorum, at 94%, 84%, and 75% RH, and the extremely xerophilic Asp. penicillioides, at 71% RH. In homes, the hydrophilic fungus was most active in water-usage areas, and the xerophilic fungi were most active in non-water-usage areas. Sporulation was observed on sensor fungi in fungal detectors placed in rooms where the index exceeded 18 ru/week after one-month exposure. Sites where the index exceeded 18 ru/week were referred to as damp, where fungal contamination seems to be unavoidable. Evaluations of ventilation systems in bathrooms with extremely humid climates showed typical examples of a countermeasure to fungal contamination. The purpose of this study is to establish a fungal index applicable in home environments with extremely high to relatively low relative humidity climates. The sensor fungus that showed the greatest response in a fungal detector (a device encapsulating spores of sensor fungi) served as not only a quantitative but also a qualitative indicator of the environment tested, indicating the type of fungi that would contaminate the site. A fungal index would be a good tool for detecting dampness that induces fungal contamination, which has adverse effects on human health. Evaluations of indoor climates would provide information useful to building owners, builders, designers, advisers, medical practitioners, and so on. Selection of the most suitable insulation systems in various buildings under different climates or evaluations of the drying process in water-damaged buildings could also be possible using fungal detectors and measurements of fungal indices. © 2011 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

Freva - Freie Univ Evaluation System Framework for Scientific HPC Infrastructures in Earth System Modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kadow, C.; Illing, S.; Schartner, T.; Grieger, J.; Kirchner, I.; Rust, H.; Cubasch, U.; Ulbrich, U.

2017-12-01

The Freie Univ Evaluation System Framework (Freva - freva.met.fu-berlin.de) is a software infrastructure for standardized data and tool solutions in Earth system science (e.g. www-miklip.dkrz.de, cmip-eval.dkrz.de). Freva runs on high performance computers to handle customizable evaluation systems of research projects, institutes or universities. It combines different software technologies into one common hybrid infrastructure, including all features present in the shell and web environment. The database interface satisfies the international standards provided by the Earth System Grid Federation (ESGF). Freva indexes different data projects into one common search environment by storing the meta data information of the self-describing model, reanalysis and observational data sets in a database. This implemented meta data system with its advanced but easy-to-handle search tool supports users, developers and their plugins to retrieve the required information. A generic application programming interface (API) allows scientific developers to connect their analysis tools with the evaluation system independently of the programming language used. Users of the evaluation techniques benefit from the common interface of the evaluation system without any need to understand the different scripting languages. The integrated web-shell (shellinabox) adds a degree of freedom in the choice of the working environment and can be used as a gate to the research projects HPC. Plugins are able to integrate their e.g. post-processed results into the database of the user. This allows e.g. post-processing plugins to feed statistical analysis plugins, which fosters an active exchange between plugin developers of a research project. Additionally, the history and configuration sub-system stores every analysis performed with the evaluation system in a database. Configurations and results of the tools can be shared among scientists via shell or web system. Furthermore, if configurations match while starting an evaluation plugin, the system suggests to use results already produced by other users - saving CPU/h, I/O, disk space and time. The efficient interaction between different technologies improves the Earth system modeling science framed by Freva.

Is the presence of a validated malnutrition screening tool associated with better nutritional care in hospitalized patients?

PubMed

Eglseer, Doris; Halfens, Ruud J G; Lohrmann, Christa

2017-05-01

The aims of this study were to evaluate the association between the use of clinical guidelines and the use of validated screening tools, evaluate the nutritional screening policy in hospitals, and examine the association between the use of validated screening tools and the prevalence of malnutrition and nutritional interventions in hospitalized patients. This was a cross-sectional, multicenter study. Data were collected using a standardized questionnaire on three levels: institution (presence of a guideline for malnutrition), department (use of a validated screening tool), and patient (e.g., malnutrition prevalence). In all, 53 hospitals with 5255 patients participated. About 45% of the hospitals indicated that they have guidelines for malnutrition. Of the departments surveyed, 38.6% used validated screening tools as part of a standard procedure. The nutritional status of 74.5% of the patients was screened during admission, mostly on the basis of clinical observation and patient weight. A validated screening tool was used for 21.2% of the patients. Significant differences between wards with and without validated screening tools were found with regard to malnutrition prevalence (P = 0.002) and the following interventions: referral to a dietitian (P < 0.001), provision of energy-enriched snacks (P = 0.038), adjustment of consistency (food/drinks; P = 0.004), monitoring of the nutritional intake (P = 0.001), and adjustment of the meal ambiance (P < 0.001). Nutritional screening with validated tools in hospitalized patients remains poor. Generally, the nutritional status of patients is screened with unreliable parameters such as clinical observation and body mass index. The results of the present study suggest that the use of validated malnutrition screening tools is associated with better nutritional care and lower malnutrition prevalence rates in hospitalized patients. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Reliability and Validity of the Dutch Version of the Behavioural Status Index: A Nurse-Rated Forensic Assessment Tool

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chakhssi, Farid; de Ruiter, Corine; Bernstein, David

2010-01-01

The Behavioural Status Index (BEST-Index) has been introduced into Dutch forensic psychiatry to measure change in risk level of future violence. The BEST-Index is a structured observational measure that assesses aggressive behavior, degree of insight, social skills, self-care, and work and leisure skills during inpatient treatment. Thus far,…

Annotated bibliography of Software Engineering Laboratory literature

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Morusiewicz, Linda; Valett, Jon D.

1991-01-01

An annotated bibliography of technical papers, documents, and memorandums produced by or related to the Software Engineering Laboratory is given. More than 100 publications are summarized. These publications cover many areas of software engineering and range from research reports to software documentation. All materials have been grouped into eight general subject areas for easy reference: The Software Engineering Laboratory; The Software Engineering Laboratory: Software Development Documents; Software Tools; Software Models; Software Measurement; Technology Evaluations; Ada Technology; and Data Collection. Subject and author indexes further classify these documents by specific topic and individual author.

Annotated bibliography of software engineering laboratory literature

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Buhler, Melanie; Valett, Jon

1989-01-01

An annotated bibliography is presented of technical papers, documents, and memorandums produced by or related to the Software Engineering Laboratory. The bibliography was updated and reorganized substantially since the original version (SEL-82-006, November 1982). All materials were grouped into eight general subject areas for easy reference: (1) The Software Engineering Laboratory; (2) The Software Engineering Laboratory: Software Development Documents; (3) Software Tools; (4) Software Models; (5) Software Measurement; (6) Technology Evaluations; (7) Ada Technology; and (8) Data Collection. Subject and author indexes further classify these documents by specific topic and individual author.

Grey Relational Analysis Coupled with Principal Component Analysis for Optimization of Stereolithography Process to Enhance Part Quality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Raju, B. S.; Sekhar, U. Chandra; Drakshayani, D. N.

2017-08-01

The paper investigates optimization of stereolithography process for SL5530 epoxy resin material to enhance part quality. The major characteristics indexed for performance selected to evaluate the processes are tensile strength, Flexural strength, Impact strength and Density analysis and corresponding process parameters are Layer thickness, Orientation and Hatch spacing. In this study, the process is intrinsically with multiple parameters tuning so that grey relational analysis which uses grey relational grade as performance index is specially adopted to determine the optimal combination of process parameters. Moreover, the principal component analysis is applied to evaluate the weighting values corresponding to various performance characteristics so that their relative importance can be properly and objectively desired. The results of confirmation experiments reveal that grey relational analysis coupled with principal component analysis can effectively acquire the optimal combination of process parameters. Hence, this confirm that the proposed approach in this study can be an useful tool to improve the process parameters in stereolithography process, which is very useful information for machine designers as well as RP machine users.

Educational and motivational support service: a pilot study for mobile-phone-based interventions in patients with psoriasis.

PubMed

Balato, N; Megna, M; Di Costanzo, L; Balato, A; Ayala, F

2013-01-01

 Psoriasis is a chronic disease which requires long-term therapy. Therefore, adherence to therapy and patient motivation are key points in controlling the disease. Mobile-phone-based interventions, and in particular text messages (TM), have already been used effectively to motivate patients and improve treatment adherence in many different chronic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and asthma. To evaluate the use of TM in improving treatment adherence and several patient outcomes such as quality of life, disease severity, patient-perceived disease severity and the patient-physician relationship. Daily TM, providing reminders and educational tools, were sent for 12 weeks to a group of 20 patients with psoriasis. At the beginning and end of the study the following assessments were performed: Psoriasis Area Severity Index (PASI), Self-Administered Psoriasis Area Severity Index (SAPASI), body surface area (BSA), Physician Global Assessment (PGA), Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI), evaluation of patient-physician relationship and adherence to therapy. A matched control group of 20 patients with psoriasis was used for comparison of the same outcomes. Both patient groups had similar scores for PASI, SAPASI, BSA, PGA and DLQI at baseline. However, after 12 weeks the intervention group reported a significantly better improvement of disease severity as well as quality of life, showing lower values of PASI, SAPASI, BSA, PGA and DLQI with respect to the control group (P<0·05). Moreover, adherence to therapy improved in a statistically significant way (P<0·001) whereas it remained stable in the control group. Similarly, TM interventions led to an optimization of patient-physician communication.  TM interventions seem to be a very promising tool for the long-term management of patients with psoriasis, leading to an increased compliance to therapy, positive changes in self-care behaviours and better patient-physician relationship allowing improved clinical outcomes and better control of the disease. © 2012 The Authors. BJD © 2012 British Association of Dermatologists.

Calculation of the capnographic index based on expiratory molar mass-volume-curves--a suitable tool to screen for cystic fibrosis lung disease.

PubMed

Fuchs, Susanne I; Junge, Sibylle; Ellemunter, Helmut; Ballmann, Manfred; Gappa, Monika

2013-05-01

Volumetric capnography reflecting the course of CO2-exhalation is used to assess ventilation inhomogeneity. Calculation of the slope of expiratory phase 3 and the capnographic index (KPIv) from expirograms allows quantification of extent and severity of small airway impairment. However, technical limitations have hampered more widespread use of this technique. Using expiratory molar mass-volume-curves sampled with a handheld ultrasonic flow sensor during tidal breathing is a novel approach to extract similar information from expirograms in a simpler manner possibly qualifying as a screening tool for clinical routine. The aim of the present study was to evaluate calculation of the KPIv based on molar mass-volume-curves sampled with an ultrasonic flow sensor in patients with CF and controls by assessing feasibility, reproducibility and comparability with the Lung Clearance Index (LCI) derived from multiple breath washout (MBW) used as the reference method. Measurements were performed in patients with CF and healthy controls during a single test occasion using the EasyOne Pro, MBW Module (ndd Medical Technologies, Switzerland). Capnography and MBW were performed in 87/96 patients with CF and 38/42 controls, with a success rate of 90.6% for capnography. Mean age (range) was 12.1 (4-25) years. Mean (SD) KPIv was 6.94 (3.08) in CF and 5.10 (2.06) in controls (p=0.001). Mean LCI (SD) was 8.0 (1.4) in CF and 6.2 (0.4) in controls (p=<0.001) and correlated significantly with the KPIv (p=<0.001). Calculation of the KPIv based on molar mass-volume-curves is feasible. KPIv is significantly different between patients with CF and controls and correlates with the LCI. However, individual data revealed a relevant overlap between patients and controls requiring further evaluation, before this method can be recommended for clinical use. Copyright © 2012 European Cystic Fibrosis Society. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Nontargeted, Rapid Screening of Extra Virgin Olive Oil Products for Authenticity Using Near-Infrared Spectroscopy in Combination with Conformity Index and Multivariate Statistical Analyses.

PubMed

Karunathilaka, Sanjeewa R; Kia, Ali-Reza Fardin; Srigley, Cynthia; Chung, Jin Kyu; Mossoba, Magdi M

2016-10-01

A rapid tool for evaluating authenticity was developed and applied to the screening of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) retail products by using Fourier-transform near infrared (FT-NIR) spectroscopy in combination with univariate and multivariate data analysis methods. Using disposable glass tubes, spectra for 62 reference EVOO, 10 edible oil adulterants, 20 blends consisting of EVOO spiked with adulterants, 88 retail EVOO products and other test samples were rapidly measured in the transmission mode without any sample preparation. The univariate conformity index (CI) and the multivariate supervised soft independent modeling of class analogy (SIMCA) classification tool were used to analyze the various olive oil products which were tested for authenticity against a library of reference EVOO. Better discrimination between the authentic EVOO and some commercial EVOO products was observed with SIMCA than with CI analysis. Approximately 61% of all EVOO commercial products were flagged by SIMCA analysis, suggesting that further analysis be performed to identify quality issues and/or potential adulterants. Due to its simplicity and speed, FT-NIR spectroscopy in combination with multivariate data analysis can be used as a complementary tool to conventional official methods of analysis to rapidly flag EVOO products that may not belong to the class of authentic EVOO. Published 2016. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

Evaluating fishermen's conservation attitudes and local ecological knowledge of the European sardine (Sardina pilchardus), Peniche, Portugal.

PubMed

Braga, Heitor O; Azeiteiro, Ulisses M; Oliveira, Henrique M F; Pardal, Miguel A

2017-05-05

European sardines are an important fishing resource in the North Atlantic. Recognized for its great commercial and economic value in southern Europe, this resource currently has low stock indices. From this perspective, fishers' local ecological knowledge (LEK) is appreciated as an auxiliary tool in the management of sardines in this region. Our goal is to evaluate the LEK and attitudes towards the conservation of Sardina pilchardus in the typical fishing village of Peniche, Portugal. From June to September 2016, we carried out 87 semi-structured interviews. The four main points of the interviews were interviewee profile, fishing structure, fishermen's LEK and attitudes towards sardine conservation. The interviews were qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed using a 3-point Likert scale. An LEK index and an attitude index were generated. Comparison analyses and correlations were made between the indices and variables of the interviewee profile and the fishing structure. The mean LEK index was 0.55 and was classified as moderate. The attitudes index in relation to conservation was 0.76 and was classified as positive. This index had a positive and significant correlation with the LEK index and a significant negative correlation with the fishermen's age. When the LEK index was compared with the educational level, significant differences were observed only between class A and class C. The result showed that the differences in the attitudes index were statistically significant when the three educational classes were compared. The fishermen of Peniche in Portugal present moderate informal knowledge about the biology and ecology of sardines. Attitudes towards conservation were predominantly positive. Fishermen with greater LEK, with a higher educational level and at a younger age presented more positive attitudes in relation to environmental conservation issues in the present case of the sardine population. The LEK is not necessarily related to the educational level of the fishermen. We suggest environmental education programs for the communities that depend on this resource. The use of LEK and fishermen's perceptions can help in the management of the European sardine fishery in Portugal.

Growth Index: A Powerful Tool for School Improvement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wiseman, Perry; Thomas, Kimberly

2011-01-01

This article outlines a formula called Growth Index (GI), which is designed to measure student growth within all proficiency levels year after year, and track classroom or schoolwide growth. This growth should be considered as one of several dimensions that constitute principal and teacher effectiveness. Unlike Academic Performance Index (API) and…

Performance of office workers under various enclosure conditions in state-of-the-art open workplaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoon, Heakyung Cecilia

The objective of this thesis is to more firmly establish the importance of physical attributes of workstations on the performance of workers undertaking a range of complex tasks while subjected to the visual and noise distractions prevalent in state-of-the-art North American office settings. This study investigates objective and subjective evaluations of noise and performance given a range of current physical work environments. The study provides criteria for architects, interior designers and managers, to select distraction-free office environments to deliver better performance. The concluding chapter helps to establish the importance of designing more acoustically responsible work settings in state-of-the-art office projects. With 102 subjects (23 native speakers of English per each of three workstation types), controlled experiments were completed over a six month testing period in three different work settings---four foot partitions on two sides, seated privacy with six foot partitions on three sides, and a closed office with eight foot partitions, a door and a ceiling, with two acoustic environments (office sounds with and without speech at a controlled 45 dBA level at the receiver), the experimental results were statistically significant. Another finding was the lack of a significant effect of background sound variations on simple or complex task performance. That implies the current acoustical evaluation tool, the Articulation Index, may not be an appropriate tool to adequately and conclusively assess the acoustic impact of open workplaces on individual performance. Concerning the impact of acoustic conditions on occupant performance from the experiments, Articulation Index values do not reflect the potential relation of workstation designs and subjects' performance and moods. However, NIC connected with speech privacy rating has the potential to be a better evaluation tool than AI for open workplaces. From the results of this thesis, it is predicted that fully enclosed workstations will improve the individual performance of knowledge workers whose main tasks are complex, as well as improve the moods of occupants towards collaborations with their co-workers.

Evaluation of User Interface and Workflow Design of a Bedside Nursing Clinical Decision Support System

PubMed Central

Yuan, Michael Juntao; Finley, George Mike; Mills, Christy; Johnson, Ron Kim

2013-01-01

Background Clinical decision support systems (CDSS) are important tools to improve health care outcomes and reduce preventable medical adverse events. However, the effectiveness and success of CDSS depend on their implementation context and usability in complex health care settings. As a result, usability design and validation, especially in real world clinical settings, are crucial aspects of successful CDSS implementations. Objective Our objective was to develop a novel CDSS to help frontline nurses better manage critical symptom changes in hospitalized patients, hence reducing preventable failure to rescue cases. A robust user interface and implementation strategy that fit into existing workflows was key for the success of the CDSS. Methods Guided by a formal usability evaluation framework, UFuRT (user, function, representation, and task analysis), we developed a high-level specification of the product that captures key usability requirements and is flexible to implement. We interviewed users of the proposed CDSS to identify requirements, listed functions, and operations the system must perform. We then designed visual and workflow representations of the product to perform the operations. The user interface and workflow design were evaluated via heuristic and end user performance evaluation. The heuristic evaluation was done after the first prototype, and its results were incorporated into the product before the end user evaluation was conducted. First, we recruited 4 evaluators with strong domain expertise to study the initial prototype. Heuristic violations were coded and rated for severity. Second, after development of the system, we assembled a panel of nurses, consisting of 3 licensed vocational nurses and 7 registered nurses, to evaluate the user interface and workflow via simulated use cases. We recorded whether each session was successfully completed and its completion time. Each nurse was asked to use the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Task Load Index to self-evaluate the amount of cognitive and physical burden associated with using the device. Results A total of 83 heuristic violations were identified in the studies. The distribution of the heuristic violations and their average severity are reported. The nurse evaluators successfully completed all 30 sessions of the performance evaluations. All nurses were able to use the device after a single training session. On average, the nurses took 111 seconds (SD 30 seconds) to complete the simulated task. The NASA Task Load Index results indicated that the work overhead on the nurses was low. In fact, most of the burden measures were consistent with zero. The only potentially significant burden was temporal demand, which was consistent with the primary use case of the tool. Conclusions The evaluation has shown that our design was functional and met the requirements demanded by the nurses’ tight schedules and heavy workloads. The user interface embedded in the tool provided compelling utility to the nurse with minimal distraction. PMID:23612350

MeSH indexing based on automatically generated summaries.

PubMed

Jimeno-Yepes, Antonio J; Plaza, Laura; Mork, James G; Aronson, Alan R; Díaz, Alberto

2013-06-26

MEDLINE citations are manually indexed at the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM) using as reference the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) controlled vocabulary. For this task, the human indexers read the full text of the article. Due to the growth of MEDLINE, the NLM Indexing Initiative explores indexing methodologies that can support the task of the indexers. Medical Text Indexer (MTI) is a tool developed by the NLM Indexing Initiative to provide MeSH indexing recommendations to indexers. Currently, the input to MTI is MEDLINE citations, title and abstract only. Previous work has shown that using full text as input to MTI increases recall, but decreases precision sharply. We propose using summaries generated automatically from the full text for the input to MTI to use in the task of suggesting MeSH headings to indexers. Summaries distill the most salient information from the full text, which might increase the coverage of automatic indexing approaches based on MEDLINE. We hypothesize that if the results were good enough, manual indexers could possibly use automatic summaries instead of the full texts, along with the recommendations of MTI, to speed up the process while maintaining high quality of indexing results. We have generated summaries of different lengths using two different summarizers, and evaluated the MTI indexing on the summaries using different algorithms: MTI, individual MTI components, and machine learning. The results are compared to those of full text articles and MEDLINE citations. Our results show that automatically generated summaries achieve similar recall but higher precision compared to full text articles. Compared to MEDLINE citations, summaries achieve higher recall but lower precision. Our results show that automatic summaries produce better indexing than full text articles. Summaries produce similar recall to full text but much better precision, which seems to indicate that automatic summaries can efficiently capture the most important contents within the original articles. The combination of MEDLINE citations and automatically generated summaries could improve the recommendations suggested by MTI. On the other hand, indexing performance might be dependent on the MeSH heading being indexed. Summarization techniques could thus be considered as a feature selection algorithm that might have to be tuned individually for each MeSH heading.

Development of an online, publicly accessible naive Bayesian decision support tool for mammographic mass lesions based on the American College of Radiology (ACR) BI-RADS lexicon.

PubMed

Benndorf, Matthias; Kotter, Elmar; Langer, Mathias; Herda, Christoph; Wu, Yirong; Burnside, Elizabeth S

2015-06-01

To develop and validate a decision support tool for mammographic mass lesions based on a standardized descriptor terminology (BI-RADS lexicon) to reduce variability of practice. We used separate training data (1,276 lesions, 138 malignant) and validation data (1,177 lesions, 175 malignant). We created naïve Bayes (NB) classifiers from the training data with tenfold cross-validation. Our "inclusive model" comprised BI-RADS categories, BI-RADS descriptors, and age as predictive variables; our "descriptor model" comprised BI-RADS descriptors and age. The resulting NB classifiers were applied to the validation data. We evaluated and compared classifier performance with ROC-analysis. In the training data, the inclusive model yields an AUC of 0.959; the descriptor model yields an AUC of 0.910 (P < 0.001). The inclusive model is superior to the clinical performance (BI-RADS categories alone, P < 0.001); the descriptor model performs similarly. When applied to the validation data, the inclusive model yields an AUC of 0.935; the descriptor model yields an AUC of 0.876 (P < 0.001). Again, the inclusive model is superior to the clinical performance (P < 0.001); the descriptor model performs similarly. We consider our classifier a step towards a more uniform interpretation of combinations of BI-RADS descriptors. We provide our classifier at www.ebm-radiology.com/nbmm/index.html . • We provide a decision support tool for mammographic masses at www.ebm-radiology.com/nbmm/index.html . • Our tool may reduce variability of practice in BI-RADS category assignment. • A formal analysis of BI-RADS descriptors may enhance radiologists' diagnostic performance.

Psychometric validity of the Cochlear Implant Function Index (CIFI): a quality of life assessment tool for adult cochlear implant users.

PubMed

Coelho, Daniel H; Hammerschlag, Paul E; Bat-Chava, Yael; Kohan, Darius

2009-06-01

The Cochlear Implant Function Index (CIFI) is created to assess adult cochlear implant (CI) auditory effectiveness in real world situations. Our objective is to evaluate the CIFI as a reliable psychometric tool to assess 1) reliance on visual assistance, 2) telephone use, 3) communication at work, 4) 'hearing' in noise, 5) in groups, and 6) in large room settings. Based upon Guttman scaling properties, the CIFI elicits implanted respondent's functional level with auditory independence from Level 1 (still requiring signing) to level 4 (without any help beyond CI). A blinded, retrospective questionnaire is anonymously answered by cochlear implant recipients. CI centers of tertiary care medical centers, CI support group, and an interactive web page of a hearing and speech center in a large metropolitan region. 245 respondents from a varied adult CI population implanted for one month to 19 years prior to answering the questionnaire. An assessment tool of CI function. A coefficient of reproducibility (CR) for the Guttman scale format equal or greater than 0.90, indicating good scalability. CR in the CIFI was above 0.90. Effective scalability and mean scores from 2.5 to 3.5 for the six areas examined (1.00-4.00) were achieved. The psychometric properties of this user friendly survey demonstrate consistently good scalability. Based on these findings, the CIFI provides a validated tool that can be used for systematic comparisons between groups of patients or for follow-up outcomes in patients who use cochlear implants. Further study is indicated to correlate CIFI scores with sound and speech perception scores. Copyright 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The NAFLD Index: A Simple and Accurate Screening Tool for the Prediction of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease.

PubMed

Ichino, Naohiro; Osakabe, Keisuke; Sugimoto, Keiko; Suzuki, Koji; Yamada, Hiroya; Takai, Hiroji; Sugiyama, Hiroko; Yukitake, Jun; Inoue, Takashi; Ohashi, Koji; Hata, Tadayoshi; Hamajima, Nobuyuki; Nishikawa, Toru; Hashimoto, Senju; Kawabe, Naoto; Yoshioka, Kentaro

2015-01-01

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a common debilitating condition in many industrialized countries that increases the risk of cardiovascular disease. The aim of this study was to derive a simple and accurate screening tool for the prediction of NAFLD in the Japanese population. A total of 945 participants, 279 men and 666 women living in Hokkaido, Japan, were enrolled among residents who attended a health check-up program from 2010 to 2014. Participants with an alcohol consumption > 20 g/day and/or a chronic liver disease, such as chronic hepatitis B, chronic hepatitis C or autoimmune hepatitis, were excluded from this study. Clinical and laboratory data were examined to identify predictive markers of NAFLD. A new predictive index for NAFLD, the NAFLD index, was constructed for men and for women. The NAFLD index for men = -15.5693+0.3264 [BMI] +0.0134 [triglycerides (mg/dl)], and for women = -31.4686+0.3683 [BMI] +2.5699 [albumin (g/dl)] +4.6740[ALT/AST] -0.0379 [HDL cholesterol (mg/dl)]. The AUROC of the NAFLD index for men and for women was 0.87(95% CI 0.88-1.60) and 0.90 (95% CI 0.66-1.02), respectively. The cut-off point of -5.28 for men predicted NAFLD with an accuracy of 82.8%. For women, the cut-off point of -7.65 predicted NAFLD with an accuracy of 87.7%. A new index for the non-invasive prediction of NAFLD, the NAFLD index, was constructed using available clinical and laboratory data. This index is a simple screening tool to predict the presence of NAFLD.

Application of the Health Literacy INDEX on the development of a manual for prevention of falls for older adults.

PubMed

Andrade, Isabel; Silva, Catarina; Martins, Anabela Correia

2017-01-01

The Health Literacy INDEX tool has been developed for creating accessible and readable health information materials for people of all literacy levels. To increase knowledge of falls risk factors and actively engage older adults, we developed an improved manual for prevention of falls for low-health literacy older people entitled "Preventing falls-I can do it",with the aid of INDEX. First time application of the INDEX tool for assessing the health literacy demands of available manuals for prevention of falls for older adults and subsequent development of an improved manual using the INDEX tool as a checklist, supported by a pretest phase involving sixteen adults ≥65, living in the community, with literacy ≤4th grade and limited functional health literacy. The engagement of older adults from the target audience and their feedback obtained during the validation process contributed to the development of an improved health literacy- and age-friendly manual for prevention of falls. By offering effective health information materials, older adults can play a more active role in their health care. The manual developed to be health literacy- and age-friendly is available to be included in any multifactorial program for the prevention of falls in older adults. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Evaluative measurement properties of the patient-specific functional scale for primary shoulder complaints in physical therapy practice.

PubMed

Koehorst, Marije L S; van Trijffel, Emiel; Lindeboom, Robert

2014-08-01

Clinical measurement, longitudinal. To assess the test-retest reliability, construct validity, and responsiveness of the Patient-Specific Functional Scale (PSFS) in patients with a primary shoulder complaint. Health measurement outcomes have become increasingly important for evaluating treatment. Patient-specific questionnaires are useful tools for determining treatment goals and evaluating treatment in individual patients. These questionnaires have not yet been validated in patients with nonspecific shoulder pain. Patients completed the PSFS, the numeric pain rating scale, and the Shoulder Pain and Disability Index at baseline, and after 1 week and 4 to 6 weeks. Test-retest reliability was determined using intraclass correlation coefficients. To assess convergent validity, change scores of the PSFS were correlated with the numeric pain rating scale and Shoulder Pain and Disability Index change scores. Responsiveness was assessed by calculating the area under the curve, the minimal clinically important change, and minimal detectable change, using the global rating of change as an external criterion. Fifty patients (37 men; mean age, 47.7 years) participated in the study. Reliability was high (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.87; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.72, 0.94). The correlations between the change scores of the PSFS and those of the Shoulder Pain and Disability Index and numeric pain rating scale were 0.45 (95% CI: 0.17, 0.80) and 0.55 (95% CI: 0.29, 0.73), respectively. The area under the curve for the PSFS was 0.67 (95% CI: 0.51, 0.83). The minimal detectable change and minimal clinically important change were 0.97 and 1.29 points, respectively. These results suggest that the PSFS is a reliable, valid, and responsive instrument that can be used as an evaluative instrument in patients with a primary shoulder complaint.

Using a New Measurement to Evaluate Pain Relief Among Cancer Inpatients with Clinically Significant Pain Based on a Nursing Information System: A Three-Year Hospital-Based Study.

PubMed

Wang, Wei-Yun; Chu, Chi-Ming; Sung, Chun-Sung; Ho, Shung-Tai; Wu, Yi-Syuan; Liang, Chun-Yu; Wang, Kwua-Yun

2016-11-01

Developing a new measurement index is the first step in evaluating pain relief outcomes. Although the percentage difference in pain intensity (%PID) is the most popular indicator, this indicator does not take into account the goal of pain relief. Therefore, the aims of this study were to develop a pain relief index (PRI) for outcome evaluation and to examine the index using demographic characteristics of cancer inpatients with clinically significant pain. Retrospective cohort study. A national hospital. All cancer inpatients. Pain intensity was assessed using a numerical rating scale, a faces pain scale or the Face, Legs, Activity, Cry, Consolability (FLACC) Behavioral Tool. Using a nursing information system, a pain score database containing data from 2011 through 2013 was analyzed. Cancer patients representing 93,812 hospitalizations were considered in this study. We focused on cancer patients for whom the worst pain intensity (WPI) was ≥ 4 points. PRI values of -62.02% to -72.55% were observed in the WPI ≥ 7 and 4 ≤ WPI ≤ 6 groups. Significant (P < 0.05) effects on PRI values were observed among patients who were > 65 years old, those who were admitted to the medicine or gynecology and those who had a hospital stay > 30 days. This hospital-based study demonstrated that the PRI is an effective and valid measure for evaluating outcome data using an electronic nursing information system. We will further define the meaningful range of percentage difference in PRI from various perspectives. © 2016 American Academy of Pain Medicine. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Impairment of skin blood flow during post-occlusive reactive hyperhemy assessed by laser Doppler flowmetry correlates with renal resistive index.

PubMed

Coulon, P; Constans, J; Gosse, P

2012-01-01

We lack non-invasive tools for evaluating the coronary and renal microcirculations. Since cutaneous Doppler laser exploration has evidenced impaired cutaneous microvascular responses in coronary artery disease and in impaired renal function, we wanted to find out if there was a link between the impairments in the cutaneous and renal microcirculations. To specify the significance of the rise in the renal resistive index (RI), which is still unclear, we also sought relations between RI and arterial stiffness. We conducted a cross-sectional controlled study in a heterogeneous population including hypertensive patients of various ages with or without a history of cardiovascular disease along with a healthy control group. The cutaneous microcirculation was evaluated by laser Doppler flowmetry of the post-occlusive reactive hyperhemy (PORH) and of the hyperhemy to heat. The renal microcirculation was evaluated by measurement of the RI. Arterial stiffness was evaluated from an ambulatory measurement of the corrected QKD(100-60) interval. We included 22 hypertensives and 11 controls of mean age 60.6 vs 40.8 years. In this population, there was a correlation between RI and basal zero to peak flow variation (BZ-PF) (r=-0.42; P=0.02) and a correlation between RI and rest flow to peak flow variation (RF-PF) (r=-0.44; P=0.01). There was also a significant correlation between RI and the corrected QKD(100-60) (r=-0.47; P=0.01). The significant correlation between PORH parameters and RI indicates that the functional modifications of the renal and cutaneous microcirculations tend to evolve in parallel during ageing or hypertension. The relation between RI and arterial stiffness shows that RI is a compound index of both renal microvascular impairment and the deterioration of macrovascular mechanics.

Development of a liquefaction hazard screening tool for caltrans bridge sites

USGS Publications Warehouse

Knudsen, K.-L.; Bott, J.D.J.; Woods, M.O.; McGuire, T.L.

2009-01-01

We have developed a liquefaction hazard screening tool for the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) that is being used to evaluate the liquefaction hazard to approximately 13,000 bridge sites in California. Because of the large number of bridge sites to be evaluated, we developed a tool that makes use of parameters not typically considered in site-specific liquefaction investigations. We assessed geologic, topographic, seismic hazard, and subsurface conditions at about 100 sites of past liquefaction in California. Among the parameters we found common to many of these sites are: (a) low elevations, (b) proximity to a water body, and (c) presence of geologically youthful deposits or artificial fill materials. The nature of the study necessitated the use of readily available data, preferably datasets that are consistent across the state. The screening tool we provided to Caltrans makes use of the following parameters: (1) proximity to a water body, (2) whether the bridge crosses a water body, (3) the age of site geologic materials and the environment in which the materials were deposited, as discerned from available digital geologic maps, (4) probabilistic shaking estimates, (5) the site elevation, (6) information from available liquefaction hazard maps [covering the 9-county San Francisco Bay Area and Ventura County] and California Geological Survey (CGS) Zones of Required Investigation. For bridge sites at which subsurface boring data were available (from CGS' existing database), we calculated Displacement Potential Index values using a methodology developed by Allison Faris and Jiaer Wu. Caltrans' staff will use this hazard-screening tool, along with other tools focused on bridges and foundations, to prioritize site-specific investigations. ?? 2009 ASCE.

Development of a green remediation tool in Japan.

PubMed

Yasutaka, Tetsuo; Zhang, Hong; Murayama, Koki; Hama, Yoshihito; Tsukada, Yasuhisa; Furukawa, Yasuhide

2016-09-01

The green remediation assessment tool for Japan (GRATJ) presented in this study is a spreadsheet-based software package developed to facilitate comparisons of the environmental impacts associated with various countermeasures against contaminated soil in Japan. This tool uses a life-cycle assessment-based model to calculate inventory inputs/outputs throughout the activity life cycle during remediation. Processes of 14 remediation methods for heavy metal contamination and 12 for volatile organic compound contamination are built into the tool. This tool can evaluate 130 inventory inputs/outputs and easily integrate those inputs/outputs into 9 impact categories, 4 integrated endpoints, and 1 index. Comparative studies can be performed by entering basic data associated with a target site. The integrated results can be presented in a simpler and clearer manner than the results of an inventory analysis. As a case study, an arsenic-contaminated soil remediation site was examined using this tool. Results showed that the integrated environmental impacts were greater with onsite remediation methods than with offsite ones. Furthermore, the contributions of CO2 to global warming, SO2 to urban air pollution, and crude oil to resource consumption were greater than other inventory inputs/outputs. The GRATJ has the potential to improve green remediation and can serve as a valuable tool for decision makers and practitioners in selecting countermeasures in Japan. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Development of a diet quality index assessing adherence to the Swedish nutrition recommendations and dietary guidelines in the Malmö Diet and Cancer cohort.

PubMed

Drake, Isabel; Gullberg, Bo; Ericson, Ulrika; Sonestedt, Emily; Nilsson, Jan; Wallström, Peter; Hedblad, Bo; Wirfält, Elisabet

2011-05-01

To develop a diet quality index (DQI) that assesses adherence to the Swedish nutrition recommendations (SNR) and the Swedish dietary guidelines (SDG). A cross-sectional study within the Malmö Diet and Cancer (MDC) cohort. A diet history method collected dietary data, a structured questionnaire lifestyle and socio-economic information, and anthropometric data were collected by direct measurements. The index (DQI-SNR) included six components: SFA, PUFA, fish and shellfish, dietary fibre, fruit and vegetables, and sucrose. Malmö, Sweden. Men (n 4525) and women (n 8491) of the MDC cohort enrolled from September 1994 to October 1996. For participants with high DQI-SNR scores, nutrient and food intakes were close to recommendations. However, most of the study population exceeded the recommended intake for SFA (98%) and few reached recommended intakes for dietary fibre (24%), fruit and vegetables (32%), vitamin D (18%) and folate (2%). A high DQI-SNR score was positively associated with age, physical activity, not smoking, past food habit change, education and socio-economic status. Individuals with high scores were more likely to have a diabetes diagnosis or experienced a cardiovascular event. Results suggest that the DQI-SNR is a useful tool for assessing adherence to the SNR 2005 and the SDG in the MDC cohort. No index has previously been developed with the aim of evaluating adherence to the current dietary recommendations in Sweden. Further validation of the DQI-SNR, and evaluation of its utility, is needed.

Is NIH funding predictive of greater research productivity and impact among academic otolaryngologists?

PubMed

Svider, Peter F; Mauro, Kevin M; Sanghvi, Saurin; Setzen, Michael; Baredes, Soly; Eloy, Jean Anderson

2013-01-01

The h-index is an accurate and reliable indicator of scholarly productivity that takes into account relevance, significance, and influence of research contributions. As such, it is an effective, objective bibliometric that can be used to evaluate academic otolaryngologists for decisions regarding appointment and advancement. In this study, we evaluate the impact of NIH funding on scholarly productivity in otolaryngology. Analysis of bibliometric data of academic otolaryngologists. Funding data for the 20 otolaryngology departments with the largest aggregate total of NIH grants for the fiscal years (FY) 2011 and 2012 was obtained using the National Institutes of Health Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tools Expenditures and Reports (RePORTER) Database. H-indices were calculated using the Scopus online database, and then compared to funding data at both the departmental and individual level. Faculty members in otolaryngology departments who received NIH funding had significantly greater research productivity and impact, as measured by the h-index, than their nonfunded peers. H-indices increased with greater NIH funding levels, and investigators with MD degrees tended to have higher mean NIH funding levels than those with PhDs. While there was no correlation between average h-index and NIH funding totals at the level of departments, there was greater correlation upon examination of NIH funding levels of individual investigators. The h-index has a strong relationship with, and may be predictive of, grant awards of NIH-funded faculty members in otolaryngology departments. This bibliometric may be useful in decisions regarding appointment and advancement of faculty members within academic otolaryngology departments. Copyright © 2012 The American Laryngological, Rhinological, and Otological Society, Inc.

An operational structured decision making framework for ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Pressure to develop an operational framework for decision makers to employ the concepts of ecosystem goods and services for assessing changes to human well-being has been increasing since these concepts gained widespread notoriety after the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Report. Many conceptual frameworks have been proposed, but most do not propose methodologies and tools to make this approach to decision making implementable. Building on common components of existing conceptual frameworks for ecosystem services and human well-being assessment we apply a structured decision making approach to develop a standardized operational framework and suggest tools and methods for completing each step. The structured decision making approach consists of six steps: 1) Clarify the Decision Context 2) Define Objectives and Evaluation Criteria 3) Develop Alternatives 4) Estimate Consequences 5) Evaluate Trade-Offs and Select and 6) Implement and Monitor. These six steps include the following activities, and suggested tools, when applied to ecosystem goods and services and human well-being conceptual frameworks: 1) Characterization of decision specific human beneficiaries using the Final Ecosystem Goods and Services (FEGS) approach and Classification System (FEGS-CS) 2) Determine beneficiaries’ relative priorities for human well-being domains in the Human Well-Being Index (HWBI) through stakeholder engagement and identify beneficiary-relevant metrics of FEGS using the Nat

Measuring horizontal integration among health care providers in the community: an examination of a collaborative process within a palliative care network.

PubMed

Bainbridge, Daryl; Brazil, Kevin; Krueger, Paul; Ploeg, Jenny; Taniguchi, Alan; Darnay, Julie

2015-05-01

In many countries formal or informal palliative care networks (PCNs) have evolved to better integrate community-based services for individuals with a life-limiting illness. We conducted a cross-sectional survey using a customized tool to determine the perceptions of the processes of palliative care delivery reflective of horizontal integration from the perspective of nurses, physicians and allied health professionals working in a PCN, as well as to assess the utility of this tool. The process elements examined were part of a conceptual framework for evaluating integration of a system of care and centred on interprofessional collaboration. We used the Index of Interdisciplinary Collaboration (IIC) as a basis of measurement. The 86 respondents (85% response rate) placed high value on working collaboratively and most reported being part of an interprofessional team. The survey tool showed utility in identifying strengths and gaps in integration across the network and in detecting variability in some factors according to respondent agency affiliation and profession. Specifically, support for interprofessional communication and evaluative activities were viewed as insufficient. Impediments to these aspects of horizontal integration may be reflective of workload constraints, differences in agency operations or an absence of key structural features.

Dose gradient curve: A new tool for evaluating dose gradient

PubMed Central

Choi, Young Eun

2018-01-01

Purpose Stereotactic radiotherapy, which delivers an ablative high radiation dose to a target volume for maximum local tumor control, requires a rapid dose fall-off outside the target volume to prevent extensive damage to nearby normal tissue. Currently, there is no tool to comprehensively evaluate the dose gradient near the target volume. We propose the dose gradient curve (DGC) as a new tool to evaluate the quality of a treatment plan with respect to the dose fall-off characteristics. Methods The average distance between two isodose surfaces was represented by the dose gradient index (DGI) estimated by a simple equation using the volume and surface area of isodose levels. The surface area was calculated by mesh generation and surface triangulation. The DGC was defined as a plot of the DGI of each dose interval as a function of the dose. Two types of DGCs, differential and cumulative, were generated. The performance of the DGC was evaluated using stereotactic radiosurgery plans for virtual targets. Results Over the range of dose distributions, the dose gradient of each dose interval was well-characterized by the DGC in an easily understandable graph format. Significant changes in the DGC were observed reflecting the differences in planning situations and various prescription doses. Conclusions The DGC is a rational method for visualizing the dose gradient as the average distance between two isodose surfaces; the shorter the distance, the steeper the dose gradient. By combining the DGC with the dose-volume histogram (DVH) in a single plot, the DGC can be utilized to evaluate not only the dose gradient but also the target coverage in routine clinical practice. PMID:29698471

PQScal (Power Quality Score Calculation for Distribution Systems with DER Integration)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Power Quality is of great importance to evaluate the “health” of a distribution system, especially when the distributed energy resource (DER) penetration becomes more significant. The individual components that make up power quality, such as voltage magnitude and unbalance, can be measured in simulations or in the field, however, a comprehensive method to incorporate all of these values into a single score doesn't exist. As a result, we propose a methodology to quantify the power quality health using the single number value, named as Power Quality Score (PQS). The PQS is dependent on six metrics that are developed based onmore » both components that directly impact power quality and those are often reference in the context of power quality. These six metrics are named as System Average Voltage Magnitude Violation Index (SAVMVI), System Average Voltage Fluctuation Index (SAVFI), System Average Voltage Unbalance Index (SAVUI), System Control Device Operation Index (SCDOI), System Reactive Power Demand Index (SRPDI) and System Energy Loss Index (SELI). This software tool, PQScal, is developed based on this novel PQS methodology. Besides of traditional distribution systems, PQScal can also measure the power quality for distribution systems with various DER penetrations. PQScal has been tested on two utility distribution feeders with distinct model characteristics and its effectiveness has been proved. In sum, PQScal can help utilities or other parties to measure the power quality of distribution systems with DER integration easily and effectively.« less

New noninvasive index for evaluation of the vascular age of healthy and sick people

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fine, Ilya; Kuznik, Boris I.; Kaminsky, Alexander V.; Shenkman, Louis; Kustovsjya, Evgeniya M.; Maximova, Olga G.

2012-08-01

We conducted a study on 861 healthy and sick subjects and demonstrated that some calculated parameters based on measurement of the dynamic light scattering (DLS) signal from the finger correlate highly with chronological age ranging from 1.5 to 85 years old. Measurements of DLS signals were obtained during both occlusion and nonocclusion of blood flow in the finger. For the nonocclusion case we found that the low-frequency component of the DLS signal significantly correlates with the biological age while the high-frequency component of the DLS signal resembles the arterial pulse-wave and does correlate with age. However, the most prominent correlation between the DLS characteristics and age was noted with the stasis stage measurements. We propose that the observed age-related phenomena are caused by alterations in local blood viscosity and interactions of the endothelial cells with erythrocytes. Further, a new noninvasive index based on the age-related optical characteristics was introduced. This noninvasive index may be used as a research and diagnostic tool to examine the endothelial and thrombolytic properties of the vascular system.

New noninvasive index for evaluation of the vascular age of healthy and sick people.

PubMed

Fine, Ilya; Kuznik, Boris I; Kaminsky, Alexander V; Shenkman, Louis; Kustovsjya, Evgeniya M; Elena, Evgeniya M; Maximova, Olga G

2012-08-01

We conducted a study on 861 healthy and sick subjects and demonstrated that some calculated parameters based on measurement of the dynamic light scattering (DLS) signal from the finger correlate highly with chronological age ranging from 1.5 to 85 years old. Measurements of DLS signals were obtained during both occlusion and nonocclusion of blood flow in the finger. For the nonocclusion case we found that the low-frequency component of the DLS signal significantly correlates with the biological age while the high-frequency component of the DLS signal resembles the arterial pulse-wave and does correlate with age. However, the most prominent correlation between the DLS characteristics and age was noted with the stasis stage measurements. We propose that the observed age-related phenomena are caused by alterations in local blood viscosity and interactions of the endothelial cells with erythrocytes. Further, a new noninvasive index based on the age-related optical characteristics was introduced. This noninvasive index may be used as a research and diagnostic tool to examine the endothelial and thrombolytic properties of the vascular system.

Are questionnaires reliable in diagnosing sleep-disordered breathing in university students?

PubMed

Migacz, E; Wichniak, A; Kukwa, W

2017-11-01

This study aimed to screen young adults for sleep-disordered breathing, and compare those with high and low risk for sleep-disordered breathing. A survey based on the Berlin questionnaire was completed by 330 university students, and the results were used to divide them into sleep-disordered breathing positive and sleep-disordered breathing negative groups. A representative group was selected from each cohort (positive group, n = 16; negative group, n = 21), and assessed with sleep study, ENT examination, the Nose Obstruction Symptom Evaluation scale, and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale. Sleep-disordered breathing prevalence was 11.2 per cent in the questionnaire and 24 per cent according to the sleep study. The sleep-disordered breathing positive and negative groups significantly differed in terms of coexisting sleep-disordered breathing symptoms. There were no significant differences between the positive and negative groups with regard to sleep study parameters (apnoea/hypopnoea index, respiratory disturbance index, oxygen desaturation index, snoring intensity) and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale. Subjective and objective diagnostic tools revealed that sleep-disordered breathing is a common problem among young adults.

Validation of Predictors of Fall Events in Hospitalized Patients With Cancer.

PubMed

Weed-Pfaff, Samantha H; Nutter, Benjamin; Bena, James F; Forney, Jennifer; Field, Rosemary; Szoka, Lynn; Karius, Diana; Akins, Patti; Colvin, Christina M; Albert, Nancy M

2016-10-01

A seven-item cancer-specific fall risk tool (Cleveland Clinic Capone-Albert [CC-CA] Fall Risk Score) was shown to have a strong concordance index for predicting falls; however, validation of the model is needed. The aims of this study were to validate that the CC-CA Fall Risk Score, made up of six factors, predicts falls in patients with cancer and to determine if the CC-CA Fall Risk Score performs better than the Morse Fall Tool. Using a prospective, comparative methodology, data were collected from electronic health records of patients hospitalized for cancer care in four hospitals. Risk factors from each tool were recorded, when applicable. Multivariable models were created to predict the probability of a fall. A concordance index for each fall tool was calculated. The CC-CA Fall Risk Score provided higher discrimination than the Morse Fall Tool in predicting fall events in patients hospitalized for cancer management.

Water use benefit index as a tool for community-based monitoring of water related trends in the Great Barrier Reef region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smajgl, A.; Larson, S.; Hug, B.; De Freitas, D. M.

2010-12-01

SummaryThis paper presents a tool for documenting and monitoring water use benefits in the Great Barrier Reef catchments that allows temporal and spatial comparison along the region. Water, water use benefits and water allocations are currently receiving much attention from Australian policy makers and conservation practitioners. Because of the inherent complexity and variability in water quality, it is essential that scientific information is presented in a meaningful way to policy makers, managers and ultimately, to the general public who have to live with the consequences of the decisions. We developed an inexpensively populated and easily understandable water use benefit index as a tool for community-based monitoring of water related trends in the Great Barrier Reef region. The index is developed based on a comparative list of selected water-related indices integrating attributes across physico-chemical, economic, social, and ecological domains currently used in the assessment of water quality, water quantity and water use benefits in Australia. Our findings indicate that the proposed index allows the identification of water performance indicators by temporal and spatial comparisons. Benefits for decision makers and conservation practitioners include a flexible way of prioritization towards the domain with highest concern. The broader community benefits from a comprehensive and user-friendly tool, communicating changes in water quality trends more effectively.

Biochemical non-invasive assessment of liver fibrosis cannot replace biopsy in HIV-HCV coinfected patients.

PubMed

Kliemann, Dimas A; Wolff, Fernando H; Tovo, Cristiane V; Alencastro, Paulo R; Ikeda, Maria L R; Brandão, Ajácio B M; Barcellos, Nêmora; Fuchs, Sandra C

2016-01-01

The liver biopsy has been considered the gold standard for the diagnosis and quantification of fibrosis. However, this method presents limitations. In addition, the non-invasive evaluation of liver fibrosis is a challenge. The aim of this study was to validate the fibrosis cirrhosis index (FCI) index in a cohort of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/hepatitis C virus (HCV) coinfected patients, and compare to AST/ALT ratio (AAR), AST to platelet ratio index (APRI) and FIB-4 scores, as a tool for the assessment of liver fibrosis in coinfected patients. Retrospective cross sectional study including 92 HIV-HCV coinfected patients evaluated in two reference centers for HIV treatment in the Public Health System in Southern Brazil. Patients who underwent liver biopsy for any indication and had concomitant laboratory data in the 3 months prior to liver biopsy, to allow the calculation of studied noninvasive markers (AAR, APRI, FIB-4 and FCI) were included. APRI < 0.5 presents the higher specificity to detect no or minimal fibrosis, whereas APRI > 1.5 presents the best negative predictive value and FCI > 1.25 the best specificity to detect significant fibrosis. The values of noninvasive markers for each Metavir fibrosis stage showed statistically significant differences only for APRI. In conclusion, until better noninvasive markers for liver fibrosis are developed and validated for HIV-HCV coinfected patients, noninvasive serum markers should be used carefully in this population.

Bilateral vocal fold immobility: a 13 year review of etiologies, management and the utility of the Empey index.

PubMed

Brake, Maria K; Anderson, Jennifer

2015-06-26

Bilateral vocal fold immobility (BVFI) is a rare diagnosis causing dyspnea, dysphonia and dysphagia. Management depends on respiratory performance, airway patency, vocal ability, and quality-of-life priorities. The authors review the presentation, management and outcome in patients diagnosed with BVFI. The utility and efficacy of the Empey index (EI) and the Expiratory Disproportion Index (EDI) are evaluated as an objective monitoring tools for BVFI patients. A 13-year retrospective review was performed of BVFI patients at St. Michael's Hospital, University of Toronto, a tertiary referral centre for laryngology. Forty-eight patients were included; 46 presented with airway obstruction symptoms. Tracheotomy was required for airway management in 40% of patients throughout the course of their treatment, which was reduced to 19% at the end of the study period. Twenty-one patients underwent endoscopic arytenoidectomy/cordotomy. Non-operative management included continuous positive airway pressure devices. Pulmonary function testing was carried out in 29 patients. Only a portion of the BVFI patients met the defined upper airway obstruction criteria (45% EI and 52% EDI). Seven patients had complete pre- and post-operative PFTs for comparison and all seven had ratios that significantly improved post-operatively which correlated clinically. The EI and EDI have limited use in evaluating patients with who have variable upper airway obstruction, but may be helpful in monitoring within subject airway function changes.

Jet length/velocity ratio: a new index for echocardiographic evaluation of chronic aortic regurgitation.

PubMed

Güvenç, Tolga Sinan; Karaçimen, Denizhan; Erer, Hatice Betül; İlhan, Erkan; Sayar, Nurten; Karakuş, Gültekin; Çekirdekçi, Elif; Eren, Mehmet

2015-01-01

Management of aortic regurgitation depends on the assessment for severity. Echocardiography remains as the most widely available tool for evaluation of aortic regurgitation. In this manuscript, we describe a novel parameter, jet length/velocity ratio, for the diagnosis of severe aortic regurgitation. A total of 30 patients with aortic regurgitation were included to this study. Severity of aortic regurgitation was assessed with an aortic regurgitation index incorporating five echocardiographic parameters. Jet length/velocity ratio is calculated as the ratio of maximum jet penetrance to mean velocity of regurgitant flow. Jet length/velocity ratio was significantly higher in patients with severe aortic regurgitation (2.03 ± 0.53) compared to patients with less than severe aortic regurgitation (1.24 ± 0.32, P < 0.001). Correlation of jet length/velocity ratio with aortic regurgitation index was very good (r(2) = 0.86) and correlation coefficient was higher for jet length/velocity ratio compared to vena contracta, jet width/LVOT ratio and pressure half time. For a cutoff value of 1.61, jet length/velocity ratio had a sensitivity of 92% and specificity of 88%, with an AUC value of 0.955. Jet length/velocity ratio is a novel parameter that can be used to assess severity of chronic aortic regurgitation. Main limitation for usage of this novel parameter is jet impringement to left ventricular wall. © 2014, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The lupus impact tracker is responsive to changes in clinical activity measured by the systemic lupus erythematosus responder index.

PubMed

Devilliers, H; Bonithon-Kopp, C; Jolly, M

2017-04-01

Objective The lupus impact tracker (LIT) is a 10-item patient reported outcome tool to measure the impact of systemic lupus erythematosus or its treatment on patients' daily lives. Herein, we describe the responsiveness of the LIT and LupusQoL to changes in disease activity, using the systemic lupus erythematosus responder index (SRI). Methods A total of 325 adult systemic lupus erythematosus patients were enrolled in an observational, longitudinal, multicentre study, conducted across the USA and Canada. Data (demographics, LIT, LupusQoL, BILAG, SELENA-SLEDAI) were obtained three months apart. Modified SRI was defined as: a decrease in SELENA-SLEDAI (4 points); no new BILAG A, and no greater than one new BILAG B; and no increase in the physician global assessment. Standardised response mean and effect size for LIT and LupusQoL domains were calculated among SRI responders and non-responders. Wilcoxon's test was used to compare the LIT and LupusQoL variation by SRI responder status. Results Of the participants 90% were women, 53% were white, 33% were of African descendant and 17% were Hispanic. Mean (SD) age and SELENA-SLEDAI at baseline were 42.3 (16.2) years and 4.3 (3.8), respectively. Mean (SD) LIT score at baseline was 39.4 (22.9). LIT standardised response mean (effect size) among SRI responders and non-responders were -0.69 (-0.36) and -0.20 (-0.12), respectively ( P = 0.02). For LupusQoL, two domains were responsive to SRI: standardised response mean (effect size) for physical health and pain domains were 0.42 (0.23) and 0.65 (0.44), respectively. Conclusions LIT is moderately responsive to SRI in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. Inclusion of this tool in clinical care and clinical trials may provide further insights into its responsiveness. This is the first systemic lupus erythematosus patient reported outcome tool to be evaluated against composite responder index (SRI) used in clinical trials.

Predicting the need for institutional care shortly after admission to rehabilitation: Rasch analysis and predictive validity of the BRASS Index.

PubMed

Panella, L; La Porta, F; Caselli, S; Marchisio, S; Tennant, A

2012-09-01

Effective discharge planning is increasingly recognised as a critical component of hospital-based Rehabilitation. The BRASS index is a risk screening tool for identification, shortly after hospital admission, of patients who are at risk of post-discharge problems. To evaluate the internal construct validity and reliability of the Blaylock Risk Assessment Screening Score (BRASS) within the rehabilitation setting. Observational prospective study. Rehabilitation ward of an Italian district hospital. One hundred and four consecutively admitted patients. Using classical psychometric methods and Rasch analysis (RA), the internal construct validity and reliability of the BRASS were examined. Also, external and predictive validity of the Rasch-modified BRASS (RMB) score were determined. Reliability of the original BRASS was low (Cronbach's alpha=0.595) and factor analyses showed that it was clearly multidimensional. A RA, based on a reduced 7-BRASS item set (RMB), satisfied model's expectations. Reliability was 0.777. The RMB scores strongly correlated with the original BRASS (rho=0.952; P<0.000) and with FIM™ admission scores (rho=-0.853; P<0.000). A RMB score of 12 was associated with an increased risk of nursing home admission (RR=2.1, 95%CI=1.7-2.5), whereas a score of 17 was associated to a higher risk of length of stay >28 days (RR=7.6, 95%CI=1.8-31.9). This study demonstrated that the original BRASS was multidimensional and unreliable. However, the RMB holds adequate internal construct validity and is sufficiently reliable as a predictor of discharge problems for group, but not individual use. The application of tools and methods (such as the BRASS Index) developed under the biomedical paradigm in a Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine setting may have limitations. Further research is needed to develop, within the rehabilitation setting, a valid measuring tool of risk of post-discharge problems at the individual level.

A requirements index for information processing in hospitals.

PubMed

Ammenwerth, E; Buchauer, A; Haux, R

2002-01-01

Reference models describing typical information processing requirements in hospitals do not currently exist. This leads to high hospital information system (HIS) management expenses, for example, during tender processes for the acquisition of software application programs. Our aim was, therefore, to develop a comprehensive, lasting, technology-independent, and sufficiently detailed index of requirements for information processing in hospitals in order to reduce respective expenses. Two-dozen German experts established an index of requirements for information processing in university hospitals. This was done in a consensus-based, top-down, cyclic manner. Each functional requirement was derived from information processing functions and sub-functions of a hospital. The result is the first official German version of a requirements index, containing 233 functional requirements and 102 function-independent requirements, focusing on German needs. The functional requirements are structured according to the primary care process from admission to discharge and supplemented by requirements for handling patient records, work organization and resource planning, hospital management, research and education. Both the German version and its English translation are available in the Internet. The index of requirements contains general information processing requirements in hospitals which are formulated independent of information processing tools, or of HIS architectures. It aims at supporting HIS management, especially HIS strategic planning, HIS evaluation, and tender processes. The index can be regarded as a draft, which must, however, be refined according to the specific aims of a particular project. Although focused on German needs, we expect that it can also be useful in other countries. The high amount of interest shown for the index supports its usefulness.

Gender determination: Role of lip prints, finger prints and mandibular canine index

PubMed Central

KRISHNAN, RESHMA POOTHAKULATH; THANGAVELU, RADHIKA; RATHNAVELU, VIDHYA; NARASIMHAN, MALATHI

2016-01-01

Personal identification has a pivotal role in forensic investigations. Gender determination is an essential step in personal identification. Despite the advent of advanced techniques such as DNA fingerprinting, methods such as lip print and fingerprint analysis and mandibular canine index calculations are routinely used in gender determination, as they are simple and cost-effective. The present study investigated the hypothesis that lip print analysis is an effective tool in gender determination compared with fingerprint analysis and the mandibular canine index. The predominant patterns of lip prints and fingerprints were analyzed in males and females, and the efficacy of the mandibular canine index in gender determination was evaluated. The study group comprised 50 students, 25 males and 25 females who were 18–25 years of age. Lip prints and fingerprints were obtained and classified according to Tsuchihashi's classification and Kücken and Newell's classification, respectively. Mandibular impressions were made and the mandibular canine index was calculated. Type I and Type I' lip prints were predominant in females, and Type IV lip prints were predominant in males. The analysis of fingerprints revealed that the loop fingerprint pattern was predominant in both males and females. The mandibular canine index was not found to be significant in gender identification. The predominant patterns of lip prints were distinct for males and females; conversely, fingerprints were demonstrated to be similar in both genders. Therefore, lip prints hold an increased potential for gender determination, as compared with fingerprints, and the mandibular canine index is not a reliable indicator of gender. PMID:27284316

The Nursing Home Pneumonia Risk Index: A Simple, Valid MDS-Based Method of Identifying 6-Month Risk for Pneumonia and Mortality.

PubMed

Sloane, Philip D; Zimmerman, Sheryl; Ward, Kimberly; Reed, David; Preisser, John S; Weber, David J

2017-09-01

Pneumonia is the leading infectious cause of hospitalization and death for nursing home (NH) residents; however, diagnosis is often delayed because classic signs of infection are not present. We sought to identify NH residents at high risk for pneumonia, to identify persons to target for more intensive surveillance and preventive measures. Based on a literature review, we identified key risk factors for pneumonia and compiled them for use as prediction tool, limiting risk factors to those available on the Minimum Data Set (MDS). Next, we tested the tool's ability to predict 6-month pneumonia incidence and mortality rates in a sample of 674 residents from 7 NHs, evaluating it both as a continuous and a dichotomous variable, and applying both logistic regression and survival analysis to calculate estimates. NH Pneumonia Risk Index scores ranged from -1 to 6, with a mean of 2.1, a median of 2, and a mode of 2. For the outcome of pneumonia, a 1-point increase in the index was associated with a risk odds ratio of 1.26 (P = .038) or a hazard ratio of 1.24 (P = .037); using it as a dichotomous variable (≤2 vs ≥3), the corresponding figures were a risk odds ratio of 1.78 (P = .045) and a hazard ratio of 1.82 (P = .025). For the outcome of mortality, a 1-point increase in the NH Pneumonia Risk Index was associated with a risk odds ratio of 1.58 (P = .002) and a hazard ratio of 1.45 (P = .013); using the index as a dichotomous variable, the corresponding figures were a risk odds ratio of 3.71 (P < .001) and a hazard ratio of 3.29 (P = .001). The NH Pneumonia Risk Index can be used by NH staff to identify residents for whom to apply especially intensive preventive measures and surveillance. Because of its strong association with mortality, the index may also be valuable in care planning and discussion of advance directives. Copyright © 2017 AMDA – The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Confirmatory factor analysis of the female sexual function index.

PubMed

Opperman, Emily A; Benson, Lindsay E; Milhausen, Robin R

2013-01-01

The Female Sexual Functioning Index (Rosen et al., 2000 ) was designed to assess the key dimensions of female sexual functioning using six domains: desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm, satisfaction, and pain. A full-scale score was proposed to represent women's overall sexual function. The fifth revision to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) is currently underway and includes a proposal to combine desire and arousal problems. The objective of this article was to evaluate and compare four models of the Female Sexual Functioning Index: (a) single-factor model, (b) six-factor model, (c) second-order factor model, and (4) five-factor model combining the desire and arousal subscales. Cross-sectional and observational data from 85 women were used to conduct a confirmatory factor analysis on the Female Sexual Functioning Index. Local and global goodness-of-fit measures, the chi-square test of differences, squared multiple correlations, and regression weights were used. The single-factor model fit was not acceptable. The original six-factor model was confirmed, and good model fit was found for the second-order and five-factor models. Delta chi-square tests of differences supported best fit for the six-factor model validating usage of the six domains. However, when revisions are made to the DSM-5, the Female Sexual Functioning Index can adapt to reflect these changes and remain a valid assessment tool for women's sexual functioning, as the five-factor structure was also supported.

Critical Analysis of Forest Degradation in the Southern Eastern Ghats of India: Comparison of Satellite Imagery and Soil Quality Index

PubMed Central

Ramachandran, Andimuthu; Radhapriya, Parthasarathy; Jayakumar, Shanmuganathan; Dhanya, Praveen; Geetha, Rajadurai

2016-01-01

India has one of the largest assemblages of tropical biodiversity, with its unique floristic composition of endemic species. However, current forest cover assessment is performed via satellite-based forest surveys, which have many limitations. The present study, which was performed in the Eastern Ghats, analysed the satellite-based inventory provided by forest surveys and inferred from the results that this process no longer provides adequate information for quantifying forest degradation in an empirical manner. The study analysed 21 soil properties and generated a forest soil quality index of the Eastern Ghats, using principal component analysis. Using matrix modules and geospatial technology, we compared the forest degradation status calculated from satellite-based forest surveys with the degradation status calculated from the forest soil quality index. The Forest Survey of India classified about 1.8% of the Eastern Ghats’ total area as degraded forests and the remainder (98.2%) as open, dense, and very dense forests, whereas the soil quality index results found that about 42.4% of the total area is degraded, with the remainder (57.6%) being non-degraded. Our ground truth verification analyses indicate that the forest soil quality index along with the forest cover density data from the Forest Survey of India are ideal tools for evaluating forest degradation. PMID:26812397

Quantification of tooth wear: conventional vs new method using toolmakers microscope and a three-dimensional measuring technique.

PubMed

Al-Omiri, Mahmoud K; Harb, Rousan; Abu Hammad, Osama A; Lamey, Philip-John; Lynch, Edward; Clifford, Thomas J

2010-07-01

This study aimed to evaluate the reliability of a new CAD-CAM Laser scanning machine in detection of incisal tooth wear through a 6-month period and to compare the accuracy of using this new machine against measuring tooth wear using tool maker microscope and conventional tooth wear index. Twenty participants (11 males and 9 females, mean age=22.7 years, SD=2.0) were assessed for incisal tooth wear of lower anterior teeth using Smith and Knight clinical tooth wear index (TWI) on two occasions, the study baseline and 6 months later. Stone dies for each tooth were prepared and scanned using the CAD-CAM Laser Cercon System (Cercon Smart Ceramics, DeguDent, Germany). Scanned images were printed and examined under a toolmaker microscope (Stedall-Dowding Machine Tool Company, Optique et Mecanique de Precision, Marcel Aubert SA, Switzerland) to quantify tooth wear and then the dies were directly assessed under the microscope to measure tooth wear. The Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test was used to analyse the data. TWI scores for incisal edges were 0, 1, and 2 and were similar at both occasions. Scores 3 and 4 were not detected. Wear values measured by directly assessing the dies under the tool maker microscope (range=517-656microm, mean=582microm, and SD=50) were significantly more than those measured from the Cercon digital machine images (range=132-193microm, mean =165microm, and SD=27) and both showed significant differences between the two occasions. Measuring images obtained with Cercon digital machine under tool maker microscope allowed detection of wear progression over the 6-month period. However, measuring the dies of worn dentition directly under the tool maker microscope enabled detection of wear progression more accurately. Conventional method was the least sensitive for tooth wear quantification and was unable to identify wear progression in most cases. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

DisTeam: A decision support tool for surgical team selection

PubMed Central

Ebadi, Ashkan; Tighe, Patrick J.; Zhang, Lei; Rashidi, Parisa

2018-01-01

Objective Surgical service providers play a crucial role in the healthcare system. Amongst all the influencing factors, surgical team selection might affect the patients’ outcome significantly. The performance of a surgical team not only can depend on the individual members, but it can also depend on the synergy among team members, and could possibly influence patient outcome such as surgical complications. In this paper, we propose a tool for facilitating decision making in surgical team selection based on considering history of the surgical team, as well as the specific characteristics of each patient. Methods DisTeam (a decision support tool for surgical team selection) is a metaheuristic framework for objective evaluation of surgical teams and finding the optimal team for a given patient, in terms of number of complications. It identifies a ranked list of surgical teams personalized for each patient, based on prior performance of the surgical teams. DisTeam takes into account the surgical complications associated with teams and their members, their teamwork history, as well as patient’s specific characteristics such as age, body mass index (BMI) and Charlson comorbidity index score. Results We tested DisTeam using intra-operative data from 6065 unique orthopedic surgery cases. Our results suggest high effectiveness of the proposed system in a health-care setting. The proposed framework converges quickly to the optimal solution and provides two sets of answers: a) The best surgical team over all the generations, and b) The best population which consists of different teams that can be used as an alternative solution. This increases the flexibility of the system as a complementary decision support tool. Conclusion DisTeam is a decision support tool for assisting in surgical team selection. It can facilitate the job of scheduling personnel in the hospital which involves an overwhelming number of factors pertaining to patients, individual team members, and team dynamics and can be used to compose patient-personalized surgical teams with minimum (potential) surgical complications. PMID:28363285

DisTeam: A decision support tool for surgical team selection.

PubMed

Ebadi, Ashkan; Tighe, Patrick J; Zhang, Lei; Rashidi, Parisa

2017-02-01

Surgical service providers play a crucial role in the healthcare system. Amongst all the influencing factors, surgical team selection might affect the patients' outcome significantly. The performance of a surgical team not only can depend on the individual members, but it can also depend on the synergy among team members, and could possibly influence patient outcome such as surgical complications. In this paper, we propose a tool for facilitating decision making in surgical team selection based on considering history of the surgical team, as well as the specific characteristics of each patient. DisTeam (a decision support tool for surgical team selection) is a metaheuristic framework for objective evaluation of surgical teams and finding the optimal team for a given patient, in terms of number of complications. It identifies a ranked list of surgical teams personalized for each patient, based on prior performance of the surgical teams. DisTeam takes into account the surgical complications associated with teams and their members, their teamwork history, as well as patient's specific characteristics such as age, body mass index (BMI) and Charlson comorbidity index score. We tested DisTeam using intra-operative data from 6065 unique orthopedic surgery cases. Our results suggest high effectiveness of the proposed system in a health-care setting. The proposed framework converges quickly to the optimal solution and provides two sets of answers: a) The best surgical team over all the generations, and b) The best population which consists of different teams that can be used as an alternative solution. This increases the flexibility of the system as a complementary decision support tool. DisTeam is a decision support tool for assisting in surgical team selection. It can facilitate the job of scheduling personnel in the hospital which involves an overwhelming number of factors pertaining to patients, individual team members, and team dynamics and can be used to compose patient-personalized surgical teams with minimum (potential) surgical complications. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The new concept of the Disruption Index (DI) as an indicator to measure cascading effects in urban areas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oliveira, C. S.; Ferreira, M. A.

2015-12-01

Apart from the loss of lives, injuries and homeless resulting from an earthquake, not only the economy and physical landscape are altered, but also the lives of citizens and their places of work are dramatically altered. If critical services and functions are disrupted for more than a reasonable time period, consequences can be severe. All communities are at risk and face potential disaster, if unprepared. The Disruption Index (DI) is a tool that allows the representation of a complex, multidimensional, situation in a concise and easier way, providing institutions and communities with a way to identify the global earthquake impact in a geographical area, the elements at risk, and the means to reduce it. Understanding how the loss and cascading effects across a number of areas might be correlated during a single earthquake is critical to evaluate risk. The application of this tool, prior-to a catastrophe, assumes a huge importance for earthquake risk professionals and planners to understand their impacts and to start building earthquake resilient cities. Post-to an event, this tool provides an assessment of its extent and impact considering the propagation effects, developed in a Geographic Information System (GIS) environment. The DI was already tested, calibrated after several earthquakes and applied in Portugal, Italy, Spain and Iceland. The next step in this research is to implement this tool directly into web portals or websites as well as PAGER or GDACS platforms to: - Rapidly assess an earthquake impact in a region following significant events. Nowadays the institutions used the shake maps; it's an important tool but cannot reflect the impact on livelihoods and the cascade effects. The DI maps can be used by state and local organizations, both public and private, for post-earthquake response and recovery, public and scientific information.

Measuring Wellbeing in Developing Countries: The Case of Algeria

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tiliouine, Habib; Cummins, Robert A.; Davern, Melanie

2006-01-01

The International Wellbeing Index (IWI) has been developed as a complementary measure to already well-known economic measures, and as a tool for cross-cultural comparisons. It comprises two subscales: the Personal Wellbeing Index (PWI) and the National Wellbeing Index (NWI). The aims of this paper are two-fold. Firstly, to test the psychometric…

DOE SBIR Phase II Final Technical Report - Assessing Climate Change Effects on Wind Energy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Whiteman, Cameron; Capps, Scott

Specialized Vertum Partners software tools were prototyped, tested and commercialized to allow wind energy stakeholders to assess the uncertainties of climate change on wind power production and distribution. This project resulted in three commercially proven products and a marketing tool. The first was a Weather Research and Forecasting Model (WRF) based resource evaluation system. The second was a web-based service providing global 10m wind data from multiple sources to wind industry subscription customers. The third product addressed the needs of our utility clients looking at climate change effects on electricity distribution. For this we collaborated on the Santa Ana Wildfiremore » Threat Index (SAWTi), which was released publicly last quarter. Finally to promote these products and educate potential users we released “Gust or Bust”, a graphic-novel styled marketing publication.« less

Translation and validation of Portuguese of a questionnaire for evaluation of psychosomatic symptoms in adults with atopic dermatitis*

PubMed Central

Boleira, Manuela; Lupi, Omar; Pires, Gisele Vianna; Dias, Gabriela; Seba, Amanda Jaccobson; Guimarães, Daniel Boleira Sieiro

2014-01-01

BACKGROUND atopic dermatitis is directly related to psychological stress, reduced quality of life and psychosomatic symptoms. The Psychosomatic Scale for Atopic Dermatitis is the only questionnaire developed specifically for assessment of psychosomatization in atopic dermatitis. OBJECTIVES the objective of this study was to cross-culturally adapt and validate a Brazilian-Portuguese version of the Psychosomatic Scale for Atopic Dermatitis. METHODS adaptation consisted of independent translation and backtranslation by three bilingual translators, followed by a pre-test. The Psychosomatic Scale for Atopic Dermatitis and the Dermatology Life Quality Index were self-administered to 47 patients with atopic dermatitis. Disease severity was evaluated using the Eczema Area and Severity Index. Factor analysis was used to identify the dimensions of the Brazilian Portuguese version of the Psychosomatic Scale for Atopic Dermatitis. Internal consistency and convergence validity were also analyzed. Reproducibility was assessed using the Kappa coefficient. RESULTS factor analysis revealed a two-dimensional structure: stress/laziness/insecurity (I) and maladjustment/social relationships (II), explaining 54.4% of total variance. All dimensions revealed excellent internal consistency. External construct validity was confirmed by positive correlations between the Psychosomatic Scale for Atopic Dermatitis and the Dermatology Life Quality Index. Test-retest reliability was excellent, with k>0.7 for all questions. CONCLUSIONS the Brazilian Portuguese version of the Psychosomatic Scale for Atopic Dermatitis demonstrated acceptable psychometric properties and can be used for the evaluation of psychosomatic symptoms in patients with atopic dermatitis and as a tool in clinical and epidemiological research. PMID:25184916

Evaluation of the resistive index of prostatic blood flow in benign prostatic hyperplasia.

PubMed

Abdelwahab, Osama; El-Barky, Ehab; Khalil, Mostafa Mahmoud; Kamar, Ahmad

2012-01-01

The aim of this work is to study the resistive index (RI) of prostatic blood flow by transrectal power Doppler sonography in benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) to determine its correlation with other parameters of BPH. Eighty-two male patients aged 52-86 years with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) due to BPH were included in the study. Patients with prostate cancer, neurogenic bladder, or with other pathology (e.g. prostatitis, bladder stone) were excluded from the study. All patients were evaluated by full history including Internatinoal Prostate Symptoms Score (IPSS), general and local examination (DRE), neurologic examination, uroflowmetry, laboratory investigations including urine analysis, routine laboratory tests and serum prostate specific antigen (PSA). Transrectal ultrasonography was used to calculate the total prostatic volume. Transrectal Power Doppler Ultrasound (PUD) was used to identify the capsular and urethral arteries of the prostate and to measures the RI value. The mean prostate volume was 75.1 ± 44.7 g. The mean RI of the right and left capsular arteries were 0.76 ± 0.06 and 0.76 ± 0.07, respectively. The mean RI of the urethral arteries was 0.76 ± 0.08. There was a high significative correlation between the increase of the RI of the right and left capsular and urethral arteries and the degree of obstruction (P value < 0.001), severity of symptoms (P value < 0.001) and also the prostatic volume (P value < 0.001). Resistive index of the prostatic blood flow can be applied as an easy and non-invasive tool to evaluate the lower urinary tract obstruction due to BPH.

Global geometric torsion estimation in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.

PubMed

Kadoury, Samuel; Shen, Jesse; Parent, Stefan

2014-04-01

Several attempts have been made to measure geometrical torsion in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) and quantify the three-dimensional (3D) deformation of the spine. However, these approaches are sensitive to imprecisions in the 3D modeling of the anatomy and can only capture the effect locally at the vertebrae, ignoring the global effect at the regional level and thus have never been widely used to follow the progression of a deformity. The goal of this work was to evaluate the relevance of a novel geometric torsion descriptor based on a parametric modeling of the spinal curve as a 3D index of scoliosis. First, an image-based approach anchored on prior statistical distributions is used to reconstruct the spine in 3D from biplanar X-rays. Geometric torsion measuring the twisting effect of the spine is then estimated using a technique that approximates local arc-lengths with parametric curve fitting centered at the neutral vertebra in different spinal regions. We first evaluated the method with simulated experiments, demonstrating the method's robustness toward added noise and reconstruction inaccuracies. A pilot study involving 65 scoliotic patients exhibiting different types of deformities was also conducted. Results show the method is able to discriminate between different types of deformation based on this novel 3D index evaluated in the main thoracic and thoracolumbar/lumbar regions. This demonstrates that geometric torsion modeled by parametric spinal curve fitting is a robust tool that can be used to quantify the 3D deformation of AIS and possibly exploited as an index to classify the 3D shape.

Satellite vulnerability to space debris - an improved 3D risk assessment methodology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grassi, Lilith; Tiboldo, Francesca; Destefanis, Roberto; Donath, Thérèse; Winterboer, Arne; Evans, Leanne; Janovsky, Rolf; Kempf, Scott; Rudolph, Martin; Schäfer, Frank; Gelhaus, Johannes

2014-06-01

The work described in the present paper, performed as a part of the P2 project, presents an enhanced method to evaluate satellite vulnerability to micrometeoroids and orbital debris (MMOD), using the ESABASE2/Debris tool (developed under ESA contract). Starting from the estimation of induced failures on spacecraft (S/C) components and from the computation of lethal impacts (with an energy leading to the loss of the satellite), and considering the equipment redundancies and interactions between components, the debris-induced S/C functional impairment is assessed. The developed methodology, illustrated through its application to a case study satellite, includes the capability to estimate the number of failures on internal components, overcoming the limitations of current tools which do not allow propagating the debris cloud inside the S/C. The ballistic limit of internal equipment behind a sandwich panel structure is evaluated through the implementation of the Schäfer Ryan Lambert (SRL) Ballistic Limit Equation (BLE). The analysis conducted on the case study satellite shows the S/C vulnerability index to be in the range of about 4% over the complete mission, with a significant reduction with respect to the results typically obtained with the traditional analysis, which considers as a failure the structural penetration of the satellite structural panels. The methodology has then been applied to select design strategies (additional local shielding, relocation of components) to improve S/C protection with respect to MMOD. The results of the analyses conducted on the improved design show a reduction of the vulnerability index of about 18%.

Calculating crop water requirement satisfaction in the West Africa Sahel with remotely sensed soil moisture

USGS Publications Warehouse

McNally, Amy; Gregory J. Husak,; Molly Brown,; Carroll, Mark L.; Funk, Christopher C.; Soni Yatheendradas,; Kristi Arsenault,; Christa Peters-Lidard,; Verdin, James

2015-01-01

The Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) mission will provide soil moisture data with unprecedented accuracy, resolution, and coverage, enabling models to better track agricultural drought and estimate yields. In turn, this information can be used to shape policy related to food and water from commodity markets to humanitarian relief efforts. New data alone, however, do not translate to improvements in drought and yield forecasts. New tools will be needed to transform SMAP data into agriculturally meaningful products. The objective of this study is to evaluate the possibility and efficiency of replacing the rainfall-derived soil moisture component of a crop water stress index with SMAP data. The approach is demonstrated with 0.1°-resolution, ~10-day microwave soil moisture from the European Space Agency and simulated soil moisture from the Famine Early Warning Systems Network Land Data Assimilation System. Over a West Africa domain, the approach is evaluated by comparing the different soil moisture estimates and their resulting Water Requirement Satisfaction Index values from 2000 to 2010. This study highlights how the ensemble of indices performs during wet versus dry years, over different land-cover types, and the correlation with national-level millet yields. The new approach is a feasible and useful way to quantitatively assess how satellite-derived rainfall and soil moisture track agricultural water deficits. Given the importance of soil moisture in many applications, ranging from agriculture to public health to fire, this study should inspire other modeling communities to reformulate existing tools to take advantage of SMAP data.

Evaluation of skeletal maturation using mandibular third molar development in Indian adolescents.

PubMed

Mehta, Nishit; Patel, Dolly; Mehta, Falguni; Gupta, Bhaskar; Zaveri, Grishma; Shah, Unnati

2016-01-01

This study was done with the following objectives: to estimate dental maturity using the Demirjian Index (DI) for the mandibular third molar; to investigate the relationship between dental maturity and skeletal maturity among growing patients; to evaluate the use of the mandibular third molar as an adjunctive tool for adolescent growth assessment in combination with the cervical vertebrae; to evaluate the clinical value of the third molar as a growth evaluation index. Samples were derived from panoramic radiographs and lateral cephalograms of 615 subjects (300 males and 315 females) of ages ranging 9-18 years, and estimates of dental maturity (DI) and skeletal maturity [cervical vertebrae maturation indicators (CVMI)] were made. A highly significant association (r = 0.81 for males and r = 0.72 for females) was found between DI and CVMI. DI Stage B corresponded to Stage 2 of CVMI (prepeak of pubertal growth spurt) in both sexes. In males, DI stages C and D represent the peak of the pubertal growth spurt. In females, stages B and C show that the peak of the pubertal growth spurt has not been passed. DI stage E in females and DI Stage F in males correlate that the peak of the pubertal growth spurt has been passed. A highly significant association exists between DI and CVMI. Mandibular third molar DI stages are reliable adjunctive indicators of skeletal maturity.

The hypersensitivity pneumonitis diagnostic index: use of non-invasive testing to diagnose hypersensitivity pneumonitis in metalworkers.

PubMed

Dangman, Kenneth H; Cole, Solon R; Hodgson, Michael J; Kuhn, Charles; Metersky, Mark L; Schenck, Paula; Storey, Eileen

2002-08-01

Since 1993, several outbreaks of hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP) have been reported in metalworkers. We report the largest outbreak of HP in metalworkers yet known. It occurred in a Connecticut factory that produces precision parts for the aerospace industry. The workers typically presented with systemic and respiratory problems ("sick fatigue," myalgias, cough, dyspnea, wheezing, and chest tightness). They had variable findings on clinical tests, which complicated diagnosis. An HP diagnostic index was developed to help reduce the uncertainties in case identification. Data from 16 biopsy-confirmed cases and 14 non-HP patients were compared, and the HP diagnostic index was derived using variables that best discriminated between the two groups. The index is based on (a) work-related symptoms, (b) dry crackles on auscultation, (c) restrictive spirometry, (d) decreased diffusion capacity and/or increased A-a oxygen gradient, (e) elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate, (f) abnormal radiographic images, and (g) abnormal gallium scans. We then applied the HP diagnostic index and, for comparison, the "Kenosha epidemiological case criteria" (developed during a recent HP outbreak in an automobile factory) to our data set. The HP diagnostic index and the Kenosha criteria confirmed HP in overlapping sets of 36 and 34 patients, respectively, that were both in good agreement with the clinical diagnoses. The HP diagnostic index relies less heavily on symptoms, subjective evaluations, and invasive tests than the Kenosha criteria, but both identified similar subsets of the 61 patients as having HP. The HP diagnostic index could provide a useful tool in future HP outbreaks, which are increasingly being recognized in metalworking facilities. Copyright 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Construction of social value or utility-based health indices: the usefulness of factorial experimental design plans.

PubMed

Cadman, D; Goldsmith, C

1986-01-01

Global indices, which aggregate multiple health or function attributes into a single summary indicator, are useful measures in health research. Two key issues must be addressed in the initial stages of index construction from the universe of possible health and function attributes, which ones should be included in a new index? and how simple can the statistical model be to combine attributes into a single numeric index value? Factorial experimental designs were used in the initial stages of developing a function index for evaluating a program for the care of young handicapped children. Beginning with eight attributes judged important to the goals of the program by clinicians, social preference values for different function states were obtained from 32 parents of handicapped children and 32 members of the community. Using category rating methods each rater scored 16 written multi-attribute case descriptions which contained information about a child's status for all eight attributes. Either a good or poor level of each function attribute and age 3 or 5 years were described in each case. Thus, 2(8) = 256 different cases were rated. Two factorial design plans were selected and used to allocate case descriptions to raters. Analysis of variance determined that seven of the eight clinician selected attributes were required in a social value based index for handicapped children. Most importantly, the subsequent steps of index construction could be greatly simplified by the finding that a simple additive statistical model without complex attribute interaction terms was adequate for the index. We conclude that factorial experimental designs are an efficient, feasible and powerful tool for the initial stages of constructing a multi-attribute health index.

High-resolution IKONOS satellite imagery for normalized difference vegetative index-related assessment applied to land clearance studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lavers, Chris R.; Mason, Travis

2017-07-01

High-resolution satellite imagery permits verification of human rights land clearance violations across international borders as a result of unstable regimes or socio-economic upheaval. Without direct access to these areas to validate allegations of human rights abuse, the use of remote sensing tools, techniques, and data is extremely important. Humanitarian assessment can benefit from software-based solutions, involving radiometrically calibrated normalized difference vegetation index and temporal change imagery. We discuss the introduction of a matrix filter approach for change detection studies to help assist rapid building detection over large search areas against a bright background to evaluate internally displaced people in the 2005 Porta Farm Zimbabwe clearances. Future wide-scale near real-time space-based monitoring with a range of digital filters would be of great benefit to international human rights observers and human rights networks.

ECMWF Extreme Forecast Index for water vapor transport: A forecast tool for atmospheric rivers and extreme precipitation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lavers, David A.; Pappenberger, Florian; Richardson, David S.; Zsoter, Ervin

2016-11-01

In winter, heavy precipitation and floods along the west coasts of midlatitude continents are largely caused by intense water vapor transport (integrated vapor transport (IVT)) within the atmospheric river of extratropical cyclones. This study builds on previous findings that showed that forecasts of IVT have higher predictability than precipitation, by applying and evaluating the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Extreme Forecast Index (EFI) for IVT in ensemble forecasts during three winters across Europe. We show that the IVT EFI is more able (than the precipitation EFI) to capture extreme precipitation in forecast week 2 during forecasts initialized in a positive North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) phase; conversely, the precipitation EFI is better during the negative NAO phase and at shorter leads. An IVT EFI example for storm Desmond in December 2015 highlights its potential to identify upcoming hydrometeorological extremes, which may prove useful to the user and forecasting communities.

Creating a school nutrition environment index and pilot testing it in elementary and middle schools in urban South Korea

PubMed Central

Kwon, Kwang-il; Kweon, Soon Ju; Wang, Youfa; Gittelsohn, Joel

2017-01-01

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES The role of a school's nutrition environment in explaining students' eating behaviors and weight status has not been examined in an Asian setting. The purpose of this study was to create a school nutrition environment index and to pilot test the index in elementary and middle schools in urban South Korea. SUBJECTS/METHODS This study used a mixed-methods approach. Environment assessment tools were developed based on formative research, which comprised literature reviews, in-depth interviews, and focus group discussions. Key elements from the formative research were included in the assessment tool, which consisted of a structured survey questionnaire for school dietitians. Fifteen school dietitians from 7 elementary and 8 middle schools in Seoul completed the questionnaire. RESULTS The formative research revealed four main sections that guided a summary index to assess a school's nutrition environment: resource availability, education and programs, dietitians' perceptions and characteristics, and school lunch menu. Based on the literature reviews and interviews, an index scoring system was developed. The total possible score from the combined four index sections was 40 points. From the 15 schools participating in the pilot survey, the mean school nutrition-environment index was 22.5 (standard deviation ± 3.2; range 17-28). The majority of the schools did not offer classroom-based nutrition education or nutrition counseling for students and parents. The popular modes of nutrition education were school websites, posters, and newsletters. CONCLUSIONS This paper illustrates the process used to develop an instrument to assess a school's nutrition environment. Moreover, it presents the steps used to develop a scoring system for creation of a school nutrition environment index. As pilot testing indicated the total index score has some variation across schools, we suggest applying this instrument in future studies involving a larger number of schools. Future studies with larger samples will allow investigation of the validity and reliability of this newly developed tool. PMID:28989577

Creating a school nutrition environment index and pilot testing it in elementary and middle schools in urban South Korea.

PubMed

Park, Sohyun; Kwon, Kwang-Il; Kweon, Soon Ju; Wang, Youfa; Gittelsohn, Joel

2017-10-01

The role of a school's nutrition environment in explaining students' eating behaviors and weight status has not been examined in an Asian setting. The purpose of this study was to create a school nutrition environment index and to pilot test the index in elementary and middle schools in urban South Korea. This study used a mixed-methods approach. Environment assessment tools were developed based on formative research, which comprised literature reviews, in-depth interviews, and focus group discussions. Key elements from the formative research were included in the assessment tool, which consisted of a structured survey questionnaire for school dietitians. Fifteen school dietitians from 7 elementary and 8 middle schools in Seoul completed the questionnaire. The formative research revealed four main sections that guided a summary index to assess a school's nutrition environment: resource availability, education and programs, dietitians' perceptions and characteristics, and school lunch menu. Based on the literature reviews and interviews, an index scoring system was developed. The total possible score from the combined four index sections was 40 points. From the 15 schools participating in the pilot survey, the mean school nutrition-environment index was 22.5 (standard deviation ± 3.2; range 17-28). The majority of the schools did not offer classroom-based nutrition education or nutrition counseling for students and parents. The popular modes of nutrition education were school websites, posters, and newsletters. This paper illustrates the process used to develop an instrument to assess a school's nutrition environment. Moreover, it presents the steps used to develop a scoring system for creation of a school nutrition environment index. As pilot testing indicated the total index score has some variation across schools, we suggest applying this instrument in future studies involving a larger number of schools. Future studies with larger samples will allow investigation of the validity and reliability of this newly developed tool.

Refractive-index profiling of embedded microstructures in optical materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dave, Digant P.; Milner, Thomas E.

2002-04-01

We describe use of a phase-sensitive low-coherence reflectometer to measure spatial variation of refractive index in optical materials. The described interferometric technique is demonstrated to be a valuable tool to profile the refractive index of optical elements such as integrated waveguides and photowritten optical microstructures. As an example, a refractive-index profile is mapped of a microstructure written in a microscope glass slide with an ultrashort-pulse laser.

Evaluation of the validity of osteoporosis and fracture risk assessment tools (IOF One Minute Test, SCORE, and FRAX) in postmenopausal Palestinian women.

PubMed

Kharroubi, Akram; Saba, Elias; Ghannam, Ibrahim; Darwish, Hisham

2017-12-01

The need for simple self-assessment tools is necessary to predict women at high risk for developing osteoporosis. In this study, tools like the IOF One Minute Test, Fracture Risk Assessment Tool (FRAX), and Simple Calculated Osteoporosis Risk Estimation (SCORE) were found to be valid for Palestinian women. The threshold for predicting women at risk for each tool was estimated. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the validity of the updated IOF (International Osteoporosis Foundation) One Minute Osteoporosis Risk Assessment Test, FRAX, SCORE as well as age alone to detect the risk of developing osteoporosis in postmenopausal Palestinian women. Three hundred eighty-two women 45 years and older were recruited including 131 women with osteoporosis and 251 controls following bone mineral density (BMD) measurement, 287 completed questionnaires of the different risk assessment tools. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were evaluated for each tool using bone BMD as the gold standard for osteoporosis. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) was the highest for FRAX calculated with BMD for predicting hip fractures (0.897) followed by FRAX for major fractures (0.826) with cut-off values ˃1.5 and ˃7.8%, respectively. The IOF One Minute Test AUC (0.629) was the lowest compared to other tested tools but with sufficient accuracy for predicting the risk of developing osteoporosis with a cut-off value ˃4 total yes questions out of 18. SCORE test and age alone were also as good predictors of risk for developing osteoporosis. According to the ROC curve for age, women ≥64 years had a higher risk of developing osteoporosis. Higher percentage of women with low BMD (T-score ≤-1.5) or osteoporosis (T-score ≤-2.5) was found among women who were not exposed to the sun, who had menopause before the age of 45 years, or had lower body mass index (BMI) compared to controls. Women who often fall had lower BMI and approximately 27% of the recruited postmenopausal Palestinian women had accidents that caused fractures. Simple self-assessment tools like FRAX without BMD, SCORE, and the IOF One Minute Tests were valid for predicting Palestinian postmenopausal women at high risk of developing osteoporosis.

Coverage of Google Scholar, Scopus, and Web of Science: a case study of the h-index in nursing.

PubMed

De Groote, Sandra L; Raszewski, Rebecca

2012-01-01

This study compares the articles cited in CINAHL, Scopus, Web of Science (WOS), and Google Scholar and the h-index ratings provided by Scopus, WOS, and Google Scholar. The publications of 30 College of Nursing faculty at a large urban university were examined. Searches by author name were executed in Scopus, WOS, and POP (Publish or Perish, which searches Google Scholar), and the h-index for each author from each database was recorded. In addition, the citing articles of their published articles were imported into a bibliographic management program. This data was used to determine an aggregated h-index for each author. Scopus, WOS, and Google Scholar provided different h-index ratings for authors and each database found unique and duplicate citing references. More than one tool should be used to calculate the h-index for nursing faculty because one tool alone cannot be relied on to provide a thorough assessment of a researcher's impact. If researchers are interested in a comprehensive h-index, they should aggregate the citing references located by WOS and Scopus. Because h-index rankings differ among databases, comparisons between researchers should be done only within a specified database. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Mental workload during brain-computer interface training.

PubMed

Felton, Elizabeth A; Williams, Justin C; Vanderheiden, Gregg C; Radwin, Robert G

2012-01-01

It is not well understood how people perceive the difficulty of performing brain-computer interface (BCI) tasks, which specific aspects of mental workload contribute the most, and whether there is a difference in perceived workload between participants who are able-bodied and disabled. This study evaluated mental workload using the NASA Task Load Index (TLX), a multi-dimensional rating procedure with six subscales: Mental Demands, Physical Demands, Temporal Demands, Performance, Effort, and Frustration. Able-bodied and motor disabled participants completed the survey after performing EEG-based BCI Fitts' law target acquisition and phrase spelling tasks. The NASA-TLX scores were similar for able-bodied and disabled participants. For example, overall workload scores (range 0-100) for 1D horizontal tasks were 48.5 (SD = 17.7) and 46.6 (SD 10.3), respectively. The TLX can be used to inform the design of BCIs that will have greater usability by evaluating subjective workload between BCI tasks, participant groups, and control modalities. Mental workload of brain-computer interfaces (BCI) can be evaluated with the NASA Task Load Index (TLX). The TLX is an effective tool for comparing subjective workload between BCI tasks, participant groups (able-bodied and disabled), and control modalities. The data can inform the design of BCIs that will have greater usability.

miBLAST: scalable evaluation of a batch of nucleotide sequence queries with BLAST

PubMed Central

Kim, You Jung; Boyd, Andrew; Athey, Brian D.; Patel, Jignesh M.

2005-01-01

A common task in many modern bioinformatics applications is to match a set of nucleotide query sequences against a large sequence dataset. Exis-ting tools, such as BLAST, are designed to evaluate a single query at a time and can be unacceptably slow when the number of sequences in the query set is large. In this paper, we present a new algorithm, called miBLAST, that evaluates such batch workloads efficiently. At the core, miBLAST employs a q-gram filtering and an index join for efficiently detecting similarity between the query sequences and database sequences. This set-oriented technique, which indexes both the query and the database sets, results in substantial performance improvements over existing methods. Our results show that miBLAST is significantly faster than BLAST in many cases. For example, miBLAST aligned 247 965 oligonucleotide sequences in the Affymetrix probe set against the Human UniGene in 1.26 days, compared with 27.27 days with BLAST (an improvement by a factor of 22). The relative performance of miBLAST increases for larger word sizes; however, it decreases for longer queries. miBLAST employs the familiar BLAST statistical model and output format, guaranteeing the same accuracy as BLAST and facilitating a seamless transition for existing BLAST users. PMID:16061938

Evaluation of Technology-Enhanced Learning Programs for Health Care Professionals: Systematic Review

PubMed Central

MacRury, Sandra; van Woerden, Hugo C; Smyth, Keith

2018-01-01

Background Technology-enhanced learning (TEL) programs are increasingly seen as the way in which education for health care professionals can be transformed, giving access to effective ongoing learning and training even where time or geographical barriers exist. Given the increasing emphasis on this mode of educational support for health care practitioners, it is vital that we can effectively evaluate and measure impact to ensure that TEL programs are effective and fit for purpose. This paper examines the current evidence base for the first time, in relation to the evaluation of TEL programs for health care professionals. Objective We conducted a systematic review of the current literature relating to the evaluation of TEL programs for health care professionals and critically appraised the quality of the studies. Methods This review employed specific search criteria to identify research studies that included evaluation of TEL for health care professionals. The databases searched included Medline Ovid, Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature Plus Advanced, Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts, ZETOC, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Explore Digital Library, Allied and Complementary Medicine, and Education Resources Information Center between January 2006 and January 2017. An additional hand search for relevant articles from reference lists was undertaken. Each of the studies identified was critically appraised for quality using the Crowe Critical Appraisal Tool. This approach produced a percentage total score for each study across specified categories. A proportion of the studies were independently assessed by an additional two reviewers. Results The review identified 21 studies that met the inclusion criteria. The studies included scored totals across eight categories within a range of 37%-95% and an average score of 68%. Studies that measured TEL using learner satisfaction surveys, or combined pretest and posttest knowledge score testing with learner satisfaction surveys, were found to be the most common types of TEL evaluations evident in the literature. The studies reviewed had low scores across reporting on ethical matters, design, and data collection categories. Conclusions There continues to be a need to develop effective and standard TEL evaluation tools, and good quality studies that describe effective evaluation of TEL education for health care professionals. Studies often fail to provide sufficient detail to support transferability or direct future TEL health care education programs. PMID:29643049

Accuracy and Acceptability of a Screening Tool for Identifying Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration among Women Veterans: A Pre-Implementation Evaluation.

PubMed

Portnoy, Galina A; Haskell, Sally G; King, Matthew W; Maskin, Rachel; Gerber, Megan R; Iverson, Katherine M

2018-06-06

Veterans are at heightened risk for perpetrating intimate partner violence (IPV), yet there is limited evidence to inform practice and policy for the detection of IPV perpetration. The present study evaluated the accuracy and acceptability of a potential IPV perpetration screening tool for use with women veterans. A national sample of women veterans completed a 2016 web-based survey that included a modified 5-item Extended-Hurt/Insult/Threaten/Scream (Modified E-HITS) and the Revised Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS-2). Items also assessed women's perceptions of the acceptability and appropriateness of the modified E-HITS questions for use in healthcare settings. Accuracy statistics, including sensitivity and specificity, were calculated using the CTS-2 as the reference standard. Primary measures included the Modified E-HITS (index test), CTS-2 (reference standard), and items assessing acceptability. This study included 187 women, of whom 31 women veterans (16.6%) reported past-6-month IPV perpetration on the CTS-2. The Modified E-HITS demonstrated good overall accuracy (area under the curve, 0.86; 95% confidence interval, 0.78-0.94). In addition, the majority of women perceived the questions to be acceptable and appropriate. Findings demonstrate that the Modified E-HITS is promising as a low-burden tool for detecting of IPV perpetration among women veterans. This tool may help the Veterans Health Administration and other health care providers detect IPV perpetration and offer appropriate referrals for comprehensive assessment and services. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Space station interior noise analysis program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stusnick, E.; Burn, M.

1987-01-01

Documentation is provided for a microcomputer program which was developed to evaluate the effect of the vibroacoustic environment on speech communication inside a space station. The program, entitled Space Station Interior Noise Analysis Program (SSINAP), combines a Statistical Energy Analysis (SEA) prediction of sound and vibration levels within the space station with a speech intelligibility model based on the Modulation Transfer Function and the Speech Transmission Index (MTF/STI). The SEA model provides an effective analysis tool for predicting the acoustic environment based on proposed space station design. The MTF/STI model provides a method for evaluating speech communication in the relatively reverberant and potentially noisy environments that are likely to occur in space stations. The combinations of these two models provides a powerful analysis tool for optimizing the acoustic design of space stations from the point of view of speech communications. The mathematical algorithms used in SSINAP are presented to implement the SEA and MTF/STI models. An appendix provides an explanation of the operation of the program along with details of the program structure and code.

Continuous Monitoring of Pin Tip Wear and Penetration into Rock Surface Using a New Cerchar Abrasivity Testing Device

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hamzaban, Mohammad-Taghi; Memarian, Hossein; Rostami, Jamal

2014-03-01

Evaluation of rock abrasivity is important when utilizing mechanized excavation in various mining and civil projects in hard rock. This is due to the need for proper selection of the rock cutting tools, estimation of the tool wear, machine downtime for cutter change, and costs. The Cerchar Abrasion Index (CAI) test is one of the simplest and most widely used methods for evaluating rock abrasivity. In this study, a new device for the determination of frictional forces and depth of pin penetration into the rock surface during a Cerchar test is discussed. The measured parameters were used to develop an analytical model for calculation of the size of the wear flat (and hence a continuous measure of CAI as the pin moves over the sample) and pin tip penetration into the rock during the test. Based on this model, continuous curves of CAI changes and pin tip penetration into the rock were plotted. Results of the model were used for introduction of a new parameter describing rock-pin interaction and classification of rock abrasion.

Critical appraisal of nonrandomized studies-A review of recommended and commonly used tools.

PubMed

Quigley, Joan M; Thompson, Juliette C; Halfpenny, Nicholas J; Scott, David A

2018-02-27

When randomized controlled trial data are limited or unavailable, or to supplement randomized controlled trial evidence, health technology assessment (HTA) agencies may rely on systematic reviews of nonrandomized studies (NRSs) for evidence of the effectiveness of health care interventions. NRS designs may introduce considerable bias into systematic reviews, and several methodologies by which to evaluate this risk of bias are available. This study aimed to identify tools commonly used to assess bias in NRS and determine those recommended by HTA bodies. Appraisal tools used in NRS were identified through a targeted search of systematic reviews (January 2013-March 2017; MEDLINE and EMBASE [OVID SP]). Recommendations for the critical appraisal of NRS by expert review groups and HTA bodies were reviewed. From the 686 studies included in the narrative synthesis, 48 critical appraisal tools were identified. Commonly used tools included the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale, the methodological index for NRS, and bespoke appraisal tools. Neither the Cochrane Handbook nor the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination recommends a particular instrument for the assessment of risk of bias in NRS, although Cochrane has recently developed their own NRS critical appraisal tool. Among HTA bodies, only the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health recommends use of a specific critical appraisal tool-SIGN 50 (for cohort or case-control studies). Several criteria including reporting, external validity, confounding, and power were examined. There is no consensus between HTA groups on the preferred appraisal tool. Reviewers should select from a suite of tools on the basis of the design of studies included in their review. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

In Vitro Evaluation of a Program for Machine-Aided Indexing.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jacquemin, Christian; Daille, Beatrice; Royaute, Jean; Polanco, Xavier

2002-01-01

Presents the human evaluation of ILIAD, a program for machine-aided indexing that was designed to assist expert librarians in computer-aided indexing and document analysis. Topics include controlled indexing and free indexing; natural language and concept-based information retrieval; evaluation methodology; syntactic variations; and a comparison…

Performance index: An expeditious tool to screen for improved drought resistance in the Lathyrus genus.

PubMed

Silvestre, Susana; Araújo, Susana de Sousa; Vaz Patto, Maria Carlota; Marques da Silva, Jorge

2014-07-01

Some species of the Lathyrus genus are among the most promising crops for marginal lands, with high resilience to drought, flood, and fungal diseases, combined with high yields and seed nutritional value. However, lack of knowledge on the mechanisms underlying its outstanding performance and methodologies to identify elite genotypes has hampered its proper use in breeding. Chlorophyll a fast fluorescence transient (JIP test), was used to evaluate water deficit (WD) resistance in Lathyrus genus. Our results reveal unaltered photochemical values for all studied genotypes showing resistance to mild WD. Under severe WD, two Lathyrus sativus genotypes showed remarkable resilience maintaining the photochemical efficiency, contrary to other genotypes studied. Performance index (PIABS) is the best parameter to screen genotypes with improved performance and grain production under WD. Moreover, we found that JIP indices are good indicators of genotypic grain production under WD. Quantum yield of electron transport (ϕEo) and efficiency with which trapped excitons can move electrons further than QA (ψ0) revealed as important traits related to improved photosynthetic performance and should be exploited in future Lathyrus germplasm improvements. The JIP test herein described showed to be an expeditious tool to screen and to identify elite genotypes with improved drought resistance.

Modalities for assessing the nutritional status in patients with diabetes and cancer.

PubMed

Clemente, G; Gallo, M; Giorgini, M

2018-05-30

Epidemiological data have shown that an increased body mass index (BMI) is associated with a higher risk of various cancers, especially in obese diabetic patients. However, oncologic patients often present nutritional alterations that can worsen their prognosis. The aim of this review is to propose the use of cheaper and easy to use tools to assess the nutritional status of patients with cancer with altered glucose metabolism. Based on a literature review, we propose anthropometric measures to classify the degree of malnutrition. Moreover, the Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS) and the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group's performance index (ECOG) are useful to assess the functional status of the body; the achievement of nutritional needs can be analysed with the PG-SGA questionnaire, while the quality of life can be investigated using the DTSQ, SF36, EQ-5D questionnaires and the Edmonton Symptom Assessment System. Pre-albumin dosage and lymphocyte count are proposed as nutritional parameters. The degree of hydration can be evaluated through the Bio-Impedance Test (BIA), and energy intake through the dairy food diary, which considers the type of nutrition and the consistency of the meals. It is possible to use a score for each tool used, which is useful to plan an adequate nutritional intervention. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Simulation of imperfections in plastic lenses - transferring local refractive index changes into surface shape modifications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arasa, Josep; Pizarro, Carles; Blanco, Patricia

2016-06-01

Injection molded plastic lenses have continuously improved their performance regarding optical quality and nowadays are as usual as glass lenses in image forming devices. However, during the manufacturing process unavoidable fluctuations in material density occur, resulting in local changes in the distribution of refractive index, which degrade the imaging properties of the polymer lens. Such material density fluctuations correlate to phase delays, which opens a path for their mapping. However, it is difficult to transfer the measured variations in refractive index into conventional optical simulation tool. Thus, we propose a method to convert the local variations in refractive index into local changes of one surface of the lens, which can then be described as a free-form surface, easy to introduce in conventional simulation tools. The proposed method was tested on a commercial gradient index (GRIN) lens for a set of six different object positions, using the MTF sagittal and tangential cuts to compare the differences between the real lens and a lens with homogenous refractive index, and the last surface converted into a free-form shape containing the internal refractive index changes. The same procedure was used to reproduce the local refractive index changes of an injected plastic lens with local index changes measured using an in-house built polariscopic arrangement, showing the capability of the method to provide successful results.

Development, application, and sensitivity analysis of a water quality index for drinking water management in small systems.

PubMed

Scheili, A; Rodriguez, Manuel J; Sadiq, R

2015-11-01

The aim of this study was to produce a drinking water assessment tool for operators of small distribution systems. A drinking water quality index (DWQI) was developed and applied to small systems based on the water quality index of the Canadian Council of Ministers of Environment. The drinking water quality index was adapted to specific needs by creating four drinking water quality scenarios. First, the temporal and spatial dimensions of drinking water quality variability were taken into account. The DWQI was designed to express global drinking water quality according to different monitoring frequencies. Daily, monthly, and seasonal assessment was also considered. With the data made available, it was possible to use the index as a spatial monitoring tool and express water quality in different points in the distribution system. Moreover, adjustments were made to prioritize the type of contaminant to monitor. For instance, monitoring contaminants with acute health effects led to a scenario based on daily measures, including easily accessible and affordable water quality parameters. On the other hand, contaminants with chronic effects, especially disinfection by-products, were considered in a seasonal monitoring scenario where disinfection by-product reference values were redefined according to their seasonal variability. A sensitivity analysis was also carried out to validate the index. Globally, the DWQI developed is adapted to the needs of small systems. In fact, expressing drinking water quality using the DWQI contributes to the identification of problematic periods and segments in the distribution system. Further work may include this index in the development of a customized decision-making tool for small-system operators and managers.

Herth hope index: psychometric testing of the Chinese version.

PubMed

Chan, Keung Sum; Li, Ho Cheung William; Chan, Sally Wai-Chi; Lopez, Violeta

2012-09-01

This article is a report on psychometric testing of the Chinese version of the herth hope index. The availability of a valid and reliable instrument that accurately measures the level of hope in patients with heart failure is crucial before any hope-enhancing interventions can be appropriately planned and evaluated. There is no such instrument for Chinese people. A test-retest, within-subjects design was used. A purposive sample of 120 Hong Kong Chinese patients with heart failure between the ages of 60 and 80 years admitted to two medical wards was recruited during an 8-month period in 2009. Participants were asked to respond to the Chinese version of the herth hope index, Hamilton depression rating scale and Rosenberg's self-esteem scale. The internal consistency, content validity and construct validity and test-retest reliability of the Chinese version of the herth hope index were assessed. The newly translated scale demonstrated adequate internal consistency, good content validity and appropriate convergent and discriminant validity. Confirmatory factor analysis added further evidence of the construct validity of the scale. Results suggest that the newly translated scale can be used as a self-report assessment tool in assessing the level of hope in Hong Kong Chinese patients with heart failure. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Screening for Sleep Apnoea in Mild Cognitive Impairment: The Utility of the Multivariable Apnoea Prediction Index

PubMed Central

Wilson, Georgina; Terpening, Zoe; Wong, Keith; Grunstein, Ron; Norrie, Louisa; Lewis, Simon J. G.; Naismith, Sharon L.

2014-01-01

Purpose. Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is considered an “at risk” state for dementia and efforts are needed to target modifiable risk factors, of which Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is one. This study aims to evaluate the predictive utility of the multivariate apnoea prediction index (MAPI), a patient self-report survey, to assess OSA in MCI. Methods. Thirty-seven participants with MCI and 37 age-matched controls completed the MAPI and underwent polysomnography (PSG). Correlations were used to compare the MAPI and PSG measures including oxygen desaturation index and apnoea-hypopnoea index (AHI). Receiver-operating characteristics (ROC) curve analyses were performed using various cut-off scores for apnoea severity. Results. In controls, there was a significant moderate correlation between higher MAPI scores and more severe apnoea (AHI: r = 0.47, P = 0.017). However, this relationship was not significant in the MCI sample. ROC curve analysis indicated much lower area under the curve (AUC) in the MCI sample compared to the controls across all AHI severity cut-off scores. Conclusions. In older people, the MAPI moderately correlates with AHI severity but only in those who are cognitively intact. Development of further screening tools is required in order to accurately screen for OSA in MCI. PMID:24551457

Validation of a nutrition risk screening tool for children and adolescents with cystic fibrosis ages 2-20 years.

PubMed

McDonald, Catherine M

2008-04-01

According to the 2002 Cystic Fibrosis (CF) Foundation nutrition consensus report, children with CF should grow normally. Cross-sectional data from the foundation's patient registry concluded that a body mass index at or greater than the 50th percentile is associated with better lung function. A consistent, evidence-based screening process can identify those individuals with CF having nutrition risk factors associated with a decrease in pulmonary function, target early intervention, and prevent further decline. A tool for screening nutrition risk is described to identify those children with CF who would benefit from more extensive nutrition intervention. The proposed screening tool is a risk-based classification system with 3 categories: weight gain, height velocity, and body mass index. The CF Foundation recommendations regarding these parameters are incorporated, with risk points assigned when minimum body mass index, weight gain, and/or height gain standards are unmet. An interrater measure of agreement determined a satisfactory level of reliability (kappa = 0.85). Patient records (n = 85) were reviewed to determine nutrition status category (no risk or at risk) of this tool compared with the CF Foundation 2002 Nutrition Consensus, yielding sensitivity and specificity at 84% and 75%, respectively. A second comparison was made with combined, independent nutrition risk factors not included in the screening tool. The sensitivity and specificity of the screening tool compared with the combined risk factors were 86% and 78%, respectively. This tool for screening nutrition risk for CF is reliable and valid, with consistent, reproducible results, free from subject or observer bias.

The New Generation of Citation Indexing in the Age of Digital Libraries

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liu, Mengxiong; Cabrera, Peggy

2008-01-01

As the Web is becoming a powerful new medium in scientific publication and scholarly communication, citation indexing has found a new application in the digital environment. The authors reviewed the new developments in Web-based citation indexing and conducted a case study in three major citation search tools, "Web of Science", "Scopus" and…

Stomatal conductance, canopy temperature, and leaf area index estimation using remote sensing and OBIA techniques

Treesearch

S. Panda; D.M. Amatya; G. Hoogenboom

2014-01-01

Remotely sensed images including LANDSAT, SPOT, NAIP orthoimagery, and LiDAR and relevant processing tools can be used to predict plant stomatal conductance (gs), leaf area index (LAI), and canopy temperature, vegetation density, albedo, and soil moisture using vegetation indices like normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) or soil adjusted...

Dietary screening tool identifies nutritional risk in older adults123

PubMed Central

Miller, Paige E; Mitchell, Diane C; Hartman, Terryl J; Lawrence, Frank R; Sempos, Christopher T; Smiciklas-Wright, Helen

2009-01-01

Background: No rapid methods exist for screening overall dietary intakes in older adults. Objective: The purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate a scoring system for a diet screening tool to identify nutritional risk in community-dwelling older adults. Design: This cross-sectional study in older adults (n = 204) who reside in rural areas examined nutrition status by using an in-person interview, biochemical measures, and four 24-h recalls that included the use of dietary supplements. Results: The dietary screening tool was able to characterize 3 levels of nutritional risk: at risk, possible risk, and not at risk. Individuals classified as at nutritional risk had significantly lower indicators of diet quality (Healthy Eating Index and Mean Adequacy Ratio) and intakes of protein, most micronutrients, dietary fiber, fruit, and vegetables. The at-risk group had higher intakes of fats and oils and refined grains. The at-risk group also had the lowest serum vitamin B-12, folate, β-cryptoxanthin, lutein, and zeaxanthin concentrations. The not-at-nutritional-risk group had significantly higher lycopene and β-carotene and lower homocysteine and methylmalonic acid concentrations. Conclusion: The dietary screening tool is a simple and practical tool that can help to detect nutritional risk in older adults. PMID:19458013

Anthropometric indicators of obesity as screening tools for high blood pressure in the elderly.

PubMed

Leal Neto, João de Souza; Coqueiro, Raildo da Silva; Freitas, Roberta Souza; Fernandes, Marcos Henrique; Oliveira, Daniela Sousa; Barbosa, Aline Rodrigues

2013-08-01

The study objectives were to investigate the indicators of obesity most associated with high blood pressure in community-dwelling elderly and identify among these which one best discriminates high blood pressure. This is an epidemiological, population, cross-sectional and home-based study of elderly people (≥ 60 years, n = 316) residing in northeastern Brazil. The results showed that the body mass index and the body adiposity index were the indicators more closely associated with high blood pressure in both sexes. Both in female and male genders, body mass index showed high values of specificity and low sensitivity values for discriminating high blood pressure, whereas the body adiposity index showed high sensitivity and moderate specificity values. In clinical practice and health surveillance, it is suggested that both indicators be used as screening tools for hypertension in the elderly. © 2013 Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

Rasch analysis of Stamps's Index of Work Satisfaction in nursing population.

PubMed

Ahmad, Nora; Oranye, Nelson Ositadimma; Danilov, Alyona

2017-01-01

One of the most commonly used tools for measuring job satisfaction in nursing is the Stamps Index of Work Satisfaction. Several studies have reported on the reliability of the Stamps' tool based on traditional statistical model. The aim of this study was to apply the Rasch model to examine the adequacy of Stamps's Index of Work Satisfaction for measuring nurses' job satisfaction cross-culturally and to determine the validity and reliability of the instrument using the Rasch criteria. A secondary data analysis was conducted on a sample of 556 registered nurses from two countries. The RUMM 2030 software was used to analyse the psychometric properties of the Index of Work Satisfaction. The persons mean location of -0.018 approximated the items mean of 0.00, suggesting a good alignment of the measure and the traits being measured. However, at the items level, some items were misfiting to the Rasch model.

A browsing tool for the Internet Logical Library of the HPCC Software Exchange

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Biro, Ross

1993-01-01

As the quantity of information available on the Internet grows, locating a particular piece of information becomes more difficult. One possible solution is for a database of pointers to all available information to be maintained at a central site. Subject classifications for all the information could also be maintained in order to make searching possible. This paper describes one possible method of searching such an index. In particular a prototype browsing tool has been created using TCL/TK to demonstrate several possible features: rapidly scanning at any rank of the index, narrowing the index to any scope, regular-expression searching, and creation of a list of pointers answering to any set of index terms. The prototype browser is an easy-to-use independent X application designed for use in the Catalog of Repositories of the HPCC (High Performance Computing and Communications) Software Exchange.

Phosphorus indices and the 590 Revision: Why we need to take stock of how we are doing .

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Since its inception nearly 20 years ago, the phosphorus (P) Index has morphed from an educational tool to a Best Management Practice targeting and implementation tool, a manure-scheduling tool, and in many cases, a regulatory tool. A great deal of research has been conducted across the U.S. to deri...

75 FR 8917 - Notice of a Meeting of the Agricultural Air Quality Task Force

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-02-26

... Feeding Operation Index Tool. Fire As An Ecosystem Management Tool. Thursday, March 11, 2010 Discussion of..., color, national origin, gender, religion, age, sexual orientation, or disability. Additionally...

Genetic variants in a lipid regulatory pathway as potential tools for improving the nutritional quality of grass-fed beef.

PubMed

Baeza, M C; Corva, P M; Soria, L A; Pavan, E; Rincon, G; Medrano, J F

2013-04-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of genetic variants on candidate genes corresponding to the sterol recognition element-binding protein-1 (SREBP-1) signaling pathway and stearoyl-CoA desaturases (SCD1 and SCD5) on muscle fatty acid (FA) composition of Brangus steers fattened on grass. FA profiles were measured on Longissimus lumborum muscle samples using a gas chromatography-flame ionization detection technique. A total of 43 tag single-nucleotide polymorphisms on the SCD1, SCD5, SREBP-1, SCAP, INSIG1, INSIG2, MBTPS1, MBTPS2, and SRPR genes were genotyped on 246 steers to perform a marker-trait association study. To evaluate the influence of the Indicine breed in the composite breed, additional groups of 48 Angus, 18 Hereford, 75 Hereford x Angus, and 36 Limousin x Hereford-Angus steers were also genotyped. To perform the association analysis, FA data were grouped according to the number of carbon atoms and/or number of double bonds (i.e. SFA, MUFA, PUFA, etc.). In addition, different indexes that reflect the activity of FA desaturase and elongase enzymes were calculated. SCD1 markers significantly affected C14:1/(C14:0 + C14:1) and C18:1/(C18:0 + C18:1) indexes, whereas one SNP in SCD5 was correlated with the C16:1/(C16:0 + C16:1) index. Polymorphisms in the signal recognition particle receptor (SRPR) gene were associated with all the estimated desaturase indexes. Because the evaluated markers showed no effect on total lipid content of beef, this work supports the potential utilization of these markers for the improvement of grass-fed beef without undesirable side effects. © 2012 The Authors, Animal Genetics © 2012 Stichting International Foundation for Animal Genetics.

The methodological quality assessment tools for preclinical and clinical studies, systematic review and meta-analysis, and clinical practice guideline: a systematic review.

PubMed

Zeng, Xiantao; Zhang, Yonggang; Kwong, Joey S W; Zhang, Chao; Li, Sheng; Sun, Feng; Niu, Yuming; Du, Liang

2015-02-01

To systematically review the methodological assessment tools for pre-clinical and clinical studies, systematic review and meta-analysis, and clinical practice guideline. We searched PubMed, the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions, Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Reviewers Manual, Centre for Reviews and Dissemination, Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP), Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN), and the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) up to May 20th, 2014. Two authors selected studies and extracted data; quantitative analysis was performed to summarize the characteristics of included tools. We included a total of 21 assessment tools for analysis. A number of tools were developed by academic organizations, and some were developed by only a small group of researchers. The JBI developed the highest number of methodological assessment tools, with CASP coming second. Tools for assessing the methodological quality of randomized controlled studies were most abundant. The Cochrane Collaboration's tool for assessing risk of bias is the best available tool for assessing RCTs. For cohort and case-control studies, we recommend the use of the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. The Methodological Index for Non-Randomized Studies (MINORS) is an excellent tool for assessing non-randomized interventional studies, and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (ARHQ) methodology checklist is applicable for cross-sectional studies. For diagnostic accuracy test studies, the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies-2 (QUADAS-2) tool is recommended; the SYstematic Review Centre for Laboratory animal Experimentation (SYRCLE) risk of bias tool is available for assessing animal studies; Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews (AMSTAR) is a measurement tool for systematic reviews/meta-analyses; an 18-item tool has been developed for appraising case series studies, and the Appraisal of Guidelines, Research and Evaluation (AGREE)-II instrument is widely used to evaluate clinical practice guidelines. We have successfully identified a variety of methodological assessment tools for different types of study design. However, further efforts in the development of critical appraisal tools are warranted since there is currently a lack of such tools for other fields, e.g. genetic studies, and some existing tools (nested case-control studies and case reports, for example) are in need of updating to be in line with current research practice and rigor. In addition, it is very important that all critical appraisal tools remain subjective and performance bias is effectively avoided. © 2015 Chinese Cochrane Center, West China Hospital of Sichuan University and Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

Monitoring the progression of erosive tooth wear (ETW) using BEWE index in casts and their 3D images: A retrospective longitudinal study.

PubMed

Marro, Francisca; De Lat, Liesa; Martens, Luc; Jacquet, Wolfgang; Bottenberg, Peter

2018-04-13

To determine if the Basic erosive tooth wear index (BEWE index) is able to assess and monitor ETW changes in two consecutive cast models, and detect methodological differences when using the corresponding 3D image replicas. A total of 480 pre-treatment and 2-year post-treatment orthodontic models (n = 240 cast models and n = 240 3D image replicas) from 120 adolescents treated between 2002 and 2013 at the Gent Dental Clinic, Belgium, were scored using the BEWE index. For data analysis only posterior sextants were considered, and inter-method differences were evaluated using Wilcoxon Signed Rank test, Kappa values and Mc Nemar tests (p < 0.05). Correlations between methods were determined using Kendall tau correlation test. Significant changes of ETW were detected between two consecutive models when BEWE index was used to score cast models or their 3D image replicas (p < 0.001). A strong significant correlation (τb: 0.74; p < 0.001) was shown between both methods However, 3D image-BEWE index combination showed a higher probability for detecting initial surface changes, and scored significantly higher than casts (p < 0.001). Incidence and progression of ETW using 3D images was 13.3% (n = 16) and 60.9% (n = 56) respectively, with two subjects developing BEWE = 3 in at least one tooth surface. BEWE index is a suitable tool for the scoring of ETW lesions in 3D images and cast. The combination of both digital 3D records and index, can be used for the monitoring of ETW in a longitudinal approach. The higher sensibility of BEWE index when scoring 3D images might improve the early diagnosis of ETW lesions. The BEWE index combined with digital 3D records of oral conditions might improve the practitioner performance with respect to early diagnosis, monitoring and managing ETW. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Annotated bibliography of Software Engineering Laboratory literature

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1985-01-01

An annotated bibliography of technical papers, documents, and memorandums produced by or related to the Software Engineering Laboratory is presented. More than 100 publications are summarized. These publications are summarized. These publications cover many areas of software engineering and range from research reports to software documentation. This document has been updated and reorganized substantially since the original version (SEL-82-006, November 1982). All materials are grouped into five general subject areas for easy reference: (1) the software engineering laboratory; (2) software tools; (3) models and measures; (4) technology evaluations; and (5) data collection. An index further classifies these documents by specific topic.

Veterinary medicine books recommended for academic libraries

PubMed Central

Crawley-Low, Jill

2004-01-01

This bibliography of in-print veterinary medical books published in English may be used as an acquisitions or evaluation tool for developing the monograph component of new veterinary medicine collections or existing science, technology, and medicine collections where veterinary medicine is in the scope of the collection. The bibliography is divided into 34 categories and consists of bibliographic information for 419 titles. The appendix contains an author/editor index. Prices for all entries are in US dollars, except where another currency is noted. The total cost of all books in the bibliography is $43,602.13 (US). PMID:15494763

Veterinary medicine books recommended for academic libraries.

PubMed

Crawley-Low, Jill

2004-10-01

This bibliography of in-print veterinary medical books published in English may be used as an acquisitions or evaluation tool for developing the monograph component of new veterinary medicine collections or existing science, technology, and medicine collections where veterinary medicine is in the scope of the collection. The bibliography is divided into 34 categories and consists of bibliographic information for 419 titles. The appendix contains an author/editor index. Prices for all entries are in US dollars, except where another currency is noted. The total cost of all books in the bibliography is $43,602.13 (US).

Phenotype Instance Verification and Evaluation Tool (PIVET): A Scaled Phenotype Evidence Generation Framework Using Web-Based Medical Literature.

PubMed

Henderson, Jette; Ke, Junyuan; Ho, Joyce C; Ghosh, Joydeep; Wallace, Byron C

2018-05-04

Researchers are developing methods to automatically extract clinically relevant and useful patient characteristics from raw healthcare datasets. These characteristics, often capturing essential properties of patients with common medical conditions, are called computational phenotypes. Being generated by automated or semiautomated, data-driven methods, such potential phenotypes need to be validated as clinically meaningful (or not) before they are acceptable for use in decision making. The objective of this study was to present Phenotype Instance Verification and Evaluation Tool (PIVET), a framework that uses co-occurrence analysis on an online corpus of publically available medical journal articles to build clinical relevance evidence sets for user-supplied phenotypes. PIVET adopts a conceptual framework similar to the pioneering prototype tool PheKnow-Cloud that was developed for the phenotype validation task. PIVET completely refactors each part of the PheKnow-Cloud pipeline to deliver vast improvements in speed without sacrificing the quality of the insights PheKnow-Cloud achieved. PIVET leverages indexing in NoSQL databases to efficiently generate evidence sets. Specifically, PIVET uses a succinct representation of the phenotypes that corresponds to the index on the corpus database and an optimized co-occurrence algorithm inspired by the Aho-Corasick algorithm. We compare PIVET's phenotype representation with PheKnow-Cloud's by using PheKnow-Cloud's experimental setup. In PIVET's framework, we also introduce a statistical model trained on domain expert-verified phenotypes to automatically classify phenotypes as clinically relevant or not. Additionally, we show how the classification model can be used to examine user-supplied phenotypes in an online, rather than batch, manner. PIVET maintains the discriminative power of PheKnow-Cloud in terms of identifying clinically relevant phenotypes for the same corpus with which PheKnow-Cloud was originally developed, but PIVET's analysis is an order of magnitude faster than that of PheKnow-Cloud. Not only is PIVET much faster, it can be scaled to a larger corpus and still retain speed. We evaluated multiple classification models on top of the PIVET framework and found ridge regression to perform best, realizing an average F1 score of 0.91 when predicting clinically relevant phenotypes. Our study shows that PIVET improves on the most notable existing computational tool for phenotype validation in terms of speed and automation and is comparable in terms of accuracy. ©Jette Henderson, Junyuan Ke, Joyce C Ho, Joydeep Ghosh, Byron C Wallace. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (http://www.jmir.org), 04.05.2018.

Phenotype Instance Verification and Evaluation Tool (PIVET): A Scaled Phenotype Evidence Generation Framework Using Web-Based Medical Literature

PubMed Central

Ke, Junyuan; Ho, Joyce C; Ghosh, Joydeep; Wallace, Byron C

2018-01-01

Background Researchers are developing methods to automatically extract clinically relevant and useful patient characteristics from raw healthcare datasets. These characteristics, often capturing essential properties of patients with common medical conditions, are called computational phenotypes. Being generated by automated or semiautomated, data-driven methods, such potential phenotypes need to be validated as clinically meaningful (or not) before they are acceptable for use in decision making. Objective The objective of this study was to present Phenotype Instance Verification and Evaluation Tool (PIVET), a framework that uses co-occurrence analysis on an online corpus of publically available medical journal articles to build clinical relevance evidence sets for user-supplied phenotypes. PIVET adopts a conceptual framework similar to the pioneering prototype tool PheKnow-Cloud that was developed for the phenotype validation task. PIVET completely refactors each part of the PheKnow-Cloud pipeline to deliver vast improvements in speed without sacrificing the quality of the insights PheKnow-Cloud achieved. Methods PIVET leverages indexing in NoSQL databases to efficiently generate evidence sets. Specifically, PIVET uses a succinct representation of the phenotypes that corresponds to the index on the corpus database and an optimized co-occurrence algorithm inspired by the Aho-Corasick algorithm. We compare PIVET’s phenotype representation with PheKnow-Cloud’s by using PheKnow-Cloud’s experimental setup. In PIVET’s framework, we also introduce a statistical model trained on domain expert–verified phenotypes to automatically classify phenotypes as clinically relevant or not. Additionally, we show how the classification model can be used to examine user-supplied phenotypes in an online, rather than batch, manner. Results PIVET maintains the discriminative power of PheKnow-Cloud in terms of identifying clinically relevant phenotypes for the same corpus with which PheKnow-Cloud was originally developed, but PIVET’s analysis is an order of magnitude faster than that of PheKnow-Cloud. Not only is PIVET much faster, it can be scaled to a larger corpus and still retain speed. We evaluated multiple classification models on top of the PIVET framework and found ridge regression to perform best, realizing an average F1 score of 0.91 when predicting clinically relevant phenotypes. Conclusions Our study shows that PIVET improves on the most notable existing computational tool for phenotype validation in terms of speed and automation and is comparable in terms of accuracy. PMID:29728351

Development of the athlete sleep behavior questionnaire: A tool for identifying maladaptive sleep practices in elite athletes

PubMed Central

Driller, Matthew W; Mah, Cheri D; Halson, Shona L

2018-01-01

Introduction Existing sleep questionnaires to assess sleep behaviors may not be sensitive in determining the unique sleep challenges faced by elite athletes. The purpose of the current study was to develop and validate the Athlete Sleep Behavior Questionnaire (ASBQ) to be used as a practical tool for support staff working with elite athletes. Methods 564 participants (242 athletes, 322 non-athletes) completed the 18-item ASBQ and three previously validated questionnaires; the Sleep Hygiene Index (SHI), the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). A cohort of the studied population performed the ASBQ twice in one week to assess test-retest reliability, and also performed sleep monitoring via wrist-actigraphy. Results Comparison of the ASBQ with existing sleep questionnaires resulted in moderate to large correlations (r=0.32 - 0.69). There was a significant difference between athletes and non-athletes for the ASBQ global score (44±6 vs. 41±6, respectively, p<0.01) and for the PSQI, but not for the SHI or the ESS. The reliability of the ASBQ was acceptable (ICC=0.87) when re-tested within 7 days. There was a moderate relationship between ASBQ and total sleep time (r=-0.42). Conclusion The ASBQ is a valid and reliable tool that can differentiate the sleep practices between athletes and non-athletes, and offers a practical instrument for practitioners and/or researchers wanting to evaluate the sleep behaviors of elite athletes. The ASBQ may provide information on areas where improvements to individual athletes’ sleep habits could be made. PMID:29796200

A multiparametric automatic method to monitor long-term reproducibility in digital mammography: results from a regional screening programme.

PubMed

Gennaro, G; Ballaminut, A; Contento, G

2017-09-01

This study aims to illustrate a multiparametric automatic method for monitoring long-term reproducibility of digital mammography systems, and its application on a large scale. Twenty-five digital mammography systems employed within a regional screening programme were controlled weekly using the same type of phantom, whose images were analysed by an automatic software tool. To assess system reproducibility levels, 15 image quality indices (IQIs) were extracted and compared with the corresponding indices previously determined by a baseline procedure. The coefficients of variation (COVs) of the IQIs were used to assess the overall variability. A total of 2553 phantom images were collected from the 25 digital mammography systems from March 2013 to December 2014. Most of the systems showed excellent image quality reproducibility over the surveillance interval, with mean variability below 5%. Variability of each IQI was 5%, with the exception of one index associated with the smallest phantom objects (0.25 mm), which was below 10%. The method applied for reproducibility tests-multi-detail phantoms, cloud automatic software tool to measure multiple image quality indices and statistical process control-was proven to be effective and applicable on a large scale and to any type of digital mammography system. • Reproducibility of mammography image quality should be monitored by appropriate quality controls. • Use of automatic software tools allows image quality evaluation by multiple indices. • System reproducibility can be assessed comparing current index value with baseline data. • Overall system reproducibility of modern digital mammography systems is excellent. • The method proposed and applied is cost-effective and easily scalable.

Diagnostic Accuracy of Fall Risk Assessment Tools in People With Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy

PubMed Central

Pohl, Patricia S.; Mahnken, Jonathan D.; Kluding, Patricia M.

2012-01-01

Background Diabetic peripheral neuropathy affects nearly half of individuals with diabetes and leads to increased fall risk. Evidence addressing fall risk assessment for these individuals is lacking. Objective The purpose of this study was to identify which of 4 functional mobility fall risk assessment tools best discriminates, in people with diabetic peripheral neuropathy, between recurrent “fallers” and those who are not recurrent fallers. Design A cross-sectional study was conducted. Setting The study was conducted in a medical research university setting. Participants The participants were a convenience sample of 36 individuals between 40 and 65 years of age with diabetic peripheral neuropathy. Measurements Fall history was assessed retrospectively and was the criterion standard. Fall risk was assessed using the Functional Reach Test, the Timed “Up & Go” Test, the Berg Balance Scale, and the Dynamic Gait Index. Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative likelihood ratios, and overall diagnostic accuracy were calculated for each fall risk assessment tool. Receiver operating characteristic curves were used to estimate modified cutoff scores for each fall risk assessment tool; indexes then were recalculated. Results Ten of the 36 participants were classified as recurrent fallers. When traditional cutoff scores were used, the Dynamic Gait Index and Functional Reach Test demonstrated the highest sensitivity at only 30%; the Dynamic Gait Index also demonstrated the highest overall diagnostic accuracy. When modified cutoff scores were used, all tools demonstrated improved sensitivity (80% or 90%). Overall diagnostic accuracy improved for all tests except the Functional Reach Test; the Timed “Up & Go” Test demonstrated the highest diagnostic accuracy at 88.9%. Limitations The small sample size and retrospective fall history assessment were limitations of the study. Conclusions Modified cutoff scores improved diagnostic accuracy for 3 of 4 fall risk assessment tools when testing people with diabetic peripheral neuropathy. PMID:22836004

MeSH indexing based on automatically generated summaries

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background MEDLINE citations are manually indexed at the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM) using as reference the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) controlled vocabulary. For this task, the human indexers read the full text of the article. Due to the growth of MEDLINE, the NLM Indexing Initiative explores indexing methodologies that can support the task of the indexers. Medical Text Indexer (MTI) is a tool developed by the NLM Indexing Initiative to provide MeSH indexing recommendations to indexers. Currently, the input to MTI is MEDLINE citations, title and abstract only. Previous work has shown that using full text as input to MTI increases recall, but decreases precision sharply. We propose using summaries generated automatically from the full text for the input to MTI to use in the task of suggesting MeSH headings to indexers. Summaries distill the most salient information from the full text, which might increase the coverage of automatic indexing approaches based on MEDLINE. We hypothesize that if the results were good enough, manual indexers could possibly use automatic summaries instead of the full texts, along with the recommendations of MTI, to speed up the process while maintaining high quality of indexing results. Results We have generated summaries of different lengths using two different summarizers, and evaluated the MTI indexing on the summaries using different algorithms: MTI, individual MTI components, and machine learning. The results are compared to those of full text articles and MEDLINE citations. Our results show that automatically generated summaries achieve similar recall but higher precision compared to full text articles. Compared to MEDLINE citations, summaries achieve higher recall but lower precision. Conclusions Our results show that automatic summaries produce better indexing than full text articles. Summaries produce similar recall to full text but much better precision, which seems to indicate that automatic summaries can efficiently capture the most important contents within the original articles. The combination of MEDLINE citations and automatically generated summaries could improve the recommendations suggested by MTI. On the other hand, indexing performance might be dependent on the MeSH heading being indexed. Summarization techniques could thus be considered as a feature selection algorithm that might have to be tuned individually for each MeSH heading. PMID:23802936

The Human Resources for Health Effort Index: a tool to assess and inform Strategic Health Workforce Investments.

PubMed

Fort, Alfredo L; Deussom, Rachel; Burlew, Randi; Gilroy, Kate; Nelson, David

2017-07-19

Despite its importance, the field of human resources for health (HRH) has lagged in developing methods to measure its status and progress in low- and middle-income countries suffering a workforce crisis. Measures of professional health worker densities and distribution are purely numerical, unreliable, and do not represent the full spectrum of workers providing health services. To provide more information on the multi-dimensional characteristics of human resources for health, in 2013-2014, the global USAID-funded CapacityPlus project, led by IntraHealth International, developed and tested a 79-item HRH Effort Index modeled after the widely used Family Planning Effort Index. The index includes seven recognized HRH dimensions: Leadership and Advocacy; Policy and Governance; Finance; Education and Training; Recruitment, Distribution, and Retention; Human Resources Management; and Monitoring, Evaluation, and Information Systems. Each item is scored from 1 to 10 and scores are averaged with equal weights for each dimension and overall. The questionnaire is applied to knowledgeable informants from public, nongovernmental organization, and private sectors in each country. A pilot test among 49 respondents in Kenya and Nigeria provided useful information to improve, combine, and streamline questions. CapacityPlus applied the revised 50-item questionnaire in 2015 in Burkina Faso, Dominican Republic, Ghana, and Mali, among 92 respondents. Additionally, the index was applied subnationally in the Dominican Republic (16 respondents) and in a consensus-building meeting in Mali (43 respondents) after the national application. The results revealed a range of scores between 3.7 and 6.2 across dimensions, for overall scores between 4.8 and 5.5. Dimensions with lower scores included Recruitment, Distribution, and Retention, while Leadership and Advocacy had higher scores. The tool proved to be well understood and provided key qualitative information on the health workforce to assist in health systems strengthening. It is expected that subsequent applications should provide more information for comparison purposes, to refine aspects of the questionnaire and to correlate scores with measures of service outputs and outcomes.

Assessment of impacts of climate change on gender in the context of Nepal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paudel, R.; Acharya, A.

2016-12-01

Climate change and its impact on gender in the context of Nepal has not been clearly understood due to lack of proper scientific research in terms of gender and climate change. Climate induced disasters such as droughts, floods, GLOFs, and landslides affect men and women differently. This study is conducted to analyze the scenario of gender equality, and impacts of climate change on gender in Nepal. This study also identifies gender based adaptation approaches through the use of observed climate data, and projected and modeled demographic data such as Adolescent Fertility Rate, Labor Force Participation Rate, and Maternal Mortality Ratio. The major tasks of this project include the calculation of Gender Inequality Index (GII), trend analysis and correlation between GII and temperature, that helps to evaluate the women vulnerability and identify the gender based adaptation interventions in Nepal. The required data on gender and temperature are obtained from World Bank and Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, Nepal. GII is calculated for almost 26 years starting from the year 1990 by utilizing a tool "Calculating the Indices using Excel" provided through the UNDP. The Reproductive Health Index (RHI), Empowerment Index (EI), and Labor Market Index (LMI) that are required to determine GII are also calculated through the use of same tool. The trend analysis shows that GII follows a decreasing trend indicating higher gender equality. The correlation analysis shows the temperature positively correlated with RHI (r=0.64), EI Female (r=0.61), and EI Male (r=0.73). In case of LMI, temperature is positively correlated with female (r=0.14) and negatively correlated with male (r=-0.57). The analysis depicts negative correlation (r=-0.68) between climate change and GII. This research will provide some valuable insights in the research relating to gender and climate change that could help gender advocates and policymakers in developing further plans for women empowerment.

Application of refractometry to quality assurance monitoring of parenteral nutrition solutions.

PubMed

Chang, Wei-Kuo; Chao, You-Chen; Yeh, Ming-Kung

2008-01-01

Parenteral nutrition (PN) solution contains various concentrations of dextrose, amino acids, lipids, vitamins, electrolytes, and trace elements. Incorrect preparation of PN solution could lead to patient death. In this study we used the refractive index as a quality assurance tool to monitor the preparation of PN solution. Refractive indices of single nutrient components and PN solutions consisting of various concentrations of dextrose, amino acids, electrolytes, and lipids were measured. A mathematical equation and its linear plot were generated then used to predict the refractive index of the PN solution. The best-fit refractive index for PN solution (i.e., the predicted refractive index)=0.9798x(% dextrose)+1.2889x(% amino acids)+1.1017x(% lipids)+0.9440x(% sum of the electrolytes)+0.5367 (r2=0.99). This equation was validated by comparing the measured refractive indices of 500 clinical PN solutions to their predicted refractive indices. We found that 2 of the 500 prepared samples (0.4%) had less than the predicted refractive index (<95%). Refractive index can be used as a reliable quality assurance tool for monitoring PN preparation. Such information can be obtained at the bedside and used to confirm the accuracy of the PN solution composition.

Optofluidic two-dimensional grating volume refractive index sensor.

PubMed

Sarkar, Anirban; Shivakiran Bhaktha, B N; Khastgir, Sugata Pratik

2016-09-10

We present an optofluidic reservoir with a two-dimensional grating for a lab-on-a-chip volume refractive index sensor. The observed diffraction pattern from the device resembles the analytically obtained fringe pattern. The change in the diffraction pattern has been monitored in the far-field for fluids with different refractive indices. Reliable measurements of refractive index variations, with an accuracy of 6×10^-3 refractive index units, for different fluids establishes the optofluidic device as a potential on-chip tool for monitoring dynamic refractive index changes.

Comparing two motor assessment tools to evaluate neurobehavioral intervention effects in infants with very low birth weight at 1 year.

PubMed

Van Hus, Janeline W P; Jeukens-Visser, Martine; Koldewijn, Karen; Van Sonderen, Loekie; Kok, Joke H; Nollet, Frans; Van Wassenaer-Leemhuis, Aleid G

2013-11-01

Infants with very low birth weight (VLBW) are at increased risk for motor deficits, which may be reduced by early intervention programs. For detection of motor deficits and to monitor intervention, different assessment tools are available. It is important to choose tools that are sensitive to evaluate the efficacy of intervention on motor outcome. The purpose of this study was to compare the Alberta Infant Motor Scale (AIMS) and the Psychomotor Developmental Index (PDI) of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development-Dutch Second Edition (BSID-II-NL) in their ability to evaluate effects of an early intervention, provided by pediatric physical therapists, on motor development in infants with VLBW at 12 months corrected age (CA). This was a secondary study in which data collected from a randomized controlled trial (RCT) were used. At 12 months CA, 116 of 176 infants with VLBW participating in an RCT on the effect of the Infant Behavioral Assessment and Intervention Program were assessed with both the AIMS and the PDI. Intervention effects on the AIMS and PDI were compared. Corrected for baseline differences, significant intervention effects were found for AIMS and PDI scores. The highest effect size was for the AIMS subscale sit. A significant reduction of abnormal motor development in the intervention group was found only with the AIMS. No Dutch norms are available for the AIMS. The responsiveness of the AIMS to detect intervention effects was better than that of the PDI. Therefore, caution is recommended in monitoring infants with VLBW only with the PDI, and the use of both the AIMS and the Bayley Scales of Infant Development is advised when evaluating intervention effects on motor development at 12 months CA.

A Data-Driven Design Evaluation Tool for Handheld Device Soft Keyboards

PubMed Central

Trudeau, Matthieu B.; Sunderland, Elsie M.; Jindrich, Devin L.; Dennerlein, Jack T.

2014-01-01

Thumb interaction is a primary technique used to operate small handheld devices such as smartphones. Despite the different techniques involved in operating a handheld device compared to a personal computer, the keyboard layouts for both devices are similar. A handheld device keyboard that considers the physical capabilities of the thumb may improve user experience. We developed and applied a design evaluation tool for different geometries of the QWERTY keyboard using a performance evaluation model. The model utilizes previously collected data on thumb motor performance and posture for different tap locations and thumb movement directions. We calculated a performance index (PITOT, 0 is worst and 2 is best) for 663 designs consisting in different combinations of three variables: the keyboard's radius of curvature (R) (mm), orientation (O) (°), and vertical location on the screen (L). The current standard keyboard performed poorly (PITOT = 0.28) compared to other designs considered. Keyboard location (L) contributed to the greatest variability in performance out of the three design variables, suggesting that designers should modify this variable first. Performance was greatest for designs in the middle keyboard location. In addition, having a slightly upward curve (R = −20 mm) and orientated perpendicular to the thumb's long axis (O = −20°) improved performance to PITOT = 1.97. Poorest performances were associated with placement of the keyboard's spacebar in the bottom right corner of the screen (e.g., the worst was for R = 20 mm, O = 40°, L =  Bottom (PITOT = 0.09)). While this evaluation tool can be used in the design process as an ergonomic reference to promote user motor performance, other design variables such as visual access and usability still remain unexplored. PMID:25211465

[The virtual university in medicine. Context, concepts, specifications, users' manual].

PubMed

Duvauferrier, R; Séka, L P; Rolland, Y; Rambeau, M; Le Beux, P; Morcet, N

1998-09-01

The widespread use of Web servers, with the emergence of interactive functions and the possibility of credit card payment via Internet, together with the requirement for continuing education and the subsequent need for a computer to link into the health care network have incited the development of a virtual university scheme on Internet. The Virtual University of Radiology is not only a computer-assisted teaching tool with a set of attractive features, but also a powerful engine allowing the organization, distribution and control of medical knowledge available in the www.server. The scheme provides patient access to general information, a secretary's office for enrollment and the Virtual University itself, with its library, image database, a forum for subspecialties and clinical case reports, an evaluation module and various guides and help tools for diagnosis, prescription and indexing. Currently the Virtual University of Radiology offers diagnostic imaging, but can also be used by other specialties and for general practice.

Analysis of Vaginal Microbicide Film Hydration Kinetics by Quantitative Imaging Refractometry

PubMed Central

Rinehart, Matthew; Grab, Sheila; Rohan, Lisa; Katz, David; Wax, Adam

2014-01-01

We have developed a quantitative imaging refractometry technique, based on holographic phase microscopy, as a tool for investigating microscopic structural changes in water-soluble polymeric materials. Here we apply the approach to analyze the structural degradation of vaginal topical microbicide films due to water uptake. We implemented transmission imaging of 1-mm diameter film samples loaded into a flow chamber with a 1.5×2 mm field of view. After water was flooded into the chamber, interference images were captured and analyzed to obtain high resolution maps of the local refractive index and subsequently the volume fraction and mass density of film material at each spatial location. Here, we compare the hydration dynamics of a panel of films with varying thicknesses and polymer compositions, demonstrating that quantitative imaging refractometry can be an effective tool for evaluating and characterizing the performance of candidate microbicide film designs for anti-HIV drug delivery. PMID:24736376

Analysis of vaginal microbicide film hydration kinetics by quantitative imaging refractometry.

PubMed

Rinehart, Matthew; Grab, Sheila; Rohan, Lisa; Katz, David; Wax, Adam

2014-01-01

We have developed a quantitative imaging refractometry technique, based on holographic phase microscopy, as a tool for investigating microscopic structural changes in water-soluble polymeric materials. Here we apply the approach to analyze the structural degradation of vaginal topical microbicide films due to water uptake. We implemented transmission imaging of 1-mm diameter film samples loaded into a flow chamber with a 1.5×2 mm field of view. After water was flooded into the chamber, interference images were captured and analyzed to obtain high resolution maps of the local refractive index and subsequently the volume fraction and mass density of film material at each spatial location. Here, we compare the hydration dynamics of a panel of films with varying thicknesses and polymer compositions, demonstrating that quantitative imaging refractometry can be an effective tool for evaluating and characterizing the performance of candidate microbicide film designs for anti-HIV drug delivery.

Performing drought indices to identify the relationship between agricultural losses and drought events in Spain.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peña Gallardo, Marina; Serrano, Sergio Martín Vicente; Portugués Santiago, Beguería; Burguera Miquel, Tomás

2017-04-01

Drought leads to crop failures reducing the productivity. For this reason, the need of appropriate tool for recognize dry periods and evaluate the impact of drought on crop production is important. In this study, we provide an assessment of the relationship between drought episodes and crop failures in Spain as one of the direct consequences of drought is the diminishing of crop yields. First, different drought indices [the Standardized Precipitation and Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI); the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI); the self-calibrated Palmer Moisture Anomaly Index (Z-Index), the self-calibrated Crop Moisture Index (CMI) and the Standardized Palmer Drought Index (SPDI)] have been calculated at different time scales in order to identify the dry events occurred in Spain and determine the duration and intensity of each event. Second, the drought episodes have been correlated with crop production estimated and final crop production data provided by the Spanish Crop Insurance System for the available period from 1995 to 2014 at the municipal spatial scale, with the purpose of knowing if the characteristics of the drought episodes are reflected on the agricultural losses. The analysis has been carried out in particular for two types of crop, wheat and barley. The results indicate the existence of an agreement between the most important drought events in Spain and the response of the crop productions and the proportion of hectare insurance. Nevertheless, this agreement vary depending on the drought index applied. Authors found a higher competence of the drought indices calculated at different time scales (SPEI, SPI and SPDI) identifying the begging and end of the drought events and the correspondence with the crop failures.

Psychometric properties of the neck disability index amongst patients with chronic neck pain using item response theory.

PubMed

Saltychev, Mikhail; Mattie, Ryan; McCormick, Zachary; Laimi, Katri

2017-05-13

The Neck Disability Index (NDI) is commonly used for clinical and research assessment for chronic neck pain, yet the original version of this tool has not undergone significant validity testing, and in particular, there has been minimal assessment using Item Response Theory. The goal of the present study was to investigate the psychometric properties of the original version of the NDI in a large sample of individuals with chronic neck pain by defining its internal consistency, construct structure and validity, and its ability to discriminate between different degrees of functional limitation. This is a cross-sectional cohort study of 585 consecutive patients with chronic neck pain seen in a university hospital rehabilitation clinic. Internal consistency was evaluated using Cronbach's alpha, construct structure was evaluated by exploratory factor analysis, and discrimination ability was determined by Item Response Theory. The NDI demonstrated good internal consistency assessed by Cronbach's alpha (0.87). The exploratory factor analysis identified only one factor with eigenvalue considered significant (cutoff 1.0). When analyzed by Item Response Theory, eight out of 10 items demonstrated almost ideal difficulty parameter estimates. In addition, eight out of 10 items showed high to perfect estimates of discrimination ability (overall range 0.8 to 2.9). Amongst patients with chronic neck pain, the NDI was found to have good internal consistency, have unidimensional properties, and an excellent ability to distinguish patients with different levels of perceived disability. Implications for Rehabilitation The Neck Disability Index has good internal consistency, unidimensional properties, and an excellent ability to distinguish patients with different levels of perceived disability. The Neck Disability Index is recommended for use when selecting patients for rehabilitation, setting rehabilitation goals, and measuring the outcome of intervention.

Echocardiographic evaluation of right ventricular stroke work index in advanced heart failure: a new index?

PubMed

Frea, Simone; Bovolo, Virginia; Bergerone, Serena; D'Ascenzo, Fabrizio; Antolini, Marina; Capriolo, Michele; Canavosio, Federico Giovanni; Morello, Mara; Gaita, Fiorenzo

2012-12-01

Right ventricular (RV) function plays a pivotal role in advanced heart failure patients, especially for screening those who may benefit from left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation. We introduce RV contraction pressure index (RVCPI) as a new echo-Doppler parameter of RV function. The accuracy of RVCPI in detecting RV failure was compared with the criterion standard, the RV stroke work index (RVSWI) obtained through right heart catheterization in advanced heart failure patients referred for heart transplantation or LVAD implantation. Right heart catheterization and echo-Doppler were simultaneously performed in 94 consecutive patients referred to our center for advanced heart failure (ejection fraction (EF) 24 ± 8.8%, 40% NYHA functional class IV). RV stroke volume and invasive pulmonary pressures were used to obtain RVSWI. Simplified RVCPI (sRVCPI) was derived as TAPSE × (RV - right atrial pressure gradient). Close positive correlation between sRVCPI and RVSWI was found (r = 0.68; P < .001). With logistic regression, we found that increased sRVCPI showed an independent reduced risk (odds ratio 0.98, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.97-0.99; P = .016) for patients to present a depressed RVSWI (<0.25 mm Hg/L·m(2)). Simplified RVCPI showed high diagnostic accuracy (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve 0.94, 95% CI 0.89-0.99) and good sensitivity and specificity (92% and 85%, respectively) to predict depressed RVSWI with the use of a cutoff value of <400 mm·mm Hg. In patients with advanced heart failure, the new simple bedside sRVCPI closely correlated with RVSWI, providing an independent, noninvasive, and easy tool for the evaluation of RV function. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A Statistical Tool for Examining Heat Waves and Other Extreme Phenomena Arising from Multiple Factors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cooley, D. S.; Castillo, F.; Thibaud, E.

2017-12-01

A 2015 heatwave in Pakistan is blamed for over a thousand deaths. This event consisted of several days of very high temperatures and unusually high humidity for this region. However, none of these days exceeded the threshold for "extreme danger" in terms of the heat index. The heat index is a univariate function of both temperature and humidity which is universally applied at all locations regardless of local climate. Understanding extremes which arise from multiple factors is challenging. In this paper we will present a tool for examining bivariate extreme behavior. The tool, developed in the statistical software R, draws isolines of equal exceedance probability. These isolines can be understood as bivariate "return levels". The tool is based on a dependence framework specific for extremes, is semiparametric, and is able to extrapolate isolines beyond the range of the data. We illustrate this tool using the Pakistan heat wave data and other bivariate data.

Reverberation index: a novel metric by which to quantify the impact of a scientific entity on a given field.

PubMed

Kathleen Bandt, S; Dacey, Ralph G

2017-09-01

The authors propose a novel bibilometric index, the reverberation index (r-index), as a comparative assessment tool for use in determining differential reverberation between scientific fields for a given scientific entity. Conversely, this may allow comparison of 2 similar scientific entities within a single scientific field. This index is calculated using a relatively simple 3-step process. Briefly, Thompson Reuters' Web of Science is used to produce a citation report for a unique search parameter (this may be an author, journal article, or topical key word). From this citation report, a list of citing journals is retrieved from which a weighted ratio of citation patterns across journals can be calculated. This r-index is then used to compare the reverberation of the original search parameter across different fields of study or wherever a comparison is required. The advantage of this novel tool is its ability to transcend a specific component of the scientific process. This affords application to a diverse range of entities, including an author, a journal article, or a topical key word, for effective comparison of that entity's reverberation within a scientific arena. The authors introduce the context for and applications of the r-index, emphasizing neurosurgical topics and journals for illustration purposes. It should be kept in mind, however, that the r-index is readily applicable across all fields of study.

Validation of the Cepstral Spectral Index of Dysphonia (CSID) as a Screening Tool for Voice Disorders: Development of Clinical Cutoff Scores.

PubMed

Awan, Shaheen N; Roy, Nelson; Zhang, Dong; Cohen, Seth M

2016-03-01

The purposes of this study were to (1) evaluate the performance of the Cepstral Spectral Index of Dysphonia (CSID--a multivariate estimate of dysphonia severity) as a potential screening tool for voice disorder identification and (2) identify potential clinical cutoff scores to classify voice-disordered cases versus controls. Subjects were 332 men and women (116 men, 216 women) comprised of subjects who presented to a physician with a voice-related complaint and a group of non-voice-related control subjects. Voice-disordered cases versus controls were initially defined via three reference standards: (1) auditory-perceptual judgment (dysphonia +/-); (2) Voice Handicap Index (VHI) score (VHI +/-); and (3) laryngoscopic description (laryngoscopic +/-). Speech samples were analyzed using the Analysis of Dysphonia in Speech and Voice program. Cepstral and spectral measures were combined into a CSID multivariate formula which estimated dysphonia severity for Rainbow Passage samples (i.e., the CSIDR). The ability of the CSIDR to accurately classify cases versus controls in relation to each reference standard was evaluated via a combination of logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses. The ability of the CSIDR to discriminate between cases and controls was represented by the "area under the ROC curve" (AUC). ROC classification of dysphonia-positive cases versus controls resulted in a strong AUC = 0.85. A CSIDR cutoff of ≈24 achieved the best balance between sensitivity and specificity, whereas a more liberal cutoff score of ≈19 resulted in higher sensitivity while maintaining respectable specificity which may be preferred for screening purposes. Weaker but adequate AUCs = 0.75 and 0.73 were observed for the classification of VHI-positive and laryngoscopic-positive cases versus controls, respectively. Logistic regression analyses indicated that subject age may be a significant covariate in the discrimination of dysphonia-positive and VHI-positive cases versus controls. The CSIDR can provide a strong level of accuracy for the classification of voice-disordered cases versus controls, particularly when auditory-perceptual judgment is used as the reference standard. Although users often focus on a cutoff score that achieves a balance between sensitivity and specificity, more liberal cutoffs for screening purposes versus conservative cutoffs when cost or risk of further evaluation is deemed to be high should also be considered. Copyright © 2016 The Voice Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Domestic water service delivery indicators and frameworks for monitoring, evaluation, policy and planning: a review.

PubMed

Kayser, Georgia L; Moriarty, Patrick; Fonseca, Catarina; Bartram, Jamie

2013-10-11

Monitoring of water services informs policy and planning for national governments and the international community. Currently, the international monitoring system measures the type of drinking water source that households use. There have been calls for improved monitoring systems over several decades, some advocating use of multiple indicators. We review the literature on water service indicators and frameworks with a view to informing debate on their relevance to national and international monitoring. We describe the evidence concerning the relevance of each identified indicator to public health, economic development and human rights. We analyze the benefits and challenges of using these indicators separately and combined in an index as tools for planning, monitoring, and evaluating water services. We find substantial evidence on the importance of each commonly recommended indicator--service type, safety, quantity, accessibility, reliability or continuity of service, equity, and affordability. Several frameworks have been proposed that give structure to the relationships among individual indicators and some combine multiple indicator scores into a single index but few have been rigorously tested. More research is needed to understand if employing a composite metric of indicators is advantageous and how each indicator might be scored and scaled.

Body mass index is not associated with sperm-zona pellucida binding ability in subfertile males.

PubMed

Sermondade, Nathalie; Dupont, Charlotte; Faure, Céline; Boubaya, Marouane; Cédrin-Durnerin, Isabelle; Chavatte-Palmer, Pascale; Sifer, Christophe; Lévy, Rachel

2013-09-01

Lifestyle factors, such as weight and nutritional status may affect male fertility, including sperm fertilization ability. The objective of this retrospective study was to evaluate the association between body mass index (BMI) and sperm-zona pellucida binding ability assessed according to the zona binding (ZB) test, which has been described to be a relevant diagnostic tool for the prediction of in vitro fertilization (IVF) ability. Three hundred and six male patients from couples diagnosed with primary idiopathic or mild male factor infertility were included. Correlations between BMI and semen parameters according to ZB test indices were assessed, together with frequencies of positive and negative tests across the BMI categories. In this selected population, BMI was not related to conventional semen parameters or sperm quality assessed according to the ability of spermatozoa to bind to the zona pellucida. The previously described poor outcomes of IVF procedures in cases of male obesity could be due to other sperm defects, such as alterations of sperm capacitation or acrosome reaction. The link between male BMI and biological outcomes during IVF procedures, such as fertilization rates, should be further evaluated.

Domestic Water Service Delivery Indicators and Frameworks for Monitoring, Evaluation, Policy and Planning: A Review

PubMed Central

Kayser, Georgia L.; Moriarty, Patrick; Fonseca, Catarina; Bartram, Jamie

2013-01-01

Monitoring of water services informs policy and planning for national governments and the international community. Currently, the international monitoring system measures the type of drinking water source that households use. There have been calls for improved monitoring systems over several decades, some advocating use of multiple indicators. We review the literature on water service indicators and frameworks with a view to informing debate on their relevance to national and international monitoring. We describe the evidence concerning the relevance of each identified indicator to public health, economic development and human rights. We analyze the benefits and challenges of using these indicators separately and combined in an index as tools for planning, monitoring, and evaluating water services. We find substantial evidence on the importance of each commonly recommended indicator—service type, safety, quantity, accessibility, reliability or continuity of service, equity, and affordability. Several frameworks have been proposed that give structure to the relationships among individual indicators and some combine multiple indicator scores into a single index but few have been rigorously tested. More research is needed to understand if employing a composite metric of indicators is advantageous and how each indicator might be scored and scaled. PMID:24157507

Combined use of monopolar radiofrequency and transdermal drug delivery in the treatment of melasma.

PubMed

Cameli, Norma; Abril, Elva; Mariano, Maria; Berardesca, Enzo

2014-07-01

Melasma is a common acquired pigmentary disorder that has a considerable psychological impact on the patient. The recurrent and refractory nature of this condition makes it difficult for treatment. We aim to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a combined system that simultaneously uses monopolar radiofrequency (RF) and transdermal drug delivery of phytocomplex containing 1% kojic acid in the treatment of melasma. Fifty patients affected by melasma underwent 6 sessions of treatment at 1-week intervals. The outcome was evaluated before treatment (T0) and 1 month (T1) and 6 months (T2) after treatment using the Melasma Area and Severity Index score, a Mexameter, and Visioface devices for digital and ultraviolet computerized image analysis of skin color. The image analysis showed that hyperpigmentation was significantly reduced at T1 and T2 compared with baseline. Melasma Area and Severity Index score, the average melanin score, and the average erythema values showed a significant reduction. No side effects were observed or reported. This study describes the first report of improvement in melasma through the combined use of monopolar RF with transdermal delivery of depigmenting agents. This could be a safe, tolerable, and effective alternative tool for the treatment of melasma.

The promise, practice and state of planning tools to assess site vulnerability to runoff phosphorus loss

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Over the past 20 years, there has been a proliferation of phosphorus (P) site assessment tools for nutrient management planning, particularly in the United State. These decision support tools, range from the P Index to fate-and-transport models to weather-forecast based risk calculators. All require...

[Assessment of research papers in medical university staff evaluation].

PubMed

Zhou, Qing-hui

2012-06-01

Medical university staff evaluation is a substantial branch of education administration for medical university. Output number of research papers as a direct index reflecting the achievements in academic research, plays an important role in academic research evaluation. Another index, influence of the research paper, is an indirect index for academic research evaluation. This paper mainly introduced some commonly used indexes in evaluation of academic research papers currently, and analyzed the applicability and limitation of each index. The author regards that academic research evaluation in education administration, which is mainly based on evaluation of academic research papers, should combine the evaluation of journals where the papers are published with peer review of the papers, and integrate qualitative evaluation with quantitative evaluation, for the purpose of setting up an objective academic research evaluation system for medical university staff.

[Development of a standardized evaluation system for cataracta complicata in retinitis pigmentosa].

PubMed

Auffarth, G U; Faller, U; Tetz, M R; Krastel, H; Völcker, H E

1997-07-01

Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is associated with the formation of a posterior subcapsular cataract (PSC). As only a small part of the crystalline lens is usually affected, it is sometimes difficult to determine to what extent the visual loss is caused by the PSC alone. The methodology was developed in analogy to a scoring system for posterior capsule opacification by Tetz et al. Following dilation of the pupil, standardized photographs of the anterior segments were obtained utilizing a Zeiss photoslitlamp model 40 SL/P. The PSC was scored by evaluating retroillumination photographs. The individual PSC index was calculated by multiplying the density of the opacification (graded from 0 to 4) by the area involved in the central 4 mm zone of the pupil (calculated between 0 and 1). For testing the reliability of the evaluation system in part 1 of this study, 11 RP patients with different grades of PSC were examined by three independent observers. In part 2 of this study 37 eyes of 24 RP patients, aged 47.2 +/- 11.8 years, were evaluated and the PSC index was correlated with different parameters (visual acuity, age, visual fields, eletroretinography). RESULTS PART 1: The cataract-density grades were between 1 and 4 in the 11 patients. In relation to the central 4-mm pupillary zone between 13 and 100% of the area were opacified. Cataract indices (density x area) were between 0.13 and 4.0 (Mean values: Examiner 1:1.41 +/- 1.49; Examiner 2:1.28 +/- 1.46; Examiner 3:1.22 +/- 1.44; differences not significant: P = 0.77). PART 2: After an average duration of RP of 23 years, the average cataract index of the 24 patients was 1.72 +/- 1.35. There was no correlation between cataract index and ERG or visual fields (r < 0.2; P > 0.4); however, there was a good correlation to visual acuity (r = -0.72; P = 0.0001). Patients with early onset of RP (before 20th year of life) presented on average with an higher cataract index (2.06 +/- 1.67) compared to patients with late manifestation (0.61 +/- 0.44), but equivalent duration of RP. The evaluation system offers a reliable and reproducible method for measuring PSC density and extension in RP patients. The method can serve as a useful tool for documenting PSC development and help to define the indications for cataract surgery in RP.

Assessment on the leakage hazard of landfill leachate using three-dimensional excitation-emission fluorescence and parallel factor analysis method.

PubMed

Pan, Hongwei; Lei, Hongjun; Liu, Xin; Wei, Huaibin; Liu, Shufang

2017-09-01

A large number of simple and informal landfills exist in developing countries, which pose as tremendous soil and groundwater pollution threats. Early warning and monitoring of landfill leachate pollution status is of great importance. However, there is a shortage of affordable and effective tools and methods. In this study, a soil column experiment was performed to simulate the pollution status of leachate using three-dimensional excitation-emission fluorescence (3D-EEMF) and parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC) models. Sum of squared residuals (SSR) and principal component analysis (PCA) were used to determine the optimal components for PARAFAC. A one-way analysis of variance showed that the component scores of the soil column leachate were significant influenced by landfill leachate (p<0.05). Therefore, the ratio of the component scores of the soil under the landfill to that of natural soil could be used to evaluate the leakage status of landfill leachate. Furthermore, a hazard index (HI) and a hazard evaluation standard were established. A case study of Kaifeng landfill indicated a low hazard (level 5) by the use of HI. In summation, HI is presented as a tool to evaluate landfill pollution status and for the guidance of municipal solid waste management. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Evaluation of Published Indexes, and Abstract Journals:, Criteria and Possible Procedures

PubMed Central

Lancaster, F. W.

1971-01-01

This paper describes possible criteria by which the effectiveness of a published index may be evaluated and suggest procedures that might be used to conduct an evaluation of a published index. The procedures were developed for the National Library of Medicine and relate specifically to the recurring bibliographies produced by MEDLARS in various specialized areas of biomedicine. The methods described should, however, be applicable to other printed indexes and abstract journals. Factors affecting the performance of a published index are also discussed and some research projects relevant to the evaluation of published indexes are reviewed. PMID:5146770

Image feature extraction based on the camouflage effectiveness evaluation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yuan, Xin; Lv, Xuliang; Li, Ling; Wang, Xinzhu; Zhang, Zhi

2018-04-01

The key step of camouflage effectiveness evaluation is how to combine the human visual physiological features, psychological features to select effectively evaluation indexes. Based on the predecessors' camo comprehensive evaluation method, this paper chooses the suitable indexes combining with the image quality awareness, and optimizes those indexes combining with human subjective perception. Thus, it perfects the theory of index extraction.

A novel, objective, quantitative method of evaluation of the back pain component using comparative computerized multi-parametric tactile mapping before/after spinal cord stimulation and database analysis: the "Neuro-Pain't" software.

PubMed

Rigoard, P; Nivole, K; Blouin, P; Monlezun, O; Roulaud, M; Lorgeoux, B; Bataille, B; Guetarni, F

2015-03-01

One of the major challenges of neurostimulation is actually to address the back pain component in patients suffering from refractory chronic back and leg pain. Facing a tremendous expansion of neurostimulation techniques and available devices, implanters and patients can still remain confused as they need to select the right tool for the right indication. To be able to evaluate and compare objectively patient outcomes, depending on therapeutical strategies, it appears essential to develop a rational and quantitative approach to pain assessment for those who undergo neurostimulation implantation. We developed a touch screen interface, in Poitiers University Hospital and N(3)Lab, called the "Neuro-Pain'T", to detect, record and quantify the painful area surface and intensity changes in an implanted patient within time. The second aim of this software is to analyse the link between a paraesthesia coverage generated by a type of neurostimulation and a potential analgesic effect, measured by pain surface reduction, pain intensity reduction within the painful surface and local change in pain characteristics distribution. The third aim of Neuro-Pain'T is to correlate these clinical parameters to global patient data and functional outcome analysis, via a network database (Neuro-Database), to be able to provide a concise but objective approach of the neurostimulation efficacy, summarized by an index called "RFG Index". This software has been used in more than 190 patients since 2012, leading us to define three clinical parameters grouped as a clinical component of the RFG Index, which might be helpful to assess neurostimulation efficacy and compare implanted devices. The Neuro-Pain'T is an original software designed to objectively and quantitatively characterize reduction of a painful area in a given individual, in terms of intensity, surface and pain typology, in response to a treatment strategy or implantation of an analgesic device. Because pain is a physical sensation, which integrates a psychological dimension, its assessment justifies the use of multidimensional and global evaluation scales. However, in the context of neurostimulation and comparative clinical trials designed to test the technical efficacy of a given device, a simple, objective and quantitative evaluation tool could help to guide tomorrow's treatment options by transforming personal convictions into a more robust scientific rationale based on data collection and data mining techniques. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.

A 14-item Mediterranean diet assessment tool and obesity indexes among high-risk subjects: the PREDIMED trial.

PubMed

Martínez-González, Miguel Angel; García-Arellano, Ana; Toledo, Estefanía; Salas-Salvadó, Jordi; Buil-Cosiales, Pilar; Corella, Dolores; Covas, Maria Isabel; Schröder, Helmut; Arós, Fernando; Gómez-Gracia, Enrique; Fiol, Miquel; Ruiz-Gutiérrez, Valentina; Lapetra, José; Lamuela-Raventos, Rosa Maria; Serra-Majem, Lluís; Pintó, Xavier; Muñoz, Miguel Angel; Wärnberg, Julia; Ros, Emilio; Estruch, Ramón

2012-01-01

Independently of total caloric intake, a better quality of the diet (for example, conformity to the Mediterranean diet) is associated with lower obesity risk. It is unclear whether a brief dietary assessment tool, instead of full-length comprehensive methods, can also capture this association. In addition to reduced costs, a brief tool has the interesting advantage of allowing immediate feedback to participants in interventional studies. Another relevant question is which individual items of such a brief tool are responsible for this association. We examined these associations using a 14-item tool of adherence to the Mediterranean diet as exposure and body mass index, waist circumference and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) as outcomes. Cross-sectional assessment of all participants in the "PREvención con DIeta MEDiterránea" (PREDIMED) trial. 7,447 participants (55-80 years, 57% women) free of cardiovascular disease, but with either type 2 diabetes or ≥ 3 cardiovascular risk factors. Trained dietitians used both a validated 14-item questionnaire and a full-length validated 137-item food frequency questionnaire to assess dietary habits. Trained nurses measured weight, height and waist circumference. Strong inverse linear associations between the 14-item tool and all adiposity indexes were found. For a two-point increment in the 14-item score, the multivariable-adjusted differences in WHtR were -0.0066 (95% confidence interval, -0.0088 to -0.0049) for women and -0.0059 (-0.0079 to -0.0038) for men. The multivariable-adjusted odds ratio for a WHtR>0.6 in participants scoring ≥ 10 points versus ≤ 7 points was 0.68 (0.57 to 0.80) for women and 0.66 (0.54 to 0.80) for men. High consumption of nuts and low consumption of sweetened/carbonated beverages presented the strongest inverse associations with abdominal obesity. A brief 14-item tool was able to capture a strong monotonic inverse association between adherence to a good quality dietary pattern (Mediterranean diet) and obesity indexes in a population of adults at high cardiovascular risk.

A 14-Item Mediterranean Diet Assessment Tool and Obesity Indexes among High-Risk Subjects: The PREDIMED Trial

PubMed Central

Martínez-González, Miguel Angel; García-Arellano, Ana; Toledo, Estefanía; Salas-Salvadó, Jordi; Buil-Cosiales, Pilar; Corella, Dolores; Covas, Maria Isabel; Schröder, Helmut; Arós, Fernando; Gómez-Gracia, Enrique; Fiol, Miquel; Ruiz-Gutiérrez, Valentina; Lapetra, José; Lamuela-Raventos, Rosa Maria; Serra-Majem, Lluís; Pintó, Xavier; Muñoz, Miguel Angel; Wärnberg, Julia; Ros, Emilio; Estruch, Ramón

2012-01-01

Objective Independently of total caloric intake, a better quality of the diet (for example, conformity to the Mediterranean diet) is associated with lower obesity risk. It is unclear whether a brief dietary assessment tool, instead of full-length comprehensive methods, can also capture this association. In addition to reduced costs, a brief tool has the interesting advantage of allowing immediate feedback to participants in interventional studies. Another relevant question is which individual items of such a brief tool are responsible for this association. We examined these associations using a 14-item tool of adherence to the Mediterranean diet as exposure and body mass index, waist circumference and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) as outcomes. Design Cross-sectional assessment of all participants in the “PREvención con DIeta MEDiterránea” (PREDIMED) trial. Subjects 7,447 participants (55–80 years, 57% women) free of cardiovascular disease, but with either type 2 diabetes or ≥3 cardiovascular risk factors. Trained dietitians used both a validated 14-item questionnaire and a full-length validated 137-item food frequency questionnaire to assess dietary habits. Trained nurses measured weight, height and waist circumference. Results Strong inverse linear associations between the 14-item tool and all adiposity indexes were found. For a two-point increment in the 14-item score, the multivariable-adjusted differences in WHtR were −0.0066 (95% confidence interval, –0.0088 to −0.0049) for women and –0.0059 (–0.0079 to –0.0038) for men. The multivariable-adjusted odds ratio for a WHtR>0.6 in participants scoring ≥10 points versus ≤7 points was 0.68 (0.57 to 0.80) for women and 0.66 (0.54 to 0.80) for men. High consumption of nuts and low consumption of sweetened/carbonated beverages presented the strongest inverse associations with abdominal obesity. Conclusions A brief 14-item tool was able to capture a strong monotonic inverse association between adherence to a good quality dietary pattern (Mediterranean diet) and obesity indexes in a population of adults at high cardiovascular risk. PMID:22905215

Validation of the German revised version of the program in palliative care education and practice questionnaire (PCEP-GR).

PubMed

Fetz, Katharina; Wenzel-Meyburg, Ursula; Schulz-Quach, Christian

2017-12-28

The evaluation of the effectiveness of undergraduate palliative care education (UPCE) programs is an essential foundation to providing high-quality UPCE programs. Therefore, the implementation of valid evaluation tools is indispensable. Until today, there has been no general consensus regarding concrete outcome parameters and their accurate measurement. The Program in Palliative Care Education and Practice Questionnaire (German Revised Version; PCEP-GR) is a promising assessment tool for UPCE. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of PCEP-GR and to demonstrate its feasibility for the evaluation of UPCE programs. The practical feasibility of the PCEP-GR and its acceptance in medical students were investigated in a pilot study with 24 undergraduate medical students at Heinrich Heine University Dusseldorf, Germany. Subsequently, the PCEP-GR was surveyed in a representative sample (N = 680) of medical students in order to investigate its psychometric properties. Factorial validity was investigated by means of principal component analysis (PCA). Reliability was examined by means of split-half-reliability analysis and analysis of internal consistency. After taking into consideration the PCA and distribution analysis results, an evaluation instruction for the PCEP-GR was developed. The PCEP-GR proved to be feasible and well-accepted in medical students. PCA revealed a four-factorial solution indicating four PCEP-GR subscales: preparation to provide palliative care, attitudes towards palliative care, self-estimation of competence in communication with dying patients and their relatives and self-estimation of knowledge and skills in palliative care. The PCEP-GR showed good split-half-reliability and acceptable to good internal consistency of subscales. Attitudes towards palliative care slightly missed the criterion of acceptable internal consistency. The evaluation instruction suggests a global PCEP-GR index and four subscales. The PCEP-GR has proven to be a feasible, economic, valid and reliable tool for the assessment of UPCE that comprises self-efficacy expectation and relevant attitudes towards palliative care.

Severity indices in rheumatoid arthritis: A systematic review.

PubMed

Toledano, Esther; García de Yébenes, M Jesús; González-Álvaro, Isidoro; Carmona, Loreto

2017-08-11

To identify tools designed to evaluate the severity of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in order to use them in the investigation of prognostic markers in early arthritis. We conducted a systematic review of studies that developed/validated an index for RA disease severity. They were analyzed using the COSMIN checklist to assess their methodological quality. In addition, all the variables included were evaluated for their clarity of definition, feasibility and probability of being present in each outcome during the first 2 years of the disease course. To estimate redundancy, variables were grouped by domains. After reviewing 3,519 articles, 3 studies were included. The first study, the PAS, assessed whether current and lifetime treatment with disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs and/or biologics accurately predicted RA severity, as measured by the patient-reported PAS. Treatment variables did not fully distinguish patients in the highest and lowest quartiles of PAS scores. Another severity index, the Claims-Based Index for RA Severity (CIRAS), included the variables age, sex, Felty's syndrome, number of rehabilitation and rheumatology visits, test for inflammatory markers, number of chemistry panels/platelet counts ordered and rheumatoid factor test. The correlation was low (r=0.56) with an index previously validated by the same research group, the RA medical records-based index of severity (RARBIS), with Disease Activity Score-C-reactive protein (DAS28-PCR) (r=0.07) and Multidimensional Health Assessment Questionnaire (MD-HAQ) (r=0.008). Finally, the RARBIS, used to validate the CIRAS, was devised as an RA severity index based on medical records. It includes as domains surgery, radiology, extra-articular manifestations, clinical and laboratory variables, previously chosen by an expert panel. RARBIS had a weak correlation with treatment intensity (r=0.35) and with DAS28 (r=0.41). There is no index to assess the severity of RA based on the course of the first 2 years of follow-up that is adapted to the current strategy of therapeutic management of this disease. Therefore, we believe it is reasonable to develop a new ad hoc severity index for patients with early arthritis. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier España, S.L.U. and Sociedad Española de Reumatología y Colegio Mexicano de Reumatología. All rights reserved.

Derivation and validation of a composite index of severity in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: the DOSE Index.

PubMed

Jones, Rupert C; Donaldson, Gavin C; Chavannes, Niels H; Kida, Kozui; Dickson-Spillmann, Maria; Harding, Samantha; Wedzicha, Jadwiga A; Price, David; Hyland, Michael E

2009-12-15

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is increasingly recognized as a multicomponent disease with systemic consequences and effects on quality of life. Single measures such as lung function provide a limited reflection of how the disease affects patients. Composite measures have the potential to account for many of the facets of COPD. To derive and validate a multicomponent assessment tool of COPD severity that is applicable to all patients and health care settings. The index was derived using data from 375 patients with COPD in primary care. Regression analysis led to a model explaining 48% of the variance in health status as measured by the Clinical COPD Questionnaire with four components: dyspnea (D), airflow obstruction (O), smoking status (S), and exacerbation frequency (E). The DOSE Index was validated in cross-sectional and longitudinal samples in various health care settings in Holland, Japan, and the United Kingdom. The DOSE Index correlated with health status in all data sets. A high DOSE Index score (> or = 4) was associated with a greater risk of hospital admission (odds ratio, 8.3 [4.1-17]) or respiratory failure (odds ratio, 7.8 [3.4-18.3]). The index predicted exacerbations in the subsequent year (P < or = 0.014). The DOSE Index is a simple, valid tool for assessing the severity of COPD. The index is related to a range of clinically important outcomes such as health care consumption and predicts future events.

A Systematic Review of Studies Using the Multidimensional Assessment of Fatigue Scale.

PubMed

Belza, Basia; Miyawaki, Christina E; Liu, Minhui; Aree-Ue, Suparb; Fessel, Melissa; Minott, Kenya R; Zhang, Xi

2018-04-01

To review how the Multidimensional Assessment of Fatigue (MAF) has been used and evaluate its psychometric properties. We conducted a database search using "multidimensional assessment of fatigue" or "MAF" as key terms from 1993 to 2015, and located 102 studies. Eighty-three were empirical studies and 19 were reviews/evaluations. Research was conducted in 17 countries; 32 diseases were represented. Nine language versions of the MAF were used. The mean of the Global Fatigue Index ranged from 10.9 to 49.4. The MAF was reported to be easy-to-use, had strong reliability and validity, and was used in populations who spoke languages other than English. The MAF is an acceptable assessment tool to measure fatigue and intervention effectiveness in various languages, diseases, and settings across the world.

Fitwits MD™: an office-based tool and games for conversations about obesity with 9- to 12-year-old children.

PubMed

McGaffey, Ann L; Abatemarco, Diane J; Jewell, Ilene Katz; Fidler, Susan K; Hughes, Kristin

2011-01-01

Physician feelings of ineffectiveness and family-related barriers hamper childhood obesity discussions. Physicians desire appealing, time-efficient tools to frame and sensitively address obesity, body mass index, physical activity, nutrition, and portion size. Our university design-led coalition codeveloped tools and games for this purpose. In this feasibility study, we evaluated physician-level counseling of 9- to 12-year-old children and their parents/caretakers using Fitwits MD (Carnegie Mellon University School of Design, Pittsburgh, PA), a brief, structured intervention with flashcards and take-home games. Residency-based physicians in three low- to mid-level socioeconomic urban offices provided self-report data over 8 months through surveys, comment cards, and interviews. We recruited 33 physicians and 93 preadolescents and families. Child-centered key messages resulted in 7-minute conversations, on average. For those physicians who used Fitwits MD, 96% felt improved comfort and competence and 78% noted barrier reduction. Fitwits MD improved residency-based physician self-efficacy and emphasized important health education topics regarding office-based childhood obesity discussions with preadolescents and parents/caretakers.

A case report using the mental state examination scale (MSES): a tool for measuring change in mental state.

PubMed

Fernando, Irosh; Carter, Gregory

2016-02-01

There is a need for a simple and brief tool that can be used in routine clinical practice for the quantitative measurement of mental state across all diagnostic groups. The main utilities of such a tool would be to provide a global metric for the mental state examination, and to monitor the progression over time using this metric. We developed the mental state examination scale (MSES), and used it in an acute inpatient setting in routine clinical work to test its initial feasibility. Using a clinical case, the utility of MSES is demonstrated in this paper. When managing the patient described, the MSES assisted the clinician to assess the initial mental state, track the progress of the recovery, and make timely treatment decisions by quantifying the components of the mental state examination. MSES may enhance the quality of clinical practice for clinicians, and potentially serve as an index of universal mental healthcare outcome that can be used in clinical practice, service evaluation, and healthcare economics. © The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists 2015.

Implementing a Global Tool for Mercy Corps Based on Spatially Continuous Precipitation Analysis for Resiliency Monitoring and Measuring at the Community-Scale

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tomlin, J. N.; El-Behaedi, R.; McCartney, S.; Lingo, R.; Thieme, A.

2017-12-01

Global water resources are important for societies, economies, and the environment. In Niger, limited water resources restrict the expansion of agriculture and communities. Mercy Corps currently works in over 40 countries around the world to address a variety of stresses which include water resources and building long-term food resilience. As Mercy Corps seeks to integrate the use of Earth observations, NASA has established a partnership to help facilitate this effort incorporating Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM), Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM), and Climate Hazards Group InfraRed Precipitation with Station (CHIRPS) data to create a standardized precipitation index that highlights low and high rainfall from 1981 - 2016. The team created a Google Earth Engine tool that combines precipitation data with other metrics of stress in Niger. The system is designed to be able to incorporate groundwater storage data as it becomes available. This tool allows for near real-time updates of trends in precipitation and improves Mercy Corps' ability to spatially evaluate changes in resiliency by monitoring shocks and stressors.

Valid screening questions useful to diagnose hand and forearm eczema are available in the Spanish language, a new tool for global research.

PubMed

Martí-Margarit, Anna; Manresa, Josep M; Herdman, Mike; Pujol, Ramon; Serra, Consol; Flyvholm, Mary-Ann; Giménez-Arnau, Ana M

2015-04-01

Hand eczema is an impacting cutaneous disease. Globally valid tools that help to diagnose hand and forearm eczema are required. To validate the questions to detect hand and/or forearm eczema included in the "Nordic Occupational Skin Questionnaire" (NOSQ-2002) in the Spanish language. A prospective pilot study was conducted with 80 employees of a cleaning company and a retrospective one involving 2,546 individuals. The responses were analysed for sensitivity, specificity and positive and negative predictive values. The final diagnosis according to the patients' hospital records, the specialty care records and the physical examination was taken as gold standard. The Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) was also evaluated. Sensitivity and specificity, in a worst case scenario (WC) combining both questions, were 96.5% and 66.7%, respectively, and in a per protocol (PP) analysis, were 96.5% and 75.2%. The questions validated detected eczema effectively, making this tool suitable for use e.g. in multicentre epidemiological studies or clinical trials.

An Evaluation of Drought Indices in Different Climatic Regions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shahabfar, A.; Eitzinger, J.

2009-04-01

Drought has become a recurrent phenomenon in Iran in the last few decades. Significant drought conditions were observed during years of late 2000s and the trend continued up to now. The country's agricultural sector and water resources have been under severe constraints from the recurrent droughts. In this study, spatial and temporal dimensions of meteorological droughts in Iran have been investigated from vulnerability concept. The Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) was developed to detect drought and wet periods at different time scales, an important characteristic that is not accomplished with typical drought indices. More and more users employ the SPI to monitor droughts. Although calculation of the SPI is easier than other drought indices, such as the Palmer Drought Index, it is still relatively complex. Two indices called the China-Z Index (CZI) and Modified China-Z Index (CZI) have been used by many scientists to monitor moisture conditions across their country or their case study area. The calculations of these indices are easier than the SPI. Another indices, the statistical Z-Score and percent of normal (PN), can also be used to monitor droughts. This paper evaluates the SPI, CZI, MCZI, Z-Score and PN on 1-, 3-, 6-, 9- and 12-month time scales using monthly precipitation totals for six climatic regions in Iran from January 2000 to December 2005 as a sever dry period and representing six climatic regions include: mountain, semi mountain, desert, semi-desert, coastal desert and coastal wet. Advantages and disadvantages for the application of each index are compared. Study results indicate that the CZI, MCZI, Z-Score and PN can provide results similar to the SPI for all time scales, and that the calculations of these indices are relatively easy compared with the SPI, possibly offering better tools to monitor moisture conditions. KEY WORDS: drought monitoring, drought indices, soil moisture, climatic regions.