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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1987

Changes in the healthfulness of life of the elderly population: an empirical approach.

This paper presents an empirical approach to measuring the healthfulness of life of the elderly population. It discusses information related to trends in disability-free and quality-adjusted life expectancy in the context of the current debate concerning prospects for a possible future compression of morbidity. Trends in each of the components underlying health expectancy are examined: survivorship and remaining life expectancy in each state of health, rates of institutionalization, as well as incidence of disability and prevalence of activity restriction in the household population. The effects on health expectancy of changes in these components are noted.

Aged↗
PubMed1992

Panic attacks in the nonclinical population: an empirical approach to case identification.

Although self-reports of panic attacks are common among student populations, it is not clear that their panic experiences are actually comparable to those of patients with clinical anxiety disorders. An empirical approach was taken to this problem by using a cluster analysis procedure to identify subjects within two samples of university students who reported panic attack symptom profiles that resembled those of patients with panic disorder. Such empirically defined "clinical" panic attacks were reported by 7.0% and 8.1% of the two samples. This predominantly female group accounted for most of the increased psychopathology that has been reported in previous studies of nonclinical panic.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Community care in child psychiatry. An empirical approach using the concept of travel time.

Community care is a crucial element in the organization and development of psychiatric services. The basic idea of community care is that it guarantees equal access to services for all people in need. In this study an empirical approach to community care is undertaken using the concept of travel time. The importance of distance to the use or nonuse of mental health services has been documented for a long time. But if distance is measured by travel time, additional elements, as for example the available transport system are considered relevant for the accessibility of services. It can be shown that most patients of two child psychiatric outpatient services do not accept a travel time exceeding half an hour. Outreach activities of services located in rural areas can partly compensate for the geographic disadvantage of those patients living at long distance to the service.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

A semi-empirical approach for the simulation of circular dichroism spectra of gramicidin A in a model membrane.

In an extension of our previous work (Bañó, M. C., Braco, L., and Abad, C. 1991. Biochemistry. 30:886-94), the kinetics of dissociation of gramicidin A double-stranded dimers into beta 6.3-helical monomers in small unilamellar vesicles prepared following different protocols, were investigated using in combination circular dichroism (CD) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The analysis of the data from both techniques according to a two-component model strongly supports that any given CD pattern of gramicidin incorporated in the phospholipid bilayer can be deconvoluted essentially as a linear combination of the reference subspectra calculated for the double-stranded dimer and the helical monomer. An HPLC-based, semi-empirical approach is proposed for the simulation of gramicidin CD curves in the model membrane used, and it is shown that the congruence between theoretical and experimental spectra is very satisfactory.

Biophysical Phenomena↗
PubMedDate not supplied

An empirical approach to projecting regional blood need.

An empirical mathematical model was developed for projecting monthly and yearly regional blood utilization. Based upon 1974 data from eight Clark County, Nevada hospitals offering a total of 1,389 medical-surgical, and pediatric beds, an unadjusted projection deviated minus 7.2 per cent from the actual 1975 regional blood utilization. Adjusted projections, modified by an averaging technique that utilized previous month's blood utilization along with historical utilization data, resulted in an annual projection that deviated minus 1.9 per cent from the actual blood use. The adjusted monthly mean projection did not differ significantly from the actual mean monthly blood use. This approach appears to be of value in regional planning for long- and short-range blood needs.

Blood Banks↗
PubMed1986

Consistency of assessment of adverse drug reactions in psychiatric hospitals: a comparison of an algorithmic and an empirical approach.

Within an ongoing drug surveillance project (AMUP) in psychiatric hospitals, a comparative study was carried out to evaluate two methods commonly used in the field of adverse drug reaction assessment. Two raters, who have cooperated with the project since its inception, evaluated 80 randomly selected ADRs twice; first, by an empirical (implicit) approach, and second, 4 weeks later, by using an algorithm as proposed by Kramer et al. 1979. Agreement on medication and related probability ratings was obtained in 81% of all 80 cases for the empirical method (weighted Kappa = 0.41), and in 69% for the algorithmic method (weighted Kappa = 0.62), indicating that agreement exceeded chance for both methods. By comparison with assessments made in previous case conferences of the project, empirical ratings were found to be reliable over time due to homogeneous use of criteria by project raters. In contrast to the reports on the subject, agreement between raters appeared to be superior in the empirical method as compared to the algorithmic assessment. Analysis of disagreements suggested that probability ratings based on the empirical method were nonspecific, due to conventional criteria applied in the project. Inter-rater agreement was reduced by polypharmacy, especially in the case of algorithmic assessments. The consistency of assessment was also lowered by the fact that the 2 methods assigned different weights to particular assessment criteria.

Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions↗
PubMed1986

Population forecasts and confidence intervals for Sweden: a comparison of model-based and empirical approaches.

This paper compares several methods of generating confidence intervals for forecasts of population size. Two rest on a demographic model for age-structured populations with stochastic fluctuations in vital rates. Two rest on empirical analyses of past forecasts of population sizes of Sweden at five-year intervals from 1780 to 1980 inclusive. Confidence intervals produced by the different methods vary substantially. The relative sizes differ in the various historical periods. The narrowest intervals offer a lower bound on uncertainty about the future. Procedures for estimating a range of confidence intervals are tentatively recommended. A major lesson is that finitely many observations of the past and incomplete theoretical understanding of the present and future can justify at best a range of confidence intervals for population projections. Uncertainty attaches not only to the point forecasts of future population, but also to the estimates of those forecasts' uncertainty.

Forecasting↗
PubMed1988

An empirical approach to the study of defense mechanisms: I. Reliability and preliminary validity of the Rorschach Defense scales.

Despite widespread use of the Rorschach for the study of defense mechanisms, few recent Rorschach scales have been developed for the study of defensive functioning. We critically review previous empirical research and describe the Rorschach Defense scales. These scales provide criteria for rating both lower level defense mechanisms, such as splitting and primitive idealization, as well as higher level defenses, such as intellectualization and isolation. The scales utilize a broad range of content including all Rorschach responses, associative content, and verbalization of the tester-patient relationship. Data on interrater reliability and preliminary validity are presented.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

[Empirical approaches to epidemiology of the Middle Ages].

Diseases result from hazards and influences originating in one's environment and could be described in evolutionary terms as maladaptations. Variations in the pattern of diseases throughout times and places can therefore indicate variations in the living conditions of ancient populations. Palaeopathology is the only way of gathering empirical data suitable for the reconstruction of epidemiological developments in the past. In spite of an abundance of material from the middle ages, only 25 series turned out to fulfill two crucial prerequisites, a certain minimal sizes and a palaeopathological analysis. Still a statistical comparison of those palaeopathological analyses proved impossible, because in most cases only casuistic details were available. This deficiency results from a lack of concept within palaeopathology. The ecosystem theory offers a basis for the development of a far-reaching concept. Widely accepted paradigms are indispensable for a prolific interdisciplinary cooperation on the highly relevant and complex phenomenon disease. Working with a standardized concept palaeopathology will be able to contribute to the solution of questions central to both, social history and environmental archaeology.

Germany↗
PubMed1991

Tufts assessment of motor performance: an empirical approach to identifying motor performance categories.

The Tufts Assessment of Motor Performance (TAMP) is a criterion-referenced test that measures motor performance capabilities of basic self-care skills, mobility and physical aspects of communication. Discrete motor performance tasks were identified within each of the 32 items. The purpose of this paper is to report the results of an empirical method of determining the factor structure underlying the motor performance tasks of the TAMP. Initially, motor performance tasks were categorized into a priori groupings based on previous literature and clinical judgment. The TAMP was administered to 206 children and adults (age range 6 to 86 years) with physical disabilities. Diagnoses included a variety of musculoskeletal and neurologic disorders. A principal-factor analysis was used to organize and cluster the item tasks into appropriate common factors. Seven factors were identified that accounted for 70.6% of the total variance for the assistance dimension; similar results were obtained for other measurement dimensions of the TAMP. The defined factor structure has patterns of similarity to the motor performance variables as defined by clinical judgment; however, the tasks were organized into factors that were more functionally oriented than expected. The results provide a framework for which the motor performance tasks of the TAMP might be organized into scales that identify essential performance constructs for rehabilitation. The results permit examination of the nature and clinical importance of these common motor performance factors for clinical evaluation and the description of functional disability.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Finding complex oscillatory phenomena in biochemical systems. An empirical approach.

Starting with a model for a product-activated enzymatic reaction proposed for glycolytic oscillations, we show how more complex oscillatory phenomena may develop when the basic model is modified by addition of product recycling into substrate or by coupling in parallel or in series two autocatalytic enzyme reactions. Among the new modes of behavior are the coexistence between two stable types of oscillations (birhythmicity), bursting, and aperiodic oscillations (chaos). On the basis of these results, we outline an empirical method for finding complex oscillatory phenomena in autonomous biochemical systems, not subjected to forcing by a periodic input. This procedure relies on finding in parameter space two domains of instability of the steady state and bringing them close to each other until they merge. Complex phenomena occur in or near the region where the two domains overlap. The method applies to the search for birhythmicity, bursting and chaos in a model for the cAMP signalling system of Dictyostelium discoideum amoebae.

Cyclic AMP↗
PubMed1975

A theoretical and empirical approach to the study of development.

Developmental psychology, in spite of its dynamic growth, has not, thus far, generated a general theory of human development. Present developmental theories are either cognitive or ontogenetic, or both. All are descriptive. Their powers of explanation are limited. None of them include emotional development. It is argued that a theory of development in order to claim generality must (a) include emotional development, and (b) offer means of explaining, rather than only describing, developmental transformations. A nonontogenetic theory of development, called theory of positive disintegration, appears to fulfill these conditions. It is built on Jacksonian principles of evolution of levels of functioning. The central concept of the theory is that of multilevelness of developmental phenomena. Development is seen to be a function of the level of behavioral organization. The theory defines five levels. Each level constitutes a distinct structure. The dynamic elements of the structure of each level are identified. Positive disintegration is the name for the process by which the structure of a higher level replaces the structure of a lower one. The theory explains different developmental patterns by introducing the concept of developmental potential (DP). Although DP is a purely logical notion, it is given observable dimensions designated as dimensions of mental functioning. There are five of these and they correspond to psychomotor, sensual, imaginational, intellectual, and emotional modes of functioning. The first half of the monograph is devoted to the conceptual structure of the theory. The second half to empirical tests of the theory. Three such tests were made on data generated from an atomistic analysis of autobiographies. The first test consisted of the comparison of developmental cross-sections obtained from different sources of data (subjects) with the overall pattern of five levels of development. The different cross-sections overlap with each other and with different segments of the total theoretical pattern. Superimposed on each other they reconstitute the total pattern. The second test consisted of a comparison between computed and clinically derived values for DP for each subject in the study. The third test was a comparison of DP values obtained from early and late parts of an autobiography. An empirical equation for DP was used in the second and the third test. Parameters represented in the equation appear sufficient to account for individual differences in patterns and levels of development.

Behavior↗
PubMed1990

An empirical approach to classification and treatment planning for psychiatric inpatients.

Treatment efforts for psychiatric patients traditionally are organized according to diagnosis, length of stay, age, and level of management difficulty. The current study, prompted by an attempt to reorganize services for 178 patients at a regional psychiatric hospital, examined the incidence of 72 problems exhibited either in the community prior to admission or within the institution. Factor and cluster analyses were used to identify clinically important subgroups of patients. Implications of the results for institutional organization also are discussed.

Activities of Daily Living↗