Home About us Contact
|
Home About us Contact | ||
|
|
||
Intensity Scale (intensity + scale)
Selected AbstractsEvaluating the inter-respondent (consumer vs. staff) reliability and construct validity (SIS vs.JOURNAL OF INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY RESEARCH, Issue 4 2009Vineland) of the Supports Intensity Scale on a Dutch sample Abstract Background Despite various reliability studies on the Supports Intensity Scale (SIS), to date there has not been an evaluation of the reliability of client vs. staff judgments. Such determination is important, given the increasing consumer-driven approach to services. Additionally, there has not been an evaluation of the instrument's construct validity on a non-English speaking sample. This is important as the SIS is currently translated into 13 languages. Method Data were collected in two different samples, using the Dutch translation of the SIS and the Vineland-Z. Results There was a significant correlation between ratings of staff and consumers on the SIS; however, the relationship between the mean scores of consumer and staff responses indicated significant differences in staff and consumer scores. All correlations between the Vineland-Z domains and the SIS subscales were significant and negative, ranging from ,0.37 to ,0.89. Conclusions Analyses of the inter-respondent reliability suggest that one needs to consider the source of information regarding needed supports carefully. The significant negative correlations between SIS and Vineland-Z reflect that the SIS is measuring a different construct (needed support) than the Vineland-Z (adaptive behaviour). The results of the two studies provide additional support for the etic (universal) properties of the SIS, as both hypotheses were confirmed. In conclusion, SIS users are provided with a wealth of information that can be used for multiple purposes. [source] Using an osteoarthritis-specific pain measure in elders with cognitive impairment: a pilot studyJOURNAL OF NURSING MANAGEMENT, Issue 2 2006PAO-FENG TSAI PhD Aim and background, The Western Ontario and McMaster Osteoarthritis Index pain scale has not been used with cognitively impaired elders to measure their knee or hip pain. This study therefore examined the usefulness of the Western Ontario and McMaster Osteoarthritis Index pain scale for measuring pain in this population. Method, Fourteen cognitively impaired elders with osteoarthritis of the knee or hip participated in the study. Elders' pain was assessed with the Western Ontario and McMaster Osteoarthritis Index pain scale, the Verbal Descriptor Scale and the Present Pain Intensity Scale, twice 5 minutes apart. Proxy report of pain was provided by the nursing staff. Results, The correlations among the Western Ontario and McMaster Osteoarthritis Index pain scale, Verbal Descriptor Scale and Present Pain Intensity were between 0.77 and 1.00 (P < 0.01). All pain measures showed high test,retest reliability (r = 0.98,1.00, P < 0.01). Staff's pain ratings using the Western Ontario and McMaster Osteoarthritis Index pain scale were strongly correlated with elders' pain ratings using any pain measure (r = 0.68,0.80, P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). However, staff's pain ratings using either the Verbal Descriptor Scale or Present Pain Intensity had no association with elders' pain ratings (r = ,0.07 to ,0.30, P = NS). Conclusion, The study confirmed that the Western Ontario and McMaster Osteoarthritis Index pain scale is as valid and reliable as the Verbal Descriptor Scale and Present Pain Intensity for elders with moderate and mild cognitive impairment. When used by staff, the Western Ontario and McMaster Osteoarthritis Index pain scale provides a better pain assessment for cognitively impaired elders than the Verbal Descriptor Scale or Present Pain Intensity. [source] Magnitude calibration of north Indian earthquakesGEOPHYSICAL JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL, Issue 1 2004N. N. Ambraseys SUMMARY This article is concerned primarily with the evaluation of the size and location of northern Indian and southern Tibetan earthquakes during the last 200 yr. It draws attention to the problems of assessing intensity of early and more recent earthquakes in a built environment, which is different from that for which the intensity scale has been constructed and to the way in which isoseismals are drawn. Through a re-evaluation of intensities and a reassessment of isoseismals, a formula for the estimation of surface wave magnitude using isoseismal radii is derived. This formula is used to estimate the surface wave magnitudes of 16 earthquakes that occurred in the region between 1803 and 1900. This study shows that it is possible to calculate accurate surface wave magnitudes for earthquakes that occurred before the advent of the scale and that there is no need to resort to empirical formulae for the assessment of the size and seismic moment release of pre-20th-century earthquakes. Also derived are formulae for the conversion of Ms to M0. In total, locations, surface wave magnitudes and M0 estimates are presented for 43 important events that occurred in the region between 1803 and 1974, eight of which were in the lower crust or were subcrustal. We find that the M0,Ms scaling for India yields smaller Ms than the global relation and that the methodology used can help to evaluate more realistic slip rates as well as to address other issues related to earthquake hazard in northern India. [source] Paired comparisons for the evaluation of crispness of cereal flakes by untrained assessors: correlation with descriptive analysis and acoustic measurementsJOURNAL OF CHEMOMETRICS, Issue 3 2005Philippe Courcoux Abstract This study investigates the effectiveness of the paired comparison method in the evaluation of a complex sensory attribute by untrained assessors. The crispness perception of cereal flakes by a panel of 100 consumers is measured using a complete block design, and the fitting of the Bradley,Terry,Luce model leads to a ranking of the samples on a crispness intensity scale. A log,linear formulation of the Bradley model provides insight into goodness-of-fit tests and allows the effects of covariates to be incorporated in the prediction of the sensory scores. Results show a high correlation between crispness assessment by consumers and rating of texture attributes by trained assessors. Acoustic emission is shown to have a significant effect on crispness perception, and the power spectra of signals recorded during compression provide a prediction of the crispness of cereal flakes. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Acetyl-l-carnitine in the treatment of painful antiretroviral toxic neuropathy in human immunodeficiency virus patients: an open label studyJOURNAL OF THE PERIPHERAL NERVOUS SYSTEM, Issue 1 2006Maurizio Osio Abstract Antiretroviral toxic neuropathy causes morbidity in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) patients under dideoxynucleoside therapy, benefits only partially from medical therapy, and often leads to drug discontinuation. Proposed pathogeneses include a disorder of mitochondrial oxidative metabolism, eventually related to a reduction of mitochondrial DNA content, and interference with nerve growth factor activity. Carnitine is a substrate of energy production reactions in mitochondria and is involved in many anabolic reactions. Acetyl carnitine treatment promotes peripheral nerve regeneration and has neuroprotective properties and a direct analgesic role related to glutamatergic and cholinergic modulation. The aim of this study was to evaluate acetyl-l-carnitine in the treatment of painful antiretroviral toxic neuropathy in HIV patients. Twenty subjects affected by painful antiretroviral toxic neuropathy were treated with oral acetyl-l-carnitine at a dose of 2,000 mg/day for a 4-week period. Efficacy was evaluated by means of the modified Short Form McGill Pain Questionnaire with each item rated on an 11-point intensity scale at weekly intervals and by electromyography at baseline and final visit. Mean pain intensity score was significantly reduced during the study, changing from 7.35 ± 1.98 (mean ± SD) at baseline to 5.80 ± 2.63 at week 4 (p = 0.0001). Electrophysiological parameters did not significantly change between baseline and week 4. In this study, acetyl-l-carnitine was effective and well tolerated in symptomatic treatment of painful neuropathy associated with antiretroviral toxicity. On the contrary, no effect was noted on neurophysiological parameters. [source] Quantitative sodium imaging with a flexible twisted projection pulse sequenceMAGNETIC RESONANCE IN MEDICINE, Issue 6 2010Aiming Lu Abstract The quantification of sodium MR images from an arbitrary intensity scale into a bioscale fosters image interpretation in terms of the spatially resolved biochemical process of sodium ion homeostasis. A methodology for quantifying tissue sodium concentration using a flexible twisted projection imaging sequence is proposed that allows for optimization of tradeoffs between readout time, signal-to-noise ratio efficiency, and sensitivity to static field susceptibility artifacts. The gradient amplitude supported by the slew rate at each k -space radius regularizes the readout gradient waveform design to avoid slew rate violation. Static field inhomogeneity artifacts are corrected using a frequency-segmented conjugate phase reconstruction approach, with field maps obtained quickly from coregistered proton imaging. High-quality quantitative sodium images have been achieved in phantom and volunteer studies with real isotropic spatial resolution of 7.5 × 7.5 × 7.5 mm3 for the slow T2 component in ,8 min on a clinical 3-T scanner. After correcting for coil sensitivity inhomogeneity and water fraction, the tissue sodium concentration in gray matter and white matter was measured to be 36.6 ± 0.6 ,mol/g wet weight and 27.6 ± 1.2 ,mol/g wet weight, respectively. Magn Reson Med 63:1583,1593, 2010. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Multidimensional measure for gastroesophageal reflux disease (MM-GERD) symptoms in children: a population-based studyACTA PAEDIATRICA, Issue 9 2008Hoda M Malaty Abstract Background: Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) symptoms are very common in children with major presenting symptoms of abdominal pain, heartburn and regurgitation. The presence of GERD symptoms often result in an impaired health-related quality of life for both the patients and their parents. Evaluation of children with GERD symptoms continues to challenge physicians due to the lack of a validated measure for GERD symptoms. Aims: To develop and test a multidimensional measure for GERD symptoms in children and to evaluate the responses of the measure among children attending pediatric gastroenterology (GI) clinics. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study that enrolled children with GERD symptoms from pediatric GI clinic. All children and parents received a standardized questionnaire concerning socio-economic parameters, GERD symptoms, duration, frequency, intensity and missed activities due to GERD symptoms. Each child and parent pair was interviewed by a physician to complete baseline information for the multidimensional measure that consisted of four scales: symptoms scale (10 items), pain intensity scale (3 items); disability scale (3 items) and satisfaction scale (2 items). Results: One hundred and thirty-three children participated in the study; 59% girls, ages 4 to 18 years, mean age = 10 ± 3, 50%, 10 years and younger. There was an excellent correlation between the four-scales measure among children 7 years and younger (R = 0.70, p = 0.0001) and children >7 years (R = 0.74, p = 0.0001). The inter-item consistency (Cronbach's co-efficient alpha) for the symptoms items, pain intensity items, disability items and satisfaction items were 0.71, 0.74, 0.78 and 0.60, respectively, demonstrating adequate reliability of the measure. Conclusion: Children with GERD symptoms have good responses to the multidimensional measure for GERD symptoms, showing that the measure performed well across populations. The measure is reliable and specific for assessing the symptoms of GERD in children and is an appropriate outcomes measure for clinical trials involving GERD symptoms in children. [source] APPLICATION OF TWO CONSUMER PROFILING TECHNIQUES TO COSMETIC EMULSIONSJOURNAL OF SENSORY STUDIES, Issue 5 2010MARĶA EMMA PARENTE ABSTRACT The sensory characteristics of cosmetic products are commonly used for attracting consumers' attention in advertising campaigns and packaging. Thus, in order to appropriately satisfy consumers' sensory expectations, it is important to gather information about their perception of the sensory characteristics. In this context, the aim of the present work was to apply two consumer methodologies (intensity scales and a check-all-that-apply [CATA] question) to gather information about the sensory profile of cosmetic emulsions. Six cosmetic emulsions with different formulation, widely differing in their sensory characteristics, were evaluated by two groups of 50 female consumers. One group used intensity scales to evaluate eight attributes of the emulsions and the other completed a CATA question comprising 20 terms related to sensory characteristics of the emulsions, cosmetic applications and effects on the skin. Both intensity scales and CATA question were able to detect differences in consumers' perception of the sensory characteristics of the evaluated emulsions. These differences could be explained considering the samples' formulation, which suggests their validity and indicates that they could consist on interesting alternatives to traditional sensory profiles obtained with trained assessors' panels. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS The application of intensity scales or a CATA question consisted of an interesting approach to gather information about consumers' perception of cosmetic products. Despite both methodologies provided similar results, the application of CATA questions could be regarded as more natural for consumers and easier to use. Besides, CATA questions could enable the identification of consumers' perception of the sensory characteristics of cosmetic products, but also their effects on the skin and the cosmetic applications for which they are considered appropriate. An interesting application of this methodology could be the development of a line of cosmetic products with different applications or the selection of sensory and efficacy claims during the design of marketing strategies or labels of cosmetic products. [source] | |||||||||||||