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Results for “Propensity Score”

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PubMed1999

Prospective analysis of ice hockey injuries at the Junior A level over the course of one season.

OBJECTIVE: This study was conducted to identify the circumstances, timing, frequency, and types of injuries for a Junior A hockey team in an attempt to develop injury prevention strategies. DESIGN: This study was a prospective review of injuries sustained by a hockey team during one season. SETTING: Players were evaluated in a private practice clinical setting and during practices and games. PARTICIPANTS: Twenty-two hockey players (16-20 years old) were evaluated. An injury was defined as any event requiring the attention of a physician or trainer. The players sustained 83 injuries throughout the course of the season. Seventy-four were considered independent events. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The effects of the following variables on injury rates were analyzed: position, game situation versus practice, and timing of injury during the game. RESULTS: Players were 20 times more likely to injure themselves during a game than practice. Although forwards sustained the highest total percentage of injuries, defensemen had the highest incidence of injury in games. More injuries occurred in the later periods and in the later minutes of each period. Injury incidence decreased for the second half of the season compared with the first half. CONCLUSION: Our data suggest goaltenders are at the lowest risk of sustaining an injury, but forwards appear to be at a higher risk in practice situations and defensemen in games. Game situations place players at a much greater risk of injury than practice sessions, particularly in the later portions of each period and toward the end of the game. Given the propensity for injury in the early season and later in the game, endurance training before and during the season may be important in injury prevention.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Posture and gait disorders and the incidence of falling in patients with Parkinson].

INTRODUCTION: Although falls are one of the main causes of morbidity and mortality in patients with Parkinson's disease, studies about its incidence and predicting factors are scarce. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Our study involved 25 patients with PD (15 males and 10 females; age: 75.8 +/- 6.5 years). A closed survey was used to determine a retrospective record of falls during the last year. An analysis was performed to examine whether there was a relationship with Hoehn and Yahr staging, the score on the Up and Go scale or the Barthel index and with possible risk factors for falls. RESULTS: All the patients had suffered falls at some time over the last year (mean number of falls: 6.5 +/- 3.8). 56% of the falls happened during the phases of the day when patient mobility was at its highest. A significant correlation was found between the number of falls and the Hoehn and Yahr and the Up and Go scores. The number of falls was significantly higher in patients with loss of postural reflexes, the need for help in order to walk, and blockage and festination phenomena. No association was found with fear of falling, visual alterations or postural lateralisation. Association with the Barthel index and dependence for activities of daily living reached almost significant levels. CONCLUSIONS: Postural instability and disorders affecting gait appear to be the factors that give patients with PD a greater propensity to fall. Patients who present such alterations should be submitted to rehabilitation therapy aimed at preventing them from falling.

Accidental Falls↗

PubMed1977

MacAndrew MMPI alcoholism scale: alcoholism and drug addictiveness.

MMPI Form R answer sheets of 222 successive black and white male inpatients referred for psychological testing in a VA general medical and surgical hospital were scored on the MacAndrew Alcoholism and the Cavior Heroin Addiction Scales. The MacAndrew Scale with 74% accuracy provided a practical screening device for identifying alcoholics. It did not significantly differentiate patients with a history of drug abuse from patients with a history of alcoholism. The Cavior He Scale was not so valid a screening device for identifying drug addicted patients in our total population. Each scale in a special way seems to be measuring a "general addictive propensity."

Alcoholism↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Perceived stress, trait anger, modes of anger expression, and health status of college men and women.

Relationships among perceived stress, trait anger (general propensity to become angry), modes of anger expression, and health status were examined in a sample of 720 college students. Although stress was significantly correlated with trait anger and all four modes of anger expression, most correlations were of low magnitude. College men and women did not differ in trait anger, anger-in, or anger-out. Significant gender differences were found in only two modes of anger expression--discussing anger and expressing it somatically (women scoring higher on both). The contribution of anger variables to the variance in health status was negligible.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

Food, activity and family--environmental vs biochemical predictors of weight gain in children.

OBJECTIVE: To identify whether measures of energy intake and expenditure predict excessive weight gain over time in children and to describe how these measures relate to similar measures in parents. DESIGN: Prospective, descriptive study over 12 months with no intervention. SETTING: University teaching hospital. SUBJECTS: Children aged between 6.0 and 9.0 y. Recruitment was through advertisement. A total of 59 children (30 F), 41 mothers and 29 fathers. In all, 41 (69%) of the children were reviewed at 12 months (20 F). RESULTS: No significant correlations were identified between body mass index (BMI) z-score change in children over 12 months for any dietary variable or for any measures of energy expenditure, including hours of television viewing or percent time spent in low-, moderate- or high-intensity activity. The BMI z-score change over 12 months was significantly correlated with LDL cholesterol and Apo B/ApoA-1 ratio, independent of percent body fat (r=0.45, P=0.01; r=0.37, P=0.03). A significant positive correlation was found for mothers and girls for percent time in moderate to high activity (r=0.44, P=0.03) and between fathers and children for percent time spent in low activity (r=0.43, P=0.005). CONCLUSIONS: The study has been unable to identify environmental predictors that indicate propensity to faster weight gain over time in this cohort of children, but has extended the evidence on lifestyle-influenced biochemical predictors that do. An overall lack of vigorous activity in this age group, and correlations between parental and child activity and inactivity have been identified.

Adult↗

PubMed1995

Intubating conditions following 1R CIS, 1'R CIS atracurium (51W89). A comparison with atracurium.

51W89 besylate, a new intermediate acting non-depolarising muscle relaxant, consisting of a single stereo-isomer of the commercial preparation of atracurium has been assessed in respect of intubating conditions during nitrous oxide-propofol-isoflurane anaesthesia. Intubating conditions at 2 min were acceptable in 67% of patients following a dose of 0.1 mg.kg-1 and in 90% of patients following a dose of 0.15 mg.kg-1. Intubating conditions at 1.5 min were acceptable in 76% of patients following a dose of 0.2 mg.kg-1. In comparison, intubating conditions at 2 min were acceptable in 95% of patients following 0.5 mg.kg-1 of atracurium. The intubating conditions at 2 min following a dose of 0.1 mg.kg-1 51W89 besylate were significantly worse than the other three groups (p < 0.05); however, there was no significant differences between the scores in the other three groups. There was no clinical evidence of histamine release in the groups receiving 51W89 besylate compared to two out of the 19 patients who had cutaneous flushing following the administration of atracurium. Our results suggest that 51W89 besylate provides acceptable intubating conditions at 2 min following a dose of 0.15 mg.kg-1 and may prove to be an acceptable alternative to atracurium if studies in progress confirm its greater cardiovascular stability and reduced propensity to release histamine than its parent compound.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Alzheimer's disease can be accurately diagnosed in very mildly impaired individuals.

BACKGROUND: The growing propensity to diagnose AD in individuals with very mild cognitive impairment increases the danger of false-positive diagnostic errors. Unfortunately, there is little systematically acquired information about the accuracy of the AD diagnosis in very mildly impaired patients. OBJECTIVE: To determine the accuracy of the diagnosis of AD in very mildly impaired patients and to identify objective measures that effectively distinguish these patients from elderly normal controls (NC). METHODS: Consecutive patients with Mini-Mental State Examination scores of > or = 24 who received a clinical diagnosis of AD were evaluated annually for at least 3 years. The initial diagnosis was verified or refuted by autopsy or by information obtained in subsequent evaluations. Initial neuropsychological test scores of verified AD patients were compared with those of NC subjects to identify effective diagnostic measures. RESULTS: The diagnosis of AD was confirmed in 98 of 110 (89%) very mildly impaired patients (33/36 by autopsy, 65/74 by disease progression). The diagnosis was inaccurate in 12 patients (11%): Seven were subsequently diagnosed with other neurologic disorders, and five were ultimately found to be normal. Neuropsychological measures of delayed recall, verbal fluency, and global cognitive status (i.e., Mattis Dementia Rating Scale) provided excellent sensitivity (> or = 96%) and specificity (> or = 93%) for differentiating between very mildly impaired AD patients and NC subjects. CONCLUSIONS: When comprehensive assessment procedures are employed, AD can be diagnosed with reasonably high accuracy in very mildly impaired individuals. However, the dementia evaluation should be repeated after approximately 1 year to ensure the accuracy of the initial diagnosis.

Aged↗

PubMed2006

Intrinsic disorder is a common feature of hub proteins from four eukaryotic interactomes.

Recent proteome-wide screening approaches have provided a wealth of information about interacting proteins in various organisms. To test for a potential association between protein connectivity and the amount of predicted structural disorder, the disorder propensities of proteins with various numbers of interacting partners from four eukaryotic organisms (Caenorhabditis elegans, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Drosophila melanogaster, and Homo sapiens) were investigated. The results of PONDR VL-XT disorder analysis show that for all four studied organisms, hub proteins, defined here as those that interact with > or = 10 partners, are significantly more disordered than end proteins, defined here as those that interact with just one partner. The proportion of predicted disordered residues, the average disorder score, and the number of predicted disordered regions of various lengths were higher overall in hubs than in ends. A binary classification of hubs and ends into ordered and disordered subclasses using the consensus prediction method showed a significant enrichment of wholly disordered proteins and a significant depletion of wholly ordered proteins in hubs relative to ends in worm, fly, and human. The functional annotation of yeast hubs and ends using GO categories and the correlation of these annotations with disorder predictions demonstrate that proteins with regulation, transcription, and development annotations are enriched in disorder, whereas proteins with catalytic activity, transport, and membrane localization annotations are depleted in disorder. The results of this study demonstrate that intrinsic structural disorder is a distinctive and common characteristic of eukaryotic hub proteins, and that disorder may serve as a determinant of protein interactivity.

Amino Acids↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Flow cytometric evaluation of apoptosis and cell viability as a criterion of anti-tumour drug toxicity.

BACKGROUND: Determination of the drug concentration required to kill 50% of the tumour cells (EC50) does not take into account the propensity of cells to undergo apoptosis and necrosis. These 2 parameters and the viable cells are here assessed by a flow cytometric (FC) approach using propidium iodide (PI) and FITC-Annexin V staining. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A number of carcinoma cell lines of defined p53 status were exposed to cis-PtII for 24 hours, stained with PI and FITC-Annexin V and analyzed by FC. Unstained viable cells, early apoptotic cells and necrotic cells were scored separately in dual parameter plots of green fluorescence (FITC) against red fluorescence (PI) to generate dose response curves. RESULTS: EC50 values for cell viability were found to be 1-4 times higher than survival data from colony assays resembling data obtained by MTT or Crystal Violet vital dye staining. Percentage apoptosis measured by Annexin V binding was in agreement with microscopic scoring of apoptotic cells after Acridine Orange staining. CONCLUSION: The FC assay described gives a good estimate of cell viability resembling data from vital dye staining assays and provides additional information on apoptosis and necrosis. FC data from Annexin V binding and microscopic scoring after Acridine Orange staining were in excellent agreement.

Antineoplastic Agents↗

PubMed2005

Effect of trait anger on cognitive processing of emotional stimuli.

In the present experiment, the authors examined whether trait anger was associated with cognitive biases for anger-related semantic stimuli. Fifty-two undergraduate students completed the Trait Anger Scale (TAS; C. D. Spielberger, G. Jacobs, S. Russell, & R. Crane, 1983), and those reporting TAS scores in the upper (n = 17) or lower (n = 13) quartiles of the sample were assigned to high- and low-anger groups, respectively. The 30 participants then engaged in a lexical decision task that presented various emotion words, neutral words, and nonwords. Results indicated that individuals who reported high levels of trait anger displayed facilitative biases in the processing of semantic anger-related stimuli. This predisposition to more readily process anger-related information may underlie their propensity to experience intense feelings of anger when provoked.

Affect↗

PubMed1994

The Multi-Scale 3D-1D compatibility scoring for inverse protein folding problem.

The applicability of the Multi-Scale Structure Description (MSSD) scheme to the inverse-folding problems was investigated. An MSSD represents a 3D protein structure with multiple symbolic sequences, where fine structures are represented with the sequence at low levels, the middle scale structural motifs at middle levels, and global topology at high levels. Each symbol in the symbolic sequence denotes a type of local structure of the level scale. The structure fragments are classified at each scale level respectively according to the shape and the environment around the fragments: how the structure is exposed to the solvent or buried in the molecule. I modeled the propensity of an amino-acid sequence to the structure fragment type (i.e., primary constraint) at each scale level. The local propensity is, therefore, modeled at small scale (low) levels, while the global propensity modeled at large scale (high) levels. Thus, superposing all the primary constraint, a 3D protein structure yields an amino-acid sequence profile. Evaluating the fit of an amino acid sequence to the profile derived from the known 3D protein structure, we can identify which 3D structure the given amino-acid sequence would fold into. I checked whether a sequence identifies its own structure over two hundred protein sequences. In many cases, an amino acid sequence identified its own 3D protein structure.

Animals↗

PubMed2001

A double-blind randomised comparison of risperidone and haloperidol in the treatment of behavioural and psychological symptoms in Chinese dementia patients.

BACKGROUND: Behavioural and psychological symptoms (BPSD) are common during the course of dementia and present severe problems to patients and their caregivers. OBJECTIVES: To assess the therapeutic efficacy and safety of haloperidol and risperidone in treating BPSD in Chinese dementia patients. METHODS: A 12-week double-blind randomised comparison of haloperidol and risperidone treatments was conducted in 58 patients with DSM-IV diagnosis of dementia of Alzheimer's type or vascular dementia. They were randomly assigned to receive flexible doses (0.5 to 2 mg/day) of haloperidol or risperidone. Clinical response was evaluated using the Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory (CMAI), the Behavioral Pathology in Alzheimer's Disease Rating Scale (BEHAVE-AD), Simpson-Angus Scale, Functional Assessment Staging and Cantonese version of the Mini-Mental State Examination. RESULTS: The mean doses at the last week were 0.90 mg/day of haloperidol and 0.85 mg/day of risperidone. Both haloperidol and risperidone significantly reduced the severity of BPSD (scores on CMAI and BEHAVE-AD), with no significant between-group differences. Haloperidol-treated patients showed a worsening on Simpson-Angus scale while there was no significant change in this measure in risperidone-treated patients. CONCLUSIONS: Low-dose haloperidol and risperidone were well tolerated and associated with reductions in the severity and frequency of behavioural symptoms in subjects with dementia. Risperidone may have a more favourable risk-benefit profile in view of its lower propensity to induce extrapyramidal symptoms.

Aged↗

PubMedDate not supplied

TNF-alpha promoter polymorphism in relation to TNF-alpha production and clinical status in cystic fibrosis.

The severity of lung disease in cystic fibrosis may be related to the genetic propensity of the host to produce tumor necrosis fector alpha (TNF-alpha). A polymorphism in the promoter region of the TNF-alpha gene at nucleotide 308 relative to the transcription start site may be important in determing the host's TNF-alpha response. The aim of this study was to assess the correlation between a TNF-308 promoter polymorphism, ex vivo TNF-alpha production (before and after lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation), and clinical status [FEV1, weight (z-score), BMI, Shwachman score, incidence of diabetes mellitus, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection). Genotyping for the biallelic TNF-308 polymorphism was performed by using a real-time PCR cycler. Patients (homozygous for Delta F 508) were grouped according to genotype (TNF2 carriers, n = 16, median age = 15 yr, female/male = 5/11; TNF1 homozygotes, n = 37, median age = 21 yr, female/male = 18/19). TNF-alpha was measured using a chemiluminescent immunometric assay. There was a trend toward higher TNF-alpha values [median TNF2 carriers vs. TNF1 homozygotes: x = 56 vs. 43.5 pg/ml, n.s. (Mann-Whitney U-test] in those carrying the polymorphism and better lung function results [FEV(1) (%) 81 vs. 65, n.s.]. These differences equalized [TNF2 carriers vs. TNF1 56 vs. 51 pg/ml, n.s.; FEV1 (%) 84 vs. 79, n.s.] after age adjustment (+/- 2 yr, n = 15, median age TNF2 vs. TNF1-17/18 yr). There were no significant differences for TNF values after LPS stimulation and the incidence of diabetes mellitus. The TNF-308 promoter polymorphism does not seem to influence TNF-alpha release in whole blood cells and clinical status.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2001

SSRI treatment suppresses dream recall frequency but increases subjective dream intensity in normal subjects.

Clinical lore and a small number of published studies report that the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) intensify dreaming. This study examines the dream effects of paroxetine and fluvoxamine in order to both increase clinical knowledge of these agents and to test an important potential method for probing the relationship between REM sleep neurobiology and dreaming in humans. Fourteen normal, paid volunteers (4 males, 10 females; mean age 27.4 year, range 22--39) free of medical or neuropsychiatric symptoms as well as of psychotropic or sleep affecting drugs completed a 31-day home-based study consisting of: 7 days drug-free baseline; 19 days on either 100 mg fluvoxamine (7 Ss) or 20 mg paroxetine (7 Ss) in divided morning and evening doses; and 5 days acute discontinuation. Upon awakening, subjects wrote dream reports, self-scored specific emotions in their reports and rated seven general dream characteristics using 5-point Likert scales. Dream reports were independently scored for bizarreness, movement and number of visual nouns by three judges. REM sleep-related measures were obtained using the Nightcap ambulatory sleep monitor. Mean dream recall frequency decreased during treatment compared with baseline. Dream report length and judge-rated bizarreness were greater during acute discontinuation compared with both baseline and treatment and this effect was a result of the fluvoxamine-treated subjects. The subjective intensity of dreaming increased during both treatment and acute discontinuation compared with baseline. Propensity to enter REM sleep was decreased during treatment compared with baseline and acute discontinuation and the intensity of REM sleep increased during acute discontinuation compared with baseline and treatment. The decrease in dream frequency during SSRI treatment may reflect serotonergic REM suppression while the augmented report length and bizarreness during acute SSRI discontinuation may reflect cholinergic rebound from serotonergic suppression.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

The sexual sensation seeking scale: reliability and validity within a heterosexual college student sample.

The Sexual Sensation Seeking Scale (SSSS; Kalichman & Rompa, 1995) is a measure of the propensity to seek out novel or risky sexual stimulation. This measure has been consistently related to HIV-risk behavior in several different samples of gay men and with behavioral correlates of sexual permissiveness in college students. Five hundred twenty-eight college students completed the SSSS and several other sexuality and personality measures. The results reveal significant gender differences on the SSSS and similar (although stronger among women) patterns of significant correlations with sexually permissive characteristics and behaviors. Furthermore, SSSS scores were more highly correlated with sexual measures, whereas a more general measure of sensation seeking was more highly correlated with general personality measures. We discuss implications for use of the SSSS by sexuality educators and sex therapists.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1996

Health plan satisfaction and risk of disenrollment among social/HMO and fee-for-service recipients.

Health plan satisfaction among the elderly is affected by multiple individual and locational factors. We used a general behavioral framework of predisposing, enabling, and service use factors to produce adjusted satisfaction scores. These then were included in a logistic analysis to determine the effect of satisfaction on continued membership in social health maintenance organizations (S/HMOs) or continued participation in fee-for-service care. S/HMO members, after one year in the plan, generally reported satisfaction scores comparable to Medicare beneficiaries in fee-for-service care. Satisfaction with perceived physician quality and interpersonal relationships with the providers reduced the risk of disenrollment. Functional impairment reduced the likelihood of disenrollment, but this effect varied by community. Being impaired was protective in communities with established HMOs. In markets where HMOs were emerging or where intensive HMO competition was beginning, disability increased the likelihood of changing current coverage. S/HMO membership, after adjusting for the market area's general disenrollment propensities, had varying effects. Being a newly formed plan was not a consistent predictor of higher disenrollment rates.

Aged↗

PubMed1999

Validity of the Malaise Inventory in general population samples.

BACKGROUND: The Malaise Inventory is a commonly used self-completion scale for assessing psychiatric morbidity. There is some evidence that it may represent two separate psychological and somatic subscales rather than a single underlying factor of distress. This paper provides further information on the factor structure of the Inventory and on the reliability and validity of the total scale and two sub-scales. METHODS: Two general population samples completed the full Inventory: over 11,000 subjects from the National Child Development Study at ages 23 and 33, and 544 mothers of adolescents included in the Isle of Wight epidemiological surveys. RESULTS: The internal consistency of the full 24-item scale and the 15-item psychological subscale were found to be acceptable, but the eight-item somatic sub-scale was less reliable. Factor analysis of all 24 items identified a first main general factor and a second more purely psychological factor. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis indicated that the validity of the scale held for men and women separately and for different socio-economic groups, by reference to external criteria covering current or recent psychiatric morbidity and service use, and that the psychological sub-scale had no greater validity than the full scale. CONCLUSIONS: This study did not support the separate scoring of a somatic sub-scale of the Malaise Inventory. Use of the 15-item psychological sub-scale can be justified on the grounds of reduced time and cost for completion, with little loss of reliability or validity, but this approach would not significantly enhance the properties of the Inventory by comparison with the full 24-item scale. Inclusion of somatic items may be more problematic when the full scale is used to compare particular sub-populations with different propensities for physical morbidity, such as different age groups, and in these circumstances it would be a sensible precaution to utilise the 15-item psychological sub-scale.

Adult↗

PubMed2001

Patterns of initiation of sex and drug-related activities among urban low-income African-American adolescents.

PURPOSE: To examine the pattern of adolescent's involvement in drug-related behaviors and sexual initiation, and its relationship with: (a) age and gender, (b) sensation- seeking, (c) perceptions of peer and family risk involvement, and (d) involvement in high-risk sexual behavior. SUBJECTS: Two hundred and sixty-one urban African-American youth, aged 9 to 15 years at baseline, who were sexually experienced by the end of the 4-year study interval. The longitudinal assessment (4 years) was focused on: (a) alcohol use, illicit drug use, and drug trafficking; (b) high-risk sex; (c) propensity to sensation seeking; and (d) perceived peer and family risk involvement. RESULTS: Involvement increased over the 4-year study interval such that over half of the adolescents reported use of alcohol and/or use of marijuana in the final assessment period. For each of the three drug-related activities examined, the largest proportion of youth who engaged in sexual intercourse never engaged in drug-related activity, and the next largest proportion initiated sexual involvement before drug use. Sensation-seeking scores, which were relatively stable across time, were lower among girls, and also were lower among youth who remained uninvolved in drug-related behaviors. For all three drug-related behaviors, rates of high-risk sex were higher among youth who initiated both sex and drugs, and were lower among youth who reported engaging only in sex. Although youth who did eventually initiate drug use had higher perceived levels of family and peer drug use compared to those who remained uninvolved, these perceptions did not contribute directly to high-risk sexual behavior. CONCLUSIONS: Youth who will become both sexually active and involved with drugs during adolescence are especially vulnerable to involvement in high-risk sexual behavior.

Adolescent↗