Relation of fiber resilience to the consumer selection of carpeting

The major purpose of this study was to investigate compressional resilience as a factor contributing to the selection of carpeting. The factor of specific interest was the ability of consumers to recognize resilience of carpeting and to detect differences in resilience which might be due to fiber content. The data collection for this study required four different aspects of investigation. The four different parts were: 1. A survey of information available to the consumer at the time of carpet purchase. 2. Laboratory testing to measure differences in fiber resilience. 3. A subjective test to indicate differences in fiber resilience. 4. A questionnaire to determine factors that consumers consider important for carpet purchase. The survey of information available to the consumer at the time of carpet purchase was made by four home economists, assuming the roles of consumers interested in purchasing carpet for their living areas. Much of the sales emphasis centered around aesthetic aspects of carpeting such as color, texture, and beauty. Sales personnel stressed fiber properties and resilience as reasons for a carpet to wear well and suggested acrylic and nylon fibers more frequently than other carpet fibers. Twelve carpets were used for the objective and subjective evaluations of fiber resilience. These carpets were all of tufted construction and included high and low pile heights, cut pile and level loop pile types, and wool, acrylic, and nylon fiber types. Laboratory tests were made to determine pile height, pile density and compressional resilience of the carpets. An analysis of variance for a 3 x 2 x 2 factorial design was performed on the measurements of compressional resilience of the carpets. Significant differences in compressional resilience between fibers showed nylon carpeting to be most resilient. Wool carpeting and acrylic carpeting were second and third in resilience. Significant differences in compressional resilience between pile heights and between pile types were found. Loop pile carpets in each fiber group were more resilient than the cut pile carpets. Level loop pile showed little difference in resilience between high and low pile heights. Whereas, the cut pile carpets of low pile height showed considerably greater resilience than those of high pile height. One hundred women participated in the subjective evaluation of fiber resilience of the test carpets. Two replications of each of the 12 carpets were used for this evaluation of fiber resilience. The majority of these subjects chose as most resilient the wool carpets of low pile height and the acrylic carpets of high pile height in both cut pile and level loop carpets. Subjects consistently ranked nylon as the least resilient of the three fibers being tested. The 100 women, who made the subjective evaluation of fiber resilience of the test carpets, also answered a questionnaire concerning factors considered important for carpet purchase. When asked to indicate the first six factors considered most important to them in the purchase of a carpet, at least 50 per cent of these consumers selected each of the following factors: durability, does not show dirt or soil easily, quality, color, price, and fiber content. "Springiness" or resilience was selected by 25 per cent of these subjects. The results of this study would seem to indicate that 1. The selection and purchase of carpeting must be based largely upon the consumer's subjective evaluations of the carpetings. 2. Generally speaking, greater resilience can be achieved through the selection of level loop carpeting of low pile height than through the selection of the other combinations of pile type and pile height tested. 3. "Springiness" or resilience was mentioned less frequently than a number of other factors considered most important for carpet purchase

Fabric preferences as related to selected personality characteristics of delinquent and nondelinquent adolescent girls

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether a relationship exists between fabric preferences and selected personality characteristics of delinquent and nondelinquent adolescent girls. Respondents for this study were 53 delinquent girls in a North Carolina school for juvenile correction and 49 nondelinquent girls enrolled in a high school in Greensboro, North Carolina. The two groups consisted of 15, 16, and 17 year old girls. Both groups were given the Compton Fabric Preference Test consisting of 78 35mm slides. The California Psychological Inventory, because it is believed to measure personality characteristics to be important to social living, was administered to the two groups

P02.35. Methodology in integrative medicine research: challenges and solutions from a randomized clinical control trial using adapted yoga

Purpose This randomized controlled clinical study evaluated the efficacy of adapted yoga (vs. usual care) to reduce psychosocial risks, which have been clinically shown to impact morbidity and mortality in implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) recipients. The ICD collects and records real-time cardiac data, which were used in the study. Methods Forty-six patients participated from a hospital in Connecticut. All participants were administered validated measures on psychosocial risk factors at weeks one and eight of the eight-week intervention. Patients in the intervention group participated in a weekly adapted yoga class for eighty minutes for eight weeks with assigned home practices. Clinical measures, including patients’ current and past medical health status and device usage, were collected three months prior to the study, during the study, and at a six-month follow-up. Results Data revealed that the yoga group’s overall shock anxiety decreased while the control group’s increased, t(4.43, 36), p<0.0001 (total). The yoga group had less shock anxiety, t(2.86,36) p=0.007 (mean consequence), greater overall self-compassion, t(-2.84,37), p=0.007 (total), and greater mindfulness (equanimity) regarding emotions, t(-2.10,37) p=0.04 (mindfulness), than the control group. Exploratory analyses utilizing a linear model (R2=.98) of the observed anti-tachycardia pacing (ATP) events revealed that the expected number of ATP events in the intervention group was significantly lower than the control group. Additionally, the expected number of ATP events increased more rapidly as a function of the initial ATP events for the control group than for the intervention group. Conclusion Our study demonstrated psychological benefits from a program of adapted yoga compared to usual care for ICD recipients. Marked improvements were reported in total shock anxiety, self-compassion, sense of equanimity, and decreased likelihood of ATPs. The data supports the continuation of research in mind-body interventions to better understand the role of complementary medicine to address ICD-specific psychosocial stress and its potential contributory role in cardiac outcomes

Assessment of the quality of existing patient educational tools focused on sudden cardiac arrest: a systematic evaluation by the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Thought Leadership Alliance

Background Conveying contemporary treatment options for those at risk of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is challenging. The purpose of the present research was to evaluate the quality and usability of available patient educational tools relevant to SCA and its treatment options, such as implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs). We hypothesized that this review would identify gaps in areas of information for the enhancement of patient education and decision-making materials. Methods We used a formal instrument to assess specific domains of content, development, and effectiveness of 18 available SCA and ICD educational tools. The multidisciplinary review panel included two electrophysiologists, two general cardiologists, a cardiac psychologist, a health services researcher, and a patient advocate. Results Of the 18 education tools, four were rated as “good, may need revisions, but sufficient for use�, 12 were rated as “marginal, needs revision prior to use�, and two were rated as “poor, inadequate for use�. None of the tools were rated as being of “very good� or “excellent� quality. Conclusion There appear to be opportunities to improve the quality and completeness of existing educational tools for patients with SCA and ICD. While many tools have been developed, they fall below current standards for supporting informed medical decision-making

Asthma prevalence and risk factors in schoolchildren of the city of São Paulo, Brazil

OBJETIVO: Analisar a prevalência de asma e possíveis fatores de risco associados. MÉTODOS: Estudo transversal, integrante do International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood. Participaram 561 escolares de seis a sete anos de idade, provenientes de 35 escolas públicas da cidade de São Paulo, escolhidas por sorteio, em 2002. A amostra incluiu 168 asmáticos e 393 não asmáticos, que responderam questionário constituído por 33 questões referentes a dados pessoais, familiares e ambientais. A associação entre asma e fatores de risco foi avaliada pela análise de regressão logística, considerando-se nível de significância estatística de 5%. RESULTADOS: Entre os escolares, 31,2% referiam sibilos nos 12 meses anteriores à entrevista. Os fatores de risco significativamente associados à asma foram: sexo masculino (OR=2,4;IC 95%: 1,4;4,2), mãe fumante no primeiro ano de vida (OR=2,0; IC 95%: 1,1;3,8), presença de eczema em locais característicos (OR=3,0; IC 95%:1,2; 7,6) e rinoconjuntivite (OR=2,4;IC 95%: 1,2; 4,8). CONCLUSÕES: A prevalência de asma na região estudada foi elevada e os fatores de risco relacionados foram: sexo masculino, sintomas de rinoconjuntivite no último ano, mãe fumante no primeiro ano de vida e presença de eczema em locais característicos.OBJECTIVE: To assess asthma prevalence and potential risk factors associated. METHODS: Cross-sectional study part of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood. A total of 561 schoolchildren aged 6-7 years from 35 public schools in the city of São Paulo (Southeastern Brazil) were drawn to participate in the study, in 2002. The sample consisted of 168 asthmatic and 393 non-asthmatic children who answered a questionnaire comprising 33 questions on personal, family and environmental information. The association between asthma and the risk factors studied was assessed by logistic regression analysis at a 5% statistical significance. RESULTS: Among the schoolchildren studied, 31.2% reported wheezing in the 12 months preceding the interview. The following risk factors were significantly associated with asthma: male gender (OR=2.4; 95% CI: 1.4;4.2), maternal smoking in the child's first year of life (OR=2.0; 95% CI: 1.1;3.8), eczema on characteristic body areas (OR=3.0; 95% CI: 1.2;7.6) and rhinoconjunctivitis (OR=2.4; 95% CI: 1.2;4.8). CONCLUSIONS: Asthma prevalence in the study area was high and the risk factors identified were male gender, rhinoconjunctivitis in last year, maternal smoking in the child's first year of life and eczema on characteristic body areas

Many continuous variables should be analyzed using the relative scale: a case study of β2-agonists for preventing exercise-induced bronchoconstriction

BACKGROUND: The relative scale adjusts for baseline variability and therefore may lead to findings that can be generalized more widely. It is routinely used for the analysis of binary outcomes but only rarely for continuous outcomes. Our objective was to compare relative vs absolute scale pooled outcomes using data from a recently published Cochrane systematic review that reported only absolute effects of inhaled β2-agonists on exercise-induced decline in forced-expiratory volumes in 1 s (FEV1). METHODS: From the Cochrane review, we selected placebo-controlled cross-over studies that reported individual participant data (IPD). Reversal in FEV1 decline after exercise was modeled as a mean uniform percentage point (pp) change (absolute effect) or average percent change (relative effect) using either intercept-only or slope-only, respectively, linear mixed-effect models. We also calculated the pooled relative effect estimates using standard random-effects, inverse-variance-weighting meta-analysis using study-level mean effects. RESULTS: Fourteen studies with 187 participants were identified for the IPD analysis. On the absolute scale, β2-agonists decreased the exercise-induced FEV1 decline by 28 pp., and on the relative scale, they decreased the FEV1 decline by 90%. The fit of the statistical model was significantly better with the relative 90% estimate compared with the absolute 28 pp. estimate. Furthermore, the median residuals (5.8 vs. 10.8 pp) were substantially smaller in the relative effect model than in the absolute effect model. Using standard study-level meta-analysis of the same 14 studies, β2-agonists reduced exercise-induced FEV1 decline on the relative scale by a similar amount: 83% or 90%, depending on the method of calculating the relative effect. CONCLUSIONS: Compared with the absolute scale, the relative scale captures more effectively the variation in the effects of β2-agonists on exercise-induced FEV1-declines. The absolute scale has been used in the analysis of FEV1 changes and may have led to sub-optimal statistical analysis in some cases. The choice between the absolute and relative scale should be determined based on biological reasoning and empirical testing to identify the scale that leads to lower heterogeneity.Peer reviewe