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Objective Test (objective + test)
Selected AbstractsPatterns of change in withdrawal symptoms, desire to smoke, reward motivation and response inhibition across 3 months of smoking abstinenceADDICTION, Issue 5 2009Lynne Dawkins ABSTRACT Aims We have demonstrated previously that acute smoking abstinence is associated with lowered reward motivation and impaired response inhibition. This prospective study explores whether these impairments, along with withdrawal-related symptoms, recover over 3 months of sustained abstinence. Design Participants completed a 12-hour abstinent baseline assessment and were then allocated randomly to quit unaided or continue smoking. All were re-tested after 7 days, 1 month and 3 months. Successful quitters' scores were compared with those of continuing smokers, who were tested after ad libitum smoking. Setting Goldsmiths, University of London. Participants A total of 33 smokers who maintained abstinence to 3 months, and 31 continuing smokers. Measurements Indices demonstrated previously in this cohort of smokers to be sensitive to the effect of nicotine versus acute abstinence: reward motivation [Snaith,Hamilton pleasure scale (SHAPS), Card Arranging Reward Responsivity Objective Test (CARROT), Stroop], tasks of response inhibition [anti-saccade task; Continuous Performance Task (CPT)], clinical indices of mood [Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS)], withdrawal symptoms [Mood and Physical Symptoms Scale (MPSS)] and desire to smoke. Findings SHAPS anhedonia and reward responsivity (CARROT) showed significant improvement and plateaued after a month of abstinence, not differing from the scores of continuing smokers tested in a satiated state. Mood, other withdrawal symptoms and desire to smoke all declined from acute abstinence to 1 month of cessation and were equivalent to, or lower than, the levels reported by continuing, satiated smokers. Neither group showed a change in CPT errors over time while continuing smokers, but not abstainers, showed improved accuracy on the anti-saccade task at 3 months. Conclusion Appetitive processes and related affective states appear to improve in smokers who remain nicotine-free for 3 months, whereas response inhibition does not. Although in need of replication, the results suggest tentatively that poor inhibitory control may constitute a long-term risk factor for relapse and could be a target for intervention. [source] Quantitative tests for stratigraphic cyclicityGEOLOGICAL JOURNAL, Issue 4 2008R. J. Bailey Abstract Periodic Milankovitch (M-) orbital forcing provides an explanation for subjectively recognized short-term repetition of lithofacies-,cycles'-in the stratigraphic record. Tests of this explanation often find no order in the lithofacies and/or no regularity in the recurrence of lithofacies. This does not disprove the influence of M-forcing, but a sedimentary response in terms of irregular M-forced ,cycles' is indistinguishable from one in which repetition of facies is not M-forced. Use of such cycles in time calibration is correspondingly suspect. Stricter, dimensional cyclicity invokes Sander's Rule, which suggests periodicity in sedimentation, for which M-forcing provides an obvious explanation. Time calibration on the basis of strict cyclicity thus appears more dependable. Objective tests for regular M-forced stratigraphic cyclicity commonly depend upon spectral analyses. Such tests are not unambiguous. Bilogarithmic thickness/frequency plots derived from objective layer thickness inventories (LTI) provide an alternative. Commonly, such plots show power-law relationships that preclude dimensional M-cyclicities. By contrast, a model data series that perfectly encodes the M-cyclic fluctuations in terrestrial insolation generates a strongly inflected, non-power-law LTI plot. Power-law plots result where the model data series is decimated by random hiatuses, with numbers and durations tuned to M-cycle frequencies. It seems improbable that natural data series record such tuning. The general absence of strict cyclicity in the M-frequency range is more likely to reflect the nonlinear response of sedimentary systems to cyclic M-forcing of insolation. Interestingly, when applied to the classically cyclic lacustrine Triassic sediments of the Newark Basin, USA, the LTI test suggests a decimated record, preserving some evidence of M-cyclicity. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Subjective and objective incontinence 5 to 10 years after Burch colposuspensionNEUROUROLOGY AND URODYNAMICS, Issue 2 2002Sigurd Kulseng-Hanssen Abstract The outcome of incontinence surgery was studied using a questionnaire, a 24-hour pad test (24hPT), and a stress test (ST). Five to 10 years after a Burch colposuspension, 111 patients were asked to complete the Bristol Female Urinary Tract Symptom Questionnaire (BFLUTS) and to perform a 24hPT and a ST. Eighty-two patients completed the questionnaire and 71 and 69 patients performed the stress and pad tests, respectively. Seventy-three percent of the patients did not leak during the ST and 75% of the patients were not leaking during the 24hPT. Seventy-three percent of the patients stated that they were at least occasionally stress or urge incontinent and 62% stated that they were both stress and urge incontinent. However, only 24% of the stress incontinent and 28% of the urge incontinent patients found their incontinence to be "quite a problem" or "a serious problem." Patients leaking urine only "occasionally," "once a week," leaking "drops," and finding the leakage to be "a bit of a problem" had median leakage 0g during ST and 24hPT. Patients who reported the leakage to occur "sometimes" "most or all of the time" and who found the leakage to be "a bit, quite, or a serious problem" accounted for 20 to 30% of all patients, as did patients leaking during objective tests. Objective tests revealed leakage to occur less frequently compared with self-reported leakage. The BFLUTS questionnaire revealed leakage to occur with varying frequency, amount, and bother. Leakage occurring seldom, of small amount and bother may be of minor clinical importance. Neurourol. Urodynam. 21:100,105, 2002. © 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Blushing after a moral transgression in a prisoner's dilemma game: appeasing or revealing?EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 5 2002Peter J. de Jong This study investigated the alleged remedial effects of blushing in the context of real-time interactions. Therefore, 30 pairs of prosocial individuals participated in a prisoner's dilemma ,game'. The experiment was framed as an objective test of moral behaviour. To elicit a shameful moral transgression, one individual of each pair was instructed to select the non-habitual cheat-option on a pre-defined target trial. Supporting the idea that violation of shared rules elicits blushing, the defectors displayed a blush on the target trial. Yet, unexpectedly, there was a negative relationship between the observed blush intensity and the trustworthiness attributed to the defectors. One explanation might be that the ,victims' used the blush response to deduce and interpret the defector's motive. As the antecedent behaviour involved in the present context was not completely unambiguous with respect to the perpetrators' motive (e.g. innocent playing around vs. maximizing outcomes) the observers might have interpreted blushing as signaling that the situation should be interpreted as an intentional violation of a social standard. Together the available evidence suggests that only in the context of unambiguous antecedent behaviours blushing has remedial effects, whereas in ambiguous situations blushing has undesirable revealing effects. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Changes in bladder neck geometry and closure pressure after midurethral anchoring suggest a musculoelastic mechanism activates closureNEUROUROLOGY AND URODYNAMICS, Issue 3 2003Peter Petros Abstract Aims The aim of this study was to investigate the anatomical origins and clinical significance of cough pressure transmission ratio (CTR) by using virtual-operation (VO) techniques. Methods Thirty-four patients underwent perineal ultrasound examination, standard urethral pressure cough testing both with and without unilateral midurethral anchoring (VO), all tests being performed without urethral elevation. In eight patients where there was no change in CTR, a one-sided fold of suburethral vagina (VO) was taken (pinch test) and the CTR repeated. Results After midurethral anchoring, maximal urethral pressure increased from a mean of 33.25 cm H2O to a mean of 58.06 cm H2O (P,<,0.0001) and restoration of anatomy was noted in all 11 patients who had obvious funneling on straining. Conversion of a <100% CTR to >100% CTR in the proximal urethra was observed in 14 of 22 patients (P,<,0.005), with no significant change noted in the distal urethra. Further conversion of CTR was noted in six of the remaining eight patients with unilateral plication of suburethral vagina (pinch test). Conclusions A musculoelastic closure mechanism most likely activates urethral closure. CTR is most likely an index of changed intraurethral area, not necessarily closure, and may be a more sensitive objective test than perineal ultrasound for diagnosing urethral narrowing, especially when used with virtual-operation techniques. Neurourol. Urodynam. 22:191,197, 2003. © 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Cranial Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Spontaneous Intracranial Hypotension after Epidural Blood PatchPAIN PRACTICE, Issue 3 2008Baris Bakir MD ,,Abstract: Spontaneous intracranial hypotension (SIH) is a syndrome characterized by orthostatic headache, nausea, vomiting, photophobia, and diplopia. Subdural effusion, diffuse dural enhancement, dilatation of epidural veins, and increased height of hypophysis are cranial magnetic resonance (MR) imaging findings in SIH. Epidural blood patch is reportedly one of the effective treatment options. We present the follow-up MR imaging findings in a case of SIH after a successful epidural blood patch treatment. We propose that cranial MR imaging as an objective test to evaluate the success of epidural blood patch treatment.,, [source] Dobutamine stress surface mapping of myocardial ischemia in Kawasaki diseasePEDIATRICS INTERNATIONAL, Issue 3 2001Nobuyuki Takechi Abstract Background: To detect and localize myocardial ischemia, a method that does not require physical exertion is sometimes needed in children with Kawasaki disease. Methods: Dobutamine stress body surface mapping was performed in 115 children with a history of Kawasaki disease (58 without coronary artery lesions, 40 who had coronary lesions without myocardial ischemia and 17 with myocardial ischemia). The maximum infusion rate of dobutamine was 30 ,g/kg per min. Myocardial ischemia was diagnosed by the presence of an area of hypoperfusion on scintigraphy at rest and/or an increase in hypoperfusion during a dobutamine stress test compared with resting scintigraphy. We studied the number of leads that showed significant ST depression on the isopotential map (nST), the number of the row containing the lead with the smallest negative value on the isointegral map (Imin), and the localization of myocardial ischemia on the isointegral map. Based on findings in patients without coronary artery lesions, we defined the criteria for detecting myocardial ischemia as nST , 1 and Imin, 4. Results: The sensitivity of detecting myocardial ischemia was 94.1% using nST and 41.7% using Imin, while the specificity of these methods was 98.9 and 96.9%, respectively. The localization of myocardial ischemia on stress body surface mapping was 100% concordant with that determined by stress myocardial scintigraphy. Conclusions: Dobutamine stress body surface mapping for the detection of myocardial ischemia is a non-invasive, more convenient and repeatable test compared with exercise myocardial scintigraphy and it is a more objective test compared with exercise echocardiography. Dobutamine stress body surface mapping is useful for the identification and localization of silent myocardial ischemia in pediatric patients with Kawasaki disease, especially those who cannot perform tests involving physical exercise. [source] Customising an antibody leukocyte capture microarray for systemic lupus erythematosus: Beyond biomarker discoveryPROTEOMICS - CLINICAL APPLICATIONS, Issue 2 2010Joshua W. K. Ho Abstract Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a complex autoimmune disease that has heterogeneous clinical manifestation with diverse patterns of organ involvement, autoantibody profiles and varying degrees of severity of disease. Research and clinical experience indicate that different subtypes of SLE patients will likely benefit from more tailored treatment regimes, but we currently lack a fast and objective test with high enough sensitivity to enable us to perform such sub-grouping for clinical use. In this article, we review how proteomic technologies could be used as such an objective test. In particular, we extensively review many leukocyte surface markers that are known to have an association with the pathogenesis of SLE, and we discuss how these markers can be used in the further development of a novel SLE-specific antibody leukocyte capture microarray. In addition, we review some bioinformatics challenges and current methods for using the data generated by these cell-capture microarrays in clinical use. In a broader context, we hope our experience in developing a disease specific cell-capture microarray for clinical application can be a guide to other proteomic practitioners who intend to extend their technologies to develop clinical diagnostic and prognostic tests for complex diseases. [source] Robust QT Interval Estimation,From Algorithm to ValidationANNALS OF NONINVASIVE ELECTROCARDIOLOGY, Issue 2009Joel Q. Xue Ph.D. Background: This article presents an effort of measuring QT interval with automatic computerized algorithms. The aims of the algorithms are consistency as well as accuracy. Multilead and multibeat information from a given segment of ECG are used for more consistent QT interval measurement. Methods: A representative beat is generated from selected segment of each lead, and then a composite beat is formed by the representative beats of all independent leads. The end result of the QT measure is so-called global QT measurement, which usually correlates with the longest QT interval in multiple leads. Individual lead QT interval was estimated by using the global measurement as a starting point, and then adapted to the signal of the particular lead and beat. In general, beat-by-beat QT measurement is more prone to noise, therefore less reliable than the global estimation. It is usually difficult to know if difference of beat-by-beat QT interval is due to true physiological change or noise fluctuation. Results: The algorithm was tested independently by a clinical database. It is also tested against action potential duration (APD) generated by a Cell-to-ECG forward-modeling based simulation signals. The modeling approach provided an objective test for the QT estimation. The modeling approach allowed us to evaluate the QT measurement versus APD. The mean error between the algorithm and cardiologist QT intervals is 3.95 ± 5.5 ms, based on the large clinical trial database consisting of 15,910 ECGs. The mean error between QT intervals and maximum APD is 17 ± 2.4, and the correlation coefficient is 0.99. Conclusions: The global QT interval measurement method presented in this study shows very satisfactory results against the CSE database and a large clinical trial database. The modeling test approach used in this study provides an alternative "gold standard" for QT interval measurement. [source] The Impact of Internal Auditor Compensation and Role on External Auditors' Planning Judgments and Decisions,CONTEMPORARY ACCOUNTING RESEARCH, Issue 2 2001F. Todd Dezoort Abstract This paper reports the results of an experiment that investigates how external audit planning is affected when internal auditors have incentives and the opportunity to bias their evaluations. Specifically, we draw on attribution theory to examine how internal auditor eligibility for incentive compensation and participation in consulting (i.e., two factors that provide incentives to bias audit evaluations) affect external audit planning. In addition, we examine the effects of incentive compensation and a consulting role across two routine internal audit tasks , an objective tests of controls task and a subjective inventory valuation task , to evaluate whether their effects are contingent upon task subjectivity (i.e., opportunity to bias audit evaluations). Seventy-six external auditors from four Big 5 public accounting firms participated in an experiment that manipulated internal auditor compensation (fixed salary versus incentive compensation), the type of work that the internal auditors routinely perform (primarily auditing versus primarily consulting), and audit task subjectivity (objective tests of controls versus subjective inventory valuation). Our results suggest that the nature of internal auditors' compensation and work affect audit planning recommendations differently. The opportunity to receive incentive compensation results in less reliance on internal auditors' work and greater budgeted audit hours, but only for the subjective task. Although a consulting role decreases perceived internal auditor objectivity, it has a limited effect on planning recommendations. Specifically, consulting has no effect on reliance, and leads to greater budgeted audit hours only when incentive compensation is available. We discuss potential explanations for the results as well as implications for audit research, practice, and regulation. [source] A CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF THE SUITABILITY AND LIMITATIONS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTS IN FAMILY COURTFAMILY COURT REVIEW, Issue 2 2007Steven K. Erickson Psychologists are frequently consulted by the courts to provide forensic evaluations in a variety of family court proceedings. As part of their evaluations, psychologists often use psychological tests to assess parents, guardians, and children. These tests can have profound effects on how psychologists arrive at their opinions and are often cited in their reports to the court. However, psychological tests vary substantially in their suitability for these purposes. Most projective tests in particular appear to possess little scientific merit for evaluations within family court proceedings. Despite these serious limitations, expert testimony derived from evaluations using both projective and objective tests is often admitted uncontested. This article reviews the psychometric properties of psychological tests that are widely used in family court proceedings, cautions against their unfettered use, and calls upon attorneys to inform themselves of the limitations of evaluations that incorporate these tests. [source] Rhythms of Mental PerformanceMIND, BRAIN, AND EDUCATION, Issue 1 2008Pablo Valdez ABSTRACT, Cognitive performance is affected by an individual's characteristics and the environment, as well as by the nature of the task and the amount of practice at it. Mental performance tests range in complexity and include subjective estimates of mood, simple objective tests (reaction time), and measures of complex performance that require decisions to be made and priorities set. Mental performance tasks show 2 components, a circadian rhythm and the effects of time awake. The circadian rhythm is in phase with the rhythm of core temperature and there is evidence for a causal link. Increasing time awake results in performance deterioration and is attributed to fatigue. The relative contribution of these 2 components depends upon the task under consideration; simple tasks generally show smaller effects due to increasing time awake. These contributions have been assessed by constant routines and forced desynchronization protocols and have formed the basis of several mathematical models that attempt to predict performance in a variety of field conditions. Mental performance is negatively affected by sleep loss; although short naps are beneficial, sleep inertia limits their value immediately after waking. The processes involved in cognition include attention (tonic and phasic alertness, and selective and sustained attention), working memory (phonological, used for speech, reading, and writing; and visuospatial, used for spatial processing, drawing, and mathematics), and executive function (initiative, decision making, and problem solving). These processes are illuminated by analysis of the regions of the brain involved, the presence of circadian rhythmicity, and the effects of sleep loss. The results from such laboratory- and field-based observations are relevant to the issue of learning in schoolchildren and lead to suggestions for improving their performance. [source] Subjective and objective incontinence 5 to 10 years after Burch colposuspensionNEUROUROLOGY AND URODYNAMICS, Issue 2 2002Sigurd Kulseng-Hanssen Abstract The outcome of incontinence surgery was studied using a questionnaire, a 24-hour pad test (24hPT), and a stress test (ST). Five to 10 years after a Burch colposuspension, 111 patients were asked to complete the Bristol Female Urinary Tract Symptom Questionnaire (BFLUTS) and to perform a 24hPT and a ST. Eighty-two patients completed the questionnaire and 71 and 69 patients performed the stress and pad tests, respectively. Seventy-three percent of the patients did not leak during the ST and 75% of the patients were not leaking during the 24hPT. Seventy-three percent of the patients stated that they were at least occasionally stress or urge incontinent and 62% stated that they were both stress and urge incontinent. However, only 24% of the stress incontinent and 28% of the urge incontinent patients found their incontinence to be "quite a problem" or "a serious problem." Patients leaking urine only "occasionally," "once a week," leaking "drops," and finding the leakage to be "a bit of a problem" had median leakage 0g during ST and 24hPT. Patients who reported the leakage to occur "sometimes" "most or all of the time" and who found the leakage to be "a bit, quite, or a serious problem" accounted for 20 to 30% of all patients, as did patients leaking during objective tests. Objective tests revealed leakage to occur less frequently compared with self-reported leakage. The BFLUTS questionnaire revealed leakage to occur with varying frequency, amount, and bother. Leakage occurring seldom, of small amount and bother may be of minor clinical importance. Neurourol. Urodynam. 21:100,105, 2002. © 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Web-based Health Survey Systems in Outcome Assessment and Management of PainPAIN MEDICINE, Issue 2007Vinod K. Podichetty MD ABSTRACT Pain is a complex phenomenon lacking a well-defined paradigm for diagnosis and management across medical disciplines. This is due in part to inconsistencies in the assessment of pain as well as in the measurement of related social and psychological states. Efforts to evaluate and measure pain through objective tests have been hindered by challenges such as methodological differences in data acquisition, and the lack of common, universally accepted information systems. Physicians and hospital administrators have expressed mixed reactions to the costs that inevitably accompany advances in medical technology. Nonetheless, computer systems are currently being developed for use in the quantitative assessment and management of pain, which can advance our understanding of the public health impact of pain, improve the care individual patients receive, and educate providers. The description of an interdisciplinary, integrated, health survey system illustrates the approach and highlights the advantages of using information technology in pain evaluation and management. [source] Devices for Noninvasive Transcranial Electrostimulation of the Brain Endorphinergic System: Application for Improvement of Human Psycho-Physiological StatusARTIFICIAL ORGANS, Issue 3 2002Valery P. Lebedev Abstract: It is well known that deficit of endorphins plays an important role in disturbances of human psycho-physiological status. Previously, we revealed that brain endorphinergic structures have quasiresonance characteristics. On the basis of these data, a method of activation of the brain endorphinergic structures by means of noninvasive and rather selective transcranial electrostimulation (TES) as a kind of functional electrical stimulation (FES) was elaborated. New models of TES devices (TRANSAIR) were developed for indoor and outdoor usage. To increase the efficacy of TES, the frequency modulation according to normal distribution in the limits of the quasiresonance characteristics was put into operation. The blind and placebo-controlled (passive and active placebo) study was produced to estimate the TES effects on stress events and accompanied psycho-physiological and autonomic disturbances of different intensities on volunteers and patients in the following groups: everyday stress and fatigue; stress in regular military service and in field conditions; stress in the relatives of those lost in mass disaster; posttraumatic stress (thermal burns); and affective disorders in a postabstinence period. Some subjective verbal and nonverbal tests and objective tests (including heart rate variability) were used for estimation of the initial level of psycho-physiological status, which changes after TES sessions. It was demonstrated that fatigue, stress, and other accompanied psycho-physiological disturbances were significantly improved or abolished after 2,5 TES sessions. The TES effects were more pronounced in cases of heavier disturbances. In conclusion, activation of the brain endorphinergic structures by TES is an effective homeostatic method of FES that sufficiently improves quality of life. [source] | |||||||||||||