Biomedical subjects

R Leonhart

Publications and source records attributed to R Leonhart.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2005

[An empirical structural analysis of the IRES questionnaire version 2, dependent on indication, gender and age].

The patient questionnaire "Indicators of Reha Status" (IRES, Version 2) is used for assessing the need for rehabilitation and the success of rehabilitation. It is one of the most frequently used questionnaires in measuring subjective health conditions in medical rehabilitation in Germany. Based on the data of 8600 inpatient rehabilitees, the underlying structural model is examined by a confirmatory factor analysis. The model deviates in part from the original model of the questionnaire authors. The modified model was tested within 12 sub-groups. The sub-groups were divided depending on sex, age and indications (orthopaedic, cardiologic and psychosomatic) of the patients. Multi-group comparisons made between those 12 sub-groups showed specific structures within the groups of psychosomatic patients while no differences between female/male and younger/older patients were found. Furthermore, comparable structures of orthopaedic and cardiologic patients were found. Therefore the dimension values of the IRES patient questionnaire are not suited for a comparison between psychosomatic patients and patients from the somatic indications.

Age Distribution↗

PubMed2004

[Estimating effect sizes in clinical trials].

Even though reporting of effect sizes is recommended in methodological guidelines such as the CONSORT Statement (Consolidated Standard of Reporting Trials), these quantities are still rarely included in reports on studies in rehabilitation medicine. The aim of this paper is to emphasize the relevance of reporting effect sizes and to illustrate different methods for their calculation. The implications of using different methods for calculating effect sizes are also discussed.

Clinical Trials as Topic↗

PubMed2004

Planning abilities and the Tower of London: is this task measuring a discrete cognitive function?

The Tower of London (ToL) test is widely used for measuring planning and aspects of problem solving. The primary focus of this study was to asses the relationship among different measures on the ToL. A secondary purpose was to examine the putative relationship between intelligence and working memory with that of ToL performance. Analyses of the interrelation of several ToL parameters indicated that better ToL performance was associated with longer preplanning time and shorter movement execution time. Good performers showed a stronger increase in preplanning duration with task difficulty then intermediate or poor planners. Stepwise multiple regression analysis yield fluid intelligence as the only significant predictor of ToL performance. These result suggest that the Tower of London assesses predominantly planning and problem solving and could not be explained by other cognitive domains.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

The Tower of London: the impact of instructions, cueing, and learning on planning abilities.

The Tower of London (ToL) is a well-known test of planning ability, and commonly used for the purpose of neuropsychological assessment and cognitive research. Its widespread application has led to numerous versions differing in a number of respects. The present study addressed the question whether differences in instruction, cueing, and learning processes systematically influence ToL performance across five difficulty levels (three to seven moves). A total of 81 normal adults were examined in a mixed design with the between-subject factor instruction (online versus mental preplanning) and the within-subject factors cueing (cue versus non-cue test version) and learning processes (first block and second block). We also assessed general intelligence for further analyses of differences between instruction groups. In general, there was a significant main effect across the difficulty levels indicating that the rate of incorrect solutions increased with problem difficulty. The participants who were instructed to make full mental plans before beginning to execute movements (preplanning) solved significantly more problems than people who started immediately with task-related movements (online). As for the cueing conditions, participants with the minimum number of moves predetermined (cue) could solve more trials than people who were only instructed to solve the problems in as few moves as possible (non-cue). Participants generally increased performance in the second part of the test session. However, an interaction of presentation order of the cueing condition with learning indicated that people who started the tasks with the non-cue version showed significantly better performance in the following cue condition, while participants who started with the cue condition stayed at the same performance level for both versions. These findings suggest that instruction, cueing conditions, and learning processes are important determinants of ToL performance, and they stress the necessity of standardized application in research and clinical practice.

Adult↗

PubMed2001

Global analysis of Escherichia coli gene expression during the acetate-induced acid tolerance response.

The ability of Escherichia coli to survive at low pH is strongly affected by environmental factors, such as composition of the growth medium and growth phase. Exposure to short-chain fatty acids, such as acetate, proprionate, and butyrate, at neutral or nearly neutral pH has also been shown to increase acid survival of E. coli and Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium. To investigate the basis for acetate-induced acid tolerance in E. coli O157:H7, genes whose expression was altered by exposure to acetate were identified using gene arrays. The expression of 60 genes was reduced by at least twofold; of these, 48 encode components of the transcription-translation machinery. Expression of 26 genes increased twofold or greater following treatment with acetate. This included six genes whose products are known to be important for survival at low pH. Five of these genes, as well as six other acetate-induced genes, are members of the E. coli RpoS regulon. RpoS, the stress sigma factor, is known to be required for acid tolerance induced by growth at nonlethal low pH or by entry into stationary phase. Disruption of the rpoS gene by a transposon insertion mutation also prevented acetate-induced acid tolerance. However, induction of RpoS expression did not appear to be sufficient to activate the acid tolerance response. Treatment with either NaCl or sodium acetate (pH 7.0) increased expression of an rpoS::lacZ fusion protein, but only treatment with acetate increased acid survival.

Bacterial Proteins↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Speech therapy assessment: field study on psychometric properties, practicability, acceptance and process quality].

OBJECTIVE: to investigate the internal consistency, responsiveness, discriminative validity, practicability, acceptance and process quality of a recently developed Speech Therapy Assessment (STA) under routine work conditions of speech and language therapists in German speaking countries. Since standardised, generic and ICF-oriented assessment tools for documentation and evaluation of speech therapy interventions for adult clients are missing in German speaking countries and existing tests cover only sub-areas, the STA has been developed in the years 1995 to 2002. By means of different domains, speech and language therapists assess client (1) communication, (2) aphasia, (3) speech apraxia, (4) dysarthria and (5) dysphagia as well as (6) her or his dealing with corresponding disabilities. METHODS: 17 therapists from 14 institutions applied the STA to 260 adult clients with language, speaking or swallowing disorders. The clients were included in the study consecutively over a period of 7 month. After this period, the therapists completed a questionnaire regarding the benefit and practicability of the STA. Cronbach alpha was calculated as indicator for internal consistency, effect sizes (standardised response means) for responsiveness and ROC values for discriminative validity. The answers of the questionnaire about the benefit of the STA were evaluated both, quantitatively and qualitatively. RESULTS: The internal consistency and discriminative validity were high (Cronbach alpha: 0.79 to 0.95; ROC-values: 0.84 to 0.98). Effect sizes regarding responsiveness were moderate (standardised response means: 0.46 to 0.78). On a 5-step Likert scale (1 = very good, 5 = inadequate), the therapists rated the average (standard deviation) benefit of the STA with: practicability 2.6 (1.2), acceptance 2.8 (1.3), impact on diagnostics 2.8 (1.3), impact on finding therapeutic goals 3.5 (1.2), impact on communication with other rehabilitation partners 2.7 (1.5) and overall judgement 2.6 (0.9). CONCLUSION: The STA fulfils essential quality criteria of the classical test theory. The involved therapists assessed the benefit of the STA as satisfactory. In addition, they pointed out concrete improvement potential for the implementation in practice. It is planed to investigate a refined version of the STA in a multi centre validation study.

Aged↗