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At least 217 records · Page 12Linked to original sources
PubMed2001

Problems with the sickness impact profile: a theoretically based analysis and a proposal for a new method of implementation and scoring.

The Sickness Impact Profile (SIP) is one of the most widely used health status measures, but there are problems with the measure that lead to inconsistent and illogical scores. There are many desirable features to the SIP development methodology in that it is based on a good range of items and the item weightings are valuable. The current method of scoring the SIP is the use of a summated total and was selected based on limited empirical evidence. However, in this paper we argue that there are problems with the SIP because the current empirically derived method of scoring is incompatible with both the underlying theoretical scaling framework (Thurstone scaling) and the nature of the items in the SIP. In addition, the items do not have properties consistent with the scaling methodology. We suggest that it is crucial to take both a theoretical and empirical approach to selecting a scoring method. To examine problems associated with the SIP we explored the underlying scaling methodology and identified the types of items in the SIP. A new method of scoring is proposed that is consistent with the items and scaling in the SIP, namely using the maximum individual weighting from the items that were checked as a category score. This new method of scoring resolves many of the previously observed problems in the SIP. The new method of scoring also presented the opportunity for a new implementation of the SIP that reduces the number of items that most respondents, especially those with severe limitations, would be asked. Without taking a theoretical approach to scoring we suggest that subsequent, empirically based, scale amendments are unlikely to solve the problems. It is proposed that this new method of scoring justifies a thorough empirical investigation.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed2002

New method for the determination of fecal consistency and its optimal value in the general population.

BACKGROUND: Although fecal consistency is an important factor, there has been only one study measuring this parameter. We developed a new method to measure fecal consistency and studied the relationship between fecal consistency and other fecal factors, including water content and weight. METHODS: The new method is a modification of the method of Exton-Smith and used an even balance. Subjects in the initial trial were 26 healthy women. Subsequently, fecal consistency was measured in a representative sample of the general Japanese population, in order to evaluate the optimal value to maintain large bowel function. RESULTS: Correlations between fecal consistency and fecal water content and weight were statistically consistent, although not highly correlated with each other. The optimal mean value was around 300 cm2: 'normal' in 'subjective defecatory state', 295.5 cm2 and 305.2 cm2; 'once/day' in 'defecation frequency', 296.1 cm2 and 310.2 cm2; 'soft and plump' in 'fecal characteristics', 293.6 cm2 and 298.3 cm2, in males and females, respectively. The coefficient of variation of this method ranged from 5.2% to 6.3%. CONCLUSIONS: This method is thought to be applicable to large-scale epidemiological surveys. The optimal value of fecal consistency in the general population was evaluated at approximately 300 g/cm2.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

New method for differentiating members of the Bacillus cereus group: collaborative study.

A collaborative study was conducted of a new method for differentiating members of the Bacillus cereus group. Using the new method, each of 14 collaborators identified 8 Bacillus cultures, which represented 3 biotypes of the B. cereus group. Each culture was tested for motility, hemolytic activity on trypticase-soy-sheep blood agar, and rhizoid growth on nutrient agar; carbol-fuchsin stain was used to determine the presence of protein toxin crystals. Cultures were identified as B. cereus (biotype 1), B. cereus var. mycoides (biotype 2), or B. thuringiensis (biotype 3). All collaborators correctly identified the unknown cultures and classified them correctly as to biotype. There were no statistically significant differences in the identification rates among the different laboratories. Additional tests by one participant on 5 strains of Bacillus anthracis showed that the new method is also adequate for differentiating B. anthracis from typically reacting strains of B. cereus. The method has been adopted interim official first action.

Bacillus cereus↗
PubMed1986

New method of bowel stoma formation.

A new method of stoma formation by using a new device has been described. The technical details of this procedure were first tested on 10 autopsy subjects before being applied in the clinical setting. After the autopsy trial was completed, the device was utilized for colostomy or ileostomy in 18 patients. The postoperative course was uncomplicated in all but one patient. Follow-up studies up to 2 years postoperatively revealed satisfactorally functioning stomas in all of the patients. The stoma was surrounded only by a thin, rather insignificant, scar. No cases of stenosis, prolapse, or parastomal hernia were found. Stoma formation with the device permits the creation of a precise abdominal wall aperture that corresponds to the size of the bowel and it prevents abdominal muscles from being cut. The preserved muscles can act like a sphincter around the stoma. Lastly, the procedure is simple, quick, and less traumatic than comparable procedures, and the healing conditions are optimal.

Aged↗
PubMed2006

A new method for determination of chlorophylls in freshwater algae.

A new method (NMM, using acetic acid fiber filter and 90% ethanol) was established to determine chlorophyll in freshwater algae, and it was compared with US standard method (USM, using glass fiber filter and 90% acetone) and the method recommend by EPA of China (CHM, using acetic acid fiber filter and 90% acetone). The precision and repeatability of NMM is equivalent to that of USM, but NMM is safer to laboratory workers than USM and CHM because ethanol was used as solvent in NMM instead of acetone used in USM and CHM, and time and money were also greatly saved by the new method. The precision and repeatability of CHM was much less than USM and NMM, and the advice improving the method was proposed that the extraction time must be prolonged.

Acetic Acid↗
PubMed1979

[A new method of preserving chicken eggs at environmental temperature].

A new method of preserving eggs at room temperature is discussed. The method consists in the "plastification" in situ of the shell, using a liquid synthetic polyvinyl chloride acetate plastic. The plastified eggs and controls were stored under laboratory conditions at 22 degrees C, and the following variables were studied in relation to time: pH of the thick and fluid white, and of the yolk, loss of weight, diameter, yolk index and Haugh units. The results indicated that this new method preserves edible eggs for periods longer than 135 days.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

[Description and assessment of a rapid new method for measuring erythrocyte sedimentation rate].

A new method for the rapid photometric determination of the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) is described and compared with the Westergren technique. The basis of this method is the development of a new physical equation valid for transport processes, in which sedimentation processes can be described by means of a linear regression analysis. After the mathematical transformation, the measured ESR data follow a linear function. The apparatus evaluated measures within a few minutes the velocity profile of the ESR over a distance of about 2 X 10(-4) meter by kinetic determination of the optical density of a short blood column filled in a small cuvette. A microprocessor calculates the linear regression and derives the one and two hour values by extrapolation. The correlation of this method with the standard Westergren technique, determined over 20 days is acceptable (R = 0.95; n = 368). The reproducibility of the same sample (n = 20) is better than that of the conventional procedure. The reproducibility determined with different instruments (n = 20) is comparable to the precision of the Westergren method. The practical value of this new time- and blood-saving, well standardized method for an efficient patient-care is discussed.

Blood Sedimentation↗
PubMed2004

Expeditious implementation of two new methods for analysing the pigment composition of photosynthetic specimens.

Two new methods for analysing the pigment composition of photosynthetic samples have been developed during the last few years. One, called the spectral reconstruction method, uses linear least-squares fitting, while the other, named the Gauss-peak spectra method, entails non-linear optimisation; each has some advantages over the other, but both use a large number of data points and surpass the traditional method which uses absorbance at a few wavelengths. In order to make the new methods transparent to experimentalists who are not well versed in statistical analysis, curve fitting and interpolation, simple procedures are described for implementing the methods with the aid of a spreadsheet. The problem of analysing a sample containing chlorophyll c, which is difficult to isolate in a form sufficiently pure to serve as an analytical standard, is also briefly addressed.

Avena↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A new method for the investigation of cellular dielectrophoresis.

A new method and a new type of measuring-microchamber for the investigation of cellular dielectrophoresis is presented. The method is based on the observation of the trajectory of a single cell in gravitational and electric fields being crossed and orientated perpendicularly to the observation direction. By means of this method the whole dielectrophoretic spectrum ranging from negative to positive dielectrophoresis may be easily and quickly obtained. The experiments carried out on different cell types showed that the dielectrophoretic spectra, as well as the dependence of the critical frequency upon medium conductivity and cell size agree well with the predictions of a new model of the dielectrophoretic mechanism proposed by Sauer.

Cell Movement↗
PubMed2005

[A new method for static intensity-modulated radiation therapy].

OBJECTIVE: To develop a new method for static intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) possible for implementation in smaller hospitals by incorporating accurate location equipments and treatment planning system in the available equipments for general radiotherapy. METHODS: Based on the techniques of conformal radiotherapy, a new split method for fabricating the three-dimensional physical compensator was developed to achieve IMRT. RESULTS: Experiment with the new method showed that the fabricated compensator could achieve good match between the high dosage shape in the target area and the dimensions of the tumor, and allowed adjustment of the dosage distribution according to the therapeutic requirement. CONCLUSION: This simple and feasible method allows cost-effect application of IMRT in smaller hospitals.

Humans↗
PubMed1991

[New methods of oral rehabilitation. Combination preprosthetic surgical operations with endosseous screw implants].

New methods developed in 1987 by the author are described which make the setting of titanium screw implants also possible in extreme cases of mandibular and maxillary atrophy. We describe the first time the posterior mandibular sandwich procedure after lateralization of the alveolar nerve which is a new preprosthetic method even without setting of implants. The anterior mandibular sandwich procedure is a new combination of the Schettler-method 1976 and the placement of titanium implants with interpositioning of autologous as well as lyophilized sterilized bone or lyo-cartilage. A new development is the Le Fort I-osteotomy of the extremely atrophic maxilla with total removal of the mucosa from the floor of the sinus and its obliteration using bicortical iliac crest bones fixed by titanium screw implants (Sailer, 1989). Simultaneously the intermaxillary relation is corrected and a submucous vestibuloplasty performed. Another new method is the vertical maxillary sandwich procedure designed for the extreme narrow alveolar ridge; the method fills a gap of conventional preprosthetic procedures and can be used with bank bone and bank cartilage, but also together with titanium screw implants placed extraorally into iliac crest grafts which are squeezed between the maxillary alveolar lamellae. The bucco-labial bony lamella is pedicled to the submucous tissues and to the periosteum, a submucous vestibuloplasty is always performed. The new methods are a breakthrough in preprosthetic surgery which allow the setting of long implants in cases of severe mandibular and maxillary atrophy. Fixed and hybrid suprastructures are now possible in these cases. The aesthetic aspects are convincing.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Alveolar Bone Loss↗
PubMed2006

Detecting outliers when fitting data with nonlinear regression - a new method based on robust nonlinear regression and the false discovery rate.

BACKGROUND: Nonlinear regression, like linear regression, assumes that the scatter of data around the ideal curve follows a Gaussian or normal distribution. This assumption leads to the familiar goal of regression: to minimize the sum of the squares of the vertical or Y-value distances between the points and the curve. Outliers can dominate the sum-of-the-squares calculation, and lead to misleading results. However, we know of no practical method for routinely identifying outliers when fitting curves with nonlinear regression. RESULTS: We describe a new method for identifying outliers when fitting data with nonlinear regression. We first fit the data using a robust form of nonlinear regression, based on the assumption that scatter follows a Lorentzian distribution. We devised a new adaptive method that gradually becomes more robust as the method proceeds. To define outliers, we adapted the false discovery rate approach to handling multiple comparisons. We then remove the outliers, and analyze the data using ordinary least-squares regression. Because the method combines robust regression and outlier removal, we call it the ROUT method. When analyzing simulated data, where all scatter is Gaussian, our method detects (falsely) one or more outlier in only about 1-3% of experiments. When analyzing data contaminated with one or several outliers, the ROUT method performs well at outlier identification, with an average False Discovery Rate less than 1%. CONCLUSION: Our method, which combines a new method of robust nonlinear regression with a new method of outlier identification, identifies outliers from nonlinear curve fits with reasonable power and few false positives.

Computer Simulation↗
PubMed1997

A new method for quantitative analysis of whole blood platelet interaction with extracellular matrix under flow conditions.

A new method and device in which whole blood platelet deposition and aggregation on extracellular matrix (ECM) under defined shear conditions is quantitatively evaluated was developed. A 0.25 mL aliquot of citrated whole blood is placed on ECM and a defined shear rate is applied for 2 min using a cone and plate device. This is followed by staining and measuring the number of stained objects, the percentage of ECM surface covered with stained objects and the average size of the objects using an image analyzer. When normal blood is analyzed, platelet deposition is a shear and a time dependent process, reaching maximal levels within 2 min at high shear rate (1300 s-1) of about 20% surface coverage and average aggregate size of about 40-50 microns 2. These two parameters demonstrated positive correlation with the platelet count and the hematocrit. Studies using samples from patients with von Willebrand disease (vWD) and Glanzmann's Thrombasthenia (GT) were performed and demonstrated the ability of the new method to detect these pathological conditions. Blood samples of vWD patients showed a very low adhesion and aggregation at high shear rate as reflected by very low surface coverage (5.2%) and average particle size of single platelets (21.3 microns2). GT samples at a high shear rate demonstrated surface coverage similar to normal blood samples (21.7%) but with average particle size of single platelets (21.3 microns2). The new method is an alternative method to clinically evaluate platelet function under close to physiological conditions.

Blood Platelets↗
PubMed2000

Extraction current transients: new method of study of charge transport in microcrystalline silicon

The transport properties of microcrystalline silicon, namely, mobility and conductivity, are investigated by a new method, for which the simple theory as well as numerical modeling is presented. The basic idea of the new method is verified on amorphous hydrogenated silicon by comparison with the widely used time-of-flight method. Contrary to time of flight, the new method can be used even for relatively conductive materials. Preliminary results on microcrystalline silicon clearly indicate the critical role of amorphouslike tissue in transport in microcrystalline silicon.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1982

[A new method of ovulation induction with HMG-HCG by a E2 rapid radioimmunoassay (author's transl)].

We schemed out a new method of ovulation induction with HMG-HCG using E2 rapid radio-immunoassay (RIA). On measurement of E2 values, the method of E2-(125)I kit (Daiichi Radioisotope Labs., LTD) was simplified, that is, an omission of defatting, shortened incubation time and a standard curve constructed by three points. There was a good correlation between the E2-(125)I kit method and the E2 rapid RIA method in E2 values obtained. The lowest detectable amount was 75 pg/ml. This rapid method seemed to be suitable to monitor the extent of follicular maturation during HMG therapy. Our new method of ovulation induction was as follows. (i) On the basis of E2 values measured every 3 days, HMG dosage was adjusted. (ii) When E2 was over 400 pg/ml for 2 days, HCG was given on the next day. with this method, there was an increase in the percentage of ovulatory cycles from 54.5% to 100% and a decline in the incidence of ovarian enlargement and the ascites. This new method minimized inconvenience and expense of E2 determination without drastically influencing therapy outcome.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

A new method of linkage analysis using LOD scores for quantitative traits supports linkage of monoamine oxidase activity to D17S250 in the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism pedigrees.

OBJECTIVE: Although LOD score methods have been applied to diseases with complex modes of inheritance, linkage analysis of quantitative traits has tended to rely on non-parametric methods based on regression or variance components analysis. Here, we describe a new method for LOD score analysis of quantitative traits which does not require specification of a mode of inheritance. METHODS: The technique is derived from the MFLINK method for dichotomous traits. A range of plausible transmission models is constructed, constrained to yield the correct population mean and variance for the trait but differing with respect to the contribution to the variance due to the locus under consideration. Maximized LOD scores under homogeneity and admixture are calculated, as is a model-free LOD score which compares the maximized likelihoods under admixture assuming linkage and no linkage. These LOD scores have known asymptotic distributions and hence can be used to provide a statistical test for linkage. The method has been implemented in a program called QMFLINK. It was applied to data sets simulated using a variety of transmission models and to a measure of monoamine oxidase activity in 105 pedigrees from the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism. RESULTS: With the simulated data, the results showed that the new method could detect linkage well if the true allele frequency for the trait was close to that specified. However, it performed poorly on models in which the true allele frequency was much rarer. For the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism data set only a modest overlap was observed between the results obtained from the new method and those obtained when the same data were analysed previously using regression and variance components analysis. Of interest is that D17S250 produced a maximized LOD score under homogeneity and admixture of 2.6 but did not indicate linkage using the previous methods. However, this region did produce evidence for linkage in a separate data set, suggesting that QMFLINK may have been able to detect a true linkage which was not picked up by the other methods. CONCLUSION: The application of model-free LOD score analysis to quantitative traits is novel and deserves further evaluation of its merits and disadvantages relative to other methods.

Alcoholism↗
PubMed2006

[A new method for medial canthoplasty combined double eyelid formation].

OBJECTIVE: In order to explore a new method to perform the medial canthoplasty applied with upper eyelid fold formation in a single procedure. METHODS: According to the principles to correct the deformity of the medial canthus, a new method was designed to fetch up the skin defect of the medial side of upper eyelid, minimize the skin scarring around the medial canthus, and form upper eyelid fold. RESULTS: The 86 cases, which mild or moderate epicanthus without upper eyelid fold, were treated with this technique and long-term follow-ups above 6 months were made. The 67 cases were given the follow-ups. The appearances of upper eyelid fold and medial canthus were evaluated. The appearances of eyelid fold were paralleled type. The epicanthus was corrected completely or in major. CONCLUSIONS: This new canthoplastic method with upper eyelid fold formation may be suitable to all the medial epicanthus except inverse epicanthus. All of the patients were satisfied with the final results.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1980

New method for the rapid detection of vitamin k deficiency.

A new method is introduced for the rapid detection of vitamin K deficiency. The method is based on the direct measurement of the precursor factor II molecules that enter the blood in cases of vitamin K deficiency. The practical use of the new method has been evaluated on the basis of the results obtained in 28 plasma samples of patients suspected of liver disease and/or vitamin K deficiency.

Double-Blind Method↗