Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “Pre-post Tests”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Does memory loss occur after MR imaging?

In four separate studies, the existence of specific memory loss after magnetic resonance (MR) imaging at 1.5 T was assessed by means of recognition and recall tests for faces, common objects, lexical items, and by digit span, in a pre-post paradigm. Although specific memory loss was demonstrated, it was shown that the loss was not due to the main magnetic field of the imager or to radio-frequency pulse sequences, but rather to probable psychological (not physical) factors. No gross or subtle memory changes could be attributed to MR imaging, because control groups showed similar patterns of memory loss.

Adolescent↗

The school breakfast program and cognition in adolescents.

We studied cognitive function and metabolic status in a group of healthy adolescents fed the government supplied breakfast (n = 18) versus a control group (n = 16) fed a very low calorie meal. Serum glucose and beta-hydroxybutyrate levels were repeatedly measured at predetermined intervals throughout the testing period. Acute cognitive and mood effect were evaluated in all subjects on a pre-post basis. No significant group differences emerged on a battery of psychological measures that assessed short-term auditory memory, vigilance, impulsivity, and mood. Neither serum glucose or beta-hydroxybutyrate levels correlated significantly with any behavioral measure. Results are discussed in the context of previous studies of nutrition and cognition.

3-Hydroxybutyric Acid↗

Follow-up effects of a medical school course in human sexuality.

The effects of a course in human sexuality for a class of second-year male medical students are described. The course consists of two interacting components: a 2-day seminar and a 2-week didactic presentation. The purpose of the seminar is to develop humanistic understanding and tolerance of one's own and others' sexuality. The didactic presentation focuses on factual information. A variety of evaluation instruments were used, and students were tested precourse, postcourse, and at the end of 6 and 12 months. Results show a significant pre-post increase in tolerance in attitude and amount of knowledge. There appears to be some moderation in level of attitude and knowledge gain at the 6-months point, and significant increases from the precourse level to the 12-months point persist. Participants almost uniformly report personal benefit, with a significant number described greater satisfaction in their own sexual behaviour.

Adolescent↗

Effect of induced elation and depression on internal-external locus of control.

This study tested the notion that depression is associated with external locus of control and elation is related to internal locus of control. Temporary mood states (depression, elation, neutral) were produced by means of Velten's auto-suggestion technique. Fifteen female undergraduates were assigned to each mood condition, and locus of control scores were obtained both before and after the mood induction procedure. Pre-post changes were as predicted: elation caused an increased sense of internality, and depression caused an increased sense of externality. Neutral mood induction did not alter locus of control.

Adolescent↗

Psychological assessment of the burn patient.

Emotional and intellectual responses of 25 burn patients, 16 males and 9 females, were assessed with the MMPI and the six verbal subtests of the WAIS. These measures were administered upon hospital admission and 11 to 12 months after discharge. Data analysis entailed Hotelling's T2 tests for paired observations, paired t-tests and product-moment correlations. Results did not reveal the emotional and intellectual deterioration commonly reported in the literature. The composite group MMPI profiles were essentially normal at both administrations with significant pre-post increments on the L Scale, Scale 9 and Scale 0, p less than .05. Male patients did not show significant pre-post changes, while females showed a significant pre-post increment on Scale 0, p less than .05, which indicates increased social orientation and gregariousness. Patients as a group showed significant pre-post increments on the Information (p less than .05) and Digit Span (p less than .01) subtests of the WAIS. Males demonstrated more dramatic increases than did females. Discrepancies between these findings and those reported by other investigators are attributed to the use of young children as participants in other studies, the absence of discernible premorbid factors that have been associated with post-trauma adjustment difficulties in other investigations and possible differential effectiveness of psychological intervention during hospitalization. The WAIS and MMPI were found to be sensitive to the emotional and intellectual changes experienced by participants, which suggests their application to assess the psychological aspects of the burn patient's recovery.

Adult↗

Perception of linear acceleration in weightlessness.

Tests of the perception and use of linear acceleration sensory information were performed on the science crews of the Spacelab 1 (SL-1) and D-1 missions using linear "sleds" in-flight (D-1) and pre-post flight. The time delay between the acceleration step stimulus and the subjective response was consistently reduced during weightlessness, but was neither statistically significant nor of functional importance. Increased variability of responses when going from one environment to the other was apparent from measurements on the first day of the mission and in the first days post-flight. Subjective report of perceived motion during sinusoidal oscillation in weightlessness were qualitatively similar to reports on earth. In a closed-loop motion nulling task, enhanced performance was observed post-flight in all crewmembers tested in the Y or Z axes.

Acceleration↗

Perception of linear acceleration in weightlessness.

Tests of the perception and use of linear acceleration sensory information were performed on the science crews of the Spacelab 1 (SL-1) and D-1 missions using linear "sleds" in-flight (D-1) and pre-post flight. The time delay between the acceleration step stimulus and the subjective response was consistently reduced during weightlessness, but was neither statistically significant nor of functional importance. Increased variability of responses when going from one environment to the other was apparent from measurements on the first day of the mission and in the first days post-flight. Subjective reports of perceived motion during sinusoidal oscillation in weightlessness were qualitatively similar to reports on earth. In a closed-loop motion nulling task, enhanced performance was observed post-flight in all crewmembers tested in the Y or Z axes.

Acceleration↗

Cigarette smoking and nicotine gum (0, 2 and 4 mg): effects upon four visual attention tasks.

Sixteen regular smokers, abstinent for 12 h prior to testing, were assessed on a battery of four visual attention tasks: rapid visual information processing (RVIP), letter cancellation, Stroop, and width of attention. Each subject was assessed under four conditions: placebo gum, 2 mg nicotine gum, 4 mg nicotine gum, and cigarette smoking (own brand), with the order of drug administration determined by latin square. Pre-post drug difference scores for letter cancellation response time demonstrated a significant monotonic dose-response function, with significantly faster performance following cigarette than placebo. RVIP response time and target detection were also affected by nicotine. One RVIP task parameter demonstrated a significant monotonic dose-response function, with highest performance under smoking. Other RVIP measures demonstrated curvilinear dose-response functions, with highest performance under nicotine gum, and broadly similar performance after placebo gum and cigarette smoking. Monotonic and inverted-U arousal/performance functions similar to these have been demonstrated in previous research with nicotine. In contrast to the significant changes in sustained attention, neither width of attention nor Stroop task performance (an index of distractability) was affected by nicotine. Resting heart rate and subjective 'need for a cigarette' showed the predicted monotonic dose-response functions following nicotine. There were no significant changes in any Profile of Mood State factor.

Adolescent↗

Cold exposure during military operations: effects on anaerobic performance.

This study examined the effects of military field operations (MFO) under different environmental conditions on anaerobic performance. US Marines were tested in the field under the following conditions: 1) noncold environment (NC; n = 30, 10-32 degrees C) and 2) cold environment (CO; n = 32, -2 to -22 degrees C). Subjects performed 30-s Wingate tests (WIN) pre- and immediately post-MFO to assess anaerobic performance. The MFO consisted of approximately 4.5 days of combat training maneuvers while carrying field equipment (packs and weapon, approximately 25 kg). WIN measures obtained were absolute and relative mean power (MP), 5-s peak power (PP), and fatigue index (% decline). Significant main effects (P less than 0.01) were observed for time (pre-post MFO). Reductions occurred in absolute MP [651.8 +/- 30.3 to 616.4 +/- 28.5 (SE) W] and PP (897.8 +/- 41.6 to 857.0 +/- 39.1 W); however, no effect on fatigue index was seen. Significant interaction effects (P less than 0.05) were observed in relative measures. Reductions (pre-post) in MP (NC = 8.64 +/- 0.16 to 8.37 +/- 0.14 W/kg; CO = 8.91 +/- 0.26 to 8.04 +/- 0.15 W/kg) and PP (NC = 11.80 +/- 0.24 to 11.61 +/- 0.33 W/kg; CO = 12.23 +/- 0.35 to 11.20 +/- 0.19 W/kg) were greater under CO than NC conditions. These changes were found despite significant (P less than 0.05) but comparable pre-post weight reductions in both CO and NC conditions.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adolescent↗

Normal paraspinal tissue compliance: the reliability of a new clinical and experimental instrument.

Test-retest reliability of a hand-held tissue compliance meter was evaluated in 20 normal subjects at four paraspinal locations to determine possible effects of probe response or other sources of variability on measurements taken 10 min later at exactly the same location. If tissue compliance, as measured by this instrument, is to be used in a pre-post context to evaluate treatment effects, caution is urged, since 26% of the sites were significantly (+/- 1.96 SD) different on 10 min retest though subjects remained supine and without intervention. In addition, since 85% of these normal subjects displayed at least one paraspinal compliance asymmetry large enough to qualify as pathological by Fischer's criteria, revision of these criteria may be appropriate, at least for these paraspinal locations.

Chiropractic↗

Attention and autonomic self-regulation.

To examine how various aspects of attentional functioning are affected by autonomic self-regulation procedures, this study compared the effect of two treatment programs (EMG and thermal biofeedback used in conjunction with various somatic and cognitive relaxation/self-regulation strategies, and Benson's Relaxation Response procedure) and a Waiting List control group for essential hypertensive adults on three, perhaps overlapping, attentional dimensions: the capacity to disembed figure from ground (Embedded Figures Test, Block Design, and Picture Completion WAIS subtests); the capacity to voluntarily deploy attention (Digit Span subtest of the WAIS), and capacity to sustain attention or become absorbed (as measured by the Tellegen Absorption Scale). Thirty essential hypertensive men and women were randomly placed in one of the three groups. Attentional dimensions were assessed before and after the 10-week treatment program (or waiting period) and the relationship between blood pressure and attentional changes were assessed. The only group to evidence significant blood pressure reduction, the "Biofeedback Group," became significantly more Field Independent as measured by the EFT (p less than 0.001) and the Block Design measure (p less than 0.01) and evidenced a strong trend in the same direction on the Picture Completion measure (p less than 0.052, NS). No other significant pre-post attentional changes were found. A Pearson product correlation revealed that changes in diastolic blood pressure were significantly correlated with changes in EFT (r = 0.54, p less than 0.0001) and the Picture Completion measure (r = 0.32, p less than 0.05). The cognitive effect of autonomic self-regulation is discussed. In addition, the possible role of attention in autonomic self-regulation is examined.

Adult↗

[Relationship between internal lead exposure and psychologic performance after occupational medicine interventions].

In order to investigate the influence of hygienic measures (mobilisation yield of lead in urine by CaEDTA, part-time work) on psychological performance 23 lead exposed workers have been psychodiagnostically investigated twice along with biological monitoring (blood lead level, erythrocyte protoporphyrine). In the pre-post comparison 4 of the 6 performance ranges measured showed distinct performance improvements, which could be shown to be statistically significant for group comparisons and in most individual cases. Parameters sensitive to changes were in the motor-sensory choice reaction, concentration and memory while subjective estimations of well-being exhibited no changes. Also after discussing methodological questions (influence of age, test repetition) the changes are interpreted in the direction of a possible reversibility of neurotoxic effects as a consequence of hygienic interventions.

Adult↗

Fantastic microbes and where to find them: evaluating learning-by-doing outcomes in a crowdfunded metagenomics workshop.

Metagenomics offers a powerful framework for authentic, interdisciplinary learning, yet it remains underrepresented in undergraduate education due to technical and infrastructural barriers. We hypothesized that a research-based, learning-by-doing metagenomics workshop supported by accessible bioinformatics tools could enhance students' perceived skills, self-efficacy, and conceptual understanding of metagenomic analysis. To test this hypothesis, we designed and evaluated a hybrid hands-on workshop in which undergraduate and postgraduate students analyzed real environmental shotgun metagenomic datasets generated from soil samples collected during a citizen science initiative. Using the graphical workflow platform KBase, participants completed an end-to-end metagenomic analysis, from quality control and assembly to genome reconstruction, taxonomic classification, functional annotation, and scientific presentation of results. Educational outcomes were assessed through validated retrospective pre-post questionnaires, self-efficacy scales, and an open-ended conceptual understanding task. Participants showed significant increases in perceived metagenomic skills and confidence in performing metagenomic analyses, while gains in perceived learning showed a positive trend. Conceptual understanding improved across educational levels, particularly among participants with limited prior experience. Together, these findings demonstrate that authentic, data-driven metagenomics activities can effectively lower barriers to computational biology and foster meaningful learning through hands-on research experiences.

Metagenomics↗

Inpatient social-cognitive skills training groups with conduct disordered and attention deficit disordered children.

The impact of group treatment programs on the social skills and peer relations of psychiatrically hospitalized children with disruptive behavior disorders was evaluated. Children assigned to a social-cognitive skills training group (SCST; n = 36) were matched to children who participated in a social activity group (SA; n = 20). The results indicated significantly greater pre-post improvements for the SCST than the SA group in child-reported loneliness, staff sociometric ratings, role-play performances, and in vivo behavioral observations of individual social skills. Child diagnoses did not differentially effect treatment outcomes. The findings are discussed in the context of training, clinical, and methodological issues.

Aggression↗

The effects of hydraulic resistance strength training in pre-pubertal males.

In order to examine the effectiveness and safety of hydraulic resistance strength training in young males, 26 pre-pubertal males (mean age = 8.2 +/- 1.3 yr) completed a 14-wk strength training study. Subjects were evaluated before and after the 14-wk experimental period for pubertal state (Tanner's sexual maturity rating, serum testosterone, and serum dihydroepiandrosterone sulfate). Effectiveness of the strength training program was determined by measuring pre-post differences in: isokinetic strength for flexion and extension at the knee and elbow joints at two speeds (30 degrees and 90 degrees X s-1) (KIN COM, Chattecx, Inc., Chattanooga, TN), flexibility, standing long jump, vertical jump, body composition parameters, maximal oxygen consumption, and creatinine phosphokinase. Safety of strength training was assessed by biphasic musculoskeletal scintigraphy before and after the program and by physician evaluation of complaints by subjects. Strength training subjects (N = 16) participated in a 45 min/session, 3 session/wk, 14-wk supervised strength training program with an attendance rate of 91.5%. Participants performed concentric work using hydraulic resistance equipment (Hydra-Fitness Industries, Belton, TX). Eccentric work was not performed. Control subjects (N = 10) did not strength train but did participate in sport activities and activities of daily living. Results indicated that strength training subjects increased isokinetic strength as a result of strength training (average concentric work/repetition increases by 18.5 to 36.6% for the eight motions tested; torque scores over the first 90% of the range of motion increases by 13.1 to 45.1% for the eight motions tested). These changes were significantly greater than changes seen in the control group (P less than 0.05). Strength training subjects also demonstrated significant improvements (as compared to control subjects) in vertical jump (+10.4%), flexibility (+8.4%), and maximal oxygen consumption [+19.4% (l X min-1), +13.8% (ml X kg X min-1)] after the experimental period. Musculoskeletal scintigraphy revealed no evidence of damage to epiphyses, bone, or muscle as a result of strength training. Only one strength training-related injury was reported (left shoulder pain, 3 strength training sessions missed). In contrast, six strength training subjects sustained injuries during activities of daily living, resulting in 47 missed strength training sessions. It was concluded that, in the short term, supervised concentric strength training using hydraulic resistance equipment is safe and effective in pre-pubertal boys.

Anthropometry↗

Reducing state anxiety with alpha-frequency transcranial alternating current stimulation.

BACKGROUND: Anxiety reactivity to acute stress is a transdiagnostic vulnerability factor. We tested whether a single session of alpha-frequency transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) targeting the frontoparietal control network reduces stress-evoked state anxiety in healthy adults. METHODS: In a randomized, blinded, sham-controlled study, 42 participants (mean age 58.9 years) completed an acute stress task before and after stimulation. The task was an adapted moving-circles paradigm in which circle collisions triggered a brief aversive event (mild electric shock plus unpleasant noise and a white flash). Active stimulation consisted of 20 min of 10-Hz tACS (2.0 mA/channel; 30-s ramp up/down) delivered via electrodes at F3, P3, Cz, and T7 (0° phase at F3/P3; 180° at Cz/T7). Sham stimulation used the same montage and ramp periods but no sustained current. RESULTS: State anxiety showed a significant Time × Protocol interaction (F(1,35) = 4.22, p = .047): STAI-S decreased after active tACS (Δ = -3.16) but increased slightly after sham (Δ = +1.17). Perceived stress appraisal (SAAS) did not change. Resting-state alpha power at F3/P3 showed no reliable pre-post effects. During the task, left-frontal relative alpha differed by protocol and showed a trend toward larger increases following active tACS. Electrodermal and pupil indices changed across sessions in both groups, with no differential stimulation effects. CONCLUSIONS: A single alpha-tACS session produced a modest, selective reduction in stress-evoked state anxiety, supporting oscillatory neuromodulation as a scalable approach to dampen anxiety reactivity.

Humans↗

Test-retest reliability of spatiotemporal, kinematic, and kinetic measures in marker-based 3D gait analysis: A systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Marker-based 3D gait analysis (3DGA) is widely used to quantify impairments and evaluate treatment effects. For longitudinal clinical interpretation, clinicians and researchers need reference values for inter-session measurement error. For this purpose, this systematic review synthesized Standard Error of Measurement (SEM) values for spatiotemporal, kinematic, and kinetic (moments) outcomes obtained from marker-based 3DGA studies. METHODS: PubMed and Scopus were searched (final search: 11 December 2025). Studies reporting inter-session test-retest SEM and/or MDC for steady-state overground or treadmill walking using marker-based motion capture were included. Two authors screened records and appraised methodological/reporting quality using a custom tool informed by COSMIN, GRRAS, and biomechanics-specific items. Due to heterogeneity, results were synthesized descriptively using study-level median SEM values, stratified by joint, plane, population (healthy, pathological, single subgroups), and walking condition. Minimal Detectable Change (MDC) values were computed for all available data. RESULTS: Thirty-four studies (762 participants, 44.2% females) were included, with substantially more evidence for overground than treadmill walking. Overground spatiotemporal outcomes showed low errors (walking speed SEM of 0.06 m/s; timing typically ≤0.03 s; spatial parameters generally ≤0.03 m). For joint kinematics during overground walking, median SEMs were 2.4° (sagittal), 1.9° (frontal), and 3.3° (transverse). The corresponding joint-kinetic SEMs were approximately 0.06, 0.04, and 0.03 Nm/kg, respectively. Treadmill data followed similar patterns. SIGNIFICANCE: Marker-based 3DGA allows for accurate assessment of spatiotemporal, kinematic, and kinetic gait features. We provided detailed SEM/MDC lookup tables to support clinical decision-making. Results further offer a benchmark for validating emerging gait assessment technologies (e.g., markerless systems) against realistic limits of marker-based 3DGA.

Humans↗

Quality of life of community mental health program clients: validating a measure.

A quality of life theory is proposed as a framework for conceptualizing and evaluating mental health services. Quality of life consists of fulfilling needs, meeting social expectations, and accessing opportunities by using abilities. Abilities are impaired by mental illness. Mental health services moderate social demands, supplement opportunities, and restore abilities. A 263 item questionnaire was developed to assess the impact of mental health services on clients' quality of life. A 24 site study including 1,154 pre-tests, 758 post-tests, and 190 interviews with randomly selected community residents was conducted. Evidence for the reliability and validity of the questionnaire are presented. The instrument discriminates among four known client groups, client and community samples, communities with known quality of life differences, and pre- versus post-treatment samples of clients. The convergence between client's retrospective impressions of improvement and measured pre-post improvement is discussed.

Adolescent↗