994 research outputs found
Deconstructing therapy outcome measurement with Rasch analysis of a measure of general clinical distress: the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised
No full textRasch analysis was used to illustrate the usefulness of item-level analyses for evaluating a common therapy outcome measure of general clinical distress, the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R; Derogatis, 1994). Using complementary therapy research samples, the instrument's 5-point rating scale was found to exceed clients' ability to make reliable discriminations and could be improved by collapsing it into a 3-point version (combining scale points 1 with 2 and 3 with 4). This revision, in addition to removing 3 misfitting items, increased person separation from 4.90 to 5.07 and item separation from 7.76 to 8.52 (resulting in alphas of .96 and .99, respectively). Some SCL-90-R subscales had low internal consistency reliabilities; SCL-90-R items can be used to define one factor of general clinical distress that is generally stable across both samples, with two small residual factors
SCL-T: Template programming for Siemens SCL
No full textProgrammable Logic Controllers (PLCs) are used to control large scale systems with thousands of I/O devices. Writing and maintaining the logic for each of these is a cumbersome task, which is well suited to be abstracted through templating. For this purpose, CERN developed the Unicos Application Builder (UAB). While UAB is successful at templating, it provides no guarantees over the validity of the outcome, leading to erroneous generated code. This is where SCL-T comes in. It builds on the foundation of UAB to facilitate meta-programming for Siemens’ SCL. Unlike its predecessor, it guarantees syntactic correctness and also draw conclusions regarding the semantic validity of the generated code. Its architecture has been designed in such a way that support for other PLC languages can be added using the same meta-language, reducing the cost of a having a meta-programming language tailored for a specific PLC language
Descriptive analysis of a single center series of 23 patients with positive PM-Scl antibody
No full textBackground: PM-Scl antibodies (abs) belong to the group of myositis-associated antibodies and typically determine a nucleolar or speckled pattern on immunofluorescence. These abs found in patients (pts) with Scleromyositis and, less frequently, in isolated forms of Systemic sclerosis (SSc), Polymyositis (PM) and Dermatomyositis (DM). In SSc pts PM-Scl +, pulmonary involvement seems less severe, while they show more frequent arthritis. Raynaud's phenomenon (RP), digital ulcers (DU) and gastroesophageal involvement appear to be less frequently expressed. In myositis the association with esophageal and lung involvement is well known.
Objectives: To characterize demographic and clinical features of a single center series of PM-Scl positive patients.
Methods: Sera from 48 SSc and 60 idiopathic inflammatory myophaties (MII) attending local outpatient clinic, detected with EUROIMMUNE Myositis Profile 4 kit, were tested to search PM-ScL antibodies. Demographic, laboratory and clinical data (RP, arthritis, DU, muscular involvement, disphagia) were retrospectively retrieved from available clinical charts. The presence of interstitial lung disease (ILD), was evaluated by HRCT (measured by using score of Goh for the extension) and functional respiratory testing (FVC and DLCO). Severe ILD was defined by: Goh score of>20 and FVC and DLCO <75%.
Results: 23 Pts (18 F) resulted positive for PM-Scl. The mean age was 60.5±9.4 years and the mean disease duration was 145.9± 76.3 months. 1 patient had negative ANA, 1 showed ANA anticentromere and 1 dot pattern; the remaining 20 patients (86,9%) were ANA+ showing nucleolar pattern. By applying available formal classification criteria 5 (21.7%) pts were diagnosed as DM, 2 (8.7%) as DM amyopathic, 3 (13.05%) as overlap Scleromyositis, 3 (13.05%) as PM, 1 (4.4%) as cancer associated PM, 9 (39.1%) as SSc (2 diffuse, limited 6, intermediate 1). 13 (56.5%) pts had no evidence of cytopathic muscle involvement (defined as normal CPK, myoglobin and LDH). 5 pts (21.7%) presented a Goh score >20, 1 FVC <75%, and 7 (30.4%) DLCO <75%.
4 pts presented arthritis. 14 (60.8%) had RP, 6 (26%) DU, 8 (34.8%), dysphagia (see images 1). When compared with patients with SSc and MII negative for PM-Scl, MII PM-Scl + pts did not show significant greater risk of developing ILD (Goh>20)dysphagia or minor muscle involvement. SSc PM-Scl + pts seem to have a greater risk of developing arthritis and DU than their corresponding SSc PM-Scl negative pts (p20) and dysphagia.
Conclusions: The role of PM-Scl as a risk factor for ILD in MII pts is not confirmed, but should be considered the positivity in the control group of Jo1, representing per se a major risk factor for this complication (image 2). For patients with SSc is confirmed the role of PM-Scl as a risk factor for arthritis and digital ulcers but not for ILD.
References:
Long-term out come of patients with polymiositis/dermatomyositis and anti PM/Scl antibody. Marie et al. Journal of Dermatology 2010; 162(2): 337–4
Use of 2-DE to differentiate morphospecies of Alexandrium minutum, a paralytic shellfish poisoning toxin (PST)-producing dinoflagellate of Harmful algal blooms.
No full textThe application of Community Oriented Primary Care (COPC) approach on assessing psychological stress among Arab migrant women in the city of Cologne/Germany
No full textIrfaeya M. The application of Community Oriented Primary Care (COPC) approach on assessing psychological stress among Arab migrant women in the city of Cologne/Germany. Bielefeld (Germany): Bielefeld University; 2006.Aims and objectives: The aim of this study was to use COPC as an approach to assess/study a migrant's community problem. The study had the following objectives: To assess the health situation and problems of Arab migrant women, to study one problem with its related severity/scores, sources, and associated factors; to plan an intervention program/methods to deal with this problem and to work on reducing it; to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention activities; and to come out with recommendations for future service delivery for migrants.
Study questions: Is COPC approach an effective method to investigate the problems of a migrant population in Germany? Through the application of the COPC approach, what is the problem of highest priority that Arab women face as migrants living here in Germany? How can this problem be reduced through an intervention program and does this program have an effect?
Study design: A cross-sectional study using a six-step COPC approach in order to study a problem that was chosen by the migrant community. These six steps are: community definition; community diagnosis; prioritization; detailed assessment; intervention and evaluation.
Methodology: The study used both qualitative and quantitative methods. Five focus groups (41 participants), one open group discussion (43 attendants) and 11 key informant interviews. Then a questionnaire including the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R) instrument was carried with 116 women and repeated with 46 women for testing post-intervention effects.
Main findings: This study found out that COPC is a practical method to study the needs of a migrant community. The one sample T-Test showed that women scored higher than the normative scores on most items of SCL-90-R (P value less than 0.001). Factors associated with higher stress scores were: older age, having more children, North African origin, having illness, and feeling negatively being a migrant. Factors associated with lower stress scores were: higher level of education, living longer in Germany, and performing physical exercise. The best model for predicting being a case of stress on SCL-90-R (Cut point: General Severity Index "GSI" more than 0.77) was the one that included being ill the day of answering the questionnaire, shorter stay in Germany and feeling negatively being a migrant (minority status). The accuracy of this model was 66.4 percent, positive percent 79.3 and negative percent 53.4. The paired sample T-Test showed that physical and cognitive methods had effects on reducing stress scores (P value below 0.001).
Conclusion: Migration is a stressful experience and Arab migrant women have high psychological stress. Physical and cognitive intervention methods can assist in reducing stress scores. COPC is discussed to be a practical approach in involving the community to identify its own needs
Malingering Emotional Distress on the Scl-90-R: Toxic Exposure and Cancerphobia
No full text This study reports that 100% of 52 untrained volunteers were able to fake psychopathology on the SCL-90-R at a level comparable to the average range for psychiatric patients. Although not questioning the nonforensic clinical usefulness of the instrument, the author cautions SCL-90-R users to employ the instrument with care in contexts in which deception is an issue. Data on efforts to fake cancerphobia and emotional distress secondary to toxic exposure are presented. </jats:p
Detection of Superhumps in the VY Scl-type Nova-Like Variable KR Aur
No full textWe report on the detection of negative superhumps in KR Aur, a typical VY Scl star. The observations were obtained with a multi-channel photometer over 107 h. The analysis of the data clearly revealed brightness variations with a period of 3.771 (±0.005) h. This is 3.5 per cent shorter than Porb, suggesting that the observed oscillation is a negative superhump. Negative superhumps in VY Scl stars are widespread. The discovery of powerful soft X-rays from V751 Cyg suggests that VY Scl stars may contain white dwarfs, on to which nuclear burning of the accreted material occurs. If this suspicion is correct, it is possible that the powerful radiation emerging from the white dwarf may cause a tilt of the accretion disc to the orbital plane, and its retrograde precession may produce the negative superhumps seen in VY Scl stars. © 2007 The Author. Journal compilation © 2007 RAS
Aspetti di validazione della scala SCL-90-R
No full textSCOPI DELLA RICERCA. Il protocollo che definisce la prima presa di contatto con i pazienti del Servizio SAP-SCP comprende l’utilizzo della Scala SCL-90-R (Derogatis, 1983), una delle più note misure self-report in ambito psicopatologico. La SCL-90-R è stata validata in campo internazionale, mostrando buone caratteristiche di consistenza interna, stabilità test-retest e validità convergente, concorrente, discriminante e di costrutto. Mancano studi di validazione in ambito italiano.
Lo scopo di questo lavoro è di fornire un primo contributo alla validazione della versione italiana della scala (consistenza interna e validità concorrente).
Un ulteriore obiettivo è di analizzare la distribuzione dei punteggi delle scale che compongono la SCL-90-R in un campione di studenti universitari del secondo anno di Psicologia. Il fine è di evidenziare le principali problematiche psicopatologiche autoriferite dagli studenti di Psicologia, i quali rappresentano parte del potenziale bacino d’utenza del servizio SAP.
CAMPIONE/MATERIALE. Ad un intero corso di studenti frequentanti il secondo anno di Psicologia, formato da 135 soggetti, è stata somministrata la scala SCL-90-R (Derogatis, 1983) insieme al Questionario D (QD), per la misurazione di disforia e manifestazioni depressive di rilievo subclinico, facente parte della batteria CBA 2.0 (Bertolotti et al., 1996).
METODO. La consistenza interna dell’SCL-90-R è stata calcolata sull’insieme delle scale che compongono lo strumento, mentre la validità concorrente mettendo in relazione la scala di Depressione dell’SCL-90-R con il punteggio del QD.
Il profilo complessivo della classe di studenti è stato analizzato sull’insieme dei punteggi dell’SCL-90-R, confrontando fra loro maschi vs. femmine e altri sottogruppi rilevanti.
RISULTATI E CONCLUSIONI. Dalle prime analisi, ancora in corso, è risultato che l’SCL-90-R presenta caratteristiche psicometriche adeguate all’utilizzo in ambito italiano
Scl isoforms act downstream of etsrp to specify angioblasts and definitive hematopoietic stem cells
No full textRecent lineage studies suggest that hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) may be derived from endothelial cells. However, the genetic hierarchy governing the emergence of HSCs remains elusive. We report here that zebrafish ets1-related protein (etsrp), which is essential for vascular endothelial development, also plays a critical role in the initiation of definitive hematopoiesis by controlling the expression of 2 stem cell leukemia (scl) isoforms (scl-alpha and scl-beta) in angioblasts. In etsrp morphants, which are deficient in endothelial and HSC development, scl-alpha alone partially rescues angioblast specification, arterial-venous differentiation, and the expression of HSC markers, runx1 and c-myb, whereas scl-beta requires angioblast rescue by fli1a to restore runx1 expression. Interestingly, when vascular endothelial growth factor (Vegf) signaling is inhibited, HSC marker expression can still be restored by scl-alpha in etsrp morphants, whereas the rescue of arterial ephrinb2a expression is blocked. Furthermore, both scl isoforms partially rescue runx1 but not ephrinb2a expression in embryos deficient in Vegf signaling. Our data suggest that downstream of etsrp, scl-alpha and fli1a specify the angioblasts, whereas scl-beta further initiates HSC specification from this angioblast population, and that Vegf signaling acts upstream of scl-beta during definitive hematopoiesis. (Blood. 2010; 115(26):5338-5346)HematologySCI(E)PubMed28ARTICLE265338-534611
Exploring the sense of coherence and psychological symptomatology of teachers in under-resourced schools in Cape Town
No full textIncludes bibliographical references (leaves 56-69).The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the psychological symtomatology, sense of coherence and the relationship between these two factors, of teachers from under-resourced schools in Cape Town. The sample consisted of 58 male and female teachers. Data was collected by means of three measures including a Biographical Questionnaire, Symptomatology Check List Revised (SCL-90-R) and the Sense of Coherence Scale (SOC-29) also known as the Orientation to Life Questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and the Spearman Rank Order Correlation was utilised to meet the aims of the study. Of the nine sub-dimensions of psychological symptomatology measured on the SCL-90-R, results revealed that the teachers scored high in the three dimensions of obsessive compulsive, paranoid ideation and depression
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