1,721,078 research outputs found
Psychometric properties of a Spanish version of the McGill Pain Questionnaire in several Spanish-speaking countries
No full textObjective: Versions of the McGill Pain Questionnaire are available in a several languages and are used in clinical studies and sociocultural or ethnic comparisons of pain issues. However, there is a lack of studies that compare the validity and reliability of the instrument in the countries where it is used. The current study investigates the psychometric properties of a Spanish version of the McGill Pain Questionnaire in five Spanish-speaking countries.Design: The authors conducted a multicenter and transnational study with one investigator in each center. Patients were evaluated once with a Spanish version of the McGill Pain Questionnaire, a visual analog scale, and a verbal rating scale.Setting: The study was performed in pain clinics and acute pain units of four Latin American countries (Argentina, Costa Rica, Mexico, and Panama) and Spain.Patients: The study included 205 patients (84 with acute pain, 121 with chronic pain) from Latin America. Their data were compared with those of 282 Spanish patients.Interventions: The McGill Pain Questionnaire, visual analog scale, and verbal rating scale were administered once to all patients. The McGill Pain Questionnaire was administered again to patients from Latin America countries to ascertain descriptor comprehension.Outcome measures: Demographic data, McGill Pain Questionnaire parameters, and visual analog scale and a verbal rating scale scores were obtained from patients with chronic and acute pain. Psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the McGill Pain Questionnaire were established for each country by calculating the ordinal consistency by means of rank-scale correlation (Spearman test), intercategory correlation, and interparameter correlation (Pearson test). Concurrent validity was also calculated by comparing scores from the visual analog scale (Pearson test) and verbal rating scale (Spearman test) with questionnaire parameters (qualitative-to-quantitative comparisons).Results: The Spanish version of the McGill Pain Questionnaire maintained a high internal validity when tested in different countries. Ordinal consistency, intercategory, interparameter, and qualitative-to-quantitative parameter correlations were similar in all countries. Few descriptors were considered to be inappropriate or difficult to understand.Conclusions: The psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the McGill Pain Questionnaire assessed in different Latin-American countries suggest that the questionnaire may be used to evaluate Spanish-speaking patients. The validity of this test should be extended with reliability studies to further establish its usefulness in the evaluation of pain
Biases in visual orienting to negative and positive scenes in dysphoria: an eye movement study
No full textThe study investigated biases for negative information in component processes of visual attention (initial shift vs. maintenance of gaze) in dysphoric and nondysphoric individuals. Eye movements were recorded while participants viewed a series of picture pairs depicting negative, positive, and neutral scenes (each pair presented for 3 s). Biases in initial orienting were assessed from the direction and latency of the initial shift in gaze, whereas biases in the maintenance of attention were assessed from the duration of gaze on the picture that was initially fixated. Results indicated that the dysphoric group showed a significantly greater bias to maintain gaze longer on negative pictures, relative to control pictures, compared with the nondysphoric group. There was no evidence of a dysphoria-related bias in initial shift of orienting to negative cues. Results are consistent with a depression-related bias that operates in the maintenance of attention on negative material
The Sensitivity to Punishment and Sensitivity to Reward Questionnaire (SPSRQ) as a measure of Gray's anxiety and impulsivity dimensions
No full textGray [In H. J. Eysenck, A model for personality (pp. 246–276). New York: Springer; 1981; The neuropsychology of anxiety: an enquiry into the functions of the septo-hippocampal system. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 1982] has described two motivational systems, the Behavioural Inhibition System (BIS) and the Behavioural Activation System (BAS), that control aversive and appetitive behaviour, respectively. Research on Gray's model of personality has been hindered by the lack of specific self-report measures of the reactivity and responsivity of these systems. We describe a set of studies that illustrate the main psychometrical characteristics of the Sensitivity to Punishment and Sensitivity to Reward Questionnaire (SPSRQ). The two scales of the questionnaire were developed by writing items to assess BIS and BAS functioning, respectively. Results showed that both scales were independent, and presented satisfactory internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Studies 2–5 reported data related to convergent and discriminant validity of the scales. The Sensitivity to Punishment scale was: (1) positively related to Eysenck's neuroticism dimension; (2) negatively related to extraversion; (3) not related to psychoticism; (4) significantly related to the STAI-Trait scale of Spielberger; and (5) related to the somatic, behavioral, and cognitive anxiety scales of Lehrer and Woolfolk [Behavioral Assessment, 4, (1982) 167–177.]. The Sensitivity to Reward scale was: (1) positively related to Eysenck's extraversion and neuroticism; (2) moderately related to psychoticism; (3) positively related to the Eysenck's Impulsiveness scale [Psychological Reports, 43, (1978) 1247–1255] and the Zuckerman's Sensation Seeking Scales [Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 46, (1978) 139–149]. Although future construct validity studies are needed, discussion is focused on the importance of using specific designed measures to evaluate and develop Gray's model
Psychometric properties of the childhood anxiety sensitivity index in a sample of Catalan school children
No full textThis study tested the utility of assessing anxiety sensitivity (AS) in children by investigating the long term stability and psychometric properties of a Catalan version of the Childhood Anxiety Childhood Anxiety Sensitivity Index (CASI, Silverman et al., 1991, Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 20, 162-168) in a sample of 291 elementary-school children. The Catalan CASI demonstrated acceptable internal consistency and convergent validity estimates, similar to previous research with the English version. The measure also showed incremental validity in relation to other measures of anxiety and test-retest analyses suggested considerable three month and one-year stability in children's level of AS. Finally, a principal component analysis of the Catalan CASI yielded five lower-order factors grouped on a unique higher-order factor. The similarity of the findings to previous research on the CASI and on AS in English speaking children and adults is discussed and some suggestions for future investigations are presented
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Brain functional and structural changes in adult ADHD and their relation to long-term stimulant treatment
Full text linkIntroducción: El Trastorno por Déficit de Atención con Hiperactividad (TDAH) es un trastorno del neurodesarrollo que afecta a aproximadamente el 5 % de la población de niños y adolescentes, con alrededor de un 50 % de afectados que presentan persistencia del trastorno en la edad adulta. No obstante, los estudios de neuroimagen estructural y funcional en adultos con TDAH han sido inconsistentes. Objetivos: El objetivo fue investigar los cambios cerebrales a nivel estructural y funcional en el TDAH del adulto. También se examinó en qué medida los cambios observados podían ser corregidos por la exposición a tratamiento a largo plazo con metilfenidato. Métodos: Reclutamos una muestra amplia de adultos con diagnóstico de TDAH subtipo Combinado y un grupo apareado de voluntarios sanos. Obtuvimos imágenes fMRI de los participantes mientras realizaban una tarea de Memoria de Trabajo correctamente validada (N-back), imágenes anatómicas MRI utilizando voxel-based morphometry (VBM) y fMRI en reposo para examinar la conectividad funcional dentro de la red neuronal de la memoria de trabajo así como en otras redes neuronales en reposo. Resultados: En comparación al grupo control sano, los participantes con TDAH mostraron: 1) menor volumen de sustancia gris en el área motora suplementaria derecha, en el córtex cingulado anterior porción subgenuada y en el córtex prefrontal dorsolateral derecho; 2) una mayor densidad de sustancia gris en los núcleos caudado y putamen izquierdos; 3) una deactivación deficiente del córtex medial prefrontal durante la tarea de 2-back; y 4) efectos correctivos a largo plazo del tratamiento con metilfenidato a nivel de estructura cerebral pero no a nivel de actividad cerebral. Conclusiones: La neuroanatomía estructural y funcional de la memoria de trabajo se encuentra alterada en adultos con TDAH, observándose anomalías estructurales en regiones clave para la memoria de trabajo y el control cognitivo (área motora suplementaria, cíngulo anterior, córtex prefrontal dorsolateral) y una deactivación disfuncional del córtex prefrontal medial durante la realización de una tarea de memoria de trabajo a un nivel alto de demanda cognitiva (conllevando un procesamiento excesivo de información interna no relevante en detrimento de la memoria de trabajo en sí misma). La exposición al tratamiento crónico con metilfenidato normaliza los déficits cerebrales estructurales pero no produce cambios en la actividad cerebral en el largo plazo. Las diferencias en el neurodesarrollo estructural y funcional del cerebro en el TDAH parecen normalizarse en gran medida en la edad adulta.Introduction: Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder affecting about 5 % of child and adolescent population, with around 50 % of those carrying the disorder into adulthood. Structural and functional neuroimaging studies in ADHD adults however, have been inconsistent. Objectives: The aim was to investigate the strucutural and functional brain changes in adult ADHD. To what extent these changes could be corrected by long-term exposure to methylphenidate was also examined. Methods: A large sample of adults with a positive diagnosis of ADHD-Combined subtype and a matched group of healthy volunteers were recruited. We obtained fMRI images from participants while performing a well-validated working memory task (N-back), anatomical MRI images using voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and resting state fMRI to look at functional connectivity within the working memory network and other brain networks in the resting brain. Results: Relative to the healthy comparison group, ADHD participants showed: 1) a smaller grey matter volume in the right supplementary motor area, the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex and the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex; 2) a higher grey matter density in the left caudate and putamen; 3) a defficient deactivation of the medial prefrontal cortex during the 2-back task; and 4) long-term corrective effects of methylphenidate treatment for brain structure but not for brain activations. Conclusions: Structural and functional neuroanatomy of working memory is impaired in ADHD adults, showing structural abnormalities in key regions of working memory and cognitive control (including the supplementary motor area, the anterior cingulate cortex and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex) and dysfunctional brain deactivation of the medial prefrontal cortex during high-load working memory performance (leading to an excessive processing of irrelevant internal information that is detrimental to working memory itself). Chronic exposure to methylphenidate normalizes brain structural deficits in the long-term, exerting no longer changes in brain activity. Developmental structural and functional brain differences in ADHD seem to normalize into adulthood to a large extent
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Full text linkWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
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