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Novel Measure (novel + measure)
Selected AbstractsNovel Measures of Heart Rate Variability Predict Cardiovascular Mortality in Older Adults Independent of Traditional Cardiovascular Risk Factors: The Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS)JOURNAL OF CARDIOVASCULAR ELECTROPHYSIOLOGY, Issue 11 2008PHYLLIS K. STEIN Ph.D. Background: It is unknown whether abnormal heart rate turbulence (HRT) and abnormal fractal properties of heart rate variability identify older adults at increased risk of cardiovascular death (CVdth). Methods: Data from 1,172 community-dwelling adults, ages 72 ± 5 (65,93) years, who participated in the Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS), a study of risk factors for CV disease in people ,65 years. HRT and the short-term fractal scaling exponent (DFA1) derived from 24-hour Holter recordings. HRT categorized as: normal (turbulence slope [TS] and turbulence onset [TO] normal) or abnormal (TS and/or TO abnormal). DFA1 categorized as low (,1) or high (>1). Cox regression analyses stratified by Framingham Risk Score (FRS) strata (low = <10, mid = 10,20, and high >20) and adjusted for prevalent clinical cardiovascular disease (CVD), diabetes, and quartiles of ventricular premature beat counts (VPCs). Results: CVdths (N = 172) occurred over a median follow-up of 12.3 years. Within each FRS stratum, low DFA1 + abnormal HRT predicted risk of CVdth (RR = 7.7 for low FRS; 3.6, mid FRS; 2.8, high FRS). Among high FRS stratum participants, low DFA1 alone also predicted CVdth (RR = 2.0). VPCs in the highest quartile predicted CVdth, but only in the high FRS group. Clinical CV disease predicted CVdth at each FRS stratum (RR = 2.9, low; 2.6, mid; and 1.9, high). Diabetes predicted CVdth in the highest FRS group only (RR = 2.2). Conclusions: The combination of low DFA1 + abnormal HRT is a strong risk factor for CVdth among older adults even after adjustment for conventional CVD risk measures and the presence of CVD. [source] A measure for mesh compression of time-variant geometryCOMPUTER ANIMATION AND VIRTUAL WORLDS (PREV: JNL OF VISUALISATION & COMPUTER ANIMATION), Issue 3-4 2004Prasun Mathur Abstract We present a novel measure for compression of time-variant geometry. Compression of time-variant geometry has become increasingly relevant as transmission of high quality geometry streams is severely limited by network bandwidth. Some work has been done on such compression schemes, but none of them give a measure for prioritizing the loss of information from the geometry stream while doing a lossy compression. In this paper we introduce a cost function which assigns a cost to the removal of particular geometric primitives during compression, based upon their importance in preserving the complete animation. We demonstrate that the use of this measure visibly enhances the performance of existing compression schemes. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Development of a measure to assess the impact of epilepsy on people with an intellectual disability: the Glasgow Epilepsy Outcome Scale , Client version (GEOS-C)JOURNAL OF INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY RESEARCH, Issue 3 2006J. Watkins Abstract Background Epilepsy is common in people with intellectual disability, yet clinicians and researchers seldom obtain information directly from the client. The development and preliminary validation of a novel measure for use with people with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities is described. Methods Focus group methods (6 groups; 24 participants) identified issues of concern, and qualitative analysis (NUD*IST) was applied to derive items and themes for a draft scale. Psychometric scale development techniques were then used in a pilot study and subsequent field-testing to investigate validity and reliability (n = 46). Results A total of 148 issues of concern was reduced initially to 52 and then to 42 items using these methods. The derived scale comprised sub-scales reflecting (1) concerns about having seizures; (2) about injury; (3) about issues during; and (4) after seizures; (5) about medication; (6) about what people think; and (7) about daily life. Cronbach , for the Glasgow Epilepsy Outcome Scale , Client version (GEOS-C) was 0.92, and ranged from 0.64,0.81 for the sub-scales. Relatively weak associations (r , 0.40), between client and family carer, staff carer or clinician views, suggests that proxy reports are not good predictors of how people with epilepsy themselves are feeling. Preliminary validation suggests that the GEOS-C can discriminate on variables of clinical importance. Conclusions The GEOS-C complements existing GEOS measures, can be completed in 5,15 min depending upon the level of support required, and may provide a valuable clinical and research tool. Further validational work and appraisal of sensitivity are required. [source] Conceptualization and assessment of disengagement in romantic relationshipsPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS, Issue 3 2008ROBIN A. BARRY Research examining relationship distress and dissolution highlights the importance of romantic disengagement. Nevertheless, prior conceptualizations and measures of romantic disengagement have tended to combine disengagement with related but distinct constructs hindering the study of romantic disengagement. The present research used exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses to clarify the conceptualization of romantic disengagement and to develop a novel measure,the Romantic Disengagement Scale (RDS). The RDS demonstrated adequate fit across samples of dating individuals (n = 203), married couples (n = 77), and women in physically aggressive relationships (n = 42) from the Midwestern United States. The RDS also demonstrated strong divergent and incremental validity. The discussion focuses on implications for enhancing conceptual models, research methodology, and clinical interventions. [source] Contemporaneous Loan Stress and Termination Risk in the CMBS Pool: How "Ruthless" is Default?REAL ESTATE ECONOMICS, Issue 2 2010Tracey Seslen This study analyzes the impact of contemporaneous loan stress on the termination of loans in the commercial mortgage-backed securities pool from 1992 to 2004 using a novel measure, based on changes in net operating incomes and property values at the metropolitan statistical area-property-type-year level. Employing a semi-parametric competing risks model for a variety of specifications, we find that the probability of default is extremely low even at very high levels of stress, although the coefficient estimates of greatest interest are very statistically significant. These results suggest substantial lender forbearance and are consistent with previous research that models default as a "gradual dynamic process" rather than a "ruthless" exercise once "in the money." [source] District Complexity as an Advantage in Congressional ElectionsAMERICAN JOURNAL OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, Issue 4 2009Michael J. Ensley Scholars of congressional elections have argued that an increase in constituent diversity increases the level of electoral competition. Following models of boundedly rational candidates, we argue that there is strong reason to believe that the opposite is true. As the complexity of the electoral landscape increases, challengers will have a more difficult time locating an optimal platform when facing an experienced incumbent. Using data from the 2000 National Annenberg Election Study, we construct a novel measure of district complexity for U.S. House districts and test whether the entry of quality challengers and the incumbent's share of the two-party vote are affected by the complexity of the electoral landscape. We find strong support for the hypothesis that complexity benefits incumbents for both indicators of electoral competition, which stands in contrast to most of the existing literature on diversity and incumbent performance. [source] Motor function in 5-year-old children with cerebral palsy in the South Australian populationDEVELOPMENTAL MEDICINE & CHILD NEUROLOGY, Issue 7 2009JAMES RICE The aim of this study was to describe the motor function of a population of children at age 5 years enrolled on the South Australian Cerebral Palsy Register. Among children born between 1993 and 1998, there were 333 with confirmed cerebral palsy (prevalence rate 2.2 per 1000 live births), in whom 247 assessments (56.7% males, 43.3% females) were completed. The distribution by Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) level was: level I, 50.6%; level II, 18.2%; level III, 9.3%; level IV, 9.7%; level V, 12.1%. The most common topographical classification was spastic diplegia (38.5%), followed by spastic hemiplegia (34.8%) and spastic quadriplegia (14.6%). Abnormal movements occurred at rest or with intention in 19.4% of children. A high proportion of the population with relatively mild gross motor impairments have difficulty with everyday bimanual tasks, reinforcing the need to assess upper limb function independently of gross motor function. The use of ankle,foot orthoses was common, particularly across GMFCS levels II to IV. Further refinement is indicated for this population's motor dataset, to include more recently described classification measures as well as future novel measures to better describe the presence of both spasticity and dystonia. [source] Never on Sunny Days: Lessons from Weekly Attendance CountsJOURNAL FOR THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF RELIGION, Issue 2 2004Laurence R. Iannaccone Congregational attendance data are abundant, accessible, and relevant for religious research. Weekly attendance histories provide information about worshippers, congregations, and denominations that surveys cannot capture. The histories yield novel measures of commitment, testable implications of rational choice theory, and compelling evidence that attendance responds strongly to changes in the opportunity cost of time. [source] Sequence and priming in 15 month-olds' reactions to brief arm restraint: evidence for a hierarchy of anger responsesAGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR, Issue 6 2007Michael Potegal Abstract Brief, gentle arm restraint is widely used in experimental studies of children's anger, but the pattern of responses generated by such restraint has been incompletely described. We now describe a hierarchy of responses within trials as well as an escalation across trials that have both methodological and theoretical significance. Mothers of 87 15-month olds prevented them from playing with a toy by restraining their arms on two consecutive 30,sec trials. Physical struggling was the first and most frequent response; children who struggled were significantly more likely to vocalize, and those who vocalized were significantly more likely to show facial expressions of anger. The children's responses became more probable, rapid, and intense during Trial 2 restraint. Overall, the hierarchy was orderly enough to meet criteria for Guttman scalability. The particular sequence observed suggests situational, as opposed to bio-energetic, ordering of responses. Methodologically, the two trial paradigm is a simple, ecologically valid model for studying anger escalation that parallels the "attack priming" of aggression in other species. The magnitude and persistence of anger priming may provide novel measures of anger regulation. Theoretically, the existence of an orderly response hierarchy is consistent with previous observations suggesting that, within a situational context, the sequential appearance of specific behaviors may indicate progressive increases in anger intensity. Aggr. Behav. 33:508,518, 2007. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] | ||||||||||||||||