Home About us Contact
|
Home About us Contact | ||
|
|
||
Control Assessment (control + assessment)
Selected AbstractsKnowledge Acquisition and Memory Effects Involving an Expert System Designed as a Learning Tool for Internal Control Assessment*DECISION SCIENCES JOURNAL OF INNOVATIVE EDUCATION, Issue 1 2003Mary Jane Lenard ABSTRACT The assessment of internal control is a consideration in all financial statement audits, as stressed by the Statement on Auditing Standards (SAS) No. 78. According to this statement, "the auditor should obtain an understanding of internal control sufficient to plan the audit" (Accounting Standards Board, 1995, p. 1). Therefore, an accounting student will progress through the auditing course with the responsibility of learning how and why internal controls are assessed. Research in expert systems applied to auditing has shown that there is strong support for the constructive dialogue used in expert systems as a means of encouraging their use in decision making (Eining, Jones, & Loebbecke, 1997). The purpose of this study is to provide the student or novice auditor with a method for developing a more comprehensive understanding of internal controls and the use of internal controls in audit planning. The results of the study reinforce previous findings that novices do better when an expert system applies analogies along with declarative explanations, and clarifies the length of time in which the use of active learning in a training system can provide an improvement to declarative knowledge, but procedural knowledge must be acquired over a longer time frame. [source] Lower-extremity selective voluntary motor control in patients with spastic cerebral palsy: increased distal motor impairmentDEVELOPMENTAL MEDICINE & CHILD NEUROLOGY, Issue 3 2010EILEEN G FOWLER Aim, Multiple impairments contribute to motor deficits in spastic cerebral palsy (CP). Selective voluntary motor control (SVMC), namely isolation of joint movement upon request, is important, but frequently overlooked. This study evaluated the proximal to distal distribution of SVMC impairment among lower extremity joints. Method, Using a recently developed tool, the Selective Control Assessment of the Lower Extremity (SCALE), we evaluated the SVMC of the hip, knee, ankle, subtalar joint, and toes in a cross-sectional, observational study of 47 participants with spastic, diplegic, hemiplegic, and quadriplegic CP (22 males, 25 females; mean age 11y 9mo, SD 4y 8mo; Gross Motor Function Classification System levels I,IV). Results, Statistically significant decreases in SCALE scores from hip to toes were found using the Page statistical test for trend (p<0.001). Statistically significant differences (p<0.05) were found between all joint pairs, except toes versus subtalar, toes versus ankle, and right ankle versus subtalar joints. Cross-tabulation of score frequencies for all pairs revealed that proximal joint scores were higher or equal to distal ones 81 to 100% of the time. Excluding toes versus subtalar joints, proximal scores exceeded distal ones 94 to 100% of the time. Interpretation, We confirmed increasing proximal to distal SVMC impairment, which may have implications for treatment and research. [source] Selective Control Assessment of the Lower Extremity (SCALE): development, validation, and interrater reliability of a clinical tool for patients with cerebral palsyDEVELOPMENTAL MEDICINE & CHILD NEUROLOGY, Issue 8 2009EILEEN G FOWLER PhD PT Normal selective voluntary motor control (SVMC) can be defined as the ability to perform isolated joint movement without using mass flexor/extensor patterns or undesired movement at other joints, such as mirroring. SVMC is an important determinant of function, yet a valid, reliable assessment tool is lacking. The Selective Control Assessment of the Lower Extremity (SCALE) is a clinical tool developed to quantify SVMC in patients with cerebral palsy (CP). This paper describes the development, utility, validation, and interrater reliability of SCALE. Content validity was based on review by 14 experienced clinicians. Mean agreement was 91.9% (range 71.4,100%) for statements about content, administration, and grading. SCALE scores were compared with Gross Motor Function Classification System Expanded and Revised (GMFCS-ER) levels for 51 participants with spastic diplegic, hemiplegic, and quadriplegic CP (GMFCS levels I , IV, 21 males, 30 females; mean age 11y 11mo [SD 4y 9mo]; range 5,23y). Construct validity was supported by significant inverse correlation (Spearman's r=-0.83, p<0.001) between SCALE scores and GMFCS levels. Six clinicians rated 20 participants with spastic CP (seven males, 13 females, mean age 12y 3mo [SD 5y 5mo], range 7,23y) using SCALE. A high level of interrater reliability was demonstrated by intraclass correlation coefficients ranging from 0.88 to 0.91 (p<0.001). [source] P-Wave Indices, Distribution and Quality Control Assessment (from the Framingham Heart Study)ANNALS OF NONINVASIVE ELECTROCARDIOLOGY, Issue 1 2010Jared W. Magnani M.D. Background: P-wave indices of maximum P-wave duration and P-wave dispersion have been examined in a broad array of cardiovascular and noncardiovascular disease states. The P-wave indices literature has been highly heterogeneous in measurement methodologies, described quality control metrics, and distribution of values. We therefore sought to determine the reproducibility of P-wave indices in a community-based cohort. Methods: P-wave indices were measured in sequential subjects enrolled in the Framingham Heart Study. Electrocardiograms were obtained at the 11th biennial visit of the Original Cohort (n = 250) and the initial visit of the Offspring Cohort (n = 252). We determined the mean P-wave durations, interlead correlations, and P-wave indices. We then chose 20 ECGs, 10 from each cohort, and assessed intrarater and interrater variability. Results: The maximum P-wave duration ranged from 71 to 162 ms with mean of 112 ± 12 ms. The minimum P-wave duration ranged from 35 to 103 ms with mean of 65 ± 10 ms. P-wave dispersion ranged from 12 to 82 ms. The mean P-wave dispersion was 48 ± 12 ms (40,56). The intrarater intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was r = 0.80 for maximum P-wave duration and r = 0.82 for P-wave dispersion. The interrater ICC was 0.56 for maximum P-wave duration and 0.70 for P-wave dispersion. Conclusions: We demonstrated excellent intrarater reproducibility and fair interrater reproducibility for calculating P-wave indices. Reproducibility is frequently lacking in studies of P-wave indices, but is an essential component for the field's growth and epidemiologic contribution. Ann Noninvasive Electrocardiol 2010;15(1):77,84 [source] Similar subcortical pattern of cognitive impairment in AIDS patients with and without dementiaEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROLOGY, Issue 2 2000S. V. Suarez The aim of this study was to develop a series of neuropsychological tests that define the cortical and subcortical features of cognitive impairment and the characteristics of memory in demented and mildly cognitively impaired AIDS patients. We attempted to establish a usable method to assess and determine the type and degree of cognitive impairment in individual AIDS patients. We examined 53 patients without central nervous system opportunistic infections. A short battery included two scales of global efficiency (the Mattis dementia rating scale and the Mini Mental State Examination), a psychomotor speed test, an executive control assessment and explicit memory evaluation. Patients were categorized into four groups based on their score on both the Mattis dementia rating scale and the DSM-IV criteria: (1) asymptomatic; (2) having AIDS without cognitive impairment; (3) having AIDS with mild cognitive impairment; and (4) having AIDS dementia. Patients with mildly impaired cognition demonstrated slowed thinking, abnormal initiation and conceptualization, and memory impairment. AIDS dementia patients had slower motor activity and memory recall was more severely affected. The short neuropsychological battery was able to characterize modified cognitive performances in both severely and mildly cognitively impaired AIDS patients. The subcortical pattern of the memory disorder was obvious, regardless of the degree of cognitive impairment. [source] Pergolide mesylate can improve sexual dysfunction in patients with Parkinson's disease: the results of an open, prospective, 6-month follow-upEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROLOGY, Issue 7 2004M. Pohanka One of the most disabling problems in males suffering from advanced Parkinson's disease (PD) is complex sexual dysfunction. The effect of dopamine replacement or dopaminergic stimulation on sexual dysfunction has been recently examined and described in patients treated by L-DOPA or apomorphine. Pergolide mesylate is another dopamine agonist with a known high affinity to hD(2S) subtype and a lower affinity to hD(2L) subtype of D2 dopaminergic receptors. It has been repeatedly shown to be a highly effective treatment of the complicated and advanced stages of PD. The current study has been designed to assess its efficacy in the treatment of sexual dysfunction, which frequently accompanies the complicated stage of PD in males. Fourteen male patients suffering from PD, each of whom had been treated with L-DOPA, and in whom additional treatment with peroral dopaminergic agonist (DA) was needed, were followed for a 6-month period. Pergolide mesylate (Permax) was given to each patient, and titrated to a total daily dose of 3 mg. All of the patients were taking L-DOPA. The assessments performed before the start of pergolide treatment consisted of a neurological examination, including Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) III and IV subscales scoring, Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) scoring, the neuropsychological examination including Zung scale scoring to exclude depression, biochemical and haematological examinations including the examination of prolactine serum levels; and a sexological examination during which the patients filled-in the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) questionnaire. These examinations were repeated during the control assessments at months 1, 3 and 6. To compare the examination results, anova, Friedmann's anova (non-parametric) and Tukey post hoc tests were used. There were statistically significant differences between the values of UPDRS III motor subscale, UPDRS IV (complications of therapy) subscale and all subscales of IIEF when months 0 and 1 were compared with the results obtained at months 3 and 6. The differences between months 0 and 1 and months 3 and 6 (in these items) were virtually insignificant. In conclusion, pergolide substantially improved sexual function in the younger male patients who were still interested in sexual activities. In such cases, the introduction of pergolide might be a better choice than treatment with sildenafile, which usually meets several contraindications in common PD male population. [source] | ||||||||||