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Real Difference (real + difference)
Selected AbstractsAreal PMP distribution of one-day to three-day duration over IndiaMETEOROLOGICAL APPLICATIONS, Issue 4 2002C P R Clark Rakhecha There is a need to assess the areal depth of the probable maximum precipitation (PMP) over specified catchment areas for the safe construction of dam spillways. The large number of dams in India, coupled with their risk of failure, makes this need imperative both for the maximum use of water resources and for public safety. On the basis of rainfall data for the heaviest storms that occurred in different parts of India during the period 1880,1983, improved estimates of one-, two-, and three-day point PMP for India have been made. In this paper the distribution of areal PMP over specified catchment sizes is provided for the first time. The areal reduction factors (ARF) were based on envelope curves of major storms to give the ARF for areas of 10,20,000 km2 . These factors were found to vary from 1.0 to 0.41, though there was no real difference between durations of rainfall. These values of ARF were then multiplied by values of one- to three-day PMP. The resulting maps allow a broad description of the spatial distribution of areal PMP and also provide a rapid and consistent estimate of the probable maximum flood (PMF) from the PMP. For 500 km2 the areal PMP varies from 40 to 120 cm for one-day duration; from 70 to 200 cm for twoday duration; and from 75 to 270 cm for three-day duration. The pattern of PMP is consistent with the geography and available moisture. Copyright © 2002 Royal Meteorological Society. [source] Psychometric attributes of the SCOPA-COG Brazilian versionMOVEMENT DISORDERS, Issue 1 2008Francisco Javier Carod-Artal MD Abstract Cross-cultural adaptation and independent psychometric assessment of the Scales for Outcomes in Parkinson's disease-Cognition (SCOPA-COG), Brazilian version was performed. Parkinson's disease (PD) patients were evaluated by means of the SCOPA-Motor scale, Hoehn and Yahr staging (HY), Clinical Impression of Severity Index-PD (CISI-PD), Parkinson Psychosis Rating Scale, and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Cognition was evaluated using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire (SPMSQ), and SCOPA-COG. The following attributes were explored: acceptability, scaling assumptions, reliability, precision, and construct validity. One hundred fifty-two patients were assessed (mean age, 63.2 years; disease duration, 7.8 years; median HY stage, 3). Mean SCOPA-COG and MMSE were 18.2 and 25.7, respectively. The internal consistency of the SCOPA-COG (Cronbach's alpha = 0.81; item-total correlation, 0.38,0.62) was satisfactory. While the intraclass correlation coefficient value was 0.80, weighted kappa ranged from 0.30 (dice task) to 0.72 (animal fluency task). The standard error of measurement value for the SCOPA-COG was 3.2, whereas the smallest real difference was 8.9. SCOPA-COG total scores significantly decreased as the HY stage increased (Kruskal-Wallis, P < 0.0001). Age, years of education, and PD duration (all, P < 0.001) were observed to have an independent, significant effect on the SCOPA-COG. The SCOPA-COG is a short, reliable, valid instrument that is sensitive to cognitive deficits specific to PD. © 2007 Movement Disorder Society [source] Foreword: DAWN Youth , time to make a real differencePEDIATRIC DIABETES, Issue 2009Thomas Danne No abstract is available for this article. [source] Reliability of knee joint range of motion and circumference measurements after total knee arthroplasty: does tester experience matter?PHYSIOTHERAPY RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL, Issue 3 2010Thomas Linding Jakobsen Abstract Background and Purpose.,Two of the most utilized outcome measures to assess knee joint range of motion (ROM) and intra-articular effusion are goniometry and circumference, respectively. Neither goniometry nor circumference of the knee joint have been examined for both intra-tester and inter-tester in patients with total knee arthroplasty (TKA). The purpose of this study was to determine the intra-tester and inter-tester reliability of active and passive knee joint ROM and circumference in patients with TKA when administered by physiotherapists (testers) with different clinical experience.,Method.,The design was an intra-tester, inter-tester and intra-day reliability study. Nineteen outpatients (10 females) having received a TKA were examined by an inexperienced and an experienced physiotherapist. Following a standardized protocol, active and passive knee joint ROM and circumference measurements were obtained using a universal goniometer and a tape measure, respectively. To establish reliability, intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC2,1) and smallest real difference (SRD) were calculated.,Results.,The knee joint ROM and circumference measurements were generally reliable (ICC > 0.8) within and between physiotherapists (except passive knee extension). Changes in knee joint ROM of more than 6.6° and 10° (except active knee flexion) and knee joint circumference of more than 1.0,cm and 1.63,cm represent a real clinical improvement (SRD) or deterioration for a single individual within and between physiotherapists, respectively. Generally, the experienced tester recorded larger knee joint ROM and lower circumference values than that of the inexperienced tester.,Conclusions.,In clinical practice, we suggest that repeated knee goniometric and circumferential measurements should be recorded by the same physiotherapist in individual patients with TKA. Tester experience appears not to influence the degree of reliability. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] The craniocervical flexion test: intra-tester reliability in asymptomatic subjectsPHYSIOTHERAPY RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL, Issue 3 2010Gill James Abstract Background and Purpose.,The deep neck flexor muscles (DNFs) stabilize the cervical spine and cervicogenic pain appears to adversely affect their endurance capacity. They are inaccessible to direct palpation, thereby making assessment difficult. However, the cranio-cervical flexion test (CCFT) provides an indirect method of assessing the endurance capacity of the DNFs. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the intratester reliability of the CCFT in asymptomatic subjects.,Method.,The clinical protocol of the CCFT was measured on two occasions with 7 days between measurements. Prior to testing, participants were trained and compensation strategies were corrected. Nineteen asymptomatic participants (mean age 24.9 years; range 22,36) were recruited.,Results.,The test had excellent intratester reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.983; standard error of the mean = 8.94; smallest real difference = 24.7). A Bland and Altman's limits of agreement analysis confirmed the high reliability of the test.,Conclusion.,The CCFT results demonstrated excellent intra-tester reliability in asymptomatic subjects, thus contributing to the normative data regarding the test. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Unfettered Consumer Access to Affordable Therapies in the Post-TRIPS Era: A Dead-End Journey for Patients?THE JOURNAL OF WORLD INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, Issue 3 2010India Case Studies, Kenya Increasing access to essential medicines has become an international priority, given the rapid spread of intractable diseases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. It follows that the quests to improve the global quality of healthcare and achieve health equity present a challenge for many countries, especially those that have been hard hit by deadly pandemics and whose populations are also still without essential drugs. Consequently, many countries have stepped up efforts to remove the obstacles to the availability and affordability of essential medicines. The Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) contains flexibilities that can be used as tools for enhancing access to cheap medicines and for controlling drug pricing. However, these flexibilities are not necessarily a panacea and cannot singly solve the problem of limited access to essential medicines. Put differently, cheaper medicines cannot reach the poor without the infrastructure to deliver them. For this to become a reality, commitment on the part of the member countries to adopt comprehensive and cooperative measures to tackle the burdensome barriers that limit access to critical medicines is needed. It is only then that the flexibilities in TRIPS can be optimized and a real difference made in the lives of poor patients across the developing world. [source] Relativity of Value and the Consequentialist UmbrellaTHE PHILOSOPHICAL QUARTERLY, Issue 217 2004Jennie Lousie Does the real difference between non-consequentialist and consequentialist theories lie in their approach to value? Non-consequentialist theories are thought either to allow a different kind of value (namely, agent-relative value) or to advocate a different response to value (,honouring' rather than ,promoting'). One objection to this idea implies that all normative theories are describable as consequentialist. But then the distinction between honouring and promoting collapses into the distinction between relative and neutral value. A proper description of non-consequentialist theories can only be achieved by including a distinction between temporal relativity and neutrality in addition to the distinction between agent-relativity and agent-neutrality. [source] How semiregular are irregular variables?ASTRONOMISCHE NACHRICHTEN, Issue 4 2009T. Lebzelter Abstract We investigate the question whether there is a real difference in the light change between stars classified as semiregular (SRV) or irregular (Lb) variables by analysing photometric light curves of 12 representatives of each class. Using Fourier analysis we try to find a periodic signal in each light curve and determine the S/N of this signal. For all stars, independent of their variability class we detect a period above the significance threshold. No difference in the measured S/N between the two classes could be found. We propose that the Lb stars can be seen as an extension of the SRVs towards shorter periods and smaller amplitudes. This is in agreement with findings from other quantities which also showed no marked difference between the two classes (© 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] Sexual abuse at a Swedish daycare centre: allegations, confessions and evaluationsACTA PAEDIATRICA, Issue 8 2000F Lindblad In September 1997, sexual abuse at a Swedish daycare centre was disclosed. The suspect, a male member of the staff, admitted having abused six children. A total of 30 children were included in the police investigation. In this study, these cases were evaluated individually using a child psychiatric method. Information was collected from the police investigation and from interviews with parents. The conclusions,categorized as "abuse likely", "abuse conceivable" or "abuse uncertain",were compared with the children's own reports, the legal evaluations and the confessions of the suspects. Conclusions: The correspondence of child reports with child psychiatric evaluations was fairly high, indicating that child reports may serve as a good screening indicator of abuse. There was little agreement between child psychiatric evaluations and legal decisions, which were based on the reports of suspects. Some differences may be explained by varied methodology, definitions and criteria. Others reflect real differences in opinion. Our study illustrates the need to establish legal criteria for statements from pre-schoolers if such evidence is to constitute the basis of a ruling without a confession. Studies comparing professional psychological assessments of children's statements about sexual abuse with independent data stand out as an important line of research for the future. [source] Differences between European birthweight standards: impact on classification of ,small for gestational age'DEVELOPMENTAL MEDICINE & CHILD NEUROLOGY, Issue 11 2006K Hemming PhD We describe a quantitative and comparative review of a selection of European birthweight standards for gestational age for singletons, to enable appropriate choices to be made for clinical and research use. Differences between median values at term across standards in 10 regions and misclassification of 'small for gestational age'(SGA), were studied. Sex and parity differences, exclusion criteria, and methods of construction were considered. There was wide variation between countries in exclusion criteria, methods of calculating standards, and median birthweight at term. The lightest standards (e.g. France's medians are 255g lower than Norway's medians) were associated with fewer exclusion criteria. Up to 20% of the population used in the construction of the Scottish standard would be classified as SGA using the Norwegian standard. Substantial misclassification of SGA is possible. Assumptions about variation used in the construction of some standards were not justified. It is not possible to conclude that there are real differences in birthweight standards between European countries. Country-based standards control for some population features but add misclassification due to the differing ways in which standards are derived. Standards should be chosen to reflect clinical or research need. If standards stratified by sex or parity are not available, adjustments should be made. In multinational studies, comparisons should be made between results using both a common standard and country-based standards. [source] EVOLUTION OF COLOR VARIATION IN DRAGON LIZARDS: QUANTITATIVE TESTS OF THE ROLE OF CRYPSIS AND LOCAL ADAPTATIONEVOLUTION, Issue 7 2004Devi M. Stuart-Fox Abstract Many animal species display striking color differences with respect to geographic location, sex, and body region. Traditional adaptive explanations for such complex patterns invoke an interaction between selection for conspicuous signals and natural selection for crypsis. Although there is now a substantial body of evidence supporting the role of sexual selection for signaling functions, quantitative studies of crypsis remain comparatively rare. Here, we combine objective measures of coloration with information on predator visual sensitivities to study the role of crypsis in the evolution of color variation in an Australian lizard species complex (Ctenophorus decresii). We apply a model that allows us to quantify crypsis in terms of the visual contrast of the lizards against their natural backgrounds, as perceived by potential avian predators. We then use these quantitative estimates of crypsis to answer the following questions. Are there significant differences in crypsis conspicuousness among populations? Are there significant differences in crypsis conspicuousness between the sexes? Are body regions "exposed" to visual predators more cryptic than "hidden" body regions? Is there evidence for local adaptation with respect to crypsis against different substrates? In general, our results confirmed that there are real differences in crypsis conspicuousness both between populations and between sexes; that exposed body regions were significantly more cryptic than hidden ones, particularly in females; and that females, but not males, are more cryptic against their own local background than against the background of other populations. Body regions that varied most in contrast between the sexes and between populations were also most conspicuous and are emphasized by males during social and sexual signaling. However, results varied with respect to the aspect of coloration studied. Results based on chromatic contrast ("hue' of color) provided better support for the crypsis hypothesis than did results based on achromatic contrast ("brightness' of color). Taken together, these results support the view that crypsis plays a substantial role in the evolution of color variation and that color patterns represent a balance between the need for conspicuousness for signaling and the need for crypsis to avoid predation. [source] Does pregnancy affect swimming performance of female Mosquitofish, Gambusia affinis?FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY, Issue 3 2002I. Plaut Summary 1.,The cost of reproduction due to limiting of the reproductive female's locomotion capability has been suggested many times, but has rarely been directly examined, especially in fishes. Here, the effect of pregnancy on swimming performance in the viviparous Mosquitofish, Gambusia affinis, was studied. 2.,Eight females of G. affinis were isolated, each in a separate aquarium, and critical swimming speed (Ucrit), body mass (BM) and cross-section area were measured every 5 days from the beginning of the pregnancy until 2,4 days after parturition. 3.,Swimming kinematics (tail beat frequency and amplitude) was measured in non-pregnant and pregnant females at different swimming speeds. 4.,BM increased during pregnancy from 0·47 ± 0·13 g to 0·72 ± 0·19 g, and the cross-section area also increased during pregnancy from 0·21 ± 0·06 cm2 to 0·32 ± 0·07 cm2. Ucrit decreased from 25·0 ± 1·3 cm s,1 before pregnancy to 20·1 ± 1·5 cm s,1 just before parturition, and returned to 24·7 ± 1·4 cm s,1 2,4 days after parturition. Interindividual variation was repeatable and reflects real differences among individuals. 5.,Swimming kinematics was not affected by pregnancy. 6.,The results suggest that reductions in Ucrit are probably because of aerobic constraints and not necessarily due to hydrodynamic changes resulting from changing in body form or plasticity. Moreover, the reduction in Ucrit is, potentially, a ,cost of reproduction' owing to decrease in the ability to gain food during pregnancy in G. affinis females. [source] The importance of housing costs in cross-national comparisons of welfare (state) outcomesINTERNATIONAL SOCIAL SECURITY REVIEW, Issue 2 2003Veli-Matti Ritakallio Mainstream comparative research on welfare policy outcomes has focused mainly on the role of government benefits and resulting distributions of income. From the point of view of the economic well-being of households, it is said that this narrow approach has produced results which have exaggerated the difference between continental western Europe and the New World. It has been argued that, to get fair results, comparative studies of welfare outcomes should take into account the differences in housing policies and structures of tenure. The ownership of private houses is more common in the New World nations than in Europe. Home ownership is thought to improve the economic well-being of the typical poverty-prone group, namely older people. This article tests how the cross-national picture of poverty and inequality changes when we approach the economic well-being of households on the basis of disposable incomes after housing costs instead of the traditional, purely income-based approach. The empirical analysis shows that, instead of vast differences in inequality, poverty and, in particular, old-age poverty, the real differences between Australia and Finland are only modest when housing costs are taken into account. [source] Morphological and molecular biological studies on intramuscular Myxobolus spp. of cyprinid fishJOURNAL OF FISH DISEASES, Issue 11 2002K Molnár Abstract The validity of Myxobolus species infecting the skeletal muscles of six cyprinid fish species was studied by morphological and molecular biological methods. Intracellularly developing Myxobolus spores identified as M. cyprini from the common carp, M. musculi from the barbel, and M. pseudodispar from the roach, rudd, common bream and white bream were very similar in their shape and size. Nonetheless, in species identified as M. pseudodispar, the occurrence of spores with an asymmetrical shape was higher than in M. cyprini, while asymmetrical spores were only occasionally found in M. musculi. The DNA sequence analysis of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-amplified 18S rRNA gene of Myxobolus spores from these fish showed a similar phylogeny to that of their host species. As morphological studies and DNA sequence analysis demonstrated slight but real differences in the spores infecting muscles of the six cyprinid species, it is suggested that M. musculi, M. pseudodispar and M. cyprini are valid species. [source] Network influences on scholarly communication in developmental dyslexia: A longitudinal follow-upJOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR INFORMATION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, Issue 14 2003Claudia A. Perry Author cocitation analysis was used to explore ongoing changes in the intellectual structure of the hybrid problem area of developmental dyslexia for the period 1994,1998, and to address ambiguities in results raised by an earlier study of these researchers for the years 1976,1993. Results suggest that: (1) discrepancies between the structure of the sociometric (personal) and author cocitation networks reflect real differences, not temporal factors; (2) differences between cocitation patterns and reports in the literature, and corresponding delays in the visibility of emerging perspectives, are likely due to the "inertia" of aggregate cocitation data and/or by shifts by neuroscience-vision researchers to publication in more prominent journals; (3) a sharp rise in link density for the neuroscience-vision subgroup indicates increased cohesiveness and growing maturation for this emerging perspective; (4) shifts in subgroup membership, link density, patterns of coauthorship, and multiple factor loadings suggest possible convergence between other subgroups in the network and identify individuals who may play boundary-spanning roles within the network; and (5) changing patterns of cocitation throughout the network suggest the increasing influence of studies relating to neurobiological mechanisms underlying dyslexia. The possible contributions of such boundary spanners in addressing the substantial information and communication challenges posed by the increased interdisciplinary character of scholarship in general, also are discussed. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||