Operating Characteristics of the neurobehavioral cognitive Status Exam Using Neuropsychological Assessment as the Criterion

Assessment ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Karzmark

This study examined the performance characteristics of the Neurobehavioral Cognitive Status Exam (NCSE) using comprehensive neuropsychological assessment as the criterion. Sensitivity and specificity were assessed for the NCSE as a whole and for the individual subtests as measures of discrete cognitive abilities. The sample consisted of 50 consecutive outpatient referrals to the neuropsychological assessment service of a general medical hospital. Most of the patients in the sample had mild or moderate cognitive dysfunction. The sensitivity and specificity of the NCSE as a whole were .74 and .86, respectively. The sensitivity of the individual NCSE subtests was lower, ranging from .20 to .48. Specificity of subtests was high (.64 to .97). The results suggest that the operating characteristics of the NCSE depend significantly on the severity and nature of the sample assessed and the criterion used. They also indicate the need for caution in using NCSE subtest performance as a basis for concluding that specific cognitive abilities are normal.

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maja Zakošek Pipan ◽  
Sonja Prpar Mihevc ◽  
Malan Štrbenc ◽  
Urban Košak ◽  
Ilija German Ilić ◽  
...  

AbstractCanine cognitive dysfunction (CCD) is common in aged dogs and has many similarities with Alzheimer’s disease. Unfortunately, like Alzheimer’s disease, CCD cannot be cured. In the present study, we treated dogs with CCD with our newly developed and characterized butyrylcholinesterase inhibitor (BChEi). Seventeen dogs were randomized into two groups (treated with BChEi and untreated) and followed for 6 months at regular check-ups. The dogs’ cognitive status was determined by a Canine Dementia Scale (CADES) questionnaire and two cognitive tests. In dogs with moderate cognitive impairment, treatment caused significant improvement in the clinical rating of cognitive abilities and the performance-based tests of cognitive functioning when compared to the untreated group (p < 0.001). Dogs treated with BChEi showed markedly improved cognitive function with enhanced quality of life. No side effects were observed in the treated dogs with moderate cognitive impairment. According to the results of this preliminary study, there is an indication that novel BChEi may be a promising drug for the treatment of CCD in dogs and may be an interesting candidate for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease in humans. However, further clinical studies are needed to confirm this.


2021 ◽  
pp. 146-152
Author(s):  
Alexandra M. Gaynor ◽  
James C. Root ◽  
Elizabeth Ryan ◽  
Tim A. Ahles

Cancer-associated cognitive dysfunction (CACD) is experienced by up to two-thirds of cancer survivors and may persist for decades following completion of treatment. Cognitive dysfunction in survivors may be subtle and may impact performance in or more cognitive domains; therefore, there is a need for objective measures of function that have adequate sensitivity and specificity to detect cognitive decline in this population. This chapter discusses brief cognitive screening measures and their utility in detecting dysfunction, as well as more comprehensive flexible neuropsychological assessment measures and their use in cancer survivors. The chapter provides a review of research examining the sensitivity and specificity of these measures in the detection of CACD, as well as their effect on patient outcomes, and provides recommendations for future research and the use of flexible neuropsychological assessment batteries in the screening and assessment of CACD.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maja Zakošek Pipan ◽  
Sonja Prpar Mihevc ◽  
Malan Štrbenc ◽  
Urban Košak ◽  
Ilija German Ilić ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Canine cognitive dysfunction (CCD) is common in aged dogs and has many similarities with Alzheimer’s disease. Unfortunately, like Alzheimer’s disease, CCD cannot be cured. Methods: In the present study, we treated dogs with CCD with our newly developed and characterized butyrylcholinesterase inhibitor (BChEi). Seventeen dogs were randomized into two groups (treated with BChEi and untreated) and followed for 6 months at regular check-ups. The dogs’ cognitive status was determined by a CADES questionnaire and two cognitive tests. Results: In dogs with moderate cognitive impairment, treatment caused significant improvement in the clinical rating of cognitive abilities and the performance-based tests of cognitive functioning when compared to the untreated group (p < 0.001). Dogs treated with BChEi showed markedly improved cognitive function with enhanced quality of life. No side effects were observed in the treated dogs with moderate cognitive impairment. Conclusions: Novel BChE inhibitor is a promising candidate for treating CCD, and might be an interesting canidate drug for the treatment of Alzheimer disease in humans.


2014 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 123-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wiebke Goertz ◽  
Ute R. Hülsheger ◽  
Günter W. Maier

General mental ability (GMA) has long been considered one of the best predictors of training success and considerably better than specific cognitive abilities (SCAs). Recently, however, researchers have provided evidence that SCAs may be of similar importance for training success, a finding supporting personnel selection based on job-related requirements. The present meta-analysis therefore seeks to assess validities of SCAs for training success in various occupations in a sample of German primary studies. Our meta-analysis (k = 72) revealed operational validities between ρ = .18 and ρ = .26 for different SCAs. Furthermore, results varied by occupational category, supporting a job-specific benefit of SCAs.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maksim Rudnev

A theory of basic human values relies on the similarity of value structures across countries. It has been well established that the quasi-circumplex value structure as a whole is indeed universal. However, less attention has been paid to the associations between specific values. This study investigated associations between four higher-order values across age, education, and income groups. We analyzed the data from national representative samples collected in 29 countries as part of the fourth round of the European Social Survey with a series of multilevel regressions. Younger age, higher levels of education and income coincided with higher independence of the four adjacent higher-order values, whereas among older, less educated, and less wealthy groups, values tended to merge into a single dimension of Social versus Person Focus. These differences were slightly weaker in more economically developed countries. The group differences in value associations may follow from corresponding differences in the degree of societal and individual empowerment, cognitive abilities, and socialization experiences. Accounting for the individual differences in relations between values may bring deeper understanding and higher predictive power to the studies of links between values and various behaviors or attitudes. , value structure, value interactions, European Social Survey


1993 ◽  
Vol 27 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arie H. Havelaar ◽  
Siem H. Heisterkamp ◽  
Janneke A. Hoekstra ◽  
Kirsten A. Mooijman

The general concept of measurement errors is applied to quantitative bacteriological counts on membrane filters or agar plates. The systematic errors of these methods are related to the growth characteristics of the medium (recovery of target organisms and inhibition of non-target organisms) and to its differential characteristics (sensitivity and specificity). Factors that influence the precision of microbiological counts are the variation between replicates, within samples, between operators and between laboratories. It is also affected by the linearity of the method, the verification rate and, where applicable, the number of colonies subcultured for verification. Repeatability (r) and reproducibility (R) values can be calculated on the logarithmic scale.


2021 ◽  
pp. 112972982110087
Author(s):  
Junren Kang ◽  
Wenyan Sun ◽  
Hailong Li ◽  
En ling Ma ◽  
Wei Chen

Background: The Michigan Risk Score (MRS) was the only predicted score for peripherally inserted central venous catheters (PICC) associated upper extremity venous thrombosis (UEVT). Age-adjusted D-dimer increased the efficiency for UEVT. There were no external validations in an independent cohort. Method: A retrospective study of adult patients with PICC insertion was performed. The primary objective was to evaluate the performance of the MRS and age-adjusted D-dimer in estimating risk of PICC-related symptomatic UEVT. The sensitivity, specificity and areas under the receiver operating characteristics (ROC) of MRS and age-adjusted D-dimer were calculated. Results: Two thousand one hundred sixty-three patients were included for a total of 206,132 catheter days. Fifty-six (2.6%) developed PICC-UEVT. The incidences of PICC-UEVT were 4.9% for class I, 7.5% for class II, 2.2% for class III, 0% for class IV of MRS ( p = 0.011). The incidences of PICC-UEVT were 4.5% for D-dimer above the age-adjusted threshold and 1.5% for below the threshold ( p = 0.001). The areas under ROC of MRS and age-adjusted D-dimer were 0.405 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.303–0.508) and 0.639 (95% CI 0.547–0.731). The sensitivity and specificity of MRS were 0.82 (95% CI, 0.69–0.91), 0.09 (95% CI, 0.08–0.11), respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of age-adjusted D-dimer were 0.64 (95% CI, 0.46–0.79) and 0.64 (95% CI, 0.61–0.66), respectively. Conclusions: MRS and age-adjusted D-dimer have low accuracy to predict PICC-UEVT. Further studies are needed.


Author(s):  
Dennis Paulino

Crowdsourcing is a paradigm of outsourcing work that is done using human capabilities through the Internet. Given the various possibilities of overcoming cultural and social barriers, crowdsourcing provides an opportunity for people with disabilities to have a financial compensation and help them feel realised. In crowdsourcing, people with disabilities face problems related with the lack of task description or usability. This article it is presented the main threads for my PhD thesis which main goal is to prove, that it is possible to map crowdsourcing tasks effectively to each individual, focusing particularly on the cognitive abilities.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 2917
Author(s):  
Thomas Ackmann ◽  
Burkhard Möllenbeck ◽  
Georg Gosheger ◽  
Jan Schwarze ◽  
Tom Schmidt-Braekling ◽  
...  

Introduction: D-dimer is a diagnostic criterion for periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) of the Musculoskeletal Infection Society (MSIS) in 2018. The aim of this study was to evaluate the serum D-dimer values in comparison to C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) for the diagnosis of PJI. Materials and Methods: We included 119 patients (50 women, 69 men; 71 knees, 48 hips) undergoing revision arthroplasty with preoperative assessment of CRP, IL-6, and serum D-dimer. Cases were classified as infected or aseptic based on the MSIS criteria of 2018. Receiver operating curves and Youden’s index were used to define an ideal cut-off value and sensitivity and specificity for the individual parameters, and respective combinations were calculated using cross-tables. Results: The median D-dimer level (2320 vs. 1105 ng/mL; p < 0.001), the median CRP level (4.0 vs. 0.5 mg/dL; p < 0.001), and the median IL-6 level (21.0 vs. 5.0 pg/mL; p < 0.001) were significantly higher in the group of PJI compared to the group with aseptic failure. The calculated optimal cut-off values were 2750 ng/mL (AUC 0.767) for D-dimer, 1.2 mg/dL (AUC 0.914) for CRP, and 10.0 pg/mL (AUC 0.849) for IL-6. D-dimer showed a sensitivity of 38% and specificity of 94%, whereas the CRP and IL-6 had sensitivities of 88% and 76%, and specificities of 87% and 92%, respectively. Conclusion: In comparison with CRP and IL-6, serum D-dimer showed low sensitivity and specificity in our cohort. While CRP and IL-6 combination had the highest sensitivity, a combination of Il-6 and D-dimer or CRP and IL-6 had the highest specificity.


Author(s):  
K A Kazim ◽  
B Maiti ◽  
P Chand

Centrifugal pumps are being used increasingly for transportation of slurries through pipelines. To design a slurry handling system it is essential to have a knowledge of the effects of suspended solids on the pump performance. A new correlation to predict the head reduction factor for centrifugal pumps handling solids has been developed. This correlation takes into account the individual effect of particle size, particle size distribution, specific gravity and concentration of solids on the centrifugal pump performance characteristics. The range of validity of the correlation has been verified by experiment and by using experimental data available from the literature. The present correlation shows better agreement with the experimental data than existing correlations.


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