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Additional Criteria (additional + criterion)
Selected AbstractsCOMPILATION OF MEASURED NUTRIENT LOAD DATA FOR AGRICULTURAL LAND USES IN THE UNITED STATES,JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN WATER RESOURCES ASSOCIATION, Issue 5 2006Daren Harmel ABSTRACT: Measured field scale data are increasingly used to guide policy and management decisions based on comparative pollutant load information from various land management alternatives. The primary objective of this study was to compile measured annual nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) load data representing field scale transport from agricultural land uses. This effort expanded previous work that established an initial nutrient export coefficient dataset. Only measured annual N and P load data published in scientific peer-reviewed studies were included in the present compilation. Additional criteria for inclusion were: spatial scale (field scale or farm scale, minimum 0.009 ha); land use (homogeneous, either cultivated agriculture or pasture/rangeland/hay); natural rainfall (not rainfall simulation); and temporal scale (minimum one year). Annual N and P load data were obtained from 40 publications, resulting in a 163-record database with more than 1,100 watershed years of data. Basic descriptive statistics in relation to N and P loads were tabulated for tillage management, conservation practices, fertilizer application, soil texture, watershed size, and land use (crop type). The resulting Measured Annual Nutrient loads from A Circumlittoral Environments (MANAGE) database provides readily accessible, easily queried watershed characteristic and nutrient load data and establishes a platform suitable for input of additional project specific data. [source] Quantified superiority of cognitive behaviour therapy to antidepressant drugs: a challenge to an earlier meta-analysisACTA PSYCHIATRICA SCANDINAVICA, Issue 2 2008G. B. Parker Objective:, The study aimed to review the conclusion of a previously published meta-analysis which quantified distinct superiority of cognitive therapy to antidepressant drug-therapy (P < 0.0001). Method:, We sought to include all studies used in the original meta-analysis. Adopting both that study's inclusion criteria and additional criteria resulted in a reduced set of studies. We analysed both ,completer' and ,intention to treat' data, using effect size and odds ratio quantification. Results:, There was an overall trend for cognitive therapy to be superior to antidepressant drug-therapy, but this was significant for only one of the four meta-analyses (an intention to treat analysis). We demonstrated considerable heterogeneity between studies, and a significantly higher drop-out rate in the antidepressant groups. Conclusion:, The previous interpretation , cognitive therapy being distinctly superior to antidepressant medication , cannot be sustained from the currently analysed data set. [source] Application of multicriteria decision analysis in environmental decision makingINTEGRATED ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT, Issue 2 2005Gregory A. Kiker Abstract Decision making in environmental projects can be complex and seemingly intractable, principally because of the inherent trade-offs between sociopolitical, environmental, ecological, and economic factors. The selection of appropriate remedial and abatement strategies for contaminated sites, land use planning, and regulatory processes often involves multiple additional criteria such as the distribution of costs and benefits, environmental impacts for different populations, safety, ecological risk, or human values. Some of these criteria cannot be easily condensed into a monetary value, partly because environmental concerns often involve ethical and moral principles that may not be related to any economic use or value. Furthermore, even if it were possible to aggregate multiple criteria rankings into a common unit, this approach would not always be desirable because the ability to track conflicting stakeholder preferences may be lost in the process. Consequently, selecting from among many different alternatives often involves making trade-offs that fail to satisfy 1 or more stakeholder groups. Nevertheless, considerable research in the area of multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) has made available practical methods for applying scientific decision theoretical approaches to complex multicriteria problems. This paper presents a review of the available literature and provides recommendations for applying MCDA techniques in environmental projects. A generalized framework for decision analysis is proposed to highlight the fundamental ingredients for more structured and tractable environmental decision making. [source] Activation Delay and VT Parameters in Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Dysplasia/Cardiomyopathy: Toward Improvement of Diagnostic ECG CriteriaJOURNAL OF CARDIOVASCULAR ELECTROPHYSIOLOGY, Issue 8 2008MONIEK G.P.J. COX M.D. Introduction: Desmosomal changes, electrical uncoupling, and surviving myocardial bundles embedded in fibrofatty tissue are hallmarks of activation delay in arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia/cardiomyopathy (ARVD/C). Currently, generally accepted task force criteria (TFC) are used for clinical diagnosis. We propose additional criteria based on activation delay and ventricular tachycardia (VT) to improve identification of affected individuals. Methods and Results: Activation delay and VT-related 12-lead electrocardiographic (ECG) criteria were studied, while off drugs, in 42 patients with proven ARVD/C according to TFC, and 27 controls with idiopathic VT from the RV outflow tract. Two of three measured TFC could only be identified in a small minority of ARVD/C patients. Additional ECG criteria proposed in this study included (a) prolonged terminal activation duration, an indicator of activation delay; (b) VT with LBBB morphology and superior axis; and (c) multiple different VT morphologies. These criteria were met in 30 (71%), 28 (67%), and 37 (88%) ARVD/C patients, respectively, and in one control patient (P < 0.001). Electrophysiologic studies contributed importantly to yield different VT morphologies. Pathogenic plakophilin-2 mutations were identified in 25 (60%) of ARVD/C patients and in none of the controls. In ARVD/C patients, parameters measured were not significantly different between mutation carriers and noncarriers, except for negative T waves in V1,3, occurring more frequently in patients with mutation. Conclusions: The proposed additional criteria are specific for ARVD/C and more sensitive than the current TFC. Therefore, adding the newly proposed criteria to current TFC could improve ARVD/C diagnosis, independent of DNA analysis. [source] Symplastic glomus tumor , a rare but distinct benign histological variant with analogy to other ,ancient' benign skin neoplasmsJOURNAL OF CUTANEOUS PATHOLOGY, Issue 10 2009Jivko Kamarashev A 78-year-old woman presented with a nail deformity of the index finger of the left hand associated with paroxysmal pain upon cold exposure. Histologically, a well-circumscribed tumor of 3 mm diameter was found in the dermis. The neoplastic cells in some areas were of pronouncedly variable size and cytomorphology, mostly epithelioid in shape, with eosinophilic cytoplasm and indistinctly defined cell borders. Pronounced nuclear pleomorphism and atypia were striking features, but no mitotic figures were noted. Multinuclear cells were present as were numerous small-to-medium vessels throughout the tumor. The tumor stroma showed myxoid areas. Immunohistochemistry showed cytoplasmic and membranous expression of smooth muscle actin and vimentin. The histological features and immunoprofile were consistent with the diagnosis of symplastic glomus tumor, a rare histological variant, which has been defined as a glomus tumor exhibiting marked nuclear atypia, in the absence of any other criteria for malignancy. The biological behavior of the tumor is benign. It is essential to differentiate this entity from malignant glomus tumor, which has metastatic potential. Even prominent cellular atypia and nuclear pleomorphism in a glomus tumor as in our case is not a marker of malignancy in the absence of additional criteria. [source] Measurement and correlation of microstructures: the case of foliation intersection axesJOURNAL OF METAMORPHIC GEOLOGY, Issue 3 2003A. R. Stallard Abstract Recent studies have used the relative rotation axis of sigmoidal and spiral-shaped inclusion trails, known as Foliation Inflexion/Intersection Axis (FIA), to investigate geological processes such as fold mechanisms and porphyroblast growth. The geological usefulness of this method depends upon the accurate measurement of FIA orientations and correct correlation of temporally related FIAs. This paper uses new data from the Canton Schist to assess the variation in FIA orientations within and between samples, and evaluates criteria for correlating FIAs. For the first time, an entire data set of FIA measurements is published, and data are presented in a way that reflects the variation in FIA orientations within individual samples and provides an indication of the reliability of the data. Analysis of 61 FIA trends determined from the Canton Schist indicate a minimum intrasample range in FIA orientations of 30°. Three competing models are presented for correlation of these FIAs, and each of the models employ different correlation criteria. Correlation of FIAs in Model 1 is based on relative timing and textural criteria, while Model 2 uses relative timing, orientation and patterns of changing FIA orientations, and Model 3 uses relative timing and FIA orientation as correlation criteria. Importantly, the three models differ in the spread of FIA orientations within individual sets, and the number of sets distinguished in the data. Relative timing is the most reliable criterion for correlation, followed by textural criteria and patterns of changing FIA orientations from core to rim of porphyroblasts. It is proposed that within a set of temporally related FIAs, the typical spread of orientations involves clustering of data in a 60° range, but outliers occur at other orientations including near-normal to the peak distribution. Consequently, in populations of FIA data that contain a wide range of orientations, correlation on the basis of orientation is unreliable in the absence of additional criteria. The results of this study suggest that FIAs are best used as semiquantitative indicators of bulk trends rather than an exact measurement for the purpose of quantitative analyses. [source] Evaluative Criteria for Qualitative Research in Applied Linguistics: Whose Criteria and Whose Research?MODERN LANGUAGE JOURNAL, Issue 1 2003Anne Lazaraton This paper examines various criteria that have been proposed for evaluating the increasing number of empirical studies carried out using qualitative research methods, and it demonstrates how such criteria may privilege certain forms of qualitative research while excluding others. A broader disciplinary view is taken by defining qualitative research, and by discussing in more detail the two qualitative traditions that have achieved prominence in applied linguistics, ethnography, and conversation analysis. Then, select existing evaluative criteria for qualitative research proposed by applied linguists, as well as additional criteria developed outside applied linguistics, are examined. Finally, the issue of criteriology is considered, on which some of the assumptions underlying the existing evaluative criteria are based. To conclude, this article discusses the complex relationship between research method and evaluative criteria and the role of professional journals in establishing and validating such criteria. [source] Sebaceous adenoma of oral cavity: report of case and comparative proliferation study with sebaceous gland hyperplasia and Fordyce's granulesORAL DISEASES, Issue 6 2003E Kaminagakura Sebaceous adenoma (SA) is a rare solitary tumour with a predilection for the forehead and scalp. In the English literature, less than 10 cases of SA have been described in the oral cavity. The objective of this study was to examine the clinicopathologic features and evaluate the expression of epidermal growth factor and its receptor, estrogen receptor and androgen receptor in SA and in its differential diagnoses including sebaceous gland hyperplasia (SGH) and Fordyce's granules (FG). Additionally, we analysed the proliferative potential of sebaceous cells from SA, SGH and FG by measuring proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) expression and quantification of argyrophilic nuclear organizer regions (AgNORs). The SA showed many clinicopathologic similarities to cases previously reported including the biphasic population of cells, in the periphery of lobules undifferentiated basaloid cells whereas the central area was formed by mature sebocytes. SA was composed of 198 lobules of sebaceous cells, whereas SGH and FG showed a mean of 21 ± 7.81 and 5.84 ± 2.83, respectively. The AgNOR and PCNA indices were similar in SA, SGH and FG. These data suggest that lobule counts may be used as additional criteria in distinguishing SA of the oral cavity from other intraoral sebaceous gland lesions. [source] The 2010 American College of Rheumatology/European League Against Rheumatism classification criteria for rheumatoid arthritis: Phase 2 methodological reportARTHRITIS & RHEUMATISM, Issue 9 2010Tuhina Neogi Objective The American College of Rheumatology and the European League Against Rheumatism have developed new classification criteria for rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The aim of Phase 2 of the development process was to achieve expert consensus on the clinical and laboratory variables that should contribute to the final criteria set. Methods Twenty-four expert RA clinicians (12 from Europe and 12 from North America) participated in Phase 2. A consensus-based decision analysis approach was used to identify factors (and their relative weights) that influence the probability of "developing RA," complemented by data from the Phase 1 study. Patient case scenarios were used to identify and reach consensus on factors important in determining the probability of RA development. Decision analytic software was used to derive the relative weights for each of the factors and their categories, using choice-based conjoint analysis. Results The expert panel agreed that the new classification criteria should be applied to individuals with undifferentiated inflammatory arthritis in whom at least 1 joint is deemed by an expert assessor to be swollen, indicating definite synovitis. In this clinical setting, they identified 4 additional criteria as being important: number of joints involved and site of involvement, serologic abnormality, acute-phase response, and duration of symptoms in the involved joints. These criteria were consistent with those identified in the Phase 1 data-driven approach. Conclusion The consensus-based, decision analysis approach used in Phase 2 complemented the Phase 1 efforts. The 4 criteria and their relative weights form the basis of the final criteria set. [source] | |||||||||||||