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One Factor (one + factor)
Selected AbstractsPlantar pressures in diabetic patients with foot ulcers which have remained healedDIABETIC MEDICINE, Issue 11 2009T. M. Owings Abstract Aims, The recurrence of foot ulcers is a significant problem in people with diabetic neuropathy. The purpose of this study was to measure in-shoe plantar pressures and other characteristics in a group of neuropathic patients with diabetes who had prior foot ulcers which had remained healed. Methods, This was an epidemiological cohort study of patients from diabetes clinics of two Swedish hospitals. From a database of 2625 eligible patients, 190 surviving patients with prior plantar ulcers of the forefoot (hallux or metatarsal heads) caused by repetitive stress were identified and 49 patients agreed to participate. Barefoot and in-shoe plantar pressures were measured during walking. Data on foot deformity, activity profiles and self-reported behaviour were also collected. Results, Mean barefoot plantar peak pressure at the prior ulcer site (556 kPa) was lower than in other published series, although the range was large (107,1192 kPa). Mean in-shoe peak pressure at this location averaged 207 kPa when measured with an insole sensor. Barefoot peak pressure only predicted ,35% of the variance of in-shoe peak pressure, indicating variation in the efficacy of the individual footwear prescriptions (primarily extra-depth shoes with custom insoles). Conclusions, We propose that the mean value for in-shoe pressures reported in these patients be used as a target in footwear prescription for patients with prior ulcers. Although plantar pressure is only one factor in a multifaceted strategy to prevent ulcer recurrence, the quantitative focus on pressure reduction in footwear is likely to have beneficial effects. [source] Improvement of Cupressus atlantica Gaussen growth by inoculation with native arbuscular mycorrhizal fungiJOURNAL OF APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 3 2007L. Ouahmane Abstract Aims: The study aimed to determine whether inoculation with native arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi could improve survival and growth of seedlings in degraded soils of Morocco. Methods and Results: Soil samples were collected from the rhizosphere of Cupressus atlantica trees in the N'Fis valley (Haut Atlas, Morocco). AM spores were extracted from the soil, identified and this mixture of native AM fungi was propagated on maize for 12 weeks on a sterilized soil to enrich the fungal inoculum. Then C. atlantica seedlings were inoculated with and without (control) mycorrhizal maize roots, cultured in glasshouse conditions and further, transplanted into the field. The experiment was a randomized block design with one factor and three replication blocks. The results showed that a high AM fungal diversity was associated with C. atlantica; native AM fungi inoculation was very effective on the growth of C. atlantica seedlings in glasshouse conditions and this plant growth stimulation was maintained for 1 year after outplanting. Conclusions: Inoculation of C. atlantica with AM fungi increased growth and survival in greenhouse and field. Significance and Impact of the Study: The data indicate that use of native species of AM fungi may accelerate reforestation of degraded soils. Further studies have to be performed to determine the persistence of these mycorrhizae for a longer period of plantation and to measure the effects of this microbial inoculation on soil biofunctioning. [source] Predicting Mother/Father,Child Interactions: Parental Personality and Well-being, Socioeconomic Variables and Child Disability StatusJOURNAL OF APPLIED RESEARCH IN INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES, Issue 1 2010Laraine M. Glidden Background, Child and parent characteristics as well as socioeconomic family variables can influence the quality of parent,child interactions. Methods, Coders rated parent behaviour from a video-taped 30-min family interaction in 91 families rearing children who were either typically developing or had intellectual/developmental disabilities. In addition, mothers and fathers completed NEO-FFI personality items as well as subjective well-being ratings. Results, Coder ratings were factor analysed, resulting in a four-factor parent behaviour inventory. The disability status of the children did not predict ratings on three of the factors, but parents of children with disabilities were perceived as less negative on one factor than parents of typically developing children. Extraversion, occupational status, and subjective well-being related to the child also predicted some parenting behaviours. Conclusions, Parenting a child with intellectual/developmental disabilities did not result in identifiably adverse outcomes for either mothers or fathers as determined by both behavioural and self-report measures. [source] Assessing suicide risk among callers to crisis hotlines: A confirmatory factor analysis,JOURNAL OF CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 9 2010Tracy K. Witte Abstract Our goal was to investigate the factor structure of a risk assessment tool utilized by suicide hotlines and to determine the predictive validity of the obtained factors in predicting subsequent suicidal behavior. We conducted an Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), an EFA in a Confirmatory Factor Analysis (EFA/CFA) framework, and a CFA on independent subsamples derived from a total sample of 1,085. Similar to previous studies, we found consistent evidence for a two-factor solution, with one factor representing a more pernicious form of suicide risk (i.e., Resolved Plans and Preparations; RPP) and one factor representing milder suicidal ideation (i.e., Suicidal Desire and Ideation; SDI). The RPP factor trended toward being more predictive of suicidal ideation at follow-up than the SDI factor. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol 66:1,24, 2010. [source] A metric-based approach to identifying refactoring opportunities for merging code clones in a Java software systemJOURNAL OF SOFTWARE MAINTENANCE AND EVOLUTION: RESEARCH AND PRACTICE, Issue 6 2008Yoshiki Higo Abstract A code clone is a code fragment that has other code fragments identical or similar to it in the source code. The presence of code clones is generally regarded as one factor that makes software maintenance more difficult. For example, if a code fragment with code clones is modified, it is necessary to consider whether each of the other code clones has to be modified as well. Removing code clones is one way of avoiding problems that arise due to the presence of code clones. This makes the source code more maintainable and more comprehensible. This paper proposes a set of metrics that suggest how code clones can be refactored. As well, the tool Aries, which automatically computes these metrics, is presented. The tool gives metrics that are indicators for certain refactoring methods rather than suggesting the refactoring methods themselves. The tool performs only lightweight source code analysis; hence, it can be applied to a large number of code lines. This paper also describes a case study that illustrates how this tool can be used. Based on the results of this case study, it can be concluded that this method can efficiently merge code clones. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Are there better indices for evaluation purposes than the h index?JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR INFORMATION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, Issue 5 2008A comparison of nine different variants of the h index using data from biomedicine In this study, we examined empirical results on the h index and its most important variants in order to determine whether the variants developed are associated with an incremental contribution for evaluation purposes. The results of a factor analysis using bibliographic data on postdoctoral researchers in biomedicine indicate that regarding the h index and its variants, we are dealing with two types of indices that load on one factor each. One type describes the most productive core of a scientist's output and gives the number of papers in that core. The other type of indices describes the impact of the papers in the core. Because an index for evaluative purposes is a useful yardstick for comparison among scientists if the index corresponds strongly with peer assessments, we calculated a logistic regression analysis with the two factors resulting from the factor analysis as independent variables and peer assessment of the postdoctoral researchers as the dependent variable. The results of the regression analysis show that peer assessments can be predicted better using the factor ,impact of the productive core' than using the factor ,quantity of the productive core.' [source] Non-parametric habitat models with automatic interactionsJOURNAL OF VEGETATION SCIENCE, Issue 6 2006Bruce McCune Abstract Questions: Can a statistical model be designed to represent more directly the nature of organismal response to multiple interacting factors? Can multiplicative kernel smoothers be used for this purpose? What advantages does this approach have over more traditional habitat modelling methods? Methods: Non-parametric multiplicative regression (NPMR) was developed from the premises that: the response variable has a minimum of zero and a physiologically-determined maximum, species respond simultaneously to multiple ecological factors, the response to any one factor is conditioned by the values of other factors, and that if any of the factors is intolerable then the response is zero. Key features of NPMR are interactive effects of predictors, no need to specify an overall model form in advance, and built-in controls on overfitting. The effectiveness of the method is demonstrated with simulated and real data sets. Results: Empirical and theoretical relationships of species response to multiple interacting predictors can be represented effectively by multiplicative kernel smoothers. NPMR allows us to abandon simplistic assumptions about overall model form, while embracing the ecological truism that habitat factors interact. [source] Sociocultural influences on infant feeding decisions among HIV-infected women in rural Kwa-Zulu Natal, South AfricaMATERNAL & CHILD NUTRITION, Issue 1 2005Lucy N. Thairu msc Abstract The promotion of exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months, followed by rapid transition to alternative food sources may be an important public health approach to the reduction of mother-to-child transmission of HIV through breastmilk. The basic ethical principle of ,informed choice' requires that HIV positive women are provided with adequate information about their options. However, information is only one factor that affects their decisions. The objective of this ethnographic study was to identify sociocultural influences on infant feeding decisions in the context of a large cohort study designed to assess the impact of a breastfeeding counselling and support strategy to promote exclusive breastfeeding on postnatal transmission of HIV in African women. Following an initial period of exploratory interviewing, ethnographic techniques were used to interview 22 HIV positive women about their views on infant feeding and health. Interviews were tape-recorded, transcribed and analysed with a text analysis program. Five themes of influences on feeding decisions emerged: (1) social stigma of HIV infection; (2) maternal age and family influences on feeding practices; (3) economic circumstances; (4) beliefs about HIV transmission through breastmilk; and (5) beliefs about the quality of breastmilk compared to formula. The study highlights the role of cultural, social, economic and psychological factors that affect HIV positive women's infant feeding decisions and behaviour. [source] The Danish version of the Medication Adherence Report Scale: Preliminary Validation in Cancer Pain PatientsPAIN PRACTICE, Issue 1 2009Ramune Jacobsen MS Abstract Objective: To examine the psychometric properties of the Danish version of the Medication Adherence Report Scale (DMARS-4) adapted to measure adherence to analgesic regimen among cancer patients. Methods: The validated English version of the Medication Adherence Report Scale was translated into Danish following the repeated back-translation procedure. Cancer patients for the study were recruited from specialized pain management facilities. Thirty-three patients responded to the DMARS-4, the Danish Barriers Questionnaire II, The Danish version of Patient Perceived Involvement in Care Scale measuring the quality of patient-physician pain communication, and the Danish Brief Pain Inventory pain severity scale. Results: A factor analysis of the DMARS-4 resulted in one factor. Mean (SD) score on the cumulative scale ranging from 4 to 20, with higher scores indicating better medication adherence, was 17.8 (0.42). The DMARS-4 scores were related to the measures of patients' concerns about pain management and patients' pain communication. The internal consistency of the DMARS-4 was 0.70. Conclusions: The DMARS-4 seems to be a valid and reliable measure of self-reported adherence to analgesic regimen in the context of cancer pain. [source] Analysis of behavioural and physiological parameters for the assessment of postoperative analgesic demand in newborns, infants and young children: a comprehensive report on seven consecutive studiesPEDIATRIC ANESTHESIA, Issue 3 2000W. Büttner Summary Many different systems for the assessment of pain in newborns and infants have been tested for validity, rarely for reliability but never for sensitivity or specificity. We aimed to determine whether the assessment of an analgesic demand in the lower age group during the postoperative period is possible by observational methods only. In an repetitive and sequential prospective process for identifying observationable behaviour and measurable physiological parameters as indicators of a postoperative analgesic demand, 584 newborns, infants and young children were studied (7 prospective studies, 4238 observations). Twenty-six items were selected as suggested by current literature and for reasons of economy and practicability. The factor analyses resulted in a two-factorial solution with the behavioural items loading on one factor and the physiological parameters on the other (principal component analyses). The physiological parameters blood pressure, respiratory rate and heart rate were found to be unreliable and had no discriminant power to detect an analgesic demand during the postoperative period (discriminant analyses, ROC-curves). In newborns and infants, nine observational items were identified as equally selective, reliable, sensitive and specific to the assessment of postoperative analgesic demand, whereas in young children only five items could be identified (discriminant analyses, ROC-curves). For economic reasons, these five items (crying, facial expression, posture of the trunk, posture of the legs, motor restlessness) were chosen as the basis of an additional pain scale ranging from 0=no pain to 10=maximal (Children's and Infants' Postoperative Pain Scale, CHIPPS). Its internal consistency yielded values for Cronbachs', with 0.92 for toddlers and 0.96 for infants. The coefficient for interrater reliability was 0.93. The scale was validated constructively by the intravenous administration of metamizol, tramadol, nalbuphine, piritramide and ketamine (repeated measures analysis of variance). The Toddler,Preschooler Postoperative Pain Scale and CHIPPS equally identified painfree situations or analgesic demand in 87.4%. In cases with definite pain, the score of CHIPPS was never below 4 points. Seventy-one toddlers gave verbal comments on their pain intensity: in 29 painfree situations the CHIPPS score was 3.0 and in 29 painful situations it was 5.7. The values for sensitivity and specificity of CHIPPS were calculated to be 0.92,0.96 and 0.74,0.95, respectively (discriminant analyses). We conclude that it is possible to determine postoperative analgesic demand in the low age group of children by using an observational system such as CHIPPS alone. [source] Inheritance of resistance and cross-resistance to deltamethrin in Plutella xylostella (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae) from PakistanPEST MANAGEMENT SCIENCE (FORMERLY: PESTICIDE SCIENCE), Issue 7 2005Ali H Sayyed Abstract A field population of Plutella xylostella (L) from Pakistan was found to be highly resistant to deltamethrin (>500-fold) but had little or no resistance to spinosad, fipronil, indoxacarb, abamectin, Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) var kurstaki, Bt var aizawai or Cry1Ac when compared with a susceptible laboratory population, Lab-UK. A sub-population was selected for six generations (laboratory G3,G8) with deltamethrin (delta-SEL), while a second sub-population was left unselected (UNSEL). Bioassays at G9 found that selection with deltamethrin gave resistance ratios of >230 compared with UNSEL (>6730 compared with Lab-UK). The delta-selected population showed no apparent cross-resistance to spinosad, fipronil or indoxacarb. Logit regression analysis of F1 reciprocal crosses between delta-SEL and Lab-UK indicated that resistance to deltamethrin in the delta-SEL population was inherited as an autosomal, incompletely dominant (DLC = 0.67) trait. A direct test of monogenic inheritance based on a back-cross of F1 progeny with delta-SEL suggested that resistance to deltamethrin was controlled by more than one factor. Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry [source] Effects of food, proximity, and kinship on social behavior in ringtailed lemursAMERICAN JOURNAL OF PRIMATOLOGY, Issue 11 2010Gena C. Sbeglia Abstract Efforts to understand the variation in primate social systems and their underlying interaction patterns have focused on both intrinsic and extrinsic factors. In the socioecological model, food distribution and abundance have been argued to be the primary influences on the social behavior of primate species. We examined the relationship of food resources and two intrinsic factors,kinship and proximity,with patterns of affiliative and agonistic relationships in two semi-free ranging ringtailed lemur, Lemur catta, social groups (N=14) at The Duke Lemur Center in Durham, NC. In analyzing these three factors concurrently within the same system, we attempt to establish their relative power in explaining the characteristics of social relationships. Patterns of affiliation and high-intensity agonism were best explained by kinship. Proximity also explained affiliation but did not explain agonism, which varied considerably between groups. The influence of food on social interactions was highly variable between the two groups and, therefore, did not convincingly account for the social behavior patterns we observed. Finally, different intensities of agonism have different patterns and should be analyzed individually. The variation between social groups makes it difficult for us to conclude that any one factor is primarily and universally responsible for patterns of social behavior in this species. Am. J. Primatol. 72:981,991, 2010. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] An Examination of Affine Term Structure Models,ASIA-PACIFIC JOURNAL OF FINANCIAL STUDIES, Issue 4 2009Suk-Joon Byun Abstract This paper examines the relative performance of models in the affine term structure family which includes both complete and essential affine models using Korean government bond yield data. Principal component analysis with Korean government bond yield data shows that the first three components of yields explain 97% of the total yield curve variation, and the components can be characterized as "level", "slope", and "curvature." We also estimate all three-factor affine models using a Kalman filter/quasi maximum likelihood (QML) approach. An exhaustive comparison shows that the three-factor essential affine model, A1 (3) E, in which only one factor affects the instantaneous volatility of short rates but all three factors affect the price of risk, appears to be the best model in Korea. This finding is consistent with results in Dai and Singleton (2002) and Duffee (2002) on US data and in Tang and Xia (2007) on Canadian, German, Japanese, UK and US data. [source] The Conners' 10-item scale: findings in a total population of Swedish 10,11-year-old childrenACTA PAEDIATRICA, Issue 5 2009Joakim Westerlund Abstract Aim: To present normative data for the Swedish version of the Conners' 10-item scale, to validate the scale by comparing children with and without attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), to explore the factor structure of this scale and to investigate behavioural characteristics and gender differences among 10- to 11-year-old children, as rated by parents and teachers respectively. Methods: Parents and teachers rated 509 10- to 11-year-old children (261 boys and 248 girls) from a population-based cohort in a Swedish municipality. Results: The Conners' 10-item scale discriminated very well between children with and without ADHD. Confirmatory factor analyses confirmed a two-dimensional structure of the scale with items measuring restless/impulsive behaviour in one factor and items measuring emotional lability in another. An ANOVA revealed that parents and teachers reported different behavioural characteristics in boys as compared to girls. Conclusion: The Conners' 10-item scale is a valid screening instrument for identification of ADHD. The two subscales can be used separately, in addition to the total score, to get a more detailed picture of the child's behaviour. Parents and teachers pay attention to different aspects of problem behaviour in boys and girls. The less disruptive behaviour of girls needs to be highlighted. [source] Hepatic venous outflow reconstruction in adult living donor liver transplants without portal hypertensionCLINICAL TRANSPLANTATION, Issue 2 2004Diego Bogetti Abstract:, Graft congestion is one of the causes of poor graft function in segmental liver transplantation. Three factors are implicated in segmental graft congestion: graft size, hepatic venous outflow and portal inflow. The graft size must be matched to the body weight, which is conventionally done by using graft to body weight ratio. Hepatic blood outflow must be optimized by hepatic vein reconstruction, which can be complicated. High portal blood flow has been shown to be detrimental to small-for-size grafts. These factors are strictly connected to each other. They can all contribute to graft congestion and poor function, while one factor can compensate for the others and decrease congestion. Ideally, all the accessory veins should be reconstructed, if possible, to maximize the outflow. In the absence of portal hypertension and with an adequate sized graft, complex venous reconstruction may not be necessary. We present a case report of an adult living donor liver transplant with the favorable conditions of normal portal pressure and a large sized graft, but complicated by the presence of several accessory hepatic veins. A simple hepatic vein anastomosis was sufficient for adequate outflow and prompt graft function. [source] | ||||||||||||||||