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Qualitative Measures (qualitative + measure)
Selected AbstractsQuantitative and Qualitative Measures of Hippocampal Atrophy Are Not Correlated in Healthy Older MenJOURNAL OF NEUROIMAGING, Issue 2 2010Karen J. Ferguson PhD ABSTRACT BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE In neuroimaging studies of dementia and mild cognitive impairment, hippocampal atrophy (HA) is commonly assessed by qualitative ratings of hippocampal appearance, or by measuring hippocampal volumes. These estimates of HA are considered to be equivalent. However, few studies have examined their relationship, especially in healthy older individuals. We therefore examined the relationship between hippocampal qualitative atrophy scores and quantitative volumetric measurements in healthy older men. METHODS Ninety-seven healthy community-dwelling 65-70-year-old men underwent magnetic resonance imaging scanning. Hippocampal volumes were measured and adjusted for intracranial size. A validated 4-point visual rating scale was used to assess hippocampal atrophy. RESULTS There was a wide range of unadjusted hippocampal volumes among subjects (right: 2,582 to 5,196 mm3[mean 3,626 mm3; SD 465.5 mm3] and left: 2,111 to 4,580 mm3[mean 3,501 mm3; SD 439.5 mm3]), which was maintained following adjustment for intracranial size. However, only 9% of subjects were rated as having moderate or severe HA. Qualitative and quantitative measures were not significantly correlated (left hippocampus: rho = .07, P= .52; right hippocampus: rho = .10, P= .34). CONCLUSIONS This study shows that qualitative and quantitative indices of hippocampal atrophy in healthy older men are not equivalent. Small hippocampal volumes do not necessarily equate to hippocampal atrophy. [source] Promoting Physical Activity in GirlsJOURNAL OF SCHOOL HEALTH, Issue 2 2005A Case Study of One School's Success ABSTRACT: This case study profiles one of 24 high schools that participated in a school-based, NIH-funded study to increase physical activity among high school girls. The case study school was one of 12 randomly assigned to the intervention group. The study intervention was based on the premise that a successful intervention is developed and tailored by teachers and staff to fit the context of their school. Intervention guidelines (Essential Elements) and the Coordinated School Health Program (CSHP) model were used to direct intervention activities for physical education, health education, school environment, school health services, faculty/staff health promotion, and family/community involvement. All girls at the case study school received the intervention. A team of school employees provided leadership to develop and implement the intervention in collaboration with a university project staff. Data collected over a two-year period were used to describe changes that occurred in each CSHP area. Key changes were made in the school environment, curricula, policies, and practices. Qualitative measures showed girls more involved in physical activity. Quantitative measures taken in eighth grade, and repeated with the same set of girls in ninth grade, showed increases in both moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (p = < .01) and vigorous physical activity (p = .04). Other schools can use this case to modify components of the CSHP model to increase physical activity among high school girls. [source] Children speak about neighborhoods: using mixed methods to measure the construct neighborhoodJOURNAL OF COMMUNITY PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 3 2008Nicole NicoteraArticle first published online: 18 MAR 200 This study contributes to the knowledge base of community practice and research by examining the construct neighborhood from qualitative and quantitative perspectives. Mixed methodology was employed to explore the associations and discrepancies between a census measure of neighborhood based in social disorganization theory and a qualitative measure based on the voices of children (N=59). Qualitative results indicate nine dimensions of the construct neighborhood that are not found in census-based measures of the construct. Mixed methods results demonstrate that children in both higher and lower socially disorganized neighborhoods express the presence of neighborhood resources and neighborly affiliations as well as negative neighborhood experiences. Expressions of fear, needs for safety, and qualities of unsavory characters distinguish the two types of neighborhoods. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Towards valid measures of self-directed clinical learningMEDICAL EDUCATION, Issue 11 2003Tim Dornan Aim, To compare the validity of different measures of self-directed clinical learning. Methods, We used a quasi-experimental study design. The measures were: (1) a 23-item quantitative instrument measuring satisfaction with the learning process and environment; (2) free text responses to 2 open questions about the quality of students' learning experiences; (3) a quantitative, self-report measure of real patient learning, and (4) objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) and progress test results. Thirty-three students attached to a single firm during 1 curriculum year in Phase 2 of a problem-based medical curriculum formed an experimental group. Thirty-one students attached to the same firm in the previous year served as historical controls and 33 students attached to other firms within the same module served as contemporary controls. After the historical control period, experimental group students were exposed to a complex curriculum intervention that set out to maximise appropriate real patient learning through increased use of the outpatient setting, briefing and supported, reflective debriefing. Results, The quantitative satisfaction instrument was insensitive to the intervention. In contrast, the qualitative measure recorded a significantly increased number of positive statements about the appropriateness of real patient learning. Moreover, the quantitative self-report measure of real patient learning found high levels of appropriate learning activity. Regarding outpatient learning, the qualitative and quantitative real patient learning instruments were again concordant and changed in the expected direction, whereas the satisfaction measure did not. An incidental finding was that, despite all attempts to achieve horizontal integration through simultaneously providing community attachments and opening up the hospital for self-directed clinical learning, real patient learning was strongly bounded by the specialty interest of the hospital firm to which students were attached. Assessment results did not correlate with real patient learning. Conclusions, Both free text responses and students' quantitative self-reports of real patient learning were more valid than a satisfaction instrument. One explanation is that students had no benchmark against which to rate their satisfaction and curriculum change altered their tacit benchmarks. Perhaps the stronger emphasis on self-directed learning demanded more of students and dissatisfied those who were less self-directed. Results of objective, standardised assessments were not sensitive to the level of self-directed, real patient learning. Despite an integrated curriculum design that set out to override disciplinary boundaries, students' learning remained strongly influenced by the specialty of their hospital firm. [source] On the Effective Liapunov Exponent with Increasing Stochasticity for TokamapCONTRIBUTIONS TO PLASMA PHYSICS, Issue 4 2004A. Maluckov Abstract The effective Liapunov exponent statistical description of tokamap with increasing stochasticity is numerically developed. As the 2D Hamiltonian mapping, tokamap is characterized by the two Liapunov exponents lx = ,l, , 0, and 2D Liapunov exponent L = 0. The time development of the effective Liapunov exponent Lxe, the number of trajectories with lx > 0, Np, and the statistics of the non-negative Liapunov exponents are numerically considered following the test ensemble of N = 10000 trajectories. The sticking to regular structures in the phase space of tokamap, which is associated with the non-positive Liapunov exponent lx, clearly effects its statistics. Thus, the behavior of the effective Liapunov exponent Lxe may be taken as one of the qualitative measures of the degree of stochasticity for the observed mapping. (© 2004 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] Essential fatty acids and phosphorus in seston from lakes with contrasting terrestrial dissolved organic carbon contentFRESHWATER BIOLOGY, Issue 1 2007KELLY GUTSEIT Summary 1. It is often assumed that lakes highly influenced by terrestrial organic matter (TOM) have low zooplankton food quality because of elemental and/or biochemical deficiencies of the major particulate organic carbon pools. We used the biochemical [polyunsaturated fatty acids, especially eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) , 20:5,3] and elemental (C : P ratio) composition of particulate matter (PM) as qualitative measures of potential zooplankton food in two categories of lakes of similar primary productivity, but with contrasting TOM influence (clear water versus humic lakes). 2. C : P ratios (atomic ratio) in PM were similar between lake categories and were above 400. The concentration (,g L,1) and relative content (,g mg C,1) of EPA, as well as the particulate organic carbon concentration, were higher in the humic lakes than in the clear-water lakes. 3. Our results show high fatty acid quality of PM in the humic lakes. The differences in the biochemical quality of the potential zooplankton food between lake categories can be attributed to the differences in their phytoplankton communities. 4. High biochemical quality of the food can result in high efficiency of energy transfer in the food chain and stimulate production at higher trophic levels, assuming that zooplankton are able to ingest and digest the resource available. [source] Food Safety Education Using Music ParodiesJOURNAL OF FOOD SCIENCE EDUCATION, Issue 3 2009Carl K. Winter ABSTRACT:, Musical parodies of contemporary songs with their lyrics altered to address current food safety issues were incorporated into a variety of food safety educational programs and the effectiveness of the music was evaluated by semiquantitative and qualitative measures. Audiences receiving the music-enriched curricula included school foodservice supervisors, school foodservice managers, culinary arts instructors, culinary arts students, Family and Consumer Sciences teachers, and youth aged 8 to 12 y and studies were conducted in South Carolina, North Carolina, and Delaware. Among school foodservice supervisors, school foodservice managers, and culinary arts students, most participants were able to recall the main points of each song that was introduced in the curriculum. The culinary arts students were less likely to recall the main points of each song than were the other 2 groups, possibly because of the lack of prior knowledge of food safety practices as well as a lack of preference for the style of songs used. Family and Consumer Sciences teachers were enthusiastic about the use of the music but also identified potential barriers to the successful use of the music, due to the potential lack of appropriate audiovisual equipment, a lack of skills in using such equipment, and time constraints for the use of music in curricula due to the strong emphasis on end of year testing. Participants in the summer youth groups demonstrated significant increases between pre- and posttest examinations of safe food handling behaviors and most were able to quote lines or phrases from the songs. [source] School-Based Obesity Interventions: A Literature ReviewJOURNAL OF SCHOOL HEALTH, Issue 4 2008Fadia T. Shaya PhD ABSTRACT Background:, Childhood obesity is an impending epidemic. This article is an overview of different interventions conducted in school settings so as to guide efforts for an effective management of obesity in children, thus minimizing the risk of adult obesity and related cardiovascular risk. Methods:, PubMed and OVID Medline databases were searched for school-based obesity interventions with anthropometric measures in children and adolescents between the ages of 7 and 19 years from June 1986 to June 2006. Studies were reviewed by duration, type of intervention, and defined qualitative and quantitative measures, resulting in a yield of 51 intervention studies. Results:, The interventions ranged from 4 weeks in length to as long as 8 continuing years. In total, 15 of the intervention studies exclusively utilized physical activity programs, 16 studies exclusively utilized educational models and behavior modification strategies, and 20 studies utilized both. In addition, 31 studies utilized exclusively quantitative variables like body mass indices and waist-to-hip ratios to measure the efficacy of the intervention programs, and another 20 studies utilized a combination of quantitative and qualitative measures that included self-reported physical activity and attitude toward physical activity and the tested knowledge of nutrition, cardiovascular health, and physical fitness. A total of 40 studies achieved positive statistically significant results between the baseline and the follow-up quantitative measurements. Conclusions:, No persistence of positive results in reducing obesity in school-age children has been observed. Studies employing long-term follow-up of quantitative and qualitative measurements of short-term interventions in particular are warranted. [source] Dipolar dynamic frequency shifts in multiple-quantum spectra of methyl groups in proteins: correlation with side-chain motionMAGNETIC RESONANCE IN CHEMISTRY, Issue S1 2006Vitali Tugarinov Abstract Small deviations from the expected relative positions of multiplet components in double- and zero-quantum 1H- 13C methyl correlation maps have been observed in spectra recorded on a 7-kDa protein. These dynamic frequency shifts (DFS) are the result of dipolar cross-correlations that derive from fields produced by the spins within the methyl groups. The shifts have been quantified and compared with values calculated from a Redfield analysis. Good agreement is noted between the signs of the predicted and experimentally observed relative shifts of lines in both F1 and F2 dimensions of spectra, as well as between the magnitudes of the calculated and observed shifts in the F2 (1H) dimension. The experimental DFS values show a reasonable correlation with 2H relaxation-derived measures of methyl side-chain dynamics, as expected from theory. This suggests that in cases where such shifts can be quantified, they can serve as qualitative measures of motion. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Paradoxical aspects of parkinsonian tremorMOVEMENT DISORDERS, Issue 2 2008Paul S. Fishman MD Abstract Although resting tremor is the most identifiable sign of Parkinson's disease, its underlying basis appears to be the most complex of the cardinal signs. The variable relationship of resting tremor to other symptoms of PD has implications for diagnosis, prognosis, medical and surgical treatment. Structural lesions very rarely cause classic resting tremor, with likely contributions to tremor by a network of neurons both within and outside the basal ganglia. Patients with only resting tremor show dopaminergic deficits with radioligand imaging, but severity of tremor correlates poorly in such dopamine imaging studies. Correlation of tremor severity to changes in radioligand studies is also limited by the use of mostly qualitative measures of tremor severity. A complex pharmacologic basis of parkinsonian resting tremor is supported by treatment studies. Although levodopa is clearly effective for resting tremor, several agents have shown efficacy that appears to be superior or additive to that of levodopa including anticholinergics, clozapine, pramipexole, and budipine. Although the thalamus has the greatest body of evidence supporting its role as an effective target for surgical treatment of tremor, recent studies suggest that the subthalamic nucleus may be a reasonable alternative target for patients with Parkinson's disease and severe tremor as the predominant symptom. © 2007 Movement Disorder Society [source] Competency Testing Using a Novel Eye Tracking DeviceACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 2009Paul Wetzel Assessment and evaluation metrics currently rely upon interpretation of observed performance or end points by an ,expert' observer. Such metrics are subject to bias since they rely upon the traditional medical education model of ,see one, do one, teach one'. The Institute of Medicine's Report and the Flexner Report have demanded improvements in education metrics as a means to improve patient safety. Additionally, advancements in adult learning methods are challenging traditional medical education measures. Educators are faced with the daunting task of developing rubrics for competency testing that are currently limited by judgment and interpretation bias. Medical education is demanding learner-centered metrics to reflect quantitative and qualitative measures to document competency. Using a novel eye tracking system, educators now have the ability to know how their learners think. The system can track the focus of the learner during task performance. The eye tracking system demonstrates a learner-centered measuring tool capable of identifying deficiencies in task performance. The device achieves the goal of timely and direct feedback of performance metrics based on the learner's perspective. Employment of the eye tracking system in simulation education may identify mastery and retention deficits before compliance and quality improvement issues develop into patient safety concerns. [source] | ||||||||||