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PubMedDate not supplied

[The temporal consistency of phasic conversions in the basic frequency components of the EEG].

The study is dedicated to the problem of piecewise description of stationary segments of the EEG basic rhythms. Temporal consistency was studied of the moments of sharp changes in characteristics of the individual basic EEG frequency components within the same realization. In 6 human subjects (in the state of quiet wakefulness with eyes closed) a rather high number was shown of nonrandom paired coincidences of the moments of sharp changes in characteristics of 5 EEG basic rhythms. Such between-component consistency was most expressed for a combination of alpha2-beta1 frequency ranges. The main topographic feature of this phenomenon was a substantial (2-4 times) increase in the indices of between-frequency consistency from the occipital to frontal areas. The character of changes in these indices was closely the same in 10 paired combinations of the EEG frequency bands, at least in the frontal and central derivations. The obtained results suggest the existence of a special operational synchrony of the EEG basic rhythms. In contrast to the classical phase-frequency synchronization, this kind of synchrony reflects the temporal consistency of quasistationary modes of brain activity.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

The safety and immunogenicity of a quadrivalent measles, mumps, rubella and varicella vaccine in healthy children: a study of manufacturing consistency and persistence of antibody.

BACKGROUND: This clinical trial was conducted to demonstrate that each of 3 consistency lots of a combined measles, mumps, rubella and varicella vaccine (MMRV) would be well tolerated, induce clinically acceptable and similar immune responses to each antigen and induce immune responses similar to measles, mumps and rubella vaccine (MMR) administered concomitantly with varicella vaccine (V). An additional objective was to evaluate the persistence of antibodies 1 year postvaccination. METHODS: Study participants 12 to 23 months of age received a single injection of either one of 3 consistency lots of MMRV or MMR + V administered at separate injection sites. RESULTS: A total of 3,928 healthy children were enrolled at study sites in the United States and Canada. Immune responses to measles, mumps, rubella and varicella in children immunized with each of 3 lots of MMRV were similar and the combined response to all 3 lots was comparable to that of the control group. The 1-year antibody persistence rates for measles, mumps, rubella and varicella viruses were each greater than 95% and comparable among the recipients of the 3 consistency lots of MMRV and the control group. All vaccines were generally well tolerated during the 42 days after vaccination and the overall incidence of adverse experiences was comparable between recipients of MMRV and MMR + V. Rates of fever (temperature >or=38.9 degrees C oral equivalent or tactile) were greater in recipients of MMRV than in recipients of MMR + V (39.1% versus 33.1%, P = 0.001). Fevers were transient and there was no difference in the incidence of febrile seizures. CONCLUSIONS: MMRV was generally well tolerated and had comparable immunogenicity and overall safety profiles to MMR + V administered concomitantly. Long-term persistence of antibodies after receipt of MMRV is expected based on similar antibody titers against all 4 antigens 1 year postvaccination compared with recipients of MMR and V.

Antibodies, Viral↗

PubMed1994

AIDS hot lines and information agencies. The consistency of their information.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the consistency of responses given by acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) hot lines and AIDS information agencies to a standard set of questions related to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and to investigate the training of workers in these telephone information agencies. DESIGN: A two-part questionnaire that addressed issues of HIV transmission and testing (part 1) and sexual behavior, diet, alcohol use, and partner notification (part 2). SETTING: Thirty-three AIDS telephone information agencies. PARTICIPANTS: Information specialists at these agencies were contacted on multiple occasions over a 1-year period. INTERVENTION: Initially, 48 calls were made to these agencies. Responses were recorded in the words of the information specialists, categorized, and assessed for consistency. Two additional surveys using the same questionnaire were also performed, examining the variability of responses within an individual agency and the variability of responses from six agencies, three with and three without formal training of their information specialists. RESULTS: The initial survey revealed inconsistencies and inaccuracies in responses from AIDS telephone information agencies particularly in the areas of HIV testing, risk factor assessment, safe-sex recommendations, and life-style changes for infected persons. The second survey revealed variability in responses from six information specialists within a single agency. The third survey revealed that, overall, agencies with and without formal training of workers were equally inconsistent in their responses. CONCLUSIONS: There are identifiable deficiencies in the quality and consistency of information given by some AIDS telephone information agencies. Training procedures of information specialists at these agencies are variable and may be inadequate.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗

PubMed2002

Orthostatic hypotension in acute geriatric ward: is it a consistent finding?

BACKGROUND: Orthostatic hypotension (OH) is a common finding among older patients. We designed a study to examine the prevalence and consistency of OH during the day. METHODS: A total of 502 inpatients (241 men and 261 women) with a mean age of 81.6 years were included in the study. Orthostatic tests were performed 3 times during the day, 30 minutes after meals. In 13 patients only 2 sets of measurements were obtained, and they were omitted from some of the calculations. Orthostatic hypotension was defined as a fall of at least 20 mm Hg in systolic blood pressure and/or 10 mm Hg in diastolic blood pressure on assuming an upright posture. RESULTS: Three hundred thirty-two (67.9%) of 489 patients experienced OH at least once during the day. Of these, 170 patients (34.8% of the 489) had OH at least twice (persistent OH) and 162 patients (33.1%) experienced OH only once (variable OH). Diastolic OH was more prevalent than systolic OH (57.3% vs 43.4%; P<.001). The intraindividual consistency of OH was low (kappa = 0.2). Orthostatic hypotension was observed less frequently during the evening than during the morning and afternoon (P<.05 vs morning and P =.003 vs afternoon). The difference between meals' constituents (light vs heavy meals) did not affect the prevalence of OH. CONCLUSIONS: Orthostatic hypotension is very common in the elderly, and diastolic OH is more common than systolic OH. The prevalence of OH is the lowest during the evening, and meals do not increase the prevalence of OH. The intraindividual consistency of OH during the day is poor. Thus, in elderly patients, more attention should be paid to diastolic OH and the diagnosis should be based on repeated measurements.

Acute Disease↗

PubMed1996

Building self-avoiding lattice models of proteins using a self-consistent field optimization.

We present an algorithm to build self-avoiding lattice models of chain molecules with low RMS deviation from their actual 3D structures. To find the optimal coordinates for the lattice chain model, we minimize a function that consists of three terms: (1) the sum of squared deviations of link coordinates on a lattice from their off-lattice values, (2) the sum of "short-range" terms, penalizing violation of chain connectivity, and (3) the sum of "long-range" repulsive terms, penalizing chain self-intersections. We treat this function as a chain molecule "energy" and minimize it using self-consistent field (SCF) theory to represent the pairwise link repulsions as 3D fields acting on the links. The statistical mechanics of chain molecules enables computation of the chain distribution in this field on the lattice. The field is refined by iteration to become self-consistent with the chain distribution, then dynamic programming is used to find the optimal lattice model as the "lowest-energy" chain pathway in this SCF. We have tested the method on one of the coarsest (and most difficult) lattices used for model building on proteins of all structural types and show that the method is adequate for building self-avoiding models of proteins with low RMS deviations from the actual structures.

Algorithms↗

PubMed1999

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell line (C666-1) consistently harbouring Epstein-Barr virus.

We have established a cell line (C666-1) from undifferentiated nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). This cell line consistently carries the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in long-term cultures. C666-1 is a subclone of its parental cell line, C666, derived from an NPC xenograft of southern Chinese origin. It grows as an adherent culture and lacks contact inhibition. In addition, it is tumorigenic in athymic nude mice. The cells consistently express EBV-encoded RNAs and are positively stained for cytokeratin, an epithelial marker. In addition, they express EBNA1 protein, LMP1 and LMP2 transcripts and thus resemble the EBV latency II pattern. The virus genotype is EBV-1 with the latent membrane protein 1 gene showing a 30-bp deletion at the carboxyl terminus, both consistent with findings in southern Chinese NPC tumours. Cytogenetic analysis revealed a sub-diploid status with a chromosomal modal number of 45. C666-1 is unique among NPC cell lines in that it carries EBV. These cells may serve as a good investigative tool as the viral latency pattern and genotype are observed in the majority of primary NPC biopsies from Chinese patients.

Animals↗

PubMed1999

Topoisomerase-I activity and response to second-line chemotherapy consisting of camptothecin-11 and cisplatin in patients with ovarian cancer.

The aim of the present study was to clarify the relationship between topoisomerase-I (topo-I) activity and sensitivity to second-line chemotherapy consisting of cisplatin and camptothecin-11 (CPT-11) in patients with ovarian cancer. Thirty Japanese women with relapsed epithelial ovarian cancer who received treatment at Tottori University Hospital or Kurume University Hospital between 1992 and 1997 were included in this study. All patients had initially undergone chemotherapy consisting of cisplatin, doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide (CAP). All subjects exhibited measurable lesions and received second-line chemotherapy consisting of 50 to 60 mg/m(2) CPT-11 on days 1, 8 and 15 and 60 mg/m(2) cisplatin on day 1. Tumor samples were obtained in the period between initial and second-line chemotherapy. Topo-I activity was assayed by relaxation of supercoiled plasmid substrate DNA. Of the 30 patients, 18 responded to second-line chemotherapy and 12 did not. We found no significant difference in patient characteristics in responders and non-responders. The interval from the end of the initial course of chemotherapy to the beginning of the second-line chemotherapy did not significantly differ in the 2 groups. The minimum amount of extraction showing complete DNA relaxation in non-responders was significantly greater than that in responders (201.7 +/- 92.5 vs. 124.1 +/- 59.4 ng; p = 0.0164). In 8 cases whose samples could be obtained before and after CAP, the amount of protein significantly decreased after CAP therapy (286.4 +/- 142.1 vs. 138.5 +/- 97.8 ng; p = 0.0294). Topo-I activity, which is enhanced by CAP therapy, can play an important role in sensitivity to CPT-11.

Adult↗

PubMed2001

Hydrogen-bond disruption probability in proteins by a modified self-consistent harmonic approach.

Modified self-consistent harmonic approach was employed to calculate the probability for the disruption of each individual hydrogen bonds (H bonds) in x-ray crystal structure of several proteins. The computed probability for 82% of intraprotein and water-protein H bonds studied were found to be roughly consistent with estimated free energies from protein engineering and hydrogen exchange experiments. Hydrogen bonds have been proposed as part of a stereochemical code for protein folding. Proteins fold into unique three-dimensional structures; therefore those bonds involved in the folding code are expected to be stable. We have applied this method to tens of hydrogen bonds in a protein assumed to be involved in the folding code of a protein. 58% of these H bonds were found to have a lower disruption probability (-1.8 kcal/mol). Our results showed that modified self-consistent harmonic approach might be explored as a method supplement to existing methods in analysis of hydrogen bonds in proteins.

Algorithms↗

PubMed1992

Prescott Lecky: pioneer in consistency theory and cognitive therapy.

Prescott Lecky's theory of self-consistency consists of an organization of ideas that revolve around those of the self and a master motive that serves to preserve and modify the unity of ideas. Self-consistency theory anticipated several cognitive-phenomenological theories of personality and remains relevant to contemporary personality and clinical psychologists. Regrettably, Lecky left few details about the structure, processes, and development of personality. This paper first will review Lecky's career, theory, and influence. Next, the nuclear theory of the mind, attributed to Frederick Thorne, will be described. The nuclear theory refines and extends Lecky's work and will be evaluated on conceptual, empirical, and practical grounds.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy↗

PubMed2002

Polymer rings and chains consisting of doubly silyl-bridged metallocenes.

With the formation of novel organometallic macromolecules in mind, the polycondensation of transition metal ions and bridged cyclopentadienyl ligands was studied. To this end solvated salts MX2 (M = Fe, Ni, and Cr) were treated with a ligand that consisted of two doubly silyl-bridged cyclopentadienyl anions. For M = Fe and diluted solutions a series of rings Oi was obtained that consisted of a minimum of six (O6) and up to 17 (O17) ferrocene moieties in the backbone. They were separated partly by medium pressure liquid chromatography. The macrocycles were established by high-resolution MALDI-TOF mass spectroscopy which also yielded the molecular weight, the polydispersion, and the mean ring size, chi n, of the mixture of reaction products. When the reaction temperature was decreased from 25 degrees C to -20 degrees C, chi n increased from 8.1 to 10.8. Ferrocene-containing chains, lambda j, with 2 < or = j < or = 12 were obtained in addition to rings in the presence of water; the terminal groups were cyclopentadiene moieties. The reaction of two ferrocene-fused cyclopentadienyl anions with [FeCl2(thf)1.5] gave chains consisting of exclusively uneven numbers of ferrocenes. For M = Ni and Cr the formation of doubly silyl-bridged nickelocenes and chromocenes was proven by NMR spectroscopy. MALDI-TOF mass spectroscopy showed nickelocene-containing chains accompanied by some rings. For M = Fe the H,H-DQF COSY spectra established the structure of O7, O8, and O9. The oxidation of the ferrocene-containing ring O7 with I2, NOPF6, and AgPF6 gave ionic species [O7]n+ which suffered from low stability. The ring-closing reaction is discussed, and the relative abundance of the various rings is related to MNDO calculations.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1999

Internal consistency and validity of an observational method for assessing disability in mobility in patients with osteoarthritis.

OBJECTIVE: To establish the internal consistency and validity of an observational method for assessing disability in mobility in patients with osteoarthritis (OA). METHODS: Data were obtained from 198 patients with OA of the hip or knee. Results of the observational method were compared with results of self-report methods (questionnaires) on disability in mobility. RESULTS: Both Cronbach's alpha and Mokken Scale Analysis indicate that the method is internally consistent. Using factor analysis, observed and self-reported disability in mobility were found to be closely associated and could not be differentiated. CONCLUSIONS: The observational method is internally consistent and indeed measures disability in mobility (high convergent validity), but observations and self-report seem to yield largely equivalent information (low divergent validity). This raises questions regarding the simultaneous use of both observational and self-report methods in the assessment of disability in mobility in OA patients.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed1984

The effect of dietary consistency on gross and histologic morphology in the craniofacial region of young rats.

Three groups of weanling rats and three groups of juvenile rats were fed diets which differed in physical consistency for periods of 5 and 8 weeks, respectively. In both the weanling and juvenile rats, one group was fed a soft diet, a second group was fed a hard diet, and a third group was initially fed the soft diet and then was switched to the hard diet for the remainder of the experimental period. The effects of these differences in dietary consistency on gross and histologic morphology of the craniofacial region were examined. Significant differences were found in the dimensions and morphology of the condyle and condylar cartilage as a result of the differences in dietary consistency in both the weanling and juvenile groups. Soft-diet rats generally had smaller condyles and a thinner layer of condylar cartilage than either hard-diet or soft/hard-diet rats. Little change, however, was found in the overall dimensions of the mandible and maxilla in any of the groups of rats.

Animals↗

PubMed1976

Individual consistency in behavioral states in neonates.

In this study we identified consistent characteristics of the sleep-wake state of newborn infants. Forty-one normal, full-term infants were observed in a warmer-skin temperature maintained at 36.1 degree C--located in a sound-attenuated room for 1 hr during 2 successive mid-feeding periods. The infant's state was recorded on a check-list every 10 sec using the following categories for sleep and wakefulness: Quiet Sleep A, Quiet Sleep B, Active Sleep Without REM, Active Sleep With REM, Active Sleep With Dense REM, Drowsy, Alert Inactivity, WAKING Activity, Fussing, Crying, and Indefinite State. Immediately following the completion of each observation, the 2 observers made independent judgments of the degree of organization shown by the infant, using a 6-point scale. Over the two 1-hr observations, only Quiet Sleep A, Quiet Sleep B, and Crying showed any consistency. Active Sleep as typically defined showed no consistency whatsoever. However, 2 of the 3 components of Active Sleep were significantly reliability measures for the 2 observations; in sleeping infants all 3 components of active sleep showed high reliability. These results indicate that Active Sleep may be a composite of at least 3 meaningful categories. To look at overall state organization in the neonate, including both sleep and wake states, we considered Active Sleep as 3 separate states and then combined the resulting 11 behavioral states into derived clusters such that each combination of states showed a test-retest reliability above .52. With these 5 state clusters we viewed each infant's state behaviors in terms of a profile depicting the percent of time spent in each state cluster. We found a close association between these profiles and the subjective judgments of sleep-wake state organization made by the observers. The results clearly indicate that a 1-hr observation provides reliable information on individual sleep-wake states in the newborn.

Child Behavior↗

PubMed2005

Testing the internal consistency of the lottery equivalents method using health outcomes.

The standard gamble has a firm basis in the theory of risk and, for this reason, is the preferred method of health state value elicitation for many researchers. However, it is widely recognised that the use of immediate death as the failure outcome in the standard gamble renders the method insufficiently sensitive for the direct valuation of minor and temporary health states. Consequently, the indirect valuation of minor and temporary health states through a process of 'chaining' has been recommended. Unfortunately, a number of researchers have observed internal inconsistency in the standard gamble. That is, for health states that are not thought to be subject to the above mentioned insufficient sensitivity, the values elicited from indirect chained questions quite often significantly and systematically exceed those elicited from the direct procedure. A potential explanation for this is the possible influence of loss aversion when people are asked to weigh certainty against risk. The lottery equivalents method, an alternative value elicitation instrument that also has a firm grounding in the theory of risk, modifies the standard gamble approach of certainty versus risk to one of risk versus risk. The absence of certainty offers reason to suspect that the influence of loss aversion will be diminished (or even removed), and that the lottery equivalents method will thus prove to be internally consistent. The study reported in this article tests the internal consistency of the lottery equivalents method. In a manner similar to that observed with the standard gamble, the results indicate that the internal consistency of the lottery equivalents method is also to some extent compromised.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

A method for consistent documentation of pressure sores.

To effectively prevent and manage pressure sores, healthcare professionals need an accurate assessment and precise communication of the status of skin and soft tissue. A study by French et al. (1983) found inconsistency in staff nurses' descriptions of pressure sores. Consistency in documentation was significantly improved immediately after a standardized teaching session, but these improvements were much less evident after 6 months. Based on these findings, a pressure sore flow sheet was developed at the authors' institution, the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, as a result of the study. The purpose of this form is to assist the nurse in conducting a more thorough, objective, and consistent evaluation of pressure sores. The form contains assessment parameters, key descriptor words, and a diagram with axes on which to draw the sore and label significant areas such as necrotic tissue. A grading key also is included on the form to ensure consistency in grading of pressure sores.

Education, Nursing, Continuing↗

PubMed1995

Modifications to increase accuracy and consistency of anticoagulant delivery using the Fenwal CS3000 plus.

Consistent and accurate delivery of anticoagulant (AC) with the Fenwal CS3000 Plus has been difficult to maintain. We have modified and evaluated methods to deliver AC more accurately and consistently at a 11:1 ratio on the Fenwal CS 3000 Plus. Two modifications (shortened AC tubing, shortened AC tubing with modified drip chamber) and two unmodified methods (unmodified right-hand string, unmodified double string) were compared (n = 20 platelet apheresis procedures each), resulting in average AC ratios of 11.4 +/- 0.5, 11.2 +/- 0.4, 11.6 +/- 1.3, and 12.1 +/- 0.7:1, respectively. There was a significantly higher incidence of ratios within +/- 10% of 11:1 using the modified methods, 90% and 100%, versus the unmodified methods, 50% and 55%, respectively. Comparison of 36 plateletapheresis (each) using 15-, 30-, and 90-minute intervals in AC drip rate monitoring revealed no significant difference. However, the 30-minute interval had a better ratio, 11.4 +/- 1.0 versus 11.6 +/- 0.8 or 11.7 +/- 1.1, and higher frequency of 11 +/- 10%: versus 75% and 72% and was more practical to use than 15-minute interval; the 90-minute interval did require adjustments in 8% of the procedures. The use of a spring scale versus AC bag graduations (n = 75 plateletapheresis) to measure AC volume was significantly superior in measuring volume (343 +/- 64 versus 373 +/- 72 ml), ratio (11.2 +/- 1.5 versus 10.2 +/- 1.6), and ratios 11 +/- 10%:1 (71% versus 52%). For more accurate and consistent AC delivery with the Fenwal CS 3000 Plus, we recommend three courses of action: 1) Shorten the AC line and modify the AC drip chamber, 2) use a 30-minute interval to monitor AC drip rate and adjust only if off by more than 3 drops/15 sec, 3) use a spring scale rather than AC bag graduations to obtain more accurate measurement of AC volume used.

Anticoagulants↗

PubMed1993

Consistent projection reconstruction (CPR) techniques for MRI.

Motion of the subject causes inconsistencies in MR scan data which in turn produce streaks in projection reconstruction (PR) scans or ghosts in 2DFT imaging. It is shown that a data manifold consistent with a static object may be extracted from input scan data by applying consistency criteria based on moment or Fourier expansions of the object's projections. The criteria limit the spectrum of azimuthal variation relative to the radial moments or radial spectral components, and their application diminishes k-space inconsistencies from motion or flow by discarding unallowed expansion terms. This consistent projection reconstruction (CPR) algorithm was applied to the reconstruction of projection data from a moving phantom and from human abdominal sections, and in each case provided reduced motion streaks relative to conventional reconstructions. In addition, CPR was found to be effective when used with 2DFT data by resampling the Cartesian data as radial projections, but to a lesser extent.

Abdomen↗

PubMed2006

Consistent dynamics suggests tight regulation of biophysical parameters in a small network of bursting neurons.

The neuronal firing patterns in the pyloric network of crustaceans are remarkably consistent among animals. Although this characteristic of the pyloric network is well-known, the biophysical mechanisms underlying the regulation of the systems output are receiving renewed attention. Computer simulations of the pyloric network recently demonstrated that consistent motor output can be achieved from neurons with disparate biophysical parameters among animals. Here we address this hypothesis by pharmacologically manipulating the pyloric network and analyzing the emerging voltage oscillations and firing patterns. Our results show that the pyloric network of the lobster stomatogastric ganglion maintains consistent and regular firing patterns even when entire populations of specific voltage-gated channels and synaptic receptors are blocked. The variations of temporal parameters used to characterize the burst patterns of the neurons as well as their intraburst spike dynamics do not display statistically significant increase after blocking the transient K-currents (with 4-aminopyridine), the glutamatergic inhibitory synapses (with picrotoxin), or the cholinergic synapses (with atropine) in pyloric networks from different animals. These data suggest that in this very compact circuit, the biophysical parameters are cell-specific and tightly regulated.

4-Aminopyridine↗