331 research outputs found
Development and Initial Validation of the Novel Scleroderma Clinical Trials Consortium Activity Index
No full textOBJECTIVE
Accurate measurement of disease activity in systemic sclerosis (SSc) remains a significant clinical challenge. The Scleroderma Clinical Trials Consortium (SCTC) convened an Activity Index Working Group (WG) to develop a novel measure of disease activity (SCTC-AI).
METHODS
Using consensus methodology, we developed a conceptual definition of disease activity. Literature review and expert consensus generated provisional SCTC-AI items, which were reduced by Delphi survey. Provisional items were weighted against a combined endpoint of morbidity and mortality, using time-dependent Cox proportional hazards regression analysis of the Australian Scleroderma Cohort Study (ASCS) (n=1,254). External validation of the SCTC-AI was performed using data collected from 1,103 Canadian Scleroderma Research Group Study participants.
RESULTS
Disease activity in SSc was defined using consensus methodology as 'aspects of disease that are reversible, or can be arrested, with time and, or effective therapy'. One-hundred and forty-one provisional SCTC-AI items were generated and reduced using 3 rounds of Delphi survey and statistical reduction and weighting, against mortality and quality of life measures, yielding a final 24-item index with a maximum possible score of 140. Survival analysis in an external cohort showed a graded relationship between disease activity scores and survival (p<0.01).
CONCLUSION
We present a novel instrument to quantify the burden of disease activity in SSc. We have employed a rigorous consensus-based process in combination with data-driven methods, to develop an instrument that has face, content and criterion validity. Further work is required to fully validate and confirm the construct and discriminative validity of the SCTC-AI
Development and Initial Validation of the Novel Scleroderma Clinical Trials Consortium Activity Index
No full textOBJECTIVE: Accurate measurement of disease activity in systemic sclerosis (SSc) remains a significant clinical challenge. The Scleroderma Clinical Trials Consortium (SCTC) convened an Activity Index (AI) Working Group (WG) to develop a novel measure of disease activity (SCTC-AI).METHODS: Using consensus methodology, we developed a conceptual definition of disease activity. Literature review and expert consensus generated provisional SCTC-AI items, which were reduced by Delphi survey. Provisional items were weighted against a combined endpoint of morbidity and mortality, using time-dependent Cox proportional hazards regression analysis of the Australian Scleroderma Cohort Study (ASCS) (n = 1,254). External validation of the SCTC-AI was performed using data collected from 1,103 Canadian Scleroderma Research Group Study participants.RESULTS: Disease activity in SSc was defined using consensus methodology as "aspects of disease that are reversible, or can be arrested, with time and, or effective therapy." One-hundred and forty-one provisional SCTC-AI items were generated and reduced using three rounds of Delphi survey and statistical reduction and weighting, against mortality and quality of life measures, yielding a final 24-item index with a maximum possible score of 140. Survival analysis in an external cohort showed a graded relationship between disease activity scores and survival (P < 0.01).CONCLUSION: We present a novel instrument to quantify the burden of disease activity in SSc. We have employed a rigorous consensus-based process in combination with data-driven methods to develop an instrument that has face, content, and criterion validity. Further work is required to fully validate and confirm the construct and discriminative validity of the SCTC-AI.</p
Development and Initial Validation of the Novel Scleroderma Clinical Trials Consortium Activity Index
No full textOBJECTIVE: Accurate measurement of disease activity in systemic sclerosis (SSc) remains a significant clinical challenge. The Scleroderma Clinical Trials Consortium (SCTC) convened an Activity Index (AI) Working Group (WG) to develop a novel measure of disease activity (SCTC-AI).METHODS: Using consensus methodology, we developed a conceptual definition of disease activity. Literature review and expert consensus generated provisional SCTC-AI items, which were reduced by Delphi survey. Provisional items were weighted against a combined endpoint of morbidity and mortality, using time-dependent Cox proportional hazards regression analysis of the Australian Scleroderma Cohort Study (ASCS) (n = 1,254). External validation of the SCTC-AI was performed using data collected from 1,103 Canadian Scleroderma Research Group Study participants.RESULTS: Disease activity in SSc was defined using consensus methodology as "aspects of disease that are reversible, or can be arrested, with time and, or effective therapy." One-hundred and forty-one provisional SCTC-AI items were generated and reduced using three rounds of Delphi survey and statistical reduction and weighting, against mortality and quality of life measures, yielding a final 24-item index with a maximum possible score of 140. Survival analysis in an external cohort showed a graded relationship between disease activity scores and survival (P < 0.01).CONCLUSION: We present a novel instrument to quantify the burden of disease activity in SSc. We have employed a rigorous consensus-based process in combination with data-driven methods to develop an instrument that has face, content, and criterion validity. Further work is required to fully validate and confirm the construct and discriminative validity of the SCTC-AI.</p
Development and Initial Validation of the Novel Scleroderma Clinical Trials Consortium Activity Index
No full textOBJECTIVE: Accurate measurement of disease activity in systemic sclerosis (SSc) remains a significant clinical challenge. The Scleroderma Clinical Trials Consortium (SCTC) convened an Activity Index (AI) Working Group (WG) to develop a novel measure of disease activity (SCTC-AI).METHODS: Using consensus methodology, we developed a conceptual definition of disease activity. Literature review and expert consensus generated provisional SCTC-AI items, which were reduced by Delphi survey. Provisional items were weighted against a combined endpoint of morbidity and mortality, using time-dependent Cox proportional hazards regression analysis of the Australian Scleroderma Cohort Study (ASCS) (n = 1,254). External validation of the SCTC-AI was performed using data collected from 1,103 Canadian Scleroderma Research Group Study participants.RESULTS: Disease activity in SSc was defined using consensus methodology as "aspects of disease that are reversible, or can be arrested, with time and, or effective therapy." One-hundred and forty-one provisional SCTC-AI items were generated and reduced using three rounds of Delphi survey and statistical reduction and weighting, against mortality and quality of life measures, yielding a final 24-item index with a maximum possible score of 140. Survival analysis in an external cohort showed a graded relationship between disease activity scores and survival (P < 0.01).CONCLUSION: We present a novel instrument to quantify the burden of disease activity in SSc. We have employed a rigorous consensus-based process in combination with data-driven methods to develop an instrument that has face, content, and criterion validity. Further work is required to fully validate and confirm the construct and discriminative validity of the SCTC-AI.</p
The impact of reduced inflation estimates on real output and productivity growth
No full textDespite posting their strongest sustained performance in many years, recent measures of output and productivity growth have still fallen short of their 1960-73 averages. Could data-measurement problems affecting the pricing of some services account for the inability of these widely tracked U.S. growth indexes to match their earlier rates?Economic indicators ; Productivity ; Gross domestic product ; Economic development ; Statistics ; Inflation (Finance)
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SIAM conference on applications of dynamical systems. Abstracts and author index
No full textA conference (Oct.15--19, 1992, Snowbird, Utah; sponsored by SIAM (Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics) Activity Group on Dynamical Systems) was held that highlighted recent developments in applied dynamical systems. The main lectures and minisymposia covered theory about chaotic motion, applications in high energy physics and heart fibrillations, turbulent motion, Henon map and attractor, integrable problems in classical physics, pattern formation in chemical reactions, etc. The conference fostered an exchange between mathematicians working on theoretical issues of modern dynamical systems and applied scientists. This two-part document contains abstracts, conference program, and an author index
Effect of yoga and group occupational therapy on community reintegration and perceived activity constraints for people with chronic stroke
No full textIncludes bibliographical references.2016 Summer.Purpose: People with stroke commonly experience perceived activity constraints, or barriers to engaging in activity, as well as challenges with community reintegration. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of an 8-week yoga and group occupational therapy (OT) intervention (Merging Yoga and OT: MY-OT) on perceived activity constraints and community reintegration among individuals with chronic stroke. We also assessed the correlation between perceived activity constraints and community reintegration in this sample. Method: This non-controlled pilot study employed a pre- and post-test design. Fourteen people with chronic stroke participated in MY-OT and completed assessments at baseline and at the completion of the 8-week intervention. Results on an established activity constraints questionnaire and the Reintegration to Normal Living Index (RNLI) were analyzed using Wilcoxon Signed Rank tests. Results: Perceived activity constraint scores improved significantly (76.82±10.97 vs 87.08±9.5, p=.005; 13% change), as did RNLI scores (79.25±15.45 vs 97.92±11.46, p=.004; or a 24% improvement). Perceived activity constraint and RNLI scores demonstrated an excellent and significant correlation (rs=.864, p=0.001). Conclusions: When working with people with chronic stroke, rehabilitation professionals may consider group OT combined with yoga. Rehabilitation professionals may target perceived activity constraints in order to improve community reintegration
Turning on and turning off: A focus group study of the factors that affect women's sexual arousal
No full textThis is a post print version of the article. The official published version can be accessed from the link below.The aim of this study was to inform the development of a questionnaire to assess a woman's tendency to respond with sexual excitation/inhibition in different situations. Nine focus groups, involving 80 women (M age = 34.3 years; range, 18-84), were conducted. Women described a wide range of physical (genital and nongenital), cognitive/emotional, and behavioral cues to arousal. The relationship between sexual interest (desire) and sexual arousal was complex; sexual interest was reported as sometimes preceding arousal, but at other times following it. Many women did not clearly differentiate between arousal and interest. Qualitative data on the factors that women perceived as enhancers and inhibitors of sexual arousal are presented, with a focus on the following themes: feelings about one's body; concern about reputation; unwanted pregnancy/ contraception; feeling desired versus feeling used by a partner; feeling accepted by a partner; style of approach/initiation; and negative mood. The findings can help inform conceptualizations of sexual arousal in women.This research was funded (in part) by a grant from the Lilly Centre for Women‟s Health
Government expenditures as a citizens'evaluation of public output : public choice and the benefit principle of taxation
No full textCombining elements from the theories of public choice and benefit taxation, the author develops a framework in which private citizens can evaluate public activities. Why, and under what circumstances, do bureaucrats increase the size of the public sector and the amount of public spending in their own self interest? What does the private sector think public output should be, what is actual public output, and how does the private sector evaluate that output? The author applies the theoretical results of an attempt to answer these questions in four Central European countries (Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, and Slovenia), using actual data for 1989-91 and projections for 1992. Interpreting indirect evidence, he shows that the private sector would prefer less government activity in all countries, from a low of 5 percent less public spending (in Poland) to a high of one-third less (in Slovenia). If those governments were to follow those guidelines, their spending-to-GDP ratios would more closely resemble the 1987-89 average for a selected group of European market economies. The author also introduces a more rigorous, if not necessarily more objective, approach to determining optimal government spending. This approach requires little information, but uses a static model and requires faith in the direction of causality for some key variables. To the extent that one can accept those limitations, the model may be a useful operational tool in public spending evaluation.Public Sector Economics&Finance,National Governance,Economic Theory&Research,Environmental Economics&Policies,Fiscal&Monetary Policy
Cervico-mandibular muscle activity in females with chronic cervical pain a descriptive, cross-sectional, correctional study
No full textIncludes abstract.Includes bibliographical references.Chronic musculoskeletal conditions of the spine and periphery are a burden both internationally and in South Africa. There is a socio-economic burden as a consequence of the severity, duration and recurrence of chronic cervical musculoskeletal conditions among information technology and sedentary office workers. However, the precise mechanisms behind chronic cervical disorders remain unclear. It is theorised that the pathophysiological mechanisms in chronic cervical musculoskeletal conditions share a similar theoretical framework to chronic pain itself. The biopsychosocial model of chronic pain accepts the dynamic nature of pain. This model accepts the dual biological and psychosocial components that enhance the experience and maintenance of chronic pain, through central sensitisation. There appears to be a neurophysiological, biomechanical and psychological link between the cervical area and the temporomandibular area. Although numerous studies have implied that individuals with temporomandibular disorders have concurrent cervical dysfunction, there is currently no evidence that individuals with cervical dysfunction exhibit altered muscle activity in the masseter and cervical erector spinae muscles or report teeth clenching habits. Consequently, identification of factors that may contribute to chronic cervical musculoskeletal conditions, stemming from the temporomandibular area, may potentially be lost. The aim of the present study was to explore the activity levels of the cervicomandibular muscles in females with chronic cervical musculoskeletal conditions, who showed no symptoms of temporomandibular disorders. This study had a descriptive cross-sectional correlational design with single-blinding. The telephonic screening process was followed by the signing of informed consent forms. Validated questionnaires were used for categorisation and comparison of the socio-demographic and biopsychosocial profiles of the pain group (n = 20) and the no pain group (n = 22). The screening, informed consent and questionnaires were completed by an assistant. The first of five questionnaires, the adapted Research Diagnostic Criteria History questionnaire, was used as an instrument for exclusion of temporomandibular disorders and the recording of a daytime parafunctional teeth clenching habit. The remaining four questionnaires, listed as the Neck Disability Index, the Computer Usage Questionnaire, the Brief Pain Inventory, and the EuroQol-5D were used for determining levels of cervical disability for categorisation and comparison between groups, as well as for determining levels of pain-related disability, occupational and sporting activity, and health related quality of life
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