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Objective Information (objective + information)
Selected AbstractsLongitudinal development of equine conformation from weanling to age 3 years in the ThoroughbredEQUINE VETERINARY JOURNAL, Issue 7 2004T. M. ANDERSON Summary Reasons for performing study: There is little information available to define conformational changes with age using an objective but practical method of recording specific body measurements. Objective: To analyse conformation objectively in a population of racing Thoroughbreds and describe the changes from weanling to age 3 years. Methods: Annual photographs were taken over 4 years and conformation measurements made from photographs using specific reference points marked on the horses. Results: Correlation analysis revealed highly significant, moderate to strong relationships between long bone lengths and wither height for all ages. All long bone lengths showed moderate to strong relationships with each other for all ages. The front and rear pastern angles were significantly correlated with the angle of the dorsal surface of the front and rear hooves, respectively, for all. Wither height, croup height and length of neck topline, neck bottomline, scapula, humerus, radius and femur increased significantly from age 0,1 year and age 1,2 years. Hoof lengths (medial and lateral, right and left) grew significantly between the ages of 0 and 1 and 1 and 2 years, but decreased in length between age 2 and 3 years. Horses became more offset in the right limb between weanling and age 3 years, but the offset ratios did not change with age on the left limb. The angle of the scapula (I), shoulder and radiometacarpus significantly increased between all age groups (became more upright). The angle of the dorsal surface of the hooves (both front and hind) decreased significantly from ages 0 to 1 and 1 to 2 years, but showed no significant difference between ages 2 and 3 years. Conclusions: A strong relationship between long bone lengths and wither height for all ages supports the theory that horses are proportional. Longitudinal bone growth in the distal limb increased only 5,7% from weanling to age 3 years and is presumably completed prior to the yearling year. Several growth measures increased from ages 0 to 1 and 1 to 2 years, but did not increase from age 2,3 years; indicating that growth rate either showed or reached a plateau at this time. Potential relevance: This study provides objective information regarding conformation and skeletal growth in the Thoroughbred which can be utilised for selection and recognition of significant conformational abnormalities. [source] Functional cognitive assessment scale (FUCAS): a new scale to assess executive cognitive function in daily life activities in patients with dementia and mild cognitive impairmentHUMAN PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY: CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL, Issue 5 2006Fotini Kounti Abstract Background Several tests have been developed to examine performance of demented patients in daily life activities. However, most of them are based either on the subjective evaluation of performance by the patient him/herself, or on the reports of relatives. Functional Cognitive Assessment Scale (FUCAS) is a new reliable (,,>,0.89,,,0.92) cognitive-behavioral scale that assesses executive function in daily life activities directly in patients with dementia. Aims This study aimed at testing FUCAS' internal consistency of items, criterion-related validity, interrater reliability, discriminative ability, and effect of age, sex, and education on FUCAS scores. Results Criterion-related validity was supported by significant correlations between FUCAS, CAMCOG, MMSE, and FRSSD. The interrater reliability of FUCAS' total score for two raters was r 0.997 and we found no significant effect of age, sex, or education on FUCAS' total performance. Discriminant analysis has identified that FUCAS was able to sufficiently discriminate the patients with MCI from those with moderate-severe dementia. Conclusion FUCAS is a useful and reliable diagnostic tool for MCI. Cognitive-behavioral assessment such as that provided by FUCAS can provide objective information that can serve to enhance the quality of clinical decision-making. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Thinking about ageing issuesINTERNATIONAL SOCIAL SECURITY REVIEW, Issue 1 2002Dalmer D. Hoskins Advances in longevity and falling birth rates have a profound impact on our societies, in both the industrialized and developing worlds. Demographic ageing is causing considerable concern, if not alarm, in many circles. Yet the public debate about the future of social security is often lacking in accurate and objective information. It is easier to focus on the "burden" of ageing on society than attempt to better understand the complex, interrelated nature of the issues involved, especially the rising numbers of persons of working age who are inactive and contributing neither taxes nor social security contributions. Whether the mode of pension financing is public or private, retirement income of the non-active older population must be paid out of the economic gains of the younger working population. Social security policy is all about making plans now for future generations. This means more carefully defining the terms of the public debate, articulating more clearly the desired objectives and policies. [source] Recovery after coronary artery bypass surgery: effect of an audiotape information programmeJOURNAL OF ADVANCED NURSING, Issue 8 2010Ketsarin Utriyaprasit utriyaprasit k., moore s.m. & chaiseri p. (2010) Recovery after coronary artery bypass surgery: effect of an audiotape information programme. Journal of Advanced Nursing,66(8), 1747,1759. Abstract Title.,Recovery after coronary artery bypass surgery: effect of an audiotape information programme. Aim., The aim of the study was to test the effect of an audiotape giving concrete objective information and strategies to reduce symptoms, psychological distress and enhance physical functioning in patients having coronary artery bypass grafts. Background., The period following hospital discharge is stressful for patients having coronary artery bypass grafts. Evident-based interventions are needed to improve outcomes in Thai populations following coronary artery bypass graft surgery. Methods., A randomized controlled trial was conducted during 2004,2005. A sample of 120 Thai patients having coronary artery bypass grafts was randomly assigned to an intervention group or a control group. The intervention group was given an information audiotape the day prior to hospital discharge, and encouraged to listen to it as many times as necessary. Participants were interviewed using validated instruments predischarge and at 2 weeks and 4 weeks after discharge. Findings., Participants in the intervention group had statistically significantly fewer symptoms of shoulder, back or neck pain and lack of appetite, and increased physical activity after discharge, compared to the control group. This effect remained statistically significant after controlling for age, gender, co-morbidity and presurgical cardiac functional status. However, no statistically significant difference in psychological distress was observed. Conclusion., Nurses can use an audiotape containing preparatory information to improve outcomes for patients having coronary artery bypass grafts during the few weeks after discharge from hospital. Further studies are recommended to improve its effect on psychological distress. [source] Effects of prior interpretation on situation assessment in crime analysisJOURNAL OF BEHAVIORAL DECISION MAKING, Issue 5 2007José H. Kerstholt Abstract A main threat to objective information processing in crime investigation teams is the tendency to focus on one particular interpretation only. To prevent such tunnel vision or ,groupthink', an investigation team can call in a crime analyst, and ask him or her to give a fresh and independent account of the evidence at hand. However, before they examine the case, crime analysts are often already aware of the scenario currently favoured by the team. In our experiment, we investigated whether such prior knowledge can jeopardise the independence of the analyst's advice. Thirty-eight professional crime analysts were asked to generate causal scenarios for two different cases and to indicate how the team should continue their investigation. Before beginning their analysis, half of the crime analysts received a realistic prior interpretation, such as might have been constructed by an investigation team. The results show that when given a prior interpretation, both experienced and inexperienced analysts considered the scenario suggested therein as more likely, and made recommendations for further investigation accordingly. We explain these findings by suggesting that analysts temporarily adopted the perspective of the investigation team, and that such temporary commitment by itself increased confidence in the hypothesis at hand (Koehler, 1991). This research supports previous research on the impact of prior theory on judgement, and extends it to an important real world domain where mistakes can have serious consequences. We recommend that in cases where the crime analyst is asked to give an objective assessment, he or she should not be informed about the interpretation of the investigation team until after the analysis has been conducted. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Videoanoscopy: Useful technique in the evaluation of hemorrhoidsJOURNAL OF GASTROENTEROLOGY AND HEPATOLOGY, Issue 8pt2 2008Kareem Harish Abstract Background and Aim:, Rigid proctoscopy, the gold standard for detecting hemorrhoids, has become a neglected procedure in the era of flexible endoscopy. Evaluation of hemorrhoids is often done with the retroflexed fiberoptic colonoscope. The aim of this study was to evaluate the technique of videoanoscopy in comparison with retroflexion of colonoscope in the rectum to detect hemorrhoids and to correlate objective findings of hemorrhoids and their relation to bleeding. Methods:, In total, 544 patients were screened and 358 patients were evaluated by the technique of videoanoscopy and retroflexion of colonoscope in the rectum. The video images of both the procedures were independently analyzed by two observers for the presence or absence of hemorrhoids. The videoanoscopy images were also analyzed for number of columns of hemorrhoids, size and presence of red-color sign. Results:, Videoanoscopy detected hemorrhoids in a significantly higher number of subjects when compared with retroflexion of colonoscope in the rectum by both observers (P < 0.05). The average kappa value was 0.637 and 0.779 for retroflexed colonoscopy and videoanoscopy, respectively. Red-color sign was present in 80.5% of patients with bleeding compared with only 30.3% in the non-bleeding group. The majority (71%) of patients in the bleeding group had larger hemorrhoids. Red-color sign and size of hemorrhoidal columns correlated with bleeding (P < 0.05). Conclusion:, Videoanoscopy is a simple technique with increased sensitivity to detect hemorrhoids compared with intrarectal retroflexion of colonoscope and yields valuable objective information about the presence and condition of hemorrhoids. It should be performed as an extension of standard colonoscopy. [source] Accommodation microfluctuations and pupil size during sustained viewing of visual display terminalsOPHTHALMIC AND PHYSIOLOGICAL OPTICS, Issue 1 2000L.S. Gray Summary Accommodation microfluctuations comprise two dominant frequencies; a low frequency component (LFC0.6 Hz) and a high frequency component (1.0 Hz Sustainable tourism in Greek islands: the integration of activity-based environmental management with a destination environmental scorecard based on the adaptive resource management paradigmBUSINESS STRATEGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT, Issue 1 2010Benjamin Karatzoglou Abstract Tourism is a major industry that can lead to economic gains as well as to degraded environment and social infrastructure. Tourism has the potential to destroy the available common environmental resources through overuse and poor management practices, as limited information disclosure and poor monitoring of actions encourage the perpetuation and extension of environmental problems. Based on the adaptive resource management paradigm for addressing problems related to the use of the commons, this paper suggests a methodology for the development of a management tool that can provide island hotels with a continuous flow of timely, relevant, accurate and objective information on the environmental impact of critical corporate activities. The tool, named the destination environmental scorecard (DES), draws on activity-based management concepts and can help local hotel SMEs measure and compare their performance against certain standards and thus conduct operations in a responsible and measurable way to the benefit of both business financial performance and regional sustainability. The paper presents the DES operational characteristics and the potential benefits from its implementation. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source] Clinical findings associated with abnormal lung function in children aged 3,26 months with recurrent respiratory symptomsACTA PAEDIATRICA, Issue 8 2010AS Pelkonen Abstract Aim:, To evaluate whether there are any associations between parentally reported symptoms, clinical findings and lung function in young children with recurrent lower respiratory tract symptoms. Methods:, In 2000,2003, 148 children, aged 3,26 months, with recurrent lower respiratory tract symptoms underwent physical examination, investigation of a chest radiograph, whole body plethysmography and skin prick testing to common food and inhalant allergens. Results:, Lung function was considered abnormal (i.e. functional residual capacity z -score of ,1.65 and/or specific conductance z -score of ,,1.65) in 83 (56%) children. Findings of increased work of breathing (p < 0.001) and nonspecific noisy breathing sounds (p < 0.001) in the physical examination, as well as an abnormal chest radiograph (p = 0.028) were independently associated with abnormal lung function, explaining up to 34% of the variation in lung function. In contrast, parentally reported respiratory symptoms, environmental exposures or atopic trait were not associated with lung function abnormalities. Conclusion:, The results of this study emphasize the importance of the meticulous clinical examination in the evaluation of early childhood respiratory disorders. As physical examination alone cannot predict lung function abnormalities reliably in preschool children with troublesome respiratory symptoms, lung function testing may be considered in such patients to obtain additional objective information. [source] Clinical application of the multifocal visual evoked potentialCLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL OPTOMETRY, Issue 3 2004David P. Crewther PhD Background: Measures of visual function thresholds such as visual acuity and visual fields are generally dependent on subjective responses and assume maintenance of fixation, attention and motivation. In the young, elderly, cognitively impaired or malingering populations, such measures may be inaccurate or difficult to obtain. The Visual Evoked Response Imaging System (VERIS) has been claimed to give more objective topographic recordings of retinal and cortical function. This paper aims to explore the adequacy of this technique in four unusual, unrelated, clinically difficult cases. Methods: Multifocal visual evoked potentials (mfVEPs) recorded on the VERIS System 3.01 are used to assess visual function in four cases with contradictory clinical findings or unreliable subjective responses. Results: Patient 1 had sustained a head injury and had normal ocular and pupil examination but light perception in the right eye and 6/5 acuity in the left. Multifocal VEPs showed a marked depression of the right visual field with little macular response. Patient 2 had sustained a head injury, had a left field hemianopia, possible macular sparing and loss of much of the right field, reduced but variable visual acuities, good near vision and normal ocular fundi. Multifocal VEPs showed a severe depression in both visual fields (L more than R) with little macular response. Patient 3 had a left optic nerve meningioma and experienced great difficulty with visual field assessment. mfVEPs showed a bilateral depression in the superior field particularly the left field, with a larger deficit in the left eye. Patient 4 had unexplained visual acuity and peripheral field deficits. mfVEP results were inconclusive in this case. Discussion: Where there is difficulty performing traditional techniques or conflicting clinical findings, mfVEPs may provide additional objective information to aid in the assessment of patients. [source]
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