Search results for "Rank correlation"
showing 10 items of 53 documents
Predictive ability of the Mini Nutritional Assessment Short Form (MNA-SF) in a free-living elderly population: a cross-sectional study
2017
Background Various scales have been used to perform a quick and first level nutritional assessment, and the MNA is one of the most used and recommended by experts in the elderly in all areas. This scale has a short form, the MNA-SF, revised and validated in 2009, which has two versions: the BMI-MNA-SF contains the first six items of the full scale including Body Mass Index while the CC-MNA-SF includes Calf Circumference instead of BMI. Objective To evaluate the predictive ability for nutritional status of the two versions of the MNA-SF against the MNA in free-living elderly in the province of Valencia. Methods Cross-sectional study of 660 free-living elderly in the province of Valencia sel…
An assessment of the test-retest reliability of the New Nordic Diet score
2015
Background : There is a growing interest in the New Nordic Diet (NND) as a potentially health promoting, environmentally friendly, and palatable regional diet. Also, dietary scores are gaining ground as a complementary approach for examining relations between dietary patterns and various health outcomes. A score assessing adherence to the NND has earlier been published, yet not tested for reliability. Objective : To assess the test–retest reliability of the NND score in a sample of parents of toddlers, residing in Southern Norway. Design : A questionnaire survey was completed on two occasions, approximately 14 days apart, by 67 parents of toddlers [85% females, mean age 34 years (SD=5.3 yea…
Multi-centre validation of a flow cytometry method to identify optimal responders to interferon-beta in multiple sclerosis.
2018
Background and objectives: Percentages of blood CD19 + CD5 + B cells and CD8 + perforin + T lymphocytes can predict response to Interferon (IFN)-beta treatment in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) patients. We aimed to standardize their detection in a multicenter study, prior to their implementation in clinical practice. Methods: Fourteen hospitals participated in the study. A reference centre was established for comparison studies. Peripheral blood cells of 105 untreated RRMS patients were studied. Every sample was analyzed in duplicate in the participating centre and in the reference one by flow cytometry. When needed, participating centres corrected fluorescence compensations…
The Choice of Performance Measure Does Influence the Evaluation of Hedge Funds
2010
It is widely accepted that, when return distributions are non-normal, the use of the Sharpe ratio can lead to misleading conclusions. It is well documented that deviations of hedge fund return distributions from normality are statistically significant. The literature on performance evaluation that takes into account the non-normality of return distributions is a vast one. However, there is another stream of research that advocates that the choice of performance measure does not influence the evaluation of hedge funds. For example, Eling and Schuhmacher (2007) and Eling (2008) performed empirical studies and, judging by the values of rank correlations, concluded that the choice of performanc…
Diagnostic value of MR-based texture analysis for the assessment of hepatic fibrosis in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)
2019
PurposeTo investigate the performance of MR-based texture analysis (TA) for the assessment of hepatic fibrosis in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).MethodsFifty-four adult patients (33 females, 21 males, mean age 49.813.5years) with biopsy-proven NAFLD were enrolled and underwent MR imaging on a 1.5T system. TA parameters were extracted on axial noncontrast 3D-GRE T1W images (slice thickness=4.6mm) using a commercially available research software (TexRAD). Receiver operating curves (ROC), areas under the ROC (AUROC) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated to assess the accuracy of each TA parameter for the diagnosis of significant (F2) and advanced fibrosis (F…
Structure-function relationship between FDF, FDT, SAP, and scanning laser ophthalmoscopy in glaucoma patients.
2012
Purpose Flicker defined form perimetry (FDF) and frequency doubling technology perimetry (FDT) are alleged to detect glaucoma at an earlier stage than standard automated perimetry (SAP). It is the purpose of this study to investigate the structure-function relationship between FDF, FDT, SAP, and confocal scanning laser ophthalmoscopy (cSLO) in patients with glaucoma. Methods Seventy-six patients with glaucoma were included in the study. Patients were tested with SAP, Matrix-FDT, FDF perimetry, and cSLO. Structure-function relationships between global and sectoral cSLO parameters and global and sectoral mean sensitivity (MS) of SAP, Matrix-FDT, and FDF were calculated using Spearman's rank c…
An evaluation score of the difficulty of thyroidectomy considering operating time and preservation of recurrent laryngeal nerve.
2018
The purpose of this study was to edit a renovated thyroidectomy difficulty scale (rTDS) in order to identify underlying thyroid diseases with a longer operative time and higher technical difficulty, also considering preservation of recurrent laryngeal nerve. We developed a renovated scale with a maximum score of 20 points by creating a form in which five variables were considered: vascularity, friability, mobility/fibrosis, gland size and difficulty in preservation of the recurrent laryngeal nerve. Two surgeons separately evaluated each of these. Through a simple linear regression analysis, we have analyzed the relationship between rTDS score and operative times, and between rTDS score and …
HepaDisk – A new quality of life questionnaire for HCV patients
2019
Abstract Background Since most patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection now receive treatment irrespective of liver disease severity, special attention to patient quality of life (QoL), including psycho-social aspects, is required. No QoL questionnaire is specific for patients with HCV. Aims To develop and validate a short Italian questionnaire (HepaDisk) assessing the QoL of patients affected by HCV with intuitive graphic results that is understandable by patients and physicians. Methods A questionnaire, drafted by a steering committee, underwent a Delphi survey. A multicenter, observational study was conducted to validate the developed HepaDisk versus other tools (CLDQ-I, SF-36, WP…
Late Breaking Abstract - Validation of a tool for the assessment of disease awareness (DA) in COPD
2017
Background: DA could influence adherence to treatment and outcomes. No validated tools are available to assess DA in COPD Aims: To generate a tool able to explore DA in COPD patients, the Disease Awareness in COPD Questionnaire (DACQ) Methods: A 2-step Delphi approach was used to develop a questionnaire that was tested for validity in a cohort of COPD patients of an Italian observational, multicenter, prospective study (SAT study - NCT02689492) Results: Consensus on a 27-item provisional questionnaire was obtained with 2 Delphi rounds. Factor analysis showed a 4-factor solution accounting for 35% of variance; each factor (disease acceptance, awareness of treatment needs, disease knowledge, …
Is the Kidscreen-27 a valid measure of health-related quality of life in 10-year-old Norwegian children?
2015
The aim of this study was to investigate the reliability and validity of the Norwegian Kidscreen-27 questionnaire, a measure of generic health-related quality of life, in 10 year-old children. The Kidscreen-27 consists of five domains and was validated in a sample of 56 school children (29 boys). The children completed the questionnaire at three different time points during two consecutive school days. For convergent validity, the study was powered to detect a statistically significant correlation coefficient of 0.4. Cronbach's alpha values ranged from 0.73 to 0.83. Floor effects were all zero and ceiling effects ranged from 1.7% to 23.7%. Intraclass correlation values over time ranged from…