The Portly Psychologist, or, on the Perils of Using a Control Group

1971 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 557-558 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary B. Harris

A questionnaire was sent to people who had requested reprints of an article on weight control as well as to a control group of people who requested reprints of articles on other topics. Although a majority of people who requested the weight-control paper reported that they had a weight problem, were overweight, had an overweight friend or relative, etc., the control group reported an equal preoccupation with obesity; in fact, the two groups did not differ on any measure except frequency of openended comments. The results imply that adequate control groups should be used whenever possible in generalizing about characteristics of groups.

2010 ◽  
Vol 80 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pei-Min Chao ◽  
Wan-Hsuan Chen ◽  
Chun-Huei Liao ◽  
Huey-Mei Shaw

Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) is a collective term for the positional and geometric isomers of a conjugated diene of linoleic acid (C18:2, n-6). The aims of the present study were to evaluate whether levels of hepatic α-tocopherol, α-tocopherol transfer protein (α-TTP), and antioxidant enzymes in mice were affected by a CLA-supplemented diet. C57BL/6 J mice were divided into the CLA and control groups, which were fed, respectively, a 5 % fat diet with or without 1 g/100 g of CLA (1:1 mixture of cis-9, trans-11 and trans-10, cis-12) for four weeks. α-Tocopherol levels in plasma and liver were significantly higher in the CLA group than in the control group. Liver α-TTP levels were also significantly increased in the CLA group, the α-TTP/β-actin ratio being 2.5-fold higher than that in control mice (p<0.01). Thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances were significantly decreased in the CLA group (p<0.01). There were no significant differences between the two groups in levels of three antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, and catalase). The accumulation of liver α-tocopherol seen with the CLA diet can be attributed to the antioxidant potential of CLA and the ability of α-TTP induction. The lack of changes in antioxidant enzyme protein levels and the reduced lipid peroxidation in the liver of CLA mice are due to α-tocopherol accumulation.


1993 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 227-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Mccance ◽  
David Roberts-Harry ◽  
Martyn Sherriff ◽  
Michael Mars ◽  
William J.B. Houston

The study models of a group of adult Sri Lankan patients with clefts of the secondary palate were investigated. Tooth-size and arch-dimension comparisons were made with a comparable control group. Significant differences were found between the cleft and control groups in tooth sizes, chord lengths, and arch widths. The cleft group dimensions were generally smaller than those of the control group. Overjets were larger in the cleft group.


Author(s):  
Hasanul Arifin Zul And Masitowarni Siregar

This thesis is focused on the investigation of the effect of applying animal cartoon pictures on students’ achievement in writing narrative text. This study aims to find whether applying animal cartoon pictures significantly affect the students’ writing achievement or not. The data in this study were obtained by administering a written test. The population was the 2015/2016 first year (grade XI) of SMA Swasta Nusantara Lubuk Pakam and 66 students were taken as the sample by using random sampling. The sample was divided into two groups, experimental and control groups. The experimental group was taught by applying animal cartoon pictures while the control group without animal cartoon pictures (x = lecturing). The data were taken the scores from the pre-test and post-test to both experimental and control groups. These data were analyzed by using t-test. The result of computing the t-test obviously showed that t-observed is higher than t-table (5.21 >1,67) with the degree of freedom 64 (df =N-2) at the level significance 0,05 one tail test. It showed that the application of animal cartoon pictures significantly affected the students of SMA Swasta Nusantara Lubuk Pakam achievement in writing narrative text.


Author(s):  
Meryanti Napitupulu And Anni Holila Pulungan

This study was conducted as an attempt to discover the effect of applying Demonstration Method on students’ achievement in speaking skill. It was an experimental research. The subject was students of Grade XII, Vocational High School (Sekolah Menengah Kejuruan: SMK), which consisted of 79 students. The research was divided into two groups: experimental and control groups. The instrument used to collect the data was speaking test. To obtain the reliability of the test, the writer applied Kuder Richardson 21 formula. The result of the reliability was 0.7, and it was found that the test was reliable. The data were analyzed by using t-test formula. The analysis showed that the scores of the students in the experimental group were significantly higher than the scores of the students in the control group at the level of significant m = 0.05 with the degree of freedom (df) 77, t-observed value 8.9 > t-table value 1.99. The findings indicate that using Demonstration Method significantly affected the students’ achievement in speaking skill. So, English teachers are suggested to use Demonstration Method in order to improve students’ achievement in speaking skill.


2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 22
Author(s):  
Nazli Zainuddin ◽  
Nurul Azira Mohd Shah ◽  
Rosdan Salim

Introduction: The role of virgin coconut oil in the treatment of allergic rhinitis is controversial. Thus, the aim of the present study is to determine the effects of virgin coconut oil ingestion, in addition to standard medications, on allergic rhinitis. We also studied the side effects of consumption of virgin coconut oil. Methods: Fifty two subjects were equally divided into test and control groups. All subjects received a daily dose of 10mg of loratadine for 28 days. The test group was given 10ml of virgin coconut oil three times a day in addition to loratadine. The symptoms of allergic rhinitis were scored at the beginning and end of the study. Results:, the symptom score were divided into nasal and non-nasal symptom scores. Sneezing score showed a significant difference, however the score was more in control group than test group, indicating that improvement in symptom was more in control group. The rest of the nasal symptom and non-nasal symptom score showed no significant difference between test and control groups. Approximately 58% of the test subjects developed side effects from consumption of virgin coconut oil, mainly gastrointestinal side effects. Conclusion: In the present study, ingestion of virgin coconut oil does not improve the overall and individual symptoms of allergic rhinitis, furthermore it has side effects.


1970 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ermiati E ◽  
Imas Rafiyah ◽  
Devi Kusnanti

Anemia merupakan salah satu penyebab terjadinya perdarahan dan bisa mengakibatkan kematian pada ibu hamil. Suplementasi besi merupakan program pemerintah dalam mengatasi anemia pada wanita hamil dan beberapa wanita hamil masih ada yang belum patuh dalam mengkonsumsi tablet besi. Oleh karena itu, diperlukan sebuah metode yang bisa meningkatkan kepatuhan wanita hamil dalam mengonsumsi tablet besi yaitu dengan short message service (SMS) reminder. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengidentifikasi efektivitas SMS reminderterhadap kepatuhan konsumsi tablet besi pada ibu hamil di (unit pelayanan terpadu) UPT Puskesmas Cibuntu Kota Bandung. Rancangan penelitian quasi experimentaldengan desain posttest-only with control group designdengan teknik pengambilan sampel yang digunakan adalah purposive sampling. Penelitian ini dilaksanakan dari bulan April–Mei tahun 2014 di Puskesmas X Kota Bandung. Sampel berjumlah 40 orang wanita hamil yang tidak patuh dalam mengonsumsi tablet besi yang dibagi menjadi 20 kelompok intervensi dan 20 kelompok kontrol. Data diperoleh melalui kuesioner dalam bentuk self report.Analisis data yang digunakan adalah analisis deskriptif dan uji chi square. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan sebagian besar kelompok intervensi 17 orang (85%) patuh dan sebagian besar kelompok kontrol 16 orang (80%) tidak patuh. Hasil analisis dengan menggunakan chi squaredidapatkan p(0.000) dengan taraf signifikan <0.05 sehingga dapat disimpulkan bahwa SMS reminder efektif terhadap kepatuhan konsumsi tablet besi pada wanita hamil dan bisa dijadikan bahan pertimbangan bagi pihak Puskesmas untuk menjalin kerjasama dengan pihak provideratau mengajukan dana ke Dinas Kesehatan untuk mengaktifkan SMS reminderdi Puskesmas.Kata kunci: Kepatuhan, SMS reminder,tablet besi, wanita hamil AbstractAnemia is one of the leading causes of hemorrhage during pregnancy, and it can cause death to expectant mothers. Iron supplementation is a government program to overcome anemia among expectant mothers, and some of the expectant mothers still do not obediently consume iron tablets. Therefore, to increase the obedience of the expectant mothers on consuming the iron tablets, SMS reminder is the appropriate method needed. This research aims to identify the effectiveness of SMS reminder to the obedience of iron tablets consumption among expectant mothers at UPT Puskesmas Cibuntu , Bandung. The research employed quasi-experimental design with posttest-only control group design using purposive sampling technique. The research was held on April–May 2014 at UPT Puskesmas Cibuntu, Bandung. Forty expectant mothers consuming iron tablets disobediently divided into 20 intervention groups and 20 control groups were taken as the samples. Questionnaire in form of self report was used to obtain data. In addition, descriptive analysis and chi square test were applied to analyze the data. The result of the research showed that 17 persons (85%) of intervention groups were mostly obedient, and 16 persons (80%) of control groups were mostly disobedient. From the analysis using chi square, it was found the difference of the obedience of iron tablets consumption after SMS reminder (p=0.00) had been delivered with significant level <0.05. Based on the result of this research, SMS reminder had an effective impact toward the obedience of iron tablets consumption among the expectant mothers. The result will be a good consideration for Puskesmas to cooperate with provider or proposed some funds to Dinas Kesehatan to activate SMS reminder.Key words:Expectant mothers, obedience, SMS reminder, iron tablets


1984 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-30
Author(s):  
Donald S. Martin ◽  
Ming-Shiunn Huang

The actor/observer effect was examined by Storms in a 1973 study which manipulated perceptual orientation using video recordings. Storms' study was complex and some of his results equivocal. The present study attempted to recreate the perceptual reorientation effect using a simplified experimental design and an initial difference between actors and observers which was the reverse of the original effect. Female undergraduates performed a motor co-ordination task as actors while watched by observers. Each person made attributions for the actor's behaviour before and after watching a video recording of the performance. For a control group the video recording was of an unrelated variety show excerpt. Actors' initial attributions were less situational than observers'. Both actors and observers became more situational after the video replay but this effect occurred in both experimental and control groups. It was suggested the passage of time between first and second recording of attributions could account for the findings and care should be taken when interpreting Storms' (1973) study and others which did not adequately control for temporal effects.


2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 47-55
Author(s):  
Syahredi Syaiful Adnani ◽  
Hafni Bachtiar

In the last few decades, the incidence of caesarean section is increasing in the world, especially in Indonesia. One of the way to treat tissue scar is through biologic and synthetic dressing where nowadays, amnion has been used as biologic dressing frequently. This study was conducted to determine the effect of the use of fresh amniotic membrane on wound incision Caesarean section compared with Caesarean section incision wound covered using regular gauze bandages and fixated with plaster in RS. Dr. Reksodiwiryo Padang. The design of this study is an experimen-tal study with Post test design with control group design. Sampling was done using a formula consecutive sampling two different test samples obtained an average of 72 people for each group. The analysis used include univariate and bivariate analyzes. The average wound healing time the difference was statistically significant (p value <0.05) in the treatment and control groups. There was highly significant difference in the proportion of local infection on day 3 between the treatment and control groups (p value <0.05). There were very significant differences in the proportion of local allergic reactions at day 3, and 5 between the treatment and control group (p <0.05). There are significant differences in terms of the cost of care per day between treatment and control groups (p <0.05). From this study, the average wound healing time has a very significant difference.Keywords: Fresh Amniotic Membrane, Wound Cesarean Section, Wound Healing


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Hiroki Ushirozako ◽  
Tomohiko Hasegawa ◽  
Yu Yamato ◽  
Go Yoshida ◽  
Tatsuya Yasuda ◽  
...  

OBJECTIVESurgical site infection (SSI) after posterior spinal surgery is one of the severe complications that may occur despite administration of prophylactic antibiotics and the use of intraoperative aseptic precautions. The use of intrawound vancomycin powder for SSI prevention is still controversial, with a lack of high-quality and large-scale studies. The purpose of this retrospective study using a propensity score–matched analysis was to clarify whether intrawound vancomycin powder prevents SSI occurrence after spinal surgery.METHODSThe authors analyzed 1261 adult patients who underwent posterior spinal surgery between 2010 and 2018 (mean age 62.3 years; 506 men, 755 women; follow-up period at least 1 year). Baseline and surgical data were assessed. After a preliminary analysis, a propensity score model was established with adjustments for age, sex, type of disease, and previously reported risk factors for SSI. The SSI rates were compared between patients with intrawound vancomycin powder treatment (vancomycin group) and those without (control group).RESULTSIn a preliminary analysis of 1261 unmatched patients (623 patients in the vancomycin group and 638 patients in the control group), there were significant differences between the groups in age (p = 0.041), body mass index (p = 0.013), American Society of Anesthesiologists classification (p < 0.001), malnutrition (p = 0.001), revision status (p < 0.001), use of steroids (p = 0.019), use of anticoagulation (p = 0.033), length of surgery (p = 0.003), estimated blood loss (p < 0.001), and use of instrumentation (p < 0.001). There was no significant difference in SSI rates between the vancomycin and control groups (21 SSIs [3.4%] vs 33 SSIs [5.2%]; OR 0.640, 95% CI 0.368–1.111; p = 0.114). Using a one-to-one propensity score–matched analysis, 444 pairs of patients from the vancomycin and control groups were selected. There was no significant difference in the baseline and surgical data, except for height (p = 0.046), between both groups. The C-statistic for the propensity score model was 0.702. In the score-matched analysis, 12 (2.7%) and 24 (5.4%) patients in the vancomycin and control groups, respectively, developed SSIs (OR 0.486, 95% CI 0.243–0.972; p = 0.041). There were no systemic complications related to the use of vancomycin.CONCLUSIONSThe current study showed that intrawound vancomycin powder was useful in reducing the risk of SSI after posterior spinal surgery by half, without adverse events. Intrawound vancomycin powder use is a safe and effective procedure for SSI prevention.


Author(s):  
Erbu Yarci ◽  
Cuneyt Tayman ◽  
Ufuk Cakir ◽  
Utku Serkant

Background:: Hyperviscosity of blood secondary to polycythemia results in increased resistance to blood flow and decrease in delivery of oxygen. Objective:: To evaluate whether serum endocan, NSE and IMA levels can be compared in terms of endothelial injury/ dysfunction and neuronal damage in term neonates with polycythemia who underwent PET. Methods:: 38 symptomatic polycythemic newborns having PET and 38 healthy newborns were included in the study. Blood samples for endocan, NSE and IMA were taken at only postnatal 24 hours of age in the control group and in polycytemia group just before PET, at 24 and 72 hours after PET. Results:: The polycythemia group had higher serum endocan(1073,4 ± 644,8 vs. 378,8 ± 95,9ng/ml; p<0.05), IMA(1,32 ± 0,34 vs.0,601 ± 0,095absorbance unit; p<0.05) and NSE(44,7 ± 4,3 vs. 26,91 ± 7,12μg/l; p<0.05) levels than control group before the PET procedure. At 24 hours after PET, IMA(0,656 ± 0,07 vs. 0,601 ± 0,095absorbance unit; p<0.05) and endocan(510,9 ± 228,6 vs. 378,8 ± 95,9ng/ml; p<0.05) levels were closer to the control group, being still statistically significant higher. NSE levels decreased to control group levels having no difference between the PET and control groups at 24 hours after PET (28,98 ± 6,5 vs. 26,91 ± 7,12μg/l; p>0.05). At 72 hours after PET the polycythemia and control groups did not differ statistically for IMA, endocan and NSE levels (p>0.05). Conclusion:: Serum endocan and IMA levels can be used as a biomarker for endothelial damage / dysfunction and tissue hypoxia in infants with symptomatic polycytemia.


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