Search results for "Reliability"
showing 10 items of 1563 documents
Reliability of cochlear implants.
2005
Background The long-term reliability of cochlear implants over time is an important issue for patients and cochlear implant teams. The calculation of cumulative survival rates including all hard failures of cochlear implants is suitable to report objectively about cochlear implant reliability. Methods This is a report of 192 cochlear implants from different manufacturers in adults (n = 58) and children (n = 134). Results The overall cumulative implant survival rate was 91.7% for a period of 11 years. The main reasons for hard failures were design errors of the products and direct or indirect trauma to the cochlea implant site (especially in children) with consecutive breaks of the implant b…
Experts' assessment of probability and level of pesticide exposure in agricultural workers.
2000
The occupational history of the parents of 261 infants with congenital malformations and 261 matched controls was collected. During the relevant time period before the birth of their child, 183 parents were involved in agricultural activities, 49% of them having directly applied pesticides. Two experts assessed the probability and the level of exposure to each quoted pesticide (582 observations) by using 4-point scales. Interrater agreement was estimated. Kappa-weighted values for probability and level of exposure were, respectively, kappa = 0.36 and kappa = 0.39. In the analysis of some categories of exposure (non-applicators, herbicides) very low interrater agreement was observed. In epid…
Facial disability index (FDI): adaptation to Spanish, reliability and validity.
2011
Objectives: To adapt to Spanish the facial disability index (FDI) described by VanSwearingen and Brach in 1995 and to assess its reliability and validity in patients with facial nerve paresis after parotidectomy. Study Design: The present study was conducted in two different stages: a) cross-cultural adaptation of the questionnaire and b) cross-sectional study of a control group of 79 Spanish-speaking patients who suffered facial paresis after superficial parotidectomy with facial nerve preservation. The cross-cultural adaptation process comprised the following stages: (I) initial translation, (II) synthesis of the translated document, (III) retro-translation, (IV) review by a board of expe…
Reliability and Validity of a New Objective Tool for Low Back Pain Functional Assessment
2011
Study design Classification and functional assessment model for nonspecific low back pain (LBP) patients and controls on the basis of kinematic analysis parameters. Objective Develop a logistic regression model using kinematic analysis variables to (1) discriminate between LBP patients and controls and (2) obtain objective parameters for LBP functional assessment. Summary of background data Functional assessment of spinal disorders has been carried out traditionally by means of subjective scales. Objective functional techniques have been developed, which usually involve the application of external loads or the analysis of highly standardized trunk flexion-extension maneuvers. Few studies ha…
Assessment of the Tricuspid Valve Morphology by Transthoracic Real-Time-3D-Echocardiography
2005
Aim: To demonstrate the feasibility of transthoracic three-dimensional real-time echocardiography (3D-TTE) supplemental to routine assessments of the tricuspid valve and to analyze interrater agreement. Methods: Twenty healthy subjects and 74 patients with right ventricular failure were examined with conventional 2D and additionally 3D-TTE (SONOS 7500, Philips, Netherlands). The 3D exams were performed and recorded by one of two raters. The recordings were evaluated offline and independently by both raters for visualization of morphological and functional features of the tricuspid valve according to a subjective 3-point scale. Statistical analyses were performed for interrater agreement and…
Design Issues and Sample Size when Exposure Measurement is Inaccurate
2001
AbstractMeasurement error often leads to biased estimates and incorrect tests in epidemiological studies. These problems can be corrected by design modifications which allow for refined statistical models, or in some situations by adjusted sample sizes to compensate a power reduction. The design options are mainly an additional replication or internal validation study. Sample size calculations for these designs are more complex, since usually there is no unique design solution to obtain a prespecified power. Thus, additionally to a power requirement, an optimal design should also fulfill the criteria of minimizing overall costs. In this review corresponding strategies and formulae are descr…
Reactivation of aerobic granular sludge for the treatment of industrial shipboard slop wastewater: Effects of long-term storage on granules structure…
2021
Abstract This work reports on reactivation of aerobic granular sludge (AGS) for the treatment of industrial recalcitrant wastewater (slop wastewater) characterized by high salinity and hydrocarbons. AGS were reactivated in two reactors, R1 and R2, to treat industrial slop wastewater after a long-term storage for 12-months at 4 °C. In R1, salt-adapted mature aerobic granules were previously subjected to a step-wise increase of hydrocarbons, whereas in R2 aerobic granules were previously cultivated in presence of salinity and hydrocarbons. After a short-term reactivation period, the slop dosage caused a simultaneous decrease of granules dimensions and proteins/polysaccharides (PN/PS) ratio do…
Childhood Maltreatment, Educational Attainment, and IQ: Findings From a Multicentric Case-control Study of First-episode Psychosis (EU-GEI).
2022
[Background and hypothesis] Evidence suggests that childhood maltreatment (ie, childhood abuse and childhood neglect) affects educational attainment and cognition. However, the association between childhood maltreatment and Intelligence Quotient (IQ) seems stronger among controls compared to people with psychosis. We hypothesised that: the association between childhood maltreatment and poor cognition would be stronger among community controls than among people with first-episode of psychosis (FEP); compared to abuse, neglect would show stronger associations with educational attainment and cognition; the association between childhood maltreatment and IQ would be partially accounted for by ot…
Etude diagnostique de nouvelles données climatiques : les réanalyses. Exemples d'application aux précipitations en Afrique tropicale
2000
This study establishes an objective diagnosis of NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data reliability over tropical Africa at intra-seasonal to interannuel space scale. The reanalysis data are an original database available over 1958-1998 period which combines observations and atmospheric model outputs and allows us to better understand global scale atmospheric dynamics. The study of data reliability allows us to identify a great number of recommendations for using them. Over tropical Africa, the homogeneous period which should be extracted goes from 1968 to 1998. Before this year, reanalysed datasets should be used with greatest caution. However, during this period, the SMWDA, a statistical method used t…
The reliability, distribution, and responsiveness of the Postural Control and Balance for Stroke Test
2005
Abstract Pyoria O, Talvitie U, Villberg J. The reliability, distribution, and responsiveness of the Postural Control and Balance for Stroke Test. Objectives To determine the inter- and intrarater reliability of the Postural Control and Balance for Stroke (PCBS) test and to assess its distribution and responsiveness to changes during 1-year follow-up. Design Intrarater reliability of the PCBS test was assessed by comparing the repeat ratings of videotaped test performances by each of the 5 raters. Interrater reliability was assessed by comparing the ratings of the videotaped test performances between the raters. Setting Hospital neurologic ward and outpatient department of physiotherapy as w…