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Significant Explanatory Variables (significant + explanatory_variable)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Medical Sciences50%

Selected Abstracts

Contextual Determinants of Reward Systems' Success: An Exploratory Study

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, Issue 3 2001
Charles H. Fay
Data were collected on successful and unsuccessful reward initiatives. The initiatives included new and modified base pay, short- and long-term incentive, benefits, and perquisite/lifestyle rewards. Initiative success was measured on seven factors, and ten conditions were measured for initiative success. Follow-up telephone calls to most respondents provided more detail for examples. Analysis suggests that a common set of criteria can be used to judge the success of different kinds of programs. Surprisingly, success in plan design was not a significant explanatory variable in reaching success on any criterion of rewards initiative success. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. [source]

Validity of the EK scale: a functional assessment of non-ambulatory individuals with Duchenne muscular dystrophy or spinal muscular atrophy

PHYSIOTHERAPY RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL, Issue 3 2001
Birgit Steffensen
Abstract Background and Purpose The EK scale comprises ten categories (EK 1,10), each contributing to an overall picture of function in the non-ambulatory stage of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). The purpose of the present study was to investigate content and construct validity of the EK scale as a tool to discriminate between levels of functional ability in individuals with DMD or spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) who were non-ambulatory. Method Data from a sample of 56 subjects with DMD and 38 with SMA, who were non-ambulatory, were obtained from four separate studies. The relationship of functional ability by use of the EK scale and (1) muscle strength, (2) contractures, (3) forced vital capacity and (4) years of wheelchair dependency were assessed. All items of the EK scale were used except the one representing severe hypoventilation. Results Regression analyses showed that the EK sum was the most significant explanatory variable (p<0.05) of all variables measured to explain muscle strength in both DMD and SMA subjects. The individual categories of EK (1,10) all contributed as significant explanatory variables (p<0.05) to the other variables measured. Conclusions The categories and items of the EK scale were relevant and valid as means of discriminating between levels of functional performance in the population studied which was evidence of content and construct validity. Copyright © 2001 Whurr Publishers Ltd. [source]

The influence of mesoscale ocean processes on anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus) recruitment in the Bay of Biscay estimated with a three-dimensional hydrodynamic mode

FISHERIES OCEANOGRAPHY, Issue 2 2001
G. Allain
The relationship between anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus) recruitment in the Bay of Biscay and environmental variables during their planktonic phase (March to July) was investigated from 1986 to 1997. Meteorological variables (wind and temperature) are forcing effects on the sea, but they are not thought to be processes that govern larval survival directly. Food-web dynamics are believed to be more closely linked to larval survival and are related to the physical vertical water column structure. Therefore, we used a three-dimensional (3D) hydrodynamic model to characterize three major physical mesoscale processes affecting vertical structure in south-east Biscay: stratification, upwelling and river plume extent. Indices were estimated from the model outputs to characterize and quantify the space/time evolution of these structures during the period March to July. A multiple linear regression analysis was then used to analyse hierarchy in the explanatory power of the physical indices. Coastal upwelling and shelf stratification breakdown indices were the most significant explanatory variables, with positive and negative effect on recruitment, respectively. A model with these two indices explains 75% of the recruitment variability of anchovy observed in the period 1987,96. [source]

Symptom Perception and Adherence to Asthma Controller Medications

JOURNAL OF NURSING SCHOLARSHIP, Issue 3 2006
Ruth Ohm
Purpose: To explore asthma symptom perception and the relationship between asthma symptom perception and adherence to asthma treatment. Design: Adult patients (N=120) of asthma/allergy specialty clinics, taking Advair® as a controller medication, were enrolled in this cross-sectional descriptive study. Methods: Ninety-seven participants completed 4 weeks of daily diaries to assess subjective symptom perception and measured peak expiratory flow rates (PEFR), both done twice daily. Individual perceptual accuracy scores (PAS) were determined by correlating the subjective symptom perception scores with the PEFRs. Measures included demographic variables, illness identity (personal control and treatment control, consequences, and timeline-cyclical subscales of the IPQ-R), asthma severity (FEV1 percentage) and a single-item indicator of perceived asthma severity. Adherence was measured by the Medication Adherence Report Scale (MARS) and by an Advair® dose count (percentage of doses taken as prescribed). Findings: Independent t tests comparing adherence rates of good versus poor perceivers were not significant, using either the percentage Advair® dose count or the MARS. Multiple regression analyses showed that years with asthma, illness identity, and peak flow variability were all significant explanatory variables for perceptual accuracy. Conclusion: Peak flow variability adds complexity to the relationship between perceptual accuracy and adherence that warrants further investigation. [source]

Validity of the EK scale: a functional assessment of non-ambulatory individuals with Duchenne muscular dystrophy or spinal muscular atrophy

PHYSIOTHERAPY RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL, Issue 3 2001
Birgit Steffensen
Abstract Background and Purpose The EK scale comprises ten categories (EK 1,10), each contributing to an overall picture of function in the non-ambulatory stage of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). The purpose of the present study was to investigate content and construct validity of the EK scale as a tool to discriminate between levels of functional ability in individuals with DMD or spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) who were non-ambulatory. Method Data from a sample of 56 subjects with DMD and 38 with SMA, who were non-ambulatory, were obtained from four separate studies. The relationship of functional ability by use of the EK scale and (1) muscle strength, (2) contractures, (3) forced vital capacity and (4) years of wheelchair dependency were assessed. All items of the EK scale were used except the one representing severe hypoventilation. Results Regression analyses showed that the EK sum was the most significant explanatory variable (p<0.05) of all variables measured to explain muscle strength in both DMD and SMA subjects. The individual categories of EK (1,10) all contributed as significant explanatory variables (p<0.05) to the other variables measured. Conclusions The categories and items of the EK scale were relevant and valid as means of discriminating between levels of functional performance in the population studied which was evidence of content and construct validity. Copyright © 2001 Whurr Publishers Ltd. [source]

Vibration Analysis on Incubating Eggs and Its Relation to Embryonic Development

BIOTECHNOLOGY PROGRESS, Issue 3 2003
Bart J. Kemps
Coucke (1998) was the first to use acoustic resonance analysis to monitor embryo development in chicken eggs. He remarked that at around 100 hours of incubation, the course of the resonant frequency and damping changed abruptly in the case of fertile eggs. He also showed that these changes were related to a physiologic event during early embryonic development. The objective of our study is to monitor the course of the vibration parameters during the early incubation of chicken eggs and to relate these changes to egg and embryo characteristics. A total of 72 Hybro eggs were incubated vertically in a small incubator at standard conditions. Several egg parameters were measured before incubation. During the early stages of incubation the vibration behavior of these eggs was monitored. The time at which the damping of the vibration suddenly changed, the diameter of the eggs and their interaction were found to be significant explanatory variables in order to predict hatching time. A correlation coefficient r of 0.72 was obtained. [source]