Evaluation of various methods in clinical practice is often based on interpretations by two or more observers. Such data need to be analysed with correct statistics, or the results and conclusions may be misleading. In this study, the use of measures of agreement for ordinal data in five international nursing journals is reviewed and various methods for measuring agreement are presented and discus

The processes of multiplication of electronic excitations (MEE), connected with the creation of secondary excitons or electron-hole (e-h) pairs by hot conduction electrons, are realized in wide-gap metal halides and oxides. In oxides, secondary e-h pairs can be also formed by 27-40 eV photons due to L 1 VV Auger transitions (with the participation of 2s oxygen holes). The excitation spectra of lum

PURPOSE: To evaluate radiologic findings and clinical data in patients with spontaneous spinal epidural hematoma (SSEH). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirteen patients (10 men aged 28-71 years; three women aged 40-65 years) with SSEH from 1986 to 1995 underwent magnetic resonance (MR) imaging; six also underwent spinal angiography. Patients with minor trauma, anticoagulant therapy, increased bleeding te

Serum and urinary concentrations of NCl, the non collagenous globular domain of collagen IV, were used as markers for turnover of basement membranes. NCl levels were studied in membranous glomerulonephritis and diabetic nephropathy. Thirteen patients with membranous glomerulonephritis and 8 insulin-dependent diabetic patients with diabetic nephropathy were compared to 16 apparently healthy control

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The heat transfer from turbulent diffusion flames between vertical walls has been computed for different wall and burner configurations. The buoyancy-modified k- model was used to study the turbulent characteristics of the flow. The flamelet concept, coupled to a prescribed probability density function, was employed to model the nonpremixed combustion process. With the nucleation, surface growth,

The regioselectivity in the Rh catalysed 1,4-hydrosilylation of isoprene was investigated. Variation of solvents and temperature did not significantly affect the isomer distribution between tail-product (I) and head-product (II). The choice of ligands had the greater influence, where Rh-I-based catalysts with the strong electron withdrawing ligand CO favoured production of isomer II, while Rh-I ca

In Sweden the use of wooden boards and sca’boards as binding material was custom until the middle of the 19th century. Sca’boards are found in all kinds of more or less expensive bindings with different covering materials; silk, parchment, leather and paper. During the 19th century they were mainly used in simple and cheap retail bindings destined for the peasantry. In this article the reasons for

Objectives. Continuity in habits, activities, and roles is important upon entering old age according to the continuity theory of aging. Few studies have investigated patterns of leisure participation over an extended period of time among older adults. This study examines changes in nine different leisure activities in a nationally representative sample of individuals followed over a 34-year period

The purpose of this retrospective study was to evaluate the changes in diabetes-related lower extremity amputations following the implementation of a multidisciplinary programme for prevention and treatment of diabetic foot ulcers in a 0.2 million population with a 2.4% prevalence of diabetes. All diabetes-related primary amputations from toe to hip from 1 January 1982 to 31 December 1993 were inc

The valence band resonant photoemission spectra of a TiO2 sub-monolayer grown on an Al2O3 substrate have been measured throughout the Ti 3p absorption edge, i.e. at photon energies between 40 and 60 eV. The resonance process has been analysed in terms of constant initial state (CIS) curves, showing a peak at 49.5 eV photon energy, corresponding to a Fano-like resonant process. The Ti 3d contributi

Changes in both calcium and insulin metabolism have been described in essential hypertension. Low levels of plasma ionized calcium (Ca2+) and high levels of insulin have previously been associated with vascular complications and coronary heart disease. In the present study, indices of calcium metabolism and fasting serum insulin were related to electrocardiographic (ECG) variables in 58 patients w

The emission spectra of lithium orthosilicates (Li4SiO4) ceramics have been measured in the range of 1.8-5.8 eV under irradiation by 6-30 eV photons or 1-30 keV electrons at 6-300 K. The tunnel recombination phosphorescence, as well as luminescence, stimulated by 1.5-2.5 eV photons has been detected in the sample preliminarily irradiated at 6 or 80 K. The main peaks of thermally stimulated lumines

Thiopurine S-methyltransferase (TPMT) deficient patients develop life threatening haematotoxicity (for example, pancytopenia) when treated with a standard dose of azathioprine (AZA) and 6-mercaptopurine (6-MP) due to excessive accumulation of cytotoxic metabolites. At present, it is generally recommended that these patients should not receive AZA or 6-MP treatment for inflammatory bowel disease. W

Adaptive time-stepping based on linear digital control theory has several advantages: the algorithms can be analyzed in terms of stability and adaptivity, and they can be designed to produce smoother stepsize sequences resulting in significantly improved regularity and computational stability. Here, we extend this approach by viewing the closed-loop transfer map H-(φ) over cap: log (φ) over cap ba

In quality assurance programs, we want indicators of software quality, especially software correctness. The number of found defects during inspection and testing are often used as the basis for indicators of software correctness. However, there is a paradox in this approach, since the remaining defects is what impacts negatively on software correctness, not the found ones. In order to investigate

Background. An altered renal function is an essential component of the patho-physiology of pre-eclampsia. The plasma levels of low molecular mass proteins, e. g. beta-trace protein, beta-2-microglobulin and cystatin C, are increased in the third trimester of normal pregnancy. The plasma levels of cystatin C and beta-2-microglobulin are further increased in preeclampsia, and the cystatin C level ha