Inter-rater reliability, intra-rater reliability and internal consistency of the Brisbane Evidence-Based Language Test

Purpose: To examine the inter-rater reliability, intra-rater reliability, internal consistency and practice effects associated with a new test, the Brisbane Evidence-Based Language Test. Methods: Reliability estimates were obtained in a repeated-measures design through analysis of clinician video ratings of stroke participants completing the Brisbane Evidence-Based Language Test. Inter-rater reliability was determined by comparing 15 independent clinicians’ scores of 15 randomly selected videos. Intra-rater reliability was determined by comparing two clinicians’ scores of 35 videos when re-scored after a two-week interval. Results: Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) analysis demonstrated almost perfect inter-rater reliability (0.995; 95% confidence interval: 0.990–0.998), intra-rater reliability (0.994; 95% confidence interval: 0.989–0.997) and internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = 0.940 (95% confidence interval: 0.920–1.0)). Almost perfect correlations (0.998; 95% confidence interval: 0.995–0.999) between face-to-face and video ratings were obtained. Conclusion: The Brisbane Evidence-Based Language Test demonstrates almost perfect inter-rater reliability, intra-rater reliability and internal consistency. High correlation coefficients and narrow confidence intervals demonstrated minimal practice effects with scoring or influence of years of clinical experience on test scores. Almost perfect correlations between face-to-face and video scoring methods indicate these reliability estimates have direct application to everyday practice. The test is available from brisbanetest.org. Implications for Rehabilitation The Brisbane Evidence-Based Language Test is a new measure for the assessment of acquired language disorders. The Brisbane Evidence-Based Language Test demonstrated almost perfect inter-rater reliability, intra-rater reliability and internal consistency. High reliability estimates and narrow confidence intervals indicated that test ratings vary minimally when administered by clinicians of different experience levels, or different levels of familiarity with the new measure. The test is a reliable measure of language performance for use in clinical practice and research

Development and diagnostic validation of the Brisbane Evidence-Based Language Test

Purpose: To describe the development and determine the diagnostic accuracy of the Brisbane Evidence-Based Language Test in detecting aphasia. Methods: Consecutive acute stroke admissions (n = 100; mean = 66.49y) participated in a single (assessor) blinded cross-sectional study. Index assessment was the ∼45 min Brisbane Evidence-Based Language Test. The Brisbane Evidence-Based Language Test is further divided into four 15–25 min Short Tests: two Foundation Tests (severe impairment), Standard (moderate) and High Level Test (mild). Independent reference standard included the Language Screening Test, Aphasia Screening Test, Comprehensive Aphasia Test and/or Measure for Cognitive-Linguistic Abilities, treating team diagnosis and aphasia referral post-ward discharge. Results: Brisbane Evidence-Based Language Test cut-off score of ≤ 157 demonstrated 80.8% (LR+ =10.9) sensitivity and 92.6% (LR− =0.21) specificity. All Short Tests reported specificities of ≥ 92.6%. Foundation Tests I (cut-off ≤ 61) and II (cut-off ≤ 51) reported lower sensitivity (≥ 57.5%) given their focus on severe conditions. The Standard (cut-off ≤ 90) and High Level Test (cut-off ≤ 78) reported sensitivities of ≥ 72.6%. Conclusion: The Brisbane Evidence-Based Language Test is a sensitive assessment of aphasia. Diagnostically, the High Level Test recorded the highest psychometric capabilities of the Short Tests, equivalent to the full Brisbane Evidence-Based Language Test. The test is available for download from brisbanetest.org. Implications for rehabilitation: Aphasia is a debilitating condition and accurate identification of language disorders is important in healthcare. Language assessment is complex and the accuracy of assessment procedures is dependent upon a variety of factors. The Brisbane Evidence-Based Language Test is a new evidence-based language test specifically designed to adapt to varying patient need, clinical contexts and co-occurring conditions. In this cross-sectional validation study, the Brisbane Evidence-Based Language Test was found to be a sensitive measure for identifying aphasia in stroke

AGS Position Statement: Making Medical Treatment Decisions for Unbefriended Older Adults

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/135987/1/jgs14586_am.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/135987/2/jgs14586.pd

Real-time mass spectrometry monitoring of oak wood toasting: elucidating aroma development relevant to oak-aged wine quality

We introduce a real-time method to monitor the evolution of oak aromas during the oak toasting process. French and American oak wood boards were toasted in an oven at three different temperatures, while the process-gas was continuously transferred to the inlet of a proton-transfer-reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometer for online monitoring. Oak wood aroma compounds important for their sensory contribution to oak-aged wine were tentatively identified based on soft ionization and molecular mass. The time-intensity profiles revealed toasting process dynamics illustrating in real-time how different compounds evolve from the oak wood during toasting. Sufficient sensitivity was achieved to observe spikes in volatile concentrations related to cracking phenomena on the oak wood surface. The polysaccharide-derived compounds exhibited similar profiles; whilst for lignin-derived compounds eugenol formation differed from that of vanillin and guaiacol at lower toasting temperatures. Significant generation of oak lactone from precursors was evident at 225 (o)C. Statistical processing of the real-time aroma data showed similarities and differences between individual oak boards and oak wood sourced from the different origins. This study enriches our understanding of the oak toasting process and demonstrates a new analytical approach for research on wood volatiles

The reference site collaborative network of the european innovation partnership on active and healthy ageing

Seventy four Reference Sites of the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing (EIP on AHA) have been recognised by the European Commission in 2016 for their commitment to excellence in investing and scaling up innovative solutions for active and healthy ageing. The Reference Site Collaborative Network (RSCN) brings together the EIP on AHA Reference Sites awarded by the European Commission, and Candidate Reference Sites into a single forum. The overarching goals are to promote cooperation, share and transfer good practice and solutions in the development and scaling up of health and care strategies, policies and service delivery models, while at the same time supporting the action groups in their work. The RSCN aspires to be recognized by the EU Commission as the principal forum and authority representing all EIP on AHA Reference Sites. The RSCN will contribute to achieve the goals of the EIP on AHA by improving health and care outcomes for citizens across Europe, and the development of sustainable economic growth and the creation of jobs

Contemporary Racism in the Workplace: The Integrated Model of Racism and White Subordinate Perceptions of Black Supervisors

Plan AThe Integrated Model of Racism (Dovidio & Gaertner, 1986) suggests liberals and conservatives react differently to African Americans in between-subjects designs when race is salient and the situation is ambiguous. Participants read a vignette describing a performance appraisal of either a moderately qualified or unqualified supervisor who was either European American (EA) or African American (AA). Participants reported their political affiliation and completed items from the Reysen Likability Scale (RLS), Leadership Effectiveness measure (LE) and General Leadership Impression measure (GLI). A 2 (Political Orientation) x 2 (Supervisor Race) x 2 (Supervisor Qualifications) between-subjects design was used. On these measures, it was hypothesized that conservatives would rate both the moderately qualified and unqualified AA supervisors equally unfavorably, and liberals would express their aversive racial bias by rating the moderately qualified AA (vs. EA) supervisor more harshly. Moderate qualifications leave room for liberals to justify their racist attitudes on the uncertainty of the supervisor’s qualifications. However, this was not supported. Main effects of race on the RLS, LE, and GLI were opposite of expectations; AA (vs. EA) supervisors were rated more favorably. Limitations and ideas for future research are discussed

Liberals’ and Conservatives’ Perceptions of Warmth-Competence and Threat for Immigrant Groups

The stereotype-content model of prejudice posits that outgroups are perceived in terms of warmth and competence (Cuddy, Fiske, & Glick, 2008). The integrated model of racism (Dovidio & Gaertner, 1998) suggests that liberals tend to overcompensate for their prejudicial attitudes by favoring outgroups, whereas conservatives tend to justify their prejudicial attitudes. We hypothesized that liberals and conservatives would perceive outgroups differently in terms of warmth-competence. 87 white students rated how characteristic 26 traits were of Arab, Chinese, and Mexican immigrants, Bosnian refugees, and African Americans. Liberals rated Arab (t(53)= 2.09, p= .04, CI(.95)[.01527, .71763]) and Mexican immigrants (t(63)= 2.47, p= .02, CI(.95)[.07287, .68989]) as warmer than did conservatives, but conservatives rated Bosnian refugees (t(63)= -2.02, p= .05, CI(.95)[-.65387, -.00341]) and Mexican immigrants (t(63)= -2.425, p= .02, CI(.95)[-.72841, -.07029]) higher on competence than did liberals. All five target groups were rated as more warm than competent by all participants. Chinese immigrants were rated least competent and African Americans were rated least warm by all participants. Consistent with the integrated model of prejudice, liberals rated target racial groups as warmer, indicating explicitly positive feelings toward those groups, but also as less competent, which may suggest more implicit prejudice toward those groups

Diagnosis of aphasia in stroke populations: A systematic review of language tests

Accurate aphasia diagnosis is important in stroke care. A wide range of language tests are available and include informal assessments, tests developed by healthcare institutions and commercially published tests available for purchase in pre-packaged kits. The psychometrics of these tests are often reported online or within the purchased test manuals, not the peer-reviewed literature, therefore the diagnostic capabilities of these measures have not been systematically evaluated. This review aimed to identify both commercial and non-commercial language tests and tests used in stroke care and to examine the diagnostic capabilities of all identified measures in diagnosing aphasia in stroke populations.Language tests were identified through a systematic search of 161 publisher databases, professional and resource websites and language tests reported to be used in stroke care. Two independent reviewers evaluated test manuals or associated resources for cohort or cross-sectional studies reporting the tests' diagnostic capabilities (sensitivity, specificity, likelihood ratios or diagnostic odds ratios) in differentiating aphasic and non-aphasic stroke populations.Fifty-six tests met the study eligibility criteria. Six "non-specialist" brief screening tests reported sensitivity and specificity information, however none of these measures reported to meet the specific diagnostic needs of speech pathologists. The 50 remaining measures either did not report validity data (n = 7); did not compare patient test performance with a comparison group (n = 17); included non-stroke participants within their samples (n = 23) or did not compare stroke patient performance against a language reference standard (n = 3). Diagnostic sensitivity analysis was completed for six speech pathology measures (WAB, PICA, CADL-2, ASHA-FACS, Adult FAVRES and EFA-4), however all studies compared aphasic performance with that of non-stroke healthy controls and were consequently excluded from the review.No speech pathology test was found which reported diagnostic data for identifying aphasia in stroke populations. A diagnostically validated post-stroke aphasia test is needed

Fairbanks North Star Borough School District Music Outreach with UAF Music

Our Opera Workshop class performed an Outreach tour to high schools in this area, including West Valley, North Pole, and Lathrop High Schools