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Daily Measurements (daily + measurement)
Selected AbstractsChronological aspects of ultrasonic, hormonal, and other indirect indices of ovulationBJOG : AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF OBSTETRICS & GYNAECOLOGY, Issue 8 2001René Ecochard Objective To improve prediction of ovulation in normal cycles. Design Collection of women's characteristics and their menstrual cycles. Monitoring and analysis of time relationships between several indicators of ovulation: transvaginal ultrasonography, cervical mucus, basal body temperature, urinary luteinising hormone, and ratio of urinary oestrogen to progesterone metabolites. Setting Each of eight natural family planning clinics was to study 12 women for at least three cycles. Population One hundred and seven normally fertile and cycling women aged 18 to 45. Methods Daily measurements of urinary luteinising hormone, follicle stimulating hormone, oestrone-3-glucuronide and pregnanediol-3, -glucuronide. Basal body temperature recording and cervical mucus checking. Transvaginal ultrasound examination of the ovaries. Main outcome measures Delays between the expected day of ovulation according to the luteinising hormone peak or to ultrasound evidence and the expected days according to the other indices of ovulation. Results Ultrasonography was able to show evidence of ovulation in 283 out of 326 cycles. The average time lag between luteinising hormone peak and ultrasound evidence was less than one day (+0.46) but premature and late luteinising hormone-expected date of ovulation were observed in nearly 10% and 23% of cycles, respectively. Basal body temperature rise was observed in 98% of cycles. Cervical mucus peak symptom, rapid drop in the ratio of urinary metabolites, and luteinising hormone initial rise were all close to ultrasonographic evidence in more than 72% of cycles. Conclusions For accuracy and practical reasons, the cervical mucus peak symptom, the ratio of urinary metabolites and luteinising hormone initial rise might be better indices of ovulation than the luteinising hormone peak. [source] Heart failure self-management education: a systematic review of the evidenceINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EVIDENCE BASED HEALTHCARE, Issue 3 2009Suzanne Austin Boren PhD MHA Abstract Objective, The objective of this systematic review is to identify educational content and techniques that lead to successful patient self-management and improved outcomes in congestive heart failure education programs. Methods, MEDLINE, CINAHL and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, as well as reference lists of included studies and relevant reviews, were searched. Eligible studies were randomised controlled trials evaluating congestive heart failure self-management education programs with outcome measures. Two of the investigators independently abstracted descriptive information, education content topics and outcomes data. Results, A total of 7413 patients participated in the 35 eligible congestive heart failure self-management education studies. The congestive heart failure self-management programs incorporated 20 education topics in four categories: (i) knowledge and self-management (diagnosis and prognosis, pathophysiology of how congestive heart failure affects the body, aims of treatment, management and symptoms, medication review and discussion of side-effects, knowing when to access/call the general practitioner, communication with the physician, follow up for assessment or reinforcement); (ii) social interaction and support (social interaction and support, stress, depression); (iii) fluids management (sodium restriction, fluid balance, daily measurement of weight, ankle circumference, self-monitoring and compliance relative to fluids); and (iv) diet and activity (dietary assessment and instructions, physical activity and exercise, alcohol intake, smoking cessation). A total of 113 unique outcomes in nine categories (satisfaction, learning, behaviour, medications, clinical status, social functioning, mortality, medical resource utilisation and cost) were measured in the studies. Sixty (53%) of the outcomes showed significant improvement in at least one study. Conclusion, Educational interventions should be based on scientifically sound research evidence. The education topic list developed in this review can be used by patients and clinicians to prioritise and personalise education. [source] Modelling longitudinal semicontinuous emesis volume data with serial correlation in an acupuncture clinical trialJOURNAL OF THE ROYAL STATISTICAL SOCIETY: SERIES C (APPLIED STATISTICS), Issue 4 2005Paul S. Albert Summary., In longitudinal studies, we are often interested in modelling repeated assessments of volume over time. Our motivating example is an acupuncture clinical trial in which we compare the effects of active acupuncture, sham acupuncture and standard medical care on chemotherapy-induced nausea in patients being treated for advanced stage breast cancer. An important end point for this study was the daily measurement of the volume of emesis over a 14-day follow-up period. The repeated volume data contained many 0s, had apparent serial correlation and had missing observations, making analysis challenging. The paper proposes a two-part latent process model for analysing the emesis volume data which addresses these challenges. We propose a Monte Carlo EM algorithm for parameter estimation and we use this methodology to show the beneficial effects of acupuncture on reducing the volume of emesis in women being treated for breast cancer with chemotherapy. Through simulations, we demonstrate the importance of correctly modelling the serial correlation for making conditional inference. Further, we show that the correct model for the correlation structure is less important for making correct inference on marginal means. [source] Diurnal rhythm in heat production and oxidation of carbohydrate and fat in pigs during feeding, starvation and re-feedingJOURNAL OF ANIMAL PHYSIOLOGY AND NUTRITION, Issue 7-8 2004A. Chwalibog Summary Diurnal rhythm in heat production (HE), oxidation of carbohydrate (OXCHO) and fat (OXF) was calculated from daily measurements of gas exchange in 12 pigs [20,40 kg live weight, (LW)] during 6 days of near ad libitum feeding, followed by 4 days of starvation and 4 days of re-feeding. All measurements, divided in five times intervals from 12.00 to 8.00, showed the highest values of HE, reflecting the animals' energy requirements, between 12.00 and 16.00 gradually declining to the lowest values between 4.00 and 8.00. The values measured in the interval 4.00,8.00 were considered as a basal metabolic rate (BMR), being in all measurements 25% lower than during 12.00,4.00. The lowest BMR was measured on the fourth day of starvation (21.7 kJ/h·kg0.75). By transition from feeding to starvation, OXCHO declined gradually, but was for 16 h able to cover the energy requirement with no contribution from OXF. The decline in OXCHO proceeded for 40 h and reached zero between 4.00 and 8.00 on the first day of starvation with the energy requirement being covered by OXF. The HE during starvation was 25,30% lower than during feeding caused by absence of feed-induced thermogenesis and by the transition from OXCHO to OXF. Immediately after re-feeding dietary carbohydrates were oxidized, however, there was still a substantial OXF, proceeding until the next feeding. From the second day of re-feeding the contribution of substrates to the total HE was re-established with no OXF and the same level of HE as during feeding. [source] Effect of natural seasonal pollen exposure and repeated nasal allergen provocations on elevation of exhaled nitric oxideALLERGY, Issue 11 2009K. Bergmann-Hug Background:, Exhaled nitric oxide (FENO) is a marker for allergic airway inflammation. We wondered whether in patients with intermittent allergic rhinitis only (i) natural pollen exposure and (ii) artificial pollen exposure by repeated nasal allergen provocations may lead to an elevation of FENO. Methods:, In two prospective studies, we compared the FENO of nonatopic controls with the FENO of nonasthmatic individuals with mild intermittent rhinitis to tree and/or grass pollen. Study I: 13 atopic individuals and seven controls had measurements of FENO, blood eosinophils and eosinophilic cationic protein (ECP) before, during and after pollen season. Study II: 16 atopic individuals and 12 controls had nasal allergen provocations on four following days out of pollen season, with daily measurements of FENO before, 2 and 6 h after provocation, and determination of blood eosinophils, ECP and FEV1 at baseline, on days 5 and 10,12. Results:, Natural pollen exposure (study I) caused a significant elevation of FENO in allergic individuals. Nasal allergen provocations (study II) did not elicit a statistically significant rise neither of FENO nor of blood eosinophils between baseline and day 5. However, a subgroup of four individuals with a rise of blood eosinophils during nasal allergen provocations showed also a rise of FENO. Conclusions:, We suppose that in allergic rhinitis a concomitant reaction of the bronchial system is dependent on a strong local inflammation leading to a generalized immune stimulation. [source] A Bayesian analysis of the temporal change of local density of proboscis monkeys: Implications for environmental effects on a multilevel societyAMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY, Issue 2 2010Ikki Matsuda Abstract To understand the effects of environmental factors on a social system with multilevel society in proboscis monkey units, the temporal change of the local density of sleeping sites of monkeys was investigated along the Menanggul river from May 2005 to 2006 in Malaysia. Proboscis monkeys typically return to riverside trees for night sleeping. The sleeping site locations of a one-male unit (BE-unit) were recorded and the locations of other one-male and all-male units within 500 m of the BE-unit were verified. In addition, environmental factors (food availability, the water level of the river, and the river width) and copulation frequency of BE-unit were recorded. From the analyses of the distance from the BE-unit to the nearest neighbor unit, no spatial clumping of the sleeping sites of monkey units on a smaller scale was detected. The results of a Bayesian analysis suggest that the conditional local density around the BE-unit can be predicted by the spatial heterogeneity along the river and by the temporal change of food availability, that is, the local density of monkey units might increase due to better sleeping sites with regard to predator attacks and clumped food sources; proboscis monkeys might not exhibit high-level social organization previously reported. In addition, this study shows the importance of data analysis that considers the effects of temporal autocorrelation, because the daily measurements of longitudinal data on monkeys are not independent of each other. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2010. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Variation in barometric pressure in Melbourne does not significantly affect the BTPS correction factorRESPIROLOGY, Issue 3 2004David P. JOHNS Abstract: The conventional BTPS (body temperature and pressure, saturated with water vapour) correction factor varies with ambient barometric pressure (PB) and many lung function laboratories measure PB daily. The aim was to investigate whether a fixed value for PB could replace daily measurements. PB was measured daily over a 12-month period. The highest and lowest values in Melbourne in the last century were also recorded from data published by the Bureau of Meteorology. Using these PB values, the BTPS factor was determined for a range of spirometer temperatures and compared to the BTPS factors obtained using a fixed ambient pressure of 101.3 kPa. The mean (SD) PB measured over the 12-month period was 102.2 kPa (0.64) with a range of 99.9,103.6 kPa. The level of disagreement between the BTPS factor calculated using a PB of 101.3 kPa instead of the measured value was greater at lower temperatures. Over the extremes of PB during the last century (98.0,104.3 kPa) the use of a standard pressure (101.3 kPa) produced an error in the BTPS factor of ,,0.16%. Daily variations in PB do not significantly affect the magnitude of the conventional BTPS correction factor and a fixed value, such as 101.3 kPa at sea level, can be used with little error. [source] Fluctuation in self-perceived stress and increased risk of flare in patients with lupus nephritis carrying the serotonin receptor 1A ,1019 G alleleARTHRITIS & RHEUMATISM, Issue 10 2006Daniel J. Birmingham Objective Stress is believed to be a risk factor for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) flare. Two serotonin-related gene polymorphisms, the serotonin receptor 1A (5-HT1A) polymorphism at ,1019C>G and the serotonin transporter LS polymorphism, have been reported to affect stress-related behaviors. The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between self-perceived stress (SPS), variability in SPS, and the 2 serotonin-related gene polymorphisms as risk factors for SLE flare. Methods Seventy-seven SLE patients (50 with lupus nephritis) were evaluated every 2 months (mean ± SD total followup 18.5 ± 8.5 months), and patients recorded their daily SPS levels (0,10 scale). Values for mean SPS and coefficient of variation (CV) for SPS were calculated from the 60-day block of daily measurements between study visits. Serotonin-related gene polymorphism genotypes were determined by polymerase chain reaction,based methods. Results Of the 77 patients, 53 experienced 80 flares of SLE (32 renal flares) based on prespecified criteria. Multivariate analysis revealed that whereas neither the serotonin-related gene polymorphisms nor the mean SPS was predictive of an SLE flare, an increased CV for SPS was predictive (P = 0.0031). Interaction between the CV for SPS and the 5-HT1A ,1019C>G polymorphism was also found to be a predictor of SLE flare (P = 0.0039). Subset analysis revealed that only in lupus nephritis patients were increasing CVs for SPS (P = 0.0002) and the interaction between CVs for SPS and 5-HT1A (P < 0.0001) predictive of a flare. Odds ratio curves demonstrated that the predictive effect of increasing CVs for SPS required the presence of the 5-HT1A ,1019 G allele, but appeared to be independent of the G allele number. Conclusion Fluctuation in the level of SPS is a risk factor for the onset of flare in SLE patients with major renal manifestations when it occurs on the background of a stress-related susceptibility gene (the 5-HT1A ,1019 G allele). [source] | |||||||||||||