Washback to Learning Outcomes: A Comparative Study of IELTS Preparation and University Pre-Sessional Language Courses

Science.gov (United States)

Green, Anthony

2007-01-01

This study investigated whether dedicated test preparation classes gave learners an advantage in improving their writing test scores. Score gains following instruction on a measure of academic writing skills--the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) academic writing test--were compared across language courses of three types; all…

Application of the PEE Model to essay composition in an IELTS preparation class

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ender Orlando Velasco Tovar

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Based on two case studies, this study investigates the application of the Point, Explanation, Example (PEE model to essay composition in a multi-lingual IELTS preparation class. This model was incorporated into an eight-week programme of instruction to ESL adults in London, England. Students preparing for the IELTS exam were asked to write pre and post instruction essays on a given topic within 40 minutes. Employing the IELTS band descriptors (IELTS, 2013b and analyses of coherence and cohesion in line with Systemic Functional Linguistic concepts (Halliday and Matthiessen, 2004; McCarthy, 1991, samples of students’ writing were analysed. Data from students’ pre and post instruction interviews was also gathered and analysed. The findings of this study suggest that the PEE model is to some extent effective in improving the essay composition performance of IELTS students, in particular in the area of cohesion and coherence. Students find the PEE model useful in regard to the clarity and structure that the model seems to add to their essays.

IELTS Preparation Courses in China : the Reading Comprehension Task

OpenAIRE

Zhou, Ying

2011-01-01

More and more private language schools provide IELTS preparation courses for candidates who want to sit the test for admission to undergraduate and postgraduate courses in English-speaking countries. This essay investigates whether the IELTS preparation course in a language school in China offers an adequate preparation for candidates. The study focuses on one preparation course for the IELTS reading test (other modules are beyond the scope of the present study). A questionnaire and interview...

The Effect of Mock Tests on Iranian EFL learners’ Test Scores

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hossein Khodabakhshzadeh

2016-07-01

Full Text Available The effect of using tests in test preparation courses has been subject to debate. While some scholars such as Yang and Badger (2015 believe it is a cause of positive washback effect, others argue that this issue is tentative and context-bound (Green, 2007. Therefore, this study investigated the effect of using Mock tests in International English Language Testing System (IELTS preparation courses on students’ overall IELTS scores. Fifty one IELTS students were selected non-randomly through the quota sampling approach out of 76 students at Mahan Language Institute in Birjand, Iran.  These participants were distributed into Group 1 (n=25 and Group 2 (n=26. A complete IELTS test was administered to ensure that the Groups were homogeneous and to serve as pretest. After 10 sessions of intervention, a different IELTS test was administered as posttest. The results of between subject analysis through independent samples t-test revealed that using Mock tests in the IELTS preparation courses can positively affect the participants scores on IELTS exam. Pedagogical implications are discussed.

Reading Test-taking Strategies in General Training IELTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vahede Nosrati

2015-10-01

Full Text Available The significance of gaining a better understanding of how test-taking strategies are used has been recognized by researchers. Considering this fact, this study aimed at investigating the test-taking strategies which were employed by IELTS candidates in reading comprehension test. Besides, it tried to take into account the differences among strategies used for different tasks. In order to gather data, two instruments were employed: the think-aloud protocol, and an IELTS reading test. The obtained data were analyzed and interpreted qualitatively by the researcher. The findings indicated that candidates employed 15 different strategies which were categorized in 3 stages, pre-reading, reading, and post-reading stages. Furthermore, it was revealed that test-takers used certain strategies differently, depending on the type of the task. The findings provide a better understanding of strategy use among IELTS candidates and help teachers to improve their approaches toward teaching and learning goals. Keywords: Test-taking Strategy, Test-taker, Reading Comprehension, Language Learning Strategy, IELTS

Exploring the Effect of Teaching Test-Taking Strategies on Intermediate Level Learners on Reading Section of IELTS; Learners' Attitude in Focus

Science.gov (United States)

Khoshsima, Hooshang; Saed, Amin; Mousaei, Fatemeh

2018-01-01

Language proficiency tests have become common instruments to judge people based on their performance. Thus, the scores on language proficiency tests, such as the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) or Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), play a crucial role in the test-takers' lives. Because of increasing demands on…

Testing the Predictive Validity of the IELTS Test on Omani English Candidates’ Professional Competencies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Moza Abdullah Said Al-Malki

2014-09-01

Full Text Available This study has investigated the relationship between IELTS testing and Omani English teacher trainees’ professional competencies by adopting a quantitative method for data collection. A total number of 94 graduate freshmen Omani English teachers’ IELTS, CGPA and their teaching professional competencies are collected. The results reveal a moderate significant relationship between IELTS and CGPA but a weak relationship between IELTS and teaching competencies.  This study could contribute to the growing body of literature that aims to assess the construct validity of IELTS, and attempts to do so in the new terrain of teaching competencies. This study puts forwards recommendations for IELTS proficiency test in the Omani context.

Testing the Predictive Validity of the IELTS Test on Omani English Candidates’ Professional Competencies

OpenAIRE

Moza Abdullah Said Al-Malki

2014-01-01

This study has investigated the relationship between IELTS testing and Omani English teacher trainees’ professional competencies by adopting a quantitative method for data collection. A total number of 94 graduate freshmen Omani English teachers’ IELTS, CGPA and their teaching professional competencies are collected. The results reveal a moderate significant relationship between IELTS and CGPA but a weak relationship between IELTS and teaching competencies.  This study could contribute to the...

The International English Language Testing System (IELTS): The Speaking Test.

Science.gov (United States)

Ingram, D. E.

1991-01-01

The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) assesses proficiency in English both generally and for special purposes of non-native English speakers studying, training, or learning English in English-speaking countries. The Speaking subtest of the IELTS measures a candidate's general proficiency in speaking in everyday situations via a…

Reading Test-taking Strategies in General Training IELTS

OpenAIRE

Vahede Nosrati

2015-01-01

The significance of gaining a better understanding of how test-taking strategies are used has been recognized by researchers. Considering this fact, this study aimed at investigating the test-taking strategies which were employed by IELTS candidates in reading comprehension test. Besides, it tried to take into account the differences among strategies used for different tasks. In order to gather data, two instruments were employed: the think-aloud protocol, and an IELTS reading test. The obtai...

Geometric mean IELT and premature ejaculation: appropriate statistics to avoid overestimation of treatment efficacy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Waldinger, Marcel D.; Zwinderman, Aeilko H.; Olivier, Berend; Schweitzer, Dave H.

2008-01-01

INTRODUCTION: The intravaginal ejaculation latency time (IELT) behaves in a skewed manner and needs the appropriate statistics for correct interpretation of treatment results. AIMS: To explain the rightful use of geometrical mean IELT values and the fold increase of the geometric mean IELT because

Teachers' English Communication Skills: Using IELTS to Measure Competence of Graduates from a Singaporean Teacher Education Program

Science.gov (United States)

Low, Ee-Ling; Chong, Sylvia; Ellis, Mary

2014-01-01

Possessing strong communication skills is essential in contributing to effective teaching. This paper investigates graduating student teachers' English language proficiency, as measured by IELTS tests scores, of graduating EL student teachers. The paper considers what teachers need to know about the English language given that English has been the…

An Analytical Reverse Engineering of IELTS Listening Tasks for a Construct Model

OpenAIRE

Masood Khalili Sabet; Hamid Reza Babaee Bormanaki

2017-01-01

The study reported here was concerned with the issue of reverse engineering of language test items as it relates to the identification of the language constructs underlying listening tasks of LELTS test. In this regard, the IELTS examination papers, from IELTS 1 to IELTS 10 were compiled as a corpus for the analysis. Tasks were analyzed using a taxonomic frame work adopted from Moore, Morton and price (2012), that was originally adapted from Weir and Urquhart (1998), with a focus on two dimen...

The Effect of Mock Tests on Iranian EFL learners’ Test Scores

OpenAIRE

Hossein Khodabakhshzadeh; Reza Zardkanloo

2016-01-01

The effect of using tests in test preparation courses has been subject to debate. While some scholars such as Yang and Badger (2015) believe it is a cause of positive washback effect, others argue that this issue is tentative and context-bound (Green, 2007). Therefore, this study investigated the effect of using Mock tests in International English Language Testing System (IELTS) preparation courses on students’ overall IELTS scores. Fifty one IELTS students were selected non-randomly through ...

On the Relationship between the IELTS Listening and Listening in Academic English Programs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Masood Khalili Sabet

2017-04-01

Full Text Available The challenge for many teachers teaching in academic English programs is, on the one hand, to actualize the objectives of their course and on the other hand, prepare their students for the important international tests such as IELTS and TOEFLE. The current study seeks to reconcile this challenge by drawing on the relationship between the IELTS listening and listening in academic English programs. The requirements of the two domains were compared through a semi – structured interview with five participating academic English instructors from two state universities of Iran. It was found that whilst IELTS listening bears a little bit of resemblance to the one aspect of academic listening - the literal understanding, there are also some very significant differences. The findings suggests that the type of listening the IELTS requires is different from academic listening in terms of pragmatic understanding, the integration of skills, multiplicity of texts for listening, information literacy and the concept of construct irrelevant variance. The findings also indicate the overall usefulness of the IELTS preparation practices within academic English courses.

An Analytical Reverse Engineering of IELTS Listening Tasks for a Construct Model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Masood Khalili Sabet

2017-10-01

Full Text Available The study reported here was concerned with the issue of reverse engineering of language test items as it relates to the identification of the language constructs underlying listening tasks of LELTS test. In this regard, the IELTS examination papers, from IELTS 1 to IELTS 10 were compiled as a corpus for the analysis. Tasks were analyzed using a taxonomic frame work adopted from Moore, Morton and price (2012, that was originally adapted from Weir and Urquhart (1998, with a focus on two dimensions of difference: level of engagement, referring to the level of text with which a listener required to engage in order to respond to a task (local vs. global; type of engagement referring to the way (or ways  listeners expected to engage with a text in order to process the material to respond to a task (literal vs. interpretative. Overall, the analysis found evidences of bottom up processing underlying most IELTS listening tasks. The majority of tasks were identified to have a ‘local-literal’ configuration on their orientation, demanding primarily a basic understanding of relatively small textual units of the material. The results of the study were used to suggest the practical implications for the four groups of the people involved in the IELTS educational contexts: participants; teachers; material preparation experts, and curriculum designers.

Researching participants taking IELTS Academic Writing Task 2 (AWT2) in paper mode and in computer mode in terms of score equivalence, cognitive validity and other factors

OpenAIRE

Chan, Sathena; Bax, Stephen; Weir, Cyril

2017-01-01

Computer-based (CB) assessment is becoming more common in most university disciplines, and international language testing bodies now routinely use computers for many areas of English language assessment. Given that, in the near future, IELTS also will need to move towards offering CB options alongside traditional paper-based (PB) modes, the research reported here prepares for that possibility, building on research carried out some years ago which investigated the statistical comparability of ...

Policies of Global English Tests: Test-Takers' Perspectives on the IELTS Retake Policy

Science.gov (United States)

Hamid, M. Obaidul

2016-01-01

Globalized English proficiency tests such as the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) are increasingly playing the role of gatekeepers in a globalizing world. Although the use of the IELTS as a "policy tool" for making decisions in the areas of study, work and migration impacts on test-takers' lives and life chances, not…

The Differences in Error Rate and Type between IELTS Writing Bands and Their Impact on Academic Workload

Science.gov (United States)

Müller, Amanda

2015-01-01

This paper attempts to demonstrate the differences in writing between International English Language Testing System (IELTS) bands 6.0, 6.5 and 7.0. An analysis of exemplars provided from the IELTS test makers reveals that IELTS 6.0, 6.5 and 7.0 writers can make a minimum of 206 errors, 96 errors and 35 errors per 1000 words. The following section…

Written Corrective Feedback in IELTS Writing Task 2: Teachers' Priorities, Practices, and Beliefs

Science.gov (United States)

Pearson, William S.

2018-01-01

Teacher corrective feedback is widely recognised as integral in supporting developing L2 writers. The potentially high pressure IELTS test preparation classroom presents a context where feedback has not yet been extensively studied. Consequently, teachers' approaches to corrective feedback on Writing Task 2, the essay component of IELTS Writing,…

The Effect of Six Different Corrective Feedback Strategies on Iranian English Language Learners’ IELTS Writing Task 2

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Reza Vahdani Sanavi

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Scholars have long studied the effect of corrective feedback strategies on the writing ability of language learners, but few have formed designs in which more than three feedback strategies have been used. In this research, the ultimate goal was to discover how International English Language Testing System (IELTS- candidates could be helped to perform better in the writing component of the test with the feedback they get. To this end, 186 learners attending IELTS preparation classes in three different English language institutes participated in this quasi-experimental study. A one-way ANOVA was run to discover the significant difference among the six groups. The findings proposed that Iranian English as a Foreign Language (EFL students’ writing ability improved as a result of the employment of writing feedback strategies but that reformulation strategy was the most effective one. Teachers can, thus, benefit from the finding of this research by studying the way they should tackle the learners’ inaccurate productions as far as different writing score band descriptors are concerned.

On the Relationship between the IELTS Listening and Listening in Academic English Programs

OpenAIRE

Masood Khalili Sabet; Hamid Reza Babaei

2017-01-01

The challenge for many teachers teaching in academic English programs is, on the one hand, to actualize the objectives of their course and on the other hand, prepare their students for the important international tests such as IELTS and TOEFLE. The current study seeks to reconcile this challenge by drawing on the relationship between the IELTS listening and listening in academic English programs. The requirements of the two domains were compared through a semi – structured interview with five...

Transcription and the IELTS Speaking Test: Facilitating Development

Science.gov (United States)

Stones, Thomas P.

2013-01-01

This article describes a transcription task cycle that was designed to facilitate the development of skills for the IELTS (International English Language Testing System) speaking test at a language school in Japan. The cycle involved practice test, transcription, student correction, teacher correction, and retrial of the original test and…

Reading Test-Taking Strategies in General Training IELTS

Science.gov (United States)

Nosrati, Vahede

2015-01-01

The significance of gaining a better understanding of how test-taking strategies are used has been recognized by researchers. Considering this fact, this study aimed at investigating the test-taking strategies which were employed by IELTS candidates in reading comprehension test. Besides, it tried to take into account the differences among…

ASSISTING STUDENTS TO ATTACK WRITING TASKS ON IELTS TEST WITH “PROBING TECHNIQUE”

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tedi Rohadi

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Writing section on IELTS test is commonly considered one of the most difficult parts of test. The test takers can’t even understand what to do with the tasks provided. They eventually write without clearly knowing the expected direction. Therefore, there should be a fastest way to well equip students to successfully cope with such hindrances. This paper is an action research report of how to make students better understand and answer writing tasks on IELTS test by employing probing techniques as one of test taking strategies. The paper will preliminarily elaborate the characteristics or nature of IELTS test in general and writing section consisting two different tasks in particular including its indicators of what expected kind of writing the testees should be aware of. It will then discuss probing techniques in details. The attack strategies and their sequential implementation will afterward be discussed. The technique will assist students to respectively understand what and how to plan and write effectively on the test.

IELTS: Global Implications of Curriculum and Materials Design.

Science.gov (United States)

Wallace, Craig

1997-01-01

Questions the removal of a link between reading and writing tasks in the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) examinations on two grounds: that this removal is prejudicial to those students whose native cultures may not provide the appropriate schemata to effectively write; and that it is unrealistic in terms of the measurement of…

A Critical Review of the IELTS Writing Test

Science.gov (United States)

Uysal, Hacer Hande

2010-01-01

Administered at local centres in 120 countries throughout the world, IELTS (International English Language Testing System) is one of the most widely used large-scale ESL tests that also offers a direct writing test component. Because of its popularity and its use for making critical decisions about test takers, it is crucial to draw attention to…

Encouraging Autonomy and Preparing for IELTS: Mutually Exclusive Goals?

Science.gov (United States)

Barrett-Lennard, Siri

1997-01-01

Suggests foreign students in Australia may not be getting preparation needed to integrate successfully into university study. Research is reviewed that indicates these students not only need help preparing for the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) but also with learning at an Australian university. Academic preparation courses…

The Relationship between the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Scores and Academic Success of International Master's Students

Science.gov (United States)

Arcuino, Cathy Lee T.

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine if the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) are related to academic success defined by final cumulative grade point average (GPA). The data sample, from three Midwestern universities, was comprised of international graduate students who…

Using Corpora in EFL Classrooms: The Case Study of IELTS Preparation

Science.gov (United States)

Smirnova, Elizaveta A.

2017-01-01

This article describes the gathered experience in using corpora in an IELTS preparation course. The practice demonstrates an attempt to reduce negative washback effects occurring when preparation courses just concentrate on the test format neglecting the importance of development of learners' language skills and general study skills. Some…

Model Essay as a Feedback Tool in Task 2 of the IELTS Writing Exam Instruction for Slovene Students

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nina Bostič Bishop

2011-05-01

Full Text Available The paper discusses using a model essay as a feedback tool when teaching EFL writing to Slovene EFL students in the context of Task 2 of the IELTS Writing exam. In the present study, four IELTS students of two different levels were asked to write a response to a Task 2 IELTS Writing Exam question and compare it to a native speaker or a native speaker-like model essay by means of note-taking. The notes were then analyzed, and the findings offer an insight into what aspects of the English language Slovene students noticed and how frequently they noticed individual language items. An analysis of the differences and similarities in the quality and quantity of noticing depending on the students’ level is also provided. A comparison with a Japanese study made by Abe in 2008 has been done. Finally, recommendations for future research are made.

The International English Language Testing System (IELTS): Its Nature and Development.

Science.gov (United States)

Ingram, D. E.

The nature and development of the recently released International English Language Testing System (IELTS) instrument are described. The test is the result of a joint Australian-British project to develop a new test for use with foreign students planning to study in English-speaking countries. It is expected that the modular instrument will become…

Differential Item Functioning in While-Listening Performance Tests: The Case of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Listening Module

Science.gov (United States)

Aryadoust, Vahid

2012-01-01

This article investigates a version of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) listening test for evidence of differential item functioning (DIF) based on gender, nationality, age, and degree of previous exposure to the test. Overall, the listening construct was found to be underrepresented, which is probably an important cause…

Dimensions of Difference: A Comparison of University Writing and IELTS Writing

Science.gov (United States)

Moore, Tim; Morton, Janne

2005-01-01

A challenge for many EAP teachers working on pre-sessional programs is to find ways to reconcile the dual aims of preparing students for university study and for the IELTS test. The study described here seeks to provide some guidance on this issue through an analysis of the type of writing required in the two domains. We compared the standard…

Check your English vocabulary for IELTS all you need to pass your exams

CERN Document Server

Wyatt, Rawdon

2009-01-01

This workbook is an helpful self-study aid for anyone preparing for the IELTS (International English Language Testing System) exam. It includes a range of activities to help students build and improve their English vocabulary, and is suitable for both self-study and the classroom.

The relationship between Test Takers’ Multiple Intelligences and Their Performance on the Reading Sections of TOEFL and IELTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Minoo Alemi

2010-04-01

Full Text Available The present study aimed at investigating the hypothetical relationship between the multiple intelligences of test takers and their performance on the reading sections of TOEFL and IELTS. Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences suggests that intelligence is not a single and solely inborn capacity, rather a multiple construct which is only partly genetic, and can be crystallized or paralyzed over one’s lifetime. Based on the theory, there are eight types of intelligence: linguistic, mathematical, musical, bodily, spatial, intrapersonal, interpersonal and naturalist, but the list is not exhaustive. The multiple intelligences of test takers were estimated by means of MIDAS, the Multiple Intelligences Developmental Assessment Scales, developed by Shearer (1994. Subsequently, the bias detection for the reading section of TOEFL was carried out on 90 participants, and this subtest was found to correlate positively with linguistic and logical intelligences. By the same token, 89 out of the 163 participants in the study were included in the analysis of the relationship between the multiple intelligences of test takers and their performance on the reading section of IELTS, and this test proved biased toward linguistic and spatial intelligences. The implications concern the inadequacy of the definition of language proficiency .Moreover, Measurement-Driven Instruction courses and preparatory materials of the two proficiency tests, TOEFL and IELTS, can benefit from the results of the study by being designed in such a way as to represent the intelligences which are positively correlated with performance on the tests in question.

The Perception of Malaysian ESL Tertiary Level Students on the IELTS Test

Science.gov (United States)

Zahari, Dhiya Amalina; Dhayaalan, Jeremiah Dhayaalan Jackson

2016-01-01

Currently, the most acknowledged test to qualify for overseas universities is the IELTS test which is referred to as the International English Language Testing System. It is implemented as an accreditation tool and is believed to be a reputable and trustworthy tool of language competence by tertiary institutions which employ its use. Regardless of…

Knowledge, Education, and Attitudes of International Students to IELTS: A Case of Australia

Science.gov (United States)

Ata, Abe W.

2015-01-01

The main objective of this study is to determine the knowledge, education and attitudes of Chinese, Indian and Arab speaking students in Australia towards the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) test. A questionnaire was administered to 200 students at six university language centers to investigate their overall response towards…

Professional Development and IELTS Training Course: A Case of EFL Teachers in Iran

Science.gov (United States)

Ashraf, Hamid; Kafi, Zeinab

2016-01-01

The current study aimed at investigating the status of Professional Development (PD) through examining teachers' perspectives over how effective they consider exam specific teacher training courses (IELTS in this case) which aim at increasing their PD. To this end, a group of EFL teachers, from different language schools in Mashhad, Iran took part…

Stakeholders' Perceptions of IELTS as an Entry Requirement for Higher Education in the UK

Science.gov (United States)

Hyatt, David

2013-01-01

This project explores stakeholders' perceptions of the role of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) in the admissions processes of UK higher education (HE) institutions. The term "stakeholders" here refers to HE academic and administrative staff responsible for the acceptance of students whose first language is not…

On the Relationship between the IELTS Listening and Listening in Academic English Programs

Science.gov (United States)

Sabet, Masood Khalili; Babaei, Hamid Reza

2017-01-01

The challenge for many teachers teaching in academic English programs is, on the one hand, to actualize the objectives of their course and on the other hand, prepare their students for the important international tests such as IELTS and TOEFL. The current study seeks to reconcile this challenge by drawing on the relationship between the IELTS…

Dialogic and Hortatory Features in the Writing of Chinese Candidates for the IELTS Test

Science.gov (United States)

Mayor, Barbara M.

2006-01-01

Research conducted in the context of the IELTS Research Program indicates that there are recurrent features in the writing under test conditions of candidates from Chinese language backgrounds, particularly in terms of interpersonal tenor. These include a high level of interpersonal reference, combined with a heavily dialogic and hortatory style.…

An Investigation of the Relationship between Iranian EFL Learners’ Cultural Intelligence and Their Performance on the IELTS Listening Modules

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arezoo Rafie

2016-06-01

Full Text Available This study aimed to investigate the relationship between Iranian EFL Learners’ Cultural intelligence (CQ and their performance on the IELTS Listening Module. Sixty advanced EFL students majoring in English translation at University of Zanjan were matched for the study through the Oxford Quick Placement Test. Cultural Intelligence Scale developed and validated by Ang et al. (2007 was used to assess the participants' cultural intelligence. The IELTS Listening Module and the Cultural Intelligence Scale were administered to the participants who were willing to take part in this study. The correlational analysis of the results revealed that there exists a statistically significant relationship between EFL learners’ CQ and their performance on IELTS Listening Module. Furthermore, running multiple regression analysis indicated that of the four components of CQ (i.e. metacognitive, cognitive, behavioral, and motivational CQs, motivational CQ is the best predictor forthe listening ability of EFL learners. The findings of the study highlight the importance of incorporating programs for teaching culture in the EFL classroom, as enhancing cultural intelligence related skills at schools and universities can promote better communicational skills. Keywords: Culture, cultural intelligence (CQ, teaching culture, listening comprehension, EFL learners

An Investigation into Pragmatic Knowledge in the Reading Section of TOLIMO, TOEFL, and IELTS Examinations

Science.gov (United States)

Karbalaei, Alireza; Rahmanzade, Mehrnaz Kashkooli

2015-01-01

The present study focused on the analysis of listening sections of two international English proficiency tests, i.e. IELTS and TOEFL tests, and one local English proficiency test, i.e. TOLIMO from pragmatic perspective. An attempt was made to explore the areas of pragmatic knowledge presented, and to assess test takers' pragmatic knowledge. For…

Screening for erectile dysfunction in men with lifelong premature ejaculation--Is the Sexual Health Inventory for Men (SHIM) reliable?

Science.gov (United States)

McMahon, Chris G

2009-02-01

Some men with premature ejaculation (PE) and normal erectile function record contradictory response/s to The Sexual Health Inventory for Men (SHIM) and may be incorrectly categorized as suffering from erectile dysfunction (ED). The aim of this study was to evaluate the frequency of false positive SHIM diagnosis of ED in men with lifelong PE. SHIM, stopwatch intravaginal ejaculation latency time (IELT). A prospective observational study of men with normal erectile function and lifelong PE, diagnosed using the ISSM definition of lifelong PE, was conducted. The SHIM was self-administered at Visit 1. Mean per subject stopwatch IELT was determined from four subsequent intercourse attempts. Seventy-eight subjects with a mean age of 33.2 +/- 8.3 years and a geometric mean IELT of 15.9 +/- 2.3 seconds were enrolled. The mean SHIM score for all subjects was 20.4 +/- 6.0. Fifty-two subjects (66.7%) have SHIM scores of >21 (mean 24.3 +/- 1.1), consistent with normal erectile function, and a geometric mean IELT of 18.3 +/- 2.2 seconds. Twenty-six subjects (33.3%) had SHIM scores IELT of 10.5 +/- 2.3 seconds. The incidence of false positive SHIM diagnosis of ED (SHIM IELT. Although the geometric mean IELT for subjects with SHIM scores 21, there were no significant differences between the geometric mean IELT or the IELT distribution of all subjects vs. the normal erectile function IELT (SHIM > 21) cohort. This study demonstrates a 33.3% false positive SHIM diagnosis of ED in men with PE. This is likely to limit subject recruitment in clinical trials by exclusion of subjects with low-range IELTs but is unlikely to result in significantly different baseline IELTs or IELT distributions.

Investigating IELTS Academic Writing Task 2 : Relationships between cognitive writing processes, text quality, and working memory

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Révész, Andrea; Michel, Marije; Lee, MinJin

2017-01-01

This project examined the cognitive processes and online behaviours of second language writers while performing IELTS Academic Writing Test Task 2, and the ways in which the online behaviours of test-takers relate to the quality of the text produced. An additional aim was to assess whether writing

The Effect of Instructing Impression Management Behaviors on Maximizing Applicants' Performance in the IELTS Speaking Test

Science.gov (United States)

Namdar, Sara; Bagheri, Mohammad Sadegh

2012-01-01

Speaking proceeds under the constraint of time. While speaking, speakers are under constant pressure to follow the message being received and to formulate rapid responses to their partners. In the IELTS (International English Language Testing System) Speaking Test, the communicative nature of the interview creates an ideal situation for applicants…

IELTS ACADEMIC READING ACHIEVEMENT: THE CONTRIBUTION OF INFERENCE-MAKING AND EVALUATION OF ARGUMENTS

OpenAIRE

Afsaneh Ghanizadeh; Azam Vahidian Pour; Akram Hosseini

2017-01-01

The pivotal undertaking of education today is to endow individuals with the capacity to be able to think flexibly, reason rationally, and have open minds to be able to evaluate and interpret situations. In line with the studies demonstrating the positive relationship between higher-order thinking skills and academic achievement, this study aimed to particularly examine the impact of the two subcomponents of critical thinking, i.e., inference-making and evaluation of arguments on academic IELT...

The relationship between self-estimated intravaginal ejaculatory latency time and International Prostate Symptom Score in middle-aged men complaining of ejaculating prematurely in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Xiansheng; Tang, Dongdong; Xu, Chuan; Gao, Pan; Hao, Zongyao; Zhou, Jun; Liang, Chaozhao

2015-03-01

Some factors associated with the four premature ejaculation (PE) syndromes have been studied, but the association between International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) and the four PE syndromes has not been investigated. We performed this study to evaluate the association between IPSS and intravaginal ejaculatory latency time (IELT) in men with the four PE syndromes. From June 2012 to January 2014, a total of 690 men aged 40-59 years complaining of ejaculating prematurely and another 452 male healthy subjects of the same age without these complaints were included in this study. Men with the complaints of ejaculating prematurely were classified as one of the four PE syndromes: lifelong PE, acquired PE (APE), variable PE, and subjective PE. Each of them completed a detailed questionnaire including information on demographics, medical and sexual history (e.g., self-estimated IELT), IPSS, and International Index of Erectile Function-5. Associations between IPSS and self-estimated IELT in middle-aged men with the four PE syndromes. Men complaining of ejaculating prematurely reported higher IPSS (11.2 ± 6.0 vs. 5.5 ± 3.3 ) and shorter self-estimated IELT (2.1 ± 1.6 minutes vs. 4.8 ± 3.3) than men without complaints (P men with the four PE syndromes showed significant correlations with IPSS (P men with PE complaints (adjusted r = -0.378, P men with APE (adjusted r = -0.502, P Men complaining of ejaculating prematurely reported worse IPSS than men without these complaints. Self-estimated IELT was negatively associated with IPSS in men complaining of ejaculating prematurely, and the correlation was the strongest in men with APE. © 2015 International Society for Sexual Medicine.

An Investigation of the Relationship between Iranian EFL Learners' Cultural Intelligence and Their Performance on the IELTS Listening Modules

Science.gov (United States)

Rafie, Arezoo; Khosravi, Robab; Nasiri, Mahdi

2016-01-01

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between Iranian EFL Learners' Cultural intelligence (CQ) and their performance on the IELTS Listening Module. Sixty advanced EFL students majoring in English translation at University of Zanjan were matched for the study through the Oxford Quick Placement Test. Cultural Intelligence Scale developed…

Arguing about How the World Is or How the World Should Be: The Role of Argument in IELTS Tests

Science.gov (United States)

Coffin, Caroline

2004-01-01

Non native speakers of English wishing to study at tertiary level in English speaking countries are increasingly required to prove their English language competence by taking an internationally recognised test such as the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and the International English Language Testing Systems (IELTS). This article…

8 CFR 212.15 - Certificates for foreign health care workers.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

...) Service International. (iii) International English Language Testing System (IELTS). (4) Passing English... certifying organizations shall not accept the results of the TOEIC, or the IELTS for the occupation of... International: TOEIC: 725; plus TWE: 4.0 and TSE: 50; or (C) IELTS: 6.5 overall with a spoken band score of 7.0...

Proposal for a definition of lifelong premature ejaculation based on epidemiological stopwatch data.

Science.gov (United States)

Waldinger, Marcel D; Zwinderman, Aeilko H; Olivier, Berend; Schweitzer, Dave H

2005-07-01

Consensus on a definition of premature ejaculation has not yet been reached because of debates based on subjective authority opinions and nonstandardized assessment methods to measure ejaculation time and ejaculation control. To provide a definition for lifelong premature ejaculation that is based on epidemiological evidence including the neurobiological and psychological approach. We used the 0.5 and 2.5 percentiles as accepted standards of disease definition in a skewed distribution. We applied these percentiles in a stopwatch-determined intravaginal ejaculation latency time (IELT) distribution of 491 nonselected men from five different countries. The practical consequences of 0.5% and 2.5% cutoff points for disease definition were taken into consideration by reviewing current knowledge of feelings of control and satisfaction in relation to ejaculatory performance of the general male population. Literature arguments to be used in a proposed consensus on a definition of premature ejaculation. The stopwatch-determined IELT distribution is positively skewed. The 0.5 percentile equates to an IELT of 0.9 minute and the 2.5 percentile an IELT of 1.3 minutes. However, there are no available data in the literature on feelings of control or satisfaction in relation to ejaculatory latency time in the general male population. Random male cohort studies are needed to end all speculation on this subject. Exact stopwatch time assessment of IELT in a multinational study led us to propose that all men with an IELT of less than 1 minute (belonging to the 0.5 percentile) have "definite" premature ejaculation, while men with IELTs between 1 and 1.5 minutes (between 0.5 and 2.5 percentile) have "probable" premature ejaculation. Severity of premature ejaculation (nonsymptomatic, mild, moderate, severe) should be defined in terms of associated psychological problems. We define lifelong premature ejaculation as a neurobiological dysfunction with an unacceptable increase of risk to

Differences Across Levels in the Language of Agency and Ability in Rating Scales for Large-Scale Second Language Writing Assessments

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anderson Salena Sampson

2017-12-01

Full Text Available While large-scale language and writing assessments benefit from a wealth of literature on the reliability and validity of specific tests and rating procedures, there is comparatively less literature that explores the specific language of second language writing rubrics. This paper provides an analysis of the language of performance descriptors for the public versions of the TOEFL and IELTS writing assessment rubrics, with a focus on linguistic agency encoded by agentive verbs and language of ability encoded by modal verbs can and cannot. While the IELTS rubrics feature more agentive verbs than the TOEFL rubrics, both pairs of rubrics feature uneven syntax across the band or score descriptors with either more agentive verbs for the highest scores, more nominalization for the lowest scores, or language of ability exclusively in the lowest scores. These patterns mirror similar patterns in the language of college-level classroom-based writing rubrics, but they differ from patterns seen in performance descriptors for some large-scale admissions tests. It is argued that the lack of syntactic congruity across performance descriptors in the IELTS and TOEFL rubrics may reflect a bias in how actual student performances at different levels are characterized.

Erectile dysfunction and premature ejaculation: interrelationships and psychosexual factors.

Science.gov (United States)

Brody, Stuart; Weiss, Petr

2015-02-01

Both erectile dysfunction (ED) and premature ejaculation (PE) impair the quality of sexual intercourse for both men and their female partners. This study aims to examine with a large representative sample the interrelationships of measures of ED, PE, typical intravaginal ejaculatory latency time (IELT), men's perceived relationship quality with their mother, and age of first being in love. In this cross-sectional study, a nationally representative sample of 960 Czech coitally experienced men (aged 15-84), provided age, International Index of Erectile Function 5-item (IIEF-5), Index of Premature Ejaculation (IPE) scores, IELT, rating of relationship with their mother, and age at first being in love. Correlations, partial correlations adjusting for age, analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), and multiple regression statistical methods were used. IIEF-5, IPE, and IELT were significantly intercorrelated (IIEF-5 and IPE: r=0.64). Better IIEF-5 scores were associated with younger age at first (and ever) being in love. Poorer IPE score, shorter IELT, and mild-moderate ED were associated with poorer perceived mother relationship (which was also associated with first being in love at an older age). Multiple regression analyses revealed that: (i) greater IELT was associated with better erectile function and better mother relationship, but not with age; and (ii) IELT of mother relationship and poorer IIEF-5, but marginally with age. History of homosexual activity was unrelated to IIEF-5, IPE, IELT, and perceived mother relationship scores. The findings suggest that degrees of ED and PE are often comorbid, and both ED and PE are associated with less favorable early experiences with women. Brody S and Weiss P. Erectile dysfunction and premature ejaculation: Interrelationships and psychosexual factors. J Sex Med 2015;12:398-404. © 2014 International Society for Sexual Medicine.

Viability of Construct Validity of the Speaking Modules of International Language Examinations (IELTS vs. TOEFL iBT): Evidence from Iranian Test-Takers

Science.gov (United States)

Zahedi, Keivan; Shamsaee, Saeedeh

2012-01-01

The aim of the present research is to examine the viability of the construct validity of the speaking modules of two internationally recognized language proficiency examinations, namely IELTS and TOEFL iBT. High-stake standardized tests play a crucial and decisive role in determining the future academic life of many people. Overall obtained scores…

A Comparative Washback Study of IELTS and TOEFL iBT on Teaching and Learning Activities in Preparation Courses in the Iranian Context

Science.gov (United States)

Erfani, Shiva Seyed

2012-01-01

One consequence of test use in the English-language teaching community is the negative washback of tests on teaching and learning. Test preparation courses are often seen as part of the more general issue of washback. IELTS and TOEFL iBT tests, focusing on communicative competence, are anticipated to have positive washback effect on how English is…

The diagnostic value of the premature ejaculation diagnostic tool and its association with intravaginal ejaculatory latency time.

Science.gov (United States)

Kam, Sung Chul; Han, Deok Hyun; Lee, Sung Won

2011-03-01

Premature ejaculation (PE) is the most prevalent male ejaculation disorder. The premature ejaculation diagnostic tool (PEDT) was developed to systematically apply the DSM-IV-TR criteria in diagnostic PE. To evaluate the diagnostic value of the PEDT and its association with intravaginal ejaculatory latency time (IELT). (i) Korean validation of PEDT: data was collected from men interviewed by one of the two clinical experts, who made a diagnostic of present or absence of PE, using DSM-IV-TR criteria. A total of 103 patients with PE and 100 men without PE were enrolled into the study and requested to complete the PEDT; and (ii) The correlation between IELT and PEDT: 200 participants were enrolled and each participant was asked to make out PEDT. All participants were requested to measure IELT. Validity and reliability of the PEDT and its association with IELT. The geometric mean IELT of the PE group was 115.37 ± 78.14 seconds. The number of men reporting IELTs of 2 minutes were 28 (28.6%), 29 (29.6%), and 41 (41.8%), respectively. The Cronbach's alpha score was calculated as 0.93, showing adequate internal consistency. The test-retest correlation coefficients of each item were higher than 0.72 and the correlation coefficients of the total score was 0.88. (P IELT showed an adequate negative correlation. (ρ = -0.77, P IELT ≤ 2 minutes) and IELT showed a negative correlation. (ρ = -0.6, P < 0.0001) The PEDT was highly effective in detecting the presence of PE. The result of our study supports its validity as a diagnostic tool in the clinical setting. © 2010 International Society for Sexual Medicine.

Stellenbosch Papers in Linguistics Plus - Vol 42 (2013)

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Nursing the Cure: A Phonetic Analysis of /ʊə/ in South African English · EMAIL FREE FULL ... Can IELTS Writing Scores Predict University Performance? Comparing the Use of Lexical Bundles in IELTS Writing Tests and First-Year Academic ...

Can IELTS Writing Scores Predict University Performance ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Stellenbosch Papers in Linguistics Plus. Journal Home · ABOUT THIS JOURNAL · Advanced Search · Current Issue · Archives · Journal Home > Vol 42 (2013) >. Log in or Register to get access to full text downloads.

Matching score based face recognition

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boom, B.J.; Beumer, G.M.; Spreeuwers, Lieuwe Jan; Veldhuis, Raymond N.J.

2006-01-01

Accurate face registration is of vital importance to the performance of a face recognition algorithm. We propose a new method: matching score based face registration, which searches for optimal alignment by maximizing the matching score output of a classifier as a function of the different

The Effect of Communication Strategy Training on the Development of EFL Learners' Strategic Competence and Oral Communicative Ability.

Science.gov (United States)

Rabab'ah, Ghaleb

2016-06-01

This study examines the effect of communication strategy instruction on EFL students' oral communicative ability and their strategic competence. In a 14-week English as a Foreign Language (EFL) course (English Use II) based on Communicative Language Teaching approach, 80 learners were divided into two groups. The strategy training group ([Formula: see text]) received CS training based on a training program designed for the purpose of the present research, whereas the control group ([Formula: see text]) received only the normal communicative course using Click On 3, with no explicit focus on CSs. The communication strategies targeted in the training program included circumlocution (paraphrase), appeal for help, asking for repetition, clarification request, confirmation request, self-repair, and guessing. Pre- and post-test procedures were used to find out the effect of strategy training on language proficiency and CS use. The effect of the training was assessed by three types of data collection: the participants' pre- and post-IELTS speaking test scores, transcription data from the speaking IELTS test, and 'Click On' Exit Test scores. The findings revealed that participants in the strategy training group significantly outperformed the control group in their IELTS speaking test scores. The results of the post-test transcription data also confirmed that the participants in the strategy training group used more CSs, which could be attributed to the CS training program. The findings of the present research have implications for language teachers, and syllabus designers.

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CHARACTERISTICS OF GOOD LANGUAGE LEARNERS AND THE ESPECIAL EMPLOYED LEARNING STRATEGIES DURING EDUCATIONAL CONTEXT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fateme BEHABADI

2013-07-01

Full Text Available Most of the early studies in the field of language learning strategies focused on identifying the characteristics of good language learners. Identifying and discussing the strategies used by good language learners were considered as a good way to make the learners aware of the notion of language learning strategies. The present study was an attempt to collect and classify the characteristics of representative good language learners, developing English as a foreign /second language in Iran; specifically those who had achieved high scores in the IELTS General Module. And also this study aimed at identifying the characteristics associated with a good language learner in one area: learning strategies. Thirty-four Iranian IELTS candidates receiving 6+ band score were selected to participate in this study. They were interviewed and asked to write down their own reports of the experiences they had in developing their second language. They were asked to report their preferred strategies while studying English as well. They were also requested to fill out the learning strategy and learning style questionnaires. The results of interviews and open ended questions were specifically organized and classified via employing both descriptive and explanatory methods. The learners’ responses to the standardized questionnaires also were analyzed by SPSS system Version 20. The findings of the present study although revealed that there is a high correlation between IELTS scores, strategy taking inventory scores. This revealed that the learners recording high scores in IELTS use appropriate learning strategies.

The premature ejaculation diagnostic tool (PEDT): linguistic validity of the Chinese version.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Yan-Ping; Chen, Bin; Ping, Ping; Wang, Hong-Xiang; Hu, Kai; Zhang, Tao; Yang, Hao; Jin, Yan; Yang, Qi; Huang, Yi-Ran

2014-09-01

The premature ejaculation diagnostic tool (PEDT) was developed to standardize the diagnosis of PE and has been applied in many countries. However, a linguistic validation of the Chinese version of PEDT does not exist. This study aims to undertake the Chinese validation of the PEDT and to evaluate its association with self-estimated intravaginal ejaculatory latency time (IELT) and clinical expert diagnosis of PE. A Chinese version of PEDT was confirmed by andrologist and bilingual linguist. Participants were recruited among seven different communities of Shanghai from 2011 to 2012, and their information regarding self-reported PE, self-estimated IELT, expert diagnosis of PE, and PEDT scores were collected. Validity of the PEDT and its association with clinical expert diagnosis of PE and self-estimated IELT were analyzed. A total of 143 patients without PE (mean age 55.11 ± 7.65 years) and 100 men with PE (mean age 53.07 ± 8.08 years) were enrolled for validation. Of the patients in PE group, the number of men reporting self-estimated IELTs of ≤1, 1-2, and >2 minutes were 34 (34.0%), 22 (22.0%), and 44 (44.0%), respectively. The Cronbach's alpha score (α = 0.77) showed adequate internal consistency, and the test-retest correlation coefficients of each item (r ≥ 0.70, P IELT (ρ = -0.396, P IELT ≤1 minute). The Chinese version of PEDT is valid in screening the presence of PE among Chinese men. The PEDT showed an adequate negative correlation with self-estimated IELT and an excellent concordance with clinician diagnosis of PE. © 2014 International Society for Sexual Medicine.

Clinical Characteristics of the Premature Ejaculation Sufferers in Aegean Region of the Turkey: A Multicentre, Observational Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ahmet Cihan

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Demonstration of the intra-vaginal ejaculation latency time (IELT distribution in male subjects and its clinical expressions among couples in the Aegean region of the Turkey. Materials and Methods Subjects were recruited to the study from six different urologic centers in the Aegean region. During the enrollment period subjects were recruited in to two group according to presence of premature ejaculation (PE. PE diagnosis was made according to DSM-4 definition. Subjects and their partners were evaluated with patient reported outcome measures (PRO related to the ejaculation-based questionnaire (Premature ejaculation patient profile questionnaire -PEPQ. Stopwatch measurements were also asked from each couple to record intravaginal ejaculation latency time (IELT. Couples who completed two clinical visits with 4 wk interval were recruited to the data analysis. Results Among 141 eligible subjects, mean age was 36.5±9.7 years and mean partner age was 32.9±9.8 years. Following the initial evaluation 80 subjects recruited to group 1(PE and 41 subjects recruited to the group 2 (non-PE. Geometric mean IELT of the subjects was significantly differed between PE and non- PE group (64.7±66.8 vs. 521.5±414.7 seconds, p<0.001. All of the PEPQ domain scores were also differed between groups. Subjects in the PE group gave poor ratings than non-PE subjects. Partner responses were similar pattern. Correlation analyses of the PEPQ scores demonstrated significant positive correlations between “perceived control over ejaculation” and “satisfaction with sexual intercourse” domains of the PEPQ and with IELT. Conclusion Geographic distribution of IELT and its impacts among couples by the several subjective aspects of PRO measures should be assessed during PE investigation

OVERGENERALIZATION IN SINGULAR/PLURAL NOUNS AND SUFFIXED NOUNS OF IELTS COURSE STUDENTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gharizi Matiini

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This study aims to investigate the morphological overgeneralization of IELTS students. It focuses on the singular/plural nouns and suffixed nouns that are overgeneralized by those students. Three students are chosen as the participants of the study by collecting their writing exercises. Three writing texts are gathered taken from several weeks and materials. The writings are analyzed by sorting the nouns they produced and categorizing them according to the singular/plural nouns and suffixed nouns. The results reveal that the students over extended the rules of singular/plural nouns and suffixed nouns. However, recovery occurs very varied in both singular/plural nouns and suffixed nouns. They tend to be better in mentioning singular/plural nouns, yet they are being selective and careful in writing suffixed nouns. In conclusion, even though the language learners can mark their overgeneralization, it is still difficult for them to recover their errors. It is recommended here that longitudinal study that has more time to examine students recovery from overgeneralization can be conducted for the further study to give more detail evidence in students’ overgeneralizations. Keywords: overgeneralization, singular/plural nouns, suffixed nouns

Development and validation of a premature ejaculation diagnostic tool.

Science.gov (United States)

Symonds, Tara; Perelman, Michael A; Althof, Stanley; Giuliano, François; Martin, Mona; May, Kathryn; Abraham, Lucy; Crossland, Anna; Morris, Mark

2007-08-01

Diagnosis of premature ejaculation (PE) for clinical trial purposes has typically relied on intravaginal ejaculation latency time (IELT) for entry, but this parameter does not capture the multidimensional nature of PE. Therefore, the aim was to develop a brief, multidimensional, psychometrically validated instrument for diagnosing PE status. The questionnaire development involved three stages: (1) Five focus groups and six individual interviews were conducted to develop the content; (2) psychometric validation using three different groups of men; and (3) generation of a scoring system. For psychometric validation/scoring system development, data was collected from (1) men with PE based on clinician diagnosis, using DSM-IV-TR, who also had IELTs or =11 PE. The development and validation of this new PE diagnostic tool has resulted in a new, user-friendly, and brief self-report questionnaire for use in clinical trials to diagnose PE.

Turkish validation of the premature ejaculation diagnostic tool and its association with intravaginal ejaculatory latency time.

Science.gov (United States)

Serefoglu, E C; Cimen, H I; Ozdemir, A T; Symonds, T; Berktas, M; Balbay, M D

2009-01-01

There are uncertain issues on the diagnostic methods of premature ejaculation (PE). The premature ejaculation diagnostic tool (PEDT) was developed to systematically apply the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) criteria in diagnosing PE and the aim of this study is to carry out the Turkish validation of the PEDT and to evaluate its association with intravaginal ejaculatory latency time (IELT). A total of 94 patients with a self-reported complaint of PE and 88 men without PE were enrolled into the study and requested to complete the nine-item PEDT, which was translated into Turkish. The patients were also requested to measure IELT. All participants were requested to come for a second visit to assess the PEDT's retest reliability; data from 78 men in the PE group and 69 men in the control group were collected. The IELT data of 35 patients were also recorded. The mean age of the PE group and the control group were 39.4+/-9.7 (24-65) and 30.1+/-5.7 (20-56), respectively, (P=0.068). Among the patients in the PE group, 24 (68.5%) reported life-long PE, whereas 11 (31.5%) reported acquired PE. The geometric mean IELT of the PE group was 59.7+/-46.2 (6.5-197.7) s. The number of men reporting IELTs of 2 min were 20 (57.1%), 11 (31.5) and 4 (11.4%), respectively. The factor analysis assessment showed that the five-item combination (questions 1, 2, 3, 4 and 8) explained 74.4% of the variance, there were no other combinations that explained the variance more effectively. Cronbach's alpha score of five-item combination was calculated as 0.77, showing adequate internal consistency. The overall Cronbach's alpha score did not increase if any item combination was deleted. The test-retest correlation coefficients of each item were higher than 0.80 and the correlation coefficient of the total score was 0.90. The PEDT and IELT showed an adequate correlation (rho=0.44). As a conclusion, the validated five-item Turkish version of PEDT is a

Binding Task-Based Language Teaching and Task-Based Language Testing: A Survey into EFL Teachers and Learners' Views of Task-Based Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Panahi, Ali

2012-01-01

In most settings, task-based language teaching and testing have been dissociated from each other. That is why this study came to rethink of the learners' views towards awareness and implementation of task-based language teaching through IELTS listening tasks. To these objectives, after sketching instrumentation, the learners were divided into…

Safety and efficacy of vardenafil versus sertraline in the treatment of premature ejaculation: a randomised, prospective and crossover study.

Science.gov (United States)

Mathers, M J; Klotz, T; Roth, S; Lümmen, G; Sommer, F

2009-06-01

We investigated safety and efficacy of vardenafil and sertraline in premature ejaculation (PE). Seventy-two men graded their primary PE on a scale of 0-8 (0 = almost never, 8 = almost always). Intravaginal ejaculatory latency time (IELT) was measured. Patients were included if they scored their PE as 4 or greater and their IELTs were less than 1.30 min. After 6 weeks of behavioural psychosexual therapy, 49 patients still had a PE of 4 or greater and an IELT less than 1.30 min and they were randomised: 6 weeks vardenafil (10 mg) or sertraline (50 mg). After a wash-out phase for 1 week, medication was changed in a cross-over design. Initially, all 72 men with PE received behavioural therapy. Twenty-three men were satisfied with treatment and excluded. The remaining 49 men graded their PE as 5.94 +/- 1.6 and IELT was 0.59 min and patients were randomised. Four men discontinued the study. Vardenafil improved PE grading: 2.7 +/- 2.1 (P IELT increased to 5.01 +/- 3.69 (P IELT 3.12 +/- 1.89 (P < 0.001) with sertraline. It is concluded that vardenafil and sertraline are useful agents in the pharmacological treatment of PE.

Task-Based Listening Assessment and the Influence of Construct-Irrelevant Variance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arshya Keyvanfar

2008-02-01

Full Text Available Task-based listening tests such as IELTS require testees to listen to some information on a CD and simultaneously answer the related items. To answer such items, testees are expected to comprehend, analyze, compare and infer pieces of information while listening to the incoming audio material. The present research attempted to investigate whether the two major characteristics of question type and consecutive/simultaneous performance have any impact on the listening performance of Iranian EFL learners. Findings indicated that participants had a significantly better performance when they tackled the tasks consecutively, and performed even better in listening MC items rather than in listening task-based items. The researchers, thus, concluded that task-based listening tests such as IELTS listening module may be under the influence of construct-irrelevant variance.

Effects of Herbal vigRX on Premature Ejaculation: A randomized, double-blind study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Z Ghafuri

2010-05-01

Full Text Available Objective :   "nWe conducted a double-blind, placebo-controlled study todetermine the efficacy of an herbal sexual supplement (vigRX on premature ejaculation (PE. Method: "nA randomized double blind study was conducted on a fixed dose of herbal vigRX at Roozbeh Psychiatry Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences. The sample consisted of 85 married patients diagnosed withprimary PE according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Each patient underwent diagnostic evaluation by one trained psychiatrist, using Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV-TR. Each patient was evaluated by researchers to exclude the organic sexual dysfunctions. The patients were randomly assigned in to two groups: group 1 consisting of 42 patients receiving placebo, and group 2 consisting of 43 patients receiving 540 mg herbal vigRX for a 4-week treatment course. The effects of the drug on the ejaculatory function in each group were assessed by the intravaginal ejaculation latency time (IELT, and the Chinese Index of Premature Ejaculation (CIPE before and at the end of the treatment course. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS software (15th version.      Results: "nThe mean IELT increased 22.4 and 32.0 seconds in the placebo and the vigRX group respectively after the treatment course. The mean IELT differences between the two groups was not significant. The mean CIPE score increased 2.40 and 4.37 in the placebo and the vigRX group respectively .The mean CIPE score differences between the two groups was not significant.No side effect was reported by the subjects in neither groups during the treatment course. "nConclusion: Although the improvement in IELT and CIPE scores in the herbal vigRX group was more than the placebo group, this difference was not statistically significant. The increasing of IELT and CIPE score in the placebo group may be due to the placebo effects. Further studies with higher vigRX doses, greater sample size

Effect of tadalafil 5mg daily treatment on the ejaculatory times, lower urinary tract symptoms and erectile function in patients with erectile dysfunction.

Science.gov (United States)

Karabakan, Mehmet; Keskin, Ercument; Akdemir, Serkan; Bozkurt, Aliseydi

2017-01-01

To investigate the effect of a 5mg daily tadalafil treatment on the ejaculation time, erectile function and lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in patients with erectile dysfunction. A total of 60 patients diagnosed with erectile dysfunction were retrospectively evaluated using the international index of erectile function questionnaire-5 (IIEF-5), intravaginal ejaculatory latency time (IELT) and international prostate symptoms scores (IPSS). After the patients were treated with 5mg tadalafil once a day for three months, their erection, ejaculation and LUTS were assessed again. The fasting levels of blood glucose, total testosterone, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, highdensity lipoprotein cholesterol and total cholesterol were measured. The independentsamples t-test was used to compare the pre- and post-treatment scores of the patients. The mean age of the 60 participants was 50.4±7.9 and the mean baseline serum total testosterone, total cholesterol, and fasting blood sugar were 444.6±178.6ng dL-1, 188.7±29.6mg/dL-1,104 (80-360) mg dL-1, respectively. The mean baseline scores were 2.2±1.4 min for IELT, 9.5±3.7 for IIEF-5 and 14.1±4.5 for IPSS. Following the three-month daily 5mg tadalafil treatment, the scores were found to be 3.4±1.9 min, 16.1±4.7, and 10.4±3.8 for IELT, IIEF and IPSS, respectively. When the baseline and post-treatment scores were compared, a statistically significant increase was observed in the IELTs and IIEF-5 values whereas there was a significant decrease in IPSS (p<0.01). A daily dose of 5mg tadalafil can be safely used in the treatment of erectile dysfunction and LUTS, that prolongs the ejaculatory latency time. Copyright® by the International Brazilian Journal of Urology.

Comparability of Computer-based and Paper-based Versions of Writing Section of PET in Iranian EFL Context

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammad Mohammadi

2010-11-01

Full Text Available Computer technology has provided language testing experts with opportunity to develop computerized versions of traditional paper-based language tests. New generations of TOEFL and Cambridge IELTS, BULATS, KET, PET are good examples of computer-based language tests. Since this new method of testing introduces new factors into the realm of language assessment ( e.g. modes of test delivery, familiarity with computer, etc.,the question may be whether the two modes of computer- and paper-based tests comparably measure the same construct, and hence, the scores obtained from the two modes can be used interchangeably. Accordingly, the present study aimed to investigate the comparability of the paper- and computer-based versions of a writing test. The data for this study were collected from administering the writing section of a Cambridge Preliminary English Test (PET to eighty Iranian intermediate EFL learners through the two modes of computer- and paper-based testing. Besides, a computer familiarity questionnaire was used to divide participants into two groups with high and low computer familiarity. The results of the independent samples t-test revealed that there was no statistically significant difference between the learners' computer- and paper-based writing scores. The results of the paired samples t-test showed no statistically significant difference between high- and low-computer-familiar groups on computer-based writing. The researchers concluded that the two modes comparably measured the same construct.

Wearable PPG sensor based alertness scoring system.

Science.gov (United States)

Dey, Jishnu; Bhowmik, Tanmoy; Sahoo, Saswata; Tiwari, Vijay Narayan

2017-07-01

Quantifying mental alertness in today's world is important as it enables the person to adopt lifestyle changes for better work efficiency. Miniaturized sensors in wearable devices have facilitated detection/monitoring of mental alertness. Photoplethysmography (PPG) sensors through Heart Rate Variability (HRV) offer one such opportunity by providing information about one's daily alertness levels without requiring any manual interference from the user. In this paper, a smartwatch based alertness estimation system is proposed. Data collected from PPG sensor of smartwatch is processed and fed to machine learning based model to get a continuous alertness score. Utility functions are designed based on statistical analysis to give a quality score on different stages of alertness such as awake, long sleep and short duration power nap. An intelligent data collection approach is proposed in collaboration with the motion sensor in the smartwatch to reduce battery drainage. Overall, our proposed wearable based system provides a detailed analysis of alertness over a period in a systematic and optimized manner. We were able to achieve an accuracy of 80.1% for sleep/awake classification along with alertness score. This opens up the possibility for quantifying alertness levels using a single PPG sensor for better management of health related activities including sleep.

Standardized computer-based organized reporting of EEG SCORE - Second version

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Beniczky, Sándor; Aurlien, Harald; Brøgger, Jan C

2017-01-01

Standardized terminology for computer-based assessment and reporting of EEG has been previously developed in Europe. The International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology established a taskforce in 2013 to develop this further, and to reach international consensus. This work resulted in the se......Standardized terminology for computer-based assessment and reporting of EEG has been previously developed in Europe. The International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology established a taskforce in 2013 to develop this further, and to reach international consensus. This work resulted...... in the second, revised version of SCORE (Standardized Computer-based Organized Reporting of EEG), which is presented in this paper. The revised terminology was implemented in a software package (SCORE EEG), which was tested in clinical practice on 12,160 EEG recordings. Standardized terms implemented in SCORE....... In the end, the diagnostic significance is scored, using a standardized list of terms. SCORE has specific modules for scoring seizures (including seizure semiology and ictal EEG patterns), neonatal recordings (including features specific for this age group), and for Critical Care EEG Terminology. SCORE...

Effect of tadalafil 5mg daily treatment on the ejaculatory times, lower urinary tract symptoms and erectile function in patients with erectile dysfunction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mehmet Karabakan

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Objective To investigate the effect of a 5mg daily tadalafil treatment on the ejaculation time, erectile function and lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS in patients with erectile dysfunction. Materials and Methods A total of 60 patients diagnosed with erectile dysfunction were retrospectively evaluated using the international index of erectile function questionnaire-5 (IIEF-5, intravaginal ejaculatory latency time (IELT and international prostate symptoms scores (IPSS. After the patients were treated with 5mg tadalafil once a day for three months, their erection, ejaculation and LUTS were assessed again. The fasting levels of blood glucose, total testosterone, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and total cholesterol were measured. The independent-samples t-test was used to compare the pre- and post-treatment scores of the patients. Results The mean age of the 60 participants was 50.4±7.9 and the mean baseline serum total testosterone, total cholesterol, and fasting blood sugar were 444.6±178.6ng dL-1, 188.7±29.6mg/dL-1,104 (80-360 mg dL-1, respectively. The mean baseline scores were 2.2±1.4 min for IELT, 9.5±3.7 for IIEF-5 and 14.1±4.5 for IPSS. Following the three-month daily 5mg tadalafil treatment, the scores were found to be 3.4±1.9 min, 16.1±4.7, and 10.4±3.8 for IELT, IIEF and IPSS, respectively. When the baseline and post-treatment scores were compared, a statistically significant increase was observed in the IELTs and IIEF-5 values whereas there was a significant decrease in IPSS (p<0.01. Conclusion A daily dose of 5mg tadalafil can be safely used in the treatment of erectile dysfunction and LUTS, that prolongs the ejaculatory latency time.

Do medical students’ scores using different assessment instruments predict their scores in clinical reasoning using a computer-based simulation?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fida M

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Mariam Fida,1 Salah Eldin Kassab2 1Department of Molecular Medicine, College of Medicine and Medical Sciences, Arabian Gulf University, Manama, Bahrain; 2Department of Medical Education, Faculty of Medicine, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt Purpose: The development of clinical problem-solving skills evolves over time and requires structured training and background knowledge. Computer-based case simulations (CCS have been used for teaching and assessment of clinical reasoning skills. However, previous studies examining the psychometric properties of CCS as an assessment tool have been controversial. Furthermore, studies reporting the integration of CCS into problem-based medical curricula have been limited. Methods: This study examined the psychometric properties of using CCS software (DxR Clinician for assessment of medical students (n=130 studying in a problem-based, integrated multisystem module (Unit IX during the academic year 2011–2012. Internal consistency reliability of CCS scores was calculated using Cronbach's alpha statistics. The relationships between students' scores in CCS components (clinical reasoning, diagnostic performance, and patient management and their scores in other examination tools at the end of the unit including multiple-choice questions, short-answer questions, objective structured clinical examination (OSCE, and real patient encounters were analyzed using stepwise hierarchical linear regression. Results: Internal consistency reliability of CCS scores was high (α=0.862. Inter-item correlations between students' scores in different CCS components and their scores in CCS and other test items were statistically significant. Regression analysis indicated that OSCE scores predicted 32.7% and 35.1% of the variance in clinical reasoning and patient management scores, respectively (P<0.01. Multiple-choice question scores, however, predicted only 15.4% of the variance in diagnostic performance scores (P<0.01, while

Answer Extraction Based on Merging Score Strategy of Hot Terms

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

LE Juan; ZHANG Chunxia; NIU Zhendong

2016-01-01

Answer extraction (AE) is one of the key technologies in developing the open domain Question&an-swer (Q&A) system . Its task is to yield the highest score to the expected answer based on an effective answer score strategy. We introduce an answer extraction method by Merging score strategy (MSS) based on hot terms. The hot terms are defined according to their lexical and syn-tactic features to highlight the role of the question terms. To cope with the syntactic diversities of the corpus, we propose four improved candidate answer score algorithms. Each of them is based on the lexical function of hot terms and their syntactic relationships with the candidate an-swers. Two independent corpus score algorithms are pro-posed to tap the role of the corpus in ranking the candi-date answers. Six algorithms are adopted in MSS to tap the complementary action among the corpus, the candi-date answers and the questions. Experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed strategy.

Selective resection of dorsal nerves of penis for premature ejaculation.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, G-X; Yu, L-P; Bai, W-J; Wang, X-F

2012-12-01

Premature ejaculation (PE) is one of the most prevalent male sexual dysfunctions. Selective resection of the dorsal nerve (SRDN) of penis has recently been used for the treatment of PE and has shown some efficacy. To further clarify the efficacy and safety of SRDN on PE, we performed a preliminary, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical observational study. Persons with the complaints of rapid ejaculation, asking for circumcision because of redundant foreskin, intravaginal ejaculation latency time (IELT) within 2 min, not responding to antidepressant medication or disliking oral medication were randomly enrolled in two groups. From April 2007 to August 2010, a total of 101 eligible persons were enrolled, 40 of them received SRDN which dorsal nerves of the penis were selectively resected, and those (n = 61) enrolled in the control group were circumcised only. IELT and the Brief Male Sexual Function Inventory (BMSFI) questionnaire were implemented pre- and post-operatively for the evaluation of the effect and safety of the surgery. There are no statistically significant differences in the baseline data including mean ages, mean IELTs, perceived control abilities and the BMSFI mean scores between the two groups. With regard to the post-operative data of the surgery, both IELTs and perceived control abilities were significantly increased after SRDN (1.1 ± 0.9 min vs. 3.8 ± 3.1 min for pre- and post-operative IELT, respectively, p 0.05). Also, there were no statistically significant differences both in BMSFI composite and subscale scores between the two groups after surgery. Hence, we conclude that SRDN is effective in delaying ejaculation and improving ejaculatory control, whereas erectile function is not affected. The results imply that SRDN may be an alternative method for the treatment of PE for some patients. © 2012 The Authors. International Journal of Andrology © 2012 European Academy of Andrology.

Are the MDS-UPDRS-based composite scores clinically applicable?

Science.gov (United States)

Makkos, Attila; Kovács, Márton; Aschermann, Zsuzsanna; Harmat, Márk; Janszky, József; Karádi, Kázmér; Kovács, Norbert

2018-02-28

The International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society-sponsored UPDRS (MDS-UPDRS) is a powerful clinical outcome measure. To evaluate the feasibility of various MDS-UPDRS-based composite scores and determine their minimal clinically important difference threshold values. Overall, 1,113 paired investigations of 452 patients were reviewed implementing three different techniques simultaneously. Based on the ordinal regression modeling, the MDS-UPDRS II+III, MDS-UPDRS I+II+III, and the total score of MDS-UPDRS are clinically applicable outcome measures. Any improvement greater than 4.9 points or any worsening more than 4.2 points on MDS-UPDRS II+III represent a minimal, yet clinically meaningful, change. In reference to MDS-UPDRS I+II+III, the smallest changes considered clinically relevant were 6.7 and 5.2 points for improvement and deterioration, respectively. The thresholds for the total score of MDS-UPDRS were 7.1 points for improvement and 6.3 points for worsening. Our findings support the application of various MDS-UPDRS-based composite scores. © 2018 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society. © 2018 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.

The Efficacy and Safety of On-demand Tramadol and Paroxetine Use in Treatment of Life Long Premature Ejaculation: A Randomized Double-blind Placebo-controlled Clinical Trial

Science.gov (United States)

Hamidi-Madani, Ali; Motiee, Reza; Mokhtari, Gholamreza; Nasseh, Hamidreza; Esmaeili, Samaneh; Kazemnezhad, Ehsan

2018-01-01

Background: Several medical therapies have been proposed for the treatment of premature ejaculation (PE). Paroxetine and tramadol were both reported to be effective in treatment of PE. In this study, the therapeutic effects of tramadol, paroxetine and placebo were compared in treatment of primary PE. Methods: In this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial, 150 patients were divided into 3 groups. One group was treated with tramadol 50 mg ondemand, the other group took paroxetine 20 mg on-demand and the third group was treated with placebo. Before starting treatment and after 12 weeks, patients were asked to measure their average intravaginal ejaculation latency time (IELT) and fill the PEP (Premature Ejaculation Profile) questionnaire. Results: At the end of the 12th week, the mean IELT and average of PEP scores improved in all 3 groups. The increase in tramadol group was significantly higher than the paroxetine and placebo groups (pIELT and PEP scores in all 3 groups, the rate of improvement in tramadol group was significantly more than the others. Thus, tramadol may be considered as an appropriate alternative therapeutic option for lifelong PE. PMID:29850442

Standardized Computer-based Organized Reporting of EEG: SCORE

Science.gov (United States)

Beniczky, Sándor; Aurlien, Harald; Brøgger, Jan C; Fuglsang-Frederiksen, Anders; Martins-da-Silva, António; Trinka, Eugen; Visser, Gerhard; Rubboli, Guido; Hjalgrim, Helle; Stefan, Hermann; Rosén, Ingmar; Zarubova, Jana; Dobesberger, Judith; Alving, Jørgen; Andersen, Kjeld V; Fabricius, Martin; Atkins, Mary D; Neufeld, Miri; Plouin, Perrine; Marusic, Petr; Pressler, Ronit; Mameniskiene, Ruta; Hopfengärtner, Rüdiger; Emde Boas, Walter; Wolf, Peter

2013-01-01

The electroencephalography (EEG) signal has a high complexity, and the process of extracting clinically relevant features is achieved by visual analysis of the recordings. The interobserver agreement in EEG interpretation is only moderate. This is partly due to the method of reporting the findings in free-text format. The purpose of our endeavor was to create a computer-based system for EEG assessment and reporting, where the physicians would construct the reports by choosing from predefined elements for each relevant EEG feature, as well as the clinical phenomena (for video-EEG recordings). A working group of EEG experts took part in consensus workshops in Dianalund, Denmark, in 2010 and 2011. The faculty was approved by the Commission on European Affairs of the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE). The working group produced a consensus proposal that went through a pan-European review process, organized by the European Chapter of the International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. The Standardised Computer-based Organised Reporting of EEG (SCORE) software was constructed based on the terms and features of the consensus statement and it was tested in the clinical practice. The main elements of SCORE are the following: personal data of the patient, referral data, recording conditions, modulators, background activity, drowsiness and sleep, interictal findings, “episodes” (clinical or subclinical events), physiologic patterns, patterns of uncertain significance, artifacts, polygraphic channels, and diagnostic significance. The following specific aspects of the neonatal EEGs are scored: alertness, temporal organization, and spatial organization. For each EEG finding, relevant features are scored using predefined terms. Definitions are provided for all EEG terms and features. SCORE can potentially improve the quality of EEG assessment and reporting; it will help incorporate the results of computer-assisted analysis into the report, it will make

Premature ejaculation: bother and intravaginal ejaculatory latency time in Iran.

Science.gov (United States)

Zargooshi, Javaad

2009-12-01

Complaints of premature ejaculation (PE) and its repercussions are culture-dependent. To report the measured intravaginal ejaculatory latency time (IELT) and the impact of PE in Kermanshah, Iran. From November 1996 through October 2008, 3,458 patients presented to us with self-diagnosed PE. In the first visit, after obtaining a psychosocial and sexual history, PE-specific bother was self-rated by the patients and the patients were advised to measure their IELTs over the next 2-3 weeks. In the second visit, the measured IELTs were reported by the patients. Patients' measured IELT and bother score. Age range was 17-80 years (mean 34.1, standard deviation [SD] 9.1, median 32). Sixty-five percent were married. Primary and secondary PE was reported by 2,105 (60.8%) and 1,353 (39.1%) patients, respectively. Occasional PE was reported by 36 (0.01%). Of those with multiple partners, 6% had partner-specific PE. IELT distribution was positively skewed. Anteportal ejaculation was reported by 97 (2.8%). In 3,458 self-reported PE patients, IELT was 1-15 seconds in 542 (15.7%), 16-30 seconds in 442 (12.8%), 31-60 seconds in 978 (28.3%), > 1 2 5 minutes in 136 (3.9%). IELTs of IELT and bother (r = -0.607) was highly negative, with shorter IELTs being correlated with more bother. Six hundred forty-three patients (18.6%) always consumed opium to lengthen their IELTs. All 21 patients who started to use Tramadol as a PE treatment became addicted to it. Of 168 divorced couples due to PE, 23 divorced because the sexually dissatisfied wives became involved in extramarital affairs. Applying the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders criteria for PE and a cutoff IELT point of IELTs of longer than 2 minutes, the patients with occasional PE, and the patients who reported no personal bother, of 3,458 self-reported PE patients, 2,571 (74.3%) had PE. Including the 97 patients with anteportal ejaculation, arithmetic mean IELT in 2,571 patients was 45.87 seconds, SD 36.1, median

Comparability of Computer-based and Paper-based Versions of Writing Section of PET in Iranian EFL Context

OpenAIRE

Mohammad Mohammadi; Masoud Barzgaran

2010-01-01

Computer technology has provided language testing experts with opportunity to develop computerized versions of traditional paper-based language tests. New generations of TOEFL and Cambridge IELTS, BULATS, KET, PET are good examples of computer-based language tests. Since this new method of testing introduces new factors into the realm of language assessment ( e.g. modes of test delivery, familiarity with computer, etc.),the question may be whether the two modes of computer- and paper-based te...

Standardized computer-based organized reporting of EEG:SCORE

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Beniczky, Sandor; H, Aurlien,; JC, Brøgger,

2013-01-01

process, organized by the European Chapter of the International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. The Standardised Computer-based Organised Reporting of EEG (SCORE) software was constructed based on the terms and features of the consensus statement and it was tested in the clinical practice...... in free-text format. The purpose of our endeavor was to create a computer-based system for EEG assessment and reporting, where the physicians would construct the reports by choosing from predefined elements for each relevant EEG feature, as well as the clinical phenomena (for video-EEG recordings....... SCORE can potentially improve the quality of EEG assessment and reporting; it will help incorporate the results of computer-assisted analysis into the report, it will make possible the build-up of a multinational database, and it will help in training young neurophysiologists....

Feature and score fusion based multiple classifier selection for iris recognition.

Science.gov (United States)

Islam, Md Rabiul

2014-01-01

The aim of this work is to propose a new feature and score fusion based iris recognition approach where voting method on Multiple Classifier Selection technique has been applied. Four Discrete Hidden Markov Model classifiers output, that is, left iris based unimodal system, right iris based unimodal system, left-right iris feature fusion based multimodal system, and left-right iris likelihood ratio score fusion based multimodal system, is combined using voting method to achieve the final recognition result. CASIA-IrisV4 database has been used to measure the performance of the proposed system with various dimensions. Experimental results show the versatility of the proposed system of four different classifiers with various dimensions. Finally, recognition accuracy of the proposed system has been compared with existing N hamming distance score fusion approach proposed by Ma et al., log-likelihood ratio score fusion approach proposed by Schmid et al., and single level feature fusion approach proposed by Hollingsworth et al.

Feature and Score Fusion Based Multiple Classifier Selection for Iris Recognition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Md. Rabiul Islam

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of this work is to propose a new feature and score fusion based iris recognition approach where voting method on Multiple Classifier Selection technique has been applied. Four Discrete Hidden Markov Model classifiers output, that is, left iris based unimodal system, right iris based unimodal system, left-right iris feature fusion based multimodal system, and left-right iris likelihood ratio score fusion based multimodal system, is combined using voting method to achieve the final recognition result. CASIA-IrisV4 database has been used to measure the performance of the proposed system with various dimensions. Experimental results show the versatility of the proposed system of four different classifiers with various dimensions. Finally, recognition accuracy of the proposed system has been compared with existing N hamming distance score fusion approach proposed by Ma et al., log-likelihood ratio score fusion approach proposed by Schmid et al., and single level feature fusion approach proposed by Hollingsworth et al.

Effects of Adult Male Circumcision on Premature Ejaculation: Results from a Prospective Study in China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jingjing Gao

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of adult male circumcision on premature ejaculation (PE. Therefore, between December 2009 and March 2014, a total of 575 circumcised men and 623 uncircumcised men (control group were evaluated. Detailed evaluations (including circumcision and control groups on PE were conducted before circumcision and at the 3-, 6-, 9-, and 12-month follow-up visits after circumcision. Self-estimated intravaginal ejaculatory latency time (IELT, Patient-Reported Outcome measures, and 5-item version of the International Index of Erectile Function were used to measure the ejaculatory and erectile function for all subjects. The results showed that, during the one-year follow-up, men after circumcision experienced higher IELT and better scores of control over ejaculation, satisfaction with sexual intercourse, and severity of PE than men before circumcision (P<0.001 for all. Similarly, when compared with the control group, the circumcised men reported significantly improved IELT, control over ejaculation, and satisfaction with sexual intercourse (P<0.001 for all. These findings suggested that circumcision might have positive effects on IELT, ejaculatory control, sexual satisfaction, and PE severity. In addition, circumcision was significantly associated with the development of PE.

Escitalopram treatment for premature ejaculation has a negative effect on semen parameters.

Science.gov (United States)

Koyuncu, H; Serefoglu, E C; Yencilek, E; Atalay, H; Akbas, N B; Sarıca, K

2011-01-01

The aim of this study was to determine the impact of long-term escitalopram treatment on semen parameters of patients with lifelong premature ejaculation (PE). Between November 2008 and January 2010, patients admitted to urology outpatient clinic with a self-reported complaint of PE were evaluated. Medical and sexual history of patients were recorded and patients with lifelong PE (a total of 25 patients) who met the International Society of Sexual Medicine definition were asked to record their intravaginal ejaculatory latency time (IELT) for 1 month, complete Premature Ejaculation Diagnostic Tool (PEDT) questionnaire and give semen samples. Afterwards, patients received 10 mg escitalopram daily for 12 weeks and were invited for control visits at first and third month of treatment. During control visits, PEDT was administered again whereas IELTs were recorded and semen samples were re-examined. PEDT scores, arithmetic means of IELTs and results of semen analyses, which were recorded at baseline, first and third month were compared. At the third month of treatment, a significant increase in mean IELTs and a significant decrease in PEDT scores were detected. However there was a significant decrease in sperm concentration, motility and morphology when compared with the baseline semen measures. Daily escitalopram treatment effects the semen parameters of patients with lifelong PE. Further investigations with larger series are needed to see whether other serotonin reuptake inhibitors have similar side effects and to expose the exact mechanism underlying it. Different treatment modalities should be suggested to patients who desire fertility.

RHM 1(2).indb

African Journals Online (AJOL)

mike

Research in Hospitality Management 2012, 1(2): 53–63 ... Strategies used to incorporate source materials also remained largely unchanged, with learners ..... score (as is the case in IELTS). ...... Introduction: situating the concept of practice.

Optimal protein library design using recombination or point mutations based on sequence-based scoring functions.

Science.gov (United States)

Pantazes, Robert J; Saraf, Manish C; Maranas, Costas D

2007-08-01

In this paper, we introduce and test two new sequence-based protein scoring systems (i.e. S1, S2) for assessing the likelihood that a given protein hybrid will be functional. By binning together amino acids with similar properties (i.e. volume, hydrophobicity and charge) the scoring systems S1 and S2 allow for the quantification of the severity of mismatched interactions in the hybrids. The S2 scoring system is found to be able to significantly functionally enrich a cytochrome P450 library over other scoring methods. Given this scoring base, we subsequently constructed two separate optimization formulations (i.e. OPTCOMB and OPTOLIGO) for optimally designing protein combinatorial libraries involving recombination or mutations, respectively. Notably, two separate versions of OPTCOMB are generated (i.e. model M1, M2) with the latter allowing for position-dependent parental fragment skipping. Computational benchmarking results demonstrate the efficacy of models OPTCOMB and OPTOLIGO to generate high scoring libraries of a prespecified size.

Association between value-based purchasing score and hospital characteristics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Borah Bijan J

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Medicare hospital Value-based purchasing (VBP program that links Medicare payments to quality of care will become effective from 2013. It is unclear whether specific hospital characteristics are associated with a hospital’s VBP score, and consequently incentive payments. The objective of the study was to assess the association of hospital characteristics with (i the mean VBP score, and (ii specific percentiles of the VBP score distribution. The secondary objective was to quantify the associations of hospital characteristics with the VBP score components: clinical process of care (CPC score and patient satisfaction score. Methods Observational analysis that used data from three sources: Medicare Hospital Compare Database, American Hospital Association 2010 Annual Survey and Medicare Impact File. The final study sample included 2,491 U.S. acute care hospitals eligible for the VBP program. The association of hospital characteristics with the mean VBP score and specific VBP score percentiles were assessed by ordinary least square (OLS regression and quantile regression (QR, respectively. Results VBP score had substantial variations, with mean score of 30 and 60 in the first and fourth quartiles of the VBP score distribution. For-profit status (vs. non-profit, smaller bed size (vs. 100–199 beds, East South Central region (vs. New England region and the report of specific CPC measures (discharge instructions, timely provision of antibiotics and beta blockers, and serum glucose controls in cardiac surgery patients were positively associated with mean VBP scores (p Conclusions Although hospitals serving the poor and the elderly are more likely to score lower under the VBP program, the correlation appears small. Profit status, geographic regions, number and type of CPC measures reported explain the most variation among scores.

The high-density lipoprotein-adjusted SCORE model worsens SCORE-based risk classification in a contemporary population of 30 824 Europeans

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mortensen, Martin B; Afzal, Shoaib; Nordestgaard, Børge G

2015-01-01

.8 years of follow-up, 339 individuals died of CVD. In the SCORE target population (age 40-65; n = 30,824), fewer individuals were at baseline categorized as high risk (≥5% 10-year risk of fatal CVD) using SCORE-HDL compared with SCORE (10 vs. 17% in men, 1 vs. 3% in women). SCORE-HDL did not improve...... with SCORE, but deteriorated risk classification based on NRI. Future guidelines should consider lower decision thresholds and prioritize CVD morbidity and people above age 65....

Possible role of serum testosterone, gonadotropins and prolactin in patients with premature ejaculation.

Science.gov (United States)

Abu El-Hamd, M; Farah, A

2018-02-01

Premature ejaculation (PE) is the most common male sexual dysfunction. This study aimed to investigate the role of serum testosterone, gonadotropins and prolactin in patients with PE. In a prospective a case-controlled study, it was conducted on 90 male patients with PE and 90 male healthy participants as controls. Patients were evaluated by Premature Ejaculation Diagnostic Tool (PEDT) and intravaginal ejaculatory latency time (IELT). Patients with mean IELT values ≤60 s and PEDT total scores ≥11 were considered to have PE. Serum levels of total testosterone (TT), free testosterone (FT), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinising hormone (LH) and prolactin (PL) were investigated in patients with PE and controls. There was no statistically significant difference between patients with PE and controls regarding the serum levels of TT, FT, FSH, LH and PL (p value ˃.05). There was no significant correlation between the sex hormones levels (TT, FT, FSH, LH and PL) and (age, body mass index (BMI), IELTS and total PEDT scores of the patients; p value ˃.05). This study concluded that there was no disturbance in serum levels of testosterone, gonadotropins and prolactin in patients with PE and controls. These hormones could not relate to pathogenesis of PE. © 2017 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

The Efficacy and Safety of On-demand Tramadol and Paroxetine Use in Treatment of Life Long Premature Ejaculation: A Randomized Double-blind Placebo-controlled Clinical Trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Hamidi-Madani, Ali; Motiee, Reza; Mokhtari, Gholamreza; Nasseh, Hamidreza; Esmaeili, Samaneh; Kazemnezhad, Ehsan

2018-01-01

Several medical therapies have been proposed for the treatment of premature ejaculation (PE). Paroxetine and tramadol were both reported to be effective in treatment of PE. In this study, the therapeutic effects of tramadol, paroxetine and placebo were compared in treatment of primary PE. In this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial, 150 patients were divided into 3 groups. One group was treated with tramadol 50 mg ondemand, the other group took paroxetine 20 mg on-demand and the third group was treated with placebo. Before starting treatment and after 12 weeks, patients were asked to measure their average intravaginal ejaculation latency time (IELT) and fill the PEP (Premature Ejaculation Profile) questionnaire. At the end of the 12th week, the mean IELT and average of PEP scores improved in all 3 groups. The increase in tramadol group was significantly higher than the paroxetine and placebo groups (p<0.0001). There were no significant differences in terms of side effects between the 3 groups. The results showed that despite an increase in mean IELT and PEP scores in all 3 groups, the rate of improvement in tramadol group was significantly more than the others. Thus, tramadol may be considered as an appropriate alternative therapeutic option for lifelong PE.

dBBQs: dataBase of Bacterial Quality scores.

Science.gov (United States)

Wanchai, Visanu; Patumcharoenpol, Preecha; Nookaew, Intawat; Ussery, David

2017-12-28

It is well-known that genome sequencing technologies are becoming significantly cheaper and faster. As a result of this, the exponential growth in sequencing data in public databases allows us to explore ever growing large collections of genome sequences. However, it is less known that the majority of available sequenced genome sequences in public databases are not complete, drafts of varying qualities. We have calculated quality scores for around 100,000 bacterial genomes from all major genome repositories and put them in a fast and easy-to-use database. Prokaryotic genomic data from all sources were collected and combined to make a non-redundant set of bacterial genomes. The genome quality score for each was calculated by four different measurements: assembly quality, number of rRNA and tRNA genes, and the occurrence of conserved functional domains. The dataBase of Bacterial Quality scores (dBBQs) was designed to store and retrieve quality scores. It offers fast searching and download features which the result can be used for further analysis. In addition, the search results are shown in interactive JavaScript chart framework using DC.js. The analysis of quality scores across major public genome databases find that around 68% of the genomes are of acceptable quality for many uses. dBBQs (available at http://arc-gem.uams.edu/dbbqs ) provides genome quality scores for all available prokaryotic genome sequences with a user-friendly Web-interface. These scores can be used as cut-offs to get a high-quality set of genomes for testing bioinformatics tools or improving the analysis. Moreover, all data of the four measurements that were combined to make the quality score for each genome, which can potentially be used for further analysis. dBBQs will be updated regularly and is freely use for non-commercial purpose.

Non-localization and localization ROC analyses using clinically based scoring

Science.gov (United States)

Paquerault, Sophie; Samuelson, Frank W.; Myers, Kyle J.; Smith, Robert C.

2009-02-01

We are investigating the potential for differences in study conclusions when assessing the estimated impact of a computer-aided detection (CAD) system on readers' performance. The data utilized in this investigation were derived from a multi-reader multi-case observer study involving one hundred mammographic background images to which fixed-size and fixed-intensity Gaussian signals were added, generating a low- and high-intensity signal sets. The study setting allowed CAD assessment in two situations: when CAD sensitivity was 1) superior or 2) lower than the average reader. Seven readers were asked to review each set in the unaided and CAD-aided reading modes, mark and rate their findings. Using this data, we studied the effect on study conclusion of three clinically-based receiver operating characteristic (ROC) scoring definitions. These scoring definitions included both location-specific and non-location-specific rules. The results showed agreement in the estimated impact of CAD on the overall reader performance. In the study setting where CAD sensitivity is superior to the average reader, the mean difference in AUC between the CAD-aided read and unaided read was 0.049 (95%CIs: -0.027; 0.130) for the image scoring definition that is based on non-location-specific rules, and 0.104 (95%CIs: 0.036; 0.174) and 0.090 (95%CIs: 0.031; 0.155) for image scoring definitions that are based on location-specific rules. The increases in AUC were statistically significant for the location-specific scoring definitions. It was further observed that the variance on these estimates was reduced when using the location-specific scoring definitions compared to that using a non-location-specific scoring definition. In the study setting where CAD sensitivity is equivalent or lower than the average reader, the mean differences in AUC are slightly above 0.01 for all image scoring definitions. These increases in AUC were not statistical significant for any of the image scoring definitions

Developing points-based risk-scoring systems in the presence of competing risks.

Science.gov (United States)

Austin, Peter C; Lee, Douglas S; D'Agostino, Ralph B; Fine, Jason P

2016-09-30

Predicting the occurrence of an adverse event over time is an important issue in clinical medicine. Clinical prediction models and associated points-based risk-scoring systems are popular statistical methods for summarizing the relationship between a multivariable set of patient risk factors and the risk of the occurrence of an adverse event. Points-based risk-scoring systems are popular amongst physicians as they permit a rapid assessment of patient risk without the use of computers or other electronic devices. The use of such points-based risk-scoring systems facilitates evidence-based clinical decision making. There is a growing interest in cause-specific mortality and in non-fatal outcomes. However, when considering these types of outcomes, one must account for competing risks whose occurrence precludes the occurrence of the event of interest. We describe how points-based risk-scoring systems can be developed in the presence of competing events. We illustrate the application of these methods by developing risk-scoring systems for predicting cardiovascular mortality in patients hospitalized with acute myocardial infarction. Code in the R statistical programming language is provided for the implementation of the described methods. © 2016 The Authors. Statistics in Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. © 2016 The Authors. Statistics in Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

"Score the Core" Web-based pathologist training tool improves the accuracy of breast cancer IHC4 scoring.

Science.gov (United States)

Engelberg, Jesse A; Retallack, Hanna; Balassanian, Ronald; Dowsett, Mitchell; Zabaglo, Lila; Ram, Arishneel A; Apple, Sophia K; Bishop, John W; Borowsky, Alexander D; Carpenter, Philip M; Chen, Yunn-Yi; Datnow, Brian; Elson, Sarah; Hasteh, Farnaz; Lin, Fritz; Moatamed, Neda A; Zhang, Yanhong; Cardiff, Robert D

2015-11-01

Hormone receptor status is an integral component of decision-making in breast cancer management. IHC4 score is an algorithm that combines hormone receptor, HER2, and Ki-67 status to provide a semiquantitative prognostic score for breast cancer. High accuracy and low interobserver variance are important to ensure the score is accurately calculated; however, few previous efforts have been made to measure or decrease interobserver variance. We developed a Web-based training tool, called "Score the Core" (STC) using tissue microarrays to train pathologists to visually score estrogen receptor (using the 300-point H score), progesterone receptor (percent positive), and Ki-67 (percent positive). STC used a reference score calculated from a reproducible manual counting method. Pathologists in the Athena Breast Health Network and pathology residents at associated institutions completed the exercise. By using STC, pathologists improved their estrogen receptor H score and progesterone receptor and Ki-67 proportion assessment and demonstrated a good correlation between pathologist and reference scores. In addition, we collected information about pathologist performance that allowed us to compare individual pathologists and measures of agreement. Pathologists' assessment of the proportion of positive cells was closer to the reference than their assessment of the relative intensity of positive cells. Careful training and assessment should be used to ensure the accuracy of breast biomarkers. This is particularly important as breast cancer diagnostics become increasingly quantitative and reproducible. Our training tool is a novel approach for pathologist training that can serve as an important component of ongoing quality assessment and can improve the accuracy of breast cancer prognostic biomarkers. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Comparison of the Classifier Oriented Gait Score and the Gait Profile Score based on imitated gait impairments.

Science.gov (United States)

Christian, Josef; Kröll, Josef; Schwameder, Hermann

2017-06-01

Common summary measures of gait quality such as the Gait Profile Score (GPS) are based on the principle of measuring a distance from the mean pattern of a healthy reference group in a gait pattern vector space. The recently introduced Classifier Oriented Gait Score (COGS) is a pathology specific score that measures this distance in a unique direction, which is indicated by a linear classifier. This approach has potentially improved the discriminatory power to detect subtle changes in gait patterns but does not incorporate a profile of interpretable sub-scores like the GPS. The main aims of this study were to extend the COGS by decomposing it into interpretable sub-scores as realized in the GPS and to compare the discriminative power of the GPS and COGS. Two types of gait impairments were imitated to enable a high level of control of the gait patterns. Imitated impairments were realized by restricting knee extension and inducing leg length discrepancy. The results showed increased discriminatory power of the COGS for differentiating diverse levels of impairment. Comparison of the GPS and COGS sub-scores and their ability to indicate changes in specific variables supports the validity of both scores. The COGS is an overall measure of gait quality with increased power to detect subtle changes in gait patterns and might be well suited for tracing the effect of a therapeutic treatment over time. The newly introduced sub-scores improved the interpretability of the COGS, which is helpful for practical applications. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Predicting fitness to practise events in international medical graduates who registered as UK doctors via the Professional and Linguistic Assessments Board (PLAB) system: a national cohort study.

Science.gov (United States)

Tiffin, Paul A; Paton, Lewis W; Mwandigha, Lazaro M; McLachlan, John C; Illing, Jan

2017-03-20

International medical graduates working in the UK are more likely to be censured in relation to fitness to practise compared to home graduates. Performance on the General Medical Council's (GMC's) Professional and Linguistic Assessments Board (PLAB) tests and English fluency have previously been shown to predict later educational performance in this group of doctors. It is unknown whether the PLAB system is also a valid predictor of unprofessional behaviour and malpractice. The findings would have implications for regulatory policy. This was an observational study linking data relating to fitness to practise events (referral or censure), PLAB performance, demographic variables and English language competence, as evaluated via the International English Language Test System (IELTS). Data from 27,330 international medical graduates registered with the GMC were analysed, including 210 doctors who had been sanctioned in relation to at least one fitness to practise issue. The main outcome was risk of eventual censure (including a warning). The significant univariable educational predictors of eventual censure (versus no censures or referrals) were lower PLAB part 1 (hazard ratio [HR], 0.99; 95% confidence interval, 0.98 to 1.00) and part 2 scores (HR, 0.94; 0.91 to 0.97) at first sitting, multiple attempts at both parts of the PLAB, lower IELTS reading (HR, 0.79; 0.65 to 0.94) and listening scores (HR, 0.76; 0.62 to 0.93) and higher IELTS speaking scores (HR, 1.28; 1.04 to 1.57). Multiple resits at either part of the PLAB and higher IELTS speaking score (HR, 1.49; 1.20 to 1.84) were also independent predictors of censure. We estimated that the proposed limit of four attempts at both parts of the PLAB would reduce the risk in this entire group by only approximately two censures per 5 years in this group of doctors. Making the PLAB, or any replacement assessment, more stringent and raising the required standards of English reading and listening may result in fewer fitness

Machine Learning Consensus Scoring Improves Performance Across Targets in Structure-Based Virtual Screening.

Science.gov (United States)

Ericksen, Spencer S; Wu, Haozhen; Zhang, Huikun; Michael, Lauren A; Newton, Michael A; Hoffmann, F Michael; Wildman, Scott A

2017-07-24

In structure-based virtual screening, compound ranking through a consensus of scores from a variety of docking programs or scoring functions, rather than ranking by scores from a single program, provides better predictive performance and reduces target performance variability. Here we compare traditional consensus scoring methods with a novel, unsupervised gradient boosting approach. We also observed increased score variation among active ligands and developed a statistical mixture model consensus score based on combining score means and variances. To evaluate performance, we used the common performance metrics ROCAUC and EF1 on 21 benchmark targets from DUD-E. Traditional consensus methods, such as taking the mean of quantile normalized docking scores, outperformed individual docking methods and are more robust to target variation. The mixture model and gradient boosting provided further improvements over the traditional consensus methods. These methods are readily applicable to new targets in academic research and overcome the potentially poor performance of using a single docking method on a new target.

The Impact of Problem-Based Learning on Iranian EFL Learners’ Speaking Proficiency

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Loghman Ansarian

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The study investigated the effect of problem-based learning through cognition-based tasks on speaking proficiency of Iranian intermediate EFL learners in comparison to the effect of objective-based tasks. To this end, a true experimental research design was employed. Ninety five (N=95 language learners studying at a language institute in the city of Esfahan, Iran were given an IELTS listening and speaking test as the proficiency test and 75 learners were selected. In the next phase of the study, a second IELTS speaking test was administered as the homogeneity test and the pre-test to seventy five (N=75 learners chosen from the population and forty-eight (N=48 homogeneous intermediate learners were selected for the study (i.e., 24 learners in control group and 24 in experimental one. The results of an independent-sample t-test gained from the study proved that not only does implementation of problem-based learning through cognition-based tasks significantly increased intermediate participants’ speaking proficiency, but also it had more positive effect in comparison to objective-based tasks on participants’ speaking proficiency. Therefore, it is suggested that problem-based learning ought to be taken into account by educational scholars, those in charge of syllabus, material producers, language teachers and language learners. Keywords: Cognition-Based Tasks, Objective-Based Tasks, EFL Learners, Speaking Proficiency, Problem-Based Learning

A Case for Improved Reading Instruction for Academic English Reading Proficiency

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Glenn Ole Hellekjær

2008-06-01

Full Text Available This article presents a study of the academic reading proficiency in English of 217 senior level Norwegian upper secondary school students who upon graduation are considered qualified for higher education. Testing with an International English Language Testing System (IELTS Academic Reading Module revealed that two thirds of the 178 respondents with ordinary EFL courses did not achieve the equivalent of the IELTS Band 6 score minimum that is usually required for admission to British and Australian universities. In comparison, two thirds of a sample of 39 respondents with a single, sheltered Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL subject achieved a Band 6 score or better. Closer analysis indicates that the poor test scores can be attributed to weaknesses in current English as a Foreign Language (EFL instruction where reading is neglected, where students do not learn to adjust how they read to reading purpose, and where they do not learn how to handle unfamiliar words to avoid disrupting the reading process. The article ends with suggestions on how to improve EFL instruction, in Norway and elsewhere.

Opportunistic splitting for scheduling using a score-based approach

KAUST Repository

Rashid, Faraan

2012-06-01

We consider the problem of scheduling a user in a multi-user wireless environment in a distributed manner. The opportunistic splitting algorithm is applied to find the best group of users without reporting the channel state information to the centralized scheduler. The users find the best among themselves while requiring just a ternary feedback from the common receiver at the end of each mini-slot. The original splitting algorithm is modified to handle users with asymmetric channel conditions. We use a score-based approach with the splitting algorithm to introduce time and throughput fairness while exploiting the multi-user diversity of the network. Analytical and simulation results are given to show that the modified score-based splitting algorithm works well as a fair scheduling scheme with good spectral efficiency and reduced feedback. © 2012 IEEE.

INNOVATION ANALYSIS BASED ON SCORES AT THE FIRM LEVEL

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cătălin George ALEXE

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Innovation analysis based on scores (Innovation Scorecard is a simple way to get a quick diagnosis on the potential of innovation of a firm in its intention to achieve the innovation capability. It aims to identify and remedy the deficient aspects related to innovation management being used as a measuring tool for the innovation initiatives over time within the innovation audit. The paper aims to present the advantages and disadvantages of using the method, and the three approaches developed over time. Therefore, the model proposed by the consulting firm Arthur D. Little in collaboration with the European Business School, Eckelmann's model and AGGB's local model are summarized and compared. At the end of the paper, several possible solutions are proposed to improve the way of analysis based on scores.

A Randomized Double-blind Placebo-controlled Trial to Assess the Effect of Tamarind seed in Premature Ejaculation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abdulla Homayuonfar

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Background: This randomized clinical trial was aimed to evaluate the effect of oral use of tamarind seed powder as an herbal product in patients affected by premature ejaculation (PE. Materials and Methods: In this study, 75 patients randomized in tamarind group (25 patients received daily 130 mg tamarind seed powder, paroxetine group (25 patients received daily 20 mg paroxetine, and placebo group (25 patients. Patients received the treatment regimen for 4 weeks. The primary outcome was intravaginal ejaculatory latency time (IELT. The secondary outcomes were PE diagnostic tool score, sexual function using International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF, and complications. Studied sexual functions include erectile function, orgasmic function, sexual desire, intercourse satisfaction, and overall satisfaction. Results: The mean of IELT in tamarind, paroxetine, and placebo groups at baseline was 35.2 ± 26.5, 38 ± 27.6, and 44 ± 34.9 s and at the end of study was 49.5 ± 48.2, 147.4 ± 209.6, and 46.9 ± 37.6 s, respectively, which in paroxetine group significantly increased compared to other groups. IIEF scores for orgasmic function and intercourse satisfaction for paroxetine after treatment significantly increased than that of other groups. The differences between tamarind and placebo groups for studied variables were not statistically significant. The mean of increases in IELT for tamarind, paroxetine, and placebo groups was 14.35 ± 34.3, 109.4 ± 213.4, and 2.9 ± 9.3 s, respectively, which in paroxetine group was significantly higher than other groups and in tamarind group was significantly higher than placebo. Conclusions: Paroxetine was significantly better than tamarind seed powder and placebo although side effect in paroxetine was more frequent. IELT significantly more increased in tamarind group compared to placebo.

The effect of circumcision on young adult sexual function

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ming-Hsin Yang

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Whether sexual function is affected by circumcision is a subject of considerable debate among advocate and opponent opinions. We analyzed the sexual function of young men, and the differences between those who were uncircumcised and circumcised, in Taiwan. A total of 506 patients who received circumcision between January 2009 and March 2011 at the urology department in our center were enrolled. Before circumcision, the patients' sexual performances were evaluated using the International Index of Erectile Function-5 (IIEF-5, and the Brief Male Sexual Function Inventory (BMSFI questionnaires. They were evaluated using the questionnaires again, after a postoperative interval of 90 days. Furthermore, intravaginal ejaculation latency times (IELT of the patients were also measured. The IELT and scores in five main domains of the BMSFI, and IIEF, before and after circumcision, were analyzed. A total of 442 patients were available for follow up. The mean age was 25.14 ± 4.46 years (range = 19–35 years. The differences in the BMSFI scores were statistically significant (p < 0.001, especially in increasing sex drive after circumcision (p < 0.001. The IIEF-5 score showed no statistically difference before and after circumcision (p = 0.141. However, after the circumcision, the participants had more erection confidence (p < 0.001, more difficulty in maintaining erections in completing intercourse (p = 0.01, and showed lower IELT scores (p = 0.06. The sexual performance, especially with regards to sex drive and mental erection confidence, seemed to have improved among the patients after circumcision. Our findings may help urologists to better counsel young men receiving circumcisions.

Workplace-based assessments of junior doctors: do scores predict training difficulties?

Science.gov (United States)

Mitchell, Colin; Bhat, Sarita; Herbert, Anne; Baker, Paul

2011-12-01

Workplace-based assessment (WPBA) is an increasingly important part of postgraduate medical training and its results may be used as evidence of professional competence. This study evaluates the ability of WPBA to distinguish UK Foundation Programme (FP) doctors with training difficulties and its effectiveness as a surrogate marker for deficiencies in professional competence. We conducted a retrospective observational study using anonymised records for 1646 trainees in a single UK postgraduate deanery. Data for WPBAs conducted from August 2005 to April 2009 were extracted from the e-portfolio database. These data included all scores submitted by trainees in FP years 1 and 2 on mini-clinical evaluation exercise (mini-CEX), case-based discussion (CbD), direct observation of procedural skills (DOPS) and mini-peer assessment tool (mini-PAT) assessments. Records of trainees in difficulty, as identified by their educational supervisors, were tagged as index cases. Main outcome measures were odds ratios (ORs) for associations between mean WPBA scores and training difficulties. Further analyses by the reported aetiology of the training difficulty (health-, conduct- or performance-related) were performed. Of the 1646 trainees, 92 had been identified as being in difficulty. Mean CbD and mini-CEX scores were lower for trainees in difficulty and an association was found between identified training difficulties and average scores on the mini-CEX (OR = 0.54; p = 0.034) and CbD (OR = 0.39; p = 0.002). A receiver operator characteristic curve analysis of mean WPBA scores for diagnosing 'in difficulty' status yielded an area under the curve of 0.64, indicating weak predictive value. There was no statistical evidence that mean scores on DOPS and mini-PAT assessments differed between the two groups. Analysis of a large dataset of WPBA scores revealed significant associations between training difficulties and lower mean scores on both the mini-CEX and CbD. Models show that using WPBA

Liver stiffness measurement-based scoring system for significant inflammation related to chronic hepatitis B.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mei-Zhu Hong

Full Text Available Liver biopsy is indispensable because liver stiffness measurement alone cannot provide information on intrahepatic inflammation. However, the presence of fibrosis highly correlates with inflammation. We constructed a noninvasive model to determine significant inflammation in chronic hepatitis B patients by using liver stiffness measurement and serum markers.The training set included chronic hepatitis B patients (n = 327, and the validation set included 106 patients; liver biopsies were performed, liver histology was scored, and serum markers were investigated. All patients underwent liver stiffness measurement.An inflammation activity scoring system for significant inflammation was constructed. In the training set, the area under the curve, sensitivity, and specificity of the fibrosis-based activity score were 0.964, 91.9%, and 90.8% in the HBeAg(+ patients and 0.978, 85.0%, and 94.0% in the HBeAg(- patients, respectively. In the validation set, the area under the curve, sensitivity, and specificity of the fibrosis-based activity score were 0.971, 90.5%, and 92.5% in the HBeAg(+ patients and 0.977, 95.2%, and 95.8% in the HBeAg(- patients. The liver stiffness measurement-based activity score was comparable to that of the fibrosis-based activity score in both HBeAg(+ and HBeAg(- patients for recognizing significant inflammation (G ≥3.Significant inflammation can be accurately predicted by this novel method. The liver stiffness measurement-based scoring system can be used without the aid of computers and provides a noninvasive alternative for the prediction of chronic hepatitis B-related significant inflammation.

From scores to face templates: a model-based approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Mohanty, Pranab; Sarkar, Sudeep; Kasturi, Rangachar

2007-12-01

Regeneration of templates from match scores has security and privacy implications related to any biometric authentication system. We propose a novel paradigm to reconstruct face templates from match scores using a linear approach. It proceeds by first modeling the behavior of the given face recognition algorithm by an affine transformation. The goal of the modeling is to approximate the distances computed by a face recognition algorithm between two faces by distances between points, representing these faces, in an affine space. Given this space, templates from an independent image set (break-in) are matched only once with the enrolled template of the targeted subject and match scores are recorded. These scores are then used to embed the targeted subject in the approximating affine (non-orthogonal) space. Given the coordinates of the targeted subject in the affine space, the original template of the targeted subject is reconstructed using the inverse of the affine transformation. We demonstrate our ideas using three, fundamentally different, face recognition algorithms: Principal Component Analysis (PCA) with Mahalanobis cosine distance measure, Bayesian intra-extrapersonal classifier (BIC), and a feature-based commercial algorithm. To demonstrate the independence of the break-in set with the gallery set, we select face templates from two different databases: Face Recognition Grand Challenge (FRGC) and Facial Recognition Technology (FERET) Database (FERET). With an operational point set at 1 percent False Acceptance Rate (FAR) and 99 percent True Acceptance Rate (TAR) for 1,196 enrollments (FERET gallery), we show that at most 600 attempts (score computations) are required to achieve a 73 percent chance of breaking in as a randomly chosen target subject for the commercial face recognition system. With similar operational set up, we achieve a 72 percent and 100 percent chance of breaking in for the Bayesian and PCA based face recognition systems, respectively. With

Reliability of a consensus-based ultrasound score for tenosynovitis in rheumatoid arthritis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Naredo, Esperanza; D'Agostino, Maria Antonietta; Wakefield, Richard J

2013-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To produce consensus-based scoring systems for ultrasound (US) tenosynovitis and to assess the intraobserver and interobserver reliability of these scoring systems in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS: We undertook a Delphi process on US-defined tenosynovitis and US scoring system...... recruited. Ten rheumatologists expert in MSUS blindly, independently and consecutively scored for tenosynovitis in B-mode and PD mode three wrist extensor compartments, two finger flexor tendons and two ankle tendons of each patient in two rounds in a blinded fashion. Intraobserver reliability was assessed...... Doppler signal within the synovial sheath. The intraobserver reliability for tenosynovitis scoring on B-mode and PD mode was good (κ value 0.72 for B-mode; κ value 0.78 for PD mode). Interobserver reliability assessment showed good κ values for PD tenosynovitis scoring (first round, 0.64; second round, 0...

Target Detection Routine (TADER). User’s Guide.

Science.gov (United States)

1987-09-01

o System range capability subset (one record - omitted for standoff SLAR and penetrating system) o System inherent detection probability subset ( IELT ...records, i.e., one per element type) * System capability modifier subset/A=1, E=1 ( IELT records) o System capability modifier subset/A=1, E=2 ( IELT ...records) s System capability modifier subset/A=2, E=1 ( IELT records) o System capability modifier subset/A=2, E=2 ( IELT records) Unit Data Set (one set

A novel treatment modality in patients with premature ejaculation resistant to conventional methods: the neuromodulation of dorsal penile nerves by pulsed radiofrequency.

Science.gov (United States)

Basal, Seref; Goktas, Serdar; Ergin, Atilla; Yildirim, Ibrahim; Atim, Abdulkadir; Tahmaz, Lutfi; Dayanc, Murat

2010-01-01

Premature ejaculation (PE) is the most common sexual problem experienced by men, and it affects 20%-30% of them. Pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) neuromodulation has been shown to be an effective treatment for a wide range of pain conditions. We used PRF to treat PE by desensitizing dorsal penile nerves in patients resistant to conventional treatments. Fifteen patients with a lifelong history of PE, defined as an intravaginal ejaculatory latency time (IELT) of IELT and sexual satisfaction score (SSS; for patients and their partners) were obtained. The mean IELTs before and 3 weeks after procedure were 18.5 +/- 17.9 and 139.9 +/- 55.1 seconds, respectively. Side effects did not occur. Mean SSSs of patients before and after treatment were 1.3 +/- 0.3 and 4.6 +/- 0.5, and mean SSSs of partners before and after treatment were 1.3 +/- 0.4 and 4.4 +/- 0.5, respectively. In all cases, IELT and SSS were significantly increased (P < .05). None of the patients or their wives reported any treatment failure during the follow-up period. The mean follow-up time was 8.3 +/- 1.9 months. It is early to conclude that this new treatment modality might be used widely for the treatment of PE; however, because it is an innovative modality, placebo-controlled studies (eg, sham procedure), with larger numbers of patients and including assessment of penile sensitivity (eg, biothesiometry), are needed.

Slit Lamp-Based Ocular Scoring Systems in Toxicology and Drug Development: A Literature Survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Eaton, Joshua Seth; Miller, Paul E; Bentley, Ellison; Thomasy, Sara M; Murphy, Christopher J

2017-12-01

To present a survey of the features of published slit lamp-based scoring systems and their applicability in the context of modern ocular toxicology and drug development. References describing original or modified slit lamp-based scoring systems for human or veterinary clinical patients or in investigative or toxicologic research were collected following a comprehensive literature review using textbooks and online publication searches. Each system's indications and features were compiled to facilitate comparison. Literature review identified 138 original or modified scoring systems. Most (48%) were published for evaluation of the ocular surface, 34% for the general anterior segment, and 18% for the lens. Most systems were described for assessment of human patients (50%) and small albino laboratory species such as rabbits (19%), rats (12%), and mice (8%). Systems described for pigmented laboratory species and for larger species such as dogs, cats, pigs, and nonhuman primates (NHPs) were comparatively underrepresented. No systems described a lens scoring scheme specific to the dog, cat, pig, or NHP. Scoring schemes for aqueous and vitreous cells were infrequently described for laboratory species. Many slit lamp-based scoring systems have been published, but the features of each differ and complicate translation of findings between different species. Use and interpretation of any scoring system in toxicology and drug development must be done with awareness of the limitations of the system being used.

Pelvic floor muscle rehabilitation for patients with lifelong premature ejaculation: a novel therapeutic approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Pastore, Antonio L; Palleschi, Giovanni; Fuschi, Andrea; Maggioni, Cristina; Rago, Rocco; Zucchi, Alessandro; Costantini, Elisabetta; Carbone, Antonio

2014-06-01

Premature ejaculation is the most common male sexual disorder. The aim of the study was to evaluate the possible therapeutic role of pelvic floor muscle rehabilitation in patients affected by lifelong premature ejaculation. We treated 40 men with lifelong premature ejaculation, reporting, a baseline intravaginal ejaculatory latency time (IELT) ≤ 1 min, with 12-week pelvic floor muscle rehabilitation. At the end of the rehabilitation, mean IELTs were calculated to evaluate the effectiveness of the therapy. At the end of the treatment, 33 (82.5%) of the 40 patients gained control of their ejaculatory reflex, with a mean IELT of 146.2 s (range: 123.6-152.4 s). A total of 13 out of 33 (39%) patients were evaluated at 6 months follow up, and they maintained a significant IELT (112.6 s) compared with their initial IELT (mean 39.8 s). The results obtained in our subjects treated with pelvic floor rehabilitation are promising. This therapy represents an important cost reduction compared with the standard treatment (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors). Based on the present data, we propose pelvic floor muscle rehabilitation as a new, viable therapeutic option for the treatment of premature ejaculation.

An entropy-based improved k-top scoring pairs (TSP) method for ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

An entropy-based improved k-top scoring pairs (TSP) (Ik-TSP) method was presented in this study for the classification and prediction of human cancers based on gene-expression data. We compared Ik-TSP classifiers with 5 different machine learning methods and the k-TSP method based on 3 different feature selection ...

Computerized summary scoring: crowdsourcing-based latent semantic analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Haiying; Cai, Zhiqiang; Graesser, Arthur C

2017-11-03

In this study we developed and evaluated a crowdsourcing-based latent semantic analysis (LSA) approach to computerized summary scoring (CSS). LSA is a frequently used mathematical component in CSS, where LSA similarity represents the extent to which the to-be-graded target summary is similar to a model summary or a set of exemplar summaries. Researchers have proposed different formulations of the model summary in previous studies, such as pregraded summaries, expert-generated summaries, or source texts. The former two methods, however, require substantial human time, effort, and costs in order to either grade or generate summaries. Using source texts does not require human effort, but it also does not predict human summary scores well. With human summary scores as the gold standard, in this study we evaluated the crowdsourcing LSA method by comparing it with seven other LSA methods that used sets of summaries from different sources (either experts or crowdsourced) of differing quality, along with source texts. Results showed that crowdsourcing LSA predicted human summary scores as well as expert-good and crowdsourcing-good summaries, and better than the other methods. A series of analyses with different numbers of crowdsourcing summaries demonstrated that the number (from 10 to 100) did not significantly affect performance. These findings imply that crowdsourcing LSA is a promising approach to CSS, because it saves human effort in generating the model summary while still yielding comparable performance. This approach to small-scale CSS provides a practical solution for instructors in courses, and also advances research on automated assessments in which student responses are expected to semantically converge on subject matter content.

Toward Evidence-Based Genetic Research on Lifelong Premature Ejaculation: A Critical Evaluation of Methodology

Science.gov (United States)

2011-01-01

Recently, four premature ejaculation (PE) subtypes have been distinguished on the basis of the duration of the intravaginal ejaculation latency time (IELT). These four PE subtypes have different etiologies and pathogeneses. Genetic research on PE should consider the existence of these PE subtypes and the accurate measurement of the IELT with a stopwatch. Currently, three methods of genetic research on PE have been used. They differ in the investigated population, tool of measurement, study design, and variables of PE. From animal and human research, it is derived that the central serotonergic system "modulates" ejaculation, whereas the ejaculation (reflex) itself is probably not under direct influence of the serotonergic system, but rather under the influence of other neurotransmitter systems in the spinal cord. For genetic research on PE, it is important to take into account that the (serotonergic) modulation of the IELT is variable among men and may even be absent. This means that serotonergic genetic polymorphisms may only be found in men with PE who respond with an ejaculation delay treatment with a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor. PMID:21344023

Accounting for Intraligand Interactions in Flexible Ligand Docking with a PMF-Based Scoring Function.

Science.gov (United States)

Lizunov, A Y; Gonchar, A L; Zaitseva, N I; Zosimov, V V

2015-10-26

We analyzed the frequency with which intraligand contacts occurred in a set of 1300 protein-ligand complexes [ Plewczynski et al. J. Comput. Chem. 2011 , 32 , 742 - 755 .]. Our analysis showed that flexible ligands often form intraligand hydrophobic contacts, while intraligand hydrogen bonds are rare. The test set was also thoroughly investigated and classified. We suggest a universal method for enhancement of a scoring function based on a potential of mean force (PMF-based score) by adding a term accounting for intraligand interactions. The method was implemented via in-house developed program, utilizing an Algo_score scoring function [ Ramensky et al. Proteins: Struct., Funct., Genet. 2007 , 69 , 349 - 357 .] based on the Tarasov-Muryshev PMF [ Muryshev et al. J. Comput.-Aided Mol. Des. 2003 , 17 , 597 - 605 .]. The enhancement of the scoring function was shown to significantly improve the docking and scoring quality for flexible ligands in the test set of 1300 protein-ligand complexes [ Plewczynski et al. J. Comput. Chem. 2011 , 32 , 742 - 755 .]. We then investigated the correlation of the docking results with two parameters of intraligand interactions estimation. These parameters are the weight of intraligand interactions and the minimum number of bonds between the ligand atoms required to take their interaction into account.

Sample size calculation to externally validate scoring systems based on logistic regression models.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Antonio Palazón-Bru

Full Text Available A sample size containing at least 100 events and 100 non-events has been suggested to validate a predictive model, regardless of the model being validated and that certain factors can influence calibration of the predictive model (discrimination, parameterization and incidence. Scoring systems based on binary logistic regression models are a specific type of predictive model.The aim of this study was to develop an algorithm to determine the sample size for validating a scoring system based on a binary logistic regression model and to apply it to a case study.The algorithm was based on bootstrap samples in which the area under the ROC curve, the observed event probabilities through smooth curves, and a measure to determine the lack of calibration (estimated calibration index were calculated. To illustrate its use for interested researchers, the algorithm was applied to a scoring system, based on a binary logistic regression model, to determine mortality in intensive care units.In the case study provided, the algorithm obtained a sample size with 69 events, which is lower than the value suggested in the literature.An algorithm is provided for finding the appropriate sample size to validate scoring systems based on binary logistic regression models. This could be applied to determine the sample size in other similar cases.

NCACO-score: An effective main-chain dependent scoring function for structure modeling

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dong Xiaoxi

2011-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Development of effective scoring functions is a critical component to the success of protein structure modeling. Previously, many efforts have been dedicated to the development of scoring functions. Despite these efforts, development of an effective scoring function that can achieve both good accuracy and fast speed still presents a grand challenge. Results Based on a coarse-grained representation of a protein structure by using only four main-chain atoms: N, Cα, C and O, we develop a knowledge-based scoring function, called NCACO-score, that integrates different structural information to rapidly model protein structure from sequence. In testing on the Decoys'R'Us sets, we found that NCACO-score can effectively recognize native conformers from their decoys. Furthermore, we demonstrate that NCACO-score can effectively guide fragment assembly for protein structure prediction, which has achieved a good performance in building the structure models for hard targets from CASP8 in terms of both accuracy and speed. Conclusions Although NCACO-score is developed based on a coarse-grained model, it is able to discriminate native conformers from decoy conformers with high accuracy. NCACO is a very effective scoring function for structure modeling.

Detecting determinism with improved sensitivity in time series: rank-based nonlinear predictability score.

Science.gov (United States)

Naro, Daniel; Rummel, Christian; Schindler, Kaspar; Andrzejak, Ralph G

2014-09-01

The rank-based nonlinear predictability score was recently introduced as a test for determinism in point processes. We here adapt this measure to time series sampled from time-continuous flows. We use noisy Lorenz signals to compare this approach against a classical amplitude-based nonlinear prediction error. Both measures show an almost identical robustness against Gaussian white noise. In contrast, when the amplitude distribution of the noise has a narrower central peak and heavier tails than the normal distribution, the rank-based nonlinear predictability score outperforms the amplitude-based nonlinear prediction error. For this type of noise, the nonlinear predictability score has a higher sensitivity for deterministic structure in noisy signals. It also yields a higher statistical power in a surrogate test of the null hypothesis of linear stochastic correlated signals. We show the high relevance of this improved performance in an application to electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings from epilepsy patients. Here the nonlinear predictability score again appears of higher sensitivity to nonrandomness. Importantly, it yields an improved contrast between signals recorded from brain areas where the first ictal EEG signal changes were detected (focal EEG signals) versus signals recorded from brain areas that were not involved at seizure onset (nonfocal EEG signals).

A multinational population survey of intravaginal ejaculation latency time.

Science.gov (United States)

Waldinger, Marcel D; Quinn, Paul; Dilleen, Maria; Mundayat, Rajiv; Schweitzer, Dave H; Boolell, Mitradev

2005-07-01

Intravaginal ejaculation latency time (IELT), defined as the time between the start of vaginal intromission and the start of intravaginal ejaculation, is increasingly used in clinical trials to assess the amount of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor-induced ejaculation delay in men with premature ejaculation. Prospectively, stopwatch assessment of IELTs has superior accuracy compared with retrospective questionnaire and spontaneous reported latency. However, the IELT distribution in the general male population has not been previously assessed. To determine the stopwatch assessed-IELT distribution in large random male cohorts of different countries. A total of 500 couples were recruited from five countries: the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Spain, Turkey, and the United States. Enrolled men were aged 18 years or older, had a stable heterosexual relationship for at least 6 months, with regular sexual intercourse. The surveyed population were not included or excluded by their ejaculatory status and comorbidities. This survey was performed on a "normal" general population. Sexual events and stopwatch-timed IELTs during a 4-week period were recorded, as well as circumcision status and condom use. The IELT, circumcision status, and condom use. The distribution of the IELT in all the five countries was positively skewed, with a median IELT of 5.4 minutes (range, 0.55-44.1 minutes). The median IELT decreased significantly with age, from 6.5 minutes in the 18-30 years group, to 4.3 minutes in the group older than 51 years (PIELT varied between countries, with the median value for Turkey being the lowest, i.e., 3.7 minutes (0.9-30.4 minutes), which was significantly different from each of the other countries. Comparison of circumcised (N=98) and not-circumcised (N=261) men in countries excluding Turkey resulted in median IELT values of 6.7 minutes (0.7-44.1 minutes) in circumcised compared with 6.0 minutes (0.5-37.4 minutes) in not-circumcised men (not significant). The

Effect of SSRI antidepressants on ejaculation: a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study with fluoxetine, fluvoxamine, paroxetine, and sertraline.

Science.gov (United States)

Waldinger, M D; Hengeveld, M W; Zwinderman, A H; Olivier, B

1998-08-01

Depression is a common cause of sexual dysfunction, but also antidepressant medication is often associated with sexual side effects. This article includes two related studies. The first double-blind, placebo-controlled study was conducted in men with lifelong rapid ejaculation and aimed to assess putative differences between the major selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) (fluoxetine, fluvoxamine, paroxetine, and sertraline) with regard to their ejaculation-delaying effect. Sixty men with an intravaginal ejaculation latency time (IELT) of 1 minute or less were randomly assigned to receive fluoxetine 20 mg/day, fluvoxamine 100 mg/day, paroxetine 20 mg/day, sertraline 50 mg/day, or placebo for 6 weeks. During the 1-month baseline and 6-week treatment periods, the men measured their IELT at home using a stopwatch. The trial was completed by 51 men. During the 6-week treatment period, the geometric mean IELT in the placebo group was constant at approximately 20 seconds. Analysis of variance revealed a between-groups difference in the evolution of IELT delay (p = 0.0004); in the paroxetine, fluoxetine, and sertraline groups there was a gradual increase to about 110 seconds, whereas in the fluvoxamine group, IELT was increased to only approximately 40 seconds. The paroxetine, fluoxetine, and sertraline groups differed significantly (p IELT IELT > 1 minute) to investigate whether data about SSRI-induced delayed ejaculation in men with rapid ejaculation may be extrapolated to men with less-rapid ejaculation. After measurement of IELT at home (using a stopwatch) during a 1-month baseline assessment, 32 men with an IELT of 1 minute or less (group 1) or more than 1 minute (group 2) were randomly assigned to receive paroxetine 20 mg/day or placebo for 6 weeks in a double-blind manner. Patients continued to measure their IELTs at home during the 6 weeks of the study. At baseline, 24 patients consistently had IELTs of one minute or less (group 1), and eight patients

Robust LOD scores for variance component-based linkage analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Blangero, J; Williams, J T; Almasy, L

2000-01-01

The variance component method is now widely used for linkage analysis of quantitative traits. Although this approach offers many advantages, the importance of the underlying assumption of multivariate normality of the trait distribution within pedigrees has not been studied extensively. Simulation studies have shown that traits with leptokurtic distributions yield linkage test statistics that exhibit excessive Type I error when analyzed naively. We derive analytical formulae relating the deviation from the expected asymptotic distribution of the lod score to the kurtosis and total heritability of the quantitative trait. A simple correction constant yields a robust lod score for any deviation from normality and for any pedigree structure, and effectively eliminates the problem of inflated Type I error due to misspecification of the underlying probability model in variance component-based linkage analysis.

Perceptions of the Selection Criteria of Omani English Language Teachers: Implications for Policy Reconsideration

Science.gov (United States)

Al-Issa, Ali; Al-Bulushi, Ali; Al-Zadjali, Rima

2017-01-01

Proficiency in the English language has been described as central for determining Non-Native English Speaking Teachers (N-NESTs) selection for joining the profession. The Ministry of Education in the Sultanate of Oman decided to set the score of Band 6 on the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) for accepting the English Language…

The Types and Nature of Questions vis-à-vis Students' Test-Taking Skills as Significant Indicators of Second Language Examinees? Performance on the TOEFL-ITP Reading Comprehension Sub-Test

Science.gov (United States)

Perez-Amurao, Analiza

2011-01-01

This study examines the reading performance of selected students at the Pre-College program of the Mahidol University International College (PC-MUIC) as they are required to attain a score of 520 in the TOEFL-ITP (or equivalent performance in IELTS) to enter MUIC. Specifically, this research aims to evaluate whether the reading skills that…

The Impact of Vocabulary Knowledge Level on EFL Reading Comprehension

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shima Kameli

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The present study examined the impact of vocabulary knowledge level on reading comprehension performance among EFL language learners. The ultimate intention was to determine the association between levels of vocabulary knowledge and to clarify the relationship among vocabulary knowledge on reading comprehension performance of EFL Iranian students on subtest of VLT and IELTS. Quantitative data were collected from 220 EFL Iranian adult students at the beginning of second semester of 2011 in private English language institute (BAHAR, Shiraz, Iran. The Vocabulary Levels Test (VLT and Reading Comprehension Test (IELTS were performed in one session as research instruments. The findings indicated that there were positive relationships among different levels of vocabulary test and also test scores on vocabulary size/breadth of vocabulary knowledge, and reading comprehension.

Increased correlation coefficient between the written test score and tutors' performance test scores after training of tutors for assessment of medical students during problem-based learning course in Malaysia.

Science.gov (United States)

Jaiprakash, Heethal; Min, Aung Ko Ko; Ghosh, Sarmishtha

2016-03-01

This paper is aimed at finding if there was a change of correlation between the written test score and tutors' performance test scores in the assessment of medical students during a problem-based learning (PBL) course in Malaysia. This is a cross-sectional observational study, conducted among 264 medical students in two groups from November 2010 to November 2012. The first group's tutors did not receive tutor training; while the second group's tutors were trained in the PBL process. Each group was divided into high, middle and low achievers based on their end-of-semester exam scores. PBL scores were taken which included written test scores and tutors' performance test scores. Pearson correlation coefficient was calculated between the two kinds of scores in each group. The correlation coefficient between the written scores and tutors' scores in group 1 was 0.099 (pcorrelation coefficient in the group where tutors received the PBL training reinforces the importance of tutor training before their participation in the PBL course.

Investigating the Efficacy of an Intensive English Program and the L2 Learners’ Learning Styles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rebecca Lee Su Ping

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Past research has found that many pre-university L2 learners, having completed an Intensive English Program (IEP still have difficulty in undertaking various disciplines in English-speaking tertiary institutions and continue to exhibit numerous linguistic problems (Bialystok, 2001, Celce Murcia 2001. The purpose of this paper is to present the findings on the investigation of L2 learners’ English proficiency in reading, writing, grammar, listening and speaking upon their completion of an Intensive English (IE program using their IELTS (Academic, in-house exams and English Placement Tests (EPT scores, and the efficacy of IE program.  IELTS test is chosen for this study due to its increasing popularity in Malaysia and its internationally recognised value and quality.  The study was conducted in two parts. In Part One, all 72 Level 4 IE students were given an in-house EPT (English Placement Test pre-test on their entry and another EPT post-test on their exit, and then their pre-test and post-test results were compared.  In Part Two, 22 volunteers sat the IELTS test at the end of the program. The IELTS results of the 22 volunteers were compared with those who did not.  Data were analyzed using both quantitative and qualitative methods. This paper hopes to shed some light on (i whether or not L2 learners’ English language proficiency can be significantly enhanced and influenced by an intensive English program and (ii how leaners’ perception of their own learning strategies influence their learning progress.

Observing Pair-Work Task in an English Speaking Class

Science.gov (United States)

Achmad, Diana; Yusuf, Yunisrina Qismullah

2014-01-01

This paper reports on students' pair-work interactions to develop their speaking skills in an ELT classroom which consisted of international learners. A number of 16 learners of intermediate proficiency with IELTS score band 5.5 were observed. The teacher had paired those he considered among them to be the more competent ones (hereafter, stronger)…

WebScore: An Effective Page Scoring Approach for Uncertain Web Social Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shaojie Qiao

2011-10-01

Full Text Available To effectively score pages with uncertainty in web social networks, we first proposed a new concept called transition probability matrix and formally defined the uncertainty in web social networks. Second, we proposed a hybrid page scoring algorithm, called WebScore, based on the PageRank algorithm and three centrality measures including degree, betweenness, and closeness. Particularly,WebScore takes into a full consideration of the uncertainty of web social networks by computing the transition probability from one page to another. The basic idea ofWebScore is to: (1 integrate uncertainty into PageRank in order to accurately rank pages, and (2 apply the centrality measures to calculate the importance of pages in web social networks. In order to verify the performance of WebScore, we developed a web social network analysis system which can partition web pages into distinct groups and score them in an effective fashion. Finally, we conducted extensive experiments on real data and the results show that WebScore is effective at scoring uncertain pages with less time deficiency than PageRank and centrality measures based page scoring algorithms.

Physics-based scoring of protein-ligand interactions: explicit polarizability, quantum mechanics and free energies.

Science.gov (United States)

Bryce, Richard A

2011-04-01

The ability to accurately predict the interaction of a ligand with its receptor is a key limitation in computer-aided drug design approaches such as virtual screening and de novo design. In this article, we examine current strategies for a physics-based approach to scoring of protein-ligand affinity, as well as outlining recent developments in force fields and quantum chemical techniques. We also consider advances in the development and application of simulation-based free energy methods to study protein-ligand interactions. Fuelled by recent advances in computational algorithms and hardware, there is the opportunity for increased integration of physics-based scoring approaches at earlier stages in computationally guided drug discovery. Specifically, we envisage increased use of implicit solvent models and simulation-based scoring methods as tools for computing the affinities of large virtual ligand libraries. Approaches based on end point simulations and reference potentials allow the application of more advanced potential energy functions to prediction of protein-ligand binding affinities. Comprehensive evaluation of polarizable force fields and quantum mechanical (QM)/molecular mechanical and QM methods in scoring of protein-ligand interactions is required, particularly in their ability to address challenging targets such as metalloproteins and other proteins that make highly polar interactions. Finally, we anticipate increasingly quantitative free energy perturbation and thermodynamic integration methods that are practical for optimization of hits obtained from screened ligand libraries.

A Comparison of Systemic Inflammation-Based Prognostic Scores in Patients on Regular Hemodialysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Akihiko Kato

2013-10-01

Full Text Available Background/Aims: Systemic inflammation-based prognostic scores have prognostic power in patients with cancer, independently of tumor stage and site. Although inflammatory status is associated with mortality in hemodialysis (HD patients, it remains to be determined as to whether these composite scores are useful in predicting clinical outcomes. Methods: We calculated the 6 prognostic scores [Glasgow prognostic score (GPS, modified GPS (mGPS, neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR, platelet lymphocyte ratio (PLR, prognostic index (PI and prognostic nutritional index (PNI], which have been established as a useful scoring system in cancer patients. We enrolled 339 patients on regular HD (age: 64 ± 13 years; time on HD: 129 ± 114 months; males/females = 253/85 and followed them for 42 months. The area under the receiver-operating characteristics curve was used to determine which scoring system was more predictive of mortality. Results: Elevated GPS, mGPS, NLR, PLR, PI and PNI were all associated with total mortality, independent of covariates. If GPS was raised, mGPS, NLR, PLR and PI were also predictive of all-cause mortality and/or hospitalization. GPS and PNI were associated with poor nutritional status. Using overall mortality as an endpoint, the area under the curve (AUC was significant for a GPS of 0.701 (95% CI: 0.637-0.765; p Conclusion: GPS, based on serum albumin and highly sensitive C-reactive protein, has the most prognostic power for mortality prediction among the prognostic scores in HD patients. However, as the determination of serum albumin reflects mortality similarly to GPS, other composite combinations are needed to provide additional clinical utility beyond that of albumin alone in HD patients.

Association of a Dietary Score with Incident Type 2 Diabetes: The Dietary-Based Diabetes-Risk Score (DDS.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ligia J Dominguez

Full Text Available Strong evidence supports that dietary modifications may decrease incident type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM. Numerous diabetes risk models/scores have been developed, but most do not rely specifically on dietary variables or do not fully capture the overall dietary pattern. We prospectively assessed the association of a dietary-based diabetes-risk score (DDS, which integrates optimal food patterns, with the risk of developing T2DM in the SUN ("Seguimiento Universidad de Navarra" longitudinal study.We assessed 17,292 participants initially free of diabetes, followed-up for a mean of 9.2 years. A validated 136-item FFQ was administered at baseline. Taking into account previous literature, the DDS positively weighted vegetables, fruit, whole cereals, nuts, coffee, low-fat dairy, fiber, PUFA, and alcohol in moderate amounts; while it negatively weighted red meat, processed meats and sugar-sweetened beverages. Energy-adjusted quintiles of each item (with exception of moderate alcohol consumption that received either 0 or 5 points were used to build the DDS (maximum: 60 points. Incident T2DM was confirmed through additional detailed questionnaires and review of medical records of participants. We used Cox proportional hazards models adjusted for socio-demographic and anthropometric parameters, health-related habits, and clinical variables to estimate hazard ratios (HR of T2DM.We observed 143 T2DM confirmed cases during follow-up. Better baseline conformity with the DDS was associated with lower incidence of T2DM (multivariable-adjusted HR for intermediate (25-39 points vs. low (11-24 category 0.43 [95% confidence interval (CI 0.21, 0.89]; and for high (40-60 vs. low category 0.32 [95% CI: 0.14, 0.69]; p for linear trend: 0.019.The DDS, a simple score exclusively based on dietary components, showed a strong inverse association with incident T2DM. This score may be applicable in clinical practice to improve dietary habits of subjects at high risk of T2DM

An Enhanced Rule-Based Web Scanner Based on Similarity Score

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

LEE, M.

2016-08-01

Full Text Available This paper proposes an enhanced rule-based web scanner in order to get better accuracy in detecting web vulnerabilities than the existing tools, which have relatively high false alarm rate when the web pages are installed in unconventional directory paths. Using the proposed matching method based on similarity score, the proposed scheme can determine whether two pages have the same vulnerabilities or not. With this method, the proposed scheme is able to figure out the target web pages are vulnerable by comparing them to the web pages that are known to have vulnerabilities. We show the proposed scanner reduces 12% false alarm rate compared to the existing well-known scanner through the performance evaluation via various experiments. The proposed scheme is especially helpful in detecting vulnerabilities of the web applications which come from well-known open-source web applications after small customization, which happens frequently in many small-sized companies.

Two-step calibration method for multi-algorithm score-based face recognition systems by minimizing discrimination loss

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Susyanto, N.; Veldhuis, R.N.J.; Spreeuwers, L.J.; Klaassen, C.A.J.; Fierrez, J.; Li, S.Z.; Ross, A.; Veldhuis, R.; Alonso-Fernandez, F.; Bigun, J.

2016-01-01

We propose a new method for combining multi-algorithm score-based face recognition systems, which we call the two-step calibration method. Typically, algorithms for face recognition systems produce dependent scores. The two-step method is based on parametric copulas to handle this dependence. Its

Validity and predictive ability of the juvenile arthritis disease activity score based on CRP versus ESR in a Nordic population-based setting

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nordal, E B; Zak, M; Aalto, K

2012-01-01

To compare the juvenile arthritis disease activity score (JADAS) based on C reactive protein (CRP) (JADAS-CRP) with JADAS based on erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) (JADAS-ESR) and to validate JADAS in a population-based setting.......To compare the juvenile arthritis disease activity score (JADAS) based on C reactive protein (CRP) (JADAS-CRP) with JADAS based on erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) (JADAS-ESR) and to validate JADAS in a population-based setting....

A urinary biomarker-based risk score correlates with multiparametric MRI for prostate cancer detection.

Science.gov (United States)

Hendriks, Rianne J; van der Leest, Marloes M G; Dijkstra, Siebren; Barentsz, Jelle O; Van Criekinge, Wim; Hulsbergen-van de Kaa, Christina A; Schalken, Jack A; Mulders, Peter F A; van Oort, Inge M

2017-10-01

Prostate cancer (PCa) diagnostics would greatly benefit from more accurate, non-invasive techniques for the detection of clinically significant disease, leading to a reduction of over-diagnosis and over-treatment. The aim of this study was to determine the association between a novel urinary biomarker-based risk score (SelectMDx), multiparametric MRI (mpMRI) outcomes, and biopsy results for PCa detection. This retrospective observational study used data from the validation study of the SelectMDx score, in which urine was collected after digital rectal examination from men undergoing prostate biopsies. A subset of these patients also underwent a mpMRI scan of the prostate. The indications for performing mpMRI were based on persistent clinical suspicion of PCa or local staging after PCa was found upon biopsy. All mpMRI images were centrally reviewed in 2016 by an experienced radiologist blinded for the urine test results and biopsy outcome. The PI-RADS version 2 was used. In total, 172 patients were included for analysis. Hundred (58%) patients had PCa detected upon prostate biopsy, of which 52 (52%) had high-grade disease correlated with a significantly higher SelectMDx score (P < 0.01). The median SelectMDx score was significantly higher in patients with a suspicious significant lesion on mpMRI compared to no suspicion of significant PCa (P < 0.01). For the prediction of mpMRI outcome, the area-under-the-curve of SelectMDx was 0.83 compared to 0.66 for PSA and 0.65 for PCA3. There was a positive association between SelectMDx score and the final PI-RADS grade. There was a statistically significant difference in SelectMDx score between PI-RADS 3 and 4 (P < 0.01) and between PI-RADS 4 and 5 (P < 0.01). The novel urinary biomarker-based SelectMDx score is a promising tool in PCa detection. This study showed promising results regarding the correlation between the SelectMDx score and mpMRI outcomes, outperforming PCA3. Our results suggest that this risk

Recurrence risk of low Apgar score among term singletons: a population-based cohort study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ensing, Sabine; Schaaf, Jelle M.; Abu-Hanna, Ameen; Mol, Ben W. J.; Ravelli, Anita C. J.

2014-01-01

To examine the risk of recurrence of low Apgar score in a subsequent term singleton pregnancy. Population-based cohort study. The Netherlands. A total of 190,725 women with two subsequent singleton term live births between 1999 and 2007. We calculated the recurrence risk of low Apgar score after

Increased correlation coefficient between the written test score and tutors’ performance test scores after training of tutors for assessment of medical students during problem-based learning course in Malaysia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Heethal Jaiprakash

2016-03-01

Full Text Available This paper is aimed at finding if there was a change of correlation between the written test score and tutors’ performance test scores in the assessment of medical students during a problem-based learning (PBL course in Malaysia. This is a cross-sectional observational study, conducted among 264 medical students in two groups from November 2010 to November 2012. The first group’s tutors did not receive tutor training; while the second group’s tutors were trained in the PBL process. Each group was divided into high, middle and low achievers based on their end-of-semester exam scores. PBL scores were taken which included written test scores and tutors’ performance test scores. Pearson correlation coefficient was calculated between the two kinds of scores in each group. The correlation coefficient between the written scores and tutors’ scores in group 1 was 0.099 (p<0.001 and for group 2 was 0.305 (p<0.001. The higher correlation coefficient in the group where tutors received the PBL training reinforces the importance of tutor training before their participation in the PBL course.

SIGI: score-based identification of genomic islands

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Merkl Rainer

2004-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Genomic islands can be observed in many microbial genomes. These stretches of DNA have a conspicuous composition with regard to sequence or encoded functions. Genomic islands are assumed to be frequently acquired via horizontal gene transfer. For the analysis of genome structure and the study of horizontal gene transfer, it is necessary to reliably identify and characterize these islands. Results A scoring scheme on codon frequencies Score_G1G2(cdn = log(f_G2(cdn / f_G1(cdn was utilized. To analyse genes of a species G1 and to test their relatedness to species G2, scores were determined by applying the formula to log-odds derived from mean codon frequencies of the two genomes. A non-redundant set of nearly 400 codon usage tables comprising microbial species was derived; its members were used alternatively at position G2. Genes having at least one score value above a species-specific and dynamically determined cut-off value were analysed further. By means of cluster analysis, genes were identified that comprise clusters of statistically significant size. These clusters were predicted as genomic islands. Finally and individually for each of these genes, the taxonomical relation among those species responsible for significant scores was interpreted. The validity of the approach and its limitations were made plausible by an extensive analysis of natural genes and synthetic ones aimed at modelling the process of gene amelioration. Conclusions The method reliably allows to identify genomic island and the likely origin of alien genes.

Assessing pediatric ileocolonic Crohn's disease activity based on global MR enterography scores

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pomerri, Fabio; Zuliani, Monica; Giorgi, Benedetta; Muzzio, Pier Carlo [University of Padova, Department of Medicine-DIMED, Padova (Italy); Al Bunni, Faise [Rovigo Hospital, Radiology Unit, S. Maria della Misericordia, Rovigo (Italy); Guariso, Graziella; Gasparetto, Marco; Cananzi, Mara [University of Padova, Department of Women and Child Health, Padova (Italy)

2017-03-15

This study was aimed at correlating a magnetic resonance index of activity (MaRIA) and a magnetic resonance enterography global score (MEGS) with activity indexes in a paediatric population with Crohn's disease (CD). This retrospective study included 32 paediatric patients (median age 14.5 years, 18 male) with proven CD who underwent magnetic resonance enterography (MRE). A correlation analysis was performed on the MRE-based scores, the simplified endoscopic score for CD (SES-CD), the paediatric Crohn's disease activity index (PCDAI), and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels. Based on PCDAI, comparison of both global MaRIA and MEGS was made between patients with mild and moderate/severe disease activity. Global MaRIA correlated with SES-CD (r = 0.70, p = 0.001) and PCDAI (r = 0.42, p = 0.016). MEGS correlated with PCDAI (r = 0.46, p = 0.007) and CRP levels (r = 0.35, p = 0.046). MEGS differed significantly (p = 0.027) between patients grouped by clinical disease severity. MRE-based global scores correlated with clinical indexes of CD activity. Therefore, they represent a potential useful tool to predict CD activity and severity, as well as a possible promising alternative to endoscopy, to monitor paediatric patients with CD during their follow-up. (orig.)

Is there a correlation between intravaginal ejaculatory latency time and enuresis? An exploratory study.

Science.gov (United States)

Koyuncu, Hakan; Serefoglu, Ege Can; Karacay, Safak; Ozdemir, Ahmet Tunc; Kalkan, Mehmet; Yencilek, Faruk

2014-01-01

Premature ejaculation (PE) is the most common male sexual dysfunction. Monosymptomatic enuresis (ME) is nocturnal bed wetting, without any daytime symptoms. Recent clinical studies report an association between lifelong PE and ME. The purpose of this study was to compare the intravaginal ejaculatory time (IELT) between lifelong PE in men with and without ME. The goal was to determine if there is an association between the severity of ME and of IELT. A total of 137 men with lifelong PE were included in this study. Subjects were asked if they had childhood ME. The characteristics and mean IELTs of patients with and without ME were compared using the student's t-test, and the correlation between severity of ME and IELT was assessed with trend test. Of the 137 lifelong PE patients, 57 reported ME. There was a strong negative correlation in patients with ME between the severity of enuresis and IELT, with IELT being shorter in patients with severe ME. A strong correlation between IELT and the severity of ME suggests a common underlying mechanism. Further studies are required to confirm these findings and elucidate the exact pathophysiology.

Naive scoring of human sleep based on a hidden Markov model of the electroencephalogram.

Science.gov (United States)

Yaghouby, Farid; Modur, Pradeep; Sunderam, Sridhar

2014-01-01

Clinical sleep scoring involves tedious visual review of overnight polysomnograms by a human expert. Many attempts have been made to automate the process by training computer algorithms such as support vector machines and hidden Markov models (HMMs) to replicate human scoring. Such supervised classifiers are typically trained on scored data and then validated on scored out-of-sample data. Here we describe a methodology based on HMMs for scoring an overnight sleep recording without the benefit of a trained initial model. The number of states in the data is not known a priori and is optimized using a Bayes information criterion. When tested on a 22-subject database, this unsupervised classifier agreed well with human scores (mean of Cohen's kappa > 0.7). The HMM also outperformed other unsupervised classifiers (Gaussian mixture models, k-means, and linkage trees), that are capable of naive classification but do not model dynamics, by a significant margin (p < 0.05).

Non-laboratory-based self-assessment screening score for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: development, validation and comparison with other scores.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yong-ho Lee

Full Text Available Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD is a prevalent and rapidly increasing disease worldwide; however, no widely accepted screening models to assess the risk of NAFLD are available. Therefore, we aimed to develop and validate a self-assessment score for NAFLD in the general population using two independent cohorts.The development cohort comprised 15676 subjects (8313 males and 7363 females who visited the National Health Insurance Service Ilsan Hospital in Korea in 2008-2010. Anthropometric, clinical, and laboratory data were examined during regular health check-ups and fatty liver diagnosed by abdominal ultrasound. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to determine predictors of prevalent NAFLD and to derive risk scores/models. We validated our models and compared them with other existing methods using an external cohort (N = 66868.The simple self-assessment score consists of age, sex, waist circumference, body mass index, history of diabetes and dyslipidemia, alcohol intake, physical activity and menopause status, which are independently associated with NAFLD, and has a value of 0-15. A cut-off point of ≥ 8 defined 58% of males and 36% of females as being at high-risk of NAFLD, and yielded a sensitivity of 80% in men (77% in women, a specificity of 67% (81%, a positive predictive value of 72% (63%, a negative predictive value of 76% (89% and an AUC of 0.82 (0.88. Comparable results were obtained using the validation dataset. The comprehensive NAFLD score, which includes additional laboratory parameters, has enhanced discrimination ability, with an AUC of 0.86 for males and 0.91 for females. Both simple and comprehensive NAFLD scores were significantly increased in subjects with higher fatty liver grades or severity of liver conditions (e.g., simple steatosis, steatohepatitis.The new non-laboratory-based self-assessment score may be useful for identifying individuals at high-risk of NAFLD. Further studies are warranted to evaluate

Sexual function improvement in association with serum leptin level elevation in patients with premature ejaculation following sertraline treatment: a preliminary observation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kun-Long Tang

2014-11-01

Full Text Available The objective of our work was to evaluate the effect of sertraline hydrochloride on serum levels of leptin and sexual function in patients with premature ejaculation (PE. A total of 124 patients with a history of PE at least 6 months, aged 20-50 years, were treated with sertraline hydrochloride. One hundred and four age-matched normal males without a history of PE were included control subjects and were untreated. Before and after the 8 week experiment, sexual performance parameters including the intravaginal ejaculation latency time (IELT and the Chinese premature ejaculation index (CIPE were collected from both PE patients and control subjects through a questionnaire survey and analyzed. Serum levels of leptin were measured. Correlations of serum leptin with Body Mass Index (BMI were analyzed. Before sertraline treatment, serum levels of leptin were significantly higher (32.9 vs 8.8μg/L, p<0.001 but IELT and CIPE score were significantly lower (54 vs 590, p <0.001; 8.7 vs 22.3, p <0.0001 in PE patients than control subjects. After 8 weeks of treatment with sertraline, serum levels of leptinl in PE patients were decreased markedly to 8.0 μg/L, which was not significantly different from the levels in control subjects (p >0.05; and IELT and CIPE score in PE patients were increased to the values similar to those in control subjects. The sensitivity and specificity values were 87.5% and 96.3% for leptin as a diagnosis target. These observations suggest sertraline as a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor may offer an effective option for treating premature ejaculation.

Classification of Airflow Limitation Based on z-Score Underestimates Mortality in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Tejero, Elena; Prats, Eva; Casitas, Raquel; Galera, Raúl; Pardo, Paloma; Gavilán, Adelaida; Martínez-Cerón, Elisabet; Cubillos-Zapata, Carolina; Del Peso, Luis; García-Río, Francisco

2017-08-01

Global Lung Function Initiative recommends reporting lung function measures as z-score, and a classification of airflow limitation (AL) based on this parameter has recently been proposed. To evaluate the prognostic capacity of the AL classifications based on z-score or percentage predicted of FEV 1 in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). A cohort of 2,614 patients with COPD recruited outside the hospital setting was examined after a mean (± SD) of 57 ± 13 months of follow-up, totaling 10,322 person-years. All-cause mortality was analyzed, evaluating the predictive capacity of several AL staging systems. Based on Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease guidelines, 461 patients (17.6%) had mild, 1,452 (55.5%) moderate, 590 (22.6%) severe, and 111 (4.2%) very severe AL. According to z-score classification, 66.3% of patients remained with the same severity, whereas 23.7% worsened and 10.0% improved. Unlike other staging systems, patients with severe AL according to z-score had higher mortality than those with very severe AL (increase of risk by 5.2 and 3.9 times compared with mild AL, respectively). The predictive capacity for 5-year survival was slightly higher for FEV 1 expressed as percentage of predicted than as z-score (area under the curve: 0.714-0.760 vs. 0.649-0.708, respectively). A severity-dependent relationship between AL grades by z-score and mortality was only detected in patients younger than age 60 years. In patients with COPD, the AL classification based on z-score predicts worse mortality than those based on percentage of predicted. It is possible that the z-score underestimates AL severity in patients older than 60 years of age with severe functional impairment.

Complementary and Alternative Medicine for Management of Premature Ejaculation: A Systematic Review.

Science.gov (United States)

Cooper, Katy; Martyn-St James, Marrissa; Kaltenthaler, Eva; Dickinson, Kath; Cantrell, Anna; Ren, Shijie; Wylie, Kevan; Frodsham, Leila; Hood, Catherine

2017-03-01

Premature ejaculation (PE) is defined as ejaculation within 1 minute (lifelong PE) or 3 minutes (acquired PE), inability to delay ejaculation, and negative personal consequences. Management includes behavioral and pharmacologic approaches. To systematically review effectiveness, safety, and robustness of evidence for complementary and alternative medicine in managing PE. Nine databases including Medline were searched through September 2015. Randomized controlled trials evaluating complementary and alternative medicine for PE were included. Studies were included if they reported on intravaginal ejaculatory latency time (IELT) and/or another validated PE measurement. Adverse effects were summarized. Ten randomized controlled trials were included. Two assessed acupuncture, five assessed Chinese herbal medicine, one assessed Ayurvedic herbal medicine, and two assessed topical "severance secret" cream. Risk of bias was unclear in all studies because of unclear allocation concealment or blinding, and only five studies reported stopwatch-measured IELT. Acupuncture slightly increased IELT over placebo in one study (mean difference [MD] = 0.55 minute, P = .001). In another study, Ayurvedic herbal medicine slightly increased IELT over placebo (MD = 0.80 minute, P = .001). Topical severance secret cream increased IELT over placebo in two studies (MD = 8.60 minutes, P medicine with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) favored SSRIs (MD = 1.01 minutes, P = .02). However, combination treatment with Chinese medicine plus SSRIs improved IELT over SSRIs alone (two studies; MD = 1.92 minutes, P medicine alone (two studies; MD = 2.52 minutes, P effects were not consistently assessed but where reported were generally mild. There is preliminary evidence for the effectiveness of acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine, Ayurvedic herbal medicine, and topical severance secret cream in improving IELT and other outcomes. However, results are based on clinically

Validation of the German Diabetes Risk Score within a population-based representative cohort.

Science.gov (United States)

Hartwig, S; Kuss, O; Tiller, D; Greiser, K H; Schulze, M B; Dierkes, J; Werdan, K; Haerting, J; Kluttig, A

2013-09-01

To validate the German Diabetes Risk Score within the population-based cohort of the Cardiovascular Disease - Living and Ageing in Halle (CARLA) study. The sample included 582 women and 719 men, aged 45-83 years, who did not have diabetes at baseline. The individual risk of every participant was calculated using the German Diabetes Risk Score, which was modified for 4 years of follow-up. Predicted probabilities and observed outcomes were compared using Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit tests and receiver-operator characteristic analyses. Changes in prediction power were investigated by expanding the German Diabetes Risk Score to include metabolic variables and by subgroup analyses. We found 58 cases of incident diabetes. The median 4-year probability of developing diabetes based on the German Diabetes Risk Score was 6.5%. The observed and predicted probabilities of developing diabetes were similar, although estimation was imprecise owing to the small number of cases, and the Hosmer-Lemeshow test returned a poor correlation (chi-squared = 55.3; P = 5.8*10⁻¹²). The area under the receiver-operator characteristic curve (AUC) was 0.70 (95% CI 0.64-0.77), and after excluding participants ≥66 years old, the AUC increased to 0.77 (95% CI 0.70-0.84). Consideration of glycaemic diagnostic variables, in addition to self-reported diabetes, reduced the AUC to 0.65 (95% CI 0.58-0.71). A new model that included the German Diabetes Risk Score and blood glucose concentration (AUC 0.81; 95% CI 0.76-0.86) or HbA(1c) concentration (AUC 0.84; 95% CI 0.80-0.91) was found to peform better. Application of the German Diabetes Risk Score in the CARLA cohort did not reproduce the findings in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) Potsdam study, which may be explained by cohort differences and model overfit in the latter; however, a high score does provide an indication of increased risk of diabetes. © 2013 The Authors. Diabetic Medicine © 2013 Diabetes

Evaluation of a novel scoring and grading model for VP-based exams in postgraduate nurse education.

Science.gov (United States)

Forsberg, Elenita; Ziegert, Kristina; Hult, Håkan; Fors, Uno

2015-12-01

For Virtual Patient-based exams, several scoring and grading methods have been proposed, but none have yet been validated. The aim of this study was to evaluate a new scoring and grading model for VP-based exams in postgraduate paediatric nurse education. The same student group of 19 students performed a VP-based exam in three consecutive courses. When using the scoring and grading assessment model, which contains a deduction system for unnecessary or unwanted actions, a progression was found in the three courses: 53% of the students passed the first exam, 63% the second and 84% passed the final exam. The most common reason for deduction of points was due to students asking too many interview questions or ordering too many laboratory tests. The results showed that the new scoring model made it possible to judge the students' clinical reasoning process as well as their progress. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The 5-HT₁A receptor C(1019)G polymorphism influences the intravaginal ejaculation latency time in Dutch Caucasian men with lifelong premature ejaculation.

Science.gov (United States)

Janssen, Paddy K C; van Schaik, R; Zwinderman, Aeilko H; Olivier, Berend; Waldinger, Marcel D

2014-06-01

Lifelong premature ejaculation (LPE) is characterized by persistent intravaginal ejaculation latency times (IELTs) of less than 1 min, and has been postulated as a neurobiological dysfunction related to diminished serotonergic neurotransmission with 5-HT₁A receptor hyperfunction and 5-HT₂C hypofunction. To investigate the relationship between 5-HT₁A receptor gene (HTR₁A)-C(1019)G promoter polymorphism and IELT in men with LPE. This polymorphism is known to increase 5-HT1A receptor expression. A prospective study was conducted in 54 Dutch Caucasian men with LPE. Baseline IELT during coitus was assessed by stopwatch over a 1-month period. All men were genotyped for HTR₁A gene polymorphism. Allele frequencies and genotypes of C and G variants of HTR₁A polymorphism were determined. Association between CC, CG, and GG genotypes and the IELT in men with LPE were investigated. IELT measured by stopwatch, HTR₁A polymorphism. In this cohort of men with LPE, the geometric mean IELT was 23.8 s. Of the 54 men, the CC, CG and GG genotype frequency for the C(1019)G polymorphism of the 5-HT₁A gene was 33%, 43% and 24%, respectively. The geometric mean IELT for the CC, CG and GG genotypes were 14.5, 27.7 and 36.0 s, respectively (p=0.019). Compared to GG and CG genotypes, men with CC genotype had a 250% and 190% shorter ejaculation time, respectively. HTR₁A gene polymorphism is associated with the IELT in men with LPE. Men with CC genotype have shorter IELTs than men with GG and CG genotypes. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

GalaxyDock BP2 score: a hybrid scoring function for accurate protein-ligand docking

Science.gov (United States)

Baek, Minkyung; Shin, Woong-Hee; Chung, Hwan Won; Seok, Chaok

2017-07-01

Protein-ligand docking is a useful tool for providing atomic-level understanding of protein functions in nature and design principles for artificial ligands or proteins with desired properties. The ability to identify the true binding pose of a ligand to a target protein among numerous possible candidate poses is an essential requirement for successful protein-ligand docking. Many previously developed docking scoring functions were trained to reproduce experimental binding affinities and were also used for scoring binding poses. However, in this study, we developed a new docking scoring function, called GalaxyDock BP2 Score, by directly training the scoring power of binding poses. This function is a hybrid of physics-based, empirical, and knowledge-based score terms that are balanced to strengthen the advantages of each component. The performance of the new scoring function exhibits significant improvement over existing scoring functions in decoy pose discrimination tests. In addition, when the score is used with the GalaxyDock2 protein-ligand docking program, it outperformed other state-of-the-art docking programs in docking tests on the Astex diverse set, the Cross2009 benchmark set, and the Astex non-native set. GalaxyDock BP2 Score and GalaxyDock2 with this score are freely available at http://galaxy.seoklab.org/softwares/galaxydock.html.

How is the injury severity scored? a brief review of scoring systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohsen Ebrahimi

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The management of injured patients is a critical issue in pre-hospital and emergency departments. Trauma victims are usually young and the injuries may lead to mortality or severe morbidities. The severity of injury can be estimated by observing the anatomic and physiologic evidences. Scoring systems are used to present a scale of describing the severity of the injuries in the victims.We reviewed the evidences of famous scoring systems, the history of their development, applications and their evolutions. We searched electronic database PubMed and Google scholar with keywords: (trauma OR injury AND (severity OR intensity AND (score OR scale.In this paper, we are going to present a definition of scoring systems and discuss the Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS and Injury Severity Score (ISS, the most acceptable systems, their applications and their advantages and limitations.Several injury-scoring methods have been introduced. Each method has specific features, advantages and disadvantages. The AIS is an anatomical-based scoring system, which provides a standard numerical scale of ranking and comparing injuries. The ISS was established as a platform for trauma data registry. ISS is also an anatomically-based ordinal scale, with a range of 1-75. Several databases and studies are formed based on ISS and are available for trauma management research.Although the ISS is not perfect, it is established as the basic platform of health services and public health researches. The ISS registering system can provide many opportunities for the development of efficient data recording and statistical analyzing models.

Delayed Ejaculation and Associated Complaints: Relationship to Ejaculation Times and Serum Testosterone Levels.

Science.gov (United States)

Morgentaler, Abraham; Polzer, Paula; Althof, Stanley; Bolyakov, Alexander; Donatucci, Craig; Ni, Xiao; Patel, Ankur B; Basaria, Shehzad

2017-09-01

Although delayed ejaculation (DE) is typically characterized as a persistently longer than anticipated or desired time to ejaculation (or orgasm) during sexual activity, a timing-based definition of DE and its association with serum testosterone has not been established in a large cohort. To examine in an observational study estimated intravaginal ejaculatory latency time (IELT) and masturbatory ejaculation latency time (MELT) in men self-reporting DE, assess the association of IELT and MELT with serum testosterone levels, and determine whether correlation with demographic and sexual parameters exist. Men who resided in the United States, Canada, and Mexico were enrolled from 2011 to 2013. Self-estimated IELT and MELT were captured using an Ejaculatory Function Screening Questionnaire in a sample of 988 men screened for possible inclusion in a randomized clinical trial assessing testosterone replacement therapy for ejaculatory dysfunction (EjD) and who self-reported the presence or absence of DE and symptoms of hypogonadism. Additional comorbid EjDs (ie, anejaculation, perceived decrease in ejaculate volume, and decreased force of ejaculation) were recorded. Men with premature ejaculation were excluded from this analysis. IELT and MELT were compared between men self-reporting DE and men without DE. The associations of IELT and MELT with serum testosterone were measured. IELT, MELT, and total testosterone levels. Sixty-two percent of screened men self-reported DE with or without comorbid EjDs; 38% did not report DE but did report at least one of the other EjDs. Estimated median IELTs were 20.0 minutes for DE vs 15 minutes for no DE (P IELTs and MELTs. Estimated ejaculation times during vaginal intercourse and/or masturbation were not associated with serum testosterone levels in this study; thus, routine androgen evaluation is not indicated in these men. This large systematic analysis attempted to objectively assess the ejaculation latency in men with self

Teaching Intercultural English Learning/Teaching in World Englishes: Some Classroom Activities in South Korea

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Kang-Young

2012-01-01

This paper discusses what intercultural English learning/teaching (IELT) is in English as a world Englishes (WEes) and how IELT can contribute to the development of proficiency/competence among WEes and can be fitted into actual WEes classrooms. This is to claim that IELT be a pivotal contextual factor facilitating success in…

ACCURATUM: improved calcium volume scoring using a mesh-based algorithm - a phantom study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saur, Stefan C.; Szekely, Gabor; Alkadhi, Hatem; Desbiolles, Lotus; Cattin, Philippe C.

2009-01-01

To overcome the limitations of the classical volume scoring method for quantifying coronary calcifications, including accuracy, variability between examinations, and dependency on plaque density and acquisition parameters, a mesh-based volume measurement method has been developed. It was evaluated and compared with the classical volume scoring method for accuracy, i.e., the normalized volume (measured volume/ground-truthed volume), and for variability between examinations (standard deviation of accuracy). A cardiac computed-tomography (CT) phantom containing various cylindrical calcifications was scanned using different tube voltages and reconstruction kernels, at various positions and orientations on the CT table and using different slice thicknesses. Mean accuracy for all plaques was significantly higher (p<0.0001) for the proposed method (1.220±0.507) than for the classical volume score (1.896±1.095). In contrast to the classical volume score, plaque density (p=0.84), reconstruction kernel (p=0.19), and tube voltage (p=0.27) had no impact on the accuracy of the developed method. In conclusion, the method presented herein is more accurate than classical calcium scoring and is less dependent on tube voltage, reconstruction kernel, and plaque density. (orig.)

Statin Selection in Qatar Based on Multi-indication Pharmacotherapeutic Multi-criteria Scoring Model, and Clinician Preference.

Science.gov (United States)

Al-Badriyeh, Daoud; Fahey, Michael; Alabbadi, Ibrahim; Al-Khal, Abdullatif; Zaidan, Manal

2015-12-01

Statin selection for the largest hospital formulary in Qatar is not systematic, not comparative, and does not consider the multi-indication nature of statins. There are no reports in the literature of multi-indication-based comparative scoring models of statins or of statin selection criteria weights that are based primarily on local clinicians' preferences and experiences. This study sought to comparatively evaluate statins for first-line therapy in Qatar, and to quantify the economic impact of this. An evidence-based, multi-indication, multi-criteria pharmacotherapeutic model was developed for the scoring of statins from the perspective of the main health care provider in Qatar. The literature and an expert panel informed the selection criteria of statins. Relative weighting of selection criteria was based on the input of the relevant local clinician population. Statins were comparatively scored based on literature evidence, with those exceeding a defined scoring threshold being recommended for use. With 95% CI and 5% margin of error, the scoring model was successfully developed. Selection criteria comprised 28 subcriteria under the following main criteria: clinical efficacy, best publish evidence and experience, adverse effects, drug interaction, dosing time, and fixed dose combination availability. Outcome measures for multiple indications were related to effects on LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, triglyceride, total cholesterol, and C-reactive protein. Atorvastatin, pravastatin, and rosuvastatin exceeded defined pharmacotherapeutic thresholds. Atorvastatin and pravastatin were recommended as first-line use and rosuvastatin as a nonformulary alternative. It was estimated that this would produce a 17.6% cost savings in statins expenditure. Sensitivity analyses confirmed the robustness of the evaluation's outcomes against input uncertainties. Incorporating a comparative evaluation of statins in Qatari practices based on a locally developed, transparent, multi

A novel ultrasound-based vascular calcification score (CALCS) to detect subclinical atherosclerosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Flore, R; Zocco, M A; Ainora, M E; Fonnesu, C; Nesci, A; Gasbarrini, A; Ponziani, F R

2018-02-01

To quantify non-coronary vascular calcifications (VC) in asymptomatic patients at low-intermediate cardiovascular risk by a new color Doppler ultrasound (DUS)-based score (the carotid, aortic, lower limbs calcium score, CALCs), and to correlate this score with classical parameters associated with cardiovascular risk [carotid intima media thickness (IMT), and arterial stiffness (AS)]. All consecutive asymptomatic patients who underwent a screening DUS of non-coronary circulation were evaluated and patients at low-intermediate cardiovascular risk were selected according to Framingham risk score (FRS). Among them, we enrolled 70 patients with US evidence of VC and 71 age, sex and FRS matched controls. The presence of VC was correlated with classical markers of cardiovascular risk, such as AS and intima-media thickness (IMT). AS, expressed as pulse wave velocity (PWV) and arterial distensibility, carotid IMT and CALCs were measured for both groups. AS and c-IMT were assessed by a new Radio-Frequency (RF) DUS-based method. CALCs was generated by our previously described B-mode DUS-based method according to number/size of VC in 11 non-coronary segments (range 0-33). Patients with VC presented higher AS and IMT values than controls (PWV 8.34±0.98 m/s vs. 6.74±0.68 m/s, p<0.0001; arterial distensibility 267±12 mm vs. 315±65 mm, p=0.001; IMT 687±132 mm vs. 572±91 mm, p<0.0001). Mean CALCs of patients with VC was 8.41±7.78. CALCs were significantly correlated with c-IMT (p<0.0001; r=0.3), PWV (p<0.0001; r=0.4) and arterial distensibility (p=0.002; r=-0.1). DUS-based CALCs is highly correlated with other validated markers of subclinical atherosclerosis, such as c-IMT and AS. Our results demonstrated the ability of CALCs to identify individual predictive factors beyond the traditional risk factors by quantifying an interesting and novel step of the atherogenic process. Future studies on larger series and with adequate follow up are necessary to confirm these results and

Serotonin transporter promoter region (5-HTTLPR) polymorphism is associated with the intravaginal ejaculation latency time in Dutch men with lifelong premature ejaculation.

Science.gov (United States)

Janssen, Paddy K C; Bakker, Steven C; Réthelyi, Janos; Zwinderman, Aeilko H; Touw, Daan J; Olivier, Berend; Waldinger, Marcel D

2009-01-01

Lifelong premature ejaculation (LPE) is characterized by persistent intravaginal ejaculation latency times (IELTs) of less than 1 minute, and has been postulated as a neurobiological dysfunction with genetic vulnerability for the short IELTs, related to disturbances of central serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine [5-HT]) neurotransmission and 5-HT receptor functioning. To investigate the relationship between 5-HT transporter gene-linked polymorphism (5-HTTLPR) and short IELTs in men with lifelong PE. A prospective study was conducted in 89 Dutch Caucasian men with lifelong PE. IELT during coitus was assessed by stopwatch over a 1-month period. Controls consisted of 92 Dutch Caucasian men. All men with LPE were genotyped for a 5-HTT-promoter polymorphism. Allele frequencies and genotypes of short (S) and long (L) variants of 5-HTTLPR polymorphism were compared between patients and controls. Association between LL, SL, and SS genotypes, and the natural logarithm of the IELT in men with LPE was investigated. IELT measured by stopwatch, 5-HTTLPR polymorphism. In men with lifelong PE, the geometric mean, median, and natural mean IELTs were 21, 26, and 32 seconds, respectively. There were no significant differences in the 5-HTT polymorphism alleles and genotypes between 89 Dutch Caucasian men with LPE (S 47%, L 53%/LL 29%, SL 48%, SS 22%) and 92 Dutch Caucasian controls (S 48%, L 52%/LL 29%, SL 45%, SS 26%). In men with lifelong PE there was a statistically significant difference between LL, SL, and SS genotypes in their geometric mean IELT (P IELTs than the SS and SL genotypes. The 5-HTTLPR polymorphism is associated with significant effects on the latency to ejaculate in men with lifelong PE. Men with SS and SL genotypes have 100% and 90% longer ejaculation time, respectively than men with LL genotypes.

Novel, customizable scoring functions, parameterized using N-PLS, for structure-based drug discovery.

Science.gov (United States)

Catana, Cornel; Stouten, Pieter F W

2007-01-01

The ability to accurately predict biological affinity on the basis of in silico docking to a protein target remains a challenging goal in the CADD arena. Typically, "standard" scoring functions have been employed that use the calculated docking result and a set of empirical parameters to calculate a predicted binding affinity. To improve on this, we are exploring novel strategies for rapidly developing and tuning "customized" scoring functions tailored to a specific need. In the present work, three such customized scoring functions were developed using a set of 129 high-resolution protein-ligand crystal structures with measured Ki values. The functions were parametrized using N-PLS (N-way partial least squares), a multivariate technique well-known in the 3D quantitative structure-activity relationship field. A modest correlation between observed and calculated pKi values using a standard scoring function (r2 = 0.5) could be improved to 0.8 when a customized scoring function was applied. To mimic a more realistic scenario, a second scoring function was developed, not based on crystal structures but exclusively on several binding poses generated with the Flo+ docking program. Finally, a validation study was conducted by generating a third scoring function with 99 randomly selected complexes from the 129 as a training set and predicting pKi values for a test set that comprised the remaining 30 complexes. Training and test set r2 values were 0.77 and 0.78, respectively. These results indicate that, even without direct structural information, predictive customized scoring functions can be developed using N-PLS, and this approach holds significant potential as a general procedure for predicting binding affinity on the basis of in silico docking.

Acupuncture versus paroxetine for the treatment of premature ejaculation: a randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Sunay, Didem; Sunay, Melih; Aydoğmuş, Yasin; Bağbancı, Sahin; Arslan, Hüseyin; Karabulut, Ayhan; Emir, Levent

2011-05-01

Acupuncture therapy has been used by many researchers in both male and female sexual dysfunction studies. To determine whether acupuncture is effective as a premature ejaculation (PE) treatment compared with paroxetine and placebo. The study was conducted with methodologic rigor based on Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) criteria. Ninety patients referred to the urology clinic at a tertiary training and research hospital with PE were included in this randomized controlled trial and randomly assigned into paroxetine, acupuncture, and placebo groups. Heterosexual, sexually active men aged between 28 and 50 yr were included. Men with other sexual disorders, including erectile dysfunction; with chronic psychiatric or systemic diseases; with alcohol or substance abuse; or who used any medications were excluded. The medicated group received paroxetine 20 mg/d; the acupuncture or sham-acupuncture (placebo) groups were treated twice a week for 4 wk. Intravaginal ejaculation latency times (IELTs) and the Premature Ejaculation Diagnostic Tool (PEDT) were used to assess PE. IELTs were calculated by using a partner-held stopwatch. Data were analyzed statistically. Median PEDT scores of paroxetine, acupuncture, and placebo groups were 17.0, 16.0, and 15.5 before treatment, and 10.5, 11.0, and 16.0 after treatment, respectively (p=0.001, p=0.001, and p=0.314, respectively). Subscores after treatment were significantly lower than subscores before treatment in the paroxetine and acupuncture groups but remained the same in the placebo group. Significant differences were found between mean-rank IELTs of the paroxetine and placebo groups (p=0.001) and the acupuncture and placebo groups (p=0.001) after treatment. Increases of IELTs with paroxetine, acupuncture, and placebo acupuncture were 82.7, 65.7, and 33.1 s, respectively. Extent of ejaculation delay induced by paroxetine was significantly higher than that of acupuncture (p=0.001). The most important limitation

Low-carbohydrate, high-protein score and mortality in a northern Swedish population-based cohort.

Science.gov (United States)

Nilsson, L M; Winkvist, A; Eliasson, M; Jansson, J-H; Hallmans, G; Johansson, I; Lindahl, B; Lenner, P; Van Guelpen, B

2012-06-01

Long-term effects of carbohydrate-restricted diets are unclear. We examined a low-carbohydrate, high-protein (LCHP) score in relation to mortality. This is a population-based cohort study on adults in the northern Swedish county of Västerbotten. In 37,639 men (1460 deaths) and 39,680 women (923 deaths) from the population-based Västerbotten Intervention Program, deciles of energy-adjusted carbohydrate (descending) and protein (ascending) intake were added to create an LCHP score (2-20 points). Sex-specific hazard ratios (HR) were calculated by Cox regression. Median intakes of carbohydrates, protein and fat in subjects with LCHP scores 2-20 ranged from 61.0% to 38.6%, 11.3% to 19.2% and 26.6% to 41.5% of total energy intake, respectively. High LCHP score (14-20 points) did not predict all-cause mortality compared with low LCHP score (2-8 points), after accounting for saturated fat intake and established risk factors (men: HR for high vs low 1.03 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.88-1.20), P for continuous = 0.721; women: HR for high vs low 1.10 (95% CI 0.91-1.32), P for continuous = 0.229). For cancer and cardiovascular disease, no clear associations were found. Carbohydrate intake was inversely associated with all-cause mortality, though only statistically significant in women (multivariate HR per decile increase 0.95 (95% CI 0.91-0.99), P = 0.010). Our results do not support a clear, general association between LCHP score and mortality. Studies encompassing a wider range of macronutrient consumption may be necessary to detect such an association.

The consequences of English language testing for international health professionals and students: An Australian case study.

Science.gov (United States)

Rumsey, Michele; Thiessen, Jodi; Buchan, James; Daly, John

2016-02-01

To discuss the perceptions about the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) and its impact on migration and practice of migrant health professionals in Australia. Thematic analysis of interviews with 14 health industry participants and 35 migrated health professionals in Australia. Language testing is a barrier to health professional registration for migrant health workers in Australia. While two English language tests are recognised by the registration authorities in Australia, it is the International English Language Testing System that is most commonly used. This paper reports that study participants had underlying negative perceptions of the International English Language Testing System which they report, affect their move to Australia. These negative perceptions are caused by: frustration due to changes to processes for migration and registration; challenges regarding the structure of IELTS including timing of when test results expire, scoring requirements, cost, and suitability; and the resulting feelings of inadequacy caused by the test itself. This study has shown that some respondents have experienced difficulties in relation to the International English Language Testing System as part of their migration process. It was found that there is very little research into the effectiveness of the IELTS as it is currently administered for overseas health care professionals. Several recommendations are provided including areas for further research. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

On-Demand Treatment of Premature Ejaculation with Citalopram: A Randomized Double-Blind Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ghafuri Zahra

2009-10-01

Full Text Available "nAs the most common male sexual disorder premature ejaculation (PE, also referred to as early ejaculation (EE or rapid ejaculation (RE, affects 30%-40% of sexually active men. Despite the limited number of available studies comparing the efficacy of selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRI they have been thought to have beneficial effects for the treatment of patients with PE. In the present study, we assessed the efficacy of on-demand use of citalopram, in the treatment of premature ejaculation. A randomized double blind study of fixed dose on-demand use of citalopram was performed in Roozbeh Psychiatry Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences. The sample was consisted of 80 married patients diagnosed with PE according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The patients were randomly assigned to two groups: group 1 consisting of 42 patients received 20mg citalopram, and group 2 consisting of 38 patients received placebo four hours before intercourse for a 4-week treatment course. The effects of drug on the ejaculatory function in each group were assessed by the intravaginal ejaculation latency time (IELT, and the Chinese Index of Premature Ejaculation (CIPE before and at the end of treatment course. The mean IELT increased from 66.78±36.94 to 80.85±43.05 seconds in group 1 and from 63.44±33.16 to 65.71±34.26 seconds in group 2 (P = 0.000. Mean CIPE score increased 1.14±1.04 and 0.52±0.50 in group 1 and 2 respectively (P = 0.002. The patients treated with on demand citalopram showed significantly greater improvement in IELT and CIPE score compared to the patients receiving placebo. It seems that citalopram may be an effective treatment of premature ejaculation with on-demand usage. However further studies are warranted.

A prospective observational study comparing a physiological scoring system with time-based discharge criteria in pediatric ambulatory surgical patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Armstrong, James; Forrest, Helen; Crawford, Mark W

2015-10-01

Discharge criteria based on physiological scoring systems can be used in the postanesthesia care unit (PACU) to fast-track patients after ambulatory surgery; however, studies comparing physiological scoring systems with traditional time-based discharge criteria are lacking. The purpose of this study was to compare PACU discharge readiness times using physiological vs time-based discharge criteria in pediatric ambulatory surgical patients. We recorded physiological observations from consecutive American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status I-III patients aged 1-18 yr who were admitted to the PACU after undergoing ambulatory surgery in a tertiary academic pediatric hospital. The physiological score was a combination of the Aldrete and Chung systems. Scores were recorded every 15 min starting upon arrival in the PACU. Patients were considered fit for discharge once they attained a score ≥12 (maximum score, 14), provided no score was zero, with the time to achieve a score ≥12 defining the criteria-based discharge (CBD) time. Patients were discharged from the PACU when both the CBD and the existing time-based discharge (TBD) criteria were met. The CBD and TBD data were compared using Kaplan-Meier and log-rank analysis. Observations from 506 children are presented. Median (interquartile range [IQR]) age was 5.5 [2.8-9.9] yr. Median [IQR] CBD and TBD PACU discharge readiness times were 30 [15-45] min and 60 [45-60] min, respectively. Analysis of Kaplan-Meier curves indicated a significant difference in discharge times using the different criteria (hazard ratio, 5.43; 95% confidence interval, 4.51 to 6.53; P < 0.001). All patients were discharged home without incident. This prospective study suggests that discharge decisions based on physiological criteria have the potential for significantly speeding the transit of children through the PACU, thereby enhancing PACU efficiency and resource utilization.

Peripheral Arterial Tonometry to Measure the Effects of Vardenafil on Sympathetic Tone in Men with Lifelong Premature Ejaculation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Davide Francomano

2013-01-01

vardenafil (0.6 ± 0.3 versus 4.5 ± 1.1 min, when compared with placebo. STAI-X1 and STAI-X2 scores fell within the normal range after treatment with vardenafil (. Vardenafil was an effective treatment in men with LL-PE; improvements of IELT may be due to increased NO production which is able to reduce adrenergic overactivity and anxiety levels.

Hospital Value-Based Purchasing (HVBP) – Total Performance Score

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — A list of hospitals participating in the Hospital VBP Program and their Clinical Process of Care domain scores, Patient Experience of Care dimension scores, and...

Virtual screening approach to identifying influenza virus neuraminidase inhibitors using molecular docking combined with machine-learning-based scoring function.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Li; Ai, Hai-Xin; Li, Shi-Meng; Qi, Meng-Yuan; Zhao, Jian; Zhao, Qi; Liu, Hong-Sheng

2017-10-10

In recent years, an epidemic of the highly pathogenic avian influenza H7N9 virus has persisted in China, with a high mortality rate. To develop novel anti-influenza therapies, we have constructed a machine-learning-based scoring function (RF-NA-Score) for the effective virtual screening of lead compounds targeting the viral neuraminidase (NA) protein. RF-NA-Score is more accurate than RF-Score, with a root-mean-square error of 1.46, Pearson's correlation coefficient of 0.707, and Spearman's rank correlation coefficient of 0.707 in a 5-fold cross-validation study. The performance of RF-NA-Score in a docking-based virtual screening of NA inhibitors was evaluated with a dataset containing 281 NA inhibitors and 322 noninhibitors. Compared with other docking-rescoring virtual screening strategies, rescoring with RF-NA-Score significantly improved the efficiency of virtual screening, and a strategy that averaged the scores given by RF-NA-Score, based on the binding conformations predicted with AutoDock, AutoDock Vina, and LeDock, was shown to be the best strategy. This strategy was then applied to the virtual screening of NA inhibitors in the SPECS database. The 100 selected compounds were tested in an in vitro H7N9 NA inhibition assay, and two compounds with novel scaffolds showed moderate inhibitory activities. These results indicate that RF-NA-Score improves the efficiency of virtual screening for NA inhibitors, and can be used successfully to identify new NA inhibitor scaffolds. Scoring functions specific for other drug targets could also be established with the same method.

Validating the Interpretations and Uses of Test Scores

Science.gov (United States)

Kane, Michael T.

2013-01-01

To validate an interpretation or use of test scores is to evaluate the plausibility of the claims based on the scores. An argument-based approach to validation suggests that the claims based on the test scores be outlined as an argument that specifies the inferences and supporting assumptions needed to get from test responses to score-based…

Histopathological Validation of the Surface-Intermediate-Base Margin Score for Standardized Reporting of Resection Technique during Nephron Sparing Surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Minervini, Andrea; Campi, Riccardo; Kutikov, Alexander; Montagnani, Ilaria; Sessa, Francesco; Serni, Sergio; Raspollini, Maria Rosaria; Carini, Marco

2015-10-01

The surface-intermediate-base margin score is a novel standardized reporting system of resection techniques during nephron sparing surgery. We validated the surgeon assessed surface-intermediate-base score with microscopic histopathological assessment of partial nephrectomy specimens. Between June and August 2014 data were prospectively collected from 40 consecutive patients undergoing nephron sparing surgery. The surface-intermediate-base score was assigned to all cases. The score specific areas were color coded with tissue margin ink and sectioned for histological evaluation of healthy renal margin thickness. Maximum, minimum and mean thickness of healthy renal margin for each score specific area grade (surface [S] = 0, S = 1 ; intermediate [I] or base [B] = 0, I or B = 1, I or B = 2) was reported. The Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to compare the thickness of healthy renal margin in S = 0 vs 1 and I or B = 0 vs 1 vs 2 grades, respectively. Maximum, minimum and mean thickness of healthy renal margin was significantly different among score specific area grades S = 0 vs 1, and I or B = 0 vs 1, 0 vs 2 and 1 vs 2 (p <0.001). The main limitations of the study are the low number of the I or B = 1 and I or B = 2 samples and the assumption that each microscopic slide reflects the entire score specific area for histological analysis. The surface-intermediate-base scoring method can be readily harnessed in real-world clinical practice and accurately mirrors histopathological analysis for quantification and reporting of healthy renal margin thickness removed during tumor excision. Copyright © 2015 American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A Novel Prognostic Score, Based on Preoperative Nutritional Status, Predicts Outcomes of Patients after Curative Resection for Gastric Cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Xuechao; Qiu, Haibo; Liu, Jianjun; Chen, Shangxiang; Xu, Dazhi; Li, Wei; Zhan, Youqing; Li, Yuanfang; Chen, Yingbo; Zhou, Zhiwei; Sun, Xiaowei

2016-01-01

PURPOSE: We aimed to determine whether preoperative nutritional status (PNS) was a valuable predictor of outcome in patients with gastric cancer (GC). METHODS: We retrospectively evaluated 1320 patients with GC undergoing curative resection. The PNS score was constructed based on four objective and easily measurable criteria: prognostic nutritional index (PNI) score 1, serum albumin nutritional-based prognostic score, is independently associated with OS in GC. Prospective studies are needed to validate its clinical utility.

Web-Based Education Prior to Outpatient Orthopaedic Surgery Enhances Early Patient Satisfaction Scores: A Prospective Randomized Controlled Study.

Science.gov (United States)

van Eck, Carola F; Toor, Aneet; Banffy, Michael B; Gambardella, Ralph A

2018-01-01

A good patient-surgeon relationship relies on adequate preoperative education and counseling. Several multimedia resources, such as web-based education tools, have become available to enhance aspects of perioperative care. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of an interactive web-based education tool on perioperative patient satisfaction scores after outpatient orthopaedic surgery. It was hypothesized that web-based education prior to outpatient orthopaedic surgery enhances patient satisfaction scores. Randomized controlled trial; Level of evidence, 1. All patients undergoing knee arthroscopy with meniscectomy, chondroplasty, or anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction or shoulder arthroscopy with rotator cuff repair were eligible for inclusion and were randomized to the study or control group. The control group received routine education by the surgeon, whereas the study group received additional web-based education. At the first postoperative visit, all patients completed the OAS CAHPS (Outpatient and Ambulatory Surgery Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) survey. Differences in patient satisfaction scores between the study and control groups were determined with an independent t test. A total of 177 patients were included (104 [59%] males; mean age, 42 ± 14 years); 87 (49%) patients were randomized to receive additional web-based education. Total patient satisfaction score was significantly higher in the study group (97 ± 5) as compared with the control group (94 ± 8; P = .019), specifically for the OAS CAHPS core measure "recovery" (92 ± 13 vs 82 ± 23; P = .001). Age, sex, race, workers' compensation status, education level, overall health, emotional health, procedure type and complexity, and addition of a video did not influence patient satisfaction scores. Supplemental web-based patient education prior to outpatient orthopaedic surgery enhances patient satisfaction scores.

Premature ejaculation results from partners' mismatch: development and validation of index of intra-vaginal ejaculation latency time.

Science.gov (United States)

Cai, L; Wen, Y; Jiang, M; Zeng, M; Zhang, B

2016-05-01

Mismatch of partners in premature ejaculation (PE) regarding intra-vaginal ejaculation latency time (IELT) is usually neglected. Here we proposed the concept and evaluated the use of index of IELT (IIELT) as an objective diagnostic tool for PE. Data from 103 self-reporting PE patients and 59 normal controls were collected. The expected IELTs of both the male and female partners were provided by each participating couple in two questionnaires. IIELT=stopwatch IELT/(1/2 the male's expected IELT+1/2 the female's expected IELT). The stopwatch IELTs were 1.74±1.4 min (PE group) and 14.45±11.0 min (control group), PIELTs were 15.65±8.7 min (men) and 14.16±6.9 min (women) in the PE group, and 21.3±16.1 min (men) and 20.04±13.47 min (women) in the control group, P<0.05. The calculated IIELTs were 0.14±0.12 (PE group) and 0.83±0.60 (control group), P<0.05. The best cut-off point was 0.658, the Youden index was 0.652, sensitivity was 0.991, specificity was 0.661, positive predictive probability was 83.46% and negative predictive probability was 97.6%. We concluded that IIELT was an integrated measurement of the couples' sexual equilibrium and demonstrated that it provided a simple and objective screening indicator for diagnosing self-reported PE.

MRI-based radiologic scoring system for extent of brain injury in children with hemiplegia.

Science.gov (United States)

Shiran, S I; Weinstein, M; Sirota-Cohen, C; Myers, V; Ben Bashat, D; Fattal-Valevski, A; Green, D; Schertz, M

2014-12-01

Brain MR imaging is recommended in children with cerebral palsy. Descriptions of MR imaging findings lack uniformity, due to the absence of a validated quantitative approach. We developed a quantitative scoring method for brain injury based on anatomic MR imaging and examined the reliability and validity in correlation to motor function in children with hemiplegia. Twenty-seven children with hemiplegia underwent MR imaging (T1, T2-weighted sequences, DTI) and motor assessment (Manual Ability Classification System, Gross Motor Functional Classification System, Assisting Hand Assessment, Jebsen Taylor Test of Hand Function, and Children's Hand Experience Questionnaire). A scoring system devised in our center was applied to all scans. Radiologic score covered 4 domains: number of affected lobes, volume and type of white matter injury, extent of gray matter damage, and major white matter tract injury. Inter- and intrarater reliability was evaluated and the relationship between radiologic score and motor assessments determined. Mean total radiologic score was 11.3 ± 4.5 (range 4-18). Good inter- (ρ = 0.909, P classification systems (ρ = 0.708, P high inter- and intrarater reliability and significant associations with manual ability classification systems and motor evaluations. This score provides a standardized radiologic assessment of brain injury extent in hemiplegic patients with predominantly unilateral injury, allowing comparison between groups, and providing an additional tool for counseling families. © 2014 by American Journal of Neuroradiology.

Performance of machine-learning scoring functions in structure-based virtual screening.

Science.gov (United States)

Wójcikowski, Maciej; Ballester, Pedro J; Siedlecki, Pawel

2017-04-25

Classical scoring functions have reached a plateau in their performance in virtual screening and binding affinity prediction. Recently, machine-learning scoring functions trained on protein-ligand complexes have shown great promise in small tailored studies. They have also raised controversy, specifically concerning model overfitting and applicability to novel targets. Here we provide a new ready-to-use scoring function (RF-Score-VS) trained on 15 426 active and 893 897 inactive molecules docked to a set of 102 targets. We use the full DUD-E data sets along with three docking tools, five classical and three machine-learning scoring functions for model building and performance assessment. Our results show RF-Score-VS can substantially improve virtual screening performance: RF-Score-VS top 1% provides 55.6% hit rate, whereas that of Vina only 16.2% (for smaller percent the difference is even more encouraging: RF-Score-VS top 0.1% achieves 88.6% hit rate for 27.5% using Vina). In addition, RF-Score-VS provides much better prediction of measured binding affinity than Vina (Pearson correlation of 0.56 and -0.18, respectively). Lastly, we test RF-Score-VS on an independent test set from the DEKOIS benchmark and observed comparable results. We provide full data sets to facilitate further research in this area (http://github.com/oddt/rfscorevs) as well as ready-to-use RF-Score-VS (http://github.com/oddt/rfscorevs_binary).

The 5-HT2C receptor gene Cys23Ser polymorphism influences the intravaginal ejaculation latency time in Dutch Caucasian men with lifelong premature ejaculation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paddy KC Janssen

2014-08-01

Full Text Available It has been postulated that the persistent short intravaginal ejaculation latency time (IELT of men with lifelong premature ejaculation (LPE is related to 5-hydroxytryptamine (HT2C receptor functioning. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship of Cys23Ser 5-HT2C receptor gene polymorphism and the duration of IELT in men with LPE. Therefore, a prospective study was conducted in 64 Dutch Caucasian men with LPE. Baseline IELT during coitus was assessed by stopwatch over a 1-month period. All men were genotyped for Cys23Ser 5-HT2C receptor gene polymorphism. Allele frequencies and genotypes of Cys and Ser variants of 5-HT2C receptor gene polymorphism were determined. Association between Cys/Cys and Ser/Ser genotypes and the natural logarithm of the IELT in men with LPE were investigated. As a result, the geometric mean, median and natural mean IELT were 25.2, 27.0, 33.9 s, respectively. Of all men, 20.0%, 10.8%, 23.1% and 41.5% ejaculated within 10, 10-20, 20-30 and 30-60 s after vaginal penetration. Of the 64 men, the Cys/Cys and Ser/Ser genotype frequency for the Cys23Ser polymorphism of the 5-HT2C receptor gene was 81% and 19%, respectively. The geometric mean IELT of the wildtypes (Cys/Cys is significantly lower (22.6 s; 95% CI 18.3-27.8 s than in male homozygous mutants (Ser/Ser (40.4 s; 95% CI 20.3-80.4 s (P = 0.03. It is concluded that Cys23Ser 5-HT2C receptor gene polymorphism is associated with the IELT in men with LPE. Men with Cys/Cys genotype have shorter IELTs than men with Ser/Ser genotypes.

The 5-HT2C receptor gene Cys23Ser polymorphism influences the intravaginal ejaculation latency time in Dutch Caucasian men with lifelong premature ejaculation.

Science.gov (United States)

Janssen, Paddy Kc; Schaik, Ron van; Olivier, Berend; Waldinger, Marcel D

2014-01-01

It has been postulated that the persistent short intravaginal ejaculation latency time (IELT) of men with lifelong premature ejaculation (LPE) is related to 5-hydroxytryptamine (HT)2C receptor functioning. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship of Cys23Ser 5-HT2C receptor gene polymorphism and the duration of IELT in men with LPE. Therefore, a prospective study was conducted in 64 Dutch Caucasian men with LPE. Baseline IELT during coitus was assessed by stopwatch over a 1-month period. All men were genotyped for Cys23Ser 5-HT2C receptor gene polymorphism. Allele frequencies and genotypes of Cys and Ser variants of 5-HT2C receptor gene polymorphism were determined. Association between Cys/Cys and Ser/Ser genotypes and the natural logarithm of the IELT in men with LPE were investigated. As a result, the geometric mean, median and natural mean IELT were 25.2, 27.0, 33.9 s, respectively. Of all men, 20.0%, 10.8%, 23.1% and 41.5% ejaculated within 10, 10-20, 20-30 and 30-60 s after vaginal penetration. Of the 64 men, the Cys/Cys and Ser/Ser genotype frequency for the Cys23Ser polymorphism of the 5-HT2C receptor gene was 81% and 19%, respectively. The geometric mean IELT of the wildtypes (Cys/Cys) is significantly lower (22.6 s; 95% CI 18.3-27.8 s) than in male homozygous mutants (Ser/Ser) (40.4 s; 95% CI 20.3-80.4 s) (P = 0.03). It is concluded that Cys23Ser 5-HT2C receptor gene polymorphism is associated with the IELT in men with LPE. Men with Cys/Cys genotype have shorter IELTs than men with Ser/Ser genotypes.

Team-based learning on a third-year pediatric clerkship improves NBME subject exam blood disorder scores

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kris Saudek

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Purpose: At our institution, speculation amongst medical students and faculty exists as to whether team-based learning (TBL can improve scores on high-stakes examinations over traditional didactic lectures. Faculty with experience using TBL developed and piloted a required TBL blood disorders (BD module for third-year medical students on their pediatric clerkship. The purpose of this study is to analyze the BD scores from the NBME subject exams before and after the introduction of the module. Methods: We analyzed institutional and national item difficulties for BD items from the NBME pediatrics content area item analysis reports from 2011 to 2014 before (pre and after (post the pilot (October 2012. Total scores of 590 NBME subject examination students from examinee performance profiles were analyzed pre/post. t-Tests and Cohen's d effect sizes were used to analyze item difficulties for institutional versus national scores and pre/post comparisons of item difficulties and total scores. Results: BD scores for our institution were 0.65 (±0.19 compared to 0.62 (±0.15 nationally (P=0.346; Cohen's d=0.15. The average of post-consecutive BD scores for our students was 0.70(±0.21 compared to examinees nationally [0.64 (±0.15] with a significant mean difference (P=0.031; Cohen's d=0.43. The difference in our institutions pre [0.65 (±0.19] and post [0.70 (±0.21] BD scores trended higher (P=0.391; Cohen's d=0.27. Institutional BD scores were higher than national BD scores for both pre and post, with an effect size that tripled from pre to post scores. Institutional BD scores increased after the use of the TBL module, while overall exam scores remained steadily above national norms. Conclusions: Institutional BD scores were higher than national BD scores for both pre and post, with an effect size that tripled from pre to post scores. Institutional BD scores increased after the use of the TBL module, while overall exam scores remained steadily above

An Interval-Valued Intuitionistic Fuzzy TOPSIS Method Based on an Improved Score Function

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhi-yong Bai

2013-01-01

Full Text Available This paper proposes an improved score function for the effective ranking order of interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy sets (IVIFSs and an interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy TOPSIS method based on the score function to solve multicriteria decision-making problems in which all the preference information provided by decision-makers is expressed as interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy decision matrices where each of the elements is characterized by IVIFS value and the information about criterion weights is known. We apply the proposed score function to calculate the separation measures of each alternative from the positive and negative ideal solutions to determine the relative closeness coefficients. According to the values of the closeness coefficients, the alternatives can be ranked and the most desirable one(s can be selected in the decision-making process. Finally, two illustrative examples for multicriteria fuzzy decision-making problems of alternatives are used as a demonstration of the applications and the effectiveness of the proposed decision-making method.

Combination of scoring schemes for protein docking

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Schomburg Dietmar

2007-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Docking algorithms are developed to predict in which orientation two proteins are likely to bind under natural conditions. The currently used methods usually consist of a sampling step followed by a scoring step. We developed a weighted geometric correlation based on optimised atom specific weighting factors and combined them with our previously published amino acid specific scoring and with a comprehensive SVM-based scoring function. Results The scoring with the atom specific weighting factors yields better results than the amino acid specific scoring. In combination with SVM-based scoring functions the percentage of complexes for which a near native structure can be predicted within the top 100 ranks increased from 14% with the geometric scoring to 54% with the combination of all scoring functions. Especially for the enzyme-inhibitor complexes the results of the ranking are excellent. For half of these complexes a near-native structure can be predicted within the first 10 proposed structures and for more than 86% of all enzyme-inhibitor complexes within the first 50 predicted structures. Conclusion We were able to develop a combination of different scoring schemes which considers a series of previously described and some new scoring criteria yielding a remarkable improvement of prediction quality.

Pediatric siMS score: A new, simple and accurate continuous metabolic syndrome score for everyday use in pediatrics.

Science.gov (United States)

Vukovic, Rade; Milenkovic, Tatjana; Stojan, George; Vukovic, Ana; Mitrovic, Katarina; Todorovic, Sladjana; Soldatovic, Ivan

2017-01-01

The dichotomous nature of the current definition of metabolic syndrome (MS) in youth results in loss of information. On the other hand, the calculation of continuous MS scores using standardized residuals in linear regression (Z scores) or factor scores of principal component analysis (PCA) is highly impractical for clinical use. Recently, a novel, easily calculated continuous MS score called siMS score was developed based on the IDF MS criteria for the adult population. To develop a Pediatric siMS score (PsiMS), a modified continuous MS score for use in the obese youth, based on the original siMS score, while keeping the score as simple as possible and retaining high correlation with more complex scores. The database consisted of clinical data on 153 obese (BMI ≥95th percentile) children and adolescents. Continuous MS scores were calculated using Z scores and PCA, as well as the original siMS score. Four variants of PsiMS score were developed in accordance with IDF criteria for MS in youth and correlation of these scores with PCA and Z score derived MS continuous scores was assessed. PsiMS score calculated using formula: (2xWaist/Height) + (Glucose(mmol/l)/5.6) + (triglycerides(mmol/l)/1.7) + (Systolic BP/130)-(HDL(mmol/l)/1.02) showed the highest correlation with most of the complex continuous scores (0.792-0.901). The original siMS score also showed high correlation with continuous MS scores. PsiMS score represents a practical and accurate score for the evaluation of MS in the obese youth. The original siMS score should be used when evaluating large cohorts consisting of both adults and children.

A Web-based Peer Assessment System for Assigning Student Scores in Cooperative Learning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anon Sukstrienwong

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Working in groups has become increasingly important in order to develop students' skills. However, it can be more successful when peers cooperate and are involved in the assigned tasks. However, several educators firmly show disadvantages when all peers received the same reward, regardless of individual contribution. Some teachers also considering peer assessment to be time and effort consuming because preparation and monitoring are needed. In order to overcome these problems, we have developed a web-based peer assessment referred to as the ‘Scoring by Peer Assessment System’ (SPAS that allows teachers to set up the process of peer assessment, in order to assign scores that reflect the contribution of each student. Moreover, a web-based application allows students to evaluate their peers regarding their individual contribution where cooperative learning and peer assessment are used. The paper describes the system design and the implementation of our peer assessment application.

Randomized clinical trial of Appendicitis Inflammatory Response score-based management of patients with suspected appendicitis.

Science.gov (United States)

Andersson, M; Kolodziej, B; Andersson, R E

2017-10-01

The role of imaging in the diagnosis of appendicitis is controversial. This prospective interventional study and nested randomized trial analysed the impact of implementing a risk stratification algorithm based on the Appendicitis Inflammatory Response (AIR) score, and compared routine imaging with selective imaging after clinical reassessment. Patients presenting with suspicion of appendicitis between September 2009 and January 2012 from age 10 years were included at 21 emergency surgical centres and from age 5 years at three university paediatric centres. Registration of clinical characteristics, treatments and outcomes started during the baseline period. The AIR score-based algorithm was implemented during the intervention period. Intermediate-risk patients were randomized to routine imaging or selective imaging after clinical reassessment. The baseline period included 1152 patients, and the intervention period 2639, of whom 1068 intermediate-risk patients were randomized. In low-risk patients, use of the AIR score-based algorithm resulted in less imaging (19·2 versus 34·5 per cent; P appendicitis (6·8 versus 9·7 per cent; P = 0·034). Intermediate-risk patients randomized to the imaging and observation groups had the same proportion of negative appendicectomies (6·4 versus 6·7 per cent respectively; P = 0·884), number of admissions, number of perforations and length of hospital stay, but routine imaging was associated with an increased proportion of patients treated for appendicitis (53·4 versus 46·3 per cent; P = 0·020). AIR score-based risk classification can safely reduce the use of diagnostic imaging and hospital admissions in patients with suspicion of appendicitis. Registration number: NCT00971438 ( http://www.clinicaltrials.gov). © 2017 BJS Society Ltd Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Countries’ Biomedical Publications and Attraction Scores. A PubMed-based assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Qinyi; Boggio, Andrea; Ballabeni, Andrea

2015-01-01

Studying publication volumes at the country level is key to understanding and improving a country’s research system. PubMed is a public search engine of publications in all life sciences areas. Here, we show how this search engine can be used to assess the outputs of life science-related research by country. We have measured the numbers of publications during different time periods based on the country of affiliation of the first authors. Moreover, we have designed scores, which we have named Attraction Scores, to appraise the relative focus either toward particular types of studies, such as clinical trials or reviews, or toward specific research areas, such as public health and pharmacogenomics, or toward specific topics, for instance embryonic stem cells; we have also investigated a possible use of these Attraction Scores in connection with regulatory policies. We have weighed the statistics against general indicators such as country populations and gross domestic products (GDP). During the 5-year period 2008-2012, the United States was the country with the highest number of publications and Denmark the one with the highest number of publications per capita. Among the 40 countries with the highest GDPs, Israel had the highest publications-to-GDP ratio. Among the 20 countries with the most publications, Japan had the highest Attraction Score for induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells and Italy the highest proportion of review publications. More than 50% of publications in English were from countries in which English is not the primary language. We show an assorted and extensive collection of rankings and charts that will inform scholars and policymakers in studying and improving the research systems both at the national and international level. PMID:26401263

Dismantling the Deep Earth: Geochemical Constraints from Hotspot Lavas for the Origin and Lengthscales of Mantle Heterogeneity

Science.gov (United States)

2008-02-01

inclusions fi-rm a recently discovered high ’He/ 4 H the ielt source but that is not detectable in whole basalt from Samoa [25]. Our strategy is to...can compare: canl be inferred fi-om the neat-uniforma ratios obtained thlem to similarly corrected Samoan whole-rock lavas oit) ielt inclusijons from...Rb correction. Although the number,ftlataluintsis limited, the data are consistent 3.2. Major and frace element characteristics /i mwlt with Ielt

Continuing Medical Education Speakers with High Evaluation Scores Use more Image-based Slides

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ferguson, Ian

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Although continuing medical education (CME presentations are common across health professions, it is unknown whether slide design is independently associated with audience evaluations of the speaker. Based on the conceptual framework of Mayer’s theory of multimedia learning, this study aimed to determine whether image use and text density in presentation slides are associated with overall speaker evaluations. This retrospective analysis of six sequential CME conferences (two annual emergency medicine conferences over a three-year period used a mixed linear regression model to assess whether postconference speaker evaluations were associated with image fraction (percentage of image-based slides per presentation and text density (number of words per slide. A total of 105 unique lectures were given by 49 faculty members, and 1,222 evaluations (70.1% response rate were available for analysis. On average, 47.4% (SD=25.36 of slides had at least one educationally-relevant image (image fraction. Image fraction significantly predicted overall higher evaluation scores [F(1, 100.676=6.158, p=0.015] in the mixed linear regression model. The mean (SD text density was 25.61 (8.14 words/slide but was not a significant predictor [F(1, 86.293=0.55, p=0.815]. Of note, the individual speaker [χ2 (1=2.952, p=0.003] and speaker seniority [F(3, 59.713=4.083, p=0.011] significantly predicted higher scores. This is the first published study to date assessing the linkage between slide design and CME speaker evaluations by an audience of practicing clinicians. The incorporation of images was associated with higher evaluation scores, in alignment with Mayer’s theory of multimedia learning. Contrary to this theory, however, text density showed no significant association, suggesting that these scores may be multifactorial. Professional development efforts should focus on teaching best practices in both slide design and presentation skills.

Continuing Medical Education Speakers with High Evaluation Scores Use more Image-based Slides.

Science.gov (United States)

Ferguson, Ian; Phillips, Andrew W; Lin, Michelle

2017-01-01

Although continuing medical education (CME) presentations are common across health professions, it is unknown whether slide design is independently associated with audience evaluations of the speaker. Based on the conceptual framework of Mayer's theory of multimedia learning, this study aimed to determine whether image use and text density in presentation slides are associated with overall speaker evaluations. This retrospective analysis of six sequential CME conferences (two annual emergency medicine conferences over a three-year period) used a mixed linear regression model to assess whether post-conference speaker evaluations were associated with image fraction (percentage of image-based slides per presentation) and text density (number of words per slide). A total of 105 unique lectures were given by 49 faculty members, and 1,222 evaluations (70.1% response rate) were available for analysis. On average, 47.4% (SD=25.36) of slides had at least one educationally-relevant image (image fraction). Image fraction significantly predicted overall higher evaluation scores [F(1, 100.676)=6.158, p=0.015] in the mixed linear regression model. The mean (SD) text density was 25.61 (8.14) words/slide but was not a significant predictor [F(1, 86.293)=0.55, p=0.815]. Of note, the individual speaker [χ 2 (1)=2.952, p=0.003] and speaker seniority [F(3, 59.713)=4.083, p=0.011] significantly predicted higher scores. This is the first published study to date assessing the linkage between slide design and CME speaker evaluations by an audience of practicing clinicians. The incorporation of images was associated with higher evaluation scores, in alignment with Mayer's theory of multimedia learning. Contrary to this theory, however, text density showed no significant association, suggesting that these scores may be multifactorial. Professional development efforts should focus on teaching best practices in both slide design and presentation skills.

Using Old and New SAT® Scores for Admission: A Closer Look at Concordant Scores in Predictive Models. Research Report 2016-17

Science.gov (United States)

Marini, Jessica P.; Shaw, Emily J.; Young, Linda

2016-01-01

During the transition period between the use of exclusively old SAT® scores and the use of exclusively new SAT scores, college admission offices will be receiving both types of scores from students. Making an admission decision based on new SAT scores can be challenging at first because institutions have methods, procedures, and models based on…

The clinical performance of an office-based risk scoring system for fatal cardiovascular diseases in North-East of Iran.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sadaf G Sepanlou

Full Text Available Cardiovascular diseases (CVD are becoming major causes of death in developing countries. Risk scoring systems for CVD are needed to prioritize allocation of limited resources. Most of these risk score algorithms have been based on a long array of risk factors including blood markers of lipids. However, risk scoring systems that solely use office-based data, not including laboratory markers, may be advantageous. In the current analysis, we validated the office-based Framingham risk scoring system in Iran.The study used data from the Golestan Cohort in North-East of Iran. The following risk factors were used in the development of the risk scoring method: sex, age, body mass index, systolic blood pressure, hypertension treatment, current smoking, and diabetes. Cardiovascular risk functions for prediction of 10-year risk of fatal CVDs were developed.A total of 46,674 participants free of CVD at baseline were included. Predictive value of estimated risks was examined. The resulting Area Under the ROC Curve (AUC was 0.774 (95% CI: 0.762-0.787 in all participants, 0.772 (95% CI: 0.753-0.791 in women, and 0.763 (95% CI: 0.747-0.779 in men. AUC was higher in urban areas (0.790, 95% CI: 0.766-0.815. The predicted and observed risks of fatal CVD were similar in women. However, in men, predicted probabilities were higher than observed.The AUC in the current study is comparable to results of previous studies while lipid profile was replaced by body mass index to develop an office-based scoring system. This scoring algorithm is capable of discriminating individuals at high risk versus low risk of fatal CVD.

Anomalous diffusion in the evolution of soccer championship scores: Real data, mean-field analysis, and an agent-based model

Science.gov (United States)

da Silva, Roberto; Vainstein, Mendeli H.; Gonçalves, Sebastián; Paula, Felipe S. F.

2013-08-01

Statistics of soccer tournament scores based on the double round robin system of several countries are studied. Exploring the dynamics of team scoring during tournament seasons from recent years we find evidences of superdiffusion. A mean-field analysis results in a drift velocity equal to that of real data but in a different diffusion coefficient. Along with the analysis of real data we present the results of simulations of soccer tournaments obtained by an agent-based model which successfully describes the final scoring distribution [da Silva , Comput. Phys. Commun.CPHCBZ0010-465510.1016/j.cpc.2012.10.030 184, 661 (2013)]. Such model yields random walks of scores over time with the same anomalous diffusion as observed in real data.

A Novel Scoring System Approach to Assess Patients with Lyme Disease (Nutech Functional Score).

Science.gov (United States)

Shroff, Geeta; Hopf-Seidel, Petra

2018-01-01

A bacterial infection by Borrelia burgdorferi referred to as Lyme disease (LD) or borreliosis is transmitted mostly by a bite of the tick Ixodes scapularis in the USA and Ixodes ricinus in Europe. Various tests are used for the diagnosis of LD, but their results are often unreliable. We compiled a list of clinically visible and patient-reported symptoms that are associated with LD. Based on this list, we developed a novel scoring system. Nutech functional Score (NFS), which is a 43 point positional (every symptom is subgraded and each alternative gets some points according to its position) and directional (moves in direction bad to good) scoring system that assesses the patient's condition. The grades of the scoring system have been converted into numeric values for conducting probability based studies. Each symptom is graded from 1 to 5 that runs in direction BAD → GOOD. NFS is a unique tool that can be used universally to assess the condition of patients with LD.

NPPD: A Protein-Protein Docking Scoring Function Based on Dyadic Differences in Networks of Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Amino Acid Residues

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Edward S. C. Shih

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Protein-protein docking (PPD predictions usually rely on the use of a scoring function to rank docking models generated by exhaustive sampling. To rank good models higher than bad ones, a large number of scoring functions have been developed and evaluated, but the methods used for the computation of PPD predictions remain largely unsatisfactory. Here, we report a network-based PPD scoring function, the NPPD, in which the network consists of two types of network nodes, one for hydrophobic and the other for hydrophilic amino acid residues, and the nodes are connected when the residues they represent are within a certain contact distance. We showed that network parameters that compute dyadic interactions and those that compute heterophilic interactions of the amino acid networks thus constructed allowed NPPD to perform well in a benchmark evaluation of 115 PPD scoring functions, most of which, unlike NPPD, are based on some sort of protein-protein interaction energy. We also showed that NPPD was highly complementary to these energy-based scoring functions, suggesting that the combined use of conventional scoring functions and NPPD might significantly improve the accuracy of current PPD predictions.

A MIXED METHODS ANALYSIS OF THE EFFECT OF GOOGLE DOCS ENVIRONMENT ON EFL LEARNERS’ WRITING PERFORMANCE AND CAUSAL ATTRIBUTIONS FOR SUCCESS AND FAILURE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zari Sadat SEYYEDREZAIE

2016-07-01

Full Text Available This study investigated the effect of writing process in Google Docs environment on Iranian EFL learners’ writing performance. It also examined students’ perceptions towards the effects of Google Docs and their perceived causes of success or failure in writing performance. In this regard, 48 EFL students were chosen based on their IELTs writing test scores. During the treatment, the students were taught how to write a formal five-paragraph essay in the class, but they were supposed to practice writing process and give feedback to their peers’ essays through Google Docs. At the end of the treatment phase, the participants received another sample of IELTs writing test (posttest. Moreover, 20 participants were interviewed for their perceptions regarding the causes for their success and failure and the influence of Google Docs on their writing performance. The analysis of a Paired-Sample t-test revealed that Google Docs played an effective role in improving students’ writing performance. In addition, the analysis of interview revealed that the students perceived both internal and external causes for their success and failure; but in case of failure, internal factors were cited more often than external ones. Also, it was revealed that students generally showed positive attitude towards the implication of Google Docs as a factor leading to success in their writing performance.

AUC-based biomarker ensemble with an application on gene scores predicting low bone mineral density.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, X G; Dai, W; Li, Y; Tian, L

2011-11-01

The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC), long regarded as a 'golden' measure for the predictiveness of a continuous score, has propelled the need to develop AUC-based predictors. However, the AUC-based ensemble methods are rather scant, largely due to the fact that the associated objective function is neither continuous nor concave. Indeed, there is no reliable numerical algorithm identifying optimal combination of a set of biomarkers to maximize the AUC, especially when the number of biomarkers is large. We have proposed a novel AUC-based statistical ensemble methods for combining multiple biomarkers to differentiate a binary response of interest. Specifically, we propose to replace the non-continuous and non-convex AUC objective function by a convex surrogate loss function, whose minimizer can be efficiently identified. With the established framework, the lasso and other regularization techniques enable feature selections. Extensive simulations have demonstrated the superiority of the new methods to the existing methods. The proposal has been applied to a gene expression dataset to construct gene expression scores to differentiate elderly women with low bone mineral density (BMD) and those with normal BMD. The AUCs of the resulting scores in the independent test dataset has been satisfactory. Aiming for directly maximizing AUC, the proposed AUC-based ensemble method provides an efficient means of generating a stable combination of multiple biomarkers, which is especially useful under the high-dimensional settings. lutian@stanford.edu. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

Determination of an effective scoring function for RNA-RNA interactions with a physics-based double-iterative method.

Science.gov (United States)

Yan, Yumeng; Wen, Zeyu; Zhang, Di; Huang, Sheng-You

2018-05-18

RNA-RNA interactions play fundamental roles in gene and cell regulation. Therefore, accurate prediction of RNA-RNA interactions is critical to determine their complex structures and understand the molecular mechanism of the interactions. Here, we have developed a physics-based double-iterative strategy to determine the effective potentials for RNA-RNA interactions based on a training set of 97 diverse RNA-RNA complexes. The double-iterative strategy circumvented the reference state problem in knowledge-based scoring functions by updating the potentials through iteration and also overcame the decoy-dependent limitation in previous iterative methods by constructing the decoys iteratively. The derived scoring function, which is referred to as DITScoreRR, was evaluated on an RNA-RNA docking benchmark of 60 test cases and compared with three other scoring functions. It was shown that for bound docking, our scoring function DITScoreRR obtained the excellent success rates of 90% and 98.3% in binding mode predictions when the top 1 and 10 predictions were considered, compared to 63.3% and 71.7% for van der Waals interactions, 45.0% and 65.0% for ITScorePP, and 11.7% and 26.7% for ZDOCK 2.1, respectively. For unbound docking, DITScoreRR achieved the good success rates of 53.3% and 71.7% in binding mode predictions when the top 1 and 10 predictions were considered, compared to 13.3% and 28.3% for van der Waals interactions, 11.7% and 26.7% for our ITScorePP, and 3.3% and 6.7% for ZDOCK 2.1, respectively. DITScoreRR also performed significantly better in ranking decoys and obtained significantly higher score-RMSD correlations than the other three scoring functions. DITScoreRR will be of great value for the prediction and design of RNA structures and RNA-RNA complexes.

Optimization of MRI-based scoring scales of brain injury severity in children with unilateral cerebral palsy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pagnozzi, Alex M.; Fiori, Simona; Boyd, Roslyn N.; Guzzetta, Andrea; Doecke, James; Rose, Stephen; Dowson, Nicholas; Gal, Yaniv

2016-01-01

Several scoring systems for measuring brain injury severity have been developed to standardize the classification of MRI results, which allows for the prediction of functional outcomes to help plan effective interventions for children with cerebral palsy. The aim of this study is to use statistical techniques to optimize the clinical utility of a recently proposed template-based scoring method by weighting individual anatomical scores of injury, while maintaining its simplicity by retaining only a subset of scored anatomical regions. Seventy-six children with unilateral cerebral palsy were evaluated in terms of upper limb motor function using the Assisting Hand Assessment measure and injuries visible on MRI using a semiquantitative approach. This cohort included 52 children with periventricular white matter injury and 24 with cortical and deep gray matter injuries. A subset of the template-derived cerebral regions was selected using a data-driven region selection algorithm. Linear regression was performed using this subset, with interaction effects excluded. Linear regression improved multiple correlations between MRI-based and Assisting Hand Assessment scores for both periventricular white matter (R squared increased to 0.45 from 0, P < 0.0001) and cortical and deep gray matter (0.84 from 0.44, P < 0.0001) cohorts. In both cohorts, the data-driven approach retained fewer than 8 of the 40 template-derived anatomical regions. The equal or better prediction of the clinically meaningful Assisting Hand Assessment measure using fewer anatomical regions highlights the potential of these developments to enable enhanced quantification of injury and prediction of patient motor outcome, while maintaining the clinical expediency of the scoring approach. (orig.)

Optimization of MRI-based scoring scales of brain injury severity in children with unilateral cerebral palsy.

Science.gov (United States)

Pagnozzi, Alex M; Fiori, Simona; Boyd, Roslyn N; Guzzetta, Andrea; Doecke, James; Gal, Yaniv; Rose, Stephen; Dowson, Nicholas

2016-02-01

Several scoring systems for measuring brain injury severity have been developed to standardize the classification of MRI results, which allows for the prediction of functional outcomes to help plan effective interventions for children with cerebral palsy. The aim of this study is to use statistical techniques to optimize the clinical utility of a recently proposed template-based scoring method by weighting individual anatomical scores of injury, while maintaining its simplicity by retaining only a subset of scored anatomical regions. Seventy-six children with unilateral cerebral palsy were evaluated in terms of upper limb motor function using the Assisting Hand Assessment measure and injuries visible on MRI using a semiquantitative approach. This cohort included 52 children with periventricular white matter injury and 24 with cortical and deep gray matter injuries. A subset of the template-derived cerebral regions was selected using a data-driven region selection algorithm. Linear regression was performed using this subset, with interaction effects excluded. Linear regression improved multiple correlations between MRI-based and Assisting Hand Assessment scores for both periventricular white matter (R squared increased to 0.45 from 0, P < 0.0001) and cortical and deep gray matter (0.84 from 0.44, P < 0.0001) cohorts. In both cohorts, the data-driven approach retained fewer than 8 of the 40 template-derived anatomical regions. The equal or better prediction of the clinically meaningful Assisting Hand Assessment measure using fewer anatomical regions highlights the potential of these developments to enable enhanced quantification of injury and prediction of patient motor outcome, while maintaining the clinical expediency of the scoring approach.

Optimization of MRI-based scoring scales of brain injury severity in children with unilateral cerebral palsy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pagnozzi, Alex M. [Royal Brisbane and Women' s Hospital, CSIRO Digital Productivity and Services Flagship, The Australian e-Health Research Centre, Herston, QLD (Australia); The University of Queensland, School of Medicine, Brisbane (Australia); Fiori, Simona [Stella Maris Scientific Institute, Pisa (Italy); Boyd, Roslyn N. [The University of Queensland, Queensland Cerebral Palsy and Rehabilitation Research Centre, School of Medicine, Brisbane (Australia); Guzzetta, Andrea [Stella Maris Scientific Institute, Pisa (Italy); University of Pisa, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Pisa (Italy); Doecke, James; Rose, Stephen; Dowson, Nicholas [Royal Brisbane and Women' s Hospital, CSIRO Digital Productivity and Services Flagship, The Australian e-Health Research Centre, Herston, QLD (Australia); Gal, Yaniv [The University of Queensland, Centre for Medical Diagnostic Technologies in Queensland, Brisbane (Australia)

2016-02-15

Several scoring systems for measuring brain injury severity have been developed to standardize the classification of MRI results, which allows for the prediction of functional outcomes to help plan effective interventions for children with cerebral palsy. The aim of this study is to use statistical techniques to optimize the clinical utility of a recently proposed template-based scoring method by weighting individual anatomical scores of injury, while maintaining its simplicity by retaining only a subset of scored anatomical regions. Seventy-six children with unilateral cerebral palsy were evaluated in terms of upper limb motor function using the Assisting Hand Assessment measure and injuries visible on MRI using a semiquantitative approach. This cohort included 52 children with periventricular white matter injury and 24 with cortical and deep gray matter injuries. A subset of the template-derived cerebral regions was selected using a data-driven region selection algorithm. Linear regression was performed using this subset, with interaction effects excluded. Linear regression improved multiple correlations between MRI-based and Assisting Hand Assessment scores for both periventricular white matter (R squared increased to 0.45 from 0, P < 0.0001) and cortical and deep gray matter (0.84 from 0.44, P < 0.0001) cohorts. In both cohorts, the data-driven approach retained fewer than 8 of the 40 template-derived anatomical regions. The equal or better prediction of the clinically meaningful Assisting Hand Assessment measure using fewer anatomical regions highlights the potential of these developments to enable enhanced quantification of injury and prediction of patient motor outcome, while maintaining the clinical expediency of the scoring approach. (orig.)

A point-based prediction model for cardiovascular risk in orthotopic liver transplantation: The CAR-OLT score.

Science.gov (United States)

VanWagner, Lisa B; Ning, Hongyan; Whitsett, Maureen; Levitsky, Josh; Uttal, Sarah; Wilkins, John T; Abecassis, Michael M; Ladner, Daniela P; Skaro, Anton I; Lloyd-Jones, Donald M

2017-12-01

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) complications are important causes of morbidity and mortality after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). There is currently no preoperative risk-assessment tool that allows physicians to estimate the risk for CVD events following OLT. We sought to develop a point-based prediction model (risk score) for CVD complications after OLT, the Cardiovascular Risk in Orthotopic Liver Transplantation risk score, among a cohort of 1,024 consecutive patients aged 18-75 years who underwent first OLT in a tertiary-care teaching hospital (2002-2011). The main outcome measures were major 1-year CVD complications, defined as death from a CVD cause or hospitalization for a major CVD event (myocardial infarction, revascularization, heart failure, atrial fibrillation, cardiac arrest, pulmonary embolism, and/or stroke). The bootstrap method yielded bias-corrected 95% confidence intervals for the regression coefficients of the final model. Among 1,024 first OLT recipients, major CVD complications occurred in 329 (32.1%). Variables selected for inclusion in the model (using model optimization strategies) included preoperative recipient age, sex, race, employment status, education status, history of hepatocellular carcinoma, diabetes, heart failure, atrial fibrillation, pulmonary or systemic hypertension, and respiratory failure. The discriminative performance of the point-based score (C statistic = 0.78, bias-corrected C statistic = 0.77) was superior to other published risk models for postoperative CVD morbidity and mortality, and it had appropriate calibration (Hosmer-Lemeshow P = 0.33). The point-based risk score can identify patients at risk for CVD complications after OLT surgery (available at www.carolt.us); this score may be useful for identification of candidates for further risk stratification or other management strategies to improve CVD outcomes after OLT. (Hepatology 2017;66:1968-1979). © 2017 by the American Association for the Study of Liver

QUASAR--scoring and ranking of sequence-structure alignments.

Science.gov (United States)

Birzele, Fabian; Gewehr, Jan E; Zimmer, Ralf

2005-12-15

Sequence-structure alignments are a common means for protein structure prediction in the fields of fold recognition and homology modeling, and there is a broad variety of programs that provide such alignments based on sequence similarity, secondary structure or contact potentials. Nevertheless, finding the best sequence-structure alignment in a pool of alignments remains a difficult problem. QUASAR (quality of sequence-structure alignments ranking) provides a unifying framework for scoring sequence-structure alignments that aids finding well-performing combinations of well-known and custom-made scoring schemes. Those scoring functions can be benchmarked against widely accepted quality scores like MaxSub, TMScore, Touch and APDB, thus enabling users to test their own alignment scores against 'standard-of-truth' structure-based scores. Furthermore, individual score combinations can be optimized with respect to benchmark sets based on known structural relationships using QUASAR's in-built optimization routines.

The Patient- And Nutrition-Derived Outcome Risk Assessment Score (PANDORA: Development of a Simple Predictive Risk Score for 30-Day In-Hospital Mortality Based on Demographics, Clinical Observation, and Nutrition.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael Hiesmayr

Full Text Available To develop a simple scoring system to predict 30 day in-hospital mortality of in-patients excluding those from intensive care units based on easily obtainable demographic, disease and nutrition related patient data.Score development with general estimation equation methodology and model selection by P-value thresholding based on a cross-sectional sample of 52 risk indicators with 123 item classes collected with questionnaires and stored in an multilingual online database.Worldwide prospective cross-sectional cohort with 30 day in-hospital mortality from the nutritionDay 2006-2009 and an external validation sample from 2012.We included 43894 patients from 2480 units in 32 countries. 1631(3.72% patients died within 30 days in hospital. The Patient- And Nutrition-Derived Outcome Risk Assessment (PANDORA score predicts 30-day hospital mortality based on 7 indicators with 31 item classes on a scale from 0 to 75 points. The indicators are age (0 to 17 points, nutrient intake on nutritionDay (0 to 12 points, mobility (0 to 11 points, fluid status (0 to 10 points, BMI (0 to 9 points, cancer (9 points and main patient group (0 to 7 points. An appropriate model fit has been achieved. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for mortality prediction was 0.82 in the development sample and 0.79 in the external validation sample.The PANDORA score is a simple, robust scoring system for a general population of hospitalised patients to be used for risk stratification and benchmarking.

An image based system to automatically and objectivelly score the degreeof redness and scaling in psoriasi lesions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gomez, David Delgado; Ersbøll, Bjarne Kjær; Carstensen, Jens Michael

2004-01-01

In this work, a combined statistical and image analysis method to automatically evaluate the severity of scaling in psoriasis lesions is proposed. The method separates the different regions of the disease in the image and scores the degree of scaling based on the properties of these areas. The pr...... that the obtained scores are highly correlated with scores made by doctors. This and the fact that the obtained measures are continuous indicate the proposed method is a suitable tool to evaluate the lesion and to track the evolution of dermatological diseases....

A comparison of the prognostic value of preoperative inflammation-based scores and TNM stage in patients with gastric cancer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pan QX

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Qun-Xiong Pan,* Zi-Jian Su,* Jian-Hua Zhang, Chong-Ren Wang, Shao-Ying KeDepartment of Oncosurgery, Quanzhou First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University, Quanzhou, Fujian, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workBackground: People’s Republic of China is one of the countries with the highest incidence of gastric cancer, accounting for 45% of all new gastric cancer cases in the world. Therefore, strong prognostic markers are critical for the diagnosis and survival of Chinese patients suffering from gastric cancer. Recent studies have begun to unravel the mechanisms linking the host inflammatory response to tumor growth, invasion and metastasis in gastric cancers. Based on this relationship between inflammation and cancer progression, several inflammation-based scores have been demonstrated to have prognostic value in many types of malignant solid tumors.Objective: To compare the prognostic value of inflammation-based prognostic scores and tumor node metastasis (TNM stage in patients undergoing gastric cancer resection.Methods: The inflammation-based prognostic scores were calculated for 207 patients with gastric cancer who underwent surgery. Glasgow prognostic score (GPS, neutrophil lymphocyte ratio (NLR, platelet lymphocyte ratio (PLR, prognostic nutritional index (PNI, and prognostic index (PI were analyzed. Linear trend chi-square test, likelihood ratio chi-square test, and receiver operating characteristic were performed to compare the prognostic value of the selected scores and TNM stage.Results: In univariate analysis, preoperative serum C-reactive protein (P<0.001, serum albumin (P<0.001, GPS (P<0.001, PLR (P=0.002, NLR (P<0.001, PI (P<0.001, PNI (P<0.001, and TNM stage (P<0.001 were significantly associated with both overall survival and disease-free survival of patients with gastric cancer. In multivariate analysis, GPS (P=0.024, NLR (P=0.012, PI (P=0.001, TNM stage (P<0.001, and degree of

[Prognostic scores for pulmonary embolism].

Science.gov (United States)

Junod, Alain

2016-03-23

Nine prognostic scores for pulmonary embolism (PE), based on retrospective and prospective studies, published between 2000 and 2014, have been analyzed and compared. Most of them aim at identifying PE cases with a low risk to validate their ambulatory care. Important differences in the considered outcomes: global mortality, PE-specific mortality, other complications, sizes of low risk groups, exist between these scores. The most popular score appears to be the PESI and its simplified version. Few good quality studies have tested the applicability of these scores to PE outpatient care, although this approach tends to already generalize in the medical practice.

Strategy-based listening and pragmatic comprehension

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Corsetti, Cristiane Ruzicki

2014-01-01

Full Text Available This article addresses the role of strategy-based listening as an alternative methodological approach to develop pragmatic comprehension in L2 contexts. Pragmatic comprehension refers to the understanding of speech acts and conversational implicatures. Listening comprehension comprises both bottom-up and top-down processes. Strategy-based listening encompasses the activation of pragmatic knowledge through pre-listening activities and the development of specific listening micro-skills. An empirical project which included a classroom project carried out with a group of eight learners preparing for the IELTS examination in 2009 corroborated the following assumptions: in order to achieve listening proficiency, learners need practice in making inferences as semantic and pragmatic inferences are embedded in verbal communication; semantic and pragmatic aspects affecting the meaning of utterances can be highlighted via comprehension activities focusing on specific listening subskills. The results of the classroom project suggested that strategy-based listening is potentially capable of directly enhancing pragmatic comprehension but were inconclusive with regards to pragmatic production

Nutech functional score: A novel scoring system to assess spinal cord injury patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Shroff, Geeta; Barthakur, Jitendra Kumar

2017-06-26

To develop a new scoring system, nutech functional scores (NFS) for assessing the patients with spinal cord injury (SCI). The conventional scale, American Spinal Injury Association's (ASIA) impairment scale is a measure which precisely describes the severity of the SCI. However, it has various limitations which lead to incomplete assessment of SCI patients. We have developed a 63 point scoring system, i . e ., NFS for patients suffering with SCI. A list of symptoms either common or rare that were found to be associated with SCI was recorded for each patient. On the basis of these lists, we have developed NFS. These lists served as a base to prepare NFS, a 63 point positional (each symptom is sub-graded and get points based on position) and directional (moves in direction BAD → GOOD) scoring system. For non-progressive diseases, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 denote worst, bad, moderate, good and best (normal), respectively. NFS for SCI has been divided into different groups based on the affected part of the body being assessed, i . e ., motor assessment (shoulders, elbow, wrist, fingers-grasp, fingers-release, hip, knee, ankle and toe), sensory assessment, autonomic assessment, bed sore assessment and general assessment. As probability based studies required a range of (-1, 1) or at least the range of (0, 1) to be useful for real world analysis, the grades were converted to respective numeric values. NFS can be considered as a unique tool to assess the improvement in patients with SCI as it overcomes the limitations of ASIA impairment scale.

Automated Scoring of Constructed-Response Science Items: Prospects and Obstacles

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Ou Lydia; Brew, Chris; Blackmore, John; Gerard, Libby; Madhok, Jacquie; Linn, Marcia C.

2014-01-01

Content-based automated scoring has been applied in a variety of science domains. However, many prior applications involved simplified scoring rubrics without considering rubrics representing multiple levels of understanding. This study tested a concept-based scoring tool for content-based scoring, c-rater™, for four science items with rubrics…

Impact on house staff evaluation scores when changing from a Dreyfus- to a Milestone-based evaluation model: one internal medicine residency program's findings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karen A. Friedman

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Purpose: As graduate medical education (GME moves into the Next Accreditation System (NAS, programs must take a critical look at their current models of evaluation and assess how well they align with reporting outcomes. Our objective was to assess the impact on house staff evaluation scores when transitioning from a Dreyfus-based model of evaluation to a Milestone-based model of evaluation. Milestones are a key component of the NAS. Method: We analyzed all end of rotation evaluations of house staff completed by faculty for academic years 2010–2011 (pre-Dreyfus model and 2011–2012 (post-Milestone model in one large university-based internal medicine residency training program. Main measures included change in PGY-level average score; slope, range, and separation of average scores across all six Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME competencies. Results: Transitioning from a Dreyfus-based model to a Milestone-based model resulted in a larger separation in the scores between our three post-graduate year classes, a steeper progression of scores in the PGY-1 class, a wider use of the 5-point scale on our global end of rotation evaluation form, and a downward shift in the PGY-1 scores and an upward shift in the PGY-3 scores. Conclusions: For faculty trained in both models of assessment, the Milestone-based model had greater discriminatory ability as evidenced by the larger separation in the scores for all the classes, in particular the PGY-1 class.

Impact on house staff evaluation scores when changing from a Dreyfus- to a Milestone-based evaluation model: one internal medicine residency program's findings.

Science.gov (United States)

Friedman, Karen A; Balwan, Sandy; Cacace, Frank; Katona, Kyle; Sunday, Suzanne; Chaudhry, Saima

2014-01-01

As graduate medical education (GME) moves into the Next Accreditation System (NAS), programs must take a critical look at their current models of evaluation and assess how well they align with reporting outcomes. Our objective was to assess the impact on house staff evaluation scores when transitioning from a Dreyfus-based model of evaluation to a Milestone-based model of evaluation. Milestones are a key component of the NAS. We analyzed all end of rotation evaluations of house staff completed by faculty for academic years 2010-2011 (pre-Dreyfus model) and 2011-2012 (post-Milestone model) in one large university-based internal medicine residency training program. Main measures included change in PGY-level average score; slope, range, and separation of average scores across all six Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) competencies. Transitioning from a Dreyfus-based model to a Milestone-based model resulted in a larger separation in the scores between our three post-graduate year classes, a steeper progression of scores in the PGY-1 class, a wider use of the 5-point scale on our global end of rotation evaluation form, and a downward shift in the PGY-1 scores and an upward shift in the PGY-3 scores. For faculty trained in both models of assessment, the Milestone-based model had greater discriminatory ability as evidenced by the larger separation in the scores for all the classes, in particular the PGY-1 class.

Neutrosophic Similarity Score Based Weighted Histogram for Robust Mean-Shift Tracking

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Keli Hu

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Visual object tracking is a critical task in computer vision. Challenging things always exist when an object needs to be tracked. For instance, background clutter is one of the most challenging problems. The mean-shift tracker is quite popular because of its efficiency and performance in a range of conditions. However, the challenge of background clutter also disturbs its performance. In this article, we propose a novel weighted histogram based on neutrosophic similarity score to help the mean-shift tracker discriminate the target from the background. Neutrosophic set (NS is a new branch of philosophy for dealing with incomplete, indeterminate, and inconsistent information. In this paper, we utilize the single valued neutrosophic set (SVNS, which is a subclass of NS to improve the mean-shift tracker. First, two kinds of criteria are considered as the object feature similarity and the background feature similarity, and each bin of the weight histogram is represented in the SVNS domain via three membership functions T(Truth, I(indeterminacy, and F(Falsity. Second, the neutrosophic similarity score function is introduced to fuse those two criteria and to build the final weight histogram. Finally, a novel neutrosophic weighted mean-shift tracker is proposed. The proposed tracker is compared with several mean-shift based trackers on a dataset of 61 public sequences. The results revealed that our method outperforms other trackers, especially when confronting background clutter.

[Clinical efficacy of Viagra with behavior therapy against premature ejaculation].

Science.gov (United States)

Tang, Wenhao; Ma, Lulin; Zhao, Lianming; Liu, Yuqing; Chen, Zhenwen

2004-05-01

To study the efficacy of Viagra combined with behavior therapy against premature ejaculation (PE). Sixty PE patients were divided into two groups randomly: control group (behavior therapy alone) and the group of Viagra combined with behavior therapy. Intra-vaginal ejaculation latency time (IELT) and the coitus satisfaction of the patient and the partner were recorded before and after treatment. The IELTs of the two groups were 0.80 +/- 0.20 and 0.73 +/- 0.24 minutes respectively before treatment, and 1.82 +/- 0.54 and 3.63 +/- 0.55 minutes respectively after treatment. As for IELT and satisfaction degree, Viagra produced better result than behavior therapy. During this clinical trial, Viagra combined with behavior therapy prolonged IELT, which suggests that Viagra may be helpful for the treatment of premature ejaculation.

A Novel Scoring System Approach to Assess Patients with Lyme Disease (Nutech Functional Score

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Geeta Shroff

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction: A bacterial infection by Borrelia burgdorferi referred to as Lyme disease (LD or borreliosis is transmitted mostly by a bite of the tick Ixodes scapularis in the USA and Ixodes ricinus in Europe. Various tests are used for the diagnosis of LD, but their results are often unreliable. We compiled a list of clinically visible and patient-reported symptoms that are associated with LD. Based on this list, we developed a novel scoring system. Methodology: Nutech functional Score (NFS, which is a 43 point positional (every symptom is subgraded and each alternative gets some points according to its position and directional (moves in direction bad to good scoring system that assesses the patient's condition. Results: The grades of the scoring system have been converted into numeric values for conducting probability based studies. Each symptom is graded from 1 to 5 that runs in direction BAD → GOOD. Conclusion: NFS is a unique tool that can be used universally to assess the condition of patients with LD.

Implicational Scaling of Reading Comprehension Construct: Is it Deterministic or Probabilistic?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Parisa Daftarifard

2016-05-01

In English as a Second Language Teaching and Testing situations, it is common to infer about learners’ reading ability based on his or her total score on a reading test. This assumes the unidimensional and reproducible nature of reading items. However, few researches have been conducted to probe the issue through psychometric analyses. In the present study, the IELTS exemplar module C (1994 was administered to 503 Iranian students of various reading comprehension ability levels. Both the deterministic and probabilistic psychometric models of unidimensionality were employed to examine the plausible existence of implicational scaling among reading items in the mentioned reading test. Based on the results, it was concluded that the reading data in this study did not show a deterministic unidimensional scale (Guttman scaling; rather, it revealed a probabilistic one (Rasch model. As the person map of the measures failed to show a meaningful hierarchical order for the items, these results call into question the assumption of implicational scaling that is normally practiced in scoring reading items.

Подготовка к сдаче экзамена ielts (по модулю reading)

OpenAIRE

Исупова, Марина

2013-01-01

В статье рассматривается специфика международного экзамена по английскому языку формата IELTS, выделяются его особенности. Автор систематизирует методы и техники повышения качества чтения на английском языке, предлагает рекомендации по подготовке к сдаче экзамена IELTS по модулю Reading, а также рассматривает чтение как основу подготовки к таким модулям экзамена, как Speaking и Writing и предлагает основные виды упражнений и заданий, цель которых пополнене активного словарного запаса для подг...

Laboratory-based and office-based risk scores and charts to predict 10-year risk of cardiovascular disease in 182 countries

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ueda, Peter; Woodward, Mark; Lu, Yuan

2017-01-01

BACKGROUND: Worldwide implementation of risk-based cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention requires risk prediction tools that are contemporarily recalibrated for the target country and can be used where laboratory measurements are unavailable. We present two cardiovascular risk scores, with and ...

Database Design for Structural Analysis and Design Optimization.

Science.gov (United States)

1984-10-01

2) . Element number of nodes IELT NPAR(2) " Stress printing flag IPST NPAR(2) Element material angle BETA NPAR(2) Element thickness THICK NPAR(2...number LM 3*NPAR(17)*NPAR(2) Element nodal coordinates XYZ 3*NPAR(17)*NPAR(2) Element number of nodes IELT NPAR(2) Element geometry number of nodes IELTX...D.O.F. number LM 6*NPAR(7)*NPAR(2) Element number of nodes IELT NPAR(2) Material property set number MATP NPAR(2) Material constants PROP NPAR(17

Population-based metabolic syndrome risk score and its determinants: The Isfahan Healthy Heart Program

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohsen Hosseini

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Metabolic syndrome (MetSy, an important predisposing factor for the most of noncommunicable diseases, has become a global pandemic. Given different definitions used for the MetSy, recently using a score termed "continuous MetSy risk score (CMetSyS" is recommended. The aim of this study was to provide a CMetSyS in a population-based sample of Iranian adults and to assess its determinants. Materials and Methods: We used the data of the baseline survey of a community trial entitled "the Isfahan health heart program." The MetSy was defined according to the Revised National Cholesterol Education Program Third Adult Treatment Panel. All probable predictive models and their predictive performance were provided using leave-one-out cross-validated logistic regression and the receiver operation characteristic curve methods. Multiple linear regression was performed to assess factors associated with the CMetSyS. Results: The study population consisted of 8313 persons (49.9% male, mean age 38.54 ± 15.86 years. The MetSy was documented in 1539 persons (21.86%. Triglycerides and waist circumference were the best predictive components, and fasting plasma glucose had the lowest area under curve (AUC. The AUC for our best model was 95.36 (94.83-95.83%. The best predictive cutoff for this risk score was −1.151 with 89% sensitivity and 87.93% specificity. Conclusion: We provided four population-based leave-one-out cross-validated risk score models, with moderate to perfect predictive performance to identify the MetSy in Iranian adults. The CMetSyS had significant associations with high sensitive C-reactive protein, body mass index, leisure time, and workplace physical activity as well as age and gender.

Accuracy and Efficiency of Recording Pediatric Early Warning Scores Using an Electronic Physiological Surveillance System Compared With Traditional Paper-Based Documentation.

Science.gov (United States)

Sefton, Gerri; Lane, Steven; Killen, Roger; Black, Stuart; Lyon, Max; Ampah, Pearl; Sproule, Cathryn; Loren-Gosling, Dominic; Richards, Caitlin; Spinty, Jean; Holloway, Colette; Davies, Coral; Wilson, April; Chean, Chung Shen; Carter, Bernie; Carrol, E D

2017-05-01

Pediatric Early Warning Scores are advocated to assist health professionals to identify early signs of serious illness or deterioration in hospitalized children. Scores are derived from the weighting applied to recorded vital signs and clinical observations reflecting deviation from a predetermined "norm." Higher aggregate scores trigger an escalation in care aimed at preventing critical deterioration. Process errors made while recording these data, including plotting or calculation errors, have the potential to impede the reliability of the score. To test this hypothesis, we conducted a controlled study of documentation using five clinical vignettes. We measured the accuracy of vital sign recording, score calculation, and time taken to complete documentation using a handheld electronic physiological surveillance system, VitalPAC Pediatric, compared with traditional paper-based charts. We explored the user acceptability of both methods using a Web-based survey. Twenty-three staff participated in the controlled study. The electronic physiological surveillance system improved the accuracy of vital sign recording, 98.5% versus 85.6%, P < .02, Pediatric Early Warning Score calculation, 94.6% versus 55.7%, P < .02, and saved time, 68 versus 98 seconds, compared with paper-based documentation, P < .002. Twenty-nine staff completed the Web-based survey. They perceived that the electronic physiological surveillance system offered safety benefits by reducing human error while providing instant visibility of recorded data to the entire clinical team.

Citation analytics: Data exploration and comparative analyses of CiteScores of Open Access and Subscription-Based publications indexed in Scopus (2014-2016).

Science.gov (United States)

Atayero, Aderemi A; Popoola, Segun I; Egeonu, Jesse; Oludayo, Olumuyiwa

2018-08-01

Citation is one of the important metrics that are used in measuring the relevance and the impact of research publications. The potentials of citation analytics may be exploited to understand the gains of publishing scholarly peer-reviewed research outputs in either Open Access (OA) sources or Subscription-Based (SB) sources in the bid to increase citation impact. However, relevant data required for such comparative analysis must be freely accessible for evidence-based findings and conclusions. In this data article, citation scores ( CiteScores ) of 2542 OA sources and 15,040 SB sources indexed in Scopus from 2014 to 2016 were presented and analyzed based on a set of five inclusion criteria. A robust dataset, which contains the CiteScores of OA and SB publication sources included, is attached as supplementary material to this data article to facilitate further reuse. Descriptive statistics and frequency distributions of OA CiteScores and SB CiteScores are presented in tables. Boxplot representations and scatter plots are provided to show the statistical distributions of OA CiteScores and SB CiteScores across the three sub-categories (Book Series, Journal, and Trade Journal). Correlation coefficient and p-value matrices are made available within the data article. In addition, Probability Density Functions (PDFs) and Cumulative Distribution Functions (CDFs) of OA CiteScores and SB CiteScores are computed and the results are presented using tables and graphs. Furthermore, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and multiple comparison post-hoc tests are conducted to understand the statistical difference (and its significance, if any) in the citation impact of OA publication sources and SB publication source based on CiteScore . In the long run, the data provided in this article will help policy makers and researchers in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to identify the appropriate publication source type and category for dissemination of scholarly research findings with

New scoring schema for finding motifs in DNA Sequences

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nowzari-Dalini Abbas

2009-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Pattern discovery in DNA sequences is one of the most fundamental problems in molecular biology with important applications in finding regulatory signals and transcription factor binding sites. An important task in this problem is to search (or predict known binding sites in a new DNA sequence. For this reason, all subsequences of the given DNA sequence are scored based on an scoring function and the prediction is done by selecting the best score. By assuming no dependency between binding site base positions, most of the available tools for known binding site prediction are designed. Recently Tomovic and Oakeley investigated the statistical basis for either a claim of dependence or independence, to determine whether such a claim is generally true, and they presented a scoring function for binding site prediction based on the dependency between binding site base positions. Our primary objective is to investigate the scoring functions which can be used in known binding site prediction based on the assumption of dependency or independency in binding site base positions. Results We propose a new scoring function based on the dependency between all positions in biding site base positions. This scoring function uses joint information content and mutual information as a measure of dependency between positions in transcription factor binding site. Our method for modeling dependencies is simply an extension of position independency methods. We evaluate our new scoring function on the real data sets extracted from JASPAR and TRANSFAC data bases, and compare the obtained results with two other well known scoring functions. Conclusion The results demonstrate that the new approach improves known binding site discovery and show that the joint information content and mutual information provide a better and more general criterion to investigate the relationships between positions in the TFBS. Our scoring function is formulated by simple

An inflammation-based cumulative prognostic score system in patients with diffuse large B cell lymphoma in rituximab era.

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Feifei; Zhu, Jia; Lu, Suying; Zhen, Zijun; Wang, Juan; Huang, Junting; Ding, Zonghui; Zeng, Musheng; Sun, Xiaofei

2018-01-02

Systemic inflammatory parameters are associated with poor outcomes in malignant patients. Several inflammation-based cumulative prognostic score systems were established for various solid tumors. However, there is few inflammation based cumulative prognostic score system for patients with diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL). We retrospectively reviewed 564 adult DLBCL patients who had received rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine and prednisolone (R-CHOP) therapy between Nov 1 2006 and Dec 30 2013 and assessed the prognostic significance of six systemic inflammatory parameters evaluated in previous studies by univariate and multivariate analysis:C-reactive protein(CRP), albumin levels, the lymphocyte-monocyte ratio (LMR), the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio(NLR), the platelet-lymphocyte ratio(PLR)and fibrinogen levels. Multivariate analysis identified CRP, albumin levels and the LMR are three independent prognostic parameters for overall survival (OS). Based on these three factors, we constructed a novel inflammation-based cumulative prognostic score (ICPS) system. Four risk groups were formed: group ICPS = 0, ICPS = 1, ICPS = 2 and ICPS = 3. Advanced multivariate analysis indicated that the ICPS model is a prognostic score system independent of International Prognostic Index (IPI) for both progression-free survival (PFS) (p systemic inflammatory status was associated with clinical outcomes of patients with DLBCL in rituximab era. The ICPS model was shown to classify risk groups more accurately than any single inflammatory prognostic parameters. These findings may be useful for identifying candidates for further inflammation-related mechanism research or novel anti-inflammation target therapies.

A study of the effect of a visual arts-based program on the scores of Jefferson Scale for Physician Empathy.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Kuang-Tao; Yang, Jen-Hung

2013-10-25

The effect of visual arts interventions on development of empathy has not been quantitatively investigated. A study was conducted on the effect of a visual arts-based program on the scores of the Jefferson Scale for Physician Empathy (JSPE). A total of 110 clerks (n = 92) and first-year postgraduate residents (PGY1s) (n = 18) participating in the program were recruited into this study. The 4-hr program covered the subjects of learning to interpret paintings, interpreting paintings relating to medicine, illness and human suffering, the related-topics of humanitarianism and the other humanities fields and values and meaning. The JSPE was completed at the beginning (pretest) and the end (posttest) of the program. There was no significant difference between the pretest and posttest JSPE scores. The average of the scores for the pretest was lower in the subgroup of PGY1s than the subgroup of clerks (p = 0.0358). An increased but not significantly mean posttest JESPE score was noted for the subgroup of PGY1s. Neither the females nor the males had higher posttest JSPE scores than the pretest scores. Although using a structured visual arts-based program as an intervention may be useful to enhance medical students' empathy, our results failed to show a positive effect on the JSPE Scores for a group of clerks and PGY1s. This suggests that further experimental studies are needed if quantitative evaluation of the effectiveness of visual-arts based programs on empathy is to be investigated.

Forecasting the value of credit scoring

Science.gov (United States)

Saad, Shakila; Ahmad, Noryati; Jaffar, Maheran Mohd

2017-08-01

Nowadays, credit scoring system plays an important role in banking sector. This process is important in assessing the creditworthiness of customers requesting credit from banks or other financial institutions. Usually, the credit scoring is used when customers send the application for credit facilities. Based on the score from credit scoring, bank will be able to segregate the "good" clients from "bad" clients. However, in most cases the score is useful at that specific time only and cannot be used to forecast the credit worthiness of the same applicant after that. Hence, bank will not know if "good" clients will always be good all the time or "bad" clients may become "good" clients after certain time. To fill up the gap, this study proposes an equation to forecast the credit scoring of the potential borrowers at a certain time by using the historical score related to the assumption. The Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) is used to measure the accuracy of the forecast scoring. Result shows the forecast scoring is highly accurate as compared to actual credit scoring.

Modification of Programs CHIEF and CID to Compute Sound Radiation from an Arbitrary Body with Mixed Boundary Conditions

Science.gov (United States)

1991-06-01

layer surfaces (NSU * NSV) DIMENSION CC(1I), TRNS(3), IELTS (8, 311) REAL Xl(lH@), YI(liOI) CHARACTER*3 SYMTYP CHARACTER*4 FLOTYP, TAPEID, PRTTYP INTEGER...element data. WRITE(NUINPRT, 1411) 1410 FORMAT(//,’ EEENT DATA’,/) DO 1412 1 = 1, I6EE WIlTE(KUNPRT,1411) 1, ( IELTS (J,1),J=1,S) 1412 CONTINUE 00 1414...1 = 1, iaaiM DO 1413 J =1, S CC(J) IELTS (J, 1) 1413 CONTINUE XIRG = XIRG * 1 CALL LDSURR(XIRG, 10, CC, TRNS, XIZAX, 22 NRL MEMORANDUM REPORT 6813 1

Serotonin Transporter Promoter Region (5-HTTLPR) Polymorphism is Associated with the Intravaginal Ejaculation Latency Time in Dutch Men with Lifelong Premature Ejaculation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Janssen, Paddy K. C.; Bakker, Steven C.; Réthelyi, Janos; Zwinderman, Aeilko H.; Touw, Daan J.; Olivier, Berend; Waldinger, Marcel D.

2009-01-01

Introduction. Lifelong premature ejaculation (LPE) is characterized by persistent intravaginal ejaculation latency times (IELTs) of less than 1 minute, and has been postulated as a neurobiological dysfunction with genetic vulnerability for the short IELTs, related to disturbances of central

Serotonin transporter promoter region (5-HTTLPR) polymorphism is associated with the intravaginal ejaculation latency time in Dutch men with lifelong premature ejaculation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Janssen, Paddy K C; Bakker, Steven C; Réthelyi, Janos; Zwinderman, Aeilko H; Touw, Daan J; Olivier, Berend; Waldinger, Marcel D

INTRODUCTION: Lifelong premature ejaculation (LPE) is characterized by persistent intravaginal ejaculation latency times (IELTs) of less than 1 minute, and has been postulated as a neurobiological dysfunction with genetic vulnerability for the short IELTs, related to disturbances of central

Building an Image-Based System to automatically Score psoriasis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

G{'o}mez, D. Delgado; Carstensen, Jens Michael; Ersbøll, Bjarne Kjær

2003-01-01

Nowadays the medical tracking of dermatological diseases is imprecise. The main reason is the lack of suitable objective methods to evaluate the lesion. The severity of the disease is scored by doctors just through their visual examination. In this work, a system to take accurate images of dermat......Nowadays the medical tracking of dermatological diseases is imprecise. The main reason is the lack of suitable objective methods to evaluate the lesion. The severity of the disease is scored by doctors just through their visual examination. In this work, a system to take accurate images...

Calculation of cut-off values based on the Autoimmune Bullous Skin Disorder Intensity Score (ABSIS) and Pemphigus Disease Area Index (PDAI) pemphigus scoring systems for defining moderate, significant and extensive types of pemphigus.

Science.gov (United States)

Boulard, C; Duvert Lehembre, S; Picard-Dahan, C; Kern, J S; Zambruno, G; Feliciani, C; Marinovic, B; Vabres, P; Borradori, L; Prost-Squarcioni, C; Labeille, B; Richard, M A; Ingen-Housz-Oro, S; Houivet, E; Werth, V P; Murrell, D F; Hertl, M; Benichou, J; Joly, P

2016-07-01

Two pemphigus severity scores, Autoimmune Bullous Skin Disorder Intensity Score (ABSIS) and Pemphigus Disease Area Index (PDAI), have been proposed to provide an objective measure of disease activity. However, the use of these scores in clinical practice is limited by the absence of cut-off values that allow differentiation between moderate, significant and extensive types of pemphigus. To calculate cut-off values defining moderate, significant and extensive pemphigus based on the ABSIS and PDAI scores. In 31 dermatology departments in six countries, consecutive patients with newly diagnosed pemphigus were assessed for pemphigus severity, using ABSIS, PDAI, Physician's Global Assessment (PGA) and Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) scores. Cut-off values defining moderate, significant and extensive subgroups were calculated based on the 25th and 75th percentiles of the ABSIS and PDAI scores. The median ABSIS, PDAI, PGA and DLQI scores of the three severity subgroups were compared in order to validate these subgroups. Ninety-six patients with pemphigus vulgaris (n = 77) or pemphigus foliaceus (n = 19) were included. The median PDAI activity and ABSIS total scores were 27·5 (range 3-84) and 34·8 points (range 0·5-90·5), respectively. The respective cut-off values corresponding to the first and third quartiles of the scores were 15 and 45 for the PDAI, and 17 and 53 for ABSIS. The moderate, significant and extensive subgroups were thus defined, and had distinguishing median ABSIS (P cut-off values of 15 and 45 for PDAI and 17 and 53 for ABSIS, to distinguish moderate, significant and extensive pemphigus forms. Identifying these pemphigus activity subgroups should help physicians to classify and manage patients with pemphigus. © 2016 British Association of Dermatologists.

School-based assessments in high-stakes examinations in Bhutan: a question of trust? : exploring inconsistencies between external exam scores, school-based assessments, detailed teacher ratings, and student self-ratings

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Luyten, Johannes W.; Dolkar, Dechen

2010-01-01

This study explores the validity of school-based assessments when they serve to supplement scores on central tests in high-stakes examinations. The school-based continuous assessment (CA) marks are compared to the marks scored on the central written Bhutan Certificate of Secondary Education (BCSE)

An Objective Fluctuation Score for Parkinson's Disease

Science.gov (United States)

Horne, Malcolm K.; McGregor, Sarah; Bergquist, Filip

2015-01-01

Introduction Establishing the presence and severity of fluctuations is important in managing Parkinson’s Disease yet there is no reliable, objective means of doing this. In this study we have evaluated a Fluctuation Score derived from variations in dyskinesia and bradykinesia scores produced by an accelerometry based system. Methods The Fluctuation Score was produced by summing the interquartile range of bradykinesia scores and dyskinesia scores produced every 2 minutes between 0900-1800 for at least 6 days by the accelerometry based system and expressing it as an algorithm. Results This Score could distinguish between fluctuating and non-fluctuating patients with high sensitivity and selectivity and was significant lower following activation of deep brain stimulators. The scores following deep brain stimulation lay in a band just above the score separating fluctuators from non-fluctuators, suggesting a range representing adequate motor control. When compared with control subjects the score of newly diagnosed patients show a loss of fluctuation with onset of PD. The score was calculated in subjects whose duration of disease was known and this showed that newly diagnosed patients soon develop higher scores which either fall under or within the range representing adequate motor control or instead go on to develop more severe fluctuations. Conclusion The Fluctuation Score described here promises to be a useful tool for identifying patients whose fluctuations are progressing and may require therapeutic changes. It also shows promise as a useful research tool. Further studies are required to more accurately identify therapeutic targets and ranges. PMID:25928634

Ultrasound-based scores as predictors for nodular hyperplasia in patients with secondary hyperparathyroidism: a prospective validation study.

Science.gov (United States)

Gwiasda, Jill; Kaltenborn, Alexander; Müller, Jörg A; Serttas, Michaela; Scheumann, Georg W F; Schrem, Harald; Jäger, Mark D

2017-03-01

Former studies evaluated echostructural and vascular patterns in ultrasound of the parathyroid gland to identify nodular hyperplasia in patients with secondary hyperparathyroidism due to chronic kidney disease. This prospective study aims to externally validate suggested ultrasound classifications. Parathyroid glands of 27 patients with secondary hyperparathyroidism undergoing parathyroidectomy were prospectively analyzed. Ultrasound including Doppler imaging was performed 1 day prior to surgery. Ultrasound data were available for 70 parathyroid glands. Echostructural and vascular scores according to previous studies were applied calculating the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC). Overall correctness, sensitivity, and specificity of the investigated scores were assessed with the Youden index method. The Doppler score introduced by Vulpio and colleagues based on characteristic blood flow patterns in parathyroid glands showed an AUROC of 0.749 for the prediction of nodular hyperplasia with an overall correctness of 72.8%. Other ultrasound classifications based on blood flow patterns, as well as echostructure of the parathyroid gland displayed AUROCs of secondary hyperparathyroidism was externally validated for the first time. Other ultrasound scores fail as prognostic models in this study population. Doppler sonography of the parathyroid gland has prognostic capability to identify nodular hyperplasia as surrogate marker for patients with secondary hyperparathyroidism indicating the need for ablative or surgical treatment when failing conservative therapy.

The East London glaucoma prediction score: web-based validation of glaucoma risk screening tool

Science.gov (United States)

Stephen, Cook; Benjamin, Longo-Mbenza

2013-01-01

AIM It is difficult for Optometrists and General Practitioners to know which patients are at risk. The East London glaucoma prediction score (ELGPS) is a web based risk calculator that has been developed to determine Glaucoma risk at the time of screening. Multiple risk factors that are available in a low tech environment are assessed to provide a risk assessment. This is extremely useful in settings where access to specialist care is difficult. Use of the calculator is educational. It is a free web based service. Data capture is user specific. METHOD The scoring system is a web based questionnaire that captures and subsequently calculates the relative risk for the presence of Glaucoma at the time of screening. Three categories of patient are described: Unlikely to have Glaucoma; Glaucoma Suspect and Glaucoma. A case review methodology of patients with known diagnosis is employed to validate the calculator risk assessment. RESULTS Data from the patient records of 400 patients with an established diagnosis has been captured and used to validate the screening tool. The website reports that the calculated diagnosis correlates with the actual diagnosis 82% of the time. Biostatistics analysis showed: Sensitivity = 88%; Positive predictive value = 97%; Specificity = 75%. CONCLUSION Analysis of the first 400 patients validates the web based screening tool as being a good method of screening for the at risk population. The validation is ongoing. The web based format will allow a more widespread recruitment for different geographic, population and personnel variables. PMID:23550097

The inflammation-based Glasgow Prognostic Score predicts survival in patients with cervical cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Polterauer, Stephan; Grimm, Christoph; Seebacher, Veronika; Rahhal, Jasmin; Tempfer, Clemens; Reinthaller, Alexander; Hefler, Lukas

2010-08-01

The Glasgow Prognostic Score (GPS) is known to reflect the degree of tumor-associated cachexia and inflammation and is associated with survival in various malignancies. We investigated the value of the GPS in patients with cervical cancer. We included 244 consecutive patients with cervical cancer in our study. The pretherapeutic GPS was calculated as follows: patients with elevated C-reactive protein serum levels (>10 mg/L) and hypoalbuminemia (L) were allocated a score of 2, and patients with 1 or no abnormal value were allocated a score of 1 or 0, respectively. The association between GPS and survival was evaluated by univariate log-rank tests and multivariate Cox regression models. The GPS was correlated with clinicopathologic parameters as shown by performing chi2 tests. In univariate analyses, GPS (P GPS (P = 0.03, P = 0.04), FIGO stage (P = 0.006, P = 0.006), and lymph node involvement (P = 0.003, P = 0.002), but not patients' age (P = 0.5, P = 0.5), histological grade (P = 0.7, P = 0.6), and histological type (P = 0.4, P = 0.6) were associated with disease-free and overall survival, respectively. The GPS was associated with FIGO stage (P GPS can be used as an inflammation-based predictor for survival in patients with cervical cancer.

Development and validation of a composite scoring system for robot-assisted surgical training--the Robotic Skills Assessment Score.

Science.gov (United States)

Chowriappa, Ashirwad J; Shi, Yi; Raza, Syed Johar; Ahmed, Kamran; Stegemann, Andrew; Wilding, Gregory; Kaouk, Jihad; Peabody, James O; Menon, Mani; Hassett, James M; Kesavadas, Thenkurussi; Guru, Khurshid A

2013-12-01

A standardized scoring system does not exist in virtual reality-based assessment metrics to describe safe and crucial surgical skills in robot-assisted surgery. This study aims to develop an assessment score along with its construct validation. All subjects performed key tasks on previously validated Fundamental Skills of Robotic Surgery curriculum, which were recorded, and metrics were stored. After an expert consensus for the purpose of content validation (Delphi), critical safety determining procedural steps were identified from the Fundamental Skills of Robotic Surgery curriculum and a hierarchical task decomposition of multiple parameters using a variety of metrics was used to develop Robotic Skills Assessment Score (RSA-Score). Robotic Skills Assessment mainly focuses on safety in operative field, critical error, economy, bimanual dexterity, and time. Following, the RSA-Score was further evaluated for construct validation and feasibility. Spearman correlation tests performed between tasks using the RSA-Scores indicate no cross correlation. Wilcoxon rank sum tests were performed between the two groups. The proposed RSA-Score was evaluated on non-robotic surgeons (n = 15) and on expert-robotic surgeons (n = 12). The expert group demonstrated significantly better performance on all four tasks in comparison to the novice group. Validation of the RSA-Score in this study was carried out on the Robotic Surgical Simulator. The RSA-Score is a valid scoring system that could be incorporated in any virtual reality-based surgical simulator to achieve standardized assessment of fundamental surgical tents during robot-assisted surgery. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A STUDY ON RANKING METHOD IN RETRIEVING WEB PAGES BASED ON CONTENT AND LINK ANALYSIS: COMBINATION OF FOURIER DOMAIN SCORING AND PAGERANK SCORING

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Diana Purwitasari

2008-01-01

Full Text Available Ranking module is an important component of search process which sorts through relevant pages. Since collection of Web pages has additional information inherent in the hyperlink structure of the Web, it can be represented as link score and then combined with the usual information retrieval techniques of content score. In this paper we report our studies about ranking score of Web pages combined from link analysis, PageRank Scoring, and content analysis, Fourier Domain Scoring. Our experiments use collection of Web pages relate to Statistic subject from Wikipedia with objectives to check correctness and performance evaluation of combination ranking method. Evaluation of PageRank Scoring show that the highest score does not always relate to Statistic. Since the links within Wikipedia articles exists so that users are always one click away from more information on any point that has a link attached, it it possible that unrelated topics to Statistic are most likely frequently mentioned in the collection. While the combination method show link score which is given proportional weight to content score of Web pages does effect the retrieval results.

Differences of wells scores accuracy, caprini scores and padua scores in deep vein thrombosis diagnosis

Science.gov (United States)

Gatot, D.; Mardia, A. I.

2018-03-01

Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) is the venous thrombus in lower limbs. Diagnosis is by using venography or ultrasound compression. However, these examinations are not available yet in some health facilities. Therefore many scoring systems are developed for the diagnosis of DVT. The scoring method is practical and safe to use in addition to efficacy, and effectiveness in terms of treatment and costs. The existing scoring systems are wells, caprini and padua score. There have been many studies comparing the accuracy of this score but not in Medan. Therefore, we are interested in comparative research of wells, capriniand padua score in Medan.An observational, analytical, case-control study was conducted to perform diagnostic tests on the wells, caprini and padua score to predict the risk of DVT. The study was at H. Adam Malik Hospital in Medan.From a total of 72 subjects, 39 people (54.2%) are men and the mean age are 53.14 years. Wells score, caprini score and padua score has a sensitivity of 80.6%; 61.1%, 50% respectively; specificity of 80.65; 66.7%; 75% respectively, and accuracy of 87.5%; 64.3%; 65.7% respectively.Wells score has better sensitivity, specificity and accuracy than caprini and padua score in diagnosing DVT.

A score based on screening tests to differentiate mild cognitive impairment from subjective memory complaints

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fábio Henrique de Gobbi Porto

2013-09-01

Full Text Available It is not easy to differentiate patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI from subjective memory complainers (SMC. Assessments with screening cognitive tools are essential, particularly in primary care where most patients are seen. The objective of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of screening cognitive tests and to propose a score derived from screening tests. Elderly subjects with memory complaints were evaluated using the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE and the Brief Cognitive Battery (BCB. We added two delayed recalls in the MMSE (a delayed recall and a late-delayed recall, LDR, and also a phonemic fluency test of letter P fluency (LPF. A score was created based on these tests. The diagnoses were made on the basis of clinical consensus and neuropsychological testing. Receiver operating characteristic curve analyses were used to determine area under the curve (AUC, the sensitivity and specificity for each test separately and for the final proposed score. MMSE, LDR, LPF and delayed recall of BCB scores reach statistically significant differences between groups (P=0.000, 0.03, 0.001 and 0.01, respectively. Sensitivity, specificity and AUC were MMSE: 64%, 79% and 0.75 (cut off <29; LDR: 56%, 62% and 0.62 (cut off <3; LPF: 71%, 71% and 0.71 (cut off <14; delayed recall of BCB: 56%, 82% and 0.68 (cut off <9. The proposed score reached a sensitivity of 88% and 76% and specificity of 62% and 75% for cut off over 1 and over 2, respectively. AUC were 0.81. In conclusion, a score created from screening tests is capable of discriminating MCI from SMC with moderate to good accurancy.

Risk score for first-screening of prevalent undiagnosed chronic kidney disease in Peru: the CRONICAS-CKD risk score.

Science.gov (United States)

Carrillo-Larco, Rodrigo M; Miranda, J Jaime; Gilman, Robert H; Medina-Lezama, Josefina; Chirinos-Pacheco, Julio A; Muñoz-Retamozo, Paola V; Smeeth, Liam; Checkley, William; Bernabe-Ortiz, Antonio

2017-11-29

Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) represents a great burden for the patient and the health system, particularly if diagnosed at late stages. Consequently, tools to identify patients at high risk of having CKD are needed, particularly in limited-resources settings where laboratory facilities are scarce. This study aimed to develop a risk score for prevalent undiagnosed CKD using data from four settings in Peru: a complete risk score including all associated risk factors and another excluding laboratory-based variables. Cross-sectional study. We used two population-based studies: one for developing and internal validation (CRONICAS), and another (PREVENCION) for external validation. Risk factors included clinical- and laboratory-based variables, among others: sex, age, hypertension and obesity; and lipid profile, anemia and glucose metabolism. The outcome was undiagnosed CKD: eGFR anemia were strongly associated with undiagnosed CKD. In the external validation, at a cut-off point of 2, the complete and laboratory-free risk scores performed similarly well with a ROC area of 76.2% and 76.0%, respectively (P = 0.784). The best assessment parameter of these risk scores was their negative predictive value: 99.1% and 99.0% for the complete and laboratory-free, respectively. The developed risk scores showed a moderate performance as a screening test. People with a score of ≥ 2 points should undergo further testing to rule out CKD. Using the laboratory-free risk score is a practical approach in developing countries where laboratories are not readily available and undiagnosed CKD has significant morbidity and mortality.

The impact of a revised EQ-5D population scoring on preference-based utility scores in an inflammatory arthritis cohort.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Adams, Roisin

2012-02-01

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: It is well established that there are problems with the EQ-5D. This is due to the original scoring methods used and how negative time trade-off (TTO) values were treated. A revised scoring method has been published. This article applies this to an inflammatory arthritis cohort. The objective is to examine the impact of a revised scoring system for the EQ-5D (UK) TTO on the utility estimates and in the case of rheumatoid arthritis, to explore the impact of using different utility metrics on the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) results of an economic model. METHODS: A total of 504 patients with inflammatory arthritis were rescored using revised EQ-5D scoring, which uses an episodic random utility model to deal with negative TTO values. Differences in utility scores were compared and the new mapping coefficients were obtained. These were then used in an economic model to examine the impact on the ICER. RESULTS: In rheumatoid arthritis, the overall change is less for the revised EQ-5D scoring than with the original EQ-5D (TTO) but greater than the SF-6D: EQ-5D UK -0.22 (95% confidence interval [CI] -0.30 to -0.15), revised EQ-5D UK -0.16 (95% CI -0.21 to -0.10) and SF-6D -0.08 (95% CI -0.11 to -0.05). A similar trend is seen in the psoriatic arthritis group. The economic model produced different ICERs, when different utility measures were used; EQ-5D (TTO) euro42,402, SF-6D euro111,788, and revised EQ-5D (TTO) euro57,747. CONCLUSION: In the context of inflammatory arthritis, this article demonstrates that a revised scoring for EQ-5D may have a significant impact on utility estimates and on the output of the economic model.

AP Potential™ Expectancy Tables Based on PSAT/NMSQT® and SAT® Scores on the 2015-16 Redesigned Scales. Statistical Report 2016-2

Science.gov (United States)

Ewing, Maureen; Wyatt, Jeffrey N.; Smith, Kara

2016-01-01

Historically, AP Potential™ has used PSAT/NMSQT® scores to identify students who are likely to earn a 3 or higher on a specific AP® Exam--based on research showing moderate to strong relationships between PSAT/NMSQT scores and AP Exam scores (Camara & Millsap, 1998; Ewing, Camara & Millsap, 2006; Zhang, Patel & Ewing, 2014a). For most…

Comparison of Duke ergo-metric score and of the classification based on scintigraphic data in the stratification of coronaries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ouhayoun, E.; Coca, F.J.; Payoux, P.; Tafani, J.A.M.; Esquerre, J.P.

1997-01-01

Stratification of risk (sudden death and infarction) remains a major problem of the way the coronaries are cared. Since 1987, a score based on the test-to-effort data was proposed by Mark and coll. of 'Duke University' team. They tried to demonstrate that this score provides a reliable classification of patients. We have compared the results obtained by using this score with those issued from the simultaneous analysis of the left ventricle (LV) function and LV perfusion. A hundred patients afflicted with coronaries (stenoses > 50%) benefited by a coupled study of the LV function and perfusion at rest and under effort made by means of MIBI scintigraphy. The effort test allowed calculating the 'Duke' score by means of a formula in terms of the angor index defined as follows: 0 for absence, 1 for angor and 2 for angor motivating cessation. According to Duke score three classes can be defined: patients of low risk, score ≥ 5; patients of intermediate risk, score in between 5 and -10; patients of high risk, score ≤ -10. Ejection fraction at effort acme was measured in every patient as well as the extension of perfusion defect, evaluated semi-quantitatively at effort and rest on the basis of bull's eye. Three groups of patients were created according to the results of perfusion+function couple): (A)- normal perfusion and function, the case of good prognostication; (B)- patients slightly afflicted (FEV effort > 50% and in-effort defect extension effort 50%). The last criteria were proved by several studies as bad prognostication. A table presents the risks according the Duke score for the three classes. One can observe that one third of the patients severely afflicted by confirmed ischemia are classified in the low-risk class. Besides, the majority of patients are ranked with intermediary risk, independently of scintigraphic results. In conclusion, these results concerning the stratification of coronaries show the superiority of the criteria based on scintigraphy over

Reliable change indices and standardized regression-based change score norms for evaluating neuropsychological change in children with epilepsy.

Science.gov (United States)

Busch, Robyn M; Lineweaver, Tara T; Ferguson, Lisa; Haut, Jennifer S

2015-06-01

Reliable change indices (RCIs) and standardized regression-based (SRB) change score norms permit evaluation of meaningful changes in test scores following treatment interventions, like epilepsy surgery, while accounting for test-retest reliability, practice effects, score fluctuations due to error, and relevant clinical and demographic factors. Although these methods are frequently used to assess cognitive change after epilepsy surgery in adults, they have not been widely applied to examine cognitive change in children with epilepsy. The goal of the current study was to develop RCIs and SRB change score norms for use in children with epilepsy. Sixty-three children with epilepsy (age range: 6-16; M=10.19, SD=2.58) underwent comprehensive neuropsychological evaluations at two time points an average of 12 months apart. Practice effect-adjusted RCIs and SRB change score norms were calculated for all cognitive measures in the battery. Practice effects were quite variable across the neuropsychological measures, with the greatest differences observed among older children, particularly on the Children's Memory Scale and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test. There was also notable variability in test-retest reliabilities across measures in the battery, with coefficients ranging from 0.14 to 0.92. Reliable change indices and SRB change score norms for use in assessing meaningful cognitive change in children following epilepsy surgery are provided for measures with reliability coefficients above 0.50. This is the first study to provide RCIs and SRB change score norms for a comprehensive neuropsychological battery based on a large sample of children with epilepsy. Tables to aid in evaluating cognitive changes in children who have undergone epilepsy surgery are provided for clinical use. An Excel sheet to perform all relevant calculations is also available to interested clinicians or researchers. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Mobile Phone-Based Questionnaire for Assessing 3 Months Modified Rankin Score After Acute Stroke: A Pilot Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Cooray, Charith; Matusevicius, Marius; Wahlgren, Nils; Ahmed, Niaz

2015-10-01

In many countries, a majority of stroke patients are not assessed for long-term functional outcome owing to limited resources and time. We investigated whether automatic assessment of the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) based on a mobile phone questionnaire may serve as an alternative to mRS assessments at clinical visits after stroke. We enrolled 62 acute stroke patients admitted to our stroke unit during March to May 2014. Forty-eight patients completed the study. During the stay, patients and/or caregivers were equipped with a mobile phone application in their personal mobile phones. The mobile phone application contained a set of 20 questions, based on the Rankin Focused Assessment, which we previously tested in a pilot study. Three months after inclusion, the mobile phone application automatically prompted the study participants to answer the mRS questionnaire in the mobile phones. Each question or a group of questions in the questionnaire corresponded to a certain mRS score. Using a predefined protocol, the highest mRS score question where the study participant had answered yes was deemed the final mobile mRS score. A few days later, a study personnel performed a clinical visit mRS assessment. The 2 assessments were compared using quadratic weighing κ-statistics. Mean age was 67 years (38% females), and median baseline National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score was 5 (interquartile range 2-10.5, range 0-23). Median and mean clinical visit mRS at 3 months was 2 and 2.3, respectively. We found a 62.5% agreement between clinical visit and mobile mRS assessment, weighted kappa 0.89 (95% confidence interval 0.82-0.96), and unweighted kappa 0.53 (95% confidence interval 0.36-0.70). Dichotomized mRS outcome separating functionally independent (mRS score 0-2) from dependent (mRS score 3-5) showed 83% agreement and unweighted kappa of 0.66 (95% confidence interval 0.45-0.87). Mobile phone-based automatic assessments of mRS performed well in comparison with

Linkage between company scores and stock returns

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Saban Celik

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Previous studies on company scores conducted at firm-level, generally concluded that there exists a positive relation between company scores and stock returns. Motivated by these studies, this study examines the relationship between company scores (Corporate Governance Score, Economic Score, Environmental Score, and Social Score and stock returns, both at portfolio-level analysis and firm-level cross-sectional regressions. In portfolio-level analysis, stocks are sorted based on each company scores and quintile portfolio are formed with different levels of company scores. Then, existence and significance of raw returns and risk-adjusted returns difference between portfolios with the extreme company scores (portfolio 10 and portfolio 1 is tested. In addition, firm-level cross-sectional regression is performed to examine the significance of company scores effects with control variables. While portfolio-level analysis results indicate that there is no significant relation between company scores and stock returns; firm-level analysis indicates that economic, environmental, and social scores have effect on stock returns, however, significance and direction of these effects change, depending on the included control variables in the cross-sectional regression.

An evidence-based approach to the creation of normative data: base rates of impaired scores within a brief neuropsychological battery argue for age corrections, but against corrections for medical conditions.

Science.gov (United States)

O'Connell, Megan E; Tuokko, Holly; Voll, Stacey; Simard, Martine; Griffith, Lauren E; Taler, Vanessa; Wolfson, Christina; Kirkland, Susan; Raina, Parminder

We detail a new approach to the creation of normative data for neuropsychological tests. The traditional approach to normative data creation is to make demographic adjustments based on observations of correlations between single neuropsychological tests and selected demographic variables. We argue, however, that this does not describe the implications for clinical practice, such as increased likelihood of misclassification of cognitive impairment, nor does it elucidate the impact on decision-making with a neuropsychological battery. We propose base rate analyses; specifically, differential base rates of impaired scores between theoretical and actual base rates as the basis for decisions to create demographic adjustments within normative data. Differential base rates empirically describe the potential clinical implications of failing to create an appropriate normative group. We demonstrate this approach with data from a short telephone-administered neuropsychological battery given to a large, neurologically healthy sample aged 45-85 years old. We explored whether adjustments for age and medical conditions were warranted based on differential base rates of spuriously impaired scores. Theoretical base rates underestimated the frequency of impaired scores in older adults and overestimated the frequency of impaired scores in younger adults, providing an evidence base for the creation of age-corrected normative data. In contrast, the number of medical conditions (numerous cardiovascular, hormonal, and metabolic conditions) was not related to differential base rates of impaired scores. Despite a small correlation between number of medical conditions and each neuropsychological variable, normative adjustments for number of medical conditions does not appear warranted. Implications for creation of normative data are discussed.

A Score-Based Approach to 18F-FDG PET Images as a Tool to Describe Metabolic Predictors of Myocardial Doxorubicin Susceptibility

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matteo Bauckneht

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Purpose: To verify the capability of 18F-fluorodeoxy-glucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (FDG-PET/CT to identify patients at higher risk of developing doxorubicin (DXR-induced cardiotoxicity, using a score-based image approach. Methods: 36 patients underwent FDG-PET/CT. These patients had shown full remission after DXR-based chemotherapy for Hodgkin’s disease (DXR dose: 40–50 mg/m2 per cycle, and were retrospectively enrolled. Inclusion criteria implied the presence of both pre- and post-chemotherapy clinical evaluation encompassing electrocardiogram (ECG and echocardiography. Myocardial metabolism at pre-therapy PET was evaluated according to both standardized uptake value (SUV- and score-based approaches. The capability of the score-based image assessment to predict the occurrence of cardiac toxicity with respect to SUV measurement was then evaluated. Results: In contrast to the SUV-based approach, the five-point scale method does not linearly stratify the risk of the subsequent development of cardiotoxicity. However, converting the five-points scale to a dichotomic evaluation (low vs. high myocardial metabolism, FDG-PET/CT showed high diagnostic accuracy in the prediction of cardiac toxicity (specificity = 100% and sensitivity = 83.3%. In patients showing high myocardial uptake at baseline, in which the score-based method is not able to definitively exclude the occurrence of cardiac toxicity, myocardial SUV mean quantification is able to further stratify the risk between low and intermediate risk classes. Conclusions: the score-based approach to FDG-PET/CT images is a feasible method for predicting DXR-induced cardiotoxicity. This method might improve the inter-reader and inter-scanner variability, thus allowing the evaluation of FDG-PET/CT images in a multicentral setting.

Recalibration of the ACC/AHA Risk Score in Two Population-Based German Cohorts.

Science.gov (United States)

de Las Heras Gala, Tonia; Geisel, Marie Henrike; Peters, Annette; Thorand, Barbara; Baumert, Jens; Lehmann, Nils; Jöckel, Karl-Heinz; Moebus, Susanne; Erbel, Raimund; Meisinger, Christine; Mahabadi, Amir Abbas; Koenig, Wolfgang

2016-01-01

The 2013 ACC/AHA guidelines introduced an algorithm for risk assessment of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) within 10 years. In Germany, risk assessment with the ESC SCORE is limited to cardiovascular mortality. Applicability of the novel ACC/AHA risk score to the German population has not yet been assessed. We therefore sought to recalibrate and evaluate the ACC/AHA risk score in two German cohorts and to compare it to the ESC SCORE. We studied 5,238 participants from the KORA surveys S3 (1994-1995) and S4 (1999-2001) and 4,208 subjects from the Heinz Nixdorf Recall (HNR) Study (2000-2003). There were 383 (7.3%) and 271 (6.4%) first non-fatal or fatal ASCVD events within 10 years in KORA and in HNR, respectively. Risk scores were evaluated in terms of calibration and discrimination performance. The original ACC/AHA risk score overestimated 10-year ASCVD rates by 37% in KORA and 66% in HNR. After recalibration, miscalibration diminished to 8% underestimation in KORA and 12% overestimation in HNR. Discrimination performance of the ACC/AHA risk score was not affected by the recalibration (KORA: C = 0.78, HNR: C = 0.74). The ESC SCORE overestimated by 5% in KORA and by 85% in HNR. The corresponding C-statistic was 0.82 in KORA and 0.76 in HNR. The recalibrated ACC/AHA risk score showed strongly improved calibration compared to the original ACC/AHA risk score. Predicting only cardiovascular mortality, discrimination performance of the commonly used ESC SCORE remained somewhat superior to the ACC/AHA risk score. Nevertheless, the recalibrated ACC/AHA risk score may provide a meaningful tool for estimating 10-year risk of fatal and non-fatal cardiovascular disease in Germany.

Poisson Approximation-Based Score Test for Detecting Association of Rare Variants.

Science.gov (United States)

Fang, Hongyan; Zhang, Hong; Yang, Yaning

2016-07-01

Genome-wide association study (GWAS) has achieved great success in identifying genetic variants, but the nature of GWAS has determined its inherent limitations. Under the common disease rare variants (CDRV) hypothesis, the traditional association analysis methods commonly used in GWAS for common variants do not have enough power for detecting rare variants with a limited sample size. As a solution to this problem, pooling rare variants by their functions provides an efficient way for identifying susceptible genes. Rare variant typically have low frequencies of minor alleles, and the distribution of the total number of minor alleles of the rare variants can be approximated by a Poisson distribution. Based on this fact, we propose a new test method, the Poisson Approximation-based Score Test (PAST), for association analysis of rare variants. Two testing methods, namely, ePAST and mPAST, are proposed based on different strategies of pooling rare variants. Simulation results and application to the CRESCENDO cohort data show that our methods are more powerful than the existing methods. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd/University College London.

Walk Score® and Transit Score® and Walking in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis

Science.gov (United States)

Hirsch, Jana A.; Moore, Kari A.; Evenson, Kelly R.; Rodriguez, Daniel A; Diez Roux, Ana V.

2013-01-01

Background Walk Score® and Transit Score® are open-source measures of the neighborhood built environment to support walking (“walkability”) and access to transportation. Purpose To investigate associations of Street Smart Walk Score and Transit Score with self-reported transport and leisure walking using data from a large multi-city and diverse population-based sample of adults. Methods Data from a sample of 4552 residents of Baltimore MD; Chicago IL; Forsyth County NC; Los Angeles CA; New York NY; and St. Paul MN from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (2010–2012) were linked to Walk Score and Transit Score (collected in 2012). Logistic and linear regression models estimated ORs of not walking and mean differences in minutes walked, respectively, associated with continuous and categoric Walk Score and Transit Score. All analyses were conducted in 2012. Results After adjustment for site, key sociodemographic, and health variables, a higher Walk Score was associated with lower odds of not walking for transport and more minutes/week of transport walking. Compared to those in a “walker’s paradise,” lower categories of Walk Score were associated with a linear increase in odds of not transport walking and a decline in minutes of leisure walking. An increase in Transit Score was associated with lower odds of not transport walking or leisure walking, and additional minutes/week of leisure walking. Conclusions Walk Score and Transit Score appear to be useful as measures of walkability in analyses of neighborhood effects. PMID:23867022

Prehospital score for acute disease: a community-based observational study in Japan

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fujiwara Hidekazu

2007-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Ambulance usage in Japan has increased consistently because it is free under the national health insurance system. The introduction of refusal for ambulance transfer is being debated nationally. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationship between prehospital data and hospitalization outcome for acute disease patients, and to develop a simple prehospital evaluation tool using prehospital data for Japan's emergency medical service system. Methods The subjects were 9,160 consecutive acute disease patients aged ≥ 15 years who were transferred to hospital by Kishiwada City Fire Department ambulance between July 2004 and March 2006. The relationship between prehospital data (age, systolic blood pressure, pulse rate, respiration rate, level of consciousness, SpO2 level and ability to walk and outcome (hospitalization or non-hospitalization was analyzed using logistic regression models. The prehospital score component of each item of prehospital data was determined by beta coefficients. Eligible patients were scored retrospectively and the distribution of outcome was examined. For patients transported to the two main hospitals, outcome after hospitalization was also confirmed. Results A total of 8,330 (91% patients were retrospectively evaluated using a prehospital score with a maximum value of 14. The percentage of patients requiring hospitalization rose from 9% with score = 0 to 100% with score = 14. With a cut-off point score ≥ 2, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value were 97%, 16%, 39% and 89%, respectively. Among the 6,498 patients transported to the two main hospitals, there were no deaths at scores ≤ 1 and the proportion of non-hospitalization was over 90%. The proportion of deaths increased rapidly at scores ≥ 11. Conclusion The prehospital score could be a useful tool for deciding the refusal of ambulance transfer in Japan's emergency medical

Credit Scoring Problem Based on Regression Analysis

OpenAIRE

Khassawneh, Bashar Suhil Jad Allah

2014-01-01

ABSTRACT: This thesis provides an explanatory introduction to the regression models of data mining and contains basic definitions of key terms in the linear, multiple and logistic regression models. Meanwhile, the aim of this study is to illustrate fitting models for the credit scoring problem using simple linear, multiple linear and logistic regression models and also to analyze the found model functions by statistical tools. Keywords: Data mining, linear regression, logistic regression....

Developing an international scoring system for a consensus-based social cognition measure: MSCEIT-managing emotions.

Science.gov (United States)

Hellemann, G S; Green, M F; Kern, R S; Sitarenios, G; Nuechterlein, K H

2017-10-01

Measures of social cognition are increasingly being applied to psychopathology, including studies of schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders. Tests of social cognition present unique challenges for international adaptations. The Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test, Managing Emotions Branch (MSCEIT-ME) is a commonly-used social cognition test that involves the evaluation of social scenarios presented in vignettes. This paper presents evaluations of translations of this test in six different languages based on representative samples from the relevant countries. The goal was to identify items from the MSCEIT-ME that show different response patterns across countries using indices of discrepancy and content validity criteria. An international version of the MSCEIT-ME scoring was developed that excludes items that showed undesirable properties across countries. We then confirmed that this new version had better performance (i.e. less discrepancy across regions) in international samples than the version based on the original norms. Additionally, it provides scores that are comparable to ratings based on local norms. This paper shows that it is possible to adapt complex social cognitive tasks so they can provide valid data across different cultural contexts.

Generalization of the Lord-Wingersky Algorithm to Computing the Distribution of Summed Test Scores Based on Real-Number Item Scores

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Seonghoon

2013-01-01

With known item response theory (IRT) item parameters, Lord and Wingersky provided a recursive algorithm for computing the conditional frequency distribution of number-correct test scores, given proficiency. This article presents a generalized algorithm for computing the conditional distribution of summed test scores involving real-number item…

Key performance indicators score (KPIs-score) based on clinical and laboratorial parameters can establish benchmarks for internal quality control in an ART program.

Science.gov (United States)

Franco, José G; Petersen, Claudia G; Mauri, Ana L; Vagnini, Laura D; Renzi, Adriana; Petersen, Bruna; Mattila, M C; Comar, Vanessa A; Ricci, Juliana; Dieamant, Felipe; Oliveira, João Batista A; Baruffi, Ricardo L R

2017-06-01

KPIs have been employed for internal quality control (IQC) in ART. However, clinical KPIs (C-KPIs) such as age, AMH and number of oocytes collected are never added to laboratory KPIs (L-KPIs), such as fertilization rate and morphological quality of the embryos for analysis, even though the final endpoint is the evaluation of clinical pregnancy rates. This paper analyzed if a KPIs-score strategy with clinical and laboratorial parameters could be used to establish benchmarks for IQC in ART cycles. In this prospective cohort study, 280 patients (36.4±4.3years) underwent ART. The total KPIs-score was obtained by the analysis of age, AMH (AMH Gen II ELISA/pre-mixing modified, Beckman Coulter Inc.), number of metaphase-II oocytes, fertilization rates and morphological quality of the embryonic lot. The total KPIs-score (C-KPIs+L-KPIs) was correlated with the presence or absence of clinical pregnancy. The relationship between the C-KPIs and L-KPIs scores was analyzed to establish quality standards, to increase the performance of clinical and laboratorial processes in ART. The logistic regression model (LRM), with respect to pregnancy and total KPIs-score (280 patients/102 clinical pregnancies), yielded an odds ratio of 1.24 (95%CI = 1.16-1.32). There was also a significant difference (pclinical pregnancies (total KPIs-score=20.4±3.7) and the group without clinical pregnancies (total KPIs-score=15.9±5). Clinical pregnancy probabilities (CPP) can be obtained using the LRM (prediction key) with the total KPIs-score as a predictor variable. The mean C-KPIs and L-KPIs scores obtained in the pregnancy group were 11.9±2.9 and 8.5±1.7, respectively. Routinely, in all cases where the C-KPIs score was ≥9, after the procedure, the L-KPIs score obtained was ≤6, a revision of the laboratory procedure was performed to assess quality standards. This total KPIs-score could set up benchmarks for clinical pregnancy. Moreover, IQC can use C-KPIs and L-KPIs scores to detect problems

The relationship between observer-based toxicity scoring and patient assessed symptom severity after treatment for head and neck cancer. A correlative cross sectional study of the DAHANCA toxicity scoring system and the EORTC quality of life questionnaires

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jensen, Kenneth; Bonde Jensen, Anders; Grau, Cai

2006-01-01

Background and purpose: Morbidity is an important issue in cancer research. The observer-based toxicity scoring system used by DAHANCA (the Danish head and neck cancer study group) has proved itself sensitive to differences in toxicity in a large randomised study, but like other toxicity scoring systems it has not been formally validated. Conversely, the EORTC quality of life questionnaire (QLQ) has been validated as a tool for collecting information about the consequences of disease and treatment on the well being of cancer patients. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the two methods of side effect recording. Patients and methods: One hundred and sixteen recurrence free patients with laryngeal (n=44), pharyngeal (n=34) and oral cavity (n=38) cancer attending follow-up after radiotherapy (n=83) or surgery (n=33) completed EORTC C30, the core questionnaire concerning general symptoms and function and EORTC H and N35 the head and neck specific questionnaire. The attending physicians in the follow-up clinic evaluated and recorded DAHANCA toxicity scores on the same patients. Results: The DAHANCA toxicity scoring system and the EORTC QLQ correlated with several clinical endpoints. The conceptually similar endpoints of the two methods correlated significantly. The objective endpoints of the DAHANCA scoring system were only correlated with quality of life endpoints to a very low degree. The DAHANCA toxicity scores had a low sensitivity (0.48-0.74) in detecting equivalent subjective complaints from the questionnaires and the observer-based scoring system severely underestimated patient complaints. A specific patient group where the DAHANCA score had a higher tendency to fail could not be detected. Conclusion: The DAHANCA toxicity score is an effective instrument in assessing objective treatment induced toxicity in head and neck cancer patients but insensitive and non-specific with regard to patient assessed subjective endpoints. This

Communicating efficacy information based on composite scores in direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising.

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, Pamela A; O'Donoghue, Amie C; Sullivan, Helen W; Willoughby, Jessica Fitts; Squire, Claudia; Parvanta, Sarah; Betts, Kevin R

2016-04-01

Drug efficacy can be measured by composite scores, which consist of two or more symptoms or other clinical components of a disease. We evaluated how individuals interpret composite scores in direct-to-consumer (DTC) prescription drug advertising. We conducted an experimental study of seasonal allergy sufferers (n=1967) who viewed a fictitious print DTC ad that varied by the type of information featured (general indication, list of symptoms, or definition of composite scores) and the presence or absence of an educational intervention about composite scores. We measured composite score recognition and comprehension, and perceived drug efficacy and risk. Ads that featured either (1) the composite score definition alone or (2) the list of symptoms or general indication information along with the educational intervention improved composite score comprehension. Ads that included the composite score definition or the educational intervention led to lower confidence in the drug's benefits. The composite score definition improved composite score recognition and lowered drug risk perceptions. Adding composite score information to DTC print ads may improve individuals' comprehension of composite scores and affect their perceptions of the drug. Providing composite score information may lead to more informed patient-provider prescription drug decisions. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Item hierarchy-based analysis of the Rivermead Mobility Index resulted in improved interpretation and enabled faster scoring in patients undergoing rehabilitation after stroke.

Science.gov (United States)

Roorda, Leo D; Green, John R; Houwink, Annemieke; Bagley, Pam J; Smith, Jane; Molenaar, Ivo W; Geurts, Alexander C

2012-06-01

To enable improved interpretation of the total score and faster scoring of the Rivermead Mobility Index (RMI) by studying item ordering or hierarchy and formulating start-and-stop rules in patients after stroke. Cohort study. Rehabilitation center in the Netherlands; stroke rehabilitation units and the community in the United Kingdom. Item hierarchy of the RMI was studied in an initial group of patients (n=620; mean age ± SD, 69.2±12.5y; 297 [48%] men; 304 [49%] left hemisphere lesion, and 269 [43%] right hemisphere lesion), and the adequacy of the item hierarchy-based start-and-stop rules was checked in a second group of patients (n=237; mean age ± SD, 60.0±11.3y; 139 [59%] men; 103 [44%] left hemisphere lesion, and 93 [39%] right hemisphere lesion) undergoing rehabilitation after stroke. Not applicable. Mokken scale analysis was used to investigate the fit of the double monotonicity model, indicating hierarchical item ordering. The percentages of patients with a difference between the RMI total score and the scores based on the start-and-stop rules were calculated to check the adequacy of these rules. The RMI had good fit of the double monotonicity model (coefficient H(T)=.87). The interpretation of the total score improved. Item hierarchy-based start-and-stop rules were formulated. The percentages of patients with a difference between the RMI total score and the score based on the recommended start-and-stop rules were 3% and 5%, respectively. Ten of the original 15 items had to be scored after applying the start-and-stop rules. Item hierarchy was established, enabling improved interpretation and faster scoring of the RMI. Copyright © 2012 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A configuration space of homologous proteins conserving mutual information and allowing a phylogeny inference based on pair-wise Z-score probabilities.

Science.gov (United States)

Bastien, Olivier; Ortet, Philippe; Roy, Sylvaine; Maréchal, Eric

2005-03-10

Popular methods to reconstruct molecular phylogenies are based on multiple sequence alignments, in which addition or removal of data may change the resulting tree topology. We have sought a representation of homologous proteins that would conserve the information of pair-wise sequence alignments, respect probabilistic properties of Z-scores (Monte Carlo methods applied to pair-wise comparisons) and be the basis for a novel method of consistent and stable phylogenetic reconstruction. We have built up a spatial representation of protein sequences using concepts from particle physics (configuration space) and respecting a frame of constraints deduced from pair-wise alignment score properties in information theory. The obtained configuration space of homologous proteins (CSHP) allows the representation of real and shuffled sequences, and thereupon an expression of the TULIP theorem for Z-score probabilities. Based on the CSHP, we propose a phylogeny reconstruction using Z-scores. Deduced trees, called TULIP trees, are consistent with multiple-alignment based trees. Furthermore, the TULIP tree reconstruction method provides a solution for some previously reported incongruent results, such as the apicomplexan enolase phylogeny. The CSHP is a unified model that conserves mutual information between proteins in the way physical models conserve energy. Applications include the reconstruction of evolutionary consistent and robust trees, the topology of which is based on a spatial representation that is not reordered after addition or removal of sequences. The CSHP and its assigned phylogenetic topology, provide a powerful and easily updated representation for massive pair-wise genome comparisons based on Z-score computations.

A configuration space of homologous proteins conserving mutual information and allowing a phylogeny inference based on pair-wise Z-score probabilities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maréchal Eric

2005-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Popular methods to reconstruct molecular phylogenies are based on multiple sequence alignments, in which addition or removal of data may change the resulting tree topology. We have sought a representation of homologous proteins that would conserve the information of pair-wise sequence alignments, respect probabilistic properties of Z-scores (Monte Carlo methods applied to pair-wise comparisons and be the basis for a novel method of consistent and stable phylogenetic reconstruction. Results We have built up a spatial representation of protein sequences using concepts from particle physics (configuration space and respecting a frame of constraints deduced from pair-wise alignment score properties in information theory. The obtained configuration space of homologous proteins (CSHP allows the representation of real and shuffled sequences, and thereupon an expression of the TULIP theorem for Z-score probabilities. Based on the CSHP, we propose a phylogeny reconstruction using Z-scores. Deduced trees, called TULIP trees, are consistent with multiple-alignment based trees. Furthermore, the TULIP tree reconstruction method provides a solution for some previously reported incongruent results, such as the apicomplexan enolase phylogeny. Conclusion The CSHP is a unified model that conserves mutual information between proteins in the way physical models conserve energy. Applications include the reconstruction of evolutionary consistent and robust trees, the topology of which is based on a spatial representation that is not reordered after addition or removal of sequences. The CSHP and its assigned phylogenetic topology, provide a powerful and easily updated representation for massive pair-wise genome comparisons based on Z-score computations.

Prediction of true test scores from observed item scores and ancillary data.

Science.gov (United States)

Haberman, Shelby J; Yao, Lili; Sinharay, Sandip

2015-05-01

In many educational tests which involve constructed responses, a traditional test score is obtained by adding together item scores obtained through holistic scoring by trained human raters. For example, this practice was used until 2008 in the case of GRE(®) General Analytical Writing and until 2009 in the case of TOEFL(®) iBT Writing. With use of natural language processing, it is possible to obtain additional information concerning item responses from computer programs such as e-rater(®). In addition, available information relevant to examinee performance may include scores on related tests. We suggest application of standard results from classical test theory to the available data to obtain best linear predictors of true traditional test scores. In performing such analysis, we require estimation of variances and covariances of measurement errors, a task which can be quite difficult in the case of tests with limited numbers of items and with multiple measurements per item. As a consequence, a new estimation method is suggested based on samples of examinees who have taken an assessment more than once. Such samples are typically not random samples of the general population of examinees, so that we apply statistical adjustment methods to obtain the needed estimated variances and covariances of measurement errors. To examine practical implications of the suggested methods of analysis, applications are made to GRE General Analytical Writing and TOEFL iBT Writing. Results obtained indicate that substantial improvements are possible both in terms of reliability of scoring and in terms of assessment reliability. © 2015 The British Psychological Society.

TOEFL and IELTS as Measures of Academic Reading Ability: An Exploratory Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Buell, James G.

This paper discusses research conducted in the spring of 1991 that measured the relationship of reading subtest scores to teacher ratings of students' reading abilities. Sixty-eight advanced-level students in an intensive English program took an institutional version of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and a specimen reading…

Scoring Strategies for the TOEFL iBT A Complete Guide

CERN Document Server

Stirling, Bruce

2012-01-01

TOEFL students all ask: How can I get a high TOEFL iBT score? Answer: Learn argument scoring strategies. Why? Because the TOEFL iBT recycles opinion-based and fact-based arguments for testing purposes from start to finish. In other words, the TOEFL iBT is all arguments. That's right, all arguments. If you want a high score, you need essential argument scoring strategies. That is what Scoring Strategies for the TOEFL iBT gives you, and more!. TEST-PROVEN STRATEGIES. Learn essential TOEFL iBT scoring strategies developed in American university classrooms and proven successful on the TOEFL iBT. R

Methods of Implementation of Evidence-Based Stroke Care in Europe: European Implementation Score Collaboration.

Science.gov (United States)

Di Carlo, Antonio; Pezzella, Francesca Romana; Fraser, Alec; Bovis, Francesca; Baeza, Juan; McKevitt, Chris; Boaz, Annette; Heuschmann, Peter; Wolfe, Charles D A; Inzitari, Domenico

2015-08-01

Differences in stroke care and outcomes reported in Europe may reflect different degrees of implementation of evidence-based interventions. We evaluated strategies for implementing research evidence into stroke care in 10 European countries. A questionnaire was developed and administered through face-to-face interviews with key informants. Implementation strategies were investigated considering 3 levels (macro, meso, and micro, eg, policy, organization, patients/professionals) identified by the framing analysis, and different settings (primary, hospital, and specialist) of stroke care. Similarities and differences among countries were evaluated using the categorical principal components analysis. Implementation methods reported by ≥7 countries included nonmandatory policies, public financial incentives, continuing professional education, distribution of educational material, educational meetings and campaigns, guidelines, opinion leaders', and stroke patients associations' activities. Audits were present in 6 countries at national level; national and regional regulations in 4 countries. Private financial incentives, reminders, and educational outreach visits were reported only in 2 countries. At national level, the first principal component of categorical principal components analysis separated England, France, Scotland, and Sweden, all with positive object scores, from the other countries. Belgium and Lithuania obtained the lowest scores. At regional level, England, France, Germany, Italy, and Sweden had positive scores in the first principal component, whereas Belgium, Lithuania, Poland, and Scotland showed negative scores. Spain was in an intermediate position. We developed a novel method to assess different domains of implementation in stroke care. Clear variations were observed among European countries. The new tool may be used elsewhere for future contributions. © 2015 American Heart Association, Inc.

[Collateral score based on CT perfusion can predict the prognosis of patients with anterior circulation ischemic stroke after thrombectomy].

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Qingsong; Zhang, Sheng; Zhang, Meixia; Chen, Zhicai; Lou, Min

2017-07-25

To evaluate the value of collateral score based on CT perfusion (CTP-CS) in predicting the clinical outcome of patients with anterior circulation ischemic stroke after thrombectomy. Clinical data of acute ischemic stroke patients with anterior artery occlusion undergoing endovascular treatment in the Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine during October 2013 and October 2016 were retrospectively reviewed. Collateral scores were assessed based on CTP and digital subtraction angiography (DSA) images, respectively. And DSA-CS or CTP-CS 3-4 was defined as good collateral vessels. Good clinical outcome was defined as a modified Rankin Scale (mRS) ≤ 2 at 3 months after stroke. The binary logistic regression model was used to analyze the correlation between the collateral score and clinical outcome, and the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to analyze the value of DSA-CS and CTP-CS in predicting the clinical outcome. Among 40 patients, 33 (82.5%) acquired recanalization and 16 (40.0%) got good outcome. Compared with poor outcome group, the collateral score (all P collateral vessels were higher in good outcome group (all P collateral vessels were independent factor of good outcome (CTP-CS: OR =48.404, 95% CI :1.373-1706.585, P Collateral scores based on CTP and DSA had good consistency ( κ =0.697, P <0.01), and ROC curve showed that the predictive value of CTP-CS and DSA-CS were comparable (both AUC=0.726, 95% CI :0.559-0.893, P <0.05). CTP-CS can predict the clinical outcome of patients with anterior circulation ischemic stroke after thrombectomy.

A Novel Scoring System Approach to Assess Patients with Lyme Disease (Nutech Functional Score)

OpenAIRE

Geeta Shroff; Petra Hopf-Seidel

2018-01-01

Introduction: A bacterial infection by Borrelia burgdorferi referred to as Lyme disease (LD) or borreliosis is transmitted mostly by a bite of the tick Ixodes scapularis in the USA and Ixodes ricinus in Europe. Various tests are used for the diagnosis of LD, but their results are often unreliable. We compiled a list of clinically visible and patient-reported symptoms that are associated with LD. Based on this list, we developed a novel scoring system. Methodology: Nutech functional Score (NF...

The Laboratory-Based Intermountain Validated Exacerbation (LIVE Score Identifies Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Patients at High Mortality Risk

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Denitza P. Blagev

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Background: Identifying COPD patients at high risk for mortality or healthcare utilization remains a challenge. A robust system for identifying high-risk COPD patients using Electronic Health Record (EHR data would empower targeting interventions aimed at ensuring guideline compliance and multimorbidity management. The purpose of this study was to empirically derive, validate, and characterize subgroups of COPD patients based on routinely collected clinical data widely available within the EHR.Methods: Cluster analysis was used in 5,006 patients with COPD at Intermountain to identify clusters based on a large collection of clinical variables. Recursive Partitioning (RP was then used to determine a preferred tree that assigned patients to clusters based on a parsimonious variable subset. The mortality, COPD exacerbations, and comorbidity profile of the identified groups were examined. The findings were validated in an independent Intermountain cohort and in external cohorts from the United States Veterans Affairs (VA and University of Chicago Medicine systems.Measurements and Main Results: The RP algorithm identified five LIVE Scores based on laboratory values: albumin, creatinine, chloride, potassium, and hemoglobin. The groups were characterized by increasing risk of mortality. The lowest risk, LIVE Score 5 had 8% 4-year mortality vs. 56% in the highest risk LIVE Score 1 (p < 0.001. These findings were validated in the VA cohort (n = 83,134, an expanded Intermountain cohort (n = 48,871 and in the University of Chicago system (n = 3,236. Higher mortality groups also had higher COPD exacerbation rates and comorbidity rates.Conclusions: In large clinical datasets across different organizations, the LIVE Score utilizes existing laboratory data for COPD patients, and may be used to stratify risk for mortality and COPD exacerbations.

Safety and efficacy of dapoxetine in the treatment of premature ejaculation: a double-blind, placebo-controlled, fixed-dose, randomized study.

Science.gov (United States)

Safarinejad, Mohammad R

2008-05-01

The aim of the study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) drug dapoxetine in delaying ejaculation in patients with premature ejaculation (PE). A total of 212 potent men with PE were randomly assigned to receive 30 mg orally dapoxetine (group 1, N=106) twice daily or similar regimen of placebo (group 2, N=106) during a 12-week period for each agent. Pretreatment evaluation included history and physical examination, geometric mean intravaginal ejaculatory latency time (IELT, primary outcome measure), and International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF). The efficacy of two treatments was assessed every 2 weeks during treatment, at the end of study, and in 3-month follow-up after cessation of treatment. We measured geometric mean IELT. Thus, the IELT values were logarithmically transformed before statistical analysis, and the results are reported as fold increases from baseline with associated 95% confidence intervals (CI). The independent sample two-tailed t-test was used to compare the IELTs. At the end of 12-week treatment, the dapoxetine group had a 2.9- (95% CI, 1.84-4.16) fold increase of the geometric mean IELT, while after placebo the geometric mean IELT did not increase significantly (1.4-fold increase; 95% CI, 0.84-1.63) (p=0.001). The mean weekly intercourse episodes increased from pretreatment values of 1.16 and 1.14 to 2.2 and 1.4, for dapoxetine and placebo, respectively (p=0.04). Baseline mean intercourse satisfaction domain values of IIEF, 12 and 11, reached to 16 and 10 at the 12-week treatment in groups 1 and 2, respectively (p=0.04). At the end of 3-month follow-up period, the geometric mean IELT in dapoxetine and placebo group demonstrated 1.4- (95% CI, 0.66-1.46) and 1.3- (95% CI, 0.77-1.63) fold increase, respectively (p=0.1). Three-month intercourse satisfaction domain value of IIEF was 11 in group 1 and 10 in group 2 (p=0.1). Mean number of adverse events was 19 for dapoxetine and 7 for

Anterior Cruciate Ligament OsteoArthritis Score (ACLOAS)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Roemer, Frank W; Frobell, Richard; Lohmander, Stefan

2014-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To develop a whole joint scoring system, the Anterior Cruciate Ligament OsteoArthritis Score (ACLOAS), for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based assessment of acute anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury and follow-up of structural sequelae, and to assess its reliability. DESIGN...

Hospital Value-Based Purchasing (HVBP) – Heart Failure Scores

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — A list of hospitals participating in the Hospital VBP Program and their performance rates and scores for the Clinical Process of Care Heart Failure measures.

[The diagnostic scores for deep venous thrombosis].

Science.gov (United States)

Junod, A

2015-08-26

Seven diagnostic scores for the deep venous thrombosis (DVT) of lower limbs are analyzed and compared. Two features make this exer- cise difficult: the problem of distal DVT and of their proximal extension and the status of patients, whether out- or in-patients. The most popular score is the Wells score (1997), modi- fied in 2003. It includes one subjective ele- ment based on clinical judgment. The Primary Care score 12005), less known, has similar pro- perties, but uses only objective data. The pre- sent trend is to associate clinical scores with the dosage of D-Dimers to rule out with a good sensitivity the probability of TVP. For the upper limb DVT, the Constans score (2008) is available, which can also be coupled with D-Dimers testing (Kleinjan).

Effects of nutrient profiling and price changes based on NuVal® scores on food purchasing in an online experimental supermarket.

Science.gov (United States)

Epstein, Leonard H; Finkelstein, Eric A; Katz, David L; Jankowiak, Noelle; Pudlewski, Corrin; Paluch, Rocco A

2016-08-01

The goal of the present study was to apply experimental economic methods in an online supermarket to examine the effects of nutrient profiling, and differential pricing based on the nutrient profile, on the overall diet quality, energy and macronutrients of the foods purchased, and diet cost. Participants were provided nutrient profiling scores or price adjustments based on nutrient profile scores while completing a hypothetical grocery shopping task. Prices of foods in the top 20 % of nutrient profiling scores were reduced (subsidized) by 25 % while those in the bottom 20 % of scores were increased (taxed) by 25 %. We evaluated the independent and interactive effects of nutrient profiling or price adjustments on overall diet quality of foods purchased as assessed by the NuVal® score, energy and macronutrients purchased and diet cost in a 2×2 factorial design. A large (>10 000 food items) online experimental supermarket in the USA. Seven hundred and eighty-one women. Providing nutrient profiling scores improved overall diet quality of foods purchased. Price changes were associated with an increase in protein purchased, an increase in energy cost, and reduced carbohydrate and protein costs. Price changes and nutrient profiling combined were associated with no unique benefits beyond price changes or nutrient profiling alone. Providing nutrient profile score increased overall NuVal® score without a reduction in energy purchased. Combining nutrient profiling and price changes did not show an overall benefit to diet quality and may be less useful than nutrient profiling alone to consumers who want to increase overall diet quality of foods purchased.

From Rasch scores to regression

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Karl Bang

2006-01-01

Rasch models provide a framework for measurement and modelling latent variables. Having measured a latent variable in a population a comparison of groups will often be of interest. For this purpose the use of observed raw scores will often be inadequate because these lack interval scale propertie....... This paper compares two approaches to group comparison: linear regression models using estimated person locations as outcome variables and latent regression models based on the distribution of the score....

An Evidence-Based Unified Definition of Lifelong and Acquired Premature Ejaculation: Report of the Second International Society for Sexual Medicine Ad Hoc Committee for the Definition of Premature Ejaculation

Science.gov (United States)

Serefoglu, Ege Can; McMahon, Chris G; Waldinger, Marcel D; Althof, Stanley E; Shindel, Alan; Adaikan, Ganesh; Becher, Edgardo F; Dean, John; Giuliano, Francois; Hellstrom, Wayne JG; Giraldi, Annamaria; Glina, Sidney; Incrocci, Luca; Jannini, Emmanuele; McCabe, Marita; Parish, Sharon; Rowland, David; Segraves, R Taylor; Sharlip, Ira; Torres, Luiz Otavio

2014-01-01

Introduction The International Society for Sexual Medicine (ISSM) Ad Hoc Committee for the Definition of Premature Ejaculation developed the first evidence-based definition for lifelong premature ejaculation (PE) in 2007 and concluded that there were insufficient published objective data at that time to develop a definition for acquired PE. Aim The aim of this article is to review and critique the current literature and develop a contemporary, evidence-based definition for acquired PE and/or a unified definition for both lifelong and acquired PE. Methods In April 2013, the ISSM convened a second Ad Hoc Committee for the Definition of Premature Ejaculation in Bangalore, India. The same evidence-based systematic approach to literature search, retrieval, and evaluation used by the original committee was adopted. Results The committee unanimously agreed that men with lifelong and acquired PE appear to share the dimensions of short ejaculatory latency, reduced or absent perceived ejaculatory control, and the presence of negative personal consequences. Men with acquired PE are older, have higher incidences of erectile dysfunction, comorbid disease, and cardiovascular risk factors, and have a longer intravaginal ejaculation latency time (IELT) as compared with men with lifelong PE. A self-estimated or stopwatch IELT of 3 minutes was identified as a valid IELT cut-off for diagnosing acquired PE. On this basis, the committee agreed on a unified definition of both acquired and lifelong PE as a male sexual dysfunction characterized by (i) ejaculation that always or nearly always occurs prior to or within about 1 minute of vaginal penetration from the first sexual experience (lifelong PE) or a clinically significant and bothersome reduction in latency time, often to about 3 minutes or less (acquired PE); (ii) the inability to delay ejaculation on all or nearly all vaginal penetrations; and (iii) negative personal consequences, such as distress, bother, frustration, and/or the

An evidence-based unified definition of lifelong and acquired premature ejaculation: report of the second international society for sexual medicine ad hoc committee for the definition of premature ejaculation.

Science.gov (United States)

Serefoglu, Ege Can; McMahon, Chris G; Waldinger, Marcel D; Althof, Stanley E; Shindel, Alan; Adaikan, Ganesh; Becher, Edgardo F; Dean, John; Giuliano, Francois; Hellstrom, Wayne Jg; Giraldi, Annamaria; Glina, Sidney; Incrocci, Luca; Jannini, Emmanuele; McCabe, Marita; Parish, Sharon; Rowland, David; Segraves, R Taylor; Sharlip, Ira; Torres, Luiz Otavio

2014-06-01

The International Society for Sexual Medicine (ISSM) Ad Hoc Committee for the Definition of Premature Ejaculation developed the first evidence-based definition for lifelong premature ejaculation (PE) in 2007 and concluded that there were insufficient published objective data at that time to develop a definition for acquired PE. The aim of this article is to review and critique the current literature and develop a contemporary, evidence-based definition for acquired PE and/or a unified definition for both lifelong and acquired PE. In April 2013, the ISSM convened a second Ad Hoc Committee for the Definition of Premature Ejaculation in Bangalore, India. The same evidence-based systematic approach to literature search, retrieval, and evaluation used by the original committee was adopted. The committee unanimously agreed that men with lifelong and acquired PE appear to share the dimensions of short ejaculatory latency, reduced or absent perceived ejaculatory control, and the presence of negative personal consequences. Men with acquired PE are older, have higher incidences of erectile dysfunction, comorbid disease, and cardiovascular risk factors, and have a longer intravaginal ejaculation latency time (IELT) as compared with men with lifelong PE. A self-estimated or stopwatch IELT of 3 minutes was identified as a valid IELT cut-off for diagnosing acquired PE. On this basis, the committee agreed on a unified definition of both acquired and lifelong PE as a male sexual dysfunction characterized by (i) ejaculation that always or nearly always occurs prior to or within about 1 minute of vaginal penetration from the first sexual experience (lifelong PE) or a clinically significant and bothersome reduction in latency time, often to about 3 minutes or less (acquired PE); (ii) the inability to delay ejaculation on all or nearly all vaginal penetrations; and (iii) negative personal consequences, such as distress, bother, frustration, and/or the avoidance of sexual intimacy. The

A new extranodal scoring system based on the prognostically relevant extranodal sites in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, not otherwise specified treated with chemoimmunotherapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Hwang, Hee Sang; Yoon, Dok Hyun; Suh, Cheolwon; Huh, Jooryung

2016-08-01

Extranodal involvement is a well-known prognostic factor in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphomas (DLBCL). Nevertheless, the prognostic impact of the extranodal scoring system included in the conventional international prognostic index (IPI) has been questioned in an era where rituximab treatment has become widespread. We investigated the prognostic impacts of individual sites of extranodal involvement in 761 patients with DLBCL who received rituximab-based chemoimmunotherapy. Subsequently, we established a new extranodal scoring system based on extranodal sites, showing significant prognostic correlation, and compared this system with conventional scoring systems, such as the IPI and the National Comprehensive Cancer Network-IPI (NCCN-IPI). An internal validation procedure, using bootstrapped samples, was also performed for both univariate and multivariate models. Using multivariate analysis with a backward variable selection, we found nine extranodal sites (the liver, lung, spleen, central nervous system, bone marrow, kidney, skin, adrenal glands, and peritoneum) that remained significant for use in the final model. Our newly established extranodal scoring system, based on these sites, was better correlated with patient survival than standard scoring systems, such as the IPI and the NCCN-IPI. Internal validation by bootstrapping demonstrated an improvement in model performance of our modified extranodal scoring system. Our new extranodal scoring system, based on the prognostically relevant sites, may improve the performance of conventional prognostic models of DLBCL in the rituximab era and warrants further external validation using large study populations.

A Summary Score for the Framingham Heart Study Neuropsychological Battery.

Science.gov (United States)

Downer, Brian; Fardo, David W; Schmitt, Frederick A

2015-10-01

To calculate three summary scores of the Framingham Heart Study neuropsychological battery and determine which score best differentiates between subjects classified as having normal cognition, test-based impaired learning and memory, test-based multidomain impairment, and dementia. The final sample included 2,503 participants. Three summary scores were assessed: (a) composite score that provided equal weight to each subtest, (b) composite score that provided equal weight to each cognitive domain assessed by the neuropsychological battery, and (c) abbreviated score comprised of subtests for learning and memory. Receiver operating characteristic analysis was used to determine which summary score best differentiated between the four cognitive states. The summary score that provided equal weight to each subtest best differentiated between the four cognitive states. A summary score that provides equal weight to each subtest is an efficient way to utilize all of the cognitive data collected by a neuropsychological battery. © The Author(s) 2015.

D-score: a search engine independent MD-score.

Science.gov (United States)

Vaudel, Marc; Breiter, Daniela; Beck, Florian; Rahnenführer, Jörg; Martens, Lennart; Zahedi, René P

2013-03-01

While peptides carrying PTMs are routinely identified in gel-free MS, the localization of the PTMs onto the peptide sequences remains challenging. Search engine scores of secondary peptide matches have been used in different approaches in order to infer the quality of site inference, by penalizing the localization whenever the search engine similarly scored two candidate peptides with different site assignments. In the present work, we show how the estimation of posterior error probabilities for peptide candidates allows the estimation of a PTM score called the D-score, for multiple search engine studies. We demonstrate the applicability of this score to three popular search engines: Mascot, OMSSA, and X!Tandem, and evaluate its performance using an already published high resolution data set of synthetic phosphopeptides. For those peptides with phosphorylation site inference uncertainty, the number of spectrum matches with correctly localized phosphorylation increased by up to 25.7% when compared to using Mascot alone, although the actual increase depended on the fragmentation method used. Since this method relies only on search engine scores, it can be readily applied to the scoring of the localization of virtually any modification at no additional experimental or in silico cost. © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

AP Potential Expectancy Tables Based on PSAT/NMSQT and SAT Scores on the 2015-16 Redesigned Scales Using Final Concordance Tables. Statistical Report

Science.gov (United States)

Ewing, Maureen; Wyatt, Jeff

2017-01-01

Historically, AP Potential™ has used PSAT/NMSQT® scores to identify students who are likely to earn a 3 or higher on a specific AP Exam based on research showing moderate to strong relationships between PSAT/NMSQT scores and AP Exam scores (Camara & Millsap, 1998; Ewing, Camara, & Millsap, 2006; Zhang, Patel, & Ewing, 2014a). For most…

Scoring in genetically modified organism proficiency tests based on log-transformed results.

Science.gov (United States)

Thompson, Michael; Ellison, Stephen L R; Owen, Linda; Mathieson, Kenneth; Powell, Joanne; Key, Pauline; Wood, Roger; Damant, Andrew P

2006-01-01

The study considers data from 2 UK-based proficiency schemes and includes data from a total of 29 rounds and 43 test materials over a period of 3 years. The results from the 2 schemes are similar and reinforce each other. The amplification process used in quantitative polymerase chain reaction determinations predicts a mixture of normal, binomial, and lognormal distributions dominated by the latter 2. As predicted, the study results consistently follow a positively skewed distribution. Log-transformation prior to calculating z-scores is effective in establishing near-symmetric distributions that are sufficiently close to normal to justify interpretation on the basis of the normal distribution.

Multiple Score Comparison: a network meta-analysis approach to comparison and external validation of prognostic scores

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sarah R. Haile

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Prediction models and prognostic scores have been increasingly popular in both clinical practice and clinical research settings, for example to aid in risk-based decision making or control for confounding. In many medical fields, a large number of prognostic scores are available, but practitioners may find it difficult to choose between them due to lack of external validation as well as lack of comparisons between them. Methods Borrowing methodology from network meta-analysis, we describe an approach to Multiple Score Comparison meta-analysis (MSC which permits concurrent external validation and comparisons of prognostic scores using individual patient data (IPD arising from a large-scale international collaboration. We describe the challenges in adapting network meta-analysis to the MSC setting, for instance the need to explicitly include correlations between the scores on a cohort level, and how to deal with many multi-score studies. We propose first using IPD to make cohort-level aggregate discrimination or calibration scores, comparing all to a common comparator. Then, standard network meta-analysis techniques can be applied, taking care to consider correlation structures in cohorts with multiple scores. Transitivity, consistency and heterogeneity are also examined. Results We provide a clinical application, comparing prognostic scores for 3-year mortality in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease using data from a large-scale collaborative initiative. We focus on the discriminative properties of the prognostic scores. Our results show clear differences in performance, with ADO and eBODE showing higher discrimination with respect to mortality than other considered scores. The assumptions of transitivity and local and global consistency were not violated. Heterogeneity was small. Conclusions We applied a network meta-analytic methodology to externally validate and concurrently compare the prognostic properties

A Comparison between Linear IRT Observed-Score Equating and Levine Observed-Score Equating under the Generalized Kernel Equating Framework

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Haiwen

2012-01-01

In this article, linear item response theory (IRT) observed-score equating is compared under a generalized kernel equating framework with Levine observed-score equating for nonequivalent groups with anchor test design. Interestingly, these two equating methods are closely related despite being based on different methodologies. Specifically, when…

Combined time-varying forecast based on the proper scoring approach for wind power generation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Chen, Xingying; Jiang, Yu; Yu, Kun

2017-01-01

Compared with traditional point forecasts, combined forecast have been proposed as an effective method to provide more accurate forecasts than individual model. However, the literature and research focus on wind-power combined forecasts are relatively limited. Here, based on forecasting error...... distribution, a proper scoring approach is applied to combine plausible models to form an overall time-varying model for the next day forecasts, rather than weights-based combination. To validate the effectiveness of the proposed method, real data of 3 years were used for testing. Simulation results...... demonstrate that the proposed method improves the accuracy of overall forecasts, even compared with a numerical weather prediction....

Credit scoring for individuals

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria DIMITRIU

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Lending money to different borrowers is profitable, but risky. The profits come from the interest rate and the fees earned on the loans. Banks do not want to make loans to borrowers who cannot repay them. Even if the banks do not intend to make bad loans, over time, some of them can become bad. For instance, as a result of the recent financial crisis, the capability of many borrowers to repay their loans were affected, many of them being on default. That’s why is important for the bank to monitor the loans. The purpose of this paper is to focus on credit scoring main issues. As a consequence of this, we presented in this paper the scoring model of an important Romanian Bank. Based on this credit scoring model and taking into account the last lending requirements of the National Bank of Romania, we developed an assessment tool, in Excel, for retail loans which is presented in the case study.

The ERICE-score: the new native cardiovascular score for the low-risk and aged Mediterranean population of Spain.

Science.gov (United States)

Gabriel, Rafael; Brotons, Carlos; Tormo, M José; Segura, Antonio; Rigo, Fernando; Elosua, Roberto; Carbayo, Julio A; Gavrila, Diana; Moral, Irene; Tuomilehto, Jaakko; Muñiz, Javier

2015-03-01

In Spain, data based on large population-based cohorts adequate to provide an accurate prediction of cardiovascular risk have been scarce. Thus, calibration of the EuroSCORE and Framingham scores has been proposed and done for our population. The aim was to develop a native risk prediction score to accurately estimate the individual cardiovascular risk in the Spanish population. Seven Spanish population-based cohorts including middle-aged and elderly participants were assembled. There were 11800 people (6387 women) representing 107915 person-years of follow-up. A total of 1214 cardiovascular events were identified, of which 633 were fatal. Cox regression analyses were conducted to examine the contributions of the different variables to the 10-year total cardiovascular risk. Age was the strongest cardiovascular risk factor. High systolic blood pressure, diabetes mellitus and smoking were strong predictive factors. The contribution of serum total cholesterol was small. Antihypertensive treatment also had a significant impact on cardiovascular risk, greater in men than in women. The model showed a good discriminative power (C-statistic=0.789 in men and C=0.816 in women). Ten-year risk estimations are displayed graphically in risk charts separately for men and women. The ERICE is a new native cardiovascular risk score for the Spanish population derived from the background and contemporaneous risk of several Spanish cohorts. The ERICE score offers the direct and reliable estimation of total cardiovascular risk, taking in consideration the effect of diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular risk factor management. The ERICE score is a practical and useful tool for clinicians to estimate the total individual cardiovascular risk in Spain. Copyright © 2014 Sociedad Española de Cardiología. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

On-demand Modafinil Improves Ejaculation Time and Patient-reported Outcomes in Men With Lifelong Premature Ejaculation.

Science.gov (United States)

Tuken, Murat; Kiremit, Murat Can; Serefoglu, Ege Can

2016-08-01

To evaluate the effects of modafinil on the intravaginal ejaculatory latency time (IELT) and patient-reported outcomes in patients with lifelong premature ejaculation (PE). Treatment-naïve lifelong PE patients were included in this proof-of-concept study. Self-estimated IELTs of the patients were recorded and the Premature Ejaculation Profile (PEP) questionnaire was administered before the initiation of on-demand modafinil 100 mg treatment. At the end of 1 month of treatment, self-estimated IELTs were recorded again, along with posttreatment PEP outcomes. Overall, 55 lifelong PE patients with a mean age of 35.07 ± 7.80 (range: 22-58) years were enrolled. Modafinil treatment modestly increased the mean IELT at the end of 1 month (24.82 ± 16.10 seconds vs 49.82 ± 31.46 seconds, P = .0001). Moreover, at the end of 1 month, patients reported in the PEP questionnaire better control over ejaculation (0.75 ± 0.67 vs 1.35 ± 0.91, P = .0001), improved satisfaction with sexual intercourse (0.98 ± 0.78 vs 1.40 ± 0.85, P = .0001), lesser personal distress (0.42 ± 0.69 vs 0.89 ± 1.01, P = .0001), and reduced interpersonal difficulty (1.69 ± 1.48 vs 1.95 ± 1.47, P = .0001). In an uncontrolled proof-of-concept study of men with treatment-naïve lifelong PE where IELT was self-reported without a stopwatch, modest improvements of both IELT and patient-reported outcome measures were observed. Future controlled clinical trials are necessary to confirm these findings. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Food-based diet quality score in relation to depressive symptoms in young and middle-aged Japanese women.

Science.gov (United States)

Sakai, Hiroka; Murakami, Kentaro; Kobayashi, Satomi; Suga, Hitomi; Sasaki, Satoshi

2017-06-01

Only a few studies have focused on the association between overall diet, rather than intakes of individual nutrients or foods, and depressive symptoms in Japanese. This cross-sectional study examined associations between a diet quality score and depressive symptoms in 3963 young (age 18 years) and 3833 middle-aged (mean age 47·9 (sd 4·2) years) Japanese women. Dietary information was collected using a diet history questionnaire. A previously developed diet quality score was computed mainly based on the Japanese Food Guide Spinning Top. The prevalence of depressive symptoms was 22·0 % for young women and 16·8 % for middle-aged women, assessed as a Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) score ≥23 and ≥19, respectively. As expected, the diet quality score was associated positively with intakes of 'grain dishes', 'vegetable dishes', 'fish and meat dishes', 'milk' and 'fruits' and inversely with intakes of energy from 'snacks, confection and beverages' and Na from seasonings. After adjustment for potential confounders, OR for depressive symptoms in the highest v. lowest quintiles of the diet quality score was 0·65 (95 % CI 0·50, 0·84) in young women (P for trend=0·0005). In middle-aged women, the corresponding value was 0·59 (95 % CI 0·45, 0·78) (P for trenddiet quality and CES-D scores were treated as continuous variables also showed inverse associations. In conclusion, this cross-sectional study showed that a higher diet quality score was associated with a lower prevalence of depressive symptoms in young and middle-aged Japanese women. Prospective studies are needed to confirm a public health relevance of this finding.

Validating the appropriateness of TACOM measure: Comparing TACOM scores with subjective workload scores quantified by NASA-TLX technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, J.; Jung, W.

2006-01-01

In this study, the appropriateness of the task complexity (TACOM) measure that can quantify the complexity of emergency tasks was investigated by comparing subjective workload scores with the associated TACOM scores. To this end, based on the NASA-TLX (task load index) technique, 18 operators were asked to subjectively estimate perceived workload for 23 emergency tasks that were specified in the emergency operating procedures of the reference nuclear power plants. As the result of comparisons, it was observed that subjective workload scores increase in proportion to the increase of TACOM scores. Therefore, it is expect that the TACOM measure can be used as a serviceable method to quantify the complexity of emergency tasks. (authors)

Validating the appropriateness of TACOM measure: Comparing TACOM scores with subjective workload scores quantified by NASA-TLX technique

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Park, J.; Jung, W. [Integrated Safety Assessment Div., Korea Atomic Energy Research Inst., P.O.Box 105, Duckjin-Dong, Yusong-Ku, Taejon, 305-600 (Korea, Republic of)

2006-07-01

In this study, the appropriateness of the task complexity (TACOM) measure that can quantify the complexity of emergency tasks was investigated by comparing subjective workload scores with the associated TACOM scores. To this end, based on the NASA-TLX (task load index) technique, 18 operators were asked to subjectively estimate perceived workload for 23 emergency tasks that were specified in the emergency operating procedures of the reference nuclear power plants. As the result of comparisons, it was observed that subjective workload scores increase in proportion to the increase of TACOM scores. Therefore, it is expect that the TACOM measure can be used as a serviceable method to quantify the complexity of emergency tasks. (authors)

Automatic Sleep Scoring in Normals and in Individuals with Neurodegenerative Disorders According to New International Sleep Scoring Criteria

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Peter S.; Sørensen, Helge Bjarup Dissing; Leonthin, Helle

2010-01-01

The aim of this study was to develop a fully automatic sleep scoring algorithm on the basis of a reproduction of new international sleep scoring criteria from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. A biomedical signal processing algorithm was developed, allowing for automatic sleep depth....... Based on an observed reliability of the manual scorer of 92.5% (Cohen's Kappa: 0.87) in the normal group and 85.3% (Cohen's Kappa: 0.73) in the abnormal group, this study concluded that although the developed algorithm was capable of scoring normal sleep with an accuracy around the manual interscorer...... reliability, it failed in accurately scoring abnormal sleep as encountered for the Parkinson disease/multiple system atrophy patients....

Automatic sleep scoring in normals and in individuals with neurodegenerative disorders according to new international sleep scoring criteria

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Peter S; Sorensen, Helge B D; Jennum, Poul

2010-01-01

The aim of this study was to develop a fully automatic sleep scoring algorithm on the basis of a reproduction of new international sleep scoring criteria from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. A biomedical signal processing algorithm was developed, allowing for automatic sleep depth....... Based on an observed reliability of the manual scorer of 92.5% (Cohen's Kappa: 0.87) in the normal group and 85.3% (Cohen's Kappa: 0.73) in the abnormal group, this study concluded that although the developed algorithm was capable of scoring normal sleep with an accuracy around the manual interscorer...... reliability, it failed in accurately scoring abnormal sleep as encountered for the Parkinson disease/multiple system atrophy patients....

Associations of genetic risk scores based on adult adiposity pathways with childhood growth and adiposity measures

OpenAIRE

Monnereau, Claire; Vogelezang, Suzanne; Kruithof, Claudia J.; Jaddoe, Vincent W. V.; Felix, Janine F.

2016-01-01

Background Results from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) identified many loci and biological pathways that influence adult body mass index (BMI). We aimed to identify if biological pathways related to adult BMI also affect infant growth and childhood adiposity measures. Methods We used data from a population-based prospective cohort study among 3,975 children with a mean age of 6?years. Genetic risk scores were constructed based on the 97 SNPs associated with adult BMI previously identi...

Extension of the lod score: the mod score.

Science.gov (United States)

Clerget-Darpoux, F

2001-01-01

In 1955 Morton proposed the lod score method both for testing linkage between loci and for estimating the recombination fraction between them. If a disease is controlled by a gene at one of these loci, the lod score computation requires the prior specification of an underlying model that assigns the probabilities of genotypes from the observed phenotypes. To address the case of linkage studies for diseases with unknown mode of inheritance, we suggested (Clerget-Darpoux et al., 1986) extending the lod score function to a so-called mod score function. In this function, the variables are both the recombination fraction and the disease model parameters. Maximizing the mod score function over all these parameters amounts to maximizing the probability of marker data conditional on the disease status. Under the absence of linkage, the mod score conforms to a chi-square distribution, with extra degrees of freedom in comparison to the lod score function (MacLean et al., 1993). The mod score is asymptotically maximum for the true disease model (Clerget-Darpoux and Bonaïti-Pellié, 1992; Hodge and Elston, 1994). Consequently, the power to detect linkage through mod score will be highest when the space of models where the maximization is performed includes the true model. On the other hand, one must avoid overparametrization of the model space. For example, when the approach is applied to affected sibpairs, only two constrained disease model parameters should be used (Knapp et al., 1994) for the mod score maximization. It is also important to emphasize the existence of a strong correlation between the disease gene location and the disease model. Consequently, there is poor resolution of the location of the susceptibility locus when the disease model at this locus is unknown. Of course, this is true regardless of the statistics used. The mod score may also be applied in a candidate gene strategy to model the potential effect of this gene in the disease. Since, however, it

[The diagnostic and the exclusion scores for pulmonary embolism].

Science.gov (United States)

Junod, A

2015-05-27

Several clinical scores for the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism (PE) have been published. The most popular ones are the Wells score and the revised Geneva score; simplified versions exist for these two scores; they have been validated. Both scores have common properties, but there is a major difference for the Wells score, namely the inclusion of a feature based on clinical judgment. These two scores in combination with D-dimers measurement have been used to rule out PE. An important improvement in this process has recently taken place with the use of an adjustable, age-dependent threshold for DD for patients over 50 years.

Association of STin2 Variable Number of Tandem Repeat (VNTR) Polymorphism of Serotonin Transporter Gene with Lifelong Premature Ejaculation: A Case-Control Study in Han Chinese Subjects

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Yuanyuan; Zhang, Xiansheng; Gao, Jingjing; Tang, Dongdong; Gao, Pan; Peng, Dangwei; Liang, Chaozhao

2016-01-01

Background The STin2 VNTR polymorphism has a variable number of tandem repeats in intron 2 of the serotonin transporter gene. We aimed to explore the relationship between STin2 VNTR polymorphism and lifelong premature ejaculation (LPE). Material/Methods We recruited a total of 115 outpatients who complained of ejaculating prematurely and who were diagnosed as LPE, and 101 controls without PE complaint. Allelic variations of STin2 VNTR were genotyped using PCR-based technology. We evaluated the associations between STin2 VNTR allelic and genotypic frequencies and LPE, as well as the intravaginal ejaculation latency time (IELT) of different STin2 VNTR genotypes among LPE patients. Results The patients and controls did not differ significantly in terms of any characteristic except age. A significantly higher frequency of STin2.12/12 genotype was found among LPE patients versus controls (P=0.026). Frequency of patients carrying at least 1 copy of the 10-repeat allele was significantly lower compared to the control group (28.3% vs. 41.8%, OR=0.55; 95%CI=0.31–0.97, P=0.040). In the LPE group, the mean IELT showed significant difference in STin2.12/12 genotype when compared to those with STin2.12/10 and STin2.10/10 genotypes. The mean IELT in10-repeat allele carriers was 50% longer compared to homozygous carriers of the STin2.12 allele. Conclusions Our results indicate the presence of STin2.10 allele is a protective factor for LPE. Men carrying the higher expression genotype STin2. 12/12 have shorter IELT than 10-repeat allele carriers. PMID:27713390

Association of STin2 VNTR Polymorphism of Serotonin Transporter Gene with Lifelong Premature Ejaculation: A Case-Control Study in Han Chinese Subjects.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Yuanyuan; Zhang, Xiansheng; Gao, Jingjing; Tang, Dongdong; Gao, Pan; Peng, Dangwei; Liang, Chaozhao

2016-10-07

BACKGROUND The STin2 VNTR polymorphism has a variable number of tandem repeats in intron 2 of the serotonin transporter gene. We aimed to explore the relationship between STin2 VNTR polymorphism and lifelong premature ejaculation (LPE). MATERIAL AND METHODS We recruited a total of 115 outpatients who complained of ejaculating prematurely and who were diagnosed as LPE, and 101 controls without PE complaint. Allelic variations of STin2 VNTR were genotyped using PCR-based technology. We evaluated the associations between STin2 VNTR allelic and genotypic frequencies and LPE, as well as the intravaginal ejaculation latency time (IELT) of different STin2 VNTR genotypes among LPE patients. RESULTS The patients and controls did not differ significantly in terms of any characteristic except age. A significantly higher frequency of STin2.12/12 genotype was found among LPE patients versus controls (P=0.026). Frequency of patients carrying at least 1 copy of the 10-repeat allele was significantly lower compared to the control group (28.3% vs. 41.8%, OR=0.55; 95%CI=0.31-0.97, P=0.040). In the LPE group, the mean IELT showed significant difference in STin2.12/12 genotype when compared to those with STin2.12/10 and STin2.10/10 genotypes. The mean IELT in10-repeat allele carriers was 50% longer compared to homozygous carriers of the STin2.12 allele. CONCLUSIONS Our results indicate the presence of STin2.10 allele is a protective factor for LPE. Men carrying the higher expression genotype STin2. 12/12 have shorter IELT than 10-repeat allele carriers.

Scoring protein interaction decoys using exposed residues (SPIDER): a novel multibody interaction scoring function based on frequent geometric patterns of interfacial residues.

Science.gov (United States)

Khashan, Raed; Zheng, Weifan; Tropsha, Alexander

2012-08-01

Accurate prediction of the structure of protein-protein complexes in computational docking experiments remains a formidable challenge. It has been recognized that identifying native or native-like poses among multiple decoys is the major bottleneck of the current scoring functions used in docking. We have developed a novel multibody pose-scoring function that has no theoretical limit on the number of residues contributing to the individual interaction terms. We use a coarse-grain representation of a protein-protein complex where each residue is represented by its side chain centroid. We apply a computational geometry approach called Almost-Delaunay tessellation that transforms protein-protein complexes into a residue contact network, or an undirectional graph where vertex-residues are nodes connected by edges. This treatment forms a family of interfacial graphs representing a dataset of protein-protein complexes. We then employ frequent subgraph mining approach to identify common interfacial residue patterns that appear in at least a subset of native protein-protein interfaces. The geometrical parameters and frequency of occurrence of each "native" pattern in the training set are used to develop the new SPIDER scoring function. SPIDER was validated using standard "ZDOCK" benchmark dataset that was not used in the development of SPIDER. We demonstrate that SPIDER scoring function ranks native and native-like poses above geometrical decoys and that it exceeds in performance a popular ZRANK scoring function. SPIDER was ranked among the top scoring functions in a recent round of CAPRI (Critical Assessment of PRedicted Interactions) blind test of protein-protein docking methods. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Association of cerebral palsy with Apgar score in low and normal birthweight infants: population based cohort study

Science.gov (United States)

Grøholt, Else-Karin; Eskild, Anne

2010-01-01

Objectives To assess the association of Apgar score 5 minutes after birth with cerebral palsy in both normal weight and low birthweight children, and also the association with the cerebral palsy subdiagnoses of quadriplegia, diplegia, and hemiplegia. Design Population based cohort study. Setting The Medical Birth Registry of Norway was used to identify all babies born between 1986 and 1995. These data were linked to the Norwegian Registry of Cerebral Palsy in Children born 1986-95, which was established on the basis of discharge diagnoses at all paediatric departments in Norway. Population All singletons without malformations born in Norway during 1986-95 and who survived the first year of life (n=543 064). Main outcome measure Cerebral palsy diagnosed before the age of 5 years. Results 988 children (1.8 in 1000) were diagnosed with cerebral palsy before the age of 5 years. In total, 11% (39/369) of the children with Apgar score of less than 3 at birth were diagnosed with cerebral palsy, compared with only 0.1% (162/179 515) of the children with Apgar score of 10 (odds ratio (OR) 53, 95% CI 35 to 80 after adjustment for birth weight). In children with a birth weight of 2500 g or more, those with an Apgar score of less than 4 were much more likely to have cerebral palsy than those who had an Apgar score of more than 8 (OR 125, 95% confidence interval 91 to 170). The corresponding OR in children weighing less than 1500 g was 5 (95% CI 2 to 9). Among children with Apgar score of less than 4, 10-17% in all birthweight groups developed cerebral palsy. Low Apgar score was strongly associated with each of the three subgroups of spastic cerebral palsy, although the association was strongest for quadriplegia (adjusted OR 137 for Apgar score 8, 95% CI 77 to 244). Conclusions Low Apgar score was strongly associated with cerebral palsy. This association was high in children with normal birth weight and modest in children with low birth weight. The strength of the

A robust background regression based score estimation algorithm for hyperspectral anomaly detection

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Rui; Du, Bo; Zhang, Liangpei; Zhang, Lefei

2016-12-01

Anomaly detection has become a hot topic in the hyperspectral image analysis and processing fields in recent years. The most important issue for hyperspectral anomaly detection is the background estimation and suppression. Unreasonable or non-robust background estimation usually leads to unsatisfactory anomaly detection results. Furthermore, the inherent nonlinearity of hyperspectral images may cover up the intrinsic data structure in the anomaly detection. In order to implement robust background estimation, as well as to explore the intrinsic data structure of the hyperspectral image, we propose a robust background regression based score estimation algorithm (RBRSE) for hyperspectral anomaly detection. The Robust Background Regression (RBR) is actually a label assignment procedure which segments the hyperspectral data into a robust background dataset and a potential anomaly dataset with an intersection boundary. In the RBR, a kernel expansion technique, which explores the nonlinear structure of the hyperspectral data in a reproducing kernel Hilbert space, is utilized to formulate the data as a density feature representation. A minimum squared loss relationship is constructed between the data density feature and the corresponding assigned labels of the hyperspectral data, to formulate the foundation of the regression. Furthermore, a manifold regularization term which explores the manifold smoothness of the hyperspectral data, and a maximization term of the robust background average density, which suppresses the bias caused by the potential anomalies, are jointly appended in the RBR procedure. After this, a paired-dataset based k-nn score estimation method is undertaken on the robust background and potential anomaly datasets, to implement the detection output. The experimental results show that RBRSE achieves superior ROC curves, AUC values, and background-anomaly separation than some of the other state-of-the-art anomaly detection methods, and is easy to implement

Development of a food group-based diet score and its association with bone mineral density in the elderly: the Rotterdam Study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jonge, de E.A.L.; Kiefte-de Jong, J.C.; Groot, de C.P.G.M.; Voortman, T.; Schoufour, J.D.; Zillikens, M.C.; Hofman, A.; Uitterlinden, A.G.; Franco, O.H.; Rivadeneira, F.

2015-01-01

No diet score exists that summarizes the features of a diet that is optimal for bone mineral density (BMD) in the elderly. Our aims were (a) to develop a BMD-Diet Score reflecting a diet that may be beneficial for BMD based on the existing literature, and (b) to examine the association of the

THE EFFICIENCY OF TENNIS DOUBLES SCORING SYSTEMS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Geoff Pollard

2010-09-01

Full Text Available In this paper a family of scoring systems for tennis doubles for testing the hypothesis that pair A is better than pair B versus the alternative hypothesis that pair B is better than A, is established. This family or benchmark of scoring systems can be used as a benchmark against which the efficiency of any doubles scoring system can be assessed. Thus, the formula for the efficiency of any doubles scoring system is derived. As in tennis singles, one scoring system based on the play-the-loser structure is shown to be more efficient than the benchmark systems. An expression for the relative efficiency of two doubles scoring systems is derived. Thus, the relative efficiency of the various scoring systems presently used in doubles can be assessed. The methods of this paper can be extended to a match between two teams of 2, 4, 8, …doubles pairs, so that it is possible to establish a measure for the relative efficiency of the various systems used for tennis contests between teams of players.

Evaluating score- and feature-based likelihood ratio models for multivariate continuous data: applied to forensic MDMA comparison

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bolck, A.; Ni, H.; Lopatka, M.

2015-01-01

Likelihood ratio (LR) models are moving into the forefront of forensic evidence evaluation as these methods are adopted by a diverse range of application areas in forensic science. We examine the fundamentally different results that can be achieved when feature- and score-based methodologies are

A scoring system for ascertainment of incident stroke; the Risk Index Score (RISc).

Science.gov (United States)

Kass-Hout, T A; Moyé, L A; Smith, M A; Morgenstern, L B

2006-01-01

The main objective of this study was to develop and validate a computer-based statistical algorithm that could be translated into a simple scoring system in order to ascertain incident stroke cases using hospital admission medical records data. The Risk Index Score (RISc) algorithm was developed using data collected prospectively by the Brain Attack Surveillance in Corpus Christi (BASIC) project, 2000. The validity of RISc was evaluated by estimating the concordance of scoring system stroke ascertainment to stroke ascertainment by physician and/or abstractor review of hospital admission records. RISc was developed on 1718 randomly selected patients (training set) and then statistically validated on an independent sample of 858 patients (validation set). A multivariable logistic model was used to develop RISc and subsequently evaluated by goodness-of-fit and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses. The higher the value of RISc, the higher the patient's risk of potential stroke. The study showed RISc was well calibrated and discriminated those who had potential stroke from those that did not on initial screening. In this study we developed and validated a rapid, easy, efficient, and accurate method to ascertain incident stroke cases from routine hospital admission records for epidemiologic investigations. Validation of this scoring system was achieved statistically; however, clinical validation in a community hospital setting is warranted.

Face Recognition Performance Improvement using a Similarity Score of Feature Vectors based on Probabilistic Histograms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

SRIKOTE, G.

2016-08-01

Full Text Available This paper proposes an improved performance algorithm of face recognition to identify two face mismatch pairs in cases of incorrect decisions. The primary feature of this method is to deploy the similarity score with respect to Gaussian components between two previously unseen faces. Unlike the conventional classical vector distance measurement, our algorithms also consider the plot of summation of the similarity index versus face feature vector distance. A mixture of Gaussian models of labeled faces is also widely applicable to different biometric system parameters. By comparative evaluations, it has been shown that the efficiency of the proposed algorithm is superior to that of the conventional algorithm by an average accuracy of up to 1.15% and 16.87% when compared with 3x3 Multi-Region Histogram (MRH direct-bag-of-features and Principal Component Analysis (PCA-based face recognition systems, respectively. The experimental results show that similarity score consideration is more discriminative for face recognition compared to feature distance. Experimental results of Labeled Face in the Wild (LFW data set demonstrate that our algorithms are suitable for real applications probe-to-gallery identification of face recognition systems. Moreover, this proposed method can also be applied to other recognition systems and therefore additionally improves recognition scores.

Automatic sleep scoring in normals and in individuals with neurodegenerative disorders according to new international sleep scoring criteria

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Peter S.; Sørensen, Helge Bjarup Dissing; Jennum, P. J.

2010-01-01

Medicine (AASM). Methods: A biomedical signal processing algorithm was developed, allowing for automatic sleep depth quantification of routine polysomnographic (PSG) recordings through feature extraction, supervised probabilistic Bayesian classification, and heuristic rule-based smoothing. The performance......Introduction: Reliable polysomnographic classification is the basis for evaluation of sleep disorders in neurological diseases. Aim: To develop a fully automatic sleep scoring algorithm on the basis of a reproduction of new international sleep scoring criteria from the American Academy of Sleep....... Conclusion: The developed algorithm was capable of scoring normal sleep with an accuracy around the manual inter-scorer reliability, it failed in accurately scoring abnormal sleep as encountered for the PD/MSA patients, which is due to the abnormal micro- and macrostructure pattern in these patients....

Antidepressants and ejaculation: a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, fixed-dose study with paroxetine, sertraline, and nefazodone.

Science.gov (United States)

Waldinger, M D; Zwinderman, A H; Olivier, B

2001-06-01

Antidepressant medication is often associated with sexual side effects. A double-blind, placebo-controlled study in men with lifelong rapid ejaculation was performed to assess the effects of two selective serotonin (5-HT) reuptake inhibitors--paroxetine and sertraline--and the 5-HT2 antagonist and 5-HT/noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor nefazodone on the latency to ejaculate. Forty-eight men with an intravaginal ejaculation latency time (IELT) of a maximum of 1 minute were randomly assigned to receive paroxetine (20 mg/day), sertraline (50 mg/day), nefazodone (400 mg/day), or placebo for 6 weeks. During the 1-month baseline and 6-week treatment period, IELTs were measured at home with a stopwatch. The trial was completed by 40 men. During the 6-week treatment period, the geometric mean IELT in the placebo group was stable at approximately 20 seconds. Analysis of variance revealed a between-group difference in the evolution of IELT delay over time (p = 0.002); the IELT after paroxetine and sertraline gradually increased to approximately 146 and 58 seconds, respectively, compared with 28 seconds in the nefazodone group. The paroxetine and sertraline groups differed significantly (p < 0.001 and p = 0.024, respectively) from placebo, but the nefazodone group did not (p = 0.85). Compared with baseline, paroxetine exerted the strongest delay in ejaculation, whereas sertraline delayed it only moderately. There was no clinically relevant delay in ejaculation with nefazodone.

The Zhongshan Score

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Lin; Guo, Jianming; Wang, Hang; Wang, Guomin

2015-01-01

Abstract In the zero ischemia era of nephron-sparing surgery (NSS), a new anatomic classification system (ACS) is needed to adjust to these new surgical techniques. We devised a novel and simple ACS, and compared it with the RENAL and PADUA scores to predict the risk of NSS outcomes. We retrospectively evaluated 789 patients who underwent NSS with available imaging between January 2007 and July 2014. Demographic and clinical data were assessed. The Zhongshan (ZS) score consisted of three parameters. RENAL, PADUA, and ZS scores are divided into three groups, that is, high, moderate, and low scores. For operative time (OT), significant differences were seen between any two groups of ZS score and PADUA score (all P RENAL showed no significant difference between moderate and high complexity in OT, WIT, estimated blood loss, and increase in SCr. Compared with patients with a low score of ZS, those with a high or moderate score had 8.1-fold or 3.3-fold higher risk of surgical complications, respectively (all P RENAL score, patients with a high or moderate score had 5.7-fold or 1.9-fold higher risk of surgical complications, respectively (all P RENAL and PADUA scores. ZS score could be used to reflect the surgical complexity and predict the risk of surgical complications in patients undergoing NSS. PMID:25654399

Scoring system based on electrocardiogram features to predict the type of heart failure in patients with chronic heart failure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hendry Purnasidha Bagaswoto

2016-12-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Heart failure is divided into heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF. Additional studies are required to distinguish between these two types of HF. A previous study showed that HFrEF is less likely when ECG findings are normal. This study aims to create a scoring system based on ECG findings that will predict the type of HF. We performed a cross-sectional study analyzing ECG and echocardiographic data from 110 subjects. HFrEF was defined as an ejection fraction ≤40%. Fifty people were diagnosed with HFpEF and 60 people suffered from HFrEF. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed certain ECG variables that were independent predictors of HFrEF i.e., LAH, QRS duration >100 ms, RBBB, ST-T segment changes and prolongation of the QT interval. Based on ROC curve analysis, we obtained a score for HFpEF of -1 to +3, while HFrEF had a score of +4 to +6 with 76% sensitivity, 96% specificity, 95% positive predictive value, an 80% negative predictive value and an accuracy of 86%. The scoring system derived from this study, including the presence or absence of LAH, QRS duration >100 ms, RBBB, ST-T segment changes and prolongation of the QT interval can be used to predict the type of HF with satisfactory sensitivity and specificity

Validation of an imaging based cardiovascular risk score in a Scottish population.

Science.gov (United States)

Kockelkoren, Remko; Jairam, Pushpa M; Murchison, John T; Debray, Thomas P A; Mirsadraee, Saeed; van der Graaf, Yolanda; Jong, Pim A de; van Beek, Edwin J R

2018-01-01

A radiological risk score that determines 5-year cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk using routine care CT and patient information readily available to radiologists was previously developed. External validation in a Scottish population was performed to assess the applicability and validity of the risk score in other populations. 2915 subjects aged ≥40 years who underwent routine clinical chest CT scanning for non-cardiovascular diagnostic indications were followed up until first diagnosis of, or death from, CVD. Using a case-cohort approach, all cases and a random sample of 20% of the participant's CT examinations were visually graded for cardiovascular calcifications and cardiac diameter was measured. The radiological risk score was determined using imaging findings, age, gender, and CT indication. Performance on 5-year CVD risk prediction was assessed. 384 events occurred in 2124 subjects during a mean follow-up of 4.25 years (0-6.4 years). The risk score demonstrated reasonable performance in the studied population. Calibration showed good agreement between actual and 5-year predicted risk of CVD. The c-statistic was 0.71 (95%CI:0.67-0.75). The radiological CVD risk score performed adequately in the Scottish population offering a potential novel strategy for identifying patients at high risk for developing cardiovascular disease using routine care CT data. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Somatosensory evoked potentials assess the efficacy of circumcision for premature ejaculation.

Science.gov (United States)

Xia, J-D; Jiang, H-S; Zhu, L-L; Zhang, Z; Chen, H; Dai, Y-T

2016-07-01

To assess the efficacy and mechanism of circumcision in the treatment of premature ejaculation (PE) with redundant prepuce, we enrolled a total of 81 PE patients who received circumcision. The patients' ejaculatory ability and sexual performances were evaluated before and after circumcision by using questionnaires (Intravaginal ejaculation latency time (IELT), Chinese Index of PE with 5 questions (CIPE-5) and International Index of Erectile function- 5 (IIEF-5)). Furthermore, somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) including dorsal nerve (DNSEP) and glans penis (GPSEP) of the patients were also measured. The mean IELTs of preoperation and post operation were 1.10±0.55 and 2.48±2.03 min, respectively (PIELT after operation was 2.16 min, compared with the baseline 1.07 min before the operation, the fold increase of the IELT was 2.02. Compared with the uncircumcised status, scores of CIPE-5 showed a significant increase after circumcision (P<0.001). The mean latencies (and amplitudes) of GPSEP and DNSEP were 38.1±4.0 ms (3.0±1.9 uV) and 40.5±3.4 ms (2.8±1.6 uV) before circumcision, respectively; and 42.8±3.3 ms (2.8±1.6 uV) and 40.5±4.1 ms (2.4±1.2 uV) in the follow-up end point after circumcision. Only the latencies of GPSEP showed significant prolongation before and after circumcision (P<0.001). The ejaculation time improvement after circumcision is so small, and equal to placebo response, therefore it could not be interpreted as a therapeutic method in men with PE.

Re-Scoring the Game’s Score

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gasselseder, Hans-Peter

2014-01-01

This study explores immersive presence as well as emotional valence and arousal in the context of dynamic and non-dynamic music scores in the 3rd person action-adventure video game genre while also considering relevant personality traits of the player. 60 subjects answered self-report questionnai......This study explores immersive presence as well as emotional valence and arousal in the context of dynamic and non-dynamic music scores in the 3rd person action-adventure video game genre while also considering relevant personality traits of the player. 60 subjects answered self......-temporal alignment in the resulting emotional congruency of nondiegetic music. Whereas imaginary aspects of immersive presence are systemically affected by the presentation of dynamic music, sensory spatial aspects show higher sensitivity towards the arousal potential of the music score. It is argued...

Measurement Properties of the Smartphone-Based B-B Score in Current Shoulder Pathologies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Claude Pichonnaz

2015-10-01

Full Text Available This study is aimed at the determination of the measurement properties of the shoulder function B-B Score measured with a smartphone. This score measures the symmetry between sides of a power-related metric for two selected movements, with 100% representing perfect symmetry. Twenty healthy participants, 20 patients with rotator cuff conditions, 23 with fractures, 22 with capsulitis, and 23 with shoulder instabilities were measured twice across a six-month interval using the B-B Score and shoulder function questionnaires. The discriminative power, responsiveness, diagnostic power, concurrent validity, minimal detectable change (MDC, minimal clinically important improvement (MCII, and patient acceptable symptom state (PASS were evaluated. Significant differences with the control group and significant baseline—six-month differences were found for the rotator cuff condition, fracture, and capsulitis patient groups. The B-B Score was responsive and demonstrated excellent diagnostic power, except for shoulder instability. The correlations with clinical scores were generally moderate to high, but lower for instability. The MDC was 18.1%, the MCII was 25.2%, and the PASS was 77.6. No floor effect was observed. The B-B Score demonstrated excellent measurement properties in populations with rotator cuff conditions, proximal humerus fractures, and capsulitis, and can thus be used as a routine test to evaluate those patients.

Measurement Properties of the Smartphone-Based B-B Score in Current Shoulder Pathologies

Science.gov (United States)

Pichonnaz, Claude; Duc, Cyntia; Gleeson, Nigel; Ancey, Céline; Jaccard, Hervé; Lécureux, Estelle; Farron, Alain; Jolles, Brigitte M.; Aminian, Kamiar

2015-01-01

This study is aimed at the determination of the measurement properties of the shoulder function B-B Score measured with a smartphone. This score measures the symmetry between sides of a power-related metric for two selected movements, with 100% representing perfect symmetry. Twenty healthy participants, 20 patients with rotator cuff conditions, 23 with fractures, 22 with capsulitis, and 23 with shoulder instabilities were measured twice across a six-month interval using the B-B Score and shoulder function questionnaires. The discriminative power, responsiveness, diagnostic power, concurrent validity, minimal detectable change (MDC), minimal clinically important improvement (MCII), and patient acceptable symptom state (PASS) were evaluated. Significant differences with the control group and significant baseline—six-month differences were found for the rotator cuff condition, fracture, and capsulitis patient groups. The B-B Score was responsive and demonstrated excellent diagnostic power, except for shoulder instability. The correlations with clinical scores were generally moderate to high, but lower for instability. The MDC was 18.1%, the MCII was 25.2%, and the PASS was 77.6. No floor effect was observed. The B-B Score demonstrated excellent measurement properties in populations with rotator cuff conditions, proximal humerus fractures, and capsulitis, and can thus be used as a routine test to evaluate those patients. PMID:26506355

Checklist for Evaluating SREB-SCORE Learning Objects

Science.gov (United States)

Southern Regional Education Board (SREB), 2007

2007-01-01

This checklist is based on "Evaluation Criteria for SREB-SCORE Learning Objects" and is designed to help schools and colleges determine the quality and effectiveness of learning objects. It is suggested that each learning object be rated to the extent to which it meets the criteria and the SREB-SCORE definition of a learning object. A learning…

College Math Assessment: SAT Scores vs. College Math Placement Scores

Science.gov (United States)

Foley-Peres, Kathleen; Poirier, Dawn

2008-01-01

Many colleges and university's use SAT math scores or math placement tests to place students in the appropriate math course. This study compares the use of math placement scores and SAT scores for 188 freshman students. The student's grades and faculty observations were analyzed to determine if the SAT scores and/or college math assessment scores…

Prealbumin/CRP Based Prognostic Score, a New Tool for Predicting Metastasis in Patients with Inoperable Gastric Cancer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ali Esfahani

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Background. There is a considerable dissimilarity in the survival duration of the patients with gastric cancer. We aimed to assess the systemic inflammatory response (SIR and nutritional status of these patients before the commencement of chemotherapy to find the appropriate prognostic factors and define a new score for predicting metastasis. Methods. SIR was assessed using Glasgow Prognostic Score (GPS. Then a score was defined as prealbumin/CRP based prognostic score (PCPS to be compared with GPS for predicting metastasis and nutritional status. Results. 71 patients with gastric cancer were recruited in the study. 87% of patients had malnutrition. There was a statistical difference between those with metastatic (n=43 and those with nonmetastatic (n=28 gastric cancer according to levels of prealbumin and CRP; however they were not different regarding patient generated subjective global assessment (PG-SGA and GPS. The best cut-off value for prealbumin was determined at 0.20 mg/dL and PCPS could predict metastasis with 76.5% sensitivity, 63.6% specificity, and 71.4% accuracy. Metastatic and nonmetastatic gastric cancer patients were different in terms of PCPS (P=0.005. Conclusion. PCPS has been suggested for predicting metastasis in patients with gastric cancer. Future studies with larger sample size have been warranted.

External Validation of the Simple Clinical Score and the HOTEL Score, Two Scores for Predicting Short-Term Mortality after Admission to an Acute Medical Unit

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stræde, Mia; Brabrand, Mikkel

2014-01-01

with the objective of validating the Simple Clinical Score (SCS) and the HOTEL score, two existing risk stratification systems that predict mortality for medical patients based solely on clinical information, but not only vital signs. METHODS: Pre-planned prospective observational cohort study. SETTING: Danish 460.......932 to 0.988) for 24-hours mortality and 0.826 (95% CI, 0.774-0.879) for 30-day mortality, and goodness-of-fit test, χ2 = 2.68 (10 degrees of freedom), P = 0.998 and χ2 = 4.00, P = 0.947, respectively. We included 1470 patients when calculating the HOTEL score. Discriminatory power (AUROC) was 0.931 (95......% CI, 0.901-0.962) for 24-hours mortality and goodness-of-fit test, χ2 = 5.56 (10 degrees of freedom), P = 0.234. CONCLUSION: We find that both the SCS and HOTEL scores showed an excellent to outstanding ability in identifying patients at high risk of dying with good or acceptable precision....

dBBQs: dataBase of Bacterial Quality scores

OpenAIRE

Wanchai, Visanu; Patumcharoenpol, Preecha; Nookaew, Intawat; Ussery, David

2017-01-01

Background: It is well-known that genome sequencing technologies are becoming significantly cheaper and faster. As a result of this, the exponential growth in sequencing data in public databases allows us to explore ever growing large collections of genome sequences. However, it is less known that the majority of available sequenced genome sequences in public databases are not complete, drafts of varying qualities. We have calculated quality scores for around 100,000 bacterial genomes from al...

The Veterans Affairs Cardiac Risk Score: Recalibrating the Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease Score for Applied Use.

Science.gov (United States)

Sussman, Jeremy B; Wiitala, Wyndy L; Zawistowski, Matthew; Hofer, Timothy P; Bentley, Douglas; Hayward, Rodney A

2017-09-01

Accurately estimating cardiovascular risk is fundamental to good decision-making in cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention, but risk scores developed in one population often perform poorly in dissimilar populations. We sought to examine whether a large integrated health system can use their electronic health data to better predict individual patients' risk of developing CVD. We created a cohort using all patients ages 45-80 who used Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) ambulatory care services in 2006 with no history of CVD, heart failure, or loop diuretics. Our outcome variable was new-onset CVD in 2007-2011. We then developed a series of recalibrated scores, including a fully refit "VA Risk Score-CVD (VARS-CVD)." We tested the different scores using standard measures of prediction quality. For the 1,512,092 patients in the study, the Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risk score had similar discrimination as the VARS-CVD (c-statistic of 0.66 in men and 0.73 in women), but the Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease model had poor calibration, predicting 63% more events than observed. Calibration was excellent in the fully recalibrated VARS-CVD tool, but simpler techniques tested proved less reliable. We found that local electronic health record data can be used to estimate CVD better than an established risk score based on research populations. Recalibration improved estimates dramatically, and the type of recalibration was important. Such tools can also easily be integrated into health system's electronic health record and can be more readily updated.

Interval Coded Scoring: a toolbox for interpretable scoring systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lieven Billiet

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Over the last decades, clinical decision support systems have been gaining importance. They help clinicians to make effective use of the overload of available information to obtain correct diagnoses and appropriate treatments. However, their power often comes at the cost of a black box model which cannot be interpreted easily. This interpretability is of paramount importance in a medical setting with regard to trust and (legal responsibility. In contrast, existing medical scoring systems are easy to understand and use, but they are often a simplified rule-of-thumb summary of previous medical experience rather than a well-founded system based on available data. Interval Coded Scoring (ICS connects these two approaches, exploiting the power of sparse optimization to derive scoring systems from training data. The presented toolbox interface makes this theory easily applicable to both small and large datasets. It contains two possible problem formulations based on linear programming or elastic net. Both allow to construct a model for a binary classification problem and establish risk profiles that can be used for future diagnosis. All of this requires only a few lines of code. ICS differs from standard machine learning through its model consisting of interpretable main effects and interactions. Furthermore, insertion of expert knowledge is possible because the training can be semi-automatic. This allows end users to make a trade-off between complexity and performance based on cross-validation results and expert knowledge. Additionally, the toolbox offers an accessible way to assess classification performance via accuracy and the ROC curve, whereas the calibration of the risk profile can be evaluated via a calibration curve. Finally, the colour-coded model visualization has particular appeal if one wants to apply ICS manually on new observations, as well as for validation by experts in the specific application domains. The validity and applicability

A new potential risk factor in patients with erectile dysfunction and premature ejaculation: folate deficiency

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wen-Jie Yan

2014-12-01

Full Text Available We investigated serum folic acid (FA levels in patients with erectile dysfunction (ED and/or premature ejaculation (PE. Fasting serum samples were obtained from 42 patients with ED, 36 with PE, 25 ED patients with PE, and 30 healthy men; the mean intravaginal ejaculation latency time (IELT was measured during a 4 weeks baseline period. Levels of sex hormones (follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, total testosterone, homocysteine (Hcys, and FA were measured using chemiluminescent immunoassays. The sexual functions of PE patients and normal control men were evaluated using the Chinese Index of Premature Ejaculation (CIPE. The abridged International Index of Erectile Function-5 (IIEF-5 questionnaire was used to gauge erectile quality for ED patients and for normal controls. Serum FA concentrations were lower in ED (7.61 ± 3.97 ng ml -1, PE (9.37 ± 3.40 ng ml -1, and ED/PE (8.84 ± 4.28 ng ml -1 patients than in healthy men (12.23 ± 5.76 ng ml -1 , P 0.05. There were positive correlations between serum FA concentrations and CIPE scores (r = 0.530, P < 0.01, IIEF-5 scores (r = 0.589, P < 0.01, and IELT (r = 0.445, P < 0.01; negative correlations with Hcys concentrations (r = −0.487, P < 0.01 were found in all participants. These findings showed a strong relationship between serum FA levels and sexual dysfunction, possibly due to an effect of FA on the metabolism of nitric oxide, Hcys, and 5-hydroxytryptamine.

A powerful score-based test statistic for detecting gene-gene co-association.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Jing; Yuan, Zhongshang; Ji, Jiadong; Zhang, Xiaoshuai; Li, Hongkai; Wu, Xuesen; Xue, Fuzhong; Liu, Yanxun

2016-01-29

The genetic variants identified by Genome-wide association study (GWAS) can only account for a small proportion of the total heritability for complex disease. The existence of gene-gene joint effects which contains the main effects and their co-association is one of the possible explanations for the "missing heritability" problems. Gene-gene co-association refers to the extent to which the joint effects of two genes differ from the main effects, not only due to the traditional interaction under nearly independent condition but the correlation between genes. Generally, genes tend to work collaboratively within specific pathway or network contributing to the disease and the specific disease-associated locus will often be highly correlated (e.g. single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in linkage disequilibrium). Therefore, we proposed a novel score-based statistic (SBS) as a gene-based method for detecting gene-gene co-association. Various simulations illustrate that, under different sample sizes, marginal effects of causal SNPs and co-association levels, the proposed SBS has the better performance than other existed methods including single SNP-based and principle component analysis (PCA)-based logistic regression model, the statistics based on canonical correlations (CCU), kernel canonical correlation analysis (KCCU), partial least squares path modeling (PLSPM) and delta-square (δ (2)) statistic. The real data analysis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) further confirmed its advantages in practice. SBS is a powerful and efficient gene-based method for detecting gene-gene co-association.

Interphalangeal Osteoarthritis Radiographic Simplified (iOARS) score: a radiographic method to detect osteoarthritis of the interphalangeal finger joints based on its histopathological alterations.

Science.gov (United States)

Sunk, Ilse-Gerlinde; Amoyo-Minar, Love; Stamm, Tanja; Haider, Stefanie; Niederreiter, Birgit; Supp, Gabriela; Soleiman, Afschin; Kainberger, Franz; Smolen, Josef S; Bobacz, Klaus

2014-11-01

To develop a radiographic score for assessment of hand osteoarthritis (OA) that is based on histopathological alterations of the distal (DIP) and proximal (PIP) interphalangeal joints. DIP and PIP joints were obtained from corpses (n=40). Plain radiographies of these joints were taken. Joint samples were prepared for histological analysis; cartilage damage was graded according to the Mankin scoring system. A 2×2 Fisher's exact test was applied to define those radiographic features most likely to be associated with histological alterations. Receiver operating characteristic curves were analysed to determine radiographic thresholds. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) estimated intra- and inter-reader variability. Spearman's correlation was applied to examine the relationship between our score and histopathological changes. Differences between groups were determined by a Student's t test. The Interphalangeal Osteoarthritis Radiographic Simplified (iOARS) score is presented. The score is based on histopathological changes of DIP and PIP joints and follows a simple dichotomy whether OA is present or not. The iOARS score relies on three equally ranked radiographic features (osteophytes, joint space narrowing and subchondral sclerosis). For both DIP and PIP joints, the presence of one x-ray features reflects interphalangeal OA. Sensitivity and specificity for DIP joints were 92.3% and 90.9%, respectively, and 75% and 100% for PIP joints. All readers were able to reproduce their own readings in DIP and PIP joints after 4 weeks. The overall agreement between the three readers was good; ICCs ranged from 0.945 to 0.586. Additionally, outcomes of the iOARS score in a hand OA cohort revealed a higher prevalence of interphalangeal joint OA compared with the Kellgren and Lawrence score. The iOARS score is uniquely based on histopathological alterations of the interphalangeal joints in order to reliably determine OA of the DIP and PIP joints radiographically. Its high

DeepSleepNet: A Model for Automatic Sleep Stage Scoring Based on Raw Single-Channel EEG.

Science.gov (United States)

Supratak, Akara; Dong, Hao; Wu, Chao; Guo, Yike

2017-11-01

This paper proposes a deep learning model, named DeepSleepNet, for automatic sleep stage scoring based on raw single-channel EEG. Most of the existing methods rely on hand-engineered features, which require prior knowledge of sleep analysis. Only a few of them encode the temporal information, such as transition rules, which is important for identifying the next sleep stages, into the extracted features. In the proposed model, we utilize convolutional neural networks to extract time-invariant features, and bidirectional-long short-term memory to learn transition rules among sleep stages automatically from EEG epochs. We implement a two-step training algorithm to train our model efficiently. We evaluated our model using different single-channel EEGs (F4-EOG (left), Fpz-Cz, and Pz-Oz) from two public sleep data sets, that have different properties (e.g., sampling rate) and scoring standards (AASM and R&K). The results showed that our model achieved similar overall accuracy and macro F1-score (MASS: 86.2%-81.7, Sleep-EDF: 82.0%-76.9) compared with the state-of-the-art methods (MASS: 85.9%-80.5, Sleep-EDF: 78.9%-73.7) on both data sets. This demonstrated that, without changing the model architecture and the training algorithm, our model could automatically learn features for sleep stage scoring from different raw single-channel EEGs from different data sets without utilizing any hand-engineered features.

Score Normalization using Logistic Regression with Expected Parameters

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Aly, Robin

State-of-the-art score normalization methods use generative models that rely on sometimes unrealistic assumptions. We propose a novel parameter estimation method for score normalization based on logistic regression. Experiments on the Gov2 and CluewebA collection indicate that our method is

Differences in physical-fitness test scores between actively and passively recruited older adults : Consequences for norm-based classification

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Heuvelen, M.J.G.; Stevens, M.; Kempen, G.I.J.M.

This study investigated differences in physical-fitness test scores between actively and passively recruited older adults and the consequences thereof for norm-based classification of individuals. Walking endurance, grip strength, hip flexibility, balance, manual dexterity, and reaction time were

Inflammation-based prognostic score is a useful predictor of postoperative outcome in patients with extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma.

Science.gov (United States)

Oshiro, Yukio; Sasaki, Ryoko; Fukunaga, Kiyoshi; Kondo, Tadashi; Oda, Tatsuya; Takahashi, Hideto; Ohkohchi, Nobuhiro

2013-03-01

Recent studies have revealed that the Glasgow prognostic score (GPS), an inflammation-based prognostic score, is useful for predicting outcome in a variety of cancers. This study sought to investigate the significance of GPS for prognostication of patients who underwent surgery with extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. We retrospectively analyzed a total of 62 patients who underwent resection for extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. We calculated the GPS as follows: patients with both an elevated C-reactive protein (>10 mg/L) and hypoalbuminemia (L) were allocated a score of 2; patients with one or none of these abnormalities were allocated a s ore of 1 or 0, respectively. Prognostic significance was analyzed by the log-rank test and a Cox proportional hazards model. Overall survival rate was 25.5 % at 5 years for all 62 patients. Venous invasion (p = 0.01), pathological primary tumor category (p = 0.013), lymph node metastasis category (p GPS (p = 0.008) were significantly associated with survival by univariate analysis. A Cox model demonstrated that increased GPS was an independent predictive factor with poor prognosis. The preoperative GPS is a useful predictor of postoperative outcome in patients with extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma.

Force Method Optimization II. Volume II. User’s Manual.

Science.gov (United States)

1982-11-01

One Record Per Element IE, IELT (I),IBUCKL,N5(I),N6(I),N7(i),N8(l),Nll(l),N13(I) (ITOT Records) N15(l),N17(I),(EM(IL,I),T1=1,11),JMAT(I),ANGLE(I...NRED,NBOU,NDOF,N2,NELI,NDTNX,NDL, IRSTNMODES Constants) 2nd Record ( IELT (1),ALL(I),wr(i),AREA(l),XC(1),YC(]),ALI.2(i), (Element Data SIGU(I,,I=I,ITOT...NII,NI3,N15,NOAL,NOAL2,KL,KL2,LNOD,LNOD2, DISPU,DISPL,NBDF,NBDF2,NSE,DELTA,15,NPOT,NSSI,NSS2, NSS3,NSS4,IBUKL, IELT ,IBK,N1,N2,NAA,NDL,NSG,NNZL, IELI

Development and Reliability of the OMERACT Thumb Base Osteoarthritis Magnetic Resonance Imaging Scoring System

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kroon, Féline P B; Conaghan, Philip G; Foltz, Violaine

2017-01-01

: The TOMS assessed the first carpometacarpal (CMC-1) and scaphotrapeziotrapezoid (STT) joints for synovitis, subchondral bone defects (including erosions, cysts, and bone attrition), osteophytes, cartilage, and bone marrow lesions on a 0-3 scale (normal to severe). Subluxation was evaluated only in the CMC......, with better performance for subchondral bone defects, subluxation, and bone marrow lesions. CONCLUSION: A thumb base OA MRI scoring system has been developed. The OMERACT TOMS demonstrated good intrareader and interreader reliability. Longitudinal studies are warranted to investigate reliability of change...

A comparison of the nutritional quality of organic and conventional ready-to-eat breakfast cereals based on NuVal scores.

Science.gov (United States)

Woodbury, Nancy J; George, Valerie A

2014-07-01

To identify whether there were differences in nutritional quality between organic and conventional ready-to-eat breakfast cereals of similar types, based on NuVal scores. The current descriptive study analysed NuVal scores for 829 ready-to-eat breakfast cereals and eighteen different cereal types. ANOVA was used to compare the mean NuVal scores of 723 conventional cereals with those of 106 organic cereals. Ready-to-eat breakfast cereals (n 829) with NuVal scores. Not applicable. There was no significant difference in NuVal scores between conventional (mean 28·4 (sd 13·4)) and organic (mean 30·6 (sd 13·2)) cereal types. Consumers who choose the organic version of a ready-to-eat breakfast cereal believing that nutritional quality is superior may not be making a valid assumption. Public health nutrition educators must help consumers understand that organic cereals are not necessarily more nutritious and their consumption could result in excessive intake of undesirable nutrients, such as fat, sugar and sodium.

Exploring a Source of Uneven Score Equity across the Test Score Range

Science.gov (United States)

Huggins-Manley, Anne Corinne; Qiu, Yuxi; Penfield, Randall D.

2018-01-01

Score equity assessment (SEA) refers to an examination of population invariance of equating across two or more subpopulations of test examinees. Previous SEA studies have shown that score equity may be present for examinees scoring at particular test score ranges but absent for examinees scoring at other score ranges. No studies to date have…

Spine-hip T-score difference predicts major osteoporotic fracture risk independent of FRAX(®): a population-based report from CAMOS.

Science.gov (United States)

Leslie, William D; Kovacs, Christopher S; Olszynski, Wojciech P; Towheed, Tanveer; Kaiser, Stephanie M; Prior, Jerilynn C; Josse, Robert G; Jamal, Sophie A; Kreiger, Nancy; Goltzman, David

2011-01-01

The WHO fracture risk assessment tool (FRAX(®)) estimates an individual's 10-yr major osteoporotic and hip fracture probabilities. When bone mineral density (BMD) is included in the FRAX calculation, only the femoral neck measurement can be used. Recently, a procedure was reported for adjusting major osteoporotic fracture probability from FRAX with femoral neck BMD based on the difference (offset) between the lumbar spine and the femoral neck T-score values. The objective of the current analysis was to independently evaluate this algorithm in a population-based cohort of 4575 women and 1813 men aged 50 yr and older from the Canadian Multicentre Osteoporosis Study. For women and men combined, there was a 15% (95% confidence interval 7-24%) increase in major osteoporotic fracture risk for each offset T-score after adjusting for FRAX probability calculated with femoral neck BMD. The effect was stronger in women than men, but a significant sex interaction was not detected. Among the full cohort, 5.5% had their risk category reclassified after using the offset adjustment. Sex- and age-dependent offsets (equivalent to an offset based on Z-scores) showed improved risk classification among individuals designated to be at moderate risk with the conventional FRAX probability measurement. In summary, the T-score difference between the lumbar spine and femoral neck is an independent risk factor for major osteoporotic fractures that is independent of the FRAX probability calculated with femoral neck BMD. Copyright © 2011 The International Society for Clinical Densitometry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Derivation and Cross-Validation of Cutoff Scores for Patients With Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders on WAIS-IV Digit Span-Based Performance Validity Measures.

Science.gov (United States)

Glassmire, David M; Toofanian Ross, Parnian; Kinney, Dominique I; Nitch, Stephen R

2016-06-01

Two studies were conducted to identify and cross-validate cutoff scores on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Fourth Edition Digit Span-based embedded performance validity (PV) measures for individuals with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. In Study 1, normative scores were identified on Digit Span-embedded PV measures among a sample of patients (n = 84) with schizophrenia spectrum diagnoses who had no known incentive to perform poorly and who put forth valid effort on external PV tests. Previously identified cutoff scores resulted in unacceptable false positive rates and lower cutoff scores were adopted to maintain specificity levels ≥90%. In Study 2, the revised cutoff scores were cross-validated within a sample of schizophrenia spectrum patients (n = 96) committed as incompetent to stand trial. Performance on Digit Span PV measures was significantly related to Full Scale IQ in both studies, indicating the need to consider the intellectual functioning of examinees with psychotic spectrum disorders when interpreting scores on Digit Span PV measures. © The Author(s) 2015.

Development of an antibiotic spectrum score based on veterans affairs culture and susceptibility data for the purpose of measuring antibiotic de-escalation: a modified Delphi approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Madaras-Kelly, Karl; Jones, Makoto; Remington, Richard; Hill, Nicole; Huttner, Benedikt; Samore, Matthew

2014-09-01

Development of a numerical score to measure the microbial spectrum of antibiotic regimens (spectrum score) and method to identify antibiotic de-escalation events based on application of the score. Web-based modified Delphi method. Physician and pharmacist antimicrobial stewards practicing in the United States recruited through infectious diseases-focused listservs. Three Delphi rounds investigated: organisms and antibiotics to include in the spectrum score, operationalization of rules for the score, and de-escalation measurement. A 4-point ordinal scale was used to score antibiotic susceptibility for organism-antibiotic domain pairs. Antibiotic regimen scores, which represented combined activity of antibiotics in a regimen across all organism domains, were used to compare antibiotic spectrum administered early (day 2) and later (day 4) in therapy. Changes in spectrum score were calculated and compared with Delphi participants' judgments on de-escalation with 20 antibiotic regimen vignettes and with non-Delphi steward judgments on de-escalation of 300 pneumonia regimen vignettes. Method sensitivity and specificity to predict expert de-escalation status were calculated. Twenty-four participants completed all Delphi rounds. Expert support for concepts utilized in metric development was identified. For vignettes presented in the Delphi, the sign of change in score correctly classified de-escalation in all vignettes except those involving substitution of oral antibiotics. The sensitivity and specificity of the method to identify de-escalation events as judged by non-Delphi stewards were 86.3% and 96.0%, respectively. Identification of de-escalation events based on an algorithm that measures microbial spectrum of antibiotic regimens generally agreed with steward judgments of de-escalation status.

Ordering individuals with sum scores: the introduction of the nonparametric Rasch model

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zwitser, R.J.; Maris, G.

2016-01-01

When a simple sum or number-correct score is used to evaluate the ability of individual testees, then, from an accountability perspective, the inferences based on the sum score should be the same as the inferences based on the complete response pattern. This requirement is fulfilled if the sum score

External validation of the simple clinical score and the HOTEL score, two scores for predicting short-term mortality after admission to an acute medical unit.

Science.gov (United States)

Stræde, Mia; Brabrand, Mikkel

2014-01-01

Clinical scores can be of aid to predict early mortality after admission to a medical admission unit. A developed scoring system needs to be externally validated to minimise the risk of the discriminatory power and calibration to be falsely elevated. We performed the present study with the objective of validating the Simple Clinical Score (SCS) and the HOTEL score, two existing risk stratification systems that predict mortality for medical patients based solely on clinical information, but not only vital signs. Pre-planned prospective observational cohort study. Danish 460-bed regional teaching hospital. We included 3046 consecutive patients from 2 October 2008 until 19 February 2009. 26 (0.9%) died within one calendar day and 196 (6.4%) died within 30 days. We calculated SCS for 1080 patients. We found an AUROC of 0.960 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.932 to 0.988) for 24-hours mortality and 0.826 (95% CI, 0.774-0.879) for 30-day mortality, and goodness-of-fit test, χ(2) = 2.68 (10 degrees of freedom), P = 0.998 and χ(2) = 4.00, P = 0.947, respectively. We included 1470 patients when calculating the HOTEL score. Discriminatory power (AUROC) was 0.931 (95% CI, 0.901-0.962) for 24-hours mortality and goodness-of-fit test, χ(2) = 5.56 (10 degrees of freedom), P = 0.234. We find that both the SCS and HOTEL scores showed an excellent to outstanding ability in identifying patients at high risk of dying with good or acceptable precision.

Reliable Change Indices and Standardized Regression-Based Change Score Norms for Evaluating Neuropsychological Change in Children with Epilepsy

Science.gov (United States)

Busch, Robyn M.; Lineweaver, Tara T.; Ferguson, Lisa; Haut, Jennifer S.

2015-01-01

Reliable change index scores (RCIs) and standardized regression-based change score norms (SRBs) permit evaluation of meaningful changes in test scores following treatment interventions, like epilepsy surgery, while accounting for test-retest reliability, practice effects, score fluctuations due to error, and relevant clinical and demographic factors. Although these methods are frequently used to assess cognitive change after epilepsy surgery in adults, they have not been widely applied to examine cognitive change in children with epilepsy. The goal of the current study was to develop RCIs and SRBs for use in children with epilepsy. Sixty-three children with epilepsy (age range 6–16; M=10.19, SD=2.58) underwent comprehensive neuropsychological evaluations at two time points an average of 12 months apart. Practice adjusted RCIs and SRBs were calculated for all cognitive measures in the battery. Practice effects were quite variable across the neuropsychological measures, with the greatest differences observed among older children, particularly on the Children’s Memory Scale and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test. There was also notable variability in test-retest reliabilities across measures in the battery, with coefficients ranging from 0.14 to 0.92. RCIs and SRBs for use in assessing meaningful cognitive change in children following epilepsy surgery are provided for measures with reliability coefficients above 0.50. This is the first study to provide RCIs and SRBs for a comprehensive neuropsychological battery based on a large sample of children with epilepsy. Tables to aid in evaluating cognitive changes in children who have undergone epilepsy surgery are provided for clinical use. An excel sheet to perform all relevant calculations is also available to interested clinicians or researchers. PMID:26043163

Peritumoral Artery Scoring System: a Novel Scoring System to Predict Renal Function Outcome after Laparoscopic Partial Nephrectomy.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Ruiyun; Wu, Guangyu; Huang, Jiwei; Shi, Oumin; Kong, Wen; Chen, Yonghui; Xu, Jianrong; Xue, Wei; Zhang, Jin; Huang, Yiran

2017-06-06

The present study aimed to assess the impact of peritumoral artery characteristics on renal function outcome prediction using a novel Peritumoral Artery Scoring System based on computed tomography arteriography. Peritumoral artery characteristics and renal function were evaluated in 220 patients who underwent laparoscopic partial nephrectomy and then validate in 51 patients with split and total glomerular filtration rate (GFR). In particular, peritumoral artery classification and diameter were measured to assign arteries into low, moderate, and high Peritumoral Artery Scoring System risk categories. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were then used to determine risk factors for major renal functional decline. The Peritumoral Artery Scoring System and four other nephrometry systems were compared using receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. The Peritumoral Artery Scoring System was significantly superior to the other systems for predicting postoperative renal function decline (p system was a superior independent predictor of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) decline (area-under-the-curve = 0.865, p renal function outcome after laparoscopic partial nephrectomy.

Lossy compression of quality scores in genomic data.

Science.gov (United States)

Cánovas, Rodrigo; Moffat, Alistair; Turpin, Andrew

2014-08-01

Next-generation sequencing technologies are revolutionizing medicine. Data from sequencing technologies are typically represented as a string of bases, an associated sequence of per-base quality scores and other metadata, and in aggregate can require a large amount of space. The quality scores show how accurate the bases are with respect to the sequencing process, that is, how confident the sequencer is of having called them correctly, and are the largest component in datasets in which they are retained. Previous research has examined how to store sequences of bases effectively; here we add to that knowledge by examining methods for compressing quality scores. The quality values originate in a continuous domain, and so if a fidelity criterion is introduced, it is possible to introduce flexibility in the way these values are represented, allowing lossy compression over the quality score data. We present existing compression options for quality score data, and then introduce two new lossy techniques. Experiments measuring the trade-off between compression ratio and information loss are reported, including quantifying the effect of lossy representations on a downstream application that carries out single nucleotide polymorphism and insert/deletion detection. The new methods are demonstrably superior to other techniques when assessed against the spectrum of possible trade-offs between storage required and fidelity of representation. An implementation of the methods described here is available at https://github.com/rcanovas/libCSAM. rcanovas@student.unimelb.edu.au Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Diagnostic performance of a CT-based scoring system for diagnosis of anastomotic leakage after esophagectomy: comparison with subjective CT assessment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Goense, Lucas; Rossum, Peter S.N. van [University Medical Center Utrecht, Department of Surgery, Utrecht (Netherlands); University Medical Center Utrecht, Department of Radiation Oncology, Utrecht (Netherlands); Stassen, Pauline M.C.; Ruurda, Jelle P.; Hillegersberg, Richard van [University Medical Center Utrecht, Department of Surgery, Utrecht (Netherlands); Wessels, Frank J.; Leeuwen, Maarten S. van [University Medical Center Utrecht, Department of Radiology, Utrecht (Netherlands)

2017-10-15

To develop a CT-based prediction score for anastomotic leakage after esophagectomy and compare it to subjective CT interpretation. Consecutive patients who underwent a CT scan for a clinical suspicion of anastomotic leakage after esophagectomy with cervical anastomosis between 2003 and 2014 were analyzed. The CT scans were systematically re-evaluated by two radiologists for the presence of specific CT findings and presence of an anastomotic leak. Also, the original CT interpretations were acquired. These results were compared to patients with and without a clinical confirmed leak. Out of 122 patients that underwent CT for a clinical suspicion of anastomotic leakage; 54 had a confirmed leak. In multivariable analysis, anastomotic leakage was associated with mediastinal fluid (OR = 3.4), esophagogastric wall discontinuity (OR = 4.9), mediastinal air (OR = 6.6), and a fistula (OR = 7.2). Based on these criteria, a prediction score was developed resulting in an area-under-the-curve (AUC) of 0.86, sensitivity of 80%, and specificity of 84%. The original interpretation and the systematic subjective CT assessment by two radiologists resulted in AUCs of 0.68 and 0.75 with sensitivities of 52% and 69%, and specificities of 84% and 82%, respectively. This CT-based score may provide improved diagnostic performance for diagnosis of anastomotic leakage after esophagectomy. (orig.)

The relationship between a black economic empowerment score ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

kirstam

company's BEE score/rating and shareholder returns, using an event study methodology and a ... the form of the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act, no. 53 of 2003 .... asset pricing model). Although more ... portfolios of companies with a specific BEE score, a buy-and-hold or 'style' investment methodology was ...

Pre-TOEFL guide academic English practice

CERN Document Server

Stirling, Bruce

2017-01-01

Preparing for TOEFL Do you plan to take TOEFL or IELTS but are not ready for the challenge? Do you need more practice? If you do, then this book is for you. It is also for those who just want to practice their academic English. Whatever your purpose, this book will give you the foundation in academic English you need for TOEFL and IELTS success.

Proceedings of the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization (SDIO) Tool Fair Held January 26-27, 1987 in Alexandria, Virginia.

Science.gov (United States)

1987-03-04

gilvenl gre phl. I1. Decscribhe how your system siipports real 1111W design. (!I~t(e lnjttglactors behinld the SII, : ielt l11. iwee I( pralle : 4:1’ o...82171111I1t:101(m IV Ielt y is the problem. \\Vhen the requtiremnuts. represent - -I ch Il I-i Inls. a1re moclifled to Iminprove the syst cmi’s, peform

Aggregate risk score based on markers of inflammation, cell stress, and coagulation is an independent predictor of adverse cardiovascular outcomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Eapen, Danny J; Manocha, Pankaj; Patel, Riyaz S; Hammadah, Muhammad; Veledar, Emir; Wassel, Christina; Nanjundappa, Ravi A; Sikora, Sergey; Malayter, Dylan; Wilson, Peter W F; Sperling, Laurence; Quyyumi, Arshed A; Epstein, Stephen E

2013-07-23

This study sought to determine an aggregate, pathway-specific risk score for enhanced prediction of death and myocardial infarction (MI). Activation of inflammatory, coagulation, and cellular stress pathways contribute to atherosclerotic plaque rupture. We hypothesized that an aggregate risk score comprised of biomarkers involved in these different pathways-high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP), fibrin degradation products (FDP), and heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) levels-would be a powerful predictor of death and MI. Serum levels of CRP, FDP, and HSP70 were measured in 3,415 consecutive patients with suspected or confirmed coronary artery disease (CAD) undergoing cardiac catheterization. Survival analyses were performed with models adjusted for established risk factors. Median follow-up was 2.3 years. Hazard ratios (HRs) for all-cause death and MI based on cutpoints were as follows: CRP ≥3.0 mg/l, HR: 1.61; HSP70 >0.625 ng/ml, HR; 2.26; and FDP ≥1.0 μg/ml, HR: 1.62 (p statistic and net reclassification improved (p < 0.0001) with the addition of the biomarker score. An aggregate score based on serum levels of CRP, FDP, and HSP70 is a predictor of future risk of death and MI in patients with suspected or known CAD. Copyright © 2013 American College of Cardiology Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

SYNTAX score based on coronary computed tomography angiography may have a prognostic value in patients with complex coronary artery disease: An observational study from a retrospective cohort.

Science.gov (United States)

Suh, Young Joo; Han, Kyunghwa; Chang, Suyon; Kim, Jin Young; Im, Dong Jin; Hong, Yoo Jin; Lee, Hye-Jeong; Hur, Jin; Kim, Young Jin; Choi, Byoung Wook

2017-09-01

The SYNergy between percutaneous coronary intervention with TAXus and cardiac surgery (SYNTAX) score is an invasive coronary angiography (ICA)-based score for quantifying the complexity of coronary artery disease (CAD). Although the SYNTAX score was originally developed based on ICA, recent publications have reported that coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) is a feasible modality for the estimation of the SYNTAX score.The aim of our study was to investigate the prognostic value of the SYNTAX score, based on CCTA for the prediction of major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCEs) in patients with complex CAD.The current study was approved by the institutional review board of our institution, and informed consent was waived for this retrospective cohort study. We included 251 patients (173 men, mean age 66.0 ± 9.29 years) who had complex CAD [3-vessel disease or left main (LM) disease] on CCTA. SYNTAX score was obtained on the basis of CCTA. Follow-up clinical outcome data regarding composite MACCEs were also obtained. Cox proportional hazards models were developed to predict the risk of MACCEs based on clinical variables, treatment, and computed tomography (CT)-SYNTAX scores.During the median follow-up period of 1517 days, there were 48 MACCEs. Univariate Cox hazards models demonstrated that MACCEs were associated with advanced age, low body mass index (BMI), and dyslipidemia (P < .2). In patients with LM disease, MACCEs were associated with a higher SYNTAX score. In patients with CT-SYNTAX score ≥23, patients who underwent coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) and percutaneous coronary intervention had significantly lower hazard ratios than patients who were treated with medication alone. In multivariate Cox hazards model, advanced age, low BMI, and higher SYNTAX score showed an increased hazard ratio for MACCE, while treatment with CABG showed a lower hazard ratio (P < .2).On the basis of our results, CT-SYNTAX score

What To Look for in ESL Admission Tests: Cambridge Certificate Exams, IELTS, and TOEFL.

Science.gov (United States)

Chalhoub-Deville, Micheline; Turner, Carolyn E.

2000-01-01

Familiarizes test users with issues to consider when employing assessments for screening and admission purposes. Examines the purpose, content, and scoring methods of three English-as-a-Second-Language admissions tests--the Cambridge certificate exams, International English Language Teaching System, and Test of English as a Foreign…

Edinburgh Cognitive and Behavioural ALS Screen (ECAS)-Italian version: regression based norms and equivalent scores.

Science.gov (United States)

Siciliano, Mattia; Trojano, Luigi; Trojsi, Francesca; Greco, Roberta; Santoro, Manuela; Basile, Giuseppe; Piscopo, Fausta; D'Iorio, Alfonsina; Patrone, Manila; Femiano, Cinzia; Monsurrò, Mariarosaria; Tedeschi, Gioacchino; Santangelo, Gabriella

2017-06-01

Cognitive assessment for individuals with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) can be difficult because of frequent occurrence of difficulties with speech, writing, and drawing. The Edinburgh Cognitive and Behavioural ALS Screen (ECAS) is a recent multi-domain neuropsychological screening tool specifically devised for this purpose, and it assesses the following domains: executive functions, social cognition, verbal fluency and language (ALS-specific), but also memory and visuospatial abilities (Non-ALS specific). ECAS total score ranges from 0 (worst performance) to 136 (best performance). Moreover, a brief caregiver interview provides an assessment of behaviour changes and psychotic symptoms usually associated with ALS patients. The aim of the present study was to provide normative values for ECAS total score and sub-scores in a sample of Italian healthy subjects. Two hundred and seventy-seven Italian healthy subjects (151 women and 126 men; age range 30-79 years; educational level from primary school to university) underwent ECAS and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that age and education significantly influenced performance on ECAS total score and sub-scale scores. From the derived linear equation, a correction grid for raw scores was built. Inferential cut-off scores were estimated using a non-parametric technique and equivalent scores (ES) were computed. Correlation analysis showed a good significant correlation between adjusted ECAS total scores with adjusted MoCA total scores (r rho  = 0.669, p < 0.0001). The present study provided normative data for the ECAS in an Italian population useful for both clinical and research purposes.

Comparing the Scoring of Human Decomposition from Digital Images to Scoring Using On-site Observations.

Science.gov (United States)

Dabbs, Gretchen R; Bytheway, Joan A; Connor, Melissa

2017-09-01

When in forensic casework or empirical research in-person assessment of human decomposition is not possible, the sensible substitution is color photographic images. To date, no research has confirmed the utility of color photographic images as a proxy for in situ observation of the level of decomposition. Sixteen observers scored photographs of 13 human cadavers in varying decomposition stages (PMI 2-186 days) using the Total Body Score system (total n = 929 observations). The on-site TBS was compared with recorded observations from digital color images using a paired samples t-test. The average difference between on-site and photographic observations was -0.20 (t = -1.679, df = 928, p = 0.094). Individually, only two observers, both students with human decomposition based on digital images can be substituted for assessments based on observation of the corpse in situ, when necessary. © 2017 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

A scoring system based on artificial neural network for predicting 10-year survival in stage II A colon cancer patients after radical surgery

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Wu; Lu, Shi-Xun; Lu, Zhen-Hai; Li, Pei-Xing; Yun, Jing-Ping; Zhang, Rong-Xin; Pan, Zhi-Zhong; Wan, De-Sen

2016-01-01

Nearly 20% patients with stage II A colon cancer will develop recurrent disease post-operatively. The present study aims to develop a scoring system based on Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model for predicting 10-year survival outcome. The clinical and molecular data of 117 stage II A colon cancer patients from Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center were used for training set and test set; poor pathological grading (score 49), reduced expression of TGFBR2 (score 33), over-expression of TGF-β (score 45), MAPK (score 32), pin1 (score 100), β-catenin in tumor tissue (score 50) and reduced expression of TGF-β in normal mucosa (score 22) were selected as the prognostic risk predictors. According to the developed scoring system, the patients were divided into 3 subgroups, which were supposed with higher, moderate and lower risk levels. As a result, for the 3 subgroups, the 10-year overall survival (OS) rates were 16.7%, 62.9% and 100% (P < 0.001); and the 10-year disease free survival (DFS) rates were 16.7%, 61.8% and 98.8% (P < 0.001) respectively. It showed that this scoring system for stage II A colon cancer could help to predict long-term survival and screen out high-risk individuals for more vigorous treatment. PMID:27008710

A scoring system based on artificial neural network for predicting 10-year survival in stage II A colon cancer patients after radical surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, Jian-Hong; Fang, Yu-Jing; Li, Cai-Xia; Ou, Qing-Jian; Jiang, Wu; Lu, Shi-Xun; Lu, Zhen-Hai; Li, Pei-Xing; Yun, Jing-Ping; Zhang, Rong-Xin; Pan, Zhi-Zhong; Wan, De Sen

2016-04-19

Nearly 20% patients with stage II A colon cancer will develop recurrent disease post-operatively. The present study aims to develop a scoring system based on Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model for predicting 10-year survival outcome. The clinical and molecular data of 117 stage II A colon cancer patients from Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center were used for training set and test set; poor pathological grading (score 49), reduced expression of TGFBR2 (score 33), over-expression of TGF-β (score 45), MAPK (score 32), pin1 (score 100), β-catenin in tumor tissue (score 50) and reduced expression of TGF-β in normal mucosa (score 22) were selected as the prognostic risk predictors. According to the developed scoring system, the patients were divided into 3 subgroups, which were supposed with higher, moderate and lower risk levels. As a result, for the 3 subgroups, the 10-year overall survival (OS) rates were 16.7%, 62.9% and 100% (P < 0.001); and the 10-year disease free survival (DFS) rates were 16.7%, 61.8% and 98.8% (P < 0.001) respectively. It showed that this scoring system for stage II A colon cancer could help to predict long-term survival and screen out high-risk individuals for more vigorous treatment.

Prediction of antigenic epitopes on protein surfaces by consensus scoring

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhang Chi

2009-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Prediction of antigenic epitopes on protein surfaces is important for vaccine design. Most existing epitope prediction methods focus on protein sequences to predict continuous epitopes linear in sequence. Only a few structure-based epitope prediction algorithms are available and they have not yet shown satisfying performance. Results We present a new antigen Epitope Prediction method, which uses ConsEnsus Scoring (EPCES from six different scoring functions - residue epitope propensity, conservation score, side-chain energy score, contact number, surface planarity score, and secondary structure composition. Applied to unbounded antigen structures from an independent test set, EPCES was able to predict antigenic eptitopes with 47.8% sensitivity, 69.5% specificity and an AUC value of 0.632. The performance of the method is statistically similar to other published methods. The AUC value of EPCES is slightly higher compared to the best results of existing algorithms by about 0.034. Conclusion Our work shows consensus scoring of multiple features has a better performance than any single term. The successful prediction is also due to the new score of residue epitope propensity based on atomic solvent accessibility.

Primary radiotherapy or postoperative radiotherapy in patients with head and neck cancer. Comparative analysis of inflammation-based prognostic scoring systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Selzer, Edgar; Grah, Anja; Heiduschka, Gregor; Thurnher, Dietmar; Kornek, Gabriela

2015-01-01

Inflammation-based scoring systems have potential value in evaluating the prognosis of cancer patients; however, detailed comparative analyses in well-characterized head and neck cancer patient collectives are missing. We analyzed overall survival (OS) in locally advanced head and neck cancer patients who were treated with curative intent by primary radiotherapy (RT) alone, by RT in combination with cetuximab (RIT) or with cisplatin (RCHT), and by primary surgery followed by postoperative radiotherapy (PORT). The primary RT collective (N = 170) was analyzed separately from the surgery plus RT group (N = 148). OS was estimated using the Kaplan-Meyer method. Cox proportional-hazard regression models were applied to compare the risk of death among patients stratified according to risk factors and the inflammation-based Glasgow Prognostic Score (GPS), the modified GPS (mGPS), the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), the platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and the prognostic index (PI). A prognostic relevance of the scoring systems for OS was observed in the primarily irradiated, but not in the PORT collective. OS was 35.5, 18.8, and 15.4 months, respectively, according to GPS 0, 1, and 2. OS according to mGPS 0-2 was identical. The PLR scoring system was not of prognostic relevance, while OS was 27.3 months in the NLR 0 group and 17.3 months in the NLR 1 group. OS was 35.5 months in PI 0, 16.1 months in PI 1, and 22.6 months in PI 2. GPS/mGPS scoring systems are able to discriminate between three risk groups in primarily, but not postoperatively irradiated locally advanced head and neck cancer patients. (orig.) [de

Heart valve surgery: EuroSCORE vs. EuroSCORE II vs. Society of Thoracic Surgeons score

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muhammad Sharoz Rabbani

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Background This is a validation study comparing the European System for Cardiac Operative Risk Evaluation (EuroSCORE II with the previous additive (AES and logistic EuroSCORE (LES and the Society of Thoracic Surgeons’ (STS risk prediction algorithm, for patients undergoing valve replacement with or without bypass in Pakistan. Patients and Methods Clinical data of 576 patients undergoing valve replacement surgery between 2006 and 2013 were retrospectively collected and individual expected risks of death were calculated by all four risk prediction algorithms. Performance of these risk algorithms was evaluated in terms of discrimination and calibration. Results There were 28 deaths (4.8% among 576 patients, which was lower than the predicted mortality of 5.16%, 6.96% and 4.94% by AES, LES and EuroSCORE II but was higher than 2.13% predicted by STS scoring system. For single and double valve replacement procedures, EuroSCORE II was the best predictor of mortality with highest Hosmer and Lemmeshow test (H-L p value (0.346 to 0.689 and area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC curve (0.637 to 0.898. For valve plus concomitant coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG patients actual mortality was 1.88%. STS calculator came out to be the best predictor of mortality for this subgroup with H-L p value (0.480 to 0.884 and ROC (0.657 to 0.775. Conclusions For Pakistani population EuroSCORE II is an accurate predictor for individual operative risk in patients undergoing isolated valve surgery, whereas STS performs better in the valve plus CABG group.

The association between creatinine versus cystatin C-based eGFR and cardiovascular risk in children with chronic kidney disease using a modified PDAY risk score.

Science.gov (United States)

Sharma, Sheena; Denburg, Michelle R; Furth, Susan L

2017-08-01

Children with chronic kidney disease (CKD) have a high prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors which may contribute to the development of cardiovascular events in adulthood. Among adults with CKD, cystatin C-based estimates of glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) demonstrate a stronger predictive value for cardiovascular events than creatinine-based eGFR. The PDAY (Pathobiological Determinants of Atherosclerosis in Youth) risk score is a validated tool used to estimate the probability of advanced coronary atherosclerotic lesions in young adults. To assess the association between cystatin C-based versus creatinine-based eGFR (eGFR cystatin C and eGFR creatinine, respectively) and cardiovascular risk using a modified PDAY risk score as a proxy for CVD in children and young adults. We performed a cross-sectional study of 71 participants with CKD [median age 15.5 years; inter-quartile range (IQR) 13, 17], and 33 healthy controls (median age 15.1 years; IQR 13, 17). eGFR was calculated using age-appropriate creatinine- and cystatin C-based formulas. Median eGFR creatinine and eGFR cystatin C for CKD participants were 50 (IQR 30, 75) and 53 (32, 74) mL/min/1.73 m 2 , respectively. For the healthy controls, median eGFR creatinine and eGFR cystatin were 112 (IQR 85, 128) and 106 mL/min/1.73m 2 (95, 123) mL/min/1.73 m 2 , respectively. A modified PDAY risk score was calculated based on sex, age, serum lipoprotein concentrations, obesity, smoking status, hypertension, and hyperglycemia. Modified PDAY scores ranged from -2 to 20. The Spearman's correlations of eGFR creatinine and eGFR cystatin C with coronary artery PDAY scores were -0.23 (p = 0.02) and -0.28 (p = 0.004), respectively. Ordinal logistic regression also showed a similar association of higher eGFR creatinine and higher eGFR cystatin C with lower PDAY scores. When stratified by age creatinine and eGFR cystatin C with PDAY score were modest and similar in children [-0.29 (p = 0.008) vs. -0.32 (p = 0

Validation of the Standard Mobility Application Programming Interface Fidelity 1 and 2

Science.gov (United States)

2006-07-01

Cross-Country, Dry) 16000-fl 14000 12000- O- U 00 - ielt 0 0 Fidelity2 %0 10000 8000- 4000-zo-- Over Even Under N Fidelity 1 8151 14224 4553 0...Road, Snow) 90% 70% -j S60% > 50% ~40% E 30% S20% 1 0% - ielt 0% 0 5 10 15 20 STNDMob - NRMM (rriph) Figure 57. M923/M200A1 Fidelity 1 vs. Fidelity 2

Optimization of an Internally Finned Rotating Heat Pipe.

Science.gov (United States)

1980-09-01

ICALC.GT~lI GO TO 1.0 C ** INPUT MODE *** C ELEMENT CONNECTIVITIES C READ (5,-420) NELOSNPANBAN WRITE (6,430) NELNSNl ,NBAN READ (5,440) ( IELt (ICOR(IEL,1...I=1,3),IEL=1,NEL) CWRITE (6,450) C wRITE(6,251) ( IELt (ICOR(IEL,IbtI=1,3), IELINEL) C C TihE CONDENSER GEOMETRY C READ (5,46C) CLI CANGL,RBASEI R21

The power and robustness of maximum LOD score statistics.

Science.gov (United States)

Yoo, Y J; Mendell, N R

2008-07-01

The maximum LOD score statistic is extremely powerful for gene mapping when calculated using the correct genetic parameter value. When the mode of genetic transmission is unknown, the maximum of the LOD scores obtained using several genetic parameter values is reported. This latter statistic requires higher critical value than the maximum LOD score statistic calculated from a single genetic parameter value. In this paper, we compare the power of maximum LOD scores based on three fixed sets of genetic parameter values with the power of the LOD score obtained after maximizing over the entire range of genetic parameter values. We simulate family data under nine generating models. For generating models with non-zero phenocopy rates, LOD scores maximized over the entire range of genetic parameters yielded greater power than maximum LOD scores for fixed sets of parameter values with zero phenocopy rates. No maximum LOD score was consistently more powerful than the others for generating models with a zero phenocopy rate. The power loss of the LOD score maximized over the entire range of genetic parameters, relative to the maximum LOD score calculated using the correct genetic parameter value, appeared to be robust to the generating models.

Inflammation-based prognostic score and number of lymph node metastases are independent prognostic factors in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Science.gov (United States)

Kobayashi, Takashi; Teruya, Masanori; Kishiki, Tomokazu; Kaneko, Susumu; Endo, Daisuke; Takenaka, Yoshiharu; Miki, Kenji; Kobayashi, Kaoru; Morita, Koji

2010-08-01

Few studies have investigated whether the Glasgow Prognostic Score (GPS), an inflammation-based prognostic score, is useful for postoperative prognosis of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. GPS was calculated on the basis of admission data as follows: patients with elevated C-reactive protein level (>10 mg/l) and hypoalbuminemia (l) were assigned to GPS2. Patients with one or no abnormal value were assigned to GPS1 or GPS0. A new scoring system was constructed using independent prognostic variables and was evaluated on whether it could be used to dictate the choice of clinical options. 65 patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma were enrolled. GPS and the number of lymph node metastases were found to be independent prognostic variables. The scoring system comprising GPS and the number of lymph node metastases was found to be effective in the prediction of a long-term outcome (p GPS may be useful for postoperative prognosis of patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. GPS and the number of lymph node metastases could be used to identify a subgroup of patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma who are eligible for radical resection but show poor prognosis.

Inflammation-based prognostic score, prior to neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy, predicts postoperative outcome in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Science.gov (United States)

Kobayashi, Takashi; Teruya, Masanori; Kishiki, Tomokazu; Endo, Daisuke; Takenaka, Yoshiharu; Tanaka, Hozumi; Miki, Kenji; Kobayashi, Kaoru; Morita, Koji

2008-11-01

Recent studies have revealed that Glasgow prognostic score (GPS), an inflammation-based prognostic score, is associated with poor outcome in a variety of tumors. However, few studies have investigated whether GPS measured prior to neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) is useful for postoperative prognosis of patients with advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). GPS was calculated on the basis of admission data as follows: patients with both an elevated C-reactive protein (>10 mg/L) and hypoalbuminaemia (L) were allocated a GPS score of 2. Patients in whom only 1 of these biochemical abnormalities was present were allocated a GPS score of 1, and patients with a normal C-reactive protein and albumin were allocated a score of 0. All patients underwent radical en-bloc resection 3-4 weeks after nCRT. A total of 48 patients with clinical TNM stage II/III were enrolled. Univariate analyses revealed that there were significant differences in cancer-specific survival in relation to grade of response to nCRT (P = .004), lymph node status (P = .0065), lymphatic invasion (P = .0002), venous invasion (P = .0001), pathological TNM classification (P = .015), and GPS (P GPS classification showed a close relationship with lymphatic invasion, venous invasion, and number of lymph node (P = .0292, .0473, and .0485, respectively). GPS was found to be the only independent predictor of cancer-specific survival (odds ratio, 0.17; 95% confidence interval, 0.06-0.52; P = .0019). GPS, measured prior to nCRT, is an independent novel predictor of postoperative outcome in patients with advanced ESCC.

Construction of an Exome-Wide Risk Score for Schizophrenia Based on a Weighted Burden Test.

Science.gov (United States)

Curtis, David

2018-01-01

Polygenic risk scores obtained as a weighted sum of associated variants can be used to explore association in additional data sets and to assign risk scores to individuals. The methods used to derive polygenic risk scores from common SNPs are not suitable for variants detected in whole exome sequencing studies. Rare variants, which may have major effects, are seen too infrequently to judge whether they are associated and may not be shared between training and test subjects. A method is proposed whereby variants are weighted according to their frequency, their annotations and the genes they affect. A weighted sum across all variants provides an individual risk score. Scores constructed in this way are used in a weighted burden test and are shown to be significantly different between schizophrenia cases and controls using a five-way cross-validation procedure. This approach represents a first attempt to summarise exome sequence variation into a summary risk score, which could be combined with risk scores from common variants and from environmental factors. It is hoped that the method could be developed further. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd/University College London.

The BRICS (Bronchiectasis Radiologically Indexed CT Score): A Multicenter Study Score for Use in Idiopathic and Postinfective Bronchiectasis.

Science.gov (United States)

Bedi, Pallavi; Chalmers, James D; Goeminne, Pieter C; Mai, Cindy; Saravanamuthu, Pira; Velu, Prasad Palani; Cartlidge, Manjit K; Loebinger, Michael R; Jacob, Joe; Kamal, Faisal; Schembri, Nicola; Aliberti, Stefano; Hill, Uta; Harrison, Mike; Johnson, Christopher; Screaton, Nicholas; Haworth, Charles; Polverino, Eva; Rosales, Edmundo; Torres, Antoni; Benegas, Michael N; Rossi, Adriano G; Patel, Dilip; Hill, Adam T

2018-05-01

The goal of this study was to develop a simplified radiological score that could assess clinical disease severity in bronchiectasis. The Bronchiectasis Radiologically Indexed CT Score (BRICS) was devised based on a multivariable analysis of the Bhalla score and its ability in predicting clinical parameters of severity. The score was then externally validated in six centers in 302 patients. A total of 184 high-resolution CT scans were scored for the validation cohort. In a multiple logistic regression model, disease severity markers significantly associated with the Bhalla score were percent predicted FEV 1 , sputum purulence, and exacerbations requiring hospital admission. Components of the Bhalla score that were significantly associated with the disease severity markers were bronchial dilatation and number of bronchopulmonary segments with emphysema. The BRICS was developed with these two parameters. The receiver operating-characteristic curve values for BRICS in the derivation cohort were 0.79 for percent predicted FEV 1 , 0.71 for sputum purulence, and 0.75 for hospital admissions per year; these values were 0.81, 0.70, and 0.70, respectively, in the validation cohort. Sputum free neutrophil elastase activity was significantly elevated in the group with emphysema on CT imaging. A simplified CT scoring system can be used as an adjunct to clinical parameters to predict disease severity in patients with idiopathic and postinfective bronchiectasis. Copyright © 2017 American College of Chest Physicians. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Less increase of CT-based calcium scores of the coronary arteries. Effect three years after breast-conserving radiotherapy using breath-hold

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mast, M.E.; Kempen-Harteveld, M.L. van; Petoukhova, A.L. [Centre West, Radiotherapy, The Hague (Netherlands); Heijenbrok, M.W. [Medical Center Haaglanden, Department of Radiology, The Hague (Netherlands); Scholten, A.N. [Netherlands Cancer Institute - Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Hospital, Department of Radiation Oncology, Amsterdam (Netherlands); Wolterbeek, R. [Leiden University Medical Centre, Department of Medical Statistics and Bioinformatics, Leiden (Netherlands); Schreur, J.H.M. [Medical Center Haaglanden, Department of Cardiology, The Hague (Netherlands); Struikmans, H. [Centre West, Radiotherapy, The Hague (Netherlands); Leiden University Medical Centre, Department of Clinical Oncology, Leiden (Netherlands)

2016-10-15

The aim of this prospective longitudinal study was to compare coronary artery calcium (CAC) scores determined before the start of whole breast irradiation with those determined 3 years afterwards. Changes in CAC scores were analysed in 99 breast cancer patients. Three groups were compared: patients receiving left- and right-sided radiotherapy, and those receiving left-sided radiotherapy with breath-hold. We analysed overall CAC scores and left anterior descending (LAD) and right coronary artery (RCA) CAC scores. Between the three groups, changes of the value of the LAD minus the RCA CAC scores of each individual patient were also compared. Three years after breath-hold-based whole breast irradiation, a less pronounced increase of CAC scores was noted. Furthermore, LAD minus RCA scores in patients treated for left-sided breast cancer without breath-hold were higher when compared to LAD minus RCA scores of patients with right-sided breast cancers and those with left-sided breast cancer treated with breath-hold. Breath-hold in breast-conserving radiotherapy leads to a less pronounced increase of CT-based CAC scores. Therefore, breath-hold probably prevents the development of radiation-induced coronary artery disease. However, the sample size of this study is limited and the follow-up period relatively short. (orig.) [German] Das Ziel dieser prospektiven Langzeitstudie war der Vergleich der Coronary-Artery-Calcium-(CAC-)Werte vor Beginn der Brustbestrahlung mit den Werten nach 3 Jahren. Aenderungen der CAC-Werte wurden bei 99 Brustkrebspatienten analysiert. Drei Gruppen wurden untersucht: Patienten nach links- und rechtsseitiger Strahlentherapie sowie mit Bestrahlung unter Atemanhalt. Wir analysierten die Gesamt-CAC-Werte sowie die CAC-Werte der vorderen linken absteigenden (''left anterior descending'', LAD) und der rechten Koronararterie (''right coronary artery'', RCA). Zwischen den drei Gruppen wurden auch die Veraenderungen

MODIFIED ALVARADO SCORING IN ACUTE APPENDICITIS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Varadarajan Sujath

2016-12-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND Acute appendicitis is one of the most common surgical emergencies with a lifetime presentation of approximately 1 in 7. Its incidence is 1.5-1.9/1000 in males and females. Surgery for acute appendicitis is based on history, clinical examination and laboratory investigations (e.g. WBC count. Imaging techniques add very little to the efficacy in the diagnosis of appendix. A negative appendicectomy rate of 20-40% has been reported in literature. A difficulty in diagnosis is experienced in very young patients and females of reproductive age. The diagnostic accuracy in assessing acute appendicitis has not improved in spite of rapid advances in management. MATERIALS AND METHODS The modified Alvarado score was applied and assessed for its accuracy in preparation diagnosis of acute appendicitis in 50 patients. The aim of our study is to understand the various presentations of acute appendicitis including the age and gender incidence and the application of the modified Alvarado scoring system in our hospital setup and assessment of the efficacy of the score. RESULTS Our study shows that most involved age group is 3 rd decade with male preponderance. On application of Alvarado score, nausea and vomiting present in 50% and anorexia in 30%, leucocytosis was found in 75% of cases. Sensitivity and specificity of our study were 65% and 40% respectively with positive predictive value of 85% and negative predictive value of 15%. CONCLUSION This study showed that clinical scoring like the Alvarado score can be a cheap and quick tool to apply in emergency departments to rule out acute appendicitis. The implementation of modified Alvarado score is simple and cost effective.

[The use of scores in general medicine].

Science.gov (United States)

Huber, Ursula; Rösli, Andreas; Ballmer, Peter E; Rippin, Sarah Jane

2013-10-01

Scores are tools to combine complex information into a numerical value. In General Medicine, there are scores to assist in making diagnoses and prognoses, scores to assist therapeutic decision making and to evaluate therapeutic results and scores to help physicians when informing and advising patients. We review six of the scoring systems that have the greatest utility for the General Physician in hospital-based care and in General Practice. The Nutritional Risk Screening (NRS 2002) tool is designed to identify hospital patients in danger of malnutrition. The aim is to improve the nutritional status of these patients. The CURB-65 score predicts 30-day mortality in patients with community acquired pneumonia. Patients with a low score can be considered for home treatment, patients with an elevated score require hospitalisation and those with a high score should be treated as having severe pneumonia; treatment in the intensive care unit should be considered. The IAS-AGLA score of the Working Group on Lipids and Atherosclerosis of the Swiss Society of Cardiology calculates the 10-year risk of a myocardial infarction for people living in Switzerland. The working group makes recommendations for preventative treatment according to the calculated risk status. The Body Mass Index, which is calculated by dividing the body weight in kilograms by the height in meters squared and then divided into weight categories, is used to classify people as underweight, of normal weight, overweight or obese. The prognostic value of this classification is discussed. The Mini-Mental State Examination allows the physician to assess important cognitive functions in a simple and standardised form. The Glasgow Coma Scale is used to classify the level of consciousness in patients with head injury. It can be used for triage and correlates with prognosis.

Scope Complexity Options Risks Excursions (SCORE) Factor Mathematical Description.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gearhart, Jared Lee [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Samberson, Jonell Nicole [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Shettigar, Subhasini [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Jungels, John [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Welch, Kimberly M. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Jones, Dean A. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

2017-03-01

The purpose of the Scope, Complexity, Options, Risks, Excursions (SCORE) model is to estimate the relative complexity of design variants of future warhead options, resulting in scores. SCORE factors extend this capability by providing estimates of complexity relative to a base system (i.e., all design options are normalized to one weapon system). First, a clearly defined set of scope elements for a warhead option is established. The complexity of each scope element is estimated by Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), including a level of uncertainty, relative to a specific reference system. When determining factors, complexity estimates for a scope element can be directly tied to the base system or chained together via comparable scope elements in a string of reference systems that ends with the base system. The SCORE analysis process is a growing multi-organizational Nuclear Security Enterprise (NSE) effort, under the management of the NA-12 led Enterprise Modeling and Analysis Consortium (EMAC). Historically, it has provided the data elicitation, integration, and computation needed to support the out-year Life Extension Program (LEP) cost estimates included in the Stockpile Stewardship Management Plan (SSMP).

A Comparison of Two Scoring Methods for an Automated Speech Scoring System

Science.gov (United States)

Xi, Xiaoming; Higgins, Derrick; Zechner, Klaus; Williamson, David

2012-01-01

This paper compares two alternative scoring methods--multiple regression and classification trees--for an automated speech scoring system used in a practice environment. The two methods were evaluated on two criteria: construct representation and empirical performance in predicting human scores. The empirical performance of the two scoring models…

Self-Directed Learning Modules for Independent Learning: IELTS Exam Preparation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Brian R. Morrison

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Learners studying for exams sometimes show a lack of awareness in their abilities as tested through the framework of that exam. Instead, such learners focus on the score obtained in exams, and exam preparation includes using textbooks, online materials and timed use of past papers. The purpose of exam-focused flexible self-directed learning modules (FSDLMs at Kanda University of International Studies have been designed to address this by developing learners’ ability to identify their strengths and weaknesses, to make informed decisions about their own learning, and to improve their test-taking skills. Each FSDLM has at its core a diagnostic for learners to use for self-evaluation, often with guidance from a learning advisor. This process leads to the setting of clear goals and the development and implementation of an individual learning plan through a variety of dialogues. Learners have the potential to transfer this skill beyond examination preparation to other areas of learning. In other words, learners’ awareness of needs analysis, planning, implementation and evaluation is fostered with a view to developing their language learning ability within and beyond this module.

Measuring Biological Age via Metabonomics: The Metabolic Age Score.

Science.gov (United States)

Hertel, Johannes; Friedrich, Nele; Wittfeld, Katharina; Pietzner, Maik; Budde, Kathrin; Van der Auwera, Sandra; Lohmann, Tobias; Teumer, Alexander; Völzke, Henry; Nauck, Matthias; Grabe, Hans Jörgen

2016-02-05

Chronological age is one of the most important risk factors for adverse clinical outcome. Still, two individuals at the same chronological age could have different biological aging states, leading to different individual risk profiles. Capturing this individual variance could constitute an even more powerful predictor enhancing prediction in age-related morbidity. Applying a nonlinear regression technique, we constructed a metabonomic measurement for biological age, the metabolic age score, based on urine data measured via (1)H NMR spectroscopy. We validated the score in two large independent population-based samples by revealing its significant associations with chronological age and age-related clinical phenotypes as well as its independent predictive value for survival over approximately 13 years of follow-up. Furthermore, the metabolic age score was prognostic for weight loss in a sample of individuals who underwent bariatric surgery. We conclude that the metabolic age score is an informative measurement of biological age with possible applications in personalized medicine.

Evaluation of a nutrient-rich food index score in the Netherlands

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sluik, D.; Streppel, M.T.; Lee, van L.; Geelen, A.; Feskens, E.J.M.

2015-01-01

Nutrient-rich food (NRF) index scores are dietary quality indices based on nutrient density. We studied the design aspects involved in the development and validation of NRF index scores, using the Dutch consumption data and guidelines as an example. We evaluated fifteen NRF index scores against the

Dichotomous scoring of Trails B in patients referred for a dementia evaluation.

Science.gov (United States)

Schmitt, Andrew L; Livingston, Ronald B; Smernoff, Eric N; Waits, Bethany L; Harris, James B; Davis, Kent M

2010-04-01

The Trail Making Test is a popular neuropsychological test and its interpretation has traditionally used time-based scores. This study examined an alternative approach to scoring that is simply based on the examinees' ability to complete the test. If an examinee is able to complete Trails B successfully, they are coded as "completers"; if not, they are coded as "noncompleters." To assess this approach to scoring Trails B, the performance of 97 diagnostically heterogeneous individuals referred for a dementia evaluation was examined. In this sample, 55 individuals successfully completed Trails B and 42 individuals were unable to complete it. Point-biserial correlations indicated a moderate-to-strong association (r(pb)=.73) between the Trails B completion variable and the Total Scale score of the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neurological Status (RBANS), which was larger than the correlation between the Trails B time-based score and the RBANS Total Scale score (r(pb)=.60). As a screen for dementia status, Trails B completion showed a sensitivity of 69% and a specificity of 100% in this sample. These results suggest that dichotomous scoring of Trails B might provide a brief and clinically useful measure of dementia status.

MEASUREMENT OF THE STUDENTS’ ATTITUDE TOWARD A WHOLE-LANGUAGEAPPROACH-BASED LECTURE USING SCORE QUESTIONNAIRES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nizamuddin Sadiq

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract: The objective was to investigate students’ attitude toward the implementation of a whole language approach on Reading and Writing for Occupational Purposes Course in the academic year of 2013/2014. The approaches employed were phonological and phoneme awareness, phonic and word study, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension skills and strategies, and writing. The participants were 15 students of the English Language Education Department, Universitas Islam Indonesia. SCORE questionnaire using the Likert’s scale was the instrument. Calculation was to find out score index and categorization by following Riduwan’s (2007 score interpretation criteria. The findings showed that in the simple category, two of ten questions were agreed absolutely (100%, in the clear category, all questions were agreed for 80 %, in the original category, five of thirteen questions reached majority of agreement (100%, in the relevant category, one of five questions was agreed absolutely (100%, and in the enjoyable category, all questions were agreed by 93%. Keywords: a whole language approach, SCORE, score interpretation criteria PENGUKURAN SIKAP MAHASISWA TENTANG PERKULIAHAN BERBASIS A WHOLE LANGUAGE APPROACH DENGAN KUESIONER SCORE Abstrak: Tujuan penelitian ini adalah mengukur sikap mahasiswa terhadap pelaksanaan a whole language approach dalam perkuliahan Reading and Writing for Occupational Purposes Course tahun akademik 2013/2014. Pendekatan yang diterapkan adalah kesadaran fonetik dan fonemik, pelafalan dan kata, kelancaran, kosakata, keterampilan dan strategi membaca komprehensif, dan menulis. Responden penelitian ini adalah 15 maahsiswa Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris Universitas Islam Indonesia. Kuesioner SCOREs dengan skala Likert sebagai instrumen. Penghitungan ditujukan kepada skor indeks dan kategorisasi mengikuti criteria interpretasi skor Riduwan (2007. Hasilnya menunjukkan bahwa pada kategori simple, dua pertanyaan disetujui mutlak (100%, pada kategori

ABCD3-I score and the risk of early or 3-month stroke recurrence in tissue- and time-based definitions of TIA and minor stroke.

Science.gov (United States)

Mayer, Lukas; Ferrari, Julia; Krebs, Stefan; Boehme, Christian; Toell, Thomas; Matosevic, Benjamin; Tinchon, Alexander; Brainin, Michael; Gattringer, Thomas; Sommer, Peter; Thun, Peter; Willeit, Johann; Lang, Wilfried; Kiechl, Stefan; Knoflach, Michael

2018-03-01

Changing definition of TIA from time to a tissue basis questions the validity of the well-established ABCD3-I risk score for recurrent ischemic cerebrovascular events. We analyzed patients with ischemic stroke with mild neurological symptoms arriving TIA or minor stroke, in the prospective multi-center Austrian Stroke Unit Registry. Patients were retrospectively categorized according to a time-based (symptom duration below/above 24 h) and tissue-based (without/with corresponding brain lesion on CT or MRI) definition of TIA or minor stroke. Outcome parameters were early stroke during stroke unit stay and 3-month ischemic stroke. Of the 5237 TIA and minor stroke patients with prospectively documented ABCD3-I score, 2755 (52.6%) had a TIA by the time-based and 2183 (41.7%) by the tissue-based definition. Of the 2457 (46.9%) patients with complete 3-month followup, corresponding numbers were 1195 (48.3%) for the time- and 971 (39.5%) for the tissue-based definition of TIA. Early and 3-month ischemic stroke occurred in 1.1 and 2.5% of time-based TIA, 3.8 and 5.9% of time-based minor stroke, 1.2 and 2.3% of tissue-based TIA as well as in 3.1 and 5.5% of tissue-based minor stroke patients. Irrespective of the definition of TIA and minor stroke, the risk of early and 3-month ischemic stroke steadily increased with increasing ABCD3-I score points. The ABCD3-I score performs equally in TIA patients in tissue- as well as time-based definition and the same is true for minor stroke patients.

Improved performance in CAPRI round 37 using LZerD docking and template-based modeling with combined scoring functions.

Science.gov (United States)

Peterson, Lenna X; Shin, Woong-Hee; Kim, Hyungrae; Kihara, Daisuke

2018-03-01

We report our group's performance for protein-protein complex structure prediction and scoring in Round 37 of the Critical Assessment of PRediction of Interactions (CAPRI), an objective assessment of protein-protein complex modeling. We demonstrated noticeable improvement in both prediction and scoring compared to previous rounds of CAPRI, with our human predictor group near the top of the rankings and our server scorer group at the top. This is the first time in CAPRI that a server has been the top scorer group. To predict protein-protein complex structures, we used both multi-chain template-based modeling (TBM) and our protein-protein docking program, LZerD. LZerD represents protein surfaces using 3D Zernike descriptors (3DZD), which are based on a mathematical series expansion of a 3D function. Because 3DZD are a soft representation of the protein surface, LZerD is tolerant to small conformational changes, making it well suited to docking unbound and TBM structures. The key to our improved performance in CAPRI Round 37 was to combine multi-chain TBM and docking. As opposed to our previous strategy of performing docking for all target complexes, we used TBM when multi-chain templates were available and docking otherwise. We also describe the combination of multiple scoring functions used by our server scorer group, which achieved the top rank for the scorer phase. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Spinal cord injury and Parkinson's disease: a population-based, propensity score-matched, longitudinal follow-up study.

Science.gov (United States)

Yeh, T-S; Huang, Y-P; Wang, H-I; Pan, S-L

2016-12-01

To investigate whether patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) are at an increased risk of developing Parkinson's disease (PD). A population-based, propensity score-matched, longitudinal follow-up cohort study. The study was conducted using the National Health Insurance (NHI) Research Database. A total of 10 125 patients with at least 2 ambulatory visits with a diagnosis of SCI in 2001 were enrolled in the SCI group. The non-SCI group comprised 10 125 propensity score-matched patients without SCI. The propensity scores were computed using a logistic regression model that included age, sex, comorbidities and socioeconomic status. The PD-free survival rates of the two groups were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Stratified Cox proportional hazard regression was used to estimate the effect of SCI on subsequent occurrence of PD. During the 3-year follow-up period, 99 subjects in the SCI group and 59 in the non-SCI group developed PD. The hazard ratio of PD for the SCI group compared with the non-SCI group was 1.65 (95% confidence interval 1.16-2.33, P=0.0049). The PD-free survival rate for the SCI group was lower than that for the non-SCI group (P=0.0017). This study shows that SCI is associated with a subsequent increased risk of PD. Further studies are needed to elucidate the mechanism underlying this association.

SSRIs and ejaculation: a double-blind, randomized, fixed-dose study with paroxetine and citalopram.

Science.gov (United States)

Waldinger, M D; Zwinderman, A H; Olivier, B

2001-12-01

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are known to induce delayed orgasm and ejaculation. However, different SSRIs may differentially delay ejaculation. A double-blind, fixed-dose study in healthy men with lifelong rapid ejaculation was performed to evaluate potential differences between clinically relevant doses of two selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, paroxetine and citalopram, in their effects on ejaculation. Thirty men with an intravaginal ejaculation latency time (IELT) less than 1 minute were randomly assigned to receive paroxetine (20 mg/day) and citalopram (20 mg/day) for 5 weeks, after taking half the dosage in the first week. During the 1-month baseline and 6-week treatment period, IELTs were measured at home by using a stopwatch procedure. The trial was completed by 23 men. Analysis of variance revealed a between-group difference in the evolution of IELT delay over time (p = 0.0004); the IELT after paroxetine and citalopram gradually increased from 18 and 21 seconds to approximately 170 and 44 seconds, respectively. Paroxetine 20 mg/day exerted a strong delay (8.9-fold increase), whereas citalopram 20 mg/day mildly delayed ejaculation (1.8-fold increase). These results indicate that paroxetine leads to a significant delay in orgasm and ejaculation, whereas citalopram seems to have less of an effect on it.

Effects of Tadalafil 5 mg Dosed Once Daily in Men with Premature Ejaculation.

Science.gov (United States)

Ozcan, Levent; Polat, Emre Can; Onen, Efe; Kocaaslan, Ramazan; Otunctemur, Alper; Cekmen, Mustafa; Eraldemir, Ceyla; Ozbek, Emin

2017-01-01

In this study, we evaluated the effect of 5 mg tadalafil once daily in men with premature ejaculation (PE). Thirty married men with lifelong PE and 30 healthy men as control group were included in this study. All the patients received 5 mg tadalafil once a day for a month. The international index of erectile function questionnaire and intravaginal ejaculatory latency times (IELTs) and PE profile were recorded before and after treatment. Plasma samples were collected before and after treatment. The mean baseline IELTs was 40.8 ± 8.1 s in the PE group and 196.5 ± 26.2 s in the control group. After treatment in the PE group, the mean IELTs values showed a statistically significant improvement from the baseline values. At the end of 4 weeks, in the PE group, the mean IELT values showed a statistically significant improvement from the baseline values. Baseline serum nitric oxide (NO) levels were 27.3 ± 1.7 in the PE group and in the 31.1 ± 1.4 healthy control groups. After treatment, NO levels were increased from baseline. We consider that 5 mg tadalafil once daily is safety and effective for the treatment of PE. © 2016 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Development of risk-based trading farm scoring system to assist with the control of bovine tuberculosis in cattle in England and Wales.

Science.gov (United States)

Adkin, A; Brouwer, A; Simons, R R L; Smith, R P; Arnold, M E; Broughan, J; Kosmider, R; Downs, S H

2016-01-01

Identifying and ranking cattle herds with a higher risk of being or becoming infected on known risk factors can help target farm biosecurity, surveillance schemes and reduce spread through animal trading. This paper describes a quantitative approach to develop risk scores, based on the probability of infection in a herd with bovine tuberculosis (bTB), to be used in a risk-based trading (RBT) scheme in England and Wales. To produce a practical scoring system the risk factors included need to be simple and quick to understand, sufficiently informative and derived from centralised national databases to enable verification and assess compliance. A logistic regression identified herd history of bTB, local bTB prevalence, herd size and movements of animals onto farms in batches from high risk areas as being significantly associated with the probability of bTB infection on farm. Risk factors were assigned points using the estimated odds ratios to weight them. The farm risk score was defined as the sum of these individual points yielding a range from 1 to 5 and was calculated for each cattle farm that was trading animals in England and Wales at the start of a year. Within 12 months, of those farms tested, 30.3% of score 5 farms had a breakdown (sensitivity). Of farms scoring 1-4 only 5.4% incurred a breakdown (1-specificity). The use of this risk scoring system within RBT has the potential to reduce infected cattle movements; however, there are cost implications in ensuring that the information underpinning any system is accurate and up to date. Crown Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Distribution of model-based multipoint heterogeneity lod scores.

Science.gov (United States)

Xing, Chao; Morris, Nathan; Xing, Guan

2010-12-01

The distribution of two-point heterogeneity lod scores (HLOD) has been intensively investigated because the conventional χ(2) approximation to the likelihood ratio test is not directly applicable. However, there was no study investigating th e distribution of the multipoint HLOD despite its wide application. Here we want to point out that, compared with the two-point HLOD, the multipoint HLOD essentially tests for homogeneity given linkage and follows a relatively simple limiting distribution ½χ²₀+ ½χ²₁, which can be obtained by established statistical theory. We further examine the theoretical result by simulation studies. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Derivation and validation of a diagnostic score based on case-mix groups to predict 30-day death or urgent readmission.

Science.gov (United States)

van Walraven, Carl; Wong, Jenna; Forster, Alan J

2012-01-01

Between 5% and 10% of patients die or are urgently readmitted within 30 days of discharge from hospital. Readmission risk indexes have either excluded acute diagnoses or modelled them as multiple distinct variables. In this study, we derived and validated a score summarizing the influence of acute hospital diagnoses and procedures on death or urgent readmission within 30 days. From population-based hospital abstracts in Ontario, we randomly sampled 200 000 discharges between April 2003 and March 2009 and determined who had been readmitted urgently or died within 30 days of discharge. We used generalized estimating equation modelling, with a sample of 100 000 patients, to measure the adjusted association of various case-mix groups (CMGs-homogenous groups of acute care inpatients with similar clinical and resource-utilization characteristics) with 30-day death or urgent readmission. This final model was transformed into a scoring system that was validated in the remaining 100 000 patients. Patients in the derivation set belonged to 1 of 506 CMGs and had a 6.8% risk of 30-day death or urgent readmission. Forty-seven CMG codes (more than half of which were directly related to chronic diseases) were independently associated with this outcome, which led to a CMG score that ranged from -6 to 7 points. The CMG score was significantly associated with 30-day death or urgent readmission (unadjusted odds ratio for a 1-point increase in CMG score 1.52, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.49-1.56). Alone, the CMG score was only moderately discriminative (C statistic 0.650, 95% CI 0.644-0.656). However, when the CMG score was added to a validated risk index for death or readmission, the C statistic increased to 0.759 (95% CI 0.753-0.765). The CMG score was well calibrated for 30-day death or readmission. In this study, we developed a scoring system for acute hospital diagnoses and procedures that could be used as part of a risk-adjustment methodology for analyses of postdischarge

A Comparative Study between the Conventional MCQ Scores and MCQ with the CBA Scores at the Standardized Clinical Knowledge Exam for Clinical Medical Students

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mahmood Ghadermarzi

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Background and purpose: Partial knowledge is one of the main factors to be considered when dealing with the improvement of the administration of Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ in testing. Various strategies have been proposed for this factor in the traditional testing environment. Therefore, this study proposed a Confidence Based Assessment (CBA as a pertinent solution and aims at comparing the effect of the CBA Scoring system with that of the conventional scoring systems (with and without negative score estimation as penalty on the students’ scores and estimating their partial knowledge on clinical studies.Methods: This comparative study was conducted using a standardized clinical knowledge exam for 117 clinical students. After two-step training, both the conventional MCQ and CBA examination was given in a single session simultaneously. The exam included 100 questions and the volunteers were requested to complete a questionnaire regarding their attitude and satisfaction on their first experience of the CBA after exam. A new confidence based marking system was selected for the scoring, which was a hybrid of the UCL and MUK2010 systems. The MCQ-Assistant, SPSS and Microsoft office Excel software were used for scoring and data analysis.Results: The mean age of the volunteers was 27.3±5.47, of whom 43.6% were men and 69.2% were senior medical students. Exam reliability was 0.977. The fit line of the MCQ scores without penalty estimation was R2=0.9816 and Intercept=18.125 or approximately.2 deviation in the low scores. The MCQ scoring with penalty had a fit line approximately parallel to the 45-degree line but on or above it and the CBA scoring fit line was nearer to the 45-degree line, parallel to it and a little below it. These two sets of scores had a significant p value0.037. The response percentage to the CBA is higher (p value=0.0001. The discrimination power of the MCQ and the CBA for the upper and lower 1/3 of the students was not

SCORE - Sounding-rocket Coronagraphic Experiment

Science.gov (United States)

Fineschi, Silvano; Moses, Dan; Romoli, Marco

The Sounding-rocket Coronagraphic Experiment - SCORE - is a The Sounding-rocket Coronagraphic Experiment - SCORE - is a coronagraph for multi-wavelength imaging of the coronal Lyman-alpha lines, HeII 30.4 nm and HI 121.6 nm, and for the broad.band visible-light emission of the polarized K-corona. SCORE has flown successfully in 2009 acquiring the first images of the HeII line-emission from the extended corona. The simultaneous observation of the coronal Lyman-alpha HI 121.6 nm, has allowed the first determination of the absolute helium abundance in the extended corona. This presentation will describe the lesson learned from the first flight and will illustrate the preparations and the science perspectives for the second re-flight approved by NASA and scheduled for 2016. The SCORE optical design is flexible enough to be able to accommodate different experimental configurations with minor modifications. This presentation will describe one of such configurations that could include a polarimeter for the observation the expected Hanle effect in the coronal Lyman-alpha HI line. The linear polarization by resonance scattering of coronal permitted line-emission in the ultraviolet (UV) can be modified by magnetic fields through the Hanle effect. Thus, space-based UV spectro-polarimetry would provide an additional new tool for the diagnostics of coronal magnetism.

Meditation Breath Attention Scores (MBAS): Development and investigation of an internet-based assessment of focused attention during meditation practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Frewen, Paul; Hargraves, Heather; DePierro, Jonathan; D'Andrea, Wendy; Flodrowski, Les

2016-07-01

Meditation Breath Attention Scores (MBAS) represent a self-report, state measure of focused attention (FA) during the practice of meditation. The MBAS assessment procedure involves sounding a bell at periodic intervals during meditation practice, at which times participants indicate if they were attending toward breathing (scored 1) or if instead they had become distracted (e.g., by mind wandering; scored 0); scores are then tallied to yield participants' MBAS for that meditation. The current study developed and evaluated a fully automated and Internet-based version of MBAS in 1,101 volunteers. Results suggested that: (a) MBAS are internally consistent across bell rings; (b) MBAS total scores exhibit a non-normal distribution identifying subgroups of participants with particularly poor or robust FA during meditation; (c) MBAS decrease linearly with the duration of meditation practices, indicating that participants tend to experience less FA later as opposed to earlier in the meditation; (d) in the case of eyes-open meditation, MBAS are higher when the amount of time between bells is shorter; (e) MBAS correlate with various self-reported subjective experiences occurring during meditation; and (f) MBAS are weakly associated with higher trait mindful "acting with awareness," lesser ADHD-related symptoms of inattentiveness, and estimated minutes of meditation practiced in the past month. In sum, results provide further support for the construct validity of MBAS and serve to further characterize the dynamics of individual differences in FA during meditation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

A summary risk score for the prediction of Alzheimer disease in elderly persons.

Science.gov (United States)

Reitz, Christiane; Tang, Ming-Xin; Schupf, Nicole; Manly, Jennifer J; Mayeux, Richard; Luchsinger, José A

2010-07-01

To develop a simple summary risk score for the prediction of Alzheimer disease in elderly persons based on their vascular risk profiles. A longitudinal, community-based study. New York, New York. Patients One thousand fifty-one Medicare recipients aged 65 years or older and residing in New York who were free of dementia or cognitive impairment at baseline. We separately explored the associations of several vascular risk factors with late-onset Alzheimer disease (LOAD) using Cox proportional hazards models to identify factors that would contribute to the risk score. Then we estimated the score values of each factor based on their beta coefficients and created the LOAD vascular risk score by summing these individual scores. Risk factors contributing to the risk score were age, sex, education, ethnicity, APOE epsilon4 genotype, history of diabetes, hypertension or smoking, high-density lipoprotein levels, and waist to hip ratio. The resulting risk score predicted dementia well. According to the vascular risk score quintiles, the risk to develop probable LOAD was 1.0 for persons with a score of 0 to 14 and increased 3.7-fold for persons with a score of 15 to 18, 3.6-fold for persons with a score of 19 to 22, 12.6-fold for persons with a score of 23 to 28, and 20.5-fold for persons with a score higher than 28. While additional studies in other populations are needed to validate and further develop the score, our study suggests that this vascular risk score could be a valuable tool to identify elderly individuals who might be at risk of LOAD. This risk score could be used to identify persons at risk of LOAD, but can also be used to adjust for confounders in epidemiologic studies.

Prediction of acute pancreatitis risk based on PIP score in children with cystic fibrosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Terlizzi, V; Tosco, A; Tomaiuolo, R; Sepe, A; Amato, N; Casale, A; Mercogliano, C; De Gregorio, F; Improta, F; Elce, A; Castaldo, G; Raia, V

2014-09-01

Currently no tools to predict risk of acute (AP) and recurrent pancreatitis (ARP) in children with cystic fibrosis (CF) are available. We assessed the prevalence of AP/ARP and tested the potential role of Pancreatic Insufficiency Prevalence (PIP) score in a cohort of children with CF. We identified two groups of children, on the basis of presence/absence of AP/ARP, who were compared for age at diagnosis, clinical features, genotypes and sweat chloride level. PIP score was calculated for each patient. 10/167 (5.9%) experienced at least one episode of AP during follow up; 10/10 were pancreatic sufficient (PS). Patients with AP/ARP showed a PIP score ≤0.25 more frequently (6/10) than patients without AP/ARP. The odds ratio (95% CI) of developing pancreatitis was 4.54 (1.22-16.92) for patients with PIP 0.25 (p 0.0151). PIP score was correlated with sweat chloride test (p < 0.01). PIP score, PS status and normal/borderline sweat chloride levels could be applied to predict pancreatitis development in children with CF. ARP could lead to pancreatic insufficiency. Copyright © 2014 European Cystic Fibrosis Society. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A comparison of four scoring methods based on the parent-rated Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire as used in the Dutch preventive child health care system

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Treffers Philip DA

2008-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Validated questionnaires can support the identification of psychosocial problems by the Preventive Child Health Care (PCH system. This study assesses the validity and added value of four scoring methods used with the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ for the identification of psychosocial problems among children aged 7–12 by the PCH. Methods We included 711 (of 814 children (response: 87% aged 7–12 undergoing routine health assessments in nine PCH services across the Netherlands. Child health professionals interviewed and examined children and parents. Prior to the interview, parents completed the SDQ and the Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL, which were not shown to the professionals. The CBCL and data about the child's current treatment status were used as criteria for the validity of the SDQ. We used four SDQ scoring approaches: an elevated SDQ Total Difficulties Score (TDS, parent-defined difficulties, an elevated score for emotional symptoms, conduct problems or hyperactivity in combination with a high impairment score, and a combined score: an elevated score for any of these three methods. Results The Cohen's Kappa ranged from 0.33 to 0.64 for the four scoring methods with the CBCL scores and treatment status, generally indicating a moderate to good agreement. All four methods added significantly to the identification of problems by the PCH. Classification based on the TDS yielded results similar to more complicated methods. Conclusion The SDQ is a valid tool for the identification of psychosocial problems by PCH. As a first step, the use of a simple classification based on the SDQ TDS is recommended.

The Salt-Gradient Solar Pond.

Science.gov (United States)

1983-02-01

X rGP)**2H1*(DEFH+X1 UP)(i... X CP( *(E-’PfH+XTGP]/lo) 10851) y 1000)i(IC tZE*X~GT*0.) 109001 11110 D( I )= (,,+* IELT *PtH1 ( 2) 2/ .o+4LX ) ( I.’(Q...2.*LLX**2)( I.-(0*DRbT)/(DELX 12100 _. D *42)) +PhI()+((* iELT )/(2.*(.ELA*42) ))PHI(T-1)+(EELT/2.. -1 2 3 0 9 ... . . .... ---(1 I

Building a Scoring Model for Small and Medium Enterprises

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Răzvan Constantin CARACOTA

2010-09-01

Full Text Available The purpose of the paper is to produce a scoring model for small and medium enterprises seeking financing through a bank loan. To analyze the loan application, scoring system developed for companies is as follows: scoring quantitative factors and scoring qualitative factors. We have estimated the probability of default using logistic regression. Regression coefficients determination was made with a solver in Excel using five ratios as input data. Analyses and simulations were conducted on a sample of 113 companies, all accepted for funding. Based on financial information obtained over two years, 2007 and 2008, we could establishe and appreciate the default value.

Scoring ultrasound synovitis in rheumatoid arthritis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

D'Agostino, Maria-Antonietta; Terslev, Lene; Aegerter, Philippe

2017-01-01

OBJECTIVES: To develop a consensus-based ultrasound (US) definition and quantification system for synovitis in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS: A multistep, iterative approach was used to: (1) evaluate the baseline agreement on defining and scoring synovitis according to the usual practice...

Evaluation of a Lameness Scoring System for Dairy Cows

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thomsen, P T; Munksgaard, L; Tøgersen, F A

2008-01-01

Lameness is a major problem in dairy production both in terms of reduced production and compromised animal welfare. A 5-point lameness scoring system was developed based on previously published systems, but optimized for use under field conditions. The scoring system included the words "in most...... categories by different observers before or after training. In conclusion, the results suggest that the lameness categories were not equidistant and the scoring system has reasonable reliability in terms of intra- and interobserver agreement...

The Chemistry Scoring Index (CSI: A Hazard-Based Scoring and Ranking Tool for Chemicals and Products Used in the Oil and Gas Industry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tim Verslycke

2014-06-01

Full Text Available A large portfolio of chemicals and products is needed to meet the wide range of performance requirements of the oil and gas industry. The oil and gas industry is under increased scrutiny from regulators, environmental groups, the public, and other stakeholders for use of their chemicals. In response, industry is increasingly incorporating “greener” products and practices but is struggling to define and quantify what exactly constitutes “green” in the absence of a universally accepted definition. We recently developed the Chemistry Scoring Index (CSI which is ultimately intended to be a globally implementable tool that comprehensively scores and ranks hazards to human health, safety, and the environment for products used in oil and gas operations. CSI scores are assigned to products designed for the same use (e.g., surfactants, catalysts on the basis of product composition as well as intrinsic hazard properties and data availability for each product component. As such, products with a lower CSI score within a product use group are considered to have a lower intrinsic hazard compared to other products within the same use group. The CSI provides a powerful tool to evaluate relative product hazards; to review and assess product portfolios; and to aid in the formulation of products.

A knowledge-based theory of rising scores on "culture-free" tests.

Science.gov (United States)

Fox, Mark C; Mitchum, Ainsley L

2013-08-01

Secular gains in intelligence test scores have perplexed researchers since they were documented by Flynn (1984, 1987). Gains are most pronounced on abstract, so-called culture-free tests, prompting Flynn (2007) to attribute them to problem-solving skills availed by scientifically advanced cultures. We propose that recent-born individuals have adopted an approach to analogy that enables them to infer higher level relations requiring roles that are not intrinsic to the objects that constitute initial representations of items. This proposal is translated into item-specific predictions about differences between cohorts in pass rates and item-response patterns on the Raven's Matrices (Flynn, 1987), a seemingly culture-free test that registers the largest Flynn effect. Consistent with predictions, archival data reveal that individuals born around 1940 are less able to map objects at higher levels of relational abstraction than individuals born around 1990. Polytomous Rasch models verify predicted violations of measurement invariance, as raw scores are found to underestimate the number of analogical rules inferred by members of the earlier cohort relative to members of the later cohort who achieve the same overall score. The work provides a plausible cognitive account of the Flynn effect, furthers understanding of the cognition of matrix reasoning, and underscores the need to consider how test-takers select item responses. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

Present status of severe head injured patients with an admission glasgow coma scale score of 3 based on the Japan neurotrauma data bank

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Uzura, Masahiko

2011-01-01

Severe head injured patients presenting with Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score of 3 have been hesitated to treat aggressively. We analyzed present status of patients with GCS score of 3 from the Project 2004 in the Japan Neurotrauma Data Bank. Among 1,101 cases registered, 805 cases with GCS score of 8 or less on admission. Of those, 215 cases with GCS score of 3 were classified the survival group (51 cases) and the dead group (164 cases) and compared each group. These results showed that the characteristics associated with favorable outcome including absence of cardiopulmonary arrest, no abnormality of pupil findings, stable condition of respiration and circulation, serum glucose level (less than 184 mg/dl), absence of initial CT findings including skull base fracture, pneumocephalus and subarachnoid hemorrhage, no serious extracranial injures including Injury Severity Scale score of less than 25, critic al care including intracranial pressure monitoring and temperature management. We suggest that it is important to treat brain and systemic problems aggressively in severe head injured patients with GCS score of 3. (author)

Effect of Clinically Discriminating, Evidence-Based Checklist Items on the Reliability of Scores from an Internal Medicine Residency OSCE

Science.gov (United States)

Daniels, Vijay J.; Bordage, Georges; Gierl, Mark J.; Yudkowsky, Rachel

2014-01-01

Objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs) are used worldwide for summative examinations but often lack acceptable reliability. Research has shown that reliability of scores increases if OSCE checklists for medical students include only clinically relevant items. Also, checklists are often missing evidence-based items that high-achieving…

The R.I.R.S. scoring system: An innovative scoring system for predicting stone-free rate following retrograde intrarenal surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Xiao, Yinglong; Li, Deng; Chen, Lei; Xu, Yaoting; Zhang, Dingguo; Shao, Yi; Lu, Jun

2017-11-21

To establish and internally validate an innovative R.I.R.S. scoring system that allows urologists to preoperatively estimate the stone-free rate (SFR) after retrograde intrarenal surgery (RIRS). This study included 382 eligible samples from a total 573 patients who underwent RIRS from January 2014 to December 2016. Four reproducible factors in the R.I.R.S. scoring system, including renal stone density, inferior pole stone, renal infundibular length and stone burden, were measured based on preoperative computed tomography of urography to evaluate the possibility of stone clearance after RIRS. The median cumulative diameter of the stones was 14 mm, and the interquartile range was 10 to 21. The SFR on postoperative day 1 in the present cohort was 61.5% (235 of 382), and the final SFR after 1 month was 73.6% (281 of 382). We established an innovative scoring system to evaluate SFR after RIRS using four preoperative characteristics. The range of the R.I.R.S. scoring system was 4 to 10. The overall score showed a great significance of stone-free status (p R.I.R.S. scoring system was 0.904. The R.I.R.S. scoring system is associated with SFR after RIRS. This innovative scoring system can preoperatively assess treatment success after intrarenal surgery and can be used for preoperative surgical arrangement and comparisons of outcomes among different centers and within a center over time.

A Mixed Methods Analysis of the Effect of Google Docs Environment on EFL Learners' Writing Performance and Causal Attributions for Success and Failure

Science.gov (United States)

Seyyedrezaie, Zari Sadat; Ghonsooly, Behzad; Shahriari, Hesamoddin; Fatemi, Hazar Hosseini

2016-01-01

This study investigated the effect of writing process in Google Docs environment on Iranian EFL learners' writing performance. It also examined students' perceptions towards the effects of Google Docs and their perceived causes of success or failure in writing performance. In this regard, 48 EFL students were chosen based on their IELTs writing…

Soetomo score: score model in early identification of acute haemorrhagic stroke

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Moh Hasan Machfoed

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Aim of the study: On financial or facility constraints of brain imaging, score model is used to predict the occurrence of acute haemorrhagic stroke. Accordingly, this study attempts to develop a new score model, called Soetomo score. Material and methods: The researchers performed a cross-sectional study of 176 acute stroke patients with onset of ≤24 hours who visited emergency unit of Dr. Soetomo Hospital from July 14th to December 14th, 2014. The diagnosis of haemorrhagic stroke was confirmed by head computed tomography scan. There were seven predictors of haemorrhagic stroke which were analysed by using bivariate and multivariate analyses. Furthermore, a multiple discriminant analysis resulted in an equation of Soetomo score model. The receiver operating characteristic procedure resulted in the values of area under curve and intersection point identifying haemorrhagic stroke. Afterward, the diagnostic test value was determined. Results: The equation of Soetomo score model was (3 × loss of consciousness + (3.5 × headache + (4 × vomiting − 4.5. Area under curve value of this score was 88.5% (95% confidence interval = 83.3–93.7%. In the Soetomo score model value of ≥−0.75, the score reached the sensitivity of 82.9%, specificity of 83%, positive predictive value of 78.8%, negative predictive value of 86.5%, positive likelihood ratio of 4.88, negative likelihood ratio of 0.21, false negative of 17.1%, false positive of 17%, and accuracy of 83%. Conclusions: The Soetomo score model value of ≥−0.75 can identify acute haemorrhagic stroke properly on the financial or facility constrains of brain imaging.

Generalized composite multiscale permutation entropy and Laplacian score based rolling bearing fault diagnosis

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Jinde; Pan, Haiyang; Yang, Shubao; Cheng, Junsheng

2018-01-01

Multiscale permutation entropy (MPE) is a recently proposed nonlinear dynamic method for measuring the randomness and detecting the nonlinear dynamic change of time series and can be used effectively to extract the nonlinear dynamic fault feature from vibration signals of rolling bearing. To solve the drawback of coarse graining process in MPE, an improved MPE method called generalized composite multiscale permutation entropy (GCMPE) was proposed in this paper. Also the influence of parameters on GCMPE and its comparison with the MPE are studied by analyzing simulation data. GCMPE was applied to the fault feature extraction from vibration signal of rolling bearing and then based on the GCMPE, Laplacian score for feature selection and the Particle swarm optimization based support vector machine, a new fault diagnosis method for rolling bearing was put forward in this paper. Finally, the proposed method was applied to analyze the experimental data of rolling bearing. The analysis results show that the proposed method can effectively realize the fault diagnosis of rolling bearing and has a higher fault recognition rate than the existing methods.

The Effects of Teacher and Teacher-librarian High-end Collaboration on Inquiry-based Project Reports and School Monthly Test Scores of Fifth-grade Students

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hai-Hon Chen

2015-07-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was twofold. The first purpose was to establish the high level collaboration of integrated instruction model between social studies teacher and teacher-librarian. The second purpose was to investigate the effects of high-end collaboration on the individual and groups’ inquiry-based project reports, as well as monthly test scores of fifth-grade students. A quasi-experimental method was adopted, two classes of elementary school fifth graders in Tainan Municipal city, Taiwan were used as samples. Students were randomly assigned to experimental conditions by class. Twenty eight students of the experimental group were taught by the collaboration of social studies teacher and teacher-librarian; while 27 students of the controlled group were taught separately by teacher in didactic teaching method. Inquiry-Based Project Record, Inquiry-Based Project Rubrics, and school monthly test scores were used as instruments for collecting data. A t-test and correlation were used to analyze the data. The results indicate that: (1 High-end collaboration model between social studies teacher and teacher-librarian was established and implemented well in the classroom. (2There was a significant difference between the experimental group and the controlled group in individual and groups’ inquiry-based project reports. Students that were taught by the collaborative teachers got both higher inquiry-based project reports’ scores than those that were taught separately by the teachers. Experimental group’s students got higher school monthly test scores than controlled groups. Suggestions for teachers’ high-end collaboration and future researcher are provided in this paper.

The relationship between observer-based toxicity scoring and patient assessed symptom severity after treatment for head and neck cancer. A correlative cross sectional study of the DAHANCA toxicity scoring system and the EORTC quality of life questionnaires

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Kenneth; Bonde Jensen, Anders; Grau, Cai

2006-01-01

      toxicity scoring systems it has not been formally validated. Conversely,       the EORTC quality of life questionnaire (QLQ) has been validated as a tool       for collecting information about the consequences of disease and treatment       on the well being of cancer patients. The purpose of this study......) completed       EORTC C30, the core questionnaire concerning general symptoms and function       and EORTC H&N35 the head and neck specific questionnaire. The attending       physicians in the follow-up clinic evaluated and recorded DAHANCA toxicity       scores on the same patients. RESULTS: The DAHANCA...... low degree. The       DAHANCA toxicity scores had a low sensitivity (0.48-0.74) in detecting       equivalent subjective complaints from the questionnaires and the       observer-based scoring system severely underestimated patient complaints.       A specific patient group where the DAHANCA score had...

Algorithm improvement program nuclide identification algorithm scoring criteria and scoring application.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Enghauser, Michael [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

2016-02-01

The goal of the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO) Algorithm Improvement Program (AIP) is to facilitate gamma-radiation detector nuclide identification algorithm development, improvement, and validation. Accordingly, scoring criteria have been developed to objectively assess the performance of nuclide identification algorithms. In addition, a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet application for automated nuclide identification scoring has been developed. This report provides an overview of the equations, nuclide weighting factors, nuclide equivalencies, and configuration weighting factors used by the application for scoring nuclide identification algorithm performance. Furthermore, this report presents a general overview of the nuclide identification algorithm scoring application including illustrative examples.

Rerating the Movie Scores in Douban through Word Embedding

Science.gov (United States)

Cui, Mingyu

2018-04-01

The movie scores in the social networking service website such as IMDb, Totten Tomatoes and Douban are important references to evaluate the movies. Always, it will influence the box office directly. However, the public rating has strong bias depended on the types of movies, release time, and ages and background of the audiences. To fix the bias and give a movie a fair judgement is an important problem. In the paper, we focus on the movie scores on Douban, which is one of the most famous Chinese movie network community. We decompose the movie scores into two parts. One is the basis scores based on the basic properties of movies. The other is the extra scores which represent the excess value of the movies. We use the word-embedding technique to reduce the movies in a small dense subspace. Then, in the reduced subspace, we use the k-means method to offer the similar movies a basis scores.

MRI assessment of knee osteoarthritis: Knee Osteoarthritis Scoring System (KOSS) - inter-observer and intra-observer reproducibility of a compartment-based scoring system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kornaat, Peter R.; Ceulemans, Ruth Y.T.; Kroon, Herman M.; Bloem, Johan L.; Riyazi, Naghmeh; Kloppenburg, Margreet; Carter, Wayne O.; Woodworth, Thasia G.

2005-01-01

To develop a scoring system for quantifying osteoarthritic changes of the knee as identified by magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, and to determine its inter- and intra-observer reproducibility, in order to monitor medical therapy in research studies. Two independent observers evaluated 25 consecutive MR examinations of the knee in patients with previously defined clinical symptoms and radiological signs of osteoarthritis. We acquired on a 1.5 T system: coronal and sagittal proton density- and T2-weighted dual spin echo (SE) images, sagittal three-dimensional T1-weighted gradient echo (GE) images with fat suppression, and axial dual turbo SE images with fat suppression. Images were scored for the presence of cartilaginous lesions, osteophytes, subchondral cysts, bone marrow edema, and for meniscal abnormalities. Presence and size of effusion, synovitis and Baker's cyst were recorded. All parameters were ranked on a previously defined, semiquantitative scale, reflecting increasing severity of findings. Kappa, weighted kappa and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) were used to determine inter- and intra-observer variability. Inter-observer reproducibility was good (ICC value 0.77). Inter- and intra-observer reproducibility for individual parameters was good to very good (inter-observer ICC value 0.63-0.91; intra-observer ICC value 0.76-0.96). The presented comprehensive MR scoring system for osteoarthritic changes of the knee has a good to very good inter-observer and intra-observer reproducibility. Thus the score form with its definitions can be used for standardized assessment of osteoarthritic changes to monitor medical therapy in research studies. (orig.)

Effects of Internet and Smartphone Addictions on Depression and Anxiety Based on Propensity Score Matching Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Yeon-Jin; Jang, Hye Min; Lee, Youngjo; Lee, Donghwan; Kim, Dai-Jin

2018-04-25

The associations of Internet addiction (IA) and smartphone addiction (SA) with mental health problems have been widely studied. We investigated the effects of IA and SA on depression and anxiety while adjusting for sociodemographic variables. In this study, 4854 participants completed a cross-sectional web-based survey including socio-demographic items, the Korean Scale for Internet Addiction, the Smartphone Addiction Proneness Scale, and the subscales of the Symptom Checklist 90 Items-Revised. The participants were classified into IA, SA, and normal use (NU) groups. To reduce sampling bias, we applied the propensity score matching method based on genetics matching. The IA group showed an increased risk of depression (relative risk 1.207; p smartphone use.

Comparison of an inflammation-based prognostic score (GPS) with performance status (ECOG-ps) in patients receiving palliative chemotherapy for gastroesophageal cancer.