Home About us Contact
|
Home About us Contact | ||
|
|
||
Practical Measures (practical + measure)
Selected AbstractsItalian validation of INQoL, a quality of life questionnaire for adults with muscle diseasesEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROLOGY, Issue 9 2010V. A. Sansone Background and purpose:, A quality of life (QoL) questionnaire for neuromuscular diseases was recently constructed and validated in the United Kingdom in a sample of adult patients with a variety of muscle disorders. Preliminary results suggested it could be a more relevant and practical measure of QoL in muscle diseases than generic health measures of QoL. The purpose of our work was: (i) To validate INQoL in Italy on a larger sample of adult patients with muscle diseases (ii) to compare INQoL to SF-36. Methods:, We have translated into Italian and applied language adaptations to the original UK INQoL version. We studied 1092 patients with different muscle disorders and performed (i) test,retest reliability (n = 80); (ii) psychometric (n = 345), known-group (n = 1092), external criterion (n = 70), and concurrent validity with SF-36 (n = 183). Results:, We have translated and formally validated the Italian version of INQoL confirming and extending results obtained in the United Kingdom. In addition to good results in terms of reliability, known-group and criterion validity, a comparison with the SF-36 scales showed a stronger association between INQoL total index and SF-36 physical (r = ,0.72) than mental (r = ,0.38) summary health indexes. When considering comparable domains of INQoL and SF-36 with respect to an objective measure of muscle strength assessment (MMRC), regression analysis showed a stronger correlation using INQoL rather than SF-36 scores. Conclusions:, INQoL is recommended to assess QoL in muscle diseases because of its ability to capture physical limitations that are specifically relevant to the muscle condition. [source] Ensuring Quality Information for Patients: development and preliminary validation of a new instrument to improve the quality of written health care informationHEALTH EXPECTATIONS, Issue 2 2004Beki Moult BA(Hons) MSc Abstract Background, Despite the recent focus on improving the quality of patient information, there is no rigorous method of assessing quality of written patient information that is applicable to all information types and that prescribes the action that is required following evaluation. Objective, The aims of this project were to develop a practical measure of the presentation quality for all types of written health care information and to provide preliminary validity and reliability of the measure in a paediatric setting. Methods, The Ensuring Quality Information for Patients (EQIP) tool was developed through a process of item generation, testing for concurrent validity, inter-rater reliability and utility. Patient information managers and health care professionals tested EQIP in three annual audits of health care leaflets produced by a children's hospital. Results, The final tool comprised 20 items. Kendall's , B rank correlation between EQIP and DISCERN was 0.56 (P = 0.001). There was strong agreement between intuitive rating and the EQIP score (Kendall's , B = 0.78, P = 0.009). Internal consistency using Cronbach's , was 0.80. There was good agreement between pairs of raters (mean , = 0.60; SD = 0.18) with no differences based on types of leaflets. Audits showed significant improvement in the number of leaflets achieving a higher quality EQIP rating over a 3-year period. Conclusions, EQIP demonstrated good preliminary validity, reliability and utility when used by patient information managers and healthcare professionals for a wide variety of written health care information. EQIP uniquely identifies actions to be taken as a result of the quality assessment. Use of EQIP improved the quality of written health care information in a children's hospital. Wider evaluation of EQIP with written information for other populations and settings is recommended. [source] How Do Mothers Feel About Their Very Low Birth Weight Infants?INFANT MENTAL HEALTH JOURNAL, Issue 2 2006Development of a New Measure The early relationship between a mother and her very low birth weight (VLBW; <1.5 kg) infant may be difficult to evaluate. Therefore, we aimed to develop a useful and practical method to describe a mother's early relationship with her VLBW infant. Mothers (mean age=27 years, 46% married) of 119 singleton VLBW infants (mean BW=1,056 g, mean GA=28 weeks) admitted to the neonatal ICU at Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital completed a novel questionnaire regarding their feelings about their infant at 3 weeks' postnatal age, and at 35 weeks', 40 weeks' (term), and 4 months' postmenstrual ages. Factor analysis of initial interview data was used to construct subscales to measure unique domains hypothesized to underpin the beginning maternal,infant relationship. Three subscales were identified: (a) The Worry subscale focuses on the mother's concerns about her infant's current medical condition and future development, (b) the Enjoyment subscale examines the mother's positive feelings about and responsiveness to her infant, and (c) the Separation Anxiety subscale examines the mother's mental anxiety about being physically separated from her infant. Statistical and clinical validation of the subscales produced positive supporting evidence that the subscales are a meaningful measure of the mother,infant relationship. We have developed a unique and practical measure for describing the early mother,VLBW infant relationship. [source] Fusarium oxysporum: exploring the molecular arsenal of a vascular wilt fungusMOLECULAR PLANT PATHOLOGY, Issue 5 2003Antonio Di Pietro SUMMARY Taxonomy: Vascular wilt fungus; Ascomycete although sexual stage is yet to be found. The most closely related teleomorphic group, Gibberella, is classified within the Pyrenomycetes. Host range: Very broad at the species level. More than 120 different formae speciales have been identified based on specificity to host species belonging to a wide range of plant families. Disease symptoms: Initial symptoms of vascular wilt include vein clearing and leaf epinasty, followed by stunting, yellowing of the lower leafs, progressive wilting of leaves and stem, defoliation and finally death of the plant. In cross-sections of the stem, a brown ring is evident in the area of the vascular bundles. Some formae speciales are not primarily vascular pathogens but cause foot- and rootrot or bulbrot. Economic importance: Causes severe losses on most vegetables and flowers, several field crops such as cotton and tobacco, plantation crops such as banana, plantain, coffee and sugarcane, and a few shade trees. Control: Use of resistant varieties is the only practical measure for controlling the disease in the field. Under greenhouse conditions, soil sterilization can be performed. Alternative control methods with potential for the future include soil solarization and biological control with antagonistic bacteria or fungi. Useful websites: http://www.fgsc.net/fus.htm, http://www-genome.wi.mit.edu/annotation/fungi/fusarium/, http://www.cbs.knaw.nl/fusarium/database.html [source] A Quantitative Conservation Approach for the Endangered Butterfly Maculinea alconCONSERVATION BIOLOGY, Issue 2 2004MICHIEL F. WallisDeVries The quality and size of habitat patches and their isolation from other patches are the main parameters for an assessment of population persistence, but translating persistence probabilities into practical measures is still a weak link in conservation management. I provide a quantitative conservation approach for the endangered myrmecophilous butterfly Maculinea alcon in the Netherlands. All 127 colonies known on heathland since 1990 were investigated for patch quality, size, and isolation. I assessed habitat quality in three 10 × 10 m plots for most colonies. Site occupancy in 1998,1999 was only 56%. Occupancy was best explained by a logistic regression including patch area, host ant presence, host plant abundance, overall heathland area, and connectivity between sites ( R2= 0.410, p < 0.0001); it correctly classified the occupied or vacant status for 82% of the sites. Connectivity contributed only 3.6% to the total explained variation of site occupancy, indicating that habitat characteristics were more important than isolation in determining population persistence at the examined scale level (>500 m). Grazing and sod cutting had a beneficial impact, but in combination these practices proved detrimental. Hydrological measures to prevent drainage were also associated with lowered occupancy. I used the different components in the logistic regression to formulate objective management recommendations. These consisted of sod cutting, reduction of management intensity, enlargement of habitat, or combinations of these recommendations. The results highlight the importance of careful management when site quality is determined by multiple factors. The quantitative conservation approach followed here can be fruitfully extended to other endangered species, provided enough is known about their ecological requirements and how management actions affect them. Resumen:,La preservación de fragmentos individuales es extremadamente importante para especies en peligro con capacidad de dispersión limitada. La calidad y tamaño de los fragmentos de hábitat y su aislamiento de otros fragmentos son los parámetros principales para la evaluación de la persistencia de la población, pero la traducción de probabilidades de persistencia en medidas prácticas aun es un eslabón débil en la gestión de conservación. Proporciono un método cuantitativo de conservación para la mariposa mirmecófila Maculinea alcon en peligro en Holanda. Se investigó a las 127 colonias conocidas en brezales desde 1990 para calidad, tamaño y aislamiento del fragmento. Evalué la calidad del hábitat en tres parcelas de 10 × 10 m en la mayoría de las colonias. La ocupación de sitios en 1998-1999 fue sólo 56%. La ocupación fue mejor explicada por regresión logística incluyendo la superficie del fragmento, presencia de hormigas huésped, abundancia de plantas huésped, superficie total del brezal y conectividad entre sitios ( R2= 0.410, p < 0.0001); clasificó el estatus de ocupado o vacante en 82% de los sitios. La conectividad contribuyó con solo 36% de la variación total de sitio de ocupación, lo que indica que las características de hábitat fueron más importantes que el aislamiento en la determinación de la persistencia de la población en el nivel de escala examinado (>500 m). El pastoreo y el corte de pasto tuvieron un impacto benéfico pero combinadas, estas prácticas fueron perjudiciales. Obras hidrológicas para prevenir la desecación también se asociaron con una disminución en la ocupación. Utilicé los diferentes componentes de la regresión logística para formular recomendaciones objetivas de gestión. Estas incluyeron el corte de pasto, reducción en la intensidad de manejo, aumento de hábitat o combinaciones de estas recomendaciones. Los resultados resaltan la importancia de la gestión cuidadosa cuando la calidad del sitio está determinada por múltiples factores. El método cuantitativo de preservación utilizado puede ser extendido exitosamente a otras especies en peligro, siempre que sean suficientemente conocidos sus requerimientos ecológicos y la forma en que le afectan las acciones de manejo. [source] An epidemiological study of risk factors associated with the recurrence of equine grass sickness (dysautonomia) on previously affected premisesEQUINE VETERINARY JOURNAL, Issue 2 2004J. R. Newton Summary Reasons for performing study: The reasons why equine grass sickness (EGS) recurs on premises are unknown and, consequently, practical methods for reducing the risk of recurrence are not available. Objectives: To identify risk factors associated with recurrence of EGS on premises and to gain possible insights into the pathogenesis of the disease. Methods: Data on disease history and risk factors were collected by postal questionnaire from premises with EGS cases between 1st January 1997 and 31st December 2001. Data on variation in rates of recurrence of EGS for different risk factors were analysed using Poisson regression analysis. Results: Of 509 premises contacted, 305 (60%) returned useable questionnaires and 100 of these (33%) were classified as ,recurrent' premises. An overall median incidence rate for EGS of 2.1 EGS incidents/100 horses/premises/year was recorded. There was an increased rate of recurrence with higher numbers of horses, presence of younger animals, stud farms and livery/riding establishments, loam and sand soils, rearing of domestic birds and mechanical droppings removal. The rate of recurrence decreased with chalk soil, cograzing ruminants, grass cutting on pastures and removal of droppings by hand. Several statistically significant interactions were identified. Conclusions: Many of the findings are consistent with the theory that EGS is a toxico-infectious form of botulism. Several of the significant factors identified may directly or indirectly relate to soil disturbance and consequent soil contamination of grass, thereby increasing the rate of exposure of grazing horses to Clostridium botulinum, which resides in soil. Potential relevance: Identification of potentially modifiable risk factors may, ideally following validation in appropriately designed, controlled and randomised intervention studies, lead to practical measures to reduce the incidence of EGS on previously affected premises. [source] Realizing the Responsibility to ProtectINTERNATIONAL STUDIES PERSPECTIVES, Issue 2 2009Alex J. Bellamy Written prior to the release of the UN Secretary-General's report on implementing the Responsibility to Protect (R2P), this article examines the effort to translate the principle from words into deeds. It begins by noting a post-2005 "revolt" against the principle in which a number of states expressed skepticism about the principle and its use in different settings. This revolt, the article contends, was largely a product of the continuing association between R2P and humanitarian intervention. This association was, in turn, caused by a combination of misplaced commentary and the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty's focus on the intervention question. This article maintains that building consensus on the R2P requires a shift in emphasis and proposes three avenues: clarifying the nature of prevention, developing practical measures, and proposing modest proposals for institutional reform. [source] Determining trophic niche width: a novel approach using stable isotope analysisJOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY, Issue 5 2004STUART BEARHOP Summary 1Although conceptually robust, it has proven difficult to find practical measures of niche width that are simple to obtain, yet provide an adequate descriptor of the ecological position of the population examined. 2Trophic niche has proven more tractable than other niche dimensions. However, indices used as a proxy for trophic niche width often suffer from the following difficulties. Such indices rarely lie along a single scale making comparisons between populations or species difficult; have difficulty in combining dietary prey diversity and evenness in an ecologically meaningful way; and fail to integrate diet over ecological time-scales thus usually only comprise single snapshots of niche width. 3We propose an alternative novel method for the comparison of trophic niche width: the use of variance of tissue stable isotope ratios, especially those of nitrogen and carbon. 4This approach is a potentially powerful method of measuring trophic niche width, particularly if combined with conventional approaches, because: it provides a single measure on a continuous axis that is common to all species; it integrates information on only assimilated prey over time; the integration period changes with choice of tissue sampled; and data production is theoretically fast and testing among populations simple. 5Empirical studies are now required to test the benefits of using isotopic variance as a measure of niche width, and in doing so help refine this approach. [source] Biochemical and molecular studies using human autopsy brain tissueJOURNAL OF NEUROCHEMISTRY, Issue 3 2003Matthew R. Hynd Abstract The use of human brain tissue obtained at autopsy for neurochemical, pharmacological and physiological analyses is reviewed. RNA and protein samples have been found suitable for expression profiling by techniques that include RT-PCR, cDNA microarrays, western blotting, immunohistochemistry and proteomics. The rapid development of molecular biological techniques has increased the impetus for this work to be applied to studies of brain disease. It has been shown that most nucleic acids and proteins are reasonably stable post-mortem. However, their abundance and integrity can exhibit marked intra- and intercase variability, making comparisons between case-groups difficult. Variability can reveal important functional and biochemical information. The correct interpretation of neurochemical data must take into account such factors as age, gender, ethnicity, medicative history, immediate ante-mortem status, agonal state and post-mortem and post-autopsy intervals. Here we consider issues associated with the sampling of DNA, RNA and proteins using human autopsy brain tissue in relation to various ante- and post-mortem factors. We conclude that valid and practical measures of a variety of parameters may be made in human brain tissue, provided that specific factors are controlled. [source] Dealing with uncertainty: adaptive approaches to sustainable river managementAQUATIC CONSERVATION: MARINE AND FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEMS, Issue 4 2002M.J. CLARKArticle first published online: 5 AUG 200 Abstract 1.Sustainable river management is the proclaimed aim of many agencies and institutions, but it remains challenging to bring this worthy ideal from the level of political rhetoric to that of practical river management. 2.Amongst the many drivers that already pressure the river manager, from internal institutional goals, through political aspirations to systemic change within the biophysical process system, one common element emerges, that of prevailing uncertainty. 3.Once it has been accepted that conventional science and engineering approaches to uncertainty (risk) minimization may be sub-optimal in a truly holistic (biophysical, socio-economic, political) system, the challenge emerges of developing a more appropriate framework without destroying over-burdened managers and management systems in the process. 4.It is argued that the necessary components are often already in place or under consideration. A linked model is proposed comprising practical measures of sustainability, robust approaches to uncertainty (if necessary, involving attitude change), responsive (adaptive) management frameworks, and an important underpinning of fuzzy decision support. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Risk Management with Duration: Potential and LimitationsCANADIAN JOURNAL OF ADMINISTRATIVE SCIENCES, Issue 2 2000Gerald O. Bierwag This paper demonstrates the applicability of duration as a risk management tool for government organizations. Drawing on a real case, we present methodologies for quantifying (a) the durations of real assets on a government's balance sheet, and (b) the durations of the financial assets represented by shares in state-owned enterprises (SOEs). In the area of real physical assets on the balance sheet we focus on the highway system and on real estate owned by the government. The methodology for measuring durations of SOEs focuses primarily on an electrical utility. Our main conclusion is that it is feasible to derive excellent practical measures of the real durations of physical assets on a government's balance sheet. Far from being academic curiosities,such durations can be estimated with a fair degree of accuracy in practice. The paper also indicates some of the potential limitations of duration analysis as a risk management tool for such organizations. Résumé En tant que grand succès de la finance académique, l'analyse de durée profite d'une application étendue de la part des praticiens de différents millieux du secteur privé. Cet article démontre la possibilité d'utiliser les durées comme outil de gestion du risque dans les organisations gouvernementales. En se basant sur un cas réel, nous présentons les méthodes pour quantifier (1) les durées des valeurs réelles d'un bilan gouvernemental et (2) les durées des valeurs financières représentées par des parts dans des sociétés d'état. Pour ce qui est des valeurs physiques réelles du bilan, nous nous arr,tons sur le système autoroutier et sur les biens immobiliers possédés par le gouvernement. La méthode de mesure des durées des sociétés d'état focalise sur une compagnie de service électrique. Notre conclusion principale est qu'il est possible de tirer d'excellentes mesures pratiques des durées réelles des valeurs physiques du bilan financier d'un gouvernement. Loin d',tre de pures curiosités académiques, de telles durées peuvent ,tre, en pratique, estimées avec un degré raisonnable de précision. L'article mentionne de plus certaines limites potentielles de l'analyse de durée comme outil de gestion de risque pour de telles organisations. [source] | ||||||||||||||||