A prospective study of the psychosocial impact of a positive Chlamydia trachomatis laboratory test.

Science.gov (United States)

Gottlieb, Sami L; Stoner, Bradley P; Zaidi, Akbar A; Buckel, Christina; Tran, Molly; Leichliter, Jami S; Berman, Stuart M; Markowitz, Lauri E

2011-11-01

Few data exist on potential harms of chlamydia screening. We assessed the psychosocial impact of receiving a positive Chlamydia trachomatis test result. We prospectively studied women ≥16 years of age undergoing chlamydia testing in 2 Midwestern family planning clinics. We surveyed women at baseline and about 1 month after receiving test results, using 9 validated psychosocial scales/subscales and chlamydia-specific questions. Changes in scale scores were calculated for each woman. Mean percent changes in scores for chlamydia-positive and -negative women were compared using a t test. We enrolled 1807 women (response rate, 84%). Of the 1688 women with test results, 149 (8.8%) tested positive. At follow-up, chlamydia-positive women (n = 71) had a 75% increase in anxiety about sexual aspects of their life on the Multidimensional Sexual Self-Concept Questionnaire (P < 0.001), significantly greater than the 26% increase among 280 randomly selected chlamydia-negative women (P = 0.02). There were no differences for the other 8 scales/subscales, including general measures of anxiety, depression, and self-esteem. Chlamydia-positive women were more likely than chlamydia-negative women to be "concerned about chlamydia" (80% vs. 40%, P < 0.001) and to report breaking up with a main partner (33% vs. 11%, P < 0.001) at follow-up. Women testing positive reported a range of chlamydia-specific concerns. Chlamydia-positive women had significant increases in anxiety about sex and concern about chlamydia, but did not have marked changes in more general measures of psychosocial well-being about 1 month after diagnosis. Chlamydia diagnoses were associated with some disruption of relationships with main partners. Chlamydia-specific concerns may guide counseling messages to minimize psychosocial impact.

A Repetition Test for Pseudo-Random Number Generators

OpenAIRE

Gil, Manuel; Gonnet, Gaston H.; Petersen, Wesley P.

2017-01-01

A new statistical test for uniform pseudo-random number generators (PRNGs) is presented. The idea is that a sequence of pseudo-random numbers should have numbers reappear with a certain probability. The expectation time that a repetition occurs provides the metric for the test. For linear congruential generators (LCGs) failure can be shown theoretically. Empirical test results for a number of commonly used PRNGs are reported, showing that some PRNGs considered to have good statistical propert...

Prone position as prevention of lung injury in comatose patients: a prospective, randomized, controlled study.

Science.gov (United States)

Beuret, Pascal; Carton, Marie-Jose; Nourdine, Karim; Kaaki, Mahmoud; Tramoni, Gerard; Ducreux, Jean-Claude

2002-05-01

Comatose patients frequently exhibit pulmonary function worsening, especially in cases of pulmonary infection. It appears to have a deleterious effect on neurologic outcome. We therefore conducted a randomized trial to determine whether daily prone positioning would prevent lung worsening in these patients. Prospective, randomized, controlled study. Sixteen-bed intensive care unit. Fifty-one patients who required invasive mechanical ventilation because of coma with Glascow coma scores of 9 or less. In the prone position (PP) group: prone positioning for 4 h once daily until the patients could get up to sit in an armchair; in the supine position (SP) group: supine positioning. The primary end point was the incidence of lung worsening defined by an increase in the Lung Injury Score of at least 1 point since the time of randomization. The secondary end point was the incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). A total of 25 patients were randomly assigned to the PP group and 26 patients to the SP group. The characteristics of the patients from the two groups were similar at randomization. The incidence of lung worsening was lower in the PP group (12%) than in the SP group (50%) ( p=0.003). The incidence of VAP was 20% in the PP group and 38.4% in the SP group ( p=0.14). There was no serious complication attributable to prone positioning, however, there was a significant increase of intracranial pressure in the PP. In a selected population of comatose ventilated patients, daily prone positioning reduced the incidence of lung worsening.

Testing, Selection, and Implementation of Random Number Generators

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Collins, Joseph C

2008-01-01

An exhaustive evaluation of state-of-the-art random number generators with several well-known suites of tests provides the basis for selection of suitable random number generators for use in stochastic simulations...

Benefits of expressive writing in reducing test anxiety: A randomized controlled trial in Chinese samples.

Science.gov (United States)

Shen, Lujun; Yang, Lei; Zhang, Jing; Zhang, Meng

2018-01-01

To explore the effect of expressive writing of positive emotions on test anxiety among senior-high-school students. The Test Anxiety Scale (TAS) was used to assess the anxiety level of 200 senior-high-school students. Seventy-five students with high anxiety were recruited and divided randomly into experimental and control groups. Each day for 30 days, the experimental group engaged in 20 minutes of expressive writing of positive emotions, while the control group was asked to merely write down their daily events. A second test was given after the month-long experiment to analyze whether there had been a reduction in anxiety among the sample. Quantitative data was obtained from TAS scores. The NVivo10.0 software program was used to examine the frequency of particular word categories used in participants' writing manuscripts. Senior-high-school students indicated moderate to high test anxiety. There was a significant difference in post-test results (P 0.05). Students' writing manuscripts were mainly encoded on five code categories: cause, anxiety manifestation, positive emotion, insight and evaluation. There was a negative relation between positive emotion, insight codes and test anxiety. There were significant differences in the positive emotion, anxiety manifestation, and insight code categories between the first 10 days' manuscripts and the last 10 days' ones. Long-term expressive writing of positive emotions appears to help reduce test anxiety by using insight and positive emotion words for Chinese students. Efficient and effective intervention programs to ease test anxiety can be designed based on this study.

Benefits of expressive writing in reducing test anxiety: A randomized controlled trial in Chinese samples.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lujun Shen

Full Text Available To explore the effect of expressive writing of positive emotions on test anxiety among senior-high-school students.The Test Anxiety Scale (TAS was used to assess the anxiety level of 200 senior-high-school students. Seventy-five students with high anxiety were recruited and divided randomly into experimental and control groups. Each day for 30 days, the experimental group engaged in 20 minutes of expressive writing of positive emotions, while the control group was asked to merely write down their daily events. A second test was given after the month-long experiment to analyze whether there had been a reduction in anxiety among the sample. Quantitative data was obtained from TAS scores. The NVivo10.0 software program was used to examine the frequency of particular word categories used in participants' writing manuscripts.Senior-high-school students indicated moderate to high test anxiety. There was a significant difference in post-test results (P 0.05. Students' writing manuscripts were mainly encoded on five code categories: cause, anxiety manifestation, positive emotion, insight and evaluation. There was a negative relation between positive emotion, insight codes and test anxiety. There were significant differences in the positive emotion, anxiety manifestation, and insight code categories between the first 10 days' manuscripts and the last 10 days' ones.Long-term expressive writing of positive emotions appears to help reduce test anxiety by using insight and positive emotion words for Chinese students. Efficient and effective intervention programs to ease test anxiety can be designed based on this study.

Benefits of expressive writing in reducing test anxiety: A randomized controlled trial in Chinese samples

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Jing; Zhang, Meng

2018-01-01

Purpose To explore the effect of expressive writing of positive emotions on test anxiety among senior-high-school students. Methods The Test Anxiety Scale (TAS) was used to assess the anxiety level of 200 senior-high-school students. Seventy-five students with high anxiety were recruited and divided randomly into experimental and control groups. Each day for 30 days, the experimental group engaged in 20 minutes of expressive writing of positive emotions, while the control group was asked to merely write down their daily events. A second test was given after the month-long experiment to analyze whether there had been a reduction in anxiety among the sample. Quantitative data was obtained from TAS scores. The NVivo10.0 software program was used to examine the frequency of particular word categories used in participants’ writing manuscripts. Results Senior-high-school students indicated moderate to high test anxiety. There was a significant difference in post-test results (P 0.05). Students’ writing manuscripts were mainly encoded on five code categories: cause, anxiety manifestation, positive emotion, insight and evaluation. There was a negative relation between positive emotion, insight codes and test anxiety. There were significant differences in the positive emotion, anxiety manifestation, and insight code categories between the first 10 days’ manuscripts and the last 10 days’ ones. Conclusions Long-term expressive writing of positive emotions appears to help reduce test anxiety by using insight and positive emotion words for Chinese students. Efficient and effective intervention programs to ease test anxiety can be designed based on this study. PMID:29401473

Informed cytology for triaging HPV-positive women: substudy nested in the NTCC randomized controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Bergeron, Christine; Giorgi-Rossi, Paolo; Cas, Frederic; Schiboni, Maria Luisa; Ghiringhello, Bruno; Dalla Palma, Paolo; Minucci, Daria; Rosso, Stefano; Zorzi, Manuel; Naldoni, Carlo; Segnan, Nereo; Confortini, Massimo; Ronco, Guglielmo

2015-02-01

Human papillomavirus (HPV)-based screening needs triage. In most randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on HPV testing with cytological triage, cytology interpretation has been blind to HPV status. Women age 25 to 60 years enrolled in the New Technology in Cervical Cancer (NTCC) RCT comparing HPV testing with cytology were referred to colposcopy if HPV positive and, if no cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) was detected, followed up until HPV negativity. Cytological slides taken at the first colposcopy were retrieved and independently interpreted by an external laboratory, which was only aware of patients' HPV positivity. Sensitivity, specificity, and positive (PPV) and negative (NPV) predictive values were computed for histologically proven CIN2+ with HPV status-informed cytology for women with a determination of atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASCUS) or more severe. All statistical tests were two-sided. Among HPV-positive women, informed cytology had cross-sectional sensitivity, specificity, PPV and 1-NPV for CIN2+ of 85.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 76.6 to 92.1), 65.9% (95% CI = 63.1 to 68.6), 16.2% (95% CI = 13.0 to 19.8), and 1.7 (95% CI = 0.9 to 2.8), respectively. Cytology was also associated with subsequent risk of newly diagnosed CIN2+ and CIN3+. The cross-sectional relative sensitivity for CIN2+ vs blind cytology obtained by referring to colposcopy and following up only HPV positive women who had HPV status-informed cytology greater than or equal to ASCUS was 1.58 (95% CI = 1.22 to 2.01), while the corresponding relative referral to colposcopy was 0.95 (95% CI = 0.86 to 1.04). Cytology informed of HPV positivity is more sensitive than blind cytology and could allow longer intervals before retesting HPV-positive, cytology-negative women. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press.

Potential for false positive HIV test results with the serial rapid HIV testing algorithm.

Science.gov (United States)

Baveewo, Steven; Kamya, Moses R; Mayanja-Kizza, Harriet; Fatch, Robin; Bangsberg, David R; Coates, Thomas; Hahn, Judith A; Wanyenze, Rhoda K

2012-03-19

Rapid HIV tests provide same-day results and are widely used in HIV testing programs in areas with limited personnel and laboratory infrastructure. The Uganda Ministry of Health currently recommends the serial rapid testing algorithm with Determine, STAT-PAK, and Uni-Gold for diagnosis of HIV infection. Using this algorithm, individuals who test positive on Determine, negative to STAT-PAK and positive to Uni-Gold are reported as HIV positive. We conducted further testing on this subgroup of samples using qualitative DNA PCR to assess the potential for false positive tests in this situation. Of the 3388 individuals who were tested, 984 were HIV positive on two consecutive tests, and 29 were considered positive by a tiebreaker (positive on Determine, negative on STAT-PAK, and positive on Uni-Gold). However, when the 29 samples were further tested using qualitative DNA PCR, 14 (48.2%) were HIV negative. Although this study was not primarily designed to assess the validity of rapid HIV tests and thus only a subset of the samples were retested, the findings show a potential for false positive HIV results in the subset of individuals who test positive when a tiebreaker test is used in serial testing. These findings highlight a need for confirmatory testing for this category of individuals.

Evaluation of a Positive Youth Development Program Based on the Repertory Grid Test

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniel T. L. Shek

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The repertory grid test, based on personal construct psychology, was used to evaluate the effectiveness of Project P.A.T.H.S. (Positive Adolescent Training through Holistic Social Programmes in Hong Kong. One hundred and four program participants (n=104 were randomly invited to complete a repertory grid based on personal construct theory in order to provide both quantitative and qualitative data for measuring self-identity changes after joining the program. Findings generally showed that the participants perceived that they understood themselves better and had stronger resilience after joining the program. Participants also saw themselves as closer to their ideal selves and other positive role figures (but farther away from a loser after joining the program. This study provides additional support for the effectiveness of the Tier 1 Program of Project P.A.T.H.S. in the Chinese context. This study also shows that the repertory grid test is a useful evaluation method to measure self-identity changes in participants in positive youth development programs.

Quantum tunneling recombination in a system of randomly distributed trapped electrons and positive ions.

Science.gov (United States)

Pagonis, Vasilis; Kulp, Christopher; Chaney, Charity-Grace; Tachiya, M

2017-09-13

During the past 10 years, quantum tunneling has been established as one of the dominant mechanisms for recombination in random distributions of electrons and positive ions, and in many dosimetric materials. Specifically quantum tunneling has been shown to be closely associated with two important effects in luminescence materials, namely long term afterglow luminescence and anomalous fading. Two of the common assumptions of quantum tunneling models based on random distributions of electrons and positive ions are: (a) An electron tunnels from a donor to the nearest acceptor, and (b) the concentration of electrons is much lower than that of positive ions at all times during the tunneling process. This paper presents theoretical studies for arbitrary relative concentrations of electrons and positive ions in the solid. Two new differential equations are derived which describe the loss of charge in the solid by tunneling, and they are solved analytically. The analytical solution compares well with the results of Monte Carlo simulations carried out in a random distribution of electrons and positive ions. Possible experimental implications of the model are discussed for tunneling phenomena in long term afterglow signals, and also for anomalous fading studies in feldspars and apatite samples.

Potential for false positive HIV test results with the serial rapid HIV testing algorithm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Baveewo Steven

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Rapid HIV tests provide same-day results and are widely used in HIV testing programs in areas with limited personnel and laboratory infrastructure. The Uganda Ministry of Health currently recommends the serial rapid testing algorithm with Determine, STAT-PAK, and Uni-Gold for diagnosis of HIV infection. Using this algorithm, individuals who test positive on Determine, negative to STAT-PAK and positive to Uni-Gold are reported as HIV positive. We conducted further testing on this subgroup of samples using qualitative DNA PCR to assess the potential for false positive tests in this situation. Results Of the 3388 individuals who were tested, 984 were HIV positive on two consecutive tests, and 29 were considered positive by a tiebreaker (positive on Determine, negative on STAT-PAK, and positive on Uni-Gold. However, when the 29 samples were further tested using qualitative DNA PCR, 14 (48.2% were HIV negative. Conclusion Although this study was not primarily designed to assess the validity of rapid HIV tests and thus only a subset of the samples were retested, the findings show a potential for false positive HIV results in the subset of individuals who test positive when a tiebreaker test is used in serial testing. These findings highlight a need for confirmatory testing for this category of individuals.

Self-Testing Static Random-Access Memory

Science.gov (United States)

Chau, Savio; Rennels, David

1991-01-01

Proposed static random-access memory for computer features improved error-detecting and -correcting capabilities. New self-testing scheme provides for detection and correction of errors at any time during normal operation - even while data being written into memory. Faults in equipment causing errors in output data detected by repeatedly testing every memory cell to determine whether it can still store both "one" and "zero", without destroying data stored in memory.

The Dickey-Fuller test for exponential random walks

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Davies, P.L.; Krämer, W.

2003-01-01

A common test in econometrics is the Dickey–Fuller test, which is based on the test statistic . We investigate the behavior of the test statistic if the data yt are given by an exponential random walk exp(Zt) where Zt = Zt-1 + [sigma][epsilon]t and the [epsilon]t are independent and identically

A cluster-randomized trial of provider-initiated (opt-out) HIV counseling and testing of tuberculosis patients in South Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Pope, Diana S; Deluca, Andrea N; Kali, Paula; Hausler, Harry; Sheard, Carol; Hoosain, Ebrahim; Chaudhary, Mohammad A; Celentano, David D; Chaisson, Richard E

2008-06-01

To determine whether implementation of provider-initiated human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) counseling would increase the proportion of tuberculosis (TB) patients who received HIV counseling and testing. Cluster-randomized trial with clinic as the unit of randomization. Twenty, medium-sized primary care TB clinics in the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality, Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. A total of 754 adults (18 years and older) newly registered as TB patients in the 20 study clinics. Implementation of provider-initiated HIV counseling and testing. Percentage of TB patients HIV counseled and tested. SECONDARY: Percentage of patients with HIV test positive, and percentage of those who received cotrimoxazole and who were referred for HIV care. : A total of 754 adults newly registered as TB patients were enrolled. In clinics randomly assigned to implement provider-initiated HIV counseling and testing, 20.7% (73/352) patients were counseled versus 7.7% (31/402) in the control clinics (P = 0.011), and 20.2% (n = 71) versus 6.5% (n = 26) underwent HIV testing (P = 0.009). Of those patients counseled, 97% in the intervention clinics accepted testing versus 79% in control clinics (P = 0.12). The proportion of patients identified as HIV infected in intervention clinics was 8.5% versus 2.5% in control clinics (P = 0.044). Fewer than 40% of patients with a positive HIV test were prescribed cotrimoxazole or referred for HIV care in either study arm. Provider-initiated HIV counseling significantly increased the proportion of adult TB patients who received HIV counseling and testing, but the magnitude of the effect was small. Additional interventions to optimize HIV testing for TB patients urgently need to be evaluated.

The signature of positive selection at randomly chosen loci.

OpenAIRE

Przeworski, Molly

2002-01-01

In Drosophila and humans, there are accumulating examples of loci with a significant excess of high-frequency-derived alleles or high levels of linkage disequilibrium, relative to a neutral model of a random-mating population of constant size. These are features expected after a recent selective sweep. Their prevalence suggests that positive directional selection may be widespread in both species. However, as I show here, these features do not persist long after the sweep ends: The high-frequ...

On tests of randomness for spatial point patterns

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Doguwa, S.I.

1990-11-01

New tests of randomness for spatial point patterns are introduced. These test statistics are then compared in a power study with the existing alternatives. These results of the power study suggest that one of the tests proposed is extremely powerful against both aggregated and regular alternatives. (author). 9 refs, 7 figs, 3 tabs

Efficiency of the modified Sims maternal position in the rotation of persistent occiput posterior position during labor: A randomized clinical trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Bueno-Lopez, Vanessa; Fuentelsaz-Gallego, Carmen; Casellas-Caro, Manel; Falgueras-Serrano, Ana Maria; Crespo-Berros, Silvia; Silvano-Cocinero, Ana Maria; Alcaine-Guisado, Carolina; Zamoro Fuentes, Manuela; Carreras, Elena; Terré-Rull, Carmen

2018-03-14

Fetal occiput posterior position in labor is associated with more painful and prolonged labor, and an increase in both maternal and fetal morbidity. The aim of this study is to assess whether the modified Sims position on the side of the fetal spine increases the rotation to occiput anterior position in women with epidural analgesia and a fetus in persistent occiput posterior (POP) position. This is an open, randomized controlled, clinical trial. One hundred and twenty women in labor with fetuses in POP position were included. The diagnosis was performed through digital vaginal examination and confirmed with an ultrasound scan. Women were randomized into the free position group or the modified Sims on the side of the fetal spine. The primary outcome was rotation to occiput anterior, and secondary outcomes were type of delivery, postpartum perineal condition, perinatal results, and maternal satisfaction. In pregnant women undergoing labor in the Sims position, fetuses in POP rotated to occiput anterior in 50.8% of cases, whilst in the free position group, the rotation occurred in 21.7% (P = .001). The rate of vaginal deliveries was higher in the Sims group compared with the free position group (84.7% vs 68.3%, P = .035). The modified Sims position is a maternal posture intervention efficient in POP rotation, which decreases cesarean delivery rate. It is a simple and noninvasive intervention, reproducible, and well tolerated by pregnant women. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The influence of body position on Bielschowsky's test

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlos R. Souza-Dias

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Purpose: To investigate the veracity of Jampolsky's statement that Bielschowsky's head tilt test is inverted if performed with the patient in the upside-down position and to interpret its neuromuscular mechanism. Methods: We present a series of 10 patients selected from a referred sample who were diagnosed with superior oblique paresis. Hypertropia was measured in the primary position, with the head erect and tilted toward both shoulders with the patient in the erect, supine, and upside-down positions. The last position was achieved by hanging the patient upside-down. Results: As expected, our results showed the veracity of Jampolsky's statement. The forced head tilt difference was inverted or significantly decreased when the test was performed in the upside-down position. Moreover, in all patients, Bielschowsky's phenomenon was neutralized in the supine body position, in which hypertropia with the head erect tended to vanish. In 3 patients, it disappeared completely. Conclusions: This study showed that, in patients with superior oblique paresis, differences in the extent of hypertropia in Bielschowsky's test tended to vanish when the test was performed with the patient in the supine position and invert when it was performed with the patient in the upside-down position.

Expedite random structure searching using objects from Wyckoff positions

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Shu-Wei; Hsing, Cheng-Rong; Wei, Ching-Ming

2018-02-01

Random structure searching has been proved to be a powerful approach to search and find the global minimum and the metastable structures. A true random sampling is in principle needed yet it would be highly time-consuming and/or practically impossible to find the global minimum for the complicated systems in their high-dimensional configuration space. Thus the implementations of reasonable constraints, such as adopting system symmetries to reduce the independent dimension in structural space and/or imposing chemical information to reach and relax into low-energy regions, are the most essential issues in the approach. In this paper, we propose the concept of "object" which is either an atom or composed of a set of atoms (such as molecules or carbonates) carrying a symmetry defined by one of the Wyckoff positions of space group and through this process it allows the searching of global minimum for a complicated system to be confined in a greatly reduced structural space and becomes accessible in practice. We examined several representative materials, including Cd3As2 crystal, solid methanol, high-pressure carbonates (FeCO3), and Si(111)-7 × 7 reconstructed surface, to demonstrate the power and the advantages of using "object" concept in random structure searching.

A cluster randomized trial of provider-initiated (Opt-out) HIV counseling and testing of tuberculosis patients in South Africa

Science.gov (United States)

Pope, Diana S.; DeLuca, Andrea N.; Kali, Paula; Hausler, Harry; Sheard, Carol; Hoosain, Ebrahim; Chaudhary, Mohammed A.; Celentano, David D.; Chaisson, Richard E.

2008-01-01

Objective To determine whether implementation of provider-initiated HIV counseling would increase the proportion of tuberculosis patients that received HIV counseling and testing. Design Cluster-randomized trial with clinic as unit of randomization Setting Twenty, medium-sized primary care TB clinics in the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality, Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa Subjects A total of 754 adults (≥ 18 years) newly registered as tuberculosis patients the twenty study clinics Intervention Implementation of provider-initiated HIV counseling and testing. Main outcome measures Percentage of TB patients HIV counseled and tested. Secondary Percentage of patients HIV test positive and percentage of those that received cotrimoxazole and who were referred for HIV care. Results A total of 754 adults newly registered as tuberculosis patients were enrolled. In clinics randomly assigned to implement provider-initiated HIV counseling and testing, 20.7% (73/352) patients were counseled versus 7.7% (31/402) in the control clinics (p = 0.011), and 20.2 % (n = 71) versus 6.5% (n = 26) underwent HIV testing (p = 0.009). Of those patients counseled, 97% in the intervention clinics accepted testing versus 79% in control clinics (p =0.12). The proportion of patients identified as HIV-infected in intervention clinics was 8.5% versus 2.5% in control clinics (p=0.044). Fewer than 40% of patients with a positive HIV test were prescribed cotrimoxazole or referred for HIV care in either study arm. Conclusions Provider-initiated HIV counseling significantly increased the proportion of adult TB patients that received HIV counseling and testing, but the magnitude of the effect was small. Additional interventions to optimize HIV testing for TB patients urgently need to be evaluated. PMID:18520677

"Familias: Preparando La Nueva Generación": A Randomized Control Trial Testing the Effects on Positive Parenting Practices

Science.gov (United States)

Marsiglia, Flavio F.; Williams, Lela Rankin; Ayers, Stephanie L.; Booth, Jaime M.

2014-01-01

Objectives: This article reports the effects of a culturally grounded parenting intervention to strengthen positive parenting practices. Method: The intervention was designed and tested with primarily Mexican origin parents in a large urban setting of the southwestern United States using an ecodevelopmental approach. Parents (N = 393) were…

The navicular position test - a reliable measure of the navicular bone position during rest and loading

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Spörndly-Nees, Søren; Dåsberg, Brian; Nielsen, Rasmus Oestergaard

2011-01-01

.08 degrees, ICC = 0.91. Discussion: The present data support The Navicular Position Test as a reliable test of the navicular bone position during rest and loading measured in a simple test set-up. Conclusion: The Navicular Position Test was shown to have a high intraday-, intra- and inter-tester reliability...

Quantum random number generation for loophole-free Bell tests

Science.gov (United States)

Mitchell, Morgan; Abellan, Carlos; Amaya, Waldimar

2015-05-01

We describe the generation of quantum random numbers at multi-Gbps rates, combined with real-time randomness extraction, to give very high purity random numbers based on quantum events at most tens of ns in the past. The system satisfies the stringent requirements of quantum non-locality tests that aim to close the timing loophole. We describe the generation mechanism using spontaneous-emission-driven phase diffusion in a semiconductor laser, digitization, and extraction by parity calculation using multi-GHz logic chips. We pay special attention to experimental proof of the quality of the random numbers and analysis of the randomness extraction. In contrast to widely-used models of randomness generators in the computer science literature, we argue that randomness generation by spontaneous emission can be extracted from a single source.

Cluster-Randomized, Crossover Trial of Head Positioning in Acute Stroke.

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, Craig S; Arima, Hisatomi; Lavados, Pablo; Billot, Laurent; Hackett, Maree L; Olavarría, Verónica V; Muñoz Venturelli, Paula; Brunser, Alejandro; Peng, Bin; Cui, Liying; Song, Lily; Rogers, Kris; Middleton, Sandy; Lim, Joyce Y; Forshaw, Denise; Lightbody, C Elizabeth; Woodward, Mark; Pontes-Neto, Octavio; De Silva, H Asita; Lin, Ruey-Tay; Lee, Tsong-Hai; Pandian, Jeyaraj D; Mead, Gillian E; Robinson, Thompson; Watkins, Caroline

2017-06-22

The role of supine positioning after acute stroke in improving cerebral blood flow and the countervailing risk of aspiration pneumonia have led to variation in head positioning in clinical practice. We wanted to determine whether outcomes in patients with acute ischemic stroke could be improved by positioning the patient to be lying flat (i.e., fully supine with the back horizontal and the face upwards) during treatment to increase cerebral perfusion. In a pragmatic, cluster-randomized, crossover trial conducted in nine countries, we assigned 11,093 patients with acute stroke (85% of the strokes were ischemic) to receive care in either a lying-flat position or a sitting-up position with the head elevated to at least 30 degrees, according to the randomization assignment of the hospital to which they were admitted; the designated position was initiated soon after hospital admission and was maintained for 24 hours. The primary outcome was degree of disability at 90 days, as assessed with the use of the modified Rankin scale (scores range from 0 to 6, with higher scores indicating greater disability and a score of 6 indicating death). The median interval between the onset of stroke symptoms and the initiation of the assigned position was 14 hours (interquartile range, 5 to 35). Patients in the lying-flat group were less likely than patients in the sitting-up group to maintain the position for 24 hours (87% vs. 95%, P<0.001). In a proportional-odds model, there was no significant shift in the distribution of 90-day disability outcomes on the global modified Rankin scale between patients in the lying-flat group and patients in the sitting-up group (unadjusted odds ratio for a difference in the distribution of scores on the modified Rankin scale in the lying-flat group, 1.01; 95% confidence interval, 0.92 to 1.10; P=0.84). Mortality within 90 days was 7.3% among the patients in the lying-flat group and 7.4% among the patients in the sitting-up group (P=0.83). There were

A Randomized Comparative Study Evaluating Various Cough Stress Tests and 24-Hour Pad Test with Urodynamics in the Diagnosis of Stress Urinary Incontinence.

Science.gov (United States)

Henderson, Joseph W; Kane, Sarah M; Mangel, Jeffrey M; Kikano, Elias G; Garibay, Jorge A; Pollard, Robert R; Mahajan, Sangeeta T; Debanne, Sara M; Hijaz, Adonis K

2018-06-01

The cough stress test is a common and accepted tool to evaluate stress urinary incontinence but there is no agreement on how the test should be performed. We assessed the diagnostic ability of different cough stress tests performed when varying patient position and bladder volume using urodynamic stress urinary incontinence as the gold standard. The 24-hour pad test was also evaluated. We recruited women who presented to specialty outpatient clinics with the complaint of urinary incontinence and who were recommended to undergo urodynamic testing. A total of 140 patients were randomized to 4 cough stress test groups, including group 1-a comfortably full bladder, group 2-an empty bladder, group 3- a bladder infused with 200 cc saline and group 4-a bladder filled to half functional capacity. The sequence of standing and sitting was randomly assigned. The groups were compared by 1-way ANOVA or the generalized Fisher exact test. The κ statistic was used to evaluate agreement between the sitting and standing positions. The 95% CIs of sensitivity and specificity were calculated using the Wilson method. ROC analysis was done to evaluate the performance of the 24-hour pad test. The cough stress test performed with a bladder filled to half functional capacity was the best performing test with 83% sensitivity and 90% specificity. There was no statistically significant evidence that the sensitivity or specificity of 1 cough stress test differed from that of the others. The pad test had no significant predictive ability to diagnose urodynamic stress urinary incontinence (AUC 0.60, p = 0.08). Cough stress tests were accurate to diagnose urodynamic stress urinary incontinence. The 24-hour pad test was not predictive of urodynamic stress urinary incontinence and not helpful when used in conjunction with the cough stress test. Copyright © 2018 American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A Clustered Randomized Controlled Trial of the Positive Prevention PLUS Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Program.

Science.gov (United States)

LaChausse, Robert G

2016-09-01

To determine the impact of Positive Prevention PLUS, a school-based adolescent pregnancy prevention program on delaying sexual intercourse, birth control use, and pregnancy. I randomly assigned a diverse sample of ninth grade students in 21 suburban public high schools in California into treatment (n = 2483) and control (n = 1784) groups that participated in a clustered randomized controlled trial. Between October 2013 and May 2014, participants completed baseline and 6-month follow-up surveys regarding sexual behavior and pregnancy. Participants in the treatment group were offered Positive Prevention PLUS, an 11-lesson adolescent pregnancy prevention program. The program had statistically significant impacts on delaying sexual intercourse and increasing the use of birth control. However, I detected no program effect on pregnancy rates at 6-month follow-up. The Positive Prevention PLUS program demonstrated positive impacts on adolescent sexual behavior. This suggests that programs that focus on having students practice risk reduction skills may delay sexual activity and increase birth control use.

Effect of Randomness in Element Position on Performance of Communication Array Antennas in Internet of Things

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Congsi Wang

2018-01-01

Full Text Available As a critical component for wireless communication, active phased array antennas face the restrictions of creating effective performance with the effect of randomness in the position of the array element, which are inevitably produced in the manufacturing and operating process of antenna. A new method for efficiently and effectively evaluating the statistic performance of antenna is presented, with consideration of randomness in element position. A coupled structural-electromagnetic statistic model for array antenna is proposed from the viewpoint of electromechanical coupling. Lastly, a 12×12 planar array is illustrated to evaluate the performance of antenna with the saddle-shaped distortion and random position error. The results show that the presented model can obtain the antenna performance quickly and effectively, providing an advantageous guidance for structural design and performance optimization for array antennas in wireless application.

Occupational position and its relation to mental distress in a random sample of Danish residents

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rugulies, Reiner Ernst; Madsen, Ida E H; Nielsen, Maj Britt D

2010-01-01

PURPOSE: To analyze the distribution of depressive, anxiety, and somatization symptoms across different occupational positions in a random sample of Danish residents. METHODS: The study sample consisted of 591 Danish residents (50% women), aged 20-65, drawn from an age- and gender-stratified random...... sample of the Danish population. Participants filled out a survey that included the 92 item version of the Hopkins Symptom Checklist (SCL-92). We categorized occupational position into seven groups: high- and low-grade non-manual workers, skilled and unskilled manual workers, high- and low-grade self...

Tilt angles and positive response of head-up tilt test in children with orthostatic intolerance.

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Jing; Wang, Yuli; Ochs, Todd; Tang, Chaoshu; Du, Junbao; Jin, Hongfang

2015-01-01

This study aimed at examining three tilt angle-based positive responses and the time to positive response in a head-up tilt test for children with orthostatic intolerance, and the psychological fear experienced at the three angles during head-up tilt test. A total of 174 children, including 76 boys and 98 girls, aged from 4 to 18 years old (mean 11.3±2.8 years old), with unexplained syncope, were randomly divided into three groups, to undergo head-up tilt test at the angles of 60°, 70° and 80°, respectively. The diagnostic rates and times were analysed, and Wong-Baker face pain rating scale was used to access the children's psychological fear. There were no significant differences in diagnostic rates of postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome and vasovagal syncope at different tilt angles during the head-up tilt test (p>0.05). There was a significant difference, however, in the psychological fear at different tilt angles utilising the Kruskal-Wallis test (χ2=36.398, ptest (ptest for vasovagal syncope or for postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome. Hence, it is suggested that a tilt angle of 60° and head-up tilt test time of 45 minutes should be suitable for children with vasovagal syncope.

Application of quasi-random numbers for simulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kazachenko, O.N.; Takhtamyshev, G.G.

1985-01-01

Application of the Monte-Carlo method for multidimensional integration is discussed. The main goal is to check the statement that the application of quasi-random numbers instead of regular pseudo-random numbers provides more rapid convergency. The Sobol, Richtmayer and Halton algorithms of quasi-random sequences are described. Over 50 tests to compare these quasi-random numbers as well as pseudo-random numbers were fulfilled. In all cases quasi-random numbers have clearly demonstrated a more rapid convergency as compared with pseudo-random ones. Positive test results on quasi-random trend in Monte-Carlo method seem very promising

Random Vibration Testing of Advanced Wet Tantalum Capacitors

Science.gov (United States)

Teverovsky, Alexander

2015-01-01

Advanced wet tantalum capacitors allow for improved performance of power supply systems along with substantial reduction of size and weight of the systems that is especially beneficial for space electronics. Due to launch-related stresses, acceptance testing of all space systems includes random vibration test (RVT). However, many types of advanced wet tantalum capacitors cannot pass consistently RVT at conditions specified in MIL-PRF-39006, which impedes their use in space projects. This requires a closer look at the existing requirements, modes and mechanisms of failures, specifics of test conditions, and acceptance criteria. In this work, different lots of advanced wet tantalum capacitors from four manufacturers have been tested at step stress random vibration conditions while their currents were monitored before, during, and after the testing. It has been shown that the robustness of the parts and their reliability are mostly due to effective self-healing processes and limited current spiking or minor scintillations caused by RVT do not increase the risk of failures during operation. A simple model for scintillations events has been used to simulate current spiking during RVT and optimize test conditions. The significance of scintillations and possible effects of gas generation have been discussed and test acceptance criteria for limited current spiking have been suggested.

Prevailence of Patch Test Positivity with Some Bases

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J S Pasricha

1987-01-01

Full Text Available To evaluate the suitability of some chemicals to act as bases for antigens for patch tests, patch tests were performed with these agents in patients having contact dermatitis. Propylene glycol′used as such produced positive reactions in 25 (50% patients of which 12 were 2 + or more, polyethylene glycol 200 produced positive reactions in 9 (18% cases of which 4 cases were 2 + or more, a mixture of liquid paraffin and hard paraffin gave rise to positive reactions in 10 (10% cases 3 of these being 2 +, a mixture of liquid paraffin and bees wax was positive in 14 (14,Yo cases 3 of these being 2 +, yellow petrolatum was positive in 4 (8% cases, one of which was 2 +, white petrolatum was positive in S (6% cases all of these being + reactions only, and glycerol gave rise to a I + reaction in only one (2% caw. In tropical countries, water should be as base for as many antigens as possible for others, a control test with the b must be included.

Randomized controlled trial comparing nasal intermittent positive pressure ventilation and nasal continuous positive airway pressure in premature infants after tracheal extubation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniela Franco Rizzo Komatsu

Full Text Available Summary Objective: To analyze the frequency of extubation failure in premature infants using conventional mechanical ventilation (MV after extubation in groups subjected to nasal intermittent positive pressure ventilation (nIPPV and continuous positive airway pressure (nCPAP. Method: Seventy-two premature infants with respiratory failure were studied, with a gestational age (GA ≤ 36 weeks and birth weight (BW > 750 g, who required tracheal intubation and mechanical ventilation. The study was controlled and randomized in order to ensure that the members of the groups used in the research were chosen at random. Randomization was performed at the time of extubation using sealed envelopes. Extubation failure was defined as the need for re-intubation and mechanical ventilation during the first 72 hours after extubation. Results: Among the 36 premature infants randomized to nIPPV, six (16.6% presented extubation failure in comparison to 11 (30.5% of the 36 premature infants randomized to nCPAP. There was no statistical difference between the two study groups regarding BW, GA, classification of the premature infant, and MV time. The main cause of extubation failure was the occurrence of apnea. Gastrointestinal and neurological complications did not occur in the premature infants participating in the study. Conclusion: We found that, despite the extubation failure of the group of premature infants submitted to nIPPV being numerically smaller than in premature infants submitted to nCPAP, there was no statistically significant difference between the two modes of ventilatory support after extubation.

Is a positive intracutaneous test induced by penicillin mediated by histamine?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tannert, Line K; Falkencrone, Sidsel; Mortz, Charlotte G

2017-01-01

Background: Diagnostic workup of penicillin allergy comprises skin testing with penicillins, and patients are deemed allergic if skin test is positive. However, the literature suggests that skin test-positive patients may be challenge-negative, indicating that the skin test may be falsely positive....... Objective: To investigate real-time histamine release from a positive intracutaneous test induced by penicillin in patients with positive and negative challenges to penicillin. Methods: Skin microdialysis was performed in 21 penicillin-allergic patients with positive skin test, 13 non-allergic volunteers...... serving as negative controls, and 7 grass pollen-allergic patients serving as positive controls. Histamine was measured by microdialysis after skin test with penicillin/grass/NaCl. Penicillin challenge was subsequently performed in 12 of the patients. Results: Only 10/21 patients (47.6%) were skin test...

77 FR 2606 - Pipeline Safety: Random Drug Testing Rate

Science.gov (United States)

2012-01-18

... DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration [Docket ID PHMSA-2012-0004] Pipeline Safety: Random Drug Testing Rate AGENCY: Pipeline and Hazardous Materials... pipelines and operators of liquefied natural gas facilities must select and test a percentage of covered...

75 FR 9018 - Pipeline Safety: Random Drug Testing Rate

Science.gov (United States)

2010-02-26

... DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration [Docket ID PHMSA-2010-0034] Pipeline Safety: Random Drug Testing Rate AGENCY: Pipeline and Hazardous Materials... pipelines and operators of liquefied natural gas facilities must select and test a percentage of covered...

'False-positive' and 'false-negative' test results in clinical urine drug testing.

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Reisfield, Gary M; Goldberger, Bruce A; Bertholf, Roger L

2009-08-01

The terms 'false-positive' and 'false-negative' are widely used in discussions of urine drug test (UDT) results. These terms are inadequate because they are used in different ways by physicians and laboratory professionals and they are too narrow to encompass the larger universe of potentially misleading, inappropriate and unexpected drug test results. This larger universe, while not solely comprised of technically 'true' or 'false' positive or negative test results, presents comparable interpretive challenges with corresponding clinical implications. In this review, we propose the terms 'potentially inappropriate' positive or negative test results in reference to UDT results that are ambiguous or unexpected and subject to misinterpretation. Causes of potentially inappropriate positive UDT results include in vivo metabolic conversions of a drug, exposure to nonillicit sources of a drug and laboratory error. Causes of potentially inappropriate negative UDT results include limited assay specificity, absence of drug in the urine, presence of drug in the urine, but below established assay cutoff, specimen manipulation and laboratory error. Clinical UDT interpretation is a complicated task requiring knowledge of recent prescription, over-the-counter and herbal drug administration, drug metabolism and analytical sensitivities and specificities.

Positive affect and physical activity: Testing effects on goal setting, activation, prioritisation, and attainment.

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Cameron, David S; Bertenshaw, Emma J; Sheeran, Paschal

2018-02-01

The present research tested whether incidental positive affect promotes pursuit of physical activity goals. Four key features of goal pursuit were examined - setting physical activity goals (Study 1), goal activation (Study 2), and goal prioritization and goal attainment (Study 3). Participants (N s = 80, 81, and 59, in Studies 1-3, respectively) were randomized to positive affect (joy, hope) or neutral affect (control) conditions in each study. Questionnaire measures of goal level, goal commitment, and means selection (Study 1); a lexical decision task indexed goal activation (Study 2), a choice task captured goal prioritization and MET minutes quantified goal attainment (Study 3). Study 1 showed that positive affect led to a greater number of intended physical activities, and that joy engendered greater willingness to try activities. In Study 2, a positive affect induction led to heightened activation of the physical activity goal compared to the control condition. The joy induction in Study 3 led to greater physical activity, and a trend towards greater goal prioritization. These findings suggest that positive affect enhances the pursuit of physical activity goals. Implications for health behavior theories and interventions are outlined.

Efficacy of a Multicomponent Positive Psychology Self-Help Intervention: Study Protocol of a Randomized Controlled Trial

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Drossaert, Constance HC; Pieterse, Marcel E; Walburg, Jan A; Bohlmeijer, Ernst T

2015-01-01

Background Positive psychology interventions have been found to enhance well-being and decrease clinical symptomatology. However, it is still unknown how flourishing can also be increased. Although multicomponent interventions seem to be necessary for this purpose, different formats can be used. A cost-effective approach could be a positive psychology-based self-help book with tailored email support to reach large target groups and to prevent dropout. Objective This study will evaluate the efficacy of a comprehensive multicomponent self-help intervention with or without email support on well-being and flourishing, and will seek to determine the working mechanisms underlying the intervention. Methods In this 3-armed, parallel, randomized controlled trial, 396 participants with low or moderate levels of well-being and without clinical symptomatology will be randomly assigned to (1) a self-help book condition with weekly email support, (2) a self-help book condition without email support but with a weekly information email, or (3) a waiting list control condition. Online measurements will be assessed at baseline, at post-test (3 months after baseline), and at 6 and 12 months after baseline. Results The primary outcomes are well-being and flourishing (ie, high levels of well-being). Secondary outcomes are the well-being components included in the intervention: positive emotion, use of strengths, optimism, self-compassion, resilience, and positive relations. Other measures include depressive and anxiety symptoms, personality traits, direct medical and non-medical costs, life-events, and client satisfaction. Conclusions This study will add knowledge to the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of a multicomponent positive psychology intervention. We will also explore who can benefit most from this intervention. If the intervention is found to be effective, our results will be especially relevant for public mental health services, governments, and primary care. Trial

A Model for Random Student Drug Testing

Science.gov (United States)

Nelson, Judith A.; Rose, Nancy L.; Lutz, Danielle

2011-01-01

The purpose of this case study was to examine random student drug testing in one school district relevant to: (a) the perceptions of students participating in competitive extracurricular activities regarding drug use and abuse; (b) the attitudes and perceptions of parents, school staff, and community members regarding student drug involvement; (c)…

Accounting for False Positive HIV Tests: Is Visceral Leishmaniasis Responsible?

Science.gov (United States)

Shanks, Leslie; Ritmeijer, Koert; Piriou, Erwan; Siddiqui, M Ruby; Kliescikova, Jarmila; Pearce, Neil; Ariti, Cono; Muluneh, Libsework; Masiga, Johnson; Abebe, Almaz

2015-01-01

Co-infection with HIV and visceral leishmaniasis is an important consideration in treatment of either disease in endemic areas. Diagnosis of HIV in resource-limited settings relies on rapid diagnostic tests used together in an algorithm. A limitation of the HIV diagnostic algorithm is that it is vulnerable to falsely positive reactions due to cross reactivity. It has been postulated that visceral leishmaniasis (VL) infection can increase this risk of false positive HIV results. This cross sectional study compared the risk of false positive HIV results in VL patients with non-VL individuals. Participants were recruited from 2 sites in Ethiopia. The Ethiopian algorithm of a tiebreaker using 3 rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) was used to test for HIV. The gold standard test was the Western Blot, with indeterminate results resolved by PCR testing. Every RDT screen positive individual was included for testing with the gold standard along with 10% of all negatives. The final analysis included 89 VL and 405 non-VL patients. HIV prevalence was found to be 12.8% (47/ 367) in the VL group compared to 7.9% (200/2526) in the non-VL group. The RDT algorithm in the VL group yielded 47 positives, 4 false positives, and 38 negatives. The same algorithm for those without VL had 200 positives, 14 false positives, and 191 negatives. Specificity and positive predictive value for the group with VL was less than the non-VL group; however, the difference was not found to be significant (p = 0.52 and p = 0.76, respectively). The test algorithm yielded a high number of HIV false positive results. However, we were unable to demonstrate a significant difference between groups with and without VL disease. This suggests that the presence of endemic visceral leishmaniasis alone cannot account for the high number of false positive HIV results in our study.

Accounting for False Positive HIV Tests: Is Visceral Leishmaniasis Responsible?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Leslie Shanks

Full Text Available Co-infection with HIV and visceral leishmaniasis is an important consideration in treatment of either disease in endemic areas. Diagnosis of HIV in resource-limited settings relies on rapid diagnostic tests used together in an algorithm. A limitation of the HIV diagnostic algorithm is that it is vulnerable to falsely positive reactions due to cross reactivity. It has been postulated that visceral leishmaniasis (VL infection can increase this risk of false positive HIV results. This cross sectional study compared the risk of false positive HIV results in VL patients with non-VL individuals.Participants were recruited from 2 sites in Ethiopia. The Ethiopian algorithm of a tiebreaker using 3 rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs was used to test for HIV. The gold standard test was the Western Blot, with indeterminate results resolved by PCR testing. Every RDT screen positive individual was included for testing with the gold standard along with 10% of all negatives. The final analysis included 89 VL and 405 non-VL patients. HIV prevalence was found to be 12.8% (47/ 367 in the VL group compared to 7.9% (200/2526 in the non-VL group. The RDT algorithm in the VL group yielded 47 positives, 4 false positives, and 38 negatives. The same algorithm for those without VL had 200 positives, 14 false positives, and 191 negatives. Specificity and positive predictive value for the group with VL was less than the non-VL group; however, the difference was not found to be significant (p = 0.52 and p = 0.76, respectively.The test algorithm yielded a high number of HIV false positive results. However, we were unable to demonstrate a significant difference between groups with and without VL disease. This suggests that the presence of endemic visceral leishmaniasis alone cannot account for the high number of false positive HIV results in our study.

The positive and negative consequences of multiple-choice testing.

Science.gov (United States)

Roediger, Henry L; Marsh, Elizabeth J

2005-09-01

Multiple-choice tests are commonly used in educational settings but with unknown effects on students' knowledge. The authors examined the consequences of taking a multiple-choice test on a later general knowledge test in which students were warned not to guess. A large positive testing effect was obtained: Prior testing of facts aided final cued-recall performance. However, prior testing also had negative consequences. Prior reading of a greater number of multiple-choice lures decreased the positive testing effect and increased production of multiple-choice lures as incorrect answers on the final test. Multiple-choice testing may inadvertently lead to the creation of false knowledge.

Feasibility and effects of the semirecumbent position to prevent ventilator-associated pneumonia: a randomized study.

Science.gov (United States)

van Nieuwenhoven, Christianne A; Vandenbroucke-Grauls, Christine; van Tiel, Frank H; Joore, Hans C A; van Schijndel, Rob J M Strack; van der Tweel, Ingeborg; Ramsay, Graham; Bonten, Marc J M

2006-02-01

Reducing aspiration of gastric contents by placing mechanically ventilated patients in a semirecumbent position has been associated with lower incidences of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). The feasibility and efficacy of this intervention in a larger patient population, however, are unknown. Assessment of the feasibility of the semirecumbent position for intensive care unit patients and its influence on development of VAP. In a prospective multicentered trial, critically ill patients undergoing mechanical ventilation were randomly assigned to the semirecumbent position, with a target backrest elevation of 45 degrees , or standard care (i.e., supine position) with a backrest elevation of 10 degrees . Backrest elevation was measured continuously during the first week of ventilation with a monitor-linked device. A deviation of position was defined as a change of the randomized position >5 degrees . Diagnosis of VAP was made by quantitative cultures of samples obtained by bronchoscopic techniques. One hundred nine patients were assigned to the supine group and 112 to the semirecumbent group. Baseline characteristics were comparable for both groups. Average elevations were 9.8 degrees and 16.1 degrees at day 1 and day 7, respectively, for the supine group and 28.1 degrees and 22.6 degrees at day 1 and day 7, respectively, for the semirecumbent group (p position of 45 degrees was not achieved for 85% of the study time, and these patients more frequently changed position than supine-positioned patients. VAP was diagnosed in eight patients (6.5%) in the supine group and in 13 (10.7%) in the semirecumbent group (NS), after a mean of 6 (range, 3-9) and 7 (range, 3-12) days, respectively. There were no differences in numbers of patients undergoing enteral feeding, receiving stress ulcer prophylaxis, or developing pressure sores or in mortality rates or duration of ventilation and intensive care unit stay between the groups. The targeted backrest elevation of 45 degrees

Cocoa polyphenols enhance positive mood states but not cognitive performance: a randomized, placebo-controlled trial.

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Pase, Matthew P; Scholey, Andrew B; Pipingas, Andrew; Kras, Marni; Nolidin, Karen; Gibbs, Amy; Wesnes, Keith; Stough, Con

2013-05-01

This study aimed to examine the acute and sub-chronic effects of cocoa polyphenols on cognition and mood. In a randomized, double-blind study, healthy middle-aged participants received a dark chocolate drink mix standardized to contain 500 mg, 250 mg or 0 mg of polyphenols (placebo) in a parallel-groups design. Participants consumed their assigned treatment once daily for 30 days. Cognition was measured with the Cognitive Drug Research system and self-rated mood with the Bond-Lader Visual Analogue Scale. Participants were tested at baseline, at 1, 2.5 and 4 h after a single acute dose and again after receiving 30 days of treatment. In total, 72 participants completed the trial. After 30 days, the high dose of treatment significantly increased self-rated calmness and contentedness relative to placebo. Mood was unchanged by treatment acutely while cognition was unaffected by treatment at all time points. This randomized controlled trial is perhaps the first to demonstrate the positive effects of cocoa polyphenols on mood in healthy participants. This provides a rationale for exploring whether cocoa polyphenols can ameliorate the symptoms associated with clinical anxiety or depression.

Random mandatory drugs testing of prisoners: a biassed means of gathering information.

Science.gov (United States)

Gore, S M; Bird, A G; Strang, J S

1999-01-01

Our objective was to develop and test a methodology for inferring the percentage of prisoners currently using opiates from the percentage of prisoners testing positive for opiates in random mandatory drugs testing (rMDT). The study used results from Willing Anonymous Salivary HIV (WASH) studies (1994-6) in six adult Scottish prisons, and surveys (1994-5 and 1997) in 14 prisons in England and Wales. For Scottish prisons, the percentage of prisoners currently using opiates was determined by assuming, with varying empirical support, that: current users of opiates in prison were 1.5 times as many as current inside-injectors; and current inside-injectors were 0.75 times as many as ever injectors in prison. We also assumed that current inside-users' frequency of use of opiates (by any route) was equal to the frequency of inside-injecting by current inside-injectors in Aberdeen and Lowmoss Prisons in 1996, namely six times in 4 weeks. We assumed that some scheduling of heroin-use prior to weekends takes place, so that only 50% of current inside-users of opiates would test positive for opiates in rMDT: these assumptions allow us to arrive at WASH-based expectations for the total percentage of prisoners testing positive for opiates in rMDT. For England and Wales, a multiplier of 118/68 was applied which was derived from prisoners' interviews, to convert the results from ever inside-injectors, as determined by WASH studies, to the percentage of current inside users of opiates. We made the same assumptions on frequency of inside-use of opiates as in dealing with the Scottish results. We expected 202.7 opiate positive results in April to September 1997 in rMDTs at six adult prisons in Scotland, 226 were observed. We expected 227.0 at a set of 13 adult prisons and one other in England and Wales; 211 were observed. Further testing of the methodology for prisons in England and Wales will be possible when 1997 WASH data are released. So far, the methodology has performed well

The signature of positive selection at randomly chosen loci.

Science.gov (United States)

Przeworski, Molly

2002-03-01

In Drosophila and humans, there are accumulating examples of loci with a significant excess of high-frequency-derived alleles or high levels of linkage disequilibrium, relative to a neutral model of a random-mating population of constant size. These are features expected after a recent selective sweep. Their prevalence suggests that positive directional selection may be widespread in both species. However, as I show here, these features do not persist long after the sweep ends: The high-frequency alleles drift to fixation and no longer contribute to polymorphism, while linkage disequilibrium is broken down by recombination. As a result, loci chosen without independent evidence of recent selection are not expected to exhibit either of these features, even if they have been affected by numerous sweeps in their genealogical history. How then can we explain the patterns in the data? One possibility is population structure, with unequal sampling from different subpopulations. Alternatively, positive selection may not operate as is commonly modeled. In particular, the rate of fixation of advantageous mutations may have increased in the recent past.

Effect of Continuous Positive Airway Pressure on Stroke Rehabilitation: A Pilot Randomized Sham-Controlled Trial

Science.gov (United States)

Khot, Sandeep P.; Davis, Arielle P.; Crane, Deborah A.; Tanzi, Patricia M.; Li Lue, Denise; Claflin, Edward S.; Becker, Kyra J.; Longstreth, W.T.; Watson, Nathaniel F.; Billings, Martha E.

2016-01-01

Study Objectives: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) predicts poor functional outcome after stroke and increases the risk for recurrent stroke. Less is known about continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment on stroke recovery. Methods: In a pilot randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled trial, adult stroke rehabilitation patients were assigned to auto-titrating or sham CPAP without diagnostic testing for OSA. Change in Functional Independence Measure (FIM), a measure of disability, was assessed between rehabilitation admission and discharge. Results: Over 18 months, 40 patients were enrolled and 10 withdrew from the study: 7 from active and 3 from sham CPAP (p > 0.10). For the remaining 30 patients, median duration of CPAP use was 14 days. Average CPAP use was 3.7 h/night, with at least 4 h nightly use among 15 patients. Adherence was not influenced by treatment assignment or stroke severity. In intention-to-treat analyses (n = 40), the median change in FIM favored active CPAP over sham but did not reach statistical significance (34 versus 26, p = 0.25), except for the cognitive component (6 versus 2.5, p = 0.04). The on-treatment analyses (n = 30) yielded similar results (total FIM: 32 versus 26, p = 0.11; cognitive FIM: 6 versus 2, p = 0.06). Conclusions: A sham-controlled CPAP trial among stroke rehabilitation patients was feasible in terms of recruitment, treatment without diagnostic testing and adequate blinding—though was limited by study retention and CPAP adherence. Despite these limitations, a trend towards a benefit of CPAP on recovery was evident. Tolerance and adherence must be improved before the full benefits of CPAP on recovery can be assessed in larger trials. Citation: Khot SP, Davis AP, Crane DA, Tanzi PM, Li Lue D, Claflin ES, Becker KJ, Longstreth WT, Watson NF, Billings ME. Effect of continuous positive airway pressure on stroke rehabilitation: a pilot randomized sham-controlled trial. J Clin Sleep Med 2016;12(7):1019–1026. PMID

Prone positioning in hypoxemic respiratory failure: meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

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Kopterides, Petros; Siempos, Ilias I; Armaganidis, Apostolos

2009-03-01

Prone positioning is used to improve oxygenation in patients with hypoxemic respiratory failure (HRF). However, its role in clinical practice is not yet clearly defined. The aim of this meta-analysis was to assess the effect of prone positioning on relevant clinical outcomes, such as intensive care unit (ICU) and hospital mortality, days of mechanical ventilation, length of stay, incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) and pneumothorax, and associated complications. We used literature search of MEDLINE, Current Contents, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials. We focused only on randomized controlled trials reporting clinical outcomes in adult patients with HRF. Four trials met our inclusion criteria, including 662 patients randomized to prone ventilation and 609 patients to supine ventilation. The pooled odds ratio (OR) for the ICU mortality in the intention-to-treat analysis was 0.97 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.77-1.22), for the comparison between prone and supine ventilated patients. Interestingly, the pooled OR for the ICU mortality in the selected group of the more severely ill patients favored prone positioning (OR, 0.34; 95% CI, 0.18-0.66). The duration of mechanical ventilation and the incidence of pneumothorax were not different between the 2 groups. The incidence of VAP was lower but not statistically significant in patients treated with prone positioning (OR, 0.81; 95% CI, 0.61-1.10). However, prone positioning was associated with a higher risk of pressure sores (OR, 1.49; 95% CI, 1.17-1.89) and a trend for more complications related to the endotracheal tube (OR, 1.30; 95% CI, 0.94-1.80). Despite the inherent limitations of the meta-analytic approach, it seems that prone positioning has no discernible effect on mortality in patients with HRF. It may decrease the incidence of VAP at the expense of more pressure sores and complications related to the endotracheal tube. However, a subgroup of the most severely ill patients may

A pseudo-random number generator and its spectral test

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Lai

1998-01-01

The author introduces a pseudo-random number generator and describes its algorithm and C language implementation. The performance of the generator is tested and compared with some well known LCG generators

76 FR 80781 - Alcohol and Drug Testing: Determination of Minimum Random Testing Rates for 2012

Science.gov (United States)

2011-12-27

...-11213, Notice No. 15] RIN 2130-AA81 Alcohol and Drug Testing: Determination of Minimum Random Testing...: Lamar Allen, Alcohol and Drug Program Manager, Office of Safety Enforcement, Mail Stop 25, Federal... Kathy Schnakenberg, FRA Alcohol/Drug Program Specialist, (telephone (719) 633-8955). Issued in...

Test of Random Walk Behavior in Karachi Stock Exchange

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muhammad Mudassar

2013-05-01

Full Text Available Study was carried out to check the random behavior of the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE 100 Index during the period of past three financial years to know whether investors could generate abnormal profits during the period or otherwise. Tests used were Runs Test, ADF Test, PP Test and Autocorrelation Function Test. During the study it was found that the performance of KSE 100 Index remained in weak form of inefficiency and investors have been able to generate excessive returns on their investment most of the times.

Female False Positive Exercise Stress ECG Testing - Fact Verses Fiction.

Science.gov (United States)

Fitzgerald, Benjamin T; Scalia, William M; Scalia, Gregory M

2018-03-07

Exercise stress testing is a well validated cardiovascular investigation. Accuracy for treadmill stress electrocardiograph (ECG) testing has been documented at 60%. False positive stress ECGs (exercise ECG changes with non-obstructive disease on anatomical testing) are common, especially in women, limiting the effectiveness of the test. This study investigates the incidence and predictors of false positive stress ECG findings, referenced against stress echocardiography (SE) as a standard. Stress echocardiography was performed using the Bruce treadmill protocol. False positive stress ECG tests were defined as greater than 1mm of ST depression on ECG during exertion, without pain, with a normal SE. Potential causes for false positive tests were recorded before the test. Three thousand consecutive negative stress echocardiograms (1036 females, 34.5%) were analysed (age 59+/-14 years. False positive (F+) stress ECGs were documented in 565/3000 tests (18.8%). F+ stress ECGs were equally prevalent in females (194/1036, 18.7%) and males (371/1964, 18.9%, p=0.85 for the difference). Potential causes (hypertension, left ventricular hypertrophy, known coronary disease, arrhythmia, diabetes mellitus, valvular heart disease) were recorded in 36/194 (18.6%) of the female F+ ECG tests and 249/371 (68.2%) of the male F+ ECG tests (preinforce the value of stress imaging, particularly in women. Copyright © 2018 Australian and New Zealand Society of Cardiac and Thoracic Surgeons (ANZSCTS) and the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand (CSANZ). All rights reserved.

Effects of a health education and telephone counseling program on patients with a positive fecal occult blood test result for colorectal cancer screening: A randomized controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Chiu, Hui-Chuan; Hung, Hsin-Yuan; Lin, Hsiu-Chen; Chen, Shu-Ching

2017-10-01

Our purpose was to evaluate the effects of a health education and telephone counseling program on knowledge and attitudes about colorectal cancer and screening and the psychological impact of positive screening results. A randomized controlled trial was conducted with 2 groups using a pretest and posttest measures design. Patients with positive colorectal cancer screening results were selected and randomly assigned to an experimental (n = 51) or control (n = 51) group. Subjects in the experimental group received a health education and telephone counseling program, while the control group received routine care only. Patients were assessed pretest before intervention (first visit to the outpatient) and posttest at 4 weeks after intervention (4 weeks after first visit to the outpatient). Patients in the experimental group had a significantly better level of knowledge about colorectal cancer and the psychological impact of a positive screening result than did the control group. Analysis of covariance revealed that the health education and telephone counseling program had a significant main effect on colorectal cancer knowledge. A health education and telephone counseling program can improve knowledge about colorectal cancer and about the psychological impact in patients with positive colorectal cancer screening results. The health education and telephone counseling program is an easy, simple, and convenient method of improving knowledge, improving attitudes, and alleviating psychological distress in patients with positive colorectal cancer screening results, and this program can be expanded to other types of cancer screening. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Positive Family Intervention for Severe Challenging Behavior I: A Multisite Randomized Clinical Trial

Science.gov (United States)

Durand, V. Mark; Hieneman, Meme; Clarke, Shelley; Wang, Mo; Rinaldi, Melissa L.

2013-01-01

The present study was a multisite randomized clinical trial assessing the effects of adding a cognitive-behavioral intervention to positive behavior support (PBS). Fifty-four families who met the criteria of (a) having a child with a developmental disability, (b) whose child displayed serious challenging behavior (e.g., aggression, self-injury,…

Effects of systematic prone positioning in hypoxemic acute respiratory failure: a randomized controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Guerin, Claude; Gaillard, Sandrine; Lemasson, Stephane; Ayzac, Louis; Girard, Raphaele; Beuret, Pascal; Palmier, Bruno; Le, Quoc Viet; Sirodot, Michel; Rosselli, Sylvaine; Cadiergue, Vincent; Sainty, Jean-Marie; Barbe, Philippe; Combourieu, Emmanuel; Debatty, Daniel; Rouffineau, Jean; Ezingeard, Eric; Millet, Olivier; Guelon, Dominique; Rodriguez, Luc; Martin, Olivier; Renault, Anne; Sibille, Jean-Paul; Kaidomar, Michel

2004-11-17

A recent trial showed that placing patients with acute lung injury in the prone position did not increase survival; however, whether those results hold true for patients with hypoxemic acute respiratory failure (ARF) is unclear. To determine whether prone positioning improves mortality in ARF patients. Prospective, unblinded, multicenter controlled trial of 791 ARF patients in 21 general intensive care units in France using concealed randomization conducted from December 14, 1998, through December 31, 2002. To be included, patients had to be at least 18 years, hemodynamically stable, receiving mechanical ventilation, and intubated and had to have a partial pressure of arterial oxygen (PaO2) to fraction of inspired oxygen (FIO2) ratio of 300 or less and no contraindications to lying prone. Patients were randomly assigned to prone position placement (n = 413), applied as early as possible for at least 8 hours per day on standard beds, or to supine position placement (n = 378). The primary end point was 28-day mortality; secondary end points were 90-day mortality, duration of mechanical ventilation, incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), and oxygenation. The 2 groups were comparable at randomization. The 28-day mortality rate was 32.4% for the prone group and 31.5% for the supine group (relative risk [RR], 0.97; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.79-1.19; P = .77). Ninety-day mortality for the prone group was 43.3% vs 42.2% for the supine group (RR, 0.98; 95% CI, 0.84-1.13; P = .74). The mean (SD) duration of mechanical ventilation was 13.7 (7.8) days for the prone group vs 14.1 (8.6) days for the supine group (P = .93) and the VAP incidence was 1.66 vs 2.14 episodes per 100-patients days of intubation, respectively (P = .045). The PaO2/FIO2 ratio was significantly higher in the prone group during the 28-day follow-up. However, pressure sores, selective intubation, and endotracheal tube obstruction incidences were higher in the prone group. This trial

Why the null matters: statistical tests, random walks and evolution.

Science.gov (United States)

Sheets, H D; Mitchell, C E

2001-01-01

A number of statistical tests have been developed to determine what type of dynamics underlie observed changes in morphology in evolutionary time series, based on the pattern of change within the time series. The theory of the 'scaled maximum', the 'log-rate-interval' (LRI) method, and the Hurst exponent all operate on the same principle of comparing the maximum change, or rate of change, in the observed dataset to the maximum change expected of a random walk. Less change in a dataset than expected of a random walk has been interpreted as indicating stabilizing selection, while more change implies directional selection. The 'runs test' in contrast, operates on the sequencing of steps, rather than on excursion. Applications of these tests to computer generated, simulated time series of known dynamical form and various levels of additive noise indicate that there is a fundamental asymmetry in the rate of type II errors of the tests based on excursion: they are all highly sensitive to noise in models of directional selection that result in a linear trend within a time series, but are largely noise immune in the case of a simple model of stabilizing selection. Additionally, the LRI method has a lower sensitivity than originally claimed, due to the large range of LRI rates produced by random walks. Examination of the published results of these tests show that they have seldom produced a conclusion that an observed evolutionary time series was due to directional selection, a result which needs closer examination in light of the asymmetric response of these tests.

Effect of Positive Training on Positive Psychological States (Character Strengths of Female High School Students

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Ali Farnam

2017-05-01

Full Text Available psychological states of female students in second and third grades of high school. The research method was quasi-experimental with pre-test, post-test and follow-up. The sample consisted of forty students selected randomly in two groups (twenty students in each group. To collect data, Positive Psychological State Inventory (Rajaei, Khuy Nzhad and Nesaei was used. The experimental group received ninety minute positive training sessions (for two months and the control group did not receive treatment. The results of analysis  of covariance showed that positive training had positive effects on positive psychological states (trust in God, optimism, self-efficacy, duty, sense of control, targeted, hope, satisfaction with life, meaningful life, pleasant, sociability, self-esteem and self-worth, sense of peace, gratitude, and forgiveness among adolescents  both in the post  and follow-up tests

Lead-position dependent regular oscillations and random fluctuations of conductance in graphene quantum dots

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huang Liang; Yang Rui; Lai Yingcheng; Ferry, David K

2013-01-01

Quantum interference causes a wavefunction to have sensitive spatial dependence, and this has a significant effect on quantum transport. For example, in a quantum-dot system, the conductance can depend on the lead positions. We investigate, for graphene quantum dots, the conductance variations with the lead positions. Since for graphene the types of boundaries, e.g., zigzag and armchair, can fundamentally affect the quantum transport characteristics, we focus on rectangular graphene quantum dots, for which the effects of boundaries can be systematically studied. For both zigzag and armchair horizontal boundaries, we find that changing the positions of the leads can induce significant conductance variations. Depending on the Fermi energy, the variations can be either regular oscillations or random conductance fluctuations. We develop a physical theory to elucidate the origin of the conductance oscillation/fluctuation patterns. In particular, quantum interference leads to standing-wave-like-patterns in the quantum dot which, in the absence of leads, are regulated by the energy-band structure of the corresponding vertical graphene ribbon. The observed ‘coexistence’ of regular oscillations and random fluctuations in the conductance can be exploited for the development of graphene-based nanodevices. (paper)

Position of the physician's nametag--a randomized, blinded trial.

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Samuel Luca Schmid

Full Text Available The patient-physician relation begins when the physician introduces himself with name and function. Most institutions request a nametag with name and function to be worn. Although nametags are consequently worn, the optimal position for the nametag is unknown. It was the purpose of this study to identify whether positioning the nametag on the right or the left chest side provides better visibility to the patient.One hundred volunteers, blinded to the experimental setup, presented for an orthopedic consultation in a standardized manner. The nametag of the physician was randomly positioned on the left chest side and presented to 50 individuals (age 35 years (range 17 to 83 or the right chest side and then presented to 50 other individuals (35 years (range 16 to 59. The time of the participant noticing the nametag was documented. Subsequently, the participant was questioned concerning the relevance of a nametag and verbal self-introduction of the physician.38% of the participants noticed the nametag on the right as opposed to 20% who noticed it if placed on the left upper chest (p = 0.0473. The mean time to detection was 9 (range 1-40 seconds for nametags on the right and 25.2 seconds (range 3 to 49, p = 0.006 on the left. For 87% of the participants, a nametag is expected and important and nearly all participants (96% expected the physician to introduce himself verbally.It is expected that a physician wears a nametag and introduce himself verbally at the first encounter. Positioning the nametag on the right chest side results in better and faster visibility.

Relevance of positive patch-test reactions to fragrance mix.

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Devos, Steven A; Constandt, Lieve; Tupker, Ron A; Noz, Kathy C; Lucker, Georges P H; Bruynzeel, Derk P; Schuttelaar, Marie-Louise A; Kruyswijk, Mente R J; van Zuuren, Esther J; Vink, Jaqueline; Coenraads, Pieter-Jan; Kiemeney, Lambertus A L M; van der Valk, Pieter G M

2008-01-01

Fragrances are an important cause of allergic contact dermatitis. We presume that the traditional fragrance mix (FM) detects 70 to 80% of fragrance-allergic patients. FM has an irritant potential. Weak positive reactions may have a greater chance of being irrelevant than strong reactions. To improve the appraisal of FM patch-test reactions, we studied the relevance of reactions of different strength. We also studied the predictive value of the following on the relevance of the initial FM patch-test results: patch-test results of a repeated FM test; results of patch tests with balsam of Peru, colophony, and ingredients of the mix; and (history of) atopic dermatitis. One hundred thirty-eight patients who had doubtful positive (?+) or positive (+ to +++) reactions were included in the study. We determined relevance by history taking, location and course of the dermatitis, and additional patch testing. Patients were retested with FM and with each ingredient separately. The relevance of reactions to FM increases with the strength of the reactions. Predictors of relevance are the results of retesting with FM, the results of tests with the ingredients, and a history and/or present symptoms of atopic dermatitis. Retesting with FM and its ingredients may add to the benefit of patch testing.

Increased risk of breast cancer in women with false-positive test

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

von Euler-Chelpin, My; Kuchiki, Megumi; Vejborg, Ilse

2014-01-01

of misclassification, i.e. women who were actually false-negatives instead of false-positives. METHOD: We used data from the Copenhagen Mammography Screening Programme, Denmark. The study population was the 295 women, out of 4743 recalled women from a total of 58,003 participants, with a false-positive test during...... the women with misclassified tests had been excluded, there was an excess risk of breast cancer of 27% (RR=1.27, 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.11-1.46) among the women with a false-positive test compared to women with only negative tests. Women with a false-positive test determined at assessment had...... an excess risk of 27%, while false-positives determined at surgery had an excess risk of 30%. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that the increased risk is not explained only by misclassification. The excess risk remains for false-positives determined at assessment as well as at surgery, which favours some...

78 FR 78275 - Alcohol and Drug Testing: Determination of Minimum Random Testing Rates for 2014

Science.gov (United States)

2013-12-26

...-11213, Notice No. 17] Alcohol and Drug Testing: Determination of Minimum Random Testing Rates for 2014... December 26, 2013. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jerry Powers, FRA Drug and Alcohol Program Manager, W38...-493-6313); or Sam Noe, FRA Drug and Alcohol Program Specialist, (telephone 615-719- 2951). Issued in...

Country-wide surveillance of molecular markers of antimalarial drug resistance in Senegal by use of positive Malaria Rapid Diagnostic Tests

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ndiaye, Magatte; Sow, Doudou; Nag, Sidsel

2017-01-01

of drug resistance. Therefore, surveillance of drug resistance in the malaria parasites is essential. The objective of this pilot study was to test the feasibility of routinely sampled malaria rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) at a national scale to assess the temporal changes in the molecular profiles...... of antimalarial drug resistance markers of Plasmodium falciparum parasites. Overall, 9,549 positive malaria RDTs were collected from 14 health facilities across the country. A limited random set of RDTs were analyzed regarding Pfcrt gene polymorphisms at codon 72-76. Overall, a high but varied prevalence (> 50...

A Sleep Position Trainer for positional sleep apnea

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Laub, Rasmus R; Tønnesen, Philip; Jennum, Poul J

2017-01-01

We tested the effect of the Sleep Position Trainer, a vibrational device, for positional sleep apnea in an open, randomized controlled trial with 101 patients, where 52 patients were allocated to Sleep Position Trainer and 49 patients to a non-treatment control group for 2 months (Part 1). All...... patients were then followed as a cohort for a period of 6 months with use of the Sleep Position Trainer (Part 2). The participants were assessed with polygraphy at entry, and after 2 and 6 months. The mean apnea-hypopnea index supine was 35 per h (SD, 18) in the Sleep Position Trainer group and 38 per h...... (SD, 15) in the control group at entry. In a per protocol analysis, the mean total apnea-hypopnea index at entry and after 2 months in the Sleep Position Trainer group was 18 per h (SD, 10) and 10 per h (SD, 9; P

Humans can consciously generate random number sequences: a possible test for artificial intelligence.

Science.gov (United States)

Persaud, Navindra

2005-01-01

Computer algorithms can only produce seemingly random or pseudorandom numbers whereas certain natural phenomena, such as the decay of radioactive particles, can be utilized to produce truly random numbers. In this study, the ability of humans to generate random numbers was tested in healthy adults. Subjects were simply asked to generate and dictate random numbers. Generated numbers were tested for uniformity, independence and information density. The results suggest that humans can generate random numbers that are uniformly distributed, independent of one another and unpredictable. If humans can generate sequences of random numbers then neural networks or forms of artificial intelligence, which are purported to function in ways essentially the same as the human brain, should also be able to generate sequences of random numbers. Elucidating the precise mechanism by which humans generate random number sequences and the underlying neural substrates may have implications in the cognitive science of decision-making. It is possible that humans use their random-generating neural machinery to make difficult decisions in which all expected outcomes are similar. It is also possible that certain people, perhaps those with neurological or psychiatric impairments, are less able or unable to generate random numbers. If the random-generating neural machinery is employed in decision making its impairment would have profound implications in matters of agency and free will.

An Ultra-light PRNG Passing Strict Randomness Tests and Suitable for Low Cost Tags

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

OZCANHAN, M. H.

2016-08-01

Full Text Available A pseudo-random number generator for low-cost RFID tags is presented. The scheme is simple, sequential and secure, yet has a high performance. Despite its lowest hardware complexity, our proposal represents a better alternative than previous proposals for low-cost tags. The scheme is based on the well-founded pseudo random number generator, Mersenne Twister. The proposed generator takes low-entropy seeds extracted from a physical characteristic of the tag and produces outputs that pass popular randomness tests. Contrarily, previous proposal tests are based on random number inputs from a popular online source, which are simply unavailable to tags. The high performance and satisfactory randomness of present work are supported by extensive test results and compared with similar previous works. Comparison using proven estimation formulae indicates that our proposal has the best hardware complexity, power consumption, and the least cost.

Inficon Transpector MPH Mass Spectrometer Random Vibration Test Report

Science.gov (United States)

Santiago-Bond, Jo; Captain, Janine

2015-01-01

The purpose of this test report is to summarize results from the vibration testing of the INFICON Transpector MPH100M model Mass Spectrometer. It also identifies requirements satisfied, and procedures used in the test. As a payload of Resource Prospector, it is necessary to determine the survivability of the mass spectrometer to proto-qualification level random vibration. Changes in sensitivity of the mass spectrometer can be interpreted as a change in alignment of the instrument. The results of this test will be used to determine any necessary design changes as the team moves forward with flight design.

An empirical test of pseudo random number generators by means of an exponential decaying process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coronel B, H.F.; Hernandez M, A.R.; Jimenez M, M.A.; Mora F, L.E.

2007-01-01

Empirical tests for pseudo random number generators based on the use of processes or physical models have been successfully used and are considered as complementary to theoretical tests of randomness. In this work a statistical methodology for evaluating the quality of pseudo random number generators is presented. The method is illustrated in the context of the so-called exponential decay process, using some pseudo random number generators commonly used in physics. (Author)

Sonographic evaluation of the fetal spine position and success rate of manual rotation of the fetus in occiput posterior position: A randomized controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Masturzo, Bianca; Farina, Antonio; Attamante, Lorenza; Piazzese, Annalisa; Rolfo, Alessandro; Gaglioti, Pietro; Todros, Tullia

2017-10-01

To evaluate whether sonographic (US) diagnosis of the fetal spine position could increase the success rate of manual rotation of the fetal occiput (MRFO) in second-stage arrest in persistent occiput posterior position (OPP). In this randomized controlled parallel single-center trial, 58 nulliparous in second-stage arrest of labor with fetus in cephalic presentation and OPP diagnosed by US were randomly assigned to group A where the fetal spine position was not known by the operator or to group B where the operator knew it. The main outcome was the success of MRFO in the two groups. Secondary outcomes were perineal injuries, blood loss, duration of expulsive period, and neonatal APGAR at 5 minutes. A priori knowledge of the spine position improves the success of the MRFO (41.4% group A versus 82.8% group B, p value < 0.001), the percentage of spontaneous deliveries (27.6% group A versus 69% group B, p value = 0.01), and maternal outcome (intact perineum and blood loss). No differences were detected on the neonatal side. MRFO is a safe and useful procedure that should be performed in second-stage arrest in OPP. A better performance was observed when supported by the US knowledge of the spine position. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Ultrasound 45:472-476, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Risk of breast cancer after false-positive test results in screening mammography

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

von Euler-Chelpin, My Catarina; Risør, Louise Madeleine; Thorsted, Brian Larsen

2012-01-01

Screening for disease in healthy people inevitably leads to some false-positive tests in disease-free individuals. Normally, women with false-positive screening tests for breast cancer are referred back to routine screening. However, the long-term outcome for women with false-positive tests...

Analisis Teoritis dan Empiris Uji Craps dari Diehard Battery of Randomness Test untuk Pengujian Pembangkit Bilangan Acaksemu

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Sari Agustini Hafman

2013-05-01

Full Text Available According to Kerchoffs (1883, the security system should only rely on cryptographic keys which is used in that system. Generally, the key sequences are generated by a Pseudo Random Number Generator (PRNG or Random Number Generator (RNG. There are three types of randomness sequences that generated by the RNG and PRNG i.e. pseudorandom sequence, cryptographically secure pseudorandom sequences, and real random sequences. Several statistical tests, including diehard battery of tests of randomness, is used to check the type of randomness sequences that generated by PRNG or RNG. Due to its purpose, the principle on taking the testing parameters and the test statistic are associated with the validity of the conclusion produced by a statistical test, then the theoretical analysis is performed by applying a variety of statistical theory to evaluate craps test, one of the test included in the diehard battery of randomness tests. Craps test, inspired by craps game, aims to examine whether a PRNG produces an independent and identically distributed (iid pseudorandom sequences. To demonstrate the process to produce a test statistics equation and to show how craps games applied on that test, will be carried out theoretical analysis by applying a variety of statistical theory. Furthermore, empirical observations will be done by applying craps test on a PRNG in order to check the test effectiveness in detecting the distribution and independency of sequences which produced by PRNG

Characterization of electron microscopes with binary pseudo-random multilayer test samples

Science.gov (United States)

Yashchuk, Valeriy V.; Conley, Raymond; Anderson, Erik H.; Barber, Samuel K.; Bouet, Nathalie; McKinney, Wayne R.; Takacs, Peter Z.; Voronov, Dmitriy L.

2011-09-01

Verification of the reliability of metrology data from high quality X-ray optics requires that adequate methods for test and calibration of the instruments be developed. For such verification for optical surface profilometers in the spatial frequency domain, a modulation transfer function (MTF) calibration method based on binary pseudo-random (BPR) gratings and arrays has been suggested [1,2] and proven to be an effective calibration method for a number of interferometric microscopes, a phase shifting Fizeau interferometer, and a scatterometer [5]. Here we describe the details of development of binary pseudo-random multilayer (BPRML) test samples suitable for characterization of scanning (SEM) and transmission (TEM) electron microscopes. We discuss the results of TEM measurements with the BPRML test samples fabricated from a WiSi 2/Si multilayer coating with pseudo-randomly distributed layers. In particular, we demonstrate that significant information about the metrological reliability of the TEM measurements can be extracted even when the fundamental frequency of the BPRML sample is smaller than the Nyquist frequency of the measurements. The measurements demonstrate a number of problems related to the interpretation of the SEM and TEM data. Note that similar BPRML test samples can be used to characterize X-ray microscopes. Corresponding work with X-ray microscopes is in progress.

Characterization of electron microscopes with binary pseudo-random multilayer test samples

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yashchuk, Valeriy V.; Conley, Raymond; Anderson, Erik H.; Barber, Samuel K.; Bouet, Nathalie; McKinney, Wayne R.; Takacs, Peter Z.; Voronov, Dmitriy L.

2011-01-01

Verification of the reliability of metrology data from high quality X-ray optics requires that adequate methods for test and calibration of the instruments be developed. For such verification for optical surface profilometers in the spatial frequency domain, a modulation transfer function (MTF) calibration method based on binary pseudo-random (BPR) gratings and arrays has been suggested and proven to be an effective calibration method for a number of interferometric microscopes, a phase shifting Fizeau interferometer, and a scatterometer [5]. Here we describe the details of development of binary pseudo-random multilayer (BPRML) test samples suitable for characterization of scanning (SEM) and transmission (TEM) electron microscopes. We discuss the results of TEM measurements with the BPRML test samples fabricated from a WiSi 2 /Si multilayer coating with pseudo-randomly distributed layers. In particular, we demonstrate that significant information about the metrological reliability of the TEM measurements can be extracted even when the fundamental frequency of the BPRML sample is smaller than the Nyquist frequency of the measurements. The measurements demonstrate a number of problems related to the interpretation of the SEM and TEM data. Note that similar BPRML test samples can be used to characterize X-ray microscopes. Corresponding work with X-ray microscopes is in progress.

Evaluation of Patients with an Apparent False Positive Stool DNA Test: The Role of Repeat Stool DNA Testing.

Science.gov (United States)

Cooper, Gregory S; Markowitz, Sanford D; Chen, Zhengyi; Tuck, Missy; Willis, Joseph E; Berger, Barry M; Brenner, Dean E; Li, Li

2018-03-07

There is uncertainty as to the appropriate follow-up of patients who test positive on multimarker stool DNA (sDNA) testing and have a colonoscopy without neoplasia. To determine the prevalence of missed colonic or occult upper gastrointestinal neoplasia in patients with an apparent false positive sDNA. We prospectively identified 30 patients who tested positive with a commercially available sDNA followed by colonoscopy without neoplastic lesions. Patients were invited to undergo repeat sDNA at 11-29 months after the initial test followed by repeat colonoscopy and upper endoscopy. We determined the presence of neoplastic lesions on repeat evaluation stratified by results of repeat sDNA. Twelve patients were restudied. Seven patients had a negative second sDNA test and a normal second colonoscopy and upper endoscopy. In contrast, 5 of 12 subjects had a persistently positive second sDNA test, and 3 had positive findings, including a 3-cm sessile transverse colon adenoma with high-grade dysplasia, a 2-cm right colon sessile serrated adenoma with dysplasia, and a nonadvanced colon adenoma (p = 0.045). These corresponded to a positive predictive value of 0.60 (95% CI 0.17-1.00) and a negative predictive value of 1.00 (95% CI 1.00-1.00) for the second sDNA test. In addition, the medical records of all 30 subjects with apparent false positive testing were reviewed and no documented cases of malignant tumors were recorded. Repeat positive sDNA testing may identify a subset of patients with missed or occult colorectal neoplasia after negative colonoscopy for an initially positive sDNA. High-quality colonoscopy with careful attention to the right colon in patients with positive sDNA is critically important and may avoid false negative colonoscopy.

Reporting of Positive Results in Randomized Controlled Trials of Mindfulness-Based Mental Health Interventions.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stephanie Coronado-Montoya

Full Text Available A large proportion of mindfulness-based therapy trials report statistically significant results, even in the context of very low statistical power. The objective of the present study was to characterize the reporting of "positive" results in randomized controlled trials of mindfulness-based therapy. We also assessed mindfulness-based therapy trial registrations for indications of possible reporting bias and reviewed recent systematic reviews and meta-analyses to determine whether reporting biases were identified.CINAHL, Cochrane CENTRAL, EMBASE, ISI, MEDLINE, PsycInfo, and SCOPUS databases were searched for randomized controlled trials of mindfulness-based therapy. The number of positive trials was described and compared to the number that might be expected if mindfulness-based therapy were similarly effective compared to individual therapy for depression. Trial registries were searched for mindfulness-based therapy registrations. CINAHL, Cochrane CENTRAL, EMBASE, ISI, MEDLINE, PsycInfo, and SCOPUS were also searched for mindfulness-based therapy systematic reviews and meta-analyses.108 (87% of 124 published trials reported ≥1 positive outcome in the abstract, and 109 (88% concluded that mindfulness-based therapy was effective, 1.6 times greater than the expected number of positive trials based on effect size d = 0.55 (expected number positive trials = 65.7. Of 21 trial registrations, 13 (62% remained unpublished 30 months post-trial completion. No trial registrations adequately specified a single primary outcome measure with time of assessment. None of 36 systematic reviews and meta-analyses concluded that effect estimates were overestimated due to reporting biases.The proportion of mindfulness-based therapy trials with statistically significant results may overstate what would occur in practice.

The necessity of randomness in tests of Bell inequalities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bednorz, Adam; Zielinski, Jakub

2003-08-11

The possibility that detectors may affect the input quantum entangled state is pointed out. It is suggested that experiments testing Bell inequalities should be repeated with more randomly oriented polarizers to both close communication loophole and refute certain local variable theories with low efficiency bound.

Vaginal Swab Test Compared With the Urethral Q-tip Test for Urethral Mobility Measurement: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Meyer, Isuzu; Szychowski, Jeff M; Illston, Jana D; Parden, Alison M; Richter, Holly E

2016-02-01

To assess whether use of a vaginal cotton-tipped swab is equivalent to the standard Q-tip test regarding urethral mobility. Secondarily, to examine whether both tests agree in hypermobility diagnosis, discomfort level, and patients' preference. In this randomized crossover trial, women with stress urinary incontinence without prolapse beyond the hymen were randomized to undergo either a vaginal or urethral mobility test first followed by the alternate approach. The primary outcome was the difference in rotation angle, from resting to maximum strain, between tests. The equivalence margin was ±10°. The secondary outcome was agreement in hypermobility diagnosis using two definitions: 1) maximum straining angle of 30° or greater from the horizontal plane; and 2) rotation angle 30° or greater. Discomfort was assessed using a 0-10 visual analog scale. Using 90% power assuming a standard deviation of 20°, 36 and 139 patients were needed for 10° and 5° equivalence margins, respectively. From January 2014 to March 2015, 140 women were randomized. The mean difference between the two tests was 5.1° (95% confidence interval 3.2-6.9°), meeting the predefined equivalence criteria. In the hypermobility diagnosis, the urethral and vaginal tests had no disagreement using definition 1 (P=.23), whereas the two tests disagreed using definition 2 (P=.03). The urethral approach had a higher discomfort level (Pstandard Q-tip test in measuring urethral mobility with less discomfort and is preferred by patients.

Design, test, and calibration of an electrostatic beam position monitor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maurice Cohen-Solal

2010-03-01

Full Text Available The low beta of proton or ion beams favors an electrostatic pickup to measure the transverse beam centroid position. Often papers on beam position monitors (BPM are focused on a particular aspect of the problem; however, it is important to consider all various issues of a position measurement system. Based on our experience at the IPHI (high intensity injector proton facility at CEA-Saclay, this paper will address all aspects to design, test, and calibrate a BPM for proton linear accelerators, while emphasizing the determination of the absolute beam position. We present details of the readout electronics, and describe the calibration of the BPM using a test station. For calculation and simulation of the electrical signals we developed a Mathematica script. The error analysis presented, on the basis of six BPMs installed in the high energy section of IPHI, demonstrates the expected accuracy of the position measurement. These studies also identify the parameters that could improve the performance of the beam position control. The experience from these developments is currently being used for the BPM design and test stand dedicated to the Spiral2 accelerator at Ganil-Caen which will deliver heavy ion beams.

Design, test, and calibration of an electrostatic beam position monitor

Science.gov (United States)

Cohen-Solal, Maurice

2010-03-01

The low beta of proton or ion beams favors an electrostatic pickup to measure the transverse beam centroid position. Often papers on beam position monitors (BPM) are focused on a particular aspect of the problem; however, it is important to consider all various issues of a position measurement system. Based on our experience at the IPHI (high intensity injector proton) facility at CEA-Saclay, this paper will address all aspects to design, test, and calibrate a BPM for proton linear accelerators, while emphasizing the determination of the absolute beam position. We present details of the readout electronics, and describe the calibration of the BPM using a test station. For calculation and simulation of the electrical signals we developed a Mathematica script. The error analysis presented, on the basis of six BPMs installed in the high energy section of IPHI, demonstrates the expected accuracy of the position measurement. These studies also identify the parameters that could improve the performance of the beam position control. The experience from these developments is currently being used for the BPM design and test stand dedicated to the Spiral2 accelerator at Ganil-Caen which will deliver heavy ion beams.

Instrumented Impact Testing: Influence of Machine Variables and Specimen Position

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lucon, E.; McCowan, C. N.; Santoyo, R. A.

2008-01-01

An investigation has been conducted on the influence of impact machine variables and specimen positioning on characteristic forces and absorbed energies from instrumented Charpy tests. Brittle and ductile fracture behavior has been investigated by testing NIST reference samples of low, high and super-high energy levels. Test machine variables included tightness of foundation, anvil and striker bolts, and the position of the center of percussion with respect to the center of strike. For specimen positioning, we tested samples which had been moved away or sideways with respect to the anvils. In order to assess the influence of the various factors, we compared mean values in the reference (unaltered) and altered conditions; for machine variables, t-test analyses were also performed in order to evaluate the statistical significance of the observed differences. Our results indicate that the only circumstance which resulted in variations larger than 5 percent for both brittle and ductile specimens is when the sample is not in contact with the anvils. These findings should be taken into account in future revisions of instrumented Charpy test standards.

Instrumented Impact Testing: Influence of Machine Variables and Specimen Position

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lucon, E.; McCowan, C. N.; Santoyo, R. A.

2008-09-15

An investigation has been conducted on the influence of impact machine variables and specimen positioning on characteristic forces and absorbed energies from instrumented Charpy tests. Brittle and ductile fracture behavior has been investigated by testing NIST reference samples of low, high and super-high energy levels. Test machine variables included tightness of foundation, anvil and striker bolts, and the position of the center of percussion with respect to the center of strike. For specimen positioning, we tested samples which had been moved away or sideways with respect to the anvils. In order to assess the influence of the various factors, we compared mean values in the reference (unaltered) and altered conditions; for machine variables, t-test analyses were also performed in order to evaluate the statistical significance of the observed differences. Our results indicate that the only circumstance which resulted in variations larger than 5 percent for both brittle and ductile specimens is when the sample is not in contact with the anvils. These findings should be taken into account in future revisions of instrumented Charpy test standards.

Herbalife hepatotoxicity: Evaluation of cases with positive reexposure tests.

Science.gov (United States)

Teschke, Rolf; Frenzel, Christian; Schulze, Johannes; Schwarzenboeck, Alexander; Eickhoff, Axel

2013-07-27

To analyze the validity of applied test criteria and causality assessment methods in assumed Herbalife hepatotoxicity with positive reexposure tests. We searched the Medline database for suspected cases of Herbalife hepatotoxicity and retrieved 53 cases including eight cases with a positive unintentional reexposure and a high causality level for Herbalife. First, analysis of these eight cases focused on the data quality of the positive reexposure cases, requiring a baseline value of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) Herbalife in these eight cases were probable (n = 1), unlikely (n = 4), and excluded (n = 3). Confounding variables included low data quality, alternative diagnoses, poor exclusion of important other causes, and comedication by drugs and herbs in 6/8 cases. More specifically, problems were evident in some cases regarding temporal association, daily doses, exact start and end dates of product use, actual data of laboratory parameters such as ALT, and exact dechallenge characteristics. Shortcomings included scattered exclusion of hepatitis A-C, cytomegalovirus and Epstein Barr virus infection with only globally presented or lacking parameters. Hepatitis E virus infection was considered in one single patient and found positive, infections by herpes simplex virus and varicella zoster virus were excluded in none. Only one case fulfilled positive reexposure test criteria in initially assumed Herbalife hepatotoxicity, with lower CIOMS based causality gradings for the other cases than hitherto proposed.

Evidence Based Medicine; Positive and Negative Likelihood Ratios of Diagnostic Tests

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alireza Baratloo

2015-10-01

Full Text Available In the previous two parts of educational manuscript series in Emergency, we explained some screening characteristics of diagnostic tests including accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values. In the 3rd  part we aimed to explain positive and negative likelihood ratio (LR as one of the most reliable performance measures of a diagnostic test. To better understand this characteristic of a test, it is first necessary to fully understand the concept of sensitivity and specificity. So we strongly advise you to review the 1st part of this series again. In short, the likelihood ratios are about the percentage of people with and without a disease but having the same test result. The prevalence of a disease can directly influence screening characteristics of a diagnostic test, especially its sensitivity and specificity. Trying to eliminate this effect, LR was developed. Pre-test probability of a disease multiplied by positive or negative LR can estimate post-test probability. Therefore, LR is the most important characteristic of a test to rule out or rule in a diagnosis. A positive likelihood ratio > 1 means higher probability of the disease to be present in a patient with a positive test. The further from 1, either higher or lower, the stronger the evidence to rule in or rule out the disease, respectively. It is obvious that tests with LR close to one are less practical. On the other hand, LR further from one will have more value for application in medicine. Usually tests with 0.1 < LR > 10 are considered suitable for implication in routine practice.

Using ELISPOT to expose false positive skin test conversion in tuberculosis contacts.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Philip C Hill

2007-01-01

Full Text Available Repeat tuberculin skin tests may be false positive due to boosting of waned immunity to past mycobacterial exposure. We evaluated whether an ELISPOT test could identify tuberculosis (TB contacts with boosting of immunity to non-tuberculous mycobacterial exposure.We conducted tuberculin and ELISPOT tests in 1665 TB contacts: 799 were tuberculin test negative and were offered a repeat test after three months. Those with tuberculin test conversion had an ELISPOT, chest X-ray and sputum analysis if appropriate. We compared converters with non-converters, assessed the probability of each of four combinations of ELISPOT results over the two time points and estimated boosting with adjustment for ELISPOT sensitivity and specificity. 704 (72% contacts had a repeat tuberculin test; 176 (25% had test conversion, which increased with exposure to a case (p = 0.002, increasing age (p = 0.0006 and BCG scar (p = 0.06. 114 tuberculin test converters had ELISPOT results: 16(14% were recruitment positive/follow-up positive, 9 (8% positive/negative, 34 (30% negative/positive, and 55 (48% were negative/negative. There was a significant non-linear effect of age for ELISPOT results in skin test converters (p = 0.038. Estimates of boosting ranged from 32%-41% of skin test converters with increasing age. Three converters were diagnosed with TB, two had ELISPOT results: both were positive, including one at recruitment.We estimate that approximately one third of tuberculin skin test conversion in Gambian TB case contacts is due to boosting of immunity to non-tuberculous mycobacterial exposure. Further longitudinal studies are required to confirm whether ELISPOT can reliably identify case contacts with tuberculin test conversion that would benefit most from prophylactic treatment.

Aerobic training in aquatic environment improves the position sense of stroke patients: A randomized clinical trial

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Flávia de Andrade e Souza Mazuchi

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract AIMS (Stroke patients often present sensory-motor alterations and less aerobic capacity. Joint position sense, which is crucial for balance and gait control, is also affected in stroke patients. To compare the effect of two exercise training protocols (walking in deep water and on a treadmill on the knee position sense of stroke patients. METHODS This study was designed as a randomized controlled clinical trial. Twelve adults, who suffered a stroke at least one year prior to the start of the study, were randomly assigned to one of two groups: 1 pool group submitted to aerobic deep water walking training; and 2 the treadmill group which was submitted to aerobic walk on a treadmill. Measurements: The position sense, absolute error and variable error, of the knee joint was evaluated prior to and after nine weeks of aerobic training. RESULTS The pool group presented smaller absolute (13.9o versus 6.1o; p < 0.05 and variable (9.2o versus 3.9o; p < 0.05 errors after nine-weeks gait training than the treadmill group. CONCLUSIONS Nine-week aerobic exercise intervention in aquatic environment improved precision in the position sense of the knee joint of stroke patients, suggesting a possible application in a rehabilitation program.

A randomized controlled trial of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) testing for cervical cancer screening: trial design and preliminary results (HPV FOCAL Trial)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ogilvie, Gina S; Cook, Darrel A; Mei, Wendy; Stuart, Gavin CE; Franco, Eduardo L; Coldman, Andrew J; Niekerk, Dirk J van; Krajden, Mel; Martin, Ruth E; Ehlen, Thomas G; Ceballos, Kathy; Peacock, Stuart J; Smith, Laurie W; Kan, Lisa

2010-01-01

In the HPV FOCAL trial, we will establish the efficacy of hr-HPV DNA testing as a stand-alone screening test followed by liquid based cytology (LBC) triage of hr-HPV-positive women compared to LBC followed by hr-HPV triage with ≥ CIN3 as the outcome. HPV-FOCAL is a randomized, controlled, three-armed study over a four year period conducted in British Columbia. It will recruit 33,000 women aged 25-65 through the province's population based cervical cancer screening program. Control arm: LBC at entry and two years, and combined LBC and hr-HPV at four years among those with initial negative results and hr-HPV triage of ASCUS cases; Two Year Safety Check arm: hr-HPV at entry and LBC at two years in those with initial negative results with LBC triage of hr-HPV positives; Four Year Intervention Arm: hr-HPV at entry and combined hr-HPV and LBC at four years among those with initial negative results with LBC triage of hr-HPV positive cases To date, 6150 participants have a completed sample and epidemiologic questionnaire. Of the 2019 women enrolled in the control arm, 1908 (94.5%) were cytology negative. Women aged 25-29 had the highest rates of HSIL (1.4%). In the safety arm 92.2% of women were hr-HPV negative, with the highest rate of hr-HPV positivity found in 25-29 year old women (23.5%). Similar results were obtained in the intervention arm HPV FOCAL is the first randomized trial in North America to examine hr-HPV testing as the primary screen for cervical cancer within a population-based cervical cancer screening program. International Standard Randomised Controlled Trial Number Register, ISRCTN79347302

A randomized controlled trial of Human Papillomavirus (HPV testing for cervical cancer screening: trial design and preliminary results (HPV FOCAL Trial

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Smith Laurie W

2010-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background In the HPV FOCAL trial, we will establish the efficacy of hr-HPV DNA testing as a stand-alone screening test followed by liquid based cytology (LBC triage of hr-HPV-positive women compared to LBC followed by hr-HPV triage with ≥ CIN3 as the outcome. Methods/Design HPV-FOCAL is a randomized, controlled, three-armed study over a four year period conducted in British Columbia. It will recruit 33,000 women aged 25-65 through the province's population based cervical cancer screening program. Control arm: LBC at entry and two years, and combined LBC and hr-HPV at four years among those with initial negative results and hr-HPV triage of ASCUS cases; Two Year Safety Check arm: hr-HPV at entry and LBC at two years in those with initial negative results with LBC triage of hr-HPV positives; Four Year Intervention Arm: hr-HPV at entry and combined hr-HPV and LBC at four years among those with initial negative results with LBC triage of hr-HPV positive cases Discussion To date, 6150 participants have a completed sample and epidemiologic questionnaire. Of the 2019 women enrolled in the control arm, 1908 (94.5% were cytology negative. Women aged 25-29 had the highest rates of HSIL (1.4%. In the safety arm 92.2% of women were hr-HPV negative, with the highest rate of hr-HPV positivity found in 25-29 year old women (23.5%. Similar results were obtained in the intervention arm HPV FOCAL is the first randomized trial in North America to examine hr-HPV testing as the primary screen for cervical cancer within a population-based cervical cancer screening program. Trial Registration International Standard Randomised Controlled Trial Number Register, ISRCTN79347302

Efficacy of the Video-feedback Intervention to promote Positive Parenting and Sensitive Discipline in Twin Families (VIPP-Twins): Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Euser, Saskia; Bakermans-Kranenburg, Marian J; van den Bulk, Bianca G; Linting, Mariëlle; Damsteegt, Rani C; Vrijhof, Claudia I; van Wijk, Ilse C; Crone, Eveline A; van IJzendoorn, Marinus H

2016-06-06

Intervention programs with the aim of enhancing parenting quality have been found to be differentially effective in decreasing negative child outcomes such as externalizing behavioral problems, resulting in modest overall effect sizes. Here we present the protocol for a randomized controlled trial to examine the efficacy of the Video-feedback Intervention to promote Positive Parenting and Sensitive Discipline for Twin Families (VIPP-Twins) on parenting quality and children's behavioral control and social competence. In addition, we aim to test the differential susceptibility theory; we examine differential efficacy of the intervention based on genetic make-up or temperament for both parents and children. Lastly, we explore neurobiological mechanisms underlying intervention effects on children's developmental outcomes. The original VIPP-SD was adapted for use in families with twins. The VIPP-Twins consists of five biweekly sessions in which the families are visited at home, parent-child interactions are videotaped and parents receive positive feedback on selected video fragments. Families (N = 225) with a same sex twin (mean age = 3.6 years) were recruited to participate in the study. The study consists of four assessments. After two baseline assessments in year 1 and year 2, a random 40 % of the sample will receive the VIPP-Twins program. The first post-test assessment will be carried out one month after the intervention and there will be a long term follow-up assessment two years after the intervention. Measures include observational assessments of parenting and children's social competence and behavioral control, and neurobiological assessments (i.e., hormonal functioning and neural (re-)activity). Results of the study will provide insights in the efficacy of the VIPP-Twins and reveal moderators and mediators of program efficacy. Overall the randomized controlled trial is an experimental test of the differential susceptibility theory. Dutch Trial

[Characteristics of allergic conjunctivitis with positive skin prick test].

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, S; Jiang, Y; Jin, Y M; Zhang, J Y; Li, Y

2017-09-11

Objective: To observe the clinical characteristics of allergic conjunctivitis, and the correlations with skin prick test results. Methods: A retrospective study. Forty patients with positive skin prick test result were included. Patients underwent an ophthalmologic examination to identify their primary presenting signs and symptoms. The allergy types were divided into 5 groups. All dates were analyzed for the dependence, normality and homogeneity of variance. Chi-square test, Mann-Whitney U test, Kruskal-Wallis H test and Spearman correlation analysis were performed accordingly. Results: Among 40 patients, 18(45.0%) had a clinical diagnosis of seasonal allergic conjunctivitis, 14(35.0%) had perennial allergic conjunctivitis, 5(12.5%) had vernal keratoconjunctivitis, and 2(5.0%) had atopic keratoconjunctivits, and 1(2.5%) had giant papillary conjunctivitis. There was no significant difference in the number of symptoms and signs score among different types of allergic conjunctivitis, the score of itching and hyperemia had a positive relationship with the number of positive allergens ( r =0.74, Ptest of the allergen, the more symptoms and signs encountered in terms of severity. Conclusion: Seasonal allergic conjunctivitis was the most prevalent disorder, the most important clinical characteristics of allergic conjunctivitis are itching and conjunctival congestion, the main allergens are dust and pollens, patients may be sensitive to multiple allergens. (Chin J Ophthalmol, 2017, 53: 689-693) .

Usefulness of exercise ECG test with nitroglycerin and exercise cardiac scintigraphy in patients with false positive exercise ECG test

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moritani, Kohshiro

1984-01-01

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the clinical usefulness of exercise (Ex) ECG test with sublingual nitroglycerin (NTG) and Ex cardiac scintigraphy in differentiating false positive responses from true positive responses of Ex ECG test. We examined 7 pts (age : 46+-7 years) with true positive Ex ECG test (TP) and 8 pts (age : 55+-10 years) with false positive Ex ECG test (FP). TP had significant coronary artery disease and FP did not. Ex test was done by multistage ergometer test. In 5 pts of TP and all pts of FP, Ex cardiac scintigraphy was performed. In TP, Ex cardiac scintigraphy revealed reversible perfusion deficit, but not in FP. NTG was administered 3 minutes before Ex test was started. Ex test with NTG was terminated at the same load as Ex test without NTG. Pressure-rate products at the end point of Ex test did not show significant difference between Ex test without NTG and that with NTG (TP: 203x10 2 , 213x10 2 , FP: 196x10 2 , 206x10 2 , respectively). In 7 pts of FP, ST depression in Ex test without NTG was not improved in Ex test with NTG. On the other hand, in all pts of TP, ST depression seen in Ex test without NTG, was not observed in Ex test with NTG. It may be concluded that Ex cardiac scintigraphy is diagnostic for differentiation of false positive responses from true positive responses of Ex ECG test, as well as Ex ECG test with NTG is. (author)

A test for stationarity of spatio-temporal random fields on planar and spherical domains

KAUST Repository

Jun, Mikyoung

2012-01-01

A formal test for weak stationarity of spatial and spatio-temporal random fields is proposed. We consider the cases where the spatial domain is planar or spherical, and we do not require distributional assumptions for the random fields. The method can be applied to univariate or to multivariate random fields. Our test is based on the asymptotic normality of certain statistics that are functions of estimators of covariances at certain spatial and temporal lags under weak stationarity. Simulation results for spatial as well as spatio-temporal cases on the two types of spatial domains are reported. We describe the results of testing the stationarity of Pacific wind data, and of testing the axial symmetry of climate model errors for surface temperature using the NOAA GFDL model outputs and the observations from the Climate Research Unit in East Anglia and the Hadley Centre.

Test equality between two binary screening tests with a confirmatory procedure restricted on screen positives.

Science.gov (United States)

Lui, Kung-Jong; Chang, Kuang-Chao

2015-01-01

In studies of screening accuracy, we may commonly encounter the data in which a confirmatory procedure is administered to only those subjects with screen positives for ethical concerns. We focus our discussion on simultaneously testing equality of sensitivity and specificity between two binary screening tests when only subjects with screen positives receive the confirmatory procedure. We develop four asymptotic test procedures and one exact test procedure. We derive sample size calculation formula for a desired power of detecting a difference at a given nominal [Formula: see text]-level. We employ Monte Carlo simulation to evaluate the performance of these test procedures and the accuracy of the sample size calculation formula developed here in a variety of situations. Finally, we use the data obtained from a study of the prostate-specific-antigen test and digital rectal examination test on 949 Black men to illustrate the practical use of these test procedures and the sample size calculation formula.

Vertical jumping tests in volleyball: reliability, validity, and playing-position specifics.

Science.gov (United States)

Sattler, Tine; Sekulic, Damir; Hadzic, Vedran; Uljevic, Ognjen; Dervisevic, Edvin

2012-06-01

Vertical jumping is known to be important in volleyball, and jumping performance tests are frequently studied for their reliability and validity. However, most studies concerning jumping in volleyball have dealt with standard rather than sport-specific jumping procedures and tests. The aims of this study, therefore, were (a) to determine the reliability and factorial validity of 2 volleyball-specific jumping tests, the block jump (BJ) test and the attack jump (AJ) test, relative to 2 frequently used and systematically validated jumping tests, the countermovement jump test and the squat jump test and (b) to establish volleyball position-specific differences in the jumping tests and simple anthropometric indices (body height [BH], body weight, and body mass index [BMI]). The BJ was performed from a defensive volleyball position, with the hands positioned in front of the chest. During an AJ, the players used a 2- to 3-step approach and performed a drop jump with an arm swing followed by a quick vertical jump. A total of 95 high-level volleyball players (all men) participated in this study. The reliability of the jumping tests ranged from 0.97 to 0.99 for Cronbach's alpha coefficients, from 0.93 to 0.97 for interitem correlation coefficients and from 2.1 to 2.8 for coefficients of variation. The highest reliability was found for the specific jumping tests. The factor analysis extracted one significant component, and all of the tests were highly intercorrelated. The analysis of variance with post hoc analysis showed significant differences between 5 playing positions in some of the jumping tests. In general, receivers had a greater jumping capacity, followed by libero players. The differences in jumping capacities should be emphasized vis-a-vis differences in the anthropometric measures of players, where middle hitters had higher BH and body weight, followed by opposite hitters and receivers, with no differences in the BMI between positions.

Cervical cancer screening by high risk HPV testing in routine practice: results at one year recall of high risk HPV-positive and cytology-negative women.

Science.gov (United States)

Del Mistro, Annarosa; Frayle, Helena; Ferro, Antonio; Callegaro, Susanna; Del Sole, Annamaria; Stomeo, Anna; Cirillo, Emanuela; Fedato, Chiara; Pagni, Silvana; Barzon, Luisa; Zorzi, Manuel

2014-03-01

Cervical cancer screening by human papillomavirus (HPV) testing requires the use of additional triage and follow-up analyses. We evaluated women's compliance with and the performance of this strategy in a routine setting. Five cervical service screening programmes in North-East Italy. Eligible women aged 25-64 invited for a new screening episode underwent HPV testing for high risk types (hrHPV by Hybrid Capture 2) and cytology triage. Women with positive HPV and cytology results were referred for colposcopy; women with positive HPV but negative cytology results were referred to 1-year repeat hrHPV testing. Of 46,694 women screened by HPV testing up to December 2011, 3,211 (6.9%) tested hrHPV positive; 45% of these had a positive triage cytology. Those with negative cytology were invited for 1-yr repeat testing. Compliance with invitation was 61.6% at baseline and 85.3% at 1-yr repeat. Rate of persistent hrHPV positivity was 58% (830/1,435). Colposcopy performed in women with a positive hrHPV test at 1-yr repeat accounted for 36% of all colposcopies performed within the screening programmes. Cumulatively, a histological high-grade lesion was detected in 276 women (5.9‰ detection rate), 234 at baseline (85%), and 42 (15%) at 1-yr repeat. Compliance with hrHPV-based screening programmes was high both at baseline and at 1-yr repeat. Compared with the randomized trials, a higher proportion of triage cytology was read as positive, and only a small number of high-grade lesions were detected among the group of hrHPV positive cytology negative women who repeated testing 1-yr after baseline.

[Evaluation of performance and false positivity of Mediace RPR test that uses a chemistry autoanalyzer].

Science.gov (United States)

Noh, Jaekwang; Ko, Hak Hyun; Yun, Yeomin; Choi, Young Sook; Lee, Sang Gon; Shin, Sue; Han, Kyou Sup; Song, Eun Young

2008-08-01

We evaluated the performance and false positive rate of Mediace RPR test (Sekisui, Japan), a newly introduced nontreponemal test using a chemistry autoanalyzer. The sensitivity of Mediace RPR test was analyzed using sera from 50 patients with syphilis in different stages (8 primary, 7 secondary, and 35 latent), 14 sera positive with fluorescent treponemal antibody absorption (FTA-ABS) IgM, and 74 sera positive with conventional rapid plasma regain (RPR) card test (Asan, Korea) and also positive with Treponema pallidum hemagglutination (TPHA) test or FTA-ABS IgG test. The specificity was analyzed on 108 healthy blood donors. We also performed RPR card test on 302 sera that had been tested positive with Mediace RPR test and also performed TPHA or FTA-ABS IgG test to analyze the false positive rate of Mediace RPR test. A cutoff value of 0.5 R.U. (RPR unit) was used for Mediace RPR test. Mediace RPR test on syphilitic sera of different stages (primary, secondary, and latent stages) and FTA-ABS IgM positive sera showed a sensitivity of 100%, 100%, 82.9% and 100%, respectively. Among the 74 sera positive with conventional RPR card test and TPHA or FTA-ABS IgG test, 55 were positive with Mediace test. The specificity of Mediace RPR test on blood donors was 97.2%. Among the 302 sera positive with Mediace RPR test, 137 sera (45.4%) were negative by RPR card and TPHA/FTA-ABS IgG tests. Although the sensitivities of Mediace RPR were good for primary and secondary syphilis, due to its high negative rate of Mediace RPR over the conventional RPR positive samples, further studies are necessary whether it can replace conventional nontreponemal test for screening purpose. Moreover, in view of the high false positive rate, positive results by Mediace RPR test should be confirmed with treponemal tests.

Blinded trials taken to the test: an analysis of randomized clinical trials that report tests for the success of blinding

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hróbjartsson, A; Forfang, E; Haahr, M T

2007-01-01

Blinding can reduce bias in randomized clinical trials, but blinding procedures may be unsuccessful. Our aim was to assess how often randomized clinical trials test the success of blinding, the methods involved and how often blinding is reported as being successful....

10 CFR 26.67 - Random drug and alcohol testing of individuals who have applied for authorization.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 10 Energy 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Random drug and alcohol testing of individuals who have... PROGRAMS Granting and Maintaining Authorization § 26.67 Random drug and alcohol testing of individuals who... other entity relies on drug and alcohol tests that were conducted before the individual applied for...

Aerobic training in aquatic environment improves the position sense of stroke patients: A randomized clinical trial

OpenAIRE

Flávia de Andrade e Souza Mazuchi; Aline Bigongiari; Juliana Valente Francica; Patricia Martins Franciulli; Luis Mochizuki; Joseph Hamill; Ulysses Fernandes Ervilha

2018-01-01

Abstract AIMS (Stroke patients often present sensory-motor alterations and less aerobic capacity. Joint position sense, which is crucial for balance and gait control, is also affected in stroke patients). To compare the effect of two exercise training protocols (walking in deep water and on a treadmill) on the knee position sense of stroke patients. METHODS This study was designed as a randomized controlled clinical trial. Twelve adults, who suffered a stroke at least one year prior to the ...

Positive Psychology Interventions for Patients With Heart Disease: A Preliminary Randomized Trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Nikrahan, Gholam Reza; Suarez, Laura; Asgari, Karim; Beach, Scott R; Celano, Christopher M; Kalantari, Mehrdad; Abedi, Mohammad Reza; Etesampour, Ali; Abbas, Rezaei; Huffman, Jeff C

2016-01-01

Positive psychologic characteristics have been linked to superior cardiac outcomes. Accordingly, in this exploratory study, we assessed positive psychology interventions in patients who had recently undergone a procedure to treat cardiovascular disease. Participants were randomly assigned to receive 1 of 3 different 6-week face-to-face interventions or a wait-list control condition. We assessed intervention feasibility and compared changes in psychologic outcome measures postintervention (7wk) and at follow-up (15wk) between intervention and control participants. Across the interventions, 74% of assigned sessions were completed. When comparing outcomes between interventions and control participants (N = 55 total), there were no between-group differences post-intervention, but at follow-up intervention participants had greater improvements in happiness (β = 14.43, 95% CI: 8.66-20.2, p psychology intervention for cardiac patients. Copyright © 2016 The Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Testing serial dependence by Random-shuffle surrogates and the Wayland method

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hirata, Yoshito [Department of Mathematical Informatics, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656 (Japan); Aihara Complexity Modelling Project, ERATO, JST (Japan); Institute of Industrial Science, University of Tokyo, 4-6-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153-8505 (Japan)], E-mail: yoshito@sat.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp; Horai, Shunsuke [Aihara Complexity Modelling Project, ERATO, JST (Japan); Institute of Industrial Science, University of Tokyo, 4-6-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153-8505 (Japan); Suzuki, Hideyuki [Department of Mathematical Informatics, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656 (Japan); Institute of Industrial Science, University of Tokyo, 4-6-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153-8505 (Japan); Aihara, Kazuyuki [Department of Mathematical Informatics, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656 (Japan); Aihara Complexity Modelling Project, ERATO, JST (Japan); Institute of Industrial Science, University of Tokyo, 4-6-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153-8505 (Japan)

2007-10-22

Given time series, a primary concern is existence of serial dependence and determinism. They are often tested with Random-shuffle surrogates, which totally break serial dependence, and the Wayland method. Since the statistic of the Wayland method fundamentally shows a smaller value for a more deterministic time series, for real-world data, we usually expect that the statistic for the original data is smaller than or equal to those of Random-shuffle surrogates. However, we show herewith an opposite result with wind data in high time resolution. We argue that this puzzling phenomenon can be produced by observational or dynamical noise, both of which may be produced by a low-dimensional deterministic system. Thus the one-sided test is dangerous.

Testing serial dependence by Random-shuffle surrogates and the Wayland method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hirata, Yoshito; Horai, Shunsuke; Suzuki, Hideyuki; Aihara, Kazuyuki

2007-01-01

Given time series, a primary concern is existence of serial dependence and determinism. They are often tested with Random-shuffle surrogates, which totally break serial dependence, and the Wayland method. Since the statistic of the Wayland method fundamentally shows a smaller value for a more deterministic time series, for real-world data, we usually expect that the statistic for the original data is smaller than or equal to those of Random-shuffle surrogates. However, we show herewith an opposite result with wind data in high time resolution. We argue that this puzzling phenomenon can be produced by observational or dynamical noise, both of which may be produced by a low-dimensional deterministic system. Thus the one-sided test is dangerous

Effects of a modified technique for TVT-O positioning on postoperative pain: single-blind randomized study.

Science.gov (United States)

Tommaselli, Giovanni A; Formisano, Carmen; Di Carlo, Costantino; Fabozzi, Annamaria; Nappi, Carmine

2012-09-01

One of the most frequent and distressing complications of the tension-free vaginal tape obturator (TVT-O) procedure for stress urinary incontinence (SUI) is groin pain, which may be related to the surgical technique or to the tape. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of a more limited dissection and a more medial trocar trajectory in TVT-O positioning on postoperative pain. Seventy-two SUI patients were randomized to undergo TVT-O either with the traditional technique (group A) or a modified procedure (reduced paraurethral dissection and a more medial trocar trajectory) (group B). Visual analog scale pain scores 12 h, 24 h, and 1 month after the procedure, number of analgesic vials, objective cure rate, and patient functional and quality of life scores 6 months after the procedure were evaluated. Data were analyzed by the Student's t test for parametric variables, the Mann-Whitney U and Wilcoxon tests for nonparametric variables, and Fisher's exact test for categorical variables. Pain scores were significantly lower in group B compared with group A 24 h after surgery (P = 0.01). Pain scores significantly decreased from 12-24 h postoperatively to 1 month follow-up in both groups (P TVT-O seem to reduce postoperative groin pain at 24 h after the procedure, but not the analgesic requirement.

Randomized comparison of vaginal self-sampling by standard vs. dry swabs for Human papillomavirus testing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eperon, Isabelle; Vassilakos, Pierre; Navarria, Isabelle; Menoud, Pierre-Alain; Gauthier, Aude; Pache, Jean-Claude; Boulvain, Michel; Untiet, Sarah; Petignat, Patrick

2013-01-01

To evaluate if human papillomavirus (HPV) self-sampling (Self-HPV) using a dry vaginal swab is a valid alternative for HPV testing. Women attending colposcopy clinic were recruited to collect two consecutive Self-HPV samples: a Self-HPV using a dry swab (S-DRY) and a Self-HPV using a standard wet transport medium (S-WET). These samples were analyzed for HPV using real time PCR (Roche Cobas). Participants were randomized to determine the order of the tests. Questionnaires assessing preferences and acceptability for both tests were conducted. Subsequently, women were invited for colposcopic examination; a physician collected a cervical sample (physician-sampling) with a broom-type device and placed it into a liquid-based cytology medium. Specimens were then processed for the production of cytology slides and a Hybrid Capture HPV DNA test (Qiagen) was performed from the residual liquid. Biopsies were performed if indicated. Unweighted kappa statistics (κ) and McNemar tests were used to measure the agreement among the sampling methods. A total of 120 women were randomized. Overall HPV prevalence was 68.7% (95% Confidence Interval (CI) 59.3–77.2) by S-WET, 54.4% (95% CI 44.8–63.9) by S-DRY and 53.8% (95% CI 43.8–63.7) by HC. Among paired samples (S-WET and S-DRY), the overall agreement was good (85.7%; 95% CI 77.8–91.6) and the κ was substantial (0.70; 95% CI 0.57-0.70). The proportion of positive type-specific HPV agreement was also good (77.3%; 95% CI 68.2-84.9). No differences in sensitivity for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade one (CIN1) or worse between the two Self-HPV tests were observed. Women reported the two Self-HPV tests as highly acceptable. Self-HPV using dry swab transfer does not appear to compromise specimen integrity. Further study in a large screening population is needed. ClinicalTrials.gov: http://clinicaltrials.gov/show/NCT01316120

Detector Position Estimation for PET Scanners.

Science.gov (United States)

Pierce, Larry; Miyaoka, Robert; Lewellen, Tom; Alessio, Adam; Kinahan, Paul

2012-06-11

Physical positioning of scintillation crystal detector blocks in Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scanners is not always exact. We test a proof of concept methodology for the determination of the six degrees of freedom for detector block positioning errors by utilizing a rotating point source over stepped axial intervals. To test our method, we created computer simulations of seven Micro Crystal Element Scanner (MiCES) PET systems with randomized positioning errors. The computer simulations show that our positioning algorithm can estimate the positions of the block detectors to an average of one-seventh of the crystal pitch tangentially, and one-third of the crystal pitch axially. Virtual acquisitions of a point source grid and a distributed phantom show that our algorithm improves both the quantitative and qualitative accuracy of the reconstructed objects. We believe this estimation algorithm is a practical and accurate method for determining the spatial positions of scintillation detector blocks.

Detector position estimation for PET scanners

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pierce, Larry; Miyaoka, Robert; Lewellen, Tom; Alessio, Adam; Kinahan, Paul

2012-01-01

Physical positioning of scintillation crystal detector blocks in Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scanners is not always exact. We test a proof of concept methodology for the determination of the six degrees of freedom for detector block positioning errors by utilizing a rotating point source over stepped axial intervals. To test our method, we created computer simulations of seven Micro Crystal Element Scanner (MiCES) PET systems with randomized positioning errors. The computer simulations show that our positioning algorithm can estimate the positions of the block detectors to an average of one-seventh of the crystal pitch tangentially, and one-third of the crystal pitch axially. Virtual acquisitions of a point source grid and a distributed phantom show that our algorithm improves both the quantitative and qualitative accuracy of the reconstructed objects. We believe this estimation algorithm is a practical and accurate method for determining the spatial positions of scintillation detector blocks.

Random number generators tested on quantum Monte Carlo simulations.

Science.gov (United States)

Hongo, Kenta; Maezono, Ryo; Miura, Kenichi

2010-08-01

We have tested and compared several (pseudo) random number generators (RNGs) applied to a practical application, ground state energy calculations of molecules using variational and diffusion Monte Carlo metheds. A new multiple recursive generator with 8th-order recursion (MRG8) and the Mersenne twister generator (MT19937) are tested and compared with the RANLUX generator with five luxury levels (RANLUX-[0-4]). Both MRG8 and MT19937 are proven to give the same total energy as that evaluated with RANLUX-4 (highest luxury level) within the statistical error bars with less computational cost to generate the sequence. We also tested the notorious implementation of linear congruential generator (LCG), RANDU, for comparison. (c) 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Histamine release positive test associates with disease remission in chronic spontaneous urticaria

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Berti, A; Yacoub, M R; Skov, Per Stahl

2017-01-01

the correlations between HR test results and demographic features, quality of life, disease activity, clinical course, and autologous serum and plasma skin tests (ASST and APST). Results. All patients with positive HR test (9/9, 100%) had a more severe disease activity at onset (urticaria activity score, UAS > 2......Summary: Background. Histamine release (HR) test has previously been shown to predict the presence of endogenous histamine-releasing factors in chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU). Objectives and methods. Twenty CSU patients unresponsive to antihistamine treatment were enrolled in order to evaluate...... with a positive HR test had a significant reduction of disease activity (p = 0.003) whereas patients with a negative HR test did not (p > 0.05), leading to disease remission and antihistamine treatment withdrawal in 67% (6/9) of positive HR test patients versus 18% (2/11) of negative HR test patients (p = 0...

Self-Reported Drug and Alcohol Use and Attitudes toward Drug Testing in High Schools with Random Student Drug Testing

Science.gov (United States)

DuPont, Robert L.; Campbell, Michael D.; Campbell, Teresa G.; Shea, Corinne L.; DuPont, Helen S.

2013-01-01

Many schools implement random student drug testing (RSDT) programs as a drug prevention strategy. This study analyzes self-report surveys of students in eight secondary schools with well-established RSDT programs, comparing students who understood they were subject to testing and students who understood they were not subject to testing. Students…

Testing the leadership and organizational change for implementation (LOCI) intervention in substance abuse treatment: a cluster randomized trial study protocol.

Science.gov (United States)

Aarons, Gregory A; Ehrhart, Mark G; Moullin, Joanna C; Torres, Elisa M; Green, Amy E

2017-03-03

Evidence-based practice (EBP) implementation represents a strategic change in organizations that requires effective leadership and alignment of leadership and organizational support across organizational levels. As such, there is a need for combining leadership development with organizational strategies to support organizational climate conducive to EBP implementation. The leadership and organizational change for implementation (LOCI) intervention includes leadership training for workgroup leaders, ongoing implementation leadership coaching, 360° assessment, and strategic planning with top and middle management regarding how they can support workgroup leaders in developing a positive EBP implementation climate. This test of the LOCI intervention will take place in conjunction with the implementation of motivational interviewing (MI) in 60 substance use disorder treatment programs in California, USA. Participants will include agency executives, 60 program leaders, and approximately 360 treatment staff. LOCI will be tested using a multiple cohort, cluster randomized trial that randomizes workgroups (i.e., programs) within agency to either LOCI or a webinar leadership training control condition in three consecutive cohorts. The LOCI intervention is 12 months, and the webinar control intervention takes place in months 1, 5, and 8, for each cohort. Web-based surveys of staff and supervisors will be used to collect data on leadership, implementation climate, provider attitudes, and citizenship. Audio recordings of counseling sessions will be coded for MI fidelity. The unit of analysis will be the workgroup, randomized by site within agency and with care taken that co-located workgroups are assigned to the same condition to avoid contamination. Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) will be used to analyze the data to account for the nested data structure. LOCI has been developed to be a feasible and effective approach for organizations to create a positive climate and

Offering self-administered oral HIV testing to truck drivers in Kenya to increase testing: a randomized controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Kelvin, Elizabeth A; George, Gavin; Mwai, Eva; Nyaga, Eston; Mantell, Joanne E; Romo, Matthew L; Odhiambo, Jacob O; Starbuck, Lila; Govender, Kaymarlin

2018-01-01

We conducted a randomized controlled trial among 305 truck drivers from two North Star Alliance roadside wellness clinics in Kenya to see if offering HIV testing choices would increase HIV testing uptake. Participants were randomized to be offered (1) a provider-administered rapid blood (finger-prick) HIV test (i.e., standard of care [SOC]) or (2) a Choice between SOC or a self-administered oral rapid HIV test with provider supervision in the clinic. Participants in the Choice arm who refused HIV testing in the clinic were offered a test kit for home use with phone-based posttest counseling. We compared HIV test uptake using the Mantel Haenszel odds ratio (OR) adjusting for clinic. Those in the Choice arm had higher odds of HIV test uptake than those in the SOC arm (OR = 1.5), but the difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.189). When adding the option to take an HIV test kit for home use, the Choice arm had significantly greater odds of testing uptake (OR = 2.8, p = 0.002). Of those in the Choice arm who tested, 26.9% selected the SOC test, 64.6% chose supervised self-testing in the clinic, and 8.5% took a test kit for home use. Participants varied in the HIV test they selected when given choices. Importantly, when participants who refused HIV testing in the clinic were offered a test kit for home use, an additional 8.5% tested. Offering truck drivers a variety of HIV testing choices may increase HIV testing uptake in this key population.

Role of Positive Airway Pressure Therapy for Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Patients With Stroke: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Science.gov (United States)

Gupta, Anupama; Shukla, Garima; Afsar, Mohammed; Poornima, Shivani; Pandey, Ravindra M.; Goyal, Vinay; Srivastava, Achal; Vibha, Deepti; Behari, Madhuri

2018-01-01

Study Objectives: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is an independent risk factor for stroke. The objective of this study was to assess the effect of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment on prevention of new vascular events among patients with stroke and OSA. Methods: Consecutive conscious patients presenting with first imaging-confirmed arterial stroke were included, 6 weeks or more after ictus. All patients underwent clinical and polysomnography (PSG) testing. Patients with an apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) of > 15 events/h were randomized to posttitration nightly CPAP treatment and non-CPAP (received best medical treatment) groups. On follow-up at 3, 6, and 12 months from randomization, evaluation was carried out for any new vascular events as the primary outcome measure, and for clinical stroke outcomes (using the Barthel Index and modified Rankin scale) and neuropsychological parameters as the secondary outcome measures. Results: Among the 679 patients with stroke who were screened, 116 reported for PSG, 83 had AHI > 15 events/h, and 70 (34 in CPAP and 36 in non-CPAP) were randomized. Thirteen patients could not be randomized because of a lack of CPAP devices. Four patients crossed over from the CPAP to the non-CPAP group. Age (mean age 53.41 ± 9.85 in CPAP versus 52.69 ± 13.23 years in non-CPAP, P = .81) and sex distribution (24 males in CPAP versus 33 males in non-CPAP, P = .79) were similar in both groups. At 12-month follow-up, there was 1 vascular event (3.33%) in the CPAP group and 6 events (15%) in the non-CPAP group (P = .23). Modified Rankin scale score improvement by ≥ 1 at 12-month follow-up was found in significantly more patients in the CPAP group than in the non-CPAP group (53% versus 27%). Conclusions: These findings suggest significantly better stroke outcomes and statistically nonsignificant favorable outcomes in terms of recurrence of vascular events for patients with stroke and OSA who use CPAP treatment. Clinical Trial

Heterophilic antibodies interfering with radioimmunoassay. A false-positive pregnancy test

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vladutiu, A.O.; Sulewski, J.M.; Pudlak, K.A.; Stull, C.G.

1982-11-19

A young woman with amenorrhea had a consistently positive pregnancy test result (serum radioimmunoassay measurement of ..beta..-human chorionic gonadotropin hormone). No fetal or placental tissue was found after uterine curettage and exploratory laparotomy. The false-positive pregnancy test result was due to heterophilic antibovine and antigoat antibodies in the patient's serum. These antibodies interfered with radioimmunoassays using goat antibodies. This case shows that serum heterophilic antibodies can interfere with immunoassays and result in unnecessary diagnostic procedures and/or unnecessary treatment.

Heterophilic antibodies interfering with radioimmunoassay. A false-positive pregnancy test

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vladutiu, A.O.; Sulewski, J.M.; Pudlak, K.A.; Stull, C.G.

1982-01-01

A young woman with amenorrhea had a consistently positive pregnancy test result (serum radioimmunoassay measurement of #betta#-human chorionic gonadotropin hormone). No fetal or placental tissue was found after uterine curettage and exploratory laparotomy. The false-positive pregnancy test result was due to heterophilic antibovine and antigoat antibodies in the patient's serum. These antibodies interfered with radioimmunoassays using goat antibodies. This case shows that serum heterophilic antibodies can interfere with immunoassays and result in unnecessary diagnostic procedures and/or unnecessary treatment

Statistical auditing and randomness test of lotto k/N-type games

Science.gov (United States)

Coronel-Brizio, H. F.; Hernández-Montoya, A. R.; Rapallo, F.; Scalas, E.

2008-11-01

One of the most popular lottery games worldwide is the so-called “lotto k/N”. It considers N numbers 1,2,…,N from which k are drawn randomly, without replacement. A player selects k or more numbers and the first prize is shared amongst those players whose selected numbers match all of the k randomly drawn. Exact rules may vary in different countries. In this paper, mean values and covariances for the random variables representing the numbers drawn from this kind of game are presented, with the aim of using them to audit statistically the consistency of a given sample of historical results with theoretical values coming from a hypergeometric statistical model. The method can be adapted to test pseudorandom number generators.

A test for stationarity of spatio-temporal random fields on planar and spherical domains

KAUST Repository

Jun, Mikyoung; Genton, Marc G.

2012-01-01

A formal test for weak stationarity of spatial and spatio-temporal random fields is proposed. We consider the cases where the spatial domain is planar or spherical, and we do not require distributional assumptions for the random fields. The method

Adaptation response of Arabidopsis thaliana to random positioning

Science.gov (United States)

Kittang, A.-I.; Winge, P.; van Loon, J. J. W. A.; Bones, A. M.; Iversen, T.-H.

2013-10-01

Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings were exposed on a Random Positioning Machine (RPM) under light conditions for 16 h and the samples were analysed using microarray techniques as part of a preparation for a space experiment on the International Space Station (ISS). The results demonstrated a moderate to low regulation of 55 genes (genes). Genes encoding proteins associated with the chaperone system (e.g. heat shock proteins, HSPs) and enzymes in the flavonoid biosynthesis were induced. Most of the repressed genes were associated with light and sugar responses. Significant up-regulation of selected HSP genes was found by quantitative Real-Time PCR in 1 week old plants after the RPM exposure both in light and darkness. Higher quantity of DPBA (diphenylboric acid 2-amino-ethyl ester) staining was observed in the whole root and in the root elongation zone of the seedlings exposed on the RPM by use of fluorescent microscopy, indicating higher flavonoid content. The regulated genes and an increase of flavonoids are related to several stresses, but increased occurrence of HSPs and flavonoids are also representative for normal growth (e.g. gravitropism). The response could be a direct stress response or an integrated response of the two signal pathways of light and gravity resulting in an overall light response.

78 FR 77196 - Random Drug and Alcohol Testing Percentage Rates of Covered Aviation Employees for the Period of...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-12-20

... DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Federal Aviation Administration Random Drug and Alcohol Testing... the minimum random drug and alcohol testing percentage rates for the period January 1, 2014, through... Federal Regulations Title 14, section 120.109(b) (for drug testing), and 120.217(c) (for alcohol testing...

Random Gap Detection Test (RGDT) performance of individuals with central auditory processing disorders from 5 to 25 years of age.

Science.gov (United States)

Dias, Karin Ziliotto; Jutras, Benoît; Acrani, Isabela Olszanski; Pereira, Liliane Desgualdo

2012-02-01

The aim of the present study was to assess the auditory temporal resolution ability in individuals with central auditory processing disorders, to examine the maturation effect and to investigate the relationship between the performance on a temporal resolution test with the performance on other central auditory tests. Participants were divided in two groups: 131 with Central Auditory Processing Disorder and 94 with normal auditory processing. They had pure-tone air-conduction thresholds no poorer than 15 dB HL bilaterally, normal admittance measures and presence of acoustic reflexes. Also, they were assessed with a central auditory test battery. Participants who failed at least one or more tests were included in the Central Auditory Processing Disorder group and those in the control group obtained normal performance on all tests. Following the auditory processing assessment, the Random Gap Detection Test was administered to the participants. A three-way ANOVA was performed. Correlation analyses were also done between the four Random Gap Detection Test subtests data as well as between Random Gap Detection Test data and the other auditory processing test results. There was a significant difference between the age-group performances in children with and without Central Auditory Processing Disorder. Also, 48% of children with Central Auditory Processing Disorder failed the Random Gap Detection Test and the percentage decreased as a function of age. The highest percentage (86%) was found in the 5-6 year-old children. Furthermore, results revealed a strong significant correlation between the four Random Gap Detection Test subtests. There was a modest correlation between the Random Gap Detection Test results and the dichotic listening tests. No significant correlation was observed between the Random Gap Detection Test data and the results of the other tests in the battery. Random Gap Detection Test should not be administered to children younger than 7 years old because

75 FR 76069 - Random Drug and Alcohol Testing Percentage Rates of Covered Aviation Employees for the Period of...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-12-07

... DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Federal Aviation Administration Random Drug and Alcohol Testing... minimum random drug and alcohol testing percentage rates for the period January 1, 2011, through December... Regulations Title 14, section 120.109(b) (for drug testing), and 120.217(c) (for alcohol testing). Issued in...

77 FR 71669 - Random Drug and Alcohol Testing Percentage Rates of Covered Aviation Employees for the Period of...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-12-03

... DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Federal Aviation Administration Random Drug and Alcohol Testing... the minimum random drug and alcohol testing percentage rates for the period January 1, 2013, through... Regulations Title 14, Sec. Sec. 120.109(b) (for drug testing), and 120.217(c) (for alcohol testing). Issued in...

76 FR 74843 - Random Drug and Alcohol Testing Percentage Rates of Covered Aviation Employees for the Period of...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-12-01

... DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Federal Aviation Administration Random Drug and Alcohol Testing... the minimum random drug and alcohol testing percentage rates for the period January 1, 2012, through... Regulations Title 14, Sec. 120.109(b) (for drug testing), and 120.217(c) (for alcohol testing). Issued in...

Impact of patient position on the incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Science.gov (United States)

Alexiou, Vangelis G; Ierodiakonou, Vrettos; Dimopoulos, George; Falagas, Matthew E

2009-12-01

The aim of this study is to summarize the effect of position (prone and semirecumbent 45 degrees ) of mechanically ventilated patients on the incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) and other outcomes. A systematic search for randomized control trials (RCTs) was done. We estimated pooled odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) using fixed effects model or random effects model, where appropriate. For continuous variables, we calculated the estimation of weighted mean differences. We analyzed data extracted from 3 RCTs studying the semirecumbent 45 degrees and 4 RCTs studying the prone position with a total of 337 and 1018 patients, respectively. The odds of developing clinically diagnosed VAP were significantly lower among patients in the semirecumbent 45 degrees position compared to patients in the supine position (OR = 0.47; 95% CI, 0.27-0.82; 337 patients). The comparison of prone vs supine position group showed a moderate trend toward better outcomes regarding the incidence of clinically diagnosed VAP among patients in the prone position (OR = 0.80; 95% CI, 0.60-1.08; 1018 patients). The subanalysis regarding the incidence of microbiologically documented VAP, the length of intensive care unit stay, and the duration of mechanical ventilation showed that patients in the semirecumbent 45 degrees position have a moderate trend toward better clinical outcomes. This meta-analysis provides additional evidence that the usual practice of back-rest elevation of 15 degrees to 30 degrees is not sufficient to prevent VAP in mechanically ventilated patients. Patients positioned semirecumbently 45 degrees have significantly lower incidence of clinically diagnosed VAP compared to patients positioned supinely. On the other hand, the incidence of clinically diagnosed VAP among patients positioned pronely does not differ significantly from the incidence of clinically diagnosed VAP among patients positioned supinely.

Genetic Testing and Post-Testing Decision Making among BRCA-Positive Mutation Women: A Psychosocial Approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Hesse-Biber, Sharlene; An, Chen

2016-10-01

Through an analysis of an online survey of women who tested positive for the BRCA genetic mutation for breast cancer, this research uses a social constructionist and feminist standpoint lens to understand the decision-making process that leads BRCA-positive women to choose genetic testing. Additionally, this research examines how they socially construct and understand their risk for developing breast cancer, as well as which treatment options they undergo post-testing. BRCA-positive women re-frame their statistical medical risk for developing cancer and their post-testing treatment choices through a broad psychosocial context of engagement that also includes their social networks. Important psychosocial factors drive women's medical decisions, such as individual feelings of guilt and vulnerability, and the degree of perceived social support. Women who felt guilty and fearful that they might pass the BRCA gene to their children were more likely to undergo risk reducing surgery. Women with at least one daughter and women without children were more inclined toward the risk reducing surgery compared to those with only sons. These psychosocial factors and social network engagements serve as a "nexus of decision making" that does not, for the most part, mirror the medical assessments of statistical odds for hereditary cancer development, nor the specific treatment protocols outlined by the medical establishment.

Prevalence of Mantoux test positivity among apparently healthy ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Prevalence of Mantoux test positivity among apparently healthy children in Maiduguri, Nigeria. MG Mustapha, AM Garba, AI Rabasa, MS Gimba. Abstract. Background. The impact of tuberculosis (TB) is highest in the developing countries of Asia and Africa, especially among children, in whom the diagnosis is challenging.

Characteristics of children with positive tuberculin skin test.

Science.gov (United States)

Hocaoğlu, Arzu Babayiğit; Erge, Duygu Olmez; Anal, Ozden; Makay, Balahan; Uzuner, Nevin; Karaman, Ozkan

2011-01-01

The aim of the study was to define the characteristics of children with latent tuberculosis diagnosed with positive tuberculin skin test (TST) and evaluate potential risk factors in children with positive TST. Children followed with the diagnosis of latent tuberculosis infection were included in the study retrospectively. Demographic characteristics of patients including history of atopy, respiratory infections, family history of tuberculosis and atopy, number of BCG vaccinations, findings of physical examination and laboratory data were extracted from patient's file. Eighty-one children (51 male, 30 female) who had positive TST were retrospectively evaluated in the study. Mean age of the patients was 8.00 ± 4.00 years. Only 13 (16%) of the children had contact with a case who had active tuberculosis. It was shown that the age of the patients, number of BCG scars and BCG vaccination significantly affected TST reaction size. TST size was not affected with time passed after last dose of BCG vaccination, family history of tuberculosis, presence of TST positive case in the family, exposure to cigarette smoke, number of household family members and presence of respiratory allergic disease. The patient's age, numbers of BCG vaccination and BCG scars significantly affect TST results in childhood. This may cause difficulty in diagnosing latent tuberculosis infection and in decision of initiating prophylactic treatment. The results of this study may show that recently developed, more accurate and convenient in vitro tests that they have higher costs and require sophisticated laboratory, can be used to diagnose latent tuberculosis.

Association between positive patch tests to epoxy resin and fragrance mix I ingredients

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Klaus Ejner; Christensen, Lars Porskjaer; Vølund, Aage

2009-01-01

and possibly reproduce this association with the use of TRUE((R)) test data and supplementary tests with fragrance mix ingredients from the Department of Dermatology, Odense University Hospital. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Six thousand one hundred and fifteen consecutive eczema patients tested from 1995 to 2007......BACKGROUND: Both epoxy resin (diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A) and fragrance mix I are included in the European baseline series of contact allergens. A significant association between positive reactions to epoxy resin and fragrance mix has been reported by others. OBJECTIVE: To investigate...... were included, and test results from all patients tested with fragrance mix ingredients were analysed. RESULTS: One hundred and forty-five (2.4%) were positive to epoxy resin and 282 (4.6%) were positive to fragrance mix I. Nineteen were positive to both giving an odds ratio of 3.3, which...

A Multicenter, Randomized Trial of Ramped Position vs Sniffing Position During Endotracheal Intubation of Critically Ill Adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Semler, Matthew W; Janz, David R; Russell, Derek W; Casey, Jonathan D; Lentz, Robert J; Zouk, Aline N; deBoisblanc, Bennett P; Santanilla, Jairo I; Khan, Yasin A; Joffe, Aaron M; Stigler, William S; Rice, Todd W

2017-10-01

Hypoxemia is the most common complication during endotracheal intubation of critically ill adults. Intubation in the ramped position has been hypothesized to prevent hypoxemia by increasing functional residual capacity and decreasing the duration of intubation, but has never been studied outside of the operating room. Multicenter, randomized trial comparing the ramped position (head of the bed elevated to 25°) with the sniffing position (torso supine, neck flexed, and head extended) among 260 adults undergoing endotracheal intubation by pulmonary and critical care medicine fellows in four ICUs between July 22, 2015, and July 19, 2016. The primary outcome was lowest arterial oxygen saturation between induction and 2 minutes after intubation. Secondary outcomes included Cormack-Lehane grade of glottic view, difficulty of intubation, and number of laryngoscopy attempts. The median lowest arterial oxygen saturation was 93% (interquartile range [IQR], 84%-99%) with the ramped position vs 92% (IQR, 79%-98%) with the sniffing position (P = .27). The ramped position appeared to increase the incidence of grade III or IV view (25.4% vs 11.5%, P = .01), increase the incidence of difficult intubation (12.3% vs 4.6%, P = .04), and decrease the rate of intubation on the first attempt (76.2% vs 85.4%, P = .02), respectively. In this multicenter trial, the ramped position did not improve oxygenation during endotracheal intubation of critically ill adults compared with the sniffing position. The ramped position may worsen glottic view and increase the number of laryngoscopy attempts required for successful intubation. ClinicalTrials.gov; No.: NCT02497729; URL: www.clinicaltrials.gov. Copyright © 2017 American College of Chest Physicians. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Effect of Positioning and Early Ambulation on Coronary Angiography Complications: a Randomized Clinical Trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Abdollahi, Ali Akbar; Mehranfard, Shahzad; Behnampour, Nasser; Kordnejad, Abdol Mohamad

2015-06-01

After coronary angiography to prevent potential complications, patients are restricted to 4-24 hours bed rest in the supine position due to the complications. This study was designed to assess the effect of changing position and early ambulation on low back pain, urinary retention, bleeding and hematoma after cardiac catheterization. In this clinical trial, 140 patients by using a convenience sampling randomly divided into four 35-individual groups. The patients in the control group were in the supine position for 6 hours without a movement. Change position was applied to the second group (based on a specific protocol), early ambulation was applied to the third group and both early ambulation and change position were applied to the fourth group. Then, severity of bleeding, hematoma, back pain and urinary retention were measured at zero, 1, 2, 4, 6, and 24 hours after angiography. The data was collected through an individual data questionnaire, Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) of pain and Kristin Swain's check list was applied to evaluate the severity of bleeding and hematoma. None of patients developed vascular complications. Incidence of urinary retention was higher in the control group, although this difference was not significant. The mean of pain intensity in the fourth and sixth hours showed a significant difference. Based on the findings of this study, changing patients' position can be safe and they can be ambulated early after angiography.

Perfectionism, Performance, and State Positive Affect and Negative Affect after a Classroom Test

Science.gov (United States)

Flett, Gordon L.; Blankstein, Kirk R.; Hewitt, Paul L.

2009-01-01

The current study examined the associations among trait dimensions of perfectionism, test performance, and levels of positive and negative affect after taking a test. A sample of 92 female university students completed the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale one week prior to an actual class test. Measures of positive affect and negative affect…

Research on the Random Shock Vibration Test Based on the Filter-X LMS Adaptive Inverse Control Algorithm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wang Wei

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The related theory and algorithm of adaptive inverse control were presented through the research which pointed out the adaptive inverse control strategy could effectively eliminate the noise influence on the system control. Proposed using a frequency domain filter-X LMS adaptive inverse control algorithm, and the control algorithm was applied to the two-exciter hydraulic vibration test system of random shock vibration control process and summarized the process of the adaptive inverse control strategies in the realization of the random shock vibration test. The self-closed-loop and field test show that using the frequency-domain filter-X LMS adaptive inverse control algorithm can realize high precision control of random shock vibration test.

Random non-proportional fatigue tests with planar tri-axial fatigue testing machine

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. Inoue

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Complex stresses, which occur on the mechanical surfaces of transport machinery in service, bring a drastic degradation in fatigue life. However, it is hard to reproduce such complex stress states for evaluating the fatigue life with conventional multiaxial fatigue machines. We have developed a fatigue testing machine that enables reproduction of such complex stresses. The testing machine can reproduce arbitrary in-plane stress states by applying three independent loads to the test specimen using actuators which apply loads in the 0, 45, and 90 degree directions. The reproduction was tested with complex stress data obtained from the actual operation of transport machinery. As a result, it was found that the reproduced stress corresponded to the measured stress with an error range of less than 10 %. Then, we made a comparison between measured fatigue lives under random non-proportional loading conditions and predicted fatigue lives. It was found that predicted fatigue lives with cr, stress on critical plane, were over a factor of 10 against measured fatigue lives. On the other hand, predicted fatigue lives with ma, stress in consideration of a non-proportional level evaluated by using amplitude and direction of principal stress, were within a factor of 3 against measured fatigue lives

Providing Home-Based HIV Testing and Counseling for Transgender Youth (Project Moxie): Protocol for a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Stephenson, Rob; Metheny, Nicholas; Sharma, Akshay; Sullivan, Stephen; Riley, Erin

2017-11-28

Transgender and gender nonconforming people experience some of the highest human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) rates in the United States, and experience many structural and behavioral barriers that may limit their engagement in HIV testing, prevention, and care. Evidence suggests that transgender and gender nonconforming youth (TY) are especially vulnerable to acquiring HIV, yet there is little research on TY and few services are targeted towards HIV testing, prevention, and care for this population. Telehealth presents an opportunity to mitigate some structural barriers that TY experience in accessing HIV testing, allowing TY to engage in HIV testing and counseling in a safe and nonjudgmental space of their choosing. Project Moxie is an HIV prevention intervention that pairs the use of HIV self-testing with remote video-based counseling and support from a trained, gender-affirming counselor. This study aims to offer a more positive HIV testing and counseling experience, with the goal of improving HIV testing frequency. Project Moxie involves a pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) of 200 TY aged 15-24 years, who are randomized on a 1:1 basis to control or intervention arms. The aim is to examine whether the addition of counseling provided via telehealth, coupled with home-based HIV testing, can create gains in routine HIV testing among TY over a six-month follow-up period. This study implements a prospective pilot RCT of 200 TY recruited online. Participants in the control arm will receive one HIV self-testing kit and will be asked to report their results via the study's website. Participants in the experimental arm will receive one HIV self-testing kit and will test with a remotely-located counselor during a prescheduled video-counseling session. Participants are assessed at baseline, and at three and six months posttesting. Project Moxie was launched in June 2017 and recruitment is ongoing. As of August 21, 2017, the study had enrolled 130 eligible

Internal Impingement of the Shoulder: A Risk of False Positive Test Outcomes in External Impingement Tests?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tim Leschinger

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Background. External impingement tests are considered as being particularly reliable for identifying subacromial and coracoid shoulder impingement mechanisms. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate if these tests are likely to provoke an internal shoulder impingement mechanism which, in cases of a pathologic condition, can lead to a positive test result. Method. In 37 subjects, the mechanical contact between the glenoid rim and the rotator cuff (RC was measured quantitatively and qualitatively in external impingement test positions using an open MRI system. Results. Mechanical contact of the supraspinatus with the posterosuperior glenoid was present in 30 subjects in the Neer test. In the Hawkins test, the subscapularis was in contact with the anterosuperior glenoid in 33 subjects and the supraspinatus in 18. In the horizontal impingement test, anterosuperior contact of the supraspinatus with the glenoid was identified in 35 subjects. Conclusion. The Neer, Hawkins, and horizontal impingement tests are likely to provoke the mechanism of an internal shoulder impingement. A posterosuperior internal impingement mechanism is being provoked predominately in the Neer test. The Hawkins test narrows the distance between the insertions of the subscapularis and supraspinatus and the anterosuperior labrum, which leads to an anterosuperior impingement mechanism.

Evaluation of false positivity and cross reactivity in the investigation ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This study evaluated the causes of false positive Human Immunodeficiency Virus test results (F+HIV), cross reactivity of HIV antibodies with other non HIV antibodies, and efficiency of the serial and parallel testing algorithms. 100 blood samples randomly collected from clients attending the Heart to Heart HIV counseling and ...

Random Positional Variation Among the Skull, Mandible, and Cervical Spine With Treatment Progression During Head-and-Neck Radiotherapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahn, Peter H.; Ahn, Andrew I.; Lee, C. Joe; Shen Jin; Miller, Ekeni; Lukaj, Alex; Milan, Elissa; Yaparpalvi, Ravindra; Kalnicki, Shalom; Garg, Madhur K.

2009-01-01

Purpose: With 54 o of freedom from the skull to mandible to C7, ensuring adequate immobilization for head-and-neck radiotherapy (RT) is complex. We quantify variations in skull, mandible, and cervical spine movement between RT sessions. Methods and Materials: Twenty-three sequential head-and-neck RT patients underwent serial computed tomography. Patients underwent planned rescanning at 11, 22, and 33 fractions for a total of 93 scans. Coordinates of multiple bony elements of the skull, mandible, and cervical spine were used to calculate rotational and translational changes of bony anatomy compared with the original planning scan. Results: Mean translational and rotational variations on rescanning were negligible, but showed a wide range. Changes in scoliosis and lordosis of the cervical spine between fractions showed similar variability. There was no correlation between positional variation and fraction number and no strong correlation with weight loss or skin separation. Semi-independent rotational and translation movement of the skull in relation to the lower cervical spine was shown. Positioning variability measured by means of vector displacement was largest in the mandible and lower cervical spine. Conclusions: Although only small overall variations in position between head-and-neck RT sessions exist on average, there is significant random variation in patient positioning of the skull, mandible, and cervical spine elements. Such variation is accentuated in the mandible and lower cervical spine. These random semirigid variations in positioning of the skull and spine point to a need for improved immobilization and/or confirmation of patient positioning in RT of the head and neck

Random Positional Variation Among the Skull, Mandible, and Cervical Spine With Treatment Progression During Head-and-Neck Radiotherapy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ahn, Peter H. [Department of Radiation Oncology, Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY (United States)], E-mail: phahn@mdanderson.org; Ahn, Andrew I [Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, Bronx, NY (United States); Lee, C Joe; Jin, Shen; Miller, Ekeni; Lukaj, Alex; Milan, Elissa; Yaparpalvi, Ravindra; Kalnicki, Shalom; Garg, Madhur K [Department of Radiation Oncology, Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY (United States)

2009-02-01

Purpose: With 54{sup o} of freedom from the skull to mandible to C7, ensuring adequate immobilization for head-and-neck radiotherapy (RT) is complex. We quantify variations in skull, mandible, and cervical spine movement between RT sessions. Methods and Materials: Twenty-three sequential head-and-neck RT patients underwent serial computed tomography. Patients underwent planned rescanning at 11, 22, and 33 fractions for a total of 93 scans. Coordinates of multiple bony elements of the skull, mandible, and cervical spine were used to calculate rotational and translational changes of bony anatomy compared with the original planning scan. Results: Mean translational and rotational variations on rescanning were negligible, but showed a wide range. Changes in scoliosis and lordosis of the cervical spine between fractions showed similar variability. There was no correlation between positional variation and fraction number and no strong correlation with weight loss or skin separation. Semi-independent rotational and translation movement of the skull in relation to the lower cervical spine was shown. Positioning variability measured by means of vector displacement was largest in the mandible and lower cervical spine. Conclusions: Although only small overall variations in position between head-and-neck RT sessions exist on average, there is significant random variation in patient positioning of the skull, mandible, and cervical spine elements. Such variation is accentuated in the mandible and lower cervical spine. These random semirigid variations in positioning of the skull and spine point to a need for improved immobilization and/or confirmation of patient positioning in RT of the head and neck.

Randomization tests

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Edgington, Eugene S

1980-01-01

.... This book provides all the necessary theory and practical guidelines, such as instructions for writing computer programs, to permit experimenters to transform any statistical test into a distribution-free test...

Chloromethylisothiazolone/methylisothiazolone (CMI/MI) use test with a shampoo on patch-test-positive subjects. Results of a multicentre double-blind crossover trial

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Frosch, P J; Lahti, A; Hannuksela, M

1995-01-01

A randomized, multicentre, double-blind, 2-period crossover study with 2 shampoos was performed on subjects patch-test-positive to 100 ppm CMI/MI. One shampoo was preserved with 15 ppm a.i. CMI/MI, the other with 0.3% imidazolidinyl urea (IU). 27 subjects from 5 European dermatology clinics...... participated. 1 subject discontinued use after severe adverse reactions to the CMI/MI-preserved shampoo and did not evaluate the other shampoo. Another 2 subjects developed moderate symptoms with the CMI/MI-preserved shampoo and discontinued its use, but tolerated the IU-preserved shampoo for the full 2-week...... period. 2 subjects discontinued use after 1 or 2 washes after severe adverse reactions to the IU-preserved shampoo. 1 of these subjects tolerated the CMI/MI-preserved shampoo for 2 weeks without any untoward effects. However, the majority of subjects had negative findings on the scalp, face, neck...

Testing the Efficacy of Combined Motivational Interviewing and Cognitive Behavioral Skills Training to Reduce Methamphetamine Use and Improve HIV Medication Adherence Among HIV-Positive Gay and Bisexual Men.

Science.gov (United States)

Parsons, Jeffrey T; John, Steven A; Millar, Brett M; Starks, Tyrel J

2018-03-13

Prior research has identified subgroups of HIV-positive gay and bisexual men (GBM) based upon information, motivation, and behavioral skills (IMB) profiles related to HIV medication adherence and methamphetamine use. We conducted a randomized controlled trial of a combined motivational interview (MI) and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) intervention tailored specifically to the unique context of HIV-positive GBM, and tested whether IMB profiles moderated treatment effects. HIV-positive GBM (N = 210) were randomized to MI + CBT or an attention-matched education control. Both conditions resulted in reduced methamphetamine use, improved medication adherence (and higher CD4 and lower viral loads), and fewer acts of condomless anal sex at 3, 6, 9 and 12 months post-intervention. Furthermore, the MI + CBT condition achieved greater improvements in medication adherence for men who had greater barriers to change compared to similarly-classified men in the control condition, suggesting the importance of pre-intervention profiles for tailoring future interventions.

Are women positive for the One Step but negative for the Two Step screening tests for gestational diabetes at higher risk for adverse outcomes?

Science.gov (United States)

Caissutti, Claudia; Khalifeh, Adeeb; Saccone, Gabriele; Berghella, Vincenzo

2018-02-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate if women meeting criteria for gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) by the One Step test as per International Association of the Diabetes and Pregnancy Study Groups (IADPSG) criteria but not by other less strict criteria have adverse pregnancy outcomes compared with GDM-negative controls. The primary outcome was the incidence of macrosomia, defined as birthweight > 4000 g. Electronic databases were searched from their inception until May 2017. All studies identifying pregnant women negative at the Two Step test, but positive at the One Step test for IADPSG criteria were included. We excluded studies that randomized women to the One Step vs. the Two Step tests; studies that compared different criteria within the same screening method; randomized studies comparing treatments for GDM; and studies comparing incidence of GDM in women doing the One Step test vs. the Two Step test. Eight retrospective cohort studies, including 29 983 women, were included. Five study groups and four control groups were identified. The heterogeneity between the studies was high. Gestational hypertension, preeclampsia and large for gestational age, as well as in some analyses cesarean delivery, macrosomia and preterm birth, were significantly more frequent, and small for gestational age in some analyses significantly less frequent, in women GDM-positive by the One Step, but not the Two Step. Women meeting criteria for GDM by IADPSG criteria but not by other less strict criteria have an increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes such as gestational hypertension, preeclampsia and large for gestational age, compared with GDM-negative controls. Based on these findings, and evidence from other studies that treatment decreases these adverse outcomes, we suggest screening for GDM using the One Step IADPSG criteria. © 2017 Nordic Federation of Societies of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Effect of Positioning and Early Ambulation on Coronary Angiography Complications: a Randomized Clinical Trial

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ali Akbar Abdollahi

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Introduction: After coronary angiography to prevent potential complications, patients are restricted to 4-24 hours bed rest in the supine position due to the complications. This study was designed to assess the effect of changing position and early ambulation on low back pain, urinary retention, bleeding and hematoma after cardiac catheterization. Methods: In this clinical trial, 140 patients by using a convenience sampling randomly divided into four 35-individual groups. The patients in the control group were in the supine position for 6 hours without a movement. Change position was applied to the second group (based on a specific protocol, early ambulation was applied to the third group and both early ambulation and change position were applied to the fourth group. Then, severity of bleeding, hematoma, back pain and urinary retention were measured at zero, 1, 2, 4, 6, and 24 hours after angiography. The data was collected through an individual data questionnaire, Numerical Rating Scale (NRS of pain and Kristin Swain’s check list was applied to evaluate the severity of bleeding and hematoma. Results: None of patients developed vascular complications. Incidence of urinary retention was higher in the control group, although this difference was not significant. The mean of pain intensity in the fourth and sixth hours showed a significant difference.Conclusion: Based on the findings of this study, changing patients’ position can be safe and they can be ambulated early after angiography.

Coronally positioned flap with or without acellular dermal matrix graft in the treatment of class II gingival recession defects: A randomized controlled clinical study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sunitha Jagannathachary

2010-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of the randomized controlled single blind study is to evaluate the treatment of Miller′s class II gingival recessions by coronally positioned flap (CPF with or without acellular dermal matrix allograft (ADMA. Ten patients with 20 sites with maxillary bilateral Miller′s class II facial recession defects were selected randomly into two groups of test (ADMA+CPF and control (CPF alone group with each group having 10 recession defects to be treated. The clinical parameters included plaque index (PI, gingival index (GI, probing pocket depth (PPD, clinical attachment level (CAL, recession height (RH, recession width (RW, height of the keratinized tissue (HKT, and thickness of the keratinized tissue (TKT. These measurements were recorded at baseline and after 6 months post-surgery. Statistical analysis was made by the paired "t" test for intragroup and intergroup comparison was done by the unpaired "t" test. The percentage of root coverage for both the experimental and control groups were 82.2% and 50%, respectively. The changes from baseline to 6 months were significant in both the groups for PD, CAL, and RH; however, for parameters such as RW, HKT, and TKT significance was seen only in the experimental group. On comparison between two groups, only TKT showed statistically significance. It can be concluded that the amount of root coverage obtained with ADMA + CPF was superior compared to CPF alone.

Positive Skin Test or Specific IgE to Penicillin Does Not Reliably Predict Penicillin Allergy.

Science.gov (United States)

Tannert, Line Kring; Mortz, Charlotte Gotthard; Skov, Per Stahl; Bindslev-Jensen, Carsten

According to guidelines, patients are diagnosed with penicillin allergy if skin test (ST) result or specific IgE (s-IgE) to penicillin is positive. However, the true sensitivity and specificity of these tests are presently not known. To investigate the clinical relevance of a positive ST result and positive s-IgE and to study the reproducibility of ST and s-IgE. A sample of convenience of 25 patients with positive penicillin ST results, antipenicillin s-IgE results, or both was challenged with their culprit penicillin. Further 19 patients were not challenged, but deemed allergic on the basis of a recent anaphylactic reaction or delayed reactions to skin testing. Another sample of convenience of 18 patients, 17 overlapping with the 25 challenged, with initial skin testing and s-IgE (median, 25; range, 3-121), months earlier (T -1 ), was repeat skin tested and had s-IgE measured (T 0 ), and then skin tested and had s-IgE measured 4 weeks later (T 1 ). Only 9 (36%) of 25 were challenge positive. There was an increased probability of being penicillin allergic if both ST result and s-IgE were positive at T 0 . Positive ST result or positive s-IgE alone did not predict penicillin allergy. Among the 18 patients repeatedly tested, 46.2% (12 of 25) of positive ST results at T -1 were reproducibly positive at T 0 . For s-IgE, 54.2% (14 of 24) positive measurements were still positive at T 0 and 7 converted to positive at T 1 . The best predictor for a clinically significant (IgE-mediated) penicillin allergy is a combination of a positive case history with simultaneous positive ST result and s-IgE or a positive challenge result. Copyright © 2017 American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

False-positive Human Papillomavirus DNA tests in cervical screening

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rebolj, Matejka; Pribac, Igor; Lynge, Elsebeth

2011-01-01

Based on data from randomised controlled trials (RCT) on primary cervical screening, it has been reported that the problem of more frequent false-positive tests in Human Papillomavirus (HPV) DNA screening compared to cytology could be overcome. However, these reports predominantly operated...

[Intel random number generator-based true random number generator].

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Feng; Shen, Hong

2004-09-01

To establish a true random number generator on the basis of certain Intel chips. The random numbers were acquired by programming using Microsoft Visual C++ 6.0 via register reading from the random number generator (RNG) unit of an Intel 815 chipset-based computer with Intel Security Driver (ISD). We tested the generator with 500 random numbers in NIST FIPS 140-1 and X(2) R-Squared test, and the result showed that the random number it generated satisfied the demand of independence and uniform distribution. We also compared the random numbers generated by Intel RNG-based true random number generator and those from the random number table statistically, by using the same amount of 7500 random numbers in the same value domain, which showed that the SD, SE and CV of Intel RNG-based random number generator were less than those of the random number table. The result of u test of two CVs revealed no significant difference between the two methods. Intel RNG-based random number generator can produce high-quality random numbers with good independence and uniform distribution, and solves some problems with random number table in acquisition of the random numbers.

Clinical trial: a randomized trial of early endoscopy, Helicobacter pylori testing and empirical therapy for the management of dyspepsia in primary care.

Science.gov (United States)

Duggan, A E; Elliott, C A; Miller, P; Hawkey, C J; Logan, R F A

2009-01-01

Early endoscopy, Helicobacter pylori eradication and empirical acid suppression are commonly used dyspepsia management strategies in primary care but have not been directly compared in a single trial. To compare endoscopy, H. pylori test and refer, H. pylori test and treat and empirical acid suppression for dyspepsia in primary care. Patients presenting to their general practitioner with dyspepsia were randomized to endoscopy, H. pylori'test and treat', H. pylori test and endoscope positives, or empirical therapy with symptoms, patient satisfaction, healthcare costs and cost effectiveness at 12 months being the outcomes. At 2 months, the proportion of patients reporting no or minimal dyspeptic symptoms ranged from 74% for those having early endoscopy to 55% for those on empirical therapy (P = 0.009), but at 1 year, there was little difference among the four strategies. Early endoscopy was associated with fewer subsequent consultations for dyspepsia (P = 0.003). 'Test and treat' resulted in fewer endoscopies overall and was most cost-effective over a range of cost assumptions. Empirical therapy resulted in the lowest initial costs, but the highest rate of subsequent endoscopy. Gastro-oesophageal cancers were found in four patients randomized to the H. pylori testing strategies. While early endoscopy offered some advantages 'Test and treat' was the most cost-effective strategy. In older patients, early endoscopy may be an appropriate strategy in view of the greater risk of malignant disease. © 2008 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2008 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Buffer substitution in malaria rapid diagnostic tests causes false-positive results

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Van den Ende Jef

2010-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Malaria rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs are kits that generally include 20 to 25 test strips or cassettes, but only a single buffer vial. In field settings, laboratory staff occasionally uses saline, distilled water (liquids for parenteral drugs dilution or tap water as substitutes for the RDT kit's buffer to compensate for the loss of a diluent bottle. The present study assessed the effect of buffer substitution on the RDT results. Methods Twenty-seven RDT brands were run with EDTA-blood samples of five malaria-free subjects, who were negative for rheumatoid factor and antinuclear antibodies. Saline, distilled water and tap water were used as substitute liquids. RDTs were also run with distilled water, without adding blood. Results were compared to those obtained with the RDT kit's buffer and Plasmodium positive samples. Results Only eight cassettes (in four RDT brands showed no control line and were considered invalid. Visible test lines occurred for at least one malaria-free sample and one of the substitutes in 20/27 (74% RDT brands (saline: n = 16; distilled water: n = 17; and tap water: n = 20, and in 15 RDTs which were run with distilled water only. They occurred for all Plasmodium antigens and RDT formats (two-, three- and four-band RDTs. Clearance of the background of the strip was excellent except for saline. The aspects (colour, intensity and crispness of the control and the false-positive test lines were similar to those obtained with the RDT kits' buffer and Plasmodium positive samples. Conclusion Replacement of the RDT kit's dedicated buffer by saline, distilled water and tap water can cause false-positive test results.

Cooperative testing of a positive personnel identifier

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

O'Callaghan, P.B.; Grambihler, A.J.; Graham, D.K.; Bradley, R.G.

1980-06-01

HEDL has a requirement to ensure the identification of remote computer terminal operators on a real-time nuclear inventory data base. The integrity of this data base depends on input from authorized individuals. Thus, a key to developing such a system is the ability to positively identify people attempting access to the system. Small scale tests of the Identimat 2000T hand geometry unit with an adjusting alogrithm have suggested a promising solution. To prove operational suitability, HEDL, in cooperation with Sandia Laboratories, has designed a large scale test of the Identimat 2000T. Data gathering on error rates, reliability, maintainability, and user acceptance will determine if the Identimat 2000T is suitable for the HEDL application. If proven acceptable, use of the Identimat 2000T can be broadened to many general applications where security information, locations and systems are required

Random a-adic groups and random net fractals

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li Yin [Department of Mathematics, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093 (China)], E-mail: Lyjerry7788@hotmail.com; Su Weiyi [Department of Mathematics, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093 (China)], E-mail: suqiu@nju.edu.cn

2008-08-15

Based on random a-adic groups, this paper investigates the relationship between the existence conditions of a positive flow in a random network and the estimation of the Hausdorff dimension of a proper random net fractal. Subsequently we describe some particular random fractals for which our results can be applied. Finally the Mauldin and Williams theorem is shown to be very important example for a random Cantor set with application in physics as shown in E-infinity theory.

Crowdsourcing HIV Test Promotion Videos: A Noninferiority Randomized Controlled Trial in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Tang, Weiming; Han, Larry; Best, John; Zhang, Ye; Mollan, Katie; Kim, Julie; Liu, Fengying; Hudgens, Michael; Bayus, Barry; Terris-Prestholt, Fern; Galler, Sam; Yang, Ligang; Peeling, Rosanna; Volberding, Paul; Ma, Baoli; Xu, Huifang; Yang, Bin; Huang, Shujie; Fenton, Kevin; Wei, Chongyi; Tucker, Joseph D

2016-06-01

Crowdsourcing, the process of shifting individual tasks to a large group, may enhance human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing interventions. We conducted a noninferiority, randomized controlled trial to compare first-time HIV testing rates among men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender individuals who received a crowdsourced or a health marketing HIV test promotion video. Seven hundred twenty-one MSM and transgender participants (≥16 years old, never before tested for HIV) were recruited through 3 Chinese MSM Web portals and randomly assigned to 1 of 2 videos. The crowdsourced video was developed using an open contest and formal transparent judging while the evidence-based health marketing video was designed by experts. Study objectives were to measure HIV test uptake within 3 weeks of watching either HIV test promotion video and cost per new HIV test and diagnosis. Overall, 624 of 721 (87%) participants from 31 provinces in 217 Chinese cities completed the study. HIV test uptake was similar between the crowdsourced arm (37% [114/307]) and the health marketing arm (35% [111/317]). The estimated difference between the interventions was 2.1% (95% confidence interval, -5.4% to 9.7%). Among those tested, 31% (69/225) reported a new HIV diagnosis. The crowdsourced intervention cost substantially less than the health marketing intervention per first-time HIV test (US$131 vs US$238 per person) and per new HIV diagnosis (US$415 vs US$799 per person). Our nationwide study demonstrates that crowdsourcing may be an effective tool for improving HIV testing messaging campaigns and could increase community engagement in health campaigns. NCT02248558. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, e-mail journals.permissions@oup.com.

The Effects of Positive or Neutral Communication during Acupuncture for Relaxing Effects: A Sham-Controlled Randomized Trial

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Annelie Rosén

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction. The link between patient-clinician communication and its effect on clinical outcomes is an important clinical issue that is yet to be elucidated. Objective. Investigating if communication type (positive or neutral about the expected treatment outcome affected (i participants’ expectations and (ii short-term relaxation effects in response to genuine or sham acupuncture and investigating if expectations were related to outcome. Methods. Healthy volunteers (n=243, mean age of 42 were randomized to one treatment with genuine or sham acupuncture. Within groups, participants were randomized to positive or neutral communication, regarding expected treatment effects. Visual Analogue Scales (0–100 millimeters were used to measure treatment expectations and relaxation, directly before and after treatment. Results. Participants in the positive communication group reported higher treatment expectancy, compared to the neutral communication group (md 12 versus 6 mm, p=0.002. There was no difference in relaxation effects between acupuncture groups or between communication groups. Participants with high baseline expectancy perceived greater improvement in relaxation, compared to participants with low baseline levels (md 27 versus 15 mm, p=0.022. Conclusion. Our data highlights the importance of expectations for treatment outcome and demonstrates that expectations can be effectively manipulated using a standardized protocol that in future research may be implemented in clinical trials.

CR-Calculus and adaptive array theory applied to MIMO random vibration control tests

Science.gov (United States)

Musella, U.; Manzato, S.; Peeters, B.; Guillaume, P.

2016-09-01

Performing Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) tests to reproduce the vibration environment in a user-defined number of control points of a unit under test is necessary in applications where a realistic environment replication has to be achieved. MIMO tests require vibration control strategies to calculate the required drive signal vector that gives an acceptable replication of the target. This target is a (complex) vector with magnitude and phase information at the control points for MIMO Sine Control tests while in MIMO Random Control tests, in the most general case, the target is a complete spectral density matrix. The idea behind this work is to tailor a MIMO random vibration control approach that can be generalized to other MIMO tests, e.g. MIMO Sine and MIMO Time Waveform Replication. In this work the approach is to use gradient-based procedures over the complex space, applying the so called CR-Calculus and the adaptive array theory. With this approach it is possible to better control the process performances allowing the step-by-step Jacobian Matrix update. The theoretical bases behind the work are followed by an application of the developed method to a two-exciter two-axis system and by performance comparisons with standard methods.

Positive hepatitis B surface antigen tests due to recent vaccination: a persistent problem

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rysgaard Carolyn D

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Hepatitis B virus (HBV is a common cause of viral hepatitis with significant health complications including cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Assays for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg are the most frequently used tests to detect HBV infection. Vaccination for HBV can produce transiently detectable levels of HBsAg in patients. However, the time course and duration of this effect is unclear. The objective of this retrospective study was to clarify the frequency and duration of transient HBsAg positivity following vaccination against HBV. Methods The electronic medical record at an academic tertiary care medical center was searched to identify all orders for HBsAg within a 17 month time period. Detailed chart review was performed to identify all patients who were administered HBV vaccine within 180 days prior to HBsAg testing and also to ascertain likely cause of weakly positive (grayzone results. Results During the 17 month study period, 11,719 HBsAg tests were ordered on 9,930 patients. There were 34 tests performed on 34 patients who received HBV vaccine 14 days or less prior to HBsAg testing. Of these 34 patients, 11 had grayzone results for HBsAg that could be attributed to recent vaccination. Ten of the 11 patients were renal dialysis patients who were receiving HBsAg testing as part of routine and ongoing monitoring. Beyond 14 days, there were no reactive or grayzone HBsAg tests that could be attributed to recent HBV vaccination. HBsAg results reached a peak COI two to three days following vaccination before decaying. Further analysis of all the grayzone results within the 17 month study period (43 results out of 11,719 tests revealed that only 4 of 43 were the result of true HBV infection as verified by confirmatory testing. Conclusions Our study confirms that transient HBsAg positivity can occur in patients following HBV vaccination. The results suggest this positivity is unlikely to persist beyond 14 days

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 ...

Quantum Statistical Testing of a Quantum Random Number Generator

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Humble, Travis S [ORNL

2014-01-01

The unobservable elements in a quantum technology, e.g., the quantum state, complicate system verification against promised behavior. Using model-based system engineering, we present methods for verifying the opera- tion of a prototypical quantum random number generator. We begin with the algorithmic design of the QRNG followed by the synthesis of its physical design requirements. We next discuss how quantum statistical testing can be used to verify device behavior as well as detect device bias. We conclude by highlighting how system design and verification methods must influence effort to certify future quantum technologies.

Cost-effective degradation test plan for a nonlinear random-coefficients model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Seong-Joon; Bae, Suk Joo

2013-01-01

The determination of requisite sample size and the inspection schedule considering both testing cost and accuracy has been an important issue in the degradation test. This paper proposes a cost-effective degradation test plan in the context of a nonlinear random-coefficients model, while meeting some precision constraints for failure-time distribution. We introduce a precision measure to quantify the information losses incurred by reducing testing resources. The precision measure is incorporated into time-varying cost functions to reflect real circumstances. We apply a hybrid genetic algorithm to general cost optimization problem with reasonable constraints on the level of testing precision in order to determine a cost-effective inspection scheme. The proposed method is applied to the degradation data of plasma display panels (PDPs) following a bi-exponential degradation model. Finally, sensitivity analysis via simulation is provided to evaluate the robustness of the proposed degradation test plan.

Novel, continuous monitoring of fine‐scale movement using fixed‐position radiotelemetry arrays and random forest location fingerprinting

Science.gov (United States)

Harbicht, Andrew B.; Castro-Santos, Theodore R.; Ardren, William R.; Gorsky, Dimitry; Fraser, Dylan

2017-01-01

Radio‐tag signals from fixed‐position antennas are most often used to indicate presence or absence of individuals, or to estimate individual activity levels from signal strength variation within an antenna's detection zone. The potential of such systems to provide more precise information on tag location and movement has not been explored in great detail in an ecological setting.By reversing the roles that transmitters and receivers play in localization methods common to the telecommunications industry, we present a new telemetric tool for accurately estimating the location of tagged individuals from received signal strength values. The methods used to characterize the study area in terms of received signal strength are described, as is the random forest model used for localization. The resulting method is then validated using test data before being applied to true data collected from tagged individuals in the study site.Application of the localization method to test data withheld from the learning dataset indicated a low average error over the entire study area (movement data for tagged fish along a single axis (a migratory path) and is particularly useful for monitoring passage along migratory routes. The new methods applied in this study can also be expanded to include multiple axes (x, y, z) and multiple environments (aquatic and terrestrial) for remotely monitoring wildlife movement.

Safety and immunogenicity of inactivated poliovirus vaccine made from Sabin strains: a phase II, randomized, positive-controlled trial.

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Liao, Guoyang; Li, Rongcheng; Li, Changgui; Sun, Mingbo; Li, Yanping; Chu, Jiayou; Jiang, Shude; Li, Qihan

2012-01-15

The production of Sabin inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV) can reduce biosafety requirements in the posteradication/post-oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV) era. We conducted a phase II, randomized, positive-controlled trial to assess the safety and immunogenicity of Sabin IPV. The test groups (A, B, and C) received 3 doses of high, middle, and low D antigen (D Ag) of Sabin IPV at ages 2, 3, and 4 months, respectively. Infants in 2 control groups, group D and group E, received 3 doses of trivalent OPV and conventional IPV (cIPV), respectively, on the same schedule as that of groups A, B, and C. Serum samples were collected before and 30 days after the administration of the third dose. In total, 500 infants were randomly assigned to 5 groups, and 449 infants completed the vaccine series. No serious adverse events were associated with vaccinations. After 3 doses, the seroconversion rates in groups A, B, C, D, and E were 100%, 97.8%, 96.6%, 100%, and 90.1%, respectively, for type 1 poliovirus; 97.7%, 95.7%, 78.7%, 100%, and 90.1%, respectively, for type 2; and 98.8%, 98.9%, 93.3%, 100%, and 97.8%, respectively, for type 3. Sabin IPV has good safety characteristics. The seroconversion rates for type 1 poliovirus (most appropriate concentration, 15 D Ag units [DU]), type 2 (32 DU), and type 3 (45 DU) Sabin IPV were similar to those of the OPV and cIPV control groups. NCT01056705.

Morphological and mechanical analyses of laminates manufactured from randomly positioned carbon fibre/epoxy resin prepreg scraps

Science.gov (United States)

Souza, Christiane S. R.; Cândido, Geraldo M.; Alves, Wellington; Marlet, José Maria F.; Rezende, Mirabel C.

2017-10-01

This study aims to contribute to sustainability by proposing the reuse of composite prepreg scrap as an added value from discards. The research evaluates the microstructure and mechanical properties of laminates processed by the reuse of uncured carbon fibre/F155-epoxy resin prepreg scraps, waste from the ply cutting area of an aeronautical industry. The composite scraps were used as collected and were randomly positioned to produce laminates to be cured at an autoclave. The mechanical characterization shows a decrease of 39% for the compression property due to the discontinuous fibres in the laminate and an increase of 34% for the interlaminar shear strength, when compared to continuous fibre laminates. This increase is attributed to the higher crosslink density of the epoxy resin, as a result of the cure temperature used in autoclave (60 °C higher than suggested by supplier) and also to the randomly positioned scraps. Microscopic analyses confirm the consolidation of laminates, although show resin rich areas with different sizes and shapes attributed to the overlapping of the scraps with different sizes and shapes. These resin rich areas may contribute to decrease the mechanical properties of laminates. The correlation between mechanical and morphological results shows potential to be used on non-critical structural application, as composite jigs, contributing to sustainability.

A Bayesian sequential design with adaptive randomization for 2-sided hypothesis test.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Qingzhao; Zhu, Lin; Zhu, Han

2017-11-01

Bayesian sequential and adaptive randomization designs are gaining popularity in clinical trials thanks to their potentials to reduce the number of required participants and save resources. We propose a Bayesian sequential design with adaptive randomization rates so as to more efficiently attribute newly recruited patients to different treatment arms. In this paper, we consider 2-arm clinical trials. Patients are allocated to the 2 arms with a randomization rate to achieve minimum variance for the test statistic. Algorithms are presented to calculate the optimal randomization rate, critical values, and power for the proposed design. Sensitivity analysis is implemented to check the influence on design by changing the prior distributions. Simulation studies are applied to compare the proposed method and traditional methods in terms of power and actual sample sizes. Simulations show that, when total sample size is fixed, the proposed design can obtain greater power and/or cost smaller actual sample size than the traditional Bayesian sequential design. Finally, we apply the proposed method to a real data set and compare the results with the Bayesian sequential design without adaptive randomization in terms of sample sizes. The proposed method can further reduce required sample size. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Primary care visit use after positive fecal immunochemical test for colorectal cancer screening.

Science.gov (United States)

Hillyer, Grace Clarke; Jensen, Christopher D; Zhao, Wei K; Neugut, Alfred I; Lebwohl, Benjamin; Tiro, Jasmin A; Kushi, Lawrence H; Corley, Douglas A

2017-10-01

For some patients, positive cancer screening test results can be a stressful experience that can affect future screening compliance and increase the use of health care services unrelated to medically indicated follow-up. Among 483,216 individuals aged 50 to 75 years who completed a fecal immunochemical test to screen for colorectal cancer at a large integrated health care setting between 2007 and 2011, the authors evaluated whether a positive test was associated with a net change in outpatient primary care visit use within the year after screening. Multivariable regression models were used to evaluate the relationship between test result group and net changes in primary care visits after fecal immunochemical testing. In the year after the fecal immunochemical test, use increased by 0.60 clinic visits for patients with true-positive results. The absolute change in visits was largest (3.00) among individuals with positive test results who were diagnosed with colorectal cancer, but significant small increases also were found for patients treated with polypectomy and who had no neoplasia (0.36) and those with a normal examination and no polypectomy performed (0.17). Groups of patients who demonstrated an increase in net visit use compared with the true-negative group included patients with true-positive results (odds ratio [OR], 1.60; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 1.54-1.66), and positive groups with a colorectal cancer diagnosis (OR, 7.19; 95% CI, 6.12-8.44), polypectomy/no neoplasia (OR, 1.37; 95% CI, 1.27-1.48), and normal examination/no polypectomy (OR, 1.24; 95% CI, 1.18-1.30). Given the large size of outreach programs, these small changes can cumulatively generate thousands of excess visits and have a substantial impact on total health care use. Therefore, these changes should be included in colorectal cancer screening cost models and their causes investigated further. Cancer 2017;123:3744-3753. © 2017 American Cancer Society. © 2017 American Cancer Society.

Neighborhood Effects in a Behavioral Randomized Controlled Trial

OpenAIRE

Pruitt, Sandi L.; Leonard, Tammy; Murdoch, James; Hughes, Amy; McQueen, Amy; Gupta, Samir

2014-01-01

Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of interventions intended to modify health behaviors may be influenced by neighborhood effects which can impede unbiased estimation of intervention effects. Examining a RCT designed to increase colorectal cancer (CRC) screening (N=5,628), we found statistically significant neighborhood effects: average CRC test use among neighboring study participants was significantly and positively associated with individual patient’s CRC test use. This potentially import...

Predictors for benign paroxysmal positional vertigo with positive Dix–Hallpike test

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Noda K

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Kazutaka Noda, Masatomi Ikusaka, Yoshiyuki Ohira, Toshihiko Takada, Tomoko TsukamotoDepartment of General Medicine, Chiba University Hospital, Chiba, JapanObjective: Patient medical history is important for making a diagnosis of causes of dizziness, but there have been no studies on the diagnostic value of individual items in the history. This study was performed to identify and validate useful questions for suspecting a diagnosis of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV.Methods: Construction and validation of a disease prediction model was performed at the outpatient clinic in the Department of General Medicine of Chiba University Hospital. Patients with dizziness were enrolled (145 patients for construction of the disease prediction model and 61 patients for its validation. This study targeted BPPV of the posterior semicircular canals only with a positive Dix–Hallpike test (DHT + BPPV to avoid diagnostic ambiguity. Binomial logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the items that were useful for diagnosis or exclusion of DHT + BPPV.Results: Twelve patients from the derivation set and six patients from the validation set had DHT + BPPV. Binomial logistic regression analysis selected a "duration of dizziness ≤15 seconds" and "onset when turning over in bed" as independent predictors of DHT + BPPV with an odds ratio (95% confidence interval of 4.36 (1.18–16.19 and 10.17 (2.49–41.63, respectively. Affirmative answers to both questions yielded a likelihood ratio of 6.81 (5.11–9.10 for diagnosis of DHT + BPPV, while negative answers to both had a likelihood ratio of 0.19 (0.08–0.47.Conclusion: A "duration of dizziness ≤15 seconds" and "onset when turning over in bed" were the two most important questions among various historical features of BPPV.Keywords: benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, likelihood ratio, diagnosis, screening, prediction rules

Testing HIV positive in pregnancy: A phenomenological study of women's experiences.

Science.gov (United States)

Lingen-Stallard, Andrew; Furber, Christine; Lavender, Tina

2016-04-01

globally women receive HIV testing in pregnancy; however, limited information is available on their experiences of this potentially life-changing event. This study aims to explore women's experiences of receiving a positive HIV test result following antenatal screening. a qualitative, phenomenological approach. two public National Health Service (NHS) hospitals and HIV support organisations. a purposive sampling strategy was used. Thirteen black African women with a positive HIV result, in England, participated. data were collected using in-depth semi-structured interviews. An interpretive phenomenological approach to data analysis was used. the emergent phenomenon was transition and transformation of 'being,' as women accepted HIV as part of their lives. Paired themes support the phenomenon: shock and disbelief; anger and turmoil; stigma and confidentiality issues; acceptance and resilience. Women had extreme reactions to their positive HIV diagnosis, compounded by the cultural belief that they would die. Initial disbelief of the unexpected result developed into sadness at the loss of their old self. Turmoil was evident, as women considered termination of pregnancy, self-harm and suicide. Women felt isolated from others and relationship breakdowns often occurred. Most reported the pervasiveness of stigma, and how this was managed alongside living with HIV. Coping strategies included keeping HIV 'secret' and making their child(ren) the prime focus of life. Growing resilience was apparent with time. this study gives midwives unique understanding of the complexities and major implications for women who tested positive for HIV. Women's experiences resonated with processes of bereavement, providing useful insight into a transitional and transformational period, during which appropriate support can be targeted. midwives are crucial in improving the experience of women when they test HIV positive and to do this they need to be appropriately trained. Midwives need to

Digital servo control of random sound test excitation. [in reverberant acoustic chamber

Science.gov (United States)

Nakich, R. B. (Inventor)

1974-01-01

A digital servocontrol system for random noise excitation of a test object in a reverberant acoustic chamber employs a plurality of sensors spaced in the sound field to produce signals in separate channels which are decorrelated and averaged. The average signal is divided into a plurality of adjacent frequency bands cyclically sampled by a time division multiplex system, converted into digital form, and compared to a predetermined spectrum value stored in digital form. The results of the comparisons are used to control a time-shared up-down counter to develop gain control signals for the respective frequency bands in the spectrum of random sound energy picked up by the microphones.

Persian randomized dichotic digits test: Development and dichotic listening performance in young adults

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammad Ebrahim Mahdavi

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Background and Aims: The dichotic listening subtest is an important component of the test battery for auditory processing assessment in both children and adults. A randomized dichotic digits test (RDDT was created to compensate for sensitivity weakness of double digits when detecting abnormal ear asymmetry during dichotic listening. The aim of this study was the development and  intial evaluation of the Persian randomized dichotic digits test.Method: Persian digits 1-10 (except for the bisyllabic digit, 4 uttered by a native Persian language speaker were recorded in a studio. After alignment of intensity and temporal characteristics of digit waveforms, lists 1 and 2 of the RDDT were reproduced. List 1 of the test was administered at 55 dBHL on 50 right-handed normal hearing individuals (with an equal sex ratio in the age group of 18-25 years and hearing thresholds of 15 dBHL or better in audiometric frequencies.Results: Mean (standard deviation of percent-correct score for right and left ears and right ear advantage of the subjects was 94.3 (5.3, 84.8 (7.7, and 9.5 (7.0 percent, respectively. Sixty percent of the subjects showed normal results and unilateral and bilateral deficits were seen in 24 percent and 16 percent, respectively, of studied individuals.Conclusion: It seems the Persian version of RDDT test is the same as the original test as it is able to test ear asymmerty, unilateral and bilateral deficits in dichotic listening.

Intra-fraction motion of the prostate is a random walk

Science.gov (United States)

Ballhausen, H.; Li, M.; Hegemann, N.-S.; Ganswindt, U.; Belka, C.

2015-01-01

A random walk model for intra-fraction motion has been proposed, where at each step the prostate moves a small amount from its current position in a random direction. Online tracking data from perineal ultrasound is used to validate or reject this model against alternatives. Intra-fraction motion of a prostate was recorded by 4D ultrasound (Elekta Clarity system) during 84 fractions of external beam radiotherapy of six patients. In total, the center of the prostate was tracked for 8 h in intervals of 4 s. Maximum likelihood model parameters were fitted to the data. The null hypothesis of a random walk was tested with the Dickey-Fuller test. The null hypothesis of stationarity was tested by the Kwiatkowski-Phillips-Schmidt-Shin test. The increase of variance in prostate position over time and the variability in motility between fractions were analyzed. Intra-fraction motion of the prostate was best described as a stochastic process with an auto-correlation coefficient of ρ = 0.92  ±  0.13. The random walk hypothesis (ρ = 1) could not be rejected (p = 0.27). The static noise hypothesis (ρ = 0) was rejected (p test rejected the null hypothesis ρ = 1 in 25% to 32% of cases. On average, the Kwiatkowski-Phillips-Schmidt-Shin test rejected the null hypothesis ρ = 0 with a probability of 93% to 96%. The variance in prostate position increased linearly over time (r2 = 0.9  ±  0.1). Variance kept increasing and did not settle at a maximum as would be expected from a stationary process. There was substantial variability in motility between fractions and patients with maximum aberrations from isocenter ranging from 0.5 mm to over 10 mm in one patient alone. In conclusion, evidence strongly suggests that intra-fraction motion of the prostate is a random walk and neither static (like inter-fraction setup errors) nor stationary (like a cyclic motion such as breathing, for example). The prostate tends to drift away from the isocenter during a fraction, and

Intra-fraction motion of the prostate is a random walk

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ballhausen, H; Li, M; Hegemann, N-S; Ganswindt, U; Belka, C

2015-01-01

A random walk model for intra-fraction motion has been proposed, where at each step the prostate moves a small amount from its current position in a random direction. Online tracking data from perineal ultrasound is used to validate or reject this model against alternatives. Intra-fraction motion of a prostate was recorded by 4D ultrasound (Elekta Clarity system) during 84 fractions of external beam radiotherapy of six patients. In total, the center of the prostate was tracked for 8 h in intervals of 4 s. Maximum likelihood model parameters were fitted to the data. The null hypothesis of a random walk was tested with the Dickey–Fuller test. The null hypothesis of stationarity was tested by the Kwiatkowski–Phillips–Schmidt–Shin test. The increase of variance in prostate position over time and the variability in motility between fractions were analyzed. Intra-fraction motion of the prostate was best described as a stochastic process with an auto-correlation coefficient of ρ = 0.92  ±  0.13. The random walk hypothesis (ρ = 1) could not be rejected (p = 0.27). The static noise hypothesis (ρ = 0) was rejected (p < 0.001). The Dickey–Fuller test rejected the null hypothesis ρ = 1 in 25% to 32% of cases. On average, the Kwiatkowski–Phillips–Schmidt–Shin test rejected the null hypothesis ρ = 0 with a probability of 93% to 96%. The variance in prostate position increased linearly over time (r 2 = 0.9  ±  0.1). Variance kept increasing and did not settle at a maximum as would be expected from a stationary process. There was substantial variability in motility between fractions and patients with maximum aberrations from isocenter ranging from 0.5 mm to over 10 mm in one patient alone. In conclusion, evidence strongly suggests that intra-fraction motion of the prostate is a random walk and neither static (like inter-fraction setup errors) nor stationary (like a cyclic motion such as breathing, for example). The prostate tends to

Randomized random walk on a random walk

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, P.A.

1983-06-01

This paper discusses generalizations of the model introduced by Kehr and Kunter of the random walk of a particle on a one-dimensional chain which in turn has been constructed by a random walk procedure. The superimposed random walk is randomised in time according to the occurrences of a stochastic point process. The probability of finding the particle in a particular position at a certain instant is obtained explicitly in the transform domain. It is found that the asymptotic behaviour for large time of the mean-square displacement of the particle depends critically on the assumed structure of the basic random walk, giving a diffusion-like term for an asymmetric walk or a square root law if the walk is symmetric. Many results are obtained in closed form for the Poisson process case, and these agree with those given previously by Kehr and Kunter. (author)

HIV self-testing among female sex workers in Zambia: A cluster randomized controlled trial.

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Michael M Chanda

2017-11-01

Full Text Available HIV self-testing (HIVST may play a role in addressing gaps in HIV testing coverage and as an entry point for HIV prevention services. We conducted a cluster randomized trial of 2 HIVST distribution mechanisms compared to the standard of care among female sex workers (FSWs in Zambia.Trained peer educators in Kapiri Mposhi, Chirundu, and Livingstone, Zambia, each recruited 6 FSW participants. Peer educator-FSW groups were randomized to 1 of 3 arms: (1 delivery (direct distribution of an oral HIVST from the peer educator, (2 coupon (a coupon for collection of an oral HIVST from a health clinic/pharmacy, or (3 standard-of-care HIV testing. Participants in the 2 HIVST arms received 2 kits: 1 at baseline and 1 at 10 weeks. The primary outcome was any self-reported HIV testing in the past month at the 1- and 4-month visits, as HIVST can replace other types of HIV testing. Secondary outcomes included linkage to care, HIVST use in the HIVST arms, and adverse events. Participants completed questionnaires at 1 and 4 months following peer educator interventions. In all, 965 participants were enrolled between September 16 and October 12, 2016 (delivery, N = 316; coupon, N = 329; standard of care, N = 320; 20% had never tested for HIV. Overall HIV testing at 1 month was 94.9% in the delivery arm, 84.4% in the coupon arm, and 88.5% in the standard-of-care arm (delivery versus standard of care risk ratio [RR] = 1.07, 95% CI 0.99-1.15, P = 0.10; coupon versus standard of care RR = 0.95, 95% CI 0.86-1.05, P = 0.29; delivery versus coupon RR = 1.13, 95% CI 1.04-1.22, P = 0.005. Four-month rates were 84.1% for the delivery arm, 79.8% for the coupon arm, and 75.1% for the standard-of-care arm (delivery versus standard of care RR = 1.11, 95% CI 0.98-1.27, P = 0.11; coupon versus standard of care RR = 1.06, 95% CI 0.92-1.22, P = 0.42; delivery versus coupon RR = 1.05, 95% CI 0.94-1.18, P = 0.40. At 1 month, the majority of HIV tests were self-tests (88.4%. HIV self-test

HIV self-testing among female sex workers in Zambia: A cluster randomized controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Chanda, Michael M; Ortblad, Katrina F; Mwale, Magdalene; Chongo, Steven; Kanchele, Catherine; Kamungoma, Nyambe; Fullem, Andrew; Dunn, Caitlin; Barresi, Leah G; Harling, Guy; Bärnighausen, Till; Oldenburg, Catherine E

2017-11-01

HIV self-testing (HIVST) may play a role in addressing gaps in HIV testing coverage and as an entry point for HIV prevention services. We conducted a cluster randomized trial of 2 HIVST distribution mechanisms compared to the standard of care among female sex workers (FSWs) in Zambia. Trained peer educators in Kapiri Mposhi, Chirundu, and Livingstone, Zambia, each recruited 6 FSW participants. Peer educator-FSW groups were randomized to 1 of 3 arms: (1) delivery (direct distribution of an oral HIVST from the peer educator), (2) coupon (a coupon for collection of an oral HIVST from a health clinic/pharmacy), or (3) standard-of-care HIV testing. Participants in the 2 HIVST arms received 2 kits: 1 at baseline and 1 at 10 weeks. The primary outcome was any self-reported HIV testing in the past month at the 1- and 4-month visits, as HIVST can replace other types of HIV testing. Secondary outcomes included linkage to care, HIVST use in the HIVST arms, and adverse events. Participants completed questionnaires at 1 and 4 months following peer educator interventions. In all, 965 participants were enrolled between September 16 and October 12, 2016 (delivery, N = 316; coupon, N = 329; standard of care, N = 320); 20% had never tested for HIV. Overall HIV testing at 1 month was 94.9% in the delivery arm, 84.4% in the coupon arm, and 88.5% in the standard-of-care arm (delivery versus standard of care risk ratio [RR] = 1.07, 95% CI 0.99-1.15, P = 0.10; coupon versus standard of care RR = 0.95, 95% CI 0.86-1.05, P = 0.29; delivery versus coupon RR = 1.13, 95% CI 1.04-1.22, P = 0.005). Four-month rates were 84.1% for the delivery arm, 79.8% for the coupon arm, and 75.1% for the standard-of-care arm (delivery versus standard of care RR = 1.11, 95% CI 0.98-1.27, P = 0.11; coupon versus standard of care RR = 1.06, 95% CI 0.92-1.22, P = 0.42; delivery versus coupon RR = 1.05, 95% CI 0.94-1.18, P = 0.40). At 1 month, the majority of HIV tests were self-tests (88.4%). HIV self-test use

Estimation of Genetic Parameters for First Lactation Monthly Test-day Milk Yields using Random Regression Test Day Model in Karan Fries Cattle

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ajay Singh

2016-06-01

Full Text Available A single trait linear mixed random regression test-day model was applied for the first time for analyzing the first lactation monthly test-day milk yield records in Karan Fries cattle. The test-day milk yield data was modeled using a random regression model (RRM considering different order of Legendre polynomial for the additive genetic effect (4th order and the permanent environmental effect (5th order. Data pertaining to 1,583 lactation records spread over a period of 30 years were recorded and analyzed in the study. The variance component, heritability and genetic correlations among test-day milk yields were estimated using RRM. RRM heritability estimates of test-day milk yield varied from 0.11 to 0.22 in different test-day records. The estimates of genetic correlations between different test-day milk yields ranged 0.01 (test-day 1 [TD-1] and TD-11 to 0.99 (TD-4 and TD-5. The magnitudes of genetic correlations between test-day milk yields decreased as the interval between test-days increased and adjacent test-day had higher correlations. Additive genetic and permanent environment variances were higher for test-day milk yields at both ends of lactation. The residual variance was observed to be lower than the permanent environment variance for all the test-day milk yields.

Situated navigational working memory: the role of positive mood.

Science.gov (United States)

Palmiero, Massimiliano; Nori, Raffaella; Rogolino, Carmelo; D'Amico, Simonetta; Piccardi, Laura

2015-09-01

The perspective of situated cognition assumes that cognition is not separated from the context. In the present study, the issue if visuospatial memory and navigational working memory are situated was explored by manipulating participants' mood (positive, negative and neutral) while performing two different tasks. College students were randomly assigned to the group of positive, negative or neutral music. Participants filled out the positive and negative affect schedule (PANAS) before and after carrying out the Corsi Test and the Walking Corsi Test. Both tasks were performed forward and backward. Music was played throughout the memory tasks. Firstly, comparing pre-mood induction PANAS scores to post-mood induction PANAS scores, results showed that only positive affects were manipulated: After mood induction, the Positive Music Group produced higher scores, whereas the Negative Music Group produced lower scores than before mood induction; the Neutral Music Group produced no effect. Secondly, the Positive Music Group produced higher scores than Negative and Neutral Music Groups both at the Corsi Test and at the Walking Corsi Test. These results show that situational contexts that induce a specific mood can affect visuospatial memory and navigational working memory, and open to the idea that positive emotions may play a crucial role in enhancing navigational strategies.

The champagne toast position isolates the supraspinatus better than the Jobe test: an electromyographic study of shoulder physical examination tests.

Science.gov (United States)

Chalmers, Peter N; Cvetanovich, Gregory L; Kupfer, Noam; Wimmer, Markus A; Verma, Nikhil N; Cole, Brian J; Romeo, Anthony A; Nicholson, Gregory P

2016-02-01

While Jobe's test is widely used, it does not isolate supraspinatus activity. Our purpose was to examine the electromyographic (EMG) activity within the supraspinatus and deltoid with resisted abduction to determine the shoulder position that best isolates the activity of the supraspinatus. We performed EMG analysis of the supraspinatus, anterior head of the deltoid, and middle head of the deltoid in 10 normal volunteers. We measured EMG activity during resisted shoulder abduction in the scapular plane to both manual resistance and a standardized load in varying degrees of abduction and rotation. To determine which position best isolates supraspinatus activity, the ratio of supraspinatus to deltoid activity (S:D) was calculated for each position. Results were analyzed with a repeated-measures analysis of variance with Bonferroni correction. The posterior deltoid was excluded as it serves mostly to extend and externally rotate. Our study confirmed Jobe's findings of maximal supraspinatus activity at 90° of abduction. However, decreasing abduction significantly increased S:D for both resisted manual testing and testing against a standardized load (P = .002 and .001, respectively). The greatest S:D ratio (4.6 ± 3.4 for standardized load testing) was seen at the "champagne toast" position, i.e., 30° of abduction, mild external rotation, 30° of flexion, and 90° of elbow flexion. The smallest ratio (0.8 ± 0.6) was seen at Jobe's position. Testing of abduction strength in the champagne toast position, i.e., 30° of abduction, mild external rotation, and 30° of flexion, better isolates the activity of the supraspinatus from the deltoid than Jobe's "empty can" position. Copyright © 2016 Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery Board of Trustees. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Control rod position and temperature coefficients in HTTR power-rise tests. Interim report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fujimoto, Nozomu; Nojiri, Naoki; Takada, Eiji; Saito, Kenji; Kobayashi, Shoichi; Sawahata, Hiroaki; Kokusen, Sigeru

2001-03-01

Power-rise tests of the High Temperature Engineering Test Reactor (HTTR) have been carried out aiming to achieve 100% power. So far, 50% of power operation and many tests have been carried out. In the HTTR, temperature change in core is so large to achieve the outlet coolant temperature of 950degC. To improve the calculation accuracy of the HTTR reactor physics characteristics, control rod positions at criticality and temperature coefficients were measured at each step to achieve 50% power level. The calculations were carried out using Monte Carlo code and diffusion theory with temperature distributions in the core obtained by reciprocal calculation of thermo-hydraulic code and diffusion theory. Control rod positions and temperature coefficients were calculated by diffusion theory and Monte Carlo method. The test results were compared to calculation results. The control rod positions at criticality showed good agreement with calculation results by Monte Carlo method with error of 50 mm. The control position at criticality at 100% was predicted around 2900mm. Temperature coefficients showed good agreement with calculation results by diffusion theory. The improvement of calculation will be carried out comparing the measured results up to 100% power level. (author)

Do exchange rates follow random walks? A variance ratio test of the ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The random-walk hypothesis in foreign-exchange rates market is one of the most researched areas, particularly in developed economies. However, emerging markets in sub-Saharan Africa have received little attention in this regard. This study applies Lo and MacKinlay's (1988) conventional variance ratio test and Wright's ...

Positive Skin Test or Specific IgE to Penicillin Does Not Reliably Predict Penicillin Allergy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tannert, Line Kring; Mørtz, Charlotte G; Skov, Per Stahl

2017-01-01

INTRODUCTION: According to guidelines, patients are diagnosed with penicillin allergy if skin test (ST) result or specific IgE (s-IgE) to penicillin is positive. However, the true sensitivity and specificity of these tests are presently not known. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical relevance...... of a positive ST result and positive s-IgE and to study the reproducibility of ST and s-IgE. METHODS: A sample of convenience of 25 patients with positive penicillin ST results, antipenicillin s-IgE results, or both was challenged with their culprit penicillin. Further 19 patients were not challenged......-IgE measured (T0), and then skin tested and had s-IgE measured 4 weeks later (T1). RESULTS: Only 9 (36%) of 25 were challenge positive. There was an increased probability of being penicillin allergic if both ST result and s-IgE were positive at T0. Positive ST result or positive s-IgE alone did not predict...

Effects of two different feeding positions on physiological characteristics and feeding performance of preterm infants: A randomized controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Girgin, Burcu Aykanat; Gözen, Duygu; Karatekin, Güner

2018-04-01

The aim of this randomized controlled study was to determine the effect of semielevated side-lying (ESL) and semielevated supine (ESU) positions, which are used to bottle-feed preterm infants, on their physiological characteristics and feeding performance. The sample consisted of preterm infants who were born in the 31st gestational week and below, and met the inclusion criteria. A randomization was provided in the sample group with a total of 80 infants including 38 infants in the ESL (experimental) group and 42 infants in the ESU (control) group. Both groups were compared in terms of their SpO2 values, heart rates, and feeding performances before, during, and after the feeding. The data were obtained by using a form for infant descriptive characteristics, feeding follow-up form, a Masimo Radical-7 pulse oximeter device, and a video camera. It was determined that the infants in the ESL group had statistically significantly higher SpO2 values (ESL: 96.77 ± 2.51; ESU: 93.48 ± 5.63) and lower heart rates (ESL: 155.87 ± 11.18; ESU: 164.35 ± 6.00) during the feeding compared to the infants in the ESU group (p ESL group. The ESL position has a more positive effect on oxygen saturation and heart rate of infants and it is more effective in providing a physiological stabilization during the feeding, compared to the ESU position. According to these results, the ESL position can be recommended for preterm feeding. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Detection test of wireless network signal strength and GPS positioning signal in underground pipeline

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Li; Zhang, Yunwei; Chen, Ling

2018-03-01

In order to solve the problem of selecting positioning technology for inspection robot in underground pipeline environment, the wireless network signal strength and GPS positioning signal testing are carried out in the actual underground pipeline environment. Firstly, the strength variation of the 3G wireless network signal and Wi-Fi wireless signal provided by China Telecom and China Unicom ground base stations are tested, and the attenuation law of these wireless signals along the pipeline is analyzed quantitatively and described. Then, the receiving data of the GPS satellite signal in the pipeline are tested, and the attenuation of GPS satellite signal under underground pipeline is analyzed. The testing results may be reference for other related research which need to consider positioning in pipeline.

Participation behaviour following a false positive test in the Copenhagen mammography screening programme

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Sune Bangsbøll; Vejborg, Ilse; von Euler-Chelpin, My

2008-01-01

women experiencing a negative screening test, regardless of whether the false positive statement was given following assessment or following surgery. The benign to malignant biopsy ratio, comparing the type B false positives to the true positives, was by the fifth round well below the desirable level...

Skin irritability to sodium lauryl sulfate is associated with increased positive patch test reactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Schwitulla, J; Brasch, J; Löffler, H; Schnuch, A; Geier, J; Uter, W

2014-07-01

As previous observations have indicated an inter-relationship between irritant and allergic skin reactions we analysed data of synchronous allergen and sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) patch tests in terms of a relationship between SLS responsiveness and allergic patch test reactions. To analyse differences in terms of allergen-specific and overall reaction profiles between patients with vs. those without an irritant reaction to SLS. Clinical data of 26 879 patients patch tested from 2008 to 2011 by members of the Information Network of Departments of Dermatology were analysed. After descriptive analyses, including the MOAHLFA index, the positivity ratio and the reaction index, a negative binomial hurdle model was adopted to investigate the correlation between SLS reactivity and positive patch test reactions. Men, patients aged ≥ 40 years and patients with an occupational dermatitis background were over-represented in the SLS-reactive group. Patients with an irritant reaction to SLS showed a higher proportion of weak positive reactions, as well as more questionable and irritant reactions to contact allergens than patients not reactive to SLS. The risk of an additional positive patch test reaction increased by 22% for SLS-reactive patients compared with those who were SLS negative. The marked association between SLS reactivity and the number of positive reactions in patch test patients may be due to nonspecific increased skin reactivity at the moment of patch testing only. However, increased SLS reactivity could also be due to longer-lasting enhanced skin irritability, which may have promoted (poly-)sensitization. Further studies, for example with longitudinal data on patients repeatedly patch tested with SLS and contact allergens, are necessary. © 2014 British Association of Dermatologists.

The prevalence of skin-test-positive allergic rhinitis in Danish adults

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Linneberg, A; Jørgensen, T; Nielsen, N H

2000-01-01

BACKGROUND: It is disputed whether increases in self-reported respiratory allergy represent a true increase or merely increased recognition. We aimed to investigate whether the prevalence of skin-prick-test (SPT)-positive allergic rhinitis had increased in an adult general population in Copenhagen...... (participation rate 74.6%) and 482 (participation rate 53.4%) subjects were examined in 1990 and 1998, respectively. Diagnoses of SPT-positive allergic rhinitis were based on a history of nasal symptoms on exposure to allergens and SPT positivity to allergens. RESULTS: The prevalence of a diagnosis of SPT...

Home noninvasive positive pressure ventilation with built-in software in stable hypercapnic COPD: a short-term prospective, multicenter, randomized, controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Luqian; Li, Xiaoying; Guan, Lili; Chen, Jianhua; Guo, Bingpeng; Wu, Weiliang; Huo, Yating; Zhou, Ziqing; Liang, Zhenyu; Zhou, Yuqi; Tan, Jie; Chen, Xin; Song, Yuanlin; Chen, Rongchang

2017-01-01

The benefits of noninvasive positive pressure ventilation (NPPV) in patients with hypercapnic COPD are controversial. It is presumed that methodology and appropriate use of NIV ventilator might be crucial for the outcomes. With the new built-in software, the performance of NIV can be monitored at home, which can guarantee the compliance and appropriate use. This study investigated effects of home use of NIV in hypercapnia in COPD patients using the NIV ventilator with built-in software for monitoring. The current multicenter prospective, randomized, controlled trial enrolled patients with stable GOLD stages III and IV hypercapnic COPD. Patients were randomly assigned via a computer-generated randomization sequence, with a block size of four patients, to continue optimized treatment (control group) or to receive additional NPPV (intervention group) for 3 months. The primary outcome was arterial carbon dioxide pressure (PaCO 2 ). Data were derived from built-in software and analyzed every 4 weeks. Analysis was carried out with the intention to treat. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT02499718. Patients were recruited from 20 respiratory units in China from October 1, 2015, and recruitment was terminated with a record of the vital statistics on May 31, 2016. A total of 115 patients were randomly assigned to the NPPV group (n=57) or the control group (n=58). Patients complied well with NPPV therapy (mean [± standard deviation] day use 5.6±1.4 h). The mean estimation of leaks was 37.99±13.71 L/min. The changes in PaCO 2 (-10.41±0.97 vs -4.32±0.68 mmHg, P =0.03) and 6-min walk distance (6MWD) (38.2% vs 18.2%, P =0.02) were statistically significant in the NPPV group versus the control group. COPD assessment test (CAT) showed a positive trend ( P =0.06) in favor of the NPPV group. Pulmonary function and dyspnea were not different between groups. Ventilators equipped with built-in software provided methodology for monitoring NIV use at home

Pseudo-random bit generator based on lag time series

Science.gov (United States)

García-Martínez, M.; Campos-Cantón, E.

2014-12-01

In this paper, we present a pseudo-random bit generator (PRBG) based on two lag time series of the logistic map using positive and negative values in the bifurcation parameter. In order to hidden the map used to build the pseudo-random series we have used a delay in the generation of time series. These new series when they are mapped xn against xn+1 present a cloud of points unrelated to the logistic map. Finally, the pseudo-random sequences have been tested with the suite of NIST giving satisfactory results for use in stream ciphers.

Effects of balance Vestibular Rehabilitation Therapy in elderly with Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo: a randomized controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Ribeiro, Karyna Myrelly Oliveira Bezerra de Figueiredo; Freitas, Raysa Vanessa de Medeiros; Ferreira, Lidiane Maria de Brito Macedo; Deshpande, Nandini; Guerra, Ricardo Oliveira

2017-06-01

To evaluate short-term effects of balance Vestibular Rehabilitation Therapy (VRT) on balance, dizziness symptoms and quality of life of the elderly with chronic Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV). In this randomized, single-blind and controlled trial, older adults with chronic BPPV were randomized into two groups, the experimental group (n = 7, age: 69 (65-78) years) and the control group (n = 7, age: 73 (65-76) years). Patients in the experimental group underwent balance VRT (50 min per session, two times a week) and Canalith Repositioning Maneuver (CRM) as required, for 13 weeks. The control group was treated using only CRM as required. Standing and dynamic balance, dizziness symptoms and quality of life were measured at the baseline, and at one, five, nine and thirteen weeks. There were no between-group differences in dizziness, quality of life and standing balance over the 13 weeks. Significant differences were observed in dynamic balance measures between groups (p CRM. Implications for Rehabilitation The findings that balance VRT in addition to CRM improves dynamic balance in elderly people with BPPV should be useful in guiding rehabilitation professionals' clinical decision making to design interventions for seniors suffering from BPPV; Improvements in tests of dynamic balance suggest that the risk of adverse consequences of BPPV in the elderly such as falls and fractures can be potentially reduced through implementation of CRM in conjunction with balance VRT; Lack of additional improvement in Visual Analogue Scale of dizziness and Dizziness Handicap Index suggests that addition of balance VRT does not influence dizziness symptomatology, per se, and CRM alone is effective to ameliorate vertiginous symptoms and potentially improve quality of life.

Design, building and test of one prototype and four final position sensor assemblies: Hall effect position sensors

Science.gov (United States)

1976-01-01

This report covers the development of a three channel Hall effect position sensing system for the commutation of a three phase dc torquer motor. The effort consisted of the evaluation, modification and re-packaging of a commercial position sensor and the design of a target configuration unique to this application. The resulting design meets the contract requirements and, furthermore, the test results indicate not only the practicality and versatility of the design, but also that there may be higher limits of resolution and accuracy achievable.

Risk factors for false positive and for false negative test results in screening with fecal occult blood testing

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Stegeman, Inge; de Wijkerslooth, Thomas R.; Stoop, Esther M.; van Leerdam, Monique; van Ballegooijen, M.; Kraaijenhagen, Roderik A.; Fockens, Paul; Kuipers, Ernst J.; Dekker, Evelien; Bossuyt, Patrick M.

2013-01-01

Differences in the risk of a false negative or a false positive fecal immunochemical test (FIT) across subgroups may affect optimal screening strategies. We evaluate whether subgroups are at increased risk of a false positive or a false negative FIT result, whether such variability in risk is

Preliminary performance test of control rod position indicator for ballscrew type CEDM

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoo, J. Y.; Kim, J. H.; Hu, H.; Lee, J. S.; Kim, J. I.

2003-01-01

The reliability and accuracy of the information on control rod position are very important to the reactor safety and the design of the core protection system. A survey on the RSPT(Reed Switch Position Transmitter) type control rod position indication system and its actual implementation in the exiting nuclear power plants in Korea was performed first. The prototype of control rod position indicator having the high performance for the ballscrew type CEDM was developed on the basis of RSPT technology identified through the survey. The characteristics of control rod position indicator was defined and documented through design procedure and preliminary performance test

Unexpectedly high leprosy seroprevalence detected using a random surveillance strategy in midwestern Brazil: A comparison of ELISA and a rapid diagnostic test.

Science.gov (United States)

Frade, Marco Andrey C; de Paula, Natália A; Gomes, Ciro M; Vernal, Sebastian; Bernardes Filho, Fred; Lugão, Helena B; de Abreu, Marilda M M; Botini, Patrícia; Duthie, Malcolm S; Spencer, John S; Soares, Rosa Castália F R; Foss, Norma T

2017-02-01

Leprosy diagnosis is mainly based on clinical evaluation, although this approach is difficult, especially for untrained physicians. We conducted a temporary campaign to detect previously unknown leprosy cases in midwestern Brazil and to compare the performance of different serological tests. A mobile clinic was stationed at the main bus terminal in Brasília, Brazil. Volunteers were quizzed and given a clinical exam to allow categorization as either patients, known contacts of patients or non-contacts, and blood was collected to determine anti-PGL-I and anti-LID-1 antibody titers by ELISA and by the NDO-LID rapid test. New cases of leprosy and the impact of performing this broad random surveillance strategy were evaluated. Accuracy values and concordance between the test results were evaluated among all groups. Four hundred thirty-four individuals were evaluated, and 44 (10.1%) were diagnosed with leprosy. Borderline forms were the most frequent presentation. Both tests presented higher positivity in those individuals with multibacillary disease. Serological tests demonstrated specificities arround 70% for anti-PGL-1 and anti-LID ELISA; and arround 40% for NDO-LID. Sensitivities ranged from 48 to 62%. A substantial agreement between NDO-LID and ELISA with concomitant positive results was found within leprosy patients (Kappa index = 0.79 CI95% 0.36-1.22). The unexpectedly high leprosy prevalence in this population indicates ongoing community-based exposure to Mycobacterium leprae antigens and high rates of subclinical infection. All tests showed low specificity and sensitivity values and therefore cannot be considered for use as stand-alone diagnostics. Rather, considering their positivity among MB patients and non-patients, these tests can be considered effective tools for screening and identifying individuals at high risk who might benefit from regular monitoring.

A Randomized Study of Incentivizing HIV Testing for Parolees in Community Aftercare.

Science.gov (United States)

Saxena, Preeta; Hall, Elizabeth A; Prendergast, Michael

2016-04-01

HIV risk-behaviors are high in criminal justice populations and more efforts are necessary to address them among criminal justice-involved substance abusers. This study examines the role of incentives in promoting HIV testing among parolees. Participants were randomly assigned to either an incentive (n = 104) or education group (control; n = 98), where the incentive group received a voucher for testing for HIV. Bivariate comparisons showed that a larger proportion of those in the incentive group received HIV testing (59% versus 47%), but this was not statistically significant (p = .09). However, in a multivariate logistic regression model controlling for covariates likely to influence HIV-testing behavior, those in the incentive group had increased odds of HIV testing in comparison to those in the education group (OR = 1.99, p testing and other healthy behaviors in criminal justice populations.

Digital servo control of random sound fields

Science.gov (United States)

Nakich, R. B.

1973-01-01

It is necessary to place number of sensors at different positions in sound field to determine actual sound intensities to which test object is subjected. It is possible to determine whether specification is being met adequately or exceeded. Since excitation is of random nature, signals are essentially coherent and it is impossible to obtain true average.

Sensitivity and specificity of CT colonography for the detection of colonic neoplasia after positive faecal occult blood testing: systematic review and meta-analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Plumb, Andrew A.; Pendse, Douglas A.; Taylor, Stuart A. [University College London, Centre for Medical Imaging, London (United Kingdom); Halligan, Steve [University College London, Centre for Medical Imaging, London (United Kingdom); University College London, University College Hospital, Centre for Medical Imaging, Podium Level 2, London (United Kingdom); Mallett, Susan [University of Oxford, Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, Oxford (United Kingdom)

2014-05-15

CT colonography (CTC) is recommended after positive faecal occult blood testing (FOBt) when colonoscopy is incomplete or infeasible. We aimed to estimate the sensitivity and specificity of CTC for colorectal cancer and adenomatous polyps following positive FOBt via systematic review. The MEDLINE, EMBASE, AMED and Cochrane Library databases were searched for CTC studies reporting sensitivity and specificity for colorectal cancer and adenomatous polyps. Included subjects had tested FOBt-positive by guaiac or immunochemical methods. Per-patient detection rates were summarized via forest plots. Meta-analysis of sensitivity and specificity was conducted using a bivariate random effects model and the average operating point calculated. Of 538 articles considered, 5 met inclusion criteria, describing results from 622 patients. Research study quality was good. CTC had a high per-patient average sensitivity of 88.8 % (95 % CI 83.6 to 92.5 %) for ≥6 mm adenomas or colorectal cancer, with low between-study heterogeneity. Specificity was both more heterogeneous and lower, at an average of 75.4 % (95 % CI 58.6 to 86.8 %). Few studies have investigated CTC in FOBt-positive individuals. CTC is sensitive at a ≥6 mm threshold but specificity is lower and variable. Despite the limited data, these results suggest that CTC may adequately substitute for colonoscopy when the latter is undesirable. (orig.)

Sensitivity and specificity of CT colonography for the detection of colonic neoplasia after positive faecal occult blood testing: systematic review and meta-analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Plumb, Andrew A.; Pendse, Douglas A.; Taylor, Stuart A.; Halligan, Steve; Mallett, Susan

2014-01-01

CT colonography (CTC) is recommended after positive faecal occult blood testing (FOBt) when colonoscopy is incomplete or infeasible. We aimed to estimate the sensitivity and specificity of CTC for colorectal cancer and adenomatous polyps following positive FOBt via systematic review. The MEDLINE, EMBASE, AMED and Cochrane Library databases were searched for CTC studies reporting sensitivity and specificity for colorectal cancer and adenomatous polyps. Included subjects had tested FOBt-positive by guaiac or immunochemical methods. Per-patient detection rates were summarized via forest plots. Meta-analysis of sensitivity and specificity was conducted using a bivariate random effects model and the average operating point calculated. Of 538 articles considered, 5 met inclusion criteria, describing results from 622 patients. Research study quality was good. CTC had a high per-patient average sensitivity of 88.8 % (95 % CI 83.6 to 92.5 %) for ≥6 mm adenomas or colorectal cancer, with low between-study heterogeneity. Specificity was both more heterogeneous and lower, at an average of 75.4 % (95 % CI 58.6 to 86.8 %). Few studies have investigated CTC in FOBt-positive individuals. CTC is sensitive at a ≥6 mm threshold but specificity is lower and variable. Despite the limited data, these results suggest that CTC may adequately substitute for colonoscopy when the latter is undesirable. (orig.)

An Internet-Based Intervention (Condom-Him) to Increase Condom Use Among HIV-Positive Men Who Have Sex With Men: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Miranda, Joyal; Côté, José; Godin, Gaston; Blais, Martin; Otis, Joanne; Guéhéneuc, Yann-Gaël; Fadel, Ghayas; Barton, Luisa; Fowler, Shawn

2013-10-16

In the recent years, the Internet has been used as a medium to find sexual partners and engage in risky sexual behavior. This has changed the way in which men having have sex with men (MSM) seek sexual partners and has increased the number of high-risk sexual encounters. Therefore, developers of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-prevention interventions have also started using the Internet as a viable medium to promote safe sexual behaviors. However, much of the efforts thus far have been aimed at HIV-negative rather than HIV-positive MSM. HIV-positive individuals continue to engage in risky sexual behaviors and thus constitute an important group in which HIV prevention strategies need to be addressed. Therefore, HIV prevention in HIV-positive MSM is a critical issue. Condom-Him, an Internet-based intervention tailored to increase condom use among HIV-positive MSM, was developed with the aim of improving condom use, self-efficacy, and intentions to use condoms among these individuals. The acceptability and feasibility of this Internet-based intervention will be examined in a pilot study. We will perform a randomized controlled parallel-group superiority trial. HIV-positive MSM who currently engage in unprotected anal sex will be recruited for the study. Participants will be randomly assigned using a one-to-one allocation ratio generated by the computer program. The researchers will be blinded to participant's group assignment. Participants will be assigned either to use the Condom-Him intervention (experimental arm) or to view a list of websites containing HIV/AIDS related information (control arm). Self-administered questionnaires will be provided online before randomization (baseline) and two weeks after intervention (post-test). The study will include a total of 60 participants with 30 in each group. The results from this pilot study will provide further evidence for a larger study to examine the effectiveness of this intervention and will provide a cost

Dose-Weighted Adjusted Mantel-Haenszel Tests for Numeric Scaled Strata in a Randomized Trial

Science.gov (United States)

Gansky, Stuart A.; Cheng, Nancy F.; Koch, Gary G.

2011-01-01

A recent three-arm parallel groups randomized clinical prevention trial had a protocol deviation causing participants to have fewer active doses of an in-office treatment than planned. The original statistical analysis plan stipulated a minimal assumption randomization-based extended Mantel-Haenszel (EMH) trend test of the high frequency, low frequency, and zero frequency treatment groups and a binary outcome. Thus a dose-weighted adjusted EMH (DWAEMH) test was developed with an extra set of weights corresponding to the number of active doses actually available, in the spirit of a pattern mixture model. The method can easily be implemented using standard statistical software. A set of Monte Carlo simulations using a logistic model was undertaken with (and without) actual dose-response effects through 1000 replicates for empirical power estimates (and 2100 for empirical size). Results showed size was maintained and power was improved for DWAEMH versus EMH and logistic regression Wald tests in the presence of a dose effect and treatment by dose interaction. PMID:21709814

Design, Development and Testing of a Semicircular Type Capacitive Angular Position Sensor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nikhil GAURAV

2011-06-01

Full Text Available A low cost semicircular type capacitive angular position sensor has been designed, developed and tested. It is made of two semicircular parallel plates where one plate is fixed and another plate is connected with the rotor whose angular position is to be measured. When the angular position of the rotor changes with respect to the fixed plate, the overlapping area between the two plates of the capacitor is varied causing a change in capacitance value. Capacitance variation obtained due to the change in angular position is in the nano farad range. For signal conditioning, series R-L-C resonating circuit instead of conventional bridge circuit has been used to convert the sensor capacitance variation in to voltage. Experimental result shows that the capacitance for change in angular position 0º-180º increases linearly and for 180º-360º it decreases linearly. To get a linearly increasing response of same slope for the full scale of 0º-360º, a suitable linearising circuit has been designed, developed and tested. Sensor output along with the signal conditioning shows good linearity and repeatability.

Control method for multi-input multi-output non-Gaussian random vibration test with cross spectra consideration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ronghui ZHENG

2017-12-01

Full Text Available A control method for Multi-Input Multi-Output (MIMO non-Gaussian random vibration test with cross spectra consideration is proposed in the paper. The aim of the proposed control method is to replicate the specified references composed of auto spectral densities, cross spectral densities and kurtoses on the test article in the laboratory. It is found that the cross spectral densities will bring intractable coupling problems and induce difficulty for the control of the multi-output kurtoses. Hence, a sequential phase modification method is put forward to solve the coupling problems in multi-input multi-output non-Gaussian random vibration test. To achieve the specified responses, an improved zero memory nonlinear transformation is utilized first to modify the Fourier phases of the signals with sequential phase modification method to obtain one frame reference response signals which satisfy the reference spectra and reference kurtoses. Then, an inverse system method is used in frequency domain to obtain the continuous stationary drive signals. At the same time, the matrix power control algorithm is utilized to control the spectra and kurtoses of the response signals further. At the end of the paper, a simulation example with a cantilever beam and a vibration shaker test are implemented and the results support the proposed method very well. Keywords: Cross spectra, Kurtosis control, Multi-input multi-output, Non-Gaussian, Random vibration test

Hydroxychloroquine-induced acute generalized exanthematous pustulosis with positive patch-testing.

Science.gov (United States)

Charfi, Ons; Kastalli, Sarrah; Sahnoun, Rym; Lakhoua, Ghozlane

2015-01-01

Acute generalized exanthematous pustulosis (AGEP) is a severe cutaneous adverse reaction, mostly induced by drugs. Hydroxychloroquine have been rarely reported in literature as a causative drug of this reaction. We report a case of AGEP induced by hydroxychloroquine with systemic involvement and confirmed by positive patch testing.

9 CFR 80.4 - Segregation of animals positive to an official Johne's disease test during interstate movement.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... official Johne's disease test during interstate movement. 80.4 Section 80.4 Animals and Animal Products... animals positive to an official Johne's disease test during interstate movement. Animals that are positive... from the animals positive to an official Johne's disease test to the healthy animals in the vehicle. ...

16 CFR 1203.15 - Positional stability test (roll-off resistance).

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 16 Commercial Practices 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Positional stability test (roll-off resistance). 1203.15 Section 1203.15 Commercial Practices CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION CONSUMER PRODUCT... over the helmet along the midsagittal plane and attaching the hook over the edge of the helmet as shown...

9 CFR 80.3 - Movement of domestic animals that are positive to an official Johne's disease test.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... positive to an official Johne's disease test. 80.3 Section 80.3 Animals and Animal Products ANIMAL AND... animals that are positive to an official Johne's disease test. (a) Movement of domestic animals for slaughter. Domestic animals that are positive to an official Johne's disease test may be moved interstate...

[Necessity of repeated roll test in horizontal semicircular canalithasis positioned diagnosis].

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, H H; Zhao, Y; Chen, T S; Xu, K X; Wang, W; Liu, Q; Wen, C; Li, S S; Li, X J; Han, X; Lin, P

2016-04-07

To investigate the influence of repeated roll test in horizontal semicircular canalithasis(HSC-Can) positioned diagnosis, so as to investigate the cecessity of repeated roll test. The patients with a chief complaint of positional vertigo accepted two consecutive cycles roll test, the evoked nystagmus characteristics of each cycle recorded by video-nystagmuograph(VNG), whose direction, intensity, time and other parameters characteristics were analyzed in 51 HSC-Can. Horizontal nystagmus in the same direction with turning were induced in HSC-Can roll test. In 51 HSC-Can, roll test cycle 1 and cycle 2 induced nystagmus same strength side in 26 cases(51.0%), of which 19 cases with stronger nystagmus intensity in cycle 2, another 7 cases were weaker; the opposite strength side of the two loops induced nystagmus, and cycle 1 evoked nystagmus intensity were weaker than cycle 2, based on cycle 2 results determined HSC-Can affected side in 25 cases (49.0%). Lesion and normal side in cycle 1 induced nystagmus duration (x±s, the same below) were (13.4±11.5)s and (14.1±9.9)s, respectively intensity (18.1±22.4)°/s and (13.0±12.0)°/s; as in cycle 2 induced nystagmus duration was (20.7±10.2)s and (18.0±12.0)s, strength respectively(40.4±28.0)°/s and (15.6 ±11.2)°/s. Cycle 2 ipsilateral rotor position evoked nystagmus showed longer duration and stronger intensity than cycle 1. Between two cycle induced ipsilateral nystagmus duration, intensity differences were statistically significant (t values were -4.233 and -5.154, P=0.000). 51 HSC-Can patients, 44 patients selected repositioning maneuver, after 1-2 times of maneuver, 41 cases (93.2%) showed complete resolution of symptoms, all cases's symptoms were improved; other 7 patients selected medication only. The proposed suspicious HSC-Can patients should receive at least two cycles roll test, and mainly in the second cycle could determine the location of the responsible semicircular canals.

Addressing unmet need for HIV testing in emergency care settings: a role for computer-facilitated rapid HIV testing?

Science.gov (United States)

Kurth, Ann E; Severynen, Anneleen; Spielberg, Freya

2013-08-01

HIV testing in emergency departments (EDs) remains underutilized. The authors evaluated a computer tool to facilitate rapid HIV testing in an urban ED. Randomly assigned nonacute adult ED patients were randomly assigned to a computer tool (CARE) and rapid HIV testing before a standard visit (n = 258) or to a standard visit (n = 259) with chart access. The authors assessed intervention acceptability and compared noted HIV risks. Participants were 56% nonWhite and 58% male; median age was 37 years. In the CARE arm, nearly all (251/258) of the patients completed the session and received HIV results; four declined to consent to the test. HIV risks were reported by 54% of users; one participant was confirmed HIV-positive, and two were confirmed false-positive (seroprevalence 0.4%, 95% CI [0.01, 2.2]). Half (55%) of the patients preferred computerized rather than face-to-face counseling for future HIV testing. In the standard arm, one HIV test and two referrals for testing occurred. Computer-facilitated HIV testing appears acceptable to ED patients. Future research should assess cost-effectiveness compared with staff-delivered approaches.

Antibiotic-induced immediate type hypersensitivity is a risk factor for positive allergy skin tests for neuromuscular blocking agents.

Science.gov (United States)

Hagau, Natalia; Gherman, Nadia; Cocis, Mihaela; Petrisor, Cristina

2016-01-01

Skin tests for neuromuscular blocking agents (NMBAs) are not currently recommended for the general population undergoing general anaesthesia. In a previous study we have reported a high incidence of positive allergy tests for NMBAs in patients with a positive history of non-anaesthetic drug allergy, a larger prospective study being needed to confirm those preliminary results. The objective of this study was to compare the skin tests results for patients with a positive history of antibiotic-induced immediate type hypersensitivity reactions to those of controls without drug allergies. Ninety eight patients with previous antibiotic hypersensitivity and 72 controls were prospectively included. Skin tests were performed for atracurium, pancuronium, rocuronium, and suxamethonium. We found 65 positive skin tests from the 392 tests performed in patients with a positive history of antibiotic hypersensitivity (1 6.58%) and 23 positive skin tests from the 288 performed in controls (7.98%), the two incidences showing significant statistical difference (p = 0.0011). The relative risk for having a positive skin test for NMBAs for patients versus controls was 1.77 (1.15-2.76). For atracurium, skin tests were more often positive in patients with a positive history of antibiotic hypersensitivity versus controls (p = 0.02). For pancuronium, rocuronium and suxamethonium the statistical difference was not attained (p-values 0.08 for pancuronium, 0.23 for rocuronium, and 0.26 for suxamethonium). Patients with a positive history of antibiotic hypersensitivity seem to have a higher incidence of positive skin tests for NMBAs. They might represent a group at higher risk for developing intraoperative anaphylaxis compared to the general population. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Testing self-regulation interventions to increase walking using factorial randomized N-of-1 trials.

Science.gov (United States)

Sniehotta, Falko F; Presseau, Justin; Hobbs, Nicola; Araújo-Soares, Vera

2012-11-01

To investigate the suitability of N-of-1 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) as a means of testing the effectiveness of behavior change techniques based on self-regulation theory (goal setting and self-monitoring) for promoting walking in healthy adult volunteers. A series of N-of-1 RCTs in 10 normal and overweight adults ages 19-67 (M = 36.9 years). We randomly allocated 60 days within each individual to text message-prompted daily goal-setting and/or self-monitoring interventions in accordance with a 2 (step-count goal prompt vs. alternative goal prompt) × 2 (self-monitoring: open vs. blinded Omron-HJ-113-E pedometer) factorial design. Aggregated data were analyzed using random intercept multilevel models. Single cases were analyzed individually. The primary outcome was daily pedometer step counts over 60 days. Single-case analyses showed that 4 participants significantly increased walking: 2 on self-monitoring days and 2 on goal-setting days, compared with control days. Six participants did not benefit from the interventions. In aggregated analyses, mean step counts were higher on goal-setting days (8,499.9 vs. 7,956.3) and on self-monitoring days (8,630.3 vs. 7,825.9). Multilevel analyses showed a significant effect of the self-monitoring condition (p = .01), the goal-setting condition approached significance (p = .08), and there was a small linear increase in walking over time (p = .03). N-of-1 randomized trials are a suitable means to test behavioral interventions in individual participants.

Force Limited Random Vibration Test of TESS Camera Mass Model

Science.gov (United States)

Karlicek, Alexandra; Hwang, James Ho-Jin; Rey, Justin J.

2015-01-01

The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) is a spaceborne instrument consisting of four wide field-of-view-CCD cameras dedicated to the discovery of exoplanets around the brightest stars. As part of the environmental testing campaign, force limiting was used to simulate a realistic random vibration launch environment. While the force limit vibration test method is a standard approach used at multiple institutions including Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), European Space Research and Technology Center (ESTEC), and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), it is still difficult to find an actual implementation process in the literature. This paper describes the step-by-step process on how the force limit method was developed and applied on the TESS camera mass model. The process description includes the design of special fixtures to mount the test article for properly installing force transducers, development of the force spectral density using the semi-empirical method, estimation of the fuzzy factor (C2) based on the mass ratio between the supporting structure and the test article, subsequent validating of the C2 factor during the vibration test, and calculation of the C.G. accelerations using the Root Mean Square (RMS) reaction force in the spectral domain and the peak reaction force in the time domain.

A community-engaged randomized controlled trial of an integrative intervention with HIV-positive, methamphetamine-using men who have sex with men

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adam W. Carrico

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Contingency management (CM is an evidence-based intervention providing tangible rewards as positive reinforcement for abstinence from stimulants such as methamphetamine. Integrative approaches targeting affect regulation could boost the effectiveness of CM in community-based settings and optimize HIV/AIDS prevention efforts. Methods/Design This randomized controlled trial with HIV-positive, methamphetamine-using men who have sex with men (MSM is examining the efficacy of a 5-session, individually delivered positive affect regulation intervention – Affect Regulation Treatment to Enhance Methamphetamine Intervention Success (ARTEMIS. ARTEMIS is designed to sensitize individuals to non-drug-related sources of reward as well as assist with managing depression and other symptoms of stimulant withdrawal during CM. HIV-positive, methamphetamine-using MSM who are enrolled in a community-based, 12-week CM program are randomized to receive ARTEMIS or an attention-matched control condition. Follow-up assessments are conducted at 3, 6, 12, and 15 months after enrollment in CM. Four peripheral venous blood samples are collected over the 15-month follow-up with specimen banking for planned biomarker sub-studies. The primary outcome is mean HIV viral load. Secondary outcomes include: sustained HIV viral suppression, T-helper cell count, psychological adjustment, stimulant use, and potentially amplified transmission risk behavior. Discussion Implementation of this randomized controlled trial highlights the importance of delineating boundaries between research activities and community-based service provision. It also provides insights into best practices for integrating the distinct agendas of academic and community partners in clinical research. This trial is currently enrolling and data collection is anticipated to be completed in September of 2018. Trial registration This trial was registered on clinicaltrials.gov ( NCT01926184 on

Acceptance of referral for partners by clients testing positive for human immunodeficiency virus

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Netsanet F

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Fetene Netsanet,1 Ayalew Dessie21IMA World Health SuddHealth Multi Donor Trust Fund-Basic Package of Health Services Project, Juba, South Sudan; 2United States Agency for International Development, Private Health Sector Program, Abt Associates Inc, Addis Ababa, EthiopiaBackground: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-positive individuals who do not disclose their HIV status to their partners are more likely to present late for HIV and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS care than those who have disclosed their HIV status to their partners. A major area of challenge with regards to HIV counseling for clients is disclosure of their HIV status to their partners. The main methods of partner notification are patient referral, provider referral, contract referral, and outreach assistance. The emphasis on a plausible and comprehensive partner referral strategy for widespread positive case detection in resource-limited countries needs to be thought out and developed.Methods: A qualitative study was conducted among newly HIV-positive clients to identify partners for notification and acceptance of referral by their partners. Health service providers working in HIV testing and counseling clinics were also provided with semistructured questionnaires in order to assess their view towards partner notification strategies for clients testing positive for HIV.Results: Fifteen newly diagnosed HIV-positive clients were counseled to provide referral slips to their partners. All clients agreed and took the referral card. However, only eight were willing and actually provided the card to their partners. Five of the eight partners of clients who tested HIV-positive and who were provided with referral cards responded to the referral and were tested for HIV. Three were positive and two were negative. Nine of 11 counselors did not agree to requesting partner locator information from HIV-positive clients for contractual referral and/or outreach assistance. The findings

A CLASS OF DISTRIBUTION-FREE TESTS FOR INDEPENDENCE AGAINST POSITIVE QUADRANT DEPENDENCE

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Parameshwar V Pandit

2014-02-01

Full Text Available A class of distribution-free tests based on convex combination of two U-statistics is considered for testing independence against positive quadrant dependence. The class of tests proposed by Kochar and Gupta (1987 and Kendall’s test are members of the proposed class. The performance of the proposed class is evaluated in terms of Pitman asymptotic relative efficiency for Block- Basu (1974 model and Woodworth family of distributions. It has been observed that some members of the class perform better than the existing tests in the literature.  Unbiasedness and consistency of the proposed class of tests have been established.

Outcome in clients with positive pregnancy test following IVF/ICSI ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Background: A retrospective analysis of the outcome of all patients who have recorded a positive pregnancy test following IVF/ICSI treatment from June 1999 to December 2002 was done. Materials and Methods: A total of 1256 treatment cycles were carried out using the long day 1 (early follicular phase) or day 21 ...

Poor Positive Predictive Value of Lyme Disease Serologic Testing in an Area of Low Disease Incidence.

Science.gov (United States)

Lantos, Paul M; Branda, John A; Boggan, Joel C; Chudgar, Saumil M; Wilson, Elizabeth A; Ruffin, Felicia; Fowler, Vance; Auwaerter, Paul G; Nigrovic, Lise E

2015-11-01

Lyme disease is diagnosed by 2-tiered serologic testing in patients with a compatible clinical illness, but the significance of positive test results in low-prevalence regions has not been investigated. We reviewed the medical records of patients who tested positive for Lyme disease with standardized 2-tiered serologic testing between 2005 and 2010 at a single hospital system in a region with little endemic Lyme disease. Based on clinical findings, we calculated the positive predictive value of Lyme disease serology. Next, we reviewed the outcome of serologic testing in patients with select clinical syndromes compatible with disseminated Lyme disease (arthritis, cranial neuropathy, or meningitis). During the 6-year study period 4723 patients were tested for Lyme disease, but only 76 (1.6%) had positive results by established laboratory criteria. Among 70 seropositive patients whose medical records were available for review, 12 (17%; 95% confidence interval, 9%-28%) were found to have Lyme disease (6 with documented travel to endemic regions). During the same time period, 297 patients with a clinical illness compatible with disseminated Lyme disease underwent 2-tiered serologic testing. Six of them (2%; 95% confidence interval, 0.7%-4.3%) were seropositive, 3 with documented travel and 1 who had an alternative diagnosis that explained the clinical findings. In this low-prevalence cohort, fewer than 20% of positive Lyme disease tests are obtained from patients with clinically likely Lyme disease. Positive Lyme disease test results may have little diagnostic value in this setting. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

CALIBRATION ERRORS IN THE CAVITY BEAM POSITION MONITOR SYSTEM AT THE ATF2

CERN Document Server

Cullinan, F; Joshi, N; Lyapin, A

2011-01-01

It has been shown at the Accelerator Test Facility at KEK, that it is possible to run a system of 37 cavity beam position monitors (BPMs) and achieve high working resolution. However, stability of the calibration constants (position scale and radio frequency (RF) phase) over a three/four week running period is yet to be demonstrated. During the calibration procedure, random beam jitter gives rise to a statistical error in the position scale and slow orbit drift in position and tilt causes systematic errors in both the position scale and RF phase. These errors are dominant and have been evaluated for each BPM. The results are compared with the errors expected after a tested method of beam jitter subtraction has been applied.

Some history and use of the random positioning machine, RPM, in gravity related research

Science.gov (United States)

van Loon, Jack J. W. A.

The first experiments using machines and instruments to manipulate gravity and thus learn about its impact to this force onto living systems were performed by Sir Thomas Andrew Knight in 1806, exactly two centuries ago. What have we learned from these experiments and in particular what have we learned about the use of instruments to reveal the impact of gravity and rotation on plants and other living systems? In this essay I want to go into the use of instruments in gravity related research with emphases on the Random Positioning Machine, RPM. Going from water wheel via clinostat to RPM, we will address the usefulness and possible working principles of these hypergravity and mostly called microgravity, or better, micro-weight simulation techniques.

For Men: A Positive Zika Virus Test, What Does It Mean for Me?

Science.gov (United States)

CDC’s Response to Zika FOR MEN: A POSITIVE ZIKA VIRUS TEST What does it mean for me? You’ ... Zika test result, which means that you have Zika virus. Zika is spread through mosquito bites and through ...

Test-based exclusion diets in gastro-esophageal reflux disease patients: a randomized controlled pilot trial.

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Caselli, Michele; Zuliani, Giovanni; Cassol, Francesca; Fusetti, Nadia; Zeni, Elena; Lo Cascio, Natalina; Soavi, Cecilia; Gullini, Sergio

2014-12-07

To investigate the clinical response of gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD) symptoms to exclusion diets based on food intolerance tests. A double blind, randomized, controlled pilot trial was performed in 38 GERD patients partially or completely non-responders to proton pump inhibitors (PPI) treatment. Fasting blood samples from each patients were obtained; leukocytotoxic test was performed by incubating the blood with a panel of 60 food items to be tested. The reaction of leukocytes (rounding, vacuolization, lack of movement, flattening, fragmentation or disintegration of cell wall) was then evaluated by optical microscopy and rated as follows: level 0 = negative, level 1 = slightly positive, level 2 = moderately positive, and level 3 = highly positive. A "true" diet excluding food items inducing moderate-severe reactions, and a "control" diet including them was developed for each patient. Then, twenty patients received the "true" diet and 18 the "control" diet; after one month (T1) symptoms severity was scored by the GERD impact scale (GIS). Hence, patients in the "control" group were switched to the "true" diet, and symptom severity was re-assessed after three months (T2). At baseline (T0) the mean GIS global score was 6.68 (range: 5-12) with no difference between "true" and control group (6.6 ± 1.19 vs 6.7 ± 1.7). All patients reacted moderately/severely to at least 1 food (range: 5-19), with a significantly greater number of food substances inducing reaction in controls compared with the "true" diet group (11.6 vs 7.0, P < 0.001). Food items more frequently involved were milk, lettuce, brewer's yeast, pork, coffee, rice, sole asparagus, and tuna, followed by eggs, tomato, grain, shrimps, and chemical yeast. At T1 both groups displayed a reduction of GIS score ("true" group 3.3 ± 1.7, -50%, P = 0.001; control group 4.9 ± 2.8, -26.9%, P = 0.02), although the GIS score was significantly lower in "true" vs "control" group (P = 0.04). At T2, after the diet

A cluster randomized controlled trial testing the effectiveness of Houvast: A strengths-based intervention for homeless young adults

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Krabbenborg, M.A.M.; Boersma, S.N.; Veld, W.M. van der; Hulst, B. van; Vollebergh, W.A.M.; Wolf, J.R.L.M.

2017-01-01

Objective: To test the effectiveness of Houvast: a strengths-based intervention for homeless young adults. Method: A cluster randomized controlled trial was conducted with 10 Dutch shelter facilities randomly allocated to an intervention and a control group. Homeless young adults were interviewed

Anesthetic Efficacy of Supine and Upright Positions for the Inferior Alveolar Nerve Block: A Prospective, Randomized Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Crowley, Chase; Drum, Melissa; Reader, Al; Nusstein, John; Fowler, Sara; Beck, Mike

2018-02-01

It has been recommended to place patients in an upright position after administration of an inferior alveolar nerve block (IANB), theoretically allowing the anesthetic to diffuse in an inferior direction and resulting in better pulpal anesthesia. The purpose of this study was to compare an upright versus a supine position on the success of pulpal anesthesia when an IANB was administered in asymptomatic teeth. One hundred ten asymptomatic subjects were randomly given IANBs by using 2% lidocaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine while they were in an upright position and supine position at 2 different appointments spaced at least 2 weeks apart. Pulpal anesthesia was measured in the molars, premolars, and incisors with an electric pulp tester in 4-minute cycles for 60 minutes. Anesthetic success was defined as the subject achieving 2 consecutive 80 readings within 15 minutes of the injection and sustaining the 80 reading for 60 minutes. Success was analyzed by using a mixed model logistic regression. Pulpal anesthesia for the supine position was not statistically more successful than the upright position in the second molars (73% vs 65%), first molars (59% vs 54%), lateral incisors (28% vs 23%), and central incisors (11% vs 8%), respectively. The supine position significantly improved success in the second premolars (63% vs 53%) and first premolars (75% vs 64%). The supine and upright positions were equally successful in the molars and anterior teeth. The supine position was more successful in the premolars. However, clinically, neither position for the IANB administration would provide complete pulpal anesthesia. Copyright © 2017 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Challenges Women Face in Leadership Positions and Organizational Effectiveness: An Investigation

Science.gov (United States)

Elmuti, Dean; Jia, Heather; Davis, Henry H.

2009-01-01

This study was undertaken to discover working public thoughts about roles of United States women in leadership positions and to test the relationship between managerial leadership styles and organizational effectiveness. A survey of perceptions of leadership roles and effectiveness distributed 700 randomly selected entities from industries in the…

Effects of Positive Psychology Interventions on Risk Biomarkers in Coronary Patients: A Randomized, Wait-List Controlled Pilot Trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Nikrahan, Gholam Reza; Laferton, Johannes A C; Asgari, Karim; Kalantari, Mehrdad; Abedi, Mohammad Reza; Etesampour, Ali; Rezaei, Abbas; Suarez, Laura; Huffman, Jeff C

2016-01-01

Among cardiac patients, positive psychologic factors are consistently linked with superior clinical outcomes and improvement in key markers of inflammation and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis functioning. Further, positive psychology interventions (PPI) have effectively increased psychologic well-being in a wide variety of populations. However, there has been minimal study of PPIs in cardiac patients, and no prior study has evaluated their effect on key prognostic biomarkers of cardiac outcome. Accordingly, we investigated the effect of 3 distinct PPIs on risk biomarkers in cardiac patients. In an exploratory trial, 69 patients with recent coronary artery bypass graft surgery or percutaneous intervention were randomized to (1) one of three 6-week in-person PPIs (based on the work of Seligman, Lyubomirsky, or Fordyce) or (2) a wait-list control group. Risk biomarkers were assessed at baseline, postintervention (7 weeks), and at 15-week follow-up. Between-group differences in change from baseline biomarker levels were examined via random effects models. Compared with the control group, participants randomized to the Seligman (B = -2.06; p = 0.02) and Fordyce PPI (B = -1.54; p = 0.04) had significantly lower high-sensitivity C-reactive protein levels at 7 weeks. Further, the Lyubomirsky PPI (B = -245.86; p = 0.04) was associated with a significantly lower cortisol awakening response at 7 weeks when compared with control participants. There were no other significant between-group differences. Despite being an exploratory pilot study with multiple between-group comparisons, this initial trial offers the first suggestion that PPIs might be effective in reducing risk biomarkers in high-risk cardiac patients. Copyright © 2016 The Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine. All rights reserved.

[Mes differ by positioning: empirical testing of decentralized dynamics of the self].

Science.gov (United States)

Mizokami, Shinichi

2013-10-01

The present study empirically tested the conceptualization of the decentralized dynamics of the self proposed by Hermans & Kempen (1993), which they developed theoretically and from clinical cases, not from large samples of empirical data. They posited that worldviews and images of the self could vary by positioning even in the same individual, and denied that the ego was an omniscient entity that knew and controlled all aspects of the self (centralized ego). Study 1 tested their conceptualization empirically with 47 university students in an experimental group and 17 as a control group. The results showed that the scores on the Rosenberg's self-esteem scale and images of the Mes in the experimental group significantly varied by positioning, but those in the control group did not. Similar results were found in Study 2 with a sample of 120 university students. These results empirically supported the conceptualization of the decentralized dynamics of the self.

Reliability assessment for safety critical systems by statistical random testing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mills, S.E.

1995-11-01

In this report we present an overview of reliability assessment for software and focus on some basic aspects of assessing reliability for safety critical systems by statistical random testing. We also discuss possible deviations from some essential assumptions on which the general methodology is based. These deviations appear quite likely in practical applications. We present and discuss possible remedies and adjustments and then undertake applying this methodology to a portion of the SDS1 software. We also indicate shortcomings of the methodology and possible avenues to address to follow to address these problems. (author). 128 refs., 11 tabs., 31 figs

Reliability assessment for safety critical systems by statistical random testing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mills, S E [Carleton Univ., Ottawa, ON (Canada). Statistical Consulting Centre

1995-11-01

In this report we present an overview of reliability assessment for software and focus on some basic aspects of assessing reliability for safety critical systems by statistical random testing. We also discuss possible deviations from some essential assumptions on which the general methodology is based. These deviations appear quite likely in practical applications. We present and discuss possible remedies and adjustments and then undertake applying this methodology to a portion of the SDS1 software. We also indicate shortcomings of the methodology and possible avenues to address to follow to address these problems. (author). 128 refs., 11 tabs., 31 figs.

PCR-based verification of positive rapid diagnostic tests for intestinal protozoa infections with variable test band intensity.

Science.gov (United States)

Becker, Sören L; Müller, Ivan; Mertens, Pascal; Herrmann, Mathias; Zondie, Leyli; Beyleveld, Lindsey; Gerber, Markus; du Randt, Rosa; Pühse, Uwe; Walter, Cheryl; Utzinger, Jürg

2017-10-01

Stool-based rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) for pathogenic intestinal protozoa (e.g. Cryptosporidium spp. and Giardia intestinalis) allow for prompt diagnosis and treatment in resource-constrained settings. Such RDTs can improve individual patient management and facilitate population-based screening programmes in areas without microbiological laboratories for confirmatory testing. However, RDTs are difficult to interpret in case of 'trace' results with faint test band intensities and little is known about whether such ambiguous results might indicate 'true' infections. In a longitudinal study conducted in poor neighbourhoods of Port Elizabeth, South Africa, a total of 1428 stool samples from two cohorts of schoolchildren were examined on the spot for Cryptosporidium spp. and G. intestinalis using an RDT (Crypto/Giardia DuoStrip; Coris BioConcept). Overall, 121 samples were positive for G. intestinalis and the RDT suggested presence of cryptosporidiosis in 22 samples. After a storage period of 9-10 months in cohort 1 and 2-3 months in cohort 2, samples were subjected to multiplex PCR (BD Max™ Enteric Parasite Panel, Becton Dickinson). Ninety-three percent (112/121) of RDT-positive samples for G. intestinalis were confirmed by PCR, with a correlation between RDT test band intensity and quantitative pathogen load present in the sample. For Cryptosporidium spp., all positive RDTs had faintly visible lines and these were negative on PCR. The performance of the BD Max™ PCR was nearly identical in both cohorts, despite the prolonged storage at disrupted cold chain conditions in cohort 1. The Crypto/Giardia DuoStrip warrants further validation in communities with a high incidence of diarrhoea. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Induction position for spinal anaesthesia: Sitting versus lateral position

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shahzad, K.; Afshan, G.

2013-01-01

Objective: To compare the effect of induction position on block characteristics (sensory and motor nerves) and haemodynamic stability in elderly patients with isobaric bupivacaine. Patient comfort was also looked at. Methods: The randomized single blinded study was conducted at the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, from September 2007 to August 2008. A total of 70 patients aged >60 years of both genders were included. Spinal anaesthesia was performed either in sitting or lateral position according to random allocation. Assessments of sensory, motor block and heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure were recorded for 20 minutes. SPSS 16 was used for statistical analysis. Results: There was no significant difference for haemodynamic variables heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure. The onset of anaesthesia was faster in the sitting group (4.5 minutes vs 5.4 minutes). The motor block characteristics were similar in both the groups. The majority of patients who reported 'very comfortable' for induction position belonged to the lateral group. Conclusion: Both sitting and lateral positions have similar effects on sensory and motor blockade and haemodynamic stability. However, patients generally found lateral position very comfortable. (author)

The Bootstrap, the Jackknife, and the Randomization Test: A Sampling Taxonomy.

Science.gov (United States)

Rodgers, J L

1999-10-01

A simple sampling taxonomy is defined that shows the differences between and relationships among the bootstrap, the jackknife, and the randomization test. Each method has as its goal the creation of an empirical sampling distribution that can be used to test statistical hypotheses, estimate standard errors, and/or create confidence intervals. Distinctions between the methods can be made based on the sampling approach (with replacement versus without replacement) and the sample size (replacing the whole original sample versus replacing a subset of the original sample). The taxonomy is useful for teaching the goals and purposes of resampling schemes. An extension of the taxonomy implies other possible resampling approaches that have not previously been considered. Univariate and multivariate examples are presented.

Positive Education for Young Children: Effects of a Positive Psychology Intervention for Preschool Children on Subjective Well Being and Learning Behaviors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anat Shoshani

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Despite the flourishing in recent years in applications of positive psychology in the field of education, there is a paucity of research investigating positive psychology interventions for preschool children. The present study examined the effects of a positive psychology-based intervention conducted in Israel on children’s subjective well-being, mental health and learning behaviors. Twelve preschool classrooms of 3–6.5 year-olds were randomly assigned to a positive psychology intervention condition or a wait-list control condition. In the intervention condition, during one school year, 160 children experienced eight modules of basic concepts in positive psychology that were adapted to the developmental characteristics of young children and were compared to 155 children in demographically similar control classrooms. Children were administered a pre-test and post-test of subjective well-being measures. In addition, children’s mental health and emotional well-being were measured by parental questionnaires. Preschool teachers completed questionnaires concerning children’s learning behaviors. The findings showed significant increases in subjective well-being and positive learning behaviors among the intervention participants, with no significant changes in the control group. The results highlight the potential of positive psychology interventions for increasing subjective well-being and a positive approach to learning at young ages.

Home-based versus mobile clinic HIV testing and counseling in rural Lesotho: a cluster-randomized trial.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Niklaus Daniel Labhardt

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The success of HIV programs relies on widely accessible HIV testing and counseling (HTC services at health facilities as well as in the community. Home-based HTC (HB-HTC is a popular community-based approach to reach persons who do not test at health facilities. Data comparing HB-HTC to other community-based HTC approaches are very limited. This trial compares HB-HTC to mobile clinic HTC (MC-HTC.The trial was powered to test the hypothesis of higher HTC uptake in HB-HTC campaigns than in MC-HTC campaigns. Twelve clusters were randomly allocated to HB-HTC or MC-HTC. The six clusters in the HB-HTC group received 30 1-d multi-disease campaigns (five villages per cluster that delivered services by going door-to-door, whereas the six clusters in MC-HTC group received campaigns involving community gatherings in the 30 villages with subsequent service provision in mobile clinics. Time allocation and human resources were standardized and equal in both groups. All individuals accessing the campaigns with unknown HIV status or whose last HIV test was >12 wk ago and was negative were eligible. All outcomes were assessed at the individual level. Statistical analysis used multivariable logistic regression. Odds ratios and p-values were adjusted for gender, age, and cluster effect. Out of 3,197 participants from the 12 clusters, 2,563 (80.2% were eligible (HB-HTC: 1,171; MC-HTC: 1,392. The results for the primary outcomes were as follows. Overall HTC uptake was higher in the HB-HTC group than in the MC-HTC group (92.5% versus 86.7%; adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 2.06; 95% CI: 1.18-3.60; p = 0. 011. Among adolescents and adults ≥ 12 y, HTC uptake did not differ significantly between the two groups; however, in children <12 y, HTC uptake was higher in the HB-HTC arm (87.5% versus 58.7%; aOR: 4.91; 95% CI: 2.41-10.0; p<0.001. Out of those who took up HTC, 114 (4.9% tested HIV-positive, 39 (3.6% in the HB-HTC arm and 75 (6.2% in the MC-HTC arm (aOR: 0.64; 95% CI

A randomized controlled trial testing the effectiveness of a universal school-based depression prevention program 'Op Volle Kracht' in the Netherlands

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tak Yuli R

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The incidence of depressive symptoms increases during adolescence, from 10.0% to 24.5% at age 11 to 15, respectively. Experiencing elevated levels of depressive symptoms increases the risk of a depressive disorder in adulthood. A universal school-based depression prevention program Op Volle Kracht (OVK was developed, based on the Penn Resiliency Program, aimed at preventing the increase of depressive symptoms during adolescence and enhancing positive development. In this study the effectiveness of OVK will be tested and possible mediators of program effects will be focus of study as well. Method The effectiveness of OVK will be tested in a randomized controlled trial with two conditions, intervention (OVK and control condition (care as usual. Schools are randomly assigned to research conditions. OVK will be incorporated in the school curriculum, maximizing program attendance. OVK consists of 16 lessons of 50 min, given by trained psychologists to groups of 11-15 students. OVK contains Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, social skills training, problem solving and decision making. Outcomes are measured at 6, 12, 18 and 24 months follow up, to monitor long term program effects. Primary outcome is level of depressive symptoms, secondary outcomes are: anxiety, hopelessness, cognitive bias, substance use, truancy, life satisfaction, coping, self-efficacy, optimism, happiness, friendship, school performance and school attitude. The questionnaires for students will be administered in the school setting. Parents will complete a questionnaire at baseline only. Discussion In this paper the study into the effectiveness of the depression prevention program OVK was described. It is expected that OVK will prevent the increase in depressive symptoms during adolescence and enhance positive development in the intervention condition, compared to the control condition. If OVK will be effective, it can be implemented in the school context by which

A randomized controlled trial testing the effectiveness of a universal school-based depression prevention program 'Op Volle Kracht' in the Netherlands.

Science.gov (United States)

Tak, Yuli R; Van Zundert, Rinka Mp; Kuijpers, Rowella Cwm; Van Vlokhoven, Boukje S; Rensink, Hettie Fw; Engels, Rutger Cme

2012-01-10

The incidence of depressive symptoms increases during adolescence, from 10.0% to 24.5% at age 11 to 15, respectively. Experiencing elevated levels of depressive symptoms increases the risk of a depressive disorder in adulthood. A universal school-based depression prevention program Op Volle Kracht (OVK) was developed, based on the Penn Resiliency Program, aimed at preventing the increase of depressive symptoms during adolescence and enhancing positive development. In this study the effectiveness of OVK will be tested and possible mediators of program effects will be focus of study as well. The effectiveness of OVK will be tested in a randomized controlled trial with two conditions, intervention (OVK) and control condition (care as usual). Schools are randomly assigned to research conditions. OVK will be incorporated in the school curriculum, maximizing program attendance. OVK consists of 16 lessons of 50 min, given by trained psychologists to groups of 11-15 students. OVK contains Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, social skills training, problem solving and decision making. Outcomes are measured at 6, 12, 18 and 24 months follow up, to monitor long term program effects. Primary outcome is level of depressive symptoms, secondary outcomes are: anxiety, hopelessness, cognitive bias, substance use, truancy, life satisfaction, coping, self-efficacy, optimism, happiness, friendship, school performance and school attitude. The questionnaires for students will be administered in the school setting. Parents will complete a questionnaire at baseline only. In this paper the study into the effectiveness of the depression prevention program OVK was described. It is expected that OVK will prevent the increase in depressive symptoms during adolescence and enhance positive development in the intervention condition, compared to the control condition. If OVK will be effective, it can be implemented in the school context by which numerous adolescents can be reached. Netherlands Trial

Assessment of nickel release from earrings randomly purchased in China and Thailand using the dimethylglyoxime test.

Science.gov (United States)

Hamann, Carsten R; Hamann, Dathan J; Hamann, Quinlan J; Hamann, Curtis P; Boonchai, Waranya; Li, Lin-Feng; Thyssen, Jacob P

2010-04-01

China and Thailand produce large amounts of jewellery that are sold domestically and abroad. To identify nickel release and metal content in earrings purchased in China and Thailand. A total of 557 earrings were randomly purchased from vendors in 11 markets located in Beijing, Chengdu, Bangkok, Patong Beach, and Hat Yai. Earrings were subjected to dimethylglyoxime (DMG) tests and 26 of the DMG negative earrings were further evaluated qualitatively for major and minor metal content using X-ray fluorescence spectrometry. A total of 314 Chinese earrings (31.5%) and 243 Thai earrings (29.2%) were DMG test positive. Three (11.5%) of 29 DMG negative earrings contained nickel as a major component; 7 (26.9%) of 29 DMG negative earrings contained nickel as a minor component. Excessive nickel release was frequent. This may contribute to the high prevalence of nickel allergy in both countries. Increased public education together with the adoption of a regulatory intervention in Thailand may be warranted. In China, enforcement of the 2002 Chinese National Standard GB 11887 may assist in reducing sensitization. These initiatives may eventually result in decreased morbidity among the Chinese and Thai citizens, but can potentially benefit recipient countries of these important earring producing countries.

A test of positive affect induction for countering self-control depletion in cigarette smokers.

Science.gov (United States)

Shmueli, Dikla; Prochaska, Judith J

2012-03-01

The self-control strength model posits that exerting self-control on one task, such as resisting temptations, will deplete self-control and impair subsequent self-regulatory performance, such as controlling smoking. The current study examined interventions designed to replenish depleted self-control strength to prevent tobacco use by inducing positive affect. In a 2 × 2 design, 200 participants were randomized to either (1) resist eating from a plate of desserts (high temptation) or from a plate of raw vegetables (low temptation) and then (2) undergo a positive or neutral affect induction. Two inductions were compared (video vs. writing technique). Participants were then given a 10-min recess. Whether or not participants smoked during the recess, assessed by self-report and biochemical verification, served as the primary dependent variable. The interaction between depletion and exposure group was significant, Wald's χ² = 9.66, df = 3, p desserts, 65.5% to 85% smoked if they were in the neutral video or writing conditions versus 10.5% in the positive affect video group. Positive affect elicited with a video was able to counteract the detrimental effects of self-control depletion on smoking behavior, while writing exercises were associated with smoking. Implications for tobacco cessation intervention are discussed. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved.

Strength, power, speed, and agility of women basketball players according to playing position.

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Delextrat, Anne; Cohen, Daniel

2009-10-01

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of playing position on strength, power, speed, and agility performances of women basketball players. Thirty subjects playing at national level participated in this study. They were divided into 3 groups according to playing position: guards (positions 1 and 2), forwards (positions 3 and 4), and centers (position 5). Each subject performed 8 tests presented in a random order: The 30-second Wingate Anaerobic test (WAnT), isokinetic testing of the knee extensors, 2 types of jump tests, a 20-m sprint, the agility T-test, a suicide run, and a basketball chest pass. Statistical differences between playing positions were assessed using a 1-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Scheffe post hoc analyses. Results showed that guards performed significantly better than centers for the relative peak and mean power achieved during the WAnT (+13% and +16.9%, respectively), relative peak torque of knee extensors (+19.5%), single-leg jump (+21.8), suicide run (+7.5%), and agility T-test (+6.4%, p training must be undertaken according to playing position. The ability to perform the suicide run, the single-leg jump, and the different movements involved in the agility T-test must be developed in guards. In contrast, speed over short distances and strength development of lower body and upper body should be performed by all playing positions.

A Self-Paced, Web-Based, Positive Emotion Skills Intervention for Reducing Symptoms of Depression: Protocol for Development and Pilot Testing of MARIGOLD.

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Cheung, Elaine O; Addington, Elizabeth L; Bassett, Sarah M; Schuette, Stephanie A; Shiu, Eva W; Cohn, Michael A; Leykin, Yan; Saslow, Laura R; Moskowitz, Judith T

2018-06-05

Living with elevated symptoms of depression can have debilitating consequences for an individual's psychosocial and physical functioning, quality of life, and health care utilization. A growing body of evidence demonstrates that skills for increasing positive emotion can be helpful to individuals with depression. Although Web-based interventions to reduce negative emotion in individuals with depression are available, these interventions frequently suffer from poor retention and adherence and do not capitalize on the potential benefits of increasing positive emotion. The aim of this study was to develop and test a Web-based positive emotion skills intervention tailored for individuals living with elevated depressive symptoms, as well as to develop and test enhancement strategies for increasing retention and adherence to that intervention. This study protocol describes the development and testing for Mobile Affect Regulation Intervention with the Goal of Lowering Depression (MARIGOLD), a Web-based positive emotion skills intervention, adapted for individuals with elevated depressive symptomatology. The intervention development is taking place in three phases. In phase 1, we are tailoring an existing positive emotion skills intervention for individuals with elevated symptoms of depression and are pilot testing the tailored version of the intervention in a randomized controlled trial with two control conditions (N=60). In phase 2, we are developing and testing three enhancements aimed at boosting retention and adherence to the Web-based intervention (N=75): facilitator contact, an online discussion board, and virtual badges. In phase 3, we are conducting a multifactorial, nine-arm pilot trial (N=600) to systematically test these enhancement strategies, individually and in combination. The primary outcome is depressive symptom severity. Secondary outcomes include positive and negative emotion, psychological well-being, and coping resources. The project was funded in

Oral appliance therapy versus nasal continuous positive airway pressure in obstructive sleep apnea: a randomized, placebo-controlled trial on psychological distress

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Aarab, Ghizlane; Nikolopoulou, Maria; Ahlberg, Jari; Heymans, Martijn W.; Hamburger, Hans L.; de Lange, Jan; Lobbezoo, Frank

2017-01-01

The aim of this randomized placebo-controlled trail was to compare the effects of an objectively titrated mandibular advancement device (MAD) with those of nasal continuous positive airway pressure (nCPAP) and an intraoral placebo device on symptoms of psychological distress in OSA patients. In a

Prevalence of alcohol-impaired drivers based on random breath tests in a roadside survey in Catalonia (Spain).

Science.gov (United States)

Alcañiz, Manuela; Guillén, Montserrat; Santolino, Miguel; Sánchez-Moscona, Daniel; Llatje, Oscar; Ramon, Lluís

2014-04-01

Sobriety checkpoints are not usually randomly located by traffic authorities. As such, information provided by non-random alcohol tests cannot be used to infer the characteristics of the general driving population. In this paper a case study is presented in which the prevalence of alcohol-impaired driving is estimated for the general population of drivers. A stratified probabilistic sample was designed to represent vehicles circulating in non-urban areas of Catalonia (Spain), a region characterized by its complex transportation network and dense traffic around the metropolis of Barcelona. Random breath alcohol concentration tests were performed during spring 2012 on 7596 drivers. The estimated prevalence of alcohol-impaired drivers was 1.29%, which is roughly a third of the rate obtained in non-random tests. Higher rates were found on weekends (1.90% on Saturdays and 4.29% on Sundays) and especially at night. The rate is higher for men (1.45%) than for women (0.64%) and it shows an increasing pattern with age. In vehicles with two occupants, the proportion of alcohol-impaired drivers is estimated at 2.62%, but when the driver was alone the rate drops to 0.84%, which might reflect the socialization of drinking habits. The results are compared with outcomes in previous surveys, showing a decreasing trend in the prevalence of alcohol-impaired drivers over time. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Randomized controlled trial of a positive affect intervention to reduce stress in people newly diagnosed with HIV; protocol and design for the IRISS study

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Moskowitz JT

2014-09-01

currently few established interventions for people who are newly diagnosed with HIV. We present the design and methods for a randomized trial in which we test the efficacy of one such skills-based intervention that targets positive affect as a novel mechanism of change. The proposed research builds on observational findings of the important unique functions of positive affect. We aim to determine whether a five-session theory- and evidence-based intervention designed to teach skills for increasing the frequency and intensity of daily positive affect does so, and whether this intervention has beneficial effects on subsequent psychological well-being, health behaviors, and physical health up to 15 months after diagnosis with HIV. This is a randomized controlled trial in a sample of adults recruited within 12 weeks of testing positive for HIV. The control group is attention-matched, and follow up assessments will be conducted immediately post intervention (approximately 5 months post diagnosis and at 10 and 15 months post diagnosis. This study is an important next step in research concerning the adaptive functions of positive affect for people coping with HIV or other health-related life stress. Keywords: positive affect, HIV diagnosis, stress, coping, RCT, intervention, physical health

78 FR 71036 - Pipeline Safety: Random Drug Testing Rate; Contractor Management Information System Reporting...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-11-27

... PHMSA-2013-0248] Pipeline Safety: Random Drug Testing Rate; Contractor Management Information System Reporting; and Obtaining Drug and Alcohol Management Information System Sign-In Information AGENCY: Pipeline... Management Information System (MIS) Data; and New Method for Operators to Obtain User Name and Password for...

A comparative study of the typhidot (Dot-EIA) and Widal tests in blood culture positive cases of typhoid fever.

Science.gov (United States)

Khoharo, Haji Khan

2011-07-01

Seventy-six blood culture positive typhoid cases and forty-eight controls were studied. The typhidot test was positive in 74 (97.36%) cases, with a sensitivity, specificity and positive predictive value of 96%, 89.5%, and 95%, respectively, compared to the Widal test which was positive in 56 (73.68%) cases with a sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value of 72%, 87%, and 87%, respectively (P = 0.001). In the control group, seven (14.5%) cases tested positive for the Widal test and two (4.16%) for the typhidot (P = 0.001), yielding the sensitivity and specificity for the Widal test and the typhidot test of 63% and 83%, and 85% and 97%, respectively. We conclude that the Dot-EIA (enzyme immunoassay; typhidot) is a more sensitive and specific test which is easy to perform and more reliable compared to the Widal test and that it is useful in early therapy.

Home-based versus mobile clinic HIV testing and counseling in rural Lesotho: a cluster-randomized trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Labhardt, Niklaus Daniel; Motlomelo, Masetsibi; Cerutti, Bernard; Pfeiffer, Karolin; Kamele, Mashaete; Hobbins, Michael A; Ehmer, Jochen

2014-12-01

The success of HIV programs relies on widely accessible HIV testing and counseling (HTC) services at health facilities as well as in the community. Home-based HTC (HB-HTC) is a popular community-based approach to reach persons who do not test at health facilities. Data comparing HB-HTC to other community-based HTC approaches are very limited. This trial compares HB-HTC to mobile clinic HTC (MC-HTC). The trial was powered to test the hypothesis of higher HTC uptake in HB-HTC campaigns than in MC-HTC campaigns. Twelve clusters were randomly allocated to HB-HTC or MC-HTC. The six clusters in the HB-HTC group received 30 1-d multi-disease campaigns (five villages per cluster) that delivered services by going door-to-door, whereas the six clusters in MC-HTC group received campaigns involving community gatherings in the 30 villages with subsequent service provision in mobile clinics. Time allocation and human resources were standardized and equal in both groups. All individuals accessing the campaigns with unknown HIV status or whose last HIV test was >12 wk ago and was negative were eligible. All outcomes were assessed at the individual level. Statistical analysis used multivariable logistic regression. Odds ratios and p-values were adjusted for gender, age, and cluster effect. Out of 3,197 participants from the 12 clusters, 2,563 (80.2%) were eligible (HB-HTC: 1,171; MC-HTC: 1,392). The results for the primary outcomes were as follows. Overall HTC uptake was higher in the HB-HTC group than in the MC-HTC group (92.5% versus 86.7%; adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 2.06; 95% CI: 1.18-3.60; p = 0. 011). Among adolescents and adults ≥ 12 y, HTC uptake did not differ significantly between the two groups; however, in children versus 58.7%; aOR: 4.91; 95% CI: 2.41-10.0; pindividuals in the HB-HTC and in the MC-HTC arms, respectively, linked to HIV care within 1 mo after testing positive. Findings for secondary outcomes were as follows: HB-HTC reached more first-time testers

Effects of Modes, Obesity, and Body Position on Non-invasive Positive Pressure Ventilation Success in the Intensive Care Unit: A Randomized Controlled Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Türk, Murat; Aydoğdu, Müge; Gürsel, Gül

2018-01-01

Different outcomes and success rates of non-invasive positive pressure ventilation (NPPV) in patients with acute hypercapnic respiratory failure (AHRF) still pose a significant problem in intensive care units. Previous studies investigating different modes, body positioning, and obesity-associated hypoventilation in patients with chronic respiratory failure showed that these factors may affect ventilator mechanics to achieve a better minute ventilation. This study tried to compare pressure support (BiPAP-S) and average volume targeted pressure support (AVAPS-S) modes in patients with acute or acute-on-chronic hypercapnic respiratory failure. In addition, short-term effects of body position and obesity within both modes were analyzed. We conducted a randomized controlled study in a 7-bed intensive care unit. The course of blood gas analysis and differences in ventilation variables were compared between BiPAP-S (n=33) and AVAPS-S (n=29), and between semi-recumbent and lateral positions in both modes. No difference was found in the length of hospital stay and the course of PaCO2, pH, and HCO3 levels between the modes. There was a mean reduction of 5.7±4.1 mmHg in the PaCO2 levels in the AVAPS-S mode, and 2.7±2.3 mmHg in the BiPAP-S mode per session (ppositioning had no notable effect in both modes. Although the decrease in the PaCO2 levels in the AVAPS-S mode per session was remarkably high, the course was similar in both modes. Furthermore, obesity and body positioning had no prominent effect on the PaCO2 response and ventilator mechanics. Post hoc power analysis showed that the sample size was not adequate to detect a significant difference between the modes.

Group Systematic Desensitization Versus Covert Positive Reinforcement in the Reduction of Test Anxiety

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Kostka, Marion P.; Galassi, John P.

1974-01-01

The study compared modified versions of systematic desensitization and covert positive reinforcement to a no-treatment control condition in the reduction of test anxiety. On an anagrams performance test, the covert reinforcement and control groups were superior to the desensitization group. (Author)

Respiratory Outcomes of the Surfactant Positive Pressure and Oximetry Randomized Trial

Science.gov (United States)

Stevens, Timothy P.; Finer, Neil N.; Carlo, Waldemar A.; Szilagyi, Peter G.; Phelps, Dale L.; Walsh, Michele C.; Gantz, Marie G.; Laptook, Abbot R.; Yoder, Bradley A.; Faix, Roger G.; Newman, Jamie E.; Das, Abhik; Do, Barbara T.; Schibler, Kurt; Rich, Wade; Newman, Nancy S.; Ehrenkranz, Richard A.; Peralta-Carcelen, Myriam; Vohr, Betty R.; Wilson-Costello, Deanne E.; Yolton, Kimberly; Heyne, Roy J.; Evans, Patricia W.; Vaucher, Yvonne E.; Adams-Chapman, Ira; McGowan, Elisabeth C.; Bodnar, Anna; Pappas, Athina; Hintz, Susan R.; Acarregui, Michael J.; Fuller, Janell; Goldstein, Ricki F.; Bauer, Charles R.; O’Shea, T. Michael; Myers, Gary J.; Higgins, Rosemary D.

2014-01-01

Objective To explore the early childhood pulmonary outcomes of infants who participated in the NICHD SUPPORT Trial, using a factorial design that randomized extremely preterm infants to lower vs. higher oxygen saturation targets and delivery room CPAP vs. intubation/surfactant, found no significant difference in the primary composite outcome of death or BPD. Study design The Breathing Outcomes Study, a prospective secondary to SUPPORT, assessed respiratory morbidity at 6 month intervals from hospital discharge to 18–22 months corrected age (CA). Two pre-specified primary outcomes, wheezing more than twice per week during the worst 2 week period and cough longer than 3 days without a cold were compared between each randomized intervention. Results One or more interviews were completed for 918 of 922 eligible infants. The incidence of wheezing and cough were 47.9% and 31.0%, respectively, and did not differ between study arms of either randomized intervention. Infants randomized to lower vs. higher oxygen saturation targets had similar risks of death or respiratory morbidities (except for croup, treatment with oxygen or diuretics at home). Infants randomized to CPAP vs. intubation/surfactant had fewer episodes of wheezing without a cold (28.9% vs. 36.5%, pCPAP rather than intubation/surfactant is associated with less respiratory morbidity by 18–22 months CA. Longitudinal assessment of pulmonary morbidity is necessary to fully evaluate the potential benefits of respiratory interventions for neonates. PMID:24725582

Synthesis of Sine-on-Random vibration profiles for accelerated life tests based on fatigue damage spectrum equivalence

Science.gov (United States)

Angeli, Andrea; Cornelis, Bram; Troncossi, Marco

2018-03-01

In many real life environments, mechanical and electronic systems are subjected to vibrations that may induce dynamic loads and potentially lead to an early failure due to fatigue damage. Thus, qualification tests by means of shakers are advisable for the most critical components in order to verify their durability throughout the entire life cycle. Nowadays the trend is to tailor the qualification tests according to the specific application of the tested component, considering the measured field data as reference to set up the experimental campaign, for example through the so called "Mission Synthesis" methodology. One of the main issues is to define the excitation profiles for the tests, that must have, besides the (potentially scaled) frequency content, also the same damage potential of the field data despite being applied for a limited duration. With this target, the current procedures generally provide the test profile as a stationary random vibration specified by a Power Spectral Density (PSD). In certain applications this output may prove inadequate to represent the nature of the reference signal, and the procedure could result in an unrealistic qualification test. For instance when a rotating part is present in the system the component under analysis may be subjected to Sine-on-Random (SoR) vibrations, namely excitations composed of sinusoidal contributions superimposed to random vibrations. In this case, the synthesized test profile should preserve not only the induced fatigue damage but also the deterministic components of the environmental vibration. In this work, the potential advantages of a novel procedure to synthesize SoR profiles instead of PSDs for qualification tests are presented and supported by the results of an experimental campaign.

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

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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.

PAL-XFEL cavity beam position monitor pick-up design and beam test

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Sojeong, E-mail: sojung8681@postech.ac.kr; Park, Young Jung; Kim, Changbum; Kim, Seung Hwan; Shin, Dong Cheol; Han, Jang-Hui; Ko, In Soo

2016-08-11

As an X-ray Free Electron Laser, PAL-XFEL is about to start beam commissioning. X-band cavity beam position monitor (BPM) is used in the PAL-XFEL undulator beam line. Prototypes of cavity BPM pick-up were designed and fabricated to test the RF characteristics. Also, the beam test of a cavity BPM pick-up was done in the Injector Test Facility (ITF). In the beam test, the raw signal properties of the cavity BPM pick-up were measured at a 200 pC bunch charge. According to the RF test and beam test results, the prototype cavity BPM pick-up design was confirmed to meet the requirements of the PAL-XFEL cavity BPM system.

Effect of Offering Same-Day ART vs Usual Health Facility Referral During Home-Based HIV Testing on Linkage to Care and Viral Suppression Among Adults With HIV in Lesotho: The CASCADE Randomized Clinical Trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Labhardt, Niklaus D; Ringera, Isaac; Lejone, Thabo I; Klimkait, Thomas; Muhairwe, Josephine; Amstutz, Alain; Glass, Tracy R

2018-03-20

Home-based HIV testing is a frequently used strategy to increase awareness of HIV status in sub-Saharan Africa. However, with referral to health facilities, less than half of those who test HIV positive link to care and initiate antiretroviral therapy (ART). To determine whether offering same-day home-based ART to patients with HIV improves linkage to care and viral suppression in a rural, high-prevalence setting in sub-Saharan Africa. Open-label, 2-group, randomized clinical trial (February 22, 2016-September 17, 2017), involving 6 health care facilities in northern Lesotho. During home-based HIV testing in 6655 households from 60 rural villages and 17 urban areas, 278 individuals aged 18 years or older who tested HIV positive and were ART naive from 268 households consented and enrolled. Individuals from the same household were randomized into the same group. Participants were randomly assigned to be offered same-day home-based ART initiation (n = 138) and subsequent follow-up intervals of 1.5, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months after treatment initiation at the health facility or to receive usual care (n = 140) with referral to the nearest health facility for preparatory counseling followed by ART initiation and monthly follow-up visits thereafter. Primary end points were rates of linkage to care within 3 months (presenting at the health facility within 90 days after the home visit) and viral suppression at 12 months, defined as a viral load of less than 100 copies/mL from 11 through 14 months after enrollment. Among 278 randomized individuals (median age, 39 years [interquartile range, 28.0-52.0]; 180 women [65.7%]), 274 (98.6%) were included in the analysis (137 in the same-day group and 137 in the usual care group). In the same-day group, 134 (97.8%) indicated readiness to start ART that day and 2 (1.5%) within the next few days and were given a 1-month supply of ART. At 3 months, 68.6% (94) in same-day group vs 43.1% (59) in usual care group had linked to care

Characterization of human organ donors testing positive for type 1 diabetes-associated autoantibodies

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Wiberg, A; Granstam, A; Ingvast, S; Härkönen, T; Knip, M; Korsgren, O; Skog, O

2015-01-01

In this study we aim to describe the characteristics of non-diabetic organ donors with circulating diabetes-associated autoantibodies collected within the Nordic Network for Islet Transplantation. One thousand and thirty organ donors have been screened in Uppsala for antibodies against glutamic acid decarboxylase (GADA) and islet antigen-2 (IA-2A). The 32 non-diabetic donors that tested positive for GADA (3·3% of all non-diabetic donors) were studied in more detail, together with 32 matched controls. Mean age among the autoantibody-positive donors was 52·6 (range 21–74), family history of type 1 diabetes (T1D) was unknown, and no donor was genetically predisposed for T1D regarding the human leucocyte antigen (HLA) locus. Subjects were analysed for islet cell antibodies (ICA), insulin autoantibodies (IAA) and zinc transporter 8 antibodies (ZnT8A), and pancreas morphology and clinical data were examined. Eight non-diabetic donors tested positive for two antibodies and one donor tested positive for four antibodies. No insulitis or other signs of a diabetic process were found in any of the donors. While inflammatory cells were present in all donors, subjects with high GADA titres had significantly higher CD45 cell numbers in exocrine tissue than controls. The extent of fibrosis was more pronounced in autoantibody-positive donors, even in subjects with lower GADA titres. Notably, it is possible that events not related directly to T1D (e.g. subclinical pancreatitis) may induce autoantibodies in some cases. PMID:26313035

Optimization of the Dutch Matrix Test by Random Selection of Sentences From a Preselected Subset

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Rolph Houben

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Matrix tests are available for speech recognition testing in many languages. For an accurate measurement, a steep psychometric function of the speech materials is required. For existing tests, it would be beneficial if it were possible to further optimize the available materials by increasing the function’s steepness. The objective is to show if the steepness of the psychometric function of an existing matrix test can be increased by selecting a homogeneous subset of recordings with the steepest sentence-based psychometric functions. We took data from a previous multicenter evaluation of the Dutch matrix test (45 normal-hearing listeners. Based on half of the data set, first the sentences (140 out of 311 with a similar speech reception threshold and with the steepest psychometric function (≥9.7%/dB were selected. Subsequently, the steepness of the psychometric function for this selection was calculated from the remaining (unused second half of the data set. The calculation showed that the slope increased from 10.2%/dB to 13.7%/dB. The resulting subset did not allow the construction of enough balanced test lists. Therefore, the measurement procedure was changed to randomly select the sentences during testing. Random selection may interfere with a representative occurrence of phonemes. However, in our material, the median phonemic occurrence remained close to that of the original test. This finding indicates that phonemic occurrence is not a critical factor. The work highlights the possibility that existing speech tests might be improved by selecting sentences with a steep psychometric function.

Testes cutâneos de hipersensibilidade imediata com o evoluir da idade Positive skin test and age

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Wilma Carvalho Neves Forte

2001-04-01

Full Text Available OBJETIVO: avaliação da positividade aos testes cutâneos de hipersensibilidade imediata em crianças com asma brônquica e/ou rinite alérgica em diferentes faixas etárias. CASUÍSTICA E MÉTODOS: foi observada a positividade aos testes cutâneos de hipersensibilidade imediata, por testes de puntura, frente a diferentes alérgenos de mesma procedência: poeira total e Dermatophagóides sp, Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus, Dermatophagoides farinae e Blomia tropicalis, Penicillium sp, Alternaria alternata, Cladosporium herbarium, Aspergillus fumigatus, grama bermuda, capim de pasto, epitélio de cão, epitélio de gato, penas, Blatella germanica, lã. Foram selecionadas 713 crianças divididas em grupos conforme a faixa etária: grupo I (6 a 11 meses, II (1 a 3 anos e 11 meses, III (4 a 8 anos e 11 meses e IV (9 a 15 anos. Para análise estatística utilizou-se o cálculo do qui-quadrado. RESULTADOS: o total de diferenças significativas entre os vários grupos foi: I e II = 5; II e III = 5; II e IV = 5; III e IV = 6; I e III = 10 e I e IV = 10 CONCLUSÃO: concluiu-se que a positividade ao teste de hipersensibilidade imediata foi maior com o evoluir da idade, havendo positividade já aos doze meses de vida, sendo esta positividade significativamente maior a partir de quatro anos de idade.OBJECTIVE: to evaluate positive responses to skin tests for immediate hypersensitivity to allergens in children with asthma and rhinitis at different ages. METHOD: we observed positive skin test reactivity in prick tests using fifteen allergens of same origin (total dust and Dermatophagoides sp.; Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus; Dermatophagoides farinae; Blomia tropicalis; Penicillium sp; Alternaria alternata; Cladosporium herbarium; Aspergillus fumigatus; Bermuda grass; forage grass; dog and cat epithelia; feathers; Blatella germanica and wool. We placed 713 selected patients into different age groups - Group I: 6 to 11 months; Group II: 1 to 3 years and 11

Assessment of Random Assignment in Training and Test Sets using Generalized Cluster Analysis Technique

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Sorana D. BOLBOACĂ

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Aim: The properness of random assignment of compounds in training and validation sets was assessed using the generalized cluster technique. Material and Method: A quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship model using Molecular Descriptors Family on Vertices was evaluated in terms of assignment of carboquinone derivatives in training and test sets during the leave-many-out analysis. Assignment of compounds was investigated using five variables: observed anticancer activity and four structure descriptors. Generalized cluster analysis with K-means algorithm was applied in order to investigate if the assignment of compounds was or not proper. The Euclidian distance and maximization of the initial distance using a cross-validation with a v-fold of 10 was applied. Results: All five variables included in analysis proved to have statistically significant contribution in identification of clusters. Three clusters were identified, each of them containing both carboquinone derivatives belonging to training as well as to test sets. The observed activity of carboquinone derivatives proved to be normal distributed on every. The presence of training and test sets in all clusters identified using generalized cluster analysis with K-means algorithm and the distribution of observed activity within clusters sustain a proper assignment of compounds in training and test set. Conclusion: Generalized cluster analysis using the K-means algorithm proved to be a valid method in assessment of random assignment of carboquinone derivatives in training and test sets.

Patterns of Cancer Genetic Testing: A Randomized Survey of Oregon Clinicians

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cox, S. L.; Zlot, A. I.; Silvey, S. K.; Silvey, S. K.

2012-01-01

Introduction. Appropriate use of genetic tests for population-based cancer screening, diagnosis of inherited cancers, and guidance of cancer treatment can improve health outcomes. We investigated clinicians’ use and knowledge of eight breast, ovarian, and colorectal cancer genetic tests. Methods. We conducted a randomized survey of 2,191 Oregon providers, asking about their experience with fecal DNA, OncoVue, BRCA, MMR, CYP2D6, tumor gene expression profiling, UGT1A1, and KRAS. Results. Clinicians reported low confidence in their knowledge of medical genetics; most confident were OB-GYNs and specialists. Clinicians were more likely to have ordered/recommended BRCA and MMR than the other tests, and OB-GYNs were twice as likely to have ordered/recommended BRCA testing than primary care providers. Less than 10% of providers ordered/recommended OncoVue, fecal DNA, CYP2D6, or UGT1A1; less than 30% ordered/recommended tumor gene expression profiles or KRAS. The most common reason for not ordering/recommending these tests was lack of familiarity. Conclusions. Use of appropriate, evidence-based testing can help reduce incidence and mortality of certain cancers, but these tests need to be better integrated into clinical practice. Continued evaluation of emerging technologies, dissemination of findings, and an increase in provider confidence and knowledge are necessary to achieve this end.

A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial Testing the Effectiveness of Houvast: A Strengths-Based Intervention for Homeless Young Adults

Science.gov (United States)

Krabbenborg, Manon A. M.; Boersma, Sandra N.; van der Veld, William M.; van Hulst, Bente; Vollebergh, Wilma A. M.; Wolf, Judith R. L. M.

2017-01-01

Objective: To test the effectiveness of Houvast: a strengths-based intervention for homeless young adults. Method: A cluster randomized controlled trial was conducted with 10 Dutch shelter facilities randomly allocated to an intervention and a control group. Homeless young adults were interviewed when entering the facility and when care ended.…

Center not liable for defamation from false-positive hepatitis test.

Science.gov (United States)

1997-04-18

The Nebraska Court of Appeals ruled that [name removed] does not have a cause of action against the Lincoln Plasma Center in Lincoln, NE. The center blacklisted him as a carrier of hepatitis B virus; subsequent tests proved [name removed] was uninfected. [Name removed], a paid plasma donator, was placed on an ineligible list after he tested positive for the hepatitis B surface antigen. [Name removed] sued, alleging that Lincoln defamed him by publishing false information to blood banks about his eligibility to donate. The Court of Appeals upheld a trial court's directed verdict because there was no evidence that the plasma center acted in malice.

Yoga and positive body image: A test of the Embodiment Model.

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Mahlo, Leeann; Tiggemann, Marika

2016-09-01

The study aimed to test the Embodiment Model of Positive Body Image (Menzel & Levine, 2011) within the context of yoga. Participants were 193 yoga practitioners (124 Iyengar, 69 Bikram) and 127 university students (non-yoga participants) from Adelaide, South Australia. Participants completed questionnaire measures of positive body image, embodiment, self-objectification, and desire for thinness. Results showed yoga practitioners scored higher on positive body image and embodiment, and lower on self-objectification than non-yoga participants. In support of the embodiment model, the relationship between yoga participation and positive body image was serially mediated by embodiment and reduced self-objectification. Although Bikram practitioners endorsed appearance-related reasons for participating in yoga more than Iyengar practitioners, there were no significant differences between Iyengar and Bikram yoga practitioners on body image variables. It was concluded that yoga is an embodying activity that can provide women with the opportunity to cultivate a favourable relationship with their body. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Time-to-positivity, type of culture media and oxidase test performed on positive blood culture vials to predict Pseudomonas aeruginosa in patients with Gram-negative bacilli bacteraemia.

Science.gov (United States)

Cobos-Triguero, N; Zboromyrska, Y; Morata, L; Alejo, I; De La Calle, C; Vergara, A; Cardozo, C; Arcas, M P; Soriano, A; Marco, F; Mensa, J; Almela, M; Martínez, J A

2017-02-01

The aim of this study was to determine the usefulness of oxidase test and time-to-positivity (TTP) in aerobic and anaerobic blood culture vials to detect the presence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in patients with Gram-negative bacilli (GNB) bacteraemia. TTP was recorded for each aerobic and anaerobic blood culture vial of monomicrobial bacteraemia due to GNB. Oxidase test was performed in a pellet of the centrifuged content of the positive blood culture. An algorithm was developed in order to perform the oxidase test efficiently taking into account TTP and type of vial. A total of 341 episodes of GNB bacteraemia were analysed. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of the oxidase test performed on positive vials with GNB to predict P. aeruginosa were 95%, 99%, 91%, and 99%, respectively. When growth was first or exclusively detected in anaerobic vials, P. aeruginosa was never identified hence the performance of the oxidase test could be avoided. When growth was only or first detected in aerobic vials, a TTP≥8h predicted P. aeruginosa in 37% or cases (63 of 169), therefore oxidase test is highly recommended. Oxidase test performed onto positive blood culture vials previously selected by TTP and type of vials is an easy and inexpensive way to predict P. aeruginosa. In most cases, this can lead to optimization of treatment in less than 24 hours.

Parameters, test criteria and fault assessment in random sampling of waste barrels from non-qualified processes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martens, B.R.

1989-01-01

In the context of random sampling tests, parameters are checked on the waste barrels and criteria are given on which these tests are based. Also, it is shown how faulty data on the properties of the waste or faulty waste barrels should be treated. To decide the extent of testing, the properties of the waste relevant to final storage are determined based on the conditioning process used. (DG) [de

Sensitivity, Specificity, and Positivity Predictors of the Pneumococcal Urinary Antigen Test in Community-Acquired Pneumonia.

Science.gov (United States)

Molinos, Luis; Zalacain, Rafael; Menéndez, Rosario; Reyes, Soledad; Capelastegui, Alberto; Cillóniz, Catia; Rajas, Olga; Borderías, Luis; Martín-Villasclaras, Juan J; Bello, Salvador; Alfageme, Inmaculada; Rodríguez de Castro, Felipe; Rello, Jordi; Ruiz-Manzano, Juan; Gabarrús, Albert; Musher, Daniel M; Torres, Antoni

2015-10-01

Detection of the C-polysaccharide of Streptococcus pneumoniae in urine by an immune-chromatographic test is increasingly used to evaluate patients with community-acquired pneumonia. We assessed the sensitivity and specificity of this test in the largest series of cases to date and used logistic regression models to determine predictors of positivity in patients hospitalized with community-acquired pneumonia. We performed a multicenter, prospective, observational study of 4,374 patients hospitalized with community-acquired pneumonia. The urinary antigen test was done in 3,874 cases. Pneumococcal infection was diagnosed in 916 cases (21%); 653 (71%) of these cases were diagnosed exclusively by the urinary antigen test. Sensitivity and specificity were 60 and 99.7%, respectively. Predictors of urinary antigen positivity were female sex; heart rate≥125 bpm, systolic blood pressureantibiotic treatment; pleuritic chest pain; chills; pleural effusion; and blood urea nitrogen≥30 mg/dl. With at least six of all these predictors present, the probability of positivity was 52%. With only one factor present, the probability was only 12%. The urinary antigen test is a method with good sensitivity and excellent specificity in diagnosing pneumococcal pneumonia, and its use greatly increased the recognition of community-acquired pneumonia due to S. pneumoniae. With a specificity of 99.7%, this test could be used to direct simplified antibiotic therapy, thereby avoiding excess costs and risk for bacterial resistance that result from broad-spectrum antibiotics. We also identified predictors of positivity that could increase suspicion for pneumococcal infection or avoid the unnecessary use of this test.

Verification test of control rod system for HTR-10

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou Huizhong; Diao Xingzhong; Huang Zhiyong; Cao Li; Yang Nianzu

2002-01-01

There are 10 sets of control rods and driving devices in 10 MW High Temperature Gas-cooled Test Reactor (HTR-10). The control rod system is the controlling and shutdown system of HTR-10, which is designed for reactor criticality, operation, and shutdown. In order to guarantee technical feasibility, a series of verification tests were performed, including room temperature test, thermal test, test after control rod system installed in HTR-10, and test of control rod system before HTR-10 first criticality. All the tests data showed that driving devices working well, control rods running smoothly up and down, random position settling well, and exactly position indicating

Deep breathing exercises with positive expiratory pressure in patients with multiple sclerosis - a randomized controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Westerdahl, Elisabeth; Wittrin, Anna; Kånåhols, Margareta; Gunnarsson, Martin; Nilsagård, Ylva

2016-11-01

Breathing exercises with positive expiratory pressure are often recommended to patients with advanced neurological deficits, but the potential benefit in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients with mild and moderate symptoms has not yet been investigated in randomized controlled trials. To study the effects of 2 months of home-based breathing exercises for patients with mild to moderate MS on respiratory muscle strength, lung function, and subjective breathing and health status outcomes. Forty-eight patients with MS according to the revised McDonald criteria were enrolled in a randomized controlled trial. Patients performing breathing exercises (n = 23) were compared with a control group (n = 25) performing no breathing exercises. The breathing exercises were performed with a positive expiratory pressure device (10-15 cmH 2 O) and consisted of 30 slow deep breaths performed twice a day for 2 months. Respiratory muscle strength (maximal inspiratory and expiratory pressure at the mouth), spirometry, oxygenation, thoracic excursion, subjective perceptions of breathing and self-reported health status were evaluated before and after the intervention period. Following the intervention, there was a significant difference between the breathing group and the control group regarding the relative change in lung function, favoring the breathing group (vital capacity: P < 0.043; forced vital capacity: P < 0.025). There were no other significant differences between the groups. Breathing exercises may be beneficial in patients with mild to moderate stages of MS. However, the clinical significance needs to be clarified, and it remains to be seen whether a sustainable effect in delaying the development of respiratory dysfunction in MS can be obtained. © 2015 The Authors. The Clinical Respiratory Journal published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Can ultrasound of plantar plate have normal appearance with a positive drawer test?

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Fernandes, Eloy de Avila [Affiliated Professor, Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo (EPM-Unifesp), São Paulo (Brazil); Mann, Tania Szejnfeld [Medical Assistant of Medicine and Surgery of the Foot and Ankle Group, Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, EPM-Unifesp, São Paulo (Brazil); Puchnick, Andrea, E-mail: andrea.ddi@epm.br [Professor and Coordinator of Educational and Research Support, Department of Diagnostic Imaging, EPM-Unifesp, São Paulo (Brazil); Tertulino, Franklin de Freitas [Postgraduate Physician, Department of Diagnostic Imaging, EPM-Unifesp, São Paulo (Brazil); Cannato, Camila Testoni [Resident Physician, Department of Surgery, EPM-Unifesp, São Paulo (Brazil); Nery, Caio [Associate Professor, Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, EPM-Unifesp, São Paulo (Brazil); Fernandes, Artur da Rocha Corrêa [Associate Professor, Department of Diagnostic Imaging, EPM-Unifesp, São Paulo (Brazil)

2015-03-15

Highlights: •We evaluate the accuracy of ultrasound to identify and measure the plantar plate. •We correlate ultrasound findings with those of physical examination and MRI. •Ultrasound and MRI measures of plantar plate were positively correlated. •Ultrasound is efficient in identifying and measuring plantar plate. •Ultrasound may complement physical examination. •Young asymptomatic subjects can present a grade I positive drawer test. -- Abstract: Objectives: The aims of this study were (1) to evaluate the reliability of ultrasound (US) examination in the identification and measurement of the metatarsophalangeal plantar plate (MTP-PP) in asymptomatic subjects and (2) to establish the correlation of US findings with those of physical examination and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), once it is an important tool in the evaluation of the instability syndrome of the second and third rays. Materials and Methods: US examinations of the second and third MTP-PPs were performed in eight asymptomatic volunteers, totaling 32 MTP joints, by three examiners with different levels of experience in musculoskeletal US. Plantar plate dimensions, integrity and echogenicity, the presence of ruptures, and confidence level in terms of structure identification were determined using conventional US. Vascular flow was assessed using power Doppler. US data were correlated with data from physical examination and MRI. Results: MTP-PPs were ultrasonographically identified in 100% of cases, always showing homogeneous hyperechoic features and no detectable vascular flow on power Doppler, with 100% certainty in identification for all examiners. There was excellent US inter-observer agreement for longitudinal measures of second and third toe MTP-PPs and for transverse measures of the second toe MTP-PP. The MTP drawer test was positive for grade 1 MTP instability in 34.4% of joints with normal US results. Transverse MTP-PP measures were significantly higher in individuals with positive

Community Laboratory Testing for Cryptosporidium: Multicenter Study Retesting Public Health Surveillance Stool Samples Positive for Cryptosporidium by Rapid Cartridge Assay with Direct Fluorescent Antibody Testing.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dawn M Roellig

Full Text Available Cryptosporidium is a common cause of sporadic diarrheal disease and outbreaks in the United States. Increasingly, immunochromatography-based rapid cartridge assays (RCAs are providing community laboratories with a quick cryptosporidiosis diagnostic method. In the current study, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, the Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL, and four state health departments evaluated RCA-positive samples obtained during routine Cryptosporidium testing. All samples underwent "head to head" re-testing using both RCA and direct fluorescence assay (DFA. Community level results from three sites indicated that 54.4% (166/305 of Meridian ImmunoCard STAT! positives and 87.0% (67/77 of Remel Xpect positives were confirmed by DFA. When samples were retested by RCA at state laboratories and compared with DFA, 83.3% (155/186 of Meridian ImmunoCard STAT! positives and 95.2% (60/63 of Remel Xpect positives were confirmed. The percentage of confirmed community results varied by site: Minnesota, 39.0%; New York, 63.9%; and Wisconsin, 72.1%. The percentage of confirmed community results decreased with patient age; 12.5% of community positive tests could be confirmed by DFA for patients 60 years of age or older. The percentage of confirmed results did not differ significantly by sex, storage temperature, time between sample collection and testing, or season. Findings from this study demonstrate a lower confirmation rate of community RCA positives when compared to RCA positives identified at state laboratories. Elucidating the causes of decreased test performance in order to improve overall community laboratory performance of these tests is critical for understanding the epidemiology of cryptosporidiosis in the United States (US.

Repeated testing improves achievement in a blended learning approach for risk competence training of medical students: results of a randomized controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Spreckelsen, C; Juenger, J

2017-09-26

Adequate estimation and communication of risks is a critical competence of physicians. Due to an evident lack of these competences, effective training addressing risk competence during medical education is needed. Test-enhanced learning has been shown to produce marked effects on achievements. This study aimed to investigate the effect of repeated tests implemented on top of a blended learning program for risk competence. We introduced a blended-learning curriculum for risk estimation and risk communication based on a set of operationalized learning objectives, which was integrated into a mandatory course "Evidence-based Medicine" for third-year students. A randomized controlled trial addressed the effect of repeated testing on achievement as measured by the students' pre- and post-training score (nine multiple-choice items). Basic numeracy and statistical literacy were assessed at baseline. Analysis relied on descriptive statistics (histograms, box plots, scatter plots, and summary of descriptive measures), bootstrapped confidence intervals, analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), and effect sizes (Cohen's d, r) based on adjusted means and standard deviations. All of the 114 students enrolled in the course consented to take part in the study and were assigned to either the intervention or control group (both: n = 57) by balanced randomization. Five participants dropped out due to non-compliance (control: 4, intervention: 1). Both groups profited considerably from the program in general (Cohen's d for overall pre vs. post scores: 2.61). Repeated testing yielded an additional positive effect: while the covariate (baseline score) exhibits no relation to the post-intervention score, F(1, 106) = 2.88, p > .05, there was a significant effect of the intervention (repeated tests scenario) on learning achievement, F(1106) = 12.72, p blended learning approach can be improved significantly by implementing a test-enhanced learning design, namely repeated testing. As

USING A MULTIFACETED APPROACH TO IMPROVE THE FOLLOW-UP OF POSITIVE FECAL OCCULT BLOOD TEST RESULTS

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Hardeep; Kadiyala, Himabindu; Bhagwath, Gayathri; Shethia, Anila; El-Serag, Hashem; Walder, Annette; Velez, Maria; Petersen, Laura A.

2010-01-01

Background Inadequate follow-up of abnormal fecal occult blood test (FOBT) results occurs in several types of practice settings. Our institution implemented multifaceted quality improvement (QI) activities in 2004–2005 to improve follow-up of FOBT positive results. Activities addressed pre-colonoscopy referral processes and system-level factors such as electronic communication and provider education and feedback. We evaluated their effects on timeliness and appropriateness of positive FOBT follow-up and identified factors that affect colonoscopy performance. Methods Retrospective electronic medical record (EMR) review was used to determine outcomes pre- and post-QI activities in a multi-specialty ambulatory clinic of a tertiary care Veterans Affairs facility and its affiliated satellite clinics. From 1869 FOBT positive cases, 800 were randomly selected from time periods before and after QI activities. Two reviewers used a pretested standardized data collection form to determine whether colonoscopy was appropriate or indicated based on pre-determined criteria and if so, the timeliness of colonoscopy referral and performance pre- and post-QI activities. Results In cases where a colonoscopy was indicated, the proportion of patients who received a timely colonoscopy referral and performance were significantly higher post implementation (60.5% vs. 31.7%, pperformance (6 vs. 19 days pperformance of an indicated colonoscopy included performance of a non-colonoscopy procedure such as barium enema or flexible sigmoidoscopy (OR=16.9; 95% CI 1.9–145.1), patient non-adherence (OR=33.9; 95% CI 17.3–66.6), not providing an appropriate provisional diagnosis on the consultation (OR= 17.9; 95% CI 11.3–28.1) and gastroenterology service not rescheduling colonoscopies after an initial cancellation (OR= 11.0; 95% CI 5.1–23.7) Conclusions Multifaceted QI activities improved rates of timely colonoscopy referral and performance in an EMR system. However, colonoscopy was not

Random set particle filter for bearings-only multitarget tracking

Science.gov (United States)

Vihola, Matti

2005-05-01

The random set approach to multitarget tracking is a theoretically sound framework that covers joint estimation of the number of targets and the state of the targets. This paper describes a particle filter implementation of the random set multitarget filter. The contribution of this paper to the random set tracking framework is the formulation of a measurement model where each sensor report is assumed to contain at most one measurement. The implemented filter was tested in synthetic bearings-only tracking scenarios containing up to two targets in the presence of false alarms and missed measurements. The estimated target state consisted of 2D position and velocity components. The filter was capable to track the targets fairly well despite of the missing measurements and the relatively high false alarm rates. In addition, the filter showed robustness against wrong parameter values of false alarm rates. The results that were obtained during the limited tests of the filter show that the random set framework has potential for challenging tracking situations. On the other hand, the computational burden of the described implementation is quite high and increases approximately linearly with respect to the expected number of targets.

The positive deviance/hearth approach to reducing child malnutrition: systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Bisits Bullen, Piroska A

2011-11-01

The Positive Deviance/Hearth approach aims to rehabilitate malnourished children using practices from mothers in the community who have well-nourished children despite living in poverty. This study assesses its effectiveness in a range of settings. Systematic review of peer reviewed intervention trials and grey literature evaluation reports of child malnutrition programs using the Positive Deviance/Hearth approach. Ten peer reviewed studies and 14 grey literature reports met the inclusion criteria. These described results for 17 unique Positive Deviance/Hearth programs in 12 countries. Nine programs used a pre- and post-test design without a control, which limited the conclusions that could be drawn. Eight used more robust designs such as non-randomized trials, non-randomized cross-sectional sibling studies and randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Of the eight programs that reported nutritional outcomes, five reported some type of positive result in terms of nutritional status - although the improvement was not always as large as predicted, or across the entire target population. Both the two RCTs demonstrated improvements in carer feeding practices. Qualitative results unanimously reported high levels of satisfaction from participants and recipient communities. Overall this study shows mixed results in terms of program effectiveness, although some Positive Deviance/Hearth programs have clearly been successful in particular settings. Sibling studies suggest that the Positive Deviance/Hearth approach may have a role in preventing malnutrition, not just rehabilitation. Further research is needed using more robust study designs and larger sample sizes. Issues related to community participation and consistency in reporting results need to be addressed. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Effectiveness of Positioning Stents in Radiation-Induced Xerostomia in Patients with Tongue Carcinoma: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Mall, Priyanka; Chand, Pooran; Singh, Balendra Pratap; Rao, Jitendra; Siddarth, Ramashanker; Srivastava, Kirti

2016-01-01

The aim of this study was to perform an objective and subjective evaluation of the efficacy of positioning stents in radiation-induced xerostomia in patients with tongue carcinoma. A total of 30 patients with tongue carcinoma and undergoing conventional radiotherapy were randomly assigned to control (n = 15) and study (n = 15) groups, without and with a positioning stent, respectively. Assessment of salivary output reduction was done before and after radiotherapy, at 3- and 6-month intervals, by measurement of unstimulated and stimulated salivary flow rates (objective evaluation). Xerostomia (subjective evaluation) was noted using six items from the Quality of Life Head and Neck Module (QLQ-H&N35) as proposed by the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer. The significance level was set at .05. Mean unstimulated and stimulated salivary flow rates at 3- and 6-month intervals revealed significantly (P xerostomia and its symptoms.

Development of a superconducting position sensor for the Satellite Test of the Equivalence Principle

Science.gov (United States)

Clavier, Odile Helene

The Satellite Test of the Equivalence Principle (STEP) is a joint NASA/ESA mission that proposes to measure the differential acceleration of two cylindrical test masses orbiting the earth in a drag-free satellite to a precision of 10-18 g. Such an experiment would conceptually reproduce Galileo's tower of Pisa experiment with a much longer time of fall and greatly reduced disturbances. The superconducting test masses are constrained in all degrees of freedom except their axial direction (the sensitive axis) using superconducting bearings. The STEP accelerometer measures the differential position of the masses in their sensitive direction using superconducting inductive pickup coils coupled to an extremely sensitive magnetometer called a DC-SQUID (Superconducting Quantum Interference Device). Position sensor development involves the design, manufacture and calibration of pickup coils that will meet the acceleration sensitivity requirement. Acceleration sensitivity depends on both the displacement sensitivity and stiffness of the position sensor. The stiffness must kept small while maintaining stability of the accelerometer. Using a model for the inductance of the pickup coils versus displacement of the test masses, a computer simulation calculates the sensitivity and stiffness of the accelerometer in its axial direction. This simulation produced a design of pickup coils for the four STEP accelerometers. Manufacture of the pickup coils involves standard photolithography techniques modified for superconducting thin-films. A single-turn pickup coil was manufactured and produced a successful superconducting coil using thin-film Niobium. A low-temperature apparatus was developed with a precision position sensor to measure the displacement of a superconducting plate (acting as a mock test mass) facing the coil. The position sensor was designed to detect five degrees of freedom so that coupling could be taken into account when measuring the translation of the plate

Influence of Head and Neck Position on Oropharyngeal Leak Pressure and Cuff Position with the ProSeal Laryngeal Mask Airway and the I-Gel: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sandeep Kumar Mishra

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Background. This study was designed to assess and compare the effect of head and neck position on the oropharyngeal leak pressures and cuff position (employing fibreoptic view of the glottis and ventilation scores between ProSeal LMA and the I-gel. Material and Methods. After induction of anesthesia, the supraglottic device was inserted and ventilation confirmed. The position of the head was randomly changed from neutral to flexion, extension, and lateral rotation (left. The oropharyngeal leak pressures, fibreoptic view of glottis, ventilation scores, and delivered tidal volumes and end tidal CO2 were noted in all positions. Results. In both groups compared with neutral position, oropharyngeal leak pressures were significantly higher with flexion and lower with extension but similar with rotation of head and neck. However the oropharyngeal leak pressure was significantly higher for ProSeal LMA compared with the I-gel in all positions. Peak airway pressures were significantly higher with flexion in both groups (however this did not affect ventilation, lower with extension in ProSeal group, and comparable in I-gel group but did not change significantly with rotation of head and neck in both groups. Conclusion. Effective ventilation can be done with both ProSeal LMA and I-gel with head in all the above positions. ProSeal LMA has a better margin of safety than I-gel due to better sealing pressures except in flexion where the increase in airway pressure is more with the former. Extreme precaution should be taken in flexion position in ProSeal LMA.

The impact of induced positive mood on symptomatic behaviour in eating disorders. An experimental, AB/BA crossover design testing a multimodal presentation during a test-meal.

Science.gov (United States)

Cardi, Valentina; Esposito, Mirko; Clarke, Ariana; Schifano, Sylvia; Treasure, Janet

2015-04-01

The aim of this study was to test the impact of a multimodal positive mood vodcast including pleasant images, background uplifting music and a script designed to elicit positive mood on eating disorders-related symptoms in participants suffering from an Eating Disorder (ED) and healthy controls (HCs). Forty-two women with an ED (Anorexia Nervosa [AN]: N = 19; Bulimia Nervosa [BN]: N = 23) and 36 HCs were included in an AB/BA cross-over design which compared the use of a positive mood induction procedure ("positive mood vodcast") with a control condition (i.e. blue static background, neutral music, and script describing objective facts) during a test-meal. Self-report measures and behavioural tasks were completed before and after the test-meal. The positive mood vodcast was associated with greater consumption of the test meal in the AN group; reduced vigilance to food stimuli and lower anxiety in the BN sample; and no significant changes in the HC group. The use of a positive mood vodcast was associated with some beneficial effects in the context of an experimental test-meal in participants with an ED. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Positive cell-free fetal DNA testing for trisomy 13 reveals confined placental mosaicism.

Science.gov (United States)

Hall, April L; Drendel, Holli M; Verbrugge, Jennifer L; Reese, Angela M; Schumacher, Katherine L; Griffith, Christopher B; Weaver, David D; Abernathy, Mary P; Litton, Christian G; Vance, Gail H

2013-09-01

We report on a case in which cell-free fetal DNA was positive for trisomy 13 most likely due to confined placental mosaicism. Cell-free fetal DNA testing analyzes DNA derived from placental trophoblast cells and can lead to incorrect results that are not representative of the fetus. We sought to confirm commercial cell-free fetal DNA testing results by chorionic villus sampling and amniocentesis. These results were followed up by postnatal chromosome analysis of cord blood and placental tissue. First-trimester cell-free fetal DNA test results were positive for trisomy 13. Cytogenetic analysis of chorionic villus sampling yielded a mosaic karyotype of 47,XY,+13[10]/46,XY[12]. G-banded analysis of amniotic fluid was normal, 46,XY. Postnatal cytogenetic analysis of cord blood was normal. Karyotyping of tissues from four quadrants of the placenta demonstrated mosaicism for trisomy 13 in two of the quadrants and a normal karyotype in the other two. Our case illustrates several important aspects of this new testing methodology: that cell-free fetal DNA may not be representative of the fetal karyotype; that follow-up with diagnostic testing of chorionic villus sampling and/or amniotic fluid for abnormal test results should be performed; and that pretest counseling regarding the full benefits, limitations, and possible testing outcomes of cell-free fetal DNA screening is important.

Monitoring the electron beam position at the TESLA test facility free electron laser

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kamps, T

2000-06-14

The operation of a free electron laser working in the Self Amplified Spontaneous Emission mode (SASE FEL) requires the electron trajectory to be aligned with very high precision in overlap with the photon beam. In order to ensure this overlap, one module of the SASE FEL undulator at the TESLA Test Facility (TTF) is equipped with a new type of waveguide beam position monitor (BPM). Four waveguides are arranged symmetrically around the beam pipe, each channel couples through a small slot to the electromagnetic beam field. The induced signal depends on the beam intensity and on the transverse beam position in terms of beam-to-slot distance. With four slot--waveguide combinations a linear position sensitive signal can be achieved, which is independent of the beam intensity. The signals transduced by the slots are transferred by ridged waveguides through an impedance matching stage into a narrowband receiver tuned to 12 GHz. The present thesis describes design, tests, and implementation of this new type of BPM. (orig.)

Tests of crossed-wire position sensitive photomultipliers for scintillating fiber particle tracking

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Perdrisat, C.F.; Koechner, D.; Majewski, S.; Pourang, R.; Wilson, C.D.; Zorn, C.

1995-01-01

Several applications of two Hamamatsu position sensitive photomultiplier tubes to the detection of high energy particles with scintillating fibers are discussed. The PMTs are of the multiwire anode grid design, type R2486 and R4135. These tubes were tested with both single samples and arrays of 2 and 3 mm diameter scintillating fibers. Measurements of position resolution of the PMTs using either the charge digitization or the delay line readout techniques were made. The results indicate an intrinsic inability of the technique to reconstruct the actual position of a fiber on the photocathode when its location falls halfway between two grid wires. A way to overcome this limit is suggested. (orig.)

Testing sex-specific pathways from peer victimization to anxiety and depression in early adolescents through a randomized intervention trial

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vuijk, P.; Lier, P.A.C. van; Crijnen, A.A.M.; Huizink, A.C.

2007-01-01

The aim of this study was to test for sex differences in the role of physical and relational victimization in anxiety and depression development through a randomized prevention trial. 448 seven-year-old boys and girls were randomly assigned to the Good Behavior Game intervention, a two-year

Detecting positive quadrant dependence and positive function dependence

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Janic-Wróblewska, A.; Kallenberg, W.C.M.; Ledwina, T.

2004-01-01

There is a lot of interest in positive dependence going beyond linear correlation. In this paper three new rank tests for testing independence against positive dependence are introduced. The first one is directed on positive quadrant dependence, the second and third one concentrate on positive

Detecting positive quadrant dependence and positive function dependence

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Janic-Wróblewska, A.; Kallenberg, W.C.M.; Ledwina, T.

2003-01-01

There is a lot of interest in positive dependence going beyond linear correlation. In this paper three new rank tests for testing independence against positive dependence are introduced. The first one is directed on positive quadrant dependence, the second and third one concentrate on positive

The probability of false positives in zero-dimensional analyses of one-dimensional kinematic, force and EMG trajectories.

Science.gov (United States)

Pataky, Todd C; Vanrenterghem, Jos; Robinson, Mark A

2016-06-14

A false positive is the mistake of inferring an effect when none exists, and although α controls the false positive (Type I error) rate in classical hypothesis testing, a given α value is accurate only if the underlying model of randomness appropriately reflects experimentally observed variance. Hypotheses pertaining to one-dimensional (1D) (e.g. time-varying) biomechanical trajectories are most often tested using a traditional zero-dimensional (0D) Gaussian model of randomness, but variance in these datasets is clearly 1D. The purpose of this study was to determine the likelihood that analyzing smooth 1D data with a 0D model of variance will produce false positives. We first used random field theory (RFT) to predict the probability of false positives in 0D analyses. We then validated RFT predictions via numerical simulations of smooth Gaussian 1D trajectories. Results showed that, across a range of public kinematic, force/moment and EMG datasets, the median false positive rate was 0.382 and not the assumed α=0.05, even for a simple two-sample t test involving N=10 trajectories per group. The median false positive rate for experiments involving three-component vector trajectories was p=0.764. This rate increased to p=0.945 for two three-component vector trajectories, and to p=0.999 for six three-component vectors. This implies that experiments involving vector trajectories have a high probability of yielding 0D statistical significance when there is, in fact, no 1D effect. Either (a) explicit a priori identification of 0D variables or (b) adoption of 1D methods can more tightly control α. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Easy fix for clinical laboratories for the false-positive defect with the Abbott AxSym total beta-hCG test.

Science.gov (United States)

Cole, Laurence A; Khanlian, Sarah A

2004-05-01

False-positive hCG results can lead to erroneous diagnoses and needless chemotherapy and surgery. In the last 2 years, eight publications described cases involving false-positive hCG tests; all eight involved the AxSym test. We investigated the source of this abundance of cases and a simple fix that may be used by clinical laboratories. False-positive hCG was primarily identified by absence of hCG in urine and varying or negative hCG results in alternative tests. Seventeen false-positive serum samples in the AxSym test were evaluated undiluted and at twofold dilution with diluent containing excess goat serum or immunoglobulin. We identified 58 patients with false-positive hCG, 47 of 58 due to the Abbott AxSym total hCGbeta test (81%). Sixteen of 17 of these "false-positive" results (mean 100 mIU/ml) became undetectable when tested again after twofold dilution. A simple twofold dilution with this diluent containing excess goat serum or immunoglobulin completely protected 16 of 17 samples from patients having false-positive results. It is recommended that laboratories using this test use twofold dilution as a minimum to prevent false-positive results.

Physiologic performance test differences in female volleyball athletes by competition level and player position.

Science.gov (United States)

Schaal, Monique; Ransdell, Lynda B; Simonson, Shawn R; Gao, Yong

2013-07-01

The purpose of this study was to examine physiologic performance test differences by competition level (high school and Division-I collegiate athletes) and player position (hitter, setter, defensive specialist) in 4 volleyball-related tests. A secondary purpose was to establish whether a 150-yd shuttle could be used as a field test to assess anaerobic capacity. Female participants from 4 varsity high school volleyball teams (n = 27) and 2 Division-I collegiate volleyball teams (n = 26) were recruited for the study. Participants completed 4 performance-based field tests (vertical jump, agility T-test, and 150- and 300-yd shuttle runs) after completing a standardized dynamic warm-up. A 2-way multivariate analysis of variance with Bonferroni post hoc adjustments (when appropriate) and effect sizes were used for the analyses. The most important findings of this study were that (a) college volleyball athletes were older, heavier, and taller than high school athletes; (b) high school athletes had performance deficiencies in vertical jump/lower-body power, agility, and anaerobic fitness; (c) lower-body power was the only statistically significant difference in the performance test measures by player position; and (d) the correlation between the 150- and 300-yd shuttle was moderate (r = 0.488). Female high school volleyball players may enhance their ability to play collegiate volleyball by improving their vertical jump, lower-body power, agility, and anaerobic fitness. Furthermore, all player positions should emphasize lower-body power conditioning. These physical test scores provide baseline performance scores that should help strength and conditioning coaches create programs that will address deficits in female volleyball player performance, especially as they transition from high school to college.

Experimental Evaluation of Novel Master-Slave Configurations for Position Control under Random Network Delay and Variable Load for Teleoperation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ahmet Kuzu

2014-01-01

Full Text Available This paper proposes two novel master-slave configurations that provide improvements in both control and communication aspects of teleoperation systems to achieve an overall improved performance in position control. The proposed novel master-slave configurations integrate modular control and communication approaches, consisting of a delay regulator to address problems related to variable network delay common to such systems, and a model tracking control that runs on the slave side for the compensation of uncertainties and model mismatch on the slave side. One of the configurations uses a sliding mode observer and the other one uses a modified Smith predictor scheme on the master side to ensure position transparency between the master and slave, while reference tracking of the slave is ensured by a proportional-differentiator type controller in both configurations. Experiments conducted for the networked position control of a single-link arm under system uncertainties and randomly varying network delays demonstrate significant performance improvements with both configurations over the past literature.

Beam test of the 2D position sensitive neutron detector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tian Lichao; Chen Yuanbo; Sun Zhijia; Tang Bin; Zhou Jianrong; Qi Huirong; Liu Rongguang; Zhang Jian; Yang Guian; Xu Hong

2014-01-01

China Spallation Neutron Source (CSNS), one of the Major scientific apparatuses of the national Eleventh Five-Year Plane, is under construction and three spectrumeters will be constructed in the first phase of the project. A 2D position sensitive neutron detector has been constructed for the Multifunctional Reflect spectrumeter (MR) in Institute of High Energy Physics (IHEP). The basic operation principle of the detector and the test on the residual stress diffractometer of Chinese Advanced Research Reactor (CARR) in China Institute of Atomic Energy (CIAE) is introduced in this paper. The results show that it has a good position resolution of l.18 mm (FWHM) for the neutrons of l.37 A and 2D imaging ability, which is consistent with the theory. It can satisfy the requirements of MR and lays the foundation for the construction of larger neutron detectors. (authors)

241-AN-A valve pit manifold valves and position indication acceptance test procedure

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

VANDYKE, D.W.

1999-08-25

This document describes the method used to test design criteria for gear actuated ball valves installed in 241-AN-A Valve Pit located at 200E Tank Farms. The purpose of this procedure is to demonstrate the following: Equipment is properly installed, labeled, and documented on As-Built drawings; New Manifold Valves in the 241-AN-A Valve Pit are fully operable using the handwheel of the valve operators; New valve position indicators on the valve operators will show correct valve positions; New valve position switches will function properly; and New valve locking devices function properly.

Is the lateral jack-knife position responsible for cases of transient neurapraxia?

Science.gov (United States)

Molinares, Diana Margarita; Davis, Timothy T; Fung, Daniel A; Liu, John Chung-Liang; Clark, Stephen; Daily, David; Mok, James M

2016-01-01

The lateral jack-knife position is often used during transpsoas surgery to improve access to the spine. Postoperative neurological signs and symptoms are very common after such procedures, and the mechanism is not adequately understood. The objective of this study is to assess if the lateral jack-knife position alone can cause neurapraxia. This study compares neurological status at baseline and after positioning in the 25° right lateral jack-knife (RLJK) and the right lateral decubitus (RLD) position. Fifty healthy volunteers, ages 21 to 35, were randomly assigned to one of 2 groups: Group A (RLD) and Group B (RLJK). Motor and sensory testing was performed prior to positioning. Subjects were placed in the RLD or RLJK position, according to group assignment, for 60 minutes. Motor testing was performed immediately after this 60-minute period and again 60 minutes thereafter. Sensory testing was performed immediately after the 60-minute period and every 15 minutes thereafter, for a total of 5 times. Motor testing was performed by a physical therapist who was blinded to group assignment. A follow-up call was made 7 days after the positioning sessions. Motor deficits were observed in the nondependent lower limb in 100% of the subjects in Group B, and no motor deficits were seen in Group A. Statistically significant differences (p knife positioning for 60 minutes results in neurapraxia of the nondependent lower extremity. Our results support the hypothesis that jack-knife positioning alone can cause postoperative neurological symptoms.

Chemical dependency and drug testing in the workplace.

OpenAIRE

Osterloh, J D; Becker, C E

1990-01-01

Urine testing for drug use in the workplace is now widespread, with the prevalence of positive drug tests in the work force being 0% to 15%. The prevalence of marijuana use is highest, and this can be reliably tested. Though it is prudent to rid the workplace of drug use, there is little scientific study on the relationship of drug use and workplace outcomes, such as productivity and safety. Probable-cause testing and preemployment testing are the most common applications. Random testing has ...

Reduction of the number of parameters needed for a polynomial random regression test-day model

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pool, M.H.; Meuwissen, T.H.E.

2000-01-01

Legendre polynomials were used to describe the (co)variance matrix within a random regression test day model. The goodness of fit depended on the polynomial order of fit, i.e., number of parameters to be estimated per animal but is limited by computing capacity. Two aspects: incomplete lactation

Latent tuberculosis in HIV positive, diagnosed by the M. tuberculosis specific interferon-gamma test

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brock, Inger; Ruhwald, Morten; Lundgren, Bettina

2006-01-01

BACKGROUND: Although tuberculosis (TB) is a minor problem in Denmark, severe and complicated cases occur in HIV positive. Since the new M. tuberculosis specific test for latent TB, the QuantiFERON-TB In-Tube test (QFT-IT) became available the patients in our clinic have been screened...

[The exploration on optimization of two alternatives between roll test and Dix-Hallpike test in benign paroxysmal positional vertigo].

Science.gov (United States)

Ji, R; Chen, T S; Wang, W; Xu, K X; Li, S S; Wen, C; Liu, Q; Lin, P

2017-06-07

Objective: To analyze the objective characteristics of roll test and Dix-Hallpike test in benign paroxysmal positional vertigo(BPPV)patients, discussing the premier solution of positional test. Methods: A total of 230 patients with BPPV, whereas 170 posterior semicircular canal canalithiasis (PSC-Can) BPPV and 60 horizontal semicircular canal canalithiasis (HSC-Can) BPPV were involved respectively. The induced nystagmus in roll test and Dix-Hallpike test was recorded by video nystagmuo graph (VNG), and the direction, intensity and time characteristics of nystagmus were compared in various BPPV.SPSS19.0 software was used for statistical analysis. Results: Vertically upward nystagmus was induced by hanging in 170 PSC-Can Dix-Hallpike test, and the nystagmus reversed and turned weaker when the subjects came to sit. The intensity of nystagmus at turning to lesion side by hanging and sitting were (30.3±14.1)°/s and (12.6±7.5)°/s respectively, the difference was statistically significant ( t =20.153, P <0.05). However, no nystagmus was induced in PSC-Can roll test. Horizontal nystagmus in the same direction with turning was induced in 60 HSC-Can roll test. The intensity of nystagmus at turning to lesion side and normal side was (42.0±18.0)°/s and (20.3±8.7)°/s respectively, the difference was statistically significant ( t =12.731, P <0.05). Furthermore, horizontal nystagmus in the same direction with turning was induced in 57 HSC-Can Dix-Hallpike. The coherence was 95% with the results of roll test. Conclusions: Dix-Hallpike test can not only be used to diagnose PSC-Can, but also induce nystagmus in HSC-Can effectively. Whereas the roll test only show significance in diagnosing HSC-Can. To avoid uncomfortable stimulation to patients as much as possible, we suggest to use Dix-Hallpike test at first, and to judge whether using roll test based on the result of the horizontal nystagmus.

[Application of injection test in confirming the ideal position of esophageal balloon catheter].

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Han; Xu, Ming; Yang, Yanlin; He, Xuan; Zhou, Jianxin

2017-09-01

To evaluate the safety and feasibility of injection test which is used to locate esophageal balloon catheter. A prospective study was conducted. The patients undergoing invasive mechanical ventilation (MV) admitted to general intensive care unit (ICU) of Beijing Tiantan Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University from May 2015 and March 2017 were enrolled. The commercially available esophageal balloon catheter was modified to perform injection test. The catheter was withdrawn step by step and the injection test was repeated until the presence disturbance wave presented, which indicated that the balloon had just entered the esophagus. The position where disturbance wave appears was named 0 cm. End-expiratory occlusions were performed at the positions of +15, +10, +5, 0, -5, -10 and -15 cm, respectively, and the changes of esophageal pressure (Pes) and airway pressures (Paw) were measured in the spontaneous breathing and passive ventilation, and the ratio between the changes (ΔPes/ΔPaw) was calculated. A total of 20 patients were enrolled, of which 15 patients finished both the spontaneous and the passive ventilation parts, and 2 patients finished only the spontaneous part and 3 patients finished only passive part. (1) Disturbance waves could be induced by injection test in all patients. The average depth of disturbance wave in spontaneous breathing was deeper than that in passive ventilation (cm: 42.4±3.8 vs. 41.8±3.3), but there was no significant difference between the two ventilation settings (P = 0.132). No adverse events occurred during the study period. (2) Pes increased with the stepwise withdraw of esophageal catheter, reached the maximal value at +5 cm, and then decreased when the catheter was further withdrawn, no matter in the spontaneous or the passive ventilation. In spontaneous breathing, the ΔPes/ΔPaw was within the ideal range (0.8-1.2) at the positions of 0, -5 and -10 cm. The ΔPes/ΔPaw was closest to unity at the positions of 0 cm (0

Tamsulosin, Solifenacin, and Their Combination for the Treatment of Stent-Related Symptoms: A Randomized Controlled Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Dellis, Athanasios E; Papatsoris, Athanasios G; Keeley, Francis X; Bamias, Aristotelis; Deliveliotis, Charalambos; Skolarikos, Andreas A

2017-01-01

To properly use the Ureteric Symptom Score Questionnaire (USSQ) to evaluate, in a randomized control study, the effect of tamsulosin, solifenacin, and their combination in improving symptoms and quality of life in patients with indwelling ureteral stents. After institutional review board approval, 260 patients with a ureteral stent were randomly assigned to receive tamsulosin 0.4 mg, solifenacin 5 mg, or placebo and further randomized to receive their combination. The validated USSQ was completed 1 and 4 weeks after stent insertion and 4 weeks after stent removal. Kruskal-Wallis test, chi-squared test (or Fisher's exact test), one-way analysis of variance, and T-test (or Wilcoxon rank-sum test if not normal data) were used for statistical analysis. The results were considered significant at p tamsulosin or solifenacin expressed significantly lower urinary (p tamsulosin and solifenacin alone or in combination, improves stent-related symptoms and has a positive impact on quality of life.

False-positive result when a diphenylcarbazide spot test is used on trivalent chromium-passivated zinc surfaces

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Reveko, Valeriia; Lampert, Felix; Din, Rameez Ud

2018-01-01

chromium passivation on zinc; however, subsequent analysis by XPS could not confirm the presence of chromium in a hexavalent state. Conclusions Unintended oxidation of DPC induced by atmospheric corrosion is suggested as a possible reason for the false-positive reaction of the DPC test on a trivalent......A colorimetric 1,5-diphenylcarbazide (DPC)-based spot test can be used to identify hexavalent chromium on various metallic and leather surfaces. DPC testing on trivalent chromium-passivated zinc surfaces has unexpectedly given positive results in some cases, apparently indicating the presence...... of hexavalent chromium; however, the presence of hexavalent chromium has never been confirmed with more sensitive and accurate test methods. Objectives To examine the presence of hexavalent chromium on trivalent chromium-passivated zinc surfaces with a DPC-based spot test. Methods A colorimetric DPC spot test...

Volcano monitoring using the Global Positioning System: Filtering strategies

Science.gov (United States)

Larson, K.M.; Cervelli, Peter; Lisowski, M.; Miklius, Asta; Segall, P.; Owen, S.

2001-01-01

Permanent Global Positioning System (GPS) networks are routinely used for producing improved orbits and monitoring secular tectonic deformation. For these applications, data are transferred to an analysis center each day and routinely processed in 24-hour segments. To use GPS for monitoring volcanic events, which may last only a few hours, real-time or near real-time data processing and subdaily position estimates are valuable. Strategies have been researched for obtaining station coordinates every 15 min using a Kalman filter; these strategies have been tested on data collected by a GPS network on Kilauea Volcano. Data from this network are tracked continuously, recorded every 30 s, and telemetered hourly to the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. A white noise model is heavily impacted by data outages and poor satellite geometry, but a properly constrained random walk model fits the data well. Using a borehole tiltmeter at Kilauea's summit as ground-truth, solutions using different random walk constraints were compared. This study indicates that signals on the order of 5 mm/h are resolvable using a random walk standard deviation of 0.45 cm/???h. Values lower than this suppress small signals, and values greater than this have significantly higher noise at periods of 1-6 hours. Copyright 2001 by the American Geophysical Union.

[Wuling Capsule for climacteric patients with depression and anxiety state: a randomized, positive parallel controlled trial].

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Xing-juan; Li, Ji; Zou, Qin-di; Jin, Ling

2009-11-01

The incidence of menopausal anxiety and depression is increasing. It can induce and aggravate a variety of somatic symptoms. Despite of the good effects of psychotropic drugs on the disease, patients' compliance is poor. Therefore, it is necessary to find a drug which is practical, effective, and easy for patients to take. To evaluate the efficacy of Wuling Capsule (WC), a Chinese herbal medicine, in treatment of female climacteric syndrome with depression and anxiety state. A total of 96 outpatients of female climacteric syndrome from Department of Gynecology of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Department of Gynecology of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Longhua Hospital, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital, Fudan University were included. The study was designed as a randomized, positive drug parallel controlled trial. The patients were divided into WC group (64 cases) and control group (32 cases) and were orally administered Wuling Capsule and Gengnianan Tablet, respectively. The efficacy was evaluated with Kupperman menopausal index (KMI), Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS), and Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) before treatment, and after 3-week and 6-week treatment. The total response rate was 89.66% (52/58) in the WC group, which was superior to that in the control group [76.67% (23/30)]. Ridit test showed that there was a significant difference between the two groups (Pstate. Wuling Capsule is more effective to alleviate depression and anxiety as compared with Gengnianan Tablet.

Phase II randomized trial of neoadjuvant metformin plus letrozole versus placebo plus letrozole for estrogen receptor positive postmenopausal breast cancer (METEOR)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Jisun; Kim, Lee Su; Han, Sehwan; Nam, Seok Jin; Kang, Han-Sung; Kim, Seung Il; Yoo, Young Bum; Jeong, Joon; Kim, Tae Hyun; Kang, Taewoo; Kim, Sung-Won; Lim, Woosung; Jung, Yongsik; Lee, Jeong Eon; Kim, Ku Sang; Yu, Jong-Han; Chae, Byung Joo; Jung, So-Youn; Kang, Eunyoung; Choi, Su Yun; Moon, Hyeong-Gon; Noh, Dong-Young; Kim, Eun-Kyu; Han, Wonshik; Kim, Min-Kyoon; Paik, Nam-Sun; Jeong, Sang-Seol; Yoon, Jung-han; Park, Chan Heun; Ahn, Sei Hyun

2014-01-01

Neoadjuvant endocrine therapy with an aromatase inhibitor has shown efficacy comparable to that of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with postmenopausal breast cancer. Preclinical and clinical studies have shown that the antidiabetic drug metformin has anti-tumor activity. This prospective, multicenter, phase II randomized, placebo controlled trial was designed to evaluate the direct anti-tumor effect of metformin in non-diabetic postmenopausal women with estrogen-receptor (ER) positive breast cancer. Patients meeting the inclusion criteria and providing written informed consent will be randomized to 24 weeks of neoadjuvant treatment with letrozole (2.5 mg/day) and either metformin (2000 mg/day) or placebo. Target accrual number is 104 patients per arm. The primary endpoint will be clinical response rate, as measured by calipers. Secondary endpoints include pathologic complete response rate, breast conserving rate, change in Ki67 expression, breast density change, and toxicity profile. Molecular assays will be performed using samples obtained before treatment, at week 4, and postoperatively. This study will provide direct evidence of the anti-tumor effect of metformin in non-diabetic, postmenopausal patients with ER-positive breast cancer. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier http://clinicaltrial.gov/ct2/show/NCT01589367?term

Another Look at the Draft Mil-Std-1540E Unit Random Vibration Test Requirements

Science.gov (United States)

Perl, E.; Peterson, A. J..; Davis, D.

2012-07-01

The draft Mil-Std-1540E has been updated to reflect lessons learned since its publication as an SMC Standard in 2008, [1], and an earlier Aerospace Corporation Technical Report released in 2006, [2]. This paper discusses the technical rationale supporting some of the unit random vibration test requirements to provide better insight into their derivation and application to programs. It is intended that these requirements be tailored for each program to reflect the customer risk profile. Several tailoring options are provided and a two phase test strategy is discussed to highlight its applicability to utilizing heritage hardware in new applications.

Simple Sample Preparation Method for Direct Microbial Identification and Susceptibility Testing From Positive Blood Cultures.

Science.gov (United States)

Pan, Hong-Wei; Li, Wei; Li, Rong-Guo; Li, Yong; Zhang, Yi; Sun, En-Hua

2018-01-01

Rapid identification and determination of the antibiotic susceptibility profiles of the infectious agents in patients with bloodstream infections are critical steps in choosing an effective targeted antibiotic for treatment. However, there has been minimal effort focused on developing combined methods for the simultaneous direct identification and antibiotic susceptibility determination of bacteria in positive blood cultures. In this study, we constructed a lysis-centrifugation-wash procedure to prepare a bacterial pellet from positive blood cultures, which can be used directly for identification by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) and antibiotic susceptibility testing by the Vitek 2 system. The method was evaluated using a total of 129 clinical bacteria-positive blood cultures. The whole sample preparation process could be completed in identification was 96.49% for gram-negative bacteria and 97.22% for gram-positive bacteria. Vitek 2 antimicrobial susceptibility testing of gram-negative bacteria showed an agreement rate of antimicrobial categories of 96.89% with a minor error, major error, and very major error rate of 2.63, 0.24, and 0.24%, respectively. Category agreement of antimicrobials against gram-positive bacteria was 92.81%, with a minor error, major error, and very major error rate of 4.51, 1.22, and 1.46%, respectively. These results indicated that our direct antibiotic susceptibility analysis method worked well compared to the conventional culture-dependent laboratory method. Overall, this fast, easy, and accurate method can facilitate the direct identification and antibiotic susceptibility testing of bacteria in positive blood cultures.

Quantum random flip-flop and its applications in random frequency synthesis and true random number generation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stipčević, Mario, E-mail: mario.stipcevic@irb.hr [Photonics and Quantum Optics Research Unit, Center of Excellence for Advanced Materials and Sensing Devices, Ruđer Bošković Institute, Bijenička 54, 10000 Zagreb (Croatia)

2016-03-15

In this work, a new type of elementary logic circuit, named random flip-flop (RFF), is proposed, experimentally realized, and studied. Unlike conventional Boolean logic circuits whose action is deterministic and highly reproducible, the action of a RFF is intentionally made maximally unpredictable and, in the proposed realization, derived from a fundamentally random process of emission and detection of light quanta. We demonstrate novel applications of RFF in randomness preserving frequency division, random frequency synthesis, and random number generation. Possible usages of these applications in the information and communication technology, cryptographic hardware, and testing equipment are discussed.

Latent tuberculosis in HIV positive, diagnosed by the M. tuberculosis specific interferon-gamma test

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brock, Inger; Ruhwald, Morten; Lundgren, Bettina

2006-01-01

Although tuberculosis (TB) is a minor problem in Denmark, severe and complicated cases occur in HIV positive. Since the new M. tuberculosis specific test for latent TB, the QuantiFERON-TB In-Tube test (QFT-IT) became available the patients in our clinic have been screened for the presence of latent...

An overview of the Families Improving Together (FIT) for weight loss randomized controlled trial in African American families.

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson, Dawn K; Kitzman-Ulrich, Heather; Resnicow, Ken; Van Horn, M Lee; St George, Sara M; Siceloff, E Rebekah; Alia, Kassandra A; McDaniel, Tyler; Heatley, VaShawn; Huffman, Lauren; Coulon, Sandra; Prinz, Ron

2015-05-01

The Families Improving Together (FIT) randomized controlled trial tests the efficacy of integrating cultural tailoring, positive parenting, and motivational strategies into a comprehensive curriculum for weight loss in African American adolescents. The overall goal of the FIT trial is to test the effects of an integrated intervention curriculum and the added effects of a tailored web-based intervention on reducing z-BMI in overweight African American adolescents. The FIT trial is a randomized group cohort design the will involve 520 African American families with an overweight adolescent between the ages of 11-16 years. The trial tests the efficacy of an 8-week face-to-face group randomized program comparing M + FWL (Motivational Plus Family Weight Loss) to a comprehensive health education program (CHE) and re-randomizes participants to either an 8-week on-line tailored intervention or control on-line program resulting in a 2 (M + FWL vs. CHE group) × 2 (on-line intervention vs. control on-line program) factorial design to test the effects of the intervention on reducing z-BMI at post-treatment and at 6-month follow-up. The interventions for this trial are based on a theoretical framework that is novel and integrates elements from cultural tailoring, Family Systems Theory, Self-Determination Theory and Social Cognitive Theory. The intervention targets positive parenting skills (parenting style, monitoring, communication); cultural values; teaching parents to increase youth motivation by encouraging youth to have input and choice (autonomy-support); and provides a framework for building skills and self-efficacy through developing weight loss action plans that target goal setting, monitoring, and positive feedback. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Risks of Using Bedside Tests to Verify Nasogastric Tube Position in Adult Patients

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Melody Ni

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Nasogastric (NG tubes are commonly used for enteral feeding. Complications of feeding tube misplacement include malnutrition, pulmonary aspiration, and even death. We built a Bayesian network (BN to analyse the risks associated with available bedside tests to verify tube position. Evidence on test validity (sensitivity and specificity was retrieved from a systematic review. Likelihood ratios were used to select the best tests for detecting tubes misplaced in the lung or oesophagus. Five bedside tests were analysed including magnetic guidance, aspirate pH, auscultation, aspirate appearance, and capnography/colourimetry. Among these, auscultation and appearance are non-diagnostic towards lung or oesophagus placements. Capnography/ colourimetry can confirm but cannot rule out lung placement. Magnetic guidance can rule out both lung and oesophageal placement. However, as a relatively new technology, further validation studies are needed. The pH test with a cut-off at 5.5 or lower can rule out lung intubation. Lowering the cut-off to 4 not only minimises oesophageal intubation but also provides extra safety as the sensitivity of pH measurement is reduced by feeding, antacid medication, or the use of less accurate pH paper. BN is an effective tool for representing and analysing multi-layered uncertainties in test validity and reliability for the verification of NG tube position. Aspirate pH with a cut-off of 4 is the safest bedside method to minimise lung and oesophageal misplacement.

Improved oxygenation during standing performance of deep breathing exercises with positive expiratory pressure after cardiac surgery: A randomized controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Pettersson, Henrik; Faager, Gun; Westerdahl, Elisabeth

2015-09-01

Breathing exercises after cardiac surgery are often performed in a sitting position. It is unknown whether oxygenation would be better in the standing position. The aim of this study was to evaluate oxygenation and subjective breathing ability during sitting vs standing performance of deep breathing exercises on the second day after cardiac surgery. Patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (n = 189) were randomized to sitting (controls) or standing. Both groups performed 3 × 10 deep breaths with a positive expiratory pressure device. Peripheral oxygen saturation was measured before, directly after, and 15 min after the intervention. Subjective breathing ability, blood pressure, heart rate, and pain were assessed. Oxygenation improved significantly in the standing group compared with controls directly after the breathing exercises (p < 0.001) and after 15 min rest (p = 0.027). The standing group reported better deep breathing ability compared with controls (p = 0.004). A slightly increased heart rate was found in the standing group (p = 0.047). After cardiac surgery, breathing exercises with positive expiratory pressure, performed in a standing position, significantly improved oxygenation and subjective breathing ability compared with sitting performance. Performance of breathing exercises in the standing position is feasible and could be a valuable treatment for patients with postoperative hypoxaemia.

Embedded Platform for Automatic Testing and Optimizing of FPGA Based Cryptographic True Random Number Generators

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Varchola

2009-12-01

Full Text Available This paper deals with an evaluation platform for cryptographic True Random Number Generators (TRNGs based on the hardware implementation of statistical tests for FPGAs. It was developed in order to provide an automatic tool that helps to speed up the TRNG design process and can provide new insights on the TRNG behavior as it will be shown on a particular example in the paper. It enables to test sufficient statistical properties of various TRNG designs under various working conditions on the fly. Moreover, the tests are suitable to be embedded into cryptographic hardware products in order to recognize TRNG output of weak quality and thus increase its robustness and reliability. Tests are fully compatible with the FIPS 140 standard and are implemented by the VHDL language as an IP-Core for vendor independent FPGAs. A recent Flash based Actel Fusion FPGA was chosen for preliminary experiments. The Actel version of the tests possesses an interface to the Actel’s CoreMP7 softcore processor that is fully compatible with the industry standard ARM7TDMI. Moreover, identical tests suite was implemented to the Xilinx Virtex 2 and 5 in order to compare the performance of the proposed solution with the performance of already published one based on the same FPGAs. It was achieved 25% and 65% greater clock frequency respectively while consuming almost equal resources of the Xilinx FPGAs. On the top of it, the proposed FIPS 140 architecture is capable of processing one random bit per one clock cycle which results in 311.5 Mbps throughput for Virtex 5 FPGA.

Can Internet-Based Sexual Health Services Increase Diagnoses of Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI)? Protocol for a Randomized Evaluation of an Internet-Based STI Testing and Results Service.

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson, Emma; Free, Caroline; Morris, Tim P; Kenward, Michael G; Syred, Jonathan; Baraitser, Paula

2016-01-15

Ensuring rapid access to high quality sexual health services is a key public health objective, both in the United Kingdom and internationally. Internet-based testing services for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are considered to be a promising way to achieve this goal. This study will evaluate a nascent online STI testing and results service in South East London, delivered alongside standard face-to-face STI testing services. The aim of this study is to establish whether an online testing and results services can (1) increase diagnoses of STIs and (2) increase uptake of STI testing, when delivered alongside standard face-to-face STI testing services. This is a single-blind randomized controlled trial. We will recruit 3000 participants who meet the following eligibility criteria: 16-30 years of age, resident in the London boroughs of Lambeth and Southwark, having at least one sexual partner in the last 12 months, having access to the Internet and willing to take an STI test. People unable to provide informed consent and unable to read and understand English (the websites will be in English) will be excluded. Baseline data will be collected at enrolment. This includes participant contact details, demographic data (date of birth, gender, ethnicity, and sexual orientation), and sexual health behaviors (last STI test, service used at last STI test and number of sexual partners in the last 12 months). Once enrolled, participants will be randomly allocated either (1) to an online STI testing and results service (Sexual Health 24) offering postal self-administered STI kits for chlamydia, gonorrhoea, syphilis, and HIV; results via text message (short message service, SMS), except positive results for HIV, which will be delivered by phone; and direct referrals to local clinics for treatment or (2) to a conventional sexual health information website with signposting to local clinic-based sexual health services. Participants will be free to use any other interventions

Longitudinal investigation on learned helplessness tested under negative and positive reinforcement involving stimulus control.

Science.gov (United States)

Oliveira, Emileane C; Hunziker, Maria Helena

2014-07-01

In this study, we investigated whether (a) animals demonstrating the learned helplessness effect during an escape contingency also show learning deficits under positive reinforcement contingencies involving stimulus control and (b) the exposure to positive reinforcement contingencies eliminates the learned helplessness effect under an escape contingency. Rats were initially exposed to controllable (C), uncontrollable (U) or no (N) shocks. After 24h, they were exposed to 60 escapable shocks delivered in a shuttlebox. In the following phase, we selected from each group the four subjects that presented the most typical group pattern: no escape learning (learned helplessness effect) in Group U and escape learning in Groups C and N. All subjects were then exposed to two phases, the (1) positive reinforcement for lever pressing under a multiple FR/Extinction schedule and (2) a re-test under negative reinforcement (escape). A fourth group (n=4) was exposed only to the positive reinforcement sessions. All subjects showed discrimination learning under multiple schedule. In the escape re-test, the learned helplessness effect was maintained for three of the animals in Group U. These results suggest that the learned helplessness effect did not extend to discriminative behavior that is positively reinforced and that the learned helplessness effect did not revert for most subjects after exposure to positive reinforcement. We discuss some theoretical implications as related to learned helplessness as an effect restricted to aversive contingencies and to the absence of reversion after positive reinforcement. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: insert SI title. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier B.V.

The effectiveness of educational interventions to enhance the adoption of fee-based arsenic testing in Bangladesh: a cluster randomized controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

George, Christine Marie; Inauen, Jennifer; Rahman, Sheikh Masudur; Zheng, Yan

2013-07-01

Arsenic (As) testing could help 22 million people, using drinking water sources that exceed the Bangladesh As standard, to identify safe sources. A cluster randomized controlled trial was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of household education and local media in the increasing demand for fee-based As testing. Randomly selected households (N = 452) were divided into three interventions implemented by community workers: 1) fee-based As testing with household education (HE); 2) fee-based As testing with household education and a local media campaign (HELM); and 3) fee-based As testing alone (Control). The fee for the As test was US$ 0.28, higher than the cost of the test (US$ 0.16). Of households with untested wells, 93% in both intervention groups HE and HELM purchased an As test, whereas only 53% in the control group. In conclusion, fee-based As testing with household education is effective in the increasing demand for As testing in rural Bangladesh.

Solution-Processed Carbon Nanotube True Random Number Generator.

Science.gov (United States)

Gaviria Rojas, William A; McMorrow, Julian J; Geier, Michael L; Tang, Qianying; Kim, Chris H; Marks, Tobin J; Hersam, Mark C

2017-08-09

With the growing adoption of interconnected electronic devices in consumer and industrial applications, there is an increasing demand for robust security protocols when transmitting and receiving sensitive data. Toward this end, hardware true random number generators (TRNGs), commonly used to create encryption keys, offer significant advantages over software pseudorandom number generators. However, the vast network of devices and sensors envisioned for the "Internet of Things" will require small, low-cost, and mechanically flexible TRNGs with low computational complexity. These rigorous constraints position solution-processed semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) as leading candidates for next-generation security devices. Here, we demonstrate the first TRNG using static random access memory (SRAM) cells based on solution-processed SWCNTs that digitize thermal noise to generate random bits. This bit generation strategy can be readily implemented in hardware with minimal transistor and computational overhead, resulting in an output stream that passes standardized statistical tests for randomness. By using solution-processed semiconducting SWCNTs in a low-power, complementary architecture to achieve TRNG, we demonstrate a promising approach for improving the security of printable and flexible electronics.

Retention of children under 18 months testing HIV positive in care in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Retention of children under 18 months testing HIV positive in care in Swaziland: a retrospective study. ... children within the first two months of life and linking them into care. However, as time progresses the retention of children in care declines. Innovative strategies need to be developed to enhance patient retention.

The APS x-ray undulator photon beam position monitor and tests at CHESS and NSLS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shu, D.; Rodricks, B.; Barraza, J.; Sanchez, T.; Kuzay, T.M.

1992-01-01

The advent of third generation synchrotron radiation sources, like the Advanced Photon Source (APS), will provide significant increases in brilliance over existing synchrotron sources. The APS x-ray undulators will increase the brilliance in the 3-40 KeV range by several orders of magnitude. Thus, the design of the photon beam position monitor is a challenging engineering task. The beam position monitors must withstand the high thermal load, be able to achieve sub-micron spatial resolution while maintaining their stability, and be compatible with both undulators and wigglers. A preliminary APS prototype photon beam position monitor consisting of a CVD-diamond-based, tungsten-coated blade was tested on the APS/CHESS undulator at the Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Radiation Source (CHESS) and on the NSLS X-13 undulator beamline. Results from these tests, as well as the design of this prototype APS photon beam position monitor, will be discussed in this paper

The APS X-ray undulator photon beam position monitor and tests at CHESS and NSLS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shu, D.; Rodricks, B.; Barraza, J.; Sanchez, T.; Kuzay, T.M.

1992-01-01

The advent of thirs generation synchrotron sources, like the Advanced Photon Source (APS), will provide significant increases in brilliance over existing synchrotron sources. The APS X-ray undulators will increase the brilliance in the 3-40 keV range by several orders of magnitude. Thus, the design of the photon beam position monitor is a challenging engineering task. The beam position monitors must withstand the high thermal load, be able to achieve submicron spatial resolution while maintaining their stability, and be compatible with both undulators and wigglers. A preliminary APS prototype photon beam position monitor consisting of a CVD-diamond-based, tungsten-coated blade was tested on the APS/CHESS undulator at the Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Radiation Source (CHESS) and on the NSLS X-13 undulator beamline. Results from these tests, as well as the design of this prototype APS photon beam position monitor, will be discussed in this paper. (orig.)

Simulation of Model Force-Loading with Changing Its Position in the Wind Tunnel Test Section

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. T. Bui

2015-01-01

Full Text Available When planning and implementing an aerodynamic experiment, model sizes and its position in the test section of the wind tunnel (WT play very important role. The paper focuses on the value variations of the aerodynamic characteristics of a model through changing its position in the WT test section and on the attenuation of the velocity field disturbance in front of the model. Flow around aerodynamic model profile in the open test section of the low-speed WT T-500 is simulated at BMSTU Department SM3. The problem is solved in a two-dimensional case using the ANSYS Fluent package. The mathematical model of flow is based on the Reynolds equations closed by the SST turbulence model. The paper also presents the results of the experiment. Experiments conducted in WT T-500 well correlate with the calculated data and show the optimal position in the middle of the test section when conducting the weighing and drainage experiments. Disturbance of tunnel dynamic pressure (velocity head and flow upwash around the model profile and circular cylinder in the WT test section is analyzed. It was found that flow upstream from the front stagnation point on the body weakly depends on the Reynolds number and obtained results can be used to assess the level of disturbances in the flow around a model by incompressible airflow.

Positive random variables with a discrete probability mass at the origin: Parameter estimation for left-censored samples with application to air quality monitoring data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gogolak, C.V.

1986-11-01

The concentration of a contaminant measured in a particular medium might be distributed as a positive random variable when it is present, but it may not always be present. If there is a level below which the concentration cannot be distinguished from zero by the analytical apparatus, a sample from such a population will be censored on the left. The presence of both zeros and positive values in the censored portion of such samples complicates the problem of estimating the parameters of the underlying positive random variable and the probability of a zero observation. Using the method of maximum likelihood, it is shown that the solution to this estimation problem reduces largely to that of estimating the parameters of the distribution truncated at the point of censorship. The maximum likelihood estimate of the proportion of zero values follows directly. The derivation of the maximum likelihood estimates for a lognormal population with zeros is given in detail, and the asymptotic properties of the estimates are examined. The estimation method was used to fit several different distributions to a set of severely censored 85 Kr monitoring data from six locations at the Savannah River Plant chemical separations facilities

Syndesmotic fixation in supination-external rotation ankle fractures: a prospective randomized study.

Science.gov (United States)

Pakarinen, Harri J; Flinkkilä, Tapio E; Ohtonen, Pasi P; Hyvönen, Pekka H; Lakovaara, Martti T; Leppilahti, Juhana I; Ristiniemi, Jukka Y

2011-12-01

This study was designed to assess whether transfixion of an unstable syndesmosis is necessary in supination-external rotation (Lauge-Hansen SE/Weber B)-type ankle fractures. A prospective study of 140 patients with unilateral Lauge-Hansen supination-external rotation type 4 ankle fractures was done. After bony fixation, the 7.5-Nm standardized external rotation (ER) stress test for both ankles was performed under fluoroscopy. A positive stress examination was defined as a difference of more than 2 mm side-to-side in the tibiotalar or tibiofibular clear spaces on mortise radiographs. If the stress test was positive, the patient was randomized to either syndesmotic transfixion with 3.5-mm tricortical screws or no syndesmotic fixation. Clinical outcome was assessed using the Olerud-Molander scoring system, RAND 36-Item Health Survey, and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) to measure pain and function after a minimum 1-year of followup. Twenty four (17%) of 140 patients had positive standardized 7.5-Nm ER stress tests after malleolar fixation. The stress view was positive three times on tibiotalar clear space, seven on tibiofibular clear space, and 14 times on both tibiotalar and tibiofibular clear spaces. There was no significant difference between the two randomization groups with regards to Olerud-Molander functional score, VAS scale measuring pain and function, or RAND 36-Item Health Survey pain or physical function at 1 year. Relevant syndesmotic injuries are rare in supination-external rotation ankle fractures, and syndesmotic transfixion with a screw did not influence the functional outcome or pain after the 1-year followup compared with no fixation.

Research on Automatic Positioning System of Ultrasonic Testing of Wind Turbine Blade Flaws

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Q. X.; Wang, Z. H.; Long, S. G.; Cai, M.; Cai, M.; Wang, X.; Chen, X. Y.; Bu, J. L.

2017-11-01

Ultrasonic testing technology has been used essentially in non-destructive testing of wind turbine blades. However, it is fact that the ultrasonic flaw detection method has inefficiently employed in recent years. This is because the testing result will illustrate a small deviation due to the artificial, environmental and technical factors. Therefore, it is an urgent technical demand for engineers to test the various flaws efficiently and quickly. An automatic positioning system has been designed in this paper to record the moving coordinates and the target distance in real time. Simultaneously, it could launch and acquire the sonic wave automatically. The ADNS-3080 optoelectronic chip is manufactured by Agilent Technologies Inc, which is also utilized in the system. With the combination of the chip, the power conversion module and the USB transmission module, the collected data can be transmitted from the upper monitor to the hardware that could process and control the data through software programming. An experiment has been designed to prove the reliability of automotive positioning system. The result has been validated by comparing the result collected form LABVIEW and actual plots on Perspex plane, it concludes that the system possesses high accuracy and magnificent meanings in practical engineering.

Flight-Test Evaluation of Kinematic Precise Point Positioning of Small UAVs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jason N. Gross

2016-01-01

Full Text Available An experimental analysis of Global Positioning System (GPS flight data collected onboard a Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (SUAV is conducted in order to demonstrate that postprocessed kinematic Precise Point Positioning (PPP solutions with precisions approximately 6 cm 3D Residual Sum of Squares (RSOS can be obtained on SUAVs that have short duration flights with limited observational periods (i.e., only ~≤5 minutes of data. This is a significant result for the UAV flight testing community because an important and relevant benefit of the PPP technique over traditional Differential GPS (DGPS techniques, such as Real-Time Kinematic (RTK, is that there is no requirement for maintaining a short baseline separation to a differential GNSS reference station. Because SUAVs are an attractive platform for applications such as aerial surveying, precision agriculture, and remote sensing, this paper offers an experimental evaluation of kinematic PPP estimation strategies using SUAV platform data. In particular, an analysis is presented in which the position solutions that are obtained from postprocessing recorded UAV flight data with various PPP software and strategies are compared to solutions that were obtained using traditional double-differenced ambiguity fixed carrier-phase Differential GPS (CP-DGPS. This offers valuable insight to assist designers of SUAV navigation systems whose applications require precise positioning.

Simple Sample Preparation Method for Direct Microbial Identification and Susceptibility Testing From Positive Blood Cultures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hong-wei Pan

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Rapid identification and determination of the antibiotic susceptibility profiles of the infectious agents in patients with bloodstream infections are critical steps in choosing an effective targeted antibiotic for treatment. However, there has been minimal effort focused on developing combined methods for the simultaneous direct identification and antibiotic susceptibility determination of bacteria in positive blood cultures. In this study, we constructed a lysis-centrifugation-wash procedure to prepare a bacterial pellet from positive blood cultures, which can be used directly for identification by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS and antibiotic susceptibility testing by the Vitek 2 system. The method was evaluated using a total of 129 clinical bacteria-positive blood cultures. The whole sample preparation process could be completed in <15 min. The correct rate of direct MALDI-TOF MS identification was 96.49% for gram-negative bacteria and 97.22% for gram-positive bacteria. Vitek 2 antimicrobial susceptibility testing of gram-negative bacteria showed an agreement rate of antimicrobial categories of 96.89% with a minor error, major error, and very major error rate of 2.63, 0.24, and 0.24%, respectively. Category agreement of antimicrobials against gram-positive bacteria was 92.81%, with a minor error, major error, and very major error rate of 4.51, 1.22, and 1.46%, respectively. These results indicated that our direct antibiotic susceptibility analysis method worked well compared to the conventional culture-dependent laboratory method. Overall, this fast, easy, and accurate method can facilitate the direct identification and antibiotic susceptibility testing of bacteria in positive blood cultures.

Enhanced wavefront reconstruction by random phase modulation with a phase diffuser

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Almoro, Percival F; Pedrini, Giancarlo; Gundu, Phanindra Narayan

2011-01-01

propagation in free space. The presentation of this technique is carried out using two setups. In the first setup, a diffuser plate is placed at the image plane of a metallic test object. The benefit of randomizing the phase of the object wave is the enhanced intensity recording due to high dynamic range...... of the diffusely scattered beam. The use of demagnification optics will also allow the investigations of relatively large objects. In the second setup, a transparent object is illuminated using a wavefront with random phase and constant amplitude by positioning the phase diffuser close to the object. The benefit...

Evaluation of HIV testing algorithms in Ethiopia: the role of the tie-breaker algorithm and weakly reacting test lines in contributing to a high rate of false positive HIV diagnoses.

Science.gov (United States)

Shanks, Leslie; Siddiqui, M Ruby; Kliescikova, Jarmila; Pearce, Neil; Ariti, Cono; Muluneh, Libsework; Pirou, Erwan; Ritmeijer, Koert; Masiga, Johnson; Abebe, Almaz

2015-02-03

In Ethiopia a tiebreaker algorithm using 3 rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) in series is used to diagnose HIV. Discordant results between the first 2 RDTs are resolved by a third 'tiebreaker' RDT. Médecins Sans Frontières uses an alternate serial algorithm of 2 RDTs followed by a confirmation test for all double positive RDT results. The primary objective was to compare the performance of the tiebreaker algorithm with a serial algorithm, and to evaluate the addition of a confirmation test to both algorithms. A secondary objective looked at the positive predictive value (PPV) of weakly reactive test lines. The study was conducted in two HIV testing sites in Ethiopia. Study participants were recruited sequentially until 200 positive samples were reached. Each sample was re-tested in the laboratory on the 3 RDTs and on a simple to use confirmation test, the Orgenics Immunocomb Combfirm® (OIC). The gold standard test was the Western Blot, with indeterminate results resolved by PCR testing. 2620 subjects were included with a HIV prevalence of 7.7%. Each of the 3 RDTs had an individual specificity of at least 99%. The serial algorithm with 2 RDTs had a single false positive result (1 out of 204) to give a PPV of 99.5% (95% CI 97.3%-100%). The tiebreaker algorithm resulted in 16 false positive results (PPV 92.7%, 95% CI: 88.4%-95.8%). Adding the OIC confirmation test to either algorithm eliminated the false positives. All the false positives had at least one weakly reactive test line in the algorithm. The PPV of weakly reacting RDTs was significantly lower than those with strongly positive test lines. The risk of false positive HIV diagnosis in a tiebreaker algorithm is significant. We recommend abandoning the tie-breaker algorithm in favour of WHO recommended serial or parallel algorithms, interpreting weakly reactive test lines as indeterminate results requiring further testing except in the setting of blood transfusion, and most importantly, adding a confirmation test

Helminths and skewed cytokine profiles increase tuberculin skin test positivity in Warao Amerindians

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Verhagen, L. M.; Hermans, P. W. M.; Warris, A.; de Groot, R.; Maes, M.; Villalba, J. A.; del Nogal, B.; van den Hof, S.; Mughini Gras, L.; van Soolingen, D.; Pinelli, E.; de Waard, J. H.

2012-01-01

The immune regulatory mechanisms involved in the acquisition of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in children are largely unknown. We investigated the influence of parasitic infections, malnutrition and plasma cytokine profiles on tuberculin skin test (TST) positivity in Warao Amerindians in

Effects of continuous positive airway pressure on neurocognitive function in obstructive sleep apnea patients: The Apnea Positive Pressure Long-term Efficacy Study (APPLES).

Science.gov (United States)

Kushida, Clete A; Nichols, Deborah A; Holmes, Tyson H; Quan, Stuart F; Walsh, James K; Gottlieb, Daniel J; Simon, Richard D; Guilleminault, Christian; White, David P; Goodwin, James L; Schweitzer, Paula K; Leary, Eileen B; Hyde, Pamela R; Hirshkowitz, Max; Green, Sylvan; McEvoy, Linda K; Chan, Cynthia; Gevins, Alan; Kay, Gary G; Bloch, Daniel A; Crabtree, Tami; Dement, William C

2012-12-01

To determine the neurocognitive effects of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy on patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). The Apnea Positive Pressure Long-term Efficacy Study (APPLES) was a 6-month, randomized, double-blind, 2-arm, sham-controlled, multicenter trial conducted at 5 U.S. university, hospital, or private practices. Of 1,516 participants enrolled, 1,105 were randomized, and 1,098 participants diagnosed with OSA contributed to the analysis of the primary outcome measures. Active or sham CPAP MEASUREMENTS: THREE NEUROCOGNITIVE VARIABLES, EACH REPRESENTING A NEUROCOGNITIVE DOMAIN: Pathfinder Number Test-Total Time (attention and psychomotor function [A/P]), Buschke Selective Reminding Test-Sum Recall (learning and memory [L/M]), and Sustained Working Memory Test-Overall Mid-Day Score (executive and frontal-lobe function [E/F]) The primary neurocognitive analyses showed a difference between groups for only the E/F variable at the 2 month CPAP visit, but no difference at the 6 month CPAP visit or for the A/P or L/M variables at either the 2 or 6 month visits. When stratified by measures of OSA severity (AHI or oxygen saturation parameters), the primary E/F variable and one secondary E/F neurocognitive variable revealed transient differences between study arms for those with the most severe OSA. Participants in the active CPAP group had a significantly greater ability to remain awake whether measured subjectively by the Epworth Sleepiness Scale or objectively by the maintenance of wakefulness test. CPAP treatment improved both subjectively and objectively measured sleepiness, especially in individuals with severe OSA (AHI > 30). CPAP use resulted in mild, transient improvement in the most sensitive measures of executive and frontal-lobe function for those with severe disease, which suggests the existence of a complex OSA-neurocognitive relationship. Registered at clinicaltrials.gov. Identifier: NCT00051363. Kushida CA; Nichols DA; Holmes

Randomized, multicenter trial of lateral Trendelenburg versus semirecumbent body position for the prevention of ventilator-associated pneumonia.

Science.gov (United States)

Li Bassi, Gianluigi; Panigada, Mauro; Ranzani, Otavio T; Zanella, Alberto; Berra, Lorenzo; Cressoni, Massimo; Parrini, Vieri; Kandil, Hassan; Salati, Giovanni; Selvaggi, Paola; Amatu, Alessandro; Sanz-Moncosi, Miquel; Biagioni, Emanuela; Tagliaferri, Fernanda; Furia, Mirella; Mercurio, Giovanna; Costa, Antonietta; Manca, Tullio; Lindau, Simone; Babel, Jaksa; Cavana, Marco; Chiurazzi, Chiara; Marti, Joan-Daniel; Consonni, Dario; Gattinoni, Luciano; Pesenti, Antonio; Wiener-Kronish, Janine; Bruschi, Cecilia; Ballotta, Andrea; Salsi, Pierpaolo; Livigni, Sergio; Iotti, Giorgio; Fernandez, Javier; Girardis, Massimo; Barbagallo, Maria; Moise, Gabriella; Antonelli, Massimo; Caspani, Maria Luisa; Vezzani, Antonella; Meybohm, Patrick; Gasparovic, Vladimir; Geat, Edoardo; Amato, Marcelo; Niederman, Michael; Kolobow, Theodor; Torres, Antoni

2017-11-01

The lateral Trendelenburg position (LTP) may hinder the primary pathophysiologic mechanism of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). We investigated whether placing patients in the LTP would reduce the incidence of VAP in comparison with the semirecumbent position (SRP). This was a randomized, multicenter, controlled study in invasively ventilated critically ill patients. Two preplanned interim analyses were performed. Patients were randomized to be placed in the LTP or the SRP. The primary outcome, assessed by intention-to-treat analysis, was incidence of microbiologically confirmed VAP. Major secondary outcomes included mortality, duration of mechanical ventilation, and intensive care unit length of stay. At the second interim analysis, the trial was stopped because of low incidence of VAP, lack of benefit in secondary outcomes, and occurrence of adverse events. A total of 194 patients in the LTP group and 201 in the SRP group were included in the final intention-to-treat analysis. The incidence of microbiologically confirmed VAP was 0.5% (1/194) and 4.0% (8/201) in LTP and SRP patients, respectively (relative risk 0.13, 95% CI 0.02-1.03, p = 0.04). The 28-day mortality was 30.9% (60/194) and 26.4% (53/201) in LTP and SRP patients, respectively (relative risk 1.17, 95% CI 0.86-1.60, p = 0.32). Likewise, no differences were found in other secondary outcomes. Six serious adverse events were described in LTP patients (p = 0.01 vs. SRP). The LTP slightly decreased the incidence of microbiologically confirmed VAP. Nevertheless, given the early termination of the trial, the low incidence of VAP, and the adverse events associated with the LTP, the study failed to prove any significant benefit. Further clinical investigation is strongly warranted; however, at this time, the LTP cannot be recommended as a VAP preventive measure. CLINICALTRIALS. NCT01138540.

Testing Mediators of Intervention Effects in Randomized Controlled Trials: An Evaluation of Three Depression Prevention Programs

Science.gov (United States)

Stice, Eric; Rohde, Paul; Seeley, John R.; Gau, Jeff M.

2010-01-01

Objective: Evaluate a new 5-step method for testing mediators hypothesized to account for the effects of depression prevention programs. Method: In this indicated prevention trial, at-risk teens with elevated depressive symptoms were randomized to a group cognitive-behavioral (CB) intervention, group supportive expressive intervention, CB…

Robust inference from multiple test statistics via permutations: a better alternative to the single test statistic approach for randomized trials.

Science.gov (United States)

Ganju, Jitendra; Yu, Xinxin; Ma, Guoguang Julie

2013-01-01

Formal inference in randomized clinical trials is based on controlling the type I error rate associated with a single pre-specified statistic. The deficiency of using just one method of analysis is that it depends on assumptions that may not be met. For robust inference, we propose pre-specifying multiple test statistics and relying on the minimum p-value for testing the null hypothesis of no treatment effect. The null hypothesis associated with the various test statistics is that the treatment groups are indistinguishable. The critical value for hypothesis testing comes from permutation distributions. Rejection of the null hypothesis when the smallest p-value is less than the critical value controls the type I error rate at its designated value. Even if one of the candidate test statistics has low power, the adverse effect on the power of the minimum p-value statistic is not much. Its use is illustrated with examples. We conclude that it is better to rely on the minimum p-value rather than a single statistic particularly when that single statistic is the logrank test, because of the cost and complexity of many survival trials. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

On Generating Optimal Signal Probabilities for Random Tests: A Genetic Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Srinivas

1996-01-01

Full Text Available Genetic Algorithms are robust search and optimization techniques. A Genetic Algorithm based approach for determining the optimal input distributions for generating random test vectors is proposed in the paper. A cost function based on the COP testability measure for determining the efficacy of the input distributions is discussed. A brief overview of Genetic Algorithms (GAs and the specific details of our implementation are described. Experimental results based on ISCAS-85 benchmark circuits are presented. The performance of our GAbased approach is compared with previous results. While the GA generates more efficient input distributions than the previous methods which are based on gradient descent search, the overheads of the GA in computing the input distributions are larger.

Influence of random setup error on dose distribution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhai Zhenyu

2008-01-01

Objective: To investigate the influence of random setup error on dose distribution in radiotherapy and determine the margin from ITV to PTV. Methods: A random sample approach was used to simulate the fields position in target coordinate system. Cumulative effect of random setup error was the sum of dose distributions of all individual treatment fractions. Study of 100 cumulative effects might get shift sizes of 90% dose point position. Margins from ITV to PTV caused by random setup error were chosen by 95% probability. Spearman's correlation was used to analyze the influence of each factor. Results: The average shift sizes of 90% dose point position was 0.62, 1.84, 3.13, 4.78, 6.34 and 8.03 mm if random setup error was 1,2,3,4,5 and 6 mm,respectively. Univariate analysis showed the size of margin was associated only by the size of random setup error. Conclusions: Margin of ITV to PTV is 1.2 times random setup error for head-and-neck cancer and 1.5 times for thoracic and abdominal cancer. Field size, energy and target depth, unlike random setup error, have no relation with the size of the margin. (authors)

Non-destructive Testing by Infrared Thermography Under Random Excitation and ARMA Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Bodnar, J. L.; Nicolas, J. L.; Candoré, J. C.; Detalle, V.

2012-11-01

Photothermal thermography is a non-destructive testing (NDT) method, which has many applications in the field of control and characterization of thin materials. This technique is usually implemented under CW or flash excitation. Such excitations are not adapted for control of fragile materials or for multi-frequency analysis. To allow these analyses, in this article, the use of a new control mode is proposed: infrared thermography under random excitation and auto regressive moving average analysis. First, the principle of this NDT method is presented. Then, the method is shown to permit detection, with low energy constraints, of detachments situated in mural paintings.

The RANDOM computer program: A linear congruential random number generator

Science.gov (United States)

Miles, R. F., Jr.

1986-01-01

The RANDOM Computer Program is a FORTRAN program for generating random number sequences and testing linear congruential random number generators (LCGs). The linear congruential form of random number generator is discussed, and the selection of parameters of an LCG for a microcomputer described. This document describes the following: (1) The RANDOM Computer Program; (2) RANDOM.MOD, the computer code needed to implement an LCG in a FORTRAN program; and (3) The RANCYCLE and the ARITH Computer Programs that provide computational assistance in the selection of parameters for an LCG. The RANDOM, RANCYCLE, and ARITH Computer Programs are written in Microsoft FORTRAN for the IBM PC microcomputer and its compatibles. With only minor modifications, the RANDOM Computer Program and its LCG can be run on most micromputers or mainframe computers.

Reducing and preventing internalizing and externalizing behavior problems in children with type 1 diabetes: a randomized controlled trial of the Triple P-Positive Parenting Program.

Science.gov (United States)

Westrupp, E M; Northam, E; Lee, K J; Scratch, S E; Cameron, F

2015-11-01

Children with type 1 diabetes are at increased risk of mental health problems, which in turn are associated with poor glycemic control, diabetes-related complications, and long-term psychiatric morbidity. We tested the efficacy of the Triple P-Positive Parenting Program in reducing or preventing mental health problems and improving glycemic control in children with type 1 diabetes in a randomized controlled trial. Participants were recruited from the Diabetes Clinic, Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia, and randomized to Triple P or standard diabetes care. The primary outcome was child internalizing and externalizing behavior problems 3 and 12 months postrandomization. Secondary outcomes were glycemic control, parent mental health, parenting skills, and family functioning at 3 and 12 months, and glycemic control at 24 months. A total of 76 participants were randomized (38 to intervention and 38 to control), 60 completed 3-month, and 57 completed 12-month assessments. Benefits of Triple P were evident at 3 months for parent mental health, parenting skills, and family functioning (p externalizing behavior problems indicated greater improvements in child mental health, parent mental health, parenting skills, and diabetes family conflict (p parenting self-efficacy at 3 months. Improvements in parent mental health and parenting competency associated with Triple P were sustained to 12 months for children with pre-existing mental health problems. This study provides some support for the efficacy of Triple P in improving parent and family outcomes, and reducing child internalizing and externalizing behavior problems primarily in children who have pre-existing mental health problems. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF CLINICAL ENDOCRINOLOGISTS AND AMERICAN COLLEGE OF ENDOCRINOLOGY POSITION STATEMENT ON TESTING FOR AUTONOMIC AND SOMATIC NERVE DYSFUNCTION.

Science.gov (United States)

Vinik, Aaron I; Camacho, Pauline M; Davidson, Jaime A; Handelsman, Yehuda; Lando, Howard M; Leddy, Anne L; Reddy, Sethu K; Cook, Richard; Spallone, Vicenza; Tesfaye, Solomon; Ziegler, Dan

2017-12-01

This document represents the official position of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists and the American College of Endocrinology. Where there were no randomized controlled trials or specific U.S. FDA labeling for issues in clinical practice, the participating clinical experts utilized their judgment and experience. Every effort was made to achieve consensus among the committee members. Position statements are meant to provide guidance, but they are not to be considered prescriptive for any individual patient and cannot replace the judgment of a clinician.

Test measurement of a new TESLA cavity beam position monitor at the ELBE linac

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sargsyan, V.; Schreiber, H.J.; Evtushenko, P.; Schurig, R.

2004-01-01

A new type of a cavity BPM proposed for beam position determination along the TESLA linac was tested at the accelerator ELBE in Rossendorf / Dresden. Measurements using an improved BPM (large and stable cross-talk isolation, significantly less energy dissipation, a novel LO signal generation) were performed in single- and multi-bunch regimes. Agreement with expectations was found. The low bunch charge available allowed for preliminary measurements on sensitivity and position resolution, which extrapolated to TESLA would ful l the demands for precise bunch-to-bunch position determination. Possible improvements, in particular on the signal processing scheme, are also discussed. (orig.)

Average beta-beating from random errors

CERN Document Server

Tomas Garcia, Rogelio; Langner, Andy Sven; Malina, Lukas; Franchi, Andrea; CERN. Geneva. ATS Department

2018-01-01

The impact of random errors on average β-beating is studied via analytical derivations and simulations. A systematic positive β-beating is expected from random errors quadratic with the sources or, equivalently, with the rms β-beating. However, random errors do not have a systematic effect on the tune.

Randomized controlled trial of supervised patient self-testing of warfarin therapy using an internet-based expert system.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Ryan, F

2009-08-01

Increased frequency of prothrombin time testing, facilitated by patient self-testing (PST) of the International Normalized Ratio (INR) can improve the clinical outcomes of oral anticoagulation therapy (OAT). However, oversight of this type of management is often difficult and time-consuming for healthcare professionals. This study reports the first randomized controlled trial of an automated direct-to-patient expert system, enabling remote and effective management of patients on OAT.

Examining the impact of genetic testing for type 2 diabetes on health behaviors: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Voils Corrine I

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background We describe the study design, procedures, and development of the risk counseling protocol used in a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the impact of genetic testing for diabetes mellitus (DM on psychological, health behavior, and clinical outcomes. Methods/Design Eligible patients are aged 21 to 65 years with body mass index (BMI ≥27 kg/m2 and no prior diagnosis of DM. At baseline, conventional DM risk factors are assessed, and blood is drawn for possible genetic testing. Participants are randomized to receive conventional risk counseling for DM with eye disease counseling or with genetic test results. The counseling protocol was pilot tested to identify an acceptable graphical format for conveying risk estimates and match the length of the eye disease to genetic counseling. Risk estimates are presented with a vertical bar graph denoting risk level with colors and descriptors. After receiving either genetic counseling regarding risk for DM or control counseling on eye disease, brief lifestyle counseling for prevention of DM is provided to all participants. Discussion A standardized risk counseling protocol is being used in a randomized trial of 600 participants. Results of this trial will inform policy about whether risk counseling should include genetic counseling. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT01060540

Diagnostic-test evaluation of immunoassays for anti-Toxoplasma gondii IgG antibodies in a random sample of Mexican population.

Science.gov (United States)

Caballero-Ortega, Heriberto; Castillo-Cruz, Rocío; Murieta, Sandra; Ortíz-Alegría, Luz Belinda; Calderón-Segura, Esther; Conde-Glez, Carlos J; Cañedo-Solares, Irma; Correa, Dolores

2014-05-14

There are few articles on evaluation of Toxoplasma gondii serological tests. Besides, commercially available tests are not always useful and are expensive for studies in open population. The aim of this study was to evaluate in-house ELISA and western blot for IgG antibodies in a representative sample of people living in Mexico. Three hundred and five serum samples were randomly selected from two national seroepidemiological survey banks; they were taken from men and women of all ages and from all areas of the country. ELISA cut-off was established using the mean plus three standard deviations of negative samples. Western blots were analysed by two experienced technicians and positivity was established according to the presence of at least three diagnostic bands. A commercial ELISA kit was used as a third test. Two reference standards were built up: one using concordant results of two assays leaving the evaluated test out and the other in which the evaluated test was included (IN) with at least two concordant results to define diagnosis. the lowest values of diagnostic parameters were obtained with the OUT reference standards: in-house ELISA had 96.9% sensitivity, 62.1% specificity, 49.6% PPV, 98.1% NPV and 71.8% accuracy, while western blot presented 81.8%, 89.7%, 84.0%, 88.2% and 86.6% values and the best kappa coefficient (0.72-0.82). The in-house ELISA is useful for screening people of Mexico, due to its high sensitivity, while western blot may be used to confirm diagnosis. These techniques might prove useful in other Latin American countries.

On testing the missing at random assumption

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jaeger, Manfred

2006-01-01

Most approaches to learning from incomplete data are based on the assumption that unobserved values are missing at random (mar). While the mar assumption, as such, is not testable, it can become testable in the context of other distributional assumptions, e.g. the naive Bayes assumption...

Etiology and Incidence of positive Microbiological tests in the Department of Pneumology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carmela Mazzone

2010-06-01

Full Text Available The support of microbiological diagnosis for the management of the lower respiratory tract infections is of great utility. It is known, however, that for a correct therapeutic approach is essential to obtain clinical data and images diagnostic. Sometimes, in fact, to important clinical symptoms can coincide with microbiological results little worth, or the isolation from a sputum of certain bacteria, can be an expression of colonization or trivial contamination.The objective of this work was to evaluate the frequency of bacterial species responsible for respiratory tract infections, through direct (culture and indirect (serology methods. Between October 2007 - October 2008, 192 sputum cultures were examined, from the Department of Pneumology and out-patients.The isolation of bacterial strains was performed by seeding samples on the following media (Dasit: Columbia blood Agar (A. CNA, mannitol salt A., Wurtz lactose A., Sabouraud A., enriched chocolate A. + bacitracin. For serological tests, immunoassays in microplates (Vircell were used. The data show that of 192 samples deriving from Department of Pneumology, 41 (22% were positive, while among the out-patient samples, the percentage of positive cultures was 41% (20 positives on the total of 49 samples.The bacteria more frequently isolated in the department of Pneumology, was Pseudomonas aeruginosa (n.8 while in out-patients was Escherichia coli (n.8. Serological tests resulted positive for anti-Mycoplasma pneumoniae antibodies in 3 cases, and for anti-Chlamydia pneumoniae in one case, compared to 53 negative samples. The findings that over 75% of cultures have demonstrated negative results, is suggestive of an origin non-bacterial infections of the lower respiratory tract.Among the bacterial isolates are predominant “opportunistic bacteria” (46% presumably responsible of nosocomial infections, while in the out-patients are Enterobacteriaceae the prevalent microrganisms isolated.

Systematic versus random sampling in stereological studies.

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West, Mark J

2012-12-01

The sampling that takes place at all levels of an experimental design must be random if the estimate is to be unbiased in a statistical sense. There are two fundamental ways by which one can make a random sample of the sections and positions to be probed on the sections. Using a card-sampling analogy, one can pick any card at all out of a deck of cards. This is referred to as independent random sampling because the sampling of any one card is made without reference to the position of the other cards. The other approach to obtaining a random sample would be to pick a card within a set number of cards and others at equal intervals within the deck. Systematic sampling along one axis of many biological structures is more efficient than random sampling, because most biological structures are not randomly organized. This article discusses the merits of systematic versus random sampling in stereological studies.

Community-based intermittent mass testing and treatment for malaria in an area of high transmission intensity, western Kenya: study design and methodology for a cluster randomized controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Samuels, Aaron M; Awino, Nobert; Odongo, Wycliffe; Abong'o, Benard; Gimnig, John; Otieno, Kephas; Shi, Ya Ping; Were, Vincent; Allen, Denise Roth; Were, Florence; Sang, Tony; Obor, David; Williamson, John; Hamel, Mary J; Patrick Kachur, S; Slutsker, Laurence; Lindblade, Kim A; Kariuki, Simon; Desai, Meghna

2017-06-07

Most human Plasmodium infections in western Kenya are asymptomatic and are believed to contribute importantly to malaria transmission. Elimination of asymptomatic infections requires active treatment approaches, such as mass testing and treatment (MTaT) or mass drug administration (MDA), as infected persons do not seek care for their infection. Evaluations of community-based approaches that are designed to reduce malaria transmission require careful attention to study design to ensure that important effects can be measured accurately. This manuscript describes the study design and methodology of a cluster-randomized controlled trial to evaluate a MTaT approach for malaria transmission reduction in an area of high malaria transmission. Ten health facilities in western Kenya were purposively selected for inclusion. The communities within 3 km of each health facility were divided into three clusters of approximately equal population size. Two clusters around each health facility were randomly assigned to the control arm, and one to the intervention arm. Three times per year for 2 years, after the long and short rains, and again before the long rains, teams of community health volunteers visited every household within the intervention arm, tested all consenting individuals with malaria rapid diagnostic tests, and treated all positive individuals with an effective anti-malarial. The effect of mass testing and treatment on malaria transmission was measured through population-based longitudinal cohorts, outpatient visits for clinical malaria, periodic population-based cross-sectional surveys, and entomological indices.

Influence of Ventilation Strategies and Anesthetic Techniques on Regional Cerebral Oximetry in the Beach Chair Position: A Prospective Interventional Study with a Randomized Comparison of Two Anesthetics.

Science.gov (United States)

Picton, Paul; Dering, Andrew; Alexander, Amir; Neff, Mary; Miller, Bruce S; Shanks, Amy; Housey, Michelle; Mashour, George A

2015-10-01

Beach chair positioning during general anesthesia is associated with cerebral oxygen desaturation. Changes in cerebral oxygenation resulting from the interaction of inspired oxygen fraction (FIO2), end-tidal carbon dioxide (PETCO2), and anesthetic choice have not been fully evaluated in anesthetized patients in the beach chair position. This is a prospective interventional within-group study of patients undergoing shoulder surgery in the beach chair position that incorporated a randomized comparison between two anesthetics. Fifty-six patients were randomized to receive desflurane or total intravenous anesthesia with propofol. Following induction of anesthesia and positioning, FIO2 and minute ventilation were sequentially adjusted for all patients. Regional cerebral oxygenation (rSO2) was the primary outcome and was recorded at each of five set points. While maintaining FIO2 at 0.3 and PETCO2 at 30 mmHg, there was a decrease in rSO2 from 68% (SD, 12) to 61% (SD, 12) (P positioning. The combined interventions of increasing FIO2 to 1.0 and increasing PETCO2 to 45 mmHg resulted in a 14% point improvement in rSO2 to 75% (SD, 12) (P position. There was no significant interaction effect of the anesthetic at the study intervention points. Increasing FIO2 and PETCO2 resulted in a significant increase in rSO2 that overcomes desaturation in patients anesthetized in the beach chair position and that appears independent of anesthetic choice.

Diagnostic Role of Head-Bending and Lying-Down Tests in Lateral Canal Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo.

Science.gov (United States)

Yetiser, Sertac; Ince, Dilay

2015-08-01

To compare the diagnostic value of the head-bending test (HBT), lying-down positioning test (LDPT) and patient's report to identify the affected canal in video-nystagmographically (VNG) confirmed patients with lateral canal benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (LC-BPPV). Case series with chart review. Head-bending, lying-down positioning and the head-roll maneuver (HRM) under VNG guidance. The data were collected in a referral community hospital. Seventy-eight patients (32 apogeotropic and 46 geotropic nystagmus) with LC-BPPV who had been recruited between 2009 and 2013 were enrolled in the study. Patients were tested with the HRM and then were asked about subjectively worse side. Later, they were subjected to HBT when sitting and the LDPT. The results were compared and studied with the 1-way ANOVA and chi-square tests. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. Affected side was identified by HRM in 75% of patients with apogeotropic nystagmus and 95.6% of patients with geotropic nystagmus. Approximately 65.6% of patients with apogeotropic and 52% of patients with geotropic nystagmus had nystagmus during LDPT. However, its comparability with HRM was low. However, treatment plan based on LDPT results alone provided relief of symptoms in additional 12.5% of patients with apogeotropic and in 2.2% of patients with geotropic nystagmus. Approximately 63% of patients with apogeotropic and 56% of patients with geotropic nystagmus were able to tell the worse side. Nystagmus comparable with HRM during HBT was low and not diagnostic. HRM has the greatest diagnostic value of positioning tests in LC-BPPV in this study. LDPT provides some contribution in the diagnosis of LC-BPPV but much less than HRM. Patients' subjective feeling of vertigo was also a useful test. However, HBT was not as sensitive as other measures in uncertain cases.

Impact of relative position vehicle-wind blower in a roller test bench under climatic chamber

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fernández-Yáñez, P.; Armas, O.; Martínez-Martínez, S.

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Air simulation model was developed for a vehicle test bench under climatic chamber. • Good accuracy between experimental data and simulated values were obtained. • Wind blower-vehicle relative position alters external cooling of after-treatment devices. • Vehicle emission certification can be affected by wind blower-vehicle relative position. - Abstract: In terms of energy efficiency and exhaust emissions control, an appropriate design of cooling systems of climatic chambers destined to vehicle certification and/or perform scientific research is becoming increasingly important. European vehicle emissions certification (New European Driving Cycle, NEDC) establishes the position of the wind-simulation blower at 200 mm above floor level. This height is fixed and kept constant independently of the vehicle tested. The position of the blower with respect to the vehicle can modify the external forced convection under the car, where after-treatment devices are located. Consequently, the performance of such devices could be modified and emission results during the certification cycle could be non-representative of real-world driving conditions. The aim of this work is to study the influence of different wind blower-vehicle relative heights on the air velocity and temperature profiles under the car by means of a simple computational fluid dynamics (CFD) approach. A steady state three-dimensional CFD model was developed and applied to the estimation of the air velocity and temperature profiles inside of a climatic chamber equipped with a vehicle roller (chassis dyno) test bench. The simulations reproduce one steady-state condition from NEDC, specifically the EU17 mode (120 km/h, maximum velocity during the cycle). The cool air propelling temperature was 20 °C (minimum temperature in the NEDC range). Simulations were performed employing the Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) approach with the realizable k-ε model to provide closure. Air velocity and

[An attempt to construct a Japanese version of the Implicit Positive and Negative Affect Test (IPANAT)].

Science.gov (United States)

Shimoda, Shunsuke; Okubo, Nobutoshi; Kobayashi, Mai; Sato, Shigetaka; Kitamura, Hideya

2014-08-01

The Implicit Positive and Negative Affect Test (IPANAT) is an instrument for the indirect assessment of positive and negative affect. A Japanese version of the IPANAT was developed and its reliability and validity were examined. In Study 1, factor analysis identified two independent factors that could be interpreted as implicit positive and negative affect, which corresponded to the original version. The Japanese IPANAT also had sufficient internal consistency and acceptable test-retest reliability. In Study 2, we demonstrated that the Japanese IPANAT was associated with explicit state affect (e.g., PANAS), extraversion, and neuroticism, which indicated its adequate construct validity. In Study 3, we examined the extent to which the Japanese IPANAT was sensitive to changes in affect by assessing a set of IPANAT items after the presentation of positive, negative, or neutral photographs. The results indicated that the Japanese IPANAT was sufficiently sensitive to changes in affect resulting from affective stimuli. Taken together, these studies suggest that the Japanese version of the IPANAT is a useful instrument for the indirect assessment of positive and negative affect.

Determination of specificity and pattern of antinuclear antibodies (ana) in systemic rheumatic disease patients positive for ana testing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nawaz, H.; Bashir, M.M.; Iqbal, W.

2018-01-01

To determine probability of finding antinuclear antibodies (ANA) and anti extractable nuclear antigens (ENA) positive samples and associating ANA patterns with anti-ENA reactivities among a consecutive cohort of samples of systemic rheumatic disease patients referred for ANA testing. Study Design:Prospective cohort study. Place and Duration of Study:Immunology Department, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Rawalpindi, Pakistan, from January to June 2016. Methodology:All the samples referred for ANA testing with clinical suspicion of systemic rheumatic disease were included. After screening, ANA positive samples were subjected to anti-ENA antibodies testing (including anti-SSA, anti-SSB, anti-Sm, anti-RNP, anti-SCL-70 and anti-Jo-1 antibodies) and ANA pattern and titer determination. Results:Of 4,347 samples received, 397 were positive for ANA (9%). Of 397, 96 (24%) samples positive on ENA screen were tested for anti-ENA reactivity. Anti-SSA antibodies were found in 59 samples. Commonest ANA patterns were coarse and fine speckled (43 and 22 samples of 81 tested), while majority of samples carried ANA in titers of 1:40 and 1:80 (22 and 18 samples of 81 tested). No specific ANA pattern was associated with any particular anti-ENA reactivity. Conclusion:Among samples/patients referred for investigations of autoimmune disorders, probability of finding positive ANA is approximately 9%. Of these 9%, about 24% also show reactivity against ENA. Commonest ANA pattern is coarse speckled and majority of such patients carry ANA in titers ranging from 1:40 to 1:80. Commonest ENA reactivity was against SSA. (author)

Pseudo-Random Sequences Generated by a Class of One-Dimensional Smooth Map

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Xing-Yuan; Qin, Xue; Xie, Yi-Xin

2011-08-01

We extend a class of a one-dimensional smooth map. We make sure that for each desired interval of the parameter the map's Lyapunov exponent is positive. Then we propose a novel parameter perturbation method based on the good property of the extended one-dimensional smooth map. We perturb the parameter r in each iteration by the real number xi generated by the iteration. The auto-correlation function and NIST statistical test suite are taken to illustrate the method's randomness finally. We provide an application of this method in image encryption. Experiments show that the pseudo-random sequences are suitable for this application.

Beam position determination for the Test Storage Ring

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baumann, P.

1987-01-01

The Test Storage Ring (TSR) for heavy ions, currently under design and construction at the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics in Heidelberg, requires an extensive beam diagnostics system in order to enable it to operate without friction. This thesis concerns the beam position determination sub-system of this diagnostics system which is intended to determine the beam center of gravity of a bunched beam inside the cross section of the beam tube in a non-destructive manner. An electrostatic pickup is used to sense the location of the beam; the mode of operation of this device will be explained in detail. The signals go to a preamplifier from where they are then sent via a multiplex system to the measuring unit. This point also represents the interface to the computer system that controls the TSR. The prototype developed here was tested with the aid of a particle beam, as well as with other measurement methods. Resolutions of better than 1 mm about the center have been measured. In order to achieve or even improve such resolutions later in actual operation, it is possible to determine the properties of the preamplifiers with the aid of calibration signals and to take these into account in the course of the signal evaluation in the computer. The differences between the individual electrodes of a given pickup must also be compensated. These procedures and their associated electronic circuits are also described in this paper

Effects of cognitive behavioral therapy with relaxation vs. imagery rescripting on test anxiety: A randomized controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Reiss, Neele; Warnecke, Irene; Tolgou, Theano; Krampen, Dorothea; Luka-Krausgrill, Ursula; Rohrmann, Sonja

2017-01-15

Test anxiety is a common condition in students, which may lead to impaired academic performance as well as to distress. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of two cognitive-behavioral interventions designed to reduce test anxiety. Test anxiety in the participants was diagnosed as social or specific phobia according to DSM-IV. Subsequently subjects were randomized to three groups: a moderated self-help group, which served as a control group, and two treatment groups, where either relaxation techniques or imagery rescripting were applied. Students suffering from test anxiety were recruited at two German universities (n=180). The randomized controlled design comprised three groups which received test anxiety treatment in weekly three-hour sessions over a period of five weeks. Treatment outcome was assessed with a test anxiety questionnaire, which was administered before and after treatment, as well as in a six-month follow-up. A repeated-measures ANOVA for participants with complete data (n=59) revealed a significant reduction of test anxiety from baseline to six-month follow-up in all three treatment groups (panxiety. The sample may therefore represent only more severe forms of text anxiety . Moreover, the sample size in this study was small, the numbers of participants per group differed, and treatment results were based on self-report. Due to the length of the treatment, an implementation of the group treatments used in this study might not be feasible in all settings. Group treatments constitute an effective method of treating test anxiety, e.g. in university settings. Imagery rescripting may particularly contribute to treatment efficacy. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The continuous reaction time test for minimal hepatic encephalopathy validated by a randomized controlled multi-modal intervention-A pilot study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lauridsen, M M; Mikkelsen, S; Svensson, T

2017-01-01

Background: Minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE) is clinically undetectable and the diagnosis requires psychometric tests. However, a lack of clarity exists as to whether the tests are in fact able to detect changes in cognition. Aim: To examine if the continuous reaction time test (CRT) can detect...... changes in cognition with anti-HE intervention in patients with cirrhosis and without clinically manifest hepatic encephalopathy (HE). Methods: Firstly, we conducted a reproducibility analysis and secondly measured change in CRT induced by anti-HE treatment in a randomized controlled pilot study: We...... stratified 44 patients with liver cirrhosis and without clinically manifest HE according to a normal (n = 22) or abnormal (n = 22) CRT. Each stratum was then block randomized to receive multimodal anti-HE intervention (lactulose+branched-chain amino acids+rifaximin) or triple placebos for 3 months...

Ambient Modal Testing of the Vestvej Bridge using Random Decrement

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Asmussen, J. C.; Brincker, Rune; Rytter, A.

This paper presents an ambient vibration study of the Vestvej Bridge. The bridge is a typically Danish two-span concrete bridge which crosses a highway. The purpose of the study is to perform a pre-investigation of the dynamic behavior to obtain information for the design of a demonstration project...... concerning application of vibration based inspection of bridges. The data analysis process of ambient vribration testing of bridges has traditionally been based on auto and cross spectral densities estimated using an FFT algorithm. In the pre-analysis state the spectral densities are all averaged to obtain...... measurements might have a low signal to noise ratio. Thus, it might be difficult clearly to identify physical modes from the spectral densities. The Random Decrement (RD) technique is another method to perform the data analysis process in the time domain only. It is basically a very simple and very easily...

Ambient Modal Testing of the Vestvej Bridge using Random Decrement

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Asmussen, J. C.; Brincker, Rune; Rytter, A.

1998-01-01

This paper presents an ambient vibration study of the Vestvej Bridge. The bridge is a typically Danish two-span concrete bridge which crosses a highway. The purpose of the study is to perform a pre-investigation of the dynamic behavior to obtain information for the design of a demonstration project...... concerning application of vibration based inspection of bridges. The data analysis process of ambient vribration testing of bridges has traditionally been based on auto and cross spectral densities estimated using an FFT algorithm. In the pre-analysis state the spectral densities are all averaged to obtain...... measurements might have a low signal to noise ratio. Thus, it might be difficult clearly to identify physical modes from the spectral densities. The Random Decrement (RD) technique is another method to perform the data analysis process in the time domain only. It is basically a very simple and very easily...

Reliability and Validity Assessment of a Linear Position Transducer

Science.gov (United States)

Garnacho-Castaño, Manuel V.; López-Lastra, Silvia; Maté-Muñoz, José L.

2015-01-01

The objectives of the study were to determine the validity and reliability of peak velocity (PV), average velocity (AV), peak power (PP) and average power (AP) measurements were made using a linear position transducer. Validity was assessed by comparing measurements simultaneously obtained using the Tendo Weightlifting Analyzer Systemi and T-Force Dynamic Measurement Systemr (Ergotech, Murcia, Spain) during two resistance exercises, bench press (BP) and full back squat (BS), performed by 71 trained male subjects. For the reliability study, a further 32 men completed both lifts using the Tendo Weightlifting Analyzer Systemz in two identical testing sessions one week apart (session 1 vs. session 2). Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) indicating the validity of the Tendo Weightlifting Analyzer Systemi were high, with values ranging from 0.853 to 0.989. Systematic biases and random errors were low to moderate for almost all variables, being higher in the case of PP (bias ±157.56 W; error ±131.84 W). Proportional biases were identified for almost all variables. Test-retest reliability was strong with ICCs ranging from 0.922 to 0.988. Reliability results also showed minimal systematic biases and random errors, which were only significant for PP (bias -19.19 W; error ±67.57 W). Only PV recorded in the BS showed no significant proportional bias. The Tendo Weightlifting Analyzer Systemi emerged as a reliable system for measuring movement velocity and estimating power in resistance exercises. The low biases and random errors observed here (mainly AV, AP) make this device a useful tool for monitoring resistance training. Key points This study determined the validity and reliability of peak velocity, average velocity, peak power and average power measurements made using a linear position transducer The Tendo Weight-lifting Analyzer Systemi emerged as a reliable system for measuring movement velocity and power. PMID:25729300

Testing Theoretical Relationships: Factors Influencing Positive Health Practices (PHP) in Filipino College Students

Science.gov (United States)

Ayres, Cynthia; Mahat, Ganga; Atkins, Robert

2013-01-01

Objective: To examine variables influencing the positive health practices (PHP) of Filipino college students to gain a better understanding of health practices in this ethnic/racial group. Cross-sectional study tested theoretical relationships postulated among (a) PHP, (b) social support (SS), (c) optimism, and (d) acculturation. Participants: A…

Random packing of colloids and granular matter

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wouterse, A.

2008-01-01

This thesis deals with the random packing of colloids and granular matter. A random packing is a stable disordered collection of touching particles, without long-range positional and orientational order. Experimental random packings of particles with the same shape but made of different materials

Investigating Psychometric Properties of the Persian Version of Positive Psychotherapy Inventory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Z Ghorbani

2015-08-01

Full Text Available The purpose of the study was to investigate psychometric properties of the Persian version of positive psychotherapy inventory in university students. Research method was descriptive, correlational type. The sample of the study consist of 432 MS and PhD students, 225 female and 207 male, aged between 23 to 45 of state universities of Tehran who were selected through multi-stage random sampling. To study reliability, convergent and structural validity of instrument the sample group completed, positive psychotherapy inventory (Rashid and Oxford Happiness Inventory (Argyle and Hills. To investigating the reliability Cronbach alpha and test- retest method, and for validity of instrument structural validity exploratory factor analysis method and convergent validity were used. Results showed the total internal consistency of positive psychotherapy inventory was 0.80 and subscales internal consistency was between 0.80 to 0.92 respectively. In addition test-retest reliability coefficient was 0.70 for total inventory and between 0.63 to 0.73 for the subscales. Also the correlation coefficients between positive psychotherapy inventory and oxford happiness inventory were 0.73, which indicated a satisfactory convergent validity for positive psychotherapy inventory. Confirmatory factor analysis results showed three factors model of positive psychotherapy inventory in the Iranian sample. These three factors explained 79.99 variance of total inventory.

A safe-repositioning maneuver for the management of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo: Gans vs. Epley maneuver; a randomized comparative clinical trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Saberi, Alia; Nemati, Shadman; Sabnan, Salah; Mollahoseini, Fatemeh; Kazemnejad, Ehsan

2017-08-01

Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) is the most common cause of peripheral vertigo. Some repositioning maneuvers have been described for its management. The aim of this study was comparing the therapeutic effect of Epley and Gans maneuvers in BPPV. This randomized clinical trial was performed from September to December 2015. 73 patients with true vertigo diagnosed as BPPV enrolled the study. They randomly assigned in quadripartite blocks to modified Epley maneuver group (E) or Gans maneuver group (G). 1 day and 1 week after intervention, the objective and subjective responses to treatment were assessed. Statistical analysis was performed using the Chi-square test and regression model in the SPSS software version 21. Thirty patients enrolled each group with a mean age of 46.9 ± 13.4 (E group) and 46.7 ± 7.5 year (G group). 23.3 % of E group and 26.7 % of G group were men (p = 0.766). In E and G groups in the first day, subjective outcomes revealed 86.7 and 60 % rate of success (p = 0.02); and 86.7 and 56.7 % of patients exhibited objective improvement, respectively (p = 0.01). After 1 week, the subjective and objective outcomes revealed improvement among 70 % of E group and 46.7 % of G group (p = 0.067). The only complication with significant difference was cervical pain with a higher rate in E group (23.3 vs. 0.0 %, p = 0.005). These results revealed the similar long-term efficacy of Epley and Gans maneuver for the treatment of BPPV. Cervical pain was most frequent complication of Epley maneuver.

A randomized controlled trial of an intervention program to Brazilian mothers who use corporal punishment.

Science.gov (United States)

Santini, Paolla Magioni; Williams, Lucia C A

2017-09-01

This study evaluated a positive parenting program to Brazilian mothers who used corporal punishment with their children. The intervention was conducted in four agencies serving vulnerable children, and at a home replica laboratory at the University. Mothers who admitted using corporal punishment were randomly assigned between experimental (n=20) and control group (n=20). The program consisted of 12 individual sessions using one unit from Projeto Parceria (Partnership Project), with specific guidelines and materials on positive parenting, followed by observational sessions of mother-child interaction with live coaching and a video feedback session in the lab. The study used an equivalent group experimental design with pre/post-test and follow-up, in randomized controlled trials. Measures involved: Initial Interview; Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) - parent and child versions; Beck Depression Inventory (BDI); observational sessions with a protocol; and a Program Evaluation by participants. Analysis of mixed models for repeated measures revealed significant positive effects on the BDI and SDQ total scores, as well as less Conduct problems and Hyperactivity in SDQ measures from the experimental group mothers, comparing pre with post-test. Observational data also indicated significant improvement in positive interaction from the experimental group mothers at post-test, in comparison with controls. No significant results were found, however, in children's observational measures. Limitations of the study involved using a restricted sample, among others. Implications for future research are suggested. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A randomized trial of a cognitive-behavioral therapy and hypnosis intervention on positive and negative affect during breast cancer radiotherapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Schnur, Julie B; David, Daniel; Kangas, Maria; Green, Sheryl; Bovbjerg, Dana H; Montgomery, Guy H

2009-04-01

Breast cancer radiotherapy can be an emotionally difficult experience. Despite this, few studies have examined the effectiveness of psychological interventions to reduce negative affect, and none to date have explicitly examined interventions to improve positive affect among breast cancer radiotherapy patients. The present study examined the effectiveness of a multimodal psychotherapeutic approach, combining cognitive-behavioral therapy and hypnosis (CBTH), to reduce negative affect and increase positive affect in 40 women undergoing breast cancer radiotherapy. Participants were randomly assigned to receive either CBTH or standard care. Participants completed weekly self-report measures of positive and negative affect. Repeated and univariate analyses of variance revealed that the CBTH approach reduced levels of negative affect [F(1, 38)=13.49; p=.0007, omega(2)=.56], and increased levels of positive affect [F(1, 38)=9.67; p=.0035, omega(2)=.48], during the course of radiotherapy. Additionally, relative to the control group, the CBTH group demonstrated significantly more intense positive affect [F(1, 38)=7.09; p=.0113, d=.71] and significantly less intense negative affect [F(1, 38)=10.30; p=.0027, d=.90] during radiotherapy. The CBTH group also had a significantly higher frequency of days where positive affect was greater than negative affect (85% of days assessed for the CBTH group versus 43% of the Control group) [F(1, 38)=18.16; p=.0001, d=1.16]. Therefore, the CBTH intervention has the potential to improve the affective experience of women undergoing breast cancer radiotherapy.

Research of built-in self test technology on cable-free self-positioning seismograph

Science.gov (United States)

Huaizhu, Z.; Lin, J.; Chen, Z.; Zhang, L.; Yang, H.; Zheng, F.

2011-12-01

Cable-free self-positioning seismograph is the key instrument and equipment required for deep seismic exploration in China. In order to measure the performance of seismic data acquisition systems whether meet exploration requirements , to ensure the accuracy of seismic data, and to ensure equipment reliability and stability, a built-in self test solution of the cable-free self-positioning seismic recorder is provided. Within a 24-bits Σ-Δ DAC, the seismograph can produce sine, step, pulse and other high-precision analog test signal, with dynamic range of 120dB or more, through the FPGA to control the analog multiplexer switching the input signal acquisition channels, and start the 24-bit Σ-Δ ADC in the instrument internal simultaneously to acquisition the test signal data, carries on the fast Fournier transformation by instrument internal CPU, to achieve the instrument of analysis and calculation of performance indicators, including: the equivalent noise and drift, common mode rejection ratio (CMRR), crosstalk, harmonic distortion, dynamic range, channel response consistency, detector impulse response , etc. A lot of testing experiments about the various parameters were performed and studied currently. By setting different sampling rate (1Hz, 5Hz, ..., 4kHz), each of the measurement system noise level was measured, and the maximum noise is about 0.5μV; the crosstalk between channels was tested using the 31.25Hz sine wave, the result is more than-120dB with sampling rate of 1kHz; the harmonic distortion was measured by adding the high-precision sine wave signals of different frequencies, such as 500Hz, 250 Hz, 125 Hz, 62.5 Hz, 31.25 Hz, 15.625 Hz, 7.812 Hz, 3.90625Hz, etc. the calculated results is in-118dB or more. The experimental results show that, the parameters of the cable-free self-positioning of the seismic recorder meet the technical requirements for the deep exploration, compared to the corresponding parameters with the 428XL seismograph of the French

Biological false-positive venereal disease research laboratory test in cerebrospinal fluid in the diagnosis of neurosyphilis - a case-control study.

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, S; Lin, R J; Chan, Y H; Ngan, C C L

2018-03-01

There is no clear consensus on the diagnosis of neurosyphilis. The Venereal Disease Research Laboratory (VDRL) test from cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) has traditionally been considered the gold standard for diagnosing neurosyphilis but is widely known to be insensitive. In this study, we compared the clinical and laboratory characteristics of true-positive VDRL-CSF cases with biological false-positive VDRL-CSF cases. We retrospectively identified cases of true and false-positive VDRL-CSF across a 3-year period received by the Immunology and Serology Laboratory, Singapore General Hospital. A biological false-positive VDRL-CSF is defined as a reactive VDRL-CSF with a non-reactive Treponema pallidum particle agglutination (TPPA)-CSF and/or negative Line Immuno Assay (LIA)-CSF IgG. A true-positive VDRL-CSF is a reactive VDRL-CSF with a concordant reactive TPPA-CSF and/or positive LIA-CSF IgG. During the study period, a total of 1254 specimens underwent VDRL-CSF examination. Amongst these, 60 specimens from 53 patients tested positive for VDRL-CSF. Of the 53 patients, 42 (79.2%) were true-positive cases and 11 (20.8%) were false-positive cases. In our setting, a positive non-treponemal serology has 97.6% sensitivity, 100% specificity, 100% positive predictive value and 91.7% negative predictive value for a true-positive VDRL-CSF based on our laboratory definition. HIV seropositivity was an independent predictor of a true-positive VDRL-CSF. Biological false-positive VDRL-CSF is common in a setting where patients are tested without first establishing a serological diagnosis of syphilis. Serological testing should be performed prior to CSF evaluation for neurosyphilis. © 2017 European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology.

A Targeted and Tailored eHealth Weight Loss Program for Young Women: The Be Positive Be Healthe Randomized Controlled Trial

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Melinda J. Hutchesson

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Young women are gaining weight rapidly. Evidence for effective weight loss interventions targeting young women is lacking. This randomized controlled trial assessed the efficacy and acceptability of a six-month targeted and tailored eHealth weight loss program for young women (Be Positive Be Healthe (BPBH. Women aged 18–35 years were randomized to BPBH (n = 29 or control (n = 28. BPBH supported participants to modify diet and physical activity behaviours using evidenced-based strategies (e.g., self-monitoring tailored for young women and delivered using e-health (website, social media, smartphone application, email, text messages. The primary outcome was a change in weight (kg at six months. Acceptability was assessed via a process evaluation survey and usage of intervention components. No significant between-group differences were observed for weight, with significant mean differences favouring the intervention group observed for body fat (kg (−3.10 (−5.69, 0.52, p = 0.019 and intakes of alcohol (g (−0.69 (−1.33, 0.04, p = 0.037, vegetables (% energy/day (4.71 (−2.20, 7.22, p < 0.001 and energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods (% energy/day (−9.23 (−16.94, 1.52, p = 0.018. Retention, intervention usage and satisfaction were moderate. BPBH facilitated positive improvements in body fat and dietary intake, but not weight. Intervention acceptability findings support the use of some intervention components (e.g., Facebook, Smartphone app with young women.

Trastuzumab in the adjuvant treatment of HER2-positive early breast cancer patients: a meta-analysis of published randomized controlled trials.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wenjin Yin

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Adjuvant trastuzumab therapy has yielded conflicting results for overall survival, concerns about central nervous system (CNS metastasis, and questions about optimal schedule. Therefore, we carried out a meta-analysis to assess the benefits of concurrent or sequential trastuzumab with adjuvant chemotherapy for early breast cancer patients with HER2-positive tumors. METHODS: Computerized and manual searches were performed to identify randomized clinical trials comparing adjuvant chemotherapy with or without trastuzumab in HER2-positive early breast cancer patients. Odds ratios were used to estimate the association between the addition of trastuzumab to adjuvant chemotherapy and various survival outcomes. The fixed-effects or random-effects model was used to combine data. FINDINGS: With six eligible studies identified, this analysis demonstrated that patients with HER2-positive breast cancer derived benefit in disease-free survival, overall survival, locoregional recurrence and distant recurrence (all P<0.001 from the addition of trastuzumab to adjuvant chemotherapy, whereas trastuzumab did worse in CNS recurrence as compared to the control group (P = 0.018. Furthermore, concomitant use of trastuzumab significantly lowered the hazard of death (P<0.001 but bore a higher incidence of CNS recurrence (P = 0.010, while statistical significance failed to be discerned for either overall survival (P = 0.069 or CNS metastasis (P = 0.374 between the sequential and observation arms. CONCLUSION: This analysis verifies the efficacy of trastuzumab in the adjuvant setting. Additionally, our findings indirectly corroborate the superiority of concurrent trastuzumab to sequential use and also illuminate that prolonged survival is the possible reason for the higher incidence of CNS with trastuzumab versus observation.

Reduced Osteogenesis of Human Osteogenic Precursors' Cells Cultured in the Random Positioning Machine

Science.gov (United States)

Gershovich, J. G.; Buravkova, L. B.

2008-06-01

Recent studies have shown that simulated microgravity (SMG) results in altered proliferation and differentiation not only osteoblasts but also affects on osteogenic capacity of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) from various sources. For present study we used system that simulates effects of microgravity produced by the Random Positioning Machine (RPM). Cultured MCSs from human bone marrow and human osteoblasts (OBs) were exposed to SMG at RPM for 10-40 days. Induced osteogenesis of these progenitor cells was compared with the appropriate static (1g) and dynamic (horizontal shaker) controls. Clinorotated OBs and MSCs showed proliferation rate lower than static and dynamic control groups of cells in the early terms of SMG. Significant reduction of ALP activity was detected after 10 days of clinorotation of MSCs. There was no such dramatic difference in ALP activity of MSCs derived cells between SMG and control groups after 20 days of clinorotation but the expression of ALP was still reduced. However, virtually no matrix mineralization was found in OBs cultured under SMG conditions in the presence of differentiation stimuli. The similar effect was observed when we assayed matrix calcification of MSCs derived cultures. Thus, our results confirm low gravity mediated reduction of osteogenesis of different osteogenic precursors' cells and can clarify the mechanisms of bone loss during spaceflight.

Empirical versus Random Item Selection in the Design of Intelligence Test Short Forms--The WISC-R Example.

Science.gov (United States)

Goh, David S.

1979-01-01

The advantages of using psychometric thoery to design short forms of intelligence tests are demonstrated by comparing such usage to a systematic random procedure that has previously been used. The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children Revised (WISC-R) Short Form is presented as an example. (JKS)

Cost Analysis of the STONE Randomized Trial: Can Health Care Costs be Reduced One Test at a Time?

Science.gov (United States)

Melnikow, Joy; Xing, Guibo; Cox, Ginger; Leigh, Paul; Mills, Lisa; Miglioretti, Diana L; Moghadassi, Michelle; Smith-Bindman, Rebecca

2016-04-01

Decreasing the use of high-cost tests may reduce health care costs. To compare costs of care for patients presenting to the emergency department (ED) with suspected kidney stones randomized to 1 of 3 initial imaging tests. Patients were randomized to point-of-care ultrasound (POC US, least costly), radiology ultrasound (RAD US), or computed tomography (CT, most costly). Subsequent testing and treatment were the choice of the treating physician. A total of 2759 patients at 15 EDs were randomized to POC US (n=908), RAD US, (n=893), or CT (n=958). Mean age was 40.4 years; 51.8% were male. All medical care documented in the trial database in the 7 days following enrollment was abstracted and coded to estimate costs using national average 2012 Medicare reimbursements. Costs for initial ED care and total 7-day costs were compared using nonparametric bootstrap to account for clustering of patients within medical centers. Initial ED visit costs were modestly lower for patients assigned to RAD US: $423 ($411, $434) compared with patients assigned to CT: $448 ($438, $459) (Pcosts were not significantly different between groups: $1014 ($912, $1129) for POC US, $970 ($878, $1078) for RAD US, and $959 ($870, $1044) for CT. Hospital admissions contributed over 50% of total costs, though only 11% of patients were admitted. Mean total costs (and admission rates) varied substantially by site from $749 to $1239. Assignment to a less costly test had no impact on overall health care costs for ED patients. System-level interventions addressing variation in admission rates from the ED might have greater impact on costs.

Instilling positive beliefs about disabilities: pilot testing a novel experiential learning activity for rehabilitation students.

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Silverman, Arielle M; Pitonyak, Jennifer S; Nelson, Ian K; Matsuda, Patricia N; Kartin, Deborah; Molton, Ivan R

2018-05-01

To develop and test a novel impairment simulation activity to teach beginning rehabilitation students how people adapt to physical impairments. Masters of Occupational Therapy students (n = 14) and Doctor of Physical Therapy students (n = 18) completed the study during the first month of their program. Students were randomized to the experimental or control learning activity. Experimental students learned to perform simple tasks while simulating paraplegia and hemiplegia. Control students viewed videos of others completing tasks with these impairments. Before and after the learning activities, all students estimated average self-perceived health, life satisfaction, and depression ratings among people with paraplegia and hemiplegia. Experimental students increased their estimates of self-perceived health, and decreased their estimates of depression rates, among people with paraplegia and hemiplegia after the learning activity. The control activity had no effect on these estimates. Impairment simulation can be an effective way to teach rehabilitation students about the adaptations that people make to physical impairments. Positive impairment simulations should allow students to experience success in completing activities of daily living with impairments. Impairment simulation is complementary to other pedagogical methods, such as simulated clinical encounters using standardized patients. Implication of Rehabilitation It is important for rehabilitation students to learn how people live well with disabilities. Impairment simulations can improve students' assessments of quality of life with disabilities. To be beneficial, impairment simulations must include guided exposure to effective methods for completing daily tasks with disabilities.

Feedback enhances the positive effects and reduces the negative effects of multiple-choice testing.

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Butler, Andrew C; Roediger, Henry L

2008-04-01

Multiple-choice tests are used frequently in higher education without much consideration of the impact this form of assessment has on learning. Multiple-choice testing enhances retention of the material tested (the testing effect); however, unlike other tests, multiple-choice can also be detrimental because it exposes students to misinformation in the form of lures. The selection of lures can lead students to acquire false knowledge (Roediger & Marsh, 2005). The present research investigated whether feedback could be used to boost the positive effects and reduce the negative effects of multiple-choice testing. Subjects studied passages and then received a multiple-choice test with immediate feedback, delayed feedback, or no feedback. In comparison with the no-feedback condition, both immediate and delayed feedback increased the proportion of correct responses and reduced the proportion of intrusions (i.e., lure responses from the initial multiple-choice test) on a delayed cued recall test. Educators should provide feedback when using multiple-choice tests.

Influence of position and stimulation parameters on intracortical inhibition and facilitation in human tongue motor cortex

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kothari, Mohit; Svensson, Peter; Nielsen, Jørgen Feldbæk

Paired-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (ppTMS) can be used to assess short-interval intracortical inhibitory (SICI) and facilitatory (ICF) networks. The aim of the study was to examine the influence of body positions (recline and supine), inter-stimulus intervals (ISI) between the test...... recorded from contralateral tongue muscles. In study 1, single pulse and three ppTMS ISIs: 2, 10, 15 ms were applied 8 times each in three blocks (TS: 120%, 140% and 160% of resting motor threshold (rMT); CS: 80% of rMT) in two different body positions (recline and supine) randomly. In study 2, single...... pulse and four ppTMS ISIs: 2, 2.5, 3, 3.5 ms were applied 8 times each in randomized order in two blocks (CS: 70% and 80% of rMT; TS: 120% of rMT). There was a significant effect of body position (P=0.049), TS intensities (P

Misuse of randomization

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Liu, Jianping; Kjaergard, Lise Lotte; Gluud, Christian

2002-01-01

The quality of randomization of Chinese randomized trials on herbal medicines for hepatitis B was assessed. Search strategy and inclusion criteria were based on the published protocol. One hundred and seventy-six randomized clinical trials (RCTs) involving 20,452 patients with chronic hepatitis B...... virus (HBV) infection were identified that tested Chinese medicinal herbs. They were published in 49 Chinese journals. Only 10% (18/176) of the studies reported the method by which they randomized patients. Only two reported allocation concealment and were considered as adequate. Twenty percent (30...

The effect of fish oil on two-step tuberculin test in hospitalized patients: A randomized controlled trial