Psychometric analysis of the UK Health and Safety Executive's Management Standards work-related stress Indicator Tool

In the UK the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) Management Standards (MS) work-related stress Indicator Tool is the standard measure that organizations use to assess workplace stress. However, no in-depth analysis has been performed to test the psychometric properties of this scale. The current study is the first to examine the factor structure of the HSE MS Indicator Tool using organizational-level data. Data collected from 39 organizations (N = 26,382) was used to perform a first-order Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) on the original 35-item seven-factor measurement scale. The results showed an acceptable fit to the data for the instrument. A second-order CFA was also performed to test if the Indicator Tool contains a higher order uni-dimensional measure of work-related stress. These findings also revealed an acceptable fit to the data, suggesting that it may be possible to derive a single measure of work-related stress

Cost-of-illness of rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis

OBJECTIVES:\ud To assess, quantify and summarise the cost of illness of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and ankylosing spondylitis (AS) from the societal perspective.\ud \ud METHODS:\ud Original studies reporting costs of RA or AS were searched systematically. Both cost-of-illness studies and economic evaluations of therapies were included. Studies were appraised for patient and study characteristics, type of costs and actual costs. Reported costs were aggregated by cost categories and overall mean costs were summarised by cost domain (healthcare, patient and family, and productivity costs).\ud \ud RESULTS:\ud Overall mean costs of RA (€14,906 per year) were above that of AS (€9,374 per year), while the relative distribution of costs over cost domains was approximately similar. For both diseases, productivity costs based on the human cost approach were 3 to 10 times higher than the friction costs and accounted for more than half the total costs of both diseases.\ud \ud CONCLUSIONS:\ud Productivity costs constitute the largest part of the total cost-off-illness of RA and AS reflecting the high burden of the disease on work participation. Although total and direct costs of illness in RA were higher than in AS, the average age of AS patients was 10 years lower and therefore, lifetime costs associated with AS may actually be equal or higher

User Experience Evaluation in BCI: Filling the Gap

Brain-computer interface (BCI) systems can improve the user experience (UX) when used in entertainment technologies. Improved UX can enhance user acceptance, improve quality of life and also increase the system performance of a BCI system. Therefore, the evaluation of UX is essential in BCI research. However, BCI systems are generally evaluated according to the system aspect only so there is no methodology to evaluate UX in BCI systems. This paper gives an overview of such methods from the human-computer interaction field and discusses their possible uses in BCI research

How much control is enough? Optimizing fun with unreliable input

Brain-computer interfaces (BCI) provide a valuable new input modality within human- computer interaction systems, but like other body-based inputs, the system recognition of input commands is far from perfect. This raises important questions, such as: What level of control should such an interface be able to provide? What is the relationship between actual and perceived control? And in the case of applications for entertainment in which fun is an important part of user experience, should we even aim for perfect control, or is the optimum elsewhere? In this experiment the user plays a simple game in which a hamster has to be guided to the exit of a maze, in which the amount of control the user has over the hamster is varied. The variation of control through confusion matrices makes it possible to simulate the experience of using a BCI, while using the traditional keyboard for input. After each session the user �lled out a short questionnaire on fun and perceived control. Analysis of the data showed that the perceived control of the user could largely be explained by the amount of control in the respective session. As expected, user frustration decreases with increasing control. Moreover, the results indicate that the relation between fun and control is not linear. Although in the beginning fun does increase with improved control, the level of fun drops again just before perfect control is reached. This poses new insights for developers of games wanting to incorporate some form of BCI in their game: for creating a fun game, unreliable input can be used to create a challenge for the user

Multiple usage of the CD PLUS/UNIX system: performance in practice

In August 1994, the CD PLUS/Ovid literature retrieval system based on UNIX was activated for the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences of Erasmus University in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. There were up to 1,200 potential users. Tests were carried out to determine the extent to which searching for literature was affected by other end users of the system. In the tests, search times and download times were measured in relation to a varying number of continuously active workstations. Results indicated a linear relationship between search times and the number of active workstations. In the "worst case" situation with sixteen active workstations, the time required for record retrieval increased by a factor of sixteen and downloading time by a factor of sixteen over the "best case" of no other active stations. However, because the worst case seldom, if ever, happens in real life, these results are considered acceptable

Faecal Transplantation, Pro- and Prebiotics in Parkinson's Disease; Hope or Hype?

Faecal microbiome transplantation (FMT) is an attractive technique, because the administration is relatively simple and in general has a mild adverse effect pattern. Moreover, FMT consists of a broad mixture, which could be beneficial, because at this moment it is not known what type of changes in the microbiome are needed. However, except from a few cases no clinical data in Parkinson's disease (PD) is available yet. There is some indication that FMT might be beneficial in severe constipated PD patients, but the clinical data to support this are very scarce. So, actually there are no good data in the public domain to support FMT at this moment in PD patients. FMT at this moment is a black box with too many unanswered questions, also with respect to safety concerns. Only the administration of species of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium over a time period of four to twelve weeks has repeatedly proven to be effective in treating constipation in PD. Also, no solid clinical data are available about the possible effects of probiotic treatment on motor symptoms or progression of PD. Therefore, also probiotic treatments in PD should wait until better clinical data become available, in order to select the right target populations and to have good estimates of the clinical effects to be expected

Patient education and disease activity: A study among rheumatoid arthritis patients

Objective: To determine whether patients experiencing high disease activity derive more benefit from patient education than those experiencing low disease activity. - \ud Methods: Data from a randomized study on the effects of a program of patient education were analyzed retrospectively. Four subgroups were studied: the high disease activity subgroup of patients who had participated in the educational program, the complementary low disease activity subgroup, the high disease activity subgroup of controls, and its low disease activity complement. Patients with erythrocyte sedimentation rate >28 mm/first hour were classified as having high disease activity. Effects on frequency of physical exercises, endurance exercises, and relaxation exercises and effects on health status (Modified Health Assessment Questionnaire, Dutch Arthritis Impact Measurement Scales [AIMS]) were measured. - \ud Results: There were no significant differences between the adherence parameters of the various pairs of groups. Four months after the educational program began, anxiety and depression scores on the Dutch-AIMS had increased among participating patients who were experiencing high disease activity and decreased among those who were experiencing low disease activity. - \ud Conclusions: Patients experiencing high disease activity did not derive more benefit from patient education than those experiencing low disease activity. On the contrary, an increase of anxiety and depression is found in these patients. Further study is needed to confirm our findings

Self-esteem in patients with rheumatic diseases:The role of body-self unity

Background: Maintaining positive self-esteem is one of the challenges for patients with chronic diseases. Limitations in physical functioning, often associated with having a rheumatic disease, can influence the perception of the body as belonging to the person (or as detached from the self) and might thereby finally affect the self-esteem of patients. The concept of body-self unity has been investigated in a phenomenological research tradition that works with qualitative methodology and small samples. Objectives: To develop a questionnaire to measure body-self unity quantitatively and to investigate the predictive value of body-self unity for self-esteem in patients with rheumatic diseases. Methods: The Body Experience Questionnaire was developed for the measurement of body-self unity. Besides this questionnaire, illness cognitions, pain intensity, functional limitations and self-esteem were measured via computers with touchscreen. 168 patients (mean age = 54,2 years, 62% female) with a rheumatic disease participated in this study consecutive visiting the rheumatology clinic. To analyse predictors of self-esteem, hierarchical regression analyses were employed (first step demographic characteristics, second step disease related variables (disease duration, functional limitations, pain), final step psychological constructs (body-self unity, illness cognitions)). Results: The Body Experience Questionnaire revealed a two factor structure with good reliability (subscale harmony, Cronbachs alpha=.76; subscale alienation, Cronbachs alpha = 0.84). The final model of the hierarchical regression analyses showed that self-esteem can be predicted by helplessness, acceptance, harmony of body and self and most strongly by the alienation of body and self. R2 of the final model was 0.50 (delta R for psychological variables in the final step was 0.28). The relation between functional limitations and self-esteem was fully mediated by the psychological constructs body self unity and illness cognitions. Conclusion: This study showed the importance of psychological characteristics and particularly the experience of the body for self-esteem in patients with a rheumatic disease. Further research should explore therapies to increase the body-self unity

Essais d'épandage au sol de la deltaméthrine poudre mouillable à différentes doses contre Glossina palpalis (s.l.) dans une zone préforestière de Côte d'Ivoire

Des essais d'épandage au sol de deltaméthrine poudre mouillable 2,5% (NRDC 161) ont été effectués en janvier et novembre 1981 dans le foyer à Trypanosomiase humaine de Bouaflé, Côte d'Ivoire. Ces essais visaient à évaluer l'effet de différentes doses de ce pyréthrinoïde de synthèse sur la densité apparente par piègeage de G. palpalis (s.l.), vecteur de la maladie du sommeil dans la zone concernée. Trois doses ont été testées: 60 g de matière active (g.m.a.) par hectare à la concentration de 0,08% en janvier; 20 et 12 g.m.a./ha en novembre, aux concentrations de 0,027 et 0,016% respectivement. Pour chaque dose donnée, les traitements ont été exécutés une suele fois et à l'aide d'atomiseurs portatifs, Solo Port 423 de 5 m de portée. Les effets immédiats, à court et à moyen terme de l'insecticide sont très satisfaisants qu'il s'agisse des doses de 60 et 20 g.m.a./ha ou de la plus faible dose de 12 g.m.a./ha: taux de réduction de la densité apparente (D.A.P.) du vecteur compris dans l'ensemble entre 90 et 98% durant les deux premiers mois après traitement, quelle que soit la dose. A long terme, des taux de réduction dépassant 95% ont été obtenus jusqu'à 4 mois après épandage même avec la plus faible dose de 12 g.m.a./ha. La plus forte dose de 60 g.m.a./ha ne semble apporter aucun gain appréciable ni dans les taux de mortalité du vecteur, ni dans la rémanence de l'insecticide dans la zone d'étude. Afin de diminuer le cout en insecticide d'une éventuelle campagne de lutte chimique antiglossine et de sauvegarder au mieux les ressources de l'environnement, il est donc recommandé que la deltaméthrine p.m. en épandage au sol et en traitement rémanent, soit utilisée à la dose de 12 g.m.a./h

Health-related quality of life in sarcoidosis

Purpose of review: The review presents an overview of the scientific publications in the field of health-related quality of life (HRQL) in sarcoidosis. Recent findings: Literature on HRQL in sarcoidosis is limited. HRQL was mainly used as a primary or secondary endpoint in intervention studies. Moreover, most studies have measured HRQL in sarcoidosis by means of the generic questionnaire 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey. Sarcoidosis-specific questionnaires and computer-adapted testing are innovative approaches to the field. Summary: HRQL as a primary or secondary outcome in sarcoidosis studies is still scarce. In addition to the proper definition of the concept, the mode of measurement of HRQL remains a matter of debate. Because health-economical evaluations require data on gained quality of life, future studies on sarcoidosis should include HRQL as the study endpoin