Search results for " tests"
showing 10 items of 3284 documents
A Comparative Study of General Intelligence in Spanish and Moroccan Samples
2012
The aim of this study is to fill a gap in intelligence research by presenting data for the average IQ in Morocco and for a comparable sample in Spain. Adult samples were administered theRaven Standard Progressive Matrices (SPM)(Raven, Court, & Raven, 2001) and scored for the total test and for the three sub-factors of gestalt continuation, verbal-analytical reasoning and visuospatial ability identified by Lynn, Allik, and Irwing (2004). The total test and the three factors have shown satisfactory reliability. Our results for the Moroccan sample show significant relationship between general intelligence factor, gestalt continuation and visuospatial ability with education level and income…
Genome-based in silico identification of new Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigens activating polyfunctional CD8+ T cells in human tuberculosis.
2011
Although CD8(+) T cells help control Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection, their M. tuberculosis Ag repertoire, in vivo frequency, and functionality in human tuberculosis (TB) remains largely undefined. We have performed genome-based bioinformatics searches to identify new M. tuberculosis epitopes presented by major HLA class I supertypes A2, A3, and B7 (covering 80% of the human population). A total of 432 M. tuberculosis peptides predicted to bind to HLA-A*0201, HLA-A*0301, and HLA-B*0702 (representing the above supertypes) were synthesized and HLA-binding affinities determined. Peptide-specific CD8(+) T cell proliferation assays (CFSE dilution) in 41 M. tuberculosis-responsive donors ide…
Validation of the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey for Estimating Burnout in Dental Students.
2016
The aim of this study was to examine the validity and reliability of the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS) as a tool for assessing the prevalence and level of burnout in dental students in Spanish universities. The survey was adapted from English to Spanish. A sample of 533 dental students from 15 Spanish universities and a control group of 188 medical students self-administered the survey online, using the Google Drive service. The test-retest reliability or reproducibility showed an Intraclass Correlation Coefficient of 0.95. The internal consistency of the survey was 0.922. Testing the construct validity showed two components with an eigenvalue greater than 1.5, w…
Is ‘anxiety sensitivity’ predictive of postoperative nausea and vomiting?
2019
BACKGROUND Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) is an extremely distressing side effect for patients. Despite PONV prophylaxis guided by well established scoring systems, the incidence of PONV is still high. OBJECTIVE The aim of the current study was to investigate the predictive value of anxiety sensitivity as an additional independent risk factor for PONV in patients with an increased risk of PONV. DESIGN A noninterventional, observational study. SETTING A tertiary care university hospital. PATIENTS Patients with an increased risk of PONV (i.e. female, nonsmoking) undergoing elective surgery (general, gynaecological, urological, musculoskeletal or neurosurgical) under general anaesthe…
New Obesity Indices and Adipokines in Normotensive Patients and Patients With Hypertension
2013
We compared the obesity parameters and selected adipokines—leptin, adiponectin, and resistin—in obese patients with hypertension and normotensive patients. A total of 67 nondiabetic obese outpatients were divided into 2 groups: A–hypertensive and B–normotensive. Serum levels of leptin, adiponectin, resistin, and insulin were measured. Weight, height, waist circumference, and hip circumference were measured to calculate waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), weight-to-height ratio, visceral adiposity index, and body adiposity index (BAI). Among patients with hypertension, significant positive correlations were observed between leptin and body mass index and BAI ( r = .31 and r = .63, respectively). In n…
Suboptimal performance of APRI and FIB-4 in ruling out significant fibrosis and confirming cirrhosis in HIV/HCV co-infected and HCV mono-infected pat…
2018
Purpose: We aimed to assess the diagnostic reliability of two indirect biomarkers, APRI and FIB-4, for the staging of liver fibrosis using transient elastography (TE) as reference standard, among HIV/HCV co-infected and HCV mono-infected patients. Methods: This is an observational, retrospective study on subjects who had access to the RESIST HCV from October 2013 to December 2016, a regional network encompassing 22 hospitals and academic centers throughout Sicily. Sensitivity, specificity and diagnostic accuracy of indirect biomarkers for liver stiffness measurement (LSM) < 9.5 kPa (significant fibrosis) and LSM ≥ 12.5 kPa (cirrhosis) were determined by receiver operator characteristics …
Non-invasive prediction of NAFLD severity: a comprehensive, independent validation of previously postulated serum microRNA biomarkers
2018
AbstractLiver biopsy is currently the only reliable method to establish nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) severity. However, this technique is invasive and occasionally associated with severe complications. Thus, non-invasive diagnostic markers for NAFLD are needed. Former studies have postulated 18 different serum microRNA biomarkers with altered levels in NAFLD patients. In the present study, we have re-examined the predictive value of these serum microRNAs and found that 9 of them (miR-34a, -192, -27b, -122, -22, -21, -197, -30c and -16) associated to NAFLD severity in our independent cohort. Moreover, miR-192, -27b, -22, -197 and -30c appeared specific for NAFLD, when compared wi…
Complement fixation test in the study of Australia antigen
1971
1810 serum samples obtained from 315 patients with various liver diseases, 44 with miscellaneous non-hepatic diseases and 1133 healthy subjects were assayed for Australia antigen by complement fixation (CF) and immunodiffusion (ID) tests.
Early experiences from one of the first treatment programs for chronic hepatitis B in sub-Saharan Africa
2017
Treatment for chronic hepatitis B (CHB) is virtually absent in sub-Saharan Africa. Here we present early experiences from a pilot program for treatment of CHB in Ethiopia. Adults (≥18 years) with CHB were included in a cohort study at St. Paul’s Hospital Millennium Medical College, Addis Ababa, from February 2015. The baseline assessment included liver function tests, viral markers and transient elastography (Fibroscan 402, Echosense, France). Logistic regression models were used to identify predictors of fibrosis. Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) was initiated based on the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) criteria, with some modifications. The initial 300 patients …
Prospective comparison of Fibroscan, King's score and liver biopsy for the assessment of cirrhosis in chronic hepatitis C infection
2010
Historically, liver biopsy (LB) was the sole method to evaluate the severity of hepatic fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis C infection. However, LB is expensive and associated with a risk of severe complications. Therefore, noninvasive tests have been developed to assess the severity of liver fibrosis. The accuracy of Fibroscan (FS) and King's score (KS) was evaluated individually and in combination using liver histology as the reference standard. One hundred and eighty-seven patients were identified who had undergone a biopsy with a diagnosis of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) mono-infection (HCV RNA-positive by RT-PCR), attending King's College Hospital (n = 88) or the Royal Free…